#amethyst is a girl aka the purple one

[artmustdraw]

Mmm highlighters at work lol, if i have time might draw more

[achy-boo]

The Sea Miracles

Summary: Opposites attract. It is the term used for people who are complete opposites meet and fall in love. Well the saying is true but what would two people from different dorms meet. Love is a unique thing indeed.

Shipping: Daniel x Tsukii

AN: Daniel belongs to @yuuniee

Words: 902 words

Warning: Fluff, strangers to friends, friends to lovers, Tsukii being her secretive self, doubt about themselves(Tsukii), Jeanne being a wingman, a bit of angst but mostly fluff :3

People find love in mysterious ways.

Not only is the saying true and it makes two different people fall in love. In more ways than one. Daniel Jett Sterling had fallen in love with Isolabella Duvessa Tsukii aka Tsukii, the first vice warden of NRC’s Sapphire Lake Dorm.

How they meet is interesting to say the least. Daniel and Tsukii met during after class hours, they both bump into each other and Tsukii was the one to apologize for not paying attention as she was reading a book. “Hey..I apologize for bumping into you. I really should put my book away more often.” The girl said with a nervous smile as she was embarrassed of her actions. The merfolk just look at her in awe. He was taken back by her beauty and her appearance. He never saw any woman who had those features but her. Her burgundy red hair with light purple shaded ends, light tan skin, her eyes are heterchomia but her eyes have crimson red and amethyst purple colors in them. 

Daniel snapped out his trance when he noticed the girl was staring at him in worry. “Eh. It's no biggie. I’m Daniel. Daniel Jett Sterling.” Daniel introduces himself as the girl looks at him in curiosity before introducing herself back. “My name is Isolabella Duvessa Tsukii. It is a pleasure to meet you Daniel. Call me Isolabella or Tsukii.”

After that day, Daniel and Tsukii usually see each other at random times with random people. But they share common interests, one of them is music. Daniel is a DJ while Tsukii is a DJ too but she plays a different type of music with Daniel but she never likes showing her face towards fans or in public outside of NRC. Daniel noticed that the bookworm only comes to Octavinelle for drinks and some food and nothing else. He also noticed that she always has a book with her, knowing why she is called the silent bookworm by everyone in NRC. Daniel was the first one to take her order and even delivered her food, making small conversations with the said girl. Tsukii was shocked when Daniel has misophonia but she understands and shares a bit of information. She has a fear of being taken advantage of because what happened to her when she was younger, she ended vowing to close her heart so she will be okay. Daniel ended up vowing to treat Tsukii like a queen she is. Tsukii and Daniel are both careful with their actions and words towards each other, making sure that they are both okay. 

Tsukii was in denial about her feelings for Daniel as she worried about her heart breaking again. She was taken advantage of by so many people..that she had to close her heart away so she won’t be hurt again. But she knows that Daniel loves her but she knows that she never gets her hopes up. That is the lesson she learned years ago. As time passed, Daniel and Tsukii grew closer as everyone in NRC was confused and shocked when they saw Daniel and Tsukii together but the silent bookworm only gave vague answers which not only annoyed people but it made them want to know more. Daniel wanted to ask Tsukii out but he ended up overhearing Tsukii tell her close friends that her birthday is coming so she was excited for it. He later asks Jeanne when’s the girl’s birthday and he has the answer he needs. “January 23rd is her birthday. Why?” Jeanne asked Daniel with a sly smirk, making the male blush and confessed that he was planning to ask Tsukii out. 

 The mirror demon told Daniel a place in Sapphire Lake Dorm where Tsukii hangs out which is the gardens and told him where to find it. Daniel was excited but scared to be rejected by Tsukii but Jeanne reassures him that Tsukii may look cold but she is a sweetheart underneath the cold mask. She is positive that Tsukii will return his feelings. When Tsukii’s birthday comes, Daniel asks Tsukii to show the gardens which the girl happily shows him the way. Daniel loves the way Tsukii shows him Sapphire Lake Dorm and he will admit..Sapphire Lake Dorm is unique just like her. The two arrived at the garden and just relaxed there. Daniel decided to confess to Tsukii and closed his eyes in fear but..Tsukii spoke. “Silly. I love you too.” She smiles at him with her cheeks red and she is actually crying tears of joy. Daniel held her close to him and they both shared their first kiss.

In the background, Jeanne is watching the scene with a warm smile on her face. “I told you that you will find someone who loves you for who you are, Tsu-Tsu. You already found that person.” Jeanne leaves the scene with teary eyes, happy for Tsukii to find her love,proud of herself to tell Daniel about the garden and now wishes for the two to overcome anything together.

Love is agonizing but patient. That is Tsukii's new lesson. She found someone that sees her for herself and nothing else. This makes the silent bookworm drop her mask and smile warmly with tears of joy and happiness. ‘Finally..I can’t hide behind a mask anymore..I'm happy.’ Tsukii smiled at the thought. What a beautiful birthday gift.

[geltears]

the pretty boy

Ran Haitani x Reader

You notice that your seatmate is staring

The undeniably pretty boy that sits next to you has never spoken to you. At most, he's spared you a few glances here and there and the moments were so short and brief yet you'd have the sudden urge to smile at him. You never did though, for you know, he won't smile back. You don't feel any way about him in particular. But you do think he has nice hair, it's hard to ignore the black-to-blonde dye style he has going on and he sits so strangely close to you that you've memorized the name and scent of his shampoo.

Citrus fruit, pantene, to be exact.

Everything you know about him has been learned against your will and you think about that quite often because what if it's a sign? No, you're not very superstitious. Even now as you lean against the wall, surrounded by your friends that are gossiping about something you can't make out through your sleep laden state, your ears pick up on the mention of the pretty boy's name-- though you can't seem to remember his name, now that you think of it.

He's having a party this Friday, so they say. Apparently it's open invitation (so you know, it's not going to be small). It sounds fun really, you probably should go out more often but one of his parties isn't exactly what you had in mind. His friends are far too noisy and sketchy. In fact, everyone in his group is so noticeable; they tend to have the most vibrant hair colors and styles. They seem fun, really but they're not the crowd you have in mind.

"Will you come? " one of your friends asks. No, you immediately think....wait, maybe. Then you recognize the raspy sound of laughter that you know to belong to the very pretty boy that sits next to you. He laughs a lot-- never towards/with you-- ,usually with his silver haired friend that sits a few rows behind you. Izana, you think that's what they call him.

You turn to peer at them and you don't realize how embarrassingly fast you had done so until the group of boys stops their snickering to focus their gazes on you. You should turn back around, really, but the pretty boy is staring at you, for the longest time ever and you can't bear to look away. His eyes are a very nice shade of purple, you realize. They make you think of amethyst and you suddenly remember that you have a necklace with an amethyst pendant at home.

You might wear it some time soon.

You turn back to your group and attempt to file into the conversation but you fail horribly because the boys haven't resumed their pointless bickering and you can still feel the eyes glued to your back and you can smell the citrus shampoo. Impulsively, you turn again and see that he's closer now, standing a mere foot away from you with his mouth open as if to say something but the words have been held captive in his throat and an arm outstretched, supposedly meant to touch your shoulder.

Your eyes meet with his and you look up at him expectantly as that jittery feeling you'd get when you were opening Christmas gifts as a little girl, beats in your chest. You think he's going to say something because he takes a deep breath and when he exhales you pick up on the scent of caffeine. False alarm. He turns on his heel, sticks his hands in his pockets and regroups with his friends. They all walk off laughing and patting his back as if consoling him.

The heavy weight of shame settles in your chest (the type of shame you thought could only come from disappointing one's parents) and you're not sure why you feel this way because you haven't done anything wrong, have you? Just avoid him, you think but as you glance at your phone and read the reminder that's flashing across your screen, you realize that would be impossible without jeopardizing your education.

You have history class in 20 minutes. History class aka 40 minutes with him sitting next to you.

When you get to the lecture room, he's already in his seat. Strange. He usually wanders into the class a few minutes late, waves to the professor, then assumes his seat (that is always left empty for him) next to you. His back is facing the front of the room as he's turned around to talk to one of his friends, the one with a tattoo on the shaven side of his head-- you've never bothered learning his name.

You're thankful that he's distracted, it'll make it easy for you to silently slip into your seat. However, his friend has other plans. The male (whose name you don't care to learn) coughs loudly and flicks his eyes in your direction, he holds his stare on you for a noticeably long time. Your seatmate turns to see you frozen in your spot, your hand gripping the back of your chair as if hanging on for dear life. He ends his conversation with a dismissive wave to his friend before turning his full body to face you.

His eyes lick over you from head to toe and it does nothing if not make you even more nervous, foolishly so. He notices that you are shaking and he's tempted to ask you if you're ok but he fears his voice will startle you. Ah, what the hell. "Are you ill?" he says, his words unusually slow. Now, your mind seems to be processing things even less than before. You can't move or talk and you wonder if it's noticeable that you've stopped breathing.

His hand reaches out in an attempt to touch you but you're quick to draw your arm back into your side. You clear your throat, straighten your back, look him dead in the eye but you begin to regret doing so because his stare is disturbingly cold and intense. You wish you had avoided his gaze as usual. "I'm fine," you mumble. You think your voice was too soft, he might not have heard you, but he did, loud and clear.

No words are spoken between the two of you for the rest of the class.

The bell rings and you'd usually be out the door right now, heading to some cafe where you'll sit and fool yourself by saying you'll do assignments but in reality you'll do absolutely nothing for an hour (or two) before returning to your shared dorm. Today, you're standing in the isle with your arms crossed and your body shaking with girlish excitement because the pretty boy wanted to talk to you.

Specifically, he grabbed your wrist before you could walk off and in the kindest tone asked, "Could you wait up for a second?" That was fifteen minutes ago. He left you waiting helplessly while he went off to chuckle at whatever idiotic joke his friends were making. But you're not complaining, you'll wait because you're sure he hasn't forgotten about you. His sharp glances in your direction when his gaze would linger for a second too long and he'd sometimes catch you staring back, is enough proof that he remembers.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, y/n," you hear the familiar voice say. Your eyes stay focused on the ground as you stand shocked for a few seconds. Firstly, because he's finally finished his conversation and secondly because oh, he knows your name. You feel bad now because he actually knows and remembers your name while you can't remember his, even after sitting next to him for months.

"Have you eaten?" he asks. You haven't and you begin to think that maybe your blood sugar is low so that's why you're shaking. You shake your head, he nods. "I know this great cafe a few blocks away," he adds. The implication is enough, you don't nod or say anything, simply, turn on your heel but you stop once you realize that you don't know where he's talking about. You think he smiled or maybe you just imagined the twitch of his lips that could really mean nothing but something happened.

And the next minute he was walking past you, looking over his shoulder to make sure you're still with him.

You recognize the route to the cafe, it's the way you walk (almost) every day but you don't mention it to him because he simply doesn't need to know that. The barista on duty waves at you when the both of you enter the shop. Of course she'd recognize you, you spend so much time here, they might as well put your picture on the wall. The thought makes you laugh, causing the male next to you to glance down at you with an eyebrow raised curiously. You shake your head, he shrugs.

He must think I'm crazy.

His hand links with yours as he guides to you a table that you recognize to be not too far form your usual seat. It amuses and terrifies you as you think, what a coincidence. "What do you want to order?" he asks, his voice much softer than earlier for you, only you, to hear. "Black coffee, no milk, no sugar," you say. He laughs, you hear his laugh so much but it seems more light-hearted in this environment. "Aren't you afraid you won't be able to sleep?"

"That's the point, -" you remember that you don't know his name, "- Umm..it's supposed to keep me awake." You're sure this time that he smiled before he walked over to the counter. You stare at him, subtly, of course, as he leans forward on the counter to order. He's unusually tall and he has a tattoo of some sort on his body, you conclude as you struggle to piece together the rest of the image but it's quite impossible because you can only see the end of it due to his shirt.

Haitani Ran, you hear the barista shout before you see him lean off the wall and walk over to the counter. Oh, you've finally learned his name. It's pretty, you think, it's only fitting. A pretty name for a pretty boy. Ran, you want to practice saying it out loud-- some other time, not here, in public.

Ran walks back to the table, rests down the two cups and walks away for a short while to get cup holsters. In that short time he was away, you peeked at his cup and it amused you to find that he had ordered the same as you. You quickly jerk your head back when he returns, so as to not alert him. "The cashier already knew your name, you come here often?" he says, more of a gargle as he attempts to speak and drink.

"Yeah. I come here to study," you lie. And Ran knows it's a lie because he sits two tables away from you, most days, and watches you scroll on your phone, read, draw-- anything but study. Yet he doesn't mention it because you simply don't need to know. You assume his perched brow is one of doubt so you quickly put down your cup and swallow the piping hot beverage so you can speak.

"I don't go out much so..I come here often," you add as you gently rest down your cup. He barely fails to notice the way you spent too much time trying to place the cup in the exact position it was in before. How weird, he thinks as he smirks, slightly. "I figured," he laughs and you wonder whether you should be offended or not. What exactly is he implying?

"Speaking of going out- I'm having a party this Friday," he tells you, "You should come."

"Oh," you say (as if you didn't already know). "Sure. I will."

He's actually very nice, unlike you had thought previously. So maybe...the pretty boy that sits next to you is more than a pretty face.

.

.

pt. 2 - under the moonlight

[sk8rwillie]

Forever & Always

aka a juke wedding au

taglist: @reggieshamster @owenmercers @oldsmobile-hotdogs @iridescentkippen @screamin-amuseum (lmk if you want to be added to my permanent taglist)

Today was the most hectic and chaotic day of Julie’s whole life, at least that’s what she thought when Flynn dragged her out of bed to get ready at 5am this morning. For her wedding, she was actually getting married to Luke and it felt like a dream. She swore everytime she looked at any of her friends and family, they were wiping away tears. Everyone in the entire world knew that Julie and Luke were meant for each other and everyone wanted this day to be perfect.

It was now 3pm and everything was going smoothly, the flowers- dahlias and roses of course, had arrived and the venue and caterers were moving everything along. It was the same place where her parents got married, a beautiful botanical garden just along the coast. Flynn and Alex had been keeping her busy so she wouldn’t get so anxious over everything.

Flynn was doing her makeup, using small bursts of purple around the corners to match the color scheme chosen. Julie had obviously chosen purple, a light lilac, as to not seem so pretentious (which made Luke snort when she told him those exact words). Julie wanted this day to be as much his as it was here, but Luke wasn’t having it. He told her he would be happy marrying her behind the Taco Bell down the street from their apartment. As long as they were together, it didn’t matter.

Alex was now doing her hair, which was still a secret but she had faith in Alex’s abilities. He had fought hard to be one of Julie’s bridesmaids which made her and Willie giggle up a storm. She knew Reggie and Willie were with Luke, but she missed them. Especially Luke, she hasn’t seen since late last night because Flynn wanted them to stay apart for as long as possible before the wedding tonight. They had both agreed to her plan, but now regretted their decisions, since their phones were also hidden.

So as she sat as still as she possibly could for Alex, she drifted into a daydream. Well, a memory at least. It was the day Luke proposed to her, which made her giggle just at the thought of her fiancé- husband to be.

It was a quiet night for them, cuddling up on the couch and watching disney movies. He had mentioned he needed to get something, but Julie refused to move from his warm embrace. Tilting her head up to meet his gaze, she pouted. Luke grinned, pressing a kiss to her forehead which seemed to distract her enough for him to move.

As he stood, something fell out of his pocket, but he continued towards the bedroom. Glancing down, Julie’s breath hitched in her throat and tears pricked her eyes. It was an engagement ring, specifically the one she had pointed to in a jewelry shop months ago. She picked it up and admired it, a simple diamond in the middle with oval cut amethysts on either side of it. Everything was silent for a moment, as she looked back to find Luke standing where she found the ring, mouth agape and a creeping blush on his cheeks.

“This was going to be so much better- I had a plan, it wasn’t extravagant but it was definitely less idiotic than this.”

“Yes.” She knew it wouldn’t click for a few moments but she had to say it before her voice got too shaky, her tears already making her vision fuzzy.

“Julie, I love you. You are the best thing to happen to me and I don’t know what I would do- wait did you say yes?” He was so focused on telling her how much she meant to him and how much he loved her and now he was at a loss for words.

She only nodded, bringing her hands up to cup his face. He responded very quickly, wrapping his arms around her waist. It really wasn’t a question of whether she’d say yes or not, he’s known that answer since their 5 Grammy wins a few years ago. She reminded him everyday that she loved him and wanted to spend forever with him. It was the question that all of their friends had been asking since they first met, who will propose first?

Julie was surprised it took this long, in all honesty, knowing how anxious Luke had always been to show her that he only wanted her. They were still fairly young, Julie having only turned 24 two months ago. But it didn’t matter, as long as they were together..

“Jules? Julie?? Earth to Jules!!” Alex had tapped her on the nose and was now waving a hand in front of her face to get her attention.

“Yes, sorry. I’m here,” she smiled and Alex squeezed her shoulder. Handing her a mirror, she held it up to view the work Alex put into her hair and she gasped. It was a simple style, half up half down but Alex had put intricate and small braids into her bun and butterfly clips adorned her head. She hopped out of the chair and squeezed him tight, making Alex laugh and kiss her temple.

“Alex! It’s perfect!” She couldn’t help the tears in her eyes as she pulled away slightly from him. Which only made Alex sniffle,

“Oh come on, Jules. Now you’re making me cry! I guess I'll be crying later anyway. But i’m glad you like it, I’ve been counting down the days to get you all dolled up for your wedding!” Julie only rolled her eyes and lightly shoved Alex’s shoulder. He feigned hurt until she giggled, “You better not mess up your makeup or Flynn will kill me!!”

Now she was standing in front of her wedding dress, trying not to ruin the beautiful work Flynn had done her makeup earlier. A moment later, Flynn walks in, squeezing her best friend’s shoulders. Both staring up at the beautiful dress, “I can’t believe you’re getting married, Jules. I’m so happy for you!”

“Hey don’t forget you and Carrie are engaged now!! So next we’ll be planning your wedding!!” Both girls started giggling, Julie pulling them in for a hug. Until Flynn realized the time and rushed Julie to get into her dress.

There was no better way to describe the feeling when Julie put it on other than she felt like a princess. The intricate embroidered flowers and mesh that ran down her arms. The lace that decorated every inch of the dress. The sleeves comfortably sitting on the edges of her shoulders, allowing her mother’s dahlia necklace to shine against her delicate, copper skin.

Walking out of the dressing room, she is met with Alex and Flynn of course, at a loss for words. But also Willie who’s smiling so wide it looks like it hurts and Reggie who’s wiping tears cascading down his red cheeks. Julie only smiles bashfully,

“If you all start crying then I will too!!”

“You look stunning, Jules. If we’re all crying I can’t imagine Luke is gonna be able to hold it together!” Reggie snorted. Julie gasped quietly, she wanted to see Luke so badly it hurt. She knew she’d be seeing soon obviously but it didn’t mean she didn’t miss his cute laugh and pretty eyes and honest kindness…

Willie walks forward and wraps her in a tight hug, making her immediately melt into their embrace. Willie always gives good hugs and always seems to know when people need them most. As he pulled away, they cleared their throat,

“I know I’m not one of your bridesmaids,’ he giggled lightly as he looked back at Alex who huffed proudly in response. “But I wanted to give you this- something blue, something Luke. He doesn’t know but me, Reggie and Alex put our heads together.”

Looking down at Willie’s hands, she found a silver necklace with a cerulean blue guitar pendant. She can’t help the wide smile from appearing across her features. Willie takes this moment to clasp it around her neck, watching as it sits nicely above her dahlia.

Before the boys can get in another hug session with Julie, Flynn is rushing them out to get ready for the ceremony. Sitting Julie back down, she spruces up her makeup and helps with her shoes (beat up old vans because comfort over style Flynn, no one will see them anyway!). She notices how glossy Flynn’s eyes are and now it’s her turn to fix her makeup,

“I’m only crying because this is actually happening and I love you.”

“I love you too, Flynn. I couldn’t have done any of this without you and I don’t mean just the wedding plans,” Julie presses her forehead to Flynn’s, making them both smile. Flynn squeezes her hands before turning to head out into the venue, Julie’s father taking her place.

Ray can only stand and admire his daughter’s radiance and happiness. He presses a kiss to her forehead and locks their arms together, walking to the edge of the actual venue. No one can see her yet, but everyone is sitting and chatting amongst themselves. She sees Kayla and Nick laughing together, Carrie and Bobby making sure no one can see them cry while their father, Trevor, sniffles stoically.

Ray tugs on his daughter’s arm lightly and she glances back at him. They smile and laugh, “I’m so proud of you, mija. You deserve only happiness and I can see that everytime you look at each other. I only wish your mother was here to see this.”

“Thank you, papí. I couldn’t have done it without you, I love you. I know mom’s watching, I can feel it,” Julie glances up at the sky and smiles. Ray only watched and thanked the heavens for giving him such a wonderful daughter. Handing her the bouquet of lavender and wisteria, he nudges her again, “Ready, mija?”

He walks her out and she knows she can hear music playing because it’s a song that Luke wrote for her. But it’s like everything else disappeared and all she can focus on is Luke. Standing at the end of the aisle, fiddling with his hands, mouth curved into a wide smile. He tugs at the sleeves of his suit jacket, she giggles lightly- proud that he’s even wearing sleeves. His cheeks are flushed and dusted pink, gray eyes big and shiny as they watch her walk closer with pure adoration.

As she reaches him, Ray lets her go and smiles at the both of them. Julie hands her bouquet over to Flynn standing behind her, finally facing the love of her life. They both aren’t really paying attention to what’s being said, just focused on each other. Until it was time for their vows. Luke went first:

I’ll tell you now, I could spend a lifetime telling you how much you mean to me, Jules. I have loved you since the first time I saw when I was 16 in that boring math class. I found myself giddy and excited to get to school just to see you and hear your laughter. You’ve brought out the best in me and my songwriting. When I’m with you, I know I can do anything. I never believed in soulmates until I found you and it felt like coming home. Your warmth and kindness fuels me with the strength to live my dreams- our dreams. Being in a band with you has truly been the best experience of my life and I cannot wait to see what the future holds. I love you more than words could ever say.

Willie hands Luke a ring and he gently places it on her ring finger, sniffling and laughing. They’re both crying by this point, not worried about anything else going on. Julie quickly wipes some of her fallen tears away as she locks eyes with Luke again. Fiddling with the new wedding band around her finger she begins her vows:

When I first met you, I never thought I would play music again. Not after losing my mom, but you gave me a new passion- a new spark for music and I cannot thank you enough. Playing music together became a love language and it only made me realize how deep in love I was with you. You are my rock, you’re ambition and relentless passion in everything you do made me a better person. We compliment each other, two flames bound to one another. Loving you is like watching your favorite movie or reading your favorite book, it’s exhilarating. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you when you let me play ‘Bright’ a song you had written and shown to no one else. You trusted me with something so close to your heart and I knew then that I wanted to memorize all of you. You are my favorite song and you are my person, I love you.

Now it’s Alex’s turn to hand over the ring, Julie slipping it onto Luke’s calluses finger. Now she’s sure there isn’t a dry eye in the room, not after they’d just shared snippets of the true love they had for each other. So when it was time to ‘kiss the bride,’ Julie didn’t hesitate. Wrapping her arms around Luke’s neck and pulling him down to brush their lips together and finally sealing them in a smile.

Pulling away, still smiling, they lock their fingers together and walk back down the aisle as husband and wife. Truly a power couple for the ages. And before rejoining their friends and family for the reception, Luke steals another kiss and another and another. Cupping her cheeks and bringing her as close to him as he possibly can. She snakes her hands back around his neck, digging her fingers lightly through his hair, earning her a small noise in response.

Pulling away, breathless this time and leaning their foreheads together. She presses a kiss to his nose, which he scrunches up when she moves away.

“I love you, Mrs Patterson,” Luke breathes out. Julie only smirks and playfully rolls her eyes.

“And I love you, Mr Molina,” she replies, trying to hide her love stricken smile. Luke only quirks an eyebrow,

“I kinda like the sound of that.”

She smacks his arm lightly to which he only shakes his head and pulls her in for another kiss. Yeah she could get used to this forever.

[leahmovedagain]

Apparently HBO has a documentary about the unaired pilot and most of the cast and grrm commented about what was wrong with it and George said that he didn't like the Dany/Drogo bedding scene in episode one because in his books is not rape because Dany consented the act. I mean is he aware she's a 13 old girl with grow man???

Yeah I’d like to beat him with a stick for saying it was consensual. Just because she was flushed and her heart was pounding (aka her body responding to his touches), she didn’t want to marry him or consummate the marriage at all.

What’s confusing for me is that grrm makes it very very clear in Daenerys first two chapters that 1) she’s terrified of drogo 2) doesn’t want to marry him and 3) that this is not a simple betrothal, but she’s being sold to her new husband.

Dany could hear the singing of the red priests as they lit their night fires and the shouts of ragged children playing games beyond the walls of the estate. For a moment she wished she could be out there with them, barefoot and breathless and dressed in tatters, with no past and no future and no feast to attend at Khal Drogo’s manse.

[...]

The old woman washed her long, silver-pale hair and gently combed out the snags, all in silence. The girl scrubbed her back and her feet and told her how lucky she was. “Drogo is so rich that even his slaves wear golden collars. A hundred thousand men ride in his khalasar, and his palace in Vaes Dothrak has two hundred rooms and doors of solid silver.” There was more like that, so much more, what a handsome man the khal was, so tall and fierce, fearless in battle, the best rider ever to mount a horse, a demon archer. Daenerys said nothing. She had always assumed that she would wed Viserys when she came of age. For centuries the Targaryens had married brother to sister, since Aegon the Conqueror had taken his sisters to bride. The line must be kept pure, Viserys had told her a thousand times; theirs was the kingsblood, the golden blood of old Valyria, the blood of the dragon. Dragons did not mate with the beasts of the field, and Targaryens did not mingle their blood with that of lesser men. Yet now Viserys schemed to sell her to a stranger, a barbarian.

When she was clean, the slaves helped her from the water and toweled her dry. The girl brushed her hair until it shone like molten silver, while the old woman anointed her with the spiceflower perfume of the Dothraki plains, a dab on each wrist, behind her ears, on the tips of her breasts, and one last one, cool on her lips, down there between her legs. They dressed her in the wisps that Magister Illyrio had sent up, and then the gown, a deep plum silk to bring out the violet in her eyes. The girl slid the gilded sandals onto her feet, while the old woman fixed the tiara in her hair, and slid golden bracelets crusted with amethysts around her wrists. Last of all came the collar, a heavy golden torc emblazoned with ancient Valyrian glyphs.

“Now you look all a princess,” the girl said breathlessly when they were done. Dany glanced at her image in the silvered looking glass that Illyrio had so thoughtfully provided. A princess, she thought, but she remembered what the girl had said, how Khal Drogo was so rich even his slaves wore golden collars. She felt a sudden chill, and gooseflesh pimpled her bare arms.

[...]

“She’s too skinny,” Viserys said. His hair, the same silver-blond as hers, had been pulled back tightly behind his head and fastened with a dragonbone brooch. It was a severe look that emphasized the hard, gaunt lines of his face. He rested his hand on the hilt of the sword that Illyrio had lent him, and said, “Are you sure that Khal Drogo likes his women this young?”

“She has had her blood. She is old enough for the khal,” Illyrio told him, not for the first time. “Look at her. That silver-gold hair, those purple eyes … she is the blood of old Valyria, no doubt, no doubt … and highborn, daughter of the old king, sister to the new, she cannot fail to entrance our Drogo.” When he released her hand, Daenerys found herself trembling.

[...]

She was still looking at this strange man from the homeland she had never known when Magister Illyrio placed a moist hand on her bare shoulder. “Over there, sweet princess,” he whispered, “there is the khal himself.”

Dany wanted to run and hide, but her brother was looking at her, and if she displeased him she knew she would wake the dragon. Anxiously, she turned and looked at the man Viserys hoped would ask to wed her before the night was done.

[...]

Dany looked at Khal Drogo. His face was hard and cruel, his eyes as cold and dark as onyx. Her brother hurt her sometimes, when she woke the dragon, but he did not frighten her the way this man frightened her. “I don’t want to be his queen,” she heard herself say in a small, thin voice. “Please, please, Viserys, I don’t want to, I want to go home.”

“Home!” He kept his voice low, but she could hear the fury in his tone. “How are we to go home, sweet sister? They took our home from us!” He drew her into the shadows, out of sight, his fingers digging into her skin. “How are we to go home?” he repeated, meaning King’s Landing, and Dragonstone, and all the realm they had lost.

Dany had only meant their rooms in Illyrio’s estate, no true home surely, though all they had, but her brother did not want to hear that. There was no home there for him. Even the big house with the red door had not been home for him. His fingers dug hard into her arm, demanding an answer. “I don’t know …” she said at last, her voice breaking. Tears welled in her eyes.

“I do,” he said sharply. “We go home with an army, sweet sister. With Khal Drogo’s army, that is how we go home. And if you must wed him and bed him for that, you will.” He smiled at her. “I’d let his whole khalasar fuck you if need be, sweet sister, all forty thousand men, and their horses too if that was what it took to get my army. Be grateful it is only Drogo. In time you may even learn to like him. Now dry your eyes. Illyrio is bringing him over, and he will not see you crying.”

Dany turned and saw that it was true. Magister Illyrio, all smiles and bows, was escorting Khal Drogo over to where they stood. She brushed away unfallen tears with the back of her hand.

“Smile,” Viserys whispered nervously, his hand falling to the hilt of his sword. “And stand up straight. Let him see that you have breasts. Gods know, you have little enough as is.”

Daenerys smiled, and stood up straight.

[...]

Daenerys Targaryen wed Khal Drogo with fear and barbaric splendor in a field beyond the walls of Pentos, for the Dothraki believed that all things of importance in a man’s life must be done beneath the open sky.

[...]

Yet that night she dreamt of one. Viserys was hitting her, hurting her. She was naked, clumsy with fear. She ran from him, but her body seemed thick and ungainly. He struck her again. She stumbled and fell. “You woke the dragon,” he screamed as he kicked her. “You woke the dragon, you woke the dragon.” Her thighs were slick with blood. She closed her eyes and whimpered. As if in answer, there was a hideous ripping sound and the crackling of some great fire. When she looked again, Viserys was gone, great columns of flame rose all around, and in the midst of them was the dragon. It turned its great head slowly. When its molten eyes found hers, she woke, shaking and covered with a fine sheen of sweat. She had never been so afraid……until the day of her wedding came at last.

[...]

Dany had never felt so alone as she did seated in the midst of that vast horde. Her brother had told her to smile, and so she smiled until her face ached and the tears came unbidden to her eyes. She did her best to hide them, knowing how angry Viserys would be if he saw her crying, terrified of how Khal Drogo might react. Food was brought to her, steaming joints of meat and thick black sausages and Dothraki blood pies, and later fruits and sweetgrass stews and delicate pastries from the kitchens of Pentos, but she waved it all away. Her stomach was a roil, and she knew she could keep none of it down.

There was no one to talk to. Khal Drogo shouted commands and jests down to his bloodriders, and laughed at their replies, but he scarcely glanced at Dany beside him. They had no common language. Dothraki was incomprehensible to her, and the khal knew only a few words of the bastard Valyrian of the Free Cities, and none at all of the Common Tongue of the Seven Kingdoms. She would even have welcomed the conversation of Illyrio and her brother, but they were too far below to hear her.

So she sat in her wedding silks, nursing a cup of honeyed wine, afraid to eat, talking silently to herself. I am blood of the dragon, she told herself. I am Daenerys Stormborn, Princess of Dragonstone, of the blood and seed of Aegon the Conqueror.

[...]

As the hours passed, the terror grew in Dany, until it was all she could do not to scream. She was afraid of the Dothraki, whose ways seemed alien and monstrous, as if they were beasts in human skins and not true men at all. She was afraid of her brother, of what he might do if she failed him. Most of all, she was afraid of what would happen tonight under the stars, when her brother gave her up to the hulking giant who sat drinking beside her with a face as still and cruel as a bronze mask. I am the blood of the dragon, she told herself again.

[...]

And after the gifts, she knew, after the sun had gone down, it would be time for the first ride and the consummation of her marriage. Dany tried to put the thought aside, but it would not leave her. She hugged herself to try to keep from shaking.

[...]

The last sliver of sun vanished behind the high walls of Pentos to the west just then. Dany had lost all track of time. Khal Drogo commanded his bloodriders to bring forth his own horse, a lean red stallion. As the khal was saddling the horse, Viserys slid close to Dany on her silver, dug his fingers into her leg, and said, “Please him, sweet sister, or I swear, you will see the dragon wake as it has never woken before.”

The fear came back to her then, with her brother’s words. She felt like a child once more, only thirteen and all alone, not ready for what was about to happen to her.

They rode out together as the stars came out, leaving the khalasar and the grass palaces behind. Khal Drogo spoke no word to her, but drove his stallion at a hard trot through the gathering dusk. The tiny silver bells in his long braid rang softly as he rode. “I am the blood of the dragon,” she whispered aloud as she followed, trying to keep her courage up. “I am the blood of the dragon. I am the blood of the dragon.” The dragon was never afraid.

Afterward she could not say how far or how long they had ridden, but it was full dark when they stopped at a grassy place beside a small stream. Drogo swung off his horse and lifted her down from hers. She felt as fragile as glass in his hands, her limbs as weak as water. She stood there helpless and trembling in her wedding silks while he secured the horses, and when he turned to look at her, she began to cry.

[...]

He removed her silks one by one, carefully, while Dany sat unmoving, silent, looking at his eyes. When he bared her small breasts, she could not help herself. She averted her eyes and covered herself with her hands. “No,” Drogo said. He pulled her hands away from her breasts, gently but firmly, then lifted her face again to make her look at him. “No,” he repeated.

It’s just gross and confusing to me. I don’t understand why if he wanted to make it come off as consensual, why did he write her to be absolutely terrified of drogo, have her tremble and cry, make it clear she’s a glorified slave for him, make it clear she doesn’t want to consummate the marriage, to just then turn around and say “Well it was consensual.”

Does he know that just because a persons body responds physically doesn’t mean they’re consenting to a sexual act? Does he know that a child cannot consent to a sexual act? It’s concerning and confusing for me.

[gaypretzle]

not sure if you are allowed to do this but whatever

i have been writing a fantasy book (i know it wont ever be published) and would like opinions on it so here it goes.

Main characters-

Aine (A-n) - a 9 year old girl, she is cautious and skittish, she usually wears a purple sweater, dark teal leggings and blue slip on shoes, she has long, brown hair that veen styles for her and hazel brown eyes.

Dion (die-on) - a 19 year old dark skinned fellow that is non-binary. They are kind and cheery, they love to help but they have a much darker side that they refuse to talk about. They usually wear bright clothes but their favorite outfit is an oversized muted red hoodie and dark blue jeans with white tie shoes and a few hidden rainbow bracelets. They have bright blue eyes and black hair.

Veen (v-EE-N) - a 19 year old guy, he is often flirtatious but very protective over his younger sister, aine. He wears a black hoodie and blue jeans with black tie shoes and a few hidden rainbow bracelets, he has tanned skin and short orange to red ombre hair (dyed) and amethyst eyes.

Delta - a 23 year old girl, she is daring and sarcastic. She is thin and agile with short blonde hair and brown eyes and a thin eyebrow slit, she wears camo jeans, a torn and dirty tank top, military boots, she has several weapons on her, most of them are military grade and bloodstained.

Marrow (aka mar) - a 20 year old girl, she has fairly dark skin and thick black hair that is mostly down with an undercut, she has green eyes and a thin eyebrow slit. She wears all black and usually has a knife or two on her

Lono - of unknown age, male, he wears a faded and breaking cat mask, he wears grey, charred clothes and has many burns on his ghostly pale skin, he has a leather bag and seems very off and scared often looking around

Chapter one

I looked around waving the others in, I lifted the wire fence herding them in, I entered last, bending the fence back to shape. I glanced at Aine's scared expression as she hugged her brother. Something seemed off about this little place, it was a small city but many children wore a plastic animal mask and the adults wore clothes that looked like they were from the 1910’s-20’s . The masks looked old and worn but the eyes were pitch black. The last thing I heard was aine shrieking as a mask less man with pitted eyes knocked us out and dragged us into a concrete building. I thought I woke up first but veen was already conscious. Aine was missing but then i heard a familiar cry but when we looked up aine was wearing a chipped, faded, and cracking grey rabbit mask and her eyes hadn’t yet been pitted, she ran towards delta who slid out of the way aine went toward veen and he grabbed the mask and yanked it off, aine screamed and black goo spilled from her mouth as she cried, veen tossed the mask to the side but slowly and painfully the mask grew back on her face, the screaming subsided as did her pain, she stumbled back and ran. Veen almost vomited when he saw the black goo “where is mar” delta asked me but I shrugged my shoulders “dunno” but just as I had spoken, a thin figure cloaked in black slipped down from a hole in the ceiling and landed on the ground without a noise. I heard footsteps getting closer and I grabbed one of mar's knives but grabbed it the wrong way, without noticing the blood spilling from my palm or the pain. It was a young child wearing a monkey mask. Mar saw the cuts on the poor little boy’s body and knelt down to help the boy but he lashed out at her. His small fingers like talons, I had dropped the knife and pushed the boy away, blood smearing on his clothes. Aine ran inside, she wore the grey uniform all the other children wore but still her eyes were not pitted, she ran to her brother who pulled the mask off once more. She began to scream again as black goo spewed from her mouth “i can’t help you” he cried. Aine froze in fact everyone froze it was like the world had gone silent. Mar and veen looked at me the mar grabbed my wrist and pulled me down a dark hallway, veen was close behind her and once we made it far enough away from them i realized delta was missing, i went to call for her but mar stopped me “she’s too far away” mar whispered laying her hand on my shoulder. I turned around and sighed, leaning my head on the wall behind me. I slid to the ground just wanting to scream from the stress I put on myself, blood still trickling down my hand making a little pool. Veen knelt down and looked at my hand “what happened” he asked but i just shrugged “Dion'' he said, trying to get my attention “what happened” then, before i could answer, i blacked out. “Are they ok?'' veen asked the person who was bandaging my hand. I tried to tell veen i was ok but it sounded like a jumbled mess. The person trying to cover up my hand began to move my sleeve up so it would be easier but I pulled my hand away. Veen saw this movement and grinned “Dion, are you ok” he asked me softly and i nodded “better than ever” i weakly said, veen laughed ‘that smile, that laugh, like a thousand cars coming at you but never hitting you’ i thought to myself. I held my wrist, making sure my bracelets were still there veen took the bandages from mar and double wrapped my hand to try and get it to stop bleeding. He helped me up and i brushed myself off when i heard footsteps nearing us “run” i whispered and we took off down the twisting hallway, my heart was pounding, i grabbed a knife from off of mar, properly this time, but suddenly there was a dead end, the three of us were trapped. The footsteps sped up, growing closer still. Mar looked at the cold concrete floor, her back pressed against the wall behind her. She slid to the floor and just broke down crying, veen took my hand that held the knife and we looked up as the footsteps stopped in front of us, my heart almost stopped as our eyes fell upon the thing that stood before us, it

towered over us as we looked into it’s dead eyes.

Chapter two

The beast entered the fading and flickering light; it was like an abyss of darkness though thin and wiry with bright, glowing, wild, golden eyes. we felt like the temperature had dropped 40 degrees, we could see our breath. veen lurched his arm forward and lodged the knife into the abdomen of the beast, when he pulled the knife out the beast let out a horrible cry that sounded a bit like delta, veen looked at me then down at the mangled and bloody corpse that laid before us. In a confused, scared, and horny, heart beat I threw my arms around him and pulled him into a kiss. Then when I realized what I was doing, I tried to push away but he had dropped the knife and was holding me close. Tears formed in my eyes “you’re all I've ever wanted Dion, i was so scared to tell-” veen began but i cut him off, kissing him again. It was like our whole bodies had become synchronized, like we were one single being. It felt like the kiss was hours long but it broke apart in seconds when i broke down sobbing in veen’s arms "i love you veen" i whispered "I've loved you for seven years, ever since we met I've loved you" veen smiled and pulled me into another kiss, holding me tightly, one of his hands through my hair, the other at my waist, my heart beat faster and faster. our tongues knotting in our connecting mouths i felt my bad memories with the love of my life fade away, all i could see was veen's kind smile, his perfect orangy red hair, his glistening amethyst eyes, i leaned into him, wanting to give myself over so he could kiss every inch of my body. he pushed me up against the cement wall, roughly kissing my soft lips and grabbing at my body but it only drew me closer, i breathed heavily and shut my eyes tighter "Dion K marken you are mine and only mine" he growled, lifting my chin up , my heart pounded in my chest 'is this real' i thought to myself but when he kissed me again, my head hitting the cement wall behind us i knew it was. he slid to the floor, our lips still pressed together. he laid me on the ground and kissed me deeper. i tried to push out those horrible thoughts but it didn't work. veen pinned me to the ground (and you get the drift so i'll just be moving on) it lasted 2 hours but it felt so much shorter, i just wanted to fall asleep in his arms but we needed to keep moving. i pecked him on the cheek as we dressed and began to move back the way we came.

if you guys do happen to like this just comment you want to see some some more and i will gladly write more :)

[elvendara]

March Madness 2021

AKA Yooran Month

March 9th

Coffee shop Au anyone?

The apron fell over his body and he wrapped the ties around his waist and tied them in a bow in front. He washed his hands thoroughly and readjusted his hairclips before heading out of the bathroom and clocking into work. This was his first day on the job and he was super excited. Not only because he would be making coffee, one of his favorite pastimes, but because he would be making money. His first real job.

“Ah Yoosung, I want you to meet MC, she will be showing you the ropes.” Mason, the manager that had hired him, said.

Yoosung smiled at the woman, she was about an inch shorter than him with deep chestnut brown hair up in a ponytail, the bangs hitting just above her honey brown eyes. Her smile was genuine, which made Yoosung relax.

“Nice to meet you Yoosung.” She said.

“You too.” They bowed respectfully.

“I’ll leave you to it then, for the morning hours I’d like you to just observe Yoosung, as it’s our busiest times. Just follow MC’s instructions and you will do fine.” He nodded to them both and walked into the back room where he had a small office.

“Let’s get started then.” MC took Yoosung’s arm and led him behind the counter. The large coffee machine was intimidating, there were so many levers, buttons, and moving parts. There was no time to really get into that feeling, once the door was opened, people filed in. Then next three hours were a blur with Yoosung feeling like he was just in the way. He’d watched MC as she made every conceivable version of coffee there seemed to be. Her hands moved fast, her movements confident.

After the initial rush they took a 15 min. break and were able to sit and relax.

“Wow, I never saw a rush from the other side.” Yoosung sipped his coffee.

“You get used to it. Actually, I like it better than the slow times. Time just seems to fly by.” MC said as she sipped her own coffee. “The perks aren’t bad either.” She held the cup up.

“Agreed. I don’t know if I’ll ever get as fast as you.”

“Trust me, you will, once you learn how to navigate the beast.”

“The beast?” Yoosung asked.

MC laughed and nodded towards the large machine behind the counter.

“Oh, I see.” He joined her laughter. Setting his cup down his eyes were pulled towards the door as someone walked in and made the bells above jingle once more. His mouth went dry and his amethyst eyes opened incrimentaly. MC noticed and turned to see what had caught his attention.

“See something you like?” she smirked at the blonde. He looked away but not before MC noted the blush that flushed across his face. She laughed and stood. “Come on newbie, time to get back to work.” They set their empty cups and saucers on the counter and MC asked the clerk to take them into the kitchen to wash them. The other girl did as she was told and MC pushed Yoosung to the front where the customer he had been so interested in was waiting to place his order.

Yoosung stumbled, eyes wide. He gulped as his purple eyes met green eyes. He’d never seen such a shade of green, it was beautiful and reminded him of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

“The greeting.” MC nudged Yoosung and whispered.

“Oh, uh, hi, welcome to Nook’s Café what can I get you?” Yoosung blushed as his voice cracked and he had to clear this throat.

The harsh lights reflected off his red hair and mesmerized Yoosung. The other man’s eyes scanned over Yoosung’s head at the menu but kept darting back down and looking sideways. MC coughed, trying to hide her smile.

“I’ll just have a coffee, medium, black. And, maybe two macadamia nut cookies.” The man ordered, his voice was lower than Yoosungs and very soothing. He appeared shy, which made Yoosung feel better.

MC showed Yoosung how to enter the order into the register. “That will be $13.49.” Yoosung told the beautiful man. He handed his card over and they both gasped as their fingertips touched briefly. “Uh, OK.” Yoosung fumbled with the card until MC steadied him and showed him the correct way to slide the card through.

“Sorry.” He apologized to the man.

“It’s fine, you’re new here?” he asked.

“First day. Not making a great impression I guess.” Yoosung said self-depricatingly.

“I wouldn’t say that.” The man said, then appeared horrified. “I…I mean…it’s…uh…” MC broke out laughing, she couldn’t help herself. Yoosung gave her a stern look but it only made things worse.

“Here you go.” Yoosung handed the card back as the register accepted the payment. He also gave him the receipt. “Would you like that for here or to go?” Yoosung asked, realizing that he should have asked before so that he could enter it into the register. Oh well. Wasn’t that what MC was for? To remind him of things like that, instead it seemed like she was engrossed in a Korean drama unfolding. He couldn’t fault her though, he felt foolish.

“To go please.” The man answered, making Yoosung’s heart deflate, he’d hoped the man would stay, but he supposed it might have made him look like a stalker if he stared at him much longer.

“May I have a name for the coffee.” He asked instead.

“Saeran.”

“Oh, that’s a beautiful name.” …for a beautiful man. Yoosung wrote it on a coffee cup and handed it to MC.

“I like yours too.” Saeran offered before turning away and walking towards the end of the counter to await his order. Yoosung’s eyebrows furrowed, how did he know his name?

MC tapped his nametag and Yoosung felt like an idiot.

There was one more customer behind Saeran and this time Yoosung was much better at taking the order. Once done, MC gave him the coffee cup and two cookies to hand to Saeran. She gave him a little encouraging shove and whispered, “Maybe you should put your number on the cup.” His eyes widened at the mere thought. Should he? What if it offended Saeran? What if the red head wasn’t interested in calling him? Could he be so bold?

“Are those mine?” Saeran asked when it was taking Yoosung too long to move.

Too late, “Oh, yes, sorry.” He handed the items to Saeran with a sigh of regret.

“Are you working tomorrow?” the man asked suddenly in a rush of words.

“Me? Yes, I work until Thursday.” Yoosung said, his eyes lighting up.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” The man turned away, the blush across the bridge of his knows and tops of his cheeks evident, making the dark brown freckles stand out even more. Yoosung wondered how much of his body was covered in those adorable freckles. He hoped he would find out some day.

“OK, looking forward to it.” Yoosung called out to him. The man stopped but did not turn around, then resumed his exit. The silence was suddenly deafening as he looked around the café, there were a few customers sitting at the tables, one still at the counter, MC and another barista, Amy, behind the counter. All smirking at him.

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe: The Fantastic Mutants Chapter 1: Fantastically Uncanny (originally posted on January 1, 2020)

AN: After going back to the past to explore the history of Thanos, we finally jump back to the future with this latest and long-awaited installment of the Marvel Gems Universe in the all-new Heavy Metal Trilogy! I'm your darling author Lightyearpig, and we're finally back in business baby! Just as a disclaimer, this takes place a few weeks after Change your Mind which unfortunately means no references to the movie or Spinel. Tragic, I know. But without further ado, let the return of the Crystal Gems commence!

--

"So nice of you to take us in professor." Rose Quartz thanked a young Charles Xavier as they, along with Garnet, Amethyst & Pearl strolled through his mansion home in Westchester County, New York during the year 1963. "I empathize so deeply with your desires for harmony between humans and mutants. Both your kinds are just so intriguing to me." "And I find Gems a peculiar topic as well." Xavier remarked with a smile. "I have to admit, I find myself endearing to your plights against those Diamonds thousands of years ago. Do you believe they could strike again?" he asked. "I don't think so. Ever since the end of the rebellion, Earth has been in relative peace for millenniums." Garnet responded adjusting her shades. "However, they could strike again if any deeper knowledge of the Crystal Gems reach them." "So Xy, got any cool stuff to show us? Or are we just gonna keep walking around and talking about junk?" Amethyst asked casually. "Amethyst, be polite!" Pearl gently scolded the smaller Gem, but Charles laughed warmly. "No need to be so concerned Pearl." the professor stated. "But there is one thing I've been working on for the past few years. Please, follow me." Xavier lead the Gems to his office, where he pressed a button hidden inside a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. and opened a secret elevator hidden behind a bookshelf. "Right this way now girls." he commanded stepping into the elevator and the Gems followed. The lift slowly creeped down the passageway and then finally stopped at a sub-basement inhabited solely by a helmet and computer-like device, both connected to a large electronic brain hovering above them. "This is what I call Cerebro." Xavier explained. "It's still a work in progress, but one day I can use this to search for mutants around the world and take them in as both my students & future heroes." "Mind if you give us a demonstration?" Rose asked. "I never thought you'd ask." Charles proclaimed sitting down at the computer and putting on the helmet. -- Years later, a far older, wheelchair-bound Xavier took off the helmet in a more modern looking Cerebro room while Wolverine and Mister Fantastic stood by him. "You sure this is still the one Logan?" Professor X asked the Canadian mutant. "I'm sure of it Chuck." Logan replied. "Just say the word and we'll all be there in a jiff." "I would like to research this boy sometime." Reed Richards commented gazing at a video image of Steven Universe conjured up by Xavier's machine. With a press of his temple, the professor telepathically gave out his orders. "To me, my X-Men!"

-- "So what was that Universe child like Logan?" the field leader of the X-Men Scott Summers, aka Cyclops asked Wolverine while the mutant team flew out to Beach City on the Blackbird. "Real energetic little squirt who sees the good in a ton of people, even Thanos." Wolverine answered. "Got a bunch of crazy friends too, like this big square lady who's literally just a pair of tiny girlfriends in a trenchcoat, a purple midget with a whip, some bird woman who had the hots for his dead mom when she was alive, etc." "My stars and garters, what an interesting bunch." the beastly researcher Hank McCoy commented. "Heads up gang, we should be landing in Beach City any moment now." their current pilot Angel, aka Warren Worthington III, announced as the jet got closer. "Please keep arms and legs within your seats as we begin touchdown. Okay Wolvie, where to?" "Just be on the lookout for a beach house jammed into the big statue of a giant woman near the beach, that's all." Logan ordered sitting down in his seat and looking out the window. "See, there it is!" he exclaimed pointing at that very beach house in the distance, only it was very different from when he last saw it. Since he last departed Beach City after the battle with Thanos, the house now had a second floor in construction process connecting to a barely-finished crystal dome, larger windows at the front and two flags outside of it. When the X-Men touched down on the beach close to the beach house, he got a better look at the flags to discover that one of them symbolized Earth while the other was colored yellow, blue, white and pink. "Whew, talk about a chic place!" the cryokinetic Bobby Drake, better known as Iceman, whistled while gazing at the house. "You told us he was just some kid with crazy alien powers!" "Bob, there's so much you don't know about these Gems yet." Logan declared placing a hand on his comrade's cold shoulder when the door opened and out of it came Steven himself. "Hi Wolverine! We weren't expecting you to come back after helping us stop Thanos!" the half-Gem boy greeted the savage mutant. "And are those the X-Men?! Awesome!" "We just need to talk squirt!" Logan hollered back from below the front porch. "And also, WHAT THE F-" -- "You're just worried that I can survive that." Wolverine snarled while hand soap slowly dripped out his mouth. "So you were saying that your dead mom was secretly a space warlord who ditched her home planet for Earth because she was sick of the other Diamonds treating her like shit?" "That's basically it, yeah." Amethyst commented. Also since Wolverine first left Beach City, the Crystal Gems had changed in appearance as well. Garnet's visor had turned orange while the top part resembled a star, the bottom part of her torso was split between red & blue and had copper & tin wedding rings on her fingers. Amethyst now had a black top exposing her gemstone, jean shorts with black stars on them and her boots were white. And Pearl had gained a cyan blazer with shoulder-pads over a teal blue top, indigo leggings and pink flats. But it was the newer members of Crystal Gems that changed the most. Peridot's visor was now a larger butterfly shape, she proudly wore her stars on her chest & knees and her socks were now chartreuse yellow boots. Lapis had doffed a skirt entirely in favor of dark-blue sweatpants held up by a gold ribbon, her top had the upper portion of a star on it and she now had golden sandals on. And Bismuth was now clad in a black vest-like garment over a strapless red apron while her boots & pants remained unchanged. "Well, good to know." Cyclops stated standing at attention before Steven. "Greetings young Mr. Universe. I am Scott Summers, also known as X-Men leader Cyclops." Scott introduced himself. "My team and I have arrived at your homestead with an offer to better your skills under the tutelage of our superior Professor Charles Xavier." "Wait, you mean Chuck?!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Aw, it's been ages since we last saw him! How's he been?" she asked. "Since he last met you Crystal Gems, he took us in as his students before becoming paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair." Cyclops's lover & second in command Jean Grey responded. "I'm Jean Grey." she introduced herself as well. "These are the rest of our graduating class; Iceman, Angel and Beast. And I'm sure you're already familiar with Wolverine." "Anyone wanna tell me who this newbie is?" Logan asked standing next to a green one-eyed Gem with white hair and a pink diamond on her chest dressed in light green coattails. "Forgive me sir, my name is Nephrite." the new Gem introduced herself. "Honorary member of the Crystal Gems at your service!" "She was the first corrupted Gem we fought and as such, one of the first we fully healed." Garnet briefed Howlett. "She's here today because we're in the process of building a place for all former Gem monsters to call home, just like her." "So kind of like our headquarters, where we train mutants from across the globe to become the next generation of heroes." Jean stated. "Wait, there's more of you?" Bismuth asked the telepath quizzically. "I suppose you must've been unaware for some reason." the scarlet-locked mutant guessed correctly while using her mutant powers to read the blacksmith's mind. "Oh you bet I was!" Bismuth replied. "Just a simple case of being bubbled and stuck in a lion's mane due to...disagreements, shall we say." "You mean this creature?" Beast asked observing Lion as he sniffed his blue fur. "How can it be possible? Surely the mane of a normal lion cannot contain anything at maximum length!" Steven however answered Dr. McCoy's questions by sticking his hand inside the mane. "My word, I must learn more!" "Hey Steven, just came by today to help with construct-" Connie announced stepping into the beach house expecting the Gems to accept her help. They were present, but were too preoccupied by a group of mutants investigating them including a blue-furred man holding Lion by the sides. "Not even going to ask." "Am I the only one getting some weird deja vu?" Lapis pondered. "Oh you bet! All we need now is a black hole bomb made out of kitchen things!" Peridot replied with a snicker. "Oh hey Connie, I'd like you to meet the X-Men." Steven introduced his swordfighting friend to the merry mutants. "You must be the friend of Steven I've heard Logan talk about." Cyclops commented shaking the girl's hand. "I am Cyclops. Me and my teammates are here today to test Steven and see if he's got what it takes to be a student of Xavier." "Oh cool! Let me guess, you have a flying machine outside on the beach to take us to your HQ?" Connie asked. "That's how the last few superheroes came to see us." "You are very spot-on young lady." Beast declared opening the door for everyone to leave. "Come now, we have much to discuss in Westchester!" The Crystal Gems exited the beach house where the Blackbird awaited them on the sand outside. "Oh my gosh, your ship looks so cool!" Steven cried out in excitement. "Can I sit in the front?" "Surely. Anything Steven." Scott kindly accepted when they boarded the X-Men's jet and allowed the boy to take one of the front seats closest to the pilot's section while the other Crystal Gems, plus Lion, simply stood around. "Well aren't you just a lucky boy?" Amethyst quipped while leaning against Iceman's seat. "Getting to ride shotgun with the big cheese of the X-Men." "Though I'm not sure if we're ready to let Steven leave Beach City to better his powers." Pearl stated with concern when Beast put a hand on her shoulder. "Do not worry my dear, he's in good hands." Hank declared. "Or maybe not." Garnet announced adjusting her shades. "I fear something bad could happen to him while at your mansion." "Yeesh, Captain Ominous here. Am I right?" Angel snarked as the Blackbird finally took off, heading towards Westchester and zooming away from Beach City. Down below, Greg was ready to drive up to the Temple in his van when he saw the Blackbird flying overhead. "I wonder what bizarre adventures Steven is getting into this time?" he muttered as the jet vanished from sight. -- "And that, children, is how you land a fastball special." the metal-skinned Russian mutant Piotr Rasputin, aka Colossus, declared to a classroom full of young mutants in the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning for Gifted Youngsters. The school was established by the genius to better the skills of the young mutants, build them to be the next generation of heroes and inspire his motto of peace between humans & mutants within them. When the X-Men were not fighting the forces of evil, many of them spent time teaching classes, and Colossus, the leader of the Gold team of X-Men, was no different. "Now then, any questions?" Piotr asked his pupils when one of them raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Collins?" he stated. "Have you noticed that Kitty's head is poking out of the board?" Russell Collins asked, bringing attention to Rasputin's fellow X-Man Kitty Pryde popping her head out with her phasing abilities, inciting giggles from the class. "Bozhe moy!" Colossus exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't see you there Kitty! What brings you here?" "I came because Emma told me to tell you that Cyclops and the others are coming back." Kitty announced. "Uzhe?!" Piotr muttered before turning to his class. "My apologies students, I have other matters to attend to." he apologized to his pupils as he walked out the door. "Be sure to keep studying everyone!" -- In the foyer of the mansion, the X-Men assembled to welcome back their six famous teammates and gemlike guests. On one side were the Blue Team of mutants. Aside from Cyclops, Jean, Hank, Angel, Iceman & Wolverine, they included the weather-wielding Storm, power-stealing Southern belle Rogue, charming card-tosser Gambit, implike teleporting Nightcrawler, fireworks-tossing Jubilee, the disappearing Shadowcat & her pet dragon Lockheed and the tracker Warpath. On the other side was the Gold Team led by Colossus. By his side were the beautiful telepath Emma Frost, Wolverine's clone daughter X-23, Colossus's younger sister Magik, the fire-wielder Firestar, solar-powered Sunspot, pop singer Dazzler, wisecracking shapeshifter Morph, living rocket Cannonball, lava-generating Magma and the other teleporter Blink. Professor Xavier psychically lifted his wheelchair down the stairs and planted himself on the floor to look at the Crystal Gems. "Today my fellow mutants, we welcome some old friends of mine into our school." he announced. "I'd like to thank Logan here for pointing us in their direction." Wolverine simply rolled his eyes before lighting up a cigarette to smoke. "Without Wolverine, our eyes wouldn't have been opened to the potential of young Steven Universe here as both a student of my school and a potential X-Man as well." Xavier finished his speech with a grin. "Now then everyone, introduce yourselves." "Yo Chuck, it's been ages! How ya been?!" Amethyst excitedly greeted the professor. "Why Amethyst, so good to see you again too." Xavier replied tousling the smaller Gem's hair. "It seems that all three of you have changed quite a bit since we last met." he added looking at Garnet and Pearl. "Along with new additions to your ranks as well." "Astounding! Some humans can choose not to use their gravity connectors!" Peridot exclaimed gazing at the mutant's wheelchair. "And they can also choose to not have hair as well!" Xavier gave a warm chuckle and patted Peridot on her three-sided head. "Quite an observant one, isn't she?" "So what's up with the whole no-hair business?" Lapis asked Charles. "It's just old age my dear." the professor stated while gazing at Steven and Connie meeting the rest of the X-Men. "So you're basically Wolverine's clone?" Connie asked X-23. "Yeah, pretty much." Laura replied deadpan. "And I'm also sort of his daughter as well." "Whoa, you have a pet dragon?!" Steven gasped in amazement while Lockheed perched himself on his shoulder. "Well, Lockheed is more of a weird alien dragon, but you get the point." Kitty replied earnestly. "Which reminds me, can I get a look at your lion?" Without Steven even asking him to, Lion walked towards Kitty Pryde and stared at her for a few moments before bowing his head, allowing her to pet him. "Aw, he's a real cutie." she cooed at Lion. "When and where did you get him?" "It was when I was starting to go on missions with the Gems, I found him in a desert one time." Steven explained. "Ah, sometimes I miss the simpler days when I was just an excitable tagalong to them. Just a new monster with no drama related to my dead mom or other Gems in sight." "Kinda reminds me of when I started out as an X-Man." Kitty regaled. "I was just another student of theirs until I happened to save their lives from the Hellfire Club and that's how I became a full member with both Storm & Wolverine having my back." "Wow, you two are surprisingly pretty similar." Connie observed. "You mean like how we were once eager young sidekicks to more experienced heroes who soon grew into our own?" Kitty responded. "Yeah, that's basically it." Connie replied. "So what can all of you do?" "That's just what I needed to hear young lady." Professor X stated. "I want to see how skilled you and Steven are on the battlefield. Come now, to the Danger Room everyone! Reed and company should be down there waiting for us." "What's that?" Steven asked Wolverine. "It's what we call our training room. Able to simulate any situation that requires any of our abilities." Logan explained. "It's been rebuilt God knows how many times, but it's still the same old room through and through." As the Crystal Gems were led by the X-Men, a female student of the Academy watched them depart and her eyes turned yellow as she eyed Lapis in particular. "Ah, she seems easy to replace." she muttered to herself while her skin slowly turned blue. "Let the mission proceed." -- Happy New Year everyone! I sincerely hope 2020 and beyond brings us more fond memories together, and I also hope I don't procrastinate on every chapter like what happened towards the end of both Secret Wars & Gravity Soul. With that said, just who is that mysterious student and what does she want with Lapis Lazuli?! Well if you know your Marvel, then I suppose the yellow eyes and blue skin should give it away. Anyways, be sure to leave a review and I'll see you next time!

[lonelypond]

Moonlight Becomes You: Apocalypse Midnight Dance Party: Nico Protects

NozoEli, NicoMaki, KanaMari, Love Live, Love Live Sunshine, 2.5K, 3/?

Summary: Nico can't reach Eli while Maki realizes she's not where she wants to be.

Nico Protects

Nico was glaring at her phone...Maki Nishikino aka DJ Diamond Princess was on a two week tour of all the Ontario and Quebec hot spots. And so Maki was all over EVERYONE’S social media, in cute and huggy and air kissy poses with all the hot hot young female celebrities. Not that Nico cared. Not that the pictures were any good. Not that with the time difference and Nico’s insanely early morning shooting schedule for an actual live action show Nico had any time to do more than text and send selfies. Maki’s texts were usually rants about people wanting to take pictures and messing with her equipment or touching the vinyl. She was ready to stop being away from home. And Nico was ready to stop seeing her with so many women in so little clothing draped all over her.

Nico glanced at the clock. Maki would have usually texted something by now. And Eli should be done with Day Two of her weekend of dance at the Ohara on The Beach, getting the choreography down in 20 hours worth of dance sessions. Why wasn’t Eli back? Nico hopped up from the couch to check the kitchen calendar. Nope, another week until the full moon. So why wasn’t Eli home?

Quick text: Hey, Eli, did you get lost. Or meet a cute girl?

There was a reply.

“Sorry, I’m still busy.”

Nico frowned, “Sorry, you’re not Eli, WHY DO YOU HAVE ELI’S PHONE?

“Who is this?”

Nico hit call. The person on the other end actually answered so Nico only YELLED a little, “Who are you?”

There was a cough, and a shuffle, and a high silly voice and a muffled bark in the background that put Nico on alert. Then Nico heard a high voice giggle with the distance Eli’s phone on speaker would give. “Eli can’t come to the phone right now. She’s not feeling well.”

“Who is this?” Nico got quieter but sharper, “Tell me right now where Eli is or I’m calling the cops.”

Nico heard another voice, frazzled, “Mari, let me talk to her. Is this Eli’s roommate?”

“Yes.”

New person now had the phone. Her voice was a cool breeze compared to the previous. She switched the phone from speaker. “I’m Kanan. That was my wife. She likes to play jokes. I’m sorry but...”

Nico wasn’t that easy and cut off what she knew would be a lie from Kanan, “Where is Eli?”

“She isn’t feeling well. She had a sudden…” a pause…”seizure.”

“I’ll be right there. This is that hotel right?” Nico was on her feet, already deciding what to bring along.

“Yes, but…”

The other voice was back. “She’ll be fine, Bella. Kanan and I know what to do…”

Nico paused…’knew what to do’. Now she was positive Eli had switched her four legged form. No more discussion. “I will be there in a half an hour. If Eli isn’t somewhere Nico can see her, Nico will tear through your hotel room by room.”

“But....”

“Yeah, bye.” Nico ended the call and her phone buzzed again. She was about to answer with a snarl when she recognized Maki’s icon. Why now? Why the sudden switch from texting? Did no one realize Nico needed some normal as she raced to be the number one actor on any coast.

“Maki! Hey! How was your gig?” Nico tried to remember how much she’d been looking forward to Maki checking in.

“Exhausting.” Maki sounded growly grumpy. It might have been kinda cute, but Nico had seen too many pictures of Maki with her arm around a half dressed dancer or three. “SO many people hanging on me.”

“I know.” Nico knew her sentence would come through gritted teeth, “Nico saw all the snaps.”

“Rin just wouldn’t shut up either and I so want to get on a plane and just cancel the next three gigs and finally take you out to dinner and talk about anything but this or….”

Nico interrupted before Maki could get into full rant flow. “Maki, Nico completely agrees with where you’re going, but I can’t talk…”

“What’s wrong?” Maki’s tone instantly changing from complaining to concerned.

“Eli’s being held captive in a hotel.” Nico tried to speak as if that were an everyday thing Nico could obviously cope with.

“WHAT?” There might have been a phone dropping into a cushion noise. Then a scrabbling sound and Maki breathless, “What’s going on?”

“Nico doesn’t know….” Nico knew now she was sounding scared and frantic but she didn’t have the time to smooth things over for Maki. And it was a relief not to have to lie to Maki. “And I have to find out. So can we talk tomorrow?”

Maki sounded...mad…”Sure. I’ll text you.” And the call ended and Nico could feel the sourness left in the silence. Her hand tightened around the phone and there might almost have been a tear, but Eli was missing. And people Nico didn’t know had taken her roommate’s phone.

###

Maki wanted to pace, to punch. EVERY conversation with Nico seemed to stall at Eli, every plan Maki wanted to make...how much of Nico’s life revolved around her roommate? Before Maki had left town, Nico had made it seem like things were back to normal for Eli...But then Maki remembered the snarling, vicious sounds the night she’d gone to Nico’s to check on them,...was that how Eli was now all the time? Was Nico in danger? Maki checked her calendar, full moon next week. Didn’t Nico say she thought the early changes were more violent...Maki put her phone on speaker. Why pay a lawyer so much money if not to get DJ Diamond Princess out of things that Maki Nishikino didn’t want to do. Rin would be disappointed, but…

“Call Aya” she said as she opened her laptop to get to her travel account.

###

Nico stormed right up to the front desk. “Call Kanan Matsuura. I’m here to see Eli Ayase.”

The clerk frowned, typing a quick message into the pad in front of her.

“I said call…” Nico’s clenched fist rested on the desktop, ready to provide emphatic punctuation to her request.

The staffer smiled and pointed behind Nico, “Ms. Ohara will see you in her private suite. Please follow Ms. O’Hara’s assistant to the elevator.”

Nico turned to see a polite young woman in an exquisitely tailored suit, a pad tucked under her arm. “Good evening, Ms. Yazawa.”

“How do you know my name?”

“You’re listed as Ms. Ayase’s emergency contact. Ms. Ohara wishes me to assure you that Ms. Ayase is physically unharmed…”

“Shut up and walk faster.” Nico snapped, managing not to push the staffer along.

###

The elevator opened up into a foyer, with fountains and sculptures, a few tables and divans scattered, there were several floor to ceiling windows that looked out on the Pacific, Nico could see stars twinkling and the majority of the currently traitorous moon. It would have been breathtaking but Nico was on a mission.

No one was in sight so Nico just yelled, “ELI! WHERE ARE YOU? ELI!”

Nico heard a bark and a growl and someone, not sprinting, but hastening in her direction. A busty blonde, nearly falling out of a sundress, came around the corner and stopped in front of Nico, wagging a chiding finger.“You didn’t have to do that, silly. We just got her settled.”

Nico stepped right up to the blonde, who was slightly taller than Eli, “If you don’t let Eli go, I’m going to go through you, get her, and then maybe leave your front counter standing.”

“Oh, bella, you’re so cute, so tiny, so stizzoso…” the woman giggled.

Nico, seething, squared her shoulders and prepared to do her blitz move through this increasingly annoying obstacle. Another woman came into view, dark haired and solid, arm in a cast. Kanan Matsuura, Nico recognized her from Eli’s TWIG posts.

Kanan was shaking her head, hands in the kangaroo pocket of a sweatshirt,“You know Mari, I’m not going to defend you.”

The blonde whirled, pouting, hands reaching out. Nico just strode forward, busting the connection before the two women could even lock hands, shouting again, “ELI!”

A bark to the left, and a confused howl, then a whine of pain and a growl. Nico stopped, eyes the most dangerous of reds, “What did you do to her?”

Kanan put both hands up, “We just moved her to a safe space once the transformation seemed to be over. But she keeps…”

Nico didn’t let Kanan finish. “That doesn’t happen. It’s not even a full moon, that’s next week,” Nico knew she was starting to sound panicked, but Eli had been acting so oddly recently. “Something must have happened…”

“She’s in our guest room, Nico,” Kanan started to explain, “But I don’t think you should see her, she’s…” Kanan’s purple eyes were kind, but nothing like the amethyst Nico had been daydreaming about. She pulled up her sleeve and showed Nico a recently bandaged forearm, “It’s why we didn’t meet you downstairs. Eli’s lashing out. She’s terrified.”

Nico felt her knees buckle. What was happening? Why couldn’t Eli keep her transformations under control. “Eli hates changing. She usually sedates herself, but she wouldn’t have been expecting this not ‘til next week.” Or she would never have come here. Nico knew that.

Mari asked. “What does she use? We could slip some in her food?”

Nico froze. She’d been talking too much. These two already knew too much. Eli would be pissed. But they had to solve this immediate problem before Eli hurt herself or someone else. Racing through her knowledge of Eli’s habits, Nico grudgingly offered a suggestion, “Try playing Tchaikovsky, start with the Nutcracker. That usually relaxes her some.”

Mari pulled out her phone, swiped twice, and typed in letters. Classical music began to play. Kanan had a gentle hand on Nico’s shoulder and was leading her to a couch, “Are you hungry?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Nico shook her head, “Is she really okay?” And then suspicion kicked in, “And why are you so calm?”

“She’s physically uninjured, but it sounds like there’s been recent upheavals in her usual routine, which would be a long term concern.” Kanan sat next to Nico, “And I have some experience with a similar situation.”

“Kanan’s not nearly as fluffy, though.” The super annoying blonde giggled. Nico glared, not wanting to encourage what seemed to be silly jokes.

“Mari.” Kanan’s voice was stern, a warning. Then she turned back to Nico. “We know people who can help.”

“How? Who?”

Mari laughed, “LA is one of those places where you can find anything. It’s why so many of us come here.”

“So you know other werewolves…”

Kanan shrugged, “Mermaids, jiaos, selkies, frogpeople, dark watchers...we have friends who help them get help...very quietly.”

“Have you told Eli?” Nico didn’t like having this discussion about Eli without Eli.

Kanan sighed. “We didn’t know she needed it. Until tonight.”

Nico stood. “Then Nico doesn’t say anything else. This is Eli’s business. Nico’s just here to make sure you’re not going to skin her or turn her into the government.”

More giggling. “She’s too adorable to…”

“Mari…” Kanan snapped, her patience finally fleeing to join Nico’s somewhere else. “Please forgive my wife, she has a very questionable sense of humor.”

Nico frowned and crossed her arms, ignoring the blonde irritant. “Where’s the room, Nico wants to tell Eli I’m here.”

Kanan stood, “Follow me.”

###

Nico’s phone buzzed and the room she was lying on pillows in front of exploded in a crazy frenzy of barking. “Damn it…” Nico pulled out her phone. Maki...calling....

“Hey.” Nico winced as she thought of what Maki was hearing on the other end.

“Are you at home?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Long story, Maki.” Nico sat up, pulling the blanket Kanan had gotten her up to her shoulders. “Can we speed this up. I need to quiet Eli down.”

A pause. “Where are you?”

“The Ohara BeachFront. Where Eli rehearses.”

“Fine. I’ll be there as soon as I clear customs.”

“What? Why aren’t you in Canada?”

“Do you need anything?” Maki ignored Nico’s question.

Nico frowned, she hated to say what she was going to say next but it was already after dawn and Eli was still sounding furrier than usual, “Bring a muzzle.”

Another silence and then Maki blew out a long breath. In her mind, Nico could just see the arc of the redhead’s jaw sharpen as she processed that request.

“All right.” And then Maki’s voice got kinder, “Be careful, Nico, please.”

“Nico is trying.”

“Good.” Maki muttered something away from the phone, then came back, “I’ll see you soon, Nico.”

“Are you all right, Nico?” Kanan’s voice came out of nowhere as Maki ended the call and Nico jumped.

“Don’t sneak up on Nico.” Nico knew it might be unreasonable to scold someone for walking around their own house, but Nico was not in a polite mood.

“Sorry.”

“My friend is coming to help me get Eli home.” Nico pocketed her phone.

“Eli can stay here as long as she needs to. You too.” Kanan offered Nico her hand, “Are you ready for breakfast. Mari had the staff send up everything.”

“Including raw chuck roast? Eli likes to chew on that.” Nico stretched. Next time she was in a fancy hotel for a sleepover, there would be comfy mattresses.

“I’ll get some.” Kanan started down the hall.

Nico put her hand on the door, whispering. “It’s okay, Eli. Nico’ll get you breakfast and take you home.”

Growling. A thump as Eli lunged at the door. Nico closed her eyes, frustrated at both the situation and having an audience.

“It might be better…” Kanan had stopped.

Nico’s temper flared, and she only barely held back a shout. “You don’t know anything about Eli. I need to get her back in a familiar place as soon as possible. She’s…” Nico chose her next word with some thought, “sensitive.”

Kanan smiled, but Nico wasn’t open to friendly, “Mari and I just want to help. We consider Eli a friend now.”

Nico snapped her fingers at Kanan, “Well Nico can’t really talk to Eli about your new BFF status now, can I? How does Nico know you didn’t dose her with something.”

Horrified, Kanan’s eyes widened, “I would never…”

“How would Nico know?” Accusation. Strong. Fierce. Nico was back to something solid, protecting her friend.

Kanan hung her head, Mari was better at winning over skeptics, but she’d had to deal with handing off her morning tasks so it would be a half an hour or so before she would return. “I promise we’ll help with whatever you and your friend want to do. Just eat some breakfast first.”

“Order Eli’s.”

Kanan pulled out her phone. This was something Nico was going to allow her to do. Maybe after breakfast Kanan could get everyone working together.

A/N: Just finished up 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' which was excellent but exhausting fun so getting back in the writing game. Is it too darn hot wherever you are?

[mommykafka]

~A Monochrome Valentines~

I made this for Valentines Day, a little late! So this time it is, Monochrome aka Blake x Weiss!! I hope everyone enjoys it! It is also a present for @justalittlefuckedup-inside for valentines!! I hope you love it hun!!

Weiss Schnee sighed as she finished the last bits of her work, filing cases away and making sure they all had the right information on them. The Schnee closed her laptop and placed it in her bag and stretched. "Now that that's done, I can finally get Blake something." Today was Valentines Day. Weiss had to hurry to her work as she had to handle a client in the morning but not before making sure Blake was given as much affection as she could muster. She got up and headed out of the building to her car that was parked near the building.

She placed her bag containing her laptop at the passenger seat and thought for a moment. "Hm...everyone has just been given flowers and chocolates...I want to make sure Blake feels very special today." She sighed to herself as she turned the car engine on. "I suppose I will figure it out as I go to the store."

-line break-

Blake had almost forgotten what day it was. It was Valentines Day. The faunus did wonder why Weiss a lot more affectionate today, only passing it off as just missing her a lot more lately as her snowflake did have a client that was a lot more difficult to deal with. Blake took a deep breath as she stepped back to see the setup of the dining room both her and her snow princess had. It was all she could muster in the time she had. She even called Ruby, Weiss' best friend to help her with this.

The dining table was set with a black tablecloth over it, with small paper snowflakes littering the cloth. In the middle was a purple calla lily and a white carnation in a small vase in the middle. Near the edge of the table was a candleholder where a black and white candle was placed on both sides. "This looks perfect! Now time to cook something." She muttered to herself and went over to the kitchen to cook something for both her and her adorable Weiss.

As evening approached, she set the food down on both sides of the small vase that contained the flowers. Blake looked at the table and sighed to herself a little. "I could have done better but this kind of pasta is the only thing I could do." Blake berated herself for not making anything extravagant. She then looked to the clock and noticed it was near the end of Weiss' work.

"I do hope she'll like what I did..."

-line break-

"What do you mean there's no necklace with amethyst?!" She exclaimed at the person over the counter. The person responded that they only had diamond, topaz and opal. Weiss sighed, "This'll be going over on my budget..." She pointed to a diamond necklace.

"That one." The particular one she pointed at had an intricate design between a flower and a snowflake with a bright shining diamond in the centre. The salesperson had taken it and given it to Weiss as she then paid for it and thanked them before leaving. She sighed happily and smiled, "It's worth it." She then went to a nearby florist. She hummed a small tune as she entered the store. "Flowers for my dearest girlfriend." She sung to herself.

Weiss had come out of the florist with a bouquet of violets and sweet peas. She gave them a sniff before returning to her car with a smile. She laid both the necklace and the flowers on top of her laptop and switched on the engine. "Just wait for me, my darling. I'll be home soon."

-line break-

Blake had sent a picture to Yang on what she was going to wear tonight. Blake was wearing a white shirt with black overalls which connected to her trousers. The sleeves were rolled up to just below her elbows. She also wore one inch heeled boots. Yang had only responded with, "Blake she's already hella gay for that look. You'll kill her." She then sent a wink face as Blake could only chuckle and smiled.

The faunus then looked at herself in the mirror in the room both her and Weiss shared. "Not the best but it'll definitely do." She kept looking herself over making sure everything was okay. She then nodded to herself. "Ready."

-line break-

Weiss stood at the front of her door with the bouquet and a box that contained the necklace. She opened the door and entered, "Blake honey! I'm home!" She called out.

This made Blake jump but quickly responded, "Welcome home! I'll be down in a minute!"

Weiss walked to the dining room, to see the setup Blake had. She smiled fondly and happily. "God I'm so gay and in love with her..." she muttered to herself.

"Aw that's sweet of you to say, Weiss." Blake said as she slipped her arms around her girlfriend's waist and leaves little kisses on her neck.

Weiss moaned a little. "Blake...I have presents for you." She turned to her lover and handed her the bouquet first. Blake took a whiff of the flowers and smiled. She then placed the flowers down at the coffee table and was then passed a small box. Blake opened the box and saw the necklace Weiss bought her. She gasped at how much it shined. "W-Weiss it's beautiful..."

"Of course, it's just as beautiful as you if not more." Weiss cupped her hand on Blake's cheek as she said that and smiled. She then took the necklace out of its box. The white haired girl then placed the necklace around her girlfriend's neck. "It suits you." The solictor told her. Blake couldn't help but blush at that remark. A few years together and she still can't help but blush. Tonight was going to be a good night.

-line break-

After the dinner they both decided to snuggle up on the sofa and watch one of their favourite series. "I love this episode!" Weiss told Blake excitedly, which led to Blake giving her cute girlfriend a small smile. They both watched into the night, with Weiss being excitable at every turn of the show. Near the end of the season, Weiss was asleep with Blake stroking through her silky white hair.

"Sleep well my dearest snow princess." Blake muttered as she kissed Weiss' temple. Weiss mumbled something incoherent which left Blake even more redder as she heard what it was.

"Marriage...bedroom...year." Weiss had muttered in her sleep. Blake may have to wait for one of those but the other she can do anytime. If only her Weiss was bolder. She giggled at the thought before yawning.

"It was a good day today."

[okaybutwhydoicare]

Twilight Appreciates Humdrum

It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming….

And drug dealers were creating superhuman serums to make a superpowered army.

So it was a typical Tuesday in the city of Maretropolis.

Spike, aka Humdrum, quietly sighed to himself while he watched the abandoned warehouse from his vantage point through a pair of binoculars/camera. Inside was where the super serums were being made, but more importantly an informant for the police had tipped them off that Gladmane, the evil billionaire crime lord that was funding the whole operation would be making an appearance today to check on progress. So it was decided that the girls would appear at a public event all day today to make it look like they were busy while Spike would make use of his non-existent public awareness to stake the location out and signal for when Gladmane showed up.

For the past three hours he had been laying on the rooftop of the building across the street. He had to beat up a few thugs that were standing watch, but compared to superpowered beings it was as easy to take them out as swatting a fly. After restraining them on the first floor he had made his way up to the roof and rolled out a thick blanket, made himself cozy and started watching.

At this point he was almost hoping somebody would discover him so he could have something to do by beating them up.

Spike put the binoculars down and rubbed his eyes.

“I am so fucking bored.” He muttered, before forcing himself to resume watching.

It was only his training that stopped Spike from yelping in surprise as a familiar weight laid on top of him and a voice whispered in his ear.

“Maybe I can help with that.”

“Matter Horn?”

He managed to twist himself around until he was laying on his back and sure enough he was face to face with his secret girlfriend.

“What are you doing, you’re not supposed to be here?”

“The girls have things covered, nobody will notice that I slipped away from an hour.” Twilight grinned like a cat who had cornered a mouse and pressed her body closer to his so that there noses were touching. “Now what can we do to alleviate that boredom?”

Spike shivered, feeling her soft breasts squishing against his chest. He knew he should stop her, that the mission was more important than getting their rocks off, not to mention the scandal that would happen if two superheros were caught having sex in public, but the feeling of her body pressed against his and the flowery scent of her hair made him lean up and push their lips together.

His one arm held her around the waist and the other by the back of the neck to keep her steady as they kissed. Twilight’s hips ground against him in small circular motions, massaging the quickly growing bulge in his pants. Their lips smacked as their tongues wrestled for dominance. His hand slid lower and gave her round ass a firm squeeze, making her squeal into his mouth.

“Mmm, someone’s feeling bold.” She teased.

“Says the woman who snuck off for a booty call.” He fired back, before trailing a line of kisses along her jaw and down to her neck.

A throaty moan slipped past her lips as she craned her neck to the side to give him better access. “I-it not just a booty call.”

“Oh?”

She pulled herself away from those wonderfully soft lips and sat up.

“I know you still don’t get the respect you deserve from people and you gave up a chance to be in the limelight to make this mission happen.”

Spike frowned. “Twilight, you know I do this because it’s the right thing to do, to keep you and the other safe.” He reached up and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “I don’t care about any of that fame stuff anymore.”

“But we care, I care.” She leaned down and kissed him tenderly, then gave him a naughty smile. “And I want to show you how much I care.”

She slithered down his body, never breaking eye contact as she took the tiny zipper of his costume between her teeth and pulled it all the way down. Entranced, Spike absentmindedly shrugged off his purple and blue uniform so Twilight could tug it down all the way to his knees.

Twilight giggled as his erection sprang free. “Someone’s eager for their reward.”

“He’s always eager to see you.”

“Flatterer,” she mock-scolded while wrapping her dainty fingers around him.

He hissed, letting his head fall back as she stroked his shaft, pumping him with slow, firm strokes. She squeezed him in intervals with each pass her hand made while her other mischievous hand cupped his balls and fondled them. Spike’s hips started to make shallow thrusts up into her hand as her pace increased.

When a bead of precum oozed out of the tip and slid down the crown of his head she decided it was time to get serious. Leaning in she stuck her tongue out and placed it flat against the base of his shaft, dragging it up to the head where she greedily lapped up the first tastes of her own reward.

“Oh fuck, Tw-ngh, Matter.” He grunted, almost letting her real name slip.

He grunted even louder when he felt her lips close around his head and slide down to take more of his cock into her mouth. She continued to swallow him until hitting the back of her throat. Unfortunately, the angle they were at wouldn’t allow her to deepthroat him, but she made up for that by jerking the last of his thick shaft with her hand and sending her tongue into overdrive. Her velvet soft tongue lavished the underside of his shaft as she took him in deep and danced wildly around his head when she came back up.

It took everything Spike had to keep himself quiet while he watched the incredibly erotic sight of Twilight sucking his cock. His hand tangled itself in her hair, assisting her with the motions which earned him a deep moan that sent vibrations through him.

Her pace started to increase as he started to throb inside her mouth, signaling his approaching orgasm. She forced herself to take more of him in, pushing into her throat and making her gag slightly. Her cheeks hollowed out from how hard she was sucking. He throbbed harder in response, spilling a constant dribble of hot precum into her mouth witch she quickly swallowed.

Spike was trying as hard as he could to hold off and prolong what he was sure was the best blowjob in the history of blowjobs. It was impossible though, the sounds of her sucks and loudly slurping at his cock all while she stared up at him with her beautiful amethyst eyes only amplified the incredible feeling of her warm mouth wrapped around him.

“M-Matter, I’m gonna cum!” He groaned.

Hearing it was time, Twilight withdrew herself, until only the head remained in her mouth. Her hand quickly took over, furiously pumping his shaft. Her tongue did once final lick around his head before it relaxed and with a wordless cry Spike began pumping ropes his load of cum into her waiting mouth.

Twilight moaned as her mouth was filled with the hot, salty treat she had been craving all day. There seemed to be no end to Spike’s torrent as his cock continued to throb and continued to give her more and more, until her cheeks were puffed out trying to hold it all.

Spike’s hips twitched and jerked, until he finally felt his orgasm begin to taper off. Feeling drained, he slumped back, panting for breath.

“Holy… shit.” he said in between breaths.

Twilight, feeling him start to go limp, gave one last suck to draw the last of his cum out, before pulling off him completely. Spike watched with wide eyes as she licked up a droplet of cum that had managed to leak out, before looking him dead in the eye and swallowed everything he gave her in once gulp.

“Mmm! You taste delicious!” She practically purred.

Twilight was surprised by Spike bolting up and crushing their lips together.

“You are the sexiest woman in the world.” He growled, roughly grabbing her breast and kneading it through the thin material of her costume.

“I know,” Twilight moaned, “but tell me again, anyway.”

Instead of doing that Spike kissed her again, pushing his tongue past her lips without waiting. Twilight quickly tugged the zipper down on her own costume, nearly tearing the top half off and letting her heavy bust bounce free. He kissed his way down, licking and nipping at her exposed skin, until he reached her breasts and took one of her nipples into his mouth, sucking on it feverishly. She cried out and pulled wrapped her arms around his head while his other hand fondled its twin. Twilight gasped, grinding her soaked crotch against his rock hard cock. When he pinched her one nipple and bit down on the other it proved too much for her too take.

“Fuck me,” she commanded, and he obliged.

Pulling the rest of her suit off and kicking off the rest of his, Twilight straddled his lap.

Spike took a moment to admire the woman on top of him; hair devilish, face flushed and absolutely beautiful. He wondered how in the world he was so lucky to call her his girlfriend.

Twilight ground herself against him, coating his shaft with her juices in preparation.

“I love you.” He said in a whisper, gripping her hips.

Twilight rose up, lining up his tip with her gushing entrance. “I love you, too.” And impaled herself on him.

Both of them swore as Twilight felt herself stretch to fit him inside her and Spike felt her velvety soft inner walls tightly squeeze him.

“Ha! Oh fuck, you’re so deep!”

Twilight’s hips bucked, shifting him around to touch every part inside of her.

With a deep breath Twilight raised her hips, feeling the euphoric sense of fullness leave her, before slamming her hips back down again. The two quickly built up a rhythm with Spike thrusting up in time with Twilight’s bounces. He sat up and kissed her again, one hand on her hip and the other one grabbing her bouncing breast. Twilight fisted his hair and pushed their faces together hard enough for their lips to bruise, not that either of them cared in the slightest.

Not wanting things to end too fast Twilight slowed her pace down, rolling her hips and squeezing him tighter to better feel him. Spike got the message, resuming teasing her neck with kisses while his hands explored the rest of her body.

“I wish we could do this forever.” He mumbled, nipping at her collar bone.

“M-me too.” Twilight hummed as she felt one of his hands grope at her ass again.

She cried out when he took her nipple back into his mouth again, sucking on it even harder than before.

“More.” She mewled.

Spike obliged, grabbing her other breast and fondling it. The other hand delivered a sharp, open handed slap to her backside. She let out a wordless cry, so close to losing control. She just needed one more push to go over the edge and Spike knew exactly how to do it. The hand on her ass glided over her hip, caressed her stomach, before sliding down and giving her clit a pinch.

Twilight mashed their lips together to muffle her scream as her hips bucked furiously, slamming down on his cock. Spike could feel his second orgasm coming and from how tightly Twilight was gripping him he could tell she wasn’t far behind.

“Matter, I can’t hold it!”

“It’s okay,” she gasped, “go ahead, I want you to feel you cum inside me.”

Those were the magic words and with one last thrust the two came together with muffled screams of ecstasy. Spike filled her womb with burst after burst of cum, even more than his first orgasm, while Twilight’s walls milked his cock for every drop, soaking his lap with her love juices.

The two lovers fell back completely spent. They panted, feeling their hearts beating wildly inside their chests. They were content to stay like that for awhile, cuddling together with Spike’s semi-erect cock still inside her.

“That… was… incredible.” Spike said, breathlessly.”

“I’m glad you liked it.” Twilight murmured, ready to fall asleep on top of him.

The two were suddenly broken out of their love drunk state by the sound of a car door slamming closed on the street below them.

Remembering why he was here in the first place Spike swore, the two of them fumbling to detach themselves and peak out at what was going on.

“There’s the man of the hour.” Spike said, raising the binoculars up and seeing Gladmane and his security stepping out of a black truck.

A few men walked out of the warehouse and greeted them and shaking hands, before they headed inside.

“Okay, we should call the others, then make our way to one of the windows on the east wall for a few more shots, just to make sure we’ve got enough proof.”

He was about to leap off the building when Twilight grabbed him and yelled, “Wait!”

“What, what is it?”

“We’re naked, you dummy!”

“Oh… right.” Spike gave an embarrassed laugh, imagining how awkward it would have been to jump into the middle of a crime den in nothing but his mask.

“We can’t just throw out suits on either, we’re filthy!”

“Er, right, um… here!”

After a rushed clean up using the blanket, a roll of gauze, and more than a few wet wipes, the two were suited up and ready for action. Spike was about to jump off when Twilight whispered in his ear.

“If you take out more bad guys than me, then I’ll let you do me in the bu~tt.” She sang, before leaping off the building.

Spike’s brain took a few seconds to reboot, before he leapt after her, determined to take down every single person in that building by himself.

[eldritchsardine]

BBRae Week 2018 Day 1: Can’t Help Falling in Love With You

Okay, I almost never use Tumblr and post my stories on FF.net, but I decided I’d put BBRae Week here too at least. If you’re interested in reading more of my shit, I’m on FF under the same name as here, Eldritch Sardine: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/6470409/

Warning: This story contains mature content, AKA lots and lots of smut. Proceed at your own risk.

It all happened so quickly, over in the blink of an eye, but at the same time the entire sequence seemed to occur in slow motion as he watched. The army of enemy robots crumpling beneath him as he let out a defeating roar, the flashing of lights from his teammates fighting alongside him, the concern he pushed aside over the lack of the man they had come to stop.

The short, cut-off gasp bringing his attention to her, just as the second crimson-coated blade emerged out of her stomach, dark, glistening red quickly following and contaminating her blue cloak.

So much red.

The black and orange clad man escaping mattered none as he screamed her name, screamed it again, and kept screaming until it was merely unintelligible noise exiting his mouth involuntarily, forcing his way through the wreckage and debris even as she fell, Red pooling and spreading out from her position.

Too much red.

Finally, an eternity too long, reaching her. Nearly slipping as he knelt by her side, cradling her head to look her in the eyes. Their usual royal purple had already faded, staring upwards, unfocused. Realizing that he was still yelling, though what he wasn't sure.

Hearing the combat continuing around him, and not caring. All that mattered was the girl whose hand he took up, holding tightly, as if to force her to stay with him, anchor her to this life. Not registering the faintest of squeezes back, only more red, transfered from her palm to his.

Screaming her name. Again. Her name. Three times. Four.

Watching as her eyes slid closed, and her breathing slowed, each inhale drawing more flesh along the blades still embedded in her body. Drawing more of the red.

Until the breathing stopped.

And the world stopped.

And he screamed. Screamed, and yelled, and wailed, and did not stop until he ran out of breath, and still then he continued.

Screaming.

As Beast Boy shot upward in his bed, gasping for air and sweating, he looked about, panicked. Once he realized the nightmare had been just that, he tried to slow his racing heart, taking deep, calming breaths and closing his eyes.

However, once he did all that he could see was her body, laying lifeless in his arms.

The changeling's eyes shot open, the irrational, uncontrollable terror returning.

Finally, he swung his legs out of his bed and made his way into the hallway, which he began to walk down. As he did, images of empty purple eyes, and that terrible red plagued him, flashing before him, spurring him faster until he was sprinting through the corridors, at last reaching a door that he stopped at, only to knock on it hard, desperately, frenzied. He wasn't sure what he was doing or why, but something about her had always seemed to cause him to lose control.

Each pound against its surface reflected his own crazed heartbeat, as the pictures replayed in his mind once again.

Holding her still form in his arms, watching her eyelids drift lower. Uncaring as her blood fell upon him, marring his skin and clouding his vision.

His fist came down on the door frame harder with each impact, until he was sure that his knuckles would bare bruises after. Not that he cared. He didn't feel a thing.

Her gaze seemed to lock onto his just before it faded altogether, and it was almost as if she were trying to speak, but couldn't find the strength.

He yelled her name as he pounded, until finally, finally, his fist hit air as the door opened.

He was greeted by the very gaze that had been haunting him, her glimmering amethysts now filled with confusion and reproach rather than that horrifying nothing.

Once he saw them, he couldn't help but freeze, as if a deer caught in the headlights, enraptured by their beautiful, and unmistakably alive, gaze. His heart had jumped into his throat, or maybe stopped completely. Or was it beating harder? He couldn't tell. He nearly collapsed, his knees almost giving out beneath him as he let out a sob of relief, before falling silent again, content to stare as he attempted to regain his basic functions.

Finally, she spoke. "...Yes?"

However, he seemed to have been struck dumb by her mere presence, relief, as well as something else, flowing through his very being. He swayed on the spot slightly, unsteady in his disarray.

"I... have you... sorry," he replied, finally able to speak, but stuttering over the words, unsure what they were even as they stumbled out. He paused, trying to collect himself, still pinned by her wondering eyes.

She merely raised an eyebrow, unaware of his turmoil. "Sorry? Did you do something worth apologizing for?"

He took a deep breath. "It's... it's late and you need to rest." He gestured weakly to her midsection, and the bandages that wrapped about her, hidden beneath her cloak and leotard.

The dark empath turned and glided back into the confines of her room, which the changeling took as an invitation to follow. She reached her bed and sat on its edge, looking up at him as he stood before her. In most cases he may have noted that she had actually allowed him in her room, and the close proximity she was also permitting, but not this time. "So, why were you trying to beat down my door? You're lucky the others are out on a mission, they wouldn't have taken kindly to being awakened by that."

He averted his gaze from hers, eyes searching for some sort of a distraction, or a savior around her room, suddenly self-conscious. "...I don't know." It was more or less the truth. He never seemed to be able to help himself when she was concerned.

"Beast Boy." Still he avoided her, as if that could help him elude the inevitable questions. "Garfield." His name brought his attention, and his eyes, back to her finally.

"It's nothing."

"Nothing doesn't bring you here this early in the morning to smash my door in," she replied, deep purple irises searching his emerald greens under an arched brow. The changeling shifted from one foot to the other under her stare. "Are you okay?"

Beast Boy ran a hand through his hair, scratching at it to give him something to do other than wilt beneath his companion's gaze. "I... just wanted to see you." Though it wasn't the whole truth, the admittance helped ease his distress, as Raven's expression softened in understanding.

"You don't need to worry about me." Her familiar, raspy voice soothed his nerves, and he found it much easier to meet her eyes. "I've almost recovered completely by now."

Beast Boy shook his head. "I just don't like you without your powers though. I mean, it's great that you're healing so fast, but to trade all of your of abilities for that until you're back to normal... I don't like thinking of you defenseless."

The ghost of a smile invaded Raven's expression briefly, before disappearing, so fast he couldn't be sure he wasn't seeing things as she glanced down at her stomach. "I would prefer to have two extra holes in my body for as little time as possible, thank you very much. A short reprieve from my powers is an acceptable price." She looked back up at him pointedly. "Now, are you going to tell me why you're really here or should I kick you out?"

He sighed, hardly at all surprised that she had seen right through him, once again waving a hand vaguely at her midsection. "I had a nightmare. About that. Only... you didn't..." his voice wavered off, clouded by emotion and unable to continue without once again breaking down.

However, she seemed to understand immediately. She always understood. Her hand reached up and found his, squeezed. She had never been one for words, and so she didn't speak, allowing the contact and her eyes to do so for her. I'm still here. Don't worry. I'm still with you.

He responded, also wordlessly. I know. I just don't know what I'd do without you. I can't even imagine... Unbidden tears flooded his eyes, threatening to overflow. He never cried. Except, it seemed, when she was involved. He couldn't control himself around her. He tried to turn his head away, but of course she saw them anyways.

He didn't have time to react before she stood and pulled him into a tight embrace, much like she had done years ago in the hallway outside, only this time he returned it, allowing her scent, her feel, her warmth to sooth his consciousness, drinking in her presence. She's still here.

They remained still, holding each other, for a time he couldn't know. It could have been seconds, or hours. He just knew that she was still alive, and still with him. Still.

Eventually however, he found that they had migrated to her bed, sitting at its edge as she had, still holding the other. He pulled back finally, looking into her eyes, awed at her mere being. Absently, almost without considering the action at all, Beast Boy lifted an arm and ran his fingers lazily through her soft indigo hair, threading it between his digits easily. Under other circumstances he would have been shocked at himself over the gesture, at this time it seemed the most sensible, fitting thing to do. The empath seemed to agree, tilting her head into his hand to accommodate the action.

Unbidden, he felt himself lean forward, almost as if someone else had taken the reigns over his functions, though he knew it was merely the usual loss of control he had around her.

Returning to the present, he watched as he drew nearer to her, and as she remained motionless, this time it being her turn to freeze. The only indications she was still conscious were her eyes, darting constantly around his face, and her breathing, which was steadily becoming more hurried and shallow. Excited.

Beast Boy paused just before her face, close enough to feel the air exiting her lips with each heavy exhale, and breathed in her air himself, savoring it as his nose brushed hers, drawing a shiver from the dark, mysterious girl, who was still staring at him through clouded eyes.

Finally he could no longer stand it, and lost all inhibitions as he so often did when she was concerned, and surged forward, closing the gap between them.

Her lips on his was a foreign feeling, though not unwelcome. In fact, it was the exact opposite, he quickly decided as she began to slowly return the gesture. Their mouths moved together, a slow, heated display of passion. It was reserved and not at all hurried, but still had him at a loss for breath and pressing in for more.

His hands went directly to her cheek and small of her back, both holding her steady against him and bringing her closer, just as she rested hers on his shoulders. He sighed into her mouth as her fingers weaved into his hair as he had to her earlier, though this time with a much different motive and affect.

He tightened the arm around her, wanting to eliminate any and all space between each other, and pressing her to him. She was much warmer than he had originally realized, and so soft. However, these thoughts quickly abandoned him as she responded, and all he could think of was the frantic motion of her mouth on his, how their lips molded to the other. She was somehow gentle yet forceful, commanding and reserved, all in ways that were purely Raven.

Then even this train of thought was quickly derailed and send careening off the side of a cliff as her hands pressed down on his shoulders, lifting her body enough to sidle forward, settling onto his lap in a way that had him pushing his hips up and into her, for the first time feeling that heat that seemed to beckon to him, bringing a gasp out of each of their throats.

The changeling's eyes had been shut since the moment they had connected, but he finally opened them slightly as he felt her move, as her cloak hit the floor and leotard began to peel back, still kissing him heatedly, revealing a plain black bra and...

...bandages, wrapped countless times about her midsection, bringing him unpleasantly back to reality.

He stopped abruptly, which in turn brought her pause in removing her uniform as her eyes looks back to his emerald greens, still fastened on her injuries. His hand reached out to delicately land on the surface of the bandages, feeling her warmth beneath them. He glanced up and met her eyes. She returned his gaze evenly, and the sight of her flushed, breathless face ignited something in him, barely restrained by what lay under his right hand, concern now overriding the uncontrollable fire of moments ago.

Her eyes contained a dark something, hidden behind a curtain of self control, though said covering seemed to be steadily deteriorating, and he knew that within a short time it would completely vanish, and then there would be no stopping what followed. He also suspected that a similar look was visible to her in his own eyes.

He smoothed his hand up and down the wrappings and debated stopping, or asking her what she would like, but was distracted by her motion.

When she first began to move with a slight wriggle of her hips, he thought it was merely an attempt to adjust her position atop him.

However, when the movements continued, becoming more pronounced and laced with intent, her clothed heat pressing into his crotch repeatedly and regularly, his eyes dropped downwards briefly, without a need to pose a question of the languid, deliberate stir of her body against his, before a heavier role of her hips forced him to give a low moan and brought his gaze back to her hooded deep purples, sharing a dazed look as she continued.

After staring into their depths briefly, jade on amethyst, he began to respond to the motions, pushing up and into her as she descended, drawing a surprised gasp from her lips, before they returned to his own with need.

Together, they moved against one another, her teeth biting down on his lower lip and pulling back as his tongue darted forward to tease hers, and before he could consider why or how this had come about or what the hell they were even doing, her hand was at his waistline, sneaking under his shirt and gliding upwards along his chest, clothe riding up with it and sending shivers throughout his body. Catching the hint, he regretfully broke their contact and reached for his top, pulling it upwards and off with her assistance, before tossing it aside without a care and reconnecting desperately to her mouth, pressing her heated body against his in the process.

He considered how far this was going to go, how far she wanted it to go, when an unexpected sensation of clothe moving against his chest distracted him, followed by her moving forwards once again, only this time with the feeling of nothing at all separating themselves, and his face reddened, breathing quickening even further.

He almost paused at the realization when he felt a hand at the hem of his pants. As she tugged blindly on the waistline, unwillingly to part his his mouth for even a second, she pressed forward in a way that had him instead leaning back to slowly lie down to accommodate her, mouth never leaving hers except to take short needed gasps for air, much as he wished he didn't have to, and forgetting all else but the feeling of her warmth, her skin, her body on his.

Once he was prone on his back, she crawled up his form to settle once agin over his hips, pressing downwards deliberately, and coaxing a heavy moan from both of their mouths, Beast Boy's face reddening as she did so, as he knew that the dark girl could feel him, feel how much he physically needed her in that moment pressing against her delicious heat.

But as she continued to push against him insistently, lustful gasps dripping from her throat at infrequent intervals, he found himself caught up in an alien wish to please, to give instead of simply receive, and he pushed upwards, flipping her onto her back and pressed down as she had done moments ago, before bringing his mouth to her jawline and neck, the quiet gasps and breathes caught in her throat all the reward he needed.

This time when her hands traveled to his waistline, he helped her, tugging down his uniform pants and green boxers hurriedly, before turning to hers, finally removing the remainder of her leotard and pausing at the view before him. Raven, breathless and flushed, eyes dark and her body bared to him, black panties the only piece of clothing left upon either of them, and all he felt was pure wanton need.

He descended upon her once again, this time lowering his mouth further to meet her left nipple, her responding moans music to his ears, further deteriorating the last restraints on his self control, nearly breaking completely upon the feeling of her core pressing into his twitching length, her flimsy underwear the only barrier between them. When she finally reached down to hook her fingers in her underwear and began pulling them down, her complete scent washed over him, and he had to fight every instinct in his body not to take her right then and here, somehow finding the willpower to wait once more, waiting for her confirmation.

However this seemed to be the opposite of what she was waiting for, as she rolled them over again, once more pressing into his body from above, looking down at him from her half-lidded violet eyes.

As he looked up at her, he couldn't help but wonder at the beautiful contrast of her features. The flawless pale ebony of her grey skin, interrupted by her dark eyes, purple irises still shrouded by that something that left him breathless, lavender hair framing her face perfectly, lining it in darkness. Her adorably small nose and cheeks were tinged pink and her lips were swollen, as her the many places his own had claimed along her neck and further below.

His gaze continued to fall, marveling at the perfection before him and he slid his hands up and down her deliciously pale legs, before his mind hit a blissful, heavenly blank as Raven slid against him, her slick heat against his hardness nearly too much to handle. As she continued the motion, he seemed almost mesmerized by the sight of her hot core sliding along his rigid length, nearly coating it in her desire.

Even though Beast Boy knew that they should stop, they should slow down, they should talk about this, he was only able to groan lightly as she slowly moved her hips against his own, and he could tell from that darkness in her eyes and the relentless motions of her body that she couldn't bring herself to pause either. He realized how blank and dumb he must look between his eyebrows raised helplessly and mouth hung open, unable to tear his gaze from her naked body and straddle, but couldn't bring himself to move or retaliate, hands gripping her thighs as she continued her ministrations.

When the dark girl finally raised herself up and her fingers found his incredibly rigid length to guide it towards her core, he let out a strangled gasp, one arm reaching up automatically to wrap about her body, bringing her in close to press her forehead to his, eyes sliding closed as she lowered, allowing him entrance slowly with a hiss, sopping folds parting to take him in, walls sucking him in further.

Overwhelmed by the sensation, his eyes open to see her beautiful face inches from his, flushed and covered in sweat, and completely, wholly, his.

As he was enveloped by her tight wetness, he was unable to stop himself from wriggling his hips upwards and further into the mind-numbing sensation, only to stop upon hearing a hiss and glancing back to her face, now twisted in pain. The changeling felt a rush of guilt at the sight, which finally gave him the willpower to regain his most basic functions. His hand found her jaw, cupping her face to look at her in concern.

"Are you okay?" His voice was quiet, barely a whisper, choked out between heavy breaths, yet still he was surprised he had the self control to get the words out.

The half demoness stared back, and rather than answer lifted her upper body to her previous upright position and planted her hands on his chest, forcing him to remain laid on his back. They shared a dark, drunken gaze briefly before his vision completely blanked and jaw slackened as she stirred her hips against his clumsily, lifting slightly and falling down, eyes closing and releasing a long drawn-out moan.

Raven repeated the motion with more sureness and accuracy, pressing down and into him further, slippery wet folds gripping his length as she did so, slowly rocking against him. Her expression melted away to be replaced by lecherous abandon as she pumped against him with a fervor which rocked the bed frame itself.

The empath continued to move, steadily gaining more rhythm and power with every stroke until she was slamming down into him with abandon, until he finally gripped her hips once again and snapped his own upwards and into her as she descended, watching as she let out a loud cry of surprise, all inhibitions lost without a second thought in their passion. Her eyes slid closed and mouth dropped open, head thrown back in a lecherous expression that flooded him with an alien sense of pride, because he was the one responsible.

The thought had him continuing to move even harder in an effort to see her usually so emotionless face show even more, to moan more, lose control more, give more. Together they found a rhythm and rocked back and forth, up and down, the sight and feel and sound maddeningly euphoric.

Until she pressed down on him with finality, halting his movement, arching back and crying out once again, her warmth squeezing him even tighter than before as she finished, and the sight roused his animalistic instincts, filled him with something feral, and he grasped desperately at her to tug her back down, until she was once again pressed against him, her breathless mouth on his. He grabbed her hips and bent his knees to brace his feet flat upon the bed at either side of her body for leverage, and he finally took control and began to rut up and into her.

Hard, fast, and brutal, he fucked her, vision obscured by her violet hair, allowing only flashes of her pale face twisted in helpless bliss, mouth hung open to let out moan after moan every time he impacted her body. His pace increased further, until he could no longer discern what he was seeing, high as he was off her scent, her sound, her body. Off her.

Her eyes found his once again, dazed purple locking on to drunken green, and her lips parted, gasps and moans escaping as they gazed at one another and his motions became more erratic, her expression more helpless.

His pleasure began to reach a dangerous peak, spiking in a way that he never would have dreamed possible, and he wrapped an arm around her back to pull her body flush against his and pressing his mouth to hers, and he was slamming into her as she hummed into his mouth. Loud, throaty moans and gasps tumbled from her mouth into his, only heightening his euphoria.

As he continued to pound into her body her body fell completely limp, overwhelmed by the overload of senses, slumping loosely onto his own, sticking to his sweat-coated skin. His pace increased as her head fell helplessly to the side, coming to rest on his shoulder as he pounded relentlessly into her, moans loud in his ear.

As the bliss overcame him, and it began to feel too good, too much, and he was swept away in the flood of pleasure he tried to speak, but found that the entire concept of language had eluded him, and he merely let out a guttural roar as he finally released into her, grinding mercilessly into her slick heat as he spilled out, mind wiping clean of any comprehensible thought to be replaced by that perfect, euphoric emptiness.

Once it was over, he merely stared into her eyes, and she into his. Both were breathing heavily, and flushed. Swear coated their bodies, causing skin to cling to each other's.

And though Beast Boy knew that they had just committed something they could never undo, crossed a line that could never be retracted, he couldn't bring himself to speak. And so, he merely gazed into her amethyst eyes silently, before pressing his lips once again to hers. This time it was much slower, much deeper, though just as passionate.

With that, he tightened his arms around her body and they slowly drifted off to the welcoming throes of sleep, lost in the comfort of each other's arms.

I promise my other submissions will have more substance lol, hope you enjoyed nonetheless.

-Eldritch Sardine

[lunarhayn]

Introducing My Sides!

(And yes, I will be drawing all of them)

- Alrighty, so first off we have my creativity

AKA Rhayna

She is the source of almost all of my inspiration for writing, drawing, dancing, and video editing. She's and another are the reasons why I can typically be seen with sharpie designs all over me

Her outfit consists typically of a purple highwaisted skirt that flares around her hips, a tight, metallic silver crop top that ends just above the waist band of the skirt, a silver charm bracelet with charms representing my best creative points, and dangly purple feather earrings. Her hair is in a high ponytail on the top of her head

As I wear glasses, all my Sides too and hers are the same color as her skirt with specks of grey in them

- Next up, we have love

AKA Esme

She is the source of, well, all my love. The people, the hobbies, the ideas, the songs, the stories. Me.

She will typically wear a pale pink, strapless dress with 'Love is Love' written across the chest in a deep red, a white band wraps around the waist while the skirt consists of different patches a flags the represent my identity and just different things I love, a white choker with a heart in the middle connecting the sides, matching heart earrings and a ring. Her hair is always down and loose with white feathers in it and glassed are a shimmery, white.

- And here we have my morality

AKA Dove

Basically my difference of right and wrong and guides my moral ethics. Also kind of a peacemaker

She typically wears a baby blue and white striped, oversized, off the shoulder, sweater crop top, black high waisted shorts, and a silver chain choker with feathers on it. Her glasses consist of multicolor blues and her hair is in a low side ponytail going over her shoulder

- Onto my anxiety

AKA Griffin

Much like Virgil, she is my little protective rebel child. Thankfully, she's not too bad and I can handle social situations decently well and I can also wear clothes I used to not know (yay body image issues!). I've also gotten into the habit of always wearing a necklace so I can fiddle with it to help with my anxiety.

She usually wears loose, ripped, black, highwaisted jeans with fishnets underneath, a purple crop top (that she cut to desired length) with fraying edges, deep purple, almost black fingerless gloves, a black choker with an amethyst gem hanging from it, and matching amethyst stud earrings with sun and moon pendants hanging from them. Her glasses are a shimmery black and her hairstyle is by far my favorite with three cornrow braids on the left side of her part line going all the way down while the rest hangs in her face

- And now, my Depression

AKA Nerezza

I'm pretty good at hiding her...but keeping her at bay is another story. I've had her since I was really young, too (gotta love medical issues) and she's only gotten stronger. She can get really bad at times and sometime Griffin will unintentionally join and I can't talk to anyone for help. Rhayna has come up with a few solutions to help me when they get bad, and one of those is drawing (typically on myself) and another is editing videos. I've come to terms that lots of sharpie = a very bad night.

She'll typically wear midnight blue leggings, a way-too-big baggy black sweatshirt with deep pockets that hangs to the middle of her thigh, and has a simple chain necklace to fiddle with. Her hair is down and loose and her glasses are dark blue with smokey black designs on them.

- Ah, and here is my curiosity

AKA Jo

Also known as the reason I know waaaaay too much on certain topics...

Anyway, I honestly don't indulge in her as much as I should. It's typically only when reading or writing and maybe drawing...I should really change that. I do have her and Esme to thank for helping me with my sexuality, though.

She wears a pair of acid washed, highwaisted, ripped jeans, a turquoise tank top tucked into them, and a silver chain necklace with a question mark pendant on it. Her glasses are a dark.grey with turquoise designs on them and her hair is usually in a low ponytail or a loose bun

- And here we have my logic

AKA Monique

You can blame her for all my knowledge of Lilly Singh. Also the gods, and lots of other stories. Maybe just writing in general? Idk, but she holds everything important that I have ever learned and needed for later on in life.

She will typically wear a steel grey, knee length, button down dress that flares out around the hips and a silver chain necklace with a brain pendent with pale grey glasses. As she is a bit more on the professional side, her hair is usually pulled back into a tight ponytail on the back of her head.

- And onto envy

AKA Liviana

Don't even get me started on her. Just don't. I feel so much that I just hate feeling. As much as I wanna talk about what she does...I really don't want to accidently hurt anyone.

Just know that jealousy is kind of an extreme and daily thing for me.

This girl typically wears a dark green, knee length, sleeveless dress (one that I wore for a musical and fell in love with) with matching green earring and a black choker and dark green, almost black glasses. Her hair is down and always perfectly curled

- And finally we have my deceit

AKA Calypso

Honestly? Not a bad guy. Much like Griffin, she protects me. Blocks out the worst from my mom and childhood. Helps me get through the Bad Days.

She typically wears black and white striped overalls with a yellow sports bra, and a silver chain choker/dangly necklace. Her glasses are black with a stripe of yellow in them and her hair is down and loose, but pilled back by a back and white bandana with yellow designs on it.

[theolddarkmachine]

Kingdom- Chapter Eleven

Gajeel has had the dream about dying for the blue haired girl for as long as he can remember. Which is weird, since he’s never met anyone with blue hair in his life.

Levy has always loved myths and legends. So much so, in fact, that she was currently getting her master’s in mythological studies.

What neither of them realized was that they were living a legend all their own.

AKA the one with a knight, a princess, and a curse that keeps bringing them together just to pull them apart.

PREVIOUS CHAPTERS

AO3

I don't really have any notes on this one other than we be getting answers, ya know? This one and the next one titled once upon a death haha go off sis should answer what you need to know and uh, hopefully make things super climatic and awesome. I mean, that's the plan anyway lol Soooooo, enjoy :)

***********************

The dull throb of pain led Levy from the depths of the pitch black sleep she had found herself mired in. Fighting against its hold and gasping around a thick rope twining around her throat, the ache blossomed into a white hot light that seared through her bones, branded her skin and blinded her eyes as she finally opened them. A momentary blindness stole her vision as her eyes adjusted to the light of the room as she tried to push herself upward, only to find rope biting into her wrists and ankles. Pushed between her teeth, was a thick cloth that muffled her short sound of surprise, and almost made her choke around the dryness that had dusted the back of her tongue.

Fear and adrenaline rushed through her veins, the dual beat of their rhythmic pulses deafening her in the otherwise silent room.

This isn’t right, she thought desperately as she began to shift her eyes around the room in search of any sign of where she was. I shouldn’t be here. I should be—

Where?

Frantically, her mind picked at the shrapnel of memory scattered across her mind’s surface in search of any clues, only to find blank pieces of slate. Where was she meant to be?

Where had she even been before this?

What had happened to her?

Another muffled sound escaped around the cloth that bit into the corners of her mouth where it wrapped around the sides of her face and behind her head. No matter how hard she reached for an answer, she was met by nothing but darkness in the space of her own memories.

Shuffling on her side until she was able to push herself up against the wall at her back, she pressed into the hard surface in a vain attempt to steady herself as her eyes began to wander over the room before her. It was a sparse area, with nothing more than the soft light of twilight glowing throw the slats of the closed shutters scattering rays across the wood of the floor. No furniture stood in the center of it, leaving the space open aside from a thick layer of dust, yet something about it all felt familiar.

As her eyes adjusted to the light of the room, they continued to search for anything as she tried to swallow down the acrid taste of panic around the saliva soaked cloth.

Then she saw it.

A single darkened bloom of color just below the windowsill that stilled her breath. One small and poorly drawn daisy with too few petals and an angled stalk.

Levy had never been much of an artist, but at the tender age of five, she had picked up an array of brightly colored crayons with the goal of decorating the light yellow walls. She had only managed one floret before her mother caught her and quickly pointed her to a piece of paper that needed the decoration a bit more than the once pristine wall.

“It’s the only flower I can’t kill,” her mother had laughed when Levy had asked years later why she had never tried to cover it or clean it off.

Ice floated through her veins, its sharp edges cutting deep down into her marrow as her heart began to crash around wildly within her chest.

She was in her old home.

The very same home that had held some of her most precious memories.

The same home that she had left after her mother’s death with no intent on ever coming back, if only because the very sight of it pushed a dagger in between her ribs.

The home that had been given to her aunt in her mother’s will.

“You are quite the sleeping beauty, aren’t you?” A cold voice cleaved through the silence as Kearia’s heels clicked against the hardwood floors, bringing her through the doorway and into the room. Across her face was a smile curved like a scythe, cutting through to Levy’s core when she turned its full force on her.

In the dim light, all the sharp planes of her face were accented with long shadows, turning her into something not quite human as she continued towards her.

A quick glint of twilight exposed the understated blade that Kearia had lightly balanced within her grasp, the metal of it turning from a bright silver to a warm orange with the light. Crouching before Levy, she brought the dagger upwards until its cool tip touched the skin of her jaw before she carefully dragged it against the bone. It was a threat weighted enough for her to feel it, but not enough to break skin.

Yet.

“Wait, no. That’s not quite the right story, is it?” She purred as her mauve stare traced over the lines of Levy’s face as if she was trying to memorize it. The blade rolled off the tip of her chin before she raised it again, this time settling it against her cheek. Everything within her screamed for her to get away as Levy struggled against the ropes once more, the sudden movement dragging her skin across the sharp edge of the knife.

A wet warmth began to roll down her cheek slowly as she returned her aunt’s prying gaze, her brows pulling together in question as the cloth strangled the words that would voice it.

“Isn’t fate funny?” Kearia asked as she pulled the dagger back, balancing her elbow on her knee as she began to inspect the blood that painted the silver a deep scarlet. “Handing you everything you needed to know tucked inside a book of fairy tales.”

Eyes flicking back to her captive, Levy found herself frozen as her aunt reached towards her slowly, her fingers smoothing over her unmarked cheek before they hooked into the fabric that was tied through her mouth. With a tug, she pulled it free of her lips and let the wet fabric fall around Levy’s neck.

“Hello, darling,” she crooned as she sat back on her haunches, both arms bracing against the tops of her thighs. “I’m sure you have plenty of questions. You are always an inquisitive one.”

In the distance she could hear those words echoed from another time, from another life, and suddenly, she was reminded of the dream. The one that had painted her as a storyteller in love with a knight that had died in her arms. One that had been killed by her own hand.

Not a dream. A memory.

“What are you talking about?” She rasped, ignoring how her dried lips cracked with the effort of forming words, the metallic tang of blood slipping into her mouth as she tried to swallow. That voice that had once told her to run was screaming at her again to not let on what she knew.

Survive, it said.

Arching her perfectly manicured brow, Kearia waved a bored hand. A thick, dark fog began to manifest itself around her clawed fingers until it dissipated, leaving a heavy leather bound tome in her clutch.

“I see your education hasn’t done you much help. My dear Levy, you’re very own thesis is about how such tales like this are bound in truth.” Her voice dripped with venom as she dropped the book with a loud thud that scattered dust around them. Her mind supplied a memory of a painting of a cruel queen, and of a blue haired girl clutching a dying knight to her.

“Your very own story lying just at your fingertips, and yet you were too busy trying to prove his story to be true, that you missed your own,” the purple of her eyes were filled with malice as she chewed out her words, turning them into sharpened pieces of ground metal that each found a mark in Levy’s chest.

“How tragic.”

Punctuating her point, Kearia let out a short bark of humorless laughter that sent a thrill down her spin as it echoed through the empty room.

“Then tell me, Aunt Kearia,” Levy said lowly, twisting her wrists against the rope as she leant forward, fruitlessly trying to work against the twine. “What is my story.”

Time stood still around them as her hardened gold stare held her aunt’s amethyst one, a silent battle of dominance waging between them as the quiet dropped onto their shoulders like a thick blanket. This close, Levy could see how the shadows had turned her into something sharp and untouchable, but now she just looked human.

Somehow, that made her all the more terrifying.

Then, she was gone. Pushing herself up from her crouched position, she turned her back to her niece, her shoulders rising and falling with the burden of a weight she couldn’t see.

“Your story,” she hissed so lowly, Levy was almost sure she’d imagined it at first. “Is my story.”

The loud clicks of her heels bounced off the walls as Kearia began to pace, the stained dagger glinting its now red shine as she turned it this way and that, examining its blade as if it held the answers.

“I succeeded, you know,” she after a thoughtful moment. “I won. I took everything from you like you took everything from me.”

Pain and anger charred her words until they were black, settling in the space that stood between her and Levy like burning hunks of coal.

“But love got in the way,” another humorless laugh as she shook her head. “It’s always love in these tales, isn’t it? Love took Makarov from me, and then it took this from me too.”

Turning her attention to Levy with a sharp look, she hissed.

“You took that from me too.”

“No, I—” Levy started, grasping for anything to say to defend herself, only to be cut off by a single wave of Kearia’s hand.

“But I was angry, and I could watch you lose everything over and over again. To see that pretty face turned ugly with pain and your tears as he died in your arms time and time again.”

Gajeel, the voice said softly as if saying it any louder would make it break. It was nothing more than a caress, but it raised goosebumps along the path of her forearms as she continued to watch her aunt twirl the dagger in her hand.

“It was the sweetest revenge, made even sweeter since he always died because of you.”

The corner of Kearia’s blood colored lips turned upward in a cruel smile as she turned to follow her path back across the room. The sound of her voice droned along to the cadence of the pulse in Levy’s ears.

He always died because of you.

You will kill him, wasn’t that what the specter of her former self had said? The realization made her nauseous as everything started to slowly click into place.

The book.

The dream.

Her aunt.

“But I am tired of following you through the end of time. Tired of this,” Kearia paused as her fist tightened around the handle, turning her knuckles white in the dying light of the day.

“This hollow pain in my chest. I lost everything. And watching you suffer no longer gives me satisfaction.”

Swallowing back bile, Levy watched warily as her aunt stopped just before her. Slicing the blade through the air in a low arc, she found herself staring down its point as she continued.

“Why should you continue to get more time?” Anguish cracked her words like fragile glass beneath a hammer.

“Why do you get to relive any happiness at all?”

Quiet settled over them as she kept the dagger pointed at her niece, the shadows of the setting sun growing longer across the room until the woman before her completely shifted into someone else.

Before her, she stood taller, her spine lengthening as she took on a regal pose as she looked down her nose at her. It was an all too familiar look that turned her aunt into a far distant memory that sent waves of panic and fear rolling through her chest.

Her voice came unbidden from her lips as she spoke.

“Who are you?”

But she already knew. She’d seen those purple eyes painted on page. Had seen the woman they belonged to. Knew exactly whose eyes had been watching her for all her life.

All her lives.

But she needed to hear it.

“Stupid girl,” Kearia hissed before she lunged forward, driving the dagger into the drywall just to the right of her head. The blade vibrated with the force as she let go, using the same hand to grab Levy’s chin, her thumb landing cruelly on the cut on her cheek. She felt the sharp points of her nails as they dug into her skin.

“I am the queen. I married your father but he never loved me like he loved her. Like he loved her.”

Fire burned in the depths of her eyes, turning them so dark, Levy could no longer see the bright purple they had once been.

“And now, this is going to end.”

Levy’s head hit the wall behind her as she was shoved back, the sheer strength of it popping stars across her vision as the queen stood and turned toward the doorway.

“How?” Levy gasped as she watched her lithe form walk away. Panic burned at her nerves, tearing into her chest and leaving a gaping wound along her sternum that left her hollowed out as she prayed for an answer. Though, what she would do with it, even she didn’t know.

The sharp clack of her heels against wood was the only answer she thought she would get before she watched her aunt pause in the doorway.

“How?” She tried again, desperation making the word heavy.

“He’ll end this,” Kearia finally said, not even bothering a final look over her shoulder as she disappeared through the entrance and leaving Levy alone with her thoughts.

He’ll end this.

Her mind turned the words over and over until they almost blurred together, leaving just a single name in its wake.

Gajeel.

The silence of the room was shattered as she cried out into the now darkened room as the sun dipped beneath the horizon.

******************

[joyfullynervouscreator]

Updated Masterlist

So I don’t crowd your dash, this list is under the cut ;)

(And can also be found in my page header)

Random one-shots/Stories

Most of these are Dwelf-Verse standalones, though they're meant for world-building and can be read as standalones.

A kitten in Rivendell - fluffy and cute, aka. all children love Bifur and his toys, even Elves. Tumblr link

The Axe, the Guard and the Song - Life of Bifur, before and after the Axe - Tumblr link

Leaving Home – the last night before the Quest for each Company member(+ the Fellowship of Dwarrowdams Remaining Behind - Manaddadâna Khazdâna Binganugâl Ôra):  Glóin  Gimli  Vár  Óin  Dori  Ori  Nori  Bifur Bofur  Bombur  Athalrún  Balin Dwalin  Kíli  Fíli  Dís  Thorin

Thorn, the transgender Hobbit - Bilbo comes to your rescue

Shadows and Mirrors - Thorin’s meeting with Gandalf in Bree [part2]

Nori’s job interview (The Black Owl) - The reason Thorin trusted Nori to come along on the Quest and eventually named him Spymaster of Erebor… Tumblr link

Dáin, Lord of the Iron Hills - That meeting Thorin went to just before showing up in Bag End.

Diamonds and Iron - the parents of Dáin had different expectations of life together… can they find a bit of happiness instead?  [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] Complete!

Permission?! - When Thorin is caught wanting Dwalin's baby sister, tempers run high ;)

The Birth of Madness - Thrór lost his head… in more ways than one. A post-Moria fic. (flangst) tumblr link

The lost pebble - When Thorin’s mother got lost in Mirkwood and was found by Elves, events were set in motion that would shape the future of her whole family aka Legolas adopts a Dwarfling Tumblr link

A Piece of History - Dís getting ready for her wedding(based on Lucife56’s art)

Mama Dís - a regular day in Ered Luin

Of Dwobbits and Dwarrow - the story of Svari and Adaldrida, the dwarf/hobbit couple who are the ancestors of Bombur’s wife, Athalrún. [C1]  [C2]

Welcome to this Day - Bombur’s wife was pregnant when he left; this is the story of the birth of their youngest daughter (fluffy) - Tumblr link

Silver and Amethyst - In Erebor, years before Smaug, Thrór’s spymaster saves a young dam from a terrible ordeal. Personal HC about the ri-parents ;) (some angst, some fluff, and a baby Dori) - Chapter [1]   [2]   [3]

King under the Mountain - grandpa!Thrór w Thorin (Fluffy feels)

Inshêt Zahrar, The Dwelf-Verse Longfic:

Summary

Full fic - so far ;) -> Inshêt Zahrar - Ao3    Chaptered view

Chapter 1 - Tumblr

Chapter 2 - Tumblr

Dworin stuff: listed by Dworin week prompts/titles

Youth - A day in TA 2753 in the lives of Dwalin and Thorin

Despair & hope - Excerpt from Dwelf (angsty stream of consciousness)

Healing - D&T at Beorns; excerpt from Dwelf - some smut

Seeking safety - Not everyone is pleased with Thorin’s rule in Ered Luin

When Thorin rants… - Dwalin’s thoughts; some smut TL

Old Age - In Erebor and in the Halls of Waiting TL

Mind - battle dreams and comfort TL

Body - tattoos and remembrances TL

Good times - baby F&K and raiding of cookie jars! TL

Bad times - Winters are cold, but hearts are warm TL

Fur - the story of one of Dwalin’s scars TL1   TL2

Meeting - the Battle of Azanulbizar and its aftermath TL

Parting - Lament for Frerin

The Erebor Years - When Thorin met Dwalin and the years that followed TL

Caught in the Act - A Smutty Sunday fic from the road. You are Dwalin.

Daring to Dream - the follow-up to Shadows and Mirrors.

Silverslate (Celebrimbor/Narví):

Doors of Durin - Beginning in SA 1325: How they met, how they loved, how they lived and how they were parted… TL: C1    C2    C3    C4

Song of Souls - In SA1697, Celebrimbor's spirit departs his body in a desperate attempt to convey a warning to the on who holds his heart. [One]  [Two]  [Three]  [Four]  [Five]  [Six]  [Seven]  [Eight]

Nwalin:

Promptable

Devil in Disguise - Halloween Nwalin (smuffy), with Dwalin discovering a new kink

The Purple Dress (alternate C1 with born female Nori) + chapter 2 - Nwalin in Erebor, based on drawing by @asparklethatisblue … (Fluff, smut and angst)

A Labour of Love - More Nwalin in Erebor for Sparkle. Love letters, poetry and illiteracy all combine into a massive bundle of feels!

Heists and Humbug - Nori is sneaky, but sometimes he needs a little help from the good Captain.

Prince of Greenwood: The story of Thranduil and his Queen, from Second Age onwards

The Burned Prince - [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] First meetings

Desire

Pre-Dagorlad - the last night before the War of the Last Alliance began

Throne-Thoughts - TA ~2 (smutty)

Sing me a song of the Queen who is gone - TA ~6 onwards

Queen

Fare-thee-well

Grey Havens

Woodland Woes

Crown of Winter (fluff-ish)

The Blue Butterfly - the slow darkening of Mirkwood

Sapling - Baby/youngster Legolas fics (baby elf fluff! Woop!) Promptable

Small crowns

Elk riding

Adventures

Training

Fíli-Ficlets: a bunch of ficlets featuring Fíli at all ages.

Mostly it’s fluffy, with a ton of family feels. Promptable

Babysitting

Bilbo

Love/Lust

Protectiveness

Fountain

Memory

Moustache braids

Career Day

Heir

Fashion sense

Ravenhill confessions (angsty movie canon)

Kili in love

Mother’s Day in Ered Luin

Pickup lines

Birthday party

Storyteller

Full list to be found at Ao3 (I won’t update the Masterlist that often)

Imagines:

Renewed Hope - Beorn & reader, kinship drabble.

The Power of Potions - HP crossover with baby Durins C2   C3  C4  C5  C6  C7

Flower Crown - Elrond and Family

The Hobbit-Musical fics: Characters from the Hobbit do musical songs… unapologetic crack-fics.

Shiny – Smaug + song from Moana

I Just Can’t Wait to be King - Fíli, Kíli, Thorin & Balin

x/reader drabbles:

Bifur:

Pockets of Silence

Éomer:

Winter’s Chill

Bofur:

Flirting - lame pick-up lines and Bofur's stupid hat... no, he's NOT adorable, what are you talking about?

Fíli:

Gold of Erebor - You are a Princess coming to Erebor to enter an arranged marriage with Fíli - Tumblr link

Silver Secrets - You are Mjoll, Fíli’s old flame, a warrior who came along for the Quest - C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9  C10

Thorin:

Braids and Broken Bones - Thorin’s jealousy leads to confessions by the Carrock.

Cultural Differences - pre-Thorin/human!reader - The Pixie cut in a Dwarven society can lead to hair-raising assumptions...

Kíli:

Braids for best friends - You braid Kíli’s hair to prove a point with unexpected consequences.

Kíli's Curls - smut in Erebor ;)

Haldir:

Song of Nimrodel - You are Galadriel’s favourite singer - Begins ~TA 2200

Chapter [1]

Chapter [2]

Chapter [2.5]

Chapter [3]

Chapter [4]

Chapter [5]

Chapter [6]

Chapter [7]

Haldir dying at Helm’s Deep - a possible ending for Song of Nimrodel - angsty, of course ;)

Dwalin:

Guard-Recruit – Dwalin (chapter 2 is NSFW) Tumblr C1 C2

Apple Pie - You’re a little insecure, and Dwalin is a little oblivious. Also, a pie. For reasons.

Motorcycle Club – Modern AU Biker/teacher. There’s a bunch of feels in this, as well as some fairly explicit smut( E-rating).

Strength(fluff!)

School’s Out

Lazy Sunday (smut)

Touching (fluff, smut and angst)

Sweetness to Tears(angst and family feels)

Daydreams and Reality (smut)

Growth (fluff - with a bit of angst)

Announcements (mostly fluffy, also smut)

Lullabies (fluff and humour)

The Sleeping One - You are a barmaid who finds herself accidentally waking up in the arms of Lord Dwalin while on the Quest. (Angst, fluff, a bit of light gore - medical type) Complete.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9 - epilogue (explicitly smutty)

Cuddles – reader/(crush) -

undecided crush in part 1, will be continued with different members of the Company as inspiration dictates.

Part 1 - The Cuddling Incident

Part 2 (Thorin) - Thorin puts his foot in it

Part 3 (Thorin) - Thorin continues to be a fool; now with Elves around OR Part 3 (Dwalin) - In Erebor! Complete!

Part 4 (Thorin) - Playing in Fountains may lead to revelations

Part 5 (Thorin) - Thorin decides to be is an overprotective idiot

Part 6 (Thorin) - You are not the only one angry with Thorin

Part 7 (Thorin) - Meeting with the Elvenking… and Thorin in prison

Part 8 (Thorin) - The Company leaves for Laketown and you keep a bargain

Part 9 (Thorin) - The Arkenstone and BotFA

Part 10 (Thorin) - Mahal intervenes… or does He?

Part 11 (Thorin) - Aftermath - Complete!

Beorn: The Skinchanger Chronicles

In a mountain village by a clear lake, surrounded by forests, a small boy was born. He was a special boy, however, for he could change his skin and become a bear like the rest of his Clan. In a different mountain valley overlooking grasslands, a girl was born in a Pride of lynxes. The boy grew up to be a strong man, a warrior and protector of his people. Then his people were taken from him, one by one, until he was the only one left. The girl grew up to be a slave, forced to serve the whims of the Dark master who had slaughtered everyone she had ever known, destined for a purpose she never dared guess. This is their story.

Discontinued due to becoming an original novel.

Power of a Name - Cub!Beorn: Life before Azog

Little Red - Beorn finds a baby and a new friend

The Walkers - the Story of Ullrae; a Skinwalker of the Lynx Clan

The Walkers pt 2 - mentions of torture perpetrated by Orcs

The Walkers pt 3

The Walkers pt 4

The Walkers pt 5

The Walkers pt 6

The Walkers pt 7

The Bear’s Lady - Meeting the Company

The Bear’s Offspring - you and Beorn and raising cubs… what could happen?

Nori’s little secret - interconnected Nori drabbles.

Your name is Brynhilda.

Part 1 - in the cells of Mirkwood

Part 2 - taking care of your hair after arriving in Laketown

Part 3 - nicknames and bizarre attractions

Part 4 - bail-outs and proposals

Part 5 - A Stolen Heart

GiME: A humourous take on my least favourite trope?

Shirts

Names

Coming soon:

Christmas in the Biker AU(Dwalin/reader)

Nwalin Gift Exchange fic

Hobbit Holiday Gift Fic

Tolkien Secret Santa fic

Parts of the First Age seen through the eyes of the Falmari who eventually becomes the mother of Thranduil.

Chapter 6 of Potions

Chapter 9 + 10 of Song of Souls

Chapter four of Doors of Durin

random oneshots of a Christmas-esque nature ;)

[minijenn]

Universe Falls Preview 3

Decided to give you guys a longer preview because i have been making good progress today thank god. I think its cause I’m getting closer to the nity grity of this chapter (aka the original stuff) so I’m hype about that. But for now, enjoy this: 

Eager to follow this newest lead, everyone rushed to pile into Soos’ truck and head over to the museum. However, as soon as the handyman turned the ignition, they were all instantly met with a song playing over the stereo that set Wendy off the moment she heard it.

“Are we blanchin’? Girl, we blanchin, I live up in a mansion.”

“Ugh, Soos!” the cashier groaned in frustration as she hurriedly ejected the aggravating CD and tossed it out the window. The others all looked to her in surprise at this, particularly Soos, which was why she was quick to make a terse, rather stilted apology. “I’ll buy you a new one.”

“Can you guys believe it?” Steven remarked to the other kids with a bright smile. “The four of us are finally back in action, solving mysteries and rewriting history again! Isn’t it great?”

“It will be great if we can jog McGucket’s memory and he actually turns out to be the author after all,” Dipper remarked rather dryly, his attention mostly focused to combing through the journal for any further clues.

“And hopefully we can do all that without running into that Blind Eye thing he mentioned, whatever that is,” Connie added just as seriously, already examining a map of the museum on her phone for anything out of place.

“Y-yeah, but… we can still have fun doing all that, can’t we?” Steven asked, suddenly apprehensive as he glanced back at the Gems, whose expression were all also rather somber and tight.

“Fun?” Dipper repeated with something of a scoff. “Steven, come on. This is serious, our biggest break towards finding the author yet. We have to focus on that first. Especially considering what happened the last time we let ourselves get distracted…”

“R-right…” Steven said, his smile finally falling completely as he let out a small sigh as he leaned his head against the window. Dipper and Connie didn’t notice this, and the young Gem didn’t blame them for it; after all, he knew exactly why they both had every intention of pushing themselves so hard with this important mystery. Still, that didn’t make him feel any better about one of the underlying reasons in particular about why that was.

Mabel, on the other hand, had taken notice of Steven’s sudden melancholy as she sat right next to him, and while it did worry her, another part of her saw it as an opportunity. One that, largely without thinking, she decided to try and take. “Uh… hey, Steven?” she spoke up, trying her best not to come across as flustered.

“Yeah?” the young Gem replied in an absent mutter.

“W-well… I was just wondering… if maybe you and me could, uh… if we could…” Mabel trailed off, her cheeks blushing brightly as she let out a small gasp of realization. “Oh my gosh, I think I finally know how Dipper felt about this whole confession thing…”

“What was that?” Steven asked, having not heard her last muttered statement.

“Oh! Uh, I was just…” Mabel finally gave up with a small sigh, deciding that now really wasn’t the time for this, especially as she spared a quick glance over at Connie sitting on the other side of her. “I was just, uh, thinking that you and me should take Dipper’s advice and be more, um… serious and focused about this author mystery, is all… Y-yeah, that’s… that’s totally what I was gonna say…”

“Oh… Ok, then…” Steven frowned, both confused and downcast as he went back to staring out the window, not noticing Mabel’s clear frustration with her own nervousness. Usually, she had no problem with this sort of thing, but this instance was entirely different than anything she had ever felt before. If she was perfectly honest with herself, these feelings in general were rather foreign to her, at least to the extent that she had been experiencing them for the past several weeks. Which was likely why she was having such a hard time admitting them to anyone really, but especially to the young Gem and in a sense, even to herself. After all, she had already failed at this so many times already; what would good would throwing her heart out on the line again do her, especially since she knew there was such a huge chance that it would be thrown right back?

The rest of the ride was rather silent until the group got to the museum, which was, for some reason, closed for the day, Fortunately, they were able to find easy enough access inside through an open window, and as soon as they all made it inside, Garnet held her teammates back for just a moment, to make sure that they were all clear about what exactly their mission was.

“Remember,” she cautioned, her voice quiet but firm. “Our main mission is to fill in the gaps between us and the author. We don’t know what we’ll find here, so we need to be ready for anything. And if we learn something that we don’t like… then we’ll just have to deal with it and move on from there.”

Amethyst and Pearl nodded in affirmation of this, both of them knowing just as much as Garnet did that today’s investigation could very well change everything they thought they knew. But all the same, they were quick to rejoin the others in starting their search for clues.

“Alright, everyone, keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious,” Dipper advised as they all spread out throughout the main hall.

“So would this exhibit on these groady old caveman forks be considered suspicious?” Amethyst asked, casually infiltrating said exhibit without a care.

“Uh, that’s not really that suspicious, Amethyst,” Connie remarked, raising an eyebrow. “Its just… weird, I guess.”

“Yeah, I’ll say so,” the purple Gem agreed, grabbing one of the wooden utensils. “How the heck did humans used to eat with these lame things without getting mad splinters all up in their mouths? They should have just used their hands to chow down, like a civilized person or whatever.” With that, Amethyst downed the ancient fork with one gulp, much to the startled surprise of everyone watching. “Huh, kinda woody but other than that, it’s not too bad.”

As the investigation continued, Mabel found herself rather disinterested with it as she heaved a morose sigh, something that Wendy too notice of as she paused her search to check up on the younger girl. “Mabel, are you ok? You just walked past a cat without petting it,” she pointed to the nearby taxidermy mountain lion, which Mabel had barely even spared a second place at.

“Oh, Wendy, everything I look at reminds me of my failed romances…” Mabel pouted, nodding to several of the nearby exhibits. “That formaldehyde heart, that romantic diorama. Even this poster of my most recent crush,” she said, looking up to a poster advertising one of Gabe’s puppet shows before disdainfully pulling it down only to reveal an old poster for Sev’ral Timez underneath it. “Oh come on!”

“So, your last memory was here,” Dipper said to McGucket as the hillbilly meandered about. “Anything coming back?”

McGucket frowned as he looked around the museum, quite uncertain though it was clear he was making a genuine effort to try and remember something, as difficult of a task as that often was for him. “Er—well, I-”

“Guys, look!” Soos cut in, pointing down the museum hall. At the end of the corridor, obscured by shadows, was a vague human figure, one that was quick to further into the darkness upon being spotted.

“Whoa, who was that?” Steven asked with apt alarm.

“Everyone, after them!” Pearl commanded, already running on ahead. The others followed suit, chasing the shadowy figure down the hall, tracing their path all the way to a room lined with a myriad of images of eyes. Yet as they all piled into this room, the unknown figure was seemingly nowhere to be seen at all.

“Well kettle my corn! He vanish-ified!” McGucket exclaimed, aghast.

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Dipper shook his head, confused. “Where did he go?”

“Hm…” Garnet mused, looking over the eyes covering the walls and remembering something the hillbilly had mentioned earlier. “The Blind Eye…”

“You don’t think this could be it, do ya, G?” Amethyst asked, slightly disappointed. “Just a room filled with a bunch of creepy old eyeballs?”

“This better not just be it!” Pearl remarked hotly. “That would make this whole thing even more of a wild goose chase than it already is! You!” she spun around to face McGucket. “We brought you all the way here, so I think its about time you start remembering something or else!”

“I-I… I’m tryin’,” the hillbilly said, clearly intimidated as he shrunk back a bit. “But its mighty difficult to recall just ‘bout anything when I feel like all these eyballs are a-watchin me…”

“Wait,” Dipper interjected, tracing path of nearly pupil in the room right back to McGucket. “They are! Move aside.”

The hillbilly did so, casting a nervous glance at the rather impatient Gems as he did to reveal a central stone tablet, one that carried a carving of yet another eye, yet much like the one in the journal, it was crossed cleanly through. The way it was set up, it almost looked like a switch, and as Dipper gave it an experimental push, that proved to be exactly what it was as the wall started to peel back to a short staircase that led into mysterious darkness down below.

“Whoa, a secret passageway!” Connie exclaimed, amazed. “This just took on a whole new level of cryptic! And that’s saying something, seeing as how it was already really cryptic to begin with.”

“What’s down there?” Pearl asked, looking to Garnet for answers, which was something the Gem leader didn’t really have as she instead simply shrugged point blank.

“We’ll have to be stealthy,” McGucket noted with newfound resolve. “I’ll hambone a message if there’s trouble.” He did so, slapping his arms and legs in a rhythmic message that was lost on everyone else.

“I… have no idea what that means,” Dipper admitted with a frown.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Amethyst asked daringly. “Let’s scope this sucker out!”

Seeing as how the group was unsure of what they’d find below the museum, they made sure to take care to keep quiet as they descended the staircase down below. As they reached the bottom, the sound of deep, unified chanting soon became apparent amidst the narrow, candle-lit corridors. They all remained on high alert as they followed this chanting, which only grew louder and more ominous with each passing second until they reached a thick scarlet curtain. And as they collectively peered out what lay beyond this curtain, they were met with by a sight that none of them had been expecting.