#and he’s always been able to get away and recharge without anyone learning about his chestplate

[daydreamerdrew]

Tales of Suspense (1959) #84

[serenheist]

What Taehyung is like in a relationship/ Taehyung as a boyfriend Tarot reading

How long does it take him to get into a relationship? & Does he prefer long or short term relationships 8 of cups, queen of swords, 10 of pentacles 9 of pentacles reversed, 4 of cups

Ffs the queen of swords always pops up. Anyway yeah I don’t see him getting into anything quickly. He could’ve in the past but I think past relationships left him drained af and feeling alienated. I think he has a shit ton of walls up and is a lot more no nonsense now. It’s probably intimidating and more blunt to others because he wants to get to the heart of why someone is trying to get with him since so many people try to pull the same shit and fuck around with him like he’s dumb. He does not settle for anything other than what he wants. If he can’t find “the one” then he legit just rather be alone. It looks like he’s now more focused on building a Legacy though and something serious and long term so he has no desire to just jump into something with anyone. He basically would wait it out and get to know them long before deciding he trusts them enough and feels comfortable enough to show his emotions and not be so aloof.

I feel like he’d be the type to not show much interest at first because he really needs to scope the person out. So the person probably wouldn’t even know he actually likes them. Actually he could be a little too jaded and bored to the point of turning away everyone even though he does want a relationship. But in his mind there’s too many people being carbon copies and trying to swindle him for his money bruh for real all of bts are having this problem like damn it keeps reoccurring. Idk why it seems like there’s people also trying to use money to get with him like they’re rich and they think he’ll just want someone loaded. Like dude he’s already rich so that doesn’t work and to him them having a ton of money means Jack shit when they have the personality of a damn rock.

Past & present love life 10 of swords, 2 of pentacles present: the hermit, 5 of wands

Past love life: welp. Do I really need to explain the 10 of swords. I think actually that he had all this past trauma and shit from relationships and even other shit he still hasn’t dealt with but there was no time to even process that because he had to get back to work and act like he was fine. I think he’s the type of person that buries himself in his career when he experiences traumatic stuff that he doesn’t want to deal with. And of course it’s easier when you’re busy 24/7 anyway. This relationship betrayed him in every way tbh but maybe it was a catalyst for better things to come though he still might not see this right now. Present: I don’t see him in a relationship now currently cause the hermit but also being a major arcana it’s like he’s really in a life stage right now where he just wants to be alone because there’s so much conflict going on and he’s feeling anxious and having all these negative pessimistic thoughts that he just needs time to himself. I don’t think he very optimistic about his love life right now he’s lost a lot of hope. Things are too chaotic elsewhere to focus on romance.

What is he like in a relationship? the chariot, ace of cup, Unicorn, fae 61, solus 13, vanth, the sun reversed, anger and chains 29, justice, 2 of swords reversed, 3 of cups reversed, avenoir 1, princess of pentacles,ta’om the poet 29, ace of swords, Thanatos

What is he like in a relationship? When he’s in a relationship he really puts all his focus on that person and will go above and beyond for them. There’s a kind of masculine and feminine balance in him in the sense that he’s ready to be the go getter and take charge but there’s also a vulnerable energy and overflowing emotions. He works hard to take care of his person and make the relationship work . The only downside is he could possibly be too smothering to his partner or come on too strongly because of past shit and maybe too clingy for some people since in a relationship he really shows his softer side and he’s not as aloof as he is to others. He loves to have little house parties with his partner and have friends and family over with a ton of food and music.

For date ideas he’s down for anything but especially something “magical” maybe literally some place like Disneyland or pagan festival like beltane? That’s specific af but there’s a medieval type of energy and nature spirits and shit, he wants to do stuff he hasn’t done before and that might even be outside his comfort zone since G. Hobyah card is all about imaginary fears and getting past them. The best qualities he has in a relationship is the ability to help his partner stand on their own 2 feet but also recognizes that you can’t do everything on your own so he’s the type of person who would go above and beyond and connect you to the right people or situations. He’s always there when his partner really needs them and will make sure to put time aside.

His worst quality is that I don’t think he knows how to express his anger in a healthy way. I think with the sun reversed next to anger and chains it’s more like he doesn’t know how to fully show it it’s kinda repressed but his emotions under the exterior are a hot mess and there’s a big need for stability. It’s like being too stubborn to admit when you mess up and petty shit cause it hurts his ego. But I don’t think it’s super bad considering the justice card I used to represent his communication style. I feel that even if he gets mad af he gets over things really quickly and one minute he’s be angry and 10 minutes later he’ll be asking you what you want for dinner like wtf.

When he likes someone he’s not going to jump in and immediately go approach them. I see him instead watching them intently from afar lol he’s very cautious and like gathering everything he can on that person. Dude’s a 1st class stalker. Jk But the thing is the person wont even know he is interested in them because he keeps a serious face as a kind of mask but on the inside he’s like a giddy kid. Ta’om is known for looking serious and thoughtful but is actually very playful and slightly mischievous. I think Taehyung is definitely one to start off as friends and slowly get to know someone rather than just start dating because he really wants to know that person well to see how real they are and if they’re just putting up a front.

He’s not attracted to new shiny things that are perfect he’s able to see the beauty in all things even in difficulty. After he’s been friends with them for awhile and knows if that person like him back, that’s when he’d actually make a move. He finds a lot of satisfaction in doing services for others until they’re completed so it makes me think his love language (giving) is acts of service but with the ace of swords is pretty obvious his Receiving love language is words of affirmation but moreso he appreciates when someone is blunt and honest and not just saying stuff to make him feel better cause then it’s just insincere.

What is his ideal type? the ageless, the star, the singer of healing 10, el shaddai, protection 26, ram, the maestro, fae 41, the sage 19, king of cups reversed, himself 17, danu, death reversed, obsession

His type: this person seems to have had some messed up stuff happen to them in their past. Even when others were horrible to them they still kept their dignity and chose to still give to others instead of give in to bitterness and despair. It’s like the Phoenix where no matter how many times they metaphorically die, they can still rise up even better than before. I think they’re able to help heal others because they’ve been through the trauma themselves but they know how to be honest and blunt without being overly mean about it. They have a kid of tough exterior though I think from years of negativity from people that’s made them strong but also a little distant from people and they need a lot of time to themselves to recharge and get away from peoples bs. Honestly this seems a lot like Taehyung too lol I think he wants someone who’s been through similar traumas.

The ram keeps calling out to me that I think this persons way of showing love is a little aggressive but that’s what Taehyung likes in someone tbh. It’s not like actually showing love it’s hard to explain. It’s more so you know when someone tries to act like sarcastic and shit to hide the fact that they like someone? Idk why it reminds me of toph from avatar the last airbender where she just punches people to show affection it’s kinda like that. Cause they’re not good at being really vulnerable. They put on this brave face and are pretty good at it to the point where you won’t notice that they’re jealous seeing you hang out with someone else. But this person is really independent like I’m not joking lmao and a go getter they don’t rely on anyone really. And don’t give a fuck who you are.

There’s 2 healing cards and honestly why is this person so similar to Taehyung lol this person is great at helping or healing others but again has to realize it’s okay to also get help for yourself. They think maybe that they’re fine on their own and they don’t like relying on others for help because people disappoint you and it’s easier to just do it yourself. But they’re really good at giving advice and are lot nicer than their exterior let’s on. Bruh the star card makes my mind keep playing that I’m gonna be a star song by twice lmao stop. I think this person actually is a star or is working up to it cause they have huge plans. This isn’t someone just wanting a mundane job I think they’re gonna go big.

Especially paired with the ram talking about they go for big dreams and huge successes. This person won’t stop until they accomplish their dreams they really don’t care what others say and will go to the extremes to get there. I see they have a lot of talents anyway but some people were like saying negative shit that their dreams are impossible but they’re learning to set boundaries with other people and it’s more of a just move in silence energy. Also usually I don’t say zodiac signs but since it’s a major arcana it might play some significance but Aquarius might be prominent in their chart (nvm I just remembered Taehyung has venus in Aquarius so duh you dumbass it wouldn’t be that out there to think he’d be drawn to Aquarius qualities).

I wonder if this person is into astrology though given all the glyphs. I think this is someone Taehyung has been trying to manifest and call in too like wishing on a star for a looooong time and maybe thought it wouldn’t come but boy does the universe have a surprise for you. They really are future oriented thinkers and know a lot about spirituality I think that a big part of who they are I really don’t think they’d be completely atheist or not care about spiritual topics. They give a lot without much thought in return and can talk about anything with openness and honesty. With Taehyung they’d teach him everything under the sun. He likes when he can share all this knowledge especially about weirder topics with someone who isn’t going to dismiss him. I see them really encouraging him to try new things and show him things he never knew were possible. They treat him like he finally belongs somewhere in the world.

This shit is kinda spooky because both the maestro guy and illbe the retriever are holding orbs/a little white ball close to them and they speak of the same thing. This person really protects Taehyungs hopes and dreams. Also they themselves obviously represent a dream that Taehyung thought was long gone and impossible. I think it can be taken literally too lol to mean that when Taehyung is being forgetful af. This person is that type of person who has your keys already when you think you lost them. They’re really the more responsible one in the relationship lmao helping him to be more organized and get his life together. The next set of cards I used to represent what his biggest turn ons are. This isn’t in a sexual way though lmao I meant the qualities he likes the most in his ideal type. Already I noticed how all the cards are facing straight ahead and looking right at you so it makes me think this person has some intense ass eye contact and looks intimidating and they got a rbf.

With the king of cups reversed I don’t think they’re actually these heartless cold bitches and that Taehyung is turned on by that because the sage card is upright and talks about the same shit but this is a person definitely who looks colder but is actually kind on the inside. He kinda likes people who look cold like that but are actually sweethearts. This person is not one of those super lovey-dovey people or uses pet names and babytalk like “my sweet baby Taehyung” whatever I think they find it very cringe. They have some trauma from when they were kids where they felt as if they aren’t allowed to act very emotional because people will think they’re weak and take advantage of them (this is just their beliefs about themselves) they instead act very macho or tough again lol like Toph from ATLA idk why I keep thinking of her but there’s like a kinda tomboy energy but they’re really not heartless they just need the right person to feel comfortable around and need to work on opening up emotionally.

There’s so much masculine and yang energy but then at the end you see this motherhood figure so it again really makes me think it’s a front and this person is so nurturing and that’s what really draw Taehyung to them. He loves the most that this person knows so much about the most random things and esoteric topics. They value tradition and stability but they also understand the need for growth and change they’re the perfect balance. Communication is really a big thing for Taehyung it’s a reoccurring theme in this. Someone who is very good at communicating and are action oriented. They say what they mean and mean what they say. It’s very important that they are their own unique individual self and have their own goals and skills and hobbies.

This person is probably a powerful manifester too and sets their intentions and goes after them. They have so much power and confidence also with the himself card they could be a dancer or love dance since he’s a dancer faerie they’re very much into creative shit. They seem very natural and not the type who got work done or wears too much makeup idk there’s like a wild energy lol like this bitch is from the damn forest. If someone attacked Taehyung this person would literally drop kick someone even if the person was bigger than them. Danu card is always protective and nurturing but ferocious if you mess with their person. Like “idc what you do to me but if you touch my guy I’ll end you”.

Now onto what Taehyung’s biggest turn offs in general are: death reversed and obsessed card lol oh god bro I am fucking done. His biggest turn off is when someone makes him the center of their universe. I mean this in the extreme way like “omg you’re my one and only we’re meant to be I think about you 5000 times a day and have an entire closet with all your pictures and I document your entire life” 👀 and he’s like uhh can you get a damn hobby? (That doesn’t involve me) Cause imagine someone’s entire life revolves around you. It’s sweet at first I guess? Lmaoo then it’s just creepy and like they have no life or personality without you. Death reversed is like something is plaguing you and following you around, pestering and annoying you. He must’ve experienced this shit irl lmao if it’s this strong with a major arcana to come up as a turn off. Cause major arcana are big ass life lessons. Like they thought he wouldn’t know they were secretly obsessed with his ass and used other people like his friends to get closer to him but I’m telling you Taehyungs intuition is something else and he always knows when people are some obsessed crazies. This is exactly why he’s so cautious now because of bs like that he can’t trust anyone. Like please stop acting like Jodi Arias and have some self respect.

[sokkascroptop]

traitor. (sokka x f!reader) pt 26

part 1 | part 25

a/n: no matter how long you have been here, just know i'm extremely grateful for anyone who's read this fic. now here's the latest chapter.

Sometimes it felt like the days dragged on. Each and every hour was laid out just like the day before–the week before. It made time seem endless, even though Y/N knew it definitely was not. Sozin’s Comet was getting closer and closer each day. Y/N didn’t know if it was the anticipation for that long fated day or if it was some buried fire bender gene in her body, warning her of something to come. She could feel it deep within her bones. She woke up earlier and earlier each day, no matter how late her night ended up. And each day the sun greeted her with warm yellow light that made the air a little easier to breathe.

As they moved further south and into Fire Nation territory, Zuko made mention of Ember Island as a place to hide out. The island–or chain of islands, really–were close enough to Caldera City that it would be a good place for them to lay low and wait, as well as uninhabited by enough people that they could lay low.

Y/N thought it was a little risky to be living in the Fire Lord’s Ember Island house, but Zuko was probably right, this was going to be the last place anyone would look for them. Maybe Y/N was just unsettled about being back, so close to Caldera City, or maybe it was being back on Ember Island for the first time since she was 9.

Somewhere between the temple and the beach house, Y/N tired of training. It just added to the monotony, and so she just…stopped. Instead, she spent her days on the beach, sometimes alone–often with the others though–playing in the tide pools and skim-boarding on the sand. And sometimes, if she felt like she didn’t have enough time on her own to recharge, she’d leave in the night, either through her window or the front door to take a walk on the beach in the moonlight. Only to come back and wake up a few hours later, ready for sunrise.

Today was no different, though the sun was already peeking over the horizon and into her room when her eyes peeled open.

The wooden floors creaked under Y/N’s feet as she crept out of her room silently.

Each board was smooth under her bare toes, not well-worn by many little feet running across them year after year but made that way before they were even built into the house, for no doubt a hefty fee. The beach house was… cold, to say the least. It just felt like each pore of the house seeped something uninviting, reminding them that they shouldn’t be there. It wasn’t just Y/N who felt it, they all spent as little time as possible in the house.

She padded into the kitchen and struck their flint to start a fire under the stove–mostly unneeded since Zuko had joined their group–but wholly necessary when he wasn’t around to be their fire-starter. Y/N didn’t mind doing it this way, it felt nice being able to do something with her own hands for once instead of relying on the others to make clean water or heat up the food. She boiled just enough water for one cup of tea before heading out to the courtyard where she knew at least two of her friends would be awake.

Y/N didn’t like feeling optimistic. It was a terrifying feeling. There was so much riding on their success; she didn’t want to spend so much energy on hoping only to have it all dashed away if things didn’t go their way. It would be too heartbreaking. But watching Aang, she could. They weren’t even sparring and she could see the power behind every blast of fire. And she had hope for their future. She had to; she wasn’t going to lose her friends.

“You’re doing that one wrong,” Y/N said from the shadows on the porch. She held her warm cup to her chest, the breeze blowing in from the ocean was keeping the courtyard chilly until the sun could rise high enough to heat the island.

Aang didn’t seem too surprised to hear her voice. “Doing what wrong?” He asked, confused.

Zuko frowned up at Y/N from his seat on the steps but nodded to Aang. “She’s right, you have to dip further down so when you come up the fire creates more of an arc.”

Aang pushed through a few more poses before Zuko stood up and joined him. Y/N stole his seat and pulled her legs up to cross them. She watched as they moved in tandem, working though the most basic of firebending forms all the way up to a few advanced ones. Memories flooded Y/N’s head so fast it made her dizzy. She remembered sitting just like she was now, watching her two brothers work through their forms when she was younger. On chilly mornings, much like today, she would wrap herself in a blanket nest and sip on tea that was much too sweet as they worked well into mid morning. In a sudden rush of affection she realized she was doing much of the same thing, just years and years later.

Aang had learned fast. That was good. She set down her empty cup as the two boys headed back to her, both sweaty from their training. “Good job, Aang! You’re doing great!”

Aang beamed with pride. “Thanks, Y/N!

“Don’t be so encouraging, he’s still got a lot to learn,” Zuko grumbled, taking a seat on the ground next to her.

Y/N pouted. “He needs encouragement. That’s how he learns.” Y/N learned that from watching the differences between Katara teaching styles and Toph’s teaching styles.

“Speaking of firebending,” Aang kicked his feet against the edge of the steps and looked around like he was avoiding something. “How did you know about the firebending forms?”

Zuko leaned back on his hands. “I’d like to know that too.”

Y/N smiled softly. “I watched my brothers for years, religiously learning all the forms and practicing them on my own. I wanted to be just like them. I guess I still remember them.”

Aang frowned. “It’s not like you couldn’t bend on purpose.”

Y/N was surprised to see Aang look so sad. “I know.” She shrugged and looked away feeling her cheeks redden with both boys staring at her. “I just wanted to be normal so people would stop paying attention to me for the wrong reasons.” She mumbled.

“It made you a better sword fighter,” Zuko said suddenly.

“What?” Y/N asked.

“The discipline and movements. You do the same when you’re fighting.”

“I’ve never noticed, but you’re right, Zuko!” Aang exclaimed.

The thought made Y/N smile. “That was nice of you.”

Zuko rolled his eyes but let the smallest hint of a smile grace his lips.

She looked back to Aang, who still looked a bit hesitant. “Don’t worry about me. How about we go swimming? Before the others wake up!”

Aang perked up immediately. “That sounds great! Let’s go, Zuko!”

Y/N and Aang stood, both looking down at Zuko, who just stared at the ground between his feet. She could already hear him saying no, telling them that he needed to train more or meditate and didn’t have time to run off and play games.

Y/N opened her mouth to tell Aang that the two of them could still go but Zuko spoke up before her. “Yeah, okay.”

Sometimes even on those long, dragging days, it was the little things that made everything better; like playing in the surf with two of your friends.

---

That evening though, Y/N was back where she had started the day, and had decided that everyone in her group of friends, save for maybe Zuko, talked way too much. She craved those moments alone where she just had her thoughts to occupy her. Especially when she had a lot on her mind.

Y/N didn’t want to admit she felt stuck inside with Aang and Katara while everyone else was outside enjoying the evening, but she also felt guilty in turning down their request to help make dinner to just wander around on the beach until sunset. She didn’t help out much with making meals, and she felt obligated to help when she could.

So she was there, sitting on the dinner table, lotus style with a knife and a cutting board and a basket of carrots in need of chopping at her side.

“What else can I do, Katara?” Aang dumped some of the vegetables he was cutting into the stew Katara was currently stirring over the stove.

“Hmm, can you go out and get some more water to make the rice?” Aang grinned and nodded, before running out of the house towards the side of the house where there was a small barrel of collected water.

Y/N smiled to herself at the interaction and continued cutting carrots for Katara, trying not to let her mind wander, but it was hard with the monotonous work and the bad spot she was sitting in.

Just in front of her was the window where she had watched Zuko and Aang train while she made tea that morning, now it showed Zuko and Sokka doing their own training.

Y/N was struggling with more than just feeling like she didn’t belong on the Island. She didn’t know what she was going to say to Sokka, or if she was even going to say anything about her feelings at all. Without the constant traveling and the safety of a hideout, she was able to just stop and let those feelings and thoughts she had been holding back with a dam of fear wash over her.

It was all really confusing for Y/N. And hard to admit.

She didn’t want to face the awkward conversation of asking whether he could always be there for her. She didn’t want to beg him to never leave because she was so insecure. She was so afraid of losing everything and everyone that she was going to do just that because she was afraid of opening up.

What would happen if she never told Sokka she loved him back? Did she even love him back? What did love feel like?

Love with Azula felt like fire, sometimes it burned painfully, but in the good times it filled her with a warmth like never before. Zuko’s friendship felt the same, but it was less like sitting too close to the fire and more like sitting just in the right place where it didn’t dry out your eyes but didn’t make goosebumps grow on your arms. Sokka always felt like a cool breeze, one where you lift your face up to the sky and smile because it always feels like relief. But that’s not what Y/N is used to. How does she know if it’s love if it doesn’t hurt a little bit? How does she know that it's real if she doesn’t have to give all of herself until she is worn to nothing to make it work?

It wasn’t that she was afraid to care for him, she had made it clear that she did. It was just easier on her heart to keep him at a distance for now until she figured they were inevitably part ways. That’s how Y/N saw this all ending. Separated across oceans, back to where they came from, whatever the outcome of the war. Y/N wanted to dream of the possibilities and opportunities where they could be together in the long run, but those were just that, dreams for another lifetime. People from the Water Tribe didn’t marry people from the Fire Nation.

Everything that she learned over the last few months was that nothing was ever set in stone, so why should she and Sokka be.

Y/N stared out the window, pondering when it would all fall apart and sliced downwards on a carrot, but met nothing but the cutting board. She looked down where the knife was closer to her finger than to the carrots. She let out a little inward gasp.

“What?” Katara turned around and asked.

Y/N’s eyes widened. “Nothing.” She motioned to the cutting board. “Do you want these smaller?”

Katara eyed Y/N and then looked to the cutting board. “They’re fine. But pay more attention, I don’t know how to reattach fingers yet.”

“Yeah, definitely.”

Y/N’s eyes didn’t leave the wooden cutting board and her fingers until the others came bustling into the kitchen, all talking at once.

Y/N for the most part ignored everyone, until Sokka reached over and snatched one of the slices of carrots.

Y/N nudged his arm. “Can you wait?! I thought you didn’t like vegetables!”

“Aang got me to like carrots!” Sokka retorted, before quickly reaching around Y/N to grab another and popping it into his mouth.

“Why would you be sitting on the table that we have to eat off of?” Suki wrinkled her nose.

“Uh! Katara said I could!” Y/N stuck her tongue out.

Katara whipped around, hands on her hips. “I never said you could, I just didn’t say you couldn’t.” Katara turned back to stirring the stew before muttering under her breath, “Not like telling you no would have made a difference anyways.”

“Hey!” Y/N picked up a carrot and launched it at the back of Katara’s head.

Aang walked back inside carrying a bucket of water, to a kitchen full of chaos. Vegetables were being thrown across the room at one another, as laughter rang out. Sokka, Zuko and Y/N were sprawled on one side of the kitchen behind and under the table; with Suki, Katara and Toph only edging from behind the safety of the kitchen doorway to throw something.

For the first time in a long time, Y/N could hear the exasperation of a 112 year old monk in Aang’s usually cheerful voice.“Uh, guys, what are we supposed to eat for dinner now?”

---

Y/N was dozing against the headboard of her bed that night, when she heard the knock at her door. At first she thought she imagined it, that is until she heard a voice on the other side of the doorway. “Y/N, are you awake?”

Y/N slid out of bed and cracked open the door. She smiled and leaned against the doorjamb, a familiar feeling in her chest.

“Are you afraid that there are ghosts here too?”

Sokka grinned and nodded. “In this house? Absolutely. But I’m not here for that.”

“Oh?” Y/N raised an eyebrow.

“Come outside with me.”

Y/N chuckled. “Why?”

“Please, just come on. No questions.”

Y/N sighed and reached for an old silk robe she found in one of the closets, but her smile never left her face.

To be fair to Sokka, there wasn’t much to surprise Y/N with on an island she grew up on. But that night, the sky momentarily took her breath away.

Sometimes the simplest things were the most beautiful.

“I thought we could come out here; look at the stars a bit. I used to like doing that at home. Though it’s different. The constellations aren’t the same where I’m from.”

“I guess I’ll just have to teach you some.”

Together they laid side by side on the roof, and Y/N pointed out her favorites. The dragon, the jack-rabbit...

After Y/N had told Sokka the story of the Red Queen, some ancient fable of a powerful Fire Lady that was always one of Y/N’s favorites, they both grew quiet, Y/N asked the question that had been brewing on her mind. She worried that whatever she said would mess up the peaceful night they had been having. It felt like she was intruding on a secret that she wasn’t supposed to know.

“Hey, Sokka,” Y/N asked.

“Hmmm,” She looked over and Sokka looked about half asleep already. Maybe this would be good timing.

“Who’s Yue?”

Sokka’s eyes shot open and he sat up quickly. “What?”

Y/N could feel her face flush. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to know.

“Yue.” The word sounded flat and foreign on her tongue. Maybe that wasn’t how you actually pronounced it? Some of the Water Tribe names and words were hard for Y/N’s mouth to form. If she could, she flushed deeper. “I heard you talking about them when I was hurt. I was in and out of it, so I don’t remember much, but I remember the name.”

Sokka suddenly looked very sad. Which was… odd because Y/N just thought that Yue was a Water Tribe spirit much like the Fire Nation had Agni.

“She’s the moon spirit,” Sokka whispered, his eyes cast down on his wringing hands.

Y/N eyes were wide. Why was he acting like this? “Oh. I figured she was a spirit or something. It sounded like you were praying to her, or something.”

“Yeah,” Sokka choked out. “Something like that.”

That’s when Y/N noticed there were drips of water on Sokka’s hands. Tears.

“Sokka?” Y/N said softly. She reached forward and–yup those were tears, dripping on their hands.

“She was a girl I met at the Northern Water Tribe when we first started traveling.”

“I thought she was…”

“She is.” For the first time, Sokka looked up. The pain in his eyes was unimaginable. “But she was still a girl when I met her.”

Sokka launched into a story that sounded more fantasy than real, but the look on his face, the sadness in his features, Y/N knew he was telling the truth.

“She was blessed by the moon spirit when she was born, it was the only reason she was alive. But when we were in the Northern Water Tribe—Zhao, a Fire Nation commander killed the moon spirit and all the water benders lost their bending, forever.” Sokka shivered. “It was scary, the moon was gone in the sky and we were helpless to fight the Fire Nation. It would have changed the tide of the war.

But she was selfless. She knew that she was the only hope for her tribe—for the world—and she sacrificed herself to save all of us. So now she’s the moon spirit…I guess. I don’t know, she’ll always be Yue to me.” Sokka’s voice trailed off with a sniffle. Y/N didn’t know how to respond.

Sokka sent a longing glance upward. The moon was just past full, waning in the far distance but still bright and round in the sky. “I think–I think she heard me that night. And she knew how much you meant to me, even then. And she saved you because…” Now it was Sokka’s turn to flush. “I don’t think I could live without you.”

Those words made Y/N’s chest burn. Her arms and legs tingled in relief as if all the tension in her body began to melt away. Y/N reached out, wiping a stray tear off of Sokka’s cheek. “Me either,” she replied instantly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“’m not. Sad, really. I miss her, but it’s easier to always know where she is. She didn’t have a lot of choice in her life, but this was something she had control over. If she hadn’t become the moon spirit, the war would have ended right there. So her sacrifice meant that, you know, Zuko is our friend now and Aang has a chance at beating the Firelord and you have a place in all our lives. She made all of this possible.”

“Sounds like we have a lot more to be thankful to her for than just saving little old me then, huh?”

“You would have liked her.”

Y/N nodded and peered at the moon above them. “I do like her.”

No one else needed to know that after the two of them went inside and off to bed, that Y/N hung halfway out her window to get one last look at the moon. Y/N swore as her eyes closed and sleep overtook her that the moon shone a little brighter. Maybe that’s how the moon said thank you. Y/N’d never tell anyone that she whispered a small thank you too, to the girl who lived among the stars.

a/n: don't be shy, come talk to me in my askbox and tell me if you liked it

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[edelegs]

Bernie’s just SO good

Bernadetta was one of my first loves on my playthrough. I immediately latched onto her as someone I wanted to help and befriend. Her supports with Byleth were some of the first I unlocked and I’m writing this all to present the hot take that her character arc is actually really good. 

The change between academy and war phase Bernie is night and day--she goes from shying away and hiding in her room to venturing out and relating to her classmates. This is seen clearly on the battlefield: her reluctance turns into confidence. Instead of saying “anywhere I can hide?” she says “I do this for all of us”. And it’s not unbelievable that she gets to this point. I’ve always found the reveal of her backstory to be very evenly paced. It’s obvious when you meet here that this child is Made of Trauma. The pre-timeskip support chains that stand out are Byleth, Dorothea, Hubert, and Petra. In Byleth and Dorothea especially, you get insight on different aspects of what her abuse manifested as. In Hubert and Petra’s, you see her first failing to communicate and then recognizes her errors with Hubert/tries to take Petra’s advice. Subtly, she’s warming up to her classmates without it feeling like she just suddenly gained confidence out of nowhere. 

By the time the war phase rolls around, she’s had five years with this group. With her father being under arrest in her home, she was likely encouraged to spend more time with the Black Eagle Strike Force. Her A-supports show her reaching out to others and speaking to her friends more comfortably. She and Edelgard are finally able to understand each other, she can unironically propose that Hubert wears embroidered flowers, and she can reflect on the past and what could’ve happened with Ferdinand. These are just a few examples. But what I really love about war phase Bernie is that she’s not fully “cured”. In her A support with Byleth, she still reflects a need to balance socialization/unfamiliar situations and recharging in her room. She expresses apprehension in her paralogue with Petra, but later finds that she loved travelling and wants to go even further. To me, her character growth is some of the most realistic in the game. (Let’s face it, the only therapy these characters have is Byleth, and they were gone for 5 years). I always found her arc to be amazing. In fact, I found Dimitri’s recovery to be too sudden and thought “they should’ve written his arc to be more like Bernadetta’s, where the illness lingers but he can cope better/has better support”.  It’s just disappointing that a lot of her endings either imply that she became a complete hermit again or that other people had to force her out of it. (A Berniepetra ending would’ve been so good, because it references the growth from the paralogue and Petra would treat her RIGHT) 

It’s interesting how people react to these characters’ trauma. The few times I’ve seen bad fe3h memes (like, the “probably made to appeal to gamerbros” kind), they’ve acted like Bernie was the literal worst. A lot of Edelgard’s trauma reactions get read as proof of how cold she is. Yet I have never seen anyone say a bad word about Marianne (that’s not to invite those takes at all). I wonder if she’s more “palatable” to some people because her trauma manifests as reluctance to talk, whereas Bernie is usually shrieking in panic and refusing to believe that nobody’s out to get her. But watching Bernadetta von Varley grow from an agoraphobic, traumatized girl with low self-esteem into a confident fighter who has learned to trust her friends is one of the most satisfying side arcs in the game. I adore the “kindhearted and unconventional teacher wins the hearts of their students” trope so much and fe3h is Basically Just That. I felt it most with Bernie and I really do love her. Also it’s 2am 

[writeyouin]

Swerve X Reader – Changes - Chapter 9

Chapter 9 - Insecurities

A/N – This feels like the longest I’ve ever gone between writing fics, but both of my jobs keep me busy now. I miss this blog so much right now.

Warnings – None.

Rating – T

Although Swerve was exhausted, he found that he wasn’t able to recharge for long. Instead, he remained awake, staring at you in your new body. Ever since you had been lost to him, he had been so worried about you, he had never even considered that he would also have to get used to your new form.

Holding you felt like holding a stranger. He missed your soft body, your unique human scent, the feel of your hair against his face-plates. Coolant leaked form Swerve’s optics. How could he think such things? You were going through the most difficult time of your life and all he could think of was himself.

At the first sounds of static from his vocaliser, Swerve hurried to clamp down on the sound, shutting it off. Everything was going wrong and he knew that it was all his fault. He was supposed to have had time to prepare for this eventuality, but instead it was his own stupidity that had gotten you killed too soon.

By this point in your relationship, you were supposed to be enjoying the honeymoon period, thinking about sparklings and sharing in one another’s dreams. Instead, you had suffered just a light sample of the torments and prejudice that Cybertronians faced from organics.

Swerve knew that you were wrong in your assessment of him. While it was true that he would never love another the way he loved you, he hoped that you could learn to love someone other than him, for he was never going to be worthy of your affections.

Letting you go, Swerve silently got up from the berth. He kissed your helm as a final goodbye, and he left the hab-suite, certain that he would never return to the room wherein he had shared the best time of his life with you.

Once outside the hab-suite, Swerve wasn’t sure where he was going. He wandered aimlessly for a while, shying away from any mechs he saw. Eventually, he found himself at his bar, where he usually ended up when he needed time to think. Under normal circumstances, he would have opened the bar as quickly as possible, finding it wrong when it was quiet. Now however, he revelled in the silence. This was his place, and it was the only thing he deserved in the universe. From now on, he would make no attempts to connect with anyone ever again. He had a bar, and until the day he had to relinquish it, once the quest was over, that was all he would allow himself.

You woke up screaming, a nightmare of a giant Lady Ouida ripping out cables and parts from your damaged chassis still plaguing your mind. It took you a long time to calm yourself, but when you finally did, you were even more perturbed than before.

Where was Swerve? He had promised to stay with you. He should have been there, comforting you from your nightmare, as you always did for him, but instead you were alone, fear washing over you and leaving you cold in its wake.

You vented a few long drafts of air through your systems, finding it almost the same as taking calming breaths. Then, once you were sure that you could trust yourself to speak calmly, you focused on your communicator, giving your body the instructions to call Swerve. As usual, nothing happened, and you had to wonder if there was a problem with the communicator in itself.

However, Brainstorm and Perceptor didn’t make those kinds of mistakes when building, so you tried again. After a few more attempts, you got the feeling that the problem had more to do with Swerve than with you. He had gone through periods like this before, wherein he became insecure about himself and stopped talking, sometimes for hours at a time. In those times, you always managed to get him to open up to you, comforting him with soft touches and reassuring words. Without him here to talk to however, you were powerless to help him.

You sighed, hurt that he would ever leave you when you felt your most vulnerable. Although it was hard, you had to put your own needs aside for Swerve. This was a difficult hurdle of your marriage, and one that neither of you were prepared for. He needed you right now, and you also needed him. Swinging your legs over the edge of the berth, you got up and headed to the one place you were sure he would be; his bar.

It took you longer than it should have to get there. Whenever anyone saw you, they would stop you to ask how you were, or to sympathise with you over your recent losses. Although you longed to reach Swerve, you took the time to thank each one of them, a calendar in your head adding reminders to each cycle that you promised to spend with some of them; it was both odd and pleasing to find your mind multi-tasking in such a manner, like a computer running multiple applications at the same time.

Finally, you reached the bar, letting yourself in.

“Swerve,” You called, finding no sign of your husband; he was hiding from you.

You sat down on one of the bar stools, “I’m not leaving until you talk to me.”

Hidden behind the bar, Swerve covered his face shamefully. You had to understand that he was doing this for you. You could do better than him, with someone who wouldn’t lie to you, someone who would always protect you, and who worshipped the very ground you stood on. You could be with someone who didn’t hold you back, someone who was mentally stable; why did you keep coming back to him?

“Is it me?” You asked sadly. “My new body? Or is this something about you? You saved me, Swerve. Twice. So, why leave me now after all we’ve been through?”

Swerve didn’t want you to know that he was behind the bar, but he couldn’t bear leaving you like this. He connected his vocaliser to the bar’s speakers, allowing him to talk without revealing his location. It had to be this way; if he looked at you while he spoke, his resolve would crumble, and he would keep you trapped in the unhealthy relationship forever.

“It’s not you, (Y/N),” He said with conviction.

“But it’s true isn’t it. You’re not used to seeing me like this… I get it, you know. I still can’t believe it’s me whenever I look in the mirror. I’ve thought about using my holo-form, but I should probably get used to seeing myself like this, for now at least.”

How were you being so casual about this?

“You should hate me,” Swerve told you.

“Hate you? How could I? We’ve been through so much together, Swerve. Right now, you’re just scared, but there’s nothing to be scared of.”

“How do you know what I’m feeling?”

“Because I know you. I know that whenever you think you’ve done something wrong, you think about it until it hurts. You keep the pain close to your spark because you think that you deserve to be punished, but I have news for you, you’re wrong. Everyone makes mistakes.”

“Not you, you’re perfect. That’s why you should be with someone better.”

“Don’t put me on a pedestal,” You pleaded. “I’m not perfect. Nobody is. Look Swerve, we can work this out. I won’t give up on us, even if you already have.”

You got up to leave, “I think that maybe you just need some time to think, and I mean really think, without lingering over everything that’s gone wrong. I’m going to talk with Rung and see if I can get us booked in for some couple’s counselling, okay? I hope you’ll be there.”

With that, you walked away from the bar. Swerve peeked over the counter, desperate to see you if only for the last time. He wanted to feel terrible, yet knowing you were fighting for him gave him the tiniest spark of hope; it was a feeling that he desperately tried to quash.

Rung set about making his hab-suite more comfortable for you, having been surprised by your visit during his off-hours, yet not wholly unprepared. While you waited for him to take the seat opposite yours, he got his pot of energon sweets, placing them on the small table in-between the two chairs.

Finally, he seated himself and as usual, unable to find the line between friend and therapist, he spoke to you as both. “So, what brings you here today?” He asked.

You smiled sadly at your friend, the bot who had given you away at your wedding. “I don’t even know where to start, Rung. I feel that there’s so much to talk about… So much that I’m not okay with, but all of it has to wait.”

“And what is it waiting in favour of?”

“Swerve,” You answered simply.

“Ah,” Rung nodded as if he’d expected the answer. “He isn’t handling things well, I take it.”

“He isn’t handling things at all, Rung. He’s holed up in his bar, sure that if I don’t see him for a while then I’ll move on and fall in love with someone else. He’s completely delusional, and I- I don’t know what to do. I tried bringing him here but he won’t even look at me now.”

“He’s blaming himself?”

“Yeah.”

“And what about you?” Rung asked. “Who do you blame?”

“I blame the dirtbag who shot me,” You said as calmly as you could, the memories of the past week haunting you.

“And for your body?”

You took a moment to think, staring at your servos, filled with gears and wires that you didn’t understand, the joints visible to the naked eye. “I don’t know. It was… hard for me to adjust. Sometimes I think I’m crazy and that none of this has really happened and that I’ll wake up any moment now, but it’s really me, isn’t it?”

You continued speaking, lost in your thoughts, “Swerve should have told me what was going on, but I keep thinking what if I was in his place? I would have done whatever it took to save his life, so how can I be mad at him for this?”

“I see. You seem to have put a lot of thought into this, (Y/N).”

You chuckled, leaning back into your chair, “Yeah, well, being locked in a prison cell by a sociopath gives you a lot of time to think.”

Despite your breezy attitude, Rung was already adding notes to his mental file on you, assuring himself that he would treat you for trauma and possible PTSD once he had sorted the immediate problems with Swerve out.

“So,” You said, before the silence became uncomfortable, “Will you see me and Swerve?”

“(Y/N), I will always have time for the two of you, though I must say that I think I should see Swerve on his own for the time being, until he is ready to face you himself.”

You didn’t bother arguing with Rung; he was the professional after all.

“Yeah, okay,” You nodded resignedly, then looking at his wall, you noticed that Rung had added another ship to his miniature fleet. “Nice ship, Rung. What’s the story behind that one?”

Rung smiled at you fondly, and dropped the need for any more psychology talk. Instead, he spoke to you as his fondest friend, and told you all about the ship, and his time aboard it.

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[juliandev0rak]

Willa Clary 🌿

the creative magician with a shadowy past

Introducing…

Full name: Willa Clary

Meaning: 

Willa means “resolute protection” and “will, desire” 

Clary is a family name running back many generations, it originally relates to the word “clerk” or “cleric”

Gender: female, she/ her

Birthday: May 3rd

Age (start of story): 27

Orientation: bisexual

Magic: manipulation, telepathy, animal communication/ zoolingualism, clairvoyance, psychometry, potion making

Occupation: magical apothecary owner, farmer, artist

Familiar: Mira, a field mouse

Love interest: Muriel 

Shippable?: shippable!

Theme song: Thistle & Weeds- Mumford & Sons

full playlist

— ALIGNMENTS —

Zodiac signs: 

Sun: Taurus

Moon: Cancer 

Rising: Pisces

MBTI: ISFP

Element: earth

Major Arcana: Strength

UPRIGHT: strength, courage, persuasion, influence, compassion

REVERSED: inner strength, self-doubt, low energy, raw emotion

Minor Arcana: the Queen of Cups

UPRIGHT:  compassionate, caring, emotionally stable, intuitive, in flow

REVERSED: inner feelings, self-care, self-love, codependency

Magic:

— Telepathy: Willa can communicate her thoughts to others through her mind, and she can hear other’s thoughts in return. However, she can’t read minds and hears only what the other person wishes to communicate to her. This power works best with people she is close to and only within a near range

— Manipulation: Willa is able to force others to follow her commands, only those with strong magical abilities can block or avoid her control. She can either place a thought in someone’s mind or verbally communicate her wishes. This is not a power she chooses to use anymore, but it sometimes occurs accidentally in moments of strong emotion

— Zoolingualism: She can communicate with and understand animals of all kinds, both through verbal and telepathic communication. She has some difficulty understanding aquatic animals, and is best at communicating with animals she has a close bond with

— Clairvoyance and Psychometry: Willa has high sensory perception and is able to detect things about people’s pasts and futures by touching them or through psychometry: touching objects owned by those people. These powers only work with people she is close to, and not with any regularity. She also gets flashes of her own future, but she has no way to divine the past or future on her own— the images come to her as if by chance 

— Potions: She works at an apothecary and makes potions to heal a variety of physical and mental ailments. She grows her own herbs and plants for these potions, and while she is not adept at using her magic to physically heal wounds, her healing potions are renowned for their potency

Other abilities: Willa is an accomplished artist and loves to paint scenes of nature as well as portraits of her loved ones, she also knits and sews and makes most of her own clothing, she can sing well and is an excellent cook, she has a green thumb and enjoys gardening and cultivating plants

— PERSONALITY & PREFERENCES —

Personality: 

Willa is often outgoing and cheerful, and nearly always has a smile on her face. She loves to make new friends and has no trouble interacting with strangers or crowds. She was very shy and withdrawn as a child, but as she grew older Willa grew into her confidence and enjoys being around others. However, she is an introvert at heart and prefers to surround herself with a smaller inner circle and needs frequent alone time to recharge. 

Willa is kind and gentle, seeking to help others whenever she can. She seeks harmony and often finds herself as a peacemaker in times of conflict. Willa cares deeply about those she loves and is loyal nearly to a fault. She can be very stubborn, and when she’s decided on an opinion of someone it is difficult for her to change it. She likes to be right, and she likes doing things her own way. Willa can be a bit particular, but it comes down to her stubborn belief that her way is the best way. She likes to help others, and can sometimes help too much and risk suffocating or being clingy with her loved ones. 

While she has a wide assortment of acquaintances, her inner circle of close friends and family are her focus and she is always willing to drop anything to help them. Though she loves to help others, Willa is very independent and does not like to rely on others. She can be impulsive and loves to try new things, often jumping from one hobby to another without finishing previous projects. Willa can also be a bit impatient, but has learned that good things come to those who wait. 

Mental health: Willa faced traumatic events in her childhood and she suffers from nightmares and occasional panic attacks as a result 

Likes: soft yarn, fresh bread, cold mornings, sunny afternoons, empty canvases, swimming

Dislikes: greed, eating meat, wearing her glasses, shadows

Fears: hurting a loved one, being trapped (physically or emotionally)

Quirks: she nearly always has dirt or paint under her fingernails and on her clothes, she needs glasses to help her with reading but frequently misplaces them and hardly ever wears them 

Favorite food: strawberry scones

Favorite drink: hot cocoa

Favorite flower: daisies

Favorite color: sage green

Most likely to: paint on the walls

— APPEARANCE —

Height: 5′1 / 155 cm

Eyes: very light blue-grey

Hair: light red / strawberry blonde, wavy, shoulder length and usually half pulled back from her face in a bun or a little pony tail 

Other: fair skin with many freckles, lots of calluses on her hands from her work

Color theme: sage green, mustard yellow, brown, cream, pink

Fashion sense: Willa likes to be comfortable and wears mainly knit items she’s made herself. She wears lots of sweaters and skirts as well as floral dresses and occasionally overalls if she's gardening or working. She prefers light, warm toned colors and makes most of her own clothing. Her favorite clothing item is knit socks and she loves to create intricate patterns of flowers or even animals when she knits them. She wears comfortable boots during the day, and has a pair of yellow rubber boots for when she’s out in the garden.

— FAMILY & BACKGROUND —

Family:

Torin Clary - father - alive  | relationship: strained 

Una Clary - mother - alive  | relationship: strained, nearly nonexistent

Finnegan Clary - older brother - alive | relationship: very close

Eoghan Clary - younger brother - alive | relationship: close 

Fiadh Clary - great aunt - alive | relationship: close 

History:

Hidden on the cliffs of the Rosmare sea lies a small village called Armara. Under a near constant deluge of rain, a small community thrives on farming and fishing. Willa’s family has always lived in Armara, and they always will. The family farm goes back through many generations and it has always been expected that Willa will be there to see it through the next. 

Born to Torin and Una Clary, Willa is the middle child of three and the only daughter. When she was little, her older brother Finnegan was her best friend and she spent her days following him around the farm and learning how to take care of the animals. At three years old Willa told her mother that the sheep could talk, and her mother laughed— thinking it was simply childish imagination. But Willa insisted, the sheep really could talk, and so could the cows and the pigs and even the birds who nest in the trees. Her mother often found her talking to the farm animals, seemingly carrying on full conversations. As she got older, her parents tried to break her from this “childish fantasy”, it wasn’t real and there was no place for fantasy in Armara.

When she was six, Willa’s younger brother Eoghan was born. From birth he was perfect, everything their parents had hoped for in a child. He was kind, quiet, and more than content to do farm work and listen to his parents unlike his older siblings. Finnegan had always been a dreamer, never content to stay in one place or live the simple life laid out for him. He spent his time writing poetry and music, and dreaming of going somewhere —anywhere — other than Armara. Willa took after Finnegan, and she spent most of her childhood longing to be somewhere else. 

Willa found this escape in her dreams, which were vivid and even frightening at times. She often had dreams about a city, a place she’d never seen in real life. In her dreams Willa was an adult, grown up and able to do strange things, magical things. She tried to copy the magic when she was awake, lifting leaves without touching them, changing the color of her hair to whatever she wanted, and she found that the powers she had in her dreams were real. Willa showed her parents her newly found powers but instead of being excited, they were terrified. 

Generations before Willa was born, Armara had been a place steeped in magic. People worshiped the old gods, they used magic freely and passed it on to others, they lived at peace with nature and with the spiritual forces of the land around them. But over time the old gods faded away in favor of a new one and magic was branded as witchcraft, wickedness, evil. Those who practiced it weren’t welcome in the village, and by the time Willa was born Armara had become a deeply superstitious place. The name “witch” was given to anyone different, and the only way to thrive in Armara was to fit in. 

So Willa was told to hide her magic, to never show it to anyone and to forget she had ever had it. She spent every Sunday morning at the old stone church with the rest of the village listening to a priest talk about the horrible fate that would befall anyone who chose to practice witchcraft. Aside from attending church, Willa’s parents tried to keep her away from others, always afraid she’d slip up and reveal her powers to someone else.

Inevitably, one of her neighbors spotted Willa practicing magic behind the barn, and the whole village was caught up in the panic. Her parents were told to send her away, out of Armara to somewhere she could be “safe” and learn to repent from her wicked ways. Her parents refused, but Willa was ostracized and forced to stay away from the others. She was no longer allowed to play with any of the other village children lest her evil was contagious. Willa was a witch, and witches didn’t belong in Armara.

Despite her relative isolation, Armara was a beautiful place to grow up. Willa had her animal friends and her brothers, and she made her first real friend when she was 9, a girl named Isolde. Her parents didn’t understand her and the village hated her, but she continued to study her magic in private, learning the bounds of her abilities. She continued to have dreams about the city, and she often asked her parents if she could someday travel to find this city. Every time they forbid her from leaving— Armara was her home, she had a duty to the family and the land. Willa felt trapped, she wasn’t accepted in Armara but she couldn’t leave. 

One night under the light of a full moon, Willa went into the woods after dark, something she had been warned against since childhood. The people of Armara did not believe in the old gods anymore, but they still feared their power which was said to be strongest in the woods. The villagers did not worship the old gods, but that night Willa did. She prayed to the spirits of the wind and the trees, she dipped her toes in the freezing cold stream and prayed to the spirits of water, but no one answered. Finally in desperation she began to pray to the shadows, the very darkness around her, and she got an answer.

“What is it you want?” the shadows asked.

“Nobody ever listens to me!” Willa cried, “I want a way out of here.”

The deal was struck, though Willa did not know then how dearly she would pay for her new found power. When she returned home she found that suddenly, everyone listened to her. She asked for something and found three hands holding it out for her, she told her mother she wanted to go into town and, for once, was allowed to go. Her wish was everyone’s command and at first the power was intoxicating. But one day, she found that the unlimited power she’d been given could have grave consequences.

Willa had an argument with her younger brother Eoghan, a simple sibling squabble over whose turn it was to do a chore. She generally got along with her brothers, they were among the only people in Armara who didn’t look at her in fear or derision, but Eoghan was mad. He called Willa a witch, a term only those who hated her used. Willa was angry and hurt, and when she shouted, “You shut your mouth Eoghan Clary!” she didn’t expect her magic to take over. Willa watched in horror as Eoghan’s mouth snapped shut, his lips pulling together like they’d been sewn closed. She tried everything to fix it, commanding him to open his mouth, telling him to speak, but the magic stuck. 

As the days went by with no change, her family panicked. Eoghan’s mouth was still stuck shut and it was only a matter of time before he died of thirst or hunger. So Willa went back to the woods at night to beg for the shadows help once more. She didn’t want this power anymore, she only wanted her brother.

“What will you give?” the shadows asked.

“Anything.” 

When she returned home Eoghan’s curse had been lifted, but she found her parents even more furious than before. Eoghan had nearly lost his life as a result of her magic, so it was decided that Willa must be sent away. She had wanted out of Armara, but when faced with the prospect of leaving her family behind, Willa was terrified. She begged them to stay, but she had lost her power of manipulation and her parents were resolute. 

The next morning, Willa went to pay her friend Isolde a visit before she left. When she knocked on the door, Isolde’s grandfather opened it, his tear-streaked face shocking Willa. She learned that her friend had died suddenly the night before, healthy and alive one moment and gone the next. Though there was no proof, Willa knew her deal had caused this. A life for a life, Eoghan had been saved in exchange for Isolde’s life. 

The next day, on her 15th birthday, Willa’s parents sent her off to a city called Vesuvia to live with her Great Aunt Fiadh. Fiadh was her grandmother’s sister and many years earlier she’d been sent away by her own family under similar conditions. Witches were not allowed in Armara, but it seems they were welcomed with open arms in Vesuvia. When she arrived in the city, Willa realized that this was the place she’d been dreaming of for so long. She loved Vesuvia, she finally had a chance to practice her magic in a place where people accepted her. 

Willa flourished in the city, though she missed the nature that had surrounded her at home and the family she’d had to leave behind. Away from Armara, she began to heal, and though the guilt of what happened with Isolde didn’t go away, it was easier to deal with in a new place. She met a new friend, a magician named Asra, and began to learn how to control her powers. When the plague came to Vesuvia, she knew she needed to help as many people as she could. Willa still felt as if she had sins to atone for, and she couldn’t ignore the suffering around her even as Asra and her Great Aunt Fiadh begged her to leave the city.

When Willa contracted the plague and passed away, Fiadh ventured back to Armara to share the terrible news. Finnegan travelled back to Vesuvia with her and they held a proper funeral and mourned Willa together. He decided to stay in Vesuvia with his great aunt, and when Willa was miraculously brought back to life, Finnegan was there to help her recover.  

As she got her memories back, Willa remembered the deal she’d made and the terrible price she’d paid to obtain power. She never forgave herself for what happened, and vowed to never use her powers again. But over time, and with the help of her friends and family, Willa began to move on and learn to control her powers again instead of running from them.

Post-canon, Willa still runs the apothecary shop with her Great Aunt Fiadh, but she spends most of her time out at her farm in the forest. She’s done enough world-saving for one lifetime, and enjoys a quiet life of creativity and spending time with her loved ones. Though her life is mostly peaceful, Willa still finds herself wary of the woods at night and she sometimes feels as if the shadows are watching her.

Five facts:

Willa uses her magic to enchant her knitting with protection and warmth charms

she carries her sketchbook with her everywhere and often stops to draw a passing stranger or a pretty flower in inspiration strikes

she’s a vegetarian

she’s left handed, which was seen as a bad omen in her hometown, her mother tried to train her to use her right hand but she refused to change

Willa knits sweaters and hats for the animals she cares for, and she lets them pick out the yarn

notes: my sweet flower gal :’) i love her

thank you as always to @leila-of-ravens​ for the bio template and to all of my lovely mutuals who have loved Willa along with me 💗

[drabbles-mc]

A Long Night

Bishop Losa x Reader

This one is gonna have spoilers for Season 1, Episode 8 for anyone who is still working their way through the show. Just wanted to give a heads-up. xo

Request from my fave Bishop fan @masterlistforimagines​​: You know how sad and upset Bishop was because Alvarez decided to take the position for Galindo? I was thinking about Bishop cutting the party earlier and coming home to you after. Like imagine seeing Bishop so upset (which I feel like would be weird because he doesn’t seem like he would be sad often). Maybe even this is the first time his girl had ever seen him this upset maybe? Idk. And trying to cheer him up. Just a fluff request

Warnings: Bishop being a Sad Boy

Word Count: 1.3k

A/N: Writing sad Bishop was heartbreaking but we’re here to make him feel better so it all evens out. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Bish Taglist: @sincerelyasomebody​ @sadeyesgf​ @thesandbeneathmytoes​ @tomhardydallasstarsgirl​ @sillygoose6969​ @queenbeered​ @louisianalady​ @gemini0410​

You were curled up on the couch, a few sips left in your glass of wine while you caught up on your favorite show. You enjoyed the nights that you had to yourself at home, not that you didn’t love Bishop, but every now and then you just didn’t have it in you to make it to the clubhouse parties. And, from what Bishop was telling you earlier in the week, this one was going to be a doozy. So instead you decided to take the night for yourself to recharge, and that was something that he completely understood.

You heard the sound of a key in the lock on your front door. You looked down at the time on your phone, confused. The only other person with a key was Bishop, and it was far too early for him to be coming home from the party. There were times when he didn’t come back home until the next morning, so seeing as how it was only 10:30 it didn’t make much sense.

The door opened and sure enough, Bishop walked in. You reached for the remote and paused your show as soon as you saw the look on his face. You thought hard for a moment, and you realized that you had never seen him sad like this before. You’d seen him angry, and maybe even a little upset, but he looked heartbroken, and worry instantly flooded your mind.

“Hey, you okay?” you stood up and crossed the room to hug him, pressing your face against his chest.

He wrapped his arms around you, resting his head against yours. It was the first time you had ever felt him lean his weight onto you. He sighed, “It’s been a long night, sweetheart.”

“Come, sit, talk to me,” you pulled him towards the couch. He sat down on the cushion next to you and leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling. You reached over and put your hands over his, “What happened?”

“Marcus,” you could see the tears starting to gather in his eyes.

Your heart dropped, “Is he okay? Did something happen?”

He shook his head, still not able to make eye contact with you as he fought the urge to let the tears spill over, “He, uh,” he tried to take a deep breath to steady himself and his words, “He turned in his kutte,” he shook his head, “He left the club.”

Your eyes grew wide, “Wh-what?”

You knew that there wouldn’t be the Mayans MC without Marcus. The club was his life, and it was his life’s work. Him stepping down and leaving completely didn’t make any sense to you, and from the look on Bishop’s face, he was having a hard time grasping the idea as well.

“Took a position with Galindo,” he sniffed, “He’s their new consejero. Said that he wouldn’t be able to do both and that this was the right move for him and for the club.”

Your chest felt heavy as you processed what Bishop told you. It hurt to see him so torn up like this, “Oh, baby, I’m sorry,” you pulled him closer to you, “Come here.”

Instead of being pulled into you, he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you so that you were on his lap, straddling him as he faced you. He buried his face into the crook of your neck. You took a deep breath as you cradled the back of his head in your hand, placing a soft kiss on his temple. A few minutes passed with neither of you saying anything, and you squeezed him a little tighter when you felt his tears wet your neck.

“I wouldn’t even be in the club if it weren’t for him,” he finally broke the silence, not lifting his head and wrapping his arms a little tighter around your waist as he did.

You gently carded your fingers through his hair, “I know.”

He finally pulled away and looked you in the eyes, “I, I don’t know what we’re gonna do. I don’t know what I’m gonna tell the guys.”

You thumbed the tears off of his cheeks before gently cupping his face in both your hands. You felt him lean into your touch as he closed his eyes for a moment. “You’re going to keep being the same amazing man,” you placed a kiss on his forehead, “and president,” you kissed his cheek, “that you have been all these years. That isn’t going to change going forward,” you let your hands drop so that they were resting on his shoulders, “I’m sorry that he’s stepping down—I know how much love you guys have for each other and for the club. I know it’s heartbreaking.”

He leaned forward and rested his forehead against yours, “I never thought that this was even a possibility.”

You traced your fingers along his cheekbone, trying to provide any subtle comfort that you could, “I know. But he’s not gone. He’s still your family, Obispo. That’s not ever going to change.”

He nodded slightly as he hooked his fingers lightly into the waistband of your sweats, “I know,” he pulled back slightly so he could look you in the eyes, “I’m sorry I came home and just put all of this on you.”

You smiled and shook your head before kissing him softly on the lips, “Don’t apologize. You can always come to me, no matter what it is. I’m here for you, always.”

He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you tight against him, “I love you.”

You melted into him as he ran his hand up and down your back, “I love you too.”

The two of you stayed like that for a few minutes, and you could tell that he was soaking up the comfort and security of being home with you. There weren’t many things in his life that he could count on to be consistent, and he just lost another thing, but he knew that he’d always have you. He took a deep breath, keeping his arms around you as he sank farther back into the couch. His eyes were closed as he focused on your breathing, on the feeling of your heartbeat against his chest.

“Why don’t you go shower and get changed?” you said, your head still resting against him, “Get comfy now that you’re home for the night.”

He pressed his lips against your forehead, “Okay.”

You pulled back slightly, “Go shower, and I’ll get us both some wine, and some popcorn, and ice cream,” you smiled as you lightly brushed your nose against his, “You’ll learn why I go all out when I’m feeling sad.”

For the first time all night you saw a smile creep across his face. It was a small one, but it was a start, “We gonna watch a sappy movie, too?”

You laughed, “Of course. It’s part of the whole experience,” you hopped off his lap and got off the couch, holding your hands out to help him do the same.

He shook his head slightly as he let you pull him up off the couch. He wrapped you in a tight hug, peppering the top of your head with kisses, “I love you so much.”

You smiled into his chest, “I love you too,” you pulled back and rested your hand on his cheek, “It’s gonna be okay, you know. Everything is gonna work out.”

He turned and pressed a kiss into your palm, “Thank you. You’re perfect.”

You kissed him, “I get it from my boyfriend,” you nudged him towards the bathroom, “Now go shower so I can get your snacks ready.”

He smiled and shook his head as he turned and walked down the hall. Before disappearing into the bathroom he turned and caught one last look at you as you tossed popcorn into the microwave. Despite the heaviness in his chest he smiled, knowing that one thing in his life was always going to work out right.

[sfb123]

Quit Your Life

I am participating in @wackydrabbles​​ prompt # 80 “Stop looking at me like that.” which will appear in bold.

Song Inspiration: Quit Your Life - MxPx

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Liam x MC (Riley Brooks)

Author’s Note: This story is a little something that popped into my head yesterday, and this weeks prompt fits in famously. It takes place toward the beginning of the social season, it pretty much follows canon, but it’s one of those ‘in between events/chapters’ moment.

Also, personal side note, the song inspiration is actually my wedding song, so it holds a very special place in my heart.

Word Count: 1,749

Rating/Warning: G - Romantic fluff, maybe one or two minor curse words.

“Please Riley? You have to come!” Maxwell begged.

Riley sighed and shook her head. “Max, is it an official social season event?”

“Well, no but...”

“Then I’m good.” It had been two weeks since Riley had arrived in Cordonia. Two weeks filled with balls, tea parties, etiquette lessons and meals packed with people she didn’t know constantly sizing her up. The only real time she had to herself was when she was asleep. So when she was told that they had a night off, she was excited to be able to lock herself away and turn off her brain for a few hours. Then Maxwell showed up and told her everyone was going to check out a new club in the capital and invited her to go along.

“Liam’s going to be there.” He raised an eyebrow thinking that may be just the thing to convince her to come.

There was a brief moment where that statement almost made her change her mind. Ever since she met Liam that night in New York, she had felt this connection with him. She couldn’t explain it, but she knew it was something worth exploring. Unfortunately, that also meant competing with several other women to win his hand. “So will all of the other suitors. They’ll be fawning over him all night, I won’t be able to get near him.”

Maxwell pouted, giving her the saddest puppy dog eyes he had ever given anyone.

“Stop looking at me like that. It’s not happening.” She crossed her arms over her chest, firm in her decision.

“Fine, I’ll go. But it’s not going to be as fun without you.” Maxwell lamented.

“I’m sure you’ll still have a great time. And I’ll tell you what, let’s have breakfast here tomorrow, instead of going downstairs with everyone else. You can give me the full recap.”

“It’s a date.” He pulled his friend into a tight hug, and made his way out the door.

A while later, after changing and getting herself comfortable, Riley was about to dig into the pizza she had ordered from a local restaurant, when there was a knock on her door. She placed the slice back in the box and stood up, leaving the comfort of the seat that had just molded perfectly to her body. “Max, I swear to god, my makeup is off and my sweatpants are on, I am not leaving this room.” She opened the door and her eyes went wide when they locked on to Liam’s.

Liam’s breath caught in his throat when he saw her. She was wearing baggy sweatpants and a tight tank top, her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, her fringe bangs framing her makeup free face. He already thought Riley was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but seeing her like this, she was perfection. This could be the first thing I see every morning. He felt his heart beat faster at the thought.

“Oh Prince Liam! I’m so sorry, I thought you were Maxwell.” She curtsied. “He was trying to get me to go out to this club tonight. I’m sorry for my appearance, I wasn’t expecting company.” She stepped back and motioned for him to come in.

“No need to apologize, you look beautiful.” He caught the blush in her cheeks before she dropped her gaze to the floor, making him smile. She’s adorable. “You didn’t want to go out?”

“Nah, I needed a night to recharge. The past couple of weeks have been a lot.”

Liam’s face fell slightly. He was so glad that she was there, that she had traveled all this way for him. If she were to get too overwhelmed, would she leave? What if she didn’t think he was worth it? “I’m sorry to have bothered you. I’ll leave you to recharge.”

“No no, don’t go. I ordered a ton of extra food, you’re welcome to hang out for a bit.”

He noticed the pizza box and other containers spread out on the coffee table. “You ordered takeout?”

“Yea, what a pain in the ass trying to get food delivered to the palace! First it took me 15 minutes to convince the guy at the pizza place that it wasn’t a prank call. Then there’s the whole getting the delivery guy through security thing.” She plopped onto the couch, patting the seat beside her.

“You know we have a fully staffed kitchen, right? They could have made all of this for you.”

“I know, there’s just something comforting about eating food out of takeout boxes.” Riley shrugged and reached for a slice of pizza.

Liam made a mental note to have the kitchen start stocking various take out containers, for Riley’s future orders. “Did you order take out a lot back home?”

“I tried not to, maybe once or twice a week. I love cooking, so I would usually just whip something up for myself.”

Liam imagined entering the Royal quarters at the end of the day to find Riley in the kitchen making dinner, their children playing in the next room. Then they would all gather together at the table for dinner. A real family, we would laugh, and joke, and share stories from our day. His heart started speeding up again.

“What’s your favorite dish to cook?” He was trying desperately to keep his cool, all he wanted to do was to pull her into his arms and kiss her. Every second he spent with her, he could feel himself falling deeper.

Riley sighed and smiled to herself. “Nothing fancy, pretty much any of my grandmother’s old recipes.”

“I would love to try them sometime.” He casually draped his arm over the back of the couch. Riley smiled and leaned into him slightly.

They spend several hours eating, and talking, and watching some of Riley’s favorite shows.Since the day they met, Riley had done nothing but tried to get to know Liam, regular Liam, not the Crown Prince. He used this opportunity as a chance to return the favor, and he loved every second of it. The more he learned about her, the more incredible she became to him. She was funny, interesting, and smart. She was so expressive when she would tell stories about her family, and her life back in New York. She had only been in his life for a few weeks, but he couldn’t remember what it was like before she became a part of it, and he was absolutely certain he didn’t want to go back to that place.

Liam checked the time on his watch, and his heart sank when he realized how late it was. He knew he was going to have to leave her. He so desperately wanted to stay the night, if nothing more than just to know the feeling of falling asleep with her in his arms, but he knew he had to get back to his quarters before everyone started returning from the club. It would be quite a scandal for the prince to be found in a suitors bedroom. The last thing he wanted was for Riley to face a scandal that could potentially hurt their chances of ending up together. “I really should be heading back to my room. I had a wonderful time with you tonight, Riley.”

“Yea, it was a lot of fun. I’m glad you stopped by.” They both stood and started walking toward the door. “I’m sorry I talked about myself so much, that must have been so boring for you.”

“Not at all. You are an amazing person, Riley. I want to know everything there is to know about you, and tonight was the perfect start to that.” He cupped her face with one hand, placing the other on her hip.

They stared into each other's eyes for several moments, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore, he had held himself back all night. He had to kiss her. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, gently at first, but soon their lips parted and their tongues met. Riley’s knees started to go weak, she wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself. Reluctantly, they pulled their lips apart. Their eyes remained closed, foreheads pressed together.

“Goodnight Riley.”

“Goodnight Liam. I’m really glad you came by tonight.”

“Me too.” As they separated, Liam lifted Riley’s hand to his lips.

Liam exited the room, and Riley shut the door behind him. They both leaned their backs against the door, taking deep breaths to recover from their dizzying kiss. It was different from the others they had shared, there was something there that they hadn’t felt before, but they both felt it, and wanted to feel it again.

“Liam?”

Liam snapped out of his daze and immediately stood up straight. He had been caught. He looked to his left and saw Drake looking at him with a questioning glare. And relaxed a little’ “Oh Drake, it’s just you.”

“I thought you were going out with everyone tonight?” Drake quirked an eyebrow knowingly.

“I made an appearance, but it wasn’t quite my scene.” Liam shrugged.

“See, now what I heard just then was, ‘I showed up, and Brooks wasn’t there, so it wasn’t worth my time.’”

Liam felt his face heat up at Drake’s words. He should have known that his best friend would be able to see right through his flimsy excuse. “Yes well, I had a wonderful night regardless.”

“I’ll bet you did. You’ve really got it bad for her, don’t you?” Drake patted Liam on the back.

“She’s amazing, Drake. I didn’t think it was possible for me to feel like this about someone.” Liam got a far off look in his eyes thinking about Riley, and the evening they had just shared. “Thank you for watching out for her during the social season. I can’t always be there to protect her, it makes me feel a lot better knowing you have her back.”

“Don’t mention it.” Drake stopped walking in front of his bedroom. “Well, this is me. I’ll see you at breakfast?”

“Of course. Good night, Drake”

The pair shook hands. Drake entered his room, and Liam continued to walk to his, thinking about Riley the entire way. The rest of the social season seemed like a waste of time at this point. He had found his choice, his bride, his Queen. He had found Riley.

Tags: @txemrn @texaskitten30 @kingliam2019 @anjanettexcordonia @twinkleallnight @mile9213 @kittypryde-bipride @motorcitymademadame @kat-tia801 @bebepac @gkittylove99 @khoicesbyk @jessiembruno @queenrileyrose @athena-penrose @pixie88 @eadanga @choicesficwriterscreations @iaminlovewithtrr @hopelessromanticmonie @annarenee355 @burnsoslow @shewillreadyou @imturaxamara @wackydrabbles

[squishy-mochi-is-bright-pink]

heyyy i hope you’re doing well <3 i have a requestt :) so like ushijima’s (and anyone else you would like to add) s/o comes home and is having bad day but he is also having a bad day and he comes to comfort them and once they’re calmed down a bit they start talking about their problems and then they saying praising him a lot saying stuff like he’s a best they’ve ever had and then starts going into how much they’re proud of him which kinda makes him start tearing up too and he might say some stuff back and they just end up comforting each other the whole night. i hope this makes sense....😭

Coming home to Ushijima when you’ve both had a bad day

Contains: Ushijima

CW: None, Gender neutral s/o

Genre: comfort / fluff

Word count: 1307

Summary: You come home to Ushijima and comfort each other after you’ve both had a long hard day

A/n: This makes perfect sense and its such a cute request. Thanks for giving me a distraction from school <3 Id honestly love any requests right now they make me so happy to know someone likes my writing enough to ask :D. I might end up doing a part 2 because this request was so much fun to write.

Today had been a long hard gruelling day for both you and your boyfriend Ushijima but in two very different ways. 

You had been tied up with back to back work whether it be confused people, dealing with problem costumers or running after your boss, no matter what you had been on your feet all day and hadn’t had a single break. By the time you got home, you were completely overwhelmed and exhausted.

Wakatoshi however, had an extremely difficult practice. For some reason today his spiked just weren’t landing as well as normal. It was rather subtle, so he doubts the most of his team even noticed, but he certainly did and it frustrated him. The more he spiked the more frustrated he got. This lead to him staying extra long for individual practice. By the time he got home, he was exhausted in a different way.

Wakatoshi had arrived home about an hour before you had and by the time you walked through the door with your shoulders slumped over he had only just managed to get dressed after getting out of a long bath. Unlike usual his bath had barely let him relax at all and he was patiently waiting on the sofa staring at the door to your apartment. Honestly, he reminded you of a puppy because the second you walked through the door his eyes lit up ever so slightly at the sight of his precious s/o. 

No matter how exhausted you are when you get home and Toshi is there you walk over to the couch and gently press a kiss to his forehead, he relaxes just a little at the contact, and then you walk to your shared room to change out of your uniform and shower.

When you and Wakatoshi first began dating you never expected just how touch starved he’d end up being. He was always so stern and severe that he just didn’t seem like the type but behind closed doors, he clings to you like a koala. When he’s tired, or in a mood, or just wants cuddles its almost impossible to pry your self away from him, not that you’d want to. That man is a literal space heater and he uses it to his advantage in order to receive maximum cuddles.

When you eventually finished with a scalding shower and changed into your fluffiest, comfiest pyjamas you could find and emerged from your room wrapped in a blanket. 

You silently walk to where he’s sitting on the couch with a movie already playing. You silently put your arms out straight, look at him with puppy eyes and make grabby hands until he opens up his arms and lets you lay on his chest. At this point, after all the stress of your day, you just started to cry softly into his chest.

You weren’t crying over anything specific just letting all your frustrations of the day out as your loving boyfriend rubs small circles and patterns on your back. After a while, he asked what was up and you recounted every small event between sniffles. He sat and listened to everything from the one Karen you had to talk all the way until everything just got too much. He didn’t really care if his spikes didn’t land as well today he had his baby in his arms.

Once you had eventually calmed down and stopped sniffling you asked him how his day went. Not wanting to pile anything else on you he gently tells you he’s fine. Obviously, you don’t buy it for a second, he looked like he was about to pass out from exhaustion when you walked in. “Toshi. Baby.” you start in a soothing tone, “we’ve been together since our last year of high school. I know when you arent alright, and I know when somethings wrong. Why don’t you just tell me about it now? I promise I feel better now”

That was when he gave in and told you. He told you about every failed spike, every joke or comment from his teammates, every extra drill he forced himself to do. How utterly exhausted he felt. He told you all about his insecurities. Was he even good enough to call himself the ace when he can’t land spikes?

You quietly listen while you took your turn to draw soft circles all over his upper arm and chest doing anything you can to soothe his nerves and insecurities physically. After about forty minutes he was all out of insecurities today brought up for him so you decided to start reassuring him. 

“Toshi, I love you. I love you so much” You start with again with as soothing a tone as you can. Then you decide to pick up his hands and lay a gentle kiss to each individual knuckle then his rough palm. “I’ve been following your volleyball since our first year of high school, and I know that you’re the best ace I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen anyone spike in the same way you can.” You held him tight, trying to wrap your arms around him. “It’s not just spikes. You can read opponents and recognise their strengths and weaknesses. You can receive and you’ve managed to keep up the spirits of any team I’ve ever seen you play on. You inspire all of us to do better because if we don’t we wouldn’t be able to keep up.”

By now Ushijimas eyes were beginning to water, growing up hed rarely gotten this much genuine praise, especially from someone he loved this much. “And it’s not just volleyball either, you’re the best boyfriend I could ask for. You’re always there for me. It’s like you’re my rock. You’re steady and strong. And even when you’re exhausted you made me a priority I couldn’t ever ask for anything more.” You continued on your ramble about how absolutely perfect your boyfriend is, a rant you’ve gone on many times to your friends. 

By now tears have started to slightly roll down his cheeks, it was as if you had just gone into his heart and soul and surgically removed every insecurity. Even ones that he had never said out loud. You went quiet when you noticed and shuffled further up his chest, using your sweater paws from oversized PJs to wipe off the small trail of tears. He just wrapped his arms around you and pulled you back to his chest. Once you were there he laid a gentles kiss on the top of your head and just hold you.

After a very short amount of time, he started to whisper praises back to you. He told you all about how gorgeous you are, how smart you are, how you’ve lit up his life. He told you about how if he’s your rock then you’re his home. His safe space to return to and recharge at the end of each day. How he loves how patient and understanding you can be. He loves how small you are when compared to him. How his teammates, even all the way back to high school, had always been jealous of him. Especially on random days when you would randomly show up to practice with tasty snacks, you had made to surprise him, over time learning how to make them fit into his meal plan. How you did all of those tiny things without thinking. 

Eventually, you went to bed and fell asleep in each other’s arms. It was one of the best nights sleep either of you had ever gotten in your life. Tomorrow, his spikes were back to normal, if not better, and your job seemed just a little bit easier. You both remembered that no matter what you were never alone. although you knew that a reminder is always nice.

[crazy-loca-blog]

Casey Valentine: About Her Present

A/N: Did the inspiration suddenly hit me after I had no idea what to do about this because I had never thought about it before? It did. Set somewhere between the end of Book 3 and right after it just because otherwise I wouldn't have had things to say about Casey's future. Part of the @openheartfanfics "Meet My MC" event.

Meet My MC || About Her Past

If Casey had to describe her three-year residency at Edenbrook, she'd say it's been intense, life-changing and unexpected. Time went by so fast and so many things happened in so little time, that quite often she still thinks all of this is just a dream.

Sometimes she still doesn't believe that she survived a betrayal, a trial, and an assasination attempt. She could even write a book about it, but keeping some of these stories to herself and the people around her seems wiser.

She passed her boards with flying colors and now she's ready to face a new challenge: becoming the new head of the Diagnostics Team. Ethan offered her the job after he was offered the Chief of Medicine position by Naveen, and even though at first she didn't know what to answer, she knew that Ethan would have never offered her the position if he considered her incapable of excelling at it.

And you can tell she already has a lot of plans for the team, even though none of them implies filling the spot that she'll leave. The work dynamic with Harper and Tobias is amazing, and they all think they don't need another member at the moment.

She's also glad that her salary will allow her to get rid of her med school debt sooner than she expected, even though she knows what she'll do with part of her first payment: she'll get Esme a ticket to visit her parents in El Salvador. This is something she's been thinking about since she knew her story. She knows how it feels growing up without parents, so if she can make a difference on the life of her intern, she will.

The only condition for her to accept her new position as head of the team was to be able to set some time apart to work in the free clinic. This is one of the most rewardings experiences for her and it reminds her why she decided to become a doctor in the first place, so she doesn't want to lose that.

When Casey first arrived in Boston, it was all about the medicine. She wanted to learn from the best. Little did she know that the same guy she admired as a doctor would become the love of her life.

Everything began as a mentor and mentee relationship, but after a few months it became something else. And it's been that way for the last three years.

Their relationship has been... interesting, to say the least. They both had different reasons to fight their feelings for each other (Ethan's morals on one side, and Casey's previous heartbreaks on the other side), but apparently when two people are meant to be, things are just inevitable. And they seem to be inevitable.

After the longest time and many highs and lows, they made things official a few weeks ago. And they're over the moon about this. Casey doesn't remember being this happy before.

However, she wants to do things right this time. She has always felt her previous relationships failed because she made too many impulsive and bad decisions, and she really wants things to work this time... mostly because she has recently discovered admitted to herself that this is the first time that she is completely and utterly in love.

Yeah, she thought she had been in love before... but after meeting Ethan and understanding her feelings towards him, she just knew she had been so wrong in the past! She never felt like this about anyone before.

Do people talk about them? All the time. Does she care? Not at all. She felt uncomfortable about rumors at first, but Casey knows that people have been talking about them for the last three years, and she doesn't care anymore. She's just too busy trying to be happy to care about what people say about them.

However, to avoid any potential conflicts at work, they both have decided to keep their relationship as private as possible. And so far it's working.

If Casey learned something about friendship during her residency, is that you never know when someone may betray you. Luckily, she has few friends, but they're the best.

Luckily, they all happen to be brilliant in their areas of expertise, so they all are geting great job offers to stay in Boston. And none of them is planning to leave.

This is awesome for several reasons, but mainly because they don't need to find a new place to live or a new roomie, which is a relief for everyone, and because they won't need to schedule annual reunions to catch up on their lives... they can keep having their daily or weekly ones.

She is also lucky to keep working with people she admires a lot: Tobias and Harper. She still can't consider them her friends, but they're certainly on their way to become more than colleagues.

Outside Edenbrook, Casey also keeps in touch with her med school besties: Tracy and Lauren. They both are doing their residencies at Mayo Clinic, so the chances they visit each other any time soon are very low. However, Facetime helps them to keep in touch at least once a week... and Tracy is getting married very soon in New York, so Casey is counting the days to see her girls after all this time (maybe she should tell them that now she might be taking a plus one with her?).

Even though the original plan was that Oliver would be going to Boston with Casey, things changed after grandma Marie passed away and Oliver decided to stay back home.

The twins had never been apart, so this has been a whole new experience for them. Not only it has helped them to become their own person, but now their relationship is stronger than ever.

They keep in touch on a daily basis. They don't talk on the phone often, but they are constantly messaging each other during the day.

Oliver also visits her every two or three months. And Casey's heart feels so full of love when his brother has the chance to share with her extended family, just because they all get along really well. In fact, they've already set a tradition: every time that Oliver is in town, they make plans to spend a day at Martha's Vineyard.

Casey goes back to Virginia every summer; however, the end of her her residency might mean that this is the last time in a while that she'll be able to spend more than two weeks at home. But that's okay... as long as she has a few days to recharge her energy by being in touch with nature and with her roots, she'll survive.

Of course, she's dying to take her friends there. Ethan has already visited and he won't admit it yet, but he's become a fan of that place. He completely gets why Casey loves it so much.

The idea of returning home after the end of her residency was tempting, Casey actually considered it at some point, but she'd be lying to herself if she says her heart is not in Boston.

Going from Virginia to Massachussets was a 180 degree change in Casey's life. She traded the mountains, the lakes and the river for skyscrapers, Seaport and Boston Common. Of course, this also meant making some life adjustments and discovering new hobbies.

She finally managed to balance work and life (something that had been impossible at med school). And even though Donahue's is the place to go after the long shifts, brunch on weekends with the gang are definitely her favorites.

Bryce, Rafael, and Ethan introduced her to the gym life at Edenbrook. At first, she only trained with the guys, but now she goes a lot by herself too, especially when she feels too stressed or when she needs to disconnect from the world. However, when it comes to release anger, boxing with Jackie is most definitely the option at the top of her list.

Sienna has taught her the art of vision boards to achieve her goals, but she's far from mastering it. in fact, any person who sees her vision boards would think they were made by a 5 year old kid. At least she tries (and she may even have reached a goal or two).

She also volunteers with Rafael once a week at his community center, even though she still can't learn how to dance samba. Sometimes, they also recruit interns, residents and attendings to perform some routine health checks to whoever wants them. These events are a hit... handsy Henrietta can't deal with so many hot doctors at the same time!

Life has taught her a lot since she arrived in Boston. Third-year resident Casey is a completely different person than the girl who assisted a thoracotomy on her first day at Edenbrook.

Luckily she hasn't stopped being her best self; however, after the incident, she felt that life was giving her a second chance. And she's been making the most of it since then.

She has everything to be happy: a dream job, the best brother in the world, a group of friends that became her extended family, and a "new" boyfriend who has been with her through thick and thin during the last three years.

She still deals with some PTSD, but a good therapy and understanding that this is perfectly normal while trying to learn to deal with it helps a lot.

Now she's ready to make a real difference in health care, the one that she dreamed about making in her intern year.

Tags: @adiehardfan @izzyourresidentlawyer

[belit0]

Anonymous:

Hey can you do Indra with a partner who's equally power thirsty as he is? (s/o is already strong and absolutely a top)

Power couple goals!

Power couple goals for our King🧙‍♀️

After trying to kill each other countless times, Indra and [Y/N] finally understood that they could not erase each other’s existence. They are both highly powerful, and for every attack or defense that one presents, the other has an equally strong trump card up the sleeve.

Your life was relatively quiet until you came face to face with the deserter from the Ōtsutsuki clan, who with airs and graces of violence and revenge sought to increase his power at all costs. The problem is that you were looking for the same thing. Your story is different, you were not betrayed by your family, you were not turned away by your village, but the darkness hovers over your soul in the same way.

This is something that you notice in Indra from the first moment that you cross glances. How his only desire is to dominate, to destroy, to conquer, to impose himself. But this is a disadvantage in your plans, because in a world as broken as the one you both live in, there cannot be two rulers over the underdogs.

From your first meeting, you were both destined to try to kill each other. He underestimated you, believing that your power and intelligence would never compare to his, and it was at that moment that he condemned the encounter to an infinite draw.

The village you were in was big, with a largely developed self-sustaining system, a stable place to dominate and make your home, your empire. With determination, you knew that you would stay there, fight any villager or warrior who wanted to challenge your rules and build your much-desired kingdom.

And that’s what you’ve been doing for the past three months. You had found this place by pure chance while walking through the forest, looking for a location where you could rest and recharge your supplies to continue your journey. But just in the same way that you arrived as a terrifying stampede for the helpless village, so did Indra.

The people tried to fight against your orders, in fact, you annihilated almost the entire military unit that the village had. It was a struggle to be heard, you had to repress and punish them all over, but eventually, they dropped their rebellion, giving in to your inevitable command.

When things were going relatively well for you, a suspicious traveler appeared at the entrance to the village, and invaded the settlement carelessly. Killing villagers in the blink of an eye, the very same Indra Ōtsutsuki appeared in your home, attempting to steal everything that was yours.

Of course, you had heard the legends about this man. Myths run as fast as the shooting stars in the sky. But that did not mean that you believed the stories that reached your ears when you were traveling from place to place. If the tongues didn’t lie, this warrior wasn’t someone normal, but someone on your level. You were always smart and learned that underestimating your enemies was the fastest way to dig your own grave, so when Indra demanded to speak to the village leader, you waited and tested his patience.

“If you don’t bring the head of this wretched place here this instant, I will have to get rid of all of you, one by one… the choice is yours.”

Faced with the man’s threat, a desperate villager looked directly in your direction. Hiding among the sea of people watching Indra’s massacre, you listened to his speech. You prayed internally that this villager would not be so foolish as to give away your identity in front of your enemy, but of course, you could not expect much from people so inferior to you.

“[Y/N]-SAMA! PLEASE SAVE US PLEASE THIS MAN IS INSA- ”

Before he could speak any further, you pierced his right eye with a sharp Senbon, thrown towards your victim from a formidable distance. No one noticed the weapon that struck the villager, but of course, Indra was able to track and detect the movements, and when the villager fell dead in front of the crowd, he already had his eyes on you.

A long dark red cape covered you completely, from head to toe. Its hood covered your eyes, preventing your enemy from using his visual powers on you. That was the first thing you noticed when he burst into your village, confirming that the stories about him were real.

“What kind of leader is such a coward enough to hide among those who are the lowest followers… [Y/N]-Sama… I despise you; I should do you a favor and kill you here and now.”

“You should try, Ōtsutsuki Indra. I don’t guarantee your fate, anyway. Take the risk.”

That’s how the first fight between the two happened. It lasted an incalculable amount of time, occupying days, and nights of physical fatigue. The chakra exhaustion attacked the two of you at the same time, signaling the same level of accumulation. On the battlefield, where they had fought vigorously and relentlessly, they collapsed.

By the time you woke up, Indra was sitting next to you, and his intentions felt different. You were no longer detecting homicidal feelings towards you. The man was calm, relaxed in some way. His clothes were torn and dirty, and you assumed that yours were too. You were unable to move your body, as the pain spread mercilessly through all your limbs, so you just watched him.

If for some reason he decided to kill you at that very moment, there would be nothing you could do to prevent it. But instead, he simply stared at you when he heard your groans of bodily pain, and you gazed in confusion at his countenance. The man who fought you seemed to have vanished.

“Why didn’t you kill me? Keeping me alive and watching me die is quite cynical…”

“I have no intention of killing you, not yet. You have proven to be efficient, and you could work in my plans.”

“Your plans… Why would I be interested in participating in them? Just kill me.”

“I’m afraid I won’t do that. I’m proposing an alliance, if you don’t accept, I’ll leave you here on the floor, incapacitated and at your mercy. You know, someone said to me a few days ago ‘You should try Indra, I’m not assuring your luck, anyway. Take the risk’. I don’t assure your luck [Y/N], take the risk”.

“Shut up, you idiot, cocky, annoying, fucking asshole… Did you say days? Has it been days?”

“You know how to fight, but you don’t know how to calculate the time it takes to beat your opponent… too bad, you’re missing points. Are you in or not?”

“What exactly should I do…”

“Help me, to form my clan. Once you conceive my heirs, you are free. Until then, you are bound to comply.”

“You’re crazy to think I’ll help you with that.”

“Very well, then, I will set out again on my journey. It’s a shame about your dreadful village… we killed everyone with our fight and destroyed the land. Good luck surviving.”

“Wait! … Shit… I’ll go with you, but we’ll share the power equally.”

“You think you’re in a position to negotiate? How delusional.”

“Not at this moment, but when you want to impose yourself again, we’ll solve it by fighting.”

“You sound very confident… I accept, but when you have to surrender to me, don’t expect me not to enjoy the victory.”

"Be quiet and help me.”

Abruptly, he stood up as if nothing had happened, and lifted you off the ground with him. Quickly, you were positioned on his shoulder, just like a rag doll. The only thing you could focus on was the painful ways your body bounced with each step from Indra, who showed no compassion for your poor health.

That’s how the two of you started a complicated relationship, which, between fights and provocations, became something addictive that neither of you could give up. Suddenly years had passed since the first encounter, and your days were filled with challenges for power.

Neither of you wanted to give in to the other. You knew that Indra would not abandon you even if you continued to extend the time to conceive his heirs, you could feel it in his soul and see it in his eyes. The Ōtsutsuki had developed a strong attachment to you, love, I would dare to call it, and even if it took a lifetime to form your family, he would never change you for anyone.

So, in the meantime, both of you were playing a little game. Your routine was based on constantly provoking the other, pushing the other to the limit so that the situation would end in an inevitable fight to the death. The funny thing is that, as both maintained the same level of power, there was never a winner. Weeks could pass in a single confrontation, but no one was ever victorious over the other.

For years, the two would travel around the world. With no need to settle in one specific place, terrifying legends about the couple spread throughout the villages and towns, telling how the most powerful partners in history wandered the Earth, looking for power and control to feed on. Your days were joyous as you found a small village to destroy together, delighting in the screams of the villagers, making love over the blood of the murdered people.

Everyone began to fear your presence, escaping the sighting of [Y/N] and Indra, reincarnations of hellish beings.

At some point, Indra became somewhat impatient. Without warning, he began to show the need to find a place to build a real-life for both of you, where he could give birth to his family with you. Without any complaint, you accepted the request and decided that maybe it was time to listen to his desire.

A déjà vu hit you when you found yourself standing in front of the big door of a village, your man next to you, looking straight at the frightened people who were turning pale in front of you both. The satisfaction of power ran through your veins, and from the strong grip Indra held in your hand, you knew he felt the same way.

The Ōtsutsuki began to talk to the villagers, explaining what you both wanted from them, when you felt it necessary to interrupt him and continue with the task yourself.

“We are here to take control of this community. We don’t care who the ruler is, we are both the leaders now. Whoever opposes our supreme authority will perish on the spot. Inform your people of this, for we have come a long way and only wish to rest. When we deem it appropriate, we will announce the changes to come”.

In terror, the people who received you two at the door looked at the floor and nodded their heads. Without saying anything, they slipped inside, carrying out your errands.

One of them guided the two of you towards the main house, where there was privacy.

“I was in charge of the situation [Y/N].”

“Oh honey… I can’t help but think that since you want to start our family you have become a little more… Weak? Soft? I don’t know… I think I’m the only one who still wants to dominate everything around here…”

“It would be unwise to start a fight in the village we just occupied.”

“Are you chickening out? Where is my Indra and what did you do with him, stranger?”

“[Y/N]… you are really getting on my nerves…”

“I’m glad, darling.”

“You know what? If you want to fight so bad, fine, let’s do it. But this time, the rules are different.”

“Well, well, what do we have here? Indra-Sama wants a harder challenge… tell me, with weapons? Without Jutsus? Blindfolded?”

“No dear… I’m not talking about any physical fight you can imagine.”

“So…?”

“Whoever exhausts the other in bed first is the absolute leader of this filthy place. Until our clan rises above the unpleasant people who live here.”

“If I manage to dominate you during our entire fuck, will I be the supreme leader? No tricks, Ōtsutsuki.”

“No tricks, love.”

“Let’s get started.”

[oh-ranpo]

‘tis the season.

pairing: reggie x reader

an: so, I had the idea for this, and while it isn’t very long, I hope you guys like it! I’m just going to tag @n0wornever and @mamakitty187 since they responded to my post about it encouraging it to happen, so here it is! I hope you enjoy!

word count: 1.9k+

If you took one look around the city of Los Angeles, you would have no idea that it was nearing Christmas time. Sure, the city had their decorations up, but when you looked to the people, there was not an ounce of festive spirit to be found. You had no idea why everyone else was so hesitant to start spreading Christmas cheer, but you had been looking forward to celebrating practically since Halloween was over. You had refrained and made yourself wait until the first day of December to break out your favorite Christmas sweater, though it had taken everything in you to stay so patient. You thought that maybe other people might be feeling the spirit now that it was officially December, however, the second you stepped onto the bus that first morning to head to the mall, you realized that you had severely overestimated just how much everyone else loved the December holiday.

A few people gave you strange looks as you walked up the steps in your bright green holiday sweater, the front of which was covered in colorful tinsel and fake ornaments. It was your favorite sweater that you owned, and you had been quite proud of it when you put it on that morning. Now, you weren’t so sure that it had been the right choice. Everyone else was dressed in their nice winter coats and muted colors, and here you were, sticking out like a sore thumb on a public bus where people would be able to judge you for the next thirty minutes of your ride.

You kept your head down as you moved down the aisle towards the back where you had seen an empty seat, but just as you passed the second to last row, you heard a voice that was unmistakably directed at you.

“Hey, I like your sweater!”

You were surprised to hear the compliment from anyone on this particular bus, but when you looked up to find the owner of the voice, you immediately realized why it shouldn’t have been a surprise at all. The boy that had just spoken to you was smiling brightly, and it only took a second for you to see that he was also wearing a rather festive looking outfit himself. Only, his sweater was red and green striped with a reindeer on the front of it. When he moved, you could hear the faint jingling from the small bells that decorated the cartoon deer’s antlers, and an involuntary smile immediately spread across your lips.

“Thanks. I really like yours too,” you replied, gesturing slightly at his chest. The boy’s eyes fell down to look at his sweater, even though he was well aware of what he was wearing, and then he lifted his head again to give you another bright smile.

“Thanks! Did you… did you want to sit?” It was a rather forward question you thought, but there was an empty seat right next to him, and you figured if you were going to make it through this bus ride without too much more embarrassment, you might as well sit with someone who clearly had a mind that worked like yours. So, you nodded, and slid into the seat next to the boy just as he lifted his hand up for you to shake. “I’m Reggie, by the way.”

You looked at his hand for a moment before happily accepting it and giving him your name as well. You felt yourself relax as you settled in next to him, and even though you had felt like everyone was staring at you before, when you took another quick glance around the bus, you were relieved to see that no one was looking in your direction at all. Maybe you had been overreacting just a bit.

“So, where are you heading too?” Reggie asked, as he attempted to keep the conversation going. You felt bad for being so quiet, and when you looked back over at him, you smiled again.

“To the mall. I was trying to get some of my Christmas shopping done early. You know, to beat the really bad crowds.” Reggie’s face lit up as his body turned towards you even more.

“That’s what I’m doing too! Well, to get some things for my friends, anyways. We’re doing our gift exchange a little early, so I want to make sure that I can get them something good.”

The excitement on Reggie’s face was one that directly mirrored yours, and you felt lucky that you had stumbled upon someone with the same enthusiasm for Christmas that you did. In fact, you spent the rest of the bus ride talking about your Christmas plans, and while Reggie constantly brought up his friends, you couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t mention much about his family. You knew better than to press, as he was still a stranger, but you became more and more intrigued as the conversation went on.

You were disappointed when you reached your stop, but when you went to stand up and Reggie did too, you looked at him curiously, and another bright smile formed on his lips.

“Is this your stop too?” you asked, even though you probably should have figured it was. He had said that he was going to the mall, and this was the closest one on your route. It didn’t really make sense for him to stay on to head to one farther away, especially since he had been on the bus longer than you had.

“Yep! It looks like we aren’t getting rid of each other quite yet,” he replied happily, and you felt a stirring in your chest as you stepped into the aisle and made your way towards the front of the bus. You didn’t look to see if people were staring as you walked because now, you weren’t quite as self-conscious about it. With Reggie right behind you, you barely noticed anyone else.

“So, these friends of yours,” you started, as the two of you walked across the parking lot of the mall side by side. “What kinds of things are they into?” You were hoping that his previous comment meant that you weren’t going to be parting just yet, as you had become quite fascinated by the Christmas sweater boy.

“Well, we’re in a band and I know Luke is always in need of journals to write songs in, so I thought I would get him one of those. Alex and Bobby are a little bit harder, but I’m sure I’ll find something. I’ll know it when I see it.”

The fact that he was in a band was something that Reggie hadn’t mentioned yet, and it was something that peaked your interest even more. You loved going to local shows and small venues to see bands perform.

“You’re in a band? Really?” you asked excitedly, and once again, Reggie’s face lit up at the question. You could tell immediately that it was a subject he loved to talk about.

“Yeah! We’re called Sunset Curve. Tell your friends.” He added the last part with a quick finger-guns motion and you couldn’t help but laugh. His band wasn’t one that you could recall seeing, but either way, you loved his enthusiasm, and you were sure that was something that translated into his music.

You talked about the band and his music while you walked around various stores, and you learned that he played bass and while his band wasn’t well known yet, they had several gigs lined up in the near future.

“You should come to one,” he added as color filled his cheeks. You had just stepped out of one of the record stores located near the food court when he said it, and your steps hesitated a bit as you felt the familiar tug in your chest that you had experienced earlier when getting off the bus. You slowly looked up at him, and his eyes fixed on you, his cheeks a light pink at his rather forward suggestion. Not that it was the first one he had proposed that day.

“I’d love to,” you grinned, and relief flooded his features as you then started walking once again.

You had to admit, you liked spending time with Reggie. You had only met him a couple of hours before, but the fact that you got along so well made it seem longer. From an outsider looking in, you might not have guessed that you had just met on a bus on the way to the mall, and instead, you might have looked more like longtime friends doing their holiday shopping together.

“Thank you again, by the way,” you spoke about an hour later as you sat across from each other at a table in the food court. You had both already finished your shopping, so now you were recharging with some greasy mall food. Reggie tilted his head slightly in confusion at your words, encouraging you to explain yourself. “For saying something to me on the bus. Today has been a lot of fun, and I’m glad that I’m not the only one that seems to enjoy Christmas around here.”

Reggie’s expression softened as he smiled.

“Of course! I mean, I always have to appreciate a good sweater. Especially when the person wearing it is so…” His voice trailed off, and his eyes fell away from you as his face went red once more. Your heart jumped in your chest at his words, even though you weren’t sure how he was intending on ending that sentence.

“So… what?” you pressed. “So lost? So embarrassed? So-“

“Beautiful.”

His word caught you off guard, and you were sure that you looked incredibly silly as your mouth fell open slightly. It wasn’t really what you had been expecting, but a warmth spread through you when his eyes hesitantly lifted to meet yours. You didn’t know how to respond, and in the silence, it seemed that Reggie had taken your lack of response negatively.

“I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have said that. I just…when I first saw you, I thought ‘wow’, and I wanted to say something sooner, but I didn’t want to come off creepy. But, it seems like I did that anyways, and I am so, so, so, sorry-”

“Reggie,” you cut in, breaking up his panicked rambling. His mouth immediately clamped shut at the sound of your voice, and his wide eyes locked with yours as he waited for you to continue. “I don’t think it’s creepy at all. I think it’s sweet, actually. I just… as you can imagine, I don’t have a lot of strangers randomly compliment me.”

“I actually can’t imagine that,” Reggie piped in quickly, causing another flutter in your chest. “And I’m not really a stranger anymore either, if you think about it.” He was right, and you couldn’t deny it. You had spent most of the day together at this point, and you had shared quite a bit of your lives with one another, so ‘stranger’ didn’t really fit the description anymore.

You were sure that you looked like quite the pair, sitting together in your bright Christmas attire, chatting over overpriced pizza and smiling like fools. However, even though you had started the day caring what people were thinking about you, when you were in the presence of the boy sitting across from you, you found that it didn’t matter anymore. Reggie was special, and it took you no time at all to realize it. You were especially grateful for ugly Christmas sweaters that day.

[the-odd-job]

Close Your Eyes to This Disaster Chapter 3: Now I’m a Bird...

Rating: Explicit Warnings: Chose Not to Use, Rape/Non-Con Category: Other Fandom: Transformers G1 Relationships: Megatron/Sunstreaker, Megatron/Sideswipe, Sideswipe & Sunstreaker Characters: Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Bluestreak, Tracks, Mirage, Ratchet, Ironhide, Megatron, Soundwave Additional Tags: Dubcon, Sticky, Abusive Relationships, Mind Games, Manipulation, Gaslighting, Canon-Typical Violence Words: 3593

( Previous )

Once their recharge cycles ended at the time they had assigned, they found Bluestreak already awake but still in their berth, watching as their systems onlined fully. He knew well enough to stay still and quiet during the process, lest their reflexes kick in effect before conscious thought caught up and resulted in injuries. He was a brave enough mech to risk that every time, but as most times, nothing bad happened. The twins merely woke up as they should have and turned their helms to meet Bluestreak’s optics.

He smiled at them. “’Charge well?”

“Ayup,” Sideswipe nodded, a smile already beginning to creep onto his face. He barely ever seemed to get rid of it. “What about you? How you feeling?”

“Good.” Bluestreak answered, seemingly honestly. “Thanks for letting me stay the night. I don’t want to be a bother but it’s always so helpful when I don’t need to be alone and I didn’t want to disturb Prowl because he already barely recharges enough despite Jazz always trying to get him to take proper care of himself– Oh! You have a patrol, do you need to go?”

“About now to get my morning stuff done, yeah,” Sideswipe said. They were somewhat glad he didn’t need to interrupt the talkative gunner when Bluestreak did it himself, this time.

But true to what they said, the twins pushed themselves to sitting, Bluestreak following suit. He was the first to get up, offering both of his servos to pull them up—one for Sideswipe, one for Sunstreaker. Both of the brothers took the smaller mech’s offer, and up they were. “What do you need to do before your patrol?” Bluestreak asked.

“Get in on Smoky’s bet for one,” Sideswipe told him, stretching his arms above his helm to some pleasant strain of stiff parts, and a few cracks. “Then hit the washracks so I’ll be all pretty and shiny in case we run into any Decepticons. Gotta look my best when kicking aft!”

Bluestreak laughed lightly and they all headed for the door, twins to see if Smokescreen wasn’t in the rec room, and Bluestreak to… Whatever he was going to do wherever. “Have a safe patrol without any ‘Cons showing up!” the gunner wished them in parting. Both of the twins gave him a wave of goodbye before they continued in the opposite direction down the offensively orange corridor.

Smokescreen was indeed in the rec room already, and Sideswipe wasn’t the only one who wanted to bet. His contribution was accepted with a wide grin from the Praxian and a, “You know you won’t win, right?”

Sideswipe just laughed. “Talk like that and a mech will start to think you don’t want anyone to bet. Nah, one of these days someone is gonna up Jazz. He’s not all-knowin’. I think.”

Smokescreen chuckled too. “Your loss, my profit.”

Their funds successfully reduced, the twins continued their way to the washracks. They weren’t the only occupants this time of the morning, but they ignored Tracks and Ironhide and merely claimed free showerheads for their own use.

“Don’t ya two have a patrol comin’ up?” Ironhide asked them, frowning in mild bewilderment at their somewhat unreasonable behavior.

Sideswipe had more giggles on offer. “Patrol’s no excuse to not be pretty!”

“…Riiiight,” was all Ironhide said to that, glancing from them to Tracks—likely with the thought that he was presently surrounded by some vain ass mecha and would find no understanding for his far more pragmatic approach to his looks. The old mech left soon after, clean but not particularly shiny. Sunstreaker shook his helm in disapproval before they focused back on the task at hand, resolutely ignoring Tracks as Tracks was ignoring them. Now maybe wasn’t the best time to get into a tussle. They wouldn’t have the time to fix themselves back up from all the scuffs and scratches that would result in.

Plating clean, they shined themselves up, finishing their work just in time for their damned patrol. Time to go undo everything they just did. Sigh.

They transformed at the Ark’s entrance and peeled off with speed Prowl would have disapproved of, but what was the point of following the ridiculous human rules when they weren’t humans? The inherently inferior organics may not have been able of safely driving at the speeds a Cybertronian could handle easily with their superior senses and reaction times, but that wasn’t exactly their problem, was it? They wouldn’t crash into anyone, so no harm done.

All that in mind, they barely slowed down when they reached the populated roads, weaving through the human traffic and earning themselves countless of blaring horns. It was quite aggravating, and more often than not Sunstreaker was returning the same sound with far more aggression. And the humans thought they knew what road rage looked like… Give him enough reason and he’d show them.

But it was a long patrol they were on and eventually it took them back to more remote areas where they didn’t really see any of the fleshbags. Things went from exciting to relaxing as they drifted around curves in the road with screeching tires, leaving black marks behind as they controlled their bodies just perfectly enough that they didn’t go shooting straight off the asphalt. Prowl would have still given them slag for it, but he wasn’t here to see and the tactician wasn’t prone to act without actual proof of misconduct.

Which he usually had, but not in this.

Sideswipe’s singing of some random Earth song was mostly drowned out by the rev and roar of their engines, but Sunstreaker still tuned in on that sound to enjoy it. If nothing else, Earth was relatively worry-free for low ranking soldiers like them, that didn’t have any too heavy responsibilities and mostly just needed to follow orders. Some might have considered the fact the war was still ongoing and they very much at frontlines of it quite stressful all on its own, but those were the kind of details that didn’t bother the twins all that much. War and battles gave them something to do and let them live according to their nature, and it wasn’t as if they feared pain and injuries—or death, even if the goal was to stay alive.

Speaking of staying alive, though… The ping on their scanners was entirely unexpected when patrols were often completely uneventful, but there it was and they couldn’t deny it when both of their frames registered. And not just that, but there were two pings once they looked closer.

And they could recognize them. The desire to not suffer a painful death had them hitting their brakes and coming to a halt to hesitate in peace, because Megatron was a mech even they weren’t good enough to take on—and Soundwave wasn’t that much less dangerous, in all honesty.

What the pit were they doing here, though? There was nothing here, as far as the twins knew. Besides, it was just Megatron and Soundwave—and possibly his symbiotes—and no one else, unless someone was masking their signature.

::Sideswipe to Ark.::

::Bumblebee listening. What’s up?::

::I’ve got Megatron and Soundwave on my scanners at these coordinates.::

There was barely a pause before Bumblebee was already redirecting them to Prowl.

::Fall back and do not engage,:: came the clearly spoken order. This was the Prime’s business and the twins were to do no more than turn their pretty afts around and return to the Ark before anyone got the idea to attack them. If they were close enough to the Decepticon leader and his Third to sense them, then Decepticons were certainly also aware of the twins’ presence. Going all stealthy and trying to figure out what they were doing here wasn’t much of an option, especially so because the twins weren’t particularly trained in or built for stealth to begin with.

Sideswipe pouted, but… They were outmatched, and possibly outnumbered too. Engaging would be little short of a suicide. For those reasons, ::Copy that,:: was all Sideswipe said and they indeed followed the SIC’s instruction, turned around, and drove back for someone more suitable for the task to take their place and maybe learn what had brought Megatron to the area.

—————————————

But then that incident repeated. The twins would be away from the Ark, either patrolling or just otherwise enjoying their free time, and three more times they came close enough to Megatron and Soundwave that they could sense them. Each time they contacted the Ark, and each time they followed the orders to leave without engaging the Decepticons. It became just too much to be a mere coincidence, especially when it happened to no one else, but the twins were as confused over it as the command was when they were questioned on if they knew any possible reason for the odd behavior.

It did become a cause for some extra caution on their side, because despite what things sometimes looked like and what some thought, they didn’t have a rampant death wish. Or really any level of death wish. They would rather continue living, and the chances were good they weren’t going to do that if they took on Megatron and Soundwave with no backup—especially because there were the symbiotes to take into consideration, too. They were exceptionally good at beating the odds, but in this instance the odds were a little too much against them for even their own comfort. Just what were the chances they’d manage to off Megatron and end the war?

Slim. So slim.

Despite their increased awareness of their surroundings whenever they were further from the Ark, though…

It was just a joyride to burn off some of their restless energy. Sparring and fragging were all well and good too, but sometimes you just wanted to feel the road beneath your tires and the wind whipping over your hood. Some strangely acting warlord wasn’t going to take this away from them, and there was nothing in their scanners or other sensors any step of the way. They knew Teletraan was monitoring the situation as well, trying to compile enough data for Prowl to figure out what the rhyme and reason to Megatron’s behavior was when the only connecting element seemed to be the twins’ presence.

So they were pretty sure they were safe in the moment. That was, up until they took a sharp turn out of the forest to arrive to flat fields, and there he was in all of his towering glory, silver plating glinting in the bright sunlight.

The brothers transformed at once, skidding into a stop on their pedes. It didn’t take a genius to realize Megatron had opted to mask his signature this time around when he hadn’t done it the previous times.

For whatever reason.

And Soundwave was there too, of course, and when they tried to contact the Ark to let them know there was a bit of a situation happening, they found they were entirely blocked, likely by the telepath.

Sunstreaker growled, his optics snapping from the blue mech to Megatron, meeting the red gaze boring into him. Megatron’s focus was beyond intense in a way that Sunstreaker had certainly never experienced before courtesy of the tyrant, having not even been in his proximity before their unfortunate Earth landing.

And then Megatron moved. Sunstreaker jerked out of the way, Sideswipe into the opposite direction only to be accosted by Soundwave, but Megatron spun in place with surprising grace and then he was already an arm’s reach away from the golden twin—a bit closer than Sunstreaker would have liked him.

Well, slag that. With a rev of his engine Sunstreaker went on the offensive because playing some fragging game of evasion just wasn’t his style. He pulled his thermal sword from his subspace, which predictably had Megatron respond by extending the sword from his arm. What was more surprising was the fact Sunstreaker got the first attack in, as if Megatron was almost waiting on him.

But that aside, things progressed as expected—for a while. Megatron matched the harmful intent of Sunstreaker’s attacks and they both gained some injuries because dammit, Sunstreaker was good enough to provide even some opposition despite Megatron’s own power.

But it was his own skill and experience that, before long, alerted him to something being a bit off. How Megatron aimed his attacks… He had the opportunities to try for serious injuries, the kinds that would have left Sunstreaker open to the very real possibility of death were they successful, and that was what he would have expected the warlord would do.

Yet, he didn’t. Oh, Megatron was out to injure him, there was no doubt about that, but his aim seemed to be to cripple him just enough that Sunstreaker couldn’t have fought back anymore, instead of going for the kill directly.

It was a valid strategy, but one that seemed rather unnecessary right now. There was no doubt Megatron was the better fighter of them. Sunstreaker could hold his own, but only so for so long. Even now it was him that had more injuries on him, although none of them severe, and it was rather obvious he was the one who had to work harder to avoid greater damage.

He was confused, and Sideswipe’s situation didn’t clear matters any, because it looked a hell of a lot like Soundwave’s aim was the same: put him out of the fight, but not kill. Soundwave wasn’t a warrior of Megatron’s caliber so Sideswipe was having a bit more success on his end, but not so much he could have helped attack Megatron with Sunstreaker.

But out to kill or not, the brothers didn’t exactly fancy losing either. Who knew what Megatron had in store for them in that event—that, unfortunately, looked a bit inevitable as things stood. They were outmatched, simple as that.

Soon, though, not outnumbered. The roar of two familiar engines heralded the unusually welcome arrival of backup moments before Tracks and Mirage revved onto the scene from the forest. Ugh, saved by Tracks… But beggars couldn’t be choosers. Rather that than learning what exactly Megatron’s intent for them was, when there was no fucking way it was anything good.

As soon as they’d transformed, Mirage and Tracks already had weapons in hand, ready to assist, and that was where things deviated from what they would have expected, again. Instead of trying to slag the lot of them like Megatron very well may have been able to do, he… Retreated. As did Soundwave.

As in, they left the scene entirely. Both transformed, Megatron into a jet around Soundwave’s small boombox mode–

And then he was gone. Sunstreaker couldn’t do more than stare after the quickly disappearing triplechanger, befuddled.

“Are you alright?” Mirage asked, stepping up to him. Sunstreaker glanced at the spy, took stock of his damage reports, then nodded.

“Nothing major,” he grunted, turning back to the now rather destroyed road. Tracks was standing a few paces away with his arms crossed over his chassis, looking a little too smug. “Shove it,” Sunstreaker growled at him, jabbing a digit in his direction. “You try fighting that unmaker.”

Tracks only shrugged, not overtly impressed.

“How did you know to come? We couldn’t contact anyone,” Sideswipe asked, walking to the rest of them. Sunstreaker turned his attention back to Mirage at that, too.

“You fell off the radar entirely,” was the answer they were given. “We were redirected from our patrol to see why.”

“Good timing,” Sunstreaker conceded, earning a small smile from Mirage.

“I can still transform,” Sideswipe spoke up, inspecting his limbs. A little worse for wear, but still in one piece. “And probably drive too.”

Sunstreaker nodded that that held true for him as well and Mirage returned the gesture at the both of them. “If you don’t need Skyfire, we can drive back. We were given permission to not finish our patrol.”

They were getting an escort now, too?

Ugh.

———————————————

Again the command had so fragging many questions for them, most of which the twins had no answers for. No one had the answers. It was becoming clear Megatron was targeting them specifically and changing his methods to succeed in cornering them, but why?

No one had any good suggestions, especially after that day’s show. If it wasn’t to kill the twins and strip the Autobots of two of their best frontliners, then what the pit was it all for?

“I heard what happened,” Bluestreak said as a way of announcing himself, seconds before he sat down opposite from the twins at the rec room table they had claimed. “It’s really, really weird… Are you worried at all? It’s Megatron and he’s always bad news, and I’m worried ‘cause I don’t want anything to happen to you, you know?”

He was going to say something more too, but Sideswipe beat him to it before their friend could get going all proper and make it all the harder to get a word in. “Gotta admit it’s a little… Disconcerting?” his brother said, then leaned back in his seat and huffed, “But slag me if he’s gonna get to me.”

They had no idea how to take care of the whole situation, but their desire to not let Megatron do whatever the pit he wanted with them was very, very real. One way or another, they would find a solution, or pit, maybe Megatron would just get it out of his system and leave them alone despite taking such a sudden interest in them the moment they ended up on the same battlefields.

Bluestreak perhaps had a bit too much trust in them and their abilities, because he seemed satisfied with that answer—as if it really was as simple of a matter as ‘I don’t wanna’. The change in topic that followed when Bluestreak moved onto other subjects was at least welcome, and they spent another two hours listening to the gunner talk, sometimes squeezing in a comment of their own. Bluestreak was the one who excused himself first, having the late shift in monitor duty—he made a face when they told them that much and Sideswipe laughed—and the brothers left with him to return to their quarters. It was undeniably late.

But as it happened, Ratchet and Ironhide were standing right outside Ironhide’s door on the twins’ path, and completely heedless to the conversation he was interrupting, Sideswipe bounced right on over and wrapped his arms around the both of them. He got matching growls from the two old timers, and true to form, ignored that too. He still pulled back when Ironhide firmly patted his waist, grinning at the medic and the veteran warrior.

“So. Megatron?” Ironhide asked gruffly, crossing his arms as soon as he had enough room to do so and glaring at the brothers.

Those were the type of glares that meant Ironhide was worried, not that they hadn’t already known as much. Ratchet was too, after the earful and suspicious shortage of wrenches they had gotten during their repairs. The medic’s scowl also spoke of his concern.

“Sure is,” Sideswipe said chipperly, rocking back on his heels.

“Yer not worried over the whole… Thing?”

“I mean…” What to say, what to say. The two would just worry twice as hard if the twins admitted to harboring their own concerns, because the twins weren’t really smart enough to worry about most things—if they did, something had to be wrong. So, Sideswipe just shrugged after their pause of quick thought. “Not gonna gain anything by worrying over it.” That wasn’t a lie.

“You better be careful,” Ratchet growled at them. “I don’t want you in my medbay again because of this.”

“Yer damn bad at the fear business, and I ain’t saying you shouldn’t be, but I’d suggest still usin’ yer heads some,” Ironhide said. “You ain’t a match to him and you both know it.”

Sideswipe tilted his helm back and cast his optics to the ceiling with an exaggerated sigh. “Thanks for the lecture, dad. Totally already forgot how dangerous ol’ Megs is.”

Ironhide grunted, opened his mouth to say something–

And like quicksilver Sideswipe changed his own mood and demeanor to something salacious. He slithered back up to the older red mech, brushing his servo along Ironhide’s low back with that kind of grin. “Wanna come to my quarters an’ take my mind off things a little?”

“Oh for frag’s sake–“ the veteran started in a huff, but Sideswipe interrupted him right away.

“Exactly. ‘Less you’re busy?”

His brother’s optics shifted to Ratchet as well, but the medic put his hands up. “Don’t look at me, I’m not joining this time.”

Sunstreaker snorted. “Your loss.”

“Absolutely,” Ratchet deadpanned at him, but Ironhide took the turn to slip his servo to Sideswipe’s aft. The red twin squeaked when he gave it a squeeze.

“Alright, you have my interest,” Ironhide confirmed his intent and Sideswipe’s grin widened all the more.

“Sweet~ Come on, the night’s getting as old as you. No time like the present!” After a caress across Ironhide’s codpiece, Sideswipe skipped down the hall with such a bouncy step.

Ironhide rolled his optics after him with a, “Brat,” but nevertheless followed, as did Sunstreaker.

“Now’s your chance to frag that out of him,” Sunstreaker smirked.

“Damn well will, too,” Ironhide promised, earning himself a laugh from the golden twin.

Right along with Sideswipe’s hollered, “I heard that!”

( Next )

[wastelandlovingscenarios]

Yey! New fallout blog. I'm so glad, it's honey on my heart! :D Do you have a lot of requests? I have two questions-ideas that you may like. 1: I like to think that Nick has memories that allow him to dance pre-war swing dances. But what about the rest of the companions? How do they react to Sole dancing lindy-hop (it's such fun and energy!) and/or blues-dancing (so slow, lazy, smooth and sexy). Do they know how to dance, do they want to learn from Sole, or do they very strongly refuse to dance?

yes, i have a lot of requests but i love it! keeps me occupied. i have taught ballroom dancing for a good four years of my life and i know about 10 dances. i’m absolutely in love with it! thank you for requesting this. <3

can you imagine the boys in an slightly unbuttoned, loose collared shirt with slacks and a belt.... 🤩

please enjoy! i will make it crushing companions because who doesn’t like a little romance in their life?

-

Danse:

danse is a killjoy, he doesn’t understand the joy of dancing and what impact it has on people. whenever he caught the sight of people doing it, he stood on his opinion that it was nothing but a waste of time. well, that was until he saw sole dance themselves. they had been dragged onto the floor by a friend of theirs and began lindy hopping as if they were suddently recharged and full of energy. even if he tried to deem it as a distraction later in the day, he knew he couldn’t pry his eyes away no matter how hard he tried. he had seen many people dance in his lifetime at brotherhood gatherings and such, but had never seen anyone do it like sole had. danse isn’t a dancer and will probably never be one. this man has spent his entire life in a tin can and is probably already built like one. he is horribly stiff and cannot move for the life of him. even if you were to hold him at gun point, he’d still harshly refuse to do so. after all, danse couldn’t even do the macarena even if he tried. he knows that he is incapable of dancing, which is why he absolutely avoids doing it at all costs. even if he was utterly in love with sole, he’d still reject the offer of learning their hobby and instead watch them dance from afar, secretly gushing over the smile their plastered their face whenever they did so.

Deacon:

he would think it’s absolutely amazing how sole could still remember fragments of their dancing 200 years later. hell, he can’t even remember what he ate last night for dinner, so it’s easy to say he’s impressed by their hobby and how physically demanding it is. the minute he saw sole and perform such an energetic dance, showcasing various fancy twirls and skills on the dance floor, he’d be completely bought, no further questions asked. deacon knows how to dance just for his disguises and such, but had never went beyond the basic steps of it. now that he had seen everything beyond what he’s ever known, he’d become very fascinated by it. he’d practically tackle sole on the floor, nearly begging them to teach him how to lindy hop and he definitely was not gonna accept no as an answer. the more sole had taught him, the more he became passionate about it, pressing sole to teach him more. in the end, he’d be more than willing to learn and even go as far as performing it with sole in different disguises while on their missions. after all, there’s no one he’d rather do it with besides the star themselves- the sole survivor.

Maccready:

maccready is instantly absorbed into soles talent of lindy hopping and although he doesn’t cheer out loud like everyone else does in the bar, he’s smiling proudly while leaning back in his seat. the sight of sole happy and energetic while doing what they love brings a warm feeling to his chest and he hopes that one day he’s able to make them smile the same way. after a few performances, mac would confront sole about it and ask about their history with dancing, curiousity eventually catching up to him. mac would try to listen as they spoke passionately about their hobby but their words would eventually turn into static as he instead admired their face like a middle school crush. he’d blush when sole snapped him out of it and would just reply with a simple, “that’s good.” as if he listened to them in the first place. although mac is engrossed by their talent, he will not dance no matter the circumstances. it wasn’t like mac was stiff or anything when moving his body, it was more of the fact that he was embarrassed to even attempt to dance in front of anyone, especially in front of the only person he has a crush on. mac naturally doesn’t favor any attention on him, so he refuses to learn how to dance for his sanity and don’t even get me started on creating physical contact with sole if he did choose to learn from them. if he were to accept their offer, his crush would be obvious to everyone within a 5 feet range. the thought of sole even linking their hand with his automatically gives him a heart attack, so for that to happen in real time would be an absolutely different story he wasn’t going to find out. he’d support them completely with their dancing but would wave off the idea of him doing the same for personal reasons no one should know.

Hancock:

oh man, the sight of his crush blues dancing on the floor in front of everyone was so sexy in his eyes. the way their hips swayed and how slow and sensual their movements were drove him crazy. especially the way their confidence shone throughout the room made him fall in love with them even more. although he didn’t like the idea of them dancing with someone else, he sure liked the scene right in front of him. his whiskey would be completely neglected as he smirked, watching them dance passionately. hancock is a dancer, but more specifically, a slow dancer. before he had met sole formerly, he had picked up various individuals through different tactics and there’s no doubt that he’s used slow dancing as one. it always won the women over somehow, so he often did it. now that the mayor had his eyes on someone after countless years of avoiding love, he’d be utterly determined to impress sole with dance skills of his own that he had mastered. hopefully, he’d win their heart in the process of doing so. hancock would even try to sharpen them more before he built up the courage to ask sole for a dance. once he did so, it was simple to assume that sole was anything but disappointed.

Nick Valentine:

he’s thrilled to know that sole still contained their memories of prewar dances like he had. he always disliked the fact that prewar dances in the commonwealth were completely disregarded to rot slowly as time passed. it was such a unique hobby and talent nowadays and nick assumed he was going to rust away before he could find another person who could dance as good as anyone back in the prewar era. when sole had presented various dances, such as lindy hop and blues dancing, to a crowd in sanctuary, he’d become automatically ecstatic, a large grin forming on his face. he’d immediately walk over to sole, politely asking for their hand for permission to join in. though nick wasn’t the greatest anymore at dancing and was a bit rusty at it due to his body limiting him, they’d still catch the attention of the crowd who cheered them on happily. he had forgotten how good it felt to be doing something he once enjoyed doing in his past life. obviously by now, you can assume nick is an excellent dancer amongst all the companions and would be the closest to soles level of dancing. he is a very romantic guy, signalling that he prefers much more slower dances and in this case, blues dancing. the fact that he’s in love with sole only proves this more and whenever they’re in private and he has the chance to ask for a dance alone, he does without hesitation. after a while, they’d come up with routines of their own and it was become a nightly habit to dance with each other, whether slowly or with energy.

Preston:

he’d be one of the many companions that would be cheering on for sole as they blues danced or lindy hopped on the floor, saying things like, ‘that’s my general!’ or ‘woohoo! go sole!’. secretly, he’d enjoy the small blush that would appear on their face whenever prestons voice boomed amongst the noisy crowd. he wanted to make sure that sole knew he was watching and that he was their biggest supporter, regardless of the abundance of people watching them. he’s absolutely supportive with soles habit of dancing and often asks them about it, knowing that it was one of their passions that still continued to stick with them even after the bombs dropped. preston would be happy to learn from sole, accepting their offer before they could say another word. it wouldn’t hurt to try something new and if he didn’t like it, he could always just stop after all. luckily for sole, he would immediately find himself liking every dance they taught him, whether it was slow or fast, and would enjoy practicing every once in a while to take his mind off the stress. the feeling of soles hands against his shoulder blade and his hand was more than enough to brighten up any bad day. preston is the type of dancer where he’d prefer to perform and practice in private rather than showcasing to a crowd. he was definitely very shy about it and a little insecure of his skills, but with time, he would eventually attempt to dance in public with sole. maybe not everytime, but it would happen occasionally.

Sturges:

boy, oh boy, lemme tell you right now. sturges is in love with prewar history, so once sole presented their skills of dancing, he’d be practically bombarding them with compliments and questions. he wouldn’t hide the fact at all that he was impressed by their set of skills and would even give them a cute ass nickname like, “my little dancer,” to which he laughed at whenever sole blushed madly. as much as the lindy hopping caught his eye, he liked the movements of blue dancing and the music that came along with it. it was much more of his style, really. the day sole came up to him and asked if he wanted to learn, he had agreed, knowing that he couldn’t say no to such a charming individual. sadly though, sturges has done nothing similar to dancing in his life and is as stiff as a rock when sole first teaches him, often stepping on their foot or stumbling over nothing. he’d blush in embarrassment, apologizing profusely whenever an error was made. he’s a mechanic- he fixes, repairs, tinkers and builds. it was something he enjoys doing and something he was great at. now this- this was something definitely new in his life and something he was absolutely horrible at. although he can’t dance for shit, he’s willing to bite back the hesitation so he could take advantage of whatever time he has with sole.

Gage:

he wouldn’t really have a high opinion of soles dancing but wouldn’t deny the fact that he was slightly impressed by their talent. never has he once seen anyone in nuka world dance the same as sole did and he definitely wasn’t gonna push away the fact that it was something unique and interesting to watch. even if he didn’t tell that to sole out loud, the way his eyes followed their every movement spoke louder than any words he could’ve pulled out of his ass. from time to time, he’d compliment them in his own way, saying things, such as, ‘nice footwork you got there, boss’ or ‘don’t see much of that these days’. sole would eventually taunt him by accusing gage that he liked the performance to which gage playfully snickered at it while rolling his eyes. you never put gage and dancing in the same sentence. he’s absolutely against himself doing so and would rather jump off a cliff willingly than to be caught doing such a thing. there’s nothing you can do to make him dance or even attempt to bribe him into learning- he just won’t do it at all costs. gage has his own set of hobbies and he likes to stick within that area, so the topic of dancing doesn’t appeal to him at all and immediately shuts the idea down the second it leaves soles mouth. as much as he loved sole, there was just no way in hell that he was gonna be forced into this. it just wasn’t him.

[out-of-jams]

Airplane Mode || Track 13: Just One Day || jhs

Summary: In a world where a bruise marks the first touch of your soulmate, time is the only thing that matters. The marks take hours to appear, sometimes even days if you’re really unlucky. Once First Touch is initiated, both parties only have a few weeks to find the other. From then on, the body begins to reject any form of sustenance other than the touch of the other. If one fails to find their soulmate in time, they starve to death. So what happens when your soulmate is a world famous idol?And you’re just one fan in a sea of many who can’t even speak the same language?

Pairing: Hoseok x Fem Character

Word Count: 4.3k

Genre: Fluff. Angst. Idol!au. Smut. Soulmate!au. Language barrier!au. Explicit language.

Warnings: This chapter contains swearing.

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By the time Eunjae got back to her apartment, it was around two in the morning. Taehyung had given her a sleepy-eyed hug goodnight before making his way to the dorm. Eunjae closed the front door behind her with an inaudible sigh, thing off her shoes by the entryway. The day had been long, filled with an excessive amount of stress at work, only to be followed by the time spent with Taehyung.

Eunjae would by lying if she said that she wasn't happy that the boys were so open about being her. That they didn't seem to be doing it just out of obligation because she was one of their member's soulmate. It was nice to feel accepted when she'd been forced into a strange new place with people she didn't know. Closing her eyes around a tired yawn, Eunjae navigated her apartment with heavy lids.

Only to stop dead when she caught sight of a foreign object in her peripheral.

Sat slouched down on the couch with his chin propped up in his hand, was her soulmate. She shouldn't have been as surprised as she was that he was there, since he knew the code to the door and all. And maybe if she'd have checked her phone that was buried somewhere at the bottom of her bag, she would have seen the text messages. But she didn't because she hadn't. Hoseok didn't notice her approach, not that he could with his eyes closed. 

By the soft, deep breaths that escaped his nose, she assumed that he must have fallen asleep. Which only served to bring up the question of how long he'd been there. Had he been waiting on her long? A surge of guilt caused Eunjae to frown as she crouched down in front of him. He'd changed out of the clothes he'd been wearing earlier that day and into a pair of joggers and a t-shirt.

Even with his eyes shut, he looked tired. Eunjae couldn't blame him, not with how busy they all were preparing for their comeback. His face was slack, dark eyelashes kissing his high cheekbones. Soft looking heart-shaped lips were slightly parted in sleep while his chest gently rose and fell with each inhale. 

Eunjae hadn't been able to fully take in his features without the fear of him catching her staring. Hoseok was beautiful, strikingly handsome with all of the sharp lines and angles that made up his symmetrical face. Why some ARMY didn't appreciate them was something that she would never be able to understand. And she wasn't just saying that because he was her soulmate. Anyone who looked at him and thought that he wasn't incredibly attractive were blind. 

There was no other excuse. 

Reaching out a hand, Eunjae gently shook his shoulder. "Hey."

He didn't respond, too wrapped up in whatever dreams were playing out behind his eyelids.

"Hobi," she tried again, shaking his shoulder a little bit harder.

Hoseok grunted, eyes fluttering open in confusion before focusing on her. They were still filled with sleep in the only way someone who'd just awoken could be. He ran a hand down his face in an attempt to bring himself back into alertness before sitting up a little straighter. When he met her gaze again, she couldn't help the small smile that broke out across her face.

"Hey, sleepyhead."

"Hey." His voice was a deep, raspy grumble that only came out when he came back from taking a trip to sleepsville. And he barely lifted a palm over his mouth to contain his yawn.

"Waiting long?" Eunjae asked, pushing herself back to her feet.

Hoseok glanced at the tiny clock embedded onto the face of the television's cable box and shook his head. "Not very."

"Sorry," she grimaced. "You, uh, hungry?"

Eunjae had to forcibly not look as he slid a hand beneath the hem of his shirt to scratch at his side subconsciously. Though it did little to prevent the small sliver of golden hued skin from popping into her peripheral. She was pretty sure that her question was stupid, that it practically answered itself because why else would he be in her apartment at two in the morning?

"Yeah." Hoseok gave her a reassuring, if not tired, smile and stood from the couch, stretching his arms above his head on the way. Glancing over towards the hallway, he wet his lips. "Can we go...sleep?"

The thought of curling up next to his warmth for a second night left Eunjae with a feeling that she couldn't quite discern. But she brushed it off, buried it deep in favor of responding. "Sure."

And as she followed him down the short hall, a thought popped up into her mind.

At least her question about whether or not they'd only recharge their metaphorical batteries during the day had been answered.

Eunjae was in time out.

Well sorta, but she also didn’t want to move. Not when she was so comfortably stretched out on the couch with a book propped up in her lap. The sound of fingers typing across a keyboard prevented silence from overtaking the room. Namjoon’s hair reflected the light from his computer screen, bouncing off the headphones thrown over his hair.

It was barely even an hour ago that Eunjae had gotten kicked out of the stylist department. The boys had a performance on a television show tonight and the coordi noonas and stylist noonas were a frazzled mess. Eunjae was sent away ten minutes after arriving because they didn’t have time for her to “get in the way” or whatever it was that they’d said. She’d be insulted if she wasn’t so relieved.

Namjoon had found her listlessly wandering the halls of Producer’s Row, not knowing what to do with herself. Hoseok hadn’t been in his studio and he’d yet to answer her text, so she’d had no idea where to find him. Luckily, the leader of Bangtan had let her know that her soulmate was down in one of the dance studios with Seokjin. Eunjae had been hesitant on interrupting what must have been their practice for their upcoming performance. Namjoon, as perceptive as he was, had seen the look on her face and offered to let her hang out in his studio until Hoseok was finished.

Which was how she’d landed herself back in MonStudio, a pen pressed to her lips and a headache brewing. She’d met with Soyeon earlier that morning when she’d first gotten to the building for another Korean lesson. After about two hours of one-on-one conversation exercises, she’d been sent away with a stack of beginner level workbooks to go through. 

It wasn’t that Eunjae didn’t want to learn, but multiple hours of studying would wear anyone down. Letting out a long sigh, Eunjae slid further down the couch until her head was propped up by the arm rest. She barely saved the thin book in her lap from falling to the rug.

“Having trouble?” 

Starting in surprise, Eunjae glanced up to see Namjoon’s chair spun halfway around. He raised an eyebrow in amusement at the wide eyed look she sent him. One side of the headphones that'd been thrown over his head was pulled off to the side so that he could hear her response. Eunjae wondered for a moment what she'd down to garner his attention away from whatever track it was that he'd been so focused on.

“Huh?” She asked intelligently.

He nodded at the book dangling from her hand for dear life. “With your studies.” 

“Oh.” She pouted unconsciously. “Just taking a break. Too much studying gives me a headache.”

"I can understand that." Namjoon slid his headphones down to hook around his neck. "Breaks are always good."

"You sound like you're in need of one." It was Eunjae's turn to raise an eyebrow now.

"Yeah, something like that," Namjoon chuckled, running a hand through his slightly disheveled hair.

She rearranged the book to rest somewhere tucked between the couch cushions and made herself more comfortable. "What have you been working on? If you don't mind me asking of course."

"Nah, I don't mind." He stared over at his computer screen like it held the answers the the universe. "I'm working on my mixtape."

"Your own?" Eunjae's eyebrows shot up into her hairline. That was news to her. At Namjoon's nod of affirmation, she sat up a little straighter. "How far along is it?"

Namjoon pursed his lips thoughtfully, dimples indenting his cheeks. "Not very. I have some of the instrumentals done and some lyrics, but it's nowhere near complete."

Eunjae hummed. "Huh. I didn't know you were making a mixtape."

Gently rotating back-and-forth in his chair, he gave her a look that she wasn't sure how to decipher. "Hoseok is working on one too."

That would explain why he was in his studio so much at least. During the handful of times that Eunjae had met him there to sate their hunger away from prying eyes, she'd walked in to find him studiously clicking away at his computer. He'd always dropped whatever it was that he was working on to spend time with her so she hadn't really though much of it. 

Why he hadn't told her that he was working on his own mixtape, she wasn't sure, but she couldn't really hold it against her. Some people could be very private about their art and Hoseok may not feel completely comfortable with her yet, which was something that Eunjae couldn't fault him for.

"Speaking of," Namjoon began, bringing Eunjae's attention back to the present. "How're things going with you? You adjusting well? I feel like we haven't really gotten the chance to talk on-on-one."

The memory of the night she'd broken down in the shower flashed through her mind, but she metaphorically brushed it off with a nonchalant shrug. "Fine I guess."

"You guess?" He questioned, a playful lilt to his voice.

She snorted. "Yes, fine. Everyone's been nice."

"That's good to hear." He leaned back into his chair. "Moving to a new country can be pretty overwhelming, especially when you throw a soulmate into the mix."

He could say that again.

"But," Namjoon continued thoughtfully, "at least we can learn how to handle things the next time one of us gets a soulmate."

Eunjae took in the way his mouth quirked as his dark eyes traced some invisible shape into the carpet at his feet. How he was slightly slouched down in his chair and the small furrow between his eyebrows and asked the question onto tip of her tongue before she could think to stop it. "Is that something that you'd want? To find your soulmate?"

He hummed, a deep flatlined sound that didn't give away his agreement or disagreement. "Yes? No? Maybe? I don't know. Not that I think soulmates are bad or anything."

His eyes flickered up to meet hers to make sure that he hadn't accidentally offended her. At her encouraging nod, he swiped a hand down his face. "Maybe when things die down and we're not all so famous. Getting to know someone with our hectic schedules isn't easy, as you probably know. I mean the thought of a soulmate is nice, but the timing for me right now wouldn't be so great."

"In the future then," Eunjae said it more as a statement than a question. "What do you think they'd be like?"

That brought a small, pensive smile to his full lips and his eyes traced the rug again. "I used to think about it a lot when I was younger, but not so much lately. I'd hate to set expectations because who really knows? But I'd like to think that if I do end up meeting them, they'd be kind."

"I'm sure they would be." And she meant it. While Eunjae may not have known Namjoon long personally, what she did know was that he was an old soul. Someone who put others before himself always. Fate would do nothing if not give him someone who would cherish that.

He cleared his throat before finding her gaze. "We'll see."

None of them spoke about the fact that he may never see. That he could live his whole life without ever meeting his soulmate. That both she and Hoseok had been lucky to find one another out of the other 7.5 billion people that inhabited the planet. There was a reason why the statistical likelihood of finding one's other half was so small.

"Any other questions?" Namjoon changed the subject with a lighthearted smile.

"Mm, just one," Eunjae grinned.

"What is it?"

"Can I hear what you've made so far?" She nodded at his computer, which had long since put itself into sleep mode.

Huffing a laugh, Namjoon spun back around in his chair and shook the mouse to wake the computer up. "Sure. But just warning you, none of these tracks are final yet."

“It’s not even that bad, stop pouting.”

Eunjae dropped the recently colored strand of hair to send a glare at Soyeon. Unfortunately, the woman was too focused on keeping the car in its lane to pay any attention to her charge. “Says you. I haven’t been a brunette since I was in high school.”

Narrowing her eyes, Eunjae examined her new hairstyle in the sun visor’s mirror. She’d been forced to dye her once silver tresses to a boring dark brown. When she’d met Soyeon a few hours ago, the woman had informed her that according to whatever stupid handbook employees were required to follow, unnatural hair colors weren’t allowed. And since Eunjae was technically employed by BigHit with her fabricated internship, she had to abide by the rules. 

Which meant ruining her hair. Miles had spent an unfathomable amount of time coloring it and when she’d texted him the news at the salon, he’d practically had an aneurysm. She couldn't exactly blame him since he'd been the only one who'd been allowed to touch her hair since he'd first learned how to hold a flat iron.

"Well think of it like this," Soyeon spoke while she merged off of the freeway. "At least now you won't stick out like a sore thumb. The less people question you, the better off everyone is in the long run."

"I guess," Eunjae mumbled begrudgingly. Her tutor was right, but that didn't mean that she had to like it.

Eunjae turned her attention from the mirror to stare out of the passenger side window. The sun was getting ready to drop low beyond the horizon soon, however the day was far from over. Soyeon looked at the girl from the corner of her eye. "So, ground rules."

Raising a brow in curiosity, Eunjae turned to stare at Soyeon's side profile. "Ground rules for what?"

"For tonight. There's some things we need to go over before we get there." Bangtan was attending their first performance of the new comeback at Music Bank in three hours and Eunjae had to shadow Tiffany for the night. Which would have been exciting, if she wasn't so nervous that she'd mess something up.

"Okay." Eunjae's tone came out hesitant. 

"This is coming from the top," Soyeon pointed a finger at the roof of the car. "AKA, from Bang Si-Hyuk himself. Basically, you can't hang around the boys at all, under any circumstances. They should be getting the same spell as you right now so don't think that this is just for you. If you're caught, the staff would absolutely eat that up and rumors would spread faster than butter on toast."

Eunjae made a face at the strange analogy, but nodded her head in understanding.

"Also," the woman continued. "Hands off your soulmate unless you're helping him with his wardrobe, whether you're in the safety of the fitting room or not. None of the staff have been informed of the connection between the two of you and it's up in the air right now on when or if they will be. 

"While all of them have had to sign a basic NDA at the beginning of their contracts, that doesn't always stop gossipers unfortunately. For all shows in the near future, you'll be hitching a ride there with the rest of the coordi noonas in order to avoid suspicion on why you get special treatment by riding separately."

Eunjae trapped her bottom lip between her teeth, mind reeling. Sure, she knew that there were going to be some things that she would or wouldn't be allowed to do, but she hadn't prepared for how strict the rules would be. The whole reason she was given the internship in the first place was so that her and Hoseok could "refuel" during their upcoming tour. 

If she could barely even breathe the same air as him, how was that supposed to work? What good would fleeting touches do in the face of staving off hunger? Hell, it took at least an hour of constant touching to even begin to feel sated. Was she supposed to stay away from him for the whole tour, only sustaining herself with barely-there brushes against his skin?

She didn't voice her concerns, only hummed in agreement when Soyeon gave her a questioning glance. It wasn't exactly her place to complain since the company had already done so much for her. Though that did little to take her away from the thoughts that played on a constant loop once Soyeon turned her attention back to the road. The rest of the drive passed by in a blur. Eunjae barely recognized the building they pulled into the back parking lot of Music Bank. 

Cars were scattered throughout the spaces and vans with deeply tinted windows took up a whole row near the entrance doors. Once the engine was cut, Soyeon escorted her through the double doors and passed the check-in desk for staff where she received a badge to wear around her neck. The room that Eunjae was led to was far down the exceedingly long hallway.

None of the boys were present yet, which wasn't all too surprising since there was still a while to go until they needed to take the stage. The greenroom wasn't incredibly big, but Eunjae supposed that space wasn't exactly necessary when the boys were just meant to be in and out. Their show was going to be recorded live, so they'd only need to perform it once instead of the multiple amount of times that a prerecorded one would need.

Bangtan weren't the only ones who were taking the stage, which was something Eunjae had noticed when she was being shown to the greenroom. She'd never been backstage at a show before, television or otherwise, and it'd felt a little odd. Getting to see what went on beyond the t.v. screen was like pulling the curtain off the illusion.

Out in the halls, staff from multiple different entertainment industries passed each other, pushing clothes racks or speaking into the tiny earpieces hooked around their ears. Much like the stylist department at BigHit except a while lot more crowded and a lot louder. Eunjae had yet to see a famous group wandering around, but she'd been able to spot some familiar names on temporary signs plastered to the sides of greenroom doors.

Safely inside BTS' room, Eunjae greeted the few coordi noonas that she knew by name and shuffled across the busy room to find Tiffany. There was a flat screen television mounted on one of the walls, but it was off. And a few leather couches were pushed up against the wall opposite the overly long vanity with seven chairs already lined up in preparation. Supplies were set neatly in front of each, some of the noonas who would be doing the boy's makeup setting up their stations.

According to Tiffany, who'd assigned Eunjae the low-risk task of organizing the clothes rack with stage outfits, the boys would be arriving in an hour or so. The news would have been a relief to her slightly grumbling hunger if it weren't for the fact that she wouldn't even be able to touch her own damn soulmate. All she could do was hope that Hoseok was doing fine from the short hour they'd been able to squeeze earlier in the day.

Insane.

That was the first word that came to Eunjae's mind when she came stumbling back into the room. Apparently someone had forgotten a bag full of accessories that were supposed to be worn tonight, so she'd had to run out to one of the three vans that belonged to Big Hit to hunt it down. Which was a pain in and of itself since it was dark outside and all of the vans lined up in the lot looked the exact same. Add in the fact that the bag had been hidden, tucked beneath the middle row of seats in the last van she checked, and you got a very flustered Eunjae.

She had no clue how long she'd been out there searching, but by the time she got back to the greenroom, the boys were already in their stylist's chairs getting their makeup done. Remembering the stupidly strict rules, Eunjae didn't spare them a glance. Which also meant she missed the brief look of surprise that flickered across Hoseok's face when he looked up and caught her reflection in the mirror.

Even if it weren't for the no-contact rule, she wouldn't have been able to hang out with them even if she'd wanted to. Mostly because the dressing room was a flurry of activity that passed by so fast that Eunjae barely even noticed the time. And because of course, Tiffany had decided to help get Hoseok ready herself instead of letting Eunjae assist. Which only served in making her dislike her all the more. 

If she was going to be like that throughout the whole tour, then how the hell was Eunjae going to be able to be around Hoseok at all? Hopefully the company would decide in favor of disclosing their soulmate connection, otherwise what was the point? It would just do more harm than good.

It wasn't even until the boys had left to take the stage that Eunjae actually got to take a break from the fluster of activity. The rest of the staff were either beginning to pack up their things or taking the time to sit down and relax a little bit. Someone had turned the television in the room on, so everyone could watch the performances.

Luckily by being backstage, Eunjae didn't have to fight to see over anyone out in the crowd of audience members. She was seated on one of the couches next to a coordi noona who had introduced herself a week ago as Yoona. She was a kind, older woman with long dark hair and perfect, flawless skin. While she didn't speak a lot of English, she had still tried her best to make Eunjae feel included.

On the television, she watched as the opening slow-yet-upbeat track started up. This was the first time that the title track of Bangtan's upcoming album was going to air and Eunjae would be lying if she said that she wasn't excited to hear it. The actual album release wasn't going to be for another two weeks, with the title track being dropped sometime around midnight tonight.

Just because she knew them in person, didn't make Eunjae any less of an ARMY. 

The stage was bright, encompassed by pink and purple lights. Each one of the boys had been dressed in a multicolored outfit consisting of a black, red, and blue color palette. While each of them looked good, she had a difficult time tearing her eyes off of her soulmate. Off of the way his skin glistened so prettily beneath the stage lights. And how perfectly in-sync he moved his body with the rest of them.

Confidence practically bled from his pores and he commanded the stage each and every time he took the center. Eunjae watched their live performances whenever she'd gotten the chance to, but there was something different about now knowing them that made it different. Made her feel different in a way that she couldn't quite put her finger on each time the camera tracked her soulmate dancing his way across the stage.

All three minutes and forty-four seconds that Bangtan spent performing passed by way too quickly. And before she knew it, they were finished and the television was cutting to commercial. Luckily, they'd been the last group to perform, so no one had to wait another few hours until the awards for the night were announced. Though it wasn't like Eunjae would have been able to watch who won anyway because she was put back to work the moment their performance was over.

She was too busy helping to load up the vans with the numerous boxes that had been packed back up to even get to see the boys. At least things weren't as hectic after the show like they'd been beforehand, but that didn't make it any less tiresome. The only thought that kept Eunjae going was that in less than an hour, she'd be back within the confides of her own apartment. Maybe then she'd be able to congratulate the boys on the win she knew that they were sure to secure.

It wasn't until she was staring out the car window on the drive back that she recognized exactly what it was that she'd felt both watching Hoseok perform. Her eyes widened, breath stilling in her throat. Oh shit.

She had a crush on her soulmate.

[snow-leopard-777]

In The Darkest Hour

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not, despite what most would claim, a normal girl, nor did she lead a normal life. Chloè had once claimed that the bakers' daughter held more secrets than Fort Knox, whatever that was. Though she wasn't entirely wrong. Marinette did hold many secrets. Family, friend, random stranger, it didn't matter who talked to her. Unless you were a member of the conversation, not a peep was to be heard about it from Marinette.

As much as it occasionally annoyed them to be unable to get gossip from the girl, the entire class greatly appreciated the girl's talent for secrets. When Chloè, Kim, Max, Alix, Nathaniel, and Juleka needed someone to talk to about being LGBT, Marinette was their only pick. The group quickly became close, Marinette asking their permission to tell the other LGBT classmates to talk to them about it. None of their other classmates could figure out why the group was so close, for which they were extremely greatful. 

Kitty Section was created under Marinette's careful selection, the girl gathering those that had shyly admitted to their preferred method of making music and introducing them, one on one, to Luka and Juleka for consideration of the band they wanted to create.

The one thing the entire class knew about the rest of their classmates was one thing that were in perfect agreement with: Marinette Dupain-Cheng was an odd individual, and no one wanted her to snap. Especially after the appearance of le Papillion. Many of her classmates worried about their secrets, as so very little was known about the girl. Though the class didn't realize it, the only students that did not fear Marinette's akumazation revealing their secrets were the LGBT kids, as Marinette had not only admitted to possibly being either ace or demi due to her lack of attraction to anyone, but they also knew she was keeping secrets before she knew how to talk.

As they gave the girl more and more secrets, she became more and more isolated. No one was willing to give up their confidant, but those that she didn't trust with a secret of her own began to avoid her unless they needed a conversation kept quiet. Marinette simply smiled a small non-committal smile every time they spoke to her while Madame Bustier nodded approvingly at the girl.

A delicate peace existed in the class. Marinette's friends were all extremely protective of her, especially after they learned just why the girl was so secretive. Everything came to a head when Alya suspected Marinette knew the identity of at least one of Paris's heroes after seeing Chat Noir enter a room at the end of his timer- and Marinette walk out seconds later.

In retrospect, Alya could have chosen a better place to confront Marinette than in the school classroom, interrupting Bustier's lesson so that the girl couldn't run away.

The bluenette, of course, denied knowing who Chat Noir was. Alya, however, refused to let up- her blog was at stake, after all.

"C'mon, Mari!" Alya whinned, ignoring the classroom's collective flinch. No one was allowed to call Marinette Mari, new girl or not. "Be a good friend! Do you know what you could do for my blog?"

Marinette glared at the girl. "It's always about what I can do for you, isn't it?"

"Marinette! That was too harsh," Caline scolded her student. "You're supposed to be the example, not the problem starter! She just wants a little help with her career!"

Marinette glared at the teacher. "I said that I don't know the identity of Chat Noir. She kept pushing, insistent that I did even though all she knows is that he entered a room shortly before I exited it. I remained in front of the door until Chat Noir let me know he was properly recharged and left. She wishes to know a secret he would die to protect despite his and his cousin's protests against her stalking them."

"That is highly uncalled for!" Caline scolded. "One should never be judged for curiosity."

"And one should never be judged for the keeping of ones secrets, so be they keeping their own or others'. She's lucky that they haven't filed restraining orders or complaints against her. She could easily be sued for invasion of privacy, charged with jail time for stalking, or have charges brought against her for posting un-consented photos, of minors no less, on a public forum without any kind of authorization- not to mention some of her theories could be considered slander and defamation of character." Marinette retorted, the majority of the class shocked by her sass. The quiet girl usually refused to speak when challenged about her secrets; she had never fought back before (Sabrina was surprised, but more because of Marinette's legal jargon. Perhaps she should attempt a friendship with the girl instead of fearing her closed-off mannerisms). Only a select few that remembered her as a child with no filter (Chloè, Kim, Alix, and Nino) or visibly held no regard to authority figures (Juleka) remembered the old Marinette. The Marinette from before her aunt and uncle's deaths. The Marinette that allowed people to call her Mari.

Irina Karasuma, neè Dupain-Jelevac, adoptive daughter of Gina, had disappeared off the face of the planet when Marinette was eight years old. Six months after her disappearance, the Russian woman was presumed dead- along with her husband. Karasuma Tadaomi was Marinette's favorite out of her adoptive relatives, and everyone knew it. He was the one that taught her how to fight, how to defend herself. He also taught her how to cuss someone out, in French or Japanese, and make them thank her for it. He was the one that taught her just how important secrets were from the moment she was born. Irina taught her, very reluctant, niece how to use her looks to her advantage, the art of flirting, and about seven different languages (plus how to flirt or cuss in many others). By the time her favorite family members vanished (not dead, never dead, they couldn't be dead), Marinette was able to speak nine different languages, not including her mother tongue, plus sing beautifully.

Two weeks after Bustier assigned her detention for standing up to Alya, Marinette found a strange box on her desk, a fox tail amulet and a strange little pocket fox contained inside.

🍯

Adrien Agreste hit record on his phone the second Alya interupted class. He didn't plan on being defended, had only hoped to get a good laugh to share with Felix, until Marinette spoke up. If he weren't so good at acting, Adrien wouldn't have been able to keep the tears from falling. He knew, without a doubt, that Marinette knew his identity- and Ladybug's as well. She hadn't quite managed to close her eyes in time when he detransformed in front of her. The girl had simply pulled out her lunchbox when Plagg mentioned Adrien forgetting his Camembert at home, offering the kwami her own.

"Let me know when your good to go." Was all the girl said before walking out of the room, the sound of fabric sliding against the door letting him know she was leaning against it. Several nerve-racking minutes passed before Adrien announced that he was transformed. He watched the door slightly shift forward as she got off it, though the door never opened. 

He had waited days for the girl to spill. Yes, he was well aware of her reputation. However, he was almost positive that his was too big of a secret to keep. After seventy-two hours of nothing happening, Adrien tracked down his cousin and visited Master Fu.

Master Fu had frowned at him. "We will watch her and see how the situation pans out. If she proves herself enough, I may give her a Miraculous of her own."

The next day, Adrien walked into the massage parlor with the recording of an absolutely unaware Marinette verbally attacking a classmate for trying to pressure her into spilling the secret.

The Guardian had watched the video contemplatively, analyzing the girl. "I think I know the perfect match." He finally said once the video was over. "But I am unsure… it has been several centuries since a true match for her surfaced."

Adrien left more confused than ever, though forgot about the strange encounter once his cousin saw the video. All of Adrien's being was suddenly focused on keeping Felix from taking legal action as Ladybug against the blogger.

🍯

Marinette stared at the small goddess. The fox stared back, then smirked.

"Most kits freak out when they see me." The fox commented.

Marinette smirked back, "I'm not most kits."

"Hmm. We'll see. My name's Trixx, I'm the Kwami of Illusion. My main power is Mirage, we'll be able to see if you can use any other power after we work together for a time. You have five minutes after using my power before you transform… until your an adult."

"Okay. Does this come with a catch? Do I have to fight akumas?"

Trixx grinned ferally. "Nope. All you have to do is not use my Miraculous for evil."

"Good. I think Kitsune would prefer to take out human criminals and night akuma over missing school."

Trixx nearly purred at her newest holder's words, eyes sparkling with pride, "That sounds perfect." It was brilliant for her kit, this one might even grow to be a full fox, to use a name of different origin to mislead people. Who would think a half-Chinese girl would use a Japanese name?

🍯

Marinette transformed with Trixx for the first time that night, fiddling with her weapon before ever leaving her room. She had a flute, the mouth piece pulling out to reveal a sharpened blade on the end, barbs set strategically down the blade so that it would catch without letting go. She slowly pulled the rest of it apart, each one leading to a blade of some sort. The middle had two blades, one on each end, while the others only had one- lengths varying. 

It didn't take more than a second to find the phone-like use, the girl calling Chat Noir to meet her at the Trodacero with Ladybug.

The two heroes beat her to the meeting spot, Huli Jinn joining them after learning how to move around as a Miraculous user. Her dark silver cloak settled around her, shifting and blending with the shadows.

Ladybug eyed her suspiciously. "Who are you and what do you want?" The blond demanded.

Kitsune smirked at him. "Call me Kitsune. I'm the holder of the Fox Miraculous. I thought it best to let you know I was active before you mistook me for an akuma." She lowered her hood and pushed the cloak back, revealing her appearance. Her dress was silver with blue ribbons and sleeves. The skirt had slits up both sides to prevent it impeding movement and the skirt and sleeves were removable- not that the boys knew that. A pair of loose silver pants and black combat boots hid under what most assumed to be a dress. Her Miraculous stayed tucked under her outfit, her mask matching her silver theme- excepting the orange curled fox tails on either side of her mask.

Chat visibly brightened. "So you're here to help us?"

"Not exactly. You two are heroes. You fight akuma no matter when or where they occur. I'm a vigilante- I'm focusing more on keeping the average Parisian safe. If an akuma occurs at night, I'll help you out. But you're on your own during the day. I have school, and I know you do too, but I'm already on thin ice with my teacher, and I have work I have to do. You guys can sleep at night while I keep an eye on things."

Felix eyed her. "Why is your name in Japanese?"

Marinette blinked at him. "My favorite uncle was Japanese. He taught me many things before he vanished a few years ago. I don't know if he's dead or not, I hope not, but I wish to honor his memory and all he taught me."

Chat grinned even brighter at her. "Are you a Honeypot?" He demanded. He only knew one of those, and if she was… "Master Fu said he might give you a Miraculous!"

The other two heroes eyed the cat. "How do you know who I am?" Marinette demanded.

Felix stared at the two. "You're the girl that knows who we are." He dumbly stated.

Marinette huffed. "Yes, I know who you are. Not that anyone would ever learn that for sure."

"What are you going to do about sleep?" Felix demanded. He refused to be the cause of another person being irresponsible about school. 

Kitsune waved her hand through the air. "I can exsist perfectly well by sleeping on the weekends and taking naps throughout the week. Foxes are at their peak at night anyways."

"Didn't you just say you're on thin ice with your teacher?" Ladybug demanded. Chat Noir simply looked highly concerned.

Marinette raised an eyebrow, though Adrien beat her to speaking. "Our teacher doesn't like her right now because she defended my hero persona against a classmate. Our teacher is all for Mar- sorry, Kitsune keeping secrets until those secrets could make someone else rise to the top. She got detention for protecting my identity and defending herself against the girl pestering her."

Felix narrowed his eyes. "So the teacher punishes victims for defending themselves against a bully harrassing them?"

"I wouldn't say that-"

"Yes." Kitsune interupted. "The teacher shows no care for the emotional state of a person being attacked, only for the well-being of the more agressive person. She has had several complaints filed against her, though no action has been taken. My allies and I are getting ready to go to the school board if nothing changes soon."

Felix nodded once in acknowledgement. "Good. I shall retire for the night, Chat, you should do the same. We miss enough sleep as it is." He turned around and muttered under his breath, knowing his cousin could hear him, "And you need to explain to me what a Honeypot is."

Marinette bit back her laugh, fully aware that Felix didn't know her Miraculous also came with heightened senses. "Goodnight, boys."

🍯

Adrien landed in Felix's bedroom, having laughed at the boy the entire way there. Their transformations fell even as Adrien teased his cousin. "Need me to explain what a Honeypot is? Didn't you say that I was the one who was sheltered? That I don't know anything if it's not in an anime?" Felix glared at his cousin. "Okay, fine! A Honeypot is someone who can lure their prey in by their looks and actions, and once they catch what their after, they can make their move. Marinette's aunt taught her how to be a Honeypot when she was little."

Felix eyed his cousin. "What anime did you learn it from?"

Adrien made several insulted noises before Plagg finally outed him.

🍯

Nearly a month later, Caline Bustier and Damoclès were told to pack their bags. The head of the school board called in a favor from an old friend in Japan. The principal had demanded to be allowed to bring one of his teachers with him. She quickly agreed. François-DuPont suffered a hit with the removal of the principal and a teacher for negligence. Hopefully their replacements would help nullify that hit. 

Asano Gakushuu laid his phone on his desk before buzzing for Nagisa. He started speaking before Nagisa could even properly shut the door. "I know you were planning on moving to Paris with Akabane when he got shipped off as an ambassador. I'm not going to try to change your mind." The again went unspoken. They both knew exactly who his best teacher was. 

Gakushuu was always surprised when Nagisa spoke to him- the boy had always been so silent. He hadn't learned until after they started working together exactly why Nagisa was the way he was. "Why did you call me?"

Gakushuu huffed. "Here's the deal. An old acquantence of mine called in a favor I owed her. She recently fired her principal and one of her teachers, and needs a suitable replacement for both. She asked me to take over, I agreed on the stipulation that I got to bring one of my teachers with me."

"Where at?"

"François-DuPont. It's a school in Paris. Instead of struggling to find a new teaching position in a country you are unfamiliar with, you can join me at this school. It's not far from the embassy, so you would still be able to meet Akabane for lunch or whatever."

Nagisa raised his eyebrow at his friend. "You do know that Karma prefers his first name for a reason. We're twenty-six, and have been friends since the end of cram school. Your rivalry should be dead by now." Gakushuu shrugged. Nagisa let out a heavy sigh. "What's my class like? How did the teacher I'm replacing run it?"

"I don't know how accurate my information is, all I have is what the superintendent knew. But the teacher and principal were terminated due to neglecting the students"

Nagisa facepalmed. "End Class bad? Paradise High bad? Or relatively alright?"

Gakushuu shrugged. "Possibly some combination of the first two. They did have one competent teacher for science and math. The terminated teacher was supposed to teach them almost everything else. We won't really know until we get there and assess the situation. They want us there ASAP."

"Of course. I'll tell Karma. Get me the school's address so that we can plan housing."

"I'll forward you all the information by the end of today. Use today to tell your students the news and pack. I'll begin the transfer paperwork. Do you have tickets to Paris already booked?"

Nagisa gave Gakushuu a bland look. "Karma and I leave for Paris this coming Monday. You need to focus more on your own paperwork, mine should be nearly completed."

Asano would never admit that he had been putting off Nagisa's paperwork for as long as possible in hopes that he would stay. Nope, not at all.

🍯

Marinette kept an eye on the new teacher as soon as he arrived. They had been stuck with different substitutes for nearly two weeks while waiting on him to arrive and all the paperwork to go through. The name Shiota Nagisa rung a distant bell in her mind, though she struggled a little with remembering where, exactly, she had heard his name.

"Greetings, everyone." His French was passable enough, though he had a noticable Japanese accent to Marinette's trained ear. "My name is Shiota Nagisa, though you can all call me by my given name. I hope we have a good year together." He offered them a small bow.

Marinette rose to her feet. "Greetings, Nagisa-sensei. I am Marinette Dupain-Cheng, class representative. Thank you for coming to teach us." She offered him a bow in return.

Nagisa gave her an approving grin even as Rose hesitantly spoke up. "Didn't he ask us to call him by his given name?"

Kim explained before Nagisa could. "His name's switched around, like mine! Last name is first and first name is last!" Kim boasted. "The new teach is like me!"

Nagisa hummed appreciatively. Le Chein Kim understood the basics, but not the proper terminology. "A little rough, but basically correct. Though I do not appreciate the interruptions. In Japan, a person's family name is given first and their given name second. It is considered rude to address someone by their given name or a nickname without permission. Dupain-Cheng-chan, please stay after school so that we can discuss the class."

"Yes, Sensei." Marinette acknowledged. 

"Now, in Japan, different honorifics are used to address someone. Here you use madame, mademoidemoiselle, and monsieur. It's a bit more complex in Japan. If you were to speak to an adult, you call them by their family name followed by -san. For example, a friend of mine also lives here. You would address him as Akabane-san. You would address females your age or younger by adding -chan to their surname, males with -kun. People in the grades above you would be addressed as -senpai, which can also be used for someone with more experience. A teacher, doctor, someone in a roll ment to educate someone is addressed as -sensei." Nagisa spent the first day explaining to them the cultural differences between Japan and France, flashing back to Bitch-sensei's less than conventional methods proving their usefulness. Several of his new students seemed to understand the different cultures very well while others seemed to let everything fly over their heads. 

The day finally ended, Nagisa ushering the students out so that he could finally learn just what he was dealing with. "Dupain-Cheng-chan, would you please explain to me how the class was run prior to my arrival? The principal and I were given minimal information about why we were being brought in."

Marinette slightly inclined her head. " Please, call me Marinette. My surname is a mouthful. Caline Bustier was our former teacher. She let bullies run rampant and punished the victims if they stood up for themselves. One of my classmates is obsessed with uncovering the identities of Paris's heroes. The teacher never warned her of all the legal action that could be taken against her for basically stalking underaged people. Césaire was convinced that I knew one of their identities and interupted the class to hound me about it. I denied any knowledge of who they were. She pressured me, insisting I knew and called me by a nickname I do not use. I told her off, the teacher scolded me and gave me detention.

"The former principal wasn't any better. He was easily controlled by people in a place of power, allowing bullies to rule the school even as he brushed an complaints about his teachers under the rug. I was chosen as class representative because my classmates trusted me to know better than anyone just what they wanted or needed without airing their secrets to the world. I am also one of the only students who was not afraid to tell Bustier and Damoclès that they were acting like imbeciles. My class is accustomed to not being able to rely on an adult in charge to handle a situation for them- especially if that situation is hostile. Now days they either handle it themselves or come to me."

Nagisa nodded. "If you wouldn't mind, I would like to began taking some of that responsibility off of you. It will take time for us to learn how to work together, but I assure you that I am not like Caline Bustier."

Marinette eyed the new teacher. "Anything my classmates tell me in confidence will stay with me. But I will attempt to speak with you about the class when needed."

Nagisa inclined his head. "That's fair. I would expect nothing less. What can you tell me about the class? I can't move at mach twenty, nor am I a verifiable genius, but I would like to be able to give all of my students what they need. I was under the impression that I am in charge of everything except mathematics and science?"

Marinette nodded. "Juleka, Mylène, and Nathaniel are all very reserved and shy. Juleka and Nathaniel prefer to hide in the background and let others shine. Mylène is okay as long as there's someone she's comfortable with nearby. Ivan is quiet and has a few anger issues, though he's pretty good at controlling himself as long as le Papillion is inactive. Kim has trouble focusing on class and retaining the information, he does better when he has something to do. I've been making him study with me, letting him practice sports, parkour, that sort of thing while I call out information and question him on the materials. He's not at the top of the class, but he is usually in the top ten. Alix can focus better than Kim, but also learns better when she has something to do. Césaire has a tendency to ignore the materials when the teacher is covering them in favor of working on her blog. She expects someone from the class to share their notes with her later on so she can pass. Sabrina takes care of helping Chloè study, since Chloè learns better with technical terms. Every now and then Sabrina calls me in for help for a particularly difficult subject because, where French sometimes fails, making Chloè learn the material in a different language works every time. Nino learns through music. Everyone else learns relatively well in the class and can mostly interact with new people. Adrien said his cousin's considering transferring in, he's asocial, not big on people, but smart."

"Thank you. I'll see what I can do about helping Le Chein-kun and Kubdel-chan have something interactive during class to help them. Do any of your classmates find music distracting?" Marinette shook her head. "Then I'll ask one of my former classmates for help with making a playlist to help Lahiffe-kun learn the material. What would you suggest to stop Césaire-chan from being on her blog during class?"

Marinette hummed contemplatively. "As long as she has an electronic, she's going to check it. Especially since she knows a few of our classmates will give her the notes."

Nagisa nodded. "I'll have her give me her phone before class. Would you do me a favor?"

Marinette eyed the teacher. "That depends on the favor, Sensei."

"It's nothing bad." Nagisa promised. "I'm just used to students being unwilling to help. I feel your classmates are more likely to listen to you right now than me. You have their trust, I do not. Would you be willing to ask them to stop giving Césaire-chan their notes? It would be different if she were missing class, but she's just not paying attention. She needs to learn that there isn't always going to be someone to cover for her."

Marinette blinked, surprised. "Of course, Sensei."

Nagisa considered the girl. "You have a Chinese and French heritage, yes?"

"I do."

"Where does the grasp on Japanese culture come from?" Nagisa questioned, deeply curious.

Marinette offered a small smile. "My family is very complex. My grandmother is the equivalent of an Italian gypsy and has a penchance for adopting people. My adopted aunt, Irina Dupain-Jelevac, married Karasuma Tadaomi. He taught me many things, including Japanese culture, before they went missing a few years ago."

Nagisa's mouth fell open. "You're related to Bitch-sensei? And Karasuma-sensei?"

Marinette snapped her fingers. "I knew your name sounded familiar! My aunt told me about her attempt at being a teacher and how much she struggled with it. She had a lot of pride in your class. Tadomi-oji-san did too, he was just better at hiding it."

Nagisa stared at the small girl. "They told you about us?"

Marinette shrugged. "A little, yeah. Is that all you needed, Sensei? I need to get to work."

"Y-yes, thank you. Have a nice evening, Marinette-chan."

"You too, Sensei." Marinette called as she walked out the door. She found something in her relaxing slightly with knowing that the new teacher was taught by her uncle. Though she did wonder how Adrien, and possibly Felix if he transfered in, would escape to fight daytime akumas.

🍯

Nagsia flopped on the couch once he got home, startling his husband. "Sup, Nagisa?" Karma asked. Nagisa smiled, even after over a decade his husband hadn't changed from the time they were at Kunikagawa. He even continued elongating his name.

"Guess who my class rep. is related to?"

Karma raised an eyebrow. "I literally have no idea."

"Karasuma-sensei and Bitch-sensei."

"What the fuck?" Karma lost all attempt at feignig disinterest, bolting straight up.

"She's French-Chinese, Italian grandmother. The grandmother adopted Bitch-sensei before she married Karasuma."

"How the hell did you figure all this out?"

"I had her stay after class to get a feel for the class. I was called in to replace a negligent teacher, so I wanted to know exactly what I was working with. After we were officially done, I asked her where she learned so much about Japanese culture, as she seemed to already know what I was teaching today. I was already thinking about Bitch-sensei and her teaching methods before she explained how she was adopted by Karasuma-sensei- as a niece. Apparently they talked about us."

"Holy fucking shit, talk about a full circle. How much does she know?"

"That's the problem, I have no idea. Nor do I know what they taught her." That was more worrying than how much she knew about their past.

🍯

Marinette texted Chloè as she walked. *Césaire's notes privileges have been revoked until further notice, excluding absences.*

*I was waiting on you to snap on her. 🙃*

*New teacher's rules for her. Former Class 3E- 🗡️*

*😮 …………… Trust?*

*With caution.* Marinette pocketed her phone as she walked in the bakery. She could give a good two hours in the bakery, design while cooking supper, and then take a quick nap before patrol.