#and its gonna take at least 4 months to grow back enough i can fix it. she basically fuckin scalped me. i am so angry and so embarrassed

[agayconcept]

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[not-so-mundane-after-all]

Fandom: DC Titans

Title: Acrida

Pairings/Relationships: Dick Grayson & Rachel Roth, Dick Grayson & Donna Troy, Graysonfam, Dickkory

Summary:

The Acrida Protocol, a plan created by the Justice League, required its members to provide immediate aid to those superheroes who would call upon it, especially in the case of time travel.

After a mission gone wrong, Dick and Donna find themselves stranded in 2005. They've been trained for this scenario, they know what to do, they just need to find someone who will fix their time-travel devices and help them get home.

But not before they help a young nurse and a special baby escape a demonic cult chasing them and get to the sanctuary of a convent in Ohio.

This note is long so bear with me

Throughout the process of writing this story, I've had (still have) many complicated, conflicted feelings. And with the show coming to an end, I'll be honest with you. This fic... I almost didn't release it. In fact, there were a couple of times when I almost deleted the whole thing - I'm glad I didn't but I was pretty damn close. Because every time in the recent months when I sat down to write it, I heard this intrusive voice in my head saying "Why the fuck do you even bother? This is not Dickkory, no one's gonna give a shit. Don't waste your time." So I'd close the blank page and let it lay dormant for months until that miniscule spark of hope would tell me it's actually worth it to finish it.

There's a saying about fanfiction that you write it for yourself. For the things you love. And that's true - but there's much more to it. You write it so you can reach others who love the same thing you do, whether it'd be one person or a thousand. But when you see how slowly, that one or a thousand dissipates, already one foot out the door with their focus elsewhere, when the weight on your shoulders gets heavier because you create create create without the ability to for once consume because you come to a pretty scary realization that if it wasn't for you creating, there would be no new fan content for this thing to consume - because no one else is creating, the ao3 tag is dry as hell because no one else but you is writing for this thing anymore, no one else seems to care enough to do so. The whole experience was and still is really alienating and it took me some time to process it, took spilling my guts to the closest people I have within this fandom to actually come to terms with it and start letting it go.

So, this one is for me. A self pat on the back. You did good, you gave your heart and soul to it, it's time to go now. It's me quietly leaving the room full of people turned the other way, busy shouting profanities at a show they love so much because they didn't quite get what they wanted. That's fine. Valid. My heart breaks for you, truly and I wish I could do something about it but unfortunately, I can't. And I understand the frustration, I didn't quite get what I wanted either. A month or two ago I would've been shouting profanities and throwing tomatoes as well. But a wise woman and a dear friend once told me: you gotta remember what house you're in. So, I'm taking what I got and take my leave. Leaving this behind in hopes that maybe, if you decide to read it, it will at the very least help you get your mind off the swirl of emotion in your heart, even if just for a moment.

I'm not going to pretend it's some epic, amazing story. It's an idea that got rooted in my brain right after season 1 (so it's been growing there for 4 years), a tiny seed with nothing but a blurry concept and no details. I tried to commit to it, give it a good plot and I can say that what I came up with isn't that bad. But it's not elaborate, it's just one giant excuse for me to give Dick Grayson a chance to get to know his adopted daughter when she was just a tiny baby, to get to hold her and care for her and play with her, and have a myriad of complicated feelings about the whole experience.

Maybe it's my last Titans fic, maybe it isn't. Time will tell. There's still one Titans-related project I am actually, truly excited about, the sequel we promised and I know it will happen because the story is too precious to me, to us, to not see it through. But other than that... you can catch me over at The Last of Us side of AO3 from now on. Here, I guess it's lights out.

Chapters dropping whenever. I'll try to do it weekly, I have 4 chapters done, probably out of 5 or 6, but I'm still writing and at first I planned to not post anything until the story is finished but tbh I need to get it out of my system. Release it for the world to claim it. There was an option to wait until it's done and just drop the whole thing at once but... fuck it. It's out when it's out. I know I must sound defeated to you, and to some degree I am. But I'm also letting go of all these negative emotions by starting to release this story so I can enjoy the series finale with no heavy weight on my heart, shed some tears of joy instead of sadness or frustration as I say goodbye to my favorite fictional family and go celebrate an incredible run of an incredible show with my closest fandom friends. And I do love this story, I actually wrote some things today that I'm really happy about and excited to share, and I hope that you, if you decide to read it, will love it as well.

I'm not tagging anyone, here at least. I'll share it separately with the people I care about and let them decide what to do with it. If you find it, you decide to read it - great, good to see you, take a seat and enjoy the ride. Hit that subscribe button on AO3 if you want to follow or if you really want to be tagged here, let me know so I can start from chapter 2. If not, well, let's just let it get buried, maybe someone will find it someday.

All that's left for me to do is write a little bit more to finish this story and properly catch up on the fics from my friends, which is a slow process, I know, but I'm getting there.

As always, enjoy.

[everythingharrypotterblog]

charmed [5]: ‘cycle’ (remus lupin x reader)

SMUT. professor! remus x professor!y/n. can be read as a one-shot, or as part 5 of the charmed series :) pls go show part 4 some love, and the rest of the chapters if u liked this! <3

brief summary: full moon approaching= horny as fuck remus. he can’t keep his eyes/hands off y/n, and after a whole day of being needy between classes, they ... ;) dom!remus, oral fem!receiving, fingering, size kink, ye

nsfw gifs for inspo:   x      x

a/n: i got rejected from my top choice university program today so if im gonna be unhappy, might as well make u guys happy and release parts 5 and 7

series summary: set in the prisoner of azkaban, including its major plot points. remus and y/n get hired by dumbledore last minute to teach at hogwarts, defense against the dark arts and charms respectively. not wanting the students to know they are married, they navigate the challenging year through hidden glances, hand holds underneath the table and loving moments in their offices. even with all their efforts to conceal their relationship, their chemistry does not go unnoticed by the student population of hogwarts, who grow fond of the pair as they offer them some of the best classes they’ve had in a while. their relationship as newlyweds is strengthened as teaching the next generation of wizards unlocks a sea of memories of their love story. for the second time in his life, remus holds hogwarts responsible for some of his happiest memories. he’s given the chance to create them with the love of his life, y/n, who has taught and continues to teach him that every part of him is lovable, remaining forever under her charm.

series masterlist here

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5. 

Remus’ life was lived in cycles, various phases of the moon commandeering partially how he felt. 

His sex drive was always pretty high; how could he not feel desire- when he had Y/N around him in his life. They had a great sex life, and Remus was definitely one to get ‘love boners’, where he would see Y/N do something not remotely suggestive but would get the desire to fuck out of sheer adoration..

When the full moon came close, however… it was on a whole other level. His body carried tension and almost an incurable itch on the days preceding his transformation. His senses flared like a wolf’s, like hearing, touch and vision. It was his sense of smell, however, that enhanced the most. For about 2-5 days leading to the full moon, his smell became much sharper. If Y/N had recently showered, her fresh scent would overwhelm his nostrils, or if she got sweaty too. The second she got aroused, Remus would be able to pick it up, and the urge to bury his face in between her legs would wash over him.

So, he 300% got way hornier during this period of time. Paired up with his senses on overdrive, all he could think about during those few days was sex with Y/N, the tiniest things she did would get him instantly hard. He’d be turned on all the time.

As the month of September came to a close, both Y/N could definitely sense her husband’s even-higher-than-normal yearning. Remus’ persona in public never revealed how much of a beast he could be in the bedroom, always calm, respectful, prudent. He treated Y/N with the upmost care, and once they got to Hogwarts, with the upmost professionalism. That quickly faltered in the last couple of days.

The second students were out of her last class, he had her pushed up against the wall, the door of the classroom safely locked. Y/N even had to cancel one Charms practice session, because Remus wasn’t able to keep his hands off her: pulling her close to him and rubbing her back while he buried his nose in the perfume of her hair. When they graded or read together in the evenings, he would bend her over the desk, then take her again in the shower that night. Every morning, Y/N would wake up in the best way possible, feeling Remus’ tight hold behind her and his already hard cock rutting up against the flesh of her butt.

This morning, however, the couple wasn’t able to squeeze in a nice wake-up shag. They had overslept, and Y/N who started at 9am while Remus at 10, had to to get to class. She hurried off, getting dressed and down for a quick breakfast, leaving Remus waking up alone, humping the sheets slightly.

His frustrations lasted all day, and definitely were not aided when he saw that Y/N was wearing his favourite pair of pants of hers at lunchtime. While the way they looked at each other always somewhat hinted at their romance, Remus’ gaze was especially obvious, like he was mentally undressing her everywhere they went.

He was presently in between classes, sitting at a table in the staff room and trailing his wand over the lines of a student’s essay he was reading. He lifted his head when he heard the door creak open, and Y/N walked in happily, carrying a stack of papers in her hands. His thread was almost thrown back as he caught a whiff of her, just pure her, mixed with a hint of… arousal? She was wet, Remus thought lewdly.

Spotting Remus, Y/N gave him a big smile, then turned towards a little desk that had some of her stuff on it. Remus gave her a cheeky wink before his eyes followed her, unabashedly fixed on how those pants fit her so nicely. Y/N bent down to store the papers into her bag, and Remus quickly had to look away, forcing his gaze on the window before he would get hard.

“Hi, my love.” He smiled gently as she approached him, turning his chair and pulling her onto his lap.

“Rem!” Y/N whispered, jerking her head towards Professor Sprout.

She was the only other teacher there, but to Remus’ greatest delight, she seemed to have snoozed off in her armchair.

“She’s asleep.” Remus whispered back, hands running everywhere on Y/N’s body as she settled herself comfortably in his lap. “Besides, I missed you.”

“Aw, pumpkin-“ Y/N giggled, accepting Remus’ kiss as he pressed his lips on hers. “I, missed, you, too” She murmured in between kisses.

Remus’ hands were getting antsy, as one went to go squeeze Y/N’s breasts and the other caressed over her butt, smoothing over the thin fabric of her dress pants. The kiss deepened as they both began breathing heavier.

“Don’t,” Y/N breathed in, breaking apart from Remus’ soft face. “Don’t you have class in like-“ She glanced at the clock. “5 minutes?!”

Remus peered over her head and groaned, shaking his tousled head. “And you do too darling, right?”

“Yeah, it’s my last one of the day.” Y/N frowned.

Remus’ gaze softened, nuzzling Y/N’s nose with the tip of his own, in a cute little Eskimo kiss- type action.

“I really love these pants, you know, I’m wondering if you wore these on purpose” He grinned, the hand on her butt petting the material softly.

“Maybe, I did….” Y/N smiled back, their faces centimeters away from each other’s.

Remus, ears full of Y/N’s voice, nose full of Y/N’s natural homey scent, didn’t register the door opening again and they both turned with a jolt, when they heard Professor McGonagall clear her throat.

Y/N jumped out of Remus’ lap, Remus smoothing his hands that were all over her body, over his robes.

“Hi, Professor McGonagall- I was just- we were just getting ready for our next l-lesson.” Y/N stammered, face growing hot in embarrassment.

“Yes, class, here- I’ll walk you to your class, darling.” Remus said, bowing his head and following Y/N out of the staff room.

“Mhmm.” Professor McGonagall hummed, peering at the two through her thin rectangle glasses. She didn’t bother reminding them they could call her ‘Minerva’, but as they shuffled out the door, her thin lips curled up in amusement. “Oh, Pomona, I’m sure you are very lucky to be dead asleep right now.” She whispered, to the Herbology teacher whose eyes were sealed shut.

In the hallway, Y/N and Remus burst out laughing once they got a safe distance away.

“I am never going to emotionally recover from that.” Remus choked in between gasps for breath.

“Please, I’m never going to look her in the eye ever again.” Y/N howled, wiping a tear with her wrist. “I mean, at least we were just sitting… and not actually doing.. anything.”

They walked along a couple stairways, their body language having adjusted to the busy Castle. 

“Thanks for walking me, you didn’t have to.” Y/N said, once they reached the Charms classroom. She stood back to the door, hands behind her on the doorknob.

Remus simply smiled courteously, eyes drifting down her. Then, quickly, he peered around them and into the classroom. Seeing it was empty, he reached behind Y/N, turned the doorknob and swirled her inside, pressing her up against the door.

“Oh, Rem-“ Y/N squeaked in surprise, but her voice faded into a soft moan as Remus kissed her, her arms going up to wrap around his neck.

“Sorry, my love, I just can’t get enough of you.” Remus chuckled when they finally pulled apart.

“Hmm.” Y/N licked her lips. Feeling Remus casing her in against the door like this, his big build towering over her, made her knees all weak. “Okay, you know the best part about these pants?” She inquired.

“Hmm? Tell me, sweetheart.” Remus mused, eyelids growing heavy as he stared into her face.

She rose on her tippy toes to meet the height of Remus’ ears, “The material is so thin-”

She spun around, facing the door and pressed her backside against Remus’ front, feeling him through his trousers.

Gasping as Remus’ large hands went up to squeeze both her breasts, further pushing her against the door as he pressed himself against her smaller body, she said, “-I have to wear a thong.”

Remus’ hands on her froze, his eyes growing dark. A low growl was ebbing up his throat but before he could respond, Y/N snaked out of his hold.

“Okay, bye honey- have a good class!” Y/N chirped, grinning widely as she opened the door to let a group of students in.

Remus composed himself in a fraction of a second, a hand raking through his hazel locks in attempt to comb them over.

“Hi, Professor Lupin!” Some students said, happy to see him, to which he answered with a polite and kind “Hello, hello!”, and “Hello, Dean!”.

Once Y/N’s class was over, she hurried up to her living quarters. After taking a hot shower, she climbed onto the bed, in nothing but a thong and one of Remus’ big sleeping shirts. She lied down comfortably, fingers toying with the collar as she waited for her husband. He had one other class after hers and should be finished soon.

Accurately enough, Remus’ figure appeared in the fireplace a few minutes later. His footsteps approached the bedroom and as he entered, his belt was already clinking as he was unfastening it with one hand.

“Oh, baby.” He hummed appreciatively as he took in the sight of Y/N, splayed across their bed, thighs balmy and exposed. “Is that my shirt?”

Y/N nodded, appreciating how Remus’ locks of hair had fallen on his forehead, as if he was constantly running his fingers through them- which he did, in attempt to concentrate when he was giving his last lessons of the day.

Gripping the hem, Y/N lifted the shirt off, exposing her naked chest. Remus made a guttural sound as he lunged forward, going to squeeze, lick and suck over her breasts. His hands wandered south, grazing the wet spot on the cotton stripe that covered Y/N’s mound.

“And whose pussy is this, hmm?” Remus snarled slightly, canines shining as his lips curled into an eager smirk.

Y/N licked her lips as she decided not to answer, her eyes had a glint to them when she stared back challengingly at her husband.

Remus raised an eyebrow, but kept an unfazed demeanour. He stepped back from the bed, taking a stand at the edge of it.

“Okay, baby girl, I see how you’re being. Turn around for me.”

Y/N looked up at him excitedly before slowly turning on the bed, onto her stomach.

Remus let out a small appreciative growl at the sight of Y/N’s ass covered only by a thin thong, right in front of him ready for him to ravage.

“Should’ve started with an easier question, kitten- who does this ass belong to?” Remus simpered.

He bent forward to squeeze both cheeks in his large hands, then went on to graze his teeth softly against the flesh of her ass. He could smell her arousal fully now, the scent of her wetness entering his nostrils and clouding his vision.

When Y/N merely arched her lower back to stick our her bum more prominently, wiggling it, Remus cursed. He roughly palmed the flesh before he lifted his hand and delivered a loud swat to it.

Y/N gripped the sheets in her hands as she yelped out of pleasure.

“You like that, don’t you, you wanted a good spanking from daddy, huh?” Remus hummed, rubbing over the spot soothingly. 

“Yes.” Y/N breathed out shakily. “Please.”

Remus kneaded the flesh in his hands and reveled in the way it would bounce after he spanked it a few more times.

“Oh darling,” he cooed, bending down to leave a slow trail of kisses up Y/N’s back. “Your little bum looks so cute marked up in pink by my hands.”

The skin had pinked, and a considerable area too, considering how large Remus’ hands were.

“Remus, I’m- I’m so wet for you.” Y/N cried, lifting her lower body weight onto her knees so Remus could see her pussy in the air. Glistening and dripping in arousal.

The sight sent adrenaline down Remus’ groin, his cock now painfully hard and straining against his trousers. He could in a flash, shed his lower layers and pound into Y/N’s cunt as his urges wished him to, but he had to get a taste first.

“Really?” He said as he kneeled down on the side of the bed, now eye-level with Y/N’s core. He peeled back her thong, throwing it further on the bed.

“Yes, oh God, please.”

Remus peered over Y/N’s legs to see her face, scrunched up in anticipation. His hands trailed over the side of her thighs, sending visible shivers down her spine. 

“Now, will you be a good girl and tell me… who this pretty ass and pussy belong to?” He said in a low purr, voice husky.

Y/N’s pussy clenched as she felt his face so close to where she needed him to be, his hands cementing themselves around her legs.

“Yours, Remmy, I’m all yours, now please-“ she begged, tears prickling at her eyes because of how much she ached for his touch.

Remus’ hands softly grazed down her back and pressed harshly once they got to the lower part where the curve of her ass began, and pulled her cunt straight into his face.

“Merlin, you smell so fucking sweet.” He swooned, inhaling deeply before quite literally diving into her cunt, his warm tongue stretching to lick against her clit.

Y/N’s eyes rolled back, her head pressing harder into the pillow. “Fuck…” She choked out. Her hips gyrated against Remus’ face, but his firm hold locked her in place as he devoured her.

They both moaned, Remus’ tongue running up her slit a couple times to lap up all the slickness and fully taste it. He gave her clit a quick kiss before sucking on it, taking it in between his lips. 

“Fuck, r-right there.” Y/N breathed out, finally feeling an ounce of her desire fulfilled. 

Remus licked sloppily at her clit, drawing wet circles with his tongue as his entire face was engulfed in her, her wetness dripping and coating his chin and nose. He sighed contently, closing his eyes as he ate her out, his own cock plumping at the feeling of her hips and legs trembling.

It was like meditation, the wolf inside him finally somewhat being appeased. He lapped at her cunt like it was the last thing he’d ever do, tongue running through the soft folds that were sopping and slick from the mix of her arousal and his spit.

“Oh, Rem, oh-“ Y/N moaned, face scrunched in pleasure. The coil in her abdomen wound tighter, she was getting closer and she pushed her hips back against Remus’ mouth. He groaned into her cunt, his hands squeezing her fleshy hips harder, desperately stuffing his face into her. He loved it. 

He maintained his rhythm, focusing on suckling and flicking his tongue on her clit until she came with a cry, hips shaking out of his hold. He flattened his tongue to run it up her labia, and ended by planting a tender kiss on her sensitive clit before pulling away, slightly more sated than before.

“Delicious.” Remus panted, standing up and watching Y/N languidly turn over onto her back once again. He wiped his mouth and the tip of his nose clean with the back of his hand, Y/N watching with her face hot.

Y/N scooted to sit at the edge of the bed, ogling him. He towered over her as he stayed standing, looking down at her through heavy hungry eyelids, covered by his brown hair that was getting slightly messier.

“Wanna taste you.” Y/N smiled, reaching behind Remus’ kneecaps to bring him closer.

Remus chuckled darkly, his long arm needing to barely reach to stroke Y/N’s jaw.

“You look so cute from up here, dove, makes me want to play with you and see you cum, all over again.” He said, voice low.

Y/N bit her lip, not breaking eye contact with her husband.

“So gorgeous.” He groaned as Y/N took his thumb between her lips, suckling the pad of the finger. “You have no idea how much I’ve been thinking.. of what I want to do to you, how much I want to take that body of yours.”

“Then take me.” Y/N exhaled, mouth letting go of his thumb and smiling devilishly.

Remus’ eyes, if possible, turned darker in desire and he bent down, kissing Y/N passionately on the lips as his hands travelled down her naked torso. 

“Hmm, you’re so small, kitten,” Remus hummed, eyes following his hand that went to cup in between her legs. “Look how small your little pussy is in my hand.”

His fingers curled to feel how wet it was, Y/N spreading her thighs apart for him to access easier. He used his middle and ring finger to lather up some of her slickness, then dragged them up to her clit and started soft circles on it. Y/N whimpered, legs closing from how sensitive her bud was from her previous orgasm.

“Now, now pet.” Remus tutted, pulling away.

He licked the tips of his fingers clean, then shrugged off his woolly cardigan, hanging it on the back of a nearby chair. The full moon approaching always got his body temperature hotter than usual, so he skipped wearing a cloak today, and was left in his white dress shirt and tie. He slowly rolled up his sleeves, exposing his forearms. Y/N couldn’t keep her eyes off his hands as he did so. Long, mature fingers with metal rings adorning the base of each.

��Keep your legs nice and spread f’me, alright, as I stuff you with my fingers.”

Bending forward again, he leaned one arm on the bed beside Y/N as his other hand found her clit again. The thick pads of his fingers played with her clit, rubbing the spot as Y/N bit her lip, body firing up for another orgasm.

“So cute, button.” He mused, nuzzling the top of Y/N’s head. “Look at that, your clit feels so little under my fingers, don’t you think? And your cunt, ah-“

He dipped a finger inside her, sliding right in and quickly added another one. Slowly petting the soft spongy walls of Y/N’s pussy, Y/N mewled, rutting her hips for more.

“So tight, so full just of my fingers. Tell me darling, do you like my fingers?”

“Mhhm.” Y/N nodded as Remus sped up. “Love your fingers, your hands, they’re so b-big.” She choked out, head hanging back as he fingered her.

“You like that? You fucking love how I can get you off with just m’fingers, yeah? Lord, this pussy’s so tight how will my cock even fit hmm?” Remus crooned, watching Y/N adoringly as he was knuckles deep inside her, his rings feeling cold upon her entrance.

Y/N opened her eyes, meeting Remus’ soft, scar-decorated face and turned her head to kiss him. Remus suckled on her spit-slicked lips, maintaining his fingers and bent his hand for the bone of his palm to press against her clit. Y/N gasped into the kiss, lips gaped apart as she whimpered into Remus’ mouth. Remus smiled, loving how flustered she was as she struggled to kiss him back, soaking in all her little cries and noises she made. 

His fingers inside her were going so fast, relentlessly hitting her g-spot over and over that his hard palm was grinding against her clit incessantly. Faster than the first time, she came, squeezing onto his forearm.

Fingers riding out her high, they slowed and pulled out, drenched in her wetness. Y/N collapsed onto her back, chest heaving.

“Oh, baby you are so beautiful.” Remus simpered, climbing on the bed and leaning over her to kiss her everywhere; her shoulders, neck, cheeks. “You think you got another one in you, bunny? Think you can let Moony bury his cock inside you?”

“Yes, give it to me please.” Y/N grinned widely, licking her lips and pulled Remus down by his tie, locking lips with him once more. “Need you inside me.”

“Oh, puppy. I am going to ruin you.” Remus said, this time in such a low murmur that had he not been an inch close to Y/N’s face, her ears wouldn’t have registered the tone.

Y/N sat up, helping her husband rid himself of his clothes. His bare chest exposed a few thin scars, which Y/N quickly smoothed her hands and lips over, routinely giving love to them, as she knew it was the part Remus couldn’t stand of his body.

Remus freed his hard-on, which was blushed an angry shade of dark pink. The bulbous head had been leaking of precum for a while now, and he exhaled a couple ragged breaths when he stroked himself, hand twisting around his tip. Y/N had leaned over to their bedside table to open a condom, and she replaced his hand with hers, pumping his long member before sliding it on. Remus already felt himself throb, and he knew that soon he’d be even more as Y/N’s pussy felt 100 times better than her hand.

“How do you want me?” Y/N breathed, backing up to the head of the bed as Remus went on his knees.

This was more of a rhetorical question, really, as it has been like this for years, that at every moon cycle end, their favourite was for Remus to take Y/N from behind. Y/N turned onto her elbows and knees, bending forward to prop her ass up.

“That’s it, good girl.” Remus licked his lips, lining himself up and pushed his cock slowly into Y/N’s warmth. 

He let out a loud hiss, face contorted in pleasure as he sank fully into her, his long, hard member stretching Y/N out to the fullest, filling her to the brim. “Merlin.” He said through gritted teeth, eyes dropping to where he disappeared into Y/N’s behind. “You always manage to stay so tight for me, darling- fuck, your pussy’s just squeezing m’cock so right, isn’t it?”

Y/N merely moaned, head dropping forward as she balanced her upper weight on her elbows, overwhelmed by feeling every single vein of Remus’ cock sliding in and out of her slowly. She clenched hard around him, causing his hips to tremor as Remus’ senses, including touch, were amplified tenfold.

He ceased momentarily, his cock just resting heavy inside Y/N’s cunt, his head deep at her g-spot. Y/N mewled, arching her back and twerked her hips, fucking herself back onto his cock. Remus growled at the sight, spanked her once, then his hands dived to grab the curve of her waist as he snapped, hips pounding into her now mercilessly.

“Oh God, fuck!” Y/N cried out with her head thrown back, as her elbows gave out from underneath her and her face sank forward into a heap of pillows. Her ass still up in the air, flesh slightly pink from Remus’ spanks delivered to it- it was a wonder how he didn’t cum from the sight of that alone as he fucked her from behind.

Remus kept up his quick rhythm, hips thrusting into her ruthlessly. They were both close, and Remus fucked into Y/N without an ounce or self-restraint left. He grunted loudly as she fell forward and her inner walls clenching down onto his member. His cock slipped in and out of her deliciously, as she had gotten so wet for him, sinful sounds echoing the room.

He bent forward, chest pressing against her back, their skin sweaty. 

“‘S that feel good, darling?” Remus said, lips ghosting over Y/N’s ear. She shuddered, his breath sending shivers up her neck as she felt him so close. His voice wasn’t his usual chesty, tenor honey-like. His words were uttered in a guttural one, his voice deeper, lower, sounding from the back of his throat. “You’re taking me so well- your pussy feels like heaven, sweetheart.”

Y/N’s ears registered the praise as music, living for it. He adjusted his hips slightly to accommodate the new angle, thrusting to make sure he was hitting all the spots in Y/N he knew she liked.

“Mphhhm, please baby,” Y/N moaned, voice slightly muffled into the pillow. She turned her head to the side to rest her cheek on it instead. “Please Remus, oh-“ her voice whimpered, a little more clearly now.

Remus’ large hands had been gripping onto the flesh of Y/N’s hips roughly, tightly. He moved one up to her breasts, grabbing it and massaging it. His breath was hot on her back. He was nearing his orgasm too, his breathing loud and shaggy. Heaving grunts echoed off the walls of the rooms, and Y/N arched her back to feel his chest rise up and down against it.

“Good girl, good fucking girl- taking my cock so well. Shit.”

Remus let out a growl as he felt his cock be swallowed up in her cunt, her ribbed walls enveloping it so nicely as he ploughed into her. 

“You’re close aren’t you, dove?” He murmured into her neck with the same low voice, placing wet kisses onto it. Her hair was out of the way onto the other side, and he tasted the slight stickiness of how sweaty their night’s activities had gotten her. 

“Yes, yes, ye-es” Y/N chanted in a strangled voice, her words getting split at her throat from Remus’ vigorous pounding.

“Can tell from how tightly you’re squeezing me- shit, not going to last long either inside you like this. C’mon baby, c’mon. Cum for me.”

It was all too much. Y/N shaked as she felt Remus pump into her a few more crucial times. He felt so thick in her walls, his girth filling her up like no other. Moaning, her hips grinded back into Remus as she started to cum. She felt his warm hand reach down her belly and down to between her thighs and with the added pressure from the circles he rubbed on her clit, she came with a shudder. Her body shook as her breath caught in her throat, a string of profanities leaving her lips. Y/N’s sounds of pleasure filled Remus’ ears, driving him further into ecstasy.

“Good girl.” Remus purred, hips jerking forward frantically. 

“Remus, fill me up-“ Y/N moaned, knowing Remus loved hearing his name fall off her tongue like that. She propped herself back onto her elbow, reaching one hand behind her to hold the back of Remus’ neck. 

Remus pressed the side of his face into Y/N’s neck, her hand keeping him close to her. He growled into her ear, the low sound vibrating from his throat enough to make Y/N’s eyes roll back. Driving his cock into her, desperately chasing his high, he rutted his cock into her walls. His entire body strained as all his muscles worked to relieve himself, needily fucking out his animalistic urges. He came with a gasp, his hips jerked harshly as he shot ropes and ropes of cum into the condom. 

Panting, he hunched forward as his cock kept twitching. 

His whole muscular body trembled as he squeezed his eyes shut in the pleasure of his long-needed release. His hand was grasped onto Y/N’s chest and she loved the feeling, tilting her hips forward to match the movements of Remus’ orgasm.

Wheezing slightly, Remus finally pulled out of her slowly, Y/N whimpering slightly as her pussy clenched around nothing. He threw the used condom and collapsed onto his back, chest still heaving. Y/N followed suit beside him, onto her stomach, body limp. The afterwaves of her orgasm still sent pleasure through her body and she knew she’d feel too sore to even straighten her legs.

“My love.” Remus turned on his side.

“I can’t fucking move.” Y/N chuckled, voice muffled by the pillow.

Remus hummed, eyes raking over her used body and sat up, massaging over her shoulders then down her back. His hands reached her hips, where he caressed extra soothingly and slowly closed them together. He bent forward, planting a kiss on Y/N’s cheek. She giggled as his locks of hair tickled her eyelid.

Languidly turning over, Y/N sighed in content.

Remus reached his hand, and pulled a strand of her hair out of her face, tucking it behind his ear. He felt warmth lower, as his body began to awaken for another round.

“We’re not getting much sleep tonight, huh?” Y/N giggled peering down at her husband.

It was a blessing that the Castle automatically out a Silencing charm on teachers’ living quarters, because anyone neighbouring them would have stayed up, hearing sinful, wet slapping sounds of skin all night.

part 6  and part 7 OUT NOW!!

tags @bicyhot1  @pink-hufflepuff  @legitlaughingflamingo @brod16  @gerardonmyway  @blueleonor  @suranne-doesstuff  @rxmusblxck  @spxllcxstxr  @littleemo477  @just12randomfandoms  @svnkissdd  @norrreee  @m4r13l3y  @jess6578  @rorysreallyrandom  @the-nightingale-not-the-lark  @archeve19  @wolfstarslovechild  @pan-pride-12  @x4kai4x  @chrrybmb-mp3  @reggieluna  @happyslittlekitten  @missemilygilmore  @all-things-fictional @strangefirething  @abitofeverythinggg  @yeahshewayout  @imfreeeeeee123  @harold-pothead  @lunnybunny12  @ellieblack11  @tugabooos  @joyfulbiscuit  @justonemorechapter07 @wonderwoman292  @skateb0red  @secretsthathauntus  @siriusblackswhoree  @sabonbonn  @untraveled-road  @annabeljareau  @valiantobservationkitty @diffbeanofbrand  @theeicedamericano​  @spencerreidlove  @flannellover67  @wishiwasdeadric  @becks7401​  @katsav17  @emmy-kitty13  @purritoqueen  @girl22334  @monicafebyana​  @talsiaa​  @sierrax023​  @axva03  @uhh-dk  @nataliahgrace​  

[petri808]

Bakudeku canon divergent, vampire quirk AU

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24

“How are you holding up son, are you eating enough food? You need to keep up your strength.” Mitsuki Bakugou questioned through the phone when her son called to give her an update.

“Yeah, yeah, of course I am! And, um, thanks for the money you put in my account,” Bakugou mumbled his appreciation.

“It’s from us, Inko, and All Might— actually he’s been putting up the bulk of it. We’re all hoping you find Izuku soon, but until then we’ll make sure you have what you need, just bring him home.”

“I’m working on it. Bastard’s not making it easy, but at least the damn authorities haven’t picked up on the trail yet.” It was a good thing, because Bakugou didn’t need them scaring Midoriya further away.

“You’re like a dog with a bone when you put your mind to something, so I know you’ll find a way.”

“I can’t believe you just equated me to a dog!”

“Oh, bite your tongue boy! It’s an expression!”

“Yeah, yeah. I better go, the train’s here.” He could see it pulling into Kawaji station.

“Are you still not gonna tell us where you are?”

“Nope. He moves around a lot anyways. Just know we haven’t left Honshu.”

“Alright. Good luck son. I’ll pass on your update to Inko and All Might.”

This game of hide and seek was physically wearing on Bakugou, but there was nothing short of a full incapacitation that would keep him from searching. After the Ena incident, Midoriya’s tactics had changed somewhat. The man moved more frequently and, in a zigzag, whereas in the past it had been heading in a straight line towards Shizuoka to the southwest. But there was one thing Midoriya couldn’t hide— victims. It didn’t take a genius to put the pieces together.

There were still times victims were drained, but not all of them. Bakugou surmised in order to not leave them fully incapacitated like before, his friend wasn’t always waiting until he was hungry, or he hadn’t learned to control it yet. He probably fed almost nightly, picking drunkards who wouldn’t remember what happened, and even less likely to report the incident. But less reports made it harder to track, and less blood also forced Midoriya to drink more often. Bakugou hoped that with shorter times between attacks, the man would get sloppy and make a mistake.

There were a lot of small towns all over, including abandoned structures from older times. Plenty of places to hide, not to mention dense forests and the mountainous terrain of central Japan that a person could disappear in. When tracking a lack of victim reports grew frustrating, Bakugou started looking for other clues, and in one town, a perceptive police officer commented about thefts he’d been hearing about from the surrounding areas. Random stores or restaurants, even some homes reporting the theft of food, sometimes clothing, basically survival type supplies but no valuables, which are not the norm of a burglary. It was brilliant.

Bakugou had thanked the officer for the information and immediately began inquiring in towns and watching newspapers where they were having both types of problems. It took almost a month, including a couple of near misses, until Bakugou knew he was closing in.

Local newspapers were reporting about unusual happenings in the smaller towns. In Ieyama city, high up in the mountains north of Shizuoka, Bakugou spoke with a police officer and confirmed a rash of strange incidents reported. Three burglaries of just food, one bath house broken into after closing, and a couple of reported attacks where the victims had marks on their necks. So far, Izuku’s new behaviors included sticking around the same area for about a week before moving on. With these latest cases only 3 days old in total, Bakugou knew they were a fresh lead.

“Yesterday, right?”

“Yes, the last burglary was in the afternoon while the homeowner was at work.” Using a paper map, the police officer showed Bakugou the location of the most recent burglary as well as two others over the last couple of days. It was very telling. The three places were centered around a 4-block radius. “If you are looking for hiding spots, there is an abandoned factory in that area. I’ll give you the address.”

“Thanks. I doubt they’d stay so close to the attack grounds, but I’ll check it out.” He didn’t want any of them following him.

It was still daylight, but Bakugou didn’t want to waste any time and risk his friend moving again after dark, heading straight for the dilapidated warehouse. The place looked like it had been emptied for a longtime. There was a rusted, chain link fence around the property, many broken windows, and weeds growing over the structure. Bakugou crept up to one of the windows, and heard nothing, so he moved slowly, quietly around the exterior paying close attention to any sounds or movements inside. But he heard nothing to indicate anything was there, not even an animal. Maybe it was another dead end, or maybe Midoriya was just sleeping. Un-phased, he moved inside the two-story building to make absolutely sure.

It took a while to search cautiously through the darkness, watching his step so not to step on anything or make a noise. The vastly open bottom floor was almost completely empty aside from a few left behind junk. So, Bakugou moved to the second floor where offices once were. Of all the areas, the top floor would provide the warmest cover, as well as quicker access to the roof. Like a trained tactical soldier, he cleared room after room, moving down the hallway that separated the individual offices, and one by one, eliminating them from the search. Finally, Bakugou reached the last one and heard the soft breathing of a sleeping person. Well, that meant two options, it’s just a homeless person or he’d finally caught his friend off guard.

Bakugou peered cautiously around the door frame. It was dark, but just enough light from a small window allowed his eyes to adjust quickly on a form lying down on the floor. Next to the person was a backpack, empty food containers strewn around, and possibly other items from the burglaries. There was also a make-shift hearth of broken bricks and a metal bowl with dark residue inside. He could even smell the light scent of soot mixed with burnt wood. ‘Gotcha!’ He smirked as he pocketed his flashlight and pulled out a special pair of handcuffs used to dampen quirks. It didn’t completely shut down a person’s quirk, but it kept them from using its full power. He was ready for Midoriya this time.

‘Almost there…’ he crept forward in a crouched manner ready to pounce like a predator stalking its prey in careful movements since he no longer had the flashlight out to see by. ‘Damn minefield,’ Bakugou grumbled as he navigated around the strewn mess of stuff the sleeping man had around him. ‘Almost there—'

*Crunch*

A piece of glass shattered below his boot, the sounds reverberating off the silent cement walls. “Shit!” Bakugou dove forward when Midoriya immediately popped up and tried to dash away. “Not this time nerd!”

“Waaahhhcchan!” Midoriya screamed as he was tackled to the floor. The two men fought, vying for footing, but the blonde kept them on the ground. Bakugou grabbed for and slapped one end of the handcuffs onto one of Midoriya’s wrists. “Nooo!” The man screamed.

“Not this time Deku! You ain’t getting away!”

Weakened by the cuff, Bakugou poured all his strength into jerking the disheveled man, flipping him onto his stomach, and tweaking his arm behind him into a wrist lock for leverage.

Midoriya screamed again from the pain, but nevertheless fought with all he had. Unfortunately, the cuffs were doing their job. “Please, Kacchan! Don’t do this!”

“Tough shit!” Bakugou snapped back and attached the other cuff to his own wrist. The effects would hamper them both, but “I dare you, nerd, you can’t beat me in a contemporary fight.” He was confident of such, having always been the physically stronger of the two regardless of quirk. “I’m taking you home!”

Midoriya wriggled, and tugged, but it was of no use. His friend had planted his feet, dropped his weight, and refused to budge. He didn’t want to risk exhausting himself and triggering a full-blown thirst like last time, so he stopped struggling.

After a few seconds, Bakugou got off the man and turned him over so he could sit up. Midoriya nursed his arm and rubbed at his wrist to soothe the pain. “Of course, I want to go home,” he sighed. “But it’s too dangerous Kacchan, why can’t you understand that?”

“Eri’s getting better every day, one day she’ll be able to control her quirk and fix you.”

“That’s not good enough. What are you gonna do, lock me up hoping she can fix me?! You saw what happened! Just like we eat food every day, I need blood, how are you gonna deal with that?!”

“Fine,” Bakugou shrugged, “we’ll hook you up to an IV and feed you blood when you need it.”

“No,” Midoriya started tugging again as tears flowed down his cheeks. “Please,” he begged, “this is too embarrassing, don’t you understand! I’ll never be able to be a hero again, my reputation will be ruined once everyone finds out! Hero society will look bad! It’s better I stay away!”

Frustrated with having his wrist yanked, Bakugou whipped his friend around and put him in a carotid choke hold. “Well, I’m not fucking leaving,” he spat, “so, we need to come up with a solution. Now stop fucking fighting me and get it through your head, the reality is I’m not going anywhere.”

Midoriya clawed at Bakugou’s arm trying to pull it away from his neck, but the man had it cinched in tight. If he kept struggling, he was bound to pass out. Exhausted, he finally relented and turned into a dead weight, sobbing quietly. “Why are you doing this, Kacchan… why?”

“Because a friend once told me I need to save to win, and right now you need to be saved for me to win.”

“Right? Win, I get it,” Midoriya narrowed his eyes along with tone. “This is an ego thing? You’ll take me back to show how you’re still better than me?” His heart didn’t believe those words, but as a coping mechanism, it did.

Bakugou let go of the man and shoved him so hard Midoriya face planted on the floor, stretching the handcuff chain to its limit. “I ought’a punch your lights out for saying that! I’m trying to win my friend back you asshole! You think I’d spend all this time chasing you if I didn’t care?!”

“Kacchan…” The man sighed and slowly propped himself back up. “There’s nowhere safe for me to go.”

Bakugou ignored the man and looked at his watch, noting the sun would have fully set by now. It might best to stay another night while he came up with a plan. “Tch, I’ll figure something out. In the meantime, behave or I will just knock you unconscious.”

“Fine, I won’t fight. But I do need to feed tonight.” Midoriya lifted his arm to flash the cuff. “Guess you’ll have to help me.”

“Why? You feeling the urge?” Midoriya nodded yes. “How can you tell?”

Midoriya thought about the answer for a minute before responding. “It’s like feeling dehydrated, maybe, at least in the beginning, but then it starts to get painful if I don’t feed it. I guess think of it like if you don’t eat for so long your stomach hurts— that’s what it’s like.”

“Sounds like it sucks.”

Midoriya snorted. “Understatement. It takes control of my mind by that point, almost as if it’s a survival instinct to protect itself.”

“Well, mister know it all. You ever heard of this kind of quirk before?”

“No,” Midoriya shook his head.

“Do the vestiges have anything to say about all this?”

Again, Midoriya shook his head.

Bakugou groaned and ran a hand down his face. “Whatever. Doesn’t matter for the current situation.” He looked up again fixing a stare at his friend. “So, what do you do to get the blood?”

[chilly-me-softly]

Every Little Thing’s Gonna Be Alright • Chapter 10

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 

Ben watches Evelyn from afar while she's on the couch watching some documentary on TV. She's wearing a sweatshirt that highlights her belly, the hood up over her head acting as a block to the outside world. He remembers how she had once told him that everything is muffled like that, and it was a good way for when she wanted company but didn't feel like talking so much. Kind of like in those days.

When they all still lived together he was the one who distracted her, who didn't let her stay in her head too much. He'd carry her around with him, hand her a joystick and they'd spend hours playing games or simply become the annoying brother who teased her. All so he wouldn't see that sad or thoughtful expression on her face.

He smiles to himself at the memory of the dirty looks, threats and sometimes even slaps he used to receive, approaching her and resting a chocolate on her belly. Evelyn starts to play with it, drawing the outline with her index finger and making circles on her belly. This is not appreciated by the little girl who, with a sudden movement, makes the little sweet tremble slightly.

Evelyn scoffs giving her belly a gentle tap rolling her eyes as Ben smiles at the scene and leans forward slightly.

"Hi Joanna, uncle Ben here. Mum didn't mean to, she's just out of her mind. So Gabriela, I would advise you to be good at least for today"

"What the hell are you babbling about?" Evelyn turns to her brother, the shadow of a satisfied smile on his face.

"I'm just talking to my niece, Gloria"

"Okay, are you drunk?"

"No" he chuckles, "I'm helping out here. You said you didn't have a name yet" he says shrugging.

"That is until a couple of days ago..." Ben opens his mouth surprised and indignant, "Excuse me?! What were you waiting for to tell me?!"

"Not long now. It will be a surprise"

"But I want to know!" he complains jumping slightly on the spot and pounding his fists on his thighs, making his sister shrug and look at him with a sly smile.

"Okay then I'm guessing, I don't have anything else to do" he says shortly afterwards sticking his tongue out at her as she rolls her eyes in response. "Who knows, you might even change your mind about Fiona"

"Nah I'm pretty convinced"

"Yeah but are you sure? I mean Viola might not like it after all" she shakes her head dismissively, "Or oh! you could do like that TV show you watched time ago where they all named their kids after their last names" Ben snaps his fingers as if he's found the perfect solution.

"I'm not calling my baby Chilwell. And besides that will be her surname, so Chilwell Chilwell... I don't think so"

"That would be original though" one look from her was enough to make him raise his hands in surrender.

"So you decided to leave him out?"

"It's my baby. It's pretty clear now, I don't see why I should make him this gift"

"Yeah, you're right"

"But she's going to be a Chilwell, she'll have plenty to worry about on this side of the family too anyway" she says sarcastically running a hand through her hair, the hood droops slightly and she does nothing to fix it and Ben takes it as a signal to finally spill the beans.

"I called mum the other night. After the hospital" he says all in one breath as Evelyn doesn't flinch, almost as if she didn't hear him.

"I was so out of my mind. I told her to fucking grow up because if anything happens to you again..." Ben left the sentence hanging as Evelyn opened her mouth to speak but couldn't, the meaning of what her brother had just said hit her overpoweringly.

"I checked your phone, I saw she'd been the last person you had called" he keeps on moving his gaze around the room for a moment, answering the silent question he knows she's wondering among many other things.

"Ben"

"I know, I'm sorry. But I was really scared that night for you and the little one" the girl sighs at this point, reaching out slightly to squeeze her brother's leg in a vain attempt to thank him for having her back once again.

"I don't want you to-" but he doesn't even let her finish her sentence, shaking his head and resting one of his hands on hers.  

"When she comes to her senses I'll be happy to forget all about this. But until then you're my priority Lyn" and she stays silent, again, torturing her lip to keep from getting emotional again and again.

"Maybe I should never have come back or stayed for all that matter" she murmurs lowering her gaze.

"Don't be stupid now"

"It's just that I came back mainly for her you know. Because all of a sudden I was scared and I thought that mum would be there for me. And now I sometimes wonder why I'm still here, that's all" she feels so guilty in revealing all that to her brother, to the man who practically offered her a roof over her head without saying anything and without expecting anything in return. To those who have really been there for her.

"You're here because there are so many other people who love you in spite of everything, who are willing to help you. And I'll probably never fully understand what was going through your head at the time, but you're here now. And nothing else matters"

"You're not a disappointment, you're not a failure, and you're not going to be banished from the family just because you're about to bring another life into the world" Ben says seriously while, needless to say, tears form in Evelyn's eyes. She really can't wait to regain control over her emotions.

"I'm so grateful you decided to come to me first anyway" and she feels her brother's arms wrapping around her body as she takes a deep breath and drinks in his so familiar scent.

-

She moves her feet waiting while the phone in front of her shows her face. And she fixes her hair as best she can, realising perhaps at the last possible minute the way she looks, when her frame ends in the bottom right corner and Jack's image appears full screen. He is on his stomach, his face half hidden by the pillow and an obvious tired expression on his face. But he still looks more presentable than she does.

"Hi" she says shyly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, the shadow of a smile on her face. He sets the phone down in front of him and once he was sure it wouldn't fall, he arranges the pillow in a better way too, folding it and resting his chin on it as he greets her back.

"Are you tired?"

"Not really, I'm just relaxing"

"Liar" she states softly, one corner of her mouth slightly turned up.

"I'm not!" he insists but is betrayed by a yawn as she shakes her head in amusement.

And when she returns to focus her gaze on him, she notices that he's already looking at her. The way his eyes seem to study her, with that piercing gaze even though they're not exactly face to face, embarrasses her most of the time. She can't handle it. "Stop it! Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's the first time you've called me" he replies sincerely, not losing eye contact. That apparently futile little gesture seems to hide a more important meaning behind it.

"Wait, should I be worried?" his expression changes in the blink of an eye, following a thought of his own as his head snaps upwards, the pillow opening in two returning to its original shape.

"I just wanted to hear you" she murmurs as he sighs relieved, resting his head on the open palm of his hand now. He pauses to look at her as she is caught up in something and stays silent. He wishes he could poke her in the side, see if he could take that expression off her face for a while or be able to hear her laugh. But the screen on his phone reminds him that no, he can't.

"Hey, what's going on?" he urges her then and Evelyn looks up at Jack, tries a smile but isn't sure about the result.

"Nothing it's just... I didn't feel good the other night. Ben took me to the hospital"

"What happened?" he asks surprised, incredulous and worried more than anything, clutching his pillow the only thing he can cling to at the moment.

"I had what you could call a panic attack. I called my mother, she hung up on me and that was it" Evelyn shrugs.

"Sorry you... you have this power to shake everything off that's unbelievable" he shakes his head, looking at her as if she could disappear at any moment.

"I just don't want to think about it, okay? To pause and think about what could have happened"

He sighs, it could be seen he'd like to say more but holds back. She has obviously reached out to him for support, she doesn't need someone yelling at her at the moment. "How are you two doing?"

"She's fine, I'm a mess. It's just..." Evelyn shifts slightly, crossing her legs, "it's been another month"

"Sometimes I think if she doesn't want to be a part of her grandchildren's life or mine, okay fuck her. Yeah I'm the one who made the mistake but I've done everything I can to talk to her. I can't just get in my car and knock on her door until she opens it. I'm tired of always making the first move" Evelyn forcefully wiped away a tear that forced its way down her cheek as she remembered the silence she had received during that phone call. Silence that can hurts more than a slap most of the time.

"On the other hand, I try to put myself in her shoes and tell myself that maybe... maybe she just needs a little more time. But just how much more time does she need, Jack? How much more time must pass before she wants to talk to me? This baby will be born soon and I just need her"

"I just want my mom" and it's that moment that he hates with all his heart. In another situation he wouldn't have thought twice about wrapping his arms around the other person. It breaks his heart to have to watch her break in front of him without being able to do anything, standing motionless on the other side of the screen. He just wants to hold her in his arms and tell her it's going to be okay.

"Sorry, I know. I seem to be crying all the time lately" she murmurs passing her hands under her eyes to wipe away those tears.

"Okay put your headphones on and find a comfortable position" he states firmly, pulling himself up and resting his back against the headboard.

"What?" she murmurs confused.

"Headphones, come on" he repeats and despite the confusion, she does as Jack asked by putting on the headphones and lying on her side and adjusting her phone so that she can continue to see him.

"Now close your eyes"

"Jack"

"Close them Eve or it won't work" he immediately interrupts any sort of protest she might have put up at that moment.

"I hate you"

"It's okay, I can live with that" he jokes and can clearly see the smile that appears briefly on her face after she closes her eyes.

"Just focus on my voice now. Everything is gonna be alright. I know it seems hard to see it now but I believe in it, I believe in you and I know you can do it. You are strong, stronger than you think. And if there should be days when the world seems to be crashing down on you, I'll always be here for you" his mother's voice saying those same words echoes in Jack's mind as he tries to be as reassuring as possible, hoping that those words will help her as much as they have helped him time and time again over the past few years.

"Thank you" Evelyn murmurs and then opens her eyes and stares at him intently, "Thank you"

"Can you keep talking? I like your voice"

"Yeah sure" and slowly she closes her eyes again, allowing herself to be lulled by his voice until she inevitably falls asleep. Her breathing more regular, her mouth slightly open.

"Evelyn... see, I should have been worried. Goodnight" he sighs, looking at her one last time before ending the call. That night, despite the tiredness, he struggles to fall asleep.

----

Tag: @alexajanecollins @emwritesfootball

Chapter 11

[drivingsideways]

Based on this excellent post and tags  by @frankdelfino, and thanks to @rain-hat yelling in the chat window for twenty minutes, here’s a not-fic outline in the universe where Jo Yeong and Jo Eun-seop are actually brothers. 

So here's how this goes. This is RoK verse, monarchies are passé, thank you for coming to my TEDtalk.

- Jo Yeong and Eun-seop grow up middle class, and look like peas in a pod, have completely opposing personalities and can generally be trusted to get up to the WORST POSSIBLE SHENANIGANS ever known to a pair of long-suffering parents who've had the temerity to have not one, but two sets of twins. Anyways, Eun-seop is absolutely the one GETTING them into the shenanigans, and Yeong is the one getting them OUT of it, despite the fact that Eun-seop is older by 4 minutes

-Eun-seop loses a year at school when he gets into an accident at 14; a drunk driver, a bicycle, and Yeong just a little too far away to do anything but call the ambulance and hold his brother's hand right until they force him to let go as they rush Eun-seop into surgery. He holds it again, once he's wheeled out, and right upto when he wakes up so he doesn't wake up alone (he hasn't gone home in 48hrs, I'm fine, thanks eomma, you should go home to the babies, they'll be scared without you.). Anyways, Eun-seop wakes up, demands to know whether he'll have a cool scar from the surgery (before he demands to know whether he will be able to walk again) and Yeong's like you're never going to be as cool as me, now shut up and sip this water slowly.  Eun-seop recovers, and Yeong's there through every single physio session and taking extra notes in class, and recording videos surreptitiously, so Eun-seop can see how all their classmates are faring and also failing at everything, now that they're in first year of high school. (Yeong would have stayed back a year at school, but Eun-seop forbids it, and uses his Oppa-pass, which he only uses when he's really serious about something, so Yeong has to listen)

- Eun-seop notices that some of his videos begin to feature a rather weird looking dude, who can be seen hanging out with this one girl. Eun-seop knows Tae-eul noona, her dad runs that taekwondo academy two blocks away, right? And there was that one time when Eun-seop was being bullied and Yeong wasn't there that day, and noona had stepped in and scared those assholes away. Anyways, so yeah, he also remembers that there was this other guy with her, who'd also clearly been ready to throw down, if those goobers had put up a fight, but later, he just grabbed noona's hands, checked for injuries, and given Eun-seop some candy that he got out from his bag.

Anyways, so Eun-seop is like why do you have pictures of Tae-eul noona and her weird boyfriend, and Yeong snatches the phone away and mutters, THEY'RE JUST GOOD FRIENDS, in all caps as though he knows anything about life or girls.

Oh my god, Yeongie, he says, you know she's way out of your league right? She's a senior? And like would absolutely beat you to shit, wouldn't need her weirdo bf to do it either-

HE'S NOT HER BOYFRIEND, Yeong says, loudly this time, as loud as the time when Eun-seop had replaced his hair cream with toothpaste and Eun-seop quickly recalibrates and gets it right this time, and he says, hushed,  Yeongie, my Yeongie, did you manage to fall for the one dude who'd give you a run for your money in "the person most likely to end up a serial killer" stakes?

He starts cackling so hard that his ribs start to hurt, and then his back, and Yeong (who's run away – RUN AWAY) doesn't come back to help him up. It's alright, Eun-seop will live, and also, he's gonna help his Yeongie get his guy, even if Eun-seop cannot see the attraction, and he thinks this isn’t going to work for many reasons, only one of which is that CLEARLY this dude- Kang Sin Jae, he remembers now- is in love with Tae-eul noona, which, props, anyone might see she absolutely kicks ass.

But the point is, the Jos are fighters, and he's damned if he's going to let Yeong slink away from this one.  

The next time he sees Yeongie- two hours later- they all have a bedtime in the Jo house, ok- he's like, fine, I'm sorry, and I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE A SINGLE USEFUL THOUGHT IN YOUR HEAD, so I got this for you, ok?  What do you know about him?

Turns out, Yeongie has a whole folder on him.

Eun-seop's proud of his little stalker baby brother.

Anyways, that's how Yeong learns enough about sound systems so he can turn up for the post when the school band that Kang Sin Jae plays bass guitar for advertises for a sound engineer.

He turns up for the "interview" in his neat trousers, and button-down shirt and Sin Jae says, uh, are you Jo Eun-seop's non-identical twin? Aren't you just a freshman, do you really- and Yeong says, quietly, confidently, I can solve that problem you're having when you play your arrangement of The Wizard and Sin Jae stares at him and mutters, but can you do anything about how only three people turn up to listen, and Yeong tilts his head, and says maybe? Also, Eun-seop and I are identical, just fyi.

Anyways, yeah he fixes the faulty wiring in the speakers at the auditorium, and also gets more than three people to turn up (so what if it's all a bunch of scared looking freshmen? They've all been paid more than enough to bang their heads in time to the music and cheer later.)

But he never does ask Sin Jae out, that entire year, even though these days, Sin Jae smiles when he sees him, and puts an arm around his shoulder sometimes, after a practice, what are you waiting for, Yeongie, did I raise you to be this much of a coward? Eun-seop wails, but Yeong is like, Sin-Jae-ssi would feel awkward at having to refuse me if I did, and he needs a sound engineer more than a boyfriend, and that's fine.

(He needs at least three shirts more, a hair-cut and perhaps better taste in music, Eun-seop thinks, but doesn't say, because he knows Yeongie's fragile like that. Yeongie can take anything anybody says about him, personally, and will brush it off or dole out appropriate punishment, but if someone comes after someone he loves, he'll break the knees of the person and leave them for dead in a ditch. And obviously, he can't do that with Eun-seop, so Eun-seop doesn't say anything, he's a good elder brother.)

- Sin-jae and Tae-eul noona graduate and both of them go off to KNPU, and Eun-seop says, listen, nobody does that if they're not dating, at least. IF NOT ACTUALLY ILLEGALLY MARRIED. Yeongie, please, for the love of god, find a boy who's available. See, here's a list.

But Yeong just shrugs, and says, let me see your homework (because Eun-seop's back in school now) and then proceeds to put red slashes through everything and says, "apply your brains Eun-seop, don't act dumb when you're not". THE AUDACITY.

Yeong never dates anyone through high school, Eun-seop dates a different person every month.

- So Eun-seop is never going to have to serve in active military duty, because of his accident, but Yeong will have to. He's fine with that, and he'd rather do it in these two years, just after school, because that way, it's only really one year when Eun-seop will be at college before him, and that's fair, it evens out Yeong's having to graduate from school first.

-So off he goes, and there he meets Lee Ji-hun, who's an ass, Eun-seop clocks that straight away, born into some goddamn chaeobol family, but for some reason drawn to actual military service, because he has a hero complex. The only good thing he has going for him, as far as Eun-seop can tell, his that he took one look at Yeongie and decided that he was the best boy in the whole universe, and that shows good taste, Eun-seop will be polite to him, fine.

- Of course, the other thing that happens in those two years is that Yeongie gets brainwashed into joining the Navy- it's not brainwashing, Yeong tries to tell him, I get to protect the people I love, the country I love. And of course, Lee Ji-hun, fucking asshole, is just sitting there, nodding along as though any of this was fucking REASONABLE. You could DIE, Eun-seop yells, DO YOU REALIZE THAT. WE'RE STILL AT FUCKING WAR.

Yes, says his stepford-wife brother, womb-sharer, soulmate, exactly.

- Anyways, off Yeong and Jihun go to join not just the Navy, which would be bad enough, but the ROKSWF, that's insane, they're going to die, and what can Eun-seop do then but go join the NIS and immediately get picked for North Korean Affairs by an astute senior officer who listens to Eun-seop goofing around in the canteen on the orientation day and still get everyone to give him their portion of the only decent thing on the menu- the crème brulee- and says, I'm taking that one.

- It's a lot of paperwork and dull as ditches monitoring work at the start, and that's ok, Eun-seop can live with that, it means he gets time with the other twins, who are at a fun age. And that's how Tae-eul noona and Kang Sin Jae re-enter their lives because Eun-bi and Kka-bi are learning taekwondo from Tae-eul's dad. This is also how Eun-seop meets the love of his life and future wife Myeong Na-Ri, and it's ok if she doesn't know it yet, at least Yeongie is not here to see him turn into a complete doofus everytime Na-Ri so much as breathes in his direction.

- Yeongie and Jihun come back on shore leave (AFTER TWO GODDAMN YEARS) and that's when Ji-hun meets Tae-eul and falls like a ton of bricks for her; she manages to keep her sense of balance and also life in order, thanks, she's not going to fall for some floppy haired dude (his hair grows really fast out of its crew cut) who thinks that parallel universes are a thing, even if he has extremely long legs.

Meanwhile Kang Sin Jae has also cleaned up nice, Eun-seop will admit, and he's-he's a genuinely nice dude, ok, even if a bit brusque, and when Eun-seop finds out about eomeonim's gambling problems and that whole story, he's willing to admit that he may have been a tad harsh on Kang Sin-Jae way back when.

Anyways, that's the past, right, Yeongie, I can't imagine what a bunch of men locked in a submarine can possibly do except have orgies, please tell me that's what you've been doing? Please?

"Shut up" hisses Yeong, and then practically jumps out of his chair when Tae-eul noona and Sin Jae come over to their table at Na-ri's coffee shop. Yeong's in his uniform- he was on his way back from some conference thing he'd had to go to despite his leave- so that was the saving grace, because Eun-seop sees the subtle double-take Kang Sin Jae does,  because let's face it, his baby brother is the most beautiful, it's true, but then Yeongie is also red in the face and says "toffee" instead of "coffee" as in "Won't you get some toffee, Sin Jae-ssi?" and Sin Jae gives him a blank look while he decodes that, (gay panic, Eun-seop wants to tell him, my brother is a panicked gay, go easy on him), and finally says, uh, I don't think they have that flavor here?

- God, Eun-seop says later, I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU, BABY BROTHER. HAVE YOU BEEN IN LOVE WITH THE SAME BOY FROM HIGH SCHOOL? ARE YOU STILL A VIRGIN? (AFFIRMATIVE ON BOTH) and Eun-Seop has FAILED, FAILED, FAILED. Alright, he says, taking a deep breath, how long do you have?

Two weeks, says his stupid fucking brother, and so Eun-seop has to go into EMERGENCY-FUCKING-MODE because he may have to DIE getting it to happen, but his baby brother is GOING TO GET LAID, AND BY THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE, EVERYONE'S FIRST TIME NEEDS TO BE SPECIAL OK, Ji-hun? Ji-hun nods, very seriously, and proceeds to describe his extremely un-special first time, and Eun-seop is like, wow, you probably don't know this, because you've got that puppy face that make people not want to hurt you, but every single woman you've ever slept with has faked an orgasm with you. Well, that discussion gets pretty heated, of course, and also comes to an abrupt end when Tae-eul noona pops in- she's come by to ask if they all wanna hang out and watch a movie this weekend- and look, noona's GREAT, and obviously the first person he needs on his ally list as soon as he makes sure she's not really in love with Sin Jae, because that would be bad.

"Hyungnim?" she says, surprised, when he asks, because Eun-seop knows the best way to get noona to answer anything is to play no games, and she says, "No, why?" and then, suspiciously, "Did that rat Jihun put you up to this?" And he says, absent mindedly, no I was asking 'cause Yeong, and noona yelps, "Jo Yeong can't be in love with me, shit!" and Eun-seop says, what, why, and that's how he finds out that hey, Kang Sin Jae may also have been a little into his idiot brother from way back when. "He was too young" Tae-eul noon confides, "Sin Jae didn't feel right about it, especially when he was graduating that year" and honestly, THIS IS THE SADDEST STORY EUN-SEOP HAS EVER HEARD AND HE'S WATCHED TITANIC FORTY TIMES AND CRIED EACH TIME OK?

- RIGHT. So maybe Eun-Seop and Tae-eul manage to get their idiot friend and brother a little push in the right direction. Well, noona basically goes to Sin Jae and says, for fucks sake, ask the poor boy out, I heard he's still a virgin for you.  And Sin Jae goes red in the face, and then green, because omg the PRESSURE, and then red again, and then ultimately does find Yeong one day at the coffee shop alone, as Eun-seop had assured him he would be - (Diligently reading some book? A recipe book? Italian recipes? Sin Jae may have mentioned one day that his favourite cuisine was Italian?)- and there's some part of him that melts, like the cheese on the cover of that recipe book, and he's like, uh, do you, maybe, and then rushed, I know this great Italian place, if you like, and yes, Jo Yeong would like very much.

- Jo Yeong returns to Jinhae Naval Command very much not a virgin, and Jihun returns still single, but undaunted by the task ahead of him; don't worry, Yeong-ah, he says, confidently, I'll wear her down, even if it takes me years, and Yeong knows Jihun, he knows how much of a barnacle he can be, and also it wouldn't be nice of him to shit on other people's happiness just when he's found his own, so he nods and says, yes, of course, and even listens to Jihun rhapsodize about Tae-eul noona's everything for about two hours straight. He texts Eun-seop at the half-way mark- kill me now, please-and Eun-seop is like, what's North Korea there for, then, I told you to dump his ass in the sea. But of course he won't, Jihun and he are ride or die, and it turns out dying is more likely in this case, because right about that time is when North Korea decides that it needs to remind the world that yes, they exist, and yes, the men that rule them are crazy fucks.

- What happens is this: Koo Seo-Ryeong is a brilliant pianist, who's one of the few DPRK citizens who's let out to see the world has disappeared with her mother and sister, while she was on tour in Australia. And look, she did it in Australia, it has nothing to do with RoK, except that Kim Jong-un has decided that it has, because her (estranged) father happened to be one of the top honchos in  DPRK military brass, and this was all clearly a conspiracy hatched across the border to get at him and the military secrets he knows.

- Eun-seop is there when the news comes in that there's a Sang-o class submarine in the waters at Jeongdongjin, and he's also there when it turns out, that yes, hello, they were trying to get the Koo family out, and he's also the one that gets a single line text from an unknown number that's the code he made Yeongie swear on everything they held dear that he would send if he was going behind enemy lines. Shit. Shit.Shit.

- OK, I confess, I don't know how this next part goes, reader, because I am not John Le Carre or whoever, and this is still NOT-FIC,  BUT SPY THINGS HAPPEN and at the end of the day, Eun-Seop has to choose between saving his brother and letting the Koo family back into the hellhole they'd just managed to extract themselves from, and listen, noona made him listen to Koo Seo-Ryeong's playing ok, and there's- even if she were a shitty musician, even if she were just some rat bastard politician or a fisherwoman- he knows he can't make a choice that is sending her back to her death, and the deaths of everyone she loves. And if he did, and if he did, just to save his womb-brother, his true love, his soulmate, his blood and bone and heart- why, he knows that Yeong would never forgive him, Oppa-pass or no. So he's gotta rescue Yeongie and save the Koo family AND STOP WORLD WAR THREE, good thing he's totally up to the task.

- MORE SPY THINGS HAPPEN AND HE SAVES THE DAY, OK.

- He does, and so this time he gets to be the rescuer, and honestly, this was a big one, and it totally evens out all the 15 million times in their entire lives that Yeong had rescued him, what does Yeongie think? Yeongie thinks he should shut up and let him sleep, and because he's a good oppa, the best oppa, Eun-seop curls around his baby brother in their too narrow bunk bed, just like they did when they were sixteen or ten or five or in the womb, and goes to sleep too.  

[just-a-quirkless-loser]

New Beginnings

Part Three: I Don’t Belong Here

Part 2, Part 4

Aizawa had followed Chiyo to her “home.” It was deep in the forest that surrounded the city. She led him to the woods, everything feeling devoid of life. No squirrels or singing birds, no animals or people, just trees. And, that’s how she preferred it.

They finally came across a weathered down shack, barely standing. Moss wrapped around the structure it didn’t deserve to be called a building. At least it didn’t smell that bad. The door creaked in its hinges when Chiyo pushed it open. Chiyo had tried to keep her home clean; there was a largish carpet on the floor so she could keep her feet clean and warm during the winters, a mattress laid in the middle of the floor with a few springs poking out of its sides with a very thick comforter, and a few sets of clothes folded and pushed into the far corner. What Aizawa didn’t see was a fridge, a heater, washing facilities, a bathroom, nothing of necessity.

‘Fucking horrible,’ that’s what Aizawa thought but, Chiyo felt differently. Sure, it wasn’t much to be proud of to most but, to her it was everything. It was a safe haven. It was a place where she could exist with no fear of being hurt. Her nirvana.

“How do you even keep yourself clean?”

“There’s a waterfall a little bit from here. It’s pretty clean and it’s secluded. Every now and then, hikers come so I always make sure to clean myself very early in the morning.” Aizawa really didn’t like this. It burned his blood that there was a possibility for anyone to take advantage of you. There’s no way he could go back without you. You’d have to stay with him in his room till they cleared some space for you in the dorms.

“Come with me,” he watched you plop down on the mattress. “I don’t want you here. “

“It doesn’t matter what you want. I can’t just leave with you,” Chiyo messed with some of the loose thread that sprang from the mattress. She knew that she would eventually want to live with her alpha but, wasn’t this too soon?

“Chiyo, omega, it’s been months since we met. How much more time do you need?” He replied snarkily. He knew that she was stalling for time, that she was waiting for an excuse to disappear from his life. Even if they had bonds, they were flimsy at best, prone to the smallest winds of change. “Are you afraid?”

She nodded her head. Aizawa plopped down beside her and slug his arm over her shoulders. He couldn’t really understand her fear but, he knew something had happened in her past to make he this cautious of others.

‘She’d get along well with Hitoshi,’ Aizawa made it a mental note. Once she got settled into the pack, he’d “slowly” start to suggest to the two that they should bond. ‘That’s gonna be a while from now though. It’ll be worth the wait.’

“I can’t keep sneaking to see you,” the omega’s eyes watered. “I can’t keep neglecting my responsibilities as a hero, even if you do act as my sidekick. I’d never want to push you into the hero world; I know how much you hate the attention. My pack also doesn’t like that I’m staying out longer and getting less sleep, fucking bugs.

I want you to live with us at U.A. I want to protect you and give you the family you never had. I want you with OUR pack,” Aizawa m’s hair lifted a bit. He was prepared to knock her out and drag her home if needed.

Chiyo just smiled. Looks like she was going home with the hero.

***

The silence between Aizawa and Chiyo spoke volumes. Normally, she’d crack a joke or make fun of the older alpha but, she could tell this wasn’t the best time to antagonize him. She stared down at her shoes, refusing to meet the alpha’s eyes. Class had ended for lunch moments ago and the students had walked out past her (most of them not bothering to hide their disdain for her).

‘Everyone’s got their panties in a bunch. It was only a joke,’ again, this was one of these moments where Chiyo didn’t understand her world. Being disconnected for so long had led to the ignorance on her behalf. She didn’t have the same developmental teaching as many of the people in the world did; while they had been learning of their instincts, she was learning how to survive on her own. For everyone else, it seemed like an outside case and attacked one of their own which definitely warranted an ass kicking as far as they were concerned. For Chiyo, it was a relatively harmless act of teasing. Neither side was wrong. Neither side was right.

“I told you not to use your quick,” her shoulders hunched in their own accord. She hated upsetting the alpha. “ I’m disappointed in your lack of discipline. You can’t make those types of jokes in the early stages. How do you expect to fit into my pack if you can barely control yourself without my guidance?”

She didn’t expect to assimilate into his pack. Hell, she didn’t even want to be there. The only reason she had agreed to any of this was because Aizawa had gave her that ultimatum. She didn’t have any hope of having a family. All she wanted was Aizawa.

“What do you have to say?” he tilted her face for their eyes to meet.

“You expect me to change. You want me to be something I’m not. It’s like you want to fix me and you know I’m already broken,” Chiyo pulled her face from his grasp. “Being nice isn’t my style.”

“You’re nice to me, kitten. You just want to be mean to everyone else to see if they’ll leave you but, we both know you’re just a kitty that needs cuddles,” her cheeks burned. “Now, lets move your stuff into YOUR OWN room. I don’t wanna see any more of your bras lying around.”

“Don’t talk about my bras, you shitty old man,” Chiyo turned and walked towards the entrance of the school. Aizawa smiled as he followed behind her.

“Aww, kitty, you don’t want anyone to hear about your purple bras?” He ruffled her hair.

“Don’t call me that when we aren’t alone, old man. Do you want to end up with a broken neck?”

“I’d like to see you try. You’re too cute to do anything like that.”

“Shitty old man,” they both had walked into the dorms. The class had been gathered in the common room, clearly having a discussion that abruptly ended when they walked in. “Old man, they’re gossiping about us...should I, you know?”

Aizawa facepalmed as the omega wiggled her eyebrows. What was he going to do with her?

“Chiyo, we just talked about this. Go get all your things so you can finally move into your own room,” she skipped towards the elevator. Finally, her own space!!!

“She’s staying here!? No, wait, she’s been staying here? You’re not even gonna reconsider this after what happened to Hitoshi today!?,” they could have at least waited till she got on the elevator.

‘And they say I’m the one that’s fucked up,’ Chiyo thought as she rode the elevator all the way to the top to Aizawa’s suite. Part of her began to argue over whether she should stay or leave. They didn’t even want here there. Was she really foolish enough to believe that Aizawa would pick her over them? Someone he barely knows over his family? She didn’t think so.

‘Am I really just gonna stay here and wait for him to throw me away?’ you were so consumed with her thoughts that she didn’t notice Aizawa come from behind and wrap his arms around her waist.

“You’re thinking hard, kitty. Stop that. They’ll warm up to you. I’m sure an apology would help speed that process along,” he gave you a pointed look. You sighed, knowing you were defeated.

“I’ll do it at dinner,” she purred as Aizawa rubbed her scalp. He helped her move her things into her room, noting that she was in a room tucked away from the other girls but, still close enough to keep her connected. She stared at her blank with a bit of astonishment. “Thank you, Alpha.”

“Don’t thank me, kitty. This is what you do for people you love; you take care of them.”

They eventually had dinner, everyone sitting stiffly as Chiyo felt awkward. Apparently, the loud one Aizawa had described to be Bakugou Katsuki was a pretty good cook well a phenomenal cook but she’d never admit that to the asshole.

“You cook good,” she kept her eyes on her food. “I cook better.”

“Shut the fuck up, shitty girl. Your food probably tastes like ass,” Bakugou yelled. If you were anyone else, you’d probably be a bit afraid but, she is sadly insane.

“You’re an ass,” she giggled as Aizawa chuckled. A few people sputtered out the Soba then blonde prepared. “Hitoshi, I may have gotten a bit carried away earlier. “

Silence. Sweet silence.

“My name, to you, is Shinsou,” the alpha said. Chiyo understood she wasn’t going to be forgiven any time soon. “Just, stay away from me. “

“Hitoshi-“

“No, Aizawa, it’s fine,” and it was left at that. You all finished eating, leaving Aizawa and yourself to clean up. Everyone else had gone to watch movies. They laughed loudly, the sound echoing in the young girl’s mind. Aizawa nudged her with his elbows as he tried to beckon her to join the others but, it was no use. She knew if she walked in, the room would grow tense and their fun would be ruined. She felt envious of the pack dynamics. She may have had Aizawa but, this was a different want. She wanted to feel what they felt; to feel normal.

‘I really don’t belong here.’

[lilith-of-rivia]

Daughter of mine  (Daughter of Geralt! Reader)

xthemediatorx said to aphadriel-fanfic:

Hello! Please could you write something where the reader is Geralt's child surprise (instead of Ciri) and Tissaia comes to take her to Aretuza against Geralt’s wishes? 🌷

Hope you enjoy it my dear!

Masterlist

Paring: Daughter!Read, Geralt, Yennefer, Tissaia

Word count: 1,986

Warnings: Slight angst, language 

Summary: Yennefer and Geralt have been raising their skilled daughter since she was 4, but 11 years later they realize she has magical abilities and so does Tissaia, she comes for Y/N and it doesn't go as she planned. 

My feet slid over the cobblestone path, my ears pricking when I heard the movement. I stopped my movements, listing for the footsteps of my dad. He thought he was quiet, but his left foot always thudded louder than the other foot, because he never put enough focus on his left side as he did his right side. My arm shot up, silver in hand and it clashed with his own sword. The sound of the metal clinking made my smile grow. My feet shuffled back as each slash he threw was blocked. My ears picking up on every breath, the sound of his heart, and placement of his feet. We continued our sparring session for another few minutes until his sword caught mine throwing it across the grounds. 

“Ugh! Not fair!!” I yelled ripping off the blindfold, my eyes adjusting to the sunlight, catching the cocky smile of my dad. 

“You get to see! I don’t.” I huffed grabbing my sword, sheathing it. He came over to me and kicked my legs into the stance I needed and placed his hands on my elbows. 

“Your right elbow needs to be tucked.” He gently tucked my elbow into my side, my left one pointing out as I held my blade vertical to my face, it caught the rays of the sun shining it along the courtyard.

“If your elbow isn’t tucked, your opponent can rip that blade from your hands in seconds as I did.” I nodded and on his count slashed through the air, spinning and turning dogging pretend blades as he called them.

I sliced my blade up and a large shock wave left my body throwing me back into the wall behind us. 

“Owe.” I whimpered, Dad ran to my side quickly helping me to my feet. 

“It happened again.” It was my mother, Yennefer. Or at least my adoptive mother. Neither one was my biological parent but I had been with them since I was four. Mom ran to my side checking my body for cuts and bruises making me roll my eyes.

“I’m fine mom gosh, I’ve had worse.” Her eyes caught my own, they held fear, not a concern. The look in her eyes made my stomach clench. She knew something I did. Before I could ask what was wrong I heard the sound of horses not far from us. 

Dad grabbed me pushing me behind him, lifting his sword in front of him, my mother doing the same. I could see two houses pull up and women come out of a carriage approaching my parents. I could feel the tension radiating off both of them. 

“You need to leave Tissaia.” My mother spoke with so much hate, I’d never heard her speak like that, to anyone. 

“You know I can’t do that, piglet.” My father’s breathing was ragged and heavy as he stood in front of me.

“Speak like that again and I won’t hesitate to slice you in two.” He seethed. 

“Come to me, my child.” The woman they called Tissaia flicked her fingers forwards and my body lifted and I was placed not 2 feet in front of her. My breathing was ragged and tears brimmed my eyes as the fear started to consume my body. 

“You have a special gift, do you not?” She asked and put her hand up as I heard my parents step forward. 

“If you’d like me to hurt the child, keep moving. Stay put and I'll let her say goodbye.” The tears were now streaming down my face as she spoke. My body began to tremble. The training from the mighty witcher falling on deaf ears. Everything I learned fell. I had no control over my emotions or body anymore, I was just a broken 15 years old.   

“G-g-goodbye?” I croaked and she looked at me, she crouched in front of me. 

“You have a gift. That must be tamed, and if it can't be, your magic will be put towards others.” It was then I realized who she was. My mother very rarely spoke of her, but she was the trainer of the mages around the continent. But many girls never came back after she took them. I shook my head and started to stumble back, my foot catching on a rock and I fell on my butt, crying harder. 

“Please don’t take me. I won’t ever use it, please I don’t want to go.” I was sputtering on my words and she reached out, grabbing the back of my head by my hair, heaving me onto my feet. 

“You don’t get to make that choice.” She started walking towards the caravan, the door opening another woman stepping out. 

“Tissaia! No!” It was my mother. A large sock wave that I knew was my father using aard. It threw myself and the other women back. I fell near the wall, facing the forest behind Kaer Morhen. 

I jumped to my feet, grabbing my blade from the ground, and jumping over the wall. 

Run. 

I began running as fast as I could through the thickly wooded forest, jumping up and over fallen trees, as fast and as far as I could. I could hear people coming after me, but I wasn’t willing to let them catch me in fear that it wasn’t my parents. 

“Stop.” It was a man. He had dropped down in front of me. His hands grabbed my shoulders and he threw me effortlessly over his shoulder. He began running back to where I would be taken. 

A loud blood-curdling scream left my lips, making the trees shake around me. The man threw me to the ground, holding his ears. Before coming at me again, this time he looked as though he'd kill me. So I screamed louder again. This time it made a tree fall, it fell on top of him, the blood seeping from his head. 

I quickly got on my feet. Rubbing my eyes, my face red from crying, I didn’t know where to run to. To run to my dad and mom or to run so no one could get me.

I wanted my parents, I wanted to leave with them not her. 

“Y/N!” I all but jumped out of my skin as I looked and saw my father standing there his face red with anger. But softening as he saw my shaking form. I looked down at the man I had killed. 

“I didn’t mean to, I swear I just wanted him to put me down.” I sobbed, He took three large strides and engulfed me in a huge, his arms closing around my shaking form. 

“Shhhh, you're okay. You’re gonna be okay.” I felt my mother’s hands on my back as she kissed my head, I continued sobbing into his chest, my body trembling, going hot. My mom turned me to face her, her eyes full of tears. She crouched in front of me, Her thumbs stroking away my tears. 

“You have to go my dear.” I could hear my dad’s breathing quicken. 

“No please, don’t make me go.” I sobbed and she shook her head. 

“It’s not forever, you are gonna go, learn everything I did, learn how to control your magic for a few months, then you’ll come home. We’ll come to get you. I promise.” She pulled me into her chest and held me there till I stopped crying. She stood up pulling me with her and we walked down to where Tissaia was waiting. My dad’s hand on my shoulder as my mom held my hand we walked up to her. My dad got in her face. 

“You hurt a hair on her head, I will kill you. You have 6 months to train her. Then she comes home.” Tissaia nodded. 

“Say your goodbyes child. We have to go.” My parents took me in their arms and hugged me as tightly as they could, as I cried again. This time my father got down on his knees, taking my hands in his.  

“Now you listen to me. You are the daughter of a witcher and one of the world’s finest sorceresses. You will not be beaten, you will master this power. And you will come home more powerful than any other woman out there. You keep your head up. You are a force to be reckoned with.” My arms wrapped around his neck as I held onto him crying gain. His hands held my back to him tightly. He stood and I pulled back, hugging my mother before turning to Tissaia. 

“I’m ready to go,” I said wiping my eyes. She nodded and I followed her to the carriage, getting in and the door was shut. There were no windows so I could still see my mother and father threw the open door.   

“I love you,” I yelled as the carriage began to pull away, mother was crying into my father’s chest, his eyes fixed on my face. 

“We love you.” 

-6 Months Later-

“Common Y/N. Show these girls how it’s done.” Tissaia said. She was standing in the center of the cavern where we had to catch lightning. I couldn’t help but smile. Today was the day she would decide if I could go home or not. I stood where she stood. She pulled out my silver blade, the one my father gifted to me, and handed it to me. 

“You channel the energy you are given, use this as a conductor, control your chaos. Not for me,” She turned to the side, the doors where the brotherhood sat opened and in walked my mom and dad. My mom had a look of pure admiration as she watched me stand where she had many many years ago. “Do it for them.” 

I unsheathed my blade and looked up into the sky, seeing the lighting shine all across the sky. I took my silver blade from its sheath and rose it in the sky, feeling my powers tingle throughout my body. The lighting began to get fiercer as I waited my fingertips tingling. And then it happened. 

A huge flash shot down from the sky, and onto my blade. The electricity warmed my body. I sheathed my sword and looked at my hands, they were glowing with electricity. I looked towards Tissaia and smiled. She was beaming at me my powers were not of those my mother had, but more attuned to combat. I’d be able to wield fire, wind, lightning, rain anything the earth produced I could control. 

“Show them what you’re made of, my dear.” I looked towards the brotherhood. There was a target placed above where they stood, it was placed for me and me only. My hands burned with energy. I put them out in front of me as if I was throwing snowballs, instead balls of electricity shout out of my hands every single one hitting the target bullseye lighting it ablaze, 7, 10, 15 balls of electricity coursed through my veins and out of my palms before I could no longer feel the energy in me. I looked at my parents who watched in both awe and had the look of utmost pride, knowing I was their child.

“Gentlemen of the brotherhood, I present you, Y/N daughter of Geralt and Yennefer. She has controlled chaos better than anyone since her mother before her. I release her back to her family.” The imaginary ten-pound weight that had been resting on my chest for six months lifted at her words. I could go home. I wasted no time in running to my mother’s and father’s arms. I felt as if I couldn’t breathe. They were squeezing so hard. I pulled back and looked up at them both my mother’s cheeks were wet with tears. 

“We’re so proud of you.” She whispered and my father kissed my hair. 

“Common let’s go home.” 

[floralgothpersephone]

Countdown

Sooooo.... several.... um months ago, I was tagged by @jaygirl987  and this has just been sitting in my drafts... forever??? oops. Oh well, I am feeling in an over-sharing mood. So I am going to do it now. Felt confident in sharing, might delete later. Response is below the cut, because we are writing essays tonight. 

Rules: List 1 Insecurity, 2 Fears, 3 Turn-ons, 4 Life Goals, 5 Things I like, 6 Weaknesses, 7 Things I Love, 8 Tags  I am going to tag: @akai-vampire, @claudeng80, @bookloverfio, @bigprincess-energy, @peachdoxie, @ruleofexception, @infinitelystrangemachinex, @anais-mitchell

ONE Insecurity:

---People who meet me for the first time always say I am remarkable. But I don’t really agree with that at all, I still don’t understand where people get that from. I feel very desperately flawed and a moderately dysfunctional human doing my damned best with what I’ve got, and isn’t that just a normal state of being for everyone making their way in this life. And if people say I am remarkable, and it turns out to be true, then does that mean I am not normal??? How is everyone else living their life then? What am I doing wrong??? or right?? or differently??? How do I bottle up this whole remarkable thing and share it with everyone else?? Being called remarkable makes me fear for everyone else. Because if i am struggling this much, and people still seem to think I am amazing then does that mean everyone else who is struggling is failing in some reguard?  I have met so many other people in the world who are just as special as me, and if i am raised above that then what about all those other people? Aren’t they remarkable too? Kinda takes away the meaning of remarkable then, if everyone else is also remarkable. I don’t know. Every time I meet someone new and they call me remarkable it makes my skin crawl. What sort of face are they seeing me wear that makes it happen so often? I just try and be myself, and stay true to who I am in any given moment but then that makes their statement have more power? I hate it. Nothing makes me more insecure. I can go from full blown confidence down to nothing the moment someone says that about me. I know I am odd and don’t quite function right in society, and have a very different perspective on it because of my dysfunction, but that shouldn’t make me remarkable. There are too many other people in this world for me to be remarkable. 

TWO Fears:

---I may never get to see Amber Gray perform Persephone in Hadestown

---Cockroaches. Turns out I have an actual phobia of cockroaches. 

THREE “turn-ons”: 

---Silly Antics, like sheer outrageous, ridiculous things that make you laugh until you cry. Like, I fall in love a little bit with everyone who has ever made me laugh. So like, the more you make me the laugh the more I look at that and go, “mhm tasty”. Also, if we are not laughing at some point during sex then what even is the point??? 

--- Loyalty, Reliability and just being supportive and a good friend. Like, I am very much very very demisexual and while I can look at people and love their look and their aesthetics and be attracted to that, I need a very firm established relationship for like... years, before I am ever actually interested in letting them into my bed. I need some definite proof that they are in this for the long run before I can let my sexuality come into play.  

---Being crafty and creative. Seeing someone make a very nice craft gets me all worked up in ways I can’t quite describe. But every time a partner of mine starts a project and is making things I want to jump their  b o n e s. 

FOUR Life Goals:

---Get my ass to fucking Greece and like. Stay there. For months. And just travel??? And like, take my time, no rushing around to do every single thing. I want to go to these places and be there for so long that I can just sit and be. 

---B a b i e s. Dear lordy if you look at every major decision i have ever made in my life, it has all lead up to the fact that I want to have kids, and I want to have a family in a very specific supportive and stable way and I need to complete these things before i can have my kids. BUT BOY THE HORMONES ARE STRONG AND I WANT THEM NOW. 

---Can I put travel twice? Travel is so important to me. I have to see the world, I need to map it. I need to see all the different types of humans and cultures there are in the world and I need to experience what there is in this life before its all over. 

---I have this home I like to dream about, its constantly changing, but its small, while having enough space to breathe, covered in plants, an entire wall that is just a bookcase to store the entirety of Alex and I’s mug collection (we are looking at least 80 mugs between the two of us currently). A claw foot bathtub in a room full of windows that is just a glorified greenhouse really. comfy reading nooks and places for play, covered in nothing but soft blankets and cushioned seats. A cat or two lounging around among all the soft places in the sun light. Walls covered in cork boards so that I can pin up hundreds of pictures of the family I have built for myself. Little foot steps running around from kids playing, and having my partners home with me to cook and raise the little ones together in a family and a community. I just. I just want that little domestic haven of something calm and secure that I never got to have growing up in my life. 

FIVE Things I Like:

---Pottery!  (my craft of choice, I’ve been making pots for 17 years now and it never gets old) 

---Plants! (I live in a small jungle! I’m a plant witch! I love my plants! They are my only friends some days! But thats okay, I take care of them and in return they take care of me.) 

---Places! (I’m a map maker, I love learning about the identity of a location both on a map and within the human mind. How amazing that a collection of humans create an identity for a geographical space separate from other all the other geographical spaces. That’s wild! I want to learn what makes them all different forever!) 

---Purple! (My hair is purple, its been purple since I started grad school! I flirted with pink hair and orange hair last year to try on different types of variety and see how that fit but I am back to purple and I am back to my normal skin! My purple hair is the source of my internal confidence and a major point of my identity) 

---Music! (I am not sure I  would ever be able to navigate my own mental landscape without the aid of music guiding me through all my different emotions and feelings so that I could have a safe place to experience them without fear of repercussion) 

SIX Weaknesses:

---I over think everything (case and point, this post, whoops) 

---An open opportunity. Like, if I am given an opportunity suddenly that wasn’t previously available and wouldn’t be available in the future, I will move mountains to make it happen. If I see a window to be able to do something with a time limit I am jumpin as fast as I can to get through that window before it closes. I think its because I grew up with zero opportunities in my life when I was little so somewhere in my bones I believe that every opportunity I get is rare and special thing and if I don’t take it now then I won’t ever get another one. Sometimes its exhausting but I can’t honestly say there is a list of things that I could have done that I didn’t? I have very little regrets in that regard. 

---I am willing to see and recognized my flawed personality traits, but rarely ever actually do anything to fix them. I am a big of a believer in accepting yourself with all the flaws (part of the side effects of recovering from perfectionism) but that mentality has a different problem... in which you are so comfortable with the problems that you don’t have any desire to fix them? Yeah.  

---Um, I have a major weakness for brown eyed, brunette girls and have fallen waaaay too hard for too many of them in my life for it to not be a thing (that Alex teases me relentlessly about). Honestly the list is long, but good news. Fiona is on that list. <3

---Potential. I have a weakness for potential, sometimes that manifests in craft materials. (Oh I could make this into this other thing!) So I have quite the collection of crafting hoards. I rarely buy plants when they are big because I am far more interested in getting a small plant because of it its potential to grow into something. I love love love love working in clay because there is just SO MUCH potential for it to become really ANYTHING???? Its amazing!!! Like, if you imagine in there is a way to make it real. And I am obsessed with that feeling. 

--- I have a weakness for cream. I like half and half in my tea. I like whipped cream on my waffles. I like straight up cream on my strawberries. I like clotted cream on scones. I like creamy milkshakes. The creamiest of cheeses. If its a cream based sauce I’m in. Just. Cream. 

SEVEN Things I Love:

I just now realized that there is a difference in the lists for “like” and “love” LOL there is no difference to me. I have no moderation, I either love something with my whole heart or not at all. So lets wax some poetry on things I have already listed, because the things I like I also love. 

--- Okay, pottery, so like, Pottery is amazing??? Because you take dirt!!! like muddy gross squishy dirt!!!! and you mold it into something you like???? And then you FIRE IT!!! Like how metal is that???? You are creating something from DIRT. And on top of that, it lasts FOREVER. like, people hundreds of years from now are gonna be digging up our civilization and our computers are going to be dead, our papers and paintings: dead, our books? Hopefully not dead. But whats going to be left is our city foundations, our places, our trash and our shitty broken pots. And goddamn, I am obsessed with looking around our world and just IMAGINING what these people in the far off future are gonna think. And there isn’t a single piece of pottery that I make in which I am not thinking those exact thoughts and trying to imagine what that person in the future is going to be like when they find this.

--- And on that note, places are just so fricking cool. Because I grew up in a mono-culture where the majority of the population belonged to the same culture and the identity of the place was a direct reflection of the people. But other places have SO MUCH DIVERSITY and I am just amazed and inspired about how you can take SO MANY PEOPLE from SO MANY DIFFERENT CULTURES and pack them all into a city, and then that city becomes its own culture??? and has its own Identity??? Like, New Yorkers, those people come from fucking everywhere on the entire planet, and YET everyone knows there is a New York culture that is just agreed upon? And New York has an cohesive identity to how it functions, and how it works. Just. How amazing is that. And Minneapolis, jeez, bless Minneapolis. Because it has the midwestern identity but its developing one all on its own. And it doesn’t have a National presence yet, so in a lot of ways its just developing its identity for the world and its just so amazing to see all the different ways that people provide input on how they want their city to develop, and with each step it comes closer and closer to a face it wants to display to the world??? Its like, seeing a teenage, trying out who they want to be and developing them self to become a real adult. And goddamnit I want to see Minneapolis into a fully mature Nationally known city. I can’t wait. 

---So plants, are like. The best therapy. Because plants don’t really talk, well okay I think they do, BUT PHYSICALLY, they don’t talk. And so in order to figure out what they need to you have to listen to them in a very different way then humans are used to?? You have to observe, and check-in and interact and just learn about a plant so that you can care for it. And I think thats exactly how humans are too, except we have this obnoxious thing called talking that sometimes make it difficult to actually figure out what is going on down below. Its easy for someone to say they are fine when they really are not. But plants don’t get to say that they are fine. When they suffer they do so silently and while they may want to scream for more water they have to let you know in other ways, drooping, changing color, dropping all its leaves in protest. And thats the other thing about plants too, is that every type of plant asks for help differently? How amazing is that. You have to get to know the plant on an individual level, there is no “one way fits all” fix-it for plant care. You have to know your plant. You don’t have to know all the plants in the world, just the ones you take into your care. And thats just so symbolic for me. And when I am taking care of my plants, I am taking care of myself too. Water for the plants, water for the Becca. Sunlight for the plants, sunlight for the Becca. Extra boost of fertilizer for the plants, extra boost of vitamins for the Becca. And I love my plants, even with their imperfections and wild ways of growing. Sometimes they get a whole lotta attitude in how they grow, and it isn’t picture perfect, but that doesn’t matter. Cause thats my plant! And its growing and thriving and I am so happy that its doing well! It doesn’t need to be the prettiest plant that ever existed. It just needs to live. And damn thats all I need. 

---Purple is just an amazing color. Like everyone has heard the poetry talking about the richness and royalty and the history that the color purple has. But for me? Purple was a color I was immediately drawn to as a kid for no apparent reason but that I liked it. And I was not allowed, because the color purple was Barney colors and my parents were so very concerned that the other kids would torment me (spoilers, the kids found other reasons to torment me, and I was just denied being allowed to wear my favorite color). And then there was the instance of my grandmother, who, lets be honest, doesn’t win any “good grandparent” awards. And she LOATHS the color purple. Just thinks its really ugly. And took every chance to tell me that whenever I went shopping with her or if she wanted to get me a gift and was looking for input. So i went through all these stages when I was little, only being allowed to like pink, but then internalized misogyny said that was dumb so then I chose blue to be my favorite color while completely denying that what I wanted was purple. So yeah. By the time college came around and I was an “adult” (lol) I was just like. Fuck this shit no one can tell me what I am allowed to like and claimed purple for everything in my life. and I mean. e v e r y t h i n g. Backpack? Purple. Every piece of clothing I owned? Purple. Jackets? Purple. ipod? Purple. Does the object come in purple? Yes. Well then that is the correct answer. When I broke down and finally dyed my hair purple (like I have wanted to do since I was little, but again, I was not allowed and can you imagine being a non-mormon kid in the little valley with purple hair in high school??? Fuck I would have been the anti-christ of all sinners.) But in Minneapolis it seemed like it would be far more acceptable and wouldn’t result in immediate social disgrace. So I did it. I graduated my undergrad and dyed my hair purple because I could. And it changed my entire life. No more wall-flowering. No more hiding in the shadows praying no one notices that you don’t quite belong. No more pretending that you don’t exist so that people can walk all over you as they pass by. When you have a wildly different color hair, you have to own it. There is no “oh haha, whoops” about it. You made that decision, you put the color in your hair with that intention. And now its there to stay until you cut it all off. And that was the kick in the butt for me. That was the thing I need to own my own self and to lay claim to my voice. And for a while, it wasn’t easy. It was learning a whole new skillset. And there was definitely a major time span that was just “fake it until you make it”. But I kept faking it for the sake of my purple hair, because every time I looked into the mirror it made me so happy I could cry. I wasn’t looking a the mirror nitpicking my reflection any more. I was just joyful, because my hair was purple and I loved it. So every time someone made a comment whether it was good or bad, I would be dying on the inside from having the attention on me. But I would pull out the big ole grin of joy that I wasn’t really feeling and be like “Yeah isn’t it great! Its my favorite color!” And the good comments would be happy for me, and the bad comments would be thrown off by my enthusiasm and usually go away. And at one point that big joyful grin wasn’t just a farce, and now, 9 years later, working for the federal government and people try and make a jab at my hair, I can just laugh and tell them how much fun having colorful hair is. And that they should give it a try too. 

[spartanguard]

savage garden, 6/7

Summary: Killian Jones was, by far, the worst, weakest, most ineffectual Dark One ever. (According to the Darkness, at least.) And he was fine with that. He was just a slave, a deckhand—what use did he have of dark magic? And even less want. But the Darkness has vowed to firmly get him under its grasp, one of these days. He finds respite in a beautiful secluded garden—and the amazing woman he eventually meets there. The question remains, though: is it—is she—enough to keep him out of the dark completely? One can only hope…

5.7k | rated T | AO3 | part 1 | part 2 (art) | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

A/N: Another update, and one more to go! One of my favorite scenes in the story is in the chapter; I literally swooned writing it. But, a note about a later scene: SLIGHT TRIGGER WARNING—very very vague mentions of attempted assault in the past. It doesn't go into any detail, but I figured I should put this warning up to be safe. 

title comes from “Crash and Burn” by Savage Garden, which fits this story way too well and is basically how the story got its name.

chapter 6:  let me be the one you call / when darkness is upon your door

The first winter storm arrived three days after Killian’s battle with the Darkness—after he last saw Emma.

Three achingly long days during which he had to expend more effort than he would have liked to keep the dark magic back, though its appearance never faded from his veins. Three days where he had to force himself from going back to the garden, but the memory of the frightened way Emma had stared at him kept him home.

But the snow forced Killian to repair the window. He tried to do it by hand, but just kept cutting himself on the broken glass and couldn’t seem to fit the pieces together properly—he just ended up smearing his blackish blood on them. He fixed it with magic before he even realized what he was doing.

Now wasn’t that so much easier?

“Bugger off.”

You’ve been telling me that for decades and it hasn’t happened; when will it sink in?

“Never.”

And just how do you plan on stopping me now? it sneered. Emma won’t go near you.

“Don’t you dare say her name to me!” he snapped.

Emma, Emma, Emma, Emma, Emma…

Her name was echoing off the wooden walls of the cottage and reverberating in his skull as the Darkness sing-songed and cackled. Placing his hands over his ears did nothing, nor did curling in on himself where he stood in his great room—not that he suspected such instinctive human reactions would do much against an unnatural onslaught like this.

It felt like his brain was being rent in two, until he couldn’t handle the attack anymore. “Silence!” he shouted, so loud (or so amplified by magic) that the mirror above the hearth shattered and a set of bookshelves collapsed .

To his shock, the Darkness complied, but he swore he could almost hear its smugness as he magically repaired the mirror; he had to stop himself from doing the same with the bookcase.

He’d just started stacking the books and assessing the damage when he heard an even stranger noise: a knock on the door. That had never happened before—he’d made sure that the path to his home was as hidden and hard to traverse as possible. So, either this person was terribly lost, or...a chill went up his spine at the thought of what malevolence might cause a person to try to find him.

He left the books to their chaos on the floor and cautiously went to answer the door, suddenly wishing he’d thought to install windows on this side of the house, or at least a peephole.

Ask and ye shall receive. Without effort, a tiny, glass-filled hole appeared on the door. He sighed that it had happened unconsciously, but was too concerned to care much and peered through it.

Then his heart truly stopped: it was Emma.

“Killian? Are you there?” she called, and he could tell she was about to knock again; knowing her, she wouldn’t leave until she talked to him one way or the other. He wouldn’t put it past her to somehow get onto the balcony and sneak in that way. No, he needed to face her head-on—though why she was even here after what happened, he had no idea.

As loudly as he could, he unlatched the deadbolt on the door and pulled the rusty hinges open.

To his shock, she grinned when she saw him. “Hi!” she greeted cheerily, her face alight—although he did notice her eyes dart briefly to the space behind him as she pulled off the hood of her thick brown winter cloak.

“H-hello,” he replied, unsure, and feeling very much like cornered prey. “Emma, what are you doing here? Why; how?”

“You dropped this,” she explained and nodded at the object he just noticed floating in front of her: his glove. “It was a pretty easy tracking spell to find you, even if the hike wasn’t.”

The glove floated towards him, and he took it out of the air. There was a tiny spark as her magic faded out once it came in contact with him.

She didn’t wait for him to answer before continuing. “I figured you’d take some time to cool off before coming back, but then when you didn’t, I realized I was going to have to come to you.”

“You…” He blinked as he tried to process it, but all he could say was, “...Why?” There was no understanding it. “Emma, I very nearly killed you; I had little to no control of that situation. How...how can you stand to be near me?”

Her shoulders slumped a bit. “Not gonna lie—I was pretty scared in the moment,” she told him, glancing down—almost looking ashamed. “But you seemed just as upset, if not more, once you came back to yourself. Whatever the Darkness does, I know that’s not you.”

A pit formed in his stomach. “I wish I was as certain of that as you are,” he admitted.

“Hey,” she said, somewhat sharply, commanding his attention back from his self-loathing. “You’re a good man, Killian,” she affirmed, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. “And there’s something I want to do.” She swallowed, then barreled on. “I’m here to ask you out; to dinner, or something.”

His jaw dropped. He certainly wouldn’t complain that she still wished to spend time with him, but the fact that she wanted to boggled him. And yet, all he could reply with was, “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you out?” (Had social mores changed that much in the time since he’d been removed from society?)

“Should have known you’d be old-fashioned, given your age,” she teased with a smirk. (Apparently, they had.) “Come on; I know the perfect place. It’s not too crowded, but just enough that no one will bother us. What do you say?”

As with anything she asked him, he knew he couldn’t deny her. “Alright,” he said. “Let me grab my cloak.”

“Not your jacket?”

Her reaction surprised him a bit. “No; should I wear that instead?”

“It’s up to you. I just think it’s a pretty fantastic jacket.”

What do you know? She does have good taste, despite her interest in you.

“Jacket it is, then. Just give me a moment.” His sense of chivalry was telling him to invite her in while he fetched the garment from the bedroom, but the sailor didn’t want her to see the mess. So he settled on leaving the door open and moving with haste.

As he slipped the leather on in the privacy of his little-used quarters, he realized that it was probably for the best to have his armor on if he was going to be around people.

Not that it did much good the last time.

“Behave. Please.”

We’ll see.

He rejoined her quickly, locked the door behind them, and turned back to her. “Lead the way, love.”

She smiled, took him by the arm, and headed off. It was slow going at first—even he struggled sometimes to get through the rocky outcrops that naturally hid his home, but that was why he’d chosen this spot in the first place. Eventually, though, they were on more even terrain, and Emma struck up conversation.

“The books have been incredibly helpful—thank you again, so much.”

“I’m glad to hear that. There haven’t been any further, uh, issues?”

“No,” she confirmed, a bit solemnly. “I...I had one of the fairies help me make sure nothing like that would happen again.”

“Good. Was it Tink?”

She looked at him almost incredulously. “Yeah; how’d you know?”

“She...may have sought me out during my journey to and from the castle.”

“Oh my god; so much of our conversation makes sense now. I can’t believe she’d meddle like that.”

“She’s just looking out for you, love. It’s understandable, really, given...what I am.”

“Well, you definitely won her over. That’s all I’m gonna say.”

“Aye, she hinted at as much,” he said, blushing.

She gave him a sideways glance-smirk combination that suggested there was something he was missing from the story.

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s just...has anyone ever told you you’re adorable?”

He was sure he was now as pink as the sky above the presently setting sun. It had fallen completely by the time they got to the nearest town, and the lamplighters were at their task, illuminating the streets. Killian had watched this town grow and change over the years, and he had to admit that the streetlamps were by far the best invention he’d seen.

The tavern Emma was headed to was one with which he was fairly well-acquainted. More than once, he’d gone into town and found a dark, quiet corner of a tavern to perch for the night. It made him feel less disconnected from the world as he sipped on weak ale and dined on hearty stew. He tipped well, he stayed out of trouble, and he didn’t leave an impression, though some perhaps thought it odd that he kept his hood so low over his face. But his gold was worth more than anyone’s curiosity, he supposed.

Emma had the same approach; once they were inside, she slipped off her cloak and led him to a secluded table that he’d sat at many times. Near the bar, some Navy men on shore leave were clearly enjoying their first satisfying meal in months; on the other side of the main room, pirates were deep into their bottles and either gambling or whoring—or both.

A waitress wandered over from that side of the room, hair and skirts askew. “What’ll it be?”

“Ale and stew, please, ma’am,” he said politely. Thankfully, this part of the tavern was too dark for her to really see him.

Emma asked, “Stew for me, too, and a bottle of rum, two glasses.”

The waitress nodded and scurried off.

“You drink rum?” Killian wondered aloud.

“Yeah; don’t you, Mister Pirate?”

“No. I’m allergic; never touched the stuff.”

“Never?”

“Well, once,” he admitted. “I was young and some of the crew gave it to me; said it’d ‘help me be a man’ or something. I’d only had a few shots before it came right back up.”

Emma chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t think you’re allergic—I think you just had too much. How old were you?”

“Twelve, maybe.”

“Yeah. You’re having some of this.”

She poured out two portions when the waitress returned with their order and handed him one before holding her own aloft.

“To breaking curses.”

“I can drink to that.” He lightly tipped his small cup against hers, then watched with no small amount of awe as she tossed it back, then licked her lips after. Already, he was feeling a bit flushed, and he hadn’t had a drop of alcohol.

She set her glass down and gave him a daring smile. “Your turn.”

He exhaled in preparation. He was well-acquainted with the smell of the stuff, but all he could recall of the taste was nothing pleasant. Still—this was for Emma. As quick as he could, he brought it to his lips and drained the cup.

Incredibly, it wasn’t half bad. The burn of the alcohol was there, but it was so much better than whatever swill the crew had been drinking—this was sweet and warm and spicy.

“Good, huh?”

“Aye.”

“And you’re not breaking out in hives or anything, right?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Perfect.”

Part of him was exercising restraint from indulging in another; the other part wondered if he could even get drunk.

Nothing stopping you from finding out!

Like most things, he decided to follow her lead, taking a shot whenever it was offered as they dug into their meals and continued to chat. It was casual—well, as casual as it could be, given the weight of what had already passed between them—but he couldn’t recall a more enjoyable night in ages.

“So, I want to know: how you got the hook,” she asked, toying with the appendage where it sat on the table. There was a flush in her cheeks and playful smile on her face; he had to assume the rum had something to do with that, but he liked to imagine otherwise.

“Afraid it’s a rather dull tale,” he shrugged. “We were attacked by pirates when I was on a merchant vessel. I wasn’t fighting, but somehow got caught in the middle of things and one sword or another took it off; I was never clear whose, but wouldn’t put it past one of my crew mates.”

“Seriously? That’s terrible.”

“It happens,” he offered nonchalantly; he’d certainly seen worse. “The ship doctor helped me heal and fitted me with the hook, so I’d still be useful. Once the fever from the infection finally broke, that’s when I discovered there was a new captain and crew—the very pirates who’d attacked—and they let me stay as long as I kept a low profile and contributed. So I’m sure that answers another question of yours.”

“Yeah, it does,” she affirmed. “It didn’t seem like something you’d sign up for.”

“You’d be surprised, actually. It’s…it’s better than being a slave.”

She squeezed both his hand as his hook at that, and offered a sympathetic smile. “What happened to the crew? After...everything. Did you, you know...do anything to them?”

He knew it was just morbid curiosity on her part, but hated that she knew it was a possibility. “No; I never saw them again. Didn’t want to; didn’t trust myself. I ran into Smee, the bo’sun, some years later, but he was an old man and retired at that point.”

“That must have been a shock for him.”

“Aye; he thought he’d seen a ghost,” Killian chuckled. “We had a pint—up at that very bar, actually. Didn’t talk much, given that there wasn’t much to say—he never actively antagonized me, but we weren’t exactly close friends.” He swallowed as the rest of the memory played out. “He’s the only person who ever asked me to use the magic. He wanted to be young again.”

“Did you do it?”

“No. The Darkness insisted it could, but I wasn’t confident enough to let it have any free reign like that. Thankfully, he understood when I turned him down; said he’d had a good life.” He took a pull from his ale, then continued a bit quieter, “I went to his funeral a few years later. I think he was the last person who knew me as a mortal man.”

“Wow. And I’m guessing that was a while ago?”

“Yeah; probably 80 years ago, at least.”

Emma shook her head in disbelief. “You say that so casually, like it’s nothing, when it’s longer than most people even live. What have you been doing all these years?”

“Is it the rum making you chatty or are you genuinely curious?” he teased. Perhaps the booze was having an effect on him, too—he’d never been so flirty. (Was this flirting? He honestly hardly knew.)

“Can it be both?” She winked.

He smiled back, but then averted his gaze, picking at the remnants of his stew with his spoon. Perhaps another effect of the alcohol was a delay in his usual reactions; even if it was Emma, who he’d already revealed so much to, he still hadn’t gotten accustomed to anyone being interested in his life or what he had to say. “I can’t say I’ve been up to anything particularly interesting,” he said, trying to be gentle in what was sure to be a let-down of a tale. He summarized his years: building his home and library, keeping himself entertained with the Darkness and its constant companionship, and his regular visits to the garden. “It was the only place I could truly find solitude, even after I...when it was…less than attractive.”

“You did that, didn’t you.” She wasn’t asking, but she wasn’t accusatory, either.

“I did. Or the Darkness did; it’s still a bit fuzzy.”

Emma gave a sad sort of smirk. “I’m just realizing—that’s why your magic felt familiar: because I’d already felt it, the first time I walked in there. It wasn’t as strong, but...it was definitely yours.”

Shame rushed through him, faster than he’d ever felt it before (and he was well-acquainted with the emotion). He swallowed and let his gaze drift down again, inspecting each striation in the grain of the wooden bowl. “So my reputation did precede me, then.”

“Hey—don’t go there,” Emma told him, squeezing his hand again. “It’s in the past, and it’s moot now. Finding the garden like that...it kind of gave me a purpose again.”

He looked up, surprised. Of all the things they had in common, he never thought a lack of direction would be one.

She explained, seeming to understand his silent question. “I was just...so angry, after everything with my parents and Maleficent and not being able to do anything about it. The fairies were being kind of scarce so I didn’t have anyone to help me, and I couldn’t go to anyone I knew near the palace because they’d see what a failure I am. We don’t even have to talk about that dumb prophecy that’s still hanging over my head.” She paused her rant to take a breath and a drink. “And then I stumbled across the garden and...it was something I could fix. So I did. And...here we are.”

Some part of Killian wondered at the cosmic improbability of the way their paths crossed and intertwined so perfectly—if it was coincidence or more than that; maybe something do with her being the Savior, even if he still didn’t know what that meant (though it must have something to do with the prophecy). But the rest of him was back to being a bit bleary, happily so, from the rum. He gave her a gentle squeeze this time. “I’m glad you found it.”

“Me too,” she smiled.

“And now that you know all of my sordid tale, and I know the rest of yours, how about you tell me something far more exciting and that no one has probably ever asked you before: what’s it like to be a princess?”

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Okay, Captain Sarcasm. There’s no way you want to hear that. It’s so boring.”

“Not to me, it’s not.”

She gave him a sideways glance, but he could see some level of submission in her gaze. “Okay, but I warned you: it really isn’t all that exciting.”

Emma was a terrible liar—he found everything exceedingly fascinating, from life in the castle to her lessons to the way she described her parents (having a close family like that at all, really; his heart ached in a way it hadn’t in so long at the thought of Liam).

“Ugh, and the balls,” she complained. “It felt like we had one every other month.”

He perked up even more at that, if it was even possible for him to be more engrossed in her stories. “I thought those were supposed to be fun?” he commented; everything he’d ever read seemed to suggest they were the height of romance and diversion.

“I mean, the first twenty or so were, I guess. But after a while, they all look the same: same dresses, same dances, same people. My mother gave up on finding a suitor ages ago, after everything with that bastard,” she spat, referring to the arse that broke her heart. “I think she just likes throwing parties. Seems a bit of a waste of money to me but they somehow always seemed to come up even on them.” She sniffed a bit, though. “But I can’t wait for the next one, whenever it is.”

“It’ll happen,” he assured her.

“I know; I have to have hope that it will.”

He gave her another hopeful squeeze and they went back to their drinks for a bit, until music filled the tavern. One of the pirates had brought a fiddle and was playing a jig of some sort, and the waitresses were joining some of the men in dancing a reel. It was fairly typical of something Killian had seen on ships a lifetime ago, but given their conversation and the gentle glow of the tavern’s lanterns, there was something a bit more dreamy about it.

They watched and clapped along for the rest of the song, and then the tune changed and the dancers changed their steps to match. He was practically lost in a daze as he stared at the couples as they twirled and pranced almost in sync with one another, happy smiles on their faces and laughter bubbling from their throats.

“Do you want to dance?”

Killian’s head whipped towards Emma, both in shock and wonder. “Pardon?”

“Have you never been asked to dance before?”

A hazy memory of one special night with Milah filtered through his memory, but no words had been spoken then—it just happened. “No, I haven’t.”

“Well, come on. I’m not used to being turned down, especially when I actually want to dance with someone,” she commanded with a wink, then stood and held an inviting hand to him.

He didn’t let himself think too long about taking it, the warmth of her palm reaching his even through his glove, and followed as she led him to the makeshift dance floor just as the music changed. This tune was more...he didn’t want to say refined, but it was definitely more befitting a ball than a tavern.

She pulled him to an open spot and then stood in front of him. Carefully, she took his hand and placed it on her waist, right above where the curve of her hips gently flared out.

“What...what are you doing?” he stammered; for some reason, he felt like a virginal young boy again, even though he was neither (but might as well be, in some ways).

Emma set her hand on his shoulder and with the other, held his hook, before pointedly explaining, “It’s called a waltz, and there’s only one rule.” She took a step into him, close enough that he could feel heat radiating off her body onto his, and murmured, “Pick a partner who knows what she’s doing.”

Any words died on his lips; no coherent thoughts formed in his brain. Nothing registered but the slight shift of weight as Emma took the first step, and he scrambled to follow. Then another. And another. Emma expertly directed their movements with the the press of her hand against him and the press of her hips into his grip; he was torn between focusing on the steps and staring at the soft expression on her face, green eyes twinkling even in the dim light.

Eventually, he figured it out and they fell into a pattern, swaying and turning to the rhythm of the music that seemed to play in time with the beat of his heart—which, quite honestly, was racing. He thought these things were supposed to be filled with romance and drama—not the intensity and intimacy that was currently present, or the heaviness of the air between them.

Too soon, the song was over and another, much livelier dance took its place. But Killian was loathe to let go of Emma and, impossibly, she seemed to feel the same, because instead of moving away, she came even closer, wrapping her free arm around his waist and setting her head on his shoulder. It was a good thing he didn’t need air, because his breath had been completely stolen.

He was almost scared to move—scared that he might frighten her away, that she wasn’t aware of what she was doing due to the rum or something—but then she started to sway on every other beat of the music, and his body was moving with hers before he had a chance to think about it.

His hook settled on the other side of her waist and he wrapped his hand around her back just a bit, keenly aware of everything about her: her scent, her warmth, how she felt pressed against him, even the subtle vibrations of her heartbeat. It was like she was the only other person in the world, the only thing that mattered—none of his other constant troubles or worries plagued him; he was completely at peace. He closed his eyes and gave into the bliss that was threatening to drown him, and he couldn’t imagine a sweeter death.

Typically, it all came crashing down a moment later. A sharp jostle pulled them both from their shared serenity, and it took a second to notice the pirate at their side, dressed in a dirty tunic and frayed pants held up with a belt that strained against his gut. He was trying to get in between Killian and Emma. “Might I ‘ave a turn with the lady?” he asked, polite in word but not in tone, or the way he was leering at Emma’s top.

“No, you may not,” was Emma’s sharp reply.

“Aw, that’s no fair; just want a quick turn is all.” He was still trying to get his dirty hands on Emma, pawing at her arm.

“I believe the lady said no,” Killian hissed. He was livid with this man; how dare he interrupt them?

Make him pay! the Darkness crowed; it wasn’t until that outburst that Killian realized it had been silent all night.

The pirate turned his attention to Killian, giving him a once over with his eyes. “Oh, you’re a pretty one, too, aren’t you? Jealous, then? I’d love a romp with you, too.”

Long-buried memories rose to the surface, spiraling out in a rage Killian hadn’t felt in ages. He grabbed the man by the shoulder and pressed him against the opposite wall, covering the distance in a matter of strides.

He pressed his forearm across the scoundrel’s chest and the tip of his hook to the neck. “You won’t lay a finger on her hair nor mine, d’you hear me?” he spat, and the man started to cower and whimper. He heard his name called from somewhere outside, but all he could focus on was this miserable excuse for a man and the fear coursing through his body. “Otherwise, I’ll see to it that you have none at all, nor your head—savvy?” The tip of his hook started to draw blood.

Ooh, decapitation—we haven’t done that in ages!

“Killian, stop.” A hand was squeezing his bicep and he turned to look at whoever dared interrupt him. It was Emma, of course.

“I can’t—he wanted to hurt you!” he insisted; didn’t she see how dangerous this man was?

“Please—I can take him,” she scoffed. “Just stop; you don’t need to do this.”

Yes, you do! Imagine what he could have done—to her; to you. Killian squinted his eyes shut at the images playing in his head.

“Killian, please.” The soft tone of her voice quickly brought him back to the ground, though he wasn’t sure if he’d been above it or under it a moment prior. Either way, it was a shock to his senses—he was ready to kill this man, without even blinking an eye.

And Emma had witnessed the whole thing.

He jumped away from the pirate as if he’d been jolted, and the man promptly slumped against the wall as he sputtered and got his breath back. The rest of the bar was eerily silent and all eyes were on him, most with a look of fear in them as he glanced around.

If Emma wore that look, too, he didn’t want—couldn’t bear—to see it. “I...I’m sorry,” he blurted out, keeping his eyes down, and then ran for the door and into the night.

You were so close—so close! He deserved it!

“No, he didn’t.” Killan’s path was aimless, but he could hear the ocean and knew his feet were propelling towards it.

He’s probably done worse.

“Then he’ll get what he deserves someday; not from me.” He crashed through thick brush as he plowed on, not caring about the burrs and thorns that scratched at him.

Think about it—think of all the wrongs you could right, if you’d just let yourself—let us—

“No!” he screamed, finally coming into a clearing. The shore lay just ahead and the sound of the waves crashing on the sand was an instant balm, though nowhere near as much as it usually was. “I’m tired of your bloody games and torture! When will it be enough? When will you just give up on me?”

“Not any time soon.” He jumped and turned to see Emma breaking through the shrubbery he’d just ran through.

He stumbled back, trying to stay away from her, for her sake. “You...you followed me? Why?”

Her brow furrowed in confusion as she moved closer to him. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“After what I just did…”

To his shock, she rolled her eyes. “Didn’t we literally just have this conversation? I’m not scared of you; I know that’s not you.”

Her faith in him was so much stronger than his own, and it nearly broke his heart. “Aye, but the line between me and the Darkness gets weaker every day. What just happened there—it’s happened before, and it’ll happen again, and it’s just been getting more frequent. I don’t…” He hung his head and nearly sobbed. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

Give in, give in, give in, the Darkness started to chant, its chorus echoing in his head. He collapsed against the wet sand as their taunts got louder, whimpering at the splitting headache it was causing until—

Until it stopped suddenly. “Killian, are you alright?” He opened his eyes to see Emma in front of him, kneeling too and gripping his shoulders. There was fear in her expression, but not of him—for him.

He didn’t have it in him to lie. “No, I’m not.”

“What happened?”

He snorted. “When? That’s a bit of a loaded question, love.”

“Okay then,” she said quietly, then brushed a hand through his hair. “How about back at the tavern.”

“I…” he started, not quite sure how to explain. “My appearance has always garnered attention, even when I was mortal—especially then. People...wanted me.”

“I...I see. Did they…?” She clearly didn’t want to put it into words.

“No, nothing like that—but there were some close calls. And it often started like that—minding my own business, and then I was being propositioned. And the Darkness...it knows what’ll set me off; it dug up those memories and that was all it took. Sometimes, I can resist, but others…”

“I get it,” she cut in. “Is...that what was happening before I knocked on your door?”

He gulped. “How...how much of that did you hear?”

“It sounded like you were yelling, and I heard something breaking, but I didn’t see anyone else there. And then it seemed like it happened when I walked up here—you were yelling, but there’s no one else around.”

He sighed and hung his head.

“Does it have something to do with your curse?”

“It has everything to do with that,” he confirmed. “It...talks to me,” he explained. “I know that sounds insane, but it taunts me, in my head. That’s how it tries to get me to do its bidding; admonishes my failures—things like that. I used to be good at ignoring it, but it...pushes, and it’s been doing that more as of late.”

She squeezed his shoulder. “Is that what happened last time in the garden?”

“No.” He still shuddered at the memory. “I’m still not sure what caused that; something in the book, I think. The Darkness somehow manifested and then...took over. It usually just takes advantage of my emotions—it’s always prompted. That was...a first.”

“Your eyes looked different; kind of like that one time we fought. That’s how I could tell you weren’t all there. They did that tonight, too.”

He scoffed. “That’s the thing, though—I was still there. I could see it all happening. Whatever that was in the garden was harder to break out of, but tonight...that wasn’t as blurry.”

“But Killian—”

“No; no ‘buts’, Emma.” He stood up quickly and put some distance between them, moving closer to the edge of the water. “There’s only two ways for this to end: I give in and let the Darkness run free, doing gods know what to anyone in my path; or I somehow keep this up and manage to hold it at bay for eternity. So either way...I’m not good for you.”

Emma followed him, angrily storming to his side. “Excuse you—I think I’ll decide who or what is ‘good’ for me, okay? And screw me—what about you? What do you need, Killian?”

The fire in her eyes matched her elevated pulse, thundering in his ears. You’re so close, the Darkness whispered. Listen to her heart—you could take it so easily…

“No!” he shouted and took a step back, yelling at both of them. “You know what I want? All I’ve wanted for decades?”

“What?”

“I just want to go in the bloody ocean. Not food, not my family, not even a friend—all I wanted to make this curse bearable was to be in the water and let it soothe me. And look.”

He turned at ran at the sea, but never did he hit the water. He should have sent salt spray up all around him and likely splashed Emma, but—to her surprise, if the way her jaw dropped was anything to go by—the water stayed away, parting around him and leaving him on dry land.

“Not even the sea can stand me, love. How can you? How can anyone?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but then firmly shut her lips.

“See?” he cried. She took a step toward him, but he held up his hand to stop her. “Don’t, love, please—just...just stay away. It’s for your own good.”

He waved his hand and translocated home, collapsing on his wood floor as soon as he did. Sobs wracked his body as he was hit with the realization that he’d just pushed away the one person who had seen him—the real him—in so, so long, but in the end, he knew it was for the best.

There, there, dearie, the Darkness crooned. We’ve got you.

as always, thanks for reading! tagging some people: @kat2609 @thesschesthair @optomisticgirl @cocohook38 @fergus80 @xpumpkindumplingx @shipsxahoy @selfie-wench @mryddinwilt @annytecture @wingedlioness @word-bug @bleebug @its-imperator-furiosa @queen-mabs-revenge @killianmesmalls @distant-rose @sherlockianwhovian @effulgentcolors @laschatzi @welllpthisishappening @let-it-raines @nfbagelperson @the-captains-ayebrows @stubble-sandwich​ @killian-whump​ @lenfaz @phiralovesloki @athenascarlet @kmomof4 @ilovemesomekillianjones @whimsicallyenchantedrose @snowbellewells @idristardis @wyntereyez @lfh1962 @bmbbcs4evr @therooksshiningknight

[anistarrose]

Good Luck Charm (GF Stanuary Week 4)

Summary: Stan’s always liked to cheat at games of luck, but as the months pass after the clash with Bill in the mindscape, Ford starts to suspect that something more abnormal might be going on.

Word Count: ~2500

Warnings: some brief references to violence/threats of violence, references to gambling

This isn’t for any particular @stanuary prompt, but is based off of this post by @siriuslymeg! It’s something I’ve wanted to write about for a while, and Stanuary seemed like a good opportunity to do so!

It wasn’t until they set off on the Stan O’ War II that Stan started to suspect anything had changed.

...Well, that wasn’t entirely true. There was that one moment during the reconstruction of the Shack, when a falling shingle seemed to almost swerve in midair to avoid hitting Soos’s head — not to mention Ford’s little pyrotechnics demonstration at Dipper and Mabel’s birthday party. The fact that that had gone off without a hitch should have been more than enough to tell him that something was different.

But it really began one otherwise peaceful morning, a bit less than a month into their trip north, when Stan’s attempt at making coffee was foiled by a sudden force slamming into the side of the boat. It knocked the pot clear off the counter and onto the floor, and rivers of precious caffeinated beverage seeped into the cracks between the planks, disappearing forever as the boat continued to shake.

“Alright,” Ford growled, pulling out his gun and bolting for the steps to the deck, “this is war.” Before Stan could warn him to be careful, or ask if he even knew what they were dealing with, he was out of sight.

“Damn it, Sixer,” Stan muttered as he fumbled around for a weapon, “every time you rush in like this, you end up needing me to save your ass…”

Sure enough, not thirty seconds later he heard Ford yelling. At first, it was the savage cry of a man determined to avenge his coffee, but it quickly morphed into a shout of surprise, and then the familiar “Stanley! Help!”

Stan sighed. “Called it.”

He grabbed a harpoon gun, and charged upstairs to his brother’s rescue, only to find himself staring down… the most obnoxiously bright yellow duck he’d ever seen, like a bath toy come to life.

Even ignoring its ridiculous wide-eyed expression, the color alone made Stan want to puke — hell, even Bill Cipher himself had been downright aesthetically pleasing compared to this abomination. And of course, that couldn’t be all. It just had to also be surrounded by two dozen massive squid-like tentacles, all of them the same bright yellow and one of them wrapped around Ford’s chest and hoisting him several feet above the deck.

“Quick!” Ford yelled, gasping for breath. “The Rubber Quacken’s weak spot is just — just below the bill! Kill the foul creature, before I —”

Making a split second decision to comment on the monster’s horrendous name later, Stan aimed the harpoon gun as best as he could. It was hard to even look directly at the duck for more than a few seconds, much less take an accurate shot —

He saw Ford turning purple and futilely thrashing about in his peripheral vision, and before he realized what he was doing, his finger squeezed down on the trigger. No monster this ridiculous is going to take away my brother.

The shot should have gone wide. He saw it pointing far above the duck’s head, nowhere near the angle it was meant to fly at. But the harpoon spun in midair like some invisible hand had deflected it, plunging downwards and somehow embedding itself just below the duck’s bill.

The creature let out an enraged squeak, and withdrew in an instant, deflating tentacles dropping Ford down on the dock. As Stan rushed to his side, he managed to set up and rub his ribs.

“I’m alright,” he assured Stan. “Nothing a few alien healing-packs can’t fix.”

Stan just sighed. “You fight one of these things before or what?”

“Yes, a slightly smaller one found its way to the lake in Gravity Falls somehow back in ‘78. Just be grateful we didn’t meet its close cousin, the Hawktopus.”

“Why? What does it do, just fly away with the world’s most reckless geniuses before their brothers can save them?”

“What? No, they’re actually quite harmless. Just objectively the stupidest creature in this dimension, and the screech they make gives me headaches.”

Stan groaned. “Way to miss the point, Poindexter. Can you just, I dunno, try and be a little more careful next time? Eventually you’re gonna run out of alien drugs to fix your broken ribs and I’m gonna run out of dumb luck to save you with the first place.”

Ford narrowed his eyes. “Stan, with you, nothing is ever random dumb luck. You’ll always find some way to rig the universe in your favor.”

“You’re changing the topic!”

“Alright. I promise.”

***

For a month or so after that, nothing particularly odd happened — at least, nothing more out of the ordinary than anything ever was for the Pines. Yeah, the weather was miraculously much nicer than forecasted when they sailed down to California to see Dipper and Mabel for the holidays, and yeah, Stan beat a bunch of selkies at poker without even needing to cheat, but those were just a couple of coincidences. The same went for the Stan O’ War II escaping unscathed from so many monster attacks — it was just dumb luck, and as welcomed as it was, it would run out sooner or later. Right?

But when Stan and Ford went wandering through a winding maze of caverns in search of treasure, things got odd, unusual, and statistically improbable once again. First it was Stan tripping and finding the entrance by complete accident, then it was their flashlights holding out for hours without needing to change the batteries, and then it was the slow realization that no matter how many times they had to choose from one of several branching paths, they never seemed to hit a dead end.

That was, not until they squeezed out of a particularly cramped tunnel and found themselves in a high-ceilinged room, crystals on the walls glimmering and an ancient-looking treasure chest waiting for them on a stone pedestal, just like something out of the most fantastical adventure story.

“Holy Moses!” Stan exclaimed, practically sprinting across the room to get a better look. “This baby looks like it’s made of real gold!” He gave the lock a shake, and began to lift the heavy lid —

“Stan, no!” Ford shouted. “It could be —”

Stan opened the chest before he could process Ford’s words. “Holy shit, these look like real diamonds! Ford, we’re rich!”

He turned around, expecting to see an excited look on Ford’s face, but instead, he was met with an infuriated glare.

“You idiot! It could be cursed! You keep telling me to be more careful, but you — you might have just given yourself some fatal and incurable disease, for all you know!”

His voice grew uneven in a way that was distinctly un-Ford-like as he went on, and Stan realized he wasn’t so much angry as he was frightened on Stan’s behalf.

“Shit, I — I didn’t think. How do we know if —”

From his backpack, Ford pulled a simple black rod, and held it over the treasure chest for a few seconds until it lit up purple. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“Alright. Alright, we’re… we’re safe. There once was a fairly powerful curse on this treasure, but it’s been… neutralized, apparently. Nothing but harmless magical residue here.”

“Ford, I’m so sorry,” Stan told him. “You’re right, I am a hypocrite. I just got excited about the treasure, and…”

“It’s okay,” Ford replied. “I… I sounded like I was angry at you, didn’t I? I didn’t mean to — I was just worried.”

Stan nodded, and a smile slowly spread across Ford’s face. “So what if we’re both idiots with no sense of self-preservation? That’s why we have each other.”

“Ah, you’re such a sappy old man,” Stan said, but he raised his hand for a high-six, and Ford obliged.

“I am curious how the curse was neutralized, though,” Ford pondered as he and Stan sorted through the haul of precious gemstones. “Assuming the spell was in effect when it was hidden, as is true for most treasures, it wouldn’t make sense for anyone to come down here and remove the curse but leave the jewels.”

He turned to look at Stan and rubbed his chin. “Unless you accidentally neutralized it yourself, somehow.”

“Ha, me?” Stan scoffed. “Look, Ford, I have a lot of weird talents, but magic isn’t one of them.”

“I’m honestly not so sure,” Ford replied, and with the poor lighting of the cave masking his expression, Stan couldn’t tell if he was teasing or serious. “We do seem to have experienced quite a streak of good luck lately, with everything from the weather to even finding these caverns in the first place…”

“Oh, come on! What do you think I am, some kind of walking good luck charm? Did one of my feet turn into a rabbit’s foot? Do I have four-leaf-clovers growing out of my ears?”

Ford snorted. “No, Stan, you’re right. I’m just looking for connections where aren’t any to be found.”

“Yeah, you don’t need to tell me that. I always just assume you’re overthinking shit until proven otherwise.”

“Touché. Now help me lift this thing and see if it fits through the exit.”

***

Stan was sitting at a table in a local restaurant, flirting with the waiter as he waited for Ford to get back from the restroom, when he noticed a man glaring at him from a few tables away. His hair was going gray and his face looked far more worn and beaten than Stan remembered, but the intricate serpent tattoo on his neck told Stan everything he needed to know — and none of it was good news, least of all not the other three equally rough-looking men sitting next to him.

Stan excused himself as quickly as he could and rushed towards the restroom, thankfully bumping into Ford on the way there.

“We gotta go, Sixer. We gotta go now.”

“What? Stan, what’s wrong?”

“Biker gang,” Stan hurriedly exclaimed, pulling Ford by the arm as they headed for the exit. “Really bad history. No time to explain.”

“I do have a gun on me,” Ford whispered as soon as they were out the door of the restaurant. “Worst comes to worst, I can —”

“Yeah, and there’s four of them, and they’re all gonna have their own guns. I don’t like your chances. We gotta make a break for the boat.”

Ford grunted his agreement as he broke into a run besides Stan.

“Pinefield!” a low voice bellowed from the direction of the restaurant. “We just want to chat!”

Stan didn’t dare turn his head around to look, but he heard the sound of several motorcycles being revved in the distance —

And then, a sudden and jarring boom just like a clap of thunder, followed by a string of curses that made Ford’s alien swears look uncreative. Stan didn’t need to turn around to know that someone’s engine had just failed in incredibly spectacular fashion, and that he’d just dropped a lot lower on the list of the gang’s priorities.

He looked at Ford, only to find his brother staring back at him with the same unspoken question clear in his expression — did you do that?

***

“Ha! Natural 38 again!” Stan cheered gleefully, sending sheets of graph paper flying as he smacked the table. “It’s over, ya stupid dragon of vector cross products!”

“Yes, that’s quite impressive,” Ford murmured as he scribbled notes down on a page hidden from Stan’s sight. “Are you sure you aren’t cheating?”

“Seriously? You still don’t trust your own brother not to rig the dice? Honestly, Ford, I’m starting to think you’re just jealous about me being better at your nerd game than you are.”

Ford frowned, and picked the D38 up off the table gingerly, as if it was some sort of scientific specimen. “Actually, Stan… I ask because I weighted this die. To favor lower numbers.”

“Who’s the smart twin now — wait, what?”

Ford placed a piece of graph paper in front of Stan, listing all his rolls from the night’s session. “And yet, you’re still scoring consistently higher than random chance would suggest even for a normal die, much less a rigged one. Something’s going on — something not just abnormal, but supernaturally so.”

“Wait, you’re serious about thinking I’m some kinda magic good luck charm? How — how would that’ve even happened in the first place? I —”

Ford frowned. “Well, it’s debatable if it can really be called luck when it’s something that happens consistently and with an identifiable cause — but for simplicity’s sake, yes, that’s what the data seem to represent. Though I suppose there’s always a miniscule chance of it having all been truly random…”

“Again, Ford — how does something like this even happen? Because trust me, this definitely hasn’t been going on my whole life. I woulda gotten kicked out of a lot more casinos, for one thing — not that I didn’t get kicked out of a couple anyways.”

“I have no idea,” Ford told, and then hurriedly added. “Although for the record, I don’t think it’s a Bill thing. Good luck is the complete opposite of what he would cause, even if he did come back…”

He snapped his fingers. “Except, this might be the result of Bill’s death itself, rather than his continued existence! Maybe, because you destroyed a demon, you have a sort of aura lingering about you that wards off harm and evil!”

Stan snorted. “And lets me kick your ass at dice games?”

“Well, maybe it just gives your general luck a modifier of sorts. Hold on, I have an idea.”

Ford stood up from the table to rummage around in one of the boat’s closets, and pulled out the black rod he’d used to check over the treasure chest. “I’ll admit I’ve never actually used this on a person, but I can’t think of any reason why it would be inaccurate. You should hold still just to be sure, though…”

He held the device over Stan’s head for a moment, and then lowered it so Stan could see the results. From end to end, it had lit up light blue.

“Protective magic, and a highly powerful form of it, too. No wonder the curse on that treasure got neutralized instantly. It’s confirmed — you’re a walking ward against bad luck.”

For a moment, they both just let the silence hang in the air. It felt like the type of realization that should have a certain degree of gravity to it, the type of thing that would seriously alter one’s worldview… but at the same time, they’d both seen weirder.

“Huh,” Stan finally said. “Well… what do we do now?”

Ford shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe go get kicked out of some casinos?”

“Hey, we should go someplace where there’s a bunch of different ones, like Vegas, and have a race to see who can get kicked out of the most in one night!”

“That hardly seems fair, what with you being magical and all.”

“Hey, you’re the one who’s always bragging about getting kicked out of the gambling dimension for counting cards! I wanna see how good you really are.”

“You know what, fine. But all this little race has as a prize is bragging rights; I’m not doing anything for you when you magically coast to victory!”

“Deal?” Stan asked, raising his hand for a high-six.

“Deal!”

[somethingjustsouthofbrilliance]

Fool Me Once (a post-CW/pre-IW AU)

Right, so I’ve been toying with idea of writing a protective Peter fic, and since my recent workload kinda threw me off track a bit with the merman story (still very much plan on finishing it, not to worry) I decided to try changing directions a bit and playing with this idea before it bailed on me.

It’s a bit AU-ish -- some things have been changed, some characters have not made it into the story.  But overall, hopefully, mostly in character :)  Basically, I just wanted to write me some protective/worried Peter and I needed another excuse to whump Tony.  The rest of the plot is collateral to those two aforementioned needs lol 

@tonystark5ever I’m tagging you for this, love, ‘cause I really need to know what you think of it :)

Fool Me Once 

Chapter 1

Steve ducks to the side, just barely dodging a creature that hurtles toward him with a loud, piercing shriek.  Slams his shield into the ugly reptilian mug even as it snaps its sharp teeth at him, screeching its anger.

 It’s the second Chitauri attack this week.  Tenth one this month if he counts the one that the Avengers weren’t present for in full force.

 That first attack had been brutal.  Steve remembers watching the news report in Wakanda: fire and chaos, people running down the streets in sheer panic as the metal chariots swooped down from the sky, blasting at them with their powerful weapons.  

Tony had stepped up then with what was left of the team (as well he should have, since he was pretty much the only one who could at that point thanks to those ridiculous Accords), coordinating their efforts (rather admirably, Steve was forced to admit) with the local troops and the police.  They managed to eliminate the alien threat then, but it had been a very close call. Uncomfortably so.  

Steve wasn’t at all surprised, therefore, when the news of their official pardon was delivered to Wakanda not even a day later.  Tony has always been a smart guy – he knew when he was beat, when things became too much even for his ego to handle alone.  It was only natural that he reached out to his old team for help.  Just as it was only natural that Steve and the others responded (just as he had promised in his letter to Tony that he would).

 Their welcome wasn’t quite what Steve had been expecting.  Tony was cold and distant, rejecting any and all of Steve’s attempts at breaching the ice that had formed between them in Siberia.  He kept conversation with them to a minimum.  Left the room the first chance he got.  The others present in the Tower (Rhodes, who was walking now thanks to Tony’s latest contraption, that Spider Kid – Peter and Vision) weren’t much better.  Plus they glared at Steve and his team like they were some sort of criminals.  It was awkward as hell, it kept Steve’s team on edge. Made Clint even snappier than usual. Made Wanda twitchy and Sam glum. Worst of all, it made Bucky nervous, and that alone was enough to set Steve’s teeth on edge.  Because Bucky of all people did not deserve this – this cold hostility nonsense, this childish avoidance. Bucky did not need this for his recovery.  And Steve had half a mind to go tell Tony everything he thought about this attitude of his.  

 Bucky wouldn’t let him. Told him to let it go, that he would talk to Tony himself.  And he did. And whatever it is they talked about, it seemed to have helped because Tony’s attitude thawed quite a bit – toward Bucky at least.  And even if Tony still shunned Steve and the rest of his old team, at least Bucky no longer seemed as uncomfortable in Tony’s presence, and Steve supposed that would have to be enough.  They had to make it work, after all.  For Earth’s sake.  

 Tony told them the day they got back that he was expecting more attacks.  That there was someone out there in the great big cosmos, who wants to wipe Earth clean of human presence.  And these Chitauri he’s sending are mere scouts, a way to test the waters, to see how much it would take for us to crumble, how strong our resolve is to resist. That he will keep sending them until he sees that we can fight no more, and then he will come himself and he will finish the job.

 It sounded paranoid to Steve – no different than Tony’s Ultron talk (and look what that had led to). But the Chitauri did keep coming, just as Tony predicted they would, and Steve pushed his reservations aside (for the time being at least) and focused on what he did best – being a leader.

 Didn’t mean he was gonna stop keeping an eye on Tony.  …Just in case.

 “Heads up, Captain,” Iron Man’s voice comes through the comms, pulling him out of his thoughts. “There are two more heading your way.”

 And he looks up just in time to see a Chitauri chariot zooming down toward him, the driver scowling in anticipation of victory as the foot soldier behind him aims his monstrosity of a gun Steve’s way.

 He ducks and rolls, mentally giving Tony a grudging thanks for the timely warning.  Throws his shield at the driver as the chariot begins to turn to give its passenger another shot at him.  

 The hit is solid.  The driver jolts and crumples under the force of it, hands wrenched away from the controls, and the chariot veers sharply to the right, knocking its passenger off and slamming hard into the nearby building. The chariot explodes on impact, but Steve is no longer paying it any heed, focused instead on the passenger who’s now trying to pick himself up from the rubble-covered ground, the weapon still clutched in his claw-like hand.

 His shield once again back in his hands, Steve tackles him back down to the ground, drives the shield into the exposed vulnerable part of the neck not covered by the armor with all of his might.  He hears something snap and the alien twitches and grows limp underneath him, his struggles stilling.  

 Steve sags backwards onto the rubble, heaving out a sigh – a mixture of exhaustion and relief.  He’s tired of this.  So, so very tired.  Of these constant attacks that seem to grow more intense as they get closer together. Of Tony’s attitude.  Of the lingering worry for Bucky.  Of the constant tension within the team that he can’t seem to be able to fix, no matter how hard he tries.  He would like nothing more than to drop everything and get away from this mess, if only for a few hours.    

 But he can’t. The battle is far from over, and he’s still the leader, still the one responsible for the ultimate outcome of it, for the safety of his team.

 Speaking of…

 “Iron Man, status!” he barks into the comms as he picks himself back up and leans over to grab the Chitauri weapon (the thing is big and uncomfortable, but it packs quite a destructive punch and extra firepower never hurt anyone).

 The comms are silent and he growls the question out again, impatient, scanning the area around him with a narrow gaze.

 “Sorry, Cap,” comes a terse reply, and Steve can literally hear the sneer of annoyance in the other man’s voice.  “A little busy here.  Enemy invaders and all.”

 “I don’t need the snark from you, Iron Man,” he snaps, stomping his way to higher ground so he can get a better look at the rest of the team.  “Just your eyes.”

 “Aww, Cap, and here I thought you cared.”

 He grits his teeth at the mocking tone, looks up to where he can see the Iron Man’s suit hovering gracefully above the fray.  But an angry reprimand dies on his lips because Iron Man’s stance changes suddenly from watchful to alarmed, and he turns slightly in the air, arm raised with a kind of hurried urgency that makes the hairs on the back of Steve’s neck stand up. And then Iron Man fires, again and again, the whine of the repulsor cutting through the noise of the battle as the consecutive beams seek out a target on the ground.  

 And Steve feels himself grow cold, because that target is Bucky, his Bucky, who’s standing there alone and defenseless under Tony’s unprovoked deadly barrage.  

 Steve doesn’t think. Steve raises the arm with the Chitauri weapon, aims it at the red and gold traitor.  And he fires.

On to chapter 2 , chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5

[bma-2020]

tbh i keep during series mally’s actual basis off who im writing w bc, obviously shes noncanon (in the miniseries in mY HEART nick willing or whatever his name is had her and burton did not) but if i did have it my way, and this is the main basis i came up with awhile ago but… dont really get to use;;;

1: definitely been in the room when hatter let alice in, cause shes a little shit and rarely leaves his side.

2: wouldn’t join them going to the resistance. In series it seems like he leaves Dormy in charge of things when he’s gone, jn my canon Dormy is Mal’s relative and introduced them, and Mally’s been by his side enough that he probably left her in charge while he took Alice to the resistance. She wouldn’t come to the resistance because since she was a former assassin, she doesn’t know who she’s killed. But she does know someone killed Dodo’s significant other. Doesn’t want to risk it having been her, even though that happened after she left the Casino.

3: He probably thought she was taken in when March ransacked the casino, cause Hatter definitely probably knows that she knew March at least, probably also knew they were partners. Hatter’s never seen March’s soft side (cause lbr… he doesnt have much of one) and probably figured he’d catch mally and run off. How this event would happen in the event this is the ‘canon’ i go w when writing w people differs, but either mally saw what was going on and not just transmutated her face, but probably ran off. The otherwise is she transmutated her face, but march saw through it, but like how he left dormy he pulled the suits away from mally and ignored her for the most part.

4: either event, Hatter thinks she’s been caught, which is what leads to him taking Alice to the forest. Mally lived in there, and she tamed the Jabberwock. He knows it won’t listen to him, but he also knows how dangerous it is. Alice could be safe, even if he has to sacrifice himself, though part of him also probably hoped mally got away and would be with her pet.

5: Thanks to Hatter and Alice leading Marchn co into the forest of Wabe, Mally couldn’t go back to her home, but she wanted to find Hatter and make sure he was okay. Much better at covering her tracks than him, she honestly probably would use her tracking skills to find him.

6: at this point it would be heavily thread dependent, cause obviously not everyone is gonna wanna diverge from series canon this way, but if Mally was looking for Hatter she’d definitely find him, and even if she was holding Alice H responsible for this mess, she’d still help out. Probably grow to like her too, especially when she sees her beat the shit outta people. You know she’ll throw in some comment about how she ‘likes your wrong Alice there, Hatter. Though, she’s still not Liddell.’ A symbolism to the fact that, although fractured, some memories of the old wonderland remain. Hatter would probably get upset at the remark, mainly because he gets sullen everytime the old alice is mentioned, potential hints towards him having vague memories of the time as well.

7: Mally definitely would have helped Hatter during each of the saving Alice moments. Tbh I’m sure the only reason Alice would have managed to sneak off in the first place w mally around is bc Mally would have been off collecting something for Hatter, probably returning around the time Hatter woke up.

8: During the second time when they get caught while trying to save Alice, Mally would definitely get caught too. Not by a suit or by a mistake, when Hatter gets nabbed she makes a go and takes down two or three of the suits, mostly trying to give Hatter a chance to get away. That would be the event in which March has no choice but to grab her too. They knew each other well enough that he’d know her weak points and probably kept one of her weaknesses on hand, so she’d knock out quickly (albeit, every quick method of taking her down gives her a great deal of pain.)

9: when it comes to taking down the casino, when Hatter escapes the Tweedles and takes down March, Mally’s probably locked in with another doctor and her not father. She just barely escapes, likely running into Hatter after he escapes. She uses her senses to tell him where Alice is, after he tells her not to heal him yet cause he can’t be dragging two people out of there. He goes to help Alice, she goes to release the refuges and resistance members kept as prisoners.

10: when the casino blows up, mal would join up with the rest of them outside. Gets to see the downfall of the Queen of Hearts. Actual respect for alice h arises, still claims she’s not like liddell.

11: She’d see Hatter’s reaction to Alice talking to Jack, probably realize he’s fallen for her. Trust me, she’s not happy about it. She wants Hatter to be happy, but he’s all she has, he’s her best friend, (and, lbr, she’s got a lot of unrequited love for him too). When Alice leaves she’s more upset at her for choosing Oysterland over Hatter. She knows Hatter’s upset when he refuses to let her heal him.

12: the three months in wonderland that pass happen, and its likely during this (natural for hatter) healing process that occurs, mally probably suggests he go after Alice. ‘Their time doesnt pass like ours does, you’ll probably get there within the same day she left.’ Encouraging him to go before she brushes them off as a dream or moves on, because even tho Mally doesn’t want to be alone, she doesn’t want him to be unhappy either.

13: Hatter leaves, and even tho it was Mally’s idea, the abandonment definitely strikes her.

14: at this point its open, as either the underground will snatch her up because she’s got enough power that they can convince her to overthrow Jack so the Hearts lose power altogether, probably after Jack makes the mistake of trying to use her as well

in the case of my verse w owly she finds Mad March and gets back w him after helping fix his head (the mainverse w owly is the only time mallys relationship w march became romantic)

and thats the.. short version…

[bloodthirstyreviews]

Voltron Legendary Defender

Oh boy.

Just gonna throw all my thoughts into one post because I would probably otherwise flood the joint with them. This started as a genuine review and quickly dissolved into rage. enjoy. this is 1-8 so full of spoilers.

1. Enter: A happy honest to god kids' show. We meet the first 3 kids as they are training at the Garisson: Pidge, Hunk, Lance. Suddenly something crashes from space into the desert near the base, so of course they sneak off to investigate like any good schoolkids would. Enter: Keith. The hot badboy that every series needs. School: dropout. Hair: mullet. Motorcycle: duh. Fingerless gloves: on. Keith is coming to save Shiro, who has been missing for a year, and is also the something that fell from space. (Missed opportunity: falling from heaven pickup lines). Enter Shiro: giving Dad Bod a whole new meaning, and the leader this messy group of kids needs. The 5 find the Blue Lion, which takes them on an autopilot adventure theough time and space. They arrive on a planet home to a peaceful alien race, home to the maker of the blue lion and the other 4 lions that make up Voltron. Yay! Really most of this season is finding the lions, repairing the castle, and figuring out that there is no i in teamwork, Keith. Don’t forget bonding moment. ver import.

2. Still on the happy kid show train for the most part. After a fight with Zarkon the kiddos are all separated to far off planets and get into trouble. They fight the galra a lot, have to fix the castle some more, go to the mall like regular teenagers would. Prep for fighting Zarkon again and whatnot. Big ol battle.

3. In comes Zarkon’s hot son, Lotor. I really love Lotor as a character, instead of charging in headfirst he collects data, is analytical. They form a coalition of rebels to fight the Galra, its some good stuff. But no Shiro, and Keith has to step up as the leader in his absence. They go through the struggles of s1 teambuilding because of the change in lineup.

4. Keith is away a lot training with the Blade of Marmora, trying to learn more about his heritage and where the knife he carries is from. The Blade helps them fight and stuff. They acquire a cow.

5. Shiro shiro shiro you poor bastard. Shiro acts weird and the others notice, but don’t really do anything about it. Zarkon finally dies. But now it’s Lotor. woo. But Lotor wants their help to become emperor of the Galra. Maybe not a bad guy. Loturra etc.

6. Lotor not a bad guy? Lotortron vs galra. KEEF MOMMY YESSSSSSSS. But now Keef is older and hot thanks lance. More Loturra. eugh. I really love the Keith and Mom arc, they get some bonding time for 2 solid years while travelling through space. VLD D&D YOOOOOOOO. Suddenly more Alteans. Lotor evil. This season is such a whirlwind yikes. Keith vs Shiro killed me. Finally get real Shiro back and if that aint a bonding moment good lordy. No longer a kids show. Not in the slightest. I love this season though.

7. the worst. but GARFLE WARFLE SNICK. PONYTAIL KEEF. They go to earth and it’s horrible. “We aren’t going to kill off our lgbt rep” but I guess no show needs two gay characters bye adam. I hate this season, and I really feel like this is where they lost respect from a lot of their viewers. I hate how much they hyped up gay Shiro only to kill off his ex before they can interact again. I hate how much they hyped up gay Shiro only to leave Adashi open to interpretation. They could easily have been best friends or roommates. Nothing in the show says that Shiro is gay or that him and Adam were involved romantically. They hyped and hyped on Twitter, only to leave it so vague.

8.... oh 8. fandom voltron will always be better than canon voltron. that’s what we learned in this season. JDS and LM are full of shit also. “Lance will end up with someone you wont expect” um you mean Allura? Memories of Allura? Alone? Yeah. We expected all of that you trash. And what did we get? All. Of. That.

This season has just left much to be desired. The thoroughly enjoyed the battle scenes and all of that, which there was a ton of, but what I wanted was the characters. There’s been a good amount of character development throughout the series but like holy Lance baby boy oof did he grow up since the start of the fiasco. Pidge and Hunk deserved more development. Hunk just deserved more in every aspect: he’s funny and cooks that’s it. that’s all Hunk gets. At least he gets his waifu unlike anyone else. I guess if you get no plot you get to have a partner that actually makes sense, its a give and take.  

Then we have Shiro. He is so damn sexy in that captain’s uniform I just gotta say. The role suits him I think. But the important things. Him and his husband were done such a disservice by the producers. “We aren’t going to just randomly force a relationship” “we dont need romance to develop a character” bull. shit.

Alright yall lets be real. The only LGBT rep in this series is for marketing. Not even going to say queer baiting.

We were straight up used.

“you guys will get to know Adam!” Annnnd him and Shiro break up and then Adam is dead, he gets like half a minute of screen time. Yeah we really “got to know him”. Even after marketing had Adam on it... and they used a lot of rainbows and shit after they announced Shiro was gay.

Then Shiro is randomly getting married only a year later. To who? ? Why is it that none of the other paladins are married, but the original leader of voltron, the knight in shining armor trope man, is the only one getting married and not really doing anything important like the rest of them??????

It was an afterthought. Cheaply written in to win the queer rep points. Like yay a gay kiss on tv but also. Yay another gay wedding in kids tv.  but I don’t like how they did it and its horrible rep. We get 2 weddings in kids animation, but how many straight weddings have there been?

THEY THROW IT IN BECAUSE WE’RE SO UNDERREPRESENTED IN MEDIA THAT WE’LL EAT UP EVEN THE TINIEST SLIVER OF ALMOST REP AND THEY KNOW THAT AND JUST EXPLOIT IT. It’s no different from random brands putting rainbows on their packaging during pride month so they’ll be bought and favored in the queer community, whether the company stands for gay marriage or not. It’S ALL FUCKING MARKETING QERKJGERJNGERJH I HATE IT.

THIS IS NO LONGER

GOOD

ENOUGH

REP.

WE DESERVE BETTER.

[starlight-seeker]

ALL OF THEM ~~~~~~~

1: The last person you kissed screams they love you, you say…It really depends who the person Is lol, I haven’t kissed anyone in a long time and the last person wasn’t so great so I would kindly reject them ://

2: Did you get to sleep in today?

FUCK YES I SLEPT UNTIL 1:30 PM

3: You never know what you got until you lose it?

It throws a lot into perspective. There’s a lot people take for granted and once you loose it you don’t realize until it’s gone and you can’t get it back.

4: Do you have siblings?

An older brother whose 9 years apart from me named Chris.

5: How many kids do you want?

2 probably, both more likely adopted.

6: Who was the last person you held hands with?

Collin Aka Literal-Trashlord.

7: Did you stand on your tippy-toes for your last kiss?

Nah, person was shorter than me lmao.

8: Do you think if you died, the last person you kissed would care?

Who knows. I don’t really care weirdly enough lol.

9: Last person to talk on the phone?

My mother.

10: Did anyone watch you the last time you kissed someone?

No.

11: When’s your birthday?

June 3rd.

12: Remember the first time you kissed the last person you kissed?

Not really, I kind of blocked the memory out lmao.

13: What kind of phone do you have?

Iphone S7

14: Are you wearing jeans, shorts, sweatpants, or pajama pants?

Rn I’m wearing my work pants 😩

15: Are you a different person now than you were 5 years ago?

God I hope so, I wasn’t in a great place mentally then lmao.

16: What were you doing at 4 am?

LMAO THATS LOADED. LATELY MY GAY ASS HAS BEEN FINDING MURDER MYSTERIES AND BUZZFEED VIDEOS WHILE TEXTING FRIENDS AS THEY SLEEP.

17: Would you rather write a paper or give a speech?

Paper definitely.

18: Are you lying to yourself about something?

Probably. 👀🗡

19: Last night you felt…?

Fine mostly, tired and a bit sore.

20: What’s something you cannot wait for?

To be able to go stargazing with someone close to me as well as get my life together hopefully and travel.

21: Ever told your parents you were going somewhere but when somewhere different?

I think so. I haven’t done that to my biological mom at least 😂

22: How many hours of sleep did you get last night?

Uh…7 and a half hrs?? I went to bed at 5:35 and woke up at 1:30 pm.

23: Are you a morning or night person?

Definitely a night owl. Morning person Rarely.

24: What did you get your last bruise from?

I banged into my friends counter like a dumbass. That or I was doing a price check and hit into something.

25: Do you reply to all of your texts?

Mostly though i forget to reply sometimes oof.

26: Your phone is ringing. It’s the person you fell hardest for. What do you do?

Talk to them casually, times passed and we’re still close beyond reason. ❤️

27: Did your last kiss take place in/on a bed?

No. I don’t really care about it 😤

28: Anyone you would like to get things straight with?

Yeah, a few people honestly. Some I was extremely close to.

29: How many months until your birthday?

12

30: Favorite thing to eat with peanut butter?

Celery or Apple slices.

31: Did you like this past summer?

It was good. So yeah I can’t complain.

32: What were you doing before you got on the computer?

Working and hanging out with friends.

33: Your ex is sitting next to you, with their new partner. What do you do?

Big oof. Honestly make the best of it?? Really no reason to get upset at this point.

34: What is the last thing you said out loud?

“Get fucked, Steve.” (We were playin Yahtzee with an Ai)

35: Your mood summed into one word?

O O F.

36: Are you doing anything else besides taking this survey?

playing Yahtzee with friends and an Ai Whose kicking all our asses.

37: What are your initials?

K. C. M.

38: Are you a happy person?

Generally though I do struggle with depression but no big deal.

39: Do you still talk to the person you liked 4 months ago?

Yeah, we’re still close friends.

40: Where do you want to live when your older?

I want to travel around, but I would love somewhere quiet with mountains where I can see stars almost every night.

41: Have you had your birthday this year?

Yes. We went to a trampoline park and got absolutely lit jumping around. 👀🔥

42: What did you do yesterday?

I worked 2:00 to 6:30 as a Cashier otherwise I went home and chilled out 😎

43: What will you be doing tomorrow?

Thankfully I have a day off tomorrow. So I’m probably gonna chill out and continue with ideas for a comic I might post soon.

44: How late did you stay up last night?

Until 5:35 AM.

45: Is there anyone you would do anything for?

Yeah definitely. I would drop everything for a select handful of people. Honestly I’d help anyone if I could.

46: Is it hard to make you laugh?

No omg. I laugh literally at anything unless I’m in a weird funk.

47: Do you believe ex’s can be just friends?

Yes, I’m still alright with one ex. But honestly work it out and hopefully things will be alright. Especially if its a mutual breakup things should be alright even if they’re awkward for a while.

48: Do you think any of your exes will eventually want to be with you again?

Lmao nah. I doubt it.

49: How many people have you had feelings for in the year of 2012?

BRUH YOU ACT LIKE I REMEMBER

50: Do you wish your ex was dead?

Never wish that on somebody.

51: Have you ever dyed your hair?

Yes I had it dyed Teal once.

52: Would ever take back someone that cheated?

I doubt it. I’d have issues trusting them.

53: Was New Year’s Even enjoyable?

This year shockingly was.

54: Bet you’re missing someone right now?

Yeah, I miss my family a lot. I don’t really get to see them. I got to see my mom today and I was really happy. ❤️

55: How would your parents react if you got a tattoo?

My mom probably wouldn’t like it at first but grow to like it knowing her, she wants to get a butterfly tattoo on her wrist.

56: Sleep on your back or stomach?

Stomach and side mostly. I can’t really get comfy on my back :((

57: If you could move away, no questions asked, where would it be ?

Somewhere nice and fun. Probably star lit and mountain filled but still some hustle and bussle.

58: What would you change about your life right now?

Living situation, I love living with my best friend but sometimes I miss living with my mom?? Idk.

59: Has anything upset you in the past week?

Yeah a handful of personal things. But I feel alright now.

60: Are you on the phone?

Yes

61: Today, would you rather go forward a week or back?

Probably back, I’d rather redo a few days than skip and loose out.

62: Would you take $40,000 or a brand new car?

Probably 40,000 so I can give some and help others.

63: Have you ever talked to someone when they were high?

OH YEAH THATS AN EXPERIENCE

64: Ever cried while you were on the phone with someone?

A few times, mostly when I’m stressed out or the situation is really tough.

65: Have you ever copied someone elses homework?

Yes. Especially when I forgot it and my friend came in clutch.

66: Are you the type of person who likes to be out or at home?

I’m a mix. There’s days I love to be out others inside and relaxing.

67: Do you automatically check your phone when you wake up?

It’s my alarm clock so sadly.

68: Have you ever stayed up all night on the phone?

Sadly, yes.

69: Could you use some sleep right now?

Probably like 20 + hrs. One good ass nap.

70: Are you going to have a baby by the time you’re 18?

Looks at age. Uhm 😂😂😂

71: Does it bother you when someone hides things from you?

Yeah. I’d rather the person come to me than hide it and talk shit. Even if it hurts I’d rather know and fix the situation.

72: What’s your favorite color?

I love deep reds but I also like blues and purples.

73: Have you ever slept in the same room with someone you liked?

Yes a few times

74: Have you ever been looking for something and it was already in your hand?

LMAO YES. i was looking for my wallet once and panicked but i was holding it.

75: Do you get annoyed easily?

Depending on the situation but when the questions dumb as hell or argument yes.

76: If someone liked you, would you want them to tell you?

Yeah. I’d rather know so I don’t accidentally break their heart. I’d rather know so I can confront the situation though still I’d be extremely flattered.

77: Do you have a person of the opposite sex that you can tell everything to?

Yes.

78: Does anyone call you babe?

Yeah a handful of people.

79: How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust?

A lot ????

80: What do you prefer, relationship or one night stand?

Relationship. Never had a one nighter lol.

81: What color hoodie did you wear last?

Dark purple with writing on it from my college 😂

82: Is there someone who meant alot to you at one point, and isn’t around anymore?

Yeah. Someone I really did trust and love. They did some shitty stuff and I had to break the friendship off but even now I find myself checking in on them now and again even though the answer is always the same or really cold.

[lauraallafics]

100/100: I love you through the years

Sentence included: I love you

Summary: During the years, Dan and Phil have said ‘I love you’ to each other more times than what they can count. This is a compilation of five of the most important.

Words: 1456

Warnings:  Swearing

A/N: It’s not beta’d and English is not my first language, so there might be mistakes. So... I’ve done it. 100 fics in a year. Not all of them had been good, but I’ve done it.

During the years, Dan and Phil have said ‘I love you’ to each other more times than what they can count. This is a compilation of five of the most important.

1. The first time.

Dan’s anxiety about visiting Phil for the first time disappeared the moment he was able to hug Phil. Something about that action gave him tranquility, and all his doubts about Phil not really wanting him to go there went away. Both of them stood in that hug a bit too much, but they didn’t mind. They could feel the other’s warmth entering colliding with their own, and it was an amazing feeling.

However, they had to pull away at some point, and when they did, it began the best day of their lives. Phil showed Manchester to Dan, who fell in love with it as soon as he walked its streets. They talked and joked and laughed around the city for the rest of the day, and Dan realized what happiness really was.

When both of them arrived to Phil’s house, Dan crashed into the bed with a smile on his face. Phil laughed a bit, and sat next to him, playing with his hair. Dan sighed content and leaned into Phil’s touch.

“You are like a cat,” Phil said, smiling. Dan moved just enough to look at him and stuck out his tongue.

“You love me like this.” Dan’s words left his mouth before he could think about them and once he realized what he had said, he turned around again so Phil couldn’t see how red his face was turning.

“Yeah, I think I actually love you,” Phil whispered, just enough for Dan to hear him. He sat up, to face Phil, seeing that he was blushing as much as he was. He smiled before talking again, in the same tone Phil had used.

“I think I love you too.”

This would be the beginning of their long history.

2. The existential crisis.

Phil had noticed Dan was stressed because of college. He wasn’t happy with the major he was studying… or with college at all. He wasn’t passing the subjects and he was anxious about it. He had started to eat less, talk less, sleep less… And Phil was worried.

He had tried to talk to him, but nothing worked. He closed himself every time the subject appeared which led to Dan getting out of the room and not talking to Phil for a few hours. Phil could see his suffering and started to think of plans to make him relax for a bit, just enough so he could not stress all the time about it.

“Dan, come here for a sec!” Phil called one day. The other boy was supposed to be studying, but he couldn’t care less. He needed to talk to him and make him listen.

“I’m studying, Phil. Can’t you come?” Phil heard from his room. He rolled his eyes and shouted back.

“No, I have a problem and I need you right now!” He swore he could her Dan sighing before his answer.

“Going!”

When Dan entered the lounge, he was met by Phil, running around him with a rope to tie him up. Dan screamed, but didn’t move while Phil tied the knot. Then Phil pushed him into the sofa with a satisfied smile on his face.

“Are you going to tell me why you’ve just tied me up or you just plan on observing how I lose my mind?” Dan said, trying to hide his smile. It had been funny watching Phil running around and the situation itself was quite delirious.

“I’ve done this because I love you, and I’m worried about you. Dan, you’ve had more mental breakdowns in these last months than in your whole life. I don’t want to just watch how you fall apart.”

“That’s why you’ve tied me up, so I won’t fall apart? Because that’s not very useful.” Dan’s words lightened the mood a bit making both of them laugh.

“Dan, I’m worried about you, and you never want to talk about it. This is the only way I could find to make you talk, or at least listen.” Dan nodded, making Phil continue. “I’m not saying that you need to quit or study less, that’s something you have to decide and I am not gonna influence you in that decision. What I want to say is, you should take some time to rest, manage better your time, have free days.” Dan sighed, but nodded.

“I know that. It’s just… When I’m not doing anything I feel like I’m doing nothing, like I wasting time. Could you help me with that?” Phil smiled and sat next to him, starting to untie him.

“Of course,” Phil said kissing him briefly on the lips.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

3. The end of a fight.

Shouts had been heard around the house only an hour ago. Dan and Phil were going through a difficult time, fighting about everything and spending less time with the other, trying to avoid the fights.

This last one had been one of the worst. Both of them had said things they were regretting and crying about. Each man was in his own room, crying silently in their beds, thinking about how they could fix what had just happened.

Phil was too emotionally drained to do anything this time. He would normally be the one who would knock on Dan’s door and apologize, and both of them would cry together until there weren’t more tears and everything was fine. However, Dan knew that this time it wouldn’t be like that. He had fucked up badly.

So he stood up, his face and eyes red from the tears that still rolled down his face. He went out of his room and spent ten minutes in front of Phil’s deciding if he should knock or not. After a bit of thinking, he regained the courage to do it, and he knocked softly on the door.

Phil opened the door almost immediately, and Dan’s heart broke. Phil’s hair was messy, as if he had been pulling it out of stress; his eyes were red, but no tears were to be seen, Dan supposed this was because he had cleaned them before opening; and he was paler than usual. Dan jumped to hug him once he saw this.

“I love you, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything I said before. I love you so so so so much,” Dan said really fast. Phil just hugged him tighter, not having the strength to say it back.

4. Moving.

“I love this place so much!”

Phil shout echoed through the empty halls. Dan laughed and the sound echoed with Phil’s words. They were in a now city, searching for a new beginning together. Their new flat was bigger than the one in Manchester and both of them were excited. They still had to take the boxes that they had outside into the flat and that meant climbing a million stairs with each box, but they didn’t care in that moment.

“I love this place, but I love you more than this place,” Dan said, hugging Phil from the back and resting his head on the other’s shoulder. He was now a bit taller than Phil and he was so glad he could do that. Phil turned around to kiss him.

“I love you too.”

5. Thinking about the future.

Dan and Phil had gone through everything together. Now, with a tour done and another tour to do, and a new house to live in; both of them couldn’t help but be glad to be together. They wouldn’t be there if it hadn’t been for the other, and that was just a fact.

They were lying on the bed, arms and legs tangled and smiles on their faces. They had had a conversation about the ‘what comes next’. What comes after the tour? What comes after the move to their definite house? But none of them mattered in the end.

“I don’t care about what comes next anymore. I’ll be happy if you are with me,” Dan had whispered.

“I love you; I love the man you have grown to be. I’m so glad that I could see you grow up into this amazing person that you are now.” Phil’s tone was as loud as Dan’s, which wasn’t loud at all.

“I love you too. I love that you have helped me grow and kept me sane and safe. Thank you for putting up with my shit and for loving me the way you do.”

And like that, they both fell into a silence that turned into sleep.