#but right now i am disgusted by his very name. i can't write right now.

[peninkwrites]

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[oweninadaydream]

𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧!𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : Steve and you interrupt your lazy afternoon to discuss a very serious (or is it?) matter...

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : Modern!Steve Harrington x fem!reader

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 : pregnant!reader, established relationship, just pure fluff

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 : 777

𝐚/𝐧 : I had lots of fun writing this at like 2 am lol. Hope you enjoy it! ☺️💐

Steve was in the kitchen, trying to cook dinner as fast as he could before your cravings had the chance to change and make you suddenly disgusted just by the smell of what he had been preparing for more than an hour. Today's delicatessen consisted of Hawaiian pizza with a side of pickles.

Normally, you would hate pineapple on pizza (you just can't stand mixing sweet and salty like that) and your hatred for pickles was known by all of your friends (specially by Robin, who had to hold up your hair as you vomited because she once gave you a bite of her sandwich which happened to contain the infamous ingredient), but your boyfriend wasn't willing to contradict his pregnant girlfriend who was extremely sensitive.

He was pulled out of his thoughts after hearing you call his name. "What's up, sweetheart? Everything okay?" he asked from his position.

"We need to have a very serious talk right now" you answered in a monotonous tone.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the end of Steve Harrington. After he felt that his heart had started pumping blood again, he hurried to the living-room where you had been chilling for most of the afternoon. You looked fine, there was nothing on fire and your stomach seemed as round as the last time he had seen it, so what was going on?

"Go on, I'm listening love" he encouraged you to begin revealing your thoughts.

"The baby is due in a couple of weeks and we haven't even decided which movies they're gonna watch in English and which ones in Spanish" the stress in your voice was easy to detect. Steve looked you straight in the eyes and he could swear that he had fallen in love with you all over again in that very instant. How could you be so adorable?

"Oh honey, I love you so so much" he cooed while leaving small kisses all over your face "we can discuss it now while the pizza is in the oven if you'd like" he offered.

Your native tongue was Spanish and ever since Steve and you started thinking about having children, you had known you'd raise your kids to be bilingual "They will not be no sabo kids, not on my watch".

Steve was more than thrilled at the thought of mini versions of you and him walking around, babbling in some strange form of spanglish. He had taken up Spanish after meeting you, and even though he was not the fastest learner, his disposition had taken him very far in his journey to be closer to you through language.

"Okay, so do you have any ideas?" he asked "Actually, yes I do" you quickly changed your expression to show enthusiasm "I've got a mental list of some non-negotiables. First, Enredados"

Steve hummed in acknowledgment as he had already guessed you would say Tangled, your mom's favorite Disney movie. Your mother didn't understand much English so this was a logical choice, as she wanted to watch the film with her grandchild and bond over it.

"Then, we've got Tarzan" "Tarzan?! The guy that sings the songs in the Spanish version is the same guy as in the English one, Phil Collins's accent is obvious. Also, y'know, it was my favorite movie as a kid" he tried to argue in a calm manner "...Well, I guess you're right. They can watch that one in the original version" One point to Harrington.

"What if you suggest one? I wouldn't want to impose" you commented. "Don't worry cielo, you keep going and I'll think of one or two more for me to choose" the fact that the first words he learnt were the pet names you liked the most was just one of the many proofs of his love for you " All right!!! So I had thought about El Rey León, Tiana y el sapo, Bichos, Aladdín..." you then proceeded to list almost every animated Disney movie. Steve could have stopped you at any point but the enamored haze clouding his thinking process wanted to indulge in your every desire.

The oven started beeping, alerting both Steve and you that dinner was officially ready. "Let's go, it's time for dinner" "But, what about the movies?" you pouted "Mi amor, we can do whatever you want in regards to our child's cinematic experience" "The bedtime stories can be in English, your dramatic interpretation of The three little pigs will impress them for sure" you suggested after realizing that you had monopolized the whole Disney films industry and feeling bad about it "Thank you, darling. Practice makes perfect"

Happy girlfriend, happy life, right?

P.D : Phil Collins ate and left no crumbs in the Spanish soundtrack, we appreciate him in this house !!!

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

S/O and skeleton are secretly dating but haven't told Skeleton's brother yet. Until one day, S/O comes to Skeleton's house and says that they forgot their underwear and give them to him, right in front of his brother. Reaction of their brother?

Undertale Sans - He does the dramatic slow turn towards Papyrus, completely in shock. You're dating someone and you don't even tell your big brother? Oh shame on you. Shame on your cow. You're getting a hundred years of teasing as a punishment. Papyrus refuses to meet his eyes. He KNOWS what will happen the second he will.

Undertale Papyrus - Today is Papyrus' day. Well, every day is Papyrus day but this particular day is the day of his absolute triumph over the tyranny of Sans' terrible jokes and puns as the universe had finally given him the power to retaliate by making Sans blush to hell with a single stare. He is going to abuse that power and flush Sans for weeks, not leaving him one second of peace anymore. Papyrus knows and he wants Sans to know he knows by any means possible.

Underswap Sans - He's in shock, he thinks. He suspected his brother was in love because Honey was not exactly hiding it, but this? This is a thing no big brother wants to know. Honey is devastated and won't stop apologizing but Blue is frozen. He thinks he hasn't blinked in the last hour, just staring at his brother in disbelief. What.

Underswap Papyrus - He's not that shocked actually. Blue is a charmer and he had a few partners already, some weirder than others. He just assumes it's another weird one lol. No big deal. He still tells his brother he will make sure he doesn't lose his underwear again by writing his name on them just to see Blue brutally flush. Little revenge, you know.

Underfell Sans - Red stares in disbelief, as his brother smooches his human. That's absolutely disgusting. He can't stop staring at the bag with the underwear. Disgusting, really. He has to snap his attention back at his brother as he starts to chuckle. Red gives him a dark stare. "WHAT IS IT BROTHER? JEALOUS MY BIG BONE IS MORE EFFICIENT THAN YOURS? DON'T BE, YOU'LL BE AS TALENTED AS I AM. ... EVENTUALLY." Red gasps, offended. Now he's not disgusted, he's mad!

Underfell Papyrus - He opens the door and screams "FINALLY MY BROTHER IS NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE" before Red jumps on his back and starts to beat him up to make him shut up. Edge can't stop laughing hysterically at his misery, not feeling remorse for even one second. That's revenge for his endless teasing the first time he dated someone.

Horrortale Sans - .... He closes his eyes and begs his brain to forget what he just witnessed. Ironically, that's one of the few things he can't unsee. Like, never. Every time he sees his brother, he sees his underwear. This is a nightmare. Why does the universe hate him so much? Willow is wondering why his brother is looking at him in complete silence like a rabbit stuck in the lights of a car. It's going to happen a lot in the next few days.

Horrortale Papyrus - He says nothing when it happens, but is quick to escape the house. He runs to Toriel's house and tells her everything lol. He needs someone to fangirl with and Toriel has always been good for that. When Oak and his human get out of the house, he can only stare, confused, as Willow and Toriel are more or less hiding behind the bushes despite being ridiculously tall, spying on him.

Swapfell Sans - He rolls his eyes at Rus, annoyed. It's not the first time it has happened and it certainly won't be the last. He has pity for this new human who will have their heart broken eventually like the twenty or so before.

Swapfell Papyrus - Rus chokes on what he was drinking, then slowly turns to his brother, who is bright purple. Nox is very secretive about his relationships and he for sure didn't expect that to occur. Rus is never letting him hear the end of this after that accident. Nox knows his peace is over forever.

Fellswap Gold Sans - He lost his inferior jaw, quite literally. Coffee is embarrassed, but actually not that shy anymore. WHAT?! What the hell happened? He has the best spying tools on the continent and he didn't see his brother was in a relationship. How blind he is? He's questioning all his skills right now. Also what the hell, his brother is in a relationship! That's terrible!

Fellswap Gold Papyrus - Coffee says nothing, trying to not let the thoughts win. But they won anyway and he suddenly screams "wait, does that mean you didn't wear underwear when you got home? how did you not notice????" before blushing furiously when Wine looks his way and teleporting out of panic into his room to hide in his wardrobe in shame lol.

[filmbyjy]

IT TAKES TWO

PAIRING: nishimura riki x fem!reader

SUMMARY: you've always despised nishimura riki. ever since he decided to jump onto the next girl when you broke up with him. your love for him lingered and you missed him. however, you knew he didn't like you anymore. or maybe he still did?

WARNINGS: this decently angsty and honestly idk what I even wrote. cursing and tons of them! very childish fighting between ni-ki and you. my brain can't comprehend wtf i wrote. kissing! idk if that's a warning.

WORD COUNT: 4.8K words

taglist[perm]: @ja4hyvn @ahnneyong @milklix @kar0ki @sugarsunoo

a/n: okay I lied. this has been in my drafts since 2022 but like still it’s been a year😀oh i didn't exactly proofread this. i did check the grammar a little whilst trying to write but it's not fully proofread.

you pushed yourself off the ground, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. the mirrors were fogging up, a true sign of hard work had been done.

“great job (name). that would be all for today.” heeseung, a senior of the dance club, says. you smiled at him.

“thank you sunbae.” heeseung chuckles.

“you don’t have to call me sunbae (name)-ah. we can speak casually, of course i’m still older than you so you have to use a little formality.” you shyly looked away.

“o-oh alright heeseung sunba-i mean heeseung oppa.”

“better.” he ruffles your hair.

“hey hyung, are you done with her? jay hyung has been looking for you.” ni-ki says.

you gave him a hard glare. now, you may ask who was this ni-ki guy. well he was nishimura riki, a classmate of yours.

heeseung nods and he sends a small smile to you before leaving the place. ni-ki rolls his eyes.

“you do realise heeseung hyung has a girlfriend right?”

“yeah.” you in fact did not hence you formed a painfully obvious crush on him. “why do you care anyways?” you growled at ni-ki.

“jeez calm down tiger, I just noticed how you always try too hard to get heeseung hyung to notice you. it’s clear he has already set boundaries between you and him. he sees you as his little sister.”

“shut the fuck up.” ni-ki smirks.

“and what if I don’t, lee?”

“well nishimura, both you and I know this wouldn’t end nicely so I suggest you shut the fuck up before I make you.” you stare at him hard.

“think I’m afraid of you Lee? just cause your brother is Lee Minho? captain of the dance club? your dear brother loves me (name)-ie.”

you gave ni-ki the finger and left with your things.

ah the dynamic between you and the boy. the tension was too high, even your brother thought so.

“that’s where you are, what took you so long.” minho whines.

“save that whining for jisung. ah wait, forgot you are probably stuffing your tongue down his throat instead.”

“yahhh what’s with the uptight behaviour?”

“you know why Minho.”

“you and riki kid again? oh lord, you two are like cats and water. enemies.”

“you’re just saying that because soongie wouldn’t get in the bath water.”

“SHE WAS CLAWING ON ME AND THAT SHIT HURT.”

“cut her nails then.”

“what? no! she has to use those nails to attack anyone I hate. I’m training her, she’s our fiesty lion.”

“and how is training going?” you looked over at Minho.

“not well…”

“there’s your answer, let her live. she probably already hates you more than ever.”

“SHE DOESNT. YOU’RE JUST UPSET RIKI HASN'T KISS YOU YET!”

“now why would I want that demon child to kiss me?”

“the tension (name), do you not feel it?”

“no mr.krabs, I am not feeling it. the only tension I’m feeling is our hatred for each other.”

“yeah but that tension can be something more…like sexual tension.” you gave your big brother a smack on the head.

“we are 17, Lee Minho. get your mind out of the fucking gutter. moreover, I would never kiss someone like nishimura.”

“oh you two go by first name basis, watch him call you Mrs.Nishimura.”

“in your dreams.”

“BABEEE!!!” jisung clings onto Minho’s arms. minho leaves a cute little peck on the boy’s lips.

“ugh you two are disgusting.” you grumbled.

“hyungie, think we should find a boyfriend for (name)? she’s kinda extra spicy today.” jisung says.

“ay fuck you, you’re lucky you’re my brother’s boyfriend or else I would have roundhouse your ass a long time ago.”

“hyungie, she scares me.” jisung hides behind minho.

“(name), please don’t scare jisung. Oh and sungie, she just finished an argument with riki and she’s tired from dance practice. just let her live okay?”

“but she needs to release her tension.”

“you and everyone else are the same. I already told you that me and nishimura do not have any sort of tension besides the hatred we have for each other!”

“then if you don't, why don’t you go out and find a boyfriend? I bet you’d be a hundred percent way more happier.” jisung says.

“I would’ve had a boyfriend if I wasn’t a coward and confessed to heeseung sunbae and if he didn’t have a girlfriend!” you yelled. you froze after saying so.

“you like heeseung?” your brother says.

“minho, please don’t tell him. it’s no use of telling him if he already has a girlfriend.”

“he doesn’t have a girlfriend the last time I checked?” jisung says.

“what?”

“who told you that?” jisung asks.

“ni-ki.”

both minho and jisung shared a knowing look.

“(name), have you ever thought riki might have a crush on you? hence he said heeseung had a girlfriend?”

“what? why would he like me when he fucking hates my guts.”

“look (name), both you and riki are really dense and we hate it. we can tell the both of you like each other.” jisung says.

“you’re talking fucking nonsense, jisung.”

“(name).” minho looks at you.

“just drive me home and then you can go on your little date with jisung.” you shut your brother down. Minho sighs.

“alright, you’re okay with being alone at home with the cats right? mom and dad won’t be home early tonight.”

“are they ever home early?” minho wanted to answer but he couldn’t because it was true, when were they ever home.

he drives you home and drops you off. he rolls down the window.

“how about you order something if you’re hungry or-”

“i’m not going to the nishimura’s.”

“mrs.nishimura is usually home so if you want some home cooked food. I suggest going over.”

“yeah yeah. have fun on your date you two.” you rolled your eyes.

“(name), don’t do anything okay?” minho says.

“like what? have sex? that’s what you two are gonna do.”

“we aren’t-(name)!” jisung blushes.

“just get in the house, dork.” minho says.

“yes, my dear brother.” you bowed and went to open the door.

you entered your home and were instantly swarmed with Minho’s cats.

“doongie, dori where is your sister?” you asked the two cats. dori meows and walks, seems like it was trying to lead you somewhere.

you followed the cat and well you found someone in the backyard petting soongie.

“nishimura riki.” you mumbled under your breath. you watched him smile and pet the tabby cat. it rubs itself on the boy happily, tail curling in happiness.

why did he look so cute? wait-

the boy senses a presence looking at him and as such, he looks up. you stay frozen in your spot. he stands up and opens your back door.

“had fun staring (name).” ni-ki smirks.

“fuck off.”

“how cute, got you all flustered huh.” he teases.

“very funny. why would you get me flustered, nishimura.” you rolled your eyes.

“well, lee. if a good looking guy like me enters someone’s home and they are alone…why wouldn’t any girl get flustered?”

“that just makes you a pervert.” you bite back. ni-ki scoffs.

“fair enough. anyways, I’m here cause my mom told me to call you and your brother over but seeing as to how he left with his boyfriend…you’re home alone.”

“I can handle being home alone myself. I’m not a baby.”

“you wouldn’t be saying that when you were 13.” you gave the boy a sharp glare.

“I told you to not talk about when we were 13. also, can you stop bringing up the past? the past where you hurt me?”

“when did I ever hurt you?” ni-ki says.

“when we fucking broke up.”

“we were young, we both made mistakes. there is nothing for you to dwell over the past we had.” ni-ki rolls his eyes.

“you’re right. I shouldn’t dwell over it but I can’t stop these feelings.” a tear falls. “get out. you’ve already hurt me enough and you’ve lied to me a lot. there is no point of us seeing each other anymore.”

[flashback, 4 years ago]

both you and ni-ki were young and very much in love. no one knew you two dated, everyone only assumed you two were best friends. not even your family or his. which was weird considering the amount of time you two spent together, guess no one really cared.

he was popular with everyone and you were decently acquainted with everyone. there were tons of sneaky dates at the library and maybe cute little pecks here and there. they were innocent of course. that’s how your love was, an innocent puppy love.

but you wanted something more…serious. you sincerely loved ni-ki. you wanted it to continue in the future years and you even thought about marrying him. you were too in love with him. however, ni-ki just wanted something casual. he was too immature and young to think about getting in a serious relationship.

so he has never admitted he loved you. yeah, he confessed but he hasn’t said ‘I love you’. one day, you had confronted him.

“I love you, ni-ki.” you say.

the boy sits there stunned.

“love? don’t normally people who are in a serious relationship say that?” he questions.

“are we not in a serious relationship?” you asked. the boy laughs.

“why would we be? we are young. I still haven’t grown a beard!”

“so you don’t love me?”

“I like you but that doesn’t mean I realise that I want to truly like you with my full heart.”

“oh.”

“I still have many other girls after me, you don’t have to be the only girl I like. besides, we are also best friends. it’s kinda weird still.” he says.

“let’s break up.” you say not looking up at ni-ki.

“okay.” you looked up at him. how could he so casually say that? “i’ve been meaning to start dating aria from our class anyways. think I should ask her out now?”

no remorse whatsoever. that’s when your hatred grew for him.

“go ahead and fucking date her. I’m not your girlfriend anymore and neither am I your best friend anymore.” you threw the necklace. the necklace signified your friendship of 3 years. it was a matching one with ni-ki’s but since you two were officially not friends anymore you gave it back to him.

“what? we can still be friends (name).”

“not with someone who broke my heart.” you say. you cried on the way home. that night, minho had comforted you despite not knowing what happened.

he vowed to hurt the person who hurt you but up till now…he didn’t know it was ni-ki. the person he trusted the most.

[present time]

ni-ki knows you were crying. he remembers the day you had broken up with him. he was stupid he knows. which was why…he vowed to get you back and never let you go again.

but he can’t. he doesn’t know how to. the only thing he was good at was breaking your heart. he was bad at love and he was also afraid. which was why he couldn’t bring himself to hold you close.

he leaves your home. never to come back even though he really wanted to.

the boy enters his home, his mother eyeing his slumped shoulders.

“what happened? why isn’t (name) with you? she’s supposed to have dinner with us. also where is minho?”

“she’s not going to come. minho hyung is out with his boyfriend.”

“what do you mean she’s not coming. it’s dangerous for her to be alone in the house. go watch over her.”

“mom, she’s turning 17 and she’s pretty much independent. I don’t need to watch her.” ni-ki huffs.

“did you two have a fight? riki, sweetie you need to be less assertive. (name) is a sweet girl, you need to be gentle with her.”

“mom, can I please just get to my room?” Mrs.Nishimura sighs.

“fine, I'll just go over then. dinner is on the dining table, have some before you go playing your video games all night as per usual.” ni-ki hums. his mother going over to your home.

you hear a small knock at your door and went to open it. Mrs.Nishimura pulls you into a hug.

“did ni-ki hurt you again (name)? if so, I’m so sorry for my son’s behaviour. I have no idea why he is like this when the both of you were so close in the past.”

she quickly checks up on your face. it was obvious you had just finished crying, she sighs.

“I am so sorry this happened (name).”

“it’s fine Mrs.Nishimura.”

“no, it’s not. he is my son. you two were friends and out of nowhere you two just stopped being friends. I should have prevented it, I should have seen it coming.”

“it’s not your fault Mrs.Nishimura. it was ours, we-” should you really tell her? both you and Mrs.Nishimura were really close. even back then when you were younger.

“what happened sweetheart?”

“we used to date.” Mrs.Nishimura gasps.

“oh my, what did my son do to you?” she asks.

“we were too young, we didn’t know about love. well, mostly ni-ki. I wanted it to be sort of serious but ni-ki didn’t. he said something along the lines of me not being the only one he might fall in love with and there was no guarantee that he might still like me. I broke up with him and he was okay with it. I-” you start to choke up, “I love him.”

this stunned Mrs.Nishimura. she never thought this would happen. she knew it was hard for you and how much you’ve gone through with the heartbreak. she holds you close as you cried on her shoulder.

“oh sweetheart, I’m so sorry this happened to you. I didn’t know you two were once lovers. while I’m happy that you two did date, whatever my son did is not right.” she says to comfort you.

once you’ve calmed down, she caresses your cheek.

“how about you have dinner okay? it will make you feel better and if you’d like, we can chat some more and talk about what happened.”

“thank you, Mrs.Nishimura.”

“oh sweetheart, you can call me aunty. only if you’re comfortable of course.”

“thank you aunty.” she smiles before pointing to the thermal bag.

“go eat sweetie, I need to run back to my house to give my son a big scolding.” she says before she steps away. you held onto her wrist and she turns back to you.

“aunty, can you please not tell him? I don’t want him to find out that you know about our past relationship.”

“of course, sweetheart. in that case, I’ll just grab something for you instead. a sweet treat or something.” she smiles at you before she leaves.

you sighed. at least you didn’t have to lie to Mrs.Nishimura about why you and ni-ki fell out of the close bond.

the next day, you were walking to your class when ni-ki pulls you somewhere secluded. well not so secluded, it was just an empty classroom. the moment he stopped, you pulled your hands away from him, giving him the scariest glare you could do.

“what do you want?”

“my mom.”

did Mrs.Nishimura tell him?

“she knows about us.” ah so she did.

“and what about it? what we had was in the past, why do you care if she knows?”

“because she’s my mom (name). she was never supposed to find out about us.”

“you’ve always wanted to keep us a secret. have you ever thought about telling her or your dad eventually?”

“never.” ni-ki says

“oh wow, how selfish of you. i can't believe you. this is why we broke up. you never thought of being in a serious relationship with me, you never wanted to show me off and you wanted me to be a secret. I never wanted to be your sneaky link.”

“who said you were my sneaky link? (name), I liked you.”

“oh really? remember all those dates we had? hidden, kept away, that’s all i was. then with what you said after we broke up? you wanted to date another girl after I literally just ended the relationship. do you ever have remorse? was I ever someone important to you?”

“of course (name). you have always been the most important to me.”

“cut with the bullshit, riki. If you had ever liked me, you should have stopped me from breaking up with you but you didn’t. you left me to cry for days, get sick and made me hate myself for so long. do you know how hurt i was? i genuinely thought i’d die from crying so much. and why? because i loved you. that’s how much i liked your stupid ass and now i’ve sort of moved on from you, you stop me from getting the happiness i deserve? why are you toying with my feelings?”

by now, tears were already flowing across your cheeks. the silence was deafening and you just wanted to leave, and so you tried to but not without ni-ki pulling on your wrist and pulling you into a hug. you don’t even register he was hugging you until you feel your shoulders getting wet. ni-ki was crying, he let his walls down.

“i’m so fucking sorry.” ni-ki whispers. you tried to push him away but he only holds onto you tighter. “please, don’t leave me.” he whispers again.

you stood there frozen, you let ni-ki cry on your shoulders. you were already late to class so a few more minutes with ni-ki wouldn’t hurt or it possibly could. you feel small pecks on your neck, something ni-ki did in the past while he was cuddling with you. he freezes and lets you go.

“i-i’m sorry. i shouldn’t have overstepped your boundaries. we aren’t dating anymore and you have feelings for someone else now. i should respect that. i should go.” ni-ki leaves the room.

your heart still longed for him no matter if he hurt you multiple times, you wanted him to be selfish for once and realise that he is worthy of you. 

“nishimura riki, you have once again hurt me.” you couldn’t cry anymore even if you wanted to, you just went to class.

after school, you went to the dance studio. heeseung obviously knows you weren’t okay so he stops you from continuing the routine.

“hey, are you okay?”

“yeah, i’m fine.”

“(name). you know you can always trust me.” you breathed in.

“heeseung oppa, i like you.” heeseung’s eyes widened.

“oh, (name). umm, i’m sorry but i don’t see you like that.” he says trying to let you down in the most gentle way possible. you felt like crying and not because of heeseung but because of ni-ki. a tear slips out and heeseung panics.

“h-hey, i’m sorry. you don’t have to cry.” he wipes the tears falling. you laughed while trying to wipe the falling tears.

“it’s okay, i’m not crying because of the rejection.”

“oh, then what’s wrong?”

“ni-ki.” you say. heeseung tilts his head, you told him what happened. he was a little shocked to find out the reason why you two were enemies in the first place.

“(name), i think you should be upfront with him. tell him how you really feel, how much you still like him. ni-ki hasn’t dated anyone else and we have been wondering why. he never talks about why so we thought something happened, we never thought you were the reason why.”

“you make me sound so evil.”

“(name), you know that’s not what i mean.” heeseung huffs. you giggled.

“i know.” you hear the door crack open and followed by a slap on the arm and complaints. heeseung facepalms.

“boys.” heeseung says. they pile out. “how long have you been standing there for?”

“since (name) confessed to you.” jake says. sunghoon slaps the boy’s arm.

“curse you for being painfully truthful.” sunghoon whines.

jake shrugs, “well, i am not going to just lie about it.”

“we were eavesdropping, that’s equally as bad as lying.” jay says. jake pouts.

“well all of you know why me and ni-ki hate each other. even you minho.” you say. minho walks out from behind sunghoon, awkwardly laughing.

“sorry, (name). anyways, doesn’t that mean the reason why you cried so much when you were thirteen-”

“was because ni-ki and i broke up. yes, that’s why i cried so much.”

“oh my baby sister.” minho goes to hug you and you pushed him away. “I’m so sorry your heart got broken by a pubescent 13 year old boy.” you smacked his arm.

“god why did i have to have you as my brother.” you groaned.

“you love me (name).” minho says.

“yeah, unfortunately.” minho huffs at your words.

“okay so how are we going to get ni-ki to confess to you again.” jake says.

“jake there is no point. that boy is stubborn.” you say.

“you’re right, you should date me instead.” sunghoon says.

“dude, now is not the time to say this!” jay says.

“I was kidding. I mean, i’m park sunghoon. i’m sure, anyone would love to date me.” minho high-fives sunghoon.

“that’s my fav boy.” he says. you scoffed.

“let’s just drop this.” you grabbed your things and left the studio. minho runs after you.

“(name). come on, you have a whole team who are more than prepared to give you that cute high school relationship!”

“minho, i already said to drop it. I really don’t want to go through this whole problem over a boy who doesn’t like me.”

“are you sure he doesn’t like you, (name)?”

at minho’s words, your mind replays what happened earlier in the classroom.

“don’t leave me, please.”

ni-ki cried. he was never one to show his feelings. that was his most vulnerable state that you’ve seen him in. 

“yes, he doesn’t like me.” you say. you weren’t sure yourself.

“you’re denying it. i can see it in your eyes. you know something that we don’t.”

“minho, i just really don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m tired.” you say. minho takes note of the painful tone you had. your voice wavered.

“alright, i’ll stop. you should go home.” you nod at his words and went home. minho sighs and goes back to where the others were.

“hyung, how did it go?”

“nothing much. i think it’s best if we ask ni-ki. the both of them used to date each other, clearly they still like each other.” minho says.

“jungwon, do you know where ni-ki’s class is?”

“of course, follow me.”

however, when they went to find ni-ki he was nowhere to be found. they decided to visit his home. as for you, as you were about to open the door. you could hear mewls coming from inside, you were worried about the cats so you went in. you noticed the cats surrounding ni-ki as he cries.

“why are you here and also you practically broke into my house.”

ni-ki was alarmed, “i’m sorry. i just walked in here aimlessly. my house is also locked and i don’t have the keys.”

“don’t you have classes in afternoon?”

“I didn’t go.”

“oh.”

ni-ki shivers. you went towards and placed a hand on his forehead. you sighed.

“you’re having a fever. come on, how about you go take a warm shower and then lay in the guest bedroom. i’ll grab some medicine from the cabinet.” you went to walk away but ni-ki grabs your wrist.

“don’t leave me, please.” he weakly says.

“I won’t, i’ll be here in the house while you go bathe. i need to grab clothes for you too.” ni-ki nods. he stands up to go to the bathroom. you left him a towel outside the door and clothes on the bed. you shut the bedroom door.

why were you suddenly taking care of ni-ki? he was the one who hurt you constantly and here you were. you shouldn’t be doing this. your heart aches. you decided to make him some warm honey water and grab the medicine from the cabinet. maybe you should make him a little something to eat, you weren’t sure if he even ate lunch. how did he even get sick in the first place?

you decided to make him a sandwich since it was the only easy thing you were able to prepare. you knocked on the door with a tray in your other hand. you heard ni-ki mutter ‘come in’ so you entered. you nearly froze in your steps when you noticed the hoodie he had on. it was the hoodie you had gifted him with while you were dating, it fit just nice since ni-ki had grown quite a lot.

the boy tries to dry his hair with the towel you handed him with. you placed down the tray onto the nightstand before grabbing the towel and helping him dry his hair. it was an unconscious gesture since you used to help ni-ki dry his hair after he finished bathing. he stays quiet. once you were done, you looked down at him. he was looking up at you and you looked away.

“i made something for you to eat before you have your medicine. there’s honey water too in case your throat is soar. I’ll be in my room-”

“stay, please.” he voices out.

“I have to study.”

“then study here. i need you, please.”

your heart races. you sighed.

“fine, i’ll grab my things and study here.” ni-ki nods and you go to grab your study materials and notes. you came back and placed your materials on the ground.

“you can do the work on the bed.”

“with you on the bed? i’m not your friend, nishimura.”

“i’m sick and you are technically responsible for me.”

“i am not responsible for you-”

“you saw me and helped me. this means you are responsible for me.”

“what are you? five?”

“you used to care for me when we were dating.”

“please stop bringing up the past.”

“the past that i miss.” ni-ki says. You froze.

“don’t lie to me. you never missed me. you only wanted to fool around.”

“I regret saying that.”

“well too bad, nishimura. we broke up. that’s it, that was the end of us.”

“it doesn’t have to end, (name).”

“if i gave you another chance, you’d just throw it away again.”

“i wouldn’t.”

“ni-ki.” you say.

“(name), i really really love you.”

what was this sick joke he was playing.

“i used to look forward to hearing you say that but now it just seems like a joke to me. you don’t have to put pity on me. i know i was desperate back when we were young. i just really liked you so much.”

“i am not joking with you, (name).”

“prove it then. if you love me so much.”

“I’m sick, (name).”

“well, that sucks then-” ni-ki leans in and kisses you. your eyes widened, you could feel his lips moving against yours. this was really passionate but soft. ni-ki has never kissed you like this before. your eyes flutter shut and you kissed him back.

ni-ki sighs into the kiss, his hands reaches up to your cheek to hold it. he tilts his head to slightly deepen the kiss. one that shows how much he treasured you and how sorry he felt for hurting you. you pulled away.

“i love you.” he says it once again.

“ni-ki, we can’t make this official.”

“i know. i’ve hurt you a bunch of times. we’ll take it slow.” you nod.

“i need to trust you first. i can’t bring myself to just forgive you.”

“alright. can i at least hold you?”

you nod before climbing into the bed. he wraps his arms around your waist. the both of you laid down on the bed. it was a little awkward but ni-ki still felt at ease knowing he was able to hold you.

A year later, you were in your bedroom playing games with ni-ki. he attempts to sabotage you in mario kart.

“yah, ni-ki!”

“too bad, babe!” he sticks out his tongue.

“hey! you guys started the game without us!” jake huffs. both you and ni-ki smirked at each other.

“we started first because i wanted to play a round with my girlfriend.”

“urgh, i am not over this. it’s been 5 months since you two started dating and you’re already pulling the ‘couple’ card.” jay says.

“oh, it’s been 5 months?” you say.

“5 months with my beautiful girl.” ni-ki squeezes you and pecks your cheek.

jungwon gags at the sight, “I liked it better when they fought.” 

“i have to agree with that.” minho says.

“young love.” heeseung shrugs.

“let’s back out of the game so they can play, ni-ki.” you pat his arm.

“okay.”

“IM PLAYING AS PRINCESS PEACH!” sunoo yells.

in the end, you got your happy ending.

with the same boy who hurt you.

nishimura riki.

[jestersfinaljest]

Could you write for the wonderful, amazing, beautiful, silly Ace Trappola? Like him falling in love with a male reader who isn’t the prefect and is just a normal student and is totally in denial that he’s gay? (Sorry if that doesn’t make sense)

｡.｡:∞♡*♥ ︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶┊┊❁ཻུ۪۪♡ ͎. ｡˚ °

‘Okay, I’m man enough to admit when a guy is pretty, I mean, Pomefiore guys have some pretty guys, I am confident in my sexuality to admit that!’ Is what Ace kept telling himself. He had quite literally bumped into a student, just a student from another dorm, just a normal student. A totally normal student who had made his heart pound in his chest. Ever since that encounter, Ace has been out of it, making up excuses in his head, saying things to himself like, “I’m not gay, I can’t be.” or “My heart was beating like that for different reasons!” But deep down, he knew he couldn’t deny it.

The student he had bumped into had very little thoughts about the ‘incident’, sure he thought about it a couple of times, seeing the ginger’s flushed face before he ran off, leaving him slightly confused with a newfound liking. He just stood there after the ginger ran away, questioning a little bit, but nothing he wouldn’t lose sleep over.

Ace, on the other hand, lost tons of sleep, waking up from dreams of kissing or cuddling with the student. 'I don't even know his name! And now I'm having dreams about him??? This is crazy, this didn't even happen with my girlfriend in middle school!!' The more he kept denying that he may have a thing for the student he bumped into, the more the student was on his mind. He had seen him around NRC, just peacefully walking around or chatting with a friend, and every time he did he made a beeline to the opposite direction of him. Now come on, Ace thought he did a good job keeping his little problem under wraps, but it's Ace we're talking about. The ginger got distracted during so many basketball practices that it got the attention of Jamil and Floyd. They didn't bring it up, yet, but time will tell when they would. Deuce and the Prefect had brought it up though.

"I'm just saying, you seem to be pretty distracted lately, we're just concerned is all." The Prefect had told him, Deuce standing next to them nodding full heartily. "Yeah, so what's got you like this? It's weird hanging out with you when you're not so loud and annoying." His arms were crossed over his chest, continuously nodding like he was only saying good things. Grim was too distracted with eating a can of tuna Prefect had bought him from Sam's store to even care what the topic of the conversation was about.

"I'm fine! It's just.." Ace felt hesitant to tell them about the feelings he had so desperately wanted to leave. He wasn't sure how they'd take it, I mean, in an all-boys school? What if they get disgusted by him and think he's weird or gross? These are concerns he'd never think he'd have to think about. "I think I might like the guy I bumped into a week ago, okay??! And I've been stressing with these feelings because I just can't be gay, can I??" Ace felt a weight being lifted off his heart, and then a heavier one dropped down. His heart pounded with anxiety and fear at their reaction.

"Well, why not? Being gay is normal. It's not necessarily a bad thing, you know." Prefect had said something first, shrugging their shoulders. "There's probably a lot of gay people in NRC, I already have a couple of suspicions..." They trailed off, looking away to the side. Deuce, once again, nodded in agreement before stopping himself. "Yeah, that's right--What, uhh, no. Not that last part, uhm, anyway...What me and Prefect mean is that we don't mind who you like because, at the end of the day, you're still our friend!"

A truly lovely and heartwarming scene for Ace, who was given love, support, and confidence to talk to the student! After sorting out his feelings and emotions, he went out and walked around campus for a bit, searching for the student. Around ten minutes passed and he finally found him, sitting on a bench in the courtyard, on his phone. He summoned all of his courage and sat down next to him, his leg starting to bounce out of nervousness. The student had heard someone sit next to him, and by Seven, did Ace feel something when the student clearly brightened up seeing his face.

"Oh, hey! It's you, the guy who bumped into me and then ran away!" He chuckled lightly and turned his head to face Ace, who was feeling extremely jittery and suddenly a bit aware. "Ah, yeah, uhm, I'm sorry about that...I just wanted to apologize for that. I'm Ace Trappola, freshman." The student nodded, "Apologize accepted. [Name]'s the name, also freshmen." Ace felt his heart skip a beat, he finally knew his name. They both stayed silent for a while, too awkward to say anything, maybe.

After a moment or two, one of them finally spoke up, neither of them knew who said it at the time, but one of the two knuckleheads blurted out,

"I think you're pretty cute...!"

Cue matching red faces and a pair of freshmen with no clue what to do now.

______________________________________________________________

a/n: i am so sorry if this is not what you wanted, i usually work better when i have thorough details, since i always want to give the reader exactly what they want so...but thank you for requesting!! this is my first time writing for someone who isnt a friend.

[happilychaengs]

Nayeon - Tapes

a/n: had a spark of inspiration. this entire thing is from nayeon's pov. this took a lot of courage to even try and i don't know if this was worth posting or not but i tried doing something new, plot wise and writing wise. didn't proofread so it may have some errors.

word count: 1,219

angst

nayeon x gender neutral reader

When the doorbell rang, I almost couldn't bring myself to stand up and answer it. Not until I heard your name.

"Package for Y/N!" I... couldn't believe it. My chest was tight. My head hurt.

When I saw a box with your name signed on it at my doorstep, everything I've held back finally burst through the floodgates. I cried and cried, each tear staining the cardboard box even more than the last.

I almost didn't have the courage to bring it in but something in me needed to know what it was. There were so many tapes inside, each labeled with different dates. Now I know why you got me a VHS player all those months ago.

Tape 1 - 9/25/21

There you were with a happy smile. As happy as you could have been when you were in a hospital gown, all those syringes pinned inside your arm. You sat down in front of a white wall and yet your eyes were still so bright, almost somehow filling the entire screen with color. You looked so hopeful.

"Hi Nayeon!" You waved directly to the camera with a bright smile and almost for a second, I feel like I'm with you again. Like I'm standing in front of you just having a conversation like any ordinary day with you.

You say all the right things to make me smile despite it all. "I miss you tons already, Nayeon. All these doctors have just been feeding me so much medicine and it's all so disgusting!" You stick your tongue out playfully in disgust, a habit you've picked up from your older sister.

"And all the nurses have been side eyeing me lately for some reason. Maybe it was because I ate another sandwich when they told me not to... oops!" You laugh again and it rings in my ears so clearly. I loved your hearty laugh. The way it always made me laugh too and you'd tease me for it saying I shouldn't be laughing at you.

"I didn't want to sit in my bed all day and watch old people television so I asked for some favors and here I am now before you! Your great protector Y/N!" A nickname you gave yourself when you once killed a cockroach that crawled into my shoes.

"I also know I've been out of tune with the trends lately but I learned this from Jeongyeon when she visited earlier!" Then you dabbed like it wasn't a dead trend for years already, you giggling to yourself as you did it. God, you and Jeongyeon were such dorks together. I wish you knew she misses you a lot too.

Then a person, maybe a doctor or a nurse, was heard outside your room. Something about you going to get your treatment. You just nodded at them as you looked back to the camera, your smile still on your face.

"That's all for now, Nay! But don't worry! I'll be back!" You said in that annoying terminator impression of yours that I secretly loved. I wish I told you.

Tape 2 - 10/01/21

"Happy Anniversary, darling!" You shouted as you pulled on a small confetti popper. "I'm really sorry that we can't celebrate our anniversary together because of me but I wanted to record this to tell you how much I love you!"

You pulled out a small piece of paper which I could definitely recognize as a poem. You always did that on our anniversaries. Something new and original every year albeit sometimes they didn't make sense because you wanted to rhyme but that didn't matter. I loved them all.

Clearing your throat, you read it aloud with a stupid accent you say is 'just like Shakespeare!'

"Like a sunshine to the horizon, you were bound to light up my world.

Like water to the ocean, I feel like we're inseparable.

Whatever I say is true, I give you my word.

You're my one true love, irreplaceable.

Even when I sit here surrounded by death,

The thought of you gives me life.

I wish to love you till my very last breath,

So someday I may call you my wife."

You folded up the paper and set it down, staring directly at the camera with your ever bright smile. "Well! I hope you liked it! I really tried hard for that one since you know... can't take you out anywhere right now." And if only you knew how much that poem meant to me right now.

Tape 3 - 10/11/21

"Hey Nay!" You still haven't lost the glow in your eyes yet as you coddled the small teddy bear I gave you that day. "I know you just visited me but I couldn't help but want to sit down and record another tape for you in secret! I really miss you a lot but I'm glad I can have Mr. Cuddles by my side." I felt a small smile at my lips as I finally figured out what you named that bear that came along with the tapes.

"I also made a new friend here that I didn't tell you last time! I became friends with one of the nurses and now they sometimes give me extra food but don't tell anyone! It's our little secret..." You whispered.

I missed those parts of you. The social butterfly that could become friends with anyone even when you were bed ridden and that sort of free spirit you possessed. Not bound by anything. I wished those parts of you I could try to imitate at least but you really are irreplaceable.

You spoke up again as you tried peering out of your rooms windows and into the hallway. "I think I got to go but I'll definitely come back, Nayeon. Promise." I wish you kept it. Why'd you have to be so bad with promises?

Tape 4 - 12/15/21

"Nayeon. You heard the doctors." Your eyes were filled with such despair, the colors missing now. An apparent void in you. "I've... decided that these tapes will only make it to you if I..." you choked out, "if I die. If you ever see these then... I'm sorry for not being strong enough. For not fighting harder for you."

I wish you didn't say that. I should have been there for you. I should have fought harder with you. Water pooled in my eyes as my hands faltered on the remote, wanting to pause it and forget about it all but how could I ever forget? I love you.

"Nayeon. If I'm really gone, I... want you to move on if you haven't already by the time you're watching this. I know how stubborn you are. If we were really meant for each other then... I'll find you in our next life but for now please move on. For me." Maybe the only thing you could've asked me that I can't do.

"For the rest of my time, I'll record some more tapes for you just to cheer you up if I really am gone but I'm sorry if I sound a little... sad. It comes with the diagnosis." You let out a low chuckle as you reached over to the camera and shut it off, leaving me alone again.

[qfzeeph]

Suprise! You get Zeeph Writings today because I am very sick and thinking about him to keep me sane :3

♡Kaito (Vocaloid) x Reader/Master HCs [3]♡

♡Reader is Sick♡ ♡Kaito is taking care of them!!♡

☆Since he's a weird android-type thing, Kaito doesn't really get sick in the way we do. Which makes him all the more available to take care of you when you fall ill.

☆it doesn't matter what you've got. This man will be by your side until the day you recover, wether that be if you're stuck at home or in the hospital recieving care. (For the sake of this post, reader is mainly going to be ill at home.) ☆He'll happily sleep on the floor when you're too sick to share a bed. He tries to stay close by to you incase you need anything ☆if you DO need anything, he'll do his best to have it right away. Tissues, ginger ale, you name it. ☆Keeping high spirits while you're sick is important. Kaito is really good at making you feel happy even when you're feeling your worst. He'll sing lullabies to you to help you sleep, watch TV with you to make you feel less alone, and even sits on the side of your bed when he can so you can hold his hand. He won't let you feel like you're suffering alone even for a second. ☆Sometimes being sick isn't pretty. Even when you're a disgusting hot mess, he's going to be right by your side to help you clean up. Hell, he'd help you clean yourself up, send you back to bed, and then take on the rest of the cleaning on his own so you can rest. He doesn't care how gross the mess ends up being, because if it's for you it's worth it. ☆Likewise, you have a washing machine. If something gets on the scarf, it gets on the scarf. He understands human illness isn't always just the sniffles and icky things do happen. He isn't going to get mad at you if he gets a little dirty trying to care for you. ☆Kaito tries not to be too clingy while you're sick. He understands that cuddling and hugging and being attached to you at all times is more stressful than comforting when you're not feeling well. He can't wait for you to be back on your feet so he can shower you with affection again. Though, sometimes he can't help himself and leaves little kisses on the top of your hand or forehead. If he's sitting next to your bed, a little hair ruffle means the world to him. ☆The first thing he'll want to do together after you recover completely is either take you to go get ice cream or alternatively your favorite sweet dessert. He'll even pay for it since you deserve a nice treat after all you've gone through. ...so basically, I have the norovirus ;A; it is NOT fun! But thinking about my blue guy makes me feel a little better. I'm cooped up on the couch (I have a loft bed and was having a hard time getting in/out of it) with one of my Kaito plushies to keep me company. As usual, thanks for givin' a read and hope everyone is healthy! ...at least healthier than I am right now :(((

[helaelaemond]

Helaemond and 50!!!

bad idea right?

'yes i know that he's my ex but can't two people reconnect' / 'i know i should stop but i cant'

He took his wife on campaign with him. His Baratheon lady, born in storms and seas that challenged the gods. In a letter to Aegon, he had written that he would not be parted from her, not even when Daemon brought the dusk. It was said that Prince Aemond's wife watched from the towers of Harrenhal as kinslayer met kinslayer against the burning sky.

Jaehaerys died for the sake of Maelor. Aegon was not healing well, but Jaehaera loved him so. The further away he drew, the more fiercely she followed.

Helaena had wanted to fly to the Riverlands when Aemond stopped writing.

"It is good to have you home," Alicent said quietly over the dinner table where they were gathered. It was the first night Aemond was back in the Red Keep now that the war was won. Well, over. Grandfather was not at the table. His bones were scattered with snow.

Helaena looked out towards the window where winter whipped against the Keep towers. Aemond's hair was whiter than it used to be. His wife's was as dark as the terrors. "You tarried too long."

Aemond's hard gaze was on her. "There was battle to be done."

"It did not bring him back."

"It kept you safe."

Helaena's lip twitched. On the table, her fingers dug into her palm until it stung. "You weren't here."

"I-"

"Aemond." His wife laid a hand on his arm and he quietened.

Helaena watched her fingers curl over the leather of his sleeve, watched them curl. Fire licked her belly, and she stood up suddenly. "The children. I must go to them."

"Sit down, sister."

"You were gone!" she cries out sharply. Aemond's wife, the fierce daughter of Storm's End, looked at her increduously. How wonderful it would have been to love her, to have a sister to love. A pretty idea. But her flesh and blood was dead and burned. So, too, many things should have been. With the memory of Aemond's ash in her hair, she fled from the chamber. Mother tried to stop her, but it was useless. Helaena did not wear green anymore.

The moon had scarcely moved in the sky when Aemond came to her in the nursery. The children slept as she stood over Maelor's crib. He had his father's nose. Helaena remembered how sweet he used to look when he scrunched it up in disgust at something Aegon said, or the crinkles around it when Helaena made him laugh.

"I would have returned sooner if I could."

She didn't look up at the sound of his voice, but the fire stirred. "It matters not."

"May I...?" Aemond's low voice was soft, and had a hesitancy that was unfamiliar.

"May you, what?"

The silence was cold and familiar. She wanted to follow him into it, make him return her letters. And so when his hand touched her shoulder, and then her back, and then her waist, she let it. When the flames warmed the space between them, it cleansed her.

"You're home," Helaena murmured. Her eyes closed. "Brother."

"Do not... not say that," came his reply against her ear.

"Brother."

"More than that. Tell me I am still more than that."

Helaena sighed when he wrapped both arms around her from behind, so slow and deliberate, and she swallowed. Opening her eyes would be futile, for he filled her senses. It had been so long. "You have a wife. You can be no more than that now."

"You were more when I was unwed, but Aegon was named your husband and protector."

She hummed quietly. His lips grazed the shell of her ear. A hint of a kiss, a whisper of a memory. "You... love her. I cannot let you break what is left of my heart."

"Helaena." He dragged out the sound of her name until it was a chant to prayer. "She is of the earth, and you are of the heavens."

"The earth is here and now and so very real."

He pressed a soft kiss just below her ear. White hair caught on his lips. "The heavens are watchful. Eternal. Home. And so, too, are you."

"This is not wise."

"We have never been wise, my love. I care not for wisdom, not when, instead, I could have you."

[immajustvibehere]

Pls give us part 2 of “Captured & Captivated”. That was so good🥵

I really thought I wouldn't write another part. But here I am 😔

Captured & Captivated

Part 2

Arthur Morgan x fem!Reader

warning: filthy, low honor, non consent (unfortunately, I can't write smut or this would have gone differently heh)

summary: After the bounty hunter had granted you your freedom, but left you to fend for yourself half-naked, you rejoin him at the fire. Spending the night at his camp would surely increase your chance of survival, right?

Part 1 here!

1700 words, 12 minutes reading time

“What’s your name, mister?”, you asked, covering your bare breasts with your knees and having your arms resting upon them. The fire warmed you moderately well. It was better than hiding in the bushes, that’s for sure.

"None of your concern, sweetheart", he answered. His voice was low but dripped in honey. You had the feeling he wanted to impress you. He wanted you to stay and not run off, or he wouldn't have offered the possibility to join him at the fire. You eyed him suspiciously.

"Jus' makes conversation more complicated...", you mumbled.

He gave no answer to that, only shook his head slightly.

"Got a blanket for me?", you asked after a while of silence. The fire could only warm one side of your bare torso and while your skin on the front almost burned under the heat, your back cooled down extremely.

"Yer god damn demandin' for someone I just granted freedom", the man answered and lit a cigarette. He didn't give any indication of actually handing you something to warm you up. After a sigh, you remained silent and watched the flames.

"You can stay at my camp. That's as good as it gets, darlin'", he flicked the finished cigarette into the fire, "unless you can pay. Which I highly doubt."

He had a cocky smile on his face. What exactly did he expect? That you would suddenly procure a ten dollars bill and pay him for a blanket? Of course he didn’t. He knew you had nothing.

"Want me to lie down for you?", you asked. But the expression of the man changed immediately into one of disgust.

"I’m afraid I’m not interested. I generally don’t entertain women with dubious morals."

"I ain't no whore", you explained calmly. You would have bet your life that the man in front of you had slept with more people than you had. Not only was he older, but he also was somewhat handsome. So, you despised his assumption.

"Sure", he snickered. You watched his face closely and saw how the disgust dissipated. He could tell you weren’t a prostitute. You had been so insecure even to remove your cloths in front of him. But Arthur admired that you were willing to get laid, only for a blanket to cover yourself up.

For a while, nobody spoke. You listened to the logs being devoured by the flames or the occasional cricket calling for a mate. Arthur started a small carving project before he stuck the knife into the ground next to him and put his hat lower into his face. It was night, probably very late by now. Even though you had survived a rather tricky day, you weren’t as tired. A gut feeling told you to stay awake.

"Don't try no funny business or you might regret it", the man warned before he settled into a half-recumbent position and remained silent. You waited. With open eyes and attentive spirit you endured until his chest was heaving with even breaths. Occasionally, your gaze wandered to the knife next to him. There was no other way out. You couldn't walk away, or you'd freeze or be killed – besides, you couldn’t simply walk into a town without wearing a top. Theoretically, you could steal something from him. His saddlebags must at least contain a spare shirt you could take and run off with. Maybe you should even steal his horse. But you were positive he'd wake up and shoot you dead if you even attempted it. Waiting until the next morning was useless too. Why wouldn't he just tie you up again and drag you to the law to collect your bounty?

This left one option: Kill him and then run off with his things. It was easy. His knife was there, almost begging to be used by you. You would slit his throat and it would be over before he could even wake up. Only one problem: you had never killed someone. But this was about your survival and you figured you would be able to do it in the heat of the moment.

After a deep breath you reached for the knife. Your fingers had barely closed around the handle when the man jumped up, twisted it out of your hand and before you knew it – you were pinned to the ground, the man promptly sitting down on your thighs to prevent you from getting up. For a second, he had loosened the grip around your wrists. You lost not a moment. Your hands shot up to his throat, grasping it firmly. If you can't stab him, you would choke him. But the man didn't stir. Even with both your hands, you couldn't reach around the man's throat entirely, and since he had you pinned from your waist down, you couldn't exert all your strength.

He chuckled lightly. Tears started to prick your eyes. You fucked up. Great. You assaulted a killer, and now what?

Like they were burdocks, he peeled your hands off his throat.

"What did you want with the knife? I'd recommend not lying to me."

You took a shaky breath, your brain working miles an hour, waging if a lie would do less harm. The man saw you considering, took your wrists and pinned above your head to the ground. You felt fully exposed, lying with bare torso under this huge man. He leaned over you, slowly putting more of his weight on your body. You groaned. You had guessed he wasn't putting his full weight on your body before, and you had been right.

"'m listening?"

You sucked in a breath and whispered a shaky: "Wanted to kill you."

A quick smile darted across the man's face: "At least yer honest."

He was lying on top of you entirely now, his beard scratching your cheek. He whispered: "Tell me, huh,… what am I supposed to do with ya?" Even if you wanted to answer, there was no air left in your lungs to form words. Slowly, he grinded his hips against yours and you felt his hard bulge pressing into your heat. He seemed to rather enjoy the hoarse whine he earned for that.

One hand of his was enough to keep both of yours in place. The other one wandered down your arm, touching you almost tenderly until he had reached your boob, which he roughly squeezed. You wriggled underneath him. If you had been able to, you would have begged him to get off.  As if he understood, he let go of your hands and stood up. He looked down on you, tilting his head and taking in your feeble frame underneath him.

"I preferred you tied up anyways", he stated before he walked over to the tree to fetch some of the rope. You didn't dare to move. The knife he had twisted out of your hand wasn't that far off, but you were too scared to even think about attempting an escape. You simply watched the man pick up the rope.

He turned you around, tying your arms behind your back.

"That'll do, don'tcha think?", he asked satisfied.

"What are you gonna do with me?", you asked anxiously

"Haven't decided yet. You really threw your freedom away with that pathetic attempt of yers."

Grabbing you by the shoulder he helped you into a sitting position. He was squatting next to you, his eyes roaming your face. With a gentle movement he wiped away the tears on your face with his calloused fingers. You flinched at first, out of fear he'd hit you.

"No crying, alright? Them tears don't do your pretty face any good", he said, almost in a friendly. You choked down a sob, nodding hesitantly. When he stood up again to walk back to his little spot, he picked up the knife in the process, putting it back into its sheath. He got comfortable, sliding down the trunk and lowering his hat into his face. "Get some rest", were the last words you heard from him.

At first, you didn't think it would be possible to fall asleep. Your heart was beating, and you were still freezing. Only after you crawled closer to the fire and actually lied down with your eyes closed, you felt the exhaustion. You feared you'd wake up behind bars - or worse. But it didn't matter how much of a fight you put up; sleep won in the end.

You woke up with a start. A thin blanket slipped off your body. It was dawn. The stranger was gone. Despite the blanket, which he must have thrown on top of you while you were asleep, you were cold. The fire had gone out and a slight wind blew through your hair. There was no tent, no horse. Nothing but a clean shirt on which your head had rested. You picked it up. It was clearly one of his. You slipped into it. It was too big but provided some desperately needed warmth. Only then you realized that your hands had been cut free. The remains of a burnt rope lay on the charred logs of the fireplace.

Even after years had passed, you never truly forgot the stranger. At first, you despised him for the toying around he had done, for letting you strip and sleep half naked, for the groping and threatening. After a while though, those memories faded. What remained was the essence of this encounter. You had been his bounty which he had freed for a remarkably low price. His blue eyes and how he examined your body with them was something you never quite forgot. At the end, you pitied him. Maybe, you thought, you finally saw him at what he truly was; a conflicted man. On the hunt for money, cruel and desperate and yet not cold-hearted enough to do you real harm. Every time when you thought about the man in this way, you wondered if you blew his character out of proportion and if you had got it all wrong...and yet, there was no way to confirm. At the end, all that was left of him was a shirt in a closet.

------x

I'm sorry that the sequel sucked even more than the first part xd But I wanted to write it anyways! oops

[reunionatdawn]

My Analysis of the Best Paired Endings in 3H (Part 9: Caspar/Petra)

Catherine: When I told you I would cut down children with no hesitation, you looked disgusted. I take it that's the part you're struggling to accept? Caspar: Pretty much. I don't think I'd be able to do it, even if that meant disobeying orders.

Caspar and Ferdinand are the two most difficult students to recruit outside of their home routes because they can only get C-Support with Byleth before the time-skip. And this corresponds to how difficult it is for them to leave the Empire from an emotional standpoint. They can't even be recruited in Hopes. Caspar wasn't sure when to obey orders or act on his own morality. He got reprimanded for doing so in his C-Support with Byleth, and that single incident had a huge impact on his development.

Shez: You're taking this awfully well. Weren't you and Caspar childhood friends? Linhardt: Yes, but that is of little consequence now. He is not fighting for honor or any greater purpose. War is just his way of life, and he doesn't have the slightest intention of dying or losing.

Caspar has never known any other way of life but fighting and making a name for himself on the battlefield.

Caspar: Something is kinda bothering me. I was talking to someone the other day about how I want to distinguish myself in battle, and they said that meant I wanted the war to go on forever. Of course, I told them they were nuts… Then I actually started thinking about it. About what I'll be doing when the war ends, I mean. About what I'll even…be. Ferdinand: I do not think you have cause to worry. We may not know what the future holds, but you are delivering great results as a leader. Surely you will be held in esteem for such? Caspar: Sure, but doesn't that just mean my life is about nothing but fighting? I'm not a guy like you who's good at pretty much everything, so… Ha! Listen to me. I can't remember the last time I got in my own head like this.

He was more introspective about his circumstances in Hopes. But that only reinforced how unhappy he was with his way of life. It wasn't fulfilling for him to live only for war, but he had no real sense of identity other than as a warrior.

Caspar: Oh. Hey, Professor. I was just reading this letter from my father. Do you know him? He's a pretty big deal in the Empire. He only writes to ask how my training's going, or how many monsters I've killed. Stuff like that.

Caspar had a strong desire to punish evil in the world, but he possessed a very black-and-white sense of morality. That simplistic view of good and evil probably came from his father, the famous warlord Count Bergliez.

Caspar: My father was responsible for a lot of what happened to the Dagdans! Shamir: Are you responsible for your father's actions? Caspar: Well, no…but kinda? I know I wasn't there, but I gotta—

It is much easier to invade and conquer when you convince yourself that the enemy is evil.

Caspar: After we cross the Great Bridge of Myrddin, we'll be in my father's territory. We actually crossed it five years ago for the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. Remember? Ugh! This is terrifying! What am I gonna do? I gotta get a grip… Byleth: Don't worry, I'll arrange for your funeral. Caspar: You think we'll meet him on the battlefield and he'll kill me? The front lines cover a long stretch of land, you know! We might not even run into him!

Caspar was also terrified of his father. He didn't like the sound of thunder because it reminded him of his father yelling at him when he screwed up.

Caspar: All right! Off to the Kingdom's capital we go! What's the matter? Should I not be excited? I can't help it. Everyone's gotta have something to look forward to!

I was really struck by Caspar's demeanor in CF. He only ever focused on taking out whatever enemies he was ordered to and barely had anything else to say.

Caspar: It's so awful to see the Kingdom capital go up in flames, but at least we made it this far!

He fought alongside the Death Knight and invaded other nations without question. It was as though Count Bergliez was hovering over his shoulder the entire time.

Catherine: You have a strong sense of justice. You have clearly defined ideals. But that's not an asset on the battlefield. Ideals slow you down. They cause inner conflict.

It was truly sad because that wasn't who he was. He had his own ideals and criticized Catherine for submitting her sense of justice to another person. It made me realize that CF!Caspar couldn't do anything else but focus on fighting because otherwise the inner conflict would have destroyed him.

Caspar: I think… I can't deny who I am. I know you were right five years ago when you told me not to chase after that suspicious guy… But I still can't get over the possibility that he might have hurt those kids. I would have regretted not stopping him for the rest of my life. There's no way I could forgive myself. It sounds awful to say, but the safety of those kids is more important to me than the knights we lost.

His character arc was about realizing that it's okay not to follow orders and that he should live according to his own sense of justice.

Caspar: I've been wandering on my own for five years. I won't go back to that house or my father, that's for sure!

And leaving his father was necessary for him to do so.

Caspar: We weren't related by blood, but Randolph was still my uncle… Seeing him end up that way was… Never mind. It's nothing. Byleth: That's how it goes with war. Caspar: This wasn't just about war. It was a grudge. Or are you gonna tell me you're on Dimitri's side? I'm sure he never trusted me, being born in the Empire and all.

Like Ferdinand, Caspar can only access his Paralogue—where he can confront the "evil" Death Knight—if he defects from the Empire. The game incentivizes you to recruit him in AM, too. Not only does he share his Paralogue with Mercedes, but doing so in AM unlocks an additional scene for her to say goodbye to Emile. I'd argue that he has the best arc in AM due to his connection to Randolph. It was important for him to see the war from the side from the Empire's victims, so that he could have his worldview challenged.

Petra: It feels like…a knife against my throat. That I am making my grandfather obey the Empire. Because I am a hostage, it is not an option to be giving up. I must be fighting and winning and staying alive. I must do anything to be making life better for Brigid. To be making Brigid and the Empire stand as equals. That is what my people are wanting from me…and what my grandfather, the king of Brigid, is wanting! Byleth: And what do you want? Petra: My want? I…I am not knowing of that. The wants of my people are something I have power to achieve. Their wants are my own.

As a political hostage to the Empire, Petra fought extremely hard to survive, not for herself, but so that Brigid could live independently and stand as equals with the Empire. But when Byleth asked her what she wanted, she didn't even know. She needed to figure out what she wanted for herself, not just what other people wanted.

Ferdinand: Do you not want to go back to your homeland? Petra: I do have the hope of returning one day, but Fódlan is also like a homeland to me now. I came to Fódlan nine years ago. I have been living half of my life here. My family is living in Brigid, but in Fódlan, I have new family and new friends.

So, what did Petra want? Well, she wanted to return home, but she also wanted to stay connected to her new family, and to use their political connections to improve relations with Brigid and Fódlan.

Petra: When this war is finished, I am wishing for you to be seeing my homeland. Dorothea: You…you are? Oh my. I'd love to, Petra. As soon as the fighting is done, I'd like nothing more than to see Brigid with you.

She wanted to bring her friends back home with her to visit. Whether you go for their romantic paired ending or are content to leave them as friends, her Support with Dorothea showed how important it was for her to maintain permanent connections with her classmates.

Petra: I am not having an obligation. I will only be marrying if I find a good person.

And she also wanted a husband from Fódlan.

Petra: My father was killed. By the Empire. By your father. And so I will be impaling you on this blade to be satisfying a deep wish of mine. Caspar: A deep wish… What are you talking about?! Petra: I am talking about my wish. Of course…I am also having another wish. An even deeper wish. I wish for you and I to keep being friends. To keep fighting and surviving together.

Petra had one other deeply held wish. She wanted to kill Count Bergliez. She always bottled up her true feelings and never expressed what she really thought. She was always gung-ho about fighting and said war fed her body and mind. She may have acted like she was fine with her situation, but she was really not. She didn't want to kill people in the name of the Empire that invaded Brigid and killed her father, and she had a lot of rage underneath her calm surface.

Caspar: Well, I guess even a queen can't push her feeling down forever. I can't imagine what it must've been like to go through what you did. But I think I can still relate. Petra: Umm… Caspar: Hey, here's an idea. From now on, take it out on me. Petra: No. This is silliness. There is no point in killing you. Caspar: I'm not talking about killing, Petra. What I want you to do is unload on me! Tell me off! Just talk to me about whatever it is you're feeling. If all your hate becomes too much, dump it on me. If you wanna hit something, I'm your guy. I just want us to keep being friends, alright?

Caspar was the only character she ever showed that side of herself to. In Hopes, she wanted to kill him, but he offered for her to take her pain out on him. He was the one person she could talk to and be open and honest with because he was the same. And Petra was more raw and emotionally vulnerable with him than anyone else.

Petra & Caspar Petra returned to her homeland of Brigid, and inherited the throne from her grandfather. As ruler, she declared independence from Fódlan, and renegotiated Brigid's diplomatic ties to Fódlan and Dagda on more equal terms. At every step along the way, she was accompanied and supported by her husband, Caspar, who had left Fódlan behind to be with her. It is said that the people of Brigid were initially suspicious of the union, due to Caspar's relation to a nemesis of their homeland, but that his tireless efforts on Brigid's behalf endeared them to him over time. It certainly helped that he made the queen very happy.

Petra didn't have an obligation to get married. She just wanted someone to share all of her heart with. Caspar was never particularly envious of his brother, and he always liked hard work. So, working tirelessly for Brigid is a better way to live than inheriting his father's position and becoming the new Minister of Military Affairs.

I don't think the writers necessarily pushed for either Caspar or Petra to be paired with anyone in particular. Many of their paired endings work just as fine. Still, the Caspar/Petra ending is one where Petra can have everything she wants, including someone who she can be truly open and honest with. And it is the only one where Caspar can directly address the damage caused by his imperialist father. So, I consider it the best one for them.

[nobodysdaydreams]

😭/😍/🎁/🤔!! The author question is "Which character is the most natural/easiest to write for you?"

I hope you are having a good day, my dear friend!!

Why hello my friend! Indeed I am having a good day, and thank you for this wonderful ask! 🥰 I hope you're having a good day as well. 💕

😭 angst or sad WIP snippet

“Sadness isn’t something to be ashamed of. We’ve all experienced it. Me, perhaps, more than others. I learned at a very young age that abandonment and betrayal can come from anywhere, even from what seems like sacred ground. From family.”

Curtain finished his sentence and looked earnestly at Nicholas. Throughout his broadcast his brother hadn’t show a single sign of giving in. In fact, he seemed disgusted and annoyed. But perhaps if Curtain were to carefully show a tiny bit of real emotion, that might reel him in. It was a risk, but a calculated one.

A risk that paid off. Nicholas, upon seeing the sudden genuine emotion on his brother’s face, looked down at his hands, suddenly ashamed. Nicholas could roll his eyes and mock his brother’s ridiculous need for approval all he wanted, but at the end of the day, he had to face the reality that he was the one who had turned his brother into this.

😍 published lines or a section of a fic that you loved writing?

Well, I know you have SOS memorized by now /j /I love you Sophie, but two things I love doing with that fic are 1) narrative symmetry and 2) taking things from the books and show and giving them new levels of meaning. I do this in chapters 3 and 7 with the whole "No one at the wheel" phrase that is used to discuss the feeling behind the Emergency, where I give it a deeper meaning rather then just having it be a random phrase Curtain made up. There's just something about revealing a deeper meanings behind words or objects and having a concept in a narrative show up again in a different format that just makes my brain go brrrrrr :).

For those that don't know what I'm talking about, here are the snippets. Spoilers for Chapters 1-7 of SOS.

Snippet from SOS Chapter 3 "No One at the Wheel":

Now that he was finally alone, Curtain finally allowed himself a moment to grieve the families he had lost. The tears flowed freely now. He couldn’t stop them. For once he couldn’t wipe them away and deny them, given the infant in his arms.

He felt like he was watching a bus full of children, with no one at the wheel, roll steadily but swiftly down a steep hill towards a cliff. And as much as he desperately wanted to stop it, to do anything to stop it, all he could do is stand there and witness the inevitable. Watch as innocent people died before his eyes. Watch as everyone he loved left in one way or another.

He wanted to tell himself that this was the way life was: people died, people left, and there was nothing you could do but accept it. But he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t take it anymore. 

Snippet from SOS Chapter 7 "Taking the Wheel":

“You abandoned me,” he finished, his voice straining as he held back tears and walked around his desk to confront Wetherall, “I had to experience all of that alone, do you know how that felt? How it feels to watch your friends die slow, painful, agonizing deaths, right in front of your eyes and not be able to do a thing to stop it? It feels like being trapped in a runaway car, racing towards a cliff, with no one at the wheel, no one in control! And you want to take control, you want to stop the car, but you can’t. You can’t save anyone; you can’t even save yourself. But not anymore. I’m taking the wheel and taking control. And you’re not going to stand in my way.”

🎁name a published gift fic someone has given you that you love and can't recommend enough

I'll list the two that I've been gifted because they are both fantastic, and I cannot recommend them enough (I've linked them here everyone please read them!).

The first is "Don't you ever wonder if I'm okay (after all you put me through) by @myfairkatiecat. Based on Milk's ask game prompts, and oh boy is it amazing. If you're looking for great Benedict twins content, look no further (that's about all I'll say without spoiling).

The second is "The Best Decision" by @heyitsthatonesmolgay. Again, based on Milk's ask game prompts, and this one is especially impressive, because I gave not one but three possible prompts, which Connie was somehow able to weave into one amazing fic.

I cannot recommend these two fics enough, but are criminally underrated and if you have not read them, do yourself a favor and go do so now.

🤔 ____________? [ask the author a question about any of their published works, such as what the writing process was like, what their favorite fic is, or what character they like writing about].

I think the easiest characters for me to write are probably the Benedict brothers and Garrison. Because those are the characters with the most unanswered questions related to their backstories, so they are the ones I hyperfixated on (hence SOS). I talk about it a little bit in this post.

,

[listlessdionysian]

A Song for the End Times Chapter 2: Darkest Dungeon FF

Chapter Two

In which our jester falls afoul of a knight's honour - the party assembles - tensions on a cart ride - the party arrives at the ruined manor - and an occultist tests a vestals patience unto breaking.

Quick content warning: violence, discussion of religion, bit of wordplay, and honestly this is a Darkest Dungeons fic: you know what to expect.

There are certain truisms in this world: never test a friend you want to keep, money can't buy happiness, and if a knight of the realm is openly staring at you it's because you spilled his pint. Metaphorically speaking. The nobility are easy to offend - possessing so many rules for dressing, eating, and speaking, that breaking them came easily to the jester. At one point it had been an occupational necessity.

In this case, as far as they knew, the jester's latest crime against good taste was merely existing.

'What are you supposed to be then, a minstrel?' the knight in question was a young man visibly aged by years of hard living. A patchwork of scars on his neck and face. The rest of him concealed by players of plate and ring mail. His longsword slung over his back. They were the first two of their small camp to have woken and had stood, milling around, in the small yard behind the smithy awaiting Paixdecours. It had taken minutes for the nobleman to strike up conversation.

‘As you say milord,’ the jester inclined their head, ‘Song and tales to delight and bewitch.’

‘Know any good jokes?’

‘I’m looking at one right now.’

The knight blinked at them, their face frozen between disbelief and disgust – wide eyes and tight lips. By this point some of the others in their little camp behind the smithy had awoken slowed in their pre-dawn rituals. The wind stirred for a moment, as if it too were beginning to feel awkward and had to do something to break the tension.

‘Low born no-account,’ the knight muttered, flexing his gauntleted fists. Naturally his first instinct was towards violence. Another shared flaw among the nobility, and one which the jester was intimately familiar with.

They still had some of the old scars.

‘And I am your minstrel, milord. Now is that first name and last, or is that just your title?’

Paixdecouers rounded the corner of the smithy, paused, then chose a spot by the smithy wall. He leaned against it with his arms folded – features impassive, but an interested glint in his one good eye.

Colour bloomed in the knight’s cheeks. His jaw worked but the words wouldn’t come. When he took a step forward the jester spread their arms wide and tilted their head to the side in a gesture reminiscent of a very large and very patient cat watching a mousehole. The knight hesitated and took in the rest of the camp, who were beginning to stir, for the first time. When his eyes alighted on Paixdecours the knight dispensed with doubt and moved immediately to anger.

‘I demand this- this-‘ the knight was screaming, voice cracking to betray their age. The colour in his cheeks was in full bloom and had begun to creep down his neck turning him a muted shade of beetroot. He stabbed a finger towards the jester but seemed to be struggling to find a suitably insulting name, ‘This- This this has insulted me, whatever it is. I demand restitution.’

‘Demand, is it?’ Paixdecours said from their spot by the wall, scratching his bearded cheek and pursing his lips. He looked to the jester, the knight, then the lightening sky above, ‘Well, your lordship, all demands must be submitted in writing. If you want to ask me something, well, I’m right here.’

The knight’s stabbing finger faltered and gradually drifted back to his side. For the second time he stood at the heart of that little ring of tents, open mouthed, lost for words – making small choking sounds. Something must have changed in his mind, a rusting gear finally catching and sending the whole mechanism spinning into motion, as he straightened abruptly. The knight brushed his hands on the front of his plate mail and stalked off towards the square. He gave Paixdecours a wide berth, stepping clear away from him as he disappeared around the corner.

Paixdecours turned his head to watch the younger man go, allowing himself a small and mostly unobserved smile to himself. Then his attention snapped back to the jester.

‘Alright then, let’s step to,’ he said and turned without waiting to see if the jester followed.

***

The rest of the party were a sorry and disordered sort, thrown together by poor luck and a shared naivety about what awaited them outside the hamlet. A young woman in a get-up caught between a nun’s habit and a suit of armour, touting a mace whose function she seemed mystified by and carried it with an air of unwilling duty. An older man with a moustache and goatee beneath a turban, his wine-coloured robes already drinking the muck underfoot into its trailing hem.

And the knight, of course, who had now donned his helm and was making the most of the anonymity it afforded him by openly staring.

Paixdecours made the introductions: the nun was called Druon, the robed man was Mercure, and the knight went by Rivillien.

'Sir Rivillien,' Rivillien said through gritted teeth, still not looking away from the jester, his gauntleted fists gripping and working the leather wrap of his sword hilt as if it were the jester's throat.

Paixdecours rolled his one eye, then waved a hand, 'You’re all headed for the ruins further north. A cart will come by and collect you shortly. It's a simple scavenging run: anything that glitters or anything that we can eat. Everything else - just leave it. No heroics, and everyone comes back with all their fingers and toes. Clear?'

The group answered with a series of noncommittal noises.

'Shall I lead the group in prayer?' Druon said, struggling to open her oversized leather-bound bible while avoiding dropping her mace. She tried tucking it under one arm and then the other.

'Depends on the deity, my dear,' Mercure showed yellowing and crooked teeth.

Druon paled for a moment, then with a wavering voice said, 'There is but one god.'

Mercure quirked an eyebrow, then shook their head.

'My, how pedestrian,' he muttered.

Fortunately, the arrival of the cart spared them from further theological debate. The jester restrained himself from profusely thanking the driver, a sallow-faced old man in a tattered overcoat whose skin blended perfectly with the splintering boards of his vehicle and settled for a polite nod. Indeed, the only sign of life that came from the driver was when he turned in his seat to ensure all we're aboard, and the occasional jerk of his wrist as he directed the mangey nag drawing the cart.

Paixdecours had slipped away at the first mention of prayer, so there was no one to see them off, and the cart rattled and clanked away unobserved.

They followed narrow winding roads northwards which climbed sharply upwards after the first mile, its every twist and turn disguised by the dense woodland around them. The jester eyed the trees with equal parts curiosity and unease. They had grown tall and thick and strange in that forgotten part of the world. Without the forester's axe to fell them, the trees had devolved into twisted and gnarled shapes, threatening to spill out and colonise what little road remained. Here and there were signs of past expeditions grappling with the encroachment - shorn limbs and charred earth where controlled fires had burned.

'A fellow I spoke to in the tavern last night said these roads were once choked with bandits and wild dogs,' Mercure said, as much to himself as to the party, his attention on the dark woodland. He turned another crooked, yellowing smile on Druon before he added, 'Among other things.'

'If you mean to frighten me with tales of monsters, sir, you can save your breath,' she said, drawing herself up. For a moment her bible lowered, and the mace rose to prominence in a subtle raising of one hand and the lowering of another, 'I have seen into the heart of the darkest nights and I have no fear of what dwells there.'

'Really?' Mercer chuckled, 'That's nice.'

Druon's eyes narrowed, and her upper lip twitched. Then, seeming to remember herself and perhaps her vows, she relaxed. Set the mace down on the bench beside her and opened her bible.

The jester caught a familiar twinkle of delight and victory in Mercure's eye and smiled behind their mask. But the confrontation brought the knight back to mind and when he turned the jester found Rivierre staring at them from behind his helm.

'Did you lose something over here, your lordship?' the jester said.

'Only my honour,' Rivierre leaned a fraction closer, anger radiating off him.

'I’m sure I would remember relieving a nobleman of his honour,' the jester said, then tilted their face skyward and tapped their chin, 'Or perhaps not. It happens so often.'

'My honour that you impugned, minstrel,' Rivierre was half out of his seat.

The jester wasn't sure if the cart would tolerate a fistfight. More likely it would throw an axle, tip, and hurl them all out into the wilderness. The image held some attraction for the jester, but not enough to risk the broken bones it entailed.

'Why are you here, may I ask?' Mercure interjected.

The jester broke their staring contest with Rivierre by gradual degrees, only looking away once the knight had settled back in his seat and affected an air of haughty disinterest - having lost his moment.

'Me, sir?' the jester said.

'You sir. Each of us contributes something to the group, tactically speaking. I am versed in the eldritch arts. This one,' he flapped a hand at Druon, who scowled behind her bible, 'is no doubt a gifted healer. And the knight, impetuous as he is, brings a certain martial prowess. What is it that you bring?'

The jester shrugged.

'Colour commentary and a sparkling personality?' they said.

'Besides those.'

'Two sharp implements and a passion for their usage.'

Mercure considered for a moment, rubbing a long ink-stained finger against the side of his nose.

'A possibility that you may be of some use after all then,' and with that Mercure dismissed him and the party fell into an uncomfortable silence.

Save for the jester, who began to whistle.

***

Credit where it was due, the ruins lived up to their imposing reputation. A grand gothic facade made up of tall, crooked towers, and gap-toothed window panels. The manor itself seemed to loom over them like a voracious beast considering its next meal. Its entrance lay open, the heavy double doors that had once guarded it were missing. The jester presumed they had been among the first materials scavenged from that place to make repairs in the hamlet. Perhaps to make a fetching dinner table.

The party disembarked the cart and idled around the dishevelled courtyard. Huge paving stones underfoot, frozen in the act of bucking and heaving as the earth strained to eject them. Moss and creeper vines intermingling and lending their dusty bouquet to the scene.

The cart left them there. Its driver clicked to the nag, snapped the reins, and then it squeaked its way back to the road. If they survived, another cart would collect them at dawn the next day. None would risk lingering outside the hamlet after dark.

'Well?' Rivierre said, 'Are we to be about this business, or shall we stand here till we lose the light?'

'By all means,' the jester said, extending a hand toward the dark entryway, 'Lead on, noble sir.'

Rivierre hesitated for a moment. The jester could feel, rather than see, his eyes flicking from the jester to the rest of the party, and to the ruined manse before them. In the end, bravado won out over brains. Rivierre drew his longsword, gripped it in both hands, and began a steady - if slow - clanking march towards the entrance. 

The jester met the eye of his remaining two companions, shrugged, and followed Rivierre in. A heartbeat later they heard Mercure fall in step, followed by Druon who whispered an unceasing prayer to the powers above.

Darkness, ancient, proud, and predatory waited for them inside. Their entrance to the manse parted it like a curtain, and it retreated further when Mercure paused to light a torch. Its ignition provoked the darkness to flinch and leer at them from the manse’s endless deep corners. Deeper in, things stirred and shifted – whether it was the ancient boards and crumbling mortar of the house itself or something more malevolent, the jester found it hard to say.

The scant light of the torch revealed fading and rumpled tapestries, their edges frayed and tattered by years of voracious moths. The stone walls were scored by battles long since past – the bite marks of old blades, gouges from massive claws. Here and there a deep, brown stain the jester tried not to stare at for too long. The party’s every step boomed in that empty and desolate place, every footfall resounding. Behind the jester, Druon shifted – perhaps to lower the bible and raise the mace. Her prayers increased in pace and fervour. All teeth and hissed breath.

‘We’re unlikely to encounter any resistance on the upper levels,’ Mercure said, loud enough for the whole party to flinch, ‘After years of expeditions into this place, whatever dwells here has likely withdrawn deep into the lower levels.’

‘You first,’ the jester said.

Mercure smiled, ‘Perhaps caution may prove prudent, in the end. Lead on Rivierre.’

‘Sir,’ Rivierre said without turning around.

Mercure rolled his eyes at the jester and whispered, ‘Nobles.’

‘Precious, aren’t they?’ the jester said, falling in step behind Rivierre and – perhaps – speaking a touch too loud.

‘You’d think they were made of glass,’ Mercure sighed, looking around, ‘But this place is impressive. A great house, generations in the making, undone by a single scion in a single lifetime.’

Rivierre paused at a doorway, leaning into the dark with the torch outstretched. Over his shoulder the jester could see little but bare stone wall, curving to the right. The knight paused, sword lowered and tapping out a slow rhythm against his armoured ankle.

‘Stairs. Leading lower,’ Rivierre said.

‘We’re unlikely to find anything up here,’ Mercure said, ‘As I was saying – past expeditions will have picked the upper floors clean. To have anything to show for our efforts we must descend.’

‘But that heightens the risk,’ Druon said, ‘Perhaps they missed something on the upper floors.’

‘Scared?’ Mercure smiled, rounding on her, the wavering light of the torch cast long, dancing shadows across his lined face, ‘Afraid of the dark? Of the things that dwell within? Of things that have neither heard of, nor care, for your god?’

Druon’s eyes narrowed once more. It was all the warning Mercure had, before he fell hard on his backside, cupping his gushing nose and making small gasping sounds. She wiped a smear of blood from her forehead with the sleeve of her habit and took a deep breath to master herself.

‘As I told you before, I have no fear of things that cower in the dark – whatever their intentions. I am tasked with preserving your lives, I would not see that task grow unnecessarily because a group of boys refuse to listen to reason.’

‘My nose!’ Mercure glugged, the blood already spilling into his goatee and dripping from his chin. Rivierre watched them, impassive and unimpressed, while the jester made sure to take a few steps back.

‘Oh spare me,’ Druon said. She waved a hand, bathed in a soft golden light. As its passage crossed the jester’s eyeline they felt- something. They found it hard to define: peace, a pervasive feeling of ease and security, a warm rippling wave of relief. Feelings and sensations that had only grown more distant and alien to them with the passage of time.

Mercure gasped in surprise and released their nose, in time for the jester to see the bridge pop back into position, and the twin streams of blood to slow to a trickle before stopping altogether.

‘A broken nose could be the least of your worries in this accursed place,’ Druon loomed over him now, mace in hand, her grip tightening, ‘How many lives have been lost here? How many dozens fallen to folly and bravado? We will search the upper floors, and we will do so carefully. God help you if you need my help a second time.’

With that she stepped around Mercure, mouth twisted with distaste, to inspect a further opening to their left between two tapestries.

‘There is a corridor here that leads deeper. This will be our path,’ she said, before opening the door and stepping into the waiting dark.

Rivierre watched her disappear, and it took him some moments to recall his purpose and the torch in his hand, before hurrying to join her. Mercure remained where he was, staring at the blood mingling with the old ink stains on his hand. His eyes were wide, disbelieving, and his lips worked soundlessly.

‘That cannot be right,’ he said, at last, ‘That- that cannot be right.’

The jester dropped to a crouch beside him, and patted Mercure on the shoulder. Those wide, disbelieving eyes met the pale expressionless mask, and those smiling green eyes behind it.

‘For the moment,’ the jester, ‘It looks like it is. Onwards.’

The jester straightened and followed the others, without waiting for Mercure to rise to his feet.

---------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to all who've returned to read the next instalment, and to first time readers you can find the first chapter here. I'll be adding to this every now and then - it's more of an exercise than anything, but I'm having fun for the moment.

More serious stuff later. When I get around to it. Maybe.

[stevethehairington]

WIP Wednesday!

omg i am SOOO late to this ksjgsld we'll just pretend it's wednesday in spirit lmaooo. but thank you @thefreakandthehair for the tag!! 💕

Here’s how it works:

In a reblog (or new post w/ rules attached), post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can't share from (for example, an event fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

My file names:

[redacted] (aka my steddie big bang fic lol)

stobin zine fic

of all the gin joints

r i n g s

wayne pov part 3

wayne pov part 4

(i cheated and did six bc technically two on this list i cannot share much/anything about lmaoo)

snippet from wayne pov part 3!

Wayne likes Steve.  Like, a lot.  It’s funny how drastically things can change. Opinions. Feelings. Judgements. Before, the Harrington name would have made Wayne’s lips curl back — in disgust, distaste, displeasure. But now, they curve into something gentler, something softer. A smile, because, these days, Harrington means Steve. And Wayne likes Steve. Loves him, actually. And ain’t that something? Eddie always pretends to be unimpressed, whenever Wayne alludes to this. He’ll roll his eyes and huff out these silly little puffs of air that fluff up his bangs, and sometimes he’ll even cross his arms over his chest as if that’s supposed to make Wayne take him more seriously. He does it all while yammering on about how he should have never introduced the two of them, how they get along way too well, how Wayne probably likes Steve too much. Wayne’s favorite is when Eddie accuses him of liking Steve more. Wayne, naturally, can see right through the little charade. It’s not very hard, though, when Eddie forgets that he’s supposed to be pouting, and the corners of his lips twitch up when he thinks Wayne isn’t looking.

No pressure tags! @withacapitalp @harmonictechnicality @2btheanswertothequestion @fastcardotmp3 @hexiewrites @aidaronan @toburnup @cheatghost @pizzaqueen and anyone else who wants to do this, consider yourself tagged by me!!

[gyumazing]

Thanks, Soobs!

"Thanks, Soobs." You smiled brightly at your friend the moment that he handed you a brown paper bag. "You're the best!" You were about to let out a loud shriek but you were afraid that people inside the cafe shop will be flustered.

"This is so unfair." Soobin pulled a chair right in front of you and sat on it. "Have you ordered yet?"

"Yes. I already ordered macaroni and americano for you." you replied. You looked at the paper bag again for the last time before deciding to finally open it. "This means so much to me, Soobs. Thank you."

"Ah. This is so unfair." Soobin jokingly scratched his head. "You're supposed to win a fan sign event with us before having a signed album." Soobin whined.

You nodded at him.

"Yeah. But, thanks to you, I don't need to go through that kind of a hassle anymore." You smiled again.

"You're unbelievable." Soobin rolled his eyes and smiled lightly.

You clapped your hands like a giddy kid ready to open it's present up.

Soobin chuckled at your reaction.

You flipped through every page of the album's photobook while Soobin was also prying. He looked as if he had just seen the photos for the first time too.

"Oh! OMG! OMG! You actually asked Beomgyu to write a short message for me?!" Your eyes widened when you saw your name written in Beomgyu's penmanship. Below his autograph was a short message with bunch of little heart doodles around them. "I AM GOING TO FAINT." You can't help but to let out an exaggerated gasp.

Beomgyu, your bias in TXT—who apparently is in the same boy group as your friend, Soobin—was your age. You've been crushin' on him ever since he held the door open for you that one time when you were visiting Soobin at their dorm.

You were oddly fascinated by him because you thought that he seemed like a gentleman. He was different. In fact, he was far from the bratty and unapologetic middle child that most MOAs know him for. He was sweet, kind, and very sensitive.

Soobin scoffed.

"Come on... Don't tell me your still infatuated over that guy?" Soobin threw you a disgusted look.

You rolled your eyes at him.

"No. You don't understand, Soobs. He seems different."

"What Different? Trust me, he isn't as perfect as how your picturing him in your mind right now." Soobin threw an annoyed look at you. "I mean, none of us are as perfect as people think." Soobin looked up the ceiling. He pursed his naturally pouty lips.

"Soobs," You held his hands when you saw a sudden hint of emotion in his eyes. "You're not perfect but that's what makes you unique. Heck, MOAs, including me, like you guys for the way that you are."

Come to think of it, it seems really sad being an idol. People oftentimes forget that you're human and that you can feel emotions too. You are expected to embody perfection 24/7, when in fact, just like normal people, they have their up and down moments too.

Soobin smiled.

"You know what? You're right. Beomgyu is still a normal human being. Just like you, he also wakes up looking like he had been smoking weed 24 hours straight. There's nothing different about him." Soobin let out a dolphin like laugh. "Add the fact that his nose also becomes puffy, thus, automatically looks like an onion.

"Choi Soobin, you're so mean."

"What? It's true!" He laughed, still proceeding to clap his hands over and over again.

"Whatever," You rolled your eyes at him. "Say, would you mind giving this to him?" You handed him a pack of butterscotch that you baked yourself of course.

You heard Soobin groan and you saw him closing his eyes while chewing on his macaroni. "Not again!" You smiled.

"Thanks Soobs! You're the best."

[jupitercomet]

Bugs, the new chapter got me like: 😍🥹.

I'm not sure if I'm proud or disappointed in Peach for not screaming at Neil. I get that it was an honest miscommunication, but at the same time, I can't really imagine dating someone and not making it clear if you're seeing other people. I mean, at the very least, it's not safe when it comes to diseases and so on even beyond STIs.

If it were me, I would have screamed a lot. Making a scene be damned.

I can see what Neil means with Peach and the boys, though. I mean, Jake's behavior is very disgruntled boyfriend like.

Jake finally admitting what happened the night of the incident warmed my heart. I don't want to sound like I don't have trust in him, but I kind of expected him to never tell Peach the truth. But I'm still so happy they made up. I think someone believing in Jake can be good for him. He just might finally get his shit together. At the same time I worry it'll be at the expense of Peach and you are writing and there are another two seasons to cover and you live putting us through the thick of it (which I adore because emotional fictional pain is delightful to me) so I'm a wee bit scared.

With names like Shelly and Cooper you got me constantly thinking about Twin Peaks to be honest.

Ohhh, I also had a thought about our boxers (especially after I watched that reel someone had shared). My brother and his girlfriend are so cutesy It's really disgusting at times. Like on New Year's Eve (I ended up going with them over to my cousin's party), he'd lean on her on the couch and say something like "My eyebrows ache" just cause he wants her to massage them and he'd be a literally putty in her hands. So I was wondering which of the boxers would find a silly excuse to ask his gf to touch him just because he loves her touch that much?

ahh, I'm glad you liked it!!

my thought process kind of was that peach is really such a hopeless romantic and so she kind of rushes into her feelings for people. like she spent this whole morning romanticizing this man just for him to be like "oh, by the way..." so it was kind of a "I am feeling so many things right now, I am just going to not feel them until a later date" also she already felt embarrassed so it was just a lot. but later she's definitely pissed and Jake thoroughly enjoys the shit talk circle they have.

yeah.... chucking popcorn at his head and then almost a hotdog probably didn't help his case....

I thought about him not telling her but I feel like their relationship could never truly progress if he didn't. it was something he definitely needed to do. and I actually don't know how angsty the next seasons are going to be. like will you scream at him? most definitely. will you hate him? maybe not... but also I could decide that I'm gonna make it painful again, we shall see

I've actually never seen Twin Peaks so that was entirely on accident

10000% it's Jake. Bob Floyd asks for his cuddles like a grown fucking man 😤 and Bradley doesn't even have to ask, at most he just has to hold an arm out and toots is all over him. but Jake will be like "angel, does my hand look weird to you?" and angel's like "???" and Jake's like "yeah, I must have messed something up when I totally beat the shit outta that one guy because I am awesome at boxing and the best there is — huh, that's so weird. it feels better when you hold it. I guess you should keep holding it then............"

[knickknacksandallthat]

Roommates AU!!

Ooh, yes @aliteralgarbageheap!! I can't wait to write this one!! I am ridiculous and have been working out all the little intricate details on the back end to flesh this universe out. Basically, it's an alternate college au (no exy) where Neil falls into a room at this overgrown, dilapidated mansion Allison owns and where Kevin, Matt, Allison, and Andrew are his roommates. It's definitely one of the softer AUs I've written (we've got no mafia, no torture, no violence, no drugging) but I think it'll hit that sweet spot for some folks.

If you like...

strangers to friends to lovers andreil

socially awkward, exhausted college student neil

brotp Andrew & Seth

Assholes but not murderers Nathan & Lola

...then this fic may be for you 😉

A very small snippet because I haven't had a chance to write-write this yet!

“What is this?” Nathan’s voice cuts like a knife through the heavy silence of the living room. 

He drops the paper distastefully on the ground so that Nathaniel is forced to pick it up. 

“You told me to pick one,” he says carefully, trying his best to hide his confusion. 

“And you couldn’t think of anything better than ‘Neil’?” his father sneers.  “You had the entire world of names available to you, and you chose a shortened version of your own?  Exactly how stupid can you be?”

“Come now, dear, no one has ever accused your son of being the brightest,” Lola laughs.

The sound is high-pitched and grating.  Nathaniel hates it. 

“It’s probably the best he could come up with,” she continues before staring at him.  “Isn’t that right, Nathaniel?”

His temper flares for only a moment before it’s quickly snuffed out.  “Yes, stepmother,” he answers obediently, for he knows the price of speaking back is one he cannot pay.

“See?” she turns triumphantly back to Nathan, her smile slickly painted on her face.  “He can barely think for himself.”

Nathaniel watches his father turn his gaze back to him, steeped with disgust.  “Mindless fool,” Nathan sniffs.  “Just like his mother.”

Again, there's an old instinct to defend her that rises in Neil's chest, but he smothers it tiredly.  He has no idea what his mother was like – not really, anyway.  Maybe she really was stupid.

“Well, at least no one will know we’re related,” Nathan finally sighs. 

Nathaniel nods his head, eyes cast to the floor.  He already knows how much of an embarrassment he is.  It’s why his father is making him do this - purposefully changing his name before he enters college because he “isn’t fit to carry the Wesninski title.”

But he promised that Nathaniel could get it back, one day.  When he had made something of himself. 

When he had earned it.

“Neil Josten,” his father sneers one last time.  “Then it is done, Neil.  You have two weeks to find somewhere to live before the start of the semester.  Understood?”

“Yes, father,” Neil answers quickly. 

What he doesn’t understand is those two weeks does not mean he gets to stay there. 

The next day, he finds a duffel bag on the front steps with only some of his possessions in it and a key that no longer unlocks any doors.

Thanks! 😊