#but turns out it's shapeshifter who lied cause he wanted a friend

[micechicken]

"Who are you?"

[mrs-barnes-rogers-writes]

A Second Chance Is A Better Chance - Christmas As A Roamer - The Ninth Christmas

Pairing: Alpha Steve Rogers x Omega Witch Reader, eventual ? x Omega Witch Reader and Alpha Steve Rogers X Omega Witch Reader

Summary: Rejected by your true mate at 21, you’ve given up on the Fates and the Moon Goddesses giving you a second chance. Being a Roamer for the last 9 years, you’re an Omega hardened by the world. You’re safe on your own because of your witchcraft, but it doesn’t stop Alphas and plenty of others sniffing around, especially when you’re an unmated Omega witch, who’s wolf also happens to be white, the rarest kind. You don’t need anyone, but why do you keep coming back to Brookville and why do you keep walking into trouble and helping people that you don’t know but for some strange reason feel like family. And where is that smell of apple pie coming from?

Warnings: A/B/O, eventual smut, violence in parts, witchcraft, shapeshifters,

You watched as the flames flickered in the fireplace, ignoring the buzz of your phone again. The library was your favourite room in the X Pack’s house. Dark bookcases lined the walls with a mix of the classics and modern tales along the shelves.

“You’re gonna have to answer that at some point” pushed Logan.

You sighed and flipped your phone over, so it was face down on the couch you were curled up on.

“I don’t know who it is.“ you lied.

“Oh so it’s not Frank then? Trying to make sure that you’re not on your own at Christmas, I didn’t realise you were on such close terms with them.”

“Is that a problem?”

“No, but I’d appreciate it if you’d pick up the phone, then at least he’d stop calling me.”

“What? he called you? Why would he do that?”

“I’m guessing because he cares. He called the Coulsons too.” 

“How did he even know I was here?”

“Well, your list of friends isn’t exactly long, is it?”

“Rude.”

“And it doesn’t really take a rocket scientist, or Sherlock Holmes to figure out where you’d be. Either you’re gonna be back home, which is very unlikely, or with someone you know.”

“Not necessarily. I’ve spent Christmas alone before.”

“But it ain’t pleasant kid, take it from someone who knows and understands.”

You huffed and looked up at the ceiling. 

“You can stay as long as you need to”

You nodded and let out a broken thank you.

“But I might need a favour?”

You cocked an eyebrow.

“You’re asking a favour of a witch that isn’t yours Logan?”

“I am.”

“Go on then. Although I’m not into women if you’re wanting to turn your throuple into a quad.”

“Ha ha ha” Logan replied dryly “I think I’ve got my hands full without throwing you into the mix.”

You snorted with laughter.

“Yeah you might have a point.”

“It is about them though, well, us.”

“OK. This is very vague so far.”

“Jean and I are ready for pups.”

“And Storm?” You answered quickly.

“She’s partly ready.”

“Again vague.”

“She’s scared.”

“Well being a mother is scary. Birth is scary. Even being pregnant can be scary for some.”

“And throw in being a witch into the mix and it’s got her, well, even more scared than she should be.”

“Do you usually dictate how your mates should feel?”

Logan held his hands up in surrender.

“That’s not what I meant.” he sighed “I, how do I put this without sounding like an asshole alpha?”

You said nothing but raised an eyebrow.

“I already sound like one don’t I?”

“I mean……”

“Yes you do.” Came a voice from the doorway. Jean.

“You understand her in ways we never can” she added as she set herself down beside you.

Logan went to interrupt but was cut off by a firm look from his mate.

“You can understand her where we can’t. We don’t know what it’s like to be an omega. To be an omega witch. To be a rarity. When your powers have been a cause of pain, ridicule and questionable childhoods.”

You shot her a stern look.

“And where do I fit in this?” you asked.

“She’s scared her powers will get out of control when the labour starts.” Jean replied.

“Getting ahead of yourselves aren’t you? She’s not pregnant yet.”

“Exactly, she’s not off birth control. She won’t even consider it without having a plan in place.” Logan snarked.

“And that’s her choice and we have to respect that.” Jean added.

“I’m not going to ask her to come off birth control or convince her to let you knock her up just because it’s what you want!” you quipped back.

“Damn straight sister.” Came another voice and Storm stepped out of the shadows.

Both Logan and Jean eyes went wide with shock. 

“How? Why couldn’t we smell you?” Logan almost barked.

“A concealing spell, a damn good one!” Jean frowned.

“Oh I wonder where she learnt that.” You sniggered.

Storm perched herself on the arm of the couch you were sitting on and started to play with your hair and smirked.

Jean and Logan glanced at each other. Storm hadn’t taken the overheard conversation as badly as they’d thought. They quickly discovered they were wrong, as she opened the bond and rushed her emotions through it.

“Don’t ever pull this shit again!” Storm snapped. “You aren’t as discreet as you think you are. White wolf ears, remember?”

“We thought you were sleeping.” Logan replied

“Well, that’s your own dumbass fault.” You quipped.

Storm’s expression softened as she looked down at you, still fiddling with your hair.

“We’ve already spoken. Y/N has agreed to be around during the pregnancy and during the labour. Logan you can speak to the Coulsons about a long term rental on the cottage and you two will be paying for it.”

Logan rolled his eyes as Jean replied.

“Of course.”

“You didn’t tell them the best part!” you added, smirking at Logan.

“Oh of course, she’s going to be godmother.”

“What!!?” Logan was quick to reply.

“Storm, that’s usually a mate decision.” Jean added.

“Yeah, so is trying for a baby.” she quipped back.

Jean and Logan locked eyes and it was obvious to you and Storm that they were mind linking. 

“Well, it makes complete sense. Whoever guides our pup safely into the world should be a godparent.” Jean confirmed.

“And that’s me. You’re welcome.” you replied.

“Great, now we’ll never be rid of her.” Logan threw in and you snorted with laughter.

Meanwhile on the other side of Brookville……….

Steve stood learning against the window frame looking out on to the packs land. Two years ago he had a letter in his hand telling him of his inheritance and now his pack were settled.

Well as settled as a bunch of ex-military reprobates could be. 

“Uncle Steve” called a little voice pulling his attention away from the window. He looked down to see Lila, Clint’s middle child, starting to climb his leg. 

“You k?”

“Yeah, sweetheart I’m ok.” Steve replied lifting him into his arms.

“Face sad.”

“I’m OK.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Steve spotted a shooting star dance across the sky. “Hey look, you think that’s a star or Santa?”

“Oooting star”

“Shooting star sweetheart.”

“Wish”

“Yeah, you’re right, I’ll make one and you make one, ready?”

“Yes”

Steve closed his eyes and made a wish and peeked as little Lila made hers too. He held her tightly in his arms and planted a soft kiss to the top of her head.

Would he ever gets this? His own child in his arms? He didn’t know anymore, he was starting to think that the chance had been taken away by the mate that rejected him. 

“Everything OK over here?”

Clint asked, picking up on the melancholy in Steve’s scent.

“Yeah sorry, we were looking at the stars.”

“Oooting stars Daddy”

“Oh wow, you make a wish?”

“Yes for Uncle Steve?”

“You used your wish for me?” Steve asked.

“Yep!”

“That’s sweet baby, time to say goodnight though.” Clint replied, lifting Lila from Steve’s arms.

The Barton’s kids made their way around the pack saying goodnight, giving out hugs as they were told to go straight to sleep ready for Santa.

The whisper of little Lila wasn’t missed as Clint carried her upstairs, Laura following as she held  Cooper’s hand and carried baby Nathaniel.

“Daddy?”

“Yeah sweetie.”

“I wished for Uncle Stevie to be happy.”

The remaining pack members turned to look at Steve, who promptly turned back to the window, swallowing hard to try and contain the lump that had formed in his throat. 

‘Let’s hope your wish works sweetheart’, Steve thought to himself waiting for another shooting star. 

On the other side of the room Natasha locked eyes with Bucky and mind linked with him. Bucky frowned at her, she knew he didn’t like mind linking since he was a POW. 

“The Luna you keep dreaming, about what does she look like?”

Bucky cocked an eyebrow at her, which she returned both turning to look at Steve. 

[ominous-feychild]

OC Facts Tag

Thank you for the tag, @honeybewrites!

Rules: Make a list of fun facts about your OCs. Like a headcanon list, if you will! Except it's actually canon lol.

Characters from Sun and Shadow: Freya, Crow, Daleira, Faer

Freya:

Knows a lot about sailing, but has mostly worked on ships by herself. Is she self-taught? Well, kinda--it's because of her dad basically being a god of the ocean. It's literally in her blood, and she's blessed to have good luck on the ocean. Not that it helps her if "luck" doesn't come into play...

Has mostly figured out how to translate three different forgotten languages by using only her own intelligence and libraries

Has anger issues but thinks of herself as a very calm person

Has a lot of nightmares, but remembers very few of them. Doesn't have very many good night's rests

For some reason, half of what she thinks and knows of her past contradict each other...

Sleeps curled up in a ball; likes cuddling with stuffed animals but left it at home when going to Lynsmouth because she thought her fiancé would judge her for it. Joke's on her, it's a fiancée, and she has way more than just one!

Would forgive her dad for his neglect if he just gave a sincere apology, a hug, and spent at least a few months with her every year

Hates standing out

Was previously in a toxic relationship with a man who groomed her. It caused a lot of her modern-day issues. Her dad is not aware of this, and she hopes to keep it that way.

Crow:

Both hates and loves the smell of blood

Forgot how to cry years ago

Is a fantastic actor and liar; thinks their lies are terrible and obvious, but is able to fool even some of the people best at reading body-language

Knows how to fight with two different types of weapons. Also knows hand-to-hand combat--that, and using a simple dagger, are what they're best at

Always has a knife/dagger within reach, but it's usually hidden behind one of their wings or their tail feathers

Their humor is, in reality, an act they put on to make people underestimate them. They are hyper-alert and constantly on guard

Is most comfortable sleeping on top of something spherical; likes wrapping their arms--and so their wings with them--around it, resting their cheek over their shoulder/wing, and splaying their legs out

However, is used to sleeping in terrible conditions. Just always needs to sleep on their stomach; it's painful to lay on their wings

Daleira:

Is almost certainly ADHD and is probably on the spectrum; I'd have to write more of her before I say the last part for sure, though

Doesn't have very many friends and is aware of it; most of the people in her life are either humoring her because they're afraid of her or because they want political power

Her obsession with magic originated from her trying to figure out if she could change what she is--aka, stop being a faerie and turn human

She's terrified of her own magic and refuses to use it. Most of the magic she uses in-story is during moments of panic (ie, used on reflex) or through a conduit

If she ever managed to "turn human", would cry for weeks about no longer being able to shapeshift. Her ability to shapeshift is one of the few things she likes about being a faerie

Has never been in a relationship before

Doesn't like to sleep because she's afraid of what her magic will do while she's unconscious. Lucky(?) her, she can literally make it so she doesn't have to sleep

Wishes she had a sibling or other people to relate to

Loves sweet food; lucky her, she won't ever gain weight unless she wants to

Faer:

Figured out engineering over time from reverse-engineering half-destroyed machinery

Likes cooking and sees it as very similar to engineering

He loves his hair and would cry if he had to cut it. Has not cut it once in over 5 years, not even to trim it.

Loves soft textures and wears an oversized cloak to hide his constant fidgeting, to generally keep his actions hidden, and to be able to pet it

The more I write about him, the more certain I am that I accidentally made ANOTHER goddamn autistic character istg--

Although he claims the cyborg bobcat that follows him everywhere is his familiar, it is not. It is an actual bobcat. They bonded over a series of incidents of saving each other's lives and refuse to part from each other

Refuses to set foot in a forest until his life depends on it. Thankfully, now lives in a city.

The giant scar over his face is far from the only one he has.

Has PTSD and is constantly aware of his surroundings

Met Daleira when she saved him, but actually likes her as a friend and person

Is suspicious of Valyarus, but doesn't know how to tell Daleira that her dad gives him major creep vibes

"Faer" (pronounced "fair") is not actually his name

Tagging (with no pressure): @the-letterbox-archives @the-golden-comet @yourpenpaldee @darkandstormydolls @themboty + anyone else who wants to join!

Divider by @cafekitsune

[hamuchaa108]

Tranquil Flame - Introduction

'Tranquil Flame' is one of my main two OC stories. It follows the story of Red and Rein, on their attempt to reach a place they call 'Utopia'; a place where the end of the rainbow lies, which they believe it's the place where they can have a different and better life from their previous home.

A short summary of Tranquil Flame:

On a certain earth, Human coexists with another race called 'Therian', a humanoid race that can shapeshift into an animal. There has been an ongoing feud between Human and Therian, which makes them unable to live in peace together. However, as the society advances, some people make efforts to establish a harmony between the two races. While it is somewhat successful, some countries still struggle to intergrate the two races into a united society.

Red is a young boy from a small village in Ertose, Ezmunch. Ezmunch is notorious for a country with high racism especially to Therian Wolf, that it even segregates Therian Wolf people within a large forest named Dusk Forest. Despite the racism problem, Red manages to befriend a Therian Wolf boy named Rein in the past. However, they have not seen each other for years after an accident involving Red's brother, Snow. Until one day, Rein shows up in front of Red's house during a Werewolves Siege.

As both have turned into teenagers, Red initially doesn't recognize Rein. Rein reminds him of their childhood promise of going on an adventure together. Pondering on his current family situation where his father has fallen so low with his gambling addiction and Red wishes to get a better life for Snow's sake, Red agrees to leave with Rein. However, as they run away on a whim, Red and Rein don't have a specific place to go at first. When they find out the world outside Ezmunch, they become determined to just collect as much money as possible, then live together on a place where Human and Therian can peacefully coexist; and when that day comes, Red wants to take Snow from their old house and makes him live together on their 'Utopia'.

This story is BL, focusing on Red and Rein's relationship as their feeling blooms into something stronger. They also meet new friends as they get into different places. More info about the characters is below the cut.

• Red

Species: Human

DoB: January 5

Height: 165 cm (beginning); 168 cm (ending)

Age: 16 (beginning); 17 (second arc); 18 (third arc); 21 (ending)

Fav. food: Corn, lemon tea

Least fav. food: Oatmeal

Family: Father, younger brother, grandmother

Red is the main character of the story. As he had lost his mother at the age of 7 after she gave birth to his brother, Red was forced to mature too early. Red was the one who took care of house chores and the mother role in their house, even to the point that he became the mother figure for his brother. As a result, Red didn't have time to properly socialize with children of his age. Shouldered by the responsibilities he was not supposed to handle, Red became cold and rigid to the point that he couldn't even smile. He takes everything seriously and doesn't tolerate fooling around, or even entertain the idea of having fun. Red is also stubborn and not easily swayed, so he always goes through with his mind. Taking care of his brother for his whole childhood also caused Red to develop a protective streak to people he considers close. Red doesn't talk a lot, but is surprisingly quick to anger. Despite being rather quiet, Red is very sharp-tongued and is not afraid to voice his opinion, no matter how harsh it is. After staying with Rein and meeting a lot of new people, Red has learned to loosen up and let his emotions show more.

• Rein

Species: Therian Wolf

DoB: June 21

Height: 177 cm (beginning); 181 cm (ending)

Age: 15 (beginning); 16 (second arc); 17 (third arc); 20 (ending)

Fav. food: Barbecue, any grilled food

Least fav. food: Nothing in particular

Family: Father, mother, brothers and sister

Rein is one of the sons of the esteemed Olbrich Family, whose father was the current village chief on the beginning of the story. Growing up with a strange yet not fully understood power which makes him insanely strong (physically), Rein was forced to keep his emotions in check because his parents were afraid if Rein got sufficiently angry he could wreak havoc to his surroundings. As a result, Rein became passive and obedient yet eager to please others. Rein is not quite intelligent, and combined with his placid nature he was often bullied during his childhood. Rein never fought back because he was forbidden to raise his fist. Due to this, other children thought he was a wimp for never fighting back.

At some point, he met Red when the two accidentally bumped on each other in Dusk Forest. The two eventually became friends, although they separated ways before reuniting in their teenage years. Wishing for a world where he can have a peaceful life and accepted by others, Rein risked himself to get out of Dusk Forest and lived among humans. Rein is very patient and loves to meet new people, although due to his upbringing Rein never really talks about himself and what's on his mind. Despite living while hiding his real identity as a Therian is tough, Rein believes he can get through everything as long as he is together with Red.

• Kiriko

Species: Human

DoB: May 25

Height: 164 cm

Age: 15 (first arc)

Fav. food: Miso soup

Least fav. food: Wasabi

Family: Father

Kiriko is a human girl whom Red and Rein met when they arrived at Karmost, Ezmunch's neighboring country. Because she has been living her whole life as a sheltered daughter of a rich and famous scientist, Kiriko was excited to meet new friends and offered them a job on her house. Kiriko was a child genius who had helped with her father's inventions since she was little, and she is an expert in creating robots. However as she grew up, her father started to take more unethical experiments and forced Kiriko to be his accomplice. He put Kiriko under constant fear to make her obedient. Kiriko is not allowed to go outside without her father permission. As a result, she spends a lot of time indoor and working with her machines or computer programs. Even though Kiriko likes to tinker with machines, she really concerns about her looks. On the rare time when her father allows her to step outside, Kiriko likes to go shopping, trying new clothes, and going to beauty salon. Kiriko maintains a cheerful face and optimistic views on life despite she has her life under absolute control of her father and being constantly pressured. Kiriko admires Red and Rein for being able to run away from their place, and wants to follow their path. She believes someday, she can eventually get her freedom and lives on her own accord without needing to obey other people. That's why she endures everything and resolves to never give up.

• Marie

Species: Human

DoB: July 7

Height: 173 cm

Age: 18 (second arc)

Fav. food: Gratin

Least fav. food: Pineapple

Family: None

Marie is a quirky girl with strange powers inside her, which make her a bit unstable although she is mostly fine when Red and Rein know her. She lost her family when she was 2 years old due to an unknown accident, and subsequently taken under her aunt's care. However, Marie turned out to be a creepy child who had a terrifying obsession to dismember animals and harmed other children, so her aunt locked her in the attic. During her isolation, Marie went almost insane due to the lack of social interaction and the voices inside her head, made by the 'entities' that give her power. One day, her aunt's son, Oz, suddenly opened the attic door despite being forbidden to do so. Oz wasn't afraid of Marie and was willing to be her friend. Touched with Oz's kindness, Marie is willing to devote her whole life for Oz even though she hates the whole world for making her suffer.

After having a falling out with her aunt, Marie left her aunt's house with Oz following her. Marie kept her distance from other people because Oz told her so. As a result, both of them became outcasts. Marie worked on a slaughterhouse sometime after because she felt that it can 'sate' her sadistic urge to dismember and harm others. While working there, at some point she got to know Red and Rein. Despite her best efforts to avoid them, she eventually became their friend. Marie has a huge influence on Red's sense of humor and tendencies to prank others, because Marie herself is a prankster. When she has her sound mind, Marie is quite perceptive to her surroundings. Marie doesn't like to be ordered by other people and has a very high sense of individuality, so she always acts on her own. She is very hard to read and be understood.

• Oz

Species: Half-Therian

DoB: September 6

Height: 175 cm

Age: 17 (second arc)

Fav. food: Potato

Least fav. food: Pineapple

Family: Father, mother, younger sister

Oz is Marie's cousin. Lived with overbearing, perfectionist mother who is also a devout religious, Oz never grew a spine to stand for himself. The first time Oz went against his mother was when he unlocked the attic door and found Marie, and decided to be her friend. Despite his mother's objection, she eventually relented because Marie never harmed him. Because Oz hung out with Marie too much, he also became friendless. Oz really likes Marie and wants to stay by her side no matter what, to the point that he even decided to follow Marie when she left his house. He also befriends Red and Rein first before they become Marie's friends. Oz is cautious, diligent, and likes to plan things thoroughly. Oz is easily intimidated and sort of a doormat due to his upbringing, however he is aware about this shortcoming. As a result, he likes to write his personal opinions on his journal. Often, his writings sound very harsh and judgmental. Being raised in an overly religious environment also makes Oz hard to accept views outside of what he believes, although he sometimes tries to compromise if it's concerning his friends. Like Marie, Oz is also quite perceptive, although he never voices out his opinions.

• Iris

Species: Human

DoB: September 28

Height: 158 cm

Age: 15 (third arc); 18 (ending)

Fav. food: Stir-fried noodle

Least fav. food: Tomato

Family: Father, Mother

Iris is the daughter of a famous baker in Glessa, Bredynn. She became acquainted with Red and Rein after her father hired them to work on his bakery. While normally sweet and demure, Iris is also kinda selfish and wants things to go her way, and sometimes is prone to impulsive anger when she is upset about something. Despite having such a bad attitude, Iris actually lives quite normally and not an outcast or loner like other characters mentioned before. She is also diligent and is willing to improve on skills she is lacking. While Iris has a good relationship with Red and considers him like her brother, Iris hates Rein because she is jealous that he is popular and well-liked by people. Rein being her partner with delivery jobs doesn't help her case, and as a result Iris is very mean to him. Iris also vents her anger and frustration to Rein, unaware that her action has bad consequences. Deep down, Iris suffers from inferiority-superiority complex and believes she is inadequate to inherit her family's bakery because she can't bake well. Iris also has survivor guilt because she outlives her siblings who died after a werewolf attack. As a result, Iris is very racist to werewolf and really hates them. Ironically, Iris doesn't know that Rein is a werewolf, although she is still not amicable to him for a whole different reason.

[daydream-cement]

cinderella's dead

Characters: Larissa Weems

Warnings: Some NSFW elements mixed in.

Synopsis: Larissa grows into herself after her breakup with Morticia. This is a songfic based off cinderella's dead by EMELINE.

Authors Note: I absolutely loved writing this. I hope y'all like it too.

I was nineteen in a white dress When you told me I'm your princess So I played right in to your fantasy

"Don't you just look beautiful tonight, my princess." Morticia purred in Larissa's ear. Larissa had been sitting at her desk, applying her make-up in the mirror when Morticia came up behind her. Now Morticia's hands grazed over the shapeshifter's shoulders, sweeping the hair from Larissa's neck before she pressed a kiss to her flesh.

"Thank you..." Larissa hummed, enjoying the attention. Morticia had been spending so much time with Gomez lately that she hadn't been paying any attention to her. This was nice.

"Want to do me a favor?" Morticia's voice was husky as she continued her kisses, allowing her hands to travel down Larissa's chest. Larissa leaned back into the touch.

"Yes, anything." Larissa usually agreed to Morticia's requests without hesitation, willing to do anything for her roommate. She was so beautiful that it was hard to say no.

"Fuck me as Gomez again?" Larissa's heart sunk. She wished Morticia would want to be with her as she was, but she wanted Morticia's touch more. She loved having the raven-haired girl beneath her begging for more.

Larissa set down her make-up brush and nodded, shifting into the person that Morticia wished she was with.

Was your good girl, so I'd sit tight And if I don't speak, then we can't fight Looked in the mirror, now I can't believe

Larissa laid in her bed facing the wall, trying not to listen in to Morticia and Gomez enthralled in one another's embrace. They were moaning and gasping for breath as they made out and felt one another up.

Morticia said he would leave by 10pm, but here it was 11pm and he was still there.

"Gomez," Morticia was obviously trying to catch her breath, "You need to get back to your dorm room..."

"Oh, Tish..."

"I don't want you to get in trouble..." The kissing resumed until Larissa heard a pair of feet hit the floor.

"I love you, cara mia." Gomez pressed a kiss to Morticia's hand, causing Morticia to bite her lip.

"I love you, mon sauvage." Morticia whispered as she shut the door to her dorm room.

Larissa felt Morticia crawl into bed with her, causing her to turn over and face her best friend. Morticia pulled her into an embrace, Larissa's head resting on her chest.

"Isn't he dreamy..." Morticia asked, playing with Larissa's hair. A groan came from the dark-haired girl as she thought of her boyfriend.

Larissa took a deep breath and released it, "Mhmm."

She lied. Morticia was the dreamy one. Morticia was everything.

Morticia's hand found Larissa's chin, tilting her head up to capture her lips with her own. Some of Larissa's frustration began to fade away. Morticia was intoxicating.

"Care to mess around for a bit?" Morticia broke the kiss to whisper, her hands trailing lower down Larissa's body, "I'm so horny."

Larissa nodded frantically, attaching her lips back to Morticia's.

I forgot I was a bad bitch, tragic Breaking all the rules 'cause they were only habits Cinderella's dead now, casket You thought the shoe fit but I

"Rissa, care to do me a favor?" Larissa had been in this situation one too many times before. Graduation was a month away and she had finally come to the realization that Morticia would never pick her over Gomez. Once again, Morticia wanted her to shapeshift into Gomez so she could fulfill the aching between her legs.

"Can't. I have a study date." Larissa shrugged, grabbing her bag from her desk chair.

"A study date?" Morticia stood, her tone sounded like that of a child who just heard the word 'no' for the first time.

"Yeah, me and Françoise are working on a project. Don't wait up." Larissa flashed Morticia one of her winning smiles before she left her roommate alone in their dorm room.

(Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da-da)

Morticia was gone at Gomez's dorm room for the night. Larissa had been laying in bed. She felt an aching between her legs. She slipped a hand between her legs and began touching herself, thinking of only herself in that moment.

Enjoying the sensation between her legs, she was surprised when Morticia came back in the room, seeing that her roommate had been enjoying some 'private time'.

"Care for some company?" Morticia began sauntering towards Larissa, but stopped in her tracks at Larissa's response.

"No, thank you."

I forgot I was a bad bitch Now I'm blowing bubbles in my bath tub After six hours in the night club Got my feet up, put the TV on

Larissa was sitting in her bathtub, bubbles piled high in front of her. She leaned her head back on a towel behind her. The heat of the water and beautiful smells of the soaps had her in heaven.

The phone rang next to her. She pulled the long corded phone and set it on the closed toilet, knowing she wanted to enjoy herself in the tub all evening without having to get out.

She picked it up, a familiar voice on the other end.

"Larissa, it's Morticia! I'm coming into town. I was wondering if you-"

"Oh, sorry, Morticia. I am all booked up." Larissa said into the receiver before placing the phone back on the hook. She knew she was being petty and toxic, but nothing was going to wreck her peace. She had been working so hard to build her confidence that she didn't need Morticia coming back into her life to tear her down.

Probably end up on a rooftop With some new girls and our shoes off Might black out and text my mom (hello)

Larissa held up her drinks in unison with many of her newfound friends. She recently began working at Nevermore again as a history teacher. They had taken her to the bar in celebration of their newest addition to the Nevermore staff.

The night had been incredible, drinking and sharing stories and secrets. She hadn't thought of Morticia at all. For the first time she was building new friendships and didn't have a second half that people wanted to be with more. They all liked Larissa for herself.

Morticia stood outside the bar window. Gomez and her were supposed to be on a date night, but she paused to gaze at her former lover having a wonderful time. There was a pain in her chest. Was she jealous of her friend's new life without her?

I forgot I was a bad bitch, tragic Breaking all the rules 'cause they were only habits

Larissa wore black lingerie as she hung around her apartment. She had no visitors and no one to answer to. Morticia always told her to wear white. Black just wasn't her color, she would say.

Now, Larissa stood in front of the mirror. Hands trailing over her breasts and down to her thighs. She thought she looked incredible. That night she brought herself to orgasm again and again as she lay in front of the mirror. Only thinking of how beautiful she found herself.

Cinderella's dead now, casket You thought the shoe fit, but I

Morticia wrote Larissa a letter, but Larissa didn't even read it. She wasn't looking to have Morticia's friendship anymore.

Larissa put the stopper in the drain and turned on the water, filling the sink an inch full before she turned the water off. She took a match to the letter, allowing it to burn between her fingers before she dropped it in the water.

(Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da-da)

I forgot I was a bad bitch, tragic Breaking all the rules 'cause they were only habits

Larissa was in a bar in New York, enjoying a trip with some of her new colleagues. Well, she was actually tucked away in the corner of a bar, tongue in the mouth of a woman she hadn't known but twenty minutes. Larissa didn't care, however. This woman was hot and she wanted her.

Half an hour later, they had moved to the bathroom and this stranger was going down on Larissa. The shapeshifter was seated on the bathroom counter as the stranger was on her knees, offering Larissa some of the best cunnilingus she had ever had.

This was the first time she had sex with someone that wasn't Morticia. This stranger wanted Larissa. Just Larissa.

Cinderella's dead now, casket You thought the shoe fit, but I

It was Larissa's ten year class reunion. She knew she would see Morticia, but she didn't care. She was now the Principal of Nevermore Academy. She didn't need anyone's approval but her own. Larissa stood in the entryway, greeting her peers as they entered the great hall.

"Larissa!" Morticia smiled at her former friend, her arm looped through her husband's.

"Morticia. Great to see you! Enjoy your night." Larissa's diplomatic smile brushed her ex lover to the side, knowing that Morticia would have to see her enjoying herself for the night.

I forgot I was a bad bitch (Forgot I was a bad bitch, bad bitch, bad bitch) I forgot I was a bad bitch (Forgot I was a bad bitch)

Larissa laughed with many of her old peers, reminiscing about the past, but she was cornered by Morticia when she went to get another drink.

"I've heard your still single." Morticia stated, was she rubbing it in or was she looking to reignite something.

"Well, I'm not really looking right now. I have a couple of people I may see on the weekends, but nothing serious." Larissa shrugged, as she looked back onto the party before looking down at Morticia, aiming to make her old roommate feel small.

"Oh, really?" Morticia straightened her back, trying to make herself taller.

"I actually have my eyes on someone right now." Larissa looked passed Morticia at an old classmate who had asked Larissa on a date back in high school when Larissa was pining after Morticia.

Morticia was left standing alone. Larissa really had moved on.

(Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da-da)

[thewiddershinsme]

Reading The Ballad of Never After, finished Part II: An Unkindness of Stories:

-Luc is somehow starting to grow on me. He is like an overly affectionate dog that may turn on and mangle you unexpectedly, and then lick your face after tearing your throat out.

-you know, I can’t believe I never thought of this before, but what is the deal with all the apples? They give Jacks super magic or something? Where do they come from?

-I would love just one chapter with Jacks’s pov. He tells LaLa he is just giving Evangeline what she wants but not what he wants, but he obviously wants her safe and cared for. Yeah he could be lying to LaLa but his tendency is to twist, not lie, so what is he twisting?!?! The whole “pretend for tonight” scene was so soft and sweet and he has the real feelings but what is he thinking?

-Jacks doesn’t want the arch open, just the stones. Interesting, but still begs the question of whyyyyy. And until we know what the stones are capable of, not sure what his ultimate goal is.

-LaLa’s betrayal actually hurt. I mean, you know Jacks is a liar and keeps secrets so his betrayals and cruelties are expected. But LaLa was Evangeline’s friend, so to learn she is the one who set the Archer curse…that was sad. At least the mirror curse was well-intentioned to protect Evangeline. But it does forcibly remind you that for all her good parts, LaLa is still a Fate with a Fate’s moral compass.

-so I was wondering how Jacks did not try to straight up murder LaLa since he knew she set the curse, but LaLa and Jacks knew each other as humans! They were in the same friend group, and obviously there is a pretty strong loyalty between these two that neither would admit. Course, that makes LaLa putting the Archer curse on Evangeline even more cruel (to put Jacks through that all again)

-the Hollow. I can begin to describe how much I adore the Hollow. I want to stay there SO BAD.

-I love the trope of person being panicky over injured love interest. And we got it twice! I think the whole Jacks taking care of Evangeline injured was one of my favorite parts

-is the truth stone not “on” all the time? Cause Evangeline straight up lied (about not being sleepy) when Jacks was bandaging her up and she had it on.

-okay. So some pieces are starting to fall together. Per Handsome Stranger (another Fate?) Jacks is the Archer. Aurora loved LaLa’s brother, who we know is Lyric, so LaLa was a Merrywood (which does make the her whole engagement really weird). LaLa loved Aurora’s brother, who we know is Castor, BUT LaLa’s love was a dragon shapeshifter, and I know one of the Valor children was a shapeshifter, so maybe that was LaLa’s love? There’s something still missing here.

-theory time!!!! And I think this one is right. On the heels of the LaLa and Jacks “friends since humanhood” realizations I think Chaos (who has been around since the time of the Valors) is one of the Merrywood Three, explaining Jacks’s friendship/loyalty to him and why he didn’t want to tell him of LaLa’s engagement. Begs the question of whether he is Castor or Lyric…I’m thinking Castor since Jacks tried to save Castor, and it resulted in his vampireness.

-so guess Jacks only has to kiss lips to kill. That’s pretty lucky for Evangeline (side eye)

-oh her telling Jacks that everything between them is the mirth stone affecting them was heartbreaking….I mean we saw shy Jacks! I loved shy nervous Jacks.

[redxixi]

pleasure cabin

werewolf AU 

content warning:  werewolf!dabi AU, NSFW thoughts, kidnapping, corupption, naked people?,shapeshifting dabi, a bit of reader gettin pyshically hurt (not absure)

A/N : this is my first time writing something this long or writing anything in particular i hope its good. you can expect a part 2 of this. my asks will be open sooo ask whatever you want. might be slight grammar error pls bear in mind english isnt my first language lol.

.

.

you wake up to the sound of a buzzing alarm clock causing youre head to pound. you roll over turning it off and stare at the ceiling trying to remain awake.

you were never really a moring person, you like nights better than the moring. At night its far more calming and peaceful than in the moring. Full moon nights were the best. youd often go out of the city, into the woods where you have a little cabin that youre grandparents used to own. about a couple miles away from the cabin, deeper into the woods, lies a beautiful lake where the moonlight reflects on the water and illuminates the surrounding area. youd often go there once a week to get away from the hustle and bustle of the college campus.

today was friday so that meant you could go there after class and you couldnt wait.

pulling youre sheets off of you and heading into the bathroom where you already miss the warmth of youre bed,you force youre self to take a cold bath since that always woke you up. after youre done with youre shower you look at the time.

"6:00"

realizing you will probaly be late for class you quickly throw on youre favorite oversized shirt and mom jeans along with a pair of boots that youre mother once owned.

"i wonder how mom is doing lately" you wonder while putting on the pair of boots

on youre way to class you bought a couple of donuts and a coffee. you never liked coffee but that was the only thing you could afford at the time and it was cheap so you forced your self to drink the bitter beverge and head to class.

"Y/N" you hear youre name so you turned around. "wait for meee, i missed youu so muchhh" you look at the brown haired girl."Uraraka you saw me yesterday stop being dramatic" you say sarcastically to youre best friend. Uraraka has been youre only friend since high school, the 2 of you were like sisters. Uraraka has always been a pretty girl that gets along with everyone. she the extroverted friend that adopted you, the introverted friend and since then you 2 have been through everything together.

"stopp being so meann anyway i realllyy need youre help" she says with a desperate face. "can we pleaseee switch partners for the math assigment. i really wanna do this with deku, im thinking of asking him out tonight so if you switched it would be a big help." she says while holding both youre hands.

"sure i dont mind switching, btw who is youre partner again?"

"i got paired with uhhh dabi" she says with a worried look on her face.

"oh dont worry its no big deal as long as hes okay with us switching then im fine"

"REALLY you mean it omg YOURE THE BEST thankk you soooo muchhhh" she says while bear hugging you

"nway i gotta get to class see ya BYE." she says while running away to her class.

"this isnt good...im not fine." you think about dabi and his face, how he haunts youre dreams, youre thoughts, youre life. you never realised when this happend. at the beginning of the semester when you heard that the devilishly handsome looking man would be in youre class you couldnt help but feel a bit exited. when you got to class that day and sat in the back like you always do to avoid people he came and sat right next to you.

"goodmoring angel" he said in a deep sexy voice. youre cheeks grew red

"goodmoring." you say back in a shaky voice. that nickname and deep voice did something to youre insides and youre core. that day you couldnt focus on anything the teacher said. instead you kept admiring him.

his hands.

his hands were adorned in beautiful skull like rings and he painted his nails black. his forearms had veins going all the way up and he had a beatiful snake tattoo on his forearm. "his hands are bigger than mine." you thought. you couldnt help but wonder how they would look like around youre neck, between youre thighs and in youre mouth. "he must have done that with alot of girls." you wonder.

since that day he sat next to you everyday becoming even more attractive, if that was even possible. you look forward to going to class now too and today isnt any diffrent. entering class you look around and take youre seat where you usually sit waiting for youre dark prince to show up. but he never did.

the entire day you hadnt seen dabi nor heard from him. you missed him and started to grow worried. durning luch you felt down cause he wasnt there. "where is he? is he hurt? sick? did and accident happen?" you frantically start to overthink. in search of awnsers you head over to Ochako's class. you remeber her saying dabi's brother, shoto sits in her class so you decide to go ask him about it. on youre way there you passed the headmasters office where you hear a fimiliar voice. taking a peak through the window you see dabi talking to the headmaster."whats he doing here?" you wisper to your self.

"i wont be able to come to school for atleast 2 weaks...somthing came up in my family and its urgent." 2 WEEKS?! he will be gone for 2 weeks you felt sad,confused, angry. why was he leaving for 2 weeks? what happend in his family? will he be alright? will he ever come back? you felt light headed so yu decided to head home. you felt torn on the inside and you had a splitting headache. arriving home you took a hot bath and layed in bed thinking about today and how you wouldnt be able to see dabi for the next 2 weeks. not to mention you got alot of unfinished homework and assigments left you didnt do. this was all too much. you decided to forget all about everything and go to the cabin where you could relax and do youre work in peace. you took out youre suitcase threw some clothes in and headed out.

when you arrived at the cabin it was already 5:00 it was about to get dark. you took out your suitcase and keys and headed inside the cabin. it was a neat looking,2 story tall cabin with a nice porch outside and beautiful garden. going inside you head upstairs to the master bedroom where you just threw your self on the bed. you where exausthed. you probably should have taken a bath but you didnt have the strenght. slowly you feel youre eyelids getting heavy and drifting into sleep.

you woke up around 4:00 am that night feeling better. you head downstairs to drink some water, since you couldnt sleep anymore. after that you headed to the upstairs balcony and started into the silent and mysterious woods. there was a bit of fog that was hanging on the trees making everything seem like it as from a horror movie. it was a full moon night. the moonlight illuminated the area making it seem like the abyss of the woods came to life,as if the woods where trying to warn you of the danger that will overcome you. you felt sticky and sweaty, in desperate need of a bath you make the oh so great decision to go swim in the lake. the woods may scare other people but you basically grew up here with youre mother and it felt like home. the fog,the silence,the howling wind, it seemed like all of it is your friend. and tonight those friends where telling you something. but you shook it off as your "imagination". taking your bathrobe and phone you head towards the lake, the fog was thick and howling wind was loud. after a while you reached the lake and its as beautiful as ever, the moonlight reflected its light on the clear water making it shine like diamonds and the fog made it seem like the sky came down just to great you.

but something was off and you could feel it, it was as if something were watching you, waiting for a moment to attack its prey,that prey being you. you felt a bit anxious so you stripped of your clothes, put on your towel and went in the lake. it was the perfect temperture, you found youreself getting lost in the oh so relaxing feeling of water against your skin. you soon forgot the anxious feeling, the only feeling you felt was peace, comfort and tranquility. nearby you in the woods were a pair of dark blue eyes stalking your every movement, maping out the curves of youre body, taking in the form of your supple looking breasts and the curves of your waist. "she looks like a goddess." the blue eyed man thought to himself and he was not lying. you looked so elegantly in the lake, the moonlight reflected of your body making you look a pure maiden of the gods. "its as if the moon god himself sent you down from heaven" the blue eyes man couldnt help but want to ravish you, you looked so innocent, so curruptible, so breakable. he would make you scream his name for hours, giving you all the pleasure you wanted, filling you to the core with his children, making you his. these thoughts dwelled in his mind as you swam so peacefully unbeknowing of the terror that was about to come upon you.

after a couple minutes of swimming you decided to get out. putting on your bathrobe and gathering all your stuff, you are ready to leave when you hear some tweaking in the woods next to you. its probably nothing you think trying not to panic but as you where about to turn around you hear growling. wolfs? cyotes? no thats impossible you lifed here all your life and you never heard of any wolfes or cyotes being here. emerging from the shadow was indead a wolf but not a regular wolf, this wolf was huge about 6 feet tall and it looked as big as a car. you froze unable to procces anything from fear, the blue eyed monstorous figure slowly stalked towards you and you didnt dare move. the figure stopped in its tracks and the both of you looked at eachother, it was strange, you felt as if you have know this figure, its sky blue eyes reminded you of a certain someone.

CRACK. you heared a loud cracking sound from behind the figure causing it to turn its head and as soon as it did that you ran. you didnt know where you where going but you just ran. you head footsteps from behind you and knew that thing was on your trails, you ran deeper into the woods into an area that you dont recognize. the trees seem bigger and its branches too, you kept getting scrached from its roots but the pain only seemed to push you into running faster. soon you run into a big root from one of the trees that you didnt see.

CRACK

the sound of your ankle breaking was heard vividly. you fell into the ground screaming, crying and didnt know where you are. as soon as you looked behind you there he was, the blue eyed figure, waching you closely, you were his prey, and he was your preditor. you couldnt help but cry. "please i dont wanna die" you say sobbing, you didnt want to die, you wanted to see your mom, graduate, you wanted to see dabi and if possible be his. as if the figure understood your plea it backed away a couple inches and howled loudly. the figure started to transform, it was getting smaller, its paws were shrinking and it started to look like...a human?

"my dearest Y/N dont be afraid i would never dream of hurting you. dont you recognize me my love?" you couldnt believe what you were seeing. the blue eyes monster was now a human and not just any human, it was dabi. youre dabi, the one you fell in love with. you felt dizzy you couldnt procces what was going on and the pain in your ankle made it worse. you cant think straight, your eyes closed you felt your consciousness slipping away from you, as your unconscious body is about to fall dabi leaps forward and catches you.

"oh my sweat angel sleep well once you wake up you will be all mine"

and you would,once you woke up your whole world would become upside down, your whole world would become his.

(A/N : part 2? maybe? probably?)

[capri-fandomwriting]

Camilo x Male Reader - Boy in the Window (Part 2)

(part 1)(part 3)(part 4)

Plot: A paranoid and lonely boy falls in love with a shapeshifting member of a family he’s scared of.

Triggers/Content Warnings: Enemies to lovers, hurt/comfort, child neglect mentions, cursing.

A/N: Thank you guys so much for the support! I’m surprised, to be honest, that my first post ever got so much love!

Forgot to mention this in Part 1, but both you and Camilo are 17 in this fic. Also this is the peak of the "enemies" phase, don’t worry, it gets better for them.

"Camilo! Time to get up!" Mirabel called out through the door of her younger cousin. Yet the boy didn’t respond.

Mirabel knocked on the door, only to hear a depressed groan. She slowly creaked the door open only to find the boy laying down with his face partially covered by the pillow he's resting his head on. His cheek puffed up slightly due to the pillow. He traced circles on the ground, kicking his feet in the air.

"Camilo?" Mirabel asked, which caused Camilo to hop to his feet.

"Mirabel! Uh…" Camilo stammered, "Good morning!" He weaved around her only to be met with the girl's hand wrapping around his wrist.

"Camilo, is there something wrong?" Mirabel asked. Camilo wormed his way out of the grip and backed into the guardrail, which pushed him back into Mirabel.

"Uh… I’m fine! I’m totally fine!" Camilo lied.

"Camilo, you know you can tell your family anything!"

"Yes, and that’s why I’m telling you everything's fine!"

"Oh, Camilo’s in love with a boy that lives in that house that everyone thinks is abandoned," Dolores said from across the way.

Mirabel looked like she had just had a revelation. Camilo looked like he wanted to die, which he actually did want to.

"Hm!" Dolores squeaked before running off.

————

You took a small piece of chalk and ran it across the wall, the lines coalescing together into a large drawing of a flower.

Your mind keeps fluttering back to yesterday. With Camilo. He was… well… you're ashamed to admit he was cute.

Your father always told you to never trust a Madrigal. He told you they always helped others but that was a front. In truth, they are lying and deceitful people, one of them being a shapeshifter is just proof of that in your eyes.

Luckily you had a defensive measure, never leave the house. That way, none of them can cross you.

Your drawing was complete. Unfortunately it failed to bring your mind off of that Camilo boy.

You moved over to the kitchen, pulling out some of your purchases from yesterday and cutting them up, making a small salad before carefully moving to the table. You shrank as you ate alone. You wanted someone to eat with you so badly…

The chair across from you has been empty for five years. Your father left when you were 12, and you had to fend for yourself. It bothers you sometimes but you've learned to suck it up, right? You can handle things well! No tears!

————

"Camilo, that boy you're in love with is crying," Dolores whispered to Camilo, who turned sharply towards his sister.

"I told you, I'm not in love, I just want to be friends with him,"

"That's… not what it seems like to me…" she said, before squeaking and running off.

It took a solid minute for him to register what Dolores said beyond "that boy you're in love with," and with that sudden realization he barreled out the door.

His feet ran faster than he could have imagined towards your house. Head filled with worry and panic.

He suddenly skidded to a stop as he noticed your window was open, approaching it with caution only to notice the interior walls of your house was filled with art, and that you were currently drawing on one of the only slots on the wall that had no art on it.

He watched with intensity as you worked the chalk on the walls into the shape of a person with no distinct features, just… a person.

Camilo couldn't help but marvel at your colorful walls.

"Wow…" he muttered.

But that was enough. You jumped a mile and dropped the chalk, running over and grabbing the sides of your window, attempting to close it on Camilo.

"H-hey wait! I'm sorry! I was in the area and I saw your drawings through the wi-"

"Bullshit!" you respond, "You're spying on me! You and your family!"

"Wha-… huh?" Camilo seemed confused.

"My dad told me to never trust a Madrigal. That they're skeevy liars who backstab when it's least expected,"

Camilo was stunned. Completely stunned.

"What's worse? Your powers? All of them! All fit for that kind of stuff! Hearing everything? Perfect for finding out if the town loves you or not. Weather control? Raining hell down upon the town!"

"What…?" Camilo had his heart broken three times over, and with every scathing comment against his family twisted the knife even further.

The boy found his family… evil?

"…and you?"

Camilo froze.

"You shapeshift. You freak me out, okay? Like, I’m not sure which person I’m talking to is actually you! And… and… I just…"

You were burnt out. All these years of anger and hatred that you had bottled up were unloaded onto Camilo.

"Please just… don't talk to me… ever…" you say, hurt becoming more apparent in your voice, "I don't want… little Mr. Perfect to take everything I've ever had… all I've built up… I don't want the Madrigals to take everything from me… again…"

With that, you closed the window, leading Camilo into a tragic state of confusion and sadness.

[yetanothergreyjedi]

What We Might've Been: Part 2

Part 1 Part 1.5

Part 3

Inspired by @liminalhollow 's Spork AU

For @dargeon-lissa @dp-marvel94 @aethtalon

...

“I- Uh- I’m not you- I-“ Danny racked his brain for an explanation that wouldn’t immediately get him killed. He'd entered the ghost's haunt. How had his room become a ghosts haunt?! But the thing didn't attack, didn't possess him, or use some mind altering power. It only tipped its head and watched him flounder for words. It seemed to notice it’s disguise slipping. The light in its eyes faded, leaving behind a dead grey-blue.

It sighed, "Did Vlad do this?"

"W-what?"

"Vlad Masters. Did he do this?"

"Why would Dad's creepy friend send me to the future?" He still didn't think it was the future, ghosts could have some crazy powers but that? No.

"Because he's a fruitloop." It answered immediately, and accurately, the guy from Wisconsin wouldn't leave his mom alone. But why, how, could he have anything to do with this?! The thing stopped, its eyes flashed green again for a moment as it said, "Wait- Future?!"

Danny nodded, he'd barely been sure what was happening but he was certain that's was what the ghost had said. Surely one ghost's explanation would be more accepted than the other?

“Where’s your medallion then?”

“My what?”

“Clockwork’s medallion. I know how time travel works."

Danny opened his mouth, then closed it. Ignoring the utterly bizarre statement. This was a trap, a trick. The ghost masquerading as him either wanted the object for itself or it wanted to remove his only protection against the other one, the one that had frozen him in place without seeming to expend a drop of energy. No, no, it couldn't have it. But there weren't many other options. He should've known better than to bring up the time question! He needed to get out of here!

He threw the first thing he could reach, hoping to catch it off guard and ran towards it— Through it, even better. He sprinted down the stairs. There was a flash of bight light behind him, he dodged low, almost throwing himself down the stairs before he realized nothing had been fired.

"Whoa, hang on!" Its voice echoed in a way it hadn't before. He kept running, not wasting a moment to glance at it, and ran directly into someone.

"Whoa! Hey, Dann-o! You came outa—"

"Ghost! In my room!" His dad didn't miss a beat, the gun was up by the time he finished the word 'ghost' and he was firing by time the sentence was over.

The specter dodged the first blast, made a shield for the second and paused to speak, "So not cool, man!"

His mom heard the commotion and joined the fray, while Danny sprinted to the basement. He needed a weapon, that thing had been mimicking him. He barreled into the lab, to the weapons case. Opened it and—

Crash.

He barely jumped back in time to avoid getting crushed.

What?!

Who filled the case with all this junk?!? The case was the second most important piece of the lab (the portal took first), not even Dad wouldn't do this?!

"Danny?" Sam looked at him from the other end of the room, slightly baffled. Tucker was also staring. "Did you bring it?"

"Bring wha—"

"Dude, what's with the jumpsuit?" Tucker cut him off, "Is it really that dangerous? I thought you said you blasted it?"

"What? We talked about the jumpsuit!"

"Did we?" Tucker looked to Sam.

"No." She affirmed.

"Could you explain it again, then?"

"Its cause of all the ghosts..." Danny said slowly, they should know this, he'd been wearing them since the first ghost attacks... Suspicion crossed both his friend's features.

There was a long pause, the pair shared a look and Sam demanded, "Secret word."

"Uh, what?"

"What's the secret word." Tucker clarified, as if that clarified anything.

"What are you guys- Hey! Whoa!" Three ectoguns were now pointed at him, Sam with twin wrist blasters and Tucker with a laser-y thing that had come out of his PDA (When did he do that? It was a very good idea).

"Who are you?" Said Sam.

"Is Vlad cloning again?" Asked Tucker.

"What? No! I mean I don't know! I'm not impersonating me, the ghost upstairs is impersonating me!"

"Nice try. Now answer."

"Uh... Sam?" Tucker was focused on the PDA screen. She glanced at him, quickly, before focusing back on Danny. She'd used these before, not like Sam... His Sam, who avoided any involvement with ghost hunting, who refused to accept that they were just monsters. "His scans are weird..."

"What kind of weird?"

"He's a level 2.5." Tucker switched to a whisper.

"What?" Sam followed suit, "That's too low for a shapeshifter."

"Uh... that's normal..." Danny lied, well kind of. He normally was a level 1.3 but he'd also just been in a ghost's lair (two lairs if you counted not-future-him's bedroom) and had a ghostly artifact in his pocket. Those things were likely to temporarily raise an ectosignature's power rating. He was 76% sure.

Another pause, Sam tried to gesture something while still aiming, there were some whispers he didn't catch. Then Tucker asked, "Did Vlad... raise you?"

"No!? Why does everyone keep talking about Vlad?! The Fruitloop lives in Wisconsin, I've seen him maybe twice!" The pair shared another look. He had no idea how to read those expressions.

He sighed, "You guys won't believe me."

"Try us."

"Yesterday I was at the—"

"Guys! We have a problem!" His hair stood on end as the ghost dropped through the ceiling. Danny shuttered. It was so much worse now that he got a look at it, it was wearing a Fenton hazmat suit, his suit, no, a mockery of it. The colors were inverted and the FentonWorks logo was replaced with some other symbol. That wasn’t the only thing inverted, twisted, he was staring at his own face only not. It’s tintless white hair stuck up just like his, and it’s eyes burned deadly ectoplasm green. Danny still didn’t have a weapon. “Oh, you found him! We have slightly less of a problem.”

“He’s saying Vlad has nothing to do with this... I’m not sure if I believe him.” Sam lowered her blasters, because he was somehow more of a threat than the monster crackling with unused power.

“Yeah, no... he said something about time travel—“ both of his friends groaned, “Then! He sicced my parents on me,” It turned his attention to him, “which is rude by the way! Honestly, I was getting close to being able to ask about a truce, but now they’re gonna be chasing me around for ‘attacking their son!”

“Oof,” Tucker added, as Sam asked about something the ghost could do to get his parents back on his side. Danny stopped listening and scanned for something useful in the pile of discarded machinery. Weapon, weapon, weapon... this wasn’t promising. There were blenders and half disassembled watches and a few things that looked like they’d been pulled out of a trash fire. The thing that looked the least like junk was probably a scanner, but his parents had started putting tasers in those, so it was something.

“Hey,” too late. the ghost was in front of him, he dove for it. Grabbed it. Rolled with the momentum and brought the scanner up as he got to a kneeling position. The thing came to life with a whirring sound.

The ghost laughed, the sound lasted longer than it’s mouth had been open, “That’s the ghost Gabber.”

“That’s the Ghost Gabber. I am a ghost, fear me!”

“Look, I don’t know what’s up with you, but really it’s better for everyone if you go back to whatever time you’re from.”

“Look, I don’t know what’s up with you, but really it’s better for everyone if you go back to whatever time you’re from. Fear me.”

“Could you please turn that off.”

“Could you plea—“ The sound died as Danny flipped the switch and tossed it back on the pile. Why did his parents even make that?

“Why should I trust you, Ghost?!”

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

Lila Rossi: I’d Say She’s a Good Villain, but Then I’d Be Lying (300 Follower Special)

Deception and cunning are easily two of the most important traits an antagonist could have. It shows that even if they don't have the strength to overcome obstacles, their wit is more than enough. This kind of trait is why characters like Lex Luthor, David Xanatos, and Princess Azula are so beloved, simply because of how intelligent they can be as villains and pose a real threat to the heroes.

It's clear that the Miraculous Ladybug writers want Lila to be seen as this, but the writing seriously fails to back that claim up.

Easily one of the most controversial characters in Miraculous Ladybug is Lila, mainly for the writing surrounding her. But there was a time where she was actually more of an ambiguous character, mainly for the lack of screentime she had until Season 3. But unfortunately, the more appearances she's had have painted a very poor portrait of an antagonist.

Lila's Tragic and Sympathetic Motivation for Hating Ladybug

Lila's first appearance was at the tail end of Season 1, “Volpina”. She was a new transfer student from Italy, and quickly made friends with a lot of her classmates for the lies she told, including being friends with Ladybug (which Alya blindly believed without doing any research like any excellent journalist). But because of how close she was getting to Adrien, Marinette, in a rare act of selfishness, transforms into Ladybug just to chew out Lila for lying about knowing her, humiliating her in front of Adrien. And this is the only motivation we get for what Lila does afterwards.

I'm not saying that it's wrong for Lila to get upset at Ladybug for doing this, and I like the moment of weakness Marinette has, but this is literally the only explanation we get for Lila deciding to side with Hawkmoth, a literal terrorist. As much as I hated the way the arc turned out, I could still understand Chloe siding with Hawkmoth, as it was clear that Hawkmoth was manipulating her and taking advantage of her ego. Lila? Ladybug's mean to her one time, and that inspires her to conspire with a complete stranger who brainwashes people to attack the city, which endangers innocent people and causes God knows how much in collateral damage if not for Miraculous Ladybug fixing everything.

I just don't get how a single negative interaction with someone is enough to conspire with a literal supervillain. Even in Season 3, when Marinette and Lila truly became enemies, it was because she risked exposing all the lies she told, which could damage her reputation. Sure, it's petty, but it makes sense for Lila to want to keep up the illusion. If she was simply an antagonist to Marinette in her civilian life like Chloe was before “Miracle Queen” , I'd be fine with that, but the writers clearly want her to be seen as on the same level of evil as Hawkmoth. I'll get into why that doesn't work later on.

Why Lila is an Excellent Liar

In my Master Fu analysis, I had pointed out that despite all the flaws he had, the narrative insisted on portraying him as an incredibly wise mentor. The same problem applies for Lila as well. We're supposed to see Lila as an expert manipulator and liar, but her lies are insultingly obvious. She always claims to be friends with celebrities and does all these awesome things, and in an age where we can have almost any question answered thanks to the internet, nobody ever stops to question her.

It's even more frustrating when you hear Lila talk about saving Jagged Stone's cat, when Jagged Stone is established to be very fond of Marinette (evidentially more than his own daughter), and nobody ever points that out. I think if Lila's lies were more stories about her travels around the world than outright lies about real people, it could have worked. It'd still be hard to believe, but it's something.

But this is a problem with writing shows aimed at children. As much as we hate writers who need to spell out things to kids, sometimes, they just don't understand some of the media they consume. Seriously, I never got this joke in SpongeBob as a kid, and I can't believe Nickelodeon actually approved this.

So the dilemma when writing a show with children in mind is finding that sweet spot between assuming your audience can figure it out, but not being too vague in your details. It's even harder when you need to find a way to convey the fact that someone is lying without being too obvious. Unfortunately, the show clearly fails to do that

Okay, this is going to sound like an incredibly weird thing to cite, and I only know about it because I used to know someone who was a huge fan of the franchise, but the movie Monster High: Friday Night Frights does a better job of subtly explaining to the audience that a character is lying. Please, just hear me out.

The movie follows the main characters competing in their high school's roller derby for the season after everyone on the usual team gets injured, and the championship match is against another school whose team tends to cheat to win matches. How they manage to do this without getting caught is anyone's guess. While the main characters are practicing, their coach, Clawd, notices a spy for the enemy team taking video of them to study their moves. In response, he calls over one of the athletes, Operetta, to chew her out for her showboating attitude. In reality, he's alerting her to the spy. Only using facial expressions, he clues her, and by extension, the audience, in on the fact that they know what the opposing team is trying to do.

This soon leads to Operetta pretending to tell the enemy team about their secret plan for the championship match, which was really an attempt to outsmart them to gain the advantage in the final stretch. The brilliance of this is how the audience is informed of this with no dialogue, and there's no scene afterwards spelling it out for those who don't get it. It manages to convey deception without being too obvious that Clawd and Operetta are being deceitful.

I think if there were more subtle hints to show the audience Lila was lying, she would be seen in a better light. As it is, Lila's lies are just pathetic, and it's ridiculous that everyone believes her. Which leads me to...

Lila, the Master Manipulator

I once read a Star Trek: Voyager fanfic that poked fun at the series by claiming that the reason a lot of the dumber episodes like “Threshold” and “Twisted” happened was because one of the crew members was an alien who unintentionally produced mood altering pheromones, with Captain Janeway actually realizing they were all high because of said pheromones, while two of the unaffected crew members were wondering what the hell they were doing before they found out the cause. Why do I bring this up? Sometimes, it feels like Lila is an unintentional parallel to the alien in that story.

Like so many characters, it's clear the show desperately wants the audience to view Lila in a certain way, but her actions do very little to actually back up that claim. When she's not using lies to tell stories about so many famous people she knows like her uncle who works for Nintendo, Lila is using strategies to manipulate everyone that are so obviously deceptive, the Thermians could pick up on them. Everyone and their mother knows how ridiculous a lot of what Lila does in episodes like “Chameleon” and “Ladybug” are, and I've talked about them before, so I'll try to be quick.

First off, as someone who had access to accommodations through high school and has had assistance in college so far, there is no way in hell that Ms. Bustier should take Lila's tinnitus at face value in “Chameleon”. If a student has a disability that could interfere with the education process, physical or developmental, not only does the school have to evaluate their performance, and determine if they're eligible for an Individualized Education Program, or IEP, but her teachers would have to be notified in the first place. As her primary educator, Ms. Bustier would be part of the team to oversee Lila's IEP and determine what accommodations she needs to help her learn better with her tinnitus and arthritis. But because the writers don't know what Google is, they just ignore it,  assume that Lila can just say she has a disability, and have everyone believe it. Even when Eric Cartman pretended to be disabled to compete in the Special Olympics, he put in more effort to look the part, even if he looked like a caricature.

Then there's the fact that that in “Chameleon”, everyone just believes Lila when she says Marinette stole her grandmother's necklace when not only is said necklace from the Agreste line of jewelry, but Alya, who is Rena Rouge, can't pick up on the fact that it's a fake. All she does to justify these lies is come up with a sob story about how nobody believes her, yet nobody ever tries to defend Marinette except Alya one time, and it was after she got expelled.

Or what about in “Oni-Chan”, where Lila thinks having Kagami kill Ladybug while claiming she'll back away from Adrien is a good idea? Let's say Oni-Chan does kill Ladybug or at least take away her Miraculous, what then? We know Lila wouldn't go through with this promise, and as soon as Kagami sees her harassing Adrien, she'll be ripe for akumatization again. Overall, not a great plan.

And yet somehow, this last example is what made her worthy enough to become one of Hawkmoth's most trusted agents. I'm just going to say it: Lila is not a good fit for the power of illusion. Whenever she's Volpina or Chameleon, she always goes out of her way to make a big show instead of being subtle with her deceptions. “Chameleon” is the worst offender, as even though Lila gets the power to shapeshift into someone else, instead of being discreet and cornering people into kissing them and gaining their appearance, she just runs around to get Ladybug's attention instead of being subtle. Even Felix had the bright idea to pretend to be Adrien to catch Ladybug off guard. How do you lose to something that happened in “Felix”?

Despite all of these screw-ups, we're still supposed to see her as this master of deception worthy of allying with Hawkmoth in both his supervillain and civilian form, when really, she's a terrible liar on the schoolyard and on the battlefield.

Why Lila is an Important Character

In the grand scheme of things, Lila just isn't as important of a character that the show loves to parade her around as. She's nothing more than a plot device used to raise the stakes in an episode, given how much reality seems to bend over just to accommodate for her lies. Even when the show alludes to her being part of bigger things, like her deal with Adrien, or her rivalry with Marinette, they don't even go anywhere.

She just feels pointless when you remember Astruc's brilliant idea to force Chloe into being the final Akuma for the season while Lila isn't even mentioned once. She only really makes appearances whenever the writers feel like it, which is why it’s hard to take her seriously. Why should I take this character seriously as a threat if the writers refuse to take her seriously as a threat? Why build Lila up as a big threat and not give her a major role in the finale? Why even include her in the show in the first place when you could show Chloe being more manipulative to fill in the plots Lila plays a big part in?

As of the time I am writing this analysis, four episodes of Season 4 have aired, three of them have been about lies or deception, and Lila hasn't been mentioned at all. It honestly seems like she won't appear unless the writers need a easy way to drive up the conflict, so they can justify it by saying that Lila's “superpower” of lying is more powerful than the common sense of everyone else.

I'm sorry this post was shorter than the last one, but compared to Master Fu, there's not that much to say about Lila that I haven't already said. Even the show barely gives her any attention, so it's hard for me to really find a lot to talk about.

[birdmitosis]

hmmm

I am working on ideas for a pre-Spidey, pre-villainy Spider-Man AU for some of my fave Spidey-villains, inspired strongly by the SSM versions but taking quite a bit as well from the comics and other sources and adding my own flair. I might work on it as a fanfiction project for NaNoWriMo? So basically, the catalyst is Miles Warren. He is not the main character; in fact, at a certain point, he slips from being one of the main four protagonists neatly into being a deuteragonist and then into one of the main antagonists, if not the main. He’s the catalyst because he’s the one who finds the secret, abandoned laboratory accessed from the basement of an abandoned building in NYC, a lab that lies under the city streets. He’s the one who decides to use it, and the one who decides to invite several other brilliant scientists he’s met to use it along with him. Under here is just kinda... character notes.

Miles Warren, the Jackal, early 40s First because (as said above) he’s the catalyst. A professor at the college Otto and Beck attend, he has also done work for Oscorp and met Adrian through that. Absolutely planning on shedding his humanity and probably already secretly a criminal. Ends up being responsible for helping save Electro, helping Chameleon, and helping Dr. Connors, but also experiments further on Connors, maybe turns John Jameson into a “werewolf,” is responsible for the spider-bite, clones the Venom symbiote and creates Carnage... He is very much amoral and more dangerous than his mild, calm, amiable manner suggests. Eventually goes full furry. Otto Octavius, Doctor Octopus, mid-20s A soft-spoken, meek biomimeticist that just wants a place to work when the college isn’t actually sold on their idea of wiring a rig directly into their own nervous system. An absolute genius in several connected scientific fields (zoology, biology, neurology, and med tech), they’re already at the tail end of their doctorate. Has problems at home, though not nearly as much as before their father died. Understands and gets along with tech better than people for the most part, but appreciates Professor Warren’s support and clicks astonishingly well with Adrian Toomes. Not really planning on crime but definitely has some repressed emotions; that goes to hell when someone tries to kill them and causes an accident. Adrian Toomes, the Vulture, late 40s/early 50s? A stubborn engineer at Oscorp who isn’t about to work on her own personal project (her flight suit) anywhere near where her employer can see it and lay claim to it. Incredibly passionate about flight; a bit more specialized than Otto (tech focus with an understanding of neurology and an interest in animals that does also lead to biomimetics). Older grouchy butch trans lady who has more patience for tech than people, but who gets along well enough with Warren (who is professional and good at what he does) and clicks shockingly easily with Otto. Not planning on crime at the start at all, that falls apart when Osborn somehow finds out about her flight tech and tries to claim it belongs to Oscorp. Quentin Beck, Mysterio, mid 20s An aspiring actor who’s currently primarily working backstage and mostly just getting understudy roles. Has a strong interest in practical effects and therefore, among other things, chemistry, and is actually legit brilliant at it; he’s double majoring in chemistry and theater arts at the same college as Otto and Professor Warren. They also already have some ideas about committing costumed crime with their skills. Also also you can use any pronouns for them so long as you’re referring to them. 8) Please talk about Beck. Chameleon, 30s? More minor character. An actor who is good friends with Beck, who very much wishes ey could shapeshift. Beck introduces em to some of their new friends, and Chameleon ends up working with Miles Warren to shed eir old identity completely… Maxine Dillon, Electro, late 20s/early 30s? An electrician with some interest in psychology who sometimes helps out at the theater, mostly because she’s friends with Mason. After an accident leaves her worse than electrocuted, Mason takes her to the lab rather than the hospital in an attempt to save her life (thanks to Chameleon’s whole deal), and Warren and Otto together help save her using electric eel DNA. Phineas Mason, Tinkerer, early 40s Also works as a stagehand at the same theater Beck and Chameleon are at; Mason is a technological genius who’s absolutely wasting his potential in a technical support job. He knows it, he’s frustrated about it, but he feels stuck. At first a secondary character until Electro’s accident gets him more involved with the main group, but he’s had feelings for Beck for a little while now. Other considered secondary and tertiary characters: Norman Osborn (obviously), Donald Menken, Dr. Connors, Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote, the Carnage symbiote, Parker Reilly (trans Spider-Woman ;_;), May Parker, John Jameson, J.J. Jameson? Basically after a certain point I’d like a lot of the characters to start understandably slipping into revenge or other crimes. And then eventually for Parker to get bitten, but also approach the situation with sympathy even while trying to keep some of the characters from crossing lines. Not sure where I want it to go in the end, but yeah, that’s the basic idea so far.

[in-2004-fandoms-and-counting]

AU where Nico dies (don't hate me pls I'm sorry I love Nico and ship the hell out of Solangelo, this is just to allow for some dark AUs) transporting the Athena Parthenos in BoO.

(Sorry it's such a long post) Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, revered praetor and peace-loving daughter of Bellona, loses the ability to share strength. Now, when she uses her power, she saps your energy, draws on your bravery, and poisons your mind with horrific images. Nico's death has allowed suppressed traits to resurface and overwhelm all her progress since San Juan all those years ago. She picks fights. She becomes a dictator in all but name, abolishing the Senate and making War Games a lot more "realistic": weekly funerals become commonplace, words are spoken under breaths, and terror resides in the heart of every New Roman. And so, Reyna Ramírez-Arellano turns her brilliant mind and poisonous power to Gaea's aid. Gleeson Hedge doesn't seem more than a broken satyr at first glance, his smiles never sincere, his voice never loud, his bat never raised. But when he slips off into the wilderness, he does not sit quietly among the trees and reflect. He whispers into the trees' leaves, his twisted words echoing the bitterness that now consumes his being. He has been tricked too many times: Pan, forcing thousands of satyrs to lose their lives in their quest to find him when he was alive all along; Clarisse, who never tried to connect with nature or understand his own ties to the natural world, who teaches his child the game of death while Mellie watches, fading away, unable to fight back; the gods, who, in their promise of protection, conveniently ignored the nature spirits. He is bitterest about Nico's death: about all he could have done, about what the kid should have done. The glint in his eyes scares even the worst monster that Tartarus could send. But it is Gaea he turns his allegiance to. It is Gaea who promises that he will always be good enough for her. And so, Gleeson Hedge turns nature back to its true mother: Gaea. Hazel Levesque is not someone you want as an enemy. Her golden eyes, gold like the masks of the judges of the dead, seem to see everything. Her powers grow stronger, but now she is able to control them. One glance, and she can cause an entire legion to scream and writhe in agony as she manipulates the iron in their blood, twists their shining armour, forces weapons to turn on their handlers. She stops wearing normal, mortal clothes, and now she wears flowing dresses of molten gold and bronze that no spear could pierce nor hand touch. She calls on the remnants of metal in the cave in Resurrection Bay to rise, and rise they do, twisting and weaving together at her command to form a cathedral-like vault with a solid Stygian iron throne. At the front of her temple lies a chasm from which her first creation arises, complete and healed, at last. Alcyoneus clambers out of the pit, back with his mother's life and Hazel's burning desire for destruction. And so, after seventy years, Hazel Levesque joins forces with Gaea of her own free will. Frank Zhang's arrows are no longer aimed at Tartarus's monsters, but at the people he once considered friends. The ruins of the Zhang family mansion become a shrine to Gaea, the ancient walls falling in blissful happiness into the Earth Mother's embrace. Frank returns often with fresh skulls, unfailingly whole - his arrow pierces cleanly through the eye every time. His piece of firewood safe in Gaea's belly, protected where no flame could reach, he is unstoppable. His shapeshifting causes unforseen problems with the allies' plans, it's very hard to plan how to fight a lion when he could turn into a swarm of bees at any moment. He is the ultimate spy, a literal fly on the wall, and for once, he feels needed. He feels worth something. He feels as though he is good enough, something the gods could never give. All the gods ever did for Frank, he realises bitterly, is take. His mother. His grandmother. His self-confidence. His chance for a stable, loving family. Nico. And so, Frank Zhang finds a different kind of family, one that will not let him down, in Gaea. Piper McLean never wanted to be a tragic love story; that was purely for her mother's entertainment. She

cuts her hair short. She kills Gaea's enemies on sight. Her charmspeak forces even her old family, Camp Half-Blood, to turn against each other, brother against brother, sister against sister, until bodies litter the strawberry fields and the Big House crumbles to smouldering ashes. The gods have her no love. Their boundaries mean nothing to her any more. Her love extends to her favourite mother, her boyfriend, the rest of the Seven, Grover, Reyna and Hedge. Beyond that, it is poison. Gaea takes her hands, looks into her eyes, and tells Piper that she is more than the spawn of an unfaithful, air-headed immortal, more than the damsel in distress. She tells Piper that she is who she decides to be. And Piper agrees. Gaea gives her the opportunity to be out of others' shadows. Piper McLean takes the chance and joins with Gaea, her charmspeak almost her most dangerous feature, second only to her unbridled wrath when Nico's death is mentioned.

Jason Grace owes fealty to only one eternal goddess now. He scours the Underworld with Hazel and Frank, relentless like the wolves he was brought up with. He knows no bounds, his destruction barely controllable by even Piper and her charmspeak. He has obliterated entire cities, counties, even an entire nation. He feels no regret, no remorse, no nagging guilt. He seeks out and electrocutes homophobes as his powers grow in complexity, along with his ability to control them. No matter how much they scream, the same two words shoot from Jason's scarred lips like the lightning bolts he commands: for Nico. As the darkness inside him grows, the son of Jupiter advances on Olympus, eyes and hands blazing, to destroy his father, as one of Gaea's allies, as one of Gaea's found children. Jason Grace vows by Nico's soul and Gaea's love to destroy the gods who shamelessly abandoned them.

Percy Jackson has been close to the darkness before. As just one examole, he's controlled poison to choke the goddess of misery at the edge of Chaos. But now, Annabeth's words at the time - some things aren't meant to be controlled - strike differently. Percy doesn't follow rules any more. That brooding, troublemaking face now alludes to his new form: gone is the class clown, here is something more akin to a devil. Like Hazel, he has made hundreds of people and monsters shriek in pain as he controls their blood, contorting their bodies into unnatural forms and snapping necks with a mere snap of his fingers. If Nico's death is mentioned around the pair of them - Hazel and Percy - both turn on the individual, eyes smouldering with the deceitfully cool ashes of the fire of grief, and slowly unleash their wrath. Percy cannot be controlled. He wants revenge. Part of him wishes he had never given his mother the head of Medusa to kill Smelly Gabe; it tore him to pieces when he made the fluid in her head seep out of her eyes. But she wouldn't stop begging him to leave Gaea. She had to go. She was no longer loving him as he knew he deserved. Now, Percy Jackson takes his support from the mother he should have accepted long ago: Gaea.

Annabeth Chase did not accept powers from her new mother, her better mother. She chose to use her mind as her weapon and Gaea respected that. Gaea gave her the resources she needed to wreak havoc on mortals and immortals alike. Now, instead of studying for a stupid internship in a misogynistic, capitalist society, Annabeth unleashes her fury, her grief, her mind on the world. The gods deserve to pay for what happened to Nico. The demigods need to feel her grief. The mortals started this stupid cycle of overwork and inadequate pay. Annabeth is ready to work with the mother that respects her, that loves her, that nurtures her as she deserves. And work she does. Plan after plan is developed, improved, redrafted, mocked up, redeveloped, and finally executed with clinical precision. Her mind becomes what her enemies most fear, even above her reputation: first child of Athena in millennia to reach Arachne, retriever of the Athena Parthenos, survivor of Tartarus. And she laughs, laughs in a maniacal way that makes you want to take a step back as she strides towards you, grey eyes alight with an unnatural glint as you realise that she knows everything about you and she knows how this will end. She will not let herself or her friends die. She refuses to let another situation like Nico's death happen again. So, Annabeth Chase takes Gaea's resources and turns them into a mass genocide, executed with her new mother's blessing.

Grover Underwood leads the nature spirits now. He commands dryads to extend their unstoppable tendrils through the paths that Gaea forms for them, deep in the earth, then sending them exploding through the surface and reclaiming all that was torn from them under the pretence of friendship. His empathy link with Percy allows him some degree of control, both over the son of Poseidon and over naiads. Grover is betrayed and bitterly disappointed in Pan, in the gods, in demigods, in mortals, in Nico. And so, he turns nature back home with Gleeson Hedge. The hauntingly beautiful whistling of his pipes lures demigods, mortals, even gods to their doom. Apollo is the first to fall, trapped by the music of the satyr whose horns now make him seem diabolical as he dances in the flames. Grover Underwood finds his roots in Gaea and his revenge in destruction.

Leo Valdez wants to burn the world to ashes. There's not a moment he's not on fire, his hair smouldering, his skin aglow. At his feet lies Hera, trussed up like a rodeo calf, bound by the power of the guardian Leo knows he deserved as a child. There is no Piper with her charmspeak to free the ex-queen; at least, Piper is by Leo's side as he blasts her with his searing flames. There's a smile on Leo's face that rivals even Annabeth's as he torches cities, razes acres and lights up the sky with plumes of smoke and columns of fire. His reasoning feels etched into his heart: the gods let Nico die. The gods let us down one time too many. And so he lets the flames go. Gaea stands behind him, her hand on his shoulder, proud and respectful. She knows that he secretly enjoyed starting the war with New Rome. He has fire powers; it's only natural, and that Octavian is enough to drive anyone mad. So, Leo Valdez finally makes his peace with Gaea.

Will Solace goes out like a light as the news of his beloved's death is announced. He lies, broken and silent, in Gaea's arms, tears streaming down his face. He stirs only for Nico's name, and his eyes turn slowly to whoever dared say it. He reaches out an arm, eyes turning black, leaching all the colour from the surroundings as his whisper echoes: there is no hope. Behind him stands Gaea, a tear of her own on her earthen cheek. She feels his pain, raw and fresh. But she takes some of it onto herself. Will Solace shares his grief with Gaea now.

And so they stand, eyes alight and expressions dark and triumphant, by the side of the goddess who did not want to let Nico die.

Gaea smiles.

[emma-nation]

The Devil In I - Bela x OC (Resident Evil Village AU) - Chapter 9

“Step inside, see the Devil in I”

Summary: Aleena Novak is a 19 years old orphan who desired more than living in a village in the middle of nowhere. A talented artist with a big future ahead, she gets the scholarship of her dreams in United States. But everything changes when her twin brother, Auryk, steals an important artifact from Castle Dimitrescu.

In this adventure, Aleena will find way more than she expected.

“You’ll realize I’m not your Devil anymore”

Pairing: Bela Dimitrescu x f!OC

Genre: Between T and M (Trigger warning: for violence, blood, abuse and eventual smut)

Tag List: @nydeiri

Castle Dimitrescu, Lady Dimitrescu's Bedroom - Present Days

What did dying feels like? Bela couldn't remember the day she died, before she was turned. For many and many years, she wondered how it even happened. Maybe she was incurably ill. That would be the only plausible explanation on why Lady Dimitrescu decided to transform her into a vampire. Having an illness herself, she must've felt sorry for Bela being so young and already losing her life.

But that night, after being drugged by Mother Miranda, the memory from that tragic event returned to her memory stronger like never.

It was a cold night in the 1950's. Alcina threw a special dinner and invited her three favorite and most loyal servants. Three young girls. They felt honored sitting at the same table as their mistress. They were chatting and giggling but then... something started to feel strange. Starting by the fact none of the servants were around.

It began as a burning sensation in Bela's stomach. She tried to ignore it but it'd only grow stronger. She dropped the silverware she was holding. She attempted to swallow another sip of tea. By her side, she noticed one of the other two girls, the brunette one, starting to show signs of discomfort too.

"What's wrong, my dear?" Lady Dimitrescu asked when the red haired girl, the youngest of the three, started coughing.

"I can't..." she tried to answer, but the words got lost in her throat as she began to suffocate, "b-breathe..."

Bela tried to stand up and help her, but her surroundings started to spin. She held on the table for support. At this point, the brunette girl was already lying on the floor, having some kind of seizure. She looked at Lady Dimitrescu again, but she didn't seem to be worried. She seemed abnormally calm.

"W-What have you..." before she could finish the question, her lungs could no longer fill with oxygen. Her throat and her airways started to burn. She tried and tried to breathe, but it seemed impossible. The weakness started on her legs and spread to the rest of her body really quickly. In fact, she barely felt when she collapsed on the floor. When the seizures started, she was barely conscious. Her vision was already going black, but she still had time to see the Countess staring at her body, almost lifeless, as she said:

"Don't worry, daughter. Everything will be alright."

Poisoned. She was poisoned.

When Bela woke up it was already morning. She could tell by the rays of sunlight entering through the windows. She hadn't died this time, but the sensations she experienced were quite similar. Her head was aching intensely and her vision was still blurred. Whatever Miranda had injected in her blood had affected her senses very badly.

"Aleena," she finally remembered. She tried to get up but her legs were still weak. "I need to find her."

She kept moving slowly, using the walls and furniture for support. If only she could transform into flies, it would be a lot easier, but it hurt to even try.

"Fuck!" Bela cursed, frustrated. She threw herself on a couch for a moment. She needed to rest.

Her eyes analyzed her surroundings. Although Bela was in her mother's chambers, Lady Dimitrescu was nowhere to be seen.

Hours had passed since she was drugged. Anything could've happened during this time. She wondered if Aleena was still there and if she was okay. She had to be. But what if she slept for days? What if the ritual had already happened? Aleena could be dead in that exact moment and she wasn't there to protect her. That thought made her stomach feel sick. And rare were the occasions she felt sick after being turned.

"Bela!" Daniela opened the door, she seemed so confused and scared as she was. "There you are, sister! Oh my god, I was starting to think you were dead."

"You wish..." Bela moaned sarcastically. She couldn't miss the opportunity. "What the fuck happened, Dani? Where's that bitch?"

"Who? Cassandra?"

Daniela handed her a cup full of human blood. Bela drank it all in one sip. That was the only thing able to restore her body from the damage Miranda caused.

Cassandra. She remembered her middle sister being the one who told her to go to her mother's office. Traitor! She should've known when she appeared to be so supportive of her relationship with Aleena in the previous day.

"No, Mother Miranda."

"Mother Miranda was here?"

Before she could answer, the door opened with a slam. It was Cassandra, looking completely fine. She had blood around her mouth and all over her dress. In a blink of an eye, Bela lunged forward, pinning her against the wall.

"How could you?!" She yelled. "You sent me directly to a trap!"

"What are you talking about?" Cassandra argued. "Somebody caught me on a corridor and stabbed my neck with a needle, then I passed out."

"Come on, don't lie to us," Daniela shouted. "You entered my room last night and drugged me."

"And why I would even do this to both of you?"

Realizing what happened, Bela immediately let her go.

"Mother Miranda," she huffed. "She must have shapeshifted into you and attacked us all."

It was time to tell her sisters what she learned from Heisenberg. Miranda had already started to proceed with her plans and it was a matter of time before she attempted to kill them.

"This bitch is going to die!" Cassandra punched the wall. "Nobody pretends to be me and lives."

"This is the least of our problems," Bela said. "She can be anywhere right now, pretending to be someone we trust and ready to kill us all."

"Where's mom?" Daniela asked. "I couldn't find her anywhere."

Lady Dimitrescu was the last person Bela wanted to see. She lied and betrayed her, besides helping Mother Miranda to drug her.

"I don't know, I searched for her everywhere," Cassandra told. "On the bright side, there's fresh breakfast spread all around the castle."

"What do you mean, Cassandra?" Bela wanted to know.

"The servants. They're all dead."

"What about Aleena? Have you seen her?"

"No, I thought she was with you."

Bela transformed into flies and went straight to Aleena's bedroom. It was completely empty. The bed was still made as in the previous night. She went to her own bedroom next. The diary was opened on the bed, right on the pages where her father confirmed what Miranda told her in the office, Aleena was indeed the vessel.

Mrs. Volkov corpse was lying on the corridor and not so far away, there was a trail of blood, Aleena's blood. She froze in place, too terrified to even think.

"It doesn't mean anything," Daniela placed a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe she managed to escape."

"She probably did, that girl is fierce," Cassandra added, noticing how disturbed her older sister looked. "I mean, she's not one of the Lords or a servant. There's no reason for that crazy bitch to murder her."

"There is," Bela sighed deeply. "She's the vessel. Miranda was playing us like puppets. The goblet thing was already intentional, to bring Aleena to the castle where she'd be safe until she prepared the ritual."

"Oh fuck, this is bad."

"I... I'm going to the village. Maybe she's hiding in her house."

----------

Eastern Europe, Village - Present Days

When Bela left, she didn't even bother to check the temperature or to mount one of her horses. She transformed into flies and started to fly to the village as fast as she could. Everything that mattered was finding Aleena. She wasn't dead. She couldn't be dead. They were going to California together and they'd start a brand new life.

She stopped by her house first. The door was locked and the extra key hidden in a vase at the entrance, just where Aleena placed it before they returned to the castle.

"It doesn't mean she's not here," Bela tried to convince herself. "She must have found another way in, to not make it obvious she's hiding here."

She used the key to open the front door. The house was dark and silent. There weren't any signs of somebody's recent presence. She checked every room, the basement, the secret weapon storage... Aleena definitely wasn't there.

"Maybe she's at the pub or at one of her friends' houses," Bela concluded.

There was no way. She had to do that. She took a deep breath, gathering enough courage to enter the pub. There were only three people in there, a middle aged woman behind the counter, a blonde young male cleaning the tables and a girl, who was strangely similar to Cassandra, chatting to both of them. Bela recognized them from the pictures Aleena showed her. They were Olga, Gustav and Elena.

"Hello," she announced her presence. They all stopped to stare at her, but none of them had freaked out yet. Maybe they hadn't noticed the tattoo.

"How can we help you, darling?" The older woman asked. "Are you a foreigner?"

"I... uhh... I'm looking for Aleena Novak."

"She isn't here," it was the boy who answered this time. He had a lot of anger in his voice. "She was taken to Castle Dimitrescu a few weeks ago. We don't even know if she's still alive."

"She is," Bela told. "I've been taking care of her."

They finally understood. Their expressions all changed to pure terror and panic. The two younger adults hid behind the counter, together with the woman. The male grabbed a shotgun.

"Get the hell out of here!" He ordered. "And if Aleena escaped, don't you even dare to touch her again or I'll kill you. I'll find her and bring her home."

"Trust me, manthing. This is exactly what I'm planning to do. Mother Miranda has kidnapped her. She has been planning to sacrifice her in some kind of sick ritual tonight."

"Liar!" Cassandra's doppelgänger shouted. "Mother Miranda wouldn't do such a thing! She's always guiding and protecting us. Everything she does is for the best of all of us."

"Listen, little one," Bela exhaled deeply. She had no patience for humans. That was the reason why she avoided them. They'd usually annoy her to the point they became her prey. "I have proof. Aleena's father has left this diary, reporting everything."

"That man was insane. Most of the villagers hated him."

"But he never lied," Gustav spoke. "Adrian had some crazy theories nobody ever believed but... I've never seen him lying before. He was a man of his word."

"This is true," Olga added. "We grew up together. He was absolutely nasty, a real bastard, but not a liar. He wouldn't invent such a thing, especially when it came to protecting Aleena."

Olga locked the door and the group reunited in one of the tables, analyzing the notes Adrian Novak left.

"Fuck," Gustav cursed, while trying to speak on his phone. "Auryk must've gone after this contacts. I can't reach him."

"Do you have any ideas of where Aleena could've gone to, if she was trying to hide?" Bela asked.

"Other than our houses and the pub? Well... we had this fort in the woods when we were children. Maybe she's hiding there."

"Show me the way, little man."

But Gustav wasn't the one who was most familiar with the path to Aleena's childhood fort, it was Elena. The young woman followed them, complaining about literally everything and praising Mother Miranda.

"Mother Miranda would never do that!" Elena protested. "I'd trust her with my life."

"I was about your age when she did this to me, without my consent," Bela took off the hat she was wearing, exposing her scar. "And do you think immortality is a blessing? Try spending your life locked inside a castle, without being able to go outside most of the time."

"Why are we even trusting her, Gustav? She feeds on human blood and now we're alone with her in the middle of nowhere."

"If that makes you feel more comfortable, I've already had breakfast. Besides, I prefer drinking men's blood."

"Can we just focus on Aleena?" Gustav scolded both of them. Bela had finally found a man she respected. That boy was completely loyal and protective of her girlfriend, so he deserved some credit. "God knows why Bela is searching for her but... we have the same goal here."

"We're dating," Bela informed them of the latest news. "I love her. For real."

Both of the young humans stared at her in shock.

"It seems like we'll have a lot to catch up when I see Aleena again," the boy shook his head in disbelief. "I thought the vampire thing was just a phase."

They finally found the small wooden fortress in the middle of the woods. It was mostly destroyed, but it still could fit one adult person inside it.

"Aleena!" Gustav called. There was no answer. Still, Aleena was hurt. Maybe she was unconscious.

"Go," Bela poked Elena and ordered. "You're the shortest of us. Check if she's in there."

The girl rolled her eyes, but obeyed, ducking and entering the small fort. But there wasn't even a sign Aleena was there recently.

"Where do we search now?" Elena asked.

"I'll go to the other Lords," Bela told. "Maybe one of them is keeping her for Miranda. Thank you for your help, little humans. It was a pleasure to meet you."

Bela walked away from them. Maybe in another life, they could've been friends. The priority now was to find Aleena. She wondered if the girl went to Heisenberg seeking for protection or if Miranda had captured and taken her to that creepy cave. There wasn't much time to think, she needed to act.

She followed to Heisenberg's factory. As usual the man was swearing and torturing human beings on his basement.

"What brings you here, kid?" He asked. "Did you find the diaries?"

"Yes, but too late unfortunately," she answered. "The information we were searching for: all the women in Aleena's family have some kind of immunity against the creatures and their mutations. They healed after getting bitten by Lycans, Aleena healed when you attacked her... she's the vessel."

"We have to kill her immediately. Before Miranda puts her hands on her. If that happens, we're fucked."

"She already did. She showed up in the castle last night, drugged me and my sisters, killed the servants and now... I can't find Aleena anywhere."

"Girl, you had the opportunity in your hands," he clenched his fists. "If you had killed her, like you freaks do to every single human that steps into that castle, we wouldn't be in this situation."

"Shut up, Heisenberg!" Bela grabbed a piece of metallic scrap from the floor and threw in the man's direction. "I had no idea. Even if I did, she's my girlfriend and I have to save her before she's sacrificed on Miranda's ritual."

"Good luck with that. The crazy bitch is very good hiding things."

And Bela knew that. Next, she went to Moreau's, Miranda's most loyal follower. She didn't reveal any information, she simply tricked him by inventing an excuse, that stupid freak was easy to fool. But Aleena certainly wasn't there either. Using her flies, she checked the entire place. She did the same at Donna's house. While she entertained the woman and her creepy doll having a tea party with them, her flies inspected every corner of her eerie house.

She was about to follow to Miranda's cave when she ran into Cassandra, in the middle of the way.

"What are you doing, Bela?" She asked. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?

"I'm searching for Aleena. She's gotta be somewhere and the last place I must check is the cave."

"Mother is home," her sister announced. "She wants to talk to you."

----------

Castle Dimitrescu, Living Room - Present Days

In Bela's imagination, Lady Dimitrescu would apologize. Admit she had made a huge mistake and promise her they'd find Aleena together. That was who her adoptive mother was, she'd always do anything to make her daughters happy. But at the same time, she was also that same woman from her memory. The selfish Countess who killed three young girls to have them as her adoptive daughters. She killed, violated and turned them into monsters. What kind of mother was that?

The three sisters were sitting on the couch, waiting as their mother brought a tray with tea and some other treats. That would probably be their only food for days, as Lady Dimitrescu and Mother Miranda had killed all the servants.

Lady Dimitrescu sat on an armchair in front of them, looking at Bela mostly.

"I understand you're confused, daughters. But I'll explain everything."

"Where's Aleena?" Bela quickly asked. That was the only thing that mattered. Who cared about Mother Miranda's child who died ages ago? "What have you two done to her?"

"Bela, daughter... I understand you're upset and frustrated. However, Mother Miranda has been searching for the perfect vessel to bring her daughter back to life for many and many years. This vessel happens to be Aleena. It's her fate, her purpose."

Bela eyes were burning in pure rage. How could Alcina be so blind? Even Heisenberg, that scumbag of man, was smarter than her mother was.

"Her fate is to live her own life, to go to California and achieve her dreams. Her fate is to be with me!"

"I apologize for having to get rid of all of our servants," she clearly ignored her daughter's objections. "They wouldn't understand what's to come. Once Eva is back to life, things will change. I'd like to ask you girls to behave and treat her well, like if she's a new sister of yours. We'll be throwing a party to welcome Eva to our family and I'll need your help to organize it."

"Party?!" Bela let out a sarcastic laugh. "Are you naive or only stupid? Miranda is going to kill you before this ritual is even finished! It has been her plan all along."

"Bela!" Lady Dimitrescu's eyes narrowed and she raised her voice. "I'm your mother! You owe me some respect, little lady."

"I don't! Not when you drugged me and let Miranda kidnap my girlfriend. I want to know where she is."

"Daughter..." Alcina grabbed her by the shoulders and lowered her voice. An useless attempt to help her to calm down. "Aleena is gone. She's dead."

The world seemed to stop. As well as the clock. The voices. Everything. Not even Bela's brain was capable of working and processing the words she had just listened. Dead. Aleena was dead. Her Aleena. Her girlfriend. The woman she loved. She stopped breathing. Her stomach ached as much as in the night she was poisoned. She felt she was about to collapse and die again. Her heart was beating in a strange manner. It was out of control. She was out of control.

Bela raised her golden yellow eyes, filled with hateful tears and stared directly into Lady Dimitrescu's eyes.

"You..." she clenched her fists. "You lied to me... You betrayed me..."

"I was willing to let her live, daughter," the woman tried to excuse herself. "Until the last meeting. Mother Miranda told me the truth and asked me to give her the vessel."

"HER NAME WAS ALEENA," using her strength, Bela grabbed the heavy coffee table and threw it across the room, shocking her mother and sisters. "She had a name! She was NOT a vessel."

Very rare were the times Bela actually cried after being turned. She cried when she first woke up in excruciating pain, with that huge wound on the side of her head. She cried later, when she felt lost, without knowing who or what she was. And she was crying now. Without Aleena, she felt lost again. She had nothing left. She no longer wished to live. A life without that girl's contagious joy, optimism and bravery was meaningless.

"Bela..." Lady Dimitrescu tried to touch her, comfort her somehow, but the blonde girl slapped her hand away.

"I always did everything you asked me... I always tried to be the perfect daughter for you... AND FOR WHAT?" Bela sobbed. "The only thing I ever ask you, you denied me. You took Aleena from me. You chose Miranda over your own daughter!"

"I had no choice, daughter! She'd turn against us if I refused to give her Aleena. Who knows what she'd be capable of doing?"

"She's doing it anyways. She's going to kill us all now she's gotten what she wanted."

She started to walk away. She had to be alone. As far away as possible from that woman, from that family, from that stupid castle. That small bed & breakfast at the village seemed like a good option.

"Daughter, wait," Alcina went after her, as she entered her bedroom.

"Don't you ever call me daughter again, Lady Dimitrescu," Bela angered. "I'm not your daughter. You kidnapped, killed me and turned me into a monster. Who knows what you've done to my real parents. We're not your daughters, we're only your toys, your dolls. You're not that different from your sister, Donna, after all."

She slammed the door and locked it. The bedroom was still the same way they left in the previous night. The candles, the flowers, the discs... Aleena's perfume was still on her pillows. Bela threw herself on the bed, holding the pillow against her body as she cried uncontrollably.

This was all her fault. They should've finished reading the diaries earlier and found out the truth before Miranda's visit, but she distracted Aleena, wishing to spend as much time with her as possible before she left to California. She should've been there to protect her, she promised it. She shouldn't have trusted the woman she used to call 'mother'. She was an idiot and now, Aleena was gone. Forever.

----------

Castle Dimitrescu, Guest Room - Present Days

Memories. Only a few days earlier Bela was afraid memories would be everything she'd have left from Aleena and now, it really was. Without anybody noticing, she went to the guest room the girl had been staying during those weeks in the castle. She obviously wasn't there, but traits of her presence were still all around.

Her clothes were still in the closet. Some where lying on the armchair or even around the floor. Bela grabbed one of her t-shirts, one from Aleena's favorite TV show. It still had her perfume on it.

"I miss you, love," she inhaled deeply the sweet fragrance. "So much it's killing me."

Then, she took the sketch book from the desk. Aleena was the most talented artist Bela had ever met. Her sister, Daniela, was a good artist, but she wasn't so creative, so expressive and precise on her traces. Bela had many classes with Lady Dimitrescu, and though she could paint decently, it wasn't her strong suit.

The drawing was still there. The one Aleena where was drawing her face. The reason why they kissed that night in the library, when she said Bela was worth being remembered.

"And now I'm the one who have nothing to remind me of you, Aleena. Remind me of every detail of your perfect green eyes, your smooth brown hair and those sweet freckles all over your body."

Her cell phone was still inside the bedside table's drawer. Bela turned it on. Aleena had set a picture of them together as her lockscreen. She smiled. In the gallery, she found many and many pictures of all the days they spent together, since the lunch Bela threw on her birthday when she arrived.

There were videos too and as soon Bela heard Aleena's voice, she couldn't help but start crying again. Why did her mother betrayed her like that? She could've helped her to save Aleena. She could've helped them to take down Miranda. That was what a real mother was supposed to do!

"Hey," she rolled her eyes, noticing she had forgotten to lock the door again. Cassandra was standing right behind her. "I'm came here to check on you."

"Leave me alone, Cassandra," Bela angered. "You didn't even like her."

"This isn't true. Aleena wasn't my favorite person in the world, not that I have one by the way, but still... I didn't want her to die."

Bela ignored her. Cassandra didn't have maturity enough to understand how she was feeling. Sometimes she wondered if her sister was even able to feel empathy for another being. But then, she was surprised by her next move.

"I'm sorry," her middle sister touched her shoulder slightly, tenderly. "I know she made you happy. Deep down, I was rooting for you both."

She forced a small smile before pulling her sister for an embrace. It was probably the first time they exchanged such a genuine moment of affection.

"We'll make her pay," Cassandra stroked her hair. "Let's kill Bitch Miranda."

The three sisters gathered together in the library. Lady Dimitrescu couldn't be aware of their plans. Daniela revealed her sisters she once heard about a dagger their mother possessed, one that was able to kill any monsters and demons.

"Are you sure about this?" Bela asked to confirm. Daniela had a creative and delusional mind after all.

"Yes," her youngest sister said. "I stole one of her diaries once. She was reporting everything about this dagger, except for its location."

"Then I'll keep her distracted while you search for it," Cassandra suggested. "I'll pretend to help her with her party for Miranda's daughter rebirth."

"What about me?" Bela wanted to know.

"You're not okay, sister. Let us handle this. Save your strength for when we stab the bitch and end her for good."

"As long as you let me do the honors, it's fine by me."

That was it. Bela would pretend to be alright. She would pretend to forgive her mother. And when the time came, she'd get her revenge against Miranda.

But then... there was nothing left for her in this world. With Aleena gone, she lost her only chance of living a new and normal life. She lost the only thing that made her feel happy and human. And if the dagger could kill any monsters and demons, well... it would be able to kill her too.

Still holding Aleena's shirt against her body, Bela lay on the bed and fell asleep, thinking of the moment they'd be reunited again in death. However, she had a terrible nightmare. Aleena was dying in her arms and there was nothing she could do.

She got up and drank some water. It had been hours since Daniela left the room to search for the dagger. She wondered if something had gone wrong. Lady Dimitrescu would never agree with that plan. She was about to leave the bedroom when the red haired girl entered the room so excited she could barely breathe.

"Bela..." she panted, "I found her!"

"The dagger?!" Bela asked. "Where is it?"

"No! Aleena. She's alive in the dungeons!"

----------

Castle Dimitrescu, Dungeons - Present Days

I opened my eyes, but I couldn't see anything. The environment around me was different from everywhere I had been in the last few weeks, the air was humid but still suffocating. It also smelled terribly, like rotting flesh and blood. I tried to stand up but my leg was still badly injured. I wondered how long it'd take for the amulet to heal my body again. Maybe it only worked once. Or maybe it had to do with the fluid Cassandra injected on me before she threw me inside that nasty cell.

Speaking of Bela's sister, I was pissed. Truly pissed. It was no secret she never liked me, but I never thought she'd be able to betray her own sister like that. Telling Bela to go to their mother's office only to bring me to the dungeons was a low blow, even for her. And there was Mrs. Volkov too. I couldn't believe she was dead.

"H-Help... somebody help me..."

I tried to scream but the blood loss and the drug made me too weak. I had to find a way out. A way to regain my forces and escape that place.

It didn't take long for me to lose my conscience again. As much as I attempted to stay awake and hear any signals someone could be around, I just couldn't. I was trapped in that endless cycle of waking up for a few minutes, moan in pain and passing out again. That was it. The Mother Miranda bitch was certainly behind it. When the right moment came, she'd come and take me for the ritual. Drugged as I was, I wouldn't be able to fight it.

"Aleena!" I heard Bela's voice, approaching. Maybe it was just another hallucination. "Oh my god!"

The cell's door opened, allowing some light to enter. I was able to distinguish my girlfriend's beautiful face among all that darkness.

"It's okay, love. You'll be okay, I promise you."

I forced a small smile as she placed my head on her lap. Using a blade, she opened a small gash on her wrist and forced it into my mouth.

"Drink it," Bela ordered. "My blood is going to heal your wounds and the drug effects."

I felt my stomach twisting from the metallic taste of blood going down my throat. I definitely wasn't born to be a vampire. For a second, I thought I was going to throw up.

"Shhhh," she held me still as the nausea struck. "Just breathe. Hold it down and you'll be okay."

I did as she told. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, the nausea was slowly going away. Bela started to caress my face and I felt as some warm tears dropped on my forehead.

"Hey, I'm just a little beaten up," I assured her. "But I'm starting to feel better."

"I... I thought you were dead. My mother told me you were dead."

Why would Lady Dimitrescu do such a thing? Of course, she needed to make sure Bela wouldn't ruin Miranda's plans. She needed to convince her to not search for me.

I was already strong enough to sit. I hugged Bela very very tightly. She was sobbing desperately. Her heart was beating so fast inside her chest, it seemed like it'd explode at any moment.

"I'm so sorry," I kissed her forehead. "I'm here and I'm not leaving you ever again. I promise."

"You're the vessel, Aleena," Bela told me. "Your body is immune to the attacks of any creatures in the village. And now Miranda wants to use you to bring her daughter back to life. She believes your body is going to accept the mutation."

She also told me about my amulet. Miranda was the one to sell it to Auryk. I immediately ripped it off from my neck.

"I knew about being the vessel. I discovered it right after you left the bedroom. My father knew it and Auryk did too, this is why he wanted to get me out of the country so badly."

Bela wasn't listening to me. She was still staring at my face in disbelief, her eyes glistening with tears from the relief of finding out I was still alive. She cupped my face between her hands and pressed her lips on mine multiple times.

"I'm going to fix this," she was still crying. "I promise you. We have a plan to kill Miranda. There's a dagger hidden here in the castle, it can kill any monsters or demons. Daniela is searching for it, while Cassandra is distracting my m-," she hesitated to say that word, "my mother."

"Okay, but Cassandra was the one to kill Mrs. Volkov to capture me. We can't trust her at all!"

Of course. The bitch had more tricks I wasn't even aware of. She could shapeshift. Now I finally knew how my father was probably killed or how Auryk obtained that amulet from her. It was also obvious who attacked the castle that morning, Miranda was willing to test my healing properties again.

"She didn't. Mother Miranda can shapeshift into any person, this is why we need to be careful. We have this safe word, to know we're the actual Dimitrescu sisters. It's 'blowfly'."

I sighed and attempted to break the tension.

"And how do you know I'm the real Aleena?" I smiled.

"Trust me, love. I know," Bela kissed me, slowly and passionate. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be doing this. Imagine how disgusting it would be to kiss that crazy bitch."

We both broke into laughs. Then, she took my hand and helped me to stand up.

"We need to get you out of here. My mother can't know I've found you. Miranda is coming to pick you up at midnight for the ritual."

Through the secret passages we made to the stables, where Bela had already left my bags and a horse prepared to take me to the village.

"Once you get there," she told me. "Just drive as far as you can. Go to the city, find your brother and fly to United States."

And then I realized.

"But Bela... what about you?"

"I'm staying here, love. I'm going to kill Miranda, together with my sisters and Heisenberg."

"And then you'll meet me there, right?!" I raised my voice, fighting hard against the tears that insisted falling down. "You'll go to California."

She was in silence for a moment, trying to find the right words, but I already knew what she wanted to say. First, she handed me my cell phone.

"You said you wanted something to remember. Now you have plenty of pictures of me in this device of yours."

"Bela... what are you saying?"

"Let's be honest, Aleena," she looked down. "It was never a possibility and you knew it. We'd have to stop at the first temperature drop we came across. We probably wouldn't even make it to the airport."

"I said I'm going to find a way! It's Summer, dammit. It's not so cold away from the mountains and once we arrive in California, it'll be even hotter."

"You know your world would never accept me, love. Look at me, I have this nasty scar, this weird tattoo, I need to drink human blood to live..."

"STOP MAKING EXCUSES TO BREAK UP WITH ME! I'LL FIND A WAY! FOR ALL OF THIS. IF THEY CAN'T ACCEPT YOU, THEN FUCK THEM! I LOVE YOU AND IT'S ALL THAT MATTERS."

"I love you too," Bela kissed my forehead. "And this is why I'm letting you go."

"Even if I go, Bela," I argued, punching her shoulder slightly, "it doesn't have to end! I'm going to call you. I'm going to write you. And I'll come here to visit you too."

"In the first few weeks, love. Then, you'll become too busy to write. Our phone calls will become shorter because you'll be too tired. You'll disappear for a few days. We'll start to fade, little by little. And finally someday, you'll meet somebody new. Somebody who can make you laugh and distract you from your tragic past. Somebody who can take you to an actual date. Somebody you can introduce to your family and friends. Somebody who actually deserves you. Who can give you a future with marriage and children. Because she isn't dead. Because she isn't... me."

"I don't want any of this! I want you and only you. This future? We can have it! Here in this fucking castle or in my old small house. I don't care if I have to serve tables for the rest of my life, as long as I have you."

"You deserve a lot more than that."

"And so do you. What are you going to do, huh? To keep playing house with the woman who killed and turned you into a vampire? Serving her every wish and pretending you love this life? Or sleep with a different servant every week to hide the fact you're completely lonely and miserable?"

"Yes, Aleena. It has been this way for six decades now and it's not going to change. I have no choice, I'm sorry."

She vanished into a swarm of flies and disappeared, leaving me completely alone in the stables. I fell on my knees again, sobbing and screaming my lungs out.

"Bela, come back here!" I cried. "I love you! Please... come back..."

I still waited for a few minutes, but as I knew and as Mrs. Volkov always warned me, when Bela made a decision nothing would change her mind. Not even her mother or her sisters. Not even me.

----------

Castle Dimitrescu, Bela's Room - Present Days

"I'm hungry," Cassandra complained from the couch. "Pretty please... I'm helping you with the secret mission. A scrambled egg is enough."

"Tell Lady Dimitrescu to cook," Bela remained unmoved on her bed, staring at the ceiling while wearing Aleena's jacket. The one she borrowed her when the castle was attacked. It was the only memory she'd have from the woman she loved. "She was the one to kill all the servants."

Bela was listening to an old love song from the 60's. It was the one thing she was actually capable of doing in that moment. She couldn't even manage to create different scenarios about how she could kill Miranda inside her mind, or even wander around the castle searching for the cursed knife.

She knew Aleena had safely arrived in her house at the village. She sent one of her flies to follow her and observe her for how long it was possible. The girl was completely devastated, heartbroken and it killed her to see that. She could she glimpses of the moments where she sobbed while packing her bags and taking them to her old truck. But it was the best for both of them. She'd never be safe by Bela's side. Especially while Miranda was still around.

"This music is making me nauseous," Cassandra went to the disc player and turned it off. "You should've gone with her then."

"It was the safest for her. Mother would come after me immediately and take her back to Miranda's claws."

The brunette sister went to her own bedroom and returned with a book in hands, what surprised Bela because Cassandra wasn't much of a reader.

"Check this out. I asked the Duke to get you the sequel," and she started to read, adopting the same dramatic tone as usual. "As much as I struggled not to think of him, I did not struggle to forget. I worried — late in the night, when the exhaustion of sleep deprivation broke down my defenses — that it was all slipping away. That my mind was a sieve, and I would someday not be able to remember the precise color of his eyes, the feel of his cool skin, or the texture of his voice. I could not think of them, but I must remember them. Because there was just one thing that I had to believe to be able to live — I had to know that he existed. That was all. Everything else I could endure. So long as he existed."

"Ha ha, very funny," Bela rolled her eyes. Deep down she absorbed those words. She feared someday she'd forget all those small details about Aleena too, but knowing she existed someday, and that she loved her back, was enough for her to be able to live for the rest of her immortal days. "Next time, get us something useful. Like that fucking dagger."

The door opened and Daniela walked inside, pushing a food cart.

"I brought us dinner," she announced.

"Did you kidnap a villager to cook for us?" Cassandra asked, immediately grabbing a plate.

"Of course not! I cooked it myself. If Bela can do it, I can too."

The two eldest sisters exchanged a suspicious glance, before deciding they were not so hungry after all.

"And here is the main dish..." Daniela said, lifting the lid and revealing the content inside the silver pan. "A poisonous dagger."

"You did it!" Bela exclaimed, surprised and proud.

"Yes! Let's chop that bitch to pieces."

Daniela hugged her eldest sister again. It was happening too often lately, for Bela's discomfort. But this time, she accepted the hug.

"Where's mom?" Cassandra interrupted the moment. "I haven't heard from her since I left her alone in her bedroom."

The castle was way too quiet. It wasn't the first time the servants had to be gotten rid of and they were completely by themselves. Or maybe sometimes, Lady Dimitrescu would lock herself in the Opera House to play the piano or even read a book alone in her bedroom, but that wasn't the case this time. That was a different kind of silence. A silence that indicated danger, a threat.

"Mother?!" Cassandra called, followed by her two sisters. "Where are you?"

There was no answer. They were about to reach the library when the power went out, as well as the heating system. A wave of panic instantly spread over Bela's body. She feared the cold, more than anything.

"What the hell?!" Daniela yelled. "Who's there? I'm starving and angry, so don't mess with me!"

"Shhhh," Bela silenced her. She had a feeling, a hunch about who could it be. As they approached the office, her suspicions were confirmed by the argument coming from inside the room.

"Where is she, Alcina?!" They heard Miranda yelling. "You promised me to keep her safe!"

"Mother, I swear... she was in the dungeons! There was no way she could escape. The drug was supposed to keep her down until now."

"Your daughters... they must've helped her to escape. Decades trying to find the perfect vessel and they ruined it all. They'll deal with the consequences!"

"Mother, no! Don't hurt them, I'm begging you."

In that moment, the sisters witnessed as a powerful flock of birds started to fly around the caste, shattering all the windows. As the cold air of the night in the mountains filled the entire place, the three sisters knew their ending was imminent.

----------

Eastern Europe, Aleena's House - Present Days

The tears blurred my vision as I followed my way back to the village. Sometimes, I'd stop for a minute, hoping Bela would change her mind and come after me. Why would she assume I was safer without her? If there was someone who could protect me, that was she.

As soon as I arrived, I went straight to the garage, getting my old truck to come back to life. Then, I followed to my bedroom to pack my bags. There wasn't much I actually needed to take, mostly my clothes, my laptop and a few other important belongings. I didn't plan to sell the house anyways. I could come back and take the rest later, if I had to.

My books. I would definitely take at least my favorites. Most of them were gifts from my mom. I couldn't leave those precious treasures behind. As I grabbed one of them to place it inside of my luggage, a small piece of paper fell on the floor:

'Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds. It is an ever fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken. Love alters not with time's brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom'.

I recognized it. It was an excerpt of William Shakespeare's Sonnet 116. Bela should've left it there when she was alone in my bedroom. In the end, she wrote: 'Please, think of me sometimes. I love you, forever'.

Of course I would. There was no way I'd ever stop loving that girl, or even forgetting about her at all. I could never forget about the girl who threw me the sweetest birthday party or made me the best pancakes in the world. And especially, the first girl I ever loved. I pressed the note against my chest, letting out a few tears. I placed it among my belongings, those I was going to take with me to California.

I heard the front door opening and I immediately grabbed my rifle and my blades too. Something had to at least cause some harm to that bitch. I was slowly going down the stairs in an attack position, when I heard a voice.

"Leena? Are you home?" That was my twin brother, Auryk. "I'm back."

"Auryk," I finally revealed myself. My first impulse was running to his arms, before I remembered all the lies and the betrayal. "You knew it. You fucking knew it and you hid it from me!"

"I'm sorry, okay? I was trying to keep you safe from Miranda. I planned to get you out of here before it all came to surface, but that bitch was already one step ahead."

"We have to go, right now. She's coming after me. I just escaped Castle Dimitrescu."

"Leena, no..." he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I thought I was clear when I asked you to stay in the castle until I returned."

"Auryk, she drugged me and locked me in the dungeons!" I yelled. "She was going to sacrifice me in a sick ritual tonight. Which part haven't you understand yet?"

"This was the plan, Aleena. When she was vulnerable, during the ritual, the agency would take the opportunity to explode this place and all these freaks."

"WHAT?! What about the village... and the people, their houses? What about ME?! What if I got killed in this process?"

"They're going to evacuate the village in a couple of hours," he explained. "And then, they'll help them to rebuild their lives or something... I don't know for sure. But they would protect us."

"Stop them!" I ordered. I couldn't let them hurt Bela or her sisters. Or even put the villagers in danger. Some of them, such as Olga, Elena and her father would never abandon that place and its traditions. "Right now! You're not going to hurt them. You won't!"

"Aleena, what the fuck? They're monsters! They're going to kill you!"

And then, I did the first thing that came to my mind. It was stupid, unplanned and completely reckless. I knocked my brother's head with the rifle. As soon as he fell unconscious on the floor, I tied him up and locked him inside Adrian's secret storage.

"I'm sorry, Auryk. But I must save my girlfriend."

[bridgyrose]

Sleeper Agent AU. Can we get a background on why Summer joined Salem in the first place?

Summer dropped to her knees as her aura shattered, struggling to keep herself up. She glanced up at Salem, who loomed over her. “I… I wont give-” 

“And you dont have much of a choice.” Salem stretched her hand out, creating glyphs that summoned grimm hands to hold Summer in place, dropping her to the ground. “Everything Ozna had ever told you was a lie.” 

Summer struggled to free herself, glaring at Salem as her eyes started to shine. “I will stop you!” 

“You wont.” 

Summer’s eyes quit glowing as Salem made an illusion of Ruby out of smoke. “Dont you dare-” 

“I wont hurt her.” Salem slowly walked over to Summer. “And I’m going to give you a choice. You see, I’m not going to kill you. I have found… new methods of dealing with your kind. However, I see that you arent like the others. You lack knowledge. Knowledge that I’m willing to provide to you.” 

Summer quit struggling, listening to Salem. “And what kind of knowledge can you provide to me?” 

“The truth about my dear Ozma.The truth on why he’s using you.” 

“He’s not using me!” 

“But he is.” Salem knelt down and lifted Summer’s chin, smirking. “I’m sure he’s told you all about me, hasnt he? But what about himself? How he’s the one who killed our children. That he’s the one who betrayed me.” 

Summer looked away from Salem, not sure how to feel. “I… I dont... “ 

“But you know how to find out. You know where the relic of knowledge is. And you know who holds the password. You can ask the relic yourself what Ozma is hiding.” 

Summer felt the grimm hands letting her go, withdrawing from her. She slowly picked herself up, looking up at Salem curiously. “You’re… going to let me go?” 

“Of course I am. Because I know you’ll make the right choice.” Salem turned away from Summer, smirking a bit. “And I know you wont disappoint me.” 

Summer slowly walked back to the airship, pulling out her scroll and looked at Raven’s name. She knew exactly why Raven left, why she wouldnt tell the others. And as much as she hated trying to get a favor from her, she didnt feel like she had a choice this time.

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

“No.” 

“But Rae-” 

“I said no!” Raven’s eyes glowed as she yelled out her answer at her old friend. “You dont understand what you’re asking! I cant just walk right into Haven-” 

“You dont have to.” 

Raven looked at Summer curiously. “I… dont have to?” 

Summer shook her head, pulling out a map of Mistral. “I… I know you know where the vault is. And… there has to be another way besides waltzing right into Haven. O-or, you can shapeshift and hide in my cloak. But I… I have to make my way to the relic. I… I have to ask it-” 

“You know just as well as I do that Ozpin told us the lamp couldnt answer any more questions.” 

“But what if he’s lying.” 

Raven went silent as she looked Summer over, her expression starting to soften a bit as she looked her previous team leader over. “You’re… serious.” 

Summer nodded slowly, sitting back in her chair and looking down into her tea. “I… went after Salem the other day. She… she told me that Ozma… that Ozpin was hiding something from us. I… I dont want to believe her, but…” 

“But after everything with the maidens, you’ve been having doubts?” 

Summer nodded, looking towards her friend. “And… I know you’ve had your own doubts too. And… our child-” 

“Fine, I’ll help you. But only because I dont trust Ozpin.” 

Summer smiled and kissed Raven. “Thank you, my love.” 

Raven got up and sighed. “Do not make me regret it.” 

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

Summer walked up to the caste steps, holding Ruby close. After speaking to Jinn, she found out exactly what Ozpin was hiding. Even still, she didnt trust Salem, but after watching what had happened, seeing the lies that Ozpin had told her, everything he hid from her… Summer sighed and paused as she looked up at the doors, hesitating for a moment. “This… this is the only way. Ozpin… Ozpin doesnt have a plan. Salem was willing to offer me knowledge… to tell me the truth… everything we were fighting for… its all… pointless…” 

“I take it you saw the truth then?” 

Summer looked back to the door, finding it open with Salem standing at the doorway, a small child hiding behind her. “Y-yes, I… I know the truth.” 

Salem smirked at Summer, moving a bit so she could walk in. “Then you know the choice you have to make.” 

Summer paused for a moment as she looked in through the doors, gently trying to calm Ruby as she cried. “And… my daughter and I will be safe?” 

“I promise I will not allow either of you to be harmed for making this decision. Although, when your daughter is ready, she will need to join me.” 

Summer nodded, taking a step inside. “Alright, but it has to be her decision.” 

“Of course. I would never force anyone to work with me for my cause.” Salem closed the doors as Summer walked through, keeping close to the huntress. “Now, is there anything else you’d like to know?” 

Summer nodded, continuing to walk down the halls with Salem. “I have many questions to ask.” 

“And I will answer them all.” 

[marshmallow-phd]

Catching Rain

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Wolf!AU

Pairing: Minseok x Reader

Summary: You were more than satisfied with your life. You attended a nice college, had nice friends, a nice boyfriend. That’s what your life was: nice. You weren’t looking for anything more, so what were you to do when this seemingly harmless boy walked into your life and turned your nice little world into one much more dangerous?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I Epilogue

**

On closer inspection, the house in the middle of the field was quite pretty. Simple, white, well kept. A secondary building with metal walls sat adjacent to the house – a garage, perhaps. Waiting on the porch was the man from earlier. Baekhyun. Now you remembered his name. He was joined by a few others – Chanyeol, Sehun, and one you didn’t know – who stared at you in curious wonder. Their eyes were wide and investigative, as if you were the supernatural creature and not Minseok.

“Looks like the cat’s out of the bag,” Baekhyun said with a snicker.

“Or pup, in this case,” said the one you didn’t know. Black hair that fell over his forehead and an upturn sat in both corners of his lips, though he wasn’t smiling.

Minseok merely shook his head as he pushed past them into the house. The screen door shut with a loud slam. You flinched at the noise. Chanyeol sighed as he glanced at you. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Yes, please,” you nodded. He motioned for you to follow him inside.

Through a short front parlor and a cozy living room, he led you into the kitchen where you stood awkwardly. The only noise came from the water flowing from the refrigerator spicket. The ice clinked as it moved around the glass. Your eyes wandered across the large, open space. Sunlight poured in from the windows in the two outer walls. It gave the whole room a yellow hue despite the white and light gray coloring of the cabinets and backsplash. Whoever had last designed this room had done so in a way to make it feel bigger and open, welcoming even. You wondered if there must have been a woman living here to give the finer touches. Minseok hadn’t mentioned anyone beyond his male roommates. The thought of a woman living amongst them made you slightly jealous, but you shoved it aside when Chanyeol held out the glass for you.

“Thank you,” you murmured before taking a sip.

He nodded shyly. His foot tapped lightly against the hard wood floor with his hands shoved into his pockets. He looked everywhere except for at you. Feeling eyes on you anyway, you glanced over your shoulder just in time to see several crops of hair disappear from the hallway entrance.

You scoffed. “You guys act like you’ve never seen a female before.”

“Not one like you.”

Minseok stepped into the room wearing a t-shirt with frayed edges where the sleeves had been cut off and a pair of basketball shorts. As angry as you were with him, the distrust still very much apparent, you were fighting the urge to run to him. What was this stupid, conflicting feeling? Making eye contact with Minseok, Chanyeol ducked his head and hurriedly left the kitchen.

“So,” you crossed your arms after putting down the glass and leaned against the counter, “is this the part where you explain to me what the hell is going on?”

“I will, but not here.”

“No, you don’t get to do that!” you snapped. “You didn’t want to tell me in the forest, so we came back here and now you don’t want to tell me here?”

Minseok shrunk back. “I just meant down here. Can we go upstairs? Away from where the others can hear?”

That suggestion could be accepted. Actually, you felt a little bad for exploding, but could you really be blamed? Given the information dump you were steadily receiving today? “Oh. Okay. Lead the way.”

Minseok’s hand twitched at his side, but he kept it in check as he turned and headed back up the stairs. The top spilled out into a hallway lined with doors. This space wasn’t as bright as the kitchen. Different shades of dark brown covered the wooden floor and plaster walls. No windows gave view to the outside making you feel trapped. “This one’s mine,” Minseok said. He held on to a handle of one of the middle doors and waited for you to come closer before pushing it open. When you saw what lied beyond the door, you nearly smiled.

On the walls were posters of famous soccer players and indie movies you’d never heard of. The bed was made with military precision, not a creased comforter or half-strewn pillow in sight. Against the far wall under a singular window was a desk. The notebooks were stacked in the top right corner, the edges so straight a ruler wouldn’t be able to find fault. Pens and pencils occupied a small cup to keep the rest of the desk clear.

“Not what you expected?” Minseok asked as he closed the door.

“Yes and no.” You stole a glance at him over your shoulder. “It’s very… neat.”

Minseok smiled shyly. He shuffled over to the bed and sat down. If he expected you to take the spot next to him, he was wrong. Instead, you chose the chair. A precaution for yourself.

Neither of you knew where to start. Who was supposed to talk first? What part should even be considered the beginning? Unable to continue in this awkward silence, you jumped in feet first.

“You can really… turn into a wolf?” The words felt like glue in your throat. Creatures like that belonged in fairytales and fantasy films, not a college campus.

“Yeah,” Minseok said. “We all can. All nine of us.”

“All nine.” Oh, great. A whole pack of them. “Even the one’s I met?” Stupid question. He’d already answered that, technically. But Minseok simply nodded instead of calling out the redundancy. “So, were you all bitten or-” You felt ridiculous basing the current situation on myth and legend, but what else did you have to go on?

“We’re all born this way. You can’t be like us from a bite or a scratch. It has to be in your DNA.” He snuck a peek before beating you to the next question. “The moon doesn’t really influence us either. I mean, its easier to see by at night in the forest, but it doesn’t force us to change. We can do that whenever we want. Witches have more of a connection with the giant rock in the sky.”

“Witches! They’re real, too? What else is real? Vampires? Dragons? Goblins?” What kind of world had you stumbled into?

Minseok flinched. “Maybe we should stick to one subject at a time.”

“Right.” That was probably best for your sanity. “So, if you have to be born like,” you gestured to him, “… this, does that mean both of your parents were, too?”

“Just my dad,” Minseok said. “Females wolves are extremely rare.”

“Well, that’s sexist.”

“Hey, we didn’t make up the rules. It’s genetics.” He scratched the back of his neck, twitching his lips from side to side. “I guess I should say that silver doesn’t bother us either.”

Why did you feel relieved at that random fact? It didn’t matter, as that wasn’t the most pressing issue to you. “Earlier you mentioned that it wasn’t you killing the campers-”

“It wasn’t any of us!”

“I believe you.” The words tumbled off your lips. And you realized that it was true. You couldn’t twist the nervous, sweet guy in front of you into a mindless killer. The way he was explaining everything slowly, cautiously, giving you time to understand. He wasn’t hiding anything from you. Not anymore. “I’m just confused when you said it was an omega?”

“Its just a ranking system within a pack,” he explained. “Alpha, beta, MR, omega. Junmyeon’s the alpha of our pack, he’s in charge. Yixing and I are betas, second in command. We help enforce Junmyeon’s word and keep an eye on the younger wolves who like to cause mischief.” He chuckled, as if remembering times when said mischief occurred. “The rest are all MR – Mid-ranking. They all have their own duties should they be needed. Well, except for Jongin and Sehun. They’re the youngest wolves so they get special treatment most of the time. Its okay, though. They kind of make you want to take care of them, the way they are.”

You nodded filing all the information away for later recall. “And the omega?”

“A wolf without a pack. Nine times out of ten they were kicked out for defying the alpha, for putting their own interests ahead of the pack. Without that structure, a lot of them turn feral.”

“Nine times out of ten?”

“It’s extremely rare, but sometimes a wolf will choose to never join a pack in the first place. It’s nearly unheard of though. We’re too social of creatures. Nine-point-five out of ten would probably be a better number.”

You couldn’t help the laugh that came out. Of course he would bring up math in a time like this. Minseok laughed along with you. Eventually, though, it died out, along with the smile that had been growing on his lips. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”

Picking up on his mood, you tilted your head to the side. “I don’t think anything else could take me by surprise at this point.” Minseok stared at you pointedly. Your stomach began to sink. What other little secret could he possibly be harboring at this point? You didn’t think anything could be as shocking as his shapeshifting abilities.

“Have you ever heard the expression ‘wolves mate for life’?” he asked cryptically.

“Yeah?”

“Well-” he shifted, crinkling the perfect comforter in the process. “We don’t know why it happens. Junmyeon thinks its nature’s way of compensating our ‘otherness’ while Jongdae just thinks it’s another level of torture.” An uncomfortable laugh. “But, um, every wolf has their own mate. Just one, that they stick with for the rest of their lives.”

Unable to keep looking at him, you leaned forward, resting your elbows on your knees. “So, are you saying that you all get to pick whoever you want as your mate and that’s it? You claim them because of what you are?”

“No!” Minseok jumped to his feet. Swallowing visibly, he cleared his throat, but remained standing. “No, we don’t get to pick. It happens out of nowhere. Our mates are chosen for us before either is born. And we can meet them under any circumstances. Some favorable, some… not so much.”

You looked up at him “What are you trying to say, Minseok?”

He walked up to you, each step hesitant, each step full of fear. Crouching down, he sighed as he looked into your eyes. “What I’m trying to say, (y/n), is that… you’re my mate.”

At first, you only blinked. The words had to be soaked in one at a time before you could piece them together and understand the sentence as a whole. “I- what? How do you even know?”

Reaching out, Minseok took ahold of your hand. You didn’t fight it. The electricity was practically singing between your skins. “Really, all it takes is one look. A few seconds of eye contact and the pull takes hold. But this feeling we both get when we touch, its confirmation. And then there’s this.”

He pulled your hand closer, pressing your palm against his chest. The heat transferring through the thin fabric was enough to make you sweat, but that wasn’t the point of this exercise. It was the rate of which his heart was beating. As he stared at you with awe, his heart sprinted as if it were in second place of a race and needed to pass just one more runner to win.

“Every time I see you, this happens,” Minseok whispered. “It doesn’t matter how good my day has been, its always better when I’m with you.”

“We haven’t even known each other that long.”

“It doesn’t take long, apparently.”

You frowned, confused. “Apparently?”

A small smile pulled up one corner of his mouth. “I’m the first one in the pack to find my mate. The first one to experience this.”

The first…. You wanted to laugh at the romantic angle your brain was seeing this.

A knock came from the door. Minseok stood up, reluctantly dropping your hand before answering the intrusion. “Yeah?”

Several roommates were standing in the hall, all peering around Minseok to get a better look at you.

“Kyungsoo said it was time for dinner,” one of them said. “And that he could hear your mate’s empty stomach from downstairs.”

“And it took all of you to come tell us?” Minseok questioned as he folded his arms. He shifted to block more of the doorway, shielding you from their stares.

“It was an important job,” another one said.

Minseok looked back at you before sighing. “Tell Kyungsoo that I’ll be down in a second.”

“But-”

The door was shut before the argument could be finished. The rush of footsteps faded in the background until it was only the two of you once again.

“Are you hungry?” Minseok asked. You nodded sheepishly. “You don’t have to go downstairs. You can stay here and I’ll bring it up to. Kyungsoo’s a good cook so whatever he made will be delicious.”

“Actually, I’ll go down with you,” you said, to the surprise of both of you. Everything Minseok had told you was still sinking in. There was too much to process and completely comprehend, but the pieces were fitting together. And you were curious about life here. If you really were meant to be his mate, maybe you should know where that road led. It was the right at the fork. You’d uncovered a sign that gave you a clue to where it was headed. You wanted to follow it.

Minseok waited patiently as you stood up and walked towards him. He let you out the door first. There was a moment where your fingers brushed as you passed. You could feel the muscles in his hand tighten. He wanted to take your hand again – and you almost let him. But you held back. There was still something stopping you. Or, rather, a who.

The noise hit you halfway down the stairs. Being told that nine people lived together and truly witnessing it were two very different concepts. There was no order that you could see. Most of the boys sat around the table, conducting multiple conversations at once that overlapped that you had to wonder how they could understand each other. A few sat in a small booth off to the side in a world of their own. It was the kind of breakfast nook you’d only seen before in home magazines. Two boys stood at the counters, their backs to the chaos behind them.

One of them – sporting a very well put together look and black rimmed glasses – turned and smiled at you and Minseok. “There you are. Glad to see you came down.” He held his hand out to you. “I’m Junmyeon.”

“The alpha,” you said as you shook his hand.

“I see Minseok told you most of it,” Junmeyon said.

“Pretty much everything,” Minseok corrected.

You felt your face contort as you tried to pinpoint where you’d seen this man before. “Wait. Aren’t you a professor?”

Junmyeon laughed. “Yeah, I am. In the literature department. Folklore, to be exactly. But I’d prefer if we kept this between us.” He sent you a wink to show he was teasing. Behind you, Misneok growled, making you jump. “I’m just playing, Minseok.”

“And I’m sure he’ll be playing when he rips your head off,” the other stove-top occupant stated. He held out a plate for you piled high with food. There was no way you would be able to eat all of that. “I’m Kyungsoo, by the way.”

“(y/n),” you greeted back. “It’s nice to meet you.” Taking the plate, you tried to hand it off to Minseok.

“No, that’s yours.”

Not wanting to be rude, you said between gritted teeth, “I can’t eat all of this.”

Minseok pinched his face as if debating on something. “Fine. We’ll share.”

“Are you sure about that?” Junmyeon asked. “There won’t be any left over for seconds. You know that.”

“It’ll be fine.”

Shaking his head, Kyungsoo held on to one side of the plate and added another scoop of rice and meat each. “Just in case.”

After thanking him, Minseok guided you over to the table with a hand hovering over your lower back. Even without the contact, you could feel the heat coming from his palm. Or maybe it was just your imagination filling in. Minseok pulled out a chair for you on the empty end before sitting next you. It was obvious he’d purposefully placed you away from the others.

“Possessive much?” Baekhyun snorted as he dug into a plate of his own.

“I’m sure it’s just instinct.” The comment came from one of the more slender boys – Boys? Wolves? You weren’t sure how to address them properly. Maybe later. Your brain needed a break. The one who had spoken had a very pointed face, but in a way that was still handsome. You weren’t sure if you’d seen him before or not.

“That’s Yixing,” Minseok said. “And the last one to meet, I guess, is Jongdae.”

Jongdae turned out to be the curled-lip one who still wasn’t smiling. In fact, he was the only one not in some level of a cheerful mood as he sat in the breakfast booth. He barely looked at you while everyone else was. Some were even blatantly staring at you as they shoveled in food to their mouths.

“You should eat.” Minseok picked up a fork and stabbed a slice of marinade-covered meat, holding it out for you to eat like a child.

“I can do that myself, thanks.” You took the fork and chewed slowly on the meat. It was good. More than good, really, so you took another bite and another. Soon, you were full, though there was more than half a plate left. You scooted the plate over to Minseok. “Okay, your turn.”

“You’re done? Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m stuffed.”

Minseok didn’t reach for the other fork he’d grabbed, as if giving you a chance to change your mind. When you made no such move, he dug in. You smiled at the way he ate, enjoying every bite with satisfaction. At the sight of every plate being empty, Baekhyun stood up. “I’m going to watch a movie,” he announced.

“Oh, that sounds like a good idea!” Jongin said.

Yixing asked, “Which one?”

Baekhyun shrugged. “I don’t know. Whatever’s new. (Y/n), want to join us?”

Minseok cut in. “I don’t know if that-”

“I’d love to!” You turned to Minseok and gave him a cheeky smile. It felt a bit defiant. Perhaps he wanted to explain more to you or spend time with you alone in general, but you wanted to know how this group operated together. You wanted insight to their normalcy. Getting to your feet, you picked up the plate, but Junmyeon reached over and took it from you.

“Don’t worry about this. We’ll clean up.”

“But-”

The alpha wouldn’t have it. “You’re the guest. Shoo.”

More than happy with that argument (dishes weren’t your thing by a long shot), you followed the cluster of excited men to the living room. They crashed on nearly every surface – the couch, the chairs, the floor, anywhere they could fit. Minseok approached Jongin and Sehun who had taken a corner of the long couch.

“Move,” he ordered.

“But we were here first!” Sehun whined. Jongin look over to you and then got up without a word, sitting down on the floor with his back against the coffee table.

“Sehun….”

“You’re really going to kick the youngest off the comfortable seat?”

You tried to break up the awkward exchange. Well, it was awkward for you since you were the reason for the discussion. “It’s fine, really. I can sit on the floor.”

“You’re not sitting on the floor,” Minseok told you. To Sehun, he said, “I’m the eldest and she’s a guest. Please move.”

For a second nothing happened. Then Sehun huffed. “Fine.” He got up and joined Jongin on the floor. He lied down on his stomach and pulled out his phone, over it already. You felt bad but saw no point in arguing. Minseok let you sit first and then, once again, sat between you and Chanyeol, who happily occupied the other side of the couch.

Baekhyun flipped through a streaming service until he landed on a superhero movie. Everyone cheered at the choice, then quieted down as he pressed play. Someone turned out the lights so only the glow of the television remained.

Sitting shoulder to shoulder and leg to leg, you were hyper aware of Minseok. Arms crossed over your stomach and fists clenched, you told yourself repeatedly not to reach for his hand or lean on his shoulder no matter how heavy your eyelids were getting. Erik may have hit pause on your relationship, but there wasn’t much of a discussion of lines. You didn’t know the rules of that scenario and what was and wasn’t allowed. But as your tiredness grew, your willpower weakened. After a few bobs, your head landed softly on Minseok’s shoulder. It was too comfortable to move. It felt too nice, too right. Like his shoulder was the one you were always supposed to lean on. And that was when Minseok made a move of his own.

Holding your head up, he adjusted his arm so it was now draped over your shoulders. Your head rested against his chest when he laid you back down. Something vibrated against your cheek. Was that… purring? No, it had to be the booming from the movie. Right?

It didn’t take long for you drift into sleep. The movie was one you’d seen before so you couldn’t use that as an excuse to stay awake. You weren’t sure how long it had been. A slight bopping motion roused you. In the shallowness of your conscious you made out that you were being carried. Carried up stairs… and into a bedroom. While still holding you, that person managed to pull back the covers and tuck you into bed. As the arm slipped away you grabbed hold of the wrist. Through the slightest slits in your eyes you could make out Minseok’s silhouette.

“Shh, it’s okay,” he whispered. “Go back to sleep. I’ll take the couch downstairs.”

“No. Stay.”

He froze at your request. “Are you sure?”

“Please.”

Even in the darkness, you could see him smiling. “Okay.” Shutting the door, he peeled back the covers once more and slid in beside you. Happy wasn’t even close to how you felt when he pulled you in close to his chest. You drifted back to sleep with a smile on your face.

[sleepy-exe]

Shapeshifter AU - 9

Iwaizumi x f!reader

<< Part 8 | Part 10 >>

Summary: The morning after Iwaizumi found out about shapeshifters. Y/n tries to play it cool. Iwaizumi gets to see into part of her world.

Word count: 3k

Warnings: none, fluff

Genre: sfw (18+ regardless), shapeshifter au, strangers to lovers

a/n: Ahhhh this is so late. The next two parts are almost ready at least. Haha..

Part 9: Walls Will Fall 

Y/n woke up in her bed at home, alone as usual. Not long after her and Iwaizumi’s shapeshifter discussion, she had to head home to get ready for work later that morning. She had today off though, so she could clear her head from yesterday’s events, and she hoped to hear from Iwaizumi. He had texted her once that evening after he got home from his own job, not that he’d planned to come over. He still didn’t know exactly where she lived anyway. Regardless, he normally says more even if he doesn’t seem to text much. She hoped he wasn’t scared off.

>> To ‘zumi’: “good morning~”

She immediately cursed herself realizing she majorly slept in. It’s far from morning now. She stretched while sitting in bed for a moment before heading to her master bathroom. Her phone chimed as she stepped foot on the tiled floor, so she ran back to grab the phone she had left behind before heading to do her morning routine. She checked her notifications while grabbing an elastic to push any baby hairs out of her face. He texted back already. She sighed in relief; having wondered if he’d answer at all.

>> From ‘zumi’: “morning? Dont tell me you just woke up”

>> From ‘zumi’: “y/n it’s 1pm”

She smiled to herself. At least she didn’t get a one word reply. He can’t be completely avoiding her then, right?

>> To ‘zumi’: “course not i meant afternoon lol”

>> From ‘zumi’: “you totally just woke up”

She admitted defeat in silence and headed for the shower. During her shower and the rest of her morning ritual, she heard several dings from her phone but ignored them.

Exiting the en suite, she tossed her phone onto the bed before walking to the kitchen completely naked. The joys of living alone. She grabbed a water bottle from her fridge and checked the cat’s bowls before returning to her bed, water in hand.

She swapped the bottle for her phone, plopping down on the foot of the bed with a light bounce. There were various app notifications that she ignored and texts from a few friends, which she also ignored. For now. She’s not a bad friend for that, right?

But below her friends’ texts was another text from Iwaizumi, and she clicked it. She’s definitely going to reply to her other two friends very soon.

>> From ‘zumi’: “no reply makes it sound like I was right”

>> To ‘zumi’: “maybe I was busy all morning”

>> From ‘zumi’: “I thought you had the day off”

>> To ‘zumi’: “Nope was definitely busy and I’m definitely being productive”

>> From ‘zumi’: “prove it”

She paused. She’s pretty sure he’s expecting a pic. At least if she was texting Mizuki or another friend that would be more or less a demand for a selfie to prove what she’s actually doing. But not only would that prove she lied, she still hadn’t picked out clothes to wear.

Her cat suddenly jumped onto her bed and started head butting her. “Yeah yeah, breakfast. I saw you had some left in your bowl, kitty cat.”

>> To ‘zumi’: “well i can’t send a pic not dressed”

After several minutes of giving the cat much needed attention, she moved her to the side so she could get to her wardrobe. While she decided on an outfit, she heard her phone chime again, but decided maybe she should go ahead and get dressed.

Now fully clothed she grabbed her phone and headed over to do some minimal makeup. Fill in her brows, cover her dark circles, the usual.

>> From ‘zumi’: “Not dressed this late in the afternoon? At work?”

>> From ‘zumi’: “I dont believe that’s normally acceptable in an office setting”

>> From ‘zumi’: “I’m guessing that means one of those things was a lie. you’re not supposed to lie to your friends”

She clicked her tongue. “Okay.. Oh wait!”

Friends!

She quickly checked her other messages. Sakusa and another friend had texted her earlier. Sakusa just sent a reminder about plans they had made for later in the week, so she confirmed the plans were still on. Her best friend surprisingly didn’t blow up her phone for ignoring him; not that he had anything important to say. She typed out a quick message to him, then got back to Iwaizumi.

>> To ‘zumi’: “fine I did sleep in”

>> To ‘zumi’: “sorry for lying how can I ever make it up to you”

Mochi was on her heels as she left the bedroom. “Okay! Okay!”

>> From ‘zumi’: “depends”

>> From ‘zumi’: “are you planning on getting dressed today”

She chuckled, and quickly gave Mochi food and fresh water.

>> To ‘zumi’: “yeah. Done. Mochi got her breakfast and now I’m getting mine”

As she stepped into her kitchen, Iwa was already calling her. What did she expect? She sighed and answered the call.

“You haven’t eaten yet?!” Did she expect him to say anything else? No.

“Hello to you, too.”

“Y/n.”

“Don’t dad me.”

“Wha-“

“Don’t ya have work today?”

“No, I have today off.”

“Oh. Fun fun.” She sent a request to switch to video chat before working on her brunch.

“..You’re dressed, right?”

She snorted. “I generally don’t cook naked.”

“Generally?” He accepted the switch to video call and she propped her phone up on the countertop. She could see he was indoors, but did not recognize where.

“I’m making something to eat now, but we can talk. Don’t worry, I’m fully clothed.” She snickered.

“Oh, so you do live somewhere,” he said with a coy smile. She winced at the nod to her secrecy. “What are you making?”

She paused staring down at her phone, then looked around and left the phone’s frame.

“You haven’t even figured out that much? I can’t believe you haven’t had anything to eat yet! It’s after 3pm!”

“It’s not-“ She caught sight of the time on the microwave and winced again. Whoops. She popped her head back in the camera frame long enough for a, “Nah.. Totally know what I’m cooking, yup!”

But she still caught his less than pleased expression before she turned away. She heard a sigh then, “Why don’t we just have lunch together?”

“Oh? You wanna have lunch with me, Iwaizumi?” She said, digging through the refrigerator for something she could make a meal out of.

“Do you want to cook or do you want to join me?” He cocked an eyebrow.

“Boo.” She picked the phone up and held it in front of her as she abandoned what food and cookware she already laid out. “Yeah, I’d love to go get somethin’. Anything.” She glanced around the room. “I apparently need to grocery shop.”

He shook his head. “Any preference?”

“Nah. I’m literally wilting away. I’ll eat anything.” She threw an arm over her face dramatically as she walked from the kitchen.

He laughed. “Okay. I’m already out. Want to meet me somewhere?“

“Well, if yer out already,” she smirked and fell back onto the loveseat, “Why don’t you get whatever and come to my place. We can eat here.”

“Uh huh. I don’t know where you live, you little shit,” he grumbled.

“Ah, well, I could text you my address.. Are you anywhere near Kita ward?” His eyes were fixed on her through the screen, but he gave no response, verbally or otherwise. Her cheerful expression dropped and she spoke with an apologetic tone, “Look, I’m sorry about not sharing this stuff. I only didn’t want you to know where I live to be careful. Because the whole.. y’know..”

“Because you were afraid that I knew. And now you know that I do. How is that better?” The screen adjusted as he stepped outdoors from wherever he was.

She flicked stray hair out of her face. “Well.. because of your reaction. That’s what I was afraid of. But it was fi-“

“I’m still mad about it,” he commented without looking at the screen as he walked. Wherever he is isn’t too busy.

“Yeah, well.. ya have the right to be.”

“Please, just.. don’t lie to me anymore.” He stared at her through the screen with furrowed brows.

She nodded. “I won’t. I promise.” Mochi jumped over her face and onto the arm of the loveseat behind her head. “Also, sorry for lying this morning too.”

“What- Was that a cat?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

He just stared for a second before shaking his head. “And I don’t care about the thing earlier. Playing around and teasing is different than hiding a part of yourself and your life.”

“Yeah..” Mochi flipped her tail in Y/n’s face and she quickly slid it away. She then tilted her phone up so the cat was now in front of the phone and the shifter’s head was peeking from the bottom of the screen. “This is Mochi by the way. Umm, are ya allergic to cats?”

“So that’s who that is, huh. And no, I was just surprised you had a cat. You never talk about it.”

Around you, comment best left to herself.

“Good ‘cause her fur is everywhere.”

Y/n ran across the apartment when she heard knocking at the front door. Unlocking it, she opened the door to Iwaizumi with takeout. “Hey! Did ya have any trouble getting here?”

The smell of food suddenly hit her and she moaned, “I am so hungry. Oh my gosh, thank you.”

He stepped into her apartment and kicked off his shoes. “I didn’t think you’d live in the city.”

He looked around the apartment. It appeared to be not much bigger than his, but the floor-to-ceiling windows along the entire wall to the right made it feel much larger.

Y/n grabbed the bags of takeout from him and ran off to the kitchen which sat to the left, dining table sitting in the area between the entryway and kitchen.

The floors were a grey wood and the walls were painted a darker grey. The white and black in the kitchen along with her mostly black furniture definitely gave the space a monochrome feel.

“What, thought I lived in the woods?” She laughed. “I just run there. And, like, chill there. I love nature and the city alike, and this is closer to work so..”

He walked toward the living room, walking past a sofa to reach the wall of windows. Mochi jumped onto a small end table next to him to request a greeting. He ran a hand along Mochi’s back after letting her sniff him. “What do you do again? It’s close by?”

“Uhh,” he could hear her shuffling around in the kitchen, “Best summary would be really boring business stuff. For other businesses. Around Chuo Ward.”

“How creative,” he said dryly.

“Logistics,” the kitchen noises stopped, “Making calls, boring desk work.”

She walked up behind Iwaizumi so quietly he didn't notice she had left the kitchen. “I mean, other stuff too, but ya know.”

He jumped a little when her voice came from his right where she suddenly appeared.

She stifled a giggle. “Sorry. Do ya wanna eat over here?”

He gave a wary look.

“Believe me it’s fine,” she shooed the cat from the end table, “This little brat makes a bigger mess than you ever could.”

She paused before adding, “Ah.. Actually, I might make more messes.”

He snorted. “Wherever is fine.”

The two of them shared the larger of the two sofas. She placed her mostly empty noodle bowl on the coffee table, then leaned back and maneuvered so that her legs were draped over the arm of the sofa and her head resting against one of his thighs. “Excellent choice. You are definitely allowed to pick where we eat in the future,” she said staring at the ceiling, totally content.

Iwaizumi’s legs were stretched out in front of him, one hand holding a drink and the other now moved to the back of the sofa after Y/n claimed where the arm once was. “Oh yeah?”

She hummed in agreement, eyes now gazing across the room.

He looked towards the windows again, sipping at his drink. “I bet sunrise is pretty from here.”

She hummed again, but this time in disagreement. “Nah, wrong way. But I never wake up early enough anyway.”

He looked down at her resting face. She was wearing much less makeup than usual. It’s the first time he noticed the faint details of her face. “You wake up early enough when you stay with me,” voice low.

“Yeah.. But that’s the only time. I don’t sleep much there.” She opened her eyes just barely to look at him.

His eyebrows raised, he wasn’t aware of that. He thought she just woke up early. “Why’s that?”

She turned her head so she faced away from him now and spoke softly, “..Anxious maybe?” She turned back to him. “You make it sound like I stay with you a lot. I’ve only stayed twice.”

“I think it was three times.”

“Nah,” she sat up this time, kicking her legs around to face forward, just missing Mochi, “Maybe four times.”

“Definitely not four times.” He looked around the room again, taking in her home.

“Eh. Next time,” she reached down to swipe at Mochi under the coffee table.

He chuckled as Mochi took off to climb a cat tree against the wall behind them.

“So other animals..” He trailed off, not sure if he should finish that sentence.

“Cats don’t mind at all,” she met his gaze, “You’re talking about Mochi living with me, right? Dogs and some other animals do seem to notice, but she doesn’t. I could shapeshift in here and she wouldn’t care less.”

“And you can ask me whatever, I won’t get offended. Not really anyway.” She turned in her seat to fully face him, leaning her head against the arm he had along the back of the sofa. “Well, I mean, if you did ask something I didn’t want to answer, I just wouldn’t answer,” she playfully crinkled her nose at him to which he rolled his eyes.

He sat his drink to the side. “You do that in here?”

“What, shapeshift? Not usually.” She moved her attention to the windows. It was well into the evening now and sunset had started, shades of yellow and orange filling the sky around the city. “Hmm.. I might not get to see sunrise here, but sunset always gets me.”

He looked over this shoulder then shifted to face the windows to watch the sunset as well. “What’s better, sunset or sunrise?”

She shifted again, this time to sit on her legs. She hadn’t had the chance to go for a run lately, and it’s starting to catch up with her, making her fidget. She leaned forward, letting her chest press against his back and head rest on his shoulder. She hums. “They’re two different things that can’t be compared. I pick both.”

They stayed there in silence watching the sun set behind the tall buildings of Kita. At least until Mochi saw her chance and jumped onto the coffee table just to nosedive into takeout leftovers. Y/n jumped up, chasing the cat away. “Mochi!”

Iwaizumi shook his head, watching her remove a food container from Mochi’s head. “How about I help you clean this up?”

She exhaled, starting to already stack some of the takeout containers. “Sure. I’d appreciate it.”

He reached over to grab anything she missed and followed to dispose of everything. She made a second trip to carry glasses to the sink. He met her back in the kitchen just for her to grab his wrist and drag him back to the living room.

Sunset was almost over, the sky fading to darker shades, deep pinks and purples painting the sky. “Watching the sunset from here is beautiful,” she whispered.

They returned to their spot on the sofa, this time she leaned into his side. “But watching the sunrise from your living room.. feels warm.”

“Is that so?”

They stayed like that while the sun disappeared, lights of the city illuminating the dark blue sky. Iwaizumi caught her starting to doze off as she leaned heavier into him. One arm around her side, he shook her lightly. “Hey, go to bed.”

She stirred and grumbled a response, “Fine. Stay?”

“Yeah, if that’s what you want. I’ll stay out here. You go to bed.”

She sat up and stretched. “Nah. My bed‘s huge. It’s like a.. I don’t know.. There’s plenty of room.”  

“No, that’s okay.” He watched her stand and shuffle towards the front door, checking the locks.

“Look, I can’t make ya,” her voice filled with exhaustion. She walked behind the sofa and reached over to wrap her arms around his shoulders in a lazy hug from where he sat. “But if ya change yer mind.”

“I’ll get blankets.” She released him and moved around the living room towards the back of the apartment. She walked through her bedroom to one of the closets and pulled out a huge fluffy blanket and headed for the living room.

Iwaizumi was outside the bedroom door by the time she reached it. “What’s up with you and sleepovers?”

“I get lonely.” She handed him the oversized blanket. “Here.”

Taking the blanket, he said, “We don't even sleep in the same room.”

“Yeah. Well.” Her unfocused eyes looking past him. “My other friends do, but that’s fine. Just bein’ here matters.” She yawned again before continuing, “I have extra pillows too.”

He waited outside the doorway as she went back to the closet to retrieve pillows. Unlike the rest of the apartment, her bedroom was colorful from what he could see, and also messy. Compared to the monochrome, nice and neat main areas, this room could have belonged to an entirely different unit.

She returned to the doorway with two pillows and they walked back to the living room. “If you need anything, ya know, make yerself at home,” she said sleepily followed by a yawn, “I’ll leave the door open. And if Mochi bugs you, you can close her in my room. She’s a cuddler.”

He smiled before chasing the tired shifter off to bed, exchanging goodnights.

Parts 10 >>