#either way sorry again anon for not being able to do your original prompt

[khonaker]

hi im currently planning out a mha fic (that could now kind of evolved a fix-it fic of sorts) and right now im debating whether or not i want uraraka or bakugou to win during their match during the sports festival. and i like your opinions on uraraka, so my question to you is that do you think it would be ooc for uraraka at that point in the story to win against bakugou during the sports festival?

Well, first thank you, Anon! It’s been ages since given an ask, and thank you for liking my opinion on Uraraka!

Next, no, I personally don’t think it’s impossible or OOC for Uraraka to win.

What I believe would make it OOC is if she is able to keep fighting without any signs of fatigue from her quirk.

In this point of the story, they are still getting use to their powers, some more than others. And Bakugou himself has an inner monologue about how using their quirk too much can wear them out. And that was surprisingly introspective of him.

Now if only Horikoshi practiced what he preached, as Bakugou ends up being able to use his quirk easily and spamming it with no break, as Sero and Kirishima point out.

So, obviously, I am biased about wanting Uraraka to win, and I think it’s just small tweaks in the fight that can make her win. Like her throwing herself to the ground just as Bakugou is about to let loose the explosion that destroys her meteor attack, making Bakugou’s big explosion not as powerful as it was (because his gauntlets were supposed to help make them more powerful then when he doesn’t have them)and he still gets caught up by the meteor shower. Even having it to where Uraraka is just closer enough to where before Bakugou can wipe out her attack and she rushes him and uses her quirk to quickly shove him out and have him go out of bounds.

Or you can take all this, and still have Bakugou win, but the main thing to show from them on is that even he isn’t invincible overtime. At some point, his wrists cramp up to the point his explosions are barely as effected and he loses to someone else.

And the same needs to go to Uraraka. She will eventually get to the point her nausea affects her and she is unable to last longer as the fights. (If you are going to have Ochako go the same bracket as Bakugou did in canon, I think her fight against Tokoyami is where her streak runs out. DS is just too much of a counter for her quirk.) This can still prompt her and have her realize she needs to compensate by finding a way to fight without relying on her quirk so much, because she would feel her getting far was mainly luck, and she can’t solely rely on that anymore. And she goes to intern with Gunhead, just like canon.

Lastly, the reason I believe Ochako winning their match would be more beneficial from a storytelling perspective is that he has to come to terms with the fact he lost against a quirk that wasn’t initially offensive and powerful. He can either show he takes it on the chin, and accepts he lost to someone who has won fair and square, but he obviously doesn’t voice it out loud. Or he’s in denial and accuses Ochako of not being able to do anything with Deku’s help, causing a huge rift between the two, as well as the rest of the class as they hear how much of an ass he was against her.(It depends on how you’re wanting you have Bakugou come across in your story.)

Sorry if this was a lot more info then you originally intended, but I have studied this scene a lot because I found this fight to be bullcrap (again, because I am a fan with Ochako), and I just feel she was done dirty in this fight.

Hope your fic goes great and that I didn’t waste your time babbling!

[kaleldobrev]

Unexpected Love

Pairing: Ash x Sister!Winchester!Reader

Summary: Ash is your mullet knight in flannel armor

Original Prompt: Requested by anonymous | Hiii, I saw you write for spn and I throught about making a request. Idk if you even remember Ash, he's seen in season 2 but for like, just 5 minutes in total so I'm not gonna be mad if you don't remember him, but I throught about asking you if you could write something for him with Reader that's Dean and Sam's little sister? You can write what you want, even something bite sized, I just feel like he's not appreciated enough 🥺 It's ok if you don't want to write it, and take your time if you do. Have a good day 💕

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings: Cursing (1x), Fluff, Sam & Dean just being protective/supportive older brothers

Authors Note: Of course I remember Ash my anon friend! How could I not remember Doctor Badass? | Since you told me to write whatever I wanted, I decided to do a cute little romance between him and reader cause hey, he needs some love too! | He’s honestly one of my favs | I hope you liked how this came out! I never wrote Ash before, so I hope I was able to do his character justice! | Takes place in Season 2 obviously | Flashbacks are in italics | If you want to request something, just send me a message! | If you liked this, don’t forget to like & reblog. I really appreciate it! Feedback is always welcome ♡

Dating was something that was always particularly hard for you as you’ve been consistently on the road with your father and brothers since you were six months old. The four of you never staying in the same place long enough for you to ever form any kind of connection with anyone. In a way, you thought that it was a good thing considering this line of work, but at the same time, human connection was something that you craved, yearned for. Yes, you had a strong bond with your brothers (Sam more than Dean – twin power you know?), and kind of had a strong bond with your father, but the bonds that you had with the three of them weren’t particularly fulfilling for you. You always felt like there was something missing.

At one point when you were seven or eight, long before you had learned of the supernatural, you had asked your father once when the four of you were in the car if you could stay at Uncle Bobby’s for a while.

“I’m tired of moving around so much daddy. Can I stay at Uncle Bobby’s for a while?” You had told him, asked him; silence filled the impala, despite the music being so loud.

Sam turned to face you before turning to look at your father – you knew that Sam had felt the same way. Dean turned to look at you, craning his neck as he was in the front seat along with your father who was currently driving to the next motel. It would have been the third motel in less than two weeks. Your father looked into the rearview mirror, looking at you as you started playing with your thumbs. “I’m sorry…” You whispered.

When the four of you had gotten to the motel, Dean had practically pulled you to the side while your father and Sam had started bringing things into the motel room. “Why do you want to get away from dad so bad?” He asked, almost as if he was offended.

“I want to stay in one place longer than two days.” You said. “Motels smell funny.”

Dean scoffed. “So does Uncle Bobby’s house.”

That was the last time you had ever asked.

Even if you had found yourself lucky to pull a date, something or someone would always get in the way. Either a hunt would take precedence, or one of your brothers (usually Dean) would “accidentally” interrupt the date. With either scenario, the guy you had landed the date with would either never call you make again – despite your efforts of trying to make something work or, they would outright tell you to never call them again.

As the years went by, you had simply come to the conclusion that you were destined to never find love, destined to spend the life on the road with your brothers as hunters.

“Come with me.” Sam said to you, a few weeks before he had told you, Dean, and your father that he was going to be leaving to go to Stanford.

“I can’t Sammy. I don’t have a full ride like you do.” You said. “Besides, he’d be too fucking worried if I went.”

“But we’d be together Y/N. It’s not like we’d be by ourselves.” He said. He wanted you to come with him, despite not really interested in the whole college thing; but he knew hunting was something that you had never wanted to do. You wanted that white picket fence life like he wanted.

“I can’t…leave Dean with dad.” You told him. As much as you had wanted to go with him, you couldn’t leave Dean and dad alone, as you were usually the buffer between them. Yes, they rarely got into fights but when they did…it got bad.

You were fully prepared to do the whole one night stand thing for the rest of your life. At least you would have some kind of human connection, even if it was just for a little while. Hell, it’s been working out just fine for Dean, why wouldn’t it work for you? But that was until you met Ash.

Ash was an interesting person; someone that you thought you wouldn’t have ended up with. Despite knowing him less than a year, he was someone that you could actually imagine spending your life with (no matter how long that life span may be). You had first met him about a few months after the death of your father when your brother Sam was listening to your father’s voicemails.

“He’s always been so secretive.” You told them, upon hearing the sound of a woman’s voice in one of the voicemails – a woman that called herself Ellen.

“Think dad ever had a thing with her and it ended badly? Maybe that’s why he never told us about her.” Sam theorized.

His theory caused your other brother to give a disgusted look. “Gross, now I’m thinking of dad having sex.” Dean said, his voice sounding just as disgusted.

“You are far too pretty to be with these two.” Was one of the first sentences that Ash had ever uttered to you. A sentence that had made you laugh, but a sentence that offended your eldest brother Dean the most.

The relationship between you and Ash was something that you honestly didn’t expect to happen. Not because he wasn’t your type, but because you had thought that there would be no possible way to maintain a relationship given the fact that you were always on the road.

“You know this isn’t going to work out right?” You had told Ash, the day you and your brothers had gotten back to the Roadhouse after completing the Rakshasa case.

Ash looked at you, trying his best to play it cool as your brothers were only standing within earshot. “That’s the beauty of technology. You’d only be a phone call away.” He said. Him saying this was something that you had never really thought about previously; but it was something that had made perfect sense to you.

“If someone wants to be with you kid, they’ll make the effort.” Bobby told you numerous times growing up. For years, it was a line you thought that he just said in order to make you feel better. But for the first time in your life, you realized that Ash was the only guy in your life (besides your brothers and your father) that had actually wanted to make the effort.

“You and Ash still going strong uh?” Dean asked, leaning up against Baby.

“Uh, yeah.” You replied. “Still trying to get used to the whole long distance thing.”

“That’s fair.” He said. “At least you guys text and call right?”

“Yeah.” You nodded.

Dean raised an eyebrow. “Do you not want to talk about this? Thought this would be something you’d be all over.”

“Dean, you and Sammy have never been people I’ve spoken to about guys before. Nor have either of you really asked. Why the sudden interest in Ash and me?” Whenever you had crushes on people in the past, you had never once found yourself gunning to tell one of your brothers or your dad. You knew that it would only end badly; especially if you told your father or Dean.

He shrugged. “Can’t your brother just be interested in your relationship for once?”

“Not without ulterior motives he can’t.” You gave him a look, your brother automatically looking offended.

“Me? Have an ulterior motive? Honestly sis, I’m offended.” He scoffed.

“It’s kind of your MO brother.” You said. Dean opened up his mouth as if to say something; to try and get himself out of whatever hole he had dug himself into. But there was nothing that he could possibly say to get out of it. He instead just closed his mouth.

“Look, I’m just happy for you. Truly I am.” He actually sounded sincere. “You know me and Sammy just worry.”

“And you know just as well as I do that I can kick either of your asses.” You said. “I can take care of myself just fine. And Ash…neither of you have anything to worry about honestly.”

“You know, I’ve been thinking Ash.” You said, sitting on the trunk of Baby while your brothers were inside of the motel room. Being outside was the only source of privacy that you could possibly have when being on the phone.

“What’s up Missus Badass?” He asked, hearing the smile in his voice.

“I was thinking, after we finally kill Yellow Eyes…I’m going to quit hunting.” You said. “How would Ellen and Jo feel about me working at the Roadhouse?” Your tone half joking and half serious. Ash was silent for a moment, more quiet than he normally was whenever he was on the phone. “Ash? I didn’t lose you did I?”

“No…No…” He began. “They’d love to have you.”

“Yeah?” You asked. “You know, I am very familiar with the workings of a bar.”

“If I didn’t know you so well, I would be concerned by that statement. But, since you are a Winchester, I ain’t the least bit surprised.” He said.

“Yeah. I’ve been hustling pool, and playing poker before I reached puberty.” You laughed a little. “As Sammy would say, the way we were raised was jacked.” You paused. “But hey, at least I met you.”

“Your mullet knight in flannel armor.” He said serious.

“Oh, I like the sound of that.” You smiled. The motel door opened, your brothers coming out. “I gotta go but…I love you.” You whispered the I love you. Hoping that it was just loud enough for Ash to hear, but low enough for your brothers not to.

Your I love you had caught him slightly off guard, but it was something that he enjoyed hearing you say. “I love you too.” He responded back. You were happy that he said it back, afraid that you might of said it too soon. For the first time in a long time, you had felt like you might actually get that happy ending you have always wanted: a life away from hunting.

Tag List: @roseblue373 @beansproutmafia @queenie32 @deanwanddamons @missy420-0 If you'd like to be added to a tag list, let me know!

[just-a-new-gi-writer]

Hi! I saw you were new to tumblr and thought I'd say hello!

My request is for a different type of sagau that isn't very popular, unfortunately (I think) it's basically where the imposter is arrogant, spoiled, and above all else- abusive. Incredibly so. Anyone who gains their favor faces severe abuse in multiple ways (Minus sexual) and are essentially tortured on a daily basis. The servants are all beaten for the tiniest mistakes, and not even the archons can escape such a hell. (They're not borderline masochists in this au either. Idk if it would be accurate to say they aren't yanderes entirely, but they're not to the same extent as other versions of sagau. They can still feel the PTSD effects of abuse and feel terror) And the imposter has been in control for thousands of years now.

Poor Venti has gone completely mute and is almost a shell of his former self because of this as he is an (unfortunate) favorite of the imposters to abuse. Even Zhongli and Ei can't help but feel bad for their old friend and try their best to ease his pain. It doesn't help.

Then, eventually, everyone becomes unable to take the suffering brought upon by the imposter anymore and overthrow them, finally allowing them to rebuild their lands. Until one day, someone with the same face as the imposter is spotted and everyone panics.

Many believe they are the imposter themselves returning to take revenge, so they are terrified and confused when all the MC shows them is kindness. Luckily, MC is also a licensed therapist, so when they realize what happened to everyone, they are able to help them take the steps necessary to heal. (Since they believe MC is the og imposter, they believe they have no choice but to accept them out of fear for what MC might do)

The request is: MC learns all of this the hard way when they innocently ask Venti to perform for them, believing it will help. Unfortunately, it instead sends him into a borderline panic attack and visibly terrified of their every move, reacting as if they are about to hit him while MC is left confused. (They do recognize that Venti is afraid of being hurt though)

Sorry I made it so long, I'm not really good at summarizing and thought I should include details for the specific version of this au. The original had MC still getting hunted down before the imposter was thrown out but I didn't want that so this one has them arriving and getting accepted pretty easily but for the wrong reasons. On a side note what do you think would be a good name for this side au of sagau? I'm planning on sending more requests in the future to you and other writers so I'd like a name to make it easier to describe the au I'm talking about. I can't come up with anything on my own. Don't worry if you can't think of anything though, it's not important.

-🐈‍⬛ anon

Hi. Thank you for putting in the effort to put all this down and thank you for thinking of me, but this kind of prompt and this kind of AU do not work for me at all. I'm not comfortable writing characters broken from abuse like you describe, and I can't conceive of a world where a torturous imposter creates a populace that is willing to overthrow them but scared stiff of the MC. Given my style of writing focuses on verisimilitude and world building, this basically leaves your request and AU dead in the water.

Feel free to send me asks in the future, but I kindly ask that you do not send me anything relating to this AU again.

[moonprincess92]

Congrats on the follower count! How about rebelcaptain + one is on a blind date that's not going well and the other is the waiter. Bonus points if Jyn is the waitress!

Ok so I have to apologise profusely anon, because Iattempted to write this prompt in like 3 different ways and absolutely none ofit worked. I TRIED I REALLY DID AND IM SO SORRY, but since it wasn’t working I wrote you something else instead and it’s literally completely different but I hope you’ll still like it anyway. x

Please enjoy this ‘you accidentally sent me a booty text butI’m considering saying yes anyway’ au 

His phone buzzed just as he was stumbling in through his frontdoor with his arms full of groceries. Refusing to make the trip up the stairstwice, he was laden down with probably more than he should have carried at once andcursed when he started losing grip on his jacket under his armpit. Kicking thedoor shut behind him, he couldn’t check the message until he had dumped all thebags onto his kitchen counter in relief. The little messenger icon was afamiliar face so he tapped it absently as he started unpacking a bag –

– and promptly choked.

Usually if Jyn messaged him this late at night, it was because shehad found yet another thing to criticise from his latest essay. She apparentlydid all her best reading after 10pm because god forbid he ever get grilled at adecent hour, but he liked their conversations all the same. Used to theirchatting being based about their classes or occasionally straying into memesand their favourite tv shows, he was now quite literally rendered speechless atthe photo he had apparently just been sent. 

Though her face wasn’t visible he had nodoubt it was Jyn just from the sheer muscle definition that he could sure ashell see because the only times he’d ever seen her this de-clothed before was whenthey’d occasionally hit up the gym together. She was almost naked in the mirror selfie she’d sent, her arms toned, her abs rock hard… fuck. It sent everything south and he didn’t know what the hell sound just came out of his mouth, but it miiiiight’ve been a whimper. The bra she wore in the selfie waswhite and lacy and the accompanying caption read:

this bra was too nice to not share

He… well, quite honestly, he stared for so long he thought hemight just be having a brain aneurysm. She had to be joking, right? Sure, this wasnothing like Jyn’s sense of humour, but it literally HAD to be a joke becauseit didn’t make sense if it wasn’t. The message felt like she had sent it (thesevere lack of punctuation kind of gave her away) but it was so far out of leftfield that he was almost certain it hadn’t been meant for him. No, some otherlucky bastard out there was supposed to be on the receiving end of thismessage, because he and Jyn weren’t like that, and who cared if maybe he kindof wanted to be likethat, because they weren’t and they couldn’t –

Zmmm.

Another message popped up. This time, it appeared that Jyn waskeyboard bashing.

Akjdskjdfjfdjdf FUCK Im so sorrycassian shit pls ignore this PLS

It didn’t help calm his racing heart at all.

He knew he had frozen foods slowly defrosting away in his grocerybags still, but they seemed like a minor detail in comparison to the battlewracking his mind. Quite honestly… he’d been on the verge of throwing allcaution to the wind and playing along. Maybe sending something a littlesuggestive back. It wasn’t an outright booty text, but it definitely wasn’tinnocent either and perhaps it was the way to start, a way to just flirt alittle, what could go wrong… but then he got that answer and he pressed hisforehead to his kitchen counter with a frustrated sigh. 

On the days he wasn’tkidding himself, he knew that he was an absolute fucking goner for Jyn Erso.She was prickly and defensive and didn’t let any minor grammatical error pasther, but once she got used to you she was hilarious to be around and her smileliterally made his heart stop these days. Sometimes, on the nights they wouldstudy together late at the library, she would linger as he packed his booksaway and he got the feeling that hopefully, MAYBE, she was a goner too.

But then she said things like that and he would squash it alldown.

Another message. He lifted his head gingerly to read it.

God cassian SAY SOMETHING DAMN IT I need to know that I haven’tjust ruined our entire friendship lmao

He stared at her words, grappling hard until eventually, hefigured fuck it.

Friendship’s overrated. I was going to say it definitely looked nice.

He hit send before he could lose his nerve and wondered if it wasa little overdramatic to turn his entire phone off for good measure. He heldhimself back from adding on ‘just kidding’ and instead, forced himself to startputting away his groceries.

Another buzz made him drop the bag of frozen vegetables.

well, good. I wouldnt wanna waste a good selfie.

Cassian bit his tongue and typed back.

Honestly selfie game is 10/10. How’d you even get that angle?

I might’ve stood on somethin to make me tall enough. also might’venearly killed myself in the process 

Ah the price we pay for a good selfie…

Gotta get these boobs lookin good somehow

They’ve been doing just fine before now, tbh 

Fuck. That might’ve been a bit much. He grimaced, distractinghimself with his shopping for the next thirty seconds and initially ignoringthe subsequent message that eventually buzzed through. Finally, though, sheer nerves took over and he pulled up the conversation once again.

Cassian Andor, are you flirting with me?

You sent me a pic of your boobs, Jyn. He felt the need to stress this point. This was on her, shestarted this! 

Touché. So wanna come over, then?

BOOM. He was dead! His head had exploded and he was definitely,100% very, very deceased. 

Do you……mean that in the way I think you mean that?

HEY. I worked hard at that selfie. If I have to go through thehumiliation of accidentally sending it to my study partner, then the least theuniverse could do is also throw some sex in there for meBut um… hey if u want to say no, its chill. Idc its totallyfine no hard feelings

Cassian thought about it for about ten seconds. Then –

I can be there in ten

It was just as he was rushing to throw whatever the hell was leftin his grocery bags into the fridge – honestly, he literally didn’t give a shithow it was organised at this point – when he got another photo. He rubbed hiseyes, groaning a little at the image of Jyn’s body, slightly zoomed out now. Her entire torso and upper legs could be seen and that was how he figured out that her underwear matched thebra.

Hurry up, mate she added. 

If you stop sending me shit like THAT I might Jesus lord

[agentchimendez]

Hey, Asian anon that sent you the asks about your Vtuber character again! I was wondering if you got my messages. Thanks for your time!

Hello anon, I did receive your messages. I didn't publish them initially because I wanted to really soak in what you had said to me rather than respond with a knee jerk reaction. And again, thank you for reaching out the first time around. I really do appreciate that you saw something that needed to be fixed, and rather than write me off, you brought it up to me. I agree it was a much needed change to her name and I'm glad I did it, and I'm glad you pushed me to change. Those anons were still unpublished because after giving it some thought, I don't think I would have a satisfying response for you. I am honestly unsure of your intention as you waited a whole year, after I had officially rebranded, to message me and tell me that I learned nothing. You said no one was asking me to change my vtuber significantly (making her white or skinny) but then then tell me to make a character that reflects me... which would be skinny. I want to make something abundantly clear. Fuwawa is fat and I am not ever changing this. Over this past year, I have been told by friends, fellow vtubers and strangers alike that they appreciated Fuwawa being fat. That she made people feel seen. I feel as though there were not many fat anime girls in media, to say nothing of mainstream media, that wasn't either "thicc girls" with a thigh gap, made to be purposefully ugly, or obsessed with food, which is what prompted me to use Fuwawa (who was originally just an OC, and still is) as my vtuber. If I could make at least one person feel acknowledged and happy about themselves, I do not intend to speak over fat people over any real world issues, as that is not my position to take. But I want to keep her the way she is. To circle back a second, to say the character that reflects me would be skinny... I do not intend to start streaming as a skinny vtuber. I cannot imagine retiring a character that has made people feel accepted and seen to make a palatable skinny character in her place. It feels like a slap in the face to everyone involved. Your implied other alternative would be to stop vtubing altogether... and again, I had left the messages unpublished because I didn't think me refusing would be the answer you wanted. With all this being said, I don't intend to dig my heels in the dirt forever. I still ask for feedback from my friends, peers, and followers on what I can do to improve, where I'm going right and wrong, and where I need to step back. I will continue discussing this with people I trust and work on that moving forward. I'm very sorry, and I mean this sincerely, that my vtuber at present does not meet your expectations. I honest to God do not know how to phrase that that doesn't sound backhanded, and putting in an emoji feels insincere as well, so I hope it somehow comes through. I mean this genuinely. I don't think I'm going to be able to change the way you want me to, so I will be ending this discussion with you specifically for that reason. Thank you for reaching out to me.

[cutegirlmayra]

Here's a fun AU idea. I was thinking instead of tarot card reading Amy has vivid visions of the future. However whenever she gets a good vision dizzy spell when she gets a bad vision terrible sometimes debilitating headaches and she doesn't control what she sees. This makes her a person of interest to Eggman, G.U.N., and other world governments so they constantly try to capture her and use her power for their own gain. If she tries to force a vision it hurts her. Sonic is very protective of Amy

*feels tired today, just re-reading prompts to get ideas -sometimes new- or get excited about who’s next in line*

Thinking in my head, ‘I’m just not feeling well today, but I do have some ideas.’ The very next thought to encourage me, ‘You write your best when you’re tired.’

Me, directly after that thought, ‘...Darn it, you’re right.’ *proceeds to write all and every emotion in vivid detail* (lololol)

I know myself too well.

PROMPTS ARE ON SHUTDOWN. No, you cannot beg nicely for me to take your prompt until they are open again, sorry love, them’s the rules. BI

Slightly gonna alter your request for the benefit of something I think may be a stronger storyline, I hope you still enjoy it, Precious Anon! \(:D)/

Prompt:

There was a rift in the chasm of space time, an unfathomable amount of power was being expelled and pulled, creating real and alternative timelines.

In order for Sonic and the gang to face these anomalies, Silver suggested that someone with the potential of mental abilities and the like should try and connect with the magnetizing force that keeps tugging and shoving on time, rewriting it and creating all these alternative realities continuously. Destroying and recreating decisions and parallel worlds would have a chaotic effect on the universe, but no one seemed to be able to connect to the unseen force, and Eggman didn’t seem to be anywhere in sight either.

Everyone was troubled... there was this silent fear that we’d be rewritten in seconds, that we’d cease to be who we really were in this very moment.

I stood by as my friends talked heatedly about their options, they each had tried but none had succeeded in connecting to that ‘force’.

I always felt I had magical properties to myself, if we could just connect to the dimension where this force started from, we may be able to help on our end.

I fidgeted, knowing Silver and Sonic were butting heads since Silver’s main priority was the future, while Sonic’s was the here and now.

Some found hope in this rewritten time, making Shadow and Eggman actually allies once again... Shadow hoping the past could be changed, and Eggman for his obvious reasons of defeating Sonic and taking over the world.

Both were absent and nowhere to be found.

As they continued to grow more and more harsh in how they spoke with one another, I felt the longing to end the conflict, and looked over to the Master Emerald.

It was the only thing that wasn’t being rewritten, some clue to connecting to the other dimensions...

Everyone had called out to it but nothing was working. I felt something swirl in me like an engine, seeing my beloved Sonic turning so angry and Silver ignoring him sent me into a rage myself, but I kept my lips in a fine line and held my fury back.

‘Friends shouldn’t talk to each other like this, or get in each other’s faces with such heavy glares...’ I knew in my heart that if I joined in, I wouldn’t part the two, but only get caught in their crossfire of differing ideals.

Both were stubborn, and both weren’t looking at the bigger picture.

Without a way to communicate with the alternative timelines, our decisions wouldn’t help us get any further to contacting the other dimension, and not just that... but we wouldn’t progress at all. We’d just be going around in circles...

“You can’t seriously think that sitting around waiting for some magical tether from the other dimensions is going to get us out of this time loop!” Sonic’s voice was full of presence and experience, he was a well-traveled hero, and knew the best options to weigh in moments like these... but Silver continued to fight back.

“If we advance unknowingly and without caution into the stream of time, we could easily be just as trapped in it’s nonsensical clutches as we were before! For some reason, the Master Emerald’s location is the only place in time where the effects of the rewritten world aren’t effected! If we give up this position, no one might be able to tell us what’s going on!” Silver swung an arm out, stepping up and going toe to toe with Sonic, refusing to back down from the argument. “I know you think charging into the time-stream might give us answers, but it’s a risk that holds so many unlimited possibilities that it’s fruitless to venture in! You’d just be trapped and the rest of us possibly waiting all eternity for you to choose the right path to even get out to another dimension!”

That part we knew was sound and right, that unless you pick the right choice every time, the time vortex would just pull you somewhere else. Without knowing the other dimension’s choices, we’d never be able to coordinate this... even Tails said something along the lines of a uniformed pathway that could get them all to the center of this strange force...

Otherwise, we’d be trapped... forever.

“You’re leaving us as sitting ducks to whatever’s happening! It’s going to put us all in danger!” Sonic was beyond listening to reason, however. My darling could never just sit by while we all feared for our lives and the world’s future.

The two stood so close, it looked as though their foreheads would touch, and I could tell Sonic was about to make a stand so great that Silver would be forced to let him go...

I couldn’t stand the thought of losing Sonic in a time-loop forever. In being stuck on Angel Island’s alter for the rest of eternity till someone figured out the correct choices...

I felt my whole being flood with tingles and expectations, with exactly what I was going to do and how my very soul wouldn’t allow me to watch as everyone would lose themselves diving into a puzzle that had no way of being solved without aid.

That was the last straw for me. Seeing Sonic pull himself away from Silver and walk over to the Master Emerald, “I’m done talking. Taking action is the only way we can succeed against this catastrophe.” He spoke so manner-of-factly... he was going to touch the Master Emerald and dive into the vortex... wasn’t he?

“No...” I held my hand out, seeing the Chaos Emeralds all glow as he was fusing with them to create the miracle known as Super Sonic... but I couldn’t- I couldn’t banish Sonic to an eternity of never-ending wandering through an unescapable maze!!!

“Soonniiccc!!!” I charged forward, making him flinch and pause a moment as he turned to look back at me, but by then, I had already reached forward and interfered with the Chaos Emeralds giving him power.

Instead of him turning Super, I felt my hand touch the Master Emerald, and all time seemed to freeze. I gripped the Master Emerald with my arms, widening the span of how far my arms could reach, and shook my head against it. “I can’t let everyone panic and waste away our precious friendships over this... this... whatever it is! Please, Master Emerald! Do I have the potential to set things right!?” I dipped my head down as the power overwhelmed me. Time slowly began again, as I was moving at normal speed, everyone around me started to move as though slowed considerably.

“Is this..?” I looked up to see Sonic’s hand slowly reaching for me, and his surprised expression at stopping him. “Chaos’s... power?”

I was shot back as my eye-sockets glowed a bright green, and through some vision or other, saw what looked like my younger self, also getting driven from the Master Emerald.

The original world... the first universe... Somehow, by the two of us acting and making a decision in unison, or maybe she had made it previously... I wasn’t sure, we were able to finally find a bond and connect in some magical way to where I could see that dimensions choices.

I felt my bare back slam against the graveled dirt of Angel Island and skid aggressively to a halt as it scratched my back and left me feeling weak.

Time returned to normal, I guess? As I heard my friends cry out my name and rush me.

I could numbly feel hands on me, shaking me as my eyes struggled to lift up, and were just waving open slightly.

My head hurt, I was dizzy and couldn’t see anything at first clearly. It was all a blur, before Silver’s and Sonic’s voices rang out the most.

“What happened!?” Sonic’s voice was full of authority, as though ready to take action if something need be done.

“She... I’m not sure, but the Master Emerald fused it’s time capabilities with her. You saw it, right? Her whole body was vibrating so quickly... like....” Silver was interrupted by Tails just then.

“Like she was merged into all the different dimensions... she was moving faster than the time strain!” Tails’s excitement meant only one thing...

“So... she had the potential then, out of all of us, to carry the connection.” Silver’s reserved tone must have meant that he felt validated in what he was so adamantly defending earlier. “Now that she can guide us through the time vortex, we might be able to reverse whatever’s happening, and return time and space to normal again.”

Sonic looked over at Silver, then down towards me as I still felt my breathing was low and drained, I couldn’t speak no matter how much my lips parted to try. It was like I was still adjusting to being in one dimension again, instead of flying through to see my other self’s choices.

“It didn’t need to come to this point...” Sonic spoke gravely, but it seemed to trigger and enrage Silver as he shot his head to look back at him, then stood up, defiantly.

“If you hadn’t acted the way you did, we may not have gotten this path. We have a real way to succeed and get through this now, Sonic! Why are you still so against me!?” He tightened his fists and thrust them forward, showing how much he was holding back his mixed emotions...

He was somewhat humble enough to admit that if Sonic didn’t rebel against him, that I wouldn’t have done what I did... but on the other hand, it still seemed like Sonic was opposed.

“I just meant that it didn’t need to be this way.” Sonic shook his head to Silver, remaining somewhat collected from his earlier clenched jaw demeanor. He put what felt like the warmest touch out of everyone’s onto my arm, and looked back to me, “It didn’t need to be so fueled...”

Somehow... I knew he was speaking to me.

He must have meant he wished it wasn’t so emotional to where I was put in a rough spot, choosing between losing the love of my life or sacrificing myself into the time vortex... I would have jumped, if Sonic jumped too... at least then, we could be trapped together. He wouldn’t have had to be alone in that endless maze...

Well, maybe he wouldn’t have thought those exact wordings of it, but... it did help to think he may have seen it as an act of true love.

I gained strength from his hand resting on my arm, and slowly began to wobble and lean myself up.

Everyone saw my arms gain strength again and push from under me, and immediately swarmed me again to help, perhaps unaware if I was conscious enough to have heard their discussion.

They called out to me, and I nodded, showing I was here and alert, but drained somewhat.

The pounding in my head subsided and I gripped it, “I... I saw her.” I stated, “I saw the original dimension this all happened in... I think I can do it again.”

Sadly, I couldn’t just ‘summon’ the answers. Something had to trigger it, which began another frustration as we all held one another’s hands and jumped into the void.

The first rewritten stories were perplexing. A shadowy figure that swarmed with dark matter looked strangely in the silhouette of Eggman, but instead of targeting Sonic like usual, he kept coming after me.

“U-wah!!” I leaped out of one of his dark matter missiles as everyone was getting scattered from me, as though this figure didn’t want me to receive any help.

“Amy!” Sonic called out, darting from the after-effects of the missiles, for when they landed and exploded, a space of black, glittering galaxy expanded out in a small radius and tried to suck us into another story to lose our progression.

He rolled and finally slid under the shadowy Eggman, confusing him as he pulled up on his Eggmobile and Sonic round-house kicked him away from me.

He reached to grab me, and as I went to reach for him as well, my eyes glowed again the color of the Master Emerald and I saw the other dimensional me.

She was young and looked like my younger years of first meeting Sonic. Sonic was younger too, and reached out in the same way Sonic was doing now. Was this... the corresponding choice?

Could I only see these moments when something unified happened? Were we making the same choices our other selves were or are making right this second?

I couldn’t tell, but I could see that after that Sonic and little me took the other’s hands, she summoned her hammer and spun to whack a younger looking Eggman away and send him flying, then everyone gathered and they took the right route... where it looked like the world was splitting apart and floating rapidly in a spinning and drifting away appearance.

When I came back, my head hurt and I looked to see that while unconscious, my friends were defending me from the shadowy figure of the Eggman lookalike.

“W-we have to take the right path!” I shouted out, my head pounding and debilitating me from summoning my hammer.

I had to though, if I didn’t, time would rewrite and we’d have to start with a new scenario and from scratch. Everyone was depending on me to guide them... I had to fight through the pain!

I struggled to lean up, feeling my body tense like cracking through uncooked spaghetti, but my arms finally cricked into position and I summoned my hammer.

“HAAA!!!” I grabbed Sonic’s hand which, when he noticed I was getting up, hurried to reach out to me again as I felt him pull me forward and swung my hammer into the momentum of his helpful pull.

The Shadowy Eggman went flying, and though Silver thought the left looked more safe from the twisting rapidly pieces of land in the galaxy on the right side, I urged him to trust me.

Sonic and I... we were so amped up in the moment... we didn’t realize that we never let go of one another’s hand...

G.U.N was in this memory or story, whichever it was, and they were after a shadowy figure of Shadow The Hedgehog.

However, Shadow seemed to be targeting me, as though wanting to destroy me.

This continued to baffle Tails and Silver, but Sonic was more protective than I’ve ever seen before, unselfishly throwing himself in the rippling blackness of Shadow’s silhouette, but was defenseless against how much more powerful this Shadow appeared to be.

It was reminding us all of when Shadow first awakened, and Knuckles tag-teamed with Sonic to give me enough time to try and trigger my memory.

I tried to do various things and put myself into situations to see if anything would trigger the correct course’s vision, but nothing was working and I was growing frustrated with myself.

Face it, there was a lot of pressure, and I felt that every minute I wasted was another second Sonic and Knuckles had to suffer under the fake G.U.N shadowy forms and the Shadow look-a-like.

Finally, I hit my head with a rock as a last resort but was quickly pulled away by Tails, “Amy!”

“Stop it, that isn’t helping!” Silver quickly intercepted too, yanking the rock out of my hands.

“I... I don’t know what else to do...” I admitted, feeling I was losing grip of my faith in myself... I may have been able to spare Sonic before, but now..?

Was this completely out of my control?

“Anytime now, fellas!” Knuckles called out as we both turned to see Sonic and Knuckles shoving themselves against Shadow’s dark, rippling body that almost looked like wavy flames under a watery scope. He was taking steps forward, which caused their feet to grind against the earth in an attempt to hold him back.

Then G.U.N appeared behind us, and we were surrounded... When the bullets began to fire, my eyes widened and the light of the Master Emerald grew from my eyes.

My other self was rescued once more by Sonic, but he was hit by those odd galaxy alternating bullets. He fell by her side and twitched, making her get up and cry over him as the bullets expanded holes in his form, and as he looked up at her, the holes overtook him and he turned into a rewritten, shadowy figure that reached for her.

She gasped and was pulled away by another, younger Knuckles with a cowboy hat on, who said something I couldn’t hear as my visions didn’t have sound, and threw her to a smaller Tails, who caught her and flew with her into another portal as the two left the other Knuckles behind with the shadowy images of Sonic, G.U.N, and Shadow...

“NOOO!!!” I came out of the vision and turned to where Sonic was coming at me, already having jumped and about to reach me.

I knew if I didn’t let these events happen, we’d be trapped, but every part of me wanted to jump into Sonic’s arms and push him back, let myself be the one that was swallowed up in the rewritten darkness.

But by then, I knew it wasn’t--and shouldn’t--be called a rewritten reality.

It was erasing reality! There seemed to be a hive-mind I picked up on, the force was controlling my friends and Eggman, G.U.N even! 

Not just that, but I didn’t know if we’d be able to save Sonic. I thought nothing could overcome Sonic... I was so torn, but as I focused on his eyes... so determined to get me out of harm’s way... I couldn’t find it in my heart to move.

He was shot and rolled along the ground with me as he I held him, tears spraying from my eyes in an army of resistance. I clung to him, crying out his name as he flinched and tried to fight against the erasing darkness that would soon overwhelm his being and turn him into a mindless drone to whatever force was trying to take over time and our known reality.

“Noo!!!” I screamed out as Sonic told Knuckles to take me from him, and as he turned to fight Shadow, was fully overcome and went limp. “SOOONNICCC!!!”

Knuckles had ripped me from him and threw me to Tails, instructing him that he’d stay behind to look after Sonic while Tails and Silver got through to the next part or stage of this timeline.

Silver had to grip my head and take my line of sight off of Sonic’s shadowy form as it turned almost like a zombie towards me, tilting it’s head as the drones somehow knew I carried the Master Emerald’s power to connect to the other dimension.

“Amy! Listen to me!” Silver began, but I felt I had died inside. My voice escaped my lungs and there was nothing left in me. I... had become motionless... I didn’t stop Sonic... I... I didn’t deserve him...

What kind of woman, who claimed to love her hero so full-heartedly, would have froze up when the time to save him drew near?

“I don’t deserve him...” My headache couldn’t match the absolute obliteration of my soul and heart from within me. Like those rapidly twirling away pieces of the world we had journeyed through moments before. “I... Sonic...!” I didn’t deserve to call myself Sonic’s destined love... if I couldn’t even protect him when I knew what was about to happen.

“He was too fast, Amy, there’s nothing you could have done.” Tails held me closer to him, seeing my shaking eyes and the pain in trying to speak when I felt my entire ribcage had collapsed and took the compartments of my lungs and lifeforce with it.

“Amy, please, remember, this can all be rewritten.” Silver had placed his two hands to the sides of my face, seeing how broken I was and failing to grasp this reality.

My head twitched up, but I was hollow inside.

“You have to tell us what to do. What did you see? Where do we go?!” He urged, trying to be kind, but... “We can’t save him now! He’ll be alright, you have to trust in your vision! Please, Amy! The more time you spend silent the more time Sonic has to suffer!”

What was the point..? Without Sonic... Without him, I-... I had no meaning to my life anymore. Sonic was everything to me... he was my whole world... a reality without Sonic... in a universe where I couldn’t see him smiling... couldn’t hear his laughter and teasing expression... A world without his warm touch...

My mind went back to when Sonic had placed his hand to my arm, his words... “It didn’t need to come to this point... It didn’t need to be so fueled...”

My eyes blazed with a new purpose. I wasn’t just going to save my dimension. I was going to save my Sonic!

I cried out and struggled to get Silver’s hands off my face, then pointed Tails to the portal that was opening behind us. “There! Go! Now!”

I saw and witnessed first hand the torment the other dimensional, more tender, younger and naïve me struggle to gain the strength to continue forward, till her and her friends found sanctuary at the end.

By this time, I had spent all of what I felt was in me, and fell to my knees as I had fought the dark entity known as World Keeper, who was polluted by the filth of negativity in all the worlds... that hive mind was just swallowing the world in despair, and without ever being hit by it, I felt it more than ever too.

Then it slashed it, and I felt the darkness swallowing me as my color turned black with the light glimmer of inky stars within it’s slick obsidian...

I fell back and couldn’t feel myself hit the ground, I couldn’t feel anything anymore but emptiness...

As it overtook me, I wondered with my last, conscious thoughts if the other dimensional me had saved Sonic... was this the end of our universe? Or just the entrapment of one dimension?

Then...

“Don’t give up!”

S...Sonic?

“You have what it takes, use the power of the Chaos Emeralds!”

S...Shadow?

“I didn’t blast this stupid filth out of the sky only to be controlled into an everlasting misery by it!!!”

Eggman..?

“I’m not staying stuck in this feeling forever! Come on, Amy! You can do this-grraaahh!!!”

Knuckles...

Drifting into the blackness of the void, I suddenly felt four strong hands trying to force me upwards towards the light.

It slowed my decent, until Silver and Tails were able to reach out and grab me, and my last vision surfaced with the dizzy spell.

Rosy... she was also drifting into despair before Robotnik and Sonic reached through their own controlled misery by the World Keeper and used the last of their hope to push her out...

I tried to strain as best as I could through the dizzy, blurry vision and move my hand up towards them.

Her vision and mine suddenly conjoined, and I saw younger Tails flash continuously between Silver and my dimension’s Tails too.

I spoke out to her... “We can still save everyone...” I encouraged, “We... can’t give in... to hopelessness!”

I felt our hearts merge into one, felt our power soar as though we were evolving into a new creature that had it’s life sparked into existence again.

Newly hatched into this feeling of easiness, peace, and strength beyond my understanding... I grabbed Tails and Silver’s hands and swung out, the darkness that was once overcoming me suddenly burst with light and the seven Chaos Emeralds floated around us.

“Ah! She didn’t fuse with them!” Silver blurted out, seeing them swarm both him and Tails too.

“She... was storing them!” Tails exclaimed.

I guess I had become somewhat of their server and carrier... there power was just kept safe in me... through the Master Emerald and my unique connection to the other me.

We fought and as we did, I touched the ground and brought my friends and all the dimensions who had succumb to the negativity out from the inky blanket of darkness and restored their light and hope through the power being expelled from me.

No longer was I a guide.

I was a redeeming light now.

Sonic, Shadow, and Silver all burst into Super form, and together--with all the other worlds we loved so dearly too--we put an end to World Keeper and with me and my other self touching his chest as he was about to fall back into the his own making of the void, he immediately returned to a smaller form of another being.

Sonic suddenly cried out, “Chip!” and darted into the void after him.

I waited... weeks and weeks did I wait for him...

I clung to my chest as though clinging to my heart, refusing to let it break, and keeping it all together again.

I didn’t have visions anymore, but I could feel something... Something like the despair of the void was created from that feeling of loss and loneliness when Chip’s essence left the core of the earth and became free roaming in space...

Tails said he had a theory, that Chip’s body was still with Dark Gaia, but his power had escaped in longing to reunite with Sonic, his friend, again.

Traveling through space and time without a body, it became depressed, and expelled it’s world-bending powers to try and find Sonic... ending up losing itself and taking all worlds and dimensions it was searching through down with it.

A comet of bright golden light shot down through the cosmos, and I eagerly dropped everything to race out my door and pursue it, I knew from the green, red, and white lights that covered the world that Chip’s soul and powers returned to their slumber... and brought back Sonic safely to us as well!

“Sonic..!” My heart could barely contain it’s joy as I raced over the hills to follow his light... before having it sink and my hands fling up to the sides of my face when I saw him hit the water off in the distance of the sea. “No, Sonic!!! You can’t swim!!”

The distance was too far, but I swam anyway, feeling my exhaustion from having traveled miles and miles already on land before seeing him fall into the ocean.

He was covered in a light I assumed was Chip’s planet power, and I held my breath and swam down to him, heard a voice in my mind calling to me...

“Sorry for all the trouble I caused, Amy... Take good care of Sonic from now on. I won’t be lonely without him anymore... I know I may never see him again, especially when I wake up many, many years from now... but even still, the moments I had with him in the void of space and time, and with our time facing Dark Gaia, will always be in my heart... Thank you for letting me see him, one last time...”

The floating ball of light around him slowly brought Sonic up to me, and when I entered it, I took a deep breath and fell limply over his body, floating with him up to the surface.

He opened his eyes and smiled at me, winking without a word but it still gave me so much comfort and peace.

It was as though he was saying everything would be alright now... and Chip’s remaining spatial power set us down on the shoreline... as the waves met us as we took a much deserved rest on the cool sands... the sun rose up and the sounds of helicopters and people were surrounding us, but we remained sleeping soundly next to one another...

Sonic’s warm hand... laying gently over my stomach...

Mine upon his heart.

G.U.N’s windy interruption causing us both to sneeze as Silver appeared and held out both his hands to stop them from investigating, explaining as we drifted off into our dreams~

[jawabear]

Hello! I have a writing request 🥺 for Javi (Narcos). Can Y/n be a forensic psychiatrist, so Javi's coworker, but like from a different branch in the DEA. And can they be sort of friends, but you know, with the soft fuzzy feelings of something more than friendship. Oh, and if it isn't too much, could you include prompt 110? I'd like some fluff, maybe with some angst in the beginning. I read "Flowers' and I really liked it, so maybe that kind of vibe. Thank you already and happy holidays! 🥺

One Visit (Javier Peña X Reader)

Not my GIF

A/N: I apologise for taking so long in writing this Anon. It was a challenge but I really enjoyed writing it. I hope I managed to write something close to what you requested or at least something you can enjoy. I got a little carried away so it’s a bit longer that I originally intended. I took it that the prompt you meant was from my prompt list but I apologise if not. Thank you for requesting! It was an interesting request and I’m glad you like my other story Flowers. That’s one of my favourites. Italics represent thoughts and flashback (I hope you’re able to figure out which is which). I hope you enjoy it. Sorry for any mistakes. Stay safe.

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Warnings: Fem!Reader, drinking, smoking, Javi struggling with his feelings, Steve being annoying, talks of death

Summary: One visit. That’s all it took for him to remember his feelings for her.

“All I’m saying, Javi, is that it wouldn’t hurt to just try dating” Steve reiterate for his friend as they walked through the halls of the DEA office on their way outside.

This was all Steve had been going on about for the past two week. Javi getting a girlfriend. It wasn’t really that Javier was against getting a girlfriend. He just didn’t think he deserved one. Nor did he think he was boyfriend material. But he really didn’t know why Steve was all of a sudden hell bent on finding him a girl.

“Is there really no in you like?”

“I really have no idea what your obsession is with finding me a date, but can you stop?” Javi sighed.

Finally they made it outside and Javi was thankful to get some fresh air after being stuck inside all day which was really the only reason they had come outside in the first place. But as they were there, they both decided to light up a cigarette.

A little while into their smoke, a car pulled up outside the DEA building drawing both agents’ attention. From out of the back of the sleek black car came a girl. She pulled a bag from the car and swung it over her shoulder. She said something to the driver and gave him a smile before closing the car door and turning towards the building.

“Holy shit” Javi whispered as he threw his cigarette to the floor and stubbed it out with his foot.

Steve noticed the way Javi’s eyes never left her as she walked over to him. She smiled and waved to him and he gave an acknowledge nod and a quick and nervous smile. “Hey Javi!” She said happily as she stopped a little distance away from the two agents.

“(Y/N)” he said, not sound as happy as she did, he sounded a little nervous or flustered. “What are you doing here?” He asked.

“Apparently you’re new boss wants to meet me. I don’t know why she wants to meet me when I’m not the one in charge of the department but according to my boss I’m the “best in the business” or something like that” she said using air quotes.

“As humble as ever I see” he commented making her laugh slightly. Steve stood there awkwardly as the two stared at each other. He could see what was happening even if they couldn’t.

He cleared his throat catching both Javi’s and (Y/N)’s attention. “Hi, I’m Steve Murphy. Javier’s partner” Steve introduced him self knowing that Javi wouldn’t. He held out his hand and she took it with a smile and shook it.

“(Y/N) (L/N)” She said “I’m a forensic psychiatrist for the DEA”

“Well, that a whole load of words I don’t understand” Steve joked making (Y/N) laugh cutely. Javi loved her laugh but not when it was directed at someone other than him.

“Well, I’ve got to go” she said as she removed her hand from Steve’s “it was lovely meeting you Steve. And it’s always a pleasure Javi. I’m sure I’ll see you both around but I really should get going”

“Y-Yeah, bye (Y/N)” Javi smiled softly to her as she walked past them and into the building.

Javi glance at Steve who was smirking at him “what the hell are you looking at me like that for?” He asked angrily.

“No reason” Steve said throwing his smoke to the floor and patting Javier’s shoulder. “No reason at all” he said before walking back inside. Javier let out a heavy sigh and rubbed over his face.

“Of all the fucking people” he mumbled as he looked up. He wasn’t really talking to anyone, unless there was a god up there who was listening and who hated him. He shook his head and followed his partner back inside.

The two agents sat back at their desks, Javi was reading through some files while Steve sat there. Watching and calculating. It was blindingly obvious what was happening and Steve simply found it funny that Javier was either an idiot or ignoring it.

“So it’s (Y/N) then?” Steve said finally after watching his friend for about ten minuets. He was trying his hardest but failing to contain his smirk.

“What?” Javi was trying to ignore him by distracting himself with papers but the mention of (Y/N)’s name always made him listen.

“It’s (Y/N)” Steve said again “it’s her who you like”

“Are you really still on this?” Javier sighed as he lit up a cigarette.

“Well, I’m just saying that she is a very beautiful girl and you two seemed to get on pretty well. Maybe you should ask her out” Steve suggested.

“I’m not a kid, Murphy. And besides, she wouldn’t go out with me anyway” he mumbled the last part but Steve caught it loud and clear.

“Is she single?” He asked.

Javier was losing his patience a little with his partner “as far as I’m aware. Yes, she is single” he answered. Javi could already guess the next words that would come out of his partner’s mouth and he didn’t want to hear it. “I’m not discussing this with you anymore” he said sternly “stop fucking about and actually do something” Steve just made a noise before standing and leaving, probably to go get a coffee.

Javi sighed again and held his head in his hands. He was getting stressed out because Steve was right. Of course he was right. Javi did like (Y/N). He had since the moment they met. But what’s not to like? She smart, funny, caring and so beautiful. It was a wonder to him that she hadn’t got a boyfriend yet. Any guy would be lucky to have her. He just wanted to be that guy.

What the hell is wrong with me? He though angrily as he ran his hands through his hair. Pull yourself together Javier. It’s not going to happen.

Meanwhile, (Y/N) was sat in Messina’s office listening to her ramble on about how things work now she’s in charge and whatnot. But (Y/N) wasn’t really listening to what she was saying. She was too distracted in her own thoughts.

Anyone who worked for the DEA knew about Javier Peña’s reputation. Everyone knew he was the asshole. Everyone knew his way of getting information. And for someone with the right mind, that would be enough to put them off him. But not (Y/N). Oh no.

Perhaps it was just her analytical nature that came with her job role that drew her to the dashing DEA agent. She saw a man who was clearly struggling. A man who was hiding himself from something or someone. Probably himself. She saw someone who by all accounts had dropped most their morals for the sake of a job. But she knew that beyond all that, beneath that cold exterior, was a kind and gentle man who simply wanted to be loved. She knew this because she had seen it.

It was a few months after they had first met. She was still pretty new to Columbia and she hadn’t really made many friends outside the people she worked with closely. Javier was the only other familiar face she knew. They both found themselves at the same bar at the same time, unintentionally of course.

(Y/N) didn’t know whether to approach him but he looked a little run down and she though she could maybe help with whatever was troubling him. She drew in a deep breath and walked over to him taking the empty stool beside him.

“(Y/N)?” He said a little confused to see her in a place such at this. She didn’t at all strike him as a drinker. She was a good girl who always played by the rules and never drank. So he though.

And he was right. She just ordered a glass of water.

“You don’t mind if I sit with you, Javier?” She asked shyly.

“No, of course not” he flashed her a brief smile before downing the rest of his drink, which she guessed to be a whiskey, before he held up his glass gesturing for a refill. “What brings you here?” He asked her as he swirled his freshly poured drink in his glass.

“I um...well I don’t really get out much. Or I didn’t at least when I lived in the states. Believe it or not I’m not a very “out going” person. So I thought that maybe I would try and be different down here, you know, new life and all” she laughed meekly as she circled the rim of her glass “a-and I just needed to clear my head from today...”

“Tough day?” Javi asked, his voice held a caring tone that made her feel warm inside, but he wasn’t looking at her, he was still more interested in his drink.

“The people down here are a lot more...intense than back in the states. I’m not really used to what I’m being given...”

“Well, you must be good at what you do. Other wise they wouldn’t have spent all that money flying you out here to work” he said “don’t worry though (Y/N),” the sweet caring tone of his voice had gone and changed into one of sarcasm “you’ll get used to it and you’ll become the same as everyone else who works in this shithole” he held up his drink and studied it for a brief moment before taking a massive swig “drinking away all your problems...” he mumbled to himself.

“I-Is that what you do?” (Y/N) asked quietly, not wanting to over step any boundaries. After all, they still didn’t really know each other. “You just drink away your problems”

“Yep” he spoke lowly but a hint of humour to his singular word.

“That’s-That’s not a great habit to get into Javier” she said “that’s pretty dangerous”

“Are you trying to get all psychologist on me?” He laughed.

“Psychiatrist” she correct “and no. Not really. But...maybe instead of just drinking, you could talk to someone about what’s going on with you. It might be better, and cheaper”

“(Y/N),” he said flatly as he put his drink on the bar and turned to face her “I haven’t spoken to anyone about my problems since my mother died when I was ten. If anyone cared about my problems, then I wouldn’t have any. But because no one does, I’m stuck with them”

“I care” she said quietly “and not just because it’s kind of my job to care about people but because...out of everyone I’ve met so far in my time being here, you’ve been the nicest to me. And I want to return the favour. So...if you wanted to talk, I’m here to listen even if you don’t want me to help you”

Javier frowned at her words. It wasn’t like a frustrated or fed up frown. It was more of a...sad frown. He swallowed his drink in one go, which was clearly a mistake on his part judging by the sharp hiss he let out from the burn of the drink. He rubbed his forehead as he set his now empty glass down but made no move to ask for another one.

“What do you want to know?” He asked.

The rest of the night they talked and they talked. Somehow, she managed to get him to open up to her. Not completely. She could tell that there were things he was not willing to share with her, at least not yet. But she saw a side of him that no one ever had. A warmer side. A more...vulnerable side.

Javi told her about his close relationship to his mother and how heart broken he was when she died. That was something he had never told anyone. He never spoke of his family, and certainly not his mother. But it seemed after that, he just kept going. He said how much he missed her and how much he needed her.

She didn’t tell him this because she didn’t quite know how to word it without making things seem worse. But in her head she came to the conclusion that his behaviour towards women was most likely a result of not having that female connection in his life. He didn’t have a loving mother or woman in his life like most people might, and the way he described their bond, clearly it had taken a serious toll on his life. But she wasn’t exactly surprised. The death of anyone in someone’s life can cause problems and pain. Especially a family member.

“Does that all sound doable to you?” Messina’s voice cut through her thoughts bringing her back to reality.

“O-Oh...y-yes. Yes” (Y/N) stuttered as she shifted in her seat to look a little more professional. “No actually. My apologies but I...”

“Wasn’t listening?” Messina said with a slight smile “I appreciate your honesty. It’s more then what I get here. All I was saying was that things are going to be run a bit differently from your end. Your work will stay the same but the work load may be different. Less. These people are dangerous and by the way these missions and raids have been going, it’s far more likely that the offenders you are meant to treat end up six feet under”

“Right...” (Y/N) said quietly with a nod.

“And also, if your up for it, I would like you to come down every so often and maybe check up on some of our own agents here”

“That’s not really what my job is” (Y/N) laughed nervously. She didn’t like telling people no but she wasn’t exactly cut out for the role of councillor to DEA agents.

“I know” Messina nodded “but your boss said you were the one must cut out to do it. It wouldn’t be something that you change from your current position to. Just, every so often coming down here and just talking to the agents. I think you can agree that with things happening in the world right now, everyone could use someone to talk too”

(Y/N) nodded but was still a little on the fence about the whole idea. Technically, it wasn’t too big an ask. She was technically qualified to do it, and it was technically what she was already doing. But what she was doing now was a little more advanced and intense then talking to agents about what they have seen in the field.

But she supposed it wasn’t too different to what she had done with Javi.

“But saying that, they probably wouldn’t even except the help. They prefer to bottle up their emotions and take it out on something or someone else” (Y/N) had a strong suspicion that she was referring to Javi, unless that was just something that all DEA agents did. “Especially agent Peña” There it was.

“Agent Peña” (Y/N) repeated quietly.

“He’s one of our agents focusing on the Escobar case, along with his partner-“

“Steve Murphy. Yes. I met him this morning. Me and Javier already know each other”

“Right” Messina said “well, you go careful with him” (Y/N) didn’t really know what she meant by that but she didn’t have time to question it before Messina stood and held her hand out to (Y/N) “I appreciate you coming out here”

(Y/N) stood too and shook her hand “thank you for having me. It was a pleasure”

“The pleasure was all mine. Let me show you out” just then the phone rang and (Y/N) waved off the offer.

“I know the way” she smiled soft before leaving the office and letting out a deep breath when the door had closed.

“Dude,” Steve said as he leaned over his desk to get Javi’s attention “heads up”

Javi turned and saw (Y/N). He wasn’t quite in control of his body as he ran over to her, offering to show her the way out of the base.

“So how was it?” He asked her.

“It was okay. I don’t really know what I was expecting. I wasn’t really told much about why I was coming here other than the fact she wanted to meet me”

“What did you talk about?”

“Not much. She just filled me in on who she was, her background and all that. And our role in helping the DEA. And...my role in the DEA”

“She didn’t fire you did she?” Javi said quickly.

“No!” She laughed “no, she didn’t fire me. I don’t think she has the power to fire me herself” Javi felt a little bit embarrassed after that “she sort of offered me a new job? I’m not really sure what she is planning though. She wants me to come here every so often to check on you DEA agents. You know, talk to you, make sure you’re okay”

“Well, I can’t imagine anyone else being the one for that role” they reach the outside of the base and came to a stop at the top of the steps. “So...where are you going now?”

“Technically it’s my day off so, home I guess”

“Right” he nodded “I’d give you a ride...but the boss said we’re not allowed off base”

“Following the rules? That’s not like you Javier” she chuckled. “It’s fine though. My ride should be here any second now anyway” as if on cue, the same sleek black car from earlier pulled into the gates “see”

“Y-Yeah” Javi said quietly.

“Well I um...I better go. But it was nice seeing you again Javi, even if it wasn’t for very long”

“Yeah. It was nice. Great. Great to see you again..”

“I’ll um..see you some when” she said as she began walked down the steps towards the car. He just waved as she got to the car and got in.

“Fuck” he swore under his breath watching as the car drove off “fuck”

Time seemed to drag on from that point until it was time to close up shop. The base was near empty aside from Javi, Steve and a few other officers who tended to always flitter around.

Steve let out a groan as he stretched his arms above his head “well,” he began “that’s me done” he dropped his arms and stood grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair and his gun from his desk drawer. “You staying on?”

“Uh...yeah. I’m just gonna...finish up some stuff” Javi said taking a drag of his cigarette.

“Ain’t got a hot date tonight then, huh?” Steve teased.

“No, I do not” Javi mumbled.

“That’s a real shame, man” Steve tutted as he adjusted his jacket.

“Why do you care so much about it anyway?” Javi asked.

“‘Cause you deserve someone Javi. You should’ve asked (Y/N) out. I’m sure she would’ve said yes” Javi didn’t respond, he just continued typing away at the typewriter. “Well, night Javi”

“Yeah” Javier grumbled as his partner left.

It was painfully quiet in the base. There were other officers still lingering about but none that Javi really knew. So really, he was alone.

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ash tray on his desk and leant back in his chair, running his hands over his face and groaning to himself. He dropped his hands and cast his gaze to the phone sitting on his desk.

Her phone number was basically engraved in his heart. He knew it better then he did his own number. Steve’s words played over and over in his head. Maybe he should ask her out.

But the phone just sat there. Mocking him. Laughing at him for being such a cowards. For being too afraid to ask the girl he liked out on a date. Or at least for a drink so he could see her again.

Javi sat forwards and pulled himself closer to his desk. He grabbed the phone but before he could even dial a number he slammed it back down again.

“The fuck is wrong with you?” He said to himself. He was getting annoyed at himself now. But he was still annoyed at Steve for bringing it up so much recently. Just pick up the phone and call her.

So he did. It all happened so quickly but he suddenly found himself with the phone to his ear ringing. He just hoped she answered.

The phone rang and rang and he began to think she wouldn’t answer. He was about to put the phone down but then her voice came through the other line.

“Hello?” She said.

“(Y/N)? It’s Javi” he tried to calm his voice, hopefully the quality of the phone wasn’t clear enough for her to hear his nervous tone.

“Hey Javi. What’s up?” She asked sweetly making his heart pound and palms sweat.

“Oh...uh nothing. I just um...are you busy?” He asked.

“Uh..well I was just about to get ready for bed but-“

He didn’t let her finish before speaking again “you’re busy, don’t worry about it”

“No no!” She said quickly “I’m not. What’s wrong?”

He paused and swapped the phone to his other ear, his leg bouncing nervously as he worked up the courage to ask her out for a drink “would you...like to go get a drink...with me?”

He squeezed his eyes shut and prepared himself for the cold hard rejection. But that wasn’t what he got “I’d love to” she said filling him with relief. He let out an audible sigh of relief that he hoped she didn’t hear.

“Great. I’ll um...meet you at the bar in say..” he looked at his watch “twenty minutes?”

“Sure thing, Javi” she said. He could hear the smile in her voice that made him smile too. “I’ll see you then”

“Yeah. See you then” he hung up the phone and fell back against his chair. He sat there for a moment just trying to comprehend what had just happened before he stood up and grabbed his jacket. He didn’t bother to tidy his desk before he was out the door and in his car driving towards the bar where he would meet her.

The bar was pretty quiet when he got there, which was strange considering the time. But he wasn’t complaining. He took at seat at the bar and ordered his usual drink, a whiskey. He sat there sipping his drink as he waited, the amber liquid calming his nerves.

“Javi,” came a voice from beside him. He tuned and saw (Y/N) taking the seat next to him. “Sorry I’m late” she said before ordering a glass of water.

It took him back to that day.

“I was early” he told her.

“So why did you ask me out here?” She asked as she took a sip of her drink “not that it’s a problem!” She was quick to add worried she had offended him in some way.

“I Uh, it was nice to see you again today and I just...wanted to see you again” he said quietly. She smiled at him and let out a happy noise as she took another sip of her drink.

He looked at her for a moment. There was something different about her from earlier. She looked at him confused but laughed nervously at his gaze “what?” She asked.

“Are you wearing lipstick?” He asked noticing how her lips were a more bold shade of red than usual. In all the time he had known her, he hadn’t ever seen her wear any kind of make up. But she didn’t need it. She was beautiful the way she was. If anything the lipstick was just...wrong. But not it a bad way, he just wasn’t used to seeing it on her.

“O-Oh. You noticed that” she looked away from him staring into her glass. She pulled a piece of hair from behind her ear to cover the side of her face so he wouldn’t see her. She felt like a complete fool.

He shifted closer to her, the stool he was sat on scraped against the floor as he did. Javi reached out and tucked the hair back behind her ear “it looks nice” he said making her looked back at him, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink at the soft touch “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear make up before”

“That’s becuase I haven’t. But it was something my cousin bought me as a joke for my birthday last year. She said it would help with all the guys I would get with and kiss”

“Has it worked?”

“No” she laughed “so far I haven’t been with or kissed a single person whilst I’ve been down here”

“Well, you may still find some use for it” he said.

A slightly awkward silence fell over the two of them as the sipped at their drinks, Javi finished first but didn’t ask for a second one. He turned back to look at her watching as she rubbed the now empty glass with her thumb.

“Do you want to go for a drive?” He asked her suddenly.

“A drive?” She asked “where to?”

Javi shrugged as he pulled out his wallet “I don’t know. Just a drive” he said pulling out some cash and throwing it on the bar before hopping off his stool.

“Okay?” She said hesitantly as she got off her own stool and followed him out of the bar to his car.

The drive to begin with was pretty quiet as she stared out the window trying to figure out where he was taking her. He did have a spot in mind but he didn’t want to spoil it for her.

“You’re not taking me somewhere to murder me, are you?” She joked “we seem to be getting away from the city a little bit” she noticed he was driving her to a more remote area rather than the open city. And it was slightly up a mountain too.

“No” he laughed “why would I ever want to murder you?”

She shrugged “I don’t know. Sometimes you don’t need a reason to murder someone”

“Well, I’m not bringing you somewhere to kill you (Y/N)”

“That’s what all murderers say!” She pointed out. He just laughed and pulled onto a patch of grass of the overlook he had brought them to. He brought the car to a stop and she examined the location “yep, definitely a murder spot”

“Jesus (Y/N)” he laughed.

“I don’t think he’s going to be much help” she said. “What is this place, Javi?”

“Come on” he said as he took off his seatbelt and got out the car. She followed suit and stood next to him as he leant against the front of his car.

“Oh my god” she gasped. She was in awe of the way the city looked from up there. The sky was completely clear of clouds as was full of beautiful silver stars. The lights from the houses were stars in their own right, but golden ones. She was pretty much lost for words at the sight.

“I know” Javi said “when you’re up here, looking down on this place, it’s hard to believe there’s a drug war going on”

“It’s a shame that a country as beautiful as this one won’t ever be known for...this” she said quietly “how did you find this place?”

“I don’t really know” he said “you get to a point where you just need to keep on going. And that’s what I did. I just kept driving and I ran out of fuel right here. But I’ve been coming back here ever since. It just...a nice place to be”

“It is very nice” she smiled to him. The conversation stopped for a moment as they both just enjoyed the sight. Enjoying how peacefully quite it was. And how fresh it was too.

“How many girls have you brought up here?” She asked his quietly.

“Out of everyone I’ve brought up here, you’re my favourite” he said “but that’s mainly down to the fact I’ve never brought anyone else up here other than myself”

“Well, I’m honoured to be the first” she said “thank you for bringing me up here Javi”

“You’re welcome. It’s nice to share it with someone...” he mumbled the last part but she still heard him.

(Y/N) just looked at him the same way he had looked at her earlier in the bar. She was trying to figure something out. He looked at her giving her the same nervous look she had, “what?” He said.

“Just something Messina said”

“Oh god, what did she say? That I’m a shit agent?”

“That I should be careful with you”

Javi didn’t speak right away, he shifted his stance and looked down “Yeah, I guess she had a point” he muttered “I’ve really made a name for myself. It’s no surprise that half the fucking DEA thinks I’m an asshole, the other half just have no idea who I am in general”

“I think she was wrong” (Y/N) said “I think they are all wrong about you Javier. You’re not an asshole Javi, at least not all the time. You’re just like every other person. And I think everyone is wrong to think so badly of you. Because you’re not a bad person”

“(Y/N), you don’t have to say that. You can tell me the truth. I get that it’s you’re job to make people feel good about themselves and shit like that but you don’t have to do that with me”

“I am telling you the truth” her voice was quiet and made him look at her, meeting her beautiful eyes with his “and my job isn’t just about making people feel good about themselves and shit like that, it’s about making people believe that they are good. It’s about helping people...and I...I want to help you”

“Why do you want to help me, (Y/N)?”

“Because I...” she stopped herself for a moment and looked at him, his eyes baring down on her as he awaited her answer.

“You what?” He pressed softly. He had turned his body to face her completely, standing incredibly close to her. “You what, (Y/N)?” He didn’t give her a chance to respond before he smashed his lips against hers. She felt her knees go weak at the sudden contact. She brought her hands up to grip his arms to hold her self steady as she returned the kiss. Javier slipped his arms around her waist pulling her towards him slightly. With his arms supporting her, she moved her hand up to thread her fingers through his soft hair.

“Because I love you” she whispered when he pulled back from her lips “and I believe you are worth helping, and I want you to see yourself as I see you”

“And how do you see me (Y/N)?” He asked in a low voice as he gently rubbed his nose against hers making her heart flutter as she stroked the back of his head with her thumbs.

“Someone who just wants to be loved” she admitted to him.

“Only if I’m loved by you” he whispered before kissing her again, deeper this time and not so hard. His arms wrapped more firmly around her, drawing her as close to him as possible without hurting her.

“Oh you are Javi” she whispered against his lips “you are”

2/01/21

Taglist: @linkpk88 @phoenixhalliwell @lunaserenade

[just-a-poor-boy-queen]

To the anon who requested the school prompts; I attempted to write something about a parent-teacher meeting, but I couldn’t come up with a believable way for both Freddie and Jim to attend, given that Freddie would draw way too much attention. I hope you don’t mind if I skip that one. Here’s your request for Freddie picking up Khaleel from school!

Part 36 of Jimercury Kid series

‘Fucking vultures.’ Freddie muttered under his breath, as he sat with Kashmira in her car and observed the small group of journalists who had gathered at the corner of the street opposite Khaleel’s school.

They always hung around there, holding out hope that the little boy might walk through the gates, and they would finally be able to snap a picture of his face to put on the front page of their shitty tabloids. But they were wasting their time. Special arrangements had been made to ensure that Khaleel always exited the school from the back of the building, where Jim or Terry would be waiting to pick him up. By the time the vermin from News of the World had set up their cameras, their target was long gone.

The school run was something that Freddie had always longed to be involved in. Perhaps it was selfish of him, but he just couldn’t help it. He wanted to be able to sit in the car and wait for his little boy to come bouncing through the back doors and into his arms. He wanted to help Khaleel put his seatbelt on and laugh when the child insisted he was a big boy and could do it himself. He wanted to sit in the passenger seat, Khaleel’s bookbag and lunchbox balanced on his lap while his bijou excitedly chatted away about what he got up to in class that day, while Jim turned on the radio and made faces at their son through the rear-view mirror.

He wanted to do what every other parent did. But he couldn’t, because he knew wherever he went the paparazzi would be hot on his tail. All sorts of rumours were still circulating in the press about Kenny’s origins. Some still believed he was the secret lovechild of Freddie and Mary, others reported that he was the result of a one-night stand with a fan and perhaps the worst was a statement made by an anonymous “inside source,” who claimed Freddie had purchased him from the Middle East for over fifty million Indian rupees.

He had resigned himself to the reality that there were some things in Khaleel’s life that he would just have to miss out on. Like end-of-year plays, and parent-teacher meetings, and taking the boy to and from school.

That was until Kash had came up with a rather genius idea.

Freddie’s private car would be easily noticed by the paparazzi. But hers wouldn’t.

‘There he goes.’ Freddie said as the Volvo in front of them pulled away from the pavement and began driving towards the back entrance of the school. ‘Be ready, Kash.’

‘Feels like bloody Mission Impossible.’ Kash laughed, keeping her eyes on the road ahead. ‘I don’t know how you put up with this every day. Why didn’t you just save yourself the trouble and stick to painting?’

Freddie chuckled despite himself. ‘Sometimes I wonder.’

He was glad they could still have conversations like this. They had briefly fallen out of contact after the whole ordeal with social services, but Freddie quickly realised that Kashmira wasn’t the one at fault and she had proved her loyalty to him by telling the truth. Even if they weren’t children anymore, defying their parents was no easy feat and poor Kash was withstanding the worst of the fallout.

‘How are they?’ Freddie asked quietly, almost hoping she wouldn’t hear him. But he should have known better; nothing got past his sister.

‘Not good.’ She replied, still looking out towards the road. ‘They keep asking after you, wanting to know if you’re alright. They ask about Khaleel a lot as well. I never know what to say.’

Freddie felt his jaw clench instinctively. ‘Tell them the truth. It’s been two years and he still has nightmares about what happened. He’s still scared to be left alone and can’t stand to be away from us for too long. It was months before he would go into school without clinging to Jim and begging him not to leave. Dr Atkinson says it may affect him for the rest of his life. You tell them that next time they have the nerve to ask you how Khaleel is doing.’

Kash sighed, glancing down at her hands which were gripping the steering wheel. ‘They really regret what they did, Freddie.’

Freddie rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t start, Kash. If you expect me to forgive them-’

‘No, I don’t.’ His sister cut in, her voice eerily calm. ‘If they had done that to Nathalie and Jamal, I wouldn’t forgive them either. I’m not questioning your decision. I just…’ her hands tightened around the wheel a moment as she lost herself in thought, ‘…I need you to know that they’re truly sorry. I know their apologies mean nothing at this point, but they’re not trying to justify their decisions anymore. They’ve accepted that they did a terrible thing and brought everything that’s happened upon themselves. They’re not asking for forgiveness; they just need you to know that they realise they were wrong.’

Freddie hadn’t anticipated such an answer. He was dumbstruck for a moment, tongue retreating behind his teeth as he allowed her words to sink in. As much as he would deny it, there was still a part of him that longed for the company of his mother and father again; he still found himself lingering by the phone on occasion, half hoping they might call or listening for the buzz of the intercom in case they decided to drop by. Knowing that they were truly sorry didn’t make the pain go away but it did give him an odd sense of comfort.

Before he could respond, he saw the Volvo pulling out onto the road ahead, slowly turning the corner until it was out of sight.

‘Here we go.’ A grin spread across Kash’s face as she belted herself in. ‘Keep your head down.’

Freddie ducked out of view as they passed the huddle of reporters, raising his hand to flip them off before sitting up straight in his seat while Kash cackled like a hyena. They drove up the street and turned the corner where the Volvo was sitting waiting for them.

‘Thank you, Kash.’ Freddie said gently, knowing they only had a limited amount of time before the rest of the students came pouring out onto the street. The last thing he needed was to be chased by a gang of schoolchildren at his age. ‘For this, and for telling me how Mama and Papa are. I appreciate it.’

Kashmira smiled at him, though it looked rather strained. ‘You’re welcome.’ Then she added, almost nervously. ‘You know I love you, right?’

‘Yes.’ Freddie replied, voice almost catching in his throat. ‘I know. I love you too.’

He opened the car door and went to step out, glancing over at the Volvo where Khaleel was sitting in the backseat, bouncing excitedly at the sight of his Baba. Freddie hesitated a moment, before turning to Kash again. ‘Why don’t you and Roger come over for dinner tonight? Bring the kids with you?’

Kashmira’s dark eyes batted in surprise, but she didn’t look displeased. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Jim’s making shepherd's pie tonight and he always makes too much, so…’ He shrugged in a rather lukewarm effort to display indifference, when in fact his heart was hammering painfully. To his relief, Kash smiled.

‘That sounds perfect. I’d love to come.’

‘About six ’clock?’

‘We’ll be there.’

Freddie nodded, the tightness in his chest finally ceasing to be. He wandered if he should embrace her, but decided he wasn’t quite ready for that step and simply said, ‘see you later,’ before shutting the door and making his way over to the Volvo.

‘Baba!’ Khaleel cried as soon as Freddie was near, and he rolled his window down so Freddie could poke his head through and start covering him in kisses. ‘You came, you came!’

‘Yes, I did!’ Freddie blew a raspberry into the child’s neck, making him squeal. ‘We better take you home and get your homework finished – Auntie Kash and your cousins are coming over for dinner.’

Khaleel’s blue-green eyes went wide with joy. ‘Are Dādī and Dādā coming too?’

Freddie’s smile disappeared and he briefly made eye contact with Jim, before saying, ‘I’m sorry, darling. Dādī and Dādā are very busy.’

Khaleel crossed his arms and pouted, ‘they’re always busy.’

‘I know…’ That familiar tightness returned to Freddie's chest, squeezing until it almost hurt to breathe. ‘But let’s not think about that now. Daddy’s making shepherd’s pie, and if you finish your homework on time, you can help him stir the pot.’

This seemed to put the boy in good spirits again and he spent the majority of the car ride chatting away to Freddie about his day as Jim drove them home, careful to keep themselves scarce from any prying eyes. When Khaleel eventually trailed off and turned his attention to the contents of his bookbag, Jim glanced at his husband in the passenger seat and murmured, ‘are you sure you’re okay having Kash over tonight?’

Freddie took a deep breath, staring out the window at the people passing by, not really caring if he was recognised. ‘I can hardly go about the rest of my life pretending she doesn’t exist.’

When this didn’t earn the chuckle he had anticipated, he sighed. ‘None of this is Kash's fault. I know she could have told me sooner about Mama and Papa calling social services, but what matters is that she did tell me. She chose me over them, which must have been the hardest thing she’s ever had to do. I’ve already lost most of my family, I don’t need to lose anymore. It's time to make peace.’

Jim nodded wordlessly, reaching over and gently grasping Freddie’s hand. ‘I’m really proud of you, sweetheart.’

Freddie lifted the Irishman's hand to kiss his knuckles. ‘Thank God somebody is, darling.’

This was a perfect mix of sweet and angsty. Lol at the beginning I thought it'll be about our dads picking their baby up from school and being all cute and adorable, then BAM, came the angst. But I absolutely loved it!

Someone recently asked in the notes of one your drabbles about any lingering trauma that Khaleel feels at this point in the series. I think they've got their answer now. It's plausible really, for a child to experience the after-effects of being so harshly separated from his parents. I can only imagine how painful it must've been for the real Freddie to be isolated from his parents at such a young age. Poor baby.

I am glad Kash and Freddie are mending their relationship. I often get the feeling that Kash was never too involved in Freddie's life, but had Freddie survived his illness, it's possible that they may have grown closer. In the context of what has happened in this universe specifically, it'll be a while before they're completely comfortable with each other. But I am glad that Freddie is making an effort.

The end was so sweet, my heart. The perfect end to all the angst💙

(More drabbles by writer anon)

(All the parts of this series can also be found under the tag #freddie and jim and their baby on this blog)

[kaeyas-beloved]

Wait wait so your thing says request are still close but where u wrote something for someone it said request open so hmm idk ;-;. But just in case there open how about I request a mother MC/father theo from ikemen vampire where theo takes care of there newborn baby for the day this is a weird request DONT kill me ;-;

Hey Anon! Sorry for the confusion and the long wait - and don’t worry, your request isn’t weird at all! But I may have strayed from the request just a teeny tiny bit though... for the most part I think I stuck to the original idea of Theo with his baby for a day. 

I hope you enjoy and you can always come back and request again if this wasn’t what you wanted :)

Warning(s): Teeny tiny spoilers for Theo’s route (if you know who Vollard is you’re fine!), One (1) Dutch swear word

~

A Newborn’s Smile {Theo x MC/Reader}

“Are you sure you’ll be alright Theo?” she asked her husband again, staring up into his calm ocean coloured orbs. Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Theo ruffles her hair with a playful smirk on his face.

“What? Think I can’t take care of our daughter?” 

“N-no, but-” she began, an anxious look in her eyes. While she may have full confidence that he can handle a day with their child, it’s still going to be the first full day that he’ll be left alone with her.

“Listen Hondje, you go with Sebas and when you get back you’ll see that everything will be the same as you left. Now, no more senseless worrying, it’ll be fine!”

Ten minutes later and everything was, in fact, not fine.

“Now what’s with all this noise?” Dazai rose a brow, having just entered via the mansion’s window, as per usual. Mozart, who rarely ever sat at the table, sighed, taking a sip of his black coffee.

“The girl left with Sebastian to run errands. Theo’s taking care of their baby...” Another ear piercing cry filled the room and they all winced. While the sound was deafening to the ears, the twinge of pain that filled Theo’s chest hurt more. The fact that his pride and joy was crying her little heart out and he wasn’t sure what to do had him completely lost.

‘How does Hondje do it?’

“Theo old boy, you should take a page out of your wife’s book right about now...” Arthur chuckled while rubbing at his temple, the writer only somewhat enjoying the sight of his friend struggling to take care of his kid.

“What do you mean?”

“He means it’s lunch time, she’s probably hungry” Napoleon piped up, emerging from the kitchen with a pre-made bottle in hand. Passing it to the Dutch art dealer, Theo began to feed his daughter, the baby quieting as she drank. Sighs of relief left everyone at the peace they got...

..which was short lived, the little girl beginning to cry once more. 

“Well, someone’s not a daddy’s girl~”

“Quiet klootzak!” the baby cried louder, “tch, I’m gonna go see Vincent, he was always good with kids...”

“Best of luck~” Tossing a final glare paired with a scowl at the Brit, the younger van Gogh made his way up to the painter’s room.

~

“Afternoon Broer, sorry for barging in while you were painting...” Prompted by the sound of his brother’s voice, Vincent set down the brush he held, wiping off as much paint from his hands as possible while smiling.

“It’s alright Theo, I was finishing up anyway! But,” he frowned a little, gazing down with a troubled look at his niece, “you seem to be having a bit of trouble...”

“Yeah.. she’s been crying ever since this morning. Hondje was able to make her stop for the time being but then she left with Sebas and, well...”  

“Mm... I see” Vincent hummed, trying to think of a way to help out his little brother.

“Ah! Why not show her the painting? Maybe if she sees it she’ll stop crying! It always worked when you were little!” 

The idea was pure, innocent. It quite frankly made Theo embarrassed and for a split second he doubted that it’d really work. But, he reminded himself, Vincent is more experienced with kids than he is - plus, it didn't hurt to try.

“Fine...” stepping up to the coloured canvas, Theo angled his arms so that the little girl could catch a glimpse of the masterpiece. For some time nothing came of it as she continued to wail and Theo sighed, about to throw in the towel, claim that it was pointless and he’d just have to wait until his wife got home.  

That was until the crying gradually got quieter and quieter before ceasing altogether. 

The brothers stared in astonishment, watching as eyes that resembled the colour of a stormy sea stared in wonder at the painting of a vast ocean. Chubby little hands started to try and reach out to the picture, the little limps desperate to explore the new discovery more. And along with the newfound curiosity was a happy baby grin, a real one at that, and not just one of the usual reflex smiles.

It was truly a sight for sore eyes, a masterpiece that out does any other that the art dealer has seen before. If he’d had the ability to paint like his brother, Theo would’ve captured this moment in a heartbeat.    

“Look Theo! She’s smiling! And she likes art just like you!” Vincent laughed joyfully, the smile contagious. At the same time the words spoken to him sparked Theo with an idea of his own.

“You’re a genius Broer! Dank je!”

“But I didn’t do anything- hey! Careful Theo!” Watching as his brother nearly raced out of his room, Vincent stared at the doorway, wondering what went through the other van Gogh’s mind to cause such a reaction.

~

Vollard’s is where he took her. If his little girl enjoyed his brother’s artwork surely she’d be over the moon with wonder at seeing the bright colours of other young artist’s work.

Turns out, he was right. 

Instead of the cries from this morning, squeals of delight and laughter filled the room. Thankfully, none of the people who were expressing their creativity cared, it was a small price to pay if they had the honor of seeing the renown art dealer in such an unguarded and calm state.

This was his element, art having been a large part of his life, and the fact that Theo got to experience something like this with his daughter (no matter how young she is) was nothing short of precious to him, a memory he’d treasure for as long as he lived.  

When every nook and cranny of the art studio was explored, Theo went around to other Paris museums, showcasing as much fine art as he could. While the reactions weren’t as lively towards the standard religious paintings, the look of wonder and awe that mirrors his own still remained. 

And as afternoon turned to evening, the streets bathed in an orange hue and his daughter having dozed off long ago, Theodorus van Gogh donned one of the softest smiles he’s had in either of his lives. While he gazed down at the sleeping girl the image of her smile from earlier in the day flashed through his mind. Oh how he wished his wife was there to witness it with him. 

Theo placed a light kiss to the child’s forehead.

“Rest well mijn schatje...” he whispered, silently promising that for as long as he can, Theo will make sure that his daughter continues to smile as brightly as she did today. Vowing that he’ll protect her happiness from the dangers of the world and doing anything to make sure that the joyful expression on her face stays a constant in all stages of her life.

~~~

*schatje can have the meaning of ‘little treasure’ (which is what I was going for in this)*

As of me posting this, requests are open [check my bio though to be sure]! Don’t forget to check the rules too for the fandoms/topics I write for (which are linked in my masterlist)!  

Masterlist

[drarryboosterclub]

I'm sorry but I need a boost? I saw an ask from a previous anon and it mirrors so much of what I'm feeling.

The amount of excellent Drarry fics is both awesome and intimidating.

English isn't my first language and I don't live anywhere near Britain. Although I have written fics in English before, it was for a different Fandom and that was a long time ago. I have loved Drarry for more than a decade but I've never had the guts to write any Drarry fics because I am always afraid that my writing isn't good enough, that I'll mess up some tiny detail that I had missed in the books/canon or something like that, or that my plot has already been written before and I'm not being 'original'.

I have been attempting several @drarrymicrofic prompts and I had so much fun. It reminded me of why I loved writing, but I cannot write anything longer (or commit to a normal-length fic) before I get intimidated/self-conscious again.

My insecurities have convinced me that Drarry fics have a certain 'standard' that I'm never going to meet and that demotivates me.

Darling, do not ever apologize for needing a boost. Everyone needs a boost sometimes. That is what this blog is for!

I’m going to take this from a more personal response than I did with the anon ask you are referring to, because I’ve felt many of the same things that you have. I hope that it helps.

While English is my first language, I also have loved Drarry for more than a decade. And although a part of me thought that I would never have the guts to write anything, let alone anything good, I took the plunge this year and started to write. And it has been so worth it!

This community is one of the most supportive, loving communities that I have ever been a part of. Everyone wants to see you succeed, and are happy to help you on your journey. If you are unsure about details when referencing canon, someone will know the answer or help you find it. And if you are concerned about your English (you shouldn’t be, it’s brilliant!) betas can help you with that and any other editing that you need. As someone who both writes and betas, I promise you, betas love being able to help you! Your work is already unique and wonderful because you wrote it and it exists. Betas are there to simply smooth out any rough edges and help make sure that you are confident when you share it with everyone else.

Regarding your concern about being unoriginal—it’s not possible here. Fandom is made up of tropes, and you will always find people who want more of the same thing. Because they’re never really the same! You and I could be given the same prompt—like we do with microfics—or the same trope and what we come up with will always be uniquely our own.

Trust me. We want to see what you create!

I’ve read your contributions to @drarrymicrofic, love, and they are amazing! I am so excited to see what else you create, and to see how your style evolves as you venture into longer fics.

Have you joined either the @drarrymicrofic discord or the larger Drarry Discord server? Joining both of those and beginning to interact with others within our community is something that really helped me start to explore my writing and see what I’m capable of. Everyone there wants to see others succeed, and will help you along the way!

You do not need to reach a certain ‘standard’ in order to write, darling. You simply have to try, and whatever you create will be stunning. I am here for you if you ever need it, and so is the rest of the community. Please let me know if you would like an invite to either Discord server. We would love to have you!

[blackteaandbones]

Reposting this little Avatrice piece because the original tags are buggy for some reason.

Thank you to @arashimaru and anon for the prompts :)

Prompt 1:

Beatrice is injured during a mission but hides how bad her wound actually is to make sure she doesn't distract her team and the mission is completed at all cost. Ava sensed something is wrong but as usual can't argue with Bea's logic. Cue some kind of dramatic reveal (blood stain, Bea collapsed, you name it) which then forces Ava and Bea to talk and Ava gets to care for Bea for once. 

Prompt 2:

I was wondering if you’d write something where Bea is hurt/sick but hides it so they can complete a mission. It makes it way worse and eventually the group finds out, preferably by dramatic reveal (like collapsing or something). Ava panics and maybe even blames herself and they have to talk. The group reminds bea that she has worth outside of like her training and fighting abilities and that they care about her.

Part 1 of “Damned if you Do” under the cut

“You’re a damn fool.”

“I know…”

“No. You don’t know. If you knew-” Mary snaps, pulling the thread tight and tying off another stitch, “you wouldn’t have done what you did, and Ava here wouldn’t be trying to keep your blood inside your fool body where it belongs instead of letting it spill out all over the floor while I try to put you back together. If you knew,” she adds, jabbing the needle in again and ignoring Beatrice’s wince, “you would have stayed at your post instead of swooping in like prince-fucking-charming and getting yourself impaled!”  

“Language,” Beatrice chides weakly.  

“Language?” Mary scoffs rolling her eyes over Beatrice’s shoulder at Ava. “Language, she says to me, after scaring the shit out of everybody for no goddamned reason.”  

Beatrice sighs. “Ava-”

“Ava was fine!” Mary cuts her off. “Weren’t you Ava?”  

“Oh, no. I’m staying out of this.” Ava would have raised her hands in surrender, but she has one arm  wrapped around Beatrice; holding her up while Mary works to close the gaping hole in her side, and the other hand pressing a blood-soaked wad of fabric that had once been one of her sleeves over the exit wound in her back. They’d lost precious minutes once they’d made it home to the safe house and gotten Beatrice into her bed, peeling off her armour and cutting her out of her habit, leaving her in only the bra and loose pants she wore under her skirt (Ava is holding her respectfully okay?) and she hadn’t been able to bear to let go of her any longer than necessary throughout.  

Luckily, Mary had been too pissed to comment on her handsiness, though Ava knew she’d noticed.  

“Coward,” (fair, but hey!) Mary mutters, snipping the last thread. “Okay, let’s do the other side, then we’ll wrap her up and leave her to think about what she did.”  

Instead of moving Beatrice, Ava switches places with Mary so that Beatrice can lean forward into her shoulder while Mary stitches up her back.  It’s not perfect, but they don’t want to lay her down until they’re done, or they’ll just have to sit her up again to bandage everything, and according to Mary, the less she’s moved the better.  

Ava isn’t complaining, and Beatrice doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to let go of her either, clutching the front of Ava’s shirt in white knuckled fists while Mary peels the bloody fabric loose and douses the wound with antiseptic. Beatrice hisses through her teeth, a whimper catching in the back of her throat.  

“Talk to me,” she breathes.  

“Uh…” Ava instantly forgets all words ever. “About what?”

“Anything.”  

“Okay, um… “ words, words, words… “How does Moses make his coffee?”

“How?”

“Hebrews it.”  

Beatrice snorts into Ava’s chest.

“You’re right,” Ava agrees. “That one was terrible. How about… What’s a missionary’s favorite kind of car?”  

“She gets a sword through the gut, and I’m the one being tortured,” Mary mutters under her breath, (because she’s a jerk who hates fun.)

“A convertible.”

That one actually gets a chuckle out of Beatrice, her shoulders shaking in the circle of Ava’s arms.  

“Hold still, or you’re going to have more than one hole in your gut!” Mary grumbles, but Ava can see the hint of a smirk at the corner of her mouth. (busted!) She’s almost done, the flow of blood slowing to a trickle as she pulls the ragged edges of the wound together.

One more. “How long did Cain hate his brother?” She pauses for dramatic effect. “As long as he was Abel.”

“I take it back,” Beatrice groans. “No more talking.”  

Ava gasps in mock affront. “I’m hilarious! You don’t know what you’re missing.”

“We’ll take our chances,” Mary answers for both of them. “There.” She sits back, wiping the sweat off her forehead with a bloody hand. “You’re all done. I’ll send Camilla in with some of the good drugs while Ava gets you cleaned up, then we can all get together and talk about how much trouble you’re in.”

“When did we stop talking about it?” Beatrice sighs. “I can do that,” she adds when Ava reaches for the bowl of warm water and rags Camilla had left with them before fleeing Mary’s wrath. “I’m not a complete invalid.���  

“You were literally just impaled,” Ava says, holding the bowl out of her reach. “I think you can let someone else take care of you for five minutes.”  

Beatrice frowns, but she doesn’t protest when Ava sets the bowl down beside them on the bed and wrings out one of the rags. Ava holds out a hand and Beatrice reluctantly offers one of her own. Ava takes it reminding herself that this is medicinal touching, and there are no hormones allowed in medicine (really, this whole teenage libido thing is getting ridiculous. Time and place much?) She does one hand, and then the other, wiping the dried blood from Beatrice’s palms and between her fingers; trying to forget with every swipe of the rag over soft skin how much worse this could have been.

No one had realized she was even wounded until the fight was over. It had been chaos; the plan fucked sideways from their first move, but Ava had been handling it. Mary and Lilith had her back, Beatrice and Camilla were running the secondary ops, and the Halo was even behaving itself; they were going to be fine. And then suddenly Beatrice was there between Ava and a sword (a sword she totally would have countered by the way,) and it all went tits up. Camilla was left hanging, the plan in tatters, they fought their way free only for Beatrice to promptly pass out, hands clamped to her side.

Ava remembers a lot of shrieking and panicking after that (most – okay all of it hers.)  

“I’m sorry,” Beatrice says, eyes downcast, shoulders bowed. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”

I wasn’t worried,” Ava lies, wiping the last of the blood from her wrists and getting a fresh rag before moving on to her waist.  

Beatrice glances up through her lashes (unfair,) a subtle tilt to the corner of her mouth that says she knows exactly how full of shit Ava is. “My mistake.”  

(To be continued)

[dreamdropxoxo]

Loving all your recent prompts 😊 how about number 33 please for Lamen or even Laurent/ Nikandros if your okay with that, I love Nik and Damen equally so just pick which you’d prefer ❤️

Hi and thank you so much dear anon! I’m sorry it took rather long for me to write. I was focusing on the advent calendar. But now I finally managed to finish another prompt. 

I hope you like it and I could do the prompt justice! I went with Laurent/Nikandros and Damen‘s there too.❤️ 

Have fun!

The prompt is from the list here, where you find an overview over all my answers. (Original post of the prompt list here). 

33. An unexpected kiss that shocks the one receiving it.

Nikandros devoted his life to serve his king. It was what his family had done for generations and he felt honored to be able to fill this position for Damianos. Damen was a wise and just king, as he had proven over the last five years since he had taken his place as rightful king. 

He even had to begrudgingly admit that Laurent contributed to the lasting peace and strong connection in the new empire. The blond man might be a snake, but it was obvious that the two kings loved each other and their empire. They cared for their people and although there were unrests and unhappy nobles, they worked together tirelessly towards their common goal of peace. So, it wasn’t a big adjustment that Nikandros served now two instead of one king.

Nikandros did his best to support both of them, although he supported Damianos with a bit more enthusiasm than Laurent. Borne due to the fact that Laurent still riled him up like the first time they had seen each other. One wrong twitch of Laurent’s full lips and Nikandros wanted to punch him, hard, or wrestle him down, dig his knee in the muscled, but slender, back and hold him down until he would finally stop talking.

Right now, the three of them sat in the office of the two kings and brooded over the best approach to start negotiations with Kempt. Laurent’s family was tightly tied to the royal family of Kempt, and that apparently caused him to think he knew everything better.

Well, if Nik was honest, Laurent always thought he knew everything better. And yet, he felt his blood start to boil, a vein on his temple start to throb and the hot rage flooding his body. Before he could do something he would sincerely regret after his anger had calmed down, Damen interrupted their verbal sparring. He was once again the one to keep the peace. 

Their dynamic was unconventional and yet it worked. It was certainly not normal that a subordinate, a lackey like Nikandros, was allowed to shout at one of his kings until either he had shouted himself raw or the other king managed to calm him down enough to speak in normal volume again. 

Laurent seemed to find his outbursts amusing. An odd glint in his eyes whenever Nikandros was two seconds away from exploding with rage. Damen loved them both and while he dotted on Laurent, he also supported Nikandros and thus only intervened when he was worried about Nik’s blood pressure or when Laurent had a headache.

Nikandros was also aware of the rumors surrounding the three of them. More so on the former Veretian part of the country, but it had spread even to Ios. People realized their relationship wasn’t a normal king-subordinate relationship, and that made them assume that Nik shared more with his kings than just his advise.

“Maybe we should take a break. Let’s sit down and open a Vaskian wine and relax for a moment.” Damen’s voice was calm and sure. Nik loved him all the more for the way his temper had settled down considerably since his marriage to Laurent. 

Laurent stared at him for a moment longer, his blue eyes piercing through Nikandros’ anger just as effectively as Damen’s words and when he turned towards his husband, it was with a smile on his lips, only the smallest lifting of the corners of his lush mouth. It wasn’t mocking or provoking, but happy and genuine. Laurent allowed himself more and more of these micro expressions when Nikandros was present and it confused him unbelievably. Jumbled his emotions, rage, respect and something else mixing together until he didn’t know what he felt anymore.

Laurent’s shoulders relaxed, his posture suddenly completely different as they stood and relocated to the lounge. Damen called for a servant to fetch them the wine while Nikandros and Laurent both sat down. Another thing that was rather special in their dynamic. Usually, it would have been Nik’s task to get the servant for the wine, certainly not the king’s, but the last three times he had insisted on doing it, Damen had looked as if he had disappointed him and denied him one of the few pleasures in life. So, Nik just complied when Damen stood to walk towards the door and followed Laurent to the lounge.

The blond man already sat on the double recliner normally occupied by Nikandros. His long, sculpted legs tightly laced into his restricting, Veretian trousers, stretched before him. The blond hair falling softly around his face. He looked gorgeous. Nikandros only rolled his eyes. Typical. 

“No need to look at me like that. You can join me, Nikandros. I’m not here to drive you away. I thought that maybe we could share?” Laurent’s voice was teasing, just on the right side of friendly to get Nikandros to seriously consider his proposal.

He contemplated Laurent’s word so long that Damen came back before he had decided. “Damianos, could you please tell Nikandros that I don’t bite? At least not without being provoked.” Now Laurent smirked, his teeth on full display. It made Nik shudder.

Damen clapped Nikandros on his shoulder with a grin. “You should join him. Maybe it’s good for all three of us if you two get to know each other outside of your normal shouting, teasing and riling each other up.”

That was the nudge Nik needed. He sat down beside Laurent and immediately, the blond draped his shapely legs over Nik’s lap. He put his hands on the firm muscle of his thigh without thinking about it. His fingers digging into the soft material of the king’s tight trousers. Laurent sighed, his eyes fluttering closed. 

“I knew you would be perfect,” the words sounded a bit breathless tumbling over those full pink lips. “Didn’t I tell you, Damianos? You seriously underestimated our dear Nikandros. You owe me an hour of rimming.”

Nik’s eyes flitted to Damen, questioning. Then he saw how Damen’s dark eyes were focused on his hands on Laurent’s legs and he drew his fingers away as if burned. Laurent made a displeased noise in his throat but it was completely drowned out by Damen’s reaction.

“NO!” Damen shouted, his eyes boring into Nikandros. “Put your hands back.” Immediately, Nik obeyed. Laurent felt perfect under his fingers. The blond king observed him closely. “You like that, don’t you Nikandros?” He moved closer, his breath hot on Nikandros’ lips. 

Damen exhaled loudly, it sounded a bit as if someone had punched him in his solar plexus. “Go on, love.” Laurent threw a smile over his shoulder at his husband and then he moved his head even closer and-

His lips on Nikandros’ felt heavenly. A raging fire spread through him from the point of contact, but he was so frozen in shock, he couldn’t move. Laurent drew back after only a second and Nik stared at him in terror just to snap his gaze to Damen. He would kill him, he was sure.

What he saw made him groan. Damen sat on the edge of his seat. His eyes dark, his shoulders tense and his lips slightly parted. Oh, Nikandros knew that expression. Damen was aroused. So much so that he hung on to sanity by only a thread. Nikandros felt weak with desire and arousal. 

“Go on. I want to watch.”

And who was Nikandros to deny either of his kings?

[writerman]

If you’re still talking prompts i was wondering if you could do one where Thranduil and Elrond accidentally propose to Bard without knowing they did and Bard accepts and starts to plan the wedding so when they go to actually propose to him there’s confusion, misunderstandings, humor and a little angst but a happy ending. Thank you if you do, your writing is the best 🥰

Hi, anon! Thank you for this one, it really made me think on how to word it for the misunderstanding. I truly hope you enjoy reading. 

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

Would you marry us? 

It had been a stark and bold question and it left Bard reeling for a long moment, though his silence did not seem to perturb the two elves sitting across from the table from him. 

No, they had remained quite unaffected by the sudden proposal while sipping tea and enjoying the warm spring sun as it shone through the tree canopy above them leaving dappled shadows over their serene faces. 

After managing to locate some composure from somewhere Bard could still only give nothing more than a stunted nod. 

“Are we even able to marry all three of us?” The words came out more a croak and Bard cleared his throat and took a long drink of his now cold tea. “Is there no law to say it is only between two elves or two humans?” 

“Of course not, but remember that we are very important people, who will say no to us?” Thranduil mused with a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. So confident with his words and there was Elrond nodding in agreement! 

“Thranduil is correct, who would think to stop us fulfilling a wish that unifies us in nothing but love?” Fair enough but that did smack of a certain amount of overconfidence and Bard really wanted to be sure that in marrying the two elves he would not be upsetting the law of any elven culture. 

Not that Thranduil or Elrond seemed to care much. 

There was nothing about their whole demeanour that seemed even remotely excited about the marriage. They had all been married before perhaps a second wedding wasn’t something they were wholly interested in.

“When would you like to get married?” Bard asked if he was going to put some plans in motion he might as well get the details right away, even if they didn’t seem overly interested Bard wanted everything to be perfect. 

“Autumn has always appealed to me,” Thranduil responded but he added nothing more 

It was out of his realm of expertise, especially seeing as fishing was the only thing he believed he was good at, but he was ready to learn the ins and outs of planning a wedding. 

Eventually, both elves excused themselves to deal with pressing matters in their kingdoms leaving Bard sat under the canopy of trees wondering why he felt so shell shocked by the whole exchange?

For a moment, he sat and looked at the now vacant seats and considered that perhaps he should have said no to their proposal, everything had felt so casual and Bard had always assumed elves held marriage with a sort of reverence one might have when discussing divinity. 

Making his excuses later Bard returned to Dale and spoke with his closest friends and made the decision that even without a date he would at least plan something, even if it was deciding on his own outfit or a venue or flowers, it was something. 

Holding off from bothering Elrond and Thranduil with any questions, Bard found the process unappealing and for a spell, he made no further arrangements. The eagerness he had expected simply was not there.

“Da, can I talk to you about something?” Sigrid knocked on the open door of Bard’s door that led to his drawing-room where he was struggling through several correspondences from Erebor. 

Thankful for the interruption he nodded and gestured for her to take the chair across from him which she took but remained silent for a long moment as she watched him shuffling papers. 

“You don’t seem happy to be getting married.” His shuffling stopped and he looked at her with an expression of surprise that he was unable to veil as anything else. Of course, someone had told her and he had an idea who but that didn’t matter all that much.

What did matter was that she was right. Bold and unapologetic in her statement, so much like her mother had been and at that moment he missed his wife more than he had ever done so in all the years he had been without her. 

A keen pain so aching and sudden. 

Gone in a second, as fleeting as a wish. 

“Just conflicted about a few things, that’s all.” Bard managed to mumble but Sigrid didn’t look in any way convinced and she gave him a hard stare until he crumbled, “I’d like to preface this with the fact that I am not comfortable telling you my love woes, but I am concerned that their proposal was either not meant as serious or they believe that they had to ask instead of wanted to.” 

“Da, I don’t think either of them would do something they didn’t want to do.” Her response was a simple one tinged with amusement and it was appreciated as it cut through the mire of worries that had plagued his mind for days. 

“You’re right.” There wasn’t much more he could say or rather, what he needed to say was not for her ears and she was well aware of that as she moved to her feet and left him deep in thought without another word.

His kids were too smart for their own good sometimes. 

But, by the Gods, having their clear-minded solutions offered without fanfare and with only the purest intentions gave him the healing his heart often needed. 

It was early morning when Bard was woken to the sound of his children happily greeting someone in the hallway. The fact they were out of bed and he was not did not bode all that well. 

Whoever had graced him with their presence had not announced their intentions to himself or his staff. And now he was sitting up in bed trying to chase away the sleep that still lingered enough that he would seem, somewhat, alert when someone came into the room to update him on the situation. 

In reality, all he wished for was another hour in bed and the peace and quiet that came with the dead of night but it wasn’t in his stars to have a quiet day to himself as the bedroom creaked open. 

He was greeted by the sight of two very familiar travel-worn elves who genuinely looked relieved to find him in bed still. 

Both Elrond and Thranduil stepped in and the door was shut behind them with a purposely slam from someone outside the room. They divested themselves of their travelling gear and without ceremony climbed into the bed at either side of him, their cold hands chasing away the sleepy warmth as they both embraced him. 

This was not the first time both of them had shown up unannounced and climbed into bed with him. It did leave him feeling uneasy that they would make decisions without his input that perhaps they were closer to one another than they were to him. 

Closing his eyes he accepted the soft kisses to his face in greeting but he said nothing to them of their appearance in his home. Something about the situation ached deep inside him and it was now apparent to Thranduil and Elrond who put space between themselves and him with questions on the tip of their tongues and concern in their eyes. 

“I don’t think I can marry you both.” It came out in a rush and the sorrow that overtook both elves was instantaneous to the point that Bard swore he could feel it coming off them in waves. 

“What has changed your mind?” Elrond asked softly, his hand covered one of Bard’s and coaxed it from a balled fist so he was able to hold his hand. “I understand that we have not spent much time with you lately, meleth, we hoped to fix this with our visit here. Were we too late?” His gaze darts to Thranduil who is expressionless and does not offer any words of comfort to Elrond.

His words had hurt them both. 

Of course, he regretted what he had said, he adored them both but there were too many times to count wherein he would feel so disconnected from them. It just didn’t seem feasible for them to be happily married while being spread across Middle Earth running kingdoms and spending months apart. 

“Would it not be better if you both married instead?” 

“Is that what you wish?” Thranduil’s voice was cold and his pale gaze studied Bard intently as though looking for something to give away what he was thinking but in the end, Thranduil looked away and gave a tired sigh. “It seems that we are unable to leave you for any amount of time without your thoughts becoming a tangled mess.” The affectionate tone which Thranduil now used was unexpected but the warmth in the words had Bard mentally lean toward the elf.

No relief came to him even when Elrond nodded in agreement. 

“You think very lowly of yourself, Bard,” Elrond noted yet said nothing more but instead his hand disappeared into a pocket before producing a silver ring that shone bright like a star with the minimal amount of light that streaked through the shutters on Bard’s window. 

“We came to propose to you. Thranduil and I wish to be married to you, we hope that in being wed to our favourite person you would slowly come to realise how precious you are to us.” The words were spoken softly and so filled with love were they it seemed more a prayer than a proposal and that was the reverence Bard had expected from them originally. 

A blush bloomed over his cheeks and nose as he understood now that they had not proposed but had warned him that they would. They asked if he would be happy to be wed to them so that he was prepared for such a moment as this. 

It took everything in him not to cover his face with embarrassment at the sudden understanding that he had very much misunderstood the conversation back in spring. His thoughts had jumped ahead of him leaving him confused and unhappy. 

I should have just asked them about it. 

“I don’t have any rings made for you. I wasn’t prepared, I'm sorry.” This didn’t bother Thranduil or Elrond and they merely shrugged while Elrond offered the ring to Bard again who, after being nudged by Thranduil, accepted the shining piece and allowed it to be slid onto his finger. 

“Hm, it makes my heart sore to see you accept our proposal. We made the ring with silver from both our lands so that it is from both of us. We wondered if you might like to do the same for one of us?” Thranduil suggested but he didn’t expect an answer because he was too busy removing items of clothing so he could get more comfortable at Bard’s side in the bed. 

“I am starting to think you gifted this massive bed to me for visits such as these. We all magically seem to fit in with plenty of space.” Bard mused aloud though in good humour of course. His head had calmed some as well as his heart and unease began to lift and dissipate with each second that passed in the company of his two loves.

Elrond laughed quietly beside him and as he rested his chin on Bard’s shoulder with an arm snaking around his waist to hold him in a tight embrace. 

“Of course this was the reason. Your warmth is a constant source of joy to us, and how soundly we sleep when we hear the strong thrum of your heart in your chest. How could we hear it if you offered us the guest quarters?” 

He had a point and who was he to argue with such a flawless logic. This was Elrond one of his soon to be husbands, he knew what he was talking about. 

“Heartbeat is one of the reasons, however, I for one, like to listen to you talk in your sleep because you are ridiculous in both your conscious and unconscious,” Thranduil revealed as he tugged at Bard’s sleep clothes in a bid to get him to lie down. It worked and Elrond relinquished his hold on him and followed suit, his hand reaching across Bard in search of Thranduil’s.

This was good and right. The world seemed better now, and he was sure the sun was shining brighter up in the sky but for now, he would merely speculate as he had more important matters to attend to. 

At that very moment, he was needed to provide warmth and the song of his heart to aid his beloved elves into sleep. 

Everything else would just have to wait. 

[livingmybestfictionallife]

Two Dharma Bums

Request (anon):  Ayo I saw that you were taking request, can I have some platonic Klaus x reader? Maybe klaus just kind living with the reader and them bein all domestic n shit

Summary: Klaus and the reader bond over their shared love of the beatnik counterculture and Kerouac. Klaus convinces the reader to come with him and travel across the country to live out the reader’s dream of the freedom displayed in Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. Also, I’m sorry if it’s rough. It’s unedited and quickly written.

A/N: No pronouns are used for the reader, so this can be female!reader or male!reader. Also, Klaus is 10000% a beatnik in this time period and would have thrived with Burroughs, Ginsburg, and Kerouac.

Arriving in 1960 Dallas with nothing but the spirit of his deceased brother clinging to him, Klaus desperately tried to suppress the anxieties that immediately plagued him. Why was he here? Where were his siblings? Was he the only one who made it? What made him so special and deserving of life over his brothers and sisters? What was he going to do now? 

After days without anything more than a passerby’s leftovers, Klaus was desperate for something to eat. He stumbled down street as he followed the familiar aroma of diner food. Growing up so close to Griddy’s, Klaus knew the smell of a moderately priced home-cooked style meal, and his stomach immediately twisted into angry knots of starvation. Without thinking anything through, he flung open the door and dropped himself into a booth near the front of the diner. Compared to the attire of the other inhabitants of the diner--the men’s nicely pressed trousers paired with comfortable overcoats and the women’s long skirts and petticoats--Klaus’s tattered and sleeveless army shirt, laced leather pants, shaggy hair, and dirt covered face instantly earned him the full attention of the diner.

All eyes being on Klaus wasn’t something he would normally turn down. His family knew he loved being the center of attention, and normally, this much attention would be cause for a snarky comment about his importance; however Klaus was tired. He was too tired to think about anything other than how much he wanted to sleep and eat, and that exhaustion led to his eyes drifting shut despite Ben’s continual pestering him to stay awake.

“Um, Y/N,” a young woman holding a notepad and pen said in an attempt to get her coworker’s attention.

“Yeah?” Y/N asked as you turned to meet your coworker’s eyes. With a furrowed brow, you examined her face. She normally wore a kind expression, full of smiles that earned a lot of tips, but her brows were furrowed and she wore an obviously concerned look over her face. Discreetly, she held her pen pointed in the direction of the front of the diner. The ball-point landed on a man with dark hair and grimy skin leaning against the wall with his legs stretched out across the booth and eyes fallen shut. “That’s my section today, isn’t it?” Y/N asked as the girl nodded in a way that instantly made Y/N assume she was thinking, ‘Better you than me.’

It was a chilly twenty-three degrees, which is fairly colder than normal for a Texas winter, and Y/N could see the man in the booth didn’t seem to be dressed appropriately for the weather that was only getting colder. The man shivered suddenly as Y/N reached the booth, and he shot upright as if he had been startled awake.

“Hi, I’m Y/N. Welcome to Norma’s Cafe,” Y/N greeted the man with a half-smile. “What can I get for you?”

“Water, please,” the man said in a somewhat pathetic and empathy inducing tone, “and if you have any crackers, I’ll take those too, please.” As the door to the diner opened, Y/N couldn’t help but notice the man begin to tremble as the bitter air found its way to his exposed skin.

“Sure thing,” Y/N sighed upon witnessing the tragedy that was this homeless man. Already, Y/N’s heart was softened into feeling complete sympathy for the stranger. After returning to the kitchen to fill up a cup with water, Y/N grabbed a pot of hot coffee a mug, and a plate of toast before returning to the table. “I put in an order of the special for you as well. I hope you like your eggs scrambled,” Y/N said and placed the tray of drinks and toast in front of the man.

“No, no, no, no, no,” he hurried to repeat the single syllable until the server turned around to face him again. “I can’t pay for this. I don’t have any money.”

“It’s on me,” Y/N said with a reassuring smile.

“No, I’m fine with some crackers. I’m skinny, I don’t need a lot of food,” he tried to argue with the kindness of the stranger before him.

“You’re my last customer before my shift is up,” Y/N said with a shrug. “Seriously, don’t worry about it.” Once again, Y/N rose in an attempt to wait in the kitchen for the food she ordered for this man only to have him protest one more time

“Can you at least keep me company? Maybe I can repay you with my witty sarcasm and great sense of humor.” A slight chuckle escaped Y/N’s lungs.

“You know I have to leave first to get your food, right?”

“So that’s a yes?” with a roll of Y/N’s eyes, a gentle smile fell over Klaus’s face. He was slightly surprised that Y/N decided to sit in the booth across from him as he ate, and even more so when he was encouraged to tell his ludicrous tale of how he ended up in Dallas in the first place. Their conversation was chaotic and jumped from so many different, interconnecting threads, somehow managing to find its way back to the point of origin after discussing Klaus’s past and Y/N’s seemingly illogical dreams and fascinations.

“Either you have a ridiculous imagination or your a beatnik like Ginsburg or Kerouac,” Y/N huffed and an entertained smirk flashed in Klaus’s direction.

“I’d consider myself to be more like Burroughs,” he retorted with a laugh as he finished the last of his food and sipped on the last of his coffee.

“Well, you certainly look like a dharma bum,” Y/N commented with an endearing and longing gaze. It had been a dream of Y/N’s to be able to pick up and leave, taking minimal belongings along on a journey across the country to a destination that had yet to present itself. Since reading Kerouac’s works, this dream had began to manifest as a pest in Y/N’s mind, constantly scratching at the part of the brain that controls impulses.

“In a way I am,” Klaus responded as he thought back over the course of his adult life. “I’ve never had a place of my own, no place to call home or people who wanted me around for longer than a few weeks at a time. Then there was the war, then ending up here.” His voice seemed to trail off as his mind went through everything he’d experienced in his short thirty years.

“I’ve read ‘On the Road’ and ‘The Dharma Bums’ so many times the spines are falling apart,” Y/N admitted. “There’s something so enchanting about that lifestyle that I can’t help but long for the open road and the uncertainty of where I’ll end up.” Y/N could see the ideas turning around in Klaus’s head as he thought over the words that had been dumped between them.

“Do you have a car?” It was a short and simple question that was answered with a nod of Y/N’s head. “Then let’s go.”

“Just like that? No thinking anything through? You don’t have any ties or anything keeping you here?”

“I just told you my true story. I have nothing and no one,” Klaus stated, subsequently earning an annoyed grunt from Ben. He could tell Y/N was thinking the offer over and the idea repeated in both of their heads like a broken record. “Come on,” Klaus urged, “You’ll be surprised by how easy the act of leaving is, and how good it feels! The world is rich with possibilities,” he loosely quoted the line from On the Road that circulated throughout Y/N’s mind.

“I have nothing to offer anyone but my own confusion,” Y/N responded with another quote, hoping Klaus would understand.

“What are you getting here that you can’t get anywhere else?” Klaus prompted. He had leaned across the booth and was excitedly staring into Y/N’s eyes as his heart raced at the possibility of not having to be alone anymore. “Because in the end...” A hopeful smile formed on Klaus’s face as he began yet another famous quote from Kerouac.

“You won’t remember the time you spent working in an office or mowing your lawn,” Y/N continued.

“Climb the damn mountain!”

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

As weeks turned into months and months turned into years, Y/N and Klaus traveled across the country, hitching rides from farmers, truck drivers, and anyone who was still kind enough not to discourage the allure of being a vagabond.

Stories and poetry were the fuel they doused on the fires of their freedom, and always they found themselves immersed in the artistic and melodic talent of telling tales the other seemed to posses. Throughout their happiness and sincerest sense of freedom, they would occasionally find themselves seeking the comfort of one another. At night, often when the music, poetry, and stories had fallen asleep with their traveling companions--Klaus’s silver tongue and ability to fabricate realities out of small truths had accumulated quite a large following throughout their journey--their minds would drift. In these moments of perceived weakness, that they let their vulnerability shine through to one another.

“What’s wrong?” Y/N asked upon noticing Klaus sitting before a fire beneath the stars of California.

“What’s in store for me in the direction I don’t take?” Klaus asked, once again mirroring the words of Kerouac to allow for the deeper meaning to seep into Y/N’s soul.

“It seems like what you have done, in starting an unorganized cult, is the most absurd thing that could have happened in all of the endless possibilities presented to you at every decision you’ve made.”

“But what about my family. What if they’re alive and they’re looking for me? I thought the love of the people I surrounded myself with, the like-mindedness of the commune, would be enough.” Y/N lowered to be beside Klaus as he stared up at the stars. Silently, the pair sat, feeling the heat of the fire against their faces, until Y/N leaned against Klaus’s side and he fell gently into the genuine human connection.

“Unlike Kerouac, I’m not a believer of Buddhism, but finding enlightenment is an important theme throughout his novels. Maybe the enlightenment you’ve found is that this life that you’ve found on the path that you’ve taken isn’t the one that you’re searching for,” Y/N’s wisdom rolled through Klaus’s mind as he fell backwards into the grass in frustration.

“I took this path in hopes of gaining happiness,” Klaus sighed angrily as he slammed his fists into the soil beside him. “I failed my family and I failed at this; this concept of letting go and accepting the endless possibilities before me!”

“You didn’t fail,” Y/N stated firmly in defiance of Klaus’s self-depreciating words. “Experience is the only thing that can teach you. If I were to give you only water and crackers all that time ago back at the diner, we wouldn’t be in California right now. If you chose a different diner to fall into, you would have never met me, and your life would be even more miserable,” Y/N joked and nudged Klaus’s arm in an attempt to invoke the smallest of smiles in his face. “If I would have ignored your idea of taking to the road as two dharma bums searching for a sign for where our lives were supposed to go, I’d probably still be wasting away as a server in that diner. Just because you got to the place we set our course for doesn’t mean you’re at the destination you need to be at. It took getting here with all of these people following us, following you, for you to realize where your passion and happiness lies.”

With a tear in each of his eyes, Klaus sat up and pulled Y/N close to him. As he felt Y/N’s arms fall around him, a reassuring sigh left his mouth and the tears of joy fell onto Y/N’s shoulder. Klaus tightened his grasp on his friend, and hesitantly spoke. “Thank you, Y/N. I know this distance is what you wanted and that the road was kinder to you than to me, but I have to go back to Dallas. I’ll miss you, but I’m grateful to have met you.” Slowly, Klaus rose from where he sat and blew a kiss to the person who had been at his side through it all. It was all he could do as he hid the pain of losing the first person who had shown him kindness three years ago.

“My path is with you. You’re my friend, Klaus, but more importantly, you’re my family now. If not for you, my life wouldn’t have changed. If not for me, yours could have gotten worse. Our paths were intertwined for a reason, and I’m not going to ignore that. When you need me, I’ll be there. That’s what family is for.”

Klaus smiled as Y/N strode to his side and the pair hurried off towards the van. The same thoughts and anxieties that flooded their minds when they left Dallas floated in their minds like a veil of mist that clouded their vision, but this time was slightly different. Sure they had many miles ahead of them, hardly any money to afford the trip back, were in dire need of sleep, and didn’t know the way back, but they knew where they were headed and why, and they had each other, and that was enough for now.

Tags:  @multifandom-ramblings, @bisexual-with-adhd, @ne0n-gh0st, @thehanwen @helena-way07 

[shijiujun]

Anon Asks: Thanks! I was thinking of another hurt/comfort, but if you could turn it into fluff then I’m all for it! When LY asked QCS “which would you choose: pride or money” and they both chose pride... I wondered what would make LY choose QCS over pride, or have QCS choose LY. Granted I’m only on episode 15 but I’m totally fine with spoilers! Or if that’s a little much... maybe a little moment where LY can flaunt his own family credentials to save QCS (and BYN)?

And here ya go for your second prompt anon! I’m sorry it kind of got away from me again and ended up being... ~4000 words.

--

wish i could

When a new gang comes to town and kidnaps Chusheng and Youning to force Boss Bai to give up his authority in the Concessions area, Lu Yao decides he’s going to go grab them himself. He is, after all, a member of the Lu family and Lu Zifu raised no weakass kid (when it counts).

--

Read it in full below

One would think that after the entire debacle with Norman and the British, after Lu Yao’s siblings playing all the tricks they know in the book to get Lu Yao to leave Shanghai and go home to Hai Ning with them, after almost having to marry Youning and into the Bai family, Lu Yao would finally be able to live the way he’s always wanted to.

He has friends who cherish him, access to all the best restaurants in the city, a nice apartment and a job he’s incredibly fond of — a job that comes with the perks of frequent free meals and pretty, expensive things when he wants them.

And even if Lu Yao had none of those things, he would stay, if only to have Qiao Chusheng in his line of vision constantly. To see the man’s indulgent smile when Lu Yao demands for things, to watch him command his men or exercising shirtless in the mornings at the police station, but mostly to enjoy the warmth that spreads in his chest like an unfurling flower whenever Chusheng looks at him like he’s the only thing that matters.

He knows he means something to Qiao Chusheng, even if they haven’t acted on their feelings yet. Lu Yao isn’t sure what he’s waiting for, but he is unbelievably happy and contented like this.

So he’s not best pleased when he returns to Shanghai after two weeks at home visiting his sister and father, to see Ah Dou and Salim at the train station, their expressions grim.

“… where’s Lao Qiao?” asks Lu Yao with a frown, dragging his humongous luggage behind him as he looks around, as if Chusheng will pop up with ice-cream for him anytime now.

“Lu-ge,” Ah Dou calls as he usually does these days, his face ashen. “Bai-laoye is looking for you.”

And that’s when Lu Yao knows everything has gone to shit.

Lu Yao is still afraid of seeing Bai Qili despite being on exceptionally good terms with his children and once-a-week dinners at the Bai manor with Chusheng and Youning.

Before his mind can run wild as to why he’s being brought to see Bai-laoye, Salim explains simply, “Inspector Qiao and Bai-xiaojie were kidnapped two days ago.”

For a split second, Lu Yao almost scoffs.

A kidnapping?

What utter nonsense. Who in Shanghai would dare to touch Qiao Si-ye, feared across the city with a fierce and deadly reputation that precedes himself? And even if Chusheng was captured, with Youning too? That noisy, ridiculous and bad-tempered daughter of the revered Green Dragon Gang’s leader?

One not only has to have the competency to actually capture Chusheng and Youning, but also a pressing death wish to go through with it.

He wants to laugh and chide them for pulling such an unbelievable joke, but another glance at both men has his thudding heart beat even faster in anxiety. Ah Dou, for one, has a cut on his left cheek and looks a little too pale to be at the peak of health, and while Salim’s expressions often border on the sides of either confusion or blankness, the way the lines at his forehead pulls at his skin is unmistakable.

Lu Yao dashes into the house when they arrive before Man-jie even opens the doors for him. A turn to the left from the mansion’s lobby takes him to the living room, where Bai-laoye is seated.

“… Lao Qiao and Youning were kidnapped?” blurts Lu Yao without a single greeting.

Bai Qili looks up at his entrance and without berating him for his lack of manners, gestures for him to take a seat and says, “You’re back.”

“Where are they? If they were kidnapped why haven’t we gone over to get them back yet?” Lu Yao asks, but sits his arse down on the expensive leather couch anyway.

The old man doesn’t say anything for a moment as he considers the tea setup in front of him on the table. The water is obviously cold, the lack of steam rising from the pot and teacups not escaping Lu Yao’s notice. Bai Qili has been sitting here for a while then, but Lu Yao can’t quite read his expression.

On the table next to the teapot is a black ornamental box.

“With Norman and Anderson out of the picture, there was a gap in power as you know,” Bai Qili begins just as Lu Yao is about to panic again, “The Green Dragon Gang and my trusted people were put into positions that will help secure our power in the region for the next few years to come, but the British slowly restructuring the way their people will be placed here has also allowed some other gangs to take advantage of the situation. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of the She Tou Gang?”

“Like… a snakehead?”

“They’re originally from Suzhou, but some dispute they had with another larger gang there forced them out of the city and here to Shanghai where they heard there are some territories to be taken.”

Why is he saying all this? Lu Yao watches in bewilderment as Bai Qili picks up a cigar and lights it, looking as if he’s aged a decade all of a sudden as he leans into the couch. One puff, two puffs, before he continues.

“And now they’ve taken Chusheng and Youning as hostages to force me to cede territory and the Concessions area to them.”

Lu Yao doesn’t understand why Bai Qili looks so shaken and afraid for a long moment — the man has always been the pinnacle of stability and a symbol of fear to Lu Yao, and in the confusion of the entire situation, he doesn’t get why Bai Qili hasn’t stormed the snakehead’s headquarters or whichever hole they’re hiding in with the rest of the gang to get Chusheng and Youning out.

With a sudden burst of clarity, Lu Yao snatches at the box on the table and opens it.

Lying at the bottom of the box are two cleanly severed fingers, one clearly of lighter skin and more dainty than the other.

On the thinner finger, Lu Yao recognises a very familiar ring. It’s the one he fake-proposed to Youning with, the one she kept even after admitting to everyone that their marriage was a simple sham, the one with a small diamond in it that made her want to wear it as an everyday accessory, to flaunt the favour that Lu Yao owes her for helping him.

And worse is the other finger. It’s one that belongs to a hand he so adores, a hand that hands him the things he wants. The hand that always, without fail, manages to bring him home.

Lu Yao inhales sharply as ice sinks into his skin and bones, feeling his gag reflex as the urge to throw up slams into his gut.

“You know where they are?” he asks, his voice eerily even. “And they’re from Suzhou you said?”

“San Tu, sit down. I have until tomorrow to get to the papers and make an announcement,” the man continues. “I’m not risking their lives, nor yours. It is only some property, some money and investments. We can deal with them after we get Chusheng and Youning out.”

Lu Yao’s head is running through all the possibilities, and it takes him less than a minute to decide on the best course of action.

“Tell me where they are, and lend me Salim. I’ll get them back,” he declares. “Lao ye-zi, hold off on the announcement. If I’m not back by the next morning, it’s not too late to consider that option.”

Bai Qili finally looks up, and the way his gaze rests on Lu Yao right now, it’s as if he’s seeing this man, who Youning and Chusheng have both claimed as one of their own, for the very first time. Seeing him properly, seeing him beyond his vanity, his greed and how timid he usually is.

This Lu Yao is finally looking like a member of the Lu family, one of Lu Zifu’s children.

And he knows that Chusheng must’ve seen something in him, to be so willing to lay his life on the line for his well-being and safety.

“… if any of them lose another finger,” the man concedes, “I’ll do as I planned. And if you end up losing a finger, I’m not going to deal with Lu Zifu or Lu Miao either. If this all goes to shite, we can all go to war. Ah Dou and Liu Zi know where they’re at. Take them both.”

That’s as much approval as he’s going to get.

Lu Yao shakes his head, “I’ll only need Salim and the rest of the men at the station on standby. Liu Zi and Ah Dou should stay with you in case they’ve got another plan in place, lao ye-zi. I don’t want Youning or Lao Qiao scolding me either if you get hurt.”

Bai Qili scoffs, and even though it’s entirely illogical, he suddenly feels a little more… settled. A little more at ease, as if Lu Yao can truly solve this without it escalating into war.

On the way out, Lu Yao uses the house phone to call his sister, who isn’t amused that he’s calling for a favour only a day after he left home.

When she hears what is going on, however, Lu Miao sighs audibly on the other end of the call.

“I’ll send you what you need to the station,” she ends up saying. “San Tu, San Huo and San Mu are ready if you need them, but I’ll prefer to not have to explain myself to the British ambassador again for almost causing another war.”

“It won’t get to that,” Lu Yao simply says, and Lu Miao has no choice but to let her little brother do as he wants. “All I need to know is that you’ll back me up if it comes to that.”

Ah Dou looks unconvinced when Lu Yao tells him what he’s about to do, but keeps quiet and drives the man to the station, where Lu Yao unceremoniously heads into Chusheng’s office and waits for the telegraph his sister promised to send over. It takes only half an hour, and when he does manage to read through the information, he asks Ah Dou to gather the men at the station and wait for his call, and gets Salim to drive him to the She Tou gang’s location instead.

Salim pauses for a second, as if realizing that this might not go well, and Lu Yao doesn’t pressure him. After all, the man has children and a wife waiting for him back at home, and if he refuses, Lu Yao is fine with going alone.

“… can you help me tell Inspector Qiao that I’d like a week off, paid leave, if we survive this?”

At that, Lu Yao snickers, despite the severity of the situation.

“A week off and a watch, how about that?”

“Yes sir!”

===

Youning is sniffling quietly next to him, her face all dirtied and hair a mess, dress ripped in several places. Her hands aren’t bound, unlike his, and she’s pressed close to him, her eyes darting occasionally to the hand with a missing finger on it. The blood has stopped flowing, but Youning still feels afraid, angry and upset all in one.

Thankfully, aside from the dirt and maybe some scratches here and there, Youning is safe and in one piece. All they did was take her ring yesterday.

Chusheng would do anything, even exchanging his life for hers. It is all his fault for being careless, and is it dumb of him to be relieved, that Lu Yao is not in Shanghai and wasn’t with them when they got nabbed?

He knows what they want, and he also knows that even if Bai lao-ye agrees to their terms, it’s not a full guarantee that Youning and he will walk out of here alive. After taking his finger, Chusheng can imagine the old man wavering — he is soft at heart despite all his years of experience, of bloodshed and war after war, especially when his daughter is involved.

All he needs to do is find an opportunity for Youning to escape, and he doesn’t care what happens to him.

The She Tou gang is made up of men younger than both he and Youning are, but what they lack in years of experience in the underworld they make up for in their sheer numbers and ruthlessness. Chusheng has heard of their leader, Xu Boying. At a tender age of 23, he managed to expand the gang’s power and increase their numbers precipitously, and if the British hadn’t run the gang out of Suzhou, it is likely they would have taken over that territory in another year or so.

No matter how good Chusheng is, faced with almost fifty assailants and with Youning at his side, his hands were tied when they were caught.

And if the situation was different, Chusheng would be plenty impressed by the young man’s capabilities, ambition and shrewdness. Within days of settling in Shanghai, Xu Boying managed to hit Bai Qili where it hurts and rather effectively.

He almost laughs. After just half a year of being Inspector, half a year after meeting Lu Yao, he’s entirely lost his touch. He’s gotten used to the regular life, of dealing with employees and work from 9am to 5pm most days when they don’t have cases, of having breakfasts and dinners with Lu Yao, of being a normal, regular son to his adoptive father of sorts, of meeting up with friends for a drink or a night out. No fights, no wars, no fear and just… being safe. Being just like any other person living well in Shanghai, with a stable job, with good friends surrounding him and a supportive family.

And someone he’d like to protect, and keep happy, for the rest of his life.

“We should just kill them,” one of the younger boys in the gang snaps. “What if the Green Dragon Gang brings their people here and just slaughters the rest of us?”

“That’s what the message was for. Be patient, Xiao Han. Especially since we have Bai Qili’s only daughter, that old fart won’t dare to just come in with all guns blazing. Look at us here. One wrong move and we’ll light up the explosives, and then Bai Qili is left with nothing. Trust me, he won’t dare to take the risk.”

“Ge…” Youning murmurs, looking at him.

“Don’t be afraid,” Chusheng repeats, forcing a small smile for her. “You have me, remember?”

The doors to the warehouse they’re being held in opens suddenly, and the both of them look up as a young boy sneaks in, making a beeline straight for Xu Boying.

“What is it?” the leader frowns.

“There’s someone outside. Two men,” the boy reports hesitantly. “He says he’s here for the two of them, and that he brings a message from Bai Qili. One of them is in uniform, from the station. The other… we’ve never seen before. Very tall, dressed in an expensive suit.”

At the sound of that, Chusheng and Youning exchange glances.

It can’t be…

Before Xu Boying can say anything else, the doors slam open loudly, and in saunters one Lu Yao, indeed dressed in an expensive suit as the boy said. Chusheng doesn’t recognize this navy blue set at all, and horror and panic claws at him.

Not Lu Yao, he thinks, not his San Tu.

“Great, looks like everyone is here,” Lu Yao says, uncaring of the guns raised at him at the moment, as if he’s just here for dinner.

“Who the fuck are you-“

“I’m here to take them back, of course,” Lu Yao barrels right over Xu Boying’s question, looking every bit the expensive, spoilt and rich motherfucker he is as he strolls in, almost looking bored.

His eyes rove over both Youning and Chusheng for a fraction of a second before he returns his attention to Xu Boying and his men.

Meeting Lu Yao’s gaze earlier, Chusheng almost cannot believe what he’s seeing. This is a Lu Yao he’s not familiar with, a San Tu he doesn’t usually see.

“You must be Xu Boying,” Lu Yao says, settling comfortably into the seat opposite his at the table. “The Xu family’s bastard son. I’ve heard a lot about you from my sister. Can you not point the guns at me? I’m a little scared of guns.”

There. Right there, that’s the Lu Yao Chusheng knows.

Nostrils flaring in anger at the sound of the word ‘bastard’, Xu Boying slams both hands into the table and stands up, gun in hand and pointed at Lu Yao.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?! You better look at the current situation clearly. I don’t care who Bai Qili sent as a negotiator, but if he doesn’t do what we want, we’re going to blow his daughter and that inspector up. They’re sitting right in the middle of the new shipment we got. If you want them alive, you better tell me who the fuck you are and what you’re doing here-“

“My name is Lu Yao,” Lu Yao answers, seemingly cooperative. “And you’re not going to do that. In fact, you are going to leave Shanghai first thing tomorrow morning.”

At that, guffaws and laughter echo in the warehouse, incredulous at the audacity this man has. After all, it’s more than thirty guns trained on him on the inside of the warehouse and many more at the back, who will come running once Xu Boying starts yelling for them.

“San Tu, what are you doing!” Youning calls from the side.

“Shhh, I’m having a serious discussion here,” Lu Yao hushes her with a glare.

“You don’t care much about your father or your stepmother,” Lu Yao turns to look at the man again. “But you care about your younger brother. It so happens that Xu Bolai enlisted in my brother’s private army up in Hai Ning, and honestly, it isn’t that difficult to have my Da-ge single him out and deal with him.”

“How do you know my brother’s name?!” Xu Boying snarls, his hand shaking a little.

“Do you think I’m lying? Also, where do you think you’ve been getting your stock of arms and explosives from? I’ve set my sister on it. That British middleman you’ve been speaking to won’t be able to provide you with any more goods,” Lu Yao continues. “That’s how you’ve been making your money for the gang in the past two years, correct? It’s simple enough for my sister, who’s Secretary at the Commissioner’s Office, to find the necessary people to arrest him.”

“Not to mention I’ve also called my Er-ge, who is Commander of his own army stationed in Nantong city, and can be here within the next few hours. Bai laoda might not be able to do anything to you guys, that is true.”

“But I can,” Lu Yao concludes, leaning forward slightly and holding Xu Boying’s gaze. “Just my sister alone can wipe out the She Tou Gang without having to lift even one of her fingers. Take on the Lu family and I can have you disappear at the end of the day. You, and your brothers included.”

“Don’t believe me?” Lu Yao smiles, putting both hands up as he shrugs. “Try it. If Qiao Chusheng, Bai Youning and I don’t walk out of here in the next hour, we all die together. You’re not going to get away. Dying here is the least of your concerns because if you’re caught by either Bai Qili, or anyone affiliated with the Lu family, you’ll wish you were dead.”

Silence ensues after Lu Yao’s monologue.

“… Ge,” one of the boys at the side says with a frown. “I think… this is Lu Yao, that consulting detective the station hired under Qiao Si. He is the Lu family’s youngest son. The Lu family… in Hai Ning.”

Whispers break out at that.

Lu Yao is satisfied momentarily to see that his family’s name is still able to get them somewhere. He’s not fond of invoking his dad or any of his sibling’s names, but desperate times, desperate measures.

“I’ll even wait for you to verify the information I just told you,” Lu Yao offers, gracious even in a crisis.

When all the men just stare at him, Lu Yao sighs.

“Look, I didn’t even bring anyone other than Salim with me. The Green Dragon Gang and the guys at the police station are nowhere near here. I could have brought them with me, you know. Either way, if my Da-ge, Er-ge and Da-jie don’t hear from me in the next hour, you and your friends are done for.”

“If you cooperate with me, at least you get a headstart on running,” Lu Yao finishes with a flourish.

That little bitch, Youning thinks, staring wide-eyed at this flamboyant, ridiculous and vain young master, flaunting his wealth and the power his family has without a single care in the world.

More than that, he’s telling the whole world that Chusheng and Youning are under his protection. Under the Lu family’s protection, that these two individuals who’ve lived and breathed the underworld all their lives, are people worth protecting.

Lu Yao is staking a claim, that’s what.

===

“Lao Qiao, does it hurt?” Lu Yao panics in the car later, Salim pressing his foot down on the accelerator so they get out of this ridiculous area as soon as possible. “Lao Qiao, you’re missing a finger, you’re missing… you’re missing a finger- Salim drive faster, let’s get to the hospital!”

Chusheng is quiet, but his eyes are only for Lu Yao as the tall and fair-skinned man fusses over him, acting both like a child and a nagging mother at the same time.

“It’s okay,” he finally says, lifting his uninjured hand to squeeze at Lu Yao’s. “It’s just a finger. And it’s on my left hand, it won’t stop me from firing a gun or protecting you when needed. Calm down, San Tu.”

“Yeah, where did your bravado from earlier go?” Youning turns around in the front seat to glare at him. “You scared me!”

Lu Yao glares at her, then looks down at her hands — her pristine, beautiful hands with all fingers still intact. “I had to save you guys, no? Also why do you have all your fingers and Lao Qiao is missing one?!”

“Ahhh, ge, listen to him! He wants me to lose a finger!”

“They sent two fingers to the manor,” says Lu Yao through gritted teeth, “And one with that ring on it.”

Before the two can get into a further argument, Chusheng tugs at Lu Yao’s sleeve.

“Are you really going to let them go?” he asks.

“They took a finger from you,” Lu Yao says, biting at his lips and looking away. “I told Ah Dou to round all of them up once they get to the port, because that’s definitely where they’re headed next.”

“Smart,” Chusheng grins, and damn it, he feels proud of Lu Yao right now.

“… I saved you, so shouldn’t you repay me for that?” Lu Yao asks next, “I’m so tired! I came to get you guys the moment I got off the train, and you have to compensate me for the emotional trauma I had going through that. I didn’t even get to eat dinner because you said you would bring me to dinner when I return, but look at you now-“

“Lu San Tu! Chusheng-ge has lost a finger and he’s probably got several broken bones and what  not on his body, can you please be nicer to him-“

Chusheng chuckles, because god, he has missed this. In the last two weeks while Lu Yao was gone, this was what had been missing. Just Lu Yao in their lives, filling it up with noise, stupidity and laughter.

Watching Lu Yao earlier as he stared down a group of people he would usually be so afraid of, all for him and Youning, and Chusheng doesn’t know how much more he can love him.

“I’ll repay you,” Chusheng agrees. “I’m missing a finger but… I suppose in compensation, I’ll give myself to you, if you’ll have me.”

Everyone in the car goes silent at that. Both Salim and Youning suddenly pretend to be listening to anything but the conversation between both men in the backseat, Youning having the luxury to appreciate the stars in the night sky frmo where she’s seated.

“… what’s the use of having you,” Lu Yao mumbles, his cheeks heating as he looks away.

“You can have all of me, which means my house, my money… and me,” Chusheng smiles, leaning forward to catch Lu Yao’s eyes again. “Are you sure you don’t want any of it?”

Lu Yao doesn’t reply, and nothing else is said until they reach the doors of the hospital. There at the entrance stands Bai lao-ye, and despite her less-than-ideal relationship with her father, Youning is quick to exit the car and run into her father’s arms.

Right before Lu Yao leaves the vehicle, he mumbles something under his breath, his voice low enough for only Chusheng to hear.

“Chusheng!”

“Lao ye-zi,” Chusheng greets with a smile, and the man takes one good look at him before ushering him into the hospital lobby.

Lu Yao follows, only a step behind and not even losing a finger can put a damper on Chusheng’s mood right now after what he heard.

===

Of course I want all of it.

All your money, everything you own.

And you.

--

Notes:

*She Tou Gang (蛇头帮) - I don’t know if this gang was actually operating in the same years and where they came from, I literally just googled for existing gangs in China for reference XD

*As I explained on a previous post, it’s likely that Lu Yao’s brothers were named San Huo (fire) and San Mu (wood) as a naming tradition from Lu Miao (Lu San Shui - water) and Lu Yao (Lu San Tu - earth), since we Chinese are really fond of the four elements

*Bai lao-ye (老爷) or lao ye-zi (老爷子) - Used to refer to Bai QIli as the master of the Bai family or dad in the family in a sense

[wildlyminiaturesandwich]

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the announcements from Maxis Monthly? Did the Game Changers know about or have any say in the rebrand?

Ok so I’m gonna answer your last question first lol

The title “Game Changer” is definitely a little confusing because it implies that we actually change the game in some way, but we don’t. Well, most of us don’t. I think some of the bigger Game Changers have a little sway because they know the team personally and have been to the Sims Headquarters and stuff, but for the most part all we do is get early access so that we can provide our individual communities with a glimpse of the pack that goes a little more in depth than just trailers, that way people can see what’s included and decide if they want to buy it, and hopefully bring more people to the franchise in the process. And we definitely didn’t have anything to do with the rebrand, we heard about it at the same time everyone else did.

As for your first question, I’m gonna put it under a cut for a couple reasons: [a] Listen, I have opinions lol and [b] for anyone that is like me and is sensitive to colour contrast, I don’t want anyone getting a nasty headache or sore eyes if they don’t have to. Let’s do this!

So first off, LOVE that they’re adding over 1000+ decorative world objects! There have been so many things over the years in different packs that I’m sure we’ve all seen and been like “Why didn’t you let us use that!?”, and now we’ll be able to! Sucks that some creators spent so much time liberating those things for us only to now have their work be obsolete though 😕

I also think the Create-A-Sim Story Mode looks interesting. I don’t like the idea that you can’t change the sims aspiration and traits though; they’re locked in once you’ve finished answering the questions. I’m not sure how much use I’ll get out of it, as I tend to either pick specific traits based on my sim’s backstory or randomise them, but it’s nice to know the option is there and answering the questions might be fun to see what kind of sim you get!

Now, onto the rebrand.

I just don’t understand it!

Listen, I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t like change; I don’t do well with big changes at all. But this isn’t about that, this is about trying to understand why EA felt the need to rebrand The Sims 4 (which I can’t work out) and why they chose those colours, and I just… don’t understand.

I mean I understand, they’re trying to attract a younger audience with bright shiny things. But I don’t UNDERSTAND, you know? I don’t understand what prompted them to do it now, after almost five years?! Why did they feel the need to change something that didn’t need to be fixed at all? And why they went with this particular colour scheme! It’s so unnecessarily bright! As a graphic designer I’m genuinely horrified by the colours they chose and as a consumer of their product, I’m a little annoyed that they spent time and money on this when there are other things that are more important (like things that are actually broken) that keep getting the “We don’t have the resources” excuse or just flat out ignored.

Here’s the difference between the original box arts and the rebranded ones:

That blue is GOD AWFUL! It’s like Tumblr’s new blue background; I literally have a headache from looking at it! It doesn’t fit with the style of the rest of the game at all. And they claimed in the stream that the new box art designs really make the render sims “pop”… they really don’t. The backgrounds of the DLC packs are way too busy. I just I don’t understand why they couldn’t just stick with the nice clean, minimalist look they had before; it was truly a timeless design. A design that actually made the render sims pop and didn’t detract from them at all with busy backgrounds and headache-inducing colours!

Oh and can we just talk about the new base game box art render for a second? I love it, I really do. It looks cool and I’m excited to get to learn more about these new sims that are being added and according to the Gurus in the stream, all of the stuff on those sims is being added to base game (the stuff that’s not already base game that is). I’m excited about that pink hair BUT take a good look at all the other stuff… look familiar? That’s because most of us have already paid for that stuff. The jacket on the pink haired sim is from Get Famous, the beanie on the sim next to her is from Get to Work, the hair under the beanie is from Dine Out, the bracelet on the sim with the camera is from Seasons, the chef uniform in the middle is from Get to Work, the jacked on the sim up the back with the phone is from Get Together, and the sleeveless hoodie on the sim to the left of that is from Fitness Stuff. They’re all recolours of stuff from other packs. I’m all for free content, because hey it’s free, but I really wish they wouldn’t make things from other packs base game; people paid for that stuff.

Side note: I feel sorry for the people who collect the psychical copies of the games, because unless they can afford to buy new copies of all the packs, any new packs aren’t going to match their old ones now. And also the people who got tattoos of the old plumbob 😕

Which brings me to the plumbob, and yet another before and after:

The new plumbob is whatever; I don’t hate it, I just prefer the original. It matched the one in game and suited the artstyle of the whole game really well, whereas the new one looks too much like The Sims 3 and doesn’t suit The Sims 4 at all. It’s also not going to match the plumbob in-game anymore as for some reason they decided not to change that one? I mean it wouldn’t matter to me if it did because I always have my default file edited to get rid of it, but it just makes no sense to leave the original in there if you’re changing everything else.

New box art, plumbob and stuff aside, the thing that probably annoys me the most about this rebrand is that the pack icons and colours are changing. I get that they probably ran out of colours to choose from for each pack, but the fact that it’s so hard to tell the difference between the colours for the game and stuff packs is gonna be a problem for anyone who has difficulty distinguishing between different colour tones. Mr Sandwich, for example, couldn’t tell that there was a difference between the two, even after I pointed it out to him. Why didn’t they make one of them yellow?!

I personally used to find things from expansions in the catalogue by looking for the colour of each pack icon. “I know the thing I’m looking for is from Get Famous, so I’ll just keep scrolling until I see a pink icon”… well, not anymore:

All expansion packs are now teal, all game packs are now blue (a different blue than the box art blue I might add 😩), and all stuff packs are green; the only difference is the icon on them. And yes, I’m aware you can filter things by pack, that’s what I used to do for stuff and game packs because they were always the same colour, but if I’m just scrolling through say the curtains category, it’s a lot quicker to just scroll once or twice looking for an icon colour than it is to go into the little menu, click on “packs”, scroll down to the pack I want and choose it.

The new pack icons and colours also look awful on the main menu. Here’s a little before and after again:

Urgh that blue! There as nothing wrong with the original menu but now we’re gonna have the god awful blue again… not the point, sorry. Look at those icons! They’re too… saturated? busy? both? I dunno what but they look awful, especially on the blue background! At the very least they should have just made them one solid colour instead of trying to carry over the crystallized look.

And lastly the loading screen….

Again with the gross colour combinations and the background is just plain boring. The old one is much nicer and easier on the eyes.

Maybe it’s because I’m old and not the target audience for this new look but honestly I JUST DON’T GET IT! I understand that EA are trying to attract more people to the game, obviously younger people, but I really don’t think alienating and confusing the people who currently play your game in favour of luring in new people is this is the way to go about it.

Thankfully I’ve already seen a couple of the amazingly talented modders in the community say they’ll do everything they can to either give us back the original menus and loading screens or make a less obnoxious version as soon as they can, so I’m just gonna keep my fingers crossed that it won’t be too difficult for them to do and look forward to downloading those mods so I can play without getting a headache every time I have to look at the main menu and loading screen 😅

NOTE: Before anyone starts shouting at me for “being negative about a free update” just note that anon asked for my thoughts on it; these are my thoughts. If you like the new look that’s great, I’m really happy for you! But anon wanted my honest opinion and I’ve given it. Will this rebrand stop me playing the game? Of course not! The game is still the same no matter what the box art and menus look like, but that doesn’t mean I have to like them and it doesn’t mean I can’t express my disappointment about it all, especially if a follower asks for my opinion about it.