#first face has been the mood all week lord help me

[ghoulibrat]

[wingedhallows]

traitor - ch. one; sirius black

pairing: sirius black (golden trio era) x fem! oc | 0.9k words warning: dark themes, death, torture plot: Fourteen years ago, Hecate Hunt, a valuable member of the Order and once a Death Eater gave her life for her friends and the man she loved, at least that's what was believed. Now she's done hiding, ready to fight alongside her old friends and her godson. Ready to return to the life she once had, ready to once again be a traitor. authors note: hi there! I've been meaning to write this since it's been wandering around in my head for weeks. Thank you for reading and let me know if you liked it! :) ps.: this is the first work of mine in years, i wrote a lot of fanfics in highschool but somehow this helps with taking my mind off things. thank u <3 btw, things aren't absolutely accurate so don't come for me, let's just vibe, ok? ok.

navigation | chapter one ; chapter two ; chapter three ; chapter four

then

"I want you all to meet a new member to the order. I believe her to be trusted, however you might think." from behind the old wizard a young woman emerged. Hair dark and long, a solem look on her face as she stepped infront of him. "Nice to meet you." she spoke, voice deep and firm. Her eyes were dark, almost black in the dim lit kitchen of the Black residence. Sirius felt himself lean forward, determined to catch a glimpse of her face.

"This is Hecate Hunt, a powerful witch and-"a Death Eater." Alastor Moody spoke, his eye skimming from side to side, mouth in a smarl. "Felt it minutes ago." The other members let their shock be known. Gasps and whispers present. She knew the members, of course. How could she not know the legendary Marauders, for one. 

"Why would you bring a Death Eater to this place, Albus?" Minerva spoke, voice almost too quiet to hear. Hecate let her gaze wander to Lily and James Potter who held hands, thumbs stroking each others hands. She had known the younger members, as she visited Hogwarts the same years they did. They were hard to miss. Remus Lupin just stared at her, hands in fists. Sirius Black on the other hand had his jaw clenched, mouth in a scowl and his wand in his hand. She knew of the older Black all too well. She had listened to the Dark Lord complain about Walburga and Orions incapability of turning their own son to the dark side multible times.

"Hecate has changed her mind in light of recent events.-"I don't buy it. Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater." Sirius interupted Albus, his fist connected with the dark wooden table as he spat the words. Anger rose inside of her, she knew of his temper, had seen it first hand in their school days. "Oh you would know all about it, right? Since your familiy's swamped with'em and all, Black." Hecate spat, hands now crossed over her chest. She stooped low, she knew, but she had to get in, she had to make a change. She wouldn't let Black ruin it.

Sirius was fast to jump to his feet, wand raised and his body shaking with anger. "How dare yo-"Sirius, please." Remus tugged him down to his chair. Hecate didn't back down, ready to take whatever would jump from the purebloods wand. It wouldn't be worse than to stand against the Cruciato curse, which made its way passed Lord Voldemorts lips all too often. 

Albus huffed a sigh as he eyed Sirius. "If i could continue what i was about to say." Hecate shifted her weight from one leg to another, uneasy with the mood in the room. "Hecate was the witch who freed Alice and Frank Longbottom from the clutches of Death Eaters." he paused, looking at the woman next to him. "Delivered them right to me. I believe that no real Death Eater would've shown them mercy. Therefore, after careful thinking, i recruit Hecate Hunt to be a member of the Order." she gave him a curt nod before taking a seat. She had freed them, too late though. Barty Crouch Jr had broken their minds when she arrived. She'd just spared them from their death. Her eyes once again connected with those of Sirius.

"The reason why i want to help you, is my sister."

now

Harry made his way passed the table, to the cabinets filled with plates and mugs. Sirius sat at the head of the table, a mug in one hand and the daily prophet in the other. "Morning, Harry." he spoke, a hopeful smile on his bearded face. Remus Lupin sat to his right, a little notebook placed on the table in front of him as he looked up at Padfoots godson. "Morning." he spoke as he saw Harry. He also greeted Lupin with a small smile. "Good Morning."  They didn't mind Harry looking around, it was an old and interesting house after all. Harry thanked Kreacher as the house elf scrambled to make the kid a cup of tea. His eyes locked on a picture frame. The only picture frame there was. 

There he saw Sirius and a woman he didn't know. Sirius looked younger, twenty maybe, the woman next to him was beautiful. Her dark long hair hung down her shoulders, shimmering in the warm sunlight as a bright smile spread across her pale face. Sirius gave her an adoring look before he smacked his lips on her cheek. The moment repeated, as every foto in the wizard world does.

"Sirus." he spoke, voice quiet. "Who is this?"

He turned around to look at his godfather. His face had frozen up, the shadow of a tear in his eyes. "Harry.." He could hear Remus say, an attempt of pushing the matter away.

"That's.." Sirius had to take a breath, his voice failing him. "Hecate Hunt." he spoke. He took a sip of his mug, the daily prophet long forgotten on the table in front of him. "Your godmother." it was merely a whisper as he spoke. Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing.

He had a godmother, somewhere out there-"She's dead." his voice rang in Harry's head. Harry placed the picture on the table, hand on his hip as he tried again. "How-"That's enough, Harry." Remus said, before Sirius rose to his feet and left, a quiet sob sounded in the distance.

"You-Know-Who killed her, there's nothing more to it." Remus spoke before he walked after his best friend. The boy once more stared at the picture in front of him. The woman, Hecate, once again gave the camera a warm smile. Just as young Sirius planted another forcefull kiss on her cheek he could hear a loud rumble upstairs. 

Sirius had just blown something to bits.

[lets-break-free-from-our-chains]

Forever and Always My Truest: Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for all the lovely comments for the prologue of this series. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. When writings this I really could stop imaging the reader with a haunting echo to her voice. Similar to the brides of Dracula in the Van Helsing 2004 movie, which I undyingly love. Anyways I hope you enjoy!

Summary: After yet another night of restless sleep the reader finds herself wandered the manor until Walter comes looking for her. Safe to say that things escalate in more ways than one. From a lovers’ quarrel, to making up, and breakfast being served, there is no denying that there is never a dull moment in the Master and his eternal bride’s marriage.

Word Count: 1,800-ish

WARNING: SMUT!!! No vaginal penetration yet! Dry Humping, Angst, Fluff, blood sharing, arguing, obsessive/possessive behavior, Yandere-ish? Walter De Ville, possible Stockholm Syndrome?, forced marriage, abuse of power, Walter playing favorites w/reader as usual, sucks for the other brides, DOM/sub Dynamics, reader being a brat and Walter is not having it. Warning to be added. LET ME KNOW IF I MISSED ANYTHING!

MINORS DNI!!!!

Disclaimers: I do not own The Invitation or any of the characters within the movie. You know what is and isn’t mine.

Walter de Ville x Wife!Reader

Chapter 1: Revelations Come to Light

~Current Day in 2022~

~(Y/N) P.O.V~

           Long ago there was a period in my life when I was a restless sleeper. I would wander the halls of my ancestor's grand castle. Even now over four and a half centuries later that has not changed as I now glide through the halls of the De Ville Manor whilst steering clear of the evenings’ sun lit areas. It never harmed me, but it didn’t mean it was any less agitating to my sensitive skin. Ordinarily, my restlessness would be quite vexing for me, however, that feeling couldn’t help but be trumped by the excitement of the fact that Walter and I’s anniversary party was just a week and a half away. It was sure to be grand in every way with my Lord Love sparing no expense for our cherished day. Allowing me free reign over the celebration as usual.

‘Nothing but the best for my truest.’ he had confidently stated to me one night as we lounged on a chaise in his study talking about the upcoming date. Though not much was said after that, as we had just devoured our dinner, and I was feeling in a playful and wanton mood. A mood my beloved Master was all too willing to indulge me in, if his sharp smile of adoration was anything to go by. Speaking of my Lord Love, he shall be rather displeased if he wakes in our tomb, and finds that I am not by his side. He insisted from our first night as newlyweds that he and I would share our sleeping place as any Lord husband and his Lady wife would. I was certain Victoria’s face would tear open from her burning ire, at hearing this information, knowing he never intended to share such things with her or any other brides for that matter.

I sighed wistfully and turned before letting out a haunting shriek. Walter stood there with sleep filled eyes and a raised brow. “My truest, what are you doing awake? You must have your rest!”

I leaned against the balcony railing as I gripped it in my left hand and placed my right hand over my permanently stilled heart.

“My love, you frightened me,” I exclaimed in breaths of haunting of exasperation. “You know I have never been one for restful sleep and with all the excitement to be had, I fear I am even more so restless, my Lord Love.”

His face settled into one of sympathy as he beckoned me to his side, never being able to remain agitated with me for long. I practically leapt from my spot and glided over to him without hesitation. My white negligée swept around my feet with my body movement, and he earnestly enveloped me into his arms as I hugged myself to his side and delicately caressed the side of his face and neck. He nuzzles and caresses my hair as his strong hands stroked my back before leaning back to look upon my face and speak, “Well, seeing as it is almost time to rise for the evening, why don’t I have breakfast brought to my study for us to eat?”

I gave out a haunting moan of frustration and lightly stomped my foot, “But Master, I been locked away in this manor for weeks!” He sighed as he goes to speak, but I interrupt him as my eyes light up in a glowing golden hue and I gasp out a brilliant idea, “Why do we not go out for a hunt together. You have always loved when you and I terrorize a few most unfortunate souls in the village!”

Despite his irritation already slightly spiked by my interruption and slight brattiness, Walter takes it in stride and seeks to placate me, “Because the wolves are growing more confident in coming closer to our territory and I would be absolutely devastated if a single hair on my cherished queen’s head was hurt.”

I only proceed to pout at my feet as he rubbed his hands up and down my arms waiting for me to look at him. Once I cast my gaze up to him through my lashes he leans in with a playful twinkle to his eyes and whispered against still pouting lips, “besides you always insist on playing with your food, my truest.”

I let out an indignant squeak of protest which only prompted a heartily chuckle and a sensational quick kiss to my lips from Walter. “But Master—”

“(Y/N)!” I immediately shrank under the sternness of Walter’s voice. I dared to look at him and my face morphed into a crestfallen look as he gazed unwaveringly at me. “DO NOT argue with me on this matter! It is currently not safe for you outside these walls and therefore you will not leave this castle until the problem is dealt with. I will hear NO MORE of this! Do you understand me?”

I gazed back at the floor as I backed away from him, my golden irises welled to the brim with fresh tears. “Yes Master, I understand.” My voice cracking against my will. At seeing my fragile state Walter gave a regretful sigh whilst closed his eyes. Upon hearing my small haunted weeping, always seeming to echo like screams in his ears, he looked upon me hugging myself.

“My truest…please, do not cry. I did not mean to scared you. Do not be frightened by me, my truest.” I hear him speak gently. I slowly look up at him and he gave me an imploring and loving look. Knowing my mind, after so many centuries together, he goes to speak once more, “I am not angry with you, my truest. I could never be angry with you.”

He held out his hand for me to take and I cautiously crept by to him as my weeping quieted but continued to give off a haunting echo. I had seen his true anger many times. It was never directed at me, but it was nevertheless absolutely terrifying. He really only ever yelled at Victoria and others in the walls and on rare occasions, he would yell at Lucy. He seemed to always have little to absolutely no patience with any of them. He never yelled at me though, which is why I would take the blame for most of the mistakes that Lucy made as they were few and far between. I had sneaking suspicion that he knew but allowed me to protect Lucy since I seemed to personally favor her. Nevertheless, he mostly only spoke with sternness to get his point across, when it came to me.

Once I was within reaching distance, he pulled me back into his arms and placed a loving kiss to my temple, “My perfect little wife. My beautiful queen.” He sweetly cooes me, as he sways us gently. Finally, my weeping stops completely, and Walter calls out for Renfield to whom responded promptly.

“Have the food brought to my study. My queen and I will break our fast in there tonight.”

Renfield swiftly nodded before giving a bow to us, “Right away, my Lord. My Lady.”

He left almost as quickly as he came, and Walter gently ushers me to his study. Once inside he guides me to the plush Victorian sofa and sits with me in his lap and begins to softly wipe the tear stains from my glowing cheeks. I look at him for a moment before shifting my seated position and straddling his lap. I wrap my arms around his neck and play with his hair.

I rest my forehead against his, “I am so sorry, my Lord Love. I didn’t mean to upset you in the slightest.” Shaking my head vehemently, as he gives a smile and pushes my hair from my face to see me better.

“I know, my truest. I am sorry I lose my temper. I hate to see you cry, more than anything, especially when I am the cause for such a crime.” He kisses me sensationally and I melt into his body with a satisfied wanton moan. Our kissing quickly grows more passionate, and I feel my hips begin to move of their own accord. My warm bare heat slide over his growing hardness trapped within the confines of his trousers. Walter breaks our kissing with a groan as his head leans back. I felt a moan release from my mouth in what can only be described as pornographic as I feel his hands grip my hips move them faster while lifting his hips to press harder against my heat.

“You’re so beautiful!” He moans, whilst looking at me with a heated heavy-lidded look. I keep eye contact with him as I feel my climax closing in, and I can tell by his moans his is closing in too. “My Lord!” I sighed. I could feel it, it was so close.

“Cum, my truest. Cum for your Master.” One of his hands sliding up my torso to caress my breasts before traveling up to my neck to grip it firmly but not too tight. I felt my core explode with heat as he did this. As he lets go of my neck and my head falls into his neck as I ride out my ecstasy. Once I come down, I then notice he hasn’t felt his release and so my hips pick up the pace and I whimper at the overstimulation of my clit. He shushes me soothingly and I move my head to begin licking his neck.

Receiving the hint, he gives a euphoric smirk and gives me more access to his neck. I place several open mouth kisses along the slope of his neck before finding the perfect spot. I slowly bite down and begin sucking as his body give a jerk and he lets loose a loud cry of pleasure. He quickly reaches his climax and hugs me tighter to his body before moving some of my hair and swiftly biting down. I release a muffled moan as he began drinking and closed my eyes in bliss.

All good things must come to an end though because not long after there is a sharp knock on the door of the study. Walter growls at the nuisance as I unlatch from his neck, and he releases mine. I sit up and give him a playful smile, my fangs coated with his blood. My mischievous eyes gleam as he gives me a loving look despite his annoyance at the interruption.

“Our food is here, my Lord Love.” I breathlessly gasped out with a haunting echo of excitement. He chuckled, and lightly spanked my bottom, before responding.

“Yes, just remember to not play with your food, my truest.”

I stand up on wobbly legs as I say, “You’ve been saying that for over four and a half centuries! I do not understand why you think tonight will be the night I give up my entertainment.”

He jokingly rolls his eyes before pulling me into a passionate kiss and summoning Renfield in.

‘Now the fun really begins.”

[anklesoraus]

His cries

A/n: I have been hyperfixated on this man for WEEKS and he needs some more love with his sad lonely self. I am home for the holidays and lord behold I got sick and feel like I’m dying please send help. it’s a bit rushed and not proffread but oh well. I might make a story about sick!reader to make me feel better but please give some character suggestions 😞

Tw: hurt-comfort (kinda), mentions of Neuvillette being sad, male reader, ooc, more of plantonic of anything

Neuvillette was a guy unfamiliar with the human feelings but as he has learned to use them he is starting to understand but not quite there’s some he doesn’t understand. He’s made friends along the way and one of them stood out the most, Y/n. Y/n is a cheerful and rather hyper person with how energetic and happy he can be, almost like he never ran out of energy.

Y/n was walking through the halls just coming from shopping and having a little gift bag in his hand, with a little skip while humming a tune happily. Y/n would walk to his office and set the bag down while sitting in his chair and just sitting in silence. He yawns and decides to put his head down and try to get a quick nap in which he successfully did.

Y/n walked down the hall while looking at the smae things he sees on a daily and hums. He finally made it to his destination and knocks on a door happily. “Neuvillette, may I come in?” Y/n asked, waiting patiently. Shuffling was heard through the door and he heard a faint come in amd so he gently opens the door and walks inside and smiles at his friend. “Hey Neuvillette!” He stated, walking over to the desk and sitting in front of it.

Neuvillette looked at Y/n and glances at the gift bag and back to the man. “Did you need something?” He asked in a montone voice. “Yes, I went shopping earlier today and something reminded me of you and I wanted to buy it!” Y/n smiled brightly while handing Neuvillette the gift bag and waits patiently for him to open it. Neuvillette stares at the bag and slowly grabs what’s in is to see a small sculpture of a otter and he looks at it first a bit but doesn’t say a word. “Do you like it?” Y/n asked as worry floods his face hoping his friend would like it.

Neuvillette would give a simple nod and looks up from the sculpture and cracks a smile to his friend. “It’s lovely” Neuvillette had reassured his friend while setting it down on his desk. Y/n’s mood quickly changes and he starts to smile, glad that his friend liked it. “Great! It was very expensive as well” Y/n had mentioned while humming and remembering the reason he was here.

“Neuvillette, it was lightly raining earlier…would you like to talk about it?” Y/n asked and tilted his head in question, “you don’t have to just thought you’d like to talk it out.” He quickly went to reassure him. Neuvillette let a sigh escape his lips and he folds his hands and leans on it feeling that tellinghis friend would at least release a weight from him. “I would actually love to talk about it.” He quietly stated and goes to tell Y/n.

“These past few weeks I’ve been feeling so odd..I see you interacting with people and them being happy and joyful but when I attempt to interact they get all anxious and treat me weird..it feels weird to know I can’t show certain emotions like the average person.” Neuvillette had spilled at and looked at Y/n to see his smile gone and it to be a sympathetic frown. Neuvillette sighs slowly rethinking the choice to tell him from the long silence in the air.

Y/n goes to open his mouth but quickly closes it not knowing what to say to not come off as mean. “Look, Neuvillette, you not knowing emotions doesn’t make you different. Different isn’t a bad thing it just means you’re not the same as others like some robot.” Y/n finally let out a response and then continues on, “Emotions or not there is still peoplewho treat you equally and understand your struggles and are patient with you.” Y/n hums and scratches his head. “I’m not that great with comforting…”

Neuvillette shakes his head and sits up straight and nods to his friend. “What you said was enough…thanks. I’m very greatful for you and the other people in my life and you guys are so kind to be willing to help someone like me.” He said, feeling a sense of relief from him. Y/n sighs and smiles feeling happy to know that Neuvillette doesn’t hate him like he always thought. “Well it’s getting late but if you ever need someone to talk to I’m always available and am willing to help.” With that Y/n got up and left Neuvillette’s office leaving him to tend to his own thoughts while looking at the gift his friend had given him.

[arda-ancalima]

Fowl Language

Rating: G Characters: Kazuma Asogi, Gina Lestrade, Barok van Zieks Words: 1,293

For @tgaa-gen-week Day 7 - Free Day (just a little something silly to finish off the week!)

-

When the work day had come to an end at last, Kazuma tried to shake off his irritations. Van Zieks had been especially petty lately, at least it seemed to him, and his patience with the man was wearing thin.

Kazuma paid for the fish and chips and sat down next to Gina on a bench where she was winding her watch.

“Ta,” she mumbled, slipping the watch in her pocket and taking the cone he handed her.

Taking a bite of his piping hot chips, Kazuma watched her through the corner of his eye. She was idly munching on her food while watching people pass with a wistful look in her eye. It didn’t take a great detective to guess she was thinking about the watch’s previous owner.

“Lestrade,” Kazuma said, deciding to cheer her up. “I want you to help me with something.”

“Wot,” she said disinterestedly.

“I want to know how to swear in English.”

Gina glanced at him sidelong. “Come on. You must know. Ya learned English in that fancy university o’ yours, didn’t ya?”

“They don’t teach crude language in the classroom,” Kazuma said, crossing his arms.

“Sure, but weren’t you a sailor and all? You must’ve ‘eard ‘em all then.”

Technically deck hand, a much less impressive job, but he wasn’t about to correct her. “The crew communicated in English, but no one spoke it as their native language. I learned to swear in Russian, Chinese, and Dutch, but not English.”

“Then wot ‘bout while you’ve been livin’ ‘ere? Just go down t’ the pub or somethin’.”

Maybe if he had someone to go with, or had any energy left after a day of keeping up with his mentor’s unrelenting pace. “Look, I know a few words, but you have the most colorful language of anyone I know. I just want a handful of expressions I can use when Lord van Zieks is being a pain. Rattle him a little.”

“Oh. Oh, I get it. It’ll be a prank, then?” Gina got a little gleam in her eye. “I’ll help ya, ‘Sogi.”

Kazuma was pleased to see her perk up. “Great. So what’s a decent insult I could use?”

Humming, Gina considered a moment, then said something in his ear.

“Why are you whispering?” Kazuma said, drawing back.

“It’s impolite t’ say these in public, ya know,” Gina said. “There’s kiddies around.”

There weren’t any within earshot of their bench, but then again she understood British culture better than he did. “I guess so. But that doesn’t sound very rude.”

“Oi, you’re askin’ my advice. I’m the expert ‘ere.”

“Right, right.” Kazuma put up his hands. “How about an exclamation of surprise?”

“Surprise, eh? Ooh, I got one for ya!” She whispered something else to him.

“Hm. I suppose that does sound a bit off-color. Any others I should know?”

“One ya say when you’re proper angry. The worst o’ the lot.” Gina lowered her voice. “The F word.”

Kazuma was intrigued. “What is it?”

Gina glanced around, then pulled him close and whispered a word in his ear.

“Is it really that bad?” Kazuma pulled back with a raised eyebrow. “That sounds like two ordinary words.”

Nodding seriously, Gina said, “Oh yeah. That’ll scandalize ‘im for sure.”

“Good. Well, thanks. He’s going to be shocked when I throw these at him.”

“Oh, ‘e’ll be surprised, all right.”

“I can’t wait to see the look on his face.”

“Ha! I’d like to see that.” Gina went back to her food, munching with more vigor, and Kazuma was satisfied that he had accomplished his mission. At least the first part.

He didn’t have to wait long for the second part, as van Zieks was in a mood again the next day.

“Mr. Asogi, go pick up the autopsy report.”

“Yes, I’ll do that as soon as I’ve—”

“No, do it now.”

Every word of his since he arrived had felt short and prickly, and his instructions were more like demands. Kazuma had enough.

“Fine,” he said. Then just loud enough for van Zieks to hear, he added, “Son of a motherless goat.”

Van Zieks glanced up from his desk with a brief look of bafflement, but his ever present scowl slid back into place. “Why are you still standing there?”

Kazuma sighed and grabbed his coat. It wasn’t as satisfying a reaction as he hoped for, but it was a start.

On another occasion, they were at a crime scene where they learned of evidence that changed their entire understanding of the case.

Kazuma shook his head. “Gee willikers.”

Van Zieks narrowed his eyes as he took in the scene. “That’s certainly one way of putting it.”

Kazuma was a bit surprised van Zieks didn’t chide him for his rude language. It seemed like the sort of thing he would take issue with in his apprentice. But maybe he was so distracted by rethinking the case that he didn’t fully take in what Kazuma said.

Another day, Kazuma had spent hours working out an approach to their prosecution, writing a lengthy report explaining it and double checking his work. When he finished, he explained his theory to van Zieks, going point by point through his argument. Van Zieks listened without interruption, sitting back in his chair with his face as impassive as usual.

“Mr. Asogi,” he said at last. “The argument you have laid out is impressive, and you’ve improved in your presentation.”

Kazuma would have been pleased by the praise, had he not been able to hear the “but” coming from a mile away. He sighed. “What is it?”

“I wonder if you’ve forgotten the first witness we spoke to.”

It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head. He had completely forgotten. It dismantled his entire case, and he would have to start over from the beginning.

He was so upset with himself that without thinking he swore terribly.

“Fiddlesticks.”

Van Zieks’ eyes were on him immediately and Kazuma realized what he said. He had been hoping to save that one for when van Zieks really deserved it, and this had been Kazuma’s fault entirely. He would just have to make the most of it.

But van Zieks’ expression changed from neutrality to mirth, and to Kazuma’s great astonishment, he laughed.

It was brief and quickly hidden behind the grim set of his mouth, but Kazuma knew he didn’t imagine it.

Once he had recovered from the shock, he remembered what had made him laugh in the first place and grew indignant.

“W-What’s so funny about all this? I spent all day on that report!”

“It’s not that, it’s—” Van Zieks’ lip quirked upward again. “Where did you learn that word?”

Trying to reign in his embarrassment, Kazuma said, “Wh— does that matter? It’s an expletive, everyone knows that. I might have picked it up in a pub or something.”

Van Zieks shook his head. “Someone has been pulling your chain. I had wondered where the sudden use of innocent exclamations came from.”

“Innocent?!” Kazuma tightened his fists. “You mean fiddlesticks isn’t a dirty word?!”

“I can’t say I know the meaning, but it is regarded as harmless.”

“You teach me something, then. Tell me the worst word you know!”

“No. Now I believe, Mr. Asogi, that you have a great deal of work to catch up on. You better get started.”

“Argh…” I have a certain Inspector I need to pay a visit.

When Kazuma stormed up to Gina’s desk at Scotland Yard, she took one look at his furious face and lit up in glee.

“Did you say ‘em?”

“Darn you, Gina Lestrade,” Kazuma growled, slamming her desk. “Darn you to hell!”

She laughed her face off.

-

Bonus incorrect quote:

Kazuma: Oh, spare me the sanctimonious lecture. You never cared about me. In the words of one of my actual friends: ya basic. It's a cockney insult. It's devastating. You're devastated right now.

Van Zieks: …?

[snippy-tano]

oh good lord i'm losing my mind at the '20 fluffy prompts' ,, they're all SO GOOD 😩 it was so hard to choose but if you have the time and muse may i ask for a "you know i only tease you 'cause i love you" with fives, where maybe they've been pining on each other for some time and that "ily" kinda escaped him at the end asdfsd bonus points if they have their first kiss 🥺<3

i'm baaaaaaaack!

i was in a writing mood today, and this is the result lol. thank you for the prompt idea!! it turned out incredibly fluffy but honestly that is what i have been craving for weeks now. i hope you all enjoy it as much as i did writing it! please let me know what you think! i have another prompt almost done, so i will hopefully post that soon as well. send me ideas if you have them!! thank you @quizznag for such a fun prompt!! i hope you like it! pls let me know what you guys think in the tags! i love reading your comments!!

masterlist is here!

taglist is here!

tagging: @pro-fangirls-unsocial-life; @marvel-starwars-nerd; @mackstrut; @dissapointingpancake; @ahsokatano-thetogruta; @welcometothepedroverse; @lightning-wolffe; @fractiouskat; @mandaloriandin; @lussyyung; @lowkeyodinsong; @str-wrs-fics; @bantha-shit; @badbatch-simp24; @katelynnwrites; @s1st3r; @leotatombs; @torchbearerkyle; @rain-on-kamino; @the-navistar-carol; @bombshe77; @arctrooper69; @lucyysthings

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Accidental Words

It was late, most of the Resolute was sleeping and the rest were starting their night shift. You were among the latter. It had been a while since you had a night shift and you were already feeling the tiredness set in. You had offered to switch with a friend and had regretted it almost immediately. Well, you regretted taking the later shift, not the helping your friend part. 

Time seemed to be crawling at a bantha pace. Every time you looked at the time, dread dug its claws in just a little bit tighter. You set aside another round of decoded transmissions and picked up the next, stretching out your neck as you did. A tightness was starting to set in and you needed to defuse it quickly if you wanted to get through this shift in a relatively painless way. 

All you needed to do was get through the next few hours without any distractions and you would be home free.

You should have known that was an impossibility. 

The sound of the door sliding open should have been the first clue this shift would not play out the way you wanted it to. Your second clue was the distinct lack of speaking immediately after someone entered the tiny office.

“Your entertainment has arrived.” 

Your heart stuttered in your chest and then immediately you deflated. 

“Fives, I really appreciate you stopping by to keep me company, but I have too much work to get done tonight.”

You looked up from your flimsy to see Fives ignoring you to walk fully into the room and take a seat at a nearby desk. He propped his feet up on the desk and tossed you something. You barely managed to catch it before it hit you in the face. 

“What is this?” You asked, picking at the wrapping. 

“A snack. I figured you hadn’t eaten since the mess and would need something to get through the rest of your shift.” Fives said, taking a bite of his fruit. 

You ducked your head down, feeling your cheeks warm. You turned in your chair, opening up the frozen dried fruit. It was sweet of him to stop by and make sure you were eating. That had been a new development in your relationship, if you can call it that. 

Fives hadn’t been someone you were close with at the beginning, you found him incredibly annoying. And he was loud, you didn’t do loud. 

But after observing and learning more about him, it became clear that he really was a good guy, even if he had a tendency to be loud and act now, think later, the total opposite of you. He was still incredibly annoying, but now whenever he stopped by, instead of instinctively shying away, you found yourself trying to get closer. 

It was a bit embarrassing to be pining after him. I mean you didn’t like him at first and made that very clear in the beginning, which almost spurred him on more. You don’t remember when it switched, but you both gradually began to hang out more and very quickly any time he smiled at you, your heart was stuttering in your chest.

Part of you wondered if he felt the same way. But then the other part of you decided you didn’t need to know. If he didn’t, then it would be far too embarrassing for you. It was better to spend time with him as a friend and love him from afar than get your heart broken. 

“Whatcha working on?” A deep voice in your ear startled you, making you jump in surprise. The fruit tumbled onto the desk and you jerked backwards, hitting hard plastoid. Warm hands wrapped around your arms and you froze. Fives chuckled behind you, sending a shiver down your spine. “Sorry, I should have warned you.”

“It - it’s okay.” You moved forward, reaching for the discarded fruits when Fives held fast, pulling you so your back collided with his chest. 

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been acting jumpy recently.” He asked, his thumb brushing against your arm. 

You swallowed hard. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just stressed from work.” 

“Oh I can help with that. Kix showed me this and says it really does help. Since you are way to tense.” Fives said, taking a small step back away from you. Your relief was short lived however because while he did step away, his hands moved from your arms to your shoulders. And then his fingers dug in. 

The motion surprised you again. First because holy kriff did that feel nice and secondly because this was beyond what you were capable of processing with Fives. It was perfect but also too much.

This time, you flinched even more abruptly, the flimsy on your desk tumbling to the floor.

Fives immediately backed off. 

Your head ducked down, face on fire. “Sorry, I just-”

“No, I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Fives said, clearing his throat. 

“I’m not uncomfortable, it was just…a lot.” You said, brushing your hair out of your eyes. “It’s okay, really. I’m just still getting used to the teasing.”

Which was true. Fives loved teasing people, you saw it with his brothers and other crew members. It was just how he showed he cared. It’s just not something you were used to. 

And if you conveniently ignored the whole you-have-a-big-giant-crush-on-Fives thing, that was no one’s business but your own. 

Fives hummed and you walked around your desk to pick up the flimsy that had fallen. Your hands had just closed around the flimsy when he spoke.

“You know I only tease you ‘cause I love you right?”

You froze again, Fives’ words hitting you and making your entire body and brain shut down. You blinked once. Twice. 

The silence was palpable. 

“Oh, I uh. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean - well I did mean it I just didn’t mean to spill it like that I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Kriff Echo got into my head and I panicked. I’m sorry. We can totally ignore that I said that.”

With Fives borderline-incoherent rambling, something you had never heard him do, you slowly began to process what he had said. 

He loved you? 

Did he mean it as like a friend? Like a sister? Something more?

No, there was no way. It was just in a I-care-about-you-and-therefore-told-you-that-I-love-you. Nothing more. 

You looked up at Fives who’s face had darkened considerably. He was wringing his hands and pacing. 

Those actions didn’t quite jive with the idea that this was just a friendly declaration of love. Your heart clenched and you gripped your flimsy before standing up. Fives’ caught your movement and his eyes snapped to meet yours. 

His eyes were some of the most expressive you had ever seen and right now, they were practically overflowing. You could practically feel your insides melting with just his gaze.

Something was already out in the open, so you muscled up whatever courage you had and closed your eyes. 

“Do - do you mean it?” You spoke softly, afraid to hear just what his answer was going to be. 

“Mean what?” His voice was almost softer than yours and your hands clenched tighter. 

He really was going to make you say it huh?

“That you love me? Like actually?” 

Silence followed and you could feel your courage depleting rapidly. This was a terrible idea you should have never -

“Can I prove it to you?” 

Your eyes snapped open and met his gaze once again. He wasn’t panicking anymore, at least outwardly. In fact, he looked almost relieved. 

You didn’t know what he meant, well, part of you hoped you knew what he meant, but there was no one else you trusted more than him. He might annoy you to no end, but you truly wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“Yes.” Your voice sounded braver than you felt, but you stood by it. 

Fives’ eyes never left yours as he slowly walked around the desk, stopping when the toes of his boots tapped yours. He looked down at you, raising his hand to brush a strand of hair out of your eyes. His hand lingered, pressing against your cheek in such a gentle way that your eyes closed involuntarily. 

Time seemed to slow down and you would swear you could hear every single of your heartbeats thumping loudly in your chest. However, the moment Fives kissed you, everything snapped back into focus. You inhaled sharply, slumping against him. He didn’t seem surprised because his arm wound around you quickly. 

The flimsy in your hands fell back to the floor and scattered at your feet, but you didn’t care one bit. Your fingers curled around the edges of his chest plate and you released a sigh. Fives relaxed upon hearing that, tugging you closer and melting. 

You’re not sure how much time had passed.

It could have been seconds, minutes, or even hours (although you doubted it was that last one). But eventually you did pull away, feeling like your entire face was aflame. You didn’t open your eyes right away, choosing to commit this moment to memory. When you did open your eyes, you saw Fives doing the same. He seemed to feel your gaze and opened his eyes to meet yours. 

You both let out a breathless laugh. 

“Does that answer your question?” Fives asked, voice just as soft as before, but sounding much more confident. 

You smiled. “It does, but I suppose I could use some further explanation.”

He laughed loudly, throwing his head back. You smiled at him, marveling at the man in front of you. He looked at you, tightening both arms around you. 

“I am at your service.”

And sure enough he did lean back down, capturing your lips with his yet again. 

Fives was the one person aboard the Resolute that could make you roll your eyes with one line. Or could have you groaning at his lame joke he told at the worst possible time. Or seething when he played a prank that was harmless, but had you grabbing the nearest object and swinging. 

But if you were being completely honest with yourself, you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

[atsumwah]

consequences

featuring : sano manjiro

notes : i have no idea how this started but this was the fastest thing i wrote out of everything so far....i just wanted them to be scared of reader hihi,,,, obviously timeskip toman members here and also reader uses they/them pronouns! (and mikey calls you baby like a lot)

"oh no."

"good thing it's already busted down anyway.""who gave them a freaking knife?"

"mikey, what did you do?"

mikey was screwed. he was really utterly screwed. and it seems like the whole gang knew it too.

"i didn't do anything." mikey whispers back. "i think."

"you think?" baji pipes in, smacking him on the head. "well you better figure it out because it doesn't look like they're going to stop."

mikey gulps as he watches you, the love of his life, the only reason he gets up for the day— beat up a worn out door. and you're terrifyingly good at it too. he's pretty sure they have to clean it up later  —lord knows no one was brave enough to approach you right now, not when you're this angry. angry at him for that matter. 

look, it wasn't like it was intentional. these last few weeks has been busy and sure he hasn't seen you in a while but he thought you understood that. well—you did and you also did bring up the fact you rarely see him anymore and maybe he kind of sprung it on you that you were annoying him when all you wanted was to work on your relationship—okay fine he gets it. this was entirely his fault. 

and maybe it was kind of his fault for teaching you how to fight too (okay that's a lie, he thinks it's attractive as hell but he never thought he'd actually be at the receiving end of it.)

"mikey," draken drawled out, holding his shoulder in a very tight grip, "fix this. we have a meeting in a few and seeing your partner murdering a door isn't something we want others to see."

"yeah yeah, got it." he says, taking a deep breath before making his way into the room. he can do this. he's the president of toman for crying out loud. he can definitely talk to you rationally and come out unharmed.

yeah, he's getting his hopes up way too much.

"10 bucks says he'll chicken out." kazutora said.

"not helping me here." mikey says through gritted teeth but still made it towards the room.

"hey baby…" he starts off, testing the waters. he sees you stopped midair from stabbing the wooden door—or whatever is left of it. "can we talk?"

"i don't know, manjiro. can we?" he winced at the use of his first name.  

"yeah, i deserved that." he paused when you went back to stabbing, then tried to lighten up the mood. "heh, are you imagining kisaki's face again there, babe?"

"no, i'm imagining yours." 

ouch. okay that backfired.

"look i'm—" he settles down behind you, sitting on his knees, "i'm sorry, baby."

"sorry for what?" you mumbled, stopping and looking behind you. 

"i'm sorry for not listening to you before. i know i was tired but i had no right to say that to you." he sees you drop the knife, thank god.  

you've turn around now, the murderous glare you had before slowly morphing into a disappointed one. "i was just worried about you. but you made it seem like i was suffocating you or something and if i am then, "you let out a sigh "then just tell me and i won't bother you again, manjiro."

"you're not," mikey immediately interjected, taking your now free hands in his. "shit, im sorry for not handling it any better. i really do appreciate everything you do and i promise to be a better partner to you. please don't stop bothering me. you know you're the only thing keeping me sane here, baby." 

you let his thumbs draw circles on the back of your hand. "you mean that?"

"god yes." he's doesn't hesitate to pull you in a hug. "i might actually go crazy if you're not here with me." 

"then do better on making that known." you muttered, hiding your face in the crook of his neck as you relaxed in his hold.

"trust me baby, i will." he kisses your temple before looking back at your face. "am i forgiven?"

you nod, which was all he needed to know before he kissed you and was happy to feel you were kissing him back.

"so…did you really imagine it was my face while murdering the door? you were kidding, right? right? say something please."

reblogs are appreciated bbys <333

[howl-fantasies]

Hey could u do one when y/n gets her period while Victor is on a job outside of Gotham and she had to stay for whatever reason and is getting mood swings and maybe she ends up at the good and asks jim for a water he says no and she starts crying and everyone is very concerned and texts Victor and then something happens idk thx u know I luv ur stories all the luv ~Princess

Hello dear! First of all, I am so sorry for the delay with this and basically all requests. But as I said a few days ago, I'll try to answer all of them!

The idea is a very good one to be honest, and imagining Jim making her cry and everyone starting to panic makes me laugh so hard!

Warning: English mistakes, I'm on my phone and it's not my first language, sorry for that, I'm working on it. A lot of bad words, violence, it's Gotham after all. Long post, got a bit carried away here.

--

How would you define a shitty day? Some would think about breaking anything they touch. Others about having a hard time at work, being screamed at by their obnoxious boss. For her? Answer was simple: having her period, and having to spend the week without the dickhead calling himself her husband.

Don't get her wrong she loves the idiot, but he knew her excruciating week was about to start and just run away like a coward, jumping on a mission far away from Gotham and abandoning her. What happened to the: "for better and worse" He vowed to honor when he coaxed her into marrying him, uh?! The little piece of shit.

"Don't you think the man has enough bullets inside of him to be confused with a pistol magazine, Y/N?" Groaned Carmine, standing behind her and folding his arms in front of him like a chastising father.

"Well, I would have been delighted to make him look like a box of tampons if I didn't need them so badly this week, Carmine." She sighed, while putting her guns back in their holsters and turning to look at him. Her eyes caught the livid face of Oswald, a few steps away from them. At least one funny thing today she thought.

The heavy sigh of the King of Gotham brought her focus back on him. He knew she would be insufferable. He knew it the minute he sent Victor away, telling him he would be able to deal with his woman. As a father of another female, he was pretty sure he would be able to handle the walking bomb currently in front of him.

Zsasz warned him about her non-existent patience, her extreme mood swings and the fact that he usually hide all weapons in their flat. Dear lord... Carmine found it a little bit extreme at this time and just decided to ignore the whole red alert. What a mistake. Now his favorite carpet was stained, ruined and one of his goons had so much iron in him they wouldn't even have to attach his feet to some weight to make him drow like a stone. He was too old for this...

"Y/N my dear. I appreciate you beyond measure. But right now, I think you need a walk and some fresh air to clear your mind. Go. Go in town, have some fun, just not to much and I'll call you if I need anything." The old man said.

Hearing the boss dismissing her like this truly infuriated her to be honest. But he had a point. Shooting someone to death because he had the fucking nerve to ask loudly if she was so moody because of her period wasn't maybe the best way to deal with things.

She simply nodded, indirectly answering Carmine and brushed past Oswald without seeing him. Yeah, she should have punch the goon's face to a pulp and answer him something like "since I started my day in a puddle of blood, I wanted to share the fabulous experience with someone. What do you think?"

Definitely better. Anyway, she was no necromancer. Dude was dead. Just another tally to add to her 'Murder week festival'. She would send a bouquet of pads to his widow or something, she would just have to tell the staff to sponge the guy's blood with it first.

As soon as the heavy oak door slammed, Cobblepot couldn't help but cough to try to gain Falcone's attention. "Are you sure sending her away tic-tacking like this isn't going to backfire, Don Falcone?"

His question earned a long silence from the king of Gotham, then a glance. One which froze Penguin on the spot. He should have shut his trap.

"You've got a point here", acknowledged Falcone in a low voice. "Go after her, be sure she doesn't cause too many mischief. Call me if anything goes south."

Penguin had to dig really deep inside of him to maintain a decent face and not scream bloody murder in the middle of the room. Monitoring Y/N was usually difficult. But now? In her state? And after hearing all the stories Carmine's goons fed each other with during their free time?! It will be suicidal.

The little man lowered his head in defeat and limped in direction of the door Y/N slammed a few minutes ago. Once outside, he swore seeing that the woman was still as swift as usual and already disappeared from the estate.

"Where did that tart went?!" He spat, rushing to climb inside of his car, yelling at the driver to go in the middle of the city and to open his eyes to help him find the assassin.

--

Did she use Victor's credit card to raid an entire clothing store? Absolutely. Was it petty? Sure. Did it help her to feel better? Not really. But the idea of her husband experiencing a mini seizure at the view of the bill definitely did.

She felt her phone buzz inside of her pocket for maybe the fifth time of the day, Footloose accompanying the buzz. She let out an irritated "ugh" while throwing her head back. Fucking Cobblepot. Didn't he get the hint when she refused to answer the previous 49 times?

She decided to cross the road in direction to the Narrows. Here, she was sure, he would let her be, too disgusted to even put his posh shoes on the dirty pavement. The idea made her move quicker, her eyes locked on the other side of the road, but something coming fast on her right brutally caught her full attention.

"HOLY FUCK!" She roared, her profanity hidden by the loud honking of the police car on her side, its wheels still fuming after the harsh stop it had to make.

Behind the windshield, Jim Gordon was looking at her with wide eyes. For a second, the two seemed frozen in spot. The next, the loud sound of Y/N's bags hitting the floor and the clicking of the security of her guns convinced Gordon to move. And fast.

He threw himself out of his vehicle, dodging a bullet, and using its door as a shield while grabbing his gun to also aim at the woman.

"Y/N?! What the hell are you doing here!" He yelled. "And why in hell didn't you look before crossing the freaking road?!" He added.

The snarl he saw on her painted lips indicated him that she wasn't in the best mood to take his scolding. He gulped.

"What are YOU doing here Gordon?! And why the fuck are you driving like you were a cop on a mission you fucking moron?!" She yelled too, her guns still pointing at him.

He scoffed. The nerve! "Well maybe because I am! I was planning to rush on a crime scene, but you being here and menacing me with your guns cleary changed my plans. Put the guns down, Y/N, and come with me. "

Now her left eye was twitching, a sign that she was losing patience with him. "Oh fucking fuck, Jim. Are we really doing this? Dude, just go to your freaking crime scene and let me be, today isn't a good day to mess with me, trust me."

She was about to say something else but another car screeched on the other side of the woman. A black one, from where emerged a furious Oswald, screeching like an angry bird. "You! You freaking tart! I called you at least a hundred times! Where were you?! Do you think I enjoy babysitting your dramatic self?! Because the answer is a bloody NOOOOOO!" He roared with an accusating finger pointing at her.

"Oswald?" Called Jim's surprised voice. "What are you doing here? Why are you with her?"

Cobblepot sighed deeply, letting his furious hands massaging his temples to try to ease the terrible headache this situation has been giving him. He brutally stopped, though, lifting himself and now facing the two with a bright crooked smile.

"Jim! Hello my friend!" He saluted like the previous seconds didn't exist. "I'm so happy the providence put you in our way!" He cheered.

Gordon made a face hearing him, looking at Y/N just to be sure he wasn't dreaming the turn of events. She just shrugged in response. "What do you want Oswald?" the young cop groaned.

"Remember your owe me a favor my dear friend?" Answered Penguin, still beaming like the sun in front of them. His statement made Jim groan again and roll his eyes. "I didn't forget, but today isn't the best for collecting debts, I need to go, but first, I need to make Y/N come with me."

Now it was the woman's turn to scoff loudly. Like the main idea of arresting her was just ridiculous. She didn't saw Oswald's smile getting wider in her back. But she heard the click of a gun and felt a jolt of pain in her neck. "Well, fortunately, your plan and mine are the same Jim. We need to keep Y/N locked for now, and for the best", sang Cobblepot.

She turned brutally in his direction, her eyes feral. "You fucking piece of shit! You called Victor and he told you for the tranquilizer gun!" Y/N yelled, turning the barrel of the gun in her left hand on him but loosing her focus as she pulled the trigger.

She fell on the ground as she heard Oswald howls and insults. "YA BLOODY HARLOT! YOU SHOT ME! SHE WAS READY TO KILL ME!"

"Calm down Oswald, she shot your leg, not your head" Jim distorted voice joined the yells.

"P-PARDON?! SHE WOULD HAVE SHOT MY HEAD IF IT WASN'T FOR THE TRANQUILIZER! JIM!"

After that last scream, all went black.

--

The sound of phones rings, the shouts of men and women and the dusty smell welcomed her. Y/N frowned and opened her eyes, only to grumble some muffled insults as she immediately close them. The crude lights weren't helping her terrible headache.

She lifted her hand to cover her eyes while slowly sitting on her bench. "Welcome back, sleeping beast. Sensible eyes uh? Poor thing " Mocked a voice she would have prefer to not hear so close to her.

"A shame, I missed. But fortunately, you're breathing so loud I still can kill you in the dark." She muttered, smiling when she recognized the sound of gritting teeth. When she finally felt well enough to open her eyes, she saw Oswald sitting on the other side of her cell with a murderous aura and a bandaged leg.

She couldn't help but giggle at the sigh. "Jimbo arrested you too I can see, that may be what people called karma". Now he was snarling like an angry dog, only holding back the middle finger because of his good education she was sure. How funny.

She lazily stretched, looking around until she saw Jim sat behind his desk, ending a visibly tensed call. "Hey Jim!" She called, winning his attention and a loud sigh.

While the man approached her cell, she also spotted Harvey following him. "Hi Harvey, not already drunk?" She taunted with a sadistic grin.

"Hi luv, 'm still working on it", answered the older man lazily, shaking a flask she suspected was filled with some whiskey.

The assassin snorted before looking back at Jim. "Well? What now Jimbo? Gonna do a stripsearch?" Her shit eating grin made him groan in annoyance. "If your husband and you would be so kind and stop telling the same jokes, I will be very grateful"

It was like she wasn't in a dusty cell at all, talking with them like their were neighbors and putting her arms on the bars like she would do on the frame of her window. "And you would be so kind to open the doors and let me out. You can keep the bird, though, this one will be better in a cage" She jested, grinning wider when Oswald indignant cry resonated.

Jim jawbone tensed, a sign he didn't find her last sentence funny. To be honest, the whole situation was making him quite mad. Because he knew she would find a way to get out. How, he wasn't too sure. At least not with the help of a rocket launcher this time.

"I'm not opening your cell, Y/N", he stated firmly. Her smile didn't even fade. She just tilted her head like a predator contemplating how it was going to jump on its pray. He hated it.

"Fine", she finally purred. "May I have one glass of water at least? I'm quite thirsty after that traitorous shot in my back".

Again his jaw clenched. He had enough. Enough of this day. Enough of the rogues. Enough of the stupid smile this irritating woman always wears when they cross paths.

"No." A simple, deafening no. Suddenly, the whole place seemed to grow silent. In front of him, he saw her freeze. "Excuse you?" She tried.

"I said no. Y/N. You're going to sit here and wait to be questioned, like any other damn criminal in this police station." He answered.

It happened so suddenly he didn't even have the time to see it coming. First it was a hiccup. Then another. Then her reddening eyes becoming glassy. And finally tears rolling on her cheeks. What was happening?

"Oh no", he heard Harvey gasp behind him.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Now he saw with a shocked face Penguin bolting out of the bench, limping to her and turning her crying face in front of him. "Oh my god! Oh no! Everything but this! Don Falcone is gonna shoot us all!" He started to panic. "Are you so poorly educated to refuse a glass of water to a prisoner Jim?! I mean seriously?!" He screeched while guiding the woman on the bench he was previously sitting on.

"What's wrong with her?" Asked Jim incredulously.

"What's wrong with you?! Being so insensitive with a woman fighting with her hormones, I can't believe I was considering you a good person!" Oswald shouted.

"How was I supposed to know uh?!" He shouted too. "And what with your behavior, didn't she shoot you an hour ago?!"

"Because of her hormones you imbecile! You took all her belongings, you've seen the box of tamp-... Of womanly stuff she carried with her! If it wasn't a clue, I don't know what it was then!" Yelled the little dark haired man.

Her cries were unstoppable. Nothing Penguin tried worked, none of Harvey gentle coos made her stop. In fact, it was getting worse.

"DO SOMETHING JIM!" Pressed Oswald. "Like what?!" Snapped the young cop.

Oswald scoffed like he was outraged. "I dUnNo CALL VICTOR MAYBE IMBECILE!" Demanded Penguin.

"Not like I have his number" Jim grumbled, he couldn't believe what was happening. "Gimme your freaking phone!" snarled Oswald, grabbing Harvey's who just shrugged when Jim sent him a glare and typing the number of their only hope.

Nothing. "He isn't answering." muttered Cobblepot, while awkwardly padding Y/N's back.

"Of course he isn't, what criminal in his right state of mind would answer a call from the GCPD Penguin?" Groaned Harvey, earning another glare to add to his collection of the day.

Oswald cursed under his breath and took a deep inspiration before he yelled so loud everybody in the room would be able to hear. "WHAT KIND OF LAME CRIMINALS ARE YOU?! CAN'T YOU SEE WE ARE FACING A CRISIS HERE?! CALL VICTOR ZSASZ NOW OR DON FALCON WILL PERSONALLY DEAL WITH ANY OF YOU SCUMS WHO LET HER BEST WOMAN CRY HELPLESSLY!"

Like a whip, his voice made all the criminals jolt in fear and Gordon had to open a wide mouth when he saw everyone in the cells taking out - from what seems like a magical pocket - a phone and starting to call or text the infamous hitman. Did confiscated phones meant nothing to rogues in town nowadays?!

He turned in Harvey's direction just in time to see him opening a plastic bag where he how so carefully put Y/N's items an hour ago. "What the hell are you doing?" He breathed.

His co-worker frowned and took the woman's phone, giving him to a very pale Oswald pleading her to unlock it. "Trying to make it stop. Trust my years of experience with her, nothing will stop her. The only soul in town able to deal with her in this state is an obsessive bald homicidal maniac." Bullock said.

"Christ it's just tears!" Tried to rationalize Jim while pointing at her like an idiot. "She'll stop, eventually!" The harsh glare he earned from the whole room made him question Gotham's general sense of sanity again. It was surrealistic. Truly.

--

---------- 1 New Message --------

Bullock

Red alert. Your wife is in tears at GCPD. Come asap!!

---------- End of message --------

.

----------- 1 New Message ---------

Unknown

Mister Zsasz, sorry to contact you but your wife is crying right now. Please help us.

...

Please don't kill me. I'm just a honest criminal who happened to be here.

------------ End of Message -------

.

---------- 1 New Message -------

Riddler

What is charming 3 weeks per month and a whole crying mess on the 4th?

...

Just the day I wanted to attack the GCPD, I only let it pass because of the exceptional circumstances.

...

Do something. The whole city is in alert right now!

---------- End of message ----------

.

-------- 1 New Message ---------

Kean

Heard you let your wife crying at the GCPD.

...

Told her she could have done so much better. You're the worst husband material.

--- Blocked and added to "killing list" ---

.

---------- 1 New Message --------

Mrs Sweetness Zsasz

It's Oswald. How dare you ignore my calls?!

...

Come fetch your wife, she cried so much I fear she'll not have any water left in her body!

...

And buy chocolate! A lot! Mother said it helps during those times.

---------- End of message --------

.

"Oh dear me. What happened here?" He asked to no one, scrolling on his phone and reading message after message. He knew it was the worst idea of the decade to let Carmine and the others deal with Y/N during this time of the month. He wasn't suspecting he would find the city near bursting in fire when he would come back.

He didn't even have to threaten the cops at the entry of the GCPD. For the first time of his life, the cops on the outside stairs looked relieved to see him. Alvarez, who was smoking among them even let out a "thanks god" which made him chuckle.

When he went inside, he didn't even have to search for her. All the cops where around her cell, the criminals behind bars where glued to them in her direction and tried to cheer her lamely. It was something to witness frankly.

He walked lazily, letting the cops who spotted him take a couple of steps back with the same disturbing relief painted on their tired faces.

When he reached the cell, he slowly blinked, taking the whole picture: his wife was crying like a river, her head between her hands, on her right was Cobblepot, padding her back and cooing, promising her husband was going to deal with everything. At her feet, he could see at least 30 full glasses of water, untouched. And outside the cell, a disheveled and very pale Jim Gordon was being scolded like a 5yo by an angry Bullock.

"Ah! Thanks Satan! You finally here!" Shouted the older cop once he saw him. Zsasz shrugged and made a face then pointed at the woman with his finger. "Why is she crying?"

Harvey sighed loudly. "Long story short, because of a glass of water..."

"THAT HE REFUSED HER!" Yelled Oswald angrily while pointing at Jim who groaned.

Zsasz blinked again then let out a tired sigh. "Open the cell." He demanded with a smooth but firm tone. Harvey immediately grabbed the keys from Jim's belt, ignoring his protests and opened it, sending a "Don't you dare do anything else mate" glance at his co-worker.

Victor went inside and crouched until his face was at the same height as hers. "Gonna take you home Sweetness", he muttered before he raised and helped her standing, hugging her shoulders and guiding her out of the cell.

"WAIT!" Shouted Jim when they started to walk in direction of the door.

"Just a minute" said Zsasz as he grabbed Oswald's arm to put it where his was. Now that Penguin was helping her to stand, the hitman turned around and walked on Jim slowly.

Nobody had the time to see him rising his left arm. But everyone heard the hard punch striking Gordon so hard on the face he fell on the floor, his nose now bleeding like a fountain.

"Don't make my wife cry ever again, Jim. It makes me angry." He muttered with a deadly calm face then turned around again to take back his previous place, scrounching just enough to put a hand behind Y/N's knees and lifting her princess style, taking his leave with a shocked Oswald.

Everyone was now looking at Jim, still on the floor and holding his broken nose. "Be happy he was worried about his wife or you'd be dead Jim. I told you many times: don't mess with Y/N, she's Zsasz trump card." Chastised Harvey as he pushed a box of tissues in his blood stained hands.

--

"Is she going to be her irritating self soon?" Asked Cobblepot uneasily from his back seat inside of Zsasz's black car.

The bald man threw his wife a glance and sighed. "I know I wasn't here Sweetness, but it was the boss' orders." Her lack of answer made him sigh louder. "Wasn't it a little bit extreme?" He asked in a dull tone.

Oswald opened his mouth to remind him he wasn't here and didn't see how she lost her composure but was cut by Y/N's also dull tone.

"Are you going to leave again? To finish the task?"

Zsasz let out a snort. "After the scene you made? Don't think I'll go anywhere. Plus I already finished my business outside of Gotham. And Carmine called on my way back, he heard about what happened and demanded me to stay glued to you until the week ends."

She also let out a snort, a very amused one a that, which made Oswald jolt in his seat, the surprise painting his whole face.

"Never thought it would work so well", she mused.

Ok now he was collecting his jaw from the floor. "It was an act?! You were pretending and let me made a fool of myself?!" Yelled Cobblepot, earning a tired glance from Y/N.

"Not at first. I really was crying." She said." But seeing how the events turned, I saw an opportunity to get out of our cell, make Victor come back faster AND stay with Carmine's benediction", she confessed with a shit eating grin.

Oswald scoffed, that tart was so good at acting he was really pitying her and tried to be as sensitive and gentle as he could be. "You're the worst!" He shouted angrily, only earning a laugh from her and a resigned sigh from Zsasz. But he saw how the man's lips were twitching. He was clearly enjoying his wife's new scheme.

"You both are the worst" He grumbled while crossing his arms in front of him and pouting like a little child.

A/N - I hope you loved it! 🥰

[wildflowerwoodsworld]

Hi Wild! 💕

For your writer's ask game what about 2, 16 and 21?

Hi Lola 2. that makes me laugh

This is from Every Curse Is A Prayer and never fails to make me laugh

"Let's just say the first mission the Black Bulls did without Yami was- eventful," Finral said. He was hoping it would be enough to stop the questions. It wasn't. "Eventful how?" Magna asked. Finral opened his mouth to answer, but Vanessa beat him to it. "Well, let's see," she said, counting things off on her fingers. "first there was that half-buried dungeon we stumbled across on the edge of the Forsaken Realm. Then there were the bandits, two sets, one that lived in the dungeon and one that wanted to live in the dungeon. When we'd dealt with those guys Finral here almost got kidnapped by Diamond for his magic-" "Finral got kidnapped?" "It happens sometimes," Vanessa said, waving her hand like it was a minor detail. "we always get him back. Anyway! Rescuing Finral from the Diamond guy meant we almost restarted the war that had finished less than a year earlier, in the process we got hit with an experimental device that somehow teleported us to the mana zone in-between us and Spade, and we very narrowly avoided starting a fight with the Forest of Witches-" "You mean we crashed into the forest, got captured and had to break out before the Witch Queen found out we were there and then ran for our lives with multiple angry Witches chasing us." Finral clarified. "Yeah, that. Eventually, we made it back to Magic Knight headquarters." "We were three weeks late and almost died multiple times." "It was a very eventful mission," Gordon said. "Captain Yami," Asta asked, turning to face the leader of the Black Bulls. "What did you send them to do?" Yami finally set down his newspaper, glaring at them all. "Hunt. Boar."

16. from a recent piece i want to brag about

This one's from the first chapter of I Don't Think You'll Land On Your Feet This Time, I just enjoy writing Yami and Jack interacting

Much to Yami's surprise, Cob was able to drop them pretty close to Jack's last known location. Yami hadn't thought he could open portals that far out. Usually, Yami would get Finral to take him, but he didn't want to get his squad any more involved in this than they had to be. The tricky part of the mission was actually finding Jack. Damn beanpole knew how to vanish in the woods, Yami would give him that. Marx grumbling under his breath as he kept tripping through the undergrowth was not helping Yami's mood. "The fuck do you want?" Yami twisted at the sound of Jack's voice only to be met with nothing. "Up here, asshole." Yami looked up. Jack was crouched on a tree branch, staring down at him. "The hell are you doing up there?" Jack dropped out of the tree with a laugh, landing next to Yami with barely a sound. "Better question, the hell you doing out here? I don't need help." "Julius wants you back." that made Jack pause. "What for?" Julius didn't usually call them back mid-mission, though, going by the lack of screaming and the blood on Jack's shoes, he'd already finished the mission anyway and was just fucking around. "Classified." "Yami-" "Lord Julius wishes to inform you himself," Marx cut in. "Cob is waiting for us on the edges of the forest, so if you have finished-" "The carcass is back there if you wanna haul it to the village," Jack said, gesturing over his shoulder. "Though, I thought Julius sent me to deal with an animal, not one of Morris' crazed experiments." "Your complaint has been noted and Lord Julius will be informed," Marx said in a tone that made Yami think that he wasn't really listening. "Now can we please depart?" "Lead the way, Mushroom Head."

21. that i liked, but had to cut

This small bit was supposed to be in the first chapter of There's Three Of Us, but ended up getting scrapped bc I didn't have any real idea at the time of who would be there. It'll probably end up getting reused in another work for that 'verse

"Miss Roselei! Welcome!" Charlotte stared as Captain Novachrono threw his arms out in greeting. "We've been waiting for you." his two Vice-Captains were stood behind him. Vice-Captain Sturm looked as disapproving as she lad the last time Charlotte had seen her. Vice-Captain Roulacase, however, looked excited. "Trust me, kid, he's very excited. We've been planning this for a while," Vice-Captain Roulacase said. "but you're the last to arrive." "My apologies, but our Spatial mage is absent on a mission, so I had to fly myself." Vice-Captain Roulacase pulled a face. "Ew, brooms, who needs them?" "Most people, Fiona," Vice-Captain Sturm said, in a tone that suggested that this was a regular conversation. "Spatial mages are rare, as you well know." and getting rarer every day, Charlotte knew. It seemed that every other week there was an obituary for another Spatial mage in the newspaper. "Yeah, yeah, only two bloodlines, dying out, blah blah blah. You've told me all the boring stuff before, Tondra. I want to talk about something new." "This is why Finral has no patience." "Conversation for later," Julius interrupted. "we have a rookie Magic Knight here. Please no arguing in front of the children."

[padfootagain]

Ooohhhh okay for this one!!! I am a full fledged Swiftie so why not try that haha

(PS: you don't have to stick to the mood of the song either haha... I am just curious what your SUPER CREATIVE mind will come up with)

Enchanted (*shouts aggressively* TAYLOR'S VERSION)

All Too Well (*shouts aggressively* TAYLOR'S VERSION)

You're Losing Me

Anti-Hero

Wait, I just realised... What if you're not a Swiftie? Hmmm... I am too curious to not send this in haha so I will! Now it's completely upto you 🥰

Hey! Ooh! So many!! Thank you so much for the ask! (I took a long while to answer your ask because it got EXTREMELY LONG, which is why I'm including a read more. It got completely out of hand, and I will save this post because I am 1000% going to actually write some of these, they are too good).

(Also this is very messy, I'm sorry for all the mistakes and the not very stylish writing but these are just concepts).

I do like some of Taylor Swift's song, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that I'm a swiftie, by any means.

So... these might not fit the mood of the songs (because there are some I don't know tbh...)

Enchanted (I ACTUALLY ADORE THAT SONG, GOOD CHOICE!)

Okay, this one gives very much some 'love at first sight during a party or social event and you meet again randomly weeks later by accident' vibes. Which is what I would go for. It could work very well with Ben, and the two of you meet at an after-party after an award ceremony, and you chat a bit, but you don't exchange phone number or anything, but you regret it after that cause you can't stop thinking about him. But then you're invited to a party by one of your friends, who introduces you to a few people you don't know and BAM! they introduce you to Ben! (which I imagine very clearly being like: overcrowded room, loud music, you're holding a drink, and your friend guides you through the crowd because 'hey, I haven't introduced you to this guy yet, I'm sure you'll get along fine!' and at first you only see Ben's back, but your friend calls for him, and he turns around and that's when you recognise him **insert slow -mo effect for cheesiness and so we can take a moment to stare at his beautiful face**) and then you're both a blushing and shy mess and you spend the rest of your evening talking with him and this time you exchange phone numbers and settle on a date.

Alternatively, it could work perfectly for Caspian: meeting at a ball, and dancing together and being just 1000% smitten, but he has to dance with other ladies too for political reasons, and he can't find you again during the night (I am includin in this: him seeing you and inviting you for a dance, which turns into two, and he can't possibly ask for a third, that would be too obvious, and so he asks if you want a refreshment, which gives him an excuse to talk to you some more, but then a Lord you've been trying to avoid because he wants to court you arrives, and Caspian helps you escape to the gardens. You spend some time there together, talking, but then a guard arrives and calls for Caspian to come back inside because someone wants to see him, and then when he is finally free from his political duties again and that he looks for you, you're already gone). And he's certain he's never going to see you again, but then he's invited to a reception, and when he goes, there you are again, and BAM! He finds you, this time he makes it clear he wants to court you, and tadaaaa!

I reckon that both scenarios are very similar, but would work for both characters so... had to include both.

2. All too well

I know this song, but it's a break-up song, isn't it? That's too sad, I'm changing it up.

If we consider the title alone, without taking into account the song at all, it gives me very strong Sirius Black vibes. Because I can see Sirius spiralling down because of his family and entering one of his terrible dark phases because of them and you could make such a wonderful repetition of 'all too well' using the signs he recognizes in himself giving away that he's broken and fucked up in the head. But then you come and sit down by his side in silence, and you don't say anything, you just wait until he acknowledges you. And at first he doesn't say anything, as if he expects you to leave, but you don't, and there's this slow realization in his brain that actually, you too know 'all too well' all the symptoms of his dark phase, and that he's struggling, but you're not leaving. He remembers all the times when you've done the same, when you stayed with him and didn't leave, and showed him that his parents are wrong and that he deserves to be loved too. And I wouldn't make them say anything to each other during the whole scene, just Sirius finally reaching for her hand and breathing out a 'thank you', and then her resting her head on his shoulder, and him smiling again.

BUT THE POTENTIAL FOR REPETITIONS WITH 'ALL TOO WELL' IS JHFURHFUZH I LOVE THAT STUFF!!

like, you can use it for the causes, for the signs, for the reader, for Sirius's realization ejfiejoizejiozejroeijr (chef's kiss!!!) (these 4 paragaphs would be scattered across the oneshot, not written in a row like this, obviously)

And he knows what it means. He knows it all too well. The banging in his head. The voice that keeps on screaming there. The clammy hands. The rushing heart. The tight throat. The struggle for a breath. The knot in his stomach. And these thoughts... these thoughts that plague his mind, and he tries to shake them away but he can't he can't he can't, he knows it all too well that the voices are true and that he's nothing, nothing, nothing at all...

[...] And he knows where it comes from. He knows it all too well. From the shouts of his mother tearing up his nights. From the fists of his father against his cheeks. From the fear of his brother as he looks up at him in search for safety. From the curses, and the insults, and the hate the hate the hate that follows him everywhere that aims at his friends and that curses his very existence and that reminds him that he's unloveable, unloveable, unloveable...

[...] And he knows he doesn't deserve you. He knows it all too well. Because you're so bright against his darkness. Because you're too kind. Because he's a mess. Because you're patient. Because he's reckless. Because you love him, for some unknown reason. Because you look at him with so much love, he hopes you can see that he loves you just the same. And you come back again and again and again, and he doesn't have a clue why you're still clinging onto him when he's got nothing to offer you but his shattered heart, his crooked smile, his fucked up mind, his fucked up mind, his fucked up mind...

[...] And he knows you'll stay. He knows it all too well. Because you haven't moved at all, and he's used it, and you never do. Whenever the crisis come, you merely stay here, with him, and you wait until the storms weather, and he comes back to you. You're his constant through it all. And you're here you're here you're here, everywhere he looks, he always finds you near, and for the first time he's not so afraid that you might leave. Maybe you're right. Maybe he does deserve to be loved. Maybe you could show him how.

3. You're losing me

Oh that's a break-up song again... (didn't know that one had to check it on spotify and yep... break-up song)

Slow decaying relationship, despite the love, it just won't work and it's killing both of you but you're drifting apart and it's better if you stop it all while you still have fragments of your hearts still unbroken.

(Could fit literally anyone, too sad for my brain, so let's jump to the next one.)

4. Anti-hero

Had heard that song before, still had to check it again cause I only knew the chorus... Not gonna take into account much of the song in itself BUT

This screams Logan Delos, like crazy.

Like... 'It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me / At tea time, everybody agrees' if that's not Logan Delos I don't know what is. Yes, babe, you are a problem indeed, we agree on that, although we could play with that, and his father, and the real reason behind his douchebag behaviour and a confrontation with his father while you're there would be so nice. And maybe you finally understand where Logan is coming from, and he shows you a more fragile side of him, and you both end up crying like idiots, and you comfort him through the night...

We could here again play with the repetitions (that's my thing, sorry, I'm a sucker for repetitive structures and echoes throughout texts like... I love that shit) and shift the cause of the problem (the dialogues would follow each other, but the following paragraph would come after Logan's father has left and you're together, alone, after their confrontation):

Logan's father: I have no idea what you're on about. You've played too much with this ridiculous game, filled with silly stories of robots and cowboys and damzels in distress waiting for a hero. This isn't the solution. We both know you're the problem, Logan.

Logan: Of course, I am. I always am... That's everything I'm ever going to be anyway, so why bother changing? Why bother becoming a better man? No matter what I do I'll always be a disappointment, I'll always be invisible, you'll never see me anyway. So why bother, if all I can be is the problem? I know I'll never be on the worthy side of the hero, so might as well be an anti-hero altogether. Next step, I'll be the villain.

[...]And you know Logan well enough to recognize that he's to blame, that he fucks up most of the time. But then again, maybe there's a bigger problem after all. Maybe the problem was first his father, before it would become him. And when he looks up at you, with these dark eyes that seem to reach for your very soul, you can't be mad at him. After this scene, you don't forgive him, but you understand. For tonight, it will be enough.

"Will you leave me?" he asks in a whisper, and you reckon you've never seen him so fragile, so lonely too.

No, perhaps Logan is not the problem, only the result.

"Do you want me to leave?" you ask, one last test to see if he can be honest, for once, to see if you really matter at all. But his eyes fill up with tears, and he's too scared to be proud this time. Instead, he shakes his head. It's unlike him, to be so vulnerable, but he can't help it. Tonight, he feels too broken to be anything else.

"No. I want you to stay."

And so, you stay.

[no-side-us]

Letters From Watson Liveblog - May 7

The Naval Treaty, Part 3 of 4

You know, I assumed that Holmes' odd digression into the providence of roses in the last letter served some purpose for solving the mystery, but here he's alone with Watson, waxing metaphoric about the future of England, so maybe he's just been in a philosophical mood recently when Watson came to him.

I find it funny that Holmes refers to it as his case, as if it wasn't Watson who brought the problem to him in the first place, and the client wasn't Watson's old school friend/victim.

Also, I now know that "asperity" means "harshness of tone or manner," which strikes me as a bit more aggressive than how Holmes usually talks. He also jumps to the conclusion that Watson's leaving to go back to his job, which makes me think he probably felt slighted that Watson might bring an interesting case to him and then leave before it's done. They haven't seen each other in a while after all, so he was likely expecting a full, classic adventure and not just a tease of one. Which he gets of course.

See, it's stuff like this that makes Holmes such a good detective. Not just that he considers all possibilities, but that he doesn't let things like someone being a noble or a statesman get in the way of thinking of them as the criminal.

Another in a long line of Watson describing inspectors by comparing them to animals. I had assumed he just did this for Lestrade, but I guess he does it for just any inspector, for some reason.

This exchange took quite a nice turn. You'd think an inspector who has a negative, pre-formed opinion about Holmes, on being called "young and inexperienced" by him, would get very upset. So kudos to Forbes for being surprisingly understanding.

Did Scotland Yard have female officers back then? Or is this referring more to something like a female servant than anything else?

I'm not sure you can really tell how noble someone is from looks alone, but if Watson wants to go off about his "thoughtful face" and "curling hair prematurely tinged with gray" then who am I to stop him.

Holmes subtly suggesting that Phelps is the real culprit, not because he genuinely believes it, but to see how Lord Holdhurst reacts.

And he reacted correctly. So that's Lord Holdhurst off the suspect list. It's good he won't make any qualms about the culprit possibly being his nephew.

Looking into the Bertillon system, it seems to be a precursor system to fingerprinting in order to identify criminals that involved more physical measurements. Its creator, Alphonse Bertillon, also created the mugshot in conjunction with the Bertillon system.

He apparently also gave key evidence as a handwriting expert (despite not being one) in the Dreyfus affair, which condemned a Jewish French military official to false imprisonment for treason. His testimony was later found to have little scientific value, which later (despite a lot of military cover-up and anti-semitism) led to Dreyfus being exonerated. There's also a lot more to the Dreyfus affair, and it all sounds pretty terrible.

Anywho, all that happened after The Naval Treaty was published, so I guess, as of the time of this story, Holmes doesn't have any particular reason to not admire Bertillon and this new criminal identification system. He soon will though.

Good on Phelps for taking all this in stride. He lost an important document, probably lost his job, got a brain-fever for nine weeks, had to ask one of his schoolyard bullies for help, and was the near victim of a nighttime robbery. "Misfortunes never come single" indeed.

Ms. Harrison agrees to do this pretty quickly, but I guess she has no reason not to. Though Holmes never said anything about hiding the fact he asked her to do this, so good on her for realizing it and coming up with an excuse on the fly.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

[inscrutable-shadow]

Possessive

more of reality and his trinket.

also on ao3!

He was staring again, he could tell. He just couldn't help it. Reality was absolutely enamored with his trinket. To say that he was surprised wouldn't be accurate, of course he had good taste, he was Reality. What he hadn't expected was the rush of pride he felt while watching his trinket work a social gathering. The human prince easily navigated the complex fae social conventions and didn't even need help avoiding any verbal trickery he was tested with. Everyone who spoke with him was impressed with his skill, and Reality absorbed every drop of praise as if it had been meant for him. It had him walking on air all evening and alleviated the usual soul-sucking boredom of entertaining his father's guests.

It wasn't a large party. Merely a precursor to his trinket's debut ball next week, a warmup to avoid any major errors on the big day when so many more eyes would be watching. Not that it was needed, that dazzling smile that had so charmed Reality was even more effective on empty-headed partygoers. Reality would be surprised if his trinket needed his help at all, though he wasn't foolish enough to abandon a human he actually liked to the whims of Summer Court fae[1]. He'd remain close at hand and watch the show.

"Can I help you, my lord?" his trinket asked innocently. Right, he'd been staring.

"Only admiring my prize, trinket. You are quite the charmer. Not every human would be so comfortable amongst all of these fae."

"Oh, it's nothing." The young prince blushed and buried his face in his wine glass. "I'm used to doing this same sort of thing at home. If anything, it's easier, fey social customs are strictly regimented and each social cue has a specific expected response. It turns a conversation into a dance, a puzzle that I take pleasure in unravelling." Reality loved it when he did that. He could listen to his trinket talk for hours about culture and philosophy, but it was difficult to draw him out and get him to speak, he was so afraid of being boring. To Reality, his trinket could never be boring.

"You have noticed them testing you, I am sure. Lord Ó Conaire attempted twice to take your name."

"I did think it rather bold of him to try that in front of you."

It had been, and Reality had certainly made a note of the disrespect, subtle though it had been. "Mm. I would have stepped in if you had needed me, but you handled it well enough on your own."

There was that smile again. "Thank you, my lord. I made sure to study up. At home, I was always being tested, and mostly by those who disliked me already and would contrive any means for me to fail. Here, where those I meet haven't yet formed an opinion of me, I have an advantage I shouldn't squander. A good first impression sets me up in a better tactical position for the future."

"You, trinket, think like a fae."

"I think like a prince, my lord." What a response! Oh, how Reality adored his trinket. He was just flawless in every way. Nowhere could he have found a better prize than the one he held in his hands now.

Unfortunately, one person always knew when to show up to ruin Reality's good mood. "Divines preserve us, it's Delphinia. Prepare yourself, trinket."

"Your cousin, the one that you hate?"

"Yes, that one, now hush! Ah, Lady Delphinia, What a pleasure." Reality's bright courtesan's grin had a manic edge to it.

Delphinia's answering smile was tamer but no less fake. "Prince Reality. Good to see you out of season[2]. So this is your fiancé? He's taller than I expected."

"Yes. This is my favorite trinket." Reality rested a hand on his trinket's shoulder and was pleased when the human prince relaxed under the touch. "Trinket, meet Lady Delphinia Fiothrey, Duchess of the Eastern Vale."

"Pleasure to meet you, Duchess. I am known as Prince Thanatos of House Iuventus. Your presence is welcome, and the willingness to help me integrate that your people have shown me warms my heart." Still on guard against the loss of his name. How adorable.

Delphinia curtsied. "Prince Thanatos. Welcome to the Court of Estival Splendor. Though your time here may be short, I hope you will find it meaningful." Swinging right out of the gate, I see, Reality thought. Opening with a jab at the human's short lifespan was certainly a choice. "Allow me to introduce the Viscount Odhràn Duibh, he's been visiting my court and relished the opportunity to visit the royal estate."

"And what an estate it is! I consider myself blessed to have been invited to see it," the viscount blustered, and Reality immediately stopped paying attention. The dance of politeness between people who didn't know and didn't like each other was so tedious it bored him to tears. He sparked a bit of magic between his fingers to keep himself entertained.

This continued for what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes. One sentence in particular, spoken by Duibh, brought him back to the conversation."It's too bad you're otherwise engaged. I'd love to add a pretty thing like you to my court."

Reality seethed. The pride he'd been feeling before curdled inside of him and turned to jealousy. The human prince was his trinket, how dare this man even think of taking him away, let alone speak that thought even in jest? His magic shifted inside of him, wondering if it was needed, but he shoved it down. His trinket had this under control, and his mother would make it a whole thing if he lost his temper at a social event again.

"How are you with languages, boy? Your Fae is excellent, are you pursuing other studies?" That sounded conversational, but the tacit "for a human" was clear. As well spoken as the young prince was, his consonants were clumsy and he regularly stressed the wrong syllables. Anyone could hear it. The "polite" lie was just an insult to his intelligence.

"Oh, please, I'm not fluent yet. My best languages are the Northland and Southland human languages[3], though, as you can tell, I'm conversational in Faerà, and I've been studying the Dragontongue. My aim is to be able to write poetry in all four. I've quite a long way to go."

"What a well-educated young prince!" Delphinia said snidely. "Divines know his Highness couldn't hope to write poetry in four languages."

"He ought to use you as a scribe. With a head for words and politics like yours, you'd do well with a scroll and ink by the throne." The Viscount's expression evoked a merchant haggling, a vulture circling. Reality knew that look and he did not appreciate it.

Delphinia tittered vapidly. "Yes, when he gets tired of you, you're always welcome at my estate. You'd look a dream in purple and white."

The jealousy caught and flared into rage. How dare they imply he didn't take care of his toys? How dare they imply a lack of education and intelligence on his part[4] while simultaneously saying his trinket was fit for no more than to be a servant? To talk of putting him in livery of all things, when he should wear nothing less than the finest of silks? And, chief among these, how dare they talk about taking his trinket away from him? The human prince belonged to Reality and no other, and he'd be damned before he let anyone else lay a finger on him.

Reality's magic churned inside of him, and his hand tightened on his trinket's shoulder. They just wouldn't stop pushing. The young prince's eloquent deflections were losing steam under the onslaught. "Again, I-I'm sure my lord has duties for me to perform here, I couldn't possibly get away…" Duibh reached for the prince's hand and he stepped back in search of safety, bumping into Reality's chest. He looked up into Reality's eyes, the careful mask of politeness falling away into a look like a startled deer. "M-my lord?" Help me, those eyes pleaded, and Reality saw red.

"Enough." The word hung heavy in the air, or maybe that was the magic that filled the space around them. A rumble of thunder sounded outside, and heads began to turn in their direction. Those who lived in the palace were well aware what that sound meant for Reality's mood, but Delphinia and the viscount didn't have the same kind of experience to tell them what would come next. "Leave him."

"We were only teasing him, Reality, nothing was meant by it," Delphinia began, sensing she may have made a mistake of some kind, but no halfhearted apology would save her from Reality now.

"My trinket is not yours to tease. He is mine, and I will decide his activities and where he goes. You are distressing him."

Duibh wasn't as cognizant. "If he's distressed by a light verbal sally, becoming a prince of the Fae might be a bit much for him. He's only human, after all."

Reality's eyes flashed and a single pulse of magic rippled outward from him, ruffling his trinket's and Delphinia's hair. The viscount wasn't as lucky. Where he'd once stood, the wave of power peeled the layers away until all that remained was a plain moth fluttering confusedly toward the chandeliers on the ceiling. Reality wove copper and glass from the aether into a lantern and imprisoned the wayward insect within.

"Hear me." Reality spoke, and all eyes turned toward him as his voice resonated through the room. "This human belongs to me. You will treat him as a prince of the realm, with all of the deference and respect that entails. Let this man be your example." He held the lantern aloft so that it could be seen by all. "This is the consequence for allowing one's tongue to run free. I expect you all to exercise proper judgement in this matter."

"Y-You… turned him into…" His trinket was shaking, and Reality felt a little bad about it, but that feeling wasn't as prominent as the way his magic rattled the bars of its cage, begging him to use more of it. That wouldn't do.

"Yes. Hold this, would you, trinket?" He handed the prince the lantern. "And come with me, I need to vent the rest of this energy." His chest itched with the seething magic inside of him, that miniscule display of power hadn't been nearly enough. He stalked off toward his training ground behind the palace, Where he could use his abilities mostly freely.

His trinket, after a moment's startled hesitation, followed him wordlessly, and he felt a pang of victorious satisfaction.

---

Reality's training ground was more accurately described as a containment zone. At the bottom of an abandoned quarry lay an assortment of wooden training dummies, as singed and scorched as the surrounding stone. Reality spent much time here during his adolescence, and though his control over his power was much better now than it had been, he still used the site often.

His trinket looked around in fascination. "Is this where you go to be alone?"

"Mm. I need not fear harming others inadvertently so far from the court. I come when the divinity is restless, so that I may use up more power than I could otherwise. If you require solitude, it is free for your use as well, though you may encounter me, which I imagine defeats the purpose." He also came out here when the magic tangled up in his stomach and made him sick, or after a particularly frightening incarnation scare[5], if he wasn't too exhausted to leave his bed. He couldn't let anyone know he struggled. It would only alarm them, he could handle it on his own. He always had.

Now, though, that feeling in his stomach wasn't nausea, only bubbling rage. "Set that down over there and step back, will you?" he instructed his trinket, indicating a wooden block about sixty paces away that he often used for target practice. He stripped off his doublet and replaced it with one of the lighter training shirts he kept in a nearby chest. He didn't miss the way the human prince stared.

"W-What are you going to do to him?"

"I'm going to frighten him so badly he'll have nightmares about me for two-and-a half centuries.[6]" He couldn't help the grin that spread over his face. By the Divines, he was going to enjoy this. He so rarely was permitted to act on an emotion he truly felt.

His trinket had other plans. "Haven't you scared him enough? You turned him into a moth, I don't think he'll be mouthing off to you again anytime soon." the prince hugged the lantern to his chest almost protectively.

Reality sighed and rolled his eyes. "It's not as if I could leave him that way. Mother would throw a fit. And I have to do something about the level of comfort some have with disrespecting me to my face."

"I can handle a few unkind words, you don't have to—"

"This is not about you!" Reality snapped. His magic fizzed, and he suppressed a shudder of discomfort. "You belong to me. Your actions and others' opinions of you reflect on me. And I am not some common faery bound by the laws of courtesy to accept any insult sufficiently veiled. I am the Prince of Verdure, and I have not only the power but the responsibility to maintain the honor of my house by whatever means I find necessary." He snatched the lantern from his trinket's hands and set it on the block himself. "Now, stay out of the way. You are prettier undamaged."

His trinket was still talking, but Reality ignored him, focused on lining up his shots and deploying his energy barriers to prevent the insect from being destroyed by the shockwaves. A little concussive force should be enough to remind Duibh who he was dealing with. He conjured a bead of compressed flame, one of his favorite spells, and launched it. The explosion was spectacular, detonating a meter to the right of its target, and Reality allowed himself a laugh and the rage to fizzle out into elation. The lantern shuddered, but Reality knew what he was doing. He wouldn't break it.

A second shot, then a third. Reality shook his shoulders to loosen them, getting into a rhythm. It was just as he'd loosed the fifth spell that he heard his trinket shout "No! I won't let you kill him!" and saw him lunge for the lantern. It was too late to call the magic back. Reality acted on instinct, grabbing at his trinket's arm and yanking him backwards away from the explosion, which hit exactly where it was meant to. The lantern, and the fae-moth within, remained intact.

There was a moment of silence, both of them just standing in shock, but once he was sure his trinket was alive, Reality had space to be angry. "Divines preserve us, what possessed you to do a thing like that? I could have killed you! Your faith in my control is flattering but unfounded—" He stopped. It took him a moment to identify the sound that had given him pause as stifled sobs. Why was his trinket crying? "T-Trinket? Are you unwell? I did not mean to… frighten you…"

The red mark that sprang up on his trinket's pale skin was distinctly hand-shaped, and no one would be able to mistake those long fingers as belonging to anyone but Reality. His heart dropped. He had forgotten his strength, forgotten how fragile humans were. He'd always had a habit of breaking his toys. He'd promised his father he'd be careful with this one, but the hurt and betrayal in those crimson eyes, welling with tears, told him everything he needed to know about his failure. The human prince tucked the injured arm against his body and stumbled wordlessly off toward the palace. Reality didn't follow. He turned back toward the lantern and let off another salvo of spells.

---

[1] The fae of each of the seasonal courts have a tendency toward a particular temperament. Summer Court fae like the Fiothreys are the capricious tricksters of human folklore, as likely to bless as to curse and more concerned with what will entertain them than the wellbeing of others or the structural integrity of their surroundings. They won't go out of their way at all, whether to help or to hurt. A human's best defense is to be politely boring, so that they are bound by courtesy and it would be easier to find something else to do than to find a loophole in the social contract to exploit.

[2] When out of season, it's rare for one of the seasonal courts to hold a social event. They tend to spend the off season "living their lives," as it were, taking care of intracourt business and spending time with their families. They will attend the in-season events, of course, but otherwise rarely travel or make contact with humans.

[3] The languages spoken in the Reach and the Southlands were once related, but drifted apart after centuries of separation. For a native speaker of one, the other would be much easier to acquire than either Faerá or the Dragontongue, if only because human mouths are meant to produce these sounds.

[4] Reality, in his words, "did not read." This wasn't to imply that he couldn't, he was Reality Fiothrey and he could do anything, he merely found it difficult and claimed the symbols shifted when he attempted to focus on them, and therefore he chose not to do so. His arcane studies tutor had suggested his affinity for runic sigils was so high that it disrupted similar processes, which made him sound more impressive. Thus, it was the explanation he accepted.

[5] When the divinity made its (disturbingly frequent) attempts to escape from his body, Reality was usually under the care of the court wizards and diviners. If his body were ready, the Divine Reality would incarnate through him smoothly and there would be nothing to worry about, but it was not, and so preventing that incarnation was paramount. As he grew older, the power grew stronger, and often they feared he would not be able to hold it back, but Reality Fiothrey was nothing if not a man of iron will. Even if he battled the transformation for hours, he would always emerge victorious. It took a toll on him, though, and he was sometimes bedridden for days afterward. The Chief Diviner's utmost worry was that an incarnation event would occur when Reality was yet too exhausted from the last to put up a fight.

[6] Reality did not often use contractions or colloquialisms, a habit ascribed to the Divine Reality's influence. In times of strong emotion, however, a new speech pattern could emerge. Reality reported feeling the most like himself in these moments.

taglist: @crash-bump-bring-the-whump, @athenswrites

[kellykadesperate]

okay so now that i'm all caught up and i've been forced to watch each episode every week as it comes out - as the lord intended but still my brain is not wired like that anymore lmao - here's my rundown:

gregory eddie is a treasure and i love him. that man and his deep voice, Whew. he deserves the world, i'm so enamoured by him lmao i like how he really is kinda stoic most of the time but it slips when he's around someone he likes (cough janine) but also like, that high five with barbara was one of the cutest things i've ever seen, his interactions w the kids are adorable and that man is already so far gone for janine, the way he can't help but smile when she cracks a silly joke, his whole face softens.... once things start Escalating in that department i'm gonna die

ms barbara howard is a Treasure, i both love and respect her, she's so endearing sometimes and she has the biggest mom vibes, janine wanting to get hugged by her is a Mood

melissa is incredible, i looooove her bond/alliance with barbara, love how she takes no shit, love how she has so much love and cares a lot about her job - also loved how hot she looked in that scarlet witch costume in the latest ep she was so right about that

i relate to janine so fucking much lmao i really like how they strike a balance between showing how she wants to make things better but she goes about it the wrong way sometimes, and that doesn't absolve her from taking responsibility but it also doesn't make her a bad person per se. i love her fuzzy cardigans, her outfits scream teacher every time, she's so cute and tiny. i bet she's fucking terrifying if she got like, Really pissed off

jacob is that perfect embodiment of an annoying white liberal lmao heart in the right place but whew learn to shut up sometimes. his side glances to the camera are perfection, i love how he so clearly wants to be friends with gregory and gregory begrudgingly allows him to try

ava is both annoying and smart, incredibly sharp and has some of the best jokes imo. i love how she cares about all the teachers despite mentioning at least once an episode that she doesn't lmao

yeah so i love this show and i will now dutifully wait every week for a new episode ✌✌ (sorry about this being stupid long btw)

OMG!! Never apolgoise, i love talking about my silly little show!!

mr eddieeeee!! no but seriously can you imagine you apply to be a headteacher, fail, then come in as a cover teacher role and realise that the only reason you have not got the headteacher job is because of blackmail. like! It’s insane. i love how goofy he can be and like you say when he slips a little and looks at the camera like BRUH what is going on. he’s such a good outside pov character in the first few episodes, he’s like ???? janine hi :) ???

and barbara and melissa are the ultimate work wives. I love them so much and how totally over all the insane drama they are, they just rock up like cool another day another disaster

janine!! i love her so much and yes the outfits lmaooooo, the belts are just … so unnecessary and cute bless her. It’s weird because being a teacher myself she reminds me of like me when i was doing my training. just so optimistic and wanting to change lives lol but i love how they do touch on why she is the way she is re: mum issues and stuff like yes she’s overbearing at times but also !! hello she’s trying to change the world. let her.

honestly her and gregory’s slow burn situation is driving me insane but it’s just so <333 cute and wholesome and i love how they’re so trusting with each other and have little interactions which put them both at ease

jacob’s line about teaching history but living in the present lmao. and when janine is like stop talking about your work in africa and ZAK. i love jacob so much he’s honestly just the right side of annoying

ava is my favourite character ngl she is ………. Everything. i feel like you can’t help but stan her and think she is just insane but also iconic?? every single line of hers has me dying and AGAIN like they showed that she does have layers re: her grandma. she’s just constantly vibeing and slowly destroying the education of hundred of children but she’s having the time of her life so let’s keep it up. i am so intrigued about who was the headteacher before her too? like did melissa and barbara have a heart attack when she started? give me this information lmao

honestly like i LOVE how good all the characters are, and how they are all just so funny and relatable in some ways. there's 22 episodes this season so it's running up until february!!

[stardustinmyhands]

Monday 5/27/24

I think my mood yesterday was cause I didn’t take my medicine for two day (aka my mood stabilizers, and my depression meds. I was lazy and didn’t prep them for the two day I work)

I’ve never fully introduced myself.

She/her, I’m 43. My birthday is in September. I live with my girlfriend of 13 years. We have two cats. We have no kids, which I tried it just never happened. I also have a boyfriend, we’ve been together 10 months. I met them both online. (I’m polyamorous, and they do know about each and have met). I’m obsessed with Lady Gaga, she’s my biggest coping mechanism. I have ADHD, I take adderall for it. I also have Autism. I have chronic pain in all my big joints. (Elbows mostly, knees and my hips occasionally). I have an autoimmune immune disorder, which I get IVIG infusions every two weeks for life. I have a port for that, which I named Tony. (After Tony Bennett, I got it the day he died). I’m the youngest of 3 siblings. My brother’s suicide anniversary is Thursday (one year). My sister lives in Colorado, with my momma. My dad lives in Arizona with my step mom. I love Lady Gaga, Lord Of The Rings, and coloring and writing in my journal. I take trileptal for my moods and abilify for my depression.

Friday me and my gf did so much stuff. We went to breakfast, at first watch. It was so yummy.

Then we went to the DMV, which wasn’t as terrible as we thought it would be. Then we went to Winco, right after that we went to Costco and spent $310. The cart was full and heavy. Went home emptied the car. Went to Kroger. Then I drove her to the chiropractor. We were gone from 8 am till 6:30 pm.

My face has been peeling a lot, so I’ve started to wash my face twice a day and apply lotion. When I go outside I apply 50 spf moisturizer. When I don’t leave the house I just use lotion. 🧴 today I washed it with Ivory soap and it had a lot of perfume in it. I should have gotten the aloe one. It’s not as strong scented. My skin is starting to look better.

I think I want to start wearing make up. I want Haus Labs. I’ve heard it doesn’t feel heavy. I wanna start feeling pretty. But I don’t know yet if I wanna bite the bullet and purchase at $45 make up yet.

I told one of my friends about my mood yesterday. I kinda regret it, she kept trying to offer help. I didn’t want suggestions, I wanted someone to understand. She did both I guess, but I kinda felt like she just wanted to fix it the situation. I’m not ready to share what I was feeling, or why I was feeling it. Maybe sometime. I will share that it was extreme jealousy. As a poly person jealousy is really hard to deal with, it has nothing to do with my partners.

I feel ok today. I’m mildly sore, but it’s not painful. I’m doing chores around the house today. It’s suppose to reach 100° today so I’m not leaving the house, and I don’t have to tbh. I have no appts this week which is shocking. I just realized this is the last week of May.

[dabbling-translations]

Chapter 11: Witch-sama Builds A Public Bathhouse for the Villagers

“Master, the public bathhouse has been completed.” (Lara)

With the salt crisis solved, I’ve become more and more excited about my life as a feudal lord. As I was doing my daily round of the village, Lara gave me a progress report on the hot spring facilities.

The private bathhouse that Lara and I will be built within the mansion’s grounds. The fences have already been built and it looks fantastic. They are also going to drain the sand from the bottom of the hot spring to make it more comfortable.

On the other hand, there’s also a public bathhouse for the residents’ consumption. The villagers informed me that they weren’t comfortable with the idea of sharing a bathhouse with their feudal lord so they asked for permission to build a separate bathhouse from mine at a different location. They created a water system to transport spring water using a plant called ‘bamboo.’ Apparently, the plant is endemic to Yapan region. The baths for men and women will be separated and the bathhouse they planned to build was quite large.

“Thank you for being so considerate but what materials are you guys gonna use to build the public bathhouse?” (Yuo)

“The materials are gonna be sourced from abandoned and dilapidated houses in the village since the trees in this region are very hard to cut.” (Lara)

I see, so the materials are gonna sourced for free.

While checking, I saw that the building was nearing completion and the construction was good enough. Still, it’s still surprising to me that they were able to build two bathhouses in a span of a week. I’m convinced the change in food quality is the reason the villagers are much more tireless.

(T/N) Two bathhouses: Yuo’s private bathhouse and the public bathhouse.

When I arrived at the construction site, I found the villagers working in harmony.

"Witch-sama! I’m in a very good mood today! Thanks to the hot spring and the salt, I, Sunrise, am doing very well! Also, the bathhouse is almost finished!” (Village chief)

"Oh, Village chief-ojiisan… have you gotten bigger?" (Yuo)

The village chief was standing out so much. He was carrying several thick timbers on his shoulders. It is hard to believe that he was the same person who was shivering like a newborn sheep until recently.  Somehow, he seems to be getting more and more buff. No, no matter how you look at it, he’s a macho old man! 

Could this be the effect of the hot spring, food, and salt?

“Witch-sama! We’ve been able to use the hot spring regularly during the construction which caused us to turn out like this! We won’t lose to the younger kids anymore! The food has been so good lately, too!” (Village chief)

Hearing the village chief’s rave, the other villagers who were helping with construction started to gather around us too. The scene was a bit bizarre. Everyone got tanner, but their smiles were wider and their bodies looked better.

The addition of salt probably caused their appetites to improve, which led to an increase in their body (muscle) mass. However, being surrounded by all the nice bulky villagers kind of feels like a nightmare.

“Witch-sama, your hot springs are the best!”

“We will follow you for the rest of our lives!"

The villagers praised the hot springs in high spirits with wide smiles on their faces. I wonder if this is still within the realm of recovery magic. The mystery of the hot springs continues to deepen.

◇

“Master, how much will you charge for the hot springs?” (Lara)

Only a week later, the public bathhouse for the residents was successfully opened. At first, people said it smelled like hell, but I'm honestly happy that more and more people are starting to like the hot springs.

However, Lara’s question brought me back to reality.

That was it.

The hot springs are my property, right?

How about we go out on a limb and offer them free of charge to the residents? Just like how we distribute the salt. Anyway, if everyone recovers their essence and energy due to the hot springs, the village would be revitalized and the tax revenues will increase.

But hmmm… Free of charge? I’m not too sure we could do that. Managing the operations of the bathhouse, cleaning, and maintenance would be a very large expense.

I see, even if the spring water and materials come for free, there are still a lot of expenses to cover.

I think I read in a political science book that it’s not good for a feudal lord to provide everything for free. Let's see, I think it was something like, ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him one meal. Teach him to fish and he can feed himself for many meals.’

However, this is a remote area. A cash economy isn’t common here because the villagers are self-sufficient. In fact, even the taxes are collected in kind, such as in the form of farm produce. That’s the reason why it would be awkward to charge them money.

“That’s right! It’s quite awkward for me to charge you for the entrance fee so why don’t we impose a gratuity system instead? Every villager who uses the bathhouse can donate money for the bathhouse’s operating costs and maintenance. Children and the elderly really only need to donate a small amount while those who make a lot more money could donate accordingly." (Yuo)

"Gratuity… A donation system. I see, that sounds feasible." After pondering my proposal for a quick minute, Lara agreed.

Thus, the public bathhouse in the village opened with a gratuity system in place.

(T/N) Gratuity is basically just a tip. Tipping. An amount beyond the agreed service fee out of gratitude or consideration for the service/goods offered.

◇ 

Meanwhile, the villagers were saying:

“Did you hear? Witch-sama’s hot springs are finally open to us!”

“The village chief got all muscled up because of that hot spring! I heard it never makes you feel fatigued again."

“Indeed, it blows your fatigue away!”

"GAHAHA! Fatigue getting blown away is a good analogy! I'm addicted to those hot springs!”

"Oh, once I get into the hot spring, it would be hard to get me out of there. I can't imagine life without hot springs!”

The villagers were busy raving about the opening of the public bathhouse.  What was particularly a hot topic was the fact that the bathing fee was collected via a donation system.

“My children their grandfather can use the bathhouse too!”

“Maybe my knee pain will be cured…”

“I am so grateful to Witch-sama for sharing her miraculous spring with us commoners!”

The villagers felt a strong sense of trust, akin to faith in their lord Yuo.

<<Scorching Witch's Recent Gain>>

Public bathhouse

A simple onsen facility established for the villagers' health. It is operated by donations.

(T/N) This is as far as I go for tonight. I’ll try to edit this at a later time, I promise. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and any corrections are greatly appreciated, just refer to the corrections panel on the navigation bar. Also, times are tough so if you can, please do consider donating to my ko-fi. I would greatly appreciate it ^.^

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[livingwithlosingyou]

Living with Losing You - 8/8/2022

June 9th, 2020. 

The day that I met you. Chris invited you to come surfing with us since you had just moved to San Diego from Kentucky. I will never forget the moment that I walked up to you and saw you putting on your wet suit. You walked over to me and immediately shook my hand. You smirked (you later told me it was because you thought I was super cute when you met me), and I got my suit on and we paddled out. You and I talked for hours out there in the surf. I brought up my back surgery (which you knew all the technical terms for, I was grateful for that), we talked about passions, hobbies, goals, dreams, etc. If we are being honest, I did most of the talking, but you were very engaged and responsive. I remember leaving that day and saying “I probably scared that guy off”. You later told me that you just knew in your gut I was the girl for you. You were SO sure of me. I have never met anyone who just loved me from the moment they met me like you did. I will cherish that memory forever. 

Which brings me to today. I decided to go to the spot where we first met all that time ago. I sat on the beach and just remembered. I closed my eyes as tears rolled down my face, and pictured the memories vividly. I hate that you’re just a memory now. I sat there for a while, allowed myself to cry, walked into the freezing cold water / looked for some shells, then decided to get some breakfast. 

I have been noticing that my overall motivation to do things has lessened. Usually, I am someone who likes to be “go go go” and I am finding that I just at times, do not want to do anything but sleep. Or eat. I think it’s the depression. I got home and took a nap. Walked and finally ate a salad for lunch (it had been a minute since I ate any greens), and then quickly ate before practice. 

Today was the second official day of practice. While the boys ran, I decided to walk the hill. I cannot wait until I can run again. Walking has been okay, but nothing relieves my stress like running. I just want to make sure I was giving my body enough time to heal from COVID. Anyway, the last time I had done the hill I had face timed you from campus. It made me sad to think about how I can’t pick up the phone and call you. Text you. UGHHHHH. Honestly, just knowing you existed gave me peace. Now peace is tough to find. I am really trying to lean on the Lord, and trust in him. 

I decided to get In n Out again after practice. We will also call this season of my life the season of “Bulking”. This is good though, because I weigh almost nothing right now and need to gain some weight back. I lost a lot of weight when you took your life. Is there such thing as too many burgers though? You and I used to go for burgers multiple times a week. We lived WAY too close to a Shake Shack to not. 

My mood overall today has been strange. I feel like everyday I cycle between gratitude, devastation, and anger. Those are the main emotions that I experience. I have been trying to work on some new lyrics and music to channel this, but it can be hard at times. 

I am also still working through the notes on my phone, hoping that they will help me continue to process it all. I actually found this one from August 2020 that I wanted to include here. To be honest, I am not sure if you ever saw it. I think it gives a really good representation of how hard we fell for one another. I have noticed that in my grief, I have been trying to focus on the good. I recognize that I will need to also address the “hard stuff” that we went through, but my brain is struggling to do that. It was pretty evenly split though, I will admit. When people ask why I stayed during those tough seasons, this is why. This immediate connection we had. As someone who is usually great with words, at times, you would leave me speechless.

August 2020:

I find myself having trouble putting how you make me feel into words. 

You always say words are hard, but they’re usually not for me. 

Maybe it’s because there aren’t enough words, phrases, or ways I can explain the feeling I get when you’re with me. 

I’ve always heard that when you know,

You know.

And I know that what I’m about to say sounds insane, 

But I know that I’m going to marry you some day.

And I think the scary thing is that it doesn’t scare me at all. 

I see everything and more I’ve ever wanted when I look into your eyes. 

And when you smile every type of dismay or tough day, it all just subsides. 

I truly didn’t think that someone like you existed, 

I thought maybe it was fiction, 

But I’m so smitten, by you. 

I tell you I love you, but it doesn’t seem like that’s enough.

Because the amount that I love you isn’t measurable, this might sound cliche.

But I love you to infinity, no limit, it truly feels like fate.

I’ll never get enough of you,

And I’ll always want more. 

Can’t imagine a life without you,

Ive never felt so sure.

About anything, or anyone, 

I’ve found “the one”.

I was always super cheesy. In ways, we both were. When James was in residency, I’d wake up at 4am every morning to set his scrubs out, make his coffee, pack his lunch, and write him a note. 

James. I loved doing that for you. I miss those mornings. You deserved it. All of it.

Disclaimer - Don’t judge what I am about to say below, as I try to be open and transparent in this blog.

Is it bad that my immediate thought after typing “you deserved it” was that I didn’t deserve this? I mean, I also feel like those who were closest to you didn’t either. Your parents, your brother, your best friends, etc. I feel this often. Personally speaking, I gave you so much love and support over the last couple of years, and now I am in the deepest pain I have ever experienced. This has completely changed my entire life moving forward. It’s hard not to feel all the feelings. 

Grief is such a beast in itself. It’s so hard to navigate. No real guidance can be given other than to ride the rollercoaster. And boy, am I strapped in. 

You know that I will always love you. You will always have a special piece of my heart. Even when you make me upset. Cause you are a butthead, even still. 

Rest in Peace, James Burton Nichols. 

10/1/1993 - 7/16/2022