#i just suddenly had a vision last night and i was like- hey. AM would make a really good Beetlejuice

[baziutawrites]

Tantalizing

Xavier Thorpe x Female OC

Beginnings part 2

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8]

Other smut fics through my Masterlist.

WARNING! There are smutty parts throughout this piece. Proceed with caution if you are under 18 yrs old.

Was she the one that he dreamt about?

If someone said he was making a fool of himself, they would be completely right.

But now Xavier had a bit more pressing matters at hand, than to worry about not looking like an idiot. Like a growing hard-on that would be very hard to conceal while wearing a pair of swimming trunks. Another one was Val and her hands still against his chest, the touch almost burning his skin. But he kept his arm around her, unable to let go as he stared into her face, completely lost for words.

How could it be? Was it truly her? Why?

She wasn't the only one with grey eyes and those glints of green dancing around her hair. Surely there was an explanation for that. Like, a magnetic field? Or chemical imbalance in the air? Or—

"Like what you see?" She wiggled her eyebrows at him, her own face feeling a little warm from the intensity of his stare. 

"Yes." He blurted out, eyes now darting away from her as his blurry vision from before started invading his mind. "Wait, no! No, I mean, yes. I—"

He let go of her suddenly, as if she burned him, almost making her topple backwards.

"Last one in water is a loser!" Ajax came to his rescue, noticing his best friend's distress. 

Xavier bolted towards the lake, praying she didn't notice his raging boner he now sported. Ajax splashed in right behind him and Xavier could swear he felt the judgement of his friend's stare through his skin.

"What was that?" Gorgon murmured, his dark eyes searching his friend's face with a knowing grin.

"I am stupid." Xavier groaned, dunking his head underwater.

***

Somehow he ended up with Divina's camera in his hands and an idea came to his drunken mind.

"Hey, we should document the meetings. Have a chronicle, snap some pictures. What d'yall think?"

That's how he got tasked with being the cameraman for the night, clicking away, catching some silly moments. But he also did some portraits - the idea pitched to him by Ajax and he gladly followed with it. He did everything in his power not to spend too much time taking pictures of Val separately, so he resorted to having her in the frame almost every time he took a group one. He promised to upload them from his own laptop later on if Divina agreed to lend him the camera for longer.

***

When he got back to the dorm with Rowan, he immediately went to the laptop. Thankfully his roommate went straight to his bathroom, so he could flip through the pictures, stopping at the ones with Val without raising suspicion. He felt the heat spreading through his body again and he had to stop himself from palming his dick through his sweatpants. He felt like a pervert, but couldn't take his eyes off of one particular picture of her that made his dick get harder and harder, his still tipsy mind swimming.

His phone dinged and he saw he'd been added to a group chat.

.

Divvy

Yooo

.

BB

Heeey 🥰

.

Jaxxo 

I'm soo drunk

But the pics @Xav

.

Tana

Where the pics!

Just the good ones tho

.

V

Give us the pics pretty boy!

Xavier gaped at the last message. The heat pooled in his core and he felt his body tingling with excitement. Pretty boy. His hand cupped his erection at once but before he could relieve the tension, the door of Rowan's bathroom clicked and he almost jumped out of his chair at the sound. He quickly clicked away to send the entire folder from the night and locked himself in his own bathroom before Rowan could see him in this state.

His phone trembled in his hand as he fought with himself. This would be wrong, so, so wrong to do.

But maybe… just this one time. Just once. Wouldn't hurt, right?

He stepped into his shower, his hard on heavy in between his legs, feeling ashamed of what he was about to do. But when he sat down on the cold floor, warm water spraying his side and he opened that one particular picture of Val - of his friend - he could not help himself anymore. His eyes roamed over the half naked form of her, as she was just out of the lake in the middle of drying her hair with a towel, making a face at the camera. His palm traveled down his stomach to grip his shaft and he let out a small gasp, his eyes never leaving the picture. It felt so wrong, yet so right. He started to work his fist over his cock and as the jolts of pleasure washed through him, every last piece of self control flew out of the window. 

Just this once. Just once. He would not speak about this to anyone, he would never open this picture again, he told himself as he jerked himself off, imagining his friend to be the one that worked her hands over his dick. This would not become a regular thing, surely not.

***

He lied to himself.

The weeks leading up to the Poe Cup were turning more and more unbearable for him. Not only his dreams seemed to overcompensate with the frequency for the brief time he didn't have them, but just her mere presence started to make him hot and bothered. He started imagining his dream encounters in real time, oftentimes having to excuse himself mid conversation, or even worse, during the Foreign Beings and Legends class they were paired together at. He felt ashamed, while he then fisted his cock in the bathroom stall, the picture of Val he promised himself not to look at again, displayed on his screen, among many other pics he took during the meetings. His eyes fixated on her face as he came over his hands, biting his lips not to let out any sound. And then he had to come back and watch her, pretending he didn't do this filthy things mere minutes before, as his imagination ran wild again when she smiled at him.

It only made it worse, being combined with the conflicting, constant need to be around her. He was desperate to hear her voice, listen to what she had to say, to be the one she talked to, that made his chest warm. Without it, he felt this weird tension in it, almost as if his heart wanted to rip its way out of there.

Yet she still confused him. On one hand, she gave him all those signals - every time she touched his hand it made him feel sparks between them, he noticed how her breath seemed to quicken a little, or how she stood a bit closer than she needed to whenever they spoke, the way she looked at him over her shoulder when they parted their ways with a smile that made the butterflies in his stomach go crazy, he was almost sure she liked him a bit more than a friend. The same way he seemed to like her.

But then she did those little gestures with Kent too. She looked from under her eyelashes at Rowan whenever he talked to her about his Botany homework - a subject she seemed to be very good at although she chose not to show off during classes like Bianca. 

Her confidence intimidated him as much as it seemed to draw more people to her the more she socialized. And she didn't even have any social media presence.

Maybe this meant nothing at all? Maybe she just was this friendly with everyone? But this thought did not help him as his eyes actively sought her out in the corridors.

***

Yoko introduced Val to Enid a few days before the Poe Cup. They needed a fourth person onto their Black Cats' team and Val was their first pick. She was a great swimmer, as the word from her practice spread on. Val agreed - the competition was supposed to be very dangerous and she longed for something exciting, different than the schoolwork. There were supposed to be no rules. However, this also seemed to apply to her new friend. She didn't expect Enid to know almost everything about everyone at Nevermore, despite not knowing everyone in person.

"So, what's with you and Xavier? Cuz I've seen the looks he has been giving you and ohmygod that's sooo exciting like, the way he always stands in a way that he could see you, and he looks, like literally, he like stares so much, like this must mean something, right? I mean…"

It went on for hours while they prepared the boat for the competition near the shore. And it made Val feel a bit fuzzy. Could Xavier really like her this much?

"I feel like he isn't really that interested if at all, Enid." Val mused, trying to tone the girl down a notch. "He has been kinda avoiding me lately. Like, he walks away in the middle of us talking quite often. Doesn't really scream 'interested' to me to be honest."

There was a brief pause in which Enid shook her head and giggled.

"Xavier’s the captain of one of the other teams. You could try flirting with him to see if he 'isn't really that interested', you know? Oh, he's also on the team with Ajax, ohmygod, did I tell you about Ajax? He is so cute!"

Val and Yoko shared a look and smiled at each other, as the other girl blabbered away about her obvious crush. At least it saved them from further interrogation.

Val liked Xavier, that was for sure. But she didn't think of him as a person to be interested in her in any other way than just a friend. He seemed really stiff at times, distant and even avoided her recently. However, Enid was supposed to be the observant one, so testing the theory out wouldn't hurt. It might even be fun.

***

The day of the race came fast and Val couldn't help but feel excited about the oncoming challenge. Underneath the shivers however was a weird, a bit heavy weight in her stomach. What if she makes a fool out of herself? She fixed the leather-like material of her catsuit, checking if everything was tied as it should be, feeling the ears flopping annoyingly in the wind. Enid really had a field day with those costumes.

She saw Xavier's team exit their tents and she snorted at the utmost ridiculous sight that greeted her eyes. The jester costumes were something else.

This caused his eyes to meet hers and she gave him a big smile with a wink, that he reciprocated, although his eyes went down, sheepishly and she could see his neck reddened a little. Okay, this could still mean nothing. She needed more solid evidence. Enid giddily nudged her shoulder and gave her thumbs up before they settled into their boats.

The idea of Xavier slowly grew on her and she had to admit, she couldn't help but admire his hands whenever he showed off his abilities to make his art move or how she tried not to stare at his jawline, whenever he had his hair pulled back into a bun. He certainly was handsome.

She looked to the side only to meet Xavier's eyes immediately and went for a bolder move - she blew him a kiss over her shoulder and to her pleasant surprise, heard the paddle clatter as he most certainly dropped it. This was curious.

She missed the knowing glances Enid and Ajax exchanged between themselves.

***

Xavier couldn't even focus on such a simple task as rowing and he cursed under his breath, as the Black Cats kept getting smaller and smaller ahead of them. The picture of Val's ass in that tight, pleather costume and the kiss she blew him were messing with his head and the competition didn't even start properly.

They were the last out of three boats left to arrive on the island. He and Ajax, being the best runners, set out sprinting into the woods. They had no idea where the flags could be, so they separated in order to cover as much ground as possible. 

And then he saw her in this god forsaken catsuit, holding his flag, hers nowhere to be seen, sporting a sneaky smirk on her face. Something wasn't quite right.

***

She smirked, as she watched Xavier stop dead in his tracks like a deer in the headlights. She straightened, planting her feet firmly on the stone she was standing on and hid the flag unsuccessfully behind her back. The top of it comically towered over her head but the gesture seemed to get the point across, as he slowly started towards her, his eyes narrowed.

"I don't think those are your colours." He pointed at the material flapping in the air over her head when he stopped in front of her. She raised her eyebrow at him, a challenge in her gaze, her eyes on the same level with his.

"Maybe, maybe not. But it's mine now. Finders keepers." 

She turned swiftly, her hand stretched out behind her back as Xavier snatched at her from the other side and she laughed at him huffing in fake annoyance, his full lips fighting a smile. They both knew he could easily overpower her if he wanted to but the fact he didn't made her feel tiny butterflies in her stomach. He was a competitive one and yet, he stood there, playing with her instead of trying to get to the boat in time.

"Nuh-uh." She wiggled her finger at him and he let out a chuckle. "You've gotta earn it."

"Earn it?"

"Yeah. Pay for it, in other words."

"Smartass." He mumbled with a smile and tried snatching at the flag from the other side and he lurched forward, bumping his cheek against her nose. "How do I pay for… for it."

He now seemed to notice the proximity of their faces, his breath fanning her cheek as he turned towards her, slowly.

"I'm sure you can figure it out." She breathed, his smell making her slightly dizzy and her half-lidded eyes darted towards his lips. They were adorned with red paint, plump and parted slightly and she swore they were getting closer. And she panicked.

She kinda got what she wanted. This was quite enough of a confirmation for now, she thought to herself as she felt her heart pounding in her throat. Her own lips contorted into a wide, although very nervous grin.

"Catch me if you can then, smartass."

And with that, she was gone, running deeper into the woods, waving his flag at him. After a few seconds she heard heavy footfalls following her and she laughed at the curses Xavier spewed with his every breath, although fighting the laughter himself. It wasn't long before she felt large palms around her middle and with a squeal, their bodies collided and toppled to the forest floor in a tangle of limbs. The flag flew out of Val's hand towards the shore as she wildly grabbed at the front of the jester costume, pulling Xavier underneath her and onto his back before he noticed what happened, his eyes focused on the flag.

Only when she straddled his hips he let out a gasp and his wide eyes flew back towards her face, gliding along her body. He writhed, trying with all his might to pull her off of him, praying she wouldn't notice the constant erection he had since when she got out of her tent in that fucking tight costume. But he failed, fighting his nervous laughter, trying to grab her hands away from him as her fingers dug into his sides, tickling him without mercy. He noticed her hair was now glittering with green, almost taunting him.

Then it all happened too fast for any of them to process what was going on.

Suddenly, his vision changed just as he felt Val's hips grinding down on his crotch after he bucked them a little too hard, trying to throw her off. And before he knew it, a moan tore from his throat, as he watched Val plung herself down on his cock, her pussy swallowing his length repeatedly for a few seconds before his vision turned back to normal.

Val watched, dumbstruck, as Xavier stiffened underneath her all of a sudden, moaned while looking at her with his brows furrowed, eyes wide and looking at her with such intensity she felt herself go red in the face. His fingers dug into her thighs so hard she wouldn't be surprised she would have bruises later that day. She then realized she was pressing against something hard and when she moved forward slightly, her hips rolling against it, she felt a hot jolt running through her spine when he stifled another moan. The shock and realization dawned on her. He was rock hard and she was shamelessly grinding on his dick just now.

Before she could say anything however, a twig snapped somewhere in front of them and she saw Ajax run out from behind a tree, their flag in hand, looking straight at them incredulously, as they were still sprawled on the ground in a very telling pose. She bolted upright, unable to look Xavier in the face and instantly sprinted back towards the boats, shame creeping up her cheeks.

"See ya, pretty loser boy!"

Ajax stood there, watching his best friend let out a long groan and fling his arms over his face, clearly beetroot red under all the white face paint. His bulge clear as day in his pants.

"Bro. I think we have some shit to talk about tonight."

[seagull-energy]

BUCKLE UP, FOLKS, IT'S TIME FOR SOME BIG THOUGHTS ABOUT SEPTEMBER 29THS NEWSLETTER ENTRY! (this took so long omg, I got very busy) VERY long post incoming.

First of all, the entire barrow scene is INCREDIBLY creepy, but I want to highlight this bit in particular:

'What in the name of wonder?' began Merry, feeling the golden circlet that had slipped over one eye. Then he stopped, and a shadow came over his face, and he closed his eyes. 'Of course, I remember!' he said. 'The men of Carn Dûm came on us at night, and we were worsted. Ah! the spear in my heart!' He clutched at his breast. 'No! No!' he said, opening his eyes. 'What am I saying? I have been dreaming. Where did you get to, Frodo?'

Hey, what's happening here??? Is Merry being possessed by the unhoused spirit of a man of Arnor?? This is another one of those things that is just dropped in, never explained, and then moved past and it's REALLY SCARY.

-

Then, does this line remind anyone else of Macbeth? Specifically the scene where he sees the line of Banquo's descendants. Like, compare these two texts:

The hobbits did not understand his words, but as he spoke they had a vision as it were of a great expanse of years behind them, like a vast shadowy plain over which there strode shapes of Men, tall and grim with bright swords, and last came one with a star on his brow.

A show of eight kings, the eighth king with a glass in his hand, and Banquo last. MACBETH  Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo. Down! Thy crown does sear mine eyeballs. And thy hair, Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first. A third is like the former. [...] A fourth? Start, eyes! What, will the line stretch out to th’ crack of doom? Another yet? A seventh? I’ll see no more. And yet the eighth appears who bears a glass Which shows me many more, and some I see That twofold balls and treble scepters carry.

Obviously it's not a one-to-one comparison, but the Vibes are similar. (The use of the phrase 'crack of doom' in the Macbeth passage is also interesting, although I think that's probably a coincidence rather than anything else) LotR obviously has other well-known Macbeth connections, but this is one I only just noticed. (I really hope this comes off as similar to someone else and I'm not just coming up with nonsense)

-

As soon as his back was turned, a dark figure climbed quickly in over the gate and melted into the shadows of the village street.

I LOVE THIS MOMENT because reading it for the first time, anyone's first assumption is that this is going to be a Black Rider, but (spoilers) IT'S NOT! What a brilliant little subversion!

-

Frodo, Pippin, and Sam decided to join the company. Merry said it would be too stuffy. 'I shall sit here quietly by the fire for a bit, and perhaps go out later for a sniff of the air. Mind your Ps and Qs, and don't forget that you are supposed to be escaping in secret, and are still on the high-road and not very far from the Shire!'

If only they'd listened to Merry... I feel like Merry's practicality and good sense gets overlooked a lot. In these early chapters his status as 'most well traveled of the group' really comes across

-

Suddenly Frodo noticed that a strange-looking weather-beaten man, sitting in the shadows near the wall, was also listening intently to the hobbit-talk. He had a tall tankard in front of him, and was smoking a long-stemmed pipe curiously carved. His legs were stretched out before him, showing high boots of supple leather that fitted him well, but had seen much wear and were now caked with mud. A travel-stained cloak of heavy dark-green cloth was drawn close about him, and in spite of the heat of the room he wore a hood that overshadowed his face; but the gleam of his eyes could be seen as he watched the hobbits.

Words cannot express how much I love this description (and Strider's introduction as a whole)

-

There is an inn, a merry old inn beneath an old grey hill, And there they brew a beer so brown That the Man in the Moon himself came down one night to drink his fill. [...]

*The Cat and the Moon from the LotR musical starts blasting in my head*

-

And now... the Aragorn list... (my thoughts are in list format because otherwise I will just be pasting large chunks of the entry here, and I've already done enough of that)

what was he doing behind the hedge on the Road???

"I slipped over the gate just behind them." and there's the payoff to that spooky moment earlier!!! It goes from 'oooh a Black Rider might have followed them' to 'nope, it was actually just this dude who wants to help them' to 'OH SHIT THE BLACK RIDERS WERE ALREADY HERE' a little later. Good stuff :D

"a secret that concerned me and my friends" I'm curious which friends he means here. Probably the Dunedain, maybe the sons of Elrond as well? Anyway, it's a fun little note

Okay now I need to break the list format because WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT ARAGORN'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE RIDERS

'[...] They will come on you in the wild, in some dark place where there is no help. Do you wish them to find you? They are terrible!' The hobbits looked at him, and saw with surprise that his face was drawn as if with pain, and his hands clenched the arms of his chair. The room was very quiet and still, and the light seemed to have grown dim. For a while he sat with unseeing eyes as if walking in distant memory or listening to sounds in the Night far away.

So uh, Aragorn doesn't just know OF the Riders, he knows the Riders. He's obviously speaking from experience here, and iirc this is never expanded upon. What happened between them? And when did it happen?

'[...]I am afraid my only answer to you, Sam Gamgee, is this. If I had killed the real Strider, I could kill you. And I should have killed you already without so much talk. If I was after the Ring, I could have it – NOW!'   He stood up, and seemed suddenly to grow taller. In his eyes gleamed a light, keen and commanding. Throwing back his cloak, he laid his hand on the hilt of a sword that had hung concealed by his side. They did not dare to move. Sam sat wide-mouthed staring at him dumbly.   'But I am the real Strider, fortunately,' he said, looking down at them with his face softened by a sudden smile. 'I am Aragorn son of Arathorn; and if by life or death I can save you, I will.'

Chills. I love him. So much. Also, SURPRISE! It's art time!!

[ID: A digital drawing of Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. He has pale skin and shoulder length dark brown hair. He is wearing a brown quilted vest, brown trousers, a cream shirt with puffy sleeves, and a dark green cloak. He is looking slightly down and to his left (image right). His left hand is resting on his chest and his right hand is resting on a sword belted at his waist. The drawing has dark, blue-gray lighting and the background is a rough blue-gray rectangle. /end id]

Andddd now for one more thought: there is no mention of him having a second sword, which implies that his ONLY WEAPON in these DANGEROUS TIMES is just the shards of Narsil. Unhinged behavior, I love that for him

Moving on from Aragorn now! (although I will have many more things to say about him later)

-

'[the Black Rider] seemed to make off up the Road, eastward,' continued Merry. 'I tried to follow. Of course, it vanished almost at once; but I went round the corner and on as far as the last house on the Road.'

MERRY. WTF. Okay so this is 1) extremely brave and 2) not actually a terrible idea in theory. Trying to find out where the Rider was going and what it was doing would be smart, IF IT WASN'T ONE OF THE ENEMY'S MOST DANGEROUS SERVANTS THAT SHOULD BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS

-

[Merry said] "I could hardly help myself. I seemed to be drawn somehow."

FORESHADOWING????? Actually looking at both this and the thing with the wights that I talked about at the beginning of this ramble, merry actually has a pretty strong link with the wraiths from the beginning, which is INTERESTING!

-

Okay I think that's everything I wanted to say. I'm so sad this took me so long to write because now there's been a whole WEEK of entries that I haven't talked about or done art for :((( Weathertop at least will probably get some love at some point, but rn my art brain is telling me to draw the entire cast of the musical so we'll see how I balance things :)

[spookyspecterino]

Lost in the Stars

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

Sam Coe x Old Earth! GN! Reader

(Warnings are chapter based) Foul language, fear, anxiety

It's hereeeee! I said I would release last week, but work and life in general said no. Anyway, hope you enjoy! This was requested by @wuzpoppinrose and, as usual, I took the prompt and ran away with it.

When you get transported to a strange new city where nothing looks like home, or even Earth, one or two people are more than a little curious about your arrival.

---BREAKING---EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE GONE BY 2203---HOAX OR THE END OF HUMANITY---NEW DEVICE COULD SAVE US---

They’re really trying to start a riot.

The bright, flashing red on your phone screen blinks out as you lock it and slip it into a pocket. Yet the blaring words of the news leaves spots in your vision. Imprinting itself not only in your mind but your literal eyes as well.

That was definitely an intentional design choice.

Hard to believe that humanity has found another avenue to their destruction, adding to the seemingly endless mix already out there. Maybe that’s why it wasn’t really clicking in your mind. Just a news headline, for now at least, to be replaced by another—something just as urgent—tomorrow.

With a heavy sigh you look at the clock.

1:13 AM

Damn.

While the idea of going to bed isn’t the most exciting thing, a gentle wind blowing through your open window calls and beckons to one of your favorite activities.

Star gazing.

As a child you would look through your amateur telescope every night, like a ritual of sorts. Now…well, you didn’t have a telescope, but you did have a backyard with a clear view. On a warm night like tonight, you could stare up for hours. Getting lost in that black, star speckled blanket.

The temptation is too great, and without meaning to your feet carry you to the double doors leading out into your backyard. Crickets chirp. The wind rustles the grass and leaves. A peaceful and much needed change. To enhance the feeling, you slip off your shoes and revel in the way the grass sticks up between your toes and the feeling of dirt underfoot. It was hard to image a great calamity when here and now there was only the feeling of calm tranquility.

Yet, curiosity creeps into your mind. Your hands itched to pull up your phone again, to find out more about the “Atmosphere issue” as some news channels were calling it.

Which feelings are stronger? Fear and anxiety? Or is it the overwhelming exhaustion from another story about how Earh (and everyone on it) is going to die?

Not for the first time, your sad stare turns skyward. How many of your ancestors had done the same? Stared up into the great unknown and wondered just what is out there?

Humanity’s salvation?

Or maybe just a cold death.

For some unknown reason, you close your eyes, imagining yourself flying through the stars. Even though you’re standing, your mind begins to drift, you feel your body pulled into sleep. And you fall into the welcoming black.

. . .

“Oh man…uh—hey Sarah! Sarah!”

“Yes Noel, what is it?”

“We just got a huge spike in anomalous activity readings. It might be a glitch, but I wanted to you to look at it.”

“What makes you say it’s a glitch?” Sarah walks up to Noel, holding a steaming coffee mug.

“The reading came from here in New Atlantis.”

“Let me see.” Sarah trades the small tablet for her coffee, placing it down on the table. Her brows furrow deep as she starts to read. “That is…very odd. We’ve never seen a reading pop up here before.”

“And so suddenly.” Noel agrees.

“When did you—oh, it’s gone!”

“The anomaly?” Noel asks, huddling in close to get a look at the screen.

“It just disappeared. Like a blip.”

“So…maybe it is a glitch? Malfunctioning equipment? The idea of an anomaly appearing and then disappearing here in New Atlantis, practically outside our doorstep, is absurd.” She pauses after Sarah doesn’t react. “Right?”

“I don’t know, but I intend on figuring it out.” She turns to the garden doors. “Sam?”

“Yeah?” He calls back a moment later. He sounds like he might have food in his mouth.

“Would you mind coming with me? There’s an anomaly reading from here in New Atlantis, but it’s disappeared. I want to check it out.”

“An anomaly? Here?” Sam’s head appears through one of the doors as he leans inside. There’s a half-eaten bagel in one of his hands. “That has to be a glitch.”

“That’s what I said.” Noel commented, moving Sarah’s coffee off the table so she could run some diagnostics.

Sarah focuses on Sam. “I’d like to make sure. We have no idea what we’re dealing with or what these artifacts are capable of.”

He shrugs, tossing the rest of his bagel to the side. “Alright, don’t see why not.”

“Good. Noel, we’ll be back soon.”

“Got it. I’ll keep running some system tests.”

Sarah, in all her confidence and ease as leader, strides toward the double doors of the Lodge. Sam is right behind her, adjusting his hat, only slightly torn about his breakfast being interrupted.

“At least today has started off interesting, I was about ready to—"

“Wait.” Sarah halts, one hand resting on the ornate door handle. “Do you hear that?”

“Hm? Hear what?” Sam freezes, tilting his head around.

“It sounds like…” Sarah looks back to the door, as if she can see through it. “It sounds like shouting.”

. . .

Fresh air.

A slight breeze.

The feeling of grass.

Shifting around, your body aches—in dire need of a stretch. Limbs refuse to obey, heavy and stiff. It must be early, your eyes refuse to open, still tired and fighting the feeling of being yanked from comfortable darkness. Moving a little, the grass and leaves under you tickle and scratch lightly at your exposed skin.

When’s the last time you fell asleep outside? It must be a few years at least. Strange. You don’t remember laying down or falling asleep.

People’s voices draw your attention. That’s also strange. Your backyard isn’t anywhere near where other people would gather. Are the neighbors doing something?

And why do the birds sound so weird?

The sunlight is suddenly harsh as you crack your eyes open just a hair’s fraction. Placing a hand to block the sun, alarms in the back of your mind go off. Something feels uncomfortable in this. You turn over, using your elbow as leverage to prop yourself up. The fog is lifting as you try to get your bearings. Leaves and grass cling to your clothes.

As your eyes open up more, adjusting to the light, you stare at the strange root formations in the ground. They don’t seem right. And the trees…

You’ve never seen these trees or anything like them before.

You’re not in your backyard.

“What the fuck?” You can’t help it. The words come out as a whisper.

As your eyes travel the alien landscape you’re no longer whispering.

“What the fuck?!”

Tall, silver buildings, twisting and jutting into the sky. Planes—at least you think they are—roar overhead. You try looking for them but aren’t able to catch one. They sound so close. Are you at an airport?

How the fuck did you wind up at an airport? And what airport is this?

“Ok, weird trees. Weird city. Airport? What the hell is going on?”

Looking out through the bushes, you think you can see people walking around, milling about, talking with others.

Getting to your feet is a panicked scramble as you fight to calm your mind and racing heart. Possibilities and scenarios of the worst-case scream at you.

You don’t feel any kind of pain, a quick check around your abdomen and you confirm that you still have your kidneys.

“People. Talk to people.” The plan is set. Maybe someone can help you.

But as you move closer, they become clearer. And they look…like people…but their clothing is different. Styled in a way you’ve never seen.

Suddenly talking to them doesn’t seem appealing. You shy back, closer to the trees, almost fumbling over a tree root. You reach out for anything that can break your fall and scratch your hand on some bushes, it rustles loudly as the sticks crunch and snap. If you had any fantasies that you might be dreaming, they’re cut short when your hand stings.

You look back out into the street; you’ve caught the attention of a few people. They stare as if you’re the weird one.

Maybe it’s time to go…somewhere. The bulky weight of your phone in your pocket is reassuring. As you reach for it, fishing it out, a gruff voice startles you enough you almost drop it.

“You need to take your roleplaying elsewhere.”

It’s a man in a heavy-duty uniform. A visor covers half his face. The colors are different and foreign. Across his chest the word SECURITY is printed in bold lettering.

A cop? Private security? Maybe you’re in a resort or something.

You lean forward, as if you didn’t hear him. “Excuse me?”

“I said, you need to take your Earth roleplaying elsewhere. We don’t tolerate destruction of the gardens.”

“Earth role—I—I’m not roleplaying! Do you know where I am?”

“Oh, sure. That’s what all you freaks say when you get caught. Move along, or you’ll be spending the night in a UC security cell.”

“I don’t what the fuck a ‘UC’ is!”

“Get out of the garden! Right now!”

“Ok…Jesus.” You step out, noticeably aware that you’re still barefoot. “Please just tell me where I am.”

The guard sounds more pissed off with each word you say. “I don’t have the patience for this. Don’t you have somewhere else you can do this shit?”

“I—don’t—know—where—I—am!” You feel like clapping your hands along as you speak to try and make it clearer for him, but he already seems like he wants to kill you.

“This is your last chance to move along!”

A woman, blonde haired and tall, in a red jacket and a man in a cowboy hat, leather jacket, and jeans round the corner a little ways down the street. You hardly notice, only your subconscious registers them as more people to join those already staring.

For the sake of not causing too much of a scene, you intentionally lower your voice. “Please, help me. I have no idea how I got here. I just want to go home!”

“Uh huh, and where’s your home? Earth?” He sneers.

You’re so frustrated you feel tears spring up in the corner of your eyes. “No shit!”

“Your acting is pretty good.” The guard laughs, it sounds sharp enough to cut you. “Maybe I can arrange for someone to drop you off—without a spacesuit.”

“Drop me off—what the hell are you talking about?”

Spacesuit? Is he trying to make a joke?

“You know what, I’ve had enough, you’re coming with me.”

The blonde woman interrupts, jogging closer to stop the man. “Excuse me, hang on a moment, please.” She has a slight accent. At this point you’re just glad everyone is speaking your own language.

He’s not too happy to see her either. “And what do you want?”

“What are you doing with them, they’re obviously in distress and you’re not helping at all.” She points to you. Her companion, the cowboy, waits back. Watching curiously.

The guard snorts. “This isn’t any of your business. Just got someone here who’s taking the joke way too far.”

She looks between you and the guard. “Joke, what joke? What’s he talking about?”

You’re close to a mental breakdown. “I have no idea! Please help me!”

The guard raises his arm between you and the woman. “Don’t fall for it. I’ve dealt with these weirdos before. They love acting like they’ve got no idea what’s going on, or that they’re scared and confused, or whatever. Once they’re faced with actual consequences, they drop it.” He faces you. The blue tint of his helmet gives him an otherworldly appearance. “Isn’t that right?”

Wherever this is, it sucks. You grip your phone so tightly in your hand you might actually crack it.

Blondie turns to you. Her eyes are a gentle green. “Are you actually a role-player?”

Since she’s being kind, and asking honestly, your tone lowers. “I don’t know what that means…roleplaying what?”

“I told you, this one’s really into it.”

She holds up a hand. “Just one moment.” She points to your clothes. “Where did you get those?”

Blinking, you’re not sure if she’s serious. “My clothes?”

“Yes, where’d you get them from?”

“I bought them at the store…”

“What store?”

“H&M.”

This makes her pause. “H&M? What does that stand for?”

“I... I don’t really know—look, I’ll just show you where I live—” You hold up your phone, still in a death grip. It only takes two tries to unlock it as your hands shake. Your GPS is easy to find, but it doesn’t load. Something sinks in your stomach. The bars in the top corner of your phone screen flash with an ‘X’ through them.

“Well, isn’t that interesting.” The woman murmurs, leaning over to get a better look at it in your trembling hands.

The guard grumbles, crossing his arms. “So, they got ahold of some relics, big whoop. How many credits did you pay for that? 20K?”

You can’t seem to catch your breath. The world starts to blur. You must be stuck in a fever dream. “Credits? You mean like currency? Money?”

As you look between the guard and the woman, she’s looking at you peculiarly, as if you’re some kind of specimen under a microscope. The guard, half his expression hidden, twists his mouth in disdain.

She looks like she’s about to say something, even her hand comes out in invitation, but the guard is hellbent on ending this unpleasant distraction.

“You’re not gonna get anything useful out of this freak.” He grumbles as he swats your phone out of your hands.

Your whole body freezes up in shock at the personal affront. Your eyes track it as it falls to the ground.

The woman scoffs. “Was that really necessary?” To her credit, she seems genuinely angry on your behalf.

Your phone clatters with a sickening sound. It lands, screen facing up, and you can see it’s cracked, the background image flickers on and off.

As if it’s just another day in the office, the guard is unphased. “They need to learn the hard way—”

Even if you weren’t in a foreign land, you couldn’t—wouldn’t—let someone get away with such disrespect. Even if it was a glorified cop.

His boot is tougher than your bare foot, but you slam your heel down hard enough, with all your weight, that he feels it. You want it to hurt. You want him to feel just a modicum of the pain and anger that hums through your veins. Every ounce of frustration you feel is poured into the action.

He makes a noise close to surprise and stumbles back a few steps. Reeling and clawing at the air for purchase. Seeing your chance and wanting nothing to do with this place any longer, you dash to pick up your phone—holding it close—and nearly skid on the concrete trying to turn and beeline it for the garden.

Your bare feet sting, but the wind against your face and the small amount of triumph drowns it out. What’s a small bit of pain in the face of one-upping an asshole? Your body thrums with the force to go, go, go!

There are shouts behind you.

You distinguish the woman’s accent. “No! Stop!” It doesn’t sound directed to you.

Leaves brushing and tugging at your skin is the last thing you feel before something painful, like a powerful shock, hits you square in the back. Your body goes completely numb in an instant. You lose control of your legs, and you fall forward. Your arms are useless at breaking the impact. At least the grass and dirt are soft—cushioning and cradling you. The last thing you see are thin, green blades of grass and a twisting tree trunk before the world tilts and fades out.

[duckymcdoorknob]

Um hello I’m kinda new here… I found your emergency requests on someone else’s blog and I really need one right now. My mom wont stop making comments on my body. It makes me feel really bad about myself all the time. Can you please write Takemichi, Chifuyu and Mikey comforting an s/o with body image issues? Thank you if you do write this!! If not, or if it’s too much, please just trash this!

Of course my dear.

Thank you for trusting me with this. I know ALL about this one.

(Brb manifesting Mikey’s)

Please don’t hesitate to come in my dms if you need any help at all.

CW UNDER THE CUT: mentions of bodyshaming.

𝑇𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑐ℎ𝑖 𝐻𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑘𝑖

Takemichi is the world’s best boyfriend, at least in your opinion.

Some days he’s aloof and snarky, but others he’s sweet and kind as can be.

Luckily for you, the day that you needed him most, he was himself.

Your mother had just made another comment on your figure, and you couldn’t take the harassment anymore.

Changing into a large hoodie and sweatpants, you left your home in an instant. As you ran anywhere but back where you came, your field of vision was blurred by tears.

You settled by the riverbank, huddling your knees close to you while you sobbed. You wished wholeheartedly that you were different, that your mom was different, that your life was different…

To your horror, you heard a familiar chiming voice yelling anguishedly behind you.

“Mikey! Stop wiggling so much! You’re gonna fall off the bike!”

“Let’s go to the riverbank, Takemitchy!” The other voice chimed in response.

Your eyes widened as you furiously wiped them with your sleeves. You tried desperately to hide your sniffles, taking a few deep breaths.

“Wait, someone else is here.” Your boyfriend’s voice said with gentleness, “Mikey, Draken, I think they’re crying!”

You began to cry harder as footsteps came toward you. The last thing you needed was for your boyfriend to see you in the state you were.

“Hey! Are you okay, what’s your name?” He gently touched your shoulder.

You immediately flinched away, choking out a “please don’t touch me.”

Your lover immediately recognized your voice. “Wait, (Y/N)?”

“Takemichi please just go…” you mumbled as you hiccuped.

Takemichi instantly took his hand away. “Sweetheart what’s happening? Who did this to you?” His tone was much darker. He sounded ready to kill.

“No, no. Takemichi I’m not hurt please just… just drop it.” You averted your gaze as you sunk inside the oversized clothing.

“I can’t drop it when you’re feeling like this.” The blonde replied, scooting closer to you.

“It’s just me being stupid. I’ll get over it I swe-“

“Yo, Takemitchy. Mikey’s waiting.” Draken’s annoyed voice suddenly sounded.

Your lover looked at you, at the bike where Mikey sat watching a butterfly flutter about, then finally at Draken.

“Takemichi I’m okay.” You reassured him.

“Mikey’s gonna have to wait, this is much more important than a bike ride.”

“Takemichi!” You hissed, yanking your hood down, “Why would you say that? I told you I’m fine, go be with your friends!”

“(Y/N) they understand.” Your lover tucked a strand of hair behind your ear with a smile, “So please… tell me what’s bothering you.”

Your lip wobbled as you pulled the hood back up . “Do you really love me?” You asked in a mousy voice.

“With all of my heart.” He grabbed your hand and kissed it.

“Even though I look like this?”

“(Y/N) what do you mean?”

“Even though my body looks like it does? Even though I’m not the perfect partner that you actually deserve?”

“(Y/N) (L/N). Look at me,” Takemichi commanded, tilting your chin upward with two fingers. “I didn’t fall in love with you for your body. I’m not in this for sex, or your body alone. I am in love with you.”

“I’m in love with the person who always texts me to make sure I get home every single night, who sings to me when I get scared, who always makes me a little snack before I go to meetings.” He ended his last statement with a chuckle.

“What I’m trying to say is that you never have to worry about me leaving you. So please don’t cry, and please don’t ever think that you aren’t enough just because someone doesn’t like the way you look. Because if it’s any consolation, I sure as hell think you look incredible.”

You wrapped your arms around your lover’s neck and hugged him tightly. He reciprocated, chastely kissing the crown of your head.

“How touching. Can we go get ramen like you promised?” Mikey called from the bike.

You whined “Aw man they heard all of that?”

“Doesn’t matter. The only person who should care about what you look like is yourself. And I hope that the way you care is by living your life the way you want to live.”

Takemichi stood to his feet, offering you a hand. “Now then. Does my darling partner want to join me and my friends for some ramen? We can share a bike.” You nodded while smiling.

“Who said that I would pedal Mikey?” Draken growled in a low voice.

“Well I’m sure as hell not trusting my partner on the back of your bike.” Takemichi replied, draping an arm around your shoulder.

𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑦𝑢 𝑀𝑎𝑡𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑜

Ever since Chifuyu had been beaten by Baji, you avoided telling him anything.

You just didn’t want to burden your lover with anything when he already had so much going on.

So the day that your mom’s comments put you over the edge, you didn’t know who to talk to.

You put on your baggiest clothing and retreated to the playground near the school.

As tears leaked out of your eyes you desperately tried to wipe them.

You closed your eyes to try and level yourself, but the sobs just wouldn’t stop. You hated the body you had and you desperately wished you had a different life.

The sound of chains creaking next to you alerted you. You gasped as your eyes widened in shock.”

“Hey, calm down love; It’s just me.”

You sighed in relief as you heard the familiar voice. After registering who it was, you hung your head low and averted your gaze. “How’d you know I was here?”

“I got a text from Mitsuya. He said he saw you crying and you were walking toward school. I figured you’d come here.” Chifuyu noted, kicking his legs a little bit on the swing.

“Great intuition.” You mumbled, “But it’s okay. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“That’s the biggest load of bull I’ve ever heard.” 

“Chif-“

“No don’t try to lie to me.” He demanded, “How am I supposed to leave my partner alone knowing that they’re in pain?”

“It’s really nothing to pitch a fit about.” You replied sheepishly.

“If it’s nothing, then why are you crying so much?”

Chifuyu stood from the swing and knelt down in front of you. He took both of your hands in his own and stared into your teary eyes.

You tried to rip your hands out of his grasp, “Chifuyu stop. Don’t touch me please.”

With pain in his eyes, your lover released your hands and watched you curl in on yourself.

“(Y/N) I’m begging you. Please tell me what happened.” You heard the fragility of his voice and couldn’t help the guilt.

“You don’t deserve to have to touch me. Why are you even with me? When I look like this above all else…”

Your boyfriend stared at you with his beautiful cerulean eyes. “(Y/N) will you look at me?”

Your teary gaze finally met his. “What?”

“You” he began, “Are my favorite person in the world.”

“Chifuyu-“

“And I love you for you. I don’t love you only for your body, and I’m not in this for sex. While I do find you absolutely stunning, your body isn’t the reason why I fell in love with you.”

“I fell in love with someone who makes me laugh until I snort, which I didn’t even know I could do by the way! I fell for someone who helps me with my English homework, because God only knows I’m awful at it. I fell for the person who’s never against getting a gas station slushy with me, especially every Friday at two in the morning.”

“What I’m trying to say is, I love you. I love you to absolute pieces. I don’t care what you look like and I never will. I think you’re easily the most gorgeous person on this planet, like genuinely.”

“I love you too Chifuyu, thank you.” You got off the swing and immediately slumped down into his embrace.

Your lover held you for a few moments, rubbing his thumb in between your shoulders and kissing your forehead occasionally.

“Hey Chi’?”

“Mm?”

“Speaking of two am slushies…”

“Oh hell yeah. Don’t even finish that sentence.”

You giggled as you both got to your feet. Chifuyu took your hand and you both rushed to the nearest gas station for your weekly treat.

𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑗𝑖𝑟𝑜 (𝑀𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑦) 𝑆𝑎𝑛𝑜

With a boyfriend like Mikey, you were constantly worried about whether he liked you or not.

He always had people fawning over him, so you never felt truly reassured, no matter how many times he did so.

So when your mom had made her usual comments, you were hesitant to reach out to Mikey.

You had changed into your baggiest tee shirt to hide your figure and rushed away from your home.

You sat on the sand of the beach in the dead of night, the crashing waves mixing with your sobs.

You had nothing to protect you from the harsh breeze that froze you to the core.

Suddenly, a gasp rang through the air. Your eyes widened as you prayed that no one noticed you.

Within a few seconds, a fluffy article was draped across your shoulders.

“Sweetheart what are you doing out here in the cold?!” It was Mikey. He was holding your shoulders gently as he sat down next to you. “Takemitchy told me he saw you were crying and headed this way… I wish you would’ve told me.”

“Mikey please don’t!” you cried out as you wiggled away from him, “Please don’t touch me.”

Your lover recoiled immediately, eyebrows upturned and lip quivering. “Who hurt you?” He whispered.

“What?”

“Who did this to you…?” His voice broke as he tried to fight his own tears, “Because I swear to God I’ll kill whoever the hell made you afraid of being touched.”

“What- Mikey no! I just…” you turned your head and listened to the crashing waves against the shoreline.

“Please (Y/N)…” he murmured.

“Do you still love me?” You asked as a tear rolled down your cheek, “Like genuinely?”

“Of course I do, sunshine. I’ll never stop.”

“You love me even though I look like this? Even though my body is just-“

“Stop right there.” Mikey demanded, “Will you please let me touch you? I won’t hurt you I promise.”

“I… I guess.”

Mikey began by gently grabbing your hands. “I love your hands.” He stated, “They’re soft, gentle and always know just how to patch me up when I get hurt really bad.”

He traced your arms with his fingertips, “I think I love your arms the most. They hold me tight whenever I really need to feel loved. They also hug my friends to help them feel loved too.”

He moved down to your stomach, “I love your stomach because it always tell us when we should get a treat. It’s never ever wrong, since every time is treat time.“

He placed a hand on your thigh, “I love your legs. They take us to such incredible places and keep us moving whenever times get tough. They look amazing in long pants and shorts, hell they look amazing in everything.”

Finally, Mikey moved to cup your cheek, “I love your face. It’s so beautiful and makes the best expressions when you’re happy. It has the most beautiful eyes, cutest nose, and softest lips.”

Mikey pressed a chaste kiss to your lips, wiping your tears with his thumbs. “I love you, and every part of you. I don’t want to date you only because I want to have sex or whatever you may be thinking. I want to date you because you make me feel happy no matter what.”

You choked on a sob as your lover pulled you into an embrace. “I love you too, Mikey.”

Mikey held you wordlessly as he rocked you back and forth. The two of you listened to the peaceful sound of waves crashing along the shoreline.

When your sniffles subsided, Mikey asked you in a tiny voice, “Say (Y/N), does your stomach say it’s time for dorayaki? Mine surely does.”

You giggled and nodded, “Mine does too.”

—————♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎✞♡︎—————

[hazbinhappy]

Hey there! It's always fun to see people engaging in creative and fun things in their spare time. Enjoy your spring break! <3 I would like to request a match-up, if that is alright. I identify as she/her and am heterosexual. My personality type is ISFP, and I love performing arts! I have done both backstage and on-stage work as a theater girly, performing in musicals, more specifically, is my specialty. I love the thrill of being on stage, knowing I am bringing joy to people just by being entertaining. Singing, acting, and dancing are my bread and butter. I also like writing poetry and my own music. I play multiple instruments and like experimenting with new ones,DJ boards are fun too, and I recently got into that technology. I love classic literature. I am also the kind of person to dress up, even for video conferences, lol. If I had a demon form, it would probably be very pale, shoulder-length dark wavy hair, kinda big head with eyes that resemble cds if you actually look for too long, and generally is kinda on the short side in comparison to others, long black nails that she keeps in stiletto style, likes to wear purple and blue dress clothes a lot, and possibly have bunny ears too that she tucks into her hair since they are floppy. I just came up with that off the top of my head for giggles since why not. I can't really think of anything else to throw out there, take care, and have a fantastic evening/morning/afternoon/night! <3

Your Matchup is....

Vox!

Hear me out hear me out hear me out! I paired you two up because of the ability to be personable! Lemme me elaborate:

I won't lie: I have no clue how anyone would meet Vox! It can go so many ways! But I think you being someone who just makes music videos on social media (think of tiktok) for fun and you were gaining a lot of traction! Maybe you also were working for someone to run their social media PR

I'm not too sure but I am one hundred percent settled on it being you having gained his attention through social media

now that seems like Velvette's area, right? Yes, but I think Vox has a say in that department as well because come on? He has to at least have some voice in the PR of VoxTech

Anyways: let's say that Velvette suggested you as someone to join the PR team for the V's because their last one got themselves murked in the most recent extermination

Vox didn't care really until you showed up to get a video approved (that you happily voiced and created)

he didn't want to seem too interested but he liked that you had the personality that drew people in and kept them smiling and entertained

so of course he exploited that... at least in the beginning.

he kept you WORKING until you complained and said something which was a little dispute but y'all worked out a schedule

this was the slowest of burns because the man will not admit his feelings for the love of god

most likely you having to come and call him out on his behavior because the constant stalking and assignments just to see you was getting annoying

once y'all are together it's of course not all sunshine

he is constantly bitching about Valentino or Alastor or even his consumers and employees (just a whiner honestly) but you offer occasionally advice or just listen so he has a place to vent

he is of course going to make sure you have everything up to date! and you'll probably be the safest because he knows where you are

you probably avoid trying to use his money, but wow there is suddenly a VoxTech theatre??? That is so crazy and oh my gosh what is that?? You're in charge of it all and get to manage it and do whatever!!

it may sound like a weird match, but please see the vision, I see it.

"Hello, my dear-"

"Vox, you know I absolutely love your technology, obviously, but..." You frowned as you stood on the ladder fiddling with one of the many cameras in the theatre hall.

"But what?" He frowned as he watched you through the camera, "The cameras help with people being disruptive or just in general being a bad audience-"

"Yeah, but they glow. They ruin the ambiance."

"So?"

"Soooo they ruin the fact that the theatre is supposed to be completely dark so you can watch the show."

"... I suppose I could find a new solution."

"You better or I'm finding a way to take these all out myself."

[sarahjswift]

Twin Wounds Chapter 8

Hi everyone! I am attempting to follow a schedule; Wednesdays Twin Wounds updates and Fridays IWHAIWSA updates :)

I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's mostly fluff tbh but I was happy to write some of that after the end of last week's chapter...*shudders*

OH PLUS we start to see Aedion + Lysandra....👀👀

I hope everyone enjoys this update! If you have any prompts for Twin Wounds or IWHAIWSA - or honestly a whole new fic/oneshot - just comment it, privately message me or send me a request! :D

Word Count: 1.1k (I'm sorry it's small I just was at a bit of a loss for what to write and really wanted to get something out here for y'all)

Tag List <33: (It's growing! Everyone on here I love + appreciate so so much) @backtobl4ck, @aelinchocolatelover, @renxzs, @blue-bird17, @autumnbabylon, and @luell1q!! @luell1q is our wonderful new addition <33

Warnings: Language and bad writing XD

Enjoy! <33

__

“Aedion!” Aelin ran through the lobby and flung herself onto her grinning cousin. She laughed as he twirled her around, joy filling her. 

“Hey, Ae!” he laughed, and Aelin beamed as she looked at him. The male equivalent to her, they had been mistaken as twins as children because of their similarities - their tan skin, golden locks and Ashryver eyes. “How are you doing?”

“Fine,” she said, Aedion setting her down. She took his hand and led him out of the lobby and outside, apparently where the “visiting hours” took place. They both squinted in the sun, and Aelin pointed to the gaggle of people in the distance. “That’s my group over there. I get to miss group therapy today, thank the Gods. You saved me.”

“Can I meet them?” 

Aelin snorted for a second - but at the silence that followed his statement, she whipped her head around to him. “Huh?”

Aedion shrugged. “I wanted to meet the people you have to spend time with every day. And your friends, too.”

Aelin let out a dramatic groan but at her cousin’s raised eyebrow, she sighed and flung an arm over his shoulders, leading him to her group. As they approached, she suddenly felt apprehensive. Would they judge her for the familiarity she had with her cousin? Would Aedion embarrasser her and say something inappropriate?

“Everyone, this is my cousin, Aedion,” she said as they stopped. Her stomach was a flurry of nerves.

“Hello,” Aedion said with his - their - classic Ashryver swagger. “It’s so nice to meet-” he stopped, his face pale as though he had seen a ghost.

“Aedion?” she frowned. “What-” She followed his line of vision and saw his attention focused on Lysandra, the woman giving him a once-over. She inwardly groaned - she should’ve known. His cousin was the master at one-night stands, and she couldn’t count on two hands the amount of girlfriends he’d brought home. Nothing against that, but - 

“Really?” she hissed into his ear. “My therapy friend?”

Lysandra swung her hair over her shoulder and descended to him. Aedion’s eyes tracked her cat-like gait before flicking up to her emerald eyes. The whole group was silent, assessing them as they shook hands. “Nice to meet you…Aedion,” Lysandra purred, batting her eyelashes. Aelin stifled an eye roll as her cousin audibly swallowed.

__

The rest of the group was cordial to Aedion, and for some reason - or maybe because of a certain woman - her cousin insisted on spending the morning outside with her therapy group. But when Luca suggested he join them for therapy, even Aedion balked. 

“No way,” Aelin protested. “My cousin will not be joining our trauma dumping. That’s where I draw the line.” 

“It could be good for him to meet Rowan,” Luca shrugged, toying with a piece of his hair. He’d turned tomato red when Aedion had slung an arm around him, and she had a feeling why her group mate was so eager to spend time with her cousin.

“I-I’m not sure that would be best - plus, I’m most likely not even allowed,” Aedion stammered, rubbing the back of his neck.

He wasn’t, in fact, allowed, so the cousins lounged around the sunny area, soaking in the rays. They chatted and caught up, Aedion filling her in about his job on base, Aelin giving him the scoop with the patients. It was a good day, and she felt calm knowing he was near. 

The group was finished with their therapy too soon, and they ate lunch together in the cafeteria. To Aelin’s dismay, her cousin opted to sit next to Lysandra instead of her, leaving her sandwiched between Tiela and Selmer. 

“I know you weren’t allowed to go to therapy, but maybe you could meet Rowan?” Luca said eventually, sipping his peppermint tea. 

“What do you care so much?” Aelin snapped. Aedion shot her a look and said through a mouthful of sandwich; “I’d love to.”

__

Aelin didn’t know why she was anxious about her cousin meeting her hot therapist -she just was. She prayed she wasn’t sweating too much as the two made their way to his office, following Luca’s lead. They reached it and Luca knocked on the door. The rumbled “come in” made her heart beat faster. Luca gave them a nod - and a blush for Aedion - before scurrying back down the hall. Aedion gave her an encouraging smile and opened the door.

Rowan was sitting at his desk, hurriedly sweeping something off his desk - the half-eaten remnants of a Wawa BLT and a root beer. Just like me, she thought. It was her favorite lunch - or it used to be. He stood up when he saw them, clearing his throat and adjusting his wrinkled polo shirt. She couldn’t help admiring how the tightness of his clothes showed off his muscles.

“Hey, I’m Aedion,” her cousin said, shaking Rowan’s hand. “I’m Aelin’s cousin.”

“Ah, Aedion,” Rowan said, a light of recognition lighting in his eyes. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Do you know him?” Aelin asked, raising a brow. 

Rowan went beet red. “Erm, he’s…he’s in your file.” She shrugged off what the thought of her “file” did to her and observed his office, tuning out as the two men started in conversation. Except for the mess of his lunch, his office was immaculate. The papers on his desk were organized in multiple stacks, and the barely furnished room was near-sparling. He had a simple computer and a monitor, and one framed photo beside that. For some reason, her heart strained when she looked at it. 

Oh, shush, she chided herself. Of course he has a partner - he’s hot and young. You have no reason to be jealous. 

__

Rowan found he liked his patient’s cousin, but he couldn’t help but feel guilty around the man. Aedion obviously loved Aelin, and Rowan knew Aedion would punch him if he ever found out about his creepy crush. It’s be well deserved, too.

To his dismay, Aelin stayed mostly silent as they gathered in his office, the two sitting in folding chairs he’d pulled out. They went through stages of small talk before Aedion asked; “So, how do you think she’s doing?”

Aelin snapped back to reality and whipped her head to her cousin, nostrils flaring. Rowan felt a companionship with the man as Aedion flinched and shrank back in fear - he’d felt that multiple times during their sessions.

“I love if you waited until I was out of the fucking room before you talked about me,” Aelin snarled. 

“Leave, then,” Aedion shot back cockily. Rowan was impressed by the man’s nerve. 

“Fine. I’ll see you in another fucking month when you decide to drop by again,” Aelin near shouted, stomping out of the room. She slammed the door behind her with flourish, and Rowan winced. 

“This is going to sound weird,” Aedion said quietly, drawing Rowan’s attention back to him, “but it’s kind of a relief to see her angry. It’s better than the…shell she was in before.” 

Rowan smiled. “I know the feeling.”

[snailsrneat]

A painstaking entrance

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

Synopsis: Our protagonists wakes up in a strange place with no memory of how she got there. With no other choice, she trudged through the painstaking challenges ahead of her.

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

"Uggh, my head." I whine, as my brain slowly begins to reenter consciousness. My head pounds violently. "Motherfucker..." I hiss, trying to nurse my aching skull between my palms. 'Why does it have to feel like a knife is in my head?'

Groaning, I open my eyes, my vision full of darkness. 'Huh? Are my glasses not on?' Lowering my hand to my face, my fingertips brush against the cold acrylic of my glasses. 'Weird..' I try to reach my hand forward, but am stopped by a piece of wood. The gritty material scratching uncomfortably against my dry fingers.

'Eugh, I hate that.'

Grimacing I retract my hand before reaching to the left, same result. Then to the right, even tried above me, same thing happened every time.

'I should probably start using hand lotion.' I note to myself. I sigh, bored. I'm stuck in a box with nothing to do. Except pay attention to the waves of discomfort that travel through my brain.

I sigh again, this time deeper. I try thinking back to last night to give me some sort of clue as to where I am. However my memory is as good as a goldfishes, I can't remember shit.

"Well fuck."

I really am too tired for this right now.

Just as hope of ever seeing the light of day began to fade, the box caging me in began to shake. My eyes widen, 'FINALLY! I'm tired of being held captive inside this stinkin' box!' Suddenly the shaking stopped, and high pitched voice coming from outside began to speak.

Honestly I didn't really care to listen to what it was saying, the only things on my mind right now is trying to get out of here. I suppose that's why I was surprised when I was met with a ball of blue flame. Practically to the face.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" I screamed so loud I'm pretty sure people in North Korea could hear me.

Now trauma aside, that fire ball did do something good for me. It blew the wall in front of me off. 'YES!' I excitedly jump out, landing much lower than I had expected. Turning around to see what held me captive for so long, I was met with an unexpected surprise. A floating coffin with it lid now on the floor and burn marks covering it. 'OH!'

"HEY! YOU, HUMAN. I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

A high pitched voice sounds from behind me. I think it's the same one as before, but I can't be sure. Swinging around, I don't find the owner of the voice. That is until I look down.

The owner of the high pitched voice is a grey cat creature with blue flames inside its pointed ears, and a pitch-forked tail. The cat seems to be happy that it finally caught my attention. A smug grin covers its face. It clears its throat and begins to speak.

"I am the great mage Grim! And you stupid human need to give me your clothes! Now! Huh- HEY!" It tried to yell out for me, but all it was met with in return was a loud slam of a large door and a muffled "FUCK THAT!"

Listen, I know it probably wasn't a good idea to try and run away from that thing. But what other choice did I have? What, sit there and listen to it's stupid speech and strip? Fuck no. Currently I have no idea where I am, I have nothing but my own fists to defend myself, and I don't know ow if I can call for help. Running is my best choice if I want to keep my dignity and humility.

I bolted as fast as my stubby legs could allow away from that room. With the weird cat thing chasing not all too far behind me. Occasionally yelling profanities and telling me to strip.

'Damn pervert cat.'

Occasionally the thing would spit blue flame my way, which only made me run faster from it. My lungs began to burn like I just smoked fifty packs of cigarettes, and my legs were aching for rest.

But it I stopped right now, I know it would only mean more danger. So I have to keep moving. Even through the pain.

After what feels like an eternity of running from that weird cat monster. It's voice begins fade and I slow my pace down dramatically. My heart is still pounding against my chest, my lungs are still struggling for air, and my legs ache like I just ran a marathon but I need to keep moving.

I don't know where that thing is right now but I don't want to have another chase scene like that again anytime soon.

I take a look around the area I'm in and notice that I made it to what feels like the words largest library. No joke, this place looks about the size of a football stadium but instead of all the overpriced seating and food, added on to all the people screaming for their favorite team; It's walls are lined top to bottom with bookshelves all full to the brim with books of varying genres and topics.

Looking up higher I finally notice the books floating midair. Occasionally they flap their pages to keep afloat.

'I don't know what kind of drugs I'm on right now, but I want off. Now.' I think to myself.

Choosing to ignore the floating books I shove my hands in my hands into my pockets and just continue walking. Feeling around the pocket, my eyes light up in excitement. 'MY PHONE! OH MY LOVE HOW I MISSED YOU!' Pulling the device from my pockets, I almost kiss my phone in excitement. Before remembering just how many germs a single cell phone carries and I stop myself. I don't want that on my lips. Hurriedly I stuff the phone into my bra, for safe keeping obviously.

I makes sure it's secure before I begin my quiet trudge forward. Just as I made the first couple steps I am yet again stopped. This time by the stupid pervert cat from earlier.

"MYHAH! FOUND YOU!" The cat thing yells, and adds to the ache pounding in my skull. Turning around I look down at the thing, it's breathing is heavy and it looks like it might pass out any second from now. "Oh no, you caught me." I exclaim flaty. It smirks through it's huffing and puffing. "Of course I did! I am the great and magnificent Grim! Now..", it stops for a moment to catch it's breathe, "Give me your clothes human!"

....

A moment of silence passes between us, as I quietly contemplate kicking the thing and running away again. Luckily I am saved from the trouble this time. As a suave, masculine voices picks up from the shadows.

"Ah, there you are."

A swift slap sounds through the quiet room as the cat thing is suddenly wrapped up in a whip. It thrashes about wildly, trying to be let go but is unable to escape the tight grasp of the whip. 'A little cruel, but given that thing is a pervert it's for the greater good.'

A man steps up from the shadows. A tall man with dark hair and bright, almost electric, yellow eyes. He wears a dark blue glittery vest and black slacks, a giant key tied to his belt. He has a masquerade mask that hides the majority of his face except for his mouth and eyes. He also has a top hat and feathers that lay on his broad shoulders with a cape that flows to the floor. His presence exudes confidence and wisdom.

He's attractive looking for sure.

He clears his throat before he begins to speak, "What do you think you were doing!? Running away from the entrance ceremony, leaving your gate. Have you no manners?!", He exclaims loudly, "And to bring an unruly familiar too. Is your goal to break as many rules as possible on the first day?"

'Okay, attractive looking but the moment he opens his mouth all that attractiveness is lost.' I think, while the cat thing begins to try and bite through the whip. Causing the guy to scoff and glare at me.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" He asks me. I can only shrug and fake an awkward apologectic smile, "Oops?" I answer nervously.

This action appears to not only offend him but his ancient ancestors as well. Oops.

"Oops? OOPS!? YOU BREAK MULTIPLE RULES ON YOUR FIRST DAY AND ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY IN RESPONSE IS "OOPS?"." He yells in my face, blood vessels pop out at the the top of his forehead and his pupils are so small you can barely see them. I decide against replying to him. It isn't worth it if all he's gonna do is yell at me.

Slowly, he begins to calm down. Now pinching with the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger and mumbling a bunch of nonsense whilst I have to wait until he finally pulls himself together. Soon enough he does, looking at me with a frown and saying, "I suppose it can't be helped but still, I hope you know that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated from a student of Night Raven College." I raise my eyebrow, "Student of what now?"

His own eyes widened in shock, "Night Raven college only but the most prestigious school for mages in all of Twisted Wonderland?" I deadpan "Never heard of it." This causes his eyes to blow even wider like an owl. "Oh my. Uhm, do you pray tell happen to know where you are currently?", he asks like I'm some sort of schizophrenic psyche patient. "Ain't gotta clue buddy." I answer crossing my arms. "Oh dear. It seems the teleportation magic must've messed with your brain.", He deduces, "Fear not young one! I, Dire Crowley, will help you by leading the way for I am ever so gracious."

The smile on his face gives me chills.

He spins on his heels and starts walking out of the library. "Come now", he calls out, "We musn't dilly-dally! We're already late as it is."

I silently debate in my mind whether or not I should go with him, 'An older man leading a teenage girl somewhere she doesn't know? That story never ends well...but what other choice do I have?' Sighing, I decide to follow after him. My short, stubby legs have a little trouble keeping up with his much longer ones.

Awkward silence fills the air between Crowley and me, with the occasional grunts from that cat thing. I pull up the hood on my new clothes that I am positive I didn't have on when I went to sleep.

'I don't know, and I don't want to know. Currently this hood is my only comfort here.' I think to myself as I stuff my hands in my pockets and keep my head down. After a couple more minutes of pure awkward silence, Crowley clears his throat. "Ahem, may I ask you a question?" "Shoot." "Do you happen to be a..uhm, female?" The question made me stop in my tracks. Not the question itself, but the way he said was just so...nervous.

I can't help but wanna tease this guy.

"Yes I do happen to be a woman. Why do you ask? Is it cause you're scared of us?" I ask teasingly. From the way he asked the previous question it sure seemed like it. Also who the hell says female? Just say woman.

"No-it's just-hmm, never mind." He fumbles over his words. I can't help the chuckle that falls from my lips. "I ask because it's not often the dark mirror picks out women for our student body." He explains. "The what now?" I ask, tilting my head. "You don't know of the dark mirror?", his face is full of shock, "Oh no, the magic might've messed with your memory more than I realized." He sighs dramatically. "The dark mirror is a magical artifact that can see one's soul. We use it to determine who goes into what dorm." He explains.

Despite not fully understanding what he said, I just nod my head because I don't want to talk anymore. He seems to be okay with this as we go back to our awkward silence.

Walking past a lot of stuff I had barely seen when I was running away from the cat thing. Just a while bunch of classrooms and hallways. 'I guess this place might actually be a school.' I eye Crowley, who seems to be caught up in his mumbling. Something about a ceremony, I don't really fully understand. 'Whatever, either way atleast I know he is a lot less dangerous than that stupid pervert cat.'

Speaking of the creature, he seems to given up on fighting and is now just glaring daggers at Crowley.

Cute.

After what seems like forever we make it back to the door from before. It stands tall and somewhat threatening. Like behind it holds some sort of terrifying beast. 'Well I already dealt with one beast today. What's another, right?' I think to myself, gulping.

Following Crowley through the doors and through a large crowd, something I wasn't expecting. He leads me to the middle of the room where I see a floating mirror. 'What's with the floating stuff today?' It's something I clearly hadn't caref to notice before. He gestures me forward, towards the mirror. While I do obey and walk to the mirror, all I can focus on is the sound of whispers floating about the crowd, and eyes burning through me. It makes me want to shiver. I hate the feeling of eyes one me.

Looking over the crowd for a moment there's one group in specific that sticks out to me. There were six people in the group in total, all with their own opposing 'Aura's' shall we say. There was a boy with crimson hair and a stern face, a boy with lion ears and tail who seemed very uninterested in everything around him, another was a boy with silver hair and seemed to eye the large crowd with some sick amusement. Like he was planning some devious plot.

'Yeesh..that guy is a little too creepy for my liking.'

Looking through the group again, I notice a boy with crimson eys, and another boy very striking violet eyes and blonde hair. The last member of the group was a...floating tablet.

Okay yeah, I'm definitely on drugs. That or I've officially lost my mind. Whatever I'll just ignore the floating I-Pad. For the sake of my own sanity I need to ignore the floating I pad.

The group seem to be mumbling some things to eachother. Occasionally ones looks over to where I am. 'Now I'm a little curious, what are they talking about?'

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

"As I said, there is no room in Heartslabyul for troublemakers. No matter what their reasons may be." I say firmly. Crossing my arms, my eyes glare harshly into the Freshman who was already reeking havoc on their first day here.

"I have to agree with Riddle on this, Kalim.", Vil states, "I'll already have my hand full training one freshman. Training two will be too much of a hassle." The explanation causes the normally chipper Kalim to turn sour. His smile deflates into a sad pout at our words. "Yeah, but still it isn't fair to judge him based on the fact that he ran away before the ceremony.", He argues, "Mayne he was running from something? You guys saw the lid to that gate, it was burnt to a crisp."

"Kalim you're too empathetic for your own good.", Azul butted in,"Even if he was running from something wouldn't it be smarter to go find a staff member? Instead of just leading it across the school where it could run into one of the dorms? Or maybe find another student to maul." Azuls face was smug, more so than usual, as if he just won an argument. Which to be fair, he just did.

"Who cares?", Leona finally speaks up, "Either way it doesn't matter unless she's sorted into one of your dorms." "Oh so the sleeping lion finally rises to talk with the 'Herbivores'?" Vil teases, causing Leona to glare daggers into the blonde. "Shut yur' trap. If it wasn't for you all yapping like a gaggle of seagulls I wouldn't be awake." He growled out. Venom dripped from his voice as he glared into Vil. A moment if tense, awkward silence fills the space between us. Before Idia finally speaks up, "Uhm, is no one gonna point out Leona said 'She' and not 'He'?" His voice boomed low through his tablet.

......

"Huh? But he doesn't look like a...she." Kalims sentence slows down towards the end when he turns to look at the new student. All of our gazes follow his. Lo and behold, Leona was right. The new student was a she.

"That's even more reasonable not to want her in my dorm. This is an all boys school, no females are allowed on campus." I huff out. "Agreed, however I think it'll be interesting to watch what she does next." Azul says slyly. All of us keep our eyes trained on her form as she approaches the mirror of darkness.

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

'They're staring at me now..yeah nope. Too creepy and weird for me.' A shiver crawls up my spine as I turn away from the strange group. Staring straight ahead me at the mirror, my nervousness only rises as it begins to speak.

"State thy name." It asks me. It's voice deep, bellowing throughout the crowded room. 'Do I really wanna say my name in a room full of strangers?' I suspiciously eye the room full of people, which I am slowly starting to realize might actually be full of only men.

I didn't want to believe Crowley earlier, but this is not good for me if I need to fight my way out.

Gathering all the courage I have within me, which isn't very much, I finally spurt out, "U-uhm, Twyla Blythe..?"

'Oh fuck me and my godforsaken stutter.' Is the thought running through my head as the mirror hums in thought. Shortly after it begins to speak again, saying, "The shape of thy soul is...unknown."

Gasps erupt through out the the room. 'I have no idea what just happened but my guess is that I was just publicly diary with chlamydia. That or cancer.'

"What do you mean, "The shape is unknown"!?", Crowley questions the mirror. "The one who stands before me, their soul is colorless, shapeless, and odorless. I can sense magic from this soul. Very powerful magic, but without knowing the shape of their soul I cannot place them into any specific dorm." Even mire gasps come forth from the crowd that slowly shift into murmurs.

'Okay so from that reaction definitely chlamydia.' "But thats not possible! In the hundred years since the Ebony Carriage has been used, not once has it picked upa student unfit for a dorm. This must be some sort of mistake." Crowley reasons, the look on his face that of complete bewilderment and fear.

The mirror doesn't answer him this time. Instead the one answering him is that pervert cat thing that looks like he came straight from a knock-off Pokémon game.

"MMHEE! *HUFF HUFF* LET ME TAKE HER PLACE INSTEAD! I'M SURE I'D FIT INTO ONE OF THESE DORMS." It exclaims proudly.

"Not so fast you hyperactive cat." Crowley attempts to order, but the pokemon reject refuses to listen. Stating, "Unlike that human, I'll be able to actually to actually get into a dorm with my great and powerful magic. Here let me show you! MYHAH!"

'Aaaaaaand now the rooms on fire, fantastic.' I think, my sarcasm unable to contain itself. The cat thing started shooting out fireballs at the large crowd, which was a bad idea because now everyone is screaming and trying to run from the blue flames. I just slowly back myself into the corner farther from the flames and closest to door. I decide it would be better for me to just watch.

Crowley begins pointing at the group that had caught my attention earlier, ordering, "One of you catch that blasted cat before it sets flame to the entire school!"

The group doesn't react much, except for the red eyed boy exclaiming that his butt is on fire. The blonde looks over at the boy with lion ears and tail and begins teasing him. "There why don't you go grab yourself a little morsel of that plump piece of game, hm? You can finally put those hunting skills of yours to use." "Shaddup." The lion boy growls.

"Bothe of you shut it, if you two aren't going to help I'll just do it myself." The red head says, glaring at the two. "How about I join you Riddle? It'll be a great way to show off to our freshmen." The creep butts in, the red head named Riddle just side eyes him but agrees.

The two pull out pens with different colored gems on the top, and begin shooting multicolored sparks at the cat. Which only made him panic and run whilst throwing fire back at them. Not very helpful. Their little chase ended very shortly when Riddle finally struck the cat, putting a collar on him. “FNNYAA! WHERE DID THIS THING COME FROM?!” It screamed in terror. “The queen of hearts rule 23 states, ‘One must never bring a cat to a formal affair.’” He informs the cat,

“You must vacate the premises or else.” “How many times do I have to say it?! I’M NOT A DAMN CAT.”

‘This is getting super boring and repetitive at this point..’ Instead of listening to their conversation I just tune them out. Their voices sound like quiet muffles whilst I stare out at the rather bright moon shining through the large windows. For the first time in what feel like a hundred years, it’s peaceful. Just me, my thoughts and the moon.

“Miss Blythe!”

‘Aand there it is, the end to my peace.’

Snapping out of my trance, I look over at Crowley, who now is holding the cat. ‘The hell does he want?’ “Ahem, was I not clear when I said to watch and take responsibility for your familiar?”, He lectures, “Now would you please discipline your familiar.”

‘This motherfucker- HE NEVER SAID THAT‘ Before I jump this man and beat the stupid out of him, I decide it would be better if I just calmly talk to him. “He isn’t mine.”, I say as calmly as I possibly could. Which isn’t calm at all, if my death glare didn’t prove as such.

Crowley’s pupils widen, if they really could widen given that they’re slits,

“Oh! Really?” He asks. “Yes I’m sure that he isn’t.”, it takes everything in me not to punch him, “You would’ve known that if you’d asked me beforehand .”

“Oh, uhm, then I shall have it expelled from campus.”, Crowley responds awkwardly, “Would you do the honors Mr. Ashengrotto?” “It would be an honor.” The creepy boy with silver hair answers back.

Grabbing the cat by the red collar around its neck, and dropping it out of a window. The cat screams some unintelligible nonsense as he quickly descends to the ground.

Without missing a beat Crowley claps his hands and turns to the large crowd, “I call this ceremony dismissed! All freshman please follow your dorm leaders to your respective dorms.” He calls out.

The group of boys I had noticed before began to lead individual groups of people out of the room, each shouting different commands and orders. Slowly the crowd empties out of the room, with almost every person staring at me on their way out. ‘Don’t these people know not to stare?’. Honestly it pisses me off.

After what feels like an eternity of being ogled at, it’s just me and Crowley left in the room, oh and that weird ass mirror. He turns around to look at me, his face full of confidence before immediately getting shot down by my glare.

Awkwardly he clears his throat, “Ahem, Miss Blythe it’s time to get you back home.”, he averts his eyes, “You can only leave the way you came so if you could please step into one of the gates and think of your home that would be greatly appreciated Miss.” He seems to be really nervous around me, good.

I guess he lied when he said he was scared of women. Oh well, at least I have something I can use against him now.

I step into the coffin from before, burn marks still on it from the cat thing. Crowley swiftly closes the lid and begins a sort of incantation.

“Oh great mirror of darkness, take this soul back from whence it came.”

………Nothing happened.

He starts again, “Oh great mirror of darkness, take this soul back from whence it came.”

…………Think this guy might need a new mirror cause this one ain’t working.

He starts up again, “Oh great-“ “It is nowhere.” The mirrors voice bellows throughout the room, a familiar shiver crawls up my spine.

“What do you mean ‘It is nowhere’?” Crowley huffs, clearly annoyed at the mirrors antics today. “The place this soul comes from, it does not exist. Therefore it is nowhere.” The mirror answers.

Crowley gets only more upset at the response, “Well this is just preposterous!” He shouts in annoyance, before lifting the lid of the coffin. “You.”, He points his finger at me, “Where is it that you said you’re from.”

“Uuuhm, Florida.” ‘Damn my nervousness.’ “Hmm, I’ve never heard of that place before.”, He seems to be deep in thought for a moment, “*Sigh* Follow me, we must investigate this strange anomaly.” He motions with his hand to follow him.

‘Oh great not again.’ I roll my eyes as I try to hurriedly stand without falling over. Crowley makes it halfway across the room before I finally rid myself of the coffin, and begin to catch up to him. ‘Damn tall people with their stupid long legs.’

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

A/N

Hehe, I had this in the works for a minute. I hope y'all enjoy Twyla's entrance. She can be quite eccentric. Only when she wants to though.

Btw I made a Playlist of songs that just remind a lot of Twyla so for everyone whose curious here's that playlist. It's a bit a of a mess but it's exactly like her.

Oh and @cyanide-latte first of all hii, second of all I know this isn't the oneshot that I promised but isn't this a little bit better than a oneshot right? I think it is.

Anyway thank you all for reading this far, if any of yoy feel like sending in asks or questions I'd love to answer. Much love to all of you. Mwah 💋💋

[writingforatwistedworld]

Hey Ruggie! You know, hyenas are my favourite animal! Does that make you my favourite person? You might make yourself out to be a selfish person, but at the end of the day you stand up for your (very large) family and in my eyes that means you are great. If we become closer, may I touch your Rook certified soft ™️ tail someday? I’ll be waiting!

Self aware au

I do not take any responsibility for you reading this no matter which age group you are from!

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, possessive behavior, poverty, social problems

Ruggie Bucchi-Growing admiration

Walking through the mirror you ended up in Savannaclaw. Ruggie had, for some reason forgotten his bag in the classroom and you took it upon yourself to bring it to him. You had to stop for a moment, feeling a bit overwhelmed from the sudden heatwave. After you finally came to terms with the sudden change of temperature you continued. Already feeling sweaty you wondered how the students of this dorm could wear boots. After searching for ten minutes you decided that you would either collapse from a heatstroke or leave right then and there. Seemed like the second option was the right one. The moment you stepped out of the mirror back into the cool air of the school you saw Ruggie returning with a worried look on his face which turned into a happy one when he saw you. Taking the bag from you he thanked you before pausing. Searching for something inside of it you started to get worried. His behavior was weird today. Your train of thought was interrupted when he suddenly held a envelope out to you. Before you could ask him what it was he shoved it into your hands before saying his goodbye. Just what was up with him today?

Perfect,

so you like hyenas huh? Be careful though! You never know when they will start to laugh and use you to their benefit. Believe me, I would know better than anyone. I do wonder though, why especially them? There are not only far more interesting but also beautiful beings out there. We aren't known to be the most beautiful and our laughter scares a lot of people so why? But if you don't wish to give me a answer that is also also alright. I will find out sooner or later.

When I started to read your letter I expected everything but never you saying that I am standing up for my family. Most people ignore that. How curious that you picked that up. Thanks. This shows how caring and kind you are. You know, I have been looking up to you since I had been a child. Every day my grandma would tell me that the one who watches wishes for our all well-being. Not just for the rich. We still struggle a lot in Sunrise Savanna with the class system and certain groups of people having a harder time in life. But I promise you, we, the ones living at the bottom, didn't give up on the vision of a better future. The elite of the kingdom doesn't even know the struggles of the common people. We work hard just to gain a little. You showed the King of Beasts that there is a, brighter, better future out there. The ones that do not wish for it to arrive are those afraid that they will lose their easy lifestyle. How pathetic. But I'm losing sight of the subject. Never change. You are the bright star on a moonless night. The last light. So don't leave me. Don't make me struggle as my home does. I need your light. Otherwise, I don't know what I would do. I can't promise you luxuries but I promise you my neverending loyalty.

So let's meet up! We can't get closer if we only see each other in the hall was whilst rushing to our classes. When do you think you will have time? Do you have a specific place you wish to go? I can't pay for expensive things but otherwise I am more than happy to meet up. Who knows? One day I might also allow you to touch my tail.

Ruggie Bucchi

[panickingpansexuality]

Elliot x GN! Reader pt 2 Hangover

Pt. 1

The morning came and left with Elliot, he woke up around noon, his head aching from the night before, he rolled over with a groan, the light from the summer afternoon streaming into his home and it was far too bright for his liking.

Elliots vision focused onto a cup of water by his bedside table and some Tylenol beside it, there was a note beside it but he currently did not have the mental capacity to read it at the moment, the hungover writer drank the water with the Tylenol and heard a knock on the door.

"Go away." He whined out, putting the glass on the table.

The door opened anyway, and Harvey came in with a medical bag.

"Figured I'd check up on you after last night." Harvey says coming to sit on Elliots' bed, Elliot groaned but moved himself to sit up. 

"Just a headache," Elliot groans out "and nausea, nothing unusual."

Harvey chuckled and pulled out an everything bagel and some tomato sauce from his bag.

"It'll help," he says "though I'd recommend the sauna after everything you and Shane did last night."

Elliot felt himself panic, a flash image of (y/n) came into his brain, carrying him home, then the farmer laying him down and then…

"What happened last night?" Elliot asked a slight tremor in his voice 

"Well.." Harvey began, "you and Shane were singing and dancing through the whole Saloon, after a while I took Shane home and (y/n) took you home and according to them you had some very interesting things to say."

FUCK

Elliot felt like his heart was going to explode, he reached for the note beside the water and read it.

"Hey Elliot, I hope this will help make you feel better, and don't worry about last night, you were drunk and I'll forget about everything you said. Promise.

Xoxo Farmer (y/n)."

"Harvey." Elliot said, "Did (y/n) say anything about what I said to them?"

Elliot handed Harvey the note and Harvey felt his lower jaw drop.

"Elliot it wasn't anything bad."

"Specifics Harvey please!"

"Just that you were happy they were with you at night and that them being here with you was all you wanted."

Elliot felt himself sink lower into the bed, Harvey quickly tried to reassure his friend.

"It's not anything bad really, it's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal." Elliot said, "It's true, that's all I want to do is be with them."

"We'll go ahead and let them know tomorrow, Harvey said closing his bag, "you're gonna need res-"

Elliot ran out of the cabin straight into town, pausing near a lamp post ( only because his head was spinning)

Harvey was running after him, quite certain that he would either pass out on the way or vomit. Maybe both.

Elliot turned and saw Harvey coming towards him, in a panic he ran away, past the bus stop and saw the farm coming into view.

"(Y/N)!" Elliot yelled. 

(Y/n)s dog perked his head up at the sound of Elliots voice, the movement caused the farmer to pause planting and wait another moment to hear what their dog was listening for.

"(Y/N)!"/ The voice yelled again.

"Elliot?" The farmer said to themselves, then out of the trees, Elliot appeared a panting and sickly looking mess.

"Elliot, what are you doing here?" (Y/n) asked rushing towards him, "you look like you need to be in bed."

"I had to tell you something." Elliot panted.

The farmer led them to a nearby bench and sat down with him.

"I meant what I said." Elliot gasped. "I want to be with you, I think about it so much that it's embarrassing."

The farmer blushed and Elliot took their hands in his, he brought them both to his lips and kissed their knuckles.

Suddenly Harvey came through the trees panting. The two on the bench and the dog on the porch looked at the disheveled man.

"You!" Harvey said pointing at Elliot. "Get to bed and rest!"

"I'm feeling spectacular Doctor." Elliot said, his gaze then shifted to you, "at least now I am."

(Y/n) gave Elliot a soft smile and got up from the bench and held out their hands to help him up which he readily accepted.

"Let's get you home so you can rest." Dr. Harvey said.

"Doctor don't you get it." Elliot said, "I am home." 

(Y/n) gave his hand a gentle squeeze, Harvey rolled his eyes and said.

"Ok but seriously you need to get to bed, you're looking green."

"Yup got it." Elliot said.

[whentherewerebicycles]

ok midday UPDATE here are some Good Things:

faculty retreat was fun albeit full of Characters lol. they are such a funny species of human. i was telling macky some of them behave like they are simultaneously the most important people in the world AND the most oppressed... like deposed royalty or something. but i learned a lot about our first-year programming and got to meet some interesting people. plus my table had just finished a summer discussion group exploring the idea of implementing specifications grading in their courses and i was like omg i did specs grading and i loved it!! and then they had lots of questions about how it worked in my classrooms which was fun and made me feel briefly like A Teacher again lol

i don't like it when people act like i'm a total nobody until i say something smart & then it's as if i suddenly materialized in their field of vision and they're like oh wait who are you. i hope i never make people feel that way no matter how Important i think i am!!!! but i have to admit there's something satisfying about the challenge of being like "ohhh got it ok this person is clearly telegraphing that they don't consider me worth paying attention to in the slightest. i bet i can convince them i am and i bet i can do it not by monologuing about myself but by practicing the kind of active listening everyone in this room is starved for & asking really thoughtful questions & making connections to things they'd shared earlier that they thought no one was listening to. i bet i can make them feel Heard." and i did that with two people today lol they barely gave me the time of day for the first hour or so but by the end they were both like let's get coffee and keep talking about this why don't you come to my class this quarter why don't you come to this meeting my group is having. like i get ittttt sometimes you don't want to engage with a rando and it's not personal lol but it is still satisfying to be like ok i won you over and therefore i win. liz says not everything has to be framed as a competition but it does make life into a more interesting game.

i am wearing my new black jeans from everlane and every time i catch my reflection the mirror i'm like DAMN girl you look good. gosh they are just soooo flattering and so much more comfortable than skinny jeans. plus i feel like you can dress black jeans up a bit with a work top so i still feel Professional. also my new slip-on sneakers from old navy arrived today and i feel like they are gonna be the perfect way to wear comfy shoes at work but not look quite as casual as my white sneakers do. tbd but i have high hopes

i cleared a bunch of emails off my to-do list! this was virtuous procrastination as i am avoiding finishing the PPT for thurs lol but i think i can probably get the PPT done tonight in under 15-20 min if i just do a burst of work before bed. so i am freeing myself from having to do it RIGHT NOW at work.

it's beautiful out.... fall is so beautiful here.... gosh it's so nice and i think i am going to go home a bit early & walk the dogs since i worked late last night and will do some more work tonight too

my hypercompetent coworker is probably leaving sigh but my other hypercompetent coworker is staying and today she was like i got asked to serve on this board and i could definitely do it but i think you should do it for XYZ reasons, and that was nice. i mean i know it is added work and i'm sure she's glad to be out of it but i feel like there have been a few times where she's gone out of her way to be like "this opportunity is going to be good exposure for you/a good way to meet people/a good way to show people what you can do" and i really appreciate that. everyone else has been here so long and i am still so new both to the institution and to this level of role! and i can figure some stuff out on my own i know it's a learning curve but i really appreciate it when people are like hey i think doing this thing would be good for your career/work. my [redacted] just cannot provide any useful guidance at all so it can really feel sometimes like i'm on my own. but i'm not!!

i know i probably literally can't be pregnant yet as implantation doesn't happen until day 6ish and it's only day 5 and anything i feel could still be side effects from the hcg shot. but i have just had little cramps and twinges all day. i hope i hope i hope i hope i hope i hope i hope i hope i hope i hope i am trying to live in the light of hope and not in despair!!! clean hope clean pain!!!! can she do it!!!

[hanniejji]

I GOT IDEA FOR MAPLE AFTER THIS EVENT OMGOMG!!! Mihoyo ily mwa mwa!!

Btw ik you said you will focus on writing other things but i need to write this BEFORE I FORGET THIS😓😒

It says that Kazuha's mother died, now i have 2 ideas. What if Kazuha's mother died while giving birth to Maple or what if their mother died of illness.

For now we will do the second one 🥳!

So yk when you did au where Kazuha left Maple with Kamisato siblings?

Let's say some months after Kazuha left, Maple started to feel weird. They would get more tired, even whitout doing physically hard job, they would get sick often,it's hard for them to fall asleep and they feel weak in general. Maple at first ignore it, thinking it was nothing, but after 4 weeks they told Kamisato siblings about how weird they feel lately. Ayato called a private doctor (i bet they have a private doctor) to check what is wrong with Maple.

AND TA DA!!

Maple got the same illness that their mother had, doctor said that he will keep and eye on Maple and check them here and there to see if it is bad, and that Maple should rest for a while.

(ofc Ayato wrote a letter or smth for kazuha to inform him, but that everything seems fine for now and he shouldn't be too worried)

It was going well, everything seem normal, but one day....it just...went down, you know. Maple suddenly felt worse than before. Maple got a high fever, started to feel really weak and they barely got any sleep. Their condition got worse everyday.

At that time visions hunt decree ended and Kazuha was excited to see his beloved sibling after so long! After battle,first location he went was Kamisato estate. He was expecting to see Maple doing well and happy. But...he was wrong!😱 When he entered the estate he was meet with Ayaka's (we love her!!!♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️) sad eyes and Ayato right beside her. He asked where is Maple.

"Kaedehara we- *sigh*about Maple, last 2 days they... their condition got worse and doctor said that,well..."

"They don't have much time left." Ayato finished Ayaka's sentence." Their room is at the end of hall on right."

(Let me tell you, kazuha was faster than Sonic at that moment)

When Kazuha opened the door he saw Maple laying on bed,sleeping. Their look so...weak. Kazuha kneeled beside them, holding their tiny hands in his. Their hands were so cold and their breathing was heavy, they were slightly shaking and they had sweat on their forehead.At that moment Kazuha literally felt like a damn sword went through his chest. He didn't know what to do, he just stared at them. He felt like his whole world was destroyed.He didn't want to believe it, Maple is so young and innocent, they didn't deserve that.

"Nii-san?" He was bring back when he heard his little sibling's voice. His little Maple, his everything. They sound so weak, he barely heard them.

"is this really you? Am I dreaming?"

He kissed their forehead and laid his bandaged hand on their warm cheek. "H-hey there...No, you're not dreaming, it's me...it's all alright now, its gonna be o-okay." He didn't notice tears running down his cheek, he was to focused on Maple.

"Rest for now,okay? I'll tell you everything about my travels once you get b-better, alright?"

"Okay... goodnight nii-san..."

"Goodnight little one, p-please get better soon."

My this is so long for what 😧 yeah there is probably so much grammar mistakes but eh. NO CUZ THIS IS LONG I DIDN'T MEAN IT TO BE THAT LONG. Have a good day/night!!! <3

-🍑

fuck you

[fantasies-fairytales-n-fics]

Code Blue Ch. 22- Afterglow

Summary: Lee has a bad dream. He and Jo share some cute morning fluff. Josie gets an eyeful and things heat up again. The love struck pair share a beautiful moment.

*Warnings* 18+ ..Graphic depictions, car accident, resuscitation, cpr, smut, language,

Stories Stories Stories Masterlist

Chapter characters: Lee, Josie

Salem, Massachusetts

February 27, 2023

Noon- The Lake House

The storm was gone. Lee had abolished it with his simple flashlights and determined will, you thought to yourself as you smiled at your sleeping superman. You could watch him sleep for hours because he finally looked so at peace considering what his reality held during his waking hours. If only, you wondered, could you have possibly healed some of him after what the two of you shared last night?

The music still played loudly downstairs as it had all night, but after yesterday's events and then your wild night there at the lake house with Lee, it never bothered either of you as you both slept soundly in each other's arms all night. It must have been at least 4 am before you both passed out from exhaustion.

Lee began to squirm a bit in his sleep, mumbling something. The accident, he was dreaming of it again, seeing himself on the ground, battered and bruised as the paramedics worked on him, yet he could not remember any of that, but his subconscious did.

You tried to calm him with your soft touch as you stroked his tangled love making hair. He was so beautiful to you as he always was, but in that moment, waking up beside him, he was a most arresting vision with his adorable five o'clock shadow. It was over for you. You dreaded having to go home and be without him, but for now, you just wanted to bask in the afterglow with him for as long as you could.

Your touch wasn't working as he began to mutter.

"No...no..."

"Hey, Lee, baby...wake up sweet guy, you're dreaming." you whispered as to not startle him....but he kept grumbling and began to shake his head.

He was lost in the dream, his chest being pumped. Sirens sounding...then...a helicopter?? Something cold laid upon his chest and then it was like he had been struck by lightning.

Lee gasped and flung up calling for you. "JO!!'

"Lee?? Heyyyy. baby I'm right here! Look at me. You were dreaming."

It took him a minute to come back to reality as you caressed his shoulder. When he saw you, he began to calm down.

"Do you remember what you were dreaming about?"

"I...I'm not sure...I...I just remember I...couldn't breathe and then...there was this pain...like electricity."

"Hmmm...possibly being struck by lightning? It sounds like you were dreaming about last night when you were out in the storm trying to be a super hero."

He looked at you with furrowed brows for a few seconds.

"Oh, I was definitely struck by lightning last night." he joked with a smile.

You leaned your forehead onto his and gave him an eskimo kiss as you smiled immensely.

"Tell me I'm not still dreaming, that you're really here." Lee asked while resting his fingertips on your cheek as he suddenly became serious.

"It's not a dream. I'm real. I'm here." you sweetly assured him as you laid the palm of your hand on his face.

"Stay with me. Today. Don't leave. Please don't leave."

"Sorry to say, but you're stuck with me....boyfriend."

"Ooooooh boyfriend huh? That's music to my ears...girlfriend."

"Took you long enough." you giggled.

"Oh, you come here right now Miss Massachusetts."

Lee pulled you in his arms and laid you down with him, kissing your forehead.

"I'll gladly stay with you today and any other time you want me to."

"Perfect.....and so are you."

"Damn, what time is it anyways? That sun is dreadful." Lee asked as he squinted his eyes.

"Noonish. I checked my phone just before you woke up and was texting with my mom."

"Wowww. Noon? What have you done to me?" he chuckled.

"Everything that you wanted."

"Mmmmm. You got me there. You hungry baby doll? I'll whip us up some breakfast...or brunch I guess it would be now. If you'd like to shower while I do that, feel free. Your room should have everything in it that you need."

"That actually sounds good. I'm starving." you agreed as you sat up.

"God, I don't even know what you like besides pizza...how shitty is that?"

"Heyyy...there are still a lot of little things to learn about each other. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm actually looking forward to knowing all of you, since we didn't do a whole lot of....talking...last night."

Lee chuckled. "And who's fault is that??"

"Ummm, yours!!" you giggled.

"Oh noooo my girl, it's all you. If I recall correctly, you came to me, and then...came...on...to me." he grinned so wickedly.

"OK...maybe..." you laughed....and then sighed. "My girl....god I love it when you call me that."

"And I love calling you that....I...just love you, Josephine Leeann March."

"It's another sign, you know?"

"What's that baby?"

"My name...well, my middle and last name. It bears your name and birth month."

'Well I'll be damned, it does. I still think you're some kind of witch." Lee kidded as he roared in laughter.

His remark made you recall your first texting conversation with him a month ago about signs and your clairvoyance.

"Maybe I am...I do live in Salem and in a witch house....I put a spell on you, and nowwww you're miiiine!!" you sang in your best, but absolutely horrid Bett Midler voice.

Lee laughed even harder this time. "I love me some Hocus Pocus....and god damn...I love you...."

You could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice, of how good it felt to finally say it...and now it rolled off of his tongue like a habit....and you loved it...and him so fucking much.

"I love you too." you softly said as you held his face in your hands and kissed his cheek, wanting to kiss his lips, but you were petrified of your morning breath. "Ok, I will goooo take that shower now...."

Lee hopped in his shower while you were off taking yours. He made his quick so he wouldn't steal all the hot water and plus there was something he really wanted to do before he went downstairs.

He sat at his desk and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, then began writing you a love letter, something people didn't do anymore, but he wanted to make sure you knew just how much he loved you, for he was a true romantic at heart...he just never had anyone to offer that too...and...no one was ever worth it.

"My Dearest Jo,

One day our eyes met and you smiled at me and I had to pause for a moment because I felt safe, and I had not recognized that feeling. It was as if I just knew you would be standing there when I looked up again, and you were, literally in my house. I don't even have the right words to describe this to you, but I just knew, somehow. Despite all of the odds that have worked so cruelly against me, I knew in my heart that I had finally found the one. I truly feel that you and I love with a love that is more than love. The first time I realized I was in love with you, it was a night I couldn't fall asleep, because I knew that my new and strange reality was better than my dreams. Our tight hugs, our late night conversations, our almost kisses, I remember it all, and sometimes...a tear falls while doing so. You gave me something that no one had before. You gave me peace. Like a river that had been rushing, pulled by the current for too long, you made my waters still. I found rest in your arms.

I love you to the moon and back and beyond all the stars in the sky."

Forever,

Lee

You towel dried your hair and put your tank and undies back on, but then realized you left your pants in Lee's room, so you headed back there. When you walked in, Lee was sitting at his desk, his hair damp and shaggy.... and completely naked.

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry, I thought you were downstairs. I...I forgot my pants." you bashfully said and turned your eyes away, as if you had not just ravished every part of that beautiful bare skin last night.

He discreetly placed the letter in the drawer and smiled. "I was just heading there after I got dressed."

Lee stood up and went to put on some sweat pants when he noticed your wide eyes moving from side to side, anywhere but on him as your fingers fidgeted.

He lightly grinned and picked his pants up.

"Does....this... bother you?"

Hell yes it did. Why, why were you so befuddled? Your stomach was in a spin trying to force your eyes to not look, but they were begging you to let them.

You literally just had all of that last night and yet there you were acting like some silly little shy girl when you were anything but that. Possibly because it was dark then and you really hadn't seen him fully for his body had only been accented by the moonlight that shone in.

Lee laid his pants back down and slowly walked up to you. You felt yourself turning a hot shade of red as you gulped, your eyes daring you to look at him as you watched his feet stop before you. He lowly chuckled and stroked your damp hair out of your face.

"Jo...you can look at me. I...I was afraid too, for you to see me but that was because of my scars. You took all that fear away with your unconditional vision of me and your assuring touch. I would give anything for you to touch me again...right now."

His deep seductive tone made your lower region shudder inside. How was he able to do this to you? Get you all hot and bothered just by the sound of his voice.

"Princess...please look at me."

Well that did it. Your eyes betrayed you and worked their way from his feet and up his long toned legs, then halted at his softened member. Even in that state, he was quite large. As you remembered the feel of him inside of you, your walls involuntarily contracted. You were completely stuck on stupid and couldn't move.

Lee reached his hand out and took yours, then slowly brought your hand to him, leaving his lay over yours. You slightly gasped at how hot his cock was, making you crave him even more. Within mere seconds of your touch, he was beginning to harden and you were beginning to overheat with desire. Your eyes rolled up the rest of his body and met his pleading eyes, and then you just did it. You jumped up onto him.

He simultaneously grabbed on to your thighs to hold you in place and passionately kissed you with a chasmic moan. Your tongues connected, each gently massaging the other. You mewled and whimpered while making a mess out of his hair with your fingers raging through it while his soft hands ravished your back. He pulled your hair, causing you to arch your head back and delved into your neck, nipping and kissing it in a frenzy. You cried out in a strong whimper as your nails attacked his back.

Lee couldn't take it anymore and carried you to the bed, placing you against the headboard. Wasting no time, he aggressively yanked your panties off of you and went straight back to your lips.

"I've dreamed about this for a long time. Making love to you over and over." he panted out in between his tender kisses.

"And now, I cannot get enough of you Jo."

His solid cock slid between your folds, teasing your sensitive bud as he glided his hips up and down.

"I want all of you. I want to taste you."

Lee's lips traveled down your legs, kissing the inside of your thighs. His warm breath tickled your skin, awakening your goosebumps all over again. It reminded you of the dream you once had of him doing this, in fact, it was damn near identical to it, as if you had seen it happen before it actually did.

"You smell so damn good." he raved and began to move his lips closer to your heat.

Your hips lightly jerked and you pulled his head up.

"St...stop."

He gazed at you with worried and shocked eyes.

"Do...you not want me to do this? Because I won't if it makes you uncomfortable. I'll never make you do anything you don't want to do baby."

"Oh god no, I want this so bad...I...it's...the ticklish thing. How about you just skip over that area?" you giggled with curled grin.

The look on his face was priceless as he stuttered out his response.

"Wha...what...do you mean?"

"I think you know."

A tiny smile formed on his lips, knowing exactly what you wanted.

"Okay." he happily replied in acceptance to your boldness.

You opened your legs a bit further, relaxing them so he too, could see all of you. His eyes couldn't deny his desire for the vision before him.

Lee lowered his head as you shivered in anticipation for his touch. His hand came down and he slowly parted you. The warmth of his tongue sent your head flying back and your fingers into his hair as he gently licked over your bud.

"Oh god.." you violently panted out and jolted your hips.

He smugly grinned as he looked up at you. "Are you sure you want me to do this?"

You literally forced his head back down which drove him mad. He took a handful of the skin on your hip and plunged his tongue right into your entrance, twirling it about while massaging your clit with his thumb.

"Lee!!" you choked out in desperation, which only made him go faster.

"God baby, you taste so fucking good." he groaned and then stunned you by slipping a finger inside of you while continuing on with his tongue torture....then he entered another one, curling them up each time he pulled out.

"Lee, I...I...oh my god...shit...."

"That's it baby. Let go."

His commanding of you to release on him did the trick. You completely lost your voice as you came undone, eyes clutched shut, head back and your legs shaking profusely as he pushed his tongue into you as deep as he could.

"My god, I felt that." he whispered as he kissed all over your stomach. "Are...are you ok?"

You finally found your voice. "You have nooooo idea how ok I am right now. Lee...please...I...I need you now..."

Lee knew exactly what you meant for he felt the same way as his throbbing cock screamed at him to become one with you again. He crawled up to you and you pulled him into an intense kiss which shocked the hell out of him, for he didn't think you would want to kiss him after what he had just done...and it turned him on immensely.

He positioned himself and guided his aching manhood to your entrance, and then thrusted into you as he deeply groaned. This time, it didn't hurt one bit. The cry you blurted out was of sheer delectation, and Lee knew this because of the way you kicked your hips into his powerful push and pulled at his butt cheeks with great force. Once he was completely encased in you, his pace fastened as you both panted and moaned erratically, watching him slide in and out of you.

You held onto the back of his neck, and he yours as you both moved in perfect sync with one another. Briefly, he stopped to look at you as you traced his scars with your fingers.

"You're so beautiful." you lovingly told him.

He leaned down and kissed your forehead.

"I...I love you so much."

"Come to me."

You pulled him against you, his body melting into yours and he began to move slowly, grinding deep with harsh grunts plunging out of him... and then you whispered into his ear. "Come for me."

"Mmmmmm." he lowly moaned.

His thrusts hardened, instantly prodding your sweet spot and blinding your vision with magical sparkles as you released.

"I..I...I'm...I'm c..coming baby." you cried and bit his shoulder. Your walls vigorously slammed over him, sending him into a powerful launch.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuck!" he groaned as he laid frozen against you, his hips lightly twitching. You felt every pulse of his expulsion as your legs gripped him tight. His forehead rested on yours as you both heavily panted, and then he took your face into his hands and kissed you with such affection.

Lee slowly rolled off of you and smiled while trying to catch his breath.

"Well, this is embarrassing. I could have lasted a lot longer than that. You must think I'm quite boring."

"Lee Pace, you come here right now."

You kissed him deeply and tenderly and then caressed his cheek.

"What you just did to me is far from boring, so don't you ever think that again, got it? Longer isn't always better."

"Yes Ma'am."

You giggled and snuggled up against him, basking with him in the afterglow.

"Can we just stay here forever and never leave the house?" he asked as he kissed your head and tinkered with your hair.

"I would so love to so that...but...I have a new apartment I need to start moving my things into."

"Oh...I..I didn't know you were approved."

His eyes held sadness as if it somehow meant he wouldn't see you much. You sat up and turned to him.

"Yeah, I actually got the call the morning of your dad's funeral and I just forgot all about telling you with all that was going on. I'm sorry."

"Baby, don't be sorry. It's ok. I am so happy for you. I know how much you have wanted this."

'Are you really? Because you...seem a little disappointed....sad even. Lee, you have to know that it changes nothing. It's no different than me living at mom's, except I'll have peace from Megan finally."

"If it makes you happy, then I am not sad. It's...just been so damn nice spending all this time with you. I will miss you, that's all."

'Heyyyy sweet guy. I am not going anywhere. Wild horses couldn't drag me away from you. I love you. I want to be with you. You're my guy now." you assured him as you peered down into his sullen blues and rubbed his hair back.

"Somehow I believe that. Your one tough lady." he chuckled and then placed your hair gently behind your ear. "And you're my girl. I love you too princess."

Oh lord was he spoiling you with these sweet terms of endearment.

'And just so you know...I want you to be the first one to come see the place. I'll make you dinner and we can maybe, watch movies and stuff, like we tried to plan once before?"

"I would so love that baby. Would you like me to help you move?"

"I would love that, but don't you have you're own moving to do with the stuff at your old house? Plus all the renovations that kind of got put on hold?"

"Yes, I do, but I always have time for my lady. Always. Jo, besides the first time I ever saw you, these past two days have been the best days of my life."

"Right back at ya babe." you smiled and got up. "So, how about that breakf..I mean brunch now? It's almost 2 pm." you laughed.

Lee rolled onto his back with his head slightly hanging off the end of the bed. "I so do not want to leave this room, but yes, I am fucking starving."

You leaned down on the bed over him. "Guess what. You get to be spiderman now and I'll be Mary Jane."

"Alright." he said as he gazed up at you.

You bent down and softly gave him the iconic upside down movie kiss as you held his face so tenderly in your hands.

"If you keep this up woman, we are not going to leave this room." he grinned against your lips.

"Allllright...let's go."

As you went to leave, the music that was still blaring downstairs shuffled to another song.

"No way..." you whispered.

"What is it babe?"

"Signs.....dance with me?"

"Always." he said and pulled you into his arms, cradling your naked warm body flush against. You smiled and closed your eyes as you wrapped your arms around his waist and laid your head upon his chest.

"This is really nice." he then said and laid his cheek upon your head as you both slowly swayed to the music.

"Forever Jo. I will love you forever....and I will hold onto the afterglow."

"Promise?"

"Wild horses couldn't drag me away."

@redeemer46

[mandiemon3]

The Best Revenge is Living Well- Chapter 12

The captains were the last to return to the ship that night. They grinned and laughed, passing jokes back and forth as they boarded the ship, Lucius trailing a few feet behind them. The sun was still about an hour away from setting, starting its descent down towards the sea behind them, but the crew had all returned as soon as they could, most of them hoping to get early shore leave if they were able to show their captains that they had completed their assigned tasks. They had all stayed on deck, playing cards, crafting, or talking to kill time as they waited for their captains’ return.

“Ah, Mo!” Stede looked surprised to see them on board, leaning against the mainmast as they stared out over the water. They turned slowly as they realized they were being spoken to. “I didn’t expect to see you back so soon. Have a happy reunion?”

Mo stared blankly, not sure how to respond. Stede’s good-natured smile began to fade as his crew member’s face flushed, their hands clenching as their breathing sped up. Suddenly, they felt like they couldn’t breathe. They could vaguely hear the muffled sounds of speech around them over the roaring of the blood in their ears, and hazily noticed someone stepping closer to them as their vision grew spotty. They flinched as someone touched their shoulder from out of their line of vision. Before they knew it, they had drawn their knife, spinning to hold it against the throat of their attacker. They panted, nearing hyperventilation, as they blinked rapidly, trying to force their eyes to come back into focus. Slowly their vision began to adjust, hitting them with a second wave of fear when they recognized that the figure they were holding at knifepoint was Blackbeard. His eyes were calm, maybe even slightly amused, and he held his hands out to the sides in a calming pose.

Mo gasped, dropping their hand back down to their side as they realized what they had done. Their stomach lurched violently, and they stumbled to the side of the ship, clutching onto the railing for dear life as they emptied their stomach into the sea. Once they had expelled all of their stomach’s contents, they turned, pressing their back to the railing of the ship, and slid down it to sit. They pulled their legs up to their chest, doing their best to level their breathing.

Mo looked up, realizing that the captains still stood, fixed to their spots, a few feet away. Stede looked at them with horror and concern, his mouth hanging open, while Blackbeard seemed lost in thought, as though he was puzzling something out.

“Sorry,” Mo rasped out, fixing their stare down on their boots. “Didn’t mean…for any of that to happen. Shouldn’t have used my knife. Didn’t realize it was you, Edward.”

“I take it things didn’t go well then?” Stede asked gently. Mo glared at him. “Don’t see how that’s any of your business.” Their voice was stiff, and uncharacteristically cold.

Blackbeard frowned, his brow furrowed. “Hey,” he said firmly. “That’s your captain. You treat him with respect.”

Mo scoffed, feeling anger begin to stir in their gut, making them heat up. “Listen man, I have had an unbelievably shitty day.” They spat the words out. “I’m sorry I used my knife on you, but I am not going to deal with this shit right now.”

Blackbeard bristled, but Stede stepped forward quickly, placing a calming hand on his upper arm.

“It’s okay, Ed,” he said. “I can handle this.” Stede turned back to Mo, releasing the other captain, who huffed and crossed his arms indignantly.

“I don’t want to fucking talk about it, Stede.” Mo’s voice was low, warning their captain not to try his luck.

“I understand. I just think it might help to get it all out there. Get it off your chest.”

The pit of fiery anger in Mo’s stomach grew, making them half worry that they would spontaneously ignite and burn up, taking the wooden ship with them.

“You want to know what happened?” they asked, a hint of humor in their voice. They lifted their head, tears already streaming down their face as they looked at their captain. Their stupid, incompetent, ponce of a captain. Mo pushed themselves up to stand.

“What happened,” they said, voice rising with every word, “is that my family is gone, Stede! All of them!” Their heart hammered in their chest, threatening to burst out. “Even my shithead sibling, my best friend from home! All of them are fucking gone, and they’re never coming back, ever, and it’s my fault!” Mo shook with rage and grief. “I was gone, and they all died, without me! So,” they stepped closer to their captain, who had stiffened and paled, “what do you suggest I do, captain?” They sneered the word, inches from Stede’s face. “No amount of talking it through will fix this!” Their hands balled into fists, their nails digging into their palms painfully. “All we fucking do on this ship is talk! Because of this stupid fucking ship, I was here talking while my family was in danger!” They choked on a sob. “And now they’re gone. Now I have nothing.”

“Shit man,” Blackbeard mumbled, shifting his weight. “That is a shitty day.”

“Ed!” Stede chided quietly, trying not to further upset his sobbing crew member. “Mo,” he said, turning towards them, “do you want to sit down? Maybe have a chat about this?” He gently placed a hand on the pirate’s shoulder, flinching as they wrenched themselves away.

“I don’t want to fucking talk,” Mo spat. “To you or anyone. Talking isn’t going to fix anything.” The feeling in their chest tightened. They brought a hand up to paw at the chain around their neck, their fist closing around the locket and ring that hung from it. They had to do something. They couldn’t sit with these feelings for a second longer without exploding, or possibly imploding. They had to get everything out, to make their emotions physical.

“I know what I need to do,” Mo said. They glanced up, their gaze wandering over the crew that stood before them, afraid to move for fear of upsetting them more.

“And what would that be?” Stede asked gently, not wanting to set them off again.

Mo met their captain’s gaze. “I need to fight someone.” He faltered, a cloud of worry descending on him.

“Oh, I, uh, I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” he stammered.

“Aww, come on, mate!” Blackbeard exclaimed, smacking his friend on the back jovially. “The poor little guy is suffering, they need to get things out. Let ‘em fight.” Stede looked back and forth between his crew member and his friend. Finally, he sighed, throwing up his hands in defeat. “Fine,” he said. “Fight, if you must. But please,” he added, painfully earnest, “be careful.” Blackbeard scoffed, rolling his eyes. He turned to face the crew. “Alright! Who here wants to help our Mo out with a good old-fashioned brawl?” The crew shuffled, looking at each other with uncertainty.

Mo felt like they could burst, overflowing with emotions they didn’t want. “Please,” they asked, trying to catch the eyes of even one of their friends. “Please, if any of you care about me.” They felt anger rising again as they all averted their gaze, no one daring to look at them. “Someone!” They felt their voice rise to a shout, pleading desperately. “Anyone! Please, just do this for me!”

Stede sighed as no one volunteered. “I’m sorry, Mo,” he said. “Doesn’t look like you’re going to get to fight this one out.” “Hold on,” Blackbeard said, stepping forward. “I’ll do it.”

The crew murmured amongst themselves, Black Pete gasping loudly.

“Oh, Ed.” Stede’s face was wrinkled with worry. “You don’t have to do this.” “I know.” Blackbeard began to step forward, edging closer to Mo.

“Wait!” Everyone turned, surprised to see Izzy approaching, rolling up his sleeves as he stepped down from the quarterdeck. “I’ll handle this, boss,” he said.

Even Blackbeard was taken aback, the crew murmuring again. “You sure, Iz?”

“Yeah.”

Izzy’s eyes were dark as he stepped forward. Mo could see the worry in his eyes, but his mouth was set in a hard line with determination. They gave him a look, telling him he didn’t have to do this, that they would fight Blackbeard if no one else was brave enough to step up. He gave a small shake of his head, making his point clear. Under no circumstances would he let that happen.

“Fine,” Mo said. They shot their crew a pointed look. “If no one else, will fight me, at least Izzy will.” They noticed Lucius and Frenchie standing together, Lucius with a hand over his mouth and Frenchie covering his mouth and nose with his scarf, hiding away as best as he could. They felt a pang, knowing they were worrying their friends, before shaking their head and focusing on the man in front of them.

Mo took a deep breath, raising their arms defensively. Izzy mirrored them, but did not move. He waited for them to throw the first punch, as usual. Lacking their usual patience, it only took a few moments for Mo to step forward and swing at Izzy. He stepped back, dodging easily, but didn’t swing back. Mo stepped forward again, pausing for a moment before swinging with their left arm, aiming at his torso. He deflected their swing, redirecting it so their arm moved past him without landing, but didn’t strike back when they left an opening.

Frustrated, Mo lowered their arms. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” they hissed, stepping close to Izzy, inches from his face. He didn’t respond, only looking at them with a sad determination in his eyes.

“Come on, Iz!” Blackbeard shouted. “Fight the poor bastard! They need it!”

Mo stepped back, swinging at Izzy again, aiming for his face this time. They growled when he quickly leaned back to dodge, expecting it and throwing a second punch at his stomach. The crew gasped as the blow landed.

“Well?” Mo asked, giving Izzy a moment to steady himself. “You gonna actually fight me now, or is this just a dance to you?” Still, no response. “Fucking fight me, Iz!” they demanded, growing more frustrated.

Mo stepped towards him again, forcing him further back, only a few feet away from the railing of the ship. They feigned a swing with their right hand, waiting for him to block them before punching him in the torse again with their left. This time, they didn’t give him time to recover, giving his chest a second punch with their right hand as he stumbled. They pulled back to level another blow when Izzy grabbed their arms, forcefully turning them and pinning them against him with their arms crossed over their chest, wrists held tightly in his hands.

Mo struggled, doing their best to free their arms, but Izzy’s grip only tightened. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispered gruffly in their ear. “And I’m not going to let you hurt yourself.”

Mo yelled in frustration. They stomped their heavy boot on his foot, making the man groan with pain, but still he would not relent. Desperate, they threw their head back, knocking their skull into his with a painful clunk, but he still held on.

“Fucking fight me!”

“No.”

“You coward! Just fight me, Izzy!” They squirmed desperately, the feeling in their chest becoming too much, threatening to drown them alive. “Please!”

“No.”

Mo’s pleas turned to sobs, their struggles growing less fierce as they weakened, their emotions washing back over them. They leaned back against Izzy’s chest, no longer fighting to free themselves. They felt weak. Utterly pathetic as they stood in front of their crew, in front of their captains, and sobbed. They felt their knees tremble before giving way, sliding down to their knees on the deck, Izzy’s grip on them finally slacking to let them settle. He quickly followed them down, kneeling behind them and hugging them to him as they sobbed. He shifted, sitting down fully before guiding Mo to turn, sitting sideways between his legs. He cradled their head, pressing it against his chest, gently shushing them.

Izzy ignored the burning glare of his captain, the curious looks from the crew. He had half a mind to glare back, to dare anyone to say something, but there would be time to deal with them later. Right now, Mo needed him.

“It’s going to be alright,” he whispered, rubbing his thumb along Mo’s cheek. They sniffled, clutching his shirt tightly. “Remember? We’ll figure this out.”

Izzy didn’t go so far as to kiss the top of their head, like he would have if they were in private. He knew there would be no deniability after this little display, no way to convince the others that there wasn’t something more between the two, but he was still a private man. If Mo hadn’t been so dangerously distraught, enough to fight the legendary Blackbeard, he might have held back and let them calm down on their own, but it was clear that he was needed.

Slowly, Mo began to calm down. Their breathing slowed, and their whimpers quieted as Izzy rubbed their arm. Once they had cried what felt like enough salt water to fill the ocean, they lifted their head. Izzy gave them a soft smile, wiping away the tears that stained their face. They leaned their forehead against his chest, breathing in the comforting smell of him, of sea salt, soap, and rum. They wished that they could stay like this forever, held close in Izzy’s arms, in their own little bubble, but they knew it couldn’t last.

Mo groaned softly as they lifted their head, forcing themselves to look over at the crowd that had witnessed their breakdown. Most of the crew looked baffled, clearly caught off guard by the whiplash of emotions that they had just seen. Lucius looked touched, if a little surprised, to see the two embracing. Frenchie had worry etched in his face, his hand playing awkwardly with his stubble as his eyes flitted around, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Mo sighed, resigning themselves to their fate. “Go ahead,” they said, gesturing vaguely. “Get it over with. Ask your questions. I know you have them.”

Black Pete was the first to chime in. “Uh, what’s going on with you two?” he asked, finger flicking between Mo and Izzy.

“That’s exactly what I would like to know,” Blackbeard said. His tone was even, but his eyes were dark and he had an edge to his voice, like the calm before a storm, ready to crash a ship against a rocky shore. “Izzy,” he continued. “A word.”

Izzy’s grip on Mo tightened, a scowl working its way onto his face. He couldn’t disobey a direct order, but he couldn’t leave his partner either, not when they were so unstable.

“That’s an order.” This was Blackbeard’s final warning.

“It’s alright,” Mo said, making Izzy snap his gaze back to them. “You should go.” Izzy’s eyes clouded, torn between two loyalties. “I’ll be alright. I promise. Go, Iz.”

Izzy hesitated, giving Mo a gentle look and an even gentler kiss on their temple before pushing himself up to stand, walking towards his captain. Blackbeard slung an arm over his shoulder, tightly gripping his first mate’s shoulder as he led him into the captain’s quarter. Mo winced as they saw the way Izzy tensed, his gloved hand tightening and relaxing at his side.

“Um, I guess I should go with them,” Stede said, uncertainty clear in his voice. "Unless I should stay?” He turned to look at his crew, as if expecting them to tell him what to do.

“You should go with them, Captain,” Frenchie suggested, still anxiously fiddling with his scarf. “Maybe make sure they don’t draw weapons, and all that.” Stede raised his eyebrows. That clearly hadn’t occurred to him. “Good thinking, Frenchie,” he said. He hurried to follow his friend into his quarters, pausing as he reached the door to say over his shoulder, “Feel better, Mo.”

As the door swung shut behind their captain, Mo felt the eyes of their crew return to them. They pulled their legs up to their chest, wrapping their arms around them and tucking their face against their knees.

“Go on,” they said, voice muffled. “Get your questions out.” They lifted their head slightly, just enough to peek at their friends. Frenchie was on his way to them, quickly sitting down next to them and wrapping one of his long arms around them. The rest of the crew stayed fixed to where they stood, seemingly still processing.

“Pete?” Mo asked. “You got any questions?”

Black Pete fumbled at being put on the spot. “I-I mean, I never really got an answer to the last one, so I guess that still stands.” “Right.” Mo stretched their legs out, smoothing their hands along their thighs as they took a deep breath. “Okay. If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right.” They gestured to the deck around them. “C’mon, folks. Take a seat. We’re talking it through like a crew, just like Captain has always wanted.”

Slowly, the crew shuffled forward, each taking a seat in a rough semicircle around Mo and Frenchie.

“Okay. So, you wanted to know what’s up with me and Izzy?” Pete nodded, as did Roach, Wee John, and the Swede. “Alright. Well, long story short, we’re together.” Black Pete frowned, clearly not understanding.

“Whaddaya mean, together?” Wee John asked, his face scrunched with confusion.

 Mo rolled their eyes. Had they been involved with anyone else, the crew would have just accepted it. “I mean, we’re in a relationship. We’re partners.”

“Like…sexually?” Jim asked.

Mo groaned. “Okay, this is kind of my fault, I guess, for not setting boundaries. Sorry to disappoint, but I won’t be answering any questions that Izzy wouldn’t want me to. We’re not just hooking up though, if that’s what you mean. We’re together. Like, a real couple.”

This time it was Roach who spoke up, raising one hand like a schoolchild, seeming more confused than ever. “Why?” he asked simply. “Why would you possibly want to be with him?”

Mo forced themselves to take a deep breath as Frenchie rubbed their shoulder, trying his best to keep them grounded. “Okay, some of that is fair. Izzy is…uptight. And he can lash out sometimes when he’s upset. I’m not blind to that. I know he’s hotheaded, and he can be a bit of an ass. But he’s changing.” They continued as their friends rolled their eyes. “It’s slow, but you can’t deny that he’s been nicer the last few months. And he’s not like that with me, never has been. He’s smart, and funny, and caring. And he treats me well, like I’m important.” Frenchie nudged Mo. “You are important, babe,” he said.

Mo smiled, resting their head on his shoulder. “He’s a good man,” they added. “I know you guys haven’t really been able to see that side of him, but you have to trust me that it’s there.”

“I have another question,” Black Pete announced.

“Go for it, mate. I want to power through all of these before Izzy comes back.” Mo turned to address the rest of the crew. “Please, no one give him a hard time about this. This is a really big deal for him. He’s really private, and awkward enough, and he’s already put himself through so much for me. It would mean a lot if you guys could hold off, or just save your questions and teasing for me, even if it’s just for my sake.”

The crew shifted, giving each other unhappy looks, but murmured in agreement.

“Uh, my question isn’t actually about Izzy,” Black Pete clarified. “It’s about…the other stuff. About your family.” Lucius elbowed him in the side, shooting him a dirty look.

Mo’s jaw clenched, but they nodded for him to continue.

“What happened? You said it’s your fault that…it happened, but how?”

Mo took a deep breath, shifting to press closer against Frenchie, holding his hand that wasn’t slung over their shoulder. “I-I have a brother,” they stammered. “He’s…not a good person. He’s violent, and unstable. He, uh, he spent most of our childhood trying to kill me, or hurt me in other ways.” They sniffled, playing with Frenchie’s long, nimble fingers. “He was always terrible, and really dangerous to be around, but he just got worse and worse as we got older. Eventually, it got to the point that I had to leave. He…he killed my parents, and my sibling. And I wasn’t there to protect them. So…yeah. It’s my fault, I guess.”

Lucius leaned forward, grabbing hold of the toe of their boot. “It’s not your fault,” he said. Mo looked up at him, their eyes somehow misty again, despite crying out what felt like all the water in the world. Lucius’ brow was furrowed, somehow both delicate and firm. “You’re not responsible for your brother. You did what you had to, and he made his own choices.” He paused. “I’m sorry you lost your family.”

“Me too,” Roach said, rubbing Mo’s back gently.

“Aye,” said Buttons. “You have our deepest sympathies, wean. Tis not easy to lose those we care about.” From behind him came a squawk. “Karl also relayed his condolences.” Mo smiled sadly. “Thanks, guys. And thank you, Karl,” they added. “You’re the nicest bird I’ve ever known.” “Aye, you’re going to make him blush.”

Mo chuckled weakly. They looked up to their crew. “I’m glad to have you guys,” they said quietly. “I know we’ve all had our ups and downs, but you all mean a lot to me.”

“Well,” said Roach, “you have said it before. We are a family.” Mo grabbed the cook’s hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze.

Jim shifted from their place next to Oluwande. “Are you going to get revenge?” they asked.

Mo frowned. “I don’t know. I don’t think I have much of a choice.” They huffed out a humorless laugh. “His final way of screwing me over. I-I have to stay. I have to find him and kill him. So he can’t do this to someone else’s family.”

“You’re leaving?” Oluwande asked, shock clear in his voice. “But, what about the ship? And Izzy? Will Captain even allow it?”

Mo shrugged. “I don’t think there’s anything Stede can do to stop me, not that I really think he’d try.’ They looked down at their boots, “I don’t know. I’ll figure something out. I can tell you one thing though,” they looked back up, “I’ll be back. I’m not letting you guys get rid of me that easily. As for Izzy…it’ll be hard. It’ll be hell to be away from him, but he can’t leave the ship. He’s loyal to Blackbeard, and you guys need him. Plus, I imagine he would not do well on land for long, not with the old sea dog that he is.” They smiled fondly, feeling a pang in their heart. “We’ll figure something out. I’d swim across all seven seas to find him if I had to.”

“You must like him a lot,” the Swede observed.

“Yeah. I do. Probably more than I should, for my own good.”

“Well,” Frenchie said, toying with the rings on Mo’s hand, “if you’re staying, I’m staying with you.” Mo sighed, looking up at their friend with a frown on their face. “You don’t have to do that. You’re doing well here. I can’t ask you to leave it all for me.” “Good thing I’m offering then and not waiting for you to ask.” He gave a small smile. “We’re the dynamic duo, babe,” he teased. “How could we ever split up?”

Mo let their head drop onto his shoulder, resting against him as they gave a small huff. “I don’t deserve you,” they mumbled.

Frenchie ruffled their hair affectionately. “Ah, you know you do. One way or another, I’m sticking with you.” He frowned. “It’ll be hard to get Izzy to stay behind, y’know?”

Mo shrugged halfheartedly. “He’ll understand. He won’t like it,” they conceded, “but what else can we do?”

Everyone looked up as they heard approaching footsteps, all eyes turning to see Izzy returning from his private chat with the captains. He looked tense and frustrated, even more than usual, as Blackbeard glowered at him, Stede holding his shoulder calmly as they came to a stop on deck.

“Iz?” Mo asked uncertainly. They pushed themselves up to stand, Frenchie stabilizing them as they stumbled on their intertwined legs before walking over to their partner. They held his arms carefully, trying to catch his gaze. “Are you alright, love?” they asked quietly, growing concerned.

Izzy looked up from the deck, finally meeting their eyes. His forehead was creased, and the corners of his mouth were tugged down into a frown. He didn’t look sad. Just tired. So, so tired. Mo squeezed their grip on his arm, trying their best to ground him without being too affectionate in front of their audience, especially the agitated Blackbeard.

“Everything’s going to be alright,” Izzy rasped out. He brought an arm up to cup Mo’s face, pressing his forehead against theirs and letting out a shaky breath as he closed his eyes. Mo brought a hand up to rest on the back of Izzy’s neck, gently brushing their fingers against his soft hair as their thumb ran along the swallow tattooed on his neck.

“Izzy, you’re scaring me. What happened?”

Izzy cleared his throat, opening his eyes and standing back up, pulling back away from his partner. He glanced at the captains, looking for approval of some kind. Blackbeard scoffed, looking away, but Stede nodded, giving an encouraging smile.

Mo was confused when Izzy took their hand. “Come with me,” he said, leading them down into the ship, down to his cabin.

They tried to ask what was going on as they were pulled along, practically dragged behind Izzy as he walked them to the one place on the ship where they could have privacy. He just shushed them, promising to tell them everything once they were there.

Once the two had made it into Izzy’s cabin, Izzy making sure the door was secured behind them, Mo looked at their partner, waiting impatiently to be filled in one what had happened in his meeting with the captains. Izzy stood before them, looking unsure how to proceed. Slowly, he reached out, wrapping his arms around Mo, pulling them to his chest.

Mo frowned, still very confused, but wrapped their arms around him, holding him firmly. They propped their head up on his shoulder to look at him. “Izzy, darling, please tell me what happened,” they pleaded. “As much as I love your hugs, this is really freaking me out.”

He sighed. “I told them everything,” he began. “About us, how we’ve been in a relationship. Told them that we hid it because we didn’t know if it would be allowed, because of my position as first mate. They had some questions about that.” Mo’s face scrunched in confusion. “What kind of questions?” they asked, reaching a hand up to rub their thumb against his cheekbone.

“Asking if you were getting special treatment, if our relationship was distracting me.” He paused, grimacing. “If I had done anything to pressure you.” His voice was lower, gruffer than usual.

“Hey,” Mo said, regaining Izzy’s attention. “You’ve never pressured me to do anything, and I’ll tell the captains as much.” They scowled. How dare they insinuate that he would do something like that? That had to have been Stede, being overly cautious of his crew. Not even Blackbeard would be so cruel on purpose, to think so lowly of him or imply that the only way someone could love him would be through force.

Izzy sighed, leaning into the hand still caressing his cheek. “They were right to ask,” he said. “They had to make sure you were alright.” He frowned again. “I could have done without Bonnet’s shock at someone wanting to be with me, though,” he admitted.

“Oh, darling.” It hurt to see Izzy like this. He was already a rather insecure man, after years of being treated like he was only worthy of common decency when someone wanted something from him. “Of course I want to be with you. You’re a wonderful man, even if you can’t always see it. Fuck anyone who dares to say anything different. I’ll stab them myself.”

Izzy chuckled at the offer, unable to fight a small smile. He turned his head slightly, pressing a quick kiss to the heel of Mo’s hand, enjoying the light blush that crept over their face.

“I thought I was supposed to be the violent one?” he asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.

“Yeah, well, people better start showing you the respect you deserve if you want it to stay that way,” Mo huffed. Izzy ran a hand through their short hair, his gaze filled with such love and adoration, that Mo was half afraid that their heart would burst.

“What else did they say?” they asked quietly, gently stroking his swallow tattoo.

“Not much. Edward was upset, to say the least, but Bonnet, twat that he is, was actually able to calm him down a bit.” Izzy was clearly reluctant to praise the eccentric captain. “Told him that everyone should feel free to pursue love, even pirates. That if he was truly my friend, he would want to see me happy.”

Mo smiled softly. “That’s actually pretty sweet. How did Blackbeard react to that?” Izzy sighed. “Well, he’s not used to this sort of thing. With the lives we’ve had, love is the kind of thing that gets you killed. He’s not happy about it, by any means, but Bonnet convinced him not to ban it outright.”

Mo grinned, snaking their arms up to rest behind Izzy’s neck. “Well, that’s good news, right? We can see each other, without having to hide anymore!” Their grin widened when Izzy smiled.  “‘Course,” they continued, “it probably won’t change anything too much. I imagine we’ll still want to keep private things private, and you don’t seem like the type to want to kiss in front of others. Not quite like Black Pete and Lucius,” they joked, getting a scoff and eyeroll out of Izzy.

“How do you feel about this?” they asked, turning serious. Izzy’s face clouded, his brow creasing with worry again as he frowned faintly.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. He adjusted his grip on Mo’s waist, pulling them closer. “I’m glad we don’t have to hide anymore, or worry about my position getting in the way. But…” he trailed off, frowning.

“Are you worried about Blackbeard?”

Izzy nodded. “I’m worried that something will happen. That he’ll change his mind, and decide that you make me weak.” His grip tightened. “Blackbeard doesn’t stand for weakness. He gets rid of it.”

“Hey,” Mo said gently. “We’re going to be alright. Aside from him generally seeming like a decent guy so far, I really don’t think that he’d do anything drastic with Stede here. We all know how infatuated he is with him, and he wouldn’t want to risk losing that over some weird hangup of perceived weakness.” Izzy scowled, clearly not a fan of his boss’ relationship with Stede, and Mo paused, not sure if they should continue.

“I think he might be a little insecure right now,” Mo confessed, earning a confused look from Izzy. “You’re his best friend, and his oldest friend. You’re the person he’s always known he could count on, and he just found out you’ve been in a relationship that you’ve been hiding, specifically from him. That’s got to put him in a weird place.” Izzy frowned. “And on top of that, you’re his first mate. His very, very loyal first mate, who has always been purely devoted to him, and now there’s this weird new thing where he might think that if it came down to it, you’d choose me over him.” Izzy opened his mouth to speak, but Mo cut him off, wanting to finish their last thought before letting him speak. “It doesn’t matter if that’s true or not, but you have to understand that this is probably a lot for him to take in at once.” Izzy sighed in annoyance. “You might have a point,” he quietly admitted, clearly not thrilled by it. “Well, he'll have to learn to deal with it. What’s done is done, and I’m not giving this up just for his comfort. Especially not when he has that flouncy twat to comfort him.”

Mo chuckled. “Insults aside, that was actually very sweet,” they said, nuzzling their face into Izzy’s neck. “I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me today,” they whispered. “You really are the best, Iz. Don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

Izzy kissed their forehead, rubbing their back. “Anytime, love.”

Mo felt more at home than they had for a long time, but couldn’t ignore the growing anxiety that was eating away at them. As much as it broke their heart, they had to tell him that they had to stay.

Reluctantly, Mo pulled their face away, giving Izzy’s check a soft kiss before stepping back fully. They cleared their throat, not sure how to begin.

“There is another thing we need to talk about.” Izzy frowned, but gave a small nod, encouraging them to continue.

Mo took a deep breath. “My family is dead,” they said plainly. “They’re dead, but my shithead, psychopath brother is still out there. I have to find him, and kill him, so he doesn’t hurt anyone else.”

Izzy crossed his arms over his chest, adjusting his stance as he processed. His eyes flitted around, seemingly trying to find an answer to an unknown question on Mo’s face.

“Okay,” he said finally. “How do you propose we do that?”

Mo felt another pang. We. He didn’t even know what they were planning, and he wanted to help. They reached out and took his hand, uncrossing his arms in the process, and led him to sit on his bed. “I have to stay,” they said as they both settled down. “I have to track him down, wherever he went, so I can end this once and for all.” They paused, taking a deep breath before they forced themselves to continue, to say the hardest part. “And…you can’t come with me.” Izzy’s face changed rapidly, flashing from confusion to concern to hurt. Mo squeezed his hand, hoping he would let them finish.

“I love you, Izzy,” they confessed, their voice shaking with emotion. “I love you more than I have ever loved anyone or anything, but I need you to stay with the ship. Believe me, I want nothing more than to be with you, wherever we have to be for that to happen, but this crew needs you. The captains do too.” They cupped his face, feeling their eyes begin to water, hopefully for the last time that day. “I promise, I’ll come back to you. I just need to do this one thing, and then I’ll never leave you again, for as long as it takes for you to get sick of me.”

Izzy’s eyes were misty, a bit of water had welled up for him too as he stared down at his lap. “I’ll never get sick of you,” he mumbled softly, almost under his breath. He looked up, and Mo felt their first tears drop at how devastated he looked. “I should be with you,” he said, almost begging. “You’ve already been through so much, you shouldn’t be alone.” “I won’t be alone, love. Frenchie, sweet bastard, has already insisted that he’s coming with me. Basically told me that he’ll stow away if he has to.” Mo paused, wishing there was something they could say to comfort Izzy, to let him know that they would be okay, and that they would come back to him. “I know Frenchie isn’t the most intimidating person in the world, but he’ll look out for me, and make sure I don’t get too hot headed and mess things up.” Izzy was looking at his lap again, unable to meet his partner’s gaze. “Do you not want me to be with you?” he asked quietly.

“Oh, baby,” Mo whispered. They reached out to cradle his cheek, turning his head to look at them. “Of course I want you with me,” they said, as earnest as one could be. “It’s killing me to even think about being away from you. I want nothing more than to just stay with you. But I have to do this. And as much as I love this crew, they wouldn’t survive without you. I…I’ve already lost one family. I can’t afford to lose another. Please, I’m asking you because I trust you to take care of them. Once I do this, I’ll come back, and I promise we’ll never have to be apart again. There won’t be anything left for me on land, and we can just sail and pirate for as long as you’d like. And if you’d ever like to do anything else, I’ll be right there with you.”

Izzy cleared his throat. “I understand,” he rasped out. His brown eyes seemed extra dark as he looked at Mo, still just as upset, but resigned to his partner’s decision. He took their hand in his, squeezing it gently. “Just promise to come back.”

Mo smiled weakly, leaning forward to kiss him. It was a soft, desperate kiss, the kiss of two lovers who didn’t want to be separated. “I promise,” they whispered, pulling back just enough to look into his dark, expressive eyes. They rubbed his neck, hoping to reassure him, to massage away any lingering doubt.

“Should we go back up there?” Mo asked quietly, nodding towards the door.

Izzy groaned, letting his head drop down to rest his forehead on Mo’s shoulder. “Probably,” he admitted. “If we’re gone much longer, Edward might have a meltdown, think we’re doing something we’re not supposed to.” Mo chuckled softly, running a hand through his hair and gently scratching his scalp, enjoying the small sighs he let out at the contact. “I don’t think he really gets a say in what we do in here.”

Izzy barked out a laugh, muffled by Mo’s shoulder.

“I mean, what would he do?” they continued. “Just come in, stand in the corner and scold you? There’s no real, non-insane way for him to justify being mad at you for that.” They laughed. “Even the usual ‘real pirates don’t do that’ argument doesn’t really apply.”

Izzy tilted his head, leaning against them more fully as he looked up. “You’d be surprised.”

Mo tilted their head, awkwardly looking down at their partner. “Really?”

Izzy nodded. “Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, there’s always the Spriggs’ and the Pete’s on every ship, but a lot of pirates just fall out of the routine.” He smirked. “For some reason, some have trouble with intimacy. Seems they have a hard time trusting people.” Mo feigned a gasp, still playing with his hair. “Really? Well, that doesn’t sound like anyone I know.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

Mo chuckled. “Hey, you’re doing better than most would, I’m sure. I obviously don’t know all the crazy, terrible things you’ve seen during your life, but I’m sure it would be enough to drive most of the crew mad, me included, probably.” They pressed a kiss to his forehead, giving him a grin. “Plus, you’re doing well enough to be able to get back into the routine pretty easily. Or at least I haven’t heard any complaints. Sounds like you’re doing better than the average pirate.” They smirked as Izzy blushed, burying his face into their neck to hide how red his face was turning.

“Fuck off.”

“And here I was thinking you liked it when I praised you,” Mo mused aloud, enjoying teasing the man. “Well, if you don’t, I suppose I could always stop.”

Izzy’s face turned, glaring up at them as best as he could with his face stained bright red.

“Alright,” they said, giving up their game. “I would never do that, and you know it.” They kissed the tip of his nose. “You know there’s no way to get me to stop complimenting you. Not when you make it so easy to do,” they added.

Izzy huffed. Mo smiled, knowing he liked the attention, even if he wasn’t comfortable admitting it yet. They gave him a soft kiss, one he eagerly lifted his head for.

“Come on, love,” Mo said, dragging their thumb gently over the tattoo under his eye. “Think we should head back up. Don’t think we should find out just yet how Blackbeard responds when he thinks you’re doing things you shouldn’t.”

The crew still sat in a semi-circle on deck when Izzy and Mo emerged from the ship. Their positions had changed, some moving to be able to talk to others more easily, but they were all still huddled up, discussing how their days had gone and the shocking news they had learned. They looked up when they heard the door close, some hushing when they saw the subjects of their discussion had rejoined them.

Stede stood with Blackbeard at the head of the ship. Blackbeard was still visibly upset, his movements sharper and more erratic than usual as he spoke. He somehow seemed to have ever more energy that usual, a remarkable feat, and moved like his life depended on it, as if he was a shark who would drown if he stopped swimming. Stede was soothing him, as best as he could. His body language was calm, and he put a soft hand on his friend’s back, his touch light so as not to aggravate him further. Stede locked eyes with Mo across the length of the ship as they closed the door leading up from below deck behind them. Blackbeard turned when he saw the change in Stede, his eyes narrowing as he spotted Mo standing with his first mate.

“Uh oh,” Mo said, gripping Izzy’s wrist. “We’ve been spotted.” Blackbeard strode up to them, huffing lightly, as Stede followed in his wake. The fearsome pirate seemed more uncomfortable and agitated than angry.

“Izzy,” he greeted. “Mo. Can I have a word with you? Promise I’ll be quick.” He was speaking to Mo, who looked, shocked, at Izzy. Izzy met their gaze but didn’t react, letting them make their own choice.

“Uh, yeah. Sure. Of course.” Mo followed Blackbeard as led them back to the head, leaving Stede behind with Izzy. They weren’t sure which conversation would be more uncomfortable, the one they were being forced into, or the one they were leaving behind.

Once they reached the other end of the ship, Blackbeard turned, looking Mo up and down intently, scrutinizing them. Mo shifted uncomfortably in their boots, trying their best to remain calm and not let their nerves get the best of them.

Blackbeard groaned as he leaned back against the railing. “Alright,” he said, speaking very casually, almost unsettling so. “Here’s the deal. Izzy is important to me. He’s my first mate, and my oldest friend. We know each other in ways no one else does. So,” he leaned forward, clasping a firm hand on Mo’s shoulder and squeezing, “if you hurt that man, in any way, I will kill you.” Mo stiffened, jumping at the sudden contact. “You understand me?” They nodded, not sure where this was going. “And don’t even think about getting any ideas about stealing him away. The best thing about Iz is his devotion. If you mess that up-“ “You’ll kill me,” Mo finished for him. “Got it.” They had no hesitation to meet the fearsome pirate’s gaze, making him huff out a short laugh. They cleared their throat.

“Just for the record, Edward, or Blackbeard, whichever you’re being right now, I really don’t care, I would never hurt Izzy. He’s a good man, better than I deserve probably, and I’m always going to do what I can to do right by him. As for his loyalties, that’s up to him.” They paused, examining the face of the man in front of them. “I’m not in this to steal him away from you. I just want to be with him, to make him happy. And for whatever reason, you make him happy, Edward. So, I wouldn’t dream of separating you, not when it would only break his heart.”

Blackbeard frowned. He obviously didn’t care for being spoken to this way, as though he was an equal to the pirate before him, or worse, a subordinate. Part of him admired their bravery though, and he gave a small smile, just an upturn of one corner of his mouth, when he recognized the fiery glow behind their eyes as passion. Finally, someone who wouldn’t hold back. Who wouldn’t shirk away from the name Blackbeard.

“By the way,” Mo continued, crossing their arms across their chest, “while we’re on the subject of treating people we care about well. I don’t understand the full nature of your relationship with my captain.” Edward tensed, his body language changing to be defensive. “I don’t know if I’d care to, and I certainly don’t think it’s any of my business. Whatever it is you two have, though, be nice to him, Edward. He’s a good person, and I would really hate to have an issue with you if you hurt him.”

Edward’s gaze was unreadable, but he gave a stiff nod.

“Good,” Mo said. “Glad we could get that settled. Neither of us will hurt anyone.” They gave a hesitant smile. “Shouldn’t be too hard, you seem a decent enough fellow. I was hoping that after everything came out, about me and Izzy, that we might be able to get along. Not that we weren’t before,” they rushed to add, “but, y’know. Izzy had suggested I give you a wide berth. Didn’t want to draw suspicions.”

Blackbeard groaned, shaking his head. “Sounds like Iz. Always has been an uptight bastard.”

Mo bit their tongue, resisting the urge to defend their partner, knowing he wouldn’t want them to start anything on his behalf.  Blackbeard eyed them again. He no longer seemed to be searching for flaws, instead just taking them in.

“You might do him some good,” he admitted. “Draw him out of his shell a little. Seen him with you. Before all of this,” he added, waiving a hand. “Thought he might like you, at least a bit more than the rest. It’s not very often Izzy meets someone he doesn’t threaten to stab or maim.” He looked up, catching Mo’s gaze. “Seen you get him to talk to Frenchie. Don’t think he’s threatened him either.” He sighed. “Don’t know how you’ve done it, mate, but you’re changing him. For the better, I reckon.”

Mo shrugged, looking down at their boots as they shifted their weight. They didn’t know how to respond to praise from Blackbeard, not expecting it in the slightest.

“He was already pretty great,” they said eventually. “He just needs some help with his people skills.” Blackbeard laughed, almost doubling over from the force of it. No, this wasn’t Blackbeard, Mo realized. This was Edward. Maybe it always had been.

“’People skills’!” he cackling, clapping his hands. “I like that! Oh, I tell you, you lot, on this crew, have got it figured out. The whole pirate thing is really not all it’s made out to be. Pretty soon it gets pretty fuckin’ boring, but you, you all make it fun! You don’t give a single shit what anyone else thinks about you, and it’s-it’s fuckin’ mesmerizing.”

“I think we have Captain Bonnet to thank for that.” “Yeah, you probably do.” Edward’s eyes twinkled with fondness, a small smile on his face. He cocked his head to the side, looking at Mo. “I think we will get along, Mo,” he said. “We already have one thing in common.” He pointed across the deck to where Izzy stood, trapped in a conversation with Stede, a slight grimace on his face until he realized he was being watched. His eyes darted to where his partner and his captain stood, his expression softening as he gave a small wave.

Mo blushed, a small smile creeping its way onto his face as they returned his wave.

“Aww, you guys are cute!” Edward teased. “For Iz, that’s a huge thing. Think the most affection he’s ever really shown is public is passing out on someone after drinking too much.” He chuckled as Mo raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, he doesn’t drink so much anymore. Thinks it’s a weakness to be out of sorts like that. Think it might also have to do a bit with how honest he gets. He doesn’t like being all open like that, thinks it’s weakness too.”

Mo hummed. Come to think of it, they’d never seen Izzy more than slightly buzzed.

“Well,” Edward continued. "Maybe you’ll be able to get him through that.” He frowned. “I miss the old Izzy. Anyway, I won’t be keeping you. Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page about Izzy. Like you said, I’d hate to have an issue with you. But,” he continued, “Izzy comes first. You do anything to him, and I’ll do what I have to.”

Mo nodded. “Aye aye, Captain Blackbeard.”

[nightcall99]

Notes from 25.1.24

Not long ago, I read a story about a guy who claimed he lived another life while briefly unconscious from a head injury. He lives a nice life with his wife and two kids. One day he notices there is something wrong about the perspective of the lamp in the living room. He obsesses over it. He stares at the lamp for three days and has an epiphany that the last ten years of his life were not real. He wakes up from the dream, blood in his mouth and lying on the side walk. He goes almost mad with depression, deeply mourning his other life. I wonder about this sometimes.

This morning, I was staring at my lamp. It no longer looked solid. It seemed to flicker and swirl with distortion, bending like light under water. Parts of it would disappear and appear back into focus in my peripheral vision. It seemed to lengthen and shorten like Pinocchio's nose. A black line of demarcation around it, like empty black space. But seeming to fan out and shine, the way traffic lights twinkle in the night because of astigmatism. I make myself snap out of it.

I barely eat. I go to work. My face is blank. I really don't want to play, I want to stay as neutral as the blankness of my face but after a few moments, I engage. We talk of nothing. But there is something in nothing, I must admit. Melbourne airport sucks, someone says. Compared to the rest of the world, ours is so outdated and shitty. We bring up pictures on Google of airports from all over the world. Chinese airports. US ones. Modern. Vast. Did you know to get to the next terminal at Incheon airport, you have to catch a train? No, I didn't know that.

AM, an older lady from the shop floor comes up to me and says - "Would you believe it? Just now I asked AV, who was that that came in just now? She said, it was Kitty Kat! And I'm telling you I've never ever even uttered a word about you to her, and she suddenly goes "You and Kath are the same" Ha! I had to inquire further. The same in what way exactly, my dear? "You are both blunt, to the point and don't take no shit from anyone."

A customer was raging. I didn't want to dispense his anti-depressants early. He doesn't look well. He might OD. How would I know? I mean, I'm just playing the game here. And he was so angry. So angry, he starts making out like I'm making his life difficult on purpose. Then he starts crying and I couldn't help it. I'm crying too. I dunno, it wasn't even about him. It was more like, Why am I in this position? The intern who initially dealt with him probably escalated the situation because she lacks social skills. The other pharmacist is not doing anything to help me, but is clearly overhearing everything. My manager is having lunch, the ear-buds are in and he's blissfully unaware. The other customers are gathered around, staring at me. I wipe my eyes. I come out and try to keep serving people, but the tears keep leaking out. I hide behind a wall, use more tissues. I go out, I go back in. No, I don't fucking want a cup of water. Someone mutters something half-hearted regarding my well-being. No, I'm not okay. But none of them exist. But yet I'm making it all exist. Why? The injustice of being alive. I think to myself, I can't do this anymore. The thing is, in this moment, it's really, really hitting me. I see just how dire the situation has become. By prolonging things, the whole world (which is just me) will only continue to be unhappy. I need to move on. The customer apologises for making me cry. This seems to make him cry some more. I give him his medicine, I tell him, "it's nobody's fault" and I walk away.

AC, a younger girl from the shop floor comes up to me and says - Hey! How are you? I shoot her a pained look. She says oh, I felt that. I believe her. I say, Oh, are you an empath? She says, I don't know, am I? Is there a test for that? Well, there's a test for everything these days, but you seem like an empath to me. Do you ever just walk past people and know what's up with them? The vibe? Yes, she says. Hmm, see. You're attuned to the emotional energy of your environment. That's an empath, I’m one too. She says, Oh, we're the same! We're the same person!

As we're working, we talk of nothing again. But everything is a cycle and nothing is apart from one another so of course, I must admit, nothing is something. Someone remarks that shop items keep getting stolen. Another person says, if a customer empties out a bottle of tablets into their bag and dumps the bottle before walking out the door, how are we to know any better? Oh, the reply comes, conversations have been had with the boss. We might start sticking security tags on every item that we sell. And lock the more expensive items into security boxes. I zone out. I hear the words 'Doomsday Clock'. I zone back in. The clock is a warning and there was an article in the news about it. We Google it. The clock is a symbol for how close we are to human-made global catastrophe and annihilation. Without meaning to, I start to beam. They set the time on the clock again two days ago, which they do every year. Didn’t you know that, Kath? No, I didn't know that. What’s the time? 90 seconds to midnight. The closest the clock has ever been set to midnight.

[villians-r-hot]

Just Please Come Home

An Arthur Harrow Fanfic

Warnings: drugging, alcohol, threatening date rape drugs, panic attacks, somewhat yandere

This was written very quickly so if there are any mistakes please let me know <3

“No! I’m never going back to the village” you screamed at the man in front of you.

“(Y/N), I know you’re upset but I can fix this. Just please return home with me” Arthur said in a quiet but authoritative voice.

You knew that if you thought about it too long and if you let Arthur talk for long enough, you would be convinced to go back. So instead of answering, you turned around and walked away from the man.

You had been a part of Arthur Harrow’s following for about a year. And in that year, you had gained the favor of Arthur. At one point, you even thought that you guys were in love. But it had gotten to be too much for you. You didn’t think that Arthur should have the authority to judge and execute people before they did anything bad. Once you might have believed in Ammit’s dream for the world, but now it just frightened and confused you.

You were near the center of London, which is where you used to live. So you began to try to relocate your previous home and maybe reconnect with your friends. You had given everything away to follow Arthur and now you had nothing left. The sun was close to setting and the streets were growing darker by the minute. Nearing your house, you could tell that Saturday night parties had already begun. Hoping that one of your friends was at these parties, you entered the house that seemed to be the busiest. Right off the bat, you could smell weed and alcohol. This dazed and confused you because you hadn’t been around drugs for a while. You had to weave through the crowd in the house, looking for familiar faces. Walking into the kitchen to hopefully escape the thick haze, you bumped into someone you thought you recognized.

The man looked down at you and smiled. “Hey, I haven’t seen you around here in a while. You're Riley’s friend right?”

Knowing that Riley used to be your friend that you went to house parties with, you said, “Yeah I actually am. Hey, you don’t happen to know where Riley is, do you?”

“Well let's not rush off just yet, you just got here. Let me get you a drink and we can talk” he said.

Nodding your head, you watch him leave to go to the drink table. Now, the weed smoke was really getting to your head and being around this many people was overwhelming. You just wanted to know where your friends were so maybe you could crash with them for a while. Even though this guy seemed weird, you were willing to do just about anything to find someone you trusted.

“Here you go” he handed you a solo cup with what smelled like cheap beer. “You know it’ll help you relax a little,” he laughed.

You took a hesitant sip and asked “So, do you know where Riley is?”

“Yeah, I think I saw her at a party last night two streets over.” You took another sip and asked “But what about today?”

“Well, I don’t actually know where she is today.”

“That’s so helpful,” you rolled your eyes and handed back your drink. You were about to move on and ask someone else when you began to feel weak. It hit you very suddenly and the guy seemed to notice it. “Hey, do you need to take a breath outside?”

You nodded your head and slowly made your way to the door. The guy led you out the door to the alleyway beside the house. You leaned against the wall and tried to take deep breaths. When you looked over at the man, he was smiling. “Oh sweetheart, that’s not gonna help. You’ll be out within two minutes and I can do whatever I want.”

Confused and becoming afraid, you pushed off the wall to step away from him but stumbled and fell onto your knees. “Please, I only wanted to know where my friend is.” But he didn’t listen as he stalked closer and closer. Your vision blurred and your hips threatened to give out. Suddenly, from behind him, you saw a purple glow and heard someone chanting something over and over.

The man stopped and turned towards the source of the chanting, blocking your view of the glow. With this, your hips finally gave out and you fell all the way to the ground and laid on your back. Everything was distorted and it was getting hard to breathe. The only thing you could make out was what sounded like an animal running across pavement and the man screaming out down the road.

The outsides of your vision was blackening and it was difficult to move at all. You tried to inhale but it was like your lungs wouldn’t fully expand. You thought that your entire vision had gone black, but it was a tall man quickly walking over you covering the moon as he walked. He threw down his cane and crouched next to you, holding your head in his hands.

“You’re alright. You’re safe now. Just breathe.” It was Arthur. There was a slight quiver in his voice that you couldn’t tell if it was concern or fear for you. You should’ve been afraid or angry at his coming back, but honestly you were relieved. He pulled you up to rest your head on his chest as your arms lay loosely at your sides. He supported your head with one hand and put the other hand on your chest. “In and out slowly. You’re good. I’ve got you now.”

As the blackness took over, you feel Arthur’s large hands wrap around you and pick you up off the ground. Somewhere, you thought you heard a car door slam and someone telling the driver to go faster.

Four or five hours later, you jerk awake on Arthur’s bed. You instantly sit up and realize you have an oxygen mask on and so you pull that off. However, you're having a hard time controlling your breath and the remaining effects of the drugs are not helping. Arthur, who had been sitting there waiting for you to wake up, stood up from his chair and began trying to get the oxygen mask back on. “Please my dear, you need this back on. I know it’s confusing right now, but trust me.”

This was not helping the feeling of an oncoming panic attack, which affected your breathing even more. You began to sob between breaths and fear began to flood your body. You couldn’t even speak for having to focus on breathing. Arthur gave up on the mask and reached the bedside table for something. He pulled out an inhaler and brought it to your lips. “Now you need to breathe in when I tell you to” he instructed. When he pushed the button, you breathed in the best you could and it instantly became easier to inhale.

“You’re doing amazing (Y/N), just one more time for me.” You inhale again and your lungs open up even more. “Ok, I know you don’t want to, but you need to put on the mask”

Already weak from the lack of oxygen and the drugs, you agree tiredly and he gently straps the mask to your face. You’re still sobbing quietly from the whole situation. “Sh sh sh, I know you're tired and scared. Can you lean back for me?” You let his hands guide you back down to the pillows and rest your head against one. Arthur gets a tissue and dries your eyes as you are still regaining your breath. “I know you're probably still feeling the effects of those drugs but you will be alright. You are safe and I will keep you that way. You don’t have to worry about someone attacking you like this ever again.”

You try to speak or even raise your hands to thank him but you're still weak.

“Just rest for now and we can talk later. I'll be right here by your side if you need me.” You were able to barely move your hand and so you slowly moved it over the bedsheets to his hand on the bed and his hand envelopes yours while you fall back asleep. He gently moved the hair out of your face and squeezed your hand tightly in his.

[granjagranja2]

My oc btd. Interlude between the ending "you helped ren" and "TPOF"

"Let's try to move forward Ren, we can do it." That's what she had told him that day. No more pain. A normal life. She wanted to show them that a new life was possible, that she didn't have to be afraid of the future. She had shown him his life, which despite all the disgust and difficulties, he kept going. Or at least he tried. Over time, meeting at the same bar every night had become their routine. They had fun enjoying their new life, or so she thought. Having had problems at work, she had come later than usual that evening. Much later than usual. She wanted to postpone it, but he insisted. "Hey! Here I am! Sorry I was so late...." "oh don't worry, I already got something too". She looked down and saw two glasses on the coffee table. She shook her head and let out a tired sigh "in any case, I still apologize. My car also broke down, and I'm not even sure it's a real fault given the neighborhood I live in.... but let's talk about 'other !!". She said the last sentence with great enthusiasm. She didn't want to think about the bad things, not in front of him, at least. She took her glass and drank it all in one gulp. "How are things going? They're better, right?" “oh this one for sure.” He smiled at her. "yay!!" - she exclaimed exultantly - "this weekend we could go downtown, what do you think? Or we go back to the amusement park, it was fun, even if the roller coaster was a bit turbulent....we were both of us a little stunned. Especially me." She looked at him. "ok just me". He laughed. She felt tipsy. Like that day. Maybe more. Stranger. She lost her balance for a moment and slapped her hand on the table to support herself. She looked at him again. "Everything OK ?" he asked her, in a calm tone, as if she were chatting about the weather. As if she expected it. Her vision went blurry. He remembered the previous time and started to get scared "Ren....tell me you didn't really do it" and he, with a sadistic smile, replied "It'll be fine. I'll take you home. I think you drank too much. But don't worry, I'll take care of you." She approached. "N-no!". She looked around. There was no one there, it was closing time after all, maybe the bartender was in the back but either way he or she wouldn't have heard her, or she would have seen her and thought she was drunk. She gave up. He took her by the shoulders. He walked her out. but they weren't heading towards her car. Before she completely lost consciousness, she could only ask "where are you taking me?" "I already told you. Home darling."

She woke up on a bed, in an unfamiliar room, still a little dazed. She looked around. She was surrounded by soft stuffed animals. On the bedside table was a large vase of flowers, matching the colors of the room. Her favorite color of hers. There were also various items inspired by her favorite characters. She looked towards the window. Full light. How many hours had she slept? She also noticed that she wasn't wearing her clothes, but a pink babydoll. She touched her neck and felt something hard and cold. The collar. Obviously. She noticed that this time she also had the anklet attached to the wall. She made a noise of annoyance. She found it hard to believe that she would do it again and instead..... Suddenly the door opened "you woke up. Did you rest?". Ren. Her ears open and pointed towards her and her usual smile. "Ren, what are you doing? Why did you bring me here?" I thought things were going well,” her ears twitched, before turning back to her, “now definitely.” Do you like your room? I dressed it up with what you like, just like I told you." "I-I.... yes but she - she shouted at him -.... you didn't answer me!! I thought you were fine! You said.... you said that....", Ren, impassive, raised his hand and showed her the remote control. He went silent. He smiled at her satisfied, but her ears were still back. "I know what I said. You wanted to try a new method. I agreed to what my pet wanted. But the world is cruel." He gently grabbed her chin. "Darling. I've seen how much effort you put in without receiving anything in return. How much you SUFFER. But I will take care of you. Lots of care." Her eyes lit up and she started climbing onto the bed. She backed away, starting to cry, but she climbed on top of her anyway. She started licking her salty tears and rubbing herself. "So gentle. So kind. So SWEET"-he passed his hand under her dress-"But don't worry. We have a lot of money." "the money will run out sooner or later" "no, it won't run out." As he said this, he stood up a little, canines extremely close together, tail wagging. He had a feverish look on his face. He knew what it meant. He would torture himself to death other people. "this isn't fair...." "life is unfair" - he stared at her "you still haven't told me what you think of your room" - he pulled at her dress, but without tearing it - "I know you don't you like surprises, but I paid attention to your tastes." M/C looked around again. She actually liked the room. But the situation....she didn't want to contradict him or he would get even more angry. She avoided his look. "y-y' I like it. Thank you. But....but it's all so new, you know what I'm like." The beast-boy seemed undecided about his next move. But then he stood up-"I'm sure you just need more time to adjust. I'll let you rest". he gave her a direct kiss, before heading to the door. She hugged the first pillow near her and, looking down, whispered a 'thank you'. When Ren reached the door, before closing it, she heard him add "Don't try to leave without my permission. And especially while I'm working." She instantly understood that she couldn't help but nod. She trusted him. And she had made the same mistake again. Maybe he was right.