#is this a vent. i don’t vent often on here because i get nervous if no one likes the post or i feel like it’s a stupid thing to feel upset

[nazumichi]

they weren’t lying, that dis sure can connect.

[pedrosdameron]

Treat You Right || Joel Miller x f!reader

Description: When you and Joel get into an argument, your first instinct is to shut down and cry. Joel shows you how to come back to life in a very sinful way.

Warnings: 18+ Minors DNI! Porn with very little plot, Angst, reader has a bipolar disorder (unspecified), mental health issues talks, mention of medication, reader flinches when he moves once, arguing, hurt/comfort, slight dissociation, established (kind of toxic) relationship, unspecified age gap, unprotected piv (come on, you know the drill), oral m and f receiving, ruined orgasm, multiple orgasms, cumshots, aftercare, comforting!Joel, daddy kink, use of pet names, no use of y/n, reader uses she/her and is afab but has no physical descriptors 

Word count: 2.6k

Recommended song(s): Daddy Issues - The Neighbourhood

Crush - Danny Fischer

I Hope You Understand - Del Water Gap

Still Don’t Know My Name - Labrinth

Note(s): Hi everyone!! I'm so nervous to post this. This is my FIRST Joel x reader fic and one of my first rare attempts at second person, first tense so I'm sorry if there are mistakes. I also rarely write smut! I wrote this as a vent piece and I hope you like it or it can help you. Enjoy and follow my main blog: @delliestattoo

The sound of the rain splattering against your living room window is nothing compared to the harshness of his tone. Joel’s yelling at you, finger raised and pointed with that same, sly smirk on his face; he knows what he’s doing, he’s making you weak.

And not in the good way.

You can feel tears threatening to spill over your waterline, fresh and hot and not at all helpful to the situation. You want to speak, you want to scream, you want to yell right back at him; but you find yourself completely mute, barely even able to process the words he’s throwing at you. He doesn’t get like this often - the first time was when you brought up Sarah the first time, and the only other time was when you threatened to leave him; but those times were both understandable now, sole misunderstandings that you had caused. 

This time, however, was honestly just stupid. You two had been arguing about where to go for dinner, and he called you indecisive, which your brain translated to immature and here you were. 

“J-Joel,” you whisper, though you know he can’t hear you. He’s still shouting, and you know you have to do something. You have to say something. You have to get out of this.

“Joel,” you say again, louder this time, “P-Please -” you stop yourself from continuing, bowing your head with a muffled sigh. You didn’t want to argue anymore, you didn’t want to fight. 

You just wanted him to stop yelling at you.

Silently, the tears begin to fall, and it quickly turns to broken sobbing, a hand covering your mouth to try and stay quiet. Quiet - which is what Joel is now, silent and staring at you while you try to compose yourself. You know he’s hating himself for the screaming, but you know you deserve it, and you think deep down he does, too.

“I’m s-sorry,” you manage to stutter, and you glance up at him, and that’s when you notice Joel has gone not only silent, but also still, his face completely changed from the moment before. You’re puzzled for a moment, unsure of how to proceed, when he walks towards you. 

On instinct, you flinch.

“Joel-?” It’s more of a question than a statement, because now you’re just confused, though your tense body relaxes underneath his touch, his calloused and rough hands reaching for your shoulders, fingers dragging down your arm, and despite being relaxed, you freeze. You don’t know what he’s doing, and all you can do is look up at him with unsure, teary eyes, as a few tears still fall.

“Oh, baby, -” Joel says then, and you blink, mouth suddenly dry with a sense of something else entirely. Suddenly, you’re not crying anymore. 

Everything’s fine. He’s talking to you. He’s looking at you and touching you and he has that sweet, thick southern accent - everything seems okay now; and you know it may only be for a moment, and you know you missed your medication this morning, but it’s okay now.

“Darlin’,” Joel begins, and you know this is about to be good, “Why’s my pretty girl cryin’ like that? Come on now, chin up for me,” he says, and you obey, raising your chin and wiping your tears. You have the sudden urge to call him daddy - the way he’s looking at you, the way he was yelling at you. It fits. It fits so well and so would he. 

“That’s my girl,” Joel praises, and you feel your mood shift, already having gone from upset to nonchalant; but now it’s something different, now it’s a yearning you know only the man in front of you can fulfill. 

“Joel-” you huff, biting your lip. You don’t know what to say to him to make him understand what you need now. 

What if he wasn’t interested? What if he didn’t want you? What if he was just trying to fix what he had started?

“What is it, pretty girl?” he whispers then, and you feel your core burn hot. You want to sit down, but there’s nowhere to go, nowhere but his arms. You feel mute again, silenced, but then Joel rubs your arms again and you’re fully there.

“Need you, daddy,” you mutter, and your pussy throbs with want, with need. You need him to kiss you, to put his mouth on your neck; and you want him to shove you against a wall, throw you around, praise and degrade you at once. He’s staring deep into your eyes, like he’s trying to decide whether he wants to give in, and you open your mouth to say something but…

You’re cut off by movement, his hands falling from your arms down to your hips, and fuck, fuck, you couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Goddamnit, Joel,” you curse, though you’re sure he knows you don’t mean anything by it. You grunt, moving backwards, and pull your blouse over the top of your head with ease. The remainder of your clothing consists of your black biker shorts and a black, lace bra that you know damn well Joel wouldn’t be able to take his eyes - or hands - off of. 

“Goddamn, you,” Joel grunts back, and just like you thought, his hands are immediately on you, fingers laced underneath the hem of your bra like he wants it off already. You smirk. The tears on your face have dried, and you no longer have bloodshot eyes, no, now they’re full of lust and longing that belongs to Joel and Joel only. “Need me already?” you ask teasingly, and you expect him to laugh, play it off like he usually does, but you’re met with a sudden force, throwing you up against the wall just like you had wanted. “Fuck, Joel,” you can’t help but moan, the force making your panties wet, heart skipping beats and core throbbing with a desperate need. “Joel,” you mutter, as you move to wrap your arms around his neck, “Please.”

He seems to understand what you want by the look on your face and the pleading sound to your begs, hands reaching around to undo your bra strap. You don’t have time for that - you move away from his hands, instead your body presses close against his and you can feel his cock hard in his jeans. “I wanna get you off,” you whisper, leaning close to his ear. Your hand moves down to cup his balls underneath the fabric and you give them a gentle squeeze, a gesture that was almost like asking for permission for you. Joel’s breath had already been heavy but now it had picked up, and his fingers were thumbing over your nipples, and you knew that was an okay.

You drop to your knees, not wasting any time with Joel’s belt. He helps you, and before he seems to know it your mouth is on his cock, lips wrapped tastefully around the tip as you bob your head back. His arm is hovering over your head, his hand pressed against the wall as he resists the urge to thrust his cock into your mouth; you know that’s what he’s thinking, because you’ve talked about it. 

And you want him to.

“Come on, daddy, fuck my mouth,” you say, as you pull away for a moment to spit. You take his cock whole, and Joel cries out, hips moving to fuck your mouth. Your eyes roll back in your head, mouth dripping with saliva and pre-cum as he fucks into you. Your panties have to be fucking soaked by now, you’re so needy, you’re grinding down into nothing. There’s no sound in the room except for the wet slapping sounds of Joel’s balls against your cheeks and you don’t mind it one bit, muffled and strangled heavy breaths coming from your end and rough, heavy grunts from Joel’s. 

He’s getting close, you can tell by the way he’s breathing now; you’d been together for so long you had gotten accustomed to every sound. “That’s enough,” you say, voice hoarse now, as you pull away from his cock, which still thrusts towards you even after the loss. He’s not saying anything, and you know he’s pissed, but you know that would just make him fuck you better.

“Come on, daddy,” you murmur, your legs moving to stand, “Come fuck me.”

The two of you manage to make it to the bed, but you don’t manage to make it much farther. Joel’s got his hands on you again, and you can see the remorse from earlier reflected in his eyes, but you see way more lust. He throws you down onto the mattress and you let out a soft sigh, body going pliant. This is what you wanted, what you seemed to have needed. You just needed a man to throw you around and fuck you right. Treat you right.

You don’t bother helping him with your pants. He makes quick work of ripping them off of you, revealing your matching black, lace panties, and the sound he makes upon sight of them is comparable to a wolf’s snarl. 

“Like what you see?” you ask, smirking as you position yourself for missionary - it was your favorite position, your go-to, and if you were being honest, you needed the honest connection right now. You needed to really feel him make love to you.

“‘Course I do, pretty girl,” Joel confirms, pulling his own shirt over his head. He’s completely naked now, and you feel overdressed. You shimmy your hips. “Take ‘em off me, daddy,” you purr, and Joel can’t resist you, diving for your cunt. You scream and fall back, a laugh falling from your lips as he drags your panties down to your ankles and then off fully. You can’t even take a breath before he’s got his mouth on you - and he’s eating you real good, tongue flicking up and down and swirling around your clit in perfect motions. It’s not often he does this, either; Joel never really seems to enjoy it, but right now he’s all in. You’re left wondering if he’s even breathing while his tongue attacks your pussy. Your back arches and you feel an orgasm approaching, and it’s coming up fast, your breathing now labored and your hips bucking up into his mouth for more, more friction, more anything.

You need his cock. You need it deep, nestled inside of you, holding you together.

“J-Joel,” you pant, a hand reaching down for his hair. You try to pull him off of you, but Joel only presses his face deeper into your cunt, leaving you breathless and out of energy. Your core is burning hot, ready to cum, and you need to. You need to release. You need it so bad.

“Fuck, fuck - gonna cum,” you manage to mutter, pulling at his hair again. Joel’s lips wrap around your clit and he sucks, and you scream, your orgasm rippling through you at the speed of lightning. Joel doesn’t pull away, either; he helps you through it, licking your folds gently as you try and breathe, cunt twitching underneath his tongue. You still want his cock, more than anything now, and you feel tears welling up in your eyes again as he continues to stimulate you.

“Joel… p-please,” you whisper pleadingly, with another tug, “Please.” He pulls away then, looking up at you, and you swear you could see the devil in his eyes, he looked that sinful. His hair was messy, his chin dripping with your juices and lips red and puffy. You almost wanted to grab your phone and snap a photo, but you know he’d kill you.

The both of you take a minute to just breathe. Joel reaches to wipe his mouth before kissing you but you stop him and pull him forward anyways, wanting to taste yourself. “Need you to fuck me,” you whisper against his lips, the sickly sweet taste covering your tongue, “Need it, baby. Need you.”

Joel pulls away, only to look you in the eyes. “Need me that bad, darlin’?” 

You nod in desperation. Your eyes are filled with tears. All Joel does is let out a chuckle, and then he pushes you back down into the mattress. “Alright,” he mutters, “be a good girl for me and stay there, alright? Gonna fuck you nice and right,” he says, and you go pliant once again, body completely relaxed on the mattress. Your juices are flowing out of you and soaking the sheets but neither of you seem to care. They can always be washed.

Once you’re fully relaxed and ready, Joel climbs on top of you, and you instantly wrap your arms around him to bring him closer, his cock rubbing against the folds of your cunt. “Fuck,” the both of you say in unison, and then you both laugh a little, too. You’re always glad you can laugh with Joel in moments like these, serious or not. 

“That’s my girl,” Joel praises, his breath coming to a halt as he presses his cock into you slowly. The both of you adjust for a moment, and then you’re grabbing at any part of him you can reach. “Fuck me,” you beg, “Please, Joel. Fuck me.”

He obliges quickly, shifting his weight to his hands to begin thrusting his cock into you. It’s a quick pace, balls slapping against your thighs every other second, and you feel so fucking full. 

“Feels good,” you moan, “Feels - feels f-full, Joel.”

“Yeah? Fuck, darlin’, takin’ my cock so good,” Joel praises in return, and you feel your core start to heat up again and your heart swell. You’re going to cum again, and you’re probably going to do it quickly. 

“Harder,” you huff, fingers digging deep into Joel’s shoulders. He grunts at the pain but says nothing, allowing you to take hold of him. If anything, it spurs him on to fuck you harder. “Harder,” you repeat, throwing your head back, “I’m gonna fuck - I’m gonna fucking cum,” you warn him, moving your hand to reach down and rub at your clit quickly. You swirl your finger around the little sphere and cry out in pleasure, bucking your hips up to meet Joel’s pace. “Fuck, fuck, fuck…” you cry, breathing strangled, and Joel didn’t even have his hands on your throat.

“Yeah? Come on, darlin’,” Joel pants, his own orgasm approaching, though his focus remained on you, “Come for me. Come for me, pretty girl. Come on this fucking cock.”

He doesn’t have to say it twice - only once and you’re crying out again, overwhelming pleasure taking over your whole body. You’re trembling underneath him as you cum, fingers digging deep into his shoulder, so hard it could possibly draw blood; and despite the pain, Joel enjoys it, and it floods his own orgasm through him, streams of his seed spurting into your pussy. You can feel him filling you up and it feels better than anything you could ever imagine, and you’re way too dreary now to care there was no condom.

“Did so good,” Joel praises, as he pulls his cock out of you, and you whine at the sudden loss. You find yourself reaching for him, but he’s already shifting to move off of the bed. “Where - where are you going?” you whisper, sadness taking hold of your voice; was he leaving?

“Nowhere, my sweet girl,” Joel whispers then, leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead, “Gonna get a towel, clean you up, ‘n we can lay together. Okay, baby?”

You can feel your eyes closing from exhaustion; between the fight and sex, you were beat. “Okay,” you whisper quietly, “Baby.”

DT: @swiftispunk @gracieispunk @ilyltm @darkroastjoel

[merrybloomwrites]

Ian Hecox- Cafe Meet Cute

Summary: A rough morning gets a little better due to a run in with a stranger at a coffee shop.

Word Count: 700

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You couldn’t believe how this day was turning out. You really thought this interview would be leading to you getting your dream job.

Only to find out the whole company is a complete sham. You’d wasted your entire morning driving over an hour, waiting nearly another hour, only to speak with a representative for fifteen minutes. Finding out that they basically do the opposite of everything you’d seen online, and would actually be paying minimum wage, really puts you over the edge. 

So now you’re back on the job hunt, starting fresh when you thought it’d finally be over. But first, you need to drive yet another hour back home. Caffeine is definitely a must right now. 

You’d noticed a little cafe on your way in earlier and decide that seems like the perfect place to spend way too much money on a simple coffee. You’d had a rough morning, so you totally deserve a little treat. 

The coffee shop is just how you expected. Very modern, but with cute little decorations, and a menu full of words you don’t understand (but prices you unfortunately do). 

You’re looking at the menu trying to find a word you recognize, and must look very perplexed because another customer says, “Need help translating?”

“Excuse me?” You say, startled by his sudden appearance. 

“Sorry, you just looked confused. This place is a touch pretentious but the coffee is excellent so it’s worth it. But their menu is practically in another language,” he explains. 

You look at the random person and find an attractive man, roughly your age, and finally say, “Actually yea, I could use some help.”

He gives you a warm, reassuring smile before asking, “What is it you normally get?”

“Typically an iced latte.”

“Any flavor in it?” He asks. 

“I’ll often do mocha, or caramel, or vanilla. I like it pretty sweet,” you reply, suddenly self conscious of your own preference. 

“Don’t be embarrassed, it’s okay to have a wrong choice,” he says, laughing to show he’s just teasing. The light banter has you blushing even more. 

“How do you feel about lavender?” He asks next. 

“Can’t say I’ve ever had it in coffee before. Had it in a cocktail once, and I liked that.” 

“Okay, wait here a minute,” he says and promptly walks away. You’re confused as to what he’s doing, since he left without giving a recommendation, but you listen and wait for him. 

You’re shocked when he comes back carrying two drinks and hands one to you. 

“This is for you, hope ya like it,” he says cheerfully.

“Thank you! How much do I owe you?” 

“Nothing. It’s on me.”

“Are you sure? I don’t even know your name.”

“Oh! I’m Ian,” he says, gesturing to himself with his free hand. “And you are?”

“I’m Y/N,” you reply.

“Nice to meet you, Y/N. And yes I’m sure. Especially since I kind of guessed and you could still hate it.” You laugh at his statement, still slightly uncomfortable about the free drink, but you can tell he’s more than happy to get it for you.

He watches as you take a sip and seems relieved when your face lights up. 

“This is delicious! What is it?”

“Essentially it’s an iced vanilla latte with lavender.”

“I guess I really am a fan of lavender then.”

“Phew, I was nervous,” he says and you both laugh. “So, do you live around here?”

“Not really, I came for a job interview.”

“And I take it by your tone it didn’t go well?”

“You could definitely say that,” you answer.

He looks at you for a moment and says, “I was going to go for a walk along the beach. If you want to join me you can vent about how bad it was.” 

“I’d like that,” you say. 

The two of you spend the next hour walking together, getting to know each other before you start the drive back home.

Later that night you reflect on the day, happy that it wasn’t a total waste. You might not have gotten the job, but you did get Ian’s number, as well as a date scheduled for that Friday.

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AN: Hope you enjoyed! Another Damien story coming up next week!

[cellarspider]

4/30 Meeting the Prometheus crew. Hmm.

(Previous) | (Index) | (Next)

⛬

We return to the movie that I want to fold, spindle, and mutilate, Prometheus.

Time to actually meet the human crew.

Hooboy. I am feeling David’s dead-eyed look here. Content warning for jumpscare Charlize Theron, brief mention of vomit, depiction of smoking, and whatever the hell is going on with these people.

First off, there is Vickers (Charlize Theron). Her reveal implies that she has escaped containment, and is probably scuttling around in the vents somewhere. No, in fact, she is doing pushups. She asks David if anyone’s died with all the concern of an inconvenienced accountant,  because she is a Cold Corpo Queen who is going to be an asshole to everyone throughout the movie.

This includes David, who, again, may be meeting his makers for the first time here.

On the other hand, this has more dignity to it than the rest of the crew. They’re currently stumbling around and horfing up their two-year-old lunches, a grand tradition in the Alien franchise.

Charming.

Indeed, this is basically a recitation of a scene from Alien and Aliens: Everyone wakes up and feels like crap, except for a machine-like character and, in Aliens, a Black military dude, Sergeant Apone (Al Matthews), who wakes up and immediately chomps down on a cigar.

On an unrelated note, meet Captain Janek (Idris Elba). He’s smoking a cigarillo and setting up a Christmas tree on the ship’s pool table, while a nameless white guy appears to have ragdolled in the corner. Vickers disapproves.

We meet the last two crew members who are going to have enough of a presence in the plot to get names: Millburn (Rafe Spall) and Fifield (Sean Harris). Millburn is an awkward glasses-wearing dork of a biologist. So far, so realistic.

Fifield appears to be attempting to channel Sheamus the wrestler during a heel-y season. He isn’t here to make friends, he’s here to get paid. He’s here to win.

He’s a fucking geologist.

Sure, there’s a lot of geologists who work for extractive industries that probably are just there for the paycheck, but I don’t know how one of them ends up being selected for a mission of POTENTIAL FIRST CONTACT WITH AN ALIEN CULTURE.

This was absolutely baffling in the theater. What in the hell was this scene? This character? It felt so out of place. Little did I know that this was, in fact, setting expectations for the rest of the movie.

The human characters are not treated in the same way David is. We are not often invited to consider them as beings with inner lives, they are stock characters that you may or may not have previous affection for. And because we functionally meet David first, their presence is jarring.

Because these aren’t just stock characters from just any genre, they’re stock characters from a horror movie. Several different kinds of horror movie, with one bonus character trait if they're lucky. Elizabeth Shaw is the final girl (plus religious background), Charlie Holloway is the jock boyfriend (plus allegedly scientist), Millburn is the nervous, glasses-wearing nerd. Fifield the geologist is, bafflingly, the mercenary who’s Just There For The Money (plus rocks), Vickers is the heartless corpo, and Idris Elba is the calm and unflustered military guy. The rest of the characters, regardless of their role, are therefore consigned to being nameless dead meat.

This didn’t have to be the case. A different vibe could’ve been chosen. The marketing tied this movie to Alien. You’re introduced to everyone in that movie through the lens of their average, unremarkable jobs (in spaaaaace!), and you understand how the situation they find themselves in is completely, terrifyingly overwhelming. 

These are scientists and highly skilled professionals (in spaaaaace!). We have successful horror films out there, where scientists are placed beyond their limits. This used to be a whole thing in the 50s, where Serious Men of Science were sometimes the first and last line of defense against extremely rubbery aliens. Was it mostly goofy? Absolutely. But not always!

(First, the goofy: Night of the Blood Beast (1958), best known in latter days as MST3K’s Season 7 premiere (1995). The trailer features the amazing voiceover “The first satellite creature to impregnate man with its chromosomes!”, as heavy breathing plays in the background. “It’s true,” says a square-jawed white guy, “I can feel it inside!”.)

(Second, the straight: The Thing from Another World, precursor to John Carpenter’s The Thing. While just a standard monster movie, it features one of the first and honestly ridiculous full-body fire stunts on film. They repeatedly doused stuntmen in buckets of flaming kerosine.)

These have slowly died off in Hollywood, but there’s still some that pop up every so often: Contagion (2011) being the one that first comes to mind. Sunshine (2007) and Annihilation (2018) are another two that take a similar, slow tactic, all three of them containing horror elements in their premise and execution.

(major content warning on this first one for pandemic themes. Like, all of them.)

(cw for brief body horror, old self harm scars)

This was what I’d expected from the premise of the first five minutes: a well-prepared team, traveling to confront something with existential implications for humanity, taking the job seriously. The movie disabused me of that quickly, but it didn’t provide me anything as compelling in return.

If I had to guess what other movie Prometheus was trying to be like, The Thing (1982) is a strong candidate. It features a cast of dysfunctional people who are similarly broad in their characterization, and pits them against a source of alien body horror with existential implications for all of humanity. Unfortunately for Prometheus, it can’t live up to The Thing either. However, what it did manage to do was drive me COMPLETELY insane, starting in the next segment.

⛬

(Previous) | (Index) | (Next)

[xxavengingangelxx]

Somewhere Only We Know - Epilogue (for real this time)

Alright, ya'll! Final installment, for now. I've started to work on 2 requests I have from @bellgraves and from @unicorngirly1 now that this fic is done...for now.

Not as bad a cliffhanger, I promise :)

Taglist! @shepgurl, @lily-lily131313, @sharksausages

Triggers: None, really. Graves being kind of a jerk and intimidating.

-

“My name’s Andrei,”

“Don’t hear that name too often,” you replied. You stepped aside to let him in.

“I hear that a lot here in the US,”

Riley perked up from where he had been lounging on the couch, ears perked up in tight triangles. He growled low in his throat.

“Riley,” you commented. “Stop,”

You thought that his response over repeatedly being told his name was unique only in the US was weird but put it behind you. You also noted his accent. Very unique. He was tall, strong. Too tall and strong to fight off if he tried something. You wondered why that thought popped in your head but then reminded yourself that you sized men up automatically since you had your experience with Shadow Company. “Where you from?”

“Australia,”

“You’re far from home,” you noted. “What brings you all this way?”

“Work,” the large man in front of you shrugged.

Another growl from Riley, who looked ready to lunge.

“Riley, no, sir,” you said sternly. You turned back to your guest, saying, “He doesn’t like strangers, sorry,”

The man had also given another strange response because why would someone come from Australia for this kind of work? Whatever. You led him to where the heating system was.

“Cute kid,” the man remarked of your tiny sleeping son. “Always forget how small they are,”

You huffed a nervous smile.

-

After feeding and taking care of your son you were nursing a cup of coffee at the breakfast nook, trying to stay awake. One thing no one had warned you about was how exhausting infants were. Thankfully, infants also slept a lot. You had him asleep in a bassinet next to you because you didn’t trust anyone with your son. Especially not a stranger.

Things had turned out okay, right?

You were alive, Graves was alive. You had Graves and he had you. You were both together. You had a son Sometimes you worried about being separated, but there was a low chance of that, right? No one knew where you were. You honestly wouldn’t know what to do if you were separated from Graves or your son. They were your world.

141 was okay. At least, the last time you’d heard from them. Graves had allowed you enough contact only to know for sure that Soap was going to be okay. That man had survived a shot to the head.

Graves had prevented you contact them after.

At first it had bothered you. Something deep inside had told you to get away, that Graves was only going to get more controlling. But that faded. Any doubts or negative thoughts you had about Graves always faded. So you stayed. Besides, you had a 1-month-old at that time. Where were you going to run with a 1-month-old and weak from recently having given birth?

You’d get random emails, texts, sometimes calls. But once Graves found out who they were from, 141 reaching out, he blocked them.

Graves reasoned that if 141 found out where you were, so could an enemy so you had to stay off the grid. It made sense. Graves did all your thinking for you anyway.

You were on the verge of drifting off into a light slumber when someone approached you from behind.

And placed their hand on your shoulder.

And it made you jump almost a mile high. You gasped and turned around, almost ready to swing.

Andrei held his hands out, as if to show he wasn’t a threat.

“Sorry,” he commented. “I didn’t want to scare you. Just wanted to let you know you’re all set.”

Heat coming out of a nearby vent confirmed what he was saying.

“Let me get my wallet,” you replied with a sigh of relief.

The weird thing was, though, that you couldn’t find your wallet.

You sheepishly had to break the news to which the large man said not to worry, that they could send the bill.

And he left.

-

Graves got home about an hour after.

“Heater’s back up n’ workin’.” Graves commented, grabbing a beer from the fridge. He leaned over Rett’s bassinet and the tiny thing actually reached an even tinier hand towards his father who grinned.

“How was Rob? He didn’t try any shady shit, did he?” He took a sip from his beer.

“Whose Rob?”

“The heating guy,”

“Oh, they sent someone else,” you said dismissively. You turned to open the fridge, trying to figure out what to do for dinner. “What’s important is it’s fixed, right?” you paused before asking, “Did you get that job?” you closed the fridge door and straightened.

Graves stood in front of you, so close and he’d moved so quickly and so quietly that you hadn’t even noticed he’d moved clear across a large kitchen. He was larger than life, still geared, and looked terrifying.

“What the hell?” you whined. “Scared me!”

“I need to know the name of the person who came here.”

“What’s the big deal, so they sent someone else.”

“I’m going to pull up the cameras, Val,” he stepped closer to you, hovering over you and you found yourself stepping backwards because he…he looked like he did…he looked like he did all those nights ago in Las Almas. “And so help me if you’re lying or had someone else over, we’re going to have a problem,”

“Wh-What do you think, I’m lying to you?” you tripped over your words and you kept walking backwards until your back was all the way on the opposite side of the house at the end of the living room.

“Name,”

“Andrei,” you responded immediately.

Graves’s blue eyes grew darker and you flinched when he stepped closer. Riley raised his head from where he lay on the couch but Riley knew better than to challenge his master.

“Did he say his last name?”

“I don’t…” you raked your brain, trying to remember if he had ever shared his last name. But he had! He had, you recalled told you his full name and told you to put in good word for him with your husband. “Nolan.”

Graves’s jaw clenched. “Pack up as much stuff as you can. I gotta make some calls.”

And with that, he turned away.

-

“If he’s involved with Makarov why didn’t he just take me right then and there?” It had been 12 hours. 12 hours with hardly any sleep and a fussy baby as well as a wound up husband. You thought you were done with black sites but apparently not.

“Makarov likes to play mind games. He wants us to be scared, to the point to where we can’t think straight. Then he lunges.”

“Why me?” you whined.

“Why not? You’re perfect,” Graves replied.

-

End notes: No, Soap does not die in my fic! <3

[thefuseoftemptation]

I've seen requests where Eddie gets touched by the reader and is confused by it then pulls himself from them because it's new to him but how would it be if it was the other way? Like where the reader gets touched and they're not used to it

I see you. Thanks for the request!!!

—THE HURT YOU LEAVE

EDDIE MUNSON X GN!READER

WARNING(S): cussing, hurt/comfort, reader isn’t trying to be like this guys they’re just confused.

. . .

Eddie liked you. So much. 

But he couldn’t prevent himself from hurting little by little every time he touched you or even got within arms length suddenly. Seeing how you would shrug him off quite often, when not even seconds before you were talking so fluently.

You guys were friends, but who says you couldn’t be more—that was Eddie’s thinking. Though with how you were with him, it felt like you weren’t looking to be either. 

“I just don’t know what it is—is it me?” Eddie questioned, gesturing a thumb at his chest as he pulled his brows together. Steve looked at him with an empty expression, clearly not really following where he was coming from. Figuratively and quite literally. But how could he, Eddie showed up without even greeting the guy—just immediately went into some vent.

“Huh? Munson- look, I’m not even sure why you’re here.” Steve crossed his arms and leaned back on the counter.

“Y/N.” Eddie stated as if he wasn’t clear ‘bout it. 

“Uh huh, what 'bout Y/N?” Steve nodded his head expectantly, trying to get the guy in front of him to tell him more.

“They hate me.” Eddie threw his hands up.

Eddie thought that because Steve knew you well, that maybe he’d know why you were so short with him sometimes. That’s that he left out how he felt when he’d see you and Steve together. But that’s how you guys met. Through Steve. He’d come by one time and you were with him—and ever since, Eddie hasn’t slept. You were constantly in his head. 

“Y/N doesn’t hate you, Munson. They’re just” He waved his hand casually though it didn’t seem to settle Eddie’s nerves. “Y/N.”

“M’telling you man, they hate me. They hate me and they’re just not telling me or something. Because one second we’re talking and the next, they’re shrugging me off and trying to leave.”

Steve furrowed his brows, not sure of what Eddie was saying because you weren’t like that. Well, not all the time. 

“S’just...is it me?” Eddie questioned once more, leaning into Steve—their noses nearly touching. 

Oh. 

Steve looked at Eddie, pressing his hand to Eddie’s chest and pushing him back a little. “No. Well” Steve thought before he shook his head. “No, it’s not you.”

“Then?” It was Eddie’s turn to cross his arms.

“It’s just....let me talk to Y/N.” Steve suggested but it came out more like a statement. 

“Really?” 

“Yes.” Eddie nodded his head getting ready to leave but turned quickly to his friend. “Just don’t tell them I told you, got it?” 

“Yeah yeah.” Steve waved him off. 

. . .

You were by your locker, shutting it and nearly jumped when you were greeted by Eddie on the other side.

“Munson! Let yourself be known, please.”

“M’sorry.” He held his hands up in surrender, chuckling before following in step with you as you went. It had been a week or so since his talk with Steve, and the same since Steve talked to you.

Pulling your keys from your belt loop where they were hooked, and trying to choose how you should tell Eddie without hurting him.

“So then we—hey. You even listening?” Eddie waved a hand in front of you as you guys stopped by your vehicle.

“Uh, sorry. Just—could we talk? Well, it’s more me needing to tell you something…”

“Sure.” Eddie shrugged as if it was nothing, but by the way he kept picking at his finger—he was nervous. Had Steve told you???

“Look, I really like you” Eddie felt like he hadn’t heard you properly. You liked him? Like, liked, him?

“But—”

‘Course there’s a but.

“M’not quite used to these sudden touches, you know? I know you mean well! S’just I’m not really—I’m not sure why I’m like this. But could you maybe, stop…touching me?” It was gentle but it still couldn’t stop Eddie from being hurt by the utterance. Even if he appreciated the honesty.

“Oh. Uh, sure—totally.” Eddie waved it off. “M’sorry if I made you feel y’know” he couldn’t even speak because of the sudden churning he felt.

“Uh, I’ll try to stop myself—m’sorry.” Eddie turned and left not even giving you time to respond before he left was pulling out of the lot.

. . .

Ever since then, you hadn’t really spoken to him. Well, you tried but he never showed up for you to get the chance. That or he would leave suddenly and turn the other way.

You felt hurt as it was. You never meant to hurt him, you just weren’t used those types of gestures or sudden touches. Maybe because you don’t expect them? So when it suddenly happens, you’re not sure how to react.

And then Steve told you how Eddie felt ‘bout you—something everybody knew except you—and you couldn’t prevent yourself from feeling guilt.

So here you were on the porch steps, thrumming the door so you could talk to Eddie. The door never opened but you knew he was here.

“Munson, look—m’sorry.” Your head was pressed to the screen. “I never meant to hurt you.” You backed up a little when the door opened, greeted by the guy himself.

He just pushed it open more to let you in, shutting it behind you. Eddie took a seat to the couch and you followed, keeping a foot between you guys.

“M’sorry—”

Eddie shook his head before speaking. “I’m the one who should be saying that.”

You nodded. “Steve told me how you felt.”

You should’ve kept your mouth shut but you thought he should know, plus, it kept you from backing out with something that’s been on your own chest.

Eddie looked up quick at the words. “W-What?”

“He told me.” You repeated. “But that’s not why I’m here—well, it is but it isn’t.”

Eddie pulled his brows together, not understanding what you were trying to say.

“I uh, I like you too. Like, really like. And I know what I said before doesn’t make sense with what I’m saying now but m’just not used it. M’trying though…” you looked at Eddie, his eyes set on yours.

Extending your hand out slowly, waiting for his expectantly. You were nervous, not sure if he would even take it but when he did, you sighed in relief.

“I understand.” Eddie spoke gently—his mouth curling up suddenly—stretching to his eyes. “So, you like me, huh?” He leaned in to you before backing up quickly.

“M’learning.” Was all he said before you broke into chuckles and leaned into him. Your head on his shoulder as you loosened up.

“We both are…”

. . .

A/N: feedback and reblogs are appreciated.

[tra-archive]

baby radfem here, could you tell me what “crypto” means in your bio? tia ❤️

Hi!❤️ A crypto is a radfem or gender critical who isn’t public about their views yet- whether that’s because they’re still learning/unsure or are nervous about receiving backlash. So a “crypto-terf” for example would be someone who has an account where they post about tra things or are followed by lots of TRAs but in secret they have terf/gender critical views.

Here’s another example: I also have a simblr account (aka sims tumblr, I wonder if anyone’s found me yet lol) and I’m crypto on there- I have my pronouns in my bio, follow and interact with simblrs who are TRAs, and I don’t discuss my radfem views. I have 2 reasons for that- 1. I post my sims gameplay there, I don’t talk about politics or ideologies and 2. I’ve made some nice friends on there and I’m not really in the mood for them to hate me if I talk about being a feminist.🤷‍♀️

Some radfem blogs will say that they’re not welcome to cryptos because they don’t have anonymous asks on (considering the harassment we get from anons, it’s understandable), but in my bio I have “cryptos welcome” as a way for them to know that it’s safe to ask questions, send DMs, and send anons. Cryptos are often still new to radical feminism, so they’ll ask a lot of questions relating to radfem beliefs or they’ll use the anon feature as a way to vent their frustrations/send me receipts without having to reveal themselves.

Side note why is it impossible for me to answer things precisely, I have to write so much💀English minor things ig

[flygonee]

introduction!!

umm.. hello! my name is honey, i am a bug/dragon type trainer (but i do have other types of pokemon) and my goal is to catch all bug and dragon type pokemon!!!! (ง'̀-'́)ง

i am nonbinary, a minor (not saying age for privacy reasons), and i go by they/them!

i travel alllll around the world.. i love to see all the beautiful pokemon!! as of right now i’m exploring paldea :D

my bestie is fay, he’s actually the one who convinced me to make this account hehe…. whenever i remember his @ i’ll link it here ^_^

this account will just be for me talking about my journeys.. pokemon i catch…. yada yada all of that stuff

if you wanna talk to me pls shoot the dm first.. i get a bit nervous when speaking to people i don’t know (●´⌓`●)

i use way too many emoticons, and i say hehe and lol a lot.. sorry if that annoys you :(

my favourite animal of all time is cats!!! aghhh just sooo cuteeeeee :333 (so i have lots and lots of cat pokemon :p)

tbh it’s easier for me to act more energetic while typing than irl.. so that’s why if you meet me irl i’m a bit nervous, but on here i’m way different :0

now it’s time for my team! >:3

FLYGON ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

they are my first ever pokemon, they just wandered into kanto and i caught them after choosing my starter! my best friend!! they are really close to me and protect me like their life depends on it lolol

such a sweetheart.. very clingy too! and they are kind of tired all the time hehe!! they have a good sense of humour and feel like the one out of all my pokemon who really gets me

not to say the rest don’t,, flygon has just known me for way longer!! i even use my z-ring on them.. and besides they’re my main pokemon for a reason

MEOWSCARADA ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

he’s a sweetheart! so nice to everyone else and he LOVES attention, he begs for it all the time (he reminds me of my old ragdoll cat hehe)

he is the pokemon i tried to get the most (and got the easiest) when traveling over to paldea, cause i love cats! and grass types are like my 3rd fave type (bug and dragon 🔛🔝 though ofc ofc)

he’s really strong for a meowscarada idk why.. i did train him a lot though lol!! he loves to fight, very active kitty

ESPEON ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

she’s a bit more independent than my other pokemon, and only really is affectionate towards me.. but when she wants attention she’s really clingy!! she just sits on my lap while i do work or something

overall she isn’t that hard to manage compared to my other pokemon (especially my pidgey i caught back in kanto.. he’s so hard to deal with ಥ‿ಥ)

she’s also a shiny?? forgot to mention earlier but it’s pretty cool imo.. :0

RAICHU ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

now it’s time for her!! little buddy,, i love her so much, she’s so sweet!!

for some reason she always wants me to make her waffles, maybe she just has an addiction to them cause of how often i eat them hehe…. (and maybe i slip her a bit too many waffles a bit too often..)

she was actually the starter i picked in kanto, then she evolved into a raichu.. we traveled to alola….. you get the rest

she’s insanely clingy just like flygon.. probably cuz i’ve had her for so long? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

SCIZOR ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

MY SCIZOR!!! really tough gal, although.. truthfully? not on the inside, physically very tough though!! she’s a really strong pokemon

she doesn’t often show it, but she’s quite the softie! she only really shows that side to me though, remaining tough to the others.. because of this she seems to be an idol for my younger pokemon, so not too bad

MILOTIC ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

such a beautiful pokemon, i always loved him even during his pre-evolution. i don’t get the hate,, feebas isn’t ugly guys!! >:(

my house is right next to a huge lake, so i just keep him there and he seems happy with it

he always manages to calm me down,, something about sending energy? well whatever it is he’s a great listener! he always encourages me to vent to him hehe

NOW FOR THE BONUS POKEMON!! cuz why not,, the pokemon below are just the ones not on my team! just some of the pokemon i’ve caught (not all of them cuz i’m lazy)

PIDGEY ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

he is such a hyper bird!! i don’t get how so much energy is stored in such a little guy (ᗒᗜᗕ)՛̵̖

raichu was the first pokemon i had ever, and pidgey was the second!

out of all my pokemon he’s the hardest to take care of.. he’s a handful for sure :p

he’s very small for a pidgey actually! he’s the size of my hand, and kind of just likes to sit on my shoulder, or fly with me on my morning walk!! he doesn’t eat much cuz of that

he usually sleeps in my collection of plushies,, it’s really cute! ˶ᵔᗜᵔ˶

GOODRA ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

she is so silly, very good cuddle buddy tbh.. she gives the best hugs

she’s so motherly and friendly towards everyone, especially my other pokemon

love her <3

if i had to describe her in one word, it’d be motherly

not much to say she’s just really kind (but oh my arceus is she so cool when fighting.. fay agrees!)

CUTIEFLY ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

a wild cutiefly i found on one of the paths in paldea, make sure to contact me if they’re yours!! for now i’ll keep them safe ^^

DRAGONITE ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

silly guy! forgot to add him to this post actually.. he’s very close to me much like flygon, but he acts a bit more overprotective over me o_o

he’s very clingy,, literally too! he clings onto me a lot

not much to say he’s just very friendly

MIMIKYU ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

one day i was having my morning walk, and felt as if i was being watched.. only to see this little fella following me all the way home!

ever since then they’ve been apart of my team, and i have been happier cuz of it! :3

they’re more independent than the rest much like espeon, except a little less affectionate. i don’t mind though! everyone expresses their love differently, and i don’t need a cuddle session from either of them to know they love me

sometimes mimikyu makes me little gifts like gloves or just any clothes and i always think it’s so cute

DEWPIDER ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

a dewpider given to me through a pelipper mail, the very same one with that.. strange beast ball o.o

umm for now i don’t know where to put this little guy on my team. soooo…. kept at home for now! ^_^"

ok uhh.. that’s all, i hope you like me!!

-

now it’s time for the ooc info

hai! my name is stitch, i go by she/her and this blog is kind of just for me to pretend i’m in the pokemon world cause.. why wouldn’t i want to LMAO

my main blog is @stitchthelilo so my main content is there

i have a bad sense of humour so beware and i do use a lot of emoticons which is why honey does

ooc mark will be // and the hashtag #ooc

pelipper/musharna/any kind of mail, sapient pokemon, and magic anons are on!

[balkanradfem]

Do you have advice for how to be more confident in radfem spaces? I’ve got AVPD and severe anxiety and I’m so nervous I’m going to say something dumb or wrong and radical feminism is already hated enough I don’t want to make it worse as well as embarrass myself. I stick to just reblogging stuff but I’d like to actually contribute. Im already working on the disorder stuff in therapy but I was wondering if you had anything non disorder and maybe even radfem based that may help. Since my problems come from being raised in this male based world.

I relate to you a bit! I don't have avoidant personality disorder, but I'm uncomfortable in groups and always try to be on my own, otherwise I get anxiety as well. I don't think I can actually offer meaningful advice, because what you're dealing with is harsh, and it's a lot, and no single piece of advice will be able to make it better.

I was feeling dumb and non-confident when I first discovered radfem spaces too, I actually just read and read different blogs and opinions for years before I made my own blog! I also made sure to read several books, be aware of most popular radfem authors, and figured out how to filter wrong and manipulative information, versus researched and factual.

It still can be hard to try and write something, because it's exactly as you say, in any community, there will be people who just wait to dunk on somebody, who are there to feel self-important and they do it by putting others down. And for these people, you just have to block them. Your comfort and energy is not there to be destroyed for someone else's self-importance.

If you have thoughts you want to share, it's absolutely worth putting them down in writing, and seeing how the rest of radfems react to it, whether they can relate to it. Because when you're writing here, you're not necessarily always going to write life-changing revolutionary stuff, but you're going to find women who think like you, agree with you, relate to you, want to be your friends, and it's going to mean so much to them, to read what you had to say. It is definitely patriarchy's fault that we often feel like our thoughts and feelings must be small and meaningless, like we should just hold it in and not mention it, but once we start talking, it turns out that we all have things to say that others want and need to hear.

Also, it's nothing you need to force yourself into, when you naturally feel like sharing things is worth the risk, and you feel more excitement than anxiety doing it, then is the right moment to start.

And if you're scared of embarrassment, just ask yourself, would a man be embarrassed to vent his most disgusting and hateful thoughts around? He would not, as we can see all around the internet. So you have every right to go and be cringy online too. If you write something you later find embarrassing, you can delete it and nobody will be wiser. You can never embarrass yourself half as badly as any man when he types something on the internet. And what you want to write is striving for female liberation, for freedom of thought, for community, for fighting back what hurts us. That is worth writing about!

This all was just for blog stuff, if you're asking about discords and private groups, then I have no clue, I too get uncomfortable if I need to navigate thru an actual conversation.

[petri808]

Cover art by @kiliinstinct 💜

Nalu fantasy AU Chapters 1-5 here

6 | 7 | 8 | 9 finito

~~ Thank you for your patience, here is the final chapter. Happy Holidays! *contains smut*

As the wind funnels past her face, for the first time in Lucy’s life, she feels a sense of peace washing over her. The fears of her father’s reign and legacy no longer chains her to a past she’d rather forget. Instead, she can take with her into the future happier memories like her mother and look forward to making new ones with Natsu and her new found family. It’s exciting! Scary… but mostly excitement for what’s to come.  

“So, Natsu,” Lucy asks as they fly home. “Wanna explain to me the mating ritual now?” 

“Honestly…” An awkward smile takes over Natsu’s face as he rubs the back of his head unconsciously. “I don’t know exactly how it works.”

“Eh? Then what was the whole worry about?”

“I know some of it… and there’s a part I know will be painful for you because you’re not a Draco.”

“Oh… like how painful?”

“I’m not sure— you’re… it’s well, there’s a part that causes changes to your body that’s what’s painful. And… there’s a chance your body won’t accept it… so that’s why I was afraid you wouldn’t be strong enough.”

“Wow… that’s… that is a scary thought… do you think I’m strong enough?”

“I do— I mean I’m still nervous, but I wouldn’t go through with this if I didn’t think so.”

Lucy reaches out and takes hold of his hand, squeezing it. “Then I trust you.” She looks around. “By the way, where are we going? This doesn’t look like the way back to your house.”

“Oh, I’m taking you to my home village so an elder can perform the ritual.”

“Wow, so I get to meet your family?”

“Yeah.”

Lucy blushes with hesitancy in her voice. “Is the ritual… sexual?”

“No, why?”

“N-Nothing, just if your family is around… that would be awkward.”

“Oh!” Natsu chuckles then grins causing Lucy to blush deeper. “No, that part takes place after we go home.”

The fire Draco village is like where Natsu has built his home, in the valley of a mountain range. He explains how it is a dead volcano, the various peaks are old vent cones made of solid lava rock, and the valleys are eroded trenches between them. So, it looks like a mountain range now. A perfect place for fire wielders. It’s home to the elders that govern over the fire Draco’s as well as families that decided to live there in homes carved into the rock or in homes on the ground. Young males like Natsu often leave home only to return for rituals like the one he and Lucy are about to go through. 

They land outside of a specific cave carved into the rock halfway up the mountain face, venturing in through a fire torch lit tunnel that soon opens into a cavern. Natsu takes Lucy’s hand as another older male Draco, bigger than him walks up to them. While there are physical features in common, this male has long red hair tied back in a loose ponytail. His eyes are more orange in color, and his horns are twice the size indicative of age. 

“Natsu?”

“Hi, dad.”

“What have you brought here?”

“Dad, this is Lucy, Lucy my dad Igneel.” 

Lucy bows her head. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

“No sirs here, just call me Igneel. So, what brings you home, my son?” Igneel teases. “Or should I just guess based on the hand holding?”

“This is my intended mate,” Natsu proudly puffs out his chest. “We need to have the mating ritual performed.”

“Are you sure son? As a Fae, you know what the consequences could be.”

“I know, we talked about it.”

Igneel turns his gaze. “And Lucy, despite the warning, are you sure this is what you want?”

“Yes.” She squeezes Natsu’s hand with a flutter of her wings, and gazes at his face with a sparkle in her eye. “I love Natsu enough to try anything.”

“Very well. I will make the necessary preparations. Why don’t you show Lucy around in the meantime.”

Lucy stops him briefly. “Igneel, I do have a question first. He said it changes my body, like it’ll make me look different?”

“Oh, no. It just makes it so you can’t be burned by his flame. Each Draco’s fire is slightly different, so this adjusts their mate’s tolerance accordingly. If it’s another fire Draco, the process is fairly benign, but for other species… it’s a heavy toll.”

“Oh…”

“Are you truly sure about this Lucy?”

Her body straightens in a stance of strength and steels her resolve. “Yes, I am.”

The couple spends the afternoon acclimating to the village. It has been some time since Natsu visited, so there are many new faces around. They chat with several, but there’s one in particular Natsu wants to introduce Lucy to. He takes her to another cave entrance similar to Igneels explaining it’s another elder, and best friend of his fathers. 

“Uncle Atlas!”

“Natsu!” The burly Draco picks him up and squeezes him in a bear hug. “Welcome home!” He sets Natsu down.

“Uncle Atlas, this is my mate Lucy, erm, soon to be mate.”

“How’d this boy land such a beautiful Fae like you?” The man chuckles. “Make him treat you like a Queen.”

Lucy blushes. “He already does.” 

“Come,” Atlas pats the couch. “Sit. Tell me what you’ve been up to.”

Once the couple take a seat, Natsu launches into the whole story about Lucy’s father, the kidnapping, and getting her back. “That’s why we need to get this done before I lose control again.”

Atlas had sat quietly through the story without a discernible expression, till now. “Do you know nothing about your lineage Lucy? The Heartfilia line has always been spirit wielders. Some of your ancestors are well known in our world.”

“I guess my dad didn’t know. He was probably just interested in the wealth of our clan.”

“Well, if you’re as powerful as Natsu describes, it sounds like you have taken after your ancestor Anna Heartfilia. Her magical prowess and compassion have not been reached— till now perhaps.” 

Lucy’s eyes widen in surprise. “I had no idea… thank you for telling me.”

“Uncle Atlas how do you know so much?”

Atlas slaps Natsu on the shoulder playfully. “Boy, I’m not an elder just for my age!”

“Oh, right!” Natsu chuckles. 

They stay for another hour just chatting, when another Draco comes by to let them know the couturier is ready.

Atlas stands. “You kids head over to Talia to get your ceremonial garments done.”

“Right, okay. See you at the ceremony!”

“I look forward to it.”

Nightfall first finds the couple separated for their garment measurements. Lucy watches in awe as a magical loom creates the fabrics to be used. She’s never seen one before. It takes a spool of cotton and weaves the strands into fabric without any help. This makes the process faster, so in minutes a bolt of fabric with enough to create a few outfits is already complete. But that’s not the only special part. Color is added to the fabric based on the conjurer’s direction. 

“This is such a pretty fabric!” Lucy can’t help but be awed as she stares in the mirror. The dress is a full length, open back, boned halter top that flows gently from the bottom rib to the ground. It’s ombré color starts out a dark yellow near the top, slowly transitioning to orange then red. 

She takes it off for the final adjustment and hands it to Talia, then changes back to her regular clothes. 

“You do look beautiful in it,” Talia agrees. “We’ll do a final fitting in the morning. I should be done by then.”

“Thank you!” Lucy hugs the female. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Lucy walks outside of the cave and realizes that Natsu is still inside. So, she sits down on the edge overlooking the valley because the cave is several wing beats from the ground. It’s a beautiful sight with fire light strewn from the caves and homes doting the area. Above her, the stars are out in all their glory. She wonders why Natsu chose to move away from this place. It’s a very scenic valley full of lush foliage with a natural spring nearby and the protective aspect of the mountains are another useful feature. Then again, for a younger Draco it’s probably boring to just stay within a village. She chuckles quietly to herself as she imagines Igneel trying to control an adolescent Natsu. 

Suddenly, a male Draco lands behind her. At first Lucy thinks nothing of it, assuming he’s there for the couturier as well. But without warning, she’s grabbed by the back of neck and yanked up. 

“Hey! What the hell?!” Lucy fights back, screaming and scratching at the hand and trying to see who it is. She’s forcefully spun around and pinned against the rock face. The Draco is taller than her or Natsu, with wild reddish orange hair and sporting tattoo markings on his chest. “Who are you?!”

“Aren’t you a pretty little thing?” The Draco sniffs at her neck as he speaks. 

Lucy cringes away, but the male holds firm. He’s quite strong! “Let me go!” She screams again. “Or Natsu’s gonna—”

“Natsu’s gonna what? Hurt me? Pfft, he’s never won a fight against me.”

Lucy’s eyes widen, but she holds back from showing any more fear. “How do you know Natsu?”

The male sneers. “He’s my little brother. I’m Ignia, Igneels oldest son.” 

He shoves Lucy against the wall again, but suddenly let’s go of her neck when a loud roar bellows from the cave. Ignia stands back with hands on his hips, posturing just as Natsu comes flying out of the cave. 

“You bastard!” Natsu screams, barreling into Ignia so hard they both go over the edge. 

Lucy screams and dives for them but is grabbed around the waist by one of the courtiers to stop her. Don’t, they tell her, it’s too dangerous for her to get between those two. They watch as the two males dart through the dark skies. Fuzzy images sending fire balls and streams at each other or colliding in aerial battle. This goes on for several minutes when other males including Igneel are seen flying towards the pair. Lucy breathes a sigh of relief, surely Igneel can get them under control. 

It takes a bit to catch the pair, but the other males finally get the upper hand. Igneel has Ignia by the neck when they land outside of the couturier’s cave, while Atlas is holding onto Natsu to keep them apart. Igneel forces Ignia to apologize to Lucy before he takes the Draco away. Atlas then releases Natsu who immediately pulls Lucy into his arms. 

“Are you okay?” Natsu cradles Lucy’s face. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Lucy shakes her head no. “My back hurt when it hit the wall, but it’ll be okay.” She pulls back. “Oh, but look at your clothes, it’s a mess!”

Since he’d rushed out midway through the fitting, the garment is now singed and torn. “Come on Natsu,” Talia prompts, “let’s get you back inside to start over. It’s gonna be a long night.”

Lucy assures Natsu before heading back to Igneel’s cave where he’s set up a spare room for them. The day had gone so well only to end with a fight between the two brothers. When she arrives in the cave, she asks Igneel about it. He tells her Ignia and Natsu have different mothers and are 12 years apart in age. Ignia always felt like Natsu was treated better, but there’s no truth to it, as far as he’s concerned. No matter what he’s tried, the two just never get along. It’s like two mountains fighting for the same piece of land— neither wins and only a deep rift is created between them. But Igneel assures Lucy that Ignia shouldn’t bother them again. 

The next day after lunch, Lucy goes in for her final fitting. The poor couturiers have worked so hard to get the garments ready for that night’s ceremony. But as she stands in front of the mirror in the finished dress, an excitement stirs in her core. It’s really happening. Her cheeks grow flushed, she’s about to pledge herself to Natsu for life! 

There’s a knock at the door.

“Come in, I’m dressed.” Lucy announces assuming its Talia, but Igneel walks in instead. “Oh, hello,” she warmly greets the Draco.

“You look beautiful my dear,” the male smiles. “It warms my heart to know my son’s found his soulmate.”

Lucy blushes. “Thank you.”

He pulls something out of his pocket and holds it out for Lucy to see. “I have a gift for you. It was Natsu’s mothers.”

Lucy gazes at the necklace with a blue flame-shaped stone. “That’s so beautiful…”

“I know she would’ve wanted to pass this onto our sons’ mate.” He places it around Lucy’s neck. “Perfect.”

Lucy grows quiet in reflection as she stares at the stone. “Natsu said that if one mate dies, the other won’t last long after, dying of a broken heart…” she looks up with moisture-tinged eyes. “Is that true?”

“What is that boy thinking?” Igneel shakes his head. “No, it’s rare that it happens. Think about it, I’m still here.”

“That’s true…”

Igneel places a hand on Lucy’s shoulder. “It’s true that sometimes a death can be so heart breaking that a mate may not want to keep living, but that in and of itself doesn’t cause the death. So don’t worry my dear.”

“Thank you, Igneel.” Lucy smiles and hugs him. “I feel better knowing that.”

“Then come,” he takes her gently by the crook of her arm. “It’s time.”

As Lucy stands at the entrance flanked by tall, open double doors three times her height, she can feel the nervous energy flowing through her. Of course, it is to be expected. Being bound to a mate is a lifetime promise that cannot be broken sans death. Igneel led her slowly along the torch-lit passageway, and with each step her thoughts drifted to all the events that led her to this moment. Running away from home and being caught by Natsu. It could have been another bounty hunter that found her, but was it luck or destiny it was the draco? In the beginning Lucy had been wary about his intentions considering he’d captured her with the intent to collect on her reward. He was no better than her father… and yet there was never a time that she truly feared Natsu. Something inside of her seemed to just know he could be trusted. And look at where it’s lead her. ‘I think mom would be happy for me,’ Lucy smiles to herself just as they enter the large cavern where the ceremony is being held. She’s found herself a good man who loves and cherishes her for who she is, supports her magic instead of fears it like Jude towards her mother. 

The Draco’s and members of the village line several deep along the walls of the massive cavern. Everyone is dressed in their fineries to witness such a special binding ceremony for a village elders’ son. In the middle of the room, two drapes of ombré fabric like the ceremonial garments hang down from the ceiling spaced 12 feet apart. Between them stands a flame carved stone altar with a folded red cloth and pestle on top filled with herbs. Such a simple set up, but the energy radiating in the room spoke volumes of its purpose. 

It is there at the alter that Natsu stands beaming with his child-like smile. Lucy can’t help but blush as she’s lead forward and her hands placed in his care. They’re stood facing each other while another female elder takes the red cloth from the altar. The female wraps the red cloth over their shoulders, weaving, circling it around them into an infinity shape to symbolize an endless relationship. What is it about ritual ceremonies that just heightens the atmosphere of anything that happens during it? The weight of the red cloth on her shoulders, the warmth of Natsu’s hands, even the air drifting over her skin feels unnaturally palpable yet exhilarating. This is it; she takes a good inhale to settle her nerves and squeezes their conjoined hands.     

Igneel hushes the crowd of onlookers. “Thank you all for being here to celebrate the unification of my son Natsu with his chosen mate Lucy in a vow that will bind their hearts and souls to one another’s.” His smiling gaze swings between them as he speaks. “Their’s is a story born of trial and tribulations, for it is true my wayward son originally captured Lucy as a bounty and held her against her will.” Igneel chuckles as Natsu glares at him through the whispers circling the room and Lucy’s embarrassed blush. “But sometimes, that’s just what happens in life. When we feel like all hope is lost, fate intervenes in an unexpected way. It brought together two souls that needed something from the other,” he looks to Lucy, “courage,” then looks to Natsu, “and purpose. Overcoming adversity together has strengthened the simmering bonds you created and here today, the process will be completed with the linking of your souls.” Igneel then turns to the altar and picks up the pestle. “Let us begin.” He holds the pestle in front of the couple. “Please place your tokens into the bowl.”

“Tokens?” Lucy asks inquisitively, looking between Igneel and Natsu. “What’s that?”

“Toke… Oh!” Natsu’s face pales. “Sorry! I totally forgot.”

“Natsu...” Igneel palms his face. “It a personal item, something that is used in the spell,” Igneel explains. 

“Do we need to stop the ceremony? Lucy asks.

“No, it’s okay,” Igneel assures, “we can use a drop of your blood.”

Igneel takes out a small dagger he keeps in his waistband. The other female elder helps to hold the bowl, then Igneel uses the dagger to prick Natsu and Lucy’s fingers, allowing a couple drops of blood to drip into the bowl. He takes the bowl back and utters a few words that Lucy can’t understand. “Kondo chi wo tori, karera no tamashii wo eien no karamaseru.” He blows a small stream of fire into the bowl, alighting the contents. It only takes a few moments for the bowls contents to turn to ash. 

Using the ash from the bowl, Igneel draws an infinity symbol on Natsu’s forehead first then Lucy’s. As soon as he completes the loop, the symbols begin to glow a bright blue and triggers Natsu’s eyes and tongue to grow serpentine. He turns to Lucy. “It is time for Natsu to place his mark. The saliva in his bite will trigger a change in you, are you ready for this? Lucy do you fully accept Natsu as you mate?”

“Yes.”

He then turns to his son. “Is this your true decision? Natsu do you fully accept Lucy as your mate?” When Natsu says yes, Igneel simply nods and gestures for Natsu to take it from there. 

Natsu takes a haggard breath with shaking hands as he reaches out to embrace Lucy’s frame. They’ve come this far and the fear of something going wrong now has him hesitating. Untill he feels Lucy’s hands clasped around his cheeks and her voice whispering softly it’s gonna be okay. He snaps out of these thoughts. “I-I won’t let you go, Lucy, I swear.”

“I know,” she smiles as she guides his head to the nape of her neck. “Now make me yours.”

The instant Natsu’s canines break skin, and his saliva contacts her blood, a searing heat of barbed pain races to every part of Lucy’s frame. She screams as her legs give out from the sheer pain throbbing in every joint and muscle.  

Natsu braces the fall and pulls her into his lap, holding tight through her shivering convulsions, her distressing cries like daggers piercing his heart. He closes his eyes and murmurs a mantra with his head flushed against hers. “You’re strong Lucy, you can get through this Lucy. Stay with me. Stay with me…” 

Is this what it feels like to be burned alive? Lucy’s skin is on fire, or at least that’s what it feels like. That searing pain you might feel from touching a hot surface, but instead of a hand it’s your whole body being dipped in boiling water. The shock on her body is just too much. Lucy’s eyes shutter close as she slips into unconsciousness. 

Lucy’s body temperature has risen far higher than Natsu’s ever felt from the Fae before. Her normally pale skin is flushed and feverish with tiny beads of sweat creating a sheen coating. This is making him very nervous… Her heartbeat is too fast to be working properly. Suddenly, the shivering stops and Lucy’s body goes limp. Her breathing has ceased and… “I can’t feel her heartbeat!” Natsu looks frantically at his dad for help, “what’s happening?! Lucy!” Natsu shakes her. “Lucy, stay with me damn it! You can’t do this!” The tears blur his vision as he hugs her to him. “Please, Lucy…”  

All the air felt sucks out of the room as everyone’s collective breathing hitches in tenuous anticipation. Then as suddenly as she’d gone limp, Lucy’s eyes pop open and she takes a large gasping inhale as her body lurches forward into an upright sitting position.

“Lucy?! I thought you’d died!” Natsu quickly hugs her tight as a collective sigh of relief is heard echoing throughout the cavern followed by cheers of celebration all around them. 

After a pause, Lucy answers, “I think I did.” She randomly touches parts of her body as if confirming this is no illusion. Everything looks normal, but she’s sure she remembers a moment of pitch-black silence where all the pain was gone and everything felt peaceful. Yes, she’s sure she felt like she’d transcended from life till she heard a voice. “It was brief, but I think I did.”

Natsu’s face pales at the revelation that he’d come so close to losing Lucy. Tears well up in his eyes from the pain in his soul, “I’m so sorry I put you through this…”  

“It’s okay, Natsu, I’m still here,” Lucy turns around, straddles and pulls him close, resting his chin on her shoulder. She cradles his head and threads her fingers through his hair. “But don’t you feel it now?”

“Feel what?” He sniffles.

Maybe Natsu’s too wound up to feel it. “The connection between us.” Lucy pulls back to cup his cheeks, gazing with a soothing smile. “It feels like a thrumming sensation throughout my body that’s hard to describe, but I know that’s what pulled me back. Your voice, like two strings being connected I heard it call to me right before I woke up.”

As Lucy spoke, Natsu’s mind and body began to calm. Her soothing voice is a lullaby to his inner Draco, and sure enough there it is, his adrenaline rush morphing into a new pulse he’s never felt before. Natsu moves in and plants a barrage of sloppy kisses on Lucy’s lips. “My mate, my mate now,” releasing a rumbling purr from deep in his chest causing Lucy to giggle.

For the next hour, the couple spends the time being congratulated and chatting with the guests that had come for the ceremony. But with nightfall coming in a couple of hours, they say their good-byes and head back to Natsu’s— well, their home now. There’s one last thing to do to consummate their bond.

Towards the deepest part of Natsu’s home there’d been a stone door Lucy remembers seeing before that’s kept magically locked. She always assumed it’s just a safe room because of its construction. Now as they stand before it, Natsu explains as he releases the lock and opens the door it’s a marital den for fire Draco’s. The entire room is solid rock carved out from the mountain just like the other rooms except this special bedroom has no windows and the door is solid rock instead of wood. He opens a second stone door from inside the room and shows Lucy a bath area that’s twice the size as the other one in the home, then a third stone door opposite the bath leads to a walk-in closet. Against the back wall is a large stone bed frame with a normal looking mattress on top. 

“Why is everything made of stone?” Lucy questions.

“Because stone doesn’t burn.”

“Doesn’t burn…” as Lucy processes the answer and a realization hits, her cheeks flush red. “I see, but the mattress?”

Natsu chuckles. “It’s made with a special fire-retardant fabric.” With a smirk, he pulls Lucy to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Shall we test it out now? Because I don’t think I can hold out much longer.”

With a coy little giggle, Lucy runs her finger slowly down Natsu’s chest. “Then don’t. Embrace me mate.”

Like a whirlwind in nature, the pair is gripped by the lustful energy pulsing through their bond, tossing clothes haphazardly and hands flowing, swirling over flesh as they stumble onto the bed. This is the first time for both, but instincts take over and guide the way. Natsu lays prone over Lucy pinning her to the bed, their hands, fingers entwined and held beside her head, he noses at the nape of her neck licking and sucking at the healing bite mark that seals their fate. With every stroke of his tongue against the marks, it sends an electric shiver through Lucy’s frame. In response, she rubs and grinds against Natsu’s crotch to satiate the building heat of her loins. Not like she can help it when his hardened cock is practically wedging itself in her folds and pressing on her entrance. 

His kisses move on, traveling slowly from her neck to her chest, stopping to sightsee before journeying on to the next location. When Lucy briefly opens her eyes, she sees that Natsu’s serpentine eyes and tongue features have returned— feels the flicking of his tongue against her pert nipple, her back arches slightly to chase after his lips suckling her breast. By then, Natsu has let her hands go in favor of squeezing and fondling her supple breasts as they mold to his hands. Everywhere his mouth latches onto, she can feel the vibrations of his rumbling purr seeping through. His deep purrs are such an adorable turn on, both soothing and stimulating Lucy feels it more deeply now since they’ve bonded. 

Lucy sucks in a breath as Natsu’s oral ministrations move down to her torso where she’s a bit ticklish and sensitive to touch, trying to control her reaction. It’s to no avail as the giggling moans eek out and mix with the sounds of sucking swirling through the air. What sensual melody are they creating? Moans and groans of varying octave combining with flesh tones of skin-to-skin contact— now add in lewd slurping as Natsu dives between Lucy’s legs and clamps down over her sex, sucking at the delicate button and lapping up the flowing juices building between its protective folds. She cries out, her body twisting and thighs clamping against his head from how good it feels. Lucy takes a quick peek and finds Natsu looking up at her as he toys with her body. When he catches her, he stops briefly and flicks his longer tongue while pressing a finger against the rim of her entrance. Understanding the non-verbal communication, she shakes her head desperately, but he merely grins and sticks his tongue into her entrance as far as it will go. 

“Not there! Natsu!… Oh gods!” Lucy’s body shudders. She grabs his horns desiring to stop him but without the strength or resolve to follow through. “Oh… gods…” his tongue exploring like there’s buried treasure and now his fingers thrusting in and out… heat’s mounting like a dam bursting at the seams. “Natsu, I’m cu—” her voice turns soprano as a wave of shudders take control over her body and white noise blankets her mind. 

He places a chaste kiss on her inner thigh, left side then right, letting his lips linger over the skin before sitting back on his haunches. Lucy’s pheromones have left his mind in such a drunken euphoric state, the taste of her essence, even her heavy panting as she comes down from her high is making his cock painfully hard. 

“Please, I want more…” Lucy’s mewling pleads. 

Who is he to refuse his mate? Natsu adjusts her hips and lines up, entering slow and steady to let her body adjust to his girth. He whets his lips, drooling over how sexy it is to watch his cock fill Lucy up. “Fuck, you feel so good,” Natsu grunts out when fully seated. His brain short-circuits for a second as he stares down at his mate spread wide for him, eyes glistening, begging… flushed and fevered— almost pained. His cock twitches, yes, he too feels the intangible connection of their bodies. 

Natsu kisses her forehead… her lips… her neck, biting down a second time. Unlike the first bite, any pain is overshadowed by an aphrodisiac effect and all Lucy can focus on is their physical connection. Their bodies meld in horizontal undulations, the mellow rocking thrusts of his hips to her arching back. Sloppy kisses between the moans and sighs, mixed with the vibrations of Natsu’s gravelly purrs. His hands… everywhere he touches her skin it leaves a burning wake, so hot and bright… Lucy’s eyes crack open briefly. “Fire,” she mumbles, but Natsu only grunts in acknowledgement. His body is covered in a bluish flame and while Lucy can feel the warmth, it doesn’t hurt at all. Just, “wow,” is all she musters before fading back into hedonistic pleasure.

All around the sounds of their lovemaking echo off the volcanic stone which protects but also traps the building heat in the room. Natsu’s thrusts have risen steadily along with Lucy’s octaves. Over and over he plunges headlong as Lucy’s sex swallows him whole. Her fingers grip tightly to his arms and nails dig into his scaled skin while her legs hook onto his thighs, pulling as he pushes in a demanding manner. 

“Lu— fuc—“ Natsu clenches his jaw through the shuddering release spilling his seed deep inside of his mate, satiating his inner draco. He embraces Lucy, winding his arms around her body and tangling their legs without pulling out, kissing her mark and lips. “All mine,” he grins through the kisses. 

“All yours,” Lucy purrs in return. 

Natsu rocks his hips and grinds against her sex, tempting the overstimulated area with his cock for more. 

Lucy giggles a moan and pulls his face in for a kiss, whispering, “guess we won’t be sleeping tonight…”

How long has it been since the day of the ceremony? The young mates revel in their new bond for the next week never leaving the home once. Through countless hours of love making, they explore every inch of each other’s bodies learning all the little nuances that make them tick. It’s only when their food supplies run low that the couple finally takes a break. That’s when Lucy suggests they go to the hui to see everyone and give them the news.

“Plus, I really wanna get my hui symbol,” Lucy shimmies and flutters her wings in excitement. 

“Okay, okay!” Natsu kisses her forehead with a chuckle. “We can go.”

The last time they visited the hui things ended in disaster so it’s nice to overwrite that memory and start fresh. Even the flight over feels lighter. Lucy was too nervous to really enjoy the scenery, so now as they cross the land realizes how much she’d missed. When they arrive at the waterfall, they’re taken aback, or rather Natsu’s annoyed to find Levy and Gajeel relaxing on the riverbank, yet somehow Lucy’s not as surprised as she thought she would be. Levy seems like a good-hearted person so giving the rogue draco a chance was a possibility. She too chose not to harbor any ill will. Before Natsu says anything, Lucy weaves her arm through the crook of his arm while also squeezing the bicep with her other hand to send a message. She greets the pair amicably and learns how Gajeel had apologized, and they’d had a long discussion so now everything is okay. 

“I still don’t trust you,” Natsu glares at Gajeel. 

But Gajeel just smirks in response. “Read the room punk, ya ain’t got nuthin I want anymore.”

Just as Natsu is about to retort. “Come on Natsu,” Lucy tugs him to the entrance of the hui. “See you guys inside!” She waves to Levy and Gajeel.

In full Natsu style, he burst through the hui door declaring— “We’re back!”

Which sets off a wave of welcome backs and congratulatory greetings from everyone there. It’s all very nice, but Lucy has a mission to fulfill before the festivities can begin. So, they seek out Makarov who’s drinking at the bar area like usual and he takes them to his office.

“Ready?” Makarov holds the magical stamp over Lucy’s hand.

[silverdriftdragon]

The Best Laid Plans

Fandom: Touken Ranbu Pairing: Yagen/Tonbokiri Wordcount: 2093 Genre: Fluff Rating: T, most for safety and some super light swearing Ao3 link or read under the cut

To say Tonbokiri was nervous was an understatement. Honestly, he probably didn’t have anything to worry about. He and Yagen had been dating for a while now. They practically lived together with how often one of them spent the night with the other, nevermind the fact that they had actually discussed Tonbokiri moving in with him and Atsushi at the end of Tonbokiri’s lease. Surely this was the next logical step and he had nothing to worry about… but he was still fretting about it. He wanted this to be perfect after all. The plan was simple. Yagen would come over and join him and his roommates for lunch, exchange some gifts… then Otegine and Nihongou would conveniently have to leave. Otegine was easy of course because he actually did have to leave to spend Christmas with his boyfriend… Nihongou was a little harder, considering his boyfriend was one of Yagen’s brothers… but thankfully after being told the plan, Hakata happily agreed to call with “spontaneous plans” to get Nihongou out without alerting Yagen that something was up. Then, once they were alone, Tonbokiri would pull out the ring he had custom made for Yagen and ask him to be his husband. It was simple. Straight forward. Nothing complicated to mess up. It should be fine, right? “Eh heheh… You ready?” Nihongou asked with a big grin on his face, leaning against the kitchen counter as Tonbokiri pulled a dish out of the oven. “I better get a text the moment he says yes!” “Well… it probably won’t be the moment he says yes, Nih.” Otegine laughed. “He is going to want to kiss him first!” “True, true! Fine. Kiss him stupid then text me!” Nihongou laughed and took a drink of the rather potent eggnog in his hand Tonbokiri gave a nervous chuckle, sitting the dish on the stove and closing the oven door. “Let’s get through lunch first… we don’t even know that he will-” “Shhhh. No.” Nihongou huffed at him. “He will . Don’t even start that shit.” “Nihongou is right. Yagen adores you. Of course he’s going to say yes.” “I suppose…” “Come on Tonbokiri! You are just nervous! How about a drink?” Tonbokiri couldn’t help the soft snort he let out when Nihongou happily lifted up his glass as he offered. “No… but thank you.” “Eh… More for me!” He shook his head, a smile on his face, then started to check over everything one more time. Yagen was going to be here soon, so this was his last chance to make sure everything was in place. Lunch was ready… The place was clean… Tree looked nice, despite Nihongou having drunkenly tripped over it yesterday night on his way to the kitchen and Otegine having to panic set it back up this morning… the ring was in- Suddenly the color drained from his face as he frantically felt the shirt pocket the ring was supposed to be in and then his pants pockets. “Uuuuh… You ok, Tonbokiri?” Otegine asked. “The ring…” Tonbokiri mumbled, hurried checking around the kitchen counters. “The ring is gone!” “What??” “Shit…” Nihongou sat his drink down. “Ok where did you have it last?” “In my pocket…” “Not helpful. Ok. Tonbokiri, check the kitchen. Otegine and I will check the living room.” And before he could get argument from either one, he grabbed Otegine by the arm and dragged him off. Tonbokiri checked everywhere . The counter, the drawers, the cabinets, the pantry… Even the fridge, freezer and microwave got checked… However, the ring was nowhere to be found. Defeated and growing more and more panicked with each ticking second, he hurried out to the living room. “Did you find… it…?” His words trailed… watching Nihongou, who was perched on a mildly disgruntled Otegine’s shoulder, checking the vent near the ceiling. “I don’t think it will be in there, Nihongou…” “Hey I’m being thorough!” He huffed. “But it’s not. Hey, Otegine! Move me over to the overhead light! Maybe it got flung up into the cover!” “Nng… You expect me to walk like this?? And why am I on the bottom??” “Quit your griping and move! This is important!” Otegine grumbled and slowly staggered his way over to the light, swaying and struggling with each unsteady step. “Geh… you are heavy… lay off the snacks next time!” “Not my fault Tonbokiri cooks! Now quit dancing I can’t see!” “Nihongou… Otegine… I don’t think-” He started to say, only to cut himself off and rush over when the two started to fall. Despite his efforts, they still ended up falling… on top of him. “Hnn… ow…” “Ffff… ow…” Nihongou groaned, laying there for a moment to try and get the room to stop moving. “You good, Tonbokiri, Gine?” “I’m ok…” Otegine groaned softly. “... You didn’t find it did you…?” “No… did you, Tonbokiri?” “No…” He sighed at the bottom of the pile, accepting his fate for the moment. “How much time til he gets here?” “What time is it?” Otegine pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Uuuh 12:30.” Tonbokiri let out a soft whine and tried to unbury himself from the roommate pile. “He should be here any minute! I-I don’t… get off Nihongou! I don’t know where else to look. I know I had it this morning after I got out of bed because I put it in my shirt pocket.” Nihongou grunted as he got pushed off into the floor. “I dunno… do you really need the ring though? I mean you could just ask him to marry you without it, yeah?” “I’m sure he would say yes no matter what.” Otegine offered. “Or if you do need it, we can always just help you find it later and you can do it for New Years! That way he won’t realize something is up with us running around everywhere!” “Heeey there's an idea. Besides, means you could start the year off with a bang!” “I…” He sighed and just put his head down on the floor with a defeated sigh. “I guess… Thank you for the help though. I just hope we find it…” “Sure we will! Just need more time and less panic!” After getting Tonbokiri to his feet, Nihongou and Otegine tried their best to cheer him up. After all, it would be hard enough to hide it from someone like Yagen anyway. It’d be impossible to keep him from asking questions if Tonbokiri was clearly upset. Thankfully, by the time Yagen got there for lunch… they were pretty sure they had him at least convincingly happy enough. Especially seeing as the moment Yagen walked in the door, Tonbokiri went running like an excited puppy as always. The gift exchange went over well. Nihongou had gotten each of them their favorite spirits (never mind that Tonbokiri hadn’t finished his bottle from last year). Otegine’s gifts were all things he knitted and each was really well done despite his insistence that he wasn’t any good at it. Tonbokiri’s gifts varied a bit more, a gift card to the liquor store for Nihongou, a new set of knitting needles for Otegine to encourage him to keep at it, and various items that Yagen had been mentioning that he wanted but hadn’t gotten around to buying. Yagen’s were all gift cards because he wasn’t really sure what to get any of them… but Tonbokiri got an extra thing, a really cute hoodie with bunny ears. Why? Because he thought it would be funny. At some point right before lunch though, the facade faltered. Otegine and Nihongou stuck bows to Tonbokiri’s head and jokingly told Yagen that they were going to give him to the man as a gift too… and a sadness crossed Tonbokiri’s face as he quickly got up to go to the kitchen. At first, Yagen let it slide, thinking maybe, strangely, he had been wrong about what he saw… but every so often as they ate, he would see it again, just for a moment… and finally he sighed and looked at his boyfriend. “What’s wrong?” “Huh?” Tonbokiri asked, looking up from his plate and internally starting to panic when he looked Yagen in the eyes. “Nothing.” Yagen hummed, a small smile crossing his face as he took another bite. “Ton… Not only are you a bad liar, but I can read you like a book. It’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it… I just wanted to know if I could help.” “Er… No. It’s nothing you can help with.” He admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “Just… something I had planned didn’t go well.” “Mm. Sorry to hear that. Tell me about it? Maybe I can help.” “No!” He half shouted, then immediately let out a nervous laugh. “No… it’s… fine. I know what I need to do to fix it. It’s alright.” After watching for a moment… Yagen decided to let it go for now, seeing as Tonbokiri really seemed to be trying to avoid the question. “If you are sure, Ton. I’m here to help if you need it though.” And he left it at that, putting another bite of the curry doria in his mouth… and suddenly winced. Tonbokiri made a soft noise of surprise and concern crossed his face. “Yagen?” Yagen sat there for a second before slowly reaching up to his mouth to pull whatever it was he had bitten down on out of his mouth, blinking at the item in his hand because of all the things he expected to find… a ring had definitely not been on the list. Tonbokiri, Otegine, and Nihongou all went wide eyed, staring at the ring in Yagen’s hand. “Uhhh…” Nihongou started, looking over to Otegine, who looked back at him… and then the two suddenly bolted for the door, tripping over each other in their hurry to leave the two alone. They ended up getting stuck in the door because they went through it at the same time, then fell on the ground after a struggle. Only then did they manage to actually make themselves scarce, shutting the door quickly behind him. Yagen snorted softly and cleared his throat before looking back at Tonbokiri, who was blushing like a mad man now. “Ton…” “I can explain!” “Is this what you had planned?” A soft whine escaped Tonbokiri’s throat and he ducked his head with a defeated sigh. “Yes…” “I see…” Yagen looked back at the ring in his hand. It was pretty simple. A black band with little round amethysts nestled down into a braided accent around the center and their initials and the date they got together on the inside of the band. A soft smile crossed his face. “It’s nice Ton…” “I… you like it..?” “I do, yes.” He said as he slipped it on his hand and admired it. “Question, will this make you Mr. Toushirou? Or me Dr. Muramasa?” Tonbokiri blinked at him, processing the question for almost too long… then he slowly lit up. “I- Yagen is that-?” “Yes.” He said simply. “It was always going to be yes, Tonbokiri.” Tonbokiri smiled so bright the sun itself seemed dull by comparison and got to his feet quickly, scooping Yagen up. He hugged him tightly, laughing right up until he stole his lips in an excited, almost clumsy kiss. Yagen squeaked when he was yanked up… but it soon melted into a cheerful, muffled laugh as he clung back to him, totally pretending that Tonbokiri didn’t almost miss his lips when he went to kiss him. When it broke, he chuckled softly, looking at his now fiance with a content smile… that then bled into a playful smirk. “As happy as I am… I do have one major issue now aside from the fact that biting down on that hurt…” “Heh… Sorry…” Tonbokiri said with a shy smile… then realized he said there was another issue. He adjusted the man in his arms to be able to cradle him and looked at him with worry. “What’s wrong??” When Tonbokiri walked right into his trap, his smirk grew and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small black box. “You beat me to it.” Tonbokiri looked at the box and relief swept over him, starting to laugh as he leaned to press his forehead to Yagen’s. “Ah. Forgive me for the transgression?” He snorted softly and tilted his head to steal another kiss, lingering for several moments before he pulled back and readjusted his glasses. “I will consider it.”

[captmickey]

For the 50 cliche tropes prompts! 5 and 39 with rosella and boybrush sounds like a fun one.

Rosella sat in the garden with her knees pulled up to her chin, she hugged her legs closed as she stared ahead at nothing in particular as she kept replaying the day over and over again in her head. 

Today was… rather horrid, if she were to be perfectly honest. 

The day started with her waking up late, feeling that phantom ache which decided today she wanted nothing more than to stay in bed, meaning she had to scramble out of said bed and further meant that she had no time to properly eat breakfast before her extensive lessons in all things royal (she always found that frustrating, she’s a princess, she shouldn’t have to worry about such things but her parents insisted that it didn’t look good, not as a monarch, but as a person, to be late to anything). The day then stumbled with her tutor being condescending to her when she ended up forgetting three rules as well as tripping during the proper procedure of how to bow. To add insult to injury, both her parents as well as Royal Guard Number One were too busy to talk to her. To let her vent.

Today was a horrible no good sour kind of day and all she wanted to do was hide in the bush forever… or until she no longer felt like sending daggers at anyone that looked her way. 

She heard the sound of rustling and tensed up… while she was within the castle walls, being without a guard always had her feeling somewhat tense. Nervous. Rosella looked towards the source and braced herself for possibly a guard or a maid or butler to come and lecture her when instead a young boy with blond hair pushed aside the leaves of the bush, huffing.

“Geez, Rosella, you don’t make hide and seek easy.” Lucas huffed.

“Lucas!” She gasped.

For the first time today, she felt relieved that it was him and stood up, rushing over and hugging him tightly, feeling his arms around her and holding her close, followed by lightly patting her back.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

“My parents came to do something with yours. What are you doing all the way out here?” He asked. “I thought you hated getting dirty.”

“Depends.” She let go, sitting back down. “Today I do not care.”

“Oh.” He looked around and joined her in sitting. “So… what are you doing here?”

“Sitting, minding my business.” Rosella shrugged, hugging her knees to her chest once more. 

Lucas, in turn, frowned. “Did I say something to make you even more upset?”

“What?” Rosella looked at him. “No! No, you didn’t, I’m– no… you didn’t say anything wrong.” She paused, thinking, looking at him. “How’d you know I was upset?”

“You’re not normally this um… hidden? Also I think I know you well enough to know when you’re not happy.” He scratched his cheek. “You’re usually tackling me in the Throne Room when I come over.”

Does she do it so often that it became routine? Distantly, she could hear her tutor scoff how unlady-like that is. To tackle a guest is unheard of.

(Then again, befriending a pirate is also unheard of.)

She heard him sigh, picking at some blades of grass here and there. “Lucas, how do you deal with feeling… bad?”

“Um… usually I do things that cheer me up, maybe eat something cause it could be that I’m upset because I didn’t eat anything.” Lucas started listing off. “I know when my dad has a bad day, my mom braids his hair… that calms him.”

“Does she do that often?”

“No… said something about how he falls asleep and then she can’t get things done.”

Rosella scoffed at the image of the legendary Mighty Pirate snoozing out at sea. 

“So what cheers you up, Rosella?” Lucas asked.

What cheered her up? Well, usually what cheered her up was within the castle walls, playing games and the such… but right now she didn’t want anything to do with the castle or its inhabitants. 

“I wanna be left alone…”

“Oh.”

“But,” she continued, “can you stay here? I don’t… want to be alone-alone, you know?”

Lucas nodded, understanding entirely. “Alright, I can do that.”

She paused for a moment, playing with the fabric of her dress. It was a ridiculous request she was about to ask but, the more she thought about what Lucas said in regards to how his dad relaxed… maybe it could work for her. Maybe. 

Rosella laid her head on his lap, her cheeks feeling a little red, but already she felt just a bit better, knowing that someone was here with her and not speaking down to her. She heard the startled gasp, ready to pull herself back up but instead… instead she felt fingers in her hair. Lucas picked a few strands of her hair and let it fall back down.

“Y’know,” he spoke, “I always wanted to try braiding hair… I’d braid my own but it’s not long enough to do one. Would it be alright if I braided yours?”

She nodded. “Sure, just make sure it looks absolutely royal.”

“Of course, your highness.” Lucas answered, undoubtedly rolling his eyes. 

She smiled as she felt him grab some strands and start to braid. It felt clumsy and she heard him mutter under his breath, but it was still relaxing… nice. Pleasant. She enjoyed how there was some sense of contact after not having it for most of the day.

“Bad day?” Lucas asked.

“How…?”

“Pirate instinct.” He teased. “Or like I mentioned before, how I know you well enough.”

Rosella lightly elbowed him. “Stop reading me.”

“Stop being readable.”

“Lucas.”

“That is my name.”

Rosella sighed and tried turning her head as much as she could away while he was still braiding her hair, she didn’t want to smile. To laugh. But he knew all the right buttons to hit to get her back in a good mood. Especially during those phantom pains she’d feel. Especially during a day like today where she absolutely needed a friend now more than ever.

“So what happened?” He asked, more sincere as he started working on another part of her hair to braid.

“Everything went wrong today. From waking up to my tutoring.” Rosella spilled. “Nothing went right at all.”

“Oooh, so it really was a bad day. I’m sorry, that must have been terrible.”

“It did.”

“Was it the one with a rat nose?”

Rosella turned her head slightly, eyeing Lucas. “Rat nose?”

“Yeah, the snooty looking one? I saw a tutor walk by and his nose looked like this.” Lucas used one of his free hands to pinch his nose in such a way that it had Rosella burst out laughing. Lucas, however, gasped and tried to hold her head down, trying not to ruin his current work on her hair. 

“Ha! Ha heh… Y-yeah, yeah it was rat-nose.” Rosella laughed, hearing Lucas laugh alongside her. Once the laughs subsided, she took a breath and continued resting her head on his lap, picking mindlessly some blades of grass while he worked. “Lucas?”

“Mm-hmm?” 

“...thank you.” She mumbled. 

“For what?”

“For being here. I needed this.”

“Oh ah… of course.” He answered. “Oh, this braid came out nice!”

Rosella smiled. Maybe the day wasn’t entirely terrible.

[penname-artist]

Lending a Shoulder - Not a Wall

I have another installment in the “Just Mental Health Stuff” series going on here, and that’s on venting to people. Specifically, communicating needs.

We all go through stuff. This isn’t exclusive to any one type of person or one type of illness; anyone can go through a tough time and need to express needs or vent to someone trustworthy about things.

Unfortunately, and I’ve seen this WAY too often, needs aren’t communicated across clearly to people, which can end up hurting more than helping you when you’re not getting the thing that you need in that moment.

Usually when stuff is heavy and on our minds we’re most likely to need one of three things: either A) comfort and support, B) solid advice and help, or C) a distraction from the situation. As the venter, it can be great to communicate this ahead of time, but as the ventee it’s also great to ask ahead of time rather than assume.

An example of unclear communication is Person A, who is struggling academically, and goes to Person B for help. Person A doesn’t feel capable of doing well on a big test, they don’t have the self-motivation. What they need is comfort and encouragement from Person B. However, this isn’t communicated well, and instead of comfort, Person B gives them concrete advice on how to manage studying. This may seem helpful on paper, but it may create the opposite effect of making Person A feel further inadequate to complete this test.

An example of clear communication is Person C, who is nervous about a job application because of the appearance of their resume. They communicate the help they need clearly to their friend Person D, who understands that they need concrete advice on filling out their resume properly in order to have the best chance of success for an interview.

When you get that need across well, things may be a lot smoother, but it does take that little bit of effort to communicate well with trustworthy people who are willing to lend a shoulder and able to do so. Hope that helps

[cellias]

scary visions and uneasy acquaintances (ii)

leo valdez x child of apollo!reader

warnings: bad spirits, talks about a toilet seat

summary: leo is approached by the person who seems to dislike him the most out of the other six. but now it seems they were in for a longer ride together than they anticipated—or wanted—and they still can’t this kind-of-friendship thing right.

word count: 3.3k

It was past dinner time, but only one thing sounded really good right about now. Sleep.

He didn’t want to admit it, but Leo was getting sleepier by the minute. He’d be communicating with Festus and then his eyes would get heavy, and his arms would feel weak, and the darkness of his eyelids became so inviting…but no. He had a job to do. He couldn’t waste time like that.

Everyone on the ship had retreated to their bedrooms after working a little more with food in their system, and Leo welcomed the familiar silence that came at that hour. All he could hear was the calm movement of the ocean, the rumbling noise of the engine, and whoosh of the wind on the sail, and the occasional creak from his machines. These nights felt like the eye of a hurricane.

The only problem was he barely slept during the past few nights. This had some annoying consequences, like killer headaches and an overwhelming urge to just lay his head on the table for a few second-like hours. And he almost did, had it not been for the footsteps he heard approaching the room. He frowned. Coach Hedge would barge in sometimes, but these steps didn’t sound like his hooves.

It didn’t really matter anyway, because the person had arrived rather quickly. There was a knock on the door. His conscious state was being prodded awake once more.

“Who’s there?” He called, sliding a hammer out of his belt. You know, just in case.

“Y/n.”

Oh. The hammer went back in. “Y/n who?”

“Y/n, the person who’s going to throw you off this ship if you don’t open the door right now.”

He opened the door.

The sight of you was marvelous to behold. Messy hair, grumpy face, mismatched socks, and decked out in sun printed pajamas. He wished he had a camera. He’d hang the picture on his wall and caption it: Fashion’s Newest Muse, Renowned Child of Apollo. Maybe the name needed some work.

You look him up and down. “May I come in?”

“That’s what you’re supposed to ask before you threaten me.”

You stared.

“Yeah, alright.” He steps aside to let you in. “So what brings you to my man cave?” He watches the back of your head as you examine the room with intrigue.

You snort. “Right, your man cave.” You turned to him. “We need to talk.”

Leo looked around. “You? With me?”

“Yes, you,” you said, exasperated. “With me.”

He wandered to his chair and spun once, then sat up straight to look at you. He motioned to the other chair beside him. It was Annabeth’s honorary co-captain chair, and it was obvious by the little mess of papers with neat and chaotic writing scribbled on them from earlier that day. He could never write that much in one sitting. You moved to sit down after he picked up the papers.

“Well,” he started, “what did you want to talk about?” If he was being honest, he was a little nervous. Most of the others didn’t visit the room often, especially not at night, and especially not you.

You started to lose the straight look on your face, some anxiousness peeking through. He kind of liked it, knowing you got nervous too.

“I just, um, the thing is… how do I start this?”

He watched patiently, amusement painting his features.

“I had a dream.”

You looked at him expectantly. He didn’t really know what you wanted him to think of that. “Huh. Do you need to, like, vent?” He asked awkwardly.

You rubbed your forehead with the palm of your hand. “No, it’s that—” you paused and squinted. “Is it me or did it just get dimmer in here?”

“Oh, yeah sorry,” Leo grinned sheepishly and the lights flickered, releasing a brighter light. “It changes based on what my eyes are comfortable with.”

You looked upset at that. “Well, then change it back.”

“But I thought you…”

“No, I don’t care. Change it to whatever is comfortable. You’re gonna need it when I tell you my dream.” Leo was wary to change it back. For good measure, he manually changed the lighting to a good balance of light and darkness that wasn’t too harsh on his sleepy eyes.

“Alright, there. So what about this dream? And why are you telling me about it?”

You seemed to be psyching yourself up before you opened your mouth. “Okay. Lately I’ve been having trouble sleeping. I thought this was because—” you stopped yourself and contemplated your next words. “Well, I didn’t know what to think. But right after we came back from that whole thing with Narcissus, falling asleep was easier than it had been in weeks. I thought, maybe it’s because I was so drained. But I’ve gone a day or two fighting monsters with no sleep,” you looked uneasy, like what you were saying was embarrassing, “and so I know this wasn’t normal. But then my dream happened. It wasn’t like anything I’ve dreamt before. It was different.”

Leo pondered your words as you paused to recollect your thoughts. He was still sort of confused. Why would you come to him about this? It was probably smarter to go to Annabeth, or Percy, or literally anybody else who had more experience than him. They could probably help interpret.

“I was myself, of course. No weird spectator thing, or feeling like you’re in another body, you know?” He nodded. “I was me. It was really dark at first. I couldn’t see anything, it looked more like a black endless space than a room or anything. And I could feel something swirling around me, getting really close, but not touching me. Even when they whispered it was like they were looking the other way so their breath wouldn’t hit my face. And then they were moving away, and I felt this feeling wash over me, like I was being hugged, or something. I had closed my eyes when an orange light started to appear — you know when you’re facing the sun or a light and your eyes are closed, so you see reddish orange?”

“Oh yeah, of course.”

“It was that. So I opened my eyes and,” you looked at his eyes intensely, “this is where it gets weird. You were there.”

Leo raised an eyebrow.

“Not just that. You weren’t actually there,” you added, as if that made sense.

“I think I could’ve told you that.”

“No, I mean, there was nothing in front of me. There was just this really loud presence, like someone was standing right in front of me. I don’t know how, but the first thing that came to my mind was you. I just know it was. I did some thinking over dinner, and I think…”

Leo put his hands up. “Wait, wait, wait.”

You stared at him with wide eyes.

“What you’re saying is, you had a dream in the dark with weird spirits around you, and one of them happened to be me?”

“Yeah, but I also—”

“What if you’re just, I don’t know, scared of me?” You frowned at that, but he smiled slyly and continued before you could argue, “Or you were just thinking about me a little too much before your nap?”

He watched you bury your head in your hands. “Oh my gods, no!” You looked up, and he was met with an attempt at a glare and an almost successfully suppressed smile. Almost.

“Yeah, you were! I can tell.” He lifted a hand and felt your cheek. “You’re all warm.”

You pulled away in embarrassment. “Okay, yeah I was. I was thinking about how you’re going to go missing next time you leave the toilet seat up.”

He put a hand over his heart. “I told you guys it was Jason!”

You scoffed in disbelief. “Jason would never do that. He’s too Jason.”

“The boy was raised by wolves, Y/N.”

You laughed at his deadpan expression. “Fair point.”

He opened his mouth to say something, probably something about how he had never heard you laugh like that around him, or how your smile was really nice, or how you seemed to be glowing, or how your laugh sounded like music. But he stopped himself. He couldn’t say that stuff. It was weird.

“Uh, sorry,” he said instead.

“For what?”

“You were going to say something earlier and I interrupted.”

You seemed to be thinking for a second or two, before you realized. “Oh, that. I think the dream has something to do with the future. Near or far, I don’t know, but most likely far. You were different. Like you didn’t have the same presence as you do right now, but it was still obviously you.”

“Why can’t it just be a random dream?”

“We’re demigods. And anyway, most Apollo children have some degree of foresight as an ability. I’ve never willingly tapped into mine, so I don’t really know its extent. But in the dream it felt like it was working stronger than it ever had.”

Leo hummed. “You Apollo kids sure have a lot of gifts. Now I’m kind of jealous.”

“I can manipulate light and music, you can make anything with scrap metal and create fire with your willpower, and you’re jealous?”

“Pretty much.”

“You’re impossible.” You rolled your eyes but then your face dropped again. “Valdez,” you started timidly. “I’m worried. This was a real vision. But where in the world would it be that dark? And why couldn't I see you? It’s too many factors going into this one event, and it feels like it’s less than the sum of its parts, but I know it’s not. It wasn’t just dark, it felt like…the world was caved in. It didn’t make sense.”

He twisted a screwdriver that appeared out of nowhere. You were right, it didn’t make sense. He thought back to the prophecy. After a beat of silent thinking, he murmured in a volume you almost didn’t hear.

“To storm or fire the world must fall.”

You rubbed your hands together nervously. “Do you think that’s it?”

“The world felt like it was caved in. All you could feel was my presence after the spirits left.” He shuddered. He hadn’t seen the dream himself, but the thought scared him. “You tell me.��

“It would match up. But why not show the others? It doesn’t make sense to only be me and you.” You glanced at him and looked back at grey pipe parts that protruded out of the wall, the highlights gleaming white in the lighting.

“I agree. But I mean, if the others aren’t there, and the world ‘fell’…” he trailed off, but you didn’t need him to complete his sentence.

You shook your head indignantly. “Prophecies can’t be changed, but they don’t have to mean what they sound like. We won’t fail. I don’t need foresight to know that.”

“We’re going against Mother Nature.”

“That sucks for her.” You sat up straighter, a fire lit in your eyes, like you weren’t talking about the first entity on Earth.

His eyes stuck on your stance. For once, he was seeing the Y/N that Annabeth and the other campers had told him about. It was like meeting an entirely new person.

You stuck out your hand. “Okay, Valdez. I don’t like this, but if it comes down to it… I suppose I’m alright with sharing the burden of the end of the world with you.”

He huffed but shook your hand. “Okay, Y/L/N, I guess I’d be okay with that too.”

You stood up to leave after releasing him. He called out your name, stopping you. “I was being truthful, by the way. We need to start working as a team.” You faced him confusedly. “I’m not telling you to confess all your secrets. Or to be my best friend. But maybe not hating your crew mate would be good.”

“I told you already, I don’t hate you.”

“You just don’t like me.”

You nodded. “Exactly.”

“Yeah… see, no more of that is what I mean. If we could just be professional acquaintances, that’d be enough. I mean, light and fire, doesn’t it make sense?” He shifted in his seat. Why did he say that? He should’ve just let you leave. But of course his mouth didn’t agree. “I think we just got off on the wrong foot.”

“I think so too,” you said thoughtfully. “I can't just change how I feel about you, it doesn’t work like that. But I appreciate the apology.”

He went bug eyed, and blurted without thinking, “Apology? All I said was that we got off on the wrong foot.” He stopped you before you could retort. “You literally just shared your secret dream with me, anyway.”

“I told you out of necessity. It involved you, so I told you. I didn’t come to you for comfort.”

Leo examined your face and, feeling like he might be growing an ego even thinking about it, doubted your words. “So then you’re going to tell everyone else next morning?”

You avoided his eyes and crossed your arms defensively. “Um, no. They weren’t in the dream. And it would only distract them. It would just make the quest seem hopeless.”

“But it’s important. It was a vision. Shouldn’t they know?”

“No, Valdez. They’re not going to know, and that’s it. And if they do, they won’t hear it from me.” You stared threateningly. “So you better not say anything. I know it’ll be difficult with your big mouth, but if I hear a peep from you about the dream, you’re not going to see the light of day ever again.”

“Dramatic.”

“I’m serious,” you seethed, and the light bulbs glowed at an uncomfortable level. He felt dizzy and got chills, resembling the symptoms of those fevers he used to get when he was young. He shook his head to get out of it.

“So you’re asking me to lie to my friends?”

“I’m asking you to keep something to yourself. You can’t lie if there’s nothing to lie about in the first place,” you corrected.

Leo rested his head on his free hand. “Thanks for changing the wording, it really made me feel a lot better.”

You groaned and rubbed your face. “I should never have told you. Of course you’d go blabbing your mouth.”

“You can’t tell me to keep a secret as big as this from them. We need to help them anyway we can. This is a team effort, there’s a reason there’s eight demigods on this ship.”

You laughed, a sound that didn’t sound as pretty as before, one that was harsh and dry, devoid of humor. “Don’t act like this now. Like you’re not hiding things too. You’re really good at it. But the second it’s somebody’s else’s secret you’re dying to tell.”

Leo’s hand clutched his tool bag protectively when you glanced at it. “That’s different. This is the end of the world that you’re talking about.”

“It’s a vision. Do you know what that means?” You ripped yourself away from his gaze. “It means you’re not supposed to tell anybody. Telling someone will make them desperate to stop it from happening. Bad things happen when you try to change the course of fate. Worse than what you’re trying to prevent.”

Your eyes were glued to the wall behind him, as if there was a scene that matched your narration; a scene he didn’t think you’d want him to know about.

“Then why did you tell me? You just put the whole quest in danger by doing that, according to you.”

“I told you why.”

Leo stood to match your height, and partly because he was tired of sitting down. “That was complete centaur poop. ‘Because it involved you’ is the worst excuse I’ve ever heard you come up with. This involves all of us. We can work together on this. So tell me the real reason you came here at two in the morning, and maybe I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

He was afraid he’d prodded too far, because your face went sour, and you left without another word. He watched you leave, making no move to stop you or pry more. His frustration was bubbling inside himself, and it was a little frightening. Those types of feelings were reserved for a few people he knew today, and how you pulled them from him so easily wasn’t good. How he was expected to work with you, even in the face of the potential end of the world, he didn’t know.

Earlier he had thought maybe it would be okay; you, him, and Hazel had fought together that same day, and did so with little to no issues. He’d clung to you to help you, and the feeling that spread through him left him a little breathless. But he had felt a similar feeling with Hazel, the moment on the boulder. So maybe it really hadn’t been anything, and especially not to you. Here you were backpedaling on the progression to friendship that he was trying to move toward.

His leg bounced up and down and he turned to Buford at the sensation of communication coming from the table.

Leo’s face was released from the negative feelings that had twisted it. “You’re right,” he mumbled. “I can’t not try again, I guess.”

You may not be particularly fond of him, but he wouldn’t let… whatever this was, consume him or you. Eventually, you’d have to cooperate with him, and he thought the note you had both left off on didn’t really help the case more than it hurt the possibility. For a second he’d been willing to let go of his effort and let you go on distrusting him. But it could only lead to more danger. At the rate things were going so far, they were on their way to enough of that.

And contrary to popular belief among the other seven (cough, Frank, cough), his friends did matter to him. He’d been doing what he could to help, and ever since the day you’d shown up to help build the ship that day at camp, although you seemed reluctant (“I’m just here to speed up the process,” you had said), rebuilding your relationship had been top on his list.

Of course with Frank not liking him around, though he supposed that made sense — he attacked his home, after all — he’d been trying to get that guy to trust him some more. It was a little difficult with the buff baby faced dude that could turn into a dragon, but he tried. He seemed to be making just as much progress with him as he had with you. He always seemed to do something wrong.

He felt worse when he realized a small part of him was selfishly trying to prove that goddess wrong. He started to doubt his own intentions when the words she had said slid into his mind. The eighth wheel. He had begun to think all his attempts were just so he could finally feel like he fit in. Like he wasn’t the outlier on a team full of people who were supposed to relate to him, to understand him. The cold thought would make even his fire feel drained of its heat.

But he decided not to let that take over tonight, not after what had just happened. Tonight he’d…okay, he wouldn’t do anything right now. He needed a nap so bad, and all this thinking wasn’t very energy preserving. Frank and Y/N were not going to be the last things on his mind as he went to sleep. What a nightmare. But before he could think about anything else, an image of an army of men being defeated by the surprisingly loud and offensive singing of a golden tweety bird blanketed his mind in its unconsciousness. That was a vision if he’d ever seen one.

[malleux]

idk if my request went through cuz my internet went weird just now-- but anyways, could I perhaps get a soft corpse x reader in which they're all playing among us and Rae or Sean invites (y/n), who none of them have every heard of, and she's just very shy but has an adorable childlike voice, and is an incredible imposter? Like she's just super convincing just like corpse, and can tug at the heartstrings with her voice? thank you!

spell. | corpse husband

part two ; part three

-> Pairing: Corpse Husband x Fem!Reader

-> Fandom: uhh youtubers? idk

-> Genre: Fluff, Crack

-> Warnings: Cursing

-> A/N: hi it’s a long overdue corpse fic :) it’s not the absolute best and for that i’m super sorry i’ve just got to get in the groove of writing for him!

corpse husband taglist is closed!

You were never one to enjoy the spotlight. Instead, you were often found in the background of things, just observing the extroverts who managed to get themselves in the middle of everything.

You had a nerve to admire them- their ability to just get out there and show their true selves, despite so many people watching their every move. Just the thought of it made you shudder. Yet you couldn’t help but also be rather envious of them.

Them, in question, being Sean McLoughlin.

You weren’t quite sure how you became associated with Jacksepticeye himself, choosing to focus on the present and future with your friend rather than dwelling on your past. He was just Sean, your internet friend. And also Jacksepticeye- a famous youtuber with millions of followers.

Sean was who you aspired to be in life. Outgoing, happy, out there, everything positive in life that Sean had, you wanted.

He’d confided in you often about how nervous he’d get before streams or videos, fearing that he’d say the wrong thing or upset his fans, but he still put on a brave face and went out into the chaos. That’s what you admired. His ability to conquer those anxieties.

You wished you could do that. You were simply too nervous.

Which is why when Sean facetimed you one night- morning, actually, seeing as it was 3am in California, where you were- asking you to join a game of Among Us for one of his videos, you adamantly refused.

“Why? Please, Y/N, we need one more person.” Sean begged, “It’ll be me, you, Felix, Ethan, Corpse, Julien, PJ, and Dave. Not everyone’s playing today, it’s a smaller crowd.”

“But it’s still a lot.” You groaned, “I don’t even know them. I just know you.”

“They’re nice! You literally watch their videos.” He argued back.

“That’s the point, Sean! They’re famous, I’d just be some random chick in the game that everyone asks where the fuck she came from.”

“No, you’ll be the girl that everyone adores. Now get on, we’re playing in ten.”

You sighed as the phone hung up and turned on your computer. A Discord invite was waiting for you- Sean must have invited you for you to talk to everyone as you played. You accepted with shaky fingers and put your headphones on, pulling up Among Us and typing in the game code.

“Hello everyone- wait, who’s pink?”

“She’s a good friend of mine,” Sean explained to Felix, “Say hi Y/N. We’re streaming live right now.”

“Hello,” You couldn’t help the meek tone in your voice, smiling shyly as if you were actually on camera. “Wait, you’re streaming? Sean, I thought you said it was a recording for a video.”

“I, well. It’s a video all right.”

The group laughed, but you stayed silent, fixating your attention on a lower voice that chimed in at the end.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Y/N. I’m Corpse.”

“The King of Imposters.” PJ joked, making Corpse laugh.

You giggled a bit, “Hi…”

Felix gasped. “Corpse, her voice is like, the total opposite from yours. Her’s is so cute.”

Corpse laughed as well. “Agreed. I like it.”

As the game loaded, your heart practically dropped.

Imposter.

As if your nerves weren’t bad enough as they were. But, on the bright side, you were with Sean as the other imposter. At least it was someone you knew.

You both split up, you heading towards Electrical. Corpse and Felix were close behind you, Felix following you into the room while Corpse left. You pretended to do your task for a minute before moving to your left a minute and killing Felix.

You rushed out of the room and then headed to Navigations, making sure to avoid anybody who could have seen you leave Electrical. A few moments later, a body was reported.

“Where was it?” Sean asked Julien, the reporter.

“Electrical.”

“I saw Y/N go in there with him at the beginning of the game.” Corpse joined in, “I saw them as I was going to the Reactor.”

“I was in Electrical with him,” You admitted, still acting a bit shy. What could you say, deep voices and new people made you nervous. “But after that I left and went to do my task in Navigation. Felix was still alive and there when I left.”

“Did you pass anyone sus on the way there?” Sean asked.

“No, if they came in after I did it must’ve either been from the other way or after I was already in Electrical.” You started picking at your nail polish- a habit of yours when things got a little overwhelming.

“So you’re saying that it could’ve been from the direction Corpse was in?” You could hear the smirk in Sean’s voice.

“Whoa, whoa, hold up. Why are you so quick to throw me under the bus? I’m just a crewmate.” Corpse questioned, “You’re pretty sus if you ask me.”

Sean scoffed, “I’m just inferring that the culprit came from your direction. Never in my words did I say it was you. Sounds like you’re getting a little too defensive for someone who’s ‘just a crew mate’.”

“Uh, guys,” You quietly spoke up. You didn’t expect anyone to hear you, but Corpse and Sean immediately quieted down at your voice. “I hate to interrupt, but we’ve got to vote. I don’t want us to argue…”

Sean laughed. “Oh little Y/N, you’re too sweet. I’m skipping this round.”

As you voted to skip as well, your stomach clenched when you heard Corpse quietly repeat “Little Y/N”.

꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂

“It’s Y/N, I’m fucking telling you! Y/N!” Julien was practically screaming at this point. You tried to stay calm, focusing on keeping your voice steady.

The group had been calling you cute and adorable practically all night, so you were seriously about to put that to use.

“I was in Medbay with Corpse, isn’t that right, Corpse?” Your tone was sweet and slightly flirty- hopefully he’d get the hint.

Corpse hesitated for a millisecond- long enough for your breath to catch, but short enough for nobody else to notice. “Yeah, she was with me.”

“She was with you after she vented there!” Julien cried, “I can’t believe this- she killed Ethan and vented away right as I went into the room! You all are fucking nuts if you don’t believe me.”

“I don’t even know how to vent…” You murmured innocently, but in reality you were smirking. Julien was definitely telling the truth, and you were internally beating yourself up for letting yourself be so reckless after a kill, but nobody was seemingly buying his story.

There was only you, Corpse, Julien, Dave, and PJ left. Sean was voted off after fucking up his alibi, leaving you alone with the rest of the group.

Corpse sighed. “You all heard the girl. She doesn’t even know how to vent.”

“Wh- she just fucking vented!” Julien exclaimed, “Corpse, man, she’s got you under some fucking magic spell if you can’t see all the evidence. Guys, back me up here.”

“She’s sus.” Dave admitted, “And Corpse defending her makes it even more sus.”

“The spell she tried on him obviously got the best of him. I say we vote Y/N.” PJ agreed.

“There’s no spell, guys, oh my God.” Corpse laughed, “I just don’t think it’s her. I’m skipping.”

“I can’t believe you guys don’t believe me!” You whined, deciding to go further with your emotional tactics, “I’m literally about to cry. It’s not me!”

And yet, despite your protests, Dave, PJ, and Julien all voted you out. Crewmates had won the game and you were giggling nearly like a maniac as everyone gushed about how you did as an Imposter.

A bit later, you had to say goodbye to your new friends and face the reality that their fans would definitely find who you were by tomorrow. Or like, in a few hours, because it was already 4am. Corpse was in California as well, wasn’t he? He should be getting some sleep too, you thought. But maybe sleep schedules were different for Youtubers. You didn’t know.

You pondered the thought for a moment before the notification sound for Discord alerted you of a new message on your phone.

Corpse:

Just letting you know, your voice definitely had me under a spell. I’d like to hear it more often

[alphabetbill]

Bill Skarsgard Alphabet- Your relationship with Bill

Here’s a list from A-Z about what your relationship with Bill would be like.

A list of headcannons of what Bill x reader’s relationship.

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Note- If one of the letters is flagged with an asterixis * it means it is slightly suggestive or NSFW. 

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A- Affection

Bill is actually quite affectionate with you, always preferring to have one arm around you shoulders when sitting on the couch together, holding your hand, quick kisses on the head, cheek and shoulder. Warm hugs from behind, with Bill resting his chin on your head. He likes to reassure himself by being in the comfort of your company, and it always feels so strange when he’s away from you filming on set. He likes to cuddle a lot when he wants to relax and unwind, because Bill is a pretty busy dude so whenever he can get the chance to sit back and rest with you, it’s usually on the bed taking a quick power nap before it’s back to it again.

B- Buying gifts

Bill isn’t really big on receiving big fancy gifts, because really, what would he need them for? You are the same. He does make sure to stop at each place on his press tours and pick out a souvenir to bring home to you. He also likes bringing home little props or souvenirs from set. You still have the little Pennywise teddy he got you sitting over on your desk. The little red pom-pom nose and the orange yarn fluffy hair is so adorable. 

C- Comfort

When you are feeling down or sad, Bill can nearly always pick up on it straight away. He has a way with reading people’s emotions and then employing the method of comfort that would best suit the situation. If you want to talk, he will listen, and if you want to be left alone, he will do that, but not for too long.

He’ll check up on you every so often through the day just to make sure you’re okay. Bill’s warm, gigantic hugs and reassuring kisses always manage to make you feel a bit better. When it’s Bill whose feeling off, you let him talk. Bill isn’t the kind of guy to be able to keep things bottled up for a long period of time because it tends to make him feel tired and weighed down, and that’s not a fun time for either of you. You always listen to him when he vents everything he’s feeling, usually with his head in your lap and you playing with his hair or his hands.

D- Date 

Bill would be a chill, relaxing type of guy when it comes to dates. He knows that you don’t want to be doing something big and exciting every single time, that would be tiring. He loves taking you out for dinner, but he loves making dinner for you and setting up a romantic little dinner date out on the porch or terrace, and surprising you. Often, dates between you two will be completely out of the blue. ‘Hey, want to go somewhere?’ ‘Hey lets go for a picnic by the beach’.

On the days when you guys do feel like doing something more adventurous, the zoo tends to be the fan favourite, and you also like to go skiing, and hiking to see new places and things.

E- Encouragement/Excitement 

You are both very supportive of each other and your professions, so much so that as soon as the other person catches a whiff of success, you are there to celebrate with each other by any means. You and Bill like to hype each other up and get all excited when the other person gets excited, almost as if your happiness is conjoined. You are always excited for Bill’s new projects, and support him through it all the way up until it’s completed and ready for the world to see. 

F- Fighting

Bill likes to avoid conflict, especially if it involves any kind of yelling and screaming at you, someone he loves. He doesn’t believe that yelling helps at all, infact it only makes matters worse, and instead of actually getting the other person to listen to them, it only makes them more mad and they keep on yelling when no one is actually listening. He doesn’t like yelling at you because it feels almost violent, and he doesn’t want to scare you into listening to him. He’s aware of how intimidating he looks when he’s mad. He encourages the both of you to instead sit down and talk about things maturely, talking about how he feels and why he feels that way, and always attentively listening to what you have to say as well. It’s important in the relationship that you have a sense of equality, that both go heard and your opinions both valued. From then on, depending on the severity of the argument, you move on to figure out the best solution to moving past it or around it. 

G- Gestures

Bill is big on friendly, helpful little gestures to remind you that he loves you. You both like to leave little notes in places for each other to find, with quotes or reassurances written on them like ‘You can do this!’ ‘I love you!’ ‘You look amazing today’. It gives you guys a little confidence boost, because sometimes you both need it. In terms of physical gestures, Bill likes to hold your hand a lot of the time when you walk, almost as if you might wander off and get lost if he lets go. He also likes to buy you flowers. If he sees a bunch of flowers in the shop window from the corner of his eye, and he instantly thinks of you, he will buy them for you. You aren’t really sure what use you would have for flowers, but you absolutely admire the sweet gesture.

H- How you sleep

It’s no secret that Bill is a very tall and lanky person. Because of this, sometimes its hard for him to find just the right position to sleep it, however he has learned to adjust and adapt to any position or place to make it feel comfortable. He lays on his back a lot of the time and pulls you close to him, either tucked up beside him with your arm across his torso, or with your head on his chest or heart while he plays with your hair.

You both talk for hours, and will stay up until you fall asleep mid conversation. It’s funny when Bill will be talking, and he goes to ask you a question, and he finds you fast asleep beside him. ‘Seriously? Did you just fall asleep on me? Were you listening to any of that?”

I- Impression

When Bill was first introduced to you, he thought you were so gorgeous and beautiful, with that amazing smile and beautiful eyes. He is a bit nervous at the best of times, but you made him particularly nervous. He always was conscious over the way he spoke to you and how he appealed to you. He’s had a giant crush on you since the day he met you, and knew instantly that if he didn’t do something to make you his, he would never be the same.

Your impression of him was similar. You could not believe such a handsome guy was standing right there talking to you! He made you feel a bit self-conscious, and you couldn’t form a single coherent sentence in your mind without feeling overwhelmingly flushed by him standing next to you, or ‘accidentally’ brushing up against you.

J- Jokes

Are you and Bill a playful or more serious couple?

You two are able to maintain a healthy balance of both playful and serious. You like to tease each other a lot, particularly about the height difference, and Bill’s unholy inhuman tallness. You always joke to him about how secretly Bill must have been born in a zoo to a giraffe and then dropped in Sweden by accident. 

You both know when to be serious though, and understand that not everything can be all fun and games. If someone isn’t feeling great, you can learn to adjust and turn the jokes down to make sure they are okay.

K- Kids

Bill would absolutely love to have kids with you, ideally two, not anywhere near as many as how many his parents had. He wants to be able to spread his fatherly love between children and make time for them both equally, and adore them as much as he adores you. 

L- Love 

What does Bill love the most about you? 

Physically, Bill is in love with two things- your smile and your hair. Both of these things are the two things that he thinks are flawlessly, effortlessly perfect every single time he sees you, even if you wake up in the morning with a serious case of bedhead. But Bill loves everything about you, most of all how supportive you are, and how you are always there for him even if you don’t have to be.

M- Memory/moment

Your favourite memory of you and Bill together is how it felt when he kissed you for the first time. You remember all the tingling feelings, and how excited and nervous you were, but happy that this was finally happening. 

Bill’s favourite memory is when you said yes to going out with him for the first time. He felt so accomplished and happy with himself, like if he could get the girl, he could do anything. He remembers feeling surprised that you said yes, and how scared he was that you would turn him down and tell him you weren’t interested in him in that way. 

*N- Nudes

Usually, if you do send them, it’s when Bill is away in Toronto filming a movie and he’s missing you. You both tend to flirt over text more than you do in real life.

O- Optimist level

You and Bill are both optimistic and realistic. You can see both the good side of things and the bad.

P- Period

When you are on your period, Bill knows instantly that it’s gonna be a pretty crappy time for you, so he tries to make it as least crappy as possible. He has a basket of chocolate reserved just for you on the days when it’s bad, and stays home with you all day cuddling and watching movies. If you are in a significant amount of pain, he will do most practical things for you like house work. He’s very sweet and caring for you, running to the store to get products and shamelessly carrying them. Anything for you, he’s not embarrassed, he knows that it’s a normal thing and it should be normalized for boyfriends to buy their girlfriends products. 

Q- Quality Time- how do you spend it?

You and Bill spend all the time you can possibly get with each other. All the time is quality time with you guys, and Bill makes time to set aside his work or script reading to spend time with you. He’s away for long periods of time, so he wants to make sure that he can spend enough time with you to make up for that, and make sure that you know he loves you.

R- Romantic- how much of a romantic are they?

Oh. Bill is romantic. He especially likes to wine and dine with you, making the whole setting perfect just for you. He manages to make everything romantic, everything he does, and you aren’t sure if he’s doing it on purpose or whether that’s just him as a person.

*S- Sex

You and Bill do it often, but its not seen as something at the top of importance between you. You prefer to spend time talking together and just enjoying each other’s company, rather than getting all physical. That kind of intimacy is done in the bedroom every couple of days or so, or really whenever you feel the need to. It’s important to also note that Bill is very respectful about it, and always makes sure that whatever he does you are comfortable with.

Anywhere outside the privacy of the bedroom for him always feels so awkward, and he likes both of you to be comfortable.

T- Trust

You trust Bill with your life, and he trusts you too. You feel safe opening up to him and telling him things that you normally wouldn’t tell people. You know that he would never cheat on you, and don’t get easily jealous by girls that he kisses or fake hooks up with in movies. You know that this is all staged and it is a part of acting, and always makes sure that Bill knows that it’s okay.

U- Understand

You and Bill understand each other very well. There are of course some things that you don’t get about each other, like why you like certain foods that do not go together, why you believe something, things like that. You think alike in terms of the way you look at life, and how you see the world. You feel like you guys just get each other, y’know?

V- Vulnerability 

Bill is very open with you about how he feels, and you are to him as well. If he’s sad or upset he will tell you and talk about it. He isn’t afraid that crying will make him seem less of a man, and also doesn’t judge you when you cry around him. Bill is a sap and definitely cries in sad scenes of movies. 

W- Wedding- What would your ideal wedding be?

Bill would want it to be fantastic and memorable, as I’m sure everyone would. His family and friends would be there and so would yours. It would be an outdoors wedding beneath the sunshine- provided it doesn’t rain. You would most likely go on a honeymoon to somewhere you have both always wanted to go, and it would be an amazing, relaxing get away.

*X- X-rated

Does Bill have any kinks? 

Most likely no, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t down to try new things with you.

Y- Young and beautiful- how long will you guys last?

As far as Bill is concerned, you will have children, grandchildren, and get old together. You are gorgeous now, and you will always be gorgeous to him. He is big on committing to you, and you are to him. 

Z- Zing!

How much excitement is there in your relationship? 

You guys are always adapting and adjusting to Bill being away and all kinds of things that life might throw at you. It’s pretty exciting dating an actor, isn’t it?

The thrill of secrecy and not getting caught. You often like to make bets on who will be noticed in a crowd first, you or him?

Life is just full of wonders and mystery, and you can’t wait to explore more of those together!

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Note- I am aware that Skarsgard is supposed to be written with an accent on the last A, but I write these lists on my laptop and the keyboard does not have an option for that. 

Thank you for reading! It took me a little while to put this A-Z list together and I would appreciate if you left a like, a comment or whatever you can to help me out. 

Want to request a Bill Skarsgard A-Z list? With your own prompt, and your desired character?

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