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s0lar-ch3ri · 1 month ago

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for my friend @marz-likes-palaces on here! (sorry for tagging, just thought maybe youd wanna see this) a full list of all my jrwi fics, their tws and what parts of their campaigns they spoil (as well as how big of spoilers are referenced)

this will be absolutely editted and kept up to date so if you want me to add a fic onto here lmk (im also only counting completed fics unless its a multichapter fic im working on)

also keep in mind, fics will have hc details! just assume whatever i warn for in spoilers is based around canon!

another note, the way i list them is in no specific order, just how i find them and everything!

okay third note, the amount of trigger warnings a fic has may scare some, but i try to tag for anything (even brief and light hearted mentions) of triggering topics. while i have tried to go through and write the tone of each fic, i cannot guess perfectly how someone else may interpret it, keep that in mind!

most recently edited date: 4/8/25

putting them all below the cut cause i write A Lot of fics (if any fics are wanted to be linked, lmk)

EXPLAINING THE SET UP: [fic title]-additional needed info after (ie: if its a multichapter or incomplete, if its whump or hurt/comfort) [ONLY FOR MULTI-CAMPAIGN FICS] campaigns: feels self explanatory, writes which campaigns the characters are from who it involves: does not include mentioned characters or characters that dont play a big part in the fic, for example if a fic has chip and jay and mentions gill, ill only say it involves chip and jay setting ep wise: different from a spoiler warning, gives a setting timeline wise as to what the characters may be like (as well as an idea of what spoilers may be referenced) trigger warnings: self explanatory, if youve read the fic and something needs to be tagged, please do inform me, i cant guess every tw (NOTE: the multichapters, while i dont write many, are structured differently! i list the tws of each chapter as well as tws for throughout the fic!) Spoilers?: mentions around where spoilers are as well as how involved in the story are they (as to let someone know if they can read a story without knowing x and y), including spoilers that are referenced in the fic [NOTE ONLY FOR MULTI-CAMPAIGN FICS: spoilers will be listed separately! (ie: if theres someone from the suckening and from riptide, it would list what spoilers if any are from the suckening then what spoilers if any are from riptide) RIPTIDE:

Different Sensory Feelings-hurt/comfort who it involves: Gillion, Jay, Chip, Pretzel setting ep wise: pre-ep 1, post chip and jay oneshot trigger warnings: implied sensory issues Spoilers?: it does mention parts of Gill's past such as his training experiences, but nothing too big in detail. the most mentioned are things referenced in the jay and chip oneshot, which it is set to pre-ep 1, so fair lmfao, even then though it keeps out a lot of big parts. I'd say minimal to no spoilers!

Pretzel Steps in (to Gillion's Stupidity)-hurt/comfort who it involves: Jay, Pretzel, Gillion setting ep wise: sometime post ep 53/post BLOCK arc trigger warnings: threats of violence occur Spoilers?: this is based sometime after ep 53, and makes reference to a big spoiler, it also references events that occurred in ep 15. basically, 2 big spoilers that provide important context to the fic, do not read without knowing them just in case!

The Accident-hurt/comfort who it involves: Caspian, Gillion setting ep wise: vague/unspecified, sometime after the paramount championship (at minimum, post ep 41) trigger warnings: gillion faces a training injury Spoilers?: Caspian in of himself is a spoiler in a way, being mentioned first in the championship, but if you don't count that, then the references to Gill's training make this minimal to no spoilers!

Unraveled-hurt no comfort (includes optional comfort ending) who it involves: Gillion, Chip setting ep wise: pre-ep 1, post chip and jay oneshot trigger warnings: referenced child abuse, implied manipulation, implications of some religious trauma i wanna say, a fight kinda happens, ends with a breakdown Spoilers?: makes heavy references to Gillion's training, it is what the fic is about, and also makes reference to details revealed around ep 70. the big details of Gillion's training are revealed across the faewild arc (75-82), so i'm gonna say this one has major spoilers, and while you don't need to know the exact events to understand what's happening, i will recommend coming back when you understand somewhat of Gill's training!

gillion rambles about his baby girl-fluff who it involves: Gillion, Old Man Earl, Pretzel setting ep wise: most likely sometime after they re-meet Marshal Jon but before the tournament (post ep 25, pre ep 28) trigger warnings: none from what i'm seeing! Spoilers?: to know that they re-meet Marshal Jon is a small spoiler i think, but nothing major or needed to be known, so i count this as a minimal to no spoilers!

Destiny is cruel.-hurt no comfort (includes optional comfort ending) who it involves: Gillion, Pretzel setting ep wise: vague/unspecified trigger warnings: violence, character death, blood, murder, small emetophobia mentions, self blame, a bit of arguing, and if you read one of the endings i wrote an extra warning of suicide references Spoilers?: there's one minor spoiler which talks about Pretzel, with sources i'm finding it's more or less mentioned by grizzly in his discord, there is also reference to an event with Chip and Gill which is mentioned around ep 15 in one of the alternative endings, but otherwise this is a fic with minimal to no spoilers!

love calls, help me learn to answer-fluff who it involves: Edyn, Chip, Gillion setting ep wise: sometime after meeting Edyn (minimum post ep 63 as they're on the sea again) trigger warnings: references to a drunk marriage Spoilers?: the drunk marriage is a small spoiler for the Loffinlot arc (eps 2-11), and the fact they know Edyn doesn't exactly happen for a while, there is also mentions of another character met during the paramount championship (eps 27-33, if counting La Alma's part then it's from eps 27-38). the biggest spoiler i'd say is referencing an event from the Desire Isle arc (eps 17-25), which isn't too lore important. i know many people don't count characters that much as spoilers and all the event spoilers are pretty minor, so i mark this as minimal to no spoilers!

human research-lighthearted who it involves: Jay, Oliver, Gillion setting ep wise: vague/unspecified, would be post Desire Isle arc as to allow Ollie on their ship (minimum post ep 25, around ep 26 and beyond) trigger warnings: emetophobia mentions from Jay, the fic is focused around Jay being on her period Spoilers?: Oliver is a small character spoiler, but otherwise this would have minimal to no spoilers!

Gill's Greatest Enemy-small hurt/comfort who it involves: Gillion, Oliver, Jay, Chip setting ep wise: post Faewild arc (eps 72-82) trigger warnings: Gillion's trauma is referenced in how he handles his fears, there's small blood mentions from a cat scratch Spoilers?: there's a couple referenced (character mentions, a fact on gill, a duel of friends (ep 15), event mentions, name of crew enemies), and the presence of several characters is quite spoilery, however not needed to get what's happening in the fic! as such, i deem this one minimal to no spoilers!

fates called for the undeserving to punish me-hurt no comfort (includes optional comfort ending) who it involves: Oliver, Chip setting ep wise: vague/unspecified, like the other one would have to be after the Desire Isle arc (minimum post ep 25) [note: this isn't canon compliant with the timeline!] trigger warnings: major character death, murder, child death, corpses, and if you read to the added ending disassociating Spoilers?: the biggest spoiler is just Oliver, who's introduced around ep 17, but otherwise this is minimal to no spoilers!

chip is bad with...this-hurt/comfort who it involves: Jay, Chip setting ep wise: vague/unspecified, like the last two would be post ep 25 minimally trigger warnings: denial, implied heavy self blame Spoilers?: small references to events that happen in the Liquidus arc (eps 70-72), one event in the Faewild arc (eps 72-82), and characters, but nothing too important to know, as such, the fic is counted as minimal to no spoilers!

fins and why you stopped hiding them-fluff who it involves: Chip, Jay setting ep wise: pre ep-1, post Chip and Jay oneshot [note: this isn't canon compliant with the timeline!] trigger warnings: none of note! Spoilers?: i mention an item they do only get in the Edison Kingdom arc (eps 43-48) as well as reference Chip's past (specifically the Black Rose Pirates, which you can find the oneshots of on the JRWI channel), but nothing super major, so once again i count this as minimal to no spoilers!

Mental Struggles-small hurt/comfort who it involves: Oliver, Chip setting ep wise: vague/unspecified, after they re-meet Lizzie (minimum post ep 27) trigger warnings: Ollie faces focus struggles due to undiagnosed ADHD (it's a small breakdown he has), Chip mentions taking medicine Spoilers?: character's of Chip's past are referenced (they're revealed in the Black Rose Pirates oneshot), a language Chip knows which is only revealed around ep 86 is referenced, major planned events are vaguely referenced (their first mention is during the Paramount Championship arc, which is eps 27-38), and there is very vague reference to a major event that happens with Ollie (first appearance in ep 41), however none of them are referenced heavily enough to need to be caught up to understand the plot! as such, this one also falls under minimal to no spoilers!

And I am Just a Boy-lighthearted who it involves: Chip, Oliver setting ep wise: vague/unspecified, after Ollie's joined the crew (minimum post ep 25) trigger warnings: there's a bit of non-sexual tit descriptions but otherwise nothing i can think of Spoilers?: i do mentions of an object Chip gets in the Edison Kingdom arc (eps 43-48), but that's unneeded to read this, making it yet another minimal to no spoilers!

Cur(s)ed Flesh-INCOMPLETE, PLANS FOR A CHAPTER 2 (hurt/comfort) who it involves: Chip, Oliver setting ep wise: post ep 48 minimum trigger warnings: body dysphoria and self confidence issues Spoilers?: this one is based around major spoilers in ep 41 (also is based around a tool acquired during the Edison Kingdom arc, or eps 43-48), so this one is major spoilers and would be much better to return to after you watch ep 41!

rocking waves, memory cave-character study, more on the angsty side who it involves: Lizzie setting ep wise: sometime after ep 103 trigger warnings: references to dead people Spoilers?: heavily spoilered based, from events back in the Black Rose Pirates oneshot, to major details revealed only in ep 101 (as well as a major event referenced as background detail which starts in ep 103), as well as other details of Lizzie's backstory being used, this is a character study of her mostly! i dont recommend reading without being caught up!

all my troubles on a burning pile / all lit up and i start to smile-whump who it involves: Chip setting ep wise: minimum post ep 109 trigger warnings: self harm, burning alive, self-hatred, depersonalization of sorts (separating the current state of one's self from who one is, if that makes sense) Spoilers?: heavy ones, it's based around a major event of ep 109, makes references to Chip's past (focused around a detail revealed during the Noctis arc, or eps 64-67), and is focused on major details based around Chip generally, do not read if you haven't seen upto ep 109!

pull the axe out your face and say "was it the boogeyman?"-whump who it involves: Chip setting ep wise: vague/unspecified trigger warnings: insomnia, hallucinations, accidental self harm Spoilers?: the beginning references an arc Chip goes on that people call his "Nightmare arc" (eps 62-70), as well as mentions a character who appears in the Noctis arc (eps 64-67) but otherwise is pretty spoiler free! id consider this one a minimal to no spoiler fic!

wont you kiss me on the mouth and love me like a sailor?-comfort then hurt who it involves: Drey, Ichabod setting ep wise: post Black Rose Pirates oneshot, pre Chip and Jay oneshot [note: this isn't canon compliant with the timeline!] trigger warnings: gun violence happens at the end, and things with sirens also happen Spoilers?: yep, this is based around a key event for the world of Riptide, and is based around characters who are kind of spoilers (Drey-in the Black Rose Pirates oneshot; Ichabod-eps 68-68.5 [yes, that is 2 episodes]), don't read until you've gotten past ep 68 part 2!

a destiny started too soon for you.-hurt/comfort who it involves: Finn, Gillion setting ep wise: post Black Rose Pirates oneshot, pre Chip and Jay oneshot [note: this isn't canon compliant with the timeline!] trigger warnings: violence and fighting, Gillion's trauma is shown through Finn's eyes Spoilers?: it is based around a major event for Gillion (revealed during the Faewild Gilligone arc, eps 75-82), so i will say relevant major spoilers, don't read until you're past ep 82 (and also recommended to have watched the Black Rose Pirates oneshot for some additional context, but it's not needed!)

dont lose your head/i didnt mean to hurt anyone-whump who it involves: Chip, Gillion, Oliver setting ep wise: minimum post ep 109 trigger warnings: decapitation, undead character, self-loathing, disassociation, de-attachment, and this is indeed another whump fic so keep that in mind! Spoilers?: heavily based around a major spoiler of ep 109, as well as references to Chip's past (specifically details revealed in the Noctis arc, eps 64-67), don't read until you've passed ep 109!

a wrench in the gears.-hurt/comfort who it involves: Ensa, Jay setting ep wise: sometime around ep 106 trigger warnings: Jay does yell at some people but otherwise nothing too big i think! Spoilers?: Ensa in of herself is kinda a spoiler (first appears in ep 96), but the biggest of spoilers comes from the location theyre in (which they first arrive to in ep 103), as such i say dont read until you've reached ep 103 and beyond!

The Unbelievable-PART OF A COLLECTION OF CRACK SHIP FICS (crack taken seriously, light hearted) who it involves: Earl, Niklaus, Gillion, Jay, Chip, Oliver, Marshal Jon, Pretzel setting ep wise: vague/unspecified, implied to be sometime after the Desire Isle arc (eps 17-25) trigger warning: none i can think of! Spoilers?: Niklaus himself (as well as Jon and Ollie) could be considered spoilers (Ollie's first appearance with Jon: ep 17; Niklaus appears for the first time in the Loffinlot arc, eps 2-11), and a detail about Earl is referenced (this detail is mentioned during the Loffinlot arc if i remember correctly, and if not, it is a minor one and not talked about much), but is basically a minimal to no spoilers fic!

Isn't Always That Complicated-PART OF A COLLECTION OF CRACK SHIP FICS (crack taken seriously, hurt/comfort) who it involves: Earl, Niklaus setting ep wise: minimum post ep 110 trigger warnings: while they are a crack ship, there is a fight between a married couple, as well as descriptions of them kissing Spoilers?: the very setting is indeed a spoiler, i recommend reading after ep 103 (where the setting is first shown) or ep 110 (to understand a detail referenced in this a bit)!

cheers to my light (your the miracle year round)-PART OF A COLLECTION OF CRACK SHIP FICS (crack taken seriously, fluff) who it involves: Earl, Niklaus setting ep wise: in the future/post ep 115 [note: this isn't canon compliant with the timeline!] trigger warnings: mentions of alcohol, small doses are consumed but nobody is drunk, brief kissing descriptions Spoilers?: the worst of them is characters only revealed in the recent arc (eps 103-115+), but otherwise there's minimal to no spoilers in this one!

PRIME DEFENDERS:

no shame but mine to soothe me-vague hurt/comfort who it involves: Dakota, Wavelength setting ep wise: vague/unspecified, sometime after meeting Ashe (minimum post s1 ep 11) trigger warnings: eating non-edible objects (the biggest danger implied is the idea of eating glass shards), Dakota has an outburst and yells, but nothing too big! i do also make him imply a dick joke 2 different times Spoilers?: id consider Ashe the biggest spoiler, and even then he's not a big part in this fic, making it marked (pun unintended) as minimal to no spoilers!

weird pine trees in my minds forest.-fluff who it involves: Vyncent, William setting ep wise: post s1 finale, pre s2 ep1 trigger warnings: none i can think of! Spoilers?: theres not really any flat-out stated spoilers! as such, i deem this one the first no spoiler fic!

a mouth to bite with; wouldnt your corpse just look so nice?-hurt no comfort who it involves: Vyncent setting ep wise: post Prime Force oneshot, pre s1 ep1 trigger warnings: cannibalism, gore, blood, and keep in mind this was for freak week! Spoilers?: not exactly, the main canon detail discussed all is mentioned, even if briefly, in ep 1! another no spoiler fic!

i know ill never repay this debt.-hurt no comfort who it involves: Xavier, Cantrip (mentioned but plays a big part in this) setting ep wise: sometime during s2 ep 34 trigger warnings: implied death and panic attacks Spoilers?: MAJOR spoilers for the grayscale arc (s2 eps 32-34), dont read until you get past it!

ill save everyone when i save you-hurt/comfort who it involves: Dakota, William setting ep wise: vague/unspecified, Bobo is present so would be post Amalgamation/Harttawa Island (s1 eps 2-5) trigger warnings: suicide attempts, stay safe my friends! Spoilers?: Bobo is a minor spoiler, but otherwise this counts as a minimal to no spoiler fic, just please mind the tws!

im an even worse burden then what i let you see-hurt/comfort who it involves: Wavelength, William setting ep wise: vague/unspecified trigger warnings: small amounts of paranoia, period talk occurs, one singular mention of drugs and i guess uh stealing if thats a trigger for anybody Spoilers?: a detail about Wavelength is briefly discussed (revealed in s1 ep 11), but since its not that big, im counting this as a minimal to no spoiler fic!

ill get it figured out for you-hurt/comfort who it involves: Dakota, William setting ep wise: vague/unspecified, implied to be post s2 trigger warnings: violence, anger issues Spoilers?: theres the smallest mention of events mentioned only in s2 ep40 or the end of s2, but its not a needed detail, so i say this fic is minimal to no spoilers!

Waves of Sensory-hurt/comfort who it involves: Vyncent, Tide, Miss Gilbert setting ep wise: post Prime Force oneshot, pre s1 ep1 trigger warnings: sensory overload, panic attack i wanna say kind of Spoilers?: it references big parts of Vyncent's backstory (talked about in the Fauna arc, s2 eps 7-11), i recommend watching past s2 ep11 at least to understand whats happening!

this heart was hallow, so hard to swallow, before you-lighthearted who it involves: Vyncent, William, Stryder, Alphonz, Ram setting ep wise: post s1 finale, pre s2 ep1 trigger warnings: typical sickness things (bedridden-ness, coughing, etc), small mentions of "putting out of misery" for illness reasons (nothing very big), small mentions of animal murder (specifically of rats), descriptions of kissing Spoilers?: details about Vyncent's powers which are only really discussed around s2 play a big part in this (my wording is terrible i fear), so i recommend finishing s1 before reading!

the ashe winters 9/11 fake transcript-transcript, crack who it involves: Ashe, William, Vyncent, Dakota, Slimecicle, Yakko, Condifiction, Grizzly, Bizly setting ep wise: post s2 finale/post s2 ep40 trigger warnings: 9/11 jokes, references to destruction (minimal and in a comedic way) Spoilers?: it is based around and discusses big events from the season 2 finale, do not watch unless youre okay with that spoiler!

the dead shall rot / your breath is forced but real-transcript, hurt minimal comfort [ALTERNATE UNIVERSE, DOES NOT FOLLOW CANON TIMELINE AT ALL] who it involves: Mr. Wisp, Mrs. Wisp, Tide, William, Bizly setting ep wise: pre s1 ep1 trigger warnings: body horror, corpse descriptions, rot and decay, offering parts of self, panic attacks of sorts (implied), major character death Spoilers?: minus the mention of a more major character, nothing! as such, minimal to no spoilers!

the savior, the hero, and what he wants for me-transcript, hurt/comfort who it involves: Ashe, William, Vyncent, Dakota setting ep wise: post s2 finale/s2 ep 40 trigger warnings: mini argument, joking threats of killing, the end bit is myself being shot dead but its in a funny way Spoilers?: yep, the events in this are heavily based around s2 events and takes place during an event that is mentioned in the finale! do not read unless youre okay with spoilers and everything!

it makes you feel so giant/once we were so small-transcript, vague hurt who it involves: Ashe, William, Vyncent, Dakota, Mark setting ep wise: post s2 finale/s2 ep40 trigger warnings: joke arguments in the beginning, i do a tad bit of taylor swift slander, the place is destroyed so there is broken glass, references to losing control of yourself, brief mentions of being trapped in a confined space (never described), the entire transcript is the re-facing of trauma and seeing the experiences felt there were ones you were too young for, theres a suicide joke at the very very end Spoilers?: yep, several for events in s2 and the area theyre in has many references to the s1 finale, dont read until youve finished pd s2 i say!

if you dont tell then i wont tell and nobody will ever know-CURRENT STATUS: 6/23 CHAPTERS WRITTEN (hurt/comfort) who it involves: Wavelength, Dakota, Grandma Cole (so far mostly mentioned) trigger warnings: throughout-implied child abuse, the processing of trauma, Dakota consistently blames himself for his injuries (believing he is "weak" thus why he couldnt "handle it") chapter 1 [hurt/comfort]: threats made with a gun (not ever fired), panic attack, descriptions of severe injury, hyper-ventilation (from panic attack), blood is briefly mentioned, Dakota talks about being attacked by bears, mentions of heartbeats chapter 2 [minimal hurt]: descriptions of pain, another panic attack ensues, descriptions of mass injury (one big scratch across the chest) and other injuries, dried blood is mentioned, once again the topic of bear attacks is discussed chapter 3 [minimal hurt]: panic attack part 3, brief mentions of dying via bleeding out, mentions of heartbeats chapter 4 [lighthearted]: the first 2 throughout tws are the main ones that apply here chapter 5 [hurt minimal comfort]: flashbacks to abuse and violence, electrocution, descriptions of pain (as well as poor handling of said pain), mentions of heartbeats chapter 6 [minimal hurt]: yelling, flinching, expectations of pain, mentions of heartbeats Spoilers?: much of the premise is based around a big spoiler of Dakota's backstory (which is revealed in s2 ep21), as well as a massive event of the s1 finale is referenced. as such, please hold off until youve seen past s2 ep21 minimum!

THE SUCKENING:

sherrifs and soda cans.-vague hurt, lighthearted who it involves: Soda, Deacon setting ep wise: during ep 10 trigger warnings: it is based in a jail if that bothers anybody, no actual big arguments happen but there is bitterness between Soda and Deacon Spoilers?: a note i put onto the fic has the worst of spoilers, but its just some characters. while it is based around a major event, you dont need to be caught up to it to understand whats going on! as such, while i recommend reaching ep 10, it is not a requirement for this!

battling scars-hurt/comfort who it involves: Soda, Emizel setting ep wise: vague/unspecified trigger warnings: the fic references scars throughout (nothing ever described to detail), smallest mentions of emetophobia (just the word "barf"), self-deprecating talk, brief mentions of disintegration (a singular line), Emizel is said to have zoned out but its not too big (mentioning just in case), there is descriptions of violence mostly for metaphors, Emizel also does an empty threat to Soda Spoilers?: nope! the biggest "spoiler" i can think of is that Emizel's a vampire here, which is revealed ep 1 (and also feels obvious for a vampire campaign to have vampires), so this ones a no spoiler fic!

if only you knew what goes on in my mind-hurt/comfort who it involves: Soda, Emizel setting ep wise: vague/unspecified trigger warnings: depriving ones self of sleep Spoilers?: same as the other one, nope! another no spoiler fic!

WONDERLUST:

grand gestures cant fix this, you never did the dishes-hurt no comfort who it involves: Lint, Troy setting ep wise: vague/unspecified, implied to be after ep 1 or so trigger warnings: major character death, corpse descriptions, brief blood mentions Spoilers?: if there are any, i wouldnt know! im not completely caught up with wonderlust at the time of writing this (3/31/25), but i do know that for where ive gotten up to (very very start of ep 3, havent started yet) this is a no spoiler fic! just mind the trigger warnings!

wish we could talk but your stone walls leave me hurt-hurt/comfort who it involves: Lint, Troy setting ep wise: pre ep 1 trigger warnings: negative self talk, arguments, mentions of injury (no descriptions of pain, appearance, or severity) Spoilers?: none! still not caught up as of writing this one (4/8/25) and have not progressed any further along, so should be no spoilers!

something else/i just want a button to push-lighthearted who it involves: Jax, Troy setting ep wise: pre ep 1 trigger warnings: descriptions of making out Spoilers?: not that i can tell! it is mostly just them kissing, and is based around a character with like no information on him, as such theres no spoilers i could incorporate!

MYTHBORNE:

hes gone and were whats left alive of him, so let the corpse go-hurt minimal comfort who it involves: Ryan, Aster, Connor (not present but a driving force of this) setting ep wise: post finale/ep 3 trigger warnings: grief (and unhealthy ways to cope with it), loss of a close friend, implied self blame, an argument does end up occurring even if quite brief Spoilers?: nothing for the actual campaign but rather details revealed in the intergalactic what if (set after the events of mythborne) as well as discussed in just rolled with its. id consider this a major spoiler, but the only way to learn of these details is either to access them from patreon or look at the wiki which holds some (that is how i learned of these for the first time to be fair). as such, this is technically no spoilers, but read at your own risk!

nothing to gain something to lose-hurt/comfort who it involves: Ryan, Professor Aeliana setting ep wise: vague/unspecified trigger warnings: grief (and unhealthy ways to cope with it), loss of family, self-deprecation Spoilers?: once again, the details of the spoilers are never discussed in the actual campaign. in fact, these details are only ever talked about on condis discord! once again, this fic is technically no spoilers, but read at your own risk!

APOTHEOSIS:

bite your lips till they bleed / my help is love, i give with my whole being-minimal hurt/comfort who it involves: Peter, Elena setting ep wise: post finale/ep 14 trigger warnings: trying to consume objects that cant be eaten (in this case a rock), blaming ones self for incontrollable behaviors Spoilers?: 2 pretty big ones which while arent important to the fic, are kind of needed to understand part of whats happening! please dont read until finishing apotheosis!

MULTI-CAMPAIGN:

The Falling Rat(girl)-minimal hurt/comfort campaigns: Wonderlust, Mythborne who it involves: Aster (Mythborne), Runt (Wonderlust) setting ep wise: post mythborne finale (ep 3) and intergalactic gameshow, vague/unspecified for wonderlust (presumed to be post ep 2 minimum) trigger warnings: mentions of someone almost falling to death, vague references to alcohol (Ryan's drinks) with none ever consumed, bad care of wounds and general disability things, brief mentions of scars Spoilers?: mythborne-for the actual campaign, its mostly just a name mentioned briefly. for the aftermath of the campaign, there are some major details that, while arent important to know to understand this, are referenced. if you had plans to watch the intergalactic gameshow what if, i recommend holding back from watching! wonderlust-impossible for any, as when i wrote this, ep 1 hadnt been released! as such, no spoilers on the wonderlust end!

#jerwee supreme #the bright smoothie of words #jrwi fanfiction #jrwi wonderlust #jrwi prime defenders #jrwi mythborne #jrwi apotheosis #jrwi the suckening #sorry if my tags are annoying! i can remove or add any as requested/needed

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teecupangel · 2 years ago

Note

kinda late on the weekly schedule but, what do you think about the latest chapter?

My thoughts on Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 (one of these days, I should really just make a tag for them like '#teecup analyze and reacts to acft webtoon' or something XD)

Official English translation (the free chapters anyway) here

Hahaha, it’s fine. I was pretty busy with the moving and unpacking anyway so I only got to read to the latest chapter yesterday XD.

Jennifer gets another mention which is nice.

This part is an important one as it does show what the Assassin Brotherhood is fighting for.

Free will and the right for everyone to decide their own fate, not be bound by the plans of dead ‘gods’.

We’ll get back to Edward’s speech later because I have a few things to say about that but, for now, the way this is presented:

The close-up of the Shimazu Clan’s crest would imply that the Shimazu Clan (or ‘Shimazu’ Sei) has a beef with the Assassins personally that ended in destroying their vision of order or something but, while I’m not all that familiar with how rich and powerful the Shimazu clan is today, they seem to still hold some power even if they are no longer a ruling family from what I can read.

I am unsure if she’s talking about the Constitution of Japan which rendered titles meaningless (which would have weakened the Shimazu Clan in general) or the destruction of the order kept by the Shimazu Clan in connection to the ‘results’ of the Battle of Sekigahara because that’s one of the main information that we have on the Japanese Brotherhood. They put their lot with Ieyasu Tokugawa while the Shimazu Clan (and, I suppose in AC lore, the Templars) placed their lot with Ishida Mitsunari. Tokugawa’s forces ended up victorious but Tokugawa didn’t really punish the Shimazu Clan and let them keep their lands and titles so… I won’t be surprised if these Japanese ‘pirates’ supposedly under the Shimazu Clan had gone rogue from the clan itself, disgruntled members of the clan who didn’t want to bow down to Tokugawa although that’s a bit sorta ‘???’ because the Battle of Sekigahara happened in 1600 and Edward’s parts are set in 1725. I mean, grudges can go on for a very long time so not that “???!!!” but still a “???”

(I will have to point out that my JP history is spotty at best and my familiarity with the Shimazu Clan is even spottier and wiki doesn’t even have a separate page for Shigehide Shimazu who should have been the lord of Satsuma and head of the Shimazu Clan during 1725 so, yeah, maybe something big did happen to the Shimazu Clan that would explain why ‘Shimazu’s Sei’s line of ‘destroying order’ is set in a panel showing the Shimazu Clan's crest)

Webtoon is a stealth promotion and prologue to AC Red Theory: The Assassin that we will play in AC Red is a rogue Shimazu shinobi (we already know that AC’s Shimazu Clan employs shinobis thanks to this webtoon) and they’re the Japanese ancestor of Noa Kim. ‘Shimazu’ Sei’s line of ‘destroying order’ is a reference to how this Shimazu assassin had destroyed the Shimazu Clan’s order in some way.

Anyway!

I guess this is confirmation that Edward has already married Tessa by this time.

Sidebar: not important to the plot (maybe) but Edward, if you’re hunting crocs, that means we can finally see you use a rope dart, riiigghhhttt???

With that out of the way...

Alright, let’s talk about Edward’s speech more.

First of all, this line:

Not an analysis but more of a comment. I would have gone with “gold and glory” instead of “glory and treasures” even if “glory and treasure” could have been a more accurate translation of the Korean version because “gold and glory” is a phrase most commonly associated with pirates which could have been used as a reference to Edward’s past as a pirate.

Now for the sadder analysis, there is something tragic about this line:

Edward is talking about this in reference to why he had become and stayed as an Assassin, even going as far as touching his hidden blade.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that he is touching the Assassin’s insignia with two of his fingers while his pinky is touching the pirate symbol. This is most probably to show that he remembers and learned from his past as a pirate and how being an Assassin is both his present and his future. More importantly:

“If you decide for yourself what’s right and do everything in your power to uphold that idea… Even mortals like us can overcome fate and leave behind something meaningful.”

That entire speech is meant to represent Edward’s loyalty to the Creed and believing he is doing the right thing and wishing to leave something meaningful behind.

The tragedy comes when you remember that there is one Kenway who did ‘decide for himself what’s right’ and ‘did everything in his power to uphold that idea’

Edward Kenway's own son and a Grand Master of the Templar Order: Haytham Kenway

Even if he was indoctrinated by the man who ordered the death of his father, he still stayed with the Order after learning the truth and even went as far as trying to kill his own son to keep the hold of the Order in the colonies although, yeah, an argument could be made that Haytham was planning to die by his own son’s hands during that final battle but that does not change the fact that Haytham remained loyal to the Order even after knowing the Order is the reason why his father died.

Not only that but Edward’s death and Haytham’s indoctrination were fated. The Isus needed Ratonhnhaké:ton to take the key from Haytham and hide it for Desmond to find when the time comes so Edward's life and death had been fated to happen so that Haytham may become a Templar and travel to the colonies.

In the end, Edward Kenway didn’t overcome fate, he became just another cog in the machine called the ‘Calculations’.

But…

His vision of what it means to defy fate? His thoughts of upholding the Creed which became what he believed to be ‘right’?

It was inherited by his grandson: Ratonhnhaké:ton.

Even if they never met… Ratonhnhaké:ton embodied what Edward wanted to leave behind. And Ratonhnhaké:ton’s life wasn’t dictated by the fates the moment he had buried the key for Desmond to find.

He wasn’t like Altaïr whose dying breath had been to give a final message to the prophet for Desmond to hear.

He wasn’t like Ezio who only finally stepped out of his role as Desmond's prophet after leaving the Brotherhood and having a family of his own when he was already in his 50s.

Ratonhnhaké:ton built his own future after he buried the key. The past of the American Brotherhood was built upon the choices Ratonhnhaké:ton made of his own free will.

To leave something meaningful behind.

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new-eyes-extra-colors · 1 year ago

Note

4 7 15 and 20 for Autumn! Hier sind kekse.

[meta asks for writers]

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

I'm pretty fond of this monster of a sentence from my very first draft of WBotB:

"So instead of knocking, he’d turned quietly on his heel and stepped outside for a cigarette. But nicotine couldn’t quell synthetic nerves, so he’d been leaning up against the brick face of the building fiddling with his lighter and trying to decide between a second useless smoke and marching back to her room to make sure she was alright and to tell her he understood when she’d pushed open the front door and turned immediately to him with something approaching relief written on her face."

It's unlikely that I'll keep it, since in the moment Nick is relaying something that's already happened and in the present draft we're just going to be there for that scene, but it's a good sentence I think.

7. What do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? Would others agree?

I'd like to think I've got a snappy and to-the-point writing style that really gets across what's going through the characters' heads--even if I'm longwinded and like digging into weeds and minutiae, I hope I don't make things drag too much.

15. Which is harder: titles or summaries (or tags)?

Ugh, titles. Every title I come up with is a placeholder for a long time. Like, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted was Until Dawn until right before I published the first chapter (and it's still tagged as that on this tumblr). Ghost Lights needs a snappier (and more relevant) title and Eye of the Storm needs a less sinister one. It's just something I have to let percolate for a long, long time.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

There are a lot of birds-as-portents in WBotB, especially crows. Speaking of that fic, it's very interconnected, with lots of callbacks to itself as well as to in-game events that don't happen on-page, to the point that I'm actually having to balance what I include so I'm not either 1. reiterating game events that don't need to be reiterated or 2. reiterating so little that what story is left doesn't make sense. I guess an understood caveat of fanfic is you should be familiar with the source material, but I'm also running everything past a beta who's never played Fallout 4, so...

Probably my favorite friendship development in it is Piper and Nora. Nora sees a lot of herself in Piper--as the responsible older sister--and relates to her on a very personal level. A lot of Nora's past with her own sisters affects the way her relationship progresses with Piper, and she's able to come to peace with some of the things that happened while helping Piper. Ultimately it's just a very sweet friendship that I hope others like reading about.

As far as other fics go, there's a lot of interconnectedness in Eye of the Storm too. One of the characters in the first chapter even says "Everything's connected somehow." There's also a theme of cycles, and that everything that has happened before is happening now will happen again, and that it takes awareness and a conscious effort to break a cycle--but it can be done.

I'm sure I'll come up with symbolism for Ghost Lights but at the moment it's just an action- and violence-filled romp. Maybe it's about the power of friendship; we'll see.

#danke schon friend! <3 #autumn.fic #fic: until dawn #autumn.oc #oc: nora navarre #fic: eye of the storm #fic: ghost lights

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tonystarkbingo · 2 years ago

Photo

TSB Round 6 Roundup - Weeks 21 & 22!

SO MUCH GOOD STUFF! And while you’re perusing, make sure to check out our TSB Advent Event posts too! One or two every day until the new year!

Collaborator : deehellcat Card Number: 6028 Square Filled: A4 - cuddles Title: one of many clockwork gears Link: AO3 Pairings: Tony and Natasha, with hints of pre-Stony Word Count: 1669 Rating: Teen Major Tags/Triggers: mission fic, opening up, reference to a fictional film Summary: On a mission to rescue one of their own, Iron Man and Black Widow learn a little more about each other, via their mutual admiration for a classic film.

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Collaborator : PoliZ Card Number: 6019 Square Filled: S2 - Canon Divergent: Nobody Dies Title: Clearing the Air Link: AO3 Pairings: Tony & Bucky Word Count: 790 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Tony Stark Lives, Reconciliation, Wakanda (Marvel) Summary: An invitation to return to Wakanda becomes a chance for Bucky to try to make amends with someone he has wronged.

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Collaborator : PoliZ Card Number: 6019 Square Filled: A3 - FREE Title: Not Exactly Love Poetry Link: AO3 Pairings: Tony/Bucky/Steve Word Count: 100 Rating: Mature Major Tags/Triggers: Poetry, Limericks, Explicit Language, Implied Sexual Content, No Smut,Drabble Summary: When Tony told Steve and Bucky he’d written them some love poems, the last thing either of them expected was a trio of dirty limericks.

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Lots more under the cut!

Collaborator : PoliZ Card Number: 6019 Square Filled: Adopted - AU: Western Title: Come Down From Your Fences (And Open the Gate) - Chapter 2 Link: AO3 Pairings: Tony/Steve Word Count: 962 (Chapter 2) Rating: Teen Major Tags/Triggers: Vaguely Inspired by 1872 (Marvel), Alternate Universe - Western, Sheriff Steve Rogers, Snowed In, Innuendo, Mutual Pining Summary: Anthony wakes up and Steven explains his presence; they have dinner and play a game of checkers.

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Collaborator : deehellcat Card Number: 6028 Square Filled: A2 - Howard Stark (adopted) Title: Carve Out This Soul Made of Stone, chapter 1 Link: AO3 Pairings: Tony and Howard, background Howard/Maria Word Count: 2134 Rating: Mature Major Tags/Triggers: descriptions of child sex abuse, revenge, Howard Stark's Actual Good Parenting, Protective Howard Stark Summary: Little Tony Stark doesn’t like to be handed things. His father is determined to find out why.

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Collaborator : rebelmeg Card Number: 6001 Square Filled: T1 - hugs Title: Post-Snap Anniversary Link: AO3 Pairings: Pepperony, Tony & Rhodey Word Count: 3224 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: PTSD, hurt/comfort Summary: On the anniversary of one of the worst days of Tony's life (and he's had a lot of worst days to compare it to), Pepper recognizes the signs and calls in reinforcements. Rhodey isn't about to let Tony spiral into his own self-destruction like he has so many times before.

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Collaborator : SomeSortofItalianRoast Card Number: 6002 Square Filled: S3 - Tony Playing Piano Title: we're all in the mood for a melody Link: AO3 Pairings: Bucky/Steve Word Count: 1181 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: AU: no powers; AU: soulmates; AU: coffeeshops and cafes Summary: Bucky Barnes attends the Stark Industries Thanksgiving party. Tony plays piano.

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Collaborator : rebelmeg Card Number: 6001 Square Filled: S3 - Tony x happiness Title: They don't make views better than this. Link: Tumblr Pairings: Pepperony Word Count: 100 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: drabble, moodboard, fluff, Iron Family Summary: Tony snaps a pic of his future.

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Collaborator : scottxlogan Card Number: 6038 Square Filled: A5 - Action/Adventure Title: Not Tonight Link: AO3 Pairings: Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes Word Count: 6344 Rating: Teen Major Tags/Triggers: Date Night, Established Relationship, Robbery, Bar, involuntary mission, Adult Content, Flirting, Innuendo, Suggestive Themes Summary: Tony's plans for a quiet reunion night with Bucky in Indiana are thwarted first by a change of venue leaving Tony to face an unexpected string of events while waiting for Bucky to return. Will Tony find himself caught up in a bad situation or will he manage to find a way to play it cool and bring their night back on track with one another?

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Collaborator : Becca Card Number: 6023 Square Filled: A4 - Occupational Hazard Title: Standard Procedure Link: AO3 Pairings: Steve/Tony Word Count: 336 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: Panic Attacks, AU, EMT Steve, MIT student Tony, Demisexual Tony Summary: EMT Steve helps MIT Student Tony through a panic attack.

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Collaborator : celtic7irish Card Number: 6037 Square Filled: S2 - Tony x Steve Title: Husband Link: AO3 Pairings: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark Word Count: 100 Rating: Teen Major Tags/Triggers: Anniversary, Fluff, old man Tony, Drabble Summary: It's Steve & Tony's anniversary

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Collaborator : celtic7irish Card Number: 6037 Square Filled: T2 - Partnerlook Title: Move It On the Dancefloor Link: AO3 Pairings: Clint Barton/Tony Stark Word Count: 610 Rating: Mature Major Tags/Triggers: Established Relationship, Dancing, Partnerlook, Semi-Public Foreplay, Sex Toys Under Clothing, Fade to Black Summary: Clint’s broad shoulders and muscled arms were on full display, and people kept reaching out to touch. Clint avoided them all neatly, though, laughing and smiling to distract them from the fact that he was very obviously not interested. Only one person had his attention tonight, and Tony was currently enjoying the view from his spot at the bar.

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Collaborator : celtic7irish Card Number: 6037 Square Filled: A2 - Hedonism Title: Snuggles Link: AO3 Pairings: Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Word Count: 348 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: Cuddles, sleepy bruce, Tony's Big Bed, Tony Is a Good Bro, mild flirting Summary: Hedonism: the pursuit of pleasure, sensual self-indulgence. Hedonistic lifestyle is oriented towards pleasure and enjoyment, closely related to happiness which is also oriented to meet the needs of individuals to obtain satisfaction.

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Collaborator : celtic7irish Card Number: 6037 Square Filled: R2 - Arena Title: Baseball Stadiums Are Not Battle Arenas Link: AO3 Pairings: Tony Stark & Avengers Team Word Count: 651 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: Doombots, LA Dodgers, Stadium Destruction, Steve Rogers is a Troll Summary: The Avengers are called out to fight Doombots in the LA Dodger's Stadium. Whoever thought Steve Rogers was a good ol’ boy was out of their freaking minds.

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Collaborator : celtic7irish Card Number: 6037 Square Filled: K2 - Dating App Title: Propositioning the Boss Link: AO3 Pairings: Steve Rogers/James "Bucky" Barnes Word Count: 1238 Rating: Teen Major Tags/Triggers: Established Relationship, Pre-Stuckony, dating app, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Meet-Cute, Office Romance, Fluff, Flirting, no sadness allowed Summary: Steve and Bucky are happy with each other. That doesn't mean they don't maybe want to find a third. Fortunately, the new entry on their favorite dating app might be just what they're looking for.

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Collaborator : Girl Back There Card Number: 6021 Square Filled: S3 - Misunderstandings Title: Gift Waiting by the Tree Link: AO3 Pairings: Tony/Steve Word Count: 795 Rating: Explicit Major Tags/Triggers: No Powers AU, Sugar Daddy Tony, Sugar Baby Steve, Dick Pics, Digital Image, Christmas Eve Summary: Tony is stuck at work on Christmas Eve, but a text from Steve has him rushing home to open his present.

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Collaborator : rebelmeg Card Number: 6001 Square Filled: A5 - hedonism Title: Bubblebath for Two Link: AO3 Pairings: Pepperony Word Count: 422 Rating: Teen Major Tags/Triggers: suggestive themes, fluff, married life Summary: Tony's had a long day, and comes home to something wonderful.

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Collaborator : scottxlogan Card Number: 6038 Square Filled: A4 - Love or Lust Title: The Anniversary Surprise Link: AO3 Pairings: Bucky/Steve/Tony Word Count: 11384 Rating: Explicit Major Tags/Triggers: Threesome - M/M/M, Anniversary, Reunions, Feelings Realization, Established Relationship, Past Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Guilty Pleasures, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Not Cheating, Happy Ending, Smut, Fluff and Smut, Sexual Content, Mild Kink, Miscommunication, Adult Language, Swearing, Rough Kissing, Adult Content, Needy Bucky Barnes, Aftercare Summary: Steve had worked really hard to plan the perfect anniversary for Bucky, but when Tony shows up instead and things take an unexpectedly awkward turn Steve finds himself gravitating towards his former lover unable to forget the passion they shared. Will temptation prove to be the end of the happiness and contentment that Steve's found in his life or will Tony and Bucky convince Steve that they still have a few unexpected surprises in store for him?

#tonystarkbingo #tony stark bingo round 6 #tsb6 #tsb weekly roundup #tsb weeks 21 and 22

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rowansparrow · 3 years ago

Text

Halo: Chapter Twelve (FINAL CHAPTER)

Title: Halo

Song: Halo - Beyonce

Summary: Quill asks Fives an important question.

Chapter Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Tooth rotting fluff, angst, implied violence, pregnancy mention, discussions of pregnancy, threatened/implied gore, references to alien anatomy, threatened/implied beheading, executions, implied character death.

Reminder that I use #ro’s protected tag for sensitive content including n*fw and triggers, so please block that tag if you have concerns about content!

Ships: Fives x Male!OC, Fives x Female!OC

Word Count: 8.4k

A/N: This takes place in tandem with Ch. 17 and 18 of What Blooms in Thunder, for those of you following along.

If I missed anything in the warnings/tags that you feel should be included, please let me know.

Thank you @djarrex for beta-reading! And thank you also to everyone who has followed along with this story and fallen in love with my OCs, especially Quill. This wouldn’t exist without you, so big kisses to all of you for loving him, Athena, Kiran, and my writing.

Tag List Form. What Blooms in Thunder Masterlist. Series Masterlist

Reblogs are SO appreciated!

Quill Cawthon had always found peace in the quiet evenings. When the Dantooine sun was sinking low on the horizon, when the children who played in the street in front of his home were called back inside by their parents and loved ones, and when he could sit out on his porch and feel the warmth on his skin, the war, the Empire, the conflict all blessedly far away in these small moments.

He prepared his pipe – one of the few relics from Glee Anselm he had managed to salvage before he had left the planet forever – and inhaled slowly, letting the potent spice of his homeland filter through his body before puffing a small cloud of smoke back out his nose.

“I didn’t know you smoked.”

Quill chuckled at the voice, blowing out another puff of smoke from the corner of his mouth before glancing up at Fives, who was leaning in the doorway of their shared home and smiling down at him.

“I don’t,” Quill replied. “Not regularly at least. I’ve only got so much spice left from my home planet, I’ve got to ration it out.”

“Ah, so it’s a Glee Anselm blend, then?” Fives was straining to keep a straight face. “It’s sea-weed.”

Quill made a move to swat Fives’ leg, but the trooper scampered out of reach, giggling as he did so.

“I used to smoke with the boys back during the days of the Clone War.” Fives said, wandering back over to Quill once he was confident the other man wouldn’t try to smack him for his pun. “We typically just smoked whatever blend Hardcase could get his hands on, he was better at getting it than the rest of us.”

He tilted his head, inspecting Quill’s pipe. “We just rolled it ourselves and smoked it. Never seen a pipe like that before.”

Quill chuckled, pulling the pipe from his lips and showing it to Fives. “It was hand-carved as a gift.” He explained. “It was given to me by one of the leaders of our armies, a symbol of his loyalty to Clan Cawthon.”

“Fancy.” Fives grinned, sitting down beside him. “Can I try?”

“It’s strong.” Quill warned. “My people have a different tolerance than humans do, and this blend is… potent.”

“I can handle it.” Fives said, making a grabby hand at Quill. “Gimme.”

Quill hummed, taking one more puff before passing it over to Fives. He resisted the urge to laugh as Fives fumbled with the pipe for a moment.

“You don’t hold it like a joint, beloved.” He teased, reaching over and adjusting Fives’ grip, taking his chin in hand and fixing the way his mouth wrapped around the stem of the pipe. “There. Like that.”

Fives hummed, and inhaled slowly, deeply, and Quill blinked.

“That’s – that’s too much, love, you’ll -.”

Fives sputtered, breaking off in a cough as a huge puff of smoke billowed from his mouth and nose, his eyes watering. “Holy hells.” He coughed, eyes watering slightly. “You weren’t joking.”

“I tried to warn you.” Quill chuckled, taking the pipe back as Fives wheezed. “Take a few deep breaths, little one.”

Fives obeyed, inhaling slowly and trying to catch his breath again. He giggled slightly, leaning into Quill as the bigger man took another slow drag of his pipe.

“Guess it’s been a while since I’ve had a proper smoke.” Fives replied cheekily, wiping at his eyes and looking mildly embarrassed.

Quill only smiled, puffing out another small cloud of smoke and wrapping his arm around Fives’ shoulders to pull him close. He nodded his head towards the children playing in the dirt street in front of their porch. “They keep hitting pebbles with that stick and seeing how far they’ll go.” He explained to Fives. “Their father works in the Command Center, he’s one of our trackers. He should be home any minute.”

As if on cue, a Twi’lek man came around the corner, his pace quickening when he caught sight of the two boys playing in the street. The children dropped everything, racing over to their father and hugging him tight as the front door of their home opened, revealing a female Twi’lek with a small child on her hip.

“This isn’t just a legion of soldiers anymore.” Fives said quietly, watching the scene play out as he cuddled closer to Quill. “There are people here, families.” He looked up at Quill. “That prison transport… it could be carrying families like this too.”

“It’s likely they will be prisoners of war, not civilians, but you’re right, it’s possible.” Quill murmured, turning to press a kiss to the top of Fives’ head. “Whatever it is, we’re ready for it.”

“Gol’Chek thinks we’ll be ready to seize it as soon as tomorrow.” Fives said, shivering slightly against the sudden chill in the air. Quill shrugged off his jacket, wrapping it around Fives before pulling him close again. “Are we ready for that?”

“Yes.” Quill repeated, lowering his pipe and holding it loosely in hand. “We’re ready.”

Fives studied him for a long moment before reaching a hand up to cup his jaw, turning Quill’s head towards him. Fives kissed him slowly, his eyes falling shut for a moment as their lips met, and he hummed softly.

“You taste like smoke.” He mumbled into Quill’s lips.

“I’m finished now.” Quill assured. “We can head inside.”

“I didn’t say I disliked it.”

Quill chuckled, and dropped his head again to kiss Fives once more.

“Everything will be just fine with the transport.” Quill promised. “Just you wait and see.”

Quill had been right, and the prison transport takeover had gone surprisingly well. The downfall, of course, was that upon their return, they learned that Hunter had been taken captive, and Gol’Chek was joining the Bad Batch in their attempt to rescue him.

Fives had volunteered to watch Ju’Lah for the night, and was walking home with her after speaking with Rex about Gol’Chek’s intentions to return to Kamino with the batch.

“You’re getting big, kiddo.” Fives grunted, hoisting Ju’Lah up a little higher in his arms and holding her more securely. “Not much longer and your Ba’Vodu won’t be able to carry you anymore.” He chuckled. “I’m just teasing, I’m always gonna carry you around.”

He glanced down at her, noting the way she clung to him, her little face hidden in his neck.

“Your buir is gonna be fine.” Fives said quietly. “He’s strong, stronger than all of us, even. He’ll be back before you know it. And in the meantime, you can hang out with me and Ba’Vodu Quill.”

“I’m not worried about him.” Ju’Lah said quietly.

Fives stopped walking, but only for a moment before he resumed. “Is it your dreams?”

She nodded, and Fives felt the warmth of the child’s tears blossom against his neck. “I’m scared to go to sleep.” She whispered.

“Oh, baby.” Fives rubbed her back gently, kissing the top of her head. “It’s alright, I’ve got you. Let’s get home, okay? We’ll watch a holo before bed, yeah? That sound fun?”

Fives nudged the front door open, and immediately spotted Quill hovering in the living room. He’d piled nearly every blanket in the house on the couch, along with several pillows.

“She’s from a jungle, I didn’t want her getting cold.” He stopped suddenly, spotting Ju’Lah in Fives’ arms. “Oh, is – is she alright?”

“She’s okay, she just needs some company.” Fives replied, heading into the living room and gently setting Ju’Lah down. “Do you need anything from your place?” He asked her.

“I can get it for you.” Quill offered at once, and Fives glanced over to him, noting the way his tendrils flicked with nervous energy. “Whatever you need.”

Ju’Lah shook her head, shying away from Quill and instead turning back to Fives. “Can I call Buir?”

“We can try.” Fives promised. “You sure you don’t want anything from the house? Your paints, maybe? Or your doll?”

“I don’t need a doll to sleep.” Ju’Lah said a little sharply, throwing Fives a dirty look as though he’d spilled a secret. Fives sighed softly, straightening up instead.

“Alright, let me get the comm, we’ll try to call your dad for a bit.” He motioned for Quill to come closer, and, in a low voice, he added, “Run back to their place, she’s got a little clone trooper doll she likes.”

Quill nodded, glancing at Ju’Lah again before leaving.

Fives returned to the living room with his comm, passing it quietly to Ju’Lah. He went to the kitchen, busying himself at the counter to give Ju’Lah some privacy. He could barely make out Gol’Chek’s garbled, static-riddled voice coming over the comms and Ju’Lah telling him that she was alright for the night, and she was safe with Fives.

Fives tried to tune it out, instead making a bowl of sliced fruits for Ju’Lah and focused on not eavesdropping.

Finally, he heard her begin saying her goodbyes.

“You be careful too, Buir. Come back soon.”

“I will, Lah’ika. I love you. Goodnight.”

Fives heard Ju’Lah sniffle. “I love you too.”

He reentered the room, watching as the girl scrubbed at her eyes and nose with her sleeve, sniffling again.

“You wanna watch a holo?” Fives offered, sitting beside her and passing her the bowl of fruit, grabbing the blankets and wrapping them around the two of them, pulling her into his lap. “We can watch whatever you’d like.”

He passed Ju’Lah the controller so she could scroll through the holo options, and after a few minutes, Quill returned with a large bag tucked under his arm.

“I brought her paints.” He announced.

“All of them?” Fives asked, raising an eyebrow at the size of the bag.

“Yes. Well, no, but I brought most of them. And this.” He pulled her doll from the bag, and along with it was a thick, heavy tunic top that Fives was certain belonged to Gol’Chek. “I thought – I thought she might want it, as comfort.”

Fives softened, nodding once at Quill before glancing down at Ju’Lah, tucking her hair behind her big ear. “You want to get ready for bed before we start a holofilm? Here, finish your snack first.”

Ju’Lah ate the rest of her fruit, scooting out of Fives’ lap and instead over to Quill, cautiously taking the tunic and doll and scampering upstairs to change.

“You okay?” Fives asked. “You seem nervous.”

“She’s your niece.” Quill replied in a hushed voice. “I want her to like me.”

Fives chuckled. “She already does.”

“Doesn’t seem that way.”

“She’s… she’s got a lot on her mind.” Fives explained. “Give her a bit, and she’ll warm up to you.”

The two men silenced themselves as Ju’Lah returned, dressed in Gol’Chek’s tunic which fit her more like an overlarge dress. She was clutching her doll in her arms.

“Thank you.” She told Quill even as she reached for Fives’ hand.

“Of course.” Quill nodded, his tendrils flicking happily at the praise, one of them curling slightly around Fives’ bicep. Ju’Lah watched them with interest.

“Do they do that on their own?” She asked curiously.

“Oh, um. Sometimes.” Quill fumbled for a moment, raising a hand self-consciously as if to smooth them down into stillness. “It’s – it’s how my kind show emotion.”

“Are you happy?” Ju’Lah asked.

“I am.” Quill replied, a note of caution in his voice. “I’m happy to have you here, but I know you’re upset, so I’m also nervous.”

“Is that why they were dancing like that?”

“I suppose so, yes.”

“Can I touch them?”

“Ju’Lah.” Fives cautioned, shaking his head once.

“No, it’s quite alright.” Quill knelt to her level, uncurling the tendril that had made its home around Fives’ bicep and instead held them as still as possible. Nerves must have been rattling through him, however, because they still twisted and writhed in place no matter how hard Quill tried to calm them down.

Ju’Lah, however, seemed entirely unbothered, and reached her fingers delicately out to stroke a tendril. Quill curled it at once around her wrist, and she giggled, pulling her hands away.

“I like them.” She said after a moment, waving as though they may wave back.

Quill lit up, his tendrils flicking again as he turned to Fives, excitement written across his face. Fives smiled, kissing him quickly on the cheek and holding out a hand again for Ju’Lah.

“Come on, kiddo, let’s settle in.”

Fives once again welcomed Ju’Lah into his arms, and Quill sat himself down at a respectful distance on the opposite end of the couch, but Fives, having none of that, settled himself comfortably into Quill’s lap, bringing Ju’Lah over into his arms. Quill grunted softly, and hesitated, starting to wrap his arms around Fives so his hands could rest on Ju’Lah’s legs, but the child reached around him, instead grabbing two of Quill’s tendrils and pulling them close.

“Is this okay?” She asked when she felt Quill startle at the motion.

“Yes, it’s – it’s alright.” Quill’s voice was slightly strained, and Fives glanced up at him.

“Too much?” He asked quietly, touching Quill’s thigh.

“No, it’s okay, I just -.” Quill shook his head, and his tendrils curled around both Fives and Ju’Lah, almost protectively. “I’ll tell you later.”

Fives nodded, tilting his head back to kiss Quill’s jaw before resting his chin on top of Ju’Lah’s head, watching as she picked a holo and settled in.

Ju’Lah repeatedly nodded off throughout the film, but always jerked herself awake again, her ears smacking Fives in the face every time. She would mumble a sheepish apology, and more than once, Fives caught her pinching her arms to try and stay awake.

When the film ended, Fives glanced down at her. “You ready for bed, little one?”

Ju’Lah hesitated, and Fives ran his fingers along her braid, messy from the day.

“Why don’t I redo your hair for you, yeah? You want to keep it in a braid when you sleep, or leave it loose?”

“Braid, please.”

Fives nodded, and gently scooted off Quill’s lap. “I brought her brush.” The Nautolan said. “It’s in her bag.”

“I’ll grab it.” Fives nodded, and Quill got up, following him into the kitchen with his tendrils curling anxiously around his own arms.

“She tastes like fear.” Quill said almost at once as soon as they were alone in the other room. “The whole house is thick with it, Fives.”

“She’s been having bad dreams.” Fives said as he rifled through her bag in search of the brush. “She told me on the way home she was afraid to go to sleep.”

“This isn’t just fear, Fives, this is – this is terror.” Quill insisted. “I could taste it on her when she touched my tendrils, I can taste it in the air everywhere she goes.” He looked mournful, his tendrils curling so tightly around his own arms that Fives was concerned he would cut off his own circulation. “She’s so little, Fives. She’s just a child.”

“Hey,” Fives soothed, abandoning the search for the brush and instead stroking Quill’s tendrils, trying to delicately unwrap them from his arms and torso. “Hey, it’s alright. We’ve got her, yeah? We’re going to watch over her, it’ll be alright.”

“How do we fix it?” Quill fretted again, his tendrils latching onto Fives instead. “She – she reminds me of Telya.”

Fives softened at the mention of Quill’s sister, touching his cheek and brushing his thumb along Quill’s cheekbone. “We can help her, Quill.” He murmured, keeping his voice low. “You can help her.”

“How?”

Fives patted his tendrils lightly, giving him a small smile. “Give her what she needs.”

Quill nodded slowly, his tendrils finally relaxing as Fives went back to searching for the brush, finally withdrawing it and making his way back into the living room with Quill.

Ju’Lah had burrowed herself under the blanket, her big eyes drooping as she fought to stay awake.

“C’mere, kiddo.” Fives picked her up, setting her cross-legged on the floor in front of him while he sat behind her, carefully and quickly undoing her braid while Quill moved to sit in front of her.

“Ju’Lah,” the Nautolan began hesitantly, sighing softly as he settled onto the floor. “Do you mind if we do something?”

“What is it?” She asked, leaning her head back slightly as Fives ran his fingers through her hair, separating it into sections.

“I – my people – we can sense the emotions and feelings of those around us.” Quill explained. “And I sense a great deal of worry and fear in you. I would like to help… ease your mind, if you’ll allow it?”

“What does that mean?” Her voice held an air of suspicion, and Quill scooted closer, reaching for her hand.

“I’d project emotions onto you, help calm you, essentially. Do you remember what I did for Ba’Vodu Fives when he was injured, and you were healing him?”

“You took his pain away.” Ju’Lah recalled. “But I’m not injured.”

“Not where anyone can see.” Quill replied quietly, and scooted a little closer, letting his tendrils press against her arms. “May I?”

Fives finished braiding her hair, and Ju’Lah nodded, hesitantly leaning into Quill’s chest as the Nautolan enveloped her in his strong embrace, holding her against him and letting his tendrils curl everywhere they could reach.

Ju’Lah gasped softly, tensing abruptly as the sensation washed over her, but in another moment, she relaxed completely, sagging against Quill before burrowing into the warmth of his chest, her eyes drooping again.

“Thank you.”

Quill only nodded, keeping his tendrils draped securely around her.

Fives scooted closer, tucking himself under Quill’s arm and wrapping one of his own arms around Ju’Lah. “We’ve got you, squirt.” Fives promised, brushing his hand over the swell of her cheek.

Ju’lah’s breathing evened out, and Fives kissed the top of her head, looking past her to Quill. The Nautolan’s dark eyes were studying Fives, his tendrils curling inwards curiously.

“You’re very good with her.” Quill whispered finally. “You’re… good with Kiran, as well.”

“I’ve always liked kids. Even brats like this one.” Fives teased, keeping his voice low so as not to disturb Ju’Lah. “I don’t want her to wake up in the night and be scared, can she stay with us?”

“Of course.” Quill nodded, rising to his feet with Ju’Lah still in his arms. He hesitated only for a moment, adjusting his grip to hold Ju’Lah more comfortably, and nestled her against his broad chest, carrying her up the stairs and tucking her into bed.

“We could use a guest room.” Fives whispered when he came up behind Quill. “An extra space for visitors.”

“Or for children.”

Fives glanced to Quill, and saw the Nautolan was looking right at him, his dark eyes swimming with the moonlight streaming in from the window. “Yeah.” Fives grinned, grabbing clothes to change into. “Or for children.”

Quill’s tendrils danced, and he circled the room, grabbing Fives suddenly and pulling him out into the hallway so as not to wake Ju’Lah, and dragged him into a fierce kiss.

“I want to have a life with you.” Quill whispered. “A family, a future, all of it, I want it with you.”

Fives shushed him gently, nodding his head over to the bedroom. “Don’t wake her.”

“I mean it.” Quill said in a hushed voice, his tendrils wrapping around Fives’ biceps again and pulling him close. “I love you, Fives. I want to love you for the rest of my life.”

Fives’ heart pounded in his chest, realization creeping over him. When he spoke, his voice was barely a whisper. “Are you proposing?”

Quill huffed out a breathless little laugh. “It’s – it’s not custom for proposals to happen this way, typically they’re in the water and involve a lot of tendril touching, but – but if you’ll have me, yes, this is a proposal.”

He pulled back, studying Fives for a moment before dropping to one knee. “Is this better? This is how the humans do it, yes?”

Fives laughed, beaming down at Quill as the Nautolan took one of his hands in his two larger ones.

“Be with me, for the rest of my life.” Quill murmured up at him, kissing the back of his knuckles. “Please?”

Fives nodded, tugging on Quill’s hands to get him to stand upright. “I will.” He promised. “I will. Yes.”

Quill jumped to his feet again, his lips crashing into Fives’ as Fives threw his arms around Quill’s neck, holding him as close as he could. At the bedroom door, Fives heard little feet scamper away and the blankets on the bed rustle.

“I think we’ve been caught.” Quill chuckled, pulling back and glancing at the bedroom.

Fives nodded in agreement, shushing Quill and peeking into the bedroom.

“Congratulations.” Ju’Lah’s sleepy voice called from the bed. “I won’t tell.”

“Thank you, little darling.” Quill said, and Fives stepped into the bedroom, bending over and kissing the top of her head.

“We’ll come up to bed in a little bit.” He promised. “We’re right here for you if you need anything.”

“I know.” She smiled. “I’m happy for you, Ba’Vodu. I like Quill a lot.”

Fives grinned. “Yeah.” He glanced over his shoulder at Quill. “Yeah. Me too.”

When Fives awoke the next morning, Ju’Lah was snoring softly, curled up into his side. He’d slept at an odd angle, his back curved sharply to accommodate the sleeping child, who had a habit of sprawling during the night. More than once, Fives had been arisen in the night by her foot or hand in his face, once by a massive ear nearly in his mouth.

Her final resting place had been curled up into a ball glued to Fives’ side, her little feet kicking his hips in her sleep all night long, but Fives couldn’t bring himself to mind.

He lifted his head, peering over to the other side of the bed and spotting a Quill-shaped indentation in the mattress where his lover – fiancé, Fives corrected himself giddily – had slept, but there was no sign of him now.

He rose quietly from the bed, joints cracking as he moved, and he groaned lowly at the spreading ache through his back and shoulders from the way he slept. Maybe he could talk Quill into a massage later.

He ran a hand through his wild hair, trying to tame the curls. His hair had been getting steadily longer, to the point where it threatened to tickle the back of his neck. He’d need to trim it back soon. Or maybe he wouldn’t. Quill seemed to like it long.

He stepped out into the hallway, greeted at once by soft music playing downstairs, and he shut the bedroom door behind him so as not to wake Ju’Lah. Fives grinned to himself, hustling down the stairs and turning quickly into the kitchen.

A small transceiver sat on the countertop, lively music playing from it as Quill worked at the stove, his tendrils swaying and curling along to the music. His deep, rumbling voice carried the tune under his breath, his body moving with effortless grace along to the music.

“The only thing that would’ve made waking up to this nicer would be if you’d forgone your trousers.” Fives called, stepping into the kitchen and grinning at Quill. “My favorite mornings are when you cook breakfast naked.”

“I didn’t want to scar the child.” Quill drawled, chuckling as he turned his head, dipping to kiss Fives. “Good morning, little love.” His expression dropped to one of concern, his tendrils curling around Fives’ shoulders and two brushed along his cheeks. “You taste of pain.” He noted.

“Just slept funny is all.” Fives waved him off, turning his head to kiss one of the tendrils. “Ju’Lah kept hogging the bed.”

“Ah, yes, at one point she rolled over onto my tendrils.” Quill replied. “I could taste her dreams. She was having a nightmare.”

“She was?” Fives asked, wrapping his arms around Quill and slotting himself under Quill’s arm. “Fuck, you should’ve woken me, I would’ve -.”

“No need, I handled it.”

Fives looked up at him, a hand stroking gently over Quill’s tendrils. “Oh?” He asked. “And what exactly did you handle?”

“I picked her up, held her for a while until she calmed.” Quill said simply.

“Did you use your tendrils? Influence her emotions?”

“There was no need. She’s a child, Fives. She simply wanted to be held.” Quill shrugged his shoulders. “So I did. Once I could sense her dreams were peaceful again, I set her back down and she rolled right over against you. She never woke once.”

Fives hummed, smiling as he buried his face halfway into Quill’s chest, mumbling into the fabric of his shirt. “We’d make decent parents.”

Quill trilled softly, his tendrils dancing across Fives’ back. “I agree.”

Fives squeezed Quill a little tighter. “What’re you making?”

“Renfen. It’s a traditional dish on Glee Anselm, my father used to make it for us when we were children.” Quill answered. “It’s very fishy, though, and rather hearty for a breakfast, I suppose, but I wasn’t certain she ate dinner last night aside from the fruit you gave her.” He jerked his head towards Fives, panic sparking in his eyes. “She eats fish, right? Ju’Lah? I didn’t think to ask, I just assumed with those sharp teeth -.”

“She eats meat.” Fives laughed. “Trust me, she’ll eat anything you put in front of her. I once saw her eat an anooba steak as big as her head.” He shifted to look up at Quill again. “Gol’Chek told me they ate a fair number of fish back on her home planet. They’ve been trying to replicate some native dishes.”

Quill chuckled. “Good, good. I imagine she’ll like this, then.”

He put a lid over the pot he was currently working in, pulling back from the stove and gently tugging Fives along with him. “Come, dance with me.”

“Dance?” Fives asked even as Quill took his hands, pulling him more into the center of the kitchen and beginning to sway. “I haven’t danced in a long time.”

“All the more reason for it, then.” Quill replied, giving Fives a spin and wrapping his arms around him from behind, kissing the column of his neck lightly. “Come on, I know you can dance, my love. I’ve seen you move your body before.”

“That’s a much different kind of dancing.” Fives teased, spinning away before catching Quill’s hands again, pulling back before surging forward again.

“I’d be fine with your different kind of dancing as well.” Quill answered cheekily. “In another life, you would’ve made a fine courtesan.”

Fives laughed, pressing their foreheads together for a beat before pulling back again, both of them spinning briefly before rejoining in the middle, their feet moving in quick, repeated motions across the floor.

Quill twirled him again, pulling Fives’ back against his chest and wrapping his arms around him from behind, letting his tendrils curl around Fives as he bent to kiss him. Fives laughed, loud and full, and a small click betrayed the arrival of their guest.

“Sorry.” Ju’Lah said apologetically from the doorway, setting Quill’s datapad back on the counter. “You were being cute.”

“Did we wake you?” Quill asked, letting go of Fives as the smaller man picked up the datapad, activating it and smiling at the photo Ju’Lah had snapped.

“No, I was getting up anyway.” Ju’Lah wandered over to the stove. “It smelled good down here.”

“I’m making breakfast.” Quill explained to Ju’Lah what he was making, and Fives smiled, grabbing two mugs and preparing a pot of caf while he listened to his fiancé explain the ingredients in the fishy porridge he was making for their meal.

Ju’Lah questioned him eagerly, dragging a chair over and standing on it to look over Quill’s shoulder while he worked, helping stir and then carefully ladling the porridge out into bowls under his careful instruction. Fives went to Quill’s other side, touching his back gently and offering him caf as they all took their seats around the table, preparing for breakfast.

The following day, Gol’Chek returned.

He had brought along with him an extra passenger – Crosshair, the missing member of the Bad Batch, had been recovered on Kamino. Fives had mixed feelings about the snakelike soldier joining the ranks of the rebellion, but Hunter swore up and down that he’d changed, and could be trusted, and Fives deferred to Gol’Chek and Rex’s judgment.

Besides, he was more enamored by the other passenger the Batch had returned with.

“AZI!” He called, rushing up to the little droid in excitement when he finally had the opportunity to connect with him.

The droid turned, cutting itself off where it had been mid-conversation with Echo and Tech. “Oh! Hello Five-s!” AZI replied, emphasizing the ‘s’ sound at the end of Fives’ name. “So good to see you again! I had heard you were executed.”

“Ha, they tried their damnedest, but I was too quick for ‘em.” Fives replied proudly, giving the droid a friendly shove. “Did the boys pull you off Kamino?”

“AZI is capable of removing inhibitor chips in the clones.” Tech supplied helpfully. “We were hoping by having him, we may be able to remove Crosshair’s chip, and any other clones we set free, like Gregor and Howzer for example. And it’s worked.”

“We have already removed their chips, along with the other clones from the transport ship.” AZI reported.

“Yeah, smart.” Fives beamed.

Echo nodded his head towards the Command Center. “Don’t you have somewhere to be, brother?”

“Oh yeah, we’re debriefing.” Fives nodded. “Are you still working on Crosshair?”

“We’re trying.” Echo sighed. “Things haven’t been going well. AZI’s done three scans on him so far.”

“Regrettably, my findings have all been inconclusive.” AZI spoke up. “I am uncertain that CT-9904 possesses an inhibitor chip, though I can find no evidence of the surgery being undergone.”

“Crosshair.” Echo and Tech corrected at the same time.

“Apologies. Crosshair.” The droid said. “You see, Five-s? They do not like numbers either.”

Fives chuckled. “You’ll get a lot more of that around here.” He nodded again to his brother. “Keep working on him, I’ll see what Hunter says in the briefing.”

Fives left them then, jogging instead to the Command Center.

He spotted Rex at once, with his girl leaning tiredly against him and fighting to keep her eyes open. He made his way around the table to stand beside Quill, joining everyone else for the briefing.

“We were able to use AZI to remove the chips in Howzer, Gregor, and the other clones we rescued from the transport ship, but Crosshair’s third scan returned negative.” Hunter murmured, his arms folded across his broad chest. “He can’t have gotten his chip removed. This isn’t my brother.”

“People change, Hunter.” Fives said quietly, his voice grim. “If Crosshair’s allegiance lies with the Empire, then we -.”

“We aren’t executing him.” Hunter barked.

“I wasn’t going to suggest that.” Fives raised his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying, I’m not sure he’s someone we can trust yet, and I think you need to be aware of that.”

“We can’t keep treating him like a prisoner either, that isn’t how we’ll earn his trust!” Hunter protested. “We have to let him go, let him come to us on his own.”

“You talk about him like he’s a feral loth cat.” Athena drawled. “I won’t risk jeopardizing everything we’ve built here for one man. Get him under control.”

“He wanted to come with us.” Omega piped up softly from her spot around the table. “I could tell. He just… he felt like he couldn’t.” She looked up at Hunter. “He wanted us to want him back.”

“Of course we want him back. But ‘Mega, he betrayed us, he -.”

“No.” Omega shook her head. “We left him. Even if he doesn’t have the chip in anymore, he started with the chip in. He must have.” She murmured. “I imagine he feels every bit as betrayed as you do.”

“Whatever he feels, it’s for your group to sort out.” Athena said. “We’ve got bigger problems. Dogma?”

“I’ve been in touch with Wolffe.” Dogma reported, tapping something into the holo-table and pulling up a map. “The Empire has been moving through former Republic spaces and resuming their conquest. Most old Republic space has fallen, the Empire has near-complete control.”

To Dogma’s left, Gregor chuckled, rubbing the back of his head absently. “Yeah, they’ve been picking their way through any former Republic spaces, one by one. Won’t be long before they start looking to new planets, like this one.”

Fives hadn’t had the chance to really meet Gregor yet, but he’d heard enough stories to know he was something of a loose canon these days.

Athena rubbed her jaw, glancing to her left. “Quill?”

“We have the numbers to try and start another rebellion on another planet.” Quill said. “We were thinking Florrum would be a viable option. The Empire isn’t interested in that space.”

“How soon can you get out there?”

“I can leave with a team of people as soon as possible.” Quill said. “We can scout the area, find a good place to settle, and then go from there.”

“Take at least ten with you.” Athena instructed. “Leave as soon as you’re able.”

“I can go.” Howzer offered. “So can my boys. We’d blend in better if there happens to be Empire patrols in any of the cities.”

“Good, take Howzer and any of his men, maybe Gregor too, plus a few of our own.” Athena added. “We need to create a network, a Rebellion. We need to begin fighting back.”

“Once we begin to migrate to other planets, we’ll have a better understanding of what we’re capable of.” Rex continued. “And maybe we’ll be able to keep recruiting others into our cause. We can start to really push back against the Empire, even if it’s just in small ways.”

Fives nodded in agreement, glancing to Quill. “You wanna go ahead and start gathering people up?”

“Yes.” Quill said, excusing himself from the briefing as things began to wrap up. “The sooner we get going, the better.”

Fives accompanied him out of the Command Center, watching as Quill hailed a pilot and made arrangements for the scouting transport to depart.

“Have you told anyone?” Fives asked when Quill approached him again.

“About what?”

“The engagement.” Fives replied, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. “That’s what we are, right? Engaged?”

Quill chuckled, wrapping an arm around Fives’ hip and pulling him close for a kiss. “Yes.” He murmured against the clone’s lip. “But to answer your first question, no I haven’t. I haven’t had the opportunity to, yet, and I wanted Athena to be the first to know. At least from me.”

Fives nodded. “We can tell her together when you get home.”

Quill agreed. “I think that’s a magnificent idea.” A tendril drew upwards, stroking along Fives’ cheek. “Will you be alright here on your own?”

“Please.” Fives rolled his eyes. “I’ll manage.”

Quill hummed, his eyes flicking past Fives and watching as Rex left the Command Center, his arm around his girl. “Speaking of engaged,” He began. “Do you know when Rex is planning to do his little wedding surprise?”

“Today.” Fives grinned conspiratorially, but then his face fell. “Wait, osik, you won’t be here.”

“It’s alright, just give her the cape like we planned. You know where it is?”

“Of course, you’ve been working on it non-stop.”

Quill grinned. “Tell me what she thinks if you can, I want to hear all about it.”

“I’ll comm you as soon as everything is all said and done.” Fives promised.

“No, no tell me when I return.” Quill said. “It’ll give me something to look forward to.”

“Mm, I’ll still comm you, just to check in.” Fives murmured, leaning into Quill and wrapping his arms around the man’s torso, resting his chin on Quill’s chest and peering up at him.

“Oy! Get a room, would you?!” Gregor bellowed from across the courtyard, and Fives gave him the finger over his shoulder as Quill chuckled.

“Here.” He shrugged off his jacket, wrapping it instead around Fives. “Put this on.”

“It’ll be too big on me.” Fives complained, but pulled the sleeves on anyway. It hung a little awkwardly on him, and he had to roll the sleeves up slightly, but Quill just grinned.

“It’ll be in better company with you until I return.” The Nautolan touched Fives’ cheek. “Stay out of trouble, little one.”

“I will.” He kissed Quill one last time. “I love you. Be safe.”

“Always.”

The Sho’cye wedding had gone exactly as planned.

Fives ached to know that Quill couldn’t be there to present the magnificent cape he’d stitched himself, but Fives hoped he’d done it justice when he gave it to its new owner. Quill had been right about the gold trim, even though Fives argued for silver. The gold brought out Rex’s eyes, and made him look like royalty. He was certain Quill would be smug about hearing the I told you so, but he also knew Quill would be tickled to hear how well the gift was received.

Either way, Fives was happy.

The festivities that evening once the sun had set were grand. A celebration was held in the town center, honoring both the Sho’cye wedding and celebrating the safe rescue of the prisoners aboard the transport cruiser. There was a large fire in the center of town, with plenty of food and drink to go around.

Fives found a seat next to Rex’s bride, leaning back and watching as everyone celebrated together. Rex was talking near the fire, his cape catching in the firelight and bringing out the gold stitched into the craftwork.

“Your partner did a lovely job.” She commented, smiling at Fives. “That cape is gorgeous.”

“He loves to stitch. He’s very good.” Fives replied with a grin. “He learned from his mother.”

She inhaled sharply through her teeth suddenly, a hand over her stomach.

“You okay?” Fives asked, sitting up slightly.

“Yeah. Yeah, yeah I – it’s just been hurting a lot more lately. Maybe he cracked a rib or something the last time he kicked me.”

“Babies can do that?” Fives asked, bewildered. “Kriff, strong little man, isn’t he?”

She looked to Fives for a distraction, and Fives saw her eyes drift over his jacket – Quill’s jacket.

“Did he give that to you before he left?”

Fives nodded. “Among other things.”

“Ew. I don’t need to hear that part.”

“No, it’s not what you think.” Fives chuckled. He thought about it for a moment, glancing over at her, one of his oldest and truest friends, and muttered “fuck it” under his breath before leaning closer.

However, before Fives could tell her of his own engagement, Ju’Lah ran over, seizing both his hands and pulling him to his feet.

“Come dance with me!” She said, tugging on his hands.

“Dance?” Fives repeated, following Ju’Lah to the open clearing near the fire.

“You’ll learn quick.” Ju’Lah promised. “It’s easy!”

“I –.” Fives tried to protest, but it was no use. Ju’Lah had already dragged him into the center of the dancing, stomping her feet alongside everyone else. Fives watched, doing his best to mimic the steps – stomp, stomp, clap, lean back, shuffle forward, turn to your partner – Ju’Lah took his hands again, leading him quickly through the chaos until the partners switched.

Ju’Lah was twirled away by Echo, and was replaced instead with Omega.

“Hi Fives!” Omega grinned, taking his hands and skipping alongside him down the row. “You’ve got to keep up!”

“I’m trying!” Fives protested, nearly tripping as he tried to command his feet into skipping, of all things. When all else failed, he just jogged alongside Omega until they reached the end of the line, where he spun her quickly.

“There you go!” Omega laughed. “That’s it, you’re getting the hang of it quicker than Hunter did.”

“I can’t picture Hunter dancing much.” Fives teased.

“He didn’t, the noise got to be too much.” Omega replied over the music. “But Wrecker and Echo danced! Oh! Here he comes now!”

Finally, Omega was seized once more by Wrecker, and Athena took her place.

“Fancy seeing you here.” She grinned at him, taking his hands.

“I barely know what I’m doing.” Fives warned. “If I fall, I’m taking you down with me.”

“I’d expect nothing less.”

Athena guided him gently, spinning once and pressing her back against Fives’ chest before pulling back again, spinning away and ducking under his arm. She took the lead, gracefully letting Fives follow in her steps until Kiran ran up to both of them, taking each of their hands and turning their dance into a three-person circle.

When the music shifted again, Athena and Kiran broke away from the circle, leaving Fives without a partner and in the center of the ring. For a split second, he didn’t know what to do, floundering for just a moment until Ju’Lah leapt into the circle in front of him, stomping her feet and throwing her hands in the air in time with the music. Fives matched her movements, finally getting the hang of it and taking her hands again, mimicking the steps he’d already done before.

“You finally figured it out.” Ju’Lah teased.

“It’s not so bad once you know what you’re doing.” Fives replied with a smirk. Overhead, he thought he heard the sound of a ship, but before he could turn to look, Ju’Lah grabbed his hands tight enough to make Fives gasp in pain, and he whipped his head back towards the child.

“Ju’Lah?”

She was trembling all over, black eyes rolled into the back of her head as her eyelids fluttered.

“Ju’Lah? Hey! Hey, wake up!” He let go of her hands, instead grabbing her arms and starting to kneel in front of her. “Can you hear me?! Ju’Lah!”

She collapsed suddenly, and Fives caught her, the child beginning to convulse in his arms.

“Somebody help!”

Rex had noticed the commotion, and so had Gol’Chek, both men rushing over to her as all the merriment ceased, Gol’Chek elbowing his way to Ju’Lah at once and dropping beside her.

“What happened?” He demanded, pressing his hands to Ju’Lah’s small body as it shook.

“I don’t know, she just suddenly stopped and collapsed!” Fives passed her carefully to Gol’Chek, and Ju’Lah’s mouth began to foam, her entire body convulsing violently in his embrace.

“Ju’Lah? Ju’Lah!” He shook her gently, but her head just lolled back further, until suddenly she gasped, her eyes rolling forwards again as she sat bolt upright in Gol’Chek’s arms. She panted softly, her sharp claws digging into his arms.

“Ju’Lah, what is it, what did you see?” Gol’Chek demanded, turning her to face him.

“We have to go.” She rasped, digging her little hands tighter into his arms. “We have to go now!”

“What happened? What’s wrong?!” Athena demanded. Her commlink suddenly lit up. Ju’Lah looked around.

“They’re coming.”

“General Brisbane!” A soldier cried into Athena’s commlink. “Commander Cawthon’s ship has just made contact, but – but something’s wrong.”

“What is it?” Athena asked, narrowing her eyes at the commlink.

“We received a transmission from the ship, sending it to you now.”

Athena pressed a few buttons on her commlink, and a raspy voice suddenly flooded through the speakers, echoing through the clearing.

“You think yourselves clever, don’t you? You thought you could hide from me. You thought I’d never find you.”

Fives recognized that voice. He glanced to the Sho’cye’s, watching as a familiar fear washed over their faces as well.

“Well, I’ve found you now, haven’t I? And soon enough, the Empire will find you too, but I’m prepared to offer you a deal.”

Fives finally noticed the ship on the horizon line, and he jumped to his feet at once. Quill’s ship. That was Quill’s ship.

Quill, Howzer, and Gregor were marched out of the ship, their hands bound behind their backs. One by one, they were forced to their knees by other Trandoshans as Thresh exited the ship last, graceful as ever, with a commlink to his lips. In his hands a long vibro-sword crackled with electricity.

“Oh gods.” Fives whispered, scrubbing both his hands over his face and up through his hair. “How’d – how’d he find them? How’d he get to them?”

Nobody seemed to hear him, instead focused on the commlink in Athena’s hands.

“I can see you, darling.” He chuckled. “I know you’re watching, little pet. I can feel your eyes on me.”

“That’s – that’s him, that’s Quill.” Fives grabbed her arm tightly, his voice wavering slightly. “He’s got Quill.”

“Who are you?” Athena demanded, her voice calm as she watched the prisoners. “What do you want?”

“My offer is very simple.” Thresh replied. Fives saw him lift the sword, bringing it to rest just slightly to the left of Howzer’s neck. “You give me the woman and her child, along with the man who slaughtered my brothers, and the Jedi child – yes, I know what you’re harboring, Outlander. I know about the girl.” He hissed.

“What do you want with them?” Athena asked.

“My employer wants the Jedi for his own reasons, and I want the others for mine.” He hissed. “Do this, and I’ll let your friends live.” He growled. “And if you hurry, maybe you can still escape before the Empire arrives.”

“What do we do?” Fives said, his eyes flicking between Quill and Rex. “He wants the two of you and Ju’Lah.”

“We’re not handing them over.” Athena replied to Fives.

“Obviously not, but we have to do something, Quill’s up there.” Fives snapped, looking back towards the clearing. “He’s going to kill Quill and the others if we don’t do something.”

“This does not have to end in bloodshed.” Thresh continued. “As a gesture of my goodwill…”

He turned up on the hillside, and cut the bindings loose on Howzer and Gregor, leaving only Quill bound at his feet. Howzer and Gregor hurried across the plateau, rejoining the village.

“He got the drop on us, had at least thirty men waiting, maybe more, and killed everyone else and captured us three.” Howzer reported breathlessly. “He took the base’s location from the navigation system.”

“I’ve returned two of your friends to you, now it is time for you to give me what I am owed.” Thresh warned. “Give me what I want, or this man will die. Decide quickly, the Empire will be arriving any minute, and they have far less patience than I.”

“He’s bluffing, he has to be.” Rex’s wife whispered. “Even if he did tell the Empire, there’s no way they’d send anyone just to scout out a small tip from a man like him, would they?”

Athena shook her head. “We can’t take that chance.” She murmured. “We have underground bunkers and tunnels throughout the village that serve as a shelter in case of an attack. It’s time we put them to use.”

She turned to one of her men. “Start moving everyone into the tunnels. Tell everyone to move as quickly and quietly as possible. Anyone who can hold a weapon needs to arm themselves. Prepare for invasion.”

“Rex?”

“Go to the tunnels with the others.” Rex instructed, taking his cape off and instead wrapping it around his wife’s shoulders, as though the garment could protect her from what was to come. “Athena, I’ll assemble the fighters.”

“Quickly.” Athena said in a low voice.

He nodded, motioning for the others to follow him. Fives stayed rooted in place, with Echo waiting by his side.

“Quill’s up there.” Fives said quietly.

“I know.” Echo murmured. “We’re gonna get him back.”

“If the Empire comes, they’ll kill you too.” Athena scowled into the comms. “I think you’re bluffing, lizard-boy.”

“Then I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.” Thresh purred back. “I’m more than happy to sit back and watch your people be slaughtered. I’ll still get what I want.”

“And what is it that you want?” Athena asked, glancing at Ju’Lah. “Your employer, who is he? What does he want with the girl?”

“My employer’s desires are of no concern to me.” Thresh responded. “And my desires are no concern of yours. I grow tired of our discussion.”

Up on the hilltop, he dragged the sword lazily towards Quill.

“I’ll even sweeten the deal.” Thresh continued. “Just the woman and her baby. In exchange, my men won’t raid your village, slaughtering every last man, woman, and child, leaving only scraps for the Empire to pick through. And you’ll even get your fish friend back.” He nudged Quill with his foot.

“Or, you can keep the bitch, and I’ll come down there myself after I’ve cut every last tendril from the Nauto’s head, one by one, and only after you’ve heard his screams will I cut out his tongue.” He hissed. “The last thing you’ll hear is the sound of your people wailing for your help as we invade.”

Fives made a broken sound, reflexive tears welling in his eyes as he took two steps forward, only for Echo to grab him and hold him in place.

“Wait, Fives.”

“He’s going to kill Quill if we don’t do something.” Fives snapped, struggling against Echo. “Athena, do something!”

“Let them come.” Ju’Lah said quietly. Fives whipped his head around towards her as she spoke. “Tell them to kill Quill if they must, but we aren’t handing anyone over.”

“No!” Fives shouted, elbowing Echo and making it a few feet before Echo grabbed him again. “No! What’re you doing?!”

Athena scowled, bringing her commlink to her lips again. “If you want them,” She began. “You’ll have to come down here and get them yourself.”

“What are you doing?!” Fives screamed, rushing forward only to be stopped by Echo again. “Stop!”

“Take it easy, brother!” Echo held him back. “Easy! It’s under control!”

“He’s going to kill Quill!”

Thresh tsked. “Tragic that we were unable to come to an agreement. But then again, I hear the tendrils of a Nautolan can be quite the delicacy when cooked properly. Perhaps this isn’t a total loss.” He raised his sword, preparing to bring it down.

“Farewell.”

“No!” Fives screamed, breaking free of Echo’s grip and sprinting forward. “NO!”

Thresh swung the sword.

@tsundere-cherry-girl @revengeisaconfesionofpain @jesjestraverse @theroguesully @clonecyaree @sammi9498 @dar-manda-rjct @salaminus @book-of-baba-fett @nyravioppri @starwarsmeninhelmets @boomtowngirl @ladykatakuri @bi-witch-rose @cosmic-persephone @djarrex @literallydontlook @galacticgraffiti @bobafettuccini @pro-fangirls-unsocial-life @crosshairscodpiece @a-c-lee @chromia7567 @embarrassedauthornerd @itsagrimm @seriowan @gotomarvelgal @space-b33 @moonstrider9904 @frietiemeloen

#Halo #Ro's protected tag #ro writes #OC Quill #OC Kiran #OC Athena

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writersrealmbts · 5 years ago

Text

Clearwater Springs: Part 1

Description: ot7 x reader, reader’s choice, fairy/supernatural/soulmate au. The choices you make influence the story! In this world, war-torn and ragged, you’ve been offered a home and a job working as a librarian. Will you meet your soulmates? Will you ever find the shelves behind the piles of books? Who knows.

Warnings: None

Posted: 08/29/2020

Tags: ot7 x reader, supernatural bts,

5,111 words

A/N: Once I was actually able to write, this came out really easily. I hope you guys enjoy it and don’t forget to do the pre-chapter 2 survey (link at the end of post)!

You stared up at the house in a bit of a daze, still untethered. Still vulnerable.

“Isn’t it magnificent?! A real masterpiece, this house.”

You glanced at your over-enthusiastic caseworker, then looked back up at the grand Victorian house, wondering if the inside matched the outside, and why such a grand house was way out in the middle of nowhere. Why its owner would offer to take in strays, misfits, and others in need of a new home after the recent war when they were obviously still doing well despite the near economic collapse.

Your caseworker was practically bouncing up to the house, making you dizzy as he jostled the itty-bitty fountain you were temporarily tied to.

But you’d been dealing with that for a month, and you were getting pretty good at walking a straight line while the world appeared to spin around you.

“Now, if you and he agree at the end of the day, you’ll be tethered to a natural spring and the creek it runs into nearby, and you’ll stay in one of the spare rooms and you’ll help him organize and keep his library, which he runs as a traditional library—when organized—for some of the locals.”

You didn’t bother responding since he didn’t seem to be looking for a response, instead heavily trodding up to the front door as he rang the doorbell.

“Also, to simulate what life will be like, I’ll be leaving you for the day once I set your fountain down in a safe spot.”

“You said,” You murmured, closing your eyes for a moment, feeling yourself swaying from side to side. As a xana, you were originally tethered to a fountain many miles away, but as the war reached that town, your fountain had been damaged and your original workplace—a large library where you specialized in the children’s section, reading to them and singing your songs—utterly demolished. Because the fountain wasn’t completely destroyed, you survived. An experimental spell and three weeks later and there you were, standing on the steps of the home of a human where you would be exchanging work for a place to sleep and food to eat. You didn’t even need that much food, about a meal a day was enough for you when your tethered place was healthy and strong and not being jerked around like a dog was playing tug-of-war with it.

The front door opened, revealing a man with pink hair. “Hello, you must be Y/n. We’ve been expecting you. Welcome to Clearwater Springs.”

“We?” You asked, glancing at your worker.

The human did as well. “You told her about the house’s haltija, right?”

You relaxed. “Oh. Just a haltija?”

“Well, he’s also half-brownie, but thankfully that only manifests in the occasional clumsy or destructive moment. He’s quite friendly, though, and very fond of the forest,” The human spoke quickly, as though afraid you would pass negative judgement on the haltija—creatures who were known for guarding and protecting—for having brownie blood—admittedly, creatures who could become troublesome when disrespected, but otherwise also keepers of the home and chore-doers for the kind.

“I’m sure he’s very kind and gentle,” You replied.

“Right. And you’re a xana?”

You nodded.

“And...I’m sorry, I’m not sure what exactly that is, other than the fact that you’re generally tied to some form of pure water, like fountains, springs, rivers, waterfalls….”

You nodded. “I’m originally from a fountain. Um...I’m not sure how to explain what I am.”

Your caseworker took that hint. “Oh! Right, well, they seem to always know virtuous hearts through some test or other—though no one ever seems to be able to pin down the test—um, they have enchanted songs that bring feelings of peace and love to the pure and could almost kill those who are impure. Um, let’s see, she has combs made of moonbeams and sunlight, respectively. Can’t completely care for babies, but once they can feed themselves she’s fine.”

You frowned, fighting yourself not to glare at him. Your species couldn’t produce milk, so in the old days—before there was formula—it was a sort of changeling situation. A Xanino would replace a human child. Terrible, but true. Nowadays, most xaninos were adopted by naiads or other nature or house spirits—because now it was scandalous to try and raise your own child as a xana.

“Oh, she has treasure, but who knows where she keeps that—”

“It’s enchanted, you’re not supposed to know where I keep it,” You muttered, even though he wasn’t paying any attention to you.

“And she can give you a drink that we call ‘Love water’. Couldn’t tell you why, and I’ve never seen her hand it out. Think that’s it. Here’s her fountain, I’ll be back at sundown.”

The human almost dropped the fountain that was shoved into his hands, and if he wasn’t so surprised you thought he might have yelled at your caseworker.

But the car peeled down the driveway again, kicking up dirt.

You stared after him, a little disconcerted. “Mages.”

“Um, well, we’ve been preparing for your arrival. We’ve gotten the basement bathroom renovated so that you can shower or bathe in the waters of your spring when you need, and your bedroom is ready for you. We thought you’d prefer to decorate it with your things...but looking back now I probably should have known you wouldn’t have many things. It’s a hard time for everyone,” The human rambled, rubbing his neck. “Oh, I’m Seokjin, by the way.”

“Oh, yes, I suppose your name would be important. I’d hate to be rude and just refer to you as ‘The Human” when you’re my boss.”

Seokjin looked startled at the title. “I’d rather think of it as a partnership. I’ve been told I shouldn’t live alone, and you needed a new home. Also, my library is out of control and I have no idea where to start—I mean, other than the new library building that we just finished. Don’t worry, it’s very close to your water source as well, but your spring is still highly protected.”

You just nodded, wondering why he didn’t stare like most humans did. You were beautiful—that was one of the key points of defining a xana: being extraordinarily beautiful. Xana’s were considered more beautiful than any other species—and only a few other species even tried to contend with it since yours was more rare, and therefore more worth the attention.

“Um, let’s get inside so I can set this down. We’ll make sure Namjoon steers completely clear of it.” Seokjin stepped back and leaned his head in a gesture that suggested welcoming you inside and to follow him.

He led the way through the entry, and then to the living room through the arch immediately to the right. He took the fountain and placed it on a table that was against the wall—out of the way of general traffic. “There. Now, Namjoon should be around somewhere. Probably the garden, he likes it out there. But for now let me show you the house, including where you’ll be staying and then we’ll go and talk about the library. There’s a lot of work that I want to do, Namjoon is heavily involved in that too. He likes books, but between us...we don’t really have the skills to put what we want into action—which is why we’re really excited that you’re here.” He started the tour.

“I’ll do my best to h-hell, what is this hell?” You said, looking at the mess. It looked somewhat like a library, except you couldn’t even see the shelves. It was just piles upon piles of books, newspapers, journals, magazines, and comic books with a thin path between it all.

Seokjin winced. “It is...mildly organized. We’ve been receiving donations. Don’t worry, there will be a bigger place, we mostly just need to pack all of this up and move it to the new facility in an...organized fashion.”

You pointed at the mix of magazines and books. “This is organized.”

“I did say somewhat, didn’t I? We had a large influx of books very suddenly. Things got very messy in the chaos of it all. I think they were sending us books from destroyed libraries.” He shrugged a bit. “Don’t worry. We’ll be helping at every turn and I’m bringing in extra workers from town as needed.”

You supposed that was supposed to be comforting, but you were staring at a nightmare of a situation. One toppling tower, and there was no navigating through.

“Hyung? Is that you?” The pile asked.

Then it was all falling over and someone was diving out while Seokjin pulled you against the wall and out of the way.

Seokjin sighed. “Namjoon. Our guest is here.”

The man with blue hair looked up, then back at his legs (which were trapped under many books), then back at you. He stared at you with big eyes, looking a little flustered.

You took a deep breath. “Well, that is exactly what we didn’t want to happen.”

“Yeah. Namjoon, didn’t we talk about not going in there?” Seokjin bent down and grabbed Namjoon under the arms and pulled him out from the pile, helping him to his feet.

“I just wanted the next book in my series.” Namjoon rubbed the back of his neck. “I was doing okay until then.”

Seokjin shook his head a bit. “Namjoonie, this is y/n. She’s the one that’s going to stay with us and help with the library?”

Namjoon was definitely already staring at you, and he looked a little flustered and red. “Hi.”

“She’s a xana. Y/n, this is Namjoon, the haltija of the house.”

“Uh, nice to meet you,” Namjoon said hurriedly.

“Nice to meet you, too,” You replied, trying for a smile, but you were pretty sure you just gave him a woozy look.

“Maybe you should lie down before we continue the house tour? He was jostling your fountain around quite a bit.” Seokjin frowned toward the front door.

Namjoon nodded. “He’s right. You need rest. I can tell.”

You shrugged. “Nah, the world is supposed to be constantly spinning.”

“Should I carry her? Should I carry you?” Seokjin asked, sounding and looking a little panicked.

You shrugged. “I’m fine. This has been my life for the past three months.”

Namjoon’s eyes widened.

Seokjin looked like he was going to have a meltdown.

“Unless you’re going to have a panic attack, in which case you may carry me if it will help you,” You said quickly, concerned with how quickly he was freaking out.

Namjoon glanced at the human, then nodded. “I think that might be the only way to stall him out. He’s not wearing his glasses.”

You shrugged again, uncertain what not having glasses had to do with anything, and waited while Namjoon muttered something to Seokjin.

A couple moments later, Seokjin came over, muttering something about being sorry, then he carefully scooped you up. “Sorry, your dress is a little slippery. Silk?”

You nodded. “Yeah. My clothes just sort of...appear as I need them? Usually made of silk, but sometimes there’s a velvet cloak when it’s colder. Some linen when it’s warmer. Always dresses.”

“Cool,” Namjoon said, following the two of you up the stairs.

“I suppose so,” You replied, doing your best not to look at Seokjin. He was handsome for a human. And you’d never seen a non-fairy pull off pink hair before today. He had a sort of gentleness to his face, a softness that could easily become cold and judgemental. If that even made sense.

But honestly, there were very few things that made sense since the war had begun some ten years ago.

“Why is your hair blue?” You asked the haltija, looking over Seokjin’s shoulder as you realized you had been looking at him despite specifically thinking you shouldn’t and only noticing because his ears had started turning a violent shade of red.

“Oh...uh...we’re not really sure. It just sort of...changes now and then. A few days ago I woke up and it was this color. Before that it had been brown.”

“Did you two paint any part of the house?”

“Well, not in the same time frame as my hair color changing. And definitely not this color. Jin-hyung has this crazy theory that it’s connected to my soulmate or something.”

“You have a soulmate?” You asked, surprised.

He nodded, rubbing his left shoulder-pectoral area, which meant either his mark was located there or he had some muscle pain from his dive for freedom in the great August book-slide. “Yeah. Or...well, I have multiple sections in my mark...so, I guess I’m part of a soul-group. Probably a platonic one given my species.”

“You never know what’s waiting around the riverbend,” You replied, thinking back to Grandma Loire’s wise words when you had been fretting about the war. Granted, at that time, her words had been very wrong, but you wouldn’t begrudge the dead for their mistakes.

But also thinking about your own soulmark and the multiple parts in it. You were certain it was just a coincidence, but it was still an interesting fact that you filed away.

“You sound like a naiad,” Namjoon snorted.

“A naiad told me that. She was very wrong at the time. Told me not to worry about the battle in Manhattan.”

“Ooh,” He winced. “Very wrong.”

Seokjin held onto you a little tighter. “Where did you live before this?”

“Rocamadour. Our library was new when I started working there. Before there were a couple but they were in some towns over.”

“Where is that?” Namjoon asked.

“It’s in the Alps,” Seokjin answered, then paused at the top of the stairs. “Get the door?”

The door swung open before Seokjin had finished asking.

You craned your head to look at Namjoon, suddenly concerned with your privacy.

He held up his hands. “I can open doors and windows, I can’t see through walls. I can also hear things, if you want me to. If you want me to hear, just knock or tap your foot three times and I’ll listen.”

You nodded slightly and relaxed again.

Seokjin carried you into the room, which was painted such a calm color. The bed was a queen-size, and it was soft when he lay you in the middle of it. The top blanket was velvet-y and so, so soft.

Namjoon gave you a smile when you let out a sound of appreciation.

Seokjin smiled at you. “Well, I’m going to find out whether he’s coming back to check in on you tonight or not while you rest, then we’ll go over other things and go to the spring. Feel free to go anywhere in the house, as long as it isn’t one of our bedrooms. Mine is on the first floor, Namjoon’s is across the hall. Food in the kitchen is up for grabs unless it’s in the meal-plan that I have on the fridge. Oh, that door there leads to your bathroom, the one next to it leads to your closet, and this third door leads to your sitting room or office or whatever you want to use it for. We’ll let you nap now.”

Namjoon dipped his head as Seokjin pushed and pulled him out of your bedroom door.

You stared at the closed door for a moment, then lay back. You were still so accustomed to sleeping on your fountain or in your fountain that this felt weird. But it felt weird in a heavenly sort of way. You slid up and then managed to slide under the covers, a little excited about the silk sheets. It was so nice.

So heavenly that you woke up feeling so refreshed that it had to be illegal. Sure, you still felt a little off (because the fountain you were temporarily tethered too wasn’t the greatest), but you felt much better than before.

You slid out of the sheets, enjoying the feel of the hardwood on your feet as you cautiously checked out your bathroom, closet, and sitting room (which only had an armchair and a small sofa). Once you had tested the seats (because you had to know which would be your favorite, it was the armchair), you ventured out into the hallway.

Namjoon’s door was open, but you didn’t hear anything in there, so you decided not to bother him.

Instead, you headed back the way you had been carried, looking around for more detail.

The structure of the house, the woodwork, the moulding, the baseboards and the stairway all had a distinctly Victorian style, and all were likely original to the house. But the design was more subtle, softer, and more contemporary in the coloring and the furniture. It was a nice sort of mix that gave the house an air of elegance that was refreshing. You’d been in some victorian-style homes before and they had been so overwhelmingly Victorian that it was like you were trapped in England in that time period and about to choke on a piece of jellied eel.

You avoided the pile of books spilling out of the library (but did notice that they’d been somewhat cleaned up), and checked out the living room again with the ulterior motive of checking on your current fountain.

The style was even more contemporary there, yet still paid a nice homage to the house. A monochrome color scheme, with pops of color in some of the throw pillows and delicate accents in the artwork.

Your fountain looked cleaner than ever and had a healthy amount of water in it for once, which you honestly felt boded well for you. There even seemed to be a new coating of pebbles at the bottom of the small basin.

You flinched as a cat hopped up onto the table next to the fountain and took a drink from it. It was young, a long-haired calico, so soft and pretty looking.

You let it sniff your hand, humming softly before you carefully picked it up. You snuggled it, happy when it seemed to revel in your attention, even seeking it when you started looking over the books that were seperated from the library and on the shelf beside the fireplace. There weren’t many, but you recognized one or two of the titles, and the taste there seemed to vary widely. You figured they were probably books from both of the boys, and left them as they were to go try and find the kitchen for a glass of water.

The office was nearby, but didn’t look like it got used as an office very often, but definitely seemed to have a gaming station in one corner.

You found the billiard’s room next, noting that there was a ping-pong table folded up in a corner. It seemed pretty abandoned, clean, but not nearly as used.

Then a smell permeated the air, drawing you back toward soft noise and even softer humming, murmured conversation and the sizzling of something cooking.

You peeked into the large kitchen, smiling when you saw Namjoon reading in one corner, and Seokjin cooking at the stove. Namjoon seemed to be explaining the book to Seokjin, quietly passionate about it.

Seokjin was smiling and humming, possibly more focused on what he was cooking, but still seeming to hear what Namjoon was saying.

“Smells good,” You said quietly, slipping completely into the room. Trying not to disturb the aura.

Seokjin turned and grinned at you. “Hey! You look like you feel better.”

You nodded. “That bed is heavenly. And thank you for cleaning the fountain.”

He shrugged. “It looked like it had been neglected for a while. Namjoon found some pebbles for it as well because he read that once they’ve been exposed to the tether it can make a transition easier, theoretically.”

Namjoon looked embarrassed, rubbing his neck. “I figured it couldn’t hurt to try it out.”

“That was very thoughtful,” You told him, smiling at him as well.

He was bright red after that.

Seokjin chuckled. “I’ll have dinner ready soon. Then I thought we could head down to the new library building, and then maybe go into town. There isn’t much, but I do need to pick up some things.”

You took the seat that Namjoon offered. “That sounds like a plan. Who’s the kitty?”

“Oh, that’s Parsley. She followed us home one day and has been here ever since.” Namjoon pet the cat carefully. “She’s a good mouser, so we just sort of created a pact that as long as she keeps us pest free, we’ll keep her pest-free.”

“She’s a cutie,” You said, pressing your cheek against the soft fur and enjoying the soothing vibrations of her purr. It was just one of the many things that made you feel so comfortable here. That and both men seemed relatively impervious to your enchanting beauty, which was refreshing. It gave you hope that this would work out. That you wouldn’t always be free-floating.

“She is. Do you know anything about this bird that practically forced it’s way into our house?” Seokjin asked, pointing toward the ceiling.

You leaned to the left to look at the little black and white fluff-ball. “Was wondering when he would show up. He’s been following me for a while. Don’t know why, but he seems to have formed an attachment. Whether he feels like conversing is a completely different matter.”

“Does he have a name?”

“Not that he’ll tell me.”

Namjoon started laughing.

Seokjin gave you an exasperated look. “What do you call him?”

“Fluffball, marshmallow, cotton swab, cotton ball, cotton candy, fairy floss—he really doesn’t like that one—squishy, fluffy, Caspar, and Leo.” You shrugged. “Like I said, he won’t tell me his name. Just what his name isn’t.”

“So, none of those are his name?”

“Well, fairy floss isn’t. I’ve gotten to the point where I think he’s just waiting for someone else to settle on a name for him—preferably one he likes.”

“And until then, he’s just going to come and go as he pleases?”

You shrugged again, holding it for a while.

Namjoon was still laughing, his smile revealing some adorable dimples.

“So...is he a magical bird?”

You looked up at your feathered friend, and resisted the urge to shrug once more. “Maybe?”

Seokjin huffed. “What does he eat?”

“Haven’t the foggiest. He always leaves to eat. Sometimes I’d see him eating bird-seed, but mostly he just flies off and comes back well-fed. I think he eats insects.”

“Great. He can deal with the mosquitos.” Seokjin spared the bird a glance, then dished up the food. “The store might have some insects we can get for him, just in case. You never know. They always have weird things.”

“Really?” You looked forlornly after the kitty as it leaped off and disappeared through another doorway. “Is it a magic shop?”

“Well….”

“We told you that Jin-hyung is the only human in town, didn’t we?” Namjoon asked, eyes widened slightly. “Everyone who lives in the area is magical to some extent, except for hyung.”

You shook your head, a little stunned. “No. No you did not tell me that.”

But man was that an idea to wrap your head around.

Seokjin shrugged, having plated up the food. “This is a pretty popular place for refugees. Sort of remote and accepting of different species. A nice place to make a fresh start.”

“But...you’re the only human. Doesn’t that get...I don’t know...lonely?”

He blinked at you, then shook his head and shrugged. “No? I have Namjoonie, and now you’re here too. And yeah, I’m outnumbered, but they’ve never held my species against me. I mean, that’s probably because I did sort of pay for the whole town, which isn’t much. But more people come each day, and some people move on to other places once they’ve gotten back onto their feet. It’s like an adventure, meet some new characters, help them on their journey, then return home to sleep in a big, soft, bed with a full belly.”

And maybe the look of genuine happiness on his face was just a little too alluring.

Maybe you were just desperate to belong somewhere, because when he included you...it was like the world lit up.

And no, you were not tearing up.

His hand covered yours, warmth spreading from his touch to the mark that was hidden under the sleeve of your dress as he smiled warmly at you. “I really do hope that this place becomes your home. Everyone deserves to have a home.”

And then he was moving away, maybe not even aware that he was one of your soulmates since he was human.

“Come on, let’s eat.”

Namjoon quickly complied with Seokjin’s words, but you were slower to follow, trying to figure out how all of this had come about.

“I heard that a new van full of people arrived yesterday, so I want to see if I can meet any of them. See if we still have enough housing for everyone. That might mean a couple people staying with us in the house if there isn’t enough housing. Is that okay?”

You nodded, just following their actions, but not taking as much food as they did. Mostly because you didn’t need much food to survive, but it smelled good. So good, and Seokjin did cook it himself.

“Alright, then it’s a plan. Eat, see the new library, go to the store, meet people, come home.” Seokjin nodded firmly at the end of the list, then seemed to remember something. “And talk to your mage-handler and see about tethering you to the spring. That’s probably more important. We can do the other things tomorrow if we have to, but the tethering should be done sooner rather than later. That is, if you want to be tethered to the spring. You wouldn’t necessarily have to live here your whole life, we could always get you your own home, it would just—”

“Living here is fine, and yes, I would like to be tethered to the spring,” You said quickly, noticing how his speech was deteriorating. “I just have one question.”

“Oh?” He looked so genuinely concerned, leaning forward in his seat.

“Namjoon said you wear glasses, so...have you actually seen me?”

Namjoon snickered.

Seokjin’s ears turned bright red. “Um. Yes. Yes I can see you. I have seen you. I’m seeing you. I, um, I put in my, um, contacts. I can see you quite clearly. Also, I could see you when I was closer. Just, not after a certain distance. And yes, we do plan on actively protecting you when we go out.”

You nodded. “Just curious.”

Namjoon paused after swallowing. “The mage is back.”

Seokjin sighed. “So, town tomorrow then. I’ll go let him in. I suppose this means I need to offer him dinner?”

“That would be the polite thing,” Namjoon said, gleefully.

Seokjin muttered as he left the room.

“He’s...unusual for a human,” You commented.

Namjoon nodded. “Yeah. He is. But he’s one of the best human’s I’ve ever met. We’re really glad you’re going to stay with us, Y/n. I hope you never regret your choice.”

“I hope so too.” But you didn’t think you would.

Namjoon turned toward the door, eyes narrowed slightly before rolling his eyes. “Can you help me cover the food? Apparently Mr. Mage is insisting on doing the tethering now if you agree to it.”

You rolled your eyes and got up to help him cover all three plates and the platters and bowls with tin foil to possibly retain some warmth. You highly doubted you’d be eating again that evening since tethering made you impossibly nauseous and sleepy. “I won’t be very coherent after the tethering.”

He nodded. “We’ll make sure you get back here and into bed safely, or into the tub downstairs.”

You nodded, then followed him out to where Seokjin was listening to your mage, looking strained.

“Ah, so, have you decided whether you wish to be tethered to the spring here or not?”

“I have decided to be tethered, yes.” Anything to not be in his careless hands anymore.

“Excellent! I’ll get the fountain!”

“How about I grab it, that way your hands are free to do the actual spell,” Jin quickly intervened. “Namjoon can lead the way back to the mouth of the spring.”

You breathed a sigh of relief as the mage agreed to it. At least Seokjin would be careful.

“Alright, then lets head to this spring! I’d love to be on the road before dark.”

Namjoon’s chin jutted out slightly.

Seokjin just gave a pained smile, nodding. “Yes. Driving after dark is a pain. Namjoon. Lead the way.”

And you weren’t about to tell on Namjoon when you saw one of the floorboards pop up to trip the mage, because you kind of felt somewhat vindicated.

The forest around the house was made up primarily of spruces, firs, pines, and hemlocks with birches, oaks, and red maples popping through here and there. The path that the four of you took (with a little fluffball following overhead and a calico furball following behind curiously) was discreet, yet also fairly well-worn. As though walked often, but also well-cared for.

It was quiet, with varying degrees of density—some areas providing a wide view of the rest of the forest, and other areas being so dense that you couldn’t see a foot past the nearest tree.

Namjoon followed the path for a while, then diverged into the forest down what appeared to be a game-trail, something not walked often.

Then you could sense the water. It’s purity, it’s cleanliness. Free and untethered.

The creek was beautiful, and all of you followed it to the head of the spring.

You grinned when you saw it, a thrill going through you. It was beautiful and so clean and lovely and it was going to be yours.

Seokjin set your fountain down so that the mage could prepare the spell, then came over to you. “You’re sure about this?”

You looked into his eyes, the eyes of one of your soulmates, and nodded. “I’ve never been more certain about anything in my life.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled, a little more carefree now.

You hoped you’d have the courage to talk about soulmates with him someday, but today you were going to have your soul ripped from a tiny fountain and sewn back into a spring. You only had so much courage.

And then the mage started the spell.

Survey Results used for this chapter:

Namjoon-Blue (haltija), Seokjin-Pink (human), You-Cyan (xana)

Silk, Book-Librarian, Creek-what your water source is attached to, House/Apartment/Mansion, Style-Victorian & Contemporary, view-boreal/boreal-mix forest, calico kitty, white bird with black wings,

Whoops-meet Seokjin first, Oh No-meet Namjoon second, LaLaLa-C (some friends, some strangers), Loyalty-Soulmate au, Black-War tore through and you're all in relief housing situation.

Pre-Chapter 2 Survey

Next.

Masterlist. ot7 Masterpost.

Taglist: @missmoxxiesworld @bryvada @i-dont-even-know-fck @knjhe @alex--awesome--22 @kerikaaria @killcomet @letsreadbts @taestannie

#fairy au #supernatural au #bts fic #bts ot7 #ot7 #bts #kim seokjin #kim namjoon #namjoon #seokjin #haltija!Namjoon #human!seokjin #xana!reader #soulmate!au #soulmate!bts #readers choice fic #clearwater springs fic #ot7 x reader #bts x reader

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that-bajan-kid · 5 years ago

Text

Boku No Hero Academia Chapter 283 SPOILERS

(He lives, bitch.)

We cut back to the mountains and the very horrified faces of the students. They look like they've lost all hope.

Oh no Suneater was there. Please let him be okay. He suppose to graduate this year damn it.

That is honestly very terrifying. Majestic saved them. That explains why there not crushed.

And then they all immediately got crushed. Yeah why didn't the Anaesthetic work? Is he immune? Cause that would suck if he is.

Mineta is going off about how all their efforts might have been for nothing since all the heroes are defeated and Giganto is still up and kicking. We also get a lovely image of civilians running for their lives so that's neat.

Dabi's out here living his best life. Toga still looks depressed which is understandable. Spinner looks... conflicted and Compress is wearing his mask so idk. Dabi looks like he's the only one enjoying himself.

I was kinda hoping he'd be gone by now. That one hero in the bottom left bout to loose both his arms from the looks of it. Aizawa, Miruko and Hawks welcome you to the "I lost a limb" club. I guess technically Ectoplasm should be in this club too.

Midoriya looks P I S S E D.

You can kinda see Aizawa's face more clearly and there is definitely blood where his right eye should be.

Shouto tells Endeavour to cool off while he handles things. Bakugou is pissed because apparently Midoriya left his ass behind. Gran is clutching his chest, something he wasn't doing before, leading me to assume he really is/was alive after Shiggy put a hole in his chest.

HE IS BEYOND LIVID. Look at his fucking face. We've seen Midoriya get mad but not like this.

Also I just realised, the chapter title is '75'. Is that supposed to reference Shigaraki only being 75% complete? Is that going to come into play later?

It's going to come into play now, apparently. He's not event healing anymore. Or this particular wound isn't. This is why you should always cook your food for the recommended amount of time.

Midoriya has come to the realisation that Shigaraki is incapable of handling AFO. Meanwhile Shigaraki seems to have come to the same conclusion cause he's asking for the date.

RyuuKyuu's sidekick is currently making her way through the city with a barely conscious Miruko in her arms, presumably looking for a hospital as we get a friendly reminder that Shiggy is undercooked.

Speaking of Shiggy, his regen kicked in and Izuku looks like he's ready to attack again, and I don't think I need to explain why this is a bad idea.

Shiggy is about to unleash Decay again but there's an explosion and I can't tell who cause it.

(Edit: Not an explosion, just Midoriya jumping off.)

Nothing like facing down death itself to unlock some new skills, am I right?

This kinda already got spoiled for me. I knew he was gonna unlock Float I just didn't know how.

OH MY GOD HE REALLY IS STILL ALIVE!!! LOL THAT'S GONNA PISS OF SO MANY PEOPLE. That's hilarious. Izuku has murder in his eyes. He ready to do whatever it takes to end this. He can fly now bitch, whatcha gone do about that, hmm? As long as Deku stays clear of those hands he should, more or less, be fine.

I can't believe Gran's still alive. I know there were alot of people ccelabrating his death in the tags for some reason. How we feeling now guys? He's probably gonna end up pulling a Nighteye and die anyways but let me have my moment, damn it.

Man I can't wait to see how Midoriya's gonna explain his sudden ability to FLY when this is all over.

It seems that the situation with Giganto has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage. Next chapter should be interesting.

Until next time.

#school got pushed back so i have another week off #good news all around #boku no hero academia #boku no hero academia spoilers #bnha #bnha spoilers #bnha manga #bnha manga spoilers #bnha 283

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rosaliepostsstuff · 4 years ago

Text

Chapter 5 - Of Halloween and Fred’s bluntness

series masterlist

tags: @weasleysbees ; @gloryekaterina ; @thatguppienamedbae ; @sagittarius-flowerchild; @hufflepuff5972 ; @pandaxnienke ; @izzyyy-1

if you’d like to be added/removed, send a DM or an ask

warnings: swearing, sexual references, mentions of food and eating, alcohol consumption word count: 1749 a/n: This might’ve been the most fun to write chapter yet. Surprise in form of diving into George’s mind for a chapter! a/n 2: I planned out and published the chapter titles in advance on purpose, as a little teaser, so you could try to figure out what the plot could be and I cannot express enough how excited I am for the next one

If you have any feedback, please let me know!

—————⑤—————

George woke up from blissful sleep to be met with a dull headache. He went to reach and open the curtain of his four-poster, rubbing his face in the process and winced immediately, reminding himself of previous day’s events.

He lay back on the pillow, his bottom lip throbbing slightly.

He brought his fingers to the swollen lip, touching it carefully, thinking back to how your fingers would brush over it delicately as you tended to him last evening. You were too good for him.

Fred’s heavy groan, signalling his wake up, distracted George from going down the same path again as last night when his thoughts went spiralling, going over and over the short conversation you had right afterwards, until he passed out and fell asleep.

He stretched in his bed and lazily got up, ready to start the day.

—————⑤—————

They walked down the spiralled steps quickly, on their way to grab lunch, as it was way past time for breakfast. George slipped into the common room and saw you waiting at the table, writing something in your small notebook. You looked up soon enough and your eyes lit up when they met his, you slammed shut the notebook and slipped it into your bag.

“Hi there,” you waved to the three boys, walking up to them. Your gaze travelled to George’s lip and he noticed concern flood your eyes right away. You truly looked like an angel, smiling like that.

“How’s it feel?” you asked, twisting your face a bit and pointing at his mouth once you started walking. “Alright,” he answered, nodding, “it seems to be healing well, whatever you rubbed in it must’ve helped,” he smiled. “Ah see, magic,” you said, smugly, trying to appear mysterious. “Pure love,” Fred exclaimed, walking in the front, “and just the right amount of spit,” he added, turning to you for a moment, making the rest of you laugh.

“Have you managed to finish your costumes?” You asked enthusiastically, before bringing a forkful into your mouth. “Yup,” George replied, clearly proud of himself. “We’re gonna look absolutely wicked, I’m so glad we agreed on this,” Lee stated, and you smiled wider at the boys.

“Are you doing any make-up?” Fred asked. You bit your lip in thought, “Dunno… I mean, they’re cartoons, I don’t think they wear make-up..? But maybe…why?” “If you’re wearing make-up, and we’re not” Fred gestured between himself and George, “then we won’t be matching anymore,” he reasoned. “True. I could come over and we’d do it together, I could help you out. Might be fun. George..?” you asked, checking if he had any objections. “I’m cool,” he said, shrugging.

George was lying in bed, in his outfit, waiting. Lee was putting on some finishing touches to his costume and Fred was still in his boxers and socks. Five minutes before the appointed time, they heard your signature knock on the door.

You walked in and upon seeing Fred’s ‘too-close-to-naked’ butt turned to you, twisted your face and gagged as a hello. “You’re early, sunshine,” Fred said cheekily, walking behind his bed and pulled back the curtain to get dressed behind it. George took a moment to notice how cute you looked in your costume. “On time, five minutes early,” you countered and went to sit down on George’s bed.

You gave him an appraising look, scanning him from head to toe and he felt a strong urge to pull his skirt down, making you chuckle. “Nice legs,” you winked. “I’d argue,” Fred declared, raising one of his own legs tantalizingly from behind the curtain.

“What’s up with your face?” Lee gave you a puzzled sort of look, only now turning to you properly.

Now that George thought about it, it did look a bit weird.

“I prepped my face and did my foundation, I’ll do the rest once I know what those two want me to do to their faces,” you said.

Yes, yes now that would explain it.

You opened your makeup bag and pulled some stuff George had no clue about. He’s never actually seen you do your makeup. At school, if you’re wearing any, he always saw you already in it. The only opportunity would be perhaps while you’re staying at the Burrow, but then you rarely bother wearing makeup.

Fred insisted on being your subject first. He wasn’t a very good one, though. Rather impatient and very mobile, restless, earning himself a few smacks on the shoulder from you.

Then it was George’s turn. He sat on the bed, facing you, and you shifted to sit as close as possible, to make your job easier. He felt your breath on his face as you scanned it carefully, then you got to work.

It came to his attention he rarely got to see your face from this perspective. Right in front of his eyes, and so close. All of your facial features, so familiar to him, he got to know even better.

“George…” you scolded him gently. “What?” he asked, genuinely confused. Were you talking about something and he wasn’t listening? No, he’d have noticed, he was staring at your lips. “Don’t move away! I can’t do it precisely when you lean back and I have to reach like that.” “I’m not leaning back,” George denied. “You’re leaning back, mate,” Fred pointed out and George realised he was, in fact, involuntarily leaning further back every time your face got closer.

He straightened his back once again and this time your face got pushed away like it was the same magnetic pole as his.

“You’re getting circles under your eyes,” he went to distract you, “you keep staying up lately.” You sighed softly, like you always do when he calls you out on something, but you know he’s right. “I don’t think I’ll have to anymore. Or not much longer, so I’ll get better with my sleep,” you explained. “And are you finally going to tell me what is it, that you were doing?” he asked accusingly. These past few weeks you kept brushing him off with ‘I’ll tell you soon enough’. “Better yet,” you smirked mischievously, “I might show you today if we leave before the sunset. It won’t be as impressive in the dark,” you stated, making the three boys’ curiosity peak.

You carefully put on some finishing touches on George’s lips, careful of the cut. “Voila!” you exclaimed, pulling away to admire your work.

Fred looked at his brother with a frown, then glanced at himself in a mirror. “You did a wonky job on my eyes!” he said, pointing his finger. “Uhh- you did a wonky job staying still,” you replied, grabbing all the necessary products to finish your makeup in front of a mirror. The boys found watching you do it surprisingly satisfying.

“Oh, and Julie’s coming over later so I’ll be hanging out with her,” Fred noted as the four of you left their dorm. “Congratulations,” George said sarcastically and Fred gave him a look. “So what?” “So, you know what hanging out means. I need you out of the room,” Fred replied, accentuating the last part.

George groaned. He knew he’d be tired after going out and the prospect of not being able to get back to his room for Merlin knows how long was not welcome, but he didn’t argue.

“Oh come on, Merlin knows you should get laid. You’d relax a little,” Fred stated (Lee snorted in the background) and George glared at him, feeling betrayed. Fred looked at your surprised face, “and you too. Both of you, actually,” he added, waving his finger between George and you. (Lee crouched down to avoid collapsing from laughing so hard.)

You and George stared at him with your jaws dropped, mortified. “Oh, my sweet little beans, I didn’t say you have to get laid with each other!” Fred clasped his hands dramatically, “…necessarily,” he added with a sweet, mischievous smile.

George smacked his brother across the head. You started laughing, partly as a defensive reaction, partly because of Lee’s contagious laughter.

—————⑤—————

On your way to Hogsmeade, you went off-course a little. You led the boys towards one of the outer sides of the castle, near the clocktower courtyard and a path leading to the lake. Once you were out in the open, it was hard to miss – a huge, windowless, wall, and on it-

“Pink toad can suck a butt?” Lee read out loud. “What is that?!” Fred questioned in disbelief. You crossed your arms on your chest proudly, “Moss graffiti. Alicia and I did this,” you explained gazing once again at your masterpiece. George looked at the writing in amusement, “And you did all this-“ “In the cover of the night, yeah,” you replied before he could finish. “They’ll never catch me,” you whispered theatrically. “It was worth losing a little sleep. It’s so stupid it’s hilarious.”

—————⑤—————

By the time you stepped through the gate of Hogsmeade, George’s legs were pretty cold and he concluded that in this temperature a little wind between the legs doesn’t seem so great after all. Looking down at his pink dress, he silently thanked himself for giving in to you when you told him to wear tights because he would’ve felt really stupid right about now.

He looked to his left and could see your wide grin as you bit your bottom lip in excitement, looking around all the decorations. With a little help of magic, your hair was now the exact same shade as Bubbles’, tied in two neat pigtails. Dressed in a very similar dress as his, but blue, you clutched your stuffed octopus to your chest.

You made sure to take a group photo as a souvenir for the future and then commenced your Halloween celebrations. Trick or treating with lots of tricks and playing games, you got complimented on your group-coordinated outfits every now and then. Butterbeer was flowing, candy was consumed and memories were made.

That evening George was thankful as ever for your company in the common room while his twin occupied the dorm.

With most of your energy drained, legs falling out and bellies full of unhealthy snacks, you lay on the couch in front of the fire, talking nonsense.

As both of you grew more sleepy and the pauses in your conversation grew longer, he got lost in his thoughts. Perhaps his brother was right. Perhaps he should just get laid.

Perhaps, he should get over himself.

#george weasley #george weasley x reader #george weasley series #weasley twins

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nosferatvpussy · 5 years ago

Text

distorted lullabies [chapter V]

Word count: 6,480

Warnings: vulgar language, light smut (finally)

Pairing: Dracula x reader

AO3 link

Author’s note: I'm particularly happy with this chapter considering I didn't like the previous one. The nerd in me took the stage when I was writing this and I have a feeling it will keep happening on the next chapters. Sorry not sorry.

“Visitations hours are almost over so I’m afraid you’ve got to be quick,” said the nurse as she opened the doors to the psychiatric ward.

I had only been to the psychiatric ward once many years ago to accompany Renfield on an interview with a potential alibi for one of our clients. I stood in the hallway, fiddling with my purse’s shoulder strap. The nurse, Margaret according to her name tag, turned to see me hesitating and looked at my neck and then back at my face with sympathy. Obviously, it was no secret why Renfield had been committed to the psych ward.

“He’s medicated, love. I doubt he’ll pay much attention to you, don’t worry.”

I nodded and gestured for us to keep walking. While I welcomed her sympathy, it didn’t help. I didn’t want to see a deranged Renfield or one that was so out of touch with the world that he wouldn’t recognise me. But what I wanted shouldn’t matter at that place. I needed to see him, insane or not.

I followed Margaret down the hallway, taking a sharp turn to the left and another one to the right. A large octagonal room spread before us, so big that it could have been a ballroom in another time. Large french windows on every wall allowed the last rays of sunshine in the afternoon to stream in, creating patterns on the linoleum floor. A bad ambient rendition of Call Me by Blondie played softly from speakers, making a patient to my right bob her head out of beat. Her eyes were empty and while she wasn’t in rhythm, she knew all the words to the lyrics. The girl sat across from her - a daughter, I presumed - smiled at the woman, mouthing the words while they held hands. I looked away, suddenly feeling like I was intruding. Two more patients on opposite sides of the room were accompanied by visitors and a third one, the furthest from me, was sitting on an armchair, facing the sun alone.

“Fifteen minutes,” Margaret said before taking her leave.

My high heels were loud on the floor as I dawdled my way to the lone man but he didn’t react to them. I sat on the armchair that stood perpendicular to him, refusing to look at him until I had made myself comfortable. Gathering my courage, I rose my eyes.

He resembled a rag doll as if someone had discarded him in a chair and arranged his limbs as a second thought. His head was pending on his shoulder and his arms were crossed floppily over his stomach, though his legs were firmly planted on the ground. As I watched his posture, his knees shook as if he was trying to move. Eyes flickering back to his face, I found him staring at me. His lips moved but I couldn’t make out his words.

“What?” I asked him.

“It burns,” Renfield said louder.

I frowned and he repeated his words again. He glanced at the window and I looked outside, light shining on my face.

“The Sun? Is that it?” I inquired. He nodded lightly. “Frank, the Sun isn’t burning you. Look, your skin is fine.” I pointed at his hands.

“Burns.” He shut his eyes.

Stubborn as ever, even if he what he claimed wasn’t feasible. I wasn’t the one going through what he was, though. Inhaling deeply,I stood up, grabbed the edges of his armchair and dragged it until he was in the shade with me.

“Better?” I asked as I sat down again.

“Much. Why-” he gulped “-are you here?”

I smiled faintly.

“To make sure you are still in condition to come back to work,” I joked and the corners of his lips tugged upward. “I’m drowning in clients, mine and yours. One them is particularly demanding. I’d be glad to be rid of him.”

“You can’t,” he said without a trace of the smile that had been forming on his face.

“I know,” I sighed. “Neither can you.”

“I don’t want to be rid of him.”

“Why?”

“I do not exist without him,” he said very slowly. “I have a purpose now.”

“Frank, you’ve always had a purp-”

“No. Working seven days a week so I will become wealthy isn’t a purpose. It is shallow and it was my entire life, until him.” He fixed his eyes on me and for the first time I saw the hint of insanity in them. “You will understand soon enough.”

He sounded eerily like himself when he spoke, even if his eyes had a different gleam to them, and that was even worse than him being insane. It meant that he truly believed in what he said, with or without Count Dracula and that he expected everyone to feel as dependent as he did.

“When you sent me to him… did you know he would-”

“Make you his bride? No but I had my suspicions. You are you, after all.” He laughed lightly. “The Count enjoys a challenge.”

“Was I a welcome gift to him?”

“Has it occurred to you that maybe he was my gift to you?”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Have you hated me all these years in secret? What kind of gift is that?”

He laughed.

“My love for you is beaten only by my love for Count Dracula. He is freedom, Y/N. Grandiosity, power… Life itself. I wish him on every person so they will understand it.”

“Do you, really?” Sarcasm weighed my words. “You tried to kill me because he chose me.”

His jaw clenched.

“I have seen the error of my ways, now,” he said, staring at the ground.

“He’s been here to see you, hasn’t he? To teach you a lesson?”

Dark blue eyes met mine again as he moved carefully on his chair, suddenly assuming a much more dignified posture.

“Did you come here to throw salt in my wounds?” he questioned.

“I came to check on you,” I replied and he raised his eyebrows derisively, like he always did when he thought something had no credibility. “And to ask you about him. Will you answer my questions?” He shrugged and I took that as a yes. “Why is he here? In London?”

“Does it change anything?”

“I don't think so.”

“I taught you better than to ask dense questions. Next one.”

I sighed. I deserved that.

“How did you come into contact with him? He’s been a client since, well, forever. ”

“He was originally a client of one Jonathan Harker, a solicitor from our firm who traveled to Wallachia to never return,” Renfield laughed. “Harker was attending to all of the Count’s affairs so he could relocate here.”

“In 1896?” I questioned and he nodded. “But he just arrived…”

I trailed off as I tried to piece everything together. The Jonathan Harker Foundation surely had a connection to the solicitor. All I knew about it was what Renfield had told me, that it was an underground research facility. He hadn’t mentioned why Count Dracula had been in their custody and frankly, I hadn’t bothered to ask before I met the Count.

“Indeed. 120 years late,” he explained. “The master embarked to England in 1896 but the ship sunk and he spent the last century under the sea. When he awoke he contacted a lawyer from the same firm that had serviced him in the past.” He pointed at himself. “Dear, your mouth is open.”

I caught movement from the corner of my eyes and turned to see Margaret, the nurse, politely interrupting a conversation between a visitor and a patient. Visiting hour was over and I had to be quick.

“Are the vampire legends true?” I inquired and continued once he didn’t answer me, “Do they apply to Count Dracula?”

“Now, why would I tell you that?” he narrowed his eyes. “If you’re planning on killing him so you are free, don’t. No matter that he wants you as his bride, he’ll kill you if you try.”

Margaret was coming our way.

“I doubt it,” I said, forcing my voice to sound strong. “Keeping me as his bride at his side would be a greater punishment than death.” I threw my purse over my shoulder and picked up my briefcase. “Bye, Frank.”

I stood up and he grabbed my wrist, softly.

“Will you come by to see me again?”

It was his voice but the look in his eyes didn’t belong to him. I wouldn’t hold it past him to report everything we had just talked about to Count Dracula. How, I wasn’t sure, but if the Count had come to see him, then Renfield would find a way. If I kept coming to visit Renfield he would eventually let something slip and I could feed him whatever truth I wanted Dracula to believe.

“Sure,” I patted his shoulder and he let me go.

Margaret smiled at me as I approached her.

“I see you managed to make him talk.”

“We had quite a productive talk, actually.” I returned the smile. “Has a man come to see him? Tall, dark hair, handsome?”

“No, love, you’re the first one who’s come to visit him.”

I nodded and let her lead me out.

In fifteen minutes I gathered more information about the Count than I had in the last few days. If he had come to see Renfield and discipline him, then he managed to do so undetected, which meant he could follow me around without my knowledge if he wished to. Seeing that Renfield was bothered by the sun I’d take it that Dracula was too, so I had at least one of the vampire legends confirmed. I suspected that the boat trip in which Agatha, Dracula’s dear old friend, had died was the very same one that had landed the Count under the sea. Why he stayed there for over a century was still a mystery to me. During my night with him in Camden, the Count mentioned he was widower to many brides and now that Renfield used the title when referring to me for the second time I understood just what he meant by that. And the best part, I found a loophole in my bond to him. Not once while I talked to Renfield about Dracula did my body try to shut me up. It wasn’t much but it was enough to give me hope.

My phone chirping pulled me from thoughts and I reached inside my purse to read the text I had just received. First an address and then a text by Count Dracula.

It’s Wednesday. I hope you haven’t forgotten about our date. Meet me at this address at 9pm.

“Here we are, miss,” said the cabbie.

“The museum?” I asked, looking outside as he stopped the car. The Victoria and Albert Museum stood on the other side of the street, spread imposingly on an entire block while ocean blue lights illuminated it from beneath. “But it’s closed.”

“It’s the address you gave me,” the cabbie said in an annoyed tone.

“Yeah but- nevermind,” I sighed as I fished twenty pounds out of my purse and handed it to him. “Thank you.”

“Night.”

I left the car, being careful to hold on to the edges of my dress so I wouldn’t flash my underwear to a passerby. Wind immediately whipped my ponytail up but I took hold of it to avoid ruining my hair. Although I was wearing a dress, I had a trench coat over top of it to protect me from London’s harsh weather. Walking aimlessly, I grabbed my phone and dialed Count Dracula. He picked up after three rings.

“I’m here. Where-”

“Behind you.”

I almost dropped my phone as I pivoted.

“Fucking hell. Don’t do that,” I warned, I smacked my forehead with my free hand, laughing nervously.

“You’re not in your work clothes,” he said as he covered some of the distance between us, completely ignoring the fact that he almost scared me to death. “You got ready for me?”

“No. Yes,” I scoffed. “It’s a date, isn’t it? I’m dressed accordingly."

“Red suits you,” he commented as his eyes traveled over me.

“Thanks,” I smoothed my dress absently. “You look nice, as well.”

Was this how Red Riding Hood felt when she was complimenting her grandmother just before she found out it was a wolf all along?

He wasn’t dressed much differently than his usual attire. Black always seemed to be his colour of choice and he looked fantastic in it. This time he had replaced his usual black blazer with a well fitted long coat. As I evaluated him, he shifted his weight on the balls of his feet which made his coat open lightly and gave me a peek of the rest of his outfit. The black button-up shirt was slightly undone -- the two top buttons, only -- but it was enough to showcase a bit of chest hair and arouse my curiosity. I averted my eyes when he caught me ogling him.

Nope. No curiosity here. None at all. Llewellyn, please be my brain.

Dracula grinned, probably satisfied that he managed to have some effect on me.

“Shall we?” He offered me his arm.

“Where to?” I asked, accepting his arm automatically.

“There.” He pointed.

My mouth opened and closed to which he chuckled. I let him drag me along with him as we crossed the road. As we approached the entrance to the Victoria and Albert Museum, I managed to find my voice.

“But it’s closed,” I repeated for the second time that night.

“Not for us. No, not that way.” He pulled me back by my arm when I started going up the steps. “Come, I have someone waiting for us.”

“What, did you hypnotise someone in order to grant us entrance?” I turned to him as we walked so I could catch his expression.

He smiled and glanced at me.

“Oh, no. Much more mundane than that.” He lifted his free hand and rubbed his forefinger and thumb together in the universal sign for money.

“Bribery? Lovely. Lucky that I’m not a prosecutor, otherwise I would have serious trouble agreeing to a date like this.”

“Questionable morals are better than no morals at all.”

“Says you,” I shot back.

He laughed at that.

As we walked, I noticed that only my heels clicked. He was completely silent, almost as if he was gliding just above the ground. Even with him at my side I couldn’t hear his clothes ruffling. I couldn’t remember if I had heard him made noise on the last times we met. Perhaps the knowledge of what he truly was, vampire and murderer, made him more unnatural on my eyes.

Ahead of us, a man appeared under a lamppost, fidgeting from foot to foot. Taking that he was dressed in a 3-piece tweed suit, he wasn’t a security guard. As we approached him, he shot furtive glances up and down Cromwell Road. He was a small man, so much so that he appeared frail. His snooty face indicated anything but. Probably one of the museum’s curators. Behind him stood a garage gate that led into V&A Museum.

“You’re late,” he complained, barely looking at Count Dracula and I as he retrieved a set of keys from his front pocket. “I can lose my job because of this, you know.”

“Yes, we know. Be quick about it or I won’t pay you the other half as promised.”

The man blew out a breath and turned around to open the gate. The sound of jingly keys striking the metal gate made me cast glances around us. I caught Dracula making a show of doing the same and I dug my fingers on his arm.

“If I get arrested because of this-” I started.

“You won’t. Hurry up, Mr. Lyle.”

Lyle slid the gate open and I sighed in relief. Forgetting about pleasantries, I nudged Lyle aside and squeezed through the small opening, hauling the Count with me. Two cars and a small van were parked on one side of the car lot, which was weird since supposedly the museum would be deserted. An open door to our left allowed a yellow light to illuminate the way. Count Dracula disentangled himself from my grip and gestured for me to go inside as he doubled back to have a word with Lyle.

I moseyed in through the doorway, fingers over my lips to withhold my gasp. The lights were dim at the center of room while light beams illuminated the contours of sculptures, creating an incredible contrast that made me think of a Caravaggio painting. The ceiling arched above the room in a skylight. Clouds on the sky separated briefly to give me a glimpse of stars. A figure approached me from my right, joining me in the haze. I expected to see Dracula when I turned my head but instead there stood a woman clothed in a white waitress uniform carrying a tray with two champagne glasses and an open bottle.

“Oh,” I made, automatically extending a hand and taking a glass. A raspberry dance inside the glass as the woman poured champagne. “Thanks,” I said after she served me. A whoosh of wind behind me told me the Count had just closed the door behind him after entering. “He doesn’t drink,” I said when she moved to fill the other glass.

I saw the waitress staring behind me, mouth slightly agape as she looked at my date. He did look especially hot tonight so I didn’t blame her. I sipped my drink as I strolled around the room.

“You can leave the bottle,” I heard him say. “And bring us the food as well. We won’t be needing you for the rest of the night.”

I stopped before a statue of a man attacking another one with a bone. It stood on a pedestal, adding power to the image created. I hadn’t seen it in years and yet it had the same impact on me. Both men were nude, the one with the bone subjugating the other one by pulling their hair and preparing a blow over his head. The beauty and elegance portrayed during a brutal act of combat always managed to resonate with a part of me I couldn’t put my finger on.

I looked behind me, searching for Dracula and found him still standing at the door. The waitress was gone.

“Do you know-” I interrupted myself, happily surprised by the echo my voice created when I raised it “-do you know the story of Samson?”

“Regrettably I was raised christian, so yes,” he replied, walking over to me. His annoyance made me smile. “Is that him?”

“Yes, Samson slaying a philistine,” I pointed at the label glued to the top of the pedestal. I didn’t need to read it to know what was written. “Always found it funny how he possessed such amazing strength, stored in his hair of all places, and all it took to beat him was to fall in love with a woman so deeply that he told her all his secrets. There’s a painting of Samson asleep on Delilah’s lap as a servant boy cuts his hair. It’s in the National Gallery though. But this Samson,” I circled the statue, admiring the details as I had done a thousand times, “here he is powerful, raw. There’s no love in him.”

Dracula stood on the other side of the statue and we met each other’s eyes in silence. He was just watching me, eyebrows slightly drawn together.

“I came here for the first time when I was a young girl in a school field trip. I fell in love with this place and this statue, in particular. I don’t know why here of all places…” I was rambling now but he seemed willing to listen. “I’ve been to other museums in London but this one is just special. Used to beg my mum to bring me here every weekend but she didn’t seem to get my fascination with this place. I haven’t been here since I graduated from college. Sometimes I skipped school to come here and spent the day wandering the halls, emulating some of the statues when I thought nobody was looking. There’s a room here filled with paintings… I used to sit on a corner there, trying to memorise every detail and then go home and try to find it in everyday life.”

“I know. And you felt empty because you couldn’t.” He started circling the statue towards me.

“Yes…” I frowned. “People aren’t as expressive as art portrays. Most of the time they are just blank canvases. I started to feel like one after awhile.”

“Is that why you’re always so blunt? Because you don’t want to be a blank canvas?” He stopped before me, making me tip my head back to maintain eye contact.

“I-- I don’t know.” I was scowling now. “How do you know? That I felt empty?”

“I tasted it.”

I took a sip of my glass, as if that could help me digest that information.

“This place is one of the dearest things to my heart. You brought me here because you knew I would like it. What else did you find in my blood?”

“Ah but if I tell you, I’ll reveal my future plans for our dates,” he said with a tinge of playfulness in his voice. “You don’t look nearly as pleased as I thought you’d be to be here.”

I looked around me, inhaling deeply as if I could take the whole atmosphere within me. I knew that that the ecstatic, otherworldly feeling would leave me as soon as I stepped out of the museum. I only ever felt it in places like that, places so far removed from reality that everything I felt while there was unique to them. But to be there at night in complete silence, while nobody else perused the halls… It was unlike anything I had ever experienced. And to think I was there because of a deal I had made with a vampire. It didn’t matter that I was there so he could persuade me to accept eternal life. Right in that moment, it didn’t matter that Renfield was on a hospital, it didn’t matter that I had work tomorrow, it didn’t matter that my feet hurt because of my high heels, it didn’t matter that I hated Dracula and felt drawn to him at the same time. All it mattered was that I was there.

I grinned, suddenly getting it.

“You weren’t just being thoughtful when you chose this place. Is this your first move? Show me the unequaled experience I can have if I give in to you?”

“And here I thought that I was playing our game remarkably well.”

“You are. You get points for this.” I sipped my drink as I kept my eyes fixed on him. His eyes fell on my throat as I drank. I had a simple velvet choker concealing his bite and I could see him regarding it with contempt. “Easy there. Getting points doesn’t mean you won our deal.”

“You torture me.” He licked his lips.

“Yes, it’s very fun.” I batted my eyelashes at him with pretend innocence.

“I should try it on you sometime. See if you find that fun, too,” he lowered his voice as he spoke, leaning closer as he did.

I swallowed dryly, unsure if I wanted to find out. Staring at the curve of his lips, I was suddenly certain that I did. A rattling of cluttery and metal made me turn my head away from him and I silently thanked the waitress for being gracelessly loud. He was still hovering over me, literally breathing down my neck and I stepped aside. The waitress hauled a cart to where we were standing, a variety of food displayed elegantly. Shrimp cocktails, foie gras on toast, finger sandwiches, zucchini wrapped in prosciutto, and those were the ones I could identify. The opened champagne bottle was lying inside a bucket filled with ice.

“Thank you,” I said, immediately moving to grab a finger sandwich.

The waitress looked between the Count and I, her cheeks blushing. So she saw what she had walked into. Count Dracula moved to my side, a 100 pound note between his fingers extended to her.

“Here.”

“But that’s way too much.”

“Take it and leave.” A hint of irritation on his voice. He was obviously pissed because she had interrupted us.

She took the note and hurried out of the room, disappearing through an arch at the left. I chewed my food, barely tasting it when Dracula turned to look at me. I sustained his gaze, thankful my mouth had work to do otherwise I would chew on my lip in nervousness.

“Oh,” I made after I swallowed. “I almost forgot. I brought you something. Can you hold that?” I offered him my glass.

All traces of anger left his face as he grabbed my glass. He took the champagne bottle and topped off my drink, gazing at me curiously as I scrambled through my purse. He returned my drink as he accepted the book I had extended to him. The curious expression on his face fell away and his brow furrowed slightly as he stared at the book before raising his eyes to mine.

“Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea?”

“Thought you might enjoy the reading considering you’ve been there.”

His thumb flickered through the pages although he kept his gaze on me.

“Clever. Renfield told you?”

“He’s able to hold a rational conversation, by the way.” I took a big gulp of my glass. “Have you read it? It came out before you took a nap under the sea.”

“No, haven’t had the opportunity,” he said as he narrowed his eyes. “Did you buy this just to spite me?”

“No, it’s from my library. You can return it to me after you finish reading it.” I smiled widely. “We’re even now.”

“How come?” “Well, you know more about me than I’d like you to, quite unfair this thing about tasting people’s lives in their blood, and I know more about you than you’d like me to. So… Even.” Though I kept my tone light as I spoke his face remained serious. “It wasn’t my intention to make you mad and I’m not threatening you, if that’s what you think. So quit it. Was it peaceful down there?”

He was absolutely unmoving, almost statuesque. I was beginning to think he had completely shut down when he clicked his tongue and straightened his body, elegant all over again.

“It was much like a dream, actually. A hundred years passed but it didn’t feel like it. All I remember this perpetual hum that is unique to underwater. Quite annoying after a while.”

“Annoying…” I repeated and chuckled. Of course he would find it annoying. I gathered that not much could surprise him or captivate his attention after centuries of existence. “C’mon. Get the bottle.” I jammed a shrimp in my mouth as I spoke, kicking off my shoes at the same time.

“What are you doing?”

I placed my glass on the edge of Samson’s sculpture and shrugged off my trench coat. Dracula watched me intently and when a shiver ran down my skin I knew it had nothing to do with the temperature in the room.

“Lose the coat,” I told him after I grabbed my glass again, the raspberry floating on shallow waters, or champagne in this case. “Lose it, c’mon! You can take your shoes off if you want to.”

Finally, he placed the book where my glass had been and removed his coat, throwing it on top of mine and then picking up the champagne bottle.

“What are you doing?” he repeated. While his eyes were puzzled, his lips tugged up.

I bolted, cutting through the room towards the large wood and gold arch that led to the rest of museum.

“Keep up, Count!” I shouted, my laugh echoing after me.

My muffled steps hitting the marble floors as I rushed through the museum was the only sound throughout the whole building and it made laugh more. As I ran, the memory of Renfield telling me the Count could kill me just as easily as he could turn me resounded on my head. Either way I would be dead and one of them seemed to be more appealing right then. But I didn’t want to entertain the possibility of actually considering immortality just yet. Count Dracula had given me one gift so far, one that had made me so ridiculously happy that I was running across rooms of art and history like an excited girl. If I wasted that moment by wallowing on my bitterness towards him or what had become of Renfield I was sure I would hate myself forever.

“Bittersweet,” I whispered to myself as I ran, almost out of breath. “Not bitter.”

Bringing me here after hours certainly had made me warm up to him, while still retaining the knowledge that this date was clear attempt to convince me… or manipulate me. But that was how dating worked in the world. People manipulated, trying to dazzle one another until someone gave in to love. Love wasn’t part of my deal with Dracula, though.

I had passed the fashion section, as well as the sculptures section already which meant I was close. I made a turn and found the room I had been looking for. Splashes of white veined marble and golden yellow on the ground and columns made for an incredible scenery combined with the fresco ceiling. On my left stood a staircase in the same architectural style but in brighter colours than the rest of the room. I was familiar with it yet I still found myself decelerating to take in its beauty. I turned my head to look behind me just in time to see Count Dracula making the same turn I had just made.

“Nearly there,” I told him, rushing up the staircase and looking behind me to see if he would follow.

“It’s not a good idea to make me chase you,” he warned, taking two steps at a time.

“Oh, I’m terrified!” I mocked.

Winding down a few more corridors, I finally found my intended destination. The rectangular room was big enough to hold the size of my home over three times. Scarlet walls peeked behind paintings. Some of them were as tall as I, some small enough to fold and put in a pocket for safekeeping and some were as big as an entire wall. And all of them were painfully beautiful, much like all paintings from the Baroque era.

“What do you think happens when I catch-” he interrupted himself as he entered the room, his jaw slacking “-you.”

“I wouldn’t dare wonder,” I said between ragged breaths, taking the bottle from his hand and serving myself. Amazingly after my marathon the raspberry was still safely inside my glass.

The Count slowly strolled in the room, head turning as he admired the paintings until he finally met my eyes again.

“This is the room you told me about. The one where you would sit and memorise the details.” He stared at me, and I nodded.

“Did you have a favourite place to be? To contemplate?” I sat on the center of the room to regain my breath, swinging my legs to the side in my best attempt to conceal my underwear. I set the bottle and glass next to my legs and then raised my arms to free my hair of the, now ruined, ponytail. I shook my hair to let it cascade freely.

He tipped his head back, looking at a Vermeer painting at the very top of the wall closest to us. Seeing as he was momentarily distracted by it I took the opportunity to watch him without feeling like I was doing something wrong. He had a strong and sensuous profile at the same time. He had done horrible things, I reminded myself, hoping to feel a hint of rage or repulsion but those emotions were nowhere to be found.

“Not a place. A person, yes,” he replied, still not looking at me.

“Agatha?” I guessed.

He swiveled his head then, a light smile on his face.

“Yes. She was fascinating.”

“You killed her, didn’t you?”

His smile faltered and he walked to my side and sat down to my left.

“I did.”

“Why? You liked her.”

“Well, she did try to kill me first,” he said and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Pleading self defense won’t get you absolved with me. What did she do?”

It was his turn to narrow his eyes in slits.

“For one, she set me on fire. And then she rigged the ship we were in to blow up. I ripped her throat out before it exploded. It was a mercy killing, really.” He blinked softly at me.

“Will you kill me at the slightest annoyance?” I asked, sliding closer to him. However ill-advised it was, perhaps snuggling up to him would grant me answers as to who he was at his core.

“I have no intention of killing you whatsoever.” He took a strand of my hair between his fingers, playing with it, but he kept his gaze on mine.

“Even if I try killing you?” I got so close to him that the question was uttered inches away from his lips.

“Even if." He threw my hair behind my shoulder, his eyes half lidded. “There is nothing that you can do to stop me from making you mine.” Every word was a whisper, like this conversation was intimate even for the faces inside the paintings around us.

“Why am I enough and Agatha wasn’t?”

“Self-preservation. If I had made her my bride she would continue her crusade on undeath to destroy me. But you, my darling, want me, even though you don’t think so.”

“Delilah wanted Samson, too, and where did that get him?” I whispered.

He scoffed, a grin taking his lips.

“Ah my Delilah,” he said scornfully. “No, you’re Samson. Sweet of you to think you can bring me to my knees-”

“I can.”

Our noses were nearly touching. A familiar thrill of doing something forbidden made my heart run leaps and bounds.

“Care to show me how?”

A dangerous game to play with him but I was never a quitter. I opened a large grin for him, one I hoped was as predatory as the ones he gave me. Taking my glass, I slowly gulped down the last of my champagne, keeping an eye on the hungry look that popped on Dracula’s face. After I was done, I reached inside the glass and pulled the raspberry out.

“Cheers,” I said, smirking as I stuck the fruit on my index finger.

I stood on my knees briefly so I could swing a leg over him. My smirk turned wicked as I settled myself on his lap, delighted about the frown on his face, like he was slightly angry that I would tempt him this way. His hands came to rest on my waist as I rose my hand, taking the raspberry carefully inside my mouth and sucking my finger as I withdrew it, all the while maintaining my gaze on his. His dark eyes seemed to become even darker as he watched me. Still not satisfied, I rolled my hips on his lap until I felt a growing bulge between my legs and he let out a moan.

“Admit it,” I breathed, struggling to keep my composure as I kept moving. “I can bring you to your knees if I want to.”

His adam’s apple moved as he swallowed and then smiled.

“No, my darling. All you managed to do is tease me,” he muttered.

One second I was sitting on top of him and the next I was trapped between him and the hardwood floor. I gazed up at his eyes, unsure if I should fight him off or not. He had my wrists on his grasp, successfully pinning me down as he ground his hips on mine until a moan left my lips. He dipped his head, making me think he was about to kiss me but then he changed directions at the last second. He started planting soft kisses on my collarbone, veering dangerously close to my neck.

“You made your- oh,” I was saying and then he moved his hips again, rubbing against the exact right spot. My legs wrapped around him like they had a mind of its own, causing him to grind against me another time. “Okay, you made your point.”

He lifted his head to look at me and I caught a glimpse of red in his eyes before it faded. A sudden touch of wistfulness made me frown. My scar tingled and I instantly knew where the wistfulness came from. It was stupid of me to think I could actually win that game when I had my bond to him working against me. But now that I reflected upon it, what drove me to do what I had just done was just me - the rational part of me. Somehow it was worse that I had done that in my right mind.

“But that was only the opening statement,” said he, smiling deviously at his own pun.

“I should go. I have to be at court at 8am and it’s getting late.”

Cogs turned behind his eyes as he processed what I said, a crease forming between his eyebrows. I nodded at him once as an incentive for him to let me go.

“Don’t let it get to you,” he said, releasing my wrists and lifting some of his weight off of me.

“What?”

“Desire isn’t logical. You may think you have it under control but the leash only stretches so far before it breaks. You can’t control everything, Y/N,” he said.

“I can try,” I untangled myself from him, almost shoving him aside and stood up so swiftly that I became dizzy. I pulled down my dress, my cheeks suddenly burning. I looked at Count Dracula, now sitting on the floor with an elbow resting on a propped knee. “I’ll show myself out. Don’t forget the book, I think you’ll like it.” I blew out a breath. “Thank you for tonight. This was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” I felt a lump on my throat as I spoke and I forcibly swallowed it down.

How did it get to the point where the person that I hated the most was also the one that was the sweetest to me?

Dracula knitted his eyebrows as he gazed at me.

“You’re welcome.”

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#dracula 2020 #dracula bbc #dracula netflix #dracula fanfic #dracula ff #dracula x reader #claes bang fanfic #claes bang #vampire #vampire fanfic #distorted lullabies

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brooklynboysficrecs · 5 years ago

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Ria’s Top 10 Shrinkyclinks Fics

I will admit this isn’t my preferred AU -- I won’t immediately jump on a fic just because it’s pre-serum Steve and WS Bucky. I gotta like the plot, or the premise, or be really, really intrigued by the tags, but to be fair, that’s how I am with everything that isn’t Modern Bucky and Cap Steve, so. That being said, I have read some truly fantastic shrinkyclinks stories, and I do very much love Steven “Fight Me” Rogers at his scrappiest. And these fics also tend to feature protective!Bucky which is another personal favorite of mine. Oh, but also: shrinkyclinks generally refers to pre-serum Steve with actual Winter Soldier Bucky, but a lot of people use the tag just to imply body types, and when they say WS Bucky they mean he’s all huge and muscled and sometimes has a metal arm, though that isn’t required. That’s the definition I’m going with as well, so hopefully nothing’s confusing!

1. If Wishing Made It So by leveragehunters. Before I get into anything about the actual fic, let me say this: leveragehunters is probably my favorite stucky writer. Like, hands-down, I read almost everything they write, and they’re big into fantasy stories, which is a great bonus for me personally. So, so, so many good shrinkyclinks fics by them (Even Underneath the Waves, a mermaid AU that features equal amounts of pre- and post-serum Steve, and A-mage-ing Grace with mage Steve are two of my other favorites, and they would’ve been on the list, but I try not to put more than one story per author, ya know? And IWMIS kinda wins out above the others for me, so). This story features jinn!Bucky who finds himself in the baffled hands of Steve Rogers, who is perfectly prickly and stubborn and good. Bucky’s got a terrible past with humans in general (and Hydra in particular, what a shocker) that he and Steve have to overcome as their relationship progresses, but that progression is frankly beautiful to watch unfold. I come back to this story time and time again because of how much I love these versions of Steve and Bucky getting to know one another, learning to trust each other, supporting each other through the worst the world has to throw at them. Plus, there’s a few more stories in this series if you get as hooked as I am, which is always great!!

2. Roots Have Grown by AustinB. I remember reading this and just... completely feeling what Bucky is going through. Not everything -- he’s an agoraphobic veteran, and I can’t relate to either of those, really, but he’s so... awkward about his crush on Steve. And that’s -- that’s relatable to me. But it’s precious, really, how he tries to help Steve even though he’s afraid to actually meet him initially; he becomes Steve’s sort of... anonymous benefactor? Guardian angel with money? Like, it’s definitely a sugar daddy type deal originally but I doubt Bucky would describe it like that. I don’t know, it’s cute, though, and I loved seeing Bucky opening up to Steve as they became closer.

3. Through The Woods by VenusMonstrosa, alby_mangroves. Okay, hear me out: werewolves. I fucking love werewolves in fiction; I mean, not really the romance novels you’ll see in the grocery store, but. Werewolf mythology is one of my favorite things, so seeing it in fanfiction almost always manages to lure me in. And I was so not disappointed with this story! Steve’s living alone in a cabin in the woods, which of course sounds like the opening to a horror movie, but here it leads to love. Werewolf Bucky is both charming and terrifying, to a degree, he’s a wolf, but he and Steve are fantastic together. This is another story that goes in on the trust aspect of their relationship and I for one am a big fan of that. There’s some violence, minor character death and the like, but it’s definitely not undeserved so. If you can handle that (and the sex, because there is sex in this) then I highly recommend this one!

4. The Joy of Little Things by obsessivereader, Sealcat. And so we move from werewolves to dragons. Yup. Dragons. Another of my beloved mythical creatures that I obsessed over when I was kid. Bucky’s capable of shifting into a human in this, but primarily he’s a big ol’ dragon that surprisingly doesn’t want to eat the scrawny sacrifice from the local village. Steve ends up working for Bucky, instead, and from there hilarity ensues. Steve’s obviously wary of Bucky, but Bucky isn’t at all what he’d been expecting, and they grow closer the longer Steve’s staying in Bucky’s caves. There are a couple of stories with Dragon!Bucky, but this is my personal favorite; it’s cute and heart-warming and, well. I just really like it.

5. I Just Want to Love You in My Own Language by agetwellcard, inediblesushi. So this one has Cap!Bucky (Bucky!Cap?) but again, sometimes it’s more about how Bucky looks rather than his role as the Winter Soldier. Anyway, I remember my biggest take away from this story was how adorable Bucky was in his quest to win the affections of sassy Nurse Steve, who patches him up after missions and is probably playing hard to get. Bucky uses terrible pick-up lines, absolutely awful, and he is completely unashamed of that fact. Which is, as I said, adorable. Steve, initially, does not agree with my assessment, but he gets there eventually. After some requisite drama, of course.

6. Tint & Shade by forestofbabel. Oh, god, this one hurt me, I remember that pretty clearly. Bucky is the Winter Soldier in this, and Steve is a 21st century art therapist who just so happens to resemble his late grandfather, Captain Joseph Rogers, who fought in -- you guessed it -- WWII. Like I said in the intro, if I really like the premise of something I’ll usually read it regardless of the configuration of pre-/post-serum Steve and pre-serum/WS Bucky, and this was definitely one of the fics I got into for that reason. Having actual WS Bucky interact with a modern pre-serum Steve is always interesting, given how much they don’t have in common, generally (there isn’t even really the veteran status that modern Bucky sometimes has in fics), and it’s a journey to see how and why they connect. Having Steve resemble his WWII era grandfather caught my attention, and the fic itself made me grateful that I decided to go for it in the first place. This is another one where is trust is key to their relationship, considering the mental/emotional state Bucky is in at the beginning. Very good story overall!

7. Fourth Floor by dirtybinary, mithborien, picoalloe. So dirtybinary has written some amazing stucky fics, which is why I was so excited when I saw this being posted initially (a few years ago, but still). There’s magic! Mystery! Suspense! Some NatSharon! Looking this over, I’m wondering if I should’ve saved it for the Urban Fantasy list I wanna do (and If Wishing Made It So, if I’m being honest) but I do like it for the shrinkyclinks list. The writing is great, the characterization of Steve and Bucky is great, and like, they live in what is essentially a magical apartment complex, so what’s better than that?

8. my heart tells me you are lonely, too by FanGirling. Alright, so I read this one as it was being published, and the slow burn about killed me. You know, in a good way, though. Bucky lives in Steve and his mother’s apartment building, trying to figure out where to go with his life now that he’s broken free of Hydra and gotten his autonomy back. He’s obviously wary, skittish, but he takes a liking to Sarah Rogers when she reaches out to befriend him, surprised anyone wants to be near him let alone take the time to get to know him. Steve... is not so easily sold on Bucky. And I’m not gonna spoil anything here, but the shit these two go through is intense, and I cried a lot during this fic, sometimes out of frustration because they’re both ridiculous about their feelings (of course Bucky’s fears are valid, the man has been through literal hell, but also I was internally screaming a little as Bucky continually talked himself out of getting closer to Steve.) I wanted to wrap the both of them in about thirty blankets for pretty much the entire length of the fic. God. They’re just -- they’re so incredibly sweet in this one, once they work past their issues (Bucky and Steve are both more than a little messed up from their respective circumstances, but they make it work). Mind the tags on this one, also, especially because there is a chapter that deals with attempted sexual assault against Steve (obviously not with Bucky!), but Bucky handles the situation before anything truly nasty happens, that I can promise.

9. Local Raccoon Befriends Angry Chihuahua by charlesdk. This is yet another author I really love; they have a fantastic farmer!Steve/Modern!WS!Bucky story that I love to bits, as well as other great fics. But anyway, this one. The title sold me the second I saw it, honestly, I can’t even pretend that wasn’t the deciding factor in me reading this. I don’t think I can really do any better than the summary in explaining why I recommend it; feisty tiny Steve and lovestruck grumpy Bucky are a winning combination in my book. This one does feature the boys dealing with homophobia and ableism, though I can’t recall how severe it is. So I’d just mind the tags, and if you’re alright with them, thoroughly enjoy this story.

10. The Road to Hell is Paved with Tony’s Good Intentions by pinlilli. Bucky as a mail-order Russian bride. That’s the detail that pretty much demanded I click on this fic, and oh my god, it was even better than I ever could’ve expected. Tony, in a bid to help Steve get over his awful ex-boyfriend (fuck Brock Rumlow in every universe, honestly), literally orders him a husband -- in the form of beefy James Barnes, who is a fucking gem and I will not hear one bad word against him. He does chores, it’s lovely and adorable, and you will definitely fall just as hard as Steve does. There’s some canon-typical violence in this one that relates to James’ past, but nothing super graphic as far as I remember. Again, Rumlow is a dick and should be treated as such, but he’s hardly the most important part of this fic and I urge everyone to take a look at it if they’re as intrigued by Bucky being a mail-order husband as I was.

#stucky #stevebucky #steve rogers #bucky barnes #captain america #winter soldier #chris evans #sebastian stan #fic rec #shrinkyclinks #top 10

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devotedwaywardangel1 · 5 years ago

Text

Of Treaties and Nervous Rekindling

Leon x Male!Reader

Fandom: BBC Merlin

Word count: 1667

Warnings: Nightmares

A/N: This is a third try of writing this as they kept turning to multi chapter stories, if I turn the original into a multi chapter fic I’ll post it on AO3. See if you can find the small film reference.

Tagged: @fandom-star

~~~~~~~

Being in the great hall has got to be the stupidest thing that you have ever done and there is a long list. If Constantine, your idiotic King, got us killed out of good intentions you swear to Furies that you’ll kill him in the after life. A black domino mask covers your face as you kneel at King Arthur’s fury. He is yet to know who you all are yet and boy he is going to have a heart attack, fun times. Sloane has her raven black hair covering her face as she is shoved to her knees, making you growl at the cocky knight who thought he could be boastful. Zathrian’s auburn hair has been un-neatened by an almost comically large man. King Arthur’s voice booms across the hall. “Who are you and what is your business in Camelot?”

“I am Constantine, King of Dumnonia.” He speaks in an authoritative tone.

“What?” The King seems shocked

“A letter was sent informing you of our arrival a month ago, we are here to simply renew a treaty.”

“Merlin! Get the documents on my desk now.” He growls.

A scrawny servant runs from the King’s side past you. Minutes later he and other knights enter and you see Leon. It had been over a decade since you last saw him and damn he grew up, probably taller than you now, hair hasn’t changed one bit. You’re now thankful for the mask you were wearing otherwise he would have known it’s you straight away. The serving boy hands the king the letter and you can see the embarrassment on his face as it proves your innocence.

“I apologise for the misunderstanding, we thought-” The King started

“That we were here to kill you, don’t flatter yourself.” Sloane snaps.

“Slo, play nice.” Constantine tells her sternly before standing up.

You follow suit. “It was an honest mistake, do you want to try again on the first impressions.” Constantine rensures.

The King looks shocked, but having Uther as a parent would make him think he was going to be punished for a mistake such as this. You brush yourself off, in an attempt to be somewhat presentable. “That would be appreciated, your Majesty.” Arthur nods.

They made their introductions but you were busy scowling at the now apologetic looking knight, Gwaine, who shoved Slo on the ground. Until she elbows you in the ribs causing you to grunt and childishly stick your tongue at her. She flicks your nose and laughs as it scrunches up. Zathrian is smiling. “Behave.” Constantine turns around after shaking the King’s hand to scold us.

“But…” Zath tries.

“No buts or ifs. My apologies, they are children I swear.”

“What are your names?” Gwen asks, you didn’t even sense her coming in the room.

“Zathrian, m'lady.” He bows down respectfully.

“Sloane.” She nods.

“Ulrich Von Liechtenstein.” you smile coyly, why you said that you don’t know.

Zath and Slo double over laughing and Constantine gives you a glare but you just shrug it off. “That’s not his name, he just thinks he’s funny.”

“(Y/n), at your service sir and on the contrary I’m hilarious.” You smile, removing your mask stuffing it into a trouser pocket.

You look at Leon and he is smiling, oh gods that smile it felt like everything good in this world smacks you in the face. You smile back. “(Y/n)? Your name sounds familiar.” Arthur asks.

“It should, your father did torture me after all.” I raise my eyebrow, where is my damn filter you think. All traces of happiness dissipate from your face with all fairness. You do look scary when you appear monotonous.

“What do you mean?” He asks, you turn to get Constantine’s approval he nods.

“I used magic to save a child’s life.”

“You have magic.” He looks at you with anger and disgust.

“Yes, sire.” You remain stoic with your jaw tensing.

The knights of Camelot tense up, Leon eyes them before looking at you. That's when you know he doesn’t hate you. He’s worried. You shake it off and bow down at the King’s feet and mercy. If he were to kill you a war may start but it would be against a dishonorable man, if he shows mercy and a willingness to learn there is hope for Albion yet. “Rise, I wish to understand not to do harm.”

“Oh thank Clementia, really I thought I was going to die.” Shit that was out loud.

“One condition, it's not to be used to harm any one.” He adds.

“I can't, my magic lies in the art of healing, transformation and a few other things.” You explain.

“What do you mean?” The king asks

“Everyone’s magic is different, I can’t use spells that purposely inflict harm unless threatened.” You shrug.

“Good to know.” He seems to relax.

“That’s why I stab people instead.” You smile.

“(Y/n)! Stop trying to be funny. It will get you killed!” Constantine nearly shouts.

The knight with shoulder length hair starts to laugh hysterically. You just smile and look down holding in your laugh, looking at Leon he’s smiling. Constantine looks ready to cry, out of frustration probably. The King is unable to respond. Zath grabs my shoulder and pulls you out. “Us two are leaving before the wanna be Menander kills himself.” He drags you out without another word.

You sigh in relief as the doors of the great hall close behind you. “Thanks I couldn’t stop.” You rub that back of your neck awkwardly.

“No problem, tavern?” He suggests.

“Are we allowed to go without Slo?” You ask seriously.

“It gives an opportunity for Constaloane to happen.” Zath justifies.

“Fair lets go.” You agree.

~~~~

Both of you came back after a couple of tankards and Zath is drunk off his ass, lightweight. While you’re a little fuzzy. You spot the serving boy from the hall. “Kid!” You catch his attention.

He turns around smiling as he walks up to you. “Hi can I help you, Sirs.” He asks.

“Don’t worry about titles, but could you show us to our rooms if we have them.”

“Of course, follow me.” He whispers seeing Zath close to asleep on you.

You drag Zath to his room, and put him on the bed. “Thank you…”

“Merlin, Sir (Y/n).” He smiles and nods.

“Thank you Merlin.” You return the smile.

You enter the guest room and collapse onto the bed and sleep overcomes you in a matter of seconds.

A crack of a whip resonates through a dark cell a pained groan follows, another crack and another. Chains rattle as a boy pulls on them in an attempt to break free. High pitch whistling signaled trouble brewing under the surface. The boy’s skin started to crack golden light seeping from the cracks turning pure black. (E/c) eyes started to well up with tears as he felt himself being torn apart. Screams erupt from his throat and the boy is replaced with a mass of hissing black smoke.

You bolt up sweating and panting. You groan and stretch, the sun is peeking over the horizon so you decide to change into your armour and head over to the training field that you had spotted the previous day. There is a training dummy already set up, you draw your sword and begin hacking into it aggressively and it takes mere minutes for you to destroy it, yet you feel no better. You look around desperately for something to take out your rage, fear and sorrow on. You hear a cough, your head snaps at the direction of the noise. It's Leon. He walks up to you slowly as if you were a scared animal. “(Y/n), we didn’t get a chance to talk yesterday.”

“Sorry.” You look to your feet.

He backtracks quickly “No it’s not an issue, obviously you were nervous being back here.”

“Eh you know, son of Uther kinda scary.”

“Arthur has grown.”

“I know.”

“But I’m not here to talk about Arthur.”

You smile and shake your head. “I suppose not.”

“You left without me, why?”

Well that escalated from a trot to a full on gallop. But you manage to get words out. “I couldn’t uproot you from your home and family.”

“That should have been my choice to make.”

“You know what, I don’t feel bad if that’s what you want. I was tortured, I got literally torn apart. You would have got killed, and that would have been on me!” You defend.

He looks taken aback. “What?”

“Slave traders, I suppressed my magic then boom… a lot of people died.”

He touches your face and you want to lean into the touch but you can’t seem to. So he initiates the hug instead keeping you in a tight hold, you hesitate to return it seeing it has been a while since you’ve been held. You both stay like that for a while, before Leon breaks the hug with a heartbroken expression. You dread what he is about to say. ”Do you think we could ever be possible?”

“I don’t know… I’m not the same man you loved all those years ago.”

“Then let’s get to know each other again, let me fall for you all over again.”

“Sounds like you already started.”

“I started as soon as I saw you smile.”

You smile up at him. But inside you are conflicted, if this were to work out how will it work. You love your new life, Constantine is more than just your King he is your friend he gave you a chance when no one else would. Sloane was the one who pulled you out of rubble after you exploded. Zathrian forge your nobility papers to get your foot through the door of knighthood. But you guess you’ll cross that bridge later and pray it goes well for the both of you.

“Come on we have a treaty to deal with.” You start walking.

#bbc merlin #leon #ocs #reader #arthur #gwen #merlin #gwaine #percival #male reader #sir leon #arthur pendragon #sir gwaine #sir percival #leon x reader #leon x male reader #night terrors #nightmares #x reader

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olliedollie1204 · 5 years ago

Text

for future reference

Virgil works at the reference desk. Logan is looking for a very specific book.

Pairings: Platonic Virgil and Logan

Word Count: 3,613

Tags: Librarian Virgil, Kid Logan, (very loosely) implied but not shown romantic Moceit

based on that one tumblr post that is maybe the cutest thing i’ve ever read? also, Logan mispronounces some words because he’s Babey, so I included a guide at the end to clarify what he was trying to say.

also i meant to make this short and simple but i tripped and came up with an entire new AU, so hopefully if y’all slam that mf like button I will find the energy to write the sequel

(Read it on AO3!)

Working at the reference desk was cool. When you walked through the main door of the library, you’d never suspect that nestled beyond the rows and rows of adult nonfiction, far away from the busyness of the community room or the chaos of the children’s section, was a neat and well-tended desk, behind which sat just one man.

That one man was currently alternating between scanning the sea of tables and chairs in front of him, and reading a cheesy romance paperback under his desk. Listen, he had an image to maintain, okay?

Virgil had always liked the solitude of a good library, almost as much as he’d liked the books themselves. Despite spending many long hours hidden away among dusty shelves when he was younger, he'd never thought about actually working in a library. He wasn’t a people person, and libraries, unfortunately, tended to attract people; so when he found out there was a position where he could get away with isolating himself behind a computer monitor all day long, where his main form of social interaction was helping patrons fix the printer approximately nine hundred times a day, where he could read or play Temple Run or just sit still and daydream for hours on end? He was sold.

He supposed he had to thank the library’s set up for his lack of work; truly, most people never made their way this far into the building, and those who did were usually just looking for a place to sleep for a few hours, so it wasn’t uncommon for him to go an entire shift without speaking to a single person.

It had looked like today was going to be the same, with Virgil halfway through his shift and having only spoken to one patron who was looking for the bathroom. He had just gotten to the part in his book where the farmhand and the farmer’s son were trapped together in the barn during an unexpected thunderstorm, shirts dripping wet and faces flushed from humidity and passion (and maybe Virgil had read this one once or twice already, don’t worry about it).

It was a perfectly normal day. Until the kid showed up.

“Excuse me, sir?”

Virgil certainly did not jump about a foot into the air at the kid’s sudden appearance, but it was a close thing. The librarian quickly sat up in his rolly chair, dog earring the already well-worn novel and shoving it back under the desk.

“Uh, hi,” he replied, gazing down at the child in front of him. He was small and scrawny, with wildly scruffy hair and a large pair of glasses on his face. As Virgil sat up taller, he was able to see that the kid was actually tiny, his chin barely reaching past the edge of the desk. Despite his small stature, he had an oddly serious look on his face.

“How can I, uh, help you?” Virgil asked haltingly.

“I need to find a book about baby names,” the child informed him plainly. His quiet, high-pitched voice felt completely at odds with the grave importance he seemed to place on his request.

“Oh?” Virgil said for lack of a better response. He quickly scanned behind the kid, looking for an adult that might’ve misplaced their incredibly somber toddler, but he quickly brought his attention back to the child in front of him as he nodded.

“My dads told me that I’m going to be a big brother soon and I need to find the names for my baby twin brothers who we are taking from a woman in the city because she is a sugar-ette and she is giving us her babies to keep,” the child replied in one long breath. Virgil blinked at the sudden influx of information.

“Ah,” he replied, absolutely nailing this conversation with this random, unaccompanied baby. “Let me… look that up for you.”

He paused for just a second before jerkily turning on his monitor, opening to the library catalogue’s search engine. Instinctively he opened the filter and clicked ‘search for keywords’ and typed ‘baby names’, until he looked down at the… really small child in front of him, like damn, were all kids that small?

“Um. How…”

How old are you? How many letters of the alphabet do you know? How stupid am I gonna look if I send you to the checkout desk with an armful of dense, high-level books about etymology?

“How high is your reading level?” he settled on. To his surprise, the child puffed out his chest in pride.

“I am five and three quarters years old and I will be going into kindergarten in Set-member and Dr. Picani says that I am reading like a kindergartener and I even can read first grade books, too.”

Okay. Virgil didn’t know who Dr. Picani was, but that wasn’t important. Kindergarten to first grade reading level. He switched the filter to adjust for that new information, but he was quickly met with the realization that the kid was looking at him for… some sort of response, because that’s how conversations work, Virgil, come on.

“That’s cool,” he replied lightly. Lucky for him, the kid didn’t seem to mind his lack of social graces. He just nodded, rocking back and forth on his heels as he watched Virgil type.

“And my Daddy gave me a bunch of chapter books for my birthday and I already read them all because that was last year and he and Papa said that for my next birthday I can get some more chapter books but I hope they are mit-sery books because I like the mit-sery books most of all. Dr. Picani told me that’s because I like to collect and organize information. I like it when Papa reads the mit-sery books to me, even though I can read all by myself, because he is always bad at solving the mit-sery and I have to explain it to him every time.”

At first, Virgil had merely been listening with a polite interest, nodding a little as his eyes scanned the page for what books they had checked in, but as the kid continued to talk (and Virgil was seriously starting to wonder if he ever ran out of breath), he realized he was now listening with a genuine interest. This kid seemed pretty smart for his age, even with his tendency to mispronounce words in his rush to get them out of his mouth, and it was honestly kinda endearing. This coming from Virgil, who was running out of excuses as to why he couldn’t help out with any of the children’s programs that the library hosted in the community room twice a month.

He pulled his eyes back to his computer. “Okay, so, um, it looks like we’ve got a couple books that you might want.” They had more than a couple books about baby names, of course, but Virgil really didn’t wanna hurt the kid’s feelings by giving him a book that was too difficult for him.

“I’m gonna write the titles down on this piece of paper,” Virgil continued, pulling out an index card and one of the weird tiny golf pencils that were at every desk in the library for some reason. “Here’s what the book is called, here’s the last name of the person who wrote it, and here is the number of the shelf where you can find the book, okay?”

He finished writing and slid the paper across the desk to the kid, who hesitated for a moment before taking it.

“... Thank you,” he said stiffly, turning on his heel and marching away. Virgil wasn’t gonna look away until the kid was out of his sight, but to his surprise he stopped just about ten feet away from the desk, looking between the paper in his tiny hands and the tall rows of shelves.

Virgil stood up suddenly, feeling like an idiot. He’d just told an infant to go look for one specific shelf in a giant room of identical shelves. Alone. Fuck.

“Hey, kid,” he called softly, moving around his desk and hurrying to the child. The little boy turned to him, eyes wide behind his glasses lens.

“How about I help you find those books, okay?” Virgil asked, trying not to tower over the tiny child. The kid looked around for a second before nodding quickly.

“Okay, I think that is a good idea, because I know where the books are in the playzone but I think this li-berry is really big and— and maybe I’d get too lost and my dads are scared of me being lost and so I don’t wanna make them scared,” he finished, looking down and scuffing the toe of his shoe against the carpet.

Virgil raised an eyebrow at the end of the kid’s sentence. “Do you know where your dads are?”

The kid nodded quickly. “They’re having storytime in the group room!”

Virgil nodded. He knew there was an adult book club happening in the community room that day, so that definitely made sense. But still, he leaned down, catching the boy’s eye with what he hoped was an appropriately stern face for the circumstances.

“Do your dads know where you are?” he asked. As he expected, the kid began to look slightly guilty, scrunching the hem of his navy polo in his hands.

“Um…” he started. It was the first time Virgil had heard him pause between his words. “Well, technically, they told me to stay with the li-berrian, and they thought I was gonna stay in the playzone with Ms. Dot, but technically, if I can stay with you then I am with a li-berrian and so I’m not in trouble.”

There was a note of self-satisfaction in the kid’s voice, like he’d just solved a riddle as opposed to trying to explain why he disobeyed his parents. Virgil got the feeling that this was a kid who knew how to use his words to his advantage.

“Okay,” Virgil replied, gently pulling the paper out of the kid’s hand and scanning what he’d written. “We’re gonna go look for some books, but then I’m taking you back to the children’s section— uh, I mean the playzone— and Ms. Dot is gonna watch you until your dads are done, deal?”

The child nodded, watching Virgil with intensity, and the librarian gently ushered him to the side and led the two of them down a row of books.

“What’s your name?”

“Logan,” the little boy replied, running ahead a little and turning to wait for Virgil to catch up. “What’s your name?”

Virgil reached Logan at the end of the row just as he answered, “Virgil.”

Without warning, Logan darted ahead again, reaching the end of the next row before turning around to face him. “Daddy says I should call the li-berrians Mr., Ms., or Mx. What are you?”

“Mr. is okay,” Virgil replied, a little bemused by his childish bluntness. “And be careful, okay? I don’t want you to trip and hurt yourself.”

Logan trotted back to Virgil, walking backwards for a minute so he could look at Virgil while he talked. “I’m sorry for running, but I really want to find a book about baby names because my dads are busy making the babies’ bedroom and buying all of the baby clothes and toys and ex-cetera and I want to be a good big brother and I want my baby brothers to have names that are good but my dads are really busy and they don’t even know what they want to name the babies yet!”

Virgil smiled at the indignation in Logan’s little voice. Of course, he knew there were far more important preparations to make when expecting a new child (let alone two new children at the same time), but to a child as young as Logan, the name was probably the most important decision to be made.

“Well, they should be on the next shelf over, so let’s—”

Logan took off before Virgil could finish his sentence, running halfway down the row and looking at Virgil expectantly.

Virgil scoffed, an amused smile on his face. “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.”

As he entered the row, he began scanning the numbers on instinct; he knew these stacks pretty well, but he didn’t have them memorized.

“Okay, 929.4,” he muttered to himself, bypassing books about genealogies before coming to the section for baby name books. “Here they are.”

Logan came towards him, standing on his tiptoes as he reached his arms up high.

“Mr. Virgil, may I please have the biggest book, please?”

Virgil looked back at the shelf, immediately seeing which book Logan was talking about. He pulled it out, holding it in both hands as he scanned the cover.

“‘Ten Thousand and One Baby Names For You’,” he recited, passing it down to Logan. “Is that enough names to choose from?”

Logan’s eyes were wide, struggling to open the heavy book while still keeping it in his arms. “I never even knew there were ten thousand and one names!”

“Same,” Virgil replied, helping Logan open the book without damaging it. “I think this book has lots of names from all over the world, plus some super old names from the last century.”

“Like the 1990s,” Logan said, nodding seriously, and Virgil had to pretend to cough to avoid laughing outright at the kid’s earnestness. He turned back to the shelf, pulling out a thinner yet still dense book.

“And this one is called ‘The Story Behind the Name’,” Virgil explained, holding it down to show Logan. “It tells you more about what the names mean, where all of the names came from… stuff like that.”

He held the book out for Logan to take, but to his shock the child was looking at him with something akin to distress.

“Do names mean things?”

Virgil blinked. “Oh! Uh, sometimes? Not really. But some names have things that they used to mean, a long time ago, but a lot of people don’t know what they meant. Like—”

He hastily flipped the book open to the ‘L’ section, skimming the page before he found what he was looking for.

“Like, ‘Logan’, for example, is an Scottish name,” he explained slowly, “and it apparently means… uh, ‘from the hollow’? Which, I don’t even really know what that means, so. It’s not that important nowadays.”

He looked back at Logan, who was looking into the distance with a pensive look on his face.

“But what if I give them a name that means something bad,” he pondered slowly, and Virgil’s stomach swooped at the idea that he’d just given this kid something to worry over.

“Well, here,” he said hurriedly, holding the second book out to Logan. “If you take this one, you can check that the names you pick mean good things. Some people like to choose names that remind them of something good, like nature or history or— or their favorite book characters.”

That perked Logan up, causing him to eye the book with a new interest. “Really?”

His gaze flicked between the second book, and the much larger book that he still held in his arms.

“I think I should take both,” he said after a long moment to think. “Just in case.”

He smiled up at Virgil, who literally couldn’t stop himself from smiling back if you’d paid him. Logan was just too darn cute.

“Well,” he said, “how about I carry your books and take you back to the playzone, and you can get started reading these before you check them out?”

Logan nodded, somewhat reluctantly handing Virgil his large book as the two made their way out of the nonfiction section. “That is a good idea, because I am already checking out a lot of chapter books and my book basket is full and so I think my dads will help me carry these books to the checkout counter because they’re really big books.”

“They sure are,” Virgil said conversationally, holding a hand out to stop Logan as another librarian walked by with a cart. Before he could take another step, however, he felt something small and soft wrap around his free hand. Virgil looked down to see Logan holding his hand in his own tiny grasp.

“Papa says I shouldn’t hold hands with strangers,” Logan informed him, idly swinging their hands together, “but I don’t think we’re strangers because I know your name and you know my name and you’re helping me carry my books because you are a nice li-berrian.”

Virgil felt an inexplicable surge of protectiveness over this child he’d met only fifteen minutes ago.

“Sure,” he replied softly, letting Logan continue to talk as the two walked hand in hand back to the populated side of the library.

He almost didn’t want to interrupt Logan when they did finally arrive at the playzone, but he wanted to make sure this kid got back to where he was supposed to be before his dads found out he’d left. Dot looked at him from behind Logan, her eyebrows raising at the sight of Virgil a) not behind his reference desk, and b) attached to the world’s chattiest five year old.

“Hey, Lo,” he gently interjected when Logan took a breath, kneeling down to be on the young boy’s level. “I’m gonna set your books down with your book basket, okay? Where is that?”

Logan paused, eyes flitting around the colorful rug. “Um… it’s… oh! It’s right there!”

Virgil’s eyes followed where Logan was pointing. There, on the ground next to one of the large plush sofas in the reading circle, was one of the library’s book baskets. From here, Virgil could see at least a dozen junior chapter books poking out of the basket.

“Oh!” Logan exclaimed, darting forward and grabbing the handle of the basket in both hands and tugging it back over to Virgil. “Mr. Virgil, look, I raised my hand and asked Ms. Dot if I could please have the storytime book to check out for a little bit because I liked it a lot, even though it’s not a mit-sery book, but it is about cephalopods and those are octopusses and squids and ex-cetera, and she told me to turn around and the shelf behind me had tons and tons of books about cephalopods, and I picked out this book because it has pit-chers but it’s not a pit-cher book, it has chapters, too—”

Logan flopped onto his butt in the middle of the carpet, pulling out each book one by one and explaining to Virgil exactly what it was about and how many chapters it had and how he couldn’t wait for bedtime so he and his dads could read them all together. He chattered on and on and on, and Virgil didn’t even realize when he joined Logan in sitting cross legged on the floor. He didn’t have to talk much, but every now and then Logan would actually pause to breathe, and Virgil would ask another question that set the young boy off onto an entirely different spiel that lasted another ten minutes.

It was so different from working at the reference desk, quiet and hidden and isolated. Different, but not bad.

“Mr. Virgil?”

Logan’s voice was suddenly quieter, and it snapped Virgil back to reality. He looked at the kid, who was looking at his own tiny hands folded neatly in his lap.

“Yeah, Logan?” Virgil asked. “Are you okay?”

Logan nodded. “Yes, thank you, I’m okay. I think you are maybe the nicest li-berrian ever.”

The sincerity in his little voice nearly made Virgil reel back in shock.

“Really?” he asked, and normally he might be embarrassed about how insecure his voice sounded after receiving a compliment from a five year old, but Logan nodded immediately.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Ms. Dot and all of the other li-berrians are nice but I think you are the nicest because I broke the rules and you didn’t tell my dads and you gave me the name books for my twin baby brothers and you let me hold your hand and I like talking about my books and you liked hearing me talk about them. So I think you are— I think you are the best li-berrian I ever met.”

Logan fell silent, looking down at his lap and fidgeting with his shirt hem, and Virgil was honestly a little speechless.

“Oh,” he said slowly. “Um, thank you, Logan. I think you are… the best reader I’ve ever met.”

No sooner were the words out of Virgil’s mouth that Logan looked up at him with wide-eyed shock.

“Really?” he squeaked. Virgil was literally going to get a cavity from all of this sugar.

“Yep,” he replied. “You’re smart and kind and you care a lot about your baby brothers. Your dads must be very proud of you.”

Each word of praise was brightening Logan up bit by bit, and he switched to sitting on his knees and bouncing up and down.

“Will you play checkers with me?” he asked, hands flapping in excitement. “I always want to play checkers but Ms. Dot says I’m not old enough, but you’re definitely old enough, right?”

Virgil laughed outright at that. He thought about his reference desk, sitting unoccupied on the other side of the library. He looked at Logan.

“Sure, kid,” he replied, standing up with Logan’s book basket. Logan grabbed his free hand, and Virgil let him lead them both to the game table, Logan already explaining the rules in anticipation.

Yeah. Different, but not bad. Not bad at all.

Post notes: As promised, here's the guide to Logan's incorrect words!

Sugar-ette: Surrogate Set-member: September Mit-sery: Mystery Li-berry: Library Li-berrian: Librarian Ex-cetera: Et cetera Pit-chers: Pictures

#sanders sides #sanders sides fic #virgil sanders #logan sanders #my writing #my posts #for future reference

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ariana-amidala · 4 years ago

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We’ll Meet Again Pt.1 (Sam Winchester X Reader)

Hey look at that an a actual series. So in the title it does say Pt.1 so that means there are definitely more parts to this story. I’m hoping it could go on for like 5 chapters but I have the whole plot planned and it looks like it might be a 20+ chaptered fic. Should this be on AO3 as well because if so please comment on it. Also if you want more series for other future characters (they don’t have to be supernatural related characters) let me know! I’ll definitely need your opinion and a basic plot that you have going on to make it but my inbox is open!!

Sam wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. He wanted to avoid everything and everyone, including his brother Dean. He wasn’t fast enough to get to her, he was too late.

“Sammy come on let’s go home,” Dean said waiting on his younger brother. Sam stood in front of the collapsed building. She was in there, tied down to a post and wasn’t responding to him or any of his brothers calls.

“We can’t just leave Dean,” Sam said quietly. He felt like he was disturbing her peace if he would’ve spoke any louder. “It’s my fault she ran in the first place,”

“No it isn’t and you know it isn’t,” Dean said. He didn’t understand how his brother felt. Sam had lost Jessica and now after knowing you for 6, you left him too.

“Why does this always happen to me?” He said turning around tears pooling in his eyes, threatening to spill over. “All I do is good and I’m rewarded like this,”

“Let’s just go home and we can get you something to eat okay,” Dean said walking up and hugging his younger brother. Dean distanced himself a long time ago from people he’s loved. His mother was the only woman he ever held on for but death can’t reverse it for him either.

“I just want her back Dean,” he mumbled. Sam never felt this angry to the universe, angry that they had to take away his peace.

“I know buddy. I do too,” Dean replied grabbing his brother and directing him to the impala. Sam started to tear up more from what you said to him prior to your death.

“It’s like she’ll always be our home,”

“Home,” he whispered getting into the impala and sniffing your jacket that you had left in the backseat. It still smelled like you and he felt safe.

“Do you want road food or do you want something from the bunker?” Dean asked. Sam thought about what you would’ve picked.

“Bunker food please,” he said thinking about how after every hunt you used to make the boys something.

“Mind if I stop to get pie?” Dean asked. He generally didn’t know if Sam wanted to go straight home or drive about.

“That’s fine Dean,” he said snuggling your jacket and leaning his head on the window trying to fall asleep to what was left of you. It was your favorite jacket too, the one you bought when the two of you had that off day, it was a soft pink with a crown on the back. Sam loved it as well, made you look like a fluffy bear.

“Sam,” Dean said shaking him awake. Sam shot awake immediately.

“Where is she?” Sam said groggily. Only as he said that he realized where he was and what day it was. Immediately frowning again still holding the jacket close. He saw Castiel at the door frame, he had this look on his face when he was confused with what he was doing because he still didn’t full understand humans.

“Aren’t there supposed to be three of you?” Cas asked as we approached him in the general area of the bunker.

“Let’s not talk about it right now buddy,” Dean said handing Cas a duffle bag. Your duffle bag.

“Where is she?” Cas asked quietly trying to keep quiet and not set Sam off, but he had heard the question.

“She’s gone,” he let out breathlessly. His head hung low as he walked into the bunker and heading for your room.

“He’s not taking it very well,” Dean said to Cas. He did his head tilt, something the angel always did when he didn’t understand human emotions.

“We can always get her back,” Cas said unawaringly. Dean shook his head.

“I’m not gonna mess with the laws of time again bud,” he said walking past his friend and into the kitchen heading for the fridge.

“Dean, if she’s in heaven. I could get her back,” Cas said quietly. “If it meant that much to Sam,”

Dean coughed on his drink of choice for the night. He had a somber look on his face. If you did come back Sam might think a deal was made and it wouldn’t help. Another reason was because he always had a motive of ‘what’s dead should stay dead’, he loved you dearly as a little sister but he also knew messing with time never went well for them Winchesters.

“You could get her back, but Sam would be running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off,” He replied to his celestial friend.

“Why would Sam be a chicken?” He asked not understanding these human references.

“It’s just a saying Cas,” Dean explained as the two of them talked Jack had left his room to great both brothers but stopped short when it was just Dean and Cas in the kitchen.

“Where’s Sam and Y/N?” He asked.

“Sam’s in his room kiddo,” Cas said letting his surrogate son know where his other father figure was. As Jack heard that he was about to dash off to great the youngest Winchester and ask him to watch a movie he turned around again.

“What about Y/N?” Jack asked bracing just in case anybody started yelling.

“She won’t be coming back kid,”Dean said treading lightly. You were the closest thing Jack had to a mother, he always asked you to go to the ice cream shoppe down the street from the bunker and play video games with him.

“What do you mean she’s not coming back?” Jack asked, poor guy was still too young to understand death.

“He means she’s gone buddy,” Sam said entering the kitchen, eyes red and puffy, your reindeer blanket wrapped tightly around him, your favourite bracelet on his wrist now. Dean took one look at his baby brother and knew it wasn’t going to get any easier for him.

“She’ll come home soon though right?” Jack asked hopeful. He knew you’d never leave the boys for long. Sam couldn’t say anything about it because he didn’t want to upset Jack either.

“Yeah, she always does,” he said chocking back a sob. “Is there any mashed potato salad left in her bowl,” he whispered to Dean. He nodded opening the fridge and handing Sam your bowl and a glitter infused spoon.

As soon as he had left the kitchen Cas was already on his way to the outside of the bunker preparing himself to get back into heaven.

“Cas?” Dean and Jack both said following him outside.

“I can’t stand seeing him like that,” He said before he was gone with a flutter of wings.

“Dammit,” Dean said walking back into the bunker and dragging Jack with him. Dean quietly told Jack to stay in his room until either Cas, Sam or him had knocked and Jack understood. As Dean walked passed his little brothers room he could hear light talking coming from Sam.

“We’ll meet again sweetheart. I promise,”

__________________•tags•

@samsgirl93

#sam winchester x reader #jared padalecki x reader #thank you supernatural #supernatural #source: supernatural #DEANCAS #Destiel #supernatural family #supernatural quotes #sad sam #sam x y/n #jared padamoose #SPN Family #spnfandom

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talpup · 4 years ago

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Light In the Darkness

Summary: Yami Sukehiro just wanted to join the Magic Knights and make his mentor proud. He knew there would be trails. He knew trouble would come his way. Knew he would be faced with discrimination for being a foreigner and a peasant. What he didn’t know. Didn’t expect. Was that literal Chaos would come his way. That he and his mentor’s sister would be at the center of world ending trouble. Or that he would fall in love with his mentor’s sister and face more than discrimination; but the jealously of Nozel Silva who loved the same woman he did.

Please remember this fic is rated mature and has warnings of violence, abuse, sexual tension, eventual sexual behavior, and other possible triggers. For a full list of story tags please check the fics AO3 (link to that at the top of my tumblrs homepage).

***Note: Sorry for the late update, my Aunt passed Sunday and things have been kinda hectic. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 87

It was ten minutes to eleven on the morning of April fourth. Despite all that happened two days ago, Yami knew Teris would try to make the meeting they had scheduled with Jon during the Star Awards Festival. It was foolish of her to think that Julius’ Vice Captain would keep such a meeting after everything. But Teris’ insatiable curiosity would make her go just in case.

Yami stepped into the Black Bulls meeting room that Teris had claimed as a sort of office. Leaning against the door jam he watched her close a stack of files and get to her feet. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Even though her back was to him Teris did her best to cover her guilty expression. “Why ask what you already know?”

Yami shook his head in half amused exasperation. “We just escaped--”

Teris spun to face him. “We didn’t escape. We were freed. Rescued. By them. By him.” She looked away wondering what would’ve happened to Yami if Alowishus Spade hadn’t shown up. Would she and Nozel have cleared Rayla’s test in time? Would she and Nozel have survived the test without the Agents of Chaos’ help?

Yami didn’t remember Alowishus showing up. Too out of it with built up mana burning his body up, he didn’t even know what Teris and Nozel had been put through until yesterday’s group report at Headquarters. “Jon knows we spent half a day at the Healer’s and most of yesterday at Headquarters. He won’t be waiting at that tea shop.”

“He knows I’m not unconscious, still holed up at the healers, or barred from leaving the property. He’ll be there.” Teris argued.

Yami had to admit Teris had a point. Jon was well acquainted with Julius’ obsessive nature and unquenchable curiosity, two traits Teris shared with her brother. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Teris looked at Yami in concern. “No. You don’t--”

“I said let’s go.” Yami turned, exiting the room.

Teris frowned at Yami’s back and followed him down the hall. Yami had been out longer than the rest of them. Teris had sat by his bed at Healer’s Hall after she had woken up mostly recovered. Though she hadn’t wanted to disturb Yami’s restorative rest, Yami had begun radiating intense cold in his sleep. It was difficult to tell if he had experienced a communicative dream with the page of Chaos. Or if everything Yami had been though was the cause of the radiating cold and his disorientation upon waking up. But it had worried her, further worried her, given all that happened. Even now Teris still worried for him. Yami needed to stay home and rest, not travel to Castle City with her. But telling him that would’ve been pointless.

“Stubborn. Pig headed.” Teris muttered.

“I think you’re suppose to look in a mirror when you self identify.” Yami caught Teris’ scowl out of the corner of his eye and stopped walking. Turning to face her, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Don’t look like that. I’m letting you go, aren’t I?”

“Letting me--”

Yami’s lips silenced her. Teris leaned into him, hands gripping his shirt. The somewhat rough kiss turned soft.

Yami pulled back. The loving sincerity in his eyes belied his jesting tone. “Just so you know. That kiss with that mad woman meant nothing.”

“Don’t even play like that. Not yet.” Teris held him tighter. She pressed her face into his chest, soaking in the warmth and smell of him. She turned her head and listened to his strong steady heartbeat.

Yami held her. His other hand smooth her hair and pet her back. It still amazed that Teris loved and cared so much for him. He hated that he had worried her. That he hadn’t been strong enough to deal with his building mana. That he hadn’t stopped their being taken in the first place.

Yami pressed his lips to the crown of her head and breathed in the scent of her. “We made it out. More than that, we got out of whatever other hell Greywright had in store for us.”

Teris laughed softly at that. She pulled her head back and looked up at him. Her mind unwillingly recalled him bound, life fading as his mana built. If it hadn’t been for Alowishus Spade and the Agents of Chaos, Yami might’ve died. They all might’ve.

Teris reached up, caressing his cheek. “Don’t worry me like that again.”

Yami clasped her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist. “I can’t promise you that, Ikigai.”

“Then at least tell me what that word means.” Teris bargained.

Yami smiled down at her. One day he’d tell her what the word meant. Maybe. He almost made her a different promise; but it would sound too sappy so he said instead. “We’re going to be late. Think Julius will have a problem with just the two of us going somewhere if it’s to meet someone?”

Teris was about to answer that she didn’t care what her brother had a problem with when Julius’ voice sounded.

“No. But I do have a problem with you having secret meetings with my Vice Captain.” Julius said.

Teris and Yami turned to see Julius’ stern expression. Jon, who stood behind the Azure Deers Captain, at least had the decency to look ashamed. Though Yami wondered if the shame was for telling Julius about the meeting or getting caught by his Captain.

Julius shook his head in disappointed censure. “Really you two. Going behind my back with my Vice Captain. And after everything you went through two days ago.”

“I was only tagging along to make sure Teris was safe and didn’t get into trouble.” Yami said.

Teris turned to Yami, eyes wide at the betrayal.

“What? It’s true. I even tried to talk you out of it.” Yami told her.

“Not very hard.” Teris argued.

Yami shrugged a shoulder. “I know when you’ve made up your mind.”

“And apparently when to bail and serve me up to my brother.” Teris said.

“Yami, you shouldn’t have let Teris agree to such a meeting in the first place.” Julius said.

“Let her? Have you met your sister? No one lets her do anything.” Yami said.

“That’s not what you said a moment ago.” Teris told Yami.

“Wanna work with me here?” Yami asked Teris.

“Not after you served me up like that.” Teris said.

“Stop. The both of you.” Julius silenced. “Once confronted, Jon explained everything. His reasoning for making the meeting and what he wanted to speak, or more correctly question you about.” He looked at Teris.

Teris looked from Julius to Jon, wondering what Jon could have wanted to ask her.

“Commander Greywright and Captain Jax are waiting inside Jax’s office. Let’s go.” Julius gestured down the hall in the direction of the Black Bulls Captain’s office.

Teris turned and started walking. She looked at Julius out of the corner of her eye. “If you knew about our meeting with Jon; and Greywright--”

“Commander.” Julius corrected, walking beside her.

“--was already here.” Teris continued. “Why all this? Just looking for another reason to get after us?”

“Jax was the one certain you would try to make the meeting. I was hoping you wouldn’t attempt to go.” Julius said.

Teris gave a derisive snort. “To think Jax--”

“Captain Jax. Come on, Teris. At least make an effort at propriety.” Julius implored.

Teris huffed. “I thought you knew me better.”

Julius looked at his sister wondering if she was referring to her attempt at making the meeting or her disregard of proper use of titles.

Yami entered his Captain's office. “I hope there were stakes in that bet you made with Julius.”

“Don’t sound so proud.” Jax scolded Yami. He grinned at Julius. “You’re covering my tab at the Boiling Brew this month.”

Julius closed the door behind Jon. “And here I thought you’d be drinking and gaming less since you’re sending Gilly what amounts to Bronn’s pension.”

Jax’s expression sobered. His eyes looked over the others in nervous discomfort.

Julius caught himself far too late and softly apologized to his friend. “Sorry.”

“Is Gilly having trouble?” Teris questioned in concern.

“If it’s that hard for her why hasn’t she come back? Healers Hall would take her back, wouldn’t they?” Yami asked.

“She doesn’t want to come back. And unlike retired Magic Knights and Castle Knights, or their families if a Knight dies in service; Healers, Sentries, and Investigations Mages don’t receive some sort of monthly payment.” Jax said.

The weight Julius constantly carried on his shoulders suddenly felt heavier at the reminder of all he had to do and change once he became Wizard King if he hoped to make things better for the kingdom and those that served it.

Jax straightened in his seat, clearing his throat as he went on. “Bronn and Gilly were counting on his pension to supplement the lack of payment for her work as a— You know what? I don’t have to explain myself to anyone. It’s my money and I’m sending her some. It’s what Bronn would’ve wanted. Expected. And that’s all there is to it.”

“I think it’s sweet, Captain.” Teris said.

Yami found it honorable and gave Jax a small nod of approval. Greywright did as well.

Jax eased a bit and ordered his Vice Captain’s. “Sit down.”

He looked at the sofa positioned across the two upholstered chairs he and Greywright sat in. There was no way Julius, Jon, Yami, and Teris would fit comfortably on the couch.

Pointing at the chairs in front of his desk, Jax told the Azure Deers. “Just take a pile off one of those--” He fell silent seeing Julius grab both chairs and pass one to Jon. “What happened to the stack of—there were—Teris.” He turned to her. “Have you been taking piles out of my office and doing my work?”

“No... Yes.” Teris grimaced. “Maybe a bit.”

“Don’t scold her for doing your ignored work.” Greywright told Jax. He looked at Teris. “Though I don’t think your making many friends in the file clerks office at Investigations. Nevertheless. Good work. Keep it up. At least someone’s finally getting things done around here.”

Jax eyed Teris. “We’ll discuss how Vice Captain’s aren’t suppose to make their Captain’s look bad, later.”

“Should’ve given both of them that talk after the Star Awards. Or better yet, before.” Julius told Jax. He saw Teris’ expression and said. “No. Getting captured and experiment on by some magical scientist from the Spade Kingdom doesn’t negate the censure you and Yami should get for causing such a commotion.”

“It wasn’t just us.” Teris reminded.

Leaning forward in his chair, Greywright told Julius. “As the one tasked by Sir Jorah with disciplining them, I say it does. Leave them alone least I bring up past disciplinary issues we’ve have with you, Captain.”

Julius’ eyes lowered in embarrassed shame.

Teris pressed her lips together fighting a smile. Julius was perfect. Alright, almost perfect. Other then the incident at Magic Investigations after Yami and she got the History of Chaos, Teris couldn’t think of a single time in her brothers career as a Magic Knight that was anything but proper, honorable, and upstanding.

Jax outright laughed at the Commander’s censure of his friend.

Greywright turned his eyes on the Black Bulls Captain. “I’ve got plenty of stories that’ll embarrass you too Jax, so shut it.”

Jax quickly sobered.

Greywright looked over the small gathering before telling Yami and Teris. “We’re here to discuss Advisor Ellara.”

Teris turned to Jon, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Is that what you wanted to meet about?”

Seated beside Teris on the sofa, Yami looked at Jax. “You’re finely going to explain like you promised.”

“I hadn’t forgotten.” Jax told Yami, appreciating how patient Yami had been.

Teris’ eyes darted around the men in the room trying make sense of what they were saying. “I’m missing something.”

“Let’s start at the beginning, shall we.” Greywright said.

They started with the suspicions about Ellara that had led to Bronn being tasked with following her, and ended with Greywright telling how he knew the Ellara that came to the safe house Teris had been kept at hadn’t been the real Advisor.

Yami’s frown had grown more and more severe as Greywright, Julius, and Jax told them everything. When they were done Yami sat back and crossed his arms. “I could've told you that was the real Ellara without hearing the end. There’s no way Bronn would’ve lost her. The bastard was too good a Mage.”

“So—you’re saying that Advisor Ellara is working with the Agents of Chaos. And that the person that who showed up to our safe house the night of the Winter Solstice wasn’t Advisor Ellara but a Transformation Mage. That Bronn, who was tasked with following Ellara, didn’t lose her but followed the real Advisor to the geyser labyrinth where he was...“ Teris’ words faded. She hadn’t gone to the scene once Bronn’s body had been found; but she could imagine it well enough. The question she had wondered back then returned, seeming all the more important given this recent information. Why the geyser labyrinth?

Greywright nodded.

“And you can’t take any of this to Sir Jorah because she might be using her magic to affect him.” Teris finished.

Greywright nodded again.

Teris looked to her brother. The fact that he didn’t look sick with distress told her Julius had suspected Ellara of using her magic on Sir Jorah for quite some time. She swallowed, mouth suddenly dry.

Yami placed a steadying hand on her knee. With what he had overheard and sensed in their Ki when Advisor Ellara was around or they spoke of her, he had surmised some kind of trouble; but nowhere close to this extent.

Teris barely registered Yami’s touch. Her heart banged in her chest, rushing blood roaring in her ears like a tidal wave in a storm. She recalled the last Entrance Exams when she had been lost and looking for the arena viewing room. How Ellara had acted and asked about the communicative dreams with the page of Chaos. How Ellara had offered to help her try and remember. How she had asked if she could see the scars on her chest. Wait. Did that mean Ellara had been there during the Summer Solstice?

Teris shoved the unsettling thought away and focused on another disturbing question. “So the reason Alowishus and his lunatic lackeys showed up at Rayla’s was because of her? Ellara got word to him, telling what happened and where to look for us.”

“I got to the scene far too late to see anything. The only thing I was able to tell was the way the wind was blowing.” Julius said.

“Which was enough.” Jax said, attempting to make Julius feel better. “From the lack of ground disturbance and signs of struggle we figured it was a passive attack. Kess and I were able to find where they had stood, letting the toxin magic travel on the wind to where you all had been.”

Feeling like a failure, Julius sighed. “It still gave us nothing to go on. We had no better clue who had taken you, where you were, or why you all were taken. How Ellara could've figured it out and got word to the Agents of Chaos is a mystery. Maybe all she did was get word to them and they figured it out. In any case when we were called into Sir Jorah’s office and told that you all had been taken…” His eyes unfocused, remembering Ellara’s tension and expression. “Her concern was real.”

“Just because the Agents of Chaos got us, or rather you two out of immediate danger doesn’t mean they have your interests or well being in mind.” Greywright told Yami and Teris.

“Of course not. They helped cause they still need us for at least one more ritual if not more.” Yami looked at the Commander and two Captain’s seeing that they too knew that their concerns over this past winter solstice had been for not. Sighing he confessed. “I’ve been contacted by the page of Chaos at least twice since the solstice.”

“What about Olsen?” Teris asked, at the same time as Yami’s admission.

Yami turned to Teris. “What about Olsen?”

Teris stared at Yami, her concern realized. “Why haven’t you told me!”

“First things first.” Greywright said. “Yam--”

“Commander Greywright.” A voice sounded.

Greywright pulled the communication crystal from his pocket. “I’m in a meeting.” He said informing the person that he wasn’t alone should the message be confidential as well as not to bother him if the message could wait.

“There’s been two Wild Fire outbreaks in the Forsaken Realm. One near Hornsby. The other just outside of Hage.” The voice said.

“Actual Wild Fire?” Greywright questioned.

“Yes, sir. Teams of Magic Knights have been dispatched but there are multiple outbreaks at both locations.” The voice said.

Jax used his rock magic to shake the foundations of the house, signaling anyone home to gather in the great room and await orders.

“Sir Jorah wants you at Hage. It’s the closest to the Spade Kingdom border.” The voice went on.

“I’ll report back once I assess the situation.” Greywright said, already rising to his feet.

Jax, Julius, Jon, Yami, and Teris were already making for the door.

Seeing them coming down the hall, Tobin questioned. “Captain?”

“Olsen and I found a system that worked well together during the Wild Fire near Clade.” Yami told Jax and Greywright.

“Wild Fire?” Olsen echoed.

“You and Olsen with me.” Greywright told Yami. He glanced at Jax trusting the man to know better than he. “I need a few to help get the people of Hage to safety.”

“Iban, Venice, Abril. You’re with Greywright.” Jax stepped to the Blood Mage. “This is not the time for your games. If I hear of one complaint you’re done.”

“Yes, sir.” Iban smirked.

“Teris, Tobin, Gendry, Bran. You’re with me in Hornsby.” Jax said.

Julius stepped forward. “Jon and I will--”

Greywright held up a hand to Julius. “From what I understand, you used all of your mana stopping that bridge from collapsing yesterday. You’ll be of little use out there. Sorry, Julius. I can’t be worrying about you. You stay.”

“I’ll take Jon.” Jax said, with a sympathetic look to his friend.

Julius’ hands fisted as the two groups disappeared; Greywright using a transportation crystal, Teris light traveling the others. Proud as he was that his sister seemed to finally be getting a handle on the spell, he was disgusted with himself. Great as it was to save several dozens of people yesterday as he single-handedly slowed an explosion and stopped a rushing river all the while halting a bridge’s collapse, what kind of Wizard King would he be if he couldn’t save people today because his efforts yesterday had taken up so much of his mana?

He simply had to get stronger.

87.2

Bran was relieved and impressed Teris had light traveled their group without leaving them with so much as a sunburn; though his vision was still a bit spotty on arrival from her magics intense light. Still, his Vice Captain must’ve been putting in some serious time training.

As Bran’s vision cleared he looked over the area in horrored awe. “When they said multiple, they weren’t kidding.”

“Teris. Start incinerating a kilometer wide break between the flames and the town.” Jax ordered.

Teris balked.

“One strong gust and it’ll jump any smaller break.” Jax said.

Stopping the spread and saving lives was more important than the farmlands crops that would be destroyed. Even so, Jax hated giving the order and didn’t envy Teris the job.

Teris gave a stiff nod and disappeared, setting to work.

“Bran. Get to a safe distance and control a beast of burden that’s hitched to a wagon, take it to find anyone stuck out in the fields and get them back to town. Jon, Tobin, Gendry.” Jax rolled his neck. “Let’s get to work.”

They worked well into the night. Even with the addition of several teams of Magic Knights, they still struggled. There were just too many fires.

Mereoleona wiped her brow. “It’s no use, Jax. It’s like the stuff’s been condensed, burning hotter and faster than any Wild Fire should. You were the first on the scene. You have to call it.”

Jax ground his teeth. To leave it and admit defeat would've meant burning everything within a two kilometer perimeter in a best case scenario. Given the higher volatility of the Wild Fire and the seasons stronger wind gusts, it would mean doubling the firebreaks to four kilometers. Doing so would mean taking out a quarter of Hornsby itself. But it was either that or chance the fire jumping and losing the whole town, possibly more.

The Black Bulls Captain swallowed. “Four kilometers. Get every fire mage burning a break of four kilometers.”

Mereoleona stared. “Including the earlier one kilometer break?”

“Burn four more kilometers.” Jax snapped. “I’ll send a team to oversee the evacuation of the populace from the parts of Hornsby that will be lost.”

Mereoleona growled. While she would’ve made the same call if in Jax’s position, it didn’t make the order any easier to carry out.

“Captain!” Randall pointed.

Mereoleona and Jax turned, Mereoleona thinking she had to teach Randall how to better use his words. She scratched that notion instantly seeing what Randall had been pointing to. Even in the green-white smoke and flames the line of Sorcery Lances from the Spade Kingdom were clearly visible due to their numbers. The mass was five hundred meters out at most.

“Retribution for the death of one of their leading scientist?” Win guessed, the Green Mantis Captain coming up beside them with Jack at his side.

“They took our Commander and Knights first.” Mereoleona sneered, wanting to kill them for taking her brother.

“You think they’ll hold off fighting so we can explain that to them?” Win wondered.

“Since they’re probably the ones that started this mess. Doubtful.” Jax said, and muttered. “Why did I have to be the one that showed up first?”

“Quit complaining. I’ll take command if you want.” Mereoleona said.

“And never live it down! I don’t think so.” Knowing the citizenry’s safety was of paramount importance, Jax told Mereoleona. “Help the other fire mages create a four kilometer break that extends fifteen hundred meters to the right and left of Hornsby. Then come join the fight and push the Sorcery Lances back with utmost hostility.”

Mereoleona almost argued, wanting to stay and fight; but her oath as a Magic Knight stated the safety of the citizens came first. “Keep Randall. He’ll be able to divert some of the Wild Fire flames with his air magic.”

“You’ll have to order someone to clear out the populace.” Jax told her, as he’d be too busy to send a team the way he had planned.

Kess appeared at Jax’s side.

“I’m taking Neyres.” Mereoleona told the Silver Eagles Captain.

Kess nodded.

Mereoleona turned to her brother and the other Fire Mage on her squad. “Leon! Forte! Four kilometer addition to the break starting with fifteen hundred meters spreading to either side of town. Neyres! Go with them.”

Eyes wide at the level of destruction their order entailed, the three nodded and took off.

“Big guy!” Mereoleona called to Tobin as she passed.

Tobin turned.

“Need you to kick some people out of their homes. Carry them if you have to.” Mereoleona said.

“I can force them out. Make the air in their homes just noxious enough.” Win offered.

“Your toxin magic is needed to wipe out Sorcery Lances.” Jax told the Green Mantis Captain in between issuing his own orders.

On her way to met and help Fuegoleon, Forte, and Neyres, Mereoleona caught sight of the Azure Deers Sonic Mage battling a wall of Wild Fire. “Emelia! Go help Tobin.” She pointed at the Black Bulls Giant Mage who had raced ahead of her. “He’ll explain your orders. Just don’t permanently deafen the citizenry unless you have to.”

Emelia blinked, perplexed, and nodded; rushing after Tobin.

“Burning down some poor peasants home after kicking them out. Jax better save a squad of Sorcery Lances for me to beat to a pulp.” Mereoleona muttered under her breath.

Jax scanned the field and questioned. “Where’s my Vice Captain?”

Jack had subtlety done what he could to keep track of Teris for Yami, not that the big lug would ever ask. Having recently found her after losing track of her for a time, Jack opened his mouth to answer. But before he could a flash of light lit up the night making the fiery surroundings seem dim.

“Never mind.” Jax rushed to join the fight. The others falling in beside and behind him.

87.2.2

Nozel stood a dozen paces away from Teris leaving them both room to fight. In the heat of the surrounding Wild Fire he was having trouble keeping the density of his mercury for his mercury rain spell to be effective. He’d have to remember to work on that during his and Fuegoleon’s training sessions.

“At least we can see the enemy this time.” Nozel quipped to Teris.

Teris huffed, surprised that Nozel would make a jest in the middle of a battle.

Nozel hated to admit it but if the three Agents of Chaos hadn’t shown to assist them, they definitely wouldn’t have completed Rayla’s test in time to save Yami’s life. A part of him wondered if he and Teris would've made it out of the so called test alive. Though that didn’t speak to the greatness or superiority of the Spade Kingdoms fighting force. If anything him and Teris holding out so long spoke of their capability given their exhaustion, wounds, and the magic dampening cuffs.

Teris saw one of the Sorcery Lances prepare to throw something. The action notable because it didn’t look like the man was preparing for a magical assault. She caught sight of a small jar just as it was leaving the Sorcery Lances hand.

“Nozel!” Teris light traveled to the Silver Eagle, wrapped her arms around him, and light traveled away right before Wild Fire erupted where he had stood.

Nozel blinked, sight slowly returning from the blinding light. He looked over Teris’ shoulder at the green-white flames. “Are they crazy!”

The Wild Fire posed as much danger to the Sorcery Lances as it did to them. As the night cooled the wind swirled, slowly changing directions. It caused the flames to spread all the more quickly and unpredictably.

Teris growled seeing the Sorcery Lance who had thrown the jar pull out another.

Nozel reached out trying to grab her. “Teris!”

Teris sprinted and launched herself at the man.

“Teris!” Jax yelled.

Teris and the Sorcery Lance went tumbling. The jar broke, Wild Fire exploding around them.

Nozel made for the flames.

Reaching him, Jack and Jon held Nozel back.

Teris pushed up to her knees and away from the charred Sorcery Lance. The Mages form crumbled into a pile dust beneath her. She clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling a shocked noise of disgust. That’s when she noticed it. The tell tale green-white flames of Wild Fire. It was burning on her the same way it did on water. While it hurt and took everything she had not to writhe and scream, the flames didn’t burn her flesh.

Teris collapsed onto all fours, the pain growing. The dim glow that had been radiating from her since the Wild Fire strike brightened. As it did so, the heat coming off her intensified.

Teris screamed.

Though not as consuming, the feeling was similar to the morning of the Summer Solstice.

Jax grimaced at his Vice Captain's agonized cry. Teris shouldn’t be alive, but she was. Though he didn’t have time to be grateful for that. From the looks of it, Teris’ mana and magic was rising to somehow burn out the Wild Fire. The deduction set his galloping heart to race even faster as another shot of adrenaline coursed through him.

“Shields!” Jax yelled, pulling up a thick wall of stone long enough to shelter those beside and just behind him.

He looked about and cursed. There were too many Magic Knights incapable of creating the type of shield that could withstand an exploding force; and they were too spread apart to reach someone who was. After over six hours of using his magic to bury and snuff out Wild Fires, he simply didn’t have the mana store left to create numerous thick rock walls to shield everyone.

Blinking the sweat out of his eyes, Nozel gritted his teeth and created a massive curved wall of mercury that sheltered all the Magic Knight’s. It didn’t matter how tired and drained he was, he was the royal heir of House Silva. What kind of Vice Captain would he be if he didn’t risk his own life to protect his comrades.

Seeing what the Silver Eagle was attempting, Jon used his magic to freeze the space around the liquid metal. Thanks to the Azure Deers’ assistance Nozel was able to strengthen and thicken the shield wall.

There was a brief moment of deafening silence as if time and space itself held its breath. Then, an explosion of light.

The banging shock wave whipped the air around in frenzied howl. Dirt and clumps of debris rained down.

Ears ringing, Jax stood and looked over the stone wall to check on Teris. He found a lingering shield wall of mercury, so thin he could see through it.

Weak and woozy, Nozel gave Jon a clumsy nod. There was no way his mercury would’ve withstood the blast if it weren’t for the man’s assistance. He had barely managed to hold it as it was.

Jon gave the Silver Eagle a returning nod, knowing several Magic Knights would’ve perished if not for Nozel’s quick thinking and magical power.

The Magic Knights stood to find that the surrounding Wild Fires had been burned out by the explosion of incinerating light.

Teris slowly uncurled, the pain and searing heat subsiding.

“Impressive.” A voice said, from above her.

Teris opened her eyes and saw a Sorcery Lance standing over her. He stepped back as she got slowly to her feet on unsteady legs.

“You took out more than half of my forces. And that wasn’t even combining your magic with the Dark Magic User.” The man’s eyes lifted and scanned the field. “Where is he by the way?”

“You can’t have him.” Teris told, her growl far less threatening given her panting breath and clear fatigue.

The Sorcery Lance looked back at her. “I have no interest in either of you, child. My King might, once he learns what you’re capable of on your own. We heard you were a powerful force when combined but had no idea what you were capable of alone.”

“Good luck relaying the message dead.” Teris said.

“You don’t want to fight me. After an release of mana like that...” The Sorcery Lance shook his head. “Look at you. You can barely stand.”

“Teris. Get back.” Jax ordered making his way to her. “This one’s mine.”

The Sorcery Lance smiled. “Vice Captain Jax.”

“It’s Captain.” Jax corrected.

“So the Magic Knights promotes failures? I see why the Clover Kingdom will never be a threat to us.” The man taunted.

Jax stepped in front of Teris.

The Colonel smirked. “Attempting to protect yet another girl, Jax. This one your lover too? Looks kind of young; but who am I to judge.” He blocked Jax’s attack with a pool of lava that melted the rock. “You’re going to have to try harder then that Captain. Unless you want to lose this girl too.”

Teris was buffeted back by a cloud of volcanic ash. Jon grabbed her by the arm. Not knowing who it was, Teris spun, nearly falling over in the process.

“It’s okay.” Jon calmed. “Let’s get you out of here.”

“No. I can still fight.” Teris said, looking back at her battling Captain.

Kess looked at Win, the Green Mantis being the senior Captain.

“I have two tones. Scary and snide. Don’t see either one working on her. You order her back.” Win told Kess.

Kess glared. She stepped to Teris. “Teris.”

Teris turned to the Silver Eagles Captain. “I can--”

Still holding Teris steady, Jon was able to stop her fall. He looped her arm over his shoulder and held up her unconscious body.

“Get her to safety, Vice Captain.” Kess ordered Jon.

Not wanting to leave Kess in this mess, Jon questioned. “Captain?”

“You heard me.” Kess snapped, daring her boyfriend to challenge her command.

“I can take her.” Nozel offered.

“You’re with me.” Kess told her Vice Captain. She gave Jon a hard look.

“Yes, sir.” Jon submitted. “Be careful.”

Kess turned away, ignoring his concern. She was Captain of the Silver Eagles. While a part of her found Jon’s care sweet, the greater part of her found it insulting.

Knowing Nozel was weakened from shielding them from the blast, Kess ordered. “Nozel, hold this line and stop any Sorcery Lances that get passed us.” She raised her voice. “Everyone else. Take out or push back the Sorcery Lances still standing.”

87.2.3

“I can make it to safety.” Teris said, having regained consciousness. “Go back and help the others.”

“You can barely stand. What if you lose consciousness again? I’m not--” Jon tensed seeing a creature coming out of the smoke. “What’s an elk doing in the middle of a Wild Fire?”

Bleary eyed, Teris turned to the animal. “Bran?”

The elks head lowered and raised in an odd nod.

“Good man.” Teris praised. To Jon she said. “Help me up.”

Jon looked uncertain. “Teris, I--”

“Hornsby is at least eight kilometers out. It’ll take forever for you to get me there. With the other Magic Knights still burning the break to protect the town, they need you fighting.”

Jon looked at her. He could hardly argue. It was why he had faltered at Kess’ order. If only Teris wasn’t so weakened and could light travel to safety.

“Alright.” Jon relented. “But you have to get to Hornsby and stay. Swear to me, Teris.”

“I’m not stupid or have a death wish.” Teris told.

Jon could've argued with that but didn’t. He looked up at the elk wondering how he was going to get a mostly dead weight Teris on it when the beast laid down. He helped Teris on and stood back. The creature rose. Teris began to slide off. Jon rushed forward, reaching out.

Teris managed to hold on and right herself. “I’m good. I’m good.”

Jon looked at up at her thinking this a terrible idea. She would have to go through a storm of Wild Fire. What if she fell off or lost consciousness again? What if she ran into a team of Sorcery Lance’s? An eruption of lava flew into the sky. The ash cloud ballooned out, further covering them in dust and smoke.

“Go!” Jon ordered, already rushing back to the fight.

Teris’ arms tightened around the elks neck. The elk ran, avoiding green flames. The beast lept over downed burning trees that had been set aflame by the Wild Fires heat. Teris lost all sense of direction in the dense smoke. She buried her face into the crevice of her arm and the beasts neck. It was a battle just to hold on and stay conscious.

Teris managed to last until the end of the break. Her arms loosened unable to hold on anymore. She fell off the elk with a thud.

“Teris!” Bran rushed to her.

He controlled the animal long enough to trot it a safe distance so it wouldn’t trample them and released it. The elk darted away to safety.

Bran knelt and lifted Teris up onto her knees. He swung her arm around his neck and stood them up. “You’re heavier than you look, Vice Captain.”

“Bran.” Teris breathed, her slow blinking eyes unfocused. “Never tell a woman that.”

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.” Bran stumbled and they both fell over.

“Leave me and go be useful.” Teris ordered, barely holding on to consciousness.

Bran stood them up again.

Teris frowned vision spotting. “I said go be useful. Don’t disobey--”

“Seeing my Vice Captain to safety is being useful.” Bran argued.

Teris would've called him a cheeky smart-ass but her vision tunneled and she lost consciousness.

87.3

Given what Greywright had heard from Mereoleona, who had commanded Yami on two separate battlefields, the Knights Commander had expected to have trouble keeping Yami from moving too far into the enemy’s line. But that wasn’t a problem. Greywright figured it had to do with Yami now being Vice Captain and feeling a greater sense of responsibility for the other Magic Knights. Though that’s not to say Yami didn’t move further ahead than Greywright would’ve liked. But the Vice Captain didn’t lose himself in the battle and always seemed to pull himself back right before Greywright felt the need to call him back.

The Magic Knights Commander hadn’t seen Yami fight since the Squad Challenge over a year and a half ago. Yami’s growth in ability and power, both magical and physical, was impressive. Yami’s unique, more physically fighting style meant that those facing him for the first time dealt with an adjustment period. In most cases Yami had his foe incapacitated or killed before that adjustment was realized.

The Colonel leading the Sorcery Lances called for retreat.

Yami and a few other Magic Knights made to follow.

“Let them go.” Greywright commanded. “We’ve still got a village to save and Wild Fires to put out. Charlotte. William. Abril. Follow the Sorcery Lances at a distance. Make sure they cross the boarder and don’t turn back for another attack. Yami. Olsen. Get back and deal with the fires closest to the village. Take three others with you. The rest of you. Focus on the most outer fires and work your way in. Tryn. Siren. Continued working on that break. Two kilometers.”

“Venice. Alecdora. Puli. With me.” Yami ordered.

Greywright watched Alecdora glare daggers at the Black Bulls Vice Captain as he followed behind Puli, Olsen, and Venice in Yami’s wake. The Golden Dawn was a noble who didn’t respect anyone that he considered socially beneath him. It was obvious the Sand Mage wasn’t fond of having to obey a foreigner on how best to save Hage, a peasant village out in the Forsaken Realm. That said Greywright didn’t see Yami tolerating disobedience well. He just hoped Yami was capable of controlling his temper well enough not to land Alecdora in the infirmary.

Comments are VERY MUCH appreciated and really make my day. Thank you to those who have left hearts. And a special THANK YOU to those who have recently left comments or re-blogged. They really mean a lot.

Next chapter snippet:

Yami pulled his hand free and leaned forward, forearms resting on his thighs. He hadn’t caught that, and understood why Teris would be upset about it. They faced so many dangers already. To learn that there were even more groups wanting at them only added to the danger. Yet what good would knowing do? Greywright had known of the Spade Kingdoms interest in them and had wound up in Rayla’s lab right along with them. They had thought they’d known the Agents of Chaos wanted them for the Winter Solstice. Wrong as they were, the Agents of Chaos had proven they knew exactly where they had been hidden and could get to them.

#yami sukehiro #nozel silva #julius novachrono #mereoleona vermillion #fuegoleon vermillion #Black Clover #light in the darkness

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purelyfiction · 4 years ago

Text

Title: The Return of A Royal

Summary: After finding a bounty hunter in the midst of Mon Calamari, Cara, Din and Grogu jet off with the new accomplice to complete a favor, in exchange for information about a Jedi.

Word Count: 2,263

TW: Sexual Tension but that’s about it. Canon violence and weaponry

Chapter 2: A Rough Start

Exiting the cantina with another body tagging along felt strangely familiar. Many times the Mandalorian would find fellow hunters to split payment on a job and easily bring the bounty in with no issues. So, with Cara and the new face, it would be a little crowded on the Crest but they would manage. Din not being one for small talk, lead the four of them back to the ship, leaving Cara and the other woman to speak. "You got a name? Or are we just not gonna go there?" Cara asks rather bluntly, Din's head dipping slightly to hear the woman's reply.

"I go by Eliaden. You can call me Elia if you want." She offers in response. Din finds her phrasing odd, but doesn't judge. It was possible that this wasn't her primary language and she did her best to translate as rapidly as she could.

"Cara Dune. And of course you're familiar with The Mandalorian." The larger woman speaks as the group enter the ship.

"Razor Crest. Nice. You get her second hand?" Elia pipes up as Din shuts the back hatch, only after settling Grogu in his small hammock for a nap.

"Yes. Sturdy piece of machinery." He doesn't give much to her and Elia makes a face. The New Republic employee sees her reaction and gives her arm a tap.

"Don't let him bother you, he's not a chatterbot. I think in my acquaintance with him he's not said more than one hundred words." The three of them each take their turn climbing to the cockpit and settling in. Elia seemingly takes in the controls of the ship, a small smile on her face. Cara watches her uneasily, tilting her head. "You're into this kind of thing aren't you?"

Elia shrugs, watching as Din made haste with the buttons and levers easily. "I had a lot of time on my hands growing up, I spent a lot of time reading. I studied a lot about ships, machinery, general repairs, the likes. I mainly do a large portion of my own repairs on my ship. It's just some rusty freighter I got from some guy who cleary was picking up parts from Jawas. I call 'er Gypsy." She speaks pretty rapidly before Din cuts in.

"I need a location." Elia looks to him, rather quiet, emotion falling from her face. She stands and reaches over the silver that reflected off of the Mandalorian, quickly putting in coordinates before sitting back down. "Off you go." Her response is curt and she stays quiet from there on out.

The journey to their next destination was rather stiff, no soundwaves moving between anyone. Cara had gone down to the cargo bay to clean and condition Din's collection of weapons, while Elia stayed put. She simply sat looking at nowhere important, before Din started the ship into its landing sequence. He's turning to leave to check on the Child, noticing her far off gaze. He sighs and she seems to look to him when he does so. "I didn't mean to be harsh. Earlier."

"Well it wasn't exactly a meadow of sunshine and flowers, Mando." She snarls before looking to a screen flashing behind him. The helmeted man's head rolls, almost as if he was trying to crack his neck.

"Cara was right I don't speak much. So -"

"Mando, you -"

A breath of annoyance leaves him before he speaks again. "No, don't start. You need to learn that I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to get the kid -"

"Waadar Ke'sush'! The screen!" The brunette shoots up, pushing past him to settle in the ship's captain chair, kicking into action as the ship's warnings begin to take hold, ringing through the cabin and the cargo bay. Cara's head pokes up from the lower level as the ship begins to shake.

"What the hell did you do?" As the ship rattles towards the atmosphere of the planet they were arriving to Elia is quick to level the ship as the landing sequence fails, the other passengers grabbing onto whatever they possibly could. In a flash, the Razor Crest finds its way from the midst of space to the docking port of the planet. It's no gentle ride, but Elia manages to keep the contraption from turning to rubble. Once they're stopped, she looks to the Mandalorian on the floor.

"Gar cuyir very olarom." With that, Elia was making her way to the cargo bay, leaving Din in a pile of surprise.

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

Elia paid for the port fee and started leading her companions to their destination. As they walk, Din slowly strolls behind her as they maneuver through a crowded marketplace. "Where did you learn Mando'a." It's firm, no inflection in any portion of his words.

"Self taught. Remember the studying I mentioned?" She's quick and Cara gives him a glance, waiting til she's out of earshot to grab Din by the arm, making him look to her.

"What did you do." Her head tilts to look at him, like a disgruntled mother almost. Din turns his head away and mutters.

"I just tried to talk to her. Then the landing protocol failed. I didn't do anything." He pulls his arm away, hearing Grogu from his side making plenty of noises. When he looks back to Elia, she's standing with a grin on her face looking the tallest of them.

"You're falling behind, you two."

The woman leads them to what looks to be a residential building and she's quick to wrap her knuckles on the door. When no response comes from it, Din reaches over her and knocks on the door firmer and much louder. When it finally opens, a scraggly man dressed very minimally comes to the door, goggles on his forehead, toothpick between sharp teeth. He has a smirk when he registers Elia's features.

"Em. What a surprise." Cara's chin rises when he speaks.

"Em?" Elia's voice burns in the air and Cara suddenly knows what this is about. "Try again, greaseball." She gives a slight nod, taking a step back where Din finds himself pushing past the man into the residence. "You owe me. Big time." She stands with her arms crossed in the foyer of the room, Cara on her left, Din on his right.

"The only thing owed here, is an apology from you." The other speaks and the shorter woman groans.

"Gander, I don't have all day. You know what you owe me. If you just give me the payment, we'll leave. Otherwise, this is gonna end differently." Din can see the male give her a scowl before moving to a box on a table across the room. He unlocks it before pulling the blocks from the container with ease before slowly approaching her and handing them over. The Mandalorian can see the emblem clear as day in her hands, a small smile on her face. "Good choice. Have a nice life." She gives a squint before heading out the door, Cara looking to Din in confusion before the two follow her out. The owner of the residence gets to the door, cursing something in a different language, a clear curse, before a very clear word is pronounced.

Mari.

"Elia." Cara calls out to her through the market as she slinks her way through the crowd. She's moving quickly - far too quickly. Din can see what's happening and pulls the satchel from his side, offering it to Cara before he's quick on his feet. Elia turns behind her and sees the body of metal moving towards her and rapidly tucks the metal chunks in her pockets before starting at a running pace. The two begin in a race through the market, displays occasionally being knocked over and yelling insinuating at the actions. Elia slips into an alleyway, starting to navigate the maze like neighborhoods. Din was one step ahead of her, using the scanner in the helmet on his head to follow her footsteps.

Elia had thought she was clear, sat behind a wall, catching her breath. Din rounds the corner, an attempt to grab at her arm, circumnavigated by a block from Elia. The two begin in a hand in hand combat, each throwing their best efforts in. A kick, a duck, a dodge under legs, ending in Din grabbing the woman by the waist and pinning her to the wall she'd been hiding against. Both of them panting, it was then they realized how close together they were. Din finally gets a word out, spoken between sharp breaths.

"Who's Mari." He snaps and Elia's back straightens. Her cheek is against the building and she can feel the material scratching at soft skin.

"I don't know, his ex?" She scoffs before Din moves one of her arms behind her back, pressing a little harder into her, metal forearm armor most definitely leaving bruises.

"I'm not playing games. You either tell me and we can figure this out or I can drag you in bindings back to the ship and introduce you to the carbonite sheet with your name on it. Your choice." He watches as the two of them sit in the empty alleyway, the light of day beginning to fall, leaving a slight glow of orange over everything.

"Fine. Let me go first." She grumbles, Mando letting out a slight chuckle.

"Try again, sweet girl." Elia can feel her skin tingle at the words, eyes widening a little. She stays quiet for a few moments causing Din to grow impatient. He lets his hips press to her, securing her to wall further as he takes a hold of both arms, holding them above her head. He leans in a little, breath heavy.

"If you want to test me, you're welcome to. But I guarantee you'll regret it." It's lower than normal, husky and dark almost. Elia has to take a labored breath, her lungs feeling tight since most of her was encased between a sheet of beskar and a hardened wall.

"She's my sister." The young woman's voice is almost a rasp now as Din pulls himself away from her, hand over his blaster - just in case she gets an idea of running again.

"Explain. Now." Its a command and now, Elia isn't risking pushing him any further.

"He sent that to every bounty hunter in the Guild." She begins, referring to the hologram message Din had received. "I know because I got one. He's been looking for her for years. He had my mom and I evacuated before they closed in. He claimed he couldn't lose us too. As for why Gander called me that? He's her ex. She left quite a bit of things at his house. I knew he had the material, and I knew that if I got it, I'd be able to get a hefty amount of credits for it. He's just a junkie, he's not a bounty hunter. " She confesses before reaching into the pocket of her clothing, pulling out the four bars of beskar and handing them to him.

"I'm not taking those." He scoffs, shaking his head as he takes a step back. "If you lied about the bounty hunter, do you know where that Jedi is?" Din is doubtful, as the woman in front of him as certainly lost most of his trust now.

"That, I didn't lie about. I know she's been planet hopping. She's been trying to find the kid." Elia looks to him with a softened face. "Listen, I know you have no reason to trust me on this, but I promise. I can help you get to her. I know her last coordinates." Din shakes his head turning away and starting down the alleyway again, Elia finding herself confused. She starts to follow him, needing to take larger steps as he practically gallops away. "Where are you going?"

"To my ship. You're a joke." He scoffs, still walking towards the market in the direction they had previously ran through. Elia slowly stops walking, watching as he continues walking further from her.

"His name is Grogu." She speaks. The Mandalorian stops. He'd not once said his name in front of the bounty hunter, neither had Cara. And only four of them knew his name. Well it seemed as though, five did. He turns on his heels, jaw clenched. He's beyond frustrated. The whole day had been wasted because of this deviation and now Elia was milling it.

"How do you know that." Din pushes his tongue to the root of his mouth as he waits for a response, looking at the woman. He can see the scrape on her cheek from the plaster from earlier. He'd not thought he'd been pressing that hard - guess not.

"She told me. The Jedi. I may have spoken to her before she left Mon Cala. She told me that she was looking for him and that she was struggling to locate him." Elia takes a closer step to the Mandalorian and looks at him with a calm gaze. "He told her he was safe. That he was protected and that she would find him when she needed to." She laughs a little shaking her head. "But I don't blame you if you don't believe me." Din wants to punch something right about now. This woman had been so innocent at the cantina. A simple favor was all she asked. Now here she was, going on about conversations with the Jedi he'd been searching for. With hesitation he gives a wave.

"Get your ass back to the ship."

#the mandalorian smut #the mandalorian #the mandalorian fanfic #mandalorian smut #mandalorian fanfiction #mandalorian fanfic #din djarin smut #din djarin #din djarin fanfic #din djarin fanfiction #star wars fanfic

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