#or the fact that he saved me from falling into her trap again

[expressionless-fr]

I wouldn't be here if it wasn't because of him.

[redwing4life]

Forgotten Alarms

CHAPTER 1 | ASHES TO EMBERS

PAIRING: Firefighter!Neighbour!Bucky x Fem!Reader

WARNINGS: Mentions of night terrors, trapped in small spaces, brief mention of reader being worried about bucky holding her weight, nothing else other than bucky being cute af

SUMMARY: When you get stuck in an elevator with your neighbour (who also happens to be your crush), you discover your interest in the firefighter isn’t as one-sided as you thought.

WORD COUNT: 2736

NEXT CHAPTER

“You’re late, doll.”

The teasing voice of your neighbour catches you off guard when you open your front door; your hand slaps over your heart as you jump from shock.

“Says you” you smirk as you come down from the surprise. You step out of your door fully, turning and pulling it shut behind you.

Bucky chuckles, locking his own door while you do the same. He can’t help but sneak another glance your way - a light blush creeping up your neck under his gaze.

You think you’d be used to him by now, have your little crush under control seeing as you find yourselves leaving for work at the same time regularly. And yet here you are, heart beating faster than you’d like while you fumble with your keys.

Despite being late for work, Bucky waits for you to finish locking up before falling into step beside you as you walk down the hallway to the elevator.

“So let me guess, you slept through your alarm again?” The firefighter raises a brow, amused by your flushed appearance - unsure if that’s his effect on you or the fact your shift started five minutes ago.

“Worse,” you wince, “didn’t even set the damn thing.”

If you didn’t love it so much so much, you’d be inclined to be offended at the snort of a laugh he lets out. “Oh, doll.” Bucky shakes his head with a grin still left on his lips.

“What ‘bout you, Barnes? Spend too much time doing your hair?”

One unamused glare your way and now you’re the one giggling. Walking up to the elevator, you press the button to go down before stepping back to face Bucky.

“I’ll have you know, I woke up looking this good” He winks at you, hoping you’ll accept his non-answer for an answer. But you both know why he woke up late.

He barely even fell asleep, now that his nightmares are back.

His screams travel through the thin walls at night, falling on concerned ears. You pretend as though you don’t hear his night terrors but he sees the slight tug at your brows the next morning, the way you’re desperate to ask if he’s okay. But you never do; you don’t want to make him uncomfortable. You offered your help once, and you’re not sure you have the right to ask again.

“Who said you look good?” You tease, hoping to lighten the mood.

The elevator dings and the doors open. “Well the old lady whose cat we saved yesterday said I was the most handsome man in town” He smirks as you both step inside.

“Oh that’s high praise, Barnes” You reply, watching as he presses the ground floor button.

A comfortable silence falls upon the elevator as it roars back to life. Pulling out your phone, you fire a quick text to your boss to apologise for being late before shoving it back into your back pocket.

Bucky turns to you, “What time do you fin-“

A loud clunk sounds from above the lift and it stops moving, dropping a couple inches before coming to a halt again.

“Oh, shit” You all but whisper, almost afraid of speaking too loudly in case it sends you tumbling down.

“Well,” Bucky’s eyes are on the ceiling, “that didn’t sound great”

If you weren’t so nervous, you might slap him for stating the fucking obvious. Your eyes fall to your hand that’s grabbed his, not even realising you’d reached for him when the lift stopped.

Your cheeks burn crimson before you release the death grip you had on his wrist, ignoring the sparks resting beneath your fingertips.

“You okay, doll?” His voice softens when he sees the fear in your eyes.

“Umm..” You stutter, voice as shaky as your hands are.

“Hey, hey,” Bucky’s hands are on your shoulders now, “you’re shaking, Y/n. What’s wrong? What do you need me to do?”

Clenching your eyes shut, you take a deep breath. “Tell me we’re not about to fall to our deaths, please”

Your neighbour lets out a breathy ‘Oh, doll’ and strokes his thumbs over your shoulders. When you open your eyes, his blue ones bear into yours reassuringly, “We’re not gonna fall to our deaths.”

“This hunk of junk hasn’t been serviced in years but i’m pretty sure it’s just jammed or the powers cut out. Either way, we’re gonna be just fine” He continues.

You let out a wavering breath and nod slowly. “Okay. So what now?” You ask.

Bucky drops one of his hands to get his phone (much to your dismay), “I’m gonna call for the crew to come get us”

“Wait,” You frown, “why not press the help button?”

Bringing his phone to his ear, Bucky replies as it starts ringing. “Well, after Mr Garvey lugs his ass outta bed, he’d be calling them anyways. Might as well avoid being stuck here longer than we have to”

Ahh, Mr Garvey; the landlord to the whole building who also happens to be the laziest fucker around.

You mumble and ‘okay’ and roll your bottom lip between your teeth - completely unaware of the admiring eyes on you.

Eventually, a voice sounds from the other side of the phone and Bucky explains the situation, rambling off the information they need to find you. With a quick thank you, the call is over and you’re left with nothing but time to waste.

Your eyes follow the man before you as he approaches the far wall, sliding down it till he’s sat with one leg stretched out, the other bent at the knee where he rests his elbow.

“It’s alright, doll. You can sit down, it won’t break anything” He cocks his head to side, eyeing up your hesitant features.

You choose to trust him; after all, he is the one best qualified to know what will and won’t make this obnoxiously small lift crash to the ground.

Letting yourself drop to the floor, you sit with your knees up due to the lack of space to stretch your legs. Bucky is right in front of you, the tight squeeze seemingly not bothering him.

“Great day to be late, huh” You scoff lightly.

“Yeah well, at least we’re together”

A laugh escapes you, drawing a confused expression from your neighbour. “Let’s not pretend as though you need me here. If it weren’t for me you’d probably be climbing outta this thing”

“You overestimate my abilities, sweets. I’m no spider-man” He replies. Those damn pet names make you blush every time.

“You know,” you tilt your head a little to the left, “I can’t think of anyone who still uses ‘doll’ or ‘sweets’ aside from you”

You swear there’s a glint in Bucky’s eye when he replies, “Do you blush when someone calls you ‘baby’ as much as you do when I call you ‘doll’?”

Thinking for a moment, you shyly shake your head in response; he raises his brows at you, as though your answer proves his point. You wonder if he’s old fashioned in other ways. If he’s one to buy his girl flowers or open a car door for them. Maybe he’s just as polite in bed, though you find yourself disappointed at the thought. God, you need to stop thinking of him like that, no matter how hot he would look between your-

“You seeing that fella from last week again?”

Bucky’s question brings you out of your day dreams and you’re surprised by it, unaware he had any interest in your love life.

“Peter?” He nods. “No, I don’t think so. We weren’t really one the same page, if that makes sense”

“How so?”

You shrug slightly, “He’s fresh out of college and looking for a fuck buddy, not a genuine relationship.” You look away from Bucky as you continue. “And even if I wanted that, he’s hardly mature enough to know what he’s doing”

With your gaze settled on your hands, you miss the way Bucky starts biting his lip as he wonders what type of man would fulfil your needs. He shakes his head clear of those thoughts, not wanting to make a fool of himself.

“What about you? Haven’t heard any visitors at yours for a little while” You comment, hoping he doesn’t think you’ve been spying on him.

He lets out a dry laugh, “Lets just say I prefer my nights off with a beer and listening to you play the piano.”

“Oh god, you hear that?” You cover your face with your hands when he nods. “I hope I don’t disturb you. I didn’t think it-“

“It’s fine, doll,” he nudges your thigh with his boot, “I like it”

Your cheeks burn yet again as you drop your hands. “You do?”

“How could I not? You play beautifully. I’ve thought of slipping a request under your door but I didn’t wanna be the creep next door”

You giggle, “You couldn’t be creepy if you tried, Barnes”

“In that case, you should know my cat loves your music too”

With a gasp, you lean closer to Bucky till you’re sat cross legged barely a foot away from him. “James Barnes, the firefighter, has a cat!?”

You revel in his hearty laugh, eyes dancing across his face. From the crinkles at the corners of his eyes to the deep smile lines framing his mouth, you can’t help but be drawn to his beauty.

He sobers up. “Her name’s Alpine.” He says, “She was left at the firehouse a couple of years ago so I took her home with me. She’s probably the only thing that loves your music more than me”

A grin tugs at your lips as you enjoy the thought of your neighbour cuddled up with a little cat.

“If we make it outta here alive, I wanna meet her”

“We’ll be fine, doll. The crew’ll be here any minute now”

You hum and silence consumes the air once more. The soft dim glow of the overhead lights falls gracefully on your features and Bucky can’t pull his eyes away. He knows you’re not too fond of the situation you’re both in and yet he can’t help but thank whatever beings made this happen; to finally have an excuse to talk to you longer than your usual small talk, to tell you how much he’s in awe your piano playing.

He’s not ready to tell you that he’s rather in awe of you, too. Maybe next time you’re stuck in a lift together.

With the silence so heavy on your ears, your mind drifts to the reason you’re here in the first place. The reason he is here.

The nightmares.

You know he hasn’t slept properly in weeks; the dark circles beneath his eyes are just a glimpse of his exhaustion. And as much as you’re scared of pushing him away, the weight on your chest is growing too heavy to bear.

“I know you’re having nightmares again.”

Bucky stills.

“Those screams, James, I-“

“It’s nothing” He cuts you off with stern words. Your brows pull together, eyes laced with worry.

“It doesn’t sound like nothing. I thought they got better.“

His head falls back against the wall behind him, “Well you thought wrong.”

You curse yourself beneath your breath as you run your hands through your hair, searching for the right thing to say.

“I’m worried about you, James.” You breathe, eyes fluttering shut. You’re scared that if you look at him, you’ll cave in and promise to never ask about it again. “I get that i’m just your neighbour but I can’t keep acting like I can’t see there’s something wrong.“

“There is nothing wrong!” Bucky’s tone is sharp, not quite shouting but no longer calm.

Your eyes snap open, training on the clench of his jaw, the sole hint of any emotion on his face.

“I’m dealing with it. So you need to stop acting like you know me because you don’t.”

And there it goes. The worry in your chest morphs into regret. Regret for bringing it up, regret for thinking you could help, regret for hearing his screams in the first place.

“Okay”

Bucky hates how timid your voice is, barely loud enough over the ringing of his own heartbeat. That and the voice in his head telling him he’s a piece of shit. He wishes he could take it all back but he doesn’t know how to, so he decides that silence is better than opening his damn mouth and making things worse.

The pair of you sit there in silence, one that’s far less comfortable than before, and stare at the ceiling, waiting for help to arrive.

When it does, you count your lucky stars that the lift stopped just at the doors to the second floor. Bucky helps the crew pull the doors open enough for you both to climb through. You feel his blue eyes on you as you wait for them to stabilise the lift, avoiding his gaze at all costs.

“Okay, Ma’am,” One of the firefighters calls, the name ‘Rogers’ written on his jacket, “we need you guys to climb up here and we’ll pull you out.”

Your eyes widen at the thought of pulling yourself up there, suddenly very aware of your frankly appalling upper body strength.

Rogers catches the hesitation on your face. “Don’t worry, Buck will help you up so you can get out first”

Turning to look at your neighbour, you lock eyes for the first time in ten minutes. His lips are turned into an awkward half smile, changing his entire demeanour from one of a brooding firefighter to a sheepish kid.

You don’t know how long the pair of you stand there staring at each other, but it’s long enough for Roger’s to clear his throat in attempt to regain your attention.

Bucky steps closer to you while the crew get ready above you. “You okay with this, doll?”

You nod, “As long as this thing doesn’t fall while i’m half way through and snap my body in half, i’m good”

That heartwarming laugh fills your ears and the firefighter shakes his head in amusement. At least he doesn’t hate you enough to leave you to get out on your own.

“Well lucky for you, that ain’t gonna happen”

You roll your bottom lip between your teeth. “Okay, how is this gonna work?”

Bucky moves to stand below the gap, facing you. He lowers himself down to one knee before reaching for your hand.

His skin is warm but rough, gentle but strong as he pulls you closer to him. The unexpected tug on your hand sends you tumbling toward him, your right hand bracing yourself on his shoulder to regain your balance while his free hand lands on your hip.

You mumble an apology, flustered at the intense heat beneath his hands and the way Bucky is looking up at you.

“You good?” He asks, voice dripping with awe, though you’re oblivious to the admiration, still plagued by the way he shut you down earlier.

When you nod, Bucky removes his hand from your hip and taps his knee. “You’re gonna step on my knee, then on my shoulder and you then should be close enough for Steve to grab you and pull you out”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you” You admit, nervous at the thought of letting Bucky take your body weight on his shoulders.

He looks up at you through his lashes “Do you trust me, sweets?”

“Yes” You reply, not even having to think about it. There may be some walls between you, but you know he’s on the other side, waiting.

“Good, then get up here”

Bucky shouts up to the crew that he’s giving you a boost now and after hearing them shout back that they’re ready, you place your foot on Bucky’s knee and push yourself up.

“Don’t drop me” You warn, reaching up to the gap in preparation.

“Wouldn’t dream of it”

And with that, you climb onto your neighbours shoulders and stretch up for Steve to grab your hands.

Along with Bucky pushing your feet up, Steve pulls you out and you slide through the gap until you’re free of that god forsaken elevator.

“Well thank fuck for that” You groan, spread across the floor on your back, making the crew laugh.

You barely have time to recover before Bucky is stood above you, having lugged himself out with ease.

“Guess you won’t be forgetting to set your alarm again, ay?”

NEXT CHAPTER

a/n: first chapterrrrrr! hope you enjoyed, if you have any questions dm me or drop an ask <3

new chapter will be out soon, thanks to everyone to voted on the poll i put out, i hope it’s as good as you wished it would be :)

comment if you’d like to be added to my ashes to embers taglist 🧡

[ponderingmoonlight]

(y/n) sparing Kokushibo's life for him to save her

Pairing: Kokushibo x fem!reader

Word Count: 3,9k

Synopsis: You find yourself standing in front of none other than the upper moon one. And while you know your chances are low and that your life might end in the dusk of day, you are able to cage Kokushibo into the upgoing sun. Until his eyes are filled with sorrow, until you make a decicion that might cost your life...

Warnings: this is my first ever Kokushibo fic so please let me know what you think! Like for Yorichii, I inserted a few pics into the fanfic itself so be prepared, angst to fluff, not proofread yet, NO MANGA SPOILERS 🤍

Special thanks to my dear @lavenderdrxp for the request!

The cold air of the night lashes against your sensitive skin without mercy, only warmed by your blood that runs down your frame like rivers. You are so tired. Tired of fighting, tired of your life. Why did you decide on becoming a demon slayer, developing into a quite skilled hashira? Right, because one of them murdered your whole village without blinking, because you wanted to protect humans from their cruel hands.

Your fingers start to tremble uncontrollably while you hold onto your sword for dear life, the handle smeared in crimson. The second you laid your eyes on him, felt his presence, you saw death itself. You’ve never encountered one of the upper moons carefully chosen by Muzan Kibutsuji himself. Until today, you were so keen to win this endless fight, thought you’d stand a chance against the demon king.

“Give up your dreams and die.”

But the man in front of you is the upper moon one. The man in front of you was able to almost kill you with just one skilled slash of his sword. Is this how you’ll die? In a 10-minute fight with a demon? Of course, you always knew your life would end like this. After all, this is the fate of a demon slayer, this is what you chose.

But…you don’t want to die. You want to live a long and healthy life, want to eat mochis until sunset and play cards with your friends.

“I will never give up”, you press out, dashing forward over and over again.

Your body begs you to stop and rest, to let your blade fall and never return to this life. But instead, you stare into his cold eyes, those beautiful colourful orbs that would fascinate you in another situation. How did a man like him end up being such a powerful demon?

“Foolish human. Do you really think you are able to defeat me?”

Your eyes dart up to the sky above. That cursed night that makes it possible for these creatures to walk on earth freely. But that faint shimmer of orange tells you that day will soon arrive, that maybe…

It might be stupid to even consider a win, that you’ll make it out of here alive. But if you are able to entertain him for a couple more minutes and trap him until sunrise, you’d be able to not only escape, but kill him.

Your mind starts to race, eyes scanning his body up and down. He’s quite tall and muscular, it won’t be easy to defeat him without any weapons. No, not even your katana will be enough. But maybe the poison you created with Shinobu-san will be.

“Use this against a demon whenever you feel like you can’t defeat him otherwise. This will make any demon unable to move for at least a few minutes.”

Every demon, she said. Every demon definitely includes the man standing in front of you. But will this be enough, are you actually skilled enough to even hit him? You need to inject the poison into his body, meaning a slice with your poisoned blade would be more than enough.

But that means you have to land a hit.

“You’re a fool if you really think I’ll give up so easily.”

Kokushibo needs to move, needs to end this fight before the sun starts to rise. You’re a hashira, his worst enemy. But instead, he can’t help but stare at you through the darkness of the night. You seem so unbothered by his presence, so confident in your abilities that it simply sweeps him off his feet.

Are you actually dumb enough to underestimate him? No, the fact that you keep your save distance to his sword tells him more than urgently that you know very well who is standing in front of you. No, your firm believe in yourself is enough to make you stand your ground.

And again, you dash towards him, holding onto your sword so tightly that your knuckles stand out white. He dodges your attack with ease, slicing through your tender flesh too light to hurt you critically. Oh, he knows all too well that he’s holding back, that you should be dead already. Why is he not able to end this fight, to finally get rid of you? Your eyes seem to gleam in the darkness, light up the word around him. When was the last time he saw the sun? He can’t remember. But your eyes have to be close.

A sudden pain crawling up his back rips him out of his pondering. What was that? Did you manage to hit him, is the sun starting to rise? Slowly he turns around, eyes finding your cramped-up figure on the floor. His flesh starts to heal in an instant, the only hint for your attack being a minor cut in his cloak. Yes, you indeed managed to hit him.

“I thought you are a hashira. Aren’t you aware that as a demon, I’m healing in an instant?”

Your heavy breaths hang in the air between both of you, your blood discolouring the forest ground crimson while your hands dig into the mud. This was all you’ve had left. It has to be enough, the poison has to function. Otherwise…

Your tired eyes dart towards him and the way he slowly approaches you. Will this be your end? Like in slow motion he raises his sword over your head, ready to behead you. At least you did what you could, faced him with everything you’ve head. Becoming a demon slayer meant being ready to give your life sooner or later. You allow your lids to rest, awaiting the bow of his sharp blade in silence. At least your end will be graceful, right?

But instead of his sharp blade, you are greeted by his tall figure crashing into you onto the ground. Is this real? Did the poison work? You force your eyes open, heart almost beating out of your chest when you begin to realize.

You made it. Despite the stinging fact that this man is the upper moon one, you somehow managed to stand up against him and steal his ability to move.

“You…poisoned…me”, he presses out.

What a fool he was for sparing your life when he had the chance to kill you so easily. Now the sun slowly but surely starts to rise, makes his skin burn uncomfortably while his venomous eyes stare right through your soul. You really are a brave one, bright orbs set on him while you free yourself from the pressure of his body above you.

“I did what I have to do. You are my enemy.”

Yes, you have to remind yourself over and over again. It doesn’t matter that his facial features suddenly begin to soften, you really don’t care about the way he stares into the rising sun. No, it doesn’t bother you that he looks almost…hurt.

“I haven’t seen a sunrise for a long time”, he mumbles.

“I love to see the sun rise. There is no better feeling than the first warm rays of the day against bare skin and that striking colours painted in the sky.”

“You look exactly like a woman who adores sunrises”, he comments so tenderly that you rip your gaze away from the orange sky for a second.

“And you look like a man who did as well”, you reply without thinking twice.

In the dim light he looks breathtakingly gorgeous. Yes, there is no doubt that this demon once was a handsome man with the kindest eyes. You hold your breath, the mark engraved into his eye reminding you more than urgently that this man is indeed a powerful demon. You should leave him to the sheer force of the sun, let him burn for all the sins he committed. But instead, a deep grief holds onto your heart tightly.

“I did indeed.”

Is that a tear escaping his eye? No, impossible. No demon you ever encountered cried, regretted his actions. Does he feel the presence of death haunting after him, the way his skin starts to burn under the first rays of sunshine? His forehead starts to redden before catching fire, making a deep whimper escape his lips.

“Do you want to live on?”

What a stupid question to ask, how reckless to even talk to him. Why does your hand cup his cheek all of the sudden, why do you feel sorry for one of the strongest demons in existence?

“Maybe dying in the upgoing sun is more than I am able to ask for”, he speaks out slowly and reserved.

Your mind starts to raise, comes up with a plan more poisonous than anything Shinobu has ever created. This is ridiculous to even think about, you are a demon slayer, a hashira to be exact. The thought alone is ridiculous.

But not ridiculous enough to stop yourself from grabbing him under his armpits and start hovering him into the safety of the thick woods, away from the dangerous rays of sunshine. You feel like fainting, your very own blood following you behind like a trail while you huff in exhaustion. But still, you keep on moving, shield his body from the sun with your blood-soaked coat while all he does is staring at the angelic sky.

This will be the death of you, as soon as he regains the power over his body, he’ll slice you into pieces. Why? Why are you not strong enough to outstand your pity, why weren’t you able to leave him to his fate? Instead, you find yourself hauling him up a pair of stairs leading into an abandoned cottage you’ve known for years. This is your safe place, your retreat from this cruel world.

And this will be the place you lose your life in.

You fall onto the cold wooden floor the second the door behind both of you is closed, your mouth tasting like iron while coughing up blood. You must be severely injured, given the fact how numb your body starts to feel and how your heart seems to beat slower with every passing minute.

Your eyes catch his shadow next to you, how it builds up into its old frightening gloom. The poison must have worn off, gave him back the ability to move freely. You swallow hard, glossy eyes widened in thick horror.

This will be your end.

“Why did you save me?”

His dark voice sends shivers down your spine, the sheer presence of his powers alone while laying on the floor helplessly almost making you lose your composure.

“I don’t know”, you mumble in response, voice nothing more than a fade away whisper.

His heavy yet light footsteps make the floor vibrate underneath his weight when he crosses the room and comes to a stand in front of you. All you can do is stare at his feet next to your head, waiting for your certain death.

“I’m the upper moon one”, he reminds you.

“And I’m…a hashira…”

You feel the wood next to you give in under his weight as he kneels down next to you, six eyes staring at you intensely. Why…why is he still hesitating? It wouldn’t be hard to kill you in the state you are in, even though the sun now almost fully rose. What a victory, killing another hashira off with ease, coming closer to being the strongest.

Kokushibo can’t help but admire you for the way you still carry yourself with so much pride. Despite the fact that you’ll die within an hour if not treated, despite his sheer presence by your side, your eyes still hold contact with his unwavering. Like in trance he leans forward, lets go of the handle of his sword for the first time since forever. As gentle as his hands remember to move, he places them onto your stomach, watches as your eyes fill with dread. Is he even able to use his powers after all this time ignoring them? He has to try.

The room lights up in red as your body seems to burn alive, a silent scream escaping your lips before you are able to stop it. Out of instinct, you grab on of his hands, hold onto it tightly while waiting for the sharp pain haunting down your body.

But nothing happens. No, it almost feels as if…your pain slowly fades away.

“You…You healed me”, you breathe out in utter disbelief, chest rising and falling so sharply that oxygen refuses to fill your lungs.

Your hands wander around your body rapidly, scan every inch of your busted skin to be greeted by nothing.

“You healed me.”

“You saved me”, he replies briefly, hands still pressed onto your stomach ever so slightly.

Time stands still, the only thing you can think about are his eyes. The eyes that were filled with sorrow when staring into certain death, the eyes that roamed around your body to check for your injuries, the eyes that are now locked with yours.

“Thank you.”

“I need to thank you as well”, he answers calmly.

“I-…”

You don’t know what to say. Is all of this just a dream? This creature, this force of a man kneeling next to you is none other than the upper moon one, the most dangerous demon after Muzan Kibusuji himself. But he didn’t kill you. No, in fact he even healed your severe wounds, saved your life instead of sinking his teeth into you.

He spared you.

Your life was saved by a demon.

“Join the demon slayer corps. Come with me.”

Your words leave your mouth faster than you are able to even think, regret immediately washing over you like a wave. What on earth were you just saying?

“Did you forget how I am?”

“In exchange for saving your life”, you continue.

He just stares at you, eyes widen in sheer surprise. He expected everything when he followed your tracks tonight, the mission Muzan Kibutsuji entrusted Kokushibo with still present in his mind. It was fairly simple: Kill the hashira with the bright orbs, the girl on her way to a nearby village flooded by demons.

But now that he’s sitting right next to you, his hands still resting against your stomach, your heartbeat pounding against his palms, he simply can’t imagine to end your life right here and now. No, the urge to brush his fingertips over your cheek just once, to feel the heat of your skin becomes almost unbearable. Is it because of your innocent eyes, because you saved him despite he injured you severely?

“We live in different worlds, (y/n). It is simply impossible for me to be a part of yours.”

Your stomach drops by the way he says your name, breath getting stuck in your throat. You’ve seen countless demons in your life, always hated every single one with all of your heart. But this man showed you his real face, that he is still human after all these years. Maybe there is still hope, maybe turning into a demon doesn’t have to be a death sentence. Maybe…maybe you’ll be able to save Tanjiro Kamado’s sister.

“Promise that we’ll meet each other again. Promise me that you’ll visit me here right here again soon”, you urge.

“I…”

Kokushibo is los at words, lost in your bright orbs, lost in your tenderness. Not so long ago, he was on his way to end your life violently, to kill you and leave with the arrival of the sun. But now he finds himself right by your side, his mind wandering just by the exciting thought of meeting you again.

“I will visit you again”, he finally gives in.

“Good”, you breathe out.

“Now, tell me a little about yourself. After all, we are trapped here until the sun goes down.”

“I don’t enjoy talking that much.”

“Come on…”

-one year later-

Your eyes gleam in the down-going sun, whole body electrified in excitement. Only a few minutes before the sun is gone, only a few minutes until you finally see him again. As much as you adore the play of colours in the sky just before the sun sets, you started to love the tenderness of the night far more.

Because it means he’s able to walk freely, because it means finally seeing him again.

“There you are, sweetheart.”

Your heart skips a beat, cheeks already heating up before you even turned around. You wrap your arms around his tall figure in an instant, his thumb gently stroking over your forehead.

"I still despise that scar", he states, eyes lost in your sight.

He was the one who did this to you, the one who almost killed you that night.

“That was long ago, Koku, please don't worry about it. I missed you, where have you been?”

There he stands as charismatic as ever, his sheer presence alone signalling nothing but power. You never fail to notice that he’s around no matter where you are, looking after you while fighting off demons. Oh, how much he hates to hide in the shadow, to keep his affection a secret. But there is no way he’ll allow any other upper moon to harm a single hair on your body, let alone Muzan Kibutsuji himself.

Gently, you wrap your arms around him the way he adores so much, rest your head against his chest while he strokes your hair gently.

“I need to keep you save, I am not risking your life over one meeting, (y/n)”, he explains in all seriousness.

“I’d rather die than not seeing you”, you reply with a grin.

“Don’t say that, (y/n)”, he warns you while wrapping his arms tighter around your waist.

Need more? Click here for my Yoriichi x fem!reader fic!

Tags: @chilichopsticks @hellkaiserinphoenix  @ynackerman9499 @keepghostly @beatrexworld @froufrousnowman @tomiokathedepresso  @poketrainer2270 @chaoticwinnercupcake @lees-chaotic-brain @wordskeeper @polarbvnny @kayleegomez @snowywhiterose @chosomybeloved3

[newtthetranswriter]

Could I request Gojo x male reader where the reader is a ballet dancer who is a part of the Zenin clan but ran away when they were in high school and Gojo doesn't see him again till adulthood and Gojo falls in love all over again and reader never stopped being in love and they reconnect

Dancing with Curses

Word Count: 3822

Paring: Satoru Gojo x male Zenin Reader

Warning: talks of Gojo’s past arc, the Zenin clan is trash, Canon typical violence, possibly ooc Gojo, let me know if I missed anything

A/n: Hello again, I truly did enjoy writing all of your requests. They gave me just enough information to feel free with creating the story but still having a base to work off of. Anyway I hope you enjoy and as always remember to hydrate or diedrate.

    Y/n Zenin may have been lucky enough to be born with a decent cursed technique but the fact that he had made it clear he was not interested in following the tradition of being a sorcerer, made it so he was looked down upon by the whole clan. For years he tried to fight the system but as the time for high school approached, Y/n was forced to make a choice. He decided that he would follow his family's wishes for just long enough to get enough money to escape the world he grew up in. For him going to Jujutsu High was just a stepping stone to reach his goal, he never expected to add another item to the list of things his family hated him for.

   As previously mentioned, Y/n just wanted to save enough money to escape from the world of Jujutsu, he never planned to catch the eyes of Satoru Gojo. Apparently Gojo had been enamored with how graceful Y/n was with his technique and how he was able to mix Jujutsu with ballet seamlessly.  Y/n on the other hand had felt Gojo’s eyes on him, and he would be lying if he said he didn’t see the beauty in the user of the six eyes. But Y/n knew that if he let himself fall or grow attached he would be further trapped in this dark world. So Y/n put his emotions in a box and distanced himself.

   Finally after almost three years of dealing with the chaos and horrors of the world Y/n left. Having one of his underclassmen die in the line of duty, followed by one of his classmates turning against them, Y/n was done. He couldn’t handle the thought of spending anymore time watching people die for no reason, or seeing people who were once all about protecting turning to murder. So he gathered his belongings and left in the middle of the night. Leaving the world of Jujutsu behind, almost completely. 

   Being an outcast from a young age Y/n knew the signs of the Zenins pushing kids out of the inner circle. And even if it was still early and there were a few years left for her technique to develop, Y/n had a gut feeling Maki would need someone on her side. So before he completely wrote off the Zenin clan, he wrote Maki a letter. The girl was barely 4 but was able to understand the simple contents of the letter. Y/n had simply explained that he was always there for her if she needed anything and asked her to not share the existence of the letter with anyone. He also left his new phone number, telling her to call if she ever needed anything. After leaving the letter with his young cousin he left.

   When it became clear to the Zenin clan as a whole that Y/n had up and ran away, they decided to act like he never existed. Writing his disappearance off as a blessing to not have to deal with him ever again. While most of the Jujutsu world moved on from the sudden loss, Satoru was unable to follow their lead. He spent the better part of five years looking for him. Unfortunately for him, Y/n did not want to be found and managed to hide himself well. Satoru eventually gave up.

  Fast forward eleven years, and Y/n had put very little thought into the world he left behind. He took his freedom and did what he wanted. He became a professional dancer, letting his worries wash away. It was a relief to not think about death and curses everyday. But alas all good things come to an end at some point.

  After a particularly tiring performance Y/n felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Seeing that the id indicated it was the one person he kept in touch with, he answered. “Hey, Maki what’s up? Is everything ok?” He asked, concerned. Even though Maki was only four when she got the letter from Y/n she respected his wishes and managed to keep it secret all these years. The reason Y/n became concerned was that when Maki got a phone they agreed she would only call if something was seriously wrong, otherwise she would text monthly just to check in.

  The calm teen’s response nearly startled the man. “I know you said you would never return to Jujutsu High, but we need all the help we can get.” Maki explained, there was a hint of worry in her voice and Y/n knew that something was seriously wrong if Maki was asking him to come back. Before Y/n could ask for more information, Maki continued. “Some crazy guy declared war on Jujutsu Society and even though we have Gojo on our side everyone seems worried. There has been an influx of Sorcerers on campus and even Gojo seems concerned. I normally wouldn’t ask for you to come back but if Gojo is worried wouldn’t that mean having all hands on deck be the best course of action.” 

  Y/n took a moment to think about what Maki had told him. If someone declared war on Jujutsu Society then no big deal, curse users are stupid. But if said person had Gojo worried about it then there was only one person who could be leading this fight. Knowing that fact led Y/n to make a choice he never thought he would. “If it’s bad enough for Gojo to be worried, then having as many sorcerers as possible is a good idea. I’ll be there in the morning.” He knew he would likely regret going back to his old life but he knew the reality, it’s almost impossible to leave the Jujutsu world and stay gone.

   “Thank you, I know you hate all of this but I’m sure you’ll be able to leave again when everything is done.” With that Y/n said a quick goodbye and hung up the phone. If he was really going to be returning to Jujutsu Society, he knew there was a very slim chance of ever getting out again, that is if he even managed to survive the impending war. 

   The next day as he promised Maki, he made his way to Tokyo. When he reached the path leading to the hidden highschool, he paused. Debating actually entering the barrier that protected the school and alerting everyone of his presence or just turning around and telling Maki he couldn’t help out. But before he could chicken out and run away again, he felt the presence of familiar cursed energy. Looking up at the stairs that would seal his fate of being part of this fight stood the one person he hoped he could avoid, Satoru Gojo.

   It was clear that Gojo had changed since Y/n last saw him, having swapped out his usual dark sunglasses for white badges wrapped around his eyes, his hair was also longer and stood up with makeshift blindfold in place. Seeing the white haired male sent feelings Y/n had long suppressed bubbling to the surface.

   It wasn’t any better for the Strongest Sorcerer. He couldn’t believe his eyes, even if he knew that his cursed technique is never wrong, his heart had a hard time believing that the Y/n Zenin was standing in front of him. Gojo had so many questions, like why did he run away, why didn’t he say anything, and most of all why is he back. Snapping out of his thoughts, Gojo moved down the stairs quickly, taking two at a time with ease thanks to his long legs.

  “What are you doing here?” It came out harsher than he intended, but with recent events and the bubbling of long forgotten feelings, Gojo couldn’t help it.

  Shaking his head to clear the fog, Y/n took in the tall man in front of him. “Well hello to you, Gojo. For the record I’m only here because Maki said that someone declared war and it had even you worried. And knowing you only one person could make you worried about a silly threat. So here I am, isn’t better to have extra hands on bored than facing Geto with fewer people.” Y/n answered, accidentally letting it slip that Maki had been able to contact him all this time. “Now that I’m here, would you mind telling me what exactly Geto is planning.”

   Ignoring the request for information about the situation, Gojo focused more on the mention of his student. “Since when has Maki been able to contact you, she was like four when you left. Why would she call you for help?” When Y/n had left after the worry of what happened had passed, Gojo had been angry, and now that anger was showing itself all over again.

   “Yes Gojo, Maki was four when I left. But you forget I was also raised in the hell scape that is the Zenin house. I also know what it looks like when those douchebags start making a child an outcast. When I left I gave her my phone number and told her if she needed me she could call. And you would never guess what happened. She saw that her teacher was worried over some psychopath declaring war on the people she cares about and called someone she trusts to ask for help. I’m not here for anyone but her.” Y/n clarified, and it was clear from his tone that he truly meant it. He was only coming back to the world of curses to help his young cousin. Not giving Gojo a chance to respond, Y/n brushed past him heading up the steps into the base of Jujutsu Sorcerers.

    Gojo was left stunned by his own stupidity. The only guy he can remember ever truly having feelings for was right in front of him, and instead of expressing his joy of seeing him again he stuck his foot in his mouth. Watching after Y/n as he left, Gojo began thinking of ways to apologize for what just happened and ways to hopefully convince Y/n to stay even after they beat Geto.

   On December 24th, Y/n opted to stay at Jujutsu High with Maki and Yuta as a line of defense just in case. Afterall he wasn’t technically a member of Jujutsu Society so it’s not like the Higher ups could actually tell him what to do. He also had a bad feeling about them sending everyone except a couple Assistant supervisors to the front lines. If Geto had asked Yuta to join his cause wouldn’t that mean he had an interest in the boy. So when the veil was lowered over the school, Y/n jumped into action.

    He knew he didn’t stand much chance against a special grade like Geto, but he couldn’t just let the lunatic kill a young sorcerer. Y/n’s technique had only earned him the status of Grade 1 back in highschool, but that was eleven years ago and this would be his first fight since he left. He could only hope he still had the strength to hold off the Curse User long enough for help to arrive. 

   His own fight with Geto didn’t last long before a new contender entered the courtyard where the two adults were exchanging blows. Having also noticed the veil, Maki opted to join the fight. So now it was two on one, the two Zenin outcasts vs. the special grade Suguru Geto. The cousins were able to hold off Geto for about thirty minutes before Geto got the upper hand. The younger of the two had been severely injured, having likely multiple broken bones and severe cuts leaving her half conscious in a pool of her own blood. The older of the two was not much better off. Y/n had sustained a few broken ribs, one of which he wouldn’t be surprised to find out if it was digging into his lung as it was becoming difficult to breathe. But he was still able to stand and so he was still able to fight.

  There was a brief moment that allowed Y/n to catch his breath, and that was when Geto paused, announcing a hole was made in the barrier. He seemed confident enough that whoever it was would be too slow and he could beat Y/n and take Yuta before they arrived. Y/n took in a few deep breaths, sensing the cursed energy of two people approaching fast. Seeing that Geto wasn’t reacting to it, Y/n waited until the wall exploded next to the long haired man before striking again.

  Unfortunately even with the added help of Panda and Toge, they were still unable to beat him. When they turned their backs on Geto to check on Maki, the curse user took the chance to take out the oldest of the group. Striking Y/n in the back with curse, Geto managed to force the broken rib that was already threatening to puncture one of his lungs right through said lung. The force of the blow knocked what little air Y/n had in his chest out, and now with the loss of function in one of his lungs it was nearly impossible for Y/n to catch his breath. The two first years who were still able to fight tried to fight back but were unsuccessful.

  Y/n fought to stay awake and even tried to warn Yuta who had appeared on the scene to run away, but alas with barely any oxygen getting into his body, he could barely make a sound. He was fading in and out of consciousness and couldn’t help but wish for Shoko to be there to heal his wounds. Slowly suffocating was really fucking painfull. The last thing he remembered before blacking out completely was Yuta using Rika to move the four injured sorcerers to safety and applying his own reversed curse technique to them. As the world faded Y/n silently thanked Gojo for not executing the young special grade.

   Unlike the other three who woke up soon after Yuta beat Geto, Y/n was still unconscious three days later. While Yuta had been able to heal the majority of the injuries y/n had sustained, it seemed Shoko was needed for some of the more intense ones. When word got to Gojo that Y/n was injured and that even after Shoko had been able to treat his wounds was still asleep, Gojo was worried. He spent as much time as he could spare sitting by his bed in the infirmary. 

   Gojo spent the time thinking. Debating on how to thank Y/n for risking his life for the young sorcerers and trying to decide if it would be a good time to tell him he loved him. Yeah Gojo had officially decided that he loved Y/n Zenin, it wasn’t just a school crush. Having spent eleven years apart and suddenly seeing him again reminded him of everything he loved about Y/n. Even though he admitted to himself that he loved him, he couldn’t help but think that maybe telling him would be a curse to the man who clearly just wanted to escape the world of Jujutsu. 

   Caught up in his own reminiscing, he failed to notice that Y/n had started to wake up. He only noticed when he heard the quiet groan from next to him. Looking over he could see Y/n squinting his eyes at the light from the open window, and trying to take in his surroundings while still laying flat on the bed. Gojo quickly stood up, closing the blinds to darken the room, and then moved to help Y/n sit up. “Here let me help you sit up.” He said, causing Y/n to look at him bewildered. “I know I was rude the last time we talked but I was worried when they said you still didn’t wake up after both Yuta and Shoko used rct on you.” Gojo explained quickly.

   Taking a moment to process the words said to him, Y/n looked around the room. Seeing a glass of water on the bed side table, he quickly took a drink before speaking. “How long have I been asleep? And what happened to the kids, is everyone okay?” He wasn’t that worried about himself, his main concern was whether or not the young sorcerers had made it out of the battle alive.

   “Everyone is fine. Well, everyone on our side, that is, the kids are all okay. They’re taking a few days to relax before getting back to training. As for how long you were asleep for, well it's been about three days.” Gojo informed him. “And before you ask, Geto won’t be a problem anymore.” His tone of voice shifted from glad to something lingering with sadness.

  Picking up on the change of tone Y/n understood what he was implying. “I’m sorry for your loss, I know you were really close before everything. But it’s great to hear that the kids are okay.” He said truthfully. Taking a moment to think of what to say next, one thing popped into his mind and he couldn’t shake it. “Why are you here? Shouldn’t you have some important mission that only the Strongest can deal with?” Y/n asked, trying to switch the subject.

   Having spent three days thinking over and planning for how to speak his mind didn’t prepare him for what he was going to say.  “Um, I just wanted to express my thanks for you risking your life to protect the first years. If you hadn’t decided to show up or stay behind while we all went to the front line, who knows what would have happened to those four. I mean sure Panda probably would have been ok, but the others might not have been so lucky.” Gojo thanked him. 

   Y/n nodded along, but that didn’t fully answer his question. Gojo was there when he woke up, if he just wanted to say thank you then he could have done it after someone else told him Y/n was awake. “I think they would have been just fine. Maki is a strong fighter and Toge has a great understanding of his technique. And Yuta has a surprisingly great understanding of cursed energy for someone who just learned about curses a few months ago. But the strength of your students aside, Why are you here? And don’t say it’s just to say thank you. You were here when I woke up, if you just wanted to thank me then you could have gone about your day and then thanked me when someone told you I was awake.” He confronted the white haired male.

   Gojo scratched the back of his head trying to decide if he should say he just happened to stop by to check on him right before he woke, or if he should tell Y/n the truth. Realizing he had been quiet for too long and that if he did lie Shoko would probably rat him out either way, he came to the conclusion that honesty was the best policy. “Well, I’ve kinda been here the whole time. Like I said before I was really worried when Shoko told me you hadn’t woken up after being treated. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He explained. Watching as Y/n’s face shifted from confusion to shock, Gojo couldn’t stop himself from talking more. “And I know this is probably a terrible time to bring this up, especially with how I reacted when you showed up the other day. But I really care about you Y/n. When you left back in highschool, I thought something terrible happened to you and I searched for you for years. I eventually figured that if you went through the struggle of leaving with out a trace there was probably a reason and so I stopped looking. But the worry turned to hurt and anger and I guess seeing you suddenly and hearing that you only came back for Maki’s sake, made that anger bubble up again. I understand you left for a reason and you probably want to leave as soon as possible after all this life is hell for anyone. But I do want you to know that you mean a lot to me.” This was the first time Y/n had seen or heard of Gojo letting his emotions out in such a clear way. Gojo was always calm and only really expressed deep emotions when fighting or teaching, so having him say all of that really shocked Y/n.

   Y/n took a few moments to process everything Gojo said, before making the second life changing decision of the month. “While I left because this life is taxing and full of hardship, I don’t know if I can abandon it again. I wouldn’t mind sticking around and helping teach the next generation of sorcerers.” Y/n explained. “This isn’t a permanent situation though and I will have some requirements that need to be accepted before I commit to it. After all, I can't leave the ones I care about to fight alone if I’m able to lend a helping hand.” he finished making his intentions to at least stick around for a short while clear.

   Even though Gojo was happy to hear that Y/n was going to stick around, he was confused by the wording of the last sentence. “Wait you said ‘the ones’  you care about, I thought you came back for Maki.” He couldn’t help but ask.

   Y/n just laughed before responding. “You’re right I did come back for Maki. But there are more people here that I care about than just her. Now I may have just woken up from a three day nap, but I’m exhausted so if you don’t mind I’m going back to sleep.” With that Y/n layed back down rolling to face away from the tall sorcerer.

   “Who else do you care about here? I’m confused.” Gojo really wanted answers.

   Y/n responded even though he was half asleep. “That’s for me to know and for you to figure out Satoru.” And with that Gojo was left as the only one awake in the room.

   He sat in silence processing what he had been told. And when he registered that y/n had not called him Gojo but used his first name for the first time, he couldn’t hide his smile. Deciding to let Y/n rest in peace he left to inform everyone about Y/n’s decision to consider staying at Jujutsu high for a while.

[tarot-archives]

Can I get a uhhhhhh laios with a guy/gn reader who has an equally autistic special interest in general biology and ecosystems that would 100% encompass monsters as well? Asking for a friend that just happens to be me (stg idk if I wanna smooch laios or be him tbh lmao)

an: though i haven’t written for an autistic yn, i’ll try to make it realistic. if i’d done something wrong, please tell me. i focused more on general dungeon ecology for y/n.

if marcille is studying about dungeon ecosystems while laios is more interested in monsters you would be the best of both worlds.

there’s just something thrilling about dungeon ecology, how it all interacts, every thing that fall under it and so on and so forth.

you’re a tall-man researcher, using every bit of your time to find out more about dungeons, and not just the ones in melini. it would have been good to join the magic academy, but since you don’t posses any talent for magic, you can’t enter.

it made you sad since they had a dungeon making class.

nevertheless, it won’t stomp your dreams of researching! you’ve read and copied countless of books you can get your hands on. eventually you settled in meleni where a newly discovered dungeon was found.

your room was filled with countless of journals, trinkets from dungeons and volumes of books you read many time before.

and on your first dungeon party, you were very ecstatic. too bad you had to leave because they’d only go to the easier upper floors. you wanted to head to the lowest level after all!

and that’s where you meet up with the touden party!

you will love marcille’s vast dungeon knowledge. she would love to teach you new things. much to chilchuck’s dismay, you have boosted her ego. endless praises for marcille and simply doting around her because she’s filled with knowledge.

“ah, long lifespans are so great. i’d spend all my life dedicating to dungeon ecology if i could” -y/n after every lecture apparently.

then monster facts with laios will be endless. he lent you his dungeon food guide and you surprisingly have a copy too! you took notes from the things he had written in the margin. much to chilchuck’s demise (again) both you and laios keep on talking and he can’t sleep :((

“eating monsters? can’t say i have thought about it, but do you ever think about their nutritional values? the high level of mana concentration must vary from non-dungeon born same species! This needed to be compared and studied!” -y/n when laios introduced his monster eating thoughts.

toshiro will have another person to ask about his life in the east. but he likes how you keep more time to yourself writing in the journals. he finds your drawing to be artistic. after seeing your difficulties with papers, toshiro will teach you about yotsume toji—a book binding process from his country. he’s happy to see you using it after he taught you.

though you won’t talk with namari much, you admire he strength as a dwarf. she keeps her past to herself, which you at least respect. but you’d talk about the different weapons used and other things she did as a blacksmith. her knowledge on materials is very handy. you write about the different dungeon materials on your journal along with the best weapons against monsters.

chilchuck, our lock expert, and the most unknown member of your party… you admire his knowledge on traps and have written about his experiences with various dungeon traps and ways of disarming them.

falin, she joins you as you ask questions to marcille or laios. she listens to you talk about your dungeon experiences and she tells you about her’s. you let her read the journals you made along the way.

On the day falin was eaten by the dragon, your journal wasn’t transported with you. So now, you join laios to rescue his sister and to save you journals!!

Request? Open!

[mschievousx]

now and then | b.b.

pairing: benedict bridgerton x ofc

summary: loraine silva always knew she was not normal. she loves unusual things. she loves her father's guns, horses, boxing, climbing a tree, falling from a tree, engineering, astronomy... oh, and a man eleven years older.

series masterlist

xi. eleven: every word you say

the sunlight did not reach her face. there was no sunlight in sight at all, aside from the most external door that shows a little hint of the visible spectrum. she stirred awake on the hard floor she slept, if she had any at all. she slowly sat up, finding the colonel on the adjacent cell, staring into nothingness.

they have yet to acknowledge each other's presence, trapped in their own battles inside. it was a surreal thing—to feel that it was both the end and the beginning. they have long let go of any hopes in receiving a lighter sentence, and that act is what made it possible for them to breathe despite the stifling feeling.

they have found freedom. losing all hope was freedom.

hence, the young silva raised her gaze to the ragged man across. his rank is not apparent on his current state, stripped off of dignity and proper legacy. she pulled him to the deepest ocean floor a man has never explored to.

"i am so sorry, raphael." raine broke the silence, feeling utterly apologetic for bringing the man with her in this fate.

"there is no need." he replied, closing his eyes as he leaned on the wall.

there really was no need. although his tone may have sounded frustrated, it was not directed to the girl. coming to think of it, he believes he would have done the same. he actually did, when he admitted to the suspicions just so she could be saved. the young silva, however, was hardheaded. a small chuckle left his lips as he looked at her in thought.

"you know, your father would be proud."

"oh, silence." raine rolled her eyes in jest, "i have not slept well with how much my eyes poured last night. do not make me cry again."

"but it is true."

"i know," she turned to him with weak eyes, "he asked me one time, if he was being too forceful in making me the viscountess or also the fact that he taught me things that a proper lady would not have preferred."

she laughed at the memory of her father teaching her how to hold a dagger at four, and her mother in utter worry as she caught them both.

"he was afraid he turned me into something he wanted instead of being someone I want to be."

the lady chuckled before continuing, "i told him I do not see myself embroidering at all. he laughed like crazy."

raphael weakly laughed at the story. by the mention of the girl's teaching experiences, a memory resurfaced in his mind as well.

"did you know that your father used to say you shoot like—i apologise for the term we use in the military amongst men—a virgin?"

despite being above average compared to the general public, her shooting really did not pass her father's standards. she could shoot, yes, but it would not have been enough for war. armand concluded that it was enough at the very least for self-defense.

raphael lifted one end of his lips, "i bet he would say otherwise now."

"that is because now i am not." she said with indifference, missing the way the man sat up from his leaning, turning to her fully.

"...wait, what—you mean...?" he asked curiously, his will returning to his voice in spite of their current situation.

raine looked at him and she found it interesting how curious he was at the topic. she let out a short giggle before slowly nodding. his mouth noticeably went ajar at that as he pried more.

"the bridgerton son?" she nodded once again, raphael leaning back down in surprise, shaking his head in disbelief, "your father is going to kill you."

"no need. the crown is doing it for him."

both laughed in chorus—how they could still jest in a situation like this is lost. perhaps, it was there saving grace. little joys do really count.

"i cannot fathom what you could possibly find so amusing in a place like this."

the queen's voice announced her arrival, her face grimacing in disgust at the place. the two greeted her with respect, standing from their position. she looked around, as if assessing their surroundings before settling her eyes to the girl.

her majesty sighed resignedly, "why ever did you have to shoot him?"

"he talked too much."

"that he did." she had no problem agreeing with that statement at all. the lord had been bothering her as well before about royal familial matters.

she clasped her hands, forming the words to say, "i have spoken to have a private execution for you both. it was granted. this is the least i could do, considering everyone has voted for a beheading instead of hanging."

raine nodded thankfully at that. she did not care much. either way, they would be dead. she inquired further, "the soldiers?"

"all free from the charges."

the two released a breath of relief. that was one of their main goals—for the rest of the troop to be able to go home and spend the following years with their families.

"thank you, aunt lottie. that is all i ask." she smiled warmly to the older woman.

"it will be in an hour." the queen noted, pertaining to the execution.

it must already be five in the afternoon already. the young silva did not know how time flew by so fast. she neared the girl, pushing a hand through the bars of her cell. raine held her hand as she continued.

"make death proud to take us."

raphael and raine's ears perked at that, their brows crossing as the queen took back her hand slowly, "how do you know of it?"

charlotte offered them a smile before she turned away, "your father had been a good company."

after the queen, major gilbert and the viscount bridgerton also stopped to visit them. the former relayed the gratefulness of the soldiers by the news of their freedom, while the latter updated her on how the queen is working on for a proper investigation against the said involved people in the treason with the help of the papers that was left to him. they did not take long, of course. the prison had that effect. it was very suffocating.

yet, her breath came back at the sight of the man in front of her.

"what are you doing here?" she said in concern, her lips quivering as she scrambled on her feet.

benedict reached to her, cupping her face with a tearful smile, "i told you. i will always be here."

she shut her eyes in shame of her current state, "you should not see me like this."

he chuckled with tears in his eyes, "like painfully beautiful?"

"like dying." she corrected in all honesty as he went silent, his heavy breathing speaking for himself.

his lips formed a thin line, features traced with painstaking gaze, "you are so unfair."

"i know," she admitted, knowing exactly what he meant, "i am so sorry."

he hushed her, his palms still on her cheeks as he soothed—both tracing the tear marks that intensified their emotions.

"forget about me. let go of this grief completely." she bleakly uttered, torment clear on her voice.

benedict immediately responded a multiple series of 'no' with an intense shaking of his head in disagreement. he would do anything to not forget her, both the joy and painful memories. he would cherish everything that she was present in. he would cling onto every word she utters.

"and in case you do forget about me," she continued, cupping his face with the utmost care, "i hope you remember by my touch alone.

he nodded fervently, "i love you."

he leaned his head to hers, their breaths exchanging as if he was used to the taste of pain on a dead friday night.

"i love you too."

they wanted to be together for as long as they could, and if that's not very long, well, then that's just how it is. and so, they held each other for the last time, coming to terms that if this life will be this cruel, he would spend the rest of his life praying that the next will not be.

he wanted to badly stay with her, to stop the time and prolong this moment. but, it seemed like he had angered the gods as a guard knocked his truncheon on the door, calling for him to exit for the fifteen-minute preparation before the execution.

━━━ ✦ ❘ ☽ 【❖】 ☾ ❘ ✦ ━━━

no later, guards entered the cells, taking both prisoners with no austerity in their touch. it was so strange for them to the point that it was hard to swallow. they have seized and lead criminals of darkest crimes to their end, yet they find themselves wanting to break the two out.

a viscountess and a colonel, both still children in their own way.

they have never thought there comes a day they would dread their work, and the executioner would say the same. because just as they all arrived in the execution stage, the forty-five soldiers, four members of the bridgerton family, and the queen are in attendance. as she caught sight of them, raine offered a brief, forlorn smile. these people are the ones who she is most thankful of.

executions happen at a faster pace than the young silva thought. one moment they were walking, the next they were kneeling. the executioner bowed to the both of them when they arrived, now asking for forgiveness on the duty he must do in a while. loraine granted him that.

he stood back up, announcing clearly, "you have been granted to speak your final words."

she turned to take a look at raphael, the latter nodding as a sign for her to speak for them both. raine casted her head down in thinking of the words she must say for the last time. she looked back at them all, to no one in particular, and dared to raise her eyes to her terrible fate as she began.

"when a crime goes unpunished, the world is unbalanced. when the wrong is unavenged, the heavens look down on us in shame. we too must die for this circle of vengeance to be closed. we will leave this record of our courage so the world will know who we were and what we did."

as she ended, they both tied the cloth firmly to cover their eyes. at the absence of sight, fear started to creep in. she could hear the executioner stepping away from her and to the colonel first. he declared with resolve, a means of comforting the two souls.

"death is proud to take you."

raine exhaled peacefully at that. it was a reply to their previous convictions—a way of reassuring they have done well.

and so, she did not panic, even when the sound of a drop on the floor filled the place.

raphael had been a great friend, soldier, and a person. the silva would not mind having to fight beside him once again.

the room stayed silent, with no other noise but the small whimpers of the audience. however, it was immediately overshadowed by the sound of footsteps, nearing her one step at a time. she guessed this must be it.

loraine's mind became blank. she hurried herself to think of memories—those that she would love to relive. she had a strange belief that it would not be as painful if she was feeling happy. but, it was also strangely hard to be one in the moment. all she could think of was that maybe, dying is the best option for her in this life. there was no home for her anymore.

and when she greets death, she hoped it is gentle. she hoped it is like going home. she believed a great happiness awaited her somewhere.

and for this reason, she remained calm as the axe hit her neck.

the audience found themselves letting go of the prolonged silence, breaking out to their cries. however, one person did not have any tear or voice left in himself anymore as he stared at the trail of blood that was starting to accumulate and flow away from the body.

indeed, a lot can happen in a day.

he was annoyed by her in one, taken by her in one, and loved her in one. he is grieving for her in one, and he will long for her in one.

and so, he was left with nothing but to face reality—realising that a very frightening thought is now shadowing him intimately.

when tomorrow depends to a person, what should one do? when that person is lost, does that mean tomorrow is too?

love was there. it may have not changed anything. it may have not saved anyone. but, it still matters that the love was there.

because, raine did not need to be saved. she needed to be found and appreciated for who exactly she was. her father has taught her that this world was only a preparation for the next, that all they can ask is to leave it having loved and being loved.

and benedict, until the very last moment, made that known to her and everyone else. she was found. she was appreciated. she was loved.

all by him.

taglist: @aadu2173 @imgondeletedis @pumkiinpasties @rebleforkicks @perseny @everavenclaw @datingbtr @peetahpahkah @myo11 @idek-what-to-put @aysamuka

[toomuchracket]

secret admirer (dad!ross x reader fluff)

day 1 of valentine's week by bff @abiiors!! in this one... the kids want to know how you and ross got together. cute as shit. enjoy <3

it's at dinnertime when you're first asked the question. 

ross is quietly coaxing keir to finish his peas, to minimal success. eilidh swallows a mouthful of gravy-soaked mash and turns to look at you curiously. “mummy… how did you and dad meet?”

“you already know, bean,” you take a sip of your wine and smile at her. “met dad and your uncles when i helped design the stage for one of their first shows.”

ross takes a break from lecturing your son about the merits of eating your five-a-day to look at you and wink. there's a warmth in those dark eyes of his - the same one that got you hooked on him in the first place, actually - and you know he's thinking about that fateful first meeting too. “yeah, when i had to save mum, eilidh,” he chuckles. “from matty talking about his vision at a hundred miles an hour. her eyes were proper glazed over and everything, you know.”

“they still go like that when he talks to you now sometimes, mummy,” keir adds, still pushing peas around his plate. his dad and sister laugh, while your jaw falls open at the fact you've been clocked by your four year old.

he's not wrong, though.

eilidh's giggles fade into soft hums. “but how did you end up being boyfriend and girlfriend?”

ross’s eyes meet yours again. he smirks, taking a sip of his own wine. “d'you want to tell the story, love?” he asks, foot sliding up your leg under the table, flirty. “or shall i tell them how i swept you off your feet?”

“oh, is that what it was?” you tease, trapping his leg between your own.

“of course.”

you laugh. “you and i remember it differently, then. but alright,” you stretch, shuffling in your seat before looking at your kids’ anticipated little faces. “here's what happened…”

2013

“should we do something different for valentine's day?”

you turn to look incredulously at matty, exhaling your cigarette smoke. “is further context required there, or are you asking me out? because absolutely not, if so.”

“oh, charming. thank god i see you as a little sister and no more,” matty winces, taking a drag of his own cigarette before he speaks again. “i mean for the show on the 14th. we could do, like, pink lighting instead of white, or something.”

you hum. “i don't hate the idea. but i think sticking with the black and white thing is maybe a good idea for now. cohesion, recognition, establishing identity as you gear up to release the album, all that jazz, yeah?”

“good point.”

“i do like the pink, though. maybe we could do something with it in the future?”

“yeah. i'll keep it in mind. usual staging it is, then,” matty turns to face you, resting a shoulder on the brick wall. “so, given that you've theoretically rejected me…

you roll your eyes.

“... who are you seeing on valentine's day?”

“nobody. we've got a gig, remember?” you ash your cigarette glumly. “i'll be selling t-shirts with your face on them up the back of the venue all night.”

“and i love you - platonically - for that,” your friend grins. “but what about after the show?”

“after?”

“yeah.”

you ponder. “probably just going home to shower off the residual weed smell i'll inevitably take on, to be honest.”

matty laughs; his face drops when he realises you're not kidding. “oh. you're serious.”

“mhmm.”

“but,” he looks baffled. “you're twenty-three. you're cute, objectively. you're sweet. you're fun. there's really nobody you want to spend valentine's day with?”

well… your lips part of their own accord as if to speak; you quickly snap them shut before you make a sound. no. you can't tell anyone. especially matty, of all people.

apparently, though, you don't close your mouth fast enough - your friend notices, and giggles, eyes lighting up. “who is he? go on, tell me. promise i won't tell anyone, honest.”

“not a chance.”

“pleeeeeeeeeease?”

“no, matthew,” you take a final drag of your cigarette before stamping it out. “i'm never telling anyone, because it'll never go anywhere between me and him anyway, and thus i am perfectly fine just letting the crush i have fade without acting on it. i'll develop another one soon, anyway.”

no you won't. you've never fancied someone as much in your life as you fancy…

“there you are. was wondering where you'd gotten to, matty,” ross wanders round the side of the building, relief evident on his face. it seems to light up when he sees you, but that's most likely your brain playing tricks on you. “oh. hiya, love. didn't know you were in today, s'nice to see you.”

love?!

shut up. it's ross. he calls everyone that, dipshit.

you clear your throat. “hi, ross. s'nice to see you too. you look… well.”

you pray neither of the boys noticed the awkward pause while you came up with an alternative for “devastatingly attractive”, or that your voice didn't sound as small and squeaky as it sounded to you.

thankfully, neither of them mention it. ross just smiles, and all you can do is focus on not squealing at how cute his dimples are. “thanks. you look good. hair's nice like that.”

“oh,” you self-consciously touch the ponytail you hastily shoved your hat-messy hair into earlier. “thank you.”

he smiles again. “so, what are you gonna develop another of? were you talking about work?”

you say “yes” at the same time the gobshite next to you says “yeah, but then we moved onto talking about how she has no valentine's day plans but she also won't tell whoever she has a crush on that she wants to shag them because she thinks it’s unrequited.”

for fuck's sake.

sighing, you facepalm. ross blinks. “fair enough.”

“you don't think she should tell him?” matty looks aghast.

“what i think is that you should stop pestering her about it,” ross looks pointedly at matty, then turns to you. “but - and i don't want to overstep the mark here, love…”

“no, no, it's fine.”

“... you’ll never get what you really want unless you ask for it,” he finishes, a pleasant smile on his face. “what have you got to lose by doing so, anyway?”

this. our friendship. potentially my job, if i fuck it up enough.

“yeah, i suppose,” you murmur hesitantly. “i'll consider it.”

and you do - in fact, you're still considering it when you next see ross, during setup for the gig on the big day itself. he appears when you're pushing the box light into position on the tiny stage, quickly laying down his bass to run and help you, despite your protests that you've got everything under control.

seeing his arms flex as he works, though, and the way the stark white light somehow manages to warm up those dark eyes? you most definitely do not. still, you refuse to say anything to him then. or before the show, when he automatically passes you a beer so you can be included in the pre-gig cheers. or afterwards, when he risks being pounced upon by drunken fans just so he can help you pack up the merch stall, cracking jokes despite his tiredness.

it's only when you're loading the boxes of t-shirts into adam's car that you actually start to think that mentioning the crush to ross might not be a bad thing. you close the boot with a weary sigh, turning to face ross and high-five him - like you always do - with gratitude. and then he does something… strange.

he hugs you.

it's not a long hug, and definitely one of the “thanks, mate” variety, but still. it's not a common thing to happen between the two of you, ross’s arms wrapping around your shoulders and your waist and pulling you into his chest. it's warm. cosy. safe. and as soon as he lets go, you miss him.

before you get a chance to dwell on that, though, he speaks. “you coming to the pub with us now?”

“us?” your brow furrows. “who's us?”

“everyone except adam and waughy,” ross grins. “you're not the only one with no valentine's plans, love,” his face contorts into panic. “wait, fuck, i just assumed, because you said last week-”

“ross, relax, babe,” you smile, beating yourself up internally for the way the pet name just slipped out; you blame the joy that fizzed up in your stomach when he essentially admitted he's single. “i'm coming to the pub.”

he smiles again, relief evident in his eyes. “alright. good. i think we'll have a good night.”

you do, actually, despite matty monologuing the whole walk there about “you should just phone that guy you like and tell him. for the love of god, at least one of us needs to pull tonight. s'depressing if we don't”. it's actually george who manages that first, disappearing after the first round with a redhead and returning, lipstick-stained and gleefully dazed, half an hour later. matty's next, chatting up girls at the bar and collecting phone numbers by the handful, pointing out vaguely handsome men to you with “yes? no? maybe?” to no avail.

ross doesn't pull at all.

not for lack of trying from the female clientele in the pub, though - every time he leaves the table, you watch heads turn in his direction, and some bodies following. envy tinges your vision green whenever a girl approaches him, but you needn't worry; no matter how pretty or persistent or personable the girls are, ross politely chats as he waits for the drinks, bids them goodbye, and comes back to you. well, to the table. where he sits next to you.

it makes you feel good. so good, in fact, that you decide to tell him how you feel, right then and there. you take another sip of your wine - dutch courage and all - and rest your elbow on the table and your head on your hand, facing ross. “i'm glad i came out tonight.”

“so am i,” he mirrors your pose, smiling. god, you love his dimples. “it's been a good night.”

“yeah. not a bad valentine's day at all.”

ross giggles. “as good as it gets for singles,” he takes a sip of his pint, then looks at you a bit more seriously. “you spoken to that guy yet? the one you like?”

you bite down a giggle, shaking your head. “d'you think i should? ask him out?”

“if you really like him, yeah.”

“but,” you look down at the table, absentmindedly running your index finger round the rim of your glass. “what if he doesn't like me?”

“why wouldn't he?” ross's voice is soft - so are his eyes, you look up to discover. “you're great.”

“really?”

he nods. “really great.”

your heart glows. your face does the same. “thank you, ross.”

he shrugs. “i'm just telling the truth, love. now,” he grins, tapping your phone. “ask him.”

bless him. 

you exhale, smiling. “alright,” you turn round to compose yourself, then look back at ross with a smile. “would you like to go for dinner with me?”

for a second, you falter as ross's brow furrows. “what, now? like a kebab- oh,” his jaw drops, and he blinks a few times. “really? it's me that you have a crush on?”

“yeah,” you bite the inside of your cheek, nervous. “is that… really bad?”

“hmm? no, no, not at all! just surprising, s'all,” ross takes your free hand in his own. he looks dazed, but he's genuinely smiling. “i had no idea you liked me like that.”

“and here i was thinking i was doing a shit job at hiding it.”

ross laughs, softly stroking the back of your hand with his thumb; warmth erupts under your skin wherever he touches. he looks at you, so tenderly you want to look away. “yes.”

your turn to be confused. “yes i was doing a shit job at hiding my crush on you? or…?”

“no, love,” ross chuckles, squeezing your hand. “yes, i'd love to go for dinner with you. tomorrow too soon?”

you feel weightless, joyous, positively giddy. but you have to stay cool, so you simply beam at him. “tomorrow's perfect.”

present day

“...so, we went for dinner - pasta, before you ask, keir - and that was it. dad said he wanted to be my boyfriend before we'd even gotten to the tiramisu,” you smile at the memory. “and then we were like that for a while, and then we got married, and then we had you two. and now, here we are.”

“that's it?” keir frowns at you, then looks up at his dad. “but you said you swept mum off her feet.”

ross snorts, ruffling his son's hair. “yeah, not literally, keeks. i just meant that she was very impressed by me.”

“i don't get it.”

“well, ask matty to explain metaphors to you when you next see him, then.”

you wince (ross laughs at that), turning to your daughter, preoccupied with petting ash the cat, who climbed onto her lap halfway through your talk. “thoughts, eils?”

“hmm,” she makes a face. “it's not a very exciting story, mum.”

“cute, though, no?”

“kind of, i guess.”

“wow, you two are hard to impress,” you sigh, turning to ross and smiling despite your kids’ boredom. “worked out well for us, though, didn't it?”

“absolutely, love. couldn't have worked out any better,” ross leans over the table to kiss you; you return it with relish.

“ewwwwwwww! gross!”

“dad, please don’t do that to mum in front of me ever again.”

[oppropro]

Chapter 2 of my fanfic

I am so happy to receive the positive feedback on my story inspired by @jttw-monkeybusiness. I had a hard time writing this chapter as it is from the perspective of different pilgrims. I want their thoughts to be believable and true to their nature, while also being true to @celestialkiri 's vision of these characters in her AU. I got a bit overly ambitious with this chapter and had to cut it short; the rest of the story will continue in a 3rd chapter. This has a better narrative flow.

So without further ado; I present chapter 2 of Monkey Business based on the creations of @jttw-monkeybusiness all credit goes to her.

********

CHAPTER 2- Here's your sign

            Sun Wukong, King of Mount Huaguo, Great Sage equal to heaven, was losing his patience. His master, the monk Tripitaka once again avoided near death thanks to the valiant efforts of his disciple, Sun Wukong. The very same disciple he chose to ignore when he warned the monk of the dangers of the demon hoard that had laid a trap to kill and eat the monk. A trap so obvious even Pigsy should have seen coming. That is, if Pigsy could ever think with his brain and not his stomach.

            And what thanks does Wukong get for saving his master and his pig-headed brother? Another lecture on how violence does not solve every problem. Well, violence certainly solved that problem. Besides, if his master had simply listened to him in the first place, they could have easily avoided the demon’s trap and Wukong wouldn’t have to resort to violence.

            “Hardships we face on our pilgrimage are simply a test of faith, and it is through our faith that we will ultimately persevere.” Monk Tripitaka spoke in a slow and deliberate manner.

            “Well then start showing more faith in me!” Wukong replied.

            “This journey is not just about you.”

            “And yet it is I, once again, coming to everyone’s rescue.”

            “I appreciate that you were able to rescue us, but that does not change the fact that you do not get to dictate the path we must follow, or default to wanton violence as a solution to every obstacle.”

            “Those demons were going to eat you and the pig alive! They weren’t even coy about it! If everyone just listened to me, it wouldn’t have even been an obstacle.”

            “We cannot avoid every danger, or burden, or obstacle we face on our journey.” Tripitaka’s tone conveyed a clear message: this conversation was over. “Even if such a challenge were to fall from the heavens and land directly on us. We will face whatever lies before us head on and accept the fate that has been ordained by Buddha.”

            “Well then, Master, you can find somebody else to save your ass because I am tired of being the only one around here who-” Wukong’s sentence was cut short as, apropos of the monk’s declaration, the heavens had opened up and a strange blonde woman fell upon the angry monkey’s back.

********

            Sandy, Pigsy, and Bai Long stood at the side of a clearing and watched their brother and their master argue back and forth. They had seen this exact same scenario played out before; it was safe for them to assume that it wasn’t going to be the last. The novelty of these fights had worn off and now they simply wished they would get to the point where Wukong would learn his lesson about self-control, humility, and acceptance so they could move on with their journey. For all the talk about other people slowing him down, Wukong sure liked to waste time arguing moot points.

            However, a girl falling from the heavens and landing on their elder brother’s back was new. They and the monk stood agog staring at the unforeseen spectacle before them: the woman had hair the colour of summer sun, and her clothes were foreign. The sack that she carried on her back had fallen off, that too was made of some strange and heavenly material not found on earth.

            Her face had landed in the dirt, her legs tangled amongst the limbs of Sun Wukong, and she moaned as she cradled her temples in her arms, nursing whatever wound she incurred from her less than graceful decent from heaven.

            Tripitaka was the first to break free from his spell. Still unable to process what had just happened, he rushed to the side of the stranger in an attempt to help her sit up an regain her composure. Pigsy followed his master’s lead and the two of them were able to prop the woman up and assess her for any injuries: some bumps and scratches, all superficial. That didn’t rule out the risk of any serious, or even deadly, head wounds.

            “Little sister, are you hurt?” the monk asked. “Do you understand me? Can you open your eyes?”

            The woman replied with a whimper, as she slowly blinked her eyes several times trying to purge her tears. Pigsy watched her blue eyes dilate and constrict in an attempt to regain focus. They had never seen a foreigner before. He knew that humans in other countries looked different, and that they were bound to meet foreigners on their journey to India, but the difference in eye colour was striking. This wasn’t something to dwell on, however; the woman needed help.

            “Good, good, little sister, you’re going to be alright. Let us help you. Just keep breathing nice and slowly.” Pigsy spoke to the woman in a low, slow voice and began to exaggerate his breath in so that the stranger might mimic him.

            “HOW ABOUT THE TWO OF YOU QUIT FAWNING OVER THAT STUPID SKY WOMAN AND HELP YOUR BROTHER OUT!”

            Wukong’s voice hit the stranger like a slap to the face. She gasped as her eyes widened and she finally focused on her surroundings. Pigsy was familiar with the expression on the stranger’s face: shock, confusion, fear; a primal fight or flight reaction that all humans experience when face to face with a demon.

            The stranger’s breath became quick and shallow, Pigsy could sense her heart rate bounding. There may still have been hope that Tripitaka may calm her down, but as she looked down at his elder brother, the demon monkey trapped between her legs, flashing his fangs as he scowled at the woman, he knew what was about to happen.

            He let go of the stranger as she screamed and began kicking wildly at Wukong until they were finally untangled. As the terrified woman struggled on all fours to get up and make a mad dash into the forest, Wukong jumped up with an unwarranted sense of accomplishment. Congratulations you stupid monkey; you successfully scared a woman.

            Tripitaka went to mount Bai Long. “Sandy. Pigsy. Please, help me look for our new companion. Monkey, you stay here and watch over our camp.”

            Whatever pride Wukong felt fled his body as soon as his master spoke. “What? Why are you chasing after her? She means nothing to us.”

            “Where you not paying attention to what our master had said?” Pigsy spat.

            “Yes. Even if such a challenge were to fall from the heavens and land directly on us. Well, I just passed buddha’s test. I overcame that challenge and didn’t even resort to violence. I guess I have learned my lesson now and we can all continue on our way. Oh thank you great and wise buddha! You have made me a better monkey.”

            “You have learned nothing,” Tripitaka snapped. “Now we have to go find this woman lest a fate worse than crashing into you befalls her.”

            The monkey growled. His blood was beginning to boil.

            “Then I will bring this challenge back to you, master.”             Wukong took off in the same direction as the woman before the monk could object. beginning to boil. He raced through the canopy following the stranger’s trail. The path she left was easy enough to follow. Even if it wasn’t glaringly obvious, Wukong could smell her: her scent; her blood; her fear. He could hear her: her ragged breath; her racing heart; her pitiful cries for help. The great monkey king would catch up to this pathetic whelp in no time and return her to his master so he can figure out what he wants to do with her. But before he brought her to his master, Wukong had some questions of his own to ask the woman. At the very least, this stupid woman owed Sun Wukong an apology.

[fedcrypt]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

intended eddie brock / venom x female!reader

WRITING WARNINGS: okie so this is kinda like an au in a way, it’s a secret pre-established poly relationship, also reader is colton drake’s sister (adoptive, biological, or married-in your choice!) so like colton isn’t super approving of his sister having a relationship with someone.

XOXO, CHESHIRE — this is so utterly disgustingly cutely based off sabrina’s new song with our favorite loser and our precious symbiote baby <3! so eddie and venom aren’t in this fic but they are both mentioned and it’s kind of just the reader existing with the family dynamic and hearing about her boys.

her (e/c) eyes rolled softly as she listened to the rambling of her brother as she peered down at the symbiote in the tube feeling utterly devasted for the poor creature. y/n knew what it was like to be trapped in a tube and feeling hopeless with the liquid nutrition being the only thing keeping you alive, at least she knew from venom, whom had ranted to her one night all about it in order to get her to stay away from her brother. her boyfriend and the symbiote had tried their hardest to take down her brother and his organization, yet they had failed, and colton wasn’t all that pleased with them. in fact, colton drake wished to hunt them down and find them yet he found that simply impossible. unbeknownst to colton, his own sister was the mere reason why he couldn’t find them.

y/n was the only person who had approved of her own choice to fall in love with eddie brock and by extension venom as well, at least that is what she believed as whenever she would drop hints about her secret pair of boyfriends without revealing too much information ; everyone seemed to verbally bash her for falling in love, claiming she was too childish as she fell in love with more than one person. they deemed their relationship as wrong and an act of unfaithful nature but y/n knew better than to listen to all those vipers depressed in empath clothing.

the (h/c) haired woman deeply sighed to herself as she heard her brother changing the conversation about his company to the fact that she wasn’t listening to him. in fact colton had claimed that his sister was too busy thinking about her secretive boyfriend instead of listening to his plan to save all of mankind from the destruction of earth itself. (e/c) eyes lightened up as their owner had smiled softly at the symbiote who had made a gesture inside of the tube, one of which essentially called her brother an annoying loser, causing her to wholeheartedly agree even if she didn’t admit it out loud.

“yet not to mention eddie brock stealing venom from me and you still don’t care about it. it doesn’t affect you and yet this is our livelihood, my dear sister, and yet you don’t cherish or show any interest in it!” there he goes again, back on his stupid bullshit verbal rampage about his mankind project. “you say livelihood as if i don’t have my dream job that i love and have enough money to get by on my own plus get other oddities.” y/n bit back as she stretched her back out, having been uncomfortable in the position she had been slightly hunched over in.

“don’t get cocky now, y/n, just be a good sister and listen. i’ve taken care of you my entire life and you don’t get to cheapen that, okay?” colton explained as he placed a gentle hand upon his sister’s cheek, trying to be sympathetic as he assumed she was only fighting back with her words due to being drained from her dream job that she’s talked about since childhood. “oh fuck off, colton.” the woman replied forcibly taking her brother’s hand away from her face and then waved her goodbyes to the symbiote in the tube before she walked out of the lab, her brother’s voice raising with each step she took.

nearly a half an hour later, luckily having gotten through the lots of traffic faster than anticipated, she had found herself inside of the convenience store where mrs. chen worked during the night. a simple “oh sweetheart, there you are!” had rung out with perfect timing of the bell as she stepped inside, mrs. chen had greeted her inside with a sense of relief. “now why do i sense some relief in that mrs. c?” the (h/c) haired woman questioned as she moved to grab some of her favorite snacks that she would share with venom and eddie once she got home. all she could affectionately think of was, please please please don’t embarrass me motherfucker, as she awaited the words that her dear older friend would say which more than likely had something to do with her boyfriends.

the older dark haired woman chuckled softly as y/n made her way up to the counter with all her snacks. “oh no worries sweetheart, the two idiots were just going on and on about how they love you. i’m guessing there might be a ring in your future from the sounds of it.” mrs. chen explained as she finished ringing up the snacks and placed them in a bag. the (h/c) haired woman shook her head affectionately at the woman’s words knowing that they didn’t need a ring to be married, in fact the three of them already considered themselves married, but she knew the woman would still lovingly pester them about it. “i’ll see you later, māma.” y/n chuckled softly as she saw the woman pause at the loving nickname as she grabbed her bag and placed a twenty upon the counter, ready to leave and head home to her beloveds.

[alexxness]

A thread on how I'd portray Gravity Falls x The Last of Us (Part 1) [I was bored last night]

This post is based on @eerizon recent Gravity Falls x TLOU drawing :P

First of all, the artist above totally saw my (and everyone else's) vision, bc I also thought about this idea, but I wanted to wait for someone else to draw it

So now, I'm just gonna write down who would be who in this universe just for fun (feel free to drop your own ideas too)

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Starting off with: Stan as Joel

It's logical and makes total sense!!

Two father figures who lost someone in their lives get attached to some who didn't have good impressions at first, and protects them with their lives

I'm still trying to figure who'd be Sarah though..

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Dipper and Mabel as Ellie

I'd like to highlight Mabel the most, bc it also makes sense that Stan gets more attached to her, and later saves her from her death at the hospital (which means she'd be the one immune to the infection)

As for Dipper, he'd be most important for Part 2

Dipper could be the one figuring out that Stan broke the siblings' trust/promise, when he discovers that he lied about Mabel being useless to the cure of the infection

He'd also get revenge for Stan's death as well

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For obvious reasons, Ford would be Tommy

Their relationship with their brothers is very similar, and I'm pretty darn sure that Ford would do the exact same thing that Tommy did when Joel died

They're extremely good shots, and ✨ survivors ✨

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Eda (from The Owl House) as Tess is an interesting idea, and I love it

The fact that Eda gets infected, is a pretty good replacement for her curse, and I just love that concept rahhhh

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I ain't 100% sure, but I think Wendy as Bill could be an interesting idea

She's a survivalist, and she would absolutely rule making traps like Bill's

Frank could be one of her exes or something, idk haven't thought enough about it yet 😭

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This is another one I haven't thought through at 100%, but once again, Fiddleford as Maria could also be a cool concept

Sure, who wouldn't want a partner telling all the probabilities of things that could happen if this and that occurred, right?

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Took me a while to figure this one out... This wouldn't be a sibling situation, but a partner one--

I think Blubs as Henry and Durland as Sam is sad, but also an interesting idea

It's a dark turn to take for these two sillies, and I'm sorry for this :(

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[Human]Bill would be David for sure (but he wouldn't be a PDFFile omgoshh)

The simple logic is bc he tricks both Dipper and Mabel, and tries to kill them to feed his gang

(which he technically does this during Weirdmageddon [he offers Dipper as a snack to 8-Ball and Teeth])

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Blind Ivan would be the perfect fit for Marlene

This basically makes the Society of the Blind Eye, the new Fireflies, which is actually pretty cool

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Pacifica would probably take Riley's role

She's besties with the twins, and wants to be free from her parents (as usual)

Who's gonna kiss her later at the abandoned mall?? Dipper or Mabel? You decide!!

Unfortunately yeah, she gets infected-- And she's never seen again :'D

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And for last but not least... Bud as Jerry

Seems like a logical reason, right?? Kinda makes sense...

Hmm... I wonder who's going after Stan after this...

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And that's it for my Part 1 ideas!!

I can drop your opinions/ideas, I'll be happy to read them and discuss with all of you!!

I might make a post about Part 2 eventually, so stay tuned if you're interested

Have a good day/night, everyone!!

[stressed-and-queer]

Reasons why Merlins s1 ep4 "The Poisoned Chalice" is one of my favorite episodes (spoilers)

Gaius giving Merlin a fake proverb and Merlin calling him out on it

Merlin: "Someone has to keep the place running"

Gaius: 🤨

Merlin gets so excited he gets to go to the ball and it's adorable

The iconic outfit Arthur picks out for him

Gwen teasing him about the hat

Arthur looking back at Merlin clearly amused

The moment "Clara" confirms that Arthur's cup is poisoned he immediately leaves to save Arthur

Arthur keeps on trying to take a sip of the cup thinking the speech is over only to be interrupted again 🤣

Merlin: *Takes Arthur's cup*

Arthur: #annoyed

Uther asks Merlin for proof about his claims about the cup being poisoned and Arthur immediately goes into protective boyfriend mode

Arthur got so worried when Uther decided he would drink the wine

To the point that he tried to drink it himself knowing there was a possibility it was poisoned.

He was literally willing to do that for a servant he met 4 EP ago

Continuing with the point that they met 4 EP ago, they've known each other for like what, a month at the most and Merlin was already willing to die for Arthur

"but if it's poisoned, he'll die :('

Arthur was so fucking worried when Merlin drank the wine, you could tell just by the way he stood

*Dramatic music playing after Merlin drank the wine for a dramatic pause* Merlin: ...It's fine

The fact that the poison took a few moments to kick in. Idk it made it seem more realistic

You cannot convince me Arthur wasn't planning on somehow getting Merlin back from Bayard

When Merlin starts to choke, Arthur's face immediately drops. There's just a look of pure worry and dread

When Merlin falls to the ground unconscious, Arthur is there by his side in a matter of seconds

Arthur didn't even think twice when he picked Merlin up to carry him to Gaius's physician chambers

Arthur asking if Merlin was going to be ok

Gaius explains how to save Merlin, and how dangerous a journey it would be and Arthur is still willing to go to save Merlin

Gaius: A single drip of venom from the Cockatrice would mean certain death

Arthur: Sounds like fun!

Morgana has so much faith that Arthur would save Merlin she wasn't even worried

She relieved Gwen from her duties for the rest of the night so she could take care of Merlin!!!

"I can't stand by and watch him die!"

" Then don't watch"

The ways those lines are delivered are sooooo good omg

The way Arthur leans against the fireplace

Morgana is the one that convinced Arthur to defy his father and save Merlin

Merlin saying a spell in his sleep

And Gaius having to cover for him because Gwen was literally right there

Gaius immediately knows it's Nimue that poisoned the cup when he finds out the poison has been magically enhanced

"He's just a boy"

"Have you seen your son recently?"

Merlin literally moans Arthur's name in his sleep

"Art-Arthur, Arthur...ngh" -Merlin s1 ep4

Even when Merlin is literally dying and unconscious he's still trying to save Arthur

The whole act that Nimue puts on that Arthur falls for instantly

When Arthur flights the Cockatrice with his sword. I love all the fancy movements Bradley had to learn for the role of Arthur

Merlin moaning Arthur's name pt2

Merlin tries to warn Arthur that it's a trap in his sleep

"Who are you!"

"The last face you'll ever see"

Merlin moans Arthurs name pt3

THE BALL OF LIGHT MERLIN CREATES TO HELP ARTHUR

"Do not let Merlin die because of something I did"

Arthur is willing to be put into the stocks for a month if it means Merlin gets the antidote

Arthur reaching for the flower through the bars of his cell

The way they snuck the flower out of the cell

"That's disgusting, you would be ashamed of yourself you're old enough to be her grandfather"

"I'm proud of you Arthur, never forget that"

Arthur went to check in on Merlin to make sure he was doing ok

"Arthur....thank you"

"You too, get some rest"

[legacygirlingreen]

Part 4, Chapter 7: Repository III (the final) // Sebastian Sallow x Reader

AN: I apologize for this unedited mess. I am also so sorry I’ve been swamped and haven’t uploaded. I have a lot going on right now in my real life and writing has taken a backseat to it. I plan to finish this series soon. Thank you all for holding out with me. This is mostly just filler. Again, sorry.

Pic belongs to @99luka9 on Pinterest! (Not sure if they have a blog here as well but I found in on there)

Warnings: mention of blood, death, violence

Word count: 3,800

Link to Masterlist

The more Sebastian dug into the stone the more blood began to pool in his palms. Sweat dripped down his brow and down the sides of his neck, as well as down his nape, before trailing into his shirt collar. As he went to push yet another piece of piled up rumble to the cave floor, the slick of his palm caused him to lose traction, resulting in him slamming his fingers into the harsh surface as he let out an expletive.

Frustratedly he wiped his hands on the surface of his pants in an attempt to once again gain traction before resuming his efforts to push the stones. The more rubble he cleared, allowing him to gain more information as to what was happening on the other side. More loud taunting, more loud crashing, and thankfully more spell casting. He couldn’t quite make out what she was shouting from wherever this opening would lead, but he could hear the distinct sound of a spell hurling through the air followed by the occasional roar or groan of Ranrok. Everything about this reminded him of how broken she had felt when he rushed into the house with Solomon hot on his heels while he gripped her bleeding body to his chest.

Solomon. That was the strangest part of the ordeal. The more he continued to dig, the more he could hear her sole voice calling back against the goblin. He knew that Solomon had been trapped inside the cavern with her, and a part of him hoped that at the very least the man was alive to help keep her safe, but given the lack of hearing the man’s gruff voice or simultaneous casting there only left a few options for his uncle’s fate: the man was knocked out, the man ran, or he was already dead.

And as callous as it seemed, Sebastian didn’t really care which of three it wound up being.

In fact, Sebastian knew that if he got inside with only the ability to save one of them, he would save her with no hesitation. Solomon may be blood, but that didn’t make him family. Especially after finding out what he had done to Anne, and leaving his love to die at the hands of Rookwood, he had no love left in his heart for Solomon Sallow. That - and years of abuse at the man’s hands didn’t exactly bode well. In some small ways it might be better if Solomon was already dead, he thought. That way he wouldn’t have to kill Solomon himself.

Eventually he pushed aside just the right stone to cause the majority of them to fall away, opening up a small hole which he could see lead into a tunnel. Seeing it as the only way forward he crouched the best he could, pushing through until the tunnel allowed him to once again stand to full height. Inside it appeared similar to San Bakaar’s fourth trial and the location in which he witnessed the memory of the keepers confronting Isadora.

Sebastian felt a chill run up the entire length of his spine before it settled against his nape as he shuddered remembering what he had seen. In some ways he respected San Bakaar more than the others - as the man seemed to understand his policy of using whatever means necessary when your life's on the line. Even during the keeper’s time at Hogwarts the killing curse was forbidden. Knowing all four of them agreed to use it on Isadora in order to protect the wizarding world from her demented actions of corrupting the purity of ancient magic with human pain, made him more inclined to trust their judgment. It also made him glad that he taught the girl how to use it in extreme circumstances.

“Sebastian I am not so sure about this…” she spoke as they rounded that all too familiar staircase of the restricted section. The weight of the books he was returning pressed into his forearms. This was not to do with Anne that he had come back here. In fact he’d given up searching months ago after she finally convinced him they would find a way with ancient magic. But for some reason, after a night where she’d stumbled back even later than his shift with Sirona, covered in blood from poachers, he decided maybe raiding some of the healing spells would benefit her.

“We are just returning what I borrowed. Not taking anything else, I promise” he told her with a sigh.

“What did you take?” She asked cautiously, worried he’d have slipped back into old habits.

“Healing spells they just don’t teach at the school. I wanted to be able to teach them to you. I’m sick of seeing you stumble back broken and bloodied.” He explained, finally coming back to the spot in which he’d removed a few tomes on advanced healing.

“Oh. I thought - nevermind” she said, coming forward to help place the books back on the shelf near him.

“You thought, what? That I was messing with dark magic again?” He asked playfully, not concerned about her response because he genuinely hadn’t. Sebastian had no reason to be embarrassed or start a fuss over something he wasn’t engaging with any longer. And if he was honest with himself… he felt better. His head felt clearer. His back, less weighted.

“Well… why else would one sneak into the restricted section…?” She asked as she peaked open one of the books seeing it did in fact have very complex healing spells before putting it back on the shelf.

“Pornographic material” he said with a shrug.

“What?!” She shrieked and he laughed at her response as he pointed back to a dimly lit alcove all the boys at school had heard about. It was true that several boys always found a way to sneak in and raid it. On occasion he’d grabbed a few on his way out to make the trip more worth it…

“Yeah some of them even moan and make noises and such-“ he started and she smacked his arm as he chuckled.

“Stop being a brute and just put back the healing books you stole. Merlin, why am I courting such a delinquent?” She asked.

“Because you love me?” He teased stretching his hand out, which she graciously took.

“I do. And I’m also glad you stopped looking into dark magic. I know there’s been circumstances your knowledge has come in handy but… overall I prefer not using it as a first resort”

“I agree. I admit, I might’ve started getting a tad loose with some spells I shouldn’t have. I do still think it’s important to have knowledge of dark magic. And there are times I think the ends justify the means…”

“What are you talking about?” She asked, feet stalling as she looked at him.

“Well, if you do face Ranrok, and he has you pinned down without a moment of your life or his, I would prefer to know that you at least knew the killing curse. At that moment I believe it would be a justifiable means to kill him. And I don’t think the ministry would care either given goblins and human rights aren’t the same. But either way, I would like to know you would do anything to keep yourself safe if it came to that. Not as a first choice but a last resort” he explained, somewhat timidly. He knew she didn’t love the use of dark magic, but she never discouraged him trying to gain understanding of it. She saw past the black and white nature of it all, and it was something he deeply loved and admired her for.

“Oh… I hadn’t really thought about it.” She said nervously.

“You don’t have to-“ he tried to explain he wasn’t demanding she learn one of the three unforgivable spells on his account purely, but she cut him off.

“No. You’re right. This is too important. This magic is too dangerous to leave in Ranrok’s hands. I should at least know what to do if it came to that. Not necessarily for my sake but everyone else’s” she explained leaving him stunned.

“I’m really surprised you are so quick to want to learn an unforgivable curse” Sebastian told her honestly.

“Like you said, this mission is important and killing him may be the only way to protect it. Come on down here. I’ll show you the athenaeum. It’s where I went that day you took the fall for me. You can teach me in there how to use it” she said, dragging him along further into the restricted section.

Sebastian had been surprised at her willingness to see the greater good and now he just hoped that she had both paid attention and was alive to make the call if it came down to it.

Finally having a plan seemed to help. The more she continued to use the attack strategy suggested by Sebastian, the more Ranrok began to absorb the pain as the magic separated from the toxicity contaminating it. This strategy seemed to be the solution, however the more desperate Ranrok became, the more she continued to be knocked down with his futile attempts at preventing her from removing his power.

Each fall felt worse on her already aching body. But at the end of the day, she knew that she would need to stop the goblin, even if it was the last thing she did. This was too important to give up now.

The swirls and conflicting magic surrounded them both as he drew smaller. And then with the most deafening scream of pain did the blast of red and black magic surround them as Ranrok once again returned to his original state.

“You are… but a child…” he grunted out in pain as he stared up at her.

“You shouldn’t understand anyone on account of being young” she spat as he quickly moved to his feet once again, only to be shoved down by her usage of the ancient magic around them.

Watching in horror as the last of the pain entered the goblin, he rose from the ground, screaming in agony as the pain she removed became too much. In horror she watched as she slowly began to glow, breaking apart into thin ash like parts before suddenly he was gone.

A gasp left her lips as she fell to her knees, shocked that it was over. It was finally all over.

Loud banging filled the space before the cavern lurked, loud sounds of falling rocks once again filling the space as she looked above. The chamber she was in began to collapse, as she struggled to rise. Energy depleted from the fight with Ranrok, she wasn’t sure she would be able to stand long enough to search for a way out.

And in her heart she found comfort in knowing at least everyone would be safe. The world at large had been saved. The likelihood of her walking away was low. And yet, she simply wanted to be granted the opportunity to say goodbye to him. To the handsome Slytherin boy, who had taught her so much. Who had shown her great care. Who had loved her beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Laying down, she simply closed her eyes, accepting her fate. Perhaps her mind's eye could recall his big brown eyes one more time. Or imagine all his adorning freckles. If she really concentrated she almost felt as if she could hear his voice shouting her name. What she wouldn’t give to feel him hold her one last time.

But then she felt it. A dirty trick of the mind to shift to the afterlife is what she assumed, but when she opened her eyes and saw the cavern collapsing just behind his head she gasped.

“Bash” came the hushed whisper before she was desperately pulled into his arms as he stood.

“Hold on, we are getting out of here. Just hold onto me” he spoke before whistling loudly, the sound of loud flapping filling the space as her eyes drifted closed. Flashes of feathers, falling debris and his worried face filled her mind before it all faded to black.

“Mr. Sallow set her down on the cot so the nurse can look over her injuries!” Professor Weasley shouted as the rag tag team of staff and students bust into the hospital ward.

The girl, having lost consciousness somewhere on the journey out of the repository, was still perched in Sebastian’s arms. The boy damn near growling earlier when someone tried to remove her. Lurching forward he set her down, unaware of the wards existing students.

Their friends and educators all coming around to stare down at the battered girl who had saved them. Well, all of them except one.

“Sebastian…” whispered behind him and when he finally tore his eyes from the girl he saw Anne.

“Annie…” he said in shock, having forgotten until now that poppy spoke about his witch find a cure.

“What happened? Where’s, where’s Solomon?” She asked, looking around.

His mind flashed back to the cavern, seeing his uncle crushed on the floor no longer breathing just as he had fled. She had whispered something akin to Solomon before she had fainted but he already knew the man was gone.

“He didn’t make it Anne” he spoke softly as his sister begun to wail loudly. Ominis coming forward to remove his sister from the already chaotic scene, he turned back to his love who still had yet to wake as the nurse began to try and heal some of her injuries.

“Is she going to be alright?” he asked softly as the nurse turned to him.

“I’d say so. Diagnostic spells show most of the damage is external, not internal.” The nurse spoke mending gashes and wiping away blood. As she did so, he took note of the already pink forming scar along the girl's face, now running through the middle of it. It wasn’t the kind of mark that happened by accident, the way it looked was deliberate. Poppy’s cries in the room of requirement were all he needed to know that it had been the result of Rookwood.

“Merlin…” he whispered as Professor Fig tugged him aside.

“It’s best to let them clean her up first. I need to speak with you” the man spoke and all he could do was nod. Deep down Sebastian knew the man was likely playing the events in December over in his mind, recalling how awful the boy had reacted to seeing her injured. Sitting at the edge of a separate bed he sighed.

Soon he found himself in front of the professors. Sebastian hadn’t noticed that Professor Weasley had escorted out all the other students, leaving only Leander who sustained a slightly sizable gash on his leg. But when the adults stared down at him as they refrained from talking he grew confused.

“Mr. Sallow you need to remove your shirt” Professor Sharp said sternly as he looked up confused.

“What?” Sebastian asked as the man harshly pointed at the wound on his shoulder. “Oh. I forgot about that…” he said gritting his teeth as he tried to unbutton the shirt with his non dominate hand.

“Adrenaline can make the body forget the trauma it’s experienced. It doesn’t look as bad now but still shouldn’t take too many chances with it.” The man said as he finished using spells he knew from his time at the ministry to examine the wound. Knowing the nurse would likely be too busy, helping the young Sallow man fell to him in responsibility.

“Is everyone decent?” Came a voice behind Professor Sharp who simply nodded as Matilda Weasley came forward.

“Mr. Sallow. I am going to need much more information this instance.” She demanded.

“Alright.” He spoke grumpily.

“Do you have any kind of idea the danger you put yourself, and your classmates, in?” She asked.

“Did you? Because from what I have come to realize, is that only Professor Fig and I were aware the danger everyone was in this whole time. I was likely more prepared than most of you to handle this”

“That doesn’t excuse your actions-“

“I will not apologize for wanting to make sure she walked out of there alive. Give me detention for the rest of the year. Expel me. Lock me in Azkaban. I don’t care. She is alive and going to be okay. That is all that matters to me” he spoke with exasperation.

“Matilda, perhaps given none of the students were in danger we should consider thanking Mr. Sallow for his assistance. Has they not arrived I am not sure even we all would have walked away” Professor Sharp spoke up.

“The distraction provided by Mr. Sallow and the other students allowed us to gain the upper hand during the battle.” Hecat pointed out.

“Yes but, they could have been hurt. How would I have explained it to their parents or the headmaster?” She questioned.

“Considering Sallow and I are the only two who got hurt, new fifth year excluded, I’d say it’s not something we need to be concerned with Professor Weasley. Chalk it up to some Slytherin resourcefulness and Gryffindor bravery.” Leander grunted as a house elf finished wrapping his leg.

The woman sighed before looking around. Eyes landing on the floor network as two figures emerged.

“Everett found me but when we made it back to the cavern everyone had left” Andrew Larson spoke walking forward with Officer Singer.

“What in Merlin’s name happened here? What is this I hear of a goblin attack?” She asked looking around at the battle worn professors and few injured students.

“Yes. And it appears several of our students mounted a counter offensive” she said with a frustrated sigh.

“Students?! The minister-“

“Will be delighted to know that Hogwarts has such brave, resourceful, loyal and intelligent students that they would be willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Going so far to go against the measure we took to ensure their safety” Professor Weasley spoke.

“I will need to contact the minister and start a full investigation into the matters-“ Officer Singer began before Matilda once again cut her off.

“Tomorrow. These students, and us for that matter, have been through a great deal. Let them rest. Recover from their injuries before we go bringing up such events again.” She said sternly, nodding to Sebastian that his witch was alert.

No longer caring about the logistics he ran forward, sliding onto his knees as he took to her bed side.

“Sebastian?” She asked gently as he grabbed her hands in his own, kissing the skin along the back of her hand firmly over and over again.

“You are alive. Merlin be praised, you are alive!” He said excitedly as he no longer cared about the hospital ward full of people as he reached his hand out along the back of her neck and brought her into a kiss. It conveyed all the fear, anger, love and pain he was dealing with at all that had happened.

Breaking away to catch her breath the sighed in pain before looking back up at him sadly. “Sebastian… Solomon he…”

“I know” he told her, not really finding it in his heart to care about it at the moment.

“No. He saved me. I was falling. I - I would’ve died had he not saved me. And then he fell to his own death. Sebastian, it was horrible…” she said as tears began to well up in her eyes. He reached forward, hoping to provide comfort as she sobbed. Inside, the boy knew it was rather callous to not feel bad about his last remaining adult relative being gone, but after what he did to Anne, what Solomon did to him and most importantly what he had let Rookwood do to her, he didn’t care.

“We don’t have to discuss it now… you are alive and that’s all that matters” he told her gently as he wipped the tears from her face and she nodded. Reaching towards the table beside her bed, she produced Solomon’s wand and handed it to Sebastian.

“I managed to grab this before everything happened. I thought Anne might want it. But Sebastian-“ she started to speak as the girl in question ran forward.

“Why do you have our uncle’s wand?!” She shrieked.

“We got separated and he was with me when Ranrok-“

“So it’s your fault.” Anne spoke harshly as a gasp fell over them.

“Anne, I’m not sure we have all the information to make claims like that-“ Ominis spoke but the girl interrupted.

“No. She walked out. Solomon didn’t. That’s all I need to know” Anne responded.

“Anne. You have no idea the vile things Solomon did to even you. He-“ Sebastian started only to be interrupted by the witch at his side.

“You are right Anne. Solomon sacrificed himself to save me. And there’s nothing I can do to bring him back or make it okay. I’m sorry.” She said sadly.

“Maybe if you weren’t so careless he’d be alive. It is all your fault.” She spat before standing up.

“Anne! She saved you-” Ominis said standing up and rushing after the girl who was fleeing the hospital ward, leaving Sebastian and her to sit in silence over what had happened.

“Poppy told me what happened. Don't worry. Anne doesn’t know what Solomon did to her. We will talk to her-“ he spoke after a moment and she stopped him.

“No. Let Anne grieve him. She deserves that. I won’t take that away from her” she told him.

“She deserves to know she was dying because Solomon is a coward.”

“Sebastian, I will not be the reason your sister loses the image of her protective and loving uncle.”

“He was anything but that. I won’t have her speak to you that way. You saved her. For heaven's sake, you saved us all '' Sebastian told her sternly.

“And right now she is a girl who is sad over her Uncle’s death. She should be allowed to do that.” She replied.

“Not at the sake of your good name” he told her.

“We will tell her eventually. Right now I really just want to rest.” She said sadly.

“I have talked to Officer Singer. Tomorrow you will all report to discuss the events of today first thing in the morning. Classes have been canceled. For now you are released to go rest.” Professor Weasley spoke before turning on her heels to discuss with the other professors.

“Let’s get you back to the dorm-“ he spoke and she shook her head.

“Room of requirement. I can’t… I don’t want to face anyone right now” she spoke and he nodded, helping her rise to her feet and start down the stairs to their private sanctuary.

To be continued…

[moondal514]

🪳 for sv perhaps? 👀 and any other AUs u really like!

bug me for fic recs

Thanks for the ask <3. I’ll be honest, it is hard for me to know what counts as an au for SV given the nature of canon and Shen Yuan’s unreliable narration is such that practically anything can plausibly be canon 😂, but I did my best and I hope you enjoy these

🪳 Recommend a great AU!

Celestial Afterglow by elanor_pam/ @elanorpam

Shang Qinghua, also known as Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky, stared flatly at what had once been a field boasting near sect-level Feng Shui alignment, and the drowned, bloated remains of the Sun and Moon Dew Flower cuttings that had sprouted within it. Their plan was now quite literally a wash.

If only he could consult Cucumber Bro on how to save Cucumber Bro! But in the absence of Cucumber Bro, he could but rely on the one plot coupon the infamous Peerless Cucumber had ever applauded.

Canon-divergence au. Um…I’ll be honest idk how to describe this fic, it’s wildly ridiculous but in a way that’s incredibly fitting for the entire vibe of SV and it made me laugh so hard I literally cried

walk through walls into your heart by kitschlet

Fifteen years ago, definitely cishet man Shen Yuan transmigrated into Shen Qingqiu, the female villain of reverse harem novel Proud Immortal Demon Way, and never looked back. Now happily lesbian-married, Shen Qingqiu gets caught in a PIDW plot that makes her actually confront what she wants from her gender and her relationship.

Bingqiu genderbend au. Wherein a wifeplot forces Shen Yuan to contend with the trans implications of the fact that she loves being a woman and it’s a very fun time

demons don't write what they know by ataratah/ @ataratah

As a demoness, Liu Mingyan doesn’t have a lot of first-hand experience with romance. This wouldn’t be a problem if she weren’t in the process of composing a romantic epic for the ages. Luckily, local human gremlin Sha Hualing is here to help.

Purely for the sake of good writing, of course.

Human-demon role-reversal au. Lovely fic about Liu Mingyan’s journey to becoming a published writer (which of course features practice kissing with Sha Hualing, very necessary)

cover me with your green mantle by lavenderandrue/ @lavender-and-rue

There’s a legend about this place. Shen Yuan has heard it a hundred times, a thousand, in different permutations depending on the teller. In some versions, a demon lord with horns and fangs and glowing red eyes roams the wilds, stealing pretty young women from their beds for some nefarious purpose. In others, a powerful fae prince leads the Wild Hunt on moonless nights; those who hear the baying of their hounds may be tempted to join them, never to be seen again. Still others tell of a local man stolen by the fae many years ago for his famed beauty, who is still occasionally spotted leading lost souls out of the forest.

Whoever he is, Shen Yuan thinks he must be lonely.

Ballad of Tam Lin au. This fic is a great example of that lovely flavor of BinggeYuan where Shen Yuan is just so bamboozled by Bing-ge that he ignores all the concerning shit about him and sets about domesticating him and it works and is massively entertaining to read

In Blissful Rush Did Meet by Asymptotical

In a slightly different situation, Tianlang-jun would have been thrilled to play the part of the pregnant lover doted on by the stoic noble that knocked them up.

It's less fun while he thinks the doting might not happen.

TianXi fix-it via mpreg au. Wherein Tianlang-jun being the one to get pregnant instead of Su Xiyan prevents them from falling into the Old Palace Master’s trap

Primal Urges by stranglerfig

A mortal illness infects Cang Qiong Mountain Sect. Pandemonium ensues.

-

“We are cultivators,” Mu Qingfang pronounced gravely, “we are not ruled by our primal urges.”

“But shizun,” said one of his beta disciples, his voice nasally with wax plugs up his nose, cotton mask over his mouth. “Liu shibo has stolen the whole peak’s clean linens!”

Omegaverse au. Prob one of the few gen omegaverse au’s in existence 😂 but it’s so funny and so good

[snakeeyesdraws]

can you do more Mario scenes? I really enjoyed your first post xD

Yes of course! I'm so glad you did, and I'd be more than happy to do some more posts about Mario game scenes!

Now, originally I had thought to keep it to more obscure games, or at least games that aren't talked about as much, like Super Mario 3d world. But I'm very stressed and exhausted at the moment, and I'm indulging with one of my favourite Mario games, so perhaps....

Overly Analyzing Luigi's Mansion 3; Mario Rescue cutscene

All screenshots taken from this video (hence the watermark, sorry, I cant record it myself)

So, in order to rescue Mario, the player has to defeat the hotel owner, Hellen Gravely in her office. Each boss ghost has their own unique animation before being sucked into the Poltergust G-00, and hers is to demand Luigi pause long enough for her to apply her make up. Queen moment, if I'm to be honest.

Luigi also has a celebration animation after he defeats ghosts and bosses, and here he tosses his hat off in celebration. It's such a cute moment; he's been constantly terrified in this haunted hotel, but he's so proud of himself for conquering this particularly scary obstacle!

Now, the main reason I'm looking at this scene today. Luigi uses the Dark-Light feature of the Poltergust to rescue Mario from the portrait he was trapped in. Said portrait was hanging up in Hellen's office, and she used it to taunt Luigi to come fight her to save his brother, I should add.

Mario falls from the painting and is seemingly dazed and confused at first. Unlike in the first game, the portraits here are frozen, unmoving images, so it takes Mario a moment of checking out his body and arms to realize he's free.

The second he looks up at Luigi, though, he instantly lights up. I recommend you check out the scene for yourself, because the way he bounces up and stretches his arms out as he goes "OH YEAH!" is so cute and expressive. They really outdid themselves with the cutscenes in this game.

Mario runs over to Luigi, exclaiming "Way to go, Luigi!" and his joyful energy is immediately returned by Luigi. Luigi spreads his arm, happily exclaiming "Mario!" while Mario jumps into his arms and just. Look at them.

Look at them.

(I had to find a gif of this specific moment because screenshots would not do it justice)

I can't even begin to describe how happy this makes me. Mario jumping right into Luigi's arms like it's so natural and common for them to do, Luigi's leg lifting up as he catches Mario, Luigi holding Mario up for a split second, Luigi's loud "MARIO, hey bro!" it's so tender and wholesome. This is the kinda sibling energy I wanna see with them!

There's so much display and affection and trust on display here in just a few seconds of animation. And there's just something about Luigi being the one to do the hug lifting that's just, so cute. Chefs kiss, no notes, perfect scene.

Luigi sets Mario back down on his feet, and I love that this shot allows us to see Mario's perspective. While this is overall a very joyful and upbeat scene, I think it's nice to also show Mario getting some much needed comfort after his third time being rescued from a portrait in the Luigi's Mansion series, poor guy.

Very briefly, before they step back, Luigi is also shown patting Mario's back with his hand. Again, even though Luigi has navigated this hotel scared out of his mind, the fact that he's shown to be consciously giving his brother some show of comfort is adorable.

Luigi steps back and they both laugh, Mario placing his hand on Luigi's shoulder. They're both equally happy to be reunited! Smaller note, but Luigi appears to be ever so slightly bending his knees, probably to be closer to Mario. Yes the height difference between them really isn't that noticeable, but I'll take what I can get, okay?

For a second, the scene lingers as they simply stare at each other in relief. Then Luigi seems to snap back to it, having a small "wait a minute-" moment as he looks at the camera.

Immediately, Mario's smile drops too, and his hand drops off Luigi's shoulder as he straightens up. You can tell Luigi kinda forget where they were for a moment, probably because of how relieved he was to see Mario again, and now he's remembering that oh yeah, they're kinda stuck in a haunted hotel with a giant Boo that specifically has it out for them.

Luigi grabs Mario by the shoulder and exclaims, "Come on! This way!" clearly referring to Professor E Gadd's lab.

A bit of context for those who haven't played the game; before rescuing Mario, the player rescues the three Toads who also accompanied them on the vacation trip to the hotel, and every time Luigi escorts them to the elevator so they can stay in E Gadd's lab, safe and sound from the ghosts. So we can infer Luigi's immediate thought was to also get Mario there, so he wouldn't be in danger anymore :'3

He keeps his arm on Mario's shoulder, and grabs his other hand to literally start leading him in the direction of the elevator. Which is just.... so precious. Literally "I just got you back and you are not leaving my side until I know you're safe" energy. They care so much about each other guys. I love protective big bro Mario with all my heart, but protective Luigi fretting and worrying over Mario's wellbeing is so special too.

However, unlike the Toads who were more than happy to stay in the safer lab, Mario has other plans.

While wiggling out of Luigi's gripe, Mario corrects him with "Ah ah, ah ah, this way!" and pulls him back into the office. Luigi's confused, and his hand reflexively almost reaches for the Poltergust since they're heading back in the direct of danger (or it could just be his arm swinging back from Mario's pull, but again, over analyzing.)

The camera pans over to reveal the wall with the portrait Mario was trapped in on it.

Mario turns back to Luigi, clearly gung-ho and ready to go. We don't see much of Luigi's face, but I like to think he had an "oh no, not this again-" expression, because he knows exactly what Mario is about to do.

Mario gestures over his shoulder with a "Come on!" and takes off, leaving Luigi to startle and raise his hand. Here we get their classic dynamic; Mario, head strong and determined, running recklessly right into the action, and Luigi, timid and cautious, taking a moment to really sit and think about the situation.

Mario throws himself at the sliding wall and pushes it aside, demonstrating some serious physical strength. That's a pretty thick wall, with a portrait and tv screen on it to boot, but he manages to throw it open fairly easy.

Once past that, we see Mario stumble a bit from the momentum of pushing the wall. He immediately sets himself upright, gesturing again for Luigi to "Come on!" without much of a pause. Again, so much character on display here; Mario is flinging himself right into the action, and while he isn't particularly clumsy, he's practically stumbling from how fast he's pushing himself.

You can read this as that's simply in Mario's heroic nature - to run right into danger without so much as a second thought - but you can also read it as him being ecstatic to be out of that portrait. Even though he knows at this point that King Boo is waiting for them and Princess Peach still needs saving, he's still smiling and urging Luigi to follow him, like they're on an adventure. This is much more his speed, as opposed to being the one needing a rescue.

So Mario opens the door, not bothering to actually wait for Luigi, and continues on ahead. I read it as a bit of his impulsiveness with charging ahead, and also as trust that Luigi will follow him anywhere - albeit at his own pace.

For a split second, Luigi hesitates with a confuse "Mario?". Even though he knows his brother, he probably wasn't expecting Mario to bounce back so quickly. But hey, if his brother is still willing to forge on ahead even though he just escaped a trapped portrait, Luigi can't hold himself back either, can he?

He grabs his flashlight and exclaims a energized "Okay!". Again, keep in mind that this whole game, Luigi has been terrified out of his wits and scared of every obstacle in his way. But now having his brother back has him grinning and ready to face the challenges up ahead. The way they inspire courage in each other can actually be so personal-

Even though Luigi's Mansion 3 came out first, and the two don't really have a lot of connections outside of being based on the same property, I can't help but connect the new movie's "Nothing can hurt us, as long as we're together!" theme to this scene here.

Such a good scene, great animation and personality on display. Literally my only complaint is that I want more of well thought out cutscenes in Super Mario games in general.

Oh, and more bro hugs. Definitely more bro hugs.

[da-xiao-jie]

haven't posted about cdramas in a bit, but I've been burning through The Legend of Shen Li this week and while I've been enjoying the slower pace while plot threads gather in the background, the romantic aspect, the not so subtle discussion of fate and responsibility, etc. something popped up around EP 33ish and now I have to rant about it.

(Spoiler warning)

The biggest obstacle to Shen Li and Xing Zhi is the fact that He's a divine Immortal and as the last one left, he has a responsibility to protect the three realms without using his powers for selfish purposes.

At the same time, Xing Zhi is lonely and bored and utterly isolated by being the last of his kind so he's definitely a sympathetic character.

Right up until, having saved Shen Li and nursed her back to health, finally returning to the heavenly realm, Xing Zhi brings her to his realm and proceeds to basically imprison Shen Li there where she won't get hurt

and. like.

this is what gets me. the whole show builds up to this. Shen Li is engaged to someone else, but after leaving the human realm, she acknowledges her duty and tries to convince herself to focus on what her role ought to be. Xing Zhi on the other hand can't help but tease and fluster Shen Li, keeping her emotions entangled with him and keeping her from her duty. She calls him out on this and he tries to course correct several times only to fall back into bad habits again later.

at the end of the day, Xing Zhi's love for Shen Li is selfish. he's lonely and bored and here comes this captivating woman who loves him! but when she matures a little and sees that she can't be with him for the sake of the world, she tries to back away and stay focused on her duty, to her realm, her soldiers, etc. And! without! fail! Xing Zhi drags her back. until finally, having recovered from torture and regaining her powers, she's determined to return to her realm and resume her responsibilities and see her people after being presumed dead and what does he do? he traps her. against her principles. why? to keep her forever for himself.

the most telling and frustrating thing is a conversation where Shen Li says, "this relationship isn't the sole reason for my existence." talking about how she loves him, wants to be with him, but also needs to be with and protect her people. to which Xing Zhi replies, "Not the sole reason, but a reason for your existence." So the audience is relieved for all of 10 seconds before, in response to Shen Li claiming that she is not his pet bird that he can't keep her in a cage, Xing Zhi proceeds to cage her.

I just—

I would root for them much more if there was some sense of duty on his part instead of him continually pulling her away from hers. Like, yeah it's unfair, we get that. However love is not selfish. It needs to be selfless or it just becomes possessive obsession.

i haven't finished yet. Still have 5-6 episodes to go, but I needed to rant for a sec

might post again about this one, but who knows?

[raygirlramblings]

oh look it’s another Captain Laserhawk discussion, who’d have thunk it.

This time I want to go into detail about something which has been bugging me for a while and which I’ve yet to get a decent explanation for. The eternal question of WHO WAS PHONE?

More specifically, who was it who messaged Rayman to direct him to seek out Bullfrog at the courthouse?

Spoilers and discussion under the cut:

So, the general consensus amongst fans and viewers falls into 2 camps of who the mysterious voice was. People seem to think it was either the board of Directors who control Rayman and Eden (who we will call The Templars here just because it fits in universe), and the other half say it was The Warden aka Sarah Fisher acting on her own volition without the knowledge of her fellow Templars. People base this seemingly on the fact the call seemed to come from the Directors based on the image we see on Rayman’s screen matching those from his precious conversations.

Personally, I think neither of these options make any sense.

Firstly the Templars. Their plan seems to be (from the view of people who assume the message is from them) is that it’s a trap to lure Rayman to Red so they can capture him. This is RIDICULOUS and such a convoluted and messy plan. If the Templars wanted to capture Rayman they didn’t need to lure him out of his apartment with some vague message. He was alone and vulnerable in his apartment wasting away on booze and cocaine. And you know FOR SURE Eden has cameras trained on their mascot boy at all times of the day. The idea they would need some ridiculous trap to capture him is ludicrous.

Moreover I don’t believe the Templars even knew where Rayman was going when he went to see Bullfrog. When Red arrives he says ‘I've been looking everywhere for you’. Why would he say this if luring Rayman to Bullfrog was the Templar’s plan? If it was their plan why wasn’t Red in the room with Bullfrog to capture Rayman immediately? They didn’t need to leave him to have some long, mind opening convo with Bullfrog; if anything that made things exponentially worse for them as it was the straw that broke Rayman enough to become Ramon and kill them all (which again, the Templars are SURPRISED BY).

So no, I don’t believe the ‘seek the frog’ message came from the Templars.

But what about Sarah Fisher?

Again we have to think what her motivation is for pointing Rayman in the direction of Bullfrog. What does she have to gain from doing this? Sarah wanted access to the Wasteland VR setup, and if Eden launches its attack on the Wasteland it could destroy that. She wanted to get to Marcus Holloway and seize control of the system.

Rayman does not factor into her plan in any way. Neither did Bullfrog. She had Laserhawk and that was part of her key to get to Holloway. Everyone else was expendable.

‘But maybe she wanted Rayman to take out the rest of the Templars!’

How would she be able to predict that?! She would have had to know EXACTLY what Bullfrog was going to say to Rayman, how it would affect Ray’s psyche, assume Red would blow his mission to capture Rayman, and assume Rayman had access to enough firepower and skill to get to the Templars and kill them. THERE WAS LITERALLY NO WAY SHE COULD PREDICT ANY OF THAT.

Hell, she got LUCKY that Dolph had a change of heart and attempted to return to the city to save Bullfrog, and in turn he ran into the army heading to the Wasteland and wrecked them all in spite of her attempts to sabotage his robot parts. If he had stayed in the VR beach paradise or had died being crushed by Red in his mech the army would have swarmed the facility and EVERYONE WOULD HAVE PROBABLY DIED.

Sarah’s plan is purely based on luck and the fact that Marcus showed mercy to her. The idea she was a puppet master for a completely random set of events surrounding her goal is ridiculous. Sure it worked out perfectly for her in the end as the only surviving Templar but I still refuse to believe she planned for that. Her ultimate end goal was the VR facility, not power over the Templars. Once she had the VR facility she would have found a way to take out her fellow Templars without Ramon's help.

So if it wasn’t Sarah Fisher or the Templars then WHO WAS PHONE?

Thankfully we have some suggestions which actually make sense in the grander scheme of the world, but they do rely on a little theory crafting which sets up for S2.

For me there are 3 possible people who could have been on that call posing as the Templars.

1 - Marcus Holloway

2 - Sam Fisher

3 - Alex Taylor

Marcus Holloway is an easy one. As a master Hacker who has been breaking into Eden’s systems for decades I can imagine he has some methods of getting into the systems and pretending to be whoever he wants to be. The only reason he didn't do it sooner is that Rayman was constantly protected by Eden so any attempts to get to him would have been pointless. But after his TV freakout and being replaced it's a perfect time for Marcus to get to him and try and undermine the Templar's control.

'Oh but how would Marcus know about any of what happened with Rayman if the Templars just replaced him?'.

How would Marcus know about anything that happened with Dolph, Alex, Sarah, the Ghosts or anything else the happened in Eden if he wasn't there? He's a master Hacker, we can assume he has ways.

But why? I'm assuming primarily because using Eden's own propaganda pawn to undermine them is wildly poetic to Marcus. Maybe there is some empathy for Rayman here but much like Sarah he had no idea to what lengths Rayman/Ramon's mental breakdown would go. It worked out for him in the end though with the Templars being massacred.

Sam Fisher relies a little more on speculation. In the post credits scene of the final episode we see Dolph chatting to Sam in a digital void. There is some suggestion that the world we are seeing is not real. A Matrix world with reset abilities. This would explain a lot of things which could easily have been deaths turning out to be fine (Red being a clear example, also Dolph being shot at point blank range by Alex and surviving).

If Sam does have some kind of 'overseer' position this gives him access to far more information than anyone else. He could foresee the only way out for Bullfrog being at Rayman/Ramon's hands as Dolph was too far away and everyone else was dead. A little bit of manipulation of Rayman's fragile psyche in this matrix world would be easy for someone with a birds eye view that Sam could have.

But this is PURE SPECULATION.

As is the idea that Alex Taylor is responsible...seeing as he's dead. But before he died he took over most of Pagan Min's men and their connections. Either he set up the plan to be enacted in the event of his death or he has some similar kind of setup Sam has. After all, Alex's opening of the dimension X portal allowing the Rabbids in is what lead to Rayman's freak out at Red on TV, leading to his replacement. Alex seems to have some grander picture in mind for Eden before his death, and as violent and ridiculous as it is it does tie into his desire for chaos. The shaking up of the entire Eden system seems to reach beyond just screwing with the populace. Much like Marcus, the concept of using Rayman against the Templars would be part of the complete chaos Alex is looking for. With the Templars dead there is a power vacuum.

I know this one is a bit of a stretch but to be brutally honest I'll accept Alex toying with things from beyond the grave before I accept that the Templars sent Rayman to Bullfrog in an attempt to contain him XD

So yeah, those are my ridiculously long thoughts regarding the WHO WAS PHONE mystery. You are welcome to wildly disagree with me or point out my lack of logic as you see fit XD Also point out if I missed some important plotpoint :3

Heck there's an argument to be made that the message came from someone we've not met yet, or another member of the Templars working alone, but we have nothing to confirm this yet. Hopefully if we get a season 2 all will be revealed!