#she may have also told him that she’ll have to ‘‘cut it off’’ and realizes too late that he didn’t know she meant his sock

[theridgebeyond]

Forget what I said about fluff scenes, medical emergencies are my new favorite thing to write.

[spicemaidenfic]

How do they feel about dress-up? 🦸

Featuring the OG Avengers + Loki. Written from a bi woman's perspective. NSFW under the cut! ⚠️🔞

Tony Stark

Tony Stark is Iron-Man, but also believes that if you’re nothing without the suit, you shouldn’t have it. It’s never actually occurred to him to fuck you with it on. Approach him about it and he’ll probably give you a look and tease you about being such a kinky girl, but he’ll oblige you (nanotech makes it easy). He may or may not be thinking inwardly that he finds your being into that a little weird, if he’d never tell you so. Maybe if you put on the little suit he made you for your birthday one year and start bossing him around a bit, he’ll start to get it.

Steve Rogers

Steve would laugh and shake his head if you told him you wanted him to wear the Cap suit to bed. Once he realized you were serious, he’d oblige you, and maybe even be kind enough to throw in a cheeky “I could do this all day,” but he’d find the whole thing too cheesy to bust out the costume any more often than very occasionally. Maybe you can come to some kind of a Fourth of July arrangement. What Steve would really like? You telling him how good you think he looks in uniform—the other uniform, which has come back into his possession, and which he would make love to you in readily, if only you would ask.

Thor

Thor loves his Asgardian get-up just as much as the next Asgardian guy. Makes him feel like a hero. Yes of course he’ll fuck you in full dress! Of course. Of course. It’ll make for a fun change of pace from his default buck naked.

Loki

If you've gotten to the point with Loki where you're both fully in the nude when you fuck, that's when you know he's officially fallen for you. Tell him you kinda miss the armor, and he’ll understand. He'll call you a wanton wench, or something similar, but he'll understand. "Did you also want me to wear the horns, lambkin?"

Bruce Banner

You think the Hulk is hot? That’s flattering…and a little weird. Look, Bruce has hulked-off before, as Smart Hulk, if you must know, and in his opinion it’s just not worth the clean-up. Fine, he’ll do it on you once, just to prove to you what color it is. If you want to play dress-up, he’d honestly rather fuck you in his glasses and trusty lab coat, and he wouldn’t say no to you calling him “Dr. Banner” for a change.

Black Widow

Natasha has a traumatic history with the catsuit, but she’ll be able to compartmentalize that when you confess that you find it sexy on her. She knows how good she looks, and she’s liable to give you a smirk that says as much. Tell her you want to play spy and have her take you down with some karate then fuck you with a strap-on? That’ll give her pause for about two seconds, then she’ll head promptly to the closet. But what would get Nat really hot? You trying to undress her when she’s just got off a job. But don’t go all the way with it. She’d love it if you’d unzip her just enough that you can play with her nipples. That suit is tight, and she’ll be able to get a good amount of friction down below just by rocking her hips with it on (ask her how she knows). It might even be enough for her to come, if you’re helping her along.

Hawkeye

Clint will laugh in your face when you make the request. Then he’ll have the audacity to say, “Oh baby, I thought you’d never ask.” Get ready for some dirty archery wordplay, because he’s making the most of this opportunity.

gif sources: x, x, x, x, x, x, x

[kekaki-cupcakes]

Hi luv! May I req for Leo falling for a mischievous (cat-like personality) demigo (maybe ares, idk) after she beats him while sparring so he continuously asks her to spar just to spend more time together (and maybe she knows it and just plays along, maybe tells him she’ll go on a date with him once he beats her?). Idk this was just an idea, thought I got. Do not feel pressured or anything obvs!

Heya this has been in my inbox for a while and I finally got a good idea lol cause I don't wanna be posting half assed WIP's. [this is also combined with a request for Leo Valdez x daughter of Athena reader I got a while ago btw]

Enjoy <3

love is stronger then everything [except Clarrise, of course] ---Leo V x Daughter of Athena reader

»»————-　★　————-««

Leo was a mastermind. 

Like, obviously you were the daughter of Athena, but he was the one behind it all. He was just… so smart.  It was unbelievable sometimes. Not to be big headed or anything, he was just the most intelligent person in the room.

Well, in this scenario, it wasn’t the room, it was the arena. And that’s about where his cunning brain cells decided to sit on the bench and do their nails with Piper. 

He’d tell them off later, if he ever survived the sharp eyed sharp edged girl in front of him who was somehow holding a war axe made of solid imperial gold over her shoulder like it was nothing. The sight of your arms distracted him of his incoming death momentarily, but then you just had to open your mouth. “

“Valdez, are you gonna spar with me, or was the six step official challenge at breakfast with a disco ball and three tonnes of strawberries for nothing?” 

“Four tonnes, actually,” he managed to squeak out, and then shifted his grip on the sword he’d borrowed from Jake, who’d only laughed in his face when Leo told him he’d challenged you.

Judging by the way you fiddled with your camp beads necklace and then swung the smooth golden axe stained with something remarkably similar to human blood, Jake was right. Leo gulped and stepped back, ready to scramble out of the way and clang his too big sword against the edges of the axe he only just realized were sharp enough to cut through bone. 

You seemed to pity him as well, which Leo didn’t appreciate, but at least you gave him a few extra seconds to scramble out of the way.

A moment later there was sand in his eyes churned up by your sneakers, the ones with little green string snakes as laces. He vaguely remembered snakes being a symbol of Athena, only that thought was scrapped when he had to step back to avoid having his skull split in half. 

Piper cheered sarcastically and passed Jason a leftover strawberry from this morning’s events. 

You spun around and the axe made a crater in the sawdust covered ground. Leo turned and half heartedly swung his hammer at your shoulder, but you dipped back and knocked it out of his hands in less then a second, leaving him defenseless. 

Leo launched himself backwards and felt his shoe skid on the ground, sawdust billowing up into his vision as gravity decided to ruin his day, and his dignity. 

He was contemplating just falling asleep right then and there, when a gray sliver appeared in front of him. He had to cross his eyes to identify the metal poking his nose as the tip of your war axe. Leo just got comfy on the ground, resting his hands beneath his head as you glared. 

Apparently you weren’t satisfied with the early defeat, gray eyes narrowed as you snapped. “What on Olympus was that, Valdez?”

“Me fighting?” He asked hopefully, squinting up as the sun angled itself behind you. He brushed away the thought that it made you look a bit like an angel, despite the frown on your face and the weapon at his throat. 

“Well you aren’t any good at it, so don’t bother,” you said, hooking the axe over your shoulder and marching off. “I have to go help Beth with the capture the flag plans.”

Leo huffed, blowing a strand of his curly brown hair out of his face and grinning up at the roof, which swirled a little. He might’ve bumped his head a little too hard, now that he thought about it. 

Then another face swam in front of him and Piper popped a bubble that smelt vaguely of grapes. She looked towards where you’d disappeared out the arena’s swinging double doors. “What in the ever loving fucknuggets was that, Valdez?”

“I liked their version better,” Leo grumbled, and sat up slowly, feeling his bones groan internally at him. “And it’s not my fault their fit. And strong. ANd have a huge weapon. And pretty eyes. And-”

“And a nice ass?” 

“Yep, especially in those camo pan- why are you looking at their ass?” Leo asked suspiciously. Taking a hand from Piper to get up properly. He stretched his arms above his head and tried to stop thinking about your butt. It didn’t really work very well, and then his thoughts skipped along to your thighs and the really cool scar along one and he missed half of what Jason was saying in between the smile he was trying to hide. 

That didn’t matter very much though, because Leo was struck with the best idea in the history of children born of the literal ideas god. Well, maybe that was Athena, not Hephestus, but your parents were a problem for later. Way later. Like when you’d decided Leo was more than just a rock stuck in your shoe.  

That was something he could work on though. 

He just had to impress you so much that you’d agree to go out with him. Building something cool would be the immediate option, but he built cool things everyday. It wasn’t easy, per-say, but it wasn’t a date-worthy achievement.  

Piper snapped her fingers in front of his face and Leo jerked his head back, “huh? Sorry I was just thinking…”

“About what? Finally giving up on-”

“Imma single handedly win capture the flag!”

»»————-　★　————-««

You handed out the last of the helmets, blue plumes dotting the crowd of demigods jostling around and yelling about lice and how their butterfly clips wouldn’t fit underneath the bronze. 

You chose to ignore those ones and turned back to the little canvas tent someone had dragged out from Bunker 9 to set up base in, even though it couldn’t be used during the actual game. You weren’t actually sure what the point of it was, but Clarrise deemed it necessary, and you decided not to argue with her, in the interest of living.

The Athena cabin had managed to swoop in and ally with the Ares cabin before Connor got there, so you managed to rein in the help of Butch and his siblings [which meant that the Red team would have quite a few problems involving pegasi droppings in the hours to come], the two twins of Nike, the Dionysus and Hebe kids, as well as the smattering of Aphrodite kids that were ready to get blood under their perfectly done nails. A few of them seemed too happy about that prospect, but Drew had heart shaped arrows and Charmspeak, so you ignored the fact Lacey was singing about chopping off heads. 

Annabeth propped her sneakers up on the table, smudging mud on the map of the forest as she did so, to tie up her laces. “So, we’ve got puddles of pegasi shit under the leaves, I asked Holly and Laurel who could make the most nets so we’ll have enough to trap most of the Hermes cabin under by the time we start, and then Clarrise and her lot can just heavily maim the rest.”

“Nice,” you noted, and pushed the coloured pins for each demigod wiping blue warpaint across their cheeks around the map to their places. “We’re against Will’s dickwits, so they’ll do that thing and keep the sun behind them to blind everyone on our team.”

Annabeth fiddled with her camp necklace and glared at the map. “ And what are we supposed to do to counter that? Ask Apollo to take the day off??

“Start handing out sunglasses.”

Someone dragged a bucking gray pegasi through the opening to the canvas tent and chaos broke out, Butch yelling orders at a group of Dionysus kids who began feeding the freaked out mare shiraz. 

You turned away before you were lumped with the task of dealing with them, and reached for your axe. A sticky note fell off, the yellow paper floating to the ground. 

Hi hi so if i win capture the flag by myself then will you go out with me also i cant ask you this in person because jasons teaching me how to use a sword and im about to run out of sticky note and now ive forgotten what i was trying to say

The note ended there, and you frowned, trying to ignore the twitch at your lips when you turned the greasy crinkled paper over. 

right yeah this is leo by the way you probably already figured that out cause no one else is smart enough to beat all of camp to go out with you the flying horse distraction was my idea too by the way im a genius you should definitely go out with me okay now im out of pa

“Who’s the person?”

You nearly decapitated Drew in that moment. You lowered your axe and shoved the note in the back of your pocket that you only just remembered wasn’t there, courtesy of the armor you’d donned. “What are you talking about?”

“The love note,” she insisted with a curious smirk, lipgloss shining. “They sounded pretty excited and now you’re making that face oh my god you actually like them back!” 

“Do not!” You snapped back, tightening your shoulder guard and hefting your bloodied axe over you shoulder. The pegasi was led out of the tent as you shooed Drew in the same direction. “Now go back to your station, we’re starting in five.”

She squinted at you for a second, then her eyes widened as he jaw dropped. “Leo!”

You blinked, wrinkling your nose. “Okay how did you even-”

“Seeya later!” Drew called over her shoulder, skipping away with Butch to find her section of the woods to patrol, her assigned heart shaped sunglasses slipping down her nose. 

You narrowed your eyes at her retreating figure, but then one of Clarisse's sisters was wondering if the no killing rule had changed in the last four minutes and you were promptly distracted. 

»»————-　★　————-««

“Why don’t you just run along there and turn Travis into a toddler for me?” You asked a son of Hebe who nodded solemnly and disappeared into the trees. Light dappled the leaves on the ground and once you’d ordered around the rest of the soldiers in training, the bellowing horn sounded. 

A tense silence filled the woods, no one daring to make the first move and startle the spies out of their trees and the runners from their starting places. You pushed the cat eyed sunglasses up your nose and adjusted your sweaty grip on the axe, which must have weighed as much as the Hebe boy you’d just sent on his way. 

Blue streaked the sky behind the clouds, but the blue you were concerned about fluttered peacefully in the wind from where the flag had been nestled in Zeus’s fist. 

From what you’d planned, the Nike twins should be hiding in the two pine trees in font of you that had grown on either side of the track you knew the red team would take, nets between them ready to trap the enemy. Drew was placed behind you with her bow and arrows, ready to take down anyone that made it past Holly and Laurel. 

And if the lucky little fucker made it any further, you had your axe ready.

The rest of your team, save the Ares kids bordering the river, who were ready to maim but not kill, were causing a distraction that included a lot of grapevines and a reenactment of the Hamilton Musical [the second half was to be acted out at the campfire later that night]. It was sure to distract the Apollo cabin while  Annabeth donned her blue Yankees hat and snuck through. 

The only way it could go wrong at this point, is if a certain fluffy haired pointy eared son of Hephestus went through with his sticky note proposition and burned down the entire woods. 

Considering the fact he’d challenged you to a duel four times this week, you wouldn’t be surprised. Not that you minded. His concentrating face was sort of cute, especially when he stuck his tongue out a little and that time you’d pinned him to the sawdust covered ground you’d realized he actually had a few little freckles along his nose. 

And he really liked strawberries. That you could admire. 

Okay, maybe you looked forward to whatever proposition he’d set up at breakfast each day, but it mainly had to do with the presents. And definitely not that grin he’d get when you agreed.

If he won this game of capture the flag, which was impossible for one demigod anyway, and you did go out with him, you’d get to see that smile times one thousand. It sort of made you want him to win.

Then you shook the thought from your helmet cladden head. Your team was going to win this, and you’d stab Leo yourself to do so. 

Lightly, though. 

He still had that crackly laugh you could place from across the dining pavilion, you couldn’t kill him. It made your brain melt for a moment, which wasn’t something a daughter of Athena needed. But, he was a certified genius. Maybe that would even it out. 

»»————-　★　————-««

“Where the fuck is Drew?” You yelled into the forest around you, but only the crickets and startled squawking birds answered. Metal clanged and the crickets were silenced when your Axe thudded against a tree, handle first. 

Austin smirked, and his bow knocked into your shoulder hard enough to leave a bruise you could already feel forming. 

You ducked another blow and stumbled back, stumbling a tight ring around the sun of Apollo to get back to your weapon, glancing around the clearing as you did so. Holly and Laurel were nowhere to be seen, and there were certainly no nets to help you out in the one on one ambush. 

You’d been waiting around for some action when suddenly there was a lot but still not enough, because apparently everyone on the blue team had decided they’d rather fall asleep in their stations than help you. Even without them you could hold up your own, grabbing your axe and swinging it around at Austin when he came back for seconds. The arrow in his hand seemed less scary once his bow was in two splintered pieces at your feet.

He stepped back, face falling, and the daisies crushed underfoot sprung back into their slightly crumpled places when he backed away properly, turning to where the blue flag was still untouched on the top of Zeus’s fist. 

You paused, lowering the axe in confusion once he called out to nothing, “Oi! Move it loverboy, I’m running out of time!” 

Then you froze, because of course somehow, against all odds, a panting Leo was clambering up the highest point with the red flag in one tightly closed hand and a second later he was holding the blue one above his head victoriously as well, a stupidly wide grin on his cute face. 

He let out a yelp as pebbles began to slide around his feet but then you couldn’t see him anymore, pushed to the back of the crowd by a stampede of yelling demigods brandishing weapons.

It took you a second to realize they were cheers and not war cries [the difference was hard to make out most of the time], so you weaved through some Hermes kids who were chatting animatedly and a Demeter girl with a stump where her arm had been. Will rushed along behind you to her side once you’d gotten past both teams of the now over capture the flag game. 

“What the fuck is this?” You yelled up at Leo, who sent you a double thumbs up and then began hopping down the pile of boulders, the flags now held with his crooked teeth.

You squinted up at him, watching his green army jacket get caught on an overhanging branch and then when he jumped down finally, you were there to cross your arms and glare at him.

“Sup?” he smirked, holding his hands behind his back and rocking on his feet. “Did you get my note?”

Apparently he guessed your answer through your facial expression and then held up the flags like an offering. You ignored a fatal sounding screech from an Aphrodite boy in the distance as Leo chewed his lip. “So…. I won!” 

“And how, exactly?” 

Leo glanced to the side, and you followed his gaze to a smirking daughter of Aphrodite, who’s hoop earrings shined with blood that definitely wasn’t hers, judging from Drew’s satisfied expression. He then pulled out another crumpled up sticky note from his jacket, which was stained with something dark. He read out in a stilted tone, “I have to make a flamethrower, a chariot with poison shooting arrows, a two real life hoverboards, about thirty pairs of water, lava, and acid proof headphones, and a few jetpacks.”

“Right,” you muttered, tilting your head at Leo.

 He blinked obliviously at you and tucked away his extensive list, probably not able to hear you speak over the yelling crowds that bustled around carrying bandages and broken weapons, already busying themselves with the aftermath of the set up blood-bath.  

“It was worth it,” he shrugged, “but I’ll be stuck in bunker nine for the rest of the my life.”

“Maybe you can take a day off.” You unfolded your arms, resigned to the fact all of Camp Halfblood was about to witness this. Then you stepped forwards a little and leant in to whisper in his pointed ear. “...Y’know, for our date.” 

Leo blinked.

“Someone get the Leo extinguisher!” A Hebe kid yelled, and there was a general uproar of chaos from everyone but you weren’t really paying attention because Leo had patted down his flaming torso quickly, only that didn’t change the color of his face back to normal.

He narrowed his eyes, but the grin had never faded and you could see his fingers tapping along his thighs a thousand miles an hour. “You serious?”  

You nodded.

“DID YA HEAR THAT?” He yelled at the crowd of teenagers, cupping his mouth with a scarred hand, “I GOT A HOT DATE YALL!” 

“Don’t make me regret it,” you muttered back, rolling your eyes, but when Leo smiled up at you you knew you’d never regret it, so instead you just smiled back, shoving your hands in your pockets while Piper started screaming from Jason’s shoulders. 

Leo clapped his hands eagerly, “great, now you gotta carry me.”

“That’s cringe.”

“I’m being serious,” he said and held his arms up so you could grab him bridal style. You paused for a moment and then resigned yourself to the fact this might be the rest of your life. It wasn’t too bad, you realized, when Leo wrapped his arms around your neck and pointed in the direction of Will triumphantly. “Forward, sexy steed!” 

“One, if you ever call me that again, I will literally throw you off a cliff, and two, why do we have to get to WIll?” You asked as you carried him through the crowd in the direction of the stressed out blonde anyway.

“Cause Clarrise stabbed me in exchange for letting me win.”

»»————-　★　————-««

[mewtwo24]

MAWS - An Allegory for Autism, too?

God like…there have been so many amazing posts about maws right now, and I don’t want to detract from any of them because I absolutely agree with how powerful an allegory the show is in regards to being an immigrant/alien.

But at the same time I just. I have been literally losing my mind at how autistic Clark feels. And at this point I can’t tell if I’m seeing things that aren’t there or he really is just so god damn ‘tism it makes his experiences of being othered two- and triplefold.

Like. Okay. He keeps acting on what he thinks is just or morally right in the moment, but sometimes struggles to see the social signals (or bigger picture) that might indicate somebody is deceiving him. If he does realize he’s being deceived, he does the right thing anyway even if it’s to his detriment--because he can’t accept looking away from a problem he might have resolved. Helping someone, no matter how difficult or unreasonable.

Okay.

When he’s trying to protect himself from Lois. He tells the truth in the most evasive way humanly possible, and because he thinks she’ll find him dashing from saving people he comes off as dissembling. He is convinced that he has charmed her to no end with his alter ego since he’s Such A Super Cool Strong Normal Guy as Superman, and that she couldn’t possibly be suspicious any longer because he told the truth. Lois wants to throttle him for lying. He has no idea as to why that is--and is openly surprised that she’s upset.

This is not even touching the fact that he lived for YEARS with Jimmy and literally destroyed stuff in front of him by accident, and never once thought Jimmy knew some shit was going on with him. Jimmy, being subtle and considerate, didn’t snitch because he was a homie. Clark does not notice in the slightest. ‘IT COULD HAVE BEEN THE SCREWS’ ASS.

This also not touching on the “How did you know you were bulletproof?” “I didn’t. I just knew you weren’t.” Despite pervasive signs that his powers weren’t operating as they should in that area. Despite knowing Lois was still upset with him and may not forgive him, could hurt him with what she knew.

Okay.

I'm going to put the rest under a cut because I never go on short tangents:

In a lot of New Age illegitimate medicine and psychological constructs, autistics are often conceptualized as people with ‘special powers’ or religious enlightenment in accordance with some manifestations of their disability. Clark’s superspeed and strength and heat vision can EASILY be seen as an extension of that. However, what I really want to talk about is the latest episode’s super hearing. 

Most autistics have sensory issues, both with textures but also with hearing. A very common surprise for undiagnosed individuals, for example, is that they use music and headphones to stim in a more socially acceptable way. Particularly loud noises or constant loud chatter can cause distress otherwise, and having constant meltdowns/catatonia reactions isn’t feasible for survival. 

Of all his powers that might be a weakness I think it is a fascinating--and honestly, deliberate--choice that speaks volumes (please pardon the pun). Because that’s the horrible thing about having sensory overload with your hearing; you don’t always have a choice as to what you’re subjected to. Ear-piercing alarms can flare at any moment, people can play what they consider harmless pranks, or day to day fighting to focus can make every sound feel like nails on a chalkboard from the overstimulation. 

While Clark is able to distinguish voices if he knows what to look for, lack of sleep and rest tremendously weaken his ability to focus. I noticed that as the episode wore on, there was a distinct and exponential progression. At first, when he overdid it and didn’t sleep for a day or so, he still managed to operate without hurting himself or risking others. But as he kept pushing himself without rest to answer every cry for help, he grew progressively and sharply overwhelmed. He quickly became overstimulated by the mounting flurry of oncoming stimuli (e.g. the truck about to hit someone, dodging people around him, the relentless super hearing flooding in) and began to react in ways that were careless and random. 

Though his powers appear supernatural and inexhaustible, we are forced to face the fact that he still possesses hard limits. Even if autistics seem more capable than NTs at points, there is a reason “high-functioning” became an obsolete terminology with which to differentiate people on the spectrum ‘who seemed to be above average’. Because just as we see Clark forcing himself to exert his superpowers until his body collapses to prove he is good, autistics also push themselves to be useful/helpful/amenable/inobtrusive in order to be accepted as something not other/monstrous.

(Please note, by the way, towards the end of the newest episode--his power comes out in a flash of blue, overpowering light as the last of his strength begins to wane. A surefire sign that he was truly at the end of his endurance before he’s knocked unconscious.)

The fact that Clark starts to learn how to listen in for people so fast, but also doesn’t think to tune them out (if he can) adds even more to the first point too. Because he can’t turn it off in full, it means he has no way to ignore people who are hurting no matter how small--and for him that places the cognitive burden of making a choice. And he can’t choose not to help people.

Okay.

Clark’s incipient refusal to discover more about himself, the sheer overwhelmed look he had as a child--but also as an adult--at the prospect of having to rewrite and re-evaluate everything he thought he knew about himself. There is no excitement, no positive anticipation. When he chooses to face it, it’s because he perceives a kind of responsibility to better understand/control his powers to help more people. And it’s because his friends support him that he ever finds the will to do it. He has no desire to acknowledge or define his otherness head-on. (Once again, he can only act with courage on behalf of others and/or to ultimately win their acceptance.) 

GOD. AND. AND how he tells Lois how much she made him “come out of his shell” and forced him to face the world, to stop living in his formerly simple bubble. How autistics instinctively hate breaks in routine and the unknown and the horrible ordeal of change, especially if they have trauma linked to it. But he was trying because yeah, as people we need new and varying stimuli to be happy and healthy. To be alive is to change, whether one likes it or not. 

How part of the reason Lois is so dear to him is because she makes him feel capable and safe when he has to face the truth of his difference and change. (THIS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LATEST EPISODE. “CLARK, JUST TRY TO BE NORMAL”. I’M EATING MY SHIRT. THE ENDLESS OSCILLATION BETWEEN HIS DESPERATION TO BE NORMAL BUT ALSO STRIVE FOR MORE, AND HOW LOIS ANSWERS BOTH THOSE WARRING CALLS WITHIN HIM JUST BY BEING HERSELF.)

SCREAMS.

Okay.

The most recent episode being a direct result of Lois and Jimmy’s acceptance of his alter ego Superman. Because of course Superman is the preferred variation of himself. Everyone loves Superman. Everyone finds him cool and heroic and dazzling. Jimmy gets social media acclaim that he enjoys from it. Lois has a Cool Guy Boyfriend, and she told him outright she thinks he’s amazing in the last episode when he complained about being weird.

Why go back to being Clark? Under the unending burden of his new super hearing, he seems to be so drowned in voices that he forgets a very important one: Lois. She loved him as Clark long before Superman existed, the lumbering gentle giant who always treated people with dignity and respect was more than enough for her to fall in love. And that’s why it’s so poignant, but also so unbelievably devastating when she asks him to be normal in the newest episode.

Because what she was trying to say was “Please stop overexerting yourself, you’re hurting yourself. This is only going to end badly if you don’t rest and think about how you want to move forward. You’re enough as you are. You’re enough as Clark Kent.” She was trying to tell him that Superman isn’t all that matters, that Superman is a person with feelings and needs and vulnerabilities, just like anyone else. 

What makes this miscommunication so powerful to me is that it’s clear Clark’s ability to differentiate has become confused ever since Lois and Jimmy accepted him. How much of him is Clark, how much of him is Superman? Before, when he had decided Superman was too much for him to handle and something that needed to stay hidden, he knew how to behave day to day. But now that the aforementioned operating precept has been dismantled by their acceptance, what is his blueprint now? To be freed of his chains, but to be too afraid to leave the cage--he becomes so openly and rapidly lost. It was easier when he didn’t have to choose or think about it.

Okay.

Like. I can see how it could be construed as a result of his inexperience, right? He’s never met intergalactic beings, so how would he know? He only just unlocked his powers as Superman, so of course he’s clumsy about it. He wasn’t a born fighter or a trained one, so of course he’s going to be a little green when he’s in combat.

But that’s the thing for me. It’s not that he doesn’t always have the time to re-evaluate, or strategize, or notice he’s being deceived. He just has such an unwavering sensibility, this one-track sense of “I am strong. So I must protect. And to do that I need to act.” And a lot of times this is as far as his thinking goes. And if that isn’t the most autistic shit imaginable, I’m really not sure what is. 

The overshot clumsiness of his movements and occasional awkwardness, how he’s learned to smooth that over by being helpful to people or meek to be accepted. Like. I swear to god this show is going to kill me. 

So much of the reason he tanked so badly in this episode was because he was using a broken coping mechanism to its absolute extreme. And instead of listening to his bodily and mental signals that he could no longer sustain helping every single person in the world, he just forces himself to push through. He’s so desperate to prove he’s a good person and belong, he doesn’t notice that it’s literally destroying him from the inside. 

The mask that is Superman, and the unmasking that is the mindful and imperfect Clark Kent. That everyone adores Superman and wants him to fulfill their every need, no matter what it costs him to be that person. The fact that the moment they learn he’s an alien or see the raw extent of his power (pushed to unsustainable limits in desperation) he becomes a horrible, inhuman threat and a monster. The fact that it’s his friends and his family who see him unmasked as Clark and love him just as he is, that they care little for what Superman can give them because Clark is already enough. That they love Clark precisely BECAUSE he is somebody with weaknesses and flaws and imperfections, that adore his quirks and endearing fumbling.

The horrific reality that the more he leans into his masking out of desperation to be accepted, the more he estranges and incites violent rejection in the people around him. Even if he wants to do the right thing, he is so staunchly and too openly opposed to the malice of others that they hold grudges from the stark, exposing contrast. How choosing to be Superman can endanger and estrange the people who love Clark, isolating him even further. And yet when he is unmasked and acts like himself, he is hardly ever taken seriously or people take advantage of his meekness/willingness to help. 

The first episode. When he just keeps chanting ‘be normal be normal be normal’ and the more pressure he puts on himself, the more he hyperfixates and the less his actions align with his intentions. The way he can never do both and can only manage to sustain one at a time. The core conflict that’s ever present; the desire to be ordinary under the reality that you are extraordinary, with the agonizing knowledge that you never had the choice to live under so much difference and scrutiny.

The never-ending autistic battle of being socially acceptable to the detriment of your greatest virtues: your passion and your honesty. To be left feeling empty and drained despite your success, no closer to self-satisfaction or feelings of human camaraderie. The reality of being always forced to choose between one bad option and a worse one, that the only choice you have is what you’re willing to sacrifice. That people will toy with your vulnerabilities no matter how desperately you try to conceal them, how your weaknesses will be a game or a spectacle to the rest of the world.

How one has to wonder to what degree the Superman witnessed in Lois’ memory capsule was pushed to the very brink. Or the pointed lack of context: what brought him to such extremes, what could inspire so much indifference to the pain of others? How, while it is frightening, he is a person just like anyone else--who possesses the potential for raw good and raw bad. Why is it that everyone so easily believes that his potential will be negative? Why is it so difficult to have faith in someone who is trying so hard to be good?

The irony of Clark’s predicament, that the sincere fulfillment he feels upon helping others is precisely what inspires fear in those who insist on their comparative self-serving normality.

“What’s your angle!? What’s in it for you?” “Trust me, kids. Nobody puts on that big a show of being good. Unless they’re hiding something…All he wants is to pull cats out of trees? Yeah, I’m not buying it.” “He’s not normal like you and me….If he really wanted to hurt us, what could we do about it?...Just him having a bad day could spell the end for us…Well, not all of us share your faith.” “You want to be number one? You don’t get there by writing fluff. You go for blood. That’s something Perry never understood. Do you?”

The unbearable but inevitable fact that being autistic is a perpetual experience of loss. If you are not selfish or egocentric like the rest of the world, you are naive and weak. If you exhibit an ounce of self-centered desire or emotion, you are something that must be eradicated for the greater good. No amount of good that you accomplish can ever balance the scales of what has been lost or spent to sustain you, because at the end of the day your life is considered one without value. It is irrelevant that entire military regimes have collectively decimated and endangered thousands for their so-called “results”, because you as a sole actor are so much easier to blame and trample. 

The enduring fact, especially in a culture so absorbed in easy answers and harsh binaries, that the human mind does not care for the struggle of truth. 

Anyway if you need me I’ll be clawing at the walls thanks

[sleepingnova]

Hi starry! Can I please request an x reader with peter Parker?? I just want some thing really fluffy!!! Thank you

ducky, I know it's you 🤫🫣 I'm like a year late but it's ok, we're going to pretend like time is irrelevant here. Also woah me actually posting? ain't no way

Uncomfortable

Summary : Peter Parker is tasked with his final English presentation for the year. Only problem is, it's with you, and he's got a massive crush.

Pairing : Peter Parker x gn! reader

Word count : 1k

Peter Parker hates presentations: he hates how you have to stand in front of a class full of kids who aren’t even listening to what you have to say. He hates it with every ounce of his being.

As the school year comes to a close, he realizes that this is his last speaking project of the year-- and oh my god– he almost jumped for joy when he read that in Mr. Stark’s lab. He catches himself, because how embarrassing would that be in front of THE Dr. Banner and War Machine??? So he does what a normal teenager would do: he smiles at his screen, pretending like he just got a really funny text. 

His expression drops when he realizes it’s a partner project, and both Ned and MJ are being paired with someone else. His heart drops into his stomach when he realizes his partner for the project is you, the prettiest and most popular girl in school! He’s had a slight hallway crush, but he always psyches himself out of talking to you because, hello? You’re way out of his league! So, like any teenage boy, he calls his best friend, spiraling. 

“Hey, Peter, what’s up? You’re still coming over to put the new lego set together with me this weekend, right? Don’t tell me you're about to cancel–” The receiving end gets cut off, by Peter of course rambling on and on. 

“You talking to me, kid?” Tony chimes from his desk, his back turned away from Peter as he works on something completely different, a new suit mod Peter presumes.

“Dude, I- what? No, not you, Mr. S- Tony. Sorry,” He stumbles, not missing the way Tony’s finger points backwards at him, almost as if he's waiting for him to correct himself. When he did, he gave a thumbs up and kept working, keeping his ears open. “Okay, dude, we have a problem, like a big problem. Like, you don’t understand how cooked I am. How cooked WE are. I have to work with that really pretty girl in our class for the presentation.” Peter rambles, covering his face at his so-called “problem,” and Tony almost bursts out laughing, stifling his chuckles with a cough into his fist. 

“Oh yeah, her. She’s really sweet, from what MJ’s told me. Okay, here’s what you do: I'll get you her number and just text her.” Ned rings out from the other end, half paying attention, half doing something completely different. 

“What? No, dude I can't just text her; you gotta have proper text etiquette. What would I even say? ‘Hey, you probably don’t know me, but we’re partners, and I have this massive crush on you, and I’ve been lowkey nervous as hell to come and talk to you’? Like, no. That’s how to scare her away 101. MJ and Liz are really the only two girls I actually talk to.” Tony can’t help but shake his head in disbelief, a faint smile on his face as he tries his hardest not to laugh at the kid as he apparently gets hung up on.

Peter groans, burying his head in his hands, a heated blush on his face behind his hands as Tony stifles his laughs, before finally turning around, a smug look on his face. 

“So, girl trouble, kid? Don’t be embarrassed, it happens to everyone! Well, not me back in the day,” Tony snorts, his eavesdropping making Peter sigh dramatically. “You’re a catch! Great personality and everything. Whoever this girl is would be lucky to have you. Does May know?” Tony asks, to which Peter was quick to shut it down with a “No, she doesn’t. I’m not going to say anything because this is literally just a school crush. She doesn’t even know I exist!” 

“Which is exactly why when you do this project with her, she’ll get to know you. Be your nerdy self and she’ll love you. Hell, in the two years I’ve known you, you’ve grown on me. I wasn’t even a kids person before I met you. When I lost you for those five years, I realized how much you wormed your sticky hands into my heart, or what heart I have left. You’re better than all of us, kid. You have a good heart and a good head on your shoulders; you don’t see that much anymore,” Tony pauses, trying to encourage him. “Just be yourself, kid. I promise you, stay true to yourself and it’ll work out.”

Peter nods and gradually, a week passes. Tony watches as he comes into the lab, noticing the slump in his shoulders, as if the weight of the world was actually picked up off his shoulders. Before Peter could even ask what they were doing today, his question of “what happened with your partner? Did you get her number?” came rolling off his mentor’s tongue, to which Peter could only respond with a whine and a blush creeping up to his cheeks. 

“Jesus, seriously? I can’t even go for a week without you asking.” The dry and defensive response made Tony laugh before he continued with a shy smile. “I did get her number, and an A on the presentation, thanks for asking. She’s leaving for the summer, but we’re going to talk all summer and just see how it goes. She’ll be back in New York every now and then, and I’m going to be working most of the summer, but I’m sure I can make the time.” His last phrase caught Tony’s attention. He turned, furrowing a brow at the brunette boy. As a response, the boy only shrugged. Something about getting a job to help out his aunt, which meant his lab days were going to be cut a lot shorter, but in true Tony Stark fashion, he tuned it out, already cooking up a way to override that.

That day, Peter was left half surprised and half anticipating how his summer was going to go. In his eyes, he aced his final English exam and got to form a blooming relationship with the girl he’s been crushing on from day one. Yeah, he’d tell his “Parker Luck” to go screw itself, because this was a definite win in his book.

okay, did I cook? be honest. I think I cooked. should I make another part to this of how the relationship forms or something like that?

Likes, comments, and reblogs are always appreciated, and thank you to my #1 proofreader that I keep in my pocket at all times <3

[heavyhitterheaux]

For the Night Part 4

AN: Here we go!

Synopsis: You and Jack have finally made up and the two of you were now closer than ever, however your heart is on the fence with a decision you have to make and little do you know that two other people are going to find out about the pregnancy

Pairing: Jack Harlow x Reader

Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 first

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

It had been a few weeks since Jack had originally asked you to move in with him and you still hadn't given him an answer.

He didn't want to rush you by any means but he was getting antsy.

He understood your hesitations because he did hurt you, however, he was trying to do anything he could in order to make it up to you.

You were at home after you had gone to class and Jess was with you. Jack had a few things to do, but promised that you two would have a dinner date later. You figured that you might as well ask her opinion on it.

“Bestie, why you so quiet?” Jess asked as she was currently munching on the fish tacos that she had gotten for lunch. You had barely touched your steak tacos and you knew that she would be concerned.

“Jack asked me to move in with him.”

Jessica stopped her movements and simply looked at you.

“Jessica, say something please because I don’t know what to do.”

“Babe, I can’t tell you what to do. You have to make that decision for yourself and if you think that is the best thing for you and my niece, then okay.”

“That isn’t helping me.”

“Well, I mean there’s pros and cons to both. Pro, I can keep an eye on both of you and kick Jack’s ass as needed and the con? Well, living with your baby daddy who at one point wanted nothing to do with you or his child.”

“Well, damn.”

“Just being honest.” Jess said while holding up her hands in defense.

“It’s literally been two weeks since he asked me.”

“Oh, I’m surprised he isn’t breaking down the door with his sudden realization of feelings.”

“You are definitely his number one hater.”

“A title that I embrace. I can’t stand his ass and how he did the both of you. Wait until I get my hands on him.”

“Jess!”

“Can you blame me? You have the biggest heart and you are very forgiving which I love about you. However, it can also come back to bite you in the ass. I can’t even fathom if he goes back on his word after everything that he has put you through.”

“I try not to think about it.”

“I just… you’re my best friend and I worry about you. I always want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Jessica…hormones….please don’t make me cry.”

“Sorry, just telling it like it is!” She said before bringing you into a hug.

“But, whatever you decide, I will support you 100%. Now go eat something and take a nap because I know you’re tired.”

Jessica made sure that you were asleep before taking your phone and pulling up Jack on facetime. She was going to give him a piece of her mind one way or the other.

“Hey ba…. Oh….”

“Okay Harlow, you listen and you better listen good. Y/N is my best friend and I swear on everything that is within God’s green earth that if you even think about going back on your word that I have no hesitations to kill you even if you are my goddaughter’s father.”

“Um…”

“Don’t interrupt me. You put her through absolute hell the first part of this pregnancy and I told her to cut your ass off. But because of her big heart she decided not to. Now, if she does decide to move in with you, that’s fine I am not influencing her decision and I told her that she had to decide that on her own but I swear if you stick one of your damn curls out of line, I will have your ASS.”

“Jessica….”

“Now you may speak.”

“I… I know what I did was wrong and I was scared shitless. Instead of telling her, I tried to act as if it wasn’t happening and I shouldn’t have done that. I was serious about being all in. I’m going to take care of her and our daughter. And I was about to ask her to be my girlfriend before I found out she was pregnant, but after she told me I decided to wait because of how it might have looked to her.”

“She’ll probably say yes if you ask her, but give her a little more time. I’m happy we had this talk. Don’t mess up again.”

You were still sleeping when Jack got to your condo so Jessica opened the door for him and looked him up and down. She decided not to roll her eyes even if she wanted to. 

“Hmm, you are tall. She wasn’t lying about that part. But I will bring you to my height if I have to. Anyway she’s still sleeping, take care of my girl. Nice meeting you in person finally, I guess.”

“Uh, you too.” 

Jessica moved to the side to let him in before grabbing her purse on the table next to the door and leaving out.

Jack locked the door behind him before going to check on you in your bedroom. He took the steps two at a time and once he went into the room saw you sleeping peacefully with your hands resting on your belly and couldn’t do anything but smile.

He slid off his shoes before coming to lay next to you and then heard your voice. You immediately knew it was him because you smelled the cologne that you had gotten him as a gift. Even if the two of you were only friends with benefits, you were close in a lot of other ways too. 

“I missed you today.” You quietly said before turning to your other side to face him.

“I missed you too. How was your day? Is Little Miss behaving herself?” Jack asked before wrapping an arm around you. 

“Uneventful. And she’s been on her best behavior all day. I went to class and Jess bought us lunch and spent the afternoon with me. Where is she by the way?”

“She left a few minutes ago.”

“Shit, did she threaten you?” You curiously asked because knowing how she was she definitely did. 

“I think threatening is putting it lightly. I see why you were hesitant about me meeting her.”

“Well if things had gone a bit differently, she wouldn’t have had to do that. But anyway, moving on.”

“So… I wanted to mention something…”

“What is it?”

“I have a few appearances coming up that I have to go out of state for. I mean I know I’ve been flying back and forth but this will be the longest stretch that I’ve been away from you. And I keep putting things off and of course now people are starting to wonder if something is wrong since I’ve been focusing on you. And I don’t want to let anyone know quite yet since I know a lot is going to come with that.”

“Okay, so go. Don’t let me stop you.”

“But I don’t want to leave you just in case you need me or something happens.”

“I’ll be fine, I have Jessica.”

“I get that, but for my peace of mind I’d rather have eyes on you myself and be close to me. No offense to her.”

“I am nowhere near going into labor. We have a little while until she comes.”

All Jack did was sigh.

“Jack, I know that sigh, but I am not budging on this. You still have a career to focus on.”

“Okay, I have a suggestion then.”

“Which is?”

“You can always come with me, we’ll just have to be discreet.”

“Jack….”

“Please Y/N, I’ve already missed enough as it is. You can bring Jessica too if you want.”

“And how am I supposed to go to class?”

“Oh, I didn’t think about that part.” Jack said while looking down at you. He knew how important your education was to you and wasn’t about to get in the way of it.

“Like I said, I’ll be fine. You worry too much.”

“And it was usually you who worried too much.”

“I promise to give you updates by the hour if that will give you some peace of mind.”

All Jack did was roll his eyes.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me Jackman.”

“But you understand why, right?”

“Yes, but babe the second something happens I will tell you.”

“Fine.”

“Now I was thinking of names and I think I found the perfect one. And I know you definitely won’t argue about her middle name once I tell you.”

Jack had been gone for about a week and of course he was checking on you every single day and making sure you as well as your daughter were okay.

The two of you were currently on a facetime call when he could tell that something was wrong with you and asked you about it.

"Are you okay? You seem like something is bothering you."

"I'm okay, just stressing because finals are coming up that's all. I'm so close to getting this degree and I don't need anything holding me back."

"I know you'll do fine. My baby girl is smart and our daughter will be the same way."

"No doubt in my mind that she'll get her looks and smarts from me."

"HEY!"

"You've seen the latest sonogram. Only thing she might have is your forehead."

"You foul as shit for that." Jack answered before busting out laughing.

"When do we plan on telling everyone about her?" You asked while sitting up against the headboard.

You were dreading this conversation with your parents. They had been taking a year long cruise and they had only seen you through facetime calls from the chest up so they had no idea.

"I mean there's no rush. I know you like your privacy and so do I. You know the second that this comes out, that immediately goes out the window. I'm shielding you both from it as long as possible."

"I appreciate that but Urban doesn't even know, does he?"

"No and I know he's going to give me shit for it when I finally do tell him."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Have you given any more thought to moving in with me?"

"Yes."

"And what's your answer?"

"My answer is that I still don't have one."

"But babe…"

"Jack, you need to understand how much what you did hurt me."

"And I do!"

"If you really cared about me like you said you do, what went down should have never happened between us."

"I know, I'm just trying to make this right."

"And you're on the right path to making it right. However, I still have that fear in the back of my mind that you're going to go back on your word."

"But I'm not! Right before you told me you were pregnant, I was actually going to ask you to be my girlfriend. I haven't done it since I was scared of how that would look to you. That you would think that I was only asking you because you're pregnant when that isn't even the case. I wanted you to be my girlfriend before all of this happened. You can even ask Jessica because I told her the same thing."

All you did was sigh.

"I'm not trying to have this turn into an argument." Jack said while looking at you.

"Me either."

"I've caused you enough stress as it is and the last thing I want to do is cause more. I just want the both of you near me. Can you imagine the paparazzi finding out where you live and they start to harass you? I'm trying to avoid all that. Not saying it wouldn't happen if you were here with me, but at least I would be able to protect you both. I can't do that if you're away from me."

"I'll let you know my answer soon." You said while rubbing your protruding belly.

"I have a radio interview to do so we'll talk later?"

"I'll call you before I go to sleep." You said while giving him a small smile.

Once you hung up with Jack, you yelled for Jessica who had been downstairs in the kitchen fixing food for the two of you.

"What's wrong babe?" She asked while coming to sit next to you and you were trying your best not to cry.

You immediately grabbed her hand and placed it on your stomach.

"Do you feel anything?" You asked and Jess shook her head no.

"She's just probably sleeping. Look who her mother is." She said while laughing since you were known to be able to fall asleep anywhere.

"Jess, I haven't felt her move in two days."

And that’s when her eyes went wide.

"Did you tell Jack!?" She asked immediately jumping up.

"No, I didn't want to freak him out and worry him! He's a five hour plane ride from here!"

"But now I'm freaking out! Didn't you just get off the phone with him!?"

"Yes, but…"

"I'm texting him right now. Slip your shoes on and we're going to the emergency room."

"Jess…."

"No. No negativity. Let's go."

Jess- Jack, I'm taking Y/N to the emergency room

Jack- WHY? IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH HER OR THE BABY? 

Jack- I just talked to her

Jack- oh shit it was probably my doing. Fuck, did I upset her? I knew I shouldn't have brought it up 

Jack- I knew I should've brought her with me

Jess- Try to stay calm. But, she hasn't felt her move in 2 days.

Jack- WHY DIDN’T SHE TELL ME?!

Jess- I said the same thing. I'll call you later once we know something 

Jack- Fuck that. I'm hopping on a plane as soon as I can.

Jess- And what excuse are you going to use in order to leave without anyone finding out about the two of them?

Jack- I'll figure it out

Urban then saw a panicked look on his best friend's face and immediately asked what was wrong with him.

"You okay? Something wrong?"

"Family emergency. Something's wrong with Clay."

"Oh shit. I'm coming with you."

"NO!"

This lead to Urban getting a confused look on his face since he didn't understand where this outburst was coming from. That wasn't like Jack at all. 

"I just… it shouldn't take me that long and I'm coming right back."

"But I should still go with you."

"I'll text you if I need you."

Urban could immediately tell that something was wrong and that his best friend was lying to him so he immediately called Clay who picked up on the second ring.

"CLAY!"

"Damn, hi to you too Urb. What the hell are you yelling for?"

"We're in L.A. and Jack said there was a family emergency and that something was wrong with you and when I offered to go with him, he immediately yelled and shut it down."

"Well, I'm fine and what the hell could he be hiding?"

"I have no idea. He left for the airport and I assumed he was going back to Kentucky, but now I'm not so sure." 

"Hmm."

"But you know what I've noticed? Any time we're in Atlanta he disappears for days at a time and he used to not do that. So I'm thinking if anything that's where he's going."

"Oh?"

"He's definitely hiding something and has been for months and we're about to find out what it is. I'm catching the next flight out to Atlanta. Meet me there so we can figure this shit out." 

By the time Jack finally reached you, he was an absolute mess. You had been admitted to the mother/baby unit just for the night so they could keep an eye on you. Jessica was with you when suddenly he busted into the room and immediately came over to you.

"Hi Jess, thank you for taking care of her."

"Of course. She's my bestie. Duh."

"Babe, I'm really not trying to yell, but why didn't you tell me? Don't you think that's important?"

"I know and I just…. I don't know."

"Promise to never do that again. If something is wrong, you tell me immediately, don't wait." Jack said while leaning down to kiss your forehead and brushing a few curls out of your face.

"Okay." You quietly said as you moved to get more comfortable on the bed while Jessica just mouthed the words 'I told you so' which made you sigh in defeat.

Just then he got a text from Urban who was asking him if everything was okay with Clay.

Urb- Soo any update? How’s Clay?

Jack- He's fine. Will stay with my parents for a few days.

Clay looked at Urban's phone as he handed it to him to show him what Jack had said. 

"You would think if he was trying to lie and put me in the middle of the lie that he would at least tell me so that we could have our stories straight." 

"His location is saying that he is at the hospital."

"But for what? This doesn't make any sense."

"We're about to go and find out." 

When the two of them finally reached the hospital, Urban immediately called him as they were sitting in the parking lot.

"Urb.."

"Get your ass outside in the main parking lot because you're going to stop lying to your best friend. I know you're in Atlanta and at the hospital because your dumbass didn't turn off your location and I guess you forgot that I can see it. Oh and Clay is with me and there isn't a scratch on him so get down here and start explaining." 

"Just come up to room 4039 and I’ll explain everything.." Jack said while letting out a sigh.

"We're coming now."

Once the two of them reached their destination, they knocked on the door before hearing Jack's voice to tell them to come in. Once they did, they were confused to see you laying on Jack's chest asleep with a protruding stomach in the hospital bed with Jessica in the corner playing on her phone.

Urban and Clay were immediately confused and looked towards Jack for an explanation. 

"Sooo I'm about to be a dad..." Jack whispered and Urban wasn't having it.

"A DAD OF WHAT? A DOG?" Urban screams and Jack quickly shushes him so that he didn't wake you up, but you woke up anyway and was now startled to see Urban and Clay in your hospital room and Clay immediately approached you. 

"Umm would she happen to be the emergency? Hi, I'm Clay, the better Harlow and your baby's soon to be uncle. And Jack, stop using me as your emergency excuse! Urban called me about to lose his shit thinking that something was wrong with me."

"Nice to meet you Clay, I'm Y/N."

"I…." Jack started to say, but Urban immediately cut him off. 

"Why didn't you tell me or Clay!?! I'm your best friend and you tell me EVERYTHING."

"Well…"

"Oh shit. I'm Jessica, by the way. The baby's godmother and I assume that Urban will be her godfather? And Clay, I totally believe you're the better Harlow because your brother is a FLOP." You heard Jess say from the corner as she was watching the scene unfold and you couldn’t help but to stifle a laugh. 

"JESSICA!" Jack exclaimed and she just shrugged her shoulders.

"Hi Jessica, and yes he is a flop for lying to us."

"We were going to tell all of you soon. Jack just wanted to protect my privacy and not have paparazzi following me everywhere. My parents don’t even know either."

"How far along are you? By looking at you, he definitely didn't get you pregnant yesterday." This earned Urban a smack to the back of his head by Jack since he was standing close enough to him to be able to reach him with his hand that wasn’t wrapped around you.

"Ow! I didn't mean it like that! You're gorgeous by the way!"

"Back off, she's mine."

"Clearly, you impregnated her."

"CLAY!" 

"Thank you and almost 7 months."

"Jack, mom and dad are going to KILL you."

"I'll deal with it when the time comes." 

"SEVEN MONTHS!? JACKKKK!"

"I know."

“He really wasn’t even there for the first four.” You heard Jess mutter, but Clay heard her.

“Oh, so you were being a deadbeat to Y/N and my niece isn’t even here yet?”

“Jess, please stop throwing me under the bus.”

“I call it like I see it….. FLOP.”

"Is this where you disappear to for days at a time!? To be with Y/N?"

"Possibly." 

"How the? I stay with you all the time and never saw any baby things around."

"Because my guest bedroom is on the first floor. Her room is upstairs next to mine and that's where everything is. That door was always closed."

"IT'S A GIRL!?" Clay exclaimed and he was clearly excited.

"And she has your brother's forehead." You added and Jack immediately rolled his eyes. 

"Damn, double homicide."

"JESSICA! CUT.IT.OUT." 

"DID I LIE, JACK?"

"I'm not answering that." 

"Sooo, I'm assuming that everything is okay now?" Urban asked while looking over at the two of you.

"Yes, they're just going to keep me here overnight to monitor me and the little one. I got scared because I didn't feel her move for two days. I tried everything and she always moves when she hears Jack's voice. I played Sundown which is her latest favorite and got nothing and I immediately got scared." 

"Jack's reaction now makes sense." 

“They checked on her and said she’s fine, and that she really was sleeping. I just don’t ever remember her sleeping for that long. Like I said, any time she hears his voice, she’s active.”

“I’m just happy that you’re both okay.” Jack said while reaching over to kiss your cheek and you immediately smiled.

“Are the two of you together yet?” Jess asked while she munched on her popcorn and watched her movie on Netflix.

“Wait, the two of you aren’t even together?” Urban asked, confused.

“Nope, they were friends with benefits and they met on the Creme De La Creme tour in Atlanta and have been fucking ever since.”

:”JESSICAAA!”

“What? It’s as good a time as ever to tell them. Just get it all out in the open. Oh, you two are going to love this, he hung up the phone on her when she told him she was pregnant and didn’t call her back for two weeks. You can imagine how much I wanted to kick his ass. Once again, FLOP!”

“I’ve made up for that! And I was scared shitless!”

“Oh, and she’s WASN’T?!”

“Cut it out, you two. NOW.” You said while looking at the both of them and Jess held up her hands in defense.

“Look, I tolerate him for you and my goddaughter and that’s about it. He already started off on the wrong foot with me. Keep your word Harlow, and you just might end up on my good side.”

All Jack did was sigh as Jess went back to her movie.

“That… explains a lot.” Urban said while looking at him.

“Explains what?”

“Why you would look so stressed all the time. No one could figure out why and you wouldn’t say anything. Every time I asked you, you said that you were fine so I just dropped it, but I knew better. I was waiting for you to come to me and tell me when you were ready, but you never did.”

Urban truly knew Jack like the back of his hand and Jack couldn’t help but to start to feel a little guilty.

“So, no more surprises that you want to share with us?” Clay asked before going to sit next to Jessica.

“No, that’s it.”

“Look, if you two plan on getting married, just let us be the witnesses so we aren’t caught off guard like this again.”

It was now a week until your due date and you were seriously feeling it.

You wanted this baby out of you and you wanted her out now.

Jack was doing his best to keep you as comfortable as possible, but nothing was really working, but he did figure out that you liked to be laying next to him in order to get you to sleep better, but he didn’t tell you that because you would probably deny it.

You had just woken up when you heard the vacuum cleaner downstairs. You stayed over at Jack’s condo last night and still haven’t given him an answer on if you were moving in with him or not.

It was decided that you would take a shower in an attempt to get you to feel better because you felt like you had slept a total of thirty minutes.

When you had gotten out, after lathering yourself in your lavender lotion, you decided on your leggings along with one of Jack’s New Balance hoodies and made your way downstairs to see Urban and Clay sitting on the couch looking extremely confused. You followed their gaze to see Jack in one of your many bonnets to protect his curls and your apron that was covered in flowers and you couldn’t help but to stifle a laugh.

You went and sat next to Clay as Jack was now dusting around the living room.

“Um, how long has he been at this?”

“All morning.”

“And when did he even have the time to go and get my bonnet and apron from my condo?”

“Trust and believe if it has anything to do with you or the little one he was going to find a way to get it done.” Urban said as he opened a bag of spicy pork rinds and began eating. This led to him getting yelled at by Jack.

“URBAN! I JUST VACUUMED, DO NOT GET ANY CRUMBS ANYWHERE!”

“Well got damn! Okay, I won’t.” Urban said, startled at his outburst.

“Oh, hi babe. How’d you sleep?”

“Terribly, but I like your outfit. Definitely made me smile when I came down the steps.”

“I figured that this place needed to be spotless for when she got here. You hungry? I can order you something.”

“BECAUSE YOU DAMN SURE CANNOT COOK! MIGHT POISON HER AND THE BABY.”

“Babe, cover her ears.” Jack said to you and you looked at him confused, but put both hands on each side of your stomach.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP CLAY! Okay, you can uncover her ears now. You know she can hear us and I don’t want her…. URBAN, I SEE CRUMBS! GET THE FUC… GET THE VACUUM NOW!”

“What the hell are you?!?! The crumb police?!”

“If your goddaughter gets a hold of a damn pork rind crumb, I’m blaming you and you will be banned from eating them over here.”

“At this rate, her first word is about to be a cuss word.” Clay said while laughing. 

“Anyway, what you want to eat mamas? I’ll make Urban go get it since he HAS NO RESPECT FOR MY VACUUMING SKILLS.”

“I can’t wait for Y/N to push baby girl out so she can kick your ass for how outta pocket you’re being. But, Y/N, what do you want?”

“Baby, you BETTER NOT say anything greasy either.”

“LET HER EAT WHAT SHE WANTS. SHE’S ABOUT TO PUSH OUT A BABY THAT HAS YOUR WATERMELON LOOKING ASS HEAD!”

“URBAN!”

“Umm, my usual from chic-fil-a and my milkshake is fine.” You said while trying not to laugh.”

“I can’t believe that she’s only going to dilate ten centimeters. Do you not see how big Jack’s head is now?”

“Shit, have you seen his baby pictures? It was big then.”

“The two of you can get the hell out of my house.”

“JACK! Be nice!” You said while looking over at him.

“Urban, if I see one more crumb…. ONE…. I’m going to….”

You were headed to the bathroom and Jack’s voice got quieter as you made your way down the hallway.

You pulled down your leggings and underwear to see that the mucus plug had now come out.

This was it. You were now going into labor.

You finished using the bathroom and quickly washed your hands before making your way back out to the living room where the three of them were. 

“Jack?”

“What’s wrong mamas?”

“My mucus plug came out.”

Since Jack had been reading a lot of pregnancy books, he immediately knew what that meant and his eyes got wide. He looked to his left, where his keys were next to the lamp on the side table and threw his keys at Urban.

“Go start the car.”

“Wait, what?”

“Hold on, is… is it happening? Is what I think that’s happening really happening?”

“YES CLAY!”

Jack immediately ran up the steps two at a time in order to get your overnight bag. You had one at his condo and yours just to make sure that wherever you were that you would have one. Jack then came down the steps without the bonnet or apron and helped you put on your New Balances.

“You ready for this mamas?” Jack asked and he was trying to put on a brave face for you, but he knew that you were scared beyond belief.

Shit, so was he. 

“No. Immediately no. Call Jessica.”

“I will and I’ll tell her to meet us at the hospital, okay?”

Jack had gotten you settled in the backseat of the car with Urban in the driver’s seat and Clay in the passenger seat while Jack sat next to you. 

That was when the contractions started to hit you like a ton of bricks and you were holding Jack’s hand for dear life as Urban was speeding down the highway.

“Oh shit, this hurtssss.”

“You have to breathe, baby, I know it does, but it won’t be long and we’ll get to hold her.”

“I know, but shit. Why does it have to hurt so bad?” You said while laying your head on Jack’s shoulder. 

“Urb, can we go any faster?!”

“JACK, I AM GOING 90 IN A 55, HOW MUCH FASTER DO YOU WANT ME TO GO?!”

“FUCK!”

“Language! My daughter can hear you!”

“Umm, we have a problem.”

“Why are we slowing down?”

“That’s the problem…. Ummm…….”

“Um, WHAT?!” Jack asked while looking at Clay.

“Traffic is backed up for miles.”

The four of you had now been sitting in traffic for a total of two hours and you were about to lose your shit. You didn’t think she would be coming any time soon since this was your first, but you had to keep in mind that you had to be prepared for anything to happen. 

“JACK, GET YOUR DAUGHTER OUT OF ME. NEOW!”

“Deep breaths, I know it hurts, but um can you switch to my other hand? This one is turning purple.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s okay, that’s nothing compared to how you’re feeling so I can deal with it.”

“Why haven’t we moved?!”

“Can’t we go on the shoulder?”

“For us to get pulled over and have it be even longer?!”

“We need a police escort. Where the fuck are they when we need them!?”

“LANGUAGE!”

Just then you had the urge to push and you knew that more than likely, she was probably going to be born in the back of her father’s car.

“Jack?”

“Hmm?”

“Get that towel you always keep in the back.”

“For what, babe?”

“I have a feeling that she is not going to wait much longer. Even if we were to call 911, there is no way that they’ll get to me in time. I don’t even see a mile marker to know exactly where we are.”

“WHAT?! IN MY CAR?!”

“JACK, SHUT UP! THIS IS YOUR DAUGHTER WE’RE TALKING ABOUT!”

“Okay, okay, umm… now where did I put it?” Jack reached behind the two of you and fiddled around until he found it and placed it next to him.

As you lifted your hips so that Jack could help you get your leggings off, his eyes went wide and you were thoroughly confused.

“Jack, you have seen me plenty of times before with less on so why the hell are you…. Oh shit.”

“Is that….? Is that HER HEAD?!”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN IS THAT HER HEAD?! WE’RE NOT READY FOR HER YET!” Clay exclaimed while looking at all the traffic ahead of them. 

“Damn, Jack is freaking out more than Y/N is!”

“Please don’t faint back there.”

“I’m fine.”

“Not you, Y/N, I meant your baby daddy.”

You did another push and that’s when her shoulder came out and you looked over at Jack who was mesmerized. 

“Pull her out the rest of the way, her shoulders are out so she should slide right out.”

Jack did as he was told and heard her first cries and proceeded to wrap her up in the towel that he had while Urban and Clay were in the front trying to come up with a plan to get you to the hospital. 

“Not many people can say that they delivered their first child in the back of their car.”

“I didn’t even do anything, you did all the work. She is gorgeous and looks just like you.”

“Except her forehead.”

“CLAY!”

Just then Urban saw a police car in the rearview mirror and immediately flagged him down.

The officer came to the window to see what the problem was.

“Hi, we need an escort to the hospital immediately!”

“Is someone hurt?”

“My goddaughter was just born in the back of my best friend's car so umm… no one is hurt but still.”

“Is mom and baby, okay?”

“We’re fine!” You yelled from the backseat as you were holding onto her tightly.

“Put your flashers on and follow me.”

Twenty minutes later, an entire medical team met you outside and placed you onto a stretcher while you were still holding onto her. They placed you on the postpartum unit all while making sure your vitals as well as hers were okay. She got a clean bill of health and you honestly couldn’t have been happier.

You were now resting while Caoimhe (pronounced Kweeva) was asleep on Jack’s chest who was sitting next to you.

“Did we really make her?” Jack asked while looking down at her. He was amazed at how tiny she was.

“We did. You don’t recognize that forehead?”

“You didn’t have to say all that. But, I always thought you were a superwoman, but today you took it to a whole nother level.”

“Look, she wasn’t waiting for anybody so I had no choice.”

“She wants what she wants when she wants it. Just like her mother.”

“Now, you didn’t have to say all that.”

Just then you heard the door open and in came Jessica with a whole bunch of balloons and gifts in her hands.

“I already know when she becomes a teenager and pisses yall off that the first thing outta yall mouth will be, remember when I gave birth to you in the back of your daddy’s car because you were so impatient? I pushed you out WITH NO EPIDURAL. Anyway, awww oh my goodness she’s beautiful. Look at what you two made. She is going to be so spoiled by me.”

“She already is.” Jack mumbled and Jess sent him the evil eye.

“Shut it, Jack and let me hold her.” He quickly handed her over to Jess and she began to rock her back and forth.

“What’s her name?”

“Caoimhe Margaret. I gave her Jack’s mom’s middle name so she’ll be less mad at him when we tell her. Her first name means beautiful in Irish”

“That is adorable, perfect name for my perfect goddaughter.”

Just then the tech assigned to your room came in and did a double take. 

You assume that she saw Jack and that was why. 

“Oh, um, hi Ms. Y/L/N I’m Leah and I’ll be your tech for the night. Anything that I can get you?

“No, I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”

“How about anyone else?”

“I’ll just take a cup of ice.” Jack told her and she immediately turned red.

“Okay, be right back!”

“I think she has a crush on you, Jack.”

“Doesn’t matter because I have a crush on Y/N.”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes and laugh.

But what you didn’t know was that when you and Jack were looking down at Caoimhe, she snapped a picture and decided to send it to TMZ.

It was around midnight when Jack’s phone started going off non-stop. He was sound asleep, but you were up feeding Caoimhe and called out to him.

“Jack, answer your phone, it keeps going off.”

He grabbed it from beside him and opened it to see over 100 text messages and at least 40 missed calls and was thoroughly confused.

It wasn’t until he saw his notification for Twitter when all hell broke loose.

TMZ: Looks like congratulations are in order for Jack Harlow and his mystery girlfriend! We have gotten word that he is now a father to a beautiful baby girl! More details to come as soon as we know more.

“FUCK!”

“Jack! Language!”

“Babe, I know, but we have a problem.”

“What?”

“Someone took a picture of us holding her and sent it to TMZ. They know about the both of you now.”

Just then a new text message came through on Jack’s phone that was his mother.

Mom- Do you have something that you want to tell me? Why is everyone calling me and telling me that you’re a FATHER? You better start explaining and you better start now.

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[electricbluebutterflies]

Cala and Tenax, things you didn’t say at all

Post-s1 spec, PG-ish, also on ao3.

Well, so much for that set of plans.

Another middle-of-the-night incident, another… Cala is pretty sure most of the blood on her skin isn’t hers, and the apartment isn’t safe for her alone anymore and she’d thought it would be for more than a damned month but this is what she gets for getting herself involved in…

She’ll process all of this later, once she’s safe, once she figures out where exactly she made whatever wrong choice that got her in all these positions in the first place.

Slipping past a single guard is… well, that’s not even the word for it, she’s a known presence and the strange hour doesn’t change that and she’d love to know what her counterpart told his expanded household staff about her and she suspects the answer is probably nothing at all and-

She collapses in a courtyard. Safe. Knife still in hand. Never going back to the apartment. So many problems waiting for her in the morning; no desire to try to fix any of them now, not while-

Cala is not prone to curling up and licking her wounds, but she can at least self-assess. A possibly twisted ankle and a few cuts, one on her upper arm will need a bandage but she hasn’t bothered to learn where those supplies are here, she’s tried to keep her distance and-

“Who did this to you?”

By the standards she’s learned to keep since she was desperate enough to get tangled up with this man, she is very tempted to say, this is almost nothing, but she won’t-

She can’t-

“Not dying,” she murmurs, focusing attention where it should be. “Just… not going back to the apartment. They thought you were still-“

“Should’ve known. Should’ve-“

She reaches for his hands, trying to think of appropriate words, trying to think of anything that won’t make this whole situation worse than it is. She’ll be alright, and… she’s moving in again, she’s decided that much, she knows there’s a whole wing of this house he isn’t using and-

“Don’t get in your head over me.”

“How many times will you get used as collateral damage before you realize-“

“Either make yourself useful or leave me be.”

He decides on the first option, and there is something still cautious in these movements that have become routines, lightest possible touch as he cleans blood off her skin. Of all things they could get used to doing in moonlight…

He opens his mouth as if to ask another question and she stops him with two fingers on his lips. Not right now, she wants to say and won’t. Maybe in the morning, maybe never, but not right now, not as the energy of survival burns out of her and she is unsure-

“You’ll stay,” he says instead, and she is reminded of an encounter months ago and look how far they have come since then, this time not an offer but an understanding, this time-

“I assume you were already awake?”

“I had a bad feeling about tonight. Perhaps about…”

“There’s nothing hidden. I had time to react and-“

“You ran how far on-“

“I do not intend to do any more running for a while.”

There are moments Cala is aware what control she has, and then there are moments… she’ll still push herself further than she probably should, but she’ll do so in a bedroom she should’ve claimed a month ago when she explored the house before making other decisions for this shift in their circumstances, there’s a gorgeous window and the rest… she’ll make a home out of it, this time with intentions to stay, this time-

“It wasn’t right. Whatever you’re not telling me.”

“I know.”

“If it is ever too much-“

“My life is here now.”

There’s no going back, she thinks as she tries to stand up and puts more of her weight on him than she plans. Whatever happens next, whatever happens…

“Can you do stairs?”

“You may have to carry me, and I’m not sure-“

“I think I could do it.”

“One of us has to be-“

“Let me.”

She does.

[saintmeghanmarkle]

Lady C Tea YouTube 1/4/23 (a few nuggets paraphrased by me) by u/daisybeach23

Lady C Tea YouTube 1/4/23 (a few nuggets paraphrased by me) Greetings from Castle Goring,Lady C, did you know that Saint Meghan of Nothing has been given the boot by WME? I’ve been trying to say for a while now that she is on very thin ice. I don’t think she has been completely cut off from them. She is not listed on their main website (which features many A-List talents) but she is listed on their separate website for their speakers bureau. I think what people are noticing is that WME has not been able to find Megsy baby any work.Lady C reads out a comment from a viewer because she loves it so much: “Truth Hertz”Lady C, I think this is all Meghan’s idea. I think Harry would prefer to go places incognito. I think you are right. Harry thrills at the idea that paparazzi are always chasing him, but I don’t think he calls them. Lady C begins her parody of Meghan calling up a paparazzi and telling him she’ll be at a car park at 9:47am wearing stress patches and the hair of Turkish virgins.Lady C, none of this had to happen. I believe the Queen wanted Harry and Meghan to leave Royal Duties with no drama. I think they had the full support of the Queen until they started telling lies about not receiving financial support which was proven not true. I believe Charles discontinued all financial support when he realized his money was being used for PR to attack family. All of this is interestingly observed because Queen Elizabeth II was ambushed by Harry and Meghan. They did what Diana did and used public statements in the media to create scenarios for their benefit. The Queen was given 20 minutes notice before Harry and Meghan made their public announcement. The Queen wanted Harry to be happy. She did not want them to leave but told them if you want to leave, we will find a way to make it work. Harry would have gone along with the Queen’s proposal no problem, but Meghan was the one who wanted to be free of the family but also wanted her photo op moments also. And Meghan in her dumb, clack cack handed, unsophisticated, hustler style didn’t understand that what people wanted to buy was gold, stardust, glamour laced with grit. Nobody wanted their brand of trashing family and venom. She got away with trashing her own family so she thought she could get away with trashing the Royal Family. Instead, she unmasked herself.Lady C, how soon will lack of finances push them back to Buckingham Palace? It’s not really if there is a need from them, it is whether anybody wants them back. My understanding is aside from the King, nobody wants to see them. The King has hopes that a miracle will occur. He genuinely believes in God and he believes in miracles and perhaps he thinks he will be the beneficiary of one. I do not see them coming back. Not in the short term. Not knowing what is coming down the line this year. Let me put it that way. And to those of you who say that I have said things will happen that haven’t happened yet – don’t you think enough has already happened? And for those of you who are so dissatisfied that the final curtain has not fallen, a curtain is falling later this year. And no. I am not prepared to say what it is. And for those of you who say I am just spinning a yarn, what can I say? You must follow your instinct; I am not trying to convince you of anything. I do not see Harry and Meghan returning in the foreseeable future and if some have their way, not ever.Lady C affirms her opinion that Harry does not qualify as an internationally protected person. IPPLady C talks about how Meghan and Harry have deserted their paternal families. Of the maternal side she says, “It could be argued that one mother is dead and the other never lived at all. That may be too obscure. Let me put it this way. What are things that have never lived? One thing is for sure. They are pretty heartless.”Toodles Sinners!​ post link: https://ift.tt/tmjq0kf author: daisybeach23 submitted: January 06, 2024 at 05:17PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

[swiftscion]

✢⁎. follow the city’s ribbon

//post library of ruina/pre-limbus company AU; will feature sensitive material

“Edward, hurry the hell up! We’re not botchin’ this job!” 

Picky picky! 

Larcei huffs and shuffs on her way through broken streets and cracked-up sidewalks, each step taken causing a city skyline to shrink in the distance. She’s determined to get her job done--whatever that may be--but it’s hard to think that their homey little office is buried somewhere in that mess of buildings.

Swaddled by concrete, like a chick in its nest.

She and Edward are fixers, a kind of mercenary not uncommon to The City. Though, the term ‘mercenary’ is a little generous. Very rarely do they receive contracts requiring the will to fight, for they are low-grade, meaning they’ve earned trust with little more than errands. That would explain her impatience. The only way up the ladder is, of course, to climb. But it’s a long and arduous climb, and every rung is soaked with blood. One mistake, and you go tumbling back into the dirt, probably never to get back up again.

Lucky for them, this job isn’t contract work. They’re heading to an unearthed Lobotomy Corporation branch--a collapsed factory infamous for harvesting energy from monsters--on their own hunch. 

“Sikes’ll chew your ear off if we come back empty-handed,” she continues, and Sikes is the head of their fixer office, known for plucking orphans out of the backstreets and ‘realizing their potential’.

Of course, their untimely demise at the hands of dirty-work often realizes them first, but these two are something of exceptions.

For now.

“And you don’t even wanna know what I’ll do! You at least remember what he told us, yeah?” Having chewed enough of Edward’s ear off herself, Larcei lets up on her accusatory tone. The furrow in her brow also eases over, as she tries to recount with as much clarity as she can the exact words of their boss, “We’re bringin’ back as much Enkephalin as we can carry, but more importantly, we’re looking for something--anything--down there.” 

She hits the brakes on her stride. This next part is too important for him to not hear clearly, “Sikes says the entire office hinges on us making a discovery today, got it?” 

And that’s enough from her yapper. For now. Whether Edward catches up or not, Larcei pushes ever-forward. The landscape around her is gray and dismal: the framed picture of a concrete jungle. Buildings stretch high into a smoggy sky, their infinite rows of trusses and support beams detracting from any kind of scenic joy one might think to have in their district. District 9--dubbed “The Streets of Music”--is not a visual experience, but an auditory one. Sterling soundscapes and music like finest filigree fill the air, replacing what noise a bird or rustling wind would make. And where they’re going, it’s rumored that a faint piano can be heard at the back of one’s mind. But if it ever gets louder than your thoughts, that is your cue to RUN.

Once a crater comes into view, Larcei knows they’re almost there.

She rests her hand against the hilt of her blade, which stretches horizontally across her lower back. It’s a long sword--longer than Edward’s--and thin. The kind of Workshop blade issued to most fixers, but what makes it special is that it’s a hand-me-down. The last thing she ever received from mother before she went missing is what little Larcei stakes her life on in every fight--what she trains to one day master and be renowned for. 

And then, she’ll find her. She vanished around the startup of this company, so she has to be getting close now.

Its sheath is a matte-black, which blends in with the rest of her outfit. A long trench coat of the same hue is draped over her shoulders, half a size too big for her tiny frame. Or is it just in a men’s small, as opposed to a woman’s? Hard to tell from just glancing at it, but it is almost guaranteed that she’d cut your tongue off for asking. Underneath sits a slightly-wrinkled dress shirt--again, the same color--and a pair of cargos, one shade darker. They flow into her combat boots, but perhaps the only semblance of uniqueness to her outfit is the violet tie wrapped snug around her neck. It represents her dreams and aspirations--of one day becoming a Color Fixer, the kind so well-respected they deserve a rank above 1st. 

It just so happens that the last purple has left a vacancy. The Purple Comet is what she’ll be, rising so high she can look down on The City, and find what it is she so sorely misses.

That all starts with today; this job will be the breaking point in a life spent sleeping beneath the stars. 

//starter for @justices-blade​

[sacredsorceress]

maybe peter distancing himself from y/n because he thinks he'll danger her because of spiderman but y/n just thinks she did smthn wrong to make peter dislike her, extra extra angsty with a happy ending 💕💕

Distance Between Us || Peter Parker

a/n: if you enjoyed, replies and reblogs are super appreciated!

word count: 2.7k

warnings: accusations of cheating

masterlist || taglist

“I feel terrible about it, Ned.” Peter confessed to his friend, his chin in his hand as he watched you sit on the other side of the library. “This sucks.”

“You could always tell her about it.” Ned suggested. “I don’t think it’d be as bad-”

“Are you kidding me?” Peter cut off his friend. “I- I can’t tell her about it! If I tell her she might break up with me or something.”

“Peter,” Ned said, nudging his head in your direction. “If you keep avoiding her then she’ll definitely break up with you. Just tell her, man.”

Deep down Peter knew that Ned was right.

Being a superhero was far from easy, not only in trying to keep yourself alive to fight another day against the universe’s deadliest adversaries, but also in the way it affected life outside of heroic duties- including Peter’s love life.

About a month ago, while fighting a particularly difficult opponent, they had told Peter that they knew his identity, even going as far to say that if Peter were to find himself messing with their affairs again, that they wouldn’t hesitate to come after the people Peter cared about most- including his girlfriend.

This was shocking to Peter because even you didn’t know he was Spider-Man. He had kept it from you in hopes that it would lighten your load and make your life easier, but all it did was leave you defenseless. Rather than immediately confessing his identity to you after that interaction, however, Peter decided that the best decision would be to separate himself from you in hopes that maybe it would keep his opponent off your trail.

Peter lost too many people already. If saving you meant not being around you as much as he’d like to be then so be it.

Despite the best of Peter’s intentions, though, your boyfriend pulling away and becoming distant only left you feeling hurt, confused and alone.

“Hey,” Betty greeted you, pulling up a chair at your table.

Finally tearing your eyes from your boyfriend who sat on the other side of the room with his friend, you looked up at Betty with a sad smile.

“Hey Bett-“

“Not to be nosy or anything,” Betty began, setting her laptop on the table before nudging her head to where Peter and Ned sat. “But what’s up with you and Peter?”

Although you had noticed the shift in your relationship, there were times when you thought you may have been imagining the whole thing so it was both a relief and an unwelcome reminder that you weren’t the only one who felt Peter begin to stray.

“What do you mean?” You asked, playing dumb.

Glancing between Peter and you, she shrugged.

“I don’t know, I just don’t see you two together anymore.” Betty confessed. “Not that I watch you guys or anything because that would be totally weird, but even when I asked Ned about it he said that nothing was wrong and we both know Ned’s an awful liar.”

Suddenly you felt sick knowing that Ned knew more about what was going on in your relationship than you did.

This time when you glanced at where the two boys were sat, your eyes met Peter’s. When you threw him a soft smile, hoping to receive some semblance of an understanding in return, you felt your heart sink to your stomach when he only adverted his gaze and continued on his conversation with Ned.

“I don’t know.” You sighed, looking up at Betty. “He says that nothing’s wrong but he doesn’t want to hang out in person anymore and even when he does text me its like maybe three texts a day. I don’t know what I did.”

Without even realizing it, tears began to pool in your eyes as you sniffled and continued venting to your friend.

“I just don’t know what to do anymore.” You said, choking on a sob. “I have no idea what he’s doing or where his head’s at and I just feel like he wants absolutely nothing to do with me. I keep trying to think of something I did, but there’s nothing, Betty. I just don’t know what to do.”

Soon you felt your friend’s arms wrap around you, her hand running up and down your arm as you couldn’t help yourself from crying over the predicament you found yourself in. Even if it didn’t end the way you would like- all you wanted were some answers and with Peter avoiding you like the plague that didn’t seem like that would ever be the case. You felt as though you would never understand and just have to go on with your life knowing that your boyfriend just decided he no longer cared about you one day.

Across the library, Peter looked up as he felt Ned rapidly tapping his arm and when he did, he was met with the sight of Betty’s arm wrapped around you, guiding you out of the library.

“S-shit.” Peter cursed, pushing himself out of his seat as the door to the library shut behind the both of you.

Leaving everything of his at the table, Peter rushed towards the door of the library, only slowing to a “speed walk” when the librarian yelled at him to slow down. Flinging the doors of the library open, Peter ran into the hallway, looking in both directions, guessing where you and Betty had escaped to.

When his senses picked up the sound of you sniffling from the nearby bathroom, he felt his heart sink in his chest and made his way towards the women’s bathroom.

“Y/n?” Peter called, knocking on the door.

Rather than your voice, he heard Betty’s through the door.

“She’s not in here!”

Peter sighed before rapping on the door once again.

“Yes she is.” Peter argued. “I- I saw you guys come in here.”

“Oh so now you care?” Betty asked. “She doesn't want to see you, Peter.”

Peter thought that he had known guilt, but when he realized that you were not only upset, but upset at him… he wished he could take back all the times he had dodged you in the hallway or sent you half-assed texts the past month. He knew a part of him should have smartened up and realized that you would recognize and be affected by his actions, but he was so blinded by fear that it rarely crossed his mind.

Now he knew he had to clean up the mess he had made.

“Okay.” Peter conceded, leaning against the closed door. “Can you at least tell her that I’m sorry?”

After a moment of silence, Betty replied.

“And?”

“And I’m sorry that I didn’t talk to her.” Peter continued. “And if you just let me inside to talk to her then I’ll explain everything.”

As you sat on the counter in the bathroom, you watched as Betty turned towards you, asking wordlessly what you wanted her to do next. Though you were embarrassed by making such a scene in the library that even your boyfriend who had been determined to avoid you noticed, you had to admit that what mattered most to you was getting answers and finally digging yourself out of the whole you had fallen into.

“It’s okay, Betty.” You told her, wiping tears from your cheeks. “You can let him in.”

“You sure?” She asked.

“I’m sure.”

Only nodding her head and shining a sympathetic smile in your direction, Betty then turned towards the door and pulled it open harshly- Peter who had been leaning on it falling to the tiled floor of the women’s bathroom as she did.

As he scrambled to his feet, Betty only walked past him, slamming the door shut behind her.

“What do you want, Peter?” You asked as you crossed your arms and sniffled. 

Gazing at your tearstained face, Peter swore he felt his heart shatter in his chest, knowing that he was the cause of your suffering- a pain that could’ve so easily been avoided had he just allowed his brain to take the lead rather than his fear.

“I just wanted to explain, Y/n.” Peter began, playing with the hem of his sweatshirt. “I don’t want you to think that it’s your fault.”

This was it. These were the words you had always feared Peter would say to you and you were living in the midst of them now. It felt as though all the nights he had promised that he would never leave you were just some twisted joke and all you could hear were those empty promises playing on a loop inside your head, knowing the words that you were about to hear next.

“Peter if you’re going to break up with me,” You said, shaking your head. “Then just do it already. I think you’ve dragged it on long enough.”

Though you had prepared yourself for the end, you hadn't prepared yourself to see Peter’s confused and horrified face staring back at you.

“What?”

Peter couldn’t believe the words coming out of your mouth. He couldn’t possibly fathom how you believed that he would ever break up with you.

“Just do it, Peter.” You said. “Just break up with me or tell me who the girl is or whatever- but please just stop leaving me in the dark.”

“You... you think I cheated on you?” Peter asked in shock.

“I mean what else could it be, Peter?” You asked, throwing your hands in the air. “You’ve been so secretive. Never mind how much you’ve been avoiding me. I don’t know what to think anymore.”

Not being able to help himself, Peter strode across the bathroom over to the counter where you stood and rested his hands on either of your arms, looking you in the eyes.

“I would never cheat on you.” Peter said seriously. “I- I know I’ve been secretive but it’s something else-”

“What, Peter?” You asked, losing your patience. “Just tell me.”

Peter found himself unable to speak, his breath catching in his throat and every word he had ever learned slipping from his mind. He was stuck. He was stuck in the same position that he had been dozens of times before- telling himself that he was ready- that this was finally the day he would confess his true identity to you and open up about everything that he had been hiding, but just like every other time he found himself stuck and unable to confess to his crimes.

“I…” Peter said. “It’s complicated.”

You couldn’t help the laugh that left your throat. It was humorless, dry and lacked affection in every sense of the word.

“Great.” You said, shrugging off his hands and hopping of the counter. “Of course it is, Peter. You know, I would’ve thought after years of being together that you’d have more respect for me... but I guess not.”

Peter watched overwrought as you picked your backpack off of the floor, slipping its straps over your shoulders before heading towards the door.

He couldn't let you go. Not this time. Not without the truth. If you wanted to leave him after then so be it, but he couldn’t bare the idea of you walking out that door and thinking he had anything but love in his heart for you.

“Wait-”

Peter pleaded, but you had enough. Shaking your head, you reached for the door handle.

“I’m tired of waiting, Peter.”

His heart racing so fast Peter was sure it would beat through his chest, he frantically searched the room trying to find any reason or way to make you stay, and that’s when it hit him.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Just as you were about to pull the door open, you heard the sound of something being flung and the next second, the door stuck in its place, refusing to move with your efforts.

Looking up, you saw a large web holding the door shut and felt your heart stop.

Whipping around, you saw Peter standing under the flickering, fluorescent lighting of the bathroom, his arm raised and a web shooter sticking out of the sleeve of his shirt.

It couldn’t be. As much as you loved and admired your boyfriend and thought the world of him, you really couldn’t believe it.

“Peter...”

Your mouth agape and eyes blown wide, you were completely and utterly shocked.

Dropping his arm to his side, Peter rushed to your side and gripped either of your arms just as he did moments before.

“I know this is... it’s a lot.” Peter chuckled dryly, attempting to make light of the situation. “But I uh... I think you can guess why I’ve been so secretive.”

Suddenly it all clicked- the leaving early from date nights and parties, the having to cancel plans after school, the bruises he showed up with the next day- he was Spider-man. You should have known your boyfriend would have never cheated on you, but also the farthest thing from your mind was that Peter was a crime-fighting superhero.

“You’re Spider-man?” You whisper shouted, pulling on your boyfriend’s sweatshirt. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Woah!” Peter exclaimed pulling your hands from his sweatshirt and holding them in his. “I’m sorry. I was just scared to tell you and thought... ya know... that it would make your life a little easier.”

You only stared at him blankly.

“You thought I wouldn’t want to know that my boyfriend was a literal superhero?”

“Well…” Peter said, scratching the back of his neck. “And to um… to protect you.”

“What do you mean?” You asked.

Peter took a deep breath before exhaling slowly, recalling the whole reason the two of you found yourselves in this predicament.

“This stuff- it’s dangerous, Y/n.” Peter said squeezing your hands. “About a month ago-”

“When you started being distant?”

“Yeah,” He replied before continuing. “About a month ago I went after this group of ya know- pretty bad guys- and they really messed me up, but before they knocked me out they told me that if I kept messing with them then... then they’d hurt the people I care about.”

You watched as the tone in Peter’s voice shifted, a crack breaking through his throat as he went on about your life being threatened.

“And I couldn’t lose you, Y/n.” He sighed. “I’ve already lost so much, I couldn’t lose you too. I thought if I separated myself from you for a little bit everything would be fine, but I’m so stupid because I should’ve known that it would hurt you too. I didn’t mean to, Y/n. I swear. You mean everything to me and I love you so, so much.”

Although the feelings that you you went through the past month couldn’t be washed away with a single apology, the explanation was enough to bring you peace in that moment. Although a flawed logic, you could understand why Peter did what he did and saw it as a viable solution. Despite the pain, all you wanted was to go back to the way things were your boyfriend- now, just with a better understanding of who and what he was.

“I forgive you, Peter.” You squeezed his hands back, giving him a soft smile. “It sucked, but I can see why you did it. Just promise you’ll be more honest next time?”

Shocked that you even gave him the light of day, Peter smiled and nodded eagerly, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you tight towards him.

“I promise.” He whispered into you neck as he squeezed you even more. “I promise, I promise, I promise. And I swear I’ll protect you too, okay? I promise.”

“That’s a lot of promises, Pete.” You laughed.

Pulling away from you slightly and looking you in the eyes, Peter smiled back.

“And I mean them all, okay?” Peter said before leaning in and brushing his lips against yours. “I promise.”

Trusting him in every sense of the world, you couldn’t help the smile that reached your face as you met his lips.

[storiesforallfandoms]

come home ~ wanda maximoff;marvel

word count: 1541

request?: no

description: in which they send her best friend into her dream reality to save her

pairing: wanda maximoff x platonic!female!reader

warnings: some sadness but it’s a wanda imagine y’all should be prepared for that

masterlist (one, two)

I zipped up the astronaut like suit, feeling how heavy it was as it settled against my body. Darcy was looking at me with concern as Monica passed me my helmet.

“Are you sure about this, (Y/N)?” Darcy asked. “You saw what happened to Monica. What if Wanda just puts you in a role in her TV show, too?”

“Then I’m just a part of the show,” I responded with a shrug. “Whatever I can do to help Wanda, I’m going to do it.”

“From what we’ve observed already, Wanda will likely cut any interaction that you two have that doesn’t conform to the sitcom standards out from her broadcast,” Jimmy said. “So we won’t know if you’re talking to actual Wanda if you do get through to her, which means we won’t know if she gets hostile.”

“She won’t,” I told him. “I know she’s deep in this fantasy she has, but she’ll recognize me. I’m not just some random agent, I’m her best friend.”

The look of skepticism that was on all their faces was starting to annoy me, but I couldn’t help but also feel a bit worried about the outcome of what I was about to do. I didn’t have as much faith as I was pretending to have, but someone had to do something to save Wanda. The only other option was letting Hayward attack, and I was not about to let that happen.

I secured the helmet to my suit and started for the force field. It rippled in front of me as I reached a hand out for it. I could feel the power before I even touched it. My heart was racing, but I knew there was no going back. I had to do this. For Wanda.

I held my breath and pushed through, breaking through and immediately got sucked through. I closed my eyes, expecting to open them as one of Wanda’s brainwashed cast members. I could’ve sobbed with relief when my body hit the ground and I hadn’t had my brain absolutely scrambled.

I looked around, taking in the world I had only seen on screens. I couldn't believe Wanda had done this; I had no idea she would’ve been able to do this.

I quickly took off the suit and walked through Westview. Dozens of eyes followed me with the false smiles plastered on their faces. It made my skin crawl as I realized the true severity of what Wanda had done.

My heart was hammering in my chest as I approached Wanda’s dream home. This part made me feel that slight guilt at having to try and ruin her fantasy life, but it had to be done. These people didn’t deserve what was happening to them.

I knocked on the front door and waited. My heart squeezed in my chest as a young boy, one of Wanda’s sons, answered the door.

“Hi,” I said. “Is your mom home?”

He nodded and turned around to call, “Mom!”

Wanda appeared from the kitchen, wearing a dress and apron from whatever time period she was supposed to be in now. She was smiling until she saw me, then her face went completely blank.

“Billy, sweetie, you go play with your brother, okay?” she asked, absentmindedly.

“Tommy’s out with dad.”

“Then...just...do whatever.”

By this time, Wanda had crossed the room to reach me. She extended one arm, pushing me back onto the doorstep, while closing the door with her other hand.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. I couldn’t tell if she was angry to have someone breaking her illusion, or shocked that I was the one breaking it.

“I came to help you,” I responded.

“I don’t need help. I’m fine.”

“You may be fine, but these people aren’t, Wanda.”

She shook her head. “They’re fine. Everyone here is fine, we don’t need help.”

I grabbed Wanda’s shoulders without thinking. She had the power to either launch me out of the Hex, or make me part of it. She obviously wasn’t in her right mind if she waws okay with enslaving an entire town. But I wasn’t afraid of her. Wanda was my best friend, and I knew that deep down, no matter how unstable she was, she’d never hurt me.

“Wanda, look at these people,” I urged her. “Really look at them. The smiles are painful, their eyes are full of fear. They are not fine; you are not fine.”

She reluctantly looked over my shoulder at the people who had undoubtably crowded around behind us. Her eyes started to widen, as if finally realizing what she had done. I watched her eyes dart between all the people, her face continuing to change until she squeezed her eyes closed and burying the heels of her palms into her eyes.

“No,” she said, her voice quiet. “No.”

“Wanda,” I said. “Please, look at me for a second.”

She slowly lowered her hands from her eyes and looked at me. I took her hands in mine, giving them a reassuring squeeze.

“I know you’ve been through a lot,” I told her. “I know that things have been hard since you lost Vision, and the Blip. I know this fantasy is hard to give up because it’s what you always wanted, but this is not how to go about getting it. These people do not deserve to be used like this. You deserve real happiness, not an illusion you created from your own sadness.”

Her eyes were welling with tears. She glanced behind her at the house before looking back at me. “This is place Vis was going to build for us. He left me the blueprints, that’s how I built it, and the whole town.”

I tried my best to smile at her. “It’s beautiful, Wanda.”

She took a deep, shaky breath. “I have to give it all up, don’t I?”

I nodded. “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “No, don’t be sorry. I needed this wake up call. I can’t spend the rest of my life living in a fantasy. I need to wake up, come back to the real world.”

The sky rippled and I realized it was because she was starting to close the Hex. I quickly tugged on her hands, grabbing her attention and causing the rippling to stop.

“No, you can’t close it here,” I told her. “We have to go to the edge of the Hex. That’s where my friends are waiting. They’ll take you somewhere you can be safe. The director of S.W.O.R.D is out there now with enough power to take you down the minute the Hex is broken. Once we get to the edge, then you can break it down and we’ll take off.”

“Why is trying to - ?”

“It’s a long story, most of it being because he’s a power hungry nut case. I’ll explain when we’re out, okay?”

She nodded. She looked back at the house again and I could tell this wasn’t going to be easy for her. One of her sons was in there, the other was out with the man she loved. They were all creations from her mind that would disappear the minute she closed the Hex. That wasn’t just something she was going to be able to let go of so easily.

When she was finally ready, I led her to where I had entered the Hex slowly, giving her time to come to terms with the end of it all. The power I had felt when I entered pulsated stronger as Wanda neared it.

“Are you ready?” I asked her.

She took a deep breath. “No, but I have to do this.”

I reached out and took her hand in mine again. She looked back at me and I smiled at her.

The boarders rippled again and slowly, a passage way for us to exit opened. We walked through to the other side, where Monica, Darcy, and Jimmy were waiting. Their eyes widened when they realized Wanda was with me, and Monica was the first to approach us. Behind me and Wanda, I could feel the power of the Hex slowly starting to retreat.

“Hi,” Monica said to Wanda.

“Hi,” Wanda said back. “I’m sorry for what I did to you.”

Monica shook her head. “Don’t be sorry. Honestly, it was kind of fun to live in a sitcom.”

“Guys!” Darcy called. “We gotta get out of here before Hayward goes looking for Wanda!”

We quickly raced towards the vehicle that Jimmy had taken from S.W.O.R.D. for us. Once we were all in and secured, he took off down the road away from the Hex. I looked behind me to see that the town that was once the beautiful Westview was now just a normal place, with the residence walking around as themselves once again.

I looked over at Wanda, who was staring blankly ahead of her. I took her hand in mine and she looked over at me.

“You should tell me about him,” I said. “Vision. The real one, I mean. I never got to meet him, you know.”

She smiled a little. “You would’ve loved him.”

I nodded. “I know I would’ve.”

[charlietheepicwriter7]

High Priest, Pt. 2

From “The Many Akumatizations of Luka Couffaine.” 

The class was, for the most part, silent.

No one knew what to feel after yesterday, Juleka included. It was… Everything was fine, they were all hanging out, and then Lila mentioned that Marinette got out of trouble for bullying her, which was horrible, and… and…

Juleka didn’t know who pushed Marinette. She just knew that someone did. No one goes from backing away from a hoard of angry teenagers to crumpled at the bottom of concrete stairs by the Seine by yourself. And then Lila had said, 

“Wow, I can’t believe she’s faking being hurt. She has a lot of nerve after pushing me down the stairs. I didn’t make such a big deal out of it.”

And they all just left her.

But Marinette wasn’t faking. She’d seen it in Luka’s face when her parents had called him, saying that Marinette was in the hospital and that he needed to come, as her boyfriend (her boyfriend, Luka was her boyfriend, when Lila had told them Marinette had bullied her because of Marinette’s jealousy over how close she and Adrien were-). And now… 

And now…

The class was silent. 

Who was the guilty one, Juleka wondered. Not Lila, she had stood at the back of the group while they accosted Marinette. Not Adrien, who hadn’t gotten involved and hadn’t defended Marinette, a true neutral that wasn’t neutral at all. Not Chloe, who wasn’t even there and chatted away with Sabrina without a care in the world, unknowing or uncaring about their hospitalized friend. But Alya, but Nino, but Kim, but anyone… 

There was a murderer among them. 

A sharp trill of their phones went off, all of them at once. The akuma alert. Alya, who already had her phone out, was the first to shout. “There’s an akuma at Arc Hospital!”

Juleka paled. (“I’m going to Arc Hospital! Tell mom not to wait for me!”)

“Apparently it can transform the environment,” Alya gushed, like her best friend wasn’t in danger. No one noticed Adrien leaving with a rushed excuse about the bathroom - they were all used to his weak bladder by now. “That’s so cool! I’ve never seen an akuma do that before!”

“There might be a sentimonster along with it,” Nino pointed out. “Maybe on the hospital itself, and that’s why it transformed.”

“Oh, that makes more sense!” Alya replied, already packing up her bag. “I’m going to head to the sight; someone has to document the akuma!”

“I’ll go with you,” Nino said. 

The two were heading out the door, nothing too different, when Lila spoke up, shakily raising her hand. “C-Can I come too?” she asked. “It’s just… I’ve been so worried about Ladybug lately; akuma’s have been getting a lot stronger, so I just thought that I could be there for her, cheer her on?”

Alya looked nervous. “Well, actually-”

“That’s a great idea!” Rose gushed, like they didn’t have a friend in that specific hospital. “I’m sure Ladybug will defeat the akuma with her best friend by her side!”

“Yeah!”

“Hey, we should go too!”

“Ladybug will certainly feel empowered if an entire class cheers her on!”

“Sure. She’ll probably end up needing Queen Bee, if the akuma is that powerful.”

We shouldn’t do that, Juleka tried to say, only for the words to get stuck in her throat. Did they see that they were putting themselves in danger, potential hostages for the akuma? But no, they were blind. Lila led them like lemmings, encouraging them, saying “Yes, of course Ladybug would love that, we should all go!”

That’s how, despite her instincts, Juleka was forced into going to ground zero. At least she wasn’t the only one disliking the situation. Both Alya and Nino looked put out for some reason, and Chloe was just unhappy in general. 

The hospital had been transformed into a temple. “Aztec,” Rose whispered as they all stared up at the pyramid. “It looks… like those pictures from that research project Luka was doing.” Juleka nodded and suddenly had a horrible feeling about who exactly the akuma was. The stone looked rough, the mica a sandy-grey. Pictographs were carved into the stone, unlike any Juleka had ever seen, with each image growing more and more graphic in violence as the class climbed the pyramid together. They all… looked like people, she noticed.

The truly concerning factor, however, was the group of people that gathered at the bottom of the pyramid as the class trekked upward. But no one else set foot on the temple. They were utterly alone. 

There was only one entrance into the temple, a wide, gaping mouth of a door. Fire flickered inside the opening. Alya gave a shaky smile as she readied her camera. “Well, I guess we’re expected, right guys?” Her attempt at a joke fell flat as the class inched into the temple. 

The inside was covered in carvings, intricate and beautiful, painted and bright. Most of them depicted a beautiful dark-haired woman with a crescent moon on her forehead being worshiped. Was she the akuma? Some woman with a god-complex that turned the hospital into… this? Torches lined the walls, throwing dark shadows across the paintings. “They look like they’re moving,” Nathaniel whispered, enthralled as the class spread out, everyone looking around the interior. 

Alix frowned. “It doesn’t look very Aztec to me.”

At the center of the room was a glass altar. Or, more accurately, as Juleka approached it, a glass coffin. The frosted glass concealed the content’s identity at a distance, but up close, Juleka realized it was… “Marinette?”

That got everyone’s attention. Shocked gasps and exclamations filled the room. Alya pushed her way to the front. “What? No, it can’t be…”

Nino looked at the coffin nervously. “She can’t be akumatized, can she?”

“Of course not!” Alya spat back, coming to the defense of her comatose best friend. “She’s too strong to-”

Lila clung to Alya, cutting her off. “She was probably so upset that I revealed she was bullying me!” She wailed, the sound grating in the echoing expanse of the hall. “Oh, it’s all my fault that Marinette finally got akumatized!” For a moment, Juleka thought Lila sounded… vindicated? What?

“Cease your lies, Defiler of this hallowed place. -A strong, male, familiar voice boomed out, seemingly from nowhere-“Lest your accursed tongue wound the ears of our slumbering Goddess.”

From the shadows immerged a blue figure, dressed like a stereotypical Aztec priest. His skin, mostly his bare chest and face, was covered in black tattoos, like the line of triangles under his left eye and over his right. He wore a large, jeweled necklace that sparkled in the fire light, and feathers, dark blue and pink, trailed out of his short hair and down his back, past the linen skirt he wore to cover his modesty. 

It was obvious at first glance that the akuma was Luka. 

What was also obvious was the large, ceremonial knife in his hand. 

“Rejoice, heretics, non-believers, and renouncers of the faith,” the akuma said, looking down on their class with cold rage. “The day has come at last to join our Goddess in everlasting peace at her side. For I, the High Priest, have been given the sacred duty of awakening the Goddess of the Moon, the Melody of all Hearts, the Ever-Resting Queen… and it is with your blood that she will live again.”

Rose trembled at Juleka’s side. “Our… blood?” she whispered.

“Correct.” He could hear them, oh no, oh no… “Either through service or sacrifice, it matters little to me. Though my Goddess may wish for you to bleed through service, I care not so long as the blood is taken.”

“You…” Alya growled, then snapped, pointing at the High Priest. “Ladybug and Chat Noir will defeat you and save Marinette, you fiend. And if you think any of us are joining you, you’ve got another thing coming!”

“So, you have chosen death.” The room grew darker, the torches dimming. The High Priest’s eyes glowed neon blue. “Then may my Goddess have mercy on your fleeting soul…

“For I will have none.”

Taglist: @larasilvestris   @vixen-uchiha    

[alcinadimitrescuwu]

A Modest Proposal (Alcina x Fem!Reader)

Premise: You finally muster up the courage to propose to Alcina Dimitrescu. But will everything go as planned?

Note: Even though we technically don't know Alcina's middle name, I gave her Carmilla as her middle name in homage to another beloved Sapphic vampire! :)

Warnings: blood. Steamy scenes her and there, but nothing NSFW.

As you take the last steps towards your mistress’s chambers you have to stop for a minute and take some deep breaths. The other maids had taken to giving you concerned glances all morning. Your nerves had been so fraught that a plate had slipped out of your sweaty hands and broken. You didn’t mind the stares. To everyone else, this is just an ordinary day. Not for you.

Today is the day you are going to propose to Alcina Dimitrescu.

However, you have some errands to run first. For that you are going to have to ask Alcina, ironically enough, for the rest of the day off.

You steel yourself, slap your cheeks to banish any last nerves and knock on the door.

“Come in,” you hear an elegant, mature voice call.

Lady Dimitrescu is seated at her secretary, lining up accounts for the month. Her brow is furrowed in concentration. Upon clearing your throat, she takes off her reading glasses and when she sees you a smile bursts across her face that takes your breath away.

After a year and a half of courting, you could still not believe that this beautiful woman was your lover. You take in her laugh lines and dimples, her slightly puffy cheeks that she hated but you found adorable, her carmine lips freshly painted, and her blue eyes with a corona of gold around them that you found absolutely mesmerizing.

She takes your hand and kisses your knuckles. “Yes, iubirea mea, what can I do for you?”

“I would like to take the rest of the day off if that’s alright with you,” you say in a rush.

She blinks, surprised, but then smiles. “I don’t mind. After all, you’ve been working so hard lately. Have you cleared it with the head maid?”

“Yes-” Before you can say any more, in an instant Alcina has bent down and taken you in her arms with your back against her ample bosom. You feel hot breath on your neck and her curls tickle your ears as she whispers, “We could spend the whole day together. How would you like that, pet?”

You find yourself lost for words as she moves your uniform collar and begins kissing your neck. You lean back and sigh. Her perfume is intoxicating. She moves one hand to your hip and the other begins to peel back your skirt.

You would rather do nothing more than to make love to Alcina on your day off, however there are other matters more pressing. It takes great self control to take her hands off of you. A look of hurt crosses her face. You turn around and give her a chaste kiss and hold her face in your hands. “Forgive me, darling. I would love to but I have some errands to run. May I see you later? Dinner, the usual time?”

Her expression brightens and she kisses you deeply. “I’ll look forward to tonight then,” she says, tucking a curl behind your ear.

You can only nod and when you turn around, Alcina gives you a playful slap on the bum. You look back at her and she gives you a devilish grin.

Closing the door behind you, you can’t help but let out a chuckle. Alcina’s libido, it seemed, could never be satiated. As you take a step you wince and rub your behind. That woman honestly didn’t know her own strength sometimes.

You wrap your scarf around you as you leave the castle grounds. It may be the dead of winter but you find yourself sweating from nerves. The Duke catches your eye and waves you over.

“Ah, Miss Y/N! Just the lady I wanted to see. Your package just arrived.”

You feel your breath catch but nod silently. He turns around and begins rummaging around in the store. You turn around so as to not catch a glimpse of the Duke’s massive behind and you freeze. Alcina is at the window enjoying her morning cigarette. And she is staring directly at you.

You whisper to him, “Wait.” Alcina is still looking at you as she’s taking a drag off her cigarette. Smoke wreathes her gorgeous face. You give her a nervous wave. She waves back and then hears the phone ring. With a grimace, she puts out her cigarette and steps back inside.

You turn back to the Duke. “All right. It should be fine now.”

The Duke smiles and then presents you with a box slightly larger than a normal engagement ring box. With bated breath you open the box and behold the engagement ring that you have bought for Alcina.

Getting the ring had not been easy. When the Duke had told you the price for an engagement ring, especially a custom-made ring for Alcina, you nearly cried with frustration. After all, the main purpose of you working at Castle Dimitrescu was to send back money for your aging parents. When you and Lady Dimitrescu had first begun courting and she learned of your family’s financial situation she had offered to send them money herself each month so you didn’t have to work. However, your pride would not allow it. Any money sent back to your home, you wanted to come from your labors.

Getting enough money for your parents while also raising money to buy the ring had been a long and arduous process. You had begun taking up extra shifts to make up the money. There had been many nights where you had fallen asleep on the sofa with a feather duster in your hand and Alcina had to scoop you up in her arms and carry you to bed herself. But looking in at the ring within the box, you found it had been all worth it. The ring is beautiful, around 14 karats of gold inlaid with rubies forming the House Dimitrescu crest. You are sure Alcina would love it. It had taken time to get the exact measurements of her ring finger. While Alcina was asleep, you had taken her left hand often and studied her ring finger making sure the ring fit snug but not too tight. To get the crest right, you had taken to drawing it over and over again in your off time before you had a drawing good enough to show the Duke to have it commissioned.

You look up and grin at the Duke with tears in your eyes. “Duke, it's beautiful!” you breathe. “Alcina- er, Lady Dimitrescu will love it!”

He pats your hand as you slip the box into your apron pocket. “Not a problem at all, m’dear! Good luck tonight!”

With that done, you head back to the castle. You practically skip back to the gates, taking out the box every so often and peeking inside. Your joy dissipates when you realize what the next item on your to do list is.

Asking for Lady Dimitrescu’s daughters’ blessing.

When you walk in, you actually run into them getting ready to go out. Bela smiles at you as she adjusts Daniela’s cowl on her traveling cloak. “Y/N! Good to see you! Mother told us you had taken the day off.”

Cassandra pipes up, “We were just going out to go hunting! Want to come with us?”

“Actually I wanted to talk to you all about something,” you say as you look around the foyer for any sign of the girls’ mother. “Is there somewhere private we can all talk? Preferably somewhere your mother doesn’t frequent?”

Daniela’s eyes glitter mischievously. “Oooh, keeping secrets are we? Come on, I know a perfect place we can hide!”

Daniels leads the pack to the library. “Mother usually practices her singing around this time,” she says over her shoulder. “So there’s not a chance she’ll overhear anything you say.”

Sure enough, you hear Lady Dimitrescu’s voice singing an elaborate coloratura from upstairs. Perfect.

Daniela’s hands run over the panels in the wall. “Now where is it….Aha there it is!” Daniela picks up a loose panel on the wall and puts it to the side. She steps in and backons the rest of you forward.

There is no light in this room save for torches every couple meters. The room can’t be much more than 6 feet tall, so there was no way Lady Dimitrescu could fit in properly. “We used to hide from Mother here all the time as children,” Daniela winks conspiratorially at you.

Cassandra begins jumping up and down excitedly. “Now what’s the secret? Tell us! Tell us!”

You take a deep breath and then let it out. “All right...Tonight I am planning on proposing to your mother and-”

You are cut off by the girls’ cries of jubilation. Daniela runs over and gives you a big hug. Bela has burst into happy tears. Cassandra continues jumping up and down and chanting, “Bonus mom! Bonus mom!”

You can’t help but laugh. “Does that mean I have your blessing?”

“Of course!” they yell in unison.

Bela says excitedly, “The ring! Do you have a ring?”

Blushing furiously you nod and take out the black velvet box and open it. They “ooh” and “aah” and take turns looking at it before they finally relinquish it back to you. As you put the box back into your pocket, you say, “Well girls, I need to start getting ready. Please make sure not to do anything to arouse your mother’s suspicions. I want it to be a surprise.”

The girls nod their assent, but Cassandra interjects, “Do you need help getting ready? We want you to be looking your best for tonight!”

Everyone enthusiastically agrees and you can’t help but smile fondly at the girls. You may be closer in age to them, but ever since you had begun courting their mother, you loved them like they were your own children. “All right, if you insist.”

The girls cheer and Cassaandra takes you by the hand and leads you back to your room to get ready.

15 minutes before your meeting with Lady Dimitrescu you take a look in the mirror. The girls truly outdid themselves on your makeover. Daniela had curled your hair and it hung in ringlets over your shoulders. Cassandra had given you one of her dresses, a red column dress that was backless with a plunging neckline. This wasn’t the sort of thing you would normally wear, but you had to admit the silhouette was very flattering, highlighting your natural curves. The best part: it had pockets large enough to hide the ring box! Bela was on makeup duty, giving you wingtips sharper than Alcina’s claws and a smokey eye. You spritz on some rosewater perfume and head out. As you pass the hall mirror, you consider putting your hair up in a chignon but think better of it. Alcina had always liked your hair best when it was down.

When you are at the door to Alcina’s chambers you take a deep breath before knocking on the door. “Come in, iubirea mea,” Alcina’s voice purrs within.

You head inside and Alcina has her back turned on you, lighting the candelabras at the table she has set up for you two. “I’ve needed this, my love. You should’ve heard what that fool Heisenberg-”

She stops and stares at you. You can’t help but feel self-conscious as she takes you in. She finally sets the candlestick she was using to light the others back in the candelabra and heads purposefully towards you. She scoops you up in her arms and kisses you deeply, burying her hands in your curls. She breaks the kiss and strokes your cheek. “You look beautiful,” she says breathlessly.

You can’t help but blush at the compliment. “So do you,” you reply as she sets you down gently, praying she doesn’t hear the box rustling in your skirts. She takes your hand and leads you to your seat where she pulls out your chair for you. You take her hand that is resting on the back of your seat and kiss it.

Dinner proceeds as normal at first. You listen to her talk about her day, which takes your mind off the proposal for a bit. Then she puts it at the forefront of your mind when she says, “I saw you talking to the merchant this morning. Did you have anything special coming in?”

Your mouth goes dry. How do you respond to that? “Oh, no. He just wanted to chat. You know how he gets!”

Alcina purses her lips but nods eventually. “Indeed.”

Awkward silence settles over you for a bit. Then she begins talking again, this time ranting about Heisenberg and you almost sigh in relief. This is easy. You just have to listen and agree with whatever she says.

“And then do you know what that fool called me? He called me a ‘simp’ for Mother Miranda! I didn’t even know what that was. I had to ask my daughters and when they told me of course I was infuriated.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I mean, a simp? Me? Ha! Imagine! He’s just jealous because he wishes that he had half the devotion that I have for her!”

“Uh-huh.”

“Do you think I’m a simp?”

“Uh-huh.”

She glares at you from across the table. Damn. She’s caught you.

You stumble over your words trying to correct your stupid blunder. “I mean, no! Of course you’re not a simp! Where would he get that idea?”

Alcina leans across the table and takes your chin in her hand, forcing you to look directly into her eyes. “Am I boring you, pet?” she asks, a dangerous edge to her voice.

“Er, no! No, I'm having a great time!” you say, smiling stupidly at her.

Alcina lets go of your chin and settles back in her chair, crossing her arms. Her stormy expression can’t disguise the look of hurt on her face. “You were the one that suggested we meet tonight, darling. I can’t see why you would want to if you’re not going to at least attempt to be present with me.”

“I’m sorry, darling. I-”

She turns away from you, her large hat blocking her expression. “Maybe you should go.” She gets up and crosses the room to open the door.

No, no, God, no this can’t be happening. This is your worst nightmare. You can’t let her open the door, you just can’t.

You practically fall to one knee. “Alcina!”

“What?” she snaps, turning her head toward you. Her expression softens as she sees that you are down on one knee with the box open. Her chest rises and falls rapidly as she says so quietly you have to lean to hear it, “Draga mea, what are you doing?”

You had a big speech prepared for this. But everything else has gone to hell in a handbasket, so you might as well get it over with. “Alcina Carmilla Dimitrescu, will you marry me?”

Alcina just stands there and stares. The tears that had been building in her eyes now spill over as she kneels down to your level and gives you a passionate kiss.

You smile against her lips and break the kiss. “Does that mean yes?”

“Yes, my darling,” she gives you a watery smile and caresses your jaw. “Yes.”

With trembling hands you take the ring out of the box and slip it on her left ring finger. She lifts her hand and inspects the new ring in the chandelier light. The rubies catch the light, nearly blinding you with their brilliance.

“How does it fit? It’s not too tight?”

She beams at you, positively radiating with joy. “It fits perfectly.” She then rises and heads over to her dresser and opens the top drawer. To your surprise, she pulls out a red box with the Dimitrescu family crest on the top. She sinks to one knee and presents you with an old, but beautiful ring. It must have been passed down through the Dimitrescu bloodline for generations.

Your face feels hot and you feel tears welling up in your eyes. She gently takes your arm. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” She wipes the tears that have already begun cascading your cheeks. “It is tradition for House Dimitrescu to propose with the family ring to symbolize the unification of two houses. I had been planning to propose to you next week. You beat me to it, you clever girl.” She takes your hand and slips the Dimitrescu family ring on your ring finger. It is slightly larger than your finger, but you don’t care. You couldn’t be happier.

Alcina takes you into her lap and kisses you passionately. In between kisses, she queries, ”All those extra shifts you took. They were all for me?”

“Yes, my love,” you say breathlessly. “All for you.”

She stands up and takes you in her arms. You wrap your arms around her neck as she deepens the kiss, exploring your mouth with her tongue. You can taste salty tears on her lips. She carries you over to the bed kissing you the whole time and sets you down gently. She kneels over you on the bed and you rest your leg on her hip. The slit in your skirt rises up, exposing your stockinged leg. After putting her hand gently on your shoulder, Alcina begins kissing your neck. You lean back into the cushions and sigh.

You hear a low moan in her throat, almost like a whine as she kisses your pulse point. You don’t say anything; you just nod. Soon enough you feel the sharp but familiar sensation of Alcina’s fangs piercing your neck. She holds you against her body and you bury your hands in her curls, causing her hat to fall off. Briefly taking her hand off your shoulder, she slaps the hat aside like it was so much rubbish. You take pleasure in every sigh, every moan, every exclamation you elicit from her as she drinks. When she finally stops drinking she wipes her mouth and gives you a seductive smirk. “Good girl,” she purrs.

Alcina’s mouth is on yours again as she undoes your halter while you unhook her garter. She breaks the kiss and cradles your face in her hands. “Te iubesc, draga mea.”

You take her hand and kiss it while saying, “And I you, Alcina.”

The two of you make love until the sun rises the next morning.

[writertitan]

Only You

pairing: levi x reader 

word count: 2307

themes: jealous!reader, so much fluff and comfort, one could say too much fluff (but not me), angst if you squint at the beginning

requested by anon

A single, light touch of his arm and batting of lashes never affected you. Plenty of girls had done this before and were always shaken off of Levi by the man himself, almost instantly. He was always quick to draw a boundary, with women especially, if they got too close for comfort. It was the persistence of this current girl, though, that made you squirm and made you uncomfortable. Because she was good at making it lighthearted, innocent, not as brash and bold as all the others who had tried to flirt with Levi before. And if Levi had caught on to her advances, he hadn’t done a thing to ward her off. 

Granted, she was an employee, someone who was helping you both pick out a birthday gift for Hange, but you were able to read between the lines. The way she let her fingers brush with Levi’s just for a moment as she handed him a potential gift for your mutual friend, the way her smile was polite for you but beaming for Levi, the way her eyes sparkled when his own gaze landed on her, the way she was either between the two of you or next to him, but never next to you. Her praises of his taste when he looked at a new gift, her polite recognition of you when Levi would ask for your input, all of it, just all of it. You weren’t blind to it but it seemed that Levi was. It made you quiet, quieter than usual, but you couldn’t help your own unspoken behaviors that told more than words could. You were fidgeting, withdrawn, and while Levi didn’t seem to notice the girl’s advances, he did quickly tune into the fact that getting a full sentence out of you was suddenly like pulling teeth. 

Eventually, you let Levi take the lead and shrunk back from him and the girl, your heart sinking low each time she smiled at him, each time she complimented him. Your arms were folded tightly over your chest, as if to keep your heart in one piece, and you hoped that you didn’t look as uncomfortable and upset as you felt. Still, you felt your eyes squinting each time they interacted, and you felt yourself hiding into yourself, wishing you could do more than just watch.

“What do you think?” he pressed you, holding up a small apothecary box. “Four Eyes has been harping on and on about experimenting with alchemy like the crackpot she is. You think this set will be put to good use?” 

You watched as the girl blinked at you expectantly, eyes wide and innocent as she shuffled closer to Levi. 

Try as you might to try and get even a short approval out of your mouth, the words couldn’t come. They were stuck in your throat, bubbling over and dying out before you could even open your mouth. You gave Levi a shrug, and finally, a short and simple, “She’ll like it,” left your lips. Barely above a whisper. 

Levi was frustrated with you now, you could tell, but said nothing of it as he walked up to the counter to pay for the gift. You hadn’t followed him and that had spurred the employee on a little, it seemed; she was much chattier as she packaged the gift for Levi, marveling again about what a wonderful gift giver he was. It wasn’t until she handed Levi the package and set her hand on his arm for a moment too long that it seemed to click for him. 

“Come back again soon,” you heard her say. Levi said nothing to her, and said nothing to you as you both stepped out into the evening. 

                 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Not a word had been said since leaving the shop. Levi had taken you back to his room and you sat down in a chair in the corner as you fidgeted quietly, those words still squashed and thick in your throat. Truth be told, you knew that it was a little silly. Levi would never encourage flirtatious behavior, much less reciprocate, and he may have genuinely not noticed earlier. But that had been the first time someone had blatantly disregarded you like that. That had been the first time a woman had been so shameless in her pursuit, however discreet it was. 

“Are we going to talk about it or are you going to keep moping?” Levi asked from his closet, grabbing some clothes to change into for bed. His voice cut clear into the air, cutting away at the tension that was palpable. After grabbing the clothes he’d decided on, he walked to his bed and sat on the edge, gazing at you intently. 

You blushed, huddling up in your chair more and sighing. He knew, better than most, how you preferred to show how you were feeling with your actions, your body language, rather than with actual words. In a lot of ways, Levi was exactly the same, the only difference being that he wasn’t one to shy away from confrontation when needed. 

Part of you wanted to just shrink away into nothing and try to pretend it never happened. You’d get over it. After all, you weren’t mad at Levi, weren’t even mad at the girl. You were just mad at yourself now. All of these words wanted to be blurted out, but you didn’t even know where to begin. The other part of you that didn’t want to run away from this took the lead, not giving you time to think or regret the choice to get up and sit on the edge of Levi’s bed next to him, your eyes downcast as you swallowed thickly, as if physically opening up your throat to finally speak your mind. 

“It made me uncomfortable,” you admitted to him in a quiet voice. “How the girl was acting with you, I mean. And I know it’s so silly to feel like this. Nothing happened and nothing was going to happen. I trust you completely and I’m not mad at you. I’m not mad at anybody except for myself. I’m just so upset that I let it get to me, and I’m even more upset that I still don’t know how to speak my mind like you can. I also just...don’t want to seem like a crazed and possessive partner, but I’ll admit that I got jealous. I’m sorry.” 

And there you were, rambling away, hoping that what you were saying was even coherent. 

When Levi didn’t answer right away, you looked up from your lap to see that he actually looked taken aback, like he hadn’t expected that to be your response. He scoffed your name moments later, back to his usual self, but you saw the softness in his eyes as he gazed at you. 

“I didn’t realize what she was up to until the end,” he said, reaching over to place a hand on your thigh. “You know if I’d caught on earlier, I would have put a stop to it.” 

“I know,” you said lamely, gazing at him from under your lashes. “I’m sorry for getting jealous. It was just...the first time it had happened like that. She just didn’t stop.” 

Much to your chagrin, your words elicited a small smirk from Levi. 

“Stop apologizing. You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said to you, willingly letting you lean into him. “The one who should apologize is the snotty girl who honestly wasn’t even that helpful. I’m surprised you were jealous of her.”

“Huh?” You lifted your head up from your place on his shoulder to look at him. “Why surprised?” 

Levi returned your gaze steadily, raising a brow as if it were so obvious and you weren’t getting it. 

“Because there was no contest. There never is. I don’t give a shit about anybody but you.”

Oh. 

Instantly you were blushing, your heart sputtering out of control. It wasn’t often that Levi admitted things like that, but when he did, it always caught you off guard. He always said things so bluntly and so decisively. 

He only had eyes for you. Though you already knew that, it was nice to hear it, and it washed away the remnants of the jealousy still stirring through you. 

Again, you couldn’t find the words. Only this time, it was for a good reason, a positive thing. Left speechless by Levi yet again. You took your preferred route of speaking your feelings through actions, and leaned in to press a grateful kiss into his mouth, your hand reaching up to comb back his hair from his face. 

“You know that no one compares to you, either, right?” you asked against his lips, slowly pulling back to gaze at him. 

“Of course,” he snorted, squeezing your thigh before getting up. “I’m making us some tea before bed. Be back soon.” 

You stood and got changed for bed, greeting Levi with a tight-lipped smile when he returned with a tray filled with your teacups, the tea pot, and a few of your favorite tea snacks. He set the tray down at the small table by his bed and changed into his own pajamas as well, calling over his shoulder as he adjusted his shirt, “Let’s read some of that book you’ve been wanting to finish before bed, too.” 

“Really?” you asked, brightening up at the thought. You and Levi hadn’t done that in a while; you in his lap, resting against his chest as he sat up against the headboard, the two of you silently reading a book you held with Levi always nudging you to let you know when he wanted you to turn the page (and then making fun of you for reading too slow). The current book you were reading was a little too sappy - his words, not yours - so he hadn’t been following along. 

“Come here,” he instructed, getting under the covers and pulling you into him once you’d grabbed your book. You settled into him like you normally did, both of you reaching over to grab your cups of tea and take a sip, and that’s when you noticed that Levi had prepared your favorite kind of tea, and had made it his special way for you: a small hint of honey, which he only saved for special days since it had been such an expensive batch, and a dash of cinnamon. Your heart swelled at his thoughtfulness, knowing that instead of telling you, Levi was showing you how much you meant to him. Hell, he was even willing to have tea in bed with you. He usually made you drink at his desk with him. 

“Just the way I like it,” you murmured after taking another gulp, giving Levi a warm and loving grin; your way of letting him know that you appreciated what he was doing. 

Levi hummed in acknowledgement and set his cup back down on the tray, nodding towards the book silently, and you quickly flipped open to the page you’d ended on. Squirming around in his arms until you were sort of facing him, you gave him a brief summary of what had happened so far, so he wouldn’t be lost. 

“So my prediction is that, since he’s leaving and doesn’t know when he’ll come back if at all, she’ll tell him that she still loves him,” you finished proudly, turning back around to press your back flush against Levi’s chest. 

“Like I said before...sappy as shit,” Levi grumbled. You smirked when his chin rested on your shoulder to read with you, though, and reached up with one hand to stroke his cheek with your thumb before completely absorbing yourself into your book. 

The two of you stayed like that for a long time, with both of you silently reading to yourselves and Levi pressing a soft kiss to your jaw to signal he was ready to turn the page. Occasionally you’d stop for short tea breaks and to nibble on the snacks he’d brought along, a comfortable silence embracing the two of you. 

After a loud yawn from you, Levi squeezed his arms around you and made a small noise in his throat as he nuzzled into your neck, one hand moving to snatch the book from your hands to toss it to the end of the bed. It was well into the night now and all the candles you’d lit at the bedside table to help with reading were burning low, making your eyes heavy. 

“Time for bed,” he announced, hoisting you up by the waist and gently scooting you off his lap and into your own spot in bed. He adjusted the blankets around you and then gave you a long, unreadable look as you settled your head into the pillow, eyes half-lidded and blinking slowly as you tried to hold his gaze. He didn’t speak, just reached out to adjust the hair out of your face. But then, after another moment of deliberation, leaned in and whispered, “Do you feel better?” 

You smiled tiredy and nodded, reaching out to hold his hand in yours for a moment. “Much. Thank you for making me feel better.” 

“Jealous brat,” he murmured before pressing a kiss to your forehead, getting out of bed and grabbing the tray to clean up and get it out of the room. You tried to wait for him to come back but just couldn’t stay awake much longer, much less keep your eyes open. 

You vaguely heard Levi come back in after a while, sliding under the covers with you, but your mind was foggy and already in the beginnings of a soft dream. Absently, you moved to be closer to him, succumbing to sleep as a voice whispered in your ear, “There’s only you.” 

[pepper-up-potion]

Humor me (George Weasley x fem!reader)

Summary: Reader can't stand George Weasley but over time she realizes he might be a good addition to her life.

Warnings: crying, angst, let me know if I missed any.

Word count: 5.5k (this is my longest fic so far!)

A/n: I still don't know how to feel about this. A part of me likes it and a part of me feels it could be better. This is my first enemies to lovers and it was very very fun.

———

“Thanks (y/n)! I can always count on you, you’re a lifesaver.” Shouts Neville as he runs down the hall and towards his next class. (Y/n) had helped him put healing salve and a bandage on his cut hand.

“Anytime!” She smiles as she watches him stumble away. She pulls out her book and sits back down on the windowsill.

“Humour me.” Says a foreign voice.

She looks up frowning. “I’m sorry?” She asks politely.

“When was the last time you did something for yourself?” Asks the red-haired boy.

“What are you talking about? I’m doing that right now.” She points to her book: Charms for first years

“That’s weird because I could’ve sworn you were in my charms class and not in first year.” He argues, shoving his hand in his pockets and clicking his tongue.

“Well I’m helping out a first-year next period but I enjoy doing that so I am doing something for myself.” She explains, slightly irritated.

“You can’t be serious?” He waits but she offers no response. She only lifts her nose at him. “That is not taking time for yourself. That’s preparing to help someone else.”

Her nostrils flare as she abruptly snaps her books shut. She shoves it into her bag before swinging it over her shoulder. She steps towards George. She suddenly realizes how tall he is. She gulps before placing a hand on her hip and pointing a finger at him.

“Listen here, helping other people is a very noble thing and if I wish to spend my free time doing that, I should not have to explain myself.”

“Ah, so you admit that you spend your free time helping other people rather than doing something for yourself?”

George smirks at her and she wants to slap it off his stupid pretty face.

“Wha-? No.” She huffs. “I don’t know why I’m arguing this with someone I hardly know but what I mean to say is that yes, it’s demanding and tedious but it’s also rewarding and the most gratifying thing I could ever do, so I believe I am doing something for myself. You just don’t get it because you spend all your time playing stupid pranks on everyone.” She snaps before pulling the strap of her bag further onto her shoulder and walking away. Normally she would feel bad for saying something like that to someone but for some reason she felt George could take it.

“So when will I see you again?” George shouts down the hall.

“I have to go!” She shouts back.

“I’ll see you in class then. Or maybe in the halls again.” He continues.

“Goodbye!” She turns the corner and speeds as far away from George as possible, steam practically fuming from her ears.

———

“Hey (y/n) could I just copy your homework before class? I didn’t have time to do it what with quidditch practice and all.” Asks Angelina.

(Y/n) nods and pulls out her answers, stands and walks to her seat, passing them to her. As (y/n) walks back she sees George slide into the spot next to hers. She grunts before stomping to her seat.

“ ‘Morning.” He sings, kicking his feet on the desk. She rolls her eyes and pushes his feet off, offering no other greeting. Now this is saying something, (y/n) always greets everybody. He laughs a little before turning to his bag and pulling out his textbook.

“Ark, couldn’t you go sit somewhere else?” She asks with a look of disgust.

George shrugs his shoulders. “Yeah, I could, but I’d like to think we’d make a good team and I’d like to test that theory.” He waves a pointed index as if to emphasize his point.

She shudders at the thought of having to work with him. It’s very likely they will, it often happens in potions class. (Y/n) is at the top of the class and she doubts Snape would have any objection to George working with her since she could easily bring up his grade. She sighs as Snape walks in and starts the lecture portion of the class.

“You will have the remaining hour to make your hiccoughing solution. Work with the person next to you.” With a wave of his arms everyone starts opening their textbook and discussing the potion.

To her surprise, George is really good at potions. Logically it makes sense because him and Fred are always creating new things but she never really thought it transferable to school. She watches, a little stunned as George quickly and skillfully goes through the steps of the potion. For the first time since she can last remember, she sits back instead of running the group. George occasionally asks her to cut something or extract oil from a root. She doesn’t argue, it’s sort of nice being told what to do rather than making all the decisions. She doesn’t tell him and refuses to think more of it because that’s not her proper role. She’s the leader, she’s the helper. Maybe this once she’ll let it slide, give herself a break.

Once the bell rings they gather their books and George finally speaks of other things than the potion.

“Relaxing isn’t it?” She tilts her head in confusion. “Not having to take care of others for once.” He continues.

Oh no he didn’t. He just ruined it. He took her small guilty moment of peace and crushed it. “You hardly let me do anything! What was I supposed to do? Fight you?”

George shrugs. “You could’ve.” He winks at her and she lets out an angry moan.

“Ark!” She turns on her heels and walks out of the class without another word.

“Same time next week?” She hears him shout but she’s already in the hallway and simply ignores him.

———

“You know you could give that to a house-elf and they could take care of that for you.” Says George as he leans into the door frame and watches (y/n) clean the chalkboard in the defence against the dark arts classroom.

“Well I don’t need to be taken care of, I’m perfectly capable of doing things on my own thank you very much” she spits back at him.

George and her are acquaintances at best. It’s been a month since they’ve first spoken to each other. Since then he seems to always be around her. Sitting next to her in class, offering to help her with her books in the hall. She’s never asked for him to be there or to share his opinion. Yet he’s there and very verbal about his thoughts.

He steps into the class and sits in the front row. He bounces his leg under the desk and leans back into the chair. He looks nervous but she can tell he’s trying to cover it up.

“What are you doing here?” She asks, curiosity getting the best of her.

“Waiting for Umbridge.” He points up the stairs at the closed door of her office. “I got detention.” He adds.

“What did you do?” She stops cleaning the board and sets the cleaning potion on the desk next to George.

“Gave a ton tongue toffee to Filch. His tongue was four feet long when Umbridge found him.” He chuckles to himself, remembering Umbridge’s reaction.

For the first time ever, (y/n) laughs in front of George. She tries to hold it in but it slips past her. George first looks surprised but soon he’s laughing with her.

“Glad to see someone is standing up to them.” She shakes her head. “Umbridge really is a horrible person. I can't believe all the mean things she’s doing to the students.” Her face is sad. George can see how much she cares for the other students.

“Well, would you look at that? We actually agree on something.” He crosses his arms and smirks at her. “Does this mean we're friends?” He asks.

She barks out a loud laugh. “Don’t get ahead of yourself Weasley.” She grabs her bag and walks out without another word. She can feel George’s gaze following her until she steps into the hall and out of sight. She wonders why her cheeks feel so hot suddenly.

———

(Y/n) is tutoring Seamus Finnigan in the library. They’re whispering over a book when George spots them. He smiles and beelines for their table.

“Mind if I sit here.” He asks, holding onto the chair in front of them. They both look up at him. Seamus smiles and reaches out his hand for a fist bump. (Y/n) rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue out.

“Yeah mate, it’s no problem.” Says Seamus.

“No, you may not. It is very much a problem.” She hisses. Seamus looks at her, shocked by the bitterness in her voice.

“Blimey (y/n), I’ve never heard you so angry before.” He stuns.

She laughs nervously. He’s right, she normally doesn’t talk to people like that. The only exception to the rule is George. She grits her teeth and pastes a smile before looking at George.

“Of course you can sit here George. Any friend of Seamus is a friend of mine.” She somehow manages to sound sweet and somewhat sincere. George raises his eyebrows in surprise. He quickly recollects himself and takes a seat before she changes her mind.

“So, going back to charms. Can you tell me the definition of the substantive charm?” She asks Seamus.

“How long have you been doing this?” George interrupts.

Seamus grabs (y/n)’s arm and reads her watch. He whistles dramatically. “Crickey, it’s been an hour and fifteen minutes. I think we should call it a day.” He grabs his book and bag and gets up. “Thanks again (y/n). See you next week.” And with that, he was off.

(Y/n)’s jaw clenches as she looks from the now empty chair to George.

“Why?” She groans. “Why would you do that?”

“This is great. He got his help and you get a break. What do you say we go down to the dungeon and pull a prank on Malfoy?” He beams at her, pleased with his idea.

She gets the sudden urge to scream. Who does he think he is? Coming into her life and ruining everything. It is quite likely that Seamus won't do as well on the quiz as if he had stayed for the extra fifteen minutes she had planned and now she has to go deal with Hermione who wanted to rant about Ron. Something which she had very much been putting off. She takes a long, deep breath before looking at George again. The urge to scream has faded with the breath but the look on his face makes her see red.

“Could you please, please, find someone else to annoy. I don’t have time for this and you’re really starting to test my patients.” She pleads.

George’s face drops, evidently displeased by her response. He stands from his chair and puts his bag strap over his shoulder.

“Alright, I’ll leave.” He surrenders. There is a pause like he’s debating between leaving or adding another word. To (y/n)’s dissatisfaction, he continues to speak. “Anytime you need someone who doesn’t need help tutoring or homework to copy or healing salve, you know where to find me.”

She laughs loudly making everyone turn to look at her. “Pff yeah okay.” She dismisses, and with that George is turning away and walking out of the library.

She hates the sad feeling that settles in her chest. It’s like it’s telling her she wants him to stay. She rolls her eyes and swears to herself, gathering her things and heading to Hermione’s aid.

No matter how hard she tries not to, she spends the rest of the day thinking about George. His stupid face keeps popping into her head. What does he know? She likes when people ask for help. She is happy being the person people can turn to. She can’t understand what George thinks is wrong with that. Maybe he’s just a horrible person. It’s much easier to tell herself than to think there could be something wrong with her.

———

A week later (y/n) is knocking on Susan Bones’ door and stepping in before hearing a welcome.

“Merlin! I can’t stand him!” She shouts once in her best friend’s dorm room. Susan looks up from her book with her brows knitted.

“Who?” She asks while shutting her book and sitting up.

“George!” She states looking at Susan like she should have known. She shows no sign of further understanding (y/n)’s dilemma.

“Why?” She asks hesitantly. (Y/n) stomps to Susan’s bed and plops onto it.

“First he’s everywhere meddling into my life like it’s his business and now, radio silence.” She adds nothing more, leaving Susan even more confused.

“And that’s a problem because…”

(Y/n) sits up and flails her arms in the air. “Well, why did he make me question myself like that and then just vanish?” She exclaims exasperated.

Susan gapes, further confused. “But, didn’t you ask him to leave you alone?”

“Ark! That’s not the point!” She gets up and stomps out of the room. Susan blinks and looks around the room stunned even though there is no one to share the confusion with.

A moment later (y/n) is back into the room. “What on earth did he mean by if ever you want someone who doesn’t need help, you know where to find me?” She puts her hands on her hips and waits for her friend’s answer. Susan’s eyes light up and she smiles slightly. Now it’s (y/n)’s turn to look confused.

“He said that?” Asks Susan with a hopeful tone.

“Wha- I- Well yes he did but-.” She stops. Susan has left her stunned, she’s too confused to debate.

Susan’s smile grows wider. “Have you heard about Dombledors army?” She asks.

(Y/n) scrunches her nose. “No. What does that have to do with this?”

“Well I think you should come to our next meeting.” Her smile is mischievous, (y/n) hates it.

———-

The next day Susan takes (y/n) to the seventh floor. She stops in the middle of the hall and passes back and forth in front of a stone wall. Soon a door appears in front of them and (y/n) smiles, amazed by the castle's secrets.

Susan is the first to walk in waving at a few people near the door. Once (y/n) follows through the room goes silent. Harry finally walks up to them, hand stretched out.

“Welcome to the army.” He says confidently. She looks to Susan who gives her an encouraging nod. She finally accepts Harry’s hand with a small yet nervous smile.

As she looks around the room she feels a pair of eyes on her. She turns to find George looking at her with a neutral face. She lets out a little screech and turns back to Susan.

“You didn’t tell me he was going to be here!” (Y/n) whispers with a panicked tone.

“Well if I did you wouldn’t have come.” She states simply before walking off to talk with one of the other girls.

“Alright everyone. I think we’ll get started.” Announces Harry. Everyone goes quiet and they quickly form a half-circle around him. She sees a tall man settle next to her in her peripheral. She can just make out a flash of red hair. Her heart starts beating at an unruly pace.

“Today’s focus is on stunning. Nigel and I are going to do a demonstration so watch closely.” Everyone moves to the sides of the room whispering excitedly.

(Y/n) claps her hand over her mouth as she watches Harry fly backwards after being stunned by Nigel. She lets out a relieved sigh when Harry sits back up.

“I’d like to see you do that.” Whispers George into her ear. She jumps a little as his hot breath on her neck sends a shiver down her spine.

She turns to look at him. She has no snarky answer. She just gapes at him in surprise.

“I’d like to see you stand up for yourself for once.” He adds. She huffs in shock.

“I-“ She starts but Harry cuts her off. “Who wants to go next?” He asks.

“(Y/n) and I will go.” Announces George. She freezes as everyone eyes them curiously.

“Maybe someone else would like to go before us.” She tries.

“Nonsense, go on (y/n).” Says Harry enthusiastically. “No one here will judge you.” He adds thinking that’s her concern.

It’s not that she didn’t want to defend herself, it’s just she felt sort of bad stunning someone. She wasn’t sure she had it in her to do it. She walks to one end of the room and George to the other. He stretches out his arm, wand at the ready. She looks at Susan with a pleading look. Susan gives her an impatient nod and (y/n) reluctantly lifts her wand.

Neither of them moves, the room is completely silent. Soon there are whispers in the crowd. George is looking at (y/n) with a challenging eye. She gulps, trying to convince herself to stun him. She thinks that maybe if she does nothing he’ll grow impatient and stun her. That way she wouldn’t have to do it and he wouldn’t get the satisfaction of getting what he really wants.

“Right, any second now. Go ahead.” Says Harry slowly.

Nothing happens. George slumps out of his stans and raises his arms in the air. “Oh c’mon (y/n) stun me!” He exclaims.

She looks at the crowd as they all stare back at her. She suddenly feels weak in the knees. She begins to sweat nervously and looks at Susan. She looks a little concerned, maybe thinking this wasn’t as good an idea as she first thought. She still gives her a weak encouraging smile and a little thumbs up. (Y/n) looks back at George who has his arms stretched out taunting her.

“Oh for once in your life be mean!” He shouts. The words echo in the room.

“I can be plenty mean!” She disputes. “Last week, I ate Susan’s cookie.” She adds, puffing her chest.

George tries to hold back his smile. She hears a couple giggles in the crowd.

“That is not mean.” His tone is adoring and she hates it.

“It was her favourite brand.” She adds trying to make it sound more horrific. She’s the only one in the room with a serious face. Everyone else is smiling enjoying the tense exchange between the two.

He clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “If it’s anything, it’s cute.” He says with a wink. There it is. There’s the final straw. She can feel her blood boil. Everyone holds their breath as they watch her face contort into an angry pout. George smiles wide thinking the pout is possibly the cutest thing he’s ever seen.

She lets out an angry grunt. “It is not cute! You wanna see cute? Watch this.” She flicks her wand and shouts: “Stupify!” The spell sends George across the room. Everyone exclaims as he hits the ground with a thud.

“Excellent! Really good (y/n)!” Exclaims Harry.

Across the room George is whooping. He runs over to her with arms wide open. His smile is contagious, she can’t stop hers from pulling at her cheeks. Laughs spill from her lips as he wraps her tightly into his arms. Fred helps George throw her over their shoulders. Everyone gathers around them and cheers. (Y/n) feels her cheeks go hot suddenly, very aware of George’s hand on her thigh keeping her in place. She looks at everyone’s happy smiles and she can't help but join in. She hates to admit it but George might have been right. Standing up for yourself can feel good.

———

It’s a Wednesday evening. Most people were already back in their common rooms. (Y/n) was walking back from the library, having finished another tutoring session with Zacharias Smith. The halls are practically deserted when she suddenly hears quiet sobs further away. She speeds her pace and turns the corner finally spotting a little boy crying quietly while holding his hand. Two older boys are kneeling next to him. Her breath hitches when she spots him. George hasn’t talked to her since their duel. She would sometimes catch his eye across the classroom or in the dining hall but this is the first time she’s run into him. George is rubbing circles on the boy's upper back as he whispers sweet comforting phrases to the crying boy. As she steps closer she recognizes the boy to be Michael. She has helped him countless times after he has gotten detention from Umbridge.

Looking at George now she questions how she once called him a horrible person. She sighs accepting she might have been too quick to judge. She steps between the Weasleys and kneels down at Micheal’s feet so they're at eye level. She looks through her big bag before pulling out some gauze and a small glass jar of healing salve. Micheal gives her his hand, remembering the drill. She quietly applies the salve and wraps his hand. She listens to George explain to Micheal how soon the pain will subside. She notices he never stops rubbing circles on the boy's back. There’s something reassuring about the movement and she’s not even the one receiving it.

Micheal takes a deep breath, recollecting himself. He looks between George and (y/n) before smiling mischievously.

“Thanks mom, dad.” He tips his head to each before getting up and walking to his dorm. George’s hand stays frozen in the air even if there’s no longer a back to rub. (Y/n) stops screwing the lid to her salve as she looks at the now empty seat. They both jump when Fred starts howling with laughter. His laughs echo down the hall as he doubles over himself, holding his aching stomach. He wipes at his eyes and sighs loudly.

“Good one kid.” He shouts though Michael is much too far to hear it. “Ah! That’s golden.” He adds before he walks off in the same direction as Micheal did before.

George and (y/n) remain frozen. (Y/n)’s face is pale and George's cheeks are tomato red. (Y/n) is the first to move, she finishes screwing on the lid and shoving it into her bag. She’s in a hurry to get out of this very awkward situation. She shoots a look at George who moved from the floor and onto the bench. He’s leaning back onto the wall with his arms crossed. He smirks when she meets his eyes.

“We would have some cute kids.” His tone is teasing but there’s still something soft and affectionate in the statement.

“Oh honestly George, get a grip.” She rolls her eyes and walks away quickly. It takes all her willpower to hold in her smile until her back is turned to George. He’s not wrong she thinks to herself.

——-

She knocks lightly on the dorm room door. She can hear George’s loud laugh on the other side. She hopes he won’t be mad at her for interrupting the fun. Lee opens the door and the smile on his face is quickly replaced by a look of surprise.

“(Y/n)?” He stuns. The laughter in the room stops abruptly. She hears shuffling and soon George is peaking his head over Lee’s shoulder.

Lee quickly moves out of the way and George looks at her with a concerned look.

“(Y/n)? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?” He asks looking around to make sure there is no one else listening.

“I’m sorry to bother you, I know you were having fun there.” She feels pretty stupid now that she’s actually standing in front of him. George shakes his head vigorously to tell her it’s no problem.

“I just-“ she runs a hand through her hair. “I sort of need someone who doesn’t need help with tutoring or homework or healing salve.” The offer is months old. They haven’t even talked in weeks. She never thought she’d actually take him up on it but she didn’t know who else to turn to.

His shoulders drop and a natural smile spreads across his face. “Well then I’m your guy.” He closes the door behind him and guides her down the stairs and into the common room. It’s late, most students are in bed. George asks the few left if they could give them some privacy and they all retreat to their rooms.

“What’s up?” He asks, shoving his hands into his pockets.

She sighs and walks over to the big red couch. She sits down and buries her head into her hands. “I- I’m so tired George.” Her voice is laced with despair. “There’s just so much to do and I’m trying, I really am but I just don't know if I have it in me.”

George sits next to her, so close that their knees touch. “What are all the things you need to do?” He asks softly.

“I have to run the potions club and make that banner for the Ancient Runes Club. I have to tutor Hannah and Seamus and Zacharias and so many other people. I have to make sure Lavender is okay and that Luna found her socks. I have to listen to Hermione and Ginny talk about their boy problems and then give them advice. I have to write back to my parents and help them with their problems. I have to help McGonagall with the rat problem because no one else wants to. Madame Pomfrey said I could intern with her but that means I have to spend ten hours a week in the hospital wing. I told professor Sprout I’d help her extract pus from Bubotuber. I promised Colin I would look out for Dennis and I haven't even seen him in weeks.” It all spills out. For the first time ever she is totally transparent about her problems. “And then I have to worry about my own studies and try and keep my grades up and there’s the stress of Dumbledore’s army, what if we get caught?” She’s panting by the end suddenly feeling much lighter.

“Well maybe you could say no to a couple people. I’m sure the Ancient Runes Club can wait for a sign, Mcgonagall can take care of the rats on her own. You can say no you know.” He places a hand on her thigh and looks deep into her eyes.

“But- I can’t George! I can't say no. Those people are counting on me. What if the clubs fall apart or Seamus’ grades drop or Luna never finds her socks.” Her face is panicked.

“Let me help you.” He says it so softly. She feels a dry lump in her throat. Her jaw suddenly hurts and she feels tears well up in her eyes.

“I don’t want your help George!” She jumps off the couch and onto her feet. George’s hand slips off her thigh and onto the couch. It looks limp and sad without her leg to hold it. “I don’t need you, I was doing perfectly fine before you came around and I’ll be fine without you moving forward.” There’s a pause. “ I didn’t come here for you to save the day.” There it is. She doesn’t want to appear weak. She thinks asking for help makes her weak.

George stands up, towering over her. “Fine. If that’s how you feel then I’ll leave. I will go for good and you won’t have to worry about me meddling in your life anymore. I just want you to know that I’m offering to help because I can see how hard this is for you and I think you deserve more than what you’ve granted yourself.” George steps forward closing the gap. “I think you deserve to be taken care of for a change.” They’re inches away from each other. His face suddenly turns soft as he looks into her tear-filled eyes.

There’s a silent pause. She looks into George’s eyes and she sees the honesty, the care, the love. George is there for her when no one else is. He’s right, she is having a hard time and he’s the one offering the help. No one else. All the other people she has sworn would help her, be there for her, aren’t there. But how could they have known? She never tells them how hard it is, always caring for others. She never asks for their help. It’s not that those people don’t care. She just never opens up to them. She never permits them to be anything else than people she could help. All she ever did was give and give. She never believed she should do anything else. George is the first person who wants her to take, not give. It finally clicks. Everything that George has been trying to make her see is crystal clear now.

A tear spills from down her cheek and she feels her knees go weak. She cups her hand over her mouth trying to hold in a sob. She takes a step back shaking her head in denial. George’s face remains soft but there’s concern in his eyes.

“Hey.” He tilts his head, maintaining eye contact as she tries to look away. “It’s okay.” He pulls her towards his chest and she welcomes it. She falls into his arms as more tears fall down her cheeks. “Let it out.” He says.

With that permission (y/n) cries. She cries like never before. Loud sobs slip from her lips as her body shakes in George’s arms. She cries about all the sad secrets people have confided in her. She cries for all the days she sacrificed for others. She cries for all the “I love that you never say no”. She cries for all the grades she sacrificed to keep others high. She lets out years of pent-up tears, of hurt.

He rubs small circles on her upper back and remains quiet. She was right, there relay is something reassuring about those little circles. She cries for an hour and George never moves, never speaks, never stops her.

Finally, she sniffles her last tear and steps out of George’s arms. He reluctantly lets her go but takes her hand in his. She pulls it away to wipe at her eyes.

“Thank you.” Her voice is so delicate she would be embarrassed if it weren’t George in front of her. She laughs suddenly and George looks shocked. She soon starts crying of laughter and George gapes unsure of what to do.

“Are you okay?” He asks confused.

“I just, I hate you.” She laughs again. George looks stunned. He takes a step away from her and opens his mouth to say something but she cuts him off.

“Or so I thought. You have bugged me every day for months yet there’s no one I want here more than you.” George takes a tentative step forward. The words seem to give him confidence. “As crazy as it sounds I’ve had some of the best times talking with you because I actually said what I wanted to say. You can handle me better than anyone else. You challenge me in a way that I absolutely hate but I know why you’re doing it. You’re helping me learn to take care of myself and that’s hard because it’s something I’ve never done before.” She stops for a moment. The look in her eyes changes. First, there’s shock as she realizes. Then there’s a soft and happy glow. “I think I’m falling in love with you George.” She gasps. It’s almost a whisper. She barely wants to admit it.

“Come here.” Is all he says. She doesn’t move. Her brows knit themselves as she searches his face for an explanation. She takes a deep breath. The step towards him feels like a trust fall. He gently pulls her closer by the waist. He presses his forehead to hers. (Y/n) pushes her nose to his, bringing their lips closer to one another. He repeats the movement.

They tease each other a couple more times before George whispers “Can I kiss you?” She nods slowly and whispers a yes. He tips his head so their lips connect. His soft lips send sparks down her spine. George wraps an arm up to her back and pulls her closer quickly deepening the kiss. She wraps her arms around his next and soon her hands tangle into his fiery red hair. It feels like rain after a dry summer, like the cold side of her pillow, like the warm fire after coming in from the cold, it feels like heaven. Nothing has ever felt more right than their lips pressed together and for once, she’s giving in to what she wants.

When George pulls away she finds herself chasing his lips. She pouts a little missing the kiss. George runs a hand over her hair and looks at her adoringly.

“I’m falling for you too (y/n)”

[ddarker-dreams]

Yan Childe, Diluc, Kaeya, Zhongli, Beidou & Ningguang / Courting Darling.

Warnings: Stalking, implied blackmail, kidnapping, and gaslighting. Note: this is a bit of an amalgamation from different asks i’ve gotten, put into one thing bc i thirst for these six characters so hard .

Childe:

“What’s life without a little adventure? You can stand to miss work for a day or two, it’ll still be there waiting for you when we get back. People have even gone so far as to say I’m an absolute joy to be around. You want to know who said that? Sorry, that source is staying a secret.” 

Childe is an erratic whirlwind of highs and lows. You never know what to expect from him, and he likes it that way, always keeping you on your toes. He doesn’t bother with having his friendliness appear genuine. If you want to doubt his goodwill, then so be it, he won’t stop you. It just makes it all the more interesting to keep you around should you be wary of his presence. 

He doesn’t care for the traditional conventions surrounding romance. It isn’t his thing, and he’s used to being considered the odd one out of every crowd, so why stop now? Childe doesn’t tone down any aspects of his bloodthirsty personality in your presence. It’s difficult to tell how serious he’s being since most of it takes the form of jokes or other lighthearted jests. In his mind, the fact he’s even spending so much time with you should make it obvious he’s interested. Whether that’s good or not. 

You’re going to be dragged all over the place. Childe’s stamina is seemingly an infinite well, as he takes you from activity to activity. By the end of the day, you’ll be exhausted. Unfortunately, he doesn’t take no for an answer, weaseling his way into your schedule despite your protests. Childe is particularly fond of getting into situations where a fight is inevitable, purposefully taking you to areas with monsters to show off his combat prowess. 

“Did you get a look at that, [First]? Aha, I haven’t had this much fun in ages! You already want to head back? Hm, I don’t know, the night is still young. Stop dragging your feet or I might just have to carry you. Not that I’m complaining, should that be the outcome. It’s up to you. Oh! Now that’s the spirit! I’ll try not to be hurt by how fast you’re moving now.” 

Diluc: 

“Ah, [First], I take it you’re doing well. I couldn’t help but notice you eyeing this book at the market earlier. I’ve had a copy of it for ages, but with how busy things are, rarely do I have time to read. I’d be appreciative should you accept this and give it a better home.” 

Diluc is self-assured in many areas of his life, romance is not one of them. He knows how to carry himself in the company of businessmen, staying polite and vigilant, but this rigid method doesn’t work in his favor when it comes to wooing you. To soften the blow on his side, Diluc tells himself that it was never about a relationship anyway. That his main priority was and will always be to ensure your safety. He tells himself this, but... isn’t sure if he really believes it. 

He’s a perfect example of pining from afar. Subconsciously, he’ll drift towards areas you tend to linger around, hoping to spot you amidst the bustling crowds. Each time he tells himself that this’ll finally be the time he approaches you. The opportunity is set before him, waiting to be taken advantage of, but he rarely follows through with his desire. 

It frustrates Diluc to no end how easily others flock to you. He’ll stand there, still as a statue, eyes boring into whatever pest currently holds your attention. This would be the push to finally send him your way. It’s a surprise to you both when Mondstadt’s wine tycoon materializes by your side, politely asking to speak in private. Truth be told, he just can’t stand the thought of another person holding your attention that isn’t him. 

“I apologize for my abruptness back there. There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you about for some time, and well... would you consider having dinner with me tonight? I’d appreciate your company.” 

Kaeya:

“It’s a funny thing, really. How we keep bumping into one another like this. Ah... that suspicious expression, it wounds me deep, sweetheart. When did you start looking at me like that, I wonder?” 

There’s no doubting Kaeya’s interest in you, from the first time he sauntered over to you and started a conversation. The problem you have is deciding how genuine his advances are. While Kaeya might not be the textbook definition of a heart-wrenching playboy, you’re familiar enough with the many rumors surrounding him to be wary. It doesn’t help that he’ll point this out to you when guessing the source of your apprehension. 

His methods are, oddly enough, effective. Kaeya balances the various aspects of seduction with ease. He reveals just enough about himself to draw out your attention, before focusing the conversation back onto you. You’ll never get to stop and realize how little you know about the man sitting in front of you, he makes certain of that.

Kaeya might hide certain aspects of himself, but his dubious morality is never concealed. He has you entirely wrapped around his finger, words validating his actions falling from his lips with the utmost ease; he’s a force to be reckoned with. You’ll start a conversation heated about something you’ve learned, only for it to end wondering why you were ever upset in the first place.

“Now, now, there’s no need to get all riled up over something like this. Don’t you trust me by now? When have I ever given you reason to doubt me? You need to take a look at the bigger picture. Hey, take a seat. I’ll sit here all night explaining to you if it’s necessary.” 

→[More underneath the cut].

Zhongli: 

“There must be something that I can assist you with. It may not look it, but I’m familiar with many fields of work, even obscure ones. Please allow me to lend a hand.” 

Zhongli, despite having been around for many centuries, is somewhat clueless in romantic pursuits. He’s aware of his fondness for you, but doesn’t know what to do with it. This leads him to becoming your shadow for some time. He focuses on what he knows best: observation and processing new information. Your every little movement will be analyzed and tuck into the back of his mind for later usage. 

Zhongli’s soft over the idea of you coming to rely on him for everything. He prides himself on his wealth of knowledge and work ethic, believing it a strong appeal, one that he puts on full display when you’re around. It’s not rare for you to overhear neighbors and friends speak highly about Zhongli. They’ll mention in passing how they were having difficulty with something, only for Zhongli to come around and help without asking for anything in return. 

This is exactly what he’s been hoping and waiting for. Zhongli has patience and sets himself up to be a desirable partner in your eyes, the efforts from his labor coming into fruition. Before you even speak to him for the first time, you’re likely to think highly of him, having heard all the ways he’s helped people close to you. Now that the stage is properly set, he’s ready to make his interest in you more evident. 

“I’ve heard a lot about you, [First]. Oh? You can say the same for me? Well, I hope I can live up to your expectations. I had just been on my way to Yanshang Teahouse, would you care to join me? My treat, of course.” 

Beidou: 

“You haven’t lived until you’ve experienced a voyage with my crew and I. I’ll set up a nice cabin just for you, how does that sound? Hm? Special treatment? Don’t worry your pretty little head about that, lass.”  

Beidou’s attention is overwhelming and oftentimes dangerous. Traditional social conventions are nothing but a waste of time for her, meaning that common courtesy is disregarded in favor of always speaking her mind. Which might not be so bad if she wasn’t so amorous. Even the most oblivious person couldn’t miss Beidou’s overt favor towards you.

This reverent display of affection is only exacerbated when she’s drunk, face flushed and an arm swung tightly around your shoulder. She doesn’t care who sees, who’s judging, or what gossip will be born from her actions. Beidou makes a point of showing everyone in the vicinity that even if you aren’t officially partners yet, a claim has been staked on you. 

Whether it be coercion or some other unsightly method, Beidou is intent on bringing you on her ship at least once. Or that’s how she initially phrased it to you. Imagine your surprise, that when you finally caved so she’d drop the subject, her crew was untying the ropes keeping the boat at port. 

“The fun’s just getting started, you haven’t seen anything yet. Don’t get all teary-eyed yet, sweetheart, I know you’ll come around. This’ll be a story sung by sailors for generations to come.”

Ningguang:

“If I’m being honest, not many are given the opportunity to speak to me outside of business-related ventures. I never thought I’d find it this... pleasant. I hope you’ll continue to entertain me as you do now.” 

Ningguang starts off her wooing in a subtle, almost coquettish manner. She is confident in her charm and brilliance. Not many have been gifted in the art of conversation to the same extent Ningguang has, her silver tongue paired with quick intellect making it difficult for you to escape. She’ll corner you verbally without you even noticing it. 

Ningguang finds amusement in how you stumble over your words, pure of heart and not chained down by special interests. Your forthright but considerate demeanor intoxicates her. She’s used to people cowering in her presence or trying too hard to pursue their goals. You might even earn a rare compliment or two, disguised as politeness, that doesn’t register for hours. 

She is a lady of fine taste. The sky’s the limit when it comes to her wealth, which is unrivaled throughout Tevyat, and you’ll be quick to notice this. Ningguang is most partial to sending you traditional Liyue adornments, believing the rich culture behind each piece suits your beauty. She’s also fond of the fact that when you wear her gifts, everyone in the vicinity will know it’s from her, due to its extraordinarily high cost. 

“Do you like my latest gift, little dove? It was made custom with you in mind, an unrivaled display of craftmanship, if I may add. Wear this and carry me with you... always.”