#sleeping beauty 1959 x reader

[satubby]

[Once upon a dream: Where you were happy]

As once in the dream, where you forgot your memories by my side, I will still be waiting for you, so please just don't forget who you were … My precious daughter of man - Malleus Draconia

[Disclaimer: This may contain errors so I'm sorry if they bother you or confuse you when reading. I didn't think this would be so long, I will finish part 3 in a few weeks. Thanks for your support, credits to the fanart I use, if I find their artists I'll post them.]

Morning was rising outside but the curtains cast shadows in your room, then the doors opened and the maids came into your room, they were all making as much noise as ever, you sigh exhaustedly refusing to look at them. "Come on princess, get up, today is your 16th birthday" One of them said, pulling you out of bed.

"I'm coming, I'm coming... It's too early for this" You sigh, getting up and heading to the powder room, you swallowed your bitterness smiling like the 'worthy and pretty princess' you were, then the maids. did their job starting to comb your hair. Your gaze was distant and you constantly clutched your dress, you were beautiful yes, but you honestly didn't care.

"Ouch, damn it" You whisper, feeling their eyes constantly on the back of your head. 

"Watch your mouth princess" murmured one, they continued brushing your hair and making you presentable, they always made sure you looked good. As you sat there, the doors opened again and a tall figure walked in. It was the housekeeper serving the queen, she entered haughty and powerful, all the maids in your service began to murmur. "Please hurry princess, you wouldn't want to embarrass the emperor and empress, would you?" 

You almost wanted to wring his neck but you knew better than to do stupid things. So you stood up without paying attention to his 'reprimand' and bowed your body politely, bowing your head as well, after all, you were a princess without any power.

 "Yes, thank you for letting me know...I assure you I only wish the best for the kingdom and the imperial family" She looks you with that very, very stiff and bitter face. After that incident like every morning, you moved towards the emperor's castle because you lived in the empress castle, farther than any other room, you used to live in the basement where they put weapons and old stuff but it was something. 

Walking down the hall, your arrival is announced, with trumpets and a red carpet. You know they're just pretending, no one gives a shit if you got in or not.

"ATTENTION!!! THIS IS THE INCOMING HEIR PRINCESS!" closing your eyes you enter with dignity as you were taught, you felt the pressure on your being before those judging eyes of the pompous nobles, so you tried not to look bad. Some looked at you with barely concealed disgust, others simply didn't look at you and the rest whispered like silly little birds cackling incessantly amidst rumors and gossip. 

Your strides echoed with the sound of the floor as you walked towards the rulers of this place you hated to call home; the looks they gave you were either filled with disgust or filled with envy as they stepped aside to make way for you. The hall in front of you slowly filled with people after you walked away and approached the throne on the platform. 

The emperor was sitting upright on his throne, next to him was the empress, looking majestic and presumptuous, as always. The empress smiled slightly as you knelt before them, both extended their hands waiting for a kiss from you, most of all it was the woman before you who gave you that silent command.

The empress stroked your hair with false kindness when you complied with her order, still with her smile on her face she continued to enjoy your humiliation, it disgusted you to look like a mere dog... And the emperor didn't even do anything, he never really cared about you. 

"Happy sixteenth birthday my dear.... Now I hope you won't do anything to make us sad; or would you like to see her highness disappointed?" Her lips brushed your lobe warning you with sincere malice, then she walked away from you smiling as if nothing had happened, you didn't even react, you knew what she wanted, you wouldn't give her that.

"Thank you for- Your worries, your highness and beloved emperor.... I wish you good vibes and I hope you live long!" With those words, you forced a forced smile swallowing your little pride and the bile in your throat felt bitter. You sincerely praised yourself, since you were good at acting, you had to do it if you wanted to survive. 

Again the emperor looked at you without interest and gave you permission to leave, so you did and like every year, you were alone on your birthday, the gifts were not really for you, much less was this party... And honestly you had long ago stopped giving it importance. 

Once he gave you permission to leave, you could leave the throne room and get away from this heavy atmosphere that only made you feel sick and want to vomit because of so much hypocrisy in the air. Although before you managed to get out of sight you could hear the nobles start whispering and gossiping behind your back. 

They were noisy, much louder than a rooster would be at morning crowing time, but what could you do? Nothing and just thinking about them gave you headaches. You continue down the halls, with a couple of maids walking behind you who don't care for you either. They never really liked you, so they just followed you as their job ordered, even you wouldn't want to be with yourself, you were a bitter mess. 

"Please leave me alone, okay? I need air" You turned around stopping at the entrance towards a balcony. They look at you confused but they care so little about you that they better bow and leave, you on the other hand headed for the nearby balcony, stretching your legs and leaning your body against the marble railing.

Looking down at the ground, you let out sighs and snorts, then unleash your usual attitude of resignation and rebellion, only being alone you can say or do the little you can, the little freedom you had.  

 "Fuck those fucking nobles, I didn't even want to come— Fucking loudmouths, they're just vultures hoping I'm wrong, honestly... GO TO THE FUCK THEM ALL!! That fucking housekeeper, the emperor and the fucking empress!.... Anyway, I hope this day ends soon"

You let your head fall on your shoulders, looking resigned to your situation, you were sick of following these stupid rules. A lady doesn't do this, a lady doesn't do that— You are at your limit and yet you can only complain to yourself or suffer your punishments. 

Your eyes unconsciously looked at parts of your body, you bit your lips in frustration.... Those scars still hurt, but you had to bear them because that made you a princess- Although honestly you always had that doubt, Did princesses really do that? In your stories it was something else. But laughing, remind yourself that they are just that, stories annnnd, since you were a child you didn't know who you were before coming here, you were always told what to say or do, as you were foolish and naive, you blindly followed in fear of that damned bitch of an empress. 

You were the puppet in her theatrical play, used and punished if something didn't go her way. Sometimes you wanted to kill her, but you'd rather keep your neck in your body. No one would help a dirty blood like you, a stupid girl with no connection or power whatsoever plus your stupid insignificant elven powers weren't even strong you could only heal scrapes or make little lights because according to rumors; your dead mother wasn't a complete elf. 

"These heels burn so much, maybe I should throw them away... But that damn woman will punish me if I do. It's a real shame my birthday sucks and the weather is so nice, which is ironic because I'm a mess."

You drop your body onto a nearby table, playing with your fingers, you didn't know at what point you started to fall asleep. 

While you were dozing on that table, lost in a kind of dream, you began to feel like you were floating in the air, reality became a dream and vice versa. At some point you opened your eyes in a strange place, it was all white and there was only you, but your body was shining, as if the stars had given you their remains to make you shine.

Your thoughts are interrupted by the giggling of a little girl, a very familiar one, that hair and tattered clothes were familiar even though you couldn't see her face. 

"Hello? ... How strange, I swore I heard something-"

You scratched your eyes thinking you were still hallucinating. You had just fallen asleep and didn't know how you got here. 

"Haha... Nyum!"

There it was again, that childish giggle attracted you again, then turning towards where it came from, you saw a completely white silhouette standing in the middle of the void. 

"Hey girl, what are we doing in this place and-? Wait!" You exclaimed starting to follow her, as she started to run, the emptiness started to change. 

The more you ran, the more it changed, the ground felt soft as you now stepped on clouds. Tall mirrors filled your vision like a maze, then again you heard the girl's giggle. 

"Haha! You can't catch me.."

Your eyes followed her silhouette in confusion, she was as energetic and elusive as... You, from childhood. You didn't know why, but you began to follow her, all these hallways of mirrors reflected both figures. 

"Girl don't run! Ugh, just tell me what this place is, fuck I just wanted to sleep and I ended up here!"

Sighing tired from so much running, you stop to rest, however something caught your attention; some mirrors were worn or broken, others simply had nothing to reflect. 

And the farther away you went the darker this place became, you two glowed as the darkness swallowed you. Then you see her entering a specific mirror, it was full of thorns and wilted roses, this place was silent, her giggling stopped being heard, slowly you went towards that mirror. 

"That girl- How strange, she took me all this way just to see this mirror?"

You whisper without understanding this strange dream, if it was one to begin with. 

So lost were you in your thoughts, that you don't even notice when your hand goes through the mirror and you are swallowed by it, unlike others, this mirror is dark as much as the the glass it was made of as its withered wooden frame. 

Screaming as you fall, you feel the air seep into your tresses shaking and making a mess of it, your dress suddenly changed as you landed in a brutish thump.

With pain in your body, you slowly got up spitting grass, that strange fall made you feel like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. Slowly you could stand up on your own feet, you were without shoes which seemed strange but what did you expect? This dream is strange in itself. 

"I must stop getting so much in my head— come to think of it, where did that mirror take me?"

You turned around looking at your surroundings, however the girl glimpsed out of the corner of your eye again, laughing at you and making you angry. 

"HEY COME BACK HERE YOU SHATTERING BRAT!"

Now you felt like the empress every time you yelled at the silhouette. Fuck! Some habits stick with people. 

She kept running into the mist of this dark forest, with you following behind her, the branches on your feet and the wildlife of the place making you scrape, but it didn't matter. You wanted to know how to get out of this place. 

"Jijiji! I'm faster than you..." Whispered the brat, her silhouette running and when you finally came out of the dark forest, the light filled her eyes blinding you. When the effect passed, you stopped thinking for an instant, this whole place was magnificent and magical, but the girl was gone. 

In its place, the vast tulip field filled your view, in the middle of it and far away on the hill, lay a beautiful oak tree the size of the most pompous castle presumably held by royalty. 

Mesmerized by this magnificence, you walked down the hill, it was a few more meters but something guided you to the oak tree. The closer you got, you heard a deep and melancholic voice singing.

Its beautiful whistling caught your attention, the closer you got the better you saw someone's back and— That little girl sitting next to her. 

Never thought that you would be Standing here so close to me There's so much I feel that I should say But words can wait until some other day

Both were relaxing on a chair made of wood and flowers as a handle, the stranger kept singing; for some reason his voice gave you a familiar but pleasant peace, you didn't know why or how, but you keep watching them swinging. 

It's been a long, long time Haven't felt like this, my dear Since can't remember when It's been a long, long time You'll never know how many dreams I've dreamed about you Or just how empty they all seem without you

The wind was blowing away the colorful petals of the field full of those tulips, you standing still in the tall grass, mesmerized by the whistling of that stranger, still looking at the girl, they seemed so comfortable with each other.

It's been a long, long time It's been a long, oh long time

And then that song stopped, breaking like a spell as well as your illusion, for just as the figure turned, his face could not be seen for he silenced you, causing thousands of tulips to cover your vision. 

"WAIT PLEASE! Who are you—" 

With an abrupt silence, you were left in the emptiness of before, broken glass halves scattered on the floor surrounded your feet, the girl was gone, only you and that hall of mirrors remained. 

Sighing, you pick up several pieces and your fragmented reflection looks back at you.

Your thoughts stop when you feel someone pull you out of that place and your eyes open as you feel the pain of a slap. Your eyes immediately went to those responsible for that: The maids in the service of the empress, who don't even look sorry for having done such a thing.

"Hey, you know you shouldn't sleep like that in public, you should be ashamed of yourself? What if the nobles gossip about you? hahahahaha." 

You clutched your reddish cheeks due to the hard slap, you growl silently wanting to do something but you just bit your lip in anger and swallowed it with 'dignity', which was the only thing you really had left; nothing belongs to you nor did anyone in this palace seem to take your position seriously.

You are just an ornament for the empress and a sack of potatoes for others to vent their frustrations. You had nowhere to go, if you left they would surely kill you, because the dirty blood should not live. 

"Please, couldn't you be less rude, Tsk! If you were seen slapping me, wouldn't you go unpunished? I'm still the emperor's daughter. It's frowned upon for a commoner to hit a noble, let alone royalty like me" You sneered with measured sarcasm, if they wanted to pull shit against you, you'd mess with them, it's all or nothing.

Your joke made them turn pale, the other maid behind gasped and took a step back. The one who slapped you swallowed as she quickly pulled herself together. They did not want the wrath of the empress if such rumors began to circulate, their necks, and perhaps yours, would roll. 

"You should be grateful princess because I have not yet reported your attitude to our noble empress, be good and we can forget about this incident" They said with a smile on their faces, the other nodded his head as the speaker held his face confidently, as if he had all the power in the situation, but his eyes reflected the fear and falsity of his words.

If they did that, they would pay more than you, a simple spanking would not be mere punishment for commoners like them, on the contrary for you, who you would be 'disciplined' for your indecency as a noble, 

However, you were interrupted by the empress's housekeeper (that damned boot-licking spy) She advanced towards you and all the maidens present bowed in fear, the two in front of you also trembled. 

"Now ladies don't make a fuss in the middle of the balconies and princess let's avoid making a fuss, please if you are not going to do anything at the party then go back to your room. As for you as maids, you have permission from the empress to discipline her, but don't overdo it..." She looked at you with cold condescension, as if she were superior. Biting your lips, you force a smile crumpling your dress in anger but swallow it all, smiling politely and standing up, wiping your dress and bowing.

 "Thank you, I will follow that sage advice, as you always know what to do, with your permission." Annoyed and frustrated once again, you left in anger and your footsteps echo loudly through the empty corridors of this place, listening to the maids laughing at you, as always.

Those damn maidservants, they always had something to say, didn't they? Laughing and talking behind your back every chance they got. Then there were those damn nobles, they were all the same, looking down on you. They always had something to comment on, whether it was your looks, your status or how you behaved. In the end you were just a trophy to them. A princess just to show off, nothing more.

Your thoughts were diverted by the sounds of the party, soon the second waltz would begin. But even if you were to go there, you would not be welcome, which is silly and ironic because this party is for you but no one actually congratulates you, the bitch empress steals every birthday you had, only to receive praise for her benevolence towards you... A bastard with dirty half elven blood.

 "Phew, at least this day is winding down." 

You sighed again as you vaguely thought about your dream, but you were more curious about that stranger, you didn't understand why he sent you back to reality, nor did you know why that girl led you there. In the end you walked down the hallway ignoring the lights and the drunks, it was like that every year, just nobles inflating their egos and gossiping behind each other's backs.

Hallways full of drunks were nothing new to you. Every year the parties ended the same as the others, with drunks and gossiping nobles. You couldn't wait for it to end, you always found it exhausting and annoying. Yet here you were, standing in the middle of the hallway with all these drunken fools around you... Surely there were some fucking and eating with lust around. 

"Hello princess!" 

A voice called out behind you, one you sadly recognized from all the years you had lived in the palace living with the nobles.

The stupid, disgusting son of Marquis Duboff, that dog rather than a man, always insisted on touching you and then complained when you refused. Snarling at fate, you tried to run away from him but he grabbed your hand and cornered you on the wall almost going out to the stairs. "Come on princess! Don't be like that, the other time I saw you flirting with other men, maybe the little slut can't help strutting around and wanting to fuck cock? You can't fool me, I know you like it—!" 

Drunk breath filled your nose, you wanted to vomit. His smell and everything about him disgusted you, so when he held your wrists, you kicked him in his private parts, you were irritated beyond belief.

"Tsk! When are you going to understand that I HATE YOU? You're a garbage existence, so.... If you'll excuse me, m-a-r-q-u-i-s!" With those words, you fixed your dress, you could be cheeky and follow orders for your own survival... However, you weren't going to play along with his games, that human excuse was a stubborn and pathetic being because you didn't want to call him a man when the vacancy was too big for him. 

This one knocked you down putting his hands in your hair, you in defense tried to shake him off but in the end between pulls, he knocked you down hitting you in the face and calling you an ungrateful bitch.

The blow threw you to the ground and to the side, sending you stumbling into a wall, you almost died if you fell badly down the stairs. You clutched your cheek as a groan of pain escaped you and, of course, the pathetic bastard was still standing there mockingly.

"You're not going anywhere princess, even though you act like an ungrateful bitch...I'm sure you'll soon come to your senses when you see that I can be gentle..." 

He sneered at you as he looked down at you from his elevated position holding an entire bottle of wine. His smile grew as he took a step closer to you, striding over and drinking. 

Then he started fighting you when you pushed him back wanting to leave, and he had the audacity to call you a spoiled brat, when IN YOUR LIFE! You've had some of that, anything you wanted was squashed and used as an excuse to make you less or crush your spirit. 

"STUPID BITCH!", you hear him yell as you poked his eye with your fingernails, in an attempt to stop him from taking your clothes off. He finally smashes the bottle on your head, making you blurry and blood dripping from your wound. 

You couldn't stand it any longer and you ran away crying, not out of sadness or helplessness (maybe it was that, but you would never say it out loud) but mostly it was rage, pure and undiluted. You felt pathetic, a fragile doll that broke for someone else's enjoyment.

"Fuck all of you... Ick! You guys are assholes" You clench your fists drawing blood from your wound with a torn piece of cloth from your now torn dress and head to your room, well, those fancy furnishings and decor really couldn't be called a room, it wasn't yours to begin with, just a guest room modified to mimic that of a room for royalty. 

Still, you decided it was better to go to your old, dirty and abandoned 'room', which was just the basement where they kept junk and rusty weapons. As you enter, you close the door, dropping into a crouch and hugging your legs, enclosing your face in your dress breaking that elegant facade into sadness and anger. 

You were exhausted and tired, very tired of everything, of everyone. Running away from the damn marquis, from the empress, from the nobles. You just wanted to be free, to be happy and find a place to just... be, instead of being a princess forced to live in a damn box and be judged or belittled for every little action.

Sighing as you sat there in that dusty old room, tears streaming down your face as you hid in your dress, you continued to wander in your thoughts. You felt alone, cut off from anything good or happy in this damned place, if there was any happiness in the falsehood of nobility to begin with. 

Your snot was running from your nose, your makeup was smeared and you didn't care at the time, you just wanted it all to be over. Sometimes you were angry at your dead mother, you blamed her for your useless elven blood running through your veins. You would even cut yourself to try to get it out and stop being a dirty blood, but all you get were injuries with punishments from the empress, you honestly don't know when was the last time you smiled or if you ever did, 

You wanted to keep hating her, she's a mother who never saw you grow up, but you didn't want to be like them, just another human, someone who pretends and discriminates against others just because. It would be hypocritical of you to do so, but sometimes you just want to scream and hate them freely, but it's stupid to do that and you just put your anger aside.

"It's useless, everything is the same every year, what did I expect this time? Mother, is my existence wrong? They just use me and throw me away when I'm not useful. I'm getting tired, how much longer can I go on with this performance?" You cried rubbing your eyes and wiping your smeared makeup with your dress, it was ruined anyway. 

Your eyes wandered around the room, looking at old dusty furniture and consumed by time, now they are blurred memories. If you think about it, in the past for some reason, you used to write letters to someone, hoping they would take you away from this place, but those hopes are ephemeral like happiness. 

You continued to sit there and cry, your feelings of hopelessness and anger pouring out. The makeup on your face was ruined, but you didn't care, it would be just another reason for the empress to call you a savage, mocking you. 

The zero memories of your childhood or the existence of your mother, your life here, everything came over you. It was very hard to face it all, very hard to hold out hope for any kind of happiness for yourself. After all, you were nothing more than a princess in a cage.

For a moment, the sensation you felt in that dream made you think of the stranger, and the memory came to mind, the magical and serene sight. It is contrary to how you felt now.

The moonlight illuminated the old dusty room, your eyes for some reason went to the old table, many broken drawings on it, for a moment you saw yourself as a child writing right there, however something blinded you like a light in your eyes. Curious you get up going to the table, the last time you were here living and sleeping you were exactly 11 years old, so you had left everything the same as when you left. 

"What the hell—?" Your gaze went to the pieces of paper, then moving them you coughed through the dust that was released after years in neglect and, shaking it with your hand— A strange piece black as darkness received you, the one that has accompanied you in your life since you are conscious until you forgot it, and if not for today you would still be in oblivion of its existence. 

Then, when you took it, an energetic discharge came from the tip to your head, giving you headaches and like a vague memory, you were pulled towards that vision, but it was blurred, what you knew was that you were in a forest. Your hands were small but you did not control this memory and this childish body.

Your ears perked up as you heard your own voice laughing, but it sounded more animated. Sometimes you think the current you is so different from your childhood self, less bitter and miserable. 

"M■□ll■s-sama, it's unfair that you always let the human win!" 

Another voice interrupted your diatribe and in turn you recognized that it was male, of course with a youthful and scandalous touch. A familiar laughter made you open your eyes in this dream(?), then that stranger whose name you did not fully understand, answered the other man, strangely you did not see who they were, because in this memory you were still hiding behind a tree.

"S□b■k, don't be hard on her, besides I don't want to make her feel bad, my ■□■■■□ is important" Your giggles kept coming out as your eyes made you expectant in this strange dream, just sharing vision with this uncontrolled childish body. The strangers behind the tree, shrouded in mystery, continue to argue. 

'What are they talking about?'

You thought to yourself, not your dream self, just your current self. Strangers are still looking for you, you looked like you were 5 years old by the size and high pitched giggles you let out. And that was before you came to the palace, what was not clear to you about this situation and your past self which you didn't remember much, so you are not understanding anything.

The two voices kept talking as the you in this memory peeked out for seconds, unable to really see their faces due to the speed at which you were hiding. You were looking from your childhood perspective, hiding in a tree and laughing to yourself, it all seemed less difficult if you thought about it. The other two males seemed to be looking for you, still arguing as they looked around the area.

Your childhood self seemed cheerful, again you wondered if she was really you or if she was just a past fragment. You looked happy, as if you were having fun playing some kind of game with these strange men. What were they talking about, and why did it seem so familiar, you didn't know, but it hurt your chest to hear yourself laugh. 

Since you came to the palace the childish games were over; so seeing this broke you in a certain way. Then you felt big hands taking the shoulders of your childish self, you laughed and named the stranger, but again the seemingly important words or names were cut off and erased, fragments remained of that stage of yours, which you did not know. 

"T■un□■ta□■u! hehehe you found me.... You were 3 seconds faster, though it's unfair because S■b□k always complains" Your words and voice were lively, sweeter and in comparison to the bitter words for this life you were leading. The stranger whose face was covered by the sunlight because you were in his arms, his shadowed face looked at you, his fanged lips smiled at you. 

His fangs glistened as a smile broke out on his face, laughing at your childish words. His voice was soft and warm, but no less gravelly and elegant, almost like the glow of the incandescent sun on you in the dream.

"You were well hidden, I could hardly find you. But I know your usual hiding places, little ch□■dr□n ■□ m■n." He said with lightness in his voice. One of his big hands moved to stroke your head, tousling your hair as he said this. Even though it was hidden behind the blinding light of the sun, you could still make out its outline....

It had a rather strange silhouette, horns coming out of its head and long wings behind it, something you only saw in forbidden books.... A dragon, but it didn't make sense that it was humanoid. 

In fact this whole situation confused you, unfortunately you came back to reality when the darkness swallowed you and you fell to the ground with a sharp blow, the dragon's scale no longer shining as brightly as before. You got up carefully, you were a mess in every sense of the word if you looked at yourself in a mirror. 

Picking that thing up carefully, you wonder if this is what made you see that. Are those your memories from when you weren't here? But it didn't make sense, the empress said she found you with two elderly brothers who were farmers, so why - why were you having these weird flashbacks? 

You sat on the old bed, holding the dragon scale in your hand and looking at it. Your head was throbbing and your thoughts were a mess. That vision... it was so vivid, like a memory... But how could it be a memory? You come from those farming families, the empress herself had said so... Though knowing her character, she could lie to you as she did about your mother's death. 

Those two men in the vision, you couldn't make out any details about them. But why did you feel so close to him in that dream? Besides you had already seen him when you fell asleep on the balcony, is everything connected...?

"Phew, I better go or I might get punished... But I can't leave this here, if they come to clean up, which is rare, they might see it, maybe I should take everything left of this old place" You put the dragon scale in your secret pocket inside your breasts, just when you were about to leave, you also saw the letters hidden under so much trash and dust. Some were torn and some were stained with ink. 

Your look is nostalgic, really when you were a simple and silly girl you didn't know how to hide things. So you took them, on your way out you took caution in looking both ways down the dark subway corridor and when you saw the shores clear, you left.

You exited the subway, making sure that no one was there, before leaving. As you did so, you returned to your room as quietly as possible. You hoped that the party was over and everyone was too drunk to notice your absence... 

As you walked through the halls, your mind kept thinking about that memory, if it was one. You had so many questions about it, about your past self and who you really were before you turned 6. It was so clear, so real... But who were they? What if... Was it all a strange fantasy of yours? Now you have a faint fragment of hope in you, even if it's vain and selfish. 

Your thoughts are interrupted by the empress waiting for you in your room, you panicked hiding the old letters and anything suspicious, she looked at you with false elegance and the lunar shadow did not help your fear to diminish.

"W-what are you doing here? I thought you were with the emperor"

You whisper avoiding looking at her, she stood up, unaware that there was your faithful maid. A maid who barely entered months ago and quickly befriended you with insistence; but that doomed her like many. Now she's dead on the floor, again you lost another ally, though you tried to prevent anyone from coming to you, trying to be nice when you couldn't afford that, it's a weakness the empress would exploit. 

Said woman continued to look at you with a cold stare, the false elegance on her face unchanged.

"Watch your tone of voice, princess." He said in a cold voice. His cold green eyes scanned you, observing your ragged and disheveled appearance with an almost mocking look on his face.

"I heard about what happened between you and the marquis earlier, my dear." You swallowed bile cursing everyone and her for that false sweetness in her voice. She took a step towards you and her tone quickly changed to a higher pitched one.

"You know how much I despise it when you embarrass me like that."

Her hands went to your bare, messy shoulders, your hair was ragged and that only added to her condescending tone, mocking your messy appearance. You bit your lips, she knew everything, she always does. You're more sure that damn dog Duboff made a fuss complaining about you, you just expected the worst in situations like that.

 "W-what's wrong with it, Your Highness? I only defended myself, or are you afraid of rumors? For example... That you don't take good care of me, and even if I AM THE EMPEROR'S DAUGHTER! You still treat me badly-" Her nails finished digging into your skin as a warning but you were so fed up that you continued.

"And yes I did, I don't give a damn anymore anyway, that dog deserved it! He's a scumbag, he wanted to abuse me, hahaha you don't even care about my image, only yours and your ego-Urgh!" A slap echoed in the empty room. The empress snarled with a contorted face, you laughed internally as you watched her lose her composure, she was a fucking bitch to you. 

It was quite satisfying to see the empress lose her composure in this way. Her face contracted in anger, a complete contrast to her normally reserved and cold demeanor. She had just slapped you, leaving a red mark on your cheek.... but you couldn't help but laugh at this. Seeing her lose control like this was almost funny.

The empress snarled at your laughter, the anger and irritation clear on her face. She moved closer to you, grabbing your hair and tugging on it. 

"How dare you talk to me like that... You're a dirty bastard blood!"

The empress's face was now contorted with anger, frustration and humiliation. After all, how dare you speak to her like that, especially at a party meant to celebrate her benevolence? You should thank her for even existing, but here you were like a brazen rat. 

"You ungrateful, insolent bitch!" She spat, tugging at your scalp and grabbing your cheeks hard so you could look her in the eye. 

"How dare you speak to me like that, I who have given you everything! Your position as princess, your meals, your clothes, let it be clear to you that you are inferior to me, without my help the emperor wouldn't care about you!"  

"... I didn't want to be this! Do you know how many nights I starved to death just because you and those maids wanted me to? You don't know anything, my life is not really mine but I'm running out of patience, even when I wanted to run away, you didn't let me... I begged you, but no more!"

"You're a-" Her hand reached up to hit you again but when you tried to pull away she only abused you more until it hurt all over, then complained about your rebelliousness and savagery.

He continued to prattle on about your insolence, debating whether he should kill you or not, but decided to leave, only punishing you by locking you in the room and ordering that no one was to come in or go out to feed you for a week. 

You got up when she left, she might as well kill herself and you wouldn't care. After a while, you changed your clothes after a relaxing and decent bath, no insults or dirty water. You were self-sufficient enough, since you were treated like a maid when you first arrived, you did everything. 

At the end of the night you lay staring at the letters on your bed, those letters written by you that for some reason you don't quite remember why you did it. "Ahh... what a day this was." 

You were left in your room, alone once again. The empress had left you with a burning cheek and a week of hungry solitary confinement. But it didn't matter, you were used to it.

With slow steps to the bed, you plopped down on the bed and then settled in, your eyes drifting to the old letters scattered on the bedspread. They were written in childish scribbles, but somehow they had some meaning. Why did you write this? And to whom? You had long forgotten the reasons behind it... You had priorities, like not dying for that woman's whims. 

With nothing to do, you decided to read them, starting with the one with the oldest date and paper. The letter began somewhat disorganized, it read like this:

March 23, first date of the solar calendar.  'It happened again today, I miss you Tsunotarou so much..... Mairy yelled at me again, you know, I know I'll never give you these letters but I hope someday to see you so I can read them for you, although I think it's more for convenience.  Nobody wants me here, I shouldn't have run away from home, Uncle Lilia was right. Humans are not the same, much less easy to understand. They are like me, physically they are but they don't act like I thought they would. Everyone says I'm a dirty blood worse than a commoner, Sebek was right when he said we are bad, but I'm not like that.  

Your expression softened but mostly out of confusion and the feeling that comes from reading this. So that's what the nickname you were talking about in the dream was... That silhouette was Tsunotarou? You didn't know but your head hurt thinking about it and even for some reason you got stuck trying to say that nickname, but still you continued reading.

 April 16 of the solar calendar  'I'm very sad, I hardly remember Uncle Lilia anymore, I'm very afraid. Tsunotarou... what if I forget you too? I don't want that, so I'll keep writing letters, so maybe my adult self will read them, I hope everything gets better, because today they made me mop the floor and the housekeeper punished me for something I didn't do. The older maids threw water and cow dung on my floor, when I had already cleaned it, I really want to come back to you Tsunotarou'.

Your expression became somewhat inexplicable, you felt the tears fall again for no apparent reason, you did not understand this feeling. Perhaps compassion for your previous innocent self, who was hurt and crushing your spirit to become what you are today.

The cards only continued to get worse. Your past self was young and innocent, so full of optimism and hope, but instead was only met with suffering. She was treated like dirt, forced to do tasks she wasn't cut out for, and others around her bullied her...and no one did anything to stop it. Your heart ached as you read the letter from your past self, and tears streamed down your face as you read it.

You clenched the letter tightly in your hand, your heart felt heavy in your chest... You didn't know if you wanted to keep reading because you were honestly so devastated by the constant abuse you've normalized, but reading all this just makes you feel sorry for yourself. 

Still, you catch a glimpse of one letter in particular lying on the corner of your bed, it's crumpled and musty as if it had been wet. Trembling you pick it up reading it and it just opens up another memory you had blocked out for yourself.

XX December of ... ??? 'Tsunotarou... I no longer remember why or why I am writing this, who are you, that I am writing this to you? I don't know, maybe it was all a dream and you, Tsunotarou whoever you are, don't exist. Last week I was caught trying to escape, but I don't remember the reason for it. Honestly it's all confusing so I'll stop writing these meaningless letters. I just know I've been hiding them, so I have to respect that about myself.... Well, this is goodbye. 

Now you remember! This is the last letter you wrote, you only know you finished it because of the first line, that nickname, you wrote it weeks before and you don't remember much. Suddenly your head starts to hurt and you get a lot of cut memories that make you cry in pain.

As you read that last letter, you were hit with a flood of memories. They came back vividly, but it was still a little fuzzy in your mind. 

You remembered why you wrote the letters. You were writing to him, that man you played with in the woods in your dream. You remembered him... and you remembered his nickname. Tsunotarou. Even the mere thought of it made your head throb. But as the memories slowly came back, you couldn't help but sob at the truth of all the events and the realization of it. 

What little you know of this is due to the only clues you had. With determination, you were determined to seek the truth behind your whole life and your lost happy childhood, so these days where the empress locked you up, you would flee through the secret corridors you had discovered in this room since you lived in it. 

Wandering the aisles of the library in the middle of the night, you were looking for books on magic or creatures of that kind, which were burned years ago by the wars, it was hard to find them. 

Despite feeling so tired, your heart was beating with determination. You knew you had to find the answers behind everything. It was time for you to find out the truth about your past and the real reason why you were here. You had so many questions running around in your mind....

But it was already late and you could already feel the tiredness invading your body after searching the library, so you walked with your books in hand through the corridors until you reached your room. With a tired sigh, you lay down on your bed, thoughts still running through your head as you slowly drifted off into an intermittent sleep...

And so for the rest of the week, you went to the basement to see if there was anything else but there was not. Then you rummaged through the housekeeper's room finding the strange bag that you now had in your room, in front of you. 

There was a strange old stuffed animal, some exotic flowers you didn't know about, a map crumpled and yellowed from years but most surprising were the many dragon scales in a jar. 

This was definitely yours, but why would you have this here? It didn't make sense and besides there were 2 books downstairs, one had drawings of 4 men, three of them with pointed ears and one was like the silhouette in your dream, with horns. 

The other was a human like you but wore a uniform; also, the second book had strange spells in it. The spell book was like the few pieces of page you found in the library on the hidden side. Thoroughly checking between pages, you saw a piece of paper with something written on it, there was also a drawing made by you most likely, underneath the apparent lullaby. 

Something about the drawing of the horned man seemed strangely familiar to you, though you didn't know why. Maybe there was a connection between him and that man in your dream... Curious, you read the writing on the paper, although due to the bad handwriting and scribbles on it, it was difficult to read.

You let go of the paper from your hands because your head started to hurt, a male voice echoed in your erased memories. It was a quiet place, a comfortable bed and finally you saw black tinted lips and fangs, he sang you that song but again, his face was blurred. 

You gripped the paper once again tighter, your head throbbing from the strange memory that came over you. The memory was fuzzy, but it was still clear enough that you could make out the vague silhouette of a man, fangs and lips tinged with black. He was singing that song to you, his voice soft and comforting.

Te agarraste la cabeza, tratando de recordar más, pero el dolor de cabeza sólo pareció empeorar. ¿Por qué tus recuerdos volvieron repentinamente a ti una vez más, y fue realmente Tsunotaoru, el hombre que te parecía tan familiar...? No lo sabías así que simplemente te volviste a dormir, cayendo profundamente

The breeze on your face welcomes you back, dazed you open your eyes seeing that you were now on a marble table near the oak tree. Confused you wake up and this time you see that you are not a teenager, more like a girl, this confuses you a lot.

Walking aimlessly, you hear in the distance in the same oak tree or further on, in the tulip field, someone singing, that same song you read in that paper.

I know you I walked with you once in a dream I know you That look in your eyes is such a familiar gleam. And I know it's true, that visions are rarely what they seem.

The tune was different, but undoubtedly it is the same voice and the same place as when that little girl in the dream led you there, the same person singing that lullaby. 

But I know you I know what you will do You will love me once and for all As you once did in a dream

You kept moving forward, the smell of flowers filled your nose and as if taking the place of the girl who you assume is your inner self, you continue moving towards the figure on the hill, standing among so many flowers looking at the sun.  

But I know you I know what you do You love me at the same time As you once did in a dream I know you I walked with you once in a dream 

The wind was soft and cool against your skin as you walked through the tulip field. The sweet smell of flowers filled the air and the sun hung high in the sky, casting a warm glow over the surroundings. As you continued walking, you heard that familiar song echoing in the air.

 "Who are you really?" you whisper in that childish little voice, this time you control this body and even if you expected an answer, there is only silence.

The closer you got, the more your heart pounded in your chest. And then, you finally saw it: a tall horned figure standing a few feet away from you.

Something in his majestic, magical and calming presence made you cry. At this moment you became a little girl taking the place of your inner self, now you just wanted to hug that man and run in his arms, like a game.

"Tsunotarou... that's what your name is?" those simple words made the horned figure look at you, with a slow step he walked up to you bending down to look at you.

The stranger smiled at you as he bent down to your level. He gently wiped away your tears with his thumb, his gaze warm and affectionate.

"Yes, it's me" he whispered in response. 

"I have missed you so much." This time your inner self spoke for you, since you wouldn't be able to understand its identity or the feelings it provokes in you, but you don't want to push it away either.

The man dressed in black hugged you tightly, squeezing you close to his chest. It was a protective embrace and you could feel the love and affection in his touch.

"You have no idea how much I've wanted to see you again, the clues I left you in your dreams, do you still have doubts my little girl?"

You nodded as you let yourself be carried by him, all your stress or bitter attitudes gone. There is only you and that lost innocence. 

"Sorry if I don't understand anything, it's just that I forgot you and that frustrates me" This time you spoke from your heart, with the truth. Without lying to anyone much less yourself and he seemed to understand. 

"Everything will have an answer, but I've missed you too, I can't be near you because I wouldn't know how to control myself, I may lose control if I see you more than I should" His whispers sounded melancholy and plaintive, but deep down his tone threatened to overflow into madness and rage. 

"Then why didn't you come for me? I don't remember but I feel like I sink into a sadness thinking about you" This time he kept silent, his face you couldn't see but you felt the tension in his body. 

"...There were reasons beyond my power that prevented me from that, besides if I went after you I could have accidentally killed you in my rage looking for you."

Despite his words you felt disappointed with him, you still decided not to hate him, you didn't want to be a bad person, no matter how bitter you were. 

"I understand... But could you answer me something, why don't I remember you well? I know you had something to do with me however, I don't remember, much less know who I was before what I am now."

The strange man again took your face in his hands and you saw why you couldn't see him, there was a mist blurring his face. 

"I don't think it's time yet, but I assure you that in a few weeks you will know... Until then, I will see you and answer your questions, my little daughter of man. Because we saw each other in a dream-" 

You wanted to keep asking but he kissed your forehead and you fell into a dream within your dreamlike sleep, finally waking up hyperventilating. 

"... Fuck I couldn't ask him his real name."

[im-not-samantha-im-samanta]

{Maleficent with a s/o who brings home a stray kitten}

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A few words from author: Hi there everyone! Welcome to my newest imagines! ^^

Lately I've been pulled back into my old Disney villain fixation, and so I just couldn't help but create something Disney related - and there's a high chance that Disney villains content will be a part of my page now ^^".

Well anyways, this idea for imagines has been stuck with me for a good while and I really really wanted to write it down- like seriously- and the first villain I chose for these imagines is our fave dark fae Maleficent who I love so so so much (ෆ ^ ﹏^ ෆ⁠).

But no need to worry, I plan on writing this idea with other villains too, so chances are that your fave villains aren't gonna miss out on this scenario ^^.

Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy reading these! :3

-

Settings: Written as Romantic focused

Genre: Purely fluffy and wholesome I'd say ^^

!TRIGGER WARNING!: None as far as I can tell!

Sidenote: Reader is written as gender-nonspecified

-

Well, that should be all I needed to say, bunny-boos, feel free to read now ^^.

Hope y'all will enjoy~ <3

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♡。This may or may not come as a shocker, but Mal is actually pretty okay with pets.

♡。While it doesn't apply to all kinds of creatures, Mal does, in fact, enjoy the thought of having a little animal companion (like her precious Diablo). But it really depends on what type of animal it is.

♡。When it comes to kitties, you're in great luck, cuz Mal is much more of a cat person than she is a dog person. So, you're getting a free pass for bringing home a kitty as long as the kitten gets along with Diablo. ^^

♡。Though, actually, Mal really likes the idea of you having your own animal companion (like she has Diablo) and so, you probably might even get away with bringing home a pet of the kind that Mal isn't exactly fond of (⁠ʃ⁠ƪ⁠＾ᵕ＾).

♡。But that's a topic for another day (⁠ ^▽^ ⁠).

♡。Well, as I've already said, Mal has no problem with cats, and she approves of the idea of you having a pet. And what does that mean?

♡。That means that when you bring home the stray kitten with you, you're keeping it without a doouuubt!! \(⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)/

♡。Like, Mal doesn't even protest or anything!

♡。She just frighteningly looms over you, watching as you stumble over your words in an attempt to explain why you brought the kitten with, only for her to answer with a simple "Well, alright then, you may keep it."

♡。And you're left standing there all shocked cuz- all of those intimidating glances and intense staring that got you trembling in your boots and then she just gives such plain reaction??

♡。Like- was she just messing with you or what??? And well, the answer is that... yeah, she probably did all that just to mess with you some... but only maybe... one can never really know for sure with Maleficent...

♡。Anyways- now you probably wanna know... how's Mal with the kitten?????

♡。Well, lemme tell you all about that, honey. Lemme pour the tea. (͡⁠��⁠‿⁠ ͡⁠°⁠)

♡。So, at first, Maleficent doesn't interact with the kitty much and mostly leaves that sort of thing to you. Not that she'd dislike the kitten, she just needs a moment or two to fully get used to it.

♡。Not to mention that Mal loves watching you interact with the kitty! She just finds it so endearing how you're caring for the little thing, how you're playing with it and gushing over it - It honestly makes her heart go: (⁠༎ຶ﹏ ⁠༎ຶ⁠)♡✧⁠*。(translation: she just melts).

♡。But eventually she does slowly start interacting with the kitten.

♡。Like, when the kitten wobbles up to her and asks for attention, she will acknowledge it and greet it with a: "Why hello there, {kitten's name}".

♡。And! Once Mal has completely warmed up to the kitty, she even kneels down to the kitty and pets it whenever it meows at her for attention! (⁠༎ຶ﹏ ⁠༎ຶ⁠)

♡。Oh, and speaking of the kitty's name, Maleficent respects whatever name you've chosen for the kitten and addresses it by the name. ^^

♡。Though, if the name is something... unusual... let's say something like "Prickles" or "Dirtbag", she might raise an eyebrow at the choice and she might think to herself that if the two of you ever have children, you, honey, are absolutely not getting to name them. Yeah... sorryyy(^▽ ^;⁠)

♡。Anyways! To spill more tea about their interactions! Mal actually may or may not have fallen in love with the kitten, and the kitten loves her just as much - sometimes you may be even wondering if it's your kitten anymore-

♡。Cuz like- once they're through the warming up phase, the kitty follows Maleficent everywhere! (And Mal lets the kitty follow her too)

♡。And it's either because it loves Mal so much, OR it's because of Mal's attire that she drags across the floor! Because the kitty loves to play with the ends of Mal's robes and constantly hops around after her, trying to catch it and tear it apart.

♡。And no, Mal has no issue with that, she actually encourages the kitten's playfulness and she very often kneels down to it and wiggles her long, slim fingers at the kitty to encourage it to play with her while she cackles. It's honestly so heartwarming to witness. <3

♡。Your kitten also likes to sit with Maleficent on her throne. Like, the little thing will come up to her throne, sit down and meow until Mal lets it join her at the throne. And most of the times she does pick it up and set it on the armrest that's currently not being taken by Diablo ( T﹏T).

♡。(Btw, don't worry, the kitten loves you just as much as it loves Maleficent, after all you're the first mama/papa/parent it had, so it's just as clingy with you <3)

♡。And now there's the question - what about Diablo? How does he handle the addition to the family?

♡。Well, at first he wasn't that happy about the kitten since 1. it was a cat, 2. he now had to share you and his mistress with that ball of fur.

♡。He was quite jealous at the beginning, but you and Mal made sure he was getting the same amount of attention and care as the kitten.

♡。And also, just a fun fact, Mal did tease Diablo about being jealous here and there, but only very subtly.

♡。Oh and Diablo did try to peck the kitten once with his beak, and he also did hiss at it and caw to intimidate the kitten a few times (but the kitten honestly gave 0 shits and if anything, it saw it as a game and hissed back and even tried to hit him with its paw).

♡。But then there was that one time when Diablo was getting comfortable on one spot and the kitten chose to bravely snuggle up to him and sleep. And that was it, Diablo was won over right at that moment.

♡。So, now the two are best friends, often found together with the kitty snuggled into Diablo while Diablo is covering it with his wing and looking out for possible dangers/disturbances <3.

♡。And you bet that when the kitty is big enough to handle his weight, Diablo is riding on the kitty's back if he doesn't feel like flying. :'3

♡。Oh and about the kitten and Diablo, both of them love snuggling up into you and napping which is something Maleficent adores to witness ( ^^) <3.

♡。It's just so endearing to find you, Diablo and the kitten all snuggled up together, breathing quietly with comfortable expressions on y'all's faces... One of Mal's favourite past times, in all honesty - AND ALSO, when it's especially cold in her castle, Maleficent likes to cover the three of you with a blanket (∩༎ຶ ﹏༎ຶ∩)~♡.

♡。Y'all are just so sweet and adorable together, I swear ( T﹏T).

♡。And well, I guess that's all I can share with y'all about this topic, folks ^^.

♡。Soooo, to sum it up somehow, you and Mal are a 10/10 couple with one ball of feather and one ball of fur for babies. ^^ <3

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[matttgirlies]

Matt & Me🎀

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

a story heavily based on Priscilla Presley’s Book “Elvis & Me” based in the 1950’s - 1970’s.

fem! reader x singer! matt

disclaimer!! - in no way am i saying matt would ever support or do these kind of things, for the sake of the book certain unethical things do happen at times.

warnings - none i dont think

y/nn = your nickname for anyone confused🩷

Chapter 4

It was already Christmas 1959, and I had no idea what to get Matt. I walked through the crowded streets of Wiesbaden, windowshopping, trying to get ideas. Picking out gifts for the family had always been easy, since we always knew exactly what was wanted or needed; in fact, we often made our gifts for one another. On this occasion my father gave me thirty-five dollars to spend on Matt, and it seemed a vast amount to me when I set out on this freezing cold day. I was slapped with the reality when I noticed a beautiful hand-made cigar box with porcelain outlining and a decorative design. Matt, a cigar smoker, would have loved it. But after the shopkeeper told me the price, 650 Deutsche marks or $155, all I walked out with was my expensive taste.

It was snowing heavily and I hurried into another shop, this one full of bright toys, including a solidly built toy German train that I could imagine Matt instantly setting up in his living room. But the train cost 2,000 Deutsche marks.

Heading home in the dark, on the verge of tears, I spotted a music store, where a pair of bongo drums inlaid with gleaming brass were displayed in the window. They were forty dollars, but the clerk took mercy on me and sold them for thirty-five. As I headed home I was beset by a thousand doubts, convinced that the drums were the least romantic of gifts.

I must have asked Nate Doe and David Jones twenty times if they thought the drums were appropriate. “Oh sure,” Nate said. “Anything you give him, he’ll like.” I still wasn’t convinced.

On the night we exchanged gifts, Matt emerged from his dad’s room and drew me to one corner of the living room, where he handed me a small wrapped box, in it, a delicate gold watch with a diamond set on the lid and a ring with a pearl bracketed by two diamonds.

I had never owned anything so beautiful, nor had any smile ever warmed me as Matt’s did then. “I’ll cherish these forever,” I told him, and he made me put them on right away and took me around to show everyone.

I waited as long as possible to give Matt my present. Laughing, he said, “Bongos! Just what I always wanted!” Matt could see that I didn’t believe him; he was better at giving than receiving. “Charlie,” he persisted, “didn’t I need some bongos?”

Motioning for me to sit next to him at the piano, he started playing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” with such emotion that I couldn’t look up for fear he’d see I was crying. When at last I couldn’t resist meeting his eyes, I saw that he too was holding back tears.

It was not until many days later that I discovered a whole closet full of bongo drums, mine not included, in the basement. The fact that my white elephants had not been throw into the closet but instead were prominently displayed beside his guitar made me love him all the more.

As the days passed I began to dread the day of Matt’s departure. By January he was already packing, and each night I spent with him became more precious than the one before.

Then, just as the weather turned freezing cold, Matt was sent out on field maneuvers for ten days, and if there was anything Matt hated, it was having to sleep outside on the frozen ground.

The morning after he left, it began to snow and by afternoon it was a blizzard. As Michelle and I were driving home from school with my mother, I turned on the radio, just in time to hear a late-breaking news bulletin.

“Sorry to interrupt, folks, but it was just reported that Corporal Matt Sturniolo has been rushed from field maneuvers to a hospital in Frankfurt, suffering from an acute attack of tonsillitis. Matt, if you’re listening, we all hope you get well real soon.”

Frantic with worry, I called the hospital, hoping to learn more about his condition. To my surprise, when the operator heard my name she put me right through, saying Corporal Sturniolo had left word to do so if I called.

“I’m a sick man, Little One,” Matt rasped. “I need you by my side. If it’s okay with your folks, I’ll send David for you right now.”

Of course my parents gave me permission to go to the hospital, and an hour later I entered his room, just as the nurse was leaving. Matt was propped up in bed with a thermometer in his mouth, surrounded by dozens of floral arrangements.

The moment the nurse was gone, Matt took the thermometer out of his mouth, lit a match, and carefully held it under the thermometer. Then he stuck the thermometer back in his mouth and slumped down on the bed just as the door opened and the nurse returned, carrying in even more flowers.

Smiling warmly to her famous patient, she took the thermometer out of Matt’s mouth, looked at it, and gasped, “A hundred and three. Why, Matt, you’re really sick. I’m afraid you’ll have to stay here at least a week.”

Matt nodded mutely as the nurse fluffed up his pillows, filled his water glass, and left the room. Then he burst out laughing, jumped out of bed, and took me in his arms.

He despised maneuvers, and since the weather was so bad and everyone was so worried about his voice, his answer was tonsillitis. Already susceptible to catching colds, Matt learned to dramatize his sickness with a little flick of a match.

It was March 1, 1960, the night before Matt was to leave Germany to return to the States.

We were lying on his bed, our arms around each other. I was in a state of complete despair.

“Oh, Matt,” I said, “I just wish there were some way you could take me with you. I can’t stand the thought of life without you. I love you so much.”

I began sobbing, my anguish overcoming my control.

“Shhh, Baby,” Matt whispered. “Try to calm down. There’s nothing we can do.”

“I’m just afraid you’ll forget me the moment you land,” I cried.

He smiled and kissed me gently. “I’m not going to forget you, y/nn. I’ve never felt this way about another girl. I love you.”

“You do?” I was stunned. Matt had said that I was special before, but he’d never said that he loved me. I wanted so badly to believe him, but I was frightened of getting hurt. I’d read some of Nicole’s letters, and I was sure Matt was on his way back to her open arms.

Holding me close, he said, “I’m torn with the feelings I have for you. I don’t know what to do. Maybe being away will help me understand what I really feel.”

That night our lovemaking took on a new urgency. Would I ever see him again, be in his arms the way I had been nearly every night for the past six months? I missed him already. I could not bear the thought of the night ending and our saying goodbye for what I thought would be the last time. I wept and wept until my body ached with pain.

For the last time I begged him to finally have sex with me. It would have been so easy for him. I was young, vulnerable, desperately in love, and he could have taken complete advantage of me. But he quietly said, “No. Someday we will, y/n, but not now. You’re just too young.”

I lay awake all that night and early the next morning I was back at 18 Hauptstrasse, lost in the midst of a large group of people milling about the living room. They were waiting to say goodbye to Matt, who was upstairs finishing his last-minute packing. Knowing that I alone would be accompanying him to the airport gave me little comfort.

When Matt came downstairs, he laughed and joked with everyone there. Finally, after saying his last goodbye, Matt turned to me. “Okay, Little One, it’s time to go.”

I nodded glumly and followed him out the door. Oblivious to the drizzling rain, hundreds of fans were waiting outside. When they saw Matt they went crazy, begging him to sign autographs. When he finished he jumped into the waiting car and pulled me in behind him. As the door slammed, the driver accelerated and we sped toward the airport.

We rode for a long while in silence, both of us lost in thought. Matt was gazing out the window, frowning over the falling rain. “I know it’s not going to be easy for you to go back to being a schoolgirl again after being with me, y/nn, but you’ve got to. I don’t want you to be sitting around moping after I leave, Little One.”

I started to protest, but he silenced me. “Try to have a good time, write to me every chance you get. I’ll look forward to your letters. Get pink stationery. Address them to Nate. That way I’ll know they’re from you. I want you to promise me you’ll stay the way you are. Untouched, as I left you.”

“I will,” I promised.

“I’ll look for you from the top of the ramp. I don’t want to see a sad face. Give me a little smile. I’ll take that with me.”

Then, handing me his combat jacket and the sergeant’s stripes he’d recently been

awarded, he said, “I want you to have these. It shows you belong to me.” After that, he held me tight.

As we approached the airport, the cheers of the waiting crowds grew louder. We drove as close to the runway as possible, then Matt turned to me and said, “This is it, Baby.”

We got out as cameras flashed, reporters shouted, and screaming fans pressed toward us. Matt held my hand and walked across the runway apron until the guard, who was there to escort Matt to the plane, stopped me from going further.

Matt gave me a brief hug and whispered, “Don’t worry, I’ll call you when I get home, Baby, promise.”

I nodded, but before I could answer, we were pulled apart as the crowd rushed in. I was swept away by hundreds of fans, pushing and pulling, trying to get to him. I cried, “Matt!” but he never heard me.

He ran up the boarding steps. Then he turned and waved to the crowd, his eyes searching for me. I waved frantically, as did hundreds of other fans, yet he found me, and for one more brief moment, our eyes locked. Then he disappeared. Just like that.

My parents came to the airport to drive me back to Wiesbaden. During the long ride I was silent.

Excerpt from: "Elvis and Me" by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley. Scribd.

This material may be protected by copyright.

a/n - sad chapter 😪 (sorry its shorter than ones before)🎀

[putawayurhalo]

Out For Blood | Chapter 9: Pitch Black

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Munson!Reader ; Eddie Munson x Fem!Henderson!O.C.

Warnings: Strong language, season 4 vol. 1 (NONE FOR VOL. 2 YET) spoilers, angst, some fluff you don’t have to squint for this one though

Word Count: 2k

Author’s Note: So... I’m really excited to write the next chapter but we gotta get through some other details before hand so enjoy! Also reminder I really don’t hate Nancy just need some tension for plot sake besties. P.S. I try to edit these chapters but my brain truly will add words in when they’re not there so don’t mind the slight mistakes here or there, I’m sick of them as well though.

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

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“Do you want to talk about it?” Steve asked her as he pulled into the school parking lot.

“What is there to talk about?” She asked him as he parked the car.

“What Ms. Kelley said back there?” He turned around to look at her. (Y/N) sighed, before looking at both Dustin and Max.

“Can we talk about this later?” (Y/N) looked at him, a slight frown on her face and a pleading look in her eyes.

“Yeah.” He shook his head slightly, “Yeah, sure.”

The group got out of the car and started running toward the school; the older duo opened the doors for the younger duo before running after them. (Y/N) tripped over her own foot and started to fall forward, Steve reached forward and caught her by her waist, “You okay?”

“Yeah…” She was trying to catch her breath and looked up at Steve, “Thank you.” Steve helped her stand up straight but still kept his hands on her waist.

“Come on lovebirds, we don’t have all night!” Max shouted at them, Steve hands dropped from her waist and they caught up to the kids.

“Dustin do you copy?” Robin’s voice came through the walkie talkie.

“Yeah, I copy.” Dustin replied.

“So, Nancy's a beautiful, gorgeous genius,” (Y/N) scrunched up her nose at Robin’s description, Max nudged her as they continued walking, “Vecna’s first victims date back all the way to 1959, her shot in the dark was a bull’s-eye.”

“What shot in the dark?” (Y/N) asked them but no one responded.

“Okay that’s totally bonkers, but I can’t really talk right now.” Dustin shouted.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Robin questioned him.

“Breaking and entering into school to retrieve confidential and extremely personal files.” Max bent down to unlock the door, Steve shining the flashlight on the doorknob for her.

“Can you repeat that?”

“Just get your ass over here stat! We’ll explain everything.” Dustin shouted again before placing the walkie back in his bag.

“What was the shot in the dark?” (Y/N) asked Steve as she watched Max unlock the door.

“While you were in the trailer, getting your stuff, Nancy was telling us something that your uncle said to her.” Steve started.

“She talked to Wayne? Why?” She furrowed her eyebrows.

“She was interviewing him about Chrissy’s death and he brought up how he doesn’t think Eddie did it.”

“Because he didn’t.” She interrupted Steve, looking over at him, “Sorry, continue.”

“He said he thought Victor Creel did it, went into a whole spiel about it… The way she described it, it reminded me of how you can ramble for hours about those little Teddy Bears from Star Wars.” Steve chuckled as he spoke.

“Ewoks, Steve. They’re called Ewoks and besides Wickett is the be-”

“Okay you two enough!” Max tells them, as she gets the door unlocked. The duo looked away from each other and followed the kids into the room.

“It’s like a mini-watergate or something… Hawkinsgate.” Dustin shined his flashlight around the room.

“Didn’t those guys get caught?” Steve asked him. (Y/N) rolled her eyes and walked over to the file cabinet where Max stood.

“Holy shit.” Max spoke as she pulled out two files.

“You found it?” Steve asked Max.

“Yeah, and not just Chrissy’s file. Fred was seeing Ms. Kelley too.” Max spoke as she passed Fred’s file to Steve and sat down with Chrissy’s in front of her. She opened the file and began reading it, past trauma, terrible nightmares, difficulty sleeping, headaches. “Can I see Fred’s file?” She spoke, eyes still trailing over the words in Chrissy’s.

“Sure.” Steve passed her the file, Max immediately opened it, suffering from panic attacks, severe headaches, constant nosebleeds. She gasped slightly as she read it.

“Max, what is it?” (Y/N) asked her. Max looked down at the file, seemingly not moving.

“Max! Max!” Dustin shook her shoulders. (Y/N) looked down at the files.

“Max, come on.” Dustin continued to shake his friend, (Y/N) nudged Steve nodding towards the files. He began to read it, he looked up at (Y/N) again opening his mouth to ask her a question but she was distracted.

“Max?” (Y/N) asked and gently touched her shoulder, Max let out a startled gasp. “Max are you okay?”

“We’re here! We’re here!” Robin shouted as she and Nancy ran into the room, “What happened?”

Max ran out of the room and the group followed her

“It was here, right here.” Max shined the flashlight at the wall, “There was a grandfather clock right here.”

“A grandfather clock?” Nancy asked her.

“It was so real and then I got closer, suddenly I just… I heard (Y/N) say my name and I woke up.”

“It was like she was in a trance or something exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy.” Dustin spoke to Nancy and Robin as (Y/N) comforted Max, Steve had been watching (Y/N) closely since he read the files, he wasn’t sure if she had noticed that the symptoms had also lined up with her. 

“That’s not even the bad part…” Max spoke, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

“Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Miss Kelley for help. Uh, they both were having headaches, bad headaches that wouldn’t go away. And then… then the nightmares, trouble sleeping, they’d wake up in a cold sweat and then they started seeing things… bad things from their past and these visions they just… they kept on getting worse and worse until eventually everything ended.” Max’s eyes kept darting around the room as she spoke. 

“Vecna’s curse.” Robin whispered.

“Chrissy’s headache started a week ago, Fred’s, six days ago, I’ve been having them for five days.” (Y/N)’s eyes widened as Max spoke, “I don’t know how long I have, all I know is that, for Fred and Chrissy, they both died less than 24 hours after their first vision and I just saw that goddamn clock, so… looks like I’m gonna die tomorrow.” (Y/N) lightly touched Max’s arm before they all heard a distant clank. 

“Stay here.” Steve told them as he started to walk out of the room, he paused for a minute and grabbed a lamp from the corner, “I mean it. Stay here.” He was speaking to everyone but he looked directly at (Y/N). More clanks and footsteps were heard as Steve walked around the room, the entire group not listening to a word Steve had said as they followed him out, Max clung to (Y/N)’s side as the two stood behind everyone else, Steve held the lamp like a bat as the footsteps got closer, the person making the noise rounding the corner and they all screamed.

“It’s me!” The person shouted, holding their hands up.

“Lucas?” (Y/N) asked, stepping forward slightly.

“It’s me.” He replied out of breath.

“Jesus, what’s wrong with you, Sinclair?” Steve questioned him, setting the lamp down.

“I’m sorry.” Lucas was trying to catch his breath.

“I could’ve taken you out with this lamp!”

“Sorry, guys. Sorry. I was… I was biking for eight miles. Give me a second. Shit. We’ve got a code red.” 

“What?” Dustin asked him.

“Dustin. I’ve been with Jason, Patrick, and Andy, and they’ve gone totally off the rails. They’re trying to capture Eddie, and they think you know where he is. You’re in terrible danger.” Lucas told him before turning towards (Y/N), “You too, (Y/N)... you don’t want to know the things they said about you.” 

(Y/N) grumbled under her breath as Lucas spoke, only Max hearing her words.

“All right. Yeah, that definitely sucks, but we’ve got bigger problems than Jason right now.” Dustin pointed towards Max who only looked at Lucas scared.

“I’ll be right there.” Steve tells the group as they walk out of the office. 

“Okay, so we’re going to the Wheelers’ right?” Lucas asked.

“Yes, it’s safer there than being here in case Jason and his goons followed you here and tried to attack Dustin.” (Y/N) replied.

“But what about you (Y/N)? Are you not afraid they’re after you?” Robin asked her as she looked over her shoulder, walking side by side with Nancy. 

“I can hold my own, Robin.” (Y/N) lied through her teeth, “Besides, you really think these kids would let anything happen to me.” She nodded towards Max who walked next to her and then towards Dustin and Lucas.

“No, I know they won’t… but are they the only ones?” Robin asked her a smirk that the girl couldn’t see on her face.

“Aren’t the only ones who won’t what?” Steve asked as he caught up with them sliding a folded piece of paper into his back pocket.

“Oh, nothing.” (Y/N) smiled at Steve before continuing to walk with Max out of the school.

“Hey, (Y/N/N),” Max grabbed her arm as they all exited the school, “Dustin, Lucas and I are going to ride with Nancy, is that okay?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be okay?” She asked Max as she watched Dustin and Lucas walk towards Nancy’s car. Max looked at her and then at Steve, then back at her. She sighed, “I’ll be fine. I promise.” 

“Okay.” Max turned to walk away before she turned back around, “Hey, um, you would tell one of us if you started to have visions right? Because a lot of the symptoms Chrissy and Fred had… I have them and I’m pretty sure you have them too.”

“Max… I haven’t had any but if I do, you’d be the first person I’d tell. Scout’s honor.” 

“You were never a girl scout.” Max replied as she started walking towards Nancy’s car.

“You don’t know that.” (Y/N) told her because she laughed and walked towards Steve’s car.

“What was that about?” Steve asked her as she got into his car.

“With Max?” Steve nodded, “She’s just scared and I might be the closest person in her life as of recently.” (Y/N) responded as she buckled up, “Can we put on that mixtape?”

“Of course.” Steve smiled at her as she pulled it out of her bag and passed it to him. The two sat bobbing their heads to the music for a few minutes before Steve opened his mouth, “Do you want to talk about what Ms. Kelley said to you? You seemed upset when you got in the car earlier.” 

(Y/N) sighed and looked at him, “I had to get Max out of there, I told her that if Ms. Kelley asked anything that made her uncomfortable to tap her foot three times… she asked about Billy. So I did what I had to do to get her out of there.” She started fiddling with the skin around her finger nails, Steve took notice and reached his arm across the center console grabbing her hand and holding it, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles, “I fell into one of her traps of talking about my trauma when I really don’t want to.”

Steve thought for a second before trying to distract her, “You know, when you guys came into Family Video a selfish part of me wanted to not believe you when you guys said Eddie hadn’t done it,” Steve looked at her as she frowned at his words, “I wanted to keep protecting you from feeling the way I do every year or so when this shit happens again. It’s like… rock bottom’s grinning at us as it’s creeping up and it makes me wish I was dead again.”

“Again?” 

“Figure of speech or whatever you call it. Anyways, when Eddie told us what happened with Chrissy all I could think was ‘oh my God it’s all happening again’. I made myself a promise that I wouldn’t go back, not after last year, not after having to lie to you about what happened with Roxanne, but here I am and I’m being pulled right back in and it stops at nothing to completely crush me.” Steve looked back at the road, avoiding eye contact with her.

“Steve… listen, if you had told me last July I probably wouldn’t have believed you anyways, but now… now I sit here and yes it all seems impossible and out of reach like one of those shitty sci-fi movies Jenny would force us to watch during movie night, and if I’m honest this all feels like it was never meant for me to find out about… I’m not mad at you for not telling me about it, not anymore at least.” (Y/N) spoke as she turned her hand over to hold Steve’s. 

Steve parked his car in front of the Wheeler house, Nancy, Robin and the kids still in Nancy’s car. “Steve, it’s nice to feel like you’re still my closest friend, even if about twenty four hours ago we were past the point to make amends. If you ask me, rock bottom came and went for us plus hey, at least I have someone to help me navigate through the pitch black.” She smiled at him as she let go of his hand and unbuckled her seat belt, “Last one in owes the other breakfast in the morning.” She jumped out of the car. 

Steve smiled as he watched her sprint towards the door almost knocking Dustin over and tripping over her own two feet, “I’m good!” She shouted from the ground, sticking her arm up in the air, holding her thumb up as the kids walked toward her and helped her up. Steve’s smile flattened as he pulled the paper out from his pocket, unfolding it.

‘Constant nosebleeds, nightmares almost every night, lack of sleep, severe headaches’ He read over the words over and over again. Oh my God, it’s all happening again, a knock on his window startled him.

“You coming Harrington?” Robin asked him, before looking at the paper he was holding in his hand, her eyes widening. 

But now my mistakes are paying dividends.

Tags still open: @preciousbabypeter​ @honeymunson​ @willgrahampills​ @secretsicanthideanymore​ @tanyaherondale​ @lettyshush​ @kayt-marie​ @live-the-fangirl-life​ @burn1ngw00d​ @alainabooks143​ @kamala-khann​ @dessmxsworld​

[daltonacademia]

There’s A Time For Daring - 1

charlie dalton x fem!reader [post events of the movie]

word count: 1.7k

warning: allusions to sex / slight sexual harrassment? drinking, mentions of neil’s suicide, horrible parents 

Charlie couldn’t help but emit a low growl as his vomit-inducing, picture-perfect, high-society mother and father, whom he despised, prodded him towards the expansive front entrance of Nealson Preparatory School located in southern Vermont. His fuschia-lipped, cakey-faced mother, Cynthia Dalton, was a well-dressed, dignified housewife by day and charming socialite by night; she was particularly harsh as she trampled his pen-stained oxfords with her spearish kitten heels. His eyes shot daggers at the snow-strewn path below, a familiar fire burning in his core.

There were many things Charlie was tempted to furiously spit out at his parents, but instead, he managed to keep his jaw clamped shut, his pearly whites digging into the light pink of his lips hard enough to draw blood. No matter what he shouted, cried, pleaded, they wouldn’t budge. They never would. And it was infuriating.

“Charles! Being expelled from such a prestigious school is no laughing matter, young man. That school cost us quite the pretty penny! How dare you defy the rules to the extent of expulsion. It’s disgraceful, and I will tolerate it no longer!” Charlie’s mother shrieked, furious tears smudging the thick mascara that coated her eyelashes.

“You’ll be shipped off to Nealson Preparatory School in February, and if I hear so much as a single mention of your name not followed with overwhelming compliments, you can expect nasty, nasty consequences! Go pack your things, you’ll be staying with Aunt Barbara until the first of February finally arrives!” The rims of Charlie’s brown eyes stung with anger, frustration, and furthest down, sadness. He was diminished to nothing but an image-ruiner to his mother. The person who was supposed to love him, protect him, save him from the horrors of this hell called Earth.

Mr. Dalton silently observed the boisterous outburst from his expensive leather armchair across the den, a glass of strong, half-drunk whiskey in his palm. Charlie couldn’t bear to see their despicable faces any longer, and as his body felt no longer under his control, stomped up the stairs in a huff, rapidly swiping away the glassy tears spilling from his eyes. Thoughts of running away, escaping it all, flooded his unstable mind. ‘I get why you did it, Neil. I really do. But did you have to go so soon?’ 

But instead of lingering on the image of Neil any longer, he hastily threw his bare necessities into his suitcase, which was still covered in an array of Welton Academy stickers.

The grounds of Nealson were unsurprisingly well-maintained; it reminded him a lot of Welton. The impeccably manicured lawns, gleaming, icy blue lake, the gothic stone arches and pillars. It was eerily similar to Hellton, even down to the ice-cold blanket of snow coating the distant rolling hills. It’s beautiful, Charlie thought, surveying the slow sprinkling of snow, No, it’s hideous. 

Before he could fully vomit at the vile grounds of his new school, his parents fiercely shoved him inside the Headmaster’s dingy office, politely taking the vacant mahogany seats beside him. Charlie couldn’t be bothered to listen to a word his parents said with pearly white smiles, which were no doubt tooth-rotting, sugar-coated lies about the real reason he was expelled over a month prior. 

He knew that they couldn’t just be transparent and tell the Headmaster that he had socked the utterly vile Richard Cameron’s face in (rightfully so, in his opinion), or that he was a star member of the infamous Dead Poets Society, or that he had gone to the extreme lengths to stage a phone call from none other than God himself. It didn’t work like that. 

His mother’s cheeky, artificial voice sounded precisely the same as it always had: carefully rehearsed and slathered with naivety. Seemingly without hesitation, the catty woman could deflect any less-than-pleasant questions or insinuations about her “golden role-model” son, who’s admittedly “a little misguided at times”. 

The new headmaster seated across from him appeared to be around the same age as Mr. Nolan, which, as far as Charlie was concerned, was older than the Cretaceous period at least. His pale-as-a-ghost skin was wrinkled and paper-thin; his patchy, gelled side-swept hair was (very obviously) dyed a deep, midnight black, reminiscent of an off-brand Elvis. 

Charlie’s ears continued to mute the awkward conversation happening amongst him, his focus instead shifting around to the various awards and certificates lining the ivory walls. They all seemed so phony; ‘Best Headmaster- 1947-1959’, ‘Nealson Academy: Exceeds Expectations’. The Headmaster had even framed his high school superlative: ‘Voted Most Likely to Succeed’. What a pathetic-

In a swift blur, his parents rose from their seats, his mother clutching her magenta purse with matching pursed lips. Charlie was handed a hefty, stapled packet packed full of school rules and guidelines with a denture-toothed smile from Headmaster ‘Campbell’. This’d make some decent kindling, he thought as he yanked the packet from his clammy clutches, leafing through its pages with a smirk, this garbage’s almost laughable.

A syncopated rhythm of raps on the door, followed by a gravelly, ‘come in', presented his new dorm escort. His chauffeur just so happened to be you, the accomplished and universally admired student body president in the same grade as the newcomer. You were dutifully donning Nealson’s horrendous uniform: a crisp, white button-up accented with a blue and silver tie was topped with a depressing grey sweater vest. An equally loathsome pleated skirt concealed your thighs, and your ankles were shielded from the chilly February air with black crew socks. 

You extended your perfectly manicured, soft hand out to your brand-new peer with a yearbook-worthy smile, introducing, “Hi. Welcome to Nealson, I’m Y/N Y/L/N.” You swore you heard the brunette mutter something disrespectful under his breath, but nonetheless, he, rather unprofessionally, shook your hand with an eye roll. Things between the two of you were not starting off the way you hoped, but you were determined to make a good impression. The best impression possible.

“Charlie Dalton,” he replied with a mischievous smirk. The brunette standing in front of you reeked of cigarettes, and there was the slightest smell of cheap beer clinging to his clothes. His brown hair was messy, springing out in every direction, despite the water furiously combed through it. His eyes glinted with rebellion, a look so alluring yet dangerous.

“I’ll be showing you to your dorm, which you’ll sleep in for the remainder of the year.” Since Dalton was starting in February, he only had five months of studying before long-awaited senior year. Mr. Campbell waved the two of you off, and with that, you trekked towards the Boys’ wing, Dalton sauntering at your side. 

The walk through the main corridor was silent and awkward. You had tried to enchant him with fun facts about Nealson and its (extensively selective) history, much to his obvious boredom and dismay. His umber eyes glazed the walls, uninterested in the decor. His mind seemed to be elsewhere, but for all you knew, it could be on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. 

After a while of treading through the high-ceilinged corridors illuminated with fleeting pale rays of sunlight, the boy next to you made no attempt to hide him drawing designs up and down your body. 

“I’ve never been to a school with both boys and girls,” he drawled with a smirk. “Do things ever get exciting around here?”

You shook your head no while indiscreetly tugging down the hem of your skirt uncomfortably, and he said, “Do you think you’d maybe wanna spend the night with me in my dorm? Make sure I’m all settled in?”

Your whole body, from head to toe, froze. The audacity of this… creep! Your tongue poked, nearly stabbed, the back of your teeth, wanting to unleash a select few words to the disgusting Dalton beside you. But alas, if he were to tell anyone of your fiery wrath, you’d be demoted from class president faster than you could explain what really happened. It’s a corrupt system, sure, but even with the power that comes with such a title, there was no way to mend it.

Eventually, while you were wrapped up in the furies of your mind, Dalton revealed a small, autographed golf ball from his trousers pocket and began throwing it up and down above his head casually with every step. 

“Can you not?” you snapped at the chestnut-haired boy after he tossed the sphere up and down again in an arch. “Don’t wanna get in trouble on your first day, do you?”  

“You think this’ll get me in trouble? Have a little fun, it won’t kill you. I promise.” Dalton turned his gaze towards you, an annoyed but smug grin painted on his lips. He slowly tossed the golf ball to your hands, intending for you to catch it. However, the small ball evaded your grasp, instead bouncing around the hardwood floors below you, creating a series of loud, reverberating thunks.

“You were supposed to catch it, you know,” Dalton teased, nonchalantly watching you chase after the rogue orb. After it was finally safe in your clutches, you stomped over to the no-good newbie, irritated. 

“Nealson’s strict. They don’t let stuff like creating an awful lot of racket go unreprimanded.” You were seething; red-hot blood pumped through your veins. Dalton didn’t look anything but utterly amused.

“Wow, you’re just about one of the biggest suck-ups I’ve seen in a while.”

“A what?” you growled.

“A suck-up. A rule-following poster child of excellence? A bratty, know-it-all? Anything along those lines?” He sputtered insults so nonchalantly, it made your blood boil and eyes sting.

“You better watch it, Dalton. I don’t know who you think you are-”

“I’m the best thing that’s happened to this school, by the looks of it.” 

You had nothing left to say to this conceited shuck of a boy who really thought that he was all that and a side of fries. Well he wasn’t! Not in the slightest! And if his first day of classes wouldn’t drill it into him, you would.

The rest of the walk was pin-drop silent and tense. No more fun facts about Nealson escaped your downturned lips, just the light patting of his beat-up oxfords and your pristine mary-janes on the polished wood floor. The hallways seemed more depressing than usual, their framed portraits and condensated windows didn’t fill you with the motivation that you came to expect.

After finally arriving at the boys’ dormitories, you grumbled, “well, this is it. Have a swell life, Dalton.”

“Right back at ya, Y/L/N. Let’s hope this isn’t the last time we meet.” He gave you a cheeky wink before slamming the door in your face.

[snapefiction]

#1. Mistletoe - Snapemas Challenge

A/N: Hey there! 🎄🎅🏻

@deepperplexity inspired me to finally publish some Writings by inventing the Snapemas Challenge! So please enjoy and let me know what you think! 😊I’m so nervous ahhhhh I hope you like it!

❤️ Please remember that English isn’t my native language and that my Writings will include Mistakes and maybe weird formed sentences. ❤️ pls don’t hate me

Pairing: Severus Snape x Teacher!Reader

Warnings: Kissing

Word count: 1959

#1. Mistletoe or The Bells

Teaching at Hogwarts was more of an adventure than you always expected it to be. Even though Albus loved rules and well known processes there was a lot of stuff that had surprised you. Like he’d almost always support your Teaching unconditionally. So he also didn’t mind when you let the Students buy stuff from the Weaslys and test it in your classes. It was like he trusted you with everything and the same went for the Students themselves. As long as everyone was happy almost everything was allowed. Of course there were some rules like Bedtimes, Common Room Rules etcetera but besides that you were free to be.

So it happened that on the first of December the Weaslys got to show off their new Products and spells they used to sell to the students. Everyone loved them and you had to admit you loved their Products too. They were funny, made everyone laugh and you always got to make sure that everything they wanted to publish didn’t cause any harm towards other students before they would sell them in your classes.

,,So what are your new Inventions?“ You smiled as you sat down on your teaching desk facing all the Students after class. But the Weaslys had other some other things in mind.

,,Well, Professor. This Time we decided to publish something big we had planned since a long time now. But you have to wait until Dinner. Our showdown will take place at the great Hall. Be prepared.“ They smiled devilish and sold some Gummy bears that made you fart and one that could morph you into an elve for the rest of the day.

Watching the spectacle you got excited for Dinner. You and Minerva always love to laugh about the joking products and laughing with and friend would make it double fun.

As you finally sat down to Minerva you could, as always, feel your heart pound. Next to her sat Severus Snape, the Potions Master. Knowing him since your childhood you always had those butterflies in your stomach whenever you were close to him, thought about him, were with him. He tolerated you and that was enough you thought. He had a rough childhood and his behaviour was probably just a facade to protect himself, you explained to yourself. Sighing you accepted the Fact that he wasn’t truly aware of your existence now even though you used to be friends. And after the Dinner ended you looked over to the Weaslys being excited like a child. They finally got to present their new spells now. ,, Oh dear, this will be fun.“ Minevera whispered and then chuckled lightly. Your eyes followed the Wands of George and you tried to read his lips so you could memorise the spell for later. As a sparkle left his wand and nothing happened you furrowed your eyebrows. Maybe this Spell wasn’t as clever as their other ones. ,,Hm, Maybe next time.“ You smiled towards Minevera and got up as she just shrugged her Shoulders and drank some of her remaining wine from her cup. 

Walking down the great Hall I almost didn’t notice how someone followed me to the dungeons. It wasn’t just some Students like the Weaslys, some younger Ravenclaws and two other Gryffindors you didn’t knew but also Severus. Friendly you send him a smile and tried not to bother him with any type of smalltalk knowing he hated it. ,,Professor.“ You just greeted him while trying to hide your red cheeks. Suddenly a small reddish shimmer appeared from above your heads.  Of course you stopped to look up, the same for Severus. His dark eyes followed yours looking in the Air about your heads. There was a mistletoe with small lights flying around.

Confused and blushing harder than ever you looked over to see Severus standing there ashamed as well. ,,Was this y-you, Severus?“ Before he could answer you could hear the chuckles of the Students behind you at the corridor and then it hit you. ,,Fred and George Weasly! What did you do?“ Your Voice almost broke from the Anger you had to hide. Laughing they got closer. ,, It’s— It’s like a Love Spell, Professor.“ They almost couldn´t remain serious as chuckles left their mouthes every few seconds.  ,,The Mistletoe will only appear over the Head of People who would be a pretty good match or are in love with each other.“ Stated George proud and Fred just nodded. Furious about the fact that they would embarrass your feelings like that you could feel your face burning. It must’ve been burning red as if flames had hit your skin. Before you could find an matching answer Severus intertwined.

,,Detention and deduct 20 Points from Gryffindor. Now end this Spell before I make you loose even more Housepoints.“ He said sternly. ,,There´s this little Problem, Professor Snape.“ George began. ,,We haven’t developed and Antidote or anything like that.“ Fred ended. ,,Merlin! Why would you Dunderheads use an spell you don’t have an Antidote for?“ He was fuming. Was he as embarrassed as I was? ,,That’s Easy. Because it´s the feast of love. Christmas is around the Corner.“ Again Fred spoke before his Brother could end the Sentence. ,,But maybe a kiss would help making it vanish.“ George winked and they walked away giggling and giving each other high fives. Not being able to move a muscle you still stood on the sam place as before feeling glued to the ground. As you felt a small wave of air hitting your glowing Cheeks you noticed how Severus rushed away. The Situation just happened like it was a Scene of a Movie you weren’t a part of. Kissing Severus- just the though could give you goosebumps and take your breath away in an instant.. As your feet got going again it felt like waking up from and Daydream. Did this really happen? You quickly entered your room and noticed how there was still a small red light above your head in the air.  A good Match? Being in love? Rude to expose you like that. They must’ve been kidding. The Spell would probably wear off at the Evening before bedtime or something, right?

Surprise, Surprise- it didn’t wore off. And after you took a shower, graded some tests and tried to get your mind of the Professor you clearly were deeply in love with it still sparkled and you swore you could hear small Christmas bells ring from time to time. Annoyed and still embarrassed you could feel this well restlessness in your chest. Maybe if you tried to sleep you could turn off your Thoughts and this dammed Spell for once. But there was no mercy for you.

The Light only went brighter and the Bells were now clear to hear. Shoving around between your duvets the just named restlessness grew bigger. Sighing your got up on your feet again. Maybe a small walk could tire you. As you laid your Jacket above your shoulders and slipped into your shoes you made your way down the corridors. In the meanwhile as you tried to forget the Situation that you unintentionally became a part of after lunch it became midnight. Everything was quiet, but the bells. Reaching your favourite Place of Hogwarts you couldn’t stop smiling. The small hidden field which lead over to a view up to the mountains was covered in snow was beautiful. Only a few People knew that this Place existed because it got so well hidden from everyone. This made this place even more special for you. It was so untouched, so pure. Indulging in your Thoughts you started you build small snow figures. A Small snowman, something that looked like Hagrid and a Niffler were now placed in the small garden field. The red light lead you though every movement and guided you though your process. Laying down to make a snow angle you closed your eyes for just a second. But as you heard snow crunching behind you you instantly turned around. Your Heart beat so fast it almost imploded.

Severus stood a few meters behind you. Thank god it wasn’t a murderer or something. ,,Oh Merlin, you scared me.“ A few seconds later as your heart slowed down again you noticed how Severus light was also still lighting and morphing together with yours again to an mistletoe. ,,I thought.. students were here. … Yours didn’t stop shining either?“ He asked ignoring almost giving you an Heart attack. Shaking your head you got got up completely. ,,No, it didn’t.“ He nodded as you just brushed Snow from your clothes. Suddenly the cold hit your skin. Before he was there you didn’t felt as vulnerable as you do now. For the first time when you felt like you didn’t have to think about him for a few minutes your heart started racing again. ,,I’m Sorry that you got involved in- in this.“ You softly said pointing at the Mistletoe. He opened his Mouth to say something but closed it up again. Admiring his dark Hair which formed small waves because of the cold and his dark eyes reflecting the red shimmer from the Mistletoe your Mouth just started babbling.

,, It’s probably- well maybe- my fault.“ You admitted but regretted it right away. He wouldn’t understand, would he? ,,What do you mean?“ His voice was hoarse and felt so intimate. You remembered it being so close to him from when you were childhood friends. Oh, how you missed being his friend. He stood so close, if you’d move your hand a little bit to the side you would be able to touch him. ,,I - um-´´ You sharply inhaled before rethinking your Thoughts. Did it even made sense to hide it from now on. He wasn’t a dumb man and could be able to tell what you were feeling for him anyways after he saw you blushing and everything, right? Don’t be a duck. Say it. Say it. Pushing yourself you finally released the words. ,,I´minlovewithyou.“ Again he didn’t react right away. His dark eyes softened up like they would pity you. Pity? Or was it something else? ,,What did you say?“ ,,Y-You heard me.“

Swallowing the lump forming in your throat you repeated. ,,I am in love with you. Since we were Students.“ Carefully Severus took a small breath and blinked before cautiously taking your hand. His hand was surprisingly warm and so were his Lips as they suddenly hit yours. Melting together you could hear the ringing bell fading and the red light finally vanished. Closing your eyes you could feel the soft motion from your Lips as they moved against each other together until he let go. With shaking hands you looked at him. Were you dreaming? Did you fell asleep while making the snow angle and now it was like a Fever dream? The thoughts ran with an incredible speed through your mind.  ,,Did you just do this because I told you-“ ,,No.“ He shook his head. ,,It was because I really like you too.“ Again your face blushed. Everything inside of you felt like you could fly, like the butterflies learned to fly. ,,And the ringing Bells annoyed me.“ He admitted whispering and you chuckling dared to look up to his face again. Severus carefully dared to smile too and you had to admit- your anticipations weren’t true. He was aware of your existence. And if you would’ve listened closely you could’ve been able to tell how fast his heart was beating as well against his chest now. But all you noticed was how the snow fell on your face as you kissed him again and how his warm hands were holding your cheeks.

Taglist: @deepperplexity

Let me know if you want to be added to my Taglist. :)

[phlebasphoenician]

Fic Writer Review

Thank you so much for tagging me and inviting me to play, @silverutahraptor!

This is fairly long so I’m putting it under a cut.

1. How many fics on AO3?

99 as of today!

2. Total AO3 wordcount?

558,120.

Of that, 481,556 was in 2021.

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Okay, this is a lot!

Naruto (88)

Original Work (4)

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling (4)

Mulan (1998) (1)

The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien (1)

The Lord of the Rings (Movies) (1)

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) (1)

Sleeping Beauty (1959) (1)

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - James Thurber (1)

Jurassic Park - All Media Types (1)

Aladdin (1992) (1)

Brave (2012) (1)

Frozen (Disney Movies) (1)

The Authority (1)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) (1)

Beauty and the Beast (1991) (1)

Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands (1)

Philip Marlowe - Raymond Chandler (1)

Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (1)

Fruits Basket (Anime 2001) (1)

Pet Shop of Horrors (1)

Tangled (2010) (1)

The Little Mermaid (1989) (1)

ヒカルの碁 | Hikaru no Go (Anime & Manga) (1)

Fruits Basket (1)

Cinderella (1950) (1)

Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types (1)

Moana (2016) (1)

4. Top Five by Kudos?

Escape and Evade (Madara/Tobirama)

Silence is Golden (Tobirama/Izuna)

Caught and Captured (Madara/Tobirama)

Life Come to Life (Tobirama/Izuna)

Wild Wolves (Kakashi/Iruka)

5. Do you respond to comments, why/why not?

Oh, I always respond to comments, and usually within 24 to 48 hours! I love chatting with people about my stories and it often sparks new ideas or helps to conceptualise free floating world building/characterisation which is wonderful.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

That would be a tie breaker.

Either A World Well Lost (Harry Potter, surprise pairing) or Love Wears a Mask (Naruto, Danzou/Kagami). Both of them are tagged 'Dead Dove: Do Not Eat' for a reason.

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Yes, I do!

The craziest one that I've ever written is The Secret Lives of Marilyn and Susan Short, an homage to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber as well as a commentary on the concept of the Mary Sue in fanfiction.

8. Have you received hate on a fic?

Yes.

I don't mind constructive criticism as a rule, but I've received comments and commentary that definitely crossed the line into rudeness, or that seemed intended to hurt and be destructive.

Some of them, especially on Escape and Evade, actually made me afraid to write about Mito or from her perspective for fear that I would get yelled at again. In several cases, I felt compelled to write long comments defending my authorial choices.

It probably didn't help that Escape and Evade was the first time that I'd written fanfiction in 15 years.

Needless to say, it was not an enjoyable experience for me.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes, I do!

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Thankfully, no. At least not that I'm aware of! I don't think I'm a popular enough author for that kind of thing to happen.

11. Ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

12. Ever co-written a fic before?

Hm, kind of?

People have thrown lines at me which I've spun into stories, and I've worked with the fantastic @kurakura0-0 on fiction and art collaborations!

On a less deliberate note, I also wrote Ariel for which the amazing @good-grievance wrote a sequel, and we published them as a single story because they made better sense that way. However we didn’t really set out to collaborate on it.

13. All time favourite ship?

I don't actually have one!

I'm a multi shipper and I don't really have an OTP in Naruto which is the fandom that I'm currently the most active in.

I couldn't choose amongst all of my fandom ships for a favourite either.

Instead, I offer my oldest ship, the ship that I've had since I was a wee little fan - Gambit/Rogue. My second oldest ship would be Charles/Erik. X-Men was my first fandom.

14. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

I only have three WIPs that I'm partway through publishing on AO3, and one of them is only a WIP because it ran into the new 75 tag limit and bounced! 🤣

It's actually complete, and the other two are actively being published. I’m committed to publishing a chapter a day on my main series.

All of my other WIPs (of which there are many) are just waiting their turn to be worked on. None of them fall into the category of being unable to be finished.

I only have one work that I've tagged 'Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued' and that's A Third Wish for Miranda, an original fiction work that would be about novel length if I ever finished it. I still like it quite a bit and I'd love to finish it, but I abandoned it because it ran into a plot hole that I had no idea how to fix. When I wrote it, I didn't have the skills to take it any further. Perhaps someday!

15. What are your writing strengths?

Oooh, I'm not sure! The ability to deconstruct my writing and troubleshoot it when I'm having issues, perhaps. Alternatively, world building.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Oh, too many to count!

My paragraphs are far often too short, my writing isn't as visceral or descriptive as it should be, my smut isn't hot enough or is too repetitive... there's lots of areas that I want to work on!

17. What are your thoughts of writing dialogue in other languages?

I wouldn't mind it, and I often include words in my writing that are from languages other than English. However, they need to be there for a reason and they must be penetrable to the reader.

I could see myself writing two characters speaking in a foreign language in front of a third character who isn't supposed to understand them for example.

18. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter in 2005.

19. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Oh my, I don't think I could choose!

If I absolutely had to pick, I'd probably say To Tempt a Target simply because it was a story that was so hard to write, but also a story that I put so much of myself into.

Tagging, but only if you want to, no pressure ❤️: @longliveustherecklessandthebrave , @woofgang69 , @heyitswrenn , @hidendumbassvillage , @greyduckgreygoose , @emilx311 , @sqbr , and anyone else who wants to!

[satubby]

[Once upon a dream: When I loved you]

[Once upon a dream, where I saw you sleeping in my arms, I'm starting to forget what loneliness is, my beautiful human baby... Child of man, is this what you call love? If so, I'm afraid of losing you and this feeling. —Malleus Draconia ]

Disclamer: I was listening to my usual music and I don't know why but YouTube recommended old songs that I gave a like to, so among them was One Upon a Dream, which led me to rewatch the 2014 Live Action based on Maleficent. and from there to doing this, anyway I'm sorry if there are spelling mistakes and as such I'm sorry if the characters in Diasomnia look like those in Oc I haven't played in a long time and I left the fandom due to lack of time and interest.

[This writing will have 2 parts, the second I will be thinking about how to do it and if it will have Lana del Rey's song, this time I put Cinderella's song, I'm sorry lol!]

It was a rainy night, a woman escaped from her pursuers and was carrying her baby in her arms. "Catch that bitch! She deserves to be punished for witchcraft!" 

The strange and mysterious woman ran faster than before when she heard the scream of those guards. How did she end up like this? She wondered, not long ago she was a happy woman, the prince loved her as she loved him, yet his stepmother the dowager empress, discovered her elven blood, which was considered blasphemy. She never asked to be singled out, even her pregnancy was a constant danger. 

From where did it all go wrong? It wasn't her fault or her baby in arms that the human world hates magical beings given how greedy they are, especially noble ones like her stepmother who called her a bastard abomination. 

Arinet, bastard daughter of the duke belonging to the south and daughter of a winter elf, was now nothing more than a heretic cursed and hated for the blood that ran in her veins. And she blamed herself for being foolish to believe that the dowager empress and her own stepmother would not conspire to ruin her romance with the crown prince.

Crying she coos trying to calm you down you in her arms, her precious baby, in tears she gave you one last kiss as she continued to run away from the gunfire coming from the archers and the duke's mages, falling down a through a snowy well, she smiled for the last time and left you hidden from the hunters who followed her, if she died it would not be with you, so she said goodbye crying and with the little strength in her feet, she ran despite her ankle pierced by the tip of the arrow shot before. 

Malleus was walking through the dreary paths of his forest full of thorns and dry trees covered with seasonal snow, it was another dull morning and the old black dragon, prince of fairies and dragons, was bored. When was the last time this forest had anything interesting beyond its creatures fearing him? He doesn't remember, yet his thoughts are broken when he hears a cry, more precisely, the cry of a small human baby, an offspring of man. Then his bare feet on the cold snow traversed like a dance in the snow, walking towards you he approached your basket, taking you from it curiously but awkwardly, whoever put you there did not measure the coldness of his forest, he was unaffected given his nature and body, Malleus was already warm on his own. 

Emerald eyes narrow slightly at the sight of you. He carefully and lightly touches your cheek with one of his sharp nails, accidentally giving you a scratch so he uses his magic to heal it. He've never seen a baby up close before, the ones he saw were many, different and weirder, but you're even more so given that human nature of yours. And him have no idea how to handle the situation. He lifts you up to his eye level... you look pretty upset about being out in the cold and he doesn't blame you for it, even your tender cotton cheeks were ruddy. 

"I wonder... What exactly are you? The humans I know are bigger than you." Malleus mutters under his breath as he looks towards you still trying to be careful. He can sense that you have a special thing, in fact he smells traces of magic on you, but that confuses him even more as to why you, a frail, human little thing of all things... are in the woods in the middle of the cold. 

Curiosity filled his being as he looked at you, you a small being resting in his big arms, sleeping as if he were not the dominant creature in this territory. He was confused. You are a human baby so... small that you could easily be killed by accident, could this little thing be so cute? As far as he knew, humans are ungraceful or so he was told, plus the fact that he has killed some fools daring to enter his lands. He gently used a finger to touch your little nose. So cute you looked! He was also intrigued. Why did they leave you, so small and vulnerable in their forest? And alone, with no one to hold and care for you. You would become food for vultures or some other monster very quickly.

Malleus looked around looking for the human responsible who has left you abandoned, however instead his nose detected a smell of iron and acrid mixed with traces of magic.... It was blood of the child of man, so walking with you, even if clumsily, he cradles you in his arms they go towards the place where the trail was, strangely on the way you didn't cry, in fact, you even fell asleep comfortably.

Normally everyone is afraid of him, although it is normal given his status but that makes him socially awkward and lonely, maybe that's why he unconsciously clung to you. Malleus then arrives at the place where that iron smell came from, finding the corpse of your mother, a beautiful woman but... The old dragon prince notices that she was stabbed several times and until her last minutes of life she fought. In addition there were traces of magic thrown, from elves more specifically although it does not give him so much importance; he bends down and takes a sample of blood, licking it from the snowy ground— This woman had Mana, like you, so he assumed it was your mother as you had the same bracelet as the woman as well as the same smell of that magic.

Malleus stares at the deceased woman with? something like a sad look in his vibrant green eyes. You moan slightly with a groan as you stir, but go back to sleep a few minutes later. Malleus' long tail wags behind him as he thinks, frowning slightly. He looks down at you in his arms, then at the strange looking woman, she has white hair and apparently blue eyes, plus somewhat pointed ears. Malleus knelt down next to her lifeless corpse, carefully analyzing the bracelet, it had elvish letters which read: "The eternal and pure shall remain, the evil and impure must be purged" And honestly he didn't understand what the engraving meant, so he just leaves it there. 

"A human mother and daughter abandoned in the forest.... Who would do such a heartless thing...?" His gaze hardens as he look around the area, trying to find any clues left behind, but there was nothing. He looks closely at the wounds on the body and notices every feature your mother shared with you, from the lips to your beauty, he couldn't help but be distracted from his goal. 

"She died protecting you, little daughter of man.... Now I understand her determination and strength. If I'm honest, she was no ordinary human, too bad that led to her cruel fate." Malleus gently touches your cheek wiping the drool running from your lips, you were still asleep.

There was a mixture of curiosity and a strange sense of melancholy in the eyes of the ancient being. His eyes sparkled as he recognized the faint traces of mana lingering in the air, mixed with the unmistakable scent of mingled human and elven blood, definitely the children of man were hard for the old dragon to comprehend.

"What a waste. A mortal life, snuffed out by the callousness of other humans."

He spoke softly, almost wistfully, his voice tinged with a touch of what seemed like sadness, though he did not understand it. He stood thoughtfully for a moment, then, sighing, he closes his eyes to the woman's corpse and with his green magic breath, casts a living flame that burns away all traces of your dead mother.

"Rest in peace daughter of man and nature, I will take care of your human baby." 

Then he withdraws with you in his arms, he doesn't know much about humans, in fact he hasn't even seen one in 400 years, yet his curiosity and compassion made him act like that [perhaps the fact that you, a small and fragile thing, managed to move something in him beyond indifference and boredom] Then he saw you sleeping, he smiled softly.... What a curious little thing you were.

Upon arriving at his castle, he was greeted by Lilia, his guardian and close friend, as a father figure to Malleus even though he is already an adult in dragon terms.

 Lilia approached smiling and playful, although he noticed the bundle in Malleus' arms, as a father figure and royal advisor, he was curious.... How unusual for his little Malleus. "Oh, I see you brought something interesting from the forest, hehehe, tell me, did lonely little Malleus get bored with himself and decide to bring a little human?" Lilia teased, however Malleus just snorted smiling at his advisor and guardian, still holding you in his arms.

The prince of Briar Valley had chuckled quietly at Lilia's comment as he walked carefully towards him, his expression was calm and the tail dragon wagged back and forth behind Malleus himself, revealing his mood. Lilia always teased him when he was bored with his normal routine.

"Hm, this... 'little human' was abandoned in the forest by her mother, I thought she would surely become dinner for a wandering monster. I was also curious to know what human cubs are like, I see they are fragile to be greedy when they reach adulthood."

Malleus mutters under his breath, his eyes moving quickly to look at the baby again as he sleeps soundly in his arms.

Lilia was really surprised, normally his little Mall showed no interest in anything and was very socially awkward, but here he was hugging you, a small and fragile little thing. Lilia fell from the ceiling of the throne room, like an ingratiating acrobat he sat up and then sighed the veteran fairy, speaking earnestly before his king and pupil. 

"Your Majesty, you know that raising another living being, especially a human, who is different from us in terms of biology and growth, is not easy at all so tell me your highness? Do you really plan to raise that human baby, YOU who barely even know about them, beyond the times they have tried to invade our lands? I really sometimes don't know what you think Mall" Lilia sighed looking seriously at the dragon, Malleus lifted you up in the air looking at you still sleeping, you looked so... soft and tender. You would be a beautiful girl. Mall raised an eyebrow at Lilia for his comments. 

"I am perfectly aware of that, Lilia. A fairy and a human child... a combination that I know very well will take time to understand..... She is more resilient than you think. But I cannot leave this baby alone, she was abandoned by her own mother. Such a cruel fate for an offspring of man." 

His eyes shifted down to look at you as your small body shifted restlessly in his arms, sighing again, he cradles you in his arms once more. Malleus smiles softly.

Lilia sighed again, smiling and shrugging his shoulders surrendering to the blackhaired prince's stubbornness. He then walked over to you to look at you, you were certainly pretty, though as Malleus said, you had magic that was rare in humans, so Lilia asked his king and pupil, "Malleus, tell me something, do you know what it's like to raise a human? The consequences of it are something with variables and they age fast, besides you are sure to do it, from what you told me his mother had magic.... What did she look like, eyes and hair color?" 

The dragon did not understand at first as he was dense at times, but then he understood what she meant, Lilia was asking the race of that human, if she was one and she certainly was not— Your mother was a half elf, a very beautiful one with white hair and blue eyes, perhaps that is why she was killed and in a desperate attempt to protect you both, she ran to her lands seeking to return home. So far he was able to piece together conjectures, his density and disinterest sometimes blinded him.

Malleus thought for a moment, studying your face, trying to find any resemblance you might have to your mother beyond your features but you looked more human. The old dragon prince hummed thoughtfully before finally speaking.

"She... was a half elf if I am correct. Her hair was soft and like a white flake.... Plus her eyes were a beautiful light blue color. But she also had magic, as strong as she may have been, the poor woman was outnumbered and killed for unknown reasons."

He looks towards you who were still sleeping once more as he spoke, his eyes soft as he recalls the memory of the woman.

Lilia analyzes the situation and then asks one more question. "How do you plan to take care of her? Sooner or later she will have to return to her homeland, is that okay with you? You know that the magical races and humans have accomplished nothing together for centuries and their traces of disdain still remain? So, be honest, my dear prince, how long do you plan to keep her here? Surely sooner or later you will get bored."

Lilia saw Malleus' expression, there were many emotions clashing and the veteran fairy smiled, he just needed a little push and Lilia would be sure that his beloved ward would understand the implications of this... What would Malleus do, the ever shy dragon monarch and the one who longs to know human emotions and humans themselves?

Malleus looked conflicted as he listened to Lilia's question. He knew there was tension between the races and he also knew it would be difficult for you to return home after being raised here. But him simply could not allow you to suffer, you were innocent. His green eyes shifted from Lilia to you, a small frown on his face debating his decisions.

"I'm... not entirely sure. If he goes home, I'm worried he'll never fit in with his own people.... And if he stays here, will he have a happy life?"

Lilia smiled and honestly, it wasn't bad that his beloved monarch and prince for once longed to have something, whether he was aware of it or not, that's why Lilia asked such a question. He wanted to see how far his pupil's interest would go. Would it be temporary or could you, a fragile little thing, really awaken something more in the bored and shy prince of thorns? The mere thought excited the former Fae.

Malleus let out a soft sigh as he lifted you closer to his chest, your small face was warm and soft to the touch, that little body fit perfectly like a puzzle piece in his arms. He felt something in his heart that wasn't there before as he looked at you, a strange feeling of responsibility, of protection, maybe even a hint of affection? He wasn't sure, he had never been close to a baby before, let alone a human like you were. 

"I don't want her to suffer the same fate as her mother..."

Lilia clapped his hands and smiled, there was a long way to go. "Very well Your Highness, let's learn about humans and especially about their offspring, breeding and feeding!" 

That afternoon Malleus was educated on what things they should and should not eat, down to the basic necessities. Malleus wrote everything down in his mind and would then apply it even though he still had doubts.

Malleus listened attentively as Lilia explained things, taking detailed notes in his mind of everything he told him. He was a fast learner and quickly remembered every detail. As Lilia spoke, the dragon prince gently ran a finger across your forehead, gently stroking the baby skin with an expression of slight amazement on his face. In a little over a year you will be able to walk, talk and think. Malleus couldn't believe how wonderful humans could be .... Or was it that you were just a unique baby?

And over the next few days Malleus did all sorts of things that no one would think possible coming from his royal highness and mighty dragon, but there he was changing diapers. "No! Be careful, don't you see? You're irritating her skin, though it's rare that she doesn't cry from your rough touch, anyway, look at tying a diaper!" Lilia pushed Malleus aside and changed your clothes, playing a little with you, making you laugh, but this was a simple provocation on the fairy's part, he wanted to see how Malleus would react to this and indeed, the dragon became jealous of his former tutor. 

Lilia turned as he saw Malleus' green eyes glowing, after finishing your change of clothes, he handed you over to the dark prince. "I assure you that you will improve with time and practice as I won't always be here!" 

Malleus watched as Lilia deftly changed your diaper, baby laughter filled the room as the old fae made you laugh. The dragon was a little puzzled to see Lilia do something with such ease, he even felt a little jealous for some reason, as he wanted to make you laugh too, but you just looked at him curiously. He let out a small snort as Lilia handed you over, looking at you and studying your face again, he was still clumsy in grabbing you. 

"TSK! TSK! Look how stiff you are, you should carry her more gently" The fae scolded his monarch and prince who grumbled like a child pouting softly. 

"I'm a fast learner, Lilia. Don't underestimate me..."

Lilia scoffed with laughter, his little Malleus was really cute in his own way [Of course if Lilia wasn't aware of his immense influence and power] At the dragon prince's frown, Lilia playfully apologized and raised his hands in peace. 

"I know, my dear prince, but you must be careful! You wouldn't want the little one to cry, would you? Well, leaving that aside, come to think of it, you haven't given her a name have you, you, do you want to give her one?" Lilia noted this, for several weeks now you had been called 'Child of Man' or 'Little Human' and if the Fae were honest, they can't always call you that, names are important though given Malleus' own obliviousness, he hadn't even noticed until his advisor and former guardian pointed it out to him. 

The fae-dragon sighed, squeezing into his embrace and widening his eyes in confusion when Lilia pointed that out. You would definitely need to be given a name of your own, and they couldn't always call you the man's daughter... or little girl. 

"Hm, I guess you're right... what do humans normally call their children? I don't want to accidentally give it a name that has an unfavorable meaning..."

Malleus was somewhat (perhaps too much) unaware and sometimes his naivety with humans or other races that are not dragons or Faes, are unknown to him (either in customs, ways of acting or physiology). Leaving aside that sometimes he himself prince was carried away by rumors or experiences of his own. "I don't know, but what do you think.... (T/N), sounds nice, means timeless and infinite." Advised the old Fae as Malleus looked at you, you were playing with his fingers sticking them into your mouth.

Malleus hummed curiously as he listened to Lilia's suggestion, raising his hand to gently touch the top of your head, letting you cling to his fingers as he continued to think... the name '(T/N)', sounds good... he thought. Then he looked at you, watching you play innocently with his fingers as you looked at the old dragon.

"(T/N)... (T/N)... yeah, yeah, that sounds pretty good..... (T/N), then."

That day Malleus finally gave you a name, which would be one of the first signs that his curiosity would turn into love and love into obsession.

It had been 5 years, for Malleus this was nothing, as he sometimes has long periods of sleep (of course Lilia would wake him up to avoid sleeping more) Otherwise your growth would be lost and since Malleus loves you too much, the prince of Briar Valley did not want to miss anything about you, that included your growth stages.

"She do grow up fast, I can hardly remember what her was like yesterday!" Lilia complained dramatically but Malleus, who was drinking his tea, put down his cup and smiled softly as he watched you play in the garden. From large your beauty was remarkable, unbeknownst to you, you made more than just the barren thorn garden bloom in his heart. 

Malleus smiled slightly as he watched you play in the garden, admiring the way you made the normally withered and barren garden come alive with your presence. He had certainly grown fonder of you over the past few years, watching you grow and learn new things always made him smile. He looked at Lilia with a loving smile on his face.

"In fact, Lilia... it seems like only yesterday that I found her in the forest... now she's growing with each passing day."

Lilia put his hands under his chin, watching you play and make wreaths, it's been a while since Briar Valley had this warm and colorful atmosphere. "Don't you think humans are kind of interesting and chaotic? By the way, our little girl will soon be 6 years old, what do you plan to do? The past years you gave her many a gift, but oh my little Mall! Remember that unicorn you gave her didn't even last because your jealousy won the battle?, poor creature, they ran as soon as you came angry at them" He chuckled, in the end Malleus was attached to his dragon nature more than his Fae half, as much as this one wanted to deny it. 

The prince of Briar Valley let out a small snort at the memory. He had indeed become jealous of the unicorn, and it wasn't the only time either.... Every time you got a new toy or friend from the animal world, he got so possessive that he couldn't help it. He sighed. silently as he thought for a moment before responding....

"Hm, I'm actually very aware of my little human birthday... like you said though, this time I want to do something special for her, but I have no idea what to give her."

The old fae laughed and responded with another question to the dragon prince's confusion. "And what do you think you can give him this time? It can't be something living or something non-living, since you get jealous over anything, like the time you 'accidentally' burned one of her favorite toys with your fire because it took her attention away from you." Lilia fiddled with the fork and Malleus coughed his tea, avoiding looking at the fae who teased him about his extreme behaviors. 

Since he was just processing centuries of emotional numbness and you were the one who awakened those experiences and emotions in him, it was difficult for him not to go to such extremes. 

The black-haired man snorted at Lilia's words as he looked away. It was true that he was extremely possessive of you and would get jealous of anything that caught your attention.... But he couldn't help it. The dragon sighed softly and closed his eyes, crossing his arms as he thought for a moment about a solution to this.

"Hm... How about... a new toy, but only she can touch it? Sounds like a good solution, doesn't it?" Malleus asked thinking it would be ideal but Lilia made a face almost as if to say 'Are you seriously thinking about that?' and answers him with another question.

"How are you sure you're not going to burn it or destroy it? It's funny to a point that you destroy his stuff out of jealousy, but (T/N) he doesn't find it funny. I have an idea! How about you take it to the meadow mmm? Flowers are beautiful and safe, you can't get jealous if they are symbols of love. You know, you always keep her cooped up here, the royal garden is beautiful and the castle too, but remember, kids are curious and like to explore, you used to do that when you were a little lizard." 

Malleus sighed, shaking his head and ignoring the ramblings of Lilia who boasted about how beautiful and tender the dragon prince was before he grew up. On the other hand, you approached towards them smiling and showing a butterfly in your hand.

 "Tsunotarou, look how pretty them is; although their wing was broken, but I repaired it!" You laughed, peeking out from the table with your small stature. Malleus looked at you smiling anyway and lifting you in his hands, you were just as small as when you were a baby but you were growing faster than expected. Either that, or it was just his abnormal perception of time. 

The Fae-dragon looked at you, his bright emerald eyes shining with pride as you showed him the butterfly. He couldn't help but smile broadly when he saw your enthusiasm and laughter. He always loved the way you looked when you were happy.

"Hm, it looks quite beautiful. You did a good job with the wing, it broke before..." He says complimenting your little acts of love for others though a bit jealous of that butterfly. He then lifts you up in his arms, hugging you like he does all the time. The dragon loved you as much as you loved him.

Lilia laughs internally, his enigmatic gaze analyzing the situation, only in time would Malleus accept his possessive and territorial side, Lilia would be sure to witness it. "Aww~ our princess is a saintess!" Lilia teased in her cheesy tone, then pressed her lips together mockingly as if she wanted to give you a duck kiss, you on the other hand laughed avoiding his lips as he began to chase you away from Prince Briar's embrace. Malleus looked at you and smiled though the vein in his forehead and neck said something more than simple elegance, jealousy, raw as poisonous. 

́Maybe I should break his neck and cut his legs off? ́ thought the Fae Dragon, but he restrained himself from those possessive and murderous fantasies, on the other hand Lilia felt a look on the back of his neck imagining that his pupil and monarch It was almost drilling his head (figuratively), in a way it was funny. 

 "AH!!! yuck, I don't want your kisses uncle Lilia, they're slimy and I hate it when you pinch my cheeks!" You exclaim, snapping Malleus out of his thoughts as Lilia caught you and you tried to push him away while laughing.

"Come on, just one little kiss! And can you blame me? You're so cute" The old fae squeezed you in his arms. Malleus felt a small twinge of discomfort in his chest as he watched Lilia try to give you a kiss, the dragon fae clenched his jaw slightly and his fists clenched into fists of fury.

"Lilia... Fuck!"

He muttered under his breath, looking at the two of them and keeping his feelings under control. Malleus again refused, it wasn't right to be jealous, he wouldn't give his advisor the pleasure of seeing him in such a state let alone losing control. 

So he represses his emotions once again, causing Lilia to look at him out of the corner of her eye and sighs, releasing you from his arms. "How boring you are! Well, anyway, I have to go, I need to check the barrier on the moor, what was it...like 200 years ago? Yeah, I haven't seen the state of it in 200 years.... I'm off then, have fun my children, bye bye bye!" Lilia smiled saying goodbye as the door closed, you on the other hand walked up to Malleus taking his hand.

"Tsunotarou... Were you upset? You know Uncle Lilia is like that, by the way I made you this crown! I hope you like it" Malleus looked sideways at you and blushed, coughing in embarrassment at your tenderness, he bent down to your height so you could put it on his head. The rose wreath, although twisted by its awkward horns, was still beautiful to look at. However, it was cute to see how your delicate little hands went out of their way to give him such a gift.

Malleus looked at you, his mood changing almost immediately as he saw your expression. He couldn't help the laughter that came from his pale but beautiful lips as he watched you try to put the crown on his head, but fail miserably as his horns got in the way of said task. He chuckled softly as he gently took the crown and put it on perfectly as he bent down and ruffled your hair.

"Thank you, he's lovely, as always... I won't get mad at Lilia, he's like that with everyone, but promise me you won't leave room for his jokes ok?"

"Yep! I won't let uncle bully me with his jokes anymore" You laughed once more, clapping your hands and with innocent grace, you hugged his neck giving him a kiss on his pale cheeks making Malleus blush once more that you would almost swear steam was coming out of his ears. So much so that his emotions affected the atmosphere of the whole valley, you saw how the gardens grew more roses and out of nowhere butterflies or birds appeared. 

Because of your innocence, you were frightened to see him so red, thinking you had done something wrong. "Tsunotarou is red because of me, now he has a fever!" You began to cry with worry in your girlish eyes, as you noticed earlier how hot he had become because of your actions, but you didn't know what triggered that.

Malleus looked surprised, his eyes widened at your innocent and adorable way of looking at the situation. He let out a small scoff and chuckled under his breath, he always forgot how innocently cute you were and how your naive personality embarrassed him most of the time.

"No, no, you didn't do anything wrong, it's okay...I'm fine, you're just too cute and beautiful my precious princess" He said softly as he stroked your back, trying to calm your crying as he blushed a little from embarrassment.

"Eh? ... Then why are you red? If you don't have a fever, maybe it's another illness? I don't want you to be sick, Tsunotarou!" You were still sad and worried but you weren't crying so much anymore, much to her relief. 

Malleus sighed, lifting you up in his arms and sitting you on his lap, then wiped away the excess tears by kissing your chubby little girl cheeks pulling them as a game and a little reprimand.

"That hurts, a lot Tsunotarou."

He smiled at your innocence and how you so quickly assumed he was sick because of his red face, he was a little amused that you couldn't see the underlying reason he was embarrassed rather than sick. A small chuckle escaped his pale lips when you complained at how hard he pulled on your cheeks, then he sat you on his lap as he stroked your head talking softly. 

"No, no, I'm not sick... it's much simpler than that, little girl."

The prince/monarch smiled at you once again saying how tender and beautiful you were in his eyes and that's why he was embarrassed when you did such tender acts.

"Am I pretty? But Sebek says I smell like a dirty human, but I don't know what that is. He always criticizes me, the other time he scolded me for accidentally knocking down one of your paintings in the office, he also says humans are ugly, does that mean I'm ugly and stinky?" your tender and gullible eyes made Malleus swallow bile, mostly because of what you were telling him, sometimes your tenderness and naivety reminded him of himself. 'Sebelk, that idiot' he thought to himself, cursing his loyal friend and self-proclaimed knight, though to Malleus Sebek was an annoying zealot.

The prince of Briar Valley shook his head and sighed softly. Yes, Sebek tended to say things he shouldn't say in front of you. And yes, he was also an absolute fanatic who was too loyal to him, sometimes not even liking his attitude because of how loud and restless he got. 

"No, you're not ugly, you're beautiful... in fact, you're the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen in my life... and ignore what Sebek says, because he's a brat who talks too much..."

And speaking of the devil, he will come! Sebek knocked on the door, although it didn't do much good as he ended up whipping it anyway, mostly to warn of his presence.

"MALLEUS-SAMA!!!" Both you and the aforementioned covered your ears at Sebek's cries and his following praise, the Prince of Thorns had to silence him before he gave any more speech about how he is the most perfect among dragons that ever lived.

"Ahem! As I was saying I brought breakfast because honestly Lilia-sama is horrible at cooking, and I also wanted to tell you that Silver will be away for a week and is still dealing with the demons in the troll pit." After that introduction, Sebek served everything with grace and- Perhaps too much perfection; even Malleus was sweating with embarrassment from his eyes with imaginary stars staring at him, sometimes Sebek was too overwhelming.

Sighing as he looked at Sebek and rolling his eyes at the green haired dragon's strong presence, the half-dragon fae let out a small snort as he listened to the strong praise and watched how hard Sebek tried to please him as he fed him breakfast. As he watched Sebek kneel on the ground after finishing with the table and the plates with food, Mall let out a small scoff.

"Very well, thank you, Sebek... you may go, I'm sure Silver will need help handling the demons in the pit..." He said, trying to get rid of him so that he would stop being too overwhelming; and be able to continue chatting with you without the stalker-like vigilance of the green-haired one. 

"Your highness... You're telling me you don't want me here? WHAT AN HONOR TO HAVE YOUR DISGUSTING TOWARDS ME, MALLEUS-SAMA!! YOU CAN EVEN TREAD ON ME IF YOU WANT, I WOULD LOVE TO BE YOUR RUG FOR WHATEVER—" The Green-haired's cries of adoration ceased as Malleus swung his black claw and pulled him out of the garden and into the castle hallway. Still, the young dragon's cries could be heard. You laughed so hard at Sebek's own witticisms that the black-haired fae's bad mood was relieved.

"Sebek is funny, even though he's always nagging me..." You pout as Malleus smiles at you burying his face in your baby neck.

He sighs again as he hears Sebek's ramblings and praise in the background, letting out a small scoff. He chuckled under his breath when he heard you laugh, nodded and agreed with you.

"I know, he's a jerk... but at least he's a loyal jerk, I guess..." Whispered the fae as he wrapped his arms around you once more, burying his head in your small shoulder, enjoying your scent that reminded him of fresh roses.

Days later Malleus took you flying through the forest as it was like your birthday present, as you laughed in his arms, the first spring breeze hit your delicate face, Malleus spread his draconic wings taking you even higher in the air to enjoy the view without actually stepping on solid ground. He won't admit it but he doesn't want something else to catch your attention and make you want to go out more often. Your hands caress a cloud and the black-haired man sees you laugh which makes him happy. 

 "This is the best birthday ever!!!! Thank you Tsunotarou" Your eyes looked at him and at that moment it was just the two of you, something in Malleus started to resonate it was like a: 'Badump! Badump!' ...It was the beating of his heart that echoed in his ears, for the first time he knew what that was, the feeling longed for millennia and jealous of those who could feel it and experience it but now he finally felt it. You were the reason? He wondered, but at that moment he didn't care, he just closed his eyes letting himself go while holding you in his arms.

Malleus watched you with a fond smile on his face as he saw the way your eyes sparkled when the breeze hit your face, happily observing how you were thrilled by small things like clouds. He chuckled softly as he watched you laugh at the simple joy of being in heaven....

"Of course, of course... Anything for my little daughter of man..."

His eyes closed as he embraced you, feeling the gentle beat of his heart flutter in his chest, his heart beating for the first time in centuries like butterflies in full spring. 

This moment was precious and although Malleus is not normally greedy, with you it is another case, he wants to have you and make you happy just like you do with your simplicity and innocence, his beautiful sleeping beauty.... The tulip in his garden of thorns.

"Tsunotarou! Look there— Is that me!!!? Woah, what a beautiful garden" Malleus smiled again seeing you excited, this is the special gift for you, in this forest there is a beautiful portrait made with so many flowers of so many colors and froms the air you can see it. So he wanted you to see how much he would give and do for you, for your smile and the feelings you make him feel, for what you are and represent in his life. 

He tilted his head to look at the portrait of the flowering garden in question, a small smile on his face as he watched the colors come together and form a beautiful image from above. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he listened to you speak, his ears twitching at the way you seemed to be getting more and more excited.

"It's beautiful... Do you want me to take you and take a closer look at it, little one?" he said, flying a little lower now so he could take you there and let you see the flowers up close.

You both descended and immediately ran through the fields of flowers, like a princess in his eyes, the prince and wizard Fae-Dragon, moved his hands making your dress turn white as snow and floral decorations grew from it, then he made you float. and dance in the air as you laughed.

"LOUDER!!! YAY! WHAT FUN" The prince of Briar Valley continued to wiggle his fingers and watched you float away, then he pulled you close to his face and their noses touched, the magic was removed and with a kiss on your forehead, you fell asleep. Malleus had long since ceased to feel alone, much less hated and feared, only loved by the simplicity of a human, his human.

At the end of your birthday, the prince of thorns tucked you into your bed and before you went to sleep, you gave a thank you. "Thank you for everything Tsunotarou.... Good night." 

Your smile faded as you slept, Malleus Sighed, leaving the room and walking to his own, the cold corridors smelled of wet earth and nature, his footsteps echoed against the aged stone until he reached the black door. The creaking reminded him of the years that passed and he never aged, his physical age stopped at his seventeen years. Upon entering, Malleus removed his clothes and then sank his body into the soft feather bed, his green eyes wandering to a shelf; There were all those gifts that to others are cheap trinkets made by the innocent hand of a girl like you, but to the Dragon Fae it was more than that, it felt special to receive them from the one he loved.

Malleus sat on the end of his bed for a second, his thoughts wandering as he looked at the items on the shelf. He couldn't help but feel warmth and happiness in his chest as he looked at the little trinkets... it brought a small smile to his face as he thought about how much happiness you brought him....

He lay fully back on the bed, resting his head on the pillows and pulling the covers over his shoulders, closing his eyes and letting the dreams take him soon....

And who knew that that nap of his would make the future of both of them turbulent, because Malleus fell into another one of his hibernations, besides, without anyone to wake him up with anti-sleep magic, he wouldn't be there for you. Lilia, Silver and Sebek would take a maximum of 4 months to return, the vast territory of the royal family of dragons and fairies had to be constantly supervised by many nobles and among them were the three close to Malleus. 

After waking up, you went to look for him and excited, you opened his door running towards him and climbed into his soft, padded bed but Malleus was still asleep, even so you decided to move and pull his cheeks, talk to him or yell at him. but nothing happens, he still does not respond.

"Tsunotarou? Come on it's already daytime! it's not funny.... Ugh! Don't scare me, come on, wake up already! You're going to make me mad... Humm!" You started to hit him on the cheeks, You even lifted his eyelids but as soon as you removed your fingers they closed again and still it didn't work and you couldn't use your magic since it only worked on plants and to heal wounds. "I have another idea! I'll look for uncle Lilia, he might wake you up" Jumping out of bed you leave the royal room and head to your own, preparing your backpack to go in search of the old fae.

It was your first time out of the castle, you were scared and the monsters terrify you, but as Uncle Lilia once said, "Never forget to be protected, if you wear a dragon scale, no monster or weirdo will attack you given our essence! So don't forget to take one, even Mall would be happy to give it to you". And that's what you did, as Malleus wouldn't wake up even if you removed a black scale from his tail, so you would use it as a toll and scare the monsters away.

A while after walking, you ended up lost. Since you have never left the castle unless Malleus or another fae (except Silver, from what Sebek said, he is a human like you.) guides you, you would get lost on your own and that happened. Now you didn't know where to go.

"Phew, wasn't this the way? Maybe I should go back, but... Why are there three paths? I don't know anymore! I'm lost!". You cried in frustration and continue walking, if Malleus would complain about anything, it's your pride and stubbornness.

It wasn't long after you left the castle that you still couldn't find the right path. Unfortunately, without high-ranking magic, you were doomed from the start to get lost if this happened, especially since Malleus would normally be guiding you.

The dark wood were mostly silent, a few crickets chirping could be heard. Even your footsteps echoed and you didn't even want to think about other unknown sounds because it made you nervous and afraid. But the sounds of the crickets soon faded away, leaving you in silence as the sound of rustling leaves added to the sound of your beautiful magical sandals made of flowers and wood. Suddenly, a soft glow caught your attention.

You had reached the end of the forest and the sun was about to set, you were apparently in a part where the barrier of magical flowers and thorns was weaker, you also had the scale of Malleus in your possession, so when you followed the path fleeing from the darkness; the thorns and bushes parted, allowing you to pass as you sensed the magic in that scale inside your bag. The fresh air greeted you, you smiled believing that you would return to the castle but it was not so, as you barely took a few steps, a carriage passed by you and the person stopped to look at you, it was a humble peasant. 

"Umm hey little girl, what are you doing on this side of the road? You don't know it, but there are ugly monsters roaming around."

"I don't know sir, but who are you and what are your names? I'm (T/N) and I'm looking for my uncle Lilia, I must wake up Tsunotarou or else he will sleep too much, so he won't be able to play with me" Facing your naivety, the farmer smiles and invites you to come up. 

Since Lilia never explained to you about the dangers outside (thinking that because of Malleus' obsession with you, it would be impossible to escape) you continued talking to these strangers.

The farmer, as well as the person sitting in front with the horses, were both older adults, who were quite surprised to see a young girl like you wandering through the dark and dangerous forest with no parents or other people in sight, just you and the forest behind you.

They both see that you were hungry and tired, the farmer felt bad for you, nodding and smiling as they brought out some stale bread and water to let you eat something. The person in the wagon with the horses watched you intently. In the end you end up going out with them, not knowing that your innocence would bring chaos and that the carelessness of some would make many pay, even death will be a mercy rather than delayed suffering. 

And so 4 months had passed, in that time the 2 faes and Silver returned from their duties, when they entered they were surprised to see the palace so... silent.

 "Lilia-sama, I can't find the rambunctious human, I already searched every floor for her but there's no trace" Sebek said in alarm when even Lilia couldn't find you either. 

Silver then cried out in surprise and somewhat worried, Malleus was in a state of hibernation earlier than expected, as normally dragons sleep 100 years but since he is half fairy, this time is maximum 50 years and it also depends on Malleus himself.

"No way, damn it, what are we going to do? Hurry Silver, go and get some chains, I need to wake him up but we mustn't just blurt out the news, Sebek gather everyone you can and look for her!" Lilia ordered as she bit his fingers cursing his luck. Once Silver finished binding Malleus, the old Fae put spells on the chains to at least hold some of the strength the Fae dragon prince possesses. In the end Malleus awoke with magic and the anti-sleep potion.

Malleus, dazed, opened his eyes after being suddenly awakened from his sleep, his senses immediately sought your presence again. The first thing he felt were the chains and spells on him, which irritated him, and as soon as he saw Lilia, his senses went on guard.

"Lilia...! What are all those chains and where did she go (Y/N)" His voice was soft but demanding, his cold, sharp eyes looked at the old Fae in front of him. 

"First calm down Malleus, you are not in your five senses, I didn't think it would come to this but there was a mistake and we miscalculated your hibernation, so we left and 4 months passed. And sorry to tell you but (Y/N) is not here. I think she went out to look for me, from what the few creatures who saw her told me, I only know for sure that she left the magical forest and Briar Valley, heading for the human world, in that case we can't track her and the only one who can is Silver, so I sent him to look for her.. " 

Malleus listened to him in silence, his calm and gentle expression slowly twisting into something much darker as he took in what Lilia was saying in his mind.

"You mean to tell me that you all left the castle without waking me up or leaving someone to take care of her?" The Raven-haired fae's voice was cold, his usually calm tone now filled with silent anger about to explode as he stared at Lilia for a second.

"Didn't any of you think that leaving a young woman home alone would end up with something like this.."

Lilia sighed just as frustrated, his cheerful and youthful demeanor left behind by his deadly and bitter self. "Look Malleus, I couldn't calculate the variables, you were supposed to hibernate until February but it was earlier than planned, I think the anti-sleep potion affects something in your hibernation states." 

Lilia rubbed his nose septum in frustration. Malleus might have looked calm but his vacant stare and his vibrant emerald eyes with shrunken slits, said otherwise, he was overthinking everything. 

"Can't you calculate the variables? I'm sure you have more than experience in dealing with issues revolving around me. You should know that this was a situation that had the possibility of happening, Lilia!"

Malleus' tone darkened with anger, he was beginning to blame Lilia even though he knew it wasn't entirely her fault, knowing that it is also his for constantly manipulating his sleep states making himself more unpredictable when it came to hibernating. 

"She's going to be lost in a world that is cruel and uncaring... Who knows what has already happened in the last 4 months?"

Unfortunately for everyone and especially for Sebek, who interrupted them, receiving almost lethal green fire from Malleus narrowly burning the green-haired Fae but resulting in the burned wall and a prince who was still raging almost eager to release his dragon form, but Sebek caught their attention.

"Can you listen to me for a moment? As I said, I went to investigate and proudly I can say that this is the only thing he left..... I'm sorry Malleus-sama and Lilia-sama" Sebek bowed showing pieces of the torn dress the prince of Briar Valley had given you, and that infuriated Malleus more and from that anger he went to raw but horrible sadness, a silent one because the words got stuck in his throat and tears fell from his beautiful emeralds for eyes.

Malleus stared at the torn pieces of your dress, his eyes widening as the reality of the situation slowly hit him. A small trembling of his hand became noticeable, as his fists clenched tightly to where it hurt, his nails slowly digging into his own skin and drawing blood as he reared up savagely towards the Raven-haired fae taking the piece of cloth from him. 

"No... She is still out there, we must look for her, I must— I MUST LOOK FOR HER!! Ah..., Sorry for that, please leave a time me alone."

His voice came out as a halting whisper, as he slowly closed his eyes... taking in what had just happened; the reality of what he had lost, the reality that he had lost you... of all things, losing you to him and his draconic heart was very devastating.

Lilia said nothing at the scene of his beloved ward and prince/monarch, so both Sebek and he let his process it all and so for a few days Malleus locked himself in his room without coming out, falling back into an abyss of loneliness and silent rage.

In the days that followed your disappearance, Malleus mourned your absence, spending his days trapped in his room, talking to no one if he could help it and only looking at the pieces of your dress... the only thing he had left of you or your scent. 

The fae dragon spent most of his time pacing his room or sobbing on his bed sheets, crying his eyes out and hating himself for how he had handled things when he could have avoided them.

Mmmmmm

Mmmmmm

So this was love

Mmmmmm

So this was love

So this was what made life divine

I was glowing, mmmmmm

And now I know

And now I know

The key to all heaven was mine

My heart had wings, mmmmmm

And I could fly

I touched every star in the sky, but no more

So this was my miracle?

That I've been dreaming, that I've lost

Mmmmmm

Mmmmmm

So this was love, but I won't feel anything, anymore

[seapandora]

Illusion, Part 3/?

Illusion｜Part 3/?

Bucky x oc!Lori

Warnings: Angst, betrayal, swearing, torture, violence

A/N: Part 3 already. And so many more parts to go! I´d be lying if I said I wasn’t tired of this particualr fic every now and then. Luckily for me, my brain knew this would happen. So, the old full part 3 and 4 are both done. Now I just have to edit them. I hope you guys enjoyed this holiday themed part, the next two parts will also be hoiday themed. I wanted them to be released before Christmas, but oh well… Again I hope you guys enjoyed this one! Comment/ share and like if you can! GIF-cred to owner as always! Holler if you want to be put on the taglist!

Summary: Reader is a supersoldier, one of a number, one of nine. Hydra´s backup for the asset. The group was started in 1974 and has been working under the radar, training for the day when the asset no longer exists. Lori is the only one left. Left in a cryo, she wasn’t discovered until 2023 when a certain captain and his buddy found her.

Words: 6557

Taglist: @selfsun​

2024

December was a weird month. It was dark and gloomy, but full of light and happiness. Bucky had been planning the trip to Steve for a while. He was always visiting Steve around Christmas-time, but he had a special plan this time. Lori would come with him, Sam would too. But it was the first time Lori would meet Steve. She knew all about him by now. Steve knew off her, but seeing as he wasn´t military or an avenger anymore, and he didn´t have access to her files. He only knew what Bucky had told him.

Lori had been made aware of the plans in advance so that she could plan a good gift for Americas golden boy. Even if the stories Bucky had told her didn´t paint him in that light. She liked hearing Bucky talk about Steve, and the time before the war. He had retrieved most of his memories from that time, but he liked talking about it because it made him feel less like a monster. Lori had thought long and hard about what she would get Steve. She really wanted to impress him.

December 23rd rolled around a lot quicker than anyone had expected, despite December being a very quiet month, with just one, very simple, mission. This was the day they were visiting Steve in his cabin. Peggy had passed away a few years earlier. Despite Steve going back in time, he hadn´t been able to change Peggys destiny, or her cause of death. It had taken a toll on the former Captain, but he was beginning to be happy, finally. He had his art and the occasional visit from his friends, and of course he had the kids he had made with Peggy.

Bucky was beyond nervous for letting the two super-soldiers meet, but he was looking forward to hear Steves thoughts on Lori. He was driving with Lori and Sam. The others had been sent on a mission the night before, and would be home that afternoon, meaning they missed out on meeting Steve. They had all agreed to go meet up with Steve around New Years instead. Lori sat in the back listening to music while Sam sat besides Bucky. They were bickering like always and Lori had decided music was the best way to cut them out.

“Newbie, hey Lori… Are you even listening?” Sam asked and reached back to grab her leg. Lori wisely moved her leg out of the way and slapped Sams arm. “What do you want potoo?” She asked and raised her eyebrows at the man in the passenger seat. She had taken to calling him potoo about a month ago, for no other reason than to piss him off. At first Sam hadn´t understood the joke but he had done some research and found out that potoos were weird-looking birds with crazy eyes. He wasn´t ashamed to admit that he was offended at first, but only until he realized that Lori would have had to go out of her way to look up weird birds to give him a nickname that was special to her, and her alone. After he realized that he had no issues with it. “We´re about to arrive so put your shoes and jacket on,” he explained and nodded to a small cabin showing up on the road in front of them.

She did as she was told. She wasn´t sure why, but Sam had accepted her as if she was his younger sister and despite everything, Lori trusted Sam. More than anyone really. Apart from Bucky of course, but Bucky was different. Much between Lori and Bucky was different. Bucky was the first one Lori had opened up to. She had already told him a lot about herself and her time with Hydra. He knew about most of the bad stuff she had been forced into. He had also seen her at her worst.

In October Lori had begun showing signs of post traumatic stress disorder, a disorder Helen had later given her. It had started with Lori being unable to sleep and she had instead stayed up for longer than she should. When she did start sleeping she had nightmares, bad ones. They were about her time in Hydra. Some were just filled with images of the people she had killed, others were about her missions. But most of her nightmares were about the punishments Hydra would give her. The nights they would tie her to a bed and torture her.

Lori would wake up in tears, and she wouldn´t dare to go back to sleep after that. One rainy, cold night Lori had gotten up and walked to Buckys room. She was originally planning to go to Sam and talk to him, but something had enticed her to go to Bucky instead. Her subconcious had said Bucky would understand her situation better. He had been awake and he had let Lori sleep in his bed curled up to his chest for the rest of the night. He had read somewhere that hearing calming sounds, such as rain patter, or a heartbeat, could be helpful, and thats what he tried to be.

That was the first night in a few weeks she had slept well. From that night Bucky made sure that Friday watched Lori during the nights, and he would be right outside knocking on her door when Friday alerted him to changes in her sleep. Lori really appreciated it. She appreciated Bucky for wanting to help her, and wanting the best for her. He was constantly there for her, even when she didnt know she needed him.

The air hit her as Sam opened the door for her. She was in the midst of tying her left shoe. It was cold, enough for both Lori and Bucky to want a jacket, and Sam was wearing a thicker jacket. He didnt have super-soldier serum, so he wasn´t as resistent to the cold as the two others. Being who he was he often complained about it as well, and he could become very grumpy when Lori or Bucky weren´t cold. It wasn´t fair in his books. He grumbled as he pulled the jacket closer around himself while Bucky and Lori kept theirs opened.

Steve was standing on the little patio in front of the cabin leaning on his cane. “I´ve got a fire going inside and Brooke made us all hot chocolate before she left, so come inside and get comfortable,” he said and smiled before he walked back into his cabin. Sam and Bucky followed after him while Lori took a bit longer. She didn´t analyze her surroundings, she trusted Bucky and Sam and their judgment.  If they felt safe in the environment, so did Lori. Bucky looked back to her and chuckled before he stretched his hand out to her. “Come on slow-poke,” he chuckled and watched as Lori took some slow steps up the stairs.

Lori gently took Buckys hand and let him guide her inside. They all took of their shoes, considering Steve himself claimed to be old to want to vaccuum every second day. Bucky helped Lori with her jacket and hung it up for her before they made their way further into the cabin. The seating area was small, and felt smaller with the original supersoldier, and the first winter soldier. Sure Steve had lost a bit of his muscle mass but he was still tall and he filled up a space like no bodys business. Bucky was just buff in general, muscular, tall-ish, and his broad shoulders really made him look bigger. Sam wasn´t as big as the other two, but he was still tall and muscular. Lori wasn´t small either, but she had a very different baseline from which the serum worked.

They all sat in silence for a while until Sam coughed a bit. “So Steve, meet Lori,” he said and gestured to Lori who waved shyly from her seat besides Bucky. “Lori, where are you from? I´ve heard a bit about you, but when were you born? And where?” He asked with a kind smile. He didn´t want to overdo things already, but he needed to know who she was before he trusted her. Before he could trust her to be around Bucky. Lori looked at him and played with her fingers. “Ehum, I was born in 1959 inSweden,” she answered and looked down at her hands. She didn´t feel intimidated by the supersoldier, but she felt like she had to show him respect. He was older, wiser and a better human being than she was.

Steve nodded and proceeded to ask Bucky and Sam about their latest mission. All to allow Lori to warm up to him. He didn´t want her to be nervous around him, he wanted her to consider him an ally, someone she could talk to if she needed. Lori stayed close to Bucky but looked around Steves cabin. There were one or two famous paintings as well as a few black and white sketches. Some were clearly of Peggy, a woman Lori would recognize anywhere. A few were of Bucky and Steve from what seemed like way back, possibly the time of the war. A few were simple landscapes, around the compound area. Lori had been on enough runs to recognize the scenery. Steve watched her and looked up at the sketches. “What do you think?” He asked and smiled at Lori.

She looked to Steve and then back to the sketches. “They´re beautiful. But I can´t say I´m not feeling a little uneasy by seeing a different Bucky.” She explained and sighed as she glanced to the Bucky she knew. “Oh, he isn´t different. Not really anyways, just hardened by what happened to him. When I see him I still see the Bucky from the 30´s and 40´s. He just takes longer to show that side of himself.” Steve argued and stood up. “Come with me, I´ll show you more sketches,” he said and smiled as he walked towards a room to the north of the cabin. Lori stood up as well and followed Steve.

The room was smaller than Lori had expected, but it didn´t have any furniture apart from a desk and a chair. However the walls were filled with pencil sketches. It was sketches of everything between heaven and hell. She looked around in awe and crossed her arms over her stomach. Sure the room wasn´t big but Lori felt small around the art. It was so beautiful, and meaningful, without Steve having to say so. Lori looked closer on a specific sketch of Bucky. She checked the date on it and realized it had been done in the summer of 2018.  That meant it was done after the snap, Bucky was gone by then. Steve noticed her looking at it and sighed. “We lost everything in the snap. For a few months I didn´t know what I was going to do.” Steve said softly and sighed as he sat down on the chair.

“Natasha took over the Avengers, or whatever it was by then. I couldn´t be around it all, I didn´t want to be around it all. I took over Sam´s VA-group, not that it was a VA-group by then. It was a way to help people understand what had happened.” Steve said quietly and drummed his fingers on the table. “I spent most of the five years sketching and trying to help people. I owed that to the world.” He continued. Lori looked at him and frowned. “But you did save the world. You reversed the snap, and you saved those who had been taken,” Lori exclaimed and tilted her head.  

Steve smirked a bit and shook his head. “I wasn´t alone in doing that, and Tony was the one to actually reverse it. “He said and rubbed the back of his head. Sitting there at his desk in front of the window with the snow falling outside, he looked lonely. “As true as that might be. I read that you were the one to inspire him to come back. That without you two making up, the world wouldn´t have been saved.” Lori said as her eyes slid over a sketch of Iron Man himself. Steve had sketches of all the team-members, well the original team-members at least.

“You and Bucky, huh?” He asked and Lori froze before she snapped her head towards Steve. “Wha… what? Me and Bucky, what?” She asked and looked terrified for a second before the look turned into confusion. “Oh you two aren´t fondueing?” He asked with a smirk, which he dropped as he saw the utter confusion on Lori´s face. “You´re not a couple? Youre not dating?” He asked instead and stood up from the chair. Lori just shook her head with a frown. “Oh wow, I´m sorry. It´s just the way you look at each other and the way you talk to each other and touch each other,” he said trying to explain his questions.

Lori looked down at her hands and sighed. “I… I like Bucky. He´s… he´s been very udnerstanding with me. I feel like there´s a trust between us that I´ve never had before. I really like Sam too, but more like a brother than anything.” She mumbled and picked at her fingers, a sign Steve often saw in people who were nervous. “Have you told Bucky about how you feel, or has he talked to you?” Steve asked and looked at her with interest. “No, no, no, I´m pretty sure he doesn´t feel that way,” Lori said quickly and put her hands up. Steve gave her a knowing look but nodded. “Alright, well I´m sorry I spoke on it when I was clearly unaware of the real situation. But please talk to Bucky about it. I´m sure it will all work out!” He said with a smile before he led Lori back into the livingroom.

Bucky looked up as Steve and Lori came back in. “Has he shown you all his sketches now?” He asked with a smile before he stood up to get the bag of gifts they had brought over. Lori smiled at Bucky and nodded her head. She couldn´t shake the feeling of what Steve had told her, and asked her about. She really hoped she´d get over it soon enough. She wasnt sure she was ready to make any of her feelings known. And she wasn´t even sure Bucky would care.

1973

Spring had rolled in with tons of rain. Lori wasn´t allowed outside but she heard it through the nights, and water was running down the cement-walls of her cell. It was wet and cold. Lori

hated it. She had never done anything to deserve this. She had never hurt a soul, she never wanted to hurt anyone. Now that was the only thing she did. Her captors forced her against soldiers every day, and so far she hadn´t lost one fight. If she had she wouldn´t be around. She did her best to stay in their good graces to not be tortured.

It had been a success, they hadn´t tied her to a bed in months. That meant Lori hadn´t been in any pain she couldn´t handle in a long time. If relief was a feeling she could still have she had it now. They had also given her a better mattress and a thicker blanket. It was awful that this was what Lori had begun to associate with something good. But her current situation had turned into being her new safe, her new norm.

She had just been woken up by loud banging in the hallway outside her cell. She had immediately gone into a fighting stance. Her entire existence was based on defeating others. Guards entered her room, there was five or six of them now, considering Lori had become quite strong since they started the super-serum experiment on her. She could easily take down two of the guards at once, but she had issues taking down four or more guards, they were quite strong themselves.

They blindfolded Lori and brought her out of the cell and past her usual training rooms. She knew the hallways fairly well by now. She was more scared when she felt fresh air and rain on her skin. She was outside. They had taken her outside. Lori hadn´t been outside since she was taken. It was strange, and she was now terrified. Would they kill her? Shoot her and dump her into a hole and then cover it up? Lori didn´t know and she wasn´t sure she wanted to know.

Lori could hear the sound of a car close by but she didn´t have time to think about it before she was pushed into the backseat of a car. She was uncomfortable but her arms weren´t tied so she could adjust herself. The guards told her to stay put, and she didn´t dare do anything else. The car started to move and Lori held on to the seats. She didn´t have any sense of direction and had to struggle against falling over whenever the car took a turn.

After an hour or so the car stopped and Lori felt hands tugging at her arms. She moved her legs out of the car and then the rest of her body. The hands guided her down some stairs and into some sort of damp bunker-like area. The floor was rough and Lori wasn´t wearing any shoes. It was clearly cement but she could smell something metallic and her best guess was that it was either the piping, of the bunker-like place, or iron covered walls.  

She was dragged to a room which was slightly warmer. After the experiment, Lori had become more aware of her surroundings. It was as if an entirely different part of her brain had been unlocked. The blindfold was removed and she blinked at the light and squinted her eyes. She refrained from reaching up to cover her eyes from the light. Her bad aclimatizing to the light meant she wasn´t ready for the slap that landed on her left cheek abrubtly turning her head. Lori groaned and closed her eyes again. She didn´t reach up to touch her cheek. There wasn´t any need to, that wouldnt be the last hit.

2024

The quartet ate smores and drank hot chocolate while exchanging gifts with each other. Well it was really the three avengers giving gifts to the retired avenger. They had gotten together and brainstormed Steves gifts one night and had then gone their separate ways to get them. Bucky had gotten Steve a new set of Aquarells and generally new supplies since he knew Steve was always running low by the end of the year. Sam had managed to get a deal on a warehouse just a few blocks away which now was Steves. It was a place he could store either his sketches or furniture from his house to fill it with more sketches.

Lori who barely knew Steve, but wanted to be liked by him, had gone all out. She had gifted him with a paid vacation to the Stockholm archepelago. It was the city she was from and she had always loved the ocean as a kid. Steve quickly declined her gift but Lori insisted. It was her wish that Steve would get to go there and make beautiful sketches in peace and not have to worry about anyone else. She had seen some of his landscape sketches and knew he could do amazing things with the right view.

They stayed for a bit longer, but decided that they should head back at around 3 pm. Steve had his family arriving later in the evening and wanted to clean up a bit, and the three avengers had to get back to the compound to start setting up things for christmas. They also had to get a tree on their way back. Sam asked Bucky to drop him halfway home. He had a few buisness to attend to. Bucky and Lori could get the tree themselves. The tree-farm was quite close to the compound, just one turn off actually. Bucky pulled up to the forest area and got out of the car pulling his jacket a bit tighter. They didn´t really get cold anymore but the wind still made his skin crawl.

A perfect tree stood right in front of them. Bucky thought it was perfect at least. Nearly every tree was perfect in his mind. He really didn´t care too much. Celebrating Christmas was something he did just for the others, he himself didn´t feel much of a connection to the holiday. Most of his previous ones had been spent killing or sleeping. He looked over to Lori, well, where she was supposed to be, but he couldnt find her. “Lori?” He called out and began to look around the trees to see if he could find her. The trees were quite a bit taller than Bucky and Lori was shorter than Bucky. She could have easily sneaked off and he wouldn´t be able to find her. She was a spy after all, and she had been trained by some of the best.

If she didn´t want to be found Bucky wouldn´t find her, but he did start to panick a bit when he had been searching for a few minutes. It wasn´t a big place, she couldn´t just disappear.  He had half a mind to try and call her when she came out from behind a tree looking for him. “Where did you go?” He asked with his voice slightly raised. “You can´t just run off,” he explained and sighed as he noticed Lori moving back a bit. He quickly realized it was because he raised his voice at her. He shook his head and held her hands up. “I´m sorry, I didn´t mean to raise my voice at you, I was worried. Did you find a tree you like?” He asked and gave Lori a soft smile to try and ease the blow from before.

Lori nodded and pointed in the direction of a row of trees a bit further into the farm. It was obvious why they had been placed farther away from where people would typically go. The trees were smaller and less perfect. Not awful, just slightly less ideal for a Christmas tree. “Are you sure doll? The compound is pretty big and we want a tree that can flourish in the environment, right?” He asked as he looked at the trees. If it truly was what Lori wanted he wouldn´t argue and he wouldn´t complain.  Lori looked over at Bucky and pouted a bit. “I know they´re not traditionally beautiful, but there´s a charm to them, don´t you agree?” She asked softly and touched one of the trees´ branches.

Bucky didn´t have the strength to say no to her so he simply nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Pick whichever one you like the most,” he said, defeat clear in his voice. He wasn´t actually upset with it though, why would he be? It was just a christmas tree.  Lori walked around for a bit longer before she decided on a tree that stood around 5´6 feet tall. Bucky happened to know the average christmas tree was 7 ft tall. He hadn´t googled that, nope, not at all…  He hadn´t googled Swedish Christmas traditions to be able to give Lori something sepcial either. Not that he had found much, and he felt like he had to talk to Lori about it before he put his plan to work.

They got the tree into the car and Bucky drove them back to the compound once they had paid for the tree. “I was looking online for something I could do for you and I found some old, well not old, traditions. Like a showing of Donald Duck, or something at 3 pm Swedish time, which is like 9 am here, tomorrow. I´ve fixed us a VPN so you can watch it if you´d like.” He said and stared hard at the road ahead of them. Lori glanced at him and smiled to herself. “I haven´t seen the Donald Duck Christmas showing since I was five or something, I´d love to watch it.” She answered and hugged herself as she curled up in the seat. It was beautiful outside, quiet and light. The road to the compound was mostly unused. The lower-level agents had all gotten the holidays off and if any situation came up the Avengers were stepping in. They had had a few months off when Lori was found and were now getting that time back.

Considering the compound was empty the snow was clean, and it was glimmering in the light of the car. It was dark out by now, but a few lanterns had been placed along the road, which meant it wasn´t pitchblack. Lori looked out the window and let out a silent sigh. Her first couple of Christmas celebrations had been amazing, but around the age of 8 or so her mother had stopped caring about making christmas special for Lori.  She was rarely home ,and if she was she had been drunk and Lori´s christmas had been ruined. Her father had never been around and she didn´t have any other family.

Bucky patted her leg and hummed. “So Donald Duck tomorrow. Would you like your present tomorrow as well. I read that that was also a tradition?” He asked and frowned a bit. Lori looked at him and chuckled. “You´ve surely done youre homework. Yes we do get our presents the 24th, but I dont mind waiting until the 25th, it´s not a big deal,” she explained and shrugged. Bucky nodded and smiled. “Alright, well I want you to tell me what you want from this Christmas. It´s your first in many many years, and I want you to enjoy it!” He said as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.  

Lori blushed and bit her lip. “I´m sure I´ll enjoy it as long as the team is around. You guys have done so much for me and I feel like you are all family to me.” she mumbled and pulled at the sleeves of her sweater which were sticking out under the sleeves of her jacket. Bucky smiled and reached over to take her hand. “We are your family, and you will always be safe with us.” He said and stroke the back of her hand.

Sure the two had spent nights together, after nightmares, but it had just been cuddles and hugs. But this felt different? Or maybe that was just Lori overthinking. Had something happened at Steves, or did she just now start to see the way Bucky interacted with her. He was always attentive to her needs and he always seemed to put her thoughts, and wishes first.

Bucky pulled into the garage at the compound and Lori got out of the car and got to open the trunk to get the tree. She wasn´t quick enough, and only managed to get the trunk open before Bucky gently nudged her out of the way and picked the tree up. Lori huffed a bit but backed away to give Bucky some space. “You could have just said you wanted to take it, instead of pushing me over,” she said and crossed her arms. Bucky laughed at her antics. “Hey did you want to carry it? I don´t mind” he shrugged. Lori shook her head and pouted. “No, you choose this, now you have to live with that choice,” She said and stomped over to the door holding it open for him.

She may be pouty but she wasn´t an asshole. Bucky chuckled once more and walked through the door she held open. “Thank you, do you want to go freshen up before we start decorating? I think the team is back, so you can catch up with Wanda and Peter if he´s still here” Bucky said. He didn´t want to crowd her or take up all of her time when he was certain that she and Wanda had a lot of things to talk about. They had grown so close in the past month. Lori had also gotten close to the young Parker-boy. Something that made Bucky a little uneasy at first, but he had quickly realized Lori only saw Peter as a younger brother, someone who helped her with technology and such.

Wanda made herself known quickly with a loud squeal as she ran to Lori to hug her. Lori hugged her back tightly and laughed a bit as Wanda showed her images of the mission. She often did that if it was something funny that one of the others didn´t want to be shared. Wanda pulled her to the kitchen so they could get something to eat and drink. Bucky was in turn left to his own demise as he was carrying the tree. He placed it down in the livingroom before he got Thor and Loki to help him get some decorations. They had a few boxes in the attic and Bucky didn´t feel like taking a million trips up and down the elevator.

The two gods had become regulars at the compound. Loki liked Lori a lot, she was just as tricky as he was and she liked to play pranks on Sam and Peter. She had learned a few from Loki. Of course she didn´t have his magic, but he shared what he could on “normal” tricks. Lori was a quick learner. Loki had tried to implement magic into it but Lori wasn´t having any of it. It wasnt fair considering neither Sam nor Peter was magical. Both of the gods had been very keen on letting Lori in on their story. Her favorite storyline so far was what had happened with Hela. She liked the fact that facing Hela had brought out the best in the brothers. Thor had been able to harnes his complete power and Loki had learned he wasn´t entirely bad.  

All the christmas decorations had been moved down from the attic by Bucky and the gods while Lori was catching up with Wanda and Peter. Sam had made his way back to the compound as well during that time. Once Lori was all caught up on the mission the three of them made their way to the livingroom where they saw all the boxes with decorations.  Lori looked around and frowned a bit. “We figured you´d want to take charge of the decorating,” Bucky explained as he looked around at all the boxes. Lori looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Well, I´definitely going to need some help,” She replied and huffed softly. Bucky laughed and nodded. “We´ll all help you, don´t worry about that” he smiled and got to setting the tree up. The foot needed assembling and well, the girls didn´t seem too interested and the gods had no idea what to do. Sam had already given up any sort of responsibility when it came to decorating.

Lori walked over to a box and opened it to see what was inside. Ornaments of all colours, shapes and sizes met her. She wasn´t a big fan of, over the top, decorating, and instead wanted to go for something more simple. She wanted the tree to look beautiful, and so her colors of choice were red and silver. It was simplistic but it fit them all. Well apart from Loki, but they would have reindeers up and around the compound. The rest of the avengers had grey or red incorportated into their suits and daily clothes. It would all feel more close-knit to Lori if she could see colors she felt comfortable with.

Wanda helped her a bit and used her powers to hang the ornaments in the windows and such. Peter was busy setting his aunts room up, for when she was coming over for Christmas. The gods were mostly standing around watching Lori and Wanda pick ornaments and decorate the livingroom. After a little while they moved to the kitchen and then the hallways. Bucky looked around after a little while noticing Lori and Wanda had left the room. He had been so invested in making sure the tree was standing safetly. “Hey where did Lori go?” He asked the gods who nodded towards the hallway.

He walked slowly wanting to give Lori and Wanda as much time as possible to hang their decorations, but he needed a few minutes alone with Lori. He found the two women after just a short while and smiled at their decorating skills. It was a bit of a mess actually but that was a later problem. “Hey Lori, can I talk to you for a sec?” He asked and frowned as he crossed his arms and waited for her go ahead. Lori tilted her head and thought for a second before she looked at Wanda, who nodded in approval. “I´ll finish up this hallway,” she said and nudged Lori towards Bucky. Lori groaned but walked over to Bucky ready to follow him, wherever he wanted to go.

Bucky smiled and held out his hand for Lori to take before he guided her down the hall to his room. He wanted them to have some privacy. Lori happily took his hand and followed him to his room. She wasn´t sure what he wanted to talk about but she was sure she wouldn´t mind. She liked the alone time she spent with Bucky. She took a quick look around Buckys room before she sat down on his bed, to which he had motioned. Bucky sat down besides her and turned to her taking both of Lori´s hands in his own. He was constantly in awe of how Lori didn´t seem to mind his metal arm and hand. She had no issues with the coldness that came from it. “So what was it you wanted to talk about?” Lori asked as she looked at Bucky. He looked so different from the pictures she had seen in his file. His hair was short, but she liked it. She understood why he had cut his hair. It was a reminder of his time with Hydra, and cutting it off was a way to leave that behind.

His hands were shaking slightly as he took a deep breath. “I… I´ve been meaning to talk to you for a while. Steve talked to me today, avbout it. And I kind of realized I had to… yeah I had to do this today,” he said and sighed. “Lori… I, I´m in love with you,” he said quietly and looked down at their hands. He could feel Lori freeze, her hands went stiff but she soon seemed to relax. She lot go of his metal hand and gently gripped Buckys chin to tilt his head up. He looked at her and felt his face heat up under her gaze. Blushing wasn´t something he was used to, emotions even less so.  

Lori smiled and leaned forward pressing her lips against Buckys. She could feel him still for a second before he melted into the kiss and grabbed her hand a little tighter. “Does… does this mean you feel the same?” Bucky asked as they broke for air. Lori giggled and nodded. “Yeah, I like you too,” she said and gave him a quick kiss. “How about we get back out, and we finish up decorating,. Eat some good food, and then I´ll be all yours tonight if you want, or we could go for a whole lot of cuddles,” she said and  bit her lip before she stood up and wiped her hands on her pants. Bucky stood up as well and hummed. “I´d like to spend the evening with you, but I have to go out and get some last minute presents,” he sighed.

1973

Her new bosses where hard on her. She hadn´t been this beaten up in a long time, maybe that was why she had been moved. It didn´t do her any good to dwell on it however, and hence she didn´t after the first day. She learned to follow orders, she learned not to talk back. She learned to be a compliant soldier.

The schedule she had been put on was brutal. At most she got four hours of undisturbed sleep, and those days she was lucky. Usually the nights were filled with screams making it near impossible to sleep more than a few minutes at the time. The days were filled with drills and training. She was trained in different languages, dancing, and general spy-subjects.  

In the few weeks she had been in her new prison she had learned proper french and russian. From before she had been forced to learn german and spanish. Swedish and english were languages she had known from before Hydra. She had overheard her captors talk about her learning italian and arabic as well.

And she did, it took her months but by mid august Lori was almost a perfect spy. The only thing she was lacking was the field-experience. And she would get that sooner than she thought. The very same month to be precise. It wasn´t a big mission, and it wouldn´t matter a lot if Lori failed, even if she would be punished hard if she did. But there was no risk in it for Hydra.

It was supposedly a simple elimination-mission, and the target wasn´t anyone too famous, but they had become a small threat to Hydra. Lori started by stalking the target for two days, they were simple, and obsessive about their schedule. Lori was able to take them out on her third day. She was then collected by Hydra and taken back to her prison without as much as a thank you or confirmation that she had done a good job.

When they got back to the holding place she was taken to her cell and left there for a few days. It wasn´t until five days later she got her next meal, and only after she had been through a thorough beating which left her forgetting her own name. When she came too she was back in her cell with half-eaten food in front of her and a small glass of water. She didn´t trust it for a second but swallowed it all down in seconds.

Her trust would earn her another beating. She wasn´t supposed to trust anything that was half eaten. She was not to make that mistake again, she was told. That was the first night in months she had cried herself to sleep. At the old place she had had a mattress and a nice blanket, now she had neither. She had her clothes to cushion the floor and to cover her from the cold in the room.

She had never thought it could get worse, but these new people. They were pure evil and Lori knew they would break her, and if they didn´t someone else would get the chance. That was her curse, ever since she became a super soldier. People wanted to break her, to be able to rebuild her.

[gamesofmuggles]

God is a woman

Alfred x Reader 

1959 words

The bishop was escorting you, your hands were tied in a knot stopping the blood to go through. "The more you move, the more it hurts" You give him a dark look, if you didn't want to live anymore you would have spit on his face. You were scared. Since Aethelwulf died you didn't know how the new prince will be right to you. Guards opened the big doors where the prince was seated in his throne, whispering words to his mother Judith. She was the most beautiful woman you ever saw. "Sir" he bows and so does you, you noticed he looks even much younger closer. "What is the mater?" "I found this woman teaching.." Bishop said, pulling you in front of him. "Teaching?" Prince Alfred repeats, glancing at you. "To young children, to young GIRLS; teaching English." You manage to see a small smirk on Alfred's face. "And when did she learn English?" "I learn.." "She.." as soon as you opened your mouth, he pulled the cord on your wrist and make you drop on your knee. Prince Alfred stood up immediately "Leave the girl alone" "English is not something to teach, especially by a woman." With a precarious step, he got closer to the priest. "I was perfectly clear about my wish" "You did Sir, It is not -" "This girl is not your responsibility anymore. You may go." Hurt and insulted, the bishop leaves the room adjusting his hat with shame. Alfred kneeled facing you. "Someone detached the girl" Domestic realized your wrist, you sight out of the pain. "Thank you, my lord"

"Do you have a name?" You giggled " Everybody has one, my lord" He sighs, embarrassed. "Of course, I mean what is your name." "Y/N sir" The sound of your name looks to please him. "You're brave" "I'm brave for my people. There are so much to know and so little who did. " "I must say, the domestic here may need your help." "My help sir?" "Would you consider coming one time a week here? To teach?" Twenty minutes ago you felt all the anger in the world, and in one discussion, Prince Alfred offered something you didn't even though about. He didn't know you, how could he put his trust in you? "My Lord is too good, I cannot refuse his offer" "Mother?" he turned to her, she was listening everything from behind, a smile on her face. She comes closer. "Let me escort you while we discuss Y/N", she put a soft grip on her son's shoulder, a sign of being pleased.

Days passed, and you put on your neatest dress for the occasion, she was still disappointed to go to a place like that, but that's all you had. When you arrived, Judith was waiting for you. She guides you to a room with a few books and tables made of woods. "I'll inform the few women interested that you're ready" you nodded feeling anxious to have this kind of position towards them. When they arrived, you quickly sympathize with them and assure that you're no one better than them. The time went fast and they went back to work. As you cleaned a little bit the room, you felt a presence watching you. "I just wanted to know how it went" "Even greater than I expected to" "I'm glad" You stared at each other in silence, you wanted to talk to him but he was still so intimating. "The manuscripts are so useful, thank you for the that" "Do you want to bring one home?" "I don't know if my father will agree to that." "Why is that?" "I rather should found a decent husband" "Oh," he said softly. "Well, you can stay and read all you want." "I can't accept all this generosity my lord" "Don't make me ordered it to you" he chuckled and you could see he was definitely your age, even with this massive crown on his head. "I'll accept it then, thank you" you bowed. "My lord, your mother asking for you" "I must go, have a day Y/N" "You too, your grace"

You didn't think about anything else all week, you wish you had more occasion to go to Alfred's, every time he was so sweet and soft. This day you bought a new dress with your petty saving, it was still not enough but you were proud of it.  When you arrived, as usual, a beautiful woman in a velvet red dress was escorting Judith. "Oh Y/N, let me introduce to Princess Ealhswith" "Nice to meet you" you bowed to her, and you felt the urge to run away. Was she Alfred wife? "Y/N teach English to our domestic" "That's admirable" she smiles, you smile back and excuse yourself to go to your safe place, for whatever reason tears were flooding in your eyes. "Are you alright?" Alfred was standing in the doorway as he used to every time. "I'm fine" he didn't seem convinced. "You have to help me" You wipe your tears away. "I'm hiding from my mother and Princess Ealhswith," he adds "Oh, well, you should not hide from your wife." He scoffs, "She is not my wife" You smile, it was stronger than you. She was not his wife. "What do you want me to do?" "Would you like to escape from this castle with me?" He was serious, and it surprised you. "Me? But I have to teach and.." He grabs your hands, and pull you from the room "Come on". Still holding your hand, he leads you out of the castle to the stable, only there he released his touch. "Do you ride?" "I do" "Perfect" You looked at your dress, you hated that, you really did. He gives you the most beautiful black horse you ever saw. Properly set you followed him out of the castle, his people surprised to see him ride away with a stranger. After a while, you were in the countryside, after attached your horse to a tree, you seat beneath it. You look at your dress, she was ripped at the bottom, you sigh. "It was a new one" "I noticed," he said turning to you "You look great in it." You didn't know what to reply and start picking up the grass in a nervous gesture. "Why are you hiding?" "If I'm not here enough, maybe I'll not have to marry her" "I see that even the Prince can make his own decision about that" "I don't know what I want, but I know what I don't" He looked like an ordinary boy, without his crown, in a black coat, his long hair messed up with the wind. "I should be the one staring at you," he said and you immediately blushed. "I apologize" "I like having you around Y/N" This was the only time you truly believe someone when they told you that. "I like it too" He smiled widely at you and like it was not an important matter, continue to talk about everything. "I will escort you to your home it's getting late" In a silent ride, you arrived in your little house. You pray for your father to be still at work, what would he say if he saw you with the Prince of Wessex. "I will see you soon." "Be kind to Princesses Ealhswith" "I'm always kind" he leans to kiss you on your upper cheeks.

The next week, you arrived almost too happy it was almost scary, your stomach spasms to the excitement and the wait between your last meeting. After your teaching, you waited for him a couple of minutes but he didn't show, all the joy disappear and you tried to clear your mind, he was probably busy. You grabbed a book and sit near the window to have the light. You only noticed you've been here for a long time when it was dark in the room and you're eyes accommodated to your reading. You were mad at Alfred not that he promised to come every time, maybe he was doing this just to be polite. You blow a few candles and closed the books, ready to leave. "Y/N!" Alfred was running towards you. "I thought you left hours ago" "I- was reading," you said dubiously to say you were waiting for him. "You can't go home it is dark outside" you laughed to that. "Alfred I'm not 5, I can go walk home by myself" "North men arrived, I was in consultation all day" "Again?" He nodded "Are you afraid?" "No. My grandfather told me everything I have to know. And you?" "I'm not properly scared of them, we don't have the same way of life, that's why we are scared of them, they choose violence because they don't know nothing else" "I still can't risk you to walk alone tonight" he looked around to see if someone was here. "Stay here tonight" "Excuse me?" "We have room for you to sleep in" For a second you guessed he was going to propose to stay in his room, but of course not, what a stupid idea. "I can't, I don't have any.. I need to.." "You're always so modest" "You're the only one in my life who's intimating me" "Am I?" Alfred was so close to you, your fingers were both hesitating to grab each other, but like a dance, they didn't. "Alfred?" Judith arrived and he pulls away from you. "Mother, Y/N is staying tonight, it's too dangerous outside" She looked at you and then Alfred, she was no stupid, she could feel the tension in the atmosphere. "Of course she can stay"

After asking to eat with your friends in the kitchen, one of them show you a room and leave fresh white clothing on the bed. "You know, we heard Alfred talk about you sometimes," she said before closing the door. "Really?" "I don't think he'll ever get married to Princess Ealhswith as long as you are here" she leaves you alone and you changed, it was way sheerer than you thought. The clothes didn't leave much to the imagination. You burn a candle and continue to read your manuscript, it was difficult to even for you. You heard a knock on the door, you step close to it, at the second knock you opened it, only enough to pick outside. "It's me" You opened it to Alfred with his hair attached, a new look. He quickly closes behind him. As he turned, you felt his eyes wondered on your body. You quickly close your arms to hide your breast. "Don't hide from me" He gently pulls your arms away, looking in your eyes. "I love you" You waited so long for him to say that and you could have wait even more, but the reality of you in a small room away from him catch you. "You can't love me, I am no one" "Not to me, please, believe me" "You're the only one I trust" His hands grab your face, rubbing your skin with his thumbs. "You are beautiful" He kissed your lips and pulled your body closer to him, the touch of your barely naked skin against him was burning. It intensives as he detached your piece of clothes revealing you. He kissed your skin, your neck and you hold tight to him on your footstep completely dedicated to him. How could he be rough and soft at the same time? and then he lay you on the bed, with a twist you put your body on top of him. "I love you too" Still, on his laps, he brings his body closer, making just one. "Will you be my wife?"

[pegasusdragontiger]

The Runaway Jeans and Mr. Squiggle

Pairing: Chris Evans Reader x her

Rating: G

Warnings: Fluff and feels, Laughter.  

Summary: Chris needs to catch the runaway jeans!

 Shout out to @always-an-evans-addict you read it and edited it for me this lady is an  angel, beautiful person you needs hugs and a lot of presents! For the @always-an-evans-addict Challenge she sent to me <3<3  

 Enjoy!

 “We’ve been through so much together, you're my buddy, but there is one thing that we both know is a no go. It breaks my heart to do this to say this, as I think you know how important you are to us and our family.”

 Chris sips his coffee as he sits on the couch, placing the coffee on the coffee table and taking a deep breath. He shakes his head, looking up. “I have called this emergency meeting to discuss with you the rules of the house. I know it is a lot to take in and to process but these kinds of things need to be aired and discussed with an open heart and mind.”

 He hears a rustling and fidgeting of clothing, along with a little cough, causing him to look to the side. Mikey is sitting there watching an episode of Mr.Squiggle, which has been discontinued for a long time but, as his wife introduced the show to your little boy not that long ago, he was hooked on the show. Normally he would be fidgeting and chatty through all TV shows, but this show seemed different; He was transfixed by the puppets and the host, seeing them drawing the Characters like Blackboard. For you it was hilarious and entertaining. You couldn’t understand why or how this show never made it to kid’s screens here in the U.S or the UK, but was hugely popular in Australia from 1959 to 1999. Little kids loved seeing all the drawings that Mr.Squiggle did each episode.

 Hearing the theme song and making clappy hands as it started to play, Mikey wiggles around in excitement for the start of his favourite show. Chris remembers what your wife said before she headed out to go grocery shopping. “Thank god for Youtube and smart people that loved this show for uploading it- so that parents and former fans of the show could watch the episodes anytime they want.” She told you how the first time she showed Mikey an episode the stillness that came over him, the absolute focus was frightening but a god send. The amount of things you could get done in one room while he watched an episode was amazing.

 “You ok, Mikey?”

 He replied “Shh, Daddy, I needs ta lisen to the song!”

 “Sorry Buddy.” Turning his focus back to the problem at hand, he sighs. “Well, this is how it is going to go down. I will ask you to drop them, and you will let go. In exchange, I will give you the one thing you want the most- which you know Mom won’t let you have for too long as you’ll make yourself sick.” Chris rubs his hands together and lets out a chuckle. “Alright, I will come over to that side of the room, and I want you to promise me you won’t run, okay? Mom will be home soon, and if she finds out you have her favorite pair she will not only be mad at you, but mad at me for allowing things to get this far.”

 As he rises from the couch and slowly approaches the coffee table, he moves to the right side of it and proceeds to slowly turn left, not to startle who’s on the other side of the table. He keeps his hands out, trying to act inconspicuous and non-threatening.

 It’s all in vain; Dodger seizes his chance and bolts to the other side of the table, taking off like a rocket to escape from his dad’s clutches. Chris sighs and groans in frustration, muttering under his breath. “Not again… Dodger!! Come back here!” He calls and runs after the dog, trying to catch up to him as they move through the house, going room to room.

 As he tries to get closer to the dog it becomes apparent why he was doing the chasing. In the dog’s mouth was a pair of jeans- Not just any jeans; a nice, dark blue pair that you love and adore. You found them in a store in Sydney, and they not only felt nice, but they were fitted comfortably and just a down-right sexy pair of jeans. You wouldn’t only be annoyed, you would be furious.

 Chris accidently left the wardrobe door open this morning as he was getting dressed, and the next thing he saw was Dodger shooting out from the walk-in with your jeans, fluffy tail flung high in the air as if he was proud of himself for getting such a precious gift- a treasure that he could keep. No amount of bribing such as walkies, extra food, play time or affection would sway him. He was determined to have your pair of jeans no matter what. Chris also tried pleading and begging, which normally Dodger would listen to and drop the item at your feet. But this time he just wouldn’t budge.

 Chris stops by the kitchen door, bracing himself against the doorway and slightly puffing, looking across the room at Dodger. The puppy is at the back door trying to get the big glass sliding door to open, which thank heavens it wouldn’t as it was still locked. Taking the few minutes to breathe, he looks at the watch, seeing the time and freaking out a little more. He has 35-40 minutes tops to get Dodger to let go of the jeans and check the damage before you got home. He pokes his head back into the lounge room to see Mikey had fallen to sleep while watching Mr. Squiggle. With a relieved sigh, he turns back to the kitchen to notice Dodger trying to creep away slowly. “Buddy, you stay right where you are.” As he starts to try and slowly approach the dog his phone rings, drawing his attention.

 Looking up at the ceiling and sighing in frustration, Chris digs his phone out of his back pocket, wondering who could be calling. He swipes the screen to see your name, having a mini panic attack as he thought of all the possible reasons for you to be calling now.

 Glancing up at Dodger and saying, “Noo, stay!” Chris watches as Dodger sits with jeans in his mouth, drool landing on them as his head tilts to the side, as if to ask what was happening to their game of chase. Finger on the receive button Chris takes a breath and swipes, “Hi babe, what’s up?” He puts a smile in his voice, still eyeing his puppy.

 “Hi hun, I just wanted to let you know that the shopping is done and I’m in the car on the way home right now.”

 “Oh really? That was quick.”

 “Quick? You think this trip was quick? Anyway, the reason I’m coming back earlier than planned- other than getting all the groceries- is because a random person approached me as I was walking to the car and said being the weight and size I am isn’t healthy for me and my baby. Like really I only have a slight baby bump and everyone decides that just because I’m not skinny or model size, or the fact that I have bloody curves makes it okay to criticise me?!”

 “Babe ignore them,” Chris says reassuringly. “The doc says the three of you are healthy and he’s happy with your weight right now.”

 “I know, I told the person to mind their own business and move along. Then quickly packed the car and I’m on my way home now.”

 “How far out?” He eyes Dodger again.

 “Oh, 15 minutes.”

 “You’re hands free, aren’t you?”

 “Yeah, of course! Anyway, I pulled over on the side of the road to chat with you, so see you soon babe. Bye.”

  As Chris hangs up, fear and shock hits as he looks to Dodger, who is looking seriously at him. “Buddy, I need those jeans back now. She will be here in a few minutes,” They both eye each other with the kitchen table in the middle. Dodger at one end and him at the head of the table. “We have no time for games.” As he moves to the left slowly, Dodger moves to the right, going the opposite way.

 To anyone walking in right now, it would look like a weird dance routine performed by a man and his dog chasing each other around the table, changing directions and going the other direction. They both stop in the middle of the table, staring each other down and trying to predict which way the other will go. Seeing an opportunity he glances at his watch, noticing he has 6 minutes left before you come back. As soon as the thought enters his mind the sound of a car’s engine approaching- paired with the sound of the garage door opening- had the both of them looking at each other with surprise. They both look towards the door in the kitchen, which lead into the laundry and then the garage.

 Looking back at Dodger, Chris frantically motions to him to come closer. “Give me the jeans Dodger, please give me the jeans so all I have to do is put them in the machine and wash them when she isn’t looking. Pleassee?” The sound of bags rustling and keys jiggling causes him to realise that he had no time. He takes a chance and goes to the left, putting everything he has into getting to the other side and surprising Dodger enough to get the jump on him.

 Dodger, whose focus was on his mom coming through the door any minute, didn’t notice until Chris let out a chuckle, “Ah haa!” Dodger’s head moves from the door to Chris, and his eyes widen. He quickly turned around and went back into the living room, but seeing as Chris had such a head start he didn’t get far before his dad finally caught him around his waist, moving his right hand to the dog’s mouth and grabbing the jeans letting out a cheer. “Yes!”

 “Honey I’m home!”

 “Hi sweetie.” The sound of bags being placed on the kitchen bench comes before the sound of your shoes heading back to the garage. The boys both let out a sigh of relief, and Chris turns his focus back to said jeans in hand. Dodger takes his chance and wiggles out of Chris’ grip, trying to bolt forward, but seeing as Chris still had a hold on the jeans he didn’t get far. Again he and Dodger eye each other, the pup letting out a muffled bark and his tail wagging at speed as to say, “Play!!” Tug of war started over your jeans, him with one leg and Chris the other.

 Meanwhile you come back into the kitchen. “How was your day, hun?”

 “Was good,” Using all the muscle and strength he had, Chris pulls Dodger closer to make a final grab for them. At the same time you’re asking more questions, and Chris has to take a breath and answer, trying not to sound like he’s exhausting himself for her to ask what was going on. He describes the day he’s had and how Mikhail was a gem to look after.

 “That’s good, I will need a hand though for the groceries please.”

 Dodger tugs twice and pulls in a move Chris isn’t braced for. The tugs cause him to nearly lose his balance. Knowing he has to answer, he hisses through his teeth, “Be there in a minute hun, just a bit busy.”

 Your footsteps change from heading towards the garage to stopping with your question. “Is everything okay Chris?”

 “Yeah, just need to grab this thing first before I come and help you.” As he gives three tugs on the jeans to pull Dodger back to him. To their surprise the puppy moves within a foot of his dad.

 “If you're sure?”

 “Yeah, it’s fine.” Chris says, voice exhausted and strained. “Come on buddy, just give me the jeans!” He whispers to Dodger. Both parties give more and more tugs, trying to get the other to let go. During this war, they both pull at the same time, both using all their strength to pull the jeans their way. The sound of bags being placed in the kitchen and footsteps coming and going surround them, panic and fear of if or when you will try and find Chris and see this scene, makes him put more into the next few tugs. In doing so he hears a rip, and as Chris looks to the jeans he watches in horror as the jeans start to rip from the main crutch.

 The more Dodger tugs, the more the ripping noise and the rip gets bigger until the material can’t take the tugging and pulling from either side and it gives. The jeans tear in two, the sudden shock of the material giving causing both to fall on their bottoms. Dodger lets out another muffled bark and his tail wags in high gear, thinking he’s won the game. He gets up on all fours and starts to jump and run around in joy, what was left of the jeans in his mouth.

 All noise in the kitchen stops. “Chris, what was that noise? What was that ripping noise?” Your footsteps make their way towards the lounge room and as you stop just behind your husband, Dodger seeing you and running to her to show you his prize. Chris can just imagine your face, the look of surprise and giving Dodger rubs and scratches.

 Then your eyes see the jeans with a look of confusion and then horror. “Hun what’s this in Dodger’s mouth? they look familiar? Are they- Are they my pair of jeans that I can’t find anywhere else? The jeans that I had bought online and had them delivered to my mom’s house, and then had her deliver to me here? The ones that I have tried to find more pairs and I can’t get any as they are so popular?” As you turn around to look at him with the other leg of the jeans, she gasps at the site of the jeans ripped in two.

 Chris immediately starts talking, not stopping to breathe. “Babe I can explain! Really, I forgot about Dodger and the wardrobe door was open as I went to get Mikey ready for the day, and I remembered seeing him enter our room, and next thing I know he had the pair of jeans with him and I tried I really did to get them back, have him give them to me but nothing worked-” Your hazel green/brown eyes lock onto his, the hazel as completely gone and the green in your eyes was in full force. That only happened when either your temper was in full force or when you were emotional or just randomly sometimes depending on your mood.

 He sighs, trying not to moon too much, but god he loves it a bit when you lose a bit of your temper- and when you went on a rant, he couldn’t help but find it a bit of a turn on.

 Getting back to the scene before you, you sighed and closed your eyes, taking deep calming breaths and knowing that getting mad wasn’t going to solve this problem. You know you needed to keep your blood pressure down as your left hand moves to your slightly swollen belly with twins inside, rubbing in soothing motions. With a deep breath your eyes open and look to the ceiling in frustration before coming down to both Chris and Dodger. Not too far apart Dodger notices the tension in the air and knows something is wrong as his mom looked at him in disappointment, making him hang his head in shame as he knows he’s in trouble.

 “Chris, I warned you about that, geez!”

 “I can’t do what you do! You have this secret power over Dodger, you tell him to sit and he sits, you give him the look and he just obeys! It’s a thing to behold!”

 Laughing in frustration you look at him. “It’s because I have had years of experience with naughty dogs and cats. I know how sneaky, smart and manipulative they are with their puppy dog eyes and how successively Dodger uses it on you. For example, it’s all about the tone and making sure you’re letting your dog know who is alpha in the pack.”

 You look straight at Dodger. “Dodger!” You call in a slightly lower tone. “Look at me, Dodger!” The pup looks at you, and you hold out your hand. “Release.” Dodger looks at his mom and gets up, walking a bit towards you and dropping the jeans into your hand before backing up. “Sit” He sits, and you walk towards him and slowly go down on one knee, and looking Dodger in the eyes and giving his head a pat. “Good boy,”

 You give that spot behind his ears a good scratch that gave him a bit of ecstasy as you pull away and slowly get back up again. You look at your husband and let out a laugh, his face was in not only shock but he knew his eyes had a glazed look about them, as seeing you doing that made him fall in love with you all over again. Looking straight at you he says, “God I love you!”

 Letting out another laugh you just smile and shake your head in exasperation. “We’ll talk about this later. Can you bring it the heavy stuff in please?”

 “What? I thought you promised me you weren’t going to do any heavy lifting?”

 “I didn’t, I got one of the staffers at the store to place them in the car!” You protest.

 As Chris rises and moves to greet you with a hug he leans his head against yours, breathing in your shampoo as he turns his head and kisses your temple. He puts his forehead against yours to look into your eyes, hands cradling your face. “I love you so much babe.” He leans back and has his hands move to your belly as he goes down on one knee. He leans his face to your belly. “Good morning little ones, Daddy says hi and love you very much!” He smooths his hands over it, and his hand touches the side of her belly that makes your whole body twitch and jerk. Chris always insists it’s your ticklish spot, but it is more of him touching a part of you that hits a nerve in you back.

 “Stop it,” You laugh, whacking him in the shoulder. Glancing up at you with a devilish smirk, his face lets you know he has plans for you and those sensitive spots you have on your body tonight. He raises his eyebrows suggestively, and you smirk. “Besides, you still need to bring the rest of the things inside.”

 Grinning, Chris rises with his hands still on your belly. “Mommy wants me to show off my muscles by doing the heavy lifting.” He brings up his arms to flex said muscles.

 “Huh? Yeah hunny, as much as all this and you turn me on, can you bring the last of the shopping in please? I am heading to the toilet, I really need to go.” You quickly move towards the bathroom. When you finish you look to Dodger. “Come on buddy, let's bring the stuff inside before Mikey wakes up from his nap time!”

 @always-an-evans-addict @ilovethings-somuch @theycallmebecca @mycapt-ohcapt 

[ku1713804md4002]

Week 14 - Film Archiving

“To all my readers out there, you may be a little confused of what ‘Film Archiving is’ right?

Film archiving is one of the many careers you can pursue in the film industry. There is an actual term for people that has this career, and they are called ‘Film Archivists’. As a film archivist, their main duty is “organise and preserve an archive of collected films.” (Get In Media, 2018) This ranges from films, DVDs, film reels and many more digital forms. The reason why they preserve footage's, can vary from showcasing in a museum or for any educational purposes.

Film Archivists are very similar to movie librarians. In fact, they are known to be the librarians of the cinematic world. You can work for universities, a well known film studio or even work for a private company/foundations. Their workings hours is a typical 9 to 5 lifestyle, meaning it’s not too much nor, too little.

Get In Media (2018). ‘Film Archivist’ (Online). Available at: http://getinmedia.com/careers/film-archivist (Accessed on 29 Mar 2019)

Chegg Career Match (2019). ‘Film Archivist’ (Online). Available at: https://www.careermatch.com/job-prep/career-insights/profiles/film-archivist/ (Accessed on 29 Mar 2019)

Media Guru (2018) ‘5 CLASSICS FILMS RESTORED FOR THE DIGITAL AGE’ (Online). Available at: https://www.mediaguru.com/five-classics-films-restored-for-the-digital-age/ (Accessed on 29 Mar 2019)

What is Film Preservation?

Film preservation, but can also be known as film restoration. As you may or may not know, films starts to deteriorate after a couple of years or so, if not stored properly. Film archivists, historians, museums etc. actively tries to save decaying film footage’s and images. The main goal of a preservationist is to create a copy of the original without losing a significant amount of quality.

National Film Preservation Foundation. ‘About NFPF’ (Online). Available at: https://www.filmpreservation.org/preservation-basics (Accessed on 29 Mar 2019)

Sleeping Beauty (example of Film Preservation):

In 1959, Sleeping Beauty made its debut. Over many decades, the original film has been showing signs of ageing; colours started to fade, had an ongoing flickering etc.

The process of restoring this film included 4 steps:

De-flickering; they had to batch process the whole film (constant flickering leading to different colour, for every frame) and put it through a de-flickering process. This allows the artist to work and paint on each frame.

Rotoscoping; would cut out the characters to protect them from fading backgrounds

Dust-Bus; helps create a clean frame; they create a dirt free background and would then work out how much dirt to take out, until it starts to deteriorate.

Painting; each painter would be responsible for anything that wasn’t dust busted in the background and would then fit the characters back in.

The restored version was considered to be better (colours and texture) than the original film release, as the technology now is much more advanced compared to 1959′s film technology.

Here’s the video:

DDDJrTV (2010). ‘Sleeping Beauty - Digital Restoration’ (video). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-z0o26HD40 (Accessed on 29 Mar. 2019)

In our seminar task, we were assigned to think about a film that curates our life. Mine has got to be the trilogy of High School Musical. Regardless of what season it was, the time etc. It always made me feel hopeful and positive due to its songs, dance moves and different types of characters. 

[thehappiestblogonearth-55]

Nine New Disney Legends to be Honored During the 2017 D23 Expo in Anaheim on July 14

Oprah Winfrey, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Stan Lee, Julie Taymor, and other remarkable contributors to the Disney legacy will be honored as official Disney Legends during D23 Expo 2017. Hosted by Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger, the Disney Legends Award ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 14, in Hall D23 of the Anaheim Convention Center.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Disney Legends Awards. The first Disney Legend was Fred MacMurray (The Shaggy Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor, The Happiest Millionaire), who was honored in 1987.

“The Disney Legends Award is the highest honor our company can bestow on an individual, reserved for those few who have truly made an indelible mark on the history of The Walt Disney Company,” said Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger. “It’s a celebration of talent, a recognition of achievement, and an expression of gratitude to the men and women whose work has significantly contributed to Disney’s enduring reputation for creative excellence.”

The awards ceremony is just one of the dozens of spectacular events that Disney fans can enjoy during the three-day D23 Expo.

The 2017 Disney Legends Award honorees (listed alphabetically) are:

CARRIE FISHER became an overnight sensation in 1977 with her iconic performance as Princess Leia in Star Wars. But throughout her career, Carrie took on many roles—as an actress, author, playwright, screenwriter, and outspoken advocate for mental health awareness. For Disney, Carrie appeared in Scream 3 (2000) and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) for Dimension Films, and, in 2015, she returned to the role that made her famous, starring as General Leia Organa in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She reprised the role for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which will be released in December.

  CLYDE “GERRY” GERONIMI joined the Disney Studio in 1931. His first assignments as an animator were for several memorable Mickey Mouse, Silly Symphony, and Pluto cartoons, and he eventually contributed to more than 50 of the Studio’s shorts. Gerry made the leap to sequence director with 1943’s Victory Through Air Power, and he subsequently contributed to The Three Caballeros, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians. He also directed segments for television’s Mickey Mouse Club and contributed to episodes of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. The apex of his Disney career came when he served as supervising director for the 1959 masterpiece Sleeping Beauty.

  MANUEL GONZALES was one of 33 artists selected from thousands of applicants to join Disney in 1936. In 1938, he took over penciling duties on the Sunday Mickey Mouse comic strip from Disney Legend Floyd Gottfredson. He brought Mickey Mouse to newspapers nationwide for nearly 40 years. At its peak, his Mickey-starring comic strip appeared in 120 newspapers around the world with a collective circulation of more than 20 million readers each week. Manuel was presented a “Mousecar” award by Walt Disney in 1966.

  MARK HAMILL began his career in 1970, appearing in numerous television series guest-roles and several TV movies, including a recurring role on ABC’s General Hospital and starring in MTM’s acclaimed The Texas Wheelers. He achieved worldwide attention as Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy, which included The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He returned as Luke in The Force Awakens and will appear in the upcoming The Last Jedi. His stage career includes Broadway shows and the first national tour of Amadeus directed by Sir Peter Hall. A prolific voice-over actor, he has performed in countless animated television shows, feature films, documentaries, and video games. He appears on Disney’s Miles from Tomorrowland and Milo Murphy’s Law, and has also provided the voice of The Joker in the Batman animated series, a role that recently earned him a BAFTA Award.

  WAYNE JACKSON began his career as a Walt Disney Imagineer in October 1965, and in the decades that followed he would put his technical skills and know-how to great use in the development and installation of Disney attractions around the world. Originally trained in aircraft tooling, he began as a technician and machinist assigned to rebuild the shows from the 1964–65 New York World’s Fair that were slated for installation at Disneyland. Instrumental in the early development of Audio-Animatronics® technology, Wayne would go on to help bring Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion to Disneyland. He went on to work on the construction and installation of attractions and show systems at Walt Disney World Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort, and Disneyland Paris.

  STAN LEE got a job as an office assistant at a comic publisher in 1939 called Timely Comics—forerunner of the powerhouse we all know as Marvel. Stan made his debut with a Captain America story in 1941, and by the next year, at the age of just 18, he was promoted to editor. In 1961, Stan teamed up with Jack “King” Kirby to create the Fantastic Four and ushered in a spectacular new age of comics. Stan co-created an enormous roster of Marvel characters, including Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, the X-Men, Daredevil, and Falcon. He became Marvel’s editorial director and publisher in 1972, and eventually was named chairman emeritus. His well-known cameos in Marvel films began with 1989’s telefilm The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, and since the release of X-Men in 2000 he has appeared in nearly every Marvel film project. Outside the super-hero realm, he has even popped up as a wedding guest in Disney’s The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.

  GARRY MARSHALL began his career in Los Angeles writing for a number of hit shows, including The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Lucy Show. But his big break came in 1970, when he produced The Odd Couple for ABC, the first of many big hits he created for the network. Beginning with Happy Days in 1974, he developed a shared universe of spinoffs including Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, and Joanie Loves Chachi. His other ABC sitcoms during these years included Angie, The New Odd Couple, and Blansky’s Beauties. Garry was also a successful movie director, with 18 films to his credit. At Disney, he made stars of two young actresses: Julia Roberts, in Pretty Woman, and Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries. He directed Bette Midler in Beaches, as well as in The Lottery, a short film that for years was a fixture of the Backstage Tour at the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park. Garry was known for his acting, as well, and he appeared in Disney’s Race to Witch Mountain, Chicken Little, and as the Devil in Hocus Pocus.

  JULIE TAYMOR is a Tony®-, Emmy®-, and Grammy®-winning and Oscar®-nominated filmmaker who has changed the face of Broadway with her innovative direction. Her adaptation of The Lion King debuted in 1997, becoming the most successful stage musical of all time; 24 global productions have been seen by more than 90 million people. The show has played in more than 100 cities in 19 countries. It received 11 Tony Award nominations, earning Julie Best Director, Costume Designer, and Best Musical for the show. Her production of The Magic Flute is currently in repertory at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Her films include A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Titus, The Tempest, the Golden Globe-nominated Across the Universe, and the Oscar-winning Frida. Taymor is a recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and an inductee into the Theater Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement. She is currently directing M. Butterfly on Broadway, opening Fall 2017.

  OPRAH WINFREY is a renowned award-winning producer, actress, talk show host, and philanthropist. For 25 years she was the host of the award-winning talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran for 25 seasons on hundreds of stations domestically and in more than 100 countries around the world. Oprah is also an Academy Award®-nominated actress for her role in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 hit The Color Purple. In 1998, she starred in Beloved for Disney’s Touchstone Pictures, a film that she also produced. Oprah also produced and starred in ABC’s 1989 limited series The Women of Brewster Place, and would go on to produce many films for ABC, including Tuesdays with Morrie, Before Women Had Wings, and Their Eyes Were Watching God under the “Oprah Winfrey Presents” banner. She performed as Eudora in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog in 2009 and will co-star as Mrs. Which in Disney’s 2018 film A Wrinkle in Time.

Honorees receive a two-foot-tall bronze Disney Legends sculpture that signifies the imagination, creativity, and magic they have brought to the Company. Disney Legends Award recipients will also participate in a handprint ceremony at the end of the event, and their bronzed prints will be displayed in the Disney Legends Plaza at the Company’s Burbank headquarters.

Admission to the ceremony will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is included in the price of a ticket to D23 Expo 2017.

Including this year’s honorees, a total of 276 Disney Legends have been named. Past Disney Legends include Tim Allen, Julie Andrews, Beatrice Arthur, Howard Ashman, Regis Philbin, Annette Funicello, Peter Jennings, Johnny Depp, Estelle Getty, George Lucas, Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin, Rue McClanahan, Alan Menken, Hayley Mills, Fess Parker, Sir Tim Rice, Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Walters, Betty White, and Robin Williams. Beginning with the inaugural D23 Expo in 2009, thousands of Disney fans have been able to enjoy the Legends Awards ceremony live.

Tickets for D23 Expo 2017 are available for $81 for one-day adult admission and $59 for children 3–9. Members of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club can purchase tickets for $72 for a one-day adult admission and $53 for children 3–9. Multi-day tickets are also available. For more information on tickets and D23 Expo 2017, visit D23Expo.com.

Nine New Disney Legends to be Honored During the 2017 D23 Expo in Anaheim on July 14 was originally published on The Happiest Blog On Earth

[secretshamewriting]

[Dr. Stephen Strange x Reader]  Once Upon a Dream

On AO3

Someone's broken into the Sanctum Sanctorum and is trying to enchant Stephen... No, wait, it's just his disciple desperate for attention.

Warnings: None

Based off of the song  from Sleeping Beauty. 

The lilting had been muffled and indistinguishable when the sorcerers had first come through the portal into the Sanctuary, a bastion of protection for the dimension, and in the heart of Greenwich. A look to his right at Wong who replied with a shrug, and Doctor Strange put a jump in his step as his ears strained to make any words of the chant..

“ and I know it’s true, but visions are seldom what they seem.. ”

Up the stairs, approaching the main entryway of the old mansion and the great room that received it Stephen looked on, bewildered, though now feeling as if he should have expected it. Your voice rang in the ceiling as your footfalls rang on the floor singularly, tracing circles over the Seal of the Vishanti as the other pair of boots that joined you made no noise. Hovering above Valtorr’s empty boots and in your arms was the Cloak of Levitation and though it had no body to shape around it swayed to the tune as well as any dance partner.

On your next turn round you noticed the good Doctor and Wong staring but only dipping your head back as you came around again and not missing a note.

“Once Upon a Dream” Stephen notes, looking at Wong and giving him the ‘obviously’ hand shrug. “Sleeping Beauty. It’s a classic- 1959.”

Wong’s only response was a vacuous empty stare before looking back at you while you kicked up your heels and took off in a low glide thanks to the Cloak pressing in on your sides. To prove him wrong you risked the register break to your lower into your modal voice and sing closer to the 2014 reimagining. Your toes touched the floor again as your tone danced up and down in the bridge of the song but you quickly lost the music to a howl as you were unexpectedly dipped down. If the Cloak had a face you would slap it for scaring you.

Wong and Strange snickered at you. “What are you doing?” With all his degrees you would think it would have been more obvious to him.

“I don't know,” you answered truthfully bemused, clearing your throat and gripping onto the flippant lapels before pushing into a more complex step pattern “Maybe I’ve gone mad! ” You chuckle at yourself before picking up the melody again.

Wong shook his head, commenting reassuringly “You were already there.” bearing wide around the edge of the room and pivoting at the banister to start on the upper staircase.

Stephen went to follow him but was cut off by a furrow of red rudely stepping in front of him. Free hands in the air, too preoccupied to move them to your sides you held onto a phantom as you stared to your feet to watch the boots beat your every move. To your credit, they were magically imbued. Valtorr must have danced women off their feet.

Pushed in unwillingly, Stephen cut in in a shower of orange sparks as the boots vaulted out of the way. It was not a smooth transition and you immediately had your foot ground under his. “Sorry,” he winced “It’s been quite a while since I attended a gala.”

Not accepting the self doubt that washed over him you put on your best doe eyes and started anew. “You know, I’m really not supposed to speak-” you couldn't keep a straight face “to Strangers.” Not able to hold it back nor having any desire to you chortled along.

Stephen rolled his eyes so hard it probably flipped some alternate reality on it’s head. “Very funny,” but a smirk undermined the snide remark.

You smiled into the first few notes of the song as you hopped back in, holding your right hand up for the ballroom hold and draping your left lightly onto his right shoulder.

“I guess I’m supposed to say” tweaking an eyebrow in mock he played your game, taking your hand lightly and placing the other on your shoulder blade and stepping into a basic waltz. “‘But don't you remember, we’ve met before.’ ‘You said so yourself’.”

Previously you had been doing the melody but returning a volley of eyebrow raising two fold and took the perfect timing to add the words “ Once upon a dream. ”

From the landing above you heard Wong’s patronizing voice, calling behind him as he continued on into the Sanctum. “You two are so cute together.”

“Hey,” Stephen faltered defensively turning to cast an eye in his direction. “Hey!” This time it was barked obstinately as one of the corners of the high neck on the Cloak of Levitation pushed his face back where his eyes met yours. They didn't stay long, darting to the left as you closed more firmly on his trembling hand. You urged him into some more of the complex waltz steps.

You sang “ I know you, I know what you’ll do. You’ll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream. ” in the midst of performing a seamless underarm turn leading into the face to face, the distance made up for by the fact both of his palms were pressed into yours. They jittered in your grip even though you could tell he was making as much of a conscious effort as he could to steady them. The hold on your right hand that continued to lead you through steps you left alone, but with your left hand you twisted your wrist away from the mirrored position so you could slip your fingers between his. In soothing motion you traced your thumb up and down his metacarpal and hoped he understood that you didn't want him to hide it. You adored it, actually, it was part of what made him: him.

You closed the step, regaining the closeness as Stephen spoke. “Now, you’ve seen me in your visions before; you're not trying to warn me are you?”

“I’ve been dropping hints..” you muse playfully but feel a twinge of anger at yourself. In truth you badgered him about it and never had a care to hide your feelings. You had not been subtle and dreaded it would make him hate you; yet it afforded you moments like this and as many times as he had never taken the bait he continued to indulge you so, it was all worth it.

Without you providing the musical ambiance Stephen began to hum in time while leading you into a foxtrot step. It only took a moment for you to recognize it, not even able to look at his face as you gazed somewhere not even on this plain focusing mostly on the steps and the sounds, mumbling through a grin “The Way You Look Tonight.”

In a promenade the two of you used the open floor to its advantage, you joining him humming along. However in the middle of a corner step there was a woosh and suddenly you were left holding an empty cape. He had danced you to the stairs then split, already a third of the way up them and explaining “Unfortunately, I have work to do.”

Clutching the fabric to you, the willful object allowing you to cart it along as you sped after him. “I’m sorry. You should have said- I didn't -”

“You wouldn't have. Besides, it’s fine, it's nothing imminent.” he assured, twisting back to look at you as the Cloak drifted over to find its place again around his shoulders.

From the direction he was headed you could only guess what might be happening, and no matter a time frame, it couldn't be good. “The orb?” you fretted.

“Uh-huh” Stephen countered lightly as if it could have been anything else.

Entering the room, a special parlor on the third floor meant for no other purpose than to house the Orb of Agamotto, you found Wong staring grimly into it’s depths.

“Iiiiiit’s imminent isn't it?” your attitude falling through the floor.

“Afraid so.” Wong studied the conjured images.

Stephen took a sideways glance at it but was already using the sling ring to open a portal.

“Can I help? My training-” you tried to offer.

“No” the answer was short and definite.

Wong stepped beside him and spoke “Well, I-”

“ You will stay here and guard the Sanctum.” And as soon as the words were out the portal slammed closed.

Throwing your hands in the air you paced a circle of frustration. “Why does he always do this?!” You cursed.

“You get used to it.” Wong retorted dryly settling back in to watch the events unfold on the interdimensional live stream.

[ao3feed-mythology]

Glorfindel x Reader (Sleeping Beauty AU)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2PswT8P

by SapphirePearl

I'm so bad at summaries lol this is my attempt at writing a sleeping beauty au in the lotr/silm world.

Words: 629, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien, TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, Sleeping Beauty (Fairy Tale), Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Glorfindel (Tolkien), Reader, Maeglin | Lómion

Relationships: Glorfindel (Tolkien)/You, Glorfindel (Tolkien) & Other(s), Glorfindel (Tolkien)/Original Female Character(s), Glorfindel/Maeglin | Lómion, Glorfindel (Tolkien)/Reader

Additional Tags: My First Fanfic, glorfindel is my baby, he is the best, Angst with a Happy Ending, Modern Girl in Middle Earth, Not a Mary Sue, i think, Sleeping Beauty Elements, I Blame Tumblr, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, How Do I Tag, My First Work in This Fandom

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2PswT8P

[onthegoinmco]

For the past 30 years Disney Legends awards have recognized the remarkable contributions that individuals have made to the Disney Legacy, and this year’s ceremony hosted by Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger at 10 am on Friday, July 14, in Hall D23 of the Anaheim Convention Center during the D23 Expo 2017 is shaping up to be extraordinary!

“The Disney Legends Award is the highest honor our company can bestow on an individual, reserved for those few who have truly made an indelible mark on the history of The Walt Disney Company,” said Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger. “It’s a celebration of talent, a recognition of achievement, and an expression of gratitude to the men and women whose work has significantly contributed to Disney’s enduring reputation for creative excellence.”

The 2017 Disney Legends Award honorees (listed alphabetically) are:

CARRIE FISHER became an overnight sensation in 1977 with her iconic performance as Princess Leia in Star Wars. But throughout her career, Carrie took on many roles—as an actress, author, playwright, screenwriter, and outspoken advocate for mental health awareness. For Disney, Carrie appeared in Scream 3 (2000) and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) for Dimension Films, and, in 2015, she returned to the role that made her famous, starring as General Leia Organa in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She reprised the role for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which will be released in December.

CLYDE “GERRY” GERONIMI joined the Disney Studio in 1931. His first assignments as an animator were for several memorable Mickey Mouse, Silly Symphony, and Pluto cartoons, and he eventually contributed to more than 50 of the Studio’s shorts. Gerry made the leap to sequence director with 1943’s Victory Through Air Power, and he subsequently contributed to The Three Caballeros, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians. He also directed segments for television’s Mickey Mouse Club and contributed to episodes of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. The apex of his Disney career came when he served as supervising director for the 1959 masterpiece Sleeping Beauty.

MANUEL GONZALES was one of 33 artists selected from thousands of applicants to join Disney in 1936. In 1938, he took over penciling duties on the Sunday Mickey Mouse comic strip from Disney Legend Floyd Gottfredson. He brought Mickey Mouse to newspapers nationwide for nearly 40 years. At its peak, his Mickey-starring comic strip appeared in 120 newspapers around the world with a collective circulation of more than 20 million readers each week. Manuel was presented a “Mousecar” award by Walt Disney in 1966.

MARK HAMILL began his career in 1970, appearing in numerous television series guest-roles and several TV movies, including a recurring role on ABC’s General Hospital and starring in MTM's acclaimed The Texas Wheelers. He achieved worldwide attention as Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy, which included The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He returned as Luke in The Force Awakens and will appear in the upcoming The Last Jedi. His stage career includes Broadway shows and the first national tour of Amadeus directed by Sir Peter Hall. A prolific voice-over actor, he has performed in countless animated television shows, feature films, documentaries, and video games. He appears on Disney’s Miles from Tomorrowland and Milo Murphy’s Law, and has also provided the voice of The Joker in the Batman animated series, a role that recently earned him a BAFTA Award.

WAYNE JACKSON began his career as a Walt Disney Imagineer in October 1965, and in the decades that followed he would put his technical skills and know-how to great use in the development and installation of Disney attractions around the world. Originally trained in aircraft tooling, he began as a technician and machinist assigned to rebuild the shows from the 1964–65 New York World’s Fair that were slated for installation at Disneyland. Instrumental in the early development of Audio-Animatronics technology, Wayne would go on to help bring Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion to Disneyland. He went on to work on the construction and installation of attractions and show systems at Walt Disney World Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort, and Disneyland Paris.

STAN LEE got a job as an office assistant at a comic publisher in 1939 called Timely Comics—forerunner of the powerhouse we all know as Marvel. Stan made his debut with a Captain America story in 1941, and by the next year, at the age of just 18, he was promoted to editor. In 1961, Stan teamed up with Jack “King” Kirby to create the Fantastic Four and ushered in a spectacular new age of comics. Stan co-created an enormous roster of Marvel characters, including Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, the X-Men, Daredevil, and Falcon. He became Marvel’s editorial director and publisher in 1972, and eventually was named chairman emeritus. His well- known cameos in Marvel films began with 1989’s telefilm The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, and since the release of X-Men in 2000 he has appeared in nearly every Marvel film project. Outside the super-hero realm, he has even popped up as a wedding guest in Disney’s The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.

GARRY MARSHALL began his career in Los Angeles writing for a number of hit shows, including The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Lucy Show. But his big break came in 1970, when he produced The Odd Couple for ABC, the first of many big hits he created for the network. Beginning with Happy Days in 1974, he developed a shared universe of spinoffs including Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, and Joanie Loves Chachi. His other ABC sitcoms during these years included Angie, The New Odd Couple, and Blansky’s Beauties. Garry was also a successful movie director, with 18 films to his credit. At Disney, he made stars of two young actresses: Julia Roberts, in Pretty Woman, and Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries. He directed Bette Midler in Beaches, as well as in The Lottery, a short film that for years was a fixture of the Backstage Tour at the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park. Garry was known for his acting, as well, and he appeared in Disney’s Race to Witch Mountain, Chicken Little, and as the Devil in Hocus Pocus.

JULIE TAYMOR is a Tony, Emmy, and Grammy winning and Oscar nominated filmmaker who has changed the face of Broadway with her innovative direction. Her adaptation of The Lion King debuted in 1997, becoming the most successful stage musical of all time; 24 global productions have been seen by more than 90 million people. The show has played in more than 100 cities in 19 countries. It received 11 Tony Award nominations, earning Julie Best Director, Costume Designer, and Best Musical for the show. Her production of The Magic Flute is currently in repertory at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Her films include A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Titus, The Tempest, the Golden Globe-nominated Across the Universe, and the Oscar-winning Frida. Taymor is a recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and an inductee into the Theater Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement. She is currently directing M. Butterfly on Broadway, opening Fall 2017.

OPRAH WINFREY is a renowned award-winning producer, actress, talk show host, and philanthropist. For 25 years she was the host of the award-winning talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran for 25 seasons on hundreds of stations domestically and in more than 100 countries around the world. Oprah is also an Academy Award nominated actress for her role in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 hit The Color Purple. In 1998, she starred in Beloved for Disney’s Touchstone Pictures, a film that she also produced. Oprah also produced and starred in ABC’s 1989 limited series The Women of Brewster Place, and would go on to produce many films for ABC, including Tuesdays with Morrie, Before Women Had Wings, and Their Eyes Were Watching God under the “Oprah Winfrey Presents” banner. She performed as Eudora in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog in 2009 and will co-star as Mrs. Which in Disney’s 2018 film A Wrinkle in Time.

Disney Legend Honorees receive a two-foot- tall bronze Disney Legends sculpture that signifies the imagination, creativity, and magic they have brought to the Company. Disney Legends Award recipients will also participate in a handprint ceremony at the end of the event, and their bronzed prints will be displayed in the Disney Legends Plaza at the Company’s Burbank headquarters.

Admission to the Disney Legends ceremony will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is included in the price of a ticket to D23 Expo 2017.

Tickets for D23 Expo 2017 are available for $81 for one-day adult admission and $59 for children 3–9. Members of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club can purchase tickets for $72 for a one-day adult admission and $53 for children 3–9. Multi-day tickets are also available. For more information on tickets and D23 Expo 2017, visit D23Expo.com.

    The post D23 Expo 2017 News: Nine New Disney Legends #D23Expo appeared first on On the Go in MCO.