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awardenandacrow · 3 months ago

Note

Number 5 for the Rook storytime prompts!!

I’m so sorry for the delay on this!!!! I never saw it in my notifications and only recently discovered how to access my asks otherwise (I am officially Old, apparently). I like this one a lot and had to really think on it before I decided how I wanted to approach it.

I kicked the ask around for a LONG TIME trying to decide if I wanted it to be separate from the fic, pre- or post- game, and nothing was really clicking. So instead, I had a think about what would be the absolute WORST time in-game for Naimy to be dealing with something as mundane but inconvenient as being ill. There are of course a whole host of options, but I got inspired where I landed and here we are.

Prompt 5: Rook Being Seriously Ill

[Naimy’s coming down with a “cold” while recruiting Davrin, has to make The Choice with a head wrapped in angry cotton, takes a dragon headbutt to the body, and then, when it’s all over, she just… collapses. AKA I gave Naimy the flu at the meanest time I could think of.]

AUTHOR’S NOTE: the first snippet falls chronologically directly after Spite enters Naimy’s dream (snippet 21), and this ask absorbs and expands upon snippet 4, the morning after The Choice (SPOILERS for the end of Act One).

I broke this up as much as I could into smaller pieces because we’re talking about a couple chapters worth of fic here that Naimy is sick… so while this isn’t all of it it’s LONG. I hope it’s not too overwhelming 😅 my bad 🤡

SPECIFICALLY FOR THE DAVRIN-ROMANCERS: I saw a post about how pre-romancing Rook, Davrin had always kept things casual, and it inspired me to cook up some angst. I’m not slandering our halla-singing gentle giant, but Naimy DOES have some early misconceptions about his character that WILL be addressed and sorted out. Enemies to that’s-my-super-annoying-idiotic-sibling-whom-I-love-and-would-kill/die for. I’m excited for it. You’ll see.

CW/TW: bodily injury, description of illness & symptoms, strong language

——————————————————————————

Naimeryn thought a bit more sleep would chase away the nausea of her and Spite’s discovery, but when she awoke again, she still felt… off. Perhaps that was a normal reaction, she supposed, to discovering something so unexpected, and in the way she had. She picked at her pancakes, feeling immensely guilty Lucanis had made her favorite, and she could barely taste them. She caught him throwing a few concerned glances at her plate, and endeavored to eat more fervently. This only soured her stomach more, and the coffee didn’t help.

She wondered how he was doing, saddled with this new knowledge. She supposed it couldn’t possibly make things *more* awkward between them. He’d agreed to come along to try to recruit Davrin, after all. Hopefully having some time to think about it all hadn’t changed his mind.

But as Bellara and Harding began to clear the table, he told her he’d get geared up and meet her in the library as soon as she was ready. Naimeryn allowed herself a small smile of relief, and excused herself to go get changed as well.

As expected, Lucanis was ready and waiting for her by the library table when she emerged from her room. Her head was throbbing, but she told herself that was normal after such a fitful night’s sleep.

“Ready?” She asked him, attempting to put on an air of her usual cheer despite not feeling particularly cheery.

“After you,” he responded, nodding towards the stairs. Naimeryn always felt a little odd leading the others up and down the stairs, but as they reached the set into the Eluvian room, he fell into easy step beside her. She flashed him a genuine smile, then broke the moment by stepping through first.

“So do you know this Davrin fellow?” Lucanis asked as he stepped through the Eluvian and into the Crossroads.

“Not personally,” Naimeryn shook her head, starting down the next set of stairs. “I know *of* him. As I mentioned, he’s kind of famous around Weisshaupt. And I… know someone who knew him.”

“You sound…” Lucanis hestitated. “It does not seem you are a fan.”

“I’m not sure how to describe how I feel,” Naimeryn said honestly. “He must know *so much*, and I’d love to pick his brain. He must have been *so many* places! But… he also hurt someone I care about. Hi, Caretaker!”

“Dweller,” the spirit inclined their head and swept their hand to welcome her into the boat. A wave of dizziness took her, and she shook her head in an attempt to clear it, teetering precariously close to the edge for a moment before regaining her balance. That was… odd.

“Are you all right?” Lucanis asked, his hands outstretched as though he’d been about to grab and steady her.

“Yeah, I…” Naimeryn pressed her fingertips to her forehead. “I’m fine, sorry. I don’t know what that was about.”

“The air varies, Dweller,” Caretaker said cryptically, suddenly standing on the dock at her elbow. “Be mindful.”

“Uh, yeah, okay,” she nodded, though she didn’t actually understand. She stepped more cautiously than usual into the spirit’s vessel.

“So this Davrin,” Lucanis said again once they’d been floating through the air for a few minutes. “He hurt someone you… care about, but you still want to recruit him?”

“That was… a *personal* thing,” Naimeryn said, fiddling with one of her braids. “From what I understand, he’s a no-strings-attached guy. Which I mean, I guess if both people are into that then that’s… their business.”

Involuntarily, she shuddered. Or maybe it was a shiver? “My.. friend. She wanted to revisit the strings, and he didn’t. She didn’t take it well.”

“No strings,” Lucanis mused, gazing into the ether. “You sound… disapproving. Is that not an arrangement you would find appealing?”

Naimeryn’s breath caught, and she felt herself flush. Aware he was watching her from the corner of his eye, she looked at the floor or the boat, lest her expression give something away she didn’t want it to. Was that… something *he* would want? Maker’s Balls, she really *was* doomed.

But why not? He was a Crow. Nothing was promised in the life of an assassin, surely? She knew little enough of the life, though her curiosity had seen her pepper Zevran with questions when the opportunity arose — exactly once. And the way Illario flirted… maybe committed relationships weren’t common in their ranks? Even Teia and Viago, though she suspected they were together currently, seemed very casual about it. Lucanis had probably seduced marks before. Sex probably meant nothing to him; or at least, it was likely a complicated subject.

Everything with him always seemed to be “complicated.”

But she… she couldn’t imagine being intimate with someone and having it be meaningless.

“No,” she said finally. “I don’t judge anyone for their preferences, or choices. But one night stands, friends with benefits… no strings. None of it ‘appeals’ to me, as you say. I guess I can understand it working for most Wardens. I mean we could die any time, and…“

She caught herself. *People* didn’t know about the Calling. She cleared her throat. Why was it so scratchy? “I don’t know, technically when you become a Warden you’re supposed to give up attachments, like family. It’s… *challenging* for us to have kids. We can’t inherit titles. We’re not *supposed* to get married, though nobody stopped Antoine and Evka.”

She smiled, thinking of them. “I guess if it’s another Warden, why not, right? You’re in the same boat.”

“New shores, Dweller,” Caretaker announced their arrival at their destination island. Naimeryn stepped off the boat, and the whispers began immediately.

“Ugh,” she grumbled, “I thought we cleared out all the Darkspawn from this area last time.”

“The Warden doesn’t know that there’s always more?” Lucanis chided, joining her on the dock.

“It’s the Fade,” she gestured vaguely ahead of them. “Shouldn’t the rules be, I don’t know, different?”

A violent shiver took her, and she wished she’d worn her old cloak, no matter how worn out. She’d known this part of the Fade was cold and snowy. What had she been thinking?

“You are the mage,” Lucanis’s tone was still teasing. “Shouldn’t you have that answer as well?”

She smirked at him. “You know what, Lucanis, keep questioning me like this and I’m gonna stop bringing you places with me.”

She’d expected a snappy comeback, but instead he looked completely tongue-tied. He opened his mouth like he’d also planned to continue ribbing her, but he suddenly seemed genuinely concerned she might mean it. Her brain didn’t give her a moment to sort through why that might be. She panicked.

“I’m kidding,” she said instantly, touching his arm. “You’re stuck with me.”

*You’re stuck with me?!?!* she screamed internally. *What* was she thinking? She let go of his arm and took a few backwards steps away from him, desperately trying to return to lighthearted and playful and not… whatever this was.

“Besides,” she could feel the heat rising to her face as she began to ramble. “You’d get bored cooped up in the pantry by yourself.”

That was *not* better.

“Uh, I mean — I — I —“ whatever other mortifying thing had been about to fall out of her mouth, it was thankfully swallowed up by a sneeze so powerful it made her head hurt twice as bad. It echoed around the hills and half-crumbled structures and the high stone wall.

Oooooh, no. That could not be good.

“Company,” Lucanis advised, unsheathing his blades and nodding ahead. Of course they had company now. Every Darkspawn on the island had to have heard that sneeze. They were lucky it hadn’t started an avalanche! Naimeryn felt her nose starting to run.

Great. Could this day *possibly* get any worse?

…

*It’s always something with these damned recruitments,* Naimeryn thought savagely. Not sensing that damned Ogre before it was *on top of them* in Arlathan. Slipping and sliding and falling over herself in the Ossuary. And now, recruiting a fellow Warden, *while battling a cold?!* It really was a wonder anyone had agreed to join their cause.

…

“You don’t need to apologize,” Davrin shook his head. “You’re in rough shape, and you still saved Assan’s butt back there. And if you mean it that you’ll help get them back…”

“Ob course!” Naimeryn said resolutely, if miserably.

“All right, then,” Davrin nodded. “Count me in. I’ve got some things to gather up here before we leave.”

“Take this back,” Lucanis said, wrapping his cape around her once more when she turned to him. “You help him gather his things.”

“Wha’bou’ you?” Naimeryn asked with a sniffle, confused, even as she snuggled deeper into the warm garment. That was nice.

“*I*,” Lucanis said pointedly, “am going to head back ahead of you and get started on a soup.”

“Oh,” Naimeryn said, perking up. “Tha’s so though’ful ob you.”

Lucanis stifled a smirk, and she flushed. She sounded ridiculous.

…

Naimeryn wobbled, almost toppling out of the boat.

“Easy, Rook,” Davrin said, gabbing her by the shoulders as Assan landed on the dock with a querying squawk. “Let me help.”

Too dizzy to speak, she nodded weakly, allowing him to all but lift her onto the ground before following behind.

“Hopefully Lucanis has that soup going,” he chided. “This wa—?”

“Rook!”

Naimeryn’s head snapped up at Neve’s panicked cry of her name. Her chest tightened at the sight of the whole team running down the stairs from the Eluvian towards them.

“What’s wrong?” She croaked out, shaking off Davrin’s steadying hand and stumbling forward a few steps to reach them.

“*Everything’s* wrong,” Lucanis’s expression was clouded. He looked more agitated than she’d seen him since the Ossuary. Harding and Bellara wore expressions of concern, and Neve looked beside herself with worry. “Treviso and Minrathos are both under attack.”

“Blighted dragons,” Neve added quickly. “One for each city.”

Naimeryn’s head spun. Dragons didn’t *get* Blighted.

Well. Not before Ghilan’nain, anyway.

“Damn it,” Naimeryn shook her head in an attempt to clear it. Her vision was… fuzzy. It shouldn’t be this hard to think. “We knew Ghilan’nain was controlling dragons after D’Meta’s Crossing, but *Blighted*…”

“You got back just in time,” Harding cut her off.

“What, um. What do we know?” Naimeryn’s heart was racing as she grappled with what to do. *Two* Blighted dragons. Two attacks. At the same time. *Fuck,* why couldn’t she just *think?*

“It has to be the gods,” Harding said resolutely. “Two dragons? At the same time?”

*That’s why I brought up D’Meta’s Crossing,* Naimeryn thought blankly. She *had* said that out loud… hadn’t she?

“Treviso’s a merchant city,” Lucanis said, his tone pleading. “It has *no* defenses. And the canals run everywhere!”

Naimeryn’s head throbbed. He was right. Why would the gods target Treviso, and not Antiva City? Minrathos was the capital of Tevinter, it was a logical tactical target. But Treviso?

“If we don’t stop the dragon, people will die,” Lucanis was saying. “Innocent people. *My* people.”

Naimeryn flinched. Illario. Teia. Viago. *Jacobus.* And Lucanis… he’d spent a year in the Ossuary, lost his autonomy, lost what his life had been before. Gotten out only to lose Caterina. Of course he was panicking. He was about to maybe lose *everything.*

But Neve. Minrathos was *her* city. Tarquin, the Viper, Dorian, Maevaris… Rana. Neve fought so hard to keep Dock Town afloat. They all did. What would happen if they had to split their focus between a dragon and the Venatori?

“They either die right away, from the dragon,” Lucanis shook his head.

“Or slowly, after, from Blight in the water,” Davrin said seriously, at her elbow. They both knew what that would mean. No fish. No clean water. Blight and other sickness would feeter and spread like wildfire. Blight was a slow, painful death sentence. And if it was in the water… all of Treviso would be effected, and Blight didn’t just go away. The Wardens might be able to contain it — if they’d even go to Antiva to try — but Treviso would be lost.

“We *need* to go to Treviso,” Lucanis said with absolute certainty.

“And just leave Minrathos to burn?” Neve demanded. Lucanis’s expression was stricken, then pained.

“Neve…”

“The Shadow Dragons *will* fight,” Neve shook her head, utterly ignoring the apology in his voice, “Right to the end of it. But we’re the only ones keeping the Venatori in check. And if we fail?”

Neve looked towards the others, as if looking for their support. Naimeryn had never seen Neve make a face like that.

“The Venatori will take advantage,” she said. “They’ll make a push for the throne.”

Neve looked pointedly back at Rook. “And hand the gods the *entire* Tevinter empire.”

Naimeryn swallowed with difficulty, her throat dry and tight and sore. The archon’s palace had blasted demons apart and taken shots at *her and Varric.* Surely they’d fire on a *dragon*? And surely there were more Templars like Rana and Tarquin, who would join the Shadow Dragons in fighting the Venatori?

“Is there *aby* chance we —“ Naimeryn started, not even sure she knew what she was going to say.

“Damn it! There’s *no* time!” Neve snapped. Naimeryn’s head throbbed, and she felt unsteady on her feet. She had to suck it up. Get it together. “I’ve got to go home! I *need* to be in Minrathos.”

“And I must go to Treviso,” Lucanis said, his voice shaking. “Go where you feel you must, Rook. *We* cannot wait.”

Neve had already started running, and Lucanis turned to run in the same direction, towards the other dock. Naimeryn couldn’t breathe. Her head felt so full. Bellara and Harding were staring at her, waiting for her to make a decision.

“What’s our move, Rook?” Harding wanted to know.

“I, I dob…” Naimeryn pressed her fingers into her temples. “We hab to trust that the Shadow Dragons have thibs handled in Minrathos, that the Templars and magisters who aren’t in the Benatori’s pockets will help. The archon isn’t Benatori, ob’iously, so the palace should be attackib the dragon too. I — as a Warden, I *can’t* risk Blight gettib into the canals. We *hab* to go to Trebiso.”

She said the last sentence directly to Davrin, pleading. She looked back to Harding and Bellara.

“We’ll split the team,” she decided. “Minrathos can use the backup. Go help Nebe. Stay safe, come back alibe, alright?”

…

“We hab to get to Minrathos,” Naimeryn mumbled as Teia and Davrin hefted her back to her feet. Her whole body ached.

“Rook, you can barely stand,” Lucanis frowned. “Why don’t you let us —“

“No,” Naimeryn said firmly. “I need to go. Maybe if we hurry, we can still help. I *hab* to try.”

…

After dozing enough to have her talk with Solas, Naimeryn lay awake all night. Tossing and turning was kept to a minimum — even slight movements were too painful to risk anything bigger. Her nose ran, her head throbbed, her eyes watered. She was too hot for her blanket. Then she was freezing. She ached all the way to her bones.

Beneath the agony that kept her body awake, a different kind prevented her mind from settling. Neve’s face swam in her vision off and on in a loop, intermixed with Tarquin’s glare and the sight of the Viper, writhing on a crate with Blight coursing through his veins. She knew that allowing Blight into the canals in Treviso would have been a much worse outcome than one Blighted man. Knew it to her core.

And yet the guilt threatened to eat her alive.

She didn’t know how long she wallowed in her misery on that couch before she heard the library door open and close, and someone shuffling about below. She had just managed to find a position that was… not comfortable, but almost, and so she laid perfectly still, hoping whoever it was didn’t need her. She willed the room to stop spinning until she dozed off.

Another indeterminate time later, the library door opened and closed again.

“You’re up early!” Harding’s voice.

“First chance to look around,” Davrin. “Might as well get to know the place I’ll be calling ‘home’ for a while.”

Naimeryn sniffled, and tried to sit up. If the team was stirring, she’d struggled to sleep plenty long enough. She wheezed, the pain in her ribs sharper than it had been through the night. Okay, a different way then. She tried to roll onto her side first, but she had to roll onto her injured right side to get off the couch, and that was particularly painful as well. Great.

The library door swung open and closed a third time.

“Morning! Has anyone seen Rook? I made her pancakes,” Bellara’s usual chipper morning voice was marred by poorly-suppressed concern. “Tarquin was pretty harsh on her yesterday.”

“I doubt she’ll be up and about for a while,” Davrin told her. “Getting full body head-butted by a dragon tends to take it out of you.”

A plate shattered on the floor. Crap. Naimeryn renewed her attempts at sitting up.

“She got *headbutted* by the *dragon*?!” Bellara asked shrilly.

“And neither you nor Lucanis thought *maybe* you should mention it?!” Harding added.

“Uh…”

Naimeryn could already hear both of their footfalls on the stairs. She grabbed the back of the couch and wrenched herself up, sucking in a seething breath to keep from crying out. Okay. Everything was fine.

“Rook?” Bellara burst through the door without knocking, Harding hard on her heels. Unable to gain enough composure to speak, Naimeryn managed a weak and unconvincingly cheerful wave before falling back to sit precariously on the edge of the couch again. Her nose ran, and she wiped it carefully on the back of her wrist. Gross.

“Elf root,” Harding snapped. “You big dummy, you need elf root. Be right back.”

“You dob hab to —“

“And ice!” Bellara said. “I fell out of a tree once, and Irelin put ice on my a— aaanyway. Ice!”

“Wait —“

But they were both gone. Naimeryn sighed and rubbed her forehead. She made a mental note to give Davrin an earful, though she immediately forgot. She hadn’t wanted them to worry — not about her. *She* was team leader. It was her responsibility to worry about *them.* And right now, there was enough on their plates to worry about knowing there were two blighted dragons on the loose. She already had to add the tasks of tracking down a dragon hunter and a Fade expert to their to-do list.

Now that she had no audience, Naimeryn gingerly set about getting back to her feet. Slow breaths. Slow movements. Easy does it. She made her way around the couch and picked up the hand mirror off the console table. Not for the first time, she wished she had a full length mirror.

Carefully, she undid the sash holding her night wrap closed, hissing at the pain of each movement. She hooked it open with her hip, holding the mirror upside-down and at an angle to get a better look at the bruising on her side and ribs. She groaned. Her flesh was puffy, covered in angry black, purple, blue, and… green? That was new. She’d never had a green bruise before. Was that bad?

“Rook?”

*Oh, no.*

Bellara and Harding hadn’t shut her door tight behind them, and Lucanis pushed it open easily with his shoulder. “Bellara said you needed ice — *mierda.*”

Unable to move quickly and thankful she wore her underthings to bed, she gave him what she could imagine was the most awkward, embarrassed smile she had ever given anyone.

“Hi,” she squeaked.

He seemed frozen in place, the ice forgotten in his hands. His eyes swept over dark purple satin, nearly the same color as her offended skin. Now that he could see more of them, she wondered, not for the first time, if he thought her scars were ugly.

What a time to be wondering if he could find her pretty! Standing half-dressed in front of him, struggling to breathe or, in all honesty, even maintain her semi-upright position, with red puffy eyes and a runny nose. Of course he didn’t; how ridiculous.

BLIGHT AND… *LAVENDER?* Spite hissed. He said the second word in a tone that was far too knowing, and set Naimeryn’s cheeks ablaze. *Oooooh, no.* She was so flustered, it didn’t even occur to her to be shocked that she’d *heard* him, despite Lucanis’s lips not having moved. Flustered, and… did she *really* smell like Blight? Well, she hadn’t really bathed before collapsing on the couch the night before; just cleaned up her open injuries…

Spite’s remark seemed to shake Lucanis free of his startled state, and he held up the wrapped bundle of ice without moving.

“Do you…” he hesitated. “Do you want help with this?”

“No,” Naimeryn said, too quickly. “I mean… no. Ah. You dob hab to — I’m sure you hab… Crow… stuff?”

“Crow stuff?” the corner of his mouth quirked up, but his expression was more concern than mirth. “Nothing more important than this. Teia would not forgive me if I treated the ‘savior of Treviso’ so callously.”

Naimeryn gasped, winced. Lucanis was at her elbow in a moment, though he still made no move to touch her. “Please tell me people aren’t actually callib me that.”

“Well, Teia might. She is quite fond of you.”

“Elf root tea!” Harding announced, pushing into the room. Her eyes fell on Naimeryn’s side, and she groaned. “Oh, Rook. You big dummy. Lucanis, put her ass back on the couch.”

“But —“

“There’s nothing you need to do *right now*,” Harding said firmly, putting all her weight on one hip and giving Naimeryn a stern look. “You need to rest. *Now.*”

“She is right,” Lucanis said, nudging her elbow with his.

“Traitor,” she mumbled, allowing him to lead her back to the couch. He sat next to her, carefully pressing the ice to her side. She sucked in a hissing breath, then choked on it and began to cough. *Creators,* that hurt. Harding set the tray on the table as Lucanis tentatively splayed his hand across the middle of her back. Naimeryn groaned. Harding held out a cup of tea for her, and she reached for it. Her head throbbed. The next thing she knew Lucanis was on his knees, and both he and Harding were holding her up off of the floor.

“Naimy, you’re burning up,” Harding fretted. “Lucanis mentioned you were coming down with a cold when he came back early from recruiting Davrin, but with everything going on, I completely forgot!”

“As did I,” he admitted with a deep frown.

“We’re tryib to keep the world from endib,” Naimeryn groaned. The whole room was spiraling, and she again thought she might vomit. “Arlathan’s go’ Blight, there’s Darkspawn ib the Crossroads, a monster took a buncha griffons tha’ *aren’* essinct, Minrathos is burnib and now Solas wants us to recruit two more people! I don’ hab time to be *sick.*”

Her two companions carefully guided her back down into a reclined position.

“If you overdo it trying to fix everything *right now*,” Harding said, picking some ice out of the parcel Lucanis had brought and pressing it to her forehead, “you’re just gonna get worse.”

“Bellara is remaking the pancakes,” Lucanis told them. “I’ll go have her make soup instead.”

“I’ll jus’ comb to the dinin’ hall,” Naimeryn insisted. “I’ll drink my tea, I’ll ea’ my soub, an’ we can figure ou’ wha’ our nest mobe is. I can tell ebryone at once what Solas said.”

“Rook, I am not sure that is a good idea,” Lucanis frowned. “You just almost passed out.”

“Oh, is that what that was?” she murmured to herself.

“I think you should rest for the day,” Harding told her. “Later tonight we can all meet in the library and you can tell us about Solas then.”

“Do you think Nebe is *restib* today?” Naimeryn asked miserably, reaching for them both to help her up. They exchanged worried glances, but each took a hand and hoisted. Naimeryn swayed, gripping their hands tightly. The edges of her vision were black. She shut her eyes tightly and willed the dizziness away.

“I can’t just lay about and do nothib,” she tried again, opening her eyes slowly. Everything was squiggly. “I hab to —“

“Rook!” Harding’s voice sounded far away, and the room turned on its side before strong arms caught her, and everything went black.

If you made it to the end, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :3

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thot-writes · 2 years ago

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i just posted art of my werewolf tav & astarion so y’know what?? take this fic to go along w it. what would astarion/the gang do if u were a lil werewolf (i did not mean for it to get this long lol)

your vampire not-quite-boyfriend + the gang find out you’re a cheeky little pup (act i post-grove);

Lycanthropy wasn’t something you were born into like some. No, like most others bearing the curse you were infected with it. The transformation process was an excruciating, torturous one that is still branded into your very bones.

The bloodlust festers in you, day and night, like a splinter that’s burrowed too deep for you to dig out. It calls for you to rip, tear, dominate— kill. But you can suppress it. Mostly. You refuse to be one of the many werewolves that is controlled only by their base instincts.

But every full moon the beast blood takes you completely, and you have no choice but to transform. You never remember the night after you’ve turned back. Only brief snippets of red, pain, and fur.

Despite not tracking the stars, you can normally tell when a full moon’s coming because your body begins to ache, preparing itself to split open to birth the savage wolf that slumbers within. Usually you’d start your preparations to restrain yourself, to limit the carnage as much as possible.

But these aren’t usual times.

Three weeks ago you were captured from your home by mind flayers and infected with a tadpole, your entire world turned inside out with stranger things happening every day.

You now travel with a Sharran, a githyanki, two ticking time-bombs, a warlock, and a vampire.

One of their spawn, at least. It’s a good thing that in Faerûn, vampires and lycanthropes tend to be neutral towards each other — unlike what the romance novels would have you believe. Otherwise it’d make the regular sex you’re having with Astarion quite awkward.

You’d think that knowing all the sordid details about your travelling companions would bid you to confess your lycanthropy, but you could never find a way to bring it up.

Or, more accurately, you could bring it up you just didn’t want to. Not necessarily out of trauma, just convenience on your part. Confessing lycanthropy normally comes with questions, and the way you were turned is… kind of embarrassing, so you’re never keen to retell it.

But tonight, the moon will tell everyone for you. if you don’t get out in time.

The whole day your blood hammered in your flesh, your head splitting apart in a horrific headache and your bones feeling as if they could break and reshape at any moment. You lied to your companions, insisted you must’ve just drank too much last night at camp, and they bought it. Kind of. You hope.

You retired early for the day and whilst the others lounge about the camp you’re near biting your fingers off in uneasy anticipation of what’s to come. You need an excuse— any excuse to get the fuck out of here before the moon fully rises. You think you have an hour at most before you’re no longer you.

“My, but you’ve been looking ill all day, [Name]. I don’t recall you drinking that much last night.”

You almost jump out of your skin. Your heightened senses of smell and hearing usually help in preventing unpleasant surprises, but not today, not when you’re so on-edge. It was Astarion’s lilted voice that called from behind you. A sweet tune you’re all-too-happy to hear, in regular circumstances.

He gazes at you with that hard-to-read gleam in his eyes. The kind of gleam where you’re not sure if it’s because he knows something, is hiding something, or wants to tease you. You manage a shaky smile in response.

“You weren’t with me the whole night, Astarion. We slept separately,” you attempt.

“That night anyway,” he adds with a pretty little grin on his lips. You notice his gaze flickering over your body. “So you’re saying after I drank from you, you… what? Went back to your tent for some late-night binge drinking? Not that I’m surprised, you seem the type, but even still. Your hangover looks particularly… aggressive.”

You throw your hands up in an exaggerated shrug. “What, are you gonna throw an intervention for me? Gonna beat me up? Write me a letter about how much my drinking affects you?”

He chuckles. “Oh please, as if I care that much. I’m just saying that you seem a little sicker than alcohol would leave you.” He gasps, then presses a hand to his face. “What if you were poisoned? By someone in this very camp? How scandalous! My money’s on the gith.”

“If I was poisoned my money’s on you bitch.”

A grin. He always seems to smile so much in your presence. You wonder how much is real. You wonder if you’re overthinking it, or if you smile just as much as he does.

You’re ripped away from your thoughts as a terrible pain grips you. It takes all your strength not to double over right there— you’ve already drawn too much scrutiny, you don’t want more. You squeeze your eyes shut and hold your trembling hands still as the curse makes itself known. The pain you experience in transforming is what you’d imagine childbirth to be — if you gave birth to a baby out of every pore. You’ve only had this curse a scant few years, how have people managed to live entire lives with it?

Astarion notices your struggle. He tilts his head and looks on. “You really do seem like you’ve been poisoned. Or at least I hope that’s all it is. If you’re sick then I’m afraid you’ll be sleeping alone for a while longer yet, pup. I don’t want… whatever that is.”

You grit your teeth to prevent a cry. “I’m fi—iine!” you grunt. The pain lapses for a moment, this is your chance to leave. “I just— I have—uhh— really bad diarrhoea!”

“What?”

You make a show of holding your stomach and slouching. “Oh man it’s soooo bad right now, I’m probably gonna be shitting up a storm in the forest all night!”

“Gods above, please… spare me the details. Just go.” Astarion waves you off and grimaces at the mental image you’ve conjured for him.

“Okay, I better go have violent diarrhoea everywhere in the forest now— don’t follow me! Don’t look for me! Don’t let anyone look for me! I gotta go, goodnight! Don’t look for me!”

You give him no time to answer as you sprint into the wilderness. Your heart is hammering and your pulse quickening. You feel you only have a few more minutes until…

A scream escapes you before you can stop it, your skin is starting to bulge and split, revealing [colour] fur beneath it. No— not now, you’re still too close to camp— just hold on a little longer.

You gather all the strength you have, which is more than usual with the wolf so near, and run.

You’re deep in the wild now. Your screams are more frequent, your body produces sickening crunching sounds as the wolf starts its escape. You collapse to the forest floor, writhing in abject agony as your body tears itself apart. Transforming like this only ever takes a few minutes, but it always feels so infinitely long.

Soon your cries morph into a pained howl, and the birthing process is complete. Your mind has now been banished to the darkest recesses of you, and in its place is a beast.

It’s a blur each time you’re turned like this. When it’s of your own volition the process is simpler, quicker— though no less painful. You can maintain control if you focus hard enough. But the forced transformations are a different experience entirely. There is no control, only hunger. Only fangs, claws, and a deep, insatiable yearning for prey.

Astarion did as you asked. He didn’t search for you, not even when he heard that first scream. The thought of walking in on you… projectile excreting was enough of a deterrent to stay his curiosity.

But hours have passed since then. He couldn’t hear you, there was only quiet. When Gale asked where you were, he simply said you had taken ill. But now Astarion was the only one left awake, and there was still no sign of you.

You had been acting off all day. He didn’t believe it was simply a hangover, he’d seen many in his lifetime but they never caused anyone to disappear into the woods. As far as he knew.

But then… what was this odd subtle tightness settling in his chest? The thought that maybe something had happened to you, and you were no longer safe?

Could it possibly be that he was… worried about you?

He shakes his head. No, of course not. You’re nothing more than a target, a meat shield for if and when things go wrong. He didn’t have any feelings towards you, and certainly not enough to worry.

Astarion stays awake. Not for you, of course— perish the thought— he just wanted to get more reading done. Obviously.

Another hour passes.

Then one more.

Still nothing.

He’s coursing with anxious energy now and gets to his feet. What if you’d been turned into a mindflayer? What would that mean for the rest of them? Because of course it was his own well-being he was concerned for— definitely not yours!

He goes to the tent nearest to him, Lae’zel’s, and shakes her awake.

She grunts and sits up. “Chk, what is it Astarion? Why have you disturbed me?”

“[Name] still hasn’t returned, and dawn’s almost here,” he answers. His voice is a little shaky, but it’s probably because he’s a bit cold. “We should try to find them.”

Lae’zel nods curtly and begins to rise. She slings her sword over her back and says to Astarion, “Wake the others. If [Name] has become ghaik, we will need to put them down.”

A knot forms in his stomach as he turns to rouse the others. He finds himself hoping you haven’t been transformed— then quickly catches himself and buries the feeling.

He wakes them and explains the situation, and the group splits off into pairs to search for you; Wyll and Karlach, Shadowheart and Gale, Lae’zel and Astarion.

One would think someone with your supposed illness would be leaving… traces. But there’s nothing. It was almost like you’d just vanished— until Karlach had found your clothes. There was no blood on them, no damage, no filth (at least no more than usual).

The search continues.

Dawn isn’t far. Just a little longer.

As Astarion and Lae’zel scout together, he catches a whiff of blood in the distance. Animal blood, certainly. But it seems like… a lot. He notifies Lae’zel and they follow the scent, only to come across a mauled boar carcass. It’s practically been reduced to a puddle with how much carnage was heaved upon it, and what’s more…

There’s massive paw prints in the dirt. Soaked in the blood of the boar. Could this creature have hunted you? Is that why you never returned?

They alert the others and follow the tracks, along the way finding great claw marks in the trunks of the trees, various piles of viscera from unfortunate beasts, and small patches of fur. Fur the exact same colour as your hair…

The tracks lead to a small clearing in the forest, and in the middle of said clearing is… you.

Well, not you-you, but the hunkering direwolf-humanoid you turned into.

You’re crouched down, curled into a ball as your mind rends itself in twain. As dawn approaches, so too do your senses begin to return, but the wolf is not ready to relinquish control — it never is. The two of you battle for dominance in a silent struggle, ignorant to the group surrounding you from the trees.

Your werewolf self is a grotesque, fearsome thing, even as you’re lurching in pain. Your fur is an exact match of your natural hair colour, as are your eyes, even though in this form they’re clouded in rage and hunger. If you were stood upright, they’d see how you reached just over nine feet tall, how your hands and paws were lined with razor-sharp claws. Even as pathetic as you are in your current state, you’re still no creature to be trifled with.

Shadowheart steels herself as Lae’zel raises her sword high, prepared to strike you while you’re distracted.

“Abomination,” she spits, venom heavy on her tongue. “Lurk in these woods no longer, you die by my hand.”

She brings the blade down in a wide crescent motion, and you barely move out of the way in time. She’s managed to cut you, but you’re lucky to have missed the brunt of the attack.

You leap away from Lae’zel only to move into Karlach’s range of attack. She strikes you with her battleaxe and you roar as it slices into the skin of your back. Your wound quickly heals, and you spin around to swing a clawed hand in her direction. Your fist meets her side, and she’s flung feet away.

The group— your group— begins their surprisingly well-orchestrated assault, and it becomes clear that, as strong as you are, you cannot hold out for long. Not against all of them. Probably not even against half of them.

But the gods sometimes grant small mercies. The sun finally breaks, the Dawnlord’s radiance has weakened the wolf’s chokehold on you, and you stumble backwards. Your body begins to rapidly decay and break apart, and the others step back and watch the spectacle cautiously.

In less than a minute, the vicious wolf you were has become naught but gore, and underneath is your naked body, soaked in blood.

“What the fuck— [Name]?! I’m not seeing things am I? Tell me I’m not seeing things!” Karlach exclaims, suddenly overcome with guilt at having tried to kill you.

Gale watches in resignation as you limp, holding your beaten and broken body. “You’re not. That’s our [Name], alright. A lycanthrope... What a shock.” Because of course the group can’t have one normal person, can it?

Astarion is simultaneously the most and least surprised at this revelation. “So you’re telling me this entire time I’ve been sleeping with a werewolf? Ugh, there’s a joke about giving a dog a bone in there somewhere, but I’m too tired to think of it.”

You collapse, exhaustion claiming your mind after a long, blood-filled night.

When you awake a couple hours later, you find you’re tucked in your bedroll, wounds tended to and dressed once again. How did you get here, you wonder? You leave your tent to find your friends waiting around in a circle by the long-dead fire.

Astarion’s the first to notice you. “Ah, darling, you’re finally awake! I don’t suppose you’d be up for a little chat, would you? I believe we’re owed an explanation.”

You freeze. An explanation for what? Did they find you and take you back here? Do they know what you are?

You don’t have to wait long for an answer.

“After everything we’ve been through, travelling together these last few weeks, I’d have thought we developed enough trust between us. But apparently not.” Gale pauses, then looks you in the eyes. “Why did you hide what you are from us?”

“This fuckin’ world is so fucked up,” you say, folding your arms and scrunching your face. “We got two people with bombs in their chests and a guy who drinks blood but because I turn into a rabid dog once a month I’m the bad guy, really?”

“We’re not saying you’re a bad guy, we’re wondering why you didn’t trust us!” Karlach protests. “We’re supposed to be friends aren’t we?”

You frown a little and slump your shoulders. “We are friends. But we’re already dealing with sooo much bullshit I just thought it’d be better if I dealt with it myself, y’know. I mean it’s not like you can help me with it anyway, cures are hard to find and lycanthropy isn’t as bad as tadpoles and orbs and devils.”

“I’m fine with your condition [Name], so long as you don’t transform in front of me, that is,” Shadowheart chimes. “But aside from that… that wolf form seemed quite formidable. Perhaps we can make use of it, now that we know.”

Astarion claps his hands excitedly. “Oh yes! I’d love to see that! Werewolves can be quite vicious you know, always good fun to see the hounds on a hunt.”

Shadowheart turns to him. “You’re not mad that your lover’s a werewolf, Astarion? I’d have thought you’d be more upset, as a vampire and all.”

He rests a hand on his hip and half heartedly inspects his nails. “Oh please, werewolves and vampires are just as likely to be allies as they are to be enemies. Cazador has had so many wolf pets over the years, I suppose it was only a matter of time until I got my own.”

“You’ve got it ass-backwards Astarion, if anything you’re my pet vampire,” you tease.

“How dare you! Here I thought puppies were supposed to be cute and obedient,” he cries in mock offence.

“Says the one who gets on all fours for a dog—”

Gale clears his throat loudly and claps his hands. “Ahem! Alright, now that that’s settled, I hope there won’t be anymore surprise revelations about the members of our group. Gods know we have more than enough of them to last a lifetime. Shall we get on? We have a long day ahead.”

It’s of a great relief to you that they didn’t ask too many questions, though you somehow suspect you’ll be telling them the humiliating story of your infection someday soon. In such a short time, you’ve grown fond of your new friends, and even fonder for a certain vampire…

And you’re sure you have a long, long road ahead of you yet.

#my posts #reader insert #baldurs gate iii #baldurs gate 3 x reader #astarion x tav #astarion x reader #baldurs gate iii fanfic #astarion x mc #astarion x you #one shot #baldurs gate iii oneshot #gender neutral reader #werewolf x vampire #vampire x werewolf #METAL AGAINST METAL #can u guys tell how much i love bg3 and these lil goofballs?

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mooncello · 2 months ago

Text

[I never know how to start wipsday posts. It feels awkward and unnatural to me and kinda like writing a letter?? but not, so I'm just gonna begin as though we were already halfway into a conversation, excellent solution, Heath, thank you, I thought so too—]

—and post-op recovery is a strange, liminal space. I've got too much time to think yfm? Too much reading of The Guardian and Al Jazeera and feeling super fucking helpless. I've been reading a lot of non-news, too. Revisiting my beloved Cooper Dayton and Oliver Park in the vastly underrated gay werewolf mystery series by Charlie Adhara. Subscribed to Sarah Thankam Mathews's substack thot pudding (good stuff, big rec). Giving what I can to Rawa. I started Yuri on Ice, and am about to dive into Denne Michele Norris's novel When the Harvest Comes. My friend recently recommended the podcast The Nature Of with Willow Defebaugh, and the most recent episode feat. Q U E E N adrienne maree brown. I'll be queuing that up this week.

I've also been writing!! I'm working on a collab with @monbons and our conversations the past couple weeks have brought so much joy. AND: chapter 9 of more than a footnote is HAPPENING. Dev and Niall have returned, the words are flowing, and I'm 70% done with drafting the chapter. I love them. I love this chapter. It's self-indulgent, it's soft, it's real. It's sexy. I published the first chapter of this fic on June 1 last year, and I really hope to post the final chapter by then. Full circles and all that. Also wdym iT'S BEEN A YEAR??

Here's a long snippet from chapter 9:

Dev POV

I leave Niall and his mums and wander out the back door to the Flores Connelly garden. Like most London terraced houses, it's tiny. A postage stamp of land, half covered in paving stones and brimming with flowers. Gardening gloves and tools spill from cans. Rain boots and slides line up neatly by the door. Strings of cafe lights loop from one end of the garden to the other, bisecting the inky night with honey gold. I collapse into one of the woven patio chairs, beating back the maelstrom swiftly gathering inside my chest. I had hoped to delay this fucking decision for a few more days because what I want and what I need are at vicious odds. No, I think, biting the inside of my cheek. Not need. I don't need to see my family, but the should is strong and familiar. An ill-fitting, ugly jacket that I've outgrown—that never fit me, not really—yet my shoulders still expect its weight and the way it pinches under my armpits. It's held my spine in a weird, unnatural posture every summer, every school break, for so long, that to reject it ... I sigh and scrub my eyes with the heels of my hands. The idea of defying my parents' expectations is both freeing and terrifying. Fuck, I wish I weren't such a coward. Two arms snake around my shoulders from behind. And then his soft mouth, pressed against the side of my neck. "Wanna break something?" Niall murmurs. "I can find a glass from the kitchen." "Nah." I reach for his sweatshirt, grab it, and tug, until he's seated in my lap. I wrap my arms around his waist, his arms now looped around my neck, and I feel instantly resettled. At home. "This is better." I tip my face up, and Niall meets me with a kiss. It's slow and sweet, his hands coming up to curve around my jaw, slipping into my hair, his nails against my scalp and his weight solid upon my thighs. We kiss and kiss, not building to anything, just the simple pleasure of his mouth on mine. How is it this easy? This good?

thank you for the tag today @brilla-brilla-estrellita, and everyone else that's tagged me these last few weeks.

tags and ✌️:

@drowninginships @valeffelees @run-for-chamo-miles @blackberrysummerblog @confused-bi-queer

@youarenevertooold @shrekgogurt, @hushed-chorus @whatevertheweather, @cutestkilla

@you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @artsyunderstudy, @emeryhall, @imagineacoolusername, @leithillustration

@iamamythologicalcreature, @bookish-bogwitch @thewholelemon, @best--dress, @rimeswithpurple

@ileadacharmedlife @skeedelvee, @monbons, @alexalexinii, @j-trow-95

@theimpossibledemon, @brilla-brilla-estrellita, @larkral, @messofthejess, @talentpiper11

@fiend-for-culture, @stitchyqueer, @roomwithanopenfire + anyone else who would like to join

#surgery went well — thanks to everyone that sent me messages and asks and love 🩵#deniall #dev pitch #niall connelly #more than a footnote #wipsday

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allmightskitten · 6 months ago

Note

I am BARKING over your Doffy/Tsuru WIP, I cannot wait for whenever you get to it!

ill post my list later today ;)

Hi, hi! I'm looking forward to seeing your list when you post it omg, your works that I've read are so delicious and yummy 😳👀👀

Hell yeah, more doftsuru content is NEEDED! Thank you sm, following the rules of the game let me share a little snippet from the WIP ;)

☆☆☆

'I am not calling you a good boy Doflamingo that Warlord meeting was shit' - wip

tags: Doftsuru, suggestive (for now– the complete fic will be actual smut xd)

☆

Tsuru had lived long enough to see almost everything the world had to offer. Really, being in the Marines since her teenage years, she'd seen it all; the way governments collapsed, every possible iteration of controversy or scandal within the organisations she worked with, the different generations of pirates and the turn of the era– Tsuru, like many of the senior Vice Admirals, was in a unique position to no longer be surprised by anything.

Or so she had thought.

"I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience I caused, Vice Admiral," Doflamingo purred, following closely at her heels swaying in his hulking, towering form. He loomed over her like a thundercloud, maintaining the same bad posture with seemingly no discomfort as the relentless pursuit continued. "So here I am, voluntarily turning myself in– disciplinary action is warranted for disrupting the meeting, is it not?"

This brat.

She had given him the benefit of the doubt, earlier. Tsuru had seen a lot of remarkable and ridiculous things, but she had not entertained for a second that Doflamingo targeted her for that reason. It seemed too absurd to be true despite everything.

Except a lot of time had passed since he was a newly-minted Warlord, and she couldn't deny it anymore.

"I am not the authority you should be reporting to," Tsuru said flatly, not even sparing him a glance. The corridor was too damn long, and empty, to shake him off just yet. There was no one here she could use as an excuse and simply telling him to leave never worked.

Doflamingo tsked, mischief and smugness bleeding into his tone.

"Is there a higher authority on this base than a Vice Admiral, dear Tsuru?"

Tsuru paused in her tracks. He wasn't wrong.

No Admirals had attended the Warlord meeting this time, every one of them currently preoccupied with other tasks in different parts of the sea. Herself and Garp had been the most senior officers present at the meeting, and Garp wasn't much help– it had pretty much become her responsibility to oversee everything.

She turned around to face him slowly. Most surprising of all was the implication that Doflamingo had actually read the rule book, where it stated vaguely that some form of disciplinary action was warranted for disrupting official proceedings above a Level Four. The Warlord meetings were a Level Six.

She was technically the officer in charge of today's disastrous meeting where very little was accomplished because Doflamingo couldn't restrain himself from picking fights with or provoking the others at the table like some overgrown child. And with the Warlords, when one of them started acting out, the rest followed suite like their pride couldn't take the hit, at which point no Marine could effectively contain the situation.

"I am responsible for this month's conference," Tsuru conceded, keeping her tone carefully neutral. She narrowed her eyes at his mirrored lenses, picturing a delighted expression to go with the smile stretching his face. "I'd like to ask that tomorrow's meeting will not be a repeat of today."

Doflamingo leaned closer, hunching more to bridge the large span of space between them. The edges of his grin were razor-sharp.

"Asking nicely isn't going to cut it, Vice Admiral. When was the last time you enforced something by asking a pirate nicely?"

Tsuru's lips twitched. Partly in irritation, partly in reluctant amusement. Hell, he had a fucking point.

"Don't test me, boy."

They were standing close enough that she didn't miss the way Doflamingo shivered. It was subtle, but she noticed; she noticed also how his demeanor turned into something a little less playful and a little hungrier when the authoritative words had left her mouth.

This was the most absurd thing she'd ever seen in her career. Something was horribly wrong with this man. He had to have some deep-rooted issues.

He was a bad idea. Such a bad idea that it was almost promising– because Tsuru hadn't seen something quite this new in a long, long time.

Tsuru scoffed. Why was she entertaining this?

"Miss Tsuru–"

"Drop it, Doflamingo. I am old enough to be your mother."

If anything, the air around him only became more charged. He licked his lips. Tsuru noted distantly that he had piercings on his tongue– she thought she saw multiple.

She massaged her temples tiredly.

"You can't be serious."

"I have never been more serious about anything," the Warlord said shamelessly, his tone dripping desperation. He took another step closer. Surprising herself, Tsuru didn't back away, not really.

Don't entertain this, she warned herself sternly.

Doflamingo looked ready to drop to his knees before he asked again. That shouldn't have been as thrilling as it was.

The rulebook does not say how discipline must be implemented.

An absurd idea flashed across her mind. What, exactly, would a powerful Warlord look like on his knees before a Marine?

☆

Thank you for the ask!! I hope you liked this, it might be a while yet before this WIP is done because I've got exams going on BUT it shouldn't be too long...‼️

(Psst– tagging @heliostears in this because you asked about the doftsuru wip as well🙈)

#donquixote doflamingo #tsuru one piece #doftsuru #one piece fic rec #ask allmightskitten

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trekkiehood · 2 months ago

Note

so you said you could be persuaded to talk about your “throughout the great war” series … i am here to persuade you 🫶🏻🫶🏻

It doesn't take a lot to get me to talk about it lol, it's all I think about anymore 😂 😅

I'm so excited about this series!! Putting it under a read more because it got long lol

So currently I'm posting "Numbers With A Death Wish" which is the starting point. Here we have Buck being shot down and it really only covers the month of October. I have some more little one-shots I'd like to write but they're not super plot heavy so I don't know when I'll get to writing them.

My current WIP is my Radio Wip (mid March 1944) followed by Great Escape Fallout (end of March 1944) and then Whipping Post Wip (April 1944). These are all from Bucky's pov and I'm leaning towards this being a long fic. If I do this then the fic would probably run through at least September 1944 but maybe I'd just run it through the end of the war lol idk.

I've written some of Radio and a good bit of Whipping Post so we'll see how quickly we move through this. I'll continue to tease as I write because I crave writing validation lol.

After Whipping Post we start to see the cracks more in both of our majors. Since this one is from Bucky's pov we'll have Bucky withdrawing while Buck is struggling and trying to control the things around him and stay positive for the men.

The next main plot point is when Buck starts acting "weird" and Bucky starts to notice and that's when Gale has a massive breakdown. And Bucky is like ?????? This is around July of 1944 and is immediately followed by a very rough August plagued with deadly illness and psychotic breaks. Now this will be a VERY important plot going forward. Trying not to spoil every single plot I have lol but I don't think it's shocking to say that one of the Buckie's nearly dying of illness will be important going forward 😂

The plot after this is in September 1944 and it will be a turning point in the story. Kind of a "things will never be the same now". But what's FUN is that it's from Bucky's POV but what happens to Buck will be behind closed doors hehe. So at least at the beginning he/we will know that SOMETHING happened and that it has lasting effects, but exactly what will be unknown. After that it's just more of Bucky watching Buck lose it. I have specific things but they are less plot heavy and more episodic. I may still keep it in one long fic but idk lol.

I also plan for some Buck POV one-shots/short stories interspersed and linking with this longfic. It will include things like what started the July spiral and what exactly happened to him in September (technically the September one will be from my OC Wesley Davidson's pov and is the reason for his existence lol). I would also like to play with Buck's German and Jewish heritage. I might let him confide in Solomon things he hasn't even told Bucky about but idk yet. I need to study Judaism more and solidify how much Buck keeps from Bucky. But regardless, even as I'm writing the longfic from Bucky's pov, we will be getting little tie in snippets with what's going on with Gale too!

The biggest unknown in this series is the forced march. I don't know what I want to do. Right now most of this series comes from a place of "canon enough no one can prove it didn't happen in the show" so I'm not sure how I want to end it. Because on one hand, so much angst potential just keeping it mostly canon with Buck escaping without Bucky. But also... idk that I want to separate them lol. And idk if that means they both stay or go. Essentially, the ending I have no real vision for. But that's a good long way away.

We have at least nine arcs I have planned for this long fic I will hopefully come up with a great name for lol. So assuming I do it this way (which the poll is also leaning towards) And then at the very least three-four Buck pov fics. So pray the hyperfixation lasts long enough to get through it lol.

Even though the "main" fic is from Bucky's pov this series is about Buck and his lack of mental stability and trauma in the stalag. It's just more fun to hurt him with Bucky watching hehe

If you have any specific questions I would LOVE to answer them!! Here is a general outline I posted awhile back if you want to ask about a specific plot. This is the ramble I have for now but I will probably ramble again lol. Appreciate all of the support and if there is anything specific you would like to see please let me know and I'll see if I can work them in!!

#throughout the great war #mota fanfic #mota wip #john bucky egan #john egan #bucky egan #gale buck cleven #gale cleven #buck cleven #gale whump #whump #wwii #fanfiction #ask #answer

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dfastback68 · 11 months ago

Text

Tried and failed to write yesterday but was successful today!! Finally started the goth fam sequel (yeah, not the prequel... oops) and also a short fic that's 99% finished at around 4k. It needs editing and polishing and then I'll try to post it in the next few days.

I just want my blorbos interact and was possessed by the sudden need for Perona and King to not only meet, but also braid each other's hair. I mean come on. It's the perfect activity for them. Plus, their captains have history!! I wanted to write something relatively light hearted anyways. So, here's a snippet:

“Moria complained all the time about your captain, you know,” she says, which gets his attention. He’s not keen on talking about Kaido much these days, but he supposes it can’t always be avoided. “That if not for him, he would have stayed in the New World. It was one stupid fight and he never shut up about it! Ugh, it was so annoying.”

“I was there,” Alber says without thinking. He does remember that fight, too, because Moria’s zombies had been a pain in the ass to put down. They were as susceptible to his fire as anything else, though. Kaido handled Moria himself.

“What?!” Perona drops his hair and braces her hands on his shoulder, leaning over to see his face. “Really? Moria was in his prime back then, I wish I could have seen it!”

“I was Kaido’s second from the very beginning,” he says, frowning. Back then. Had it really been that long ago, or is she just that young? “It was a fairly short fight. Moria didn’t belong in the New World, and we made sure he knew th - ach.”

Alber winces as Perona yanks a fistful of his hair. “Don’t speak ill of Moria! How could you? After I’ve been so kind to you!”

As if she hasn’t complained about Moria several times already, and now she’s trying to exact some sort of transactional cost out of this activity again? He offers no apology, nor does she seem to expect one.

“Well,” she says with a sniff. She smooths her hands through his hair again, and picks up where she left off braiding. “If you hadn’t chased him out, he would have never found me, so. It’s alright, I guess.”

“Hm,” is all Alber says in response. It’s the closest he’ll get to an olive branch, but he’s never been above being petty. Perona is much nicer company than Queen, though, and if Mihawk allows her here, he needs to respect that, too.

“Hawkeyes told me to be nice to you if I ever ran into you,” she says, immediately undoing whatever goodwill had been extended just a moment ago.

#my post #fanfic #one piece #perona #king the wildfire #to be clear the snippet isn't related to the goth fam sequel #and to be also clear I don't ship perona and king but you do you #i just need them to annoy each other under mihawk's roof #perona sassing off to people a thousand times more powerful than her will never not be funny to me #but she's got mihawk and zoro to back her up so live your best life girlie #dracule mihawk #gecko moria

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wttcsms · 7 months ago

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For the wip game.. atsumus “devil on my shoulder tellin' me i'll die soon” and OMG i laughed so hard when i read this but “losing all my innocence in the backseat” if you dont mind!!! (i also really wanna hear about your kaiser wips but ill lose my mind so ill skip that rn)

AHHH ok. listen, devil on my shoulder is a sequel to a really old atsumu fic; like so old, it was on my original blog LMAO. it's a yakuza au and the original fic itself was always porn with a splash of plot but the og post had some traction & now this sequel is majority plot haha. lots of world building and further insight on the relationship between reader + atsumu!!!! but also some yummy scenes, like when he gets done beating someone bc he's "interrogating" them and he does it downstairs when ur upstairs sleeping but the noise wakes you up and you catch him with bloody hands and you're all wide eyed and shocked and you're his sweet girl, you never flinch from his touch, but when he reaches out for you, you're backing away from him, like you're scared of him & so it's a lot of dealing with the aftermath of realizing that ur prince charming maybe isn't so charming after all 🤭

as for losing all my innocence in the backseat 😭😭😭 you're shidou's younger sister and i hc that shidou actually is a pretty good older brother and you're back from your first year of college and you're following shidou everywhere bc he's your best friend but then you find out he's been telling guys to back off of you bc ur his sister and he wants to look out for you and he's doing it to be protective and nice but you're like !!! im grown, leave me alone. and sae knows you bc you've hung out with them (well shidou was hanging out w the team + you just happened to tag along, before u got mad at him) so sae is trying to tell you to be nice to your older brother and that as an older sibling, he understands where shidou is coming from and that guys would take advantage if given the chance and then he demonstrates what he's talking abt (listen u kinda begged him to show u too) this was pwp with maybe a smidge of plot 😭😭 i can't even post a snippet bc it's so silly

#the kaiser fics...... oh gosh the kaiser fics..........#need the kaiser fics ASAP actually #even w that ridiculous red eyeliner tattoo #wip ask game

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bruciemilf · 1 year ago

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I really love your Bruce writing! I love when you talk about him being a father and how tragic it is ("tears of the father are wept by the son"?? Are you kidding me?? This line made me lay awake at night). And the most recent Bryce snippet? Wow! I love how you use the environment (like the knockoff cigars, oregano...), and how you write their dialogue, and when you write Bruce's uncle's??? Wow, I'm just in love 💕

Saw you recently posting about atsv! Didn't know you watched it! Was wondering if you have an Miguel-centric Headcanons? That's another man I'm unhealthy about

Thank you so much 💞

– @unfortunately-obsessed

THANK YOU!! to this day it’s pretty incomprehensible for me, when I realize, huh… People like my writing? My words? Oh wow oh wow ohwowowowow—

I appreciate you saying so!! Sadly, I severely neglected my blog/fanfics because of my job, but, I started working on a crossover fic between atsv and dc :) I just adore spider bat, so why not?

Also, some Miguel headcanons:

Layla sends Gabriel videos of Miguel falling, tripping, web breaking, etc, just flopping in general. If he annoyed her particularly hard, she’ll send some to Miles

SPEAKING OF MILES??

He picks him up from school when Rio and Jeff can’t make it, mostly for spider business, and the staff assumed they were related bc Miles called him Tio (WHICH IS SO CUTE BTW)

Whenever Miles needs a permission slip for places he knows for a FACT his parents won’t sign —

(because it’s outside New York, — and I actually think it’s super adorable they wanna be around him so much. Ik some see it as overbearing, but when you see so many parents actively hate their kids being around..)

He’ll get Miguel to sign it. But he’s equally as protective as Rio. “Who are you going with, Who’s that? I never met them. Address, phone number, and mother’s maiden name. When are you gonna be back? 2 days? No. “

He eventually signs it because Miles’ puppy eyes, man.

Still celebrated Gabriella’s birthday; He makes her her favorite dessert, buys something she would’ve liked, and lights up a candle for dinner. If he feels particularly alone, he’ll swallow up his hesitation and invite the spider kids over

This man breaths and bleeds work; You can’t think abt your mental illness if you can’t think about anything at all!!!

Obsessed with control; He needs to know every detail, every amount of information available, he has routines and scripts and gets irritated if they’re not followed

I think he actually did pay attention to Miles since he became Spiderman; I think, deep down, he knows HES the original anomaly. But it’s easier to break than fix. Especially when canon is involved.

Can dance like a mf

I know he technically has no favorites since everyone annoys him equally- it’s Mayday.

And Miles, strangely enough. But it’s hard to tell. Miles genuinely thinks this grown ass adult hates his absolute guts and made peace

But Gwen is like omg you asked for a shift change and he didn’t throw a drone at you?

#that’s all I have for now!!! granted I am Thinking abt him and Bruce/bryce #spiderman atsv #asks #miguel o'hara #miles morales #text #text post

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sechsviciado · 10 months ago

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when doves cry

reaperken/touka ; written circa nov/dec 2022

no warnings or ratings really?

so after my slight reaperken/touka rambling yesterday i figured that i really have nothing to lose from posting this small snippet of a fic (oneshot??) thats been sitting in my google drafts for nearly the past two years; if this is crappy i can always just delete it but ive wanted to contribute a bit more to keep tokyo ghoul tumblr alive so i figure why not?

i felt so smart when i came up with the title since ken was a dove during that entire reaper arc until the events of cochlea. i didnt really pay attention to prince's lyrics in the song but looking back at it now i guess some apply? not really any inspiration was gained from it though, i just grew up with music from the 60s-90s so the title kind of came to my mind and it happened to be a prince reference. not really any ratings or warnings yet?? its nowhere near finished and im not sure if ill even finish it because i feel my writing heavily lacks.

anyway, without further ado

how many months had it been?

it had been months — years — since he recalled feeling this exact way. of course, haise had felt this way too, but it would never compare to the feelings he had for her before that brief period of time where he had lost recognition of everything and everyone who once meant something to him. ironically, it's when he felt most at peace with the butterflies in his stomach, beating against his rib cage and the cage surrounding the longing which could never be released. he’s regained his memories now, but he knew something was different within him even when he laid his glassy eyes on her again on that first visit to :re as sasaki haise. why did he feel so entrapped and yet so wrongly distant even when he had no recollection of her prior on that first visit to the cafe?

it would never be the same.

it would never compare to the feeling of falling in love with her and the realization that came with it. the realization that left him in a state of both a mix of surprise and agitation for days and with a feeling that could only be described as his heart skipping a beat and yet crumbling at the same time. it would never happen, would it? he had chosen to face that reality when he was still his old self, naive and too ashamed of his actions to actually face her after all the pain he caused her as a result of the pain which engulfed his entire life, too. too ashamed to accept his new reality, hiding behind his eyepatch — too ashamed to admit he had fallen in love so easily. he wasn't any different now.

haise may have fallen in love with her through the lens of a reborn figure with a fresh start and no boundaries to stand behind (apart from his obvious shyness and the weird sense of familiarity), but it just occurred by fate. the same fate that had snatched him from her years prior had found a way to bring him back into her arms and make him belong to her once again. he can't help but believe that maybe there was some future destined between them; the embittered part of his heart and soul makes him realize even that destiny would probably be cursed or filled with further strife.

though he supposed that didn't matter now.

not when he was even more distant from her than when he was an amnesiac with no recollection of her apart from the same old feeling of confusing comfort and longing. it's humorous and yet painful to think about how low he'd fallen in this aspect, not even being able to face her once again. despite his older age, he was still just a boy when it came to this same ancient rush, wasn't he? it doesn't matter. she surely didn't want anything to do with him anyways, especially not after everything that he's done. he's betrayed her and everyone who was once a part of him once again, and he’s chosen to accept that painful reality ever since he vowed to stop dreaming and flung tsukiyama off that building. facades all break down eventually.

though he supposed that didn't matter now, either.

he’d be disposed of soon enough before any of this could matter at all — before hinami was to be the one to disappear from the purgatory that was life as a ghoul. there was no heaven and there was no hell; there was no afterlife. heaven was bliss and safety on earth while hell was anguish and pain.

it was selfish of him to hope touka would feel any sort of pain after all of the grief and rage he's put her through time and time again, but he hoped he'd at least be remembered by the person he felt he loved most in this lifetime — the one who hadn't thrown him aside but who had instead built a nest for him as if though her life depended on it. he can't help but wonder… he’s had everyone he's ever known and cared for snatched from his hands by the same twisted fate that led him to await his upcoming death, he doesn't know if the puddle of both coldness and warmth in his stomach is either fear or love.

he'd truly cherish any memory he had of her before he’d be killed.

he vaguely remembers telling her, years ago, that he'd be sad if she died; he just hopes she would be saddened at his death, too.

#tokyo ghoul #tokyo ghoul re #kaneki ken #ken kaneki #touka kirishima #kirishima touka #touken #kanetou #black reaper kaneki #hinami fueguchi #Hi

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itsdappleagain · 1 year ago

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tagged by @emily-prentits THANK YOUU THIS LOOKS SO FUN

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

18!

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

141,974 words...which is a little embarassing considering jo, who tagged me, has 59 works and only about 30,000 more words. evidently i like my longfics.

3. what fandoms do you write for?

carmen sandiego 2019! 17 of those and one (1) original work that i dont mention in this post at all

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

the cardinal and the kitten - 325 kudos

say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime (let me lead you from your solitude) - 164 kudos (we call her the phantom au for short)

simple are the ways of love (simple as the touch of another's hands) - 156 kudos

Upon the Sword - 154 kudos

Everything is a Lie - 127 kudos

5. do you respond to comments?

Most of them yes!! I LOVE getting comments I screenshot and save every one I get.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hm- I guess it depends. Hellscape ends with Carmen's internal monologue just before she gets mind-wiped by VILE, but its technically no angstier than canon. they gave you life (and in return you gave them hell) is pretty angsty the whole way through and examines Carmen's trauma.

Those are both little one-shots, though- I usually end my reigns of terror within chapter fics pretty happily if I can manage it. The Phantom AU (linked above) ends in a dark place but leagues brighter than it seemed to be heading towards. It isn't a terribly neat and happy ending, and it tells a story of trauma and attempted suicide and the road to recovery from these. Let's go with that one.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

In Love Is A Locked Cell Door Chase Devineaux and Crackle happily start making out in a jail cell and live happily ever after!

Ok, being serious-

For a one-shot, simple (linked above) starts happy and ends happier.

For a chapter fic, Choice ends with Carmen, Julia, and Gray all living in a very happy polycule pardoned from the law with full emotional control of their lives which is fun :]

8. do you get hate on fics?

@emily-prentits used to leave passive aggressive comments on my wattpad and we would fight in the comments sections 💀now we're partners so make of that what you will. but anyway, no serious ones, no!

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

No, not really! I have a few "fade-to-blacks" or skip-overs without any detail. The one time I tried writing smut it was really forced and hard for me to write...doesn't help that I've never felt sexual attraction in my life so I don't know about that. Curse you asexuality for taking papertiger handcuff sex away from the world.

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

No, I'm not a fan of crossovers

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

I've had one or two...heavily referenced. Not in bad faith, but it was funny to see a lot of my plot and prose mannerisms reworded in a younger author's fic. I think they credited me as inspiration or gifted it to me both times so its not a big deal.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

I have not!

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

If FRANTIC FANFIC! counts, which it shouldn't lol. Also the polycule is working on something :3

14. what's your all time favourite ship?

15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have an au where paper star and black sheep escape VILE together and go through a sort of friends to lovers to enemies deal as carmen (renamed cardinal here due to never escaping in the boat the way she does in canon), though influenced by paper star at the start, eventually finds her inevitable path of good while paper star slips into a chaos that cardinal just can't stomach

ill paste a snippet here that i wrote but its a little bit long and complex and i dont have a ton of motivation for it

16. what are your writing strengths?

ABILITY TO MAKE READERS SUFFER

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

cohesive plot...lord help me i cannot plan a fic to the end before i post chapter 1 and it bites me in the ass all the time

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

if there's a small amount of it, i usually write it as-is in the other language and use external sources or context clues to explain it. if a lot of dialogue is in another language, I'll put it in brackets and write it in english!

19. first fandom you wrote for?

carmen sandiego. still going lmfao

20. favorite fic you've written?

that's really hard- i'm going to do top three in no particular order SORRY

Love, Carmen - this was the first or one of the first fics I ever wrote. it put me on the map a little bit (wattpad..) in terms of writing and boosted upon the sword and choice when they came along. it was really fun to just be young and writing after finishing all two released seasons of the show. i still like it a lot. its just cute and simple.

the phantom au - what a labor of love. i've had other fics (evil carlotta series, cough cough) that have been long and complex but those strayed into meandering and pointless and i lost a lot of motivation. phantom combined my love of theater with my favorite show and my hunger for angst angst angst. it was super fun to write and, at the risk of sounding vain, i pulled off a very hard to pull off trope at the end and i think i did it well. i think if you read any one of mine, this highlights a lot of my strengths.

the cardinal and the kitten - this is a popular one of mine that kind of serves as an updated love, carmen. i really enjoy how i wrote carmen and julia playing off of each other and my dialogue is very strong in this one.

okay, sorry about how long that was i treated it like a professional interview. i had a lot of fun writing this instead of working on a very important school project

#tag game #weed wife #carmen sandiego #carmen sandiego 2019 #writing #ao3

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heartbytez · 9 months ago

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day 6: past

back to casper. casper did not have a great childhood. in what little time ey spent with eir half-sister at her dads house, ey were often brushed off or called annoying any time ey weren't being almost ignored. it wasn't all bad, but it led to a lot of pain and angst down the line. they've both repaired their relationship now, but it took a lot to get there. bonus pic i did last year, long ramble about the two's past under the cut if that interests you :)

wait before i ramble the first pic came from the madoka magica meme and the second was inspired by this post. okay anyways

ahh AHHH sam and casper drive me CRAZY okay so. like i said it wasnt ALL bad casper and sam got along..fine..sometimes, casper especially liked sams at-the-time (and current but shh) high school sweetheart and thought he was cool :) BUT ANYWAYS

we have some aus where they're on better terms and its sweet but at the same time it can never be. perfect and ideal. bc casper's entire existence upset sam's life. when sam was like 3, their mom had an affair with some random dude and decided to keep the baby (casper) and split from her husband because of that. and for some FUCKING reason sam's mom+dad decide to keep this knowledge hidden from her because.. why? plot i guess.

sam still sees her mom and is on good terms with her until her dad comes clean about sam having a whole secret half-sibling. and it rocks her world in the way finding that out when you're 14 and mentally ill would upset you. and for a long time she takes it out on casper, really unfairly, because casper is overjoyed to have a big sister and loves going to her house (especially cause eir mom is uh.. not really doing great raising em).

sam (she/they btw) isn't a bad person by any means but like. being that young and finding that out your family has a secret really unpleasant side hidden from you for no reason would really really upset you. they were not a good sister to casper and by the time casper is like, 15, ey give up on trying to integrate into sam's side of the family and just. finishes high school and gets out of eir mom's house as fast as possible and begins trying to ghost hunt """professionally.""" sam has whole adventures too but they're not the focus rn hush

yea their relationship is better now but this is day PAST not day PRESENT/FUTURE. i could have done sam&casper for the relationship day but ehhh i wanted to draw the madoka meme with them LOL

if you've stayed this long, here's a snippet from their "backstory exposition fic" that i like :)

#bweirdoctober #oc: casper #oc: sam #srry if the fic snippet is confusing theyre on the phone #wait i should clarify #sams dad liked casper :)#he was sad when ey stopped coming over . rip

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sundew199 · 5 months ago

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Never Lose Me snippets Pt.2

Here is part two of my favorite moments and snippets from my multi-chapter Post-Rumbling Fic. Be sure to check out Part one if you haven't!

warnings/tags: fluff, f!reader x Reiner, kind of suggestive in Chapter 14's snippet.

Chapter 11: Reiner's worries about eventually having to tell his kids about his past and the rumbling.

"Much to their own determination, the two of them fell asleep on the couch in the living area on opposite ends. Reiner used the opportunity to shower and work on a few things for work tomorrow, making a few notes and sorting a few documents together. Despite the effort to keep his thoughts from wandering back to the owner and his disquisition to opening the cafe, the mention of the rumbling and how he viewed them as his saviors. The image of Maisie locked onto his words from the chair flashed across his mind, how astounded she looked from the angle Reiner could see her from, the obliviousness in her innocent eyes as the words landed on her ears.

Why on earth did he have to mention that? There obviously children present and speaking on something like that in front of them was now rubbing Reiner the wrong way. He knew the owner had no ill intentions of expressing his gratitude but should’ve at least been more considerate with his words.

Crumpling the paper in his hand, creasing then pen marks on the page, Reiner sighed and tossed it in the bin, reaching for a fresh sheet from the notepad. He wasn’t trying to find a reason to be upset with the man but he unknowingly put him in a position he wasn’t quite ready for. This was his annoyance with the recognition as an ambassador, almost everyone knowing the six of them were part of the group that stopped Eren from wiping out the other side of the sea. People who’d spot him on the street, coming up to him to thank him for saving their lives, tearfully expressing how different the world would’ve been if he and the other five hadn’t stepped up to stop the annihilation. In the very beginning it was so much for Reiner to handle, still coming to terms with his role in Paradis’ retaliation and the trauma he endured all his life. Random people threw their own trauma onto him as a way of sharing their thanks, not knowing what it was doing to him. Like every other time, you were there to work it through with him, remind him to not let other people’s losses become his own, instilling inside him that he did everything he could when fighting Eren and their deaths were not directly on his conscience. Now he had to worry about his son and daughter experiencing the same thing to a degree. Today was a perfect example, and instead of sending Reiner into a depressive mode it sent him into agitation."

~~~~~~~

"“What’s on your mind?”

Part of him wished you’d just ask him out right instead of making him dig together his thoughts to lead up to the initial problem. There wasn’t much room on his end to protest the question, wanting to avoid a heated conversation all together. Letting out a sigh, Reiner ran his hands down his face.

“The owner talking about the rumbling and calling us his saviors got to me.”

“Hm, I figured that might be what it was, but you looked a little more upset than I was expecting you to be.” Feeling you relax on top of him and hug your knees to his sides.

“Well yea because Maisie was sitting right there listening to every word he was saying.” His response having a bite behind them, irritation towards the owner for subjecting his daughter to listen to that come through. It must’ve come out stronger than he intended based on the discomfort in your face, how rarely he ever raised his voice.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to yell, but she didn’t need to hear any of that. Doesn’t matter if he went into detail or not, she’s going to ask either of us at some point what that is and why that man called us his and the world’s saviors, she’s too young to even have an idea of what the world was like before.” Letting it all out, the mild anxiety quickening his breath and making his entire body give off a small shiver.

Something in your face fell, looking off to the side for a moment and making Reiner question just what you were going to say next.

“She already asked, this afternoon when you were in here at your desk.”

Fuck. His mind went blank and a soft ringing rose in his ears as Reiner stared up at you. Maisie already asked and he could only hope that you found a way to quell her inquisitiveness for the time being. Anger and an unexplained sadness coursed throughout his body, looking up at you in shock, mouth agape with the words he couldn’t voice just yet. His precious, innocent daughter that brought so much life and joy into his life asked the dreaded question and Reiner now regretted not stopping the owner from speaking further. Nevermind the gratitude he was expressing to him and the other ambassadors, there were plenty of ways to do that without planting a seed of questioning in his daughter's mind.

“What did you tell her?” The words hurt his dry scratchy throat as he asked, scraping along inside of him as the rose to leave his tongue.

“I told her we’d tell her when she was older, when we were ready.”

Thank god. Thank fucking god you managed to avoid her curiosity altogether, save her from the knowledge that didn’t need to rot her innocence. Reiner knew you wouldn’t tell her but just hearing you say it made the entire thing a bit bearable. Giving you a nod and wasting no time to pull you into an embrace, Reiner held you as he let the last of his negative thoughts leave his mind. "

Chapter 12: Reiner with his son and reassuring his daughter before her first day of school

"Retrieving Gabriel from his room and letting your husband get changed, Reiner joined the two of you in the backyard, taking his spot on the porch swing with you, watching the two and a half year old dig in the designated area of the yard. All his ‘tools’ to achieve the idea of him building a structure of some sort were scattered around the yard, sharing little laughs with Reiner when Gabriel would dramatically sigh when he had to go get one of them.

Eventually, when your son either grew bored or tired of digging around, he climbed into the porch swing, sandwiching himself between you and Reiner, hugging his knees up to his chin and watching the birds come and go from the yard. You always found a bit of humor in the fact that Gabriel was at one point a difficult baby, from not sleeping, to refusing to eat and overall being very fussy. Now he was the idea of calm and collected, never getting upset too often and choosing to snuggle with you often.

Using the end of his foot to keep the porch swing in motion, Reiner combed through the curly blonde locks on Gabriel’s head, looking down to meet his son’s eyes and smiling softly. Your son leaned over into Reiner’s side, right up against his ribs and let out a small yawn. Though majority of the time Gabriel found most of his comfort in you, he was still quite fond of the safety your husband's large arms would bring him holding him close.

Almost as you predicted, Reiner hoisted Gabriel all the way into his arms until his head lay on top of his shoulder, facing towards you with a sleepy smile. Reiner’s hands smoothed down his back as his face pressed into the side of the little boy's hair, letting his eyes fall shut as the gentle rock of the porch swing kept them both relaxed. Your favorite moments were ones like these, seeing the unconditional love poured from Reiner into his two children, being the father he never had and watching how it shaped Maisie and Gabriel slowly over time.

“I miss when they were tiny, just little bundles that always wanted to be carried around.” Carefully pitching the corners of Gabriel’s mouth and giggling when his lips puckered. Reiner was looking from the side of his head over at you, nodding idly and pressing a kiss to his temple.

“You just liked the excuse of staying in bed with them all day when they were that little.”

Slightly offended by the comeback from Reiner, you narrowed your eyes and watched the humor take over in his face. He wasn’t entirely wrong, though there was the newborn bliss you were missing, the idea that they were here and your babies, that utter disbelievement of the first few days of them making their entrance into the world and the struggle to grasp that they were in your arms. You loved all the things you could do with Maisie and Gabriel now that they were older, but you were still nostalgic over the newborn days.

“Mm maybe, in a way those days were so much simpler and calm.”

Reiner hummed his agreement, his lips twitching a little when Gabriel stirred, curling in closer to Reiner. For a moment it looked as if the sleepy boy would continue to nap, until his eyes fluttered open and followed with a small stretch. He made no effort to move off of your husband’s shoulder, content with looking at you and whatever was behind. "

~~~~~~~~~~

"“Tell me what’s wrong angel.”

Maisie shied away again, attempting to go back into the crook of Reiner’s neck, only to be stopped by the gentle hold he had on her shoulders. Sucking in a deep breath, a few more tears falling down those rosy cheeks, finally mustered enough courage to speak.

“I don’t wanna go to school.”

Trying not to let the shock take over his entire face, blinking a few times, Reiner threaded his large fingers in the ends of Maisie’s hair, twirling them a little. Maybe he should’ve seen this coming, but he distinctly remembers his little girl being so excited to go that he wasn’t expecting such a confession.

“How come?”

“Because I…don’t want to…be away…from you and mommy…and Gabe.” Answering through sucks of breath, her entire body shaking with each word she spoke. Reiner felt the familiar burning lump in his throat rising, there wasn’t much to prevent it, not with how upset Maisie was in front of him.

“You’ll only be gone for the day, and then me or mommy will come pick you up at the end of the afternoon, you’re not going to be away from us forever.” Letting the corners of his mouth curl in reassurance, brushing his thumb over her cheek, feeling the tear stains on the pad of his thumb.

“But I’ll be by myself.”

“You’ll be with other kids your age, with your teacher, you’ll get to make friends while at school.” Doing the absolute best to reassure his daughter, and watching his efforts do nothing like Reiner expected. He wanted her to be truly excited and not putting up a front, school may not have been his favorite thing growing up (for one reason or another), but with the changes he helped implement into the new government even made him a bit excited for all the young minds going there to learn. Was he ready to accept the fact that Maisie, his daughter, his little girl was old enough to go to school? No absolutely not, but she didn’t need to hear that.

“But I don’t want to go daddy.” Rubbing her eye and sniffling more now, yanking on his heartstring even more. Maisie had never gotten this upset over something, and Reiner had to gently remind himself that this was going to be the first big adjustment in her life.

“I know sweetheart, but sometimes we have to do things we don’t like, and in this case it’s going to school.” His hands continued to brush her hair out of her face and wipe the tears still rolling down her cheeks, providing different outlets of comfort. “It's going to be a change for all of us, but I have a feeling you’re going to like school the more you go, so can you make me a promise angel?”

Maisie took in one long sniffle and breath, wiping her eyes one last time and looking her father in the eyes. Timidly she nodded her head, not quite to the point of using words just yet, earning a small smile from Reiner.

“Every day when you come home, you have to tell me and mommy one fun thing you did that day, okay? Can you do that?”

Reiner could see the contemplation turning the gears behind her head, face turning relaxed and really thinking over the proposition presented to her. Though a bit unsure that she was actually going to anything fun without her mom, dad and brother, the challenge in that sounded fun in itself. "

Chapter 13: A morning on their vacation in Paradis:

"Quietly shutting the bathroom door, you dug through the small makeup bag, finding eyeliner pencil you used occasionally, a tube of tinted lip gloss and a small blush compact. Giving Maisie the gloss and Gabriel the eyeliner, you repeated the plan in a whisper to them and quietly headed out of the bathroom. Once all three of you were on the bed again, the plan set in motion. Typically you wouldn’t be in with your kids to pull something like this, but there wasn’t any harm in ‘beautifying’ your dear husband as a method of waking him up.

Once or twice you had to remind them to keep quiet as they used the product on his face, although laughing yourself at the innocent fun you were having. Gabriel was going all out with the eyeliner pencil, darkening Reiner’s eyebrows, drawing lines from the corners of his eyes and scribbling on his forehead. Maisie was focused on applying the lip gloss to his parted lips, keeping her hand steady and eyes locked on her motions. You kept it tame with the blush, dusting the pink on his cheeks and nose to the point he looked sunburned.

When Reiner stirred, trying to roll onto his side, all three of you froze. Inevitably he didn’t roll to his side, kicking his feet out from under the comforter and tossing one of his arms above his head.

Ceasing the impromptu make-up session, you hurried to put the products back into your make-up bag, making your return to the bed more noticeable. You watched as Reiner’s face scrunched, signs that he was beginning to wake up.

Nodding to your kids to go forward with the second part of the idea, you scooted back into Reiner’s side, propping yourself up on an elbow and stifling more laughs when you caught a glimpse of his face.

“Good morning daddy.” Maisie and Gabriel said in unison, climbing on top of Reiner and giggling. His eyes opened to his pride and joys greeting him with giddy little smiles, smiling back and wrapping his arms around both to squeeze them into a hug, even when they started to protest. Releasing them, he then turned to you to give you a kiss, doing your absolute best not to break composure as sticky glossed lips pressed into yours.

“I think you have something on your face.” Innocently commenting with a sly smile, relishing in the confusion on his face, moving Maisie and Gabriel out of the way so he could go to the bathroom. Maisie instantly clapped a hand over her mouth to keep her laughs from giving it away, all three of you waiting on bated breath for his reaction.

And it did not disappoint. There was an audible ‘what the hell?’ followed by a sigh and a menacing chuckle as he peaked out from the bathroom door. When Reiner didn’t immediately come back out of the bathroom, you figured he was washing it off. He had washed off most of it but looked absolutely devious when he approached the bed, winking at you and turning to face away.

A click from a top being put back on something didn’t give you a warning like it should’ve, giving you no time to react when Reiner gathered all three of you up and aggressively kissed all over your faces. He’d grabbed your lipsticks, a red one you’d mindlessly packed when initially packing some spar makeup for the trip and was now retaliating in a way you should’ve expected. Reiner used his strength to keep the three of you escaping his grasp, laughing like the menace he was as he didn’t let up and smearing the red lipstick across everyone's face.

Finally he released his arms and laughed proudly at his work, as if he didn’t have bright red lipstick smeared around his mouth as well.

“That was mean!” Maisie declared, pouting and crossing her arms at Reiner. Gabriel only looked annoyed as he wiped his hand over his face to try and take the lipstick off.

“It's called payback sweetheart.” Taking it the extra mile to lean in to kiss Maisie cheek, fully expecting her turn away and huff.

You were still surprised from the happenings but shaking your head in amusement. Reiner always played a good sport, it took a lot for him to actually be angry and very rarely did he find himself that way with you or the kids. A harmless prank was in his nature to find funny and not retaliate, you knew his masculinity was anything but fragile and that putting makeup on him in his sleep wouldn’t shatter his ego.

“Alright let's go get cleaned up so we can go down to the city.” Instructing your kids, taking their hands and leading them to the bathroom. Dabbing the soap and water onto a rag, you gently washed the red from their faces and sent them out of the bathroom and to their room to pick out an outfit for the day once they were done. "

Chapter 14: Telling you about his last minute ambassador trip:

"“When do you leave?” Muffled words into his neck brought him to bring you back up right, resting his hands on your thighs.

“End of this week.”

Now the expected somber look washed over you, entire face drooping and pulling at his heart. This being on such short notice made it all the more worse, at least in the past Reiner was given enough time to prepare and spend time with his family before he departed.

“I know, believe me sweetheart I’m not thrilled.” Holding the back of your neck and massaging your scalp absentmindedly. “But I’m going to call you every day if I can, make sure you and the kids don’t forget about me. And you know I’ll bring home little souvenirs for you, Maisie and Gabriel.”

A tiny laugh left from you at his endearingly playful words of reassurance, kissing the inside of his wrist of the hand that cradled the nape of your neck. Reiner smiled in return, taking your hand and kissing your knuckles while also briefly admiring the wedding ring you wore. It was still as stunning from the moment he slipped it onto your finger when he proposed and he wouldn’t lie and say his heart didn’t soar everything he’d see it on your finger. A simple piece of jewelry represented so much for both him and you, and symbol of everlasting love and the statement that you were his, forever and always.

“Good, or else I would’ve endured your absence for nothing.” Humorously commenting and leaning in a kiss. Reiner laughed and smiled when his lips met yours, wrapping his arms around you tighter and sitting up in his desk chair. He couldn’t help the insistence in his kisses, slowly hurrying them along and letting his hands fiddle with the waistband of your sleep pants. You gasped when you firmly squeezed your backside, breaking the kiss and narrowing your eyes in a feign scolding.

“And what exactly are you doing?” Playing mildly innocent and spurring Reiner on further, chuckling and dipping part of his hand behind the waistband of your sleep pants and snapping it against your skin.

“Well since I’m on short notice for this damned trip, I gotta take every opportunity to spend quality time with you before I go.” Kissing the corner of your mouth and scotting the desk chair back to stand, still holding you with one firm arm and setting you down on top of his desk. Wasting no time and pulling his shirt off, Reiner moved in close to your body, causing you to lean back on your palms and look up at him.

“Besides, the kids are asleep on the other side of the house, so I don’t see the point in leaving my office when I could have you right here.” Cupping the side of your face and not waiting for an answer sealing his lips back onto yours and reveling in the gasp like moan you let out.

“Fair point, that just means you have to carry me to bed.” Speaking between the long drawn out passionate kisses he exchanged with you, smiling successfully and letting out a deep chuckle that began low in his chest, refusing to let his lips break away from yours.

“Whatever you want, angel.” "

Chapter 15: Finding out your expecting again and telling Reiner:

"Sitting up and looking around the room while picking at your nails, you ran different ways to drop the news on him in the best way possible. You knew Reiner picked up on your sudden mood change, sitting up some and trying to catch your eyes to silently ask if everything was okay before you spoke. Butterflies were performing a circus act in your stomach, your throat running dry and every fiber in your body tingling with nervous anticipation.

“Okay look, I know this wasn’t planned and I know you’ve been stressed and I really don’t know how to tell you this.” You watched as Reiner’s face dropped slightly, anticipating the worst at this point from the slight shake in your words and the nervous picking on your nails. Taking in another deep breath, you could feel the tears forming at your waterline from the overwhelming weight of your next words, stinging as you tried not to let them fall.

“I also just want to say I’m sorry for not telling you sooner. It didn’t feel right telling you over the phone, but I’m pregnant.”

As if it weren’t quiet enough, it turned deathly silent, not even being able to hear the intake of breath from your husband who just stared at you with wide eyes, like the information didn’t process all the way. He was halfway sitting up when you started to speak, now sitting there with one leg hanging off the side of the bed, the rest of his body completely frozen. Reiner opened and closed his mouth, brought a hand to swipe down on his face and returned to look at you with utter shock still. You could see the gears turning behind his eyes, putting the pieces together of when this would’ve happened and how far along you would be right now.

Suddenly, you felt guilty and partially ashamed for just about every reason. The last conversation you and him had about potentially more kids was after Gabriel had been born and you both agreed that you were content with two for the time being. There were times when you toyed with the idea, got random spouts of baby fever but you mostly kept it to yourself knowing Reiner wasn’t up for having another. None of this was planned, you barely believed the doctor when he told you while seeing him for your regular check up, not even four weeks after Reiner left. Immediately you wanted to tell him, but who would want to receive news like that when they’re halfway across the world on a diplomatic trip. You only told the others when you couldn’t hold it in anymore, not even telling Maisie or Gabriel just yet, worrying it might slip out when they talked to Reiner over the phone.

“I know this wasn’t planned and I get it if you’re a little upset-”

Instantly you were hauled off the bed into his arms, cut off mid sentence and your face buried into the side of his neck as he held you so tight. Taken aback by his reaction completely you could only let out the small little sob that you’d been holding back since you began speaking, still unsure of how you felt. Reiner moved with you still in his arms to sit on the edge of the bed, now hugging your mid section with his face buried in his chest, picking up on what you thought was laughter. He pulled away after a few more moments with the stupidest grin on his face and brought you down for a kiss, a deep loving kiss that you didn’t want to end.

“You had me so worried for a moment I couldn’t even think of whatever awful thing you might tell me.” Now holding the sides of your face, landing little pecks to your nose and cheeks. “This, this I don’t even know what to say.” Carefully sliding one of his hands down from your face to slip under the light sweater you were wearing, finding the center of your abdomen and running his palm across the slightest bump that wouldn’t have been noticeable at all unless you knew. You were able to hide it well from the naked eye with sweaters and clothes that weren’t skin tight the moment you began to notice.

“I feel bad about not telling you when I found out, I mean we hadn’t even really talked about this since Gabriel was born.”

“Don’t be.” Lifting the hem of your sweater up completely and leaning forward to kiss the center of your stomach, running both hands along your sides until cradling you by your lower back.

“So you’re okay with one more?”

Reiner lowered his hands and stood up, fixing your sweater back to how it was and taking both of your hands in his and kissing the knuckles. “Of course I am, I don’t care if this was planned or an accident. I know you’re thinking back to the conversation we had when Gabriel was six months old but I thought you knew I was implying we wait a few years.”

Shaking your head softly, Reiner nodded knowing that his implications in a conversation from years ago had you worried to no end when you found this out, wishing he had done better to make that known. Unable to change the past, he pulled you in for another embrace, resting his chin at the top of your head and smoothing his hands down your back. The slightly off behavior from you earlier was making sense, and he found it amusing how he didn’t pick up on anything like this sooner. "

Chapter 16: introducing your third baby to your two older kids

“He was holding both of them when he returned to the living room, neither of them looking close to being awake in his arms. Gabriel gasped first, reaching out for you immediately and curling into your arms. You know he missed you terribly by the way he was clinging to your shirt and burying his face in your neck. Maisie was still curled up in Reiner’s arms, in a similar position as her brother.

“Hey, there’s someone you need to meet.” Your husband said, jolting his arm and moving her unruly hair out of her face. Maisie groaned sleepily, ignoring her father and hooking her chin over his shoulder. Karina and you both chuckled, scooting down the sofa so Reiner could sit next to you.

Your tired kids suddenly gained interest when a tiny gurgle left Adalyn, holding their breaths as they looked at the tiny baby still in their grandmother’s arms. Gabriel was passed onto Reiner, who halfway sat on his lap in front of Maisie in Reiner’s other arm, she also began to move closer to you to get a better look. Karina gently handed you your daughter, smiling at her and undoing the swaddle a bit more. Adalyn was dressed in a thick cotton onesie with little mittens sewn into the sleeves to go over her hands. She was ironically the odd one out, born in November during the winter while her two older siblings were born just before summer.

Adalyn stirred for a moment in your arms, worrying you that she was getting fussy but calmed down when you bounced her in your arms. Maisie and Gabriel were still frozen, like they were afraid any movement would cause their baby sister harm. Reiner encouraged them with gentle kisses to the sides of their heads, breaking their trance and adjusting where they sat until they were comfortable.

“This is your baby sister, Adalyn.” Speaking just above a whisper, leaning in closer to both of them so they could get a better look. Maisie blinked once or twice, a nervous yet excited smile pulling the corners of her mouth. Gabriel didn’t hesitate when he brushed the soft hair over her head, laughing to himself when his younger sister stirred at the movement. Both you and Reiner were exchanging glances at their interactions, so filled with love either of you felt like you could burst.

“I wanna hold her. Can I Mommy?” Maisie gently asked with a pleading look in her hazel eyes. You nodded, waiting for Reiner to get up from the couch so Maisie and Gabriel could sit properly.

“Me too?” Gabriel asked, fiddling with his hands nervously and hoping he would be able too. You gave him a nod as well, watching his eyes light up and giggle to his older sister. Reiner reached down to take Adalyn from your arms, removing her blanket and throwing it over his shoulder. He got down on one knee, settling Adalyn down a bit before letting her older siblings hold her.

“Be gentle, don’t move around too much, ask Mommy or me to help you.” Instructing both kids, waiting for their nods of understanding, slowly reaching out place Adalyn in Maisie and Gabriel’s arms. Her head rested on Maisie’s arm, while Gabriel supported her legs and back, they both stared with observing eyes at their new sibling, taking it all in for the first time.

Seeing your older babies hold your newest baby formed a lump in your throat, feeling the sting of tears in your waterline. It was like witnessing the final piece of the puzzle that built your family being placed, completing what you didn’t know was missing. Despite being tired and wanting to relax comfortably after a week in the hospital bed that felt hard as a rock, you didn’t want to move from this couch. The small sniffles couldn’t be helped, hormones doing their job even if you didn’t want to make a scene, you didn’t try to stop yourself. Reiner, still down on one knee in front of the couch, rested his palm on your knee, rubbing it soothingly and understanding the flood of emotions. Karina was tenderly massaging your shoulders next to you, looking over one to see her grandkids altogether for the first time.

When Maisie’s arms got tired, Reiner took Adalyn back from her and stood up, instructing both her and Gabriel to change out of their sleeping clothes so they could eat breakfast in a bit. Adalyn already looked so small even in your hands, but seeing your husband hold her over his shoulder with a hand on her back, made her look minuscule to the point it heightened your emotions. She was so small and fragile, and knowing there was a reason for it made you want to sob. Nothing could be done now, but all you wanted to do was hold her and protect her, like you did with your older two.”

Chapter 17: Maisie’s dance recital and after.

“Girls in frilly white skirts that looked around Maisie’s age, tiptoed onto the stage, giving little twirls as they gathered in formation. Effortlessly they spun in sync with one another to the instrumentals beginning just after they entered the stage. The set for the show was revealed, a background of whimsical meadows with flowers sprouting from the grass, so similar to what you remember visiting Paradis. Despite their age, the young girls looked graceful, elegant and like they were plucked from a fairytale book, snatching your attention almost violently and letting yourself fall in the beauty of performance and storytelling.

Another set of girls joined the first group after their little routine, falling in line with the others and twirling. You immediately spotted Maisie, gasping softly and ignoring the tears welling in your eyes. She was in a pastel blue outfit with the same frilly skirt and flowers decorating her hair, your daughter was a natural at this and you were so proud. Just watching her from a distance, you could see the dedication she put into her steps and twirls, possibly finding her passion and there was something indescribable about witnessing that as her mother. All you ever wanted for your children, from the moment they were born, was for them to experience the freedom of choice and following their hearts desire. For the longest, neither you nor Reiner had that, spending almost half of your lives doing as others wished, stripped of your freedom to choose. This is all any parent would want for their kids, but it was so much different for you and Reiner, so much more of a goal the two of you strove towards for the sake of your three kids. Seeing Maisie up on that stage performing not only for you and Reiner, but herself as well, had little tears rolling down your cheeks.

Your eyes were glued to your daughter the entire recital, clapping earnestly when appropriate and flowing with the sensation of pride. Towards what you thought was the end of the show, Maisie, her two friends and three other girls gave a solo group performance. Their toes pointed and balanced their weight as they spun in a twirl, holding their arms above their heads to mimic the stance of a true ballerina. It was all so beautiful, the hard work the kids put into this performance shining through to the very end, clapping your hands so hard they stung as your daughter and the other girls gave a small bow and pranced off stage.

“Maisie did so good.” Gabriel uttered as the instrumental died down, turning back to look at you with amazement.

“She did, we need to tell her when she comes out.” Kissing his temple and wrapping your arms around him tighter, so overwhelmingly proud of your daughter. “

“Moments later you spotted him weaving through the small crowd and with what looked like something behind his back. He smiled brightly the closer he approached, bending down to meet his daughter in a halfway hug, kissing her temple fiercely.

“You did amazing, sweetheart, I’m so proud of you.” Pulling back, holding her by the shoulder and revealing a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Maisie gasped, looking shocked and hesitant to take the flowers from her father, but doing so after a moment. The bouquet glittered with pink roses and white daisies, wrapped together at the stems with a satin red bow. Reiner leaned forward to kiss his daughters forehead, chuckling joyfully before rising to stand. Immediately Maisie was rushing over to show you the flowers Reiner had gifted her, stumbling over her words as she moved to show Pieck and Jean as well.

“Didn’t have enough time to get some before, luckily the flower shop was still open when I got there.” Reiner said as he came to stand beside you, rubbing up and down on your arm, smiling softly. You shook your head playfully, pecking his cheek.

“Worked out either way, you just made her entire night.” Turning to look at your daughter pointing out every single flower to Jean and Pieck who were down at her level and hanging on her every word.”

“Go back to sleep.” He whispered, adoration seeping through his sleepy eyes that complement the tender curl into his lips.

Instead of doing as he asked, you scooted closer to his side, wrapping his arm around you and pressing your cheek high on his pectoral, face to face with your now content daughter. So many times you’d found yourself like this with him, one of your restless babies finding solstice in his tranquil arms, comforted by the firm yet soft chest he chose to lay them, running an idle hand down their back to keep them at ease. With Maisie, you wondered why she found greater comfort in Reiner than you, worrying yourself as a first time mom that it was something you were doing wrong. But when you thought back to all the times you found yourself wrapped in his strong arms resting a head on his chest did you understand. Reiner was made of nothing but comfort, the tenderness of his true nature bringing anyone to a still mind the moment they were wrapped in his presence. It helped a lot when Gabriel was restless and you were at a loss of what was wrong, it didn’t always work but when it did, you were beyond grateful for your husband.

“I remember when you were so scared to hold Maisie after we got home, always insisting that I should hold her.” Muttering faintly, tracing a finger around Adalyn’s cheek, seeing her smile in her sleep at your touch.

“She was so fragile and I felt like a giant when she was in my arms, didn’t want to hurt her.” Answering back in a tone of amusement, watching your finger trace deftly over Adalyn’s features, the closed lipped serene smile on his face.

“Mhm, but then it turned into her always wanting you to hold her.” Running your forefinger down the slope of your baby's nose, smoothing over her faint eyebrows and back down her temples to her cheeks.

“Yea, but look at Gabriel. Now all he wants is you to hold him even though he knows he’s not a baby anymore.” Chuckling lowly, adjusting down the headboard to ease the slight ache in his spine from his position.

“He’ll always be my baby boy, my sweet little Gabriel.” Looking to Reiner with an amused smile, knowing he shared a similar relationship with Maisie, his little girl, his first baby and yours.

“And Adalyn is our last, our final baby.” Pouting ever so slightly, realizing his own confession and the weight it held. The topic of conversation hadn’t come up between the two of you yet, but it didn’t need to. Adalyn completed your family without even realizing the piece was missing. It was ironic how anxious you were about the surprise pregnancy and how Reiner would take it. But look how this happy accident ended up finalized the small family you built with Reiner. The small joke he made seven years ago about possibly wanting three or four kids brought a small chuckle from you. Back then you played it off as him still trying to lighten the mood after discovering his journal and what he kept from you, but looking at it now, he was being completely serious. You gave him three beautiful children, something he never thought he’d have ever in his lifetime, the greatest gift you could give to him and yourself.”

Chapter 18: Wedding Anniversary

“The volume of the music softened gradually, Reiner coming to a halt in his sway, pulling you back by the waist. His hands came to cradle each side of your face, leaning down for a kiss. As soon as his lips touched yours and slotted in between perfectly did he feel himself transcend. The room around him faded, his mind going blank of nothing but you and only being able to hear that sweet giggle of yours as he kissed you. Your arms wrapped around his neck, arching yourself more to reach him and he welcomed it by moving one of his hands to the small of your back. Everything about this evening was perfect, just how he wanted.

“I got you something.” Saying once he pulled away, chuckling under his breath when you clicked your tongue.

“Reiner, I didn’t know we were doing gifts, I would’ve gotten you something.” Hearing the tinge of a whine in your voice, a little annoyed at the fact he failed to inform you gifts were being exchanged, but he didn’t care.

“I know, but I don’t need you to give me anything with I have you and the three greatest gifts back home. This was something I wanted to do for you, so let me spoil you a bit sweetheart.”

Pecking your lips once more, Reiner reached into his pants pocket to retrieve the anniversary band he got to go with your other two. The moment you saw the box, you playfully slapped his chest, hearing the sob rise in your throat as you questioned just what the hell he had bought for you. Raising your left hand in his, Reiner kissed just your ring finger and opened the box to reveal the band.

A band with small circular diamonds fitted at the top going about half way down was revealed. It was simple and not too dramatic to take away from the engagement ring you wore with the wedding band. You moved your hand forward for him to slip it on, sniffling once and trying to keep yourself from ugly crying in front of the musicians still softly playing music in the background.

“There’s something special about this band. It’s called an anniversary band and seeing as we’re celebrating our sixth one, I figured it was appropriate to get you the last band to complete your wedding set.” Smiling proudly, carefully holding the ring upside down the bottom side where there weren’t diamonds to show you the last special thing about this ring. “I had all of their names engraved on the inside, so they’ll always be with you.”

That was the final straw, revealing that Maisie, Gabriel and Adalyn’s names were engraved on the inside of the ring Reiner bought for you. Your children were so special to you and him and Reiner knew having them on the ring finger closest to your heart would be a perfect anniversary gift.

“Reiner…” Croaking out through the tears, using your other hand to wipe them away furiously, almost unable to keep up with how fast they were streaming down your cheeks. His heart swelled as he slipped it on, watching it stack perfectly above your engagement ring completing the set flawlessly. He couldn’t help but shed a few tears himself, overwhelming emotions of where he once was before here, coming forth. There would never be enough words to describe his love for you, but that would never stop him from trying.

“I love you. I love you angel, I’ll never stop even when my time here on earth is up. I never thought I could ever come to deserve the love you gave me, feeling so unworthy of your unconditional efforts to help me heal after everything that happened. But I realized now that I do deserve the love you’ve given and continued to give. I’ve always been sure of one thing sweetheart, and that I was always meant to have you in my life, one way or another and I’m still in awe that I have the privilege of calling you my wife.” “

#reiner braun #attack on titan #snk #aot reiner #reiner x reader #reiner x you #reiner fluff #fluff

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