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mrstellmeafuckingsecret · 1 month

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what do you think sirius’s relationship with his father was like

(i wrote a whole fucking biography, but there's a tldr at the bottom w some notes! also. i am so sorry. this ended up being orion's relationship with his eldest son instead. its pov orion forgive me please.)

sirius and orion ..... there's not much in canon about them, i think, right? he mentions him a whopping one time, when he said his father was the one who made Number Twelve unplottable and that's it, so i think orion was just. so very absent. and neglectful. especially considering how much walburga is mentioned and how big of a part she played in sirius' life.

that's all for canon, i think. now for the fun hc time !!

i imagine orion to be fairly quiet, more like regulus. i imagine he dealt with walburga's anger and mood swings (i hc her (and sirius) with bipolar ii disorder which was obv untreated her whole life bc a) fifties b) ew muggles im perfectly fine) ever since they met (with orion being younger and more complacent, too) so it wasn't a marriage where they were both equals, and orion resented walburga for it.

enter sirius black.

when sirius was born, walburga was completely focused on him. she had her son, her everything, her precious little child and orion was free. i think he loved sirius for it - for how walburga didn't notice when orion left the room or entered it, for how much walburga loved her son.

the first few years was good, sirius was charming, regulus was obedient, walburga was happy and orion was distant from the woman who'd ruined his life. plus, he liked his kids!

sure, sirius was too headstrong and aggressive and had mood swings and sure that reminded him a little bit of walburga and so he usually treasured his precious regulus, and yeah, sirius had cried more than once that dad doesnt love me! but it was all just fine, because he loved his son! he did, really! at least one of them, anyway.

by the time sirius was ten, orion was hoping his hogwarts letter would come early.

it was sirius' first big rebellion, and walburga had (after punishing sirius as she saw fit - orion didn't bother asking, the boy was more comfortable with his mother anyway) locked herself in her room for more than a week, but that was fine, he was used to it. no, the problem was that sirius also stayed in his room for a week, and orion was connecting dots.

from then to dropping sirius off at the train, orion withdrew himself. he noticed. he observed. he busied himself. sirius talked to him, and he didn't ignore him completely, he was still a good father (right?) so he played chess and taught potions and told him who to and not to talk to like he was supposed to.

(he hated the noise the mother and son caused. he hated them, too.)

he pretended to sympathize when walburga said she missed him already when they saw the bus go off.

when sirius came back for christmas, he steered clear for the first two days. walburga handled the punishments: sorting, his friendships, his misdemeanors. orion nodded along.

i am a good father. it's his fault for not being a good son.

regulus was so good, and for all the time the boys spent together, regulus never rubbed off on him.

oh god. what if sirius infects him, too? the only normal one there - what if sirius takes regulus in his madness?

so he separates regulus, too.

by then, he doesn't know what's going on with sirius. regulus told him, time to time, but orion's dislike of his son was becoming clear, so regulus steered clear of the sirius' name. sirius learnt to be away from his father's study. walburga yelled at him more for his negligence but he took it and continued his one sided resentment to his son. (was it one sided anymore? orion didn't know.)

summer vacation is spent in his study and in his bedroom. the two places sirius never was. he didn't know where sirius was, but he heard the occasional screaming and then he had the pleasure of not seeing sirius for a few days.

when, the next year, regulus has to go with sirius, he resents walburga for not saying she missed him already. but she had missed sirius. cursed mother, cursed child.

in third year, walburga signs sirius' hogsmeade permission slip. whatever. he didn't even know it had been signed till the following year, when regulus came to him and they had a few moments of small talk.

regulus mentioned sirius idolized andromeda. he couldn't imagine why, and he couldn't imagine why regulus told him.

by the summer before fourth year, sirius and orion didn't talk. orion scolded him for one thing or another ('posture!' , 'you're late' , 'you're friends with a pettrigrew?' , 'your hair is unkept'), he gave scoffed when sirius made a pronunciation error with his words (regulus wouldn't've. stupid boy, sirius didn't deserve the title of heir.), he punished sirius and then he went back to his study (*sanctuary).

walburga tells him sirius has been sneaking out to muggle london, he has indecent pictures spelled to his walls, he's changed, orion, he's different now. orion doesn't tell her that sirius had always been different, and never in a good way. (he doesn't tell her that she is the same.)

sirius didn't come back for christmas that year. he doesn't notice till walburga screamed at him. he was more focused on how walburga clung to his regulus closer that year.

by the summer before sirius' fifth year, sirius' fights were no longer contained for his mother. he yelled at anyone who would give him time of day.

bellatrix, portraits, kreacher, walurga of course, regulus even.

not his father.

if he saw his father, he would simply walk away.

sirius never walked away from anyone, but orion was grateful nonetheless. he'd hexed sirius a few times, naturally, but he didn't want it to become something regular.

(he was grateful for the days sirius spent holed up into his room.)

by the end of summer, sirius and him had barely exchanged a word that wasn't orion chastising him and sirius replying with a curt yes father.

(it felt like an insult. father. no, orion wasn't a father to that vile thing. sirius was his mother's son. orion had nothing to do with him. and he knew sirius didn't feel differently - he heard sirius refer to him by name when he conversed with regulus.)

when that year ended, and summer began, sirius didn't grant his father the gift of silence. he yelled at him too. every word orion spoke, sirius gave three in return, every hex orion performed sirius laughed at ('is that it? i've been done worse by kids my year.'). he hates him, now. he doesn't hate walburga as much, walburga stayed in her room more, she came out to scream for a few hours and went back.

he blocks that whole summer out. he hates yelling. he hates being yelled at. sirius was walburga, but worse. infinitely worse. he's so relieved when he wakes up to find sirius gone that he can barely hear walburga's shrieks, or bother trying to undo the careful expression regulus wears.

sirius visits him through walburga regardless. (how funny, at first it had been the other way around). sirius had never been one for letting go of things. he haunts orion's dreams and when he hears certain phrases he thinks of his fallen star.

tldr : orion is reminded of walburga (abuser?) when he looks at sirius and distances himself till he finds himself no longer seeing himself as a father for sirius

stuff i didn't mention : walburga uses regulus as sirius' replacement when he runs away and orion hates her for it even though he does the same , he does 100% despise sirius' muggle/gryfindor/blood traitors esque etc stand points, i just feel like that's a given though soo i didnt include it (sorry!!). he just lets walburga handle it, for the most part.

tysm for the ask @albi-bumblebee <3

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wheresmymilliondollarman · 2 years

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reader x xander Hawthorne please 🥺

xander hawthorne x fem!reader

hcs about meeting & dating xander hawthorne

a/n: HI IM BACK! & tysm for the request!! xander is so underrated 👎 thats my bae fr🫶 currently working on other stuff but wanted to do this request bc i immediately had ideas for this!! i still don't completely get how school worked in the books, so if there's any wrong info please bare w me. if this wasn't what you had in mind feel free to send a specific request! again, this is kinda fic like but still calling it hcs.

word count: 7.3k

warnings: long backstory again, mentions of death, sexual themes. (pls lmk if you see anything else that should be labeled as a warning)

you’ve always lived on the middle side class of things. you were, thankfully, never poor, but also never rich enough where you could afford the more luxurious things in life.

your mother owned a small bakery 3 blocks away from your home, while your father worked for an electrician company. both jobs were stable enough to provide for necessities and both your parents enjoyed their occupations.

your parents always told you to never worry about money, but it still made you reluctant to ask them for things you wanted in fear they couldn't afford it. which is why you always tried to fix your problems yourself.

if you ever needed money, you would work for your mother at her bakery in exchange. while it was still your mom giving you the money, it made you feel better that you earned the cash.

you later found yourself working at the bakery even without needing money. you liked working with your mom, and it was fun to learn how to make different types of sweets.

at school, you were always a studious person. you worked hard to get a's and never anything below. you wanted to make your parents proud and feel as if their hard work toward the family wasn't for nothing.

you knew it would be practically impossible for your family to afford your college career without going into debt. so you always looked at scholarships and what they looked for in students, so you tried to make yourself appear well-rounded.

you joined student council, mathletes (although math wasn't your forte),library club, chess club,art club, film club, yearbook, culinary club, asl club, and a few others over the years. to say your schedule after school was always booked was a major understatement.

although your favorite was always the art club. you never even knew you had an artistic side until you joined. you explored it more with your membership and soon became quite good.

during your freshman year you took your first art class. you were excited to learn under a professional for the first time.

after a few lessons, your first major assignment was realism project; draw somebody in your everyday life.

you were both excited and a bit nervous. you had drawn people before, but never someone you knew, and you wanted to make a great first impression on your teacher.

you ended up choosing your mother as your muse; your father could never stay still enough to be drawn. it took a lot of long nights when your mother wasn't working to finish your drawing. you could've just taken a photo of her and drawn that, but you pushed for the extra mile of drawing her from real life.

you were satisfied when you finished, and your parents were in awe by your work - telling you over and over how talented you were and your teacher would surely be impressed. still, you were anxious about turning it in the next day in class.

your assignment was a big hit with your teacher, you got a perfect A+. she commented on your beautiful handiwork, noting that your drew from real life. she also advised how you should consider switching to an advanced class since it was obvious you were already beyond a beginner course.

you wanted to decline at first, being intimidated by the thought of being in a class with others who were just as good or better than you - but your gut instinct told you it was the right choice to make.

it proved to be right because by the spring you were already one of the best in your art class. you expanded into all types of art: abstract, realism, expressionism, digital, etc. your favorite and most notable works tended to be the realistic ones of people, place, and objects. art had become a part of your life in the best way.

you entered a numerous amount of competitions and always come back on top; it got to the paint your shelfs had all been filled to the brim. you parents of course were elated with your success and were never prouder.

you soon were able to make some money with your art skills as well. you got commissioned for mainly portraits of family and friends, mostly to give as gifts or to have in their household. it made you feel proud someone out there had a piece of your art and that people loved your work enough to want you to paint their family.

the biggest commission you've ever taken was a 40x30 portrait of an older man. the request was anonymous, so you weren't sure who the man was or if the request was for himself or another person.

the project took a few weeks due to your work load and having to paint such fine details on a huge canvas. you were happy with the outcome and were astonished to find out the anonymous buyer had given you 10k for your work. it was way over your normal pay grade.

your success didn't end there. in the summer before your sophomore year, you received a fancy envelope in the mail. it was addressed to you and sent from heights country day school.

at first, you were confused as to why they would send you anything. everyone in texas knew of heights country day, it was one of the best private schools in the state. almost all parents want their kids to be a student there, but the tuition was awfully expensive, so if you weren't rich you were most likely not getting in.

you didn't wait to tell your parents before your ripped open the envelop in anticipation. you unfolded the letter inside and skimmed over the introductions.

you were shocked to find out you were being awarded a full paid scholarship to attend heights country day school for the rest of highschool.

your first thought was to assume it was a prank, or a scammer trying to get your info. but you examined the letter further; the seal of the school and the dean signature did look quite authentic. then you noticed the number listed on the bottom of the page.

you figured you should just call and check for confirmation. you told yourself the worst case scenario would be they laugh at your face and tell you the letter isn't real.

you definitely did not want to inform your parents until you made the call, that way if it wasn't real, their hopes wouldn't be crushed and they would never even know about it.

it took an hour of pacing in your room to finally work up the courage to make the call. you kept tour expectations low to avoid disappointment.

the secretary of the school was quick to pick up after two rings, and you briefly explained the letter you received. you held your breath for a second until she told you to "please hold for a moment."

when she returned she informed you you were being transferred to the dean's phone. your nerves were through the roof at this point. you wanted to believe it was a good sign the dean wanted to talk to you, but maybe he wanted to tell you himself the letter was unfortunately a phony and they do not give scholarships to art students.

the dean finally picked up the call and you both exchanged greetings. from there he explained how the letter was, in fact, very real.

the school had seen a work of yours and dug deeper into your portfolio and academic career. they were very impressed with your achievement, especially given your age. the board was all unanimous in agreeing to offer you the scholarship because of your artistic talents and would love for you to become a part of their school.

the rest of the call was a blur to you. when the call ended you stood stunned in your room for a minute. you had to pinch yourself to remind yourself this was real and happening.

once you snapped out of it, you were jumping up and down in joy. you truly were elated to possibly be a student at one of the top private schools in texas or even the country.

you wasted no more time informing your parents when they arrived home. they also thought you were just pulling their leg, but after you told them you had confirmation - you swear their jaws hit the floor.

your parents were just as excited for you. your mother took the liberty of baking all your favorites in celebration, even lemon scones, which were your favorite.

before you knew it, summer was over, and it was time to get back into school. you spent the rest of your break prepping to attend heights - gathering books, supplies, and a uniform (which was mostly paid by the school).

this was your first time wearing a uniform, and you were a bit delighted to wear it. it was a burgundy blazer with a navy crest embossed, with the school motto in latin, a white dress shirt, and a pleated plaid skirt.

it screamed, "i go to a really expensive private school."

it was nerve-wracking that you were now going to school with some of the richest and elite children in america. you'd hope it wouldn't be obvious where your social class stood, or if it was, they wouldn't think of you any less for it.

you did your best to stray from stereotypical assumptions, but then again you've never interacted with people of a such higher social class - you really had no idea what to expect.

nonetheless, you wanted to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, so you held your head up high when the first day came around.

the school in no way looked like a regular public school, it shared way more similar qualities with college campuses. it was beautifully constructed, and you had a feeling the inside was even more stunning.

your parents dropped you off in front of the twin archways of the school, wishing you a good first day, and they were only a call away if you needed anything. you responded with your goodbyes and now stood on the pavement of heights day.

a part of you was glad your parents left so soon; you loved them to death, but their older modeled car stood out amongst the other deluxe cars parked and driving into school grounds. the last thing you wanted on your first day was to stick out like a sore thumb.

you took a deep breath before you took your strides through the front door.

you were happy to see no one gave you obvious looks and stares when you walked through, like those of a movie. everyone seemed preoccupied with their own things. you were silently thankful for that.

you made your way to the office on your own; luckily it was very near the front entrance with a big sign that said 'office of registrar'. making it very easy for you to find it without having to awkwardly ask another peer.

you walked to a desk of who you assumed was a secretary and gave her your name and stated your business. she instantly recognized your name and made a swift move to hand you your schedule.

the secretary informed you about the school's modular scheduling, which means they operate on a six-day cycle, and classes meet anywhere from three to five times a cycle. you were free to fit in lunch where you saw fit. you honestly didn't quite grasp it, but you figured you'd just learn along the way.

she also let you know another student had been assigned to show you around school. that's how you ended up meeting rebecca laughlin.

rebecca was a shy and a bit nervous girl, but seemed sweet nonetheless. you briefly got to know her as she showed you the different rooms; the archive room, the reflector (basically the cafeteria you realized), gym, the art center etc.

she was in the same grade as you, and had a twin sister named emily also in the school. from the small mention of her sister you sensed it was likely a sore subject. you took over from there talking a bit about yourself and your interests.

rebecca mentioned she was also new this year, having moved to texas just recently with her family but frequently visiting before that. she was able to go on a private tour with her sister over the summer, which is why she knew the place quite well already.

you two chatted a bit more until the tour ended. the last stop was the art center, and you were more than thrilled to go inside and check it out. rebecca was about to enter along with you before she saw her twin sister and people who you assume were her friends , a boy and a girl.

you turned around to glance at them and saw they were waving her over. you could tell rebecca was hesitant to just leave you for them, but you reassured her she provided an excellent tour. she reluctantly went off toward her friends, not before giving you her number and letting you know if you had any questions you could reach her.

you took a peak back at where rebecca and her friends were walking away. they all look straight out of a teen vogue catalog. emily was identical to rebecca, same red hair, eyes, and face. you could tell emily was more confident than rebecca however. there was another girl, dark eyes and even darker brown wavy hair - she was so beautiful it felt unreal. and lastly with them was a boy, he was quite tall, dark-skinned with light honey brown eyes, and a head full of curly hair. he was handsome and easily fit in with the rest of the model-looking girls.

you must've looked a second too long because he turned his head in your direction and you both made eye contact.

you quickly snapped your head away,not waiting for his reaction, and made your way to the arts center. you cursed yourself for being caught looking a bit, and now you were slightly embarrassed.

when you reached the arts center, you were amazed. it was a big building with different rooms, it was decorated as if was a museum, marble floors and pillars, archways, etc. and everything about it was engaging.

you took the time to explore the whole place; you found several different art rooms you assumed were open to students, different supply closest, classrooms for teaching, and even a few soundproof rooms. at some point you ran into a few teachers and got to know them and what they taught. you had a few of them in your schedule, so it was great to know where their classes were.

before you knew it, it was time for your first class and then eventually to your last of the day. for lunch you had opted to eat what you brought from home in the archive because you didn't feel like going through the anxiety of finding somewhere alone to sit in the refectory.

it ended up being ironic because you made a friend in there who was also eating lunch. you were sitting alone at small table when a blonde haired girl with her lunch approached you.

her name was mia, and you both instantly clicked. mia had noticed you eating at the table alone and thought she'd introduce herself since she hadn't since you on campus before. she was also a sophomore, seventeen, and she was part of height country day dance team.

she has almost always eaten in the archive since her freshman year; she enjoyed the quiet and privacy since few students ever ate or hung out there too long - you both had that in common.

after that great first meeting, the two of you became best friends. you would occasionally have a class or two with her depending on the schedule, but you both always made time to see each other throughout the day and eat lunch in the archive room.

she later on introduced you to a few of her other friends, that were now your friends as well. they were all pretty wealthy, but it didn't change the fact they were all genuine and friendly people. the fear of making friends at your new school was gone by the end of your first week.

that's set up the rest of your fantastic first year at heights country day school.

you fit in immediately with the art center and other art peers. you all carried the same passions, and it was very fun to learn from others. of course, you all intimidated to be around people so advanced and mostly rich, but it only pushed you to work even harder.

your teachers were all so great. they were also tough critiques, being professionals and all, but you took any critique you got with stride- making you a better artist.

your non-art-related classes were more difficult and work-loaded than you were use to, but you were quick to catch up with the rest of the class.

a few kids at school were stuck up and pretentious, but mostly the students weren't too far off from normal teenagers. and like high school there were cliques and popular people. you never bothered yourself with any of that, yet you always heard three reoccurring last names - hawthorne, laughlin, and calligaris.

you knew laughlin meant rebecca and emily, and it didn't take you long to figure out the other last names must belong to the other two people she was with during your first day. it made sense to you they were well-known, just their looks alone made you feel like they're superior to you.

you could've asked mia or literally paid attention to gossip around you if you wanted to know the first names of the boy & girl with the laughlins, but it honestly slipped your mind. frankly, you were too occupied with navigating your new school life to really care too much about it.

the most shocking event to happen that year was the dead of emily laughlin.

you weren't close friends with rebecca - you two did have a few chats and texts here and there; she once or twice joined mia and you in the archive. but you still felt horrible her sister died and felt the need to reach out.

you gave her your condolences when you saw her back at school, and let her know you were there for anything. she thanked you, but you could tell she needed space to grieve.

you still felt the need to do something, so you came up with the idea to make her a portrait and gifted it to her wrapped. you didn't see her reaction to it (she opened it when she got home), but she let you know she deeply appreciated it.

after that the rest of your year was quick to come and go. and before you knew it, it was summer again.

your summer stayed uneventful, but fun. you worked almost full-time with your mom in her bakery and spent time with your friends.

one afternoon, you were working the counter and you saw a familiar face walk in - a certain handsome, honey-eyed, curly-haired guy.

you greeted him as you normally did customers and asked for his order. he replied, asking for blueberry scones.

you nodded and went to get the scones from your display. that's when he spoke up again, commenting on how he'd seen you from school.

you were taken aback he’d remembered you but you nodded agreeing and replied you were new sophomore year.

"what happens to be your name, baker girl?"

"y/n. and what happens to be yours, new customer?"

he gave a dramatic offended look, hand over his heart - "you mean your telling me you don't know the name of the most dashing man at heights country day school?"

you shrugged, "i suppose not."

"when then i ought to fix that, the name is xander, milady," bowing down to give a kiss on the dorsal side of your hand.

oh he was charming alright.

to hide your blushing face you busied yourself with packing his scones into a paper bag and rang him up to the register.

"very serious question...how do you feel about blueberry scones?"

"they're good, but i think the lemon ones are better."

you've never seen someone look so taken aback as xander did in that moment. he looked as if he'd just got the news his favorite boy band broke up.

"are you alright-"

"what do you mean you prefer the lemon ones!"

xander then went into a tagent on blueberry scones stomp the lemon ones any day, and only psychos favored the lemons. you countered his claims, defending your favorite treat. you both were going back and forth until a bell rang throughout the bakery, signaling a customer has entered.

"i suppose that's my sign to take my leave, but trust this debate is not over."

you rolled your eyes playfully, but you fought back a smile at the implication you two would speak again.

he handed his black card to pay, and you tried not to look astonished at his casual display of the card. as you were swiping his card, he pulled a scone out of his brown bag and laid it on the counter in front of you.

"here, it's my treat. this is the start of my fool-proof plan to convince you blueberry scones are far more superior."

you tried to decline or offer him a refund for that scone, but ever the gentleman, he wouldn't allow it. he was out the door before you could protest anymore. leaving with a, "until we meet again," and a wink.

you hated yourself for liking his annoying handsome beautiful smirk.

as he requested, you did eat the scone. you admit blueberry is delicious, but nothing compared to the citrus of your lemon ones. plus, you found a new motivation to keep favoring them.

that was the first of xander's many visits to the bakery that summer. always the same order, and always leaving one for you to eat. he really was on a mission to change your mind.

sometimes out of spite you'd slip in a lemon scone into his bag to rile him up when he opened it. it always resulted in xander coming back the next day throwing a dramatic hissy fit. you kinda found it cute.

you two continued your light banter about scones, but ventured into different topics such as school, hobbies, and exploding robots (his favorite topic). even as you worked behind the counter aiding customers, he was there talking your ear off. not that you minded at all, it was nice to have someone other than your mom to talk to.

you found out xander was very smart; he builds replicas of star wars droids and was a three-time world champion at building machines. you'd never known someone with such intellect. whenever you brought it up, however, he'd brush it off saying it's a family thing and his brothers are much wiser.

you briefly got a synopsis of his family, and it was quite intriguing. he had four half-brother; nash, grayson, and jameson - all sharing the same mother, but none of the boys' fathers seemed to be in the picture. all of them were basically raised by their grandfather, tobias hawthorne, who was obsessed with riddles and games. he sounded like an interesting man to say the least.

you opened up to him a bit about your family and getting a scholarship into the school. which now looked not as impressive talking to a genius yet, xander was amazed at this, asking to see some of your work.

you were suddenly self-conscious about your art. you thought a rich guy like himself probably had seen hundreds of artworks better than yours and done by people younger than your age.

so, you lied and said you didn't have any pictures, and that you'll show him another time. you're gonna stall that as much as possible.

you guys later exchanged numbers, now being able to communicate outside your bakery hours during the week.

xander favorite thing was to spam you with pictures of himself eating blueberry scones, and you swore you were gonna block him everytime.

summer went by in a flash, and the school went back into session; you were entering your junior year.

xander and you continued to hang out all the time, even more than you did with your own friends. he was always the one to find you around school, no matter the schedule you had that day.

he loved to sneak up on you and jump scare you, making your heart leap out your chest everytime. you would hit his arm in retaliation everytime and swore you were gonna unfriend him if he didn’t stop. you never actually did though.

xander made sure to pull you out your comfort zone. he sometimes dragged you (sometimes physically) to the refectory to go and eat with him. occasionally, his friends would join as well. rebecca was easy to talk to since you already knew her, and thea was…. complicated, but she had her good parts once she warmed up to you.

you then demanded xander eat lunch with you and mia to compensate for eating at the refectory every now and then.

he obliged, but you told him it was better if he didn’t after he got kicked out the archive for talking loudly. he swore the archive keeper had it out for him.

he continued the ritual of giving you a blueberry muffin made by the chefs of his home. sometimes you'd bring your own lemon scone and give it to him, negotiating that you'll eat your scone if he eats his.

he'd always agree, but eat it begrudgingly. you swore he was warming up to the scone.

you two took your hangouts to after school. if you worked, it'd be at the bakery and if not, you'd go to the park and just walk.

you invited him over to your house one day after school, xander excitedly accepted. you were a bit nervous he'd think poorly of your home since you were sure he lived in a glorious mansion.

you introduced him to both of your parents, and they greeted him kindly, but your mom embarrassingly asked if he was your boyfriend.

you were quick to make a joke to cover your pink cheeks, "mom, we'd never work out we have complete different tastes in scones."

xander cut in, "well, you know what they say, opposites do attract."

was he flirting with you, or were you reading into it? and why did you like it.

xander ended up really enjoying your house; he even once said he found it more peaceful than his own. so, you guys now frequently hung out at your house after school to talk, banter, study, and or even help each other with projects.

even though you tried to avoid it, xander ending up seeing your art.

it was unintentional; you were seated at a table in an art space working on a sketch, of whatever came to mind, with your earphones in. you didn't hear xander walk in and call your name.

you noticed his presence when he swiped your drawing book. you quickly took out your earphones and tried to reach for it back, but he'd already seen your drawing. and to make matters worse it was a sketch of him.

you were mortified, but he just looked at it in admiration.

he asked if you made it, and you shyly said you had.

"can't believe you were trying to hide your talent from me. now, as an apology ur going to let me keep this."

you immediately said no, and went to take it out of his hand. but xander was quicker and took the page from the journal and held it above his head, out of reach.

after a lot of jumping to reach it, which was required because he's very tall, you gave up and let him have it. xander was pleased with that, and has carried it everywhere in his wallet since then.

he now always pestered you about your art, wanting to see it or wanting you to make a piece for him. you had to admit, you found it flattering.

to make it fair, you wanted to see him in action working on something. he was delighted to show you his robots, and some of his process making them.

you were amazed at his talent, but he could be careless at times.

for instance, you two were in the lab room and you were watching him working on a new formula to fuel his robots. he turned on bunsen burner and before you knew it, it exploded.

he ended up with a missing eyebrow, and you were laughing hysterically. you still have pictures of him without it much to xander's dismay.

you knew you'd grown a crush on the charismatic guy, but you were too scared to admit it.

you weren't sure if he felt the same way, and a part of you felt silly for even thinking he would.

you confided in mia about it, and she was convinced xander was head over heels for you. but you still weren't quite sure, and you didn't want to damage a really good friendship.

in middle of october, xander's grandfather, tobias hawthorne passed away.

he wasn't at school that day, but you assumed he was out sick or doing something important. it wasn't until you heard the news from peers talking about it did you put it together.

you immediately sent him a text sending your condolences and asked if he needed anything.

you didn't hear from him for the rest of the week, which worried you - but you knew, like rebecca, people tend to want their space when loved ones pass.

it was a friday night, you were studying for an upcoming test in your world history class on monday, when you hear a sound from your window.

you ignored it at first thinking it was a wondering animal or just trees against each other. but then you heard it repeatedly, and you realized it was sounding more like a tap against the glass.

you carefully slid your curtains from the window and took a peak outside. you then came face to face with the boy you hadn't seen all week.

it took you a moment to register it was him, you yelped at the first sight of someone outside. but then he started motioning for you to open the window and then you noticed it was xander hawthorne.

you unlatched the lock on your window and slide it open enough he could fit through. but it didn't stop him from tripping on your window still and falling onto the ground with a 'thud'.

"shh! my parents might've heard that!"

"wow, instead of helping a poor fallen man up, you scold him. what ever happened to warm hospitality?"

you ignored him and held your hand out to help him up. once he was stood up, you waited for him to explain why he was here.

he went on to say he didn't have a specific reason, he just needed to get out of his mansion home. "the first place i thought of to go was here, with you."

you swore your heart leaped when he said that. you were praying to whoever was listening that your face wasn't a tomato. how do you even respond to such a heartfelt statement?

luckily, you didn't need to respond to that because he was quick to follow up his words.

"actually, you seem to be the first person i think about every day. no matter what i'm doing, I'll start to think of what'd you be saying if you were there. anytime i see the sunset, my thought shifts to what it look like if you painted it. hell, i've even found myself eating, yes eating, lemons scones because they bring me reminiscence of you."

xander crept closer as his words flowed out. and you were frozen to your spot. heart pounding louder as he took another step closer to you - leaving less than a foot of space between the two of you.

unsure of how to react you said the first thing that came to mind.

"well, uh, maybe you should think about inflation that usually keeps my mind busy." idiot. why do you open your big mouth.

xander gives you a grin, obviously amused at your nervous rambling like the little jerk he is. he was so close to you, you were embarrassed at the possibility he could he your heart pounding.

he moves his right hand to the side of your face, brushing his thumb over your cheek - eyes never leaving yours. you didn't have the strength to look away or even move, as if he was a vampire who compelled you to stay still.

"i've never known someone to get red so easily as you."

you then realized how much of your face was burning, and then after that statement it heated up even further. stupid nervous system.

"i didn't think your face could get a deeper scarlet than it was a moment ago," he laughs, "it's quite adorable honestly."

oh, god. this guy had your heart fluttering at after calling you adorable.

"i wonder how red you'll get when i kiss you."

you did not have a moment to process what xander utter because at the next second his collided his lips upon yours.

nothing prepared you for how exhilarating kissing him felt. your knees gave out a little, and xander was quick to keep you steady. you weren't even ashamed, stuck in a trance by the kiss. it was as if a scene from a jane austen novel had come to life.

boy, was he a good kisser. it was unfair really, how perfect he could he at anything he wants.

when the two of you pulled away, he was the first to speak up.

"you're about as red as crayon right now."

that was enough to bring you back to reality and shove him.

immediately after that night, the two of you began dating.

at first you thought it was unsaid that the both of you were now dating, but you should've known better than to believe xander hawthorne would take the subtle way.

the following monday you were in the refectory waiting on xander, who'd ask you to meet him there. however, you hadn't seen him yet, so you just sat down at an open table.

suddenly, you hear some sort of a mechanical noises coming from behind you. you turned you heard toward it and nothing could have prepared you to see a life sized R2-D2 robot gliding straight towards you - holding flowers in its utility arm.

what the hell was in your breakfast that morning?

when it made it way in front of you, you were completely stunned. you could feel the gazes of people in the room also witnessing this. the robot look scarily realistic to the ones in the star wars movies, xander really was a genius.

the robot extended another arm to reveal a small envelope. you took it in your own hand, along with the flowers.

WILL YOU BE MY GIRLFRIEND?

a. yes

b. a

c. kiss me

you rolled your eyes at his antics, maybe genius was an overstatement. then you noticed some scribble at the bottom.

p.s. NUTR NUAORD

at first sight of the words - you thought you were having a stroke, but then you figured out you had to unscrambled it to reveal the words 'TURN AROUND'.

of course, xander was always one for puzzles.

you follow the directions of the note and saw the man himself standing before you with a basket full of both lemon and blueberry scones.

"a tough choice, i know. personally, option c is the most appealing."

you wanted to smack the smugness of out him, but instead you opted to answer with letter c.

dating xander was chaotic to say the least, but you wouldn't have it any other way.

you two were never allowed to go on ordinary dates, xander always made sure they were memorable.

for your first date he took you to an escape room, but reserved the whole thing just for the two of you. xander was obviously a pro at the game, but you were quick to figure things out as well. the two of you got the quickest escape time.

at the end of it, he gifted you gold chained necklace with an 'x' and a golden key. you wore it all the time after.

another time you were taken to a amusement park, also reserved for the two of you. you clung on to xander on the scariest rides, much to his enjoyment. it wasn't until the end you saw how there had been pictures taken of you both while on the rides - your expression being fear on almost all of them while your arm was tight grabbing xander's. of course his face was just his charming giant grin of excitement.

he made sure to keep them all and put it as had lock screen despite how much you told him not to.

xander was now way more lenient about the lemon scone thing, and you can proudly say he even enjoys them now. nonetheless, the tradition at lunch is still on-going.

the most nerve wracking part of your relationship was meeting his family.

you learned just how rich xander and his family are. you knew he came from a lot of money, but you were never informed he was related to a billionaire. you couldn't comprehend how having that much money was possible, but xander, of course, acted nonchalant about the whole thing. rich people.

his brothers were all pleasant to meet. nash was the nicest, similar to his brother, he was a charmer with a country accent. grayson was more closed off, and didn't say a lot, but greeted you nicely. jameson, was a wild card, he was a bit drunk, but everyone collectively chose to remain obvious to it. he was also very flirty with you, but you knew it was mainly to annoy xander.

apparently it worked because the following day jameson was found with green hair.

you were introduced to his aunt and mother. his aunt was also pleasant, keeping greeting formal. his mother was.... interesting... the interaction was small, but based on some remarks and backhanded compliments; she looked down on your lower status. xander was quick to defend you and apologize after.

you later were asked to open the front door with a jumble of keys that all looked the same. you assumed this was suppose to be a test of some sort, but you weren't a mastermind at puzzles games like the other hawthornes.

instead, you found a big rock near the front entrance and smashed it against the door locks until they broke.

the brothers looked all bewildered at your action. xander was the first to burst out laughing, come around you to wrap and arm on your shoulder and kiss your forehead.

"that's my girl. who needs logic when you have big rocks."

xander was your biggest supporter in everything. he loved every piece of art you made, and never let you scrap or throw any of it anyway. anything you ever drew or painted him, he would keep it framed and hung in a section of his room dedicated to your work.

he shows up to every art show you have, bragging to people around how his amazing girlfriend painted the work. you always blush in embarrassment, but it never failed to make you happy.

you showed the same support for his activities as well. you cheered him on at my robotic competitions and you were his assistant in helping with small tasks during his building and experiments.

xander made robots were mainly made for doing simple things in overly complicated ways. he also occasionally gifted you robots for small annoying tasks you would offhandedly mention to him.

for instance, xander was walking you to your next class, carrying your backpack as he always insisted it was his job to do. you joked about how you wished he was always around to carry your stuff so your arms wouldn't be so tired.

a few weeks later he gave you a small robot designed to carrying items such as a backup and books. he even gave it wheels so it could follow you around the school like a puppy.

with xanders extroverted personality, it shouldn't surprised you he is not opposed to any PDA. which thea always gags to in the background if she's there to witness it.

he always has his arm around you, preferably your waist, or interlocks your hands together. he loves to gives you random kisses on the forehead or cheek. xander's favorite thing is to surprise you with a kiss on the lips in public, just so he can see you blush.

your first time with xander was very romantic and he made sure it would be. there were candles all over his bedroom and rose petals scattered on the ground.

although xander was known for being a bit cocky, he was just as nervous as you that night, wanting to make everything special just for you.

once he made sure you were comfortable - it was like a switch flipped - his cocky persona was back ten fold.

let’s just say the next day you couldn’t feel your legs, nor could you hide the multiple purple marks left on you.

of course, ever the gentlemen he was - he made you breakfast in bed the next morning.

you were even more shocked to find out that was his first time. why is he miraculously good at everything?

you hung out a lot more at the hawthorne mansion, xander showed you different passages around it. the house was so huge it felt like you've only ever seen 50% of it.

you grew closer to the other hawthorne brothers, taking part in family game night. you after a game of their version of chutes and ladders, you were quick to turn down some offers to play a game.

you also became good friends with avery grambs, you had first met her at the will reading, xander inviting you for moral support. you related to how out of place her and her sister felt around highly rich people.

the events of the will were shocking, but you were happy to find out she'd be sticking around. her moving into the mansion made it easier to hang out with her. you helped her adjust to heights country day and became close.

you and xander both helped avery with what you could in solving the clues his grandather left behind for avery and the hawthornes. although, you kept quiet about the fact xander knew a lot more than he was telling.

however, xander was reluctant to let you join them on anymore research after almost getting shot at when you went along with avery and jameson.

you’d never seen him so mad at his brother, cursing him up and down for putting you in that situation.

xander was insistent for you to stay behind from then on, but you relented and kept tagging along with the others on their little scavenger hunts. xander realized he couldn’t stop you, so he forbid you from going on any clue hunts without him by your side.

it was cute how protective he was, but a little annoying too.

one day you were walking around the mansion with xander looking for jameson, who had wondered off to who knew where. you came across an unfamiliar office. you had asked xander who it belonged to and he informed you it was his grandfathers, now technically avery's.

the two of you entered the office space, you figured xander was curious if anything had changed since his grandfather's passing or if he had maybe left another clue behind.

you were looking around until you eyes came across something behind his desk - a large portrait of who you assumed was tobias hawthorne. upon further inspection, you came to realize another thing.

you painted this portrait.

"holy shit."

even beyond the grave tobias hawthorne keeps on spurring surprises.

#the inheritance games #the inheritance trilogy #avery grambs #grayson hawthorne #jameson hawthorne #nash hawthorne #xander hawthorne #xander hawthorne x reader #xander hawthorne fic #xander hawthorne imagine #x reader #x y/n #reader insert #reader imagine #fanfic

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deathbxnny · 1 year

Note

YQ's Mother Requestor Anon here! I see the calling of angst so I am here to give! Can I request Mother!Reader and Baby Lai getting attacked with Reader almost dying bc they tried to protect our beloved baby but somehow survived, just in a coma? Yanqing managed to save them by unaliving the attackers like a madman [then Jing Yuan gets flashbacks about Jingliu's rampage on him] and only regains his humanity bc of his sister, then they run to a hospital!

Reader still lives (bc its fun to watch them slowly be traumatized) and heals, both physically and somewhat mentally!

-----♡

A/N: Hey there! Thank you for this great idea and sorry it took 50000 years for me to get to it. Life genuinely hates me lately and I've been extremely busy even on the weekends rn, so yeah... forgive me.

Content: Angst, hurt/comfort, fluff, murder, mentions of murder, injuries, child endangerment, violence, near death, good ending

Reader has no set pronouns!

((Not fully proofread))

-----♡

You just wanted to take a quick walk around the Luofu with your baby, as you haven't been able to move around much after her birth. You smiled gently down at her, your hands keeping her close under your cloak, a soft hum of a tune leaving your lips, when you looked out into the distance. The sun was starting to set, bathing the world in a warm, orange hue. It was peaceful... until it wasn't.

In an instant, you were suddenly attacked by some Mara-struck soldiers, your body scrambling backwards, as you tightly clutched onto your baby. You had accidentally wandered out of the safe zones, completely distracted by the beauty of the area to really notice where you were going. You should've been more careful and yet, it was too late to regret everything now, when a next attack came swinging at the direction of your child.

You quickly turned away, taking the hit fully, your body skidding across the floor violently. But you still made sure that your child wasn't injured, even when she began to cry. Your head hit the ground, disorienting you, as the injury began to bleed. And whilst you were struggling to lift your head, your hands still so desperately holding your baby close to you, familiar swords suddenly appeared in your blurry vision. You could barely hear anything anymore, but when you saw the rough outline of your son, you let out a relieved sigh and just finally passed out, knowing that you and your baby were saved.

The enemies however stood no chance against Yanqing's wrath, as he practically ripped them all apart, even ditching his swords at one point. He was angry, beyond enraged. The thought of someone hurting his mother and little sibling was making him delirious and it took 5 cloud knights and eventually Jing Yuan to drag him off of whatever was left of the attackers. Jing Yuan was irked by how familiar the sight was, a memory of a distant, dark past flashing through his mind, before he quickly forgot it at the soft cries of his infant child.

It also calmed down Yanqing, who slumped in the cloud knights hold and finally just concluded that he had gotten his revenge, before he allowed himself to be taken away. You were brought to a hospital quickly after as well, having taken the brunt of all attacks, which left you quite injured. But the mental scars were arguably worse. It took you a while to be able to go outside again, the paranoia over something like that happening once more being always on the forefront of your mind. Your child also never left your eye sight, as you kept her in arms reach at all times.

Jing Yuan and Yanqing supported you greatly through your recovery journey, making you heal in no time again, for the most part. The scars and fears would always stay... even if they just lingered now in the back of your mind.

-----♡

A/N: God... I'm so sorry again for how long this took. I hope it's somewhat okay and that you can forgive me lmao-

#honkai star rail #honkai star rail fanfic #honkai star rail x reader #honkai star rail x you #hsr x reader #hsr jing yuan #hsr jing yuan x reader #hsr yanqing #hsr yanqing x reader #hsr

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amsgrey · 2 years

Text

Little Sister Hugs

requested: yes

synopsis: Jay gets stuck undercover in a risky case, and Voight warns you and Will that you might be at risk. You and Will get brought in by detectives who have their own plans.

warnings: canon typical violence, gun violence, threats and general bad vibes from criminals

please enjoy this extremely angsty fic bc its the last one for a while lol

You had been living with Jay for most of your life, even before your father died. You were so young when your mother died, your father essentially became a shell of himself. Leaving Jay to take care of you while Will pursued his career across another continent. When you were 7, Jay became a detective and the relationship between him and your dad became more strained.

You were so used to having Jay around all of the time that it was hard when he stopped visiting or staying over so much. As a result, your life started to get worse. Your father was never much of a parent to you, he did his best but you knew you were a mistake. He'd told Jay once that you looked so much like your mother that he saw her every time you were around. Although he was never very affectionate to you before, any sense of fatherly care had gone by the time you turned 8. Jay had decided enough was enough, knowing that Will wouldn't be able to do anything from New York, he decided to become your guardian. Ever since then, you had lived with him and he'd become more of a parent to you than anyone else ever was.

You had always known Jay had a dangerous career, but he had done risky jobs your entire life. You were used to it by now. He was always extra careful when he went undercover to make sure he didn't get tailed home, or bring any of his work around you unwittingly. When Will moved back home, he'd stayed with you two for a while. Then when Jay went undercover you would stay with Will.

Now, you were 16, you had complained about having to stay with Will while Jay was undercover.

"I can take care of myself fine," You told Jay, dragging your feet when he told you to pack your stuff.

"I know you can," Jay responded, holding you by the shoulders, "But I'm not taking any risks. I want to know you're definitely safe."

You groaned, letting him pull you into a hug and pretending to be mad about it, "You're such a sop."

Jay scoffed, pushing you away and grabbing your bag, "Get your ass in the car."

You laughed, trailing behind him while giggling about how irritated he looked.

Living with Will short term was alright, but it'd been almost two weeks and you were starting to realise why Jay took care of you instead of him. You didn't mind his late shifts or ever changing schedule because you were so used to Jays.

The only problem was you were so used to going to the district after school that it felt wrong not too. You'd complained to Will about it and he'd promised that after school on Friday you could come to Med and he'd get away early so you could go get dinner.

When Friday rolled around, you were excited to actually do something fun. Most of the time you hated hospitals, but knowing it would be a short visit was beareable.

Maggie beamed when she saw you, pulling you into a hug and immediately teasing you about being the "mini Halstead" like she always did. Normally you would go to the doctor's lounge to wait, but Maggie told you that it was being used for something so she pulled a chair up at the nurse's station for you.

Will spotted you from across th ED and made a B line for you, "Hey, kid, how was school?"

You leaned your head back to look at him, grinning at him upside down, "Good. How is work?"

Will grinned back, "Good." he copied, "Got any homework?"

You nodded, grabbing out the biology homework you'd gotten in 3rd period. You showed it to him, declaring, "my favourite!"

He laughed, "Just try it, i'll check the answers tonight, yeah?"

"yeah yeah," You replied, letting him give you a kiss on the forehead before he went back to his actual work.

Biology was not your strong suit - to be honest, neither was any other science but you at least liked chemistry. Biology was just boring. It didn't help that your science teacher's specialty was biology, so all the homework he gave was biology. Normally Will would go through it with you, but he'd tried to convince you to try it on your own the last few days. You'd told him he was the only Halstead who understood biology and would always be the only Halstead who understood biology.

You hadn't been in the ED much the last few years, which was an accomplishment knowing your family. Jay had managed to avoid getting hurt at work and Will knew how much you disliked the ED so he would invite you to the work hang-outs so you could still see Maggie and the others without going into Med. As you sat trying to work through your exercise, you realized just how chaotic and loud the ED was. No wonder Will came home exhausted most nights. It was like trying to concentrate when the entire world was buzzing around you.

You couldn't help but watch Will as he worked, he looked so in his element that it made you proud to be his sister. As you were watching him and Dr Asher converse, a hand on your shoulder almost made you jump out of your skin.

You whirled around to see Dr Marcel looking remorseful, "Didn't mean to scare you."

You sighed, putting a hand over your racing heart, "How do you walk so quietly?"

he laughed, pulling up a chair and sitting next to you. He glanced over what you were working on, "Mitosis and Meiosis." He read aloud.

You scowled down at the words, "I really don't see why I need to know this."

Crockett laughed, "Not planning on being a doctor?"

You turned your scowl on him, "I'd rather die."

He grinned and shook his head at your antics, "I'm a little offended."

You shrugged, turning back to your paper and continuing to doodle in the margins.

Dr Marcel watched for a few seconds before he asked, "Do you need some help?"

"Oh my god, please," You begged, "Will normally helps but well-" You both looked over to see him entering a treatment room.

Dr marcel took your paper from you, scanning over it and reading the instructions for each exercise, "Seems easy enough."

"Easy?" You scoffed.

Your banter drew the attention of Dr Archer, who made his way over to where you were sitting and leaned on the desk in front of you, "Might I ask why one of my doctors is sitting here and not doing his job?" He scolded.

Immediately you drew back, Dr Archer was kind of an ass from what you heard about him. The few times you met him he was intimidating and sometimes dismissive. There was something about how hard his stare was that always made you want to slink away.

Dr Marcel didn't seem at all fazed, immediately challenging Dr Archer, "Well, Dean, I'm on transplant today and we have no cases, so I came down here to see where I could help and i found it."

Dr Archer looked down at your homework, "Mitosis and Meiosis? You could be more help elsewhere."

Crockett hummed in disapproval, "I disagree, helping the new generation of doctors and nurses."

The Chief of ED turned to you, "You want to be a doctor?"

In the corner of your eye you could see Dr Marcel trying to silent tell you to say yes.

"Uh, maybe?" You replied, trying not to laugh.

Dr Archer let out a quiet, 'hm' and then left you to it. When he did, Will made his way back over to you.

"Please tell me you aren't stirring up trouble," He sighed, sitting against the desk.

"I would never," You replied sarcastically.

"Oh sure," He responded, playfully poking your shoulder. "Are you ready to get going?"

Your face lit up at the prospect of leaving, "Yes!"

Will glanced over your majority empty worksheet, "No success on biology?"

Dr Marcel chuckled, "I tried but I don't know if she's cut out to be a doctor."

You frowned, "Ha. Ha."

Will grinned at you, grabbing your bag off the floor and letting you say goodbye to Dr Marcel and Maggie so you could leave.

As you were walking out you stopped to wave bye to Hannah, who had been too busy to come see you but waved goodbye anyway.

As you were climbing into Will's car and putting on your seatbelt he got a call.

"Hello?" He answered.

You could hear another male voice on the other end. he hung up after a minute and started the car, looking almost concerned.

"Who was that?"

"Sargent Voight," He told you, "He's sending an unmarked car to pick us up from my place soon, as a precaution."

You frowned, "Is Jay okay?"

"I think so," He responded, "Sounds like they're just being cautious."

You nodded but didn't feel too convinced. You both sat in silence the entire ride. When you got home you both sat around waiting for the non-uniforms to come to get you. Will reheated some of last night's leftovers, giving them to you and telling you to eat quickly. You didn't have an appetite seeming the situation, but took a few bites to shut him up.

The knock at the door startled both of you, even though you were expecting it. Will opened the door to reveal two detectives.

"Will Halstead?" One of them asked.

"Yeah," He replied, ushering you over to join him.

"I'm detective Davis, this is my partner Detective Nash, would you come with us?" As he spoke he showed you his badge and his partner did the same, and then they were leading the way down the stairs to the car they had parked in front of the house.

You and Will climbed in the back, cut off from the two in the front by the screen. You leaned over to Will and joked about how it felt like you were being arrested, he rolled his eyes at your bad joke.

About ten minutes into the drive Will's phone started ringing again, he reached for it but the detective in the passenger seat whirled around, "Don't answer that."

Will frowned, showing him the screen, "It's Sergeant Voight," he explained.

"I don't care," He snapped back, "Don't answer it."

You couldn't see anything from where you were sitting, but Will's eyes kept flicking between the man's face and lower body like he was watching something. He put the phone down and raised his hands in defeat. The detective turned back in his seat, mumbling something under his breath.

Will looked over at you and say the concern in your eyes, he leaned over and whispered, "Don't worry, it's alright."

You nodded, taking a deep breath to try to calm your nerves. You fished your own phone out of your pocket, seeing a missed call from Voight as well. You always had your phone on silent, it seemed for once missing a call was actually useful. Voight was notorious for not checking his texts in a hurry, so you quickly pulled up Kim's contact. Will watched you silently, keeping an eye on the two hostile detectives.

You typed out a rushed message to Kim; Some detectives picked us up, but we aren't going to the district.

Immediately it showed Kim had read the text, typing out a reply.

Detectives?

You tried to swallow the lump in your throat, showing Will the reply. You both shared a worried look.

You replied, Detective Nash and Davis.

Another message from Kim came through. Do you know where you are?

You looked out the window, trying to find street signs, you were terrible at remembering names. Before you could type out the reply, the car veered off the road to a shingle path. The road opened up to a quarry, which in the evening light looked much more ominous than you liked. You quickly shoved your phone under the passenger seat to make sure they wouldn't see it.

The 'detectives' got out of the car and the driver barked, "Stay here and don't make any noise."

You and Will listened to their footsteps move away from the car. Once they were out of the car you let out a shaky breath you had been holding. Will unclipped his seatbelt then undid yours, pulling you closer to him and wrapping his arms around you.

He soothed a hand up and down your back, "Stay calm, it'll be alright. Nice easy breaths."

You nodded, resting your cheek against his chest and hugging him back to try calm yourself down. After a moment the footsteps returned, they walked to your door and yanked it open. Detective Nash impatiently waved for you to exit. You hesitantly shuffled out of the car, crying out when he grabbed your arm and roughly pulled you away from Will.

He pulled his gun out of his holster, "You try anything, she gets one between the eyes," he said to Will, waving his gun around for emphasis.

He handcuffed your hands in front of you, Detective Davis handcuffing Will's behind him. Then Davis was dragging Will along with him along a track through the grass, you and the other detective following. Will kept looking back over his shoulder at you, silently telling you to remain calm.

The path in the grass opened into a work site, you walked past an excavator that looked older than you. Past the mess of old materials and machinery, the site was relatively clear. Apart from the group of five gathered men.

As you got closer you recognized one of them as Jay, he was wearing a dress shirt and pants and had clearly taken a recent beating to the face. His nose was still dripping blood. He was also handcuffed, when he spotted you and Will his nostrils flared in anger and he strained against his restraints.

You and Will were forced to your knees in front of the group. When you glanced around the other members, you noticed two of them had badges clipped to their belts. These were cops. It took all of your self control not to start crying, your brain was screaming at you to do something, but your body just trembled uncontrollably.

"So," One of the men started, "Now that your cover is blown, Detective Halstead," he spoke Jay's title like he was mocking him, "I thought you would enjoy seeing your family again."

Jay and Will were staring at each other, no doubt silently talking to each other like they always did. You used to joke they had twin telepathy but without the 'twin' part. Now it seemed they were silently trying to figure out a game plan.

It's useless. Your brain kept repeating. You were in the middle of nowhere, no one would hear anything this far away from residents, not at this hour. Even if they did, what could be done? There was no happy ending tonight.

The man who spoke before broke from the line, taking up a place next to you threateningly. You glanced up at Jay, trying to put yourself anywhere but here.

"I'll ask you again, Detective," He said, "What do you and your team have?"

You shook your head ever so slightly, no matter what Jay couldn't compromise his case. Even if he did share what they knew, you would all still die anyway. Dirty cops had almost nothing to loose.

Jay shook his head, "Not enough to make a solid case."

The man growled, he threw something to the ground, "But you had a recording device on you all the time? How could you not have anything?"

Jay opened his mouth to respond but he was cut off by the man, "If you lie to me again Halstead," He grabbed a fistful of your hair, pressing the muzzle of his gun to your temple, "Your pretty little sister pays the price."

Will started to protest, but was cut off by a sharp punch by Nash. Any concern on jays face had gone, you knew his well enough to see the glint of fear in his eyes, but mostly he just looked livid.

"I don't know what my team has," He said slowly, "I haven't spoken to them in a few days, they might have more-"

You couldn't help but cry out in surprise when you were being hauled to your feet by your hair, straight away your scalp felt like it was on fire.

"You really want to see your sister's brains all over the place?"

The irrational side of your brain took charge and you argued, "You're going to kill us anyway."

The man looked at you shocked as if he didn't know other people could talk. When he stared at you any drenge of confidence left you.

Oh shit.

Part of you felt a little proud for standing up to him, but the majority felt paralysing fear. You wouldn't even be able to defend yourself from this man, he was at least twice your size.

"You know what, I like her," He chortled, "And she's not wrong. Not completely. I'll kill you and your brother, Detective, but her?"

He let go of your hair and grabbed your chin tightly, pulling your face towards him like he was inspecting it.

"Can't let a pretty face like that go to waste."

Your heart pounded in your ears, you could feel yourself start to freeze up with fear.

He turned to Davis, ordering, "Put her in my car."

"No!" You protested, trying to fight back against the man who was much stronger than you. You glanced over your shoulder to see Jay and Will fighting back too, shouting obscene threats.

Davis dragged you kicking and screaming to a black SUV, he opened the door and shoved you in, not caring how rough he was being. Before the door shut he unlocked your cuffs, smirking at the fact you would still be as useless. When the door shut you immediately tried to open it, pulling uselessly at the handle. You tried the other side, then attempted the front doors but none would budge. You were locked in. throwing all sense out the window, you tried to break the glass by kicking it. It didn't even flex. You knew it was useless, it was probably reinforced or bulletproof.

It didn't mean you stopped trying. You eventually kicked the window so many times that it was starting to hurt your foot. You stopped for a moment to gather your thoughts. The sound of gunfire echoed around the quarry.

"No!" You screamed, pounding your fists against the window, "LEt me out, let me out!"

You could picture the scene, your brothers dead in the dirt, having not stood a chance. Your brain burned the fake image in your mind, convincing you it was real. You let out a choked sob, tears burning your eyes as you sobbed into your hands.

Over the sound of your laboured breathing, you heard footsteps approaching. You forced yourself to get as far away from the door as you could, tucking into a tight ball in the far corner of the seat. You prepared yourself to give one last fight, scrubbing the tears out of your eyes you your sleeve.

When the door opened, Hailey stood on the other side.

"Hey, hey," She said quietly, offering you her hand, "You're alright."

You hesitantly took her hand, letting her help you out of the car. When you were out, you glanced around to see patrol cops gathered around. You locked eyes with Will, dropping Hailey's hand and rushing to him, locking him into a hug.

Will immediately wound his arms around you, holding you tightly to his chest and promising he was okay, everything was okay. You cried into his chest, unable to hold back the raw emotions that had coursed through you moments before. Will gently pried your arms from around his waist, tucking your hair behind your ears.

"I know someone else who might need a hug," He said softly, guiding you back through the site to the entrance where an ambulance was parked. He nodded to Voight, who gave you a soft smile. You were still attached to Will, holding his arm tightly like it was the only thing holding you together.

Voight stepped out of the way, letting you and WIll approach the ambulance. Jay was sitting on the step, looking exhausted but relatively unharmed. You couldn't help but start crying again, so glad that he was okay. Jay smiled, shakily getting to his feet and reaching out for you. He pulled you into a tight hug, letting you cry into his chest as he soothed your hair and held onto you as he tried to convince himself you were alright.

You pulled away first, trying to clear the tears off your face. "Are you okay?"

He chuckled, "I'm better now."

You couldn't stop yourself from grabbing Will and pulling them both into a hug. When you pulled away you softly poked Jay's arm, sniffling, "You're still a sop."

#jay halstead x sister!reader #jay halstead x reader #jay halstead #jay halstead imagine #will halstead x reader #will halstead #halstead sister #will halstead x sister!reader #halstead!sister #sister reader #one chicago #chicago med #chicago pd #one chicago x reader #chicago pd x reader #chicago med x reader #chicago pd imagine #chicago med imagine

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trickstarbrave · 4 months

Text

i havent drawn her yet but fine. i made a new nerevarine

artemisia septim, bastard princess of uriel conceived around the time just before jagar tharn ended up imprisoning uriel in a pocked dimension of oblivion (events of arena). uriel didn't really want her, but given she wasn't born to a random maid, he agreed to raise her but she's pretty much locked up in her wing of the imperial palace with only a nanny and tutors. she never knew her mother, just that she was a noblewoman who agreed to stay silent if he took responsibility.

after jagar tharn was defeated uriel vii focused more efforts on legitimate heirs and clearing out any potential spies. her nanny is killed on suspicion of being a spy who aided jagar tharn along with several of her maids. artemisia is only 11-12. she begins to hate him.

because she's an elf she's still young by the events of morrowind, at least as far as elves age. it makes her feel even more alienated in the imperial palace. she only ever speaks to her siblings and father in formal settings, otherwise they rarely acknowledge her. she studies magic but she knows uriel vii is a very. paranoid person for a good chunk of her life following his imprisonment. time breaking after the warp in the west probably did not help anyone. elves as i write them age normally until around the 20's after which it DRAMATICALLY slows down, but everyone expects her to be a fully mature woman who's nearly 40 (maybe she's younger idk i might set her story a few years before the official game. or maybe later. we'll see) bc theyre all imperials. she's like. baby to most elves though.

she's sent on a diplomatic mission to morrowind for politics. she's just excited to fucking leave the imperial city and GO SOMEWHERE. she finds the palace stiffing and filled with horrible memories. she wants to see something new, and she always read about morrowind. to her its a dream come true to finally get to see it in person and she's so excited she can hardly sleep.

of course. uriel sent her to morrowind because he knew the political tensions there were too high to send one of his legitimate heirs. he's hoping she doesn't die but also he needs an ambassador and wants to make a good impression. if she is attacked and killed though he intends to use it to put morrowind more heavily under his thumb. he also, given he has some prophetic abilities, has a good feeling about sending her there.

she's super excited at first even though things are. tense. they were told uriel had a dunmer daughter but she doesn't look like a dunmer at all. even being half. they've seen half-imperial half-dunmer children and she doesn't look like a dunmer even remotely. she has pointed ears but her skin has a golden hue and her hair is stark white and her eyes are red. she explains she was born with a condition that lead to only patches of grey skin that faded as she got older but that her mother was definitely a dunmer. they question if she actually had an affair with an altmer and not the emperor behind her back but in a way she can still hear, but dismiss it as the empire playing tricks on them to make them look stupid. she isn't half dunmer. the emperor must think theyre stupid and is passing off his altmer born bastard as a dark elf like they can't tell she doesn't have grey skin. (nerevar was rly coming through on this one. azura had to much fun in the create a sim i think)

however some sixth house members strike. orvas dren tipped them off that a septim would be coming for a diplomacy meeting and their plan was to kidnap her, hold her hostage, make her a dreamer, and then send her back to the imperial palace with plenty of ash statues.

caius ends up rescuing her and taking her back to hide in his house. she's freaking out bc what the fuck there's a freaky ass cult in morrowind?????????? were they gonna kill her?????? did the emperor know????????? and now she's stranded in the country until caius can figure out a way to smuggle her out without someone knowing but he suspects there might be sixth house infiltrators in nobility who would catch them. they can't risk him just plopping her in a boat while they also hide in wait there and caius in good conscious can't let her die when uriel tasked him with protecting her by any means. so instead he gives her a slight haircut, some commoner clothing, and tells her they're gonna give her a fake identity

she's like. "great im stuck in a fucking skooma den on this fucked up island and theres ash storms here and weird cultists and im miserable and i almost died and--"

"here's 200 gold, buy some other gear, say you're a half altmer mage coming here to study, join the mages guild and try not to get yourself killed. i have a few contacts in the guild i told to keep an eye out for you and keep you safe. do NOT do anything reckless. do you understand."

artemisia realizing that she gets to join the mages guild and do whatever she wants now:

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yourlocaldisneyvillain · 1 year

Note

Heyyy! I have a fic request!

I totally HC that Larissa was in smart-people classes, student council rep, head of academic clubs and probably class valedictorian or something.

Then… there’s this wonderful (gay) song called “little miss perfect”.

I’ve been picturing Larissa discovering she’s gay for the first time, terrified it’ll ruin her reputation but finally she goes for it and kisses her crush!

(At the end of the song there is angst about being scared of what other people think and “falling off my throne” you could include that if you like? Or just pure fluff? Honestly if you like the idea you can literally do whatever you want to it aha.)

Obviously there’s no pressure to do this if you don’t want to :)

Stay safe and happy 🤍

hellooooo!!! i had sooooo much fun writing this -- i took some liberties and made it a larissa/morticia thing bc it seemed fitting! i absolutely love these types of plots i was so excited to write this!!! (also love this song?????? i went feral listening to it dsajfhigbx)

hope you like it!!!!! here's the ao3 link -- don't hesitate to leave a comment if you feel so inclined -- it makes my heart sing :)

tw: internalised homophobia, slight angst (but with a happy ending)

Larissa runs laps alone before cheerleading practice, trying to clear her mind. She feels like throwing up and it’s not because of physical activity.

She can’t believe what she’s done. What has gotten into her? To risk her reputation, everything she’s spent years building, and for what? For a pretty face? A momentary attraction, a lapse in judgement?

Love?

She picks up the pace, even though she already feels the burn in her lungs.

Love is not something she would know about. Love is a feeling, and feelings come and go. She has ambitions, a career to think about — a reputation that goes beyond this school (a school full of people who know her parents, who are all involved in the same social circles, who all know her and who would never look at her the same way again… if they knew).

She forces herself to slow down, not wanting to overexert herself before cheerleading practice. No one can see she is upset. She is never visibly upset in front of people.

Well.

Except for her.

She is the only person who has ever seen her — truly seen her. She has seen her upset, she has seen her happy — she knows things Larissa has never, ever told anyone before, as well as those little things no one has ever bothered to remember. She knows about her parents’ troubled marriage (they would never divorce — they have a reputation to uphold), that her fondest childhood memory is the day her father finally took a day off and took her fishing with him — she had so much fun stepping in mud while he laughed at her (she was so happy that not even her mother’s yelling when she came back home in mud-stained clothes could spoil her mood) — and she knows that Larissa’s favourite snack are terrible, greasy mini-doughnuts with strawberry filling from the little diner just outside their campus. Sometimes she gets them for Larissa unprompted and Larissa pretends to be upset because she really shouldn’t have that much sugar or grease if she wants to maintain her perfect figure — but she eats all of them anyway.

She picks up the pace again — her lungs burn and tears threaten to spill, but she doesn’t let them because what would people say if her eyes were all red and her mascara smudged? They would know she was crying.

She has a reputation to uphold.

Memories from last night play on repeat in her mind. She and Morticia (her best friend, her roommate, her cheerleading co-captain — and her absolute downfall) were sitting on Larissa’s bed. Morticia, always the wild one, managed to persuade her into buying some disgusting, lemon-flavoured beer. They are drinking it together as she braids Larissa’s hair.

***

“Why don’t you ever wear your hair curly, Rissie? It would suit you,” Morticia asks as she braids her hair.

“My hair is naturally a little bit curly,” Larissa says, “I just always blow-dry it straight.”

“Why?”

“I guess I just don’t like it.”

“I like it.”

“Well, you do have a peculiar sense of style,” Larissa teases her and gasps as Morticia swats her arm. “Hey! That hurt,” she laughs, rubbing her arm.

“You deserve it,” Morticia laughs back, showing no remorse. “There, all done,” she says as she finishes the braid. “It looks really pretty — but you’re so pretty that anything looks good on you, so it’s no surprise.

Larissa blushes despite herself. She never blushes when somebody else tells her that — she knows she’s pretty, because she spends so much time perfecting her makeup, taking care of her hair, working out, eating right — of course she looks pretty! — but Morticia is different. She says it to her even when Larissa is makeup-less, in her pajamas, when her hair is a mess, when she hasn’t brushed her teeth in the morning yet and when she is sweaty from cheerleading practice — in fact, it is especially during those times that Morticia makes a point of saying it to her. It makes Larissa’s heart flutter.

“My arm still hurts, you know,” Larissa tries changing the subject. “I will have a bruise and it will look bad in my cheer uniform.”

“Oh, so dramatic! It was just a little slap.” Morticia rolls her eyes and scoots to sit in front of Larissa again, then hands her the beer. Larissa takes a sip.

“Here, give me your arm, I will kiss it better.”

There are butterflies in her stomach as Morticia rolls up her sleeve and plants a gentle kiss on her upper arm. Her lips are impossibly soft and warm.

Morticia looks at Larissa’s eyes, smiling widely. “Better?” she asks.

Larissa stares at her, captivated. She feels the ghost of Morticia’s lips on her skin.

“Rissie?”

Without thinking, Larissa cups Morticia’s face, pulls her closer, and kisses her.

Morticia tastes like sweet citrus beer and peppermint gum. Her lips are warm and soft and wet, and Larissa loves it. She feels fuzzy and warm — not just from the beer— and it’s just… right. Larissa wants to spend the rest of her life kissing Morticia.

They kiss for a while. It’s soft and sweet in the beginning, but then it grows hungrier. Morticia climbs into Larissa’s lap, straddling her, and her hands start to wander.

Larissa feels like she’s in heaven. She briefly opens her eyes, wanting to sneak a glance at Morticia, drink in how pretty she is — but what catches her eye instead is their reflection in the window. She watches herself in the window pane — kissing a girl — and reality hits her.

She pulls away.

“Tish, I…”

“What’s the matter, Rissie? We can slow down if you want to.” Morticia’s voice is soft, and she runs her hand over Larissa’s cheek.

“I just— I— I can’t, Tish. I have to go,” Larissa says. Her heart breaks at the confusion in Morticia’s eyes, but she forces herself to look away.

She bolts out of the room, leaving Morticia sitting on the bed, in shock.

She spends the night at Jessica’s and Tara’s room, telling them Morticia wanted to bring a boy tonight. They don’t question it, because Morticia is known to be a party girl (Morticia did use to bring boys to their room, but she hasn’t in months — not since she and Larissa got closer). Larissa laughs and chats with them for a while before bed, surprising even herself with how good of an actress she is. She only allows herself to shed a single tear once she’s convinced Jessica and Tara are asleep.

She has a reputation to uphold.

***

A voice brings her back to reality.

“Larissa!”

A voice she would recognise anywhere is calling her name. She starts running faster.

“Larissa, wait! Please, let’s talk about this! Larissa!”

She hears the voice getting closer — Morticia must be running after her.

“There is nothing to talk about, Morticia!” Larissa shouts. “Other girls will get here soon, so you should stop screaming my name and making a scene!”

“I will stop screaming your name if you slow down! And the girls will see nothing — they will just see us running laps to warm up before practice.”

Larissa slows down. Her lungs ache — she has overexerted herself. She wants to scream at herself for being so stupid and emotional.

Morticia finally catches up to her, but Larissa doesn’t even spare her a glance, looking at her shoes instead. They walk side by side, breathing heavily.

Finally, Morticia speaks.

“I just want to talk about it, that’s all. It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way about me like I do about you.”

Larissa’s heart breaks as she lies without even blinking.

“It was a mistake. I just wanted to try it out, see how it feels. I like boys, sorry. Let’s not mention it again.”

“I don’t buy that for a second, Larissa.”

“Well, it’s the truth.”

“No, it’s bullshit. I know what this is about, and it’s exactly what I feared would happen.”

“You’re delusional, Morticia, there is nothing between us.”

“I might be delusional, but you are a fucking coward!” Morticia’s voice is shaking. Larissa knows she is on the verge of crying. Her heart is breaking…

…but she has a reputation to uphold.

“Stop yelling, people will hear,” Larissa hisses, and finally looks at her.

Morticia is looking at her, big brown eyes full of unshed tears. Larissa wants to hold her, apologise, kiss her tears away — but she doesn’t.

“That’s the only thing you care about, don’t you? What people will say if they find out Larissa Weems — Little Miss Perfect, Little Miss Head Of Student Council, Captain Of Cheerleading Club, a straight A student — has a big lesbian crush on her roommate. You don’t care about me, you only care about your stupid reputation, I am aware — but the least you could do is have the courage to tell me you like me, but you’re too much of a coward to do anything about it! Don’t fucking gaslight me and try to convince me you this means nothing to you!”

“It doesn’t,” Larissa tries to lie, but Morticia is having none of it.

“Coward! Tell me, why did you kiss me? Look me in the eye and tell me I mean nothing to you and I will leave you alone. I will request to change rooms, I will leave your perfect life, and we can be two strangers on the cheer team and never talk again. Just tell me and I swear to God, Larissa, I will do it!”

“God, Morticia, what do you want me to say!? Fine. Fine! ” she shouts, losing her temper. “I kissed you because I wanted to, because I think you’re pretty, because I think you’re smart, because you make me feel alive, and loved and cared for, because you’re the only person who truly knows me! And I have no idea what to do about that!”

She stops walking. She’s fully crying now, crying because everything is a mess, because she overexerted herself before practice, because she ruined her mascara and everyone will know she’s been crying and everyone will see her ugly white eyelashes, and because she let herself lose her composure…

…but most of all, because she is in love with her best friend.

“I kissed you because I love you, Tish,” she cries, “I’m sorry, I’ve been such a bitch to you, I just don’t know what to do.”

Morticia says nothing. Larissa doesn’t know what she’s thinking, because she cannot bear to look at her, cannot bear to see the hurt and the disappointment in her eyes, knowing the she is the cause of her pain. She sobs. She has caused her favourite person in the world pain.

Larissa suddenly feels herself being pulled into a tight hug.

They stay like that for a while. Morticia strokes her hair — it’s slightly curly because of the braid it’s been in. Morticia is surprised Larissa didn't straighten it this morning. She knows it’s silly, but that gives her a tiny bit of hope.

“I don’t know what to do either,” Morticia whispers into Larissa’s shoulder, “but we’ll figure it out. Come on, let’s go. We are not going to practice today.”

Larissa nods. As Morticia holds her hand and drags her over the football field, the only thought in her mind is how soft Morticia’s hands are.

They skip practice that day, Morticia expertly lying to their coach, telling her they both caught a stomach bug. She believes them because they never skip practice and sends them to the infirmary. They don’t go — instead they spend the afternoon drinking slushies and eating mini-doughnuts in that diner near campus. They talk and they talk, and before they are about to go back to campus, Larissa lays a hand on Morticia’s — and leaves it there. Morticia’s eyes widen — the diner is full, anyone could see them. She gives Larissa a questioning look, and Larissa gives her a fearful one — but she doesn’t remove her hand.

It’s a start.

#larissa weems #larissa x morticia #morissa #wednesday 2022 #gwendoline christie #i will produce my own garbage and also consume it

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lumibuns-blog · 1 year

Text

A part 2 of the Jotaro x reader fic I made bc I now finally have time lol

Link to part 1:

Ok now part 2!

Jotaro wakes up with an unfamiliar weight on him, his eyes flutter open to see you peacefully sleeping on his chest, your hands grip into his green shirt he never took off from yesterday. Your nose is almost buried in his neck and as he watches your back rise and fall with your breathing, he can't stop the blush from creeping onto his face, which he exasperatedly covers with his hand

A sudden loud crash starts you awake and the door is loudly slid open, you hear a French accent yell

"AH the lovers are finally awake!"

Only now do you notice where you were laying, you scramble off of your friends chest hurriedly apologizing, unable to look at Jotaro in the face.

"Get the hell out..." Jotaro's cold voice warns trying his best not to yell.

"Ohhhhkayyy" the French man teases "but your mom made pancakes!!" he says leaving the door open behind him

You finally get up the courage to ask what happened last night and he explains it to you in a monotone voice.

"Thank you" you say quietly barley looking at him

"It was Kakyoin's idea" he lied, putting on his hat to hide his blush

You follow him out to the kitchen only to be smothered by his mother who was just so happy that you were there, that her son had another friend at school, she completely ignored the fact you slept in the same room.

You sat down at the table she invited you to in-between Jotaro and Kakyoin and were introduced to the three others, a friend Polnareff as well as a man by the name of Avdol and Jotaro's grandfather, Mr. Joestar.

"I wondered how long it would take for my grandson to take after me" Mr. Joestar commented with smirk.

Jotaro didn't reply but looked like he was about to kill everyone in that room.

You ate a quiet breakfast as the rest of the family seemed to drop the subject of you and Jotaro. Once you had finished you gathered your things thanking everyone profusely for you stay. Kakyoin suggested Jotaro walk you to the station and he obliged.

The walk was quiet until you looked up at him to say "It was your idea wasn't it?" With a smile

"Hm how did you know" he grumbled

"Well I did wake up in you room"

"Sorry if that was....uncomfortable"

"Actually I think that was the best I've slept in a while, I didn't wake up once" you said smiling softly.

"Oh good grief" he couldn't hide the blush on his face so he thanked god you didn't notice

You turned around and waved goodbye to him as you ran to catch your train

"Come by....again alright" he could barley get the words out but was comforted by your smile letting him know your heard him

Gahhh such a fun fic let me know if you want more of this au I have so many ideassss <3

#jjba #jjba fluff #jojo sdc #jjba part 3 x reader #jotaro #gyro x reader #jjba x reader #joot #jojo part 3 x reader #jotaro fluff #Jotaro x reader fluff #jjba x reader fluff #jojos bizzare adventure x reader #jotaro kujo #jojo's bizarre adventure #jotaro joestar

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jojikawa · 1 year

Note

I know you're not taking any requests right now but I have this idea for a baby daddy chamber,phoenix or yoru x reader seperately or even poly

Poly Baby Daddy Headcanons 🍼

Chamber, Yoru, Phoenix 💗

Sure, bb! I honestly don’t mind taking requests sometimes. It’s just that some of my valorant works kinda blew up and my inbox was filled for months with new things being added everyday. It was overwhelming and made me so sad bc I don’t have the attention span for writing so much valorant related things 🥲 (doing poly bc I’m a sucker for harems)

The protocol was somewhat normal before you arrived. Afterwards, when you brought your pretty little self into the crosshairs of the team, it was only drama after that. Brimstone didn’t even get involved. Killjoy thought the way the boys acted was cringey and hard to watch. Viper, however, reveled in it. No French man to annoy her now. Why? Well. He’s a father now. Or so, he thinks he is. He seemed to be in competition for who the father actually was.

The other two candidates were Yoru and Phoenix.

All three of them had been eyeing you up and trying to make you their own. It led to a long night of fun where you had the pleasure of three men worshiping your body at once. Like a goddess giving a blessing. There wasn’t much to it, right? Well, no. It wasn’t that simple at all. It never is.

You got pregnant. It was hard to identify the father since they all…ya know…inside of you.

And the AFTER that you had personal time with them individually where you’d engage in sexual acts again. No one had any idea who the father could’ve been.

Throughout your pregnancy, all the men would do so fight over you. They would fight over who got to have time with you and when. Each one of them claiming you as if you were their wife.

Chamber was charming, promising to spoil you in his riches, along with the baby, of course. As long as you let him take care of you whether the baby was his or not. He had a way with his flirtatious French speech.

Yoru was extremely aggressive. Not with you, of course. If he weren’t on a team with the other two, he’d probably kill them judging by the way he spoke of them. He didn’t want Chamber or Pheonix near you or your pregnant belly. He tried to convince you that he is the only suitable father because he’s willing to do so much more that they won’t.

Phoenix was probably the bit of sunshine within this drama. He was extremely upbeat and helped take your mind off of the question of who the father could be. He definitely made you laugh and blush. He could be flirty as well. He made you feel like you were pretty even with your belly poking out the way it did.

They all took turns staying in your room at nights, even if it wasn’t particularly allowed. They would washed you, helped you dress, fetched you things and Chamber even made it a habit of feeding you. He’d tease you by not letting you have anything until you said something in French to him.

Once the child was born, that was a whole new can of worms. The child took so much after you that they still weren’t able to know who the father was.

Cypher suggested a DNA test. It would finally put an end to the 9 month long headache he’s been dealing with. Even on missions, the three would never shut up about you or the baby.

You refused because you didn’t want to hurt the other two men who had their hopes up of being the father. You didn’t mind co-parenting. You would just need to be able to have them get along.

The child was extremely cute with bright eyes and wavy hair. The rest of the team couldn’t help but gawk at them. Viper proved to be a great babysitter whenever you needed it but she was a busy woman. You couldn’t take missions and be a mother at once so you would often stay back. You joined the team to help people so you were very disheartened when the growing threat of Mirror Earth pursued. Getting more dangerous.

Chamber wanted to send you away to his home in France. Yoru wanted you to go to Japan with his family and Phoenix advised that you should just go home and keep in contact with him. Another thing that you refused. You wouldn’t run away from a fight at all.

And that just made you hotter. You were a young milf that was just as much of a soldier as the rest.

They all offered to take care of the child. You got them to work together. You let the child see every one of them so that they could get to know their dad.

But working together doesn’t mean they didn’t fight.

#valorant hcs #valorant phoenix x reader #valorant #chamber valorant #valorant fanfiction #valorant headcanons #poly relationship #chamber #yoru x reader #Yoru #valorant yoru x reader #baby daddy

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sgtmickeyslaughter · 8 months

Note

Hi Gigi! How about 22 and 95? For the prompt game.

Goood morning :)

This one got away from me, I'm not going to lie I'm not at all sure when its supposed to be set, pre-iphone but post horse drawn carriages? I was thinking a lot about pride and prejudice but also like, saltburn? Does turn of the century help? eek thank you for asking bc i never would have written royalty au for this exact reason but this was sooo fun!

22 Royalty AU + 95 Star-Crossed Lovers/Forbidden Friendship

Prince Ian loved his visits to the countryside before he met Mickey, but after that first summer he spent with the impish dark haired boy, the excitement he felt as they drove out from the confines of the city and into the expanse of rolling hills and idlic willow trees was that much sweeter.

That first summer, when Ian was only six, he learned that they’d hired a new family to be the main grounds keepers for the country estate that the royal family took refuge in for some summer months. They’d all lined up by the driveway to bow to Ian’s mother and father at they made their way up the slightly bumpy path. Ian remembers being fascinated by how harsh looking the mother and father were, and how intimidating the older bothers were as well, and how he almost didn’t notice the two youngest, a nearly identical boy and girl hiding behind their mother.

“Ian, quit staring and sit properly!” His mother had scolded when he’d stood up on his seat to continue looking at them out the back window.

“Who are those people?” He’d asked.

“The new grounds staff” his mother said dismissively. “Leave them alone to do their work.”

The country estate was Ian’s favorite place in the world, he’d decided. Because once his parents finished setting them up with nannies and tutors they would travel back to the city and stay there until the end of summer. They all deemed the property safe, it had sheltered members of his family through two world wars for gods sake. It was somewhat remote and deceptively inconspicuous so he had pretty much free reign of the place, a luxury he did not take lightly.

That first summer Ian made fast friends with the family’s youngest boy, and Debbie took to pestering the girl when her and Carl weren’t creating stress for some other member of the staff in the form of horrible children’s pranks. Mickey was the boys name, and he was just a year older, like Philip. It was the first year Lip didn’t come, he joined Fiona as the heirs in their parents press charity circuit, and continued tutoring through the summer.

Ian would lay back next to Mickey under one of the sweeping trees along the property, after a game of Jacks or would you rather, and think about how happy he was to be a spare child, highly unlikely to ever take the throne.

Mickey’s initial curiosity about the royal family diminished when he realized Ian was just a normal, slightly dopey boy as a child, but he seemed happy to have a friend, especially one as naïve as Ian.

Summers came and went, as they got older, Mickey and Mandy had more poorly explained bruises until the summer they arrived and Mickey’s father was missing from their little caravan on the driveway. They were thirteen and fourteen, and it seemed like over the last few summers they reunited looking virtually recognizable save for the clear friendship between them.

Ian's mother told him that the father died tragically of a heart attack, but Mickey told a different story once they were alone, “got stabbed with a bottle in a bar fight, and he was such a jackass all his life no one tried to save him.”

He sounded a little sad, but for the first time in years his lovely pale face was free from dark splatters of discoloration, so Ian wasn’t too broken up about it. He just slung an arm around his shoulders as they walked down to the river to see if they could catch some fish.

Some nights, as they got older, Ian would wake up to find Mickey at the bottom of his window, grinning up at him. He was working on the grounds now, since school was out and he was able bodied, so they didn’t have time together during the day. He’d lead Ian out into the patch of trees that constituted a small forest to smoke cigarettes and laugh all night.

Occasionally, his sister Mandy joined them, laughing and flirting with Ian much to Mickey’s annoyance. On the summer Mickey tuned seventeen, he was missing one night, but Mandy appeared from the darkness alone.

“Um- not that I don’t enjoy your company Mandy, but where’s Mickey?”

“Oh, Mickey’s gotten very close to a boy from school this year, he’s hanging out with him,” she said lasciviously around the butt of a cigarette. “If you know what I mean.”

“I’m sorry, I really don’t” Ian responded, a horrid feeling creeping up his stomach.

“I mean, ma caught them in a very compromising situation behind the woodshed,” she explained further, teasing. “He’s lucky dad’s dead, or he’d have killed him with a shovel and buried him with the murder weapon right then and there.”

She must have noticed the stricken look on Ian’s face. “Oh, I thought you knew,” she said, sounding genuinely remorseful “I mean, you’re his closest friend.”

Ian just nodded and moved on, but when Mickey came alone the next night, Ian followed him tensely. Mickey must have noticed something was up, Ian wasn’t usually so spacey, but he ignored it until they were making the trek back in the early morning hours and Ian stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

Mickey looked concerned finally, and when he opened his mouth to question him, Ian surged forward, clumsily pressing against his body and kissing him with a hand on his cheek.

Mickey pulled back slightly, brushing his nose against Ian’s, his clear eyes searching calmly “What was that?”

“I-” Ian had started quietly and nervously. “I think you’re the strangest and loveliest creature I’ve ever seen, I’m very fond of you Mickey.”

If he hadn’t been so nervous, he would have done a better job of savoring how soft Mickey’s skin was, how warm he felt in contrast with the soft morning mist. But luckily he had that whole summer to learn of softness and warmth and the form that working land gives a young man.

He was so in love with Mickey it must have been written all over his face, and he was too ignorant to realize how dangerous that was. When his mother and father came to pick them up, his mother started a terse conversation.

“Ian, did you enjoy your summer?” She’d asked.

“Hm?” He’d said. “Oh, yes. I made my way through the eighteenth century collection in the library, such a fascinating time.”

“Well, that is wonderful” she’d said easily. “Since you won’t be able to return while you’re in university.”

“What are you talking about?” Ian asked, panic rising in his chest.

“Well, when you’re studying full time during the school year,” she began. “When exactly, do you expect to be fulfilling your duties as a royal?”

Ian wasn’t a child anymore, he knew exactly what she was saying, and he slumped down in his seat, willing tears not to fall.

He had flings in university, and got a taste of life outside the palace walls, so to speak. But each new experience, each wonderful moment of joy and accomplishment he wished he was able to share with the raven haired boy he’d fallen so in love with.

When he was able to return to the estate for the first time in five years, he’d nearly jumped out of the car when he saw Mandy, but deflated instantly when she told him that Mickey was gone.

“Gone? Gone where?”

“I don’t know, Ian” she admitted. “One day he just…left, no one knows where he went.”

“But how could he do that?” Ian asked, heartbroken.

“I’m sorry did you expect him to sit around here, tending to your plants and waiting for you to magically appear?” Mandy said, only a little meanly.

“No-I just, I thought he knew that I would do everything I could to get back to him,” Ian admitted thickly.

Mandy softened, “Mickey and I aren’t like you. Nothing will ever be handed to us, so Mickey’s decided to go out and take his share of life. If you love him you can’t blame him for that.”

Ian nodded, but he only stayed for a week, returning to the city and nearly shouting at the knowing look in his mothers eye.

He privately contracted people to look for Mickey, over the next few years they would catch wind of him in Kyiv, or Istanbul, or Paris before they’d lose the trail again. Finally, one morning an agent came to Ian while he was enjoying an early breakfast.

“You won’t believe what he’s done” she said with a grin.

Acting crazy was surprisingly easy. Set a few of ancient relics they’d been hoarding for a couple dozen centuries on fire, walk naked into the parliament during a session, it didn’t take much before his mother confronted him about what exactly he was trying to achieve.

“Well,” he’d said. “I’m afraid the pressures of royal life make me quite chronically nervous, must be the stress boiling over.”

“And what exactly do you plan to do about it?” She said tensely, seething below the surface.

“Well, I’ve been thinking that since I am merely one spare among four maybe I should step out of the public eye, before I do something to drastic to embarrass the crown. Publish one of my history books every few years so people know I am not locked in the tower or anything and otherwise, keep quiet.”

“And I don’t suppose you were thinking of retiring to the family estate up north?”

“Oh, mother” Ian grinned genially. “That is such a wonderful idea, and it hadn’t even occurred to me.”

So at the age of thirty Ian walked into the Red Door Pub, the very bar where Terry Milkovich had died on the floor. He walked up to the nearest employee, with a broad smile “excuse me, may I speak with the owner? My new grounds staff are just loosing it, and I believe he may have some expertise to share.”

#and then they lived happily ever after #how am i supposed to tell a thirty year love story in less and a thousand words #gallavich #shameless #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #sgt says #gallavich fanfic #prompt game

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unnecessary-sobbing · 2 years

Text

strength - s.u.

content: slight wakanda forever spoilers, shuri being a good, fluff

pairing(s): shuri udaku x reader

summary: everything has slightly calmed down since the battle between wakanda and talokan, and shuri is testing out her new abilities.

note: repost bc the first time it was broken 😞 how embarrassing

~~~

it's been about six months since the battle between wakanda and talokan, and things were starting to become normal. while you and shuri were adjusting to life in haiti, her old self slowly began to come back. the smile that you missed appeared more and the small trinkets that she’d make and gift to you filled up the memory box you stored in your room.

with a new home also came new adjustments. shuri never got a chance to properly adjust to her newfound strength, and that took a lot of getting used to. there would be times where she’d accidentally rip a door off its hinges, or hug you too tight. instances where she forgets her strength make you laugh the most as she sheepishly apologizes or tries to fix the broken item. she was definitely not used to being the brawn.

what came as second nature was being “the best aunties ever,” toussaint’s words. finding out that you guys were aunties was a shock, but you loved toussaint unconditionally. the two of you would often take him to the beach, where he’d play in the sand with you or splash in the water with shuri. other times you three would be cooped up in your room, reading with you or watching shuri tinker until nakia called for him.

today, nakia had invited you to the market, leaving toussaint and shuri to their own devices. once you made it home and near your room door, you could hear the whispers hushed laughter of the aunt and nephew.

“toussaint, stay still or you’ll fall.”

you hear the boy giggle, making you assume that hes not doing what shuri is asking. “auntie, can you stand on your head next?”

when you opened the door, you were greeted with a sight that almost made your heart stop. in the middle of the room was shuri doing handstand pushups with toussaint clinging to her legs. toussaint was the first to notice you, a wide smile on his face as he waved at you.

“hi auntie!”

you smiled as you walked up to the pair and plucked him off your fiancé’s legs.

“shuri, he could’ve gotten hurt,” you say with false anger in your voice.

“don’t worry auntie, she’s really strong.”

you looked down at the boy in your arms with a raised eyebrow. shuri stopped her upside down pushups, standing back upright. she walked to you with a small smile and kissed your cheek.

“what he said. i can do so much more without breaking a sweat now.”

she looked excited and you didn’t wanna ruin her fun. with a defeated sigh, you shook your head and hugged toussaint tighter causing him to groan in protest.

“okay, but could you so something more safe? nakia would have our heads if-“

“but where’s the fun in that? watch this,” she interrupted before bending down and grabbing you bridal style. with ease, she lifted you and toussaint like she was overhead pressing you at a gym. you started to panic as toussaint laughed in excitement.

“for the love of bast, put us down shuri!”

shuri chuckled at your reaction before doing a little spin, much to your displeasure and toussaint’s enjoyment.

“see? it’s like you guys are a bag of grapes!”

“yes, very cool. now put us down!

shuri obliged, gently placing you on your feet. you shoot her a glare, causing her to raise her hands in defense. you roll your eyes and place toussaint on the ground as well.

“your mother wants you, go on now,” you say walking him to the door, shuri following behind. the boy nods before making his way down the hall.

“bye aunties!”

you both say bye before closing the door to your room. you turn to face shuri as she snakes her arms around your waist. she buries her face in the crook of your neck and starts trailing kisses up to your jaw. you close your eyes and hum in content, your own arms around her neck.

“i take it you’re enjoying the superhuman strength?” you ask after kissing her temple. she looks at you with a grin.

“i guess you can say that,” she says before leaning in to kiss your lips. as your lips moved in sync with hers, shuri’s hands traveled from your waist to your thighs, she gently tapped you before lifting you, signaling you to wrap your legs around her.

lips still connected, shuri walked the both of you to your bed. she gently laid you on your back, breaking the kiss as she hovers over you.

“i just love how useful it can be.”

#dee.fics #im so embarrassed #guys please #im sorry #shuri fic #princess shuri #shuri udaku #shuri fluff #shuri x fem!reader #shuri x black!reader #shuri x black!fem reader #shuri x you #shuri x y/n #shuri x reader #letitia wright shuri #shuri black panther

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kaveuh · 2 years

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Hi, your izumi comforting s/o after a toxic relationship was so neat, so may I ask for kaoru who comforts his s/o in a similar situation but instead it's her parents who are toxic? Like their marriage is messed up and her father was negligent and harsh towards his wife which makes s/o deeply traumatised and is scared that she will end up in the same situation as her mom? When he asked her one day on a date why she's so fidgetty and jumpy with him she bursts out crying and shaking and tells him about her family? I'm sorry if it's oddly specific, thank you very much.

"IT’LL BE OKAY, I'M HERE." kaoru hakaze.

author’s note — happy birthday kaoru my little scrimbly.. also i may have gotten carried away with this just bcs🔥🔥

genre — angst, hurt/comfort, fluff

warning(s) — toxic household, mental breakdowns, invalidation of self-trauma

kaoru notices and remembers all these little things about you— from your features, to your silly little hobbies, etc. which is why it didn't take long for your boyfriend to realize how you'd always fidget when he's around you. he chose to brush it off, reasoning with himself, such as: 'maybe she's just nervous.' or 'maybe it's just a habit.' etc.

until it was getting out of hand. kaoru was not aware of your situation at home, no one else was. besides yourself, of course. instead, he ended up overthinking it. was he the problem? are you uncomfortable with him? is it because he used to be a playboy back in highschool?

you chose to forget about your home life. however, your constant fidgeting, being on-guard at all times was something that you can’t help. it was exhausting. you were perfectly content with how things were— with kaoru being completely oblivious about your life at home and treating you normally like a normal boyfriend would. you didn’t think he would notice and ask you so suddenly about it.

"[name], am i making you uncomfortable?" kaoru came to a stop, facing towards you with a stern expression and stiff posture.

it was a surprise. you, flabbergasted didn’t know how to answer his question. 'what did he mean by that?' your date was already coming to an end. you had fun, but what made him suddenly ask that question? you began to overthink. what you experienced at home began to flash through your mind.

"i don't mean to pry or anything, but if anything's wrong, then you can tell me. i won't judge you or—" he stopped upon seeing your glassy eyes. if there was one thing in this world that you wanted to avoid at the moment, that would be crying. kaoru panicked, looking around as he gently took you to a more private space. kaoru sighs, scooching down to your level (as you ended up doing so the moment you arrived).

you wanted to disappear. you didn't want anyone to worry— let alone, kaoru, who had already lost his mother and had a shitty mother worry about you. after all, he has it worse than you, right?

"[name]," the blonde called out, visibly choosing his words carefully as to not upset you any further. "may i touch you?" he asked, smiling softly as he saw your nod. kaoru moved closer to wrap his arms around your trembling body. "it'll be okay, i'm here." he cooed, holding you until you had calmed down a bit. "i won’t force you to tell me what's wrong. but, if ever, i'll be here to listen. it's not good to bottle things up, you know?"

you sniffed, wiping the remaining tears as a result of your breakdown. "okay," you began, leaning into his touch as you proceeded to tell him everything— from your childhood to present. kaoru did as he said: he listened. he was patient, no matter how much you paused to cry, no matter how much you were slurring. he stayed and listened.

"[name], i can’t promise you anything in terms of me being able to help. but i can promise you that i can be any type of support you need. you deserve so much, and i can never, ever, imagine myself hurting you like that." he took a deep breath, before taking a water bottle out of his bag, opened it and handed it to you.

"you don't have to believe me now, heck, i wouldn't even blame you if you can't trust my words. but i mean it— i may not be the best with comforting, but i can assure you that i'll take care of you."

you finally looked at him, rubbing your puffy eyes as he caressed your cheek. "i trust you…" kaoru’s eyes lit up, his gaze softening. "thank you, kaoru."

#ensemble stars x reader #enstars x reader #kaoru x reader #kaoru hakaze x reader #enstars x you #ensemble stars x you #ensemble stars x y/n #kaoru hakaze

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conscious-naivete · 11 months

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Cons!!!! pal!!! what is the short story about a girl who was swallowed by an open sky :O I would love to read it!! :D

ur lucky i was digging thru stuff recently and knew exactly where this book was, bc i had to dig it out of the boxes in the basement!

the story was The Empty Place from Strange and Eerie Stories by Pat Hancock. i haven’t read this in years, i rmbred it slightly wrong, but i’ve scanned it in below the cut for ya

Mom pointed to the large hawk soaring above the cottage. “Look, Kit. Isn’t it beautiful?"

Kit glanced skyward.

"So what?" she said sullenly. "It's just a bird." She turned her back and began to walk away.

"Kit? Where are you going?"

"Nowhere." Kit kept walking.

"Hold on, Kit. It's nearly lunch time. I want you to stay close to the cottage for now."

Kit took two more steps, then stopped as her little brother, Eugene, dashed out of the bushes beside the cottage. He came straight at her, arms outstretched.

"Hey, Kit, look what I found."

Carefully, he uncupped his hands. But not carefully enough. A bumpy brown toad leapt out just as Kit bent down to look.

"You brat," she hissed, jumping back.

"But, Kit, I never did it on purpose. Come on. Help me catch it again, will you?"

"You wish. Catch your own stupid toads--and keep them far away from me." Kit turned on her heel and stomped away.

"You're no fun anymore," Eugene yelled as he headed back behind the cottage, hot on the trail of the escaping amphibian.

His words pierced Kit with a guilt that nearly stopped her in her tracks. She knew she was acting like a jerk, but this knowledge just made her angrier- -with herself and everybody else.

She hadn't asked to be included in the family's vacation at the cottage. In fact, she'd begged to stay behind in town, where she could watch TV, hang out with her friends and have some fun.

Kit kept walking. She wanted a space of her own, away from the rest of the family. She started to jog, then broke into a run.

"Kit, wait." she heard her mother call. Kit ignored her and kept running until she reached the cover of a nearby willow grove.

From her vantage point under the drooping branches, Kit watched her parents walk back to the picnic table and sit down. Eugene was already seated, getting a head start on the sandwiches.

"Guess who's missing from the happy holiday picture?" Kit muttered angrily. They're just fine, she thought. They can have lots of fun without me.

Turning away, she began to work her way through the willow branches. When she broke through to the other side of the grove, she took a deep breath and took off across the vast expanse of meadow that lay before her.

Kit ran and ran. She ran until her breathing was so harsh and shallow that she could run no more. She slowed to a jog, but finally had to stop. Gasping, she bent over, hands on her knees, and tried to catch her breath.

Gradually, the pounding in her chest lessened, and the pain in her side eased. She straightened up slowly and looked back the way she'd come. Far off, to the right, she could still see the dark outline of the woods ringing the lake, but she could barely pick out the cottage and the willow grove beside it.

Not far enough. I can still see it, Kit thought, and decided to keep going. "Until I don't have to see anyone or anything," she said aloud as she set off once more, this time at an easy jog.

She had no idea how long she'd been running when she started to pay attention to her surroundings again. The first thing she noticed was that the sun was no longer directly overhead. She could still feel its powerful rays on the back of her neck and shoulders, but it was definitely lower in the sky. Her lengthening shadow told her that.

Glancing down, she realized that the ground had changed, too. The soft meadow grasses were gone and, underfoot, dried weeds and withering wild strawberry plants crunched and crackled.

The sun's cooking you too, she mused, looking at the brown and red leaves clinging to a sandy patch of ground before her. Suddenly, a quick shadow streaked across her path. Kit turned and squinted over her shoulder into the sky.

Oh, it's you, she thought as she picked the large black hawk out of the sun's glare. Who invited you along? Go back to my mother. She's the bird lover, not me. Aloud she added, "This is my spot. Mine, you hear."

The realization that she had actually shouted these words left Kit feeling more than a little foolish.

Thank goodness no one is around to hear, she thought. But the words had struck a memory chord. Kit stopped walking and looked around again. Hey, maybe this really is my place, she thought, recalling the game she'd invented when she was little. She flopped onto the ground, thinking that she might finally be able to win it here.

Kit stretched out, her hands clasped under her neck, and began to move her eyes in every direction while keeping her head perfectly still.

"Nearly," she said, sitting up and yanking at a tall clump of chicory that had managed to survive the heat and sand. "Sorry, but you have to go." she announced. Then she lay back down and looked around again.

That's better, she thought. This place has definite possibilities. Then she saw the hawk again.

"Go away," she ordered. "This is my place. You're wrecking the game."

The hawk lingered briefly, suddenly swooped lower, then soared high and faded into the cloudless sky.

Finally, Kit thought. Nobody and nothing. I've finally found my empty place.

Her thoughts drifted back to the summer six years ago when she'd started her search for this place. That year, her family had spent their vacation at her uncle's farm. One day, lying on the roof of the cowshed with her cousins, Kit had found herself staring into an empty, clear blue sky. She had lain outside many times before flat on her back on the apartment balcony, in the wading pool at the park, and even in the schoolyard. But this time was different.

This time, nothing, absolutely nothing had broken her view of the sky-no birds, no branches, no awnings, not even a hydro pole or telephone line. Suddenly, she'd been overwhelmed by the vast emptiness.

This is fun, she'd thought. It's like being all alone in the middle of nowhere, even though I'm really not. It felt good, being in the empty place she'd just discovered.

Keeping her head still, she'd let her eyes wander to the left. Still nothing. Once again, all she could see was blue. When she'd looked to the right, though, a tall tree had intruded into the blueness. Then two crows had risen squawking from the garden, flying directly into view, and the spell had been broken.

But the excitement of that moment had lingered. Several times that summer, she'd searched for a place where she could lie down, look up and around and see nothing but sky. It became a kind of game for her. She'd flop down, cushion her head with her hands, and try out a new place. But, no matter where she tried out the view, something a tree or a bird or a single power line always got in the way.

There was no point even trying on cloudy days. She would not allow the smallest wisp of white to drift by. That was against the rules, rules she'd come up with after that time on the cowshed roof. Only the sun was allowed. She couldn't look right at it anyway, so it didn't count. But anything else would break the spell cast by the emptiness.

When her cousins began to tease her about Iying around all the time, just staring at the sky, she quickly learned to seek out her empty place only when she was alone. She came close sometimes, but she never did find it that summer.

When she returned to the city, thoughts of her summer quest faded. Once, in the winter, she had tried again at the park, after an unusually heavy snowfall. The sun was shining brightly and the park was blanketed in white. She lay down in the snow and looked all around but, try as she might, she could never eliminate the nearby highrises from the picture. No matter where she went in the park, she could still see at least one.

The next summer Kit gave up her search. She was lying with two of her friends on the teeter-tot-ters in the park. The three of them were just lying there saying nothing, staring up at the sky.

When she asked them if they ever tried to find a place where they could see absolutely nothing but the sky, they looked at her as if she had grown antennae. "You're nuts, Kit," one of them had said.

Embarrassed, Kit had vowed never to think about the stupid game again.

But here she was, two years later, absolutely spellbound because there was nothing, absolutely nothing, in sight. This is amazing, she thought Nothing and nobody. Just what I wanted. I wonder how long it will last.

Now that she knew it was possible to find such a place, a new rule began to take shape in her mind. Once I find it, I can't move until something invades it, she thought.

"But that won't take long," she added aloud. "Something always comes along."

Kit lay still, staring upward at the seamless blue canopy, waiting for that something— a plane, a cloud, a bee buzzing by. She waited and waited, but nothing intruded into her empty place.

"Amazing," she repeated softly, relishing the moment.

Then her neck began to itch. Bet I've got a sunburn, she found herself thinking. Hope Mom brought the Noxzema. Don't be silly. Mom always remembers to bring the Noxzema. And the sun block...

Mom always remembers the air mattress, too. And a brand new jigsaw puzzle. Always a new puzzle. Wonder how many pieces this one will have? And the new game? What'll it be? Balder-dash? I'll bet that's it. Have to wait to find out, though. It has to be a surprise...

KIt realized she was looking forward to finding out which games Mom had brought along. Okay, so maybe doing puzzles and playing games with the family isn't so bad, she thought. Maybe I won't be bored totally out of my mind.

Kit scanned the empty sky again. Her neck was getting stiff and she wanted to stand up and brush away the sand that was starting to make her skin itch. Okay, I've had enough. Time for something to break into the emptiness. Time to go home.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," she called.

Maybe I goofed. Maybe I can see something, she thought, and forced her eyes from side to side as far as they could go. But she'd picked her spot well. Without turning her head, she couldn't see past the sandy patch where she had flopped down.

How long have I been here? she wondered. A long time. Shouldn't have pulled out that plant. Then I could have seen it—and I could have got up. Maybe I'lI cheat. Turn my head a bit. I'm sure there was some tall grass just past the strawberry leaves. I remember that.

She checked the sky one last time. Empty.

That's it, then. Time's up, she decided, and turned her head to the side. No tall grass there. She turned the other way. There was nothing there either.

“That's weird." Kit said softly. I was sure it was there she thought. Oh well, I moved my head so the game's over anyway. I may as well get up.

Kit sat up and looked around. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Impossible, she thought, and scrambled to her feet.

She stared in disbelief. For as far as she could see, there was absolutely nothing, nothing but the occasional wild strawberry runner clinging to the dry brown ground. It was as if the spot had spread around her until it met the sky. The sweat trickling down her neck felt suddenly cold. It sent stiver up her spine.

For a long time, Kit stood transfixed. Then she began to turn slowly, desperately scanning the horizon for anything that would help her get her bearings. She became frantic, looking—and looking again--for a familiar landmark. All she could see was acres of sand meeting the endless blue of the empty sky.

Feeling dizzy, she stopped turning and looked up again. The sun still shone, but it was much lower in the sky. Still, it couldn't help her. She had no idea whether the cottage lay north, south, east or west.

She wanted to run again. But she didn't know which way to go. For the second time that day, Kit began to cry. Sobbing, she felt very lost and alone.

She had no idea how much time had passed when she began to notice the breeze brushing against her tears. Gentle at first, it grew stronger with each gust. Thick white clouds edged with gray began to roll in, gobbling up the blue. Kit's heart raced. She could smell the approaching storm. Run, her mind screamed. Run. Run. Run.

Kit started to run, then turned and began to run in the opposite direction. "Which way? Which way?" she yelled into the terrible emptiness. Despairing, she stopped again, choking back her sobs.

It was then that she saw it. It was only a speck at first, a pinpoint of black in one of the last remaining patches of blue. When it disappeared behind a cloud, Kit thought she'd imagined it. But, seconds later, it was back, soaring and diving, its widespread wings riding the wind. Closer and closer it came, until it was directly overhead. It hovered for a moment, suspended in space. Then, with a mighty flap of its wings, it veered sharply back into the wind, struggling to return the way it had come.

Suddenly Kit realized where it had come from-and she knew where it was going. The voice inside her head became a chorus. Run. Run. Run. Kit began to run again, this time after the hawk.

They were going home.

#it’s a collection of like horror stories for kids #casual inexplicable things. a couple about maybe-ghosts and maybe-magic #one abt a kid getting held captive by his baseball superstitions that i think could be about ocd #just reread and some of these r pretty good #asks #quartz-candles

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