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writeforfandoms · 1 month

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Shadows 1

Find the John Price masterlist

My entry for @glitterypirateduck O Captain challenge! This one starts with #3, a rescue takes place. This is part of the larger zombie AU, but you don't have to have read the other fics.

About a year and a half after the end of the world, you're unexpectedly rescued by a group of four men. Time to find out what you can make of life now.

Warnings: Violence, canon typical violence, forced captivity (not by the 141), unnamed bad guys, blood, references to medical stuff, swearing, grief, allusions to deaths, not all monsters are zombies.

Word count: 1.4k

You'd lost track of the days in this place. Well. Not this particular place, you'd been moved around a few times.

But these places were all the same. Abandoned, with varying levels of light, never unpacking.

Not that you were allowed to keep much. Mostly just supplies.

You shifted your position, crossing your legs carefully against the hard floor. The heavy duty strap around your ankle dragged the chain across the floor, an unnecessary and loud reminder that you couldn't go anywhere.

The house around you was quiet and still. No footsteps coming towards you. No shouting. No smashing glass.

Considering the world had all but ended, you'd think these guys would want to keep their living area clean. But no. They'd proven to and again that they didn't care about anything except themselves and getting what they wanted.

Unfortunately for all of you, safe places were becoming harder to find. The cities were all unpassable, filled with infected. Which left towns and other areas.

This group had gone through at least three towns since they'd grabbed you. They didn't care about anyone else. They didn't do anything to help. They just took what they wanted, killed anyone who got in their way, and kept you alive to sew them back up after.

Considering they often attacked in the night, and guns were not readily available to most people, you didn't have too many injuries to deal with.

Honestly, if throwing yourself off a building was an option, you'd consider it carefully at this point.

The first sign you had that all was not well was a thud, so muffled you almost didn't hear it. You probably wouldn't have, except you were actually awake and sort of paying attention.

Now you wished you'd sat closer to the window. Just in case.

Silence held for long enough that you felt almost confident relaxing again. Whatever you'd heard was a fluke, or someone moving, or something simple like that. None of your concern… unless someone had managed to break a bone or something.

You really hoped not. You hated setting bones without the modern conveniences.

A door downstairs creaked, and you went still, heart rabbiting in your chest. All the doors in this house creaked, that's just what happened with neglect. It wasn't a big deal.

But if the men were up and moving, you needed to be alert. You couldn't simply trust that they'd leave you alone.

But you didn't hear footsteps or further signs of life. Which was different. Unusual.

Unusual was probably bad.

Moving slowly, you got to your feet, trying to minimize how much the chain dragged against the floor. Maybe you were wrong. Maybe this was nothing. Maybe there was nothing to be upset about.

Then the shouting started, one voice that you recognized yelling for the others to get up, to fight. Soon other voices joined him, chaos erupting downstairs. The first gunshot still made you jump, loud and unexpected. Your fingers twitched at your sides, anxiety thrumming through you, leaving you jittery. More gunshots followed the first, and you winced.

Well. Undoubtedly you'd have people to fix up after this. Whatever this was.

The chaos downstairs lasted mere minutes that felt like hours. Gunshots and shouting and meaty thuds, the occasional creak or squeal of a door. When you convinced yourself to creep to the window, you couldn't see much outside.

Then a flash of movement in the bushes outside. Could be nothing. Could be a person. You moved to the side, trying to hide. The cuff around your ankle tugged sharply, reminding you of your limitations. Heart beating wildly in the sudden silence, the sudden absence of violence, you knelt to scrabble at the material.

The stairs squeaked as someone ascended them.

Rapidly running out of time, you gave up on freeing yourself, and instead scrambled over to hide behind the door. That would give you a moment or two, maybe, and had the added bonus of leaving you enough loose chain to hold as a makeshift weapon.

The door eased open, but nothing else happened for several moments. You couldn't hear anything over the pounding of your heart, your fingers clenched so tight around the length of chain your fingers ached, metal digging into your skin.

The other person moved suddenly, stepping into the room and twisting to look right at you. You didn't notice much initially, too focused on the gun suddenly pointed directly at you. You made a choked off kind of noise, swallowing hard, fingers gone numb.

But there was no gunshot. No pain. No noise.

The gun lowered slowly, and you finally looked past it to the man in front of you. The first thing you noticed were his eyes - the kind of blue that stuck with you, intense but warm. The facial hair drew your attention next, mostly because not only had he made a bold choice in muttonchops, but they were clean and maintained.

He clearly had access to supplies.

Finally, you realized his lips were moving. He was talking to you. You just hadn't heard him. Blinking rapidly, you breathed in deep, trying to think, to focus past the lingering fear.

“I'm sorry, what did you say?” Your voice came out quieter than you intended, a little raspy. Your throat still felt tight and dry.

His lips quirked in an almost smile. “I asked if you were injured,” he repeated patiently, voice soothingly even.

“No.” You swallowed, looking down at the chain still clutched in your hand. “No, I'm fine.”

He raised one eyebrow, chin tipping like he really wasn't sure about that, but he didn't argue. “Take it you're not with the gents downstairs.”

You scoffed. “Could say that,” you agreed, loosening your grip but not letting go yet. You could finally hear again, could hear someone else moving in the house, the gentle creaks and groans of the old house helping you track them. “What happened?”

He looked at you for a moment, impassive, before he nodded once. “Most of them are dead. They attacked our town. Tracked them back here.”

You nodded, leaning back a bit. Clearly this man was dangerous. Him and whoever he had with him. It was strange though that you couldn't hear more, unless he'd left most everyone else outside. The group downstairs was impossible to miss when they were moving, at over a dozen members.

The two of you stood for a few moments at an impasse before he shifted the gun to his side, holding it with one arm. His free hand drew a knife.

For a moment, a bare second, you stared at the shining blade and wondered if this was finally it for you.

But he surprised you, kneeling in front of you. “Gonna cut this off you,” he told you, motioning to the strap around your ankle. “Hold still.”

You didn't move a muscle as he worked, lips pressed tight together. The metal was cool against your skin, but you felt no pain.

Just a loosening, a sudden lightness.

“Done.” He rose back to his feet, knife safely tucked away again. “Sure you're not injured?” His gaze swept over you, cool and assessing.

It finally clicked what he thought you were doing here, and your lips twisted in an almost smile. “They didn't rape me,” you said, finally letting go of the chain, letting it fall with a loud clatter. “I'm a nurse. Or I was, anyway.”

Comprehension dawned, and his shoulders settled a little lower, a little more relaxed. “Handy to keep around,” he surmised.

“And keep well enough to work,” you agreed with wry humor, flexing your fingers.

“You have anywhere to go? Anyone waiting for you?”

Grief stuck in your throat, the flash of blood and bodies and cruel laughter taking all your attention. But only for a moment. You shoved it back down to deal with never, breathing in slowly. Controlled. You were fine, you had this handled.

“No.” You cleared your throat, clearing away the remnants of grief. “Much like everyone at this point, I suspect.”

No pity darkened his eyes, understanding in the tilt of his lips. “Could always use someone with your skills in town.”

You tipped your head, looking at him. He stood patiently under your scrutiny, giving you all the time you needed to note how clean he was, his clothes in good repair, his weapons seemingly working fine. Wherever he called home must have been in pretty good shape, especially to have guns and enough people to spare to go after a threat.

“A town, you said? Tell me more.”

#zombie au #john price x reader #john price x you #f!reader #ocaptainchallenge

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espiepuffs · 3 months

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Hi! I was wondering if you could do Ortega/Kieran × "Delinquent" GN! Reader? (Delinquent with a heart of gold) 🫶

Heart of gold ♡

Pairing: Kieran x GN! Reader, Ortega x GN! Reader

Notes: Hello anon! Thank you for requesting and sorry it took so long to write up! I had so many different ideas in mind but I couldn’t figure out how to write it just the way I wanted. Nevertheless, this was a super fun idea and I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it!

Kieran

Your and Kieran’s relationship could be perfectly described as a dog owner straining to hold its feisty dog.

And Kieran’s friends (and sister) were surprised. Out of everyone Kieran could’ve possibly gotten with, you?!

See, you were infamous over at BB Academy for your violent and reckless behaviour, causing trouble for both teachers and students alike with the amount of fights you’d take part in.

But Kieran doesn’t mind that a bit! He’ll try prevent you from picking fights with people, but that can only do so much :’)

He actually looks up to you in a way, he admires you for your confidence and bravery.

Carmine was incredibly wary of you at first and would do just about anything and everything to make sure you wouldn’t harm Kieran.

She was proven wrong in so many ways though!

You were always so sweet and attentive, checking up on him and making sure he wasn’t overworking himself.

Compared to how you’d yell at others in the hallways, your voice was uncharacteristically soft spoken around him.

You’d always share your snacks with him, sometimes even bringing him food you’d made to share!

He was so much happier than before, and his eye-bags were close to non-existent at that point! Give yourself a pat on the back, you’ve done incredibly well.

(And earned Carmine’s trust, that’s even harder to do!)

He tends to be the one to patch you up after fights if you do get injured at all!

He tries to make sure you attend classes more often, if you don’t he’s disappointed.

“S/o, you need to attend classes more, otherwise you won’t learn anything and you’ll get held back like Drayton >:(”

There was a time that some students were talking bad about Kieran, picking on him for how he’d acted while he was champion.

Of course he knew that how he’d behaved wasn’t okay in the slightest, but he really was trying to change :c

When you’re with him next, you notice how downcast he is. After getting him to tell you what happened, you managed to track down and have a ‘friendly chat’ with said students!

Next thing you know, they’re profusely apologising to him the next day, and they stay out of his hair from then on.

(He isn’t completely dumb, he knows you had something to do with it, but he didn’t say anything about it, since it did benefit him in the end.)

The school also takes note of the fact that you’re involved in less fights, and you attend classes more often now!

Kieran has as much of a positive impact on you as you do on him <3

Ortega

I think that you and Ortega would go way back, even before the creation of team star. The two of you were childhood friends.

You and Ortega would be bullied by others, however you would always snap back.

Being insulted by Ortega would definitely sting, but you know what would hurt more? One of your punches <33

When you were young, your personality was hot headed and confrontational, whilst being compassionate and standing up for what you believed in.

You were incredibly good at fighting, and you’d cause a ruckus for anyone that’d do wrong.

Vandalism, violence and threats were things you weren’t afraid to do if people had decided to bully.

You’d only go so far however, knowing that two wrongs don’t make a right, to a certain extent.

You two were each other’s flint and steel, you needed each other to make sparks.

(So The rest of team star was not surprised in the slightest when you two started dating!)

It’s also no surprise that you yourself are in team star. The group aren’t really a bunch of delinquents like you may be, they’re more misunderstood.

But any companion (or partner) of Ortega’s is an immediate friend of theirs!

Also, you can pretty much skip school whenever, it’s pretty much a load off your back and you don’t have to deal with bullies at school-

(Not that there really are any left there anyways…)

Moving onto the present, seeing the two of you interact is the biggest sort of visual whiplash there is.

Ortega is known for his snide remarks, and you’re just the walking and talking form of chaos, so seeing the two of you together so calm is incredibly uncanny.

The two of you walking hand in hand, smiling and talking about fairy types could make anyone pull a double take!

With you, the boy feels very protected, it’s as if you’ve cast an aromatic mist over him!

Sometimes, Ortega does worry about your violent tendencies getting out of hand, and does try to make sure you reel it in just a tad bit, just to keep yourself out of trouble!

You would bring a lot of comfort to Ortega. He finds you to be quite a soothing person, always open to listening to what he has to say.

You don’t care about the same things people would nitpick and bully him for, you would always stand up for him in those situations, even if it meant you getting in trouble.

Over the years, the two have you have been super supportive of each other.

He’s happy that he’s the one that gets to be on the receiving end of your kindness!

The two of you are just absolutely perfect for each other- that’s one thing any and everyone in team star can agree on.

Even if you’re a violent troublemaker, and Ortega is a snarky and snappy guy, the two of you bring the best out of each other, and that’s as plain as day!

#pokémon #pokemon scarlet #pokemon violet #pokemon scarvi #pokemon kieran x reader #kieran x reader #pokemon kieran #ortega x reader #pokemon ortega

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writerlyhabits · 11 months

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Ration Packs

Pairing: Din Djarin x female reader

Word Count: 4.7k

Summary: based on this request...

“I’m guessing it’ll be ration packs for dinner?” you added, nodding towards the empty satchel hanging from his hip. “There wasn’t a market on the way back to the ship,” he almost pleaded, trying to explain his intentions, but you simply gave him a tight-lipped nod in acknowledgment. “I’ll get the packs started so it's ready by the time you’ve unloaded.” Your voice lacked its usual kindness. This shift in the conversation had you speaking with him as if this were all just… business. Had he pushed you too far? Were you trying to remind him that he had hired you to be here? That he should be keeping things… professional? Fuck. This was why he worked alone.

Warnings: mild language, miscommunication [but not in a horrible way, don’t worry, I’m better than that], young dumb in love din djarin, mild angst, angst with a happy ending, everything is in Din’s pov because i love his dumbass train of thought, idk it’s pretty soft

AN: oh my god i’m back from the dead! I told you guys i’d be back 😂 This request has been sitting in my inbox for probably about a year… and I have no end of apologies, but i’m finally done and it’s a miracle I don’t hate it 😂 I did change the prompt a little… the idea of them putting Grogu to bed was cute, but I had an idea for a younger Din and just fell in love with it, so i ran with that. I hope you guys enjoy 💖 Thank you @deceiver-of-gods for putting up with me all this time, ily 😘

Din had traveled through the toughest parts of the galaxy without batting an eye. He’d run with a mercenary group and proven himself to have more skills, more hits, more value… and more of a moral compass than anyone else in the group. After fighting his way out of their grip, he had taken out high-level targets with ease to earn his way into the Bounty Hunters guild. Din continued to be not only one of the youngest of their ranks, but also the most highly sought after. And after all of that?

You were his greatest challenge.

His Razor crest had taken one too many hits for him to be able to repair on his own, and the costs of repairs on his pre-imperial ship were starting to eat into the funds he usually gave back to his covert. Not providing for them was not an option; the Beroya was supposed to send their spoils back to the covert to provide for those in hiding. This is the way…

So when he landed on a planet with lush, colorful flora, and a generally trusting local people, he least expected you to strike a bargain with him. He needed a mechanic, and you wanted a ticket out. Free boarding and transportation in exchange for a live-in repair crew, he just had to get you the parts. It was his perfect solution. He hired you on the spot and scheduled to ship out as soon as the Crest was back in working order.

On that first day of travel, Din had only just entered hyper-speed when he became overly critical of his ship. The cold, metal surfaces of the hull were uninviting, full of sharp edges, and devoid of any personality. It didn’t take him much longer to realize that, to an outsider, his armor looked much the same.

But he’d never seen it that way before. To him, the Mandalorian armor was a sign of home, of belonging. It had been his savior in his childhood, and a beacon of his people as he grew into his own. He had tucked away into coverts where the blank metal lining of their ships and their walls meant protection.

But you were not Mandalorian. You hadn’t grown up around sharp edges and cold surfaces. The place you called home was filled with warm colors and soft curves, the buildings made to flow with the organic structures of the nature around them, letting in the bright sunlight necessary for its growth. You yourself walked with an elegance Din was unfamiliar with, treading softly on the ground and smiling brightly at him each time your kind eyes met his dark visor. You had shared your warmth with him since the moment he’d met you, despite the coldness he was certain he portrayed, and it surprised him how much he found himself drawn to it. Drawn to you.

You were everything he wasn’t. But Din would do everything in his power to make sure you never came to regret agreeing to this strange setup, that you never felt isolated or alone because you’d chosen him – a walking wall of cold beskar – as your traveling companion.

At first, he’d merely wanted to bring you things that reminded him of your home, things he thought might do the same for you. Anytime he was in a market passing through, either on a supply run or with a bounty in tow, he found something colorful to bring back to you. The first few had been small trinkets, things you could keep in the small cupboard you had decided to call your quarters, or delicate pieces of jewelry he would later catch you wearing around the ship.

The feeling Din got seeing you wear something he gave you made something warm swell inside of him… It made it hard to come back to the ship empty-handed, especially with the promise of your soft smile when he held his hand to you with a new gift.

On one of his trips, he’d brought back a woven tapestry; the craftsmanship had been beautiful, and the colors matched those of the outfits you wore the most around him. Din was about to launch into an apology when he first gave it to you, not having thought about where you would even be able to put it, but his statement was cut short when you happily grabbed it from him and turned on your heel to find something.

Not even a few moments later, you returned with a handful of powerful magnets you’d picked up on a market a few planets back, and he watched as you excitedly hung the artwork from one of the walls in the Crest’s hull, creating a curtain in front of one of the panels on that wall – you must have thought it was as ugly as he did.

“What do you think?” You had asked him, and he watched self-consciousness start to creep in now that your initial excitement was starting to wear off.

“It looks good,” he’d replied a little stiffly, still having a hard time finding the courage to speak around you. A bounty hunter, with hundreds of captures under his belt, was still too shy to talk to his mechanic… he at least wasn’t dumb enough to miss the irony in his own predicament, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t his truth.

Since then, Din had started bringing back more things you could use to decorate the ship with; tapestries, blankets, and cushions accompanied the trinkets and jewelry he brought back with him. He could tell that your favorite of his gifts had been a soft shawl he’d seen hanging at a market in the rural areas of Naboo. The politician’s son he was paid to deliver back home had gone on about the luxury material it was made of, something about ancient processes and unique resources… All he knew was that it brought out your natural beauty when you wrapped it around your shoulders, and he felt his cheeks get warm under his helmet when you did.

The two of you started to fall into these new routines fairly easily, and with all of your redecorations, it was becoming a welcome change. In the evenings – or at least what you thought was evenings in the darkness of hyperspace – you would prep a set of ration packs for the both of you. It was always two of the same kind so that you could feel like you were “sharing a meal,” a concept he had very little experience with. At least, he hadn’t for a very long time.

Since eating required removing his helmet, Mandalorians often took their meals in solitude, or within the confines of their family. You, on the other hand, were used to shared meals in dining rooms with someone at every seat, and communal dining halls bustling with people. At first, Din was afraid you might take offense to him leaving during meal times, never quite sure how to phrase his dilemma.

Luckily, he never had to.

You caught on pretty quickly to his predicament, handing him a warm ration pack with a smile before turning to let him eat in peace. He always rushed through his meals in order to join you in the hull, to thank you for your silent understanding by coming down to talk with you as you ate yours at a leisurely pace.

As the weeks went by, Din picked up on some of your silent requests as well, memories of food that didn’t need to be rehydrated before you ate it. He began looking out for other booths at the markets, and fresh ingredients began coming home in place of some of the gifts and trinkets he always brought back with him. Each time he did, a home-cooked meal would follow, and Din always made sure he expressed his gratitude when he came back down to join you for the second half of your meal.

Your routines continued like this for a while, silently assessing each other’s needs, and wordlessly adjusting to accommodate. And it worked. The Razor Crest felt more and more like a home rather than the metal casing of a ship, small traces of your personal touch nearly everywhere he looked. The food had been better, the companionship had been better, far better than the cold silence he’d had to put up with before you came to him.

And Din started to catch on to just how much his own feelings revolved around you.

He craved your warmth at the end of a rough day, he sought to provide your happiness, to get your approval… He tried to be better at actually opening his mouth, being able to express more of his feelings for you outside of your usual, quiet understanding of each other. He tried asking you more questions, wanting to not only hear about the events of your day but to actually get to know you better, showing you how much he genuinely cared. And Din was elated when you started to do the same in return.

After he came back to the ship from a particularly taxing hunt, he heard your soft footsteps descending the ladder from the cockpit while he secured the unconscious bounty into the corner of the hull you had affectionately deemed “time-out.” The most uncomfortable chair had been secured behind some of your tapestries, acting as a set of curtains that kept the bounties from view.

When Din emerged from the hanging fabrics, he could feel some of the tension leave his body at the sight of you in your work clothes, a warm smile dancing on your grease-stained cheeks, wiping your hands on the old flight suit you’d brought with you from home. No matter how difficult his hunts had been, being able to debrief with you upon his return always made him smile beneath the helmet.

“Hey!” you lilted.

“Hey,” he responded, still a little awkward despite how long you’d been working together. He was getting better, but it could definitely still use improvement.

“How’d the hunt go?” you asked, gesturing to the closed curtain beside him. “Obviously successful if you’ve got someone in time-out.” Din chuckled under his breath at your quip, mulling over the events of his day before he replied.

“It was fine.” You looked at him expectantly for a few moments, waiting for him to continue.

“Just… fine?” you half giggled, one brow raised in question while you donned a crooked grin. It hadn’t really gone bad, he did have the bounty in hand. It could have gone better, but nothing that came to any detriment in the end…

He nodded. “It… went well. There’s nothing to report,” he shrugged, unsure what else you were looking for in his answer.

But your face fell. Only for a moment… but enough for him to see it.

“How are your repairs coming?” He tried, hoping to stir the conversation again, to fix whatever had caused your sudden change in attitude.

“Fine. There’s nothing to report.” Your answer was short, both in your words and your temper. You usually volunteered the finer details of your projects, explaining with a dramatic flair all of your trials and your victories, stories that Din was always happy to be an audience to.

Why hadn’t you done so this time?

“I’m guessing it’ll be ration packs for dinner?” you added, nodding towards the empty satchel hanging from his hip. One that usually carried whatever gift he had brought for you. Dank farrik… he already hated coming back empty-handed – something you had never made him feel guilty for – but right now it was only making him feel worse.

“There wasn’t a market on the way back to the ship,” he almost pleaded, trying to explain his intentions, but you simply gave him a tight-lipped nod in acknowledgment.

“I’ll get the packs started so it's ready by the time you’ve unloaded.” Your voice lacked its usual kindness. This shift in the conversation had you speaking with him as if this were all just… business. Had he pushed you too far? Were you trying to remind him that he had hired you to be here? That he should be keeping things… professional?

Fuck. This was why he worked alone.

One of the downsides of having grown up around the Mandalorians was that his concepts of interpersonal relationships were skewed. The two of you were operating on completely different sets of rules, and where you had been able to read each other incredibly well… Now he was left to try and figure out where he’d gone wrong.

With Mandalorians, he knew where he stood. They spoke with purpose, meaning exactly what they said. Even growing up constantly harassing and sparring with Paz, Din knew where his sentiments came from; competition, comradery, and a deep passion for his people. But outside the covert… Din was still finding his footing when it came to the beings he interacted with. Riding with the mercenary group had at least taught him how to weed through the tangled lies that spewed from their mouths, trusting them only as far as he could throw them – if that.

But you were nothing like those slimy low lives. He didn’t know how to start friendships, how to engage in small talk… and he had no idea where to start when it came to the way you made his heart rate pick up. You made Din nervous, but you were also a comfort. You were new and familiar all at once, a new adventure as well as a place of rest.

You meant so much to him… and he’d managed to drive you away just as quickly as he had let you in.

…

The fog of uncertainty hung around the ship for days, and with it, the cold emptiness he had been so accustomed to in his solitude had returned. But after the warmth you had brought to his Razor Crest, being without it was almost suffocating. Din missed you.

That was a fact he was trying to wrap his head around, seeing as you still lived with him on the ship… but it wasn’t the same. You stopped humming while you worked on different panels across his ship, blanketing the hull in silence. Any questions Din tried to ask you were met with short, quiet responses. Surprisingly, you still made the effort to prepare a ration pack with yours during meal times, but when he rushed back down from the cockpit in record time to join you, you were nowhere in sight.

There was nowhere to go inside his ship. That was one of the things he’d liked about it; there was room for him to live on board comfortably without giving his bounties anywhere to hide. And yet, you still managed to avoid him. When he entered the hull, you escaped to your room. When he climbed up the rungs to the cockpit, you would make some quiet excuse and scurry out the door behind him. No matter where he went, what he said, or whatever measures he took to try and catch you off-guard, you were gone before he could even open his mouth.

He was fucking sick of it. He had made a promise, when you came aboard, that he would make sure you never came to regret choosing this life with him. That you would continue to choose to stay with him, to choose him over the home planet you were so desperate to leave. He made a promise, and he intended to keep it.

After landing on Nevarro a few days later to return his bounty, Din’s plan began to unfold. He walked out of the run-down cantina Karga liked to meet up at – insisting that he was going to fix it up and make it ‘a place of gathering’ – the spills of his hunt clanking against the mechanical chip he had tucked away in the satchel that sat on his belt. A chip that, if missing, would cause systems in the cockpit to go offline.

Something his mechanic would find during her daily diagnosis check.

Din felt a pang of guilt at the thought of you being buried arms deep in the underside of the control panel with no hope of finding the repair, because he was the one to take it from you... But then he thought about the worser fate; what if you figured out what was missing, and had more reason to dislike him than before? His guilt quickly turned into slight panic, making haste to get back to his ship to enact his plan before your clever brain could figure out what he’d done.

When he returned to the Crest, the harshness of the metal hull was almost overwhelming. You had started taking down your tapestries and decorations, save for everything but the “time-out” corner, and it felt cold. You didn’t come out to greet him or welcome him back, let alone acknowledge him at all. You hadn’t done so since the time your conversation had taken a turn for the worst. He did, however, hear a loud metal clang and your familiar grunt of frustration from exactly where he assumed you would be. He wondered if you had even heard him come on board…

Din quietly discarded his weapons before stealthily moving to the ladder just below the cockpit, stopping in his tracks when he heard a slew of colorful curses leave your lips. He waited a few moments until the sounds of your hard work continued, none-the-wiser to his oncoming ambush.

By the time he reached the top of the cockpit, he took a moment to assess the situation and figure out the best approach. You were exactly where he thought you would be, laying on your back just to the side of his pilot’s chair, agile hands fiddling with different cables and boards inside his instrument panel…

And your head snapped up to look at him when he made the door to the cockpit slide closed behind him.

You stared at Din for a couple moments before you opened your mouth. “Did you… are you cornering me?” When you put it that way, this was not going quite as he’d imagined, despite everything going according to plan. He had to keep going.

“You’re ignoring me,” he said firmly, his tone reminiscent of one he took with his bounties.

“Fucking maker, did you hunt me?” You asked with furrowed brows, and your slightly agitated tone made him fairly certain you didn’t actually need his answer. “I live on the same kriffing ship, and you had to treat me like one of your bounties just to say something to me?”

“I had to talk to you. You wouldn’t let me,” he pressed, keeping his voice steady. You gave a huff of indignation.

“I don’t have time for this, Mando, I have to fix your ship,” you threw at him before your body thumped dramatically on the ground as you went back to your work.

“So you are angry at me,” Din stated, sounding more like an observation than a question. He could work with angry. You shot him a glare without moving too much from your position, and he took that as a good enough indicator to continue his interrogation. “Did I do something to upset you?”

“Mando…” you started, his moniker leaving your lips in an exasperated sigh, not without a flame of annoyance lurking behind it.

“Don’t make another excuse. I’m tired of avoiding this.” He watched the bluntness of his words hit you, not surprised when you furrowed your brows as you started to slide out from under the console, sitting up to scowl at him properly.

“Another- what? I didn’t make any fucking excuses, I’m not avoiding anything,” you fired off, your tone indicating the exact opposite of what you were saying.

“Then why have you stopped talking to me?” Din expected another fiery response, but instead a split-second of realization crossed over your face before it was replaced with one of irritated confusion. It made him — him, the stone-cold Mandalorian bounty hunter — shift on his feet.

“I stopped talking to you?” You countered, and you waited a moment to let him respond… but he didn’t know what you expected him to say. “Right, because you’ve been super talkative after ‘there’s nothing to report’,” you mumbled, and it caused those same words to ring in his head from the night everything went wrong. You had said them so coldly…

After he had said them to you.

“I- I meant no offense,” he tried a little lamely, still not understanding where he had gone wrong, but wanting more than anything for you to understand that he was willing to fix it. “I didn’t have anything to say.” You gave another sigh, but this one was softer, like you were about to level with him. It was progress, if nothing else.

“Nothing? You couldn’t give me the details of your hunt the same way I tell you about the market? I mean, it’s not as exciting as I make it out to be, I just... “ You trailed off and looked away from him without finishing your sentence, but he wasn’t going to let that happen. He was finally getting answers out of you, he was going to get to the bottom of this, and make good on his promise to keep you happy. This was the way.

He was quick to kneel in front of you, trying to get closer to your level to get away from his interrogation tactic, and communicate that he was willing to listen and receive. “You just what? Help me understand.”

You scoffed a laugh as you shook your head. “There’s not a lot to understand. I like talking with you, I like when we share stories. I just… I wanted to be close with you.”

Din wanted to bang his head against the wall. With or without his helmet. This all started because he was an idiot who didn’t know how to talk? He was a bounty hunter, he should have been smarter than that. He should have been able to tell what had caused such a shift, and been able to fix it before the mission could go sideways.

But, in all fairness, he was a bounty hunter who was used to being alone.

Before Din had lucked into having you travel the galaxy with him on his hunts, he came back to an empty ship. There was nobody else to talk about the day with. And after living amongst the Mandalorians, a people of few words, he wasn’t exactly in the habit of speaking to himself or others. Before you, everything that surrounded Din was just… quiet.

“But… this is just professional, I get that now. I’ll stay out of your way, and I won’t pry. It is your ship, after all.”

And he was about to get himself into even more trouble if he didn’t figure out how to speak right fucking now.

“No,” he started firmly, desperately catching on to the tail end of your admission, but not entirely sure what was about to come out of his mouth. “This isn’t- I don’t… I’m not good at talking.” Strong start Djarin.

“What?” You asked softly. If anything, you pretty much justified his statement. He took a breath to try and steady himself, to dig through the chaos inside his head and find a half-way coherent string of words to offer you, to clean up his mess.

“Mandalorians are quiet. Bounty Hunters keep to themselves. I’m not used to talking,” he reiterated, and he watched your confused expression shift gently into one of intrigue, your sign for him to keep going. “I wasn’t trying to shut you out, I just… didn’t know what else to say. I’m used to sparing people any details that aren’t deemed necessary. Now I know that I shouldn’t do that with you. I’m sorry.”

Din was pleased to find a small smile growing at the corners of your mouth. “I mean… You don’t have to give me every detail. Just the good stuff,” you smiled, making Din’s heart feel warm. He didn’t realize how much he missed the radiance of your smile until now, feeling like he was finally stepping into the sun after spending so long in the dark.

“Just the good stuff… So I’ll tell you how much blood there was when I-”

“No, no thanks,” you cut him off quickly, making a fake gagging sound as he laughed under his helmet. “I take it back, let’s go back to no more talking, I’m good. I’ll just stay up here with all my busted circuits, thank you very much.”

“Please don’t, I can’t go back to quiet,” he said quickly, the smile still plastered on his face as the weight of his words hit both of you.

I can’t go back to quiet.

It was true, he couldn’t. The past few minutes talking with you again, even when you were angry and yelling at him half of the time, had him feeling better than he had in days.

“Oh yeah?” You offered, and he could tell by your knowing smile that you had come to the same realization that he did. You knew how much he had come to need you. “You don’t want a break from all my rambling?”

“Never,” he admitted. Din watched your shoulders relax and your soft smile get brighter as his answer left his helmet, and he realized how much you needed him in return. It made a warmth bloom from deep within his chest, warming him all the way out to the very coldest parts of his Beskar armor. “Never stop. I want you to fill this ship with all your stories, real or exaggerated.”

It caught him by surprise when you leapt up from your spot on the ground to meet his height, flinging your arms around his neck as you held him tight, fitting together perfectly even as you knelt on the floor in front of each other. With only a little hesitation, Din wrapped his gloved hands around you, arms circling your waist and pulling you flush against the plates of his armor, and soaked up everything that was you.

This is the way.

Sooner than he would’ve liked, he felt your grip around his neck loosen, and you leaned back to lock you gaze with his dark visor.

“As much as I’d love to catch up, your ship is driving me crazy and I have got to figure out how to get these control panels back online,” you explained, and Din slowly started to realize he hadn’t thought this part through.

“Well, I uh…”

“You’re welcome to stay and chat, if you’re in the talking mood. I’d love to hear about your meeting in town,” you offered playfully, sending him a wink as you began to shuffle yourself back down under the open compartment of his shift.

Instead, he got down on the ground and laid himself next to you, as if he was going to look at what you were doing with the repairs. Your hands stopped mid-action as you looked at him, and he enjoyed the airy laugh that escaped you at his actions.

“Or you can watch from here, that’s fine, too.”

“I was actually going to offer a suggestion,” he started timidly. You turned away from him as you focused on the wires in front of you again.

“I'll take anything you’ve got. I haven’t seen anything like this in ages… I’ve only got one idea left, but I doubt it’s right. It’s like the reactor chip is missing, but the only way that thing would’ve even budged is if someone-” You stopped in your tracks as Din lifted a gloved hand into your peripheral view, the small reactor chip held between his fingers for you to see.

You paused a moment before turning your head dangerously towards your companion. He could see the corners of your lips twitching as you did everything you could to avoid a smile, and he remained grateful for his helmet as it hid his beaming face from view.

You snatched the chip from his hand and looked back to your circuits. “Get out of my cockpit,” you said quietly, the last few words of your threat lost to your laughter. Din couldn’t stop his own laughter from coming through the modulator as he began getting up from the floor to do as he was told. “You’re making the ration packs tonight,” you added, the smile on your cheeks evident in your voice.

"This is the way."

Thanks for reading!! If you’d like to be notified when I post a new fic, be sure to follow @writerlyhabits-library + turn on post notifications! 💛

#din djarin #din djarin x reader #the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #young din djarin #request #anonymous request #kam takes forever to do shit #my writing

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fandomxpreferences · 1 year

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Gotta Get Lost In the Sauce

Pairing: JJ Maybank x female!reader (over 18)

TW:drinking and drugs, drunk shenanigans, throwing up, fluff

Summary: You've always been a party animal, but luckily JJ knows exactly how to take care of you.

Word Count:2.2k

There are a lot of reasons JJ loves you. He loves your smile, he loves your laugh, he loves your quick wit, and how you can befriend anyone just by being your radiant self. At the top of the list though, is that you're the life of the party.

You're always on board with his dumb ideas and you're always the last one to call it a night. He's lost track of how many times he's had to practically force you to bed as you try to give everyone a second wind with more shots under the pitch-black sky.

Usually, he's right there with you. The two of you are kindred spirits, and more often than not it gets you into trouble. The rest of the group has carried the two of you inside as you cling to each other's sides giggling about an inside joke more times than what could possibly be considered normal.

Tonight, however, JJ has been nursing the same beer over the span of several hours. He knew it was going to be a night that he's on duty when you challenged John B to a drinking competition. The two of you have been matching each other shot for shot since sunset, and it's safe to say you're losing.

You've got an impressive alcohol tolerance, but it's no match for the Routledge. JJ's been keeping an eye on you the entire time, ready to step in when you inevitably get careless. You're known for dancing on tables and running off into the night, so it's no surprise when he sees you performing your own concert on top of a log as the entire boneyard watches.

He sees your footing get closer to the edge before you realize and he's out of his chair moving toward you at lightning speed. He gets there just in time, catching you in his arms as you stumble back and hurtle toward the ground.

It takes you a second to get your bearings, but once you realize whose arms are around your waist you give him a sloppy grin. He returns it with ease, happy to see you so carefree. Most men would be jealous of everybody's eyes on their girl, but not JJ.

He's proud that you're his and he knows without a shadow of a doubt that you're always leaving with him. He considers that a win in his book.

He takes in the glassy look in your eyes and ruffled hair, feeling his heart swell with love. Every day he swears he can't possibly love you any more than he already does, and every day he's proven wrong.

"Hey, cupcake."

His dimples peek out as he beams down at you, and it makes your chest fuzzy. Part of your intoxication is from the near-lethal amount of Tequila you've consumed along with a joint, but most of it is just JJ.

You're always riding a high when he's around, even when you're stone-cold sober.

"Hey, J."

Your voice is sweet and slow like molasses, the register an octave deeper than usual thanks to your inebriated state. JJ always loves your voice, but something about it when you're like this turns his insides to goo.

"You having fun?"

You're standing up straight now, his strong hands holding your waist firmly to keep you steady. You blink up at him through your lashes in a way that drives him mad and nod your head.

"The most fun ever."

He leans forward and presses a kiss to your forehead, his lips lingering for a second so he can inhale your coconut shampoo and addicting perfume.

"Good, baby."

You're about to respond when John B's slurred voice rings out behind you.

"Yo, Y/n! You gonna come do this shot, or are you tapping out?"

Your eyes light up as you break free from your boyfriend's hold, and you stumble over. JJ sighs as he watches your retreating figure, worry growing in his gut for your safety. He's never been one to cut you off, but tonight is shaping up to be a first.

You make grabby hands for the shot glass and JB hands it to you, spilling some on the table in the process. You gasp dramatically as if he's just committed a crime before bending down and licking up the clear liquid.

JJ's standing beside you now, his eyebrows raised in pure amusement as he looks on at the scene in front of him.

"You can't go around wasting tequila, Jb! It's the nectar of the Gods!"

He doesn't say anything as he holds up his shot glass, and you clink the drinks together before tapping them on the table and throwing them back. The liquor slides down your throat with practiced ease, nearly tasting like water this far into the night.

"JJ come dance with me!"

You hand laces with his, pulling him to the makeshift dance area as he laughs behind you. The two of you start having a dance battle, giggling loudly without a care in the world.

His arms reach out to pull you into him and he takes a moment to admire your beauty as he stares down at you. His lips meet yours in a soft kiss, and he nearly combusts at the way your body melts into his touch.

He pull back after a moment, the two of you continuing with your horrendous dance moves that look like something out of an 80's blockbuster film.

You stop and look around, taking in the raging kegger that's still in full swing. There's a pungent aroma of beer and drugs swirling around and you close your eyes to soak it in. This is your favorite way to waste time, and the pure joy nearly brings you to tears.

Before it can fully sink in though, your eyes shoot open as an idea pops into your head. JJ recognizes the mischief twinkling in your eyes immediately and shakes his head.

"Don't even think about it."

His words fall on deaf ears as you race forward, your feet kicking up sand as you sprint away.

"God damn it."

He sets his beer down and takes off after you, doing his best to catch up. You're surprisingly fast given your state of being, and he mentally swears when he loses sight of you. Last time this happened he was by your side and it was the pogues chasing the two of you down.

You'd both managed to escape that night and didn't show back up until the next morning. The thought of you out here all night alone spurs him on, and his legs move impossibly faster. He catches a glimpse of your shadow and shakes his head when he realizes what you're doing.

"Fucks sake." He mutters to himself, though there's no anger or annoyance in his tone.

He's able to catch up now that you've slowed to a jog, and he laughs when he sees you stripping down to just a bra and underwear.

"Baby, what are you doing?"

His voice startles you and he bites his lip to stop from chuckling when you nearly jump out of your skin.

"Schwimming."

If your pronunciation is anything to go by, you most definitely should not be in the ocean alone right now. As much as JJ wants to be irritated at your erratic behavior, it does nothing but make his adoration grow.

He watches you plunge into the waves and thinks fuck it before stripping down to join you. The two of you stay there for God knows how long, just laughing and playing in the salty water as the bonfire flickers in the distance.

Eventually, you start to shiver and JJ ushers you back onto the beach. He wraps you up in his embrace, happy to share his body heat with you. You're thankful that you were wearing surf shorts and one of JJ's tops tonight because otherwise, you don't think you'd be able to pull your clothes back over your damp skin.

Once the two of you are dressed, you make your way back to the party with wet hair and bruised lips. John B motions you over for another shot and JJ shoots him a glare. The man just shrugs with a lopsided grin and you continue toward him.

He moves to hand you the glass and you hold up one finger while starting toward a bush.

"Where are you going?"

Confusion laces his voice and you stop for a second to answer.

"Just give me a second to puke and rally, then you're going to lose this bet."

JJ takes a step forward and grabs your hand before you can move and starts guiding you up toward his bike.

"Okay, I think that's enough for tonight."

He almost caves when that adorable pout covers your features, but he knows you're already in for a world of hurt.

"But I'm not done yet. Come on, J! The night s'young and if I leave I'll forfeit the bet!"

Your pleading does nothing to help and JJ shakes his head.

"It's almost two am, baby. Your night is over, come on."

You cross your arms but do as he says, grumbling under your breath the entire walk.

"When did you become an old man?"

He ignores the small dig and continues supporting your weight as the exhaustion starts to consume you. This always happens; your energy starts to dissipate once you're away from the party environment and it's only a matter of time before you crash.

He holds out the helmet he reserves just for you silently, waving it around when you don't take it. You finally slip it on your head against your wishes, and he helps you onto his bike before climbing on.

You're stubborn, refusing to hold onto him and instead keeping your hands planted firmly on your thighs. He smirks to himself and revs the engine, causing the bike to lurch forward. It forces your body to slam into him and your arms instinctively lock around his waist.

"That's better. Hold on, cupcake. The last thing I need is for you to fall off."

You scrunch up your nose when you realize what he did, but keep your hands laced together on his abs as he speeds off toward the chateau. He makes it there in record time, even with being mindful of his turns so as not to make you sick.

He steps off the bike first before lifting you off, your body nearly limp as you fight sleep. However, the movement seems to wake you up and you rip the helmet off before bending over.

Your stomach lurches as you empty your stomach, groans emitting from your throat. Every time you think it's over, another wave hits you and you're left dry heaving as every muscle in your body aches.

JJ never leaves your side, rubbing your back in soothing motions as he holds your hair back.

"It's okay, baby. Let it run its course, fighting it makes it worse."

By the time your stomach settles, tears are flowing down your cheeks as you gasp for air. JJ gives you a second to catch your breath before picking you up to carry you inside.

He knows that whatever energy you had left was just sucked out of you, and he's proven right when your body flops against him like a rag doll.

His feet carry the two of you inside, going straight to the bathroom. He sets you on the counter despite your protests and starts meandering around to grab what he needs. He goes through your skincare routine with ease, having memorized it after countless nights and mornings watching you from the shower.

Your eyes have drifted close as your body sways from side to side, and JJ knows you're practically useless at the moment. His hand reaches around you to grab your toothbrush and toothpaste before tapping your chin with his forefinger.

"Open."

You groan in response and his finger pulls your bottom lip until you comply, and he starts brushing your teeth. Your tongue darts around your mouth and JJ laughs.

"Stop trying to lick the toothbrush, you weirdo. Here, spit."

He holds a cup to your mouth and you do as he says before he turns on his heel.

"Stay right there."

He walks off to find you a fresh pair of clothes but he's interrupted when he hears a thump. He drops the sweatpants in his grip and bolts in your direction, stopping dead in his tracks when he sees you. You've managed to fall to the floor, now crawling lazily in the direction of the spare bedroom.

"Oh, baby. Come here."

He bends down and scoops you up, carrying you the rest of the way. When he sets you on the bed, you flop back and he smiles.

"You're a mess. Can you change?"

Your head shakes from side to side dramatically and his cheeks start to hurt from the wide grin he's been wearing for the past hour.

"No."

He crawls onto the bed and strips you down, careful not to jostle you too much as he slips his t-shirt over your head. The last thing he wants right now is for you to get sick again.

You don't give him a chance to put pants on you before clambering up the bed and sprawling out under the covers. It's not the most graceful with flailing limbs and jerky movements, but it does the job.

He changes into the sweatpants he originally grabbed for you and climbs in next to you. You instantly gravitate toward his body, and he kisses your head when you curl up around him like a koala.

Your nose nuzzles into his neck, and he thinks his heart might just explode.

"G'night. Luh you." You hum, and he runs his fingers through your hair the way you love.

"Goodnight, Y/N. Love you too."

#jj maybank imagine #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank #jj maybank fic #jj maybank fluff #outer banks imagine #outer banks fic #outer banks #obx

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drdemonprince · 2 months

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Keep Unnecessary Meetings to a Minimum

“Don’t attend unnecessary meetings,” advises Jersey, an Autistic activist in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Jersey has been on the front lines of numerous pro-Palestinian actions in the past several months, serving as a medic during the #BlocktheBoat action to delay the shipment of munitions to Israel, shutting down the Oakland Federal Building, and blocking the Bay Bridge, an action for which he was arrested and charged with false imprisonment (among other laughable charges) by the San Franciso District Attorney. Since the siege on Gaza began in October of last year, Jersey has been living and breathing for the Palestinian cause. Yet even he has limits.

“Tell [fellow organizers] that your capacity for meeting, especially in real life, is low,” he says. Instead of having to speak at length with organizers about your interest in getting involved, see if you can articulate your own role within the movement. That way, you won’t have to be “managed” as much.

“For example, if you’re a photographer, tell people that and then demonstrate that you can show up relatively independently, take great photos, and then show them with the group,” he says. Once you have proven yourself to be reliable and competent, you can skip meetings without facing as much criticism.

Many organizing spaces are oriented around neuro-conformist standards of what socializing and planning for an event must look like. Non-Autistic people generally process new information socially as part of an ongoing dialogue, whereas many Autistics prefer receiving all the relevant facts in a single, linear document they can read and process on their own. Many activists also enter a movement with intense emotional needs, and wish for others to bear witness to their suffering and share how they are feeling too. This means that those of us who find socializing and emotional processing to be draining will have to advocate for ourselves.

“We can remind organizations to be intentional about what does and does not have to be a meeting,” says Aeryn, another organizer. “Sometimes all you really need is an online survey, a memo, or a thread where people can ask questions online.”

If you can, tell meeting organizers that you are unavailable to meet often, but that you will listen to meeting recordings or read the agenda on your own time, and then communicate through email or private message to indicate that you have. Depending on how much you trust an organization and its leadership, you can either explain directly that you cannot process information in real-time easily because of your disability, or you can simply say you’re busy with school, work, or family obligations.

Operating independently may require being strategic in the roles you take on within an organization. Jersey says: “If you’ve never done security but want to do security, you will have to do a lot of training and meeting with people. But if you’re already a trained medic and have some type of credential… you can probably just tap into a medic chat and sign up for events as they arise.” This, in fact, is what he’s done.

Of course, it will be sometimes be necessary to get to know other members of your organization of choice, express your own perspectives to the group, and receive updates through some form of meeting. However, there are still many accommodations you can request to make those meetings more accessible:

Push for Accessible Meetings

When an activist movement is new or its resources are limited, its meetings may tend to be urgent, somewhat disorganized affairs, rife with lots of thinking out loud and amorphous brainstorming and possessing little in the way of an agenda.

Autistic people typically find it very hard to contribute to such meetings, because the flow of conversation is unpredictable and confusing, and most of us struggle with knowing when it’s appropriate to jump in and offer a comment. The constant flux in conversation topics is exhausting for us to keep up with, as are all the social and emotional undercurrents bubbling beneath what’s actually being said.

After the meeting is over, we may have almost no recollection of what was shared, because we were putting so much energy into masking and wearing our “listening faces.” Critiques and questions may occur to us hours after the discussion has ended, after we’ve had some time alone to digest and reflect. Even if we are physically present within a space, we are pervasively excluded when meetings are conducted in such an unstructured, overwhelming way.

Thankfully, all of this can be avoided. Here are some of the accommodations that organizing meetings should provide in order to maximize their accessibility — not just for the sake of Autistics, but for anyone who struggles to process verbal information quickly and form their own immediate verbal responses to it on the fly:

The full essay and toolkit of resources is free to read (or have narrated to you!) at drdevonprice.substack.com

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wavesoutbeingtossed · 29 days

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TTPD Track Speculation/Prediction: @wavesoutbeingtossed Edition

Against my better judgment, I’m putting down my predictions before I am proven completely wrong on April 19.

on the other hand I did correctly attribute all of the 1989 TV vault track teaser lyrics to their songs before it was released so maybe I’m just that good jk.

I’m putting everything under a cut because it’s long and mostly just shooting the shit but it’s a long weekend so what the heck!

I started writing this the night the album was announced at the Grammys in February, so obviously things may have evolved in the meantime. It will be very interesting to see just how wrong I am!

Here be speculation, musings, jokes and more! Enter at your own risk!

SOUND:

I honestly have NO CLUE. I’ve said many, many times that I would be absolutely gagged for an Americana-folk type sound like Carolina/Safe and Sound/some of her acoustic performances on tour. I don’t really expect TTPD to sound quite that stripped back, though. (Prove me wrong, Taylor!)

I am kind of feeling pop-rock-y though, à la WCS, TTDS, based on absolutely nothing but that is also a genre/sound I love that I am begging to hear more on albums.

Completely off the wall guess: Something more jazzy-big band-y, based on nothing but her styling in recent months on the red carpet that harkens back to golden age of Hollywood vibes (especially the Grammys), the inclusion of Clara Bow (renowned flapper girl) on the track list, and the way she keeps talking about being grateful fans accept her bending and switching genres over the years and support her when she does “weird” things.

FORMAT (?)

OK this is just me spitballing, but I said awhile back that I am just getting vibes that there may be, like, a story within a story with this. As in, using some fictional settings as an allegory for the story about herself. The example I used then was The Lumineers, and how they wrote their album III about three generations of a fictional family dealing with addiction, which was an allegory for the lead singer’s own family’s experience with it (without directly calling out the family member in question at the time). There were characters in the album, but many of the songs were sung from an “I”/“you” perspective. I may not be explaining myself well, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are “fictional” stories in that they’re sung about characters (e.g. Clara Bow?), but it will be obvious to fans that she’s using the characters to speak about herself and her experiences. I’m just getting big “storytelling” energy from the hints. Which means I’m totally wrong!!!! Don’t listen to me!!! (I do think there will be some shades of this somehow, though.)

TRACK LIST SPECULATION

Fortnight: Think you are all on the money about it being the time between the start of tour and when Joever happened for good. Sort of a “two years of uncertainty coming to a head in two weeks” thing. Spending two weeks agonizing over what to do. Two weeks for your whole life to blow up. Finally being removed from the situation and grasping onto your dreams that have been on hold for years and realizing your mind’s made up because you won’t give this part of you up even if it means letting go of what you thought your future held. But another thing I’ve thought of: some common wisdom claims it takes two weeks for a new routine to become a habit, so… outside chance it’s like, two weeks go by and you’re finally used to/accepted whatever it is you’re trying to kick? Also had a thought that there could be many two-week periods that can mark your life and give pause.

The Tortured Poets Department: No idea really lol. For some reason I feel like this is going to be a little more experimental, “laying the groundwork for the defense” type of vibe, kinda like Mastermind, or using the investigative/academic metaphor to delve into it like, Mad Woman or Vigilante Shit. (Or: it could be super petty roasting the infamous group chat lol. In all seriousness though I would doubt that because I feel like this album is very much about Her… unless said group chat was so insufferable she needs to blast it on main.)

My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys: I saw some talk on my dash about this giving renegade themes (you fire off missiles because you hate yourself but don’t you know you’re demolishing me), and I totally thought the same thing. Also those of you who pointed out the parallels to Cardigan are geniuses (when I was an old cardigan under someone’s bed you put me on and said I was your favorite). Again kinda think there might be some more metaphor in this but guessing it may be along the lines of “he’s only doing this because he knows I won’t leave” themes? It instantly gives dark and uneasy. It gives, the people you love are the ones you hurt the most. All signs point to Not Good.

(Or this is about Benji destroying his spin toys or is that just my cat that does that.)

Down Bad: Someone said (on Jaime’s blog I think*) that this is giving False God but icky and I can TOTALLY see that. (Then again I’ve always found False God sad in the sense that it’s like, “even when we fight so bad we can’t communicate we still have the sex holding us together.”) But, Taylor does like to take sayings with common meanings and twist them on their heads, so I also wouldn’t be surprised if “Down Bad,” isn’t referring to being down as in being horny for someone, but being down as in, feeling devastated/hopeless. (Or, even worse, mean both at the same time. 😵‍💫)

(*I wrote this post in February after the announcement, I don’t have a clue when any of this was said anymore sorry)

So Long, London: like a lot of people, I feel like this is her goodbye to the life they had and more importantly/poignantly, the dreams she had of their future. (I don’t know but, “remember looking at this room we loved cause of the light, now I just sit in the dark and wonder if it’s time” just feels like it’d be part of this story.) So because I’ve said that, watch it be an excoriation of London Boy lol. (You know I’m mad at a London Boy / who just really won’t leave Camden / Market in the afternoon / he hasn’t seen my American smile / in two months cause he won’t come to see me / when I have a show to do…) Feel like it’s going to gut us. BUT, also wonder if this is her “I’m getting the fuck out of dodge ROCK FLAG AND EAGLE” anthem haha. (Or: she ran away to London to escape the Bad Stuff but then got stuck in another kind of Bad Stuff living there for so long…)

But Daddy I Love Him: Pretty obviously the Little Mermaid reference. Very curious if the actual quote is in the song, or if it’s just named that to set the scene but the song instead is an expounding on the theme of giving up her voice for the sake of the relationship like Ariel. Also wonder if this is an overtly diaristic song or if she is going to use characters/figures/fiction to expand on the theme subtly, a little like Maisie Peters’ History of Man or Florence & The Machine’s Cassandra or even more pointedly like her own Last Great American Dynasty or The Lucky One. I do assume the overarching theme is going to be the push-pull between keeping her love and giving up things that are important to her to make that love work. (Watch this be about her arguing with her father about marrying *** lol.)

The theme of giving up your voice/what you hold dear for love is so loaded, and has some parallels to Clara Bow’s story, which is also on the track list so… Lots to chew on I’m sure.

Fresh Out The Slammer: Totally think the reference to her locking herself up for years at home because she was scared in the Time POTY interview is a likely link to this. Feeling free after the weight of this decision is off her shoulders, yet the sheer terror at now being on her own and rebuilding her future. It could be uplifting but I could also see it being like pure chaos. BUT, a thought I had earlier is that, if this is a song that was written pre-Joever, maybe it’s about the aftermath of a rough patch. Like, we just got our get out of jail free cards, we made it through the other side of this Big Thing that almost ended us (e.g. the final blow in YLM), where do we go from here?

Florida!!!: Emphasis on the “!!!”!!! Honestly it had me at FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE. I’m soooooo curious and sooooooooooooo pumped for this one. I don’t want to let myself hope it’s going to sound like a Florence song BUT I HOPE IT SOUNDS LIKE A FLORENCE SONG. I’m going to guess it may be a reference to the first stop on tour after the news broke. Wasn’t that also a show where a ton of things went wrong? I can see it going so many ways! Is it a hopeful “Florida I’m coming for you you’re a symbol of my great escape my prison break my entire life crumbling and rising again”? An introspective “I never thought I’d have to rebuild my whole world after it imploded, in Florida of all places?!”? Is it a sarcastic “fucking Florida always the scene of the crime I can’t believe my life is falling apart and I need to go to FUCKASS FLORIDA oh great every thing that can go wrong with my show is FLORIDA!!!!”? Is it a rant about the corporate mouse? Or a scathing takedown of Republican politics ahead of the 2024 elections? (lol) Who’s to say?!

Guilty as Sin?: Sooooooooooo curious about this. I’m a Carolina Stan and I know there is 0% chance there is a link between the two songs other than the lyric which is a common term, but it does make me happy. My first thought about this one is that it’s going to be biting or self-reflective — kinda like the bridge of Is It Over Now? Or the chorus of Anti-Hero. As in, “what is it exactly that you think I’m guilty of?” (E.g. ambition? Drive? Seeking attention? Being selfish? But could also be sad: Loving too hard? Caring too much? Being too needy? Hmmm.) I’m kind of feeling like it’s a “if it’s wrong to be guilty of these things I don’t want to be right.” Again if I had to guess I’d wonder if it would have the same vibes as the bridge of YLM. (For some reason, with the question mark, I don’t necessarily think it’s going to be accusing someone of something…)* I also had a thought about the seven deadly sins and this title and… THOUGHTS ARE THINKING**.

(*I may not have found it accusatory in February, but with the benefit of hindsight in March I… reserve the right to change my mind about this.)

(**Future Waves here: the thoughts may have been thinking for February Waves but March Waves has no idea what she was talking about.)

Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?: I don’t knooooooooooow. At first the title kinda gave me Blank Space vibes, like, you don’t know how much I could fuck this up if I wanted. Then some people mentioned the similarity to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? And now that’s absolutely all I can think about. If you’ve ever seen the movie (or the play), it is rooooooooough. Watching George and Martha drunkenly eviscerate each other as their guests watch on in horror is… oof. (As someone who has seen this happen in real life and was trapped on a boat with a couple in full unhinged mode… OOF. Just OOF.) Of course there’s the Burton-Taylor of it all too so… (there’s also an interesting theme in Virginia Woolf about buying into illusion to avoid the messiness of reality… and Martha resenting George’s lack of ambition.) Is this song cheeky? Or a threat? Is this a Better Than Revenge/Vigilante Shit rebuke or is it Bejeweled owning her personhood?

(Like any of these songs, there’s also the chance that it’s heartbreaking and is really a reflection on how the things that make her her can be weaponized against her… Or how her struggles/vices alienate her to the person she loves a la Anti-Hero…)

I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can): My first thought is this is going to be one of her sarcastic/satirical/funnier ones, based on nothing except that this sounds like it could be an Olivia Rodrigo cheeky song lol. (Like, I immediately start singing this to the tune of “Get Him Back.”) Never beat those allegations, Taylor, we’ve all been there. It definitely feels like a stereotypical tale of “girl tries to fix a man who doesn’t want to change and refuses to give up.” Watch this actually be a sad ballad about the flip side of renegade and trying to help a partner through a crisis 😬

loml: the quiet menace in this list!!!! Obviously we’re all immediately thinking “love of my life,” but because this is Taylor, we should not rest easy. The fact that it’s all in small caps is curious to me and calls back to text speak, so is this a term of endearment that turns into a final parting sign off? Is it from an email ahem? Is it a sweet song about the good parts of being together? A wistful song about a lost love? BUT THEN, because it’s Taylor, I can totally see this being a bait and switch and it standing for something else as some of you pointed out, like loss of my life, or love OR my life. Or something entirely different. I’m pretty convinced that this one is going to be devastating in some fashion. I just feel it in my bones.

I Can Do It With a Broken Heart: Like many of you, I’m fairly certain this is going to be a bittersweet Long Live-esque ode to the Eras tour. The pick yourself up by the bootstraps, get out of bed, the show must go on and the show is saving my life story. Just thinking of the quote from the Time POTY interview where she said, “I know I’m going on that stage whether I’m sick, injured, heartbroken, uncomfortable, or stressed.” And in those early weeks, it seems like she might have been all of those things at once. Just trying to talk yourself into getting out of bed when all you want the earth’s core to swallow you whole and never come back. Kind of like, I can pick up the pieces of my life and carry on even when I am dying inside.

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived: Obviously this is about one Benjamin Button, please. OK, in all seriousness, it’s giving, well… *shots fired*. It’s giving “your integrity makes me seem small.” It’s giving “I’m a monster on the hill, too big to hang out.” It’s giving “all you are is mean.” So, part of me thinks it’s going to be turned on its head a little bit, just because… it seems to point to something directly and sometimes Taylor enjoys a bit of misdirection. So is this about someone who takes shots at someone else and in so doing, displays their own insecurity? Another thought I had is: Is this about someone who retreats into their own world so much that they’ve shut out everything and everyone else? Their whole world gets shrunken down to the four walls around them? I have a strong feeling this is an allegory-type song, using a fictionalized and possibly fantastical story to tell the real life one, but obviously I could be wrong.

The Alchemy: gonna be real with you all: I didn’t know that alchemy was the practice of turning base metals into something that looks like gold. I think I was mixing it up with apothecary or something, lol. I thought it was the practice of making potions and whatnot. #TheMoreYouKnow ANYWAY, I think the idea of “turning nothing into something that shines” is going to be important. Is it about using her best colours for a portrait to hide the cracks underneath? Is it about trying your best to make something work and thrive but ultimately coming up empty because the foundation is gone? Is it about turning these base experiences into art that fuels her? There are so many possibilities! (@taylortruther’s post about The Alchemy and other comments got me thinking too about the magician/illusionist scenario in So It Goes and now my brain is on fire.)

Clara Bow: Soooooooooo intrigued by this one too. People have pointed out so many of the interesting coincidences and parallels in their lives. Clara Bow was a silent film star who found her voice in the talkies — that right there is one metaphor about finding your voice in your art and your life. But it’s also an interesting parallel that she managed to parlay her success in silent film into talkies, at a time where few actors enjoyed a successful transition, which mirrors Taylor’s transition from country to pop. There’s the way Clara’s private life was splashed all over the press, driven by salacious rumours about her sex life and her perceived revolving door of lovers, which seems like something Taylor would empathize with. There’s the way she had a breakdown and left Hollywood, which may have some shades of 2016. Or that she got married and started a family, but insisted on keeping it a secret for many years to maintain privacy, which is interesting because in this case it seems like *Clara* was the one driving the need for secrecy, not her husband. (At least I read that in one article somewhere, sorry if that’s wrong!) Ultimately though, she died relatively young and was forgotten by mainstream Hollywood, a relic of a past uninteresting to all but the most diehard of film buffs. I’m getting vibes of “The Lucky One,” (and “Nothing New”) both in themes and in storytelling. So, watch it be completely different and not a story about Clara Bow but instead just have it be an off-hand line lol.

BONUS TRACKS

The Manuscript: I’m veeeeeery intrigued by this one. (I know I say that about all of them. That’s because they all intrigue me.) I love the idea that this wraps up the “standard” album; the chair(wo)man of the Tortured Poets Department has submitted her thesis for review, and it’s up to the board to draw their conclusion. OR: the idea that this is the unfiltered submission to a publisher, before the editor’s review that will cut and tighten and ultimately make it better, but loses the author’s initial vision in the process. (Like self-editing to share the most palatable story to your reader. Which… Also gives Dear Reader/Midnights in general vibes.) OR EVEN: this is the author’s story, submitted to the audience for their review, leaving it up to them to draw their conclusions and annotate. There are sooooooo many ways I can see this going.

The Bolter: A curious one indeed! I feel like of all of the bonus tracks at least, this is the one I have the least idea about. My immediate guess is that it refers to a person who runs, which would have all kinds of implications. Running from the law (unlikely lol), running from commitment, running from conflict… running for your life. Like running from commitment because you’re scared of being tied down (single girl version) to running from commitment because you’re scared of being tied down (bitter wife* version). (*NOT saying there was a secret wedding lol. I mean as in, that’s the future that was in store if one stayed.) I saw other takes saying bolter is also slang for jailer, which is also interesting with the Ready For It of it all.

The Albatross: So much has been said about this one, so I don’t think I have much to ado about this one! The famous poem is rife with all kinds of allusions: the bird soaring on its own for up to six years, but being brought down by man’s cruelty. The bird looking majestic in the skies, but the burden of its wings dragging it down on land, slowly killing it. The story being a metaphor for how the very thing poets are exalted for in society are the things they are punished for personally. I think it’s safe to say this one is going to hurt regardless, whether it’s a reference to herself, to ***, or something else entirely.

The Black Dog: Also another one I’m not sure I have many thoughts on yet. The black dog being a metaphor for depression is likely the inspiration, and I’m assuming this has the potential to be one of the most vulnerable songs yet. I have a feeling most of this album will be, but the imagery of this — the black dog being a constant companion, wanted or not, casting a pall over its master’s every move — points in a pretty obvious direction. And one that is probably going to gut us.

Well there you have it folks! I am ready to be completely wrong!

#the tortured poets department #Happy Good Friday this post has risen from the dead #(oops was that uncouth of me)#three weeks!!!!!!#i need this album now #my brain is on fire #Writing letters addressed to the fire

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hxnguxng-jxn · 1 year

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Hello, you can make a scenario 𝐗𝐢𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐚𝐧 × 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐞! 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 × 𝐇𝐮𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐠 Reader has known them for years and always had the mania of eating the nails until he is hurt and they cured it and tried to take away that habit then the years pass they havent seen each other and meet again but reader pretends to be someone else but they know it is him because of his habit of biting his nails but he does not know that they know it he just thinks he is nice to him as he would to anyone

Writer's Note(s): I can do this for you! Also, since you didn't specify if Reader was a Ghost/Heavenly Official/Mystical Monster I kept it ambiguous!

Info on Reader: Reader is intended AMAB, and uses he/him. The Reader is an immortal of some kind and knows the two characters from long ago, but age is ambiguous.

Timeline: Post Book 1, and in Book 2. Is in that timeframe. Spoilers for Ke Mo and Ban Yue, and the Ghost City.

【🔴】 Reader takes part in the dice roller scene. If you know, you know. Also, Hua Cheng bites Readers finger.

Fujoshis and Fem Readers DNI || Please enjoy!

Everyone in the group Xie Lian accompanied had strange backgrounds, behaviors, limits, and actions. He's not naive enough to not see the evidence that San Lang might be the mysterious Hua Cheng, or how the two assistants sent to protect him knew just a little too much about him and had specific memories they did not like to recall.

He could see many things, and he could understand a lot more than he could, say, 350 years ago. His mind remembers what his body could not, he likes to believe.

Especially when the tensions were so high during his adventures after his third ascension. Being in the rotation of San Lang, Fu Yao, Nan Feng... and you.

He could see glimpses of you in your disguise throughout the time he's seen you; with your choice of weapons, the food you prefer and how you cooked it, what type of clothes you prefer on other's and yourself.

But his major sign about who you might be―like San Lang's knowledge, like My Qing's eye rolls and hatred for his memories―was you biting your nails till the tips of your fingers were raw during stressful moments.

Everyone had nervous habits, even the most stoic still would like to dodge questions they prefer not to answer. And Xie Lian liked to fiddle with his bamboo hat, or start moving immediately to fix the situation.

Like Mu Qing and Feng Xin again after so long, it was almost like a lightbulb went off in his head. But unlike the unease of nostalgia hitting him, it was something warm in his heart and he was tempted to ask how you've held up all this time.

He also might have leaned on you too much during the situation between Ke Mo and Ban Yue because he knew you and what you could do. You were reliable and he did adore you...

And before long, he noticed his feelings were off somewhere and it was getting far more intimate between you two. And then you three.

San Lang―Hua Cheng proven at this point―also seemed to slither into his heart and rightfully so. He was kind, he was open about what he was comfortable sharing, San Lang treats you right, and he's sweet on him as well.

The emotions of potentially falling in love with two people at once, and seeing San Lang kiss your bandaged fingers after you chewed them raw stirred something like... butterflies, for no better comparison.

And then, Hua Cheng disappeared and you left him in one night. No notes, but all the evidence you existed around him. Breakfast from you, chopped wood from Hua Cheng, carpets on the line like you do, leaves raked like Hua Cheng.

Xie Lian ran back inside. You're not leaving him behind. He'll follow you both, to any end.

The City of Ghost's is good at bringing people together...

Red, red, red. The den of Gamblers was always filled with such color except when the customers would come in wearing anything but that. The attendants rotated the ghosts and Hua Cheng took what was owed and distributed... what he owed. If he even did.

The curtains between him and the current obsessed customer were briefly interrupted by a Heavenly Official (Lang Qingqiu) and the sudden appearance of three more individuals of interest. Of course, Shi Qingxuan was of interest because that means he had more than just one Heavenly Official in the Ghost City.

But seeing the veiled bamboo hat and the man next to him wearing a white veil to obscure their identity from afar, he could practically feel his non-existent heart beat and his fingers twitch. Who was this man under the veil? Why was he next to his gege and whispering back and forth so swiftly?

Hua Cheng was about to call them up as they figured out who would roll for Lang Qingqiu's freedom, when the man passed the roller to Xie Lian and rushed to bring his hand under his veil. For a brief moment, he thought the man would lift the veil, but the hand simply rested under it as Xie Lian looked up at Hua Cheng behind the curtains.

And then he felt the need to have you both step forward and to come to him so he can see you closer and fully. The curtains may not help seeing past your Veil of Illusion from over your face, but he could get a read on your demeanor and how you fall in line with his gege.

Having you both step forward because of the feminine announcer requesting for him was easy. "Would the challenger and his assistant with the veil please step forward. The proprietor would like to correct your dice rolling technique. It is incorrect."

Of course, gege is baffled and confused there is a technique to this, and so are the useless dreg that are his customers. The man under the veil takes after gege and helps escort him up with you, mumbling one or two things back and forth, before they stepped up to him.

Looking down at gege and trying to search for any sign of identity on the other man, he takes the offered dice roller and shows gege how to... handle the elongated item, and how to shake it up and down in even strokes. Gege's hands are strong and grip the roller harshly, so he offers to perhaps soften his touch in case he... breaks the roller.

He's helping. Honest.

And of course, the gesture has gege blanking before accepting the help he gave. But Hua Cheng wasn't done. And you aren't getting out of this without him seeing if he perhaps can identify you.

"In case your luck is bad or you're unsure if the dice aren't enchanted, I will allow this man to roll with you. I can tell your companion would know how to read magic." Hua Cheng states, knowing no slacker would wear a Veil of Illusion to the Gambler's Den. This one was smart. "But you'll have to roll at the same time."

"The same... time? How would I do that when my companion is holding the cup?" Your voice is familiar and yet so far away from what he expected. It wasn't the voice he had been waiting for (the voice of your disguise), it was something that hit his nostalgia in many ways.

"Here, I will show you." Hua Cheng assured. "Hold up the cup."

Of course, gege had terrible luck and would take any measures to make sure they didn't mess up with Lang Qingqiu, and extended the cup for instructions. "Take hold of it with your dominant hand over his shaking hand." You hesitate before you put your hand over his gege's. Good, the Ghost King thought, your not someone who sees themselves above gege in his den.

But it was after the instruction to use your other hand to hold the middle, while gege held the top and bottom, that he noticed you weren't wearing gloves or any kind of hand covering. Your nails were non-existent and your fingers were basically chewed to pieces and raw in some places, obviously chewed recently. That, and there was a specific bite mark over your index finger much further down on your non-dominant hand...

... While fixing up your hand after you had caught a sword in it, San Lang managed to lightly scold you while he patched it up. He knew you could just heal it instantly, but your fake identity was not supposed to be powerful, and it had to suffer with this annoying wound for appearance sake. Of course, Hua Cheng felt something stir in his stomach at the sight of your lightly bleeding fingers, and had taken your index into his mouth on instinct to taste the red stained there. If he might have bitten you out of surprise he had let his composure go, only he had to know...

"... Hua Cheng, sir?" Your voice snaps him out of his memories. You, the immortal under the veil, and gege hadn't been given the next instructions yet, and you sounded even more weary of this.

If he was young and human again, he was sure his face would heat and his body would betray him as the sight of having you and gege before him again was... something invigorating. He controlled all of his impulses with one short mantra he could remember, before he laughs off the wait you endured.

"Apologies, my dearest guests." He didn't give any excuse, all he gave was a simple instruction as he watches the roller between you both like a hawk. "Shake in a rhythm, match with your partner and cover where he cannot hold. The dice can't roll with no momentum."

Small Thing:

The Windmaster and Xie Lian look on as you fix your veil and make sure your outfit hasn't burned from the many fires they've had to put out from under you. A few feminine ghosts with fire inclined spells had taken a liking to your physique and your posture, and had tried to lift your veil with no results as you turned them down. Of course, getting into a fight hadn't been what you wanted, but winning was no issue with your squad as stacked as it was.

The Windmaster, Shi Qingxuan, had helped put out the final fire under your boots before making jokes at your expense. "Oh, our blushing husband, wearing his veil and not allowing anyone to see! Could he be a Ghost King in disguise? Could he be a rebellious or mysterious Heavenly Official? Wow is me!"

Of course, the God had taken off faster than strong winds could after you started chasing him in his feminine form. The Heavenly Official wasn't about to lose Xie Lian's trust by fighting the man he had accepted into their party on the way here, but he sure can tease you.

Xie Lian, when you returned to him and assured him you hadn't hurt your supposed guide at all, almost reached for your veil slowly to lift it just slightly. A face, so far in his memories lit his body on fire with a need to see it again... but he stopped short of seeing your chin. You hadn't stopped him and your adam's apple bobbed in anticipation and nerves. Xie Lian simply let the veil fall back down as his mind settled on what he wanted.

"I won't pry, but I'd love to see your face sometime." Xie Lian soothes your nerves while putting his hands on your arms gently.

"What if I'm not who you're looking for?" You ask him after a brief pause, your voice full of something bitter.

"You and San Lang, asking the wrong questions..." Xie Lian chided. I'd like you both no matter who or what you looked like. "You are him. But we're missing Hua Cheng."

There was a brief pause before whatever caused you to hesitate lets you go. "... We are. Let me lead you into the city, then, your Highness."

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missingexaltation · 1 year

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Here's a bit of a meta analysis on Eddie and Steve and the general jock/nerd thing. It's worth pointing out that they're still only 19/20ish so they're slightly entitled to be somewhat selfish idiots, but they're at that time of life where they're starting to grow out of it.

There's so many positive reblogs on my last but one text post (where Eddie gets involved with Steve's hobbies) and I find it so interesting that it's not really explored in fic.

I mean...Steve's trying to 'grow as a person' by embracing nerdy things and that's great! Stereotypical high school 'bully' becoming less of a douche bag.

But Eddie embracing the stereotype and doing 'normal' high school stuff? Sign me up! He's a guy that was probably bullied or harassed by the jocks for at least some part of school before he grew hard skin. He's actively (and loudly) denounced them to their faces and protected younger nerdy/outcast kids.

Of course he's going to think sports are shit. That's what those dumb, bullying morons enjoy more than anything, so it's gotta be bad, right? (Hell, you can even take it further and say that his own dad used to beat the shit out of him as a kid if he made a noise when The Game was on.)

So he's prejudiced against the jocks (for a reason, but that's not the point), all while shouting at the top of his lungs about conformity and the bullshit about being a sheep. Yet all he's doing is conforming to a different stereotype, and not really realising it.

It's not until he meets up and speaks with Chrissy that he realises he's judging her without knowing her, and quickly rectifies it by being nicer. Then she dies and he couldn't save her. She was popular and sporty...but she was sweet and nice, and didn't deserve what happened to her.

Then Steve happens. Former Poster Boy for Jocks, and yet he's not a piece of shit either. But Steve's different, he tells himself. Steve's actually a nerd in wolf's clothing. He comes to D&D even if he doesn't play. He watches Star Wars and hangs out with 'unpopular' kids. He's 'better' now. He's learned his lesson.

It doesn't occur to him that Steve's trying to change himself to fit in, and still enjoys all of his own hobbies. He just does it either in secret, or ashamed when 'caught'. So Eddie doesn't see anything wrong. He's been proven right...THE Jock is in their nerdy little group so he's completely validated.

So maybe one night they're all at the Munson's, playing D&D. Except Steve's nowhere to be seen. During a breakin the campaign, he's found in the other room with Wayne and Hopper, watching the football. And Eddie makes some comment or another about Steve backsliding into sports.

And before Steve can say anything, Wayne tells him to stop bullying Harrington into his interests, and let the poor kid enjoy the football if that's what he wants to do.

And Eddie's mortified.

He finishes the campaign for the night on autopilot, the Game ends, and everyone else goes home, oblivious to what those earlier ten seconds has done to Eddie's psyche. Wayne's sitting there with his last beer of the night, and Eddie joins him, quiet and contemplative.

'I'm not a bully.' He says. 'I'm not like my dad.'

And Wayne just looks at him, smile on his face.

'I know.' He says. 'But you can't force everyone to like only your things, son. Just because you don't like football or basketball doesn't mean your friends have to feel the same.'

And Eddie thinks about it. He thinks about it for days. Steve never really complains. Sure he makes comments now and again, but Eddie's taken that as 'Steve's jock side coming out' instead of 'Steve just being frustrated, bored and lonely'. And Eddie can't ignore the feeling that he's actually the one being a total dick right now.

Steve's learnt his lesson. Eddie hasn't.

Steve 'the former douchebag' Harrington is a great guy, and Eddie is unconsciously taking advantage of it to validate himself. He feels like shit.

So he goes to Steve and apologises. But Steve's confused. He still thinks he needs to make reparations for his high school years, like he's conforming in their group as a penance. And Eddie hates himself a little more, because what the fuck. That's what Steve thinks of himself? And Eddie's partially responsible for enabling that, for letting the kids make him feel like that.

So he apologises again, and tell Steve that he's not gong to let it slide anymore. That if he ever wants to go and do something he enjoys, Eddie's down for it. That Steve doesn't need to be at D&D if he wants to watch the sports instead.

He also stops mocking Steve's taste in music, stops trying to force his own music on everyone else, and steps in whenever any of the kids try to do the same. And pretty damn quickly, Steve starts flourishing.

He and Eddie take the kids to the basketball courts, and Steve tries to teach them how to play, before giving up and going 1v1 with Lucas while the others just bounce the spare ball between them and make up their own game. It's fun, and completely outside Eddie's comfort zone, but it's fun.

Steve gets the confidence to start negotiating Eddie's campaign nights when there's an important game on the TV. Half the kids want to watch it with Wayne, Hopper (and weirdly enough, Mrs Henderson). Eddie usually joins them but either reads his book, sits at the table painting his minis, or falls asleep on Steve's lap. Sports just don't interest him, but that's ok too.

It's compromise.

#eddie munson #steve harrington #steddie (i guess...the dynamics are there at least)#stranger things headcanon #stranger things #stranger things meta #Steve doing nerdy shot but also Eddie doing non nerdy shit #It's swings and roundabouts baby!!#(also i kind of HC Wayne as a former jock at school...He did a lot of growing up first in the army and then raising his weird nephew)#Steve deserves to enjoy his own things too...and shouldn't have to be the only one compromising #Eddie being mortified when he realises he's been (gently and unknowingly) bullying Steve is *chef's kiss*#steddie

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its-jaytothemee · 2 months

Text

A Burden Shared - Part III: Relief

Pairings: Astarion x Tav, Halsin x Tav

Word count: 4,701; Tav POV; Final Part

Rating: Explicit, 18+; MDNI

Read on AO3

Summary: A group sparring session turns sour, and Astarion becomes very protective of Tav. Halsin goes to comfort Tav afterwards and ends up confessing some feelings he's had for a while now.

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Eventual Smut, Feelings Confessions, Spoilers for Act 3, Sparring, Protective Astarion, Soft Halsin, Tav needs a fucking hug, Oral Sex, PiV Sex

Author's Note: Third and final part, smut incoming. Thanks so much for reading!

Tav and Halsin walked back into the camp together, exchanging slightly awkward glances and conversation. He broke off from her with a smile once the camp was in sight. She gave a small wave and then saw a few of her companions wandering over towards her. Astarion, Karlach, and…Lae’zel? Astarion and Karlach were walking a step or two behind Lae’zel, Astarion was speaking to her, but Tav couldn’t make out the words.

“Hello, darling.” Astarion said with a slight bow of his head. “I do hope you’re feeling better.”

“Um, yeah. A little.” She was desperately trying to hide how anxious she felt at the moment.

“I’m glad to hear it, my dear. Now, I believe Lae’zel has something she would like to say to you.” He was trying to sound light and happy, but underneath Tav could hear a much more threatening tone.

“I believe I owe you an…apology.” Lae’zel said the last word through gritted teeth. Tav looked at Astarion, who smiled innocently.

“Lae’zel, you don’t have to–” Tav was cut off by a grunt from Lae’zel who was glaring at Karlach.

“No. I…insist.” Her jaw was so tightly clenched that Tav was sure she would grind her teeth to dust.

“I spoke out of turn earlier. There is not a single person here who has not benefited from your kindness,” she paused and took a deep breath, “myself included.”

Tav stood staring at her, only managing to blink in response.

“I acted rashly and out of frustration. You have proven many times over to be an effective warrior and leader. This culture is still new to me, and sometimes I still find the customs vexing. I am sorry.” Her jaw had unclenched slightly before she finished talking. By the end, she almost sounded sincere.

“Thank you, Lae’zel. Apology accepted.” Tav smiled and held out her hand, which Lae’zel took for a very tight handshake. She glared at Astarion before turning away with a huff to go back to her tent. Tav turned her attention back to Karlach and Astarion.

“Awful nice of Lae’zel to come make amends, eh Soldier?” Karlach beamed at her.

“Yeah…incredibly nice of her to do that. Entirely on her own.” Tav responded, her eyes shifting back to Astarion.

“Yes, well I suppose everyone makes mistakes from time to time, darling.” He was still maintaining his innocent smile.

Karlach started to walk away but turned back around to whisper not so quietly in Tav’s ear.

“It was all Astarion.” She winked.

“Yeah, I got that buddy.” Tav whispered back. She turned back to Astarion once Karlach had walked away. He was still smiling. A warm feeling spread throughout her body as she smiled back at him. Stepping forward, she grabbed him by the collar and gave him a long, gentle kiss.

“Thank you.” She whispered.

“Whatever for?” He kept his aura of innocence intact. Tav rolled her eyes at him.

“Deny it all you want, but you did something very nice for me.”

“How dare you!” Astarion looked properly offended. Tav just smiled back. “Those kinds of accusations could get you into serious trouble, my dear. Best to keep it just between ourselves.”

“Not a chance. I’m going to tell anyone who will listen that Astarion Ancunin did something selfless and kindhearted.” She teased, taking a step like she was going to walk away. He caught her arm and pulled her back into another kiss.

“Now now, don’t go ruining my reputation.” He said softly.

“Fine, it’ll be our little secret.” She leaned into him and placed her head on his chest. Feeling his arms wrap around her, she let herself relax into him for a moment.

“You’re not alone, Tav. I hope you know that.” He whispered.

“I do.” She replied.

They stood in their embrace for a while, Tav working up the courage to bring up her conversation with Halsin. She looked around to see if they were far enough away from the others to talk. Karlach had ears like a godsdamned bat.

“So…how was your little walk in the woods? It seems like Halsin was able to help lift your spirits a little bit.” He pulled away from her.

Tav felt her heart start to race and a pit of anxiety form in her stomach.

“Uh, good…like I said I just needed to clear my head…” She could hear the nervousness creeping into her voice. One of her hands shot up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“You’re being weird…why are you being weird?” Astarion asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Um…” Tav paused, she could feel herself starting to blush.

“You can tell me, Tav.” He smiled softly at her.

“You uh…you wouldn’t believe the conversation I just had with Halsin.” She laughed nervously.

Astarion gave her a confused look, then suddenly let out a very loud laugh.

“Ha! I wondered when you would come talk to me about this.” He said, still laughing a little bit. Tav really wasn’t sure if the laughter was a good thing or not.

“Oh did…did Halsin already talk to you?” She asked, trying to judge his reaction.

“Oh darling, he didn’t need to. The two of you aren’t exactly subtle. For fucks’ sake Tav, you nearly introduced yourself as ‘fuckable’ when we first met him.”

Tav’s guilt from earlier in the day returned tenfold. She hid her face in her hands, regretting her decision to even bring this up.

“Gods, you must think I’m horrible…” She said, thankful that she seemed to have run out of tears for the day.

“You? Never. There’s no need to be embarrassed.” Astarion took her hands away from her face and gently and held them against his chest. “Gods know I’ve stolen my fair share of glances at the druid. I mean I saw him coming out of the river after a swim once and gods above…” Astarion stared off past her for a moment before shaking his head and bringing his attention back to her.

“I trust you, Tav. If this is something you want, I…” He paused. “I’m not opposed.”

Tav’s head snapped up to him, surprised.

“You’re…you’re not?” She asked, trying to make sure she was understanding.

“Halsin has experience with this kind of arrangement. He’s someone who I would trust to navigate it respectfully. I don’t know that I’m quite ready to jump into bed all together yet but…” He looked down at her hands and squeezed them just a little bit tighter.

“I just have to ask,” his voice was now barely louder than a whisper, “you aren’t asking this just because we…because we haven’t…you know in a while.” He was looking at the ground now, watching his feet kick some dirt around.

“Astarion, look at me.” She moved one of her hands to rest on his cheek, lifting his chin up to meet her gaze. “I never want you to think that for a moment. Sex or no sex, I want you by my side, always. If you told me that you couldn’t do this, I would refuse him right away. I just wanted to know if this was something you would be open to.”

“I know that, I was being silly. I just needed to hear it from you.” He turned his head to kiss the hand she had on his cheek. “Go, have fun with Halsin. Far be it from me to hold your hunger against you.”

“Thank you…for trusting me.” Tav responded, hugging him again.

Astarion and Tav walked back over towards the rest of camp together, breaking off at his tent. Tav walked to Halsin’s tent to find him whittling on the ground in front of it.

“Making another protection charm? I would love something that keeps the mosquitoes away from my tent.” She teased.

Halsin looked up at her and grinned.

“Ha, I’m glad your sense of humor seems to have returned. Unfortunately, I’m not aware of the god who you must pay homage to in order to keep mosquitoes away.” He stood up, sitting his tools to the side.

“Surely Silvanus could help,” she continued, “after all they are considered one of nature’s creations. At least I would assume.”

“Given how often I’ve already prayed to him asking him to protect you, I would assume he’s already done everything in his power.” His smile was more distracting to her now than ever.

“Have you already spoken to Astarion? A delicate topic of discussion I’m sure, so please take your time.” He was trying to keep his voice light, but Tav could hear a bit of a nervous edge to it.

“I have.” She responded quickly. “He’s open to what you proposed.”

“That is most gratifying to hear.” Halsin suddenly had a huge smile on his face, one that Tav returned.

“So…what happens now?” She asked.

“Now? Now we will have each other, but not just each other.” He responded, still smiling. “I do not ask you to pledge yourself to me. You are all I want, but I only wish to share in your heart, not keep it entirely for myself. Let others know the joy of being with you as well.”

Tav nodded in response, taking one of his hands in hers.

“I understand…this is what I want.” She said quietly.

“Then meet me tonight, after the others have gone to bed. Come back down by the river where we talked earlier.” He kissed her hand lightly before leaning in close to whisper in her ear. “But do not expect to get much rest.”

The words caused Tav’s cheeks to flush and a shiver to run down her spine. Halsin slowly let go of her hand and walked away towards the center of camp where their companions were starting to gather for their evening meal. She smiled after him and caught Astarion’s gaze, who gave her a smile and thumbs up gesture. His eagerness on her behalf made her giggle a little bit.

The rest of the evening was typical of their group. They each had a plate with a mix of cheeses and dried sausage, accompanied by glasses of wine from the various bottles they had opened. Everyone was laughing and joking as usual, all evidence of their earlier drama seemed to have faded away to Tav’s relief. Most everyone came to check on her, making sure her injuries were healed and that she was feeling better. She tried to give them her full attention, but she was already distracted thinking about the night to come. Every now and then she would catch Halsin looking at her and her heart rate would quicken again. Her obvious lack of focus gave Astarion plenty of material to joke about for the evening. Quietly and lovingly teasing her about tonight and other nights to come. Hearing him able to joke about their new relationship status put her even more at ease.

Slowly but surely, all of her friends started to retire for the night. She caught Halsin heading off into the trees rather soon after he finished his meal. It took all Tav’s self-control not to follow him immediately. It wasn’t too long after that Astarion excused himself for the night, giving her a soft kiss before leaving.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, darling.” He whispered with a wink. She smiled as she watched him walk away.

Tav offered to clean up the rest of the mess left after their meal, making sure everyone was off in their own tents before she followed after Halsin. As she stepped into the bushes, her heart began to race again, just as it had earlier in the day. However, before she was running away from her responsibilities, from her obligations. Now, she was running toward the start of something new.

***

Tav broke through the trees into the cleared area near the riverbank. She spotted Halsin standing next to a nearby tree, shirtless and eyes closed, his outstretched hand resting on the trunk. It was a very clear night and the moon cast a soft light across his face that made her heart flutter. She took a few more slow steps toward him, eventually stepping on a small twig that caused him to snap his head towards her.

“Ah, there you are. I wasn’t sure if you would show, I started to wonder if this was all too soon.” He said with a smile. Tav could hear a hint of nervousness underneath his smiling face.

“Nonsense,” she responded, “this is something I’ve wanted for some time.”

Halsin’s gaze suddenly shifted, and she felt as if he was peering into her very soul.

“As have I. Still, this is like a fantasy. I almost dare not to blink, lest you fade away into the night as you did in so many of my dreams.”

Tav slowly moved towards him, closing the gap between them with each step.

“Push those doubts from your mind, Halsin. I’m right here with you.” She reached up and placed her hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath her palm. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily at her touch.

“Yes, you are.” He whispered, almost in disbelief. “You have no idea how hard it has been to contain myself. I almost dare not give in now or else I will devour you entirely.” There was a hunger in his eyes that Tav had never seen before. It was intoxicating, taking all of her energy not to drag him to her level and kiss him until she was dizzy. She held his gaze, taking long, steadying breaths to keep her legs from giving out from under her.

“Well, that is why I’m here.” She responded, desire dripping from every syllable. Halsin smirked in response, sending a pulse of excitement through her entire body.

“Nevertheless, I will be gentle.” He said quietly. With startling speed, he stripped the remaining clothes from his body, barely breaking eye contact with Tav.

“Or at least, I shall try.” He had a wicked smile on his lips.

A moment later he was all over her. His large arms wrapped around her shoulders and waist, drawing her as close as possible. Their lips pressed together tightly, yet somehow also in the most tender way that made Tav want to melt further into his embrace. She felt his tongue gently part her lips to glide over her own. His warm skin pressed against every inch of her, taking away some of the chill from the evening breeze blowing past them. She reached her arms up to curl around his neck, pulling him even closer to her. He was already hard, pressing his erection against her thigh. Suddenly, he lifted her up and she quickly wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him like he was a piece of driftwood, and she was a lost soul at sea. He pressed her back up against a nearby tree, continuing to hold and kiss her until she felt as if she was going to faint. The bark of the tree was rough against her back, a stark contrast to Halsin’s smooth hands on her neck and arms. Tav pulled away slightly, their lips still barely touching.

“I suddenly feel overdressed.” Out of breath, she breathed the words out back into Halsin’s mouth. He smiled against her lips, gently releasing her to stand back on the ground.

Tav slowly moved her hands down to where her shirt was tucked in to her pants. While Halsin’s eager kisses were still distracting her, she pulled the fabric slowly up to her neck. He reached up and helped to pull the garment the rest of the way over her head, just briefly parting his lips apart from hers to do so. The warmth of their torsos pressed against each other made Tav smile. She reached down towards the top of her pants and as she did so, Halsin started kissing his way down her body. Her hands fumbled with the strings at her belt as she was fully preoccupied by the trail his lips left down her chest and stomach. Suddenly she felt him gently tugging at the strings with his teeth, quickly undoing the simple knot. Their hands worked together to slowly pull the remaining clothing from her lower body. She kicked the garments away as Halsin stood and slowly took a couple of steps back away from her.

“Just as nature intended.” His voice was a low growl, causing a flush to come over Tav’s face and chest.

“Come here to me.” He said in the same primal growling tone, his hungry eyes looking over every part of her.

She went to take a step towards him, but suddenly he stopped and hunched over slightly. A slight magical glow surrounded him, highlighting every line and groove across his body. With another growl and familiar hum of magic, the handsome elf before her suddenly transformed into a large cave bear. The creature’s eyes still glowed with the same lust she saw in Halsin’s elf form. After just a moment or two, the golden glow returned and Halsin was standing before her once more.

“I…I’m sorry.” He huffed. “Sometimes when blood runs hot enough it can be difficult to tame the beast.” He looked away from her, suddenly seeming ashamed of his loss of control. The display had startled Tav without question, but she thought no less of him for it. In fact, she was rather thrilled that his desire for her made him unable to control his druidic transformations.

“I’m flattered that I have that effect on you, love.” She gave him an encouraging smile. “Now come back over here.” Tav held her hand out, inviting him back into her arms.

A relieved smile spread across his face as he took a step towards her.

“I need no further encouragement.” He said, still slightly out of breath.

With that, he took her hand and was pressed against her once more, backing her body up against the tree again. He kissed every inch of her jaw and neck, earning small moans and sighs from her with each one. She had one arm around his neck and one around his waist, her fingers digging into his skin trying to pull him as close to her as possible. His cock pressed against her hips, warm and hard. She brought one of her legs up to hook around his thigh and started to slowly grind against him, feeling him twitch against the movements. Halsin let out a long sigh against her neck, moving his hips in time with hers.

After a few moments, he broke away and started to kiss down her torso again. His hands were constantly moving, tracing small shapes into her skin, every now and then pressing his hands harder into her back to pull her closer to him. He let his mouth wander over her breasts, catching each of her nipples with a small flick of his tongue. She felt like a pile of ooze, whimpering helplessly at each gentle touch. Continuing down her body, his kisses became slower and more teasing. Before she knew it he was kneeling in front of her, hands gently pushing her legs a little further apart.

He continued his tortuous kissing around her stomach, moving his way to her inner thighs, lightly biting the soft skin. She dug her nails into the skin of his arms and shoulders, soaking in every sensation. As he continued to kiss and bite along her legs, his hands slowly made their way up the front of her thighs to her sex. His warm fingers moved around her folds, spreading the wetness around them. He used his thumbs to massage her, causing her knees to buckle but he held her up. They slowly slid up and circled her clit, one at a time. Her entire core was aching under his touch. She was torn between pushing him to the ground and immediately taking him or letting him continue to tease her so this could be drawn out for as long as possible. Tav worked one of her hands into his hair, lightly caressing his scalp.

The movement caused Halsin to moan against her leg, which she returned in kind. She gently tugged at his hair, pulling him up to where his hands were eagerly pleasuring her. His fingers were quickly replaced by his tongue causing a loud gasp from Tav. As his hands greedily grabbed at her thighs and butt, his tongue swirled and flicked its way around her entire cunt. She could feel her legs starting to shake under the sudden change of pace, she tangled her hands further into his hair, pressing his face harder into her pelvis. She could feel his lips turn up into a smile at the motion, a small moan vibrating against her sensitive skin.

“Gods…fuuuuck…” She could barely choke out a word in between her gasping and whimpers.

Halsin didn’t let up, he continued to lick and suck, every now and then letting one of his fingers come up and help. She could feel her body building towards release as she concentrated on Halsin’s tongue tasting every bit of her. Her toes curled into the soft earth below her under the strain. With one final flick of his tongue, he took as much of her as he could into his mouth and sucked until she couldn’t keep herself from crying out in pleasure. She felt the wave of ecstasy ripple through her body as he slowed his movements to a stop, his hands still massaging their way around her body. Her knees were weak and her legs were shaking, but she still wanted more of him.

Halsin looked up at her, wiping his mouth on the back of his arm. He stood up slowly and pressed his body back against hers. As if he had read her mind, he leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“More?” He asked, slightly out of breath.

Tav bit her lower lip in response and drew him in for a kiss, still able to taste her own arousal on his lips. She pulled him down to the ground on top of her, wrapping her legs around his waist. He held her there for a moment, staring into her eyes. One of his hands came up to cradle her face, gently caressing her cheek. She smiled back up at him, wrapping her arm around his neck and pulling him in for another kiss.

He took the opportunity to slowly lower himself on to her, pressing his cock against her, but not entering her yet. Her hips instinctively moved up to meet him as he grinded around her folds, but it wasn’t enough. She moved one of her hands down to grip around him and started stroking up and down, holding him against her. He let out a surprised moan against her lips.

“I need more of you, Halsin.” She breathed the words into his ear.

“As you wish, my heart.” He replied in a low whisper.

Halsin let her guide him towards her entrance, hovering his tip just outside. Still holding on to his cock, she circled his tip around her, letting her wetness cover him. The movement earned her another low moan from him as he slowly lowered himself into her. They each let out a long sigh at the feeling. She let go of him to bring her hand back up into his hair, holding his head in place against hers. Slowly he filled her, pressing his entire length into her body. He paused for a moment and let her adjust to the sensation, she could feel him throbbing inside of her.

“You feel incredible, my love.” He whispered into her ear.

His words sent a shiver through her body, causing her to arch her back up towards him. Halsin placed one hand on the ground by her head to steady himself as he began to slowly thrust himself in and out of her. His other hand moved down to rub her clit at the same time. Tav closed her eyes and tilted her head back, letting her hips move in time with his. His thrusts started to get harder and deeper, the combination of pleasure from both his cock and his fingers threatening to send Tav over the edge. Her hands gripped his thighs, silently begging him to go deeper each time. Both of their moans and cries seemed to get louder each time he pushed back into her. Her legs were shaking again, one of her hands shot back up to Halsin’s face to pull him down and kiss him deeply. He quickened his pace even more, drawing quick shallow breaths through his nose as the kiss muffled their moans. Tav couldn’t hold on any longer, she threw both of her arms around him and pulled him as tight against her as she could. She cried out, burying her face in his neck. Waves of pleasure washed over her body, she could feel herself involuntarily spasming around him as he took his last few thrusts to find his own release. He collapsed on top of her, the weight of his body helping to subdue her shaking muscles. She could feel him pulsing inside of her, squeezing every last drop from himself in his final few thrusts. They laid there tangled together for a moment, both breathing heavily.

Tav had no other thoughts in her mind except for the relief she felt here in Halsin’s arms. The pressure of leadership gone, the guilt that soured her fantasies had vanished, all of the doubt she had felt over the past few days nowhere to be found.

Slowly, Halsin rolled to the side, propping himself up on one arm to face her. She traced the lines along the muscles of his torso, wiping away the small beads of sweat that had formed. The night breeze helped cool her warm, flushed skin. He pulled her close, pressing her hands against his chest and her head to the side of his neck. She lazily kissed along his neck and shoulder, listening to the small sighs they elicited from him. His hands softly stroked her back, wiping away some of the dirt and leaves that had stuck to her.

“Maybe next time we should bring a bedroll. Or better yet find a bed somewhere.” She murmured against him.

“The comforts offered by that type of furniture are not something I’m accustomed to.” He chuckled. “But by all means, if you find a piece up to the challenge, please let me know right away.”

She snuggled closer to him, listening to his heartbeat and soft breaths. After a few moments he pulled her up with him and led her towards the water.

“At least let me clean you up before we make our way back to camp.” He offered with a smile.

They waded into the river; the water was cool but not uncomfortable. Halsin moved out far enough where they could sit comfortably in the water, coming up almost to Tav’s shoulders as he pulled her onto his lap. He used his hands to gently pour water over her back and arms, rinsing away the dirt stuck to her. She leaned forward and kissed him softly, holding his face in her hands.

“Maybe we don’t have to go back just yet.” She whispered.

“Oh?” He was smiling back up at her, still slowly caressing her back.

“The night’s still young…and I seem to recall you promising that I wouldn’t get much rest.” Tav’s heart was racing again, her mind blurred with lust and longing for him. She wanted more of him, she needed to feel him against her for longer.

Halsin suddenly gripped her back, pulling her body tight against him. He pressed his lips right up against her to whisper in her ear.

“Well, I cannot allow you to go to bed disappointed, my heart.”

Tav couldn’t help but let out an excited laugh as he picked her up and waded out further into the water, eager to feel Halsin’s loving touch long into the night. And for many more nights to come.

#this fic was pretty fun to write #I just need all the halsin content #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #bg3 astarion #bg3 halsin #bg3 tav #halsin silverbough #astarion x tav #halsin x tav #halsin smut #bg3 fanfiction #bg3 headcanons #bg3 brainrot #bg3 fluff #bg3 smut #the tadfools

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i-might-write · 1 year

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Grimmjow: trust

Fandom: Bleach

Grimmjow is used to being on his own and always sleeping with one eye open. The possibility of being backstabbed and betrayed by those claiming to be on his side had proven to be real many times before - to the point where he almost expects it.

It takes him some time to warm up to the idea of making friends and having a genuine connection with Ichigo and his friend group and therefore also - you.

Adjusting to the new reality of being able to sort of, kind of, believe that some people don't mean harm to him in the long run was sped up by the growing interest Grimmjow had in you.

Grimmjow isn't someone who is good at, or would even consider suppressing his feelings, so it would sooner or later lead to him finding himself in a relationship. It was a strange course of action to him, because binding his life to someone else's was a first for such a paranoid loner, but what was even stranger was his hope that it would last.

Trust was not easily given in Grimmjow’s life, and one of the most difficult decisions he had to make was deciding whether he should put it in you.

The relationship with you is probably one of the very few genuine connections Grimmjow allowed himself throughout his long life, and it wouldn't last if he didn't respect you enough to accept the unknown.

For Grimmjow, trust is putting a sword into your hands and pointing it at his own heart, while never truly certain what your next step would be.

Once he'd made that decision though, a part of Grimmjow would finally be at peace. Whatever happened next was entirely up to you, and he'd just have to live with the consequences. But before that happened, the kind of trust Grimmjow would give his significant other was one of the purest and most wholehearted gestures he was capable of.

Grimmjow is a territorial person and doesn't want to share the things he cares about deeply - and you are one of those few. Trust for him means knowing that you consider him just as important. Grimmjow has aggressive tendencies and wouldn't enjoy the sight of someone else taking too much of an interest in you. He trusts you to make the right choice and send the idiot away, but at the same time it doesn't mean he can't stand around, glaring menacingly and imagining gutting the idiot open. Grimmjow doesn't mind his thoughts clearly showing on his face.

He's an open book. He hardly ever tries to hide anything.

Except for the rare occasions when he's woken in the middle of the night, his paranoia making the nightmares unbearable. He'd wake up covered in the cold sweat, with the fading remnants of the dream stuck beneath his eyelids.

Trust in you is something he's managed to get used to. It's present when he lets his guard down, when he closes his eyes, when he falls asleep knowing you could slit his throat. It's present in the moments when Grimmjow has to get a burden off his chest when it becomes too heavy. It's present in knowing that you'd keep his secrets and insecurities tucked safely away within yourself.

But trust is a gained privilege, and no one knows better than Grimmjow that the reality, regardless of the world he lives in, can be cruel. Grimmjow trusts neither in the future, nor in good fortune. All that he's ever gained, he had to fight for and that's precisely why he will do anything in his power to protect those closest to him.

#grimmjow x reader #grimmjow x you #grimmjow bleach #Grimmjow #grimmjow jaggerjack x reader #grimmjow imagine #bleach grimmjow #bleach #grimmjow jaggerjack #grimmjow imagines #grimmjow headcanons #grimmjow manga #bleach imagines

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weirdkpopgirl · 7 months

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Courage | Renjun Imagine #3

Title: Courage

Genre: neighbors to lovers

Warnings: kissing, and it gets a little intense 😅

Word Count: 784

Author's Note: This story was originally supposed to be part of a group scenario for 7Dream as your neighbors. But after finishing Haechan's, I realized these might be way too long for one post. So I decided to just make them individual stories with the same theme. Also, this is a chance for me to post something for Mark and Renjun on this blog. Hope you guys like it ^ ^

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ

He had been living in the same apartment building as you have for a few months now. While he occupied the unit right above yours, and though you had crossed paths many times in the hallway or elevator, your interactions stayed limited to polite greetings and occasional small talk. At first, Renjun wasn’t aware of the quiet attraction growing between you beneath the surface of these casual encounters.

However, one morning things shifted when Renjun was performing his skincare routine in the bathroom. Below him, he suddenly caught a faint melody drifting through the air amidst the sound of running water. Standing still as he snapped on the lid to his toner, Renjun listened a little more carefully. It didn’t take long for him to discern that the heartfelt voice singing beneath his feet belonged to you.

A secret smile formed on his face, as he slowly picked up his next product to use. Just when Renjun thought he couldn’t be more captivated by you, he was proven wrong. As the days turned into weeks, Renjun found himself looking forward to those mornings when you sang in the shower. He would purposely adjust his morning routine to coincide with your sweet melodies.

On one restless night, Renjun was kept awake by the thoughts of you swirling in his head. Despite knowing so little about you, there existed an inexplicable connection that made him believe that you two were meant to be more than just neighbors. After tossing and turning in bed, Renjun decided that he couldn’t bottle his feelings anymore.

Without allowing room for second thoughts, Renjun swiftly rose from his bed and slid into his white sneakers. Not wanting to disturb the other tenants who were likely asleep, Renjun quietly made his way downstairs to your unit. He stood outside your door, his heart pounding loudly in his chest. Gathering all his courage, he knocked softly.

Seconds later, the door cautiously opened to you in your thin-rimmed glasses and cozy gray pajamas. Although you were usually awake past midnight, it wasn’t like you expected people to come by during this time. Your eyes widened at the sight of Huang Renjun, clad in a beige cardigan and black pajama pants, standing right at your doorstep.

When you noticed the slightly unsettled expression he was wearing, your eyes flickered with concern. You’ve never seen him look so…anxious.

“Renjun, is everything okay?” you asked, keeping your voice hushed.

The boy let out a deep sigh, struggling to keep his nerves in check. “No…I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about you,” Renjun admitted, his words carefully forming as he realized he should have planned this better.

You stared at the boy as if he just spit out some outrageous fact. “Me? What about me?”

Unable to contain his emotions any longer, Renjun made the decision to pour out his feelings. He started to express how he had heard you singing in the morning and instantly fell in love with your voice. Your heart raced as you silently processed what he was saying.

“I know it might sound weird, and I promise I wasn't stalking you!” he hurriedly clarified. “But your voice... It's so beautiful. Even though we haven't spoken much, I can tell you’re a lovely person, and—”

Before Renjun could finish his sentence, you gently cupped his face and smashed your lips against his. Typically, you were a very reserved person— especially around someone who was just an acquaintance. However, maybe it was because you had also been secretly crushing on Renjun for ages, his confession ignited something within you.

He quickly melted into the moment, gently pressing his hand on your back as he responded to the kiss without hesitation. Gradually, your fingers became tangled in Renjun’s hair. Your lips moved together slowly, tenderly, consumed by the unspoken longing that had lasted for far too long.

The two of you pulled back, both breathless with reddened lips and tousled hair. Renjun’s eyes locked onto yours, his heart soaring like a rocket. “So…I take it that you like me too?”

In that moment, you were conflicted between wanting to cry, laugh, or roll your eyes. Trying to maintain your composure, you nodded lightly.

“Huang Renjun, you have no idea.”

Renjun smiled again and pushed the door open further before reconnecting your lips in another passionate kiss. Kicking off his shoes, the two of you stumbled towards the couch, your lips never parting. You collapsed onto the soft cushions, wrapped up in each other, and the outside world faded away.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ

#nct dream #nct dream imagines #nctzen #kpop #czennie #renjun #huang renjun #renjun x reader #injunnie #renjun scenarios #nct dream x reader #renjun imagines #neighbors to lovers #neighbors au #kpop imagines #nct dream fluff

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steviesbicrisis · 1 year

Text

The One Where Everybody Finds Out (About Eddie and Steve)

Jonathan

There had been some weird things happening under Jonathan's nose, he had noticed them at the back of his mind but, being a chill and high dude most of the time, he didn't think anything weird of it.

Yeah, Steve was spending a lot more time at his and Eddie's place, Eddie talked a lot more about Steve and they both were dating someone that hadn't been introduced to their friend group yet, but Jonathan just shrugged and accepted them as facts.

Then he had found a strange amount of hair products in their shared bathroom and casually mentioned it to Eddie, who basically freaked out on him and shrieked "what if I care about my curls? are you the bathroom police?" and yeah, Jonathan was chill and all, but that was fucking weird.

A while later, at Steve and Robin's place, Jonathan was able to put the pieces together.

«Robin, did you take my hair products? I can't find them anywhere»

«Why would I have them? plus, didn't you take them to your mysterious girlfriend's place last night? maybe you left them there.»

Jonathan's shocked expression as he looked back and forth between Eddie and Steve was enough to tell that he knew.

Eddie had to do some damage control, fast.

«Roomie, can I talk to you for a second?»

Nancy

Nancy loves Robin, she really does. That doesn't mean she can't be mad at her for being late.

«I'm sorry Nance, she's probably stuck in traffic. I got stuff to do but you can wait here of course!» Steve gave her one more apologetic smile and then disappeared into his bedroom.

Nancy had tried to stay put and pass the time by reading a magazine, but she was so mad she couldn't help but pick up the phone to try and reach out to Robin, see if at least she had left work.

She didn't expect at all to hear Steve's private conversation.

«I miss you too. I'll sneak out in a few hours, I'll tell Robin I'm doing laundry.»

And surely she didn't expect to hear Eddie say «laundry? is that my new nickname?»

She dropped the phone, shocked. Eddie and Steve? Eddie and Steve?

She needed to tell someone, anyone. As she rushed out of the apartment, she almost collided with Jonathan, who was running out of his apartment across the hall.

«Jonathan, great! I have a secret I need to share-»

«No! No secrets please, I have way too many and I hate keeping them!»

Nancy eyed him, suspiciously «what if I know what you know?»

«No, that’s not possible.»

«So, you didn’t happen to hear Eddie’s phone call just know?»

Jonathan looked at her with a mixture of relief and shock, he pointed at her «You know!»

«And you know??» she replied, «since when?»

«Since forever dude! They’ve been driving me crazy.»

Robin

Argyle’s move to the city was just a few weeks away and he and Jonathan had yet to find a place that would be good for the both of them. Eddie wouldn’t have minded adding Argyle to the lease but the apartment wasn’t big enough for three people -and it was proven by Argyle living there for the days he was supposed to do apartment hunting-, so the only option was to look for a new place.

Thankfully a nice apartment across from their building had been opened for renting. The best part? Steve and Robin’s place was clearly visible from the living room. A feature that Robin would come to regret that day.

Jonathan was busy at work, so she and Nancy offered to accompany Argyle for the house tour. He fell in love with the place as soon as he entered.

As he was checking out the bedrooms and Nancy the bathroom, Robin looked out of the living room window.

«Oh my God, I see Steve and Eddie, hi guys!!» she waved at them excitedly, but the happiness died quickly as they started kissing and taking each other’s clothes off.

«oh my god oh my god OH MY GOD!!! Eddie and Steve? Eddie and Steve!! Oh my God Eddie and Steve!!» she was screaming and couldn't stop looking at her best friend making out with a guy, with Eddie of all people.

Nancy had rushed back as she heard her screams and she was panicking too.

«Nancy! It's Eddie and Steve!! Oh my God, Eddie and Steve!! Why am I still looking?» she screamed again as Eddie pushed Steve against the window glass, giving them a perfect view of Steve's naked back.

«oh shit, my eyes!! MY EYES!!» she kept screaming as she turned around.

«Robin, you have to shut up!» Nancy seemed to be panicked too, but for very different reasons.

«But Eddie and Steve-»

«I know! I've known for a while!!» she sounded exasperated.

«You know??»

«Yes, I know! And Jonathan knows but Argyle doesn't so you have to shut up!»

Robin had no idea how she could pretend she did not just witness her best friend getting busy with one of their closest friends, a guy.

Argyle emerged from the second bedroom «have you guys been screaming? is something happening outside?» he made a step towards the window and Robin screamed again.

«We're... just so happy you might get this apartment!» Robin lied and started jumping and screaming her fake excitement, Nancy could do nothing but join her.

Argyle smiled wildly at them and joined the jumps and the screams.

Argyle

Jonathan hated keeping secrets from Argyle. Actually, there were no secrets kept between them, except this one. But Eddie and Steve had begged him to tell no one, so there wasn't much of a choice.

After Nancy and Robin had found out, he was relieved because, finally, he would be able to tell Argyle.

Except that the girls, especially Robin, weren't too happy about this secret and decided to mess with their unaware friends.

«I can't believe you forced Nancy to flirt with Eddie,» Jonathan said, looking at Nancy as she twirled a strand of her hair flirtatiously. He couldn't see Eddie's face from where he was sitting but there was no doubt he was shocked.

«I didn't force her to do nothing! She's in with the plan. Listen, They've been lying to us, Steve has been lying to me, for months now. We're just having a little fun! Eddie will freak out, admit their fling and that's it» Robin made it sound so easy he hoped she was right.

----

It wasn't easy at all, Jonathan thought, under Steve and Eddie's inquisitive looks.

Nancy had come onto Eddie too strong -she had felt his bicep and grabbed his ass for crying it out loud- and that resulted in them guessing she knew about their thing.

Jonathan had, unfortunately, let slip out that Robin also knew.

«Robin knows too?» Steve sounded sad as he asked, but then the sadness turned quickly to anger «I can't believe that little shit! She's messing with us? fuck no, we're messing with them!»

As Steve and Eddie were coming up with a counter-plan, Jonathan projected himself to two weeks in the future, when he and Argyle will finally be living together, hopefully with no secrets involved.

----

Nancy put the phone down, looking distraught.

«Eddie just asked me to come over and feel his bicep and more! I can't believe he would cheat on Steve!»

«I don't believe it either» Robin turned to Jonathan, who was very busy looking at his shoes.

«Jonathan, do they know that we know?» he couldn't say anything back which was enough for the girls.

«I can't believe they're messing with us!»

«Well, they don't know that we know they know we know!» Robin exclaimed, «call Eddie back and set the date, we're going to war.»

----

Nancy hadn't planned to go that far with the messing around.

But now there she was, inside Eddie and Jonathan’s apartment, pretending to be on a date.

It's clear that they both know what it's going on, that they're impossibly uncomfortable with it and that they're too competitive to drop the act.

After an awkward small talk, Eddie attacks «should we move this to the bedroom?»

«Really?» Nancy is caught by the surprise but quickly recovers «I mean, first I wanna take off all my clothes and have you rub lotion all on me.»

Her counterattack is pretty effective, Eddie looks horrified as he replies with «sounds great, let me go grab that lotion» before running into the bathroom. Nancy thinks she has won until Eddie comes back with a lotion in his hands.

He still looks extremely uncomfortable but he smiles and says «wow, I'm so happy we're gonna have all the sex!»

«You should be...» she quickly thinks of something that could make him break character «I'm very... bendy?»

Eddie makes a face and Nancy can't blame him. She hopes he will give up soon.

«I'm gonna kiss you now!» she says, almost threatening.

«Not if I kiss you first!» he replies, slowly coming closer to her.

They take their time placing their hands on each other, still leaving a ton of space between them, and there's nothing left for them but to kiss. They go for a peck, the unsexiest most awkward kiss they both had in their life.

Eddie pulls away first «okay okay stop! you win!! I can't have sex with you!»

Nancy is ready to celebrate, she just needs Eddie to admit he's sleeping with Steve «and why not?» she grins.

«Because I'm in love with Steve!»

«You what??»

Steve comes out of the bathroom, Robin and Jonathan get in from the front door, they all heard him loud and clear.

«That's right, you little shits!» he points at Nancy, Robin, and Jonathan «I love» he points at himself «him!» then points at Steve.

He repeats it a couple of times «I. Love. Him. I. Love Him. I. Lo-» Steve forces him to stop by grabbing him by his vest and kissing him.

«I love you too,» he says, grinning at him.

«Oh my God, you guys!!! I thought you were just doing it, I didn't know you were in love!» Robin exclaimed, running towards them to hug them both.

«Now I can tell Argyle when he comes next week right? Everybody knows!» Jonathan looks relieved.

«Actually, the kids are coming here the same day and Dustin doesn't know yet, so we would appreciate it if you kept the secret...»

Jonathan glares at them «I'm telling him over the phone, right now.»

After a quick phone call to California, it turns out that Argyle already knew.

«Yeah babe, haven’t they been together since we went to London? I thought everybody knew.»

Jonathan bangs his head against the wall.

BONUS

Dustin:

«Guys! this place is so cool!» Will is saying as they're going around Argyle and Jonathan’s new apartment. They seemed all impressed as they inspect the place.

«Dude, I can see Steve’s place from here, so cool!» Dustin says looking out the window.

Then he spots Steve and Eddie kissing in front of the window.

«No… what are they doing? My brother and my DM? MY BROTHER AND MY DM? MY BROTHER IS FUCKING MY DM?»

As Dustin is screaming bloody murder, Argyle and Jonathan agree to buy Steve some curtains for Christmas.

[Based on Friends 5x14 - the one where everybody finds out]

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lesbianwriter · 28 days

Note

I read this super cool snippet where the reason why a group of pirates survived a siren attack is because they sang back to them. So imagine a villain x civilian scenario where civilian unintentionally saves a group of pirates because her singing voice is just as wonderful as a siren. She is sold to wealthy pirates who use her gift to traverse deadly waters, until one voyage where her voice isnt enough to save one or multiple crew members. They throw her overboard as some sort of sacrifice, only for her to be saved the powerful siren (villain) because she gained her respect.

I know you already wrote siren song so maybe change it up a bit if you want. I really want to see what you do with this idea

Thank you for this ask :), your ideas are so creative and I enjoyed writing this so hopefully I put it to justice lol

Sweat dripped down the side of Civilian’s face. She knew what was waiting for her, and she felt too sick to face it—but she didn’t have a choice.

Captain shoved her onto deck, her knees smacking down to the ground and her palms landing against the splintery wood. She bit back a whimper of pain because the last thing she needed now was more humiliation. Captain then dragged the chain on her wrist and yanked her back up to her feet with a snarl. “Get up!”

The sun beamed down on the crowd of angry, snarling faces already around her. Her voice had saved her many times, from sirens, and had doomed her just as many times, being the reason she was sold to pirates…the problem was that she didn’t know which one this would be. Could she charm her way out of this with honeyed words or would the honey become sticky in her mouth and make her sound like a fool? But her mouth opened and the words spilled out before she could think.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen…I…I—I don’t know what went wrong, but I wasn’t trying to—to sabotage you all or anything—“ Civilian rambled, trying to reason with the scowling faces.

“Our best navigator was drowned by a siren while you were supposed to be saving him, and because of you we are now in the dead center of siren territory!” Captain roared, enunciating his words with a strong shove to her back, making her stumble forward and almost fall again. “We spent a lot of money on you!”

Civilian fumbled for words. “I’m sorry, I don’t know—“ Sometimes words came easy, laced with sweetness, and other times words came shaky and jagged.

Today was not a good day for words.

She looked up at Captain with eyes large as saucers. “I’ll do better.” She swore. “Please, sir…I’ve never failed before, and it won’t happen again.” Maybe she could appeal to the rare but sometimes visible side of him that did like her, that didn’t want to throw her over the side of the ship for siren food.

“It’s too late for that.” As he grasped her shoulder, the rest of the pirates jeered and cheered.

“Wait, wait—please!” The chains tightened around her wrists as she dragged her feet, the waves of blue getting steadily closer. “We’re in the middle of siren territory! How will you make it back to shore without me to protect you?!”

“You’ve already proven to be defective!” A crew member with an eyepatch argued, and the captain nodded in agreement.

“We can distract ‘em long enough with you to sail away!” Another added.

A sinking feeling rose in Civilian’s stomach.

Which she supposed was appropriate because before she could blink, she was suddenly falling, and she didn’t have time to take a breath before she hit the water with a splash and began to sink, the sound of jeering and the sight of Captain slowly fading and becoming distant ripples as her body got heavier…and heavier…and heavier.

…

Her lungs burned.

A fire roared in her throat. She wanted to scream and gasp for air…

She felt so heavy yet so weightless. She itched to swim, to survive, but her body wasn’t moving. The chain around her wrist rippled in the water. She watched it sway, the bubbles rising around it, and as she stared at it, part of her seemed to accept drowning while the other part—her lungs, her throat—screamed to stay alive…

Then, she felt an arm around her waist.

Civilian gasped and coughed as she hit the sand. Something hit her in the stomach, and a spurt of water spilled from her mouth and burned her throat.

She rolled onto her other side, feeling the sand in her fingers and realizing…I’m not dead. Sucking in each breath as if it were her last—and she nearly had taken her last breath—she tried to think about what had happened, but her brain was all muddled, as if all the sand in her ears had made its way to her brain. She tried instead to check her senses. Civilian could feel the sand and the sun beaming down on her back. She was so soaked that she could’ve laid on the sand for hours in the heat and her clothes wouldn’t dry. And she could smell…fish. She could hear someone’s breathing next to her.

Panting, she turned and saw a siren staring at her, her sharp green eyes trained on the human.

“Why couldn’t you save yourself?”

“W—what?” Civilian coughed again. The siren crawled closer, smacking her in the stomach again. “What are you doing?” She wheezed.

“Doesn’t it help get the water out?”

“It’s…no, It’s not helpful.” Civilian had never been this close to a siren before, and her eyes widened as her eyes met the creature’s. Suddenly, she shrieked and scrabbled back as it hit her: that was a siren. Even more, she recognized that siren.

It was the same one that had drowned the navigator.

The siren smiled, her sharp teeth glinting in the sunlight. “Don’t be scared,” if her smile was meant to be reassuring, all it did was make Civilian’s breath come quicker. “I’m Villain. I’ve heard about you—the human that lulls sirens with her voice.”

“I remember you. You—you killed the navigator.” She remembered those eyes, those emerald eyes and that smirk as she cradled the navigator in her arms and dragged the poor fool under the water.

After the navigator had been drowned, Captain wasn’t immediately mad…annoyed, yes, very much so, but he hadn’t thrown her in chains yet. Though, what tipped him over the edge was when the ship ended up in the dangerous siren territory that even the most ruthless captains avoided. That was when he started to scream. That was when he threw her into the cells and started shoving, kicking and dragging. It was as if he forgot the times when he had tolerated her, maybe even liked her, as more than a prisoner he had bought and instead he cursed her instead as a faulty talisman, a scam, and agreed with the demand of the crew to sacrifice her.

Civilian hadn’t particularly wanted to be with Captain, not as a friend nor a lover, but aligning herself in his good graces had afforded a scant amount of security.

Whenever she had one of her good days where the her voice was laced charms and sweetness, she used it on Captain to try and earn favor.

And this siren had crushed all of that.

How come she hadn’t been able to subdue this siren with her voice? It had worked on every siren before, even if she had to strain her voice or sing louder for some than others, but the fact she never failed is what had made her price so steep when Captain had bought her for protection. What was different about this green-eyed siren?

She cleared her throat, swallowing back a wince at the burning feeling still raging in her throat. “What do you want?”

The siren stopped smiling, peering at Civilian and peeling a piece of seaweed off the human’s shoulder. “I respect you, and you deserve better than being a prisoner in that pirate ship. Don’t you think that too? Or were you having fun wooing the captain?”

Civilian’s face flushed, and she suddenly sat up, spurting more water. “How do you know that?”

“I was watching.” The siren laughed softly, a gentle laugh. “You can’t trust captains, human.”

“And I can trust you?”

“For now.” The siren responded, her head tilted. “I’m Villain. Your name?” Her eyes were piercing. Haunting. Beautiful.

Sirens were deceptive creatures. Gorgeous—so beautiful that illustrations and paintings never seemed to capture their true radiance, no artist able to immortalize the supernatural aura about them—but rotten on the inside and thrice as cunning as any monarch.

Looking away, she cleared her throat quickly. “Civilian. What…what is it that you want from me? You saved me from the pirates, for what? What’s your goal, Villain?” She tried to exhume more confidence than she had. Her voice had failed her enough today, she had to pull herself together and remember her gift.

“I wanted better for you. I respect you, Civilian…you have a special power that I’ve never seen in another human.” Villain replied, her hand brushing Civilian’s cheek softly. “I want to know more about you. Maybe we could even work together…get revenge on your captain, maybe? They bought you and held you as a prisoner, mistreated you when you weren’t perfect, through your overboard for a mistake…”

Civilian panted heavily.

Did she want revenge?

When she thought about it, no, she really didn’t—she didn’t know what she wanted since her entire life since she accidentally saved that one shop years ago was about others, not her. But she didn’t have anywhere to go. No money, no prospects.

Maybe she would work with Villain.

#SORRY I HAVE BEEN GONE FOREVER #civilian x villain #wlw #writing snippet #mermaid x human #thank you anon <3

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