#the fourth gif is holder

[tavners]

Silent Night (2023) | dir. John Woo

[chromium-siren]

I’m going to be rather irritating today >:D

[idcbabyialreadylostmymind]

Unintentional

Pairing- Ao'nung x Sully!reader

Summary- After moving in with the Meykayina people and learn their ways you unintentionally catch the heart of the Olo'eyktans son.

Request-yes

Tìyawn- love

Moving to Awa'atlu was hard, it was even harder when the a few of clan members kids wouldn't stop picking on you and your siblings. Most stopped after a while, but Ao'nung was relentless and you just ignored him as your father wanted you to. But sometimes you could see a little glimmer in his eyes when he saw something he loved and you had a little hope that he would stop. And he did, he started helping you and your siblings learn the ways of the Meykayina without being a total ass about it. And in return you did what you always did put on a shining smile and be kind.

Ao'nung was going crazy however. When you and your family first came to his home he was skeptical, why would the great Toruk Makto need sanctuary? And when his father allowed you to stay saying yes and that he and his sister would help you guys learn the way of water, he went ballistic. But when he saw you and when you sent a sweet smile that could make the grouchiest Na'vi smile back his heart rate spiked, palms became sweaty, and his tail wouldn't stop wagging. What did you do to him? And the more he watched you learn the more this curse you put on him grew and grew.

But he refused to believe it as he believed he hated you, but did he really.

After a few months, after putting all the bullying in the past the closer he got to you and your siblings the more his heart grew for you. And it was settled Ao'nung the son of the Olo'eyktan was in love with you, Y/N daughter of Jake Sully the Tourk Makto.

So piece by piece he started to collect things he saw you liked and he put them together and made a beautiful gift that just so happened to be a satchel, the holder was a big a beautiful clam like she'll that opened, and surrounded the outer of it were silver pearls, and the strap like thing that took him weeks to make were all kinds of gems and stones that you would stare at on the beach he would slyly pick it up and at night he made it, and not he is giving it to you.

Ao'nung was not one to be shy when talking to people but when he saw you he's hands instantly became soaked in sweat. He ran to you, "Hey Ao'nung why are you in such a rus-" cut off by him giving you the satchel and him running off. You look at the bag and run your hands over stones you pick you head up and expect him to be there but he wasn't.

And that's what would happen, he would give you gifts, bouquet of flowers he picked just for you, necklaces, head pieces, tops he forced Tsireya to teach him how to make. Then he would take you on walks just the two of you, he held you arms as you interlocked yours with his you talked about all kinds of things. His feelings only grew as yours started to blossom.

You thought he was just being nice, but everyone in Awa'atlu knew what was going on Ao'nung chose you and it seemed maybe you would choose him. But, there was another person who didn't know Ao'nungs intentions, Jake Sully. He was confused, why was his daughter getting so many gifts, did you make them, did you finally get new friends. Those questions ran throughout your father head but he shrugged them off, but he couldn't really shrug anymore when he would walk through the clan and would here ".....y/n....." In multiple peoples conversations.

Here he is cutting fruit with your Neytiri, "Hey 'tiri." He began cutting the small fruit he had into fourth. "Yes Ma Jake." She said cutting the larger fruit into squares. "Why is Y/N getting so much stuff I know she can't be making all this stuff herself." He chuckled picking up a necklace you must have dropped. Neytiri looked at him bewildered, he didn't know you were being courted? She never knew if the sky people had courting traditions like they do here on Pandora but this just answered a lot of her questions.

He looked at his wives expression and a nervous laugh came out of him, "What." He said. "She being courted." Neytiri smiled at the thousands ght of her eldest being able to find love. But then she saw her husband and his face. "Who?" He asked clicking his teeth right after. "Oh Jake do not do that." Neytiri scolded him for being such a baby. "I'm not doing anything who is it?" He asked again and Neytiri only shook her head before sighing. "Ao'nung I believe." As soon as the words left her mouth Jake's jaw fell to the floor. "Him!" He yelled. "Oh yes him he makes her smile makes her happy they are actually on a walk right now." Neytiri regretted telling him as soon as he walked out of the pod and running to the beach.

He spotted you and Ao'nung in the water his hands around your waist, "Oh hell no." Jake whispered to himself before walking over to you two.

"What are you doin." He asked crossing his arms over his chest as he looks at Ao'nung and hands on your hips. Ao'nung looks at where your father's eyes laid and he removed his hands and you stepped back. "Oh me and Ao'nung were just swimming." You say cheeks covering a shade of indigo. "Yeah looked like swimming to me come on your mom wants you home." Jake said. Your eyebrows furrow in confusion. "She said I didn't have to be home till an hour before Eclipse me and Ao'nung actually got food for a picnic." You say grabbing his hand from under the water making him smile at you.

His eye twitches, "Well she wants you home now so picnic later sorry Ao'nung." He says picking the basket of fruit up. "Oh," you say looking at So'nung apologetically. "It is okay tìyawn." He said giving a small smile before tilting his head downward. Jake's ears perked at the pet name he called you. "Okay I'll see you tomorrow." You say giving him a small peck on the cheek. Jake's mouth fell open as you got out of the water, he was stunned his little girl isn't little anymore. He walked after you and caught up with you.

The walk was silent for a while before he spoke, "Tìyawn really." He joked making you giggle. "Yeah dad really." You reply before laughing again. "Gross." He said making both of you burst at the seems with laughter.

[1533-secrets-from-history]

Mistakes in Magnificent Century part I

In part I I would like to speak about mistakes they made while writing characters. Their ages, titles, origins etc.

Let's start with Ayse Hafsa Sultan:

Several things about her were done wrong. First of all, She was not Crimean princess. There are two possibilities that although contradicts one another counters her royal origin. 1. There was another concubine named Ayse,who was daughter of Crimean khan, while she was called Ayse Hafsa for that reason 2.( I agree with that possibility more ) there was no concubine from Crimean family Sultan Bayazid would never let Selim, who was not his favourite, to gain such allie, nor would khan of Crimea risk to marry her daughter to non-favoired prince. Besides, Selim did not have much of a support from Crimea during his Rebellion.

As we more or less agreed that Ayse Hafsa was not Crimean, now we have to agree on where she was from. Legendary mother of the Magnificent sultan was actually converted slave of Caucasian origin, therefore she was either Circassian or Georgian.

Third thing about her is her title. Screenwriters both demoted and promoted her in this case. She was not "Valide Sultan" as we know today, first holder of that title would be Nurbanu 40 years after her death. She was Sultan and respected mother Padisah yes,but those two honours never joined for her. She was simply " Mother of Sultan Suleiman",who had title of Sultan instead of Hatun. While Nurbanu was full fledged "Valide Sultan" and was addressed so. Despite not being Valide Sultan, she was the first slave in Ottoman history, who was elevated to Status of Sultan that was never underlined in the show.

Other mistakes about her are how they represented her pre-1520 life, which I will discuss in Part 3 about "Titles, ranks and traditions" and her relationship with daughters- in law, that will be discussed in part 2, that will be specifically about relationships.

2. Ages of Suleiman's sister.

In the show Suleiman Seems to be older, followed by Sah or beyhan, Fatma being somewhat middle and Hatice as baby of the Family, while actually going backwards. One thing I want to make clear is that all the full sisters of sultan were older than them(before 1522 of course), half sister could have been either younger or older. So Fatma, Beyhan and Hatice despite being portrayed as younger sisters were definitely older. A more accurate sequence would be:

Hatice- c. 1490

Fatma: 1491-92

Beyhan: most likely 1493

Suleiman: 1494

Hafsa: 1495

Sah-huban: 1500

Suleiman also had at least three brothers orhan, salih, who seemed to be older than Suleiman, a sister who likely died during childhood and Shehzade sultan or Hanim sultan, who was either another sister or perhaps she never existed and all the little sources about her is actually about hatice.

3. Origin of Sah Huban Sultan.

She was not the daughter of Hafsa and older sister of Hatice, she was actually the youngest of shown siblings,born as the only child of an unknown concubine registered as " The mother of Sah Huban Sultan".

4. Origin of Hurrem

In the show she was portrayed to be Crimean and was addressed as " Russian slave" numerous times. However, she was actually from Ruthenia, it was then part of the Polish crown, now it's part of Ukraine, so definitely not Russian.

5. Forgotten Children

Apart from the six children that were shown in the show, Suleiman had four other children. Three sons and a daughter.

Shehzade Mahmud and Shehzade Murad were born before Hurrem arrived and had different mothers. Mahmud was the eldest born in 1512, Murad was younger than Mustafa born in 1519. Raziye was born between 1513 and 1518, but most likely she was born in 1513-14 as she seems to be the second child and old enough to be considered Mahidevran's(which is by the way false). All three of them died in 1521 as the result of the plague.

The fourth child Shehzade Abdullah was born as the fourth child of Hurrem and Suleiman, born in 1525 and died in 1528. His date of birth is kind of troubling, some historians argue if he was born in 1525,some even say he was Mihrimah's twin, but considering no birth of twins registered, definite ages of other kinds and his appearance in Hurrem's letters Abdullah seems to be born in 1525.

6. Nurbanu's Triplets

Mistakes about the birth of Selim I daughters are more or less clear, let's speak about Selim II as well.

In the show, triplets- Sah, Esmahan and Gevherhan were introduced as younger twin sisters of shehzade Murad. In reality, all three were older but certainly not twins, Sah was not even Nurbanu's daughter, she shared the birth year with Gevherhan though, both were born in c.1544, then was Esmahan in 1545, Murad in 1546, at this point Nurbanu stopped giving birth to any more kids, last of Selim II's kids was Fatma born in 1559.

7. Origin and death of Gulfem hatun

In "Magnificent century" Gulfem is portrayed as Suleiman's first concubine, who bore a son,but lost everything after he died. In reality, Gulfem was one of the highest ranking harem managers, whom Suleiman trusted Hurrem to, she was overseeing her education and well-being, bonding with future Haseki Sultan in the process. Gulfem actually became the closest friend and Confidant of Hurrem, about which I will speak about in part II.

Her death was also portrayed inaccurately. She was not killed for the attempted murder of Suleiman, The closest rumor to it is him executing Gulfem for rejecting him,but she actually died of old age. Suleiman had no reason to execute Gulfem,there is a version were Gulfem exchanges her Night to other concubine to for money to build complex,but there are so many flaws in this theory:

1. There was no such thing in harem as "my turn and your turn"

2. It was strictly against the traditions to call harem servant, especially one from the highest ranks, and considering when it happened in kate nineteen-early twentieth century at caused some probmens,which means tradition was never broken before

3. Gulfem had right to send concubine to Suleiman and even reject one already chosen.

4. Suleiman had no known concubine that time

5. Gulfem was not building anything as all of her projects was already finished.

6. Even if she was building something, it would cost so much mere concubine would never have enough money to help it. Gulfem's daily stipend was 150 akches, which is almost four times as much as Mahidevran's and almost as much as imperial princesses', while titles concubines were receiving 1-6 depending on their status.

7. Even if she needed something she would ask it to either Suleiman, Mihrimah or Sah huban as we know it had happened before and they thought her as family member.

8. Even if we just jump these 7 reasons and somehow accept that Suleiman realy called her that night , he would never kill her for that, she broke no rule, she needed money for project, he would understand this.

9. Gulfem was childhood friend of Suleiman, she was already a high ranking woman when mahidevran came,so she was certainly older than her,who was likely born in 1498-99, she was even older than Suleiman most likely. She was a childhood friend of one of Suleiman's sisters so her date of birth could vary from 1490 to 1493. That would make her between 69 and 72 in 1562. Dieing at such age is nothing strange even today, live past 60 was actually achievement in her era. There is no need to look for intrigue where there is none. Several theory existed,but show chose most dramatic one,that happened to be least likely.

8. Safiye's arrival

I have nothing against the portrayal of her origin, but about how she got in Murad's harem. Accord- ing to MC she was Mihrimah's gift. However,in real life she was raised and educated at Humaşah sultan's court,who later gifted Sifiye(then called Meleki) to her cousin.

9. History of Kösem

In Magnificent Century Kosem young Anastasia was kidnapped as a gift of Safiye to Ahmed per his accession. Actually, Kösem, then called Mahpeyker, was a servant of Handan Sultan and met Ahmed in his mother's personal Gardens. Ahmed developed a "Childhood crush" towards her and Handan,aware of what it could cause, had Kösem beaten up and exiled. When Ahmed ascended her recalled her and brought back.

10. Another forgotten child.

In the show, Şehzade Mehmed died without any kids, while in reality, he had a posthumous daughter born in 1543 named Humaşah. Who grew up to be one of the most powerful women in the Ottoman empire. She was one of two favourite grandchildren of Suleiman and Hurrem and due to the death of her father, she was raised in the household of her grandmother, so she would have been deeply involved in their later life. However, her existence was completely cut out, while the role and importance of Ayse Humaşah, daughter of Mihrimah Sultan was reduced into nothingness.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Hello! How are you today? <3 this is my first time requesting on your blog after stalking it for a bit, if it's not to much can I get ror with an Hantengu reader?

Pairing: Loki, Thor, Hades & Poseidon

As the holder of the fourth highest title in the Twelve Kizuki, Hantengu is an extremely powerful demon. Through his Blood Demon Art, he is able to create four clones that were manifestations of his emotions, each of them possessing an Upper Rank demon's level of strength. They were able to hold off and overwhelm the combined efforts of Tanjiro, Nezuko and Genya, all of whom were powerful and seasoned Demon Slayers. Genya stated that Hantengu was particularly difficult to defeat as the Demon Slayers would have to play a cat-and-mouse game instead of a traditional confrontation, looking for the main body while being chased down by four Upper Rank-level demons

And getting their head cut off they split off into clones

Sekido (積せき怒ど, Sekido?) is a tall and muscular young man with long wavy hair that goes past his shoulders and narrow, deep red eyes that have the daiji of "Upper Rank" (上じょう弦げん, Jōgen?) and "Four" (肆し, Shi?) engraved into them. He has two prominent curved horns on his forehead and markings under his eyes that give his face a cracked appearance. He also has the kanji for "anger" etched into his tongue. As a demon, Sekido has pointed ears and sharp nails on each finger. He is usually seen wearing an irritated or enraged expression on his face. Sekido wears the same kimono as Hantengu, with the right half being covered in a pattern of flowers and lines with the left half being dark and lacking any detailed features. He also wears dark hakama pants and a pair of zōri. Sekido is always seen carrying around a Khakkhara (錫しゃく杖じょう, Shakujō?).

Karaku (可か楽らく, Karaku?) is a tall and muscular young man with shoulder-length hair and narrow, deep green eyes with the daiji of "Upper Rank" (上じょう弦げん, Jōgen?) and "Four" (肆し, Shi?) engraved into them. He has two prominent curved horns on his forehead and cracked markings under his eyes, similar to Sekido. Karaku also has the kanji for "pleasure" etched into his tongue. Like all demons, Karaku has pointed ears and sharp nails on each finger, like Sekido. He is usually seen wearing a gleeful expression on his face. Karaku wears nothing but hakama pants, a pair of zōri, and two sash-like accessories on both shoulders. Karaku is always seen carrying around a fatsia leaf-shaped Uchiwa (團扇うちわ, Uchiwa?).

Aizetsu (哀あい絶ぜつ, Aizetsu?) is a tall and muscular young man with shoulder-length hair and narrow, deep blue eyes with the daiji of "Upper Rank" (上じょう弦げん, Jōgen?) and "Four" (肆し, Shi?) engraved into them. He has two prominent curved horns on his forehead and cracked markings under his eyes. Aizetsu also has the kanji for "sorrow" etched into his tongue. As a demon, Aizetsu has pointed ears and sharp nails on each finger. He is usually seen wearing a dejected expression on his face. Aizetsu wears a black kimono with white lines running through various areas of the clothing and rope-like accessories tied around his shoulders. He also wears hakama pants and a pair of zōri. Aizetsu is always seen carrying around a Jūmonji Yari (十じゅう文もん字じ鑓やり, Jūmonji Yari?).

Urogi (空うろ喜ぎ, Urogi?) is a tall and muscular young man with long wavy hair that goes past his shoulders and narrow gold eyes with the daiji of "Upper Rank" (上じょう弦げん, Jōgen?) and "Four" (肆し, Shi?) engraved into them. He has two prominent curved horns on his forehead and cracked markings under his eyes. Urogi also has the kanji for "joy" etched into his tongue. Like all demons, Urogi has pointed ears and sharp nails on each finger. He is usually seen wearing an overjoyed expression on his face, similar to Karaku. Unlike the rest of Hantengu's humanoid manifestations, Urogi possesses an avian physiology, possessing two large wings on his back and raptor-like feet armed with sharp talons that take the place of his hands and legs. Urogi only wears hakama pants tied together by a chain of large round pearls.

And like the battle is getting heated against (god's name) Hantengu reader Sekido absorbs the clones and turns into their final form

Zohakuten (憎ぞう珀はく天てん, Zōhakuten?) is a short and muscular child with short hair that spikes up at various angles around his head and narrow orange eyes with the daiji of "Upper Rank" (上じょう弦げ��, Jōgen?) and "Four" (肆し, Shi?) engraved into them. He is usually seen wearing an angry scowl on his face, similar to Sekido. Zohakuten's clothing seems to be a combination of Sekido's, Karaku's, Aizetsu's, and Urogi's clothes. He wears black hakama pants covered with a piece of cloth bearing a close resemblance to Sekido's kimono and tied together with a long strap of white cloth. He also wears long sleeves that bear a resemblance to Aizetsu's kimono. Finally, he dons a plate of armor that is gold in color that only covers his chest. Zohakuten has a series of drums connected to each other that are inexplicably floating behind his back, with each drum having the kanji of "hatred" displayed on them. He also carries around a bone-like dagger in each hand.

-Your battle was an intense one, to those watching the match, it was more of an exhibition match between you and several members of Hades’ Demon Slayer Corps, as the next fighters weren’t ready yet.

-You had been initially frightened, terrified of the prospect, appearing as a coward to the two Hashira and the 2 Demon Slayer Corps members.

-Gods were jeering at you, thinking you were an easy target, weak, and the humans were shouting at the Demon Slayers to make quick work of you.

-That was the case, until you evened the odds and split yourself into 4 different bodies, personifications of your personalities, while your true body, now teeny-tiny, was carefully tucked away in the cloak of your ‘sorrow’ personification, as the other three were quick to charge in headfirst.

-Each of your bodies were just as strong as your true power, the Upper Rank Four, so the Demon Slayers were facing 4 Upper Rank Demons at the moment, and you quickly turned the tide in the match and all those who were making fun of you were quickly eating their words.

-The match was very entertaining, you found yourself amused as these Demon Slayers weren’t backing down, as they had this chance to kill an Upper Rank, and you had the chance to take out several members of the Demon Slayers, including 2 Hashira.

-After Joy and Pleasure were nearly destroyed, you grew irate and the five bodies all came together, before being surrounded by black flames.

-The humans were all shouting at the Demon Slayers as they all leapt up, trying to attack but were instantly blown back head over heels as the flames shot out, revealing only one body this time, fused once more, but this time, you didn’t look cowardly or weak.

-You oozed power, your intimidating glare seemed to send shivers up the spines of gods and humans alike.

-You seemed to vanish, disappearing and you appeared behind the two lower ranked Demon Slayers, sending them flying back into the wall, knocking them out but not killing them, yet.

-You wanted to play with the 2 Hashira who were calling out for their friends, worried, scared. They smelled so delicious.

-Almost an hour later, you were slowly fading away, looking at the two Hashira, while you hadn’t killed them, you made them unable to fight another Upper Rank ever again.

-They surprised you with their teamwork, playing off each other’s skills, and in a moment of stupid bravery, the two lower ranked members that you probably should have killed, blindsided you, providing a momentary distraction.

-You were silent as you faded, as you wish you could have done more by actually killing your opponents.

-You felt like a failure, failing your Lord Muzan. You refused to give the humans the satisfaction to see you cry, even though sorrow was drowning your whole being.

[bleubrri]

۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢs — ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋ ᴏɴ ᴛɪᴛᴀɴ

ft levi, zeke, hange, jean, eren

contains- black!fem!reader, fluff, slight family-centred angst (jean), nonbinary hange (they/them pronouns used)

༄ؘ LEVI ACKERMAN

loves when you burn incense

when you first started dating, he wondered how your room always smelt so good. it was a different smell to your perfume, but he couldn’t quite place it . and he was too nervous stubborn to ask.

it was only when he saw you organising the little draw in your nightstand that he rested his chin on your shoulder and peered over you in curiosity. you laughed through your nose at his refusal to ask when he was clearly intrigued. “incense.” you told him, leaning your head against his and producing a stick, “you burn it. comes in different flavours.” his lips quirk up and an amused tch slips past them, “scents.” he corrects, “they come in different scents.” you roll your eyes and flick a lighter on, holding the stick to the flame, “oh so now someone’s an expert.” he watches you purse your lips and blow out the flame, smoke dancing round the room and filling his senses with a familiar comfort.

when you move in together, your little collection of incense sticks and holders, lighters and matches is the first thing to be unpacked. when you’re both finally settled, the last remaining cardboard boxes nestled in the corner of your new shared bedroom, levi slides a black box tied with a satin ribbon over to you. you frown and open your mouth, ready to protest that you didn’t get him anything, but he cuts you off, rolling his eyes and telling you to “quit being a brat and just open it.” you slide off the ribbon and peek inside the box to find every scent that your favourite brand sells. he snakes his arms around your waist and pulls you close, “so we can find our favourite flavours, together” he smiles, pressing his lips to yours.

༄ؘ ZEKE JAEGER

loves that your knowledge compliments his

Zeke is aware that he is academically intelligent. he also knows that he has zero street smarts and could definitely improve upon his common sense. you’ve told him, this is how he knows. he now has a little notebook where he jots down your pearls of wisdom. *cough dork cough*

it started as little pieces of advice. you’d be cuddled together on his bed watching a murder docu when you’d pipe up, “you know you should dry your knitwear flat or you’ll ruin them babe.” he blinks and looks up at his sweaters and cardigans hanging from the laundry rack. “uh, yeah i should.. yeah.” he follows up by asking you the best temperature and spin cycle to wash them on.

he’s pulled out of his stupor as he feels you firmly tug on his hand. you’re frowning as you both walk past the commotion occurring at the end of the dim alley on your way home. once you’re a good distance away you turn to him and hiss “why would you stop?!” he stutters and tries to rationalise, “i don’t know! i was just.. curious i suppose.” “…” “…” “next time you hear arguing in an alleyway at 11pm.. keep it moving. understood?” “yes ma’am.” he replies sheepishly.

he loves sundays- it’s farmers market day. you’re grabbing your matching tote bags and keys, heading to the door. you’ve got the routine nailed by now- he spends the morning accounting for your weekly budget while you make a list of the necessities. “okay and remember,” you start, “i don’t buy anything until you can haggle with the stall owner.” he continues, “and i make sure i count my change and don’t overspend.” you finish. “ready?” he asks, opening the door for you to step out first. “set!” you smile as he locks the door and slides his hand into yours. “go team.” he laughs, pecking your forehead and beginning the usual walk to the marketplace.

༄ؘ HANGE ZOE

loves ‘assisting’ you on wash day

it’s mostly just them lingering in the doorway and observing you. or taking note of all the ingredients in your hairmasks and leave in conditioners.

“so what’s your hair type again?” they ask for the fourth time, their glasses still foggy from the showers steam. you sigh inwardly and use a towel to wipe their lenses. “i love you, but you know you don’t have to sit here the whole time right? i’ve still got a while to go.” they pout and put down the detangler they’re examining. “it’s just.. fascinating really. the work you put into maintaining it. i wanna know how you get it so perfect everytime!” your heart swells at their endearment and you hold up the first product in your routine. “okay, step one.”

you hear your name being called before the front door even closes and hange is bursting into the living room. their hands are full with bags branded with the hairstores logo. “hange.. i asked you to get me a bonnet. one. singular.” you say in bewilderment, rummaging through new products and accessories and hair tools. “i know i know i got carried away but that place is amazing!” they gush, “you have to take me back there next time you go!” their eyes are wide and sparkling as you chuckle, wrapping your hands round their neck. “we’re gonna have to go back anyway, love,” you say as your noses brush, “you forgot the bonnet.”

༄ؘ JEAN KIRSTEIN

loves when you cook home food

Jeans vegetarian, aspiring to be vegan like you are. he adores watching your eyes light up when he compliments your cooking skills.

he was with you when you cut off your immediate family. he knew it was hard for you, knew you missed certain aspects of the family dynamic. he’d heard you mention that you missed your cultural foods and that you were determined to make them on your own now. the pot on the stove is bubbling at a simmer and the apartment is shrouded in a hearty, comforting aroma of spices. he’s leaning against the counter as you bring a wooden spoon loaded with a sample of the dish to his lips. his eyebrows lift and he hums in bliss as he savours the taste. “wow. it’s great baby. like.. incredible actually. wow.” he repeats. your shoulders slump in relief and you thank him before turning to plate everything up.

after he’s washed the dishes, he brings a plate of strawberries over to the couch where you pull back the blanket for him to settle next to you. you’re browsing through your recent shows and biting into the fruit when he cups your jaw and turns you to face him. he runs his thumb over your bottom lip, shining from the juice of the strawberry. “thank you. for sharing such a big part of yourself with me. i’m proud of you, you know.” you give him a watery smile as tears wet your lashline and you bury yourself in his neck. he runs his fingertips along your spine as you both whisper i love yous to eachother, knowing you’re not alone.

༄ؘ EREN JAEGER

loves helping you with your braids

he’s a sucker for your protective styles; his favourites are your regular knotless braids and the butterfly locs you sport on vacations.

eren is actually very helpful when it comes to your hair, and he claims he enjoys it so you have no qualms letting him help you. you binge a film series (this time it’s star wars) as you both work to take out your most recent box braids. you’re about to start empire strikes back when you turn to him and ask, “need a break?” he puts down his comb and huffs at you “again? we’re almost done!” “erennn,” you whine, “we’re not almost do- how have you finished more than me? ugh my fingers are cramping like crazy.”

you’ve given him free reign with the accessories this time and are not disappointed. he hands you the handheld mirror and you turn your head this way and that, admiring his handiwork; your braids are decorated with silver coils framing your face, gold cuffs at different lengths, the occasional ring placed sporadically and a little ‘E’ charm sitting by your right temple. he’s mixed both silver and gold but somehow it just works. he’s smiling smugly as you continue looking at yourself. “well well well mr jaeger, we just might make a stylist of you yet.” he leans in to ghost his lips over yours and whispers, “you couldn’t afford me, baby.” he’s snickering and dodging your attempt at grabbing his own dark locks, dramatically clutching his imaginary pearls. “i believe a thank you is in order!”

a/n: self indulgence! at every turn! anyways..

[deceitfuldevout]

Trust

Dark!Stucky x Reader

Word Count: 1,334

Warning(s): +18, Non Con, Anal, DP, Kidnapping, Mentions of past non con.

Author's Note(s): A one-shot fic about a daydream I had during work xoxo

You were foolish enough to trust him. You had been caught while running away from a super soldier who had kidnapped you. Who kept you his prisoner for the past few months. Who tortured you as a means to keep you in place.

You had finally gained enough courage to run away from him. It seemed too good to be true when you ‘coincidentally’ ran into America’s golden boy. Perhaps it was his soft-spoken voice that was convincing. For a faint moment you truly believed you were home free.

How terribly wrong you had been.

Bucky ruts against your body clutching the balance beam underneath. He hadn’t shown mercy while stealing your other cherry. Your nails dug into the the equipment as he roughly pounds himself deep into your back hole. Your wrists ache from being pulled back and fourth by the metal cuffs that held underneath. Bucky struck your rear every few moments or whenever you tried to adjust. He always loved keeping you on edge.

Steve watches from across the room as his friend drags his jeans further down before plowing back into the naked woman. He absolutely loved the sound of her soft mewls through the gag. Steve rubs the bulge forming in his slacks.

Bucky needed to find another way that would keep you busy. A way to keep you put.

“Buck. I’ve got an idea. But I need you to hold it in.” Steve calls for him. As much as Bucky wanted to finish inside of you he held himself back. He pulls out, still hard and pulsing. Steve tilts his head to a desk in the corner. Bucky chuckles, “Damn you’re good.” without the use of said words Bucky already knew what Steve had in mind. Steve wastes no time pulling out a mini cooler from underneath. You were puzzled as to what they were planning.

Steve hands him something. It’s a syringe, filled with a tinted liquid. He places it carefully on the tray next to the examination table. Bucky breaks yours cuffs with his metal hand. He pulls you up swiftly, holding you by the back of your neck as he drags you to the table. He made sure to remove your gag before shoving you forward. That only meant one thing: Whatever it was he wanted it to be painful. He wanted to hear you scream.

Your legs are already too weak from the earlier rutting. Bucky holds your ankles apart as Steve approaches with the syringe in his gloved hand. You shake your head as soon as your see it, “N-no please...I don’t want it..! Please!” you begin to sob, frantically trying to shut your legs. Bucky slaps your pearl as a warning.

You whimper as Steve lowers the small tube to your slit. He drags it up and down teasingly before inserting it. His long fingers reach as deep as they could go. Your felt the plastic tip release it’s liquid substance. It’s coldness made you squirm for a moment before the drugs begin to kick in.

Soon your head starts to feel heavy. Bucky lifts your legs up. A powerful burning sensation spreads throughout your body. From your breasts to your bud, the throbbing feeling pulses deep within your core. Steve pulls the syringe from you. A trail of your arousal clings to his slick latex gloves. He sighs admirably, “I can’t wait to try this out Buck.” his eyes glimmer at his friend. You felt Bucky’s chest rumble from underneath you. He releases your legs. Each of them fell forward. Steve catches them. He drags your ankles until they’re sat in a holder. He buckles them in place.

You yelp from the spike of pleasure that suddenly hit. That would be one of the many waves for the next few hours. Bucky pulls your arms up, exposing your chest to Steve who had already held a pair of nipple clamps in each hand. You convulse from the pinching sensation. Bucky grazes his fingers over your peaks, admiring the way they start to harden. Steve pulls out another tool. Your eyes widen. More tears stream down your cheeks. He waves the shiny metal prong in his hand, “What? This old thing?” he chuckles.

Bucky’s fingers reach for your folds. He parts your slit, leaving your hole opened for intrusion. Steve slides the tip of it inside. He pushes in in slowly. You turn your head over into Bucky’s chest and sob against it. He coos you the entire time. Sure he was mad at you, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care if you were scared.

You squeal when Steve adjusts the speculum until he could visibly see your inner walls. They twitch while attempting to adjust. You were grateful now from being prepped earlier. You couldn’t imagine this thing being shoved in while you were still dry. You weren’t used to the feeling and it showed. Bucky tugs on your clamps as an attempt to distract you from the strain.

Steve hovers his head over your gaping pussy. His lips curl into a smile, “So pretty...” his mouth begins to water. He has to hold himself back. No, this was suppose to be a lesson. He dips a finger in as deep as it could go. Steve pulls it out and raises it to his mouth. He sucks it while staring deep into your clouded eyes. Steve smirks at how you were easily so flustered. He looks past your shoulder at his friend. Bucky gives him a nod before hopping off the seat.

Bucky starts to pump himself again at a rapid pace. Steve turns around to retrieve the last contraption.

It was another syringe, but this one was much bigger. In fact, it was the biggest syringe you’d ever seen. It’s length was almost as big as Bucky’s. It’s circumference was just as thick as his. Steve opens the pump. He holds it underneath Bucky just as he was about to release. He catches his friend’s arousal in the tube, bits of it drip down his knuckles. Super soldiers always came with a large, thick, loads. Along with a quick recovery too.

It wasn’t long before Bucky came undone, yet again, “Fuck!!” he huffs. Steve is eager to collect as much spunk as possible. He grip’s his friend’s shaft and take charge, milking the other man’s cock. Bucky’s arms drop to his sides. He let’s Steve stroke him until his cum splurges out again.

Steve makes sure to press a finger against the tube’s tip. He doesn’t want to waste a drop. Before he can slide the lid on Bucky halts his motions. Bucky looks at him, deadpanned when he tells him to fill the rest of it. Steve raises a brow, “You sure?” his voice softens at the thought of impregnating you.

He looks to the floor then to Bucky, “What if we can’t tell who’s the dad?” he questions his friend. Bucky licks his lips, “Does it matter? ” he lift’s Steve’s apron and begins returning the favor. Steve’s eyelids shut. His lashes flutter while his breathing hitches. Steve’s load fills it to the brim. Bucky brings his wet hand to his mouth to taste his spunk. He grabs the back of Steve’s neck and plants a steamy kiss.

Both men fight for dominance. It lasts for a while, leaving only sloppy wet sounds to echo through the basement. When Steve pulls back his lips are swollen with the taste of his arousal on his tongue. Bucky licks his lips in satisfaction. He couldn’t explain it, but as soon as he spotted you clinging to Steve’s arm for protection, Bucky knew he’d make a great addition to the family.

He found a way to keep you put.

Originally posted by itsdatrae

[certifiedlovergirlsstuff]

may the fourth be with you

summary: star wars convention

WC: 730

warnings: sexual implications near the end

A/N: ALL PARTS UNDER THE TAG -The Byers Harrington Story-

honestly would love to do a full fleshed fic with this premise. this would have been longer, but i just wanted to keep it short

series masterlist

previous chapter  next chapter

May 4, 1985

“Oh shit, dude look…” “No way that’s Jabba…” “Look at all the stormtroopers…” “Look how tall that guy is!”

“It’s already starting to smell funky in here.” “Just try and breathe through your mouth when you need it.”

Two loud claps stopped your group's ramblings, everyone paying attention to the source of the noise.

Steve stood a step away from you, hands on his hips as he faced everyone. You and Max are in the front, her arms linked around your bicep. Both of you dressed in Leia cosplay, you in her New Hope all-white dress while Max went in her forest look from the battle on Endor. The boys were huddled in the back, heads turning every now and again to take in more of the scenery. Lucas decked out in Lando’s finest clothing, Will sporting the simple outfit of Luke from Empire Strikes Back final scene. Mike and Dustin’s outfits weren’t the best for the packed building, well, Mike was dressed in traffic cone orange so at least you know he won’t blend easily. Dustin had a Halloween Chewbacca costume, probably starting to sweat under the fur. Now with Dustin as Chewbacca, it was obvious who he had to be since he was always showing off his impression, there was just one more person needed to complete the duo.

“You’re so whipped, dude. I thought your dignity would win out.” Dustin teased in Steve’s direction as he wore the famous dark blue vest with the blaster holder strapped to his waist.

Steve’s only reaction to the comment was a roll of his eyes before he focused on the task at hand.

“Okay, we’re gonna try and stick together. If you want to split up, tell me or (Y/n) before you go running off, and make sure it’s in pairs and that one of you has a walkie. Now it’s only,” he flicked his left wrist to look at his watch, a new one you bought him, “it’s only ten-thirty. So around twelve or twelve-thirty we can head to the food court and get lunch. Everyone good with the plans?” He waited for any objections.

“Can we split up already?” Mike’s hand shot up from the back.

Steve sighed, “why?”

“‘Cause, it looks lame when we’re in this big group.” He huffed.

Steve moved back to your side, still staring down Mike, “hey, be grateful you’re even here. I don’t hear any thank yous.”

“Thank you, (Y/n),” everyone said your way, with different levels of enthusiasm.

“You’re very welcome.” You turned to Steve, “let’s just let them roam on their own if they want. We’ll just slow them down. Plus I want to spend alone time with the dashing Han Solo.” Flirting shamelessly in front of the children, as Dustin stated on the ride to the convention.

There was a gagging noise, from one of the boys or Max, who removed her hold on you and slipped away. You took as your opportunity to follow in her actions and looped your arms along Steve’s left bicep.

“Alright, you can go on your own. In a group,” he reminded them before they ran off.

You chuckled as they all scampered off, enjoying their freedom, “look at our young rebellion.”

Steve sighed, “you say that like they’re our own children. And I would only take five out of the six kids.”

You both automatically gave each other knowing looks, “no Mike.” “leave Mike.” You both said together, giggles rumbling through your chest.

“Well, Princess,” Steve turned away from where the kids disappeared to and fully stood in front of you, doing the mocking royal gesture of putting one arm behind his back while he held the other out for you,  “why don’t you show me around and blow me away with your knowledge since you know I’ve fallen asleep a few times.”

“Well, Mr. Solo,” hand falling into his as if it was second nature, “it would be my pleasure. But I could blow you away in other methods.” You made sure he heard the teasing in your tone.

He leaned his mouth close to your ear, “oh I know sweetheart, but maybe another time. Let’s keep it pg, we have too many children anyway.” And he pulled away with a kiss to the shell of your ear, a shiver running up your spine at hyper-speed.

---------------------------

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*striked out means tumblr cant find your account, sorry*

[sanctum-of-ramshackle]

“Replaced MC/Yuu? I don’t think so…”

[Synopsis]: Miyeon isn’t having it with this AU shit.

[(A/N)]: I have to apologize in advance to anyone who is named Heather as I’m gonna use the name as this “antagonist” since I need a placement holder.

[TW]: Cursing, mentions of violence and injuries.

[Ramshackle Sanctum, 2:15 p.m.]

Heather: Face it. Nobody will believe a weird magicless student who wears ugly layers.

Miyeon: *Rolls their eyes* First of all, I’m not a student, I’m a professor. Second, nobody will side with you thanks to Shroud’s surveillance around NRC capturing your suspicious activities and Diamond’s social media skills leaking info about your whereabouts. Third, these “ugly layers” are to honor my culture back home while you came to Twisted Wonderland with nothing but a sweatshirt and sweat pants covered in stains. Disgusting, really. Fourth, I have magic as I’m titled as The Master of Eldritch Magic, so you’re the magicless one here, you powerless bitch. Fifth, you’re nothing but an immature teen brat who never experienced the real-life world and refuse to leave that fucking Barbie world of yours.

Heather: *Scoffs* You just saying those things because you’re scared.

Miyeon: No. *Summons her Eldritch Whips*

Miyeon: *Whips Heather across the lounge area*

Heather: *Slams against a wall and falls to the floor* Ow…

Miyeon: Sixth, I’m extremely furious with you. I heard you can take me down easily, yeah? Prove it. *Stands in a fighting position* I won’t hold back.

[Outside of the sanctum]

[Everyone is listening to the fight.]

Jack: This is a bad idea. We already know Heather’s true personality. We need to stop the fight before someone gets hurt-

Leona: Don’t bother. Herbivore requested this.

Jack: Leona-senpai-

Ruggie: Listen to Leona.

Jack: Ruggie-senpai.

Epel: Jack, let her be. It ain’t ours to interfere.

[Then one of the front windows was smushed with Heather’s face against the glass.]

Heather: *Mouthing out* H-Help…me…

Miyeon: I’m not done with you yet. *Yanks Heather back*

[More crash noises erupt from the inside.]

Ace: Kick her ass! I can’t believe I almost fell into her lies.

Deuce: Almost? You didn’t listen to Miyeon until the evidence showed up.

Ace: Well…You also fell into her lies!

Deuce: I felt suspicious of Heather, that’s why I was with her.

Ace: Wow. Honorary student using big words to defend his innocence.

Riddle: Stop it, you two! We’re all accountable for falling into Heather’s tricks.

[Then the commotion inside the building was seize into a halt.]

Jamil: It’s quiet. That’s not a good sign.

Kalim: Oh no, Miyeon!

[The entrance door swings open by itself and a body was thrown out. That being Heather with visible signs of losing. Miyeon comes with minor scratches and bloodied knuckles.]

Floyd: Shrimpy!

Azul: Great Seven, you’re alive.

Jade: *Pulls out a shovel* I would assist burying the body for you.

Miyeon: Jade, she’s unconscious, not dead. When she wakes up, tell her I’m sending her entitled manipulative ass back to Hell myself.

Malleus: *Appears in front of Miyeon with a concerned expression* Child of Man…Your knuckles…

Miyeon: Oh. *Wipes the blood off* It’s not mine. I’m okay, Tsunotarou. I just need to relax.

[Ignihyde, 5:45 p.m.]

[Ignihyde Dorm Leader’s room]

Ortho: *Places the last bandage on Miyeon’s cheek* There! All minor scratches are disinfected and bandaged.

Miyeon: *Smiles at him* Thanks, Ortho.

Idia: Are you sure you’re okay?

Miyeon: I’m certain, Idia. She barely damaged anything. I’m thankful you exposed Heather to everyone before the whole situation worsens. You’re the best partner in the world and universe.

Idia: *Blushes profusely and his hair changes to a deep pink* M-Miyeon-shi! You know how your words affect me. That’s critical damage to my health.

Miyeon: *Laughs a little* 미안해 [Mianhae] (Sorry), Idia. I couldn’t resist your reactions.

Idia: *Groans* You’re so mean with your charisma points.

Miyeon: But you forgive me, right?

Idia: Mm…Yeah…

Miyeon: *Smiles warmly at him* You couldn’t resist me. 사랑해 [Saranghae] (I love you), my Universe.

✨[Reblogs helps creators and creates for more content]💫

[redbullcateringfiction]

Chapter 4 -

Cantata

Arabella is the executive assistant for Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff. 10 years into her career, it looks like the tide is changing, and she's beginning to question her relationship with him. Is it something more, or nothing but an idea lingering in her head?

F/M, Fluff, Boss/Employee Relationship, Romance, Pining, Love, Slow Burn

Fourth chapter below the cut or click here for AO3

Click here for the previous chapter on Tumblr, and click here for a list of all chapters

(Total: 16720 words thus far)

“You’re really pretty,” He spoke, entangling his fingers in my hair. 

“Thank you. That was very nice,” I lied. Okay, don’t get me wrong. I’m not the type to fake an orgasm, but I’m definitely the type to oversell it. I’ve definitely just oversold it, but it’s definitely a million times better than my last one night stands. I just cannot deal with the way he kept telling me I’m pretty. It’s like he had a praising thing that I wasn’t aware of.

“So, you sleeping with your boss?” He asked suddenly, sitting up in the bed. His apartment was in central London, in the penthouse of a skyscraper. He needed no lights to be on in his bedroom as the city lights flooded in, and I could still see his expression. He looked at me as though this was the most important questions he had ever asked anyone. Absolutely absurd.

“I’m going to just leave now,” I sighed, sitting up. I began looking for my dress.

“Oh, c’mon. The way he came over there at the table, and touched you as he left. The way he looked at you and mentioned your ex that you took to a Christmas party? He was obviously trying to sabotage the date. You’re sleeping with him, and thats okay. I’m just curious,” He shrugged.

“Curious? Curiosity is sleeping with a guy who you just met because you think he might be good in bed. Then when he isn’t, that’s called disappointment,” I answered, finally finding my dress and throwing it on. I began the search for my purse, shoes, and ponytail holder.

“That’s a low blow. I wasn’t trying to be offensive. I swear I was just curious,” He asked, throwing his hands up.

“If I was sleeping with my boss, and seriously think about this, would I go on a date in a hotel I know he’s staying in?” I asked, putting on my heels. 

“You’re right, I’m sorry. C’mon, stay,” He complained.

“You sound like a child. And you are. A gentleman would help me find my stuff.”

“Okay, okay. Fine, you’re right,” He groaned, getting up finally and turning on the light. “Listen. I’m just calling it how I see it. He patted you on the back and interrupted your date. It's awfully strange. You have to admit that at least.”

“We are European and I have worked for him for 8 years. After a winter break, we usually greet each other with cheek kisses. Patting me on the back is less physical. And he interrupted because he wanted to make sure I didn’t leave things in his hotel room,” I sighed. I suddenly paused in the midst of strapping on my heels.

I could practically hear him staring at me. “Leaving things in his hotel room. Of course. Not strange at all.”

“Toto wasn’t even there. It was a connected room, and I changed up there prior to our date. The guy I actually just slept with.”

“Okay, okay, fine. Just pause and listen to me,” He begged. I stopped trying to strap up my other shoe and simply stared at him. “Arabella. You don’t have to like me. You don’t even have to be interested in me. But the least you could do is acknowledge that my assumption is not crazy.”

“So you just want to be right? That’s all? I’m not giving you that satisfaction,” I answered as I finally got the strap to connect. Great, now where’s my phone? 

“No, no, no. Because if there’s one thing I noticed, it’s how silly and embarrassed you got when he came over. How you yourself seemed to notice something was odd about it, but also how attracted you are to him. I’m just saying,” He shrugged.

“Saying what?” I demanded.

“You are attracted to your boss, and he’s at least interested in you.”

“I’m not, and he’s not,” I complained while desperately searching for my phone.

“Yeah, yeah. Say that to my face, and go home and overthink it. I’m a lawyer. My job is to read people,” He explained, grabbing something off his nightstand. He handed me my phone.

“Fuck, you had it?” I nearly screamed.

“I put my number in there. Text me.”

“Absolutely not.” I opened my phone and went straight to Uber. I don’t even want to try waving down a taxi. I just want the car here and now. 

“Arabella, I do not want to date you,” He pressed his hand to his head, exasperated.

“You’re really selling yourself.”

“I know you didn’t want to date me either! Just at least consider talking to me. If you’ve noticed, being brutally honest and talking all the time is one of the things I do best.”

“Yes, surely,” I sighed, waiting and staring at my phone. 

“And I have attorney client privilege and legal professional privilege. I doubt you talk to anyone outside of your inner Mercedes circle. I can tell. You barely told me anything, probably because you’re afraid I’m going to run off to the media. Nothing more than numbers and what’s already known. Am I right about that?”

“Yes.” Still no fucking Uber. The taxi would’ve been a better idea.

“If you talk to me about anything going on and I run off and tell the media, I run the risk of being disbarred in the United States, which is where I do all of my business. Here in the UK, it’s a bit laxer, but regardless, I would lose my job in a millisecond if I said anything ever. And you desperately need a friend. Am I right about that too?”

“Attorney Client privilege only applies if I’m your client.”

“Then consider me your lawyer. Pro-bono, of course. I’ll send over a document in the morning. Because really, I can tell that you can’t talk to anyone. You probably don’t even tell your parents,” He reiterated. 

“I get it. I’m clearly a lonely spinster and you want to play therapist.”

“Oh, really. You think handling billions of dollars in assets and knowing about nearly every corporate merger months in advance doesn’t leave me lonely either? I need someone too. And you have to admit, you’re a fun person to talk to. And you’re the only person I’ve met in years who is even close to the same position as me. So yes, I want to take advantage of it,” He groaned.

“You don’t have to talk about mergers over dinner,” I answered. 

“Yeah, and you don’t have to talk about Mercedes. But that's all you have right?” He looked at me waiting for a response.

“My Uber’s here,” I answered, leaving the penthouse at once. I took the elevator straight down. I stared at my phone. Sure enough, there was Jeffrey’s number. I instantly deleted it. I have no clue what even happened, and right now, all I want to do is curl into a nice, comfortable, blanket cocoon and forget about all of it. In fact, that’s exactly what I’ll do. As soon as the Uber pulled up to my house, I set my alarm and snuggled into my bed. I wrapped myself into my duvet, and shut my eyes. I quickly drifted off to sleep. 

~

“That is a fucking 6th world championship!” I screamed as Lewis crossed the line for a 2nd place position. The garage broke into a fit of cheer and celebration. 1st and 2nd on the podium were locked out by Mercedes. A race win for Valterri and a championship for Lewis. The last two races at this point would be victory laps. Just two weeks ago, a similar spectacle. Valterri in 1st and Lewis in 3rd that time had gifted us a 6th Constructor’s in a row. 

This was not a break though. As I had seen in the past seasons, a win is a win, but to us it means little more than putting more resources into next year. Get Lewis tied with Schumacher, and more relevant to me, get the team an 7th consecutive constructor’s. Toto looked at me with a big smile as I took a deep breath. He gave me the necessary hug that occurs during these high emotion moments, and ran off to cheer with the rest of the team.

I could almost feel the walls close in on me though. In a time like this, I should be happy. I should be celebrating with them. I just couldn’t manage to make my legs move over to everyone else. Tunnel vision. The room started going dark, and all of sudden I felt a hand on my back. I turned to my right and it was Bono. 

“Arabella, you went pale for a second,” He spoke quietly. I could just barely hear him over the noise.

“I feel like I have the bends,” I sighed, trying to walk back to my usual seat, just 6 feet behind Toto. 

“Woah, you’re off balance,” Bono said, helping me walk over there. “Let me grab medical.”

“No, no need. Just some anxiety I think.”

“Anxiety? We just won a championship!” He spoke excitedly.

“Exactly. Go run off and celebrate. I’ll be fine,” I smiled. Bono raised an eyebrow at me concerned. “I swear.”

“Arabella-”

“Bono, you’re the 6th world champion’s engineer. I think they wanna see you too,” I laughed. “Trust me. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, alright, Arabella. I’m off. But text or call if you need anything. Alright?” He ordered.

“Got it,” I answered, putting my head into my hands. I recalled this feeling almost instantly. I was 13, sitting in my room, and I looked out the window. The day before had been pleasant, but that day, a storm was rolling in. I watched as all the kids playing outside were called inside by their parents. As I looked at the horizon and saw the sight of the thundering clouds. I felt my chest get tight. It wasn’t the storm that scared me, it was the vastness. The distance. I could see nearly straight to the sea. I grew up on the West Frisian Islands. My family ran a hotel for families visiting the islands on their holidays. Yet, we rarely traveled by ourselves. That summer was no different, and looking out the window, I wondered why suddenly I had a desire to curl up and disappear.

I laid on my floor and stared up at my ceiling. I listened as the storm came in and poured rain on our roof. It was louder than I could imagine. I felt calm listening to the rain, and as the darkness came in, I felt calm looking out my window again. I refused to leave my room for a week. I put up blankets over the windows to keep myself from looking out. Every time I did look out, I would feel my heart race. My eyes would find the horizon and I would get scared.

On the 8th day of my mother bringing the dishes to my room, and my father watching me scurry to the bathroom and hurry back, they dragged me out of my room and all the way to the doctor’s. In the car, I was screaming and crying, and begging for them to take me back to my room. In the doctor’s office, I felt little comfort as the doctor offered to move me to a room with no windows. When he did, and he noticed I calmed down, he turned to my parents and spoke. “I believe your daughter has agoraphobia. She will develop anxiety in environments she does not feel she is comfortable or able to control.”

My parents didn’t respond to the news kindly. For 2 more weeks I stayed in my room alone. The day school was to begin again, I begged my parents not to take me. They assured me they weren’t taking me to school. They weren’t lying. Instead, I found myself shipped off to a boarding school in France. I stayed there for two years while my parents nearly mocked me on the phone asking if I had learned to behave yet. Every day I sat in my dorm room for as long as possible, staring at the walls. I lost a tremendous amount of weight as my body continued to grow since I refused to spend long times in a mess hall surrounded by other children. 

My 3rd year there, as I entered into the Lycée, a teacher took a great notice of me. She noticed the way I sulked around corners and could suddenly disappear without notice. I never felt so safe in a space that wasn’t my room until she took the time to do so. Eventually, she taught me how to calm myself, and introduced me to people. She gave me friends that encouraged me to branch out. The end of that year, I thought I could go home. My parents informed me though that at this point, they didn’t believe I was ready to return home. I don’t believe my parents ever intended to allow me to go home. Two years later, I graduated, and returned to the Netherlands. When I stepped back onto the island for the first time in 5 years, the salty, humid air tightened my chest. Instead of joy to be back home, I touched the sandy dunes and wanted to turn back. I wanted to disappear. And so I did. It took me a moment to leave out from home, but once I moved to the UK, I knew I had no desire to return back to Ameland. I knew I couldn’t escape immediately though. 

I stayed and helped my parents run the hotel for just a year while simultaneously getting my training to become an executive assistant. A year later I was in Amsterdam and a personal assistant for a doctor. A year later I had finished all the training and was flying to the U.K. and working for United Agents. Instead of working with the celebrities though, I wanted to work with the agents. At 20, I had made it out of the Netherlands in just 2 years, after having spent 5 years away already. At age 28, just 4 years ago, I had officially lived outside of the Netherlands for more time than in. I wasn’t upset by it either.

When I left Ameland, I expected to see Amsterdam as this beautiful paradise. The boats, the bikes, the tall beautiful men, but instead, I just ran into the same problem. It wasn’t satisfying yet. I wasn’t far enough away. I hated it, and decided to run away. Going to the U.K. has been far better for me. F1 has been even better. Traveling keeps me from having a safe place to completely hole up in. There’s nowhere to hide, and for me, that can be a good compromise. Yet, there’s times, like now, where I still feel it peak back up. The ruckus, the noise, the crowds. It all brings me crashing back to watching that storm roll back in. Every shout from an engineer, every roar of an engine, and every champagne bottle pop is like a tempest, rolling in from the sea. 

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and shot my head up. I looked around. The place was nearly empty. As I spun around in the chair, my eyes met Toto’s. 

“Everyone’s heading to the podium. I thought it was weird I didn’t see you heading out that way,” Toto said, pulling a chair out from under the desk. He sat next to me, and placed his hand on my arm. “Are you alright?”

“Thanks, I’m fine. You should probably be running to catch up with them.”

“You know how those things are. Hurry up and wait. We have time.”

“I just got a little anxiety. That was all,” I spoke softly.

“You can be honest with me.”

“I am. That’s all.”

He sighed, and pulled out his phone. “Look what Jack did,” He smirked, pulling up a picture of his son. He was covered in maple syrup. I chuckled.

“Oh God, what a mess,” I complained.

“You should’ve seen Susie’s face. You wouldn’t believe the clean up,” He chuckled, looking through more pictures of Jack running around.

“He’s not even three yet, is he?”

“Feels like it should be further away, but you’re right. He’s two, but April is rounding the corner.”

“In like, 4 months.”

“For a kid, that’s a lot! They grow so much, so very quickly. Forgive me for forgetting, isn’t your sister pregnant?” He asked.

“Yeah. She’s giving birth over the break. That’s why I’ve taken it off.”

“Well, you’ll be a wonderful aunt. Children are such a wonderful addition to the world.”

“Even when they’re covered in syrup?���

He laughed and sat back in his chair. “Net gain,” He sighed. “Now…do you want to run with me to the podium? Because now we’re actually running out of time.”

“Sure,” I answered, standing up. We ran to grab the scooters and headed off. 

~

My alarm woke me up with a tremendous bang. Yes, I had slept, but the type where you’re drifting in and out of consciousness with nothing more than your thoughts keeping you awake. It was a weak rest. Thankfully, the flight was 8 whole hours where I could gently nod off. I stood up and as I promised Leanna, made myself a full English breakfast. Enough to sustain me for quite a while, and enough to enjoy the flight. As I sat down to eat it, I looked through the schedule for testing. I readied myself in the bathroom going over the schedule again and again until it was absolutely burned into my memory. 

As the time for me to leave and still arrive early began to approach, I headed down and hailed a taxi. Just seconds before it arrived, I realized I had left all of my bags and had to beg him to wait. When I returned, he was miraculously still waiting. I hopped in and took the taxi all the way to London Heathrow. As soon as I arrived I saw Toto walking towards security. I checked my watch just to make sure, and sure enough, he was far too early.

“Toto!” I called out. He whipped his head around and waved to me as I came running over. “You’re an hour early!”

“For once, I thought I could beat you,” He shrugged. “Even now, I must tie with you.”

“You’ll never beat me. It’s my job,” I laughed. We approached security and handed over our passports, both being bright red but with distinctly different languages on them. As we exited security, we meandered our way towards the area where we would get on the charter jet in silence. Toto suddenly stopped while walking through the airport and looked at me.

“I’m sorry,” He spoke quietly.

“Huh?” I questioned. Suddenly, we turned as we heard someone yell.

“I’m so sorry,” A woman spoke running up to Toto. “Are you really Toto Wolff?”

He laughed and smiled. “That’s what my passport says.”

“Can I please take a picture with you? My son loves Mercedes, and I would just be beside myself if I didn’t take this opportunity to tell him I saw Toto Wolff, and had photographic evidence that I spoke with him.”

He laughed again. “Sure, sure,” He said. He leaned into the selfie camera with her. She smiled excitedly as the picture was taken. 

“Thank you so much,” She almost whispered, as she turned round and ran off.

“Happen frequently?” I asked.

“No, not really,” He awkwardly laughed. He took his fingers through his hair, almost neurotically fixing it. It had been long since I’d seen him slightly nervous. 

“You were saying?” I offered.

“Oh…nothing. I just got lost in thought and realized…are we going the right way?” He asked. I looked up at the sign overhead which very blatantly read Charters . Perhaps he didn’t see that one? I looked down the long airport hallway and saw yet another blatantly obvious sign, literally glowing, that read Charters. 

“The air that thin up there?” I asked, waving my hand around his face. I am 5’ 4” so it was quite the reach and I nearly had to stand on my toes since I had chosen not to wear my heels for a long airport walk. He swatted my hand away. 

“Apparently,” He answered, taking a deep sigh, right before releasing a small chuckle as well. 

We continued to walk along in silence towards the charters, and when we finally arrived at the gate, we had a little bit to wait until the jet arrived. He stared at me for just a moment. “I am sorry.”

“So, it wasn’t just about thinking we were lost?” I asked.

“No, of course not, Arabella. I am genuinely very sorry and I-” He was interrupted by a sudden and powerful hug around the legs. It was, of course, Jack. He quickly and immediately picked up Jack and threw him on his shoulders. “Are you ready to go flying, Jack?”

“Arabella,” I heard from behind me. Susie had snuck up on me and nearly scared me to death. “How are you?”

I whipped around and gave Susie a hug. “I’m great! Thanks for asking.”

“Thank you for taking Jack for the weekend,” Susie smiled. 

“Oh…you’re…welcome?” I questioned. 

“I’m joking, I’m joking. I’ll be there.”

“Don’t scare me like that.”

She laughed brightly and I watched as Toto spun Jack around in circles. Soon enough, the entire party had arrived with Bono and many of the other important engineers. Their work on the car would be crucial for testing. We had to set a pace, so getting the staff out there as early as possible was important. The engineers would be absolutely clamoring to get inside of the paddock. When we all arrived and the plane had decided to arrive as well, we finally boarded. I took my seat directly next to Bono. As the plane finally reached cruising altitude, I walked towards Toto and handed him the manilla folder with the important details for testing. I watched as he pulled on his reading glasses.

“So, go ahead and give it a look over. We’ll have engineers at the paddock as soon as possible to evaluate the car. We need to make sure everything is ready. We’ll get to the paddock at 8am, a long while before the actual starting of testing. Valterri is on the morning shift, which should give Lewis a good start in the evening. I will warn you though, there’s news of a dust storm rolling into Bahrain,” I explained. 

“Thank you, Arabella,” He nodded.

“What were you saying out there earlier?” I asked him, kneeling down and whispering. 

“I’ll explain later, I suppose.”

“You do you,” I answered, heading back to my seat. I sat next to Bono and we made small talk until breakfast was passed around and people began eating. As the conversation ended, I found myself falling asleep again. I woke up as I felt an arm touch me. I jumped awake, and found a blanket covering me and Bono looking at me, expectantly. 

“Oh, thanks for the blanket,” I nodded, before feeling like I would crash off to sleep again. I closed my eyes and laid my head down again.

“First, wasn’t me. Second, we’re going to land soon. Did you maybe want a coffee?” 

“Oh, fuck yes,” I spoke sitting up. He laughed and wandered off to find me a coffee. Bono returned with the coffee and placed it in front of me. 

“Black americano, right?”

“Yes, I am. What has that got to do with the coffee?” 

“Oh, stop. Jesus, Arabella,” He ordered me. I chuckled and sipped my coffee. Bitter and dark, also like me. 

“So who gave me the blanket?” I asked, pulling the blanket over my head.

“Toto. He came to speak to you after Jack fell asleep, and saw you were knocked out cold,” Bono explained.

“Huh,” I answered. I stood up and could just barely peer over, where I saw Toto now also asleep with Jack, laying his head on his father’s lap.

“Looks like we missed each other,” I sighed, sitting down. It was almost like we were playing phone tag in person somehow. 

“If it were that important, he would’ve told me to tell you,” Bono yawned. “All this sleeping is making me…sleepy.”

“Then do as the Romans are doing and sleep.”

“And then be groggy while trying to work on a car? God, no,” Bono mumbled. “But I will get my own coffee.” He stood up and wandered away. I looked out the window and watched as the sun set over the Arabian peninsula. When we arrived, I would spend a long while in the airport smoothing things over for everyone arriving in Bahrain, playing translator. Yes, English is spoken in the Middle East, despite most Briton’s beliefs, but nonetheless, it did speed things along to have someone well versed in Arabic. It was one of my few remaining regular connections to my culture, and even so, there was the twinge of guilt that hit me when I found that at times, I could find myself thinking I was more Arabic than African. Were both not accurate though? At the end of the day, I was certainly darker skinned than most other Dutch people. 

“Toto would have a field day if he knew I was having a cappuccino right now,” Bono spoke as he took his seat right back next to me. “Past 11am, it’s a grievous sin.” He mocked Toto’s Austrian accent while laughing a bit to himself.

“You’re going to wake him up just by trying to imitate him. It’s practically his alarm,” I spoke, until I heard the flight attendant right behind us. “Or they’ll wake him.”

“Just wanted to let you all know we’ll be landing soon. Hold onto your drinks and stow away the tables,” she smiled. Bono and I did as she asked and slipped on our seatbelts as well, as she continued going through the cabin waking people and reminding them of the basic flight safety procedures. I couldn’t help but laugh looking through the tiny sliver of space in between the seats and seeing Toto shoot his head up and try and fix his sleepily pressed down hair. 

As we landed, the days of Islamic girlhood came crashing back to me. I no longer practiced, and my hijab had been removed years ago. Neither of my parents very much minded. My father had long been atheist, but had raised his daughters religiously, as was my mother’s wish. Even so, for my mother, that meant we knew of our religion, but not much outside of it. Even she rarely wore the hijab. Only when she went to visit her parents in Amsterdam and we would stumble our way into a mosque. I wore it for a little bit while in France, but found myself removing it after not too long. When I returned to the Netherlands, neither of my parents even really noticed. My sister still practices, however. 

Still, though, landing in Bahrain, I found myself recalling all the rules of modesty my mother would give us when visiting the conservative older family members. This morning when I had dressed myself, I made sure I followed all of the rules. Nonetheless, I checked myself over. The second the plane landed, everyone exited their seats and their aircraft with a particular determination. I found my passport, and found the words I would need to use. 

We approached customs, and I walked through first. When I approached, I let them know I would be translating for the team.

“We speak English,” One of the guards laughed. 

“It’s quicker in Arabic. Trust me,” I sighed. They shrugged, and quickly as each person followed through, I translated every word with near-perfection.

“Toto, you’ll be riding with Bono and Musconi,” I explained as he walked through. “The car will circle back around and I’ll meet you at the hotel.”

“Got it, thank you, Schatzi,” Toto answered before quickly running off with Bono. I had to be careful with myself to not melt instantly. Toto had a tendency to find the quickest and most appropriate Austrian term for ‘darling’ when he was truly in awe of my expertise but also in a rush. It happens quite frequently during race weekends, and, in an effort not to make myself feel special, would be used for just about anyone who he was just pleasantly surprised by but also, could not spend more than 5 seconds talking to. Despite this, I found myself lingering on the word for far too long, and suddenly I was stumbling over my Arabic. I suppose I hadn’t gotten it out of my system.

As quickly as we had rushed to customs, everyone had rushed through customs. Soon enough, I stood there waiting for those who had taken the commercial flight to come through. As I waited, the guards continuously asked me to go through if I was done, and I continuously reminded them that I wasn’t. I then felt my phone go off with a text. I instantly looked at it, thinking of all the various forms of bad news it could be.

Unknown: Arabella, this is Jeffrey. You hadn’t texted me, so I assume you don’t want to proceed. At least, for your consideration, I worked up this contract for you. I used a basic bit of googling and figured that you’re likely coming up on your contract renewal for Mercedes. Congrats on the 10 years, by the way. Seems like the right time to use a lawyer though.

Tags: @daddyslittlevillain

[bananagreste]

[ID: A set of four gifs featuring Marinette Dupain-Cheng transformed as Ladybug and the kwamis; Wayzz the Turtle kwami, Trixx the Fox kwami and Barkk the Dog kwami. They are inside Marinette’s bedroom.

In the first gif, Ladybug is about to leave the room via the stairs leading to her bed, but she pauses, turns to the kwamis, and asks, “When a kwami uses their power without their holder, doesn’t it often set off some kind of catastrophe?”

In the second gif, Trixx explains to Ladybug about their power, “My power creates illusions, so the side effects will hopefully just be in their imaginations.” However, Wayzz and Barkk appear surprised at that explanation.

In the third gif, Ladybug understands, smiles and leaves. Immediately after, Wayzz and Barkk look at Trixx disapprovingly.

In the fourth gif, Trixx smugly looks at Barkk and Wayzz, but upon seeing their frowning faces, sighs, “Oh, come on! Her Miraculous Ladybug will make everything go all right anyway... I hope.”

/END ID]

[bbyquokka]

I’m sorry, I love you

💔 pairing: Lee Know & f!reader

💔 genre: angst (break up)

💔 synopsis: lee know adopted a new lifestyle, leaving you exhausted and causing you to leave him. Months later, you rekindle. 

💔 warnings: explicit language, drunk, slight mentions of sex, feelings of heartbreak, upset, reader struggling to do every day stuff.

💔 words: 2.7k

💔 a/n: idk what to say tbh. i wanted to write a little bit of angst so tada! i have a few ideas in my notes on my phone for each of the members that i will come to soon tm. this fic is the only one thats angst rn so i wanted to get that out off the way, lol. ive come to the conclusion that i suck at writing endings and dialog 😶 I have one more fic that i will be posting in a few days. its someone birthday coming up so theres a big hint of who is next.🤐  also, thank you all for the love on Stormy Night! i wasnt expecting such a positive response so ty all for the likes, reblogs and hello to my new followers. I hope you will all continue to like my content. Feedback is welcome, If ive missed anything in the warnings, lmk!!  ty all so so much and enjoy! 🥰

💔: master list

since you was little, you always dreamed of having a perfect relationship. You saw them all the time, on tv, in magazines, in books. the male would make the female swoon with various actives and words. watching the perfect couples meet and rekindle their love for one another made you want something like that.

entering your teen years, you dated various people, some from the opposite sex, some of the same, it didn't matter to you, you was curious and on the hunt for that fairy-tale dream of yours. to your disappointment, neither of them filled that desire buried deep within. you was close to giving up, entering early adulthood, before one trip to your local café changed your life forever.

you finally met 'the one'. he made you feel like you was a princess, his everything. he did everything that you saw and read. you went on spontaneous dates, he'd surprise you with gifts, pamper you and tell you many sweet things that made your heart flutter and fill your stomach with butterflies. over time, you fell madly and deeply in love with him. After all this time, you finally thought you met the one, you could end this endless search for Mr. Perfect and live happily ever after, just like in the movies. However, this fairy-tale was destined to be doomed.

Wednesday morning, 1:20am. you was wide awake, sitting at the dining table, picking and shuffling your food around with your fork. Your shared apartment was dimly lite with a few lamps and candles that rested in their holders on the dining table. A bottle of half empty red wine stood next to it, with two wine glasses, one half full whilst you was on your third or fourth glass. the table was decorated with fake rose petals, both plates of food untouched and stone cold. You was dressed in your best dress, hair done up and face decorated with make up. You sighed, putting your fork down and lifting the glass to your lips, sipping your wine, the rim of the glass stained with your lipstick. looking over at the clock, you bit your lip, anger slowly pooling and working its way up.

your apartment door opened, laughter filling the not-so-silent apartment. you clenched your jaw, putting down your glass as your lover made his way to the living room.

"(Y/N)!! Where are youuuuu." He sang and laughed more, making his way to the dining room. "Ah! there you are!" much to your displeasure, you looked up at him, rolling your eyes. unfortunately, this scene wasn't new to you, in fact, it started to happen on a daily basis since he got introduced to some new friends.

"You're drunk. again." you replied coldly, face showing no emotions as you looked at him.

"Uh, yeahh. just a bit." he giggled, childishly. he looked around, noticing the dining table and the food. "What's the special occasion?"

You scoffed, standing up from your seat. "you seriously don't know what the date was? what we planned on doing?" Minho scratched his head, pretending to think before saying it was Wednesday and that yesterday was Tuesday. you clenched your jaw once again, tongue in cheek.

"You're such an idiot, Minho. you seriously don't remember what we planned, what the date was. what YOU promised to me?" Minho looked at you blankly, blinking several times before shrugging. you ran your fingers through your hair, you could feel your body getting hot with anger.

"Anniversary Minho. it was our fucking anniversary and you promised me that we would do something together!" he continued to blink, giving you the indication that he didn't care.

"okay. and?" you looked at him in disbelief.

"and?! is that all you have to say to me? not even a sorry or even a fucking excuse? you could act like you cared!" Minho sighed in annoyance, becoming sober pretty quickly once he realised that you two was going to have yet another argument.

"Look. its just another day. no big deal. we will do something tomorrow if that'll make you happy. damn, you never let me do anything anymore. you're so suffocating sometimes, (Y/N)" he tutted. you felt hot tear welling up in your eyes. blinking furiously to stop them from falling, you felt your heart shatter into a million and one pieces.

"I don't let you do anything?! you're delusional and thick, Minho! the past months, I've let you get away with bullshit like this. Numerous plans we made together, forgotten because of this frat boy lifestyle you suddenly have! You'd rather be with them than with me?"

Minho shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, because they're fun and i have a swell time with them. you - you just suck the life and energy out off me with your constant nagging. you only come to me for my dick anyways"

you laughed, walking up to him, suddenly feeling a wave of confidence flow through you. you looked him dead in the eyes.

"Please Hun. Your dick isn't that great. i get more pleasure with a plastic toy than with that -" you gestured towards his dick before continuing "thing." Minho erupted into fits of giggles.

"Good joke, (Y/N). but we both know who's name you're crying out when i fuck you raw. anyways, you would never leave me."

"Wouldn't i? and why is that?" you raised your brow.

"A, you love my cock too much, no matter how many times you deny it. you'll keep running back to me just for me to fuck that pussy of yours. and B, you don't have the balls to leave me." he crossed his arms across his chest, thinking he won and got the upper hand.

you, on the other hand, scoffed, before turning on your heal towards your bedroom. you picked your already packed bag and made your way to the door. Minho was watching you and as soon as he saw your bag, his face fell.

"wait, where are you going??" he rushed to you, panicked, as you was putting on your shoes and a jacket. you looked at him, your energy drained and heart broken. but you didn't allow him to see that, instead you carried on your tough demine and swallowed your tears down.

"I'm leaving you." you replied bluntly, shrugging. you looked at his shocked face, indicating that he didn't anticipate for this day to come, neither of you did. "Still don't think i have the balls to do it? well, here i am, leaving your drunken ass. I hope your frat boy lifestyle was worth it, because you just lost the best thing that's ever happened to you."

with that, you grabbed your things, walking out off the apartment, leaving a stunned and broken Minho behind.

it had been a few months since that day. neither of you contacted one another. you wanted to, looking at his contact, finger hovering over the call icon before coming to the conclusion that he should make the first move. you was constantly making the first move in the relationship, after every argument you was always the first one to talk it out, apologise and suggest ways in how to fix it. this time, you wanted him to prove that he loved you like he claimed he did and contact you first. He never did. Probably too caught up in that ridiculous lifestyle to even give you a second thought.

you took a sip of your coffee, deep in thought. you was at your local café, sitting in your usual spot by the window, sipping and eating your usual beverage and snack. you was so deep in thought that you didn't realise someone had walked up to your table until they cleared their throat. you looked up, eyes going wide, heart hammering in your chest, emotions flooding back to you as you looked at him.

"Minho.." you swallowed as he gave you a small smile. he pointed to the seat asking if it was taken. he sat facing you when you said it was free.

"Hey. long time, no see." he placed his hands on his lap, nervous.

"Yeah, 2 and a half months to be exact." he nodded, aware that you had been keeping track. your voice laced with upset and bitterness. You took this time to check him out. Nothing much had changed, he still looked handsome as ever with the only noticeable change he had was his hair. "Nice hair, purples a good colour on you. suits you well."

he smiled at your compliment, hand automatically reaching to his hair, running his fingers through it.

"Ah, this is nothing. fancied a change. but you look well too." he smiled at you as you scoffed.

"Please. todays the first day since the break up i’ve had energy to get dressed and go out. Amazing what heart break does to you. thought i was going to become one with my bed at some point." you let out a forced laugh as Minho looked down at his lap.

"Where are you staying?"

"My mothers." Minho cringed a little as you hummed at the mutual reaction. "Yeahh. i called my friend first, she said she had enough of me bitching and whining about you. told me to figure it out on my own. so it was either sleep on the streets or go to my mothers. lets just say she was overjoyed to learn that we broke up."

You mother never liked Minho, called him bad news and a heartbreaker. She didn't support your relationship, but you being the stubborn person you are, stuck with it, claiming you could make it work which just infuriated your mother more. So the day she learned that you two broke up, she was audibly overjoyed, talking bad about him to you, her friends, anyone who would care to listen. It hurt your ego to know that your mother was always right. She wasn't the best help in helping you heal either. Soon, you didn't see the point and spent the majority of your time in your bedroom, rotting away.

The air was thick with awkwardness between you and Minho. You looked down at your coffee, heart still hammering in your chest. Thoughts swimming around in your head, questions you wanted to ask but was scared to.

"Im sorry." you blinked, looking up. His eyes were glossy with tears, his bunny teeth chewing away at his bottom lip as he picked the skin around his nails. He was nervous, you could see that, but he was sincere. You felt a lump in your throat, tears also filling up you eyes. You smiled sadly at him

"Thank you." you looked down again.

"Are you -" Minho audibly swallowed before continuing "are you not going to shout at me, be mad at me? i hurt you in the worse way possible. and just to clarify, i don't do that shit no more. i haven't since you left. i cut all contact with them and well, focused on myself to become a better person. A better person for you, (Y/N)" He went to take your hand in his which caused you to move your hand away. Minho nodded, acknowledge that it was too soon for you. After a few minutes of thinking what to respond with, you breathed out softly before speaking.

"I've spent months being mad at you. During the relationship and after. I've spent days, rotting in my bed, crying until my eyes are sore and i have nothing left in me. You was the best and worse thing to ever happen to me, Minho. You're a blessing and a curse at the same time. During the relationship, i always wondered if it was me. If i was the problem. if i was doing something that caused you to hate me so much. but as time went on, i realised it wasn't me, it was you." Minho nodded, listening carefully.

"I'm sorry i made you feel like that. it was never my intention, i was stupid and selfish to realise what i was doing and when i realised, it was too late. the damage was already done.."

"The funny thing is, it was like i was grieving for you. I mean, i guess i was. I lost my best friend, my second half. I was grieving for a relationship that we could've had. But you wanna know what the worse thing is?" You pressed your lips together in a thin line, allowing your tears to fall freely as you looked at Minho, eyes also filling up

"I thought i was getting over you. i thought i was healing, but its like my brain tricked me somehow. Because here you are, in the flesh and everytime i look at your handsome, stupid face, i fall in love with you all over again and i hate myself for that. I hate how, i cant get over you. How i cant hate you because i still love you so much!" You grabbed a napkin, wiping away your eyes and nose. Heartbreak was evident in your voice as you spilled out your emotions and thoughts to the man in front of you. You sobbed at how after all this time of what you thought was healing, you was back at square one, wondering if you was ever going to be able to get over him

Minho had tears falling down his cheeks, quickly wiping them away as he listened to his ex and the woman he still loves, express her feelings. His heart was breaking, shattering. He wanted to hold you close to him, comfort you and tell you that its different this time, but he knew that you wouldn't allow that. 2 and a half months was visibly not enough time for you. You took a deep breath, calming your breathing before continuing.

"I tried, i tried so hard to get over you and, like i said, i thought i was. but looking back, maybe i was just tricking myself this whole time. No matter how many times i opened up my photo album on my phone to delete the pictures of us together, i just couldn't because they hold special memories to me. God! i hate this so much. I still love you, Minho and it fucking sucks!" You laughed sadly as Minho did the same.

"Im so so so sorry (Y/N) if i could go back and change, i would! i know its hard to believe when the person who claims they love you, hurts you but i really, truly loved you and i still do!" You smiled softly at him, acknowledging that he was genuine and was evident that he had changed. he had become the man you fell in love with all them months ago.

Pressing his lips together, he fumbled with his jacket before asking "Should we try again..?" You bit your lip, thinking carefully about it.

"I would love to Minho. But-" He looked up at you, hopeful "But not right now. If we get back together, we have to start over again, start fresh, get to know one another again because right now, it feels like we are strangers. I need to see that you have changed, i need you to prove it because i really cannot be bothered to go through all this again."

Minho nodded, a smile creeping up on his face. "Okay, i can do that! Then, lets start again, start fresh."

you smiled softly, a genuine smile since you two rekindled. Standing up from your seat, you walked over to his side.

"I have to go. errands to run, y'know. But uh, text me, yeah?"

"I will. i'll text and call you. im determined to make this work, for us." He looked up at you, taking your hand into his. this time you allowed it to happen, feeling his soft and warm hands against yours. Your stomach doing front and back flip, heart beating hard against your ribcage, skin burning up from his touch.

"I'll speak to you later then." you bent down, kissing his cheek softly before standing up, cheeks pink. "I love you."

You turned on your heel, making way for the exit. as you opened the door, you heard Minho's "I love you too" making you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Maybe you could have your fairy-tale love story after all.

[restlesscrybaby]

Hello ,love ur Headcanons with Jack, um by any chance could make some with Jack and s/o who's an alchemist? Elixer maker and all that?

Thank you! And yes of course!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ JACK HORNER x ALCHEMIST! READER. ~

~~ HEADCANONS. ~~

× 'So, once for the bright sky, twice for the pig sty,' ×

☆ CONTENT WARNING: None. ☆

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

You weren't an easy one to come across.

Never were, if anybody was to say anything about it. You sold those crazy things you made to customers willing, who needed it.. Yet, you also loved to create many other things.

Your little office was..

Not so little. A large oak room, hidden away in the enchanted forest, where most materials could be found. It had bookshelves along the two side walls, filled with books, the shelf reaching up towards your ceiling. A ladder was installed on both sides, that had little wheels upon the bottom, allowing you to move it without struggle. A little button upon the side, closest to your side, more up towards your chest, put the wheels at a halt. A large, circular window laid dead center of the room, a little window seat rested beneath it. Sloppy pillows and blankets were, almost rummaged, through on it. A large desk sat dead middle of the room. Not even a desk, more of a long table. Enough length to set many different things on it. A silver chandelier dangled above your head..

A brick fireplace rested along the fourth wall, the door more of to the left side of the room. The fireplace had jars of items and liquids atop it. Shelves coated any area of the room, filled with jars and bottles and--

It was a mess, you could say.

Jack had came across you in search of some magic elixirs you had. You know.

For his collection.

He strutted in, his heels clacking against the floor. He didn't dare knock or nadda.

You sat upon a scarlet-red cushion, your table was rather low to the floor. Maybe that was for a reason.

You wore protective gear, gloves, an apron, big eye goggles, as you plucked a beaker out of its holder.. Something shined inside...

Wait..

Stars...

You held a large round-bottom flask beaker, as you hovered your hand above the beaker. You tilted your hand, and easily shook it. Some stars fell out, they looked like glitter of some sort, easily setting in the bottom of the beaker. You tilted your hand up, as you extended your arm back out and placed it back in its place. You extended your arm, as you clasped a large container. It was almost like a glass, like the rose yhe Beast had was in..

You wrapped your hand around the top, plucking the cover off. The moon restednthere, hovering in place as you reached in. You pinched some of it, as it crumvled into your fingers like sand. But. You got a big pinch.

You pulled your hand back, as the other placed the glass back atop the moon.

You put the pinched fingers over the hole atop the beaker, as you crumbled your fingers together. It fell like sand, more of like crumbs, colliding with the stars..

You finished one more thing. There was a jar, one looking like it was for cotton balls, but inside had little, yellow, glowing balls in it..

...

Oh, the sun!

You opened the top, as heat rose out of it like a madman . But, you grabbed a clamper. Your fingers coiling into the little holes to hold it. You positioned it, easily pushing it into the large opening. Your other hand holding the lid...

You grabbed one, tilting your hand up and lifting it, as to pull one out. You slammed the lid back upon the jar...

Quickly, you dropped the small sun into the beaker...

You pinched a cork quickly, shoving it inside the top of the flask beaker. Holding it in there, as you winced away, closing your eyes...

It rattled.

It shook.

Jack watched.

It combusted.

The beaker wasn't damaged, as you opened one eye, peeking to the creation. Swirls of color hued, spinning, purple, pink, black, white dots. It was space! You made space!

Of course, you took notice to Jack.

Happily trading off elixirs you didn't want. Elixir to make any pain go away, elixir to grow your hair out, elixir to make you smell better forever, yadda yadda...

Of course.

You became a helper to Jack.

Even if you knew he was an outlaw,

He never tried to treat you harshly.

I mean.

You just casually gave up elixirs you found worthless.

Of course,

It led to romance.

Now he puts up with this in his house.

The sounds of things booming, crashing, combusting, breaking, hissing.

He wished he could just pop a cork into all your creations. God forbid.

Sometimes, he liked to help try to do alchemy.

It..

Never ended wrll . Not for someone who didn't know what they were doing. But were convinced he didn't need help to make things.

It exploded in his face quite a bit.

But, you could only giggle, at his furrowed brows and angry grumble.

..

You were helpful though.

Plus, you gave him lots of helpful things. Got rid of competition faster.

...

Yeah. But, you were smug.

You knew you did all the work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

× 'Thrice for another day.' ×

~~~~~~~~~~~~

ENJOYYYY <33 surry it's so rushed

[a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all]

Please Wake Up

Fandom: The Killing, Stephen Holder

Summary: Stephen goes missing in the middle of a case so you join the search party even though you ended things with him a few weeks ago. However, as you search, some revelations make you rethink your decision to break up with him.

Word Count: 4502

TW: Angst, Happy Ending, Blood, Mentions of beatings, Unconsciousness, Missing person, References to cheating/infidelity

Note: Takes place during 2x08 of The Killing

Your phone rang for the third time in the last sixty seconds and for the third time you let it go to voicemail. It was really pathetic that he had resorted to having her call you to try to talk you into taking him back.

However, the fourth time it rang, you lost your patience. Picking up the phone, you huffed in frustration, ���Linden, you need to stop calling me. I’m done and there’s nothing you can say to get me to take Stephen back.”

“Holder’s missing.”

“W-what? What do you mean, missing?” You gripped the phone tighter, pressing it closer to your ear.

“We were working a case at the Wapi Eagle Casino. I needed to sneak in to gather some evidence, so he caused a distraction. When I came back, he was gone.”

“Do you know what happened?” There was only silence on the other end of the line. “Linden! Where is he!”

“I don’t know. But….” She trailed off.

“Damn it, Linden! You called me! Now talk! I can handle it.”

You heard a deep sigh, and when Liden spoke again, her voice was strained and hoarse. “I got a call a few hours ago from Holder’s phone. When I picked up, all I could hear was him crying out as they beat him.” A chest-rattling sob tore through you, but Linden continued. “I called in the whole department as soon as they hung up, and we should be ready in a few minutes to start a search.”

“How…how can they think they can get away with this?” you managed to choke out.

“These people think they can do whatever they want because legally, they don’t fall under the jurisdiction of the Seattle Police Department. The casino is on the Indian Reservation so they have their own laws. They’re hiding something from us, and they are trying to use Holder as a way to send a message for us to back off.”

You had to take a few deep breaths before you could ask, “They won’t… they can’t kill him…can they?”

When she doesn’t respond, it is all the answer you need. Another irrepressible sob ripped from your lips as you sunk to the floor. Even though you had been the one to end things with Stephen a few weeks ago, you still loved him and the thought of this happening to him was too much for you to bear.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go. The rest of the search team just arrived, and we need to start looking for him.”

“I’m coming to help.”

“No.” Linden said firmly. “I know you want to be here, but you can’t. We’re already breaking a lot of rules with our team being here, I can’t allow a civilian to come too.”

“I’m coming.” You responded just as firmly. “Besides, I’m a nurse. If we find him… if they hurt him really badly…I can help. You have to have some sort of medical team there, just say I’m with them.” You paused and there was silence on the other end. “Please, Sarah….I have to do something. Please.”

“Fine. I’ll text you the location. You’ll have to take the ferry.” She paused. “And I don’t know what we are going to find. So…prepare yourself for the worst.”

It took you an hour and a half to get out to the island where the casino was located, and every minute of the trip was pure agony. You couldn’t stop imagining all the things those people might have done to Stephen. You thought back to the first time you had met him, when he and Linden had come by the hospital to interview a suspect. He was so different from any other guy you had ever met, and when he asked for your number before he left, you couldn’t say no. And the next year with him was the happiest of your life. He had turned out to be everything you always wanted but never knew. Yet, you had thrown it all away.

Liden met you at the docks when the ferry finally pulled up to shore. Neither of you said a word as you climbed into her car and she drove out to the search location. The two of you had always gotten along really well whenever Stephen had brought you together. But now, there was a tension that hung in the air, and you weren’t sure if it was from the current situation or from your breakup with her partner.

When you finally arrived at the base camp that had been set up, the two of you quickly joined the search efforts. For the next five hours, you walked side by side, combing through every inch of the forest along with a handful of other police officers.

Occasionally, you and Linden would exchange some brief small talk or point out something you had noticed. But for the most part, you searched in silence.

Until that is, Linden suddenly blurted out, “Can I ask you something?”

You sighed heavily, jamming your hands into your pockets. It was inevitable she was going to bring it up and you were honestly just surprised it had taken this long. “You want to know why I ended things with Stephen.”

“Well… yes. It’s clear you still care about him, and I know he still cares about you. So, what happened?”

“There was too much baggage. It got in the way, and I couldn’t move past it.”

She nodded in understanding. “I know he’s had a difficult past, but he really is trying to do better, to be better.”

You stopped walking as you stared down at the ground. Softly, you muttered, “It wasn’t his baggage…. It was mine.”

Linden looked at you in surprise. “Oh… I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”

“It’s stupid. And I realized it was stupid even as I was breaking up with him and every moment since, but I just couldn’t move past it.”

“Do you want to talk about it? I know we don’t know each other that well, but sometimes it helps to talk things out with someone on the outside.”

You sighed as you began walking again, “Most kids grow up thinking their parents are perfect. That they walk on water and can do no wrong. Well, I didn’t. For as long as I can remember, I knew that something was wrong with my parent’s relationship, even if I didn’t understand it. It wasn’t until I was eight that I realized why my dad stayed out late a few nights a week and why when he came home, he always smelled like a different perfume. Why I recognized the hair on his jacket or the lipstick on his neck. And I hated him for it. For putting my mom through it, week after week. Acting like he wasn’t screwing half the women in town.

“Yet as much as I hated him for doing it, I hated my mom just as much for putting up with it. She pretended she didn’t know, that she didn’t hear the whispers or see the stares, but she did. She just let herself be a laughingstock because it was easier than confronting the problem. And I swore to myself that I would never grow up to be like her.”

“But, as they say, we all become our parents.” You turned to Linden. “Did Stephen ever tell you I was engaged once?”

She shook her head. “No, he never mentioned it.”

“It lasted three days. We had dated for over a year when he popped the question. It was the happiest I had ever been up to that point in my life. That is until three days later he came home and asked for the ring back. He told me he had gotten his secretary pregnant, and he was going to marry her instead. Apparently, she was the work he was always staying late to finish. And I realized, I had become my mother. It was a real eye-opener and I promised myself I wouldn’t let it happen again.

“So, that night when Stephen came home….” You stared off into the darkness, recalling every moment of that last night. “It was too much. I couldn’t handle it.” You glanced over at Liden but then quickly looked away. “How much did he tell you about what happened that night?”

“Not much. Just that it had been your anniversary and he missed it because of the case. When he got home, you had had enough, and you ended it.”

“Basically, yes. But that’s not the whole story.” You sighed. “He came home at 3:40 in the morning. I was mad he missed our anniversary and didn’t even call to let me know. But he apologized, told me that the two of you had gotten stuck on a stakeout with no phone service and that he was so sorry. He said he had planned a huge surprise at dinner but that now was as good of a time as any. And he proposed.”

Linden blinked in surprise. “Oh, uh, no. He didn’t mention that. So, I’m guessing you said no?”

You shook your head. “I said yes. Of course, I said yes! I love that man with every fiber of my being. I still do! But when he slipped the ring on my finger and pulled me in for a kiss…. I could smell you on him.” You ducked your head, unable to look Linden in the eye.

“Me? No, no, no! I would never! Not with Holder! Especially when I knew he was in a relationship. It must have just been from sitting in the car together all night on the stakeout. I swear, I’ve never even thought about him like that!” Linden protested adamantly.

“I know. Damn it, I know!” You ran your hand wearily over your face. “Deep down in my heart of hearts, I know he wouldn’t ever cheat on me, with you or anyone. But I can’t convince my brain of that. Every previous night he didn’t call or didn’t come home until 3 or 4 in the morning, I couldn’t help but remember my dad or my ex sneaking home. And when he missed our anniversary dinner……

“I thought the proposal made up for it, but as soon as I smelled you, all I could think of was when my ex proposed, and I found out the truth days later. I couldn’t put myself through that again. So, I ended things. I broke my own heart before he could break it first. And then I locked all my feelings away. Told myself it was through, and we were done forever. But when you called tonight and told me he was missing, it all came rushing back. I love him. I love him so fucking much. And I want him back. But if something has happened and I never get to tell him…I never get to… apologize… to te-tell him… th-that I….” You couldn’t finish as you dissolved into a hysterical mess of tears and sobs.

Linden wrapped her arms softly around your shaking frame. “Hey, it’s going to be alright. Holder’s stronger than people give him credit for. And he still loves you so much! You’re all he ever talks about. When we find him, he’s going to be thrilled to hear what you have to say. Alright?”

“But it’s been too long. Even if he was still alive…even if they didn’t…It was so cold last night. If he was out here-”

Suddenly, the howling of dogs filled the air. Your head snapped towards the sound, heart pounding in your chest. You and Linden exchanged a look as you both heard an officer call out, “We’ve got something!”

Before Liden could say a word, you tore yourself from her embrace and charged off toward the commotion. Stumbling through the trees and foliage, you ignored the branches that whipped at your face and the uneven terrain that threatened to trip you up. You had one singular focus, and nothing would distract you from your goal.

Just as you saw a clearing up ahead and the sound of the dogs became louder, you heard multiple officers reacting to whatever they had found:

“Jesus.”

“We have him!”

“Officer down, we have a code 3! I repeat, officer down!”

And as you crested the hill, you got your first look at their discovery. There, sprawled out at the base of a massive tree, lay Detective Stephen Holder, face almost unrecognizable behind the blood and dirt.

For a moment, your knees grew weak, and you felt like you were going to collapse to the ground. However, somehow you managed to keep running down the hill towards his broken form even as Linden yelled at you to stop. But you didn’t care about anything, you just needed to reach him. Now.

You pushed past police officers and search dogs until you got to his side. Falling to your knees beside him, you took in the full extent of the damage. The only thing that was keeping you from losing it completely was the slight, almost imperceptible rise and fall of his chest. Laying one hand carefully on the side of his throat, you could feel the weak throb of his pulse beneath his skin. He was definitely alive.

However, his pants and gray hoodie were splattered with mud and various shades of blood, indicating he had been in this state for some time. Based on the blood and condensation that had soaked his clothes, you assumed he had been left here for hours. His right shoe was missing, and his leg was positioned at an awkward angle, though not enough for you to suspect it was broken. His hoodie was bunched up, revealing a section of his stomach that was bruised in dark reds and purples and you were afraid of what you would find if you raised it up any further.

But his face was the worst. Blood covered most of the right side, starting at his hairline and dripping down. At one point, his nose had been actively bleeding and large clots had gotten tangled in his mustache and beard. His lip was split wide, and his teeth were dyed red from the blood dripping from his mouth. You noticed a particularly deep cut on his cheekbone, and you knew it would probably leave a scar.

As you leaned in closer, you noticed a slight shiver traveling through his body from the cold. You quickly ripped off your jacket and laid it over him. Though it was too small to completely cover his much larger frame, you hoped it would provide him some sort of relief.

You gently ran one hand through his damp hair, brushing away blood, dirt, and dew, while you clutched at his hand with your other. Bending down close to his ear, you whispered. “Baby, please. I need you to open your eyes for me. Please. Come on, can you squeeze my hand? Nod? Something? Stephen, I need to know you’re still in there. Please.” There was no response.

Your voice cracked as you tried your best to hold yourself together. “Baby, I love you. Do you hear me? I love you so much, and I never stopped. I should have never left, but I was scared. I’m so sorry. You never gave me any reason to doubt you. I should have trusted you, and I didn’t. So, please baby, just wake up and we can talk about everything. Please….. Stephen…. I need you.” You cupped your hands gently around his face and leaned over until your forehead rested on his. Tears began leaking from your eyes and raining down on his bloody face, creating clean streaks through the mess. But he still didn’t stir.

Linden approached cautiously, and you looked up at her through tear-filled eyes. “He has a pulse, but it’s really weak. We need to get him help now.”

She nodded, eyes never leaving her partner’s mangled form. “The ambulance will be here in a few minutes. Is there anything you can do for him until then?”

“Give me your jacket.” Linden quickly stripped it off and passed it to you. You laid it down on top of Stephen where your jacket had been too small to cover. Running your hands as gently as possible over his body, you said, “I don’t see any wounds from a weapon, like a knife or gun. Mainly just blunt force trauma, likely caused by a fist, foot, or possibly a rod of some kind. He’s definitely suffering from exposure, but as long as he gets help soon, I think he’ll be okay.”

You ran your thumb over a particularly nasty-looking bruise and, after saying a silent apology, you pressed down hard on it. Nothing happened. Stephen didn’t as much as flinch or shift. Your voice shook as you turned back to Linden, “But there’s no responsiveness at all. There’s a chance he might have a brain bleed or some sort of internal bleeding that’s causing an issue I can’t see but there’s nothing I can do here. He needs real medical attention.”

As if on cue, the ambulance suddenly pulled up. Two men quickly climbed out of the back and grabbed a gurney. Linden grabbed your elbow and carefully pulled you to the side as they began to examine Stephen. After a few moments, they lifted him on the gurney and began to wheel him over to their vehicle. But Stephen still didn’t move or make a sound.

As soon as they got him settled, they started to close the back door, but you quickly thrust your hand in. “I’m going with you.” The two of them exchanged glances so you explained. “I’m a nurse at St. Mary’s and his…. girlfriend. Please, I need to make sure he’s okay.”

One of the men sighed. “Fine. We were heading to St. Mary’s anyway. But stay out of the way.”

You nodded as you climbed in and settled on the bench next to Stephen. You heard Linden shout that she would meet you at the hospital just as the doors closed.

The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever. As the emergency crew danced around the gurney, hooking Stephen up to IV’s, monitors, and oxygen while also carefully examining his wounds, your hand remained firmly wrapped around his. Yet, even with all of the movement and commotion around him, he still didn’t move a muscle.

Ignoring everyone else around you, you continued to whisper pleas for him to wake up, to give you some kind of sign he could hear you. But nothing happened. When the ambulance finally arrived at the hospital and they wheeled Stephen off to the OR, you had remained sitting motionless in the back of the vehicle until Linden found you about twenty minutes later.

When she climbed in next to you and drew you into a hug, you had finally fallen apart. Your lip had begun to tremble as your tears began to flow down your face as you sobbed, “He won’t wake up. Linden, why won’t he wake up?” over and over again. She offered no response, instead simply rubbing your back and pulling you in tighter.

They had finally forced you out of the back of the ambulance and Linden managed to talk you into changing your clothes. You hadn’t even noticed until then that you were covered with Stephen’s blood. Luckily, you always kept a spare set of scrubs in your locker in the back. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, you returned to Linden’s side to wait for any news.

It took about an hour, but finally, a doctor who you knew pretty well approached the two of you. He cleared his throat and said, “First of all, he’s going to be fine.”

For the first time since Linden called you, you felt like you could breathe again. Linden squeezed your hand as he continued. “He has several contusions, broken ribs, he’s suffering from exposure, and he needs time to rest. But he is awake and alert.”

Relief surged through you. “He’s awake?”

He nodded. “Yes, but like I said, what he needs most right now is rest. So, I would advise against visitors at the moment.”

“Please… I know he needs rest, but please can I go see him? Just for a minute. I need to see…I need to know…” you bit your lip as you struggled to keep your composure. “Paul, please. For me.”

He hesitated for a moment before he sighed, “Fine. But just for a minute. He should still be awake but if he’s not, DO NOT wake him up.”

You nodded feverishly. “I promise! Thank you so much!” You turned to Linden. “Are you okay waiting here?”

“Of course! Go, go!” She shoved you gently towards his room.

You smiled softly at her. “Thank you, for everything, Linden.” And with that, you took off down the hall.

When you reached Stephen’s room, you peered anxiously through the window. He had been patched up, but you could still see bruises blossoming across his chest and blood seeping through some of his bandages. Yet, when you stepped hesitantly into the room a smile spread across his face when he saw you. However, it couldn’t hide the pain you noticed in his eyes. Whether that was from his injuries or your presence, you couldn’t be sure.

“Hey, mama. Whatcha doin’ here?” He mumbled softly, but his smile slid from his face as he saw what you were wearing. “Oh, I didn’t know they brought me ta where you work. Sorry if this is weird for you.” He shifted slightly so he wasn’t directly facing you anymore and you saw the shiver of pain course through his body at the movement.

You moved to the other side of the bed, planting yourself once again in his direct eye line. “No, I asked them to bring you here. I figured I could pull some strings for you, get some extra accommodations and such. But, uh, I was actually there as part of the search team.”

His brow scrunched in confusion. “Why? And how’d ya know ‘bout it?”

“Linden called me. She figured I would want to know. And I’m so glad she did. I was there when they found you and I rode in the ambulance on the way here.” Your bottom lip began to tremble as you remembered Stephen’s limp body laying under that tree. How you thought you had lost him for good.

His expression softened as he murmured, “Aw, hey. I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not! You almost died! And I never– I didn’t get the chance– Oh, Stephen….”

“It’s okay, mama. I love you too.”

You blinked in surprise. “What? Really? Still?”

He nodded. “I heard what you said out there. Thought it was a dream, but now I guess not.”

“You heard me?” He nodded again. “I guess that makes this a little easier. But Stephen, I’m so sorry. I let the horrible things other people did to me in the past make me doubt you even though you have never been anything but honest and open with me. I should have never questioned what you were doing, and I should have believed you when you told me the truth. I know I don’t deserve it, but do you think you could ever forgive me?”

“Nothin’ to forgive. Yous and me, we’re good. We had a fight, a lil’ misunderstanding, nothin’ more. I love you and you love me and that’s all that matters.”

It felt like an enormous weight was suddenly lifted off your shoulders as your heart soared in your chest. “I do love you. I love you so much it hurts. And I never want to be with anyone else!” Cautious of his injuries, you placed a deep, tender kiss on his left cheek (one of the few places that seemed unharmed).

He smiled brightly once more. “Same. And in fact, gimme my jacket.”

“Stephen, whatever it is, it can wait. You need to rest.”

He shook his head. “Nah. This has waited long enough. Now gimme my jacket.”

Pursing your lips slightly, you grabbed his jacket from where it had been draped over the chair in the corner. It was still sticky with his blood, but you tried to ignore that fact as you handed it to him. He dug around in the pocket for a moment before producing a familiar ring box which he opened and held out to you.

Your eyes grew wide as you let out a small gasp. “You kept it with you?”

“Always. Knew one day you’d come around and I wanted to be ready when ya did.” He took the ring out of the box with one hand and grabbed your hand with the other. “I can’t really get down on one knee at the moment, but whacha say? Will you marry me?”

Your smile shone bright enough to light up the room. “Of course, I’ll marry you, Stephen Holder.”

His smile matched yours as he slid the ring onto your finger. And as you bent over to kiss his cheek again, he grabbed your face and pulled your lips against his. You could taste a small hint of blood from his split lip, but you ignored it as you savored the moment.

And when you finally pulled back, Stephen carefully eased himself to the right side of the bed and patted the open space next to him on the left. “Come here.”

You shook your head. “I don’t want to hurt you. We’ll have plenty of time to lay in bed together once you’re better. For now, you need to get some sleep.”

“What ‘bout you?”

“I’ll take a nap in the chair. I’ve done it before, it’s fine.”

“Nah, I ain’t letting my fiancée sleep in a chair when there’s pleny of room right here. Besides, your body is my best medicine.”

You rolled your eyes, but your heart skipped a beat at the word “fiancée”. “Stephen-”

“Don’t make me get up an’ drag you over here ‘cause you know I’ll try.”

You smiled and shook your head. “Fine, but if I hurt you in the slightest, I’m leaving.”

“Deal.” He held his arm out so once you had gingerly lowered yourself next to him, he wrapped it around you, pulling you in close. You felt him wince slightly, but you decided not to comment.

As your eyes drifted closed, you turned your head slightly and pressed a light kiss to the exposed skin of his chest. You felt him chuckle beneath you, then his lips brushed against the top of your head, returning your affection.

And that’s how Liz and Davie found the two of you a few minutes later, your head gently resting on his shoulder with his arm slung carefully around you, a bright smile on each of your sleeping faces.

[sydsaint]

The only reason I'm a Chase University stan tbh. Can y'all tell I got a thing for Australian accents?

Summary: The reader is the Smackdown women champion who enters the latest edition of the Mix Match challenge with an unexpected partner from NXT

To boost their ratings before summer comes to an end, WWE decides to bring back the mix-match challenge. But this time with a little twist. Instead of picking random teams made of their main roster talent. WWE decides to pair up each of their main roster talents with someone from NXT. And to make it an even more of exciting tournament. They also announce that all of WWE's main roster champions will be in the tournament, with the exception of Roman due to some scheduling issues. 

As the holder of the Smackdown women's title, that means you get the first pick of the men's NXT roster. 

"You're so lucky." Liv gushes. "I'd kill to get the first pick of my partner for this." 

"You're getting either third or fourth." You remind her. "Rhea and I are gonna pick first. Then it's either you or Raquel." You nod to her women's tag belt hanging off of her shoulder. 

Liv shrugs. "First pick is way better." She insists. "Do you have any idea who you're gonna pick?" She asks you. "There are like a billion good answers." 

"I do, actually." You smile to yourself. "But I'm not gonna tell you. That'd take all the fun out of it." You laugh.

"Awe! Come on, Y/N!" Liv whines. "We're best friends! You've gotta tell me!" She pokes at you. 

You shake your head adamantly. "Nope. Not gonna happen."

Liv pouts for a bit longer before it's time for everyone to head down to where NXT films for the live champion picks. The picks are a special addition to the usual Tuesday episode of NXT, which is set to start right after the picks. 

You head into the building with Liv and sneer when Rhea walks by you with Dominik at her side. "Ugh." You roll your eyes. "I hope I get Rhea and whoever she picks in the first round." You turn to Liv. "Just so I can knock her out of the tournament and be done with her right off the bat." 

"At least she can't pick Dominik, right?" Liv looks on the bright side of things as usual. 

You nod in agreement and continue on your path down to the ring where most of the NXT roster is all waiting for you. Rhea is already there when you arrive, along with Raquel, Austin Theory, Gunther, and Seth. You head down the long line of potential partners with Liv and take your place with the other champions. 

"Y/N, what's up, baby?" Carmelo calls your name as you step into place. 

"Melo." You flash him a flirty smile. 

A few seconds later Shawn comes out from backstage to officiate the live event. "Thank you to everyone for coming down for this." He makes his way down to the ring. "I'm sure that I am just as eager to get to the picks as everyone else. So let's get right into things. Seth, you'll be picking first." 

Seth nods and steps forward. The arena falls silent as he makes his way down the line of NXT's female superstars. Seth does one full pass of the lot before he turns and walks back up the line and comes to a stop in front of his choice.

"I'll take Roxanne." He flashes a friendly smile at Roxanne Perez and holds his hand out for a handshake. 

Roxanne beams with pride and shakes Seth's hand. You can hear Booker T comment on the commentary table. Seth and Roxanne step out of the way and Shawn nods in approval. 

"Excellent choice." Shawn praises Seth. "Next up, Austin Theory." He gestures for Austin to make his choice. 

Austin nods and goes straight for Tiffany Straton without a second thought. "Tiffany is my pick." He announces with confidence. 

Tiffany giggles and gladly shakes hands with Austin. The pair step away and Shawn jots down their names. 

"Alright. those two are quite the pair. Next up, Gunther, please make your selection." Shawn continues down the line of champions. 

Gunther towers above all of NXT's female talent. His gaze is piercing as he makes his way down the line. The Intercontinental Champ gets almost all the way down the line before he stops in front of Blair Davenport. 

"Miss Davenport, being my partner won't be an easy feat." Gunther gazes down at Blair. "Are you up for the task?" He asks her. 

"It's not gonna be a problem," Blair replies. 

Gunther nods and the pair join the others outside of the ring. Shawn scribbles their names down and you stand at the ready. You're next up to pick. 

"Alright, Y/N. Please make your selection." Shawn turns back to the crowd and gestures for you to move. 

You step out of the line and walk down the line of the men's NXT roster. Carmelo winks when you get to him and you stop for a second. He grins at you and waits for you to offer your hand. "Come on, baby. I'm the only right choice if you wanna win this." Melo boldly claims. 

"Nah." You grin and turn to continue down the line. 

You hear a few reactions from the crowd, as well as a hearty chuckle from Shawn as you pass Melo. A bit down the line you come across Bron Breakker and stop. He looks down at you with a straight face. You linger for a moment, but end up moving down the line. 

Your journey eventually takes you all the way down the line to the end. Three people remain in the lineup. Channing 'stacks' Lorenzo, Wes Lee, and Duke Hudon. You pass Channing and stand in front of Wes. You smile at him and for a moment it looks like he's going to be your choice. 

"You're good, Wes." Your comment. "But there's someone else that you're a much better fit for." 

With that being said, you step one more down the line to the last man left. Duke Hudson. You crack a smile and hold your hand out for a handshake. "Welcome to the team, Duke." 

"Pleasure is all mine." Duke matches your smile and shakes your hand. 

You step off to the side with Duke and can hear some whispers and confusion among both the crowd and your fellow champions. Down at the commentary table, you can hear Vic and Booker arguing.

"Now now, she might be onto something here, Booker." Vic insists. 

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Booker replies. 

You and Duke take your place with the rest of the teams and you watch Rhea step out of line next to pick. But, instead of walking down the line, Rhea turns to Dominik and claims that he's her pick. You roll your eyes and there are a few protests among the roster. But Rhea argues that since Dominik is technically the North American champion. Rhea should be allowed to pick him. 

"Of course!" You huff as Rhea and Dominik walk down the stairs to join everyone else. 

Liv and Raquel are the last two left to make their pick. Liv picks Wes Lee, which you had a feeling was going to happen. And Raquel picks Javier Bernal. Shawn writes down the rest of the names and turns to address the crowd one last time. 

"Alright! And with that, we have our champion teams! The rest of the predetermined teams will be released throughout the night. As well as the first rounds of the tournament which will commence on Monday." Shawn explains. "Be sure to stick around, because NXT will be right back after the commercial break." He adds. 

The members of the NXT roster that didn't get picked all file backstage, eager that they'll be paired up later in the night. You turn to Duke who smiles down at you.

"I'll be honest with you, I wasn't expecting to get picked," Duke admits. "I'm flattered that you picked me." He adds.

"What can I say?" You shrug with a grin. "I've been tuning into NXT for a few weeks, and I liked what I saw."

Duke chuckles and smiles at you. "Likewise, Miss L/N." He winks at you.

"Oh yeah!" You giggle. "These next couple of months are going to be fun."

You and Duke head backstage so NXT can start its normal show. You pass Rhea and Dominik on the way and she snickers at you.

"Nice way to waste a first pick." Rhea irks you.

"What was that?" You stop in your tracks and turn toward Rhea.

Rhea grins at you with her usual smug smile. "You could have picked anyone." She teases. "And you pick some nobody loser like that? I don't even know who he is." Rhea snickers.

"Oh, you'll learn his name." Your sneer at your enemy. "I hope we get one another in the first round, Rhea. Because I cannot wait to knock that smug attitude out of you."

"So do I." Rhea agrees. "So I can send you packing back to Smackdown where you belong." She stares at you.

Rhea walks off with Dominik and you growl. "Ugh, I can't stand her!" You grit your teeth.

"I can tell." Duke chuckles. "Don't worry about it. We'll knock those two out easily and win this whole thing." He insists.

"I like your confidence, Duke." You turn to him after you've calmed down. "Let's win this thing."

[paperjunk]

Life or Death - Chapter 09

Summary: Anger issues and memories of a horrific past biting at her heels, Kenzie Ames is pulled back into active service. Sent to Top Gun to help train a handful of Navy Pilots on how to survive their next mission, Ames’ resentment and anger may hurt her and those around her more than she knows if she can’t get it under control. Secrets weighing her down, Ames soon finds a Lieutenant’s persistent desire to know her maybe more than she can handle as the clock ticks away the time she has to make sure that not only do they come home, but the part of herself she left back in the cold, barren, tundra does too.

Author Notes: I am out of practice writing fanfiction. Sorry. This is an OC x Bradly Bradshaw or Reader x Bradly Bradshaw. All 3rd person pov.

Table of Contents: Will update as we go.

Chapter 01 | Chapter 02 | Chapter 03 | Chapter 04 | Chapter 05 | Chapter 06 | Chapter 07 | Chapter 08 | Chapter 09 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 |

Maverick looked down at the well-worn picture in his wallet. A picture covered in crease marks. A picture that had been snatched from his fingers more than once by the wind. One that he had chased down every time to dust off, straighten out, and put back into the placeholder where his driver's license should have been.

The girl beamed back at the person behind the camera, all skinny long legs and arms, bright pink wavy hair down to her waist, and sunkissed skin from days long since spent under the summer sun and in the salty water of the ocean. Her green eyes held mischief and a certain degree of amusement in them if the water gun peeking out from behind her back was any indication.

What would she have been like had he been there? Would she have smiled even brighter? Would they both have been in the picture, laughing and finally giving chase after the camera holder, water guns blazing in the summer heat?

He would never know. 

He may now never know what a future with her would be like. What it would be like to live without the shame and regret of his past biting at his heels. It didn't matter how fast or how far he could run...it would still be there, nestled somewhere deep in his heart and thoughts. Especially his thoughts, as they turned to her as of late. He had tried to talk to her, but he hadn't accounted for the anger that had burrowed down somewhere deep inside of her. The overwhelming hate and sadness had been painful to see...and to hear.

"Don't ever call me that," she said, green eyes that matched his own, boring holes into him. "You will never have the right to call me that."

Maverick was never one to give up, but the malice in her voice had set him back and hurt him more than he was willing to admit. He had returned to the bar that night and nursed the same beer as Penny made her second, third, and fourth rounds.

"Mav?" Rooster said, cutting into his thoughts and the older man's head snapped up. Rooster watched as Maverick stuffed his wallet into his jeans and threw him a bright smile.

"Get the good stuff?" He asked, taking in the six-pack in one hand and bag of groceries in the other.

"Of course! Nothin' but the best for the game," Rooster replied with a lift of his lips, setting everything down into the back of the bronco, his head turning to catch sight of the building to his right. Maverick followed his gaze but saw nothing except a short set of stairs to a dark China blue door of what had to be the shop owner's apartment above something called: The Farmhouse. Maverick had the briefest of speculative thoughts scurry across his mind before he shook them away.

He first noticed them when the crowd parted momentarily, giving him a glimpse of the couple deep in a back booth. The two sitting a little too close, and Rooster being a bit too friendly. He watched between patrons as Rooster's hand reached out, brushing her hair back from her face, lingering as his thumb brushed against her cheek before wrapping his hands around his beer. Maverick abruptly felt something shift inside him, and he wasn't quite sure what it was until he saw her smile softly at Rooster, green eyes hooded and warm to the idea of the man beside her, and Maverick knew. 

The thought felt so random and surprising that Maverick sat frozen in disbelief for a split second before a sudden rush of disappointment in himself washed over him. What he had wanted to do...was to protect Rooster. To protect him from what he felt would inevitably happen. To protect Rooster—from Ames.

That night, a whole new color and shade of shame ran through his veins. He had been there for Rooster, right up to the point the teen had tried to join the Navel Academy. Maverick tried desperately to be the father that he knew the boy would never have when there was a little girl out there that needed him just as much, if more so, than anyone else, and he had ignored her. Pushed away the possibility and let it get lost and buried under everyday idol thoughts. Ames had been accurate. He didn't have the right, and with the way his own feeling were betraying him, he was sure he'd never be able to.  

"I did not know they knew each other that well," Penny said, setting Maverick's heart racing as he hadn't noticed her approach.

"I didn't either," he replied, setting his beer down.

"You gettin' in the car or what, old man?" Rooster asked from the driver's side with a chuckle.

Maverick laughed and got in. "Watch who you're calling, old man!"

Dark brown hair brushed against her arm as she raised it, running a hand over the haul of the Su-57. Memories danced a slow decay across her mind while the world around her felt distant and unearthly to her. Closing her eyes, fingertips grazed over rivets and seams, nuts and bolts counted and accounted for in the blueprint of her psyche.

"There will be no more pain," a man says somewhere distant and far in her past. "You? You will work for us now while you wait," he smiles in her memory. "There is a wall some distance out there. It is old and crumbling, but it serves a purpose. It is meant for traitors and those that would try to spy on our country," his smile grows wider in her mind. "In thirty days, we will take you. We will take you to that wall and press you against it. And then we will blow your brains out across that wall. See my love? No more pain."

"Ames...," the voice caught her off guard, and her hand fell back to her side as if caught.

"What?" She demanded, recognizing Maverick's voice a few feet off.

"We need to talk to each other," he replied, tucking the clipboard against his side. "Really talk. I know it's the most inopportune time, but I'm not sure when we'll have a chance again, and we need to have a conversion. Especially before we put this mission at risk. If they haven't already, it's only a matter of time before the others pick up on your animosity towards me. Rank aside. If you need to scream at me, scream at me. If you want to deck me, deck me."

Maverick had chosen to confront her now, in the quiet of the empty wing when no one was around. Trying to find her outside of the base was more complicated than he thought, and being at the Hard Deck with so many other fellow pilots was not a good idea. Not saying that the current plan he was executing was a good idea either, but he felt he had run out of options. Doing this, Maverick was hoping Ames would finally say what she had been holding back. If her words on the beach had stung him, he had no doubt her words would hurt him now. She was like Rooster in that sense. Finding just the right words at just the right moment to slide the knife in a little deeper without anyone the wiser. It would take the audacity of him giving her permission to let out her feelings that would set her off...and Maverick wanted that. He wanted her to yell at him, to scream, to shout, to call him everything imaginable under the sun. He had forced the wound inside of her heart to fester that day so long ago. The least he could do was try to help it mend. If only a little.

Blinding white-hot anger raced through Ames, forcing her body around before her mind could make sense of the emotion that ripped through her.

"You sure do need a lot of things, don't you?" She snapped, nails digging into her palms. "Where were you when I needed you?"

"Kenzie...," Maverick started but was quickly cut off. 

"Where did you go when you ran off, Pete?" She asked in nearly a whisper. Green eyes that looked so much like his own boring holes through him as she stared him down. "Where did you go when you left a sixteen-year-old girl—alone on the street? Where were you when I was cold...or hungry...or afraid?" She asked coldly.

The room filled with a pulsating silence and was heavy with anger, grief, and pain as the clock on the hanger wall suddenly seemed louder to Maverick than before.

TICK, TICK, TICK

"Where were you...when she died just two blocks from home?"

The inability to not feel or look away from her pain was like standing in the path of a fast, oncoming train—inescapable.

"You have no idea how much I wish I had been there. How much I wish I had been a part of your life. The regret I've lived with for the past seventeen years...," Maverick said into the silence. He knew he could give excuse after excuse, but they would be just that—excuses.

"I don't hate you, Pete," Ames lied, eyes glancing away as she could no longer look at him and sighed heavily in the twilight. "Hate implies that I'm still emotionally attached to you somehow—which I'm not. So your regrets? You can keep those until the day you die for all I care because I will never be your daughter. And you will never be my father."

With each word, Maverick felt the sharp, heavy twist and wrench of a knife dug deep inside him.

"I didn't do that," Ames said, and eyes that he had known were his own seventeen years ago when he first saw them in a young girl's face finally returned to look into his own. Her face a mask of indifference.

"You did that."

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A/N: Have you ever started to write a chapter and find after you’re done that it’s not going to work as said chapter? So it’s like: okay i just wrote chapter 13 instead of chapter 10....>___>’ I’ve got like 3 chapters like that. Just chapters, but no order. DX  This chapter was loooong! lol