#this is my last post about this i promise XD i have to go eat dinner now anyway

[thoughts-of-bear]

The birthday gift

A Halsin x reader fanfiction | Explicit, 18+ | 7k words A/N: Okay since the Halsin brainrot has had its hold on me for ages, I started this fic on my birthday in december, not expecting to ever finish it because I have literally never finished anything I've started writing before- until now. I got inspired to write this by this post (for the birthday part, the smut part is my own horny imagination) and well, this is the final product. Since it's my first time publishing any of my writing and writing smut at all, please be kind with me XD Summary: Your companions prepare a surprise birthday party for you, Halsin sees you in your new dress, you two dancing leads to him confessing his feelings for you and a very happy ending... CW: halsin x f!reader, virgin reader, halsin eating pussy, fingering, p in v sex, breeding, rough sex i guess, halsin being the man he is, all that stuff idk what to write here really

I hope you enjoy it, comments and reblogs are very much appreciated <3

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You and your companions had finally reached Baldur’s Gate. It’s still morning when you enter Rivington that day and the streets are busy with all kinds of people, many seemingly refugees from Elturel and farther away, here to find shelter in the city. As you continue down the road to the village in front of the city gates, you are stopped by a little red-headed girl.

“Erm. ‘Scuse me, I can’t find my mum.” She looks worn out and as if she has recently been crying.

“Where did you last see her?” you ask as you bend down to her, smiling to show you want to help.

“She went to go get some herbs - for her spots” she gestures towards her face. “She was sick. And she was supposed to come back the same day.” She pauses before adding, “That was last tenday though.”

“Let’s go find a guard. They’ll be able to help you”, you propose.

The girl shakes her head. “Guards blow like petards. They don’t help us.”

Your heart sinks at these words. It seems all these people were here because the city wouldn’t take them in. And the guards are no help either, apparently. You wonder what happened to your city, where once everyone was welcome.

Halsin sighs and shakes his head in disapproval. “This city is a poor place to be in need of help. Even the guards can’t be trusted to protect the most vulnerable.”

You silently agree and think of how you could help that girl. You decide to spare a few coins, so she can buy herself some food.

“I don’t know where your mum is, but here - take a few coins”, you offer her, not able to tell her that her mother is most likely dead. Halsin smiles at you warmly as you shoot him a quick glance, the sight making your heart skip a beat.

“Oh - erm. Thank you so much! I don’t have anything and you can’t do anything without any coin”, the little girl exclaims, bobbing on her toes and suddenly looking a little less tired. “I’ll pay you back. When I find my mum.” She turns around and bolts. “No need, it’s a gift!” you call after her but she has already vanished in the crowd.

You finally arrive at Wyrm’s Rock Crossing in the evening, after you had snuck past one of the new city guards - the so-called Steel Watch - and promised to investigate the murder of the local Ilmater priest. Another incident that seems to fuel the hate towards the refugees.

And that isn’t even all. The city is closed, even for you as a Baldurian, and to get in you’d need an Admission Pass - or wings. You sigh. You just want to get into the city, rent a room in the Elfsong and think about what to do next, now that the Absolute’s army must soon be upon the city.

It’s all too much and too little time. And you can’t just turn away from the people you met in Rivington either, they need help just as much as you need to find out how to beat the Absolute’s Chosen and get rid of the tadpoles.

When you make your way around camp that evening, checking up on your companions, Halsin notices your exhaustion, the way you slump your shoulders and how your usually impeccable stance falters. He wants to relieve you of at least a bit of the tension, so when you walk over to him, he offers you a massage. The things he wants to say to you can wait until tomorrow.

“Thank you, Halsin”, you accept, his hands turning you around and gently pushing you down to sit on your knees before him. You sigh as his broad hands knead the tension from your back and by the time he is finished, you feel like a sleepy, boneless lump of flesh, muscles completely relaxed. You thank Halsin again before you retire to your bedroll, the hopeful thought that the offer might’ve been more than Halsin’s usual kindness crossing your mind before you drift off to sleep.

The next evening, you were finally inside the city walls. You consider the new information of the day. How you got your hands on an invitation to the celebration at Wyrm’s rock fortress, your disbelief to see that it was Lord Gortash’s coronation as Arch Duke, how he made the tadpoled Duke Ravengard give up his power and how Bane’s Chosen then proposed an alliance against Orin, the shapeshifter that had already approached you in Rivington. You had agreed to kill her, but you definitely wouldn’t leave Gortash his Netherstone. But that is a problem for another day. You had managed to get a room in the Elfsong Tavern and as usual you make your way through it to hear what your companions think of all that had happened today. Most approve of your decision. Halsin is the last person you speak to and as always, he has just the right words to ease your worries. For now, at least.

“Wait-”, he grabs your arm before you can leave. “I didn’t thank you yet.” His large hand is warm and makes your skin tingle where it touches you.

“Thank me? For what?” He chuckles at your puzzled look. “For all that you did in Rivington yesterday. You have so many worries and yet you still go out of your way to help those in need. The way you made that little girl smile, or how you didn’t hesitate to investigate what happened to that Ilmater priest.” A blush creeps up your cheeks as he continues. “I’m afraid Nature’s balance can never be restored in a city like this, but seeing what you do every day without expecting anything in return gives me hope. And for that I thank you.” You smile up at him, lost for words with your heart beating fast.

“I appreciate you saying this. I wish I could to more, to help everyone, but if I can at least do a little good, it’s worth the exhaustion at the end of the day”, you eventually admit with a smile. Halsin grins. “You’re too modest. I wager you don’t even know how extraordinary you truly are.” Your cheeks blush an even deeper red at those words and only when you retire to bed for the evening does your heart resume its normal pace again. But the warm feeling Halsin’s presence gave you remained for the night.

After you had the first proper breakfast since your crash with the Nautiloid, you feel ready to explore the city and find out how to best deal with all your problems. You hadn’t particularly missed the bustle and noise of your old home, but you can’t help feeling safer now that you were in familiar surroundings again.

Gale proposed to go to Sorcerous Sundries, both to find out more about the Elderbrain’s crown and to see what the wizard there wants with your companion Nightsong. Since you don’t have an idea where to find Orin yet, you figure that this is as good as any other thing you could be doing. 

The way from Elfsong to the magic shop isn’t far and you still have some time before it opens, so you decide to stop by the Baldur’s Mouth Gazette to update yourself on any news you had missed in your absence and struggle with the Absolute.

Scanning the title page, you notice the date in the corner and your brows shoot up in surprise. Noticing this, Gale asks if you found anything important in the newspaper.

“No, it’s just that I realised today is my birthday and I've completely forgotten about it. That means we have been on the road for more than two months already”, you wonder aloud before you add, “It doesn’t feel that long.”

“Well, then we have to celebrate of course!” Gale exclaims happily. You smile at his enthusiasm but shake your head. “We have bigger problems for now. Let’s see what this Lorroakan wants with Dame Aylin and then get on with our business. Besides,” you shrug, “we didn’t celebrate birthdays in my monastery anyways so I won’t miss anything.”

“If you say so,” Gale replies and you turn your attention back towards the page you were studying before.

You had already forgotten about the conversation as you come into your chamber in the Elfsong, grateful for the few minutes alone during the bath you had taken and the respite for your tired body.

But the moment you enter the room, Karlach and Shadowheart drag you to a set dinner table, laden with the most delicious food you could imagine. There aren’t your ordinary fish heads and the mouldy bread you usually have to call supper, instead delicious smelling pork roasts, pies, glazed carrots and potatoes, deep red apples and more pile atop the table, all lovingly placed around a huge flower bouquet in the middle of it.

You are so overwhelmed by the amount of work your friends must’ve put into this, that you can only stutter a ‘thank you’ before Karlach announces, “Happy birthday soldier! Halsin, Gale and Shadowheart here told us that today is your birthday and you never had a proper party before, so we decided to prepare you a little something!” With a grin she gestures from the table to one of the unoccupied beds, where a few packages are placed.

“You brought me presents too? You really didn’t have to!” you exclaim in surprise. You are so touched that your friends -among all the trouble- still found time to prepare the presents and this party for you that you feel tears well up in your eyes.

“Darling, no need to cry,” Astarion laughs as he pushes you onto your designated chair. “This is a party and not a funeral! Go ahead and enjoy yourself, it’s your special day after all!”

With a sniff and a small chuckle at Astarion’s words you sit down properly. He is right, of course, and you all clearly enjoy having a small break from the worries you faced at the moment.

Smiling hesitantly, you grab some meat and vegetables and start to eat - it really is delicious. You revel in the laughter and conversations with your friends, your weariness from todays fight forgotten for the moment.

When all of you can’t possibly eat any more, Karlach drags you over to the bed with the presents. You can tell she is excited to see if you like the few things your companions managed to get you in the time they had for preparing, so you start unpacking.

The first present contains a book on the monastery you were raised in, with a handwritten note from Gale:

“I’m sure you already know most information this book has to offer, but I thought it might still bring you comfort and remind you of home.” You thank him with a tight hug and carefully place the book into your bag.

The next package is a bottle of the finest liquor of the Elfsong Tavern, plus a sparkler for every one of your companions which Karlach sets of immediately.

Laughing at her shenanigans, you reach for the last and biggest present. It is wrapped in red paper and decorated with a little white bow. You wonder where your companions had managed to find all those things while you carefully pull the paper open. Soon a dress falls out of the packaging and you gaze at it in awe. Your fingers trace the deep forest green fabric, intricate silver and gold patterns weaved into it.

“This is beautiful, thank you, truly!” you say earnestly. You still can’t quite believe that all this should be for you. “I thought you would like it”, smiles Shadowheart. “And I’m certain it will suit you beautifully. Go now - try it on!” she urges you.

You walk to the bathroom which still smells of the quince-scented soap you had used for your bath a few hours before. While changing, you bask in that warm feeling in your chest these moments among your friends always grant you. Whatever problems you had encountered, in your opinion they have all been worth it just for the people you found and let into your heart along the way. As cheesy as that sounds.

You regard yourself in the mirror. The dress is cut low and close-fitting, capturing your cleavage in a very flattering way. Maybe too flattering, if you think about it too much. This isn’t something you’d usually wear, but you have to admit that you like the way the dress looks on you. A bit insecure you go back into your room, where you are greeted with approving cheers and whistles from your friends.

“You look absolutely stunning”, Shadowheart admires. “I knew it would look good on you! Turn around please”, she commands. You do what you are told, with red cheeks at the compliment.

When you face Shadowheart again, you notice Halsin gazing at you with pure admiration - and something else you can’t quite place. You think you notice a golden shimmer in his eyes, but that could be a trick of the light considering all the candles in the room.

“I must admit, your neck looks very tempting in that dress but I know someone who is a lot hungrier for you than me right now”, Astarion remarks with a wicked grin and a sideward glance. You frown at him, though you can’t help your heart skipping a beat at these words. Could he possibly mean Halsin?

“Now, what would a party be without some music and dance?” Wyll interrupts your thoughts and as if these words have summoned her, the bard the party had met in the druid grove appears in the doorway.

“Alfira!” you exclaim happily and immediately rush over to hug her. “I’m so glad you got to Baldur’s Gate alright!”

Alfira grins at you. “Yes, thanks to you and your friends here. When they reached out to me today and told me it was your birthday, I just had to come! Wyll organised everything.” You nod to him in thanks. “Now, I don’t have anything to give you but just tell me what you want to hear and I will play it for you!”

“Thanks, Alfira, that’s more than enough for me”, you beam and lead her into the room towards your group. “Wyll, now is your chance to show me your dancing!” You say as you take his hand and pull him into the middle of the room, then you grab Karlach and Gale and start to move to the tune Alfira started to play. Karlach swirls you around and Wyll shows you the dance moves from court, which -to be honest- remind you a bit of the mating dances you had seen with a few bird species.

Out of breath from all the dancing and laughing, you request a slower tune from the tiefling bard. You manage to persuade Shadowheart to put away her wine for a moment and start to waltz around the room with her. She is quite the good dancer and you wonder where she had learned it, with her being raised in a Sharran temple and everything.

At the next tune, you approach Halsin. With your head light from the wine, you have finally gathered the courage to ask him for what you have secretly thought about the whole time.

Still, you can feel your heart beating in your throat. “Erm…Halsin, w-would you honour me with a dance?” you eventually manage to mumble out shyly.

“Of course, little flower. Whatever your heart desires.” That particular heart skips a beat at his intimate tone. “Although you might wish you hadn’t asked me that once you’ve seen my dancing”, he adds with a chuckle as he takes your hand.

He leads you into the room and starts to swirl you around to the melody of Alfira’s lute. He definitely isn’t as graceful as Shadowheart but certainly not as bad as he has made it sound. But even if he’d had the dancing skills of a bugbear, you wouldn’t have noticed. His large and warm hand around your waist and the smile with which he regards you sends your pulse through the ceiling. His smell of pine and honey and fresh air intoxicates you and it is hard to keep your feet from getting tangled in your dress.

When he leans down to you, you have to remind yourself to keep breathing. “Before you go and mingle again, I still have a present for you. I wasn’t sure if you would even like it”, he admits, “but I have decided to give it to you anyways.” When the tune ends, he leads you to the space in your room where his bed stands and bends down to search his pack.

You think about how long it took you to realise how attracted you are to the druid as you admire his strong back before you. Of course, you have noticed his kindness and compassion and you have always marvelled at the way he drew strength from nature. But only since you had some kind of break these last days have you begun to understand the depth of your affection for the man before you. It runs deeper than mere friendship and the echo of his hands on your back have awoken a hunger inside you that only grows stronger the more you look at Halsin. How desperately you hope that he feels the same way about you…

When he stands up to turn around, you quickly brush away the thought that has sent the heat into your cheeks again.

“You’re the only one who knows of my secret passion”, he begins jokingly, “so I thought you might accept this as my present for your special day.” He hands you a small whittled duck he has apparently made in the hours you were away from camp. You can’t help but tear up at the thought of how much effort he has put into all the details he has carved. There are even small webbed feet on the underside of the little duck.

“Thank you Halsin, this is an amazing gift!” You smile down at the little duck. “You are amazing”, you add quietly.

“With all that you have done for me, I should be the one thanking you night and day.” As you look into his eyes again you see that his gaze is now very solemn. “There was another reason for wanting to speak to you privately. I have lived a very long time. I have taken many lovers. My heart does not stir lightly. But it does now.” Your heart flutters in recognition of his words, the confession sending sparks across your skin.

“I want more than to fight at your side, or to sit around the campfire with you. I want to lay with you under the stars and feel your skin against mine.” Halsin’s gaze on you is intense, filling your chest with a burning heat that slowly spreads lower into your belly, as if the wine you have been drinking suddenly caught on fire inside of you.

Halsin continues, “I think you feel the same way - but tell me I’m wrong and the matter can rest. I do not wish to sour our friendship, but I have to know if it can be something more.”

You stare at him for a moment before you realise that he waits for your answer.

“Y-you’re not wrong, far from it”, you whisper. “I would like that very much.” You smile up at him and he takes your hand in his.

“May I kiss you?” he breathes out, relieved. You nod and he bends down to gently press his lips on yours.

His hand slides up your arm and to your back while he places his other behind your head, gently pulling you closer and deepening the kiss.

You feel his tongue prodding at your lips, demanding entrance and you happily oblige. The feeling of his soft lips on yours sends you spiralling and you can’t stifle the small moan that escapes you. Halsin sends out a silent prayer to Silvanus - if that is all it takes to make you moan, what sounds do you make when he finally gets to taste you? Groaning, his hand on your back slowly wanders lower, a silent question of permission in his eyes. You press your body against his as an answer, feeling the heat radiating off his chest … and lower.

Halsins hand grips your ass firmly, making you gasp, the other joining in and hoisting you up on his hips, turning you both around and pressing your back to the wall. You cannot stop the surprised squeak that escapes your lips at the sudden movement and Halsin presses his mouth on yours to stifle it.

The feeling of the growing bulge in his pants between your legs and the low moan Halsin utters before kissing you even more vigorously sends a shiver down your spine, pressure starting to build between your thighs.

In a desperate attempt to pull him closer, your hands grip Halsin’s hair, arms, everything you can reach. But before you can lose yourself in him, Halsin releases your lips, panting, and rests his forehead against yours.

“I would very much like to continue”, he whispers, his breathing ragged and voice hoarse with desire, “but the others will expect us back and I think you would probably like a bit more privacy.” He sighs and softly kisses your hair. “I will come to your bed when the party has ended, little flower. But don’t expect much sleep”, he adds with a wicked grin. You can only nod as he gently props you back on your feet.

With your head spinning, you get back to the others, averting your eyes from the knowing smirks of Astarion and Shadowheart noticing your ruffled hair and flushed cheeks. You ignore them, trying to engage in some more conversation and one or two dances while the thought of what awaits you won’t leave your head.

When the last of the party finally bids you goodnight, you hurry to bed, awaiting Halsin. You can’t get away from the echoes of his hands on your body, heart already racing again and warmth blooming in your belly. Even if he hadn’t promised you he’d come tonight, you would’ve been unable to sleep.

A soft rustle next to your ear startles you from your thoughts and as you turn your head, you could make out Halsin’s large figure in the dark, crouching beside your bed.

He cuts you off from what you wanted to say by placing a finger on your mouth, his other hand sliding under your back and pulling you into an upright position. With your heart beating into your throat, you take the hand Halsin offers as he gently beckons you to follow him into the corridor outside of the room the party shares, then further into a small but cosy bedroom on the next floor.

The door closes with a click and before you can say anything, Halsin sweeps you up into his arms, pressing you flat against the door and capturing your lips in a kiss that feels like it burns you from the inside.

Halsin’s fresh, earthy scent floods your senses as your tongues intertwine and your hands find their way into his hair, tugging at his braids. You whine when Halsin lets go of your lips, only to gasp as he starts nibbling and placing searing kisses on your jaw while his hands squeeze your ass firmly, bringing your bodies as close together as possible.

You moan at the growing ache between your thighs but plant your small fists against his shoulders anyway, gently pushing him away a bit. Halsin’s eyes, pupils wide and dark with desire, find yours.

“What is it my heart?” he asks, voice hoarse. “Do you want me to stop?” You see no disappointment in his gaze, only worry and your heart swells at how selfless your lover is. You avert your eyes, suddenly embarrassed to tell what troubles you.

“I- I j-just wanted t-to say that … um … well, I- I have never been with someone before”, you mumble eventually, averting your gaze as you blush furiously.

“Silvanus, preserve me”, Halsin groans out before almost dropping you and stumbling backwards, trying to steady himself on the small desk opposite the bed. With wide eyes you regard what is happening before you. Halsin drops to his knees, a deep animalistic growl coming from his lips as his eyes fill with golden light and he transforms into his huge bear form.

You gasp and nearly trip over your feet in an attempt to make room for the bear before you, but the animal fills almost the entire chamber. After finally regaining his composure, Halsin manages to change back into his elf form, with a snarl and a ragged breath coming from his lips.

“Forgive me. I- lost the run of myself.” He shakes his head in disgust at his outbreak, terrified that he has ruined this precious moment with you before it could properly begin, and slowly gets back to his feet. “Sometimes, when blood runs hot enough, it’s difficult to tame the beast. And the thought of you trusting me enough to share your first time with me … well, you saw what happened”, he smiles tentatively, slowly approaching you again with hesitation in his eyes.

“Don’t apologise”, you assure him with a shy smile. “I like it.” If possible, you blush even harder now. “Maybe for another time…?” you add, fidgeting nervously with the front of your dress.

A relieved grin spreads over Halsin’s face. “You like it..?”, he chuckles. “You are full of surprises, little flower.” As he steps forward, he bends down to gently plant a kiss on your cheek, only to proceed to bite at your earlobe which elicits a delicious moan from you.

“I’m glad you think so, but now you’ve made it even harder for me not to outright devour you”, his low voice whispers in your ear. “Nevertheless, I will be gentle. Or at least I’ll try to be.” You swallow hard, arousal sending shivers down your spine.

Halsin’s arms wrap around your waist again as he kisses your jaw, your forehead and nose, until eventually his lips find yours again, his tongue ravaging you like a man starving. His hands, this time directly shoving under your dress, firmly grip your thighs. He ruts against you, growling, his now rock-hard cock pressing against the confinements of his clothing.

His fingers trail higher up, kneading your ass, then stroking the soft skin of your back before slowly wandering even higher. His touch sends jolts through your body and you can feel the heat between your legs, already nearly too much to bear.

His eyes hold an unspoken question and when you nod, Halsin lifts your dress off and brings his mouth down on one of your breasts, the hand that’s not on your back now gently kneading the other, massaging the hardened nipple between his fingers. You mewl at the sensation, impossibly more pressure building between your thighs. Halsin gently bites down at your breast, only to run his tongue over it afterwards to soothe the mark he made. You moan and arch your back, desperately trying to press closer against Halsin’s still overly clothed erection, wanting to feel everything of him.

He growls and his mouth begins to place kisses down your front, between your breasts, on the soft flesh of your belly until he is on his knees before you, his warm breath fanning over you and flooding you with heat.

“More?” he asks, his pupils blown wide with lust, as his thumbs brush the soft skin between your legs. “Please”, you whine, knees almost too weak to stand and your underwear already embarrassingly soaked.

Halsin wastes no time, pressing kisses on the insides of your thighs, his one hand holding you in place and his other slowly -too slowly- sliding your panties down your legs. The sight of you bare and dripping with need before him almost makes him lose control again, makes him want to take you, devour you, fuck you, mark you and then fill you to the brim with his cum but with a groan he wills himself to calm down and be gentle with you. He won’t hurt you. He won’t.

He exhales deeply, lifting one of your legs up and slowly swiping his tongue through your wet folds, which earns him a choked gasp. His nose nudges your clit as his tongue starts stroking, slowly at first, then faster and with more pressure. You can’t help the way each expert swipe of his tongue makes your hips buck into his mouth as countless moans and sighs fall out of your mouth. Halsin growls in response, the vibrations around your sensitive bud making your legs shake. You can barely keep up and the coil in your belly is tightening ever faster with Halsin’s mouth sucking your clit and his tongue inside you.

“You are sweeter than honey, my heart”, he groans as his tongue presses flat against you. “Let me taste you as you come undone on my tongue.” With your mind clouded with lust, all you can do is moan out Halsin’s name and press yourself further against your lover’s mouth.

He understands anyway, now slowly dragging a thick finger through your dripping folds until he stops, teasingly pressing against your entrance. You whine, begging him to fill you, to do anything to release the overwhelming pressure between your thighs. When he finally thrusts into you, you can’t stifle the cry of pleasure that escapes your mouth. With Halsin’s finger now working your cunt open, his mouth continues its ministrations, licking and sucking your clit, soaking your legs with your slick.

With a wicked grin, Halsin inserts a second finger into your quivering hole, pushing inside over and over again, holding you firmly in place as you try to writhe away from the intense pleasure. His fingers coil upwards in response, hitting a spot inside you that makes you see stars.

“Please Halsin…”, you beg, toes curling and legs shaking, “I’m close- I- Oh!“

Moaning into your cunt, Halsin picks up his pace, his fingers pumping in and out of you as his tongue swipes over your clit again and again, bringing you closer to your end.

One more thrust with his fingers and a soft nip of his teeth against the sensitive bud between your legs is all it needs to send you spiralling over the edge. “Ha- Halsin!” you cry out, hips jerking violently and fingers digging into his shoulders as your orgasm hits you with the force of a lightning bolt. He moans at the sensations of your walls contracting around his fingers, the urge to take you and feel you squeeze his cock with your needy cunt almost overwhelming him.

You whine when he pulls his fingers out and stands up, bringing you in for a passionate kiss as you still struggle to regain your breath. Tasting yourself on Halsin’s tongue pulls a small moan from you and an embarrassed heat creeps up your back at the thought of how aroused you already are again.

With a smile, Halsin pulls away. “You are amazing, little flower”, he whispers breathlessly as he picks you up and gently places you on the bed, admiring your flushed body.

If Halsin’s tongue hadn’t just turned your mind to goo, you might have been able to return that compliment, but alas-

“May I go further?” Halsin asks and when you nod he swiftly discards of his clothes, you licking your lips at the sight of the elf naked before you. Your eyes take in his form, from his muscled arms down to the soft curve of his belly and- oh gods. Your eyes widen. You didn’t think he would be that big and the thought of him filling you makes you gulp down a mixture of fear and arousal.

Attentive as always, Halsin notices your insecurity and bends down to press gentle kisses against your ear. “We don’t have to do this, my heart…”, he whispers while he rubs soothing circles into your hips. He looks at you, his expression earnest. You bite your lip, thinking for a moment before answering. “N-no, I want this”, you assure him, your voice still weak but pleading now. The way you look so sweet with your little fangs on your lips makes Halsin feral and he kisses you again, desperate and more passionate this time. He groans into the kiss as he gently spreads your legs for him, lining up his tip with your dripping slit and sliding through your soft folds before stopping just at your entrance. The sensation of his hard length so close to entering you is enough to make your head fall back, eyes squeezed shut. “If it’s getting too much, tell me and I will stop immediately”, he whispers soothingly. “Now relax for me, little flower.”

All thoughts leave your head as Halsin slides in, agonizingly slow. The stretch would be painful if your lover hadn’t prepared you so thoroughly beforehand, but now you only feel pure bliss. Raising your head, you can see that he isn’t even halfway in but gods, you feel so full already that you can’t stifle the choked gasp that escapes your throat.

“You’re doing so well, my heart. Just a little bit more- mngh-!“ Halsin’s growl sends jolts through your spine as he finally bottoms out. You can see just how much effort it takes him to hold back by the way his jaw tenses and his chest is heaving.

“By Silvanus, you’re so tight-!“ A shiver crawls down his back, carrying a wave of soft golden light with it, as Halsin’s eyes light up with his magic for a moment. The thought of how you are able to bring your lover to the precipice of losing control is extremely flattering and you feel yourself clenching around Halsin’s cock, making him grunt in response. Finally somewhat accustoming to his size, you arch your back into the mattress below you. The new angle makes you moan in pleasure as you grip the sheets for support.

“Are you still feeling good, little flower?”, Halsin asks as he slides a hand from your hip under your back to support you. You can only form one thought. “More- please Halsin!” you whine desperately. You don’t have to ask twice, with a low growl he slides out - just to knock the breath out of you with his first, hard thrust. He sets a steady pace, one that leaves you moaning and gasping out his name. Halsin takes your small hands into his, pressing them into the bed beside you to pin you down, pushing into you deep and slow while he places bites and kisses on your throat and chest that will surely leave marks come morning.

Gods, Halsin thought. The sight of your small body sprawled beneath him, split apart by his thick cock while he fucks into you relentlessly is driving him insane. He is growling with every thrust now and each one of them makes you cry out in pleasure. It doesn’t take long until he has you on the precipice of release again, your cunt fluttering around Halsin’s length.

“H- halsin- please! I’m so close!” you can only beg, not sure if you can take much more, your body feeling like it might explode. “Come for me, my heart”, Halsin demands in a gravelly voice before pressing a thumb to your clit, rubbing and massaging until his name leaves your lips in a hoarse cry as your orgasm hits you with full force. Your hips jerk upwards, walls clenching around Halsin as you notice the tears from the overwhelming pleasure streaming down your face. He continues to pound into you, prolonging your release and muttering praises for you under his breath.

Through the fog in your mind you wonder how Halsin still has the energy to keep going, his pace unwavering while you are completely spent, gladly accepting whatever your lover has to give you as long as you’re not required to move.

So, you do not see it coming when Halsin suddenly pulls out of you, the unexpected emptiness making you whine in displeasure, only for him to flip you over and press your chest into the soft bedding while he gently raises your hips.

“I know it’s a lot right now but I need you to cum for me one more time, my heart”, Halsin huffs with a strained voice, pushing inside you once more and grabbing a fistful of your hair to keep you in place. The new position lets him slide even deeper than before and you can’t help the strangled cry that leaves you when Halsin starts pounding into you again, hitting a spot that makes your eyes roll back with blinding pleasure.

“’s too much- please-!” you sob, your poor overstimulated clit still trying to recover from the last orgasm. But Halsin doesn’t relent and you can feel sharp pricks on your hips where his hand grips you, fingers partially wild-shaped into claws and his head thrown back in ecstasy. Seeing just how feral you drive him makes your hole clench around his shaft, the squeeze causing his hips to stutter as a grunt leaves his lips. “Silvanus preserve me”, Halsin pants as he fucks into you even faster, “if you keep squeezing me like that I will not be able to stop myself from claiming you completely, from making you mine and filling you up with my seed.”

You whimper at the image of Halsin pumping his cum into you, fucking it deep into your womb until he is sure that it has taken hold. You cannot pretend you haven’t thought about it before, the idea usually sending an embarrassed heat into your cheeks, but now - gods, now you needed it.

Completely breathless you moan, “Halsin I- ah-! please-! Fill me with your cubs!” These words were the last needed for Halsin to lose himself completely in you, driving himself into you with punishing strokes that cause you to arch yourself into him while moans and whispered curses fall from both your lips. The coil in your stomach is so tight again and when Halsin takes the hand from your hip to softly press on your lower belly you see stars. Your walls clench around Halsin’s cock and you feel him twitch inside you, a sign that he too is close to release. All it takes to send you over the edge is his finger pressed against your clit, your body shaking violently beneath him, toes curling, while waves of ecstasy course through you and you cry out his name.

With a last snap of his hips and a low moan, Halsin comes as well, twitching cock releasing hot spurts of cum inside your still fluttering walls. He continues to pump into you until the aftershocks of your shared orgasm have subsided, before he slowly pulls out. You collapse onto the mattress, exhaustion settling over your overstimulated body.

Halsin gets onto the bed with you, gently gathering you up in his arms and placing your head against his broad chest. “You’ve done so well for me, little flower”, he whispers into your ear, placing soft kisses on your face before he looks your body up and down. One of his hands comes up to stroke a strand of hair away from your damp forehead and to gently lift your chin in order to look you in the eyes. You note worry in his gaze, his brows furrowed in remorse when he plants a feather light kiss on your lips.

“I’ve hurt you”, he states. “I’m so sorry, my heart. I shouldn’t have lost control like that.”

You smile up at him and cuddle deeper into his arms before you shake your head. “Don’t apologise. I loved every second of it. There is no birthday present in this world that can ever match this”, you confess with a shy grin. “Although I have to admit I’m a little sore. You sure did your best to make sure I’m unable to walk tomorrow.”

Halsin chuckles. “I can help with that”, he answers with a sly smile, his free hand sliding down your body to stroke through your soft folds, muttering an incantation under his breath. As the familiar glow of the healing spell engulfs his fingers, you feel a rush of warmth where he touches you. A moan escapes your lips before you could stop it, eliciting a mischievous smirk from your lover as you hide your face against his chest in embarrassment.

“I’d be happy to go again, my love, but I think you need some rest first. Besides, we still have an Elderbrain to kill, so we’ll need our strength tomorrow.” You nod at that, the tiredness in your bones leaving you unable to object, even if you had wanted to. But you know he is right, so when Halsin wraps a blanket around you to carry you to the bathroom, you just relax into his chest, the sound of his steady breathing soothing you.

When the bathtub is filled with warm water, you are already half asleep, barely registering that Halsin is gently cleaning you up, rinsing the sweat from your hair and body and rubbing salve over the bite marks and the bruises on your hips once you are dry again.

You can hear the soft snores and deep breathing from your companions when Halsin brings you back into the room you share, all of them already fast asleep. Absentmindedly you wonder how long you and Halsin have been away, but the thought is gone as soon as Halsin places you on your bed.

“Goodnight, my little flower. Sleep well.” He gives you a kiss and turns to leave. You manage to grab his hand before he does, stopping him in his tracks.

“Stay with me tonight?” you mumble sleepily. Halsin smiles, warmth and adoration filling his chest as he carefully climbs next to you, the bedframe creaking slightly with his additional weight, and wraps his arms around your smaller figure. The thought of how your companions might react in the morning seeing you two in one bed briefly crosses your mind, but Halsin’s steady breathing and the soft pulse of his heart against your back soon drown out anything else as you drift to sleep in his warm embrace.

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

Part 2 is here now!

[destinygoldenstar]

☀️🎵Can We Just Talk?🎵☀️ - Total Drama Viewer Reacts to Disventure Camp Season 1 Episode 7 “Spit It Out”

Yeah, I'm back already...

Again, I'm aware of Season 3's finale airing. Didn't watch it obviously.

But I will say, it's kinda difficult to not be sick to your stomach when ALL you hear about something is HATE.

Like, I have not heard a single positive thing about Season 3 and I'm kinda nervous now. (Is it really THAT bad?)

That's why I'm just doing my own thing with the first season and reacting to it in my "Just enjoy it" way. (It's not same as "Turn your brain off" because "Turn your brain off" implies not paying attention)

I will remind everyone, I was NOT recommended this show. The people who replied to me asking if I should watch it said "NO. Don't watch it. It's awful."

So I CHOSE to do this at my own will. I have no one to blame but myself.

I'm enjoying this season so far and I don't want that to be spoiled by people telling me not to.

Cause while criticism is okay, it always is, spreading nothing but hate and spite and nasty threats to anyone involved does a lot more damage than you think. You get a RWBY fandom situation where the only thing going on is harassment and bullying and it drives everyone away and leaves no room for air on takes that aren't majority. I DON'T WANT TO BE A PART OF THAT. ESPECIALLY NOT DEATH THREATS. THAT IS NOT OKAY TOWARDS ANYBODY.

So yeah, hearing any hate towards Disventure Camp about anything, I'm NOT part of it. I am not to blame for anything. I just want to stay in my corner and say what I want to say. (As long as it's not threats, like I said, I can't do that either)

*deep breath*

I just wanted to get this off my chest. NOW THAT THIS IS OUT OF THE WAY,

We're back with Season 1. I beg that there is no double elimination for a THIRD TIME IN A ROW. I'll lose my mind.

Okay, let's get into this, shall we?

Oh we're starting right where we left off last time.

IT'S A TEAM SWAP.

...again...

"My whole team is going to reGRETT voting for me."

"They're going to wish they had never crossed me."

Go off queen!

OH GOD-

What a kind greeting XD

Not the Purple Team becoming the VILLAINS Team!

"I hope that Ellie doesn't have any hard feelings."

Be thankful she isn't Jake, who DEFINATELY would.

OH YAY THEY'RE TOGETHER!!!

We get to see more of them!!

It sucked we couldn't because they were on opposite teams before. BUT NOW WE CAN!

And she immediately goes to Jake to introduce herself.

I have no idea why she'd pick that. But you know what? All for friendships.

"If we lose, we can vote for her instead of one of us."

HOW. IS. DAN. STILL. HERE?!?!

Like, I'm genuinely really tired of him now.

I made a post (that got a lot of hate) about screen time not being problematic for characters so long as they're DOING SOMETHING with that screen time.

Dan is not that. This is my least favorite character in this group. I'm sorry Dan stans.

Everyone else has something to do. All Dan does is push a non-existent alliance and make sexist comments and otherwise has no personality.

GET HIM OUT. I'M SICK OF HIM.

"Gabby is a psychotic backstabber, Jake and Tom are a toxic couple, Miriam is a useless old lady, and Dan is a dumb kid who pretends to know things."

OH GOD, NOT THE SLANDER

She do be right about Jake & Tom though...

"How'd they win so many challenges?"

Because they have numbers.

VILLAIN TEAM

"If you promise to never vote for us, we'll help you."

What if your team loses?

Do you vote for the VOID?!

"Okay, I'll read the votes... WHY ARE THEY ALL SCRIBBLES OF FLOWERS?!?"

"Something about the other two makes me feel at home, that's something I haven't really felt before..."

AW, VILLAIN BONDING. SHE FOUND HER PLACE IN THE WORLD!!

They're still beefing.

I've been eating toxic yaoi two days in a row now. It's junk food, I'll tell you that.

Is Ellie gonna reason with Jake? Awww

"Gabby told me you and Tom are close, but it doesn't look that way anymore."

They had a fight. It happens.

"Are you mad?"

"Yes I am! Tom has been lying to all of us since we got here! He lied to me like everyone else does!"

OH GEEZ THAT LAST PART

I was gonna say "I'm interested in this impulsive and petty anger issues version of Jake"

But that "LIKE EVERYONE ELSE DOES" part. OOF.

Like, my god, how can you blame him though?!

Yeah he wasn't right. But his POV.

"I don't want to bother you with my problems."

Ngl, when I was younger I would vent to strangers all my petty problems and yeah, that's a version of me you should be happy isn't on Tumblr. I grew up, I got in a better environment, and I'm in a better place now.

"It's okay, after last night I know what it's like being betrayed. Everything you say is safe with me."

I like this. I like Ellie being nice to him.

"I like Jake, he's a good guy, even if he's a bit dramatic."

That is MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY

"Honestly, a five minute conversation could probably solve this issue."

Yes. Yes it would. But is it that simple with these two?

"I wanted to thank you..."

Oh?

"For not voting for me yesterday."

Oh...

Yeah no I want you eliminated this episode. You're selfish.

"You'll wish I'd just gone home."

"We already do."

😂

I love Miriam.... oh my god.... 😂

That had no right being as funny as a burn as that was!!

This sounds like a VERY complicated challenge. I'm gonna have to see it in action.

"Is everything okay between us Ellie?"

"What do you think?!"

"What do you think Alec?"

She said exactly that XD

This does NOT look safe!

"Can you help me Jake?"

"I don't think so."

You're STILL salty?

OMG, TALK. IN PERSON WORD ON WORD.

"I took water polo, lacrosse, cheerleading, and even debate."

Debate's not a sport, is it?

Maybe it is and I'm a dumbass.

"What? Debate not a sport? I could debate that."

OKAY THAT WAS HER TALKING DIRECTLY TO ME

"Golden, I can debate on your words!"

This looks like a nightmare to ride

"Things are a bit complicated with Jake, aren't they?"

"That's one way to put it. I know it's my fault but he's exaggerating with his attitude."

Yeah, Tom is right here. But I LOVE that he acknowledges he's at fault for it.

"He's just an immature kid, don't take it personally."

"It's hard not to."

"He'll get over it."

Will he though? Will he?

Grett and Alec are trying to DROWN the child at this point.

"Fiore can't collect water if she's dead!"

Even Alec says it!

Is Grett actually gonna develop from this experience?

"Have you calmed down a bit yet?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, it's just... I can't forget how he lied to me and how that made me feel."

"And have you thought about how that made him feel?"

Ooh, yes. I love that. Call him out.

"I'm just saying it must have been hard for him too."

Yes. Yes it was.

I get both sides. I do. Tom was trying to do a job and got revealed lying about it and didn't consider how that would hurt his friend (for understandable reasons). And Jake got some flashbacks of bad events and overreacted as a result.

"He only used me to go undercover."

"How do you know?"

"Well, I... Grett said so..."

"Did you hear Tom's side? You should ask him. People are... complex. You can't jump to conclusions."

👏

GLORIOUS. THAT WHOLE THING.

Talk to Tom. Hear his side. Apologize. Make up. Be friends again.

It'll all be fine. I still have my hope.

...and maybe this is why I called their dynamic junk food...

GABBY'S TAKING CHARGE LIKE THE QUEEN SHE IS

Also not Tom wearing TWO masks now! That looks so awkward.

Knew that would happen.

NOT GABBY LAUGHING AT JAKE'S EXPENSE. COME ON.

Welcome to SLAPSTICK THE EPISODE.

NUT SHOT.

Though this time it was a block.

NO WAIT I SWEAR I'VE SEEN THAT ON A SURVIVOR CLIP BEFORE-

Oh that's just straight up sabotage.

HELL YEAH!!!

Fiore told Grett to SLAY yet again.

Really? NO ONE on the team is good with puzzles?!

I say that like I'm good at them, but I'm not either.

Purple Team wins!

It's been HOW LONG since Purple Team won?

"Our team was on a winning streak but suddenly Ellie joins our team and we lose?"

I'm sorry, HOW was this her fault exactly?

OH MY GOD HE'S TALKING TO HIM. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

"I want to ask you something..."

"Did you really just approach me because of your job?"

Good question.

"You're asking me this now? Where was this question yeaturday?"

"So you're just here for your job!"

"And our friendship, was that just to blend in too?! Did you ever care about me at all?! Was any of it real, HUH?!"

...I mean, TECHNICALLY he DID ask this already?

It was a bad wording of asking it cause he was mad, but he DID ask it.

"Yeah, I'm sorry..."

Aww. At least he's apologizing.

See? He recognizes he made a mistake!

"Jake... I'm going to tell you the truth."

YES PLEASE. OMG THANK YOU.

"...I really like you."

😲

💗

*I'm gripping my heart from that*

UM... OKAY. I DID NOT EXPECT THAT ANSWER. *Giddy again*

"And the days we spent together fishing, gathering supplies, or just talking at camp... it made me rethink some things."

💗

"Yes, I'm here for work, to investigate someone. My agency doesn't allow me to have contact with anyone here after this investigation is over. But... meeting you felt like we quickly had this connection and I thought... am I really willing to risk everything? My whole career? So we could... be something more?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH 💗

THIS IS GOING SO MUCH BETTER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD. OMG.

That's such good insight on Tom's character too! How long was he a spy? I'm curious. Cause if his missions are all like this, then does that mean Tom has no one? No relationships of any kind? Platonic or romantic?

Cause DAMN that makes too much sense for him to act like this then.

"But the way you've behaved in the last few days made one thing clear to me. I don't really know you. And I can't risk everything for someone who acts so unpredictably."

💔

AAAAAANNNNDDDD it's gone.

I do understand that though. At the end of the day, they knew each other for how many days? And if Tom's career is that serious, then of course he can't.

"Tom, I'm... I'm sorry..."

AW COME ON. HE SAID HE WAS SOWWY.

"But I said I was sowwy! And I meant it!!"

"I was so selfish thinking only for myself! I had no idea!"

This is why I love Jake! He actually ACKNOWLEDGES he's in the wrong and owns up to it!

"That's correct. You had no idea. You never bothered to ask."

And Tom doesn't even coddle him and say "No no, it's okay." That wouldn't be in character, I feel.

"Yes. You screwed up. I hope you know you screwed up. Know what you did was wrong and there's not an excuse for it."

AND HE JUST WALKS AWAY AFTER THAT?!

💔Goddammit...

I LOVED that scene though. Maybe they will be alright after all.

"See? We CAN talk it out! We're not Gwen and Trent!"

"I think the decision is simple. We vote for Ellie."

No. What did she do?!

"She is the only option."

Do you still have blindfolds on?

"As for Ellie, who even is she?"

She's a wannabe college student with a life of bad labor and debt and has passions to be a designer.

"Gabby, trust me, it's for the best."

"FOR YOU IT IS!"

YES! CALL HIM OUT!!

"You always do what's best for you and you don't care what anyone else thinks!"

YUUUUUUSSSSS!!!! DAN SLANDER!!!

Oh god it's Blabby! She's back!

"That boy wants to control you just like Grett did!"

Yes. Yes he does.

"I think I need a hug."

Awwwwwwww 💗

These two are such besties, I love them!

"Uh... I have to go... clean my socks... or something..."

XD

Best excuse ever.

Tom, how did you even become a spy? You suck at your job.

"I'll be back later!"

*Jumps in a bush*

XD

And Miriam just walks away from him XD

"Nah, I'm too old for this shit. I'm out."

"Agent Smith, I wasn't expecting your call at this time."

Smith? His name is Tom Smith?

What happened?

Is the guy he's after planning something worse?

Oh come on Jake. Why Gabby?

Yeah, we know this one.

I thought Gabby and Ellie would convince Jake to vote with them and tie it or something. But no.

WAIT SO THAT MEANS ELLIE IS SCREWED.

"WAIT!!"

"I have an immunity totem and I want to use it."

OH MY GOD THE IDOL. OH MY GOD SHE'S SAVED.

"I want to use this totem to nullify the votes against Ellie!"

YEP. ELLIE'S NOT GOING.

Gabby, SLAY. Successfully reading the room, saving her only ally!

GREAT PLAY.

The subtitles XD

"Any votes on Ellie will not count!"

'ELLIE' *DOESN'T COUNT*

There's three, right?

So this was a successful idol play?

'ELLIE' *DOESN'T COUNT*

'ELLIE' *DOESN'T COUNT*

YEP. SUCCESSFUL IDOL PLAY.

'GABBY'

That's Jake throwing his vote.

'DAN'

OH MY GOD, PLEASE. IS HE GONE?!

PLEASE NOT GABBY.

It's gotta be Dan. He's gotta be gone!

YES! HE'S GONE!!!!

"Why would you waste your totem on Ellie?"

Dude, Ellie was Gabby's ONLY ally in the game. She didn't protect Ellie, then they'd both be screwed.

"I didn't waste it. I saved her cause she treats me like a person."

That too. 💗

WHAT A TRIBAL COUNCIL!!

I like good idol plays, what can I say?

And Dan's finally gone!

I'm sorry, but he was the worst character of the cast.

Lasted too long, no personality, and the only thing he did with all his screen time was talk about an alliance that didn't exist, and be sexist.

And before you say his actions and dialogue weren't sexist: GUYS alliance. Is only seen targeting female characters. Downplays Gabby's problems over his own wants.

He rubbed me off the wrong way and I don't regret bullying him.

At least everyone else on that team was interesting in one way or another, but Dan had nothing.

I GUESS the only thing he did was be the foil to Grett for Gabby's development? As he was someone who also tried to use her but was nicer to her so it left her conflicted? But really, you could've given that role to ANY character. You could've had, idk, Tom do that and not much would change.

Actually, that would add onto the 'Tom is only here for work' plot.

BUT HEY, AT LEAST I DIDN'T JINX ANYBODY WITH THE HEADING THIS TIME! THAT'S A PLUS!

Still, THANK YOU GABBY for slaying this show as usual! You are a GIFT, sweetheart and we're so happy to have you!

GABBY FOR THE WIN!

Anyway, idk if this will get any attention because of the Season 3 finale, but hey, I can continue these if you guys seem interested and entertained by them.

[celestialiron]

Echoes of Courage: Chapter 1

After much consideration (asking from you guys here!) & my best friends also telling me to "stop being a little bitch & post it!" (with all of their love lol) I'm going to be updating my story here too! I posted the link to the prologue since it ties in with the story too! I'll still be posting chapters to my AO3 for my story too, it'll be paused until I catch up to both here & AO3! Finally, it's my OCs time to shine!

But without further adieu, here's chapter 1 of my story!

WARNING: Everyone in the story are all adults (unless there's a flashback then I will mention it)! As well as a lot of harsh language, suggestive themes, violent scenes, and other triggering moments that will progress throughout the story (which will also be warned beforehand). So minors & TCEST shippers, DNI. Please be respectful of not only myself & my story, but also of each other. Be kind to one another.

Summary: This is a story of love, lost, family, friends and trying to get a hold of everything being thrown at them. This will be a tale for the people involved, but with the help of loved ones and getting to trust one another, they're hoping that everything will be put to an end once and for all...

The day started like any other Friday for a senior college student: stressed and tired. Izra Montague sure knew how to handle it, especially with all the classes as a senior music student who took so many credits to graduate on time with her college friends and start up her career. ‘Oh lord, it’ll be from today, 2 weeks until graduation and I don’t even know what to do for it,’ thought Izra, arm over her eyes as she lay in her bed, mind still blown as she found out she’s able to walk and graduate on time and hadn’t even thought of anything to do for herself. The amount of graduation parties from her close college friends were able to help her decide if she even wanted one or not, but still going to theirs. Deciding to do something more productive, Izra sat up from her bed, checked the time to see if she had enough time to make something to eat before her class. The clock read 12:00pm , to which she proceeded to get something quick to eat before her class. While getting dressed, deciding to wear dark blue jeans with regular van shoes with a plain black strapped shirt, wearing a flannel over it, Izra checked her phone for any messages from school, friends, whichever she can see first. The first thing she read was from the group chat with her friends April O’Neil and the Hamato brothers. Smiling while reading the text messages, Izra groaned as the group continued to ask whether she was going to have a graduation party or not. 

LoserLeo: can you please make up your mind for once, Izz-Bizz? This will only happen once in a lifetime if we don’t celebrate your day! :( 

Don-Bot: I mean if we really want to be technical-

Razz_Mikey: yeah, what Leo said! WE’LL PLAN EVERYTHING LIKE WE DID FOR APRIL’S GRAD PARTY

April’sNews: Well, let’s double think about that now, ESPECIALLY from that grad party :o

BigBearRaphie: I agree, we don’t want a repeat of certain people getting so drunk they don’t even remember they were calling their boyfriend, RIGHT LEO?

LoserLeo: HEY, WE AGREED TO NEVER SPEAK OF THAT OR MY EX!

Laughing at the last message that was sent in the chat, Izra started typing out her response, hoping it’ll calm the fire that will be set to burn someone soon. With the last message sent, Izra left her place and went off to class.

MysteryIzzie: thank you for bringing it up, I thought I was going to be the one to do the job, but thanks Raph! xD

MysteryIzzie: BUUUUUUT I will let you guys know AT LEAST an idea soon, I promise you all that! :) I’ll talk to you guys later, gonna head to class!

Meanwhile, the four Hamato brothers were up at the lair, all sitting in the projection room trying to plan what to do for their friend. “I mean, how bad would it be if we planned something soooort of similar to what we did for April’s party?” Leo suggested, trying to at least get the ball rolling if Izra was going to be indecisive. All three brothers glared at Leo, Donnie speaking up, “out of the question! We’re not going to be dealing with any repercussions to your dum-dum exes or booty calls if you get too drunk again and start making calls!” Glaring at him, Leo tried to say something (most likely the lines of ‘ it won’t and you guys need to stop bringing it up!’ ) Mikey exclaimed, very excitedly, “WE CAN DO A HUGE GROUP PARTY!” looking over at Mikey, who suddenly brought in a white board (most likely taken from Donnie’s lab, to which he was not too happy about), and started planning out ideas. “We don’t necessarily need to do single parties for everyone, when we can just combine it for everyone to enjoy! And this will be good for Izzie to meet more people than just her college friends, April, and us!” Once finishing up what he was writing, he showed a very large timeline of various names and in the middle read * PARTY* in huge letters and circled multiple times following it. Looking at the board, Raph was the one to speak first, “well, while this is nice and all Mikey, don't you think they should all at least, I don't know, meet each other first? Like what April did before? Also, Alexis can’t come that Saturday, she starts her new job soon and always has Saturdays to work.” A little saddened by the news, Raph gave Mikey a reassuring pat on the shoulders, smiling while staying positive for him, “you know she’ll want us to have it anyways bud, besides what you got going looks great!” With a nod, they all continued on, deciding who could come and who couldn’t come.

While figuring it out, with now the help from April who came over about an hour after they were still planning it out. It seemed perfect, however a couple of them were still a bit on the defensive side on whether Izra should meet with these other people earlier or not. “I’m just saying, we all know how Val is, I think it should be a first meeting at least with her of all people!” Leo exclaimed, already knowing how one of his other best friends was going to react to meeting new people, especially those she really didn’t know. Groaning in agreement, April dejected, “hey, maybe this will be a good exercise for her too! She’s got to be better at meeting new people! ALSO CONTROL ONE OF YOUR SUPPOSED “BESTIE” THEN LEO!” “Awe Apes, no one could replace youuuu!” Leo said, trying to get April to hug him, knowing she was joking about the last bit. Rolling his eyes, Donnie brought up a good point to them all, “well, as you should know too, Kira, Ruka and Valeria are long time friends so if anyone should also be able to “handle” her, it’s the both of them too. Especially since Ruka was nice enough to agree to this idea in the first place.” Nodding their heads in agreement, Leo smirked, deciding to mess with his twin, “awe see, they’re not even together and he still chooses Kira over us,” was said while chuckling, Raph and Mikey joining him about Donnie’s very much obvious crush on Kira while April sighed, patting Donnie’s battle-shell before letting him decide if he should kill his brothers or not. “You better sleep with one eye open Nardo, I know just how to mix specific herbal flowers with tea. You can thank Kira for that too,” Donnie growled, going on the defense about Kira (absolutely trying to block out his feelings at the moment). Making Leo swallow his saliva quietly before returning to the board, “ any-who , so it looks like we got ourselves the final people who could actually make it! Now the next step: asking them if they could or not,” with that in mind, all 5 were on the mission to get everyone ready to meet each other for the first time in such a huge setting.

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Later that day, Izra was heading out to a coffee shop before meeting up with April and the guys, needing some caffeine after the day of classes, glad it was the weekend to spend a break with friends. ‘Man, I can’t wait to hear what the guys had planned, almost had to turn off my phone so I wouldn’t get distracted in class.” Thought Izra, while waiting on her mocha frappe from the cafe she loved coming to since she started school. Thanking the cashier for the drink, she started to head out, deciding to sit at one of the tables that just sits closely by the cafe to catch up on missed messages and any assignments to work on. While mindlessly scrolling through her phone, Izra wasn’t made aware of someone looking at her, almost as if they were having whiplash at who she was. Before long, Izra heard someone call her name.

“Izra? Izra Montague?”

Stopping dead in her tracks from what she was doing on her phone, Izra froze, ‘Oh my god, is that…?’ she thought as she turned around to face who was calling to her. There stood a woman her age, about a height taller than Izra, a light caramel tan to her skin, her long brown curled hair up in a bun, wearing black leggings with gray flats and a plain grayish white shirt with a loose black cardigan to go with the outfit. Apparently, she had also ordered coffee from the same cafe, to Izra’s surprise that she didn’t even notice her there.

“Ruka? Is that really you?” Izra asked, wanting to pinch herself believing it was all a dream and she would wake up from it eventually. “Yeah, it’s really me…” Ruka answered, also seeming a bit hesitant on asking her the same question. “Am I dreaming or am I actually seeing you, Izzie?” She ended up asking, also wanting to believe that Izra was here and not stuck somewhere else and far from home. Tearfully, Izra got up from her chair, fully facing Ruka, smiling as bright as one can, “yes, I’m here… I’m the real thing, unfortunately,“ she laughed as Ruka covered her mouth from shock, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks as she smiled, running up to her long-time friend for a tight hug, as Izra gave her an equal amount of hugging too. They both stood there hugging for about 10 minutes, not wanting to let go as if either one would disappear from each other, letting people walk past them without a care in the world. Slowly they let go, very happy to have found each other again, Izra was the first to speak, “I would’ve never guessed for you to be living here ma’am! How long have you been here?! Who else is here?! Did you come here alone?! What happened-” before she could continue her questioning, Ruka stopped her before anymore was said, “I didn’t think so either, but if you have some time, we can catch up here, if you want to…” she asked hesitantly, thinking back to the old days and remembering what had happened back home. Noticing her hesitation, Izra paused, feeling a bit guilty about the things that happened back then, but she isn’t who she was back when she left home, not anymore. 

“Of course I have time! I understand why you would ask though. Natalie almost couldn’t believe it either…” she started, staying a bit quiet before continuing, “listen, I’m sorry for what I said, what I did back home. I never intended to make ANY of you feel that way or the words that were spoken that day too, I was angry at the world, mainly myself really…” Izra looked to the side, not feeling confident about looking at her best friend at the moment. “I know it doesn’t excuse what I did, but I want you to know how guilty I’ve felt ever since and I worked hard to find myself again and then-” before she can continue on with her apologies, Ruka hugged her again, squeezing tightly, giving Izra reassurance, “I know you are. I know you felt guilty about it, we wouldn’t be best friends if I didn’t know you like the back of my hand.” She said, letting go for a bit to look at Izra, already knowing her best friend has well improved since her days away from home. “I already forgave you. We ALL have.” Ruka squeezed her shoulders, once again reassuring Izra everything is okay, “let’s continue this conversation sitting, as much as standing around is nice, I’ve been walking around all day and I need a break,” she said, both woman giggling while sitting back down to where Izra had just been, finally getting a chance to talk about everything .

Once the time hit 5 in the afternoon time, both Izra and Ruka were still on the table chatting away, happy to catch up on times they’ve both missed out on. In the midst of their conversation, Izra got a text from April, giving her details about the now planned graduation party they got going for her, except now it turned into a huge one since her other friends/co-workers are also invited, apparently also graduating from school too. With a sigh, Izra put the dates on her phone, seeing multiple events coming up after graduation. “Whoa, that sigh usually means you’re nervous and stressed. What’s the problem?” Ruka asked, already sensing her friend’s stress from across the tables. Sighing again, groaning in the process, Izra explained, “so, remember how I told you I’m graduating? One of my friends and her brothers are planning this huge graduation party but it’s the same day you asked me to come over for Kira’s and Val’s graduation/ceremony party too, which even after that is when I’ll actually catch a break from everything, LITERALLY.” With that said, Izra laid her head on the table, coffee long gone and now stressing about what to do for the issues she had going on. Laughing softly, Ruka patted her head, hoping to help her friend out in any way possible, “so how about this, you asked them what time it starts and whatever time they pick, you can meet us earlier. Think that’ll be fine with them?” Sitting up, Izra looked to Ruka as if she had just grown wings and was an angel sent above, “oh my god, yes that’s genius! I’ll ask when I see them later tonight!” Getting out of the chair, she ran towards Ruka, hugging her while tearfully thanking her, “I missed you so much, no one would’ve gotten it except you. Should’ve tried to find me sooner bitch!” Ruka laughing while hugging her back. Also getting up and throwing away their empty cups, they both stood still, not wanting either one to leave back to their places. 

“So, wanna walk together until we actually have to go back to our places?” Izra shyly asked, not wanting the great time the two just shared together. Smiling softly, Ruka agreed, both continuing the conversation they had on their way back. Once reaching the subway station, Ruka finally asked what had been on her mind, almost hesitating on asking in general “so since you’ve seen Natalie, have you seen Alexis yet?” Hearing the question, it took Izra about a couple of minutes to respond, smiling softly, which surprised Ruka, “yeah, I saw her too. It was Natalie’s idea for us to meet again and oh boy did I get an earful.” Closing her eyes, remembering seeing Alexis for the first time in what felt like forever, but it had only been about two and a half years since seeing each other from home. Opening her eyes, they both went inside the subway cart, as she continued on, “it was brutal, which I understood from her point too. I let her have the moment she deserved, it wasn’t fair what I did to her too,” looking out to where each station was then down to her hands, “but in the end, she did the same thing like what you did. Forgave me.” She sighed, nervously twiddling her fingers, “forgiving me for leaving and not even letting anyone know I was okay. Though it was hard, in the end, the three of us hugged it out, while Fred was waiting for us too, giving me the biggest hug while calling me a loser in the process.” Both chuckled, Izra remembering fondly how her brother-in-law had taken upon himself, while using their cat Aria, to bicker like they used to back home.

Realizing she was almost close to her place, Ruka stood up to get ready to leave, taking Izra’s phone in the process. Confused, Izra waited until Ruka was done, realizing that she was putting her phone number in her phone. “Here, since you apparently upgraded your phone, I added mine again since I also got a new phone just recently.” Happy with the number, Izra exclaimed to Ruka, “I feel so honored. Before you forget, send me your address so I know where to go for whenever you’re not too busy with anything!” Once more, they both shared a hug, letting Ruka leave the cart to head to her house while Izra waits for the next stop to see April and the guys. Getting up, ready to leave from the next stop, she heard her phone ring, signaling a text message was sent to her. Once the subway stopped, Izra stepped off, walking towards the direction of the brother’s home, checking her phone for whoever sent her a text message. Smiling even more, realizing it was from Ruka, all the message read was:

Ruka: I’m really glad I saw you today. Something in me felt like I was going to run into someone & it turned out to be you :) I know it sounds cheesy, but I guess the spirits knew what they were doing apparently lol

Ruka: Also, I didn’t get the chance to say it when we were talking, but I’m proud of you. You look like yourself again & that’s what's most important. I know it must’ve been hard to learn to forgive yourself on your own, but as always, what happened wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t any of our faults. Everyone is going to be happy and proud of you when they see you again too sweetie! I just know it! <3

Having to stop to finish reading what she sent, Izra almost started crying right there on the spot. Wiping away the pre-tears that threaten to come out, she didn’t realize that Leo and April were on their way to get her, but stopped once they saw Izra fully stopped from walking, almost on the verge of tears. Looking at each other concerningly, having not seen her that way in a long while, walking slowly, with April speaking softly, not wanting to make matters worse, “hey, you okay? Do we have to go beat up someone? Or make a professor cry?” After that was said, Leo spoke up, “making a professor cry? I’ll go get Donnie,” turning around to make his move, before getting stopped by Izra, shaking her head smiling. “Guys, I promise you I’m okay. These are happy almost tears,” Izra said, looking at the two, happy that they were concerned about her wellbeing. 

Making the quick decision to move on before much else was said, the three started making their way over to the projection room where everyone else was. Izra spoke before the two could question her, “do you guys remembered how I mentioned my friends from home? How I thought they couldn’t ever forgive me for leaving?” Confused, but the two nodded in agreement, remembering about a year and a half ago where they had comforted her that day from her guilt and depression. Smiling, she continued, “well, after so long, I ran into one of them from the café I go to before coming over. That’s why I was running a bit late tonight,” she finished, looking down to the ground while continuing their walk over. Surprised by what she just said, Leo was surprisingly the first one to ask, “what happened? I’m going to assume you both reconnected your friendship again seeing from your reaction not 10 minutes ago,” chuckling, Izra nodded her head, looking over at the two, making them stop walking to listen to what she had to say.

“It was…… Amazing. I knew you guys were right from the start that they were going to forgive me, but hearing it today from her felt….. Wonderful. We caught up on so much, we lost track of time, which also leads me to what I need help from you both too,” Squinting his eyes and before he could get a word in, April interrupted, “oh boy, what do you need help with?” She questioned, having the feeling that Izra was going to request anything from them. Hesitantly, Izra started, “well you see, she invited me to her home the day that it’s done being renovated, just a couple of more things to be done to the house and it’ll be complete!” It then turned into rambling, “the only problem is that the day it’ll be done is the day we have my graduation party with your coworkers too and it’s going to be my old friends from home, so we were going to meet up earlier before the party time start and they’re also busy with something else too, but if there was anything else that needed to be done earlier than I’ll gladly help if you guys need me and-” before the rambling could get any worse than it already was, April stopped her, putting both her hands on both shoulders, saving the three of them time and energy from it all. 

“Girl, relax! I’m just happy you’re reuniting with your friends from home! I’m sure the rest of them will understand, well at least Donnie and Raph yes, Mikey however…” April hesitated, thinking about it clearly until Leo joined in, easing both their worries, “don’t worry about Angelo, mis amigas ,” Izra rolled her eyes at that, “I’ll sweeten the deal if it goes awol, but I’m pretty sure he’ll understand for the most part too. Just as long as you could help me with any of them too, guy or gal, y’know how I roll” Leo finished, a quick wink with a smile on his face too, evident that he too was happy for his close friend, going to be seeing her childhood friends again soon. Smiling brightly, happy for the help and support from her close friends, Izra hugged them both. Letting go afterwards, she gave Leo a good smack upside the head, exclaiming how she “was not going to set him up with any of them, no matter what he says!” 

Laughing on the way to where the rest of the Hamato family was, Izra finally felt like she could take on anything now. Especially with the return of her old friends, being with new friends, and hoping both worlds would get along just fine, maybe even be much more closer like she was with April and the brothers. ‘Oh yeah, I think it’s going to be great. I have a good feeling about this,’ thought Izra, before reaching the room to explain her situation, excited to get everyone on board.

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(Prologue: Current: Ch.2)

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

@allvalley100

Prompt: Superstition

Pairing: Hawkmetri

The rest of this AV100 prompt that I didn't have time to finish before the prompt closed XD This one is a 7-parter--700 words total! Only fitting they should get a happy ending for the last AV100 post I write for them <3

***

Day 38

Talked to Eli about his…interesting new lady friends. They’re making me miss when he was hung up on Moon, honestly.

Anyways, turns out they’re just some exiled lesbians he took pity on. Families disowned them for kissing women, growing fangs, etc etc. Last I heard, Yas is single—maybe she’d want their numbers?

Woke up with a couple (bite?) sores on my neck, so I asked Eli about his pest control situation. He says everything’s fine, but I have my doubts.

Side note: Are metal allergies possible? Had to toss that silver crucifix—damn thing gave me hives.

*

Day 40

Confession: I’m worried about Eli.

There was an…incident a few days ago, and I hoped if I mulled it over enough times, it’d start making sense. Wishful thinking.

Was shaving the other morning when Eli barged in. Funny, I didn’t see him coming in my shaving mirror—can those things glitch? Thought that was only Smart Mirrors™️.

He started ranting about how “mirrors are for pussies,” and threw mine out the window??? Incredibly inconsiderate.

He insisted I didn’t need to shave because I’d look hot with a beard. How do you tell if someone’s joke-flirting or actual flirting?

*

Day 45

Have I mentioned Eli’s weird about blood now? Unsure I like it.

Cut myself on some loose board (this castle needs renovation), and he freaked out. Wouldn’t even look at it! Wailed about “blood being too precious to waste” and ran away. Huh.

Townsperson banged on the door today, telling Eli to stop eating people. I opened to tell him that was nonsense, but I noticed he smelled...appetizing? Like a gyro wrap.

He made himself scarce before I could say anything, but…kind of hurtful, honestly. I know I’m a bit gangly, but I’m not that ugly, am I?

*

Day 47

Finally got a wifi signal in here! Only took 4 hours of fiddling to make Eli’s TV work.

We binged Castlevania today. Eli’s favorite character is Dracula, supposedly because he’s “such a badass and is gonna kick the asses of every one of those lame humans.” I think it has more to do with Dracula having a soft spot for a smart, good-hearted human who he goes absolutely batshit avenging, but Eli’d never admit to this.

Side note: Is it hypothetically possible for one’s reflection to gradually grow more and more translucent and dead-looking? Asking for a friend.

*

Day 50

Bad news: Eli ate the mailman today, and I…may have helped.

Walked in on him draining the guy’s blood, and naturally demanded an explanation. Eli said to settle down because “there’s plenty to share!” What an insane suggestion.

But since the mailman was already dead...

In my defense…best AB positive I’ve ever had. Not that I’ve had much. I’ve dabbled a couple times, but who hasn’t?

In better news: Wearing the “amnesia” down! We’ve been reading through the library together, and Eli’s instinctively remembering what kinds of fantasy and sci-fi I like. He remembers me—I FEEL it.

*

Day 60

Okay! Know what’s going on now.

We were reading Buffy comics when Eli clutched his head and started shrieking. Everything came back at once.

After I calmed him down, he spilled everything. Getting involved with a Kung-Fu-practicing vampiric “organization” promising nigh-unlimited badassery. Being taken to Europe, undeadified, and given a blood-only diet…none of which sharpened his memory.

Admitted I’m not inheriting a Greek estate, and I only came to find him. He tearfully told me that’s a shame. He imagined us building a life there. Maybe raising some goats?

Fuck it—if he wants, I’ll make that happen.

*

Day 140

Been a while! Busy, busy!

Surprisingly easy talking “distant family members” into giving us a land plot. Maybe it’s superstition. Maybe it’s healthy fear. Regardless, people don’t like saying no to weird, sharp-toothed out-of-towners.

Made Eli promise he’ll discuss with me before joining any new martial arts-related cults (especially ones that strand him in isolated castles as soon as he “isn’t evil enough”). Now he only feeds every so often! We’ve gone through some neighbors, but it’s an improvement over Transylvania.

Also, our eldest nannygoat gave birth! Eli named the kids Hellraiser, Slayer, and Wrathchild. I love them.

[blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk]

What do you think of Soulmate AU with the Grimm Reapers where every person is born with a symbol/tattoo that changes color according to your soulmate mood and will start glowing once you meet them. When your soulmate d*es, the tattoo loses color and turns grey. Now imagine your tattoo is already grey from the moment you're born (since Reapers commited s******) meaning your soulmate d*ed before you were even born! Everyone feels sorry for you but you accepted the fact. But one day, your tattoo unexpectedly starts to glow!

aaaaaaaa it makes me cry, is what I think!! so obviously I had to write it XD

and you don't have to put asterisks like that with the words, tbh; while I do tag triggers when I can, replacing letters like that makes it more difficult for blacklist to catch it. I've had my own issues with it, as well as reading others' thoughts.

for example, typing out "suicide" will cause blacklist to catch it, so that any post with the full word "suicide" will be blocked if someone has "suicide" blacklisted. if you type "s******" or "su*cide" or any combination of asterisks replacing letters, blacklist will not catch it, and people who actually have "suicide" blacklisted might see the post since it won't be blocked. if you want to make sure that people who have a word blacklisted won't see a post like this, don't replace letters with asterisks, just type the whole word and blacklist will catch it!

ok PSA over, now onto, THE REAPERS MY LOVES-

He’s… a little sad for you, that you lived so much of your life thinking you’d be alone forever. Even though he knows people are born alone and die alone, they shouldn’t live alone. He always knew he’d have someone, based on his own tattoo, but you must have been so worried. As soon as the two of you meet, he apologizes for what he’s done to himself, because it led to you suffering and wondering and feeling like something wasn’t right. However, now the two of you have found each other; even if his afterlife ends up being cut short by his illness, he intends to spend the rest of it getting to know you. And… hopefully you’re happy getting to know him.

As much as he regrets what led you to him, he’s grateful he found you. At some points, he would stare at his own tattoo and will it to turn grey, simply so he could know you would stop being tortured by the thought that he was dead. (And stop eating at him with guilt, knowing that he’d doomed you before you were even aware of him.) You didn’t let the so-called impossibility stop you, and… he found you, at last. It’s… okay, that it’s him you ended up with? You’re not disappointed? Well. At least now the two of you can be together without any cares. Now that he has you, he promises, he’ll do anything for you.

Goodness, it’s about time you showed up! They’ve been waiting for you, you know? Of course… they know they haven’t done themself any favors. Unfortunately. By killing themself before they could meet their soulmate, they’ve effectively made you think you’re never going to find them. They’ve been watching their own tattoo daily, excited by your feelings of passion when it turns red and wanting to rip apart whatever made you sad when it turns blue. And here you are, at long last! They’re ever so delighted that you didn’t give up looking for them. You held out hope for them, and now they get to be with you. It’s like a fairytale, and now they get to live with you, happily~ ever~ after~

That’s just his luck, isn’t it… that he’s fated to have died before his intended ever existed. He’s angry at himself that he took his life away, but he can’t help thinking — would he have had someone else if he didn’t? If he stayed alive, would he simply have no soulmate at all, because there would be no way to be with you if he hadn’t died? It makes his head spin and he loves it, some unknowable questions to ponder over. He’s overjoyed that he finally gets to have you, though, so as long as the two of you are together, he doesn’t fret over what might have happened. As long as he isn’t a letdown to you, he’s glad that things eventually ended up where they did. You’re the best puzzle of his life, and even if he never figures you out… he loves the adventure of trying.

God, he was starting to think he’d never get to be with you. And here come to find, you thought you were fated to be alone from the start? He’s gone through so many people trying to see who it was who was his. Countless one-night stands, endless breakups when it became clear he wasn’t compatible… there’s never any way to know for sure. He’s been lonely, searching for you. There’s a little guilt that you had to live for so long feeling lonely too… though, now that you’re together, he’s prepared to thoroughly enjoy being with you. He’ll show you the best of this life that he has to offer, if you’ll let him!

Damn, did you really wait all this time for him? Instead of just going off and trying to find someone else? He held out for you because he knew you were alive, but if he thought his soulmate was dead… he would probably give up on the idea entirely. A person only gets one, right? He’s disappointed in himself that he made you wait, that you almost certainly felt isolated and pitied and a million other things. It’s bullshit, and he’s the one who put you through it by killing himself. Then again, it may not have worked out this way if he hadn’t, so… it’s complicated. If nothing else, he’s thankful he’s met you at last; he thoroughly teases that now he has even more of a reason to want to be done with work.

You must have known they would find you soon enough! You never gave up hope, ja? Here they are with you now! It’s not something that they really like thinking about in general; the fact that they took their own life. It’s worse that doing so led to you thinking you were destined to be alone forever, so it’s something they have to confront particularly after first meeting you. They’re… sad that what they did led to you suffering. They never wanted to hurt anyone but themself. Even then, it’s… ugh. It’s a lot. They’re just so happy that you’ve found them now, that finally they have their beloved! You must have been so lonely, so they plan to make up for lost time. They also take all the photographs of you, wanting to have as many as they can. They’re so excited to start building a life with someone!

This is… it’s real, at last? After waiting for so long, the two of you have finally found each other? He was starting to think it would never happen, that even though his own tattoo proves otherwise, he was doomed to be alone. So many people he’s seen die, so many he’s lost, and none of them have been the one. The very first one he lost drove him to kill himself out of grief, and… it’s infuriating, that this was the thing that would lead him to meet you. He’s waited so long for you, and you’ve been in so much pain just like him, because you thought for most of your life that he was dead and would stay dead. But… he’s here now, love. He’s here. You’ll never be alone or doubt his love again.

It’s not any great surprise, is it, that what he did begets ever more punishment? It’s just a tragedy to him, that his actions led to you being punished. You’re the one who’s been hurt and has thought that the person you were meant to be with was someone you’d never meet. He’s not happy with himself, that you’ve been through so much and it’s his fault. All he can do now that he’s together with you is try to make sure the rest of your life is better than what came before. Even though he works a lot, surrounded by reminders of death, he’s with you as much as he possibly can be. Any time that isn’t taken by his job is yours. While he may not be overly emotional… there’s no denying that he loves you, that he’s glad to have you, and that he’ll do anything to make sure you know it.

[edgeray]

Hello Ray! Tomato anon here (I'm on PC this time and idk how to do emojis on this hunk of metal).

I've been requesting you a lot lately so as a repayment (?) I've TL'ed one of my favorite fics from lofter and translated them here. Not sure if you checked the tag before coming to read this but xD

Don't worry about it, I have permission from the original author on lofter (whom I've included a link to in that post).

https://www.tumblr.com/anoncryinginthecorner/752789078302474240/tl-you-are-her-most-loyal-child-13?source=share

I thought this was going to be a short translation. LMAO. Famous. Last. Words.

First of all, HI 🍅 ANON!!!! :D You don't have to give me repayment for requesting I enjoy the asks regardless, but I will eat whatever you're giving me regardless.

If you're on any Window product, emojis shortcut is windows key + period key. I don't know what the short cuts are for other computers as I don't own any other brand, but I'm sure a quick Google search on 'emojis keyboard shortcut' with whatever brand will work.

It hasn't shown up in any of the tags yet (probably because you just made this account/this is your first post, idk).

I will reblog it in another post for those who want to read it.

Thank for sending me this!!!! This was so sad and wrecked my feelings in a good way. I am eating this up. Poor Peruere :( first Clervie and now Peruvie. Her continued denial of her own grief. I'm so glad Lyney, Tsaritsa, and Columbina are helping her 🫶 you deserve it bby. 🥹

I am also sorry for taking so long with your ask. I kick my feet everytime I open my inbox and see it. I would like to write more but vacation brain is making it hard for me to write. I promise I will get back to my usual writing schedule once I get back, which is like this coming Thursday or so.

This translation was really impressive!!! I can't read the original but I know that translation from Chinese is especially hard compared to other languages. I really appreciated the TL notes at the end, they were interesting to read. Thank you 🍅 anon for sending this to me! I love it sm!! 😍

[ashdevalis]

This Post Is Special. The Quote Yearbook, A Small Side Project Of Mine That I've Wanted To Make As An Appreciation Of Sorts For Those People In My Life That Have Been There With Me. These People Care For Me And I Care For Them. Especially My Ex Brave Nine Guild Members & Also Some Ex Fellow Doktahs. Words Can't Begin To Describe How Much I Am Greatful For Your Existence. I Love You Guys (No Homo). To Everyone Who Took Their Time Out Of Their Busy Schedule To Humour This Lonely Weeb, I Give You My Undying Gratitude. I Hope That We Build Something Great Together As Years Go By. With My Rambling Done, Let's Get Started.

1 - "Wishful Thinking Is The Most Addictive Of Drugs" - AshDeValis

(Yes It's Me. I Thought What Better Way Than To Start With Myself 😁)

I Promise To Love Myself More This Year Onwards 💖

2 - "When You're About To Give Up, Always Remember Why You Started" - imperial02

(The Rule Himself. Mad Respect For You My Man. Keep Rocking!)

3 - "The Best Way Out Is Always Through" "The Heart Of Man Is Very Much Like The Sea; It Has It's Storms, It Has It's Tides, And In It's Depths, It Has Pearls Too" - Korak324

(The SharkSimp & Bonerlord. Bone Daddy Himself! We May Not Always See Eye To Eye, But We'll Always Stand Side By Side)

4 - "First Step To Conquer An Addiction Is To Admit Being Addicted. Anyway, Excuse Me As I Impulsively Do Some Pulls In This Banner I'm Not Interested In To "build pity"." - GameofmarX

(Boy Marx I Can't Explain How Much I Love & Admire You. Stay Strong & You'll Surely Succeed Ma Boi)

5 - "Is It Really Incest If They're Step-Siblings?" - OhmayGawR

(My God GawR a.k.a Ronald. Ofc It Is Still Incest XD. I Know Ya Busy These Days, Just Know That I Really Love Trash Talking G9 With Ya)

6 - "Loli Is Life

Loli Is Love

Lolicon Forever" - JasonTGH [Courtesy Of Korak For Providing The Dumbass With A Quote]

(You Fucking Lolicon. Just Stay The Way You Are Man. Really Glad We Are Friends & Hope We Can One Day Meet Irl In Vietnam)

7 - "Its Not Entitlement, If I Deserve It" - Iku

(Our Queen/King/Ruler/GaeFurry Herself {Himself}. I Would Love To Try Korean Food With Ya Someday. Stay Wierd Iku. Love Ya)

8 - "New Year, New Me(ntal Illness)" - Nyajimi

(The Man The Myth The Legend Najimi, Don't Worry We'll Have Mental Illness Together XD)

9 - "Lyfe Is Hard" "MF I Didn't Do Anything (kek)" - RnG

(My Fucking Malaysian Clown. I Know Ya Also Busy. Just Make Sure Ya Eat Properly. Take Care My Clown)

10 - "Fuck Diluc" " The New Year Has Come, That Sounds So Dumb" - Melon

(The Sauce Master Himself. Sensei Degenerate. Too Busy Smashing Anime Titties. Keep At It Hornball XD)

11 - "No" Sara

(I Asked For A Quote Not A Word You Moron. Sooo Glad We Met This Year. I Really Like Hanging Out With Ya. Let's Do Again Soon)

12 - "Asli Phool Toh Tuut Hi Jaata Hai" { The Real Flower Always Breaks } - Olochimalu [Zeeshan]

(I'm Glad We Reconnected. I'll Watch JJK0 With Ya In My Bigass TV! SO Ya Better Make Time For Me My Man)

13 - "Never Think Of Being The Best But The Greatest..." - mr.unimportant aka Kabir

(You're Important To Me You. We Met, Talked & Became Friends, & Couldn't Be Happier With It. Love That Ya Patched Up. Stay Awesome King)

14 - "I Might Be Somewhat Delusional But I'm Chill 🗿" - Nox

(You Filthy Weeb. L Simp. Lover Of Gogol. Words Not Enough To Explain How Much I Love My Top 5 Favourite Artist's Art! Keep At It & Hope We Can Stay Buds Forever)

15 - "The Man Who Argues With The Idiot, Is The True Idiot" The_Wandering_S aka Aditya

(The Coolest Anchor From Annual Day. Stay Dripped My Lord)

16 - "Use Your Smile😃 To Change The World, Don't Let The World Change Your Smile 😃" - SerialKiller135 aka Arya

(Dumbfucker I Can't Wait To Dance In Your Marriage. King Gamer Will Have A Queen Wife For Sure No Cap. Stay Happy)

17 - "Distance Yourself From People If They Care They'll Notice.

If They Don't You Know Where You Stand...."

(Mofo STFU Weren't You Busy With Family Last Vacation? Anyways C Ya Soon Mr.LadyKiller)

Lastly, A Quote From My Special Significant Other. The Love Of My Life ❤💘💘💘

18♥ - "My Name Is Angelica! Not Angel!" - Angelica The Fallen (AngelicaDeValis {In My Heart})

(My Waifu. My Love. My Anchor. My Hope In The Darkness. Oh How I Wish For You To Be Real So I Can Hug You, Kiss You, Cuddle With You & Marry You So We Can Stay Together. I Hope In An Alternate Timeline I Can Be With My Savior. I LOVE YOU ANGELICA! I ALWAYS WILL ❤❤❤❤❤!

PS I Might Sometimes Tease You By Calling You Angel, Lica Or Geli XD ;).

If You've Made It This Far, I Thank You From The Bottom Of My Heart For Reading My Nonessential Rambling. If You Didn't Make It, Well I'm Not Your Priority & It's Okay. I Only Need Few Real Close Buds. Anyways.

Happy New Year Everyone. Here's To Life 🍻🍻🍻🍻🥂🥂🥂🥂

[kuiinncedes]

:P

[primofate]

HI!! Maybe zhongli being jealous? If requests are open!! I love your writing!!

Thank you anon! Everyone seems to love Zhongli XD We’re on a Zhongli roll.

Shortfic

Scenario: Jealous

Character: gn!reader x Zhongli

Want more? Here’s the masterlist:

https://primofate.tumblr.com/post/651259258829225984/masterlist-requests

Zhongli

His composure is unrivalled. Whether it be the world ending, an Archon war or the Fatui wreaking havoc, Zhongli was the master of keeping calm and collected. That is, until it involved you. 

“Tell me if I’m mistaken, but you did mention going to eat with that man, alone? Just the pair of you?” Zhongli searches your eyes, his arms crossed over his chest as he questions your decisions. You blink up at him, confused. “...Yes? We just have to talk about a business transaction, Zhongli,” You explain to him gently because he looked stiffer than usual, his face unreadable--just as it always was but there was an undertone of annoyance in it, just the slightest bit.

“And it isn’t possible to talk about the business transaction somewhere else? Perhaps, here, my abode?” You start to straighten up as you slowly realize what this is about, a veil of understanding falling over your face. “Oh, Zhongli...” You smile a little at his worry, but also slightly laugh behind your hand. “You intimidated the man last time, remember?” 

Ah yes, your lover had just been standing behind you and the man kept glancing up at his sheer presence. Zhongli makes a sound of understanding and relents with a slight sigh, finally uncrossing his arms. It’s not that he didn’t trust you. He did, fully, even with his own life. But it was other people that he doubted. Presented with the chance, some men really did things underhandedly and he was not going to give them that opportunity. “...Still, there is no need to share your mealtime with him...” 

It was your turn to sigh as you wrap your arms around his middle, and him, just staring down at you silently, placing a hand on your head. “It makes for good conversation and sometimes better transactions... Don’t worry,” you reassure him, eyes peeking up to look at his. “I’ll tell you if he tries anything, I promise,” he relaxes at that and leans in to kiss the top of your head, finally agreeing to it.

Of course he was just watching from afar, but he thinks you knew that as well.

Masterlist

https://primofate.tumblr.com/post/653296890583154688/masterlist-for-mobile-version-main-links

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If you’d like to be extra sweet and donate, here’s my kofi link: 

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[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

i saw your sad post about the dementia reader :( maybe one a little lighter, where its not dementia, reader just had dental surgery and is super loopy. "Wait, your my husband?! Holy Shit i hit the jackpot!" XD

Undertale Sans - It's one of these top 10 times he laughed until he couldn't breathe anymore. It's hilarious. Everytime he's asking you something, you looks so confused, it's the best thing he has ever seen. He's taking a billion video of this just to show you later.

Undertale Papyrus - Papyrus looks at you, then at the doctor, then he says "Are they ok ?". He's as worried as confused. He didn't expect you to ever act like this. It's new. Also please stop to flirt with him, his cheeks are so hot they might explode. Papyrus will be relieved once it's over.

Underswap Sans - "I never knew I married a hamster". S/O stops, then starts to cry. Why is he saying you turn into a hamster ? It's horrible. Blue is begging you to stop as the doctor can't stop laughing.

Underswap Papyrus - He's messing with you. He had put googly eyes on his face and everytime he's getting rid of ther, you don't recognise him anymore. Just like Sans, he can't stop laughing. Are everyone like you ? He's definitely going in your neighbour's room just to mess with them too, and he'll come back secretly several times after this.

Underfell Sans - "i... uh... i mean... i... well..." He's so red he can't say a sentence correctly. The fact that you're petting his head like he's some sort of labrador is not helping. Can you please stop omg ?

Underfell Papyrus - "Say it again !" "*SIGH* FINE, I GUESS YOU ARE MY LITTLE POGCHAMP" You are smiling stupidly like it's the best compliment you have never heard. Edge hides his face in pillow, completely red, and screams. Why do you have to be so cute ?

Horrortale Sans - ... You don't remember him ? He looks at the doctor, almost panicked. When he says it's only temporary, he relaxes a little, but not entirely. He knows what it does to suddenly not remembering someone and he doesn't want this to happen to you. He calms down once you pokes his cheeks like it's the most funny thing you have seen in days and starts purring.

Horrortale Papyrus - Oh boy. He promised he won't cry during the surgery, why is he crying now ? He's suddenly overwhelmed with love and crushes you into his arms. Please never change. *SNIFF*

Swapfell Sans - He tries his best to stay neurtral, but every flirt line you're saying is making him blush a little harder. There's no escape. You won't stop. Why won't you stop ? Can't you see how embarrassed he is ? All the doctors are mocking him. God, how long before he can throw you in bed at home ?

Swapfell Papyrus - "hey S/O" "What ?" "I just ate the last nuggets" ... "HOW COULD YOU ?!" You're slapping him in the face as he dies of laughter. You are feeling outraged about not eating that nugget. He's a criminal. You call the police. Rus is not stopping you. He can't stop crying of laughter as you're trying to explain the officer that Rus stole the last nugget and that they have to do something !

[subbe93]

The Roulette of Destiny part 13

ANNOUNCEMENT! (Oh my, I have a feeling that some of you is coming after me after this, so if you don't hear about me, you know what happened xD) Like we all know, next weekend is Christmas. I'm also aware that I promised to post a new chapter every Sunday, BUT next week's chapter is going to be delayed and it's coming out 2.1.2022. I know, I'm sorry already! I really thought about this pretty hard, but then I decided that maybe it's better this way, because I wanted to write a little Christmas present for you. And because I'm going to give it to you 24.12, I decided that maybe, in that case, I should delay chapter 14 for a week. I know, this is a terrible thing to do for those who really want to read that fic, but I really, really wanted to write some Christmas fic and since Christmas is once in the year, it's now or not until next year xD So please, forgive me and my selfishness!

And I promise! This chapter isn't going to end in a big cliffhanger, so maybe that waiting won't be so painful... I hope :D

Chapter 1 ~ Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 3 ~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 5 ~ Chapter 6 ~ Chapter 7 ~ Chapter 8 ~ Chapter 9 ~ Chapter 10 ~ Chapter 11 ~ Chapter 12

Chapter 13

The next morning Ran found herself next to him. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it took a moment for her to remember what had happened yesterday evening and how she had crawled under his blanket beside him. Even though the bed wasn’t wide enough for two people, Ran had decided that she wants to be in his arms, and she had convinced Shinichi to believe that she didn’t take that much space. Well, she was almost sleeping on him, so basically she didn't take much space from the bed. She didn’t sleep well, and she wondered if he did, but it was worth it.

Ran raised herself carefully to see if he was awake already. He was still sleeping. Looking at his relaxed face made her only smile. She raised her hand to move his dark brown hair away from his forehead.

If she only could be like this for the rest of her life, she would be the happiest woman in the world.

That day they spent mostly in the hotel and take it easy. They hadn’t planned anything, and for some reason, Ran enjoyed much more just being close to him, staying in his arms, talking nonsense, and exchanging kisses from time to time. It was that simple and Ran loved it. They only left the hotel on the romantic restaurant to eat, and when they walked there and back if they didn’t walk hand in hand, she wrapped her arms around his.

That evening Ran wondered if she should tell to Sonoko. Part of her wanted to because she was happy about this, but in the end, she really hadn’t talked about it with Shinichi. She had enjoyed his closeness and touches and kisses, but none of them hadn’t said out loud what they were right now. She was sure that both of them knew that this wasn’t going to last long. Both of them were promised to someone else, and unless she would find a way to convince her mother to give up that marriage, nothing would change.

Of course, she could always ask Shinichi if he would like to help her to convince her mother, and maybe, if she would get Sonoko to support them, maybe they could do it?

“What are you thinking?”

Ran put down the phone and saw how Shinichi sat down on the couch beside her, putting his arm around her. Ran leaned to that touch as soon as she could.

“Just thinking if I should tell Sonoko that I’m fine”, she answered simply and glanced at her phone again. Another thought was that she was pretty surprised that her mother hadn’t tried to get in touch with her after Osaka’s incident. But maybe it was predictable since Ran hadn’t answered her calls, only sending her messages that she was doing fine.

What a good daughter she was. All this is because of that stupid marriage thing.

“Aaand”, she continued and looked at him, “I’m wondering what we are going to do tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, huh?” he repeated looking out of the window before meeting her gaze. “Well, what do you want to do tomorrow?”

“You don’t want to decide?” she asked out of curiosity. In the end, she was the one who wanted to Kyoto, and she also was the one who decided where they visited, so to her, it would be only fair that Shinichi would decide.

“I don’t have anything in mind”, he answered.

“Well”, she started slowly. “How about we go to Fukui?”

“Fukui?” Shinichi repeated. Then he looked away like thinking. “Why not.” Then he met her gaze again. “Is there a particular reason…”

Ran smiled. “I heard that there is Dinosaur Museum! I want to see it!”

He smiled. “Ah, of course”, he mumbled and took his phone from his pocket. “Well, it seems that I need to book a hotel room and some tickets…”

“And… I don’t mind if we have a bigger bed”, Ran said and took her own phone, pretending to be interested in something to hide her embarrassment. Though probably her cheeks told him enough. "I don't say that it was tight to sleep last night, but I wouldn't mind if there would be more space..."

“There, there, Ran, not on the first date”, he said.

“Mou, I should have known this”, she cried out and met his smirking face. “I just want to sleep in your arms, nothing more, nothing less. And besides, it isn’t the first date anymore.” She smiled like a winner. “In the end, we have been on this trip… what, sixteen days? So this can be like a sixteenth date.”

“Buuuut”, Shinichi objected, “we have been particularly all this time together, so you can count this like one big date.”

Ran stared at him for a moment. “How does that even make sense?”

The next few days went in the Fukui, visiting Yokokan Garden, Dinosaur Museum and Katsuyama Dinosaur Forest Park, Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins, and Daihonzan Eihei-ji Temple. The only thing Ran missed was Tojinbo Cliffs, because all the pictures and things she read from the internet gave her a vision of a romantic cruise, but since Shinichi got a plan to go to Nagano next, they didn’t have time for that cruise. And truth to be told, she almost immediately forgot about it, since when Shinichi mentioned taking her in Nagano, he smiled mischievously. It took her interest, since to her, it looked like Shinichi was planning something, but when Ran tried to find out what, he just said that he would tell her later. Ran really tried to roast that information out from him, but it seemed that he had decided to keep that secret to himself, so it was pointless.

Actually, he didn’t much ask what Ran wanted to do in Nagano. It wasn’t like she had anything in her mind, and in the end, he was the one who paid for the trip, so it was only fair that he chose their destinations. And Ran didn’t complain since Zenko-ji temple was pretty interesting, and it was almost sad that they didn’t make it to see the morning ceremony since they just came from the Fukui, but still. And next day went mostly on Togakushi, visiting five shrines of Togakushi and Ninja Museum. That evening, Ran was pretty tired, but still, awake enough that she wanted to know what they would do the next day.

“You will see”, Shinichi answered simply.

“Come oooon, Shinichi”, Ran said and hung on to him, trying to look at him with her puppy eyes. “I need to know what we are planning to do… I need to know what to wear tomorrow…”

“Wear what you feel like”, he answered with a laugh.

“Shinichiiiiiiiii…”

“Don’t you trust me at all?”

“I don’t”, Ran answered and made him snort. “Believe me, I have seen my dad planning things and they have never ended up well.”

“Are you comparing me with your father?”

Ran backed up enough to meet his gaze and smirked. “Mom always says that all the men are the same.”

Shinichi rolled his eyes, making Ran laugh. “Maybe I should cancel tomorrow’s plans…”

The next morning didn’t happen anything, which only made Ran feel kind of anxious. She wasn’t sure if she like it. She was waiting for something, yet she didn’t have any idea what. After breakfast, they checked out from the hotel and went to the closest café to… wait.

Ran tried her best to be patient, but the sad truth was that she couldn’t relax or focus on anything. She kept glancing at her phone, clock, Shinichi, and people around her. She tried her best not to try to ask questions about his plans just because she knew that he would mock her later, but gosh! SHE WANTED TO KNOW! How in the world she would get him to speak? Or give her a hint?

So Ran put her phone aside and then leaned to the table, looking at Shinichi who read a newspaper.

“Shinichi?”

“Mmmm?”

“You are a detective, right?”

Blue eyes moved away from the paper to meet hers. There was nothing to read from his face. For a moment Ran felt like he was scanning her, like trying to find a reason for her question, before he answered: “Yeah.”

“But if you are a detective, doesn’t that mean that you are a very, very curious person?”

He looked at her like thinking about it. “Well, yeah, I am.”

“Then”, Ran continued and smiled a little. “You probably understand how I feel like now, right?” And when Shinichi didn’t say anything, she continued: “I mean you’re hiding something from me, and you are torturing me, because I really want to know what you are hiding, but you’re not telling me.”

The wide smile came to his lips, and he looked away. “Is that how you’re trying to make me tell you?”

“You know how I am feeling right now, right?” Ran answered. “Because if I would tell you that I’m having something planned out, but not going to tell you, it would make you curious, right? And you would try to ask me, but I wouldn’t tell you, so you only got more curious, and eventually, you would be so curious that it makes you crazy!”

“Oh Ran”, he said and looked at her with a smile. “Being detective is much more than just asking questions from others and believing everything they say. So, if you would keep something from me and I would be curious about it, I would try to find answers somewhere else.”

“Answers from somewhere else…” Ran repeated and looked at their suitcase. But then again, she was the one who packed their luggage, and she didn’t see anything suspicious. But on the other hand, if Shinichi would have liked to hide something from her, it would have been easy, because it wasn’t Ran’s habit to check his pockets or other belongings. She would have easily missed her clues.

But then, they were on the road. Whatever Shinichi was planning, it was someplace where he was taking her, and everything he had bought or reserved at this point, he had done it with his phone. And that meant that everything he had was on his phone.

“That’s stupid, Shinichi”, she said eventually and raised her gaze back to him. He was still observing her with his smile. “I bet that all answers are on your phone.”

He smirked. “Well done, miss detective.”

Ran sighed. Well, there was that. Unless…

“Can you give me your phone?”

“If you insist”, he answered, took his phone out from the pocket, and slide it in front of Ran. Ran took it to her hands and push the button on the side to make the screen open.

Ah, it needed a code. Of course, why she hadn't thought about it? It can be anything. But…

“So, Shinichi”, she started, trying to be as neutral as possible. “I have never asked, but when is your birthday?”

He let out a laugh, making Ran take her gaze away from the phone. “Oh, Ran”, he said when his laugh calmed down enough. “You’re not doing anything with that information.”

“Because it is your code, right?” Ran shouted victoriously. “Split it out!”

“Fourth of May”, he answered and looked at her before turning back to his newspaper with a humorous smile on his lips. “And I hope that after this, you think of changing your own code.”

Ran blushed. He wasn’t wrong about hers, but… how?

“Who says that my code would be my birthday?” she asked, trying to hide her embarrassment. “And even if it would, you don’t know about my birthday.”

“Using a birthday as a code is very common because it’s easy to remember”, he explained without looking at her, making Ran only more embarrassing. “And about your birthday, I happened to see your identity card on Shizuoka, when you cleaned your wallet one night.” He glanced at her. “That way I also learned your surname.”

Ran stared at him. She tried to remember that evening on the Shizuoka. Yeah, she did sit on the sofa and went through her wallet, taking away receipts and putting her cards in order but she didn’t remember that Shinichi would have sat beside her or been even close.

“But… how?” she asked. “You weren’t even close to me…”

“I happened to walk behind you”, he answered simply. “And because of my detective nature, I was curious what you were doing.”

“And you happened to see all those little numbers and letters from my identity card while walking over?” she doubted.

“I have a bad habit to pay attention to little details”, he said with a smile and winked. “I told you on the first day, didn’t I: I happen to pay attention to my surrounding.”

Well, it was nice to know that she didn’t have any kind of privacy while he was around.

Eventually Ran needed to give up. She didn’t figure out his code as much as she tried to think everything she knew about Shinichi. The worst part was that all that time she saw the smile on Shinichi’s lips while he was “reading” the newspaper, so Ran was pretty sure that he knew her distress and enjoyed it.

Part of her wanted to give up earlier, but she also knew that Shinichi would take it as his victory, so she tried. She tried her best to figure something out until Shinichi said that it’s their time to leave.

“You’re not going to tell me?” she asked when they walked out of the café. “In the end, I tried really hard…”

“And you did well”, Shinichi assured gently and wrapped his arm around her, making her walk closer to him. “But I believe your reward feels much better when you see it yourself.”

So Ran tried to be a good girl and be patient. She gave up her curiosity since she couldn’t make him talk, and she didn’t have any way to get into his phone. She just followed him on the train and just waited. Beginning of the journey, she looked at all the stops and tried to figure out what would be theirs, but eventually, she dropped that and concentrated on the landscapes from the window.

Until they got to their destination, and Ran have to admit that… Well, whatever she had waited for, she certainly wasn’t prepared that Shinichi would take her Yorozuya Ryokan.

“Surprise”, she heard him say when they stopped in front of the big building. Ran just stared at the building without believing it. Well, it wasn’t like she hadn’t been ryokans or onsens before, but… “One night in here, just you and me”, Shinichi continued, making Ran look at him. He didn’t meet her gaze, just looked away, scratching his neck. “Well, not precisely since there are other customers, but… Well, you got the point.”

Ran’s smile widened. She went closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, making him look at her, and raise on her tiptoes. “This is perfect”, she answered and gave him a kiss.

And Ran enjoyed it. As soon as they get in and got their room, they went to the public baths, and Ran took her time, enjoying it as much as she could. She got out of baths when it was time for dinner, which was included in their staying. After dinner and a little walk on the outside, seeing the views of Yudanaka Onsen, she decided to go enjoy an open-door bath in their room.

“You really enjoy taking baths”, she heard Shinichi say when she stepped on the bath.

“I need to enjoy this while I can”, she answered and took a good and relaxing position. The evening started to be dark and little chill, but being in the hot water, it felt only amazing and relaxing. “Never know if I ever have a chance to experience this again.”

Ran waited for him to say something for a moment, but he didn’t. She looked through the wooden lattice wall the view what she could see. Sadness tried to take control of her thoughts, but she tried her hardest to move them aside. No. She really wanted to enjoy this trip while it lasts. And she really needed something to take her thoughts away from it.

“You know”, she shouted, “it would be nice if you would join.”

It took for a moment before he answered, and when he did, he was much closer than Ran waited. “I believe it’s not so appropriate.”

Ran blushed and looked at the doorway where he already stood, leaning on the doorway his arms crossed, blue eyes looking at that same wooden lattice wall.

“Mou, Shinichi”, she began and let her posture lose enough that she was sure that water hide her upper body enough. “Stop thinking like that… I mean I know, but… can’t you just come here to enjoy this bath and keep me company? It doesn’t… mean… we would.. or have to... or... well, you know…”

He let out a laugh. “You’re cute when you get frustrated.”

“Shinichi!”

“Besides, my mother will kill me if she finds out. I don’t know why, but she always assumes the worst of me.”

Ran smiled and rolled her eyes. “Well, I promise not to tell her if I ever met her.”

He just glanced at her, and she grinned at him. Then he looked back at the wall.

“You know, Ran… I… I have been thinking…”

Somehow Ran didn’t like that. Even if his thoughts could be anything, she almost felt like he was going to say something which included Tokyo and arranged marriage. It would be something that would take her back to reality.

“It has been three weeks since we left from Tokyo…”

“Shinichi”, Ran sighed. “Let’s talk about it tomorrow, okay? I want to enjoy tonight…”

“No, Ran, listen…” he interrupted her and stepped away from the doorway. If he earlier was careful not to look at her, now she got his full attention. “Like I said, I know that we have known each other like three weeks, but… is… Is there any chance that you would… If you would like to…” He lowered his eyes with red cheeks and raised his hand to scratch his neck. He was so nervous, and it made Ran nervous too, but at the same time, it made her hopeful. Part of her hoped to hear the one certain question, but at the same time, she knew it was impossible…

“If... if you would like to… marry me?”

Her cheeks glowed and she felt happy, so happy that she would have liked to jump out from the bath and just hug him, wrap arms around him, drown him in the kisses and say yes so many times that he would be tired of hearing it. But it also made her sad and desperate. Almost anxious. As much as she wanted to say yes, she knew it wasn't possible. Her parents would never allow it. If they weren’t ready to give up on it two weeks ago, she didn’t know why they would be now.

“And I’m not asking because I want something back from this trip”, he hurried to say. “I just… I… like to be with you...”

“I know”, she interrupted him, yet she couldn't look at him. “But… you know that both of us is still going to be married…”

“But I believe that we can talk about this”, Shinichi said and sounded so sure about that. It made Ran look at him. “I think my parents would understand if I explain everything to them. And if mom doesn’t, I’m sure that dad would back me up. And if it’s really needed, I can handle my fiancée. I will do it even if it’s the last thing I do…”

“But Shinichi, what about my parents?” she asked desperately. “They didn’t come around two weeks ago, how do you think they would now?”

He stepped next to the bath and crouched, leaning his arm on edge of the bath. Ran wanted to tell him to stop since his yukata was going to get wet, but he was already talking: “I don’t think they are impossible to talk around”, he said and sounded so sure. “Hard, maybe, but I believe that they would come around.”

“How?” Ran asked. “I tried two weeks ago, and I failed miserably.”

“But maybe I can?” he suggested. “Maybe, when they see us together and listen to us, maybe they would turn around. And… And if it comes to your groom, I can take responsibility and try to compensate it to him.”

“I don’t want you to take the blame for everything”, she mumbled as an answer. “You have done enough for me already…”

“But if it means I can marry you… I’ll do it.”

Ran looked at him, feeling her cheeks burn. She felt like she wanted to cry because she was touched to hear someone saying something like that to her.

“You would… you would do that?” she asked. “Like… really?”

“Really”, he answered gently. “I would.”

Without thinking more, Ran stood up and stepped out from the bath, making Shinichi move aside. “I’m going to call home, right now”, she said determinedly and marched inside, taking her yukata and wrapping it around her. “I tell them everything. I tell them that I want to marry you instead of that stranger and as soon as we get back home, we’re going to visit them and make things clear”, she continued and walked to the bed where she left her phone and took it. She was kind of surprised that she was so sure of this, but so was Shinichi. And if Shinichi really wanted her, then she should do everything she could to make sure that they could marry each other.

But when she saw her mother’s name on her phone, she felt nervous. Her mother was strong-willed. As sure as she felt now, she also knew that as soon as her mother would say something just too determined, her own will would get a crack.

“Shinichi?” she asked and looked back. She was surprised to see that he wasn't there. She had thought that he had followed her. Where did he go?

Then he walked to the room, looking a little embarrassed and his cheeks were deep red. Ran frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“Huh?” he asked. “Oh, um… nothing.”

Ran tilted her head. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah”, he said and looked at her phone. “Didn’t you mean to make that call?”

Ran lowered her gaze and looked at her phone. “I… Could you stay with me?” she asked. “My mom, she… she is kind of strong-willed…”

“Ah, like her daughter.”

“Shinichi…”

He shut his mouth. Ran sighed. “I know, I was determined, and I still want to be, but… I’m scared that as soon as she starts to object to the whole idea, I… I’m scared that I will back up…”

“But if you decide that you will get your will through, I believe you can stick with your opinion.”

“Like that helps me”, Ran mumbled.

He smiled. “Well, you can always cry and scream until you get what you want.” Ran leered at him and he laughed. “Okay, okay”, he said and came a little closer to touch her arm reassuring. “I will be there”, he promised. “And if needed, I'll talk to her.”

Ran smiled at him before she looked at her phone again. Okay, here we go, she thought and push the button before she raised the phone on her ear. Shinichi stepped back a little and Ran started to feel anxious. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea at all? Maybe they should have let this whole thing be… Maybe…

“Ran?!” was a sharp and worrying answer and it surprised her. “Where are you? Are you okay?”

“Hi, mom, everything is fine”, she answered and let out an awkward laugh. “Why wouldn’t I?”

There was a little pause. “Well, why should I assume that you’re okay?” she asked, and Ran felt something tightening on her chest. “You haven’t called a few weeks, just sending me messages that you are fine and all. And of course, some of your preparation”, she mentioned coldly, making Ran feel bad. “So of course, when I saw that you are calling, I thought that something terrible had happened to you.”

“I’m sorry, mom”, Ran said and meant it. “I didn’t mean to scare you or make you worried. I just… I…”

“Well, late for that”, her mother interrupted sharply. “I haven’t been anything else than worried about you as soon as you told me that you have gone on a trip with a stranger. How do you think I or your dad could have relax here since we don’t have any idea where you are or what that stranger had done to you or plan to do…”

“I send you every night a message that I’m fine”, Ran answered annoyed.

“Hah, you think that helps anything?” her mother laughed dryly. “How do I supposed to know that this stranger of yours hasn’t taken your phone and sent those to me?”

Ran rolled her eyes even though she knew that her mother wouldn’t see it. “Oh, and you should also know that after Shizuoka, I have kept my phone out from power just to make sure that you can’t call me or try to chase me down. How he would have opened it?”

“There are many ways to make people talk, Ran…”

“Come on, mom!” Ran shouted frustrated. She opened her mouth to defend Shinichi, but then she shut it. She closed her eyes to calm down. This wasn’t the reason why she called. She didn’t call just to fight and argue with her mother. And she also knew that if they both were angry, it wouldn’t help any of them.

Then she felt something on her shoulder. She opened her eyes, glanced up, and saw how Shinichi was there, calming her down, smiling encouragingly...

She needed to do this. She would do this. For him. For herself. For them.

She took a deep breath to calm herself before she showed him assuring smile.

“Listen, mom, I didn’t call you so that we could fight again”, Ran said. “I called you because I wanted to talk about my marriage…”

“Again?” her mother interrupted.

“Again”, Ran said determinedly. “Because I want you to cancel it.”

“Ran, I have told you…”

“And I have told you that I don’t want it”, she interrupted. “I have found someone else I want to marry, and he wants to marry me.”

“Ran, not this stranger thing again…”

“If this is about money, he can also do that”, Ran said. “I don’t care if he doesn’t, but if it’s so important to you, I believe he can give me all the support I need.”

“I have told you, I can’t decline this…”

“You don’t have to”, Ran answered. “I will do it.”

There was a heavy silence, which made Ran more nervous. She looked at Shinichi, who still managed to look like everything was fine, everything will work out, that everything would turn to their victory. Ran smiled. Yeah, they could do this… No, they can! They would succeed!

“Ran…” her mother sighed eventually.

“I’m serious, mom”, she assured her. “I’m going to meet that family when I come home, okay? And I talk to them and see the consequences. I will take responsibility…”

“I didn’t say that this is okay to me…”

“I don’t see why not”, Ran said. “You were the one who was ready to give me to some stranger…”

“But I know his parents, and because I know them, I’m pretty sure that they have a decent boy, not any kind of good-for-nothing guy…”

“Shinichi isn’t good-for-nothing, his…”

“And the other hand, we would have had a chance to meet this groom of yours if you just would have happened to stay at home”, her mother interrupted. “So, you can blame only for yourself if you call that man a stranger.”

“But I spend time with Shinichi, another stranger, got to know him, so… what is the difference? Why he can’t be my groom?”

Her mother sighed. Ran waited for her to say something, but she didn’t.

“Mom, if you only give him a chance…”

“I don’t know why I should give a chance to the man who bought my daughter’s trust…”

“He didn’t buy me”, Ran snapped. “Just please, meet him! He is a nice and decent guy, a gentleman… He has a job, actually, he is a known…”

“Ran…”

“Please, mom! Please…”

There was a silence. A heavy silence which Ran wanted to break but didn’t dare. She wanted to bury herself in Shinichi’s arms, hide her face and let him hear her mother’s answer instead. Seconds started to feel like an eternity.

“Let’s continue this conversation when you come home.”

Ran just stared in front of her. Did she hear it right? Did her mother really say that?

“Wh- what?”

“I said: Let’s continue this conversation when you get back home”, her mother repeated, sounding tired. “It’s late already and I’m tired. So, when you get back home, I promise, we talk about this.”

Ran felt a smile coming to her lips when she looked at Shinichi. She wanted to cry for happiness. God, she had done it! She made it! She made her mother listen, kind of won this round!

“Thank you, mom, thank you so much!” she laughed on the phone. God, she was so happy about this. “I can’t wait… There is so much I want to tell you”, she told her with excitement. “I can show you pictures and... And I also made new friends…”

“Can’t wait to hear about it”, her mother answered. “Let’s hear it when you come back home.”

“Yeah, yeah… I…” Ran took a deep breath to calm herself. God, she was so excited. This went much better than she even dared to hope for. “Good night, mom. I love you so much!”

“Love you too, good night.”

Ran lowered the phone and watched how the screen told her that the call was over. Then she looked up, met blue eyes and her smile only widened. Before she could stop herself, she let out a scream and jumped on him, wrapping her hand around his neck, making him take a few steps backward. “We did it!” She laughed and rubbed her cheek against his. “We did it, we did it!”

“You did it”, he corrected and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Told you that it can’t be impossible.”

“But I couldn’t have done it without you”, Ran said and loosened her grip on him, letting her feet touch the floor again. Yet she stayed close to him, looking at him, smiling… She felt something wet on her cheek.

“But I didn’t do anything”, he said and wiped her tears away with his fingers. “I just stood there and watched how two strong-willed women encountered and the younger one won. You did well by yourself, you didn’t need me at all.”

“But I saw you all the time and… and I knew that I need to fight back if… if I want to…” Then she let out a laugh and buried herself in his arms, rubbed her face against his shoulder before hiding it against his neck. “Well, she didn’t say yes, but this time she agreed to even think about it. She said that we would talk about it when I got back home…” She smiled against his neck and tightened her grip around him. She was so close to changing everything. And as soon as she got back, she would take Shinichi with her, making sure that her parents would meet this man, and after seeing him and getting to know him, Ran was pretty sure that her parents would accept it. And because she promised to handle her groom, her parents should have nothing to complain about. And since she would have Shinichi with her… “I have to admit, I can’t wait to get back to Tokyo…”

“Well”, Shinichi’s voice answered while his head leaned against hers, “I think I should buy tickets to the Tokyo for tomorrow night.”

Chapter 14

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

@ckfemslashnetwork

COBRA KAI SAPPHIC SUMMER WEEK 1 HEATWAVE

***

I don’t want no drama But I know you’re looking at me Got the body of Madonna Like a virgin, make it sticky, sticky

Take me to nirvana Get me up out of this city And I know you got a woman So the situation’s sticky

Know you like what you see You look so damn good on me Like you’re good enough to eat Now you’re stuck in my teeth Got me picking out a ring Baby, I got an idea

Hey, I should be your next girlfriend And she should be your ex girlfriend Hey, you should be my next girlfriend La-la-la, ooh, mmm, la-la-la

Hey, I should be your next girlfriend And she should be your ex girlfriend Hey, you should be my next girlfriend La-la-la, ooh, mmm, la-la-la

California summer Like a popsicle, it’s dripping You’re an Arizona stunner Like a tea, I wanna sip it, sip it

Let me give you sugar You’re my spicy tuna, sticky, sticky Spicy like a rumor You’re my hallelujah, sticky

If you like what you see You look so damn good on me Like you’re good enough to eat, ah-ah

Now you’re stuck in my teeth Got me picking out a ring Baby, I got an idea

Hey, I should be your next girlfriend And she should be your ex girlfriend Hey, you should be my next girlfriend La-la-la, ooh, mmm, la-la-la

Hey, I should be your next girlfriend And she should be your ex girlfriend Hey, you should be my next girlfriend

***

AKSDJNHKUYFGDRKY YES ONE LAST MINUTE SUBMISSION BEFORE THE EVENT IS OVER I KNOW I'M CUTTING IT CLOSE

So this was actually the first fic I started writing specifically for this event, and then I didn't get anywhere near how much I wanted of the preview done by the end of the first week D: So I'm submitting what I have now! Still didn't get to what I was really hyped about (i.e. the spicy bits lmao), but oh well! Can't have time for everything, I guess. At least this post probably won't get filtered now?

So since this was the first fic I wrote for YasMoon in a while, it was absolutely the clunkiest when I went back to edit ^^; I had to spend way more time than I thought just cleaning the damn thing up and getting it on par with my later (and comparatively much better) fic snippets for the femslash event XD With that said, forgive me if it's still a little rough--I was kinda rushing to finish by the event ending D:

For anyone wondering about the ship tags--I know this is YasMoon-centric right now, but I promise MoonPiper will play a bigger role in the finished fic! Moon is dating Piper at the time this fic takes place, which is, ah...definitely going to complicate things. And also make Yasmine really salty. This girl is not one bit happy that she missed her chance like an idiot XD

BTW that top left pic of Yasmine giving Moon a once-over is the Screenshot of All Time. Girl is so ready to take her on the floor that instant. Like!!! Get it together, Yas!!! You are in public, babe!!!

Yasmine's older influencer sister Rosalie who lives in Big Bear makes an appearance here!!! I really love writing about her for some reason. Like I genuinely can't remember the last time I've been this jazzed about fleshing out a fandom OC, aside from some ship lovechildren I made ages ago XD But idk idk I just think she's neat!!! And I wanted to give Yas a family member she has a quasi-good relationship with, since I HC she has difficulties with homophobic parents.

CW for open-ish discussions of teen sexuality and some dirty innuendos.

***

“Thanks for coming out with me today.”

Yasmine watches Moon climb in the new Porche. Hair tied back, smile relaxed, patterned orange dress sweeping in a delicate cloud around tanned legs.

So much of her’s just the same. Impressive that a whole summer full of karate drama bullshit didn’t even bruise that carefree, easygoing spirit.

If anything, it strengthened. Perhaps out of spite, whether or not Moon was consciously aware of it.

Some parts have definitely shifted, though. There’s an iron resolve that’s grown under those thin shawls and short skirts. An extra coat of armor she’s sprouted, thanks to Hawk. Thanks to Yasmine.

Her stomach twists guiltily. It’s the kind of protection someone like Moon should never have to develop.

The world is a cruel place. Unfair, cutthroat, brutal to anyone who doesn’t fit the proper “mold.” Yasmine’s always known that.

She just never thought she’d be the one to teach it to Moon, with her friend’s wide-eyed naiveté and innocent hope that no one was that shitty a person—only misguided.

Yasmine knows she’s the exception to that rule.

“Are you okay?”

She blinks. Reclined in the passenger’s seat, Moon’s fixing her with the kind of concerned gaze she almost never deserves.

“Yeah.” It comes out sharper than she means. A habit she should probably work on. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You…were staring at me and idling the car. You’re kind of out of it. Should we stop for iced coffee?”

“Right.” Yasmine forces a smile. “Was just, ah…thinking about how I’m relieved we can hang out again. Don’t make fun of me for being a sappy bitch, but I missed you.”

Moon laughs—and oh god, she missed that too.

Not that she’ll ever admit it aloud, but it was horrendously stupid to think she could cut Moon off. To think she wouldn’t come crawling back, mesmerized like some idiot in a spy movie falling into the world’s most obvious honey trap.

Not that Moon would ever intentionally honeypot anyone. But she has a way of making you care too much, and not realizing it until it’s too late to save yourself.

“Same,” Moon says. “Actually really glad you’re not still mad at me.”

“Oh, no, I am. Incredibly lame of you to ditch me for a guy who looks like the main character of a budget Sonic the Hedgehog live action remake. But I guess I’ll let it slide this once.”

Moon bursts out snickering—the same way she always has when Yasmine’s bluntness catches her off-guard. There’s something comforting about the familiarity.

“Appreciated,” Moon says.

As they weave out of the hilly Encino neighborhood, Yasmine’s grip on the steering wheel loosens. She didn’t even realize she was squeezing.

“Although I’d be an idiot to turn down iced coffee,” she adds. “Maybe if we wait ‘til we get there, we can Instagram it.”

“Damn. If I knew you were in the mood, I would’ve made you some for the cooler.”

Yasmine winces.

It was a habit they’d fallen into their freshman year. Moon fiddled around with her parents’ coffee machine, using Yasmine as her guinea pig to test out various experimental lattes. Yasmine had tried just about every plant-based creamer under the sun now—and shockingly, even found a handful that didn’t taste like shit. It never failed to make her feel pampered and cared for, even if some of Moon’s combinations were a little…unconventional. (She’s pretty sure Moon spiked her oat milk hazelnut latte with hemp once.)

Something about Moon being so ready to pick the kind gesture back up—after everything—makes Yasmine feel like a horrible person all over again.

“It’s fine.” Her voice is tight. “My mom doesn’t give a shit if we get some food on the credit card. And those kinda covert promo posts get more likes, anyway.”

They turn onto the 405 entrance ramp, where 11 a.m. traffic is already moving as if the entire freeway is stuck in a swamp. Apparently they aren’t the only teenagers trying to get in one last beach trip before the school year.

Speaking of. Moon’s end-of-summer party is in a few days. Which Yasmine will have to miss because…reasons.

Or one reason, mainly. One sharp-eyed, curly-haired, leather-jacket-wearing, much-hotter-than-Yasmine reason.

Ugh.

Her concern isn’t her and Piper getting catty with each other—although she certainly wouldn’t rule it out. She’s much more worried about what’ll happen if she actually likes Piper.

Because Moon deserves someone kind and considerate who treats her well. And the past year or so, she’s had pretty shit luck with that.

And yet. Yasmine has a feeling Piper could be the best girlfriend to ever grace the planet, and the sight of her would still feel like a knife to the gut.

I’m sorry, I wish I could. Ros is having this influencer mixer thing in Big Bear and my parents will kill me if I don’t go.

She’s ironed out the excuse a thousand times, and it sounds plausible enough. Moon knows Yasmine’s parents are crazy, and obsessed with everything their precious Rosalie does.

Hopefully it’ll suffice to not further strain an already-frayed thread. A thread Yasmine’s trying to duct tape back together.

“It’s a shame Sam couldn’t make it,” Moon pipes up suddenly.

Yasmine freezes.

She’s not sure where she and Sam stand. If Yasmine had her way, they’d be done. She seriously doubts there wasn’t any truth to what Kyler told her and Moon.

Besides, Yasmine would bet good money Sam’ll throw her lot in with Aisha next year, now that Aisha’s everyone’s favorite fucking wedgie-giving bitch, apparently.

But Moon’s fond of Sam. Apparently, they rekindled their friendship while she was in France.

While Moon still didn’t know if she and Yasmine were going to patch things up. While she believed it was best to let Yasmine go and make things right with all the people her ex best friend hurt.

And Yasmine doesn’t think trying to get her way in the Sam matter will do much to help her hold onto the friend that, against all odds, she managed to get back.

“Yeah,” Yasmine lies. “A shame.”

“Guess she’s too busy with her new dojo boyfriend.”

Moon snickers again. Yasmine glances over, eyebrows raised.

“Her what now?”

“Didn’t you see her Instagram story? She and this guy she met through karate, they’re totally—wait.” Moon’s eyes widen as Yasmine frowns in confusion. “Did you unfollow her?!”

Yasmine’s eyes flick back to the road, chest turning in embarrassment. Before she can think of an excuse, Moon gasps in smug delight.

“Oh, you petty bitch.”

Yasmine huffs. “Look, her stupid ex-bestie embarrassed me in front of the entire school! Forgive me for thinking we weren’t really on following terms.”

Her friend only laughs, seemingly content not to rib any further. Another thing Yasmine’ll have to add to the list of neverending things she’s grateful to Moon for.

How annoying. She already owes Moon so much, and it’s only getting worse.

“Then I guess I’ll have to catch you up myself,” Moon says. “So when Sam started doing karate again, her dad was training this other guy, too. They hit it off, apparently. But she hasn’t told her dad they’re together yet because this kid’s also living with them because his home life is really bad so the LaRussos invited him to stay in their spare room so he could actually get regular meals—”

“Wait, wait.” Despite herself, Yasmine’s overcome with morbid curiosity. “Miyagi Do or whatever, right? Please tell me Sam’s new boytoy isn’t the same freakshow who tried to hit on me on my birthday. Donatello, or whatever the fuck you said his name was.”

Moon chuckles. “What, Demetri?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.” Yasmine makes a face. “The I-promise-I’m-not-a-stalker-I-just-watch-you-across-the-cafeteria guy. I’d honestly be shocked if he ever landed a girl.”

“Well, he does karate, too. Not like Miguel and Robby, though.” She lets out a dreamy sigh, gazing out the window. “I’ve gotta take you to the next AVT. So many hotties there.”

Yasmine might be sick.

“Right, yeah. Totally my dream to land some shrieking, possessive, testosterone-loaded freak who tattoos my name on him without me asking and then tries to use it to guilt me to stay with him after he beats people up over Yelp reviews. Husband material right there.”

Moon winces. Yasmine doesn’t hold back a smug grin.

The hopeful naiveté can be endearing, but Moon really should have known better than that one.

“They’re not all like that,” she mumbles.

“Come on.” Yasmine scoffs. “In what world would I want some gross, sweaty braindead maniac rubbing himself all over me and acting like I’m his pretty little bitch on a leash? Hard fucking pass.”

She’s thrown off by Moon’s dubious look.

“Didn’t you used to get Kyler to beat up anyone who got in your way?”

“Well, yeah, but that was different. It was a convenience thing—I didn’t get some disgusting girl hard-on because of it.”

The very thought makes her shudder. Boys are good for intimidation purposes, but their uses end there.

Yasmine shuffles her legs, stomach tightening. If…well, that was the rent she might have to eventually pay for guys like Kyler to do her bidding, then to hell with it—she’d do her dirty work herself.

***

“So Rosalie really got lost at the Cannes film festival.”

Moon’s body bends gracefully as she flaps the beach towel out behind her. The wind catches it perfectly, straightening it as she guides it to the ground.

Yasmine tracks her movements, insides aching. Gleaming, sun-kissed skin, perfectly curved body, silky chestnut hair…

She’s such a fucking tease. And from the way she’s deliberately taking her time squatting to put down the towel and stretching up again…

She damn well knows it.

Well, two can play at this game.

“Oh, yeah.” Yasmine sets their cooler down and strides over to her friend. “She knows some actor who was supposed to get us into this premier, but he got sidetracked schmoozing on the main walkway. Apparently Christopher Nolan was there, and—”

Moon begins to open their umbrella. Yasmine gently but firmly takes it away. “Here, let me.”

“Are you sure?” Moon looks worried. Cute. “It’s big, Yas. It’ll crush you.”

“Oh, please. I’m taller than you! Besides.” She fixes Moon with a conniving smirk. “You and Sam aren’t the only ones who get to feel up long, hard rods.”

As she slides her fingers across the umbrella handle, Moon giggles, scandalized. “I…didn’t know you liked that sort of thing.”

“See, umbrellas aren’t whiny, boring little shits who never shut up about how great their handle is, or cry when you tell them a different umbrella has a better handle.”

“Anyhow.” Yasmine slung the umbrella over one shoulder. “Ros’s actor friend vanishes, so she runs off to find him, right? In, y’know, that one slutty green gala gown she wears in all the party makeup tutorial livestreams. She got yanked into some side tent because they actually thought she was co-starring in the new JLo movie! Was like an hour before we found her.”

She saunters across the towel and plants the umbrella in the sand as she recounts the story. Moon’s eyes wander across her, as palpable a sensation as heat rays tracing her back in a tanning salon.

Yasmine smirks. Moon likes strong people? Girls in leather jackets and boys who dive into punching showdowns?

Hell, she can be strong, too. Just because she prefers others to do the work for her doesn’t mean she’s not capable.

She stands on her toes as she cranks the umbrella open, making a point to flex long, thin legs as she does it. She takes her time adjusting the thing, letting the sun catch a blinding gleam in her summery cyan manicure.

A breeze ruffles the skirt of Yasmine’s sundress, cool air brushing against her back legs. She makes no effort to stop this.

Maybe Moon will enjoy the view. Would do her some good to remember what she’s missing.

“You, um…you doing okay with that?”

Moon’s completely flustered. Yasmine’s so self-satisfied it could eat her up.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine,” she says airily. “Just a bit awkward. But if Kyler’s not gonna be around to lift shit for me, then I’m not about to wait around for someone else who will.”

“I mean, I could go bat my eyelashes at one of those surfer guys and get them to help us. Not like it would be hard.”

Yasmine shudders.

“What, and have to deal with him trying to menage-a-trois us all day? It’d cause more problems than it’d solve.”

She loosens her fingers—strategically enough that the umbrella tie toppling to the sand looks like an accident. As it hits the beach, she groans.

“Ugh. Damn thing.”

Yasmine slowly inches her feet apart, bending at the waist and making sure her…well, her back end is as noticeable as it will go without looking ridiculous.

Maybe it’s her imagination, but she swears Moon sucks in her breath.

Yasmine spends several seconds plodding through the sand, umbrella tie in full sight the entire time. When the search is convincing enough, she grabs the tie and quickly stands back up.

“Did you just use the Legally Blonde Bend-and-Snap on me?”

It’s Yasmine’s turn to blush.

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, come on. The thing where you pretend to drop something so you can lean down and get it and show off your ass. I know you’re not that openly slutty unless you want someone to see.”

Yasmine stares at the umbrella, face probably making her look like she ditched the sunscreen today. She’s not about to let Moon see.

“Oh, don’t be so enamored with yourself! Not everything is about you.”

Moon snickers. “Yeah, but that sure was.”

“Ugh. You can’t prove that.”

“I may as well be able to. Your aura’s all full of it.”

Yasmine fingers the hem of her dress, growing more and more flustered.

Moon didn’t used to be this cheeky. Or this…bold. Learning to stand up for herself sure gave the girl a self-made remodel.

And it’s driving Yasmine absolutely insane.

She wants to scream. Wail. Pull her hair. Beat her fists in the sand.

Anything to fight off the effect this New Moon is having on her.

But to hell with it. She hasn’t pulled her last ace yet.

“So are we ready to hit the waves or what?” She takes a deep breath, finally turning back to Moon and gesturing toward the lapping ocean. “It’s hot as shit out, and I didn’t come here just to tan.”

“Sure. But let me grab a drink first.”

As Moon reaches into the cooler, Yasmine starts to peel off her hot pink sundress. She makes a point not to rush, wanting to savor her friend’s reaction.

Oh, she’ll love this.

When Moon turns around, she nearly chokes on her Arizona iced tea.

“You didn’t.”

Yasmine smirks. “I did.”

The other girl shakes her head, mouth tightening. “You really just—ugh.”

“What?” Yasmine bats her lashes, feigning innocence. “It’s a perfectly good bathing suit! What’s the problem?”

Moon groans, yanking off her own sundress in one frustrated motion. “Well, one of us is going to have to change!”

And for a moment all Yasmine can do is stare, taking in the tie-dyed blue, black, and white bikini identical to the one she’s sporting. Matched not for some giggly best friends stunt, but out of a sort of mutual pettiness that still lingered from that fateful night by the bonfire.

The next moment, she’s howling with laughter.

“Oh, you catty bitch. And here I was thinking you didn’t have a mean bone left in your body.”

Moon crosses her arms, glaring. “It was my bathing suit to begin with,” she says, tone snippy. “You were the one who copied my style!”

“Yeah, because I thought it’d be cute if we matched. And you thought so, too, until you went drooling after Spikehair McRage Issues. And now I’m ripping you off? Convenient.”

Her smirk widens as Moon splutters incoherently, arriving at some kind of logical dead end.

“Come on now.” Yasmine pushes her bottom lip out in a fake pout. “All our drama’s water under the bridge, isn’t it? It can be a quirky bestie thing again, you know.”

She knows damn well Moon’s annoyance goes deeper than having her outfit plagiarized. And she also knows that playing dumb as Moon gets more and more quietly exasperated is one of the funniest things she’s ever seen.

Yasmine’s willing to let bygones be bygones. But the Old Yasmine—the one with her heart still torn out from the only person who mattered to her abandoning her at a moment’s notice—can’t resist a few jabs here and there.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know why I’m upset.”

Yasmine blinks, taken aback.

So Moon’s directly voicing gripes regularly now. That wasn’t just a one-time thing.

It’s a little intimidating.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” She keeps up the act, wondering how far she can get.

Moon takes a long swig of tea before speaking, as if to gather strength.

“When you posted those social media pics over the summer…you wore it as a dig at me, didn’t you?”

She opens her mouth, trying to think of a justification and coming up short.

“Not about to believe you ‘just felt like it’ or ‘just forgot.’” Moon snorts derisively. “I know blue tie-dye’s not your style. You only ever got one of those because I did, and you thought it’d be funny if we looked the same.”

Yasmine hesitates, a stone forming in her stomach.

Perhaps if Moon’s ditching her filter, then Yasmine doesn’t need one either. Perhaps brazenly voicing the unsaid with 0 reservations is their new normal.

Strange as that would be.

“I wanted to remind you what we were,” Yasmine admits quietly. “What we had, that you…decided you didn’t want anymore. And I guess also remind you that you could like…turn your back on me and do the ‘reform’ thing all you wanted, but that wouldn’t ever change the fact that you were my best friend. That there’s a lot about us that’s exactly the same, and you can’t pretend you didn’t go along with all the shitty stuff I did for a long-ass time.”

“But I stopped. I apologized to people. I tried to change.” Moon frowns. “Isn’t that what matters?”

“I’m not saying you’re not like…a way better person than me.” Yasmine smiles sadly. “I’ll admit that now. But you’re not some flawless saint. And you can’t just erase the person you were when you were with me.”

“I guess not. But I was never that happy when I felt like…like I was your obedient little pet or something.”

The words cut deeper than Yasmine expects.

“Is that—is that really how you think I saw you?”

Moon realizes she’s hit a nerve.

“I—I don’t know.” Some of the steel is gone from her voice, guilt poking through. “It felt like that sometimes. I know you cared about me, and you were working through a bunch of shit and couldn’t be super open about it. But you always made everything about you.”

And fuck—Yasmine can’t argue with that. She stares at the beach towel, shuffling her feet.

“And why did you wear it today?” Moon’s voice hardens. “To needle me again?”

Yasmine crosses her arms, finally looking up. “And why did you wear yours?”

Moon stops, caught at an impasse. Yasmine’s smirk returns.

“See? We’ve still got a thing or two in common.”

She saunters over, swaying her hips and shifting the tie-dye bikini back and forth.

“I knew there was some mean bitch left in you. Otherwise you’d never have agreed to hang out with me again, hmmmm?”

She smiles, and it’s every bit as smug and conniving as the mask Old Yasmine always hid behind. Moon inhales sharply, leaning back as Yasmine sweeps through more and more of her personal space. By the time her friend gets within inches of Moon’s face, she’s a tensed-up, flustered mess.

Interesting how her feet stay planted when it’d be easy to back up. Maybe that new assertiveness of hers is pressuring her to stand her ground. Or maybe…

“I think we’ve both been feeling a little petty about that whole mess on my birthday, haven’t we?” Yasmine murmurs the words against Moon’s lips, tantalizingly close. Their bodies are brushing now, electricity fizzing under Yasmine’s skin at every point of contact.

She’s burning to know if Moon will close the distance. Give into temptation and finish the job, like Yasmine knows she wants to.

Moon’s eyes start to shut, lips pursing. Yasmine’s smile widens, reaching out manicured cat claws and devouring the metaphorical canary.

In one quick motion she turns, sweeping one arm around Moon and using her other to pull out her phone and snap a selfie. Then she’s gone, stepping away to drop the photo on Instagram and type a caption.

“Twinsiessss!” she hums, reading it aloud. “Missed beach days with this girl. X x x x.”

Moon shakes her head, scoffing. You tease, her glare says.

Well. It’s only payback, isn’t it?

“We’re ridiculous,” she says, sighing. “This is one step away from those annoying ‘his’ and ‘hers’ t-shirts.”

The implication isn’t lost on Yasmine—and it’s all the proof she needs that Moon was one bad decision away from breaking Piper Elswith’s heart.

Is it wrong that she takes a fucked up sort of pride in it?

Shoving the quandary from her mind, Yasmine claps her hands. “Okay, enough of all that. Let’s go for a fucking swim.”

She crams her phone in their swim bag, haphazardly throwing a spare beach blanket over their belongings. Grabbing Moon’s wrist, she tugs them toward the sea.

It’s nice to hold her again. That tanned, lotioned-up skin never fails to feel perfect under Yasmine’s.

Moon laughs, expression coy. “Feels strange to be running around in our bikinis again. Brings back memories, doesn’t it?”

Yasmine’s face grows hot. It’s Moon’s turn to get her blushing, apparently.

“You remember the last time we did that?” Moon prompts. As though one rubbing around the sensitive spots of her memory wasn’t enough to trigger them.

“Oh, yeah.” She chuckles, and it’s a little bittersweet. “How could I forget?”

***

Random author's notes, in no particular order:

I realized that I put not one but two spy movie mentions in my recent YasMoon fics...so now I have a headcanon that her dad is super into James Bond and spy/thriller movies and that's how she's familiar with all the tropes! I like to think it's one of the few things they can still bond over and enjoy together, since I HC that Yasmine's relationship with her dad has gotten more and more strained over the years as she feels like she has to hide the fact she's a lesbian (and he's probably also out of the country a fair bit, if S4 is anything to go off of).

I actually find Yasmine and Sam's relationship so interesting??? Like Yasmine showed 0 guilt when she dropped her in S1 and readily sided with Kyler over her (in contrast to Moon, who looks guilty about cutting Sam off and seems upset by Kyler's public slut-shaming stunts). But then come S3, they're friends again??? I'm left to think they only really made nice because they both care about Moon and want to make her happy, because otherwise I don't think they'd have any reason to forgive each other. (Which kinda further proves my point about Yas being gay for Moon--"ugh I can't stand this shit-talking blowjob-giving bitch, but I'll be nice to her for you and you ONLY, babe!" Like Moon is really the only person who can keep Yasmine's bitchiness at all under control lmao. Even Demetri does a shit job of calling her out XD) And then by the time S5 rolls around, she and Sam seemed to have developed some genuine friendly affection for each other--which I think is kind of neat! The power of Moon's influence, amirite???

Yasmine's hapless lesbian ass really can't think of any better way of flirting than being like "oh nooooo!!! Kyaaaa!!! The wind went under my skirt!!! KYAAAA!!! I bent over to pick something up and you saw under my dress!!!" like a cringey anime girl. I would attest in a court of law that she is just THAT much of a disaster when it comes to openly and publicly flirting with girls. Like she hasn't the faintest idea what she's doing!!! She wants to get the point across but god forbid anyone notice she's gay!!! It needs to look accidental for plausible denial reasons, okay!!! Oh, the joys of writing a deeply closeted sapphic flailing her way through life <3

I just KNOW that Yasmine and Moon know Legally Blonde. Like how could they not??? The main character is a California valley girl XD Yasmine claims she watches it over and over because she loves Elle's aesthetic, but she secretly envies how smart Elle is and kind of wishes she could get a high-end kick-ass businessy job she could show up to in a bright pink suit. She also aspires to have a little purse dog, although she's partial to pomeranians and Japanese spitzes a little more than chihuahuas.

It's our lord's year 2023 and I am still saying the matching bikini bit from S2 was gay as fuck. Like Yasmine definitely knew what she was doing and she definitely wore that shit on purpose. And girl has enough basic fashion sense to not get an identical garment as her bestie unless she wants them to be matchy matchy. Y'know. Like a couples costume. Pretty damn fruity innit

Writing Yasmine as the most unapologetic lesbian tease is so funny. Like by god this girl WILL seduce women with everything she's got while wanting every dick on earth at least 400000000 feet away from her at all times. Iconic!

[kagayakukagavaku]

Cat Zane AU pg 4

Ninjago- Cat Zane AU.                          Chapter 1- The Start of it All Kagayaku Kagavaku CH :3 

Page 4

It was a bit later in the day now. Jay was sneaking outside to where he saw Zane before. A voice called behind him, “Hey! Jay!” Jay jumped backwards and awkwardly turned around with little balance. He held the chip behind his back.

Cole walked up to him, an eyebrow raised with a smile on his face. He silently grinned and chuckled, a hand over his mouth. 

“What???” Jay squinted in embarrassment.

Cole visibly tried to remove the smile from his face, “I was just going to tell you to not eat the last piece of cake… but you seem busy. I’ll let you be.” 

“O-oh! Okay! I won’t go near it!” Jay scratched his head. 

“Good! If you see Kai around, please tell him to not eat my last slice of cake.”

“I… uh… I will! Wait… Where are you going?”

“Oh. I just have to go to the thrift store in the city quickly. I think someone used my credit card for a, as it said, ‘Miscellaneous purchase.’” Cole made air quotes with his hands. “You didn’t use my credit card… did you?”

Jays eyes widened. “Uhm- no….. I’ve been using my own card…” 

“I thought Master Wu wouldn’t let you have one because of the stove incident..?”

“He uh… got me one before he left? To… see if I was responsible with one!”

Cole glared at Jay, “Is that so?”

“Yup!” Jay looked to the side.

“Ooookaaay… This better not be another prank!” Cole crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

“Never! I learned my lesson the first time Master Wu sent me an angry letter about taking my video game privileges away!”

Cole tilted his head, “Alright I’ll believe you for now. But if it turns out that you did use my credit card, I will tell Master Wu to send you another angry letter!”

Jay smiled guiltily, “Okay…”

Cole left the room and walked out, passing Zane. He waved to him before walking down the stairs. Jay waited for Zane to turn around, then took a step outside. I apologize for the late Cat Zane AU post. Lots of stuff has been happening and I kind of just forgot lol. Anyways I never explained that I didn’t post last week because there were already 2 pages posted previously. Just so you know for future reference when I do another bonus page! Also thanks for reading :D I promise to try and post on time this Monday XD

[numptypylon]

Epilogue

I added a short epilogue to Reunion and Intersection today, but I also wrote a much longer one, full of fluffy comfort, to get through the angst-writing in the first two chapters. It’s unedited, unfinished and ridiculously self-indulgent, and I don’t think it really goes with the story, so I elected to not post it, but I’m attaching it here, under the cut, for those interested. Keep in mind it’s a reject for a reason though; this is what my writing looks like in the explorative phase where I’m looking for the point, and in this case I didn’t really find it XD

~2K under the readmore

Callum got there early. A lot of people eyed him warily, but a letter from Queen Janai was a good smoother-of-grumpy-elf-tempers.

No-one had seen Rayla, so… she was probably not here yet.

He went to the inn, bought a large room, lit a roaring fire in there, activating the Sunfire rock he used to keep warm at night under the covers of the bed, and calling for the tub to be filled. It had the usual Skywing heating arrangement, only needing a good Fulminis to heat the water.

He resisted flying out to find her. He risked missing her again, and her leaving town before he got back.

It was about… hitting the point of intersection.

So, he waited at the city gates. He didn’t have to wait nearly as long as he expected, considering the distance she would have had to traverse. Maybe she had recovered and had travelled faster than he thought.

It was definitely her though. A small, lone figure on the mountainside.

He intended to wait for her until she got to him, but then she stopped to lean against a tree and he realized that she had not recovered and was up there sick in the snow… and that resolve evaporated like it had never been.

Like he would ever let her struggle alone a moment longer than she needed to.

 **

 It was a measure of her exhaustion that she didn’t notice him until he was basically right in front of her, and even then, her reaction was so much slower than usual.

It still… it was hard to believe it was real. For her too, surely more so.

He numbly pulled his scarf off, packing it around her neck and head. He grazed her cheek and felt it and she felt it and… she felt it, because the tears that had built up in her eyes spilled over at his touch, slipping down her dirty and flushed cheeks.

She looked ready to drop, and felt it too, when he put his arms around her and her disbelief gave way to relief. Whatever ridiculous level of stubbornness had kept her upright for the last day and night of walking through snow and up mountains when she should have been in bed… fell away and she slumped almost completely in his arms.

She sobbed hoarsely for a bit, and he let her.

And she let him, when his hand cupped the back of her head and her hair tickled his fingers and it hit him too that… it was really real, she was here.

They needed to… get to the inn though, so he pulled away and wiped his face. They could… and probably would… have a longer cry and a longer hug later. But she was sick and cold and there was a roaring fire and a filled bathtub two minutes of flight away.

“Let’s go,” he said. “I knew you were coming this way and that you were sick. And I booked a room for… you.” For them both, he hoped, but-

“What?” she blubbered. “But… aren’t… aren’t you mad?”

“I mean, of course I am, but… that’s not really… that can wait.”

“I’m…” she laughed weakly, more tears spilling over. “I’m so happy to see you and there’s… so many things I would like to say and… and I’m such a mess right now and so tired and I’m just… I’m so tired I cried earlier just because a stupid pine branch hit me in the face and knocked me off my sled and it continued down the mountain without me and I’d have to walk instead and-“

“Hey, hey!” He stroked down her flushed, wet cheeks, along fresh scratches where presumably that branch had hit her. Sledding, huh… she always was extremely resourceful and oh so daring. And that explained how she got here so fast. “Rayla, it’s okay. You can rest first. I’ll take care of things… of you. For as long as you want me to, but… definitely for the next few days.”

“How c-can you… are you… here-”

He leant his head against her forehead, relishing in the feeling of contact, even if her skin was clammy and too-hot. “That’s… complicated,” he said. “And also simple. You called me here. I came.”

“Manis. Pluma. Volantis.”

 **

 She staggered, when they set down, steadying herself on his shoulder, and Callum was glad he had elected to land in front of the inn instead of at the city gates.

She definitely wasn’t well yet, her breath rasping in her throat, her forehead beading with sweat, cheeks and ears flushed. The fever had maybe broken, but it hadn’t quite left. And she was exhausted, trembling with the effort of staying upright, her eyes dull and glassy.

People were staring, when they went inside, but the innkeeper came over and recommended the soup of the day, and their house-made herbal tea blend with Sky Yak milk, and assured them it would be brought to their room shortly, with a look of very obvious sympathy at Rayla.

And then the door shut behind them.

“I owe-” she started, but he cut her right off.

“No. You’re owed,” he said tightly.

“Owed what?” She sounded… nervous.

“Soup. Hot tea. A warm bed and a fire someone else made. General fussing. Love. Forgiveness. Kindness. A damn break, for once.”

“L-love?”

“Yeah, love.”

Her clumsy fingers fumbled at the clasps of her armor. They were still ice cold when he touched them, the skin red and no-doubt sore.

But she for once didn’t resist any help he gave, sinking gratefully into the tub he had prepared. A warm bath was possibly not great for her fever, but… it was pros and cons and he needed to warm up her hands and feet.

She was barely conscious when he helped her back out of the tub, so he just put her down on a towel on the bed, drying her hair as best he could. He at least managed to get her awake to pull off her own wet underwear and pull his clean night shirt over her head.

 **

 “Callum?” she asked, because… she wanted things, and she could have them. “Stay with me? Please.”

He pressed against her back, warm and real.

His hands engulfed hers, big and soft and familiar.

Full of real little details that her brain hadn’t accurately recreated.

The callus at the side of his right index finger, from his charcoal pencil. The scar from a clumsy sparring accident at the second knuckle.

His voice when he said her name and when he told her it was okay.

His kinda… snuffling non-snoring sleep-sound.

And new things, that she hadn’t known to add.

His arms, still skinny, but stronger than they had been.

His too-long hair flopping over his ears.

And things she had yet to find out.

 **

 “Morning-“ she muttered, as she woke, feeling warm. And her throat felt a lot better, too and most of that sticky, gross fever feeling was gone, although there was still some sluggish daze, everything just a bit vaguer and floatier than it should have been.

“Afternoon,” Callum corrected lightly, but there was something not so light underneath. “You slept for… 14 hours. I bet you’re hungry.”

“I bet… you were worried.” That was a long time to worry and not wake her to assuage it but just sit in it, watching her sleep.

She reached out to stroke his furrowed brow. Her hands were bandaged though, so she couldn’t touch him properly. She didn’t remember, but did recall something about Callum saying he had called a doctor, and then she must have conked out pretty hard and slept through it.

She clenched and released her hands experimentally. Seemed alright except for being stiff and sore?

“What’s wrong with me?” she asked, staring down at the thick bandages.

“Except for the illness that nearly killed you because you’re such a massive dummy? Lots of things.” He took her hands, starting to unwind the bandages. “For your hands, hopefully only frostnip. I’m supposed to check that, when you woke, take you back to the doctor if there’s signs of deeper frostbite.”

There was some thick ointment, probably the reason for the bandages. Her hands looked reddened, the fingers a bit swollen, but… not so bad. Nothing was white or black or blistered, so really, nothing to worry about, where frostbite was concerned.

Callum wasn’t satisfied with a visual inspection though, cupping her hands in his, methodically checking she could feel all her fingers and make a full fist.

“I think it’s okay,” he said, breathing out, relieved. He did tend to catastrophize- “No… no risk of amputation this time-” His fingers slid across her left wrist, the faint whitened scars from where the binding had dug into her skin and where the sunforge blade had burnt her.

“It’s definitely okay,” she said. “Barely hurts.” She cupped his face, feeling his skin just fine against her fingertips. “It’s not like back then, okay?”

“How do you feel today?”

“Better. Way better. I’m ready to go, if-”

“What?!” He stared at her in disbelief. “Absolutely not. You didn’t hear what the doctor said. But I did, she got here while you were sleeping. And absolutely not.”

“What-“ Was it not just a regular bug?

He breathed, slowly and deliberately. “You’re okay, it’s a regular winter infection going around. But you did a number on your own immune system with the hypothermia and mountain climbing and… she said you were undernourished, dehydrated, stressed and critically exhausted. And that you would do well to take a week or more to fully recover, during which you should eat and rest plenty, stay warm and keep stress down. Does that sound like your regular travel, to you?”

Well… not so much.

“So, I’ll ask again, how do you feel today?”

“Tired,” she sighed. “My hands are stiff and achy. My throat hurts. My legs are wobbly. My head feels full of snot.” She smiled, despite all that. “My heart is happy to see you. It’s okay if you’re- I know… that it’s complicated.”

“It is. We have… some things to talk about. Promise you won’t leave until we do?”

“I promise.”

“Okay. Then, I think we should put the complicated things away for a few days. Until you’re better and it doesn’t hurt your throat to talk. Because… we have a lot of talking to do.”

“You don’t… need to stay. For those few days. If it’s hurting you to-”

He sighed heavily. “It does.” Yeah, he couldn’t say that it didn’t. Being around her with so much… unresolved. She didn’t want that for him. She didn’t… want to have those long and hard conversations right now either, when she was still tired and fevered and liable to burst into tears at the slightest provocation. “But it would hurt me more to leave. Didn’t it hurt you? To leave?”

“Yeah.” So, so much.

He reached out to pack his scarf around her throat more closely, the soft, warm knit a soothing feeling against the raw ache.

“Lie down, okay? Be sick? I’ll read you a story. It has murder and dismemberment in it, I asked the innkeeper specifically.”

[bush-viper-cutie]

Chapter Two: Meeting the Neighbors

Pairing: Snape x OC

Word Count: 2,755

Rating: E

Plot:  Severus has chores to do and no magic to do them with. Luckily his father had met one of the neighbors the day before.

Warnings: none

A/N: Snapetober! I will be posting chapters often to this slice of life gothic slow-burn romance I have in my head :D Not following any prompts but I hope the general atmosphere of these chapters are spooky? Mixed with some gothic… maybe some supernatural elements ahead ;) Enjoy :D

Hope everyone has a spooky day :) (also I made a mistake on his age but I fixed it. he’s 20 not 22 XD oops)

Posted: 10/5/21

                        Chapter List

<-- Last Chapter                   Next Chapter –>

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~*~*~ = time skip

~*~*~

~*~*~ = POV change

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~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~

Severus woke with a headache and could hardly convince himself to get out of bed. He was starving and dehydrated and his body was punishing him severely. He groaned and sat up blinking several times in confusion before remembering where he was.

The window to his left was letting in a cool stream of morning light, illuminating the chipped planks of wood making up the floor. Every corner of the room was still shrouded in darkness however, reminding him to look for some sort of lamp - oil or candlelight, he'd make do with anything - so that he wasn't at the mercy of the house windows all day long. There were no electrical plugs anywhere, no electricity, and the vents weren't even connected to any heating. He almost felt sorry for whatever servant had once lived in this room.

He stood and groaned, holding his stomach, willing the pain down with the promise of soggy sausages that awaited him in the kitchen - if there were any left that is. He made his way down, stumbling around corners in corridors without windows until he found the kitchen. It had one giant pane of glass on one side that illuminated a third of the room which was enough to spot the pot sitting out for him with what little leftovers there were.

He grabbed a bowl and spoon out of a box and ladled in a cup of tinted water and four slices of sausage. He pinched his lips together, looking at his 'meal'. He was going to starve in this house. He grumbled and began eating slowly, trying to savor the light seasoning of the watery broth.

He had no idea what his father had planned for this new stage of their lives. How would he make money now that he'd been laid off? He didn't let his wife work, and Severus had no skills in laborious work or any muggle trade. What could this town have to offer them besides a cheap style of living? The image of all those chopped trees flooded his mind and he could picture his father chopping more down to sell. Unlike Severus, he had a strong build made stronger from years of physical labor at the factory. Even the strongest and most intense Quidditch players in Hogwarts couldn't compare their builds to Tobias.

He chewed the last sausage slice slowly. There were enough trees around them, he supposed. And they could try to sell firewood or whole logs for construction... but where was the town? He had seen no sign of civilization during the two-hour drive. He tried to remember the road and how they'd turned early into their long drive up to the house... The nearest town was likely through this forested road, though he wasn't sure how long a drive - or walk in his case.

His hip was starting to hurt from leaning on the counter and decided to relax on an old wobbly stool and drink up the remainder of the watered-down broth. When he was finished he left the bowl in the rusted sink and sighed again. It was the worst breakfast he'd ever had.

He looked around and spotted a candle jammed at an angle into a holder and matchsticks on the counter. He took them and lit the candle, searching for his chores list that his mother had said would be around. It was there by the gleaming fridge and had about ten different things he needed to do.

He read it aloud, tiring of the silence that had surrounded him for several weeks now. "'Window damage in the library', 'Rugs with holes take them out', 'wood for stove' - " Severus pinched his nose. He was a Hogwarts graduate, a more than capable wizard, and yet he was now stuck doing meaningless tasks for his rotten parents and their rotten house.

What infuriated him further was the lack of magic he had on hand. Not just now, however, but his whole horrible life. His mother hadn't had her wand snapped, she was still legally allowed to practice and where was she? Living as muggle a life as she could and for what? To eat water with sausage flavoring? To lounge in bed all day long because there was nothing of a life to live while being starving and poor? Why even move to this house if it would just be more upkeep that they weren't going to do?

He wanted to burn this house down but instead settled for finding these 'rugs' since it seemed like the easiest thing on the list. He wandered around the first floor in silence - the whole house was quiet and he knew that while he was working his parents would remain asleep until they felt like getting up.

The first rug he spotted was in the third corridor leading away from the kitchen. It had a giant hole in the middle like leaves sometimes did during autumn and spring. He looked around in search of any more signs of moths fluttering about but all was still. He rolled it up and dragged it out of the house, cursing his life as he worked up a sweat.

The next hour was spent dragging out damaged rugs while dreaming of what he could be doing instead as a wizard in the world he was meant to be living in. At one point his anger had gotten the better of him and the rug he was dragging across the foyer exploded into miniature pieces of fabric that rained down on him like confetti.

"Looks like I still have magic in me," he whispered. A sob escaped his lips. It was hard being wandless, basically magicless, he felt like an entire section of himself had been sliced off. An entire world had been cut away from him all because he attempted to find something he'd always wanted, acceptance and family, even if he had to buy it. He clenched his fists and picked up his candle. He needed to find a broom now before his mother came down.

He walked down corridors opening several doors, finding the library, a sitting room, a study, and no closets. He thought a moment. It would have been servants who had brooms, and those rooms were near his own. Maybe there might be old brooms left behind from when whatever pampered Lord owned this mansion.

He walked back to the stairs and headed up. He reached his corridor and started with the first door, but it was locked. He went for the second, and then the third but they were all closed tight. The room across from his was unlocked however and he entered it.

The sudden swing of the door as he stepped in disturbed the air and kicked up clumps of dust that skidded across the floor. In the middle of the room were a broom and dustpan. He took them in his arm and headed down again.

~*~*~

After cleaning up the mess he'd made with the rug, he headed into the library to find the 'window damage'. What his parents expected him to do about it was beyond him.

Retracing his steps from earlier, he found the library again and held the candle up high. There was little light in the room but he could still make out the tall shelves of books. The book cases were solid mahogany and there were empty sconces nailed near the tops of several of them. Servents or maybe maids would have needed ladders to light them. The ceiling was domed and painted cool colors. There were a few dark wooden desks on either side with more piles of dusty, old books and quills in dried-up ink wells. He touched one and felt instant sadness.

He set his candle down and walked over to a shelf. He pulled a few down a book and paged through it. "Muggles," he mumbled. Nothing useful and nothing he could entertain himself with. He set it down on the desk and turned to the windows, only one was uncovered.

He pulled back several curtains and more light filtered through. He pulled back the last curtain and grumbled. There was a whole tree branch sticking through the window. There was clear damage to the wood frame as well where the thick branch had punched through.

"Ha," he laughed. What was he supposed to do with this? He took the list and a small pencil he'd found on one of the shelves and wrote 'Yes' next to the task.

What was his mother expecting of him? He didn't have a wand to repair it to its original state and he sure as hell didn't know how to do it the muggle way.

"Merlin..." Severus closed his eyes and fell to his knees. Tears streaked down his cheeks. 'The muggle way'? Was this what he was left with? Was this his life now? He let his body go limp and fall to the dirty floor, his black hair splaying out like an inky mop.

He squeezed his eyes tight and let himself drown in sorrow, at the loss of himself. He was a wizard, he felt it on his bones so why was he here? Why does the punishment for existing never end? He sniffed and sat up, still staring at the ground, watching the shadows of trees dance on the wood floor.

He was transfixed, watching the shapes of leaves swaying in the wind when a silhouette of a head came into view. He turned suddenly, fearing it was his father checking up on his chores. He stood ready to explain himself but there was no one outside.

He stepped closer to the window and gripped the smooth wood frame as he searched. He could see the flat clover-covered ground with a few weeds pushing through. Beyond that were the dense woods and their shadows. He squinted, almost pressing his nose to the cold pane of glass, and jumped when a loud knocking sounded through the house. Someone was at the door.

He crossed the library and poked his head out of the room. He heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs and then walk across the wood floor. His father was going to answer it.

The front door creaked open and his father's voice boomed throughout the house. "'Bout time."

Severus relaxed and made his way to the front entrance, staying in the darkness of the corridor to stay hidden from view of anyone.

A man a head shorter than Tobias apologized for the long wait. "Whole town's been needing repairs still. The windstorm last week did some real damage from here down to the river."

Tobias grunted. "We negotiated a price, for just the one window. That still the deal?"

The man looked awkwardly to his left, at something beyond Severus's view, and nodded. "We'll call it a neighbor's discount." The man attempted a smile but it faltered as Tobias gave no friendly response.

"Severus!" His father's voice boomed again.

Severus jumped where he stood and waited a few seconds before appearing before them. His father squinted at him and frowned disapprovingly but did not verbalize his thoughts.

"Show 'em the library." Tobias looked at the man one last time and walked outside, leaving Severus alone with the stranger.

The man stepped in and, to Severus' shock, so did a girl. He pinned her age at around his own. She had long hair and faded purple overalls over a black shirt, she had on muddy boots and matching purple socks. The man stepped forward and extended his hand towards him.

"Your father mentioned yesterday that you'd help me but I hope you don't mind I brought my daughter to help instead. She's normally my assistant with such things."

Severus hid his surprise and took his hand. "Not at all," he put extra effort into sounded like Lucius and his friends. He always tried putting distance between his father and himself - physical as well as societal. Anything that made him stand out as better educated, better tempered, and more intelligent was worth the extra act.  The man took his hand back and smiled, Severus held his hands behind his back and stood up straighter. He tipped his head and motioned for the corridor with his hand, "Shall we?"

Severus showed them to the library and held the door open. The man looked around and spotted the troubled window immediately.

"We'll have to cut that branch first before removing that whole window. We'll keep it at the price though, on us."

His daughter gave him a pointed look but he waved his hand at her dismissively. "Let's measure it up before we leave for the chainsaw."

The girl took out a measuring tape from one pocket of her overalls and a notepad from her other. She reached around Severus to a shelf behind him making him jump at the sudden closeness, though he regained his composure - and waved the newly acquired pencil with an amused smile. Severus looked away towards her father as his cheeks heated.

Her father took the tape and began measuring the window frame, mumbling numbers that his daughter seemed to understand perfectly. Severus watched them work as a team from several feet behind them. He remembered when he was younger helping his father build their kitchen table and moving around each other with ease, much like them. His father had shown him how to hammer nails, though he'd needed help holding the tool up.

"Alright, we'll be back then," the man said, turning around. He marched his way out of the room with confidence while his daughter smiled apologetically on his behalf.

"He makes himself at home quite easily."

Severus nodded at her and held the library door open for her to follow her father. As she passed he caught a whiff of cinnamon and apples. He swallowed and followed her down the hall, almost tripping on a bend in the rug - the only one that survived - and catching himself on the wall.

She turned her head to look at him and he stilled and straightened pretending that nothing was the matter. They continued and reached the door where her father stood waiting.

"We'll be right back then - er - I'm sorry I am blanking on your name."

His daughter laughed at her father and stepped forward, extending her hand to Severus again. "That's because you forgot to ask for his name and give him ours the first time," she said to her father.

Severus took her hand and noted how soft it felt, not a callous to be felt. He looked back into her eyes and cleared his throat, "Severus Snape." She smiled at him, making his cheeks heat again.

"I'm Millie and this is my father, Vincent."

"Everyone in town calls me Vince." Hugh stepped forward and shook Severus' hand again. "Will you be at the door or shall we let ourselves in?"

Severus thought about unpacking his things, or maybe digging around the woods to see what mushrooms grew around, though Millie's curious eyes and the way they looked over him made him nod. "I'll be here."

"Perfect then," and Vince left with Millie at his heels.

She looked back at Severus and gave a small 'see you' wave. He waved back and closed the door behind them.

He stood there for a few seconds before looking down at what he was wearing, he didn't remember what he'd chosen he only hoped it wasn't anything stained or ripped. He sighed, relieved that it happened to be his best kept clothes; regular black trousers, a spotless white button-down,  and his grey Hogwarts sweater. He must not have been thinking this morning and dressed absentmindedly...

He stepped back and walked to the stairs, sitting on the bottom step and waited for them to return.

~*~*~

~*~*~

Millie and her father were halfway down the old Rotson Manor drive before she decided to break the silence. "Did you see the emblem on his sweater?" she whispered.

Her father continued down for several seconds, extended his hand down to touch a dead tree, and pulled at the bark. He examined it and kept walking. "We'll just fix up the window before night and leave 'em be."

She nodded and followed her father down the drive, turning to see if Severus was watching them from any of the windows. He wasn't.

~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~

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[kintatsujo]

LoZ AU- The Courage of Running Away Part THIRTEEN

Don’t worry this is not the bad luck post!!  That’s the next two

#AU August

#LoZ AU: The Courage of Running Away

[Image Descriptions: Still coming off the previous scene, Queen Zelda puts a hand to her forehead and sighs heavily, dragging it into the statement “What a MESS.”  A heavyset middle aged Sheikah woman rushes up from further down the hallway, a thin youth with a Sheikah Eye on their clothing trailing behind her.  “Zelda what in the WORLD,” she says, but it’s more a statement than a question.  “Impa,” Queen Zelda greets, “Excellent.”  She seems weary.  “You have more experience with boys, set this child up with a room while I figure out how to apologize for trying to murder his FATHER.”  She puts a hand on her daughter’s hand, still on her arm.  “Dove, go with Auntie Impa and Link, stick to Gray for a while.”  Princess Zelda, jaw set, nods.  Impa makes a strangling motion with both hands.  “ON GODS, Zelda,” she says.  Link stares in astonishment. Outside the hole in the wall, King Aldway says “I suppose I’LL just go find someone to CLEAN UP THIS MESS.”  Queen Zelda starts, as if only now realizing he witnessed the entire debacle.  “ALDWAY!  Oh darling, I’m SORRY, I’ll walk with you!”  She puts a hand to her chin pensively.  “You’re supposed to be GENTLER with boys, right?” she mutters, and then goes to join him, as Impa puts a hand to her face in exasperation.  Princess Zelda wraps her arms around Link in a hug.  “Here,” she says.  “You look like you NEED one.”  Link is startled and blushes, while Impa and the youth look on with sad but fond expressions.  End ID.]

Impa has been many women at this point; from old to young, rail thin to “someone on Capcom’s LoZ team has a real THING for extremely round MILFs.”  She’s been Zelda’s nanny, her de facto mother, her servant, and her best friend.  This Impa is about Queen Zelda’s age and one of her literal job descriptions is “not taking the queen’s bullshit,” hence their dynamic.  She is also still very much a ninja because I wanted very badly to draw her doing ninja things.  Her son, Gray, is more or less Sheik as his own identity; I am having my Zorlda cake and eating it too.  (”Zelda” is short for “Griselda,” which means “Gray Battle Maiden,” so he’s even named after her.)

[Image description: Impa standing on a pole with a bust of Gray and a sketch of him interacting with Princess Zelda to the side.  Impa is heavyset with a round face.  She has red eyes, white hair pulled into a half ponytail, dark thick eyebrows, and light skin.  She is wearing a cream colored jacket with loose sleeves and red trim, belted shut over a black dress, the hem of which stops just below her knees.  She is wearing black boots with a split toe and black arm guards.  Her hands are on her hips.  Gray has the same red eyes, light skin and white hair as his mother, thin black eyebrows and a black mark of makeup under his right eye.  His left eye is hidden by one of his bangs.  His hair is in a bun and he is wearing a blue sleeveless turtleneck.  In the sketch with Princess Zelda, both he and she have been mussed, with feathers in their hair, and he looks embarrassed.  “It’s not what it looks like!” he’s saying.  “Really?” asks an unseen speaker, “Because it LOOKS like you two have been PILLOWFIGHTING.”  Gray says “Okay it’s EXACTLY what it looks like.”  Princess Zelda is grinning.  “I’m winning,” she says.  There is a note that describes them as “Basically siblings.” End ID.]

It’s not EXACTLY that Gray is supposed to be Zelda’s bodyguard; he’s only seventeen himself, but he’s been her de-facto babysitter and chaperone around town for the last two or three years and he thinks of himself that way.  

I was a little concerned when I hit on this idea of his character design versus Ghirahim, but I think I’ve sorted it out so they look sufficiently different!

That said no I don’t know what’s up with his eye.  There’s a sketch somewhere in my hand-written notes where Impa’s asking if he thinks he’s the hidden princess (as a more direct reference to OoT, you know) so maybe he just thinks it looks cool.  

Also I have at least one vote for Gray as Link’s love interest, not that love interests for anyone are a high priority in this AU.  XD

Anyway, so obviously Impa and Gray and Princess Zelda work on getting Link settled.  There’s a few days where he kind of finds his way around the castle, gets apologized to by the guards that were at the door when Astramorus caught up to him, worries about what his father might be up to, and has some Genuine Serious Talks with the queen about things like the last few things Astramorus was saying and about his mother.

”He must mean the Gerudo Prince,” Zelda says of Astramorus’s warning.  “Dinravi’s been calling me auntie since he could talk, I’m not worried about him, I’ve been paying reparations to the Gerudo for most of my reign, but this talk of a demon....I’ll look into it.”  

And of Link’s mother, she says, “You jumped off a sky island with no idea where you’d land and you’ve been saving people left and right and endearing yourself to everyone you meet ever since.  You’re pretty much exactly your mother’s son.”  

And speaking of endearing himself to people, Marla and Tonbo finally catch up, just like Marla promised:

[Image description: Marla has her arms fully around Link from behind and is thoroughly squishing him into her torso protectively, looking over his startled face at Queen Zelda, who has a hand to her mouth and is trying not to laugh.  “You’d better be TAKING CARE OF HIM, Missus Queen Hyrule,” Marla says, “This is the SADDEST BOY.”  She kisses the top of Link’s head.  “RIGHT Tonbo isn’t he the saddest of boys?”  Tonbo answers dryly, “The very saddest.”  Link grins, close to tears, looking tired.  “I missed you guys too,” he says.  End ID.]