#very earth tone very simple lots of reds/browns | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

penname-unknown · 12 days

Text

Cowboy’s First Date

A requested repost of my second ever short story about some gay (probably historically incorrect) cowboys.

"Woah!” The miniature horse skitters against the dirt that hikes up then leaves a muddled path before it. The cowboy sat atop the horse, settles their hat back against the sky, and brings their hand down to the earth. “That was quite a fall!” They smile, not of humor, but of simple kindness.

Eldoris accepts the offer with a passive huff as he rises to his feet. “Thank you.” He mumbles, his head to the very ground he fell against, with red already pooled in his cheeks.

They smile wider. “You’re new here, aren’t you?”

A deep exhale escapes him as he grabs hold of the lead that sways his horse, a skinny thing with a tan hide and blonde mane. “Is it that obvious?” He asks as the other worker hops off his brown and white spotted animal, who appears much healthier than his own.

They shrug, “New boys always get the weakest colt.” They explain, leading him to the stable without ask. “It’s a ‘test of character.’” They physically quote with a free hand. When Eldoris stops responding, tied up in the multitude of actions that take place when settling a horse down, the cowboy pipes up again far before the silence would have become uncomfortable. “What’s your name?”

“I thought you lot weren’t supposed to ask questions.” He sighs, finally content with his ability to follow routine.

“‘My lot’?” They grin. “You’re a part of ‘my lot’ now, lover.” They point out with an accompanying stretched finger, their other hand resting against their belt.

He moves his tongue from inside his cheek. “Eldoris.” He mumbles softly with a diverted gaze.

“That’s a handsome name.” They compliment, shyly, trying to ease the pressure they’ve incidentally built. “I’m Medius, but you won’t catch anyone calling me that ‘round here.” They return.

Eldoris pivots his view back towards them. “Why not?” He wonders with more curiosity than he leads on, a slight crane in his neck giving him away.

Medius can’t help themselves against his big, intrigued eyes. “How about I buy you a drink and we can talk about it?” They offer, losing the faux timidness they were trying to maintain. He finally cracks a smile in the most minuscule way a smile can be made as he begins to walk, despite not giving Medius an answer. “Are you like this with all the newbies, or just me?”

Medius rushes up to his side. “Uh-“ They stammer, tripping over their own feet as they cool their jog to a slow walk. “Just you, I’m afraid.” They smile, bringing their flat-topped hat to their chest and letting their curly auburn hair engulf the sunlight. They gently ruffle it to expel the flatness of the hat, proving it to be just at their chin rather than just below.

“Alright.” He belatedly agrees. “Where do you get a drink around here?”

The glass hits the wooden bar with a clank, precipitation already built upon its walls. Eldoris snatches the gliding cup on the tilted top and brings it to their lips, watching as their date takes nervous sips from a whiskey glass of water.

“So,” He starts, cupping the drink between his hands. “You dislike drinking yet you invite me to a bar?” He asks with a grin that only widens when Medius freezes mid-sup.

With slow movements bringing them up from their slouch and pink-tinged cheeks, a simple mumble of “Water’s good.” Is all they can muster up.

Eldoris chuckles, “Yeah, alright.” He drinks. “So, what do people call you if not by your name, Medius?”

“Candy.” They answer quickly, content to finish there until finding Eldoris’ raised brow. “I’m ‘sweeter’ than the others.” They explain, a tone of embarrassment visible in their hushed tone and reddening face. “That’s why everyone calls me ‘Candy’, and why I figured you were new before I even saw your mare.” They sip. “No one uses manners like ‘thank you’.”

“Oh.” He whispers under his breath with a slight nod, staring into the depths of his hardened yellow drink.

“How’d you get this job?” They inquire with a sense of entertainment rather than investigation. “I mean no offense, sweetheart, but you can’t ride a horse for shit and you got pearls around your neck.” They smile, wiggling their fingers towards their own neck. “You don’t look like you’ve worked a day in your life,” they add as Eldoris hooks a finger over his necklace.

“I- I know the ranch owner’s son, Charles.” He answers with hesitant honesty, stumbling over the surprising amount of details Medius had collected in the short while they’d known about the other, then taking a swig when they lower their eyes at him.

“Really?” They wonder, leaning their tipped chin above their knuckle. “I wouldn’t tell anyone else that,” Medius advises, but doesn’t give up their odd curiosity.

“Why should anyone else care?” He responds with a light huff.

Medius shrugs. “Some people had to fight for this job.” They crane their head to the other side.

“Oh yes. Of course.” He responds with a finishing gulp, a vague sort of tone attached to his words.

Medius looks down at their glass with a pushed-to-the-side debating glare before eventually sighing and leaning as close as they can toward Eldoris. “I’m going to tell you a secret of mine. Think you can handle that?” They ask, only partially sarcastic.

He brings his eyes up and down his partner before falling into a small grin. “I’m intrigued.” Medius, with all their might, refrains from commenting, only inching their finger towards themself of which Eldoris obeys, not without an eye-roll, however. “I’m related to the cattleman.” They whisper, not an inch away from his face before he pulls away with a smile. “After all that crap for just knowing his son?” He grins while his arms cross.

“I wasn’t givin’ you any crap.” They excuse, hands up in defense. “I was just offerin’ you some advice!” Medius assures, a wider smile growing on them too.

Eldoris snorts, “Alright, then.” He cups his hand around his face, elbow leaning against the slippery table. “How are you related?” He wonders.

Medius’ shoulders slouch as bits of their smile wither. “He’s my uncle; Charles is my cousin.” They explain, half-heartedly. “It sounds a lot closer than it is.” They add, sipping their water for the last time.

“Oh.” He nods, knowing when not to push.

“After my ma—uh.” They wipe their hands down against the worn overall jeans. “Anyway, after that, he gave me a job. Not much, but a roof over my head, lower wages during summer if I stay on.” Medius goes on, their excitement dying out as they continue. “I could’ve been worse.” They settle, a tip returning to their lips.

“Yeah.” Eldoris mumbles, finding their hand underneath the bar.

“Are you going to tell me what those pearls are about now?” Medius exhorts as Eldoris steps through the held-open door.

Eldoris settles his olden’d cap back onto his head of wavy brown hair. “I could.” He offers as Medius wraps their orange-black flannel around them; the lowering sun making the hazy skies thick with damp heat. “But then, what would we talk about on our next date?” He smirks with a slight turn of his head, his hands collecting behind his back.

“Ne-next date?” Medius beams, though their eyes can’t move from their bewilderment. They shake their head momentarily before catching up to their already-leaving mate. “Right, yeah, next date.” They confirm with only a hint of more confidence. “When is that, again?”

Eldoris shrugs, “Surprise me.”

#writers on tumblr #writing #writeblr #my writing #writing tumblr #short story #original writing #cowboy #gay #lgbt pride #queer writers #pride month #western #wild west #original character #short fiction #fiction #original story #queer fiction

4 notes · View notes

muiltifandomnerd · 6 months

Text

Adventures of Chika Hanabusa: The Restoration of Earth

Disclaimer: This book follows the events of Percy Jackson and Heros of Olympus fanfic, this fanfic will not include Trails of Apollo, The Kane Chronicles, and Magnus Chase.

Chapter 15: Hyun’s Origins

Hyun PoV

I sent Reyna and Chika back to Camp Jupiter safely. I walk towards the woods, hoping to get out of this place. So many memories kept flooding back to me, and all I could think about was the first time I met Ben.

Flashback(Kindergarten)

Daddy sent me to school and packed my favorite fruit strawberry. I sat next to a boy, who is my age. He has mischievous green eyes and brown silky hair and is wearing a SpongeBob shirt. He kept poking me on the shoulder and I got very angry.

“WHAAT?” I shouted in annoyance, The whole class looked at me and the teacher, an elderly woman, looked at me in disapproval.

“Ms. Mun, what is the issue?” The teacher asks in an irritated tone while the students look at me. Oh great, this boy embarrassed me.

“The boy next to me won't stop me and it's very annoying," I said with my eyes showing tears.

“Ben, why did you poke.” The teacher looked at the annoying, mischievous boy. The boy smiled brightly and just showed a picture of stick figures.

"I want the prettiest girl in the world to see my cool drawing." The teacher suddenly opened her eyelids and cast a warm smile, I swear this teacher is unpredictable at times. The rest of the class looked on in approval and some even snickered.

"Look, Ben, you should show the drawing at recess, and you should be mindful of other's feelings Ben. Next time, just tell me how you feel next time. Now let's resume class." I blushed when he called me the prettiest girl in class.

Flashback End

Dear god, what a cute memory. I remember after the whole poking situation, he apologize and he offered me Cheez-Its and Oreos and he promise to not do that again. His mom is such a sweet woman that she offers free snacks whenever I come by after she picked Ben up from school and Ben and I tell her about the situation of Ben poking me. After my father died, she offered up her home and she looked after me. I was very grief-stricken, and I was just so heartbroken, that I thought about suicides at times. If it weren't for Ben and his mom, I would probably be at a mental hospital about now. I remember Ben made me watch him play Call of Duty and his drawing pictures of him, calling me the prettiest girl in the world. He also brushes my hair at times and ties my hair with a bow. He even learned how to cook and bake just to help his mom and feed me a lot. You would not believe that his godly mother is freaking Eris or should I say Discordia. How in the world did Ben's mom fall for that, at least that crazy bitch gives me Ben. Everything was so simple back then, but everything changed when a werewolf attacked us when we had just become freshmen in high school.

Flashback (Werewolf Attack)

Ben and I decided to walk in the woods at night and Ben just decided to dance for fun. I joined in for fun. Ben was just wearing black jeans and a band t shirt that says Three Days Grace, while I was wearing a black short, pleated skirt that reaches mid-thigh and the purple Camp Jupiter shirt. Ben was looking at my legs and tried to look away when I caught him. Aww, he's trying not to come off as a pervert, I don't mind if he wants to stare at my legs and wants to peek under my skirt. Hey, I'm a pervert too and I love his butt that needs to be spanked by my hand.

“Must you wear short skirts; you are going to kill half the camp," Ben says with a red face. I love teasing Ben; he is cute when he blushes a lot.

"I'm pretty sure a lot of campers saw my legs and they are still alive and well. You know Ben, I can let you peek under my skirt. Teehee" I chuckle, while Ben yells "GAAAA, you are the worst."

"I Know," I said in a teasing manner.

"But I love you, anyway, come here you" Ben dragged me close to the chest and I blushed. Does Ben see me as a sister or as a girlfriend, hopefully, we can figure it out eventually. I heard a branch crack and suddenly a werewolf appeared out of nowhen like it just appeared as the moon shining on the grass. It was so fast and we didn't bring our weapons with us, It tackled Ben to the ground and I was busy chatting up a fire spell in Latin. Ben somehow manages to stab the werewolf's eye out and drag it across its face. The wolf cried in horror and it became golden dust.

"Good thing I bring my pocket knife everywhere. Hey, everything Hyun" as he laughs in a carefree tone. I was so shocked, we were literally at New Rome's borders, how did a monster find this place? Suddenly a Japanese guy with an eyepatch shows up and he points his blade at Ben's neck.

"It seems to be that you are bitten, my name is Ethan Nakamura and I have been sent here to recruit for Luke Castellan's mission." The Japanese eyepatch guy says with a stoic expression. This guy seems to be a real deal. I look at Ben's neck and it shows a huge bite mark.

"Now then if you work for us, we can help find a cure for your friend. After all, we are fellow children of minor deities. Olympus doesn't care for us and our godly parents, we are expendable. The Titan Army will care for your friend's condition, while you give us intel and kill for us when necessary, now what do you say?" As Ethan holds up his hand I take it.

"No Hyun don't, this guy will just use us for his goal. He works for the Titan army remember, his team has been trying to destroy the world and our home." Ben shouts while Ethan gives him a disdainful look.

"That's the Olympian propaganda speaking to you. For god's sake, you will become a monster and I offering your friend here a chance to cure you. You are a son of Discordia; do you think the gods or even this camp will give a shit about you. Now you hope your friend is smarter than you." Ethan says while I think to myself about Ethan's words. He's right about the gods not caring for us, and it sucks that Ben and I have to keep proving ourselves that we have New Rome's interest at heart a lot more often than children of the Olympian gods. If this eyepatch has a cure for the werewolf bite, then I should take his offer. Ben doesn't deserve to be a monster for the rest of his life. If I just killed the monster sooner, Ben would have not been bitten.

"Fine I agree to those terms, I will be your spy." Ethans looked on in approval and did a small smile while Ben cast a defeated but understanding look.

"Then it is done, welcome to the team Hyun Mun" he shook my hand and left in a puff of smoke. He might as well be a son of Batman with the whole edgy eyepatch and leaving in a smoke.

Flashback End

Once I made the deal with Ethan, I gathered intel for the Titan army and even killed some high-ranking officers for them. I remember their faces; one had a huge nose and a buff body, and the other was a pretty girl. I give them a painless death with this sleep-death spell I created, which means that the spell puts them to sleep, and they die while they are having a pleasant dream. I'm not barbaric, I didn't hate them. I wish someday I could tell them the reason why they lost their lives is because I'm saving my soulmate. I got off very easy for my crimes against New Rome, Reyna has been merciful. All I want to do now is find Ben, give him this cure, and then hopefully I can atone for my actions. Ben didn't agree with me being a spy, but he acted dumb and pretended he had no idea about me being a spy whenever someone was suspicious of my actions did try to make sure that I didn't give Ethan everything and didn't kill a lot of people.

As I walk around the woods a bit, suddenly a portal appears before me, and the half-brother that I escaped from, Alabaster, appears before next to him is a guy in his early 20s with curly blonde hair, a green beach coat, green fedora, a short blade, and a Nirvana t-shirt. This guy has such a horrible fashion sense, the dude must have shopped at some beach gift store.

“It seems your friends have figured you out half-sister. Look, we will find your boyfriend and will offer up a chance to make things right. Let’s face it, Camp Jupiter will not take you back.” Alabaster says in a condescending matter while the beach guy looks on in sympathy.

"And why should I trust you Alabaster, you serve me in a silver platter to our sister Circle. Thanks, but no thanks.” I angrily say, Man, I am tired of Alabaster shit. He can go fuck off with his Nirvana friend. I can feel my heartbeat goes faster and my body tense up, I am preparing to kick this douche ass.

“Sorry about Alabaster, my name is Ryan Altha and I’m the son of Rhea. We are just here to help you. I have settlement for demi titans and other minor god kids. My mother and her sisters are the leaders of this establishment, our mission is to take care of as many people as possible. Look don't mind Alabaster attitude, but he was a spy for me. He had to pretend that he's with Circle because Circle has been a thorn in our butt for a while." Ryan holds out his hand and he emits a calming aura, and my body is not tensed with rage anymore. Who would have thought the children of Titans existed, I didn’t know that Zeus’s mom had been with a mortal, and I didn't even know that Rhea was helping her kid with this establishment that Ryan had been talking about. This guy, despite his attire, is not one to joke with. I guess I have no choice but to put up with Alabaster bitchass one more time, hopefully, they got some good food at least. I hold up Ryan's hand and I three of us walk to the portal. I guess I’m the luckiest girl alive since I don’t have to sleep in the woods and I can’t wait to meet the Mother of the Gods and her sisters. I hope Rhea is not crazy like her children.

#alabaster torrington #pjo ocs #pjo fanfic #demititans

5 notes · View notes

the-laridian · 1 year

Note

ive always associated orange with you, i think cuz of rowans hair, but now im curious, do you have a fav color? IS IT ORANGE?? 🧡

I get this a LOT! The "you are orange" thing, I mean. For years, truly. People would send me orange and/or Halloween themed fabrics because of it. They still do.

I do not, in fact, love orange as a color that much :P However, much like people mispronouncing my name, I've learned to live with it. Orange is an okay color.

For a long time, I said my favorite color was green. If I have to give a simplistic answer, I'll say that at present, I'm leaning more toward red.

The more complicated answer is: I love bright colors, jewel tones, and stuff that stands out. 1980s New Wave with hot pink and neon blue? Yes! Late 1960s "let's have the entire room in red and blue: carpet, furniture, wallpaper"? I'm sold! Midcentury kitchen where everything is green, including the appliances? YAY it's not all stainless steel and plain white tile!

Oh, and there was my tropical color phase, of yellow, teal/tropical blues and greens, and fuschia. I painted and decorated a bathroom in those colors once and loved it.

I don't like pastels, they're too washed out looking for me. Not big on earth tones either (and then Rowan is entirely in browns and faded reds and orange, so, y'know).

There's a very long answer to what should be a simple question. Thank you for asking! And I expect to be associated with orange for years to come :)

#orange you glad #answered #colors #laridian is orange #apparently

9 notes · View notes

becoration · 6 months

Text

Keys for a cozy and modern living room

Post has been published on becoration

Keys for a cozy and modern living room

Of all the rooms in the house, the living room is the center of social life at home. Meetings; sofa Sundays, movie and blanket; team projects with classmates or coworkers, and winter afternoons of board games are all activities that are generally carried out in this area of the home. It may have more or fewer square meters, but its presence in the home is essential. Along with the foyer, the living room can be neutral ground for entertaining visitors, especially useful in occasions where there is not yet enough confidence with the visitors. Being a highly trafficked area of the home, what cannot be missing in the living room are seats.

However, there is not always enough space to place a multi-seater sofa or many chairs around a large table that accommodates a good number of diners. In these cases, an elegant option to have additional seating that also does not take up square footage in the living room, are poufs.

That said, find cheap and pretty poufs with which to give this area of the home a contemporary and informal touch, to remove seriousness from the living room (but not elegance), and make it more modern without giving up a cozy and relaxed atmosphere. To help you in this task, we reveal the keys to achieving a cozy and modern living room, but also functional.

Adjustable lighting

Modern living rooms should be bright. To make the most of natural light during the day, large windows can be installed, with sliding doors and motorized blinds. As for artificial lighting (necessary at night), it is recommended to have an installation that allows regulating the intensity of the light emitted by the bulbs, in order to create a more or less relaxed atmosphere according to the needs of each moment.

Connection to the terrace

The living room windows could provide access to the terrace or garden. In the first case, it would be very convenient to close the terrace and install blinds. This way, the usefulness of the terrace is regained in the colder months. In addition, through the blinds, the privacy of the terrace as part of the home is maintained. It is a way to take advantage of a space that, in most homes, would only be used in spring and autumn.

Contrast of colors and textures

Modern living rooms tend to opt for a range of neutral colors (blacks, whites, grays, earth tones…) that are combined. However, to avoid falling into monotony (and not lose that eclectic and contemporary touch), some color accents are added to these previous tones. For example: one of the main walls of the living room can be painted in a more striking shade. Red interacts very well in living rooms where the predominant base color is gray. In living rooms where brown prevails, using a blue color can provide a very attractive contrast. Something similar happens with textures. Smooth, soft, non-rough textures are usually chosen (for example: faux leather or fabric armchairs) combined with the natural texture of other materials, such as brick (for the walls), or the lace that some cushion covers show.

Simple and practical furniture

Instead of looking for visually very ornate furniture with many ornaments, including volutes (for example) in their legs and, in general, resembling the baroque, the buyer should opt for simpler furniture, with simple lines and fewer ornamental details. It is important that they are, above all, functional, and require little maintenance. Wood remains the material par excellence. On the one hand, it helps to achieve a cozy atmosphere that no other material can achieve. And, on the other hand, having many varieties and tones of wood: according to the tree, the applied dyes… it gives a lot of room to enrich the space with different visual rhythms without being strident.

Straights and curves

It is true that modern living rooms have more elements formed by straight lines than curves. However, in order to avoid falling into monotony, it is advisable to introduce interruptions in that straightness. This can be achieved with round tables, curved armchairs, and poufs. The latter are especially practical for several reasons:

There are models that are foldable. They can be easily stored in the closet, to be taken out only when needed. They are especially recommended for those who have occasional guests at home.

Poufs may include storage space inside, so apart from serving as seats, they also serve to store objects inside.

In a house with children, it may be a good idea to include poufs in a specific area of the living room. It would be a way to create a space for painting and playing or also (why not?) a reading corner.

They are items that have been designed not only to sit on, but also to rest your feet. It is a good way to have a footrest without sacrificing the elegance of the living room, while breaking the homogeneity of so many straight lines.

via: MiMub in Spanish

#General

0 notes

tinyproprodigy · 2 years

Text

"Caught you" - Asra x reader

||Note: you will be addressed as "you" the whole time without mention of any gender specifications.||

||reblogs are welcome!||

Special lines

+ smoll asra and smoll reader!

+ antagonistic reader

+ "what are you doing sneaking around here?"

+The Magician 🦊

+ "You might get along better than friends of course. Best friends even?"

+ "caught me again didn't you, reader?"

The Magician was an odd one, let's start off there.

They had enjoyed tricking people and often spoke in riddles. This did not mean you were an exception, no-no.

Finding an eight-year-old kicking and punching at trees in the middle of the night deep in the forest was more than enough to baffle them and keep their interest.

You had grown an interest in being a battle commander from a young age as you watched fights in the coliseum. Minors were not to attend but you always found some way to sneak in.

say they had been tutoring you- in a way.

Often offering to watch you spar with a vivid soul they'd compose for a bit or take you to different locations that were extraordinary and quite distinct from the normal viridescent grass, brown earth, and blue sky.

They were always remarkable, every memory of yours invoking things that happened in that place, like the pale blue markings you once encountered on stones or even the fur-covered trees that had various types of colors. All as mesmerizing as the first.

But no matter how much you enjoyed these sights, the main area you had always met up with The Magician was where you first met.

🂡🂢🂣🂤🂥🂦🂧🂨🂩🂪🂫🂬🂭🂮🂱🂲🂳🂴🂵🂶🂷🂸🂹🂺🂻🂼🂽🂾🃁🃂🃃🃄🃅🃆🃇🃈🃉🃊

The houses were small and simple, made of stone, mud, and wood. Something very common in this era.

A ring of men and woman were playing a round of cards in the shade of what you reckon is a bakery, from the whiff of fresh bread that emanates from it which was enough to confirm it.

You had never entered the bakery but often heard great things from the owner. Especially the pumpkin bread they had made often.

You might wanna check it out later?

As you ran past, the group had not taken notice of your presence, their focus on jeering at each other while slapping the cards down on a wooden table.

This did not bother you as you have places to be anyways.

Sprinting and leaping through vines and trunks, you halt to a stop at your destination. What you expected was for The Magician to be here, casually sat under a tree as usual, instead in his place was a small boy around your age.

He had quite a lot of white hair on his head, almost overpowering his small face. He looked like a deer in headlights at this point as he did not move an inch after he spotted you.

He watched you with unabashed curiosity as you stepped closer. Seeming to assess how you'd react of probably because of your dark well-embroided regime uniform with silver linings that must make quite the peculiar sight, a stark contrast to the ocher and brown-clad people that lived near this area.

Your first thought was...he was a thief.

A good for nothing little imp trying to steal from The Magician, of all people. 'Outrageous! The sheer audacity of this little criminal!' Your ten-year mind concluded, already feeling confrontational.

Drawing your sword out with one swift motion, you had edged it straight at the strange teenager as you spoke with some level of authority latched to your tone "what are you doing sneaking around here?"

His eyes quickly scan the area, setting off red lights in your mind as you quickly knew what he was going to do.

'He is trying to escape.'

Fast on your feet, you hurled your daggers straight in his escape path, but that did not interrupt him as you had anticipated it would.

The footing below you had shifted all of a sudden causing you to stagger on your feet and him to expose a route past you.

'He is a magician!'

Quickly you were right behind him, hot on his tail as he had fled through trees and hedges in an attempt to lose you- which he soon acknowledged was futile.

Disappearing behind a tree, you had followed hastily so you didn't lose him- only to find yourself upside down, wrapped in vines as they supported your body from not falling headfirst into the soil.

The little brat tricked you.

"You little..." You began, struggling with your restraints as the timid young boy appeared from behind a hedge ahead of you.

"Sorry." He started, scratching the back of his neck as he looked up at you with a nervous smile.

'Is he looking at me with pity?'

Blood boiling over as your face reddened, you twisted your blade- the vines successfully unwinding as you landed clean on both feet, one hand pressed on the ground between your feet for extra support.

'He didn't even bother taking my weapons away.' You thought, concluding that he wasn't really good at anything combat-related, be it with or without magic.

This seemed to terrify the little fellow as his shoulder hunched up slightly, his nervous smile slowly disappearing as he took in your revengeful exterior.

"You think you can steal and get away with it?"

"S-steal!? I wasn't stealing!...this time."

"Aha, so you are a criminal." You snarled, sword at the ready.

"I see you both have met." A vivid voice spoke from the trees as flashes of red and white silk danced at the corner of your eyes.

It was the magician.

They had been beside the pair the whole time, It seems. "Play nice now." They chided, an amused grin on their face.

"....You know?" Asra spoke with caution as he gestured a hand towards you, hanging from the magician's grasp as they held you up from picking a fight with the nervous kid.

"Enthusiasm is so powerful today, hey reader?" The Magician teased, setting you on your feet as soon as you had settled down. "All will be said in a minute" they promised, nearing their usual sitting spot. "But first, would you like to have some tea?"

This oddity was not a surprise as you had grown familiar with how they had often avoided giving out an actual answer, opting to flesh it out in an unnecessary chatter.

But that didn't mean they didn't give out the answer, no it didn't.

You were smart enough to piece together the conclusion and it was as simple as it could be. You were not their only pupil.

This came as a surprise of sorts to you as a slight trickle of jealousy crept its way into your mind. 'Who was this kid anyways!?'

Voicing out your thoughts brought an amused laugh from the Magician as they settled with asking the both of you to get to know each other.

"You'd make fast friends." They spoke in between sips as they added with a mischievous glint. "You might get along better than friends of course. Best friends even?"

The oblivious beam of a smile from the kid- soon learning that his name was Asra- was enough to confirm for you that he had not picked up on the suggestion.

But, you did. And you did not ignore it as you eyed them with skepticism which was soon disrupted by Asra's sudden excitement as he overwhelmed you with the idea of you two being close friends.

Scrunching your nose in disdain prompted The Magician to crack up once more. They sure enjoyed pestering you, that's for sure.

🂡🂢🂣🂤🂥🂦🂧🂨🂩🂪🂫🂬🂭🂮🂱🂲🂳🂴🂵🂶🂷🂸🂹🂺🂻🂼🂽🂾🃁🃂🃃🃄🃅🃆🃇🃈🃉🃊

The next day was somewhat uneventful, in your opinion- which later changed when you had spotted asra once again.

He was peering from behind a bush straight ahead at...nothing?

"Is he looking for me?" You muttered as you squinted your eyes at him suspiciously.

You had a one-sided grudge against the poor boy. You wanted to have a duel with him. You wanted a new challenge, something of a higher level. If he was worthy of being The Magician's pupil just like you, he was likely to be a worthy fighter, right?

Slinking around his field of view, you had stopped right behind him, leaning down near his left ear as you had whispered "Got you."

With a shriek of fright, he had jumped away a few inches before recognizing it was you all along. A bright smile spread across his face as he drew closer. "It's you! Let's"-

Once again, a dagger pointed straight at his forehead cut him off from speaking further.

"Fight me!" You declared, chin up and posture perfect enough to come across as intimidating only for the other to push it to the side by the blunt part with two fingers and drag you off towards town. "there's something I have to show you real quick, you have to see it!"

Saying he wasn't terrorized by you anymore was an understatement.

He seemed to have grown used to your antagonistic nature, telling you things like "you're so cool!" When you once scared off a few kids from bothering the snowy-haired kid, so you could duel with him- only to be bombarded with naive complements instead.

You were not used to this no matter how many years you spent with him.

🂡🂢🂣🂤🂥🂦🂧🂨🂩🂪🂫🂬🂭🂮🂱🂲🂳🂴🂵🂶🂷🂸🂹🂺🂻🂼🂽🂾🃁🃂🃃🃄🃅🃆🃇🃈🃉🃊

Closing the door behind him, Asra walks further into the room. In search of something he had forgotten to take with him before he left for another journey.

His satchel.

Nadia had mentioned that this guest room he had currently been using would be given to another guest as soon as he had left.

Not wanting to overstay, he made sure to quicken his search.

A loud bang was enough to scare asra as his heart seemed to stop beating for a second before turning around to face the commotion.

What he met instead was a blade settled right between both his eyes as a all too familiar voice commanded. "What are you doing sneaking around here?"

It was you. Both of you had unfortunately parted ways after three years of meeting due to a few changes in your life.

You had found some sort of warrior signup and they had been very impressed with your abilities and had offered to enroll you in their program to teach you more and find you an acceptable assignment in the end.

You, of course finding this as the only opportunity to express your worth and become an actual war commander, accepted the offer.

You didn't bother keeping it private as you proudly boasted about it to everyone you knew, which received a lot of congrats in return and a few good luck!s

But what you didn't expect was for Asra to be dejected about it.

He had grown quite miserable after he had heard of your departure and didn't know how to respond, to begin with. The chance of you returning was pretty slim.

You had found him by the river near your usual training spot one day and walked right up to him, ready to brag about your success to him to only to stop short.

He had been sniffling back tears and rubbing his now reddened eyes as they became blurry with tears.

You didn't like this one bit.

Not knowing how to approach this type of a situation, you had cleared your throat, catching asra's attention.

"Hey." You started awkwardly, avoiding eye contact as your gaze was set towards the calm river, watching a few fishes swim past from time to time, but that was quickly changed as you were soon tackled to the ground with a bone-crushing hug.

"H-hey, relax- you're heavy!" you complained, sitting up by your elbows as you let him cry into your shoulders for a bit. You did not understand why it was such a bad thing.

After a few moments of back rubbing and sniffling, his tears came to a hushed silence.

"Don't worry so much." You reassured, hugging him back as you gave up on attempting to slip out from his tight grasp. "I'll be back before you know it."

And there you were, standing in front of him with a stern expression as you waited for an answer. You did not recognize him.

A playful smile spread across his face, stomach flattering with butterfliess as he watched your left eye twitch in irritation at his smile.

You didn't change a bit.

"You..." You trailed off after a moment. Same violet eyes, same white hair- it was Asra.

You froze in place, the tips of your ears and cheeks suddenly burning red, saying nothing. It has been a long while since you had seen him and time has been nothing but generous to him.

He stayed silent, to wait for your next move it seemed.

When it failed to come, he moved closer- pushing your dagger to the side with two fingers.

his gaze under his thick white eyelashes flickered down to your lips, and when he look back up with a teasing smile, there was something feline in his usually soft eyes, his pupils small pinpricks in his deep violet irises.

His voice was low, silvery, as he asked, his tone slow and very deliberate, "caught me again didn't you, reader?"

🂡🂢🂣🂤🂥🂦🂧🂨🂩🂪🂫🂬🂭🂮🂱🂲🂳🂴🂵🂶🂷🂸🂹🂺🂻🂼🂽🂾🃁🃂🃃🃄🃅🃆🃇🃈🃉🃊

#The arcana #asra #asra x reader #the arcana x reader #the arcana #the arcana oneshot #asra oneshot #asra x you

144 notes · View notes

abbidavisart · 3 years

Photo

The Original Sailor Animamates! I’ve been working on these ladies for a while now and they’re finally done! Rather than redesign existing characters I wanted to elaborate on characters that were mentioned in the manga but never got proper designs. As always, species and design notes under the cut

General notes Shoutout to Myusse on Deviantart, their original animamates designs were a big inspiration to me

So the Animamates are kind of the least coordinated group of villains in the entire SM canon? Not a criticism, by-the-by, I think it makes sense when you consider that these are basically randos Galaxia plucked out from all across the galaxy. They’ve got two elements that all their designs share; the galaxia cuffs, and that each of their outfits features a gold star. However, I think the star is too common a motif in canon to really be specific to Galaxia (For example, literally all the eternal senshi designs have one) SO! I thought, what if the star is a popular symbol throughout the galaxy, and each planet their own addition to the symbol to make it unique? In this sense, when Shadow Galaxia’s animamates swore themselves to Galaxia, rather than gaining a symbol unique to them, they had their homeworld’s symbols stripped of individuality. Another note is that Galaxia’s animamates each stole their planet’s sailor crystal/starseed. Because of this I envisioned them to be kind of wearing someone else’s power ie sailor suit. My process for designing each of these was to take the designs of Galaxia’s animamates and work backwards, creating characters with similar elements but still making them distinct. Individual notes Sailor Chuu! Representative of the planet Chuu, homeworld of Sailor Iron Mouse. Side note, Iron Mouse is an interesting case as while she has mouse attributes, we never see if she can actually turn into a mouse the way that Phobos and Deimos can turn into crows or Luna can turn back and forth from a cat. I’d assume she (and Chuu, by extension) can, but we’ve got no evidence to back that up. I kept a lot of the same elements from Iron Mouse, gold beads, fluffy cuffs, ribbons, and what seems to be a structured, boned top. Because I designed Chuu to be notably younger than her evil counterpart, I swapped the panties+tights combo for a more kid friendly pair of puffy bloomers. Color-wise IM is JUST black and white, so I went for a more natural, mousy brown accented with a soft pink and cream color. I’ve given her an identical circlet/tiara, and an original brooch shaped to vaguely resemble a mouse head. Sailor Mermaid! Rep of the planet Mermaid, homeworld of Sailor Aluminum Siren. Her legs can turn into a tail because you can’t name a character “Sailor Mermaid” without giving her a mermaid tail, obvi. Again I’ve carried over several elements from her counterpart; flowing fabric, crisscrossing ribbons, shells, long flowy hair, and small wing ornaments that I can only assume are meant to be a reference to the Ancient Greek concept of sirens as women with bird features. As AS is pretty much all blue and purple, I shifted that to more green/turquoise palette, with purple, pink, and blue accents. I kept the structure of her top similar, but made it slightly more conservative with the inclusion of a sheer panel covering her stomach. I’ve taken the wing ornaments and converted them to a hair accessory. Her star is actually a small jeweled starfish, and I’ve given her more pearls in addition to the ones on her necklace.

Sailor Coronis! Coronis is unique amongst the animamates in that we actually see her! From the back, but still. We know she has a choker, short dress, and seems to have dark, straight hair similar to Phobos and Deimos. Along with Lead Crow I also included elements of Phobos and Deimos’ human outfits. Her outfit is one the simpler of the animamates, with star and feather ornaments, black straps/ribbons, a simple dress, and few pieces of jewelry. Because Lead Crow is overall rusty orange/brown, red, and black, I used primarily a cool toned dark blue and charcoal, with her eyes and lips being a bright red. Her earrings are similar to her counterparts’, except with a mirrored triangle bead, and gold to match the rest of her jewelry. She has a simple gold star circlet with feathers behind her ears. Her brooch resembles a simplified crow’s foot in addition to the gold star. Sailor Mau! Mau is a planet of cat-shifters, who spend most of their time as cats but can shift into humans in emergency situations/with a large influx of magic. I headcanon Mautians to be exclusively “domesticated” cat breeds ie no big cats. (A very silly headcanon of mine is that Earth is the only planet that actually got around to domesticating cats, so the only cats in space are Mautian. Aliens are very confused by Earth cats) Sailor Mau is based off the Egyptian Mau, thought to be the oldest cat breed in the world. Her hair and crown are meant to slightly resemble Ancient Egyptian accessories, as well as her gold earrings and tail cuff. Her Sailor Crystal takes the form of a cat’s eye gem, featured prominently along with a gold star on her crown. Her outfit has similar straps to Artemis’ human outfit, with boots resembling Diana’s. It’s primarily white, to contrast with Tin Nyanko’s primarily black suit, with pale orange accents and bells. Sailor Cocoon! Last of the bunch! Cocoon is a planet of butterfly/moth humanoids. She’s a trans girl because metaphor, and i made her more insect-like with segmented limbs and compound eyes. HMP’s wings resemble blue swallowtail wings, so I went with a similar shape in a different palette. Her outfit is based off of samba dance costumes, with a highly jeweled bodice, dark leotard, and sheer skirt. HMP’s outfit is primarily blue, magenta, and purple, so I went with a complementary palette of vibrant orange, green, and yellow. Her tiara is delicate green filigree, beads, and jewels; at the center of which is a golden star with orange butterfly wings.

398 notes · View notes

crystal-moon-101 · 3 years

Photo

Since I saw people talking about Ben's little big chill kids, I thought I'd finally do some headshots of my ones, who are also a part of my Ben 10 Next Gen. For me, I've always imagined that for young necrofriggians, they all start out looking the same (Beyond some size difference), but as they grow older, they'll start to develop their own patterns, small body traits and shades of colour, as showcased here. I'll share the little info on each sibling, and the basics of who they are as a person. When Ben first found them again, saving them from poachers and going full mum mode, they had been developing these different psychical traits, but not enough to identify each properly on their own, so while giving them names, Gwen used bandana pieces to colour code them, and each kid still wears theirs to this day, slightly modified. So here they are now, as full grown young adults. You can follow from left to right each row, or just the colours next to their names. -North (Black)- The largest and physically strongest of the kids, North acts as the leading member when Ben isn't around, doing their best to watch out for their siblings and be a middle ground to them. It's been this way since they were born, looking out for them and doing whatever they can to protect the others. This has resulted in North collecting quite a few scars and wing tears, though they wear them with pride, wanting to display how strong they are to others. They often looks up to Ben when it comes to being a hero, in how their mumdad protects others and the galaxy, and wants to be a fighter like him one day, often asking to train with their mumdad whenever he's around. Ben has suggested Plumber training for North, but they're still thinking about that. -Tundra (Red)- Tundra is a very curious one, and is known to wander off when things catch their interest. They prefer using experience to learn from, thus making them quick on their feet when something happens, and good at thinking logical. When the siblings are struggling with something, or come across some kind of problem, it's often Tundra who provides the quickest answers that should go well for them. That being said, due to their wandering, they gave gotten into trouble a few times and need to be saved by their siblings or Ben, as despite how smart they are, they can be a bit of a ditz when something catches their interest. -Grey (Silver)- Having a connection to the earth bellow, Grey often spends their time searching caves, and any hidden areas they can find. They especially love to research and find minerals of any kind, ranging from metals to gems, sometimes even studying their metal lunch for the day before eating it. Because of this, they can be carelessly dirty, and aren't the cleanest of people, but does pick up after themself when reminded. Grey is also pretty close with their sibling Storm, and surprising Gwen and Ben when first hearing the two call each other "Dweeb" and "Doofas", when first meeting them again. -Storm (Brown)- As someone who likes to spend a lot of time flying and high in the clouds, Storm is fascinated by the weather and how it behaves, and feeling the cold fresh air and challenging themself with flight training. This has provided them to have the most agility in the air, and knows the best ways to build up speeds, while also not draining themself. Whenever they aren't flying around, they're doing research on the weather, very keen to be a meteorologist one day. Whenever Ben visits, they will often ask him about the weather on other planets, and any adventures he's had in the sky. Storm is also pretty close with their sibling Grey, and surprising Gwen and Ben when first hearing the two call each other "Dweeb" and "Doofas", when first meeting them again. -Crystal (Blue)- Graceful on their feet, Crystal is a charming and gentle person, with a keenness for the art of dancing, especially when hovering in the air. This was something sparked in them when seeing how the patches in their wings, which are see through, glittered and reflected light through them, making Crystal often move around to see what they could get them to do, and the introduction of dancing was something they latched onto as a result. They are one of the hardest of the siblings to get angry, upset or rile up, and often goes with the flow and speaks in a slow and soft voice. Because of their kind nature and beautiful display of their wings, Crystal has attracted many others who are interested in them, many falling for them after meeting Crystal for a mere minute, though they tend to pretend not to notice, and turn down those who ask. -Orion (Orange)- Having an eye for art, Orion is a skilled painter and drawer, while also dabbling into other art forms to create things, their room filled with their works of art, and often creating gifts for others. From when they were little, Orion has always admired their auntie Gwen, and are always keen and eager to hang out with her when she visits, showing every new drawing and painting they have made while she was away. In fact their fondness for auntie Gwen is why they picked the orange bandana, as it reminded them of her hair. -Neva (Green)- Fashion focused and head strong, Neva is a keen one, who knows exactly what they like and isn't afraid to say it. They love designing things to wear, especially since fashion isn't that big on Kylmyys, and Ben brings them fabrics and items they request from earth whenever he comes by on a visit. Though, despite Neva's expensive tastes, they are most certainly aren't a snob, and more often than not create outfits and accessories for others that Neva knows they'd like, and wants to bring out the best beauty in them. Though admittedly, they can get a bit carried away if someone asks for fashion advice, or even brings up the idea of something related to it. Neva also a bit of a business mind too, having gotten some clients recently on their homeworld after seeing what Neva could make. -Raine (Aqua)- A very sweet young one, Raine has a keen eye for collecting things, particularly shiny or unknown stuff. From gemstones to simple earth utensil, if something interests them, Raine is known to take it with them, sometimes snatching without thinking. They don't mean any harm, and just sometimes think before acting, and will give something back if they've realized what they've done, but if it's clear they can keep it, then they aren't one to share, though do like to show off what they have with joy. They are also very well organized, knowing where everything they own is, and even when their siblings misplace something, having a photography memory and mental list of things. They may own a lot of stuff, but that doesn't mean they want to live in a pigsty. -Vale (Yellow)- Being one of the quiet ones, Vale likes to keep a lot to themself, and don't speak very often, only when they need to. They spend a lot of time outside, observing nature as it passes by them, using a little diary to note down what they see, hear, feel, smell and even taste. They like to appreciate silence and the world around them, and the beauty of nature, and collect little things to store away in their diary as memory. Whenever they visit earth, they love to visit the forests in the spring and summer, seeing the range of colours blooming from flowers, and has many flower prints because of this. -Lux (Beige)- Quite the basic of people, Lux likes to live life in a simple way, and tends to try and stare clear of any chaos, which is quite hard when you have 13 wild siblings. Because of them, they can come across as annoyed and frustrated at times, and can be blunt and honest, but they do love their siblings, and is often the one that says what's needed to be said. Lux also have massive wings compared to their body, a ratio none of the others have, and use to trip over their feet a lot growing up. Now, their massive wings are a great way to hide away when they're not in the mood to talk to read a book, or to hug a family member when seeing them down. -Micha (Pink)- Bubbly and sneaky, Micha has been dubbed the "Pink Ninja" for a reason, someone almost always able to hide away and sneak up on others. They love to jump scare people, and has found more and more crafty ways to get around without being noticed, even without their ability to go invisible. They love to pull jokes and get a laugh out of people, and Micha is known to have a snort with their own laughter. It's always their mission to catch Ben off guard when he visits, as each time it gets trickier due to him knowing it's coming, and his training and skills build up over the years, but Micha always finds a way in the end. -Zodiac (Gold)- Patient and often neutral toned, Zodiac is often seen to be pretty wise. From a young age, they've always loved stories from history, especially those about myths and legends they hear from around the galaxy, and spend a lot of their time reading and researching anything they hear about, always keen to hear a new story they may have never heard about before. It always fascinates them how much Ben has seen and done, and the stories he tells, Zodiac is practically fond of those about Alien X and Celestialsapians, and wants to meet one one day. -Alaska (White)- High on energy 99% of the time, Alaska is always zooming around and never has time to stop. They rarely sit still for long, and it takes a lot to drain them of their endless energy, always moving in a blink of an eye. Because of this, Alaska is the fastest of the crew, which has come in handy often. But they can be easily bored, and a little frustrating to deal with when they don't pay attention, but they do like to spend that energy by jumping around each sibling to spend the day with, and wants to engage in all of their activities to support them. -Arlo (Purple- The smallest of them, Arlo was born the runt of the group, but thanks to their siblings, especially North, they managed to survive childhood when most other necrofriggian runts would have died. This makes Arlo the baby of the group, and the one they all want to protect, even if it can be a little baring at much, wanting to prove they can be strong on their own. And Arlo somewhat got their wish, when reaching a certain age and Ben learning that one of his children had the spark, thus meaning Arlo is an Anodite, and is able to use magic, though they're far from being perfect at it, and their small body sometimes struggles to keep up. But each day Arlo practices, wanting to feel more than just the tiny one, but they are generally kind and great with emotions, being very supportive and just trying their hardest.

#ben 10 #B10 #ben 10 alien force #ben 10 ultimate alien #ben 10 omniverse #ben 10 original series #ben 10 ben tennyson #ben tennyson #Ben 10 Big Chill #Big Chill #necrofriggian #Baby Chills #Ben 10 Next Gen #next generation #My Art

327 notes · View notes

stuff-from-the-void-matron · 3 years

Text

Laurel Wreaths & Animal Teeth (5)

(c!Technoblade x fem!Reader)

(got a decent amount of interest on chapter 4 so here’s chapter 5! hope you all enjoy! and remember, chapter 6 depends on how well this chapter does! so remember to comment and reblog! thanks y’all! <3)

————-

You’d rung the bell, the sound alerting the villagers that things were all okay again. Soon they were all outside again and a lot came over to see what was going on. You were standing by two human kids. Villagers were typically pretty neutral to humans, unless they hurt them or broke their stuff. Though they tended to avoid humans (even the small/young ones) because of how dangerous they had the potential to be.

This was sorta reinforced by today’s little drama. But with you there the villagers weren’t worried. They trusted you to keep them safe and protect them and their homes/businesses. Plus a few of them kind of heard you scolding the two human boys and well, villagers are true gossips because word spread through the small population hilariously fast. And yes they may have snickered over the two boys getting lectured like they did. But you’d never know that.

During this Tommy and Tubbo took the time to look around at the village. They noticed there wasn’t a single piece of cobblestone anywhere, much to Tommy’s outrage and Tubbo’s amusement. Tommy made sure to loudly gripe about how the village lost all of it’s ‘cool factor’ because you took the cobblestone away. He even started to say that if cobblestone was like a woman he’d-... but he stopped when he seemed to realize that not only was he standing directly next to an ACTUAL woman but an adult one…

He started sweating nervously and shooting a glare at Tubbo when the brown haired boy snickered at his uncomfortable position, but in the end he sort of mumbled,

“Uh.. you don’t wanna know what I’d… do.. pft.”

Tubbo couldn’t hold it in anymore and broke out into laughter, with Tommy right behind him. While you just shook your head and made a ‘tsk’ing’ noise at the goofy pair. But you didn’t bother to hide your amused smile. Once they’d calmed down you resumed your trek.

As you walked the two boys noted the second thing that stood out to them in the village were all the identical patterned banners that were hung up. The two tone ones with the golden suns on them. Tubbo lightly tugged on your sleeve, causing you to blink and look down at him curiously, and he asked why you hung them up everywhere. Was it to show this was your village or?

“Huh? Oh no, I didn’t hang those up, the villagers did. Though I made the original ones, the ones I hung up on my home. But the villagers liked them so much they made their own,” you explained with a calm smile.

Hearing this made the boys share a confused look before Tommy bluntly said that villagers never made patterned banners, they only hung up the plain ones. He’d never heard of them making banners ever. But you just shrugged and said the day after you’d hung up yours the villagers had all started copying you. You’re not 100% sure why (though you have a suspicion it’s the worship thing… but you didn’t bring that up..), you just assumed it was because they took a liking to them.

“I just wanted some decoration for my house and made the banner to spruce the place up, and it was sweet they liked them so much,” you added with a smile.

Tommy tilted his head before looking around the village and asking which house was yours. He pointed at one that was made of wood, stone, and pink terracotta and asked if that was it because ‘you’re a girl, girls like pink right?’ which just made you laugh and shake your head.

“Some girls like pink, sure. Though I know some boys do as well. But no that’s not my house. Mine is up there on the hill at the other end of the village, see?” You pointed towards your temple home and the two boys followed your gesture and their eyes widened at the sight of the huge white quartz temple.

Almost instantly Tommy started shouting about how that wasn’t a house, it was some kinda mansion or something! You just laughed and asked if he’d even ever seen a mansion before. He paused for a second, mouth open like he was going to say something but nothing came out. But then he caught himself and loudly said he’d seen LOADS of mansions before! So he knew what he was talking about.

You didn’t bother questioning him, you know he didn’t sound too sure, but what harm was there in letting him pretend he knew when he didn’t? Regardless, you and the two boys continued walking through the village, but Tommy and Tubbo (thinking that made you feel crazy still) said they wanted to see your cool house. You raised an eyebrow and asked if ALL they planned to do was look.

“It took exactly two days and two nights to build it, I don’t want two troublemakers wrecking it,” you said with a suspicious tone.

Tommy was first to heave a put upon sigh as he said they weren’t gonna wreck your stuff! But it was Tubbo who cut in and said that no way did you build that huge thing in just a couple days! It would have had to take you a week at best!

You tilted your head and said it didn’t take a ‘couple days’ only, it took two days and two nights straight. But that answer just baffled the two boys more. And Tommy said in a disbelieving voice,

“You built for 48 hours straight?” You nodded and Tommy raised an eyebrow, not seeming to believe you.

“What, did ya just eat along the way?? Fought mobs while building at night??” He asked, sounding amused. And you, entirely without thinking how WEIRD it was going to sound, just replied that you’d sort of forgotten to eat while you were building.

“Yeah I got way too focused on building and after scrapping the first three builds I tried and settled on my temple house I got too into it and forgot to eat or sleep.”

You admitted it with some shame before quickly turning to the two stunned boys and saying they shouldn’t do stuff like that, it was irresponsible and dangerous! Tommy frowned and replied that YOU just admitted to doing those very things! But you countered that you were an adult and allowed to make your own stupid choices, but as kids they should heed smart advice.

“It’s very much a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ type situation,” you said with a wry smile.

The blond was very much going to argue against that but you all finally scaled the path leading up the hill to your temple home and Tubbo saw the chest situated outside your home to the left of the front door. Without thinking he went over and started plundering through the chest, but yelped when you smacked his hand, causing him to pull both hands out of the chest and tuck them close to his stomach.

“Don’t go through my gift chest! The villagers use this to give me thank you gifts!” you scold the brunet boy.

They start bombarding you with questions, like why on earth do the villagers give you gifts? What kind of gifts were they? What’d you do to earn them? Are you blackmailing the villagers? If so, then can you teach them how to do that? You burst out laughing at the way the questions just got more and more absurd.

“No! I do not blackmail anyone! Lord, what is with you two kids? No, I work to protect the village and help the villagers master their crafts. And in return they thank me with gifts they make,” you answered with an amused grin.

But it seemed the blond only focused on one part of your reply, and it was the part where you called him a kid. A split second of dumbfounded stunned silence ensued before he snapped out of it and started raging, much to your and Tubbo’s amusement.

“I ain’t no CHILD! I am a MAN! A tall and powerful man who don’t gotta take crap from nobody! TUBBO STOP LAUGHING! SHE CALLED YOU A CHILD TOO!”

Tubbo didn’t even respond, he was too busy laughing. You were laughing too but managed to calm down enough to say that there was nothing wrong with being a child, it just meant you had more learning to do and experience to gain. Tommy and Tubbo seemed to calm down at hearing this, at least until you reached out and pinches both boys’ cheeks and cooed,

“And besides, you’re both cute widdle babies~!”

Now they were both hollering about ‘not being babies!’ and kicking up a huge fuss, much to your amusement.

-0-

After that you’d gone through the day’s gifts and saw most of them were the usual stuff (but still great). Plenty of bread and fruit, potion stuff, and a fur blanket. You packed away the food in a chest, put up the potion supplies by your brewing station, and threw the nice fur blanket across the end of your bed as decoration. All in all they were lovely gifts.

But one of the gifts really stood out. A red wooden box. And when you opened it you saw it had 6 engraved gold bangles. And they had different engravings. Some were carved to have leafy vines, some had geometric shapes, others had fish scale patterns, and even some with simple swirls and dots. But they all had a hinge to open them and a thin chain to keep them from falling off should they accidentally come open.

You loved all the gifts the villagers got you, how could you not? They were the fruits of their labor and skill! But these bracelets just hit different? You’d always liked gold, it was pretty and just crisp looking. SO without hesitation you’d put the bracelets on, three on each wrist before admiring them in the waning light of the sunset.

You’d even showed the two teen boys after you put them on and they said they looked nice, though you could tell they were only being polite, most likely because they had no interest in jewelry. Though you appreciate them trying to be nice for your sake. But while you were admiring your latest gift Tubbo noticed something simmering in your cauldron by your brewing stand.

He cautiously approached it while you were showing Tommy your enchantment table and library (tommy wanted to enchant his sword). The brown haired boy let the scent from the lightly bubbling cauldron waft across his face and he breathed it in with a pleased sigh. Whatever this was it was clearly food, but damn did it smell like utter heaven! He could see chunks of steak, cuts of potato and carrot, and some other green bits he didn’t recognize. But he did recognize the light golden sheen the stew(?) had. Just like an enchanted golden apple!

All three of you blinked when a sudden growing gurgle sounded through the quartz temple. You and Tommy looked over at Tubbo, whose face was red with embarrassment. He laughed awkwardly and said the food smelled good, and he hadn’t eaten since breakfast as his excuse. But you just gave a laugh and went over to the cauldron, scooting him out of the way so you could check on it.

The two watched you stir the concoction with a wooden spoon before tasting some and letting out a pleased hum. Cooking was similar to potion making so you’d started doing both lately to keep yourself busy. You’d started with the recipes you already knew from the game. Mushroom stew, beetroot soup, rabbit stew, bread, etc. But those got boring fast so you decided.. why not try something new? So you’d started just doing whatever sounded like a good idea.

You learned LOTS of new recipes (and made sure to jot them down in a book so you didn’t forget them/what they did) but you also made some truly vile foodstuff. Lots of your failed concoctions ended up in the trash. But this latest one actually tasted darn good to you. After trying it you even noticed it gave you the same effects as the enchanted golden apple. Which was cool since you’d marinated the steak you’d put in the stew in a bowl of enchanted gapple juice.

Behind you you could hear Tubbo bugging Tommy, asking him to give him some food since he ran out and his hunger was low. But Tommy refused, saying he only had one loaf of bread left and Tubbo should have brought more food! You rolled your eyes at the bickering pair of boys before wordlessly grabbing some wooden bowls and scooping some of the enchanted beef stew into them before calling over your shoulder,

“Y’all two want some stew? It turned out really good this time I think.”

Tubbo gave a thankful, “Oh yes, please!” while Tommy gave a childish, “Yeah! Gimme!” that made you want to laugh at their silliness. But instead you just handed over the two bowls of stew. You turned back around to grab yourself one (because you might not NEED food but it still tastes good) and while your back was turned you heard them greedily slurping and munching on the stew. You’d turned back and came face to face with two boys with empty bowls held out to you to show they’d like more. You barked out a laugh and teasingly asked if it was any good.

Tommy didn’t seem to want to wait and shook his bowl and demanded in a snarky tone to “Hurry it up woman!” which.. made you frown. You were giving him a very unamused look, which he seemed to register and realize he may have misstepped here. He sweat anxiously with a nervous smile while Tubbo’s face dropped and he held his own bowl closer to his chest, not liking the tense silence. For some reason having you upset with him made him not feel so good. Like it was a bone deep feeling that left him hugely on edge. Tubbo glanced over at his best friend and knew the same could be said for him, because Tommy looked vaguely ill. But after a harsh elbow jab from the brunet the blond seemed to snap into the present and stuttered,

“I was-uh, y’see I was only.. kidding. Yeah! Kidding! What I really meant was can I please have some more??”

Your frown twitched before turning into a wry smile. You huffed out a chuckle that made both boys' anxieties fade. Their bodies seemed to deflate from how tense they’d been before as you handed over the full bowl in your hand to him and said while you ruffled his hay colored hair,

“Nice save kiddo, because if you’d have been smarting off for real I’d have been pretty irked. Thankfully it was only a joke~”

Tommy gave a relieved chuckle before he shamelessly gobbled down his new bowl of stew, seemingly back to normal now that you didn’t seem upset at him anymore. You mentally shook your head, he was such a kid it was pretty funny. But then you turned your gaze to Tubbo and held your hand out for his bowl, which he happily handed over with a shy ‘thank you!’ that made you smile. Soon they were both digging in all over again. Only this time you joined them, positively delighted with how this new stew had turned out. After eating you’d even offered them some iced tea you’d made. And this had started a whole Thing with the two British boys.

They’d argued that iced tea was an abomination and hot tea was the only right way to do tea. You’d rolled your eyes and asked if they’d ever even TRIED iced tea before. That got Tubbo to sorta stutter before falling silent but Tommy, ever the hard headed one, just plowed on and said he didn’t NEED to try it to know it wasn’t good. You gave him a Look and shook your head before convincing them to just try it and if they didn’t like it then they could dump it out. After some back and forth they caved and tried it, and lo and behold they both enjoyed it. The crisp drink was perfect for warm weather, unlike hot tea. But even after begrudgingly admitting it wasn’t ‘total shit’ Tommy refused to admit he liked it better than ‘proper tea’. You took this all as a win regardless.

-0-

You’d spent the majority of the day with the two young boys, just showing them around and feeding them and goofing off. You’d forgotten how fun it was to interact with people like this. To have actual conversation that wasn’t just ‘hms’ and ‘hngs’ like with the Villagers. You still loved the villagers, they were good folks but you’d missed talking with people normally. Which is why you were understandably bummed out when you saw the sun was getting dangerously close to the horizon. But you knew being out after dark wasn’t wise for regular people. You even brought it up to the two boys, not wanting them to have to face any hostile mobs on their way home. They reassured you they’d be fine, they’ve got good gear and enchanted weapons, but you still worried.

Though instead of letting it get to you and ruining the rest of the evening you instead packed the two boys some food to go. You put the rest of the stew into bowls and served up a couple more glasses of iced tea before gifting them to them, making sure they each got an equal share. Tubbo tried to politely say you didn’t have to give them anything while Tommy just let out a ‘whoop!’ and shoved his share into his inventory with a wide grin. That helped Tubbo accept his too without any more shyness. Soon they were all packed up and ready to go home, wherever that was.

But before they headed off Tubbo asked if they could come back, with Tommy perking up at the question, clearly wanting to know your answer too. With a smile you said of course they could come back to visit you and your village. You’d be delighted to host them again! Even if your first impression of them wasn’t that nice. You chuckled when Tommy had the decency to at least look somewhat sheepish. But your smile wasn’t upset and let them know you were only teasing, and it was water under the bridge.

“I look forward to you two coming back again! Maybe you can help me out around the village and in return I can pay you or maybe make you both more food-”

Tommy and Tubbo cut you off by almost yelling out in unison, “FOOD!” which made you laugh out loud. You held up a hand in mock surrender and agreed to make them more food the next time they stopped by. The pair looked excited and waved before picking the berries from the bushes surrounding your village (so they wouldn’t take damage from the thorns) and hurried through them. You waved goodbye in return then took some bone meal out to help the bushes grow back before heading back home.

You had a great day, and weren’t lying when you said you couldn’t wait for the two to come back.

-0-

Tommy and Tubbo made it back to L’manburg without too much fuss, only having to kill a few zombies and skeletons along the way. Though by the time they got back it was very much after dark and everyone had settled in for the night to avoid the hostile mobs. So the two boys didn’t bother checking in with anyone since it was already late and they were tired from the journey back. But to their surprise Wilbur was waiting up for them in the kitchen, sipping some tea and working on some papers.

“Oi, you two are back late. Run into trouble or somethin’?” Wilbur asked with a wry grin.

And that released the floodgates of the two teen boys unloading everything that’d happened that day. From finding the village to accidentally fighting an iron golem, to meeting YOU! And everything else after. Wilbur listened with wide eyes, surprised to hear them talk about meeting a new person, a stranger outside of a country/city place that they knew of. One that apparently took over a village? Weird.

But L’manburg could always use more allies.

Maybe he should go pay you a visit too.

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

@salinesoot @lady-bee-fechin @kacchasu @putridjoy @lunawritesstories @galaxypankitty3030 @paradigmax @zachariethememerie @killmewithafanfic @trinity-1002107 @hufflepuff-demigod @truthdaze @exorcisms-with-elmo @redbloodtea @heythereimhaylz @olyink @jackalopedoodles @nikkineeky @artsimatsu @hufflepuff-demigod

#technoblade x reader #technoblade #c!techno #dream smp #dsmp #mcyt x reader #c!tommy #c!tubbo #c!wilbur

332 notes · View notes

the-witty-pen-name · 3 years

Text

Can’t Help Falling in Love

Loki x Reader (f)

Valentine’s Day with the God of Mischief

Based on suggestion by: @squadleaderchase

A/N: Thank you so much for the suggestion! I loved writing this, it was so much fun!

Happy Valentine’s Day y’all!

There is also a gender neutral version of this fic, and will be posted shortly after this one! Read it here!

I recommend to putting on Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis towards the end just for that finishing touch!

Summary: When Loki learns about the traditions of Valentine’s Day, he asks you to be his Valentine- and reluctantly takes advice from Steve Rogers.

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: none; just fluff

“Can’t Midgardians have a holiday that doesn’t involve such a grotesque display of… red?” Loki asks walking into the living room of the Avengers compound. Loki arrived at the compound a few weeks before Christmas and so far, he’s experienced two Earth holidays: Christmas and New Year’s. Of course, Tony had picked the theme for both parties to be elaborately red and gold- he claimed the fact that it matched his suit was merely a coincidence.

“Just wait until next month,” you reply casually, your eyes not leaving the brief you were reading while you sat cozied up in one of the large armchairs. “I think you’ll like St. Patrick’s Day much more… color scheme wise at least.”

Loki looked up curiously at the hearts of all shades of red and pink Natasha had hung up to decorate the Avengers’ living quarters. She had gone to visit Clint’s family and his kids spent hours making Valentines and decorations out of construction paper and glitter. Loki looked almost puzzled at the lopsided hearts that hung from the ceiling on transparent line so they looked like they floated mid-air.

“Perhaps I might,” he mumbled to himself, the lovesick aura of his surroundings making him slightly disgusted. “Though I suppose I find your rituals as bizarre as you’d find on Asgard.”

“Mhmm,” you mumbled in response to his thinking out loud. It was rare that the compound would be this quiet. It was a Friday evening and in the middle of a team meeting earlier today, Tony declared exhaustedly that everyone needs to start the weekend early and dismissed everyone despite Steve’s protests. You weren’t sure where everyone else went and you didn’t particularly care- enjoying the rare peace and quiet.

You didn’t mind Loki’s company. He was a little aloof but overall, you found him more to be misunderstood than anything else. He wasn’t like Thor and sure, he had a very trouble ridden past to downplay it- but he’s confided in you all it wasn’t entirely his doing. Out of everyone living at the compound, he probably had grown the closest to you, or as close as Loki would allow himself to be to someone.

“What even is this holiday?” Loki asked, pulling his attention from the decorations to where you sat, binder in your lap. You looked up and closed the brief, tossing it onto the coffee table in front of where you sat.

“Sunday is Valentine’s Day,” you say looking back over to him, meeting his eyes. “I mean overtime the traditions and how we celebrate have changed but it’s originally the day meant to honor St. Valentine and commemorate his death. There’s a lot more to it than that and there’s all different of different origins, but now it’s more like a day where you celebrate love, because he was the patron Saint of Love.”

Loki nods, liking the idea of this holiday much more than New Years already. He didn’t mind Christmas, but the elaborate parties made everything not very appealing to him. You can’t blame the god for not having a good time at parties where every guest fears him or hates him. He walks over and takes a seat on the couch and crosses his legs. He was intrigued enough to continue the conversation and ask you more questions. “What are the traditions?” He asks curiously.

“Traditionally, you would ask someone to be your Valentine, and that’s the person you want to spend the day with,” you answer with a small shrug, trying to explain a holiday you’ve never had to explain before. “Some people have it easy and they ask their significant other, and if you don’t have one, you ask someone you’re romantically interested in to be your Valentine. Then you give each other gifts, like chocolates or flowers, anything really that’s romantic and you go out on a date, like a nice dinner but it doesn’t have to be. That’s the basic gist.”

“Thank you, (y/n),” Loki said, mulling over your explanation. “You’ve been helpful, as always. Tell me, who’s your Valentine?”

“I don’t have one,” you answered honestly. The only time you really celebrated was when you had been with someone. You’d never really participated otherwise. You planned to just spend the night alone or with Nat if she also didn’t have plans and probably watch a movie- most definitely Pride and Prejudice.

“Shame,” Loki said with a tsk. “Perhaps, if you would be interested, you could be my Valentine?”

“Really?” you ask, honestly surprised.

“I actually like the idea of the day,” Loki shrugged. “And I don’t know many people, people seem to hate me on this planet- no idea as to why. You’ve always been kind to me, and you are the most tolerable person I’ve encountered on this planet.”

“That’s oddly very kind of you,” you say with a chuckle. “I appreciate the sentiments. Um, yes. I’d be happy to be your Valentine.”

“Excellent,” he grinned. He clapped his hands together and stood up. “Splendid. I’ll ask Thor to help me plan something.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” you smile, picking up your paperwork again as Loki heads off to find his brother.

***

“Brother,” Thor’s voice echoed in the training room. “Spar with me?”

“As much as I would love to,” Loki said sarcastically, “I need your help with something I need to plan.” Loki walked over to the side of the mat where Thor had been training with Captain Rogers.

“Plan what?” Captain Rogers asked curiously. It was an innocent enough question but Loki took it as Rogers insinuating his distrust in him. Of course, Loki can’t blame the man but it did rub him the wrong way.

“If you must know Captain Rogers, I’m making plans for this upcoming Valentine’s Day,” Loki said matter-of-factly. “I’m sure since you have quite the active love life recently, your words of wisdom are probably of infinite value.”

“You can learn a thing or two from me,” Steve retorted as he put the punching bag beck into place. “But I don’t like your attitude.”

“I don’t know how I’ll ever manage without you,” Loki scoffed. He turned his attention back to his brother. “I need help to determine where I should take (y/n) and what I should get her.”

“(y/n) agreed to this?” Thor asks, his eyebrows raised in confusion. Rogers kept his mouth shut, deciding to see where this conversation will go before

“Yes, brother. I asked her to be my Valentine as stated by tradition and she said yes.”

“Ah! Good for you, brother!” Thor exclaimed, happily. “I’m glad you’re immersing yourself in the Midgard culture.”

“Yes, yes,” Loki waved him off, “Now, please, tell me what I should do.”

“I’ve never celebrated Valentine’s Day,” Thor says with a shrug and a sympathetic look. “I haven’t had much opportunity to explore the culture. Every time I’m on this planet I’m a little busy preventing its destruction. Perhaps Rogers can help you?”

Loki let out an exasperated sigh. He avoided Rogers as he knew the man had such a smug look on his face. Loki refused to give him the satisfaction. However, he realized that wouldn’t be fair to you. Rogers not only knew what to do, but he was also close friends with you. He quickly realized if he wanted to celebrate with you properly, he’d need to rely on the infamous super soldier.

“Captain Rogers,” Loki said with a charismatic smile, turning back to the man. “I wholeheartedly apologize for my lack of… social niceties. If you’d be willing to help me, to ensure your dear friend enjoys her holiday, I would be sincerely grateful.”

“Only because of (y/n),” Rogers says skeptically, waving a finger at Loki. “She deserves to enjoy her time and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I let you screw up her evening.”

“What a loyal friend.”

Years later, the Avengers would still talk about the fact Loki cared about you so much, he sought out advice from Captain America and Thor. And as Captain America said, he helped Loki with every last detail and Steve never let Loki forget it.

***

Loki had told you that he’d come to your room to get you at 6 o’clock Sunday evening. He wore clothes he had picked out, black dress pants, a white button-down shirt and shiny, black dress shoes. He had kept the last button of the shirt unbuttoned and he had rolled the sleeves up, a styling tip he had gotten from Thor. He had his long hair gelled back and tamed, ignoring Captain Roger’s horrible suggestion for a haircut. He felt very weird not wearing any green, but he took the advice he was given on his ensemble.

You were just putting on your heels when he knocked at your door Sunday promptly at 6pm. Of course, Loki would be very punctual. You gave yourself one more quick once more in the mirror in your room before heading to answer the door.

You had on a pair of dark green heels that perfectly matched your dress. You also layered over the outfit a suede brown jacket, that complimented the jewel tone of the dress and shoes nicely. You kept your appearance simple, sticking to how you usually styled your hair. Not wanting to keep him waiting, you quickly opened the door, your jacket and bag both in hand.

“Wow,” you say with a grin, when you take in Loki’s appearance. “You look very nice.”

“You look stunning,” Loki said, his eyes widening, taking in your appearance. The compliment made you have butterflies.

“Thank you,” you said with false confidence. Underneath, you were a nervous wreck as you took the arm that he extended to you.

“So,” Loki began to walk down the hallway with you. “Apparently, this planet has something called reservations, and anyone who tries to get one a few days before Valentine’s Day is a “moron,” according to a very rude young man I had the pleasure of speaking with- the first time using a phone too on top of that. So, I hope you don’t mind if the evening is a little… makeshift.”

“I’m sure it’ll be great,” you reassure him. You feel him relax slightly. You found how hard he was trying so endearing.

Where else did he bring you but just down the hall to the living room. At night with the lights dimmed, combined with Natasha’s homemade decorations, it actually looked quite beautiful. He had decorated with an eclectic array of candles as well that covered most surfaces of the room. It also looked like he had swiped every throw pillow in the whole compound and had them arranged the coffee table in the center of the room.

“Did you do all of this?” You ask in awe.

“Yes,” he replied, just watching you. “Do you like it?”

“It’s perfect.”

“I had to make my own version of advice I received,” he disclosed to you. You sat opposite each other on either side of the coffee table, you kicked off your heels and he did the same with his shoes. “Captain Rogers said- and I’m trying my best to quote verbatim, ‘You need to show a girl a good time. You gotta take her to dinner and dancing.’” He even mimicked Steve’s voice perfectly. It made you laugh.

“I can’t believe you subjected yourself to Steve for me, I’m touched,” you smiled. “I mean I love Steve,” you continue, “But I can’t imagine you too being best friends anytime soon.”

“No, I suppose we probably won’t be,” Loki chuckles.

“I hate to point it out,” you continue, “but I think you missed both the dinner part and the dancing part of that plan.” Loki smirked and when you blinked, he transformed the whole room.

“Did I?” he asks, with an eyebrow raised. You gasp, looking around the room you were now in. You knew it was an illusion, but it felt very real. The atmosphere, the breeze coming in from the large bay windows that weren’t there before. The coffee table now a table now one of many dining tables in an incredibly high-end restaurant. The table had food, and a bottle of wine. You were stunned. There was a live band and other couples in other tables and out on the dancefloor.

“Loki?” You exclaimed, looking around at your new surroundings. It was amazing. You couldn’t believe the magic right before your eyes. Of course, you knew it was just one of his tricks, but it felt so incredibly real. You picked up your fork and took a bite of the food in front of you. It was incredible, you questioned if you were even eating.

“It’s real,” Loki said, like he could read your mind. Honestly, he had only just anticipated your next question. “I made it. Well, I made it with Friday’s supervision.”

“It’s fantastic! I can’t believe you went through all this trouble just for me.”

“Sweetheart, you are very much worth it- worth much more than this,” he responded casually, throwing in the term of endearment to see how you’d react. He caught the way it made you smile.

You continued to talk for a little while, and shared stories. You were worried that compared to his life on Asgard, he’d find your stories incredibly boring and mundane. It seemed to be the opposite. His attention was only on you and he held on to every word you said. He created this elaborate setting just to keep you the center of his attention.

“Should we dance?” He asks suddenly, a glimmer in his eye. You looked down apprehensively.

“I’m not really a dancer,” you tried to insist.

“Do you actually not want to dance, darling? Because if so, I will not bring it up again,” he says earnestly, “But, if you’re saying no because you’re afraid I’m going to judge you, I honestly can promise you I would never dream of doing so.”

You give it another moment to ponder over his words. You were taken aback at how well he seemed to know how you were thinking. You let out a sigh of defeat, and smile. “I’d love to,” you reply.

He stands up and offers you his hand. His smile is enough to make you weak at the knees. You take his hand and he leads you over to the dancefloor as the band starts playing its next song. “Does that singer sound like Elvis?” You ask, the small glitch in the illusion throwing you off for only a moment.

“I don’t know who that is,” Loki says with a laugh. He pulls you in close and rests one hand on the small of your back and the other grasps your hand close. You wrap your other arm around his shoulder. You are both pressed up incredibly close to one another. You rest your head on his chest comfortably, and you can’t see how much the action makes his whole face go red. Guiding your movements together, it mostly just swaying in place. The steps were small, and with the music playing for the two of you.

“This place is incredible,” you sigh happily looking up at him. “But I think I liked the first place a little better.”

He nodded in agreement and you got to watch a green hue encompass the walls of the restaurant as they almost melted away, and everything around the two of you just fade away. The sconces on the walls, revealed themselves to be the candles that cluttered the living room and the couples evaporated with the green mist. The table you had both sat at, turned back to the coffee table but the empty plates remained. The elaborate statues that surrounded the room turned into the furniture you knew well, and then the live band faded away to reveal Steve’s record player indeed playing a 45 of Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley.

When the room finished revealing its true appearance to you, you laid your head back on Loki’s chest and mumbled that now it was perfect. He smiled to himself, thinking about how without a doubt in his mind, Valentine’s Day is his absolute favorite holiday on Midgard. He now couldn’t believe this reality was real. If he wasn’t holding you, he’d pinch himself. You were here, with him, in his arms, dancing in the middle of the living room on this godforsaken planet.

“(y/n)?” he whispered softly as the song was coming to an end.

“Mhmm?” You responded, your eyes closed, really just basking in the feeling of being so close to him and the smell of his cologne.

“Will be mine?” He asks carefully, remembering the phrase from Captain Roger’s advice. That phrase apparently being very important if today went well and he wanted to ask you to “go steady.” You chuckled softly, hearing Steve’s influence in the phrase.

“I would love to,” you say with a shy smile looking back up to him. He beams, incredibly happy you said yes. Swept up in his emotions, he swiftly leans down and presses his lips to yours capturing them in a passionate first kiss.

“Oh gross!” You hear someone exclaim, making you both pull away. It’s Tony- who was currently holding his side in pain as Pepper elbowed him in the side.

“You really had to do that?” she chastised him, rolling her eyes and giving an apologetic look to you and Loki before pushing Tony down the hallway to give you both your moment back, as sullied as it had become thanks to Tony.

“I’m so sorry,” she said embarrassed by his outburst, ushering him out as quickly as possible.

Loki turns his head back to you, immediately after they are out of view. “Where were we, darling?” He smirks, pulling you in for another kiss.

#loki laufeyson #loki x reader #loki x you #loki x y/n #valentines day imagine #marvel imagine #mcu loki #loki imagine #loki fluff #fluff imagine #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddelston imagine #tom hiddleston x y/n

260 notes · View notes

juliandev0rak · 3 years

Text

Willa Clary 🌿

the creative magician with a shadowy past

Introducing…

Full name: Willa Clary

Meaning:

Willa means “resolute protection” and “will, desire”

Clary is a family name running back many generations, it originally relates to the word “clerk” or “cleric”

Gender: female, she/ her

Birthday: May 3rd

Age (start of story): 27

Orientation: bisexual

Magic: manipulation, telepathy, animal communication/ zoolingualism, clairvoyance, psychometry, potion making

Occupation: magical apothecary owner, farmer, artist

Familiar: Mira, a field mouse

Love interest: Muriel

Shippable?: shippable!

Theme song: Thistle & Weeds- Mumford & Sons

full playlist

— ALIGNMENTS —

Zodiac signs:

Sun: Taurus

Moon: Cancer

Rising: Pisces

MBTI: ISFP

Element: earth

Major Arcana: Strength

UPRIGHT: strength, courage, persuasion, influence, compassion

REVERSED: inner strength, self-doubt, low energy, raw emotion

Minor Arcana: the Queen of Cups

UPRIGHT: compassionate, caring, emotionally stable, intuitive, in flow

REVERSED: inner feelings, self-care, self-love, codependency

Magic:

— Telepathy: Willa can communicate her thoughts to others through her mind, and she can hear other’s thoughts in return. However, she can’t read minds and hears only what the other person wishes to communicate to her. This power works best with people she is close to and only within a near range

— Manipulation: Willa is able to force others to follow her commands, only those with strong magical abilities can block or avoid her control. She can either place a thought in someone’s mind or verbally communicate her wishes. This is not a power she chooses to use anymore, but it sometimes occurs accidentally in moments of strong emotion

— Zoolingualism: She can communicate with and understand animals of all kinds, both through verbal and telepathic communication. She has some difficulty understanding aquatic animals, and is best at communicating with animals she has a close bond with

— Clairvoyance and Psychometry: Willa has high sensory perception and is able to detect things about people’s pasts and futures by touching them or through psychometry: touching objects owned by those people. These powers only work with people she is close to, and not with any regularity. She also gets flashes of her own future, but she has no way to divine the past or future on her own— the images come to her as if by chance

— Potions: She works at an apothecary and makes potions to heal a variety of physical and mental ailments. She grows her own herbs and plants for these potions, and while she is not adept at using her magic to physically heal wounds, her healing potions are renowned for their potency

Other abilities: Willa is an accomplished artist and loves to paint scenes of nature as well as portraits of her loved ones, she also knits and sews and makes most of her own clothing, she can sing well and is an excellent cook, she has a green thumb and enjoys gardening and cultivating plants

— PERSONALITY & PREFERENCES —

Personality:

Willa is often outgoing and cheerful, and nearly always has a smile on her face. She loves to make new friends and has no trouble interacting with strangers or crowds. She was very shy and withdrawn as a child, but as she grew older Willa grew into her confidence and enjoys being around others. However, she is an introvert at heart and prefers to surround herself with a smaller inner circle and needs frequent alone time to recharge.

Willa is kind and gentle, seeking to help others whenever she can. She seeks harmony and often finds herself as a peacemaker in times of conflict. Willa cares deeply about those she loves and is loyal nearly to a fault. She can be very stubborn, and when she’s decided on an opinion of someone it is difficult for her to change it. She likes to be right, and she likes doing things her own way. Willa can be a bit particular, but it comes down to her stubborn belief that her way is the best way. She likes to help others, and can sometimes help too much and risk suffocating or being clingy with her loved ones.

While she has a wide assortment of acquaintances, her inner circle of close friends and family are her focus and she is always willing to drop anything to help them. Though she loves to help others, Willa is very independent and does not like to rely on others. She can be impulsive and loves to try new things, often jumping from one hobby to another without finishing previous projects. Willa can also be a bit impatient, but has learned that good things come to those who wait.

Mental health: Willa faced traumatic events in her childhood and she suffers from nightmares and occasional panic attacks as a result

Likes: soft yarn, fresh bread, cold mornings, sunny afternoons, empty canvases, swimming

Dislikes: greed, eating meat, wearing her glasses, shadows

Fears: hurting a loved one, being trapped (physically or emotionally)

Quirks: she nearly always has dirt or paint under her fingernails and on her clothes, she needs glasses to help her with reading but frequently misplaces them and hardly ever wears them

Favorite food: strawberry scones

Favorite drink: hot cocoa

Favorite flower: daisies

Favorite color: sage green

Most likely to: paint on the walls

— APPEARANCE —

Height: 5′1 / 155 cm

Eyes: very light blue-grey

Hair: light red / strawberry blonde, wavy, shoulder length and usually half pulled back from her face in a bun or a little pony tail

Other: fair skin with many freckles, lots of calluses on her hands from her work

Color theme: sage green, mustard yellow, brown, cream, pink

Fashion sense: Willa likes to be comfortable and wears mainly knit items she’s made herself. She wears lots of sweaters and skirts as well as floral dresses and occasionally overalls if she's gardening or working. She prefers light, warm toned colors and makes most of her own clothing. Her favorite clothing item is knit socks and she loves to create intricate patterns of flowers or even animals when she knits them. She wears comfortable boots during the day, and has a pair of yellow rubber boots for when she’s out in the garden.

— FAMILY & BACKGROUND —

Family:

Torin Clary - father - alive | relationship: strained

Una Clary - mother - alive | relationship: strained, nearly nonexistent

Finnegan Clary - older brother - alive | relationship: very close

Eoghan Clary - younger brother - alive | relationship: close

Fiadh Clary - great aunt - alive | relationship: close

History:

Hidden on the cliffs of the Rosmare sea lies a small village called Armara. Under a near constant deluge of rain, a small community thrives on farming and fishing. Willa’s family has always lived in Armara, and they always will. The family farm goes back through many generations and it has always been expected that Willa will be there to see it through the next.

Born to Torin and Una Clary, Willa is the middle child of three and the only daughter. When she was little, her older brother Finnegan was her best friend and she spent her days following him around the farm and learning how to take care of the animals. At three years old Willa told her mother that the sheep could talk, and her mother laughed— thinking it was simply childish imagination. But Willa insisted, the sheep really could talk, and so could the cows and the pigs and even the birds who nest in the trees. Her mother often found her talking to the farm animals, seemingly carrying on full conversations. As she got older, her parents tried to break her from this “childish fantasy”, it wasn’t real and there was no place for fantasy in Armara.

When she was six, Willa’s younger brother Eoghan was born. From birth he was perfect, everything their parents had hoped for in a child. He was kind, quiet, and more than content to do farm work and listen to his parents unlike his older siblings. Finnegan had always been a dreamer, never content to stay in one place or live the simple life laid out for him. He spent his time writing poetry and music, and dreaming of going somewhere —anywhere — other than Armara. Willa took after Finnegan, and she spent most of her childhood longing to be somewhere else.

Willa found this escape in her dreams, which were vivid and even frightening at times. She often had dreams about a city, a place she’d never seen in real life. In her dreams Willa was an adult, grown up and able to do strange things, magical things. She tried to copy the magic when she was awake, lifting leaves without touching them, changing the color of her hair to whatever she wanted, and she found that the powers she had in her dreams were real. Willa showed her parents her newly found powers but instead of being excited, they were terrified.

Generations before Willa was born, Armara had been a place steeped in magic. People worshiped the old gods, they used magic freely and passed it on to others, they lived at peace with nature and with the spiritual forces of the land around them. But over time the old gods faded away in favor of a new one and magic was branded as witchcraft, wickedness, evil. Those who practiced it weren’t welcome in the village, and by the time Willa was born Armara had become a deeply superstitious place. The name “witch” was given to anyone different, and the only way to thrive in Armara was to fit in.

So Willa was told to hide her magic, to never show it to anyone and to forget she had ever had it. She spent every Sunday morning at the old stone church with the rest of the village listening to a priest talk about the horrible fate that would befall anyone who chose to practice witchcraft. Aside from attending church, Willa’s parents tried to keep her away from others, always afraid she’d slip up and reveal her powers to someone else.

Inevitably, one of her neighbors spotted Willa practicing magic behind the barn, and the whole village was caught up in the panic. Her parents were told to send her away, out of Armara to somewhere she could be “safe” and learn to repent from her wicked ways. Her parents refused, but Willa was ostracized and forced to stay away from the others. She was no longer allowed to play with any of the other village children lest her evil was contagious. Willa was a witch, and witches didn’t belong in Armara.

Despite her relative isolation, Armara was a beautiful place to grow up. Willa had her animal friends and her brothers, and she made her first real friend when she was 9, a girl named Isolde. Her parents didn’t understand her and the village hated her, but she continued to study her magic in private, learning the bounds of her abilities. She continued to have dreams about the city, and she often asked her parents if she could someday travel to find this city. Every time they forbid her from leaving— Armara was her home, she had a duty to the family and the land. Willa felt trapped, she wasn’t accepted in Armara but she couldn’t leave.

One night under the light of a full moon, Willa went into the woods after dark, something she had been warned against since childhood. The people of Armara did not believe in the old gods anymore, but they still feared their power which was said to be strongest in the woods. The villagers did not worship the old gods, but that night Willa did. She prayed to the spirits of the wind and the trees, she dipped her toes in the freezing cold stream and prayed to the spirits of water, but no one answered. Finally in desperation she began to pray to the shadows, the very darkness around her, and she got an answer.

“What is it you want?” the shadows asked.

“Nobody ever listens to me!” Willa cried, “I want a way out of here.”

The deal was struck, though Willa did not know then how dearly she would pay for her new found power. When she returned home she found that suddenly, everyone listened to her. She asked for something and found three hands holding it out for her, she told her mother she wanted to go into town and, for once, was allowed to go. Her wish was everyone’s command and at first the power was intoxicating. But one day, she found that the unlimited power she’d been given could have grave consequences.

Willa had an argument with her younger brother Eoghan, a simple sibling squabble over whose turn it was to do a chore. She generally got along with her brothers, they were among the only people in Armara who didn’t look at her in fear or derision, but Eoghan was mad. He called Willa a witch, a term only those who hated her used. Willa was angry and hurt, and when she shouted, “You shut your mouth Eoghan Clary!” she didn’t expect her magic to take over. Willa watched in horror as Eoghan’s mouth snapped shut, his lips pulling together like they’d been sewn closed. She tried everything to fix it, commanding him to open his mouth, telling him to speak, but the magic stuck.

As the days went by with no change, her family panicked. Eoghan’s mouth was still stuck shut and it was only a matter of time before he died of thirst or hunger. So Willa went back to the woods at night to beg for the shadows help once more. She didn’t want this power anymore, she only wanted her brother.

“What will you give?” the shadows asked.

“Anything.”

When she returned home Eoghan’s curse had been lifted, but she found her parents even more furious than before. Eoghan had nearly lost his life as a result of her magic, so it was decided that Willa must be sent away. She had wanted out of Armara, but when faced with the prospect of leaving her family behind, Willa was terrified. She begged them to stay, but she had lost her power of manipulation and her parents were resolute.

The next morning, Willa went to pay her friend Isolde a visit before she left. When she knocked on the door, Isolde’s grandfather opened it, his tear-streaked face shocking Willa. She learned that her friend had died suddenly the night before, healthy and alive one moment and gone the next. Though there was no proof, Willa knew her deal had caused this. A life for a life, Eoghan had been saved in exchange for Isolde’s life.

The next day, on her 15th birthday, Willa’s parents sent her off to a city called Vesuvia to live with her Great Aunt Fiadh. Fiadh was her grandmother’s sister and many years earlier she’d been sent away by her own family under similar conditions. Witches were not allowed in Armara, but it seems they were welcomed with open arms in Vesuvia. When she arrived in the city, Willa realized that this was the place she’d been dreaming of for so long. She loved Vesuvia, she finally had a chance to practice her magic in a place where people accepted her.

Willa flourished in the city, though she missed the nature that had surrounded her at home and the family she’d had to leave behind. Away from Armara, she began to heal, and though the guilt of what happened with Isolde didn’t go away, it was easier to deal with in a new place. She met a new friend, a magician named Asra, and began to learn how to control her powers. When the plague came to Vesuvia, she knew she needed to help as many people as she could. Willa still felt as if she had sins to atone for, and she couldn’t ignore the suffering around her even as Asra and her Great Aunt Fiadh begged her to leave the city.

When Willa contracted the plague and passed away, Fiadh ventured back to Armara to share the terrible news. Finnegan travelled back to Vesuvia with her and they held a proper funeral and mourned Willa together. He decided to stay in Vesuvia with his great aunt, and when Willa was miraculously brought back to life, Finnegan was there to help her recover.

As she got her memories back, Willa remembered the deal she’d made and the terrible price she’d paid to obtain power. She never forgave herself for what happened, and vowed to never use her powers again. But over time, and with the help of her friends and family, Willa began to move on and learn to control her powers again instead of running from them.

Post-canon, Willa still runs the apothecary shop with her Great Aunt Fiadh, but she spends most of her time out at her farm in the forest. She’s done enough world-saving for one lifetime, and enjoys a quiet life of creativity and spending time with her loved ones. Though her life is mostly peaceful, Willa still finds herself wary of the woods at night and she sometimes feels as if the shadows are watching her.

Five facts:

Willa uses her magic to enchant her knitting with protection and warmth charms

she carries her sketchbook with her everywhere and often stops to draw a passing stranger or a pretty flower in inspiration strikes

she’s a vegetarian

she’s left handed, which was seen as a bad omen in her hometown, her mother tried to train her to use her right hand but she refused to change

Willa knits sweaters and hats for the animals she cares for, and she lets them pick out the yarn

notes: my sweet flower gal :’) i love her

thank you as always to @leila-of-ravens for the bio template and to all of my lovely mutuals who have loved Willa along with me 💗

#willa my dearest darlingist girl #🐭🌼🍓#willa wednesday #my cottagecore pinterest board has been Thriving because of her #she's fantasy irish and fantasy catholic #in case that wasn't clear lol #her bio started getting so long but i decided to just leave it all in so y'all are welcome lol #might fuck around and make a deal with eldritch spirits in the woods #willa: fucks around willa: finds out #apprentice willa #willa clary #finnegan clary #eoghan clary #i want to make an Armara lore post sometime in the future bc i had a lot of fun thinking about the village #i also want to write the full fic about her deal 👀 someday..

30 notes · View notes

capstoverogers · 3 years

Text

A Soul for a Soul - Chapter 2

Pairings: Past Natasha Romanoff/Black!Reader, Eventual Carol Danvers/Black!Reader

Genre: Grief/Angst

Warnings: Mention of Characters' Death, Cursing, Lots o' Sad

Word Count: 3,016

Chapter 1

-----

There was a party raging on the battlefield, because no one didn’t know what else to do, except you all knew Tony would want you to celebrate. But maybe everyone just wanted to put off mourning till morning, didn’t quite yet want to deal with the consequences, for better or for worse.

It was an easier concept to swallow when Thor and his pretty warrior friend with the flying horse disappeared for a moment, then came back in minutes with as much Asgardian beer and liquor as they could manage (which, between the two of them, was a whole damn lot). A friend of Rocket’s - Star Lord - then took the charge, cracking open the first beer and finishing off half it in a single gulp before blasting some mix tape of 70s tunes from his space ship that soon turned the battlefield, this graveyard, into an all-out function.

The largest fire you’d ever seen raged where the compound once stood, courtesy of Zoey, and bodies started to move under the moonlight, freely to the music, helped of course by the copious amount of liquor that helped bury down any sense of sadness in favor of this celebration.

You couldn’t focus, though. You still hadn’t managed to find Nat in this swarm of familiar and strange faces, and she was the only one you wanted to see. Once you had her in your arms, then you could let yourself celebrate - or at least you could try. Even as everyone slowly started to let loose, there was this permeating sense of sadness, as prevalent as the cascades of smoke soaring upward from the fire, as no one could escape the thought of the sacrifice that allowed you all to celebrate like this.

It was like everything was in the way, though, and you supposed you could give a few minutes to these friends who you hadn’t seen in years before you found your wife.

“I can’t believe you’re married!” Zoey was gushing as you stood in a small circle with Bucky, Sam and Steve; the superpowered were wielding Asgardian drinks while the rest of you eyed their bottles enviously. You couldn’t help but grin, showing off the simple, but sleek vibranium band on your finger as Sam pretended to squeal like a valley girl with a hand to his chest and Bucky shot you a simple grin as he held out his metal arm.

“We match.”

You beamed at him, though not with the fervency of Steve, who hadn’t pulled his eyes from the Winter Solider for a second since the battle had ended. Well, except to urgently meet your eyes, seemingly desperate to pull you away for a private moment. You didn’t know why - didn’t know if you wanted to know why - and found yourself avoiding his gaze as it drifted to the crowds of people, hoping to catch the one face you wanted to see above all else.

“I feel like I know no one,” Zoey murmured beside me, also taking in all the people around her. “It’s weird to think that it’s been five years. It felt like…a malfunction. One second I was gone and the very next second, I was here, like nothing happened. Like the world had just…glitched.”

“Like a blip,” Bucky said knowingly. Zoey nodded with a frown, then perked up when the Jackson 5 started blaring from the speakers. She turned eagerly to you, already drifting to where Star Lord had started up a makeshift dance floor.

“We gotta dance!”

Sam was nodding fervently, a little grin playing at his lips as he started to move easily to the beat. You grinned a little, but you were still so distracted, especially as you could sense Steve about to interject, his eyes once again set on you, and you couldn’t get caught in a conversation with him. As much as you truly loved him, they tended to be endless.

“I’ll meet y’all out there,” you assured, backing away before their protests could fully reach your ears. “Gotta find Nat.”

“(Y/N)…” Steve started, but Zoey beat him to it as she nodded with a grin.

“Oh, I bet you do,” she said, eyebrows waggling ridiculously, and man, you missed this. You laughed heartily, then turned away, starting to feel desperate the deeper you got in the crowd. It had been over an hour - where had she been?

You finally caught a glimpse of Clint, who had seemingly changed into his civilian clothes, your heart spiking when you saw that he was talking to someone who his body mostly obscured, but you could tell it was a woman shorter than him. Of course your best bet would be to find Nat with Clint; she’d probably got caught up in the crowd and reunion just like you did, but just like he’d promised before he left, Clint was still looking out for your girl.

Before you could make my way over to them, though, you found yourself colliding straight into Peter’s strong chest. He stumbled back, the profuse apology already tumbling off of his lips, only slowing down when he noticed it was you. All thoughts of making your way to Natasha fled from your mind as you took in your friend’s red eyes, half-empty bottle of aged Asgardian liquor in his hand and the sway in his step.

“How are you, Pete?” You asked, stepping close so he could hear your voice, soft with compassion and concern.

“Drunk,” he hiccuped with a brief, bright smile that reminded you of the fifteen year old boy you had met years ago before it quickly faded. “And sad.”

Peter was always the type to wear his heart on his sleeve - one of the things that hadn’t changed about him, along with his forever gentle and earnest brown eyes. Even as he sprouted up - shoulders broader and jaw firmer and covered in the scruff he hadn’t gotten a chance to shave off yet - he was still Peter. Just a wearier, more mature one, but still always filled with a hope that had helped fuel you all.

As much as your own heart hurt over the loss of Tony, it hurt even more seeing clearly how it was affecting Peter. You’d never seen him drunk before. Granted, it took a lot of Earth liquor for someone like him to even get a buzz, but the way his words slurred off of his tongue was telling.

“I’m sorry, Pete.”

He shrugged, eyes glazing over for a second before his attention drifted to the music. He perked up slightly.

“Hey, is that Zoey?!” He smiled a little in wonder, eyes honing in on The Flame as she figuratively burned a hole in the makeshift dance floor. She had attracted the attention of a drunk Star Lord, who was laughing as she showed everyone up. “Wow. I haven’t seen her in…”

You couldn’t help but chuckle as he struggled to count.

“Five years,” you supplied, your smile more soft than mocking as he turned back to you with an eager nod. “You go say ‘hi.’ She’ll like that. I’m gonna find Nat.”

“Okay!” Peter chirped, seemingly drunk and distracted enough by Zoey to let his sadness fall to the wayside, at least for a moment. He began to stumble towards her, but stopped, something pensive crossing his gaze. “It’s not weird anymore.”

You furrowed your brow at him, “What’s not weird?”

“If me and her went out. S’not weird anymore ‘cause I’m grown up.”

You chuckled fondly at how ironically boyish he sounded. Peter’s crush on Zoey back in the day had bordered on infamous with how completely obvious it was, but of course she had seen him as nothing but a little brother, with the nine year age difference and all.

But you guessed that was a four year age difference now.

“Better get on it before that Star Douche dude does,” you said, nodding to how the aforementioned space punk was dancing a little too closely to Zoey in a way that was almost rhythmic and would have maybe been charming if you weren’t already decidedly Team Peter Parker. You clapped Peter on the back, and you grinned at each other. He started to sway towards the dance floor, his shoulders bouncing to the beat, and you watched him for a second.

“Hey Peter?”

He looked at you curiously over his shoulder. You offered him a small smile.

“We’re gonna be okay,” you said. “I know it doesn’t really feel like it now, but…we’ll get through this too.”

You were happy to see his smile sincere, no matter how small it was. He nodded once, then turned back towards Zoey and the dance floor, finally leaving you to make your way to Natasha.

Except as you got closer to Clint, you realized that he wasn’t talking to Nat, but his wife, who he must’ve fetched from their home - along with their kids - and brought back to the celebration. You furrowed your brow at how even from across the way, you could notice how red his eyes were as his shoulders seemed permanently slumped. Tony meant a lot to everyone, but you hadn’t expect to see Clint that affected.

“(Y/N)!”

You let out a sigh as you recognized Steve’s voice from behind. In a second, his long steps led him right in front of you, this striking mix of urgency and tragedy saturating his blue eyes as he gazed down at you.

“I need to talk to you,” he said in a quiet, serious tone. He took ahold of your wrist, firmly but gently, and you knew you had no chance of pulling away from his grip.

“Can it wait?” you pleaded, your head started to crane around again. “I just really want to see Nat.”

When you looked back at him, something had completely crumbled in his gaze as he stared down at you, and you knew immediately. You think you knew the second you’d stepped foot on the battlefield and hadn’t seen her, hadn’t felt her, but had buried the feeling down deep, because it couldn’t be true.

“(Y/N)…”

“No,” you said, shaking your head as you tried to step back, though Steve’s tightened grip held you in place. “Steve, no.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“No.” Your voice stretched and cracked as your eyes started to sting. This wasn’t happening. You were misreading this. Nat was about to come up to you at any second, wrap her arms around your waist, assure you that she was there, that everything was okay.

“To get the soul stone, it required a sacrifice,” Steve said, voice strained and eyes pained, and slowly you started to feel everything crumble around you. “A soul for a soul. Clint tried to stop her, tried to give his life, but you know Nat…”

He tried to smile; it didn’t hit.

You did know Nat. How she always felt like she wasn’t doing enough. How she never felt like she had fully atoned for the darkness of her past. How big and noble her heart was, how she would do whatever it took to complete the mission, if it meant it would save you all.

It’s why you loved her so much.

It felt like your chest was about to collapse on itself. You couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t see through the mess of tears streaming down your face. This couldn’t be real.

You could feel Steve’s arm start to come around you, but you pulled away, shaking your head as he stared at you helplessly. He was one of the greatest heroes Earth had ever known.

But there was nothing he could do about this.

-----

One shot of Asgardian liquor, and you were done. Thor wasn’t kidding about that shit.

You didn’t know how much time had passed. Could’ve been ten minutes. Could’ve been three hours. You sort of wished that it was the rest of your life, that Thanos would’ve managed that snap before Tony snatched the glove away from him - then you wouldn’t have to feel.

The next best thing, though? Being fucking drunk. The ache was there, but it was more numb. Your head unconsciously swayed to the music, fainter from where you sat in the dirt, yards away from the party. You fingered your wedding band and felt so fucking empty, but somehow it was okay, because you were drunk.

You wanted to kill Clint. He told you he’d look out for her. You trusted him to fucking look after her.

Then you remembered how broken he looked when you’d caught a glimpse of him and realized that if there was anybody who could understand how you were feeling, how you were trying not to feel, it was him.

You were rooted to the spot, though. Maybe you’d never move again. Why did it have to be Nat who went to that dumb planet to get that stupid stone? It couldn’t have been anyone else? No one knew what you’d have to lose in order to win?

You heard footsteps approaching, and usually your reflexes were sharp (you hadn’t climbed your way up the S.H.I.E.L.D. hierarchy by being slow, after all. You wondered what your job would be now that Fury and Hill were surely back. You wondered if you’d make it past this night), but it took you a long second to pull your head up from where you had been staring at your ring.

You squinted at the strong-stanced blonde hovering carefully a few feet away from you. Her figure was imposing, but somehow you could tell that her eyes were soft.

“Hey,” you coughed up a hiccup, “hey, Carol.”

She looked amused and pitying at the same time as she nodded, taking a slow step closer.

“Hey (Y/N),” she said softly. She glanced down at the bottle perched in the dirt by your feet, chanced a small smirk. “I don’t think that stuff’s made for people like you.”

“You mean us mere mortals?” You slurred with a stupid, bitter sort of grin followed by a hollow chuckle.

Her own grin was drowning in the pity now.

“Yeah. No offense.”

You shrugged. You didn’t care. Nothing like spending the past decade with a bunch of super-humans to make one deeply confront their own mortality. You’d reckoned with your normalcy a long time ago, the fact that you’d never be as great as them, no matter how hard you tried.

“How about sad people?” You said after a moment.

Her brow furrowed, puzzled.

“Sad people,” you reiterated with a slur. “This shit made for sad people? ‘Cause I’m…” You frowned for a moment. “Not sad. ‘Cause sad’s a feeling, and I don’t think I have those anymore.”

You were kind of confused by the understanding in Carol’s eyes, and you realized you knew next to nothing about her. You knew she’d saved Tony, Peter and Nebula from space five years ago, and she was possibly the most powerful being you’d ever seen. You knew she’d known Fury since you were a child and that you liked her. She felt safe without trying, was witty and to-the-point and was really easy to get along with. She’d swing by the compound to check in, every few months, and it was always nice when she did.

“I heard what happened.” You don’t know when, but suddenly Carol was sitting next to you, and you think she was trying to drown you in sympathy as she looked intently, but gently at you. “I’m sorry.

You peered at her for a long second, then shook your head.

“You can say her name, you know,” you announced, strangely angry at the vagueness of her statement, like you were fragile, like your entire childhood hadn’t been marred by loss and struggle. “Natalia Romanova. Natasha Romanoff to us dumb Americans.” You gave a laugh that came out more as a hiccup. “Black Widow. My wife.”

You ran your fingers across your wedding band as Carol watched quietly. You couldn’t really read her gaze, didn’t really care to, but she’d stopped looking at you like you were the most pathetic creature in the world, so that was nice at least.

The two of you were silent for a moment. You kept playing with your wedding band. You and Natasha had been married for one month, two weeks, three days. You thought you’d have forever. Everything burned. Your eyes, your throat, your chest.

“I lost a wife too.”

Your head snapped up. Carol was staring off towards the party, the fire still going strong.

“The same one, three different times,” she continued with a dry chuckle. “I won’t lie, it’s different than your situation, but…”

She shrugged, turning her head towards you with a slight smile.

“I know what it’s like, feeling like your entire life has been ripped away from you and there’s nothing you can do about it. I’m the biggest bad ass in the universe,” she gave a self-aware smirk, and it actually made you grin a little, “but I still couldn’t get her back.”

Helpless. That’s exactly how you felt. You’d always been able to get what you wanted, even against the most seemingly insurmountable odds - you had grown up an orphan in the hood, for Christ’s sake. But now there was this, and you knew you couldn’t get what you wanted this time. As hard as you tried, as much as you worked, what could you possibly do in the end?

You wanted to cry. You just hiccuped instead, then appraised Carol curiously.

“She didn’t die three times, though,” you said with drunken certainty. “Your wife.”

“No. Just the last time,” Carol said simply. Her words surprised you; you’d assumed maybe Carol’s wife had been snapped away but was back now. “I lost her a long time before that, though.”

There was steadiness, a resignation to the sadness that tinged her otherwise cool voice.

“Oh.” You shifted a little. “Sorry.”

She shrugged, meeting your eyes again.

“Me too.”

Taglist: @afuckingshituniverse

#carol danvers x reader #avengers x reader #wlw #natasha romanoff x reader #black!reader

20 notes · View notes

unprofessional-bard · 3 years

Text

Chapter 11 - The Introduction

Losing My Religion Series Masterlist

Unprofessional Bard's Masterlist

Previous Chapter • Next Chapter

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female!Reader/OC

Warnings: Fluff, smut (just a good ol' handjob in a tub and implied smut) and a lil bit of angst/tense situations + uncomfortable talks/thoughts of pregnancy and trauma.

Summary: Unprepared for the consequences, the reader has to put up with two new arrivals, even though there's something off about them. Something more than just the shock of survival.

Word Count: 6.810

Author's Note: This chapter is set between April and July 2036, I apologise bc the reader is slowly turning into her own character, like Dolly's becoming an OC 😭 but yeah I love you all so much, thank you for reading my series 🥺💗

Enjoy!

"Well, well, what have we here."

The trio halted in their tracks as your voice echoed in the stables, your flashlight shining on them.

"Hey, Dolly," Ellie turned around, dying inside. Beside her was Cat and Jesse, turning around with pursed lips. "What'cha doin'?"

"Oh not much- patrol, you know," You said nonchalantly, walking towards them with threatening steps as you did. "Making sure people don't sneak off in the middle of the night with the horses. Kinda like what you three are doing."

"We weren't sneaking off," Jesse chuckled, but the panic in his voice gave him away easily. "We're just here to... feed the horses?"

"They're being fed regularly, you know that, so cut the crap." You spoke sternly. "Where the hell are you all off to?"

"We were just-" Ellie took over. "We're meeting with Dina. Eugene is there with her."

"What for?" You inquired. "What does Eugene have to do with whatever it is you're planning?"

They were struggling to reveal the truth, but Ellie knew better than to lie. She knew that, as long as it was the truth you wouldn't get angry; it was your thing and Ellie had noticed it from the Boston QZ, so she gave a look to Cat, whom you suspected to be Ellie's girlfriend, and she spoke: "Eugene has weed."

"Ex-cuse me?" Your eyes widened with a long blink at the three words. You weren't against it or anything, but you were just shocked- How and where in hell did Eugene find weed?

"Yeah, shit- Uh, we'll head back," Jesse mumbled.

"No it's-" You quickly recovered and fixed your posture. "How?"

"We were going to find out," Cat offered an apologetic smile.

"Christ," You chuckled. "Oh, Eugene, Eugene..." You quickly look around, a devilish smirk spreading across your face. "You know what? Go."

"Are you serious?" Ellie asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. I'm not gonna rob you bunch from your teenage years," You chuckled. "Under one condition: I'll ride with you all."

"Oh, okay," Cat grinned excitedly and proceeded to climb on a horse, Jesse mirroring her actions after he offered his thanks.

"Okay," You pointed at the rifle you had in your hands after climbing on a horse. "Let's ride quick, I'm probably gonna get in a lot of trouble as it is, so..."

"Thanks, Dolly," Ellie spoke after she settled behind Cat.

If Eugene wasn't there, you wouldn't have let them out and would've proceed to fetch anyone who was already outside. You knew they could handle themselves, but you just didn't want anything to happen to them. It had just finished raining so it was extremely dark outside. After the quiet and fast ride, you saw them off into the partly wrecked building.

"If it's legit, we'll bring you some." Jesse smirked after the girls waved goodbye and walked in.

"Go on, get!" You chuckled and shooed at him, then began riding back the way you came while ignoring the offer, which was actually quite enticing.

It was near dawn when you heard a bunch of horses riding at full speed, nearing your position. The sky was turning a bright shade of blue, and you couldn't deny the beautiful scene in front of you. The air smelled of earth and remnants of rain from a few hours ago and there were the occasional chirping of birds and a squirrel here and there - the peace however was gone the moment the horses appeared. You immediately shot up from your place to see what was going on, shoulder aching a little whenever you gripped your rifle (the bullet which had teared its way into your flesh right before your showdown with Axel, although healed for the most part, still hurt).

You let out a relieved sigh when you recognised Ellie's red hair and Eugene's white ones, then you saw Dina and Jesse, but there were two other people you didn't know riding with them. You blinked a couple of times after you lowered your rifle, then shouted down to Cedric: "Open the gate!"

You made your way down and immediately went over to Eugene and the strangers, hand on your rifle just in case: "Hey, what's going on?"

"Cedric, take them to Kat, have her take a look at their wounds," Eugene instructed and he immediately obliged. After they disappeared and the kids went to put their horses in the stables, he spoke: "We were on our way back here when we heard shouting, found this couple fighting for their lives against a dozen infected in the woods. We took them down easily and offered them help afterwards... They're a bit freaked out, but they'll be okay."

"Okay, I'll let Ma-" You suddenly stopped, realisation dawning on you. "How the hell are we gonna tell Maria?"

Eugene looked deep in thought for half a minute, then spoke: "Tell her it was me and Dina. We were patrolling anyways-"

"What about the couple?"

"We'll ask them to say it was just the two of us, and to decrease the number of infected, problem solved. Relax, will ya?"

You nodded quickly, then walked off after telling him to alert the kids about the plan.

You stopped by the infirmary first. Daisy and a new medic, Angie, were tending to them and Cedric was standing guard while Kat wasn't present. You walked up to your patrol partner and tapped his shoulder: "You can go now, I'll take over from here."

"Sure," He shrugged, yawned, then waved goodbye. You slowly approached the beds the pair were sitting on, opposite each other, the grip on your rifle strong.

"How are you two holding up?" You said awkwardly, making them look between themselves before the woman spoke.

"We'll be okay... Thanks for helping us."

"Right- sure," You sighed quietly. "Could I ask for your names?"

The young woman looked at her partner once more, as if asking for permission, then looked back at you: "I'm Kiki... This is my husband Ward."

You nodded and offered a simple nice to meet you, but didn't give your name to them. Instead, you turned to Daisy: "Let me know when you're finished."

She nodded and proceeded with her stitches before you left the room. You weren't the one to judge people right off the bat, especially in the apocalypse. A lot of newcomers (including you) came here looking bewildered and drained because they were either almost eaten by a pack of infected or murdered by bandits, simple as that.

Ward was a brunette with a dark stubble, thicker than Joel's and had short, black hair. His nose was large but suited the rest of his face just fine, with big, dark brown eyes. A scar ran over the crook of his nose down his cheek and he looked hardened, just like everyone else. Kiki, on the other hand, was also a brunette, but her features weren't as sharp as Ward's, or she was just much younger than him. She had long, black hair and her eyes matched the colour; she was also smaller than Ward, with a petite figure. She was very beautiful, too and looked frightened rather than hardened.

Around ten minutes later, Daisy walked out: "Angie's finishing up, but I'm done. I'm heading over to check on other patients, if you need me I'll be there."

"Okay," You nodded and walked back inside. The couple was neatly patched up and sitting quietly, eyes wide. When you walked in, Kiki jumped, but relaxed the same moment she saw your face. "Must've been through a lot, you two..."

"You could say that-" Kiki murmured, then looked over to Ward, who didn't seem to take notice of he conversation. There was a gash on his chin and he was squeezing the hell out of the bed sheets as Angie worked on the wound. He didn't make a single sound, but the nurse looked a little distressed. "Do you-" Kiki abruptly asked. "Do you run things around here?"

"Uh- No," You turned your head towards her, your grip on your rifle never faltering once. "No, I'm sort of responsible for the security. The boss lady will be here soon."

"Lady?" Kiki looked genuinely confused.

"Yes." You offered a simple nod. "I'm gonna ask something of you both. Don't worry, it's something simple."

Ward immediately intervened before Kiki could open her mouth: "What?"

"Relax," You warned, keeping your eye on him. "Angie, could you give us a minute?"

"Of course, I'm done anyways," She practically threw the equipments onto the small table next to the bed, took off her latex gloves, tossed them into the trash and ran out.

You gave Ward a hardened look, then spoke, walking between their beds, keeping them in your vision: "When the boss comes here, she's going to ask you a few questions... I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about the kids' being there when they found you."

"Why?" Kiki asked, worried.

"Well, they weren't supposed to be outside- Except for the girl with long, black hair and the man who brought you here. It'd save us a lot of trouble if you didn't mention them."

"So, what, you expect us to lie?" Ward huffed.

"No." You spoke coldly, rivaling his hostile tone. "I'm simply asking you to leave out the part where there were 4 kids- There was just one. Besides, she may not even ask about it."

Your staring contest with Ward ended when, as if on cue, Maria, Tommy and Eugene entered the room. You saw the fright in Kiki's eyes, so you spoke calmly: "Hey, it's okay. That's her, the boss lady- and her husband."

"Boss lady?" Tommy chuckled and stood next to you, Maria and Eugene mirroring him.

"It's okay," Maria spoke: "We got this, you can go now."

You nodded once and reluctantly walked out from the room. Stepping outside the infirmary, you came across Cedric waiting by the entrance. You shook your head towards the gates with a simple: "Let's go."

Cedric was almost 15 years younger than you, had even younger features than someone would have in their 30s. He had chin length, dirty blonde hair with hazel eyes fleeing to green. He was a calm and collected person, unlike most people in Jackson. Your tactics and strategical thinking were similar, which made patrol much more effective and easy.

Both of your shifts ended around two hours later, when the sun was up completely and shining down on the streets, calling people to duty; it was, however, your call to hit the bed. After turning over your weapons and heading your separate ways with Cedric, you walked over to your house, a smile spreading across your face at the thought of seeing Joel.

You hadn't seen each other in almost three days due to different shifts but, with the weekend off, you could finally rest in your husband's arms.

You quietly entered the house and tiptoed up the stairs. The bedroom door was closed, he was obviously still asleep. Normally, he'd be awake by 7AM, but lately he'd been really hard on himself with patrols- it was only right he treated himself to a few extra hours of sleep. You really wanted to crawl next to him, or just take a small peak inside the room to see him, but you knew better. He awoke to the slightest creak of the bed when you got up, or simply turned to drink some water. You wanted him to rest though, that came first, so you used the bathroom outside your room to get cleaned up, then moved into the bathtub to treat yourself. It had been a while since you let your muscles rest and relax in the deliciously hot water.

Not even five minutes later after you settled in the warmth, you heard the slow opening of the door. You opened your eyes to find Joel with nothing but his boxer briefs on, heart beating with ecstasy and joy at seeing him in his sleepy state: "Hey," You giggled. "Morning handsome."

"Mornin' baby," He rubbed the corner of his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Would you believe me if I said no?" He smirked as he proceeded to take off his underwear.

"Probably not," You smiled apologetically, he'd quite possibly woken to the sound of the water filling. You extended both of your arms to him, calling him to your embrace while stretching and yawning: "Come here, I missed you."

The words made Joel stop in his tracks for a short moment, heart wearming at them, then walked over to the tub with his naked glory: "Scoot."

You simply leaned back and parted your legs, offering him to lay against you. He obliged, got in and sat, making the water level rise when he laid down against your chest. Your left arm rested on his chest, partly hugging him, while your right hand went through his hair. You gave him a kiss on his neck, a lovely kiss which made him sigh contentedly: "M-hm, I missed you too. Missed this..."

You wanted to stay like that forever: Caressing his hair and the occasional, soft kisses against his jaw, cheek and neck which made his heart melt. You could sense that this small gesture made him very happy, which in turn made you hug him tightly.

"What do you say we..." You purred into his ear. "Ditch the dinner plans for tonight, hm?"

His eyes were closed when he spoke: "Why? Got somethin' else in that pretty little mind of yours?"

"Yeah," You confirmed, running your hand up and down his chest. "We could do something, just the two of us."

"Like...?"

"Hmm, like movie night? Or you can play me something?"

"Only if you sing." He grinned.

"Nope, scratch that," You chuckled and shifted under him a little. "Or we can just... You know, fuck." He coughed out a laugh at your bluntness. "What? You don't want to?"

"I didn't say that," He turned a little and looked up into your eyes with a brilliant smile. "I'd love nothing more, actually, but these are Jesse's parents." You sighed, disappointed, saying I know, I know. "We have two days to ourselves, (Y/N)- You can have me all to yourself, except for a few hours."

"Fine," You growled jokingly, smiled and kissed his lips softly.

What was intended to be a simple kiss now slowly moved in the direction of a filthy make-out session, his tongue parting your lips with ease and meeting yours. Joel grabbed your calf and caressed it slowly, while you took advantage of his distraction and sneaked a hand down his abdomen.

You shifted a little more to the side and took his cock in hand, which made him sigh and drop his head on your shoulder: "(Y/N)..."

"Hmm?" You hummed with a smile when your thumb pressed on his slit, making him hiss and become harder. "Let me take care of you, huh?"

You watched Joel's brows drawing together when you slowly started to pump him. You kissed the pulse on his neck, then moved down to his collarbone. His grip on your leg was more solid the firmer you worked his length, and he jumped ever so slightly when you bit down on his collarbone. His erection grew bigger by the second all the while you sucked and bit a small hickey on his skin.

"Shit..." He shifted in the water, pulling himself upwards so that you didn't have trouble reaching for his shaft.

"You want me to go faster?" You whispered and kissed his shoulder. He nodded but didn't speak and let you work your magic.

You picked up pace, flicking your wrist and focusing on the underside of his head, making him groan broken, unclear profanities. After a while, you felt him tense under your touch, his breathing turning a little laboured.

"(Y/N)..." He sighed through gritted teeth, letting you have your way with him.

"That's it..." You cooed and continued kissing him. Soon, he let out a loud groan and came, making you moan quietly.

Seeing Joel like this -relaxed and euphoric- was always a treat, moments like this where it was just the two of you; no infected, no survival, no bullshit from tha past. You were aware of how it was a luxury to do the things you were able to do: Taking a hot bath, finding someone you loved and marrying them, sleeping on a bed with clean sheets without worrying if infected or bandits were going to jump you.

You were grateful, you were reminded of this everyday, but it took its toll on you, too.

A lot of people, innocent kids were out there, suffering- dying, surviving... You wished you had the power to help them all and rebuild, but you were aware of how dangerous it was out there. It was simply too risky to leave Jackson. You weren't some superhero, after all.

Not a hero...

"What's got you thinkin'?" Joel snapped you out of your thoughts, his fingers ever so gently tracing your cheekbone as you laid on the bed across each other. It was night-time, after dinner with Jesse and his parents and, of course, a round of much needed love making. You both were a little sleepy, definitely content with sweat covering your bodies like a thin layer of blanket.

You looked into his eyes from where your head was -which was on the crook of your elbow, resting on your pillow- and gave him a phantom of a smile, nodding slightly: "Nothing in particular. You?"

"You," He smiled, which made you chuckle. Convincing Joel that you were absolutely, 100% okay was getting trickier as he'd spent just enough time to sense a depressive episode's approach; you didn't want to burden him with your self-doubt and self-loathing, as you hated it when his mood shifted for the worse because of you. "Wonderin' what goes on in that head of yours."

"Wish I knew that myself," You grabbed his hand which was tracing the left side of your face, then turned the back of it for a kiss.

You knew, though. While you and Joel were helping with the dishes in the kitchen, Jesse's mother, Robin had asked if you were planning on having any children. The question you'd been dying to avoid had finally been asked, which made you drop the plate you had in your hand into the sink. It truly was an off-guard moment for you, which startled Joel, but luckily the topic was never brought up again after the plate in question shattered into pieces. You weren't sure if you wanted a child, not after the incident with Miles.

The moment when the contents of his skull splattering onto the ground while he was in your arms- under your supervision haunted you day and night. You never talked about it to anyone, and no one had asked, but it only intensified after your wedding. Because you knew what people had in their minds: Will we be seeing a Joel or Dolly Jr. running around?

You were fucking old, too, and so was Joel. Even if you didn't know whether you'd be able to carry due to that, there was no point in risking it either way, since I clearly suck at watching over kids.

"I think you do," He pushed himself closer to you and sneaked the hand against your mouth onto your waist, propping his arm up and putting his head against the palm of the other. "You just don't wanna talk about it. Which is okay, y'know." You nodded, smile growing a bit wider. "We've been over this before, but If you ever feel like- y'know... you're borin' me or something-"

"I know," You offered a full smile, pushing your thoughts away at the best of your ability. "I see you, Joel Miller," You then put a hand against his chest, where his heart should be: "I know you, you know me... You know what I think?"

He gave you a curious look, but it got replaced with something that hinted excitement when you ever so slowly pushed him on his back with the hand on his chest, then straddled his hips. Joel chuckled: "How is it that you still have this much energy after only four hours of sleep?"

The sleep in question took place after the 'mingling' in the bath. Warm April breeze, even warmer covers and warmest above all, Joel's body pressed against yours, both of your hairs wet and drying on their own as you slept in your lovers arms. He woke up after an hour or so, lingered there for awhile, just enjoying your presence by his side; he then quietly left you to sleep- lord knows you needed it.

"You're just getting old, baby," You giggled and leaned down to kiss him, his hands immediately going to your hips. "Not complaining, though."

An uneventful few weeks passed as Jackson entered the first week of June. Two losses in the town, but no new arrivals after Katie- Kiki and Ward. No raids as well, so overall it was calm.

After reporting in about the week in general, one evening, Maria asked you to stay behind: "It's time for Ward and Katie to go through the test," She declared. "We gotta see if they're fit for patrol or not."

"You got it. When?"

"Tomorrow. I already notified them, we'll meet at the northern training post-"

"We who?" You ran a hand through your hair.

"You and me. Robert and Eugene were supposed to be there originally, but they'll be off hunting." She explained and you nodded. Without further ado, you walked out and made your way back home.

The next morning, Joel accompanied you to the training post. Normally it was your day off with him, but training awaited. The weather was particularly hot for an early morning, so it came to you as a little shock when you saw Kiki, who was wearing a rather thick looking blouse. You didn't question it of course, but it made you think.

"Alright," You cleared your throat, after a quick greeting, stepping into the open training area. Joel and Maria remained inside, arranging the medical needs list while keeping an eye on you three. "I'm gonna put you two through a little test. Maria tells me you decided to stay here in Jackson, so we need to decide which duties you're fit for."

Ward remained incredibly still while Kiki nodded. Her hands were resting between her knees, while Ward had his arms crossed. They were sitting on a bench under the shade: "It's going to get a little physical, but I assure you I'm not going to hurt either of you." You turned around and walked over to the middle of the area: "Right, let's start with you, Kiki."

She gave a panicked look to Ward, but he just nodded with a thoughtful frown, rather than a permitting glare. Over the weeks they had been in Jackson, people sort of got used to their non-verbal interactions, even though some people found it suspicious. She got up and made her way over to you and, by the look on her face, regretted her outfit of choice as she tried to loosen the collar.

"If you want to stop- at any moment, let me know," You reassured her. She nodded, went to roll her sleeves up, but stopped immediately. You acted like you didn't see it, then proceeded to get in stance and lift your hands up: "Okay, let's start with something simple. Show me your stance."

She gave you a blank stare: "My what?"

"Your... stance, you know, fighting stance?"

"I don't have one," She simply shrugged.

"Okay," You sighed quietly. "Then show me how you punch."

She threw what could've been a proper punch but it was weak, you immediately caught her fist in your palm. She panicked and pulled back, and you immediately let go. You glanced at Ward, who seemed to be on high alert.

"Again," You got into stance and she obliged, throwing another weak punch your way. Her stance was there, actually, and her punches came through like she knew what she was doing, but the impact wasn't effective.

It went on a couple more punches, which you caught in your hand each time, until she spoke: "Why do you do that?"

"What?" You lowered your hands.

"You keep holding my hands," It was as if she was more annoyed than confused. "Can you not do that?"

"It's a reflex-" You explained, glanced at Ward again, then looked back at her. "I do it with everyone I train, but if you don't want me to then it's fine."

Not everyone, only the ones with punches as slow, weak and predictable as hers.

"Okay, now let's try some... combos," You added and got in a more secure stance. "Throw one punch after another. Fast and hard. Don't hold back."

"I'm not holding back," She grunted and did a typical boxing combo, which, generally, only people trained in boxing knew- but her punches were still weak. You remained quiet and let her go at it for a few rounds.

You suddenly took a step back, raised your hand up to the same level as your face and spoke: "Kick."

Instead, she went to kick you between your legs. A rush of panic and years of reflexes kicked in and you caught her feet between your knees. You looked up with a what the fuck was that? expression on your face and waved your hand in the air: "I meant here."

"We're fighting, right? We need to be unpredictable," She said with a tone of... irritation? Was she snickering?

"Do I look like a bandit to you?" You let go of her leg, giving her a displeased look.

"You did say you wanted to see what we were capable of."

Where was this sudden confidence coming from all of a sudden?

She was always a little weird with you. Not that you saw her too often but the moments when you two were together, one minute she'd look like she wanted to be your friend (which was when Joel was around), other times she'd remind you of a cruel, rank-wise superior back in the Boston QZ (which was when Joel wasn't around).

You gave her a hard look: "Alright. Let's see how you're gonna do when someone's actually fighting you, then."

Her expression went from somewhat cocky to seriousness as you took a few steps foward and towered over her. Your instructions were simple and clear when you spoke: "I'm gonna put you in a lock. Wriggle out of it."

You slowly grabbed her wrist, giving her time to get ready and process what you were doing. Then, you twisted her arm carefully around her waist and turned her around, pressing her arm on her back, only for her to suddenly squeal: "Okay! Enough!"

You quickly took a step back, startled at her reaction, you weren't even applying the slightest pressure. Ward suddenly shot up from where he was sitting and yelled: "What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything!" You frowned.

"It's okay!" Kiki suddenly stepped in front of Ward who was advancing your way. "I panicked, she didn't-"

"Woah there," You suddenly heard Joel and Maria approach the field. Confusion was superior to your anger at that moment: Had you really hurt her?

"Calm down," Maria put her hands on her hips. "She specifically warned you that she wouldn't hurt you under any circumstances. Relax."

You gave Maria a grateful look as he defended you: "I didn't even apply pressure- Look, no one's here to hurt you on purpose."

Ward and Kiki stared into each other's eyes, and by all means it was not a romantic moment, then the bigger of the two finally groaned: "I think she's had enough. For today."

"You think?" You unintentionally slipped it out, but the companions by your side seemed to agree with what you were getting at. "Do you want to stop Kiki?"

"Um," She looked at the three of you, chewing on her bottom lip, then answered quietly after a tense moment of silence: "Yeah, I think I should stop."

"Fine," You said, trying to keep your voice as netural as possible. "Let's continue with you then, Ward." Before anyone could say anything, you and the man you challenged found yourselves back on the middle of the combat area. "Show me your stance and let's begin."

He did as you asked but didn't wait for you to size him up, throwing a punch into your palm as soon as you lifted it, startling your audience. That didn't stop either of you from starting off with a much quicker and a harsher routine, which seemed to have everyone on edge.

You didn't counter once, but it was as if he was forcing you out of the defensive with his strikes, not to mention he was forcing you to step out of the area.

"What the hell's goin' on?" Tommy half jogged over to where the three were standing, watching you two roll from a snowball into an avalanche. Ward was grunting with each hit missed, anger taking over his features, while you kept your cool. It was as if he was riling himself up because he couldn't land a punch - his aim was messy and unstable, which was nothing compared to your years of disciplinary training.

"Okay, I think you've proved your point, Ward." Maria spoke loudly after Tommy's sudden entrance, but he didn't seem to hear her.

"I agree," You grunted and dodged a rather heavy looking punch, rolled over behind him and got up immediately; before you could say anything else, thinking he had stopped, you momentarily let your guard down. Everybody seemed to have thought the same, but what none of you saw coming was the exceptionally hard blow on your nose.

"What the fuck?!" You heard someone, weren't sure who, yell as you saw a blur of people rushing toward you when you stumbled backwards, hands wrapping around your possibly broken nose with a brief shout.

Giving into your anger, before anyone can get a grip of what you were doing, you launched yourself at Ward: "Son of a-" You grabbed the collar of his shirt and headbutted him: "Bitch!"

It was beyond everyone just how fast you had moved, broke his nose with an equally strong strike and had him falling on his arse. Kiki rushed to his husband's side, Maria to yours while Tommy kept Joel from ripping Ward to shreds. You were sure you were going to pass out when Maria got a hold of you, feeling as if you were under water with the blurring of your vision and hearing. The adrenaline rush in your veins kept you from losing consciousness, though.

"(Y/N)?" Maria's voice got clearer each passing second as you chased the lingering faint away from your mind, finally opening your eyes completely to see a displeased face. "(Y/N) are you okay?"

"Yeah," You sighed, whipping your hands in the air around your waist to shake off the droplets of blood from your bleeding nose as best as you could, tears at the corners of your eyes. "Just fine and dandy."

You felt the familiar, calloused hands of Joel gently hold your elbows as Maria turned around to see to Ward: "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Joel," You nodded and wiped the blood on your white t-shirt in a pissed, exhausted manner.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" You heard Maria growl at Ward, who was still shaken and sitting on the ground, face looking about the same as yours. "You can't just come up and punch people because you got angry at them! This is Jackson: You're not outside, and she isn't your enemy."

"It's okay- I'm sorry Maria- He's a little, uh," Kiki whined on her knees where she had knelt, but went quiet when he looked behind her to see you and Joel.

"You're not his mother, Katie," The blonde spoke, more calm now but no less strict. "He can speak for himself, and the same goes for you."

There was an intense moment between the three, while Tommy nodded at what Maria had said, his hands on his hips, looking at them disapprovingly: "Alright, c'mon, let's get you to a doc."

Joel in the meanwhile, like a mother duck, studied your nose and held a piece of cloth against the bleeding. He kept you focused on him while Maria and Tommy handled the other couple: "Fuckin' bastard..."

You chuckled at the way he grumbled as he wiped the blood off your nose gently: "Got what he was asking for though, don't go around wanting to kick his ass."

"Yeah, that was a pretty damn good hit..." He spoke, but his voice faded into the background when you curiously looked over to see what was going on, only to come across Kiki's face first things first. What you saw on her face sent a shiver down your spine.

Anger.

Not because you hurt Ward though, no. It was more than that.

It was jealousy.

You knew both because you had spent enough time with her to understand what that look meant, and her expression wasn't hard: It was soft, a certain yearning spread across her features as her eyes went back and forth between you and Joel. You couldn't tell what irked you the most: The way she looked at you, or him. You seemed to add more to her anger, while when she stared at your husband (and stared at him longer), there was longing and confusion.

The moment you made eye contact, she immediately turned around and scurried off, leaving you two and Maria alone.

"Hm? Dolly?" You heard Joel again once you brushed off the odd stare you got from Kiki.

"What?" You gave him a puzzled look.

"I asked if you wanted to have this looked at," He repeated in a soft voice. Most of the time, with small scratches or wounds which didn't need stitches or weren't cut too deep to get an infection or anything, you preferred handling it on your own to not waste the town's medical supplies.

"No, I got it," You nodded quickly and took a step back, feeling your nose while Maria approached you both.

"What the hell was that, (Y/N)?" She had her hands on her hips as well.

"I don't know, Maria," You emphasised each word, making your discomfort and irritation show. "...I have a few ideas though."

You moved inside, away from the burning sun and began discussing your first impression.

"So, what do you think?" Maria asked from behind her desk. Two pairs of eyes watched you quietly as you sat up on your chair, still holding the cloth up to your nose.

"Well, they're definitely not military, I can tell you that much. They don't know the first thing about combat - Kiki doesn't, anyway." Something's not right with them, you wanted to say, but decided to keep it to yourself for the time being and continued: "She's weak, can't even throw a punch. Almost lost her shit when I put her into that lock- I couldn't even put her into the lock, she just screamed."

"Yeah, what was up with that?" Maria asked but didn't demand an answer, it was more like a rhetorical question. You explained how she also went out of the training routine and tried to kick you, but again, it was weak.

"It's actually not that she's weak, but more like she's holding back," You said thoughtfully after a moment of silence.

"How do you mean?" Joel spoke for the first time.

"I mean, you can feel that she's holding back on purpose." Much as you hated your years in FEDRA, your experience with training and being trained came in handy on a daily basis - as much as you hated it, you were also grateful. "While Ward, on the other hand," You shifted in your seat, annoyed, "Fights like a feral beast, and I can tell that wasn't his full potential."

Joel growled quietly and crossed his arms. You then continued with your observation: "I don't want to be too quick on my judgement, but there's something not right with them."

Tommy walked in at that moment: "Well, that was a shit show."

"What happened?"

"They argued the whole way," Tommy sighed and pulled a chair between you and Joel, then sat exactly the same way his brother was sitting. "It was... weird is one way to put it."

"Let's keep them under supervision for awhile," You offered.

"You're volunteering?" Maria raised a brow.

"Hell no, not after that anyway. My existence would just antagonise them."

"What are you suggestin'?" Tommy turned to you.

"Put them through another training session with Walt, he'll know what I'm talking about... And Eugene found them, so maybe he'll be up for the task."

A moment of quiet and glances were exchanged among the family, then Maria cleared her throat: "Fine, we'll see what the other's think of that and vote for it."

"Okay. Now if you'll excuse me..." You murmured and got up, walking out of the room absentmindedly, deep in thought. A headache settled to the front of your head and you felt fatigue take over as soon as you stepped outside, while you left the other Millers confused.

"Hey," You heard Joel's soft voice from behind you not much later, which made you stop in your place and turn around. You gave him a blank stare, the cloth holding hand dropping to your side to reveal the smeared, dried blood around your nose. Without any rush, he walked over to you with a worried look and stood right in front of you.

After gazing into each other's eyes fro a while, Joel no doubt searching yours to understand what was going on and you just finding comfort in his, he slowly took your empty hand in his. With a soft tilt of his head in the direction of your house, you blinked once in acknowledgement and started walking with him.

Your anger and irritation started dissipating the more you walked like that, hand in hand and in silence, but your headache and slowly worsening mood, the taste of blood on your tongue remained. Not many words needed to be said with Joel, he knew what you needed by just one look. You were sure if Kurt saw you like that, he would laugh until his lungs couldn't take it: Look at you! Although the thought made your heart warm, it wasn't enough to lift the corners of your lips. You unconsciously held onto Joel's hand tighter as you walked to your house, and he returned the gesture, a simple gesture- an assurance that let you know he had you.

Once you stepped inside and he closed the door while you stood in the hallway, he walked up to you and held your shoulders and gave you a soft, still concerned look. You looked up at him with a soft sigh through your nose some seconds later, and finally spoke: "I'm gonna... I'm gonna go lay down a little."

"Okay," Joel gave you a reassuring smile and placed a kiss on your forehead. "You let me know if you need anything."

"Of course," You smiled back, a lifeless, small but an equally reassuring smile. Joel watched you climb up the stairs slowly, thinking about how long it would take you to feel better while also thinking of how he could make you feel at ease during the time.

His fears were similar to yours: He didn't want you to feel responsible or upset because of his own self-doubt and self-loathing, and he hated having you show all the effort to make him feel better about himself, about the things he had done. You kept assuring him that that was what being partners was all about, that you do what you do for him gladly and would continue doing it for as long as you were able (which meant as long as you were alive). He was glad to have you by his side, but of course didn't rely on you as if you were a rehabilitation centre, and it went both ways.

While thinking about all of this, with a cup of coffee in hand and sitting on his porch, his ears perked up at the round of laughter coming from behind the house. It was then, when he came up with a plan to make you feel better, even in the slightest.

Ellie.

—————

tags: @spideysimpossiblegirl

#joel miller #joel miller x you #joel miller x reader #joel miller x y/n #joel miller x oc #joel miller smut #joel miller imagine #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fanfic #the last of us #the last of us x reader #the last of us imagine #the last of us fanfiction #the last of us fanfic #x reader #smut

121 notes · View notes

isolemnlyswearpevensie · 4 years

Text

Paper Cut Part 2 | Edmund Pevensie x Reader Soulmate AU

Warnings: Making out/kissing

Time/Era: Modern AU but the Pevensies have been to Narnia.

Word Count: 2.5k

Summary: Y/N confronts Edmund about the intense injuries she had received in the past.

A/N: Here’s the second part to paper cut :) If you haven’t read the first part, link below! Please send requests :D Enjoy!

Part 1 | Part 3 | masterlist | read on ao3

“Edmund, I think you have a lot of explaining to do.”

Edmund’s face was unreadable, almost as if it was made of stone. He stayed quiet; the only sounds that filled the air were the shuffling of the barista and the espresso machine. Y/N wished he would just say something. The silence was damning.

“Edmund?” His gaze didn’t falter at his name but stayed glued to Y/N’s hand. His eyes traveled up her arm, taking mental notes of every scar, bruise, bump, or cut. Edmund stood up without a word, the chair making a painful screeching noise in his path, and walked out of the coffee shop.

Meeting her soulmate had been completely different in her head; maybe they would fall into each other’s arms in the streets of London. He would sweep her off of her feet after noticing a small scar on her neck and say something disgustingly romantic. “I’ve been waiting for you, Y/N, you’re even more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.” Then, they would fall madly, deeply in love, and adopt a dog. Fall wedding perhaps? Maybe summer? But here Y/N sat, one hand on her stomach, the other gripping a foreign notebook. Before Y/N could process what was happening, Edmund was out of sight and she was left to her own thoughts.

“Y/N! Wake up!” Y/N was startled by Y/B/F/N shaking her awake. “Don’t you have a final in like an hour?”

That sentence felt like a bucket of ice water. Y/N sprung up from her warm bed and scrambled to get ready. The clock seemed to run dangerously fast and by the time she opened the door of her lecture hall, the test was being passed out.

“You have three hours and because I’m in such a good mood, you may use your study guide.” The professor continued to pass the packets around the room. They looked thick and time-consuming. Time management had never been Y/N’s strong suit.

When she was handed her paper, all she could do was take a deep breath. This professor was a harsh grader, so unless her answers were 100% correct, there was no way Y/N would pass. She took the unfamiliar notebook she received from Edmund out of her bag and opened it to his scribbled notes.

His handwriting was somewhere in between messy and neat; some of the words ran into one another and they were all slanted to the right slightly, yet the letters were beautifully constructed and entirely intelligible. Edmund also took it upon himself to highlight passages he deemed important with a note at the beginning that read: my sister had to take o chem. I asked her what’s important. That was sweet, Y/N thought.

It seemed as if Edmund knew what he was talking about, too. Each answer was answered completely with further background information to make it easy to understand. Why would you willingly take this? Seems like hell… was written in the margins next to one of the boxes of text. I could say the same about law, sweater boy.

By the time Y/N had finished her final, the three hours had turned into 10 minutes. She was one of three students left in the classroom and the other two were looking beyond panicked. Most of the class seemed to have either blazed through it like it was an 8-year-old’s math homework or given up halfway through and accepted their loss. Y/N, however, had to pass this class so she triple-checked her answers, took a daydream break, then checked it again. She would be lying if she said her daydreams didn’t consist of Edmund. She wondered if he would ever text her again.

The young girl hurriedly walked out of the classroom, happy to be done with the semester. She wrapped her jacket tightly around her and braced herself to brave the aggressive weather.

“Hey,” A voice from her right called out. It was Edmund; he was leaning against the wall lazily. His nose was a bright pink, as were his cheeks, and his hands were pushed into his pockets for warmth.

“Edmund? What are you doing here? You must be freezing!” Y/N walked over to him and looked him once over. A simple long sleeve shirt, vest, and jeans. Y/N slung her wool scarf around his neck.

“Oh, uh, thanks…” He pushed himself off of the wall with his shoulder. Damn, his shoulders were huge.

“I’m sorry about the coffee shop, I didn’t mean to jump you like that,” Y/N apologized bashfully. He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“No, I get it. I would have the same reaction. That’s, uh, why I’m here.” Edmund was awkward, looking anywhere but her eyes. Instead, he observed her freckles, eyebrows, and cheeks. “I was wondering if we could, uh, talk? Maybe somewhere private? Like my dorm?”

“Oh, so you want to take me, your newly discovered soulmate, back to your dorm?” Y/N had a hint of mischief in her eyes and a teasing smile on her lips. Edmund’s eyes grew wide and he started to sputter.

“That’s not what I meant! I would never! I mean unless you wanted to, but no! I just meant to talk,” His cheeks are red again, but this time it wasn’t from the cold.

“I’m just taking the piss, let’s go, vesty.”

Edmunds dorm was not what she was expecting. One side looked like it was hit by a tornado, but the other was very organized. Even on the floor, there was a distinct division between the two sides. The neat side, which appeared to be Edmund’s, was very plain. His bed was made with a red duvet and black pillows, his desk was blank besides a small pencil cup, and the cork board hanging above his desk had reminders and pictures.

“Those are my siblings,” Edmund noticed Y/N’s wandering eyes. “They’re practically dying to meet you, Y/N.”

“How did you know my name? I never told you,” She crossed her arms and strained her neck to look back at him.

“Ah, so I was right, you don’t remember me. We took a few classes together during first and second years. I always thought you were cute, so I guess it stuck.” Now it was Y/N’s turn to blush.

“You think I’m cute?” Her arms uncrossed and turned so she was facing him head-on.

“Well, yeah. You are my soulmate, after all, Y/N. Don’t be silly,” Edmund seemed to be growing more and more comfortable. He was enjoying watching her blush because of what he said; it made a sense of pride grow in his stomach. This was his person, and she was standing right in front of him.

“Speaking of soulmates…” Y/N trailed off and looked towards the floor. Her hands grasp the zipper of her jacket and unzip it, before rolling up the bottom of her shirt. The jagged scar was on full display, a stark contrast against the skin of her abdomen. Edmund eyed it guiltily; he knew the exact pain she had to go through to get that scar. She had to go through that pain because of him. His own hands found the bottom seam of his own clothes and pulled it up to reveal a matching mark.

“I can explain but you won’t believe me,” His honey-brown eyes met hers.

“Try me, Pevensie.”

He led her to sit on her bed and sat next to her. Y/N hastily kicked off her shoes so she could sit with her legs crossed on her bed. Her shoes tumbled to the ground with two thuds. Edmund, on the other hand, just bent one leg and let the other hang off the edge. He took her hands in his.

“You have to promise me to listen to it all before you ask questions,” Edmund fidgeted nervously with a ring on Y/N’s fingers as they spoke. Y/N didn’t know if this was on purpose or a subconscious action, but it comforted her all the same.

“Well, when I was young my parents sent my siblings and me to live away from home. When we were there, my little sister Lucy discovered a wardrobe in one of the spare rooms. Well, inside the wardrobe was this beautiful land called Narnia. It was gorgeous and huge! And when I say huge, I mean HUGE!” He caught himself rambling excitedly and reeled it back in. “Well, uh, anyway, there was this woman, we called her the White Witch and she manipulated me into basically selling my siblings out. The entire nation of Narnia got into a huge battle and the White Witch stabbed me.”

“Did she lock you up somewhere cold?” Y/N asked, disregarding her promise to stay quiet.

“Um, yeah. She locked me in this big ice cell. It wasn’t fun. I’m pretty sure I almost got frostbite but my body rejected it because I started warming up randomly.”

Y/N smiled. The paper towel.

“But that scar on your stomach,” He took his hand away from yours and gently touched your stomach. “Is because she stabbed me. But again, my sister Lucy had this special liquid that could heal any injury.”

Edmund seemed to smile at the memory. “Long story short, my siblings and I got crowned Kings and Queens of Narnia and ruled for a number of years. We then got sent back-”

“Wait, wait, wait, Kings, and Queens? Who are you? Alexander the Great?” Her tone was teasing and unbelieving.

“Edmund the Just, actually. And I told you to listen!” His smile reached his eyes this time. “Well we came back to earth through the wardrobe and we were kids again! About a year later, we returned to Narnia and met our good friend Caspian. We had to fight Caspian’s home country. In the end, Aslan helped us and Caspian became a king as well.”

“Who’s Aslan?” Y/N was doing her best to keep up and believe the information, but it was quite hard.

“He’s a big lion, he’s kind of like the ruler of Narnia. I guess you could say a God? I guess…”

“A big lion god? Edmund…”

“I know it sounds crazy, Y/N. I know but you have to believe me! I went one more time with Lucy and my cousin. We were on a big Naval ship with Caspian and we had to find a bunch of swords-”

“Edmund, love, just tell me the truth.” Y/N was sad that right off the bat her soulmate was lying to her. Edmund’s eyes seemed to lose their sparkle.

“I would never lie to you, Y/N. Here, look.” He took off Y/N’s scarf and gently placed it on the bed before pulling his vest and shirt over his head. On his rips was a beautifully drawn tattoo of a lion that appeared to be roaring. And on his collarbone was a sword. Y/N delicately reached her hand out and ran her fingertips against the drawing of the weapon. It had insane detail and the way it was drawn made it look sharp. Y/N retracted her hand and sat back.

“That’s one of the swords we found during my third trip. It was gifted to Caspian by the lord who owned it. And this is Aslan. His roar was the most powerful magic in all of Narnia.” Edmund searched Y/N’s face for any emotion she was feeling. Right now, she was staring at the sword with a pondering look on her face.

“Okay, say you were a king-”

“I am a king.”

“Fine, you’re a king. What exactly did you do, ya know, as a ruler?”

“Well, me and my brother Peter ran the army and trained them for battle. Along with other things like managing trade and creating political policies.”

“So, fighting? You fight?”

“Yeah, I fought in many battles, big and small. I got stabbed, remember.” His smile was cheeky and he pulled his long sleeve back on. “Once I got good, I didn’t even use a shield. I fought with two swords.”

“TWO? Aren’t those things heavy?”

“Well, yes, but when you went through all of the training I did, it gets easier.” Edmund could tell he was starting to believe him.

“Tell me more.”

The two spent the next few hours discussing the ins and outs of Narnia down to the floor plan of Cair Paravel. Y/N had decided that Edmund had way too much detail to be making it up, and even if he did, it was so magical that she wouldn’t even be mad.

“Okay, vesty, I believe you.” Y/N says after Edmund gave a lengthy explanation about all the gifts his siblings received and what they do. He stopped mid-word and stared at her.

“You believe me? Really?”

Y/N smiled and nodded. “Yes, Edmund. I’m going to be spending my life with you, your highness, so I may as well get familiar with it.”

“Please don’t call me that,” Edmund scooted closer to her. “I hated it even when people in Narnia called me that. I don’t need people outside of Narnia calling me it. Especially not you.”

She turned her head so she was staring right at him. “Why not me?” Y/N’s speech came out as a whisper. They were so close that she didn’t need to speak loudly.

“Because if I really was your highness, it would be kind of weird for me to do this.”

Edmund placed a hand on Y/N’s jaw and leaned in. His lips barely brushed her lips before pressing firmly against them. Y/N’s eyes closed shut and she happily kissed back.

When people described kissing their soulmate for the first time, they always explain it as an electric spark igniting throughout their entire body. They explain it as a firework show full of magnificent colors. Kissing Edmund didn’t feel like that. Kissing Edmund felt like home. She felt safe, secure, and loved as if kissing this boy was what she was meant to do for her entire life. The way he tasted, like peppermint and candy, was the best thing she had ever tasted. And they way he held her, one hand on her jaw and the other holding her close to him by her waist, felt like the warmth of a favorite blanket. The way he moved made her knees feel like jelly.

As their lip lock continued, his fingertips danced across her back until it landed on the other side of her jaw. He pulled away from their kiss, pressing a quick peck against her nose and jaw before leaning against his headboard.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for my entire life,” Y/N said, her voice gentle and soft.

“Me too. The thought of kissing you, Y/N L/N, was the only thing that got me through some tough times. I had to make it to be able to feel what it was like.”

Y/N was silent for a long moment.

“Edmund, love, do you think I will ever go to Narnia?”

Edmund looked at her for a long moment then smiled with half of his mouth.

“I don’t know, darling, but anything is possible. Especially when it comes to Narnia.”

#edmund pevensie #edmund pevensie x reader #edmund x reader #edmund pevensie fanfic #edmund pevensie fanfiction #the chronicles of narnia #the chronicles of narnia fanfic #the chronicles of narnia fanfiction #narnia

422 notes · View notes