#very sorry for possible flooding of ship tags

[miraculous-showtime]

i get bored and i don't feel like drawing so i end up making 5000 textposts

[eclecticopposition]

@grand-magnificent keeps writing great stuff for Sunday Six, which we assume is a thing where you write six sentences (or more, as the case may be) and we thought we'd try our hand at it too. And if you want in, well, consider this your prompt to join in and tag us in whatever you make!

Great news, we're still Phrygian-pilled. Have some spooky shit with Figure in the dark.

-

Figure’s hand traces the wall as he follows the emergency lights through the Blue Channel. It’s dim but still lit enough to see by, and it's unusually quiet. Maybe everyone else was closer to each other when the power went out.

Hopefully nothing has gone the very bad kind of awry. That would spell trouble for everyone.

Idly glancing into the partly-open door of the much larger, much darker cargo hold, they don't intend to stop. They very nearly just close the door as they pass.

There is a sudden wrongness in his vision, and Figure jerks back in instinctive shock. 

Before him in the unlit cargo hold there is a shifting mass of metal, tall and unnatural. It is huge. It looks like a single many-fingered hand reaching out from nowhere, a living extension of the dark – a hand in caricature, a hand with too many fingers, a hand that dwarfs him easily, a hand that implies a body so vast it could not possibly fit in the ship. It is monstrous. The way it moves makes the room feel illusory. Dread prickles through him as he watches it creep upwards in silence, rising towards the malfunctioning lights.

Something got aboard the ship, I need to do something, is their first instinct. Figure has seen enough to have a honed sense of impending threat. He feels like he is not in his body, looking at this thing. Nothing seems quite right or quite real. It feels more like living in a memory of a nightmare, watching the nauseatingly impossible unfold.

They can't move. They’re frozen. All they can do is stare.

His eyes land on a familiar set of clothes. A velvet jacket, a white dress shirt, a set of fine black pants. The outfit is suspended on one cluster of the wires like a finger puppet. There's no head, no body – the cables pushed through them just keep going and going, a single finger of the hand, held still like a delicate afterthought. It holds a pair of dress shoes slightly off to the side, loose in a grip of cables. 

Cold horror floods them, and for one intense, unreal moment he is certain that this thing has done something to Phrygian, that it has taken their friend and they will never see them again, that it will wear their clothes like a discarded thing and he can do nothing, that–

And then the rest of his mind catches up, and his mouth moves before he can process what he's saying.

“Phrygian?”

The cables pause. Something in the room shifts. Figure doesn't know what – the metal body doesn't move to look at them.

“Oh,” says Phrygian’s voice. “Hello, Figure.”

Figure tries not to seem too relieved. “What's going on?”

“The power went out,” they say. “I just wanted to check.”

“Oh,” he says.

A brief hesitation, and then the mass of cables begins to shrink inwards, coiling and recoiling back into the clothes. “Sorry.”

“No, that's not–” He struggles for the words. “It's okay. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

The whole cargo hold echoes a hum of acknowledgement, as Phrygian extends cables down from their pants into their shoes. It is done in a matter of seconds. Phrygian vanishes into their envoy body, shaking fingers into their normal-sized hands with a few brisk flicks of their wrists.

“Better?” they ask, sounding a little amused.

“I… guess,” Figure says, dubiously. He’s unwilling to agree but unsure what else to say.

Even looking at Phrygian’s envoy form, Figure can't shake the visual of a finger puppet. Like they are actually talking to an affable costume on their friend’s finger, which Phrygian has stuck up for their benefit. 

They can't help but feel guilty. How is Phrygian supposed to trust them with their whole body? Figure hadn't even been able to welcome one hand.

“Sorry,” they say.

Phrygian pauses again, examining them. “It's alright.”

“I didn't mean to… you know. Walk in on anything.”

It is the wrong thing to say. They can tell the moment the words leave their mouth, and their suspicion is confirmed when Phrygian turns their face slightly away.

“You didn't walk in on anything,” they say. “I don't mind when people look at me.”

“Right. I– sorry.”

Phrygian just nods. Figure wishes, desperately, that he knew how to do this.

“I don't have a problem with it,” he adds, unable to resist the urge to keep talking. “If you wanted to– I’m okay with it if you want to be yourself in front of me.”

That gives them pause, and they look – are they looking, or just acting like it? – back at him consideringly. “It seems like it makes you uncomfortable.”

“I can handle that,” he says, firmly. “I want to get used to it.”

There. That's the truth. He might not even sound like a total asshole. Hopefully.

“Alright,” Phrygian says, sounding thoughtful. “I’m not usually in the cargo hold, but you could always use the bedroom.”

“Oh,” they say, a little surprised. “Yeah, sure. Would that be alright?”

“Yes.”

Of course it would be. Phrygian wouldn't be a bedroom otherwise. Figure nods, trying not to let his nerves about potentially screwing up again show. “Sounds good. I’ll… check it out?”

Phrygian laughs a little, reaching up to adjust their collar. Figure hadn’t even noticed it was out of place. “Looking forward to it.”

[lemontreefantasy]

Sails and Anchors - Part 3

​Sails and Anchors - Part 3 

genre: smut, angst

warnings: some filthy and degrading scenes, possessive! hongjoong, gunshots

wc: 2.6k

taglist: @stayoffmybyunsworld @kirooz @nora-shhh @iveivory @licorne-manon @n0v4t33z​

if you would like to be on a permanent taglist for anything I write or for this series in particular, you can message me and specify what you would like to be tagged in!

also, please PLEASE remember to reblog my work if you enjoyed it! (it’s free)

this is a continuation of Part 2 - Batten Down the Hatches

Part 3 - A Broken Reconciliation

You sat silently in your study looking at hongjoong, your mind blank as to how you should respond to him. But then you remember. You remember the emotional rollercoaster he put you on. Every day you would wake up and look around to see if he would appear out of the crowd of people, look to see if you would see that black, wide-brim hat or that cheeky smile. But after months of waiting, you never saw it. You were like a child on their birthday, except your present never came. You waited and waited and he never showed. You felt empty. You felt angry. Angry because you were so naïve to believe in a man for that long. Angry because you accepted that kind of treatment when there were men like Seonghwa and San who were ready to sweep you off your feet and escape with you at a moment’s notice, yet you still longed for hongjoong to return in some romantic manner.

“Do you know what I went through these past few months?” you stood up and looked down at him.

He said nothing while tilting his head up, holding your gaze.

“You know that I waited for you, right? All these months I waited to see when you return… if you would even return. One month, two, four, six months went by. How long was I supposed to wait? I would sit right here in this very room and sob, hoping that one day you would come back and hold me in your arms.”

“I’m so sorry darling“ he walks up to you, cupping your face in his hands.

“Don’t. You’re not sorry. Did you really expect my eyes to not wander?” you say ripping yourself from his grasp, “It seems like everyone in this town makes me a priority besides you. And yes, I have made a few friends. Maybe I’ve even fucked them because you weren’t here to give me what I want. Those ‘friends’ that showed me what real commitment to a partner is like, all of the things that I was missing out on.”

Hongjoong’s blood started boiling at the thought of someone else having their way with you. Everything you said after that went in one ear and out the other. His thoughts were flooded by what could have possibly taken place while he was gone, who touched you, who kissed you. To him, you were his private property. If anyone hurt you, he would slit their throat in the middle of the night no questions asked. And now that he learned of others impeding on his prized possession, it did not sit well with him.

He gripped your waist, shoving you into the wooden desk behind you, “Who. Tell me who. Who is it,” he demanded. You see him reach for something out of his waistband and suddenly feel a cold metal press against the bottom of your chin.

“Tell me darling.”

“It’s none of your fucking business now,” you grumble even though you know you’re on thin ice with him.

“I bet it was fucking twinkle toes was it. I saw the way held on to you. Like a needy dog. Or was it Mr Prince Charming?” he says twisting the barrel into your flesh “Was it him darling?” He chuckles and his expression changes and you’re oddly uncomfortable with his tone. “Tell me, was he the one? You know that son of a bitch used to work for me, right?”

What?

“W-Work for you?” you managed to stammer out.

“Yes, my love. He was actually… an old friend of mine… a good friend,” he says as his grip on your throat slackens.

“What h-happened between the both of you?” you ask carefully as to not upset him further.

“He was too ambitious. I kicked him off the ship. Now tell me, was it him? Was he the one that touched you while I was gone?” To be honest, you were hesitant to answer. The last thing you wanted was to compromise his safety.

“I won’t hurt him, I promise. I’ll just resist the urge to stab him in the chest if I ever see him again.”

You slowly nodded and hongjoong chuckled. Walking to the other side of the room he mumbled to himself, “I should’ve killed that fucker when I had the chance.”

“At least he was man enough to not disappear on me during the night.”

Hongjoong froze. He couldn’t believe the words that just left your lips. He felt his temple twitch and the devil’s rage seemed to fly to his head. There was no other way to put it. He was mad. He slowly turned towards you and looked you dead in the eyes.

“What did you just say to me?” he asked, eyes squinting at the mere sentence while he walked towards you.

“You heard what I said. Don’t act like all that sea water makes you deaf,” you retorted. You knew it was a dangerous game you started but you loved seeing him riled up like this. This newfound feeling of rage fueled by jealousy seemed to excite you.

Hongjoong was never excessively rough with you, not until now. He grabbed you by the fabric of your dress and shoved you against the said table once more.

“Did you forget about what also happened that night? Or do I need to show you again?” he says, ripping your dress at the seams, leaving your bare body exposed to the night’s cold.

He held you by your waist and turned you around, bending you over the table. You hear the faint noise of his belt buckle being undone as he yanks you by your hair to whisper to you,

“I guess I have to remind you of what you were craving for so long.”

And with that, you feel his hardened member grazing against your folds until you feel a hand shift to your panties, sliding them to the side. Your back arches at the sensation as you desperately try to cling to the old wooden desk. With one hand gripping your hair and the other on your back, hongjoong creates a rhythm in which he drives his shaft into you. You can’t help but cry out as you feel him against your clit, walls clenching around him.

“That’s right. Let him hear how good I can fuck you,” hongjoong whispers as he continues his ministrations. The room is filled with your moans and cries and the sound of skin slapping. Hongjoong grabbed you by your hair and you catch a glimpse of your reflection in a large glass artifact at the corner of the room. The view alone could make you cream yourself, seeing him behind you with messy hair, chest heaving.

Your knees begin to give way and your breath becomes unsteady as you feel your release approaching. You can’t gather your senses to say anything but hongjoong can feel you tighten around him as he quickens his pace. Seeing you like this, bent over just for him turned on a primal instinct that he unleashed on you as he continues his pace.

“I’ll fucking fill you up darling. Go back to him with your cunt full of my seed I dare you,” he growled.

As much as you hated how he reminded you of seonghwa, you loved that he made you feel like such a slut. He knew exactly what to do to hit that sweet spot of yours and he made sure to attack with relentless force. This is what you wanted. This is what you needed for so long. Hongjoong manhandling you was the leash that he had you on. The yoke that he knew he could control. After emptying himself inside you he spun you around, leaned over your body and grabbed your throat as he sucked on your bottom lip.

He heists you up onto the desk and pushes you down to lie flat on your back. Lowering himself, he gently sucks on your clit while sneaking a finger into you. Your moans were like music to his ears. It was exactly what he needed to egg him on. You missed feeling his tongue against you while his hands pushed your legs apart. You tangle your fingers in his hair and he can tell you’re close from the way your breathing changes.

He sits up and slowly eases himself into you once more until he finds his rhythm again and quickens his pace. He holds on to your legs as leverage to pound himself deeper into you. The oh so familiar sound of skin slapping and breathy moans fill the air and you find hongjoong spreading you wide open. He spilled his seed in you with no regret and left you spread on the desk, pulling his pants up, buckling his belt. He turned away from you and you lay there feeling his release leaking down your legs. You felt used but hated the fact that you liked it because this was the most attention you had gotten from him in a very long time.

You sat up and looked at him. You couldn’t quite tell what the expression on his face meant but it almost looked as if he was ashamed of what he had just done. He paced around the study rubbing his forehead, pushing his hair out of his face.

“What’s wrong?” you asked.

“I- I don’t know. I’m sorry… I should go.”

And with that, he disappeared again. You weren’t surprised you had to admit that you felt disappointed, alone and the sadness you once felt months ago began to fester in your heart once more.

~

A few days had passed and even though your love life was in a bit of a pickle, you still had a business to run. The week was neither slow nor busy and nothing too peculiar happened, which was a relief on your end. That was until a fairly matured woman came into the pub looking for you. Her appearance was striking and you could tell that she wasn’t from town. She wore a polka-dotted black and white dress that flowed to her knees. She wore black heels and has a small parasol along with a small black purse. Her hair was short but done up in fancy waves and you noticed her sharp facial features.

“My dear, is there any way I can speak to you in private?” she asked.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude but, do I know you?” you replied.

“Apologies,” she whispers, “I was a friend of your father’s. Please, I must speak to you away from prying ears.”

Her statement takes you aback. You weren’t about to just take a random woman that you just met up into your private study but if it’s true that she knew your father you couldn’t deny her request. You lead her upstairs and offer her some tea but she politely declines.

What she explains to you absolutely baffles your mind. You sit there listening to the words that come out of her wrinkled mouth and you have so many questions yet so many answers revealed. Your mind buzzes and the information suddenly becomes too much for you to handle. Your father, who’s death seems to haunt you ever so often, has once again resurfaced in your life even though he is longer alive. This time, in the form of a secret trust fund with millions of dollars. His private fortune dedicated to you after he had

passed which this woman, Mrs. Farley, had been managing on his behalf. She was given instructions by your father to give you access to the money after he had passed and after the legal paperwork was completed, it was now time for you to access your inheritance. This would now make you one of the youngest, richest women in the city.

“You were very special to him. He’s never told you about this?” she asks.

“No… he’s never mentioned anything of this nature to me.” you retort.

“Well, I understand this might come as a pleasant surprise to you. Don’t let it confuse you too much. If you have any questions, you can always contact me,” she says, handing you her card with her name and address.

And so, upon signing a few documents, you were officially a millionaire.

~

At the end of the week, you were in your study making a plan of what you should probably do with some of the money. Renovations to the bar, importing different alcohols, purchasing a house so you don’t have to be cramped in your small room upstairs the business… That was when you heard a knock on the door, your barmaid claiming the captain had asked for you.

You came downstairs and took him aside to a table, pouring him a drink. You both spoke in a low tone to not inform others of your inherent relations.

“I really want to apologize for leaving you that night. I came to explain the truth and my temper took hold of me. Please… tell me you’re not with him. I can’t bear to see you with anyone else.”

If you weren’t in the proximity of others, he would have held your hand in his.

“I don’t care if its twinkle toes, just not him,” he says.

“You’re bold to come in my establishment to tell me who I should and shouldn’t drop my knickers for, you know that?” you spat.

A long pause followed as he lets out an exhausted exhale and looks to the floor after gripping his drink and taking a swig.

“I love you. I will always love you… and only you. I don’t care what you think of me. I’m your dog. I’d do anything you tell me to. You know that,” he says in a calm voice, never breaking eye contact with you.

“I love you as well, captain. But you hurt my heart too much. I can’t keep up with you. Every time i give my heart to you, I always end up having to piece myself back together afterwards. It’s exhausting. Love is not supposed to be exhausting.”

“Please, stay away from him. For my sake. Seonghwa is not the man he portrays himself to be. I’ve worked with him before; I know what he is like. Don’t fall for his charm.”

Just then, there was a loud BANG of the pub doors being pushed open, with no other than seonghwa and his soldiers barging through the bar.

“Over there!” one of his men shout. Guns now cocked towards the table at which you and hongjoong sat.

In a fury, hongjoong draws his gun and fires a shot, causing a distraction so that everyone dives to the floor. In a split second, you look up only to realize that, like the wind, he was gone again… right out of the second pair of pub doors.

Seonghwa rushes towards you, “darling, are you alright?” he asks, holding you in his arms. You look up at him, eyes wide from shock. “Do you know that man?” he’s wanted for the stunt that was pulled at the ball the other day.”

You don’t know whether or not you should tell seonghwa the truth. Your mind went blank at that very moment the gunshots fired. If you tell seonghwa, they might have you killed for conspiring with a man like hongjoong. Hell, hongjoong might even slaughter you first if your shared little dirty secret got out. But what if seonghwa finds out and accuses you of being a filthy liar the entire time you’ve known him? You didn’t want to betray either man so you had to play your cards well. Not for your sake, but for the sake of your business and your reputation.

to be continued...

[saturnskyline]

Tag 9 people you want to get to know better

tagged by @braceletofteeth!! thanks bestieee 🤗🤗

i did this around a month ago, but i'm curious to see if anything has changed (i know some things definitely won't)

Three Ships

thought way too hard about this question even though it's not a final decision or anything lol. vegaspete is definitely there bc they are still wreaking havoc in my brain at all times :D monsam too, for changing the game and my life 🥲 and last but not least, winteam for becoming my new obsession due to their cathartic power. all quite different, but all very important to me <333

First Ever Ship

i'm still not completely sure, but going off of the previous answer, i did really ship katniss and peeta haha. not to be saying all of this in 2023... but i was team gale initially, until he basically got sidelined and then there wasn't really even a competition imo. and everlark really really grew on me! like i would be lying if i said "if it weren't for the baby" didn't have me in a chokehold bahaha

Last Song

psycho by mareux, from my vegaspete playlist (which is entirely too long but that's beside the point). it's mostly there for vibes, plus "psycho" is in the title, so there you go

Last Movie

had to think for a minute but when i remembered, all the horrors came flooding back 😭😭 i don't even want to say the name bc it's straight up embarrassing dfhsdfsh. suffice it to say that it was a bad jane austen adaptation that physically hurt me to watch :]

Currently Reading

a bunch of kp fics, since there so many talented and cool authors in the fandom! i go back and forth, but overall, it has weirdly helped me cope with all of the recent craziness. i've been reading a few lita fics as well, since i apparently can't get enough of those weather boys. dipping a toe in the rarepair pool of possibilities for both fandoms, which has actually been really fun

Currently Watching

between us (crying happy tears), gap (am woefully behind, sorry sapphics), and until we meet again (finally!!). i'm also in the middle of my kinnporsche rewatch, whenever i come back around to that. started rewatching don't say no the other day too for some reason, but i don't think i'm gonna be able to commit to the whole show for a second time lol

Currently Consuming

a ridiculous amount of ao3 and youtube fanworks/memes to boost my silly serotonin levels :)) mostly kp stuff, but i've been trying to branch out lately. expanding my resume of interests, as it were

Currently Craving

sigh... still one good movie kiss, unfortunately. that would probably involve me going out to meet people though, so maybe i'll stay on the yearning side of things for now 🫠🫠

Tagging

feel free to ignore if you've already been tagged or if you're not interested: @capikun @damnslippyplanet @hidden-joy @negrowhat @stardustvx @fandork @mcnonblackbeak @lesbianiconsteveharrington @davincsoo 💌

[procrastinatorproject]

I did a whooooole bunch of writing today! This chapter is getting ever so slightly out of hand, but oh well 🙈

(This is back to, as @jazzfic called it, the prompt that keeps on giving 😋 If you're also interested in sending in a prompt, btw, here is the orinigal post about that. Go nuts! I'd say the chances that I'll actually manage to get something on paper have increased by A Lot since I originally reblogged it, so the original tags are now a little too pessimistic... Anyway. I'm always happy about Picard-character prompts :D)

Context: Emil has been fretting over Rios, who had been unconscious in sickbay after some misadventure. Rios has woken up, but he seems a little worse for wear...

After a moment, Rios asked: “What happened in that… nebula?” He sounded uncertain, like he had already forgotten what the EMH had told him moments earlier.

Emil grabbed a neural scanner from a nearby instrument stand and started running it around Rios’s skull. “Our shields failed, courtesy of all the phaser fire we took, and then the ship was flooded with gas and radiation.” He stopped his work and gave the captain a long look. “You don’t remember any of this?”

Rios blinked up at him, then shook his head and immediately grunted in pain.

Emil recalibrated his scanner and waited for a moment until the captain stopped rubbing his eyes, then he asked, keeping his voice as neutral as possible: “What is the last thing you do remember?”

There was a long silence. Emil’s instrument registered heavy activity in the memory centres of Rios’s brain, but it wasn't sophisticated enough to give him any idea what the outcome might be.

Finally, the captain took a deep breath and said: “I… I don’t really…” He looked up at Emil and his expression was utterly helpless and lost. “I don’t know.”

Emil lowered his scanner. “Do you know where you are?”

Rios blinked, then he shook his head and immediately winced again.

“Will you please stop doing that? Your brain is clearly scrambled enough as is.”

“Sorry,” Rios said sheepishly and ducked his head.

Emil hesitated. Normally, a remark like that would have earned him a derisive retort or at least some Spanish invective. Instead, the captain was looking at his hands, fingers playing nervously with the hem of his pyjama shirt. He seemed almost abashed to have be told off by the EMH. Something was seriously wrong, beyond the effects of prolonged unconsciousness and exposure to poisonous gasses.

Emil had done some research on the impact of this nebula’s radiation, but reports were scarce. Some of them mentioned an association between prolonged exposure and various neurological effects, but he had dismissed them at the time. Their own stay in the nebula had been too brief to expect any of these effects to manifest themselves. But then again, the other ships had probably been travelling with intact shields…

The EMH straightened a little and twirled his scanner through his fingers in growing concern. Perhaps some basic diagnostic questions would give him a better idea of where they were at.

“Can you tell me your name?”

Deep lines formed on the captain’s forehead as he concentrated. THen, finally, he offered a very hesitant: “Chris?” He pronounced it differently than he normally would, the Spanish trill replaced by a drawl that could have rivalled Steward’s, but Emil still felt his behavioural algorithms relax a little from the building tension.

“Very good,” he said. “Last name?”

Encouraged, Rios sat up a little straighter and focused some more. Finally, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said in a rush, like he was reciting something committed to memory through countless repetitions: “Cristóbal Rios, Lieutenant Junior grade, Starfleet ID SC-850-705.”

[viiisenyas]

Oh, hi! I've got a wholesome snippet of my new ship with my m!Surana and my chasind warrior that I want to share 0u0

I was tagged by @oxygenforthewicked last week, and I am late. Sorry ;n;

I shall tag (with no pressure): @glowing-blue-feathermage, @psalacanthea, @sulky-valkyrie, @rosella-writes, @inquisimer, and anyone else who wants to! :D

Erin had no love for the outdoors. He’d spent the first six years of his life in the Alienage, and the last twelve confined in the Circle. The putrid scent of the Korcari Wilds made his stomach churn, even after he’d managed to leave the swamp with Alistair and Morrigan, and the chilly autumn breeze made him shiver. 

I should have bought a coat, he thought. Surana regretted giving the small amount of silver he’d managed to collect to the man guarding the prisoner for a meal. That shem probably didn’t even survive.

The elf sighed softly to himself, and crossed his arms over his chest as he quietly followed behind Alistair and Morrigan with his new mabari at his side. They’d been bickering for the past four days, and while it was obvious they had no love for each other, Erin had no mind to hear it.

He quietly shook his head, tuning out their argument before his violet eyes widened at the sight of the forest clearing, and the Imperial Highway lying just ahead.

Thank the Maker, he thought, and a smile stretched his full lips. His feet ached from his ill-fitting boots, and the rough terrain of the wilderness didn’t help. Erin was longing for a rest, and the possibility of sleeping in a feather bed rather than the damp grass was enticing.

“How much longer until we reach this village, Morrigan?” Erin interrupted their banter with a gentle tone, and the apostate spared him a glance over her shoulder. 

Erin tried not to lower his gaze from her strange eyes, and the elf tilted his head.

“Perhaps an hour, perhaps more,” she shrugged, looking forward again.

 He looked at the hound, and lowered his right hand to gently stroke between his ears. Erin hadn’t expected to bond with him so easily, but he was grateful for his presence nonetheless.

“Almost there, Ripley,” he said. “Just a little while longer.”

***

The village of Lothering was flooded with refugees from the southern villages near Ostagar, and Erin’s eyes darted towards the tents. Women and children were huddled together, sobbing, and he gathered that they’d barely managed to evade the darkspawn.

“Maker…” Erin frowned, “There’s so many of them.”

“It's just a guess, but I'm thinking everyone in Lothering is aware of the approaching darkspawn horde,” Alistair pointed out, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Ah, look how they moan and wail and gnash their teeth.” Morrigan remarked, “'Tis sad to watch how helplessly they scurry about.” Her tone was laced with sarcasm, and Alistair gave her a contemptuous look.

“Very sensitive,” the warrior rolled his eyes.

“We should probably find some work,” Surana suggested. He wedged himself between them both, and began walking ahead. “We’ll be needing more supplies.”

“Good idea,” Alistair chimed, “I’m sure we could check with the Templars to see what we can do to help.”

Erin frowned at the consideration. He was never particularly fond of the knights. Even if he was, by their standard, a good mage, he was incapable of evading their scrutiny. His mind wandered for a moment as he thought of the Tevinter girl they’d locked in solitary for complaining about a Templar just before he was conscripted. More often than not, he wondered if that would have been his fate if he dared to question their authority.

“What?” Alistair tilted his head.

“It’s nothing,” Erin waved a hand dismissively. “Let’s just… see what tasks they have for us.”

“How very clever of you two,” Morrigan said, sardonically. 

Erin spared her a glance and frowned again. You don’t have to travel with us if you don’t want to. He chose to keep his remark to himself. Silence was a better option than risking a quarrel, and he had a feeling that he’d need her in the coming days.

The mage lowered his gaze to Ripley, and he gently patted his head once more. “Come on, Ripley. After this, we’ll get something to eat.”

The hound emitted a mirthful bark in reply, and he began wagging his tail. 

 Surana looked forward, and took the lead ahead of the two humans towards the chantry. 

“Morrigan, why do you always go on about how stupid I am?” Alistair asked. “I’m not stupid, am I?” 

“If you need to ask the question…” Morrigan replied, coolly.

Sweet Maker, not this again, Erin thought, and slipped his fingers through his silver hair as he mentally prepared himself to unwillingly eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Because it hurts my manly feelings, you know.” Alistair’s voice lowered a few octaves, his tone falling flat. “All one of them.” 

Erin turned around to look at the duo, and raised a brow. Even after two weeks of travelling together, he couldn’t quite grasp Alistair’s incessant need to provoke Morrigan. He’d already been suspicious of her, and it was only a matter of time before she turned on them.

“You two get along so well,” he muttered, sarcastically. “Makes me wonder when’s the wedding.”

A long pause followed his remark, and Alistair’s lips fell open in offence. Morrigan furrowed her brow, her golden eyes narrowing, and Alistair emitted a disgusted noise, shuddering dramatically.

“I’d much rather marry a giant spider, thank you.” Alistair scoffed. 

“Good to know?” Erin’s tone lifted with slight confusion as he made a face, and he rubbed the back of his neck. The young mage sighed heavily and shook his head. “Let’s just move on.” 

He was unbothered to wait for a reply from either of them. As Surana turned to keep walking, he stopped as he caught the unexpected sight of a chasind woman clad in scant leather armour towering above him with a stony expression. 

“Woah,” he said, reflexively.

Her olive complexion was radiant, and his violet eyes rounded as he slowly raised them to meet her honey gaze. She seemed anxious as she took a step back, and she placed her hands on her hips.

It wasn’t difficult to miss her broad shoulders and muscular frame, nor did he miss the massive greatsword on her back, and his cheeks flushed when her expression softened she offered a dimpled smile. She was almost as brawny as Alistair, he realised, and Erin blinked twice.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” her baritone voice resonated.

His lips parted, he barely processed her words, and a puff of air escaped him. Maker… She's so tall.

“Are… you alright, elf?” She asked, raising a brow.

“N-no, I mean yes! I just…” Erin took a breath, cheeks growing warmer when he realised he'd been staring. His mind had fogged again, the same as it did when he first met his fellow warden, and the mage looked away, bashfully. 

Alistair stepped beside him, and pursed his lips with amusement. “Somebody’s blushing,” he pointed out in a sing-song voice. 

Her grin stretched wider on her symmetrical features as she tilted her head, curiously. Rich laughter emitted from her, and Surana pressed his lips together.

“Well, if you’re looking to trade,” she started, “what's left of my clan is on the other side of the bridge… well, aside from Drystan over there.” She gestured behind her towards the chantry courtyard with her thumb. 

Erin leaned to the side to peer behind her built frame, and he focused on the man shouting in the midst of a small crowd and glanced back at the tall warrior.

“Ask for Zorya,” the chasind continued. “She can give you anything you need.”

“Thanks for the offer,” Alistair smiled as he subtly nudged Erin with his elbow, and the mage turned his head. 

Alistair gestured toward the woman with his eyes, and waggled his brows. Whatever it was that he was silently telling him to do, went completely over Erin’s head, and he simply cleared his throat.

The elf repeated Alistair’s words as he looked up at her again. His stomach swam with anxiety when her warm gaze fixed on him. 

“Anytime,” she chuckled, and extended her hand towards him in greeting. “I’m Alondra, by the way.”

Erin smiled sheepishly, and tentatively reached out. “Surana– I mean, Erin,” he stammered as she firmly grasped his forearm.

Alondra raised a brow again in amusement, and he shut his eyes before sighing through his nose. A brief pause came as he collected his thoughts, and Alistair sniggered quietly.

[islaluvsbones]

hahaha this post pissed me off (probably controversial rant under the cut)

"exactly like dont interact with it then" I CANT. BECAUSE NOBODY TAGS THEIR SHIT PROPERLY. i can't find NORMAL ANYTHING anymore on ao3 because its all flooded with sans au ensembles and shit. and nobody tags them as "alternate universe: _____" so, its actually quite IMPOSSIBLE to avoid.

yeah there are some aus i like, but notice how they aren't the ones that only focus on sans??!! i have to search through a sea of garbage sansxsans au stuff to actually find fics and comics about undertale.

"without aus the game wouldn't last 2 years" CRAZY TAKE. you guys are so blinded by all this mischaracterized single focused TRASH that you cant possibly understand how much of a timeless work undertale is. the lore and secrets are so rich, and there are sooo many great characters to focus on. i am a 7 year long fan of undertale and my love for it has grown stronger over time, without the help of aus. did i dabble in some? yes, and i still do (rarely.) but god, don't you ever get bored??? this is literally the same guy interacting with HIMSELF in DIFFERENT CLOTHES. if ur gonna make au stuff, please spice up your aus/au fics with other UT characters i beg you.

and YEAH. i do believe aus ruined the fandom to an extent. that corner of the fandom is where controversy and problems are BORN. ive lost so many of my fave fic writers/comic makers to aus because they turned into proshippers and stopped writing actually good stuff. how are you gonna swap out a ship between 2 entirely different characters with good chemistry for a sans x sans ship thats INSANE to me. and the mischaracterization from the au fandom drives me absolutely wild.

it makes me so sad to see new fans only knowing the new sans au stuff or poorly plotted undertale things instead of some of the classic masterpieces i grew up with. sometimes i watch those undertale reaction gacha videos and get SOOO sad and disappointed when they only react to aus and weird fangames/bad comics that are so inaccurate it hurts.

i wanna guide them in the right direction to some actually good stuff so they realize how great the game is completely ON IT'S OWN. can barely find good content anywhere anymore. i wish i was a little older when undertale came out so i could fully experience it in its prime days. i love undertale but being younger made me late to the party. i still saw most of the classic stuff early on tho so yesss! (got into the fandom in early 2017 and that story is hilarious)

anyway enough talk about me lol.

i could talk about this for hours but this post is getting long and my fingers are getting tired. sorry for my ritual essay long rant that most likely no one will see, but sometimes u gotta have ur hot takes and yell about them even if nobody's listening. thanks, have a very undertale day!

[eponymoussquared]

Sheidy Business: Tales from another's eyes.

Alright, so the next chapter isn't done quite yet, and it might be awhile. But I still have something I want to share. Since I'm developing this story still, I figured I might as well post some short stories, written int he format similar to how they'd be in the Torah itself, that take place in the same universe. This is both shorter, and can serve as possible foreshadowing, or just cool wordbuilding bits. So, I'm going to be calling this "Sheidy Business: Tales from another's eyes." TFAE in the tags for short. This one isn't very long, and ties in to the next two stories I'll be posting, which are also quite short.

A quick note first. I'm Jewish, so I'm used to referring to some things in Hebrew or Yiddish, even if theres an english version. So Instead of Noah, I'm used to writing Noach, or instead of Messiah, I'd write Meshiach. which is the closet I can do since Tumblr can't write Ḥ properly. It basically sounds like a hard h-try doing the h sound, but do it more forcefully until you start making a sort of grinding-scraping noise. Or just look it up. Oh yeah, and the "Mabul" is the term for the big old biblical flood. Sorry for the wait, and I hope you enjoy. Story below the cut.

In the age of Noach, When the Name decided to bring the Mabul upon the world, there were some who were at sail when the flood came. To hunt down these stragglers, the Name created the Leviathans, one male and one female, two great sea serpents who could scour the entire world between them. As they swam, they churned the sea, causing tidal waves to sweep all but the tallest ships under the ocean. When the time came for the rain to stop, the Leviathans had no work to do, so they lay down next to one another to rest. The Name saw that the female Leviathan would have offspring soon, and said “When the water recedes, there will not be room for two Leviathans, let alone more.” And so he slew the female Leviathan and took her meat into the heavens, preserving it to be served when Meshiach comes. Now alone, the Leviathan wept. “My Lord and Master!” He cried. “You created me and my companion to purge the wicked from your world, and we did our job well. Now that we have finished our task, you condemn me to an eternity of solitude? Why did you create two of us, if there was only ever room for one?” And the Name said “Leviathan, do not weep. Though your mate’s body is dead, her soul shall be lifted up to me in Heaven, where she shall be my most beloved companion till the end of days. As compensation for your loneliness, I will make you the king of all that swims beneath the waters until Meshiach comes, at which point you will join your mate in heaven.” The Leviathan heard, and he said “My master is wise and just.” But in his mind he screamed, for a wound that would never close had been opened in his heart. Thus the seeds of rebellion were planted in the Leviathans mind.

[foli-vora]

first off, again, congrats you talented bitch. i love you so much and you inspire the hell out of me. second of all, i am here to request dinjamin djarin and #28—ANGST. please and thank you, lovely.

*We’re ignoring the fact that this request has taken a year. I’M SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY*

MY LOVELY. God damn, you make me blush. And no no, turn that around - you inspire me! Thank you for the request, sweet love! 

#28 feeling for each other in the dark

Pairing: Din Djarin/gn!reader

Warnings: angst

The loneliness is harsh, bitter… but it’s in the heavy drag of sleep that you forget. You forget where you are, you forget what had happened, you just forget it all and it’s both a relief and a burden.

It’s automatic, natural, to reach across the bed, hand searching and searching for that familiar body to seek comfort in. You expect to feel the prickle of heat to meet your fingertips, whether it be from a bare torso or back, or the feel of a hand moving to meet yours on instinct.

Your hand runs along the sheets, meeting nothing but the edge of the mattress, and it’s enough to pry you from even the deepest of a dreamless sleep. You blink drowsily in the dark, mind slacking in its efforts to catch up.

A chill bites at your fingers, the sheets tangle in your grasp.

It’s cold.

It’s cold because he’s not there.

For a fleetingly innocent moment, you think he’s elsewhere in the ship, tinkering, cleaning, doing something to calm that fast mind of his, but realisation comes like a flood of ice water along your spine.

You’re not on the ship. Not anymore.

The memories flood you immediately—the heat of the sun, the tears that ran freely down your cheeks, the vision of him walking away and not looking back even once… not even when the hoarse cry of his name broke through your lips.

He actually left.

You waited, a small sliver of hope refusing to yield to the heartbreak, clinging to the possibility that he would change his mind and come back; that maybe if you stared into the distance for long enough, you’d catch a glimmer of that shiny beskar as he tracked his way back to you.

You waited.

The hope soon faded along with the sinking sun.

-

Somewhere across the stars, he mirrors your movements, a gloved hand reaching sleepily into the space next to him to pull at a body, desperate to feel it press against him to coax him back to a quick dreamless sleep before the next stop. You always had that way of calming the constant race of his body, of his life, providing him with the soft waves of peace needed to rest...

His fingers clench into a fist when he feels nothing.

Nothing.

You’re not there.

You’re not there because he left. He left you, tears flowing down your cheeks and all alone on some random backwater planet with enough credits to see you wherever you wanted to go. He left you, when he promised he wouldn’t. He swore it against your skin as he breathed you in.

It wasn’t—it wasn’t safe for you.

It was one too many close calls, his anxiety peaking whenever you would tag along with him, ripping and tearing into his sanity with the more fire aimed at you, and he couldn’t stand the possibility of carrying your lifeless body back to the ship if something were ever to go south, which it often did in his line of work.

It wasn’t for you.

This life—it wasn’t for you. You deserved so much better than a bounty hunter with no promise of a secure home, a future... and so he had to say goodbye. He had to leave, had to look through the darkened visor and speak the words that felt like acid in his mouth. He watched the emotions play across your face; the confusion, the denial, the panic, the heartbreak.

Resentment makes a home in the very depths of him, churning with the heat of rage, and the ship feels colder than ever without you.

Din rolls on the thin mattress, crossing his arms tightly across his chest and turning his back on the space you once used to lay, heart heavy in his throat as a broken cry plays through his mind again, and again, and again.

+

[thegodofthisnewworld]

MHA Pirate AU - Pirate Captain Bakugou x Gender neutral dragon Reader

Hello everyone! I got this lovely request from none other than @pakabear here on Tumblr (doesn't let me tag them so I will simply put the link here). They sent me an extremely detailed requests that I absolutely loved! I hope you like it and I truly hope I did your AU idea justice! (the whole AU request I received will be at the end, as it is quite long, but trust me, it is well worth the read <3)

https://pakabear.tumblr.com/ -> Link to their Tumblr!

warning, contains the following: possibly inaccurate character depiction (I usually don’t write these characters, so I’m sorry if they are OOC), swearing, gender-neutral reader, fluff, mentions of blood, wounds and death, Bakusquad being the Bakusquad

This is a SFW fic with some action and fluff! Lots and lots of fluff! Also some Bakusquad bickering! I hope you enjoy ♡

characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Denki Kaminari, Mina Ashido, Ejiro Kirishima, Hanta Sero, Todoroki Shoto, Enji Todoroki, Natsuo Todoroki, Midoriya Izuku

wordcount: 6817

"Land ahoy!" Sero yelled from the mast of their ship, nothing but a simple black bandana keeping his black locks out of his face. His eyes darted down towards the rest of the crew, a smile crawling upon his features.

"Aight- Everyone! Prepare for harbor" Bakugou yelled out, grabbing ahold of the helm, stirring it quite a lot quicker than necessary, whilst Mina and Denki pulled up the sails as not to crash onto the lovely land of Nezzira. The name which was oh-so foreign to them.

"Aye aye!" Was the response of all the crew members, and soon, they all reached land.

-♡♡♡-

"Whoah, tis' an amazing place, aye?" Mina spoke, her gorgeous yellow eyes gleaming around the dock of the Nezzira kingdom. Kirishima joined her in her sightseeing, while Bakugou scolded Denki for taking so long with tying the ship down.

Unbeknownst to the crew, all eyes fell on them and the whispers and hushed threats of civilians filled the land. It was well known that pirates weren't welcome in these parts, the king declared so, so why were these ruffians here?

More mumbles and hushed whispers followed the crew, making Bakugou raise an eyebrow in suspicion. He knew being a pirate usually dragged attention, but with the new coronation of prince Midoriya, he assumed that everyone was welcome in the kingdom of Evaris- everyone, including pirates.

They kept walking and prancing through the streets, until two silver clad guards extended their spears towards the crew, causing them to stop.

"In the name of the king, you are to follow us to the royal palace for a trial, filthy ruffians." One guard spoke as the other pointed his lance towards Denki, the sharp tip practically puncturing the leather on his pirate vest.

Kirishima was about to speak up, but Bakugou lifted his hand in an attempt to silence him, taking a step forward, the spear now pressing up against the fabric of his shirt, nearly tearing a hole into it with how sharp the spear was.

"Listen 'ere you scurvy dogs, my crew and I simply need rations, so how about ye piss off, before I make ye walk the plank-" Bakugou hissed his words out, his hand hovering over the cutlass that he had previously attached to the leather belt supporting his various piraty goods, along with a satchel of loot he held close.

Just before the guard could speak up again, the blonde shrugged his shoulders and refocused his scarlet orbs onto the sharp spear tip being pressed into his skin, mumbling his words out.

"Besides, yer outnumbered."

And just like clockwork, the rest of the crew grabbed ahold of their very own weapons. Kiri unsheathed a cutlass, much like Bakugou. Sero pulled out two knives, while Mina and Denki alike grabbed ahold of their axes.

The two guards took a compulsory step back, as one quickly blew on the horn attached to his belt, making the pirates look around the area. Just like that, what seemed like hundreds of guards came flooding out of an armory that just so happened to be right next to the harbor.

"Fuck-" Bakugou muttered through gritted teeth, using the newly created space between him and the two guards to dark in the opposite direction of the armory. "Follow me-"

He yelled out, his crew quickly dashing behind him. Bakugou was quick on his feet, not only that but he was also very cunning, especially when it came to fighting other pirate ships. This made him the perfect captain, and his crew knew that all too well.

His eyes scanned the area as quickly as they could, trying to find a perfect escape route. From what he could see, there were three options.

The first one would be to loop back to where their ship was docking, which was quite improbable, due to the amount of guards. The crew wouldn't even set sail before the guards caught them!

The second was to quite simply let themselves get caught, something that would not only hurt his pride, but his crew as well, so there was no way Bakugou was going to let that happen.

And so, the third option is what he went with. It just so happened to be jumping over a cobblestone wall and falling an unspecified height. He knew it wasn't the best chance to take, but at the same time, better than losing his pride and surrendering to the guards.

His leather boots made contact with some wood flooring, followed by jumping on two wooden barrels and launching himself over the cobblestone wall.

The drop was around 5 meters, give or take. Something the pirate was used to dropping every single day. It was the adrenaline that made his heart pump faster than ever before. It wasn't the first time his crew got chased or attacked, but this was the first time it happened without reason, something the pirate code abided by.

Bakugou's thoughts were interrupted by a short squeal of none other than Denki, as he launched himself over the wall, falling face first into a oleander bush, groaning at the sudden pain.

"Ouch!"

"Man up! Tis' but a scratch!" Kirishima laughed, helping his comrade up from the thorny bushes. Denki oh so graciously got up, fixing his leather vest up and rubbing his chin in an attempt to soothe the itchy feeling.

"In the name of king Enji Todoroki! You are all hereby prisoners of the royal guard."

Those words made the entire crew turn around to face whoever said them. It was a rather tall man with navy blue hair, clad in what seemed to be iron- no, silver armor. The helmet that was presumably covering his face held tightly under his arm as he glared down at the five pirates, more guards running out from the building.

Bakugou's crew managed to jump into the royal gardens.

"Fuck-" Bakugou muttered under his breath as he raised his hands, his eyebrow twitching in an annoyed manner, staring up at the unknown male. Mina and Kirishima did the same, while Denki and Sero grit their teeth in annoyance, holding off until two spears were pointed towards them.

Just as the guard was about to speak up again, one of his fellow workers came up to him and whispered quiet words in his ear. Bakugou leaned forward in an attempt to listen in on the conversation, but they were far too quiet.

The primary guard cleared his throat and refocused his attention to the newly attained prisoners, mumbling his words softly.

"The king would like to see you- In order to determine your punishment." His voice remained calm and without a second thought, he began walking away, expecting for the pirates to follow him.

Bakugou was about to reach for his cutlass and break all hell loose, but Kirishima placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm his captain down. At that very moment, Bakugou contemplated brushing his hand off and slashing at the guards, but he decided that it was for the best that he listened to his comrade, he wouldn't want any of them getting hurt after all.

And with that, the crew of five began following the navy haired guard.

After what seemed like an excruciatingly long amount of time, they reached a large room clad in royal red colors. The sun shined through the large, golden framed windows and only highlighted the three thrones in the middle of the room.

And that is where they sat. King Enji Todoroki and his two sons, Shoto and Natsuo. Bakugou and his crew soon stopped, mostly in response to the main guard bowing down staring at the pirates, somewhat urging them to do the same.

"Now, you bow in the presence of a king, you pirate scum." King Enji spat his words out, staring at the crew of pirates. Bakugou was about to bark an insult out, when the guard that had led them there grabbed ahold of his hair and forcefully slamming him to the floor.

His face made contact with the royal red fabric, making him groan as he felt an iron-like scent fill his nostrils. Blood. He thought to himself, knowing he had no way of wiping it away without pissing off the king further.

The rest of his crew simply got to their knees and averted their gaze, not wanting to get a similar treatment to their captain.

"That's better, what brings you to the kingdom of Nezzira? Unannounced and- Unwated if I may add." Enji kept on speaking, groaning at the sight of five pirates roaming his safe lands.

"Nezzira? We 'ought this was Evaris." Bakugou barked out from under the grip of the soldier, trying his best to reach over for his cutlass in an attempt to rebel. "But then again, all these filthy lands look the same-" He smirked up at the king, his red orbs glaring daggers.

"Ah I see." Enji looked over to Todoroki, his youngest son that spoke of the coronation to him. Mentioning how the young prince was becoming a king. "Unfortunately for you, unlike in Evaris-" As Enji spoke the name of the neighboring kingdom, his voice dripped with disgust and hatred. "-We do not tolerate pirate scum on our lands- Public execution!"

His voice boomed through the hall as he stood up from his throne, taking a couple steps towards the pirates.

"Captain! We can't feed the fish just yet! We're all too young!" Denki chimed in, fear mirrored in his eyes. Mina soon joined in, her voice directed at none other than the king.

"Heave to! Twas nothin' but an honest mistake!" Her voice skipped with each word she spoke, but even so, she was trying her best to protect the crew.

"Even so, this mistake will cost you your life, learn to navigate the sea, before you set sail." Enji spoke in an annoyed manner, crossing his arms over his chest, the royal red cape flowing behind him. His two sons averted their gaze from the pirates, feeling the slightest bit of sympathy towards them.

"Twas my fault!" Bakugou yelled out, glaring up at the king, clenching his fists as he struggled up against the royal guard. "Let me crew go, execute me all ye want-" And with that, he spat at the king's feet, glaring directly at him as the guard gripped onto his hair, an armored hand restricting his own palms from grabbing ahold of his cutlass.

Enji took a small step back, just barely avoiding the spit, his brows furrowing further. He cleared his throat, before mumbling out his new resolution.

"Then- GUARDS!" It was evident by the tone of his voice that he was fuming. He never expected pirates to roam his land, let alone talk back to him and taint his expensive carpet. "Throw them in with the Dragon, it'll know what to do with them!"

Enji walked closer to Bakugou, instructing his guard to make the pirate look up at him. The guard's grip grew tighter on Bakugou's hair, making him groan as his scarlet orbs were forced to stare up at the king's face. Just as he was about to spit yet again, the guard covered his mouth, letting the king speak freely, without any form of interruption.

"That'll teach you to talk back to a king, pirate scum."

And with that, he turned around, letting his cape smack the young captain in the face, walking back to his throne.

Before Bakugou had a moment to spit his own words back, he was being dragged to the dungeon, along with his crew. No one dared speak up or mention what had just happened, they just walked in silence, some more willingly than others.

"A dungeon, a fuckin' dungeon!" Bakugou growled his words out as the royal knights walked them back outside, walking towards what seemed like a dark cave that no one bothered to cover up.

"Captain! I don't want to die yet!" Denki chimed in, panic mirrored in his eyes.

"Shut it! No one is dyin' on my watch!" Bakugou yelled out angrily, as the guards attempted to hush them, shoving them into the entrance of the cavelocking a large iron door behind them. Leaving them to their own demise.

Bakugou wasted no time wiping the small trail of blood with the sleeve of his shirt, dying it red. He groaned at the feeling, licking away the remained of blood that made it's way onto his lip.

"What are we gonna do captain?" Eijiro spoke up, rubbing his own arm in a concerned manner, trying to get his mind off of things. Off of this situation that they managed to get themselves into.

"Ye think I know?" Bakugou clenched his fists for a brief moment, before going over to the iron door in an attempt to break it. And sadly, shaking and pulling on the solid bars didn't do anything.

"I can't believe we die ere!" Sero began speaking, laughing at the end in an attempt to lighten the mood, and truth be told, he only made Denki more nervous.

"Shut up! Yer making Denki more nervous." Bakugou sighed and refocused his attention down to the dark cave. He couldn't see a dragon, and truth be told, he didn't believe that such a cowardly king could even own a dragon of his own. And so, he started walking towards the darkness of the cave.

"Captain?" Eijiro spoke up, concern lacing his voice as he extended a hand towards Bakugou, only to see him turn around, giving his crew the slightest, reassuring smile.

"I'm tryin' to find another way out, besides, I doubt that bilge-sucking king got his hands on a dragon!" The captain let out a small chuckle, waiting for the slightest smiles to spread across the faces of his crew, before walking back towards the darkness, his crew following close behind.

The walk wasn't long, but what they came across, shocked them, to say the least.

"I-Is that-" Denki started to speak up, only to have his mouth covered by Mina, who was holding her breath.

A real life dragon.

"That thing is massive-" Eijiro whispered, a tremble evident in his voice. Bakugou stood there, eyeing the beast. Eijiro was right, it was massive. That thing filled up the cave with hardly any space to move.

"Makes me wonder how it got 'ere." Sero mumbled, in a hushed tone, instantly holding his breath as the dragon began shifting. It's eyes remained closed, but a small shift was enough to make the pirates freeze in fear. They had never come across a dragon, let alone be fed to one.

Bakugou swallowed the dry lump that formed in his throat, before taking a step forwards, only to be stopped by kirishima placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What're you doin' captain!" His voice was hushed as well, but still laced with concern and confusion. Bakugou gently swatted his palm away, whispering his words out.

"Avast ye! There's two sources of light. One from above-" Bakugou pointed upwards, where the majority of light was coming from, making the dragon visible. "And one from behind." And that is when he pointed behind the dragon's body. Sunlight. One thing that was sure to indicate a way out.

And with that, he began to take a couple steps towards the dragon, only then-

The sound of scales slithering and an animalisten groan filled the cave. Every member of the crew held their breath as Bakugou quickly stepped backwards, joining his subordinates as quickly as he could. Denki was quivering in fear and Mina was clutching onto Sero like her life depended on it. Which, it most likely did. Eijiro once again placed a shaky hand on Bakugou's shoulder, gripping down a bit harder than ever before.

Bakugou didn't want to admit that he was scared. Not ever and especially not in front of his crew, but here he was, his teeth clattering as he clenched his fists in order to contain a grip on reality in the best way possible.

And just like that, a large, lizard-like head turned towards them, before these massive, serpent eyes began to open. They were the size of a wagon wheel and the color of the deepest part of the sea. And the worst thing? They were staring right at the crew.

Silence followed until a loud, animalistic roar echoed through the cavern. It was enough to shake the rocky interior and nearly enough to make Denki faint in fear.

"L-Listen, we don't want no trouble-" Bakugou spoke up, his teeth still clattering together as he spoke, his hands shaking as he raised them in an attempt to surrender to the beast. All he was trying to do is protect his crew, even if it would cost him his head- err- body, considering the size of the dragon's jaw.

"I won't kill you-" The dragon spoke in a low growl, scanning the crew of five for a small while, before shifting to where it's back was turned to the squat, it's sharp fangs nor piercing eyes no longer visible. "-just don't bother me, I wish to rest."

Bakugou let out a sharp exhale and slowly began reaching for his cutlass, seeing as the dragon was now letting his guard down. Just as his hand came in contact with the hilt of his sword, the dragon's voice once again boomed through the cave, this time sounding more menacing than before.

"But if you dare try anything, despite my kindness, I won't hesitate to roast you to ashes." That sentence alone was enough to make Bakugou drop the idea completely. He took a deep breath, once again stepping towards the dragon, letting Kirishima's hand drop to his side.

Only now did he notice the dragon's wounds. Various gashes and scratch marks far bigger than any regular animal could to, accompanied by spear puncture wounds as well. Something quite unusual for a creature with such thick skin.

But even with all these various gashes and cuts, the worst injury must've been the torn wing. The thinner skin was still covered in dried blood, and so, it became evident. The dragon couldn't fly.

"What happened to ye-" Bakugou spoke up, scanning it's injured body. Taking yet another step closer, somewhat extending a hand out towards it.

The dragon let out a low growl as Bakugou inched closer, refocusing it's gaze over to the young pirate captain.

"Don't, touch." It growled it's words out, blinking cautiously with it's lizard eyes, scanning him. "It's none of your concern."

"I want to know, I want to be able to help ye, since- ye won't eat me crew n' all." He mumbled the last part out, once again retiring the hand back to his side.

"And why should I tell a complete stranger?" The dragon huffed out, letting out an animalistic yawn, shifting it's tail once again, the sound of scales scraping against the floor filling the ears of the pirate crew.

"I suppose ye don't have to, we're just curious." Kirishima joined in, also taking a step towards the dragon. Mina, Sero and Denki were still staying back, slightly huddles together, scared of what the dragon will do.

The dragon remained quiet for a while longer, before lowering it's head to where Bakugou and Kirishima were standing, scanning them with it's dark blue orbs. That was when a faint scent of smoke filled their senses as the dragon began speaking.

"It's quite depressing." It spoke, waiting for some form of interjections or complaints, but none came. The pirate crew remained silent, staring up at the dragon with curious eyes.

"I was banished from my hoard." The dragon began speaking, averting it's gaze from the pirate crew, moving it's tail in an anxious way in an attempt to calm itself down. "Dragons I once considered my friends- my family turned on me without a blink of an eye."

The dragon let out a small puff of smoke, carefully resting it's lizard head atop one of it's clawed paws.

"Now why would they do that! Family supports family!" Bakugou exclaimed angrily, enough to have his voice echo through the cave. Kirishima's expression softened as he looked at his captain getting so heated about someone else's situation.

"Once one quarrels, the bond of family is nothing."

"Now that ain't true!" Denki chimed in, finally managing to pluck up the courage to speak up. He took a step forward to join Bakugou and Kirishima up front, a determined expression accompanying the smile on his face. "Family are the people ye trust with yer life!"

"He's right, family should take care of ye, no matter what." Mina joined in, still standing in the back, attempting to pluck up enough courage to join the other three up front. Sero being in a similar situation.

"Well, maybe for you humans." The dragon kept on speaking, letting out another puff of smoke, seeing it rise towards the top of the cavern, this time making the young pirate crew cough. "But for dragons, family is something very fragile."

The crew decided to stay silent this time, letting the dragon tell it's story.

"I was banished and wounded, and so, I fled to this piece of land." The dragon kept speaking, suddenly having it's nose scrunch up at the terrible times it had just remembered. "I met the king and his men- they fought me and restrained me, before forcing me into this cave as a captive."

A small growl escaped the dragon's mouth, sparks threatening to spill out of its mouth as the whole cave began heating up, the dragon threatening to set the whole place ablaze.

"We've met him- I wanted to plunge my cutlass right through his face." Bakugou exclaimed, a triumphants smirk spreading across his lips. Truth be told, he wanted to stop the dragon from setting the whole place ablaze, not wanting his crew to get hurt.

"A terrible man, someone like him shouldn't be in charge of a family, let alone a country." The dragon kept on speaking, huffing out its words angrily. It clenched and unclenched its claws, before refocusing its attention back to the pirates.

"And how did you end up here?"

Its words seemed relaxed unlike when it was talking about the king, genuinely wanting to know how the pirates wound up in such a situation.

"Well- We were on our way to see the coronation of a new king- Midoriya of Evaris. We 'ought this was Evaris-" Bakugou mumbled the last part, admitting to his mistake, letting out an annoyed groan.

"We must've been wrong, and now, we're 'ere!" Kirishima joined in, smiling brightly up at the dragon.

"You're not mad at one another for making a mistake?" The dragon spoke questioningly, its ears perking up in an interested manner.

"Not really, we're a crew after all!" Mina joined in, slowly taking a step towards the three of her crewmates, casually wrapping her arm around Denki, shooting the dragon a wide smile.

"A crew? What is that?" The dragon questioned, moving its head closer to the pirates, inches away from Bakugou, making him shiver at the pure size difference.

"Well- I suppose a crew is somethin' like a family." Bakugou spoke up, looking back at his crew members, finally seeing Sero step up to join the rest of them, a smile spanning each of their features. "We have our backs no matter what-" Bakugou practically cheered the last part out and lifted his right hand into the air, his crew doing the same and chanting their words out.

"Aye aye captain!" And with that, they all laughed in the slightest manner, before refocusing their attention back to the dragon which seemed relaxed. It seemed to enjoy the friendly company of the pirates.

"Why did the evil king put you here, he clearly didn't think you would tear each other's throats off." The dragon mumbled it's words out, wagging its tail in the slightest manner, once again having its scales scrape against the cold floor.

Sero gave a small, concerned laugh, before mumbling his words out. "Truth be told, he must've thought ye were goin' to eat us!"

Mina and Denki nodded eagerly, as Bakugou kept staring up into the dragon's sea-blue orbs.

"That's absurd- Dragon's don't feast on human flesh, they haven't for- for millenia!" It exclaimed its words in both a confused and angered manner, clenching its talons again.

"Truth be told, we were worried- we ain't seen a live dragon ever before." Bakugou spoke up, rubbing the back of his neck, remaining close to the large beast.

"And I haven't seen such kind humans." The dragon complimented and Bakugou could swear that he could see its features curve into a small smile. He couldn't help but feel his cheeks heat up in the slightest, something he would later blame on the dragon's warm smoke.

"I know! How about ye come with us!" Denki cheered out, looking up at Bakguou- almost like a small child begging his parent for a piece of candy. Bakugou felt slightly take aback by the suggestion. he wanted to get to know the dragon more, but there was one tiny problem.

"Denki's right captain! We ought to help the dragon recover! And in return it could get us back to our ship!" Mina cheered again, grabbing onto Denki, the widest smile now spanning her features.

"I don't know, would that be alright with your family? I wouldn't wish to cause another discourse- not like with my blood." The dragon spoke up, feeling its ears fall back, staring down at the excited crew members.

"Oi! As the captain of the ship, I get the final say!" Bakugou practically yelled his words out, almost in a scolding manner, refocusing his attention to Mina and Denki, before facing the dragon again.

"I'm all for ye joining me crew on sea, but you're too fuckin big! I have no idea how to fit ye onto the ship!" He grumbled the ending part, scanning the dragon from head to the tip of its tail. It was three, maybe four times the size of his boat, something that made him slightly irritated.

And with that, the sound of scales hitting the cold, cobblestone floor fild the caver, along with a faint, dark blue glow. The pirates averted their gaze as not to go blind with the sudden burst of light, waiting for it to die down slightly.

After a few seconds, the light finally dimmed down. Bakugou was the first to look. He was too curious as to rub his eyes and recover from the sudden light. His eyes darted towards the now humanoid form standing before him.

They had gorgeous (h/c) locks, accompanied by those stunning, deep blue orbs. Much to Bakugou's surprise, the humanoid figure before him was well built. A lean body fit for a member of his crew. Not only that, but the horns, pointed eyes and talons remained the same. And despite the dim lighting, he swore he saw a couple scales graze the top of their cheeks.

"Ye- I-" Bakugou tried to mutter his words out, having to clear his throat and avert his gaze, the lightest blust staining his cheeks.

"Whoah! So cute!" Mina squaled out, happily bouncing towards her new dragon comrade. Denki stared in amazement, while Sero and Kirishima couldn't form a coherent sentence.

"Do ye- do ye have a name?" Bakugou spoke up, breaking the chatter of his crew members, catching the dragon off guard.

"A name-" The dragon thought for a moment, shrugging it's well sculpted shoulders, before speaking up in a soft tone, something quite drastically different from when it resembled a lizard. "I suppose my fellow dragons used to call me (Y/N), feel free to use it."

"Alright (Y/N)" Bakugou spoke up, shooting a cocky grin towards the dragon that had introduced themselves as (Y/N), the blush still grazing his cheeks. "Me name is Katsuki Bakugou! But call me captain!"

"I'm Eijiro!"

"Me name is Mina!"

"Sero, pleasure is on me side!"

"And I'm Denki!"

(Y/N) couldn't help but chuckle at the introduction of it's new family, smiling in their general direction, before tuning towards the exit, speaking up in a soft tone.

"This is the way out, I could get you to your ship if you tell me where it is."

"Can ye fly with those injuries?" Bakugou spoke up, scanning (Y/N)'s visibly injured back and wings, raising an eyebrow in a concerned manner.

"I could try." (Y/N) spoke, spreading their wings in an attempt to fly. A couple flapts and they managed to get themselves off the ground, before collapsing down to the ground, their wings giving out.

"(Y/N), are ye alright?" Kirishima spoke out, kneeling down, carefully placing a hand on their shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can fly us out of here."

"Don't worry bout it, we can get out the normal way!" Mina spoke up, grabbing ahold of (Y/N)'s hand, helping them stand up.

Bakugou took the moment to walk towards the second exit, noticing that it leads to where they have previously ran into the plethora of guards. It leads to the harbor.

"Oi, this way!"

"Aye aye captain!" Denki and Sero spoke up, while Mina and Kirishima helped (Y/N) stand up, letting them get used to walking on two human feet.

Bakugou couldn't help but shoot back a couple concerned glances, wanting to check wether (Y/N) was alright. He wouldn't admit it to the rest of his crew, but he was fascinated with the dragon.

He slowly began creeping along the cave exit. There was a very narrow pathway leading back to the harbor, with a rather far way down. Enough to break a bone or few. But even so, it was their only way out.

"Follow me!" Bakugou spoke up, a very confident tone lacing his voice. His crew responded with an audible Aye Aye, before following Bakugou along the narrow pathway.

Every single one of them held their breath, not wanting to risk anything whilst walking along such a narrow pathway. They were very cautious with every step. Especially (Y/N), as they weren't used to walking on human feet.

Bakugou carefully made it to the end of the pathway, smirking at his accomplishment, before returning his gaze to his crew, making sure they all reach safety.

Kirishima was the last to reach safe ground, letting out a relieved exhale as he set foot on an all too familiar cobblestone path.

"Avast ye! We're close to the barracks, so be mighty careful!" Bakugou spoke up in a hushed tone, looking around to see whether guards were anywhere near them. "Denki-"

"Aye captain?"

"I need ye to sneak in, untie the ship so we can all hop aboard!" Bakugou mumbled, placing a hand on Denki's shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile.

Denki gave his captain a wide smile, before nodding, refocusing his attention back to the area before him.

"As the captain of this ship, tis' me responsibility to distract them scurvy dogs!" Bakugou tipped his captain's hat, the widest smirk spreading across his features, somewhat in a cocky manner.

"Bak- I mean! Captain! Stop running a rig! What if ye get caught!" Mina spoke up, furrowing her brows at the idea of her captain. Bakugou simply waved her concerns off.

"There's a lot of 'em. Can't have me crew dyin' off on me." he looked over to Denki, who was already sneaking towards the harbor, his eyes set on nothing but the ladder connecting to their ship and the flimsily attached rope, keeping their boat from being washed away to sea.

(Y/N) was about to speak up, but Bakugou seemed to have made up his mind. Without a moment of hesitation, he darted towards the harbor, making sure to flash his signature pirate smirk towards the armory.

The horn was blown again, signalling that prisoners have escaped and backup was needed. Bakugou knew that normally, his crew could've just made a run for the ship, but with (Y/N) now joining them, he simply couldn't let them risk getting caught, not again.

He made sure to spot his crew silently make their way to the ship, jumping aboard, as he simply ran away from guards ,taking various paths.

Hi red eyes scanned the area before him, trying to find the best way to get to the harbor, with no luck. The amount of guards kept on increasing, making it quite difficult for Bakugou to dodge them.

His breathing was starting to grow heavy as he took another turn left, having to run away from the harbor in order to dodge the guards. He was once again nearing the cobblestone wall that he had previously jumped over. He couldn't do so this time, not unless he wanted to get caught by the royal guards inside the palace.

'I could jump in and double back to the cave- maybe turning around and fighting the guards could work'

Bakugou thought to himself, making use of the nearby wooden barrels to launch himself onto the cobblestone wall. He held his breath, nearly toppling back over to the garden, just barely managing to catch his leather boots on the edge.

He was quick to make a turn and run alongside the wall, gaining advances on the guards. The smirk that was once plastered on his face only grew wider, seeing as he was closer to escape.

That was when cruel reality hit him, there was no way he was making it onto the ship. Not with the height of the wall and especially not with how far the ship was already at sea.

He kept running alongside the cobblestone wall, finally reaching the harbor and with that, the end of the wall. Bakugou already calculated his options, either stop, turn back and face the consequences of evading direct orders from the king, or- jumping.

Bakugou could hear his crew calling out to him, calling something out. He had no idea what it was, but there was no way he was giving up so easily. And with that, he decided to jump.

And for a moment, that smirk managed to disappear from his face. Even if it were just for a small while.

Bakugou closed his eyes, anticipating his harsh contact with water. The captain hat that was resting atop his blonde locks now falling off, most likely drifting away with the waves.

He anticipated the moment where his body would make contact with the cold water.

But it never came.

Instead, Bakugou felt something- rather someone, grip onto his forearm, dragging him back up into the air. The flapping of wings stirred the wind and forced the pirate captain to open his eyes.

"(Y/N)?'

Bakugou spoke, almost shellstruck with the sudden dragonoid human carrying him up and onto the board of his ship, a small disgruntled expression spanning their features.

As soon as they both toppled on board, (Y/N) let out a small groan of pain, their wings slowly stretching out, the tear in them only growing wider.

"(Y/N), ye idiot! Ye could've got yourself hurt!" Bakugou yelled out, staring up at their new dragon comrade with wide eyes. (Y/N) simply let out a small chuckle in return, rubbing the back of their neck.

"I couldn't just stand back and watch you drown yourself, sorry about your hat, I couldn't save it in time." (Y/N) mumbled out, their tail gently swaying from side to side, almost like a giddy puppy.

"Captain! Ye okay?" Kirishima ran up to his captain, carefully placing his palms on his shoulder, making sure he grasped reality.

"Aye- I'm fine, thanks to (Y/N)"

Give credit where credit is due, that was all Bakugou was thinking at that very moment, but all he knew, deep down, was the fact that he was in no way letting their new dragon friend walk away from them.

He wanted them in his crew, no matter the cost.

-♡♡♡-

A couple months had passed since the crew's first encounter with the dragon, and it was safe to say, that they have grown much closer since then.

(Y/N) graciously agreed to join the crew, after their wounds finally healed up, and to say the crew was ecstatic would be an understatement. Denki enjoyed his tasks significantly more.

Sero always had a companion on the lookout and Mina finally had someone to gossip with. Eijiro managed to get some help from (Y/N) in the kitchen and Bakugou?

Bakugou was starstruck.

There was finally someone to keep him company. Bakugou was used to spending late nights alone, clutching onto the helm, whilst attempting to keep his crew safe.

But now? He finally had someone to spend time with. Someone to talk to and someone to help him navigate the seas.

Not only that, but Bakugou’s fascination with the new crew-mate grew with each passing day. This was because he managed to find out something new about their draconic nature.

It started off with flying up to stand in for Sero on the lookout helm. Then (Y/N) simply helped with general directions, as their sense of smell helped them navigate the seas.

The cherry on top of the cake was when a pirate ship attacked them. At first, they were outnumbered, but when (Y/N) turned into their true dragon self, the enemies could only surrender all their booty and beg for mercy. This was something that infatuated the young pirate captain.

And that is what brought him to where he was now.

The kingdom of Evaris. Home of the newly crowned king Midoriya- a place where everyone was welcome, including pirates.

Cherry blossoms bloomed along every corner, the gorgeous marble pathways lit up by various lanterns. Not on it was it a beautiful place deep down, but it was nothing less that an absolute blessing to look at.

Clutching onto Bakugou’s hand was none other than (Y/N). Blindfolded- robbed of all this gorgeous land.

“Where are you taking me captain?”

They spoke up in a confused manner, trying their best not to stumble on a loose piece of marble, clutching onto Bakugou’s palm.

Bakugou simply huffed in response and tugged on their hand harder, nearly making (Y/N) trip over. With an annoyed groan escaping their lips, Bakugou finally stopped, smirking to himself.

“We’re here.”

“Can I take the blindfold off now?”

(Y/N) questioned, only making Bakugou’s cheeks heat up. He carefully placed his hand onto his crew mates cheek, quickly shifting it to slide the bandana off.

Bakugou managed to clear his throat, while (Y/N) blinked a couple of times, trying to get used to the sudden entrance of light.

“Captain, what-“ Before they had a chance to question the captain, their brea to was taken away by the gorgeous view. The entire kingdom of Evaris was on their display.

Every nook and cranny was stuffed with cherry blossom plants and millions of lanterns were illuminating the area. The most gorgeous part of all, was the fact that the harbor was also visible, and in it, none other than Bakugou’s ship. The ship that they spent so much time on.

“It’s gorgeous.” (Y/N) spoke up, the softest smile spreading across their features.

“I thought ye would like it.” Bakugou returned the smile, hoisting his elbows up onto the small wooden fence blocking them from a massive hill. (Y/N) was quick to join him, staring up at the sky with their gorgeous blue orbs.

Bakugou couldn’t help but Avery his attention to his crew mate, his heart starting to race like he had just ran away from royal guards.

“But even with this in front of me, I’d still rather stare at ye.” The sudden burst of confidence made the captain grow flustered. He wasn’t used to confessing his feelings, let alone feelings of love and affection.

“W-what do you mean captain?”

“Don’t play dumb! I fuckin’ like ye.” And there was his normal nature, shining through like a raging spark in a dark room. His cheeks began heating up even further as (Y/N) looked over to him, staring into his scarlet eyes.

“Captain- are you certain?”

“Then-“ With that, Bakugou leaned in closer, his hot breath now hitting the sensitive scales right under (Y/N)’s cheek. “-how about I do this, to prove to ye just how certain I am.”

And with that, a soft kiss was placed onto (Y/N)’s cheek, making their entire face heat up. A warm puff of smoke escaped their nose and their scarlet face turned a red shade.

Bakugou snickered at the sudden shift of composure, his lips curling against (Y/N)’s skin. And with that, he decided to do one last thing, and just like that, his lips made contact with their own. Bakugou’s hand gently caressing (Y/N)’s cheeks, the softest expression spanning his face.

-♡♡♡-

Alright! First request done! I feel like I procrastinated on this so much, which I am very sorry for! Also, writing in Pirate lingo is difficult! Who would’ve thought! I truly hope you like the piece of writing and I am sorry for making Bakugou a bit softer than he canonically is! (But then again, I live for soft, flustered Bakugou and their strong Dragon significant other!)

I’m also sorry if I missed any grammatical mistakes or typos, I am very tired-

Also, word count will be added tomorrow (if I don’t forget) as I’m on my phone and too lazy to find it out now, but I just really want to post this and not make anyone wait any further!

- Bunny <3

The prompt by pakabear as promised:

okay so here’s my idea, it’s like a pirate au/fanasty au thingy: SO bakugou is the captain of a ship and the baku squad is his crew. they recently landed in a habor for supplies when they were ambushed by their enemies (the authorities or another pirate crew. it’s up to you which one), captured, and taken inland. the ones who have captured them get the bright idea to drop them all down a cave. a cave which, recently been claimed by a dragon. at this point baku is angry (duh), kiri is concerned, denki is freakin’ out, and everyone is scared of the beast before them. they’re dumped in. its quiet for a second, everyone is holding their breath for something, anything to happen. then they hear it, shifting scales that get louder as a dragon turns to them. deep blue serpent eyes the size of a head open, and look on towards the squad as they huddle together. bakugou then noticed the body of the dragon. it’s clearly injured, and definitely not able to fly. the dragon then speaks in a low voice: “i won’t kill you. just don’t bother me. if you dare try anything, you will feel my wrath” and then simply turns back around. one from the squad speaks up first, and the dragon shifts it’s head and answers. the group and the dragon have a conversation. one that reveals the squad situation as well as the dragon’s. it had been kicked out of its horde (one of the worst things to happen to a dragon), fought what was once it’s friends, and it had traveled here to lick its wounds. the squad explains they had been put down here bc their enemy thought the dragon would eat them. the dragon huffs in response “they really don’t know anything, do they?” they all feel for the dragon, sympathizing for its situation. denki (or someone) comes up with an idea “hey! how about this, you get us outta here and back to our ship, and we’ll give you a place to recuperate so nobody bothers you? uhhh, is that okay bakugou?” “…sure. i guess. if you can fuckin fit. you’re too damn big” he then looks up at the dragon as he hears more shifting. the dragon changes into a humanoid form. still retaining the eyes, horns, some scales, pointed eyes, and sharp nails, you look exactly like one, with a lean and built body. the squad gasps in awe, and you chuckle slightly. (bakugou is definitely not blushing lmao) and so you all are off with the squad on your back. wary of your injuries, the squad tells you not to push yourself too hard. yet you push through. you head off toward their ship, getting them there relatively safely (except a few bumps and bruises), and setting sail. they all welcome you aboard in open arms. flash forward a week or so, you’ve bonded plenty with your pirates, and they ask you to stay. you happily agree. from now on, you are part of the crew, acting as the ship’s nuclear deterrent in the process, and scaring the shit outta everyone. a dragon? with pirates?? when they are threatened, you’re already standing behind your pirates, glaring menacingly at those who dare. when you’re threatened, your pirates are absolutely not afraid to defend you and your honor. it’s not everyday where a group of pirates have a protector such as yourself, and nobody on the ship is willing to let you go, nor take you for granted.

[kylie-writes-stuff]

“wife”

pairing: corpse husband x reader (female)

words: 1,714

requested?: no (send some in tho pls :) )

plot/summary: felix invites his friend, y/n, to play among us when they need an extra player. her and corpse get along well

authors note: so this isnt that good and i know a lot of corpse fics use a similar plot. i just wanted to try to write for corpse. hopefully things i write for him in the future are better. let me know what you think tho! also i really wanted reader to be best friends with karl bc i love him sm. uh every swiggly line is like a small time skip. this was written late at night btw and i didnt take much time to go over it

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

You sat up from laying down when you heard your phone ring. You looked at the caller ID.

Felix.

"What's up Felix?" You ask with a small yawn.

"Aww, how sweet," You hear in the background.

You giggle and ask, "Is that Sean? Hi Sean!"

"Yeah, we're playing Among Us and need an extra player. You down?" Felix explained.

"Sure, just give me a few minutes. See you soon, whore"

"Bitc-" You hang up before he can finish.

You got up and turned off your TV, going to get ready.��

⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒

You quickly tweet out that you're going live and say something on your insta story as well. You start your stream and slowly watch people flood in.

"Hey everyone! How are you guys doing?" You wave and smile, reading the chat.

"Everyone doing good, awesome! And i'm sorry to anyone having a bad day. I hope i can brighten it a bit!"

"Okay, sorry i didn't give you a further notice. I didn't even know i was gonna stream. Felix invited me to play Among Us so... here we are!"

You quickly join the discord and pull up the game, putting a cover over where the code goes.

"Hello?" You ask as you join the call. A chorus of greetings came your way.

"(Y/n)?"

"Karl!" You smile brightly.

Karl Jacobs was a good friend of yours. You would play on the Dream SMP sometimes. When you would, it would mostly be you being stupid with Karl and Alex, also known as Quackity. You were even a well know citizen of El Rapids.

"LET'S GOOOOO!" He yelled, making you laugh.

"Hey (Y/n), do you know everyone here?" Sean asks you.

"Um," You quickly scan through the names, "no, i don't think so."

You recognized names but you only personally knew Felix, Sean, Karl, and Ethan.

"Oh my god! Your voice is so cute!" Pokimane exclaims.

You giggle softly, "Thank you Poki!"

You're voice wasn't high pitched or anything like that, you just always spoke very softly and calmly. You were also a bit quiet.

Felix introduces you to those that you didn't know.

"There's one more person we're waiting for," He says.

While everyone waits, you and Karl run around each other's little characters and make jokes between yourselves. You mute yourself to read donations every once in a while.

You hear the discord chime, signaling that someone joined the call.

"WAIT CORPSE! DON'T SPEAK YET!" Felix yelled. "We have a new player. This is my friend (Y/n), say hi to her"

"Hello (Y/n)," Corpse said. You were taken aback by how deep his voice was but you didn't show it.

"Hi Corpse! Nice to meet you!" You said happily.

"Okay, how is she not freaking out?" Bretman said, making everyone laugh.

"Uh, (Y/n), do you mind letting me have black? It's cool if not.." Corpse asked gently.

"O-oh sure, no problem." You were usually black with the pink flamingo hat, but you ran over to the little computer and changed your color.

"Simp," Ethan mumbled, knowing you never switch from black.

"Thank you," He said, then the game started.

The word “Imposter” appeared on your screen in red, yours and Corpse's characters underneath.

As the game started, you thought no one could hear you so you spoke to your chat. "His voice was so deep, what the fuck? Holy shit that was hot, i'm gonna-"

"(Y/n)," Rae laughed, "You know we're playing proximity chat, right."

You blushed as you realized and said "Ha, anyways..." and ran to start faking tasks.

You ended up in electrical with Karl. "(Y/n)! My good friend, my buddy, you would never kill me right? Haha..." He said.

"Of course not, Karl! My good friend, my buddy. Why, I'm not even imposter," I said as i quickly dipped into the vent and back out, making him laugh.

I decided to show him because I knew Karl wouldn't say anything, and it's funny.

"Oh that's good then. Are you sure you're not imposter?"

"Mhm, pretty sure," You said, going back in. As you came out, Sykkuno walked in and froze.

"Uh, (Y/n)?"

"Fuck... Karl run! Go!" You said, Karl starting to leave. You walked closer and quickly killed Sykkuno then vented to security.

"That was close..." You told your chat.

You saw Corpse as you made your way around the map and walked into navigation.

"Hey, Corpse, how ya doing?"

"Ah you know, good. Just being crewmate and all."

You stifled a laugh, "Oh yeah I feel that, buddy."

"Yeah because there's no way that i'm imposter. No way i could be faking tasks and there's no possible way you could be the other imposter" He said quickly.

"For sure. Hypothetically speaking, though, if you were imposter, how many people would you have killed by now?"

"I would say probably around two."

"Interesting," You said right before a body was reported. It was Sykkuno's. Felix and Rae were also dead.

"WHAT!" Corpse yelled.

"Where was the body at?" Sean laughed.

"Uh I found it in electrical," Bretman said.

"I'm pretty sure Karl was in there earlier."

You calmly said, "It's not Karl, I was with him for most of the round."

"How do we know the two of you aren't imposters?" Sean asked.

"I was alone with him, he would have taken the chance to kill me."

"No, he's your best friend."

"He's also ruthless,"

"TRUE! SO TRUE!" Karl yelled.

"So skip?" Corpse asked.

Everyone agreed and the voting was skipped.

The next round, I spent with Ethan. He was pretending to be mad at me because Sean said Karl was my best friend.

"What happened to Blue Boi Buddies, huh?!" He exclaimed.

"Neither of our hair is even blue anymore!" You argued back.

You were in reactor with him when Corpse and Poki walked in. He hit the lights and you took it as a sign to double kill. He killed Poki, you killed Ethan, and the two of you made your way to electrical to help fix lights.

You and Corpse went the opposite direction of reactor after the lights were fixed, Karl going with you.

Poki's body was reported. That double kill only left you, Corpse, Sean, Karl and Bretman. You only needed two more kills.

"I still think it's Karl and (Y/n)," Sean said quickly.

"I was with (Y/n) the whole time," Corpse said, "In fact, I think it's you."

"That does make sense. Why so quick to accuse others, Sean?" You ask.

"It's not me!" He yelled.

"I actually agree with Corpse and (Y/n)," Bretman said.

"I was with you!"

We all voted for Sean, him voting for Karl. Sean was ejected.

When you load into spawn, you wait for the kill cool down and kill Bretman, saving Karl.

"Victory" appeared on your screen.

"God damn it!" Sean yelled.

"Good job, (Y/n)," Corpse said lowly.

You smiled, a slight blush on your cheeks, "You too Corpse."

"Their voices go together and they're a fuckin dream team? What have i done...," Felix sighed.

⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒

A few more games went by. Most of them you and Corpse spent together, whether you were both crewmates or if one of you was imposter.

You really enjoyed his company and you actually got along with him pretty well.

⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒

"(Y/n), before we get serious, I have one question to ask you." Corpse said as both of your characters stopped.

"What's that?" You giggled.

"Do you know Bingus?"

"Bingus? As in, our lord and savior, Bingus?"

You could hear the smile in his voice, "It's settled, you're my wife now."

This made both of you laugh and your chat go crazy.

⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒

Eventually, people had to start leaving. You said your goodbyes to everyone and left the discord call and the game.

You set stream to where it was just your face cam.

"Guys, what should we do now?"

You saw some people asking what time it was for you.

"It's 3 AM right now... I’m not tired though.” You had been streaming for a few hours; You never even noticed how late it got.

People in chat were yelling at you to go to sleep, making you chuckle.

“How about we do a quick QnA, then at 3:30 I go to bed. Deal?”

You watched as the chat filled with questions. They obviously seemed to like the idea.

“‘Who is your best friend? Karl or Ethan?’ Neither, Alex Quackity. Next question.” You answered quickly.

You laughed, “I’d like to clarify that that’s a joke, i love all my friends equally.”

You answered more questions. Some were from new viewers asking basic questions, some were about future streams and videos. 

“‘How do you feel about people shipping you and Corpse?’“ People are already shipping us?” You laughed, “I’ve said before that I’m okay with shipping, as long as the other person is too. I think it’s funny.”

You continued to read chat. “Wait, we’re trending?”

You checked Twitter and “#(your and corpse’s ship name)” was trending in the US.

You laughed as you scrolled through the tag, “Oh this is so funny.”

“Fanart already?! You guys are so talented!”

You read chat, looking for more questions. You saw people telling you that it’s 3:30.

“Okay fine, a deal’s a deal. I hope you all have, or had, a great day and I’ll see you guys later. Depending on what time it is for you, you should also get some sleep. Stay hydrated, love you!” You ended stream.

⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒

You scrolled through Twitter as you laid in bed, liking fanart and dumb memes. Also replying to a few of your friends’ tweets.

karl :) @/KarlJacobs_

@/(your username) what the honk ?

*clip of you saying Quackity was your best friend*           

You liked the tweet and replied, “karl no,,, look away,,,”

You continued scrolling, feeling your eyes get droopy. Your eyes fell closed but quickly opened when your phone vibrated. It was a DM. 

From Corpse.

You two had followed each other earlier.

Corpse: hey (y/n), just wanted to say you’re really cool and i’d love to play again with you soon 

You smiled, a light blush spreading across your cheeks, and replied.

You: i’d love to, corpse

Corpse: ok, see you soon ‘wife’

You: back at ya, ‘husband”

Corpse: :)

You: :)

[hanoella]

A Matter of Time (2/2)

Pairing: Bucky x healer!Reader

Word Count: yikes 7.3k

Warnings: Angst Angst Angst. Mentions of death. Reference to Eternals 👀

A/N: Wow! I'm so happy everyone likes it! I like to get gorgeous with it haha. Hopefully, I'm not overdoing it.

Prompt: Believing they're about to die, Character A confesses their feelings for Character B before they pass out.

Tag list? I guess this is where I would put it? :) - @mischief-siriusly-managed @itsthemaree

@skyewardolicitycloisdelena91

---

You opened your eyes to a black room. No, not a room. There were no walls. You glanced down at your hands. You could still see them, so it wasn’t dark, just… black.

“Well, hello.”

You spun around and saw the source of the voice.

A serene, beautiful woman who had long dark hair and dressed in a green tunic addressed you.

“What has brought you here, young one?”

You took a moment to process your surroundings before you answered.

“I’m not even sure where ‘here’ is. The last I remember is…”

You trailed off, furrowing your brows, and blinking slowly as the memories start to flood back in.

“Ah… Am I dead?”

“Not quite. Though it does look like you are very close.” The woman says, peering to the side.

You followed her gaze and suddenly you were looking upon your own body, wrapped in Bucky’s arms. Startled, you gasp and step back. Looking around, you were back in the mountains by the Quinjet. Nobody seemed to notice you, even though you were right next to… yourself. Bucky was kneeling on the ground, holding your listless body to his chest. You looked away from him to take in your surroundings. Steve was kneeling next to him while the rest of the team was standing. Vision was comforting an anxious Wanda, while Sam and Natasha were getting a stretcher out of the jet. Clint was warming up the engine. Next to him was Tony, who was radioing into the compound’s medical center.

You turned your head back to Steve as he set a hand on Bucky’s shoulder and started speaking.

“Buck. Buck. You have to let her go. We have to get her somewhere where they can help her.”

Bucky only held onto you tighter, tears still dripping onto your face, leaving clear streaks in the blood.

“She’s dead Steve. There’s no pulse. I can’t find a pulse.” His voice hoarse, barely there.

“Friday said there was still brain activity. You know her body’s different, she could still survive. But only if we get her help. Helen’s on her way to meet us at the compound. She’ll be in good hands.” Steve said, gently loosening Bucky’s grip on you. As Nat and Sam came over, he gently lifted you out of Bucky’s arms and set you on the stretcher. They took you back to the jet, Bucky eyes trailing after you, the rest of his body unmoving.

“C’mon Buck. Let’s get going.” Steve said, offering his hand.

Bucky said nothing but accepted his help, hoisting himself up and walking slowly towards the ship with Steve’s arm on his back, guiding his soulless body.

You watched the jet take off before turning back to the woman. She was standing in the same place, watching you curiously.

“What’s happening here?” You asked, shock wearing off and confusion growing ever stronger.

“Well,” She started, clasping her hands together, and pondering the best way to put it.

“I’ve been alive long enough to see many generations of life go by. I have seen the same tragedies, wars, and evils repeat themselves endlessly through history. One thing that never fails to amaze me, though, is the beauty that manages to survive and thrive amongst it.”

Suddenly, you were in a charred landscape. Looking around, you recognized it as one of the first missions you took with Bucky. It was on the coastal countryside of Japan. You were both sent to follow up on a lead for a major weapons dealer. The mission had been simple: find the hideout and report back.

Unfortunately, they must have been tipped off to the fact that you were looking for them and burned their hideout, along with the surrounding plant life. You watched as Bucky and your past-self walked out from behind you. Startled again, you could only watch as the memory played out.

---

“Ah, what a shame. He didn’t have to burn down the trees with him.” You said sorrowfully as you picked up a charred ginkgo branch.

“It looks old. Burned down before we set foot in the country.” Bucky said, assessing the scene.

You stayed silent, putting down the branch and picking up the remnants of a bird’s nest that was underneath. Bucky watched you from several feet back. It took him a while to warm up to people and he had only ever seen you in passing. He knew that your apartment was down the hall from his in the compound but that was it. The only reason you were even on this mission together was that he spoke enough Japanese to get by while you knew the area from visiting previously.

“There’s nothing here. We should go back to the city and check in,” he said, looking around to double check the area before settling his gaze back on you.

You half-heartedly hummed in response, now putting your palm down on the ground. Bucky look at you quizzically as you paused, seemingly focusing on something.

“Some of these tree roots are still alive.” You said, perking up.

You set down the bird’s nest in your other hand before also placing that palm on the ground. Taking a deep breath, you slowly exhaled as a ring of soft light formed around you. You breathed in again, the light becoming brighter. Bucky took a step back and shielded his eyes. You exhaled, sending the ring of white light out from you. It went several meters before dissipating. When Bucky lowered his hand, he saw that several trees that had been scorched were growing back to perfect health. The white bark and bright yellow leaves stood out sharply against the ash and soot. You got up, slightly out of breath, and looked up at the tree in front of you. Slowly, a smile came upon your face. You closed your eyes for moment, taking it in before turning your head towards him.

Just then, the wind picked up and pushed the clouds out from in front of the sun. A ray of light filtered through the trees onto your face and suddenly Bucky was breathless. He watched as your chest rose and fell, the strain outlining your clavicle where a sheen of perspiration had developed. You were still smiling in accomplishment, the irises of your eyes shimmering in the sunlight. Gingko leaves that had been shaken off in the wind floated gently down, some landing on your gleaming hair before sliding off the silky strands.

You watched yourself walk back over to the bird’s nest and bury it in the fresh fallen gingko leaves. After taking a moment to honor the lost life, you stood, brushed the dirt from your knees and continued on. Bucky broke from his trance-like state and cleared his throat before walking in the direction you went in.

---

Seeing something in your peripheral vision, you turned to see the woman crouching to pick up a stray gingko leaf in the ash.

“One thing I’ve noticed amongst the ash,” she said in her light English accent before standing up and twirling the leaf slowly by the stem, “-is you.”

---

Bucky felt as if he was drifting through the actions. The jet was unbearably silent during the never-ending trip back to the compound. At some point Steve had put his hand on Bucky’s shoulder but he didn’t notice until it was gone. Endless possibilities were running through his head and yet he could not focus on a single one. It was agonizing.

When the jet landed, emergency medical staff, as well as Helen, met them on the runway. Helen relayed orders in Korean while her staff whisked her out of Bucky’s sight. He tried to follow after them, but Nat grabbed his arm and slowly shook her head no. When she spoke, her voice sounded more vulnerable than he had expected.

“Let them do their work.”

Bucky swallowed and looked over at Steve. Steve nodded in agreement and Bucky felt his shoulders drop.

“You need some rest, Buck. C’mon.” Steve said, patting him on the back and walking him to his lodging.

When Bucky closed the door behind him, he put his back against it and sank to the floor. He was exhausted. Everything had happened so fast, and he felt it to be overwhelming. He was starting to fixate on the stickiness of the blood and sweat, the exhaustion in his muscles. Taking a deep breath to center himself, he got up and walked to the bathroom, turning on the water to warm it up. He chucked his clothes directly into the washer before stepping under the warm water. He let it wash over him. He closed his eyes and moved so that the stream of water ran over his face.

In the darkness of his own mind, he relived holding you in his arms. Suddenly, the warm water felt like your blood against his skin and he snapped his eyes open, bracing himself with one hand against the wall, the other wiping his face off. He tried to slow down his breathing and counted the breaths, trying not to hyperventilate. Finally, calming down a little, he turned the hot water knob back to its original position, waiting for the water to reach freezing before quickly finishing the shower.

Dressing in a plain tee and sweats, he sat on his bed. No matter how firm the mattress was, he always ended up on the floor. He hadn’t chucked it for two reasons, the first being that he hardly had any possessions. The second reason was that you had come by once with a book you had mentioned.

---

Hearing the soft knock on his door, Bucky was hesitant to answer. The footsteps leading up to the door hadn’t been heavy enough to be Steve. He slowly walked over to the door and cracked the door open. It was you. You met his eyes and then lowered your gaze nervously, adjusting your grip on the book in your hand.

“Bucky? Hey, sorry to drop by unannounced. I just had that second book I was talking about. You finished the first one right?”

“Uh… Yeah I did. Come, on in.” He said, opening the door completely. He palmed through his hair nervously as you walked tentatively in.

“Sorry about the mess.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. Sorry for the intrusion.” You say, glancing around.

Your eyes brushed over the empty apartment. It was furnished with the standard set that it came with. Aside from a set of keys on the counter and a stray plum on the coffee table, there were no signs of life.

“I don’t think you can have a mess if you don’t have stuff to make a mess with.” You said bemused. Behind you Bucky chuckled nervously.

“Haha… Ah. Yeah.”

There was silence before you turned around.

“I’m sorry. This is weird. I should’ve just waited to give you the book at the next mission or something.” You apologized. Yet, you didn’t move.

Bucky backpedaled.

“Oh no, it’s not that. I’m sorry. I just don’t get a lot of… visitors.” He trailed off.

You met his gaze before your lip twitched upwards. A bubble of laughter escaped your mouth before he started chuckling as well. The tension was broken.

“Well, I’ll just leave this here.” You said, starting to leave the book on the coffee table.

“That’s fine. Uh, did you want the first one back?”

“There’s no rush-”

“I don’t mind. It’s just on my shelf.” He pointed down the hall. “I’ll grab it real quick.”

You watched as he walked down the short hall into his room. Still holding the book, you waited a moment before slowly following walking down the hall as well. When you peered into his room, you saw him standing in front of a bookshelf with several rows filled. You took a step inside.

“Ah, so this is where you keep your stuff. You might live here after all.” You joked.

Bucky chuckled as he moved aside to make room next to him for you in front of the shelf. He was still scanning the shelves for your book. You let your gaze drift across the titles, most of which were classics.

“Making up for lost time?” You asked, glancing up at the side of his face.

“Something like that.” He responded, bending down to check a lower shelf before pulling your book off of it.

He handed it to you, and you exchanged it for the new one.

“So,” you said, leaning against the side of his bed, “How did you like it?”

“I liked it.” He responded.

Bucky looked at you and saw your slight head tilt asking for more details. He cleared his throat and thought for a moment.

“Well… There was this one part that reminded me of the time I went with Steve to…” He started, sitting on the bed next to you. You hopped up next to him.

You listened to him as he retold his experience at the world fair. Going back and forth, your conversation flowed smoothly until it had gotten later than either of you had realized. At some point you had convinced him to read the first chapter of the second book.

“No pressure.” You said, flopping back so you were laying down across the bed, holding up your phone to scroll through the news to pass the time.

Bucky started reading the book, overly conscious of the fact that you were waiting on him. When he sent a quick glance your way though, you were nonchalantly scrolling. Eventually, he got absorbed into the chapter. Quite some time passed before he realized he was just reading the rest of the book. When that happened, he looked over at you.

You had dozed off waiting for him. At some point, you had taken your shoes off and grabbed the blanket he used off of the floor where he normally slept. You were curled up on your side, feet tucked away and mouth slightly open. Bucky stared for a few moments before closing the book and looking at his watch.

12:47 AM.

He blinked in surprise. You guys had talked for a while he guessed. Leaning over, he gently nudged you awake.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I got caught up reading. It’s almost 1 AM.”

You hummed groggily in response, rubbing your eye with one hand while pushing yourself up with the other. You squinted at the light of your phone as you checked it.

“It’s totally fine. I’m sorry I fell asleep. I am such a terrible guest.” You chuckled sleepily, standing up from the bed and picking up your shoes.

“Nah, you weren’t so bad.” Bucky joked.

You just smiled at him.

“Well, thanks for having me. I’ll get out of your hair now.” You said, shoes in hand as you walked started walking towards the door to his room.

He got up and followed you to the door. He held it open for you as you stepped out. Turning around you smiled sleepily at him.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” He replied.

He watched as you walked down the hall in your socks. You reached your door and punched in the code to your apartment. Looking down the hall at him, you waved as you opened your door. He waved back and you smiled one more time before you disappeared into your room. Pausing a moment, he looked around to see if anyone saw you leaving his room so late. With nobody around, he was in the clear. He sighed in relief and closed the door, walking back to his room. He noticed the first book that you were supposed to take back sitting on his nightstand. He touched the cover gently, pausing a moment before picking the second book back up, starting right where he left off.

---

Bucky reached over to pull the book you had left off of his shelf. He ran his hands over the indents of the golden lettering in the leather-bound book. Opening it, he looked at the sticky note that you left inside the cover.

Here’s that book I was talking about. First edition. Enjoy! :)

While looking at the crooked smile you had drawn, a knock on his door interrupted his thoughts and he stalled a moment before getting up to answer it. Opening the door, he was met with Steve, freshly showered and holding a bottle of Buck’s favorite whiskey.

“Thought you might want some company.” He said with his classic side grin.

Bucky wordlessly moved from the doorway and let him in. Steve walked past and sat on the couch, setting the whiskey down on the coffee table. Grabbing two glasses from the kitchen, Bucky settled down next to him. Steve poured a healthy portion into one of the glasses, handing one over before sitting back with his own. Swishing the liquid in the glass, Steve breathed in the aroma before sipping on it. Bucky decided on downing the entire drink in one go.

“Woah slow down there, the night is young.” Steve joked.

“C’mon Stevie. You know it doesn’t do a thing.” Bucky said wistfully, examining the empty glass in his hands. “I wish it did.”

Steve scanned his eyes over Bucky’s expression before turning back to his drink. A beat passed as he sipped once more before speaking.

“You care for her.” More of a statement than a question.

Bucky paused before admitting it out loud for the first time.

“… Yeah.”

They sat in silence before Steve sat forward, resting one arm on his knee while using the other to grab the bottle.

“In that case, let’s get you another drink.”

---

The night inched by; The amber liquid slowly drainin from the bottle until the last of it was in their glasses. Wordless, yet comforting. The sky brightened as the first rays of the sun kissed the morning dew, turning the landscape a stunning orange. Steve’s mind wandered as he watched the sky change color. Many a morning, he watched the sun rise on a battlefield as if nothing had disturbed it the day before. It’s what sustained him through sickness, war, and losing Bucky. It sustained him through his sacrifice as he plunged into the sea. It sustained him when he learned that he woke up in a new era, missing his dance with his best girl.

Clearing his throat, he set down his empty glass.

“What’re you going to say when she wakes up?”

“You mean if she wakes up.” Bucky said, his focus still on the drink in his hand.

“You should tell her how you feel. Life is unpredictable, especially in our line of work. I’ve never seen you care so much for anyone, Buck. Not back then, and not since you came back. When she wakes up, and you get this second chance, tell her. She cares about you too. Be with her. Enjoy it. You deserve to be happy.” Steve said, ending his speech quietly as he tried to remember the shade of red Peggy’s lipstick was when he last saw her on that runway.

Bucky glanced at Steve from the side, feeling the regret that had emanated from his voice. He stayed silent a moment longer before nodding his head slightly.

“I will. Thanks Steve.” He replied, laying his hand on Steve’s shoulder.

“Always. ‘Til the end of the line, pal.”

“The end of the line.” Bucky echoed.

Steve’s phone chirped, breaking the solemnity. He reached into his pocket and checked the message on his home screen.

“Helen has an update. C’mon.” Steve said, as he stood up from the couch.

---

“This has been a particularly unique situation.” Helen stated, swiping her tablet screen to look at more information. Bucky and Steve stood in front of her, outside of the room they were keeping you in.

“We ran many tests, including an EEG, which shows massive amounts of brain activity, much more than normal. We also took some blood and saw that the cells are still… alive. We don’t know how since there is no pulse or heartbeat, but they’re still drawing energy from her. I’m not sure how great of an extent the serum has changed her body, but I think there’s still a chance she’ll wake up. Until then, we have her connected to machines that will continue to monitor her brain activity, as well as alert us when there’s a pulse.”

She then opened the room for them to see you. Bucky walked in slowly, taking in the sight of you. You were lying on the bed in a hospital gown. Attached to your head were the wires sensing your brain activity. The monitor above showed one set of waves that were constantly fluctuating. The other set of waves were flat, showing that the wires on your chest were not sensing anything. It was strange how still you were. No tell-tale rise and fall of your chest, no twitching or turning; Completely still. Bucky walked over to the bedside and touched your arm. He was surprised to feel the heat and softness against his fingertips.

“She’s still warm?” He asked without taking his eyes off of you.

“Yes. We can’t explain it.” Helen replied, hugging the clipboard to her chest as she watched him brush a piece of hair tenderly to the side of your face.

Suddenly, the waves on the screen fluctuated, setting off a light dinging. Bucky turned his head quickly to the screen and then back at Helen, alarm etched into his face. Helen walked over to reset the alarm, taking a moment to analyze the situation.

“It seems as if she’s registering your voice, Sergeant Barnes. Perhaps it would be of benefit if you visited and spoke to her often.” She said tactfully while adjusting one more setting on the screen.

Bucky said nothing in return, letting Helen return to the doorway.

“If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.” She said, letting a moment pass before exiting the room.

Steve let a moment pass, watching Bucky as he pulled up a chair next to the bed.

“I’m gonna go grab you something to eat.” Steve said as he walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind him, leaving Bucky alone with you.

He sat in silence for a few moments before gently placing his hand atop yours, willing you to move, even just a centimeter, so he knew you were there.

Your body stayed as it was. Devoid of life.

---

“I don’t understand.” You replied to her, confused.

“It is rare enough to find someone with a pure, good heart. Add to that fact, the power that has been bestowed upon you. You have the capability to change to world. To heal it.” The mysterious woman said.

“There is a group of us, a few with similar attributes. We walk amongst the people, generation after generation. We guide humanity forward while protecting it from disasters greater than you could ever imagine. I believe that you could aid us in that work. I just hadn’t expected for us to meet so soon.”

She walked over to you and handed you the leaf she was holding, now turned to metal. You turned it over in your hand, feeling the energy coming off of it.

“I’m… extremely flattered. But there are plenty of other extremely good-hearted people out there. Steve, for example. Why me?”

“Ah, yes. Your friend Steve.” She said thoughtfully, now walking to the middle of the ashen clearing.

“Steve has a good heart. A very honorable man. But he lacks the discernment and the wisdom necessary to use these powers. He sees the world as black and white, when really things are endlessly grey. He lacks… perspective. To be in this role, you must understand that sometimes, you need to let things happen, even the bad ones, to protect the world at a larger scale. You, however, already have some of the power that comes with this role, and have used it in a worthy manner. I’ve seen some of the choices you’ve had to make. I’ve seen how you handle incredibly difficult decisions. Your mind is quick, your wit impressive, your heart pure. But perhaps most importantly of all, you possess the wisdom to use those attributes to help further humanity.”

“I see… but I don’t have all the powers that you seem to have.” You say hesitantly.

“It does not matter. I can bestow upon you the power, and I can show you how to turn this,” she says, gesturing to the few trees that you had revived.

“-into this.”

She raises her hands slowly, golden sigils forming around her arms. A blast of light and pressure made you step back and shield your eyes. The initial pulse over, you look around as the wind blew in a circle, lifting up the fallen gingko leaves into a storm. All of the charred remains of the land started slowly coming back to life. It grew back lush and healthy, returning the area to its natural glory. She waved her hand, causing a part of the ground next to a large boulder to collapse. She gently placed her hand on the rock, emitting more gold sigils before pulling away. As she moved back, water started flowing from where she had touched the rock, filling the ground, and creating a pond at its base.

You look around with wide eyes as you heard sounds of wildlife filling the area. You heard birds fly overhead as you watched a fawn come out from the bushes to take a drink from the pond. As you walked slowly closer, the woman gently placed her hand on the fawn’s back to keep it from getting spooked. Carefully reaching your hand out in offering, the fawn sniffed your hand before allowing you to softly scratch behind its ears. Looking down at the pond, several brightly colored fish swam amongst the lilies.

“You could help me do this and more.” She said, fondly petting the fawn. With her other hand, she manipulated the wind so that it fashioned your hair into a loose bun. She stepped closer to you, taking the metal leaf from your hand, and securing your hair with it. Slowly, you felt new power travel through your veins. You turned to look at her, slowly clenching your hands. As you opened them, water flowed from your palm, slipping through your fingers before falling onto the newly invigorated earth. A golden sigil was etched into your palm, glowing brightly. As you willed the water to stop, it trickled to a stop as the sigil disappeared. It was breathtaking. Eyes filled with wonderment, you looked up at her and met her eye.

“Teach me.”

The woman grinned before turning and walking away. You were about to start following her when you thought you felt something brush across your cheek. A familiar feeling. A whisper you could barely make out echoed through your head.

… still warm…

“Come.” She called behind her.

You snapped out of your daze and started walking again.

---

It’s been a little over a month since you had passed out in Bucky’s arms. At first, he refused to leave your side, even to sleep. Steve had convinced them to bring a cot into the room so Bucky could stop sleeping slumped over the bed in the chair. But after 2 weeks, Steve insisted that he go back to his room to sleep. Take some time for himself. They would let him know if anything happened.

Since then, Bucky had taken some time to reflect. He didn’t want to accept the worst possible outcome, but it seemed to be the only outcome. After the sun had set on the day that marked a month, he laid on his bed and sobbed, first angrily, then despairingly. You weren’t coming back to him.

The next day, he woke up numb. It ended up being the first day he didn’t visit you.

---

“Wow that’s amazing!” You shouted over the wind. You were currently with the woman atop a mountain. She had redirected an avalanche so that it missed the town at its base, and youhad helped.

She smiled. She had shown you several areas that she had helped before. First was a desert oasis that she kept from disappearing, and after that was a jungle in which you stopped a wildfire from killing off the last of an endangered monkey species. She turned and you followed her gaze. Suddenly, you were back at the pond you had started at.

“That was incredible. Thank you.” You said, breathless.

“I would be honored to help you with this work. How do I wake up and find you?”

“You don’t.” She said, her expression falling a bit.

You waited for her to explain.

“I wanted to show you everything you could accomplish before you made your decision. But unfortunately, to sustain this amount of power, you must take on a new form.”

You tilted your head slowly in confusion before you spoke.

“So, I’d have to leave my body for a new one?” You asked slowly.

“Essentially, yes. You would die, so to speak.” The woman said quietly before turning.

As you turned to follow her, you found yourself staring at your body hooked up to multiple machines. The woman walked around to the other side of the bed your body was on. Looking down affectionately at your sleeping form, she spoke:

“Your brain would stop emitting thought, and this form of yours would grow cold and die. But from it, your new form would be born. Ethereal, perfect, immortal.”

You swallowed thickly as you continued to stare at the monitor showing the last signs of life in your body,

“Okay, but would I be able to come back here in this new form?”

She paused thoughtfully.

“Theoretically, you’d have the capability to. But we could not allow it. To be able to walk amongst mortals in history, you must disappear from it first. When all of the lives you’ve touched have passed on, on then is when you may reappear alongside us. Until that time, you train with us in the shadows.”

“Oh.” You said, feeling impossibly small. “That’s… not unreasonable.”

“I wish not to lie to you. Normally, when we find someone we think worthy of this job, someone we want to walk alongside us in our journey, we meet their soul at death. And technically you have died. But a foreign power still lingers inside you. You may return to your old life if you wish. But the offer only stands once.”

“I see.” You said softly.

“I wish it were easier.” She said comfortingly.

“Me too. There were somethings here that I wanted to see through first.”

She gave you a knowing, sad smile.

“I suppose the biggest trial to gain this power is the sacrifice of leaving what you love behind. Yours is just beyond that door.” She said, nodding towards the door to the room.

“What?”

---

Six weeks since you had been gone. Two since he last saw you.

Not that Bucky was trying to keep track. He sat alone on his couch, staring at a blank tv. Nothing was playing. Not that it mattered. A knock on the door came through.

“Hey, Bucky, it’s me, Sam.” He half shouted through the door.

Bucky ignored him.

“I know you’re in there. You haven’t left.”

He groaned internally before responding to him from the couch.

“Did Steve send you? Go away.”

“I will not go away, now open this door.” Sam responded, jiggling the handle.

“No.” Bucky said, making no attempt to move.

“Fine then. But you made me do this.”

Bucky snapped his head towards the door as he heard Sam punch some numbers into the pin pad. It chirped before unlocking, Sam coming through the door.

“Hey, what’s your problem, man? Bucky said, coming face to face with Sam.

“Wasn’t a hard guess. Old people use the same password for everything. Shouldn’t have made it the same as your name on the Pacman machine leaderboard downstairs. You’ve been bumped down to second place by the way, curtesy of moi.” He said with flourish.

“What do you want, Sam?” Bucky asked annoyedly, sitting back down on the couch.

“You know why I’m here man.” He said, shoving his hands into his pockets before continuing:

“You gotta go see her.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because she’s not coming back!” Bucky shouted. He started getting up.

“Everyone keeps telling me to go see her, but she’s gone, Sam. Gone. Just ripped from my arms. And she died for me.She wasted her life on me of all things. I’m not gonna go just to stare at her body and replay the worst moments of my life, over and overagain. I can’t do it anymore.”

Bucky blinked and realized there were tears in his eyes. His face was flushed from shouting and his chest was heaving. Sam let a moment pass before he spoke.

“Look, I’m not here to tell you to keep seeing her so that magically she’ll wake up. I’ll level with you, there’s a chance she might not. If you believe she’s not coming back, I’m not judging you on that. I’m here to tell you that if you think that, you need to say goodbye. Get some closure. Scream, cry, whatever. But afterwards, you’ll feel better. I can’t stand watching you suffer like this, man. I’ve seen people at the VA fall apart and stay that way. I just don’t want you to end up like that.”

Bucky stared at him before letting out a noise that got caught in his throat. His legs felt weak, and he found himself sitting on the couch with his face in his hands, crying.

Sam quietly sat next to him and put his arm around him.

“It’s gonna be okay, Buck. It is.”

---

Some time after Sam had left and he had washed his face, Bucky made his way down the hall to your room. It was late and subsequently quiet. Stopping in front of the door to the room your body was lying in, he took a deep breath and opened the door.

---

You blinked as the door opened and Bucky walked through. He looked tired. His eyes were red and puffy: His facial hair was grown out more than normal. He looked… skinnier? Without taking your eyes off of him, you turned to your teacher.

“How long has it been?”

“Time moves much more quickly in the realm we’re in unless you are interacting with the one you came from. It’s been a little over a month in his time.” She answered.

“A month? Really?”

She nodded as you watched Bucky slowly walk over to the chair next to the bed. You sat on the bed with one leg folded under you, the other swinging off the edge of the bed. The woman did the same, though she kept her legs together, putting her hands together in her lap. You watched as Bucky picked up your hand, enclosing it in both of his own as he sat down. He took a deep breath before he spoke.

“You know, people keep telling me to not give up hope. But they don’t realize what it does to me to see you like this.” He started, voice scratchy and soft. It sounded like the whispers you thought you had been hearing around you while traveling with your teacher, only now that you were right by him, you could hear him clearly.

“I come in here, and I talk to you like they tell me to. I read you the books you lent me out loud. I watch the waves on the screen go nuts when I talk, and I feel that your skin is warm when I touch you. But without you replying, without you touching me back, it feels worse than any torture I’ve endured in my life.”

Tears spilled over onto your cheeks as you listened. The ache in your heart growing ever stronger.

“I wish I had gotten a chance to tell you that you made my life worth living. I was just going through the motions. Trying to make amends, trying to make up for everything I’ve done, and maybe then I’d have some peace. But I never expected to be happy. And now you’re gone. And I feel nothing. It’s worse than before I knew what being happy felt like. I’m not ready to go back. I’m not ready to lose you.”

“Please,” he whispered.

“Come back.”

He bowed his head, letting the tears drop onto the floor, clutching your hand so tightly, it surely would’ve hurt if you could feel it.

Tears still streaming, you turned to look at the woman. Time had slowed to a stop, seconds barely going by. She acknowledged you with a slight nod, letting a moment pass before asking:

“Which choice have you made, young one?”

You smiled, wiping the tears from your eyes one side at a time.

“I’m going to make the wrong decision. The selfish decision. I want to stay.” You said, happiness overflowing in your voice as more tears slip down your face.

“There is no wrong decision.” She said, placing your hand on your shoulder. Bowing her head lightly, she looked you in the eyes.

“Are you ready to go back?”

“Yes, thank you, uhm…”

“Sersi,”

“Sersi.” You repeated.

“Thank you for everything. This has been an incredible experience. I’ll remember this for the rest of my life.”

She smiled knowingly.

“When you need me, you’ll know where to find me.” She said, plucking the gingko leave out of your hair. Your hair fell out around your face as a white light grew ever brighter, soon blinding your vision.

---

Bucky raised his head at the sound of a foreign beeping in the room. Locating the source of the sound, he focused in on the red flashing on the screen.

Pulse 72

Pulse 72?

Pulse 72.

Bucky scrambled to press his fingers against your wrist. There it was.

Suddenly, your chest rose. He heard you take in an impossibly deep breath in and back out. He was stunned. While he was staring in disbelief, you turned your head slightly before opening your eyes.

“Bucky?”

He couldn’t do anything but hold you to him.

“Woah there, did you miss me?” You teased.

“Yes. So much.”

You pulled away from him and tilted your head, confused.

“Do I even want to know how long I was out?” You asked, ripping the stickies off of your head.

“Six weeks.”

“Six weeks!?”

“Do you remember anything that happened?” He asked, soaking in your voice.

“The last thing I remember is… the mountains.”

Bucky sat in silence a moment before he grabbed your hand.

“When you were gone, it made my life feel like it was over. I couldn’t stand it. It felt like I had nothing, all over again. You and I have grown really close and I just wanted you to hear all of that now that I have a second chance. I want to be by your side, through thick and thin, if you’ll have me.” He asked, gripping your hand tighter.

You stared into his eyes, the light reflecting the frosty color of his irises brilliantly. You leaned over to kiss him, and he met you halfway. Light and chaste, you pull back and rest your forehead on his.

“Of course I will, Buck. Always.”

---6 Months Later---

You trekked through the tall grass, smelling the coast and nearby sea.

“Just a little farther.” You called back to Bucky.

“I feel like you’ve said that several times now.” He joked, shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun and the bite of the wind.

You turned around, stopping in your tracks.

“Haha, very funny. But seriously, I think it’s at top of this cliff,” you said, peering up at the ledge several feet above you.

He caught up to where you were, placing a quick kiss to your nose before bracing his back against the wall and interlocking his hands.

“C’mon, I’ll give you a boost.”

You stepped into his hand and jumped up, using the extra momentum to catch the edge. Pulling yourself up, you turned around, stomach to the ground, extending your hand to him. He grunted as he climbed partway up, grabbing your hand when the soil turned sandy halfway, leaving no holds for him to grab onto.

Pulling him up, you both sit for a moment, catching your breath and taking in the view.

“So,” he started. “Is it anything like you remembered?”

“Yeah. I think. It’s kind of hazy. But I think I dreamed about this place a lot while I was out. I felt like it was an itch that I couldn’t scratch unless I came here to check it out for myself.” You said, resting back onto your hands.

“Well, let’s scratch your itch.”

Bucky got up and dusted his pants off before offering you his hand. You accepted and pulled yourself up, steadying yourself before walking through the trees into the coming clearing.

When you reached it, it felt eerily familiar. The arrangement of the trees, the water running into the pond, even the arrangement of the moss. It was like peering at your dream through a pair of glasses; It was much clearer now.

“Wow. This place has really recovered since the last time we’ve been here,” Bucky said as he watched the gingko leaves fall around him.

You walked over to the pond and crouched, washing the fish swim between the lilies. You had a nagging feeling that something else was missing from the scene. You eyed a glint in the water while responding back to him.

“Yeah, it has. I think this is how it looked in my dream.”

Bucky walked over to you, and you looked up at him lovingly. Standing up, you wrap your arms around his neck.

“I’m sorry I dragged you to the other side of the globe just to come here.”

“Hey hey hey, it’s alright,” he said, putting his hands on your waist. “Who says we won’t be touring other parts of Japan while we’re here? Besides, this is where we had our first mission. It’s like coming back to a first date spot.” He said with a grin.

You couldn’t help but smile.

“I love you.”

He blinked, before smiling wider.

“I love you too.” He replied, wrapping his arms around you to pull you close to him, kissing you deeply.

---

From further up in the air, Sersi watched from the concealed airship, a man walking up to join her at the window.

“Still think she made the right decision?” He said, holding his hands behind his back.

“Come now, Ikaris. If I had had you before this life, would you be happy at the thought of me giving you up?”

“Of course not. But you didn’t have me before, you have me now.”

“Yes, yes.” She said, smiling as she brushed him off.

“Besides,” she continued. “I don’t think I could’ve offered her anything else. Once I saw how she looked at him, I knew it was only a matter of time.”

Smiling wistfully, she flicked her finger, sending a breeze through the landing where you were.

---

The ginkgo leaves fluttered onto your faces, making you both laugh as you separated to brush them off.

“Come on,” you said, grabbing his hand and leading the way. “Let’s go see the coast.”

He smiled, looking at you with adoration, and followed you out from the clearing to wherever you would walk from then on. A ray of light shined through the trees onto the pond, the glint of the golden ginkgo leaf sparkling out from under the rocks at the bottom.

[desidarling123]

Alright, I'm a little bit new, but listen... I'm a wolfstar stan and I don't see a real reason for this particular drama flare up. First of all, I don't like remadora and I doubt I ever will, but that's personal preference and I don't think the wolfstar fandom thinks there's anything wrong with the remadora fandom. With the reblogs on both sides, it looks like wolfstar fans think remadora fans are accusing wolfstar of being problematic, toxic, and/or abusive, inherently (I don't know the history behind you and op and I'm going to stay out of that as well but I'm talking about the fandom to fandom accusations). And remadora fans think wolfstar fans are accusing them of being homophobic because they don't ship wolfstar? That's not true, like I said, that's personal preference and I agree with what you said about nuance. The homophobic thing is in the context of accusing wolfstar of being problematic. To clarify, it's not that if you don't ship wolfstar you're homophobic, it's that if you think it's problematic while NOT thinking remadora is problematic (because, again, nuance) then that seems pretty homophobic. Anyway, I don't know. Maybe the fandoms just want a reason to be mad at each other and this isn't helping but I just wanted to clarify anyway.

You’re fine, and thank you for hopping into my inbox! Let me smooth the waters as bit -- us folks on the Remadora side are well aware that there are loads of issues with our ship, too (thx 4 nothing, JKR). We talk about it a lot within our community, and I think a healthy amount of critique is something everyone should be open to. 

What’s not been OK (and what I sort of jumped down OP’s throat for, which I understand, to unassuming onlookers would have been very !!!!) has been a recent flouting of what I would call traditional rules of engagement in fandom -- if you dislike something, tag it anti-X, and don’t cross-tag where someone who DOES like the ship might see it. 

Instead, as of late, the Remadora tag here and elsewhere has been FLOODED with accusations of homophobia (fully baseless, as you said) along with loads of general negativity from folks who do not know anything about us or why we enjoy the ship. People who are NOT a part of our community have felt entitled to entering our spaces and harassing us over what we like. 

The point of irritation (that led to the post OP talked about) is that the relentless attacks on our ship have come ALONGSIDE claims that Wolfstar is 100% unproblematic, or a “better alternative”. This feels unfair -- whatever your personal preference, painting one ship as strictly Bad and one as strictly Good is preposterous on face. It also puts us on the defensive -- yet again -- and so of course the counter has been to say, well, if we’re so Bad, what about This Thing About Wolfstar? Or This? (The kicker here being that we STILL manage to tag our critiques appropriately, even if that respect has largely not been returned to us)

It’s not enough for people to not like or be indifferent towards our ship -- instead, some folks have become hell-bent on proving that Remadora is the Beacon of All Things Wrong with fandom. Which is, frankly, exhausting.

OP has been part of that deluge of negativity -- their contribution was a meme  that deliberately misstated the facts of a real case, and spurred further attacks and accusations of homophobia towards our fandom. There’s been other accusations, too, but the homophobia one has struck a personal chord because so many of us ARE, in fact, queer.

They’ve also engaged on a personal and extremely rude level with many of my mutuals (the ‘cyberbullies remadora stans’ in their bio is a nice touch), so when I saw the post on my dash I did get angry. I got angry, because I looked into the very serious accusations his post made, accusations that had made so many of us feel guilty over something (a supposed lawsuit from Hers Truly) that we couldn’t have possibly had any control over -- only to find out they were all bunk, and clearly written to spur more hatred between the two sides.

Also, before I end, I’d just like to clarify: 

I was being snarky in comments to snipe at OP directly, but I have nothing personal against Wolfstar. (I actually have grown to like it quite a bit, despite other drama.) Nor do I think a ship needs to be canon for you to enjoy it -- that’s the whole fun of fandom, of filling in the gaps. Who cares what a renowned TERF has to say about it? Every iteration of these characters and pairings has a right to exist without backlash. You can enjoy Wolfstar and I can enjoy Remadora and we can all stick our🖕 at JKR, because I think both communities have been critical enough of her work and motivations to have reclaimed the ships -- problems and all -- on our own terms.

Anyways! Sorry for such a long post, and thanks for being so polite about it. I hope this clarifies some things from our POV. 

[evandearest]

The Garden of Eden | Part III: Hidden Darkness

Pairing: James March x reader (you) | ~Part: (3/4)~

Summary (Part Three): Sometimes, even when things seem to be at their best, hidden truths can seep through the cracks. Sometimes, it can ruin relationships, but other times, it can make them. What will happen when you and James find that everything is not what it seems? They say opposites attract, but how far can that really go? The truth is a magnet, but the question still remains: will it bring you together, or force you apart?

Warnings (in this part): drunk person (briefly), anxiety, twisted morals / religion bending, murder / blood, lying, sexual scenes (no real smut)

Word Count: 4,723 (OMG lol)

Notes: Can we just pretend I didn’t mess up the location of the backstory? I just have no idea how to change it in the story now. I didn’t remember that James was from New York until just recently as I’ve been re-watching Hotel. Let’s just say that for the sake of this story, James moved from New York to L.A. at a much younger age for some reason lol. I’m so sorry for messing that up, it bothers me so much! Ugh. In this part, I decided to give a peek into James’ point of view a little bit. :) Also, the sections in italics are flashbacks if you are ever confused. This one gets pretty twisted as far as morals go. lol. Also, this is the longest part so far... and I’m impatient to get this posted because I’m so excited, so I apologize if there are any errors. Without further a-do... let the show begin. :) Enjoy!

(p.s. let me know if you ever have any questions/comments about the story, I love feedback!)

Tag List:  @etoile-writings @haileyybird @ietss​

Something had been going on with James. As much as it might not seem to some, you were smarter than you looked. You were attentive; you watched the people around you. You cared about those kinds of things. Some would call it trust issues, but you call it surviving. Through all you’d been through, being vigilant was the one thing that had seemed to keep you going.

It’d been the best month you’d ever had. Everything had seemed to fall into place; you and James’ relationship had been stronger than ever. Everyone had seemingly accepted it, too, which surprised you greatly. You had figured that many people would criticize you, but if there was one thing you had learned, it would be that people didn’t question James. You loved that. Not having to answer people’s critiques and being respected was a feeling you’d never known, and it was a feeling that you definitely got used to quickly. You didn’t even have to worry about people questioning you, because if they did, James was quick to take care of it. However, you had noticed an odd pattern: any person that said something rude to you seemed to vanish.

For example, today. You had been sitting at the bar, minding your own business while sipping a fruity cocktail, when a man with whiskey breath approached you. He was stumbling, slurring, spitting, and frankly you had quickly become uncomfortable. So you’d politely and discreetly moved seats in an attempt to get away from him, which ended up failing. Plan B had been to excuse yourself to the bathroom. When you returned merely five minutes later, the man had vanished. While it wasn’t strange for drunk men to wander off, it was strange for drunk men to get very far within a few minutes. You’d walked around the main hallways of the hotel in search for him, but he was nowhere to be found. And this hadn’t been the first time this had happened. You were beginning to get suspicious.

You wouldn’t have suspected him in the first place if it hadn’t been for the fact that you’d caught him in some peculiar situations.

It was late. The clock on the side table read 2:00 A.M. when you heard the door to the room open and close. Even in your sleepy haze, you’d managed to catch sight of a black figure. You’d slipped out of bed not soon after, your silk robe dragging on the floor behind you as you made your way out of your room. You gently closed the door behind you, quietly padding down the hall. As you rounded the corner, you caught sight of a familiar suit-clad back at the end of the hall. Just as you were about to call out, you heard a faint moaning in pain, silencing you. You swerved around, on a mission to hide your body behind the corner so as to just observe, when that familiar voice called out to you.

“Y/N?”

You turned around slowly, smiling softly at James from across the hall. You yawned, furrowing your eyebrows together in confusion.

“James?” you asked, your voice cracking from having just woken up. He smiled, although you could read the nervousness all over him. What was he doing? He slowly crossed the hallway down to you, his hands reaching forward to grab both of yours.

“Why are you awake, darling? It’s nearing two,” he asked worriedly, reaching up to gently brush your cheek with his knuckles. You paused, staring at him in confusion.

“Just having some strange dreams,” you said, averting your eyes to look over his shoulder for a second. “Did you hear that noise?”

“W-what noise, dear?” he tried to recover from his stutter quickly, but you didn’t fail to notice it. You paused once again, studying his handsome features. He wasn’t lying to you, was he?

“Nothing...” you trailed off, lost in thought, before letting out a breathy laugh. “I must just be tired, darling. Are you alright?” James shoulders dropped visibly, a toothy grin forming on his face.

“Of course,” he said, before placing a kiss onto your forehead. “You need rest up, dear. We wouldn’t want anything happening to your pretty little head.” You genuinely smiled at that. He was very sweet; although you did have a strange feeling about his behavior. You couldn’t describe it, it was more intuitive than certain, but you just couldn’t deny or brush it off.

“What about you?” you asked him, reaching over to squeeze his hand in a loving manner. “Aren't you coming to bed?” James raised his eyebrows, quickly shaking his head.

“No, no, dear, I’m afraid not,” he sighed, smiling at you sadly. “I have quite a lot of paperwork to catch up on, and I’m afraid I won’t rest until it’s done.”

“Okay, just don’t overwork yourself darling,” you said and sighed while looking at him pointedly. You then leaned up to place a chaste kiss against his lips.  “Goodnight, James.”

“Goodnight dearest,” he whispered, and you turned and made your way to your room. You opened the door and stepped inside, turning to place your ear against the door for a moment. You swore that you could hear a faint groaning again. You shook your head at yourself, telling yourself it was all in your mind before settling back into bed.

Ever since that night, a week ago, you’d been suspicious. You just had an innate feeling that you certainly were not just hearing things that night. And based on the way James was acting, he knew you weren’t either. He’d been distant, staying up late every single night. He’d go to bed with you at first, only to get up and leave in the middle of the night at such unearthly hours you could hardly believe the clock. You tried to dismiss it the best you could, but it was getting harder to ignore.

So as soon as you had woken up today, you decided to talk with him about it. You’d thought a lot about just asking him, spouse to spouse. It was James, after all. You knew he wouldn’t get mad at you, by all means, but you just felt like he didn’t want to tell you for whatever reason. It was driving you mad.

-🤍-

“James?” your soft voice called out, startling James from his paperwork. He glanced up, his eyes landing on your frame as you stood in the doorway of his office. You were clad only in your silky robe and slippers, your hair still slightly disheveled from having just gotten out of bed. He was surprised, for it wasn’t often that he would see you in such a state. You would normally make yourself up before coming to see him in the mornings, as he generally got up earlier than you. It wasn’t a problem to him, though. In fact, he would never admit it, but he secretly adored you like this. You looked even more vulnerably pure than normal. That’s what James admired about you the most: your ability to remain such a source of light and hope; your maintaining of innocence when surrounded by darkness. No matter what you went through, you always seemed to find a way to come out shining. His beacon of hope.

He stared at your figure, taking a mental picture to forever remember this moment. He never wanted this to end. Even the thought that he was the only one that would ever get to see you in such a state excited him. Just the sight of you lit up his entire being in a way he didn’t even know was possible until he met you. He couldn’t help but think back to the time when he first realized how much you had impacted his life; how you’d made him fall apart in the best way imaginable. A particular day flooded his thoughts.

You stared at him with your doe eyes as he looked away from you. Even from his peripheral vision, he felt it. Just the thought of you sent a jolt to his heart. When he’d seen his father above you, he’d felt a rage so accumulative it felt as if he might implode on himself. But then all you’d asked him was a simple question, and yet he had no idea how to respond. How was he supposed to tell you that he thought his own abusive father was right? He couldn’t even swallow the fact that he agreed with his father, let alone tell you, the one who always managed to keep him from succumbing to the darkness. If it weren’t for you, he didn’t think he would have a real purpose to strive for.

He simply couldn’t tell you that everyone with whom you’d ever spoken to was probably using you for something other than a nice conversation. He’d met your family; and although they seemed picture-perfect, he knew their true intentions behind closed doors. He’d met the people of Los Angeles; he knew how they worked. It was all money and entitlement. They had planned to ship you off to a rich husband since you had been born.

He wanted to tear them apart. He wanted to do unspeakable things for the simple pleasure and satisfaction he’d get from it. You were the one who separated him from this unspeakably dark craving for blood that he felt. He’d known it even then; if you had somehow gotten taken from him, he wouldn’t stop himself any longer. He’d be lost in his darkness forever, and he would never find the light again.

“James?” you spoke again, and James snapped back to reality at the sound of your voice. He smiled at you, setting his pen down to give you his full attention.

“My my,” he said cheekily, “to what do I owe the pleasure?” You stood in your tracks for a moment, a slight pink coloring your cheeks as you pulled your robe tighter around you.

“I’ve come to ask you a question,” you said, deciding to just put it out there. James smile fell from his face at your serious demeanor, concerned curiosity clouding his features.

“Yes?” he asked, his accent drawing out the word in a way that sent shivers down your spine. You sighed, gathering your thoughts for a moment.

“Well, I’ve just been wondering recently,” you said, slowly making your way over to sit in the chair in front of his desk. “It’s not an extremely important thing, I just...” You trailed off, your words getting caught in your throat, lost in translation from your head as you stared at James.

“Darling, you can tell me anything,” James reassured, resting his hands together on the desk in front of him as he leaned forward slightly. You sighed once more, averting your eyes from his. You took a deep breath before continuing.

“I’d like to know where you’ve been going these last few nights, James,” you said, your voice filled with unintentional shakiness. You didn’t mean for all of your emotions to come out that way.

James faltered, the small smile on his face wiped away at your question. He didn’t know how to respond at first, his mind going through all of the possible excuses he could make. There was no way that he could ever tell you what he was actually doing. He feared your reaction too much.

“Darling,” James said, putting as much charm in his tone as he could. “I’ve already told you how behind I’ve been on paperwork.” You met his eyes once more, disbelief clear in your orbs. His own eyes widened slightly at your clear observance of his dishonesties. He didn’t anticipate that you wouldn’t believe him. Perhaps he’d underestimated your perceptive ability to catch liars.

He knew then that he’d have to tread carefully from here; he’d have to weigh his options. He couldn’t tell you the truth--for he feared the result. But genuinely lying to you? He knew, then, that that would only push you away. Lies were like bricks; they built and built and built until eventually a wedge formed. He didn’t want a wall with you. He didn’t want to ruin the only true connection he’d ever had.

It was ironic, how just moments before you’d asked, he’d been consumed with memories of the one other instance in which you forced him to answer to something he couldn’t. He never expected he’d be in this situation again. Yet here you were, once again, presenting to him a question in which he could not answer truthfully.

He didn’t want to take that look in your eyes away. He couldn’t. He couldn’t imagine what would happen to those eyes. Those eyes that had been his source of comfort for so long. He’d seen your shock when he killed your husband, but he’d gotten lucky. That was someone who had directly affected you; the man who had ruined your life. You had already wanted him gone. He didn’t want to imagine what you would think about him participating in a hobby in which taking life was the sport. He didn’t want to steal your light away by consuming you in his darkness. He feared the imbalance would destroy the life you’d just rebuilt together. What if he was too different now? What if his embrace of darkness repelled your light away?

“James,” you said softly, suddenly much closer to him. Your hands gently cupped his jaw as you stood directly in front of him. He blinked in confusion at his failure to notice your movement from one side of the desk to the other. He looked up at you questioningly.

James had been so lost in thought that it had frightened you slightly. You couldn’t help but notice how tired he looked. You shamed yourself for not thinking that he could just be stressed. James had a very hard job; he managed a new Los Angeles hotel that was constantly bustling with people of all kinds. You were obviously reading too much into it, and you realized that now. Sometimes you just couldn’t stop your anxieties caused by your last marriage, as much as you tried to. You cursed yourself for not thinking of him in all of this. You quickly enveloped the man into your arms, holding him in a comforting embrace.

“I understand,” you whispered softly. “I get that work can be overwhelming. I just wish you’d let me help rather than overworking yourself.” James sighed, his shoulders relaxing instantly. You smiled; your comfort was working.

“You are completely correct as always, darling,” James replied, pulling you to sit in his lap comfortably. “And I am terribly sorry for not spending the nights with you. My wish is not to make you feel lonely.” You smiled, wrapping your arms around his neck. You laid your head on his shoulder, cuddling into him.

“It’s okay, James,” you said sweetly. “I know how hard you work. It’s one of the things I love most about you.” James gently brushed your hair away from your face.

“You truly are the most accommodating, dear,” James said lovingly. “What would I do without you?” Your grin felt splitting. Talking to James was the best decision you’d ever made.

You spent a few minutes just sitting there cuddled into James as he continued his work, basking in the warmth and love you felt from him. Your moment was interrupted when the door to his office opened abruptly.

“Mr. March,” a voice called, in which you recognized as Miss Evers. “Sorry to interrupt-” She paused when her eyes landed on you and James, her expression falling slightly. “I’m sorry, are you busy?” She asked, her eyes seeming to burn holes through you. You tightened your grip around James’ neck slightly. You didn’t like the way that she was looking at you.

“What does it look like?” James barked in response, visibly annoyed. Your eyes widened at his harsh tone as his hand gripped your waist tighter. Miss Evers grimaced.

“Well, you see,” she started hesitantly, “you have a delivery for floor seven.” James’ grip loosened at her words, his expression changing to one of understanding. You sat up, pulling away from James slightly.

“I see,” he said to her before looking to you. “Darling, I’m afraid that I have some business to attend to.” You nodded and stood from his lap, walking with him as you both made your way out of the room and to the elevator.

“Well, I am going to get freshened up,” you smiled at James, planting a kiss on his cheek before you got off onto your floor. He grabbed your hand and kissed the back of it in return, smiling at you charmingly. You briefly glanced at Miss Evers again, your mood faltering once again at her steely glare. You didn’t understand why she was glaring at you, but it was beginning to worry you. You looked back at James, catching one last glance at his charming grin before the elevator doors closed.

-🤍-

Many hours had passed and you hadn’t seen James since the morning. It was half past five o’clock when you began to worry about his absence. You’d expected him to be kept busy with his work for most of the day, but it was unusual to have not heard from him by five P.M. It’s not that you were always worried about him, it’s just that you knew him. He was very adamant about your nightly dinners at six.

Usually he always sent Miss Evers to remind you around five, but you hadn’t heard a peep the entire day, aside from the morning. You had a sneaking suspicion that the woman held some type of grudge against you. She always spoke to you in curt language, and occasionally she’d give rudely blunt comments, but it was only when you were one on one. You had noticed how her behavior changed around James. It was like she was constantly trying to impress the man. It made sense, as he was her boss, but sometimes it really got under your skin in a way you didn’t like. You didn’t want to hold a grudge against the woman; truly, she seemed quite lovely. You just didn’t understand what she held against you to treat you in such a way.

So, needless to say, despite not hearing from the maid, you’d prepared yourself like normal anyway. You knew James wouldn’t forget dinner, it just wasn’t like him. After you made yourself up, you headed out to your normal dining room to meet James. You were surprised to arrive to an empty table, however. You had been wrong. James did forget. You were genuinely surprised. You stood in your tracks, wracking your brain to figure out where he may be. You decided the best place to start would probably be the most obvious place, his office.

Upon arriving at the floor, you immediately felt that something was off. The entire floor seemed vacant. You walked timidly down the dark hallway, your eyes scanning around you warily. It had seemed like a maze of dark passages, leading on and on in silence, until finally you heard a semblance of life. It sounded like a shuffling at first, until you were close enough to the door of his office that you could hear a noise that almost sounded like sawing. Your curiosity spiraled, and ultimately, it won over the wariness you felt.

When the door opened wide enough for you to see, your eyes first landed on James’ back, taking in his rapid movement. His arm pumped backward and forward, his body driving the force to drive a saw through bone. Dark red coated his shirt, as well as the floor and area surrounding, and at first glance you could’ve sworn that the carpet was just regularly that color. You only briefly got to watch his movement, because it was as if he sensed your presence unconsciously, even as quiet as you had been. James eyes met yours, and he seemed to have frozen in space and time. He simply stared for a few seconds, before he dropped the saw and faced you.

“Darling, I--,” he started, choking over his words in shock. Your eyes took in the scene once more, the bloody corpse hard to ignore. A few moments of silence passed between you.

“James,” you said breathily. Your feet shuffled forward until you were standing only a few feet in front of him. Your smaller hand grabbed his larger one, feeling his rough callouses against your soft palm. “Is this what you’ve been keeping from me?” His eyes met yours and you saw the answer in them. You were right.

It all made sense to you now. All that time he’d been gone, he’d been here. It was obvious to you now why he didn’t want to tell you what he had been doing.

“You’re not...” he trailed off for a moment, his eyebrows raised uncertainly. “Afraid of me?” he finished. Your mouth opened in shock at the fact that you hadn’t realized what he had presumed your reaction to this would be. He thought this would scare you off.  He thought that you would see this as a negative thing. He thought you’d think he was a crazy murderer just like all other common people would.

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

You stared at him in disbelief. He expected you to fear him, to run away from the violence simply for it being violence; to hide from real reason. Did he not think that you would see the truth behind this? The truth being that he’d built an empire from the ground off of ash and dust. He’d climbed up the chain of players until he was at the very top, crowned king. Not to mention that all while doing so, he’d profited majorly, but not only that... he’d became a true god.

You understood now. Being a god wasn’t about riches or the simple power of being respected... it was a service. A service of repenting sin in the truest way possible: punishment. James had been chosen; picked out from the crowd for his vision of truth, for his undying ability to see men for what they were: sinners. Men were first placed on Earth just for the simplest sin of knowledge--and any act after knowledge might as well be considered evil. From then the men of the world raised generation after generation of sinners: users, abusers, liars. You and James had been included in that crowd. You’d both been raised to sin, but you knew now that you were special, for you had been enlightened. You were not ignorant like the most. You saw the true darkness in the world, and understood that it needed to be handled. You were chosen.

You stared at James, a newfound admiration for him arising. He really was special, and yet he couldn’t even completely see it. You didn’t understand how anyone could be so blind so as to not see the utter power he withheld in the palm of his hands. His hands, in which were the epitome of jurisdiction. They were judge, jury, and executioner, and every life they took served a god’s purpose. They offered utter release of darkness for all those chosen by him, freeing them from their evil natures. Other people might see danger in James, but all you saw was glory. That, you thought, was the misconception of death. Many viewed it as a robbery, but it wasn’t that. It was a true freedom, a release of all sins, and those who did not see that were clouded by their selfish desires and greediness. It was an act of nature. An act of God.

You smiled at James, squeezing his hand, before leaning forward to place your forehead against his.

“No,” you whispered, your breath hot against his lips. “No, I’m not afraid. There’s nothing to fear... murder isn’t always evil like most think, especially if it’s a service. James, you aren’t a sinner for releasing others from their sins... James, you are a god...”

James froze in his place, a shiver running up his spine. Usually, he resented religion. But the way you had explained it sparked something entirely different within him. He felt an electricity run through his entire body, igniting his veins in a way no drug ever could. His arms wrapped around you, quickly pulling you flush against him.

No one had ever said something so logical to him. He’d run into many people who preached religion and he despised every one of them. His thoughts were like yours: they were all sinners anyway, so how could they support a holy God? It was hypocritic, and James hated every one of them for it. It was the entire reason that he’d started his new project to mimic on the Bible’s Ten Commandments. However he’d never talked to you about religion, for he knew you’d grown up in a church and generally avoided the enraging subject. But you’d given him a new perspective with your words. He was a god. He held all the power that men reserved just for their one and only God in his hands. He could take any life if he wanted to, with nothing stopping him. He’d realized his power before, but he’d never thought of himself in that way. All those men praying to their god while at his knees might as well be praying to him. When he took a life, he released that person from evil. He held the true power.

He couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it before. He and you had always seemed like polar opposites. That’s part of what he thought was so attractive about you. But it was much more than that. Of course it was. He and you were more similar than he’d ever thought. You completed his image, and he expanded off of yours. Your perspective put a whole new sense to the world that he’d never known. You were light, and he was dark, but together... you were something entirely different. He’d thought that he had had everything figured out perfectly, but oh how wrong he had been. You explained it in a way that he never could have thought of himself. His Y/N...  you were so much more than he had ever really known. That mystery excited him undeniably.

His hands gripped your waist tightly as his lips crashed into yours. You gasped into the kiss, for you’d never, in all your time together, received such passion from James. He kissed you almost bruisingly, pouring every ounce of his being into it. His arms left your sides and before you knew it, he was hoisting you up into his arms, your legs wrapped around his waist. You clung to him tightly, kissing back just as fiercely as you felt the tension between the two of you build. Your cheeks were flushed from the heat as he carried you across the room, too caught up in him to see where you were going.

He set you down and pinned you against the wall, rattling the table next to you. His arms were like a cage around you. A loud shattering was the only thing to interrupt you, breaking your kiss as you both turned to see the vase that was on the table now on the floor. The glass was scattered everywhere, the white roses it withheld strewn out across the floor as the water spread. You both stood staring at the vase for a few moments before you wrapped your arms around James’ neck again.

“Leave it,” you whispered, pressing your fingers into his back as you tugged him close once more. Your lips met again, just as intense as before, before he began his journey to kissing your neck. You panted, a sheen of sweat already glistening on your skin and he’d barely done anything. “James,” you pleaded, “I need you.”

James pulled away smirking, his hands traveling down your sides slowly.

“Oh darling, you have a long night ahead of you.”

A long night it was indeed, eventually moved from that spot and into the bedroom, the vase and roses left broken but undisturbed.

---

Series Masterlist: The Garden of Eden Series

Main Masterlist

[a-singleboat]

Virtual Reality

Word Count: 2.4k

Request: hi! if your taking requests, i was wondering if you could write a damien x reader, where they meet through Twitch? add anything else you want i always love everything you write, thanks so much!! - anon

Warning(s): like, one swear

It was a Thursday night when you first met him, or rather, heard of him. You had been streaming for five hours heading into your sixth when you decided it might be time for you to log off for the night. As per usual, you took at least thirty minutes at the end of your stream just to talk with your viewers, usually about how their lives were going in exchange for a story from your own day. 

Tonight, however, there was an influx of people asking if you’d ever heard of a streamer by the name of Damien Haas, which you hadn’t, and if you would do a collaboration with the man anytime soon. Apparently, your content was eerily similar and you were, and I quote, “Practically the female version of him, looks aside.” 

“Damien Haas…” you rolled yourself back closer to your desk, hands settled on your keyboard. You typed his name into the search bar, patiently waiting for Twitch to pull up his account. You clicked into the first one, making an impressed face at the purple checkmark next to his name. You squinted at the screen. “Is this him? In the profile picture with the LEDs in the background?” 

You glanced at your chat, chuckling as the viewers started spamming ‘yes’ and ‘oh my god it’s happening,’ and your personal favorite, ‘mom come pick me up the best crossover of 2020 is happening and im SCARED.’

“He plays a lot of Animal Crossing,” you observed, clicking on one of his videos and dragging the tab onto your main monitor so the stream could see it. You skipped through the beginning part, biting into a pretzel as you watched. 

“He’s kinda cute,” you commented, laughing as your stream freaked out once more. There were a few people commenting what looked like it could be a ship name though you ignored it. “Shame I’d never meet him, though.”

You paused his video, taking note of the time, before rolling out your shoulders. “I think it’s time for me to head out so I’m gonna end this stream with a huge thank you to you all for sticking with me through this entire stream and if you didn’t stay the entire time, I’m glad you decided to join in on the ride even halfway through. I’ll see you guys next time.”

You ended the stream, waving goodbye to your viewers before the light went out and you could relax the smile off your face. Don’t get it twisted, you loved streaming and you loved your viewers but just like any other job, it could get exhausting at times. You shut down your monitors, the screens turning blue before fading to black. You stretched, taking your phone up from its charger and launching yourself into bed, opening your phone and clicking on Twitter. 

Much like staying thirty minutes after you were done streaming to talk to viewers, you usually went on Twitter right after to answer questions and respond to DMs. This time, however, instead of opening the app to see a bunch of post-stream questions, your mentions were filled with the video clip of you saying, “He’s kinda cute,” as well as maybe a million people tagging both you and Damien in them. 

Well, shit. 

Soon enough, that was all that filled your timeline. You couldn’t move in one direction without running into another screencap of you admiring the man. God, you knew the consequences but something in the back of your mind was urging you to reach out to him.

After a few moments of contemplation, the lonely side of you won out, forcing you to message him against your better judgment. Without even thinking about it, you found his Twitter and sent this message:

Hey, I’m sorry about your mentions blowing up because of me tonight. My viewers recommended your Twitch to me and I spoke without thinking about it on Live. 

And with no expectation of his response, you fell asleep right there with your phone on your chest and the DM still open. 

You woke up the next morning with a sore neck and a dead phone, which was a terrible way to start your day. You rolled over, plugging your device into an outlet before crawling out of bed to start your day. When you weren’t streaming, you worked as a freelance editor for different YouTubers, helping their editors with their workload or even staying on as a Temp for different companies. Occasionally you edited the odd commercial here and there, but those gigs were rare. 

Most recently, you had received some material from a group of YouTubers, Smosh. This job was different, however, because if you did well on this you could be looking at a permanent place of employment through their parent company, Mythical Entertainment. 

You knew Mythical Entertainment, it was hard not to, especially since your aunt was one of the producers within the company, but tended to ignore everything the company did. The last you’d heard, they’d onboarded another YouTube group (which you did later find out to be Smosh, the same YouTubers whose video you were hired to edit). 

 After a quick shower and a half-assed attempt at a proper breakfast, you were ready to start your day. You situated yourself behind your monitors, opening the video clips that had been sent to you. The first was a sample video, something that gave you insight on what their editing style was actually like. 

But imagine your surprise when you’re staring down the same man you have called cute the night before, his approximately five-eleven stance taking up one-sixth of the space. He was standing next to a blond, who had been marked as “Shayne Topp.”

Despite there being five other people in frame, your eyes kept moving back to Damien’s figure, watching his mannerisms through the screen and laughing along to his jokes when they fell upon deaf ears. 

Your eyes slid over to your phone, now decently charged after sitting for so long. On your screen were dozens of notifications. There were maybe two from your mom, asking if you’d be coming home for dinner sometime that week but the majority came from Twitter. You picked up the device, unlocking and responding to your mom with a, “yes,” before opening Twitter. 

Nothing much had changed from the night prior. Your mentions were still being flooded with the video from last night but newer content had been ushered in, namely fan edits using footage from your streams and, you assumed, his. 

The only major difference, however, was the fact that Damien had responded to your DM from the night prior. The first message read: 

It’s really no problem! My stream had mentioned your name before, too.

Followed by the second:

P.S. I think you’re cute, too.

You couldn’t believe your eyes. Mr. Damien Haas, the man that you had made a thoughtless comment on stream about, also thought that you were cute. Suddenly, the fact that you had been staring at him for the past hour seemed less stalkerish and more like a blooming crush. You wrote back:

Aw, thanks! Have you seen the newer fan edits? They’re all so talented.

You cringed at yourself. A cute boy started talking to you and you’ve suddenly forgotten how to be suave, not that you really were in the first place. But still, you liked to think you had some tact when talking to people that you found attractive. 

Not even a moment later, there came a response. 

Yes, I have, he responded. And I agree! They are all very talented individuals. 

You looked from the monitor in front of you. You had about a quarter of the footage left to go through before you could start editing but this technically wasn’t due until the following night. Feeling emboldened by the fact that he had actually responded, you replied:

Are you going to TwitchCon on Friday? We should meet up or something. 

Anxiously you awaited his response, taking his silence as an opportunity to watch a bit more of the footage and take down notes according to the sample they’d given you. Roughly thirty minutes later is when the next response came in, reading as an affirmative to both questions. 

You didn’t respond, choosing to leave your social media for after you’d finished editing the video. Your heart still pounded, however. Just the thought that there was a possibility for the two of you to meet was, simply put, insane. You’d just heard of the guy the night before and decided that he was going to be your latest hyperfixation. 

But who could blame you? He was a nice, funny guy that showed the slightest bit of attraction towards you. It didn’t help that you were a sucker for guys that were nice to you. 

Fast forward to the Friday of TwitchCon, also known as the first day of TwitchCon. You and Damien had been talking steadily over Twitter DMs and just last night you had gained his phone number, giving you even more access to the man than you had before. But of course, who were you if you didn’t tease your fans with the prospect of you meeting. 

The night before, at the end of your stream, you’d given your fans the little tidbit of information that you and Damien were, in fact, planning on meeting up sometime during TwitchCon and would be greeting fans together for an hour at your booth. 

That sent Twitter into a frenzy, both of your combined fans getting your ship name to trend within the hour, which confused the hell out of a bunch of locals. 

It was nearing the time you and Damien had set to meet up. The plan was you’d meet around twelve for lunch, take an hour for yourselves, before going back to your booth and meeting with fans for an hour or so as promised. 

You had never been more nervous than you were in that moment. Not only were you about to meet your three-day-old crush but apparently a very popular YouTuber. You tried not to let the thought mess with your head. One of your friends, Wilbur Soot (who you played Minecraft with from time to time) was poking fun at you for being nervous about meeting a popular YouTuber. 

After three years of streaming and gaining a solid following, you’d think you’d be used to meeting other popular content creators. But because it was him, you found yourself unable to think straight. 

“What if I fuck up?” you asked Wilbur anxiously. He’d flown in from London for this event at your insistence and because you’d offered to pay half his airfare to get there and back. He didn’t have his own booth as his arrival was very last minute, but he didn’t mind. He signed the occasional poster though his main purpose was to provide you mental and emotional support. 

“You won’t fuck up,” he comforted, leafing through one of the comics a fan had given you. The entire thing was hand-drawn, which was an insane fact in itself. It looked professional, which was what blew you away when you’d received it. “Well, you won’t fuck up as badly as you did when you first met Schlatt.”

You groaned in embarrassment. “Don’t remind me.”

Long story short, you’d dumped a red in color slushy on the man accidentally after tripping over an unmarked cable. It really wasn’t your fault but the boys hadn’t let you live it down since then. 

Half a moment later, Wilbur was poking your side. “Is that him?” he asked, jabbing his pointer finger into your side while looking in the opposite direction. He was looking at a familiar figure walking down the hallway toward your booth. He stopped for a moment to take a photo with a fan, talking to them about something, before continuing on his way toward you. 

Your eyes locked and you gave him a smile while trying to beat Wilbur into no longer poking you. He stopped when you slapped his arm the first time, sticking his tongue at you before going on his phone. You rolled your eyes at his half-assed attempt of pretending he wasn’t about to start listening in on your conversation. 

“Hey, Y/n, right?” Damien asked as he approached. You nodded, reaching out for a handshake but becoming pleasantly surprised when he instead pulled you in for a hug. 

“You ready for lunch?” you asked glaring slightly at Wilbur as he made kissy faces over Damien’s shoulder. Luckily, Damien hadn’t noticed your moron of a best friend. 

“Yeah, I saw this sushi place on the way in if you wanted to try that?”

“I’d be down,” you agreed, reaching behind your table to grab your bag. Wilbur was set to meet with a few other Minecraft streamers, meaning you didn’t have to worry about him while you had lunch. You looked over your shoulder, making sure everything was set for you to leave before saying goodbye to Wilbur. 

Over the course of lunch, you and Damien had gotten to know each other pretty well. Once the conversation moved away from your fans and, well, work, and more into personal details, you found that you actually weren’t all that similar. For starters, Damien loved watching anime while your guilty pleasure was Gilmore Girls. The one show you both had a love for, however, was Avatar the Last Airbender, which made sense. 

Another thing was that he actually enjoyed being in front of the camera while you tolerated it on most days, really only putting on your face cam for the last thirty minutes on most days. Despite that, he still classified himself as an introvert. 

You returned back to your booth much later than you anticipated, thoroughly shocked at the line that had formed with Wilbur at the front of it, entertaining the fans that had shown up early to meet both you and Damien. 

“Y/n!” one fan called, pointing in your direction. Immediately, the entire line turned and gaped at the sight of you and Damien walking together. You greeted them happily, stopping for pictures and verbally promising that you’d stay until you got to meet everyone personally. 

“You really love your fans,” Damien observed as you put your things back down behind the table. Wilbur had set up shop on your right side, chatting with a few people at the front of the line. 

“I wouldn’t be anywhere without them,” you admitted, pulling a silver sharpie from your bag. You handed a gold one to Damien. “I also wouldn’t have gotten to meet you without them, which I’m still sorry about, by the way. Your feed must have been chaotic.”

“You have no idea,” he chuckled. “But everything happens for a reason.”

You nodded, grinning up at him. “Yes, they do.” 

Permanent

@beautiful-holland @toms-order @starlightfound @grandmascottlang @positiveparker @bippity-boppity-boopa @caswinchester2000 @andreasworlsboring101 @imladylunaticbitch​

[siverwrites]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Alma/Cabanela (Ghost Trick) Characters: Alma (Ghost Trick), Cabanela (Ghost Trick) Additional Tags: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Final Fantasy VI AU, FFVI GT AU, Fluff Series: Part 58 of Final Fantasy VI/Ghost Trick Summary: An ill-at-ease time in an empty airship leads to something more...

-

Happy Birthday dear @azurefishnets!

She should have gone into town right away with the others, Alma thought. The airship was eerily silent without the ever-present underlying hum of the engines or the daily bustle and chatter. She brushed a hand over the wood panelling as she made her way back to the central area and imagined the chill touch of stone.

This was the Vanguard. The others were simply in town. She would see for herself shortly but still as she calmed herself her pace quickened until slowing at the sudden sight on the lower level.

She wasn’t as alone as she thought. Cabanela was asleep on the couch leaned back into the cushions, legs stretched out and mouth slightly open. She wondered if he’d sat down and simply fallen asleep right then and there. It seemed likely. She didn’t catch him asleep much these days; it was bound to catch up. There was a comfort in the sight: no displays or shows here. Honest and simple. Real.

Blankets were stored in a cabinet built into the wall just passed the sofa. The ship could grow cold when everything was shut down like this. She could at least make him more comfortable before she left. Light quiet steps carried her down the stairs, but as she passed by him, Cabanela stirred. Half-lidded eyes met her gaze and his voice was distant and still low with sleep.

“We’ll find you.”

Alma froze. After a swallow and a quick count to four, she spoke. “You did. I’m right here.” I am here.

His eyes slid shut and Alma took a deep breath. It was only a dream, only his dream and nothing more than that. A natural thing. Nothing more. She started to move away when he blinked and she found herself in his gaze once more.

“Alma?”

“I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“I thought you were in town, baby.”

“I could say the same for you.”

“Weeell,” Cabanela said with a wave of his hand and a grin that shone too falsely to Alma’s eyes, “someone should watch the old girl.”

“I see,” Alma replied with attempted levity, wondering if it rang as true as his grin. “And I’m certain you were doing a fine job from dreamland.” She took a seat beside him. “It’s not like you to skip a day in town.”

“Maybe when I can really visit,” he said blithely. “Tip-toein’ does get tiresome.”

Alma winced. She should have known; he was always so out there, so present. Of course he wouldn’t like having to keep a low profile or even relying on outright invisibility at times.

“It’s not all bad,” he continued. “After aaall I’ve found myself with far better company here.”

“I don’t know about that,” Alma found herself saying. “I don’t feel very ‘here’.” She stopped dead, clenching her teeth over the sudden admission.

“I count every day we see you as a blessing,” Cabanela said. His eyes met hers and she thought she might burn under his stare. “Every day we didn’t lose you to Doma.”

“I…”

Alma cast around the room for something to say or do. How could she reply to such open�� intensity? Her gaze landed on the gramophone in the corner of the room. The recent find had been a moment of smug pride for Memry and a rare sight of unadulterated delight in Cabanela.

“Wait here,” she said and abruptly rose.

There were only two records: one from Memry’s own eclectic collection of various things, and the other won from Jidoor’s auction. She settled for the Jidoor find and soon music washed out over the room and she returned to stand in front of Cabanela who watched curiously.

“It’s not often we have the ship to ourselves.” She offered him her hand. “How long has it been?”

Maybe it was a mistake, careless words born of her own wondering about a past that felt as ephemeral as not these days. He started to open his mouth to respond and stopped with a blank stare.

“I don’t know,” he finally said.

She kept her hand out. “Then let’s fix that. May I have this dance?”

To her relief and mounting tension despite herself, he took her hand and unfolded from the sofa. She guided him to the floor where he looped an arm around her waist. She forced herself to relax. His hold was firm in support and nothing more; she could easily slip away if she chose. Slipping away wasn’t what she wanted to do as the music played, their fingers intertwined, and Cabanela let her lead them into their first dance.

Strange how easy and natural it suddenly felt. He was as graceful as ever and old training came flooding back. It didn’t take long to find their rhythm and for the duration of the song Alma found herself focusing only on their movements and flow, letting other memories fade.

The next song was livelier and to her surprise Cabanela continued to let her keep the lead. They stepped and spun taking greater advantage of the empty floor. She caught Cabanela mid-whirl and with a flash of a grin and without a second thought she dipped him.

For a moment they remained in perfect balance. Cabanela gazed up at her and she noticed once again how his eyes were subtly lighter than they once were, and yet still so very… him.

“My Queen,” he breathed.

There was no mistaking the tenderness or wonder in his voice, but still she faltered. Queen: was that all she was? Was that what she was doomed to remain to all, even to him? She pulled him back up, letting him straighten, hoping to simply continue the dance.

Instead, he stopped. Had he sensed her thoughts? Had she messed this chance up? Could nothing ever be simple?

Cabanela hesitated then lifted a hand to touch her cheek, his touch feather-light and his fingers warm.

“Our Alma.”

Once again there was only sincerity and no sense of an expected old possessiveness. She leaned into his touch not trusting words, not knowing how she could respond.

The current song faded. For a moment they stood in silence, poised in a place she wondered at; could it last? Could this be? Then the next song started, another lively beat, and Cabanela grinned and caught her other hand.

“The ship to ourseeelves indeed. It’d be a shame to waste it now. Shaaall we?”

She couldn’t help but return a small smile at that. “After you.”

This time he took the lead and she was content to let him do so. It was another upbeat song and they fell into a quick step and possibly more twirls than were strictly necessary. She spun away hand outstretched not quite losing contact with him.

He cast an arm up and with a snap of his fingers golden sparkles rained down around them.

Alma couldn’t stop the small bubble of laughter even if she wanted to. “Memry wouldn’t like that.”

His eyes crinkled in amusement. “Memry isn’t here to see it, baby!”

“You are incorrigible,” she replied and let him pull her back, take her around the waist and guide her into the next whirling steps in another shower of sparkles.

One song and another before they fell back onto the couch hand in hand, and the ship was warm and their hearts full.