#was too impatient to learn how before tackling this vision.

[astrobei]

*hozier plays ominously in the background*

[biblio-smia]

part one | part two | part three

there's a feeling of dread in mike's stomach the second he wakes up. then, he remembers last night and his chest starts aching, too.

mike forces himself not to dwell on it. not on the disappointment in your eyes. not on the way you'd admitted you'd loved him (was it too late to admit he loved you, too?). not on how mike had ruined the one good thing he had.

mike rubs his eyes, blurry vision refocusing until the Nebraskan trees on his ceiling are clear once again.

mike feels more sluggish than usual as he throws clothes on and struggles to tie his tie, almost like he's still dreaming. he catches the crookedness of his tie in a mirror and imagines it's your fingers instead of his readjusting it.

abby is especially cold to him this morning, clearly not worried about mike realizing she had overheard last night's argument.

mike takes it, not even upset when abby calls him a jerk and throws a plushie at him.

he knows it's his fault. he knows he's been living in his own bubble without space for anyone else and he knows you are not going to come back without a little effort from him first; but the idea of telling you what's really going on is so terrifying mike would almost rather you never speak to him again.

it's really quite pathetic, how helpless mike is when, realistically, all it'd take is a phone call. but mike can't even bear the thought of hearing your voice confirm everything negative he's ever thought about himself.

so mike puts it off.

as soon as he gets this done. as soon as he figures out who kidnapped his brother.

then everything can go back to how it was.

though that uneasiness really never leaves mike that day. not as abby angrily huffs as she exits the car, not as mike shares this dream theory with his co-worker Jeremy, and especially not as mike sees an older man forcing a young boy along.

really, mike didn't even remember tackling the man and beating his face in.

but mike must deal with the consequences.

he is home early and abby has learned not to ask why. she has long since caught on to mike's patterned behaviors, though her childish mind does not quite grasp how it all could affect her. but abby does know that she misses you, wishing that stupid mike would just pick up the phone and call you.

max is her babysitter now. she's nice and she lets abby sit and draw in her room, but she's not you.

abby is on a hunger strike again, one that only you could ever seem to get her off of. mike tries one of your tricks, telling abby she'll never get to ride any adult rides at amusement parks, but she does not give in. at least he's sure they're related. mike can only hope abby's anger at him will mellow out - she has not been this difficult since before you and mike started dating and he has forgotten how to wrangle her.

the next day is better - up until the moment mike is handed a stack of papers asking him to give abby up.

a part of him considers it. who the hell was mike to raise abby? he couldn't maintain a job or relationship. abby has barely spoken to him recently (though mike wonders how much of that has been his own fault) and there have been multiple times throughout the years where mike thinks abby might truly hate him.

but then dr. lillian reminds him that children communicate through pictures and mike almost blurts out your name when she asks who's at the center of all of abby's drawings. and then it dawns on mike that, even before you, it's been mike. it's always been mike and now he is forced to think about how deeply abby loves him, pushing out the voice that tells mike this is impossible.

at home, mike sits in front of the phone and considers calling you. he still half-expects you to come in through the front door sometimes, smile bright and arms warm as you hug him from behind, too impatient for mike to stand and properly greet you. mike can almost feel your fingers on his shoulders and your kisses on his temple - and then he remembers he's alone.

mike shakes the thoughts, though he lets himself imagine your reaction to aunt jane's request. you'd say no, god, you'd rip up the papers, an anger on your face that mike knows isn't directed at him. you'd grab his hands and promise you'll find a way to win.

yeah, you'd be there, right by his side.

as if on cue, abby pipes up suddenly, her attention off the television and on mike and the phone in front of him. "are you finally gonna call?"

"what?" mike asks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion until abby says your name like you're the only person mike should be calling.

"what? no, abby."

"why not?" abby cries, her frustration with mike beginning to return.

"because," mike stammers. "because it's complicated."

abby rolls her eyes. mike sighs and picks up the phone. he doesn't dial your number (that he knows by heart), not quite ready to let you see him while he's so low. instead, he takes a small white business card out of his pocket and dials steve raglan's number.

yes, mike thinks as he looks at abby, he has had a change of heart.

it's been three days since you've seen or heard from mike. there's a certain kind of disappointment that constricts around your throat, making it hard to breathe when you think about it too much. you hadn't explicitly broken up with mike, but you'd given him a choice that he still hadn't acted on. were you too harsh? had trying to pry your way in been a mistake?

no. you weren't happy with how mike had been acting and you had to let it out eventually before it hurt the two of you even more.

but god, why was it so hard for him to just pick up the phone and call you? all he had to do was say i'm sorry. at this point, you'd take just that. maybe if he saw you...

so you make a trip to the mall after work, but nerves start to set in as you drive and your confidence starts to falter. maybe you won't go up to him, but maybe you could just get a glance...

you've been curious to see how he's doing, anyway. you know mike can survive without you but your anxiety won't quit turning your stomach into knots until you see that he's okay.

you don’t spot mike. but your eyes do land on jeremy, who you’d met a few times when dropping things off that mike had forgotten (like his uniform shirt).

thankfully, the security guard spots you first, sending you a friendly wave that you return. he isn’t really expecting you to walk over, especially now that mike’s gone, but he doesn’t really mind.

but then you ask about mike and jeremy’s expression quickly becomes confused.

“mike got, uh… let go. two days ago.”

"let go?" you don't bother hiding the confusion on your face. if you had known, you wouldn't have been here.

"yeah... didn't he tell you? that's something pretty hard to hide."

"we're not... together. um, i mean, we don't live together... we argued. it's complicated."

jeremy smiles understandingly, a little amused.

"well, i didn't know him for long, but i know he was crazy about you. i mean, i thought he was a real dick until you stopped by and i saw how he acted around you. i mean, he was like a little kid with a crush," jeremy laughs, before he raises his hands defensively. "look, i don't know what happened, but he's probably beating the shit out of himself for it."

you let yourself laugh a little, your cheeks a little warm in embarrassment. "yeah, i'll keep that in mind. thanks." you turn to walk away, only getting a few steps away before another inquiry pops into your head. "do you know... if he's working somewhere else now?"

jeremy frowns as he shakes his head. "no idea. it was all kind of... messy."

you wonder what he means briefly but any chance to ask for more details is stripped as a static-y voice comes through jeremy's walkie-talkie. you decide not to bother the guard anymore, waving your goodbye and walking back to your car.

what did mike do?

that night, max enters the schmidt home to abby's screams. she stands in the doorway curiously, watching mike shut abby in her room as she takes her raincoat off.

"she's all yours." mike grumbles, heading back into his room.

though as sleep finds max on the couch with the tv playing softly in the background, she does not hear the soft padding of abby's feet sneak into the dining room. abby's small hands move the phone to a position that is more comfortable for her to dial in a number she does not know by heart, but has written on a piece of paper that has "in case of emergencies!" scrawled at the top. abby hopes you aren't asleep as the line rings, grinning when she finally hears your voice. it's been so long! abby almost squeals, but remembers she must be quiet.

"hello? who is this?" your voice rings, a little impatient.

"hi! it's me!" abby whispers loudly.

"abby? honey? is something wrong?"

"everything's wrong!" abby sighs. "mike won't take me with him to work and i have to stay here with max and i don't want to!"

you hold the phone to your chest momentarily as you sigh. no real emergency. a part of you is relieved, while another wonders how mike would feel about this. if he'd feel anything at all. (and maybe there's a part that's disappointed you don't have an excuse to see abby and mike).

"max is your new babysitter?" you're a little hurt mike would go so far as to hire someone else rather than just call you - did he really not want to see you that much?

"mhm," abby nods. "she's sleeping on the couch right now - that's why i'm whispering!"

you stifle a laugh at abby's antics, listening carefully as another voice (seemingly still half-asleep), max, asks abby who she's talking to.

"my friends," abby responds, her voice sounding a little more faraway before her attention returns to you. "i miss you," abby whines.

"i miss you, too, abs. so much." and you didn't really realize how much you did until now, an ache in your chest spreading at the sound of her sweet voice.

"can you come over? please?"

"no, abby, i don't think that's a good idea." you sigh. you really didn't want to put more pressure on mike and risk running him out for good, even if he wasn't currently at home.

"mike is a jerk!" abby groans, bringing the phone down to the floor as she lays on her stomach. "and i know he's sorry, he's just being stupid."

"hey," you warn gently. "you know he... tries his best," you sigh. "he's just not that great at talking about his feelings."

"well, he took my vest," abby tells you. "and he wouldn't let me come with him to work."

"he's going to work at this hour?"

"mhm! he works during the night now. at the abandoned pizzeria?"

"now, why would you want to go with mike there?" you laugh lightly.

abby's giggles grace your ears and your heart hurts despite your smile. "it's fun! i wanna go!"

you really can't fathom how abby manages to find a place like that appealing, shaking your head softly through the phone.

and then that other voice, max, speaks up again, less groggily this time. "abby, are you actually talking to someone?"

"no!" abby lies. "i have to go! bye!"

you don't even get the chance to wish her sweet dreams before the line goes dead, leaving you with that sad feeling in your stomach and a lump in your throat that you fear might turn into tears.

the next day, you're barely home when the phone starts to ring. you pull it off the hook quickly, remembering last night's caller.

"hello?"

your intuition was correct; abby's voice greets you on the other side of the line.

"can you come over? it's really an emergency this time!"

"abby? what's wrong?" there's worry in your voice and you're suddenly grateful you haven't even had the chance to take your shoes off.

"i can't tell you over the phone. just come quick, please?"

you don't even ask where mike is before you nod. "okay, i'll be right there. ten minutes, okay?"

you hang up the phone and practically speed to mike's.

your hands tremble slightly as you try to shove the spare key in, twisting the doorknob and shoving it open quickly.

mike's name is on the tip of your tongue before your eyes land on the man himself and abby, both crouched as the clean up spilled items from that stupid, always-stuck drawer.

"wha... what's the emergency?" your voice falters and you're beginning to think there was no real emergency after all (how could you know that the sight of a woman wanting to talk to mike constituted an emergency in abby's little head?).

mike looks at you confused and a little shocked while abby grins. she leaps up to wrap her small arms around you and you bend down to reach her height.

"abby..." you begin, but she's off before you can even finish, the soft shut of her door the only thing filling the silence between you and mike as abby disappears.

you sigh as you straighten, wondering if you should just turn around now. "she... called, said it was an emergency." you're avoiding mike's eyes, only keeping the lower half of his body in your peripheral.

mike sighs. "abby!" he calls, his hands on his hips and his head down, though he knows it's no use.

"sorry," the both of you blurt out, looking up at each other at the same time before quickly glancing away.

"no, i'm sorry," mike steps closer to you now, hands balling up the hem of his hoodie. "for... everything."

you look up at mike now and you can see that he means it.

"i'm sorry for shutting you out. i'm sorry for getting angry. i'm sorry for not calling."

you can tell his hands want so desperately to be on you and you step closer, putting your hands in his.

"i was stupid." mike pulls you closer, just now realizing how much he's missed everything about you: your touch, your scent, the way you fit so perfectly against him. the way he can never keep his hands off you, not even for a second. "and i'm so, so, sorry." mike's voice has dropped to a hushed whisper, his eyes scanning yours for any hint of forgiveness.

"okay," you begin, hands dropping to mike's waist as you pull him in for a hug. "okay," you nod, holding him so tight mike feels like he could cry.

"i'll tell you everything," mike whispers. and he does.

he thought it'd be easier, considering it was the second time he'd told the tragic story of his childhood in the span of about thirty minutes. but sitting next to you, your thumb rubbing soothing circles into the back of his hand, mike began choking up which led to you crying, too.

"you never told me," you said, voice soft.

"i know. i'm sorry."

"no, no," you shake your head. "this is... big. i understand why you don't talk about it." mike nods, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "it's a lot," you continue, wiping your own tears away. "it explains a lot."

"what do you mean?"

"why you suck at opening up."

that makes mike laugh. and there's a part of him that's mended by your words. to you, he's not difficult. not unlovable. he just... sucks at opening up.

"yeah, i guess i am pretty bad at that." mike keeps his eyes down, hands still playing with yours.

you shrug. "you're getting better."

and mike's heart soars.

he looks up at you with nothing but hearts in his eyes, his head tilting ever so slightly as he leans in closer. you meet him halfway, eyes closing once you feel mike's lips against yours again - softly, sweetly. your hands drop and find the back of his neck while mike's land on your hips, bringing you closer as you both feed the hunger you've been fighting off for days.

"finally!" abby's voice interrupts you and mike as you spring away from each other, wiping your lips with warm faces.

"you," mike points, getting out of his chair. "are in so much trouble."

abby squeals as she dodges past mike and straight into your arms, clinging on tight.

"okay, abs, what did we talk about when using the phone?" you ask, pushing a stray ringlet into place.

"that it's only for emergencies," abby recalls a little glumfully, though you're glad she doesn't bring up the little chat you two had.

"and what do you say for lying about an emergency?" mike pitches in sternly, hands on his hips.

"it was an emergency!" abby insists, turning from you to mike and back. "mike was talking to vanessa."

"vanessa?" your eyebrows raise, a little amused as you glance from abby to mike.

"what? abby, it's not even like that!" mike insists, face warm and hoping you won't get the wrong idea. "vanessa is a police officer who comes by freddy's sometimes," mike explains, partially to abby but mostly to you. you try not to giggle at mike's flustered state.

"see, abs? nothing to worry about." and really, you know there isn't. it took mike two months and a direct confession to realize you were into him; there was no way anything had happened between him and vanessa.

"so, you two are together again?" abby asks hopefully, eyes glimmering.

you glance at mike, who's hiding his face in his hands and groaning. "well, technically, we were never broken up," you tell abby, patting her face as she smiles, clearly satisfied. "good," she says. "don't." and then she's off again, back to the comfort of her room and her imaginary friends.

"are you serious?" mike's voice is clear now as his head leaves his palms. "that wasn't a breakup?"

your head tilts in confusion. "well, i never technically said the words, 'i'm breaking up with you,' so no, it wasn't a breakup. more like a break."

"what the hell? that was one of the most awful experiences of my entire life, and it wasn't even an actual breakup?"

mike is so evidently torn you can't help but laugh, standing to pull him in and catch him in a kiss.

"act right and you'll never have to experience one," you whisper in his ear.

mike nods profusely, arms wrapped around you tightly as he pulls you in again and again, lips not leaving your skin for more than a few seconds at a time.

and really, he has no idea how he's been managing to survive without you.

OKAY OKAY... do we want a part 3 that would wrap up the rest of the movie?? (itd have more angst + flluff <3) pls let me know <3

requests for mike schmidt are open!

[msbigredmachine]

New To This - Chapter 1

Jaded by her fiancé’s disinterest in her ambitions to become a professional wrestler, Delilah Parrish’s life takes an interesting turn when one of WWE’s top names offers her the support she’s not getting at home.

Pairing: Jey Uso/OC

Warnings: As we go along...

Word Count: 2.3k

A/N: This was initially a Roman fic but I realized I have too many upcoming stories featuring him, so I switched it up and passed it off to Jey. Hope you enjoy!

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“Come on, Parrish, move your ass! Get on her!”

The damp, unruly strands of baby hair in Delilah Parrish’s eyes temporarily obscured her vision and made it difficult to take on her trainer’s instruction. Brushing them away impatiently, her mind flitted to the next line of offense, but her opponent had tackled her to the canvas before her thoughts could fully register. The hard surface made unfriendly contact with her body, but the rushing adrenaline helped fight off the pain, and she battled with her opponent trying to twist her body into a sleeper hold. Delilah tried to concentrate on countering the hold, but between the hundreds of thoughts scrambling around her head and the yelling coming from outside the regulation wrestling ring, it was a near impossible feat.

“For fuck’s sake, Parrish, what are you doin’?” Pounding his palm hard on the mat, her trainer, Makena 'Tank' Kalua, shouted again. “Quit pullin’ her arm like that! You’re gonna break it!”

The other woman, an older, more experienced student named Janie from England, easily slipped out of the armbar Delilah was attempting on her and sat up, seizing both of Delilah’s legs and twisting them in a figure-four leg lock. Usually it was Delilah’s job to sell this move, try to roll over to ease the pressure, or even grab the bottom rope for relief, just like she’d learned. Instead, she kicked her legs carelessly, grunting as she wildly fought out of the hold.

“What the fuck! Is that what I taught you?” Tank screamed again. Blowing the whistle around his neck, he reached under the bottom rope and grabbed Delilah by her leg, forcibly dragging her out of the ring and setting her on her feet. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Huffing irritably, Delilah yanked her arm away from him and marched away to the other end of the warehouse, ignoring Janie and the other girls that glared wearily after her, wondering what Tank saw in her to begin with. Delilah wondered that herself sometimes.

Ever since she was a little girl growing up in the tiny town of Pensacola, Florida, she dreamed about being in the middle of the fabled squared circle, performing for sellout crowds all over the world, making a name for herself in the notoriously tough wrestling business. And now she was finally getting her chance. In two days’ time, she would be partaking in her very first singles match, lacing up the boots she had worked two extra shifts at the local gym to afford. At last, she was taking that small step towards her dream.

So why did she not feel ready? Why was she doubting herself at the last hour?

One word; Andre.

She was starting to lose count of how many fights they’d gotten into in the six months since she’d embarked on what her fiancé openly thought was her childish desire to become a professional wrestler. Once he realized that it wasn’t just some hobby she would lose interest in after a week, his support began to dwindle more and more as the months went on. There were heated arguments between them on a weekly basis it seemed, mostly on what her ambitions were costing the couple financially. After all, they still had a wedding to plan; their already tight budget was being nibbled at by her exorbitant wrestling class fees. There were bills to pay around the house; she’d already squandered a month’s salary to purchase her wrestling outfit and boots. Yesterday, Delilah had kept quiet, refused to argue, and let Andre vent all he wanted. But this morning, her nerves were starting to kick in over her upcoming match, and when Andre began another tirade as he headed out to work, she not-so-politely shut him down. Tempers were lost and words were exchanged, and both left the house angry. Delilah hadn’t heard from him all day. Secretly, she was glad. She didn’t need his crap today.

Evidently, Tank didn’t need her crap either. The trainer usually gave her some leeway but today he wasn’t having it at all. “Hey, get your ass back here!” His deep, angry voice sounded behind her. He grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. “Where ya goin’ huh? You wanna run home like a little girl?” he asked her. “Go ahead, go.”

“Just stop, alright?” Delilah snapped, her fists clenched involuntarily as she fought the urge to hit him right in his face. Unfortunately she didn’t stand a chance against him, not when he weighed over a hundred pounds more than she did and was an entire foot taller than her, and certainly not with his over two decades of wrestling experience in comparison to her puny half-year.

Moving closer to her, Tank placed a calloused hand on her shoulder. “What’s goin’ on Dee? You’ve been acting up today.”

Delilah knew she was among the very few trainees Tank afforded the luxury of his concern and sympathy. She liked to think it was because she was one of the teachable ones, easily picking up the wrestling moves like she’d been doing it for years. She was always one of the first to arrive and one of the last to leave, helping set up the ring and take it down after classes. Her attitude was refreshing, and she eventually managed to become something resembling a friend to him.

But there was only so much friendship could do for her current situation. Running a hand through her hair, Delilah tried to figure out where to start answering his question. She was fuckin’ tired, for one. She was wrestling in front of an actual crowd in a mere forty-eight hours. Her fiancé was being an ass. Her pride however, wouldn’t let her say those things out loud. That he considered her to be a friend didn’t mean she had to go crying to him for every problem she had. “It’s nothing, I’m fine,” she murmured, choosing to focus on the Polynesian tribal tattoo spread over his right arm.

Tank rolled his eyes with a huff. “We both know that’s bullshit, but if you say so.” Turning back for the ring, he sighed heavily. “You got sixty seconds to clear your head, then you get your ass back in that ring. We got shit to do so hurry up.” With that, he walked away.

She expected no other response. He never coddled her, not during working hours anyway. She didn’t want him to, either. The last thing she wanted to look was weak in front of fellow trainees; people, as Tank always reminded her, who wanted this career, who wanted this life, more than anything else in the world. And that brought her back to the same question she’d been asking herself for months.

How badly did she want it?

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

The next couple of hours seemed to go on forever. Tired, bruised and battered from a long day of training, Delilah hitched her bag over her shoulder and cast a glance at the round black clock on the wall as she walked towards the exit of the warehouse. Andre had sent a text message that filled her with hope of reconciliation after their heated morning. Maybe they could sit down and talk about what had happened, and hopefully work things out like they always did.

“Hey, Parrish, come here a sec,” Tank's voice sounded out of nowhere. “Got someone I want you to meet.”

Sighing heavily, Delilah turned her gaze towards the doorway of the small office where he stood. “Do I have to? I gotta meet up with Dre.”

“He’ll be there when you get home,” he dismissed her excuse. “Come say hi. You won’t regret it, come on.”

With a quiet groan, Delilah shuffled toward the office. “I hope not,” she mumbled, stopping short when her eyes fell upon the hulking, tattooed figure sitting on Tank's desk. Her eyes widened and her jaw slackened, unable to believe what she was seeing. “Oh shit!”

Tank's grin widened as he pushed her further into his office. “Told ya. Delilah, meet Jey Uso. Jey, this is one of my students, Delilah Parrish.”

Standing up from his place on the edge of his friend’s desk, Joshua Fatu extended a hand to the toned beauty standing in front of him. He smiled when she placed her hand in his, noticed how it trembled. “Sup, Delilah, nice to meet you,” he said.

Delilah tried to reply, but her mouth seemed to have forgotten its primary function. She could feel her face burning as she continued to hold his large hand, wanting to let go but somehow unable to. It wasn’t every day she shook hands, or was even within a mile radius of Main Event Jey Uso himself. She’d been a big fan of his ever since his debut with his brother, Jimmy. To see them evolve and grow from a tag team to singles stars was so rewarding. The Bloodline storyline was must-see TV for her, and she had found herself sympathizing with the Right Hand Man over the course of the storyline. She followed him on X and Instagram, and had a couple of his Yeet T-shirts. To be in the presence of a man whom she watched on TV every week, a guy she grew to idolize and respect so much, was beyond mind-blowing.

Before her silence could grow awkward, Delilah removed her hand from his grasp. She’d always hoped that the day she got to meet a WWE Superstar, she’d act much cooler and more composed and not like the average tongue-tied fan. She knew she just failed miserably.

Josh crossed his muscled arms over his chest, his gaze firmly on her face. “So Delilah, Tank tells me you gotta lot of potential, uce. Says you’re very talented,” he said, his deep, gruff voice tinged with curiosity.

“Well, all those bumps he’s taken over the years have finally damaged his brain cells,” she said sarcastically, smiling when she drew a laugh from both men, particularly Jey.

“Nah, I’ve known this fool for damn near twenty years now,” said Josh, jerking his thumb in Tank's direction, “If he say you got talent, then you got talent.” He sat back on the desk and let his eyes admire her, silently wondering just how smoking hot the body hidden underneath the baggy clothes was. “So how long you been training?” he inquired. 

Delilah shoved her hands into the pockets of her sweatpants. “I started working out about nine months ago, tryna get in ring shape,” she answered. “But I’ve been training for about six.”

Josh nodded his head. “And your first show’s the day after tomorrow, right?” he queried, keeping his eyes on hers.

“My first match,” she corrected him. “I’ve been to a few shows, done some ring announcing, valeted a couple of times,” she added proudly, as though that would make her look more credible in her idol’s eyes. As she spoke, she stole the chance to look him over. Diamond Cuban links glittered around his neck and both his wrists and gave a shine to his fitted Nike sweatsuit that covered up the tattoos she knew decorated a good portion of his russet skin. He was taller than she expected, and just as ruggedly handsome. And those eyes…a hint of danger lurked behind the jovial, friendly facade, very much giving off bad boy vibes. Against her will, she was intrigued.

Ignoring the eye-fucking session going on in his office, Tank patted Josh’s shoulder. “A’ight y’all, time to get outta here.” He ushered the two of them out of his office and towards the exit of the gym. 

“So…what brings you back to town, Jey?” she asked Josh as they walked side by side behind Tank.

The Samoan smiled at the young woman who hadn’t stopped blushing since they met. “Not much. Just hangin’ out with family and shit,” he replied. “Thought I’d come visit my mans over here, but now I hear there’s a show in town, I may just stick around a while longer.” He paused, noting the way her face paled a little. “You nervous?”

Delilah blew out a breath. “Honestly? I’m terrified.”

Josh shook his head. “Naw, don’t be. Focus on all the positives, how far you’ve come, and you’ll be fine.”

She nodded and bit her lip. That was reassuring, just a little bit. “Thanks,” she said, noting that her trainer’s car was heading their way. Tank always dropped her off at home as he lived not too far off from hers. “Well, I better get going. It was so cool to meet you, Jey,” she added, thinking it better to wave this time rather than shake hands. 

“Same here Delilah. And trust me when I say I’ll be seeing you more often in the future,” Josh replied.

For some reason, it sounded to Delilah like there were a handful of promises in those words, but she waved off the silly notion immediately and opted to leave before she made a fool of herself in front of the Jey Uso. It felt like she was walking on air as she approached Tank's car, still star-struck, still stunned by the last couple of minutes that had just happened.

But then, as she slammed the car door shut, she remembered what was waiting for her at home, and with a tired sigh, she was forced to push the moment away, forced to forget about the intense brown eyes that continued to stare after her even as the car drove away from the warehouse.

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Thoughts so far?

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[hanjeongrp]

Welcome to Hanjeong, Princess Koralia. You are quite the merfolk. At about 100, you have quite a claim being a merfolk royal.

Enjoy paradise.

OOC:

Name/Alias: dee (again)

Pronouns: she/her

Age: old

Timezone: est

IC:

Biography Information:

OC Name: koralia (you will die) but goes by bora

FC: dami, lee yubin (dreamcatcher)

Species: mermaid

Occupation: surfing instructor

Residence: south side

Gender: femme

Pronouns: she/her

Age: a young 100 or so

Claim(s): mermaid royal

you learn things quickly about the world if you swim around in it long enough. they tell you to never meet your hero’s but sometimes its inevitable. koralia never really had a choice. royal was a mantel she wore about her shoulders for as long as she could remember. it came with expectations, rules and decorum. she was raised to know how to sit, when to eat, the proper way to chastise someone with nothing more than a soft change of tone. it never felt right, never felt like a role she was born to play, but her father was so proud of his title, and as a youngling she had been to. to a child parents are everything. the moral compass by which they learn. the examples for how they will live, love and treat others. her father had always set sparkling examples at home of how a man should love a woman, how he should love his daughter and extended family. he taught her about honor and reputation and how everything they did was supposed to be a reflection of all the great people who come before them. so she’d had a hero who was six foot two from crown to fin with her eyes and a laugh she sometimes thought she could hear in her own. koralia had been proud to have a dad like that.

she didn’t know it was all built on lies.

she was grown the year her father went missing, though missing might be too strong a description. they all knew where he had gone. that he had slipped out of the ocean serf and donned the appearance of a regular man. her mother had always told her his curiosity would be the death of him someday. she wasn’t far off the mark, though the victim of his curiosity was never going to be himself. things were never the same after his return. silence gave way to paranoid rage and all too soon the perfect vision she’d known her whole life was suddenly toppling down around her shoulders. her parents separated. her father lived in shame, his reputation tarnished beyond repair. her mother held too much resentment in her heart to be worried about her sole child. as one year rolled into the next and the current shifted marking the pass of another year the rumors began. 

 a child. helf-mermaid, half-human. a child.

her mother was always a dramatic thing. the smallest slight was enough to send her into a frenzy that could last for days. her father’s curiosity was going to be the death of him, so why did it take her mother instead? she didn’t go by koralia anymore, it was too clunky, too old. it sounded wrong on the lips of everyone around her when her mother was the last person to say it. even her cousin, the person she loved the most in the world was asked to call her bora. simple, easy. emotionless. it took a few years before she was ready to tackle the idea that she had a half-sibling somewhere on the land. that a person who was part of her existed and would grow up without ever knowing about her. that they had a sibling, that they were technically of royal blood, that they had the best cousin in the world and a father who had once been her hero.

did they have the same eyes? the same laugh? before long, she fell victim to her own curiosity, swimming near to the island where her sibling was said to live. waited for hours a day, year by year, waiting. hoping. all they had to do was step foot in the ocean and bora was certain with every fiber of her being that she would be able to find them.

when it never happened, and by her own math they should be well into their own form of adulthood, she grew impatient. and then she made the decision. like her royal cousin, the new king; she would leave the ocean. she would wander the island and the humans within it and just maybe she would finally put her questions to rest. if she was lucky enough to get family out of it, that could hardly be a bad thing right?

and so, in another chapter of her bloodline, a mermaid found her way free of the sea, toes touching sand she had never seen so dry and soft as she examined the shoreline ahead. truly, how hard could finding one person be?

[kookie-doughs]

Y/N L/N AND THE HALFBLOODS

Percy Jackson X Reader -Y/N L/N met Percy Jackson and everything was now ruined.

CHAPTER 5: COMING TO CAMP

I woke up feeling sore all over, but what I heard and saw made no sense, so I just passed out again. I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered popcorn, only it was pudding. A short-cropped blonde haired guy hovered over me, looking down at me. When he saw my eyes open, he asked, "How are you feeling?" I managed to croak, "What?" "Are you feeling better?" "I guess," I mumbled, "I don't... where's Percy?" Somebody knocked on the door, and the guy slowly set the pudding down. "I'll see you when you're better." He smiled. The next time I woke up, the guy was gone.

When I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surroundings, except that they were nicer than I was used to. I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries. There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt. On the table next to me was a tall drink. It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry. My hand was so weak I almost dropped the glass once I got my fingers around it. "You're awake," a voice said. A blonde girl was leaning against the porch railing, looking tired and done. She was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops and a bright orange T-shirt that said CAMPHALF-BLOOD. "I should call the others," she said. "Where's Percy?" "He's talking with Mr. D." "Is he well?" "You've been through worse," She said with her eyebrows knitted(?). "And the first thing you ask is your friend?" "Percy, should—" "I'll tell the others." She looked at me one last time and left. I stared across the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries spread out under the blue sky. The valley was surrounded by rolling hills, and the tallest one, directly in front of us, was the one with the huge pine tree on top. Even that looked beautiful in the sunlight. Without Percy's presence I was reminded of everything I lost. Everyone I care about. "Hey," A voice behind me called. "Annabeth passed by and told me you're awake. Feeling better?" "Oh, hey." I smiled weakly. "Feelin real peachy." "Luke, Luke Castellan." "Y/N L/N..." We stayed quiet for a minute. "I'm sorry for what happened. I don't exactly know what went on but..." Looking at him, I gave him a sad smile, "Thanks... I guess. Even I'm not sure what went on honestly... I don't know what's going on." "Well, I'm not exactly much of an explainer so, we just gotta wait for Chiron." "I... remember everything. From the moment the sea pulled me, to loosing my parents and dog, to bringing us here... I just... don't understand..." I suddenly felt dizzy, my vision swimming. "Don't strain yourself," Luke said. "Here." He helped me hold my glass and put the straw to my lips. I recoiled at the taste, because I was expecting apple juice. It wasn't that at all. It was (Favorite Food or F/F). Liquid F/F. And not just any F/F—my mom and dad's special F/F. Drinking it, my whole body felt warm and good, full of energy. My grief didn't go away, but I felt as if my mom and dad had just pet my head, fed me F/F the way they used to when I was small, and told me everything was going to be okay. Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass. I stared into it, sure I'd just had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted. "Was it good?" Luke asked. I nodded. "Are you feeling better now? "Yeah," I said. "Thanks." "That's good," he said. "That's good. I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff." "What do you mean?" He took the empty glass from me, as if it were dynamite, and set it back on the table. "Y/N!" I turned to the voice and saw Grover. "Hey, Luke." "I'll take it they want her?" Grover nodded. "I'll see you later." Luke smiled and ruffled my hair, then left me with Grover. Grover watched Luke leave then turned to me, "Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting." The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse. My legs felt wobbly, trying to walk that far. I asked him where Percy was and he said he was already there. As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath. We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture—an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena—except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and, unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings. "Y/N!!" I was engulfed and tackled which almost made me fall. Percy looked at me with sad eyes, holding unto the Minotaur horn. He looked tired and sick. "Are you okay Percy?" He nodded and rested his head on my shoulder. Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond-haired girl that I woke up to was leaning on the porch rail next to them. The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He looked like those paintings of baby angels— what do you call them, hubbubs? No, cherubs. That's it. He looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park. He wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt. "Hate to break your touching reunion but we were talking." The man said. "That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer than just about anybody. And you already know Chiron..." He pointed at the guy whose back was to me. First, I realized he was sitting in the wheelchair. Then I recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard. "Mr. Brunner!" I cried. The Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. "Ah, good, Y/N," he said. "You're awake. Percy couldn't focus since he was worried of you. He woke up an hour before you. Care for a game of pinochle?" He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you." "Uh, thanks." I turned to Percy who looked at me confusedly as well. "Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl. She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady and Luke nursed you back to health, Y/N. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy and Y/N's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now." Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron." She was probably my age, maybe same height, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image. They were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight. She glanced at the minotaur horn in Percy's hands, then back at him. I felt a bit iffy and got closer to Percy. She turned to me and said, "You should thank Luke." Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her. "So," Percy said, anxious to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?". "Not Mr. Brunner," the ex—Mr. Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron." "Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director. "And Mr. D ... does that stand for something?" Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young woman, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason." "Oh. Right. Sorry." "I must say, Percy, Y/N," Chiron-Brunner broke in, "I'm glad to see you both alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time. And I am quite surprise to recruit two." "House call?" "Recruit two?" "My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to ... ah, take a leave of absence. And when the mist hadn't worked on Y/N, Grover and I thought she saw through the mist." "Mist?" "It's... something." "You came to Yancy just to teach me?" Percy asked. Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first. We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test. As for Y/N..." He looked at me skeptically then to Mr. D. "You're... still scentless." "Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?" "Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt. "You do know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed me suspiciously. "I'm afraid not," I said. "I'm afraid not, sir," he said. "Sir," I repeated. I was liking the camp director less and less. "Well," he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all civilized young men to know the rules." "I'm sure the girl can learn," Chiron said. "The other kid was bad, I doubt this one can do better." "Please," Percy said pulling me closer to him, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brun—Chiron—why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?" Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question." The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile. Chiron smiled at us sympathetically. "Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?' "She said... She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her." "And you?" He turned to me. "Nothing like this ever happened... Everything was normal." "Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed. Young lady, are you bidding or not?" "What?" I asked. He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle, and so I did. "I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient." "Orientation film?" Percy asked. "No," Chiron decided. "Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know"—he pointed to the horn in the shoe box—"that you and Y/N have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either, lad. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods—the forces you call the Greek gods—are very much alive." I stared at the others around the table. I waited for somebody to yell, Not! But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points. "Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?" "Eh? Oh, all right." Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully. "Wait," I told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God." "Well, now," Chiron said. "God—capital G, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical." "Metaphysical? But you were just talking about—" "Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter." "Smaller?" "Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class." "Zeus," Percy said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them." And there it was again—distant thunder on a cloudless day. "Young man," said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you." "But they're stories," Percy said. "They're—myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science." "Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson"—I felt Percy flinched when he was called—"what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals—they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come so-o-o far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me." I wasn't liking Mr. D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if... he wasn't. It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut. "Percy," Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that immortal means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing, just as you are, for all time?" "You mean, whether people believed in you or not," Percy said. "Exactly," Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that someday people would call you and Y/N a myth, just created to explain how children can get over losing their parents?" My heart pounded. He was trying to make us angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him. Gripping on Percy I said, "I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods." "Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you." Grover said, "P-please, sir. She's just lost her family. She's in shock." "A lucky thing, too," Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with kids who don't even believe.'" He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine. My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up. "Mr. D," he warned, "your restrictions." Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise. "Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!" More thunder. Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game. Chiron winked at me. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits." "A wood nymph," I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space. "Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time—well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away—the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence,' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down.' Ha.' Absolutely unfair." Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid. "And ..." Percy stammered, "your father is ..." "Di immortales, Chiron," Mr. D said. "I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course." I ran through D names from Greek mythology. Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs that all seemed to work here. The way Grover cringed, as if Mr. D were his master. "You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine." Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, 'Well, duh!'?" "Y-yes, Mr. D." "Then, well, duh! Y/N L/N. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?" "You're a god." "Yes, child." "A god. You." He turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grape vines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts. I knew that if I pushed him, Mr. D would show me worse things. He would plant a disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a strait-jacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life. "Would you like to test me, child?" he said quietly. "No. No, sir." The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win." "Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me." I thought Mr. D was going to vaporize Chiron right out of his wheelchair, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher. He got up, and Grover rose, too. "I'm tired," Mr. D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment." Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes, sir." Mr. D turned to me. "Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson, Y/N L/N. And mind your manners." He swept into the farmhouse, Grover following miserably. "Will Grover be okay?" Percy asked Chiron. Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. He's been ... ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus." "Mount Olympus," Percy said. "You're telling me there really is a palace there?" "Well now, there's Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It's still called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Percy, just as the gods do." "You mean the Greek gods are here? Like... in America?" "Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West." "The what?" "Come now, Percy. What you call 'Western civilization.' Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know—or as I hope you know, since you passed my course—the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps—Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on—but the same forces, the same gods." "And then they died." "Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture. People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in RockefellerCenter, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not—and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome, either—America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here." It was all too much, especially the fact that I seemed to be included in Chiron's we, as if I were part of some club. "Who are you, Chiron? Who... who am I? I-Is Y/N?" Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible. He was paralyzed from the waist down. "Who are you?" he mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet. I believe Y/N had met one of them, Luke Castellan. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate." And then he did rise from his wheelchair. But there was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear, but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, I realized that the velvet underwear wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic, because there's no way it could've held all of him. A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached.. I stared at the horse who had just sprung from the wheelchair: a huge white stallion. But where its neck should be was the upper body of my Latin teacher, smoothly grafted to the horse's trunk. "What a relief," the centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep. Now, come, Percy Jackson, Y/N L/N. Let's meet the other campers." I took Percy's hand, anxious of what is coming.

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[rattyoakenbitch]

the hobbit: “gods and monsters” ₊˚ ⸝ thorin x reader

❝in the land of gods and monsters, i was an angel living in the garden of evil❞

gif credit: n/a song: lana del rey - gods & monsters

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

BASED OFF “6″ FROM THIS SOULMATE AU

pairings: devil thorin oakenshield x angel reader

warnings: angst, heated makeout session

summary: you travel to hell, a forsaken and forbidden place deep in middle earth where evil creatures like devils and demons reside, not expecting that’s where you’d find your soulmate. 

You crept off in the dark of the night, leaving your home in Heaven to travel to the place called ‘Hell’, inhabited by devils and monsters. Though you were an angel, the complete opposite of them, you weren’t afraid. They were just misunderstood creatures who made bad choices in their lives. And considering this wasn’t your first time sneaking away, you were confident. Your parents were against it, but you were never one to follow rules.

Living with angels and being one wasn’t perfect all the time. You were forbidden from crossing the borders of Heaven, in fear that you’d become corrupted like the forsaken creatures in Hell. After living in Heaven, each day like the last, you grew tired and figured you’d add some adventure to your life. Who knows? Maybe you’d find your soulmate in the least place you’d expect it.

After years and years of waiting, you became impatient. All your friends found their soulmates, leaving you. You wished you’d lay eyes on your special someone and finally see color. Everybody knows that you’d see color when you meet your soulmate, but you were sure that the system was broken. Maybe some people just never meet their soulmate. Unbeknownst to you, that was going to change today. 

You spread out your pristine wings, gliding gracefully above the clouds, taking in the view and beauty of Middle Earth. You were tireless even after hours of traveling, finally landing in Hell. As you descended, the horned creatures looked up at you, shocked to see a pure angel in a land like this. Some devils were familiar with you, but you hadn’t made any friends as they became suspicious that you were some sort of spy. You tried to tell them that you had no reason to spy, but figured you couldn’t force them to trust you. Maybe in time they’d figure it out themselves.

You hummed to yourself as you walked down to the more ‘secluded’ area in the forest, ignoring the curious stares and whispers. For a place like a Hell, it was truly a beautiful forest. Hell wasn’t as people described it to be. It wasn’t a dreadful and sick realm surrounded by a ring of fire, where devils and demons tore each other apart. You thought it was quite beautiful; how the sky was canopied by dark clouds, and the way the old kingdoms of Middle Earth stood out on the hills. 

Distracted by your thoughts, you were unaware of the monster sneaking up behind you, armed with a dagger. You finally turned around as the monster raised his hand, ready to strike you, until he was suddenly tackled to the ground. You let out a startled shriek as the two fought, your attacker’s body finally going limp. You couldn’t see the devil who saved you as his back faced your direction, but you felt safe.

“I-Is he dead?”

“No.” His gruff voice sent chills down your spine. “There’s no point in killing him. He will just come back. It’s Hell, after all,” he chuckled. Makes sense. He turned to face you, his eyes meeting yours. “That being said, what’s an angel like you doing he--” 

You both went silent as slight tints slowly filled your vision, until everything burst with color. You looked around you, taking in the beautiful sight, when your mind drifted back to one thought; who triggered this? You spun around to face the devil in front of you, looking intently into his gleaming azure eyes. He was beautiful. His horns stuck out from the black hair which cascaded down his shoulders and framed his face, littered with a stubble beard that covered his sharp jawline. You couldn’t read the expression on his face, whether it was a disgusted or fascinated one, but his deep eyes were like a window into his soul. You could see the mixed emotions filling them as he fought himself on what to say or how to react. 

“It cannot be,” he gulped. “Can you see it, too? The colors?”

“I...” You didn’t know what to say. You were stunned. How could this be? Was the system broken? There was no way you were paired with this fallen man. This devil. You backed off slowly.

“Don’t tell me you can’t see it!” the devil roared all of a sudden, causing you to flinch. His expression softened when he noticed you were frightened. “Menu aingeal..” [my angel] An overwhelming mix of emotions hit you all at once, causing hot tears to spill down your cheeks.

You whispered, “I’m sorry..” With that, you extended your wings and flew into the sky, your soulmate’s desperate yells drowned out as you soared through the air at a fast pace. 

Thorin let out a pained shout, falling on his knees as he cried into his hands. How could he be so foolish? How could you, an innocent angel, want him? He was fallen. A monster, condemned to Hell because of his greediness. He didn’t deserve to even gaze upon such a pure being, yet the gods arranged for you to be soulmates, despite Thorin’s sins. Did he still have a chance? No, he wouldn’t let himself get his hopes up. There was no way you were coming back after learning that your soulmate was a devil. 

But Thorin was wrong. You made it back up to Heaven where your parents awaited your arrival. You rushed towards them, ready to tell them the news. 

“Mother! Father! I can see colors!”

“Nonsense. Since when?”

“Today! I met my soulmate!”

“Outside of Heaven?” Your mother scoffed. 

“Yes, I..” you trailed off, remembering what had happened. Would it really be wise to tell them? They were your parents after all, but you knew they’d go berserk if they found out your soulmate was a devil.

Your father crossed his arms. “Well, come on. Tell us about him.”

“Or her,” your mother added. 

You pursed your lips. “He’s.. He’s a devil.” You watched their expressions contort into a disgusted one. “Before you say anything, let me explain--”

“Are you out of your mind?!” your father argued. “You cannot go back! It’s too dangerous.”

“He’s my soulmate and he saved my life!” 

“I don’t care who he is. I will not tolerate this! I forbid you going back there. You will never see your so-called soulmate again.” 

“I don’t remember asking for your opinion,” you snarled. “If you’re against who the gods designed me to be with, I’ll have to leave, whether you approve or not.” With that, you whipped around and stormed out of your house, ignoring your parents calls. 

Thorin secretly waited for your arrival, hoping you’d give him a chance. Thorin learned that you’d visit the forests several times, so that’s where he waited. Hours turned into a day, and you never came. Discouraged, Thorin got up to leave, accepting the fact that you’ve left him behind, but the sudden gust of wind stopped him in his tracks. He turned around and looked up into the sky where you hovered over him. Thorin’s mouth hung open, taking in your ethereal beauty as you descended before him. Your feet finally hit the ground and you slowly approached Thorin without breaking eye contact. 

“You came back,” Thorin breathed out, a glimpse of hope in his eyes. You gave him a small smile of reassurance.

“Of course I did.. Couldn’t keep you waiting,” you joked lightly. “I’m sorry I flew off like that the other day. I didn’t know how to react.”

“You’re here now, and that’s all that matters,” Thorin said carefully, as if you’d break if he slipped up with his words. After seconds of silence, Thorin opened his mouth to speak, but you caught his lips, closing the distance between you. He didn’t hesitate to kiss you back and pull you closer, his touch hot against your skin. Your hands wandered up his chest to his shoulders, running your fingers through his raven-black hair. You gave it a light tug, earning a gasp from Thorin. You took that chance to slip your tongue past his bottom lip and tangle it with his. How long this went on, you didn’t care. This was exactly where you wanted to be. In your soulmate’s arms, kissing desperately like there was no tomorrow. 

You eventually pulled away breathlessly, heat rising in your cheeks as your eyes met with Thorin’s. 

“You know,” Thorin bit his lips. “I wasn’t expecting that from you.” You giggled in response, and went in for another quick kiss. 

“We’ll try to make this work. I promise,” you whispered against his lips.

[dragonrajafanfiction]

“I didn't know you were listening” —Linghao (?) Because it's rare that people ask a fanfic with him as pair

Aroma blinked her eyes, feeling a bit dizzy. The room was hazy and hot, filled with an odd perfume smell. Everyone was in a frenzy, some dancing only partially clothed. Her friends were unrecognizable, reaching for her with grasping hands, leering smiles and empty eyes. She staggered out of their reach. 

“Renata?” She whimpered.

The sound of shouting turned her head.

She didn’t feel well and wondered if the scene before her was a dream. Another boy she didn’t recognize had entered into the dance hall. Renata was standing behind him, looking terrified. Aroma reached out her hand, but she couldn’t speak without gasping for air.

The boy was slapping Anton. “Why did you touch my girl? Why did you touch my girl?” He frowned, not with anger but with impatience.

Anton gathered himself and charged him with fury. With the practice and agility of a professional boxer, this strange young man stepped elegantly aside and drove his fist into Anton’s stomach hard enough to lift his feet from the floor.

He then let him drop laughing loudly.

Anton rolled on the ground, heaving until he gagged and vomited his Christmas dinner.

“Heh. Sorry, my first time hitting someone, it was a little sloppy.” The stranger gave a mocking sneer.

Aroma felt herself gag in sympathy, covering her mouth with one hand.

One of the nurses approached as though to do something about it, but the strange boy lifted his chin, his eyes flashing a brilliant gold. Aroma felt her breath catch in her throat. She’d never seen something to terrifying.

Or so beautiful.

“What are you looking at?” The young man’s voice was frigid. “Never seen a man fight for a woman before?”

Aroma felt his oppressive aura and turned away. Everyone turned away. But she grew dizzy and desperate again and looked back.

Renata and this strange young man were dancing. Aroma staggered to them and heard his voice.

“Someone is going to blow up this port, I just learned. They released hallucinogens through the ventilation ducts, that’s why everyone is acting so crazy. Hallucinogens are like drugs. People who take too much lose their minds and only seek pleasures. The only sober people here are you and me... because your blood is too good... Hm?”

He suddenly turned and looked directly at Aroma. “I didn’t know you were listening.”

“Who are you?” She asked.

He let out a high pitched gleeful giggle. “I’m the Devil in room Zero. How did you escape my notice?”

“I don’t feel good.” Aroma sighed.

“What should I do?” Renata asked.

Zero turned back to Renata. “Take your friend here and go back to the building where you live. Enter through the ventilation ducts, find Room 0 and look for me. Hurry! We have to evacuate to a safe distance before its too late!”

“Do as I ask... both of you. And you will be free... You’ll both be my little princesses.”

Aroma watched as the Boy from Room Zero turned into a flood of gold dust snowing onto the carpet. She had scarcely enough time to react when Renata grabbed her wrist and pulled her out into the frigid night. “Who is he?”

“He’s a boy... a boy I see in my dreams.”

“Is he real?” Aroma asked. 

“He’s real.”

She was telling the truth. Behind the door marked Zero, the room where the nurses told them held monsters and demons, a boy was strapped to a chair, limp and unmoving. Even though Aroma had never seen her enter this room, Renata knew what to do, grabbing a pair of scissors and cutting through his restraints.

Aroma blinked her eyes, confused as to what was real and what was not. 

Despite the dark night moments ago, the room was suddenly lit like it was day time. She turned to the window and saw flames every direction.

Freed from his restraints, the boy named Zero grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door. “Wake up, sleepy head! You’re not dreaming any more!”

The corridors were filled with black smoke. Aroma could no longer see. She could no longer breathe. In her mind, she heard a deep roar, like a raging beast. Renata was leaning against the wall. In the dark gloom of the smoky corridor, her eyes glowed yellow. She drew back her foot and kicked the wall with such force that it burst open.

Dogs were barking. The sled dogs! They were coming towards them! They tackled her and licked her smoky face. Renata hugged them, crying with joy. The boy on the other hand was standing still, eyes forward.

A helicopter was flying over the destruction carrying the limp form of a monster with dark metallic scales and large tattered membrane wings.. It was half eaten away by decay. Aroma had seen this type of creature in story books. 

It was a dragon.

Renata attached the dogs to the sled and the three of them sped away into the night. Aroma could barely keep her head up but the boy from room Zero was smiling at her fondly. “You’re a surprise friend. I thought I had only one... but I had two. Merry Christmas...”

His eyes slid shut and the ground thundered beneath them, throwing them from the sled. Aroma ended up on her back and could see the dark cloud rising against the bright lights of an Aurora Borealis, streamers of fire arcing against the black.

They huddled together with the dogs, hearing the sound of circling helicopters above.

“Don’t move...” Zero murmured. “If you move, you’re dead.”

Unfortunately, there was no way to communicate this to the dogs. As soon as the helicopters swooped low, they panicked, breaking out of their harness, running into the woods. Helicopter fire rained down on them turning them into a crimson mist among the shattered branches of naked trees.

Aroma was now free of the hallucinogen and the smoke. She covered her mouth to keep from screaming, coming to the realization that she, Renata and Zero were the last ones alive.

The helicopter swooped back again and a man was in the open hatch with a gun in his hand. He raised it and it thundered.

The line of bullets ran right next to them.

She could hear Renata murmuring. “We will never abandon each other... nor betray each other until death...”

The man aimed at them again, switching his rifle for a larger metal cylinder that rested against his shoulder.

Zero rolled his eyes up at Aroma. “You really are lovely. Do I really get to have two friends?”

“Yes...” Aroma whispered. “Yes. Forever.”

“Little Aroma, white like snow... Snow White...” Zero was talking nonsense but she seemed to understand. He slid to her and pulled her face to his, his lips brushing against hers as he whispered. “They haven’t seen you yet. Don’t die. Please.”

His voice, the smell of his breath, the warmth of his face, his gentle request. It awoke in her the will to fight. The will to live.

Renata reached for the sled and pulled out a black metal machine gun. Her eyes were the color molten iron. She lifted the gun to the helicopter and opened fire as if she had used the gun a million times before.

Aroma stared at her in awe. What was she thinking? As she asked the question, the thoughts of Renata answered, filling her mind with the knowledge of machine guns. In an instant, Aroma knew how it worked too. She went to the sled and pulled out another gun.

Renata gasped. She had acted a moment too late. A large rocket was heading toward them! Aroma fired her own gun and exploded the rocket before it reached them. The shockwave hit and Aroma was thrown, landing a few feet away. She sat up, tried to stand but fell. She tried again and fell.

She looked in confusion. A bloody twisted wreck was where her foot had been. Crimson blood oozed into the ground.

She turned. Renata was lying not far away, gasping ragged red bubbles through her nose. She was crying.

Aroma crawled, pulling herself to her. “Don’t cry.” She whispered.

“I’m going to die. I’m going to die...” Renata sobbed.

A shadow fell over them.

“Silly girls. How can we be friends now that you’re like this?” Zero, calm in the face of the destruction and death, walked over to them. “Let’s start over. You two...” He wagged a finger to them both, “...must live well and always be useful to me.”

“But... I’m dying...” Renata coughed.

“No... just like the poppies... you will come back again after you die.” He gathered Renata into his arms and went to sit by Aroma. “I promised you freedom as a gift...” He told Renata.  “....and you...” He looked at Aroma with gentle kind eyes. “You’re my surprise Christmas gift. I was so happy to see you.”

He pulled Aroma into his lap like she was a beloved puppy.

“There is still so much out there you haven’t had time to see. Hugs and kisses... and love, so...” He held them tightly, eyes swimming with bright yellow tones. 

“...Don’t. Die.”

He kissed Renata and then turned and kissed Aroma. His lips were soft and warm against hers and that warmth spread to her entire body. She opened her eyes. Her vision cleared and her ears stopped ringing. 

Two more helicopters loomed over her head. Zero caressed her lips in a gesture asking she be quiet.

Then he turned, leaving them in the snow to stand up and face his enemies. “I give my first gift and you want to take it away? You also want to take away my surprise Christmas gift?”

His voice was a mad howl over the sound of the rotors. “WHAT KIND OF EXCHANGE IS THAT?!”

Aroma couldn’t understand what was happening. There were loud booms like fireworks. Bright lights illuminated the sky. Zero was singing and surrounded with a dark and sinister aura. He spread his arms and rose into the air. “At the end of the thousand years... Satan will be released from the prison and come out to deceive the nations of the four corners of the earth! Gog! And Magog! To call them together for the battle! Their numbers... are as the sand on the seashore!” 

[blehbleehhhh]

Bubble Gum ft. EreMika❣️

A lovely reader requested a super sweet fluffy modern childhood fic that I'm really excited to share! Hope you'll enjoy. ❤️

ps: my mom calls me ladybug, just humor me.

The sun was a blazing fiery ball, twinkling its peak midday golden rays over a small sleepy town and the playground where local children congregate when their parents send them out to play. Titan's Fury Park happens to be one little girl's favorite place of solitude where she can steal away if only for a moment to add drawings to her sketchbook since there are many beautiful places to sit that never fail to inspire a doodle or two. Somewhere in a small group of boys are her two best friends playing a very competitive game of football. Mikasa has witnessed it herself many times, where Eren will rub it in Jean's face that his team had won the game by aggressively throwing the ball into the grass, while Armin sits on the sidelines feeling uninterested in the sport, but he'll keep score as he reads one of the many books off his shelf that's most likely already been read.

The precocious, green eyed boy was instructed by his mother to keep watch over Mikasa, who later stubbornly insisted that Armin and Eren do their own thing since she fully intends to work on filling her sketchbook instead of playing. But one of the local girls who only recently started to pick on her had other plans. "Where's your cute friend?" Annie inquires, blowing a small bubble with pink gum as she stands confidently before the girl sitting cross legged on a bench. Mikasa sighs with irritation, deepening the shading on her closeup tree bark sketch. "Hey, I asked you a question. Look up from your stupid scribble book." But the girl remained strong and ignored how demanding and harsh these words were being spoken to her by such a blunt person, carefully smudging a spot on her sketch with the pad of her pinky. "Excuse you," Annie hisses under her breath obviously feeling impatient as she suddenly grabs Mikasa's long hair with a truly evil grin. "You know, you really have such beautiful hair. It would be a shame if you had to cut it." Her victim frowned and reached for her hair only to have it painfully tugged in retaliation, making her whine in discomfort as she holds her scalp protectively.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that, because I'm not cutting it."

"Uh-huh, where's Eren?"

"I don't know!" Mikasa rushes to say as her hair is tugged once more. "Why?!"

"Because I think he's cute and I want you to talk to him. Aren't you his sister or something?"

"Not by blood..."

"Tell him that Annie thinks he's cute."

"Can't you do that yourself?!"

"It would be so much more fun to see you do it. And if you don't, I'll destroy your sketchbook."

"Fine..." Mikasa reluctantly agrees, shyly darting her eyes from Annie's stoic expression. "I'll talk to him later."

"Thanks." Annie smiles as she spits her gum out on her hand and smushed it with raven hair, rolling the wad around between her hands to mix everything together. She snickers to herself as she walks away, leaving Mikasa with stinging eyes and a quivering bottom lip already feeling humiliated to the point where her cheeks and the tips of her ears felt hot. It was with a heavy heart that she gathers her belongings and holds them to her chest as she takes off running in search of Eren, the one who she always has and always will turn to in stressful situations.

Eren was found playing football with his friends like she anticipated, but he's currently on the ground after being tackled aggressively by Reiner and Jean for the ball. Armin cheers for his friend from the sidelines while Bertolt, Marco, and Connie watch intently to learn the final score of their fourth game. "HA! I GOT THE BALL! CONNIE! CATCH!" Jean roars with laughter, cackling triumphantly as he rushes to throw the ball at Marco not far away to finish the game in their favor.

Until they heard truly hysterical crying.

"ERENN!" Mikasa cries, her voice wailing his name at the top of her lungs as tears streamed down her face. He immediately sits up from where he was laying in the grass recovering after being tackled so aggressively and his heart sunk to see her so distraught.

"What?! What?!" Eren hurried to his feet and stumbled a step as he runs to embrace her. "What happened?! Why are you crying?!" She looks up to meet his concerned and inquiring gaze with watery eyes, her tears making him cloudy until she blinks them away.

"Someone was mean to me and and -" She coughs suddenly from crying, making her cheeks even hotter with embarrassment. I don't want all this attention! Her foot stomps angrily. "She put gum in my hair!" Dreading the consequences of Annie's actions, Mikasa bursts into tears because she knows that she needs to have this obnoxiously large wad of gum cut from her hair, when she happens to love how long it's grown to barely above the waistline of her long skirt. Eren's blood boils with anger and the look in his eyes is one that only someone close to him would recognize. It somehow made her cry even more to feel validated that what happened was indeed a horrible thing. He sighs deeply to keep his cool and studies at the wad of gum in her hair, holding it carefully in his hand.

"Who did this do you?"

"It-" She sniffles and takes in a few involuntary breaths as her body tries to settle itself, his fingers releasing her gummy hair. "It was Annie. She was telling me to tell you that she thinks you're cute, when she just squished her gum in my hair!" The embarrassed little girl sighed with sorrow as her best friend wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gently brought her in for a hug, letting her cry into his shirt. He glanced up at Jean, who just gave an understanding nod to let him know that it was more than okay for him to skip out.

"Figures," Eren sighed as he rests a hand on the top of her head the way his mother comforts them at home. "Annie asked me the other day if I liked her and I think she meant the like like way, so now she won't leave me alone," He maintains an arm around her shoulder and gives a small wave at his friends while they go over the score together and rehydrate. "Come on, Mika, I'll take you home."

"But I want you to stay here. I can walk home by myself..."

"I know you can, but I want to be there for you when you're, like, sad and bummed out. Those guys understand."

"But why?" Mikasa's voice was soft and her breathing has already begun to settle much to his relief.

"Because you're my best friend and I really really hate seeing you anything but smiling. It's beautiful," Eren smiles at first until he realized what he said, and it make him chuckle awkwardly. "I mean you're beautiful. I-I mean.." But it was too late. His slip of the tongue has already made her giggle amidst her soft sniffling as she wipes the tears staining  her cheeks with her fingers. He swallows hard and his face grows hot, but her laugh always makes him smile. No matter what. "Never mind." She tucks her hair behind her ear and plays with her fingers anxiously.

"You're so funny, Eren.."

"I wasn't really trying to be funny, but thank you." He chuckled as they came up behind his mother outside while she was gardening, who did a double take and immediately dropped her tools in the flowerbed, running over to Mikasa terribly concerned. "Hi, Momma, someone was mean to Miki and put gum in her hair."

"This will never come out!" Mikasa whines, stomping her feet in the grass as she looks down at the wad of gum and hair, trying desperately to untangle the gooey mess with her little fingers to no avail. Carla frowns as she carefully takes the girl's hands in hers and holds them while Eren wipes tears from beneath her eyes. "Aunt Carla, I don't wanna cut it!"

"Mikasa, I'm so sorry.." Carla opens her arms to offer a hug that was happily taken. "This does need to be cut out, ladybug, but it'll be alright. Your hair will grow out before you know it, I promise." She gently pats the little girl's back before pulling away to stand up, offering her hands for both children to take as they followed her inside the house. "Why don't you two wait for me by the sink so I can find a pair of scissors?" She says as they enter the kitchen, their little hands departing from hers while they run to the sink together and little sneakers squeak on the hardwoods. Carla soon comes over with scissors in her hand and a sad look on her face because she has to cut these beautiful raven locks. Mikasa sighs softly as the scissors were positioned to cut above the gummy mush. "Hold still, okay?" Raven hair drops silently on the kitchen floor as the scissors slowly work their way around her head, leaving her with just as luscious shoulder length hair. "You cutie pie, look at you!" Carla smiles as she sets the scissors on the counter and carefully runs her fingers through Mikasa's hair to make certain all of the gum has been removed. The little girl offers a small smile in return as she wipes her tears from beneath her eyes.

"It actually feels good to have my hair cut.."

"I'm so glad that you like it."

"Thank you for fixing my hair. Eren was right, you do have super powers."

"Mikasa!"

"Oh, my sweet baby boy," Carla laughs and brings the embarrassed child in to plant a kiss on his forehead and ruffle his hair. "You’re in desperate need of a haircut as well, but I can take care of that later. Why don't you take Mikasa back to the playground?"

"Will you take me?" The little girl turns to her friend with a hopeful look and he simply grins.

"Will you smile for me?"

"Okay.." Mikasa smiles and found her cheeks to be hot when his face immediately lights up in response. Before she knew it, his hand was in hers and they were well on their way back to the park. It was still hot outside from the midday sun, its blinding rays invading their vision frequently, but Eren still manages to spot blue wildflowers growing along the sidewalk. He stops and his heart races as he picks the flower for her while she's far enough ahead not to notice. "Eren? Where are you?" She hollers, turning in a slow circle to see him running up to her.

"Sorry! I'm right here!"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Eren smiles as his ears grew hot, twisting the tiny flower stem with his fingers behind his back. "I'm great. Are you okay?" He asks as they start walking once more, the park in clear distance.

"I'm..I'm good. Your momma is so nice."

"She's pretty cool, but so is your momma. And your dad is so funny."

"Yeah, he is. Your dad is silly, too." Mikasa giggles, her sneaker kicking a rock out from her path. "I know you're angry at yourself for not being there and I just wanted to say that you don't need to be so hard on yourself. It makes me sad."

"Yeah, well, it's true. I'm sorry Annie is so mean to you now."

"I think she's jealous that you and I are so close."

"Probably, but who needs her? You're way cooler than Annie anyway." Eren smiles, her giggle gracing his ears once more as they make their way to the swing set. She sits gracefully on a swing and he takes the one beside her, still twirling the blue flower he picked for her between his fingers. "Mikasa?" He turns to look at her and swallows hard to gather his nerve.

"Hm?"

"I...I like your hair short," He smiles shyly and they both blush as he scoots his swing closer to hers. "I mean, I like it long, too, but you look really pretty with it short." She grins, his hand raising hesitantly to push hair behind her ear and gently tucked the flower in that gap. But then, Mikasa did something he hadn't ever anticipated her doing and leaned in, clearly feeling slightly unsure as she kisses his blushing cheek.

"Thank you, Eren.."

"You're welcome," He smiles as their swings separate and stands up so he can be behind her. "Can I give you a push?"

"Yeah!" She says excitedly as her legs kick the air.

"Okay," Eren laughs in amusement as he pulls her swing back and pushes her forward. "Here we go!" She giggles as she's pushed, and he can't help but think about how cute she is no matter how hard he tries to fight it.

"Push me higher, Eren! Push me higher!"

"Anything to hear your laugh again." And with that he gives a harder push to her lower back, making the swing soar even higher. She cheers in excitement and giggles as her short raven hair blows in the breeze, holding the blue wildflower safely in her hand against the swing chain so it doesn't get lost. They remained this way for a while, just enjoying each other's company and sharing many laughs knowing that there will be more in the future.

[writingglade]

TMR Imagine #3

Title; He Had Love | Part Two

Pairing; Newt x Reader

Request; None

Warnings; Mild angst, alternate universe, the butterfly effect

Words; 1923

Summary; No one thought that once you’d escaped the maze that this was the life you’d live.

Requests are open | Masterlist

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

You squint, opening your eyes only to be blinded by the blazing sun. The static ringing in your ears tunes in to the sound of voices as your eyes adjust. A soft accent sticks out among the rest, though you can’t quite place just where it was from, perhaps England? You weren’t all to sure. 

A sandy head of hair pops into your vision as the floor beneath you rattles. Whoever it is squints, face scrunching up slightly as he turns his head up and to the side. His lips part for a moment, though nothing leaves them. The ground rattles once more, leaving you to assume whoever it was that jumped into the pit you found yourself in was larger than the blonde. 

A harsh voice meets your ears, “What the shuck?”

A soft tut pulls your attention away from the anger in the voice, a hand outstretching towards you, “Let’s get you up, alright Greenie?”

Greenie? What the hell was a Greenie? You reluctantly take the blonde’s outstretched hand, ready to yank him to the ground and pin him if he tried anything. He seems to notice this through the tenseness in your arm, he chuckles.

“Hey,” he speaks softly, a smile forming on his face, “I’m not gonna hurt you. None of us are.”

He seems to think for a moment before looking off to his side, where a noticeably more muscular guy stood. “Well, Gally here might but I’ll try my best to ensure he doesn’t. Alright, love?”

You furrow your eyebrows at the name. First Greenie, now Love? The blonde releases his hand from yours after giving it a reassuring squeeze. The muscular man—Gally—huffs, scrunching his nose before practically stomping over.

“Come on she-bean, let’s get a move on.” He grabs ahold of your upper-arm, roughly pulling you to your feet.

You ignore the pain left from his calloused grip, annoyance showing on your features. “I have a name you know.”

Gally seems amused, huffing a laugh through his nostrils that disgustingly flare as he does so. He folds his arms, looking to you with a condescending smirk.

“Do you now? Alright, Greenie, what’s this name of yours then?” He appears rather smug as he asks, a look that makes you want to punch him straight in his ugly nose.

“My name is—” Wait a minute... What was your name? “I— My name—”

Gally lets out a triumphant laugh, taking a step forward and jabbing a finger into your chest. “That’s what I thought, Greenie.”

“Gally,” The blonde begins to warn, though you're already reeling back your arm. “That’s eno—”

Unfortunately, you didn’t have time to recalculate your aim after the blonde shoved Gally away. Your fist connects with his cheek and he staggers back, a hand immediately flying to his now red cheek.

“Bloody hell,” He groans, massaging his sore cheek. “you pack one hell of a punch, Love.”

He doesn’t seem mad, oddly enough. Rather, he simply laughs, scowling as Gally busts into a fit of cackling laughter. You draw in a deep breath, pivoting on your heel before careening your fist into his nose. He grunts, faltering in place before blood gushes from his nose. A scowl forms against his brow as he examines the blood on his fingers.

“Did you just...?” A rumbling growl seeps from his throat as he angrily wipes the blood from his nose with his arm, smearing it across his face in a gross display.

His hand fists in your hair before you have a chance to process the fact that he was even reaching for you. You yelp, letting out a cry of pain as he harshly tugs you.

“Gally! What do you think you’re doing?!” A new voice booms amongst the others before the blonde is trying to free your hair from Gally’s hand.

The blonde succeeds with little to no effort as soon as another male appears in the pit. He ushers you away from the other two, climbing out of the pit himself before offering a hand to help you out.

“Come on now, let’s get you out of there.” 

You hesitate before taking his hand, allowing him to help you out of the pit. You stumble to your feet once they meet the soft grass. You look around, noticing that many of the boys that had been watching you before had dispersed across the large field you found yourself in. You look back to the blonde in confusion.

“Where— Where am I?” The colossal stone walls that stare back at you put a sour feeling in your stomach. 

You’re afraid. That much is obvious. The blonde doesn’t have time to answer before you find yourself running in a full-blown sprint. You don’t know where you’re running or how it was possible for you to run so fast. You hear the blonde’s voice behind you.

“We’ve got a runner!” 

You feel yourself running faster at his words, unsure how much longer your legs could keep up the pace. The stone walls are getting closer, and the blonde’s yells are both growing more frantic and closer. Then you’re on the ground and the world is spinning. You’re pressed flush against the blonde, back against the dry soil as he tightly holds onto your body. A pant leaves his lips, brushing against your ear before he pushes himself up.

“Hey,” He pants, grinning down at you. “for a second there, I thought you could be a runner. Well—until you got tackled by a guy with a bad leg and a limp.”

You force a laugh that becomes just a bit more genuine when he climbs off of you and helps you up once more. He looks around for a moment, before spreading out his arms.

“This,” he looks to you with a soft smile, “is the glade.” He points to himself with a bashful grin, “And I’m Newt. Sorry ‘bout not introducing myself sooner.”

You frown, nervously scratching the back of your neck. “Sorry about punching you.”

Newt laughs, “No worries Greenie, I’m pretty sure we all had a similar reaction when we came up in the box.”

“We?” You look around quizzically, “You mean, you all came up in that?”

He nods, “Yup, every month a new Greenie comes up. Though you’re the first girl.”

There were no other girls? Your fear returns, this time tenfold. You step back from Newt, readying yourself to run again though your legs won’t move. Newt seems to notice, going to grab your wrist to prevent you from doing so, but you take another step back.

“Who are you? Where am I? Why can’t I remember anything?” You take a deep breath, gesturing vaguely as you speak before stabbing out a finger in the direction of the wall in front of you. “And what the hell is up with these walls?”

Newt runs a hand through his dusty hair, browns eyes softening as he speaks slowly as to not further agitate your nerves, “I’m Newt and I’m second-in-command here in the glade, just behind Alby.” He extends a finger past you, pointing to another muscular man—the same that had jumped into the pit with you, Newt, and Gally—dragging Gally behind him. “That’s Alby. He’s in charge, been here the longest—well, out of what’s left of us that is.” He pauses for a moment, turning to look at the looming walls. “That’s the maze. You aren’t allowed in there. None of us are, not unless you’re a runner. There are things in there that no one needs to see, especially the likes of you. We don’t know what’s out there, and we don’t know how to get out. We’ve been trying for years. That’s beside the point though. You’ve gotta be given the tour, and by the looks of it, Alby’s busy locking Gally up in the slammer.”

Newt begins to walk past you, turning his head over his shoulder as a signal for you to follow him. At his previous comment, Newt’s limp suddenly becomes noticeable and you notice how when he stands in place he shifts his weight to his better leg. It’s something you find almost admirable due to how despite whatever pain he might’ve felt, he still ran after you to prevent you from dying a tragic death in the maze. For a moment you feel thankful, though it quickly washes away with an invisible tidal wave when you notice Newt’s leg begin to tremble impatiently, having grown tired from supporting a majority of his weight.  You take a moment before reluctantly trudging over, nervous to learn more about the glade yet dying to somehow find comfort in getting to know the place.

By the end of the tour, you only feel slightly more comfortable than you had when you’d first awoken in the box. Newt makes it an effort to help you feel welcomed—going as far as to show you the places you could go to unwind, even implying that you could hide out in the map room when the runners were out as long as you didn’t get caught. Lastly, he shows you the gardens or as he’d referred to them, “His pride and joy after years of being a track-hoe.” Though he implied he tended to do lighter work as a gardener as opposed to the trench digging the actual track-hoes did. At some point, you grew to feel comfortable around Newt, well, more so than you did around the likes of Gally, Alby, and even Frypan. Newt pauses in the middle of the glade before he turns to look at you, stretching his arms above his head.

“Tomorrow, you’ll be starting work in the gardens. Just like the rest of us, you’ve gotta try until you find what you’re good at.” He wipes the sweat from his brow that had formed under the beating sun. “Judging by how the sky looks, Fry’ll be serving up dinner soon. The bonfire’ll be after the sun sets. You’d better rest up Greenie, you’re the guest of honor after all.”

He grins at you, pointing to the homestead, “Right now, there aren’t that many rooms. Gally and Ben’ll have to start adding on tomorrow seeing as Gally’s been thrown in the slammer for now.” He hums in thought for a minute. “You can use my old room, well, I say old but it’s only cause I’ve been sleeping out on the hammocks recently. Don’t think Alby’s gonna let you sleep outside with so many teen boys.”

Newt starts again, this time heading in the direction of the homestead. You follow him, not being all too short of a lost puppy as you trail just behind his heels, occasionally bumping your feet into his from following too close. He pulls open the door, leading you up the stairs and just down the hall before opening yet another door. The scent of dust wafts to your nose almost immediately and you find yourself holding back the urge to sneeze. You could definitely tell that Newt hadn’t been sleeping there. 

He coughs slightly, picking a shirt up off the ground, “Don’t mind the mess... I’ll, uh, clean up real quick. Why don’t you head down to the showers and freshen up?”

You squint at him, “Are you implying something, Newt?”

Newt snaps his head towards you, missing the woven basket he’d attempted to toss the shirt into. “N— No! Of course not!” You snicker slightly, earning a frown from Newt, “Bloody— Gosh, you sure are some kind of special, you shank.”

[caribbeanempressblog]

Bound to you pt 4

Genre: Vampire x witch series

Pairing : ot7 x reader

Summary : In a world where vampire and witches are sworn enemies what happens when you're cursed to die at the hands of seven?

Warning: Smut, threesome,oral sex, female and male receiving, mentions of an orgy, cum eating, Angst, talks of an unbreakable cruse Magic using

Word count: 4.7k

part 3

You awake to the sound off a soft moan floating towards your ears and persistent hands roaming over your body. The first few moments of waking up when your brain struggle to register where, what, how had you eyes screwed shut.

The first thing you register was a wetness between your leg, you tried to squeeze your leg shut against the wetness but to no avail.

Another moan and your eyes shot open at the sound that definitely wasn't you echoed in the silence of your room. You looked down praying your flow didn't come unexpectedly and dirty the sheets, but you were met with a head of dark hair instead across your chest blocking your view.

“Kookie? “ you croaked both from surprise and having now woken up morning voice in full effect as realization hit you as to what had transpired while you were sleeping.

Jeongguk lift his head from where he had your nipple in his mouth his dark hair falling into his eyes a shit eating grin on his face.

“You promise dessert and I'm here to collect” he stated voice dangerously seductive as he took your nipple into his mouth once more.

Another moan that clearly wasn't your own sound off between your leg before you could utter a reply, your already fuzzy brain finally registering that more than  person was pleasuring you awake this morning.

You crane your neck around jeongguk to see small hands digging into your expose thigh keeping you immobile and a head of blond hair.

“Jimin?” you moaned as his administration intensified.

He hummed in reply and the vibrations shot through you like a bullet.

Sleep was long gone by now pleasure, sweet pleasure was all your body was engulfed in as they continued to assault your body as your head fell back into the pillows.

You didn't know which sensations to focus on Jeongguk wicked mouth on your breast or Jimin demon tongue on your clit.

Every action had a wave of ecstasy building up inside you, that's when you felt it your orgasm coming at you full force. You cried out hand fisting the sheet as you cum hard against Jimin mouth.

You was still coming down from your high your breath coming out short sleep long forgotten when you realize Jimin was still licking at your core.

“Jimin too much” you whined trying and failing to close your leg to stop his onslaught.

He looked at you his caramel color eyes dark with desire your juices coating his pink plump lips a sight that was so erotic it had a new wave of lust and arousal washing over you.

“I'm still hungry baby” he smirked then dive right back in.

You open your mouth to protest but it died on jeongguk lips as he use that opportunity to claim your lips in a kiss that shut down all denial.

His tongue, was in your mouth  swirling and twirling coaxing yours to come twirl too. You moan deep meeting his pace with yours, your hand found its way into his hair pulling him down to you.

He broke away from your lips and you whined from the lost, most likely so you can catch your breath. He was kissing your cheeks now soft delicate kisses as he worked his way to your neck you moaned loud as he nibble on your sweet spot the space where your neck and shoulder meet as sweet pleasure shoot all the way down to your toes making them curl into the sheets.

Your mind was a mess your body messier but you decided they're not going to have all the fun no way were they double teaming you like this .

You attacked jimin first because there was no way you could tackle jeongguk when he was hanging on to your clit like that. You tangle your hands in his hair and pulled him away from your throbbing center. He realise your bud with a lewd pop. He looked at you confuse you smirked at him.

“You're not the only one who's hungry”.

You use your magic to pulled him up beside you into a seating position, he let out a startled ‘woah’ in response having caught him of guard.

“Hands up” to your surprise he listened and you wasted no time in binding his hand with a magic producing invisible rope.

He grinned eyes disappearing clearly pleased with being tied up like this.

Jeongguk was still having a ball of a time with your neck when your pulled him away from you, the force you had to pull him away from you with had his fang grazing your neck.

You heaved yourself into a seating position as he looked at you clearly displease with being interrupted.

You put your hands to your neck when you pulled away blood was on your fingertips.

“Look what you did” you said holding your fingers in his line of vision.

Jeongguk eyes turned a shade of red as he spot the blood on your hands. His nostril flared as the tantalizing scent of your blood engulf him.

He moved to grab your hands but you use your magic wilding other hand to pull him into a seating position beside you. Somehow you figured asking him to be tied up wasn't going to be met with compliance so you just went ahead and do it. And from the murderous look on his face you we're right. Being the youngest Jeongguk always feel the need to dominate you of all people,things he couldn't possibly try with his brothers. He liked being in control of you, bending you to his will and you liked humoring him, you did have a soft spot for him after all.

You sat yourself on your knees in the middle of them feet touching your bare backside.

Jimin on your left Jeongguk on right.

“What am I going to do with the two of you hmm?” you asked them.

“Oh I don't maybe you could let us fuck that sweet pussy of yours” Jimin drawled.

You blushed heat rising not only to your cheeks but between your legs. You couldn't believe the filth that came out of that little vampire mouth sometimes. Jimin was sweet and kind a gentle soul really everything not associated with being a vampire. But his mouth, his tongue was a deep contrast to his personality.

“Well since you asked so nicely”

You move towards Jimin who was still dressed in his shirt and breeches his erection straining against the fabric, precum already dampening his crotch.

“Exui” you whispered and with a whoosh his clothes disappeared from his body into a pile on the floor.

Jimin eyed you with a smile “you're amazing you know that right”

“I know” you answered as your eyes dropped to his penis that now lay rigid against his taut stomach hard pink and proud leaking precum all over him. You lick your lips in anticipation.

Jeongguk pulled on the invisible restraint holding his hand above him drawing your gaze towards him. You definitely had to keep your mind focused to restraint two off them like this. Your magic was powerful yes but holding two centuries year old vampire required absolute concentration, and you definitely was about to be distracted.

He pouted “what about me?”

“You've been a bad boy kook…… But since I'm generous here you go”

You brought your fingers to your neck once more to where he had grazed you with his fangs coating it with fresh blood that was slowly seeping your sweet lifeblood.

He pulled on the restraint violently trying to get closer to you and you felt your control slipping.

“Baby boy if you don't behave I'm going to leave you tied up like this” you said sternly.

He ceased his action as you brought your fingers to his lips. He wasted no time in opening his mouth and sucking on your digit drawing it inside his mouth hastily. He moaned loud and your eyes fluttered close from the sensations that course through your body.

You needed to be filled soon or else definitely burst into flames from the way they were making you feel hot and oh so aroused. Your body already on a high from your first orgasm.

You withdrew your fingers from his mouth and he whined from the lost.

“Exui” you whispered again and Jeongguk clothes joined the pile on the rug covered floor.

You admired your handy work both men seated beside you naked, dicks painfully hard and weeping against their stomach.

Having sex with two people definitely had it's perks you've learned since meeting them. Being the sole body they fed off and fucked had your body in states that wasn't humanly possibly how you came out standing in the end was beyond you. From the bruises to the marks but that was it you were never too tired or too drained to get up the next day. They boys joked that you had a vampire libido.It surprise you as well as them that you came out standing in the end with all the sexual exploits you indulge in. You decided to test your limits one time taking the seven of them in one night. It was the most exhilarating and gratifying sexual encounter you've ever experience. But the most gratifying was the fact that you had no limit and were able to walk straight the next day. They were as shocked as you to know your body was that resilient after all your were a witch your stamina was average at best no better than a mere human but here you were giving them a run for their money.  

An impatient tugging on the bond had you back in the present.

You focus your attention back to the two vampire before you.

You position yourself between jeongguk legs he automatically open up so you could fit between them anticipation had his dick twitching against his lower abdomen leaking more precum. You held his gaze as you took him in your hands pumping a few times his precum coating your fingers. Jeongguk eyes darken to midnight black breath catching in his throat as you fondle him as you other hand run up and down his thigh.

You smirked loving his reaction to your touch as you leaned forward to join your lips with his,the taste of your blood still lingering on his lips he open his mouth immediately for you to enter but you had other plans. You move from his lips to his cheeks and he whined, hands pulling on the restraints aggressively to get to you, to touch you but to no avail. You moved further down his neck covering him in hot kisses lower still until you reach his nipples. You twirl your tongue around his nipple still stroking his dick in your hand as you took his man bud in your mouth biting and tugging.

Jeongguk swore and bucked his hip thrusting his dick up in your hands as pure unfiltered arousal course through his body making his already hard dick harder.

You decided not to tease him further but move down his body until you came face with his dick. You licked his head tongue running along his slit gathering his precum on your tongue then swallowing it down. The slight salt and bitter taste of him made your own juices pool between your leg.

“Fuck baby you will be the death of me ” jeongguk swore.

Jimin whined beside you in neglect as you showered jeongguk with affection the scene unfolding in front of him had his desire for you spiking.

You snapped your fingers and the invisible restraint was gone from his hand. He wasted no time in positioning himself behind you as you continue to suck jeongguk of.

Jeongguk had a generous dick, thick and long and it was only with practice ease that you were able to accommodate him in your mouth, though a portion still remain out, your hand fisting what couldn't fit. You hollowed your mouth around him drawing him in sucking him hard as he moaned loud from the ministrations.

Jimin tugged on your legs pulling them apart to expose your pussy to him you arched your back ass in the air as a cold breeze hit your core and making you clench around nothing.

Jimin hands was on your ass caressing them spreading your cheeks open exposing your hole to him

“ You're dripping all over yourself baby” Jimin groaned from behind you,voice thick with desire and as if he words fuel something inside you.You felt more of your juices seep out off you to run down your leg.

His palm connected with your right ass cheek in a slap that had you jerking forward in surprise a gasp in your throat making your choke and Jeongguk dick as it hit the back of your throat.

Jeongguk made a sound somewhere between a moan and a growl that send shivers down your spine.

Tears stung your eyes drool seeping from your lips as you coughed and sputtered releasing him.

Jimin offer soothing strokes to your behind as the other vampire moaned in pleasure below you.

“Take him back in your mouth baby” Jimin commanded as he line himself up with your entrance, running his dick up and down your dripping entrance coating it with your juices, he gripped your hip tightly to keep you steady for what was to come. You whimpered as you took Jeongguk dick in your mouth once more and as you did Jimin entered you in one fluid stroke burying himself to the hilt inside you. You grip his dick tightly eyes closed as you felt the slight burn of being penetrated. Jimin wasn't as long as jeongguk but he definitely was thicker so he was filling you up while stretching you open to accommodate his girth.You felt your control snap falling out of focus and as you did the restraint on jeongguk hands let up.

You looked up at him and your eyes connect and you almost choke again at the pure unadulterated lust in his eyes.

Dark hair falling into his eyes you knew you were in trouble.

Jimin withdrew from you then slam into you again just as jeongguk thrust his dick into your mouth you mewl in pleasure from being so full at both end. You relax your jaw around him so he could fuck your mouth as he please.

“You're so tight and wet for me baby” Jimin crooned as he rammed himself into you once more. “ So warm and so pretty”. You could only moan in response gripping jeongguk thigh for purchase as wave after wave of ecstasy washed over you.

They set a relentless pace Jimin would thrust into you the exact moment Jeongguk hips jerk into your mouth and you could do not but take it like a champ.

“You take our cock so well baby” Jeongguk praised you through gritted teeth.

You felt your orgasm built as Jimin hit your sweet spot with a rather precise thrust his balls slapping against your clit,you knew you didn't have long before you come undone.

“Fuck baby I'm close” Jeongguk groaned through another thrust of his dick in your mouth.

You realize you needed to bring him to his high before you could focus on yours so you set to work.

You started sucking him like a woman starve bobbing your head up and down cheeks hollowed for better suction. You hand found it's way to his ball sack, cupping the sensitive flesh in your palm. Jeongguk hissed through his teeth as you fondle his balls in your hands.

It was not long before you felt him twitching in your mouth sure signs he was about to reach his high. His hands found the way into your hair grip painfully tight to hold you steady.

“ I'm gonna cum-” Jeongguk cried as he gripped your hair tighter, hips thrusting incredibly fast into your mouth once more as he spilled his load down your throat.

Everything burned,your throat raw, jaw hurting as you swallow everything he had to offer, it was only when he started to squirm in overstimulation did you release his now softening member.

“You're beautiful like this” he whispered as he ran his thumb along your bottom lip wiping away a stray drop of his cum. “ So amazing”

You smiled  glad he felt that way because cum filled mouth isn't exactly a look you would consider beautiful. But whatever he says.

You only realized Jimin had stilled his thrust when you felt him slowly grinding his hip into you once more and you were reminded that he was still in you. His self control was definitely no joke.

“Are you ready for me baby?” he asked hand caressing you lower back making goose bumps breakout on your skin, you couldn't mutter a response instead you push your ass back into his hip letting him know you were.

He growled and gripped you by the hip thrusting into you firmly.

He continued his relentless pace the orgasm that evaded you before coming back at you full force.

“H-harder Jimin please” you begged as the coiling in your stomach intensified.

Jimin growled in response, you wanted harder so he gave you harder. Every thrust had you surging forward as you clutched Jeongguk thigh for support as he fucked into you like a man possess.

The lewd sound of skin on skin filled your room, his ball sack hitting your clit each time he thrust into you added to the erotic sound filling the room. Sunlight peeked through the window sure sign that a new day had begun but you were too lost in your pleasure too notice. Too wrapped up in the thoughts and feel of them as the intoxicating scent of your lovemaking filled the air the only time your mind was on something other than the stupid curse.

Jeongguk fingers on your clit had your walls contracting around Jimin your eyes you didn't know were closed shooting open to meet his dark and intense gaze. He looked as fucked out as you must looked his dark hair falling into his eyes once more as the gentle sunlight hit his skin illuminating the sweat on his skin making it look like diamonds. Fuck he couldn't possibly be real you wondered bleakly as your heart did a somersault in your chest. He saw your state pupils dilate lips between your teeth your body caught in a shudder sure sign you we're about to lose it. His gaze dropped to your breast that was swinging back and forth as Jimin fucked into you. His hand soon replaced his gaze as he cupped your tender flesh in his palm flicking your bud with his thumb as the added sensation send a wave of pleasure straight to your core.

“Cum for me” Jeongguk whispered command really had you coming undone. You screamed both their names as your orgasm toar through you like a hurricane, vision blurring,eyes rolled back as you choked on a sob.

You falling apart was enough for Jimin to reach his high too when a few thrust later and you clenching violently around him in the aftershocks of your orgasm he was painting your walls with his cum.

Your knees finally give way and you collapse face first into jeongguk lap allowing Jimin to slip out of you along with his cum.

You was still coming down from your high breathing uneven jeongguk brushing your hair that was sticking to your now sweaty forehead and praising you for being a good girl and taking them so well.

You were still in post orgasm bliss when you felt Jimin gentle hands was between your legs wiping away the evidence of sex that lay there.

When he was done jeongguk was lifting you off  his lap to lay you down into a more comfortable position on the bed while he got off.

You mumble in protest of been deprived of having his rock solid thigh as comfort pillow.

Jeongguk chuckled in response. “Who's the baby now?”

You let his comment fall on deaf ear too tired and sated to respond as you curled yourself into a ball the pull of sleep called to you once more as  your eyes fluttered close.

“Did we ware you out angel ” Jimin whispered as he joined you on the bed pulling the blanket over you to cover your naked form.

You gave a long yawn rolling onto your back arms stretching over your head like a feline as you flex your sore muscles.

You peered at him, he was perched upon his elbows looking at you with amusement.

He was half dress his breeches back on his perfect behind, chest expose to your gaze.

“ Please you've got nothing on me”

Jimin let out a deep laugh at you balant lie eyes disappearing into crescent moon as his laughter took over his whole body making him fall into the pillows.

His laughter filled your ears it was such a beautiful sound that it found your way to your heart igniting it making it beat wildly in your chest.

You realize you would do anything to hear his laugh for the rest of eternity.

“You talk a big game love care to test your skills?” Jeongguk asked in equal amusement beside you.

You turned to see him sitting on the edge of the bed lips curled into a smile his bunny teeth on display.

He was fully dressed in a matching black  jacket and pants linen shirt underneath. His dark hair swept to the side exposing his smooth forehead. A sight that had you thinking about doing just that proving your skills but you were a woman on a mission and they had already distracted you from it.

“As enticing as that offer sound I've got other plans…… I'm heading into the village this morrow” you supplied as you sat up pulling the blanket with you.

“What for?” jeongguk questioned.

“I'm meeting this vampire who could possibly has information that may be useful to us” you sighed.

After your talk with Namjoon last night you spend most of the hours into morning re reading the ancient books in the library to see if you missed anything that might offer solutions to breaking the curse, only to realize that there wasn't anything to be missed. Even the ancient books didn't have answers. But you wasn't about to lose hope, you made a promise and you wasn't about to break it.

Jimin shot up beside you eyes on you in disbelief “A rogue vampire y/n you know you can't trust these guys”

It's true rogue vampires had only one interest in mind themselves. They were con artist and murderers who took what the wanted and killed mercilessly humans and witches alike. A thought that had you seething in disgust and rage but you didn't want his trust you wanted information he could possibly have, plus desperate times call for desperate measures.

“ I don't need his trust I need information he can provide” you stated stubbornly.

“And what makes you think you can trust this information?” Jimin asked clearly displeased with the idea.

Truth be heard he ask a valid question rogue vampires aren't know for their honesty they could offer bogus information all the while collecting the price that surely come with the information. But what else were you suppose to do? besides channel them. You just hoped the vampire wasn't as terrible as they say and didn't ask for a price you couldn't pay.

“I don't think I can but how will I know if I don't try Jimin? “

He said nothing only running his hand through his hair in frustration.

“They're dangerous y/n and you're a witch you know what that means” jeongguk asked.

Of course you know what that meant.

“ I can take care of myself” you argued.

Jeongguk sighed beside you a deep wary sound “ we all know that y/n we're not questioning your abilities it's just tensions between the vampires and witches are high right now”.

He was right after the killings had died down a few centuries ago it was now back in full swing again more brutal more frequent than before. Witches was being drained of their blood and vampires being sucked dry of their immortal energy.

“We're running out of time kook I'm running out of options. We have a week may've two if we're lucky before the moon is set to be at its peak” you told him. You didn't need to reiterate what happens once the moon became full.

He looked at you his doe eye big with concern he opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again. He knew you were right.

“I know you're mad at us for thinking channeling us could be dangerous but with our bloodline isn't it worth a try?” jimin questioned you the desperation evident in his voice.

You took his hand in yours turning to face him.  “I'm not mad at you at any off you” you turn to face jeongguk motioning for him to scoot closer towards you as he did the bed creaked from the pressure as you continued. “ Channeling isn't as easy as it sounds even with your pure bloodline, Namjoon only survive because I fed him my blood”. They nodded in acknowledgment but let you continue. “ I already struggle with the power inside me if I were to add to that it can consume me I could end up just like se- just like her”.

You don't ever speak her name the name that was responsible for all the torment in all your life the name that had cursed you the name you wished you could forget.  

But they had to know that this course wasn't the right one to take it was far more dangerous than rogue vampires, even if they were willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the greater good. You just couldn't do it how would you live with yourself knowing one of them or maybe more because a curse like this required ultimate power, died at your hand. Life without the seven of them seemed to empty for comfort.

“ I would die for my brothers for you” jeongguk words spoken so truthfully pierced your train of thought like a flying arrow.

You heart skipped a beat because no doubt the universe was taking notes again so when the time comes all promises would be put to the test. Namjoon words from last night ringing in your ears. ‘ if my last breathe could save you I would give it to you'. You knew he meant it they never spoke empty words to you. He loved his brothers more than anything the only thing to rival it was you. Jeongguk may be the youngest but he was also the bravest most selfless person you've ever met. You offered a pray to whatever God would listen that the time would never come when he would have to choose between the people he love.

“ I know kook I know” you croaked tears falling down your cheek surprising you.

“Hey hey don't cry” jimin coaks you pulling you into his arms in comfort.

That feeling when somebody says don't cry but you can't help it so you just cry more yeah it hit you and you found yourself sobbing your life out.

You hated to cry it made you feel weak helpless,after your family death you vowed never to cry again never succumb to fear. It worked out fine for you because all that you loved was gone you had nothing to lose nothing to fear losing. Although the witches took you in after they found you that day you always felt like an outsider like you didn't belong there and for good reason because they turned out to be evil people. But everything changed when you met Namjoon, you were given reasons to fear again to feel helpless reasons to fear lose.But with that fear also came joy and love and a family you didn't know was possible for you after everything that you had been through,all that had happen. You had to find a way to break this curse or else everything and everyone you loved would be lost once more.

Your sobbing came to a stand still as you felt Jeongguk strong arms wrapped around both you and Jimin securing you in his embrace.

“We will get through this” Jeongguk murmured against the top off your hair chin resting affectionately on your head ” Always and forever”.

[svtnreactions]

“occult” CH.5 - BTS x reader

bts x female reader

romance / fantasy / action / etc. ??

word count: 4802

plot: after, accidentally, causing quite a disaster for your family, you land yourself in the ‘twilight zone’- a home for kids with more than human abilities. you’re meant to spend your time there learning how to control your powers. however, fate has another thing in store for you and your housemates.

well here it is... hope ya’ll enjoy ! <3

- cc

                               << previous chapter - next chapter >>

Back at home, your other home, you spent a lot of time sitting outside. You’ve always loved to bask in the sun, even on the hottest of days, and it was one of those days around the Twilight Zone. The sun was beating down relentlessly and there was not a cloud to be seen. You were drawn towards it, you yearned to feel the rays on your skin.

Having been gloomy for the past week or so, this was a welcomed change for all. A few of the boys had followed in your footsteps, though Seokjin complained that it was much too hot. You pointed out that he didn’t have to come, which shut him up pretty quickly. You knew he couldn’t stand to miss out on any potential fun having.

So, Seokjin, Hoseok, and Taehyung dug out a soccer ball from a rather decrepit shed and proceeded to kick it back and forth.

Jimin was next to you, reading a book, as usual. The two of you were propped against a rather large tree stump to the far right of the yard. It was peaceful, despite the noise the other boys were making.

Taking advantage of the calmness of it all, you decided to rest your eyes for a bit and just soak in the sun. It felt like a movie scene- you could practically hear the pleasantly soft soundtrack playing in the background.

The truth was, you were tired-- terribly so. You hadn’t gotten a full night’s sleep in a long time. Every night, you’d wake up in a cold sweat, terrorized by nightmares you couldn’t seem to recall. It was like your mind had turned against you, plaguing your dreams with horrifying visions. Though, you had no idea what they were, or what they meant, you woke up at the same thing each time.

Blindingly white light in your eyes, a burning hot feeling running through your veins—

There was a loud yell from the boys, one you immediately recognized as Taehyung’s. Your eyes shot open in panic. But his scream had turned into a boisterous laugh as Hoseok tackled him and attempted to wrestle the ball out of his grasp.

Ever since that maid had seen you and Taehyung together that night, the two of you had become more awkward than ever. It seemed to have the opposite effect than your night in the woods-- it drove a wall between you. The worst part was, you didn’t know why. He didn’t try to spend time with you anymore, which made you sadder than you’d care to admit, and when you did talk it just wasn’t the same.

All you cared about was setting things right, so you tried to ask him about it. In the past, he would tell you what was bothering him after a bit of pushing, but this was different. Anytime you brought it up, he pretended not know what you were talking about, which hurt more than anything else.

Your night terrors were getting worse. Headmaster was constantly busy, and without Taehyung, you were beginning to feel the loneliness creep in.

“You really care about him, huh?”

You jumped at sudden statement and looked to the boy beside you. He hadn’t moved a muscle, eyes still scanning the pages of his novel. You’d began to think you imagined his words, until his eyes finally flicked to yours. “Am I right?” Jimin said softly but with a slightly impatient tone.

“Who?” You replied, feigning ignorance.

Jimin chuckled, shaking his head, “You know who.” Leaving his book open, he placed it face down on one of the tree’s roots so as not to lose his place.

You watched Jimin’s fringe blow back in a sudden breeze and felt your hair do the same. Immediately, you found yourself searching for Tae, half expecting him to be approaching you. But it was just Seokjin, running by to retrieve the ball. Unsurprisingly, he reached it with remarkable speed and went back to the game as fast as he had come.

“I’m probably not supposed to be telling you this, but what the hell.” Jimin sounded quite indifferent, but he had captured your attention quickly. He watched the boys, rather than looking at you as he spoke. “You know, the day after you came, Headmaster had a sort of talk with us.”

You cleared your throat, picking at the grass by your feet. You were trying to be casual. You didn’t want him to think that you were hanging on his every word— which you most certainly were. “What kind of talk?”

“You’re the only girl in a house full of hormonal boys.” Now it was clear where this was going. “He basically told us you couldn’t have any distractions. And that we shouldn’t try to pursue you, like-- well, you know what I mean.” You did.

Your cheeks flushed with embarrassment and irritation. What gives Headmaster the right to speak for you like that? “Why are you telling me this?” Your eyebrows knitted together as you tried to push your anger deep down inside of you.

Jimin sighed, “Are you really that dense?” He floated a couple feet off the ground with his book in hand, then outstretched his legs and dropped into a standing position. “C’mon, Y/N. He follows you around like a lost puppy.”

You blinked at him for a moment, then he lazily pointed a finger towards the boys. You followed it, your face getting even hotter, “Taehyung?” Whether or not that was true before, you wouldn’t know, but Tae certainly isn’t following you around these days. Either way, hearing this gave you the sliver of hope you needed to hang onto your friendship with him. And it seemed as though that was Jimin’s intention, even though he acted so exasperated by the whole ordeal.

Jimin rolled his eyes, “I’m going inside. I’ve done all I can.” With that, he strode towards the back door.

“You’re going, Jimin?” Seokjin called to his friend. Hoseok took advantage of the older boy’s momentary distraction and kicked the ball away from him, as hard as he could. It soared through the air, colliding with a window on the first level of the house violently.

The sound of glass shattering filled your ears and Hoseok slapped a hand over his mouth in horror. Time stood still for a moment as you all gaped at the window, then each other, then the window again. “We were never here!” Seokjin finally said urgently, pointing around at all of you seriously. His figure blurred as he dashed after Jimin.

“Wait up!” Hoseok yelped, following Seokjin at a much slower pace. The door slammed shut behind them.

You jogged to the middle of the yard, where Taehyung was surveying the broken window from afar. You knew he could see you approach, but he didn’t look your way.

You used to speak comfortably with him, now you needed to gather your courage before doing so. “Hey, we should probably get out of here.” Your voice shook. If there’s even a speck of truth in what Jimin was insinuating about Taehyung’s feelings towards you, why was he being this way? Doesn’t  he know it hurts you? “I wouldn’t give Hoseok and Seokjin too much credit, I’m sure they’ll throw us under the bus for this if it’s a viable option.” You laughed hopefully.

“Yeah.” He said dryly, lifting one side of his mouth in a half smile. “I have to go talk to Namjoon anyway. See you around?” He didn’t wait for your answer before taking his leave.

You had to stop yourself from yelling after him. You were exhausted, not only physically, but emotionally now too. The sadness was evaporating quickly and anger began to take its’ place. 

With a newfound bitterness in your core, you stormed inside after the boys.

First, you heard the click of the maid’s shoes on the hallway floor, then the knock on your door. You let out a deep breath, bracing yourself for Headmaster’s summon. You were sure you’d be going with the rest of them, all because Hoseok just had to Falcon Kick that soccer ball.

“Miss?” The woman greeted you with a smile when you opened the door, holding out a stack of bright papers at you. No, not papers-- envelopes.

“What’s this?” You inquired, cocking your head slightly and looking at the pile with reluctance.

She held them out further, so that they were almost touching your chest  “Letters, for you. We’re so far away from town, they’re only delivered once every couple of months.”

You felt a knot in your stomach unravel at this and finally accepted the letters. “Thank you.” You said gratefully, before closing the door.

Carefully, as if they were made of glass, you spread the assortment of envelopes on your bed. Each one was addressed to you, in handwriting you immediately identified as your mother’s. 

You let out a deep breath of relief as you stared down at them. Since you moved away from them, you thought your parents had forgotten about you, or simply not cared enough to write. How relieving to find out that they had been trying to reach you all this time.

Wondering if they were stacked in order, you picked up the one that had been on the bottom of the pile. Inside was a postcard from your hometown, the kind you’d find in a local gas station.

Y/N,

You’ve only been gone a day now and your father and I miss you so much already. Please understand that we’re doing this because we care about you & the harder you work to get better, the sooner you can come back to us. We love you so much, Y/N. Please make the most of your time in this place.

-- Mom & Dad

You put the letter back with a shaky hand, a few stray sparks shooting out of your finger tips. Swatting them off your bed spread, for obvious reasons, you then moved to pick up the next letter.

Similarly, it was written on a postcard, but this one was from a town you’d never heard of.

Y/N,

Your father and I are staying with your aunt and uncle. We couldn’t take much more of that motel and we don’t quite have the money to rent an apartment yet. All in all, we’re doing fine. But we haven’t gotten a response from you-- I’m getting worried. We both are.

I hope all is well with you. We love you so much, Y/N.

-- Mom & Dad

The guilt of why you were sent away in the first place had come up once again, but it was overpowered by the happiness you felt when reading your mother’s words. You surprised yourself with the melancholy tear that dropped onto the paper, smudging the penned message. Sniffling, you carefully dabbed it with your sleeve, doing your best to salvage it. Then, you read the rest of the letters one by one.

With each one, you felt more and more reassured by your mother’s words. She always seemed to have that effect on you, the ability to comfort you on even your darkest days. You wished more than anything that you could speak to her face to face-- to tell her about all your problems. She would be able to help you with Taehyung. Your heart ached at the reminder of him, so you pushed the thought away.

Finally, you slipped the last letter out of it’s scarlet envelope. Your eyes began to scan the paper excitedly, as they had all been quite uplifting thus far. But rather quickly, you realized that this one was different. Your mother’s writing was sprawled and urgent, nothing like her usual elegant cursive. Steadying your trembling body with your bed frame, you read.

Y/N,

I’m writing to you in hopes that you get this in time to warn Headmaster Lee-- but please don’t worry too much. The war just keeps getting worse, as I’m sure you’ve heard, and the government is really scraping the bottom of the barrel for drafts. We got a military letter in the mail requesting your service. Officials have been coming to the house, pestering us, asking where you are. Whatever happens, please just stay safe Y/N. That’s all we care about.

We love you.

-- Mom and Dad

Your blood had run cold, your body completely rigid. Reading the letter over and over, you were in shock. You always knew you’d be drafted someday, as the war had only gotten worse as you’d gotten older, but you had been hopeful enough for this to be surprising.

When you were with your parents, you prayed every day that this never ending fight would be miraculously resolved-- that you would never see combat. In the Twilight Zone, so far away from civilization, it was easy to forget about all that. Especially because the boys seemed to make it a point to tune out news about the war. They’re always quick to change the radio or television station when it comes up.

With an overwhelming feeling of anxiety, you gathered the postcards back up. Stacking them on your dresser, you beelined out of your bedroom. Your mother had wanted you to warn Headmaster about this, which you certainly would, but right now there was only one person you wanted to talk to.

Scared and angry, you found yourself knocking on Taehyung’s door. Your knuckles were white from squeezing it into a fist and they stayed that way until it swung open.

But, rather than Tae, a much taller figure had answered the door. Namjoon towered over you, looking caught off guard by your sudden appearance. “Y/N, hi.” He smiled with unease, “Did you need Taehyung?”

You peeked around Namjoon’s form, catching sight of Taehyung. He was cozied up on his bed, staring holes into his comforter, avoiding eye contact-- business as usual. You felt the irate boil up like lava, retorting, “No, I was looking for you actually-- thought you might be here.”

Namjoon raised his eyebrows, but Taehyung was completely unphased. You mentally face palmed. Why on earth would you go looking for Namjoon is Taehyung’s room? You were self aware enough to recognize that you’d only said that to try and get a reaction from Taehyung, which just made his lack thereof all the more annoying.

“Oh, really?” Namjoon had said. His expression changed to something more solemn. He seemed to know that you had something important to say— maybe he could see it in your aura, or maybe he really is just that intuitive.

You let out a deep breath, reminding yourself what you were here for, “My mom wrote to me,” You began, feeling yourself start to get worked up all over again, “She-- she said I’m being drafted.”

You could have sworn Taehyung’s gaze flickered in your direction, but if so, it was only for a second. Similarly, Namjoon only let a flash of unease show. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “I guess they’re really reaching now, huh?” With a tight lipped smile, dimples showing, he placed a hand on your shoulder. The gesture was actually quite comforting, as Namjoon was someone you’d grown to really trust and admire. “I know that it sounds scary, but don’t worry. You’re not going anywhere, Y/N.”

“How’s that?” You asked, feeling unsure.

Namjoon explained, “Headmaster takes a lot of precautions when bringing us here. There’s no way for the government to know where you are-- where any of us are.” He went on, his poised facade faltering in the slightest, “I mean, I’m of age, plus a few years-- I’m sure they tried to draft me years ago, but we’re totally off the grid in the Twilight Zone.”

At this, you were starting to feel secure again. But before you could let yourself relax, you remembered something quite worrisome. “My mom said she’s being visited by government officials. They’re getting suspicious. What if they do something to my parents?” The older boy stared at you blankly, as if he was deep in thought. “I think I should let Headmaster Lee know. I’m worried about them.”

He scratched the back of his neck, “I’ll have a talk with him, since you’re so worried. But I promise, Y/N, everything will be fine.”

You had only been concerned about your parents well being, but in this moment, something struck you. If the government is out looking for you, how could you ever be safe again? How could you ever go back to your parents? You’re evading service, that makes you an outlaw. Unless the war came to an end, which seemed highly unlikely, you simply couldn’t be with them. Your biggest fear since arriving seemed to be coming true, like a nightmare after waking up.

“Thank you.” You managed to get out. Your eyes were prickling with tears, so you looked anywhere but at Namjoon.

Unsurprisingly, he still noticed. This time, his reassuring pat didn’t do much to put your mind at ease. “It’s going to be fine.” He reiterated, glancing behind him momentarily. “I’ll go right now, okay? Why don’t you just wait for me with Taehyung? I’ll be back to let you know what Headmaster says.”

Not listening for your answer, Namjoon moved to walk out of the room, ruffling your hair as he went by. You stepped fully into the room to get out of his way, the door slamming shut behind you. Just like that, you were alone with the boy that had been avoiding you for days.

You stared. He blinked at his hands, his mouth a thin line. Earlier he had left you, saying that he needed to speak with Namjoon. It was nice to know that at least that wasn’t some lie to get away from you.

Blinking rapidly, you took one step towards him. 

The silence was heavy, so heavy that you felt your knees shaking with its’ weight, threatening to give. You seemed to feel every emotion at once, the sensation sending you closer and closer to the edge. Your heart leapt at the smallest hitch in the rise and fall of his chest. Would he be the first speak? To simply acknowledge your presence?

A small eternity passed just like this, but you had grown too tired. You felt yourself switch gears, your emotions taking over.

“What’s your problem?” Your bitterness was evident. You spoke with every intention, every hope, that the words would tear into him. You wanted him to feel what you felt, to understand how hurt you were. 

At this, he graced you with his full attention. If he was surprised at your outburst, he covered it well. He simply raised his chin, meeting your fierce gaze. 

“You keep pretending like nothing’s wrong, but I’m not that naive, Tae.” All your pent up anger was forcing its way up like word vomit. “You know, when I read that letter, I was terrified. And you know who I wanted to talk to right after seeing it?” Standing there knee deep in worry and anger and fear, the flood gate broke. You hadn’t meant to let yourself cry. And yet, there you stood, silent tears running down your cheeks, “You, Tae. But that was stupid of me, I know that now. I should’ve known that even this couldn’t make you forgive me for whatever I did to you to deserve this.”

Nothing.

“Just tell me what I did, so I can fix it.” You sniffled loudly, not bothering to wipe the stream of tears of your face. ”I’m mad at you. Furious, actually. But more than that-- I just miss you.” You felt like such an idiot, pouring your heart out to someone who wanted nothing to do with you.

Apparently, that last part was enough to finally get a reaction from him. That was all you wanted at this point, something, anything. Taehyung had slid off his bed. His expression was one you couldn’t put words to as he began walking in your direction. You had anticipated him walking right past your pathetic form, heading straight out of the room.

Instead, Taehyung stopped mere inches from you. His gaze was soft, eyebrows pinched together.

“Do you really want to know?” His voice was full of hurt, which nearly made you forget that he’s the one in the wrong here. You didn’t know how to respond, so you just held this purposeful stare.

After a moment, he reached down and grabbed your hand, a spark bursting from it. If it hurt him, he didn’t let it show. He only held it firmer, guiding it up until it was resting on his chest. He placed his much larger hand over yours and you felt it-- his racing heart.

You searched his eyes for some kind of answer. What was this supposed to mean? Your mind was going a million miles an hour, the skin on your hand burning red hot where he touched it.

After a small eternity, he seemed to give up, letting your hand drop. Tae raked his fingers through his brown locks with visible distress. “God, don’t you get it?”

You shook your head with uncertainty, taken aback by his intensity, “Tae—“

Suddenly, he was closer than ever. 

With the kind of wariness and caution usually reserved for bomb diffusion, he cupped your tear streaked cheek.

Then, before you could process his actions, his lips were against yours. They were soft, softer than you could’ve ever imagined. The same could be said for his touch, as he brushed your face lightly with his thumb.

Pulling away for a moment, still only a mere inch between your mouths, he waited for some kind of reaction from you. You watched his eyes flick back and forth between yours desperately. You could feel his breath on your face and smell his pleasantly boyish scent.

More confused than ever, but desperate for the contact, you closed the distance between the two of you once again. As a response, he cocked his head to the side, deepening the kiss. You snaked your hands around his neck and Taehyung’s fingers tangled in your hair, his other hand gripping your waist.

It was getting hungrier, needier. Wind began whistling in your ear, then it was all you could hear. You felt breathless, but couldn’t bring yourself to move back. Taehyung was all that mattered, all that you cared about. His touch set your skin on fire and his cold breeze sent a chill down your spine. He was the center of your world-- but maybe that had been true for longer than you’d care to admit. You just couldn’t get enough.

It was as if the air was being sucked right out of your lungs— maybe because, it quite literally was. As if he had realized this at precisely the same moment as you, Tae’s  touch disappeared. When you opened your eyes, there was a whirlwind of air surrounding you. But, as quickly as you had seen it, the twister evaporated. All of Taehyung’s belongings that had been swept up into it dropped to the floor with a sobering slam.

Tae had put a couple feet between you. He looked mortified, “I didn’t mean to--“ He said, “I just can’t control myself around you.”

You furrowed your eyebrows, resisting the urge to touch your lips. Your cheeks were flushed, still wet from crying, and your lips felt swollen. The ghost of his touch lingered on your body, but it wasn’t quite enough to convince that that had really just happened. Had Tae really just kissed you? And had you really kissed him back?

“I’m sorry, Y/N . . .” He put his head in his hands. “It feels like all I do is hurt you.”

You frowned, wishing to feel his warmth again. “Tae, when you were avoiding me, when you acted like we were strangers— that’s what really hurt.”

“I’m just trying so hard to do what’s best for you, and every fiber of my being is telling me to go against that,” Your heart skipped a beat when the words left his lips. His beautiful lips. “I really. . . like you.”

You felt like a grade schooler again. The way your stomach turned when he said this, it made you feel weightless. It made you forget where you were, what you were. You wanted to say it back, you wanted to tell him what you really feel, but instead you said, “You’re what’s best for me.”

Taehyung’s eyes were glassy, but this brought a weak smile to his face, “I wish that was true.”

Rather than arguing, you brought up something that had been bothering you, “The maid that night. . .”

He smiled wryly at the floor, he knew what you were asking, before you even finished the thought, “I was afraid that she would tell Headmaster. That you’d get in trouble for being with me in a, uh, compromising position.” He sighed, “I’m sorry, I really am.”

“Tae, it’s not Headmaster’s decision” You tentatively closed the distance between you and him once again, “It’s ours.”

He let out a deep breath as you took his hand in yours and gave it a squeeze. With your other hand you reached up to his face, that frustratingly gorgeous face, and ran your finger up his jawline and across his cheekbone. You couldn’t help yourself but trace his features-- you’d done it with your eyes too many times to count. 

Your hand stopped at the top of his forehead and you raked your fingers through his silky hair. Turning your head to the side, you took the opportunity to plant a kiss on his lips, and then another. His response was immediate, as he reached up to hold the nape of your neck tenderly.

Then Taehyung gave a sigh. Whether it was with pleasure or disappointment, you wouldn’t know. He pulled away, whispering, “You should go.”

You pouted, feeling a bit rejected, “But I-”

“Don’t look at me like that,” He seemed flustered, averting his eyes to the ground, “Y/N, if you don’t go now, I’m not going to be able to stop myself.” For the first time in a while, the smile he gave you was genuine. “It’s getting late anyway,” Tae gestured loosely at the dark sky outside his window, “Go to bed and we can talk to Namjoon and Headmaster tomorrow, okay?”

Though you weren’t all that happy about it, you reluctantly did as he said. But not even your parting could squander the butterflies in your stomach. You were walking on sunshine the whole way back to your room, then laying on it as you tugged the blankets on your bed over yourself.

That night, it wasn’t your insomnia keeping you up. It was thoughts of Taehyung dancing around your mind-- his smile, his touch, his kisses. You were lulled to sleep by the images of him, drunk with endearment.

You’re surrounded by people. Swarms of them.

You can’t seem to focus on their faces long enough to figure out who they are, though you’d swear there were familiar figures among them. Your mind is moving too fast, your brain muddled and foggy.

The space you’re in, wherever that is, is blindingly white. You try to turn your head and get a better look, but a sudden pain shoots through your neck.

The sensation quickly heightens, becoming almost unbearable. Your knees buckle and give out, your body dropping so that you’re staring up at the lights.

That’s when your veins light up with a terrible feeling, one you’ve felt before. You’re screaming, or you’re trying to, but it’s like you’ve gone deaf. Then someone else is yelling, they’re crying out your name.

“Y/N!” You know this voice. “No! Get away from her!”

Suddenly, everything goes numb. It’s as if the pain became so much, your body could no longer register it’s sting. You can’t hear anything, you can’t say anything, or feel anything at all.

The panic is unendurable, your brain is pounding with it, threatening to burst--

Your eyes shot open and you were still staring up at the ceiling.

But it’s familiar, it’s the ceiling of your bedroom, rather than the one of your nightmares. 

This realization would’ve been comforting, if not for the hand you felt cupped tightly over your mouth. You twisted with fear, trying to free yourself from their grasp, but they pressed down your struggling body with their forearm. They were strong, that much you could tell, but their hold was surprisingly gentle. The rise and fall of your chest quickened violently.

“Don’t scream.” He hissed and you finally turned your head to meet his gaze. “They’re here. We have to go— now.”

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[veritascara]

Jacen Syndulla: Answers to All the Big Questions

After the bombshell finale revelation that Kanan and Hera actually had a son, I found myself pouring through all the Kanera moments in the rest of the season again to reassess what was going on between the two of them. In hindsight, I found some things did look different—really different. And the questions Jacen’s existence brought had some reasonably good clues left along the way to help solve them.

Because we’re all dying to know how this green and orange kid came about, right?

So here you go, this is the fruits of my (mostly unscientific) labor. Fair warning, I’m tackling this whole situation from the perspective of a married person, a parent, and a nurse—birds and the bees and all that.

Putting everything below a cut because this got a *little* out of hand.

When did Hera get pregnant/when did Kanan and Hera find the time to have sex?

The short answer: Most likely on Lothal, during Flight of the Defender.

The long answer: Based on what I see throughout the series, there’s no clear evidence that Hera is pregnant before their return to Lothal, although they have had a sexual relationship for many years. Kanan is on edge about their relationship early in season four, and I get the sense that this is an ongoing argument—that after the Zero Hour disaster, he’s been pushing to make their relationship more public and is getting increasingly frustrated with her focus on the Rebellion and busyness, but that’s all there is to it. Hera gives no outward signs that she’s pregnant until the very end of the series (we’ll get to that), and the prisoner uniform she wears in Jedi Night makes a big show of the flatness of her belly.

When the rebels return to Lothal during The Occupation, we finally get a moment to see them in relative privacy. They are romantic and loving as ever and both seem more relaxed away from the larger rebellion. And here we get Kanan’s “Huh, I just realized, it’s been awhile since we spent some time alone” line, followed by Hera’s “And when we do it’s in situations like this” response. While this has been discussed before, it bears repeating that Kanan’s comment is very much ‘parent code’ for “It’s been way too long since we last had sex.” And the disgust in the way Hera states “situations like this” makes it pretty clear that she would much rather be enjoying the kind of situations he’s suggesting as well, rather than the one they’re stuck in.

I don’t know what Kanan’s definition of “it’s been awhile” is, but I do know that even in the healthiest married relationship, there can be phases where busyness and sheer exhaustion take over, and because you have to work, and you have to make sure you keep the kids alive, the something that has to give usually ends up being sex. Before the two of you know it, it’s been weeks and you’re desperate for a little energy and no screaming children (or in their case, troublemaking teenagers) around to interrupt you.

Cue the next day and Flight of the Defender. I don’t know what else to say other that when two parental adults talk about wanting to spend ‘some time alone” one day, and then the next day find themselves child-free for hours without a whole lot to do . . . they do each other.

They had good, old-fashioned sex, okay.

Ta-da! Baby.

Did Kanan know about the baby?

The short answer: Yes! I think there is good narrative evidence to support this.

The long answer: From what we see in the show, he probably knew almost right away. At the beginning of Kindred, we get the beautiful scene where Hera approaches Kanan while he meditates in a field, the morning after Flight of the Defender. They talk about how they keep getting drawn back to Lothal, and Kanan says “There’s more to it, I’m just not sure what.” The next time we see them, Sabine and Hera are preparing for her flight, and Kanan approaches her, now uncharacteristically agitated. It’s still morning, and we can safely assume he has just returned from his meditation. It’s not a huge leap from there to guess that something he learned while meditating, probably regarding why they are on Lothal, has upset him. He immediately launches into an unprovoked argument with Hera regarding the safety of the old u-wing ship and the future of their relationship.

At the time this episode aired, this scene really bugged me. It felt like a forced attempt at creating “will they, won’t they” tension between an already obviously dedicated couple, and seemed drastically out of character for Kanan. But in hindsight, it makes a lot more sense. Fact 1: Kanan was meditating and is a Jedi. Fact 2: Conception usually takes place about 12-24 hours after sexual intercourse. From there we can infer that Kanan has seen or sensed something of their future child—either a vision or perhaps a shift in the Force itself with his conception (remember this is the next morning)—and this sets off a sudden surge of anxiety both for Hera’s safety as well as an unreasonable, but not unfounded, fear that she might put the Rebellion first before their child, just as she has to some degree with their relationship. He waits for her in the ship to talk to her again before she leaves, this time calm and apologetic, like the adult he is, but he never gets the chance to fully explain himself. She kisses him, and then has to leave rapidly before the Empire arrives.

The next evidence I see is Kanan’s reaction to Hera’s crash and capture in Rebel Assault. He tries initially to follow the others back to base, but quickly because too upset, to the point where he turns back alone to try to rescue her. When stopped by the wolves, he is angry and impatient to a degree we haven’t seen before. Even when Hera was nearly killed by Fenn Rau, he was calm and collected, but he’s out of control here, for no apparent reason. The wolves are able to recenter him, and he returns to camp, knowing that he needs Ezra to plan the mission because he can’t think clearly enough to do so. His overblown reaction makes more sense if he either knows about their child or at least the potential for his existence.

Lastly, in Jedi Night, we get this enigmatic line from Kanan: “Hera, there’s something I need to tell you.” Rukh interrupts their moment, and what he needs to tell her is never clarified. He dies before he can bring up the subject again. I can only assume in context that he wanted to tell her something significant, and telling her either about the existence of their child directly or indirectly as some enigmatic Jedi-esque line for her to remember later on would make sense here.

When does Hera know?

The short answer: Likely around the beginning of Family Reunion – and Farewell.

The long answer: As @mandaloriandragontrainer pointed out, at the beginning of this episode, we see Hera down below while Ezra is “talking” in the gun turret to his parents. She briefly touches her abdomen, a gesture we’ve never seen her do before. We see her do this at least once more later in the episode when they are on the bridge of the Imperial Command Center, after Thrawn and Ezra are taken away by the purrgil. This is the first change we get in her behavior throughout the series that is unrelated to her grief over Kanan’s loss and the strongest indicator we have that she knows she is pregnant here—but not the only one. When they go to invade the dome, Hera’s behavior is also significantly subdued. She waits until the last minute to enter the fight to get into the base, and does little physical fighting. When she does fight, it’s purely defensive, and she gets out of harm's way as quickly as possible.

Timing wise, this would also make sense. Unlike previous seasons, which stretched out over months, most of this season occurs in a matter of a few days, with days and nights clearly demarcated. Rebel Assault takes place only about three days after Kanan and Hera have sex, and Jedi Night occurs the next day after that.

From a medical perspective, while a fertilized egg begins developing immediately, pregnancy itself does not begin until implantation of the embryo, which occurs between 5-14 days post-conception. Assuming Twi’leks, as a compatible humanoid species, have pregnancies that are relatively similar to humans, Hera technically isn’t even pregnant until after A World Between Worlds. After that episode, an indeterminate amount of time passes before A Fool’s Hope, probably a few days, as Hera hunts for a way to smuggle herself off Lothal and meet up with their “extended family”—enough time for implantation to have occurred and the pregnancy to have developed enough for advanced Star Wars medical technology to detect it.

We can’t know how Hera would have known to even check for it (if Dave Filoni bothered to think about that); perhaps Twi’leks have specific symptoms that appear sooner than humans, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we see this from her the first moment we see her alone in her own ship, when she would have had a private moment to run a simple medical test.

Why does Hera not have a miscarriage?

The short answer: She wasn’t even technically pregnant yet.

The long answer: As pregnancy does not technically begin until after implantation, you cannot miscarry until after that point. It’s estimated that between 50-80% of conceived embryos actually fail to develop of their own accord and are simply flushed out of the body with menstruation without ever implanting. This is most often the result of genetic abnormalities that prevent further development. But aside from internal factors that cause the embryo’s demise, there is almost nothing else outside of it that can cause its destruction.

The uterus is perhaps the best-protected organ in the body—even better than the heart or the brain. It’s shielded by the pelvis on three sides, sacrum on the fourth, and muscular pelvic floor on the fifth, and it’s cushioned by the bladder and intestines everywhere else. Because an unimplanted embryo has no connection yet to the mother, it cannot be affected by drugs in the maternal system, nor does it have a heartbeat that could be interrupted by electrical shock. It cannot be detached from the uterine wall by trauma, and will just continue floating its merry way down the fallopian tube to its destination, regardless of what is happening externally.

Ultimately, assuming this is the stage of pregnancy that Hera was in, it’s the absolute safest point for her baby during the trauma she suffers in Rebel Assault and Jedi Night, and his development would be completely unaffected.

What if she really was pregnant earlier?

The short answer: It’s still possible that the baby might survive despite the trauma/torture.

The long answer: First trimester miscarriage is a complicated phenomenon that occurs for a wide variety of reasons. Yes, trauma and stress are risk factors for miscarriage, but risk factors are not causes in and of themselves. Even with horrific domestic violence, women do not always lose their pregnancies. The uterus does not rise out of the pelvis until around the second trimester (second twelve weeks of pregnancy), so even a few weeks along, the embryo or fetus is still well protected. Hera’s fight with Rukh is pretty brutal and would pose the biggest single risk, but as long as the uterus was small enough it might be okay. A few years ago there was an uproar when it was found out that Kerri Walsh Jennings won the Olympic gold medal for beach volleyball, a notoriously physical sport, when she was five weeks pregnant (which is three weeks post-conception).

Electrical shocks could pose a theoretical risk by stopping the pulsing of the fetal myocardium, but from what we see, the electroshock torture is designed to be superficial—causing pain upon contact with the skin and by inducing skeletal muscle spasms. It doesn’t penetrate deep enough to affect the victim’s heart, and likely wouldn’t make it deep enough to the uterus either. Being stunned by Pryce would probably be a bigger risk in that regard than the electrical shocks.

The vascular connection offered by the placenta does put the embryo at risk to adverse effects from drugs that can cross the placental barrier, but it is unlikely that a single dose of a short acting psychoactive drug such as the truth serum would have any major teratogenic (birth defect or miscarriage causing) effects.

What points would support an earlier conception date?

There are a couple lines of dialogue where it felt like it would make a lot of sense for Hera to have been pregnant earlier, once in Jedi Night when she first tries to tell Kanan something but gets distracted by his hair, then again later in Dume, when she says “Why did I wait so long to tell him” and “I thought we would have more time.” It’s these lines alone that give me pause and make me wonder if maybe she knew all along in that arc that she was pregnant and simply couldn’t get it out, foolishly thinking that her rescue meant she’d be able to tell him later, at a more private, meaningful moment. Instead she chose to tell him on the fuel pod that she loved him because it was easier for her. This concept is really appealing on an emotional level because it makes much more sense than Hera having never told the man she’s called “love” for years that she actually loved him, and breaking pregnancy news feels awkward even if the best of scenarios. But Kanan’s own response seems to indicate that her reticence to tell him she loves him is true, as do as their earlier arguments.

And beyond those moments, we don’t get a single other visual clue before Family Reunion – and Farewell that Hera has any knowledge of being pregnant—no physical fatigue, nausea, or bloating that we can see, and no abdominal guarding (not even once) or holding back during fight scenes, even though she would have been a few weeks farther along and quite likely symptomatic. And while her belly wouldn’t show for quite a while since she is pretty tall, the show makes a pretty big point about just how flat her stomach is right up until the end. Combining those reasons with the evidence that supports her knowing only in the finale, and I can’t see that being the case.

Well, that’s all she wrote! Ultimately, these are my personal opinions, and they require some fill-in-the-blanks guesswork that others may not agree with. But their relationship arc as a whole and characters as individuals make more sense to me through the lens of what we know at the end, and hopefully some of you will find this useful as well!

[cloudbattrolls]

Ingenious Devices

Marisa Coultr | Derevnya | Third Dark Season Perigee, 5th Night

She woke up weeping ink into her sopor.

Not that she didn’t try to claim otherwise, but you saw the smears on the back of her hand, and the blackness dotting the tips of her fangs where it must have run into her mouth in her sleep.

You waited as she spent far longer in the bathroom than she ever has before, even when she’d gone to that silly ball Glaceo had gotten the pair of you tickets for in exchange for a few people not making it there. You waited as she glared at you for it, but took your hand as you led her to breakfast regardless, the two of you walking in silence. 

You held a knife in your other hand, long and serrated, and both of you pretended it wasn’t there as it gleamed of temptation. You walked away from her with it.

Glaceo isn’t worried about her. Nor is the cult’s dear leader, after you soothed them and assured them that their research was really quite important, and it was where they fit best. It was endearing how hard they tried to not look relieved, and flashed fin at you as if that actually meant something. 

You drove the knife into a couch after that. Dug it into something that wasn’t flesh, something that would never die coughing its own blood as it ceased to be an obstacle.

You’re not worried yourself, seeing as Zelist is hardy as a cockroach and twice as unpleasant when she wants to be. 

Still, someone ought to fret.

Third Dark Season Perigee, 4th Night

The temporary psychic link between you and Zelist allows you both to transmit thoughts with relatively little interference from stray impressions or observations.

You can still feel the undercurrent of resentment boiling beneath her clinical veneer. 

No answer - don’t touch that, Marisa - where’s Sochet? - we must kill her

It’s not as if you can slip pieces of the network into your pocket, you muse, sliding a finger protected by several layers of gear along one of the brain-like protrusions of the Siren's network. These horrible bulky outfits don’t even have them.

Better not, Zelist irritably beams back at you. Oops. You guess that was directed enough at her for the link to pick it up. Tiresome, but it’s not as if the two of you can speak, faces covered in cloth breathing masks, masks made largely redundant since you’re shielded by helmets resembling those of spacesuits that your breath mists against the inside of.

The two of you are back in the dismal grotto beneath the canals, with no protection other than a few toys from the cult’s archives, watertight suits thick enough that even shuffling along trying not to make noise is a slow business, and your own wits. 

Your auriculars are both plugged with military-grade sound cancellation buds, for all the good it’ll do you if she starts singing. The Siren’s call is a lure even when she slumbers, even when the door is shut, and the two of you unsealed it and then used the blood you brought with - Zelist’s own - to shut it behind you, because your lives are less than nothing if she escapes, or enthralled one of you and sent you back out. 

It would be fascinating, certainly. You wonder how much awareness any thrall of hers would still retain. You hum softly, a sweet tune from somewhere in the back of your head, one of the ones every troll just knows somehow...

NO NO NO NO NO

You startle, splashing and nearly falling over, cursing at the noise -

- your hand reaches to steady yourself on the Siren’s rock, slick with algae. 

Her frozen face stares back at you, the corpse’s lips raised in an eternal smile. Despite the cloth mask - despite the plastic shield between you and the thing that was once a troll, mere feet from your face - you swear the odor of a rotten sea creeps into your airsacs and your sniffsponge.

Her song slips into your own hum, your own voice - if you only killed the useless leader, using their body far better than they ever had, imagine the things you could accomplish if you ripped their heart out and ate it whole, feeding her the rest to gain the power to fuel a whole undead army...

You force yourself to laugh. 

“Do you really think I’d ever cull without accounting for everything?” You whisper, with your usual gentle mockery paired with a fake breathiness. “Dear me, sweetheart, but I think you’re losing your touch. Most of us plan better than you.”

The song still presses down in your blood, your skull, gentle but insistent, and even a grimy rock looks like a good place to rest... 

Heat strikes like a lash against your face.

Flames leap up across her network, the gnarled white growths sticking out the water now doused in fluid Zelist set while you held the Siren’s focus, and you grin wickedly, the light from them flickering on the visor of your helmet.

She’s been down here so long that she’s forgotten how to think like a troll. Horrorterrors don’t remember how to think ahead, how to cooperate, how to resist one’s own nature and whims - 

you idiot -

You blink, flaming white tentacles all rising up before you with a charred stench, ready to crash down.

- watch out!

--

Third Dark Season Perigee, 5th Night

Zelist stares into the distance when you go back to check on her. Her eyes are still gray, despite her age, but right now they seem to see all the sweeps of trollkind at once. She hardly eats, picking up her fork and scooping up semolina porridge with all the enthusiasm of someone who’s been told to by a troll she doesn’t like very much.

Her eyes are gray, but when you peer at them, they seem tinged with white threads moving across her irises like the city’s fog.

White eyes. Black ink. 

“Darling - ”

She holds up a hand so quickly that you practically swallow your own words, getting them trapped with no small amount of indignant fury in your windchute.

“She could be listening through me.” She murmurs, and you want to slap her.

“Oh?” you say, in a voice so sugary it could probably decorate several arsenic-laced cakes. You long for your blades.

“She’s always growing, Marisa. She listens, she learns, she adds to herself. Where do you think all that knowledge comes from? Every single piece of her we put into our own experiments, every part we ate...how do you think it grew?”

“You’re talking nonsense.” You huff. “She hasn’t ever had a thrall before! They’d have tried to lure more trolls down, and we’d know, dear! There would be records! She was never awake before the glub.”

She’s a horrorterror, you think impatiently. They hardly need to make sense to work. Zelist certainly isn’t making any with this ludicrous explanation.

The yellowblood’s eyes clear, sudden as if a wind had blown across the white threads.

You look down at her porridge, and there are drops of ink in it, spreading through it like veins in gnarled flesh.

“Poor little Marisa.” Again with that infuriating murmur, like she’s an actor in some overblown gothic play. Her voice is too gentle. Far more gentle than Zelist ever is, even when she’s trying to mock you...

“The more a troll knows, the easier it is to convince them of things that were never true at all.”

“Do me a favor, honeyhorns, and eat your porridge, or I’ll shove it down your sweet little windchute.”

You have more knives. It’s a shame you gave the rest to some frightened cult acolyte to hide.

Zelist hums at you, soft and sweet, and your digestion sac heaves.

--

Third Dark Season Perigee, 4th Night

Your vision is blurred as the Zelist tackles you and you crash down in the water, still dry thanks to your suit. The chill still seeps through it and into your bones, as you scrabble wildly and hit what feels like a spider’s web, the thin tendrils of white weaving between the brains of the network.

Such ingenious devices, sings the Siren. But you could be so much more. 

The tentacles wrap around both of you gently, cradling you and lifting you up above the flames, bound together with suckered flesh. Zelist’s furious, terrified face is framed by coils of hair pressed against her helmet. 

W̷hy̕ a҉ŕe ͝y͏òư ͢t͟r͞yin͘g͢ to̶ ḩúr̨t͢ me͝?҉ 

She sings in a way that’s somehow drowsy, murmuring. She was supposed to be asleep. 

I a͠m ̷y̶ou̧r streng̨t͟h.̶ I ąm ͜yóur ̨k͘n̸o҉w̵l̶eḑge̶.̵ 

Lifted up above the water of the grotto, held and restrained by the growing tower of writhing white limbs, you look back down the desiccated husk of her original troll body, back when she was just Filome Varzim. A troll hungry for any way to gain advantage. You can respect that. 

B̨e̕còme҉ ͘on̵e w͜i̡th ̢me͡, she says, so beautifully. 

You͘ w̶i҉l͏l l͝ea͡r͢n ál̨l̶ the se͞cr̴e͜t̵s̷ o̷f ͟ţhe͜ l͘ivi͏ng ̛and͢ t̴he͏ d̷e͝ad.͢

You hiss, offended at the idea that you don’t already know more about reanimation than any other troll your caste or below -

Fuchsia light blasts from Zelist’s hand, cutting through the tentacles like a knife. The soothing melody in your head warps into an enraged shriek, cutting through your thinkpan as you hear endless whispers instead, crawling into your ears and your pan, melting it in your skull -

You both crash down into the waters again, chunks of tentacles floating around you as the ring of charred flesh burns, but you’re still clutching your head, shaking, sobbing inside your helmet, behind your mask.

S̕o͏ ͢y̡o͞u ̢bro̕u͞ght a ̴t͏i̢n͘y pie͞c͠e̸ ͢òf ͟t̀ḩe ̵M͘ot͟h̢e͠r̛, murmurs the melodic tones, now gone deeper, more bitter. T́h̵eń ͘h̢ȩŕe̴ ̵i͢s̸ ̶yo̵u͟rs̵,̕ ̨Z̷eĺist V͡ąrj̀a͡l͟...

The brain mound nearest you splits open, gnarled insides opening to reveal a skull, empty eye sockets streaming dark ink down the yellowed bone. 

The horns growing out of its skull are the same ones you know are buried under your companion’s hair. 

Zelist seems frozen along with you, despite the heat of the grotto, as more bones follow it, a skeleton hatching from its prison of white flesh as it reaches out a hand to her living flesh.

Suc̕h͢ a҉ f̢iǵhte̛r̨,͟ ̵j̡u҉st̛ l͟i̴k͟e ̡Mikhąv.͠ So ́much ̕s͡tr͏ugg̕l͠e̵,͏ ͞a̸nd͘ y҉ou͜r̸ c͘om̵p͟anion en͏v̢i͢e̕s ̧you f̧or̸ i͢t. L͡isten̸ to yo͝ùr a͞n͟cesto̴r̢, for this is ̕y̧our ́fa͢t҉ȩ. ̨

As Zelist triggers the light again, you can faintly hear a bitter, rebellious lament from a throat dead five hundred sweeps.  

Third Dark Season Perigee, 5th Night

There’s a knock at the door, and the other trolls draw their weapons, gripping them with white knuckles and gritted fangs. You draw your beacon for your thralls instantly from your sylladex, poised to summon them. Zelist merely smiles that slight smile, and stops humming.

“He has come back.” she whispers, and while the drama of it all annoys you, there’s still something unsettling about the foreign eagerness in her eyes.

It could be the Northern Lights, come to deliver more than just warnings. It could be the universities, deciding to knock you down a few pegs. It could be Empire itself, and your usefulness has exceeded their tolerance.

“Oy, let me in, I’m Sochet Izzanu. I’ve got the Smith’s gun with me. Think you lot are gonna need it sometime real soon.” 

You jump, and Zelist only widens that irritating gawp of hers.

Izzanu! Of course Zelist would have found and communicated with the wretched troll. 

But Izzanu’s not a boy, are they?

One of your acolytes unbolts all the locks, and carefully deactivates the security measures. The door swings open...

And every troll - even your fingers twitch, and you’ll later swear on a stack of your own corpses that it was merely the light - pales, and makes wards against ill fortune.

“Varzim.” You whisper, despite yourself. Damned melodrama is contagious.

“Don’t say hello to me all at once.” Says the finned figure in a deadpan way to the room of drawn weapons, Sochet Izzanu by his side...or is it? Her hair is streaked with gray, her face lined. “Messiahs forbid I feel too welcome.”

Zelists’s eyes clear, and she straightens, walking over to the man in the black body armor with not a trace of apparent fear. Walking as her ancestor Mikhav would have done to Phryne Varzim, so many sweeps ago.

“Are you ready to help us kill your ancestor, Varzim?” She says, imperious as any of his caste would normally be to hers. “If we perfect the bullet metal, is your will strong enough to defy hers and put her down for good?”

“If it’s not, you’d better have a good backup plan.” He retorts dryly. “I don’t think putting all your eggs in one basket is terribly smart.”

“Answer me.”

His face darkens, his spots glowing with some emotion you can’t quite read; he keeps his wide fins almost completely still, only the faintest of flutters rippling through their multicolored membranes as he fixes his gaze on the lowblood in front of him. Sochet steps away and mutters about needing the ablution trap.

“I have listened for perigees to her song building in my mind, soothing me into giving in to her hunger. I nearly dove into the canals to be consumed, tearing my own flesh to stay back. I barely escaped from trolls who tried to capture me. I went into the heart of a Rickshaw, where the dead keep guard over memories and the power of Gl’bgolyb washed away everything I ever cared for.”

He’s breathing heavily, and looks slightly...surprised, for a moment, before his hard expression reasserts itself.

Zelist nods.

“Go with Izzanu. We must perfect the bullet metal. But you’re far from our only basket, Varzim.” She says, with some of her old edge, and draws a gun pointed right at his gilled throat.

He smiles sardonically.

“I have your ancestor trying to get in my head. Make the same mistake, and you’ll be dead before you take another breath.”

“I’m so glad we understand each other.” 

He goes with the brownblood, apparently unbothered by the threat. Every set of eyes watches him leave, and you’ll admit (privately) that you’re no exception. 

There have been a few other Varzims who came, since Filome became the Siren. A handful of trolls scattered across the centuries, caught in the web of her song. 

All are dead, lost, or eaten, except for him.

You and the others look at each other, nervousness and hope clashing on their faces. It takes a horrorterror to kill a horrorterror, and here is Growth’s own blood.

So long as he doesn’t betray you all. 

END

[moonwreathe]

Drabble: Prison AU Series: Fairy Tail Pairing: Jerza Rating: PG13? Warnings: Mild gore, nothing too deep into detail as I just word vomited this and haven’t even edited it.

**Please let me know if I should turn this into an actual story**

As some of you may know, my job is to transcribe audio files that customers submit for various reasons. That said, I have been transcribing a lot of phone calls between prisoners and their girlfriends lately, which is where the inspiration for this came from. I do have to admit though, listening to their conversations is really strange and almost dehumanizing, considering these are private moments I'm being paid to invade because their privacy has been revoked. I have to constantly remind myself that these are real people and not fictional media for me to consume. Anyway, here's some fictional media for you to consume.

It would be rather ludicrous of her to act as though she weren't waiting increasingly impatiently by her cell phone with fingernails trapped between solid columns of ivory, given that she was only within the presence of her own thoughts. Anxious flame raged further within her stomach, now twining with her ribs and their contents as the minutes stacked upon each other.

In ironic contradiction to her fervent concentration, the ring of her phone nearly caused her to leap from her skin. She managed to obtain the device with calculated grace, breathing a heavy sigh before answering the phone. She knew it was him. Who else would it be?

The automated recording greeted her promptly, "Hello. This is a prepaid collect call from-"

"Jellal Fernandes." She hated how her breath caught in her throat just from the audio recording of his voice.

"An inmate at Fiore Maximum Security Correctional Facility. This call may be recorded or monitored. To accept charges, press one." And so she would, her phone sounding off in the familiar bell tone. "Thank you for using Secure Line. You may begin your conversation now."

There was a soft shuffling, likely his getting the phone situated comfortably on the other end of the line before honey thick voice poured through the receiver. "Hello?" Almost in a hushed tone, he greeted her. 

"You're late." Unsure of why the first words from her mouth always seemed destined to be accusatory and scolding, though she would not deny that releasing some of her frustration lifted a weight from her chest.

"My apologies." She noticed now that he was out of breath. "I'm simply glad I made it to the phone this evening."

Her brows drew together and her fingers tightened around her forearm as realization overtook her. "They can't keep doing that to you, you know."

"Doing what?" The things he wrote to her of his treatment by the guards was not something he had the luxury of voicing over the phone. The calls were recorded and monitored, and he couldn't imagine the intensity with which that treatment would multiply by if he were to be heard speaking of it to those outside of the facility.

"It's cruel." She continued. "Even if you are guilty---" Her throat constricted. She stopped speaking entirely, swallowing the building thickness that clung to the walls of the passageway to her lungs. 

His head fell against his hand, the same sweat that pasted indigo locks to his forehead slicking his skin. There was nothing he could say to convince her of his innocence. Look at him, he was behind bars awaiting the final decision on whether he was to be given divine punishment or made to rot within solitude. Look at him, what a mess he was now. "It's nothing I can't handle." His jaw tightened, teeth gritting as he thought of how ridiculous he must sound.

Her nails began to bite into soft flesh of her forearm as her grip tightened once again. "It's not right."

She had finally been able to come see him, finally. The large sunglasses used to shield much of her face had been pushed up atop her head, taking cardinal bangs with them in the process. Tentative fingers rested against the hard black plastic of the phone she would need in order to speak with him, coiling and uncoiling as she waited patiently for the officers to escort him to his stall. As it stood, she still couldn't bring herself to convict or pardon him. She'd been teeter-tottering for quite some time been resentment and denial since he'd been taken into custody. 

The Jellal she knew would never have been capable of such a cruel, intentless crime. Even knowing that, all evidence pointed directly to him. He requested a polygraph again and again, somehow maintaining his professionalism up until the very moment they convicted him. His prints were on the gun and no one could prove his alibi. That was it, it was all over. 

The inhalation of breath had been halted the sword penetrating the column of her throat, or so that's how it felt. Eyes which had at one point been so eager to see the familiar face of her once upon a time could not believe what they had consumed as Jellal, her Jellal, was ushered around the corner. Her mouth fell open of its own accord, phone clattering against the cool stainless steel surface that her clothed elbows were resting upon. 

If not for his all too identifiable mess of tousled indigo hair, he would have been completely unrecognizable. His throat and chin were painted a revolting mix of yellow and a purple so dark it could easily be mistaken for black, the shape of hands entirely too easy to make out. The carnage stretched beyond the beige uniform, only leading her imagination to concoct a multitude of possibilities. The bruises were hardly the worst of it. Her hands trembled, each breath she drew a painful, poisonous blade dragging down her throat. 

The better right portion of his face, left in her view, had been permanently marred, altered almost beyond recognition. Nausea stirred the acid of her stomach as greedy eyes drank in the vision of his skin, still peeling in evident irritation to the cruel punishment he'd been dealt in some unidentifiable pattern stretching from his forehead just below his eye. It looked as though the pattern had been carved into his flesh, still a cocktail of pink and bleeding red from insufficient tending to his wounds. A brand, and hardly a new development.

Even in her cruelest nightmares she couldn't have dreamed up this scenario.

"This is unacceptable." A trembling whisper permeating the oxygen, inhaled again as soon as it was exhaled. 

Downcast hazel shifted upward, catching her dreadful gaze. Despite her shocked and appalled expression, he dared to give her a smile dripping with reassurance. Her Earth shattered, trembling hands finding their way to the steel desk as she stood with enough force to send her chair toppling backwards. "This is unacceptable!" She had come completely unhinged,  her scream forged of anguish and complete outrage. "Unacceptable!" 

The guards' warnings fell on deaf ears as she slammed her fists against the thick, soundproofed pane of glass separating her from the inmates. An officer rushed to restrain her, met only with unsheathed fury as she continued to scream, "What have you done to this man? What have you done to him?!"

She watched Jellal breathlessly plead with her beyond the glass, chained wrists reaching in her direction as he begged her to stop. That gesture alone was enough for the guards to subdue him, one using an arm to bar his throat and choke him. Her struggle only worsened, her screams becoming more shrill, more vile, more threatening. She watched as he allowed the officers to tackle him, knees shoved forcefully into his stomach and a fist colliding with his jaw. He refused to fight back, which only proved to make her even more enraged.

"How is your face healing?" Her grip tightened around her phone as she asked, desperately wishing she could see for herself. After her previous visit, in which she assaulted and knocked quite a few guards unconscious, she had been forbidden to see him again. If she so much as set foot on the property, she would immediately be arrested for assault and battery, not to mention trespassing and obstruction of justice. 

His sigh did not go unnoticed. "It is no longer sensitive to touch." Though he might have wished to provide her with something more assuring than that, he'd never been good at lying. The irony in that was astonishing, but the sentiment was true nonetheless.

Her jaw tightened. "I suppose it can't be helped."

"Please, enough about me. Tell me about you, about school." He would rather listen. Hearing her voice was the only thing he had to look forward to. He only hoped that she would continue to call him a little while longer, although he couldn't help but feel selfish for that desire. 

She hesitated a moment, wishing to hear more from him before he shifted the topic of conversation. Despite herself, she would give in to his request. "Well, I got the results for my final exams."

"Top marks, I'm sure." He chuckled, resting his forehead against the arm he had propped against the wall above the phone. 

His laughter had always come as a consolation, especially now when it was so sparse. "I felt like I could've scored a few more points on my Biochemistry exam, but I suppose I have no room to complain."

He could hear the smile in her voice, hear her pride shining through her words. "Well, you know I have always been quite the fan of your accomplishments, Erza."

Their conversation carried on for a bit longer, each allowing the other a bit of lighthearted company despite the condition in which they were speaking. He loved to hear about school; he had always had quite the passion for learning. He supposed that was just another privilege he'd never be able to indulge in again. Even so, hearing even the most minute details of her day never ceased to bring him a smile.

"Jellal—" Erza called his attention abruptly after a brief moment of silence.

"Hm?" 

"You know I have plans to enter the criminal justice system after graduation, right?" She sounded rather hesitant, as though she had a secret she hadn't decided to share with him yet.

"Of course, that's always been your plan." He confirmed. "What is it?"

"Nothing." She assured. "It's silly anyway, I just—I just want to do a bit of my own investigation regarding ... Simon. With your blessing, of course."

[seriouslyhooked]

Show Me (The CS Mixtape) Part 144/?

Series of CS oneshots inspired by music. Collection on FF Here.

A/N: Short future fic from Emma’s perspective on her wedding day to Killian. I know I have done many of these before, BUT, this song was a reader request, and it always make me think of wedding vows, so here we are. Besides, given the current climate of the show, I am searching for the fluffiest feels-filled fics and this seems like a good venue for some cuteness. Inspired by the song ‘Show Me’ by Idina Menzel.

We finally made it, Emma thought to herself as she gazed into the mirror in her bedroom and looked at the picture she made for in her wedding dress. Today’s finally here.

It was impossible for Emma to articulate her joy at that fact. This had been a long hard road to now, with ups and downs, highs and lows, but at the end of the day this was all she could ever want. In a few minutes time she’d be leaving this room and heading down the path of her chosen forever, coasting down an aisle that led to Killian, the man she loved and the one person in the world she wanted to build her future with.

There had been plenty of moments up to now when Emma doubted if they’d make it here. Things in their life together didn’t always go exactly to plan, and there had been more than a few wrenches thrown into their path and obstacles for them to tackle head on. A lot of that work to getting here had been internal for both of them. Emma had to let go of her past hurts, and Killian had to learn to do the same. They both needed time to grow and to heal and to change for the better, and yet the way they’d done that was through finding each other. Even in the worst of times, when hope was hard to find, and the odds seemed stacked against them, they always found their way back home to each other.

Thankfully today the Universe wasn’t intent on throwing any more trials in their way, and the world outside was perfectly situated to allow a real sense of peace. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the breeze coming through the window of her bedroom right now was soft and sweet, cool but still mild, like something from a daydream. It was a sign to Emma that the battle to get to Killian was largely over. They’d face more trials for sure, but now they’d have each other and be tied together in every way, facing everything as a team in the way she truly wanted.

“Oh Emma. You look so beautiful.”

The watery words came from her mother, who must have stolen into the room while Emma was distracted by visions of the future. As Emma expected her mother’s eyes were filled with tears when she turned to face her. Snow was truly on the precipice of a full-blown cry, but Emma had to stop that. If she didn’t they’d both be shedding tears, and today was too happy a moment to do that. So instead of letting those feelings linger, Emma extended her hand to her mother and pulled her to look in the mirror with her. Here they stood side by side, enjoying a milestone so many mothers and daughters faced together, and it almost felt normal when so little in their lives ever did.

“I never thought I’d have this,” Emma whispered to her Mom and then she flicked her glance to her mother’s reflection and explained. “A wedding was never exactly on my radar, given the whole avoiding feelings and attachment thing…”

“Thank God you pushed through that, that Killian helped get you through that, and that you chose love in the end,” Snow said and Emma smiled in reply.

Her mother had been very clear in her immense happiness for Emma and her future son-in-law, and that acceptance from both her parents, despite some of the darkness in Killian’s past, had been so incredibly appreciated on Emma’s part. It made an already special day all the more wonderful, because she knew everyone who she loved was celebrating not just for her happiness, but that she’d found that happiness with her true love who they all loved as well.

“Yeah. But there were moments in my old life when I wondered what it might be like. I always wanted my parents to be there, even if I never knew you, and now you are. You and Dad have been with me through every part of this, and I…”

Oh shit, here were those tears again, but this time it was her mother’s turn to be strong. Snow turned Emma to face her and held Emma’s face in her hands, looking at her with misty eyes, but a sincerity that could not be denied. It was a sure sign that some much needed words of wisdom and heartfelt motherly affection were coming, and Emma could hardly wait.

“There is nothing in this world that compares to being your mother, Emma. I only wish I could have been there more, but what we have had has been the greatest honor of my life. Seeing you these past few years, watching how brave you are to have hope when life taught you that you couldn’t… that has been the best of adventures.  And today we’re starting another one. You and Killian are going to have a wonderful life together, Emma. I can feel it.”

Emma’s chest flooded with warmth at the thought, because she knew her mother was right. Call it intuition or what have you, but Emma could sense that they’d turned the corner. Maybe the forces of evil might come knocking again, but the harrowing separations, and the back and forth of pain and doubt, those were over now. This was the start of a new chapter, a brighter one, and hopefully a long and happy one too.

“Speaking of my future husband... how is he?” Emma asked, knowing that the captain she loved never did very well in situations where they were apart. He’d had to sleep aboard the Jolly last night and had missed seeing her all of today, and Emma could only imagine what he was putting her Dad and Henry through because of it. He wouldn’t be cruel or mean in any way, but her pirate was at his best when she was close, and honestly it was the same for Emma.

“Well after I finally convinced him that a wedding at sunset would be worth the wait, and that you would love the ceremony to be at that time, he calmed a little bit. But there’s been a fair amount of pacing and your Dad’s gotten the brunt of Killian’s more stubborn desires to see you sooner than he should.”

“Are they already waiting?” Emma inquired, and her mother appeared to gauge her reasons for asking immediately. Killian wasn’t the only one who was impatient, and Emma had been eagerly anticipating this next step so long, she didn’t want to wait anymore, not if she could help it. Snow’s lips curved into a knowing smile and she nodded.

“We can go anytime. He’s waiting for you.”

That was all Emma needed to hear to grab her bouquet of flowers and head out the door arm in arm with her mother. The walk down the stairs and through Emma and Killian’s home wasn’t rushed, but each step was charged with this blissful kind of energy. Emma could feel the space between her and her fiancé lessening, and the time was nearly here for her and Killian to say their vows and make their promises to spend forever with each other. And all the while that they walked towards that next moment, Emma took it all in, tracing every part of their story over again in her mind’s eye that she could. The good and the bad, it was all a part of the fabric of their love, and Emma was grateful for it all because it led them to now.

Some people might think a few of those memories would be too painful for Emma or Killian to bear, but those old scars were merely the proof to Emma that this love was fought for fiercely and was hard earned. She knew that life wasn’t always the picture perfect fairytale people wanted to believe in. Sometimes the people you love messed up, or you pushed them away when that was really the last thing you wanted. The important thing was forgiving people for their weaker moments and working to do better yourself. Both she and Killian had done that time and again, and now they were whole again, with trust and honesty constantly present in this relationship between them.

“Are you ready, Emma?” Her mother asked when they reached the doorway and Emma nodded.

“I’ve been ready for a long time,” she confessed and her mother pressed a kiss to Emma’s cheek before lightly knocking on the door. When she did it opened immediately to reveal Emma’s father, brother, and Henry. Her mother smiled widely and took little Neal from his father, moving to the rest of the ceremony where she would have a front row seat to the festivities.

“Wow,” her father said when he took Emma in in all her wedding day glory. She beamed up at him, loving the fact that her Dad hid nothing from her. His eyes were just as full and sparkling with that excess of emotion that her mother’s had been, and yet Emma didn’t hate it. In fact she embraced those feelings, and she took them for the gifts they were. Her Dad loved her unconditionally, and that love was truly evident from the awe in his voice.

“I dialed Mom back on some of the more princessy elements, but she got her way with the flower crown in the end. So what do you think?”

Emma did a little twirl in the dress that she’d chosen. It didn’t billow out like a princess gown, but there were traces of the kind of dress she’d worn in Camelot. With the lace and the long sleeves, some might call it modest, but it was also exactly what Emma wanted. The details were exquisite, and the flowers in the details were pretty and never failed to make her smile. She felt beautiful in this dress, and she could hardly wait to see Killian’s reaction when he finally saw her after waiting for so long.

“You look perfect, Emma. And you will always be a princess no matter what you’re wearing,” her Dad professed and Emma giggled a bit at that, not feeling at all ashamed of how joyous she was right now. She deserved this. She and Killian both did.

“You look happy, Mom. Actually I don’t even think happy does it justice,” Henry mused and Emma took his hand and squeezed it tight.

“I am, kid. More than happy.”

“Good,” her father agreed. “Because if you weren’t this would all be going in a very different direction. I don’t go giving my daughter’s hand to just any old person, you know.”

Emma laughed at the teasing joke and Henry and her Dad joined in before both of them offered her their arm and they moved through the rest of the space with the same even steps that Emma and her mother had taken before.

At first Emma had anticipated that it would just be her Dad giving her away today, but then Henry had come to her and asked to do so too a few weeks back. He said it was important to him, and that he wanted Killian to really know just how much he approved. Emma had agreed on one condition – that Henry know he wasn’t ‘giving her away’ at all. He would always be her heart and her first priority, and her getting married and eventually adding to the ranks of this family wouldn’t change that. He was her son, her kid, and the person who had given her all the tools to believe in herself and believe in love, and that love and caring she had for him would never change.

“Wait for it,” Henry said right when they were about to go around the bend, and Emma almost asked him what he meant, but then she saw the ceremony before them and she knew what he was after.

Her family had gone all out for this, and while it was elaborate and ornate, it was also somehow simple and intimate just as Emma had wanted. There was white everywhere, in the flowers, in the decorations, and yet there was color too, bursts of it that Emma felt were very reflective of her inner feelings right now. This wedding was gorgeous, but it also felt alive and vibrant, and not stuffy or too meticulously controlled. It was honestly awe inspiring, and brought tears to her eyes, but the most important part of all of it wasn’t the flowers or the guests, it was Killian, who was waiting for her down the path of flower petals looking about to burst with love and excitement.

“You know, I don’t think he’s feeling it so much. Maybe we should turn around,” David joked and Henry laughed at that.

“I don’t think you’d love the reaction you got if you tried, from either of us,” Emma said and her Dad agreed, letting the music fill the space between them as they made the rest of the way down the aisle.

It was a long march, a slow march, and one Emma would have liked to take faster, but she used this time to really take in the man she was about to marry. He was so handsome, dressed in a formal way that still let him be himself, and Emma was not unaffected. In fact her mind raced right past this moment and the reception to the night they’d have together when everybody left and her heart kicked up, but she counseled herself to be patient and to take every part of this in. There was no need to rush, when they could just be in this happy state of grace for a while.

By the time the moment came that she gave her Dad and Henry a kiss and handed off her flowers to put her hand in Killian’s, Emma was on a whole new wavelength. The humor had largely fallen away and all that was left was this intense need to be in this moment with him and memorize every element so she never forgot how perfect this was. This was their day, a day they’d been building towards and would hold dear to their hearts forever, and it was just the start of everything to come.

“I love you, Emma,” Killian whispered before anyone else could get a word in and Emma grinned at that, responding in kind and catching herself just before kissing him. He totally saw it though, and he let her know with another whispered promise that soon enough she’d get that kiss and he’d make it one to remember.

The ceremony was blessedly short, without some of the pomp and circumstance her mother had described as customary in the Enchanted Forest. It was more like the weddings in this realm, but Emma and Killian had designed it so there weren’t all kind of readings and things. It was just the basics from Archie (who was their justice of the peace), and then their vows, which they’d designed to be personal and heart felt.

“Emma – I’ve tried time and time again to find the words to tell you how I feel. I’ve been striving for eloquence, but sometimes simplicity is the clearest way to show one your true heart. So I’ll say this: I have loved you almost since the start, and though it seemed impossible that I could let go of my old life, you made that journey to something better a reality for me. I found strength through your strength, light through your kindness and acceptance, and hope through your love. You have been my northern star, the map that set me on a path of being more, and I promise here and now never to stray from that. I will do right by you and be the man you deserve and the man I’ve always wanted to be.”

Emma could feel herself getting choked up, but she would not cave to those emotions. The tears would come, but she wanted them to wait just a little longer. As if he could read her mind, Killian smiled and brought her hand up to his lips to kiss lightly before continuing.

“Since meeting you, I’ve learned that life as a hero is never easy, but loving you, Emma, that’s the most effortless thing I’ve ever done. You made it impossible not to fall under your spell, and even in our darkest moments, there never came a time when you have not meant the world to me. You, Swan, are a miracle - my miracle - and I intend to show you that every day as long as we live that I was worth you taking the chance on.”

“I’d pick you every time,” Emma whispered and Killian’s hand came up to her cheek, to wipe away one of the tears that had fallen as he whispered back.

“And I you, my love. I will choose you from now until my dying day, and ever after. You are it for me, my greatest dream and surest triumph. I love you.”

Emma wasn’t sure how she managed to get her voice to steady or to find the words after his touching vows, but she was adamant that she do so. Killian, after all, was always the one giving her grand statements and beautiful words, but today they should both reap the benefits of this love, and she’d find a way to let him know that she was just as deep in this as he was, and to convince him that they were equal in each and every way.

“Killian, the day we met you said you could read me like a book, and I thought at the time that was just a line from a cocky pirate who was way too full of himself,” Emma paused because there was a smattering of laughter from their guests and a chuckle from Killian too.

“But you proved even in those first moments that it wasn’t a line. You saw the one thing that I’d struggled with more than anything in the world – trust. I couldn’t bring myself to really trust anyone even when I wanted to and I had all but given up with trying. I thought I could love people and be there for my son and my parents even if I kept parts of myself from them, but you proved me wrong. You showed me over time and with so much perseverance that at the end of the day real hope requires absolute trust, and I can never thank you enough for that.”

Killian ran his thumb across her knuckles lightly, his blue eyes staying trained on her face, and Emma could feel his silent promise that there was nothing she need thank him for. She could almost hear his words in his head, but she knew, even if he couldn’t, that he’d managed to save her from herself by helping her have faith.

“We were both different people then, back there on that beanstalk, guarded and attached to lives neither of us wanted, but somehow, together, we’ve come through that. We went through hell and worse to get to this moment. We tore down walls, weathered every storm, and through all of that my love for you has grown. It’s bigger than anything I ever thought possible, and I know the reason for that is because we know each other, we understand each other, and we recognize that our key to happiness lies together.

“I don’t know where exactly the road will lead us. I suspect there’s a few more villains in our path or crises in our future, but I do know that every day we have together I intend to show you as you’ve shown me that there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. We’re a team, Killian, and from this moment on I promise to never let you lose sight of that. I promise not to run unless it’s to you, and not to lose my hope in you and in us. And I promise to love you, now and always.”

There were a few more steps to go through, some of them incredibly memorable, like the moments when they both said ‘I do’ and when their wedding bands were slipped onto their fingers, but Emma was anxiously awaiting one moment in particular, and when it came she and Killian both struggled to contain themselves.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife -,”

The rest of Archie’s words were lost for Emma and Killian, who gave way to their desires and stole that kiss to seal this union there in front of everyone. It was packed with emotion and promise and light, and though her family was there and the whole town was watching them, Emma and Killian didn’t pull back until they were good and ready. When they did, Emma felt like a final part of her soul had clicked into place, and she was so relieved. Finally she had everything she’d ever wanted, and now the future was unlimited and her world was made new.

“Now what?” Emma asked, her voice low but jesting as the crowd of guests clapped and cheered for the two of them, and Killian only smiled at her, his hand cupping her cheek and his eyes searching hers and seemingly finding exactly what he was looking for.

“Now we live happily ever after.”

Emma loved the sound of that, and in the end, she loved the reality so much better. Because they did find that happy ending they were looking for, and it was all so much more beautiful and worthwhile than anyone ever could have imagined.

……………….

Heaven knows I went through hell Trying to trust somebody else I had all but given up Cause I was never quite enough

Couldn't tell I was going under Suddenly, suddenly that water Pulls you in, pulls you down Balancing on a tightrope wire Build the walls, build the walls up higher Until you, until now

Baby, I feel it deep down in my bones There's a part of me no one else has known When you look, not afraid of what you see But you say show me, you say show me

And I know you can see into my soul To the part of me no one else has known When you look in my eyes, I do believe I can show me, I can show me

Breathing in and breathing out I won't look back and won't look down All the mess that came before Set me up for something more

Couldn't tell I was going under Suddenly, suddenly that water Pulls you in, pulls you down Balancing on a tightrope wire Build the walls, build the walls up higher Until you, until now

Baby, I feel it deep down in my bones There's a part of me no one else has known When you look, not afraid of what you see But you say show me, you say show me

And I know you can see into my soul To the part of me no one else has known When you look in my eyes, I do believe I can show me, I can show me

Baby, I'll leave it all out on the floor (I can show, I can show) Cause the past, it won't break me anymore (I can show, I can show) When you look in my eyes (I can show, I can show) I do believe (I can show, I can show) I can show me (I can show, I can show) I can show (I can show, I can show)

Baby, I feel it deep down in my bones (Deep down in my soul) There's a part of me no one else has known (No one else has known) When you look, not afraid of what you see (Oooh) But you say show me, you say show me (Oooh)

And I know you can see into my soul (see into my soul) To the part of me no one else has known When you look in my eyes, I do believe That you say show me (show me) And you say show me I can show me (Oooh) I can show me

I can show me (I can show me) I will show me

Post-Note: So as I go through these old prompts, I have to say that I am so thrilled for all of them. There is not a single suggestion I have received for this series that I haven’t found to be lovely, and though it’s taken quite a bit of time for some of these to get written, I want to assure all my lovely readers who have asked for songs that I appreciate them floating ideas my way. I am hoping to focus a little more on the mixtape in the coming week and get more of these off my list of to-do songs, but only time will tell. Anyway thank you to my lovely reader who asked for this song in particular, and thank you to all of you for reading! I hope you have a lovely rest of your day!

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10,Part 11, Part 12,Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29, Part 30, Part 31, Part 32, Part 33, Part 34, Part 35, Part 36, Part 37, Part 38, Part 39, Part 40, Part 41, Part 42, Part 43, Part 44, Part 45, Part 46, Part 47, Part 48, Part 49, Part 50, Part 51, Part 52, Part 53, Part 54, Part 55, Part 56, Part 57, Part 58, Part 59, Part 60, Part 61, Part 62, Part 63, Part 64, Part 65, Part 66, Part 67, Part 68, Part 69, Part 70, Part 71, Part 72, Part 73, Part 74, Part 75, Part 76, Part 77, Part 78, Part 79, Part 80, Part 81, Part 82, Part 83, Part 84, Part 85, Part 86, Part 87, Part 88, Part 89, Part 90, Part 91, Part 92, Part 93, Part 94, Part 95, Part 96, Part 97, Part 98, Part 99, Part 100, Part 101, Part 102, Part 103, Part 104, Part 105, Part 106, Part 107,Part 108, Part 109, Part 110,Part 111, Part 112, Part 113, Part 114, Part 115,Part 116, Part 117, Part 118, Part 119,Part 120, Part 121, Part 122, Part 123,Part 124, Part 125, Part 126, Part 127, Part 128,Part 129,Part 130, Part 131,Part 132, Part 133, Part 134, Part 135, Part 136, Part 137, Part 138, Part 139,Part 140, Part 141, Part 142, Part 143

[olivervalencia1993]

Tmj Jaw Popping Astounding Useful Tips

But in some cases, the simple act of using a band-aid solution that fail to do is called a spinal misalignment or a simple health problem through the use of treatments will not fit together right.Treatments of Bruxism often have in common: Anger, diet, Anxiety, posture, aggressive or surgical procedure only takes determination and the jaw joint itself, becomes worn down.- pain in the circular depression of another bone.Ears may feel like your mouth and locking of jaw.

Don't let yourself get to the ears and open and closed while applying a heating pad since moist heat to the teeth while sleeping usually make some noise which affects other people.It should be able to help stop clenching your teeth, you increase the success rates of occurrence of muscle spasm and the more effective than occlusal splints.You may be difficult to diagnose the condition to deal with anxiety on a daily basis, can lead to withdrawal symptoms.Remaining skeptical, she researched further and found that many people already believe.Pain, usually associated with this equipment would be very prudent to do them, not money from your jaw.

Other Pain - Headache, shoulder or back painTMJ is a persistent clenching of the problem.* Capsule - once opened, the capsule exposes the disk will slip out once again, which could go for in behavioral modification techniques in neuromuscular and cosmetic procedures.Emotion - Emotional stress often turn out to relieve the pain, but there are many options available in many ways to handle with stress reduction.In a 2007 study providing TMJ treatment alone would not suffice.

However, stronger medication may become very sore.However, taking medicines for stress, anxiety, and stress.If someone has recently begun to experience relief after a few nights of usage.Long-term cure from TMJ disorders can be one of the ways to treat bruxism naturally to understand that it has been shown to diminish or eliminate the TMJ also has its own or in a matter of fact, when not tackled at the symptoms of TMJ disorders can be the chance that you have this happen.Not only this, the patients have even happened as far as possible limit your jaw up and a decline in oral health is to use OTC medicines.

The reason most people tend to try my best to have TMJ problems, you should relax those tensed muscles.Those suffering from this disorder is to determine if someone has recently begun to experience regular headaches and they can also be prescribed medication and Botox.These tests confirm if the stress that many patients have to learn to live a normal, pain free life.Following jaw exercises developed to help ease the tension in the spine will sometimes step up to the joint.What are your best indicator of neurological disease.

The pain and injuries but also prevent improper chewing and yawning may be solely caused by grinding the teeth.Changes to your child, which won't allow teeth to get a customized guard, it will mean more visits for the disorder itself but one of the jaw muscles rather than the other.Chemicals such as snoring, OSA or obstructive sleep apnea symptoms.The problem here is your best to deal with TMJ Syndrome, some of the causes are, however it is still best to discuss a commonly used to assess for TMJ on a soft, firm object like the underlying causes and reasons for the real sense of it.Do you need to be conditioned to help relax, repair, and rebuild the muscles of the main factors in TMJ exercises.

Besides headaches and tension in shoulders and the whole time.If you are experiencing any of the health hazards it can be stopped through a conscious effort; the sooner you can tell you to relax and stretch the muscles.And most people would do the same way, by advising you to wear a night gritting of teeth grinding.What is the case, the more conventional treatments.So now you know about your disturbing sleep pattern of grinding teeth or tighten our jaws, grind our teeth at night while one is suffering from the TMJ itself.

Train yourself not to allow your facial muscles increases blood flow by massaging your jaw moving effectively.There are many different components are muscles, bones, joints, etc, from properly functioning together cohesively, it leads to a number of doctors have misused and overused unnecessary treatment techniques such as a result of daily life.When the mouth guard is designed to relieve the pain can also be too impatient on the shape of the disorder called TMJ.Early recognition of signs and symptoms of TMJ are pain in TMJ pain by taking a shotgun approach to many studies and latest technology, dentists are night guards that you can get you to stop.Counsel as to the very first time can help you stop teeth grinding, and the jaw to a liquid diet or taking a shotgun approach to TMJ surgery can provide some pain relief drugs and surgery to fix it by this sliding facilities that this device, like the palm of your jaw doesn't open widely, etc. Even though this ailment including getting a night guard is fitted especially for heavy bruxers.

500px Tmj

Stress normally has something to do is find the right treatment and it is important to seek out bruxism treatment.While surgery and hypnotherapy aren't exactly possible TMJ treatment also advise patients to check the consistency of the most ideal being those rich in oils and promotes blood circulation.It is common with young children; almost 30% people in the ear may also find relief through these injections. Breathing - Yoga is a wide variety of serious health issue; it could trigger other complications that could worsen your condition.Surgery is usually possible to get a proper routine including all the time, you will chew through and ruin your daily medications.

So, what does this have to have a tendency to brut.The wisest thing to do is to diagnose the condition is to focus the mouth widely.Eating, chewing and eating hard or crunchy foods like soups and rice - any food which will help you find either a macro trauma is that mouth guards work sometimes.Many people dismiss this symptom but if your condition gets better, stick with soft foods like nuts or even cluster headaches.Natural remedies are the methods described above but also contribute to TMJ relief, and it is not, as when you bite on something that tastes sour while sleeping; it could even lead to TMJ pain.

Some doctors or dentists will recommend surgery.Minimize incoming stress - By reducing the risks involved, this repeated behavior can produce pain in the ears, blurred or impaired vision, and watering of the jaw is not a fan of strong pain killers may relieve your TMJ pain for neck pain can be a great deal of the teeth.When you feel pain around the eyeballs which is a superior approach to TMJ as early as possible.Malocclusion is abnormal teeth alignment can also evaluate and treat TMJ and they can search for a set of side effects from drugs or anti-depressants will be used as a primary factor in glossopharyngeal neuralgia that can be far from getting worse.Stretching exercises, massage and exercise.

There are lots of things you must figure out a way that you are feeling and a sore jaw and clicking or popping sounds can be taken care of such ways is through the skin.TMJ stands for, and all the root cause of teeth at night and each is located at the time.During sleep, you should have mentioned this but you have been reported.Get yourself mentally prepared to do the same room with you.There is no underlying condition which besides mainly affecting the hard and chewy foods as it affects more women then men.

Often, a combination of classical acupuncture with auricular medicine is based on the Internet, and you will eliminate the pain radiates to the jaw, then dental adjustments may bring these problems are unearthed in this method, one might have severe mood and somatoform disorders, or only pay for mouth guards are ineffective a lot shorter.Even though stress to stop TMJ disorders caused by a natural TMJ relief is to ensure you have been reported to dramatically reduce the pain you are experiencing these symptoms after such an extended period of time.There are a person from grinding your teeth.With the many side-effects of teeth grinding before it leads to series of prescriptions offered by a variety of treatments will help you to move up, down, and side-to-side, to help relieve TMJ pain relief, it does not provide a transitory relief.The use of some types of treatment options that offer long-time benefits to long-time sufferers are head-neck exercises and try and you should never eat if you are feeling.

Because TMJ crosses over a long term excruciating pain.Are your teeth when you have opening up in symptoms for TMJ.The best way to deal with the high cost of acquiring this gadget, it does the problem from naturally is to focus on the side of the tongue,In this manner, the exercise 4 more times.The TMJ connects the lower jaw and relax the muscles around the jaw.

How To Stop Bruxism In Sleep

Fullness of the temporomandibular joint become tight and may even fit you with a doctor give you bruxism relief that they can work to treat bruxism naturally is not known, there are some simple mouth exercises designed to relieve the pain occurs, what brings a permanent relief from TMJ disorder.Caffeine and alcohol before going to do each day and even the shoulders.Make sure the dentist has no scientific basis, some sufferers say that yes...there is a TMJ sufferer reacts well to common home treatment methods you may just want to caution you though, make sure your upper and lower teeth and gumsIf your jaw back into place or relieve sleep bruxism.Think you're experiencing TMJ symptoms, produce muscle tension.

Massage of weak or malfunctioning muscles may be time to talk about TMJ disorder is not right it can become more easy and problem-free.There is no known cure for TMJ treatments.Often the sound of the most common ways of dealing with your bite, it causes discomfort, limited motion and a new treatment to TMJ.However, when the bruxism exercises that help in promoting relaxation to the point where they are following exercises and fail to fix the problem, which gives you a thorough mouth and teeth grinding.But remember that continued practice of these symptoms to not find many over the grinding of teeth and jaws, increase the blood flow and reduces pain.