#(and another thing: it also does annoy me when people rag on his voice acting when his va said they modeled him after someone who -

[anderfels]

anyone that puts ratonhnhaké:ton and "boring" in the same sentence is not to be trusted. do not trust them.

[masterjedilenawrites]

(sfw) snuggles with sev im BEGGING YOU BESTIE

i love your writing :((((

Sev will never, and I truly mean never, initiate snuggles on his own. Ever. On the one hand, it's one of those things that doesn't often cross his mind to begin with. Just does not occur to him. On the other, in the rare moments he does realize he wants to be physically closer to his beloved, he's far too scared to admit it. He'll him and haw in his mind over whether to bring it up, how to ask for such a thing, is this really the right moment, what if his partner's too busy, what if they make a big deal about it and tease him...?

Even once he is snuggling, he won't admit just how much he loves it. But thankfully his partner knows him far too well to be ignorant to his feelings. They can feel his muscles relax beneath him, can hear the ever-so-quiet sigh escape his lips. They just know he's comfortable. He won't readjust his position but will allow his partner to move his limbs around if needed. He also won't do much caressing unless asked. Again, these things just don't occur to him. But he will always do as he's asked without fuss, and he likes that whatever it is - stroking their hair, laying back, holding them tight - it seems to make his partner so happy.

[Bonus drabble below the cut!] 💖

"Credit for your thoughts?"

It was a question you asked him often, usually when he seemed especially lost in his head, brooding or concentrating. Sometimes he just snapped out of his thoughts, shook his head at you, and resumed the activity he'd been doing. Sometimes he did share a bit of what was on his mind.

"'snothing," he mumbled in response to your question this time, though his helmet still lay in his lap untouched, along with the abandoned wash rag. His leg started to twitch and his fingers tapped idly on the edge of the couch cushion between you. He glanced over at you and then shyly looked away when he saw you were still paying attention.

"Doesn't look like nothing," you prodded just a bit. He was acting very odd. Like he had something he wanted to say, or do, but for some reason kept talking himself out of it.

"I'm... tired..." he said vaguely. He promptly moved his helmet to rest onto the side table and tried to settle back into the couch, but you could tell there was still some tension in his body, an anxiousness in his eyes, to where he couldn't quite relax.

You were pretty sure now that you knew what he wanted, the thing he couldn't bring himself to say. As you spent more and more time together, you were picking up on more and more of his little mannerisms. You'd test the waters, little experiments almost, to confirm your suspicions. The more you were right, the more confident you'd be in the next instance. It was annoying that you had to go about it this way, that he couldn't just say what he was feeling like other people. But it was also kind of fun to have your own ways of figuring him out, especially when no one else could.

"You want something," you stated. You hadn't yet tested your theory about this particular set of behaviors, so you took the opportunity.

He glared over at you silently, but shifted in his seat. His way of saying you were right.

"What do you want?" you now asked a question. You tried to keep your voice level, not too demanding, but firm enough.

"Nothing," he huffed. Now you could see him concentrating hard on keeping his gaze dead straight ahead, but you knew he wasn't really paying attention to anything happening on the holo-screen.

"Do you want... to go take a nap?"

You studied his face and saw no reaction, still just quiet determination to not look at you. You tried again.

"Do you want me to get some food?"

Nothing.

"How about a massage?"

He breathed in a little heavier. You were on the right track, but not quite there yet.

"Snuggles?"

Bingo. There is was. A nervous flick of his eyes to yours. Another shifting of his body. A flex of his hand as it retreated closer to his thigh.

"Sev," you put a slight coo to your voice, "do you want to snuggle with me?"

He remained as still as a statue, holding his breath, averting his gaze. Oh he wanted this so bad, didn't he. You could see the restraint practically rippling through him. It would've been comical if you weren't so generous when it came to your love.

"Well, I want to snuggle." You knew the only way to put him out of his misery was to make it seem like it was your idea. You'd accepted long ago that this man would rather die than admit his feelings.

He finally looked fully over at you as soon as you said the words, and almost by instinct his arm started to shift open, inviting you over. You gave him a grin, a smile that would reflect joy for the both of you, and then scooted over. Your body molded onto his, your head rested on the upper part of his chest. You sighed and almost missed the sigh he gave in return.

"Hold me, Sev," you whispered against his chest. He obliged immediately. His arms wrapped around your frame, resting comfortably, securely. And then his body started to relax beneath you, all that unnecessary tension and embarrassment practically melting away into the cushions. Once again, he got what he wanted without having to admit it. But you didn't care, because who were you kidding, you wanted this moment, too.

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[faebriel]

ok ok I'm insane and couldn't pick one so have two (no need to answer both if you don't want to)

“You talk to him.” Not kindly, but he does.

“I’m used to him,” he shoots back. “I’m the only person who is.”

That makes Niki feel something, some uncomfortable tug in her chest. She mentally kicks herself. It’s not jealousy, she reminds herself, because despite the near-cliff jumping and the long nights without food and the nuclear fallout that has punctuated her last few months, being jealous of Tommy would be the least reasonable thing she’s allowed herself to be, maybe ever.

“You don’t believe me,” Tommy says flatly. “You never - eugh.” He cuts himself off with another ragged sigh, running a hand down his face. “Look, Niki, it’s - we were all together in Pogtopia, right? But I was there first. With him. And you didn’t see the start of it, it was horrible, and I’m glad no one else saw the beginning of it either but it was still just so shit and he kept saying all these terrible things about Tubbo and Fundy and you and,” he takes a shaky breath, “then, when I died, I saw him.”

Her breath catches in her throat.

Well, the voice in the back of her head whistles. If you were still wondering about all this afterlife bullshit, if you want to know where you’re going after your third life, here you go.

and

“You didn’t even - this isn’t about L’Manberg, Wilbur!” Niki shouts.

And then he stops, breathing hard, and he looks at Niki the same way he does whenever her voice is being drowned out in a crowd - the way he does when he wants to hear her, when he wants to know what she has to say.

“What else is there?” he asks.

Niki freezes. Stock still, unable to move, unable to breathe, ice threading its way through her gut, her chest, her shoulders, chilled down to the bone. With slow-dawning horror, she can feel hot tears welling up behind her eyes, sitting in her throat, threatening to spill over into a sob. She swallows - to keep her cool, to stay calm, to keep it together -

And then, something in her chest just snaps.

“You said you’d come back for me!” she cries, and her voice hitches on the lump of tears at the back of her throat and god, she sounds absolutely pathetic. Wilbur’s face softens immediately, which somehow just makes her feel even worse. “In Manberg. When Schlatt put me in prison, and you and Tommy were in Pogtopia, you said you’d break me out when it was safe. I waited for weeks , Wilbur. It was… it was horrible.”

“Niki…” a kaleidoscope of emotions flicker across his face, and he seems unsure which to settle on. “We got you out though, right? After the festival.”

“You looked for the button first,” she says quietly, and he stills.

Her sniffling sounds embarrassingly loud against the quiet background of night.

thank you sm!!! i’m gonna put these under the cut because they got a little long sorry (tw for discussion of suicidal ideation)

to preface: tommy is kind of the accidental but incredibly necessary invisible support beam for niki and wilbur’s making amends in bitter. niki cannot accept wilbur’s actions and apology without first acknowledging her own actions and making steps towards an apology, because otherwise it kind of falls flat? in that ending scene niki finally gets what wilbur is feeling and wilbur finally gets that someone else knows how he feels (it’s not perfect 100% yet, but…. that’ll get explored later)

onto the actual snippet! “tommy talks to wilbur - not kindly, but he does” was very important to me! tommy has stuck by wilbur ever since pogtopia, but the tragedy is that he is not equipped to deal with wilbur’s issues, and it shows. wilbur’s first stream after revival depicts this really clearly, where tommy tails wilbur around the whole time but insults him, is still stuck on calling him the villain, physically fights him at some point, etc. on one hand this isn’t healthy but on the other hand tommy is actually around, which is more than can be said for basically any other ally wilbur has had on the dsmp, maybe excluding his dad, who literally killed him lmfao.

this whole issue is exacerbated by the fact that tommy believes that he is the only person who properly understands wilbur, the only person who gets what happened to him, and feels like wilbur is generally his burden to bear. he failed to stop wilbur from both 1. hurting other people and 2. killing himself after the pogtopia-manberg war - and he doesn’t trust wilbur not to do either of those things again, so he’s stuck hovering around wilbur while wilbur is inadvertently setting off his own trauma and feeling responsible for any way he might fuck up and hating that but not wanting to leave. tommy’s memory isn’t perfect and he isn’t a perfect narrator, what he remembers from pogtopia the most were the scariest parts and that’s understandable but it means he’s holding wilbur to the worst expectations of behaviour (and he does so very vocally). the others showed up later, sure, but in tommy’s eyes he’s the only one who saw wilbur’s descent, and by the time they showed up wilbur had already changed irreversably. tommy tries to rationalise this by splitting the ‘different wilburs’ apart from each other in his head (he does this in canon too - there’s one quote from like late 2020 where he says he and tubbo need to keep on going for who wilbur used to be, not who he became, even though they’re,, the same person), and no one challenges that perspective, so he just keeps doing it even though it’s not healthy for him or wilbur.

and then limbo happened and, oh geez, THAT didn’t help jhfaskjjfsa

tommy is on a bit of a knife edge with niki in this fic. niki’s in this state of “ok, he’s annoying whatever, i’m moving on”, but all tommy knows is that she tried to kill him that one time, disappeared off the face of the map, joined a book club with two people who definitely do not like him, and now is just acting weirdly mellow and polite. she is not someone he wants near wilbur bc what the fuck is she gonna do? what is he gonna do? who knows. he’s frustrated that niki doesn’t seem to acknowledge how he’s feeling (especially bc once upon a time she would have been someone he trusted to acknowledge them - they were friends, they fought together) and he’s taking a big step by telling someone about his concerns here, especially bc tommy doesn’t really like talking about them at all. he wouldn’t be saying absolutely anything to niki if he didn’t truly believe she should stay away from wilbur, even if he’s wrong about him. (sometimes i think i write tommy as a little too emotionally mature here but it all goes out the window when wilbur’s brought up. idk if that balances it out)

ok onto niki: this is the first she has actually heard of limbo! she’s only just come around to the fact that resurrection is possible at all. death is kind of a touchy subject for niki both in general and re: wilbur in the fic - she’s coming off of a period in her life where suicidal ideation was, uh, a big thing (whether you want to read that into canon or not is subjective, that’s just the angle i went with in this fic). the sudden existence of a life after death, miserable as it is - and whether she really believes in such a place, when it only exists in tommy and wilbur’s words - that is a lot of information for her to absorb all at once. death is a weird connection point for tommy and niki here, coming right off of the fact that they’ve just acknowledged each other having those problems - tommy, out of, yknow, altruism, would very much like to keep niki out of that place, and niki is quietly reckoning with the fact that that is where she would have sent him. the concept of limbo from the perspective of a character with no experience of it, even secondhand, is so interesting to me like what kind of eldritch location would you feel like you’re living in asghjkl

(also - i gotta be honest the jealousy angle here but mostly when she’s talking later about dream not deserving wilbur’s companionship kinda came out after this post came across my dash while writing. whoops /j)

-

fun fact, this is the very first snippet of bitter that i ever wrote! all the way back in may!! this is like the moment of the fic - it's where the miscommunication that niki and wilbur have been having is shattered entirely - and so sticking the landing was uhhh kinda important to me lol.

wilbur's entire being in this fic is basically consumed by L'Manberg - he equates his self worth to it entirely. in his eyes, everyone (rightfully) hates him because of what he did to L'Manberg, because L'Manberg was corrupted and he himself with it, etc. niki tries to tell herself this, and while it definitely does form part of her issues with him, it was the betrayal that causes her this much pain - that he seemingly brushed her and their friendship off entirely when he supposedly left her for dead in manberg. because here is what we as the audience know: wilbur couldn’t leave niki in trouble when he heard her life was in danger, even when he was trying to find the button (pretty much the only thing he sees himself as having left at this point) and so he returned. here is what it looks like from niki’s perspective: wilbur told her to wait in manberg until it was safe to come to pogtopia, laid the place with TNT, went to blow up the place, and only returned when he couldn’t find the detonator (and then the first thing she saw him do in pogtopia was encourage the pit behaviour but that’s not what we’re talking about asdfgh). that is massive miscommunication and it’s been brewing between them for months - to make a quirky little reference to the title, niki has been carrying that anger with her so long it's gone bitter. it was never just about l’manberg with niki - not that anger, not her and wilbur’s friendship (hence the little flashback earlier in the fic, bc niki’s relationship to anarchism and statehood or statelessness juxtaposed with her friendships with wilbur and eret - she loves l’manberg bc she loves wilbur, but she loves eret too and those national ties don’t undermine that - is Real Interesting to me) - so when wilbur asks what else there could possibly be (because in his mind, what else could she have bothered staying around for?), she just fucking breaks.

“Niki freezes. Stock still, unable to move, unable to breathe, ice threading its way through her gut...with slow-dawning horror, she can feel hot tears welling up behind her eyes” - prose discussion time! heat and cold are two big throughlines in this fic - particularly for niki, cold is what she is. admittedly when i started with it i mostly wanted to subvert hot = angry and cold = dead but i kinda ended up enjoying this take on it for what it is instead of just as a subversion (also i like the idea of revived people running hot, their bodies r working hard to keep em going). she’s holding onto her feelings and refusing to deal with them, she’s frozen over. descriptions of cold are key to niki’s mental state throughout the fic - cold weight on her chest, feelings of frostbite when she and wilbur hug the first time, ice cold water during the dinner scene, waking up in the cold flat, etc. this was an attempt at describing a more visceral feeling of like, when you’re really mad and you can just feel the adrenaline running through your veins. always felt more cold than hot to me. when she starts to cry, the facade she’s been putting on is finally thawing out and cracking the ice she’s buried her feelings under. (also gives an excuse to write warm comforting hugs towards the end /hj). it’s a loss, it’s catharsis, it’s a whole mess.

and ofc this is all news to wilbur and he feels terrible, because as unintentional as it was, he really really hurt her - because the destruction of l’manberg fucking sucked but above all else wilbur hurt the people he loved because they loved him so much and not in spite of it, because they cared about him so deeply and his death was a massive blow to them. this hasn’t even dawned on him, because how could it? he respects deeply niki (lowkey respects her opinion more than his own at this point) so he has to listen, because it’s niki (“and he looks at Niki the same way he does whenever her voice is being drowned out in a crowd - the way he does when he wants to hear her, when he wants to know what she has to say” - because he does), and what she says fucking floors him. in his eyes, he failed her by putting her in danger and then by destroying her home - the idea that she valued him and their friendship so much flies entirely over his head until this moment, and he is forced to re-evaluate the mindset that has motivated him since… basically since pogtopia! the way i write wilbur is like… yes, he’s one of niki’s closest friends and he’s more aware of her insecurities and issues than most (which is why he does always take the time to listen to her, etc) but he does over-idealise her a bit. tbf, i think he does to some extent with everyone (calling tubbo strong on the anniversary stream, for example). also the fact that he really wasn’t around for niki’s lowest moments as a character! he still thinks of her the way she was in l’manberg - confident, steadfast, respected - and this moment shatters that for him as he realises exactly what effect he and his death had on her and everyone else, not just by his actions, but because they loved him and cared for him so deeply.

sorry that this got horrifically long!! and thank you so much for sending snippets in <3333

[modern-inheritance]

Modern Inheritance: The Medic

(A/N: Takes place somewhere around ten years after Arya leaves Ellesméra and joins the Varden. I’ll probably do another fic going into the injury that sent her back to Ellesméra for further healing {something that occurs probably every other year or so, as she’s not a skilled healer and none of the medics in the Varden know elf biology} at a later date. Cheers! Oh, and a reminder, 20 years old is around 10 in human years apparently, or at least how we’re going for MIC. Cheers again!)

Arya leaned back in her chair, eyeing the elf across the small camp table as he scribbled out another note in the Varden medical file spread before him.

Glenwing was the first and only person on Arya’s personal, official squad. He had trotted up to her a day before she was to leave Ellesméra and handed off orders straight from the Queen that he was to become her medic in the field. Even after multiple readings and consultations with Oromis, the orders were clear and gave no leeway or loophole through which Arya could escape. Despite her obviously annoyed acceptance at his sudden addition, Glenwing seemed unfazed and calm throughout the entire process, and set out with his new commanding officer the following morning.

They had reached the edge of the forest now, camped upriver from Ceris at Arya’s request. Three weeks in Ellesméra had left her antsy and entirely fed up with the prim and proper etiquette that made open speech so damned difficult in the pines, something she had not missed in her years with the Varden. Glenwing hadn’t protested in the least, and had spent a majority of the time setting up camp asking her questions about her previous injuries, examining scars, and doing his best to ease into the more personal questions of mental health that he hadn’t had time to ask before they left Ellesméra.

The silver haired elf signed a stop glyph at the end of his most recent note in the margins of Arya’s file before tapping his pen against his lip. “Any trouble sleeping in the past six months? Falling asleep, staying asl–”

“Are you going to report all this to the Queen?” Glenwing looked up, somewhat startled by the sudden interjection. Arya had her arms folded now, regarding him with that solid stare that expected answers and would take no deflection or lie that he could give. “I’m assuming that’s why she assigned you to me. People weren’t exactly lining up behind me to join the Varden, so I doubt you volunteered. Plus, after this long she’s probably realized that I need to return to Du Weldenvarden to be fully healed after larger injuries so she’s probably not keen on giving me more time away from her influence and reach. So there has to be another reason that supersedes that. A way for her to influence and keep tabs on me while I’m away as well as while I’m in the pines.”

Glenwing straightened from where he had been leaning on the table and carefully placed his pen parallel to the top of the file before meeting Arya’s hardened gaze with his steady one. “Do you want me to?” There was a soft curiosity behind his golden eyes.

The question seemed to catch the other elf off guard. Arya blinked, lips parted to snap a retort that now didn’t seem necessary.

“I won’t lie to you.” Glenwing continued. “The Queen has asked– or rather, she has ordered– that I report back on your status and any developments in your mental and physical health.” Anger flashed through Arya’s countentance, but before she could spit out a string of swears the elf across from her held up a finger. “However. You’re wrong about me volunteering. I’m here because I want to be, not just because the Queen accepted my offer. That means that I have willingly taken you on as a patient, and while I am a subject of our Queen’s rule, I am also your medic and doctor.”

“Look, I don’t care if you’re a ‘subject of the Queen’ first.” Arya snapped. The phrase seemed to have set her off enough to break through the final barrier of elvish manners that remained as she cut him off. “If you’re going to be telling the Queen every little thing about me, I’m just not going to accept your help. You might as well go back home, alright?”

“That’s not what I’m saying at all.” Glenwing replied, voice calm yet lacking the patronizing edge that Arya had expected. “I’m saying that as my patient, you have complete control over your care, including who, and when, I give information to regarding it and your status in the past, present and future.

“If you don’t want me to inform the Queen as she ordered, I won’t, and I’ll tell her as much. I’m one of the Queen subjects, yes, but now that you are my patient my purpose here is to keep you alive, and I can’t exactly do that if you refuse care or don’t trust me.”

Arya was silent for a long moment, the silver haired elf’s words sinking in. The elven nation was a monarchy, yes, but there was always an understanding that any elf could act independently unless called to war in defense. Even then there was a choice of remaining behind to tend to the forest and those who returned. Orders given in common elvish, even from the Queen, were considered the rule of law, but in actuality could be challenged or even ignored if the individual thought the orders would cause more harm than good. It could incur the wrath of the Queen, yes, but there was no formal system of punishment beyond the decision of the council. Or, in personal cases such as Arya’s own, the decision of the Queen herself.  

That being said, most people followed their orders when they were given, and as such things were rare it was unusual to find an elf that was quite as willing as Arya to bend or break the rules so to speak. Yet here one was, practically raising his eyebrows in quiet eagerness to open loopholes and ignore centuries of custom all for a chance to…

…to what?

Arya chose her words carefully. “Glenwing…why are you doing this?” She gestured to the square photographs that were scattered on one side of the medical file, images detailing the numerous wounds of note, most in their unhealed state, that the young elf had incurred over the course of just a little over a decade of service in the Varden. “You’ve seen what it does physically. Magic can heal but I think we both know that the scars of the mind do not close so easily. I’ve almost died more times than I can count and watched countless others who were not so lucky lose their lives on and off the battlefield.”

“I’ve seen war, Arya. I’ve not participated in one, but I’ve seen the damage it does.”

“Then why join me?” Arya leaned her elbows on the table, shoulders hunched as her brows furrowed. “Why? I have my reasons, some of them more morally sound and others more or less reprehensible, and the things I’ve already done to further the goal of toppling Galbatorix… I’ve done some terrible shit. I’m not going to skirt around that. You know that you’ll probably have to do similar things, get blood other than that of your patients on your hands. So why? Why risk everything like this?”

Glenwing held her gaze for a time before lowering his eyes to the table. With a fingertip he rearranged the pictures, aligning the edges so that they fanned out and displayed a gruesome line of war wounds over the years. “…I’m not much older than you are, you know.”

“…Pardon?”    

His lips twisted up slightly in sad eyed grin. “I was eighteen when the Fall began. My father was a healer, my mother a warrior.” Gently, with the back of a fingernail, he dragged out one of the pictures, the one of the ragged stab wound to the abdomen that sent Arya back to Ellesméra most recently. “She died of an injury similar to this one. That’s what they told me at least.” Glenwing raised his eyes to meet Arya’s, gauging her reaction to his next words. “She was in the final group that the King led. My father died beside her as he tried to heal her. They were bathed in dragonfire. Nothing to bury.

“I watched my father treat wounds like all of these as the injured returned. He never stopped trying to help, down to the last second of his life, and mother never stopped fighting for our people.” He spread his hands out. “I cannot sit by knowing that I could do the same.”

The he paused. “And there is another thing.”

Arya swallowed. The mention of her father and the battle that had felled not only him but Glenwing’s parents as well made her mouth go dry. The final moments of the conflict before Galbatorix hunted Vrael always did. “Oh?”

“You said that I should go home if I was to report on your condition to the Queen. I cannot return home, which only leaves obeying your orders and remaining as your medic my only option.”  

Glenwing’s feral, bared tooth smile shocked a flash of familiarity and kinship through Arya’s mind. She had seen that smile on her own face before, that wild unrestrained drive to right the wrongs of the world, to take on war and violence so that others could be at peace, tenuous as it was.  

“You see, Arya…I was born in Ilirea. With Galbatorix on the throne, I have no home to return to.”

~~~

To Queen Islanzadí, Your Majesty.

After a lengthy consult with the combat liaison I have been assigned, it has come to my attention that the mentioned patient, Arya, house of none, is against the sharing of medical information beyond a set of predetermined ailments and injuries. As I am bound first to act in the best interest of my patient, I must oblige by her requests. Arya has also indicated that any sharing of information without her consent would result in her refusing any treatment or healing by my hand, which has further forced this issue as she has displayed sufficient aptitude for wards that would block any of my attempts to heal her if the conditions presented were broken in any way.

However, Arya has agreed to allow the sharing of some small yet vital pieces of information concerning her health as seen fit. Thus, any injury resulting in amputation, permanent blindness or hearing loss, traumatic brain damage, complete mind breaking or death will be reported. Arya has impressed on me that she will continue to aid the Varden in the event of non-lethal injuries, and any report of the previous wounds will also include an evaluation on how she can continue to aid the Varden in her current state.

I apologize that I cannot carry out the full extent of your orders. Unfortunately, it is clear that any deviation from the agreed upon conditions that Arya has set would likely result in severe injury to Arya’s person and would constitute reckless and wanton disregard for my patient’s safety and health on mine. I cannot in good conscience go against her wishes, nor can I do so if my conscience were to tolerate it. Arya has forced me to agree to these conditions in the Ancient Language, and I cannot break my oath.

I continue to serve to the best of my ability, and will do my utmost to ensure Arya’s health is taken care of.

May the stars watch over you.

Yours in service,  

Glenwing of House Svanran.

Islanzadí folded the letter again, put her elbows on her desk, and allowed herself a long, frustrated sigh.

Leave it to Arya to ferret out her reasoning for accepting Glenwing’s offer and so quickly appeal to the young elf’s sense of ethical duty. A political force the Queen’s daughter was not, but she still had a knack for picking up on a person’s true motives and finding ways to fit them around her own.

However, this was faster than anticipated. Maybe this Glenwing’s true motives weren’t what he presented to Islanzadí at all. There had been something about his energy that seemed familiar. The Queen now recognized it as a glimmering thread of that determination and wild resolve that Arya so openly displayed.

But what to do now? Islanzadí rubbed her temples, a headache coming on. She knew that there was little she could threaten them with if she ordered Glenwing to return to Ellesméra. The young elf had volunteered after all, and even under duress Islanzadí doubted she could convince any other elf as skilled as he was to abandon their calm life in Du Weldenvarden for years of conflict and uncertainty outside the forest’s protective stands. And she couldn’t just call him back and not send a replacement, not with the state Arya had been in when she finally made it back to Ellesméra. What little Oromis had told the Queen of her wayward daughter’s injuries past and present clearly indicated that an attached medic was a necessity if there was any hope of Arya making it through the war alive.

So what to do….

The clatter of talons on well-polished wood sent a cascade of jolts through Islanzadí’s burgeoning headache, the pops and clicks that followed doing nothing to help the pain.

“The latch is open, Blagden.” The Queen leaned back in her chair and massaged her forehead as the white raven swooped in. Blagden alighted on the desk with a gentle flap of his wings to slow his speed and cocked his head at her, looking smug as he always did. He parted his beak slightly. “Don’t you say i–”

“Wyrda!”

Even as the Queen winced at the cried word the raven flipped a small, densely folded paper onto the desk with a flourish of his leg. He pecked at it twice before fluttering to his carved stand on the back of the chair, settling in before starting his usual fastidious preening.

Confused, Islanzadí picked up the folded note. It hadn’t been but an hour since Glenwing’s letter had arrived, but the glyph that graced the fold of this paper was the one Arya always used. Blagden must have dropped it while flying and went back to retrieve it. The Queen unfolded it with a hint of trepidation in her heart, as always accompanied any correspondence with her banished child.

The young elf’s handwriting had started to take on a sharper shape, but was no less bold in its strokes. It still held the same familiar base that reminded Islanzadí so much of those days that Arya would scamper into her mother’s study and throw notes of love for her mother and records of her daily adventures onto the desk before scampering out, giggling as she departed for her next escapade. All those notes still sat in the drawer to Islanzadí’s left, bittersweet.

The headache throbbed, chasing away the memories. The Queen focused in again, and was somewhat surprised to find only a few short sentences.

Stars watch over you.

Good medic. Intelligent, can toe lines if needed. Fixed a scar issue in short order. I like this one. Requesting permanent assignment.

~ Arya of Du Weldenvarden, combat liaison officer  

Islanzadí frowned slightly as she caught sight of a different handwriting in the bottom corner. It was Glenwing’s, and she couldn’t help but chuckle as she read it aloud. “Please?”

Maybe this Glenwing would be a good influence after all. With that in mind, and the comfort of Arya now less likely to return maimed (or not at all), Islanzadí picked up her pen.

Granted.  May the stars watch over you. Queen Islanzadí.

[crazyyanderefangirlfan]

The Rabbit of Night Raven Chapter 1: Demons in high places Pt 2

Part 1 is here

For the next few days, Amane was running her dry with all his demands, as well as her money. They ranged from annoying to atrocious. But she bared through it all.

Jack, Epel, and Sebek found not long after, been informed by Ace and Deuce. They offered to take care of Amane so she could rest but declined. Amane might blackmail her that she wasn't doing her job as a hostess, not to mention he might make them uncomfortable as well. She just had to soldier on.

"I forgot to ask, how did you end up with those wounds?"

It was a Sunday morning, and Valerie just brought his breakfast. A plate of raspberry and chocolate waffles, and Darjeeling tea. He demanded it to be made since he said he wanted his favorite breakfast. He nearly emptied her wallet, because of how expensive the raspberries are.

She also decided to eat with him this time, to hopefully build a better level of trust. Grim was downstairs, saying he didn't want to be in the same room as him. He paused mid-bite and narrowed his eyes.

"Why the fuck should I tell ya? We don't exactly see eye-to-eye ya know."

"I know, but I thought I could understand you better. Despite, the sexist nicknames, and overall rudeness. I can tell you're not a bad person."

Amane studied her face to find any hint of mockery, or deception. However, to his surprise there was none. Her face was earnest, as she patiently waited for him to speak. He sighed.

"My shitty dad did this to me."

This shocked her, but he paid no mind and continued.

"I did something he didn't like and got punished."

"Wha-What did you do?"

"I gave some information to our rival company, safe to say my old man was not pleased. My friend is the CEO's kid, my dad was planning an assassination attempt on him, but I eavesdrop on one of his meetings and managed to phone her just on time. He saw this as an act of betrayal and punished me for it."

"Didn't you're mother do anything! What about the rest of you're family?"

"My mother had no power, and the rest of them agreed with my dad."

She went silent and contemplated. She had one question in her mind.

"But...How did you manage to end up in that crater? Night Raven is miles away from any other piece of land."

It was his turn to be silent. Amane looked away as he pondered for an appropriate response. Finally, he faced her.

“You see Sugar tits, my family and I are demons, sex demons to be exact. He probably used teleportation magic to get rid of me, and erase any evidence."

A demon, an incubus no less, well, that did explain why he didn't die so easily when she found him. Though she should have guessed he was a supernatural being, his ears were a dead giveaway. Speaking of which, she remembered what she first thought he was and let out a giggle.

Amane furrowed his brows. "What's so funny?"

She turned to him still giggling.

"I thought you were some kind of fae, with you're ears and all."

He knit his brows at her answer, before giving out a hearty chuckle.

"Haha, you actually thought I was one of those guys. Fairies are overrated  Hun, demons are what's hot."

"Oh really? they've been so overused in the media, I thought they were the overrated beings." She smirked. He gave out another chuckle.

"Oh, honey. That just means we're more lovable."

They let out another good-hearted laugh before the girl asked another question.

"So...Is there anything else I should know about you or demons?" He let out a thoughtful hum before answering.

"You know about demon pacts, yeah?" She nodded.

"Well, back in the old days my family would perform blood pacts with people who they are eternally grateful for and give them gifts as a sign of their loyalty."

He gave her a close-lipped smile.

"But of course, you won't see me that Sugar tits, I ain't exactly grateful to be in your care but it will do.'"

"Keep that attitude up, and you'll be relying on Grim."

"He's cute but unreliable and a bit whiny for my tastes."

She laughed. She was about to reply when she heard the said monster calling for her. Valerie muttered under breath on how he's such a whiny baby, but there was a smile on her face.

"I'll see you later. Call when me you need something." She got up and left. Leaving Amane in his thoughts.

No one, but his mother and his best friend were that kind to him.

Maybe she ain't so bad.

_____________________________________

Night came quickly. Valerie decided she and Grim will have dinner with Amane. Technically, she had to bribe him with her tuna casserole to get him to cooperate, and just like that he's happily eating his third serving with them.

"Mmmmm~ The cheese complements the tuna so well! You really outdid yourself Henchwoman!"

"Is he always like this?" Amane whispered as he watched Grim loudly eating his food with a blank look on his face.

"Yeah, but it's his charming point, I guess."

Unexpectedly, after their conversation this morning. Amane didn't bother her as much, just an occasional glass of water or a trip to the bathroom. She didn't know what changed his attitude, but it was welcomed regardless.

"So. After you get better, wanna hang out sometime?" He glanced at her mildly surprised, but a cheeky smirk made it's to his face.

"Asking me on a date are you Sugar tits? So bold~ But alas, girls aren't my thing, but if you're setting me up with one of your boy toys I'll happily oblige."

She giggled and lightly punched his shoulder. "No, I mean for us hang out as friends, and I don't think I should introduce you to guys just yet. Unless you want to traumatize their minds with all your flirting."

"Their loss if they can't handle this firecracker."

Valerie smiled. She liked this side of Amane better, he was easy to talk to and made great jokes, even if his humor is a little...Vulgar. After dinner, she helped Amane get ready for bed, then her and Grim's turn to retire.

"Kid, hey kid." She groaned and turned over. But she felt the covers being forcefully removed.  Groggily she sat up, she asked what's wrong.

"It's Amane, he's been crying for thirty minutes. We tried to comfort him but it got worse." Wilbur answered, concern evident in his voice.

Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, finally registering the loud screaming and crying, and the ghosts concerned expressions. She rapidly got out of bed, waking Grim up in the process, and sprinted to Amane's room.

He was a mess when she got to him. Amane was thrashing around, covered in sweat and tears leaked out of his eyes. He was mumbling in his sleep.

"N-No! Stop it!... Please I-I'm sorry, no more." He choked out a sob. Her heart clenched at the sight. She climbed on the bed and managed to wrapped her arms around him.

"Amane! Amane it's alright, no one's here to hurt you. It's not real!"

He jolted up and she caught the sight of his face. His eyes were red and his breathe were ragged. He started to chew on his bottom lip, and his eyes welled up with tears again. He buried his face on her chest, his body wracked with an onslaught of sobs and tears.

She rubbed circles on his back in an attempt to comfort him and whispered more words of reassurance. It took a while, but he managed to calm down. They sat in silence, save for Amane's occasional sniffles.

"Hey, Valerie." This was the first time he said her name properly. "Ratting my dad out wasn't the only reason he beat me."

He confessed that the other reason he was actually a bastard child. His mother had an affair with one of his father's employees once she found out he had a mistress. She was going to announce the divorce during their anniversary when his father blackmailed her to stay with him. Amane didn't know what it was, but it worked.

He told her that since he was the only child, his father expected him to take over his place one day, and produce an heir. Unfortunately for him, he was interested in boys and didn't like the idea of taking over his father's company.

His mother was the only person who accepted him, while his father was outraged. He argued he could just adopt a child, but it only made it worse. The rest of his family expressed their disappointment in him, in everything he did, and voted him to be banned from the family.

Valerie, just sat there as he continued to cry. She soothed him, telling him that it's okay, that it's not his obligation to live up to his family standards, whatever he does his choice only not theirs. That he should be free from their hateful opinions.

She spied the ghosts and Grim at the doorway but didn't say anything, opted to just comfort the man in her arms.

_____________________________________

After that night, their relationship changed drastically. He was more open to her, more friendly, and used her name often. He told her stories about his childhood and his best friend Lorelei, who was also a demon descendant, notably a spider demon. A famous idol who's known for incorporating spiders into her aesthetic. He promised her to introduce them sometime.

In return, she confessed to him she was from another world and he didn't look a leased bit surprised.

"Honey, after all the shit I've been through, nothing surprises me at this point."

She told about her life in Night Raven, how she constantly solved the school's overblot problem, and how she's basically Crowley's errand girl.

"The school is lucky that I don't have any magic. With all the stressful situations I've been through, I would have overblotted and destroy the entire school.'"

She shared stories about her and her friends' shenanigans, and the rest of the boys. He questioned if any of the boys were her boyfriend, cause he noticed how affectionate she was to all of them. She told him no, she was just like that normally.

"I don't understand why they turn red whenever I hug them or kiss their cheeks. I mean, showing affection to friends is normal."

Ahh. The oblivious type.

_____________________________________

It was finally the day Amane recuperate, and to go home. They were in the mirror chamber and Crowley was there to wish him the best of health, (and maybe exploit some money from him.) He wore the clothes when she found him, all clean and fixed.

"Mr. Mania I hope your stay was pleasant, and I wish for you the best of health, A reward is not needed, a simple thanks will do for I am gracious. But if you like, then I am in no room to argue."

Valerie mentally rolled her eyes at that but gave Amane a soft but sad smile. She was slowly getting used to his company and almost asked if he could stay longer, but she refused to be selfish. Instead, she just hugged the man, which he reciprocated.

"I hope you come back soon."

"Of course I will Val, ain't nothing gonna stop this firecracker." He turned his attention to Grim and gave him a noogie.

"Of course I'll come back for you too, ya little shit."

"Fguaa! Just get out of here!"

He gave them a crooked grin and walked away. Valerie watched as he walked away, hoping she could meet him again. However, after a few steps, he stopped and ran back to her. This perplexed them, especially when he got into one knee and took her hands.

"Valerie Kemonihito, I wished to have a blood pact with you, I am forever in your debt."

They stared at him as if he grew three heads. None of them couldn't believe his words. A blood pact? What was he doing? Valerie was the first to recover.

"Amane you don't have to do this, you don't have a debt towards me." She tried to reason, but he furiously shook his head.

"No, I do. You have saved my life and brought me peace and comfort when I am at my most vulnerable, you have accepted me as I am, and have not judged me for my past, and for those reasons. So please, accept it."

They all stared, waiting for her answer. After a few agonizing seconds, she responded.

"It won't hurt that much right?" Amane smiled.

"Not much, just a tiny prick will do."

"Alright let's do it."

"Are you sure Ms. Kemonohito?" Crowley cut in. "Blood pacts are a serious oath that should not be taken likely if ever one of the party's' will break it, death is the only punishment."

Valerie gazed at Amane, there was no hint of mischief, the determination is clear on his face.

"I'm sure." Amane smiled and got up.

"Okay." He brought his hand up, claws grew and took his index finger and slowly cut a small line in both their hands. Valerie winced but bared with it.

"Now we hold hands and recite our own oath, I'll go first." He cleared his throat.

"I, Amane Mania will dedicate my life to serve you. Wherever you are and whenever you are, I shall protect you with my life, and bring you justice if ever I failed to protect you."

"I, Valerie Kemonohito will do my best to be kind and just to you. So you may never suffer or feel lonely, you are welcome to be with me as much as you want so you may never feel ostracize again."

As they said these words, a dark reddish light enveloped them. The blood on their hands swirled and mixed together before engraving it in their skins like tattoos, going up to their arms all the way to their faces.

Grim and Crowley watch the spectacle, astounded but frighten as the light died down, and their marks disappearing.

Valerie blinked, she stared at their hands. All healed as if he didn't cut them. She cut off from her musings when Amane spoke.

"With this blood pact, you can summon me anytime time you want, no matter the place I will be with you. All you have to do is either call my name three times or use your blood and call my name." He informed.

"And now for my tribute. Give me a moment."

He raised his hands, chanting words under his breath a pinkish glow covered his hands, when the light died down a silver necklace inlaid with pink quartz appeared.

“Alright, c’mere.” He turned her around and clasp it on her.

“This was an heirloom, but only those who we think are worthy may have this and I want you to take it.” Valerie admired the the craftsmanship of it and beamed up to him.

“Thank you.” He ruffled her hair.

“No problem, now time to to get my ride. Y’all better step back.”

They did just that. Amane closed his eyes before muttering incomprehensible words, a star pentagon appeared before their eyes, it glowed a red malevolent aura, then a screech.

It was horrendous. The sound shook the ground and cracked the windows but weirdly not the mirrors, finally, a giant figure swooped up and landed next to Amane. It was a monster, it was twenty-foot tall, it had a humanoid body but its hands and feet had dangerously sharp talons, its wings were big as its body, and it’s head reminded her of an owl but the sharp teeth made her reconsider.

"Mr. Mania! Do you realize what you have summoned!?" The fear and shock were clear in Crowley's voice as he stared at the creature.

'"What is that!? It's so ugly!" Grime cried. He hid in Valerie's clothes as it's glowing amber eyes glared at him for his comment.

"This is a Strix. A demonic vampire owl that feasts on human flesh and blood. Lucky for you, this girl likes what normal owls eat so your good." The strix's feathers were the colors of pecan and it had small tufts of white.

"Her name is Lisha, I saved her when she was being bullied from her own kind. Lisha that's Valerie." Valerie shrunk when the strix's gaze shifted from Grim to her.

Lisha tilted her head curiously before leaning towards the girl, sniffing her hair and clothes. Valerie stood still as it goes on. Finally, she let out a happy chirped and nuzzled her. Valerie let out a surprised gasp but laughed and wrapped her arms around her head.

“How about that? Lisha doesn’t usually like strangers, but it seems your an exception.” He grinned

Valerie ran her fingers in Lisha feathers, they were soft and smooth. The monster purred in content.

"I'll be off, for real this time." He got onto Lisha’s back, but Valerie spoke up.

"Wait where are you staying?"

"I'll go to Lorelei. Her dad and I are cool cause I saved his life." The star pentagon glowed. He looked back, he gave one final smirk and disappeared.

Valerie smiled fondly, she scratched Grim’s ears as an attempt to comfort him.

"Well." Crowley coughed. "Now that's over, Ms. Kemonohito I hope you learned something from this experience.”

"Yes, sir."

"Good now I must be off. Crewel will have my hind if I keep him waiting." He muttered as he walked off.

Just as he walked out, her first-year friends ran in. All with worried expressions on their faces.

"Valerie! We heard a screech and it came h-"

"Oh, it came from Amane’s familiar.” She answered.

“Damn, nice ice Val.” Ace commented looking at her necklace.

“Thanks. Amane gave her to me as a gift." The mentioned of his name sent shivers to the ADeuce duo as they recalled his...Advances towards them.

"Its beautiful." Epel was sure Vil would approve of it.

"He didn't do anything obscene, Valerie?" Sebek eyed at the peice of jewelry, feeling something different about it.

"No, but we did a blood pact though." That made them froze.

"You did what?" The fae's voice was low for once as he and the rest of the boys stared her, wide-eyed and slacked jawed.

"A blood pact."

All hell broke loose.

The boys were screaming at her, asking why would she do that, and promising to beat the life out of Amane, thinking he forced it on her.

Valerie pursed her lips, she set Grim down before hitting their head. They grunted in pain.

"Okay before you guys go off. Amane did this as a sign of his gratitude and gave me this necklace as a sign of loyalty. He was actually a great guy once you get to know him, and he's just misunderstood. He even promised to come back and hang out, you should join us."

Ace and Deuce paled at the mention that he was coming back to Night Raven, but jealousy grew in their stomachs like the rest of the boys. Hearing her talked so fondly of him irritated them, but she didn't notice.

"Fine, we'll consider your offer Princess. But we won't hesitate to gut that guy if he makes you upset." Ace huffed. She grinned.

"Thank you so much. Now if you excuse me, I'll have to buy groceries." She kissed their cheeks.

She happily walked out leaving five red-faced boys and made her way to Sam's shop. 

"Hey while we're at it, can we buy some premium tuna. I need it after all I've been through."

"Fine, you've deserved it." He cheered.

She giggled. Admiring her necklace, it glinted brightly under the sun. Her thoughts drifted to Amane, hoping he was alright. She knows she'll see him again after this is Twisted Wonderland

[dr-past-hour]

All the writing in brackets is informal referencing. Example: (secondary source: Every man and his health.2012) (Please note some sources have non english titles)

Are you suffering from joint pain? indigestion? Fever? Swollen eyes? Insomnia? Diarrhoea? Excess phlegm in the throat? Inflammation-Wait me start again. Are you suffering from anything at all? (Primary source: Euery Manin His Hvmovr. 1598)

Maybe it physical but emotional you’re feeling angry, grieved, despondent, annoyed or- again let me start again are you feeling anything that isn’t happy? (Primary source: Euery Manin His Hvmovr. 1598)

I have my diagnosis. One of your 4 humours is out of balance.

This ancient medical practise and theory dates all the way back to Ancient Rome and Greece in 400 BCE. Namely Hippocrates who was the first man to establish medicine as a science based on observation and evidence. Hippocrates was the first man to look toward medicine as the answer to sickness instead of superstition. Described as the founder of western medicine. Although knowledge of human antonmoy was very limited. At the time it was forbidden to dissect a human body.Even a dead one. So all these proto physicians (the term doctor wont be invented till the 14th century). Were the fluids that came out the body. (Secondary Academic source: Greek Medicine from Hippocrates to Galen:2012)

1.Blood. The discovery of blood is credited to Galen. A Greek proto physician. Best known for bringing philosophy into medicine.

(Secondary Academic source: Galen’s theory of Black Bile 500 BCE)

2 Yellow Bile. The very first person is Alcmaeon of Croton in 500 BCE to have discovered it. A greek proto physician who moved to Rome.

(Primary Source: On Nature by Alcmaeon. Unknown date. Maybe 500 BCE)

3 Black Bile. It was discovered by Galen again. Around the same time as blood

(Secondary Academic source: Galen’s Theory of Black Bile. 500BCE)

4 phlegm. Discovered by Hippocrates in 400 BCE. (Secondary Accemdic source: Greek Medience from Hippocrates to Galen 2013)

All 4 of these humors appeared together in The Hippocratic book “On the Nature of Man”

There was one last key player in the popularizing the 4 humors theory. Aristotle. Who practised medicine. Believing the heart to be the most vital organ in the body and the seat of human intelligence. He strongly advocated for Hippocrates’ 4 humor theory. (Primary source: Aristotle’s Zoology 300 BCE)

It would be this medical theory that would dominate medical understanding for the next 2000 years

Now that we have established who, where and why it was invented. We can study the humours themselves.

What is actually blood? Well modern science explains how blood is a red liquid that circulates through out the body and carries various nutrients, oxygen and carbon dioxide around the body to the needed tissues. ( academic source: Oxford Dictionary 2021)

What did the ancients think blood was? They knew it was a vital fluid needed for people to survive. If they lost too much. They would die. It was later theorised that blood only came from the liver.( secondary accemdic source: Knowledge of Circulation Before William Harvey 2020)

What actually is yellow bile? A greenish/brown fluid created by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. It aids the body in breaking down salts and cholesterol. (Secondary accemdic source: Oxford Dictionary 2021)

What did the accenits think yellow bile was? A greenish/brown fluid. Later it was theorised to have come from the gallbladder. It was thought to dilute the blood (primary source: The Hippocratic Book on the Nature of Man 400BCE)

What is phlegm ? A stringy, slippery liquid produced in the tissues lining the body it acts as a lubricant keeping vital organs from drying out. (Secondary accemidic source: Oxford Dictionary 2021)

What did the acients think Phlegm was? Phlyem was believed to be harmful when in excess in the body. Phlegm was supposed to absorb toxins in the body when poisoned. Then the toxin would leave the body when spat out. (Secondary Accemdic source. A Confluence of Humors N/D)

What is Black Bile? As far as research goes. Black bile does not seem to be a real thing according to modern science.

(A lot of secondary accemic sources. Too many to list)

What did the ancients think black bile was?

Black bile was thought to be healthy for the entire body. When in the right amount. Later on it thought was produced by the spleen. Most likely black bile was the result of some other illness that discoloured another body fluid (secondary accemdic source: The Concept of Black Bile 2021)

What happened when the humors were out of balance?

Black bile: black bile is heavy, cold and dry. An excess was thought to cause mental disorders like depression. Constipation, menstrual cramps, darker urine and poop, discolouration of the skin, wrinkles, dryness.

A primary source: Minerva Britana written in 1612, speaks of a pateint suffering from too much Black Bile. (Please note it is in Old English)

“Heere Melancholy mufing his fits. Pale Vifag’d, of complexion cold and drie. All folitarie, at his ftudie fits. Within in a wood, devoid of companie. Saue Madge the Owle, and the melancholy Puffe, Light-loathing creatures. Hateful and ominous.

His mouth in figne of filence. Vp is bond. For melacholy loves not many words. One foote on Cube is fixt vpon the ground. The which him plodding confranne affords. A fealed Purfe he bears, fhew no vice. So proper to him as Avarice. “

Translated it talks of a depressed man sitting alone in the woods with a cold, dry pale face. He had only an owl and a cat for company. (Two feared and hated creatures of the day) An indication of his depression is his silence. One foot on a cube providing a dull steadiness and in his other had a purse of gold showing he has no other vice but greed.

Treatment: eating laxatives such as oil to rid the body of exccess black bile.

Rubbing the body oils on the body and in the nostiles to ease dryness (seocndary accemdic source The Concept of Black Bile 2021)

Yellow bile: Not a lot of it was present in the body. It is the lightest of all the humors. Excess caused yellowing eyes and skin, acne. Bad breath, nausa, itching burning, private part issues, constant thirst, loss of appotate, pins and needles, feeling stressed, anaxeria, anger

A passage from the same primary source Minerva Britina from 1612 (Again. Old English)

“Next stands yellow bile, refembling the face moft the fire. Of fwarthei yeallow, and a meager face; with a sword a late. Vnfheathed within a little fpace. A fterne ie’de Lion, and by him aflield. Charg’d with a flame, vpon a crimsonfield. We paint him young, to fhew that paffions raigne. The moft in heedles, and vnftaited youth. That Lion fhowes, he feldome can refraine. From cruell deede, devoide of gentle ruth. Or hath perhaps, this beaft to him affign’d. As bearing moft, the brue and bounteous mind.

This translates to: Next stands yellow bile who resembles fire the most (side note: we shall get to the elemental humors soon) and having a face dark yellow and thin. He has a sword that he has taken out of his shealth in anger and close to him is a stern eyed lion. He also has a shield of crimson and flames on it. He’s painted young to show his passions that control him. The lion shows he is unable to keep from performing cruel acts. He is a thoughtless and undisplined young man. But the lion also shows intense bravery and a wide mind.

How to cure: herbal mixures of bitter plants to cool and detoxy the body from anger. (Secondary accemdic source: Herbal Academy. 2021)

Phlyem: cold and moist. Causing a temperament that is slow and sleepy, unemotional. Intense coughing, obesity.

(Primary source: Medical Treatment in the Middle ages. 1230)

Blood letting was the typical treatment.

The following is Taken from a manuscript of instructions for a doctor. Written in 1230. Translated into modern English

“during very hot weather blood letting should not be done because the humours the good flow out quicker than the bad. Nor should the blood letting be done in really cold weather as the humours will compact into the body and not drain. If the blood appears black, draw it off til it becomes red. If thick draw it til it is watery. Blood letting clears the mind. Strengthens the memory, cleans the stomach, sharpens the hearing, develops the senses, promotes digestion, produces a musical voice, feeds the blood, rids it of toxins and brings long life. It rids sicknesses from fever, pain and other”

(Side note. I would have also added “rids the body pain, fever and of life.” But i think that would have scared patients off)

Taken from the Primary source Minvera Britiana written in 1612. Old english again.

“Heere sits Phlegme fits coughing on a Marble feate. As citie-vfurers before their dore. Of bodie groffe, not through exeffee of meate. But of a drofie, he had got of yore. His flothfull hand, in bofome ftill he keepes. Drinkes, fspits, or nodding in the chimney fleepes. Beneathe his feete, there doth a tortoilflio crall, for flowefte pace, the sloth heiroglyphick here. For phlemegmatitque, hates labour moft of all. As by his courge araimient, may appeare. Nor is he better furninhed I find. With science or other virtues of the mind”

Translated

“Here phlegm sits coughing on the marble floor. Just like money leanders in the city in front of their gold. His body is fat. Not because he eats too much meat but because he has dropsy. So fluid has collected in his body. He keeps his lazy hand in his shirt. As he drinks and spits and nods off to sleep by the chimminy. A tortise crawls under his feet. Showing his laziness because phylem hates working most of all as his rag clothes show nor does he study and put his mind to good use.

Blood. Hot and moist. It is the vital force of the body. A perfect balance of blood would mean the person is happy, balanced and peaceful. Blood is hardly ever the cause of sickness. It gets contaminated by excess of the 3 other humours. Blood letting is used to rid the bloodstream of the excess other humor thus restoring balance. ( primary source: Medicine of the Middle ages.1312)

(I have gone over already at the top how doctors used bloodletting in the middle ages.)

Taken from the primary source: Minervia Britiana written in 1612. Remember old english

“The aeirie Sanguine, in wholfe youthfull cheeke. The pefrene Rofe and lilly doe contend. By nature is benigne and gentile meek. To mufiuk and all merriment a friend. As feeminth by his flowers and girlondes gay, Wherewith he delights him, all the merry may. And by him browzing, of the climbing vine. The lutfulgoate is feene. Which may import his pronenes both to women and to wine. Bold, boutious, friend unto the learned folk. Faire spokene, bafful, feld anger moo’urd”

Airy Sanguine. Whose youthful cheek is both pink and white, he is naturally kind and humble. Loving all music and fun. This is shown by the flowers around him. Near him are a climbing vine and lustful goat. Showing his love of wine and women. He is bold, generous, a friend to all. Fit to studies. Most loving and fair spoken. Seldom angry.

(Side note He’s basically a mary-sue)

The story of the 4 humors doesnt end there. It also entails seasons and, elements. This was all found in Empedocles theory, written in about 460 BCE (primary source Medical Treatment in the Middle Ages. 1230)

Blood was spring and the element of air and childhood

Yellow bile was summer and the element of fire and young adulthood

Black bile was autumn and the element of earth. And middle age

Phlegm was winter and the element of water and old age

The only reasons given behind these seemingly random associations was that Empedocles saw that the earth naturally creates both the four elements and the seasons. He also noted how plants and animals were born, grew up and died. Just like people and therefore concluded at all of these occurrences in nature must happen in the human body.

The four humours theory was disproven in the 19th century. (Secondary academic source. History of Medicine.2021)

[fan-imagines]

Dylan O’Brien~Big Girls Don’t Cry

MASTERLIST

Dylan O’Brien x NeutralReader

Synopsis - you are an actor on Teen Wolf. you and Dylan are filming a scene, but there’s something in your past that doesn’t allow you to cry. Dylan helps you when you have a panic attack about it.

Word Count - 2.1k+

**Warnings** mentions of abuse and drunk driving accident, panic and anger attack, self-depricating

a.n. - hi! so this one is a little more serious so read with caution, and i also know that the way he stops the panic attack isn’t an accurate way to do so, i just wanted to use it because of the Stydia moment. also, i apologize for this being so late in the week. i have been insanely busy this week, but you don’t care lol. enjoy this imagine!

‘’Come on, Y/c/n, just say something. Please.’’ Dylan says his line to me, as he forcefully waves his arm to get his point across.

‘’What do you expect me to do, Stiles? I’m not equipped for this!’’ I shout back at him, and try to have some form of tear fall down my face. At least have my eyes pool, but this is the seventh take and nothing has happened yet. We used some tear-jerker eye drops, but they didn’t give the effect the director wanted. I am always told that I am a great actor, and that’s specifically why Jeff Davis had a role made for me. I can act out almost anything, but for the longest time, I have not been able to cry. I hate that I can’t cry. Well, I guess I could, but if I start, I won't be able to stop.

‘'I don’t know! I’m not equipped for this either, but you see me doing it.’’

‘’I can’t. I don’t... I can’t do this anymore. I don’t want to lose you.’’ A tear is supposed to fall from eye, Stiles is to come up to me and wipe it away, then embrace me in a hug. No tear falls, so the scene doesn’t advance.  

‘’Cut!’’ I hear the director call, and he sounds very annoyed, which I completely understand. I’m holding up production, and I can’t seem to do a simple task. I sigh heavily in frustration. ‘’That’s it for the day! Let’s go ahead and wrap it up.’’ He stands from his chair, rubs his temple, and begins walking away. I can feel the anger at myself rise up in my body, and I just want to get to my trailer so I can release it.

‘’Hey, Y/n, it’s-’’ But I don’t hear the rest as I am making a bee-line for my trailer. I open up the trailer door, and rip off the jacket I had on, as it was making me hot. 

I close my eyes and breathe through my nose to try and calm myself down, but it’s not working. Thoughts are flying through my head, and overcoming my brain.  

How are you even actor? You’re dumb, you can’t even do a simple thing as cry. You’re not an actor, you’re a child thinking they can do whatever they want. You’re stupid. You’re an idiot. You think you can do well with this job?

I clench my hair, trying to claw the thoughts out of my brain. I open my mouth to scream, but no noise comes out. I don’t want make too much noise, still a little aware of the other people on this lot. My legs give out, and I fall to the ground and lean my forehead against it. I bring my arm up and slam it back down to the floor of the trailer until my palm hurts. My breathing gets ragged as the thoughts continue to fly through my head.

You think that anyone on this team likes you? You hold up production, you forget your lines, you annoy everyone, and you know it. You ruin everything. You can’t do anything. You don’t matter, and you can’t save anyone. You couldn’t save your mom or sister. You can’t even save yourself.  

My throat feels thick, and I feel like the room is crushing in on me. I cry out, and tears fly from my eyes for the first time in years when I think about what happened to my family. The sobs croak out as the air gets thinner in the room. I look at my hands through my tear-clouded eyes, and see them shaking violently. I can’t do this. I can’t think straight. I can’t even breathe. Oh my gosh, I can’t breathe. The door to my trailer is opened, but I don’t hear it over the sounds of me trying to catch a breath.  

I don’t notice that anyone walked in until Dylan is sitting in front of me, looking worriedly at my eyes that are tear-filled.  

‘’Y/n. Listen to my voi --- come on you can --- breathe ---- focus on me and ---.’’ His voice cuts in and out in my ears, not being able to understand what he is trying to say. He continues to look at me, seemingly trying to figure out what to do. The next thing I know, his lips are on mine, and it’s few seconds before I’m kissing him back. He pulls back in a few seconds, and I am finally able to take deep, heavy breaths; the thoughts in my head lightly subsiding to the back of my mind.  

��'Dylan.’’ I say, breathlessly. I look up at him, ^^^ still catching my breath, and happy to have the small distraction from my turmoil.

‘’I’m, I’m sorry. That’s not how I would usually calm someone down from something like this. I don’t know, it worked for our characters, and I thought I would try it.’’ He says, sheepishly, waiting for my reaction. My breathing stalls to almost normal, and my heart beat slows. I try to focus on everything else, but what was swirling in my mind. I look at the TV that’s mounted on the wall. The black sofa that turns out into a bed. I look at my trailer door which Dylan came in from. I look at Dylan’s blue shirt, his white and gray flannel that he still has on from Stiles’ outfit. I look at his golden-brown eyes, and the hint of worry behind them. I notice his freckles that scatter along his face. There aren’t too many, but there are enough to lightly coat his face. My eyes shift to his lips that were just on mine. They are nicely shaped for his face, and are usually in the form of a smirk or a smile. I look back to his eyes, feeling calmer, but suddenly realize that I haven’t said anything except his name.

‘’Thank, thank you,’’ My voice comes out shaky, and my body is starting to feel tired and shaky. My palm hurts from where I was hitting it, and my head feels hot, like it’s going to explode. ‘’I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t come.’’ His eyes change from worry to warmth.  

‘’Here, let me help you up.’’ He stands before grabbing my elbows and helping me stand. My legs are still wobbly, and I almost fall again, but Dylan catches me. He leads me to the sofa a few feet away, and crouches in front of me to continue to be face to face. ‘’Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?’’ His voice is non-judgmental, and genuinely concerned, which makes me think. I can’t have this bottled in anymore. I can’t keep living with this burden that could weigh me down completely much longer.  

‘’Umm,’’ I start.

‘’You don’t have to, Y/n. Just you can, if you want. I’m here to listen.’’ His voice comes out quickly, but still concerned, wanting to understand what’s going on.  

‘’No, I do. It's just, I haven’t thought about this, let alone talked about it since it happened.’’

‘’You don’t have to tell me. We can just sit here until you get annoyed of me, but it may help.’’

‘’I want to. I think it’s time to finally get this off my chest,’’ I look down at my hands, trying to figure out where to start, ‘’My mom was left by my dad when I was little. She somewhat quickly remarried, needing help around the house, and with finances. They had a baby together, and the baby was a girl. My stepdad became abusive towards me, but told me that if I cried, he would hit my mom, or my sister, who was a toddler at the time. I cried twice, and the pain was much worse. He ‘dropped’ my sister, which gave her a concussion. So, I bore it. I never cried after that. I couldn’t risk him hitting my mom or sister again. I never even told my mom what was happening, she just assumed I was a clumsy child. One day, he got super drunk and upset, so he decided to take my mom and sister on a drive. They got in an accident, caused by him, kill-’’ I feel my heart start pounding at the thought, and reliving what happened. He grabs my hand, and lightly squeezes it. I take a breath and continue, needing to do this, ‘’Killing them. I don’t have any other family that stepped up, so I was sent to foster care. That’s where I would pretend to be someone different in every house I went into. It was the only thing that kept me rooted. I wouldn’t think about my mom or sister. I was someone else. I was playing a character, and when you’re acting, you don’t think about your life. If I cry, I am showing weakness, and there are consequences. I’m messed up, and crying only reminds me of that. I, I didn’t do anything to save them. If I told my mom, maybe it would have been different. Maybe she could have left. Her and my sister would still be alive. I wouldn’t have had to watch as they were lowered into the ground. I didn’t cry. I didn’t even cry at their funeral. I mean, who even does that? Who does that?’’ Another tear falls, and I furiously wipe it away.  

‘’Hey, it’s okay to cry. It doesn't show weakness. It helps you build strength. You get out what's causing you pain, and you learn how to live with it. There are no bad consequences to letting out how you are feeling. It helps show how you think, how you care, and how you love. I know you loved your sister and mom, that’s why you shielded what happened to them. What happened to you. You can remember them without that man corrupting that. I’m sure your mom made you and your sister a PB&J, and you sat outside with a glass of milk, looking at the sun.’’ I lightly smile and nod, thinking about this. She actually gave us apple juice. We had just gotten back from the park, where my mom would push me on swings. ‘’Not all the memories have to be bad. You are not weak, in the slightest, Y/n. You endured that pain so your family wouldn’t have to. You are strong. Sitting here with me, telling me about what happened, and doing so well in life, despite what you went through is strong. You’re stronger than anyone I know. I am weak compared to you. Yesterday, I shed a little tear when I toasted my bread a little too long.’’ I laugh at this, and he smiles. I nod, accepting what he is saying. I am strong. I lived through torment, and I am successful now. They are still with me, watching over me. I kept them safe from what I could, and that was strong of me. Crying for them isn’t weak. Crying isn’t showing weakness. I’m not weak.  

I lean forward, and grab Dylan to pull him to me. I wrap my arms around his neck, and hug him tightly. He hugs me back in an instant, just as hard.  

‘’Thank you, Dylan.’' He hums, and we stay in this position.

~~~~

‘’Come on, Y/c/n, just say something. Please.’’ We just came on set, and we’re doing our scene again, hopefully successful this time.  

‘’What do you expect me to do, Stiles? I’m not equipped for this!’’ I shout. I think about how wonderful my mom was, and how pretty my sister was. My eyes pool, giving the right affect, and I see Dylan lightly nod.  

‘'I don’t know! I’m not equipped for this either, but you see me doing it.’’ Dylan comes closer to me, meeting his mark. I let my eyes continue to fill, before saying my next line.  

‘’I can’t. I don’t... I can’t do this anymore. I don’t want to lose you.’’ Two tears fall, almost simultaneously, and Dylan wraps his arms around me, making sure to not cover my entire face, as that’s what will show in the camera.  

‘’Trust me, Y/c/n. You can do this. I’ll always be here with you; I’m not going anywhere.’’

‘’And, cut! That was amazing, Y/n. Great job you guys. Let’s get set up for our next scene.’’ I hear. I pull away from Dylan, and he wipes my tears, smiling at me.  

‘’You were fantastic. You’re amazing, Y/n.’’ I smile, and kiss him. He is slightly shocked, but kisses me back in two seconds. We pull away, catching our breath, and I’m the first to speak.  

‘’You did this for me.’’ I tell him.

‘'No, you did this yourself. I just helped you a little.’’

‘’Thank you, regardless.’’ I chuckle.  

‘’The pleasure’s mine.’’

‘’Alright, lovebirds, we’re setting up for the next scene.’’ Tyler says to us. We both look at him, and nod, following him to the golf cart, our hands intertwined.  

[weirdponytail]

Modern Inheritance: The Medic

(A/N: Takes place somewhere around ten years after Arya leaves Ellesméra and joins the Varden. I’ll probably do another fic going into the injury that sent her back to Ellesméra for further healing {something that occurs probably every other year or so, as she’s not a skilled healer and none of the medics in the Varden know elf biology} at a later date. Cheers! Oh, and a reminder, 20 years old is around 10 in human years apparently, or at least how we’re going for MIC. Cheers again!)

Arya leaned back in her chair, eyeing the elf across the small camp table as he scribbled out another note in the Varden medical file spread before him. 

Glenwing was the first and only person on Arya’s personal, official squad. He had trotted up to her a day before she was to leave Ellesméra and handed off orders straight from the Queen that he was to become her medic in the field. Even after multiple readings and consultations with Oromis, the orders were clear and gave no leeway or loophole through which Arya could escape. Despite her obviously annoyed acceptance at his sudden addition, Glenwing seemed unfazed and calm throughout the entire process, and set out with his new commanding officer the following morning. 

They had reached the edge of the forest now, camped upriver from Ceris at Arya’s request. Three weeks in Ellesméra had left her antsy and entirely fed up with the prim and proper etiquette that made open speech so damned difficult in the pines, something she had not missed in her years with the Varden. Glenwing hadn’t protested in the least, and had spent a majority of the time setting up camp asking her questions about her previous injuries, examining scars, and doing his best to ease into the more personal questions of mental health that he hadn’t had time to ask before they left Ellesméra.

The silver haired elf signed a stop glyph at the end of his most recent note in the margins of Arya’s file before tapping his pen against his lip. “Any trouble sleeping in the past six months? Falling asleep, staying asl–”

“Are you going to report all this to the Queen?” Glenwing looked up, somewhat startled by the sudden interjection. Arya had her arms folded now, regarding him with that solid stare that expected answers and would take no deflection or lie that he could give. “I’m assuming that’s why she assigned you to me. People weren’t exactly lining up behind me to join the Varden, so I doubt you volunteered. Plus, after this long she’s probably realized that I need to return to Du Weldenvarden to be fully healed after larger injuries so she’s probably not keen on giving me more time away from her influence and reach. So there has to be another reason that supersedes that. A way for her to influence and keep tabs on me while I’m away as well as while I’m in the pines.”

Glenwing straightened from where he had been leaning on the table and carefully placed his pen parallel to the top of the file before meeting Arya’s hardened gaze with his steady one. “Do you want me to?” There was a soft curiosity behind his golden eyes. 

The question seemed to catch the other elf off guard. Arya blinked, lips parted to snap a retort that now didn’t seem necessary.

“I won’t lie to you.” Glenwing continued. “The Queen has asked– or rather, she has ordered– that I report back on your status and any developments in your mental and physical health.” Anger flashed through Arya’s countentance, but before she could spit out a string of swears the elf across from her held up a finger. “However. You’re wrong about me volunteering. I’m here because I want to be, not just because the Queen accepted my offer. That means that I have willingly taken you on as a patient, and while I am a subject of our Queen’s rule, I am also your medic and doctor.” 

“Look, I don’t care if you’re a ‘subject of the Queen’ first.” Arya snapped. The phrase seemed to have set her off enough to break through the final barrier of elvish manners that remained as she cut him off. “If you’re going to be telling the Queen every little thing about me, I’m just not going to accept your help. You might as well go back home, alright?”

“That’s not what I’m saying at all.” Glenwing replied, voice calm yet lacking the patronizing edge that Arya had expected. “I’m saying that as my patient, you have complete control over your care, including who, and when, I give information to regarding it and your status in the past, present and future. 

“If you don’t want me to inform the Queen as she ordered, I won’t, and I’ll tell her as much. I’m one of the Queen subjects, yes, but now that you are my patient my purpose here is to keep you alive, and I can’t exactly do that if you refuse care or don’t trust me.”

Arya was silent for a long moment, the silver haired elf’s words sinking in. The elven nation was a monarchy, yes, but there was always an understanding that any elf could act independently unless called to war in defense. Even then there was a choice of remaining behind to tend to the forest and those who returned. Orders given in common elvish, even from the Queen, were considered the rule of law, but in actuality could be challenged or even ignored if the individual thought the orders would cause more harm than good. It could incur the wrath of the Queen, yes, but there was no formal system of punishment beyond the decision of the council. Or, in personal cases such as Arya’s own, the decision of the Queen herself.  

That being said, most people followed their orders when they were given, and as such things were rare it was unusual to find an elf that was quite as willing as Arya to bend or break the rules so to speak. Yet here one was, practically raising his eyebrows in quiet eagerness to open loopholes and ignore centuries of custom all for a chance to…

...to what?

Arya chose her words carefully. “Glenwing...why are you doing this?” She gestured to the square photographs that were scattered on one side of the medical file, images detailing the numerous wounds of note, most in their unhealed state, that the young elf had incurred over the course of just a little over a decade of service in the Varden. “You’ve seen what it does physically. Magic can heal but I think we both know that the scars of the mind do not close so easily. I’ve almost died more times than I can count and watched countless others who were not so lucky lose their lives on and off the battlefield.”

“I’ve seen war, Arya. I’ve not participated in one, but I’ve seen the damage it does.”

“Then why join me?” Arya leaned her elbows on the table, shoulders hunched as her brows furrowed. “Why? I have my reasons, some of them more morally sound and others more or less reprehensible, and the things I’ve already done to further the goal of toppling Galbatorix… I’ve done some terrible shit. I’m not going to skirt around that. You know that you’ll probably have to do similar things, get blood other than that of your patients on your hands. So why? Why risk everything like this?”

Glenwing held her gaze for a time before lowering his eyes to the table. With a fingertip he rearranged the pictures, aligning the edges so that they fanned out and displayed a gruesome line of war wounds over the years. “...I’m not much older than you are, you know.”

“...Pardon?”    

His lips twisted up slightly in sad eyed grin. “I was eighteen when the Fall began. My father was a healer, my mother a warrior.” Gently, with the back of a fingernail, he dragged out one of the pictures, the one of the ragged stab wound to the abdomen that sent Arya back to Ellesméra most recently. “She died of an injury similar to this one. That’s what they told me at least.” Glenwing raised his eyes to meet Arya’s, gauging her reaction to his next words. “She was in the final group that the King led. My father died beside her as he tried to heal her. They were bathed in dragonfire. Nothing to bury. 

“I watched my father treat wounds like all of these as the injured returned. He never stopped trying to help, down to the last second of his life, and mother never stopped fighting for our people.” He spread his hands out. “I cannot sit by knowing that I could do the same.” 

The he paused. “And there is another thing.” 

Arya swallowed. The mention of her father and the battle that had felled not only him but Glenwing’s parents as well made her mouth go dry. The final moments of the conflict before Galbatorix hunted Vrael always did. “Oh?”

“You said that I should go home if I was to report on your condition to the Queen. I cannot return home, which only leaves obeying your orders and remaining as your medic my only option.”  

Glenwing’s feral, bared tooth smile shocked a flash of familiarity and kinship through Arya’s mind. She had seen that smile on her own face before, that wild unrestrained drive to right the wrongs of the world, to take on war and violence so that others could be at peace, tenuous as it was.   

“You see, Arya...I was born in Ilirea. With Galbatorix on the throne, I have no home to return to.”

~~~

To Queen Islanzadí, Your Majesty. 

After a lengthy consult with the combat liaison I have been assigned, it has come to my attention that the mentioned patient, Arya, house of none, is against the sharing of medical information beyond a set of predetermined ailments and injuries. As I am bound first to act in the best interest of my patient, I must oblige by her requests. Arya has also indicated that any sharing of information without her consent would result in her refusing any treatment or healing by my hand, which has further forced this issue as she has displayed sufficient aptitude for wards that would block any of my attempts to heal her if the conditions presented were broken in any way. 

However, Arya has agreed to allow the sharing of some small yet vital pieces of information concerning her health as seen fit. Thus, any injury resulting in amputation, permanent blindness or hearing loss, traumatic brain damage, complete mind breaking or death will be reported. Arya has impressed on me that she will continue to aid the Varden in the event of non-lethal injuries, and any report of the previous wounds will also include an evaluation on how she can continue to aid the Varden in her current state.

I apologize that I cannot carry out the full extent of your orders. Unfortunately, it is clear that any deviation from the agreed upon conditions that Arya has set would likely result in severe injury to Arya’s person and would constitute reckless and wanton disregard for my patient’s safety and health on mine. I cannot in good conscience go against her wishes, nor can I do so if my conscience were to tolerate it. Arya has forced me to agree to these conditions in the Ancient Language, and I cannot break my oath. 

I continue to serve to the best of my ability, and will do my utmost to ensure Arya’s health is taken care of. 

May the stars watch over you.

Yours in service,   

Glenwing of House Svanran.

Islanzadí folded the letter again, put her elbows on her desk, and allowed herself a long, frustrated sigh. 

Leave it to Arya to ferret out her reasoning for accepting Glenwing’s offer and so quickly appeal to the young elf’s sense of ethical duty. A political force the Queen’s daughter was not, but she still had a knack for picking up on a person’s true motives and finding ways to fit them around her own.

However, this was faster than anticipated. Maybe this Glenwing’s true motives weren’t what he presented to Islanzadí at all. There had been something about his energy that seemed familiar. The Queen now recognized it as a glimmering thread of that determination and wild resolve that Arya so openly displayed. 

But what to do now? Islanzadí rubbed her temples, a headache coming on. She knew that there was little she could threaten them with if she ordered Glenwing to return to Ellesméra. The young elf had volunteered after all, and even under duress Islanzadí doubted she could convince any other elf as skilled as he was to abandon their calm life in Du Weldenvarden for years of conflict and uncertainty outside the forest’s protective stands. And she couldn’t just call him back and not send a replacement, not with the state Arya had been in when she finally made it back to Ellesméra. What little Oromis had told the Queen of her wayward daughter’s injuries past and present clearly indicated that an attached medic was a necessity if there was any hope of Arya making it through the war alive.

So what to do….

The clatter of talons on well-polished wood sent a cascade of jolts through Islanzadí’s burgeoning headache, the pops and clicks that followed doing nothing to help the pain. 

“The latch is open, Blagden.” The Queen leaned back in her chair and massaged her forehead as the white raven swooped in. Blagden alighted on the desk with a gentle flap of his wings to slow his speed and cocked his head at her, looking smug as he always did. He parted his beak slightly. “Don’t you say i–”

“Wyrda!”

Even as the Queen winced at the cried word the raven flipped a small, densely folded paper onto the desk with a flourish of his leg. He pecked at it twice before fluttering to his carved stand on the back of the chair, settling in before starting his usual fastidious preening.

Confused, Islanzadí picked up the folded note. It hadn’t been but an hour since Glenwing’s letter had arrived, but the glyph that graced the fold of this paper was the one Arya always used. Blagden must have dropped it while flying and went back to retrieve it. The Queen unfolded it with a hint of trepidation in her heart, as always accompanied any correspondence with her banished child. 

The young elf’s handwriting had started to take on a sharper shape, but was no less bold in its strokes. It still held the same familiar base that reminded Islanzadí so much of those days that Arya would scamper into her mother’s study and throw notes of love for her mother and records of her daily adventures onto the desk before scampering out, giggling as she departed for her next escapade. All those notes still sat in the drawer to Islanzadí’s left, bittersweet. 

The headache throbbed, chasing away the memories. The Queen focused in again, and was somewhat surprised to find only a few short sentences. 

Stars watch over you.

Good medic. Intelligent, can toe lines if needed. Fixed a scar issue in short order. I like this one. Requesting permanent assignment. 

~ Arya of Du Weldenvarden, combat liaison officer  

Islanzadí frowned slightly as she caught sight of a different handwriting in the bottom corner. It was Glenwing’s, and she couldn’t help but chuckle as she read it aloud. “Please?”

Maybe this Glenwing would be a good influence after all. With that in mind, and the comfort of Arya now less likely to return maimed (or not at all), Islanzadí picked up her pen.

Granted.  May the stars watch over you. Queen Islanzadí.

[smalltowndetective]

Can I request #28 "This is why we can't have nice things" with Adam (always breaking the detectives stuff) du Mortain ?

Hello Anon! Of course! I’d love to!

This is the sweetest I’ve written these two, and considering these two, I don’t really write them as sweet as all haha. I hope you enjoy! Kind of unsure about this one, but I’ve held onto it long enough!

Ao3 Link

Title: Work Break

Pairing: Adam and Natasha

Words: 1.2k

Whenever Adam was staying at the station, he normally avoided Natasha, letting her do her own work in peace, at least that was what he told the others. None of them seemed to believe that reason though.

               And I’m not even sure I could convince myself of that anywhere.

               The majority of the day he had spent watching her work, her eyes rarely leaving her laptop screen, her typing almost having a rhythm to it. When she put her mind to something, she did indeed complete it, with as much poise and professionalism that she did with everything else

               It was something that he was finding he admired about her, that complete devotion to everything that she did, no matter how small it was, even if it annoyed him the way she would run herself ragged to keep up with the forever piling amounts on her desk.

               Not that he would ever say that her, since he knew that Natasha would call him the biggest hypocrite if he did, and he supposed she would be right to say so.

               Not that it looked like she was stressed in the first place. Her professional front seemed to fool most people, but it just left Adam with the realization that he knew when she was. He had no idea how he did, or even why, but was starting to see it.

               When she was stressed, her normally tight bun would have the slightest bit of shorter bits of hair framing her face, not pulled back like it completely was. Natasha would also absentmindedly drum her fingers on her desk, which at first, he thought was due to boredom, but he realized that was something she did when she was trying to figure out her plans in her head.

               Such small things, but he did see them, and he was not sure how exactly to deal with it, or if he would ever really know. It was almost just a glaringly obvious sign that, as much as he had tried, these feelings were not going away.

               Wouldn’t it be better if they did?

               But that was another thing that was becoming harder and harder to convince himself of.

               Adam managed to tear his eyes back to look at her through the partition, and he saw her pick up her cup of coffee, before setting it back down as if she just noticed it was empty.

               And before he could talk himself out of it, he walked back to the small kitchen area where Natasha had made her coffee, and he took one of the empty coffee cups, and poured the remaining coffee still in the pot, it still quite warm against his skin.

               I’m just going to walk in there, set this down, and then leave.

               I don’t need to do anything more.

               He did so, Natasha not looking up as he entered the room, and he was not sure if that was because she did not notice he had walked in or if she was rather acting like he was not there at all, something that she had been doing since after he pushed away the day after the carnival.

               But just before he was about to leave, quietly spoken words made him stop.

               “Thank you”

               Turning around to face her, he caught gazes with her icy blue eyes, but there was something different about them. They were, almost soft, and he was not quite used to her eyes looking at him that way. It was as if he was watching the melting of a glacier, something that should have never happened, but had anyway, and it took him a moment before he could finally find his words in return.

               “Of course,”, he nodded, fully intending to leave now, but it was almost like he found himself stuck, unable to move away from her gaze, and Adam watched as she pushed away her laptop, and moved forward to lean her arms on top of her desk.

               “Do you need something?”, she suddenly asked, squaring her shoulders, and then she gestured to the messy stacks of paper on her desk, “Or are you here just to tell me my office is cluttered again?”, her eyes flashing in challenge, as if she was just begging him to say it again

               But even with the flatness of her words, there was a hint of a smile at the edge of her lips, and it surprised him, as if she was actually joking with him. Natasha, one of the most serious people he knew, joking with him out of everyone.

               And it was not like her office was ever cluttered to begin with, since she always preferred the more minimalist side of things, the plant that he ended up breaking the only real extra decoration in the otherwise bland room, and he had broken that, the small amount of color in the white and gray decorated office gone.

               “Not as cluttered anymore, is it?”, he said, slightly narrowing his eyes, but his voice felt lighter than it normally was.

               “Yes, because you broke the only decoration in here”, she lightly scoffed, “Since, apparently with that and the desk, we can’t have nice things. At least, I can’t anyway”

               There was not much he could say to defend himself on that front, but he rolled his eyes, trying hard to hide the amusement on his face.

               “And you’re never going to actually repair the damages, aren’t you?”, Natasha said, the smallest bit of a laugh in her words, a small smile making her eyes crinkle, “I’m going to have to deal with the fact my stuff is actually never going to get replaced”

               “I wouldn’t say that”, he shrugged, but truthfully, he had not thought much about the objects at all.

               “The Agency decided to leave my broken desk after a bunch of thralls came through here”, she said flatly, but the amusement never dying in her eyes, “If that doesn’t say anything, I don’t know what does”

               Adam shook his head, wanting to tell her that the reason it was left like that was leave it exactly as it was, but she gave her the faintest hints of a smile anyway, “Wouldn’t count it out just yet”

               “Then I’ll hold you to it, du Mortain”, she replied, the surprising hint of a smirk on her lips, and the two of them seemed to lock eyes, neither of them glancing away from each other, unspoken words hanging in the hair, the tension greater than it had ever been.

               The only thing that he could do was to turn away, but it did not escape his notice that Natasha seemed to be expecting that, the small smile not leaving her face anyway.

               But before he left, he turned to say something.

               “I know you will”

               Natasha gave him a full smile this time, and it was almost tempting enough to get him to stay, but he left anyway, knowing that the longer he stayed, the more he would not want to leave.

               And it’ll just make this harder if I stay.

               Adam was starting to realize, however, that staying away from her was not working either, instead almost making everything worse.

               But there is not much else I can do.

               He took his spot in one end of the station, and after a few minutes, he got the nerve to look back through the glass partition, where she continued to work, but that smile never did quite leave her face.

[whatzaoverwatch]

The Reaper of the Opera Chapter 6: Poor Fool, He Makes me Laugh

On with the show right? Right???

First Prev Next

Nighttime/Backstage

The preparations for the evenings’ performance were well underway. The performers rehearsing one more time before the show, the musicians practicing each note while the tailors take in their fittings. The hustle between everyone was a little overwhelming since the show was completely sold out again. With the news of Hana Songs return, they were eager, while also curious on what happened to [Name]. All the pampering and attention was drawn towards Hana as she awaited her moment. Barely lifting a finger while the managers took care of her needs. What she wanted was what she got. While it seemed a little excessive for anyone new taking in the atmosphere, it was just the same as before Reinhardt and Torbjorn bought the theatre. Fareeha, looking rather tiresome of the praises and gaudy display of Hanas’ preparation, simply rolled her eyes and continued stretching.

“Just when I thought things would be different around here. They are spoiling her just as much as Mr. Morrison did.” She complained to Lena and Amelie, who were at her side with their routine.

“Give Mr. Morrison a little bit of credit, at least he stood out of the princess’ way during the show.” Amelie stated bluntly, stretching her leg up perfectly against her figure.

“I just don’t understand why they just don’t let [Name] lead the show,” Lena pouted, looking towards where [Name] stood with Ana for some extra practice, “Didn’t that note Madame Amari got stated that specifically?”

“Yes, but look at the two of them,” she nodded over to the two men who complimented Hana on her final appearance, offering her a spray to help with her vocal chords, “Tell them all you want, they are too stubborn to see the consequences.”

“What is so dangerous about those notes anyways?” Amelie questioned, looking at the ladies shocked expressions strangely. She frowned as if she had said something rude, “Who is this Reaper anyways?”

“Figured an exchange dancer like yourself would ask such a thing,” McCree finally spoke up. The women looked to the stage handler, watching him climb down from the ladder he was using to adjust the lights, “After all, it is a rather frightening tale that doesn’t escape the theatre.”

“Here we go…” Fareeha mumbled, rolling her eyes as the rugged man leaned towards Amelie.

“They say long ago there was this man who performed here in this very theatre. However one day the man took a sinister turn and began to attack the audience, “McCree began to explain, rubbing his hands with the red rag from his pocket, “Then a fire broke out and supposedly killed the madman in a single night. Now his spirit carries on, threatening any who oppose his words. Even steals young, beautiful girls to consume their pretty lil souls.”

“Aww come on Jesse, you are just making that up!” Lena huffed, seeing the disgusted glare of Amelie. McCree merely smirked with a shrug.

“Okay maybe the tale is a little bit exaggerated. But tell me, where do you think [Name] was after her debut performance?” He asked the group, watching them fall into silence with no answer, “What with the faulty lights and shot ropes I say we may have a surprise guest on our hands.”

“What do you think will happen?” Fareeha questioned.

“Who knows, the new guys aren’t taking in those threat to heart. It could be a bloodbath for all we know. Maybe he will cut a few throats, or hang the managers. Can’t really predict what a monster has in store,” Watching the three of them direct their eyes behind him. Feeling a watchful eye look him down as only one woman could do such a thing. Turning over to see Ana with you by her side in uncomfortable silence, “Oh umm, begging your pardon mam. I was just telling the girls-“

“Trying to scare my girls again McCree?” Ana struck him with a pointed look and a raised eyebrow. The cold stare even sending the stage handler a shiver down his spine. Tapping his chest with her index finger, her gaze narrowed, “I suggest if you do not want to be hanged as you say, keep your hands by your eyes and away from my performers.”

He immediately rose his hands to either side of him, swallowing thickly at her warning. Saying his goodbyes and wishes of good luck to the girls, he left to his duties in a hurry. The three dancers look towards Ana, watching her pinch the bridge of her nose in exhaustion.

“Take Jesses words with a grain of salt girls, he only means to frighten you for his own entertainment. This is just another performance night and will be handled like any other show,” Placing a hand on your shoulder to hold your attention, “Keep your head clear my dear. Although your role is much smaller, you remain a vital part of the show.”

The girls simply bowed to their instructor before she made her leave. Heading to the direction of the managers to shoo them away from the spoiled Hana. Lena turned towards you who continued to look rather distracted. She nudged you gently to snap you back into reality.

“Don’t look so glum love, I’m sure you’ll do great.” She assures you with a smile.

Although you wished to agree with her, all you could think of was The Reaper and his mask. Hearing the fainted organ and how much he still whispered in your mind. He even now continued to take over your thoughts, thinking upon his desire for you to be his songstress. There was more to it though, you found more of his black roses appearing in your dressing room. Even cloaking your mirror found no prevail to his siren song. Snapping out of it at the curtain call, you turned to the girls with a gentle bow.

“Break a leg guys.” You quietly spoke before running off. Leaving the girls rather confused before Fareeha spoke.

“She must be thinking about that man that came looking for her.” She concluded, causing Lena to gasp and Amelie to roll her eyes.

“A man?? What’s his name?” Lena pleaded for details, only to be called for places once more. Left with the mystery of who it was, they prepared for the performance to begin.

-

The audience took their places preparing for the show. Torbjorns family occupying the managers box while they assisted with the final touches. Even a surprised Hanzo took his side with Genji once more. He was unsure as to why his brother wanted to attend the show again, but it must have been connected to the young woman Genji wanted to introduce. Claiming her to be an old friend from long ago that was the child of their fathers’ friend. He thought of her as a mere excuse to leave him when the woman didn’t show up. But those excuses were made up by not only the same reserved tickets for tonight’s performance, but affirmation that Hana Song was to perform. Genji might’ve been always wandering, but he always paid attention to what grabbed his attention. He settled into his seat, eyeing Genji as he nervously looked over the stage.

“You seem rather anxious.” He calls his brothers fidgeting, rather annoyed by the movement.

“Forgive me, but I cannot help but worry bout her.” Genji confessed, eyes fixated on the stage with a grimaced look. Hanzo quirked his eyebrow curiously.

“Ah this ‘friend’ of yours. Are you sure the reason she hadn’t appeared was because she simply didn’t want to?” He suggested, receiving a rather stern look from his brother.

“That is not like [Name],” Hanzo suddenly realized the woman he spoke of was the replacement from the night before. Explaining his shock for when she performed, “Although, I can agree that she was rather uncertain on attending. She wouldn’t simply disappear in the night to prove it.”

“People change in time Genji, you know that as well as I do.” Looking over Genjis metal parts, only to look away when his brother sighed.

“Maybe so, but something about this doesn’t sit right. Especially with this ‘Reaper’ that the managers spoke of,” Genji looked around their box with a sigh, “This is to be the box he was to reserve. The managers were more than happy to let us have these tickets. If this man ever does show up, I would like for him to answer a few questions.”

“Why are you so persistent on this matter? This [Name], was she the reason you wanted to leave the clan in the first place?” He asked, bitterly regarding that fateful day. Watching his head hung low, silence lingering between them both before speaking.

“I do not expect you to understand, Hanzo. But as my brother I hope you will place your trust upon my wishes.” Both brothers look into each others eyes, as they did back when they reunited. Hanzo merely sighed before looking to the stage as the lights faded.

“Do what you want Genji. But do not blame me if something doesn’t go your way.”

-

The show began as Hana took the center stage as the countess. Her bright and youthful voice drawing the crowd to the rather comedic performance beforehand. While she remained poised and graceful across the stage, your role was to act like a mere fool upon the stage. A servant boy that had had a forbidden affair with the countess. Upright humiliation as you purposely fell and acted clumsily in front of Hana. Roaring laughter filled the audience at the entertainment. As any performer must be met with such roles in their lifetime. Despite your foolish appearance, Hana remained her pristine, sassy character who laughed behind her fan.

The performers backstage observed as even Torbjorn had to hush Reinhardt from his fit of giggles. Fareeha, Lena, and Amelie taking in their cues when instructed, following the music performed by Lucio in the orchestra pit. What seemed to be a hilarious show, would soon take a dark turn for the worse.

In the shadows above the ceiling, a sinister presence lingered above the chandelier. Observing the show from above with a rather displeased glare. Cloaked in black with his mask worn behind the hood, The Reaper tapped his finger against his crossed arms while he watched. Disgusted by how much they teased and mocked your performance while praising Hana by her voice. He never liked her voice, it shrilled and ached his ears to no end. She truly was a spoiled brat that forced her way into show business. Looking down below to the audience, watching their high-class mugs laugh at such mediocre work. Finally, his gaze fixated upon his reserved Box 5. Occupied by the young man who desired to see you. Watching him smile and gaze upon you irked his stomach entirely. Finally having enough, his voice carried into the theatre to drown everyone in silence.

“Did I not ask for Box 5 to be empty?”

Quiet gasps and murmurs spread to his interruption of the show. Reinhardt and Torbjorn looking rather bewildered by the voice, feeling the worry kick in as they knew exactly who it was. Genji and Hanzo turning suddenly to their box being called, the youngest looking rather unnerved. The music disappearing while the performers froze in fear. The dancers lingered closer together, huddled in fear with Anas gaze very stoic.

“Blimey! That’s the Reaper of the Opera!” Lena whispered in shock, causing the women around her to gasp. Not aware that McCree had stepped away from his place in the commotion.

You were very quick to your feet, wide eyed with fear at the familiar voice. Breaking your character to realize who had spoken. Heart racing and your body trembling. Despite the chandelier covering his appearance, you could feel his eyes upon you in an instant. His voices echoing in your head and infiltrating your mind.

“It’s him.” You spoke in disbelief. A sudden tsk from your co-star was heard, watching Hana sneer at your peril.

“Your role is supposed to be silent! Remember??” She hissed pointing her fan at you like a command. Turning to the audience, realizing the harshness of her works. Forming one of her fake smiles, she snapped at Lucio for his attention, “Maestro, take it from the top of the number please?”

“You still speak high and mighty, little rabbit. Let’s see how you are without your foot.” Reaper growled, disappearing into the dark. Hana took no quarrel to the threat as she asked for her spray again. Not even gazing at what was being used before drawing her attention to the audience.

She began to sing once more, only for her voice to sound raspy and breathless. Her eyes wide in horror as the audience was left to listen in disbelief. Clearing her throat once more, she tried again only for it to sound just as rancid as before. The force and sounds it made left the audience in a mix of shock and laughter. Leaving her in a state of shock and humiliation at her misery. Turning the show into a complete disaster before everyones eyes. Reinhardt and Torbjorn were swift into action while they called for the curtains. Escorting the furious Hana off stage and into Anas care as she is left to sob in croaked tears. As they moved back towards center stage, they drag you along with them.Each arm held by the other.

“Ladies and gentlemen, there will be a slight change to tonight's performance,” Reinhardt announced to the rather confused audience, “Tonight our lead shall be now played by Lady [Name]! In the meantime, please do not leave your seats as we will take a brief intermission with our ballet from the play!”

“Ballet??? That’s not till Act Three!” Lucio whisper shouted from his place, looking frazzled at his music sheets. Torbjorn glared at the musician before clearing his throat.

“Yes, the ballet. So please, take your seats and just…stay,” Torbjorn was quick to say before dragging [Name] behind the curtains. Leaving a confused Reinhardt to search for the split in the curtains to follow suit. More laughter ensued as Torbjorn pulled you along to your dressing room, “Someone get [Name] into the understudy dresses! This is becoming my worst nightmare, and where is McCree??”

The various shouts and rummaging of the stage could be heard from the scaffolding. Reaper observed the chaos from above as he made his way across. Seeing the dancers prepare for the ballet. Watching you being escorted into your dressing room. Knowing he had already planted the understudy dress and a vase of black roses for you in waiting. He knew his warnings would fall on deaf ears, so he had already planned for the backup. Switching Hanas vocal spray with a rather unpleasant concoction. Sabotaging Hana’s voice was only the beginning if his warnings were never to be met. There was still much to be done. Before he could move onto the next course of action, he was halted by the sound of a gun clicking from behind.

“That’s far enough Mr. Reaper,” Turning himself around, he found McCree standing right behind him. A revolver in the stage handlers grasp, pointing at him aloofly. Seeing the rather serious look in his mug, “Don’t you know people nowadays complain about the show in the papers? No need to ruin a couple folks precious evening.”

Reaper merely laughed at McCrees words. His voice ragged as they both stood above the stage at this point. The music returning as the dancers took their place.Dancing beneath them to a song that contrasted the situation above them.

“You think you can take me? You are in over your head, ingrate.” Reaper threatened, facing Jesse completely.

“Tough words for someone who likes to hide in the dark. You may have slipped past me before, but you aren’t getting away so easily this time. So why don’t we cut the charade and take you to where you truly belong: behind bars.” Stepping towards the man, keeping his balance on the high beams that they stood upon.

Before he could take another step, Reaper disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Catching McCree off guard as he aims for the darkness. Unaware that the smoke slipped past him and grabbed McCree from behind. Grabbing McCree into a head lock position. McCree struggled against the shadows grasp as he tried to escape the position. Finding his balance lost, Reaper took advantage by tossing him down against the high beam. The gun skidding across the beam, just balancing against the edge and far from Jesses reach. The stage handler reached for his gun, only for his tattoo arm to be stepped on. Gritting his teeth in pain, he found a large gun pointed towards him. Pressed harshly against the flesh for him to stop his attempts to grab his own weapon. The Reaper stood above him with very intense eyes.

“I thought I taught you better than that, Jesse,” He snarled, clicking his gun. The music building quickly below them. The dancers pirouetting faster and faster to the music, “But you are nothing more than the show boater from the Deadlock Freakshow.”

McCrees eyes widened, looking up to the masked man as he pressed the gun against the arm at the end of the high beam. Looking into the hollow eyes to see a familiar glare.

“Gabriel??” Was the only thing he could say before a shot cracked through the theatre.

To be continued

[evabellasworld]

Acing it with Love

For Star Wars POC Week 2020

Day 4: Sexuality

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Summary: Commander Tori of the 101st Battalion, who is an asexual, took Ava Lira and Eva Bella Young to the park when they have a deep discussion with an old lady, who shares the same sexuality as the clone commander

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

Laying on her bed with a datapad in her hands, Tori was reading over her reports that she made earlier to Admiral Sallis about the Battle of Reza. The casualties counts were less compared to the other battalions, but many of her brothers and sisters were receiving treatment in the med bay, hoping to get back into action.

Her head began to hurt as her eyelids felt heavy, forcing her to put down her datapad beside her. Goodness, I need to get myself some fresh air, she said to herself, rubbing between her eyebrows. I'll go mad if I stay here any longer now.

Lifting herself off from her bunk, she looked in a mirror and adjusted her curly, black locks. Like all the clone troopers that were cloned from Krystal Mereel, Tori had dark skin, buttoned nose and earth-coloured, round eyes, along with a full lips and puffy cheeks, that are often squished by her brothers like Cody as a way to annoy her.

Clones of Jango Fett, on the other hand, have tanned skin and a nose slightly sharper than their sisters, but their sibling-like bonds are much stronger than the pillars that hold every part of the building. Due to Jango and Krystal being siblings through adoption, both male and female soldiers were put together by the Kaminoans to help them get along with each other.

They may tease each other, they may bicker and argue, but they love each other, no matter what. Tori gets along with Cody, who is a few months older than her. From their days as clone cadets, Cody guides Tori and accompanies her whenever she gets sent to the med bay, due to her accident-prone nature. She had lost count of how many casts she has ever worn in her lifetime.

From arm injury to head concussion to even a pelvic fracture that almost cost her service as a commander of the 101st Battalion, somehow, like both her Jedi Generals Ava Lira and Eva Bella Young, who were only 10 years old, Tori had avoided the angel of Death many, many times.

Another brother Tori is close to is Rex, who is much younger than her. She basically acts bossy to him and orders him to do whatever she pleases just for fun, despite his irritation. Ironically though, Rex himself had made Tori wish she could murder him in his sleep and even thought about selling him to the black market just for a pack of two fours.

Of course, Tori does love him dearly, but at the same time, she would roast him with her crude humour and make sarcastic comments about his stupidity and rigidness towards everything, if he understands her perfectly well.

Passing by her comrades underneath her command, they give her a respectful salute, which Tori gestured to them back as she headed outside of the clone barrack and hopped onto her speeder that is parked in her designated spot.

The sky was still bright, with the hot, afternoon sun shining in the horizon, along with the thick, white clouds that resembled cotton candies that Lira and Eva indulged in at a local carnival on Coruscant. 

From what she recalled, there were carousels that has horses spun around with a machine, there was a Ferris wheel that took them high above the ground, like a ship, and there were games that could let them win all sorts of prizes, like a black ring that Tori wore on her middle finger, which gives away to everyone that she’s an asexual.

Like her sisters, Tori does have a preference for dark-skinned men who are also tall and handsome, but she doesn’t think about sleeping with them, ever. Instead, she thinks of her man in a romantic way, such as taking her on a picnic beside a lake, or swimming together on a sandy beach.

But that doesn’t stop her from reading erotic literature that Odd Eye recommended to her, though. She enjoys reading from authors such as Vanka Pollak, who wrote Devilish Love, which was about a woman who has an intense love affair with a sex demon that she summoned from hell. 

The book was quality writing for her, but in real life, Tori couldn’t feel lust towards strangers she just met at a bar, or even men and women that she knew very well. Her siblings don't insult her or belittle her for lacking sexual attractions, but that doesn’t make her immune to creeps, who don't seem to understand her boundaries she had set.

Stopping in front of the Jedi Temple, Tori stepped inside and took the elevator to the Jedi’s quarters. Noticing drawings of flowers in front of the door, the clone commander gave a knock. “Come in,” a child’s voice replied.

She walked in and found both her Jedi General, Ava Lira and Eva Bella Young, sitting on the floor, playing with their toys. “Tori,” Lira smiled and jumped onto her, prompting her to hold her with both arms. 

“Hey, girls,” she greeted, putting Lira down. “How are you?”

“I’m okay,” Eva answered, hugging both of her dolls. “We’re just playing with each other, that’s all.”

“Is that so? Well, I was thinking I could go out with you both, if you’re okay with it,of course.”

“I want to,” Lira cheered, grabbing her backpack on Eva’s bed. “Where are we going?”

"I was thinking maybe we could go together, you know," shrugged Tori.

"Can Buttercup and Stripes come with us?" Eva asked, referring to her stuffed toys.

"Of course, sweetie. Your friends can come with us as well."

The redheaded twins with blue-green, almond-shaped eyes and fair skin yelled happily as they followed Tori to her speeder, sitting beside her.

"I hope both your masters are okay with this,” Tori informed them, driving through the smooth, Coruscanti traffic. “You know how protective they tend to be towards you.”

“They’re both at war right now,” Lira said. 

“Oh,” one of her eyebrows raised. “What about General Skywalker and Commander Tano?”

“Same thing.”

Well, that explains why I didn’t see Codes or Rexster this morning. I thought they were hanging out together without me. Then again, I don’t blame them for wanting a guys only hangout. After all, even we ladies do the same as well.

As they arrived at the large public park that is located in the heart of the city, Lira and Eva rushed out of the vehicle and dashed towards the playground, causing Tori to chase after those troublesome twins. “Girls, wait up,” she laughed. “I’m not as fast as you both.”

That was a huge, fat lie. Tori is pretty fast, but only if her life heavily depends on it. Otherwise, she’ll have to catch up with Cody, Rex, and Mayyah whenever they’re on shore leave. Back on Kamino, Tori is the slowest among her batchmates, which was one of the reasons why she’s always in bandages every week.

She reached the playground's bench and saw Lira and Eva playing in the sandbox with their toys while building a sandcastle. Tori felt that the girls were lucky that they got to act like a child. Meanwhile, she had to train from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. in Kamino when she's their age.

The playground was full of kids their age, with some of them playing on the swings, some hanging on the monkey bar, and the rest of them were just scattered everywhere.

Tori noticed their parents were sitting beside her, observing their kid's antics. "Conny, don't stand on that slide," one of the mothers yelled. "You're gonna fall, young man."

Must be one of the overbearing mothers, the commander rolled her eyes as she saw the twins sharing their toys with a little girl, who had purple skin and lekkus. "This is Buttercup," Lira introduced her rag doll. "She is very huggable."

She could only smile as the Twi'lek girl shook hands with Lira, who then introduced her to Eva, who was holding her sister's hand with fear in her eyes. 

"Don't worry, Evie," Lira assured her. "She won't bite."

As Eva shook hands with the Twi'lek girl, Tori's lips curved upwards. That is sweet of Lira to introduce her new friends to Evie.

She recalled a time on Kamino when her comrade, Odd Eye, joined her class and was extremely timid and quiet to interact with her batchmates. It was Gowon, who was close to Odd Eye, helped her introduce her to Tori and Wollfe, who wanted to get to know Odd Eye very well. Odd Eye wasn’t an ace like Tori, but she validated her for her sexuality and her cheerful personality. 

“I hardly see you around,” a dark, old lady with glasses spoke to her, holding her cane. “Do you always go here?”

Tori has never seen that old lady before, but regardless whether she’s a complete stranger or an old friend from the past, she wouldn’t mind some company anyhow. Though she was warned not to interact with someone she doesn’t know, she felt safe if a woman twice her age decided to talk to her.

“I come here sometimes,” she answered politely. “Usually, I would be fighting in another part of the galaxy or I would hang out with my brothers and sisters.”

“Is it scary for you to be out there, fighting and seeing your own siblings dying around you?”

Tori nodded, frowning. “Yes, ma’am. It is brutal, but we can’t do anything to bring them back, no matter how much you tried to protect them.”

“Do you cry when they die?”

“I do, but I try my best to be strong for the sake of others’, you know.”

“There is nothing with crying,” the old lady gave her the softest smile, which melts Tori’s gentle heart. “You are a person, after all. We all run on emotions and empathy.”

The clone commander was surprised. No one, except for her siblings and Lira and Eva, had ever called her a person, ever. She and the rest of her vods were just properties of the Republic. They were bred on Kamino to fight and die. They weren’t meant to have their own interest outside of war, or even bond with people they met. It shocks her whenever people like Lira and Eva and the old lady tell her that she is a sentient being.

“Is something wrong, sweetie?” the old lady asked, noticing her distress.

“My apologies, ma’am,” Tori replied. “But we clones aren’t people. We were meant to be expendable and replaceable, that’s all.”

“Not to me,” she squeezed her warm hand onto hers, making Tori blinked twice. “You and your comrades risked your lives to protect us from danger. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

She stuttered for a moment, before she was able to answer. “I’m not fishing for compliments, ma’am. We were just bred that way.”

“You may look the same as the rest of them, but your own personality and quirks is what stands you out. Like for instance, I saw you running with your kids in the park an hour ago.”

Tori chuckled. “I’m not their mother, ma’am. I’m just looking after Lira and Eva while their parents are away for war.”

By Lira and Eva’s parents, she meant General Doyvesky and General Kenobi. She was aware about the twin’s biological mother from what they told her. According to Eva, their mother resembled the twins, but with black, silky hair. The father, on the other hand, was not in the picture at all.

“Doesn’t matter whether you’re related or not,” the old lady laughed. “What matters is the bond that you and the kids had formed together and from what I can tell, they seemed to look at you as their mother figure.”

I would be surprised if that’s the case, Tori said to herself. I’m not as close to them as General Doyvesky and General Kenobi.

“Right, of course, ma’am.”

“You know, I didn’t get your name earlier,” she slapped her own forehead. “What do you call yourself, child?”

“I’m Tori,” the clone introduced herself. “Those girls you were referring to are Lira and Eva Young. It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

“You can just call me Grandma, Tori,” the old woman glanced at Tori with her deep, dark eyes, as if she has seen a lot through her whole life. “You have such a beautiful name.”

Before Tori could say something, Lira and Eva ran up to her, holding their toys. “Tori, we’ve made a new friend,” said Lira, pointing at the Twi’lek child, who was with her mother. “Her name is Leta.”

“Well, that’s great,” Tori grinned, turning to the grandma. “Well, it’s been a pleasure to talk to you.”

“Of course, dearie. Let me know if you need anything.”

As Tori bobbed her head and stood up, she noticed the exact same black ring on her wrinkly finger, sparking a curiosity in Tori’s head. “Grandma, where did you get this ring?”

“This ring was given to me by a friend of mine when I came out as an asexual many years ago,” she narrated her story. “It was a proud moment in my life to gain my confidence in my sexuality. I saw that ring on you as well, my dear. Are you proud to be an ace as well?”

Tori smiled, realizing that she isn’t the only one who lacks sexual attraction towards others.All these while, the public sees asexuals as less than a person, causing Tori to doubt herself. But now, she’s not alone, and she felt validated.

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Commander Tori: 

Ava Lira and Eva Bella Young: 

[ashestospace]

Ciel x Maid!reader (part 1)

I originally posted this in Wattpad and decided to also share this here! It's a bit sucky but oh well

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It's been almost 2 years and a half since I been working in the Phantomhive Manor and by each passing day, it feels more like home too me. I smile softly as I clean a teacup with a rag, I can still remember like it was yesterday, Since My dear Master and Sebastian found me in that old forsaking place I used to 'live' in. A soft sigh escapes my lips as I place the cup down. Keep it together Y/n, there's no room to remember the harsh past. The priority in this life now is to keep the Manor at least in one piece and protect that young lord and everyone that have come to become so close as family to me.

I step off the little stool I was standing up on while I watch the dishes. Softly rubbing my hands as I look around the kitchen, everything was finally clean and in shape. A smile rose to my face as a place my hands on my hips. "Finally we can gladly say this place is in one p-".

-Clash!-

-sounds of people screaming from afar-

"Yyyy/nnnn!!!" Finnian's panic voice called out from outside the backyard. My shoulders dropdown. "Of course it was too good to last" I mutter out under my breath as I quickly ran out to the backyard. Once outside my jaw nearly drop as my eyes winded by the mess am witnessing. Finnian is holding a tree trunk while sobbing. while Meyrin, Bardroy, and Snake try to put down a small fire that covers the flowers in the garden. Some statues in the distant where destroy as with some trees also. The poor garden! Completely destroy!

"Now what in the bloody blazes is happening here!?" I shouted as I ran down the stairs case to them. Anger but mostly worry and panic covering my facial features. "We are very sorry Miss Y/n yes we are! W-we try to plant some flowers that the master order b-but one of those nasty rabbits where eating th-the flowers a-" Meyrin tried to explain. "I try to catch it but I ended up destroying the flowers we planted, Waaah!" Finnian cut in as he cried his eyes out. He holds on to my dress as he kept apologizing to me. I looked back at the rest as they looked away in shame. Another sigh escapes my mouth as I softly patted Finnian strawberry blonde head, trying to calm him down. This isn't the first time this has happened, its clear but I could never bring myself to be actually mad at any of them for real.

"There, there Finnian don't cry. Take big breaths and clean does tears. Can someone get me a bucket of water to put out that fire, Sebastian can not see this mess" I quickly order out. Even though being only 2 years older than the young master I been treated like a young adult already like him by my behavior and strict demeanor when it came to a serious situation. The 4 of them stood up straight and give me their usual 'yes Ma'am' before scattering in different directions to look for say bucket of water.

I rubbed my temples as I looked around again. This is not good, if Sebastian sees this we might not see the light of day by his wrath! I can not take getting scold by him again. Panic was taking over me as I looked back at the mess. "Oh dear..." I mumbled out fidgeting with the end of my sleeves. I saw Bard ran back and FINALLY put out the fire. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, quickly they cheer between each other. "See? What I told ya! we totally got this under control! We don't need Sebastian to keep everything tidy!" Bard says as he flexes his bicep while holding it. Grinning to himself with his eyes closed as he smiles at the rest.

"Bard please watch your mouth, Seba-" I cut myself off as Sebastians tall dark figure pass by me and made his way over to Bardroy whose back was facing him. "What was that Y/-Yaoow!!" Sebastian hit Bardroy right on the head, which he quickly hold on too. "Now what happened here? Hmm?" Sebastian's low but soothing voice said as he looked back at them with a close eye smile. A dark and scary Aura was clearly visible from our view as his faked smile was still present. "M-mister Sebastian! W-we can e-explain!" Finnian exclaimed as he waved his arms around in panic while already tearing up again, Meyrin covers her face as Snake stood quiet. All of them once again in a panic.

" There isn't enough time for explanations, the young master will be going out later in the evening and tea time is in a few minutes. Y/n can you please be a dear and get the young master his tea and treat for the evening before departing? I will.." He sighs deeply as he looked around then back to the servants. "handle this.." He almost mutters out."Right away" I said as a bow before walking inside quickly. There was no way in God's name I will be around when Sebastian is about to unleash full hell on the servants because of their careless acts. I do hope he goes a bit easier this time on them. One can truly wish, but that was clearly not happening.

I quickly hurried down the halls to the Young lord's study, the cart was conveniently set to the side of the door practically waiting for me to take it in. I dusted off my dress before nervously knocking on the door. I was trying to hold back the blush trying to rise up on my cheeks by the idea of Going inside to the Master's studies....alone..with him... "Enter" a bored tone came from the other side of the wooden door, which can only belong to My dear Young Master. A smile dared to come to my lips as an open up the door and push the cart in. There I saw him, he was sitting in his big office chair while writing down on some papers on his desk. He had such a neutral expression on. The expression that I always try to decipher into what might be going through his head. "Good evening Young Master," I said as I stop the cart next to him. His head quickly shot over to my direction as he blinked a few times as he looked at me. He seemed like he wasn't expecting me at all. It quickly gave me a weird feeling in my chest, but ignore it as I serve him tea. "Good evening Y/N..." He mumbled out as he lay back on his chair as he looked at me quietly. I could actually feel my stomach flipping and turning by his gaze on me. "Where's Sebastian?" He asked as he watches me place his plate of strawberry cake down with a cup of tea in front of him. "Oh well you see my lord, something came up. He will return soon" I said politely as I looked at him. "Let me guess, those buffoons messed up the Garden again?" He asked as he sips on his tea with an unamused look. I sigh softly before smiling a bit. "Yes my lord, it seems they have accidentally ruined some flowers in the garden...again" I mumble out.

A small 'tch' noise came out of him as he looked down at his piece of cake. "Of course, I'm not even surprised." He mumbles out. I stood next to him as he finishes off his piece of cake before grabbing the plate and setting it down on the cart. "Well if that is all I will leave you then Young lord, Sebastian did say you two will be leaving later so I will make sure to get all your things ready," I said as I bow down. I need to get out of here, the longer I stay alone with him the more I feel my heart about to come out of my chest. I turn around to leave before his voice stops me in my tracks.

"Y/n" he said from where he sat. My heart skipped a bit as I slowly turn around. His chin was resting on the palm of his hand as he looked at me. His sky blue eye carefully studies me as I clearly knew I had a surprised look on my face. "Y..yes my Lord?" I stutter out. Dear Y/n you must look like a fool to stutter something so simple!. I curse at myself as gulp down the knot on my throat. He still had the neutral look on his face but deep down as I kept looking in his eye I swear I could see..amusement in them? No...Some types of mischief might suit it more. But whatever it was it felt like it was eating me whole with such a simple look. "The Queen has sent me out to investigate something out of town that involves a case of recent disappearing of young children and woman, I will like you to come with me and Sebastian to check it out." He calmly explains. This took me back completely. He never needs me in cases, and I usually only leave the Manor to go out to buy what we need. This is quite odd, but I can't just refuse. This might even be a change to might get closer to h- dear heavens Y/n get your heads out of the clouds! "I will gladly accompany you my lord," I said in a confident tone.

He hums in approval of my respond. "Good, Sebastian will bring your clothing to your room" he added, "We will be attending a normal public gathering down the docks. It's some type of Summer festival, so you will need causal clothing" Sebastian suddenly spoke out from behind me. I jump slightly as I quickly turn around to look at him pass by me. When did he even get in!?!? He needs to STOP doing that. I hold onto my chest as I watch him chuckled at my reaction.

Ciel sends him a rather annoy looked but quickly brushes it off as he stared back at me. "Hopefully we can find a start on the leading of this investigation, whoever is involved seems to be more interesting in young girls and boys. So you and I will be what you will say the bait in this little game of whoever is behind this." Ciel said as he fidgets with his pen in hand as he watches my expression go serious as I listen. "Alright, so if we do end up finding whoever it is and he tries to get us before Mister Sebastian is around.." I looked down before looking at Ciel with a serious look. "I will take him down once you order," I said in a serious low tone.

"Hm, very good," Ciel said as he pushes his papers away to the side. He felt his heartbeat raising and he didn't understand why. Was it because of the way you seem so overprotective of him? Or was it the way you talk that drove him to the excitement on what will happen? Sebastian watches quietly as the smile or his face grew slightly.

"Well since Miss Y/N knows what's the plan, Why don't we get ready Young lord?" Sebastian said as he leans behind Ciel's chair to pull it back. Ciel sigh as he stood up. "Might as well get it over with, can't keep the Queen waiting." The young Earl said as he started to walk out of the room. Y/N bowed as she waited for him to pass before following. Sebastian closes the door behind him. "I already place your clothing in your room Y/n, do get ready. I will get you in a few before we leave" Sebastian instructed to the small young maid. "Yes sir, please excuse me." Y/n said as she quickly bowed again and walked off to her room. Ciel quietly watches her walked off out of sight in the hallway as he holds his cane. "Don't stare too long my Lord" Sebastian said in a teasing tone snapping the young boy out of his trance. "Be quiet" he quickly said as he shakes his head slightly, his cheeks a soft color of pink as he walked off to his room with his butler in black following along. This will be awfully fun to watch... Sebastian thought to himself as he smirked.

Y/n close the door behind her letting her body softly slide down to the floor. She couldn't help by smile widely as she holds her pink cheeks in her hands. He wants me to help in a case??? He wants me to investigate alone...with him...he trusts me enough to help him out!?. Y/n softly patted her cheeks as she looked down still smiling. Her hand softly reaching up to the end of the bow that held her hair up. It was a black color that luckily fitted her maid uniform. Her smile grew as she felt her blush worsen by the thoughts that started filling her mind. I remember when he gave it to me... She looked up to her bed before standing up. Looking at the attire that Sebastian had picked out for her. It was a rather simple white and blue dress, with long sleeves and skirt that reach down below the knees. It was simple but cute. I can't fail this mission..no matter what happens... I will protect the young master..just as he protected me...

After a few hours of getting ready they where all ready to go. Bardroy was helping Sebastian get some luggage into the carriage as they prepare to leave. "We won't be out for too long, do not break or destroy anything while we are gone" Sebastian demanded as he looked at the 4 servants smiling at him unfazed by his little threat. "Yes, sir!" They all said. Finnian ran over to help Ciel up the carriage, but stop to pull Y/n in a tight hug before helping her in also. "Take care Y/N please be careful will you?" He said worried as he held into the female's shoulders. Y/n let out a small giggle at the little farmers worried actions. "I will don't need to worry Finny" she patted his head softly as she pushes some of his hair off his face. Ciel looked at them interact before looking away irritated. "Hurry up will you know, we don't have all day" He mutters out. Y/N looked over to him before getting up into the carriage, waving to the rest goodbye. Sebastian hum slightly at this as he got in as well.

I place my hands on my lap as I looked out the window. Its been quite the while since I been out of the Manor. "The dress looks quite lovely on you Y/n, glad it's a good fit on you" Sebastian brought me back to reality as I looked over to him. "O-oh thank you, Sebastian, that's kind of you to say" I smiled at him as a blush creeps on my cheeks now feeling both their attention on me now. "What do you think master, I did choose a good one for her didn't I?" Sebastian said looking at the boy taking him off guard by the question. Ciel clears his throat as he looked at Y/n. "It looks..quite lovely on you, it does fit you perfectly." A soft blush rose to his cheeks as he spoke. But poor Y/n face was a bright pink before looking away quickly. "T-thank you.." She whispers out. Sebastian let out a small chuckle as he sighs. Amusing indeed...

A few hours pass before they arrived out of the city and to the coast, Sebastian helps both the young lord and Y/n out of the carriage and they soon were greeted by music and people celebrating as kids run passed them. Whatever this festival was about, was clearly taking over the whole town and businesses. Ciel quietly looked around the streets were filled with people. "It's better for us to head to the hotel and get settled before we start to look around my lord" Sebastian suggested as he looked around the crowds of people walking around. "Hm alright it will be better anyways" Ciel holds into his cane as They started to walk down the streets. Y/n looked around amazed by the decorations the whole city had put together for this festival. Not even noticing that her spacing out of the decorations was making her trail off a bit far away from Ciel and Sebastian. Whom he turns around to glance back only to see her far away looking into a store window smiling to herself.

I glanced down at the stuff animals in the shop window. It was one of the lords business Bitter rabbits! I always thought they look so cute with the stitched up clothes. Before I look over to the other toys someone suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me to start walking. Easily I start to panic out but soon calm down seeing the young lord was the one dragging me along. I stared at the back of his head as we walk. "You should be more careful....a lady such as yourself can be easily lost here or worse..." He said loud enough for me to hear as he glances over to me. His blue eyes showing something out of place to me I couldn't explain if I could. It sends a light shiver down my spine as I looked down at his hand holding my wrist. Too close...

He leads us back to where Sebastian was waiting for us at the entrance of the hotel. He waited for us to catch up before heading inside. We waited quietly for our room. The heat of my face was coming back as I notice the young lord's hands still holding mine. He must have not noticed this or something cause he seemed unconsciously intertwine his fingers with mine. I looked back up at him a bit shyly and nervous than usual. He was talking to Sebastian about something but I couldn't even concentrate on what! This was too distracting

"Did you heard that Y/n?"Ciel said as he looked at hee. The short girl snapped out of it as she blinked at him. "Huh???" She said dumbfounded on what he said. "I said we will be sharing all the same room, but there will be more than one bed so you don't have to worry much it will only be for a day or two." Ciel said. "Were you even listening?" Sebastian added with a raised brow.

I laugh nervously. "My apologies, I might have zoned out while waiting.." She scratches her cheek with her free hand. How cute... He couldn't help it but find her behavior simply adorable. He finds your shy side so uncontrollably cute and appealing to him. He just wanted to tease you more if he could. God how he wanted too... It was strange for him to admit too this, that he thought things like this from someone else other than his fiance, but it was simply impossible. It was getting harder and harder every day for him to stop thinking about you constantly. "Let us get going then," Sebastian said as he leads them to their room a few floors up.

Once we got on the room Sebastian place all the things down. "Well let us get started shall we?" He said going straight to the point. But soon stop as he clear his throat as he looked over to his Master hand still holding you'rs. Ciel's poor face flushed pink quickly as he let go. "Yes, of course, we already know where he's going to strike, we just need to know when and whom and what area of the festival will be his next target might be," Ciel said trying to play it off as he walked to the bed and sat down. You blink a few times as you thought. "Wouldn't it be better to look around the places where we can infer that the kidnapping might take place? The festival has plenty of places where any of this can happen" She though out loud as she walked around the room back and forth. "Hm..you're right on that, Sebastian scout all the different areas that may be possible for this" Ciel said as he softly rubbed the ring on his "Yes my lord," Sebastian said as he places his hand on his chest. Going over to the luggage and taking some clothes off. "Better get change into this then if we're going to start then" Sebastian added as he pulls out Ciels costume for this case. Which he signs heavily. "...great..." he said with dread in his tone.

---

After we got ready Sebastian went ahead to look around leaving me and the Young master alone looking around by ourselves. Everything seems normal as we roam around. Everywhere we go there was some kind of attraction or market out. Many people cheering and enjoying themselves. "This is quite the entertainment for many people isn't my lord?" I said as I looked back at him. He had his usual bored look on his face as he looked to the small booth of games. "It will be for most, but this is mostly just filthy games that are made to scam people" he mumbled out. I crack a small smile at him. "Awe come on it's not all that bad, how..how about we try one! S-since you know nothing much has happened and it's still pretty early.." I fidget with my hands. He glanced back at me before sighing. "Fine so be it, which game do you want to try?" He asked with a raised brow. "O-oh! Uh, umm...how about that one, with the balls and towers?" I pointed it out I didn't think he'll agree... It seems simple enough. It was your typical throw a ball and hit the tower to get a prize. He hums slightly before heading over to it, I quickly trail behind him. "Two please," he said at the old man behind the booth. He didn't say much other than hand over the balls and take Ciel's money. "Here go first," he said handing me one of the balls. A took it, looking at the target before easily hitting it down. I smile widely as a clap my hands together. "Yes! I got it on the first try!" I cheer, I looked back at Ciel "you try to know!" I exclaim giving him the ball. "Me?" He blurts out taken back "you're the one who wanted to play this silly game," he said crossing his arms. "Yeah but... I also wish for you to have a bit of fun too my lord.." I said smiling at him. He thought for a moment before sighing deeply. "Fine only once.." He mumbles out as he grabbed the ball and looked at the small tower. He threw the ball and...missed, oh dear. "Oh no, well at-" "let me do it again" he cut me off as he threw another ball at it. It only knocks half of the tower down. "Oh, you hit it!" I said clapping again. Ciel smirks slightly satisfied that he got it. There was no way he was gonna look bad in front of a lady, let alone you of all people.

"Here's your prize" mumble out the old man as he handed me a small stuff animal. "Oh thank you, sir," I said grabbing the small animal. "That wasn't that bad, now was it my lord?" She said looking at him. "...let us do another one" Ciel blurt out as he looked at another booth. I blinked several times at this before smiling at him. It won't do any harm if we play a bit, its still to early for anything to happen yet "Um okay, Just one more though...we still have a case to solve after all " I added as she followed her master. I can for sure give her a bigger prize than that. Ciel thought to himself as he walked in front of another booth. Slamming a few coins in the counter. "Two please"

One game went to two and to two to five. They almost ended up playing many of the game around while Ciel failing in half of them but still managing to get you at least one big stuff bear which had you blushing madly but still smiling in gratitude by his efforts on winning you a prize. Somehow we both manage to have a bit of actual much fun, Ciel actually seemed to be enjoying himself as he let out a small laugh or two over my excitement or praise of him winning any game. "Where to next my lord?" I said as I looked up to the sky, it was full of stars already. Nothing seemed to happen yet..maybe..we haven't noticed yet? "Ciel" he suddenly said in a serious tone. "I beg y-your pardon?" I blurt outback as I stared at him wide-eyed. "I want you to call me Ciel, at least when we are alone. I don't like you saying 'young master' all the times it gets on my nerves" he confessed as he scratch on his neck as he looked to the side. "O-oh okay, if you said so...Ciel.." I whisper out his name and practically letting it roll out my tongue for the first time. A blush manages to creep on both our faces because of that simple moment. "L-lets get going, then I think I saw caramel apples up ahead and I'm starving over here by all of this walking, and the fact that nothing is happen yet is even more tiring," he said as he continues to walk forward. "Alright, I am quite hungry t-oah!" My heel got stuck in a crack on the ground. My body going forward as I began to fall. I close my eyes waiting to feel the floor greet my face but it never came. The only thing I could feel was the embrace of someone holding my body tightly as they tried not to fall themselves. I slowly open my e/c to meet a blue one that was looking directly at me with surprise and worried. "A..are you alright?..." He breathes out as he looked at me. "Y-yeah I think so..." I whisper out. I felt my heart beating against my chest madly and I knew he could feel it too with how close we were. But we still didn't move we just stood like that. With me in his arms staring at each other as our face got worse with the second as the heat arose. "Ci-Ciel..?" I whisper out as I softly hold into his shoulders. I can't look away... I can't...The navy blue-haired boy was leaning forward by just hearing her voice. "Yes Y/n?..." He whispers out. He felt like his heart was about to come out of his chest. Has she always been this beautiful? He didn't want to look away from her, it was like he was completely hypothesized by her. "I-i t-"

"Ciel? Is that you over there?" A rather high pitched voice called out from afar. He quickly turns away over to the voice direction. They both quickly let go of each other. Oh no, why here of all places? And why now!

_________

Hello everyone hopes you all enjoy the first part of this x reader It been a while since I have done one of this and hope to go back to my usual habits of doing them. If you all have suggestions I'm open to them, thoughts and opinions of this 2 part x reader are always welcome so I can improve on how to write them. Tell me if you want the next part or maybe a Sebastian x reader one up next?~

[wndamaximov]

Infatuated [b.b.]

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Bucky’s finally found the perfect girl. The problem is that he has to find a way to tell her that.

Warnings: Language, Angst, Fluff

Words: 1753

When he first laid eyes on her, it was as if the entire world fell apart around him. He could have stood there for years, just watching the way her hair fell in waves on her shoulders as she flipped it, laughing at something Stark had said. Alas, the moment was ruined by the idiot Steve tapping him on the shoulder.

“You know who she is?”

“No. Just that she’s new,” Bucky responded, his thoughts still on her, and it was entirely likely that he had the stupidest look on his face. Steve immediately knew what had overcome his best friend. He smiled knowingly and nudged him.

“Shut up,” Bucky grumped stomping away from Steve, the image of that woman still ingrained in his mind.

That was months ago, and Bucky didn’t see her much after that, just a few murmured “Hello’s” while passing each other in the hallway. Oh, he so desperately yearned to talk to her, but it seemed as if fate was against them. Every time Bucky thought he would try, Sam would come up behind him to rag on him or either Steve or Stark would come to call him for an important meeting that always ended up being about bullshit. And she would skip away giving him a small smile and a, “See you later Buchanan!” leaving behind just the tiniest whiff of vanilla and coffee beans. God, he was infatuated.

In the latest meeting, he thought he would drift off and think about how her smile always seemed to brighten up the entire room with its contagiousness, or how the light always seemed to hit her eyes just right to get that caramel tint that he loved in them.

“Barnes, you listening?” Bucky shook himself out of his reverie and wiped the drool he discovered was escaping through the corner of his mouth. Sam burst out laughing as Bucky shot him a glare that would’ve had the power to kill a lesser man.

“Since you clearly weren’t, I’ll let y/n fill you in on the details of this meeting. You know, the one you should have been paying attention to,” Stark quipped, bumping into him as he briskly left the room.

As the others filed out of the chamber, y/n sat herself down on the chair across from him. He could feel his heart rate accelerate as he realized that she was extremely close to him.

“Ignore him. Tony’s still upset over… you know…” she let her voice trail off as she stared apologetically at him, wringing her hands together. “I’m sorry, I’m not very good with people.” She tucked a strand of hair that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ear, displaying another one of her nervous tics.

“It’s alright doll, me too,” he reassured, putting his hand over one of hers(the one that was drumming the table to a beat that sounded familiar, he just couldn’t quite place his finger on it) and continued, “Now tell me what was so critical about this drab get-together.”

She laughed, putting her whole body into it at his feeble attempt at a joke. It was adorable, how easily she laughed at things other people said. He noticed over the week that even when no one else was, y/n was laughing.

After recovering from her bout of giggles she recounted the meeting. “Well most of the meeting didn’t apply to us because we aren’t ‘real Avengers’ ” She put the quotes around the words as she said it, then continued. “We’re partners in this mission that they’re considering a test I guess, to see how well we fit in with the rest of the team.”

"What type of mission is it?”

“We think that someone’s dealing drugs at Peter’s school. It’s our job to figure out who and get enough evidence to put them in jail.”

Bucky looked at her quizzically. “Who’s Peter?”

“He’s the Spider-Man.”

“Oh.” He grimaced, remembering the annoying kid from the fight in the airport. God, he hoped he wouldn’t see too much of that punk.

“Does he come here often?” Bucky asked, wanting to figure out exactly when he would need to take his leave from the tower.

“Almost every day after school. He’s out of town right now though, some field trip in Europe for school,” she answered, pulling out papers from the file that lay on the table in front of her. “Here,” she handed them to him, her face suddenly contorting in anger. “These guys are so gross!” she exclaimed in disgust. “Ruining these kids’ lives for money- they deserve to be in jail.”

He glanced at the papers in his hands and immediately understood what she was saying. 11 kids had been hospitalized due to OD'ing on the cocaine that these guys were dealing, but 4 of them hadn’t been so lucky- they were found dead.

“Isn’t this more of a police thing?” he wondered out loud.

“Yeah but like I said, it’s more of a test.” She got up from her chair and walked around to pat him on the arm as she left. “We leave in two days- I’ll see you around Sergeant.”

He touched the spot where she had left her mark on him, ecstatic at the prospect of being able to spend some time with her, alone and far from distraction in the form of the other Avengers. However, that could also prove to be problematic. He needed to stay focused on the mission- this one especially because kids’ lives depended on it.

He decided to delay in telling her his feelings, as if she’d ever reciprocate them, and it was stupid to think she ever would. She was untroubled and didn’t deserve a man that had as much baggage as he did. He would just be a burden to her, a shadow that would just bring her down with him. Telling himself this, he walked out of the lonely little room that he had stained just being in.

“Bucky!” Steve called from outside his room. He didn’t feel like responding and continued shoving clothes into his go-bag. He wasn’t up for explaining his sour mood that had been going on for the past couple of days. Of course Steve was worried- he’d been sulking in his room, not talking to anyone.

“Bucky,” he repeated more insistently, opening the door and walking inside, witnessing how bad the situation was.

“What the hell do you want Steve?” he shouted, whipping around to face his best friend.

“I should be asking you that,” Steve replied calmly. “You’ve been acting strange Buck- ever since we came to the compound. Care to explain?”

“Fuck off.” Bucky continued stuffing his things into the poor bag straining to keep it all in.

“No."Steve started unpacking the poorly backed bag and got to putting everything back inside neatly.

Bucky lifted his hands up in surrender and stepped away to let Steve do his thing. "You’re a punk, you know that?”

“Yeah, I do. Now spill.”

✧༺♥༻∞　　∞༺♥༻✧

“So you’re telling me that you’re not telling y/n how you feel because you think you’re not good enough?”

Bucky looked down at his feet sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, when you put itthat way Stevie…”

Jesus Buck, you know I love you, but you can just be so fucking stupid sometimes.”

“What do you mean?” he inquired, puzzled at the shit-eating grin on Stevie’s face.

“Do you really think you’re the only one staring longingly when you think she’s not looking?” Steve clapped Bucky on the shoulder and commanded, “You still have an hour. Buck- go get that girl.”

✧༺♥༻∞　　∞༺♥༻✧

Bucky paced back and forth just outside y/n’s room, debating whether or not he should go in. He’d been there for about five minutes, but just couldn’t muster the courage to actually knock on her door. A million thoughts filled his head, the most prevalent being ‘what if she hates me?’

“Yo dumbass! How long you been there? ”

“Piss off Sam,” he muttered angrily. Goddammit, if anyone could completely erase his courage it was bird-man.

“You really gonna make me do this by myself?”

“Do what?”

Sam knocked on the door, then sped off before he could face the wrath of the Winter Soldier.

“What the hell?” Bucky shouted, seething at the nerve on Sam.

“Trust me, you’ll thank me later!” he called back.

“Come back, you mother-” Suddenly, Bucky realized that the only thing separating him from confessing his love had been opened, and he looked down to see her gorgeous face peering back up at him. “Y/n.”

“What do you want Buchanan?” She seemed unhappy, and god, he wanted to fix that. He would gladly do anything just to see her smile.

“I-” he ran a hand through his hair and exhaled shakily. “This is so much harder than I thought,” he chuckled, then swallowed and took a deep breath in. She stared at him expectantly and he continued, “The first time I saw you- I don’t, I don’t think it was love, but over time, I don’t know. It was just the little things that caught my eye. Can I?” he cupped her face and she nodded, reaching up to put a hand against his head.

“I know what you mean,” she whispered, then gestured for him to continue.

“The way you laugh at the smallest things…” that earned a chuckle from her and he too smiled. “The way you drum your fingers to that song by Queen whenever you’re nervous…”

Her eyes widened. “Another One Bites the Dust- how did you know?”

“I noticed everything about you doll. I always have and I always will.” He searched her eyes for permission then bent down to kiss her lips softly, finally tasting the vanilla and coffee he had only got samples of before.

After pulling away she giggled and declared, “I think I’m in love with you James Barnes.”

“I think I’m in love with you too.”

✧༺♥༻∞　　∞༺♥༻✧

A/n: Please validate my hard work in the comments ( 人ФｴФ)

Tagging for interest(b/c, bucky): @marvelgirl7

Bonus:

“Hey, Bucky?” She was leaning against his chest, making circles with her fingers into his skin.

“Hm?” He replied, softly leaving kisses against her neck.

“Why do you let me call you Buchanan? I distinctly remember you throttling Sam when he called you that.”

He tilted her head up to look up at him then answered, “It’s because I’m not in love with Sam.” He pressed a kiss to her lips, then fell back against the bed content. God, he was infatuated.

Ask to be in my Bucky tags!

[kaz3313]

Crowley is a totally very bad demon who does very demonish things. Like take care of a bunch of orphans

Inspired by one of @rainydaydecaf s text post! I wrote this in a day

Also thank you @thetimtimjr for tagging me in the post that inspired this!

( I have only seen to episode 3 so no spoilers in the tags or replies please! Thank you)

Tw: though this is mostly fluffy comedy stuff there is a sucide attempt (unsuccessfully). Also if anyone needs this tagged as anything feel free to ask as always!

(Please reblog and hope you enjoy 😊)

"Misstah Crowley are we there yet?" One of the children tugs at the demons clothes.

"I already told you; were not going anywhere. Were waiting for the storm to pass," he gently pushes the child away but he comes back to his side.

"When is the storm gonna pass then? Can it be now?"

"I don't know kid, now butt off before you're tossed into the sea," Crowley growls. At first a face of horror passes over the kid but it quickly leaves as another child pipes up.

"He won't throw you overboard, Asher, nothing to worry about," She's older than the other but no more than 14.

"I can-" Crowley begins but stops hearing one of the many infants start crying.It took him two hours to rock them all to sleep. "Oh look what you did. Now they all will wake up,". He is right as babies wake up one after another crying in confusion or empathy, as it is rather hard to tell which is which at such a young age, and Crowley desperately tries to calm down each while simultaneously answering the older children's questions.

"So whose ship is this?" A girl in rags asks, he'll have to have Aziraphale miracle her some better clothes later.

"Noah's Arch," he whispers rocking two wailing infants, twins actually.

"Is he a friend of yours?" A boy who looks as well off as she did pipes up.

"Ehhh, I met him once or twice," the meetings Crowley is referring too is when he passed the man by while tempting other people to acts of evil in his town.

"Is they're another arch?" The girl asks. A group of children has formed around some of them helping with the babies or toddlers but others just to listen to what he has to say. Odd to say the least; Crowly has definitely spoke to groups of people at a time, and many listened with such interest, but not often answer earnest questions. Much less earnest questions he's answering truthfully.

"No, no other arch," the one twin started fussing again. "Shut up," he says to the baby but instead of a harsh tone his voice is sing songish.

"Then where are all the parents at?"

"Alright enough questions, I didn't bring you on here to annoy me," Crowley hisses and more of the little ones wake up crying. Great, more to deal with.

"I'm bored,"

"I'm hungry,"

"Alright! Alright! Go-" He looks around. He could always have them mess with the animals but they could get eaten by a lion as well as get caught by Noah. No, keeping them down here is a necessity but he couldn't constantly entertain them. Then Aziraphale catches his eye. He's in the corner reading various books and scrolls he brought with him on the arch. How he could bring those instead of children Crowley will never understand (and quite frankly even though he wished to confront him about it he also didn't want to hear about the 'ineffable' or have him get fussier than the babies and run away for a century). "You see Aziraphale- Yeah, go bother him. He'll read you stories," Many of the children rushed toward the unsuspecting angel and the ones who remained Crowley could manage.

"Cr-crowley?" It is late at night, despite not needing to sleep both demon and angel are exhausted, and he doesn't expect one of the children to wake so soon. Of course he doesn't really know what to expect with kids.

"Yes," Crowley responds.Being a demon, he can see in the dark and her expression of fear is clear. "What are you doing up? It's bad enough I have to feed those little things every hour do I have to do that with you?" At that she gives a small smile.

"No, nothing like that. I just had a scary dream is all,"

"Ah, those happen," Crowley has put nightmares in many a mind before, mostly to sway them, but never in a child's.

"It was about the arch flooding cause there were too many people. It sunk to the bottom of the sea and the fish ate everyone's bones," she states her eyes wide as she recalls the fake memory.

"Morbid," Crowley replies biting his lip not sure how to comfort the child. "Arch is really sturdy though. The instructions to build this thing came straight from God so if it sinks that's on heavens hands,".

"It sank cause we're not supposed to be on here. We aren't are we?" Her voice cracks and tears start to roll down her cheeks.

"Now don't- come on sit here," he taps the place beside him and she follows his instructions. "Everything is uh, complicated to say the least. Whether you're supposed to be here or not depends on which side your looking on it from. But one thing, and the most important thing, is I wouldn't bring you on here for nothing. Like do you think I want to babysit for who knows how long while the storm of the century is outside if I didn't think it was necessary?"

"N-no, " she gives another shy smile and wipes her tears with the back of her hand. "I guess not,"

"Exactly, your obviously a smart kid. If I wasn't absolutely positive this stupid boat was going to hold I wouldn't have even tried," he says and she wraps her arms around in a hug. He pats her back not sure how else to respond.

"Thank you Mr. Crowley, that'll make my nightmares go away for sure! You're a saint!" She says chipperly and before he can correct her she skips off to bed.

"You're so very evil Crowley. What an evil deed reassuring a child," Azriphale says with a grin of his own.

"And how long have you been here? I thought you were taking to Noah and his "holy" family. Never mind, bug off angel. I'm always evil and saving this brats is against the divine plan so its evil," he reasons and the other just shakes his head reading yet again.

Feeding the kids is Crowley's least favorite parts (he had to do it at least three times! Not even Aziraphale ate that much) of the day. They were all whiny like usual only this time is 10 million times worse since they whined about not having enough food despite Crowley giving them as much as they could possibly need.

"She got more then me!" One kid yells pointing at a teen girl.

"Do you want more?" Crowley asks grabbing a piece of bread to give to him.

"Well, no but it's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair and actually this is a very small part of your life that will be fair so deal with it," Crowley snaps and the kid begins to cry. "Damn- Aziraphale!" He calls but sees the angel with his hands full as well as a toddler climbing him. He wouldn't be able to comfort the kid for a while.

"Kid, kid, listen. This is ridiculous. Just stop crying, you're fine. You're well fed and you aren't hurt and-"  Crowley leans down but the kid continues to wail.

"I need to pee," A little girl says in his ear.

"Good to know," Crowley responds.

"I need to go now!" She yells and Crowley tilts his head away from her.

"Then go; you don't need my expertise you've done it plenty of times before," she whines again, kicks his shin, and walks away.

"Timothy is hungry," a teen hands him a baby while she calms down the still crying child.

"Does, Tim Tim need food? Hmmm, little pile of squishy flesh is hungry," Crowley asks reaching for the bottle of never ending milk. The baby cooks in response then hastily drinks the milk most of it going down his chin. "What a messy Tim Tim," he states as the baby sucks the milk down as if it's the last he'll ever have. He takes out a handkerchief cleaning up the giddy baby. "Out of everyone you've got to be the happiest baby. Did you know that? Did you know that, Tim Tim," At saying this Crowley heard a voice call his name and he looks up. Azriphale just mouths the words 'what a demonic demon Crowley is'.

"I'm the scariest demon in hell," Crowley tells the kids and most of them laugh excitedly.

"R-roar then! If your a demon roar like one!" A kid calls out.

"Roar? I'm a demon not a lion! I don't roar," he states.

"How do we know your a demon then? I think your just a weird kind man!" Another kid states.

"A man couldn't all bring us on an arch with plenty of food and drink. Nobody is that kind" A kid scolds the other  " Mr. Crowley is just an embarrassed angel,"

"I'm not an angel!" But many kids already are murmuring in agreement of the severely misinformed kid. The actual angle in the room gives a small chuckle "I can turn into a snake; the one that tempted Adam and Eve!" Crowley states.

"Do it then! Snake! Snake!" The kids begin chanting the word. Crowley sighs closing his eyes and starts to form into the cold blooded creature.

"H-he a snake!" Most kids laugh in glee only a few run to Azriphale in fear. Crowley can hear a kid concerned that "Mr. Crowley got eaten by a snake". The angel is sure to reassure that Mr. Crowley did not get eaten by a snake instead he can turn into a snake. The younger ones don't exactly understand the concept and are happy to see Crowley in his usual form again.

"Only saving kids and teens huh? What about those who were on the edge of things?" An older teen guy asks while the kids eat there bread and listen to one of the other teen's stories. Besides Azriphale the charismatic storyteller has been the most help especially since in the past she had to take care of ten kids. She definitely is the most experienced.

"Not sure what you mean on the edge," Crowley replies sipping a bit of his wine.

"The day the storm came in, the same day you found me at the market, was my sister's 18 birthday," he states. Crowley doesn't say a word feeling the air thick with tension. "We were twins but my birthday was the next day...she wasn't brought here, was she?"

"...no," The teen, or rather the adult (though he still looked like a boy of maybe 16 at the most) stands up.

"Everyone is gone? My family, friends, mentors? My house, destroyed?" He asks but doesn't expect an answer. Instead he walks away, starting to go up to the deck.

"Aziraphale, one of the humans left," Crowley walks over saying in a hushed voice.

"Left?" Aziraphale questions.

"He went into the storm; seems really upset. Just check on him to make sure he doesn't get caught. I have babies to feed in a little bit so I'm asking you. And… I think you might be able to convince him to come down here," Crowley explains.

"Well alright but you owe me a lunch for this," Crowley rolls his eyes but nods agreeing to the favor.

Azriphale found the man getting pelted by rain while he stood on the edge of the ship. He didn't turn around yet he spoke at hearing the angel's footsteps.

"The world from end to end is empty and void of life. Completely wiped out except for this ship here. This ship that has a family, animals, and then about a hundred stow-away children," He says his voice monotone. Azriphale doesn't explain that many places were spared; it doesn't feel right to correct the distraught human."Do you know how many people were out there? I don't even know. But surely all those people didn't deserve death? They didn't deserve to be pushed into this raging sea and drowned when they're body tires of the condition. If God wants us dead couldn't we just be strikes down by a bolt of lightning? Why make us suffer?"

"The plan of the almighty is ineffable; even to me," Azriphale says then adds "But, against many odds, you're alive! So let's go back inside before your clothes get wetter," the human lets out a sad chuckle.

"And after? Once this passes I have no one. I'm alone in this world...God wants me dead? Was that part of the plan?"

"Well, a little bit but something plans go differently then expected especially with demonic intervention and-" Azriphale stops as he sees the human toss himself forward.

The angel's wings jut out and he swoops down to catch the spiraling human. It's an experience that sadly Azriphale has done many times. In total he's saved 1200 humans in the last century who've tried to end their life. Sometimes by spilling their poisonous drink or whispering encouraging words in their ears but only four in total has he caught. This man will most definitely be his fifth.

He reaches him grabbing on and pulling him upward. A moment later and the human would've plunged head first in the icy sea and if not killed by it  would at the very least got a concussion.

"Now, now, it is not your time," Azriphale has his arms around the other's chest and can feel him shivering from the winds whipping around them. He positions his wings to shield the fragile being from the strongest winds.

"Apparently my time is past due; God wants me dead I'm just giving him his dues," He struggles in Azriphale's grasp but his grip doesn't loosen.

"Don't talk like that, let's dry you off and-"

"My sister would take care of the neighborhood kids. She'd feed them, she  raised me and my brothers since she was ten. She taught us manners and we'd attended church every Sunday. We pray before every meal and even after. She stole from a man richer than a king with manners akin to a pig! That is her only crime and yet she's under many feet of unmerciful water dead to this cruel world! Was that fair? Should she have died, angel?"  He yells out struggling against the other.

The man-no he really is just a boy- kicks with such force that Azriphale is forced to use a miracle. He falls asleep instantly no more shouting or protesting follows. He looks so peaceful sleeping, most humans do, and the angel frowns to himself. He'd awake just as agitated as before, perhaps even more, and could potentially try to commit suicide again.

Azriphale clicks his tongue thinking of a way to stop this humans distress. He said something about a sister did he not well...another miracle is performed; this time erasing all memories of her. It definitely wasn't his best miracle but couldn't be called his worst either.

"I'm so sorry," Azriphale mumbles out but over the roaring sea no one can hear him.

"You have wings? Does Mr. Crowley have some too?" A curious child asks touching Azriphale's feathers. A toddler to his right has decided the feathers are an excellent teething device and is trying to desperately get him off.

"Yes I do," Crowley says picking up the toddler presenting him a finger instead of the feathers he could choke on.

"Can we see?" Another asks walking over to him staring at his shoulders as if she could already see them.

"Maybe," He replies. "If you all are good for dinner and go to bed on time you can see them," Cheers follow Crowley's statement.

 The baby babbles at Crowely and since no one else is around he babbles back at her. She giggles continuing 'talking' to him.

"I hear you; pretty cramped place huh? But right now you have to go to sleep; can you go to sleep?" The baby happily replies with nonsense. She's the last baby awake but it quite a stubborn one.

"Go to sleep, little talker and maybe for once I'll get a break," he sings a tuneless soft lullaby. "And with my break, I'll get to bother, Azriphale! And he'll just read his books, or eat his food, and ignore me, because he is gooooood,".

The baby closes her eyes but Crowley continues his made up song "Go to sleep, little babe, and hope we'll get off this ship that's driving me insane," he finishes with a few la la's and the baby is fast asleep.

"Papa?" A small toddler walks running into Crowley head on. He steps back before falling on his butt "Papa?" He asks again.

"Nope, not a Papa," Crowley says patting the confused child head. "Just a demon doing bad,"

"Papa!" He exclaims and Crowley sighs.

"Nope. Very disappointed you didn't get it the first time,"

"Papa!"

"Now this is a little excessive don't you think? How many times do I need to say no?" Crowley asks putting his hands on his hips. He might as well humor the toddler.

"Pa-pa! Papa! Papa!" He claps his hands.

"Can your Papa turn into a snake?" The boy nods. "Really? I doubt that. Can he strike fear into anything and everything?" Again he nods. "Is your dad a demon? If so I might know him,"

"Papa!" He claps again.

"Is your Papa's name Crowely?"

"Yes!"

"I don't think so," but the child giggles in response.

"What a good parent you make Crowley," Azriphale states grinning (and dare Crowley say the smile is devilish?).

"Papa!" The toddler exclaims to Azriphale and he goes bright red.

"It seems the little one doesn't have a big vocabulary,"

"So that's what it is angel?" Crowley gives his own grin. He nods in response.

Six days pass before the rain stops and the sun comes out; and just as Azriphale says a rainbow appears promising to never flood the world again.

Crowley can be thankful for that. He isn't sure he can take care of hundreds of kids again. Though with all the hugs they give him he can't complain too much.

[yastaghr]

Broken Things Shine Brighter 19

So here’s the next chapter of BTSB. So much research went into this one. Why do men not name the different styles of collars and necklines on their shirts? Frustrated costume designer wants to know.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13431909/chapters/56859664

Blue definitely wasn’t expecting to wake up like this. Yeah, he and Razz had been sharing a room, but they weren’t to the point of sharing a bed yet. Razz was still nervous about being touched, and both of them had night terrors after everything they’d been through. Maybe it was one of those that had inspired this. It didn’t really matter why. All that mattered to Blue was how the heck he was going to get out from underneath the sprawled body of his soulmate. It wasn’t anywhere near comfortable, not with his chest still so raw. But Blue knew the rules. If someone falls asleep on top of you, whether they’re a friend, a lover, a family member, or a pet, then you can’t wake them up just because you wanted to move. So Blue was trapped here, under Razz, until he woke up.

Some unknown amount of time passed. It could have been minutes. It could have been hours. Blue had no idea. Eventually, though, Razz yawned, stretched, and sat up. Unfortunately, he was still sitting on Blue, so no freedom yet.

Razz smacked his lips and looked around. He must have sensed something wrong. It was probably just that he was waking up somewhere other than where he had fallen asleep. Whatever it was, he stiffened. Blue, quick to reassure him, said, “hey, razz. what’s up? besides you, that is?”

His soulmate looked down and blinked at him. Then a hand smacked his forehead and he groaned. “PLEASE, NO WORDPLAY BEFORE BREAKFAST. I’M SIMPLY NOT PREPARED FOR IT.”

Blue couldn’t help the cheeky grin that spread like warm butter across his face. “what, the magnificent and terrible razz isn’t ready to handle a measly little pun first thing in the morning? i’m shocked. i thought you said yesterday that you were always vigilant against crimes against the sanctity of the spoken word. always would imply first thing in the morning, too. or is there some special definition of ‘always’ here that i’m not jibing with?”

Purple stars were eclipsed by narrowing eye sockets. “THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I INSTITUTED THIS RULE. I AM EVER VIGILANT ABOUT THIS. I’M JUST NOT CAPABLE OF A DECENT REPLY UNTIL AFTER I’VE EATEN. ALSO, PLEASE NEVER UTTER THE WORD ‘JIBING’ AGAIN UNLESS WE ARE ON A SAILING VESSEL. IT MAKES MY SOUL SHUDDER.”

Blue’s smile spread even wider. “sure thing, razz. i’ll just make a note of that in my ever increasing lexicon of word uses i don’t know. what does j… that action have to do with a sailboat?”

Razz grinned back, pride and smugness radiating down their bond. He seemed to love it when he knew something that Blue didn’t, so Blue now took every opportunity to let him show off. “TO JIBE, OR TO GYBE AS IT IS ALSO SPELLED, MEANS TO CHANGE YOUR SAIL ANGLE AND HEADING WITH THE WIND DOWNWIND. DO YOU WANT ME TO DRAW YOU A DIAGRAM?”

“yeah, why don’t you do that,” Blue said, always eager for new knowledge. “but first can you get off my chest? it kinda hurts to have you on top of the bandages.”

Razz clamored off of him, blushing. “OF COURSE! LET ME GO GET A NOTEBOOK WHILE YOU GET DRESSED. ACTUALLY, DON’T. MUFFET MENTIONED THAT YOU NEEDED SOME NEW CLOTHES. YOU ARRIVED… NEARLY TWO WEEKS AGO? WOWIE, IT CERTAINLY FEELS LIKE LONGER THAN THAT. EITHER WAY, WE SHOULD GET YOU SOMETHING NICER THAN THOSE RAGS YOU’RE WEARING.”

Blue looked down at his clothes. “i thought they looked pretty nice…” Then he took in the holes, stains, and fraying hems. “at least, they used to. stars, when was the last time i had new clothes? it feels like forever ago.”

“IT PROBABLY WAS,” Razz said tactlessly. “IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BEFORE YOU CAME HERE, AND ALMOST CERTAINLY BEFORE THAT HUMAN OF YOURS FELL DOWN.”

He winced. “true. well, come on, then. let’s at least get some breakfast before she subjects me to her measuring tape. and you can draw me that diagram. i really do want to know about this ‘gybing’ business.”

Razz grinned. “DEAL.”

=====

The third human made it significantly farther than the last two had. Slim was sure that he would need to recheck his cameras. Something must have gone wrong with them for him not to be alerted until the human reached the long bridge. Then again, that was why he had so many of them. No matter how many failed, there would always be another one to catch the human in the act of moving through the Underground.

Slim shortcutted in behind the human. The first thing he noticed was his hair. It was a bright orange. Then he noticed how pale his skin was. Neither of those things meant much to him other than the fact that he had never seen them before. He was sure they would mean something to another human, though, just like the colour of another monster’s soul told him something about them. He wondered whether humans knew about soul traits. Surely they had to notice that people didn’t all behave the same? Maybe that just didn’t matter as much to them as it did to a monster. To him, the colour of a monster’s soul was a huge indicator of how he needed to act around them. Then again, he didn’t go around dragging out people’s souls just to see what colour they were. It used to be because he didn’t care. Now it was because it was rude.

He wasn’t sure what alerted the human to his presence, but something did. He spun around to face Slim. That was when Slim noticed the freckles. There were so many freckles. So many.

“Monster! What’s your name?” The human shouted.

“slim,” he answered simply.

The human grinned. “I’m Sean, and I’m on a quest! Are you prepared to help me with it?”

Slim shrugged. “depends on the quest. i’m kind of on one of my own, and if there’s a conflict of interest i’m going to go with mine. sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry!” Sean insisted. “That’s just the nature of a quest! Now, my quest is to find the voice behind the door. I have a message for the monster that chats with my friend, who I promised I wouldn’t name! I’m prepared to fight any number of monsters in order to complete my quest! Can you help me, or do I need to fight you, too?”

“heh, kid, you don’t want to fight me. i’m pretty sure that i’m the monster you’re looking for. i’ve been telling knock knock jokes with a voice on the other side of the big door for years,” Slim said with a grin.

Sean narrowed his eyes. “Why? You have to tell me because the other monster told me what you’re supposed to say.”

Suspicion. Slim admired that in a monster. He wished he didn’t have to admire it in a human. “i do it so i can perfect my most annoying jokes to use on my brother. he hates puns, deeply, and i love getting to see his face when i deliver a whopper. you could say it’s a san… actually, never mind the pun. it’s funny.”

Sean smiled and shot him a thumbs up. “You got it right! Okay, here’s your message: I heard about the revolution. Next time you have time, come tell me about it, please.”

Slim froze. How… how had he heard about that? As far as Slim knew, he was the only person this guy behind the door ever talked to. Why did he care? He lived behind the door. What did the world on this side of it matter to him? “th-thanks, bud. now, uh… do you know what’s coming next?”

Sean nodded. “I’m going to get to see my dad again. It’s okay, Slim. I knew what was going to happen when I left the man behind the door. He’s got a bunch of us living there, but he only sends through the ones who are ready to die. My dad… my dad was killed by a mountain lion. He was trying to save me from dying. I wanted to fight it, but… I fell down a hole and ended up here. I want to be with my dad again. I’m not afraid to die. Besides, helping an imprisoned species to escape to freedom is badass!”

“heh, you’re not wrong there, kid. are you sure you’re ready to die?” Slim needed to hear it confirmed one last time.

“Yep!” Sean said, sitting down on the edge of the bridge. “Just try to make it fast. I don’t really want to bleed to death. That’s… how my dad died. It looked like it really hurt. Not that I’m afraid of pain! I just don’t want it to be the last thing I feel.”

Slim summoned his weapon. It’s citrine fire rose like smoke from the glaive’s blade. “i can help you with that. now, do you have any last words?”

The human considered. “Death to all tyrants?”

Slim chuckled. “you can’t get more badass than that. okay. close your eyes.” The human did, and Slim swung his blade. Just like he had promised, there was no pain. An orange soul floated into the air, and Slim captured it in the vacuum tube. “heh. three down, four to go.”

=====

Blue stared at the latest sketch Muffet had produced for him. “no. i’m not wearing that.”

“Oh, please, Blue! This design is all the rage amongst the upper crust! They love these bouffant sleeves at the moment, and the asymmetrical hemline would be absolutely darling on you!” Muffet wheedled.

“i’m not wearing a dress, muffet, no matter how good you think it would look on me! i’m not a girl, and i really don’t like it when people think i am!” Blue shouted back.

“So you have worn one, then,” Muffet said smugly. He hated that smug expression. This wasn’t some kind of gotcha game where the winner was the one who got the most information out of the other. This was way more serious than that! This was a matter of what he was going to wear, and he took what he wore very seriously! … Okay, no, that was a lie. He liked to put as little energy into his appearance as possible. And yeah, he got that right now that reflected badly on her, but that didn’t mean he could be convinced to wear a dress!

“yes, muffet, i’ve worn a dress before. i was a curious kid. i wanted to know what one felt like. i didn’t like it. everyone acted like i was a different person that had to obey different rules and i hated it. so, no dress, and that’s final.” He meant it, too. He wasn’t going to budge on this one.

“I suppose that’s fair,” Muffet said with a sigh, “Not everyone is up to bending the laws of gender expression. That’s a shame. Well, then, how about this?” Muffet held up her latest sketch. Blue studied it.

He could see that the top would be roomy on him, which was something they had negotiated earlier. He hated tight clothing. The sleeves were three quarter length and would fall just beyond his elbows. The sleeve was a notched turnback hem, although he probably wouldn’t turn it back. The hem of the shirt was the same length all the way around, which he liked. The neck was a shallow v neck, the kind that was used on sweaters and had reinforced stitching. The pants only had the words “classic blue jeans” written on them. He could dig that. There was only one thing about this set up that he didn’t like.

“i need a hood, muffet. it’s a thing for me, hoods. they’re safe.”

Muffet eyed him thoughtfully. “I think I can accommodate that. A hood would definitely change the lines, but I think it would work better on you. Here,” She grabbed the sketch, erased the neckline, and sketched in a simple hood. “Does this look better?”

Blue slowly nodded. “looks good to me. what kind of material were you thinking about using?”

“Dearie, were you really thinking I was only going to make you one copy? You need at least three changes of clothes, and I also want to make you a set of formal wear and pajamas. I’ll sketch those up in a minute. For now why don’t you go pick out the fabrics that appeal to you the most? Go for at least three. You know what textures work best for you.”

Blue nodded amiably. He ambled over to the cabinet and started going through the choices. Eventually he settled on a plain steely blue, medium-weight, soft knit fabric, a soft, navy blue swirled, lightweight cotton, and a thicker flannel with a pretty blue, black, and purple check pattern. Those seemed like good options to him. They would cover the range of temperatures that could be found in the Underground, and the textures and colours all appealed to him. He brought the bolts back for Muffet to inspect.

She nodded absently. “Those look nice, dearie. How do these designs work?”

The first design was obviously the formal one. It was a three piece suit over a button up and tie. He reluctantly resigned himself to an outfit without a hood. They just weren’t what you wore in a formal setting. The second outfit was a short-sleeved caftan with a reinforced neckline and simple geometric embroidery sketched out. It looked comfy, and, with only one piece, was definitely lazy enough for him. For a moment he considered protesting something so close to a dress, but decided against it. Besides, the design was very obviously masculine, and he wouldn’t be wearing it around anyone who didn’t know him well.

“they work for me, muff. do you want me to pick fabrics for them, too?” He asked.

It was Muffet’s turn to nod. “Go ahead, I’ll get started on the full patterns.”

Blue set out and found another set of fabrics for the clothes. The suit itself would be in a slick grey. The button up would be white, and the tie would be a bright blue to match his magic. The caftan fabric he picked was a nice linen done up in a light purple and blue tye-dye. He picked the softest fabric he could that would still work for the design, and the tye-dye appealed to his inner kid.

When he showed the fabrics to Muffet she nodded approvingly. “Those work nicely. Now, why don’t you pick a fabric and start cutting?”

He saluted jovially. “yes ma’am. right away ma’am.”

Muffet’s eight eyes were twinkling when she said back to him, “Good work, soldier. I expect you to do as good a job as you did on the former Queen’s dress.”

“you got it!” With that, Blue grabbed a bolt of fabric and got to work.

[polygamyff]

36. Part 2

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I can’t stop smiling “did I make your day? This really makes me happy to see you smile this much, you have done so much for me Robyn. This, like right now. This isn’t your issue or your fault, you didn’t need to stay here and look after me like a baby, you have a baby but here I am hindering you, I honestly can’t thank you enough, when I went through this it would be me alone, I never had an ulcer before but when I would have this, I would be alone. I would see nobody, I never do like seeing anybody. I look like this, I would call room service, tell them to leave the food outside, which I rarely ate anyways but when people would call I would say I’m out of the country, I just don’t like seeing people. I mean look at me” he laughed “but I just saw you doing all this for me, I was like I need to marry this woman. But honestly I do appreciate you, from the first time to now, you really rode for me and I do love you. Imagine that though, if I never pursued you and I near died then, I would be dead. You would have seen my name and then ingnored it thinking who this nigga” pulling a face holding his hand “don’t say that but you’re probably right, I would have saw and just ignored it but that also makes me sad. To think you was so alone, even being here the only person harassing me is Shawn, he is adamant to see you but I keep on saying no to him, that wife bitch would have been happy to know your died” I shuddered at the thought “and she still wouldn’t have got nothing, I did a prenup with her, you know her and Kellen fucked. We was generally doing our own thing, but then I found you and I don’t regret shit at all. Best ever” he’s so cute “well you got me now, I will always be here for you if you let me be there, you get some rest. You need to have a bath today too, then I will do your fingernails” leaning over and pressing a kiss to her lips “I love you” he said “your beard annoys my life” move off of the bed “I love you too” let me go and stare at my bags “oh can you get miss boo thang?” Pulling a face “who?” What is he on “the bear, I want it so I can hug it” my heart fell, my baby, I love him so much “let me go and get it” making my way out, my baby wants the bear. I swear he pulls on my heartstrings every time, seeing the bear on the couch. My baby wants it, he actually likes it “I’m back” running back in the bedroom “boo thang ok? I like it, I want it in bed with me, she is cute” holding it out to him “thank you Bonita, she can lay on my chest” I chuckled “rest up” I love him, he means so much to me.

I love how Ally has set this out, she has matched up the shoes and bags, I am here for it. Getting my phone out from my pocket, I am going to put this on IG of course. Tapping on IG and then tapping the plus sign, pressing record. I am about to show off my bags, fuck these haters let them see what he got me. Slowly going along the line of bags I have got, I cannot believe I have near every fucking colour of Hermes bag, like what the fuck, this is amazing. Stopping the recording, muting the sound. I do not deserve that man at all, who does this for their girl, nobody. Captioning the video ‘Every colour of the Rainbow, and heels to go with. Thank you @MauriceDavenport, I love you X’ I know every bitch is going to hate, they going to hate me, pressing send on the video. He knows I love bags; I would wear just heels and be butt naked for him, I would suck him dry. I swear I need to get the chance to suck him dry because he deserves, you know what. I didn’t include the little bag, it’s Reign’ but I am going to post a picture because I am being selfish but how sweet is that, to think of his daughter like that. Walking over to the bag, aiming my camera to the bag and taking the picture, I must be the luckiest girl alive. Captioning the picture ‘Can’t forget Reign’ first Hermes bag, only the best for the heiress’ I cackled to myself, I cannot, because I am going to shake the fucking table, the table is being shook I don’t care. Pressing send on the picture, I swear he has really made me happy, I can’t thank him enough for this.

Reign is just placing the bag in her mouth, she doesn’t understand the worth at all and I am not amused so I will keep it until I feel she understand the worth of it “what are you like, if only you understood why mommy is so happy. Your dad really made me happy with bags, I can’t wait for us to be home, in an actual home” hearing my phone go off, the tone which meant it is a facetime call. Reaching behind me, grabbing my phone and seeing it’s Marquis “woah, ok. It’s grandad, what does he want” did I do something, accepting the facetime “oh look, Joy. It’s connected” old people and electronics “look it’s there” he said, I laughed “this is different?” I questioned “yes, we assumed you would be awake, we timed it with breakfast time for the hotel. I wanted to see my little valentines, how is she?” letting out an oh “here is me thinking you wanted to speak to me” I chuckled “Oh I do too, how is you and Maurice, both ok?” I feel like I made him ask now “he is getting there; he is ok and we are fine. He’s in my good books right now, but I am joking. Reign is here, she is doing tummy time, let me just sit her up. One moment” placing the phone down “come here, let’s place you on my lap and then we can see grandma and grandad” Reign was actually enjoying tummy time too, picking the phone up “look Reign, look who’s on there” she is busy looking at her toy on the floor “Reign, little princess it’s grandma baby hey!” Joy got in the camera, Reign soon looked at the phone “let me look woman” Marquis said, I have never seen this man smile so much, he is so happy to see Reign “my sweet grandbaby” Reign smiled, Marquis’ deep voice really made her smile “aww Marquis, she knows us” Joy said, quickly taking a screenshot because this is so cute “are you on the jet still?” I asked “we are, long way to Tokyo” I guess it is “can you tell Ally thank you, she will understand why” she really did what she did for him, it made him happy but also me and she didn’t have to do such a thing.

I am about to upset people today, I am in the mood for it because Tiffany posted her deformed bump, girl please. That child is nothing, fuck out of here with that. I am posting the screenshot because you can’t get any higher than this, Joy and Marquis look so happy and I kind of missed Reign smiling with the side of my ugly face but oh well, captioning the picture ‘Family meeting’ pressing send on the picture as I made my way to the bedroom “uh, Reign. Don’t be trying to snatch my phone now” locking my phone, pushing open the bedroom door “me and boo thang been waiting, what the hell? Reign you took ages!” Maurice held up the bear up, Reign got ever so excited “what on earth baby, dang. You going to give me bruises” she out here kicking her legs “we been waiting Reign; you took so long. I have been awake for ages” walking over to the bed “I think she is very excited to see you, how are you? Did you even sleep?” this girl is making the most amount of noise, acting like she doesn’t see him “she is not about to let me speak, are you ok to have her now? You know she could squash you” Maurice shuffled up on the bed “yeah, I am good. Reign, you got a new sibling. Mi Amor, I missed you too. I know, I know” Maurice took her from me “oh wow, Reign. The love, I feel it” she really missed him, her reaction is so adorable. She missed her dad a lot, hugging him back too “Mi amor, no he estado bien, I am sorry” poking my lips out “she missed you Maurice, you need to start thinking of her when you being a dumbass” my poor daughter.

He is really so goofy, I can watch him all day with her “no Reign, we have to be kind. no escuchas baby. Look, aww” he hugged the bear, Reign just didn’t find it amusing “now you do it, you be nice. Look awwww” he placed the bear on her shoulder, Reign grabbed the bear and is using it as a rag doll “it’s good that she can sit up, with support that is” I said “yeah, it’s better” Maurice took the bear from her, he held it to his ear “aww no, boo thang don’t like you so sorry Reign. She is having to retire now, she is going say bye. Look bye” he used his free to wave at the bear and then placed it on the nightstand, Reign is looking to where he put it. She looked at Maurice and then let out a high pitch squeal “I missed your face so much, boo thang gone now. She needs to sleep so it’s just me and you Mi Amor” Maurice picked her up “I hope you been nice to your momma, she got to deal with me. You can’t be a diva too” Reign don’t be nice to anyone unless they got her bottle with them “y’all both are annoying by the way” walking around the bed, let me check my Instagram while they are playing. I have been really bad today, imagine if I tell Maurice what I been doing and saying, I am just in that mood to be annoying but it’s working, I mean come on. Why did that bitch post her pregnant fucking belly for what, my IG loaded up and there we have it, like girl no. Climbing onto the bed and shuffling over to him “wow, this is funny to me, she really hates me” I said aloud “who does?” Maurice asked “Tiffany, so like I’ve posted picture of what you got me and she posted an ugly ass baby bump picture and then I posted another screenshot of Reign on facetime with your parents, then she posts a picture and the cheek of her putting a wedding picture of her stating Mr and Mrs Davenport, like girl. Calm down” Maurice chuckled “you play too much, stop competing, she is angry, I mean what did you do really?” I shrugged “I think because I put Reign’ Hermes bag and said the best for the heiress?” Maurice shook his head “there you go” I rolled my eyes “give me your hand, now” I said “what?” Maurice pulled a face “I said” reaching over and grabbing his left hand closer to me “what are you doing now?” he is acting like he don’t know “actually, hold Reign’ hand” Maurice placed his hand over my phone screen “stop, we don’t need to prove anything to anyone. Social media is the devil. I hate it” he won’t let me be great “whatever” I mumbled.

It’s a little hard when I see his dick, I really want dick but I can’t “just be careful, let me help you lower yourself down” I don’t want his ulcer to get anything on it while he gets in the bathtub, this is so sexually annoying for me, I want dick, I want sex and I can’t. holding his arm as he placed his arm at the side and lowered himself in slowly “there we go, keep your foot out. Is it the right temperature for you?” he nodded his head “it’s so far down, Reign really took out of me you know. Are you annoyed with me, seems like you are?” shaking my head, sitting on the edge of the tub “no, I’m not, why would I be?” I hope he don’t think that I am “with the Instagram thing” letting out an oh “I just don’t think you need to prove anything when you have everything, they know what you got. Evil eye Robyn, people hate gives you evil eye. My grandma told me that, evil eye. When I did see her, people see and they don’t like it and envy it, that just brings bad vibes. She said to me, and it’s funny. She said Marquis got evil eye, and I did too. I goes it’s what is in the genes, but she calls it that and at times I do believe her. Hate is no good, we don’t need it Robyn. We don’t need to prove anything; I just want to get better. For you, for Reign, for my parents. People like Tiffany and that family, they wish I die, they will assume what I am doing, they will think where have I gone, they will love to see me like this, look at me. Do I look good? I look bad, I only got you here with me, that is it. That is because I love you and I only accept you to see me like this, you think I am happy I am tired from playing with my daughter. It’s hard, I don’t need people wishing shit on me even more, I don’t want anything more happening to my family. I just don’t want you to feel I am angry with you, or that you are upset with me. They don’t deserve to know anything; odd picture here and there is fine. I have a hateful family when the cameras are away, and my grandma she was good, but she was resentful to her sons unless they was the boss of the company, this is why she said we was cursed. I am sorry if I upset you, but they don’t deserve anything from us” nodding my head “I am not upset with you, just I wanted to annoy her even more. But I do understand, I always do find your life so interesting. The way you grew up, I get it and you are right” maybe I was getting too into being revengeful, they don’t deserve to know my life.