#Confusion dominated her and from then on she decided that from afar she would try to understand who he really was

[caldasg1]

In fact, I don't think I've imagined them like this 3000 years ago.

🧚‍♀️🌌💕🌼🦋✨😇

And the bonus....

Of course he couldn't get her out of his head anymore.

[littlesniggy]

Nice Hair

Anon: AAAA i've been meaning to send you a request, but i've just been stuck on interesting scenarios. i think i've got a good one (hopefully). what about f! reader coming back from a mission Law sent her to, it's almost been 2 weeks, but she comes back with longer hair than before which gets different reactions not only from the crew but especially law (he doesn't express it until privately). things get steaming and basically lots of hair pulling from law and h's more dominating in bed.♥ thank you!♥♥

Thank you so much for the request! Hair pulling is just the best and I bet Law (even though he probably wouldn't admit it right away) loves doing it to his partner. I hope you like it and please let me know! Warning: 18+, nsfw, smut, hair pulling Paring: Law x female reader Word count: 2.2k

“There she is!” Bepo exclaimed and waved at you while the submarine was approaching the small island. You were sitting on a tree stub, waving back at him with a smile. “Captain! There she is!” he called Law, not stopping waving. The others hurried to the bow, joining Bepo and calling your name. Law came out, leaning against the doorframe with crossed arms, watching you from afar as you told the others how your mission went. Law was listening but he was a little bit more occupied by a small but noticeable change in your appearance. “Your hair looks amazing! Are you gonna grow it even longer?” Bepo complimented. You blushed slightly, taking a strand between your fingers. “I don’t know yet but I like this length.” You said with a smile, receiving even more complements. Only Law stayed silent which made you a little nervous about your new look. Did he not like it? “Y/n-ya, once you’re done talking can you come to my office? I want you to tell me how the mission went in detail, especially if you got all the information we need.” Law said and without waiting for an answer he went inside. His crew watched him leave in slight confusion that he didn't welcome you back at all but started babbling again not thinking too much about it. Your eyes lingered on his back a little longer but eventually you joined them, enjoying to finally being able to talk to them again. Law never liked to show affection to you in public so you wouldn't push him.

A hesitant knock on the door notified your presence. “Come in.” he said, watching you enter the room. “Good to see you, Y/n-ya. I’m glad you’re fine.” He said, getting up from his chair and rounding the table, coming to a stop in front of you. You looked up at him, a small smile on your lips. “Good to see you, too, captain.” You got up on your tippy toes, giving him a soft kiss to the lips. It seemed like a huge load fell of his shoulders as he kissed you back. He was worried something might’ve happened to you during this time. He would’ve blamed himself for the rest of his life. “So, you wanted to talk to me about the mission?” Law looked at you with a smirk, his hand coming up to your shoulder and twirling a strand of your hair between his fingers, inspecting the length from up close. “That can wait. I’m way more interested in this new look of yours.” He mused, pulling your hair slightly towards him, capturing your lips in another kiss. You reciprocated the kiss, putting one hand on his neck and pulling him even closer. He pulled you with him to his desk, leaning against it with his back. One hand moved down to you hip the other one was buried in your hair, massaging your scalp with his nails. You felt his hard dick press against your lower stomach and you grinned into the kiss, breaking it for a moment. “Someone seems to be excited to finally get some action again. Have you been lonely without me, captain?” Law grabbed a hank of your hair and yanked your head back, exposing your throat. Instinctively, you pressed your hair on his, trying to pray them away. Law grinned smugly, leaning down to your ear. “It seems like you’ve forgotten your manners on that island. I think I have to teach you again.” He nibbed on your earlobe, biting down and nibbing on it again. You gave a small moan, pressing your lower body against his. The captain’s smile widened a little to your reaction, starting to kiss your neck. Law pulled your head by your hair to the side, giving him even more access to your delicate skin. He kissed, licked and sucked on it, leaving red and wet trails for everyone to see. After the initial surprise of him pulling your hair you let go of his hand and instead grabbed his clothed dick with both hands, one stroking his shaft, the other one grabbing his balls through the thick denim. Law panted against your skin, stopping for a moment to compose himself again. His free hand moved to your stomach, opening the button of your pants with a swift movement. His hand found its way inside right after, passing your panties and sliding against your clit, feeling your wet cunt. You moaned

in response to his touch, grabbing his balls a little bit tighter as a reflex. “Damnit, Y/n-ya.” He hissed, his dick twitching in its restraints. You giggled, moving your hands up and opening his pants as well, pulling them down together with his briefs. A sigh next to your ear told you how relieved he was to finally be free. You grabbed his dick with your hand, tightening your grip a little before you started to move your hand up and down; slowly, to let him feel every inch of your hand. Law grunted dissatisfied and his hips bucked against your hand but you didn’t give in. Slightly annoyed at your teasing he pulled his hand out of your pants, a harsh look on his face. “I’ve just told you that I needed to teach you some manners and here you are trying to tease me? I thought you were cleverer than that, Y/n-ya.” His voice was calm and predicting, not leaving any room to argue. Plus, you wanted him to pay your hot core more attention so you decided that it was better to apologize. “I’m sorry, captain.” You panted, starting to move your hand faster but Law didn’t have any of that. “Nice try, Y/n-ya. But you had your chance. Now, we’re gonna do it my way.” A shiver of excitement ran down your spine and you could just nod at him. With a swift motion he span your around, pressing you against the desk, his warm body pressed against your back. His dick was sandwiched between your bodies but you could feel its heat nevertheless. You tried to move your ass against it but Law was having none. His hand found its way back into your hair, grabbing it almost painfully, his other hand disappeared into your pants once more. He let two fingers slide over your slit, spreading your lips a little before moving up and circling your clit. “L-Law…!” you mewled under his touch; eyes half lidded and mouth open. “What is it, Y/n-ya?” he asked. You could feel his smug grin against your neck. His fingers were always this close entering you but they pulled away just before you could feel them inside of you. “Please what, Y/n-ya? I need you to be specific.” A hot thrill rushed through your body making you coat his fingers even more in your juice. “Put your fingers in me, Law.” You panted, desperate for his touch. “Why? I can feel you throb under my touch just as I speak. You will come in no time so why would I want to waste my time?” He as right. With each circle of his fingers, with each slide of them over your slit you got closer to your orgasm. But this wasn’t what you wanted! “I want to feel you inside of me!” you whined, grabbing his wrist and trying to push his fingers into your dripping cut. A sharp pain pulsed through your head as he had yanked your head to the side painfully, leaving you gasping. “Don’t get too cocky, Y/n-ya. You don’t deserve to cum around my fingers. So, if I say you will come by me playing with your little clit, you will cum, understood?” You could only nod at his words, feeling your orgasm rush closer. “I haven’t said you could cum yet, have I? If you cum now I will fuck you cunt today but stick to your mouth from then on until you’ve learned how to behave, understood?” He knew you wouldn’t be able to hold it in; you were already pushed too far towards the edge, it was just a matter of seconds. Law pinched your clit between his index finger and thumb, twisting it a little bit, making you jolt against his touch. Your nerves were on edge, ready to burst any moment but you were adamant not to climax yet. You tried concentrating on something else, anything else, really but Law was too good with his hands. You were like wax in his hands, melting into his skillful touch just to be formed to his liking. With a sharp push against your clit he sent you over the edge, making you cum in your panties. Panting, you were leaning forward, on both hands on the surface of his desk, supporting your trembling body. Law watched you for a moment before he pulled out his hand, a disappointed frown on his face. “I’ve told you not to cum without my permission, haven’t I?” his tone was flat but something animalistic resonated with his

words. You barely realized him pulling your pants and panties down, leaving your lower body exposed to his eyes. He grabbed your thigh and lifted it up, placing your knee on the desk. You looked at him over your shoulder, your cheeks bright red. “I’m not done yet.” He simply said before he sneaking his arm around your body to the front, touching your clit again. You tried moving away but his hand found its way back into your hair (yet again!) and held you in place. Law pushed his hips forward, his dick moving against your wet folds but not entering you. A long moan rumbled through your body. Out of the corners of your eyes you saw the thick tip of his dick move over your slit and soon, after he pulled his hand away a little, against your clit. God, he felt so good! You started moving your hips against his, trying to feel more of him. The captain pulled away a little, examining his glistering dick and grinned at you. “Take a deep breath, Y/n-ya.” Was the only warning he gave you before pushing himself inside of you. You arched your body to this feeling, a loud moan echoing throughout the room. It hurt slightly due to him not properly preparing you but you enjoyed the feeling nevertheless. His grip in your hair tightened and he pulled your head back, making you look at him as he leaned over you, pressing himself deeper inside of you. “Good girl.” He murmured. His hips started moving against you, loud skin on skin sounds could be heard even outside his office. His free hand found its way to your clit again, rubbing at the swollen nub, making you moan out in pleasure. Law pulled your head back as far as possible then capturing your lips in another hot kiss. Your neck hurt, your back arched but it was all forgotten when he pinched your clit again, clenching hard around his dick. He groaned in pleasure against your lips, picking up his pace. You could feel your juice running down your leg, leaving a hot trail on your skin. The sounds you let out were dirty and lewd, making anyone who might be listening blush in response. You wanted to move against his thrusts, wanted to feel him deeper inside of you but he hold you tight, not giving you any room to move on your own. Law broke the kiss and let his grip a little loose in order not to hurt you too badly. His hand on your clit also let go and was instead placed on your ass, smacking it lightly. With each light smack you clenched around him, bringing the two of you closer and closer to your climax. The captain’s grip tightened in your hair, grabbing it with such a force you feared he might rip them out. You moaned in response, closing your eyes and letting him handle you as he pleased. “You’re close, aren’t you?” he panted, watching his dick disappear inside of you over and over again, making him feel oh so good! “Y-yes!” you sounded breathless but he understood you, picking up his pace again. “This time, you’re gonna cum when I tell you, understood?” He demanded, knowing he was pretty damn close as well. But he wanted to tease you for earlier. “I-I’ll try!” Law was satisfied with you answer, leaving over you again, his mouth right next to your ear. “On the count of three you will cum around my dick, okay?” A nod was your only answer, your brain at the point where it couldn’t produce coherent sentences anymore. “One….” He started, licking over your ear. You pressed your eyes shut, concentrating not to mess up this time as well. “Two….” He continued, smacking your ass again. “Hngh!” you suppressed a moan, wanting to cum so desperately but not wanting to disappoint him. It took forever for him to say ‘three’ but when he did you came with a loud scream, throbbin with him still inside him. But it didn’t take him long to cum as well. With a couple more thrusts he got into an upright position, arching his back and cumming deep inside of you with a low groan.You felt his semen fill you up and his grip in your hair let loose. Tired, your body collapsed on the desk. Law pulled away after a moment, cum dripping out of your cunt as proof of the naughty things you’ve just

done. “I really like you new hair. I bet it’s great for face fucking you as well.”

[buckyownsmylife]

v e l o c i t y - chapter i

The one where John’s your true mate, but he doesn’t want you to be his.

In a universe where fate grants you a new mate whenever you lose yours, John has lived quite comfortably for many years with the knowledge that he was alone after Mary. That all comes crumbling down the second that he meets you. How could the universe choose someone so young to be his omega?

for general warnings and author’s notes, please go to the fic’s masterlist. It’s being constantly updated

Y/N’s P.O.V.

I could see Bobby moving around from the corner of my eyes, but I felt too tired to even just stop focusing on the bottle of beer I was holding between my hands. People were all around us - actually, exclusively men, but I didn’t really know them and didn’t really care to introduce myself.

A feeling of loneliness had covered me, like a blanket I wasn’t too sure I would be able to push aside. Because the truth was, I was alone. Now that my dad was gone, I had no one to really count on.

Just then, I felt someone squeezing my shoulder and I forced myself to smile, because I knew I was being unfair. I knew Bobby would never leave me alone, not when he was my godfather and had always cared so deeply for me. But that didn’t make any of this any less hard.

Breathing deeply, I forced myself to get up from the couch and stretch my muscles before deciding to escape through the back door just so I could get a bit of fresh air out on the porch. Too many alphas in a single house and any unmated omega like myself would start to get crazy, even when we didn’t necessarily have any reason to feel threatened. So I stood there for a bit, looking out into the plain field, just pondering about what the future would hold for me until I heard a commotion coming from inside. 

Curious, I walked back into the living room just in time to see three men being warmly welcomed by the hunter community that had gathered in Bobby’s house tonight. I vaguely recognized the one who seemed to be the oldest, but his back was turned to me and so I could only really take notice of a well-used black jacket, until a strong whiff of men’s cologne took over me and I felt like I was about to faint. What the hell was going on? My insides were hurting and I thought I was going to melt, so I held myself in a tight embrace in the hopes of keeping myself together when Bobby noticed me and while he tried to move me closer to the newcomers, probably intending to introduce me to them, the smell grew stronger and stronger until I was quite literally salivating to the arome.

Bobby extended his arm to get the familiar man’s attention and I immediately stretched mine to wrap around his wrist, in need of support. “Bobby, I don’t feel so well.” I knew his head whipped to look at me but at the same time, the man turned around and the last thing I remember before fainting was looking at eyes the color of honey.

It was already morning when I came to be. The sunlight softly penetrated the thin curtains on Bobby’s guest bedroom I was already familiar with and by the sight of it, I had been quite unceremoniously dropped over the still made bed, still wearing the same clothes from last night. That much was expected, not only since there wasn’t a single female in the house and I highly doubted Bobby would have let anyone see me naked, but also since yesterday's reunion had a purpose. The hunters gathered in my godfather’s house had a strict timeline to follow, if they wanted to get rid of the vampires that had murdered my father.

So I didn’t think much about it, opting to get in the shower and wash away the sadness and confusion over yesterday’s events. I still wasn’t sure about what had happened - I certainly hadn’t ever fainted before -, but I supposed the heaviness of what I was going through had caught up to me. I hadn’t really been feeding myself properly either, I suddenly remembered. Yeah. That must have been it.

So I put on a yellow sundress that was my mother’s in the hopes that its color would cheer me up and prepared myself to get some breakfast, because by now I felt like my insides were clawing at me, begging me to get something to fill the hole inside of me. As soon as I closed the door to the room I was sleeping in, that smell hit me again. The same one that had threatened to suffocate me last night. What the fuck was going on? How did this perfume open up my already animalistic appetite?

By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, I was certain I was wearing a scowl on my face, something I had never once before sported.

“Sweetheart…” Turning to my right, I found Bobby staring at me with a deep frown.

John’s P.O.V.

I watched Bobby try to get a hold of her from afar, and a small part of me felt smug about the fact that he feared what I would do if he touched what was mine. Then I remembered I didn’t care about this girl and made sure the best scowl I had was plastered on my face for when she looked at me.

It didn’t help that she smelled so… yummy. I wanted to eat her up whole. Still, I knew I couldn’t. Shouldn’t. Didn’t really want to - I forced myself to remember.

Fuck.

It had been too long since I’d had to deal with a mate and I forgot how strong the urge to bond can be. It didn’t help that this time I had two kids older than my omega trying not to laugh at me from behind their mugs.

“Stop that.” I slapped the back of Dean’s head, effectively making him spill a bit of coffee over his shirt, which in turn made me grin. Now we’re talking.

When my attention focused back on the girl and Bobby, they were a bit closer to each other, only on the other side of the living room, and they were talking in low voices. Suddenly, her eyes met mine and I felt it rise in me again, the need to pounce over there and dominate her.

But then she focused back on Bobby and I was left confused.

He was obviously explaining to her what had happened and that we were mates, so why didn’t she seem bothered by it? In fact, she looked as far from it as possible. If her expression was anything to go by, she was… bored?

Before long, they approached us again, and I was expecting her to throw herself at me or at least to acknowledge me as her mate in any way. That’s what I was prepared for. I knew what I was going to say to let her down as gently as possible. But what actually happened is that she went around the table and directly into the kitchen, turning on the stove.

“How about eggs and bacon for breakfast? Does anyone want some?” I swear I could hear fucking crickets singing outside, despite the fact that it was early morning. Was she really going to completely ignore me? “Hello? Eggs, bacon, answer me or you won’t be fed.” My boys jumped to action at the threat and I tried to make sense of what was happening while forcing myself to ignore just how cute she looked with her head tilted and a hand on her hip.

She cooked in silence then, not even granting me a look. I was beyond surprised by now. What the hell was I supposed to do about this?

As the plate of breakfast was laid in front of us, she took her seat next to Bobby, which just so happened to be to my left, but even then, she didn’t even glance at me, opting to munch on her food quietly. I took notice of the fact that she had a healthy appetite, instead of being one of those girls who tried to diet for the sake of impressing men, but my mind was still all over the place. 

“Aren’t you going to say anything to me?” The minute the words escaped my mouth, whatever conversation my boys had been trying to maintain with Bobby immediately died down. Still, she didn’t look at me. The little girl had the nerve to seem unfazed by my presence and my question, even my irritation. She didn’t even raise her eyes to meet mine when she responded.

“Why should I?” The question caught me off guard, and the silence that followed revealed it to her. When no one intervened to break the ice, she chanced a glance up, her beautiful bright eyes meeting mine, and she sighed, at last dropping her cutlery before straightening up to talk to me. 

“I’m sorry if that came off rude, but the truth is… It’s very clear that you have absolutely no interest on me as an Alpha, and since it is your responsibility to take care of me, even if it was to let me down gently, I don’t see why I’m the one who has to take your feelings into consideration and pay you the attention you didn’t grant me.” 

God fucking damnit. She was already the most interesting woman I’d met in a very long time, and when I say a very long time, I mean way before she was born, when my wife - my first true mate - was still alive.

Y/N’s P.O.V.

John looked at a loss for words, and I took that as an indication that I could continue my meal without further idiotic demands. “Would you pass me the coffee, please?” I asked, pointing in the direction of the thermos, my eyes focused on my eggs. Dean reached out and poured some in my mug, which granted him a grateful smile.

“It’s huh… It’s very good coffee. Bobby tells me you’re the one who taught him how to make it like this.” That made me chuckle, and I chanced an amused glance to my godfather.

“Strong, you mean? Yeah, it’s the only way I know how to drink it.” Another uncomfortable silence. My absolute most hated thing. I quickly swallowed whatever food was left in my plate before pushing my chair away from the counter. “I have some stuff to do in the backyard… Leave the plates in the sink and I’ll clean them up when I get back. It was nice meeting you.” I nodded in their direction, stopping only to give a quick kiss on Bobby’s forehead, and left without another word or glance. 

I was only able to breathe again when the back door was closed behind me and I was already a few good feet from the house. Fuck. Suddenly, I felt the urge to cry, and I knew that despite the distress I had been put under the last few days, it wasn’t only the death of my father or the refusal from my mate that was making me sad. It was those stupid omega hormones, trying to force me to go back there and beg for a forgiveness I didn’t really want. 

Stupid fucking nature. I was stronger than that. I had to be. Even I had enough pride to stop me from throwing myself at the feet of someone who doesn’t want me. 

I tried to distract myself from whatever the hell could be going on inside the house while taking care of the few things I could do outside of it. Granted, there wasn’t much. But anything was better than being stuck in that place, having to smell that mixture of gunpowder, scotch and cinnamon that made my head twirl. Fucking John Winchester and that delicious musk of his. I didn’t fucking need him.

It was with that thought that I popped open the hood of one of the cars Bobby and I had been working on, trying to focus on something other than my stupid body and its stupid wishes. After a few minutes of actually forcing myself to do so, I was finally able to zone out of my real-life drama and get lost in the world of carburetors and grease.

“Have you figured out what’s the problem with the engine?” The familiar voice brought a smile to my face, despite all of my current circumstances, and I found myself whipping around to stare at the boy towering over me. 

“Jess!” The young beta smiled at me, always as excited to see me as I was. He’d been living near Bobby for years now, and I’d watched him grow up throughout my visits to my godfather. Now, despite being a year younger than me, he stood five inches taller, towering over my figure whenever he stood near.

“Hey there! Visitors?” He nodded towards the Impala, and I gave him a tight-lipped smile. 

“Something like that. Bobby had some… friends over last night, and those are the only ones left. They’re supposed to be leaving soon enough, though.” I returned my attention to the car’s motor but the lack of sound from my usually chipper companion made me raise my gaze up to him once more. “What?” I inquired, inadvertently already smiling as I waited for his question.

“Do you hate them or what?” Chuckling, I crouched to search for one of my tools before going back to work on the engine.

“Why the question?” I didn’t really mind answering it, I was always just curious about how Jess’ mind worked. I wanted to know if I had any major tells. As someone who had seen me practically every day for the last month, could he see that I’d met my mate? Had that encounter changed me somehow?

“You don’t seem very happy to talk about them. And you’re usually excited about everything and everyone.” The idea he had of me made me snort. I tended to be someone who saw the brighter side of life, that was true, but after my father’s death, I didn’t really think I’d been able to keep up that appearance. Guess I was wrong.

“I suppose you’re right.” That’s all I said, sending a quick smile his way before returning to the task at hand. Jess helped, giving me the tools I needed when I asked for them, and I absentmindedly listened to him babble about his last year of highschool as I kept my focus on my manual work.

It was one of the reasons why I liked to help Bobby so much. When I was fixing a car, even if it was just a simple job, my mind was occupied with something else entirely. It was like my own form of meditation, only a bit dirtier.

I was almost able to forget about John Winchester and his stupid scent. Almost. If it weren’t for the periodical cramps that I tried to ignore in order not to alert my company - I definitely didn’t want to talk about it with Jess - I supposed I would have been able to forget about the Winchester men before they disappeared from my life forever.

That was, of course, until they left the house and gathered in the Impala, catching the attention of my very hyper friend. “Oh, wow. Those are Bobby’s friends? I can smell them even from here.

A very unattractive snort escaped me, and it caught Jess’ attention. “Tell me about it.”

“Oh, did they try to disturb you?” I had to smile to myself at how cute he sounded, so defensive for me. 

“Not really. I’m just glad that they’re gone.” And with one last look over my shoulder, just in time to watch John back up the Impala and leave, I added, “I hope I’ll never have to see them again.”

Chapter ii ➡

[starrysnowdrop]

“ i had a dream about you. ”

“I had a dream about you.”

Imperial Cid AU

Yume x Cid

1,029 Words

Thank you so much @mythopoet-of-amaurot for this prompt, as it was the perfect one to begin my first exploration into the Imperial Cid AU! I want to also tag @meepsthemiqo here for sending me the ask that inspired me to write this AU in the first place. Hope all of you enjoy, as I’ve seen the anticipation building for this!!

Following the intense battle with Ifrit and the subsequent victory over the primal, the Raen ronin who helped lay the Lord of the Inferno low agreed to discuss the aftermath further with Thancred and the other adventurers back in Camp Drybone.

Yume brushed some loose locks of her raven hair off of her face and began her long trek back to town. While walking along the path, she soon heard footfalls behind her... they were quite faint, as if trying to conceal themselves from her notice. Yet, this person was no trained rogue, as it was abundantly clear to her that whoever it was seemed to be closely following her.

Yume reached for her katana at her side and in a flash of steel, unsheathed the blade and swung it around so she could face the lurker.

“I know you are there, show yourself!” She shouted to the mountains surrounding her, certain that the person concealed in the shadows had heard her loud and clear.

“Wait, adventurer!” A masculine sounding voice called out from the nearby rock face just off the path.

Seconds later, the voice revealed itself to belong to a man with long, white hair down to just below his chin, a short, full beard of the same hue, wearing what appeared to be a white lab coat, purple shirt underneath, and fancy adornments hanging from the coat. The man’s most noticeable accessory, to Yume’s eyes at least, was one that she recognized from her time as a mercenary in Kugane: a pair of brass engineer’s goggles with blue colored lenses sitting on his forehead.

His white gloved hands were raised in the air in surrender, and he seemed to be, oddly enough, smiling at her gently. “I mean you no harm, I promise.”

Scowling as the man approached, Yume raised her katana a few ilms. “Who are you?! What do you want?!”

“Please, lower your weapon. I only wish to speak with you.” The white haired man pleaded as he stepped closer to the Raen woman, his voice smooth and steady.

Yume raised her eyebrow as she lowered her katana. She still held the blade in her dominant hand, but took a more relaxed stance. “Oh really, you only wish to talk? Do you honestly think that I can trust your words, Garlean?”

The man chuckled, “What makes you think I’m a Garlean?”

“Your goggles... they fit over your third eye... I have seen a pair like those before.”

Momentarily, Yume noticed the Garlean raise his eyebrows slightly. “You have?”

Yume quickly decided to merely nod in response, as the stranger did not need to know such details of her past. She sheathed her sword and then folded her arms in exasperation. “You did not answer my question.”

“No, I guess I didn’t. Well, I shouldn’t be surprised at how defensive you are, as I have given you no reason to trust me.” The man shrugged his shoulders and sighed deeply before continuing, “Still, if you permit me but a moment, I have come with a warning.”

“A warning...?”

It was the Garlean’s turn to nod. “Listen—whatever highfalutin ideals your new Scion comrades have touted, whatever grandiose rewards as recompense the Eorzean Leaders have promised you, do not be swayed to do their dirty work for them. You will only get yourself killed.”

The ronin took a step back in a mix of defensiveness and confusion. “Is that a threat?”

“It’s a warning, nothing more.”

Yume shook her head and her eyes widened as she tried to make sense of what he just said. “You, a Garlean engineer, went out of your way to follow me, only to warn me of being in danger? I am a mere adventurer, so why should it matter if I get killed or not? Would my death not make it easier for you to accomplish your goal?”

With a smirk, the Garlean man replied, “Perhaps... but I have a personal interest in seeing you alive.”

“What do you mean?”

“I am not sure myself.” The man ran his hand along his bearded chin, closing his eyes in what looked to be recollection. He took a deep breath before returning his gaze to Yume. “I... I had a dream about you... and now you’re standing before me in the flesh. I wish to know why.”

“You... dreamed of me?” Yume’s eyes grew even wider as her heart started beating wildly in her chest.

She looked back at the Garlean and began to stare intently at his face. From that distance, she couldn’t tell if his eyes were a grey or blue in color, only that they were soft and so expressive. Even if he were trying to conceal his intentions, she knew his eyes would give him away. In that moment, his eyes were gleaming and searching her own, searching for an answer that she could not give.

The two broke eye contact when the Garlean cleared his throat and began to turn around and go back the way that he came. He looked back over his shoulder towards her when he spoke, “I have taken too much time already. I promise that we will meet again soon.”

Her arm began to move before she could understand what she was doing. Yume instinctively reached out for him, beckoning him back to her. “Wait, please! You never told me who you are, nor have I given my name.”

He stopped dead in his tracks when she called out to him, and he turned back around fully to her, though he did not walk back to her. He simply answered her from afar.

“My name is Cid nan Garlond, Primus Architectus Magiteci of the Garlean Empire. And you are?”

“I am Yume Aino, a ronin trying to find my way in this strange new land.”

The Garlean engineer, now identified as Cid, beamed when she gave him her name. “Yume, Yume... beautiful.”

Cid waved and then left Yume standing there on the dusty path through the mountains with her breath caught in her throat and heat rising to the surface of her cheeks as she watched his figure disappear from whence he came.

[heloisedaphnebrightmore]

Advantages of studying [Remus Lupin x Reader] - Requested

Title: Advantages of studying Pairing: Remus Lupin x Reader Word count: 2.9k Published: 22 July, 2020 Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore Notes: I got this cute request by winsalo on Wattpad a couple of days ago. Summary: You have been helping Remus with his Potions essay, whilst slowly falling for the kind boy. However you are rather shy around Remus and find it hard to make the first step.  Request: [x]

"Please could you do one with Remus and a girl called Evangeline but Eve for short. They become sloe whilst studying together. I love your writing by the way." - Winsalo [Wattpad]

Harry Potter Characters Masterlist | Masterlists

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You have been sitting in the library for the past two hours, studying with Remus. Studying might have been a strong use of word as you have been trying not to stare at him the whole time. You kept your face down, pretending to read the lines of your potions book, but you couldn't even recall a word. Of course, you couldn't. Although you kept glancing at the book, your eyes often wondered to the brown haired boy sitting across the table.

Potions wasn't his strongest subject, therefore you have been helping him with the essay you were given by Professor Slughorn. He was so concentrated on his parchment, his brows furrowed, whilst trying to write down his thoughts. At times he ran his fingers through his locks with a deep sigh leaving his lips as if it helped him in concentrating. His long fingers wrapped themselves around his quill, holding them firmly in place. It made you wonder what kind of a boy he was.

You have known him since first year and you could only see a kind side of his, but you knew there was always more to people. You wished to get to know him better, you wished to talk to him more often. Unfortunately for you, he was quite reserved. Unless he needed help with studying, he didn't talk to you much. He did wave at you or smiled gently while nodding when you met in class, but he never really initiated a conversation. You wished he did though. You were rather shy when it came to him. You never really dared to get close to him, feeling as if he was trying to keep everyone away from himself, other than his three best friends.

You admired him for his smart brain, his kind manners, his polite behaviour, but you rarely saw those sides and unfortunately your lack of knowledge on him forced you to admire only his physical appearance. You didn't complain though. He was dashingly handsome and a sweet candy to the eyes.

You tried very hard not to stare, but it seemed to be impossible. He flipped through the pages of the book he was taking his notes from, before he lifted his face to look up at you, causing your eyes to widen in surprise. You felt like you have been caught out and you were unable to hide the blush creeping up on your cheeks.

"Is everything okay?" He asked, but instead of looking at him, your eyes wondered to the shelves full of old and dusty books. You were trying to avoid his eyes in case your stupid little brain decided to stare at him once again, creepily.

"Sure." You replied after a moment of silence, digging yourself into your book.

"Look, if you have anything else to do, I can finish it from here." He spoke, making you frown as you finally looked into his dark, green eyes and shook your head.

"No, not at all. I guess, I am just a bit distracted, that's all." You let a small smile spread across your face.

"Can I help?" He asked, but you shook your head, knowing this was a battle you had to fight with yourself.

"It's nothing important." You tried to reassure him.

"Well, it seems to me that it is. You haven't written a word on your parchment." He pointed at your paper and for a second you could feel your face go white as your blood rushed out of your cheeks.

"Oh..." You breathed, realisation hitting you hard.

"So...?" He tried again, but you just shook your head, quickly starting to write your essay, knowing you had barely a few hours to finish it. Remus didn't try to talk to you again, seeing that you were completely lost in your studies. He smiled softly as he looked at your hunched form, your complete attention on your paper.

Hours passed by when Madam Pince walked over, her nose held high, his brows raised, impatiently waiting for the students to leave the library. You both packed your books, notes, quills and inks, putting them all in the bags, ready to leave. As you walked out of the library, Remus placed a hand on the small of your back and halted, turning towards you. You raised a brow at his unexpected actions, but gave him your undivided attention.

"I guess, you don't have to tutor me anymore." Remus smiled at you as if he thought it was some kind of a burden on you. However you didn't return his joyful expression. You weren't happy to say the least. You didn't want that gap to stand between you two once again, but you didn't dare to do anything about it. He clearly didn't want you as anything more than a tutor.

"Yes, but if you have any questions, you can always ask me." You reassured more yourself than him, hoping for him to come to you eventually.

"I will, thank you." He nodded and offered you a pleased look, before he walked away from you, leaving you to stare at the back of the dark brown jumper he has been wearing. You heaved a deep sigh as you walked up to your dormitory, concluding that you have been left to ogle over his mere presence from afar once again. Arriving to your dorm, you threw yourself on your bed and hid your face in your pillow, hoping for this feeling you have been harbouring for him to just disappear.

The next couple of days have been quite. You watched him sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table at breakfast, you stared at his back on Potions and Transfiguration, being seated right behind him, you gazed at his laughing form, sitting by the lake with his friends. You wished to be part of all his experiences, but you knew your love for him was only one sided. Love, indeed. You came to love the oblivious boy, making it so much harder to watch him from afar.

You were sitting in your dorm room, legs spread across the floor, back leaning against the edge of the bed. You have been sighing for minutes straight, before your friend walked up to you and sat down besides you.

"You have to stop this. Why don't you just ask him out?" She asked curiously.

"I can't. He... he is Remus. He wouldn't date with someone like me." You let out a defeated deep breath, head hanging low in sorrow.

"What does that even mean? Have you looked into the mirror? You are beautiful, you are smart, you are funny. Who wouldn't want to date you?" She asked with a sceptical look on her face.

"Clearly noone." You huffed. You couldn't recall receiving a single confession recently.

"Erm... yeah. You have been staring at Remus so obviously, that everyone is aware of it." She raised her brow knowingly.

"No, I have not." You argued, but she shook her head.

"Yes, you have. I could walk around the dorm, knocking on doors and people would confirm it without hesitation." She smirked. "The only person who doesn't realise your feelings is Remus. Look, he is a nice guy, ask him out. Even if he rejects you, which believe me, he won't, you won't have to be scared of being made fun of, because he is just not wired that way." She tried to convince you. While you knew she was right, you were still scared to let him know of your feelings.

"His friends could make fun of me. He could start avoiding me. I could even scare him away and that would be beyond painful." You spoke, but your friend just shook her head.

"Excuses. Do it!" She said as if it was that simple. "Do it!" She repeated it once again with a raised brow. "If you don't I will." She grinned mischievously.

"What?" Your eyes grew wide in shock.

"I will tell him myself." She shrugged nonchalantly.

"No." You replied, suddenly grabbing her shoulder.

"Will you do it then?" She asked, waiting for a clear confirmation.

"Fine, I will." You spoke in an unsure tone.

"Good! Now let's go to bed and first thing on the morning you will confess your undying love." She giggled, making you grimace at her happy face.

Slumber took over you harder than ever as you tried to think through all the scenarios that could happen. As much as you wished to think of all the happy endings, somehow your mind wondered over to the dark side, imagining all the different kind of rejections you expected to receive. Deep sighs left your lungs on numerous occasions, to a point where your friend woke up and threw a pillow at your face. You growled at her childish behaviour, but soon finally let your nervous thoughts go and fell into a sweet dream, revolving around Remus.

The next morning you stood in front of your mirror, preparing yourself for the most embarrassing day of your life. You wanted to stay behind and just play the poor, sick student act, but your friend laughed straight in your face and pushed you out the door. You rolled your eyes at her dominant behaviour, but headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast anyway.

Remus was already sitting at the table with his friends, laughing about probably the newest prank they have been planning. You heaved a deep sigh and took your seat, trying to avoid the inevitable.

"Come on." Your friend ushered you, but you just shook your head furiously.

"Not in the Great Hall." You frowned.

"Why not?" She asked, her head tilting in confusion.

"Everyone could hear it. Let me do it later." You whispered, not wanting anyone to know that you have been planning something.

"Fine." She huffed and returned to her breakfast.

Classes flew by and since your friend wasn't nagging you, you certainly thought you were off the hook. Oh, what a wrong thought that was. Classes finished and you were sitting outside the Black lake as per your friend's request, studying for your Transfiguration exam. You were deep in your thoughts, but you could just about hear a group of boys laughing loudly at the edge of the lake. You didn't have to think for long to realise it was Remus who was having fun with his group of friends. You turned to your friend, your cheeks heating up, feeling embarrassment coming over you.

"It's time." She said with a cheeky smile, biting into her lower lip. You frowned suspiciously before it all downed on you.

"You knew!" You stated firmly, but she just shrugged with the same smile across her face and nudged your shoulder, telling you to go.

You placed your books and parchment on the grass and stood up hesitantly, while rearranging your wrinkled cloths. You looked back at your friend, hoping for a more empathetic feeling from her, but she just gave you a sceptical look as if she knew you wanted to run away. You knew you had no escape route at this point, but your legs didn't move. You stood there, looking at the man who has stolen your heart, but you just couldn't take the first step.

"Remus." You heard her calling him from beside you and you gave a terrified look to your friend, who simply shrugged it off. "Go." She said as she lowered her head back into her book once again.

Your eyes looked up to the owner of the green orbs, who was curiously searching for a reason why he was called over so abruptly. You met him right in the middle of the land, between both of your friends and stood silently. You exhaled sharply, before deciding to speak up.

"Hey." Your voice was weak and low, he could barely hear you.

"Hey, is everything okay?" He asked, realising your rather nervous fidgeting.

"Yeah..." You spoke hesitantly. "I..." You tried to get your words out, but they just didn't seem to come. "I thought..." You kept attempting to say what you practiced last night, but your mind drew a blank and you started to get more and more scared of the situation. He could see your shaking hands and before you knew it, he grabbed them and squeezed them gently.

"You don't seem okay." He said, worry clear in his voice. His touch made you feel even more terrified and out of mere fear you quickly removed your hands from his. "I'm sorry." He apologised as he realised what he had done.

"No!" You shot up, not wanting him to feel bad for trying to comfort you. "I just... can I be just honest?" You asked, feeling more and more nervous about beating around the bush.

"Yes, that would be much appreciated." He chuckled lightly. You heaved a deep sigh and exhaled, repeating the process a couple of times before you took the courage to speak up again.

"Would you go on a date with me?" You asked, your words almost slurring together. Your eyes were attached to his face to see a reaction, but he seemed expressionless.

"What?" He finally spoke, but those were not the words you expected.

"Please, don't let me repeat that." Your tone was begging as you felt the fear growing inside you. As if you could be rejected by simply repeating your words.

"I... I didn't think you would look at me like that." He frowned and you tilted your head curiously.

"Why not?" You asked, knowing that you have been more than obvious about your feelings.

"I don't know. I just didn't see it." He smiled gently, making your heart flutter in hope, but then silence fell up on you, making you anxious about his answer once again. His eyes were fixed on the ground, letting his thoughts take over him.

"You were the only one who didn't." You chuckled awkwardly trying to save the situation and fill in the silent gap.

However it didn't work. Remus stood in front of you with a puzzled expression, trying to find the right answer, while you fidgeted with your hands in nervousness. You felt your heart sunk deeper in sorrow as you started to realise that his silence was perhaps a rejection he didn't dare to say, not wanting to hurt you.

You painfully smiled to yourself, concluding that he was perhaps too kind to reject your advances. You let him think for a while, knowing he was probably searching for the nicest words to tell you, he didn't see you that way, that he didn't think of you as a potential romantic interest. You heaved a deep sigh, eyes still glued to the nervous boy.

"Come on, Moony. You have been drooling over Y/N for the past year. Just say yes." Sirius shouted, throwing his arms in the air out of frustration. Your eyes widened at his words and finally Remus looked up at you in shock.

"Damn it." He whispered, but you could just hear it fine. A small smile started spreading across your face, before you started lightly giggling. "That's not how I planned to... yeah." He said, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. He was nervous, but it wasn't because he was trying to find words to reject you, but because he didn't know the right words, now that his feelings have been returned. "I guess, that would be a yes then." He smiled happily this time. You could barely contain your excitement, but you tried to hide it anyway. You didn't really know much about Remus' friends, but you were certain that you would like them.

"Good, I'm glad you agreed." You spoke awkwardly, not knowing what to do next.

"I would have been stupid not to." He chuckled.

"Go get some Moony." Sirius walked up behind him and patted him on the back, pushing him forward. Things happened so fast, you could barely process the situation. One second Remus was standing in front of you, smiling awkwardly, the next he stumbled over to you, his hands on your upper arms to steady himself, his lips attached to yours.

Your eyes widened in shock, your breath stuck in your lungs as you felt his plump lips against yours. He quickly stepped back, fear clearly projected in his eyes.

"I am so sorry. Sirius just pushed me and I..." He tried to explain everything at once, his words a mess, his arms gesturing all over.

"It's fine." You smiled softly, trying to contain the cheerful screams you wanted to let out so badly. "But next time, maybe after the date." You giggled, which caused a relived sigh to leave his lips, before a smile appeared across his face.

You have never felt more excited in your life, than in the moment he said yes and for the record, there wasn't just one or two kisses, but many more throughout the years.

Notes: If you enjoyed it, don't forget to like and/or reblog the chapter. Thank you :) 

If you enjoy my stories, please consider donating and supporting me on Ko-fi. Of course, it’s completely your choice, I will continue updating for free anyway :) Thank you <3

[darkheartstarlight]

Chapter 3 - Winds of Change

Apologies for the long chapter, but I'm trying to reach the story and I wanted to get to where it is before the launch of the new episode of the game, as I already have "two routes" programmed in my head hahahah

Anyway, I hope you like it = D

  As the water ran down her body, the girl couldn't help thinking about the events she had experienced the day before, after Huang Hua had picked her up at Valkyon's grave. Together, they took a tour in the HQ so that the new leader could show the changes, which included two statues dedicated to the young woman and Leiftan, a memory that made her blush even in the shower ... She definitely didn't want all that attention.

She smiled when she remembered her reunion with Jamon, who had promised to make her the best and most beautiful sword ever seen, with such affection that he no longer resembled that giant who had put her in jail when she first arrived in those lands. She was also happy for Chrome, for whom she had a special affection, but who was no longer the puppy she saw as a little brother, he had grown up, conquered Karenn and was doing everything to repair his mistakes. She also met some of the new members of the Guard of Eel such as Koori and Huang Chu, the second surprising her with the difference she had with her older sister.

She also met a young human like her, or almost like her now that she knew she also had aengel blood, named Mathieu who seemed to be pleasant and who she thought she could talk to about things on Earth, but who seemed to want something more. But in Erika's head, and in her heart, she was still in a relationship with Ezarel, even though he was gone.

Turning off the shower, she couldn't help thinking about the elf's departure. Not that not that he leaving was a surprise to her, after all, it wouldn't be the first time that escaping would have been the way Ezarel chose to deal with a problem, but what left her intrigued was who he had left with: Mary-Anne and Twylda. She couldn't understand how that happened and how Mery's mother had agreed to move in with her son's murderer, somewhere remote to start over. Well, but she didn't have to understand anything now, so she could ask the woman directly, because ever since Huang Hua had told that to her, only on thought had dominated her mind: go after Ezarel.

When getting ready for the event that was going to happen that evening, in honor of her and Leiftan, she wondered how was Ezarel, if he was still thinking about her or if he had move on to a new love. The decision to go after him was not just an attempt to revitalize their relationship, but because mainly she thought that he should know she was alive again and because she missed him. Rekindling what they had would be, if possible, a consequence, but she couldn't forgive herslef if she didn't try, after all, she loved that bastard more than anything in this world and the relationship had gone through so many ups and downs, that she  couldn't live in peace if she didn't try.

Looking in the mirror while fixing her hair, which was to too long by the way, she stared at her room, invaded by a nostalgic feeling. Anyone who saw the place like this, completely remodeled, wouldn’t believe that when she was assigned this room, there wasn’t even a mattress! Although beautiful, she had to admit to herself that she missed Nevra's old gothic decor and how she was afraid at first, after all, the vampire had a copy of her room key. She smiled as she remembered the deliberate flirtations of the one who later became her best friend, her confidant, and who spent several nights with her when she had nightmares. Despite having a lot of affection for Valkyon and being in love with Ezarel, Erika needed to admit that she always had a special connection with Nevra, from whom she could not wait to receive a hug.

Thinking about connections, she also remembered Leiftan and how distant the aengel seemed during their meeting at the infirmary. Despite everything they lived together, he seemed to be absorbed in a melancholy and a sense of guilt that the girl hoped would pass soon, because she wanted to see him happy and to develop their powers together, so that they could fight side by side again, in case it was necessary.

Before she could start thinking about the Obsidian Guard, which everyone avoided talking about the leader, she was taken out of her thoughts by a knock on the door and was pleasantly surprised to find Karenn and Chrome asking for help organizing the party with Karuto. The feeling of being treated as it always was great, as she didn't want to be on a pedestal and definitely didn't want to have to give speeches anymore. This change in posture of the eldaryans was understandable, but even so, she was embarrassed.

Despite not being in the most festive spirit of all, she understood the importance of such a meeting, especially for Huang Hua, and as the leader of the Light Guard was always kind to her, she felt obliged to repay with this small gesture that was her presence. Even though she wasn't in the mood, she had to admit that the party was not unpleasant, especially sinceshe could spend time with the people she liked and be shocked by the fact that she hadn't realized sooner that Huang Hua and Ewelein were now a couple! Ezarel always told her that she was often slow.

She felt a twinge in her chest when she saw the exchange of affection between the two women, in addition to the other couples who were there, she decided to take a break to get some air, after all she had promised herself that it was no longer time to cry, it was time to act. While sitting a little afar from the crowed, Mathieu came over and sat beside her, making small talk about the songs of Earth and how a cellphone was needed in this world. After talking for a few minutes, the young man bluntly declared that he was interest in her and that he would like to get to know her better.

- Mathieu - she said trying to choose the words in the best possible way - You seem to be a nice guy, but I'm in a relationship, at least that's how I feel. Until two days ago I was practically living with someone, so all I can offer you is my friendship.

With a slightly annoyed look, the boy laughed and said that there was no problem and he only said that because he thought he should be frank but that he would now withdraw because he was no longer able to bear the looks Leiftan was giving. Laughing, he said goodbye, while the young woman saw Leiftan approach to talk, telling her that he had decided to spend some time alone to think about everything that had happened. With a nod, he said goodbye, without giving Erika much of a chance to try to convince him otherwise or help him with those feelings.

After some time, she decided it was time to go to bed too, she didn't want to experience more emotions than she could handle in one day. As she headed in the direction that led to her destination, she heard a yell of happiness from Huang Hua and when she turned, she saw him. He had changed a lot, he looked more serious and mature, but she would recognize him anywhere in the world ... Nevra. With her heart racing, the young woman didn't think twice before running and throwing herself into the arms of the vampire, who, very confused by everything, pushed her lightly, as if he wanted to defend himself. But when their eyes met, the young woman could see the realization on the man's face.

- Erika ... you ... how? - It was all he managed to murmur.

- I don't know well - she replied laughing half-heartedly - Leiftan and I woke up yesterday and well ... I'm alive.

Looking her up and down, the vampire smiled slightly and apologized, to which the young woman replied that she was wrong one, but that she cannot contain the emotion of seeing her friend again. She waited for him grab her and hold her tight in his arms, but there was nothing. He seemed cold and distant, as if all their complicity was gone. And that's when she realized that he had spent seven years without her and that maybe her existence wouldn't make a difference in his life anymore. And it was as if someone had punched her in the stomach and fearing that her emotions would again gain the best of her, she excused herself and hurriedly headed for the room, unable to look back.

Throwing herself on the bed, catching her breath again, she tried one more time to soak all of the changes.  

[skullsandwineglasses]

Life Lessons

The things you thought you wanted when you were 18 are very different from the things that you realize are important when you’re 24. 

1. Meet cutes

You fantasize about running into a stranger at a coffee shop, a book store, a library aisle, a grocery store lineup, etc and that you’ll click with them right away. You think “the one” is out there somewhere. But Ashley from bestdressed put it best: do you really think that out of the 7 or 8 billion or so people on the planet, you were born down the street or a city away from your soulmate? How is life going to be that convenient?

I thought college would be my Debut(TM), especially after a comfortable but uneventful time in high school. But college was quite anticlimactic. I was even less social if that was even possible. It’s hard to make friends when you’re not forced to sit next to the same people everyday. You instead meet people from afar who seem to be living, breathing real-life protagonists: beautiful, smart, witty, stylish, artsy, outspoken. I found myself trying to emulate them. I felt like I was falling behind in terms of who I should be in life. 

I tried to take control. If you don’t put yourself out there, how would meet cutes ever happen? So,

I go to coffee shops: but everyone’s too busy to look up from the work on their laptop screens to pay any attention to anyone else. 

I go to bookstores: but everyone’s too busy scanning the titles on the shelves to pay any attention to anyone else. 

I go to the library: see coffee shop.

I’m in the grocery store and someone asks me about the best coconut milk to use for curry: they get their answer and leave. 

I go to a jazz bar: again, everyone’s too busy listening to the band to pay any attention to anyone else.

I go to a swing dance social night: but everyone’s too busy trying to dance with as many different partners as possible in order to diversify their skills to linger any attention on anyone

You can’t say I didn’t try. 

Bonus:

Imagine you’re feeling bummed that you got assigned an aisle seat on the plane, only to approach your seat and see that a cute guy is sitting in the window seat next to yours. Could this be the meet cute you’ve been waiting for? You sit down. He says hi. You return the greeting a little too excitedly. You move to the fasten your seat belt. He speaks again: “So, my girlfriend has a window seat a couple rows back. I was wondering if you...”

Stunned, you pull the seat belt back and get up, gathering your stuff. “Oh yea, for sure, no bother at all. I wanted a window seat anyway.”

I kid you not. Cringe writes itself. It was like the opening of a bad romcom where the side character has one romantic failure after another. 

-> Moral of the story: Don’t expect to arrive at a place hoping that you’ll lock eyes with someone across the room. People go to places for the services that the place provides, and so they’ll be focused on their purpose for having gone to said place. Taylor Swift songs and YA novels did a wonderful job of misinforming me of how indifferent the social environment is like in public spaces. 

2. Exchanging phone numbers

So, maybe someone finally asks for your number. You part ways at the subway station. He promises to talk to you soon. But after 3 days, you wonder why he hasn’t texted you yet. You get a text from him Sunday morning asking you to meet for coffee that evening. You’re outside the cafe at 7:15, waiting. He texts you apologizing for being late because he was jogging around the lake and lost track of time. He says he’s on his way. You never hear from him again. 

-> Moral of the story: Even if you do ending up having a cute first encounter with someone at a subway station, it doesn’t mean things will work out. I’ve been ghosted like this 3 times. It’s gets harder trying to give men the benefit of the doubt each time.

I had thought that my self worth depended on how many strangers would approach me for my number. I thought that being liked was the only way to be validated. And while being asked for your number is flattering the first time, the illusion quickly shatters when you learn that the success of a relationship hinges on more than just the circumstance of the first meeting. 

3. Reading signs

You’re in line at the airport after returning from a conference trip, waiting to get through customs. You finally reach the customs officer who asks about the reason for your trip. 

“A conference,” you say.

“For?”

“Narrative. You know, like storytelling”

He hands you back your passport. “So are you an author?”

“Oh no, I just study the psychology of storytelling”

His face lights up. “Wow yes, storytelling is so important. It’s the foundation of civilization. That’s great”

“I’m glad you’re able to appreciate it. Not many people do when I tell them.”

“Well that’s because they don’t understand how important storytelling is to the basis of civilization. And for me too as someone who works in law enforcement.”

“Yes, for sure,” you say nodding. You look at the line behind you and start to move to leave.

“Well, it’s too bad we can’t talk more. Have a great day, miss”.

You walk towards the exit where the baggage claim is, and your head’s a blur. Was he...flirting? You’ve never met a stranger who was that interested in your research before, much less a border officer who was willing to stall the line just to ask you more about what you do. 

You begin to wonder if you should have left a card or a number so that you could talk later. You know, for research purposes. It’s always nice to make a friend outside your field who shares the same interests as you. But none of that matters now anyway because #ACAB. What’s done is done. But you still wonder about what his intentions were when he started that conversation. It’s too bad we can’t talk more. Yeah. A shame.

-> Moral of the story: Be more assertive. Offer a way to connect if you’re interested. Why do we keep reinforcing the idea that women can only be acted on and can’t act themselves?

4. To love or be loved

Like many young adults, I often question if my mother really understands what it means to be in love. She seems to like the idea of love, the idea of the perfect fateful meeting, but proudly says that she never fully gave her heart to anyone. She’s always warning that it’s better to receive love than to give it. That you end up at a disadvantage if you love first and love more. 

But I think I’d rather have the agency to make that choice than to be chosen. All throughout high school and in the media, we seem to glorify having someone choose us and love us unconditionally. But that’s unrealistic. There’s no such thing as unconditional, but I do hope to get as a close as possible to it. I want to love someone even if they might not love me back. I want to know how it feels like to put someone else first. Maybe this is just another teenage fantasy that has re-manifested itself in adulthood, but I want the freedom of stretching my feelings out than to feel the weight of that of someone else’s whom I can’t reciprocate. 

It also has to do with how much the alpha male is romanticized in our culture. I realize that I don’t want a domineering male version of my mother, who herself is controlling, obsessive, and possessive. I want a friend, not someone who thinks that I constantly need to be coddled and protected for my own good. 

It’s also a stupid expectation to have of real life men. If the men in my life are any indication, then they have goals and ambitions that they want to pursue. Everyone does. A relationship is a mutual support system. It’s not about how much as can take from someone. 

5. Choices

Some people say that you can fall in love with a city by falling in love in that city. 

TW: Sketchy interactions in ubers/taxis

I was grabbing coffee with a guy that I just met in a foreign city that I was visiting. It was approaching 9pm and he said that he had work the next morning, so we decided to call it a day. I was heading towards the subway station when he said that he called an uber and could drop me off at my hotel. Obviously, warning bells went off, but I was so worried about disappointing him, even though I knew that I wouldn’t see him again anyway after that evening. I just didn’t know how to say no. I reluctantly got in the car with him and instantly regretted it. He moved closer, but when he saw that I was uncomfortable, he moved away. Thankfully. We had an awkward conversation, and the driver dropped me off at my hotel after 10 minutes. I was lucky. I knew it. But looking back at the encounter now, I do wonder what would have happened if I had reciprocated the interest. I mean, I was definitely was curious at the time, but mostly because I was inexperienced and a little desperate to be completely honest. But, I knew that I didn’t want my first kiss or first whatever to be with a stranger who I knew I would never see again since I was leaving the next day. I knew about the emotional confusion that it would cause. I also wasn’t prepared to go as far as I thought he wanted to go, so I didn’t want to give him any wrong impressions and assumed that it was just easier to not show any interest at all. From time to time I still wonder about him and how he’s doing and whether I’ll ever run into him again if I’m back in the city. 

-> Moral of the story: Learn to say no and to stop worrying about whether you’ll offend someone because you want to keep yourself safe. I should have never gotten into that car, and my friends always remind me of that every time I tell them that story. I also acknowledge that some people might not always have that choice, and we should never victim blame. 

For me in that situation, I had a mix of different emotions. Curiosity, attraction, anxiety. My friend told me that I should have told him what I felt at the time and what my boundaries were instead of shutting off. But at the same time, he should have been vocal to me too and voiced what he was thinking, instead of just moving closer in the closed space of an uber. Sketchy af. 

6. Fate (is a lie)

I like to believe in the idea of fate and soulmates. My mother always tells me how I was the product of fate and so a part of me feels entitled to a little bit of that magic too. 

But I got my wake-up call when I walked into a dive bar one Friday night and could have sworn that I saw my first crush from middle school sitting at a table in the centre of the room with a group of his friends. 

We made eye contact, but it was too dark to know for sure. I walked past the table to the bar and asked for a table for one. I sat in the corner and watched him and his friends, curiously.

No one just walks into a dive bar and suddenly decides that the first person you see when you walk through the door is someone you once knew from middle school. I was almost sure that it was him. Was he? 

I was in a city an hour away from where we went to middle school. What are the odds. Was it fate? Was it a coincidence? After 12 years of having never seen this kid, I run into him in a dive bar I’ve never been to before in a city I only go visit maybe once every 2 months. 

Out of all the kids I went to middle school with, I had to run into my first crush? Seems like a joke. What kind of message was the universe trying to send?

In the end, I finished my sangria, and left. He never took one look back at me. And I walked out knowing that I’d never see him again. What seemed like an impossible coincidence just ended up mounting to nothing. 

That’s when I learned that coincidences are just coincidences. There’s nothing more to them unless you decide to make something out of them. 

Concluding remarks:

Maybe y’all are smarter and more perceptive than I am and already knew about these things when you turned 18. But these are lessons that took me 6 years to learn and then some. And even at 24 and having a couple of serendipitous experiences under my belt, I’m still no closer to being the confident, mature, and level-headed adult that I think I should be. I still feel 18 with the unrealistic expectations and mentality embodied by someone that age. Hell, to be honest I’m not entirely sure I remember when it feels like to be an 18 year old anymore. I just feel like an inadequate 24 year old. I shouldn’t be insulting 18 year olds like this. 

[anuschkalova]

Light In The Dark

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Summary: All you want is some relaxation after a stressful day. But your neighbor upsets your plans as he decided to workout - half-naked.

Warnings: none Word count: 1,610

>>Life isn't just about darkness or light, rather it's about finding light within the darkness.<< - Landon Parham

__

You didn’t know how this got out of hand, but here you were:

Sitting on your bed at 10 pm, dressed in a silky nightgown with spaghetti straps and waiting for your neighbor to appear by the window opposite the street.

It felt wrong watching your neighbor work out half naked, but also - and for this very reason - exciting.

It had all started three days ago.  You'd just come home after a stressful day at work plus a very exhausting Pilates class. So you performed; after a nice hot shower; your relaxing-ritual, which included changing into your comfy clothes, removing your makeup and grabbing a bowl of your favorite ice cream.

"Much better", you sighed as you sat on your bed. Taking a spoon full of peanut butter chocolate goodness, you spent the evening by watching a movie on your phone.

Well, that was the plan.  Because shortly after the movie's intro, something else caught your eye. You looked up and glanced out of your window and there he was - your naked neighbor. 

At first you'd thought he had just taken a shower and averted your gaze immediately. 

Oh my god! Is this really happening?!

A little embarrassed, you allowed yourself another glance and were greeted by his naked and muscular back. To your defense, it was hard to not look at him as his illuminated window was the only source of light in the night's darkness. And so must have been yours. 

Suddenly, you felt a knot of panic growing in your stomach at the thought of him seeing you like that - baggy clothes, messy bun and a big ice-cream bowl in your hands. Not a good first impression. 

You peeked over your glasses, trying your best to keep your head down, but he was gone.  It would have been a lie to say that you didn't care, because all you wanted was to take a closer look at him.

So needless to say that a wave of relief washed over you when he all of a sudden appeared.  He'd stood up from the ground, walking around his room while stretching his arms. You watched, and saw him go down again. 

That was the moment you'd realized that your neighbor wasn't naked, but half-naked while seemingly working out. Pondering what to do, you quickly closed the curtains before he got up again. Your heart was beating way too fast and a glimpse at the full-length mirror next to you revealed your blushed cheeks. 

How could a stranger have such an effect on you, making your knees turn weak just at the sight of his toned body? 

You blamed your 22-year-old-virgin-ass for that. It was all your hormones’ fault for acting like a teenage girl and dressing up for him since that incident. You knew it was stupid, but you couldn’t help it. In case you would see him again, you’d replaced your oversized white T-Shirt and old sweatpants with a slinky nightgown. Bless your best friend for donating that piece to you.

Finally, after two days of no sign of life, the room of your neighbor lightened up. On cue, you gave the book in your hands your full attention, swirling a strand of hair as you read. You secretly hoped that he saw you - at least you had turned on the ceiling light instead of the table lamp.

Suddenly, a vibration sound made you look on the display of your phone. You unlocked it and tapped on the new message. It was your friend.

>>And? Is Mr. Nudie in sight?<<, she wanted to know and you smiled. 

Of course you had told her about your discovery. Besides, it was said best friend who had equipped you with your new sleeping outfit. She was as excited as you were. On her demand, you had to provide her with every single detail when you saw him again. 

>>Yes.<<

>>Oh my god! Okay, good luck. Tell me about it later.<<

Still smiling, you put your phone away and dared to raise your gaze. Your neighbor stood by his window and you froze. It wasn’t due to the fact has his ripped upper body was exposed, because you were already used to that. 

No. 

You were petrified with horror, because his eyes were directly set on you. Or so you thought.

He had both of his arms up, leaning against the window with his face directed to you.

Even though you wanted him so see you, it was overwhelming. Time seemed to stand still as your shy gaze admired his soft curled chestnut hair. You couldn’t see his face, but you guessed him to be around your age. 

You noticed that he didn’t move and it made you nervous. Should you do something? 

He stayed like that for a while before he went back to his workout. You sighed.  Turning the unread page of your book, you watched your neighbor lifting some dumbbells.  After two sets of twenty repetitions, you came to a decision. 

Ignoring your wildly striking heart and any doubts, you stood up and slowly approached your window. With your hands on the windowsill, you openly savored his appearance - how his abs deliciously twitched every time he lifted the dumbbell; or him shaking his head to get the sweaty curl out of his face. Each move left you crave for more and you asked yourself - was meant more?

You watched as his repetitions got slower, until he stopped. With anticipation filling your body, you monitored your neighbor closely walking to his window. This time, you were able to tell that he was good-looking. 

It was hard to see from afar, but you swore that his eyes had the most alluring dark brown shade you’d ever seen. A smile flits across his face and you couldn’t defend yourself against its power.

Then, he raised his hand to wave at you. 

You took a deep breath and waved back. 

God, you were flirting with a man whose name you didn’t even know. But at that moment that seemed irrelevant. All that mattered was the addicting rush of adrenalin that pumped through your veins. 

He pointed out his index finger, signalizing you to wait as he disappeared. You used the time to retouch your hair, bringing enough volume to your roots and nibbling on your lips so they were flushed and plump.

Around a minute later, he came back and held a piece of paper against the window that said:

Tom.

Your heart skipped a beat. Tom. His name was Tom. 

You spun around, eager to find a pen and something to write on. And after you successfully wrote your name on the backside of a notepad, you showed it to Tom. He smiled; the kind of smile that turned your legs into pudding and you imagined some cute wrinkles at the corner of his eyes.

The piercing ringing tone of your phone caught you off guard and made you visibly flinch. 

Jesus Christ…

A look at Tom’s wide grin confirmed your fear that he saw it. Annoyed, you turned your head to spot your mom’s face on the display. Crap, you had totally forgotten about her weekly call! You glanced one last time to Tom and waved goodbye. 

Maybe you misinterpreted it, but his slouched shoulders made you believe that he was rather sad about your early leave.

„Hey, Mom!“, you beamed as you picked up her call. It took you acting skills to hide the disappointment linger in your voice. 

„What took you so long? Are you busy?“, she asked. That was typical of her - always worried.

„No, I was at the bathroom“, you lied and blushed. If only she knew the truth.

„I see. So how have you been?“

__

Slowly but surely, Tom became a part of your everyday life. 

As soon as the night fell and darkness laid its veil among the world, it was Tom who brought back some light. No matter how stressful or bad your day was - Tom would always cheer you up. He seemed to sense your emotions and did his best to distract you from whatever burdened you.

He even did a handstand and back flips once to put a smile on your face. And it worked.

It was Wednesday, somewhat around 5 pm when you got home and were greeted by the two huge rubbish bags in your kitchen. You were supposed to take them out yesterday, but you were too exhausted for any physical activity. Including meeting Tom by the window. 

Sighing in defeat, you grabbed the two bags and made your way outside. The garbage containers were thankfully close to your door and so you were more than relieved as you got rid of the weight.

Closing the lit of one of the containers, you heard footsteps behind you. 

„Look at that, she is alive!“, a male voice said and you frowned. Was he talking to you? Just to be on the safe side, you turned around to face a young man with curly brunette hair.

Silence dominated and your confused expression made him laugh.

„I thought I left a lasting impression, love.“ The nickname made your face heat up. And as the stranger threw his own garbage bag away, it hit you.

Standing face to face, you didn’t recognize him right away, but the familiar sparkle in his brown eyes and profile of his face left no doubt.

„Tom?“

His thin lips curled up into one of his breathtaking smiles.

„Yes, love?“ __

Masterlist 

[blueishfood]

A crown of petals and flowers (for a boy of flesh and bones)

-- -- -- -- <3

Pairing: Adrienette

Words: 1,9 K

Summary:

"Their eyes met, and he knew her answer. In that moment she seemed calm, almost at ease before him. 

“Close your eyes, or I might still be tempted to steal them with me.”

Adrien wasn’t entirely sure if it was a joke."

A/N:  This might be the weirdest story I've written yet. It is a story based on a folk tale/fairy-tale creature, so if you get confused, read the end notes for an explanation.

Also, if the story made you feel anything like the picture above, I did it right.

-- -- -- -- <3 

Adrien was standing in the middle of a wildflower field when he first saw her. He had been on his way to bring down the cattle, when suddenly, only a few meters in front of him stood a beautiful girl. Her long dark hair swayed in the wind. It rippled and glinted like a dark river, and she had not braided it like tradition demanded.

He stood for a second in complete silence, and watched her happily dance between his cattle. She petted them like dogs and sang to them a beautiful song filled with words he could not make sense of. Her long white dress looked like something made for celebration, but for some reason, she had ventured further up in the mountains than anyone did on a workday.

He froze when she noticed him. Adrien was sure he looked pathetic. Like some kind of lovesick fool, open mouth and wide eyes.

She giggled. Her laughter dipped and bounced off the large stone walls on their sides, the echo seemingly having even more fun than her. Adrien was reminded of the tiny river in his back yard, chuckling happily as it wove past his feet. He gave her a small grin.

“What are you doing so far up in the mountain, fair maiden?” The girl blinked at him, her long lashes bouncing off her round cheeks. Then she beamed at him.

“Conversing with your darling Betty, of course.” She placed her hand on his best dairy cow. Adrien lifted an eyebrow, and snorted,

“My ‘darling’ Betty is a cow,” he said, waiting for her to tell him she was joking. The young woman simply nodded.

“She is indeed,” she tipped her head to the right, “and she thinks you’ve been feeding her far too little for the work she’s doing.”

Adrien laughed, and figured he had time to spare. He sat down on a large rock and watched as she started picking the wildflowers growing beside her bare feet.

“You could come with me and feed her yourself,” he smiled, almost instantly regretting his framing of words. That sounded a little-

“I’m afraid you’re being far too forward, Mister.” The woman blushed, bowing her head, she hid her cheeks behind her curtain of hair. She fiddled with the flowers in her hands, weaving them into a petite crown before putting it on Betty’s head.

“Apologies,” he said quickly, attempting to smooth it over with a little laugh, “I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Adrien.” He gave a little bow, and the woman beamed. She had two tiny dimples by the tip of her lips. “May I ask what you call yourself?”

She bowed down, once again picking flowers and weaving them together.

“Names hold power, Mister,” she said, and left it at that. Adrien assumed she was a private person. There were many of those hidden between the fjords.

He decided to be bold either way. Something was spurring him on this early morning, a longing, a yearning to get the hand of this woman he had just met. He would have found it peculiar, but Adrien had always known he carried strong emotions.

“Miss, there are going to be festivities later, in Mr Johannsson’s barn. Would you like to accompany me?” The woman let out a small delighted fit of laughter, before she turned to him, and placed yet another crown in his soft curls. Adrien felt the hair rise on the back of his neck as her slender fingers brushed against his forehead.

“I would love to,” she smiled, “but I cannot.”

“Are you too tired?” Adrien wondered if he was pushing his limits. She had been kind, open and inviting, but he needed to know more about her. “I haven’t seen you before, are you traveling from afar? *Bjørgvin perhaps?” The woman smiled, and Adrien wasn’t sure if he imagined the pity on her lips. “My aunt has a spare bed if you need one. She lives alone.”

She sighed; her smile had now fully disappeared. Adrien let a small frown tug at his eyebrows.

“Do you not see it?” she asked, a gentle hand cradling his jaw, “Do you not see what I am?”

Adrien leaned into her touch until he caught her words. He leaned back a little, looking up at her fully.

Her dress flowed in the wind, her hair wild and a stark contrast against the light colour. His gaze took in her face, her light blue eyes that could drown him if he let them, her perfect plump lips, her rosy cheeks, and the light dusting of freckles that decorated her nose.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, slightly out of breath, and she rolled her eyes.

Taking a small step forward, she leaned towards him, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear before she said; “I am the beautiful woman you found in the mountain.” She blinked her bluebell eyes slowly, as if willing him to understand. “Ring any bells?” Adrien took her in once more, feeling slightly dazed, until her words registered in his brain and he jerked away from her, almost breaking a bone or two.

His eyes shot down to her legs, or what was hiding behind her legs. Gently flowing with the folds of her dress, he caught a glimpse of a dark black tail.

Adrien shot to his feet. He stumbled backwards over the rock he had been sitting on, trying to get as much distance between him and a creature of the underworld as he possibly could. She laughed.

“What do you want from me, Hulder?”

The wight giggled, and Adrien couldn’t for the life of him understand how such a lovely creature could be the doom of so many men.

“It was you who asked me to a dance, was it not?” she dragged her fingers through her hair, and it reflected the sunlight in a way suddenly foreign and unknown to his eyes, “I like dancing.”

“I just want my cattle,” Adrien said, trying to keep the wavering fear from his voice, “we can part ways as friends.”

“Why should we do that?” She danced a few steps closer to him, and Adrien leaned back where he sat. “I get nothing out of the agreement, and you get your freedom.” The sneer in her voice was unmistakable. She thought he was trying to trick her.

Adrien let out a silent breath, trying another approach to make her more compliable.

“Why do you bring men into your mountain?” He asked, his hands scratching against the rough stone surface as he tried to keep his distance from her flowing form.

She stopped short, staring at him for a second like she had never thought of such a question before she answered, “It is my nature”, and continued closing in on him.

Adrien held up a hand, stopping her mere centimetres from his skin. “Let me leave, and I’ll make it up to you.”

She stopped reaching for his wrist, her body language faltering just slightly. “How?” She asked, and Adrien’s mind raced for an answer to the same question.

“You are curious, are you not?” he said, a little too quickly to be considered a thought-out sentence. “Of the world on the outside.”

“Not that curious.” She reached for him again, this time catching his wrist with her left hand while she used the other to brush away his bangs from his eyes. “You’re a gorgeous example of your species, I’m not sure I want to let you go.”

“Wait!” he gasped, even though he wasn’t entirely sure why he was fighting the most beautiful woman he had ever seen on living his entire life with her. “I have many things to offer, see,” he emptied his pockets, incredibly happy that he had forgotten to clear them of coins and rubbish before he started his day.

“I already own coins,” she gestured to a few wooden nails, “people lose these all the time, and those-“ -she pointed to his collection of small colorful rocks- “are worthless, I own thousands that are far more beautiful.”

Frantically Adrien continued emptying his pockets, looking inside every nook and cranny for something that would matter to her. The hulder simply snorted at his effort, before she finally crossed her arms, and leveled him with a cold stare.  

“Just admit it. You have nothing of- oh”, she stopped short when she spotted it. Adrien froze in the middle of his actions, watching her. When she reached for it, the item was something simple. A thin needle, one of simple steel, rested in her palm like it was something precious. “Where did you…” She didn’t seem to need an answer as she admired the tiny tool. Only when Adrien tried to inch away from her did she look up.

Their eyes met, and he knew her answer. In that moment she seemed calm, almost at ease before him. “Close your eyes, or I might still be tempted to steal them with me.”

Adrien wasn’t entirely sure if it was a joke.

She blinked, much like an animal coming out of a daze, and the moment was gone. The look in her eyes once again became wild, and he watched as the nature inside her battled for dominance. She stared at him, then behind him, to his village, and took off.

Adrien didn’t comprehend it when she left, and later he couldn’t explain the disappearance. For though he was certain he watched her leave, he could not for the life of him remember in which direction or where to.

He knew, however, that she was no longer in his presence when the sweet aura around him was blown away with the wind. Like a spell had been lifted, he opened his eyes and the entire exchange seemed like a dream.

But he knew it wasn’t, for a needle had gone missing from his right breast pocket.

The second Adrien got home; he placed his cattle where they were supposed to be, and made his way through his too large house. He stopped before his late mother’s chambers.

It was a small room, one that had once upon a time been decorated with blossoms, branches, and rocks. None were left now. It had been converted into a guest room, the door unlocked only for the occasional missionary or priest that arrived in town. A few had stayed over since the death of his Mother, but ever since her funeral, Adrien had tried his best to stay out.

But privacy, he thought to himself as he opened the creaking door, was overrated.

He made a beeline for the chest in the far-right corner. In it, his mother’s belongings were placed. There were a few items which many could benefit from, yet Adrien couldn’t force himself to sell them. Luckily, there was only one thing he was after this evening.

When he later made his way through the thick forest in broad daylight, Adrien sent a quick prayer to God, asking him to pass on his apologies to Emelie Agreste. Her sowing kit would be given away for a good cause.

He put the flower crown by the small wooden box. A debt repaid, a bond severed and a moment of fear nowhere near forgotten.

A month had passed, when Adrien drunkenly stumbled through his door, rubbing his sore palms. The day had been long, and while the dancing didn't last for the same amount of time, it had been just as tiring. 

More than once Adrien convinced himself that Nino had somehow made a deal with the devil for his musical abilities. But if his friend made a deal with the devil, Adrien had been cursed by him, to never be able to have a second to himself. 

Rachel, his great aunt, had decided it was time for him to get married. That was the only explanation Adrien had for the girls that kept falling at his feet. That, and the weird 'knowing' looks she kept giving him.

His exhausted mind didn’t notice the glint of gold on his nightstand that evening. But the next morning, he would wake to see a needle of pure gold and a beautiful rock. Beside the two gifts rested a single note, folded and worn, the paper clearly outdated. The message was written in rough handwriting, and yet the words were indistinguishable.

"Power is overrated,

-Marinette"

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

End notes:

A <hulder> is a female creature from old Norwegian folktales. 

The hulder looks like a young woman but she is what someone might call a wight. In the stories she usually has long blonde hair and is incredibly beautiful, but she has a cow tail and likes to trick unwed men into coming inside the mountain with her where she will marry them.

In some fairy tales the hulder is a dark and evil creature, who makes the life of men difficult. Sometimes she also steals children or switches them with her own. If a young child had a sickness or a disability, the people often believed them to be a child of the hulder.

However, in other stories, the hulder is a creature who lives in peace with the nature around her. She is good with cattle and animals and is known to help young women, and those who treat her with respect.

This story is based on a tale my great grandmother told grandpa who told me. Once she left her sowing needle outside for a night, and she forgot to bring it in. A few weeks later, she found it, but the tip had been turned into gold. She believed until she died that this was the hulder who had borrowed her needle and made it into gold as a thanks.

*Bjørgvin is the old name for Bergen, one of the biggest cities in Norway

[storytime-hoe]

Tough Love Ch.12

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x O/C

Summary: Story picks up during season three as the group goes into Woodbury to rescue Glenn and Maggie from the Governor. However, they pick up another prisoner of Woodbury, Emma (O/C). She is a thief who fears friendships after her hard losses. She stays on the move, studying communities from afar and then robbing them blind. She has stayed alive this way for a while until the Governor catches her in the act. Now she finds herself with the group from the prison in a mission to kill the Governor for what he has done to her. She plans on stealing supplies from the prison group after the Governor is killed, but she might be growing a little too close to the groups members, especially one man in particular: Daryl Dixon.

Warnings: Slow burn, language, usual twd violence, mentions of abuse/rape

Authors Note: Here ya go lads. 

Previously: Ch.1        Ch.2       Ch.3       Ch.4     Ch.5      Ch.6     Ch.7       Ch.8       Ch.9       Ch.10          Ch.11

I felt hollow. I felt alone, despite the fact that there were more people around me than I was comfortable with.

Sleep was not an option that night. When I closed my eyes all I saw was Daryl. Not the pissed off version of him or the softer version of him, but I saw that fucking look of hurt that he had the last time I had seen him. I bet he regretted every nice thought he ever had about me, if there even were any. He should have closed himself off from me like he did everyone else. I didn't deserve his friendship but he gave it to me anyway. And now we were hurting because of it.

The day after I caused an uproar, Sasha was at my door at sunrise. I didn't know Sasha too well, but I liked her better than most of the people here. She knew how to take care of herself and she was smart too. Plus, I liked that she didn't try to pry into the lives of others that didn't welcome her. She left me alone unless it was something important, never giving me a neighborly visit just to chat me up. So, she was here on business.

I sat up in the bed with a deep sigh, my lack of sleep was weighing me down. I didn't have the energy to ask her what she wanted, so I raised an eyebrow and waited for her to get the hint that that was her cue to speak.

"A few of us are going on a run. Thought we could use you with us if you’re up for it."

My mood immediately rose. Finally, I was being put to use. I felt a sense of pride that she came to me to join her and whoever else was going. It gave me that ego boost that I needed. It was good to know that my reputation hadn't been damaged during my forced time in recovery. People still saw me as a valuable member. Things were going to turn around. It was about time I had a good day, or at least I thought it was good until I went to meet the rest of the people going on the run with me.

I bounced outside cheerily, feeling the intoxicating anticipation of being out in the dangerous world again. But I stopped in my tracks as my eyes landed on Daryl tossing a leg over his motorcycle to sit on it.

Well fuck me then. How was I supposed to have a good day with him looking all gloom and doom the whole time? The answer was that I wasn't going to have a good day, I didn't deserve it anyhow. And with the dreadful look he got when he saw that I was coming too, I decided it best to stay out of his way. Daryl was too good of a person for me, so I would be doing him a favor by letting him forget about me. I wasn't going to attempt to heal what I had broken, it was for the best.

"We're taking the car," Sasha said, coming up behind you with her rifle in hand.

She tossed a few bags and more weapons into the small trunk of the car and hoped into the passenger seat as Glenn got into the drivers side. I sighed deeply with one last glance at Daryl on his bike. I couldn't help but feel he was riding separate from us because of me joining them. Had Sasha mentioned asking me to come along to him before she came to get me? She must not have, otherwise he would have stopped her. He didn't want me anywhere around him ever again, and I was trying real hard to accept that.

"How far out are we going?" I asked from the backseat once we were out on the road.

"Almost everywhere around has been cleared out already," Glenn explained. "The next town will be at least two hours out I'd say."

I peered over Sasha's shoulder as she showed me on the map where exactly the town we were looking for was located. The town was small enough we could probably clear out the entire place before we had to make the trip back. Glenn had already planned where our best exits would be in case we ran into any trouble. We didn't know if there were people there still, but if there were chances are they wouldn't be too friendly.

The car ride was a slow and quiet one. No one talked unless it was to give direction. The rumble of Daryl's bike behind us lulled me into a sleep that I was in great need of. It was probably the best nap of my entire fucking life. There were no dreams to keep me stirring and even though it wasn't the most comfortable bed, the back seat of the old car served it’s purpose.

But like everything pleasant in my life, it didn't last long.

The door I was leaned against opened with a quick swing, sending me falling backwards. I blinked in my confusion, rubbing the sleep from my eyes whilst I was hanging upside down from the car.

"C'mon, don' have fuckin' time for this," the impatient voice of Daryl growled from above me.

Once my eyes adjusted to the bright sun that shone down on him, I huffed at his displeased expression.

Turns out Daryl didn't just want to stop being my friend now, but he planned on being an even bigger asshole to me than he had been before. I didn't think that would be possible, but he never missed a chance to give me hell. Ever wrong move I made me was up my ass about it, but I just took his cruel words with a clenched jaw, not fighting back for the first time in my life.

Finally, we reached our last stop– a small convenience store. We entered quietly, each of us scanning a different corner of the room before deciding it was all clear. We split down a different isle each, scanning for any kind of items that we could take back with us, falling into the routine we have repeated a million times before.

I was standing with Sasha as she shoved cans of food into her backpack. My own bag was weighing down my shoulders, but I ignored the ache. That’s when I spotted the jackpot.

"Oh, hell yeah," I called out, making my way to the two bottles of vodka that had caught my eye.

I held the bottles and shook them at Sasha playfully, proud to see a smile spread over her as she shook her head at me. Soon enough Glenn and Daryl were popping into our isle to see what I was so excited about.

When no one responded to my enthusiasm I held my arms out in exasperation. "Well, lets have a few drinks." God knew I needed that right now.

"That's not a good idea Emma,” Sasha pointed out, standing up from her overflowing bag. “We would be extremely vulnerable, not thinking straight enough to defend ourselves if we needed.”

I knew it was a bad idea too, but the reckless side of me was being brought out by how shitty I was feeling all the time. I just wanted to get piss drink and not have a care in the world. Sure, I might not be able to walk straight, but it would be an experience. I just needed to convince them of that too.

"I don't know about you, but drunk me can still chop a dead fucker down. So, I say lets go for it," I smiled at them and I could tell that Sasha was suppressing the want to give in to my plan as she held back her smile.

But here came Daryl, the fucking stick in the mud.

"The hell s'wrong with ya," he complained, snatching one bottle away from me. "We have a damn job ta do, ain't no time ta fuckin' mess 'round."

I scrunched my nose and faced him with the same force of dominance that he had. "What's the matter Dixon? Afraid I'll out drink you?" 

It had been the first time I talked back to him since the tragic events of last night. I'd let him push me around all fucking morning, telling myself I deserved it. He could hate me all he wanted, but I was done being his punching bag.

I might be crazy, but I think I saw a flicker of excitement pass in him. Was he glad that I was finally going to stick up for myself again? Did he enjoy bickering with me all the time? 

I quirked an eyebrow at him, and shook the bottle at him temptingly,  but his scowl never faltered.

He scoffed, painfully forcing himself to break his eyes away from mine. "Ain't scared of ya, just don' wan' us all ta end up dead."

"It's not a good idea right now Emma," Glenn agreed from behind Daryl's shoulder. I could tell he wanted to butt in the argument before it escalated. "Why can't we just take it back with us? That way we can all kill our livers in the safety of the prison later."

I felt my spirits deflate. They were all right. I was being a selfish bitch again. Maybe if I agreed with them and put the bottle in my backpack I could have it all to myself that night. It would be a good friend to cuddle and cry myself to sleep with tonight.

But before I could even bend to what they wanted, the sickening sound of Walkers rolled through the store. We all heard it at once, soft and distant at first, then loud and overpowering. I pushed past Daryl to get a look at the door of the store. The bottle of vodka slipped out of my hand and shattered onto the ground when I saw the swarm of Walkers.

They were filling the streets by the hundreds, and my stupidity of dropping the glass bottle drew them to the store we were in. I stared in awe as they began to file into the open doors.

Oh fuck. I broke from my paralyzation in an instant and made a break towards Sasha, who was holding the back door open and shouting for me to hurry up. I ran through the door and skidded to a stop behind Daryl and Glenn, searching wildly for somewhere to run, but the streets were getting more crowded by the minute.

I followed lead of the others who were firing at any Walker that came close to us, but it became too much too fast. I was was pushed back by the Walkers until I had been completely separated. The last I saw of them was the angel winged vest that Daryl wore before I groaned out of frustration and had to take off in a sprint in order to get away.

There were too many of them for me to out run forever. So, my next solution was to get higher ground. I spotted a tiny balcony above one of the shop doors. It was one of those things that was for design only, not for someone to walk out on, so there was no door leading out to it. However, that wasn't stopping me from getting to it as I rammed my gun into my waistband and started climbing up the skinny support beam.

I rolled over the railing of the balcony and laid on my back, taking in shaking breaths. Where the hell had all of the Wakers come from? There were so many of them, how the fuck did they catch us by surprise like that. I should have been more focused on shit like that, not planning to drunk. I was so stupid sometimes. They all told me it was a bad idea and I distracted them by arguing. If I had just agreed then we might have seen the herd coming and gotten out before... Wait, where the fuck had the others gone gone?

I sat bolt upright and scanned the sea of the dead. My eyes darted around rapidly, but the others were no where to be seen. My heart clenched at the thought of them being ripped apart. I could hear what their screams would sound like. Sasha. Glenn. Daryl. It haunted me, making my shake uncontrollably and my breaths become shallow. This couldn't be happening.

The balcony I was on rocked slightly and I looked down to see that the Walkers were shaking the beams holding it up. If the others were dead, I would be joining them soon enough. I needed to break out a window and crawl into the building that the balcony was attached to, but I couldn't make myself move. I still had hope that they could be out there and I couldn't convince myself otherwise right now.

I heard the gunshot before I saw the source, and I couldn't breath when my eyes landed on Sasha on top of a nearby roof. She had out her rifle and was picking off Walkers that shook my balcony. I met her eyes hopefully and slowly Glenn came into view behind her.

But where the fuck was Daryl.

I asked the question with my eyes before it even got a chance to reach my lips, but Sasha's slight shake of her head told me that she had no idea where he was, or if he was alive.

I turned back to glazing over the crowded street, my heart sinking with every growl from the dead.

"Daryl!" I screamed for him, but I knew there would be no response.

No. Fuck no. Daryl couldn't be gone. He would never leave like that; he was too stubborn to go down that easily. I needed him. He might hate me for life and yell every sentence he speaks at me from now on but I couldn't care less right now. I wanted my tempered redneck back and I wanted him now. He couldn't be gone, I wouldn't allow it. He was all I had these days, never failing to call me out on my shit but always someone I could rely on, no matter what he said last night or how he had treated me today. 

And that's when it hit me, I couldn't imagine a life without him.

Holy shit. I gulped at the realization. I was hopelessly falling hard for that son of a bitch. And the worst part was that he would never know it. Because he was fucking gone. Forever.

***

Taglist:

@daryldixonandfrogs @jodiereedus22 @xchrisxevansx

[captain-yeet]

Ironhearts (Sansa Stark x Fem!Reader)

Summary: You were just a simple lone soldier, travelling throughout Westeros trying to find something to keep you going, something to fight for. You joined Jon’s cause to fight against the Night King and his army. One night, you couldn’t sleep, and a certain Lady of Winterfell spies you training.

Warnings; Swearing, self-doubt. But fluffy!

For a cold winter’s morning, a steady sheen of sweat formed on your forehead as you swung your sword at the training dummy.

You couldn’t sleep. Stress kept you awake all throughout the night, making you irritable and restless. Figuring some training would tire you out, you grumpily stomped your way down to Winterfell’s courtyard. So far, you weren’t sure if it was working. Your eyes were heavy; but the rest of your body was not.

Letting out a frustrated growl, you struck again at the dummy, your E/C eyes glowering with a slightly maddened glint in them.

From afar, a certain red-headed Stark watched the frustrated young warrior curiously and with great interest.

Lady Sansa awoke early that morning from a nightmare. Flustered and shaken from the contents of her dream, she dressed herself and decided to take a walk to clear her head. She had a long day ahead and with Jon being busy with “entertaining” the Targaryen visitor, gods knew that she needed a clear head to take on the day.

As she approached the courtyard, the sound of metal colliding with a hard surface met her ears. Curious, she followed the sound down the hall leading outside. She came to a halt on the balcony and gazed down at the sight before her.

There you were, swinging a longsword at a training dummy, grunting and growling each time your weapon met it’s target. Sansa noted with each swing, your attacks grew sloppier and less focused. 

Curious, she rested her elbows on the railing, her hands balled into fists under her chin, and watched.

Your H/C hair was falling out of the messy bun at the back of your head, a light coat of sweat collecting on your exposed biceps. How you weren’t cold, Sansa had no idea.

She cleared her throat, catching your attention at last, E/C eyes widening in surprise at her sudden appearance. 

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought you out of your insomnia  induced dummy beating session, and you turned toward the sound.

Your eyes widened at the sight of Sansa Stark watching you intently from the balcony above. “Morning Lady Stark,” you called out breathlessly, the sword weighing heavy in your dominant hand.

Her lips twitched up into a small polite smile. “You’re awake rather early,” she replied, cocking her head to the side.

You shrugged as you sheathed the longsword. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Sansa hummed in response. She rose from leaning over the railing of the balcony and began walking down the stairs to you.

Your relationship with Sansa was professional primarily, but there were moments shared between the two of you that completely and utterly confused you. 

There was one moment where you were escorting her back to her room in the evening in place of Brienne, who had some business to deal with at that time. As the two of you slowly walked down the hall you chatted animatedly, with Sansa linking your arm with hers. As you arrived at her bedroom door, the two of you gazed at each other in silence, an unspoken emotion behind her bright blue eyes as she stared back into your own.

The two of you stood like that for a while, the air around you almost feeling electric but you chalked that up to you feeling uncertain. Or perhaps it was the wine you had earlier kicking in. Then with a sly smile, Sansa bid you goodnight, disappearing behind her bedroom door and leaving you a little dumbstruck at the interaction that took place.

That night keeps you awake sometimes, wondering of the meaning behind it - or if you were reading too deeply into it.

Sansa came to a stop in front of you, her eyes scanning your disheveled appearance. “Is something bothering you, Y/N?”

Your mouth opened slightly, the words stuck in your throat. “I - there’s no need for concern, Lady Stark. I can assure you that I’m fine.”

You hoped your words would convince her. However her eyes narrowed, brows knitting together. “You’re a terrible liar, you know that?’

Blinking at her response, you were about to defend yourself until she slowly reached her hand up toward your face. A stray lock of hair had fallen into your eyes and made itself home there thanks to the sweat. It felt as if your heart would leap out of your chest as you watched her ever so gently brush the lock of hair back.

“You can tell me what’s on your mind,” Sansa murmured softly. “And please, call me Sansa; we’ve known each other long enough now that titles are forfeit in private.”

This was true - you’d been at Winterfell for a little over a month now. You were here for Littlefinger’s scheming, hating the way he was trying to toy with the Stark sisters for his own twisted gain. You had to fight away the smirk that wanted to creep onto your face when Arya executed him under Sansa’s command.

Nodding very faintly, you sighed. “I have trouble sleeping most nights,” you told her.

Her hand now lowered and clasped with the other, Sansa motioned for you to continue with a nod of her head.

 “Do you ever worry about whether you’re doing the right thing, or making the right choices?” you asked her. When she nodded, you continued your train of thought. “I came here to Winterfell to help with the threat beyond the Wall. That was my mission, still is. But now, I’m afraid I’m feeling conflicted.”

 “What do you mean?” Sansa asked, her calm exterior cracking, a frown making it’s way to her brow.

You took a shaky breath, looking down at your feet nervously. Am I really about to say it? you wondered, a sarcastic tone to your thoughts. What do I even say? “Oh hi Sansa, I’m sorry I’m feeling conflicted about going to war with undead because I fear that I care for you deeply and want to stay here to protect you and keep you safe?” Oh yeah, that will go over well!

 “Y/N... I don’t know what to say...”

Your head jerked up, panic seeping into your veins as you stared open-mouthed at her shocked expression. Shit, I didn’t mean to say that out loud! “I... look it’s nothing, please just - ignore that I said anything.”

You began to walk faster ahead, away from the red-head. You heard Sansa calling your name but you were too afraid to even glance back at her, too embarrassed.

She was a Lady, the Lady of Winterfell. What were you? Just a commoner with a sword and insomnia. You had nothing to offer her, and the thought made your heart sink.

A gentle but firm hand took hold of your forearm; somehow even in a dress she caught up with you.

 “Y/N, please look at me,” you heard her plead, desperation in her voice.

When you refused to turn your head toward her, she came closer to you. You felt her hand hesitantly cup one side of your face, turning your face towards her own. You felt like a scared little girl as you eyed her expression anxiously.

But all you saw was... curiosity. Maybe even a little fear of her own. “You truly meant those things you said?” she whispered, not moving her hand away from your face.

Your mouth opened and closed, all that came out was a mere squeak. “I -” you began, trying to find words, “yes, it’s true.” You paused and took a deep breath, closing your eyes. “I apologise if that makes you in any way, shape or form uncomfortable. I just think that -”

You never got to finish your sentence, as a soft pair of lips met yours. Your eyes opened briefly in shock as Sansa Stark kissed you. Sensing you stiffen, she pulled away, and you swore you’d never seen the lady so vulnerable-looking in all the time you’d known her. 

Sansa was afraid she’d done something wrong, feeling you stiffen so under her touch. Perhaps I moved too fast? She panicked on the inside.

 The two of you stood still, staring at each other as snow fell lightly onto both of your heads.

Might as well take a leap of faith here, you thought to yourself. Gulping slightly, you took both your hands and cupped Sansa’s face gently, watching closely for any sign that she was uncomfortable before leaning in and kissing her.

The two of you stayed like that for a while, a passing thought of “What if someone sees?” entering your mind momentarily, but you didn’t care enough to stop. Gods be damned, you really liked this woman.

She was the first to pull away, one of her hands filled with a fistful of your shirt while the other rested on your cheek, thumb gently caressing it. “That was... rather pleasant,” she said softly, almost a gasp.

You smiled at her, your nerves gone for the moment. “You could say that,” you breathed. “That was very, very pleasant.”

A giggle escaped Sansa’s lips, and you couldn’t help but join in, resting your forehead against hers. “So what happens now?” you asked.

Blue eyes gazed deeply into your own E/C eyes with a playful but soft look about them. “Well Y/N, I don’t just let anyone kiss me, especially like that. What I was going to say earlier before you took off was that the feeling is mutual.”

You pulled back to stare at her, a grin creeping onto your face. “Really? You’re not fucking with me are you, My Lady?”

Sansa let out a very un-ladylike snort. “No, I am not fucking with you,” she retorted, the playful look in her eyes still present. “I happen to feel very deeply for you, have for some time now.”

You felt as if you were on cloud nine. Or perhaps riding a dragon above cloud nine. Either way, you were over the moon with this revelation to say the least. Holding out your arm for her, you felt your heart swell as she linked hers with yours. “In that case my dear, I would very much like it if you were to be mine?”

Sansa leaned into you, resting her head on your shoulder. “I’d be honoured,” she whispered softly, the two of you making your way back to your room for some more alone time. After an hour of more talking and stolen kisses here and there, sleepiness was finally taking hold of you, and you drifted off to sleep peacefully, the last thing you felt were Sansa’s fingers running through your hair.

If the end were to come, you could happily say that you’d willingly let it come, so long as she was by your side when it came. But you wouldn’t go down without a fight, and by no means were you prepared to let the darkness take this new light that had come into your life.

[redhairdontcare732]

That Laugh: Fangs Fogarty x Jones! OC

Author's note: Short little blurb I couldn't get out of my head this weekend! Thanks to everyone who noted or liked the Riot Night from Hell two shots! It meant so much to me, and I was blown away by the response!

Fangs’ POV:

It was official, I was out of my goddamn mind.

Currently, I was watching the gorgeous dark haired beauty that I was fortunate enough to have been able to call my girlfriend for the last few months stand against the lockers at Riverdale High and laugh. My hands clenched unintentionally into fists as I saw her head fall back as she giggled her sweetest giggle, wavy jet-black locks cascading over her slender shoulders as she did so. Ordinarily, the sight of Jean Jones laughing would bring me nothing but joy, and normally I would feel a sense of pride like none other as I watched my mamita’s strong features break into that face-splitting grin that made me fall for her in the first place. But this time was different.

Namely, because I wasn’t the one making her laugh.

No, I was standing a few feet away with Sweet Pea and watching some Northside asshole lean in way too close to my girl, both with large smiles etched on their faces as Jean laughed. I felt my face heat up with a jealous flush as I listened carefully. Dating, and knowing, Jean for as I had, I knew every single one of her laughs. There was the little unintentional giggle that she had when a comment caught her off guard, her usual low chuckle that was usually directed at either Archie or Jughead, the adorable little snort thing she did when she was skeptical or sarcastic, the sweet giggle that indicated her slight embarrassment (usually when I flirted too openly in front of the gang); all were perfectly suited to her strong yet laid-back personality, and I treasured them all. However, there was one laugh that was by and large my favorite. It was the laugh that caused her grin to widen so far that her face looked as if it could break in half from the force and her entire body to shake slightly with it’s intensity. It was a loud, boisterous laugh of pure joy, and it was the only one where Jean actually let loose. Normally, she would either cover her grin with her hand or give a closed mouth smile when laughing; Jean’s front teeth were slightly crooked, and she was incredibly self conscious about them. No matter how many times I expressed how little those mattered, or how they didn’t actually look like she thought, she still covered them out of either habit or embarrassment. But when she laughed that special, forceful laugh she often forgot about her insecurity. It was one of the reasons why it was my absolute favorite. It was the laugh that, until now, I thought I was the only one who could coax from the Jones girl’s tough facade. Evidently not, because I was standing five feet away, fuming and watching as some mangy bulldog said something to make my girlfriend laugh that beautiful laugh.

Sweet Pea eyed the pair, eyebrow cocked in curiosity as he placed some books inside his locker. He then looked me up and down before rolling his eyes and sighing.

“Man just go up and talk to her, she’s your fucking girlfriend”, he said with a hint of exasperation. I shook my head, eyes never leaving the pair in question.  

“Nah, wouldn’t want to interrupt whatever’s so god-damn funny”, I spat bitterly. Sweet Pea scoffed.

“This coming from the guy who ended up dating Jean only after a jealous fist fight with Chuck Clayton”, he replied sarcastically while slamming his locker shut. I tore my eyes away from Jean long enough to glare at my tall best friend.

“Hey, you and I both know Clayton deserved everything he got”, I retorted. “Besides, that’s not why Jean and I got together”. Pea chuckled. 

“Yeah because all that time you spent pining after her from afar was clearly working”, he snorted. I punched his arm, eyeing my best friend with anger. He threw his hands up in surrender before heading down the hall and out of sight. 

Sweets just didn’t understand. Everyone knew that Sweet Pea and I were a package deal; we were rarely apart, and I knew that we were seen as a dynamic duo as far as young serpents go. And as a duo there were certain roles that we naturally fell into: Sweet Pea was the tall, brooding asshole and I was the funny, outgoing foil to his personality. True, we both had our fair share of anger issues and sketchy moments (we were in a fucking gang for God’s sake), but everyone pretty much knew that Sweet Pea was the angrier of the two of us. That left me to be the funny one. The goofy one that lightened the mood and kept Pea in line when he needed it. I took my role in stride, and I prided myself on being able to make pretty much anyone laugh. It was like my identity at this point. None of that had really mattered as much to me before Jean though; it was the moment I first made that sexy, adorable girl laugh her most honest laugh that I truly fell for her. I took extreme pride in the fact that I was the only one that I thought could break down her walls enough to get her to laugh like that, and to hear her so casually use it around some Northside fuck was heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time. If I didn’t have that, what did I have to offer her? She could be with some rich kid with far less baggage and issues than me.

As I thought more about Jean my anger started to fade and turn into a huge pile of self-loathing. Of course she would leave me for some other guy; I mean like Sweet’s said, I only really got her because she felt sorry for me after I beat up Clayton for her. She probably laughed like that around everyone, I was being delusional when I thought it was only for me. I bit the inside of my cheek thoughtfully, and turned away from her and that guy. I started to walk away, intending to skip the rest of the day in favor of riding my bike until things made more sense, but I was stopped by a familiar set of fingers lacing through mine. I stopped dead in my tracks, looking down slightly to see my girlfriend’s concerned face.

“Fangs? I thought you were going to meet me by my locker after 3rd like always”, she asked gently, confusion evident. I sighed, looking down at my feet as I desperately tried to come up with an excuse. Jean’s soft hand left mine, gentle pads of her fingers reaching upwards to my cheek instead, tenderly pulling my jaw upwards for my eyes to meet hers. Her crystal blue eyes were open wide, appraising my every move with worry evident in the pale, nearly grey irises. I internally groaned.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”, she asked after a while, clearly reading more into my silence than I had intended. I scoffed, taking a page from Sweet Pea’s playbook and deciding to mask the pain I was feeling with an attitude.

“Nothing, I just didn’t want to disturb you over there since you and whats-his-face over their seemed to be hitting it off so well”, I ground out, stepping back and slipping out of her hold, body tense with unspoken frustration. Her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

“What are you talking about?”, she asked, confusion and concern still dominating her beautiful features. I huffed.

“You know what? Forget it. You were clearly having a freaking riot over there with him, so why don’t you just go ahead and get back to it”, I growled out. My feelings of insecurity and sadness had returned to anger, and I was actually getting pretty pissed. Jean took a step back, looking like she had no idea what I was talking about. I half expected her to slap me, scream at me, lecture me, or some combination of all 3, but to my extreme shock she did something I’d never seen coming.

She laughed.

And not just any laugh, my laugh. The laugh that still made my face flush lightly whenever I heard it and caused my legs to go a little wobbly. Her full on, ear splitting, belly laugh. Now it was my turn to look confused. Jean laughed harder than I’d ever seen before, stepping closer to me and throwing her arms around my shoulders. Her soft lips placed a light kiss to my cheek, and my hands naturally fell to the small of her back as she did so. I leaned back in order to see her face more clearly, puzzled expression clear. She gave one final giggle before smiling fondly at me.

“Are you seriously jealous of that random freshman?”, she chuckled lightly and I felt my face flush in embarrassment. “Babe, he was just asking me how to get to the library because it’s his first day. I was just trying to be nice!".

“Okay but what was so god-damned funny?”, I asked, trying to mask my own self-consciousness. “You were laughing like....”

“Like what?”, she asked, eyebrow cocked. I sighed and looked away for a moment before looking down at our feet once more.

“You're going to think it's stupid…”, I muttered, face flushing redder than a tomato. Jean's eyes turned sympathetic and she rubbed the small hairs on the back of my neck soothingly, causing chills to run down my spine. Man, even when I was this distracted she still had the craziest effect on me with just the simplest touch.

“Fangs, come on tell me. I won't think it's stupid”, she said gently.

“Well, it was just...I thought I was the only guy that could make you laugh like that…”, I muttered. Jean's eyes seemed to lighten a shade, and she placed one of her soft hands against my face. Her unimaginably delicate fingers stroked my tense jaw, and I found myself unintentionally leaned into her caring touch out of habit. Her smooth caress nearly made my mind go blank with contentment, and I had to shake myself back to reality before mentally bracing myself for her reaction.

“Baby you are the only guy who really makes me laugh like that”, she replied softly, fingers still dancing lightly across my jawline tenderly. I rolled my eyes.

“I'm serious Fangs. Do you know why I was laughing at that freshman?”, she asked sincerely. I shrugged, the confusion and hurt still prominent on my face.

“I was laughing because his attempts at flirting with me were so bad”, she continued, a coy smile breaking out from her beautiful features. “He was so awkward, and his jokes were so lame. I was laughing at the thought of getting to tell you about it after; I thought you'd think it was just as funny”.

“Really?”, I clarified suspiciously. Jean giggled lightly.

“Really. I honestly couldn't wait to tell you all about it once we met up, but then I saw you heading the other direction and I got concerned”, she reasoned. My eyes searched her face for any signs of deception. Her eyes were like two crystal clear blue pools, staring intently into my own full brown eyes with a look of such complete sincerity that I finally let out a breath that I didn't realize I was even holding. I groaned lowly before bringing her into a closer embrace; her head fell into my chest naturally, and my face found it's favorite spot in the crook of her neck. I felt all the tension and anxiety that I'd felt all morning dissipate, and my body finally relaxed as I held her close. I sighed in total relief.

“I'm sorry mamita”, I quietly murmured into her skin. I relished in the way I felt chills run through her body at my gentle admission, loving that I seemingly had a similar effect on her as she had on me. Although, I was still wholly convinced that there was no way that I affected her nearly as badly as she affected me. I mean, just her gentlest touch was still enough to turn me from a normal, relatively self-assured guy into a babbling idiot even after all the time we’d spent together. I honestly didn’t believe that the feeling of her soft body against mine would ever truly lose that spark that I’d felt ever since we first touched.  

Jean sighed in contentment, hands gripping my body tightly as if she were still trying to convey her sincerity to me through her touch. I suddenly felt guilty that I’d even accused her of something so stupid and was thankful that my cherry-red face was hidden by her mass of inky-black locks. Recently she’d began wearing her gorgeous hair down more often, and I was internally grateful that today was one of those days.

“No Fangs, I’m sorry”, she practically whispered into my chest, the words dulled slightly. “I should have realized how that must have seemed to you looking from the outside”.

I shook my head against her soft skin, preparing to comment on how I’d completely overreacted and the fact that she did nothing wrong, but Jean caught me off guard when she suddenly removed her head from my chest. Her grey-blue eyes that I loved so much were turned upwards at me, a sparkle of determination and a look that I couldn’t quite place evident in their hypnotic orbs.

“I just wasn’t even thinking that you would assume that I could ever be interested in anyone other than you. I guess I thought you knew how I felt about you”, she admitted shyly. Her voice was low, but there was no hint of a waver, no uncertainty to be found in her words. My throat suddenly felt dry and my palms began to sweat.

“And how’s that?”, I rasped, unable to raise my voice to more than a whisper. Jean leaned into my face slowly, perfect pink lips reaching mine tantalizingly. Her mouth came so close to mine, brushing my own lips teasingly as she spoke but never giving me the connection I so craved.

“You make me feel things that I’ve never felt before”, she murmured against my mouth. “Ever since we’ve met I haven’t given any thought to any other guy, even when we weren’t together. It’s been you from day one Fangs, and I can’t even really put the effect you have on me into words. But if I had to give it a shot, I guess I would just tell you that...”.

My heart beat rang in my ears as every nerve ending in my entire body stood at attention, waiting for her to finish her thought.

“....I love you Fangs Fogarty. I have for a while, and I'm not sure if you feel the sa--”, Jean started, before I cut her off by bringing my hands to the back of her neck, pulling her mouth against mine roughly. My mind was practically imploding with the new information, and I couldn't help but stop her before she could say anything else or take anything back. Sweeter words had never graced my ears before than the sound of Jean Marie Jones telling me she loved me for the first time. The soft admission echoed in my head like the song of a victory lap, and I knew that I would be replaying this conversation to myself over and over again for a long time. I had known for a while that I was in love with Jean, but I never dreamed that she felt the same let alone that she would be the one to say it first.

Jean immediately reciprocated my advance, hands flying to rest on my broad chest and back, slender fingers and palms dancing gracefully across the leather covered flesh and causing goosebumps to run rampant under her gentle caress. My rough hands found their home in her tangled locks, running my fingers through her hair lovingly as I tried to convey all I was feeling through my touch. My tongue poked out to trace her plump lips, begging for the entrance that she readily granted. I poured all the emotions that had run through my mind all day-- hell since the day I fell for her-- into this one kiss, needing her to feel the love and relief I felt.

We remained like this for an immeasurable amount of time before Jean pulled away, head coming to rest across my chest once more her breathing ragged. I smiled in pride, placing tender kisses to her hairline as I attempted to regulate my own breath. I stood against the perfect creature that I was lucky enough to call my girlfriend, my heartbeat slowly returning to normal as I snuggled into her embrace.

“I love you too mamita. I love you so damn much”, I murmured fondly against her thicket of hair, smelling the comforting scent of her shampoo as I did so. I couldn't see her face from this position, but based on the sudden heat of my chest her face had flushed much like mine had been doing all morning. Deciding to look for myself, I pulled back marginally in order to get a better view of my favorite sight in the world. Her hypnotic eyes were as clear as I'd ever seen, and her smooth cheeks were broken out in with the most adorable pink tint. Her mouth was curled into a smile of pure contentment, and I took extreme pride in the fact that I was the reason for Jean's obvious happiness. I decided that this was my new favorite expression, and I internally vowed to make her look like this everyday for as long as she'd let me.

My trance was only broken by the beautiful girl's blush disappearing, and I watched as a sort of amusement that I’d learned by now meant she was up to no good overtook her features. Probably seeing the way my brows raised in silent question, Jean chuckled lightly before answering my unspoken confusion.

“So, you were really jealous of that freshman?”, she asked, eyebrows raising slightly and smile planted firmly across her face. Face flushing for what felt like the thousandth time today, I rolled my eyes in an attempt at nonchalance.

“How the hell was I supposed to know he was a freshman? Kid was almost as tall as Pea!”, I exclaimed. Now it was her turn to roll her eyes and she rolled her eyes before placing a quick peck on my lips.

“Again, how you could ever think there was someone I was into other than you is beyond me. I feel like I’m the clingiest girlfriend in the world sometimes”, she replied, seeming exasperated. I chuckled lowly.

“Mamita I have never, ever thought of you as clingy. Hell, if anything I want to be around you even more than I already am. So, by all means, be as clingy as your beautiful heart desires”, I joked, only partially kidding, as I planted a sweet kiss to her jawline. It was true, I’d always thought I must be the clingy one in our relationship considering I basically always wanted Jean near me, and if for some reason she wasn’t she was definitely in the back of my mind. It was nice to know that she felt similarly. Now it was Jean’s turn to blush once more, and my grin only widened as she did so. Seeing the way I caused a reaction in her never failed to bring me joy, and right now was no exception. Her blush faded as that mischievous twinkle returned to her eyes.

“Whatcha thinking Mamita?”, I questioned curiously. Jean bit her lower lip in anticipation as she briefly turned her head down the hall before facing me once more.

“Well, since I never really got to officially turn that guy down because I was too busy chasing after you, I was thinking it may be fun to go to the library and have you, ahem, stake your claim as it were”, she breathed more shyly than I'd ever heard. She bit her lip once more as she looked up at me through her dark fan of lashes, looking more devious and gorgeous than any one woman should have the right to. I blinked, not totally understanding what she was getting at. She’d sent my mind into a haze, and I had to physically shake my head in an attempt to clear the thoughts.

“I'm sorry babe, I don’t follow”, I answered, confused and completely turned on. Jean’s smile widened as her teeth finally released her now slightly swollen lower lip as they moved to my ear.

“I mean, I’m totally on board if you feel like you need to go show that freshman just how taken I am. Put your hand in my back pocket, kiss my neck, stick your tongue down my throat, ya know whatever you need to feel like he understands that I'm not interested in his pickup attempts”, she purred, breaths tickling the shell of my ear and driving me insane. “I'm nothing if not accommodating babe”.

I grinned down at her, feeling like my entire body was on fire as I stared deeply into her blue eyes, still twinkling with desire. I growled lightly, burying my face into the softest spot in the world: the crook of Jean's neck, just between her collarbone and the curve under her earlobe. Eagerly, I began laying soft kisses to the area before becoming more aggressive when I felt her shiver and lean into my touch. I'd found out during one of our more intimate sessions that it was one of the spots that drove my girl absolutely nuts. Naturally, I used this information to my advantage pretty much every day, and today was no exception. I swear I would never get over the way she seemed to turn completely limbless and lean into me for support once I'd started, nor the way her supple lips parted and let loose the sexiest moans I'd ever heard.

“Mmm, I agree completely mamita”, I rumbled lowly into her ear, teeth nipping at the soft skin there. Jean responded by moaning lightly, breathing out the sweetest sigh I'd ever heard. “Or, we could skip the rest of today and you could show me just how taken you are”.

Jean's eye darkened with lust. She smiled her truest wide smile, teeth and all, before tugging me down the hall and out of the school. I grinned as I let her lead me by our intertwined fingers and a sense of complete elation overcame me. To hell with being the only one to make her laugh, I wanted to be the only one that made her feel like this: wildly happy and mischievously sexy. She'd convinced me that I was somehow the only guy to evoke this side of her, and I was going to take my new role with pride. Guess it was time to start practicing.

[levi-ish]

Don’t Ask My Neighbors | 1

Summary: When the night is quiet as a whisper and the windows are all closed, sneaky kisses are shared under the same old tree where kids swore their love would never fade.

Pairing: Tom Holland X Enemy!Reader

Disclaimer: mentions of car accidents, sex and alcohol (there’ll be smut later in this story)

A/N: Hi there! Thank you so much for all of you who read the teaser and liked it, so here’s the first part, and I hope you guys enjoy! Also, I set your sisters, parents and last names already because it was getting too confusing to write, so yup. Sorry for the shitty chapter, I promise the next ones will be more intriguing.

Also, if you want to be tagged, send me an ASK.

Masterlist

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

“Your neighbor is hot” Dave peeked through the curtains as you kept your eyes glued into the notebook, writing down more complex words that would lead you to a better grade.

“My neighbor?” You asked without even looking, knowing already what he was talking about, or even worse — whom.

“Dude, look at that fucking eight-pack” Eva sighed, sneaking under Dave’s arm and peeking through the window while you wondered if you should offer them a napkin or something like that. “But (Y/N) already told me that he’s off limits, so...”

You rolled your eyes and turned around on your chair, analyzing the two other young-adults that were crowding around your window, staring at the boy’s room and letting their hormones take over their minds.

“Why’s that?” Dave bit his lower lip and turned around, running a hand on his dark hair and twitching his mouth to the side.

“Because of their families’ war” said the other girl before you could even think of an answer.

And she wasn’t wrong; not only he was off limits, but his entire family was too. 

You never had the chance to ask for a cup of sugar or to even wave back while putting the trash away; or even to pet the Holland’s dog from time to time because of the weird looks you would receive from your own family and from the other. So a normal life in suburbia wasn’t something you grew used to.

It all started before you could even see the light of day, when your family bought the house that other couple wanted, because the neighborhood was quiet and that specific place had a better yard and pool. The Hollands, however, decided to buy the house on the left and your parents, who weren’t that fond of competition, decided not to let them slide that easily.

The firsts steps were the fake smiles and crooked gazes to their backs, and then, soon enough, the families started to rub each conquest against each others faces. When Nikki first got pregnant with her boy, your mother called for a war. She discovered that she was pregnant too a few months later, having you and then, she didn’t want to waste more time, trying again, only to have a baby girl two and a half years later, your sister Morgan. 

But then, Nikki discovered that she was having twins — and guess what?! — your parents couldn’t stand the thought of losing. 

With all that back and forth, pregnancies and showing off the babies and their toys around, it resulted on a house with four boys and the other with four girls. 

For informational purposes; the Hollands were composed of Dominic and Nikki, Tom (21), Sam and Harry (18) and Paddy (13); while the Hodges were Luke and Viola, you (19, but almost 20), Morgan (17), Danny (14) and Stella (10); but the confusion was too big even for you, sometimes. 

And the pressure — don’t even get me started. You had to be the greatest in all of your classes because fucking Tom couldn’t be better than you. And it wasn’t that Thomas fucking Holland was a bad kid or anything like that, he was actually nice and you had nothing to complain about, but since your and his mother hated each other, you had to keep the profile and break any kind of contact you two had in the past.

“Why do you have to be a part of this fight again?” Eva sat on your bed again, her body sinking into the cocoon of blankets you set there before they came.

“I’m not a part of it” you said, lifting your head and pulling one of your legs closer to your chest. “This is my mother’s business and I’m not putting up with it. I’m just...”

“—Too scared to contradict her.” Dave finished your sentence, throwing himself at your bed and his legs hitting Eva’s back, making the girl let out a small whimper, slapping his thigh. “But don’t even pretend that you like him a lot.”

That was true; you didn’t. You didn’t even know when you started to get annoyed by him or if you were really annoyed by the boy or if it was your mother’s voice inside your head, manipulating you into hating the boy.

You smiled kindly at them and turned around. “Maybe we should go back to the project since I am the only one doing something here.”

But he was right, you were too scared of your mother. God, every one in your family was, because when she was mad, she would turn the tables and make you feel guilty with a great selection of words that would keep you inside your room until the end of times.

So, no, no one dared to contradict her.

“I’m too old for that” Eva rolled her eyes and threw her head on a pillow, dramatically sighing. “I might be dead tomorrow and you are worrying about the damn project.”

“Well, it’s a third of the final grade.” You stated, licking your lips quickly and adjusting the hoodie’s sleeves on your arms. “I’m not getting a B because of you.”

“Nerd” Dave yelled-whispered and you threw a pen at him, laughing while your eyes reached for the small space that the curtains didn’t cover, watching from afar the figure of the boy who smiled at the sight of you, making your stomach feel funny — not the bad way.

[...]

You yawned deeply as your eyes tried to keep open, the sweet smell of pancakes downstairs keeping you away from falling asleep once more, ignoring all the alarms you always set on your phone. You changed from the pajama pants to some comfortable jeans and an old shirt you were fond of, putting on some sneakers and grabbing your stuff to leave quickly.

Climbing downstairs, you walked into the kitchen and found all of your sisters already sitting there and your father cooking some pancakes while your mother finished some work on her laptop. You were greeted by sleepy ‘good mornings’ and helped yourself with a cup of coffee, sitting beside Morgan and drinking it slowly.

“Ugh, I hate those small keyboard keys” your mother muttered to herself while downing a big gulp of her coffee. 

“Don’t mind your mother, girls” your father said, turning around quickly and smiling politely. “She’s had a bad night.”

“It’s not my fault” she glared at her husband and rolled her eyes, completely annoyed. “I couldn’t sleep because one of the Devil’s spawns let their music too loud last night.”

You furrowed your brows while your father put some pancakes on your plate, grabbing syrup to cover them.

“Devil’s spawns?” Questioned Danny, twitching her mouth.

“Her new nickname to Nikki’s sons” your father explained and rolled his own eyes.

You laughed to yourself, already aware of their rivalry and how your father wasn’t so into the battle as your mother was. Actually, when you were younger, your father told you about how he used to be friends with Dominic a long time ago, ending their friendship because of their wives. What a waste.

“Anyways” your mother closed her laptop and looked at you with demanding eyes, making the pancakes going down your throat seem stuck there. “(Y/N), could you take your sisters to school before class?”

Coughing on your coffee, you put the mug on the surface of the table and looked around, watching as your sisters seemed to mind their own business, so you just nodded while cutting another piece of the pancakes, your stomach humming quietly, but noticeable.

“Sure” you smiled and ate your last bite before standing up. “I’ll just brush my teeth and then we’ll be out.”

The girls nodded and your mother adjusted her pantsuit, straitening the edges before smiling to herself and grabbing her stuff. She was a journalist and worked in the cooking section, always talking about food and nutrition, so she mostly worked from home, but sometimes, she had to go to these meetings and keep her name and works clean.

Don’t even get me started on her key lime pie, because oh, you wouldn’t believe the taste of that! And, of course, she and Nikki would compete who made the best pie.

“Will I see you later, darling?” Asked your father, looking straight at you and you smiled shyly. 

Your father, on other hand, had a small market around the corner and worked with all of his heart and passion on it. Sometimes, you would join him to help with some stuff, since some of his employees quit and he could use extra help. You liked doing that, so it wasn’t such a burden.

“Of course.”

Quickly, you brushed your teeth and grabbed your phone and car keys to leave already, only waiting for your sisters to come and entering the car when they were all ready.

Opening the garage door, you moved the car back and let out a small sigh, looking at the mirror as you did so. But when you saw it, it was too late; your nails were deep into the steering wheel and your sisters screamed loud, causing Stella to cry in desperation. You felt your heart starting to thump faster and turned around, looking at the girls.

“Stay here” you said.

It was a small collision, but still a collision that could have done damage to your car — the one you loved so much — so you jumped down of it and walked at the back, looking around and seeing the silver Audi with a small scratch, and so did your own car (luckily).

The owner showed his face while climbing down of the Audi, the brown curls falling against his forehead just slightly since the rest of his hair was pushed back. You crossed your arms and gazed at him, waiting for something to be said before you lost your temper.

“Oh, shit” he said, removing his sunglasses and giving your eyes access to his hazelnut ones as he crouched down behind your car. “I’m so sorry!”

He looked up to find you already staring and you bit your lower lip, twitching your nose.

“I hope so” you said, furrowing your brows. “My sisters are there, you could’ve hurt them.”

You already felt that he was being genuine about his apology, but you were too infuriated to control your choice of words (and you already had the ability to destroy a person with them). 

“I’m really sorry” he licked his lips and stood, walking in your direction and stopping only a few inches in front of you.

God, does he know anything about personal space?

You looked a bit up to find his freckled nose right in front of you, making you cross eyes for a little more. Redness staying to spread all over your cheeks and you looked down, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of making you blush.

“Yeah.” You said quietly, almost in a mutter.

Looking up again, you found his eyes still invading your personal space. His arm twitched a bit, as if he wanted to touch you, but he hesitated and looked away; and you could swear that you had a déjà-vu that moment, almost smelling the humid grass from the park and hearing the leaves of the big old tree above you, but you shut down that thought, going back to reality, the one where you stood in front of that guy — the same one from the tree — but looking like a stranger.

“Do you—” he started to say, and you wanted to hear, but your mother rushed from the entrance door and to the street, her eyes full of anger and worry.

“What the—” she looked around and her eyes found Tom’s, not making the situation any better. “You!”

She stormed at his direction and you knew that a hurricane was coming, so you held your breath and closed your eyes quickly. Then, another voice appeared and you felt even more frighted. 

“Don’t even try to blame it on my son!” Screamed Nikki as she walked down the front yard, standing in front of your mother and crossing her arms. “It’s not his fault that your daughter doesn’t know how to drive. You better be careful, she could’ve hurt someone!”

“Excuse me?!” You furrowed your brows, but were completely ignored.

You looked at Tom again only to find him rolling his eyes and going back to his car, starting it and preparing to leave, but not before he found your reflection on the mirror and gave you a small smirk.

How dare he?

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[creepingtowardstheedge]

Ruth Montgomery | The Junior Deputy

The Basics:

Full name: Ruth Montgomery Meaning: ‘friend’ in Hebrew Nicknames: Rue (closest friends), Rook, Rookie, Deputy, Dep, Probie (Pratt), Wrath (John), Sinner (cultists), Little Miss Wrath (John), Kid (Dutch) Birth date: March 21st, 1993 Age: 25 years old Height: 5’4” inch | 166 cm Gender: Female Zodiac: Aries Sexuality: Heterosexual MBTI: ENTJ Alignment: Neutral Good Temperament: Choleric Phobia(s): Heights and bees Guilty pleasures: Cult Radio, loud music, staying in pijamas all day, chocolate Language(s) spoken: English and a little bit of Spanish Hobbies: Stargazing, boxing, listening lo music, sleeping, playing the piano Side: Resistance John’s tattoos: Wrath (chest)

Background:

Hometown: Great Falls, Montana Current location: Hope County, Montana Nationality: American Ethnicity: Canadian, American, Brazilian, Guatemalan. Family: Jane Montgomery (mother†), Scott Barnes (father), Melanie Barnes (stepmother), Alex Price (half-brother), Brenda Barnes (half-sister), Jack Barnes (half-brother). Pet(s): None Education: High school diploma Occupation: Junior Deputy Past job(s): Waitress Brief story: Her parents were both very young when her mother got pregnant. They were happy for some time, but after a few years things started getting tough and her father started drinking and  whoring around. They divorced and her father remarried and started a family with another woman, so Ruth grew up with her mother, visiting her father once or twice a month but never enjoying it. Her mother always took care of her and sacrificed everything for her, sometimes even happiness, working hard to provide her with everything she wanted, but when Ruth was 15 she contracted cancer and died a year later. Devastated, Ruth started living with her uncle Adam, not wanting to live with her father and his new family, but she had a rough couple of years, but with time and with her uncle’s help she got out of it and started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. After working for a couple of years as a waitress, she enrolled for the police academy in Helena and then moved to Hope County to start her new job as a police officer.

Skills and Abilities:

Physical strength: 5/10 Offense: 6/10 Defense: 7/10 Agility: 9/10 Speed: 8/10 Intelligence: 8/10 Stealth: 9/10 Precision: 9/10 Stamina: 6/10 Teamwork: 7/10

Talents: 

Police officer skills: handling a gun, physical resistance, criminal insight, attention to details.

Stealth: moving undetected and killing without being noticed.

Blowing up things, flying and hunting

Shortcomings: 

Hand to hand combat: she’s not very strong, and in an open fight she wouldn’t be able to knock out a grown man. She’s really agile though, so she tries to overcome her enemies by sneaking out and wearing them out.

Self-control: she tends to lose her temper pretty fast and sometimes has serious self-control issues – you could see her try to kill a wolf with her bare hands if she’s in a bad mood and is particularly angry with the above-mentioned animal (yeah, she’s pretty dumb sometimes).

Physical appearance and characteristics:

Face claim: Victoria Justice Eye color: Brown Hair color: Dark brown Glasses/Contacts: None Dominant hand: Right hand Build: Slim Skin tone: Olive Tattoos: None, apart from John’s tattoo. Piercings: None Marks/scars: Several animal scratches and a tiny scar on her neck as a result of a particularly fierce clash with a peggie. Clothing style: Sporty and casual clothes, she usually wears plaid shirts, tight jeans and short tank tops. She likes to keeps it simple. Allergies: Peanuts

Relationships:

Joseph Seed: She doesn’t believe all the crap he says, but there’s something about him, something that fascinates her, that makes her want to believe him. His unpredictability scares her, though, and she knows he could be capable of everything, especially after hearing his story and what he did to his daughter. She’s afraid of him, she’s afraid of the effect he has on her but above all she’s afraid of what he could do next to convince people that what he’s saying is true.

John Seed: At first she just thought he was a sadistic bastard, always trying to kidnap and convert  people against their will. But after reading the Book of Joseph she started wondering and thinking about his past and all the things he had to go through when he was a child. She knows his attitude is probably a side effect of what he’s been through, but that doesn’t justify his actions nor his beliefs. With time, though, she started having contradictory feelings towards him, fearing him on on hand and being attracted to him on the other.

Jacob Seed: Ruth is very cautious around him, knowing what he did to his fellow soldier and what he does to the people he kidnaps in the mountains. She admires him, though, for always having his brothers’ backs and defending them when they were young. He’s strong, fierce and determined, but he’s also dangerous and has a bad habit of torturing and brainwashing people, so she doesn’t think they will ever get along.

Faith Seed: Ruth doesn’t like the young girl, no matter what happened to her in the past. She’s false, manipulative and somehow creepy. Besides, she still feels like she doesn’t know the whole truth about her. Her story was different every time they talked about it and in the end Ruth was so confused that she didn’t even know what to think anymore.

Earl Whitehorse: Her mentor and leader. He’s the best boss she could have ever hoped for and always agrees with his orders and decisions. She’s glad he didn’t retire as he said he would do, because she still needs him and couldn’t think of a better person to take his place.

Staci Pratt: They have a weird love-hate relationship. She finds him funny and annoying at the same time and likes to tease him whenever she can. They’re both pretty competitive and at the station they used to have contests of any kind,  struggling to decide which one was the better shooter, the better driver or the fastest eater. They make a good team, though.

Joey Hudson: They never got along, and Ruth doesn’t really know why. She always tried to be kind to the other woman, or at least reasonable and polite, but it simply wasn’t meant to be. Eventually they learned to coexist, but never became friends.

Cameron Burke: She doesn’t like him too much, but follows his orders anyway, as Earl told her to. He’s a powerful man, and Ruth tries not to contradict him, even though she doesn’t always agree with his plans.

Nancy: She always found her weird and false, too thoughtful and kind, but always thought she was harmless, and didn’t think for a minute that she would betray his coworkers and throw them to the wolves.

Dutch: Loves how grumpy he always is and kind of relates sometimes. They are so similar, so much that sometimes she thinks they might be related at some level. Even though she never admitted it to his face, she’s grateful for all he has done for her, saving her life and always watching over her, even from afar.

Nick Rye: He’s one of the best people she knows. He’s so honest and morally righteous, always so protective towards his beloved ones. With time he became one of her best friends, so much that she always brought him with her on her missions, as she knew she could always count on him and felt safe with him by her side.

Kim Rye: Her only female friend, she’d say. She would love to hang out with Kim and talk about all kind of stuff, from pregnancy to their future after the cult. She’s though, and sometimes Ruth asks herself who the real man in the family is, seeing how she handles Nick and their family.

Mary May Fairgrave: They have pretty similar personalities, so they don’t always get along and agree about their priorities, but Ruth knows she can count on her in times of need and never hesitates to ask her for help.

Jerome Jeffries: Ruth always finds his presence reassuring, his voice so deep and quiet and his heart so pure that she still wonders how could a man like that fight in the war. She likes to spend time with him when she’s in Fall’s End, and often asks him for advice when in doubt about whether she’s doing the right thing or not.

Grace Armstrong: She admires Grace so much, and would like to look more like her. The girl is tough but quiet at the same time, and Ruth knows they don’t necessarily have to fill in the silence when they’re together, so she turns to her when she needs help but doesn’t necessarily want to talk about it.

Sharky Boshaw: Hanging out with him is so much fun, especially when it comes to setting things  on fire and kicking some asses. He’s very plainspoken and direct, just like a child, but knows when not to judge and be comprehensive.

Jess Black: Jess’s been through a lot and Ruth knows that. She was horrified after hearing her story and what the Cook did to her family, and doesn’t blame her nor her desire for revenge, but she’s afraid that the anger will get her killed eventually, though the young girl is pretty good at killing peggies.

Eli Palmer: He was a good person, always so generous and confident and even though she was under the influence of Jacob and she wasn’t acting consciously, she felt so guilty when he died. He helped her when no-one did and literally saved her life, he trusted her and as a thank you she stabbed him in the back. But she knows he would have forgiven her and tries to live with her remorse.

Dawn Hayes: soon

Other information:

She used to box, it helped her blow off steam.

She was a loner in high school, never had any real friend, but loneliness never actually bother her.

She always wanted a little brother, someone to take care of, but her parents got divorced before she could even ask for it and her mother never remarried. She doesn’t consider his father’s children her real siblings, in part because she didn’t have time to familiarize too much with them, but also because she never really liked them, nor their mother.

She always wanted to be a cop, since she was a kid, but never thought she would be suitable for the job. When she was accepted to the police academy, she was so hyped up that started jumping across the house and almost fell down the stairs.

Has always been interested in stars and was particularly eager to learn all of their names when she was a child.

She loooves chocolate, could eat it all day.

Paces back and forth when she’s thinking or when she’s particularly nervous, cannot stay still.

She hates silence, always has to listen to some music or talk to fill it in, especially when she feels awkward or there’s tension in the room.

[trashyocstash]

here’s the story for the alien abduction au! this idea came from a prompt given to me by an anon when i was asking for rick/julie prompts: “Alien abduction au but with a twist, Julie is the alien and accidentally abducts Rick.” anon, wherever you are, i hope you like this!

i spent some time coming up with ideas and getting help for this au too, and it’s all culminated into this!

the romance may feel rushed, but in my defense, this is just a one-shot, i can’t make it as developed as the romance in the main story, but i did try. i hope it’s good enough.

when in her alien form, julie is called “ju-lee” and in her human form, she’s called julie.

Ju-Lee sat alone in her room, smiling as she brought up her hologram of Earth and stared at it, immersed in her curiosity.

She’d always had a fascination for other worlds, but her people believed the inhabitants of them were barbaric and primitive, too obsessed with war and filled with hate, so it was discouraged. Regardless, Ju-Lee had wanted to see these worlds, and travel beyond her own planet for another, she had the option to not be cooped up on her own planet anymore, and it was the option she wanted to take.

Earth was one that stood out the most to her, since pretty much everyone, not just her planet, saw it’s dominant species, humans, as barbaric and primitive. People were discouraged to visit it, and even if they did, were told simply to view humanity from afar, so it’s what she would do.

The city Ju-Lee lived in had a shipyard, and the ships there were highly advanced, capable of interstellar travel, and they could take her to Earth as she wanted. When flying these ships, the intention was to observe, not just Earth, but other planets too, because again, they saw other species as lesser than them.

She let her pale orange hand move through the hologram, and sighed. Ju-Lee had been thinking about leaving for a while, she felt alone and like she didn’t belong with her people. She valued peace and prosperity as much as they did, but disagreed with their clearly high ego of being above everyone else and demonizing them. As a result, Ju-Lee just felt too different and alienated from her people, and wondered if Earth could be the place she truly belonged to.

Ju-Lee sucked in a breath and stood up, she really did feel like she needed to leave, and right now. She shut off the hologram, stuffed it in a bag and ran off for the shipyard.

She arrived in the shipyard and happily flew off with one of the ships, headed off for Earth. She had piloted ships in the past, but Ju-Lee had never left her planet before. Now that she had, a feeling of freedom washed over her.

Ju-Lee arrived overhead a portion of Earth, smiling as she looked through what info there was on the planet...most of it negative sadly..

“I need to get more positive info this planet.” She sighed. “But how?”

As she leaned back, her elbow bumped into the controls without her noticing, setting off the “put things into the ship” option.

A mad scientist named Rick Sanchez was tossing and turning on his bed, attempting to sleep, but being unable to, making him groan in annoyance and frustration. Why couldn’t he fall asleep?

Out of nowhere, a beam of light burst into his room, carrying him and some nearby objects into the sky, straight for a ship. He sighed, why was he being abducted by an alien right now of all times?

Rick arrived in a part of the ship meant for storage and got up. He was still tired, but also angrily wanted to confront his abductor.

Storming into the ship’s control center, he was surprised to see one alien there, and from a reclusive species no less. The alien turned around and upon seeing him, was in shock.

“A...A human!” She gasped.

“Yes..?” She was pretty, but he was still in a bad mood about his abduction. “Why do you abduct me? I was trying to sleep!”

“Oh my gosh! I’m…I’m really sorry…I was just trying to learn more about humans…I didn’t mean to abduct you!” Ju-Lee replied, feeling flustered and embarrassed.

His temper cooled knowing that it was just an accident, and he believed her as her embarrassment seemed genuine. Rick looked her up and down, a smirk appearing on his face. “Well I can’t say I’m complaining.”

Ju-Lee blushed at this and looked away, not expecting him to be flirty with her. She tried to brush it off and turned to face him. “Do you...umm...want to go back to Earth?”

He thought about it for a moment. “Eh...n-not really..I don’t mind st-staying here.” Rick wanted to go to sleep, but he also couldn’t resist being around an attractive alien.

That wasn’t at all the answer Ju-Lee had expected. “Why don’t you want to return home?”

He shrugged. “Don’t care much for it. I’d rather stay here.”

Ju-Lee was confused, but decided to agree. “Um...alright..” When he didn’t respond, she decided to introduce herself. “My name is..um….Ju-Lee..by the way..”

“Rick.”

“Rick...that’s a funny name...I like it..” She giggled.

A smile appeared on Rick’s face, he liked her already.

Rick stayed with Ju-Lee on her ship, and found himself liking her more and more by the day. She was full of wonder and enthusiasm, asking him questions about Earth everyday, and he was happy to answer them.

“Does every human have a unibrow like you?” She asked.

“No, just some of us.” He answered.

And Ju-Lee always had more for him too. “And your ears...do some people have pointy ones?”

“No one does, all of our ears are rounded.”

She would also want to examine Rick, and he let her, which would just be her poking, prodding and scanning him. When he asked why she did this, Ju-Lee explained she was trying to understand more about humans, and he just smiled, enthralled with her curiosity towards humanity and Earth, she was super cute in his eyes.

After a week, Ju-Lee decided to ask Rick another question, but this one was different than the others. “Can you travel the Earth with me?”

He was taken aback by this. “Travel Earth? With me?”

She nodded. “I don’t know any other humans...and I really want to go explore Earth, and I’d need a guide for that…”

Rick really didn’t like his home planet very much, so he wasn’t the best guide for her. But at the same time, he really did like her, so he couldn’t say no. “Alright...I’ll take you to Earth with me..”

Ju-Lee squealed in delight and hugged him. “Yay! Thank you so much!”

He chuckled and pulled her off of him. “But first, you’ll need a human name and disguise.”

“Disguise? But I can’t shapeshift..”

“Hold on.”

Ju-Lee watched as he headed for another room and quickly came out with a device for her. “What is that?” She wondered aloud.

“This will help you shapeshift into a human form, just press the button. And when you’re in the human form, if you press the button again, you’ll return to normal.” Rick explained. “Try it out.”

A bright expression appeared on her face as she pressed the button. In an instant, Ju-Lee was in a human form. Rick’s mouth dropped at the sight, she was beautiful.

“What do you think Rick?” Ju-Lee asked.

He cleared his throat. “Ah yes...you um...y-y-you look….g-great..”

She blushed. “Thank you...but what about a human name for me?”

Rick thought for a moment. “Ju-Lee sounds like the name Julie...so we’ll call you that. It’s spelled J-U-L-I-E, got it?”

Julie nodded her head. “I got it. When can we get going?”

He peered through the window, seeing it was morning. Turning back to her, he spoke again. “Now.”

Once they departed from the ship, Julie pulled out her hologram of Earth. “Where’s the first place we should go?” She asked.

“Let’s start somewhere simple.” He replied. “You’re from an aquatic race, so I think I have an idea of a place you’ll like..”

Her eyes widened and she became all giddy as he led her to….a seafood restaurant. Julie immediately started walking to a table, but Rick pulled her back.  “Just follow my lead, and don’t go anywhere on your own unless it’s the bathroom, o-okay?”

She nodded her head, and he started leading her over to a table where they sat down together. When they got menus, Julie stared at her’s, realizing why Rick had brought her here and became more excited than before.

“How much stuff can I get?” She asked.

Rick shrugged. “Just like….a main dish, a side one and a drink...I can’t have you getting too much..”

She giggled. “Don’t worry, I’ll just get what you said to get! I promise!”

“I hope s-so..”

In the end, Rick had to watch as Julie practically devoured a lobster right in front of him. He was both surprised and impressed by her.

“Uh...y-you re-really like that lobster d-don’t you?” He stuttered out.

She nodded. “It’s my favourite food other than fish!” Then Julie went right back to eating it.

Rick knew he was in for…something wild with her around.

They continued to go to different places together, and for now, Rick was keeping them in America first before they went to any other country, and he was already thinking of countries she’d like, mainly ones with a lot of water.

One place in particular they visited together was a beach. Rick had gotten Julie to get a bikini beforehand, and of course blushed when he saw her in it. Once they arrived at the beach, she was enthralled with the place and immediately ran up to the water’s edge. While there, she spotted a fish and jumped into the water after it.

“Julie! W-What are you doing?” Rick shouted.

She popped her head out of the water, a fish in her mouth, and he noticed a fin popping out of the water.

He ran up to her and realized the fin was apart of a tail, a tail that made her look like a mermaid. Julie noticed his confusion and put the fish onto her hands. “It’s my tail, I get it whenever I’m in the water, I guess it’s the same in my human disguise..” Then she put the fish back in her mouth.

Rick sighed and shook this new revelation off, for now, he had to deal with Julie devouring that fish. “Get that out of your mouth!” He yelled, trying to pull the fish out of her mouth.

She spit it out as he asked, and at that point, it was nothing but tiny pieces. “Why did you want me to do that?” She asked him innocently.

“You can’t j-just...just jump in the water and eat a-a fish..doesn’t work that way...if you want a fish, you go to the store and buy one.” He explained.

“Then can we do that?”

He smiled at her question. “I don’t see why not.”

They went out and Rick bought some fish for her, and once it was nice and heated up, she happily ate it. Since they were alone, he even allowed for her to return to her alien form, which she promptly did.

While she ate, Ju-Lee watched Rick as he ate with her. She’d been really enjoying her travels with him so far, it was really exciting to travel with him. She also had to admit, he was stirring feelings within her, feelings she recognized as...love. Ju-Lee didn’t mind at all, it would’ve been hard not to in her mind.

“Um...I-I just wanna say...I’m uh…s-s-sorry for yelling at y-you earlier…” Rick apologized.

“Its okay,” Ju-Lee smiled. “You’re just trying to help me assimilate more into Earth culture, I...really appreciate it..” She blushed.

He was surprised, but smiled. “That’s good...do you want to go watch some TV with me?” Rick asked as he got up from his seat.

“That would be wonderful!” Ju-Lee cheerfully replied as she got up too.

They put their dishes away and sat down to watch TV together. Ju-Lee was enamoured as she watched the show that was on, it was helping her to understand Earth culture in a way, so she was glad that he’d brought up the suggestion to her.

Rick was sitting beside her, so Ju-Lee shyly leaned against him, making both blush. He hadn’t expected her to do that, but wasn’t complaining, just feeling shy.

She was a sweet girl, shy and cute, though acted a little strange at times. But he knew this was because she didn’t understand the cultural norms on Earth, but Ju-Lee could learn in time, he knew. Having her this close made him feel butterflies in his stomach, so he tried to push it away.

“Thank you for letting me travel with you..it’s been really fun..” Ju-Lee told him.

“Our travels are only just beginning.” He replied. “T-There’s so much more y-you haven’t seen y-y-yet.”

Her eyes lit up at this. “When are we going to see more places?”

“Soon.” Rick winked.

Rick and Julie continued their travels, getting into all sorts of hijinks together. Such as when he took her to an amusement park and she ended up sticky and covered in cotton candy, but didn’t mind at all. He remembered that time he’d taken her to an aquarium and she’d been fascinated by the octopus, wanting to get in and see it, but Rick had told her no.

When they did start exploring other countries together, Julie really found herself enjoying islands and other places with a lot of water, as he had predicted. He would go in the water with her, wearing a scuba diving outfit, and having to hold her back from eating certain sea creatures.

And during all of this, their bond only strengthened. Rick had a strong disdain for the world, but thanks to her, he was starting to find a new appreciation for it. He found himself captured with her innocence, wonder, curiosity and enthusiasm. He knew he was starting to fall in love with her, but kept denying and pushing it away, until one day, he couldn’t.

They were out on a boat together, Julie was in her human form, wearing a sundress with a hibiscus flower in her hair. The sun was still shining bright in the sky, and she was looking out across the ocean.

Rick smiled at her, he thought she looked especially beautiful right now, but tried to ignore it. He walked over to her, and she turned behind to look at him.

“Thank you for bringing me out here Rick! It’s so lovely..” She told him in awe.

“You are.” He realized what he’d said and became flustered. “I mean...it is! It’s nice out here I guess..”

She smiled and gave him a hug, catching him off-guard. “Huh? Julie? What’s this for?” He blushed.

“For letting me go on this adventure with you across your planet, it’s been so much fun! I don’t want it to end…” Julie explained.

“Me neither..” Rick quietly agreed.

When she pulled away, he pulled something out of the pocket of pants for her, it was a seashell. “Here, have this.” He offered. “I found it and thought you might like it.”

She happily took the seashell from his hands, her smile widening. “Oh thank you so much! I love it!”

Seeing her so ecstatic made Rick realize how much he loved to see her like this, all smiles and joy. It was that moment that made him see he couldn’t ignore his feelings anymore: he loved her. Just having her near put him at ease and he knew it, he wasn’t normally like this, she was bringing out a side in him even he’d never seen before, and that seemed to only strengthen his feelings for her.

Ju-Lee knew that her feelings for Rick were growing stronger by the day as well. She had finally found freedom and happiness in her life, with someone who brought out the best in her and cared for her deeply. Initially, he’d been more harsh with her, but as time passed, he was being gentler and softer, she wondered if it had to do with her.

She knew she should tell him how she felt, but she was just so shy and nervous. Though she knew she couldn’t hide it forever…

Rick and Ju-Lee were relaxing together on the Australian coast, earlier he’d shown her the Great Barrier Reef, which she’d of course loved and for once, didn’t try to eat any sea creatures she saw. Rick in his still in his scuba gear(minus the goggles) and Ju-Lee was in her bikini with the hibiscus flower from earlier wrapped around one of her tentacles. They were sitting side-by-side watching the sunset together. Ju-Lee wanted to snuggle against Rick, but was feeling too shy to do so.

“Rick..I just wanted to let you know..” She started to blush. “I’ve never felt so free and happy before coming here to Earth and meeting you..”

He looked over at her knowingly. “I figured...the people on your planet are full of self-righteous assholes who think they’re ‘so good and amazing’ and better than everyone else, they’re not. It’s good to see that you’re not like the rest of them.”

She sighed. “I wish they weren’t that way. I’m glad they value peace and prosperity..but the way they demean and look down upon others never sat right with me. I’ve never felt like I belonged with them, I’ve always just felt lost and alone..until, like I said, I met you.”

Rick started to look shy too. “I’ve never really had anybody either..I’ve always been...shunned...alone...never fit in…” He flashed her a smile. “Guess we have something in common don’t we?”

Hearing this made her upset, knowing that Rick had been alone for a long time too. “I’m so sorry…” She muttered.

He shrugged. “It’s okay, I’m used to it. But it’s..nice..having someone else a-around..”

She looked really upset. “It shouldn’t be that way...everyone deserves someone in their lives...someone to love…”

“I’ve never had someone love me..” He admitted.

“I love you.” Ju-Lee blurted out. When she realized what she said, she quickly covered her mouth, shocked and scared, not knowing what he would say.

Rick was stunned, he hadn’t expected her to say that at all. He sat there, unmoving, until he finally said something. “You...love me?”

She nodded shyly. “I...do..”

He had been hiding his feelings for her for a while, but now he knew there was no point in hiding them anymore. “I...I...I love y-you t-too Ju-Lee..”

She gasped. “You love me too? I didn’t think…”

“You didn’t think I’d love you? After everything?”

“I just..I’ve always been seen as weird and strange...so I guess I never thought you’d return my feelings..”

Rick ran his fingers across her tentacle hair. “I’ll admit, I thought you were a-a little w-weird...but I...I-I didn’t mind, thought it was cute and a-all..and it was just because you didn’t u-u-understand how Earth w-worked..”

Ju-Lee placed a hand on his, she was so happy that she’d found someone who loved her truly, for who she was, and didn’t think less of her. She had a few friends on her home planet, but even they didn’t understand her at times, but now she had someone who did. She knew her home planet who disapprove of their love, but that didn’t matter to her now, Ju-Lee knew where she belonged: with him.

With that, she kissed him on the lips. He was surprised, but quickly melted into it and returned her kiss. Ju-Lee’s pointed ears were twitching excitedly all the while.

Slowly but surely, things became more passionate and soon Rick was removing his scuba outfit, with Ju-Lee following by removing her bikini...

Rick and Ju-Lee continued their travels together, now as a couple, happy and in love. They were freed from the lonely lives they’d always lived, they had each other now and that was all that mattered to them.

When their travels were over, they settled down together on a house by the sea, where they would go swimming together everyday. Their lives had never been better.

One day, Ju-Lee had found herself feeling a little strange. Rick suggested she might be pregnant.

“Can our two species even breed with each other?” She asked, unsure.

“We’ve been able to have sex, no problem, and your anatomy is close t-to a human’s….I-I wouldn’t doubt it.” He responded.

Ju-Lee still wasn’t sure, so she went out and bought a pregnancy test in her human form. After using it once she got home, her eyes widened, it was positive. “So our species can breed with each other…” She remarked in amazement. She had to go tell Rick.

She found Rick sitting in front of the water and ran over to him, pregnancy test in hand. “Rick look!” Ju-Lee beamed, showing it to him. “I’m pregnant!”

He smiled. “Looks like I-I was r-right after all, I can see y-you’re really excited about it ar-aren’t you?”

She nodded, her ears twitching. “I’m going to be a mother!” Ju-Lee then placed a hand on her stomach, feeling overjoyed, knowing a baby was growing inside her: their baby.

[deliciouslyswaggytrashcan]

If you’re willing, how about #75: “I was just thinking about you” with Shiro x reader?

Ahhh! I love this! I can picture Shiro saying this. FAIR WARNING!!! THIS REQUEST WILL INCLUDE SOME SPOILERS FROM SEASON SIX SO READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!!! I’ll be sure to properly tag this so the show won’t be spoiled for anyone. So sorry it took me so long to get to your request. I made the reader female in this case if that’s alright >_

Betrayal came in two waves to all the paladins yet Shiro’s sudden change came as the most heartbreaking. The pain went deep into hearts of everyone, the deep trust in their leader shattered into millions of tiny pieces. Each small piece could not be fixed so easily and it appeared as if it would never be fixed. Some things cannot be fixed so easily when broken and trust is the perfect example of this.

She watched from afar, unable to move as the Black Paladin hit Hunk so hard, knocking him across the room into Coran. Lance quickly took aim to defend himself but Shiro was faster, bringing Lance to floor in one smooth hit. Allura and Romelle were next, laying unconscious next to each other. Her mind screamed for her body to move, trying to defend her teammates from the wrath of Shiro’s fists. She knew he’d never ever hurt her but in life there was two types of pain: mental and physical. And he had hurt her mentally, the pain reaching so deep into her heart that it almost felt like physical pain. All the signs were there. Right there in front of her and they went almost unnoticed. Since their love turned to poison, her mind cycled through emotions faster than a kid flipping radio channels. She’d gone from leveled to rocky - fighting a mixture of competing emotions, each of them vying for dominance. With all her heart, she loved the man so much that she’d be willing to lay down her life for him but another part was scared. Scared of him, the overwhelming fear that she was going to be next to face him. But she couldn’t let him escape with Lotor! She had no choice… She’d have to take him down, no matter what it takes. Sprinting into action, she ran in front of him, arms extended out as she stood in front of the bridge doors, not allowing him to leave.

“Step aside, Y/N.” His baritone voice ordered, causing her to shake where she stood but she held her ground.

“No, Shiro, put Lotor down. Think about what you’re doing.” She pleaded with him, trying to snap him out of his madness.

“I said, Step.a.side.Y/N.” His hand began to glow the familiar purple glow with his eye brows furrowed. His eyes were empty, something she no longer recognized. It was like almost all humanity had left him in that moment. Truly it was such a cruel thought to think yet there was no emotion behind those eyes. In his movements, he expressed so much and it came from out of no where. Yet in his eyes, there was nothing. So she pleaded to him, trying to invoke any sort of emotion out of the Black Paladin.

“Shiro, please. Listen to me. Lotor has betrayed us all! Why are you defending him?!” She cried, holding her ground as she continued to block the door. “Just put him down Shiro. I’m sure we can work this-” With his free hand, Shiro latched onto her shoulder, tossing her across the room and slamming her into a wall and then on the floor. She groaned in pain but not another single sound dare to escape her mouth. She lay on the ground, her face closed in a grimace, her skin pale and clammy. Small beams of sweat dripped down her face as her breathing grew heavy. Shiro didn’t say a word, walking out of the room with Lotor still tossed over his shoulder. She pushed herself up slightly off the floor, looking towards the man she no longer recognized. There was still no emotion behind those eyes as he walked away from the damaged he had caused. Something had to have been wrong with him. There was no logical reason behind his actions. He was being used; a walking puppet from someone’s agenda. She started to reach out towards him, making one final plead as her vision faded to black.

When her eyes opened to an unfamiliar scene, her entire body was set on edge as she quickly jumped to her feet, looking all around her for any possible attack coming towards her. She didn’t have time to take in her mysterious surroundings but she knew she was no longer inside the Castle of Lions. The colors around her were very familiar, the similar color scheme of the Black Lion with thousands of stars illuminating the sky above her. Was she inside the consciousness of the Black Lion?

“Y/N…” The sound of Shiro’s voiced echoed through this mysterious place which immediately set her on edge just at the mere mention of her name.

“Shiro! Show yourself! We can talk this out! Like we always do! Please Shiro! It doesn’t have to be this way!” She pleaded, searching from all directions trying to find out which way he may possibly attack from. Her heart raced a mile a minute as the time passed, awaiting for him to finally appear before her. She made a silent prayer that he wouldn’t appear before her, pleading to not have to fight him again.

“I know you’re scared Y/N, I’m not going to hurt you.” Shiro’s voice spoke once more yet his location could not be pinpointed which frightened her more. His tone was different from before. It was soft and comforting. The tone he used most often when the two of them would talk in private. Shew couldn’t count just how many months it had been since she heard him use this tone and she had deeply missed it. Yet she couldn’t allow herself to lured in, creating a false sense of security just because he simply turned on a bit of charm. Shiro did have a way of changing his personality to match whatever situation he was in; a way of acting to appear different from who he really was in many different scenarios. He had done it once before when he was captured by the Galra. He acted like a bloodthirsty fighter in ordder to save Matt’s life from the arena. And Shiro was surprisingly good at putting on a facade in order to trick others. She wouldn’t allow herself to be tricked by him again. 

“H-how could you say that! You were trying to kill me! You hurt Hunk and the others! Y-you betrayed us Shiro! And you promised! You swore that you’d never hurt me… How could you-” She screamed, continuing to look in every direction for where he might be hiding yet in this place there was no where to hide. She no longer had to search for him as his figure appeared before her. His face expressing actual emotions now unlike before. All the things she wanted to scream at him, even wanted to hit him disappeared when she got a good look at him. “Y-you’re hair…” Her words escaped her mouth as a whisper as she continued to stare. His shaven undercut had returned which confused her even more as just moments ago when she fought him, he did not have his undercut. It had been months since he decided to change up his hair style and while the team had mixed feelings about it they were just glad to have their leader back with them. She just continued to look at him from head to toe, trying to figure out how to explain this to herself but she just couldn’t. “I-I don’t understand what’s happening… Wh-why is your hair different? I saw you just a few minutes ago…” 

“I was just thinking about you. You never really leave my mind. I’ve been watching you and the team from afar, trying to find a way to reach to you or just anyone but my voice just couldn’t reach anyone. Now that you’re here, there’s so much I need to tell you but there just isn’t enough time. For right now, I need you to stop the thing that attacked you.” 

“So that really wasn’t you… H-how long-” All pieces seem to fall together in that moment as she began to understand what happened. For months, the team had been fooled by the fake Shiro, thinking that his change in attitude had to do with the second time he was captured by the Galra but the real one was standing before her. She knew this was the real one as the same soft face he’d always give when he spoke was present upon his face, easy to read any change in emotion he may have. 

“Y/N, believe me, I want nothing more to explain everything to you right now but there’s no time. I promise there will time for explanations later but I need you to do this for me, please.” He pleaded to her, knowing that his clone harbored the same deep and passionate emotions he felt for her inside it’s heart. It’s what made the imposter so convincing to the team. She wanted to argue and demand an explanation right here and now but as usual, he was right. There was no time for it. The team needed to go after him and Lotor first and retrieve them both at any cost. She’d waited for a long time to understand what exactly happened to him, she could wait a bit longer.

“You owe one hell of an explanation Mr. Shirogane…” A part of her already knew the whole truth already but she needed to hear from him to prevent her denial from overpowering her thoughts. 

“I’ll be waiting, now and forever, Y/N…”

*slides in* is this scenario really shitty and rushed? Hell yes it is but hey at least it’s something. Sorry this isn’t very good. Thanks again for the request!