#Double Comb pattern

[naffeclipse]

To Survive

Reader x Orca!Eclipse

Commission Info

The lovely @crazedauthor requested some good ol' hurt/comfort with a orca!reader with orca!Eclipse. You lost your entire pod but ever since Eclipse found you, you haven't been alone. Your grief, however, comes in waves, but Eclipse will hold you through them.

Content Warnings: Mentions of death and blood.

———

The white-blue ice of the continental shelf juts out into the dark gray waters with jagged edges like the upper teeth of a great maw. You bob slowly along the surface, swishing your tail, treading water idly. 

You are not unlike an orca in pattern, strong black and white markings painting you as an apex predator, but you are little without your pod. As unassuming as a lone seal caught in waters far from shore. The colors tipping your fins and flukes are soft and cool against the otherwise bleak waterscape but those too seem to have dulled as you drift without purpose.

These waters have never been so empty. Without Eclipse, you sink back into a cold, numb shell-like rime coating the ground. 

The hollowness within you yawns. You have no energy to escape the whirlpool-like drawl of the abyssal grief within you, and so, you are sucked down into the churning depths. 

You weren’t always alone. There were your sisters, your mother, your aunts. They swam and weaved along the surface, breaching with loud bursts of laughter. They combed your hair with their fingers. You look down at your empty palms. Water slicks your skin and empties your hands of the sisters you once doted on. Your sides lie empty, unflanked by your mother and aunt as they guide you towards your next meal. No prey escaped your fine claws. 

A morning fell upon you, and you awoke to your pod becoming prey. Your eyes opened, and there were nets and harpoons, and scarlet swirled in the water as your aunt thrashed and your sisters cried out.

The songs were sharpened with piercing magic. Harsh and demanding, your sisters sang and drew men into the surface until they could drag them down by their ankles. The frigid water claimed the humans without qualms. You’ve killed prey before but the men struggled and fought until you felt sick. 

They never saw the sunlight again.

But humans are relentless. You have learned how tirelessly they follow, lying in wait for a few of your pod members to drift into uneasy sleep before throwing the wicked blade through the surface and into your mother’s side. You held onto her, bleeding panic. You tried to sever the cord with your teeth before they dragged her into their smaller, swifter vessel and left you behind.

A taste of copper, ghostly and faint, spreads over your mouth. You stare, eyes wide, but you see not the shelf of ice nor the dark waters softly rippling with your bobbing frame.

Sirens do not drown—not without reason. Not without a weight tied around their bodies, trapping their arms down and exhausting their tails until they can no longer push toward the surface. Wounds bleed freely in the salty brine. Cries and screeches of pain overlap until there is no more music.

You haven’t sung since you darted away, lost in the chaos. So cowardly, you took only the vision of your mother’s pained expression, and it pressed itself to the back of your eyelids like the burning glare of sunlight at dawn. 

You are the last survivor of your pod. You double over the carved-out space within you, like a carcass eaten from the inside out, and gulp down air.

Water splashes from a sharp flick of a tail. You jerk, your heart climbing into your throat as you whirl around to find a burning set of frills breaking through the surface. Looming over you, the orca siren displays a sharp grin of teeth perfect for stripping flesh from bones. 

“Happy day,” his voice rumbles in an abysmal chord. “You’re being so good, little love, staying right where I can find you.”

You place a hand over your chest and take a moment to recover from the fright, your heart pounding against your sternum. Being pried so swiftly from your thoughts leaves you reeling, but the orca siren’s strong, sleek form and his pronounced, red and orange colors along the edges of his person anchor you back into this moment. The memories are left to storm far away like distant black clouds.

“Eclipse,” you breathe. The emptiness within you shrinks by a slight margin. Lowering your hand, your eyes roam over him, searching every inch of his sleek body for a fresh wound or a patch of netting. “Are you alright?”

He tilts his head, his eyes upturning in equal parts delight and curiosity.

“Of course. I am more than alright now that I have you within reach.” He flicks his tail. Slipping closer, he begins to circle you like a shark catching the scent of blood. 

You float in place and follow Eclipse with your eyes. He preens under your gaze, arching his back and flaring his fins to allow you to admire him fully. The sunlight is bright upon his black and white flesh. His lithe body is corded with sinew and sleekness, speaking to his strength and speed in rough, cold waters. 

Eclipse slips behind you. You try to turn to keep up but a shiver erupts down your spine when his black-bone claws touch the small of your back. His touch falls lower to trace the curve of your dorsal fin to the very tip. A flutter erupts within your middle. 

“I have a gift for you,” he whispers, his hot, metallic breath dusting the nape of your neck. 

The air you so carefully stored in your lungs when you dive deep below is loosened by his touch as if he brought you back to the surface to breathe again. 

“You do?” Your heart becomes a floundering thing within your rib cage. “What is it?”

You turn, your flukes brushing his longer, bigger tail. You eye his other fist, clutched below the water. Another courting gesture, as he has been pursuing for the past few weeks. Since he found you drifting alone, almost inconsolable in your wretched mourning, he has not left your side to save for brief hunts of gifts or food. Heat pools in your chest, hotter than any sunshine dusting the surface of the sea. 

“Yes,” he whispers. “Give me your hands, little love.”

You obey. A soft flick of your flukes gives away your excitement. Lifting your palms and opening them, you stare into his burning gaze, like twin flames of yellow and red. He doesn’t look away. The intensity of his gaze claims you, capturing you within his grasp without lifting a finger. 

He slowly unfurls his claws and presses a smooth, cool bone into your palms. The flickering burns of his attention remain on you, earnest, and if you dare venture a guess, fearful. 

The beautiful bone is pale and clean, though it seems too fresh to have been found leftover in the frozen land. Strangely, it’s been carved. The smooth grooves along it indicate a sharp tool—claws perhaps—have shaped the gift from merely a bone to a finely curved arch. A token of time and affection.

Your pod would have adored Eclipse. Your mother would have fawned over him, pleased by his skill and strength, and the many, many gifts he’s since bestowed upon you. Orca sirens do not have a strict season of courting ships unlike other sirens, like the whales. From the moment he found you, he has made his intentions clear. 

You were uncertain, so afraid to have encountered one away from a pod—but you were no better. He did not leave your side the first night. He kept you warm in his arms as you grieved silently, unable to speak through the emotion trapping every breath in your throat. He did not ask you to speak. He sang softly, gently.

Your mother would have approved of him.

Your lips part. A smoky breath leaves your mouth but no words follow. Softly, you clutch the bone closer to your chest and lift your gaze to meet Eclipse’s. His brow is hard, caught between fear and impatience. 

“Little love?” he asks. “Do you not accept it?”

You shake your head.

“No,” you finally speak, and it is with great difficulty to keep a sob from slipping out of your chest and into the air. “I accept it. It’s beautiful.”

His eyes narrow in the slightest before he reaches for you. Weakly, you hold no resistance as he pulls you against him, engulfing you in his embrace.

“Tell me what is upsetting you.” He leans back, his tail cradling your own as you rest sideways against him. “I will rip apart whatever has done this to you.”

“No!” you gasp. “No, please. I accept your gift.”

His claws loosen from around you, no longer tense with the desire to sink into flesh. He cannot kill what afflicts you.

“Tell me,” he commands in a low voice. “I can’t bear to see you in anguish. Share your burden with me.”

You hold the bone tight to your heart. The smooth and defined arc of the bone reveals the thoughtful nature of what was done to it. This was not rushed nor effortless. This is Eclipse’s true desire for your approval. 

You lower your head and lay your cheek against his chest. He tucks you underneath his chin.

“I miss them.” The words scratch out of your throat and break your voice into a thousand shards. “I want them here. I want them to meet you and love you as I do. I want my mother to see my mate.”

It gushes from you like a melt of spring, streaming down your edges as you clutch his courtship gesture tighter to you as if it were your last anchor. Eclipse falls still. His arms encircle you, and he rumbles a smooth melody deep within his chest, and it fills you to the brim.

“I know, little love,” he rasps gently. His wide mouth finds your cheek. He nuzzles against you. You hiccup and sob, squeezing your eyes shut as his affection eases the sting of sorrow. “I barely remember my mother’s song. I can hardly recall my father’s face. I was small when they were taken from me. Then I was alone.”

You tilt your gaze up, tears shoving past your eyes. Eclipse bows over you. His eyes have dimmed almost into nothing. He traces a claw up and down your arm in a rhythmic touch. 

“Oh, Eclipse,” you whisper. You didn’t know. Not when, not how—not like this. 

“But I am not alone now.” He lifts his head, proud and unyielding. Your lips part in gentle awe. “And neither are you, my mate.”

“How did you…?” You have to swallow the thickness down. “How did you survive this grief? It feels hopeless.”

He gently noses your cheek. You close your eyes.

“I survived one day at a time, and then I found you.” He kisses your temple. He clutches you closer, holding you flush against his chest. You press one palm to his heart. The other locks his gift in your grasp.

“We are mates,” he declares, soft and low, whispering the truth to you delicately. “We can grow our own family.”

A flood of red overwhelms your face. You have to duck as he laughs softly, the lethal tips of his claws gently carding through your hair. You curl your fingers underneath the corner of his jaw.

It is not so horrible to think of a future where you are happy again. Where you and Eclipse have little ones of your own. Your heart pounds. Your eyes flutter, and you bleed pink. Your flukes flicker as Eclipse cradles you closer. 

“I swear,” he breathes against you, soft as sea smoke, “you are not alone. You are mine. And I am yours.”

You press his face closer to you. With tears in your eyes, less salty, washed anew with his promise, you nod your head.

You lean in and you do not have to wait for his answering kiss. His mouth captures yours. Softly, he tastes you, gently pushing and pulling like the waves surrounding you. His arms hold you against him. Ripples are carried out from the embrace of mates.

There is a future where you do not wallow in your grief, where you carry the last of your pod in your blood and give it to your children. Eclipse will guide you through it.

The emptiness within you is not so alive anymore.

[too-much-tma-stuff]

Healing is Slow, but Inevitable (part 7)

Previous | Masterpost

“So, what are you?” Jason asked about a week after the meeting with Batman, a few days after Dick left again after his unscheduled weekend visit, and they hadn’t really talked about it. Danny had been flighty and tense for days afterwards so Jason hadn’t wanted to bring it up. Now that Danny seemed calm again, curled up in bed with him after a decent day and some great sex, it seemed like the best time he was going to get. 

Danny sighed and turned his head to hide his face against Jason’s shoulder for a moment, but he stayed relaxed and he wasn’t running, which were good signs. “I was kept prisoner for almost two years by the Ghost Investigation Ward, what do you think I am,” Danny muttered a little bitterly. 

“But you’re not a ghost, right? I mean you eat, and sleep and I can feel your heartbeat right now,” Jason said, pressing his hand Danny’s chest, where his heart was indeed beating, slower than most people’s but that was normal for Danny. Then, right under Jason’s hand, Danny’s heart stopped beating. 

Jason panicked and pulled back only for Danny to catch his wrist and keep his hand there, Danny pushed himself up a little and stared down at Jason. He seemed fully alive, and fine, even though his heart still wasn’t beating under Jason’s hand. Danny sighed and lay back down, the feeling of a heartbeat returning under Jason’s hand, he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

“I’m what’s called a Halfa. It’s a stupid name but I’m not going to come up with a new one. It’s not entirely accurate either, since I’m both 100% alive, and 100% dead.” He saw the lost look on Jason’s face and backed up quickly to explain more. “There’s a place called the Ghost Zone, or the Infinite Realms, it’s a world between worlds that links to every living world and contains every afterlife.” He was tracing little patterns on Jason’s chest as he talked. “Portals open to it in other worlds sometimes, natural things that form and collapse again quickly. 

“Halfas are made when one of those portals happen to open, directly on top of and into, a living person. It kills them, then because of the power of the realms their soul forms a ghost immediately, resurrects them and slams that fully formed ghost back into the living body, bonding them back together and creating a living-ish, ghost. I’m the only true halfa in existence right now, and I’m… unique, even for my kind. Because the portal that made me was the first man-made one, it was far more stable and more powerful than the natural ones, meaning that I got a double dose of energy.

“Halfas are already a powerful species, the perfect balance between life and death, a bridge between worlds partially immune to the weaknesses of both. But I’m strong even compared to other halfas, at least that’s what I’m told by the Ancients. Like I said, I’m the first one in about five thousand years, and the only one in existence right now, so I’ve never exactly met someone else like me.” 

“Holy shiit,” Jason whispered before falling silent. He started to comb his fingers through Danny’s hair so he would know Jason wasn’t upset or mad as he took a while to process all Danny had told him. “You don’t have to talk about it but if you’re that powerful then… how did the GIW manage to capture you?”

“My parents were the ones who captured me,” Danny murmured, hiding his face against Jason’s neck. Jason’t breath caught in his throat. “They were ghost hunters all my life, they built the portal but I didn’t want to hurt them. I was still trying to talk to them, to convince them I really was still their son. Then the GIW found out they had me and demanded my parents hand me over. When my parents refused and tried to defend ‘their discovery’ The GIW just… blew up the house. Because of my powers I survived, no one else did. While I was still in shock they took me.

“It broke my heart, in a literal sense. I want to show you something,” He said and sat up again, legs crossed. Jason sat up as well, mirroring Danny’s position and watching him curiously. “Humans have organs and brains and all those squishy, meaty bits. Ghosts have a core, it contains everything we are, everything else will just reform around it as long as the core is undamaged.” He pressed his hands against his own chest and after a moment, he drew something out. 

It was an orb of what looked like blue stone, but it was cracked, pretty extensively, in a similar pattern of cracking to Danny’s lightning scar. “What they did, it cracked my core,” Danny said looking down at it baleful. “Literally broke me. If I was a full ghost it would have destabilized and ended me, my humanity kept me together. Which just meant more for them to experiment on,” He said with a bitter little laugh. 

“Danny,” Jason murmured, a heartbroken little sound as he sat forward and reached towards Danny. Danny tensed, and looked fearful for just a moment, but he didn’t pull away. Instead he opened his hands and held his core, his heart, out towards Jason. With permission Jason traced the branching pattern gently with a finger, it felt cool and smooth under his fingers, energy tingling in his fingertips and the cracks rasping slightly against Jason’s calluses. Danny shuddered and gasped as all the tension bled out of him under Jason’s gentle touch, his eyes fell closed, and his expression was peaceful now.

“It’s been getting better,” Danny said, opening his eyes again after a moment and looking up at Jason adoringly. “Since I met you, you gave me purpose again and I can feel the cracks healing, it’s slow, but it was always going to be.” 

Jason pulled his hand back and Danny pressed his core back to his chest. “I’m glad you’re healing. You’ve been helping me a lot too, healing is always slow, but we’ll do it together. And you’ll tell me if I ever make it worse, or if there’s anything I can do to help won't you?” 

“Ya we will, but I think I’m well enough to face the GIW soon. I’ll start looking for them along with your people. If they’re still around I don’t think it will take me that long to find them,” Danny told Jason softly. “As for helping, just don’t leave me, and don’t die. I don’t want to think about what I could become without you to ground me.”

“I’m not going anywhere, and I’ll be right there with you when we take down the GIW. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I love you,” Jason promised, pulling Danny back against his chest.

“I love you too,” Danny sighed, snuggling against Jason tiredly.

-----------

Danny hadn’t been kidding when he said he would be able to find the GIW quickly when he started to look. It turned out that the GIW were sort of using ghosts in their firewall? It made it next to impossible for regular people to find, or hack it, but made it all the easier for Danny to track down. He found five bases besides the one that he had destroyed during his escape. Which was more than Jason had expected, though none of them seemed to be that big. According to the files two had ‘specimens’, so they were going to hit those two first and free whatever free whatever poor souls were still trapped there.

Jason had yet to leave Crime Alley since his takeover of the turf, but it would have to happen eventually. They would only be gone for one, maybe two days so it was a good first test. 

They had a basic plan; break in and rely on stealth till they had located the prisoners, release them, then cause as much damage and havoc as they could on the way out. Danny would be the power house, taking the chance to really let loose in a way he hadn’t in a long time. Jason would follow and plant explosives so once they got out they would leave nothing to salvage. 

They had a bit of a discussion about when to go. During the night there would be fewer people there making it safer to break in, but the disadvantage of that was they would take out fewer GIW agents. The fewer of those assholes still walking the earth the less likely it was anyone would come for Danny. There would be no one to continue the cycle of violence if everyone else was dead. In the end they still decided to go at night. If only because they would be less likely to walk in on someone actively being tortured, which would be too much for Danny. They needed to avoid Danny having a panic attack in enemy territory if at all possible.

So Jason wrangled his people into readiness to be left alone and keep things ticking over, and told a few selected people where they were headed in the unlikely case they needed rescue. Jason had started planning a ride too, since unlike the Bats they didn’t have their own private jet. But Danny told him there was no need, just get them out of Gotham and Danny could handle the rest. Jason was curious about what he meant by that, but when he asked Danny gave him the cheeky smile that promised it was a surprise Jason would like. Jason decided to wait and see.

Once they were ready they left Gotham at Sunset, Danny on the back of Jason’s bike with his arms tight around his waist and pressed against his back. Normally when they rode like this Jason could feel Danny’s vibrating purr against his back but today Danny was still and silent, probably too tense to purr. Jason understood, no matter what they found or how well this went it was bound to be triggering as hell. Danny was walking right back into one of the facilities where he had been experimented on and tortured. Jason didn’t think there was anything he could say to make Danny feel better, so he mostly stayed quiet and let Danny think his thoughts. 

“Okay, we’re far enough away I think. Pull over please, far enough that we won’t be easily seen from the road. I haven’t done this in… more than a year, I’m not totally sure how it’s going to go,” Danny said suddenly and Jason nodded, looking for a place to pull off the road and into the woods. Finding a good place to hide his bike, and themselves for whatever Danny was planning on doing.

Jason found a place to park his bike and let Danny get off before him, once they were off he laid the bike down where it wouldn’t be easily found, and turned on his personal tracker so he would be able to find it later. “Alright, ready when you are. I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ve been so mysterious about,” Jason encouraged his boyfriend, taking off his motorcycle helmet to switch it for his Red Hood one.

Danny nodded and took a few steps back and took a deep breath, “I really haven’t done this in years. Not since I escaped for the first time. It made it easier for them to track me,” Danny explained before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

As Jason watched Danny started to change, not all at once, but the appearance Jason knew started to flicker and fade in patches. It looked like he was molting, and like a computer glitching, leaving him looking… different. The shape of the costume was a lot like his Hyena get-up, but it was entirely monochrome, and this Hyena had been dead for a long time. The suit was black with start-white protruding ribs wrapped around his chest like armor, white knee and elbow pads, and a white stripe down the front of his boots added to the skeletal effect. Danny’s mask had turned from a muzzle to a Hyena skull with a tuft of white hair showing above it. When Danny opened his eyes they were pits of toxic green glowing from behind the Hyena’s empty eye sockets. 

Jason would have frozen up completely, if he hadn’t noticed Danny was swaying slightly. Jason jumped forward just in time to steady Danny before he could fall. Danny leaned against him, he felt cooler than usual and… insubstantial in an odd way. 

“That felt different then it used to,” Danny murmured, putting a hand to his forehead. He felt the mask and blinked before glancing down at himself. “Huh, I knew this form was connected to emotions and shit, but I didn’t expect it to change this much,” He murmured, running his hands over the mask and then back through his hair, pushing his hood back to show his hair was all white now, and moving like it was underwater. 

“What… is this?” Jason asked, combing his fingers through Danny’s hair which felt like the softest, unmelting, fresh fallen snow between his fingers.

“My ‘ghost form’. I told you I was as dead as I was alive, this is my dead form,” Danny said gesturing down as himself before fully gaining his footing and standing up on his own. He took off the mask (Jason was far more relieved then he’d admit that Hyena skull was a mask, he hadn’t been sure) and smiled at him. Danny still looked very much like himself, though his mouth was wider, his teeth were sharper and his skin had the very distinct deathly pallor of a frozen corpse. 

Jason gave a considering hum and cupped Danny’s face, leaning down to kiss him. His lips felt cool and there was no pulse against Jason’s lips, but they were soft and Danny kissed back with the same sweetness as always. “You look badass as hel,l Moonlight,” Jason told Danny who blushed a soft blue and smiled at him, pulling him back in for another quick kiss.

“Alright, like this I can get us to the base,” Danny said, pulling the mask back on before his feet lifted off the ground and he hovered a few feet up. “Carrying you should be no problem, we’ll be silent, and if needed I can cloak us. We just have to land a ways out because I’m sure they have ghost detectors and shields. I’ll have to change back to get through. Sounds good?”

“Sounds great,” Jason agreed easily. He’d been around the Supers for years as a kid, he was used to being carried like that.

“Great,” Danny cheered, swooping over Jason and grabbing him under the arms and lifting him up with no apparent effort. He held Jason as they took off towards base, Danny flew fast but Jason’s helmet protected his eyes from the wind so it was fine.for Danny to change back into his human form. It looked like reversed timelapse footage of a flower losing its petals. Jason watched in awe as the man he knew and loved reformed around this odd, pale being. 

When it was done Danny shook out his limbs and rolled his head on his neck like he was having to resettle himself in his body before he nodded firmly once. “Alright, let’s go,” Danny said, checking his mask one more time.

Jason nodded and made a hand sign to advance, reminding Danny from here on they wouldn’t be using words. Danny nodded and fell in just behind Jason as they approached the facility. They had found a weak point in the plans for ventilation and used that to get in. This place was clearly designed to keep things in more than out, and not with humans in mind, it was almost embarrassingly easy to sneak in. They hid as a couple of agents walked by, assholes in white coats and dark glasses, edgy as hell and obviously overly full of themselves. Jason was looking forward to ripping through them on the way back out.

As they moved through the building Jason planted bombs at strategic locations ready to be detonated once they had cleared the facility of anyone who actually deserved to live. They didn’t want to leave anything standing. The less of the information and weapons that survived to potentially fall into the wrong hands, the better.

In the labs on the lower floors they found a few ‘blob ghosts’ as Danny called them, and a bunch of equipment, a couple of which Danny helped himself to. Jason didn’t bother because he didn’t know what any of this stuff was, they’d probably do more harm than good in his hands. 

Deeper in the labs they found a few proper ghosts too, locked in cells Jason managed to hack and get open. Danny darted in and started murmuring softly to a woman he called Ember, and who called him Babypop with shock and grief before he used one of the tools he’d stolen to open some sort of portal and sent her on. He found a thing he called Shadow, but that one didn’t talk, and Jason didn’t see it though he believed Danny that it was there. Danny used the portal gun to send them on too.

They were reaching the end of the facility and Jason was glad they’d only found two sentient beings, he would have much preferred None but it could have been a lot worse. This was the largest facility so if they only had two actual ‘ghosts’ the others would probably have one at most. 

They moved through the rest of the labs quickly, staying just long enough to clear them of anyone who might be held there, but not lingering over metal tables, scalpels, lasers, and saws. Jason was trying not to think about Danny strapped down to one of those, cut open and either begging them to stop or dissociating and staring, he wasn’t sure which would be worse. 

Finally they reached the deepest room in the facility, Jason was expecting another lab, until he saw the security pad at the door. The previous labs had been in a complex, no codes or cards needed to get into each individual one once you were on the floor. What was special about this lab? The security was decent too, nowhere near as easy to get through as previous doors. 

“Keep watch Hyena, this is going to take a minute,” Jason murmured into their mic and Danny nodded, flitting to the end of the hall to keep watch while Jason worked on the security. 

It took him about fifteen minutes and thankfully no one came around, they must have hourly patrols or something. Danny glanced over at the sound of the door unlocking and Jason nodded, gesturing for him to come. He stepped inside, getting the full view of a room full of wires, monitoring equipment, and what looked like a cloning tube or stasis pod. Holy shit was the GIW somehow in league with CADMUS?

There was a girl floating in the tube, maybe fourteen or fifteen, small for her age. Her hair was black but he couldn’t see much else. He heard Danny come into the room behind him and let out a soft gasp.

“Oh god,” Danny breathed softly. Jason looked over at Danny expecting to see his own surprise reflected in Danny’s face. No, he was shocked, yes, but he looked heartbroken and horrified. There was absolutely recognition there. “Ellie.”

[daisynik7]

This is gonna sound like a silly little request BUT Nanami is the type to get cute gifts for reader. She always has cute ribbons, hair pins and scrunchies in her hair, he can't resist thinking how fruit pattern scrunchies he got for while away on mission will look on her. What he didn't expect tho, is that he'd end up wearing one of her frog scrunchies on his wrist - after he presented her with ones he got, she took her favorite of, put it on his wrist and went to try out new ones. And he rarely takes it of, he endures Gojo's (or anyone else's) teasing but the frog scrunchie stays on! In his mind, she always there with him, it smells like her and when he is to stressed he leans his nose into it (and moment is ruined with Gojo's cackling, the headache is back). ALSO, pretty sure he sits drying and combing her hair (after he washed it), even braiding it for her. No way he doesn't end up with a hair clip in his own hair sometimes, like she'll pin his bangs up when they get into his eyes while cooking or reading.

cw: established relationship, fluff, reader has longish hair.

Author’s Note: omg anon, this is SO CUTE, you are brilliant for coming up with this! Not a silly request AT ALL, I LOVE IT SO MUCH! I basically just expanded on what you sent me, so I hope you like it, let me know what you think! You definitely deserve all the credit here for coming up with this one. 🤩

Divider created by @/dividers-and-banners!

“Nanamin, no way you’re wearing that right now.” 

Gojo sits across the table from him, the typical cocky smirk on his face, covered eyes staring at Nanami’s hand. Your boyfriend rolled up the sleeves to his dress shirt, forgetting that his cuffs hid the froggy scrunchie on his wrist, exposing it to his annoyingly observant friend. He sighs, prepared for the ridicule he’s sure to endure for the next several minutes. Without taking it off, he responds, “It’s my girlfriend’s.”

“Obviously. The answer I really want to know is why in the world are you wearing it?” The grin on his face grows even wider, irritating Nanami. 

Deciding to be honest about it, because there’s no other way to explain it, he answers, “It brings me comfort.”

He’s doesn’t expect the uproar of laughter from his now former friend. While Gojo is doubled over, cackling, Nanami brings his wrist up to his nose, inhaling the faintest scent of you into his nostrils, instantly relieving the incoming migraine caused by his white-haired colleague. He nuzzles his nose against the soft, spongy fabric, picturing your ponytail swinging with it tied around your hair. He misses you, a little too much. But this small trinket is enough to get him through the day. A little piece of you that stays with him, even if it is in the form of a silly frog scrunchy. He’d wear a hundred more of them all along his arm if it meant more of you could be with him. 

This all started when he began to buy you different accessories whenever he was out on a mission. Your collection has grown, thanks to him: Butterfly clips, silky ribbons, hair pins with faux pearls on them, scrunchies with different types of patterns. He’s found a use for them himself: you managed to pin a clip onto his bangs while he reads his novel in bed, growing tired of seeing the stray hairs cover his eyes. At first, he protested. After seeing the gleeful smile on your face, he had no choice but to relent. Now, it’s expected of you to slide a bejeweled clip onto his luscious locks every night. 

The latest set he got you was fruit themed; he was so excited to see you in it, proud of the selection he chose all on his own. So much so that he offered to do your hair that night. His fingers were nimble and smooth on your scalp as he washed your hair, rinsing it through with warm water, making sure that none of the suds got into your eyes. He wrapped a towel around your dripping mane, massaging until it was damp instead of soaking. He even took the time to blow dry, combing through the tangles with your brush. Finally, he tried every hairstyle he could think of to model his gift for you. A strawberry scrunchy for the classic ponytail. Lemon and watermelon for pigtails. Orange for a French braid. Banana for a top bun. His smile grew each time, seeing the literal fruits of his labor decorated in your beautiful hair. The only outlier that didn’t match with the rest of them was the random frog it came with. So, as a joke, you slid it onto his wrist, claiming it was his to wear forever. 

It comes in handy more than you expect. Several occasions, you’ve asked if he could help tie up your hair as you leaned over the kitchen stove, cooking dinner. Each time, it was froggy scrunchy to the rescue. Nanami made sure that it made its way back to him whenever you were done using it. It’s never left him since, either worn as a bracelet or resting peacefully in his pocket for easy access. 

Gojo finally calms down from his fit, readjusting his blindfold. “How could that thing possibly bring you comfort?”

Nanami smiles to himself, brushing his thumb over the frog wrapped happily around his wrist. “It lets me carry her around with me wherever I go.”

Even after more ridicule and some incriminating photos, to which he gave up trying to convince Gojo to delete, Nanami makes it his top priority tomorrow morning to stop by the mall and purchase more scrunchies for his sweetheart.

[gigglemugger]

The Naked and the Blind (or The Ballad of Meg Halsey).

Fandom: Re-Animator (Movies - Combs), Herbert West - Reanimator - H.P. Lovecraft.

Pairing: Herbert West/Meg Halsey

Rating: Explicit, or at the very least Mature.

Archive Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence.

Synopsis:

"Meg Halsey had a problem. In fact, she had several problems, the first of which, she acknowledges while looking at her semi empty living room, is that she can't afford to live alone anymore. The second one is that she doesn't wanna go back to her daddy's house again. This would be an inconceivable notion to her thirteen year old self, even her sixteen year old self, but at twenty five, she'd really choose living under the bridge first. Ok. Maybe not that." Meg Halsey is perfect: Beautiful, accomplished, a bright future doctor. She escaped her hometown and moved to New York, where she likely would have stayed forever. After her mother dies, though, she is forced to move back to Arkham and face everything she wanted to leave behind. --- A.K.A I made a tumblr post about how Crampton/Combs are romantically involved in all of their collabs, got replies and decided to write down a suggestion of "what if Meg was the protagonist, not Dan?" Also I did the cop-out summary thing and pasted the first paragraph of the fic. It's highway robbery. Criminal (I'm sorry).

Thanks to @resonanteye and @sugarsweetnightmareee for helping me shape this up in the replies!

Word Count: Multi Chapter, so far 2,561 published, 19,701 written at the time of publication.

Chapter Count: 1/? (likely 9).

AO3 Tags: I uhhh......... I have no idea what I made it started with one tumblr post then one reply and here we are, I included other works by Lovecraft here and rounded Arkham up and then ran, Character Study, In a way, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Dan Cain, he doesn't exist, Danbert shippers cry I get it, Canon-Typical Violence, Animal Death, Eventual Romance, Slow Romance, Slow Burn, Slow Build, Eventual Smut?, maybe? - Freeform, this fic is an affront to god just like herbert's reagent, Not Beta Read.

Language: English.

CW: Meg went through some trauma. Dead parents, dead cat. She also helps kill her dad later on, considering, so. It's a heavy fic, but if you liked the movie you'll be fine.

AO3 link.

AO3 Notes (yes, they're huge, bear with me): This is an AU about Meg Halsey. I always wanted to write this because in every single Combs/Crampton collaboration, they play lovers (Castle Freak, From Beyond, the Evil Clergyman) EXCEPT FOR in Reanimator, so I made a tumblr post saying I'd like to explore a Meg/Herbert thing solely because of that (and I've only seen it being done one other time, which made me wanna take a personal shot at it). This post was WAY more popular than I expected (it didn't hit the hundreds, but it hit like 20+ notes when I expected like 1 and it being a comment of "are you insane?" with nothing else), so I decided to take it seriously. Then someone suggested I make a version where Meg is the main character, no Dan, no nothing and I thought that was a really interesting idea and ran with it.  I made several notes (like four pages) about Meg's character and realized that she’s an amazing, incredibly accomplished ball of air. They made her have good instincts, a good brain, be helpful, be sweet, and then gave her zero personality. This isn’t her movie, so the first thing I did in this AU was scramble around with her brains and give her a will to live for something. The second thing I did was to scramble around with her brains enough so she’d have ambition.  The third one was to scramble around with her brains enough she’d have a crush on West—who is her equal here. I'm not saying this relationship won't go into some toxic patterns, but so does Danbert, though I understand the implications. It's more like a double edged sword, though.  When I say this is an AU, I mean it’s an AU for sure. I changed a lot of plot points, and switched things around, because it turns out that having Meg as a protag changes a lot on its own. I personally think that Herbert liked Dan for three reasons: He was beautiful, smart and incredibly gullible. Here he likes Meg because she's smart, ambitious and much more like him than others would think. She doesn't take bullshit, though. Scenes are maintained but go different directions, etc. Meg also went through trauma and transformation, which will be unpacked, and though she externally acts like the Meg we know, most of the time, she's not. She had like a Veronica Mars esque transformation, minus the REAL TRAGEDIES of Veronica Mars.  I decided to name this a ballad cause I always name things ballads and start with the definition of the word cause I’m pretentious and like to make it seem as if it’s not ‘cause of the ballad of John and Yoko. In this case, though, I decided to just call it the ballad of Meg Halsey, instead of the ballad of Herbert and Meg, or Halsey and West, because this fanfic is very much about Meg—she deserves it.  The Naked and the Blind comes from that line from Every Me Every You by Placebo (like the naked leads the blind, I know I’m selfish, I’m unkind). It felt fitting. I also included two characters of Lovecraft lore which will be useful throughout the fic (and possible sequel in which I take the bones of bride of reanimator and completely reshape it), Asenath Waite and Edward Derby, from The Thing on the Doorstep. I also mention the Pickmans, Necronomicons, all of that. I think I'm going to use Welsey as a ship name for now, though I'm sure someone else somewhere in the world has already come up with a ship name for them. I also named the Playlist I made for them this. Very normal behavior.  I have seven chapters written, almost at the end of the fic as a whole, and I’ll try to upload one every Monday. We’ll see.

1. Sucker love is heaven sent.

Meg Halsey had a problem. In fact, she had several problems, the first of which, she acknowledges while looking at her semi empty living room, is that she can't afford to live alone anymore. The second one is that she doesn't wanna go back to her daddy's house again. This would be an inconceivable notion to her thirteen year old self, even her sixteen year old self, but at twenty five, she'd really choose living under the bridge first. Ok. Maybe not that.

Here's a picture of Meg Halsey's life one year ago: A happy medical student in New York, with her own room and roommate at one of the dorm houses. Not a sorority girl like her mother gushed about her being when she was twelve, but still friendly towards everyone. Her hair was a little shorter, less gruffy, definitely bobbed, and she probably looked serene. Medical students aren't by definition serene, but she hadn't majorly fucked up. She got high grades, was the second best in her class which was full of men, and she was proud of herself.

Then her mother died. The rest was probably history, or easily deductible.

Savings had existed, but living in Arkham was more expensive than she remembered. Her dad wanted to pay for the house, but she refused because she knew what that entailed. He also wanted her to move back with him, but that would also mean other things: You don't need to pay rent, but you'll have to cook, clean, take care of affairs and be your mother. She was shocked he hadn't sent for her when she was dying, but then it had been so fast that maybe he didn't have the time.

“Don't worry daddy, it's OK,” she had said with a smile, eyeing the wine. She couldn't drink in front of him unless it was a special occasion, like a thirteen year old. “I'm just gonna have to find a roommate.”

It had been a week ago, at that house that smelled of death. Wood, carpets of history, several footprints of doctors, her mother and all the versions of herself.

I wish I could have that drink…

“Hmm…” Yes. The characteristic Dean Halsey “Hm.” The same he had for his employees when he needed to convince them of something. Here we go… “I'm not sure it's safe for you to invite a stranger into your house, Meggie.”

“I had a stranger in my house, remember? My roommate in college.” A nice girl, who never got into trouble, she had told her mother in her semi-weekly calls, which was a lie. Becca was a protester who was always in and out of jail because of fights with the cops. Still, that meant Meg had quiet nights to study, or contemplate the lights on in places that hadn't been Arkham.

“I still don't know about that, sweetheart. Maybe you should move back in for a while…”

“Are you alright, honey?” Her mother's voice resonated in her head. Last phone call before disaster. She remembered the clothes she had been wearing: Light sweater, jeans, boots. A Meg Halsey classic. She remembered it was raining and that two people went behind her, two guys, talking. There was a light breeze from the door and they were gone.

“I'm alright, mom. You?”

“Meg,” Dr. Harrod said. Hospital. Residence. Meg was holding onto her scalpel too tightly. “Maybe you need a break.”

“I'm fine.”

Another picture of Meg Halsey’s life: Prodigy. Brilliant. Bright smile, beautiful blue eyes. She was a perfect specimen of what you would call a girl: Polite, traditional, good. She never stayed out past eight, she never went with boys that much, she never strayed from her studies. She wanted to be whatever her dad thought was best, whatever her mother thought would make her proud.

Meg had goals and ambitions, sure, but she also wanted other things. She watched her parents at the table, while cutting her meat. They were always smiling, laughing easily. All of it. She wanted it all. She even thought she had met a boy, her last high school boyfriend, traditional all the way, very nice and Christian upper middle class. Then…

The television was on, showing the news and Meg bit her lip. She looked at her nails, looked at the carpet and then at her cat, roaming around. “I'm not even going to have money to feed you at this rate,” she said when her beloved Rufus came to her lap. She put her face on his back gently. “God…”

Not turning back to the house, she'd have to find a roommate, one that she wouldn't be afraid would murder her in her sleep. Maybe she needed some coffee. Maybe she needed a million dollars.

She looked at the clock on the wall, the one that looked like Felix the cat, which she had in her bedroom at ten. The eyes went back and forth, freaking her mother out. It still had the stain of when she tried to paint it pink with glitter nail polish. Most importantly, it told her it was almost time to leave. Harrod would be going up and down looking for her and she had morgue duty, which was surely a lot for her muscles and she didn't look forward to it—morgue duty being that now it was the norm that someone else other than the attending intern doctor take the body downstairs, after an incident occurred (no more was mentioned about such an incident).

She wouldn't let her colleagues say she was using her status as the Dean's daughter to get out of good honest work.

However, she would have to look at Hill… He was always there testing his weird pen…

“Ouch!” She shrieked, looking at her hand and seeing the blood. “Oh, Rufus, get off!” Rufus did so, apparently understanding he shouldn't bite her and that she'd be rightfully pissed. She had to admit it was effective in bringing her back to the scene, though. It was a documentary which aired now, about a fishing town with a strange, rare disease. She had heard about it, and should be more interested considering, but frankly all she wanted was that coffee and a shower.

It was a pleasant afternoon in Arkham, her birth city. A strange city to be brought up in, with a deep history of the occult, but with a pristine, ivy league college in the form of the Miskatonic University. Meg stepped out of her car, chilly. She was wearing boots, a sweater and her hair was up. It was getting longer. Her dad almost went insane when she wanted to leave Arkham for New York, especially for medicine if she so insisted on studying that.

“A more womanly course would be interesting…”

“What's more womanly than curing people? Than being a healer?” Her mother waved her hand.

“I'm just not sure, Meg. Your dad thinks the same… Maybe it'd be best…”

“Would you have gone if you could? If you could do anything, would you? I can. I wanna go to New York.”

Every time in the past few months that she felt the air of the hospital wafting on her, sterilized and reminiscent of all the times she went to visit her dad, it was sort of like defeat. Not that she'd let that bring her down. She did go to New York after all. It was temporary, just until her dad got back on her feet.

Until he met someone, Becca said. A hot, pretty new thing to screw.

“Halsey,” Harrod said, standing by reception. Was she waiting? “Right on time. You need to go to 106, now. A patient just died, you need to take her down.”

At least she wasn't the one who killed her. Hooray for small miracles.

Scrubs became her, she thought—not that having vain thoughts was her hallmark—but they were not better than suits by a mile. She felt extremely underdressed in a second, walking into the morgue, at least compared to the austere, small man checking the beakers.

“Meg?” The man raised his head. The second man, being the corpse, stayed thankfully very still. “What are you doing here?”

“Pushing a body?” She laughed a little, to make things light, but she knew she had been busted. A few years ago it'd be unprecedented to go behind his back on anything, but now... Besides, it wasn't drugs, it was just a dead guy for Christ's sake.

He looked concerned right away.

“You're too small to be doing this kind of work. You'll kill yourself.”

“Honestly daddy—” she could feel the ears of the stranger perking up at that. Great going, Meg. Tell every single stranger about it. “It's fine. I can do it.” He paused and pursed his lips.

“Certainly one of your classmates…”

“I said I'm alright,” she smiled a little towards him, to mitigate any disrespect, before turning her attention completely to the left. “Who are you?” The small man looked up from a tag in one of the corpses.

“Oh, don't mind me. I'm sure I don't wanna interrupt family.” Her dad wouldn't pick up on the sarcasm, Meg knew, but she did. Her shoulders tensed, her eyes narrowed.

“Nonsense,” Dean Halsey began, well humored. “Mr. West, I'd like to introduce you to the most brilliant medical student in this room…” She looked away.

“Stop it, dad,” Meg smiled her brightest smile to hide her discomfort, as usual. West smiled back, in contempt.

“Oh, does she have a name?”

“I'm Megan. Halsey.” She didn't bother stretching her hand, she didn't wanna touch him.

“Pleased to meet you, Ms. Halsey.” I don't think so.

“West just came from Switzerland. He was doing independent research for Dr. Gruber, before he died.” Meg knew the story, heard it through the grapevine, but no one knew any details.

Gruber was a brilliant doctor, though. She had read his most recent paper on brain death, and all the other ones he wrote a lot in New York. A page turner, Gruber—by medical paper standards, at least.

“So, you studied death?” She asked. His ears perked up again.

“Yes, I have.” Well dressed, prim and curt. Fun. I'll love having him in class.

“Alan,” a third voice filled the place, coming from the adjacent room, the one where he no doubt had been procuring a corpse from. Meg involuntarily twisted her nose and pretended she had an itch. She stopped on his feet. “Nice to see you down here, Ms. Halsey.”

“Well I'm glad, cause here I am, every Tuesday.” Next time tell him when you go out to do your laundry.

“Definitely more than your father comes down here. We haven't been seeing him in a while.”

“I was just showing our newest student, Herbert West here, the not-so-grand-tour.” He always made that joke when he brought people down. Meg saw him do it at least twice and heard about it four other ones. “This should interest you, Carl. He worked with Hans Gruber.” While her dad introduced Hill, and all of his prowess to get research grants somehow, probably with that freaky pen he carried, Meg was thinking briefly about how was Herbert West working for Gruber, fully, even as a student.

“I know your work Dr. Hill. Quite well.” Meg raised her head. “Your theory on the location of the will in the brain is… Interesting, though derivative of Dr. Gruber's research in the early 70s.”

She knew that. She needed a dictionary to read his most obscure work, but German and English were similar enough, she got by.

“So derivative, in fact, that in Europe it's considered plagiarized. And your support of the 12 minute limit on the life of the brain stem after death…”

“...Six to twelve minutes, Mr…?”

Meg wanted to leave.

“West. Herbert West. Frankly, Dr… Hill? Your work on brain death is outdated.”

“Carl,” her dad interrupted and Meg looked away from the scene. Frankly, Hill gave her the creeps, sort of, and seeing him that angry was unpleasant. Suck it up, ok? You know him since you were at least twelve, it's fine.

You were always soft.

“...Megan and I would love it if you came to dinner.” Wait what?

“What?” She repeated out loud. Herbert turned his bright hazel, poisonous eyes towards her. She straightened her back. “I'm sorry, dinner? When?

“Thursday,” West answered for the others. He put his hands on his hips. “Maybe pushing bodies around really isn't for someone as small as you, Ms. Halsey.”

“I'm fine.”

“You might kill yourself.”

“Dad, dinner, Thursday? I'm not sure I can make it.”

What else are you gonna do? Your friends don't talk to you anymore since you left for New York to hang out with feminists, artists, and bohemians, leaving them here with babies and husbands.

“Well, I'm sure you'll make an exception,” Hill said, looking straight at her. “A lovely, amazing student such as yourself should take some time off every now and then. Celebrate.” She hated when he looked straight at her. She could feel her dad and West observing in the sidelines.

“Sure,” Meg found herself saying, hands tight against the steel of the gurney, knuckles turning white. “I'll cook.”

You'll what?!

“Fantastic,” Hill finished, looking at Herbert next. “I'll see you in class, mr. West. Ms. Halsey.” He nodded his head and she smiled, closing her eyes.

Both Hill and her father left in what seemed to be a dream sequence, no doubt discussing the grant, and the autopsy room was silent once again.

Her head was throbbing. The walls and floors were gray, there was a corpse rotting in their midst, Meg took a deep breath—chemical and invigorating somehow.

“I take it you don't like Dr. Hill either.” She looked at West, whose eyes still shone. He approached her, footsteps echoing out. “How did you know I was studying death?”

“I'm a doctor, Mr. West. I read,” she released the gurney, feeling tired for the meal she'd have to cook, on top of studying. There was a beat before she could stop herself from asking “What happened between you and dr. Gruber?”

“What do you mean?” A slight twitch, a small movement of the lips. “Dr. Gruber had a lab accident that I was unfortunately too late to prevent.”

“I heard he was in his office when he died.” Another twitch.

“I'm sure you heard it wrong, with all due respect ms. Halsey.”

Chemical smells, corpses rotting, the smell of something burning—Hill's pen no doubt left crisp black flesh behind, and he did it on enough people in the morgue proper that it got to where she was. She looked at West for almost long enough she'd probably have his exact face and pose at that moment committed to memory, forever.

He looked at her, waiting for something to happen.

Her hands hurt from grasping the gurney for so long.

“I'm not doing so great, sweetie…” She had said. Two men talking behind her. Her dad and Hill were gone. West was there.

“I'm sorry I asked,” Meg finally gathered, headache suddenly subsiding, like it never was. “Sorry for your loss, he must have been a wonderful mentor.” West bowed slightly and Meg did the same before turning around and going through the doors.

[dreamondelphinus]

Part 2/4? - Ford's Alternate Cipher

Cracking the Book of Bill!

Part 1 - Cosmic Cipher

I explain how I differentiated between different ciphers, and solved this one completely from scratch, without knowing any of the translations to guide me.

Spoilers Below!!!

Seperating the Ciphers

I wasn't completely sure this wasn't a double encryption of either Ford's or Bill's ciphers from Journal 3 at first. After translating all of those that I could, I began to notice that the letter frequency was off for both of them, symbols that were supposed to be very uncommon kept popping up multiple times per sentence. After pulling out my copy of Journal 3, I realized that this was a completely different Cipher, and I had always assumed it was double encrypted because it pulled symbols almost exclusively from Ford and Bill's ciphers!

Some uses of this cipher in the journal replaced what had been used in the show, and I could still remember the translations, and could use that to get nearly a third of the symbols at once. However, I promised a good old-fashioned decryption, and that you shall get.

Beginning Decryption

When breaking a code from scratch, there are 3 absolute pillars that I use.

1: Short words. If it's got two or three letters, it will make it easier to notice patterns between them and recognize vowels.

2: Single Letters: those are almost always I and A, and if you've got an unusual circumstance it's often very easy to set aside.

3: Letter Frequency. Is. God.

This shows how, even though not all letters are used, their rank in standard English and in the cipher is usually going to be pretty similar, almost all of them were within 2-3 places of their standard English counterparts.

I always start with letter frequency, and line my symbols up on the wall in order from most to least common. I went back through journal 3 to help me out, as mathematically the more data with a pattern you have, the less random it appears. One symbol appeared 81 times, another only once. If I was cracking on just one sentence, that'd be a lot harder to see.

Keeping an eye on the two symbols that were either I or A, I started grouping up and looking at the short words with very common letters.

The word in the middle was the most frequent of the 3-letter words, and the double-triangle and dotted-I appeared together pretty often. Comparing their frequency to the frequency of English letters, and other similar unknown words, I could be confident this was the word: "THE" and underneath it was "HE" The mushroom symbol had to be some sort of vowel, and even before T i was guessing these were the words "TO" and "TOO."

I went back to the source material to look for shorter words comprised primarily of these letters, and found "TH_T," the blank being one of the symbols that was either I or A. By making "THAT" I now had the letters T, H, E, O, A, and I, some of the most frequent. From there, it became fill in the blank.

the same symbol appeared in "_OT THAT" and at the end of a longer word "TIO_." Filling in N was enough to guess the entirety of Dipper's taunt to Bill, with some consultation to the other uses of the symbols "I _AN __ITE _O_ES TOO ITS NOT THAT HA__" became "I CAN WRITE CODES TOO ITS NOT THAT HARD!"

(ouch dipper, right in my pride)

Filling in "WHATS _ICTION AND _HATS REA_" gained me L and W, and "RE_E__ER _S" was filled in to give me M, B, and U.

the last ones gave me K, Y, and G, from the sentence "SHAKE YOUR GRANDMA," and P from "FORGET THE PAST"

Even though this cipher has been used before, it was new to me and the perfect one to demonstrate my decryption method! I can probably comb back through the journal for some of the uncommon letters. Hope you enjoyed, and check out the one I did that was unique to The Book Of Bill

[meganwritesfanfics]

Fresh Bruises (Josh Lyman x Reader) Part 10

Y/N couldn’t believe that any of this was happening. She sat on the cool tile floor of the bathroom, her head leaning over the toilet as she vomited what little contents she had left in her stomach. She had been drinking the night before, of course, but not enough that she was hungover, and she prayed that this wasn’t the flu or something like that. But she also thought of another option that could be causing this sickness. 

“Y/N,” A voice called as they knocked on the bathroom door. 

“Come in,” Y/N groaned. 

Donna popped in, her hair and makeup already partially done. “I got the stuff,” She said as she set the plastic bag on the counter. “How are you doing?” 

“I’m ok,” Y/N said as she slowly got up and splashed some water on her face. 

“And you’re sure this isn’t just some wedding day jitters.” Donna asked as she gently rubbed her back. 

A smile spread across Y/N’s face. She couldn’t believe the day had finally come, after months of planning today was the day that she finally married Josh. And now there was a possibility of more excitement. 

“No, this is, this is different.” Y/N said as she pulled out a Pedialyte and a pregnancy test. 

“Y/N, hun, you gotta hurry up, you still need to get your hair and makeup done.” CJ called. 

“I’ll be right out.” Y/N called as she turned to Donna. 

“Are you going to be ok?” 

“Yeah, of course Donna,” Y/N replied as she started to take the test out of the box. 

“Y/N,” Donna said as she reached out and grabbed Y/N’s hand. “Are you going to be ok if this come back negative, I don’t want this to ruin your day.” 

Y/N smiled sadly. “I am anticipating it is going to be negative, I mostly just want to double check to make sure I’m not getting Josh sick. I don’t want you to have to take on any more of his work that you already do.” 

“Ok, I’ll just be right outside.” Donna said as she closed the door behind her. 

“It’s going to be negative, it is going to be negative.” Y/N kept telling herself as she waited for the test. She needed to keep her expectations low or it would end up ruining her day. That was why, when the test came back looking positive, she had to keep staring at it. 

“Donna!” She called “CJ, Ainsley!” 

All of the girls burst in, dressed in their bridesmaids dresses. “What’s wrong?” CJ asked. 

“It’s positive, I mean look at this that is positive right.” Y/N exclaimed tears in her eyes. 

All of them looked at the test before screaming and hugging Y/N tightly.

“Oh my god! This is so beautiful.” Ainsley said. 

“This can’t be real.” Y/N said her hands shaking as she still had the dance. 

“Well, it is and while this is all very exciting, we have even more excitement that we are going to be late for if we do not get your hair and make up started.” Donna said as she started as she ushered Y/N out in the hotel room to get ready. 

“You know Claudia is a really great name for a baby.” CJ said causing everyone to laugh. 

    ****

Y/N stood in front of the mirror, taking in her appearance. Her dress had off the shoulder straps that hugged her arms as it went into a flower patterned bodice that went into a large princess skirt. Her hair was pinned up with a dark blue comb that Abby Bartlet had lent to her for her something borrowed and something blue. On her wrist she wore a bracelet that Josh’s mother had given to her one christmas, it had been in Josh’s family for generations and it was her something old. For her something new it was something that no one would see but herself and Josh. The new lingerie wore was something she had bought especially for this day. 

“Y/N you look so beautiful,” Donna replied tears in her eyes. 

“Donna you can’t already be crying, you are going to make me cry.” Y/N replied and CJ quickly handed Y/N a tissue to dab her eyes. 

“Josh and you have been through so much, I just can’t believe we are here, and I can’t believe you are pregnant.” 

Y/N felt her breath his in her throat as the tears started to well up in her eyes. All she could think about was telling Josh that she was pregnant, she could just imagine the look on his face. And in that moment she could picture their future together with their new family. 

“I love you all so much, that you all for being there for me and Josh. You are our family and I am so happy you are all here to share this moment with me.” 

All of them hugged again, when there was a knock on the door. 

“Alright Y/N, it’s time.” Her wedding planner said and Y/N took a deep breath her stomach filling with butterflies. 

“You got this,” CJ smiled as she handed Y/N her bouquet that was filled with white and dark blue flowers that matched the bridesmaid dresses. 

As they made their way through the hotel and past their reception area, Y/N really took in the awe of the location and decoration. When Josh had told her they had booked the Hay-Adams hotel for their wedding and reception, she couldn’t believe it. Every since they had first gotten engaged, Y/n had mentioned that her dream location to get married but she had knew how hard it was to get booked. And Ceilia had been amazing with helping her find a wedding planner and helping with some of the homemade decorations. It was the wedding of her dreams. Of course when she was younger she hadn’t imagined that there would be secret service agents at her wedding. 

“You look beautiful,” Bartlet said as she appeared near the doors. 

“Thank you so much.” She beamed as he held out his arm for her. When thinking about who she wanted to walk her down the aisle, the only person she could think of was the man who had become like a father to both her and Josh. She knew it took some major negotiating with the secret service and she couldn’t be more grateful that it worked out. 

“I am so happy for the both of you. You two truly are made for one another.” 

“Thank you sir, and thank you for everything you have done for Josh and I. We owe you so much.” 

“You don’t owe me a thing, I care about you both deeply, and I want to make sure you are well taken care of.” 

He pulled her in for a hug, just as she could hear the music start for her entrance. She had picked the song At Last by Etta James for her entrance, it felt appropriate. 

“Are you ready for this?” Bartlet said. 

“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.” She smiled. 

Bartlet nodded and the two secret service agents opened the door. 

Her nerves were going crazy when she saw all the people looking back at her, but the minute she locked eyes on Josh all her nervousness went away. 

Josh felt his heart skip when he saw Y/N. Instantly this eyes were flooded with tears. He couldn’t express how beautiful she looked and how grateful he was that they had made it to this moment. 

“Hi,” Josh whispered as Bartlet handed Y/N off to him. 

“Hi Lemon, you look very handsome.” She smiled as she took in his appearance. The man wore suits every day, but some how as he stood in front of her in his dark blue suit, she had never been more attracted to him.

“Let’s get married.” He smiled. 

“Let’s do it.” 

Josh had asked Leo to officiate the wedding ceremony and Leo did a beautiful job adding in funny stories about the couple. The two had also written their own vows, Josh’s were emotional and funny but full of heart. Y/N’s were powerful and tear jerking but with a lot of humor as well. And before the couple knew it, Leo said the magical words, 

“I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride.” 

Josh didnt hesitate as he pulled Y/N in for a kiss as the entire room errupted in applause. 

“I love you so much Y/N.” He said kissing her again. 

“I love you Josh.” 

The wedding photos went by in a blur, all Y/N could think about was trying to find the right time to tell Josh. They were just constantly surrounded by people and all she wanted was a moment alone with him to tell him. So when they finally got called out to do their first chance she knew this was her best chance. 

The song that Josh and Y/N picked was Crazy Love by Van Morrison, and as they swayed to the lyrics Y/N could feel herself tearing up. 

“Mrs Lyman, what are you thinking about.” He asked. 

“I have a surprise for you.” She smiled. 

“I don’t need anything, I have everything I need right herel.” 

“Well, you might need to make room in your heart for someone else.” 

Josh looked at her confused. Suddenly she watched his face brighten as it clicked. 

“Are you serious?” He asked his voice cracking. 

Y/N nodded with a giant smile on her face. 

“Oh my god!” Josh gasped as he pulled Y/N into his arms tightly. “We are going to have a baby.” 

“We are going to have a baby.” She said and at that moment Y/N felt that she could never be more happy in her whole life.

[asheepinthenight]

Hi Dani! I love Talon's End so much! I love the writing and Hawk and Shea and the Siblings and Isla and Erich and not so much mom, but I still love her and it's amazing.

Question: How would you describe the usual human clothing of the region? I'm trying to draw my MC (helps with getting to know the character) and I'm not sure of what clothing she'd wear.

Thank you and take care! <3

That's a super good question! I got a little carried away, but hopefully this is at least kind of helpful!

TL;DR: Women mostly wear dresses; men mostly wear trousers. Regardless of gender, clothes tend to be light and loose in style without a lot of ornamentation. Currently though, elegant, ornamental hairstyles are in, and many people are growing their hair out to take advantage of that. Hair length isn't particularly culturally dictated or gendered. Clothing colors usually reflect the seasons' colors in nature, but only members of high society (like MC's family) are really expected to have whole ensembles of the "proper" colors. For those curious, robes aren't at all common due to their association with mages.

Details under the cut!

The area where MC and their family live is relatively diverse, so fashion there has been influenced by a variety of different cultures. Maressea is on the warmer side of temperate with a fair amount of precipitation, so during warm weather, clothes tend to be light and not have too many layers--but coats, jackets, and capes to ward off the rain are common. Even when it's warm, sleeves, trousers, and skirts are usually long, but they tend to be more loose and flowing. During the winter, heavier fabrics are a must, but the styles are relatively similar to warm-weather clothes. Colors are an important part of styling, though. The colors of an ensemble should generally match the colors seen in nature during a given season. This is obviously pretty expensive and, therefore, a thing people will be judged by if they're considered a member of Society. But in situations where no one could reasonably afford multiple dyed garments for every season, people still often use seasonal colors for ribbons, handkerchiefs, and other small items. Even among the nobility, garment patterns and shapes are often relatively simple since the mundane aspects of fabric arts were only revived in the last century. Those who had the knowledge to revive things like lace-making and detailed embroidery are highly sought after, and their services quite expensive.

Hats aren't a big thing--unless they're necessitated by weather--since elegant, complex hairstyles are having a moment (the vibe but not necessarily form of fancy wedding updos). Historically, there hasn't been a major tendency toward long or short hair, regardless of gender, but long hair is stylish due to greater options for the aforementioned elegant hairstyles. (Not quite Hawk-length, though!) Hair accessories like ribbons, combs, and gemstones are common based on what a person has available to them.

Women are usually expected to wear dresses, and men are expected to wear trousers. But some avant garde women (including Sabine) have started wearing trousers at informal events (and formal events, if they're feeling extremely spicy). Some men have begun wearing dresses as well, but it hasn't taken off as much just yet. Robes are sometimes worn, but it's very rare since they're associated with being the garb of mages--not the most popular thing these days. So Hawk's gift had the double sin of being a robe AND not being a seasonally appropriate color.

[lorkai]

May I request headcanons for a double date between solodeus and simbarb? It's completely okay if not!

*･゜ﾟ A/n: This is one of the requests that took me the longest to write simply because I didn't know if it was good or not. I still don't really like it, but I'll post anyway, if you're still around anonie, I hope you like it (⁠◡⁠ ⁠ω⁠ ⁠◡⁠)

*･゜ﾟTagging: @lemonandlime22 @rainiishowers

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ A double date between these four is chaotic, but in a good way. Honestly Asmo was the one who came up with this idea after watching some silly movie with Solomon and so he spontaneously proposed the idea to his darling first, wanting to know if he would be up for a double date. It was merely a joke but Solomon took the idea with great enthusiasm and convinced Barb and Simeon to join them for dinner. Wouldn't that be romantic after all?

Except it's chaotic.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Asmodeus is running around trying to decide what kind of tablecloth is fluffier or what kind of cups have a more sophisticated pattern while Solomon is thinking about poisoning everyone with his food. With luck, Barbatos figured that would happen and let his dear angel talk to the sorcerer while he cooked dinner with Asmo.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Dinner goes at a pleasant pace, and I'm talking candlelight, wine and delicious food while soft music plays in the background. Conversation is light as everyone enjoys food made by Barbatos, from Solomon telling some stories from his past to Asmo talking about the cosmetics he helped manufacture and Simeon bragging about Luke's achievements.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Solomon, ever the little shit, tries to tell some embarrassing stories about Barbatos to Simeon but it backfires. Barbatos tells Asmo and Simeon various stories and silly things Solomon has done over the millennia, causing them to laugh until their bellies hurt.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ After dinner Simeon plays the piano and Barbatos sings along to the music, a tune so perfect it could make angels weep. Seizing the moment, Solomon pulls Asmo into a slow dance, soft kisses being exchanged between them as they spin and slide each other's bodies across the dance floor.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ The night ends with couples watching the stars, it's peaceful, so different from the busy routine that each one has. Asmo completely cuddling Solomon while Barbatos lays his head on Simeon's shoulder, the angel serenely combing his hair with his fingers.

[quintessencewrites]

My Love, My Fury

ShuRiri x OC (Sade Davis)

The ship becomes official!!!!!

Warnings: so much fluff, you'll die. Implied smut. Explicit language.

Word Count: 3.5k+

TW: Mention of Panic Attacks

Tags: @letitias-fav @sweetalittleselfish-honey @zestgodtj @becauseimswagman1 @iloveours @k3nn3dyxo @dayjlovesromance

Translations: sithandwa sam-my love; usana-baby; intombi entle-beautiful girl; umsindo wam-my fury; ilangatye lam-my flame.

A/N: Two stories back to back? I spoil yall. I really love this one and how it turned out. It makes my little heart happy <3

“When will you be back?” I whined into the phone. A deep chuckle sounded from the other end. “Soon, sithandwa sam. I’m sorry it's taken so long.”

Shuri and I’s second date had been postponed for going on two months. She had business that needed to be attended to back in the country she ruled and left Boston in a haste. 

In the time she’d been gone, we’d grown much closer. Not an hour passed without a text, not a day without a call. It was lovely, falling in love with the sweet royal. I was just growing tired of the long distance. 

“Yeah, hurry on up back so she can stop whining,” Riri’s voice sounded from between my thighs. I take the comb in my hand and pop her on the scalp. “Shut up,” I say, roughly taking a handful of hair and cornrowing it tightly to her head. 

“Owwww, ma! Geez, braid my hair, not my thoughts,” she winces, throwing her hands up in pain. 

“Why can’t you just admit that you miss me?” Shuri asks Riri, fake hurt seeping into her words. 

“I miss you, your highness,” Riri seethes, knowing Shuri hates the royal titles. The Queen scoffs just as Okoye calls for her in the background. “I’ll be back soon, my loves,” she offers sweetly, then hangs up the phone.

The heat barely has time to travel to my cheeks before Riri teases “Wipe that blush from ya face.”

I pout, “But it makes me look so cute,” and I kiss the top of her head. She returns the gentle kiss to the inside of my thigh while my fingers continue to stitch a pattern into her hair. 

“We should go out tonight,” Riri speaks suddenly. 

I pause. “Go out where?”

“I dunno, I just want to see you get pretty for me,” she says with a quick bite to the same thigh she’d kissed just moments again. 

“Ooh,” I exclaim. “Let’s go to Mjölnir!”

“What? That club downtown?”

“Yeah,” I respond, legs bouncing in excitement. “We haven’t been yet. We can even invite Honey and Iris. Make it a double date.”

Riri releases my grip from her hair and guides my hand to her lips, planting a kiss on it. “Okay, ma,” is all she says and I smile like a kid on Christmas Day.

My Ri’s hair doesn’t take long to finish, being braided back into her signature cornrows with a cute ass heart stitched into the side. She stands to admire my work in the mirror and returns to me with a grin so large, I know it hurts. 

“Thank you, baby. Got me looking right,” she sings to me, planting kisses all across my face. I let a giggle slip from my lips and grumble an mhm behind my smile. 

I try to stand up and loosen the muscles that have been locked into place due to hours of sitting, but Riri pushes me back into the bed. 

“Let me pick out your outfit, baby.”

My brows raise at the request. “Riri,” I start slowly. “Keep in mind we’re going to a club, not church. You can’t cover me up just because you don’t want other people looking.”

My Riri rolls her eyes. “I can do what I want,” she states loudly with a big kiss on my lips. “But I got you.” Another string of mumbled mhm’s leave me and while Riri rummages through my closet, I text Honey the details for tonight. 

It takes no time for them to reply with a thumbs-up emoji, followed by a quick ‘See you at 9.’

I’m getting ready to shoot Shuri a text as well but Riri distracts me, dumping a pile of clothes onto my lap. 

“Okay,” she starts. “These are all contenders, but I think I gotta see them on you before I can choose.”

“You want me to try all these on?”

“Yup,” she grins. “Come, be my little runway model.”

I slide on and slip off every single piece of clothing Riri has laid out for me. None of them are good enough until I step away from the mirror wearing a diamond-studded corset top and a black leather skirt so short, it barely contains my thick thighs and round rump. 

I face my girl and ask exasperatedly, “What about this one?” I’ve somehow rendered my poor Riri speechless and I swear her pupils are shaped like hearts. All she can do is nod. I chuckle at her reaction and check the clock on the wall. 

“Ri, it's 8 o’clock. We still gotta find you something to wear.” Upon hearing the time, she snaps out of her trance. A sly look flashes across her face so quickly, I thought I’d imagined it. 

She rises from my bed and offers a quick peck to the tip of my nose, then my waiting lips, and finally my blushing cheeks. “Finish getting ready, ma. I’ll meet you there, okay?”

“Okay,” I whisper, wishing her lips lingered on mine just a little while longer, but she’s already out the door. 

I sit at my vanity and plug in my flat iron, quickly refreshing my bra-strap-length silk press. It takes me several tries to glue the full, mink lashes to my lash line, and by then, the clock reads ‘8:40’. 

I glance down at my phone and realize I hadn’t heard from Shuri since our phone call hours ago. A panic rises through me as the memories of my Riri being missing just months prior take over my mind. 

What if Shuri was hurt? Or had been kidnapped? Or worse?

I try calling, but I’m greeted with her voicemail immediately. I try Riri and get the same outcome. The panic attack is wrecking my body with a vengeance, my breathing failing me. I lean against the wall, hoping it’ll provide me some balance, but my legs give up and I slide to the ground. 

I curl up and hug my knees, desperately trying to pull myself back to reality. It’s not the first time one of these attacks visited me; it's not even the worse. 

They’d started when Riri was missing and became frequent when Shuri came into the picture. That’s when the realization hit me. I was in love with two people who had the most dangerous jobs in the world. 

Sure, Riri hadn’t suited up as Iron Heart in months, but Namor had gone after her before Iron Heart even existed. 

She was just my Riri and the Black Panther was just my Shuri. 

And I could lose either of them at any time. 

I heard the door to my bedroom open and Honey’s voice ring out, “Corazóne, let’s goooo! We’re meeting the girls at the club and-“ They spot me on the floor. 

“Help. Help,” I gasp out, panicking worse at the realization that I will not be able to pull myself out of this one. 

Honey dives to the ground, reaching me in seconds. 

“Hey,” they say gently, grabbing my face. “I’m here, you’re here. We’re okay, you’re okay.”

“Riri,” I get out. “And Shuri-“

Honey’s fingers run through my hair, eyes glued to me and trying to mask the fear running through their veins. “Riri’s okay. I just talked to her. She and Iris are already downtown, waiting on us. And Shuri’s on a mission.” 

They quickly continue, seeing my eyes grow large with worry. “A peaceful, non-lethal, super easy mission, Riri’s exact words.” I nod and Honey switches their breathing to a guided one that we’ve practiced together. 

I mimic them and though it takes some time, my breathing returns to normal and I’m calmed. 

Honey helps me to my feet. “It’s time for you to see a therapist, Sade.”

I don’t respond, instead following Honey out the door and down the stairs to their usual parking spot. We make it all the way to their white Dodge Charger, Honey’s most prized possession, before I speak. 

“I don’t have time to see a therapist, Hon.”

“Then make time,” they say sternly. “These are getting serious.”

We arrive at the club and as soon as I open my door, preparing to leave the car and this conversation, Honey reaches across me and shuts it back. 

I open my mouth to protest, but Honey speaks first. “I love you, Sade. You’re my best friend and I’m worried. Either you see a therapist, or I tell Shuri and Riri.”

They’re not bluffing; I’ve never seen Honey’s eyes set so harshly. 

“Okay,” I say, defeated. “I’ll make the appointment tomorrow.”

“Promise me,” Honey urges. “I promise.”

Honey nods, contempt with my response and we finally make out way into the club, which is filled to the brim with bodies upon bodies. 

Iris rushes Honey, easily spotting their tall figure among the crowd. I’m struggling to find my Riri until I feel a pair of hands on my ass and a whisper in my ear. “Damn, ma. Gonna let me take you home tonight?” 

I turn to face the jokey girl and roll my eyes. Riri greets me with a kiss. “Come dance with me.”

We head to the crowded dance floor, hand in hand. She’s standing in front of me, moving her body to the beat, and I get a good look at my sexy girl. She’s wearing a top that barely qualifies as such, really just being a bralette of stringed gems and crystals and high-waisted black, leather pants that hug her body in such a way, my mouth waters. 

I join her in gyrating, letting the music control my movements. We bounce along to New Freezer by Rich the Kid and Kendrick Lamar, the whole club swaying like bobbleheads. 

The music slows down and Riri rotates me so my back is pressed to her front, her hands locked in at my hips, guiding them to move to the song just how she likes. We move in sync for several moments when Riri’s breath tickles my ear, “I’m gonna grab us some drinks. Keep dancing, ma. I’ll be right back.”

I allow a breathy “Okay” in response and do as I’m told, my lonesome body just swaying to the lyrics. Seemingly no time has passed before Riri returns, except it's not my Riri. I know that immediately. My head meets this person’s chest, instead of what would be Riri’s lips due to our height. 

I look down at the stranger’s hands snaked around my waist and spot a tattoo that my Riri does not have, I gasp, mentally connecting the tattoo to its owner. Spinning harshly, I see her. In-person. At this club, dancing with me.

“SHURI,” I shriek. She kisses my nose. “Hello, usana.” 

“How?” I ask, unable to form the words to ask a complete sentence. Riri suddenly appears from behind our Queen’s back. “Me, duh.” Shuri rolls her eyes at Riri’s smart remark. “She helped, but it wasn’t her idea to surprise you. It was-“

“Mine, thank you very much.” Honey and Iris appear out of nowhere. My eyes well at Honey’s confession. “I know you’ve been needing them lately. Both of them,” they state sincerely. 

I throw myself at my dear friend, not being anywhere near tall enough for the hug to reach around her neck, but enveloping her abdomen in my arms instead.

When I pull away, Shuri reaches for both mine and Riri’s hands. “Let’s leave, eh? I want to catch up with my girls.”

“Uh, officially, nobody’s anybody’s anything,” Riri rings out, warranting another eye roll from Shuri. “Why must you be so difficult?” She asks. To me, she speaks gently, “Would you like to leave, intombi enntle? We can leave Riri here since she’s not officially anybody’s anything.” Her American accent presented itself in the later part of her sentence, mocking my Riri. 

It earns a laugh from me and I reply, “Let’s go, my Queen.” Shuri groans at the formality just as Riri “Aht, Aht”’s us. “Y’all not leaving me,” and she joins us in walking towards the exit, as I turn and wave goodbye to Honey and Iris. 

Outside, awaiting us is a blacked-out Lexus LS 500 and Shuri beams at it in pride, opening the door for Riri and me. “Where are we going?” I ask as the ride begins. 

“The hotel room I’ll be staying in while I’m here. I’d love for you two to join me.”

“You too good for our dorm rooms?” Riri challenges and Shuri doesn’t hesitate before responding. “Yes,” she answers seriously and I laugh at Riri’s shock at the quick comeback. 

The drive is quick, though it's spent with Riri and Shuri sparring back and forth. When we reach the hotel, Shuri hands the keys over to the valet and we make our way through the lobby and into the glass elevator that seems like it’ll never reach the top. 

When it finally does, we step off and follow Shuri to a large, gold door. She unlocks it and we’re greeted by a large room bigger than my entire suite and Riri’s room put together. There’s a bed so large, it could fit ten Honey’s laid across, head to toe. 

Riri beelines straight for it and flops her body down. “It’s so soft,” she groans. Shuri smiles in return. “There are robes in the bathroom for you to sleep in. Shower and get comfortable, then I have gifts for both of you.”

Riri perks up at the mention of gifts. “What’d you get us?”

“You are so hard-headed,” Shuri sighs and sits, legs spread and arms beckoning me towards her. I stand between her legs, facing her and she wraps her long arms around my waist, looking up at me. “Sade, usana, what did I just say? Riri must’ve not heard.”

I shake my head. “Shower first, Ri. C’mon,” I say, breaking free of Shuri’s hold and pulling my shirt over my head. My breasts bounce free from the constricting fabric and both girls’ eyes are on me. I head to the bathroom and Riri follows obediently. 

“Wait, you two are gonna shower together?” Shuri asks, broken from the hypnosis my body had on her. 

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Riri teases, closing the door behind us. 

The shower what’s mostly innocent, Riri just stealing a few kisses and gentle touches where she could. We emerge from the steamy room and see Shuri seated on the bed, blazer removed, and black sports bra on display. 

“Come, sit.”

I sit down first, curiosity and excitement getting the best of me. Riri sits behind me and effortlessly pulls my body into her lap. Shuri hands us each a small box that holds some weight. I look at the etching on mine, in awe at the beauty of the symbols.

“They’re kimono beads. I invented them myself,” Shuri speaks proudly. “They’re a better way to keep in contact with me so I can finally get rid of this Bast-forsaken phone..”

“What’s it say,” I ask. Shuri’s smile grows genuine and she responds, “Sade, sithandwa Sam. Sade, my love in my country’s alphabet.”

"What about mine?" Riri questions.

“Riri, umsindo wam. Riri, my fury. Because you fuel a fire and a passion that I’d thought I lost.” Shuri turns back to me. “And you, my love, because you showed me a love that I have never felt and you opened me up to a side of myself that I didn’t know existed.”

Even Riri was silent as we listened to Shuri’s words. The Queen grabs the bracelet and my hand, slipping the beads onto my wrist and kissing my open palm before speaking again. 

“Sithandwa sam, I know I officially still owe you a second date,” she begins. “But my heart can not wait any longer. Will you be mine, my love?” The butterflies that previously fluttered in my stomach were now full-on swarming, 

I  try to speak, but the words are trapped in my throat; all I could do was nod as a big, stupid grin spread across my face. Shuri’s expression matched mine and she turned to Riri. “And you, my fury, ilangatye lam. Will you be mine as well?”

Poor Riri was speechless for the second time that night, maybe the second time in her life. A silent moment passes, and Shuri’s eyes begin to fill with worry until Riri finally speaks. 

“Yeah, yeah. Absolutely,” she chokes out. Shuri’s smile is wider than I’d ever seen, every single pearly white on display. The Queen jumps from the bed, first pounding in the air in excitement. She smiles brightly at us. “You have no idea how stressed I’ve been about doing that.” She practically skips to the bathroom. “I’m going to take my shower, then we can finish our night and rest.”

Shuri shuts the bathroom door, leaving Riri and me in silence. She finally asked, I thought to myself. I was officially dating the Queen of Wakanda, the freaking Black Pan-.

“How long have you been having panic attacks?” Riri interrupts my thoughts. My head whips around to her. “What?”

“C’mon now, baby. It’s your eyes that don’t work, not your ears.” I gulp. “I don’t know what Honey told you, but-,“ I start, but Riri speaks over me again. 

“Honey didn’t have to say shit, baby girl. I’ve known you for how long? I know when something’s wrong and you’re not as slick at hiding them as you think you are.”

Ugh, damned Riri. This was not the conversation to be having right now.

“I’m fine, Ri. They’re just little panic attacks,” I say dismissively. 

“Panic attacks?” Shuri questions, returning to the room and walking to the bed. Shit, I hadn’t heard her leave the bathroom. Her worried eyes survey my body. “You’re having panic attacks, sithandwa?”

“No,” I retort as an angry Riri chimes in “Yes! So bad that Honey found her on the floor today, barely breathing.”

“So you did talk to Honey?”

“I knew about the panic attacks before I spoke to her, Sade.”

I wince, my name sounding foreign coming from Riri’s mouth. 

“Why are you having panic attacks?” Shuri asks, sitting on the other side of me. Between the interrogation and the feelings airing around us, I feel trapped and give them the answer they weren’t expecting. 

“Because of you two,” I cry. 

Silence, finally. 

I continue, hoping to clarify and relieve their faces of the hurt expressions I’d just caused. “Because you two almost died before and you live a life where it can happen again at any moment, and I’m so afraid of when that moment comes.”

Riri hugs my sobbing body from behind, resting her head on the blade of my back. 

“Baby,” she starts. 

“Don’t ‘baby’ your way out of this. You actually fucking died, Riri.”

She ponders my words and Shuri takes it as her turn to speak. She takes ahold of my face, wipes away my tears, and sighs. 

“My love, we will not leave you. In death or in life. You give us a reason to be more careful, and more precise in every battle. Because I’ll be damned if I don’t make it out of a fight alive and miss my chance to come home and see this face.” She plants a kiss on my lips. 

Riri chimes in, “Baby, I didn’t die in Wakanda because I knew I had to get back to you. We got you cheering us on and we got each other to protect. You don’t have to worry about us.”

I sniffle, “I know I don’t have to, but that won't stop me from worrying.”

“I know, my love. I know,” Riri speaks, planting kisses on my back. Shuri gently grabs my wrist and points to the beads adorning it. “These are an extension of my heart. Literally. You can see mine and Riri’s vitals in real-time and we can see each other's, as well as yours. I added it as a precaution. We aren’t leaving you, I promise.”

The night ends with Shuri sleeping soundly to my left and Riri sprawled out wildly to my right. I can’t shut off my mind and have trouble falling asleep. I leave the bed and head to the balcony attached to the room, enjoying the night air. I’ve always loved the night, being more drawn to the darkness and the moon than the sunniest of days. 

The sound of the glass door sliding open pulls me from my thoughts and a tired-looking Riri steps out into the night with me. She pulls me from my seat, takes it for herself, and places me on her lap. 

We sit quietly, feeling the warm summer breeze caress our skin. Riri plays with my fingers, the same way she always did when she was nervous. “What are you thinking about?” I prompt, causing Riri to drop my hand, realizing I picked up on her tell. 

“I’m-,“ she hesitates. “I’m thinking of a cute way to ask you to be my girlfriend.”

I chuckle and turn around in her lap, facing and straddling the girl. “Riri, I’m already your girlfriend,” I state obviously. 

“Did you miss the last few hours? We could wake Shuri up and recreate it,” I flirt. Riri’s usually playful eyes aren’t looking so playful right now. She’s serious. 

“Shuri asked us both, so yeah, we’re her girlfriends, but what about you and me?”

“What about us?” I counter. My Riri sighs and begins to lift me from her lap. “Never mind, Sade.”

I bare my weight down on her legs and grab her face, bringing her eyes to mine. “First of all, stop using my government name. That’s not a habit you bout to pick up.” Riri nods at my words, caught off guard by the intensity.

“Secondly,” I start, holding her face gentler and wrapping her arms around me. “I thought our relationship was implied, Ri. I didn’t know you needed a title on it. Neither of us asked the first time, we just started referring to the other as ‘girlfriend’.” 

She doesn’t speak, doesn’t even look at me. I bring her gaze back up. “Riri Williams, you are my fury. Not a single soul that walks this earth can ignite the anger and passion and drive and love that you bring out of me.

“It’s orgasmic. It’s my natural high. It’s a feeling that I never, ever want to live without again. Can I call you my girlfriend?”

Riri’s cheeks are on fire underneath my palms and the smile on her face is contagious.

“Yes, my love."

Masterlist

[poetry-protest-pornography]

Let's talk about Ray's dad

So by the time we meet Ray's dad, the only parents we've met are Sand's mom and Boston's dad; a "good" parent, who has a good relationship with her kid and is affectionate, and a "bad" parent, who literally calls his kid a jackass and is generally obnoxious and doesn't seem to be super involved in his life.

Enter Ray's dad.

He's immediately combative and angry, doesn't open with asking after Ray's health, just right to scolding.

And it isn't worried parent scolding. It's just angry.

He's mad because he had to deal with the cops, because he had to disrupt his evening.

(Sand is the best boy, because he is staying close to Ray, he isn't abandoning him with his father, who he knows Ray doesn't have a great relationship with. He's still worried about Ray, even if he's also rightfully mad)

He's mad because the car is damaged, and it was expensive.

Ray is disappointed, he's hurt, but he's not surprised that his dad still hasn't asked about his injuries.

And his dad just tells him to stop being sarcastic, and doubles down on all the ways Ray could have messed up his life and inconvenience him.

And Sand, witnessing all of this, realizing how much of who Ray is is about this interaction that he's witnessing. How much of Ray's damage is because he doesn't have a parent in his corner.

All Ray's dad can talk about is the social fallout associated with drunk driving, social consequences that will affect him.

And onto making threats.

He mentions Ray getting sober, but it's not out of concern for Ray's health, or his future:

It's because he doesn't want to take the time to have to clean up after him. To care about Ray's life.

And Ray is clearly used to hearing these things from his dad. He looks so resigned, like his dad has been telling him "I don't have time to care about you" his whole life.

And, the kill shot. (It's me, it killed me.)

Confirmation that the neglect and the resentment are a pattern. That they're just how Ray's dad speaks to him, how he thinks about him.

How Ray learned that he is a burden.

And Sand realizes it when we do.

Just.

We have all seen how unconcerned with his drinking Ray's friends all are. Mew made one single sincere comment about Ray's health, and it was in a flashback. All other mentions of Ray drinking to much are framed as Ray is the problem, not that Ray's drinking is the problem. And they all still encourage and enable his addiction: they don't find places to hang out that don't involve alcohol, they laugh off his neediness, etc.

And here, his dad can't even be bothered to ask about how he's feeling. His own father can't manage to frame his concern about Ray's drinking as concern about Ray as a person. And going by Ray's words, he hasn't ever really bothered to, and he didn't care much for his wife.

The cruelty of having watched your wife drink herself to death and do nothing, and then watch your son spiral into addiction, and do nothing but berate him is next level, and it breaks my heart.

[sarelcon]

Crimping Cosplay Wigs for Volume & Texture Without Making Them Look Like A Wavy Style Potato Chip (or alternatively, how to crimp without leaving hard marks in the hair fibers)

For any kind of cosplay that needs classic anime spikes or gravity defying wig elements, most wigs will need a bit of help. The two main methods are either back-combing/ teasing or crimping. Either technique will make the fibers textured and better able to hold their shape.

I personally always ended up with too much frizz and knots when I attempted teasing. I lived through the early 2000’s pre-teen hair style phase where everyone was crimping their hair to the point that it looked like a wavy Lay’s potato chip. That era of fashion gave me an aversion to trying crimping until finally I had enough of hating how my teased wigs looked. After experimenting with techniques on several wigs, I have figured out a way to crimp and only get subtle texture. Both photos below are after the wig has been crimped and has double the volume. It’s fluffy without the hard waves.

These are my tips for crimping a cosplay wig:

1) Working in very thin sections. The more fibers you force into the iron, the harsher the lines will be. Pin up most of the hair and work up from the bottom couple of wefts.

2) Crimping vertically vs horizontally. Everyone’s first instinct with a crimping iron is to hold and use it like a normal straightener- gathering a horizontal bit of hair and holding the iron parallel to the ground. Crimping horizontally results in a pattern that will only get more obvious with each layer of hair since the waves will fall in the same place on every weft. The angle of the iron and how you part the hair can have a huge impact.

3) Part the hair vertically. As mentioned in the previous point, working horizontally on the wig makes the crimp waves fall in the same place every time. Parting the wig vertically and gathering a few fibers from multiple wefts helps to break up the pattern.

4) Light pressure. Though you can ease overly harsh crimp marks out of the hair with more heat, it’s less time consuming in the end to lightly clamp down on the hair at first. This way you can go back to add extra crimping to the sections if needed instead of having to spend extra time fixing any harsh waves.

5) Brushing out each section after it’s been crimped. While the hair is still hot, the wavy pattern can be broken up more by brushing or combing through the fibers. If the hair is a bit frizzy, go over it with a straightener or the crimping iron with no extra pressure.

And it’s easier to show the technique with a video so I have one attached below. It shows how the hair is parted vertically and how I’m holding the iron.

[iknowyuu]

HELLO!!! if you're taking in requests, can I please request a Yeonjun fic?

she/her pronouns

Prompt: established relationship. Yeonjun showly traces and softly kisses and admires reader's birthmarks and moles like a birthmark on their shoulder, thighs (like while he's lying down on her lap maybe) and her moles on her upper lip, arm, below the eyebrow, on the nose and maybe her ring finger (i have one there so why not add it right? 🤷🏻‍♀️). Like he's just enamoured by her beauty marks. Heck he can admire every small detail like her eyelashes or the way her lips curve at the edges.

I just want it to be very comforting and nothing sexual.

IT'S TOTALLY OK IF YOU DON'T TAKE MY REQUEST THO BUT THANK YOU IF YOU DO AND HAVE A NICE DAY LOVELY<333333

your sun

choi yeonjun x reader

// read req!

tags: she/her reader (mentioned once, feel free to replace with your own prnns!), reader described with "pretty", established relationship

note: TY FOR SUCH A DESCRIPTIVE REQUEST <3333 I ENJOYED WRITING THIS !! <3333 i hope u enjoy !!

♡

you sat on the couch with your boyfriend, eyes watching the television as you gently combed your fingers through his hair. he fell asleep a while ago; even though the two of you were supposed to be having a movie night. quoted from him, mind you: your lap was just too comfortable. his body heat and your blanket were the only things keeping you warm from the biting cold of the apartment, so you weren't complaining.

you sat there and continued watching without realizing he opened his eyes, his breathing pattern changing now that he was conscious. normally he'd greet you with something like "hi, pretty," or simply stopping your fingers and interlocking them with his, but he felt he didn't want to disturb the serenity he felt in the moment.

he stared at you from below, taking in your features, illuminated by the screen in front of you. the tiny splotches of different coloured skin decorating your body, your moles, every physical attribute he was absolutely enamored with. his heart swelled with pride and awe, were you really his? everything about you was perfect to him.

"you awake, jun?" you glanced down into your lap and found his eyes open, staring at you. "mhm," he turned to his side, placing a kiss on your thigh before finally sitting up. sitting beside you, he watched your side profile, still enchanted by you. you caught his glance and did a double take, "uhh.. are you good?" you chuckled at him, confused by his actions. "yeup," he smiled back at you before leaning in and cupping your cheek, turning your head, suddenly placing his lips on yours. he didn't know if you could feel the love radiating off him, he didn't know any other way to show how much he absolutely adored you.

you pulled back first in shock, even more confused. your lips tilted upwards in happiness, "you sure you good?" he laughed at your words. "what, can't kiss the love of my life anymore?" almost like a flower persevering through the bitter coldness of winter, your heart bloomed with warmth at his words, melting away the frost that had coated over it. he pulled you back towards him, this time kissing you deeper before moving to hold your face in his hands, kissing random spots on your face. first, your cheeks, then your forehead, then the bridge of your nose, your cheekbones, and even above your eyebrows. you giggled at his actions; his kisses tickled you. he smiled at the sound of your voice, loving everything about the moment.

"yah," he pulled away, "how is it that you're perfect? why not leave some for the rest of us?" he exclaimed in mock-anger, gesticulating with his words. you could barely maintain eye contact after that, "i could ask the same for you."

he hugged you, "love you, so much." the flower that is akin to your heart felt like it was being shined with the warmth that is the sun; yeonjun. he was your sun. you held him in your arms and smiled harder, if possible. "i love you too."

[mars-of-all-trades]

Crotator-Tot Pattern

Pattern under the read more.

This Pattern does NOT have to be done in Half Double Crochet, that's just my personal preference because i don't like Single Crochet lawl. (I'm just poor artist so its also a cost saving management.

This is the first pattern i've ever written, so there will be mistakes because of that and because i've only been crocheting for 2 years ;))K

This Pattern Takes...about 4-5 Hours to complete.

This pattern may NOT be used for profit, there MUST be a donation to your local animal shelter.

For this Particular Tator Tot I used a 3.125mm hook and Impeccable yarn by loops and threads in color "Pumpkin" and Caron 1 Pound in "Off White"

Guide:

Hdc: Half Double Crochet

Hdc-dec: Half Double Crochet Decrease

Hdc-inc: Half Double Crochet Increase

sl st: Slipstitch

CC: Change Color ((the pattern isn't exact with this, take with grain of salt, change color when you feel like it makes sense <3))

Ear 2x: Chain 7 Sc 5hdc sc Leave tail to attach to head

Head: R1: Hdc 6 magic circle R2: *Hdc-inc* R3: *1 Hdc hdc-inc* R4: *2 Hdc hdc-inc* R5: *3 Hdc hdc-Inc* R6: Hdc ((2 Hdc change color, 2 Hdc change color) R7: Hdc CC 6 Hdc CC hdc R8: *3 Hdc Hdc-dec* R9: *2 Hdc Hdc-dec* ((Place eyes and nose on and start attaching ears and the bed head floof then stuff the head)) R10-end: Hdc-dec Leave long tail to attach

Body:

R1: 6 Hdc magic circle R2: Hdc-inc R3: 1 Hdc Hdc-inc R4: 2 Hdc Hdc-inc R5: 3 hdc hdc-Inc R6: CC Hdc 6 CC *4hdc hdcdec* R7: CC Hdc 8 CC *hdc* R8: CC Hdc 10 CC *5 Hdc Hdc-dec* R9: CC Hdc Hdcdec 3 Hdc Hdcdec CC 3 Hdc R10: *Hdc* R11: CC 10 Hdc CC 3 Hdc 2 Hdcdc Hdc 2 Hdcdec finish row ((Stuff body now)) R12: Hdcdec CC 4Hdc Hdcdec 3Hdc CC Hdc Hdcdec R13-end: Hdcdec until closed

Arms x2: R1: 6 Hdc in MC sl st into first Hdc R2: *Hdc* R3: 4 Hdc-Dec 4 Hdc R4-7: Hdc R8: sl st shut

Should be ~2 inches long Leave long tail to sew on

Leg x2 R1: 10 HDC in MC R2: *Sc * R3: 2 SC-dec SC Sc around until desired length ~5-6 rounds

Tail

6 hdc in mc

Hdc

Dec 1 each row until close

Bonkers: (using embroidery thread OR halving worsted weight (4 strand into 2 strands) ((Requires some finesse )) R1: 20 Hdc MC R2-4: hdc (repetitive testing on arms/legs to make sure they fit, increasing and decreasing as needed)

Constructing the Crotator-Tot

Attach each part of the body to its respective spot (I find it easier to put the tail on straight after the legs are on)

to add the fluff, wrap yarn around your fingers and cut, then tie around stitches. to make fluffy ((Carefully!)) Comb out the yarn

[jazlynriddle]

Welcome to your life - Pt 2:

Acting On Your Best Behaviour Ch 8:

Summary:

They'd seen it in their fellow orphans often enough to recognise the pattern and were now forced to admit, despite their hopes to the contrary, that Isidora had likely suffered similar side effects.

No… they'd always known she had. The Keeper had just wanted the power that Ranrok had, enough to convince themselves that they would be able to handle it better than that naive woman.

With the start of the Keeper’s sixth-year in Hogwarts, comes a whole slew of headache-inducing challenges from the most unexpected of places. Between insignificant pests throwing wrenches into their plans and tedious teenage drama, that the Keeper is entirely unprepared for, they wonder if they'll make it to their NEWTs without losing their sanity.

Or worse, Ominis or Sebastian.

Warnings: Sebastian x MC x Ominis! Drug Addiction! Spoilers! Slow-burn corruption! Dark content! Fucked up 1800s orphanages! MC has no love for Anne or Solomon! Dubious happy ending (it's happy for MC, Seb and Ominis at least).

You can also read on AO3! (chapter specific warnings below)

Notes:

Warnings: Best paired with spy movie music, I recommend The Man from Uncle tracks xD

I am so tired holy shit- Writing this while being a DM is rough but I ain't quitting that easy! Plus, I'm actually really happy with how this chapter turned out, I really want to have more of a buffer though, finishing a chapter just in time for my scheduled upload time makes me feel slow. x')

"Good luck." Sebastian whispered, gently squeezing the Keeper's shoulder, before continuing down the corridor, walking past Amit who was seated at a bench beside the door to the Detention Chamber.

The Keeper nodded, while Sebastian slipped into the room, with the intent of remaining inside until Amit and Macnair had left. No doubt Sebastian would be familiar with it considering how much time he'd spent in detention over the course of his Hogwarts career and, more importantly, Macnair wouldn't find it odd for him to enter said room.

Meanwhile the Keeper turned left, opened the gate, and began walking through the long tunnel that led to the Death Day Party Room. Mindful of Macnair stopping to wait outside the gate since the tunnel was one-way.

If everything went according to plan, the Keeper would be in and out of the Undercroft without the bullies being any the wiser.

The Keeper had been pleasantly surprised when Jackdaw had agreed to clear the Death Day Party Room of any ghosts for them for two hours. As thanks for avenging his death and destroying the Guardians in the cave where he died.

As such, while Natty followed Selwyn, and the rest of the team were currently in the Death Day Party Room, preparing for what they believed was phase one. The Keeper's true phase one was already well underway and off to a good start.

By having Sebastian accompany the Keeper for the first few minutes of their journey towards the Death Day Party Room from the Slytherin Common Rooms, they had successfully encouraged Selwyn to choose Ominis to stalk. Thus, allowing Sebastian to split off from the Keeper and later head back into the Slytherin dorms to steal the bullies' diaries.

Of course, there was absolutely no point in acquiring the diaries a second time, but they had to steal those useless books for the sake of appearances for Natty's team. The Keeper would later be sure to comb the diaries with Ominis, to redact any information pertaining to Solomon from them, before handing the trash over to Natty.

Ominis' task then, was to lure Selwyn over to the Death Day Party Room via a more roundabout route, while the Keeper drew Macnair with them directly to the same destination.

Staggering the two bullies' arrival at the room, where Garreth and Poppy were preparing to transform, would allow them to lure Macnair away from the room with the first Keeper double. Before Ominis brought Selwyn to be tricked into stalking the second Keeper double in the other direction.

Thereby, freeing Ominis to join the Keeper and keep a lookout while the Keeper went into the Undercroft. Amit and Natty would each accompany Garreth and Poppy to help them hide from the bullies when their time ran out.

As the Keeper walked around the right bend, they came within view of the nondescript bronze door. Without skipping a beat, they slipped into the room, closing the door behind them, and turned to face Garreth and Poppy.

"Right on time, any complications?" Garreth asked with a confident grin.

"None." The Keeper replied as they dug through their satchel for two sets of their spare Slytherin robes, before handing one to Garreth and the other to Poppy.

"Great, I'll just take some of your hair then-" Garreth reached forward, and the Keeper immediately caught him by the wrist.

"If you think I'm giving you the chance to take more than two strands, you're barmy." The Keeper rolled their eyes.

"I'm hurt." Garreth gasped in dismay, placing a hand over his heart as though he'd taken a knife in it. "Why would you think I would do something as dastardly as secretly steal extra hair so I can make more Polyjuice potions of you in the future?"

"I wonder why." The Keeper responded dryly as they plucked exactly two strands from their head and handed them to Garreth.

"Isn't it a pity we live in such sceptical times?" Sighing dramatically, Garreth shook his head and gestured for Poppy to open the vials.

She deftly popped the caps off and held up the two vials for Garreth to add the Keeper's hair to their contents. The brown and muddy liquid bubbled for a moment, before turning into a deep blood red colour, the thick sludge thinning till it was the consistency of what looked like water.

The Keeper peered curiously at the fluid, they knew that Polyjuice potion was supposed to look and taste differently depending on the source of the last ingredient, and they wondered for a moment how theirs might taste. It did look uncannily similar to…

"Interesting colour, hopefully it doesn't taste like blood." Garreth chirped, clearly having come to the same conclusion, grinning at the Keeper. "You secretly a vampire?"

The Keeper rolled their eyes while Poppy laughed nervously and shook her head. "I'm sure it won't taste like blood, it's probably just red because it's an elegant colour."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." The Keeper chuckled.

If it did end up tasting like blood, they wondered if it would be because of the many goblin and human lives they'd taken. The amount of blood they'd spilled over the span of the previous year would probably be enough to fill the prefect's bath.

"Well, nothing for it, bottoms up!" Garreth raised his vial and poured it into his mouth while Poppy did the same.

Immediately Garreth began coughing and Poppy's eyes widened with surprise.

"Merlin’s balls, why is it so spicy!?" Garreth coughed a few more times, staring incredulously at the vial.

"What, can't handle a little heat?" The Keeper chuckled in amusement while both Garreth and Poppy dropped their vials as the transformation began.

Spicy eh? The Keeper mused to themselves while the sound of bones cracking echoed through the room. Well, that's probably better than their potion tasting like blood.

Seeing Poppy teetering as her body contorted, the Keeper took a step forward, catching her before she collapsed to the floor.

"Ugh- I'll never get used to that…" Garreth groaned in the Keeper's voice as he and Poppy's bodies finally completed the transformation.

"You alright there, Poppy?" The Keeper asked, peering down at their double.

"That was-" Poppy gasped. "A bit worse than I expected, thanks."

"First time?" The Keeper smiled wryly, taking a step away as Poppy seemed to regain her stability.

She nodded with a grateful smile and began changing her robes to the Keeper's. "I'm surprised that the potion tasted spicy, it had an interesting burn too."

"Yeah, the burn kind of reminded me of elf red wine." Garreth agreed as he tugged on the Keeper's robes.

"Spicy red wine?" The Keeper snorted, figures that their essence would manifest as an addictive substance, cosmic irony at its finest.

Though they wondered if there was any symbolic significance behind the spiciness, perhaps the fact that it was something most people either loved or hated? Or maybe even, that it was a defence mechanism developed by plants to avoid being eaten?

"You've had wine before?" Poppy asked, raising her eyebrow at Garreth.

"Yeah, I swapped one of my parents' bottles with cranberry juice." Garreth grinned cheekily as he buttoned their vest and the Keeper burst into laughter.

"Won't they find out?" Poppy asked as she fastened her robes closed.

"Nah, they've never even considered drinking that one, too expensive or something, so I doubt they'll ever find out." Garreth waved a hand dismissively as he took a few steps towards the door, patting the Keeper on the shoulder as he passed. "Alright, I'll get going then, best of luck!"

With that, Garreth left the room disguised as the Keeper, off on his mission of dragging Macnair all the way to the Greenhouses.

"I'd pay to see his parents' reaction, if and when they open that bottle." The Keeper chuckled.

"Must be hard living with Garreth." Poppy laughed. "He's fun though."

"If you can handle his brand of chaos I suppose." The Keeper shrugged. There was something vaguely unsettling in seeing their own face smiling and hearing their own voice giggling. Expressions that were normal on Poppy but felt distinctly unnatural on themselves.

Sure, they laughed and smiled too, but they were pretty sure it didn't look like that. Carefree and light-hearted. Then again, it's not like the Keeper watched themselves emote in the mirror regularly. For all they knew it might look like that. The thought was disquieting, they'd have to ask their partners afterwards.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door and Amit's voice reverberated through the wood. "Success, Macnair took the bait and Natty says Selwyn's heading this way. I'm going after Macnair and Garreth, good luck then!"

Poppy took a breath and placed her hand on the handle. "Alright, my turn. Good luck and I’ll see you tomorrow."

The Keeper nodded and she left the room quickly, determined to keep Selwyn occupied over by the Flying Class Lawn.

They continued waiting, taking the opportunity to rest against the wall, just a little longer. The nausea and dizziness would be over soon.

A few moments later another knock rapped on the door and Natty’s voice came next. "Alright, Selwyn's following Poppy, I'll trail them. Good luck!"

As the sound of her footsteps faded, the Keeper waited for a handful of minutes, before slipping out of the room. They travelled back out of the tunnel and glanced around the empty hallway, taking a few steps towards the Detention Chamber door.

The Keeper rapped their knuckles against it with a quiet. "All clear."

The door opened and Sebastian poked his head out. "How'd it go?"

"Without a hitch." The Keeper smirked as he slipped out through the door.

"Not sure I'd go that far, I'm pretty sure that Onai caught on that Selwyn was following me." A smooth and familiar voice came accompanied by the sound of even footsteps.

The Keeper tilted their head lazily to see Ominis walking over with a wry smile, his wand pulsing with red light as always. "It's fine, I’ll handle Natty."

"If you say so." Ominis huffed lightly, shaking his head.

"Oh ye of little faith." The Keeper chuckled.

"Well, at least if this works, it's not like you'll need her anymore." Sebastian muttered with an uncaring shrug.

"For now, perhaps, but you never know, would be better to keep that resource." The Keeper shrugged. "Alright, we've dallied long enough, let's go."

The Keeper then took Ominis' hand, laced their fingers, and began walking. Pleased when his eyes widened in surprise and the corners of his lips curled up in a small smile.

"Good luck, Sebastian." The Keeper ruffled his hair as they passed him, smiling at Sebastian's scoff as he combed his fingers through his hair and turned towards the Slytherin Common Room.

"As if I'll need any." Sebastian grumbled under his breath as he headed off in the other direction.

Leaving the dungeons, Ominis and the Keeper made the relatively short walk to the Defence Tower in a few minutes. Ominis stopped at the staircase beside the Undercroft entrance, while the Keeper continued past him.

Hearing the Keeper stumble however, Ominis reached out and caught their wrist. "Perhaps I should go in with you…"

"I'll be fine." The Keeper shook their head, placing a hand over his reassuringly. If they lost control of themselves, the last thing they'd want is for Ominis to try and stop them. Who knew what they'd do to him if he stood between them and the energy they were craving. They refused to allow for even the slightest possibility of finding out.

"Wait here for me. I will not be defeated by a mere addiction, I swear." The Keeper placed a quick chaste kiss on his cheek and released his hand, making their way over to the Undercroft door quickly, before Ominis could change his mind.

Sighing, Ominis remained above in the Tower, keeping watch while the Keeper took the secret passage to the Undercroft. All he could do now was trust them, but with so much to lose, that was the hardest task on Earth.

Meanwhile, the Keeper raised the gate to the Undercroft chamber and felt all the pain of the last two months slam into them at once.

At the mere sight of the Repository, the Keeper could feel their heart rate accelerate, gasping for air as though they were drowning. Their stomach churning, their pupils dilating and their palms sweating with anticipation. They barely felt their feet carry them towards the floating orb, would have been embarrassed if they'd seen the desperate way they'd stumbled across the floor.

Despite how uncooperative their magic had been for the last week, to their relief, the Repository responded immediately to the Keeper's wand, unfurling to grant them access to the tantalising energy within.

The Keeper stared into its mesmerising depths and felt the unbearable urge to immerse themselves in it. Their hand reached forward, almost as though it had sentience of its own.

"No!" The Keeper bit out, snatching back their hand and cradling it to their chest. Their teeth clenched and their shoulders heaved with the effort it took to restrain themselves, feeling perspiration bead along their forehead.

They'd sworn they wouldn't allow this to control them. They'd promised Sebastian and Ominis that they could resist and only retrieve enough to last till the end of term.

If they couldn't control themselves right now, they might as well take it all and allow the magic to consume them like it did Ranrok.

But they weren't as weak as that dirty brother killer.

Gritting their teeth, the Keeper instead reached into their satchel and retrieved a jar. Their hands trembled as they opened the jar, raising their wand shakily to collect a bulb of energy and guide it into the container. The length of their wand knocked against the inside of the jar with a loud clack, the sound ringing through the chamber.

They could feel drops of sweat roll down the side of their face, but they persisted. They had to move fast too, the Polyjuice distraction wouldn't last for more than forty-five minutes now.

Ominis and Sebastian were waiting for them.

Two jars.

Three jars.

Their stomach rolled with nausea.

Six jars.

Seven jars.

Every strand of muscle hurt, their wand arm trembling with strain.

Ten jars.

Eleven jars.

Their vision blurred and they shook their head to regain their focus.

Fifteen jars.

Sixteen jars.

The expansion charm on their satchel was so useful- They took a deep breath.

Twenty jars.

Twenty-one jars.

Almost there…

Twenty-nine jars.

Thirty jars.

The Keeper gasped, dropping to their knees as the Repository slid shut above them, their muscles cramped from the effort it'd taken to hold themselves steady.

They couldn't be sure how much time they'd taken to collect the energy necessary, but at least Ominis hadn't come down to the Undercroft himself, which meant that it hadn't reached the end of the hour yet.

The sooner they moved however, the sooner they could finish the last phase of the plan and actually take a proper hit for the first time in two months.

The Keeper forced themselves to their feet and began staggering towards the gates.

Ominis paced anxiously as he counted the minutes that had passed since the Keeper had left his side and descended into the Undercroft.

Were they alright? Had they succumbed to the urge to consume the energy? Would he regret waiting out here for them like they'd instructed? Had trusting the Keeper's self-control been the right choice?

He'd agreed when Sebastian said that the two of them needed to return the Keeper's trust with their own, but there was a difference between trust and neglect.

He'd made the same mistake with Sebastian and Solomon ended up dead. Whether it was Solomon's own fault or deserved regardless, it didn't change the fact that his death hadn’t been good. Sebastian hadn't been in his right mind, and Solomon hadn't helped and all of that made Sebastian, his Sebastian, suffer.

The Keeper was his now too and they were down there, suffering alone and he was just pacing up here rather than helping them!

As Ominis finally reached the end of his rope and turned to march into the Undercroft, the sound of the gate's clockwork gears turning reached his ears. His anxiety immediately peaked, wishing for the nth time in his life, that he could discern their condition visually.

Rushing over, Ominis was alarmed when he heard the Keeper's foot hit the floor with a heavy thud, a clear telltale indication that they were trying to keep their balance but were about to collapse. Moving forward quickly, Ominis caught the Keeper, slipping his arms under theirs and around their waist to support their weight with his torso.

"A- are you alright?" Ominis asked, his voice shaking with panic as he slung the Keeper's arms over his shoulders to take weight off their spine. "Merlin, you're burning up."

Ominis could feel a feverish heat radiating off the Keeper's body and was already considering if it would be better to dunk them into the Black Lake or cast Aguamenti on them.

However, to absolutely nobody's surprise, the Keeper stroked a hand over his shoulder to soothe him and sluggishly shook their head. "M’ fine, just tired. Let's go back to the common room, Sebastian's probably waiting already."

"I think we should go to the infirmary instead-" Ominis tried, trailing off as the Keeper's fingers abruptly tightened around his shoulder in warning. Their firm grip conveyed both that they were yet strong enough to exert force and that he was testing their patience.

Ominis sighed, grumbling under his breath as he adjusted their weight so that he could support them while walking, slinging one of their arms around his shoulders and gripping their waist firmly. "If you pass out before we even get to the common room, I'm dragging your arse to the infirmary."

The Keeper huffed a strained laugh as they began to stagger across the floor with him slowly. "Deal."

As the soothing music and cool, comforting light of the Slytherin common room came into their hazy and distorted vision, the Keeper felt a wave of relief wash over them.

They weren't sure when the Slytherin common room and dorms had come to truly feel like home, but the last time they'd been so glad to reach the bottom of a flight of stairs alive was after they broke their leg while running from the older orphans.

They felt, more than heard, Ominis sigh as the pots at the bottom of the staircase shattered for the millionth time, the familiar high-pitched sound echoing hollowly in their ears. Honestly, at this point, the Keeper was actually curious to know which idiot had decided to place those pots there because they wanted to award that person a medal.

As expected, Sebastian was already pacing by the fireplace and as he looked towards them at the sound of their staggering steps, the Keeper felt a brief moment of deja vu.

Who would have thought that the boy who'd brusquely asked if he could help them, in a tone that screamed 'leave me alone', would become their closest friend and partner. Or that his best friend who'd possessively threatened the Keeper outside the Undercroft would also become their closest friend and partner.

Their eyelids were so heavy, but we made it, Ominis wouldn't be dragging them to the infirmary where they'd have to think of an explanation while they were in this condition. A sigh escaped the Keeper's lips and their eyes slipped closed in relief…

"Sebastian-" Ominis had barely gotten his name out when the Keeper's body went limp against his. "Oh bollocks."

Sebastian, having heard Ominis, quickly moved forward to help him with the Keeper's unconscious form. "Merlin, Ominis, what happened?"

"I think their body couldn't handle being near the Repository and broke down. They were already feverish when they came out of the Undercroft." Ominis replied shakily as Sebastian helped him lay the Keeper on one of the couches.

"Alright, we should take their robes off first, we need to cool them down." Sebastian nodded, lifting the Keeper slightly so that Ominis could help remove their thick and baggy school robes.

"I knew I should have brought them straight to the infirmary, how can we possibly cool them down without potions?" Ominis bit his lip, setting the robes down on the opposite couch and wringing his hands anxiously. "Casting Glacius on them at this point would definitely send them into shock."

Sebastian ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of a course of action before Ominis went into a full panic. "We can probably use it on something else…"

A moment of silence passed, only disturbed by Ominis shoes rapping against the floor as he paced. He was about to insist that they bring the Keeper to the infirmary when-

"That's it!" Sebastian reached for the Keeper’s satchel and began digging through it. "Ominis, could you get some cloth we can cut up to wrap with, and a bowl of some sort?"

Without questioning him, Ominis immediately hurried off to the dorms while Sebastian continued searching through the deceptively small bag.

After a few moments, he pulled out three of the Keeper’s wiggenweld potion vials from their satchel and stood. Closing the satchel and setting it aside, he then placed the three vials on the table.

"Glacius." Sebastian incanted, waving his wand over the three vials, freezing the vials and the liquid within them as Ominis returned with one of his winter scarves.

"I think I know what you're going for." Ominis pressed the scarf into Sebastian's hands before placing the basin on the table, waving his wand over it, and casting the water conjuring spell. "Aguamenti."

"There we go." Sebastian placed one of the vials into the gradually filling basin of water, the ice-cold vial cooling the water quickly while he used two quick Diffindo casts to split the scarf into three pieces.

"Here, you can use this one for their face." Sebastian placed one of the scarf pieces in Ominis' hand while he began wrapping the two remaining vials in a scarf piece each.

Sebastian then lifted the Keeper's arms and placed one of the wrapped vials under each of their armpits. Allowing the cloth to spread out the chill of each frozen vial, all to alleviate the concentration of heat in the region under the Keeper's shirt.

At the same time, Ominis dipped his scarf portion into the cool water, wrung it out and patted the cold damp fabric against the Keeper's forehead, letting it absorb the heat from their feverish skin. He dipped it back into the basin the moment the cloth lost its chill, this time dragging the cloth over the Keeper’s flushed cheeks and neck.

Feeling the sharp bite of cold along their neck, the Keeper pried their eyelids open. They felt disoriented, their blurry vision still refusing to cooperate. They shook their head with a low groan, trying to force their ears to work again. When did it get so cold?

They found themselves missing the warmth of Ominis' body against theirs and shifted slightly, realising that their heavy robes had been removed at some point. Cold. Their skin almost hurt from how cold they felt.

"I think the water is starting to get warm." That sounded like Ominis.

"Here, I froze another vial, I'll help you switch them out." Sebastian's voice came from beside them and the Keeper felt a damp and cold cloth placed on their forehead yet again. The sharp bite of cold against their already chilled skin drew a muttered curse from their lips.

"No complaints. If you resist, we're going to drag you to the infirmary." Ominis scolded as he patted the Keeper's warm and flushed face down before dipping the cloth into his basin to cool the towel again. "Always pushing yourself. Would it kill you to actually rely on us for once?"

"...but I did…" The Keeper smiled, that's right, after all, I "wouldn't have been able to resist without you two…"

Ominis' eyes widened and Sebastian blinked in surprise.

A long moment of silence passed as the two boys stared at the Keeper, uncertain how to react and waiting to see if they'd say more, but all they got were more quiet breaths.

A bemused huff came from Ominis as it became clear that the Keeper had spoken without realising it themselves.

"They are definitely delirious." Sebastian commented with a weak chuckle, his voice thick with emotion and he swallowed, wrapping his fingers tightly around the Keeper's.

"Yes, must be the fever." Ominis agreed with a soft smile, gently brushing the strands of damp hair from the Keeper's face.

The Keeper's breathing remained slow and even, and any other words that might have been spoken were lost as they slipped back into a deep slumber.

Notes:

To me, one of the best jokes from the entire game, was the fact that if you choose to cast Crucio on Sebastian during the Scriptorium quest, he stands shakily afterwards, understandably, gasping in pain, saying “That pain- I would have done anything to make it stop, but I’ll survive. Let’s keep moving.” And with less than a second passing from the moment he was gasping and panting, he happily proclaims “We made it!”

Like, it’s such hilariously bad stitching, even a few seconds more would have made it better, but with him going from dying from pain to excitedly declaring that we made it, the whole scene just went from dark to comedy to me. xDDD

Of course, it comes off as callous if he says that after cursing the player, but to me, the fact that he also says the exact same thing in the exact same way, no matter who got cursed, tells me that it wasn’t cruelty or uncaring on his part. He just genuinely saw the pain and spell as ‘a thing we had to do survive and succeed that isn’t anyone’s fault and its just a thing of the past now’. Sebastian is just goal oriented, practical and honestly, less petty than many fully grown adults.

He doesn't even hold a grudge against Ominis when he refused to help, like sure trauma is rough but they were essentially dying! That's the real life equivalent of bleeding to death from your severed arm and your friend, who is afraid of blood, refuses to save you by tying up your stump of a limb.

Calling Ominis ridiculous is rude and blunt, yes. Which is why I had Sebastian apologise for it in Chapter 5 but considering the circumstances, I think its an understandable response from a 15 year old kid.

Also, points to anyone who caught the references to Undertale and Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas! I've actually been leaving references all over every chapter of all my fics, they're an inside joke at this point haha xD

[hectorthedoggo]

Uh so about double giving nothing

So ya know those frames right? So I combed through the entirety of double, and now I have all of the frames that have unidentified text that's not savior or lyrics. Here's a compilation

I think that this shows the conversation between Mikoto and his boss, as this is what happens after he throws the phone. May reveal things.

Okay, so there's a lot of distorted text in this one, so I'm going to skip to the next bit. For the comprehensible ones, I'll try to decipher them :)

One to the bottom left. TOGOMOM (?) or Idk

2nd one down: NEED TO SLEEP

I assume the third one might be about a due assignment/project, cause it says something like TOMMOROW! GOODNESS.

DUMDUM(?) SHUT UP I can identify (seems a bit out of character for blue to say that, but maybe he's just reached his breaking point.) Boss may be pestering him about work, but he just wants to sleep :(.

SLEEP, seems more red, like John trying to tell Mikoto to become passive (I am not a system, I don't know how this works that well. Please tell me if I get anything wrong!!), like how John said that boku was sleeping.

I know the last word is boom. Maybe his boss is getting angry at him for not having enough 'pop' in his design.

IDK

and then where did his bag go? Did he like, lose bag privileges?

WHERE'D HE GET THE BAT!! So that probably means the setting is like symbolic or smth cause it doesn't add up to commit murder on a train with MeMe, where he does it at the station.

This may be gibberish, but just putting it out there that it exists/

Also, can anyone elaborate on the signifigance of this pattern? It looks like a rotary dial (THTBLWY parallel real), but it could mean smth else.

annnd this- seriously can't they ever give us clear, big text? I might try to pick this apart later.

Okay that's better. It's like hangman-- uh wait a sec-

yeah these may just be lyrics, "I don't remember at thing"(but like different?

this may be the milgram language lmao

Also, the scene where he's looking at his bloodstained hands from both 1st and 3rd POV, the frames are not synced. Just small detail.

as a callback to MeMe, the blood after the "sore ga ii is similar to that of the devil card, with the horns and long body.

That's it! It's very disorganized, but little things that nobody else pointed out.

[dragonmasterhiccup]

Danny smiled and clapped at the ‘newfound’ revelation, happy that they both had the tribes support.

Like she said, they both deserved it.

After they had finished speaking, she went over to them and congratulated them once more, hugging Hiccup and side-hugging Astrid.

After that, she went about her day as normal, with only the occasional thought of Spitelout looming in the back of her mind.

———

Danny had been more than a little excited. I mean, come on, getting to push Hiccup into the lagoon— albeit with permission— was probably going to be the highlight of her week.

On the flight there, she had flown side by side with Valka, constantly cackling while making fun of Hiccup, and how he had been acting so close with Astrid as of late. It was just so stupidly funny, she couldn’t help herself.

Once they landed, Danny unpack the few supplies she had brought with her; water jug, sketchbook, wooden comb [because post lake hair always sucked to brush out], and an old blanket that she could double as a towel, since they’d be swimming.

She smirked. “Oh it’s a fantastic day to keep a promise.”

Glancing over at Astrid, she nodded, a mischievous grin plastered on her face. “Yeah, since he was being a baby about it last time I pushed him in, we’re having a do-over.”

Finishing unpacking and petting Twilight, she turned back around to face the others. “Okay, I’m ready, so Hiccup, you have maybe thirty seconds to be ready as well before I drag your a** over the edge.”

She finished letting her hair down and taking off her boots before going over to the edge of the waterfall. “Come on!”

He and Astrid had flown next to each other, talking and chatting on the way.

Despite knowing he would be pushed into the lagoon, he was excited to get away for a day.

He'd left Eret, Fishlegs, and Gobber in charge of Berk in case anything happened, but he made sure to sort everything out before they left.

It was only a day that he'd be away, after all.

Astrid laughed, and Hiccup protested. "Need I point out that the water was cold, and I was in full armor? That day was on the breezy side, as well, you know!" It was all in good fun, though.

After he unpacked, he removed the pieces of his armour, placing the metal and leather components in a neat stack.

Removing his tunic, he folded that as well, placing it over the armor to keep it from getting too hot in the sun. He placed his shoe next to it, rolling up his pant leg halfway up his shin.

His freckled arms and shoulders were lean, with the occasional burn scars from smithing. His back had old burn scars from when he was fifteen, and there was a light, branching pattern from when he'd been struck by lightning.

His newer scars showed as well, courtesy of Magnus. There was a large new scar on his side, a smaller one on his arm, and a small arrow scar on his chest, above his tattoo.

He felt strange without all of his layers, exposed, even. Those layers of wool and leather helped him appear more sturdy, maybe even bulkier, though that might have been a far fetched term for it.

Well, the sooner he was in the water, the better.

Astrid was loosening her braids, preparing to dive in, and Valka had gone to stand over by Danny.

"You've been looking forward to this, haven't you?" Valka had the hint of a smile on her face, and a hand on her hip.

At Danny's warning, Hiccup turned in surprise. "Already? Alright, hang on, I have one thing left to do..."

Grabbing what he needed, he headed over to the edge with Danny. Sitting down, he removed the bottom portion of his prosthetic, locking a red swimming fin in its place.

Valka gave him a hand up, and he stood on his right foot, his left knee bent to avoid damaging the fin.

By then, Astrid joined as well, planning to jump in at the same time as when Hiccup was pushed.

Nodding at Danny, he took a breath.

"Okay, I'm ready."