#I feel like there are other tags I should be using but I just can't think of them right now?

[urfriendlywriter]

15 Angsty Prompts. Break your readers. Duh.

[ feel free to use! tag me when yall write somethinggg!! my favs are 11,12¡¿¡¿ omg & 14!]

"I was never enough for you, was I?"

"You made me believe love should hurt. It shouldn't."

"If I begged, would you stay?" they ask, their eyes down cast and glassy, lips trembling. [ouchie]

"I would’ve burnt the world down for you.." "So would I ha-" "Liar."

"No, no, no why? Why are you leaving?!"

^ "Because love isn't enough anymore to stay."

animalistic sobs leaving your body, grieving, emptying your soul out as they hold you, their entire world just collapsing.

^ they whisper, "You're strong, my love.." They pull back cupping your cheeks to wipe your tears even if theirs fill their eyes. "Let it hurt, I'll hold you tonight."

"Please. Just this one last time, pretend you still care."

"I hate that your arms still feel like home."

Their knees give up, "Tell me you don't want me here.. please. Lie. If u have to.."

^ Your eyes well with tears, you try to look away but u can't and before you know it , you're both hugging. "I'm sorry.. I can't."

"How can I make this work?" "You can't-" "Please, [name], don't fuck with me. Please.. How.. can I make this work?"

"I don't miss you." "Look at me and say it, then I'll leave." and the other can not look at them in the eye, "Fuck."

"Please! [Name], give me one more chance.." "No, I'm not giving you another chance to break me further, [Name]."

[mybigsnowman]

i will take good care of you

pairing zayne x reader

summary zayne is always there to comfort you when your intrusive thoughts get too loud.

tags second-person pov, panic attacks, non-explicit sex, panic attack during sex, intrusive thoughts, emotional hurt/comfort, reader has OCD, soft Zayne

word count 1.9K

note MDNI non-descriptive intrusive thoughts, only the compulsions (hand washing & mental) are described, use of she/her pronouns but no specific anatomy mentioned, personal fic so excuse any medical inaccuracies

cross posted from ao3

It starts suddenly, a random disturbing thought materialising itself in your head while you’re kissing Zayne. It’s not too loud at first, you brush it off, kissing him harder in an attempt to silence your mind. And it works for a bit, your body’s more focused on Zayne as you pull off his shirt, your hands too busy touching him to care about anything else. It’s only when he’s pushing into you that it starts again. Your body reacts first, every muscle stiffening, as a new distressing thought pops up again, it’s dirtier this time—it's vile—and you know you're meant to just acknowledge these thoughts, to let them pass, and continue what you're doing, but it's too much—it's too loud. You're dragged out of the situation, dragged deep into your mind, your physical senses numbing as you sink further. All you can feel is your heart beating against your chest, the thoughts beating against your skull. In your panic, you grab Zayne’s hand, nails digging into his skin from the vice grip you have on it. You hear him call your name, but it's distant, blocked out by the thunderous sound of your heart in your ears, as it gets louder and louder. The room feels small as your vision darkens around the edges, you can’t see clearly, you can’t see Zayne anymore.

“Zayne…” When you finally speak, your voice feels heavy, foreign in your mouth, like it belongs to a stranger. You’re stuck in place, unsure of where to move, you can still feel him against you; you can still feel your own arousal, and your panicked mind can't tell why you're aroused anymore. You can't tell if your body's reacting to your thoughts, and it scares you. It's all too much, it should be gone—you need to wash this feeling off. 

The words are stuck in your throat when you try to verbalise your distress to Zayne, but he doesn’t need you to speak, he’s already pushing himself off you, making sure not to touch you anymore than necessary. You’re grateful, and you try to thank him but you’re not sure if the words ever left your mouth; you’re not sure of anything right now. 

“Let me help you.” He offers earnestly, but you can’t let him touch you right now—not when you’re still dirty.

Shaking your head, you push yourself up, trudging to the bathroom without his help. Your vision’s slowly returning, but everything’s just shapes and colours, barely discernible, it’s just enough to guide you to the bathroom door. The sudden intensity of the bathroom lights is too much, so you close your eyes, this time wilfully accepting the darkness, and feel around for the light switch. A relieved sigh leaves you once you find it—it’s finally dark enough, you finally have some control. 

Too exhausted to shower, you decide to clean your hands instead; that's where the guilt accumulates, that's the place you need to purify. With the water running at the hottest temperature, you rub at your skin, washing everything off roughly. It's cruel and it hurts, but you need this—you need to be clean—you need to focus on something other than the thought repeating itself in your mind. When the bathroom door opens, you’re unsure how long it’s been, the previously scalding water is cold as you scrub away the remnants of the jasmine soap; the scent you usually love feels sickly, it doesn’t help you feel clean. Zayne’s standing there watching you, his heavy gaze almost palpable. If you look in the mirror, you would probably see him, but you keep your head down, staring at nothing in particular as you wash and wash, your heartbeat slowing down with each cycle.

“You should stop. Your skin’s red.” Zayne’s voice is flat when he finally speaks up, he feels distant yet too loud at the same time. Your senses are still a mess. 

He’s probably right, but you don’t want to look, you’re distressed enough, you don’t want to see what you’ve done to yourself. So you blindly trust him and comply, turning the tap off, ignoring the stinging of your skin as you turn to face him. He’s still by the door, still not intruding, giving you whatever privacy he can spare while still making sure you’re okay. You’re grateful for it—you’re grateful for him. It’s easy to stop a physical compulsion with Zayne around, but your mind is still racing, ruminating through the thought, flipping it around and examining it. 

With your hands raw and dripping wet, you step out of the bathroom. You stand there for a moment, trying to snap out of your daze. Instead of trying to control the mess in your mind, you try to distract yourself with whatever’s around you. Your eyes drift to Zayne, and you focus on him. He’s dressed again, his hair is still a mess, there’s a mark on his neck. You focus on the small things, letting your eyes trail down his body as you fight against your thoughts. When your eyes finally reach his hands, there’s another flash of panic on your face. You’d hurt him—the indents of your nails discernible on his skin even in the low light of the bedroom. It sets your heart rate off again. 

“I hurt you.” You grasp his hand, cupping it in both of yours and bringing it up to your face. Your pose is reverent as you apologise to him, your head tilted down, too afraid to look at his face as an apology leaves your mouth. “I'm sorry, you're always so afraid of hurting me but I'm always the one who ends up hurting you. I'm sorry. I’m sorry.”

“You weren’t aware.” His tone is too controlled, he’s trying to rationalise your actions to rid you of the guilt. It would help, but your mind’s behaving irrationally at the moment.

“Please don’t try to excuse it. Not right now.” It’s pathetic how you beg, asking him to comply with your wishes when you’ve hurt him.

But, Zayne doesn’t argue back, deciding instead to help you in a different way; he’s always determined to find a solution. “Do you want to talk about it? Or do you want me to distract you?”

“Distract me, please.” It’s humiliating, standing there post panic, in your damp shirt and underwear, vulnerable in front of him and pleading for help. You feel horrible, constantly dragging Zayne into your messes, constantly using him as an anchor when you should be his instead. But he never complains, he’s always eager to help you. So you guide him, telling him your boundaries before letting him take control. “Just don't touch me right now. I'm dirty.”

He doesn't react to the last statement, knowing that reassuring you won't help quell your distress. Instead, he ushers you outside the bedroom, letting you walk in front of him until you reach the kitchen table. “Sit down.” 

Obediently, you comply, letting your heavy body drop onto the chair. 

“Do you need something hot or cold?”

Unsure, you touch your face with the back of your hand. There’s your answer; you're burning up. “Cold.”

He nods and steps further into the kitchen. With him at a distance, the fear grows. It’s illogical, you know he’s not leaving you. You know he can't read your mind, he can’t hear these thoughts, he can’t tell how disgusting you are. You know all this, but you’re still scared. 

A part of you wants to call for him, but your voice is stuck in your throat—it’s suffocating. Only when he finally speaks again does that feeling dissipate.

“For someone with your condition, it's normal to have increased sympathetic activity and decreased parasympathetic activity. Earlier, your sympathetic system activated and triggered your fight-or-flight response. This shouldn't last long, the parasympathetic system should have helped you relax, but you're clearly still agitated. We need to make sure your parasympathetic nervous system does its job efficiently. I’ve heard some colleagues talk about stimulating the vagus nerve in patients with anxiety disorders, and although I haven’t done thorough research on the topic, it can’t hurt to try it out.” 

For a moment, you're dragged out of your head as you listen to his lecture. You're in the kitchen, watching him shuffle about, his large back is facing you as he rummages through the freezer. The fear subsides—you feel safe. 

He returns with a bowl of ice and takes a seat next to you. “Can I touch your face with the ice?” 

Hesitantly, you nod. He's done this before, you trust him to do it again. Ice is easy, it always pulls you out of your mind.  

He brings the ice cube up to your face and presses it against your cheek, his gaze never leaving you as he examines your reactions. Your initial flinch is normal, but you know he’ll stop if it gets too much. “Tell me how you feel.”

“It's cold.” The answer makes him chuckle, and the soft sound of his laugh makes the corners of your lips involuntarily twitch—you nearly smile. It’s slowly getting easier, his distraction is working. 

As he continues, he narrates his actions, making sure you’re fully aware of any sudden changes: “I’ll move the ice down to your neck now so we can stimulate your vagus nerve.” He keeps his promise, never touching your skin directly as he drags the ice cube down to the side of your neck. “When you’re feeling better, I could give you a massage. It’s supposedly more effective than an ice cube.”

“Not today.”

“There’s no rush, my services are always available.”

“Don’t you think it’s unfair to offer these services for free?” You try to ask it lightly, but the meaning behind your words is obvious; your guilt seeps through no matter how much you try to hide it. It’s hard to meet his eyes—it’s hard to be vulnerable—so you close your eyes to hide from his gaze.

“It’s up to the one providing the service to determine what’s fair.” He matches your tone. “And my client already pays me enough. She helps me more than I help her.” 

You open your eyes to look at him, searching his face for any sign of dishonesty, but his gaze is firm as he stares back at you. He's sincere. He's always sincere. So you pay him back with whatever gratitude you can muster in your current state, “She’s grateful.”

Humming in reply, he places the ice cube down and replaces it with a new one, this time bringing it up to your lips. “Open.”

You part your lips, letting him push the ice cube past them. A cool sensation spreads in your mouth as you suck on it momentarily before crushing it between your teeth and speaking up again. “I thought you said eating ice’s bad, Doctor.”

“I'm assuming you're feeling better since you have the energy to joke around.”

Right. You didn't even realise it. Your heart rate is slower, your skin is less clammy, your muscles are less tense, and that thought in your head is still there, but it's less scary. When you take in a deep breath, it doesn’t feel like you’re suffocating anymore. Exhausted and relieved, you slump forward into Zayne’s chest. He instinctively catches you, anchoring you with his strong arms. The tears you’ve been holding back stream out. It’s a silent, violent cry, one that drenches his shirt, but he pays it no mind as he holds your shaking body against his chest. He comforts you wordlessly, his hands squeezing your arms harder, a silent “I’m here” that soothes you as your consciousness fades.

[lizzieisright]

Moon peppers (7)

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

were!Abby x witch!reader

Summary: Abby runs away from her (former) pack and into your forest. You're not happy with your new (woods?)mate.

Tags: fantasy au, sloppy worldbuilding, fem!reader, alpha!abby, witch!reader (so not an omega), sentient forest, stubborn idiots in love who annoy each other.

Notes: The bear comes back and makes Abby pretty mad about it. Girl can't catch a break from people trying to kill her, and, apparently, seduce you. (I know there's a good overlap between Abby and Sevika's girlies, so this is for you).

Also, this is venik. Couldn't find a normal English translation for it, so bear with me please (I'm not calling it a sauna whisk like wikipedia told me to)

Taglist: yikez-on-bikez beanbagbitch lia-winther (if you want me to tag/untag you for the whole series dm me please)

Also I really appreciate your comments if you have any! ✨

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Abby doesn't really know how much time has passed since she left your hut: she has been in her wolf form for the most of it. It was easier to let her animal instincts take care of her survival while she dug herself deeper into depression.

Abby has never been without a pack before: wolves are social animals by nature, they're not meant to be alone. Omegas can survive alone for a long time, being wired to protect themselves and their kids no matter what is thrown their way, but alphas are little baby fur-balls that only thrive by taking care of someone. Of course being a caretaker means very different things for different alphas - some of them think that tyrants are the final form of taking care of everything - but the essential part doesn't change: to take care of someone, you need said someone.

Abby has no one now. And no, you absolutely don't count; although it has been nice to be around you (for the most part), you've known each other for a week, and only two and half days of this week were actually pleasant. Abby is depressed, but she is not desperate enough to count you as a pack. You're a good witch who saved her, that's it. People don't go around claiming other people they barely know as family.

But every day that Abby spends alone is like another nail in her heart. Of course she should go and find Owen and Mel, have their little pack back together and be happy, but Abby stalls, because she is just tired.

Abby has made her amends, but it doesn't mean that she is forgiven - and she is tired of trying to earn it from people who don't believe in her. Being here, in the forest, as depressed as she is, is a relief, a freedom she didn't think she needed.

Being free proves to be exhaustively lonely.

It starts to get colder as the autumn slowly turns into winter, and Abby almost never changes back into human now, just wandering around the forest, her head empty. She hunts, sleeps, wanders around, sleeps, hunts. She doesn't go near your hut - there's no need. You offered her a place to stay, but Abby wanted to be on her own, no matter the pain and loneliness. She had to sort herself out, see who she was outside the pack so she could move forward being honest with herself.

For now, being honest with herself mostly means that Abby accepts herself like this: lost and stalling, stubborn to reach out and masochistic enough to make herself suffer alone. Everyone has to start somewhere.

The first snow comes in a few days and Abby suddenly feels helpless: she still doesn't know what to do. In her wolf skin she doesn't need anything except food and shelter - and if it wasn't for the fear of going completely feral, Abby would probably stay like this for a very long time. But she changes back once in a while, sits on the side of the river and stares as the water passes.

Everything has passed and this shall pass too, indeed.

Abby still uses the bear den as her shelter: it's deep and comfortable, bigger than the ones wolves build when they don't turn back into humans for long. It's not too cold yet, so Abby can be safe from any rain or wind inside - Abby likes the den. The bear definitely knew what it was doing. The scent faded a long time ago, even before Abby took the place to be temporary home, so she doesn't worry.

Apparently, that almost costs her her life (again).

Abby is asleep and she doesn't hear the heavy paws coming closer or smell the pungent scent.

The long claws tear into her hips and yank her out of the den, and before Abby can understand what is happening, the claws leave her hips and start tearing her up everywhere while the brown bear roars in her face.

Abby growls back and snaps her jaws around one of the paws and it makes the bear roar louder before it slashes the other paw over Abby's face. It hurt like a bitch, but Abby doesn't let up, biting until she hears the bones snap in her jaws.

The bear flinches away and Abby takes a moment to get on her feet and ready herself for a fight, feeling how the bleeding stops in her hips, but not in her face.

The bear stands up, roars at her and charges, complete pissed off.

Abby has only a second to notice that the bear's left arm is pure fucking bones, not fur or meat, just bones. The last thing that goes through Abby's head is "what the fuck" and then they tumble down, biting and scratching and growling.

You hate both autumn and winter - the cold weather reminds you of a prison cell made out of rocks: everything quiets down, leaves, dies, falls asleep. The lively forest that buzzes with energy during warm weather stands like a wax model of itself and you hate it. You live alone in the woods, but at least you feel it, communicate with it, can tell where everything is just because your energies are intertwined. It keeps you from feeling lonely, stuck in your own head, but during the winter it feels like you're stuck here. Naturally, you spend most of your time in the village, leeching off Cait and Vi's warm lively home and good food (you miss Abby's cooking), coming home late and leaving early. The day is getting shorter, the nights are colder and overall you feel miserable.

You wonder where Abby is now, if she has reached her friends or joined another pack, if she is safe and at peace. Graces know she needed it when you saw each other for the last time a month ago. You told Cait and Vi the whole story, and Vi laughed her ass off about it - it was your special kind of luck to help out another damn were who tried to kill you, and then for the said were to leave you. When Vi put it like that, it hurt a little, but what were you supposed to do? You asked Abby to stay, she decided to go.

Cait gets worried when she sees your renewed tattoos, and she makes sure you know - she spends one of the evenings giving you a long talk about power, responsibility, redemption, your whole past in general. You promise her to not do anything stupid and assure her your magic is more stable than ever. Cait doesn't really trust your words, you get angry and you two don't talk for a few days. Of course Vi drags Cait with her to your hut and all of you get drunk and spill your guts - not that it solves the whole problem, but it makes easier to talk about it. Cait knows you're not a child and you know that Cait experienced your lack of control before and has the right to worry. Still, you annoy each other with this topic for a week.

Vi finds this hilarious - she finds everything unpleasant hilarious, fucking dwarf - and keeps joking about you having a type. You kindly remind her she is your type as well, and that shuts Vi up right away. The betrayed and disgusted look on her face is definitely worth it.

Otherwise your life goes unchanged: you help the villagers, take care of the woods, scare off humans on the northern border, keep the paths through the forest clean so other travellers can use it (mostly inhumans since humans are too scared to go into the witch's forest). The winter is getting closer and with it Sevika's return, and with it a company to spend these cold months with (even if grumpy and sleepy the whole time).

Today you're staying home, buried in your blankets and a book you've managed to buy from a passing elf who threw a nasty glare towards Caitlyn when he saw her - it got Vi fuming and ready to fight the elf physically, but Caitlyn just walked her away. You don't tell Cait that you put some stinging nettles into the elf's bag, but you had your own petty revenge.

The wind is strong today and you have to use a few more logs than necessary to keep the hut warm, but Abby's chopped enough wood for you to last for the whole winter.

You've been through almost half the book when you feel your shields vibrate like something tore through them - like it was allowed to go through, but the way it went was too sudden.

It makes you jump from the sofa and look out of the window. You see two gigantic animals roll around, fighting with everything they've got.

"I fucking hate you both." You say to yourself as you bolt out of the hut.

Abby's sandy coat is bloody, but she seems lively with how she keeps biting Sevika. Sevika though - she is pissed. She is not trying to kill Abby, but she is tearing her apart anyway, her claws not leaving a clean space on Abby. Fuck it, you're not reviving her again.

"Hey, stop it!" You yell, but next to a bear and a wolf you look and sound tiny. They ignore you, a pile of growling, bleeding assholes. "I said stop it!" You yell louder, but they don't listen.

So you make them.

You wave your arms in separate directions and both weres slide away from each other like if someone yanked them by their tails. They both look disoriented for a second, and then two pairs of pissed off eyes look at you. You press your hands down, making them lie down, and make your way over.

"The fuck are you two doing? Change back right now or I will change you back." You threaten and both weres start to shift.

You're annoyed, but when you look over to Abby, your eyes soften and your chest flutters. You're happy to see her, even though you have no idea why she is here. What matters is that she is seemingly well.

You look at Sevika with more annoyance, but you're happy to see that she is also okay and there is still a frowny-pouty combination on her face. She growls at Abby and Abby growls back, her eyes red.

"Why are you here?" You ask Abby. "I thought you left."

"I didn't." Abby says through her teeth, not looking away from Sevika.

"You took my fucking den, wolf." Sevika growls menacingly.

"I told you to stay away from it!" You flop your arms, exasperated. "Hi, Sevika, by the way."

"Good to see you still kicking." She tells you and you roll your eyes. "She's yours?" Sevika nods at Abby and you ignore the way your heart skips a beat. It doesn't mean anything.

"I won't let you kill her." You tell Sevika, but then turn to Abby. "Or you her. As long as you're staying in this forest, you will behave."

They reach a stalemate in staring and slowly get up. Abby's clothes are torn to shreds, she is bleeding and Sevika is no better, but they both pretend they're absolutely fine.

"I hate you both, just so you know." You start walking home, and the weres follow you. "Why all of you are so aggressive? What happened to talking?"

"I come home and there's a wolf in my den. I'm not gonna talk." Sevika tells you.

"It didn't smell like you." Abby defends herself.

"I told you to stay away from it." You butt in. "What are you doing here? You could've come here if you needed a place to live."

"I wanted to be on my own."

"Yeah, in my den."

"You were not here for months!" Abby hisses and the tension grows immediately.

You have to physically stop Sevika from body slamming Abby, which means you get squashed between two pissed off weres, and maybe it's a nice feeling, being pressed to two warm, strong bodies, but you have priorities.

"Give me a fucking break." You push at Sevika's chest with all your might, but she only moves away after she stares Abby down.

So three of you stand in your living room silently, while these two assholes keep their staring contest and growling going. You're not a were, so you can't fully understand how naturally ingrained this behaviour is, therefore you find this whole alpha posturing extremely annoying and stupid, but the situation at hand has to be solved because they will try to fight again. Dumbasses.

"Okay. I'll clean your den, deal?" You look at Sevika and she shrugs. "You're annoying, you know that?" Sevika smirks in return and you remember she can smell your attraction. "And an asshole, but we'll table it for another time."

You look at Abby and you can't help yourself: you move closer and raise your hands.

"I'll heal you. If it's okay." You say in a soft voice just to Abby.

"Yeah, thanks-"

"Since when do you glow like a dwarven princess in the sun?" Sevika interrupts and you roll your eyes.

"Not your business." You murmur and slowly heal Abby's wounds, and then repair her clothes. It's a quiet, intimate moment for the two of you, and of course Sevika won't let you have it.

"Are you going to heal me too?"

"Are you going to secretly sniff me?"

"It's written on your face." Abby deadpans.

"Yeah, well, at least now I know you two invade my privacy at all times." You flick your hand in Sevika's direction, sending a burst of magic her way. She looks offended by the lack of personal touch Abby's got, but you're petty like that. "Why are you here?" You ask Abby, going back to the problem at hand.

"I'm still figuring some stuff out." Abby admits reluctantly.

"Okay. That's cool. You could've stayed here, but well. Your choice. Are you going to stay in the forest for the foreseeable future or..?"

"Probably."

"Then you should stay here. She will kill you for her den." You nod at Sevika and the bitch grins. "And you don't have to wander around looking for the meaning of life when I have a sofa and food-"

"Your food is disgusting-" Sevika chimes in and Abby nods.

"She can cook." You respond with a nod to Abby. "Anyway, I'm mostly out during the winter, so stay here. No need to be miserable."

"I.." Abby sighs and Sevika snorts, like you're missing a crucial part of information. You glare at her, but she shrugs.

"She wants to." Sevika explains. "Perks of having a working nose."

Abby opens her mouth to argue, not happy that Sevika ratted her out, but you're quicker.

"Then it's settled. You're staying here, I'm cleaning your den- "You look at Sevika. "And no fucking fighting. We're going to redo this whole mess like big girls."

Both of them subtly roll their eyes at you. You want to zap them, but since they behave like children, you will treat them like children.

"So let's start over. Sevika, this is my guest Abby. Abby, this is Sevika. Now be nice."

They stay silent, but at least the growling stopped and instead of staring at each other, they look around, ignoring each other's existence.

"Okay. I can start the steam bath so you two could stop walking around smelling like dirty fur, but you will be civil to each other, or you can stay filthy. You choice."

Sevika perks up when you mention the steam bath, but she hides it - you can only see the happy glint in her eyes before she is back to being a grandpa. This is why she and Coen drink together until the early morning, probably bitching about "kids these days".

To be fair, Sevika finds it in herself to look at Abby.

"Can you handle some heat, wolf?" She asks and you stare at Abby, daring her to say something nasty. She quickly glares at you, but her posture relaxes.

"Yeah."

"Cool. You coming?" Sevika looks at you.

You blink. If it was just you and Sevika, you wouldn't even hesitate; but you're not sure if Abby will be comfortable with it, considering.. obvious physical differences you've got.

"If you two are fine with it. I'm not sitting in a damn towel while I'm sweating to death."

"Who even does that?" Abby asks, and you relax. Maybe all weres are just casual about nudity.

"People who don't want to be seen naked? Because, you know. We all are going to be naked."

"Do you glow everywhere like that?" Sevika smirks and you glare at her.

"Only one way to find out." Abby snorts and shocks you with the audacity to join in on a sex joke with a woman she fought to death 10 minutes ago.

"You're insufferable."

"Let's go get the stove going." Sevika tells Abby and walks away.

You can't help yourself: you gently grab Abby by her forearm so she would stop for a moment.

"You sure you're okay with it?" You whisper, hoping Sevika won't hear you. "I'm not a were."

"That's what you're worried about?"

"What should I worry about?"

"That we invade your privacy or something. It's not a big deal, you know. It doesn't mean anything."

That offends you. Abby has no right to tell you your attraction doesn't mean anything - it means something to you at least!

Abby rolls her eyes when she sees the expression on your face.

"I'm just saying no one is going to be weird about it. Your.. friend won't be for sure."

"Okay. Just so we're clear: you know I have a cunt."

Abby takes a long-suffering inhale.

"And we have dicks, we get it." Sevika yells from the woodpile. "You know, even for a witch you're weird."

"Fuck off. Call me when the bath is ready."

Abby watches you walk away, all puffed up and smelling of annoyance and attraction, and she can't help a little fond chuckle that escapes her. Seeing you for the first time after a month is strangely comforting.

The bear doesn't evoke such warm feelings in Abby. She is bigger, taller and clearly knows you, and all of it annoys Abby to no end. Partially because they are both alphas and dick measuring is only natural, partially because Abby just doesn't like that the bear - Sevika - is close to you.

Abby swallows her spite anyway and goes to the steam bath, where Sevika is already loading the stove with the wood.

For a moment Abby just stares at her arm; she didn't have a good chance before, but now she is able to look at it closer. Just like her bear arm, Sevika's human arm is just bones, her own skeleton. Closer like this Abby can see the golden tiny strings woven into the bones, maybe to imitate muscles. The fingertips are pure gold up to the first knuckle; from this angle Abby can't see how the arm connects to the shoulder, so she drops her eyes.

"It'll take a while." The bear says and Abby starts handing her the logs.

"It's fine."

"How do you know her?" Sevika asks offhandedly, but Abby takes her time thinking how to explain it.

"She saved my life."

"Did she try to kill you too?" Sevika snorts and Abby blinks, confused.

"I tried to kill her. Multiple times. But then I got myself into some shit and she found me dead."

"She healed you?"

"More like resurrected me."

"Lucky you." Sevika smirks humourlessly. "I tried to kill her too and she cut my fucking arm off."

At least you still have your arm, Coen said. That what he meant? That the last were you dealt with you left without a limb?

"What happened?"

"The spot where she goes fishing, near the den? She went there and I was there too, just woken up from the hibernation. I saw her, jumped her and maimed her seven ways to Sunday, and then she just cut my whole arm off so I'd leave her alone. Don't remember what happened after, but the next thing I knew was a fucking dwarf cutting the meat from my severed arm."

Abby listens and tries to picture you doing this. It's hard, because when you two met you bolted from her, not even letting her get close to you. Maybe you've learnt your lesson.

"She was scared shirtless of me." Abby admits, confused. Sevika huffs.

"It's been a long time since we met. Back then she was not afraid of a were."

Sevika sits back and lights some wormwood to start the fire inside the stove.

"She resurrected you, huh? That why she glows?"

"Yes."

"She likes you." Sevika smiles, and then she clearly smells Abby's excitement, because she grins wider. "Oh, you should be happy her nose doesn't work, you're like a pup."

Abby growls, but it's not threatening - she is just annoyed. It doesn't mean anything, it never has: attraction is unconscious process, it's uncontrollable, and Abby learnt to ignore it a long time ago. People are just weird and find all kinds of stuff hot - doesn't mean they even notice it or want to act on it. You, apparently, are really into strong people, and the way your scent spikes every time you look at Sevika tells Abby she is not that special.

It takes an hour to get the whole steam bath going, and Abby spends it talking to Sevika - it's reluctant, but having a witch who they wanted to kill is a hell of a bonding experience.

Then Sevika leaves Abby to splash water on the stove to get the room hot and goes to fetch you.

The bath room gets hotter and way more humid, so Abby's clothes start clinging to her. There's no point in being dressed now, so Abby leaves her clothes in the pre-bath room and gets herself comfortable on the pleasantly warm bench. It's nice, hot and humid, and Abby feels the sweat starting to form on her neck.

She smells you before she sees you: the cinnamon scent of attraction gives you away immediately. Abby hears the rustle of clothing being taken off, you scolding Sevika for being inappropriate and then you open the door to the bath.

Abby looks you over: you look good, pretty even, soft in all the right places, and you do have more runes on your skin. Abby gets curious about all the tattoos she hasn't seen, and the cinnamon scent intensifies, making Abby chuckle just because she knows it irritates you.

"Stop that."

"I promised no one will be weird about it, not that I won't notice it."

Sevika pushes you further inside and Abby looks her over too: she is pure muscle and scars, and her thighs can definitely crush some heads. All of you sit on the upper bench, but you're as restless as ever as you look around.

"No one brought veniks here? I can understand you," You look at Abby. "But you know better." You look accusatory at Sevika and she rolls her eyes.

And just like that you walk out, your naked butt jiggling with how fast you're moving. You come back with two bundles of birch branches and a wooden basin. You fill it with water and just like you did that time when Abby bathed here, you push your hand inside and get the water boiling; then you put the bundles into the water and let it there, jumping back on the bench.

"What's that?" Abby asks, feeling that she is getting too hot from the Sevika's last splash. She is sweaty already, not used to this type of bathing.

"Veniks. You know, you put them into hot water, they get all soggy and then you slap yourself with it. Or someone slaps you, if you want."

Abby nods slowly, not getting excited about taking a beating with a bunch of tiny birch branches that are soaked in boiling water, but you seem happy about it.

You lie back on the bench, your tits spilling to the sides, and Abby just watches you - it's mesmerising to see someone so comfortable in their own skin. You don't try to make yourself look good for them, even if the cinnamon scent doesn't go away, you're just enjoying yourself, breathing deeply the thick humid air. You stretch your legs a little, like a cat, and Abby hears the approving sound from Sevika's throat. She is definitely enjoying the view for a different reason.

"I guess you do glow almost everywhere." Sevika purrs from her place behind Abby and Abby grits her teeth in annoyance. You glare at both of them, for some reason. "What? All these years I thought I saw every inch of you."

Abby wants to rip her throat out. For no particular reason.

"Enjoy it while it lasts." You deadpan. It makes Abby feel a little better.

"I guess it makes you special, wolf." Sevika addresses Abby. "I couldn't do it in ten years and you did in days." How does she manage to get on Abby's nerves like this?

"Splash again." You ask Sevika to change the topic, but Abby is riled up already. Sevika smiles at her like an asshole and splashes the stove, bringing another wave of hot steam. "You know, some of these tattoos were done by my mother."

Abby can admit, this change in the topic is very unsexy, and she is grateful for it: she promised herself to behave, after all.

"Why do you have them?" Abby asks, curious and relieved to talk about something else and not the fact that Sevika is trying to fuck you right in front of her.

"Well, housewives have cookbooks, I have my own spellbook." You motion at your body. "Easy to remember." You put one of your legs up on the bench, bending the knee and giving Abby the full access to the view of your cunt. You point to one of the runes on your thigh, oblivious to your own nakedness and Abby likes this too, even if this whole view distracts her. "That's the one I used to locate your folk last time. Had to take my damn pants off to look at it."

"Lemme look at it." Sevika asks and walks over to you, sitting on the lower bench while you spread your legs so she could see better. There's a small hint of arousal in your scent. Abby hates this whole thing.

Sevika slowly traces the pattern of the runes on your thigh and Abby is holding by a fucking thread to not tackle the bear on the ground and bite her head off. You giggle, probably ticklish, and bat Sevika's hand away.

This bathing experience proves to be challenging: Sevika doesn't leave you alone and has the audacity to taunt Abby about it. It's weird - before today Abby hasn't even thought of you like this, but having another alpha so shamelessly seduce you makes Abby furious. You don't react much to it, and it keeps Abby sane, but she knows Sevika is doing it on purpose, and this what drives her crazy.

Then you show how to use your "veniks" and of course Sevika volunteers to beat you with it, and then she volunteers to help you wash and then she looks over at Abby like she is plotting something and she douses you with a basin full of cold water, making you jump and yelp form shock. Abby admits, this is funny, but you turn around and with a few movements of your arms both Sevika and Abby get doused with cold water. That is less funny.

After the excruciating steam bath you offer both of them clean clothes and warm tea, which helps Abby with her mood.

"I think I'm gonna stay here tonight. No going to that filthy den." Sevika says and Abby grits her teeth.

Of course she is going to stay.

"And where do you think you'll sleep?" You ask with a small smile. Abby hates this.

"In your bed, as usual. Or is it taken now?" Sevika looks at Abby, smirking like an asshole.

"Stop it, you asshole." You tell Sevika as if you've read Abby mind. "Are you okay with the sofa?"

The way your voice goes soft when you ask her makes Abby feel a tiny bit better. She is not okay with Sevika here, but all she can do is nod.

As she is forced to hear the bickering from your bedroom, Abby grows more and more sure that she will kill this bear by the end of tomorrow.

[dzvelinaskebiyars]

IF UR BOYFRIEND FINDS OUT, HE'LL KILL ME TOO

Okok I got the idea based on this song, ok?(◞‸◟ㆀ) and since this song includes cheating...Yeah. So warning is that reader is piece of shit here, kinda suggestive. Hope y'all enjoy tho! Tagging: @shintaru @bfwooin @zyart-jpg @sunariiiiiiin @bunnygirlgonewild @erisawrites dividers by @cafekitsune

Joker:

Joker has been in love with you for years now, since you two were middle schoolers throughout your adulthood. He has always had this silly crush on you but this baby never managed to confess to you due to his shyness and his hesitation on entering in the relationship—he truly didn't have time for that, after all.

But then, you got into relationship with another guy, Hyunjae was his name. You looked so...happy with him, laughing at his jokes, always wearing smile whenever you were with him, holding hands like typical cute couple, sharing food, kissing him deeply in the public as if to make sure everyone knows you're his. And that haunted Hajun like endless nightmare he just couldn't get out of. Of course, he doesn't blame you for this, he doesn't blame your boyfriend either. I mean, who wouldn't want you? You're gorgeous, you're stunning, you're smart, funny, kind, adorable and whatnot? In everyone's eyes, at least in Hajun's eyes, you're ray of sunshine, an angel sent by gods themselves.

And that same angel, you, haunted his mind even when he should have forgotten about you. You already have boyfriend, you've already found the love of your life so why? Why can't Hajun get you out of his mind? Why is his heart still beating for you? Why does he have affection saved up just for you? Why is he imagining himself in the place of your boyfriend, holding your hand, kissing you, being the reason of your smile? Why? Why? Why?!

And it bothers him so much. He's not type of man that will interfere in someone else's relationship, not the type to disrespect your relationship with Hyunjae like that. But...God. When you wave at him whenever you see him, when you still smile at him like you always used to, when you still watch his races to show your support...He, even though he's ashamed of it, has wished you'd break up with your boyfriend and run in his arms.

Today though, you invited him to the party you were holding in the club. It was just the meeting of classmates together, catching up with each other's lives and etc. To be honest, Hajun wouldn't even come to the party if it wasn't for you. He didn't necessarily like rest of his classmates except you.

Everyone was busy gossiping, laughing, sharing stories, drinking and playing games. Hajun, himself, has drank quite lot since he couldn't listen to all the bullshit with sober mind. Even while seeing this, some of your classmates still asked him questions to the point of overwhelming him.

"So, Hajun, where are you working?"

"Are you still struggling financially?"

"How are your brothers?"

"Do you work out a lot? You've grown so tall and muscular!"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"I saw you in the TV. You're in that stupid cycling competition?"

"I saw guys from your crew. Man, they're hot. Can you give us their number?"

Fuck it. Hajun stood up and left for the bathroom. He didn't care about girls whining, telling him to come back. All he wanted was to get away from this annoying loud noises. His vision was bit blurry, his cheeks flushed as he started to feel sleepy. Gosh, he shouldn't have drank this much, but oh well, it was too late now.

He opened the bathroom's door, praying there wasn't anyone inside but the water running proved him opposite. You were there, splashing water on your face, your cheeks flushed as you were hiccuping a little. You were just as drunk as he was.

At the sound of door opening, you turned your head to face him. "Hajun?" You asked, rubbing your eyes to clear your vision from water droplets. He nodded his head and stepped in the bathroom, turning the water on from the sink right next to you.

"Did you get drunk too?" You asked, grabbing the sink as if it could wake you up from your drunken state.

"Yeah." He answered, splashing the cold water on his face.

You bit your lip, avoiding eye contact with him. "I'm...glad you're having fun." You said, your breathing was uneven, suddenly feeling hot for whatever reason.

"Not really..." He replied, staring at the water in his hands. "They're being...too much, you know. Asking tons of questions and shit talking for nothing."

You awkwardly chuckled. "Well, that's how they always were."

You looked up at him, watching the way water droplets fell from his face, running on his jaw. And gosh, this is first time you've seen Hajun with flushed cheeks. He always had that reserved expression but now...He looked so different. Was this your hormones speaking? Maybe. Yet you found yourself clenching your thighs together.

As if sensing your eyes on him, he glanced at you. But you immediately turned your gaze away, which caused him to raise eyebrow at you. "Are you alright?"

You breathed heavily, your heart fluttering and beating loudly in your chest. You couldn't answer him.

Hajun turned the water off, turning his whole body to face you, stepping towards you. "What's wrong?" He asked so gently, with that soft tone he always used while talking to you.

"I...Well..." You hesitated, cursing yourself in your head. What were you even thinking about, honestly? Has alcohol lowered your inhibitions? Has it increased your estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone? Why does everything feel so lustful now? You gulped, staring at Hajun in his eyes. "Can you...crouch down?" You asked.

Hajun, without a single hesitation, crouched down to your eye level—probably expecting some sort of explanation, or maybe, he was also too busy holding back from touching you and this definitely didn't help.

You stood on your tiptoes slightly, your lips meeting his in silent, short peck of kiss that you aren't even sure why you left in the first place. You backed away, your cheeks flushing even more now. While Hajun...He was in shock at your actions, trying to process the situation, but it didn't take long for him to grab your waist and pull you flat against him, his lips immediately crashing onto yours like starved wild beast, landing the most breathtaking kiss you've ever had on your lips.

You let out small moan in his mouth, your hands reaching his hair as you pulled him closer, returning the kiss. And gosh, the way his jaw moved, the way his lips took control over your entire body, the way his hands almost trembled against you as if he was touching something sacred and holy. Has he always been such a good kisser? You have never asked yourself this question but now...Fuck, only he is in your mind right now.

Hajun picked you up in his arms with an ease, his hands boldly resting on your butt as you wrapped your legs around his waist, feeling his upper body muscles as if they were god-made.

"We shouldn't be doing this." You whispered.

"We shouldn't." He agreed. "But, fuck, it's late to back out now."

Wooin:

The sunlight seeped through the curtains, painting the room in golden light. Birds chirped outside as if celebrating something. The fluffy bed felt more comfortable than ever, pillow cool just for your comfort. Blanket dropped over your naked body.

But your feeling of solace was cut short when you felt the weight on your chest, unmoving yet heavy.

You glanced down at your chest and saw no one other than Wooin, quietly sleeping while using you as a body pillow. He looked so...relaxed and vulnerable compared to other times. His glasses has been put aside, his hair messy, his neck filled with love bites, scratches complimenting his back.

Upon seeing that sight, the memories of last night rushed to your mind. The argument with your boyfriend, him going to his work, you calling Wooin to relieve your stress and then...that.

You didn't mean the situation to come to this. Or maybe you did. Maybe that's why you called Wooin in the first place but that was hard pill to swallow.

You shifted under his weight to get comfortable, making him crunch his eyebrows in disdain. You reached for your phone to check what time it was. But the messages from your boyfriend caught your attention instead.

"I'm sorry for yesterday, love. I was wrong for yelling at you." 06:10am.

"Lemme make it up to you ok?" 06:10am.

"I'll take you to your favorite restaurant when I come back, alr? I'm sorry again. Love you." 06:11am.

You have no idea where you even found the audacity to text back, considering the filthy acts you did with another man, but you couldn't hold yourself back from replying.

"Ah, sure. It's fine, I forgave you. Love you too<3" 06:55am.

"Who are you texting?" Sudden raspy, sleepy voice startled you. Wooin has opened his eyes already, his mind still waking up from his slumber.

You scoffed. "My boyfriend. Who else?"

Wooin sniffled a breathy laugh, his face nuzzling further between your chest. "You're laying naked with me but textin' another man?"

You went quiet. Well, considering actual situation, Wooin was the another man...But it's better to don't remind him of that. So you sighed and put your phone aside, shifting your weight towards him. "He'll come soon.."

"And I already did." Wooin shrugged.

"Not that kind of come, stupid." You flicked his forehead, making him groan in discomfort.

"So what if he comes?" He groaned, refusing to get up from your chest. "Why does it matter? You cheated and you can just break up with him now."

"I did not—"

"Oh yes, you did. You cheated, sweetheart. Don't try to gaslight me just because you're in denial." He murmured, smirk sickly stretching on his lips.

You sighed in frustration, throwing your head deeper in the pillow. "I can't just...break up with him. And I don't want him to know about us."

"Oh yeah?" He raised his head, resting his chin on your chest now instead of his cheek. "Then what are you gonna do? Keep this shit up? Calling me over every single time he goes to work, begging me to fuck you?"

You bit your lip, unable to say anything. What were you even supposed to say? Nothing. You couldn't. There's no justification for what you did, no justification for how you were gonna hurt your boyfriend despite any choice you'd make.

Seeing your reaction, Wooin couldn't help but chuckle. "You should have thought about his feelings before calling me."

Hyuk:

Now, to say that Hyuk was obsessed with you...wouldn't be wrong at all. He has known you since the times he was being raised in Spain. Your families were very close, you see. You were always such a sweetheart to him, even if he was twisted asshole since his childhood, always taking your toys without your permission and sometimes even making you cry. But then he would give you flowers as an apology so you would play with him again.

You always tried to introduce him to your friends, just so he could have more people around him, but somehow he always managed to offend them. And even if you knew that Hyuk wasn't easy person to befriend, other kids always treated him unjustly—attacking his nationality, saying he should get lost from Spain and return to Korea, calling him mean names and whatnot. But Hyuk never bothered to defend himself, mostly because he couldn't even understand where the hate was coming from, he couldn't even process the bullying emotionally at all.

But you stuck with him, you stood up for him even though you'd smack him in the head next minute for dirtying your toy. And throughout from his childhood to his adulthood, you stayed with him. So how could he not get obsessed with you? He was convinced that you were his and his only.

That is, until you shattered his illusion without even feeling any remorse. Until you got a boyfriend whom you were truly in love with, always yapping about him with Hyuk, canceling your plans with Hyuk just to meet the love of your life, and it bugged Hyuk so much. But what truly pissed him off was your boyfriend asking you to stop talking to him, apparently because your lover didn't like the idea of you having a guy best friend. And like the good little girlfriend you were, you slowly distanced yourself from your childhood friend, even if your heart swelled with guilt.

Oh, he was mad. He was fucking mad. If you were going to abandon him for another man in the end, then why did you even befriend him in the first place? Why did you even walk into his life if you were going to just leave him with nothing but a heartache?

But all this didn't matter anymore, it didn't matter now when he had you in his arms, hiding in the closet while he was stealing moans out of your lips, his mouth on your neck, leaving hickeys to mark you as his.

"H-Hyuk.." You gasped in his ear, fingers tangled in his hair.

He smirked against your neck. He just couldn't hide his amusement. You were telling him about how much you loved your boyfriend months ago but now that you're in his arms, you're moaning his name like a prayer, like you've wanted this for long time. And he, honestly, couldn't understand. If you loved him, then why didn't you tell him? Hyuk would immediately take care of your boyfriend and ensure that you would be with him instead. But no, you had to play stubborn.

Well, he was about to show you how stubborn he was too.

His mouth left your neck, his head straightening to look at you but you didn't even let him say anything—just kissed him deeply. You pulled him closer as if you couldn't get enough of him and god, he was so drunk of you. He couldn't get enough of you himself. Your kisses, your hands, your lips, your neck, your hips, you sweet voice when you called out his name, your flushed cheeks...He wanted to devour them all.

He slipped his tongue inside your mouth, making you gasp. And he could taste the banana (trauma flashbacks) you ate earlier, causing him to groan.

But you pulled away to catch your breath, your chest heaving up and down as you try to get more air in your lungs. "...Shouldn't you be going?" You asked him, your fingers loosening from his hair.

"Hm? Why?" He raised an eyebrow at you. Surely you didn't expect him to leave now, did you?

"My boyfriend will be out of the shower soon—"

"So what?"

"What do you mean by 'so what'? We'll get caught—"

"Gosh, shut up." He snarled, resting his forehead on your shoulder. You were taken aback by his snap, but didn't say anything in return. "Just shut up about him already. You always talk about him. Every single damn time I'm with you, you never shut up about him." He breaths shakily, his grip on you tightening. "Fuck...How do you expect me to leave now? You've ghosted me for months. Months. And now that I finally have you back, you're expecting me to leave wordlessly and pretend this never happened?!"

"I...That's not what I meant." You replied. But honestly, you were at loss of words. Has he been feeling like this all this time? This intensely? You gulped, bit of guilt spilling in your heart.

"Then what do you mean?" He asked you, as if he was truly desperate for answers.

But you remained silent. What were you even supposed to say? There was no justification for what you were doing—cheating, that's only what it was. Nothing with Hyuk was supposed to be special when you had boyfriend, but fuck, you couldn't resist him either.

Hyuk observed your face well before letting out a sigh, swear he was gonna crash out if you felt guilty for what you were doing with him now. "Do you love me?" He asked you, landing a kiss on your neck again.

"Of course, I do—"

And that was it.

That was enough for Hyuk to crash his lips into yours once again, stealing all the air from your lungs, making your knees weak as he claimed you, marked you as his with this kiss—possessive.

He broke the kiss then, but he hasn't pulled away from you, his lips still touching yours. "Then break up with him." He panted. "Break up and become mine."

[delopsia]

Hello!!!! I love your work! Esp your Rhett Abbott ones. Congratulations on the 2K! May I request horseback riding with Bob Reynolds? Something involving lots of angst and mutual pining and then a confession? If thats okay 🥺

I am so sorry for what happened here...oh my god. I couldn't come up with anything angsty and then...well...🧍‍♂️oops 🍑Come join the Fernwell Creek Farms Event! 🍑 Horseback Riding — Send any kind of thought or request for your date(s) Warning for major character death. Please check the very last tag to reveal who dies 😅

It's one of those things that have been around for so long that you don't remember what life was like without it. Thinking back on it now, the events of your life have all been categorized by, Before Robert, and After Robert, broken apart by a much smaller, meeker reference to 'The Accident'.

Middle school days spent looking forward to squeezing into a half-occupied lunch table together and then wasting the afternoon in each other's bedrooms, under the guise of homework and non-existent class projects.

Someone's parents should have figured out that no child has that many projects, but somehow, you got away with it. Maybe they would have, if The Accident hadn't shaken apart your routine and plucked him right out of your life.

As suddenly as he disappeared, some couple of years post high school, he showed up again. With the same sweet smile and those soft spoken words that never fail to put you into a trance. It's as if nothing happened. He simply skipped forward in time and waited for you to catch up.

And, yeah, in hindsight, you should have been more alarmed about the things he muttered to you over cheap coffee and stale pastries. Experiments and a void, and superpowers that surpass those of ancient gods.

It wasn't your fault.

In your head, he was just your Robert. The boy who stole glances at you when he thought you weren't looking and found dumb excuses to hold your hand. And to him, he was the same old guy he'd always been. Nothing had changed. The only indication that you were no longer children was your bodies themselves, aged with the years. Fine wines fortunate enough to reunite on the shelf.

And so, it really shouldn't have come as a surprise that something like this would happen.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Bob's voice breaks through the haze. "I'm so sorry, I'm so—"

"It's not your fault," you hear yourself speaking, but you can't feel a thing. A loud ringing overlaps your senses, your skin vibrating with it.

Coldness rushes through your veins, your arm struggling to lift, but despite the protest of fading muscles, your hand finds his cheek. Tears spill over like a waterfall, wetting his reddened face and dripping from his jaw.

"But it is!" He wails. You're vaguely aware of how he's pulling you closer, blood gushing from your belly as he thumps his forehead against yours. Closer. You can see the veins in his eyes like this. "I love you! You're—you're not supposed to hurt the people you love!"

"You didn't know I was there." Such a strange feeling it is. Dying.

In the back of your mind, you know that you should be angry. But the emotion doesn't arrive. All used up for this lifetime. Maybe they evaporated in the blast. If the color of the world weren't fading, perhaps you would have time to figure out which it is.

You don't care to look down. There's no sense in peeling your shirt back and looking at the gaping wound in your stomach, the disproportionate consequence for sneaking in and trying to surprise him. The flaws of new powers with equally new triggers.

Bob's saying something to you. His mouth shapes around familiar words, throat vibrating with their delivery, but they no longer make sense. Echoing, fading into the darkness that eats up your sight.

Three words click into place. You don't understand why it took so long to hear them, but you're content to utter them in return.

"I love you, too."

[uprightpillar]

Just let me hold you

Summary: You're sick and your flatmate is out of town. Andrew comes to take care of you.

Rating: General Audiences

Tags: fluff

Word Count: 1298

Author's Note: Request for a sick fic from @cervidaewasteland No beta we die like the poor thing in the road.

Requests are open if you're so inclined!

AO3 link / fic under the cut

You and Andrew haven't been dating long. Not long enough for him to do this, really, but well - you're sick and your flatmate is out and you're alone in a new city. And he just really wants to see you. Between recording sessions and your work, he hasn't seen you since before you got sick. You texted him the code to the apartment building this morning and told him you'd leave the spare key under the neighbours' mat in case you were asleep when he came by.

He knocks, softly, not wanting to wake you if you've finally managed to fall asleep through the pain. He waits for a minute, knocks again, and when he doesn't hear anything he gets the spare key and opens the door. Christ, your flat is a mess. He knows he's no better, but every time he'd visited before it'd been- not spotless, but certainly messy with a system. This is just chaos, pure and simple. He picks his way through the haphazard piles, making a mental note to go through with a bin bag later and clean at least some of it while you sleep.

He gets into your room and his eyes rest on your sleeping form, lying on your stomach. He can't stop himself from huffing out a soft laugh. Your sleeping arrangements are, in a word, weird. You lie on your stomach, scooted almost entirely over to the left hand side of your king size bed, so far Andrew is wondering if he should scoop you up before you fall off. Your left knee is bent, on top of a pillow, while your right is fully extended. Your face is peaceful in sleep, resting on two perpendicular pillows, one arm wrapped tight around the vertical one, as well as a toy rabbit. Your other hand has a toy horse's leg in a death grip and an eye mask shades your sensitive eyes from the afternoon sun.

Andrew has stayed over before, of course, but you always clear the bed for other activities first, so he's never laid eyes on this little set up. You'd alluded to it a few times, telling him you were a determined and unforgiving cuddler, and he's spotted Thumper's ears in late night video calls poking out from beneath your chin. But the full sight is absolutely adorable and tugs at his heartstrings a little. Seeing you so comfortable, so still is a privilege he holds dear. He's touched that you allow him this glimpse into you at your most vulnerable, that he's earned your trust with that.

He pads back into the kitchen, making a cup of coffee for himself and a cup of herbal tea for you. He's not sure if the migraine has kicked back in yet or not, so he steers clear of anything strong smelling, but stirs in a spoonful of honey from his hives to soothe your raw throat. He carries both mugs to the bedroom and puts them both down on what's rapidly becoming his beside table, a spare notebook he's commandeered for lyrics and a book he's borrowed from you sitting atop it. He sits down on the bed as slowly and gently as he can, unwilling to disrupt your rest anymore than necessary, but knowing you'll want him close. He eases himself beneath the covers and you turn toward him, lifting the mask enough to let the light in. You blink and squint, and your face breaks into a radiant smile.

"Andy!" You croak out, trying to shuffle toward him.

"Hey love. How are you feeling?"

"Like someone threw me in a lake and then set me on fire. Not necessarily in that order."

"I mean, that would be the worse order, surely. Both practically and painwise."

"Sorry, are you criticising the logistics of my simile? I'm sick, Andy, leave me be. Not all of us are born writers, you know."

His face flushes at the praise and he opens his arms, pulling you into them as soon as you start moving towards him. You snuggle into his chest, inhaling the scent of him as best you can through your blocked nose. You might not feel physically better, but having him here is a tonic for your soul nonetheless.

"D'you want some tea? I wasn't sure if the migraine had fucked off yet or not, so I just went with chai, I hope that's okay."

You smile up at him, heart glowing that he knows you so well, that he listens and cares and remembers.

"That's perfect darling. Migraine is right behind my eye at the moment so you're right, aniseed would've fucked me up."

He passes you the mug as you sit up against him, small hands unsteady at first. He only releases the mug when you've got a firm grip on it. You take a sip as he grabs his own coffee and the warmth floods your system, soothing your throat and your jagged nerves. You press the hot mug to your eye, willing it to leech out some of the pain and pressure.

"How bad is it - just behind your eye? Or are we at jaw and teeth territory yet?"

"Eye and sinus at the moment, I took a paracetamol and that's done something at least. I'm at eight rescue meds this month already, so I can't risk taking another one today."

It means a lot to you that he remembers the precise stages of your migraine, how you know when one is bad or bearable, that you can tell him how many meds you've had and he knows how many you have left. And most importantly that he believes you. You say you're in pain, so he believes that you are. You say you can't do something, and he takes it at face value. Not having to fight to be believed has freed up so much mental space you honestly don't know how you used to cope. It's not been long, but from the beginning, when you had to cancel one of your very first dates because of the pain, he's been there, solid and warm and caring. You were due to go out for dinner and a movie when you called him to cancel, stomach rolling with the guilt of it. You were at about a six out of ten, you could probably push through, but you'd be rotten company and you'd pay for it dearly when you woke.

He'd been to pick you up at your apartment before, and you'd talked about the foods you gravitated towards when you were sick when you were deciding where to go for dinner. But it was honestly a surprise when he turned up at your front door, managing to catch your roommate on the way out to let him into the building. He'd brought all the foods that you could stomach when you were like this, all fresh and appealing even beneath the nausea. He had offered to go, to leave you to lie in bed and recover on your own, but you wanted nothing more than to be held by him. So he stayed, held you as you slept, made a mini picnic when you woke and kissed you gently. After that day, you were completely gone for him.

He takes the hot mug from your hand and turns you so that your eye presses into his shoulder. You breathe a sigh of relief as the pressure of it shifts the pain into a more manageable sensation. Still unpleasant, but nothing you can't handle. He rubs soft circles up your back as your breathing evens out and slows down. As you drift off back to sleep, he grabs the book off the bedside table, content just to hold you as he reads.

[dollie-disaster-darling]

Fanart of bsd ladies based on the latest (i think) official art from Harukawa

Ada!

For Yosano, I picked a simple wrap top and sarashi wrap. I didn't really have much of an idea with what I was thinking other than 'i think she'd like wrapping a lot, and she'd probably use a katana for injuring people' and I just really wanted to draw her with a short side ponytail.

For Naomi, I couldn't really think of much at first because I can't really discern much of her. But then I just decided that I can't just ignore the little I do know of her just because I don't think it's that deep. I thought that she was a vapid and shallow schoolgirl character.

But then I remembered that anime schoolgirls are genuinely so awesome and probably the backbone of anime and manga. Why should I look for other traits to give Naomi when she already has the legendary status of being an anime girl in highschool?

Remember a few years back, there was this whole trope of schoolgirl exorcists/Miko? I remember seeing a decent number of them. I mostly remember Kagome from Inuyasha even though she's not really called an exorcist, but I know there was definitely more. Like...twin star exorcists and blue exorcists and more.

Considering that in the official art, Atsushi has tails, Dazai's looking like a kitsune, Akutagawa has a dragon on his clothes, and Chuuya has snakes on him, I think-- Naomi's gonna solo them all. Ranpo has a panda so he'll be spared.

So yeah. That's why Naomi's wearing Kagome from the anime Inuyasha cosplay.

Pm!

For Higuchi, I tried to translate her simple suit and modern guns to something more traditional. I'm not sure why, but I associate light blue with Higuchi. I think she'd wear clothes traditionally meant for men when working but wear more traditionally feminine clothes out of work. She'd probably have a legend made of her for being able to put her hair in a bun despite it being so short.

As for Kouyou, yes I used my beloathed Exhibit E as the heavy inspiration

The dis-knees...the chest window... The weird position...the air making her bangs like that... Looking at it still makes me :|| but I still used it for reference because I think the coat looks cool.

The Kunikida tag talk interlude!

I saw this one person make a really lovely fanart of Kunikida in the same style as the official art because he wasn't a part of the line-up and I remembered feeling bummed none of the ladies were in the line-up too so I thought 'oh right, I can try doing that too' so I drew what I drew. The artist is @/benetnvsch here on Tumblr but I'm not going to tag them because I realised that if you tag someone, they'll feel inclined to look at what you're tagging them. This is probably how I'll give credit from now on.

The official art rant!

This one official art that looks to me based on mythology from and/or fantasy based on East Asia, but most people focused on for buff Chuuya and the pretty boys looking neat. I honestly think this is one of my favorite official arts from her.

The tassels that are used a lot in traditional fits, the design on Dazai's shirt looking like how water/air was depicted in old Japanese paintings, the designs looking like designs likely to be used in traditional clothes, Akutagawa wearing a changsam and Ranpo wearing a tattsuke bakama--

I saw some people talk about whether or not she used ai. I guarantee that if ai was used for this, this whole picture would just be so vague and just a hodgepodge of uninspired 'asian-looking' elements served as too mindless and heartless to pay respect to any culture.

But no, there are 'asian elements here' that you can actually see and go 'oh that's actually a thing!!!' And unlike the other people that so easily fall in the pitfall of thinking that the epitome of mixing modern and traditional is just putting a chest window in a cheongsam, the modern touches she added here actually help give the traditional clothes a new spin!

The boots, the inside of clothes having a different color inside, the tassels being integrated in ways they usually aren't, and the modern accessories.

If you ask me who here did it best, it'd be Akutagawa because I see him and I immediately get that he's supposed to be a mix of both. Since Kitsune is a more widespread concept now, it'd be easy to just think Dazai's just dressing up as kitsune anime character. Chuuya looks like a model doing a photoshoot based on. Ranpo mostly has traditional elements with the only modem thing on him being his sunglasses. Atsushi looks like a sweet kid performing at a school event celebrating a cultural festival.

Not that they don't look any less wonderful, I just want to hammer down that even without the context, you could tell Akutagawa's wearing the mix. He's on top, but literally everyone here looks gorgeous and has a great fit.

Anyways. It'd be nice if we got official art of the ladies and girls from Harukawa, but bad self fanart is all I can do for now. That's all. Whew.

[dewwshi]

princess of mithral hall

[mbirnsings-71]

Struggled with today's art but I have to draw Scar Daily or I implode basically- also Ren for @pup-pee because I have to practice drawing him and Martyn after all-

Also I think Non-dog hybrid Ren is cursed but like it's what we're working with here we're balling-

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

Broke (2016): BBC Sherlock is a phenomenal piece of media and anything that seems like a flaw just hasn't been fully explored yet

Woke (2020): BBC Sherlock is an incredibly flawed series run by an egotistical writer, it never deserved the hype and is actively bad on so many fronts (especially representation)

Bespoke (2024): BBC Sherlock is flawed and bogged down by increasingly poor writing, which many fans refused to see while it was airing, leading to hugely misplaced expectations (particularly for the final series), AND it has the seeds of some compelling characterizations and portrayals, some genuinely solid performances, and touches--albeit imperfectly--on complexities that are still being discussed today (particularly as it relates to the relationship between Sherlock and John). The huge cultural impact of the show has created a massive pendulum effect in its public perception, leading to most people today remembering a caricature of the show (whether positive or negative) rather than appreciating its nuanced merits and failings...that being said Season 4 sucked

[sukibenders]

No matter how hard I try, I just can't find it in myself to care about Melissa from Yellowjackets, like sorry but I can't.

[talentforlying]

♠ — IF YOU WERE A DEITY, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR DOMAIN?

WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE. you are the divine guardian of truths both knowable and unknowable, of all words and languages spoken and unspoken. much like Death itself, you are perhaps one of the least understood of all deities, and yet the secrets you hold are highly sought after by scientists, philosophers, and theologians alike.

the origin of all innovation, your realm is the source of crucial advances in architecture, agriculture, political governance, and military strategy which have allowed many civilizations to become a dominant force in the mortal realm. your domain may also include the forces of magic and mysticism, and many cautionary tales exist among mortals of those who have unwittingly destroyed themselves or lost their minds in the reckless pursuit of mysteries and technology far beyond their comprehension.

your mythological equivalents are greece’s athena, egypt’s thoth, mesopotamia’s enki, and india’s ganesha.

tagged by: @eladead thank you!! tagging: @asteritm, @n1cap, @normaltothemax (any muse), @agentharkness, @demidritch, @whcwashe, @compatiissante, @devilscheck, @h3xappeal + @1carri0n (any muse), @outlawiism, @handgiven (any muse), and you!

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

wanna ask how you feel about the eridan bpd headcanon/theory(?? not sure what to call it!) you're so good at your character analysis and i'd love to see your outlook on it

Since I don't have a degree or any formal training in psychology, I feel deeply uncomfortable diagnosing characters. I've made an autism joke before but only because I'm on the spectrum. He's definitely traumatized and anxious, but I mean those as descriptors of his behavior rather than capital-D Diagnoses. I try to focus on those when I can - the cause and effect of cognition, self-image, and behavior - and those factors may very well match up with DSM criteria, but I try not to touch an actual diagnosis with a ten foot pole unless the author has explicitly stated that X character has Y condition.

[queer-omens-in-the-archives]

Rumination (3/7)

Third instalment in our series of 7 Matt/Mello/Near drabbles written for @dnrarepairweek! :3 Prompts: successors, pining.

Near was left behind.

Rarepair: Matt/Mello/Near Other tags: The Kira Case, Wammy’s House

[read on AO3 or below] [series on AO3]

There have been no new enrollments since L and Watari’s deaths. With Matt gone, the room is nobody’s now.

Near often goes there to think.

Sometimes it’s about the Kira case: the clues he is gathering, what he will do to catch Kira.

Sometimes he hugs Mello’s pillow and inhales deeply, imagines he can still smell dark chocolate. Once or twice, he does the same with Matt’s, which has kept the scent of cold tobacco.

Sometimes he pictures different things. L not dead, Mello still here, Matt still glued to him, Near creeping in-between the two of them and staying.

[reanimatedgh0ul]

this is their dynamic to me

[kalosian-woods]

haii :3

i am here to cash in my "what are your thoughts on the Kaalos Gym Leaders?" voucher! either in this au or in general lol,

Waheyy, I'm so glad you decided to visit this humble abode and present the question that is so big that it cannot be contained in 3 maxxed out AO3 comments heh <33 I hope you enjoy your service in this super long ask and have fun at my exceedingly insane takes :P

Okay, so I'm just going to bounce around everywhere here because I have such a love for characters that ends up blurring the line with what we got in canon and what we can further extrapolate/build upon (in the AU verse), as well as bring up stuff I've already said beforehand for more cohesion + also gamesverse and maybe teraleaks as well, so it's going to get crazy around here. BUT such is the price of taking up a big project lol

Probably under the cut? Under the cut lol.

(Also because Tumblr hates me, I've got to cut this into three seperate posts so I don't clog up everything. Would just rb this but that'll ruin the surprise lol. Also it takes ages to make an individual post like this ngl)

So, of course, Kalos is the first/only region where we get focus on the resident travelling Gym Leader companion that actually has a connection with their Gym, as opposed to Kanto-Sinnoh where Brock was breaking free from that lifestyle and Unova where Cilan is presumably taking a break (presumably). With Clemont, his journey technically starts with his expulsion from his own Gym, which forced him to actually go beyond the limited and controlled enviroment of Prism Tower and see the outside world. And it so happens that he stumbles upon Ash who is rushing towards the Gym Battle and saves him from his own recklessness with his (Clemont's) own preparedness (the inflatable bag).

And honestly, I feel like that's such an amazing way to display both of their weaknesses and even a little bit of their strengths. Clemont is forced to walk around the place he was removed from/frozen by a sense of apphrension, Ash is forcing himself into a challenge he isn't ready for/blinded by passion. Clemont always being prepared while Ash is always active. The way that the anime highlights that in the two-parter by then having Clemont actively trying be complicit, little by little, in Ash's rescue of Garchomp by unlocking a side door to Prism Tower, then try to climb up to where Ash is, really shows how much he has went through in that initial meeting. Would Clemont from a day ago try to climb up Prism Tower to help save a crazed psuedo? No, but Ash's influence pushed him in ways that he never expected... even if he did freeze up at the end when Ash fell.

(the holy Clemont square of ep 2 and 3 lol)

So Clemont is deciding that Ash is the paragon of courage and that he needs to learn off him. It's interesting that 'courage' is the quality that he latches onto, because (as we learn later on) we learn that his particular problem is that he was unable to return to his Gym after getting kicked out by the robot that he built. But it wasn't that simple, was it? That robot was Clembot, a Gym Leader robot, and it utilised his own Pokemon against him-- of their free will-- to make sure that he stayed out.

Ash in relation to Pokemon and courage. These are all things that Clemont thinks are key to solving his problem. That's the reason why he takes up this journey alongside Ash, and it's his (self-perceived) failings as a Gym Leader that truly drives this reason along, because he can't face Clembot and his entire Gym Team with nothing, with an 'inexperienced Bunnelby' (literally his words), with just himself as he is.

Now this is where the AU is going to kick in because MAN does he just resolve that mini-arc/start of a greater arc so quickly (ep 9 my beloathed): Clemont avoids the Gym for some time and makes sure that everyone else does as well. He lies by ommission, because at the start the truth doesn't serve him, and then later on he's scared of their reaction, because they are one of the few people (Ash and Serena) who he's actually formed a good bond with. Despite starting this journey to discover courage that will help him take back the Gym, Clemont finds friends instead-- friends that will do anything for him, people and Pokemon. Because yes, it's not only Ash and Serena that he's found, right? It's Bunnelby and Chespin too (PLEASE WHY DOESN'T CHESPIN AID IN THE GYM TAKEBACK ;w;) (Serena could've maybe done a little more as well ngl). All of them, in conjunction, help him take back the Gym in the end. Clemont doesn't take back the Gym on his own, but with all of his friends by his side, and I think that's what really mattered at the end-- beyond out-of-the-box strategies and a malfunctioning robot. And I think that's such a beautiful lesson, that the best solution to your problems can usually be helped with teamwork and with others (courage in its own way).

(this is so beautiful fr.... :'D) (also yes the gif quality sucks here just take it pls)

Another pivotal moment in Clemont's (barely existing) Gym Leader arc is, of course, when he's getting ready to face Ash himself with the fifth badge on the line. XY EP62 / 'The Future Is Now, Thanks To Determination' is pretty light with the details, but listen I will take anything right now. And the fact that Clemont is wondering about his status as a Gym Leader and whether things should change because Ash is a friend, a friend who has taught him a lot during their journey together? Wondering if he can even face someone like Ash, who he has learnt is unpredictable, insatiable, and never stopping? And the way that he decides to take some time off to train up for it, because he remembers his promise to make it 'a Gym Battle he'll never forget' and he honestly, truly, wants to give Ash that???? He even returns Ash's call to beat him at the end by saying that he's going to win in the end PLS

Because, seriously, I'm so intrigued about the fact that he questions if it's okay for him to challenge Ash as an 'ordinary Gym Leader', and then follows it up with if he has gained enough skills to even be worthy of it. You'd expect that being an ordinary Gym Leader isn't that high with the word 'ordinary', but the way that Clemont feels like he's not worthy of it in comparison to Ash's progress?? And then he asks himself is there anything he can offer Ash as a Gym Leader???

(okay but seriously WHY didn't we go into this more???)

Ngl, the only continuation we get for this is the actual Gym Battle ep itself, which is sad because as you can see from my Clemont + Sawyer snippet, he could've done so much at the Gym. He was reflecting what it meant to be a Gym Leader independent of Ash and everyone else (which is so cool and such a nice parallel to the start where he had to get his Gym back with the power of friendship), so why didn't we see him actually interacting with other challengers? Helping them learn how to battle? Guiding them like he has seen other Gym Leaders in his journey? Finding a bit of his own groove with this whole buisiness, while also brushing up on his Pokemon's skillsets and getting ready for Ash himself. Yeah, we got Bunnelby learning Wild Charge and the whole trying to program Clembot to an Ashbot (so many implications that I'm not getting into rn), but we could've gotten so much more from that. Even the fact that Clemont is alone again has so much potential, as he's always been with Bonnie at the very least. Show us how that affects him!! And also show us him interacting with his father, his Gym Pokemon and also Clembot too now that he's finally back in Lumiose for an extended amount of time.

But even then, the fact that the Gym Battle is a continuation of their first ever battle is pretty cool lol, especially with the plot twist that Clemont throws in to throw off Ash. Not going to go through the whole Gym Battle but just,,, urgh, why didn't we get more of this?? Why didn't we see Clemont go through his reflection time thinking up of ways to stop Ash, throwing out plans and scribbling up machines to help perfect his strategies and idk maybe even take some of that creativity that Ash has (because dang it anime, Clemont is creative!! How else does he make his machines sans the names themselves??) and actually blend it with his analysis?? And for him to get a little obessessed over winning before realising through his own challengers that it isn't about winning or losing that makes the Gym Battle great or memorable, but the fact that the challenger has given it their all?? Because it feels like we got the Sparksnote version of it imo and I really like delving into cool issues like this, especially since it concerns a major aspect of one of the main characters here (no matter how much the anime wants me to forget).

OKAY, now onto other Gym Leaders because I can't keep yapping about Clemont unless I get another post (or an ask) (can you believe this is all from the anime, and specifically only at two points from S1 and S2 respectively??)

(also can I say the 'Gym Freaks' quotes on Bulbepdia never fail to get me laughing?? The games has the weirdest yet funnest scoops on Gym Leaders for sure lol)

VIOLA

Man, it's going to be hard to talk about her without getting into her relationship with Grant (in anime makes me scream, wdym they only have two appearances together???) or her relationship with Alexa (which isn't as touched upon in canon... or in my fics so far?? need to fix that) but can I just say I love this madwoman of a person fr.

I keep thinking about how dang tough she was a first Gym Leader (if we're going in order, in which most people in Kalos aren't??), with the use of ice to combat Flying Types as well as mons on the ground and Psychic as a busted move. We know that she also goes around the Battle Chateau enough to have risen to Duchess, in which wow girl you passed your in-games self and also ARE YOU OKAY???

(proof of how busted she is in the anime, fr -> going by maths she must've won around, if not at least, 227 matches by the time we see her in the anime, ready to ascend to Grand Duchess-hood) (also why is this so blurry it's not just me, right??)

Anyways, she's very competitive and I feel like that bleeds into her Gym Battling style, really challenging new Trainers (either that or really hamming it up). On one hand it's pretty harsh, but also it really gives you that sense of accomplishment and good experience/EXP yes I've got the Sawyer syndrome.

(fun lines part 1: i've noticed, even in dub, how worked up she can get in gym battles. dw girl we all know you're op, no need to kill him ^^')

But also we know that she takes breaks from the Gym (ep 1, when Alexa called ahead and had to break it to a very hyperactive Ash the bad news), can really take some stunning pics with only a fracion of her works lining the foyer of the Santalune Gym and is known as a Bug Type photographer (which I would imagine would take a lot of patience and finesse with how finicky that Type can be), and idk but I love this detail in the games where her hair barrette is a birthday gift from Valerie and her camera is another one from Alexa (she is loved!!! 🥺🥺🥺). All of these details really do lend a more comprehensive view on Viola as a person with her own interests and her own life, which is so good to have in the Pokemon anime.

We never really get to dwell on her too much AU-wise so far, but I'm thinking of a small detour way later where we meet up with her again and all that lol. She has so much more to give the group beyond a rematch and a badass showing at the Chateau-- I feel like her eye for detail with photography would work so well with Serena and possible Pokevision shenanigans (especially since Alexa is very much Like That :/ with Serena as it were), and her connections with others really gives her more chances to show up around the place and feel more grounded as a person with interests beyond destroying peoples dreams battling. Imagine a whole clothing collection Valerie made based on an album Viola filled out and gifted? Or her trekking over to a place that Alexa has scouted that is full of cool/rare Bug Types and taking her own pictures? The fact that photography relies a lot on the right place at the right time, with so many factors coming into it like lighting and angle, and how it's all condensed to singular pictures that can be interpreted differently with different people?? And the whole evanescent nature of it all can lend really well to XY themes overall just hire me writers (jk I've got the AU to scream about instead).

We've seen her in the heat of battle, so maybe the next time we see her it's in a more relaxed state where she's indulging in her own hobbies. Balacing life and work. And giving that little realisation to Ash, who was pretty bitter after the first loss, that, idk, it wasn't personal. That she has her own things going on, her own problems and her own life beyond the Gym and that battling isn't everything. Also because we deserve more casual Viola please :P

GRANT

Okay I've got to preface this by saying that yes, Grant has to have also won more or less 227 matches in the Battle Chateau exclusively in order to have been at the rank he was at the start of XY EP20 / 'Breaking Titles at the Chateau!'. They're both insane. They're both battle fiends. They both probably spent some nights over at the Chateau just battling everyone within view without taking breaks.

I mean, the WAY that we are introduced to him in the anime is so refreshing and new!! He's in a battling enviroment but not in the Gym, not in his own 'carved' out area but in a communal space where chivalry is valued above all else (why no Wikstrom here it's perfect for him ;w;). He's hanging on a wall; like seriously what a WAY to really showcase how a character is like. And Viola walking in and noticing him and he notices her and waves first?? Just what is this guy /lh

I guess this is a good place as any to really get into the infamous Grant and Viola dynamics, but dw, we'll get into Grant as an individual later. Since I love to abuse dot-points to break up the monotony of paragraphs:

The way they are so casual with each other never fails to astound me. We rarely, if ever, have Gym Leaders that know each other-- Sure, there's E4 Flint and Gym Leader/E4-adjacent Volkner, the family relationship of Champion Lance and Gym Leader Claire, and Gym Leader Juan and his mentorship with Gym Leader/Champion Wallace (and everything for the memory links in the BW2 games), but we never really get explicit relationships between actual Gym Leaders on-screen, especially in the anime!! Even in XY (help me). So the fact that Viola and Grant readily know each other is so, so good to me <33

Speaking of casual, their banter!! Please!! Viola has had enough of his wall talk but still indulges in it anyways, she doesn't even have to look at him to know he was the one who fell, and he has no shame in just brushing off the incident and just harping on about the many intricacies of walls overall. Like, c'mon, what is this:

(get a room you two /j)

They can both get serious however, and the way that he takes her word for how gutsy Ash and his Pokemon can be (with a pinch of salt heh) is pretty cool to see. Again, we don't get to see Gym Leader interactions in the anime much, so seeing how they would react to a potential challenger moving across the region is fun! Although idk how legal it is, considering how Brock once said in S1 how he can't rat out another Gym's team/type... I mean, get yourself a rival/competitive bestie/whatever they are who is just as willing to bend the rules as you are!

Their battle. Where to begin. We've seen Champions (Cynthia) go up against E4s (even in Unova... hi one and only appearance of Caitlyn in the anime, at least you actually showed up ;w;), and Gym Leader (Skyla) against idk what Cilan was doing, but woo boy do NOT skimp out on these two Kalosian Trainers. While, yes, the Type match-up left a lot to be desired, I feel as if they both got their very unique battling styles from going toe-to-toe against each other, constantly improving their techniques and working with strengths/weaknesses in mind. That's how Viola was able to react so quickly against Grant's versitile Rock Tomb, and how Grant based his whole strategy to countering her speedy attacks by pulling in Rock Polish (and that cool Rock Tomb, seriously that was so fun to see!!). Honestly, it feels like Viola might have won their last match by the way that Grant has so many countermeasures against her, but it was a very close match this time regardless (just check out the way their Flash Cannon and Signal Beam cancelled each other out!!).

(the way that they read each other... it really speaks to their experience of the other's battling style)

We get a heck-ton of it in the Battle Chateau ep, but that isn't the only time. DESPITE me being blind to the fact that people really ship that particular moment (??) the Kalos Crisis really showed how even with the burning passion to eviscerate the other in battle, they watch each others back when trouble is ahead and would even...

Ahhm. Yeah. Sacrifice themselves. XY loves people jumping off stuff, evidently lol. But seriously, even with me and the rivals/competitive besties goggles on, you can tell that they really value and care for each other!!

About Grant himself, well, he's definitely a character and a half with his... okay I'm going to stop thinking about walls, lol. He doesn't actually get introduced as a Gym Leader until the very end of this episode; initially, Ash (and the gang, yes, that includes Clemont for some reason) is led to believe that he is just a strong Trainer by the COTD and Viola, and he doesn't correct them. He only-- just barely, may I add-- remembers to tell Ash that yes, they will meet again in Cyllage, and that's what clues them into his actual status. Which is interesting in the way that a lot of the Gym Leaders in Kalos are just met as ordinary folk-- Viola was just taking pics of Ash before following up after him, and Grant was just having fun at the Chateau (and Clemont was wandering around Lumiose is he okay?? /j). We've come a long way from just meeting the Gym Leaders straight up in their Gyms in Kanto, that's for sure.

And his Gym?? Immaculate. The famous rock-climbing wall (which he made optional!! It has no ill effect on the way your challenge is accepted!!) is such a cool way for him to connect with challengers, showcasing his love for (Rock Type) Pokemon and giving Trainers a new view, so to speak.

(also check out the gangs faces 5 seconds after lol VVV)

The way that he gets them to experience the wall so he can use it as an apt metaphor for what challengers should do is so (>///<); his whole strategy really is to just focus on what's ahead, always climbing up, never staying in one place. This really appeals to Ash, who obviously takes this lesson in full-heartedly, but it's also such a good lesson in life (and for everyone else in the gang as well). Don't look back. Keep moving ahead. There is no wall you can't climb.

And Grant?

Well, he's a wall too. And he wants you to go at him full-throttle, with all the Pokemon that you've got and the experience that you've gained, to overcome him. To show, with every fiber of your being, down to the very skin of your teeth, that you are ready for the League. That you've got what it takes to take the rest of the Gym Challenge on. That you, at 100%, can scale that wall and make it out of it just fine.

It's a hell of a way to battle, I'm sure (Just like with Viola; why are all of the Gyms so dang hardcore lol). But this is the guy who made it to the top rank of the Battle Chateau advocating that there is always something more to climb. He can walk that walk for sure lol.

The thing that I love about the later Pokemon series (and especially earlier XY imo) is how they handle the Gym Leaders, with all of these extra details that we never knew we needed beforehand that really build up their character. They're no longer 'random mentor figure that I've got to beat to show my worth', they're actual people with their own interests, their own lives outside, their own struggles and their own growth. They're not static. They're not just obstacles. And super fun eps like the Battle Chateau and arcs like Korrina's really do help in humanising them and making not only the wins more worthy and memorable, but also giving us new people to love and root for all the same.

Also I know this is supposed to be about them but just one (1) thing I want to touch on about the Battle Chateau:

C'mon. It has so much potential. It's literally spelt there. WHY DIDN'T CLEMONT DO ANYTHING HERE PLS :'((( Or even Serena!! It would be a nice place for her to go her own pace and try battling without the stress of... Viola or Grant lol. More ideas for me ig.

For the AU, well, we've already seen quite a bit of Grant lol. Transferring my romance-blind ass onto him and magnifying it was so fun lol, I feel like it goes so well against Monsieur Skittish at the top there/Clemont and Madame Very Intense At Time/Viola. It even said in the Teraleak how there are a bunch of ladies that like him but he thinks they're a nuisance like DAMN okay, I get it heh, you like your space. His love for walls is perfect, no notes or additions lol. He can handle social situations well, it's just that the nuance in relationships frequently fly over his head in a 'will-spam-your-phone-at-1am-if-you-missed-an-appointment-and-you've-only-met-once' sort of thing. What can I say? That's just his way of caring. And his Pokemon team reflect that in a way-- he plays with them just as much as he trains with them, and that's how he gets all of these cool moves. Amaura slides around on ice a lot and Onix can't really keep up, so that's how he learnt to counter her speed in such a way. Tyrunt hates ice though, so using moves that trains up its legs so it can break the ice or jump away from it, since its speed isn't the best, are some of the ways that Grant decided to do after training Tyrunt against Amaura. And Amaura is a very skittish Pokemon ('hey, she's kind of like you, Clemont!' 'stop it!') so Thunder Wave can stay lol, to boost her confidence.

Carefree and reckless and in a way, going for broke himself. A very fun guy who enjoys life to the fullest, and dang if I can't respect that. I've got to stop talking about him ONLY but just, argh, he's so interesting to me!! We'll definitely be seeing him soon with his Gym (many fics later... which is soon enough ig heh), and even afterwards, so I'll probably have more coherent thoughts there (this goes for every character I write about here because my opnions and thoughts always change around every day and while it allows perspective it is so tiring lol).

Also it's not just me, right?

(grant words coming out of previously-skittish kid, more at 7)

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Extra Parts because Tumblr hates my images: 2 | 3