#I hate this old hag. (affectionate)

[monards]

there’s actually something so incredibly sickening abt barbeloth’s character in the story being a dancing music box figure;; something that is literally DEFINED by its fate not being it’s own to control, or change, because it can only do anything if it’s winded up by someone else (with its one purpose, and ability, being to dance)

[megumimania]

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES - ryomen sukuna

summary: your boyfriend hates modern technology.

warnings: sukuna x fem reader, sukuna is an old hag (affectionately), sukuna not fucking with consumerism is he in his marxist era?🤔, sukuna is a softie when he wants to be, sukuna is ooc because i hate writing mean men :), yuji being a hottie is my fav hc of all time, i can’t believe im giving amazon free promo 😞.

notes: i missed you guys!

sukuna cant wrap his head around technology.

he doesn’t understand why companies sell ‘new’ phones every single year, when they perform the same exact functions as the previous one.

he doesn’t like how your coffee machine has too many buttons when all he wants in the morning is just a cup of black coffee to get him through the day. sukuna just prefers doing things the old fashioned way which makes him subject to teasing by you and his little brother yuuji.

he doesn’t care though, constantly talking about how he’s ‘escaped the matrix’ by not owning an up to date phone and only getting his news from the daily paper and tv. however his view on technology changed once you brought alexa home.

initially he thought that it was a speaker and was confused to why you bought another one. “it’s not just a speaker ryo,” you corrected him swiftly. “she’s a digital assistant that can tell you the time, the weather, recipes and she can even tell jokes.”

sukuna looked at you with the same wariness he’d give to a snake oil salesman. “can’t your phone do the same exact thing for less?” you knew he was lowkey right but your stubbornness refused to let him get the upper hand.

“that’s not the point babe.” you playfully rolled your eyes at him, carrying the box to the kitchen counter and setting it down with a loud thump. “now if you’ll excuse me i’ll be busy setting my alexa up.” you huffed as you opened the instructions trying to make sense of them.

sukuna looked over at your focused expression. your brow furrowed with concentration as you read the instructions. it was simple really and within a couple of minutes the alexa was ready to go and by the joyous look of pride on your face sukuna knew that he was going to be in for one hell of a ride.

and unfortunately he was right.

life with an alexa was hell. sukuna barely got through the day without hearing the monotone female voice rattle off the hottest food spots or tell you a stupid joke that was suddenly the most funniest thing alive. he used to make you laugh like that!

he felt like the speaker was taunting him. hell he couldn’t even have some down time with you without that stupid speaker getting in the way. it was literally like he was third wheeling all the time and he hated it. you were his girlfriend first!

sukuna didn’t like being second best. especially to a glorified speaker.

you and sukuna were cuddling on the couch together after finishing a movie—terminator 2 to be exact. “so what do you think of the alexa?” you asked whilst the credits rolled, mindlessly stroking his cheek with your acrylic nails whilst he rubbed your legs.

sukuna tensed at the question as he tried to think of a way to answer without sounding like a complete asshole. “well…im not really a fan.” you could already tell from the dry tone and his poor attempt of acting unfazed that he was lying through his teeth.

“if that’s the case then why did i find it in the bathtub?” you pulled up the waterlogged alexa in a ziploc bag. sukuna would usually have a sarcastic reply in his arsenal but he was now looking at you as if he was a deer caught in headlights.

“fine, i used the damned thing.” he raised his hands up as he accepted defeat much to your surprise. “it fell into the bathtub when i was trying to stream that megan the stallion song yuuji told me to listen to. he said something about the song needing to go number 1 on the charts.”

you sat back in disbelief. you didn’t know whether to be annoyed, angry or smitten with him. “i’m glad yuji is helping you become more cultured but why did my alexa have to die for such a good cause!” you wailed dramatically collapsing on the floor, clutching the alexa to your chest.

sukuna lifted you off the floor with such ease it almost made you jealous. “stop whining i already ordered another one. it should be coming in a few days.” he said with his usual gruff tone that was laced with softness, peppering kisses down your neck.

you giggled as his stubble tickled your skin. “that was quick, you missed it that much already?” you teased him whilst you hooked your arms around him running your nails down the nape of his neck.

sukuna rolled his eyes at your playful expression. “i’m still anti technology, don’t be fooled.” one thing sukuna was to his core was a hater but like most haters he rarely stood on business.

“whatever you say babe.” you hummed biting back a smile. you and sukuna knew give or take two months that he’d change his opinion about it.

[rootsofdread]

I’m not sure how to start this off but do you mind writing some general fluff relationship images with as many women killers as you can? (Many some smut of you are cool with that)

-Anony🍄

sure thing! <3 i was really stoked about this request tbh, i wasn't expecting to get much for the fem killers so it was nice!! hope you don't mind i did the "weirder" ones cause they're personally some of my faves and i think they need love :-) <3

this does include the nsfw, they're the last two bullet points on every character in case anyone wants to skip reading them!

Sally Smithson / The Nurse:

Sally is super sweet and caring with you. She has some leftover nurse tendencies and is always trying to make sure you're taken care of. She may baby you occasionally, but she tries not to if it's not something you're comfortable with. Your comfort is her top priority.

She loves being close to you and touching you; holding your hand, having an arm around your waist or shoulders. She's very physically affectionate, and it helps her be able to protect you. She feels more comfortable with you as close to her as possible. (But if you're not comfortable with this, she'll settle for having you nearby.)

She also loves just spending quiet moments with you, where the two of you aren't worrying about anything and are just enjoying each others' presence. Doing your own separate things or just sitting quietly together, she doesn't mind either way. She's just happy to be with you.

You always calm her down when she gets worked up due to a trial, and she is endlessly thankful for that. It's been so long since she's had someone who helps her so much. When she's stressed out, she just thinks of you, and those thoughts take her to a much happier place.

-

Sally is very old-fashioned and vanilla. If you have any sort of kinks, chances are she won’t even have heard about it, but she’d be willing, if a little nervous (even if it’s something tame), to try it. Her main concern in the bedroom is making sure you’re pleased, and she’s willing to go way out of her comfort zone.

She’s also very susceptible to touches and dirty talk. You could turn her on just like a switch if you wanted to and have her borderline begging for it, depending on how far you want to take it. She prefers you don’t torment her…But she knows it’s all for fun.

Lisa Sherwood / The Hag:

Lisa is extremely protective of you, and can get a little hostile towards other killers and survivors when it comes to you. She's like an angry chihuahua. She just wants to keep you safe but doesn't know any other way, she hopes it shows you how dedicated she is to you.

If the two of you have to separate for a trial or something, she'll give you a bunch of her good luck and protection charms so you can stay safe even without her. She hates leaving you, but knows her charms will do her work for her if she must.

She's very clingy and loves to cuddle, it makes her feel safe. She especially loves resting her head on your chest or your lap, but most of the time she'll just trap you by wrapping all of her gangly limbs around you. Hopefully you don't have anything to do, because you might have to drag her with you.

She loves going on long walks with you, especially at night, or during rainfall. She'll always either walk ahead of you or will hold your hand while you walk, to be on lookout for you. She loves stopping by flowers and picking them for you, or wandering off a path to see wildlife.

-

Lisa is very bitey during sex. She won't hurt you badly — not on purpose, anyways — but she gets a little aggressive. She will scratch you, too. She hopes you don't mind having a few marks afterwards.

She gets very clingy afterwards, too, though. She may even get fussy if you don’t hold her in some way after. So if you have something you need to do when you’re done, it’s going to have to wait for a few minutes.

High Priestess Adiris / The Plague:

Adiris is always there to comfort you when you're upset about anything. She always mumbles about how the Gods have a plan (even if you don't believe — it's something she always says, in the hopes it helps any little bit), will cradle you in her arms, sing to you, make you a hot drink. Anything you need to feel better, she'll fetch it or do it.

She's always taking care of you in any little way she can. She may be a little overbearing, but she means well. She's always making sure you're feeling well and have everything you need. She checks in constantly, and she hopes she doesn't frustrate you. She just gets worried, is all.

She burns calming incense for you all the time, and for herself. But mostly for you. She knows how stressful being in the realm can be and she does what she can to make it better for you.

She's very shy, and is very prone to blushing. If you say any sweet little thing to her, she'll turn completely red, and may even find something to busy herself. She's not used to such sweetness, you'll have to forgive her.

-

Adiris prefers giving more than receiving, in all honesty. Performing oral, manual, being a service top. It's what she's more used to. That's not to say she won't accept you taking the lead…She just gets more flustered when it's you. She finds it difficult to keep her composure.

She's very insecure about her body, so she loves body worship. Even in just the slightest way — just a kiss, a word and she's crumbling. Melting into a puddle under your touch.

Charlotte Deshayes / The Twins:

Charlotte sees you as more of her protector than she as yours. You're so kind to her, she knows you'll stand up for her when she can't. She may be a killer now, but she still gets picked on, she's sensitive and appreciates having someone on her side. 

You're the only person she trusts to look after Victor when she has something she needs to do. She knows Victor is a handful, but she can always trust you with him. She loves seeing you running around with him, playing and having fun.

She can be a bit childish sometimes, having a sort of wonderment about things she never got to experience as a child. Cartoons, stuffed animals, coloring and painting. She feels insecure about this — but when you let her know it's okay and it's not weird, she's more comfortable. She loves it when you join her, she loves sitting down and doing silly things like that.

She loves reading to you or having you read to her, it's one of her most favorite things. When you're reading to her, she gets all cozied up to your side with Victor, and may just fall asleep. If she's reading to you, she has the book between both of you in case she needs help with some English. She also likes letting Victor look at the illustrations, if there are any.

-

Charlotte has a massive praise kink. She loves to be praised, especially by you. You can really turn her on just by telling her that she's a good girl, she's doing a good job. It makes her putty in your hands.

She absolutely loves it when you leave kisses all over her body. Her chest, back, shoulders, stomach, thighs. It makes her feel so…Fuzzy inside. She wishes you'd never, ever stop.

Carmina Mora / The Artist:

Carmina loves having a shoulder to cry on when she needs it. She's still so grief-stricken all the time, so sad. It overwhelms her sometimes, and she needs someone to hold her and tell her everything's alright. She is endlessly thankful for you and all that you do for her. You make life more bearable for her. She's so much happier.

She loves to sketch and paint you any free moment she gets, she has so many art pieces focused on you she could probably fill a whole gallery with them. She thinks you're so amazing, so stunning, she always feels the need to capture you.

She's so happy having another person to tend to her crows with her. It was the one thing that gave her solace before she met you, and now she gets to share it with you. She puts some bird seed in your hand and promises they won't hurt you, watching with a genuine smile on her face as they land on your wrist and eat from your hand.

She's always coaxing you to be creative, no matter your medium or skill level. She loves you, and wants you to express yourself. She would never stifle you. She absolutely loves seeing what you create, she's always full of compliments for you. She proudly displays your creations next to hers.

-

Carmina is very noisy in bed. A screamer. She hardly even realizes how loud she can be, she just gets lost in you, how much you're pleasing her, how right it feels. People can probably hear her all across the realm.

She can get a bit aggressive in bed. Not with the intention of hurting you, but she can just get so overwhelmed…She loses her control, thrusts herself against you like a wild animal. Clawing at you, biting you, leaving puddles of ink in your skin.

Adriana Imai / The Skull Merchant:

Adriana is very into PDA and loves showing you off to everyone else. You're her trophy partner, and she will parade you around and make sure both you and everyone else know just how much she loves you. It's rare to earn her affection, and you're very special.

She loves to have you on her lap or just sitting with her while she plans out her next trial, or works on her drones. She just enjoys having you close. And if you want to help her, she's happy to let you; listening to your input, or guiding your hands to fasten together her drones.

She's always fussing over your appearance, making sure your hair looks nice and straightening up your clothes, brushing you off. Even if you don't find yourself particularly good-looking, she thinks you're stunning and wants to make sure the outside reflects the inside.

You're the only person she cares to listen to. She knows her ideas are great and she doesn't need input from anyone else, except you. She's always willing to listen to you about anything, everything. You're the only person with valuable input.

-

Adriana is a verse, believe it or not. She prefers topping, but if her partner is strong enough to knock her down and wrench control from her, she'll accept it and she'll love every minute of it. Fighting for dominance in the bedroom is one of her favorite things.

She's into some hardcore stuff, and she's very dutiful with aftercare. If the two of you have done something harsh and straining especially, she'll pull you to her chest and ask if you need anything at all. She can't break her favorite toy, after all.

[3xm-draconic]

Toil and Trouble (Werebat Cyris and Astarion story)

Summary: Revelations about his origins must wait to be processed, Cyris and his gang must track the infamous waterdeep hag down and get Gortash’s stone from her grasp.

“Wait, wait, waaaaaait a minute…hold up” Roger drunkenly mumbled “this means Cyris is a god”, Gale pondered for a moment “well technically yes but also no, it means he a double-demigod since he has taken mortal form”, “but he’s got no mortal parentage…how is he demigod if he got no mortal half?” Minsc scratched his head.

“Guys we can talk about my demi-mortality later, right now Whimbly has one of the stones and that is very, VERY bad” he shuttered, “right, kill hag now talk about god stuff later” Allegra nodded.

Everyone geared up and hit the town…

“Do you think she whent back to waterdeep?” Wyll turned to Cyris, “no, she’s still here, I can smell her, she’s too enthralled by the nightlife here and wants to feed off the misery and pain of the gamblers” he mumbled.

“Whimbly is a rather strange nighthag” Gale pondered “to feed off such things, usually they go for nightmares”, “in olden times nighthags feed of the suffering of others, now they tend to feed off fear rather than misery” Cyris replied “Whimbly prefers the old tastes and is considered… “odd” even by other hags”.

“Odd even to them…how?” Gale curiously turned to him, “she loves company and hates being alone, usually hags can only stand the presence of other hags but Whimbly hats others of her kind, she much prefers devils and other people” Cyris answered “and she LOVES to gamble, there ain't a game on Toril she can’t cheat at. Dice, cards, 3 dragon ante…you name it she’ll bet anything on it…and likely win. Normal nighthags deal in souls, Whimbls does too…but she’d much rather have gold.”

“She’s one of the notorious crime bosses in Waterdeep, right next to Xanathar, while he’s more of thieves guild boss…she deals more as a slave trader, drug exporter, pimp and illegal money launderer…basically she does everything the more tamer guilds aren't willing to do” Cyris sighed “but once she’s dead…everyone is going to be free” he grinned “no more debts…”

They split up to cover more ground, Gale and Cyris whent to the high-end restaurant district while Wyll and Astarion hit the night markets.

“I’ve…been thinking” Astarion sighed “about what Gortash said…about Cyris”, “calling him cupcake?” Wyll laughed a little, Astarion chuckled “no, no about…about a ring”. “you?...that's great Astarion!” Wyll smiled as he hugged the pale elf, Astarion rolled his eyes and patted Wyll’s back “I…know it’s a big step, but Cy and I have been on this adventure for…a while now and I want to purpose…when this is all over”.

“Well maybe while we are looking for the hag, you and I can look for rings? I’am nowhere near ready to purpose yet to Fireworks, I’am still planning on the right time” he grinned as he said Karlach’s affectionate nickname, Astarion frowned “we may not get the perfect time Wyll…we might die tomorrow…you should go to her and purpose, don’t wait, you may never get another chance…I nearly lost cy so I’am taking mine.”

Wyll nodded “you’re right”.

The group met back up and stopped for lunch at a cafe. 

Astarion wanted to show Cyris something…

“A graveyard?” Cyris pondered, “yes a graveyard…and my grave” Astarion took him to a little head stone.

It was covered by centuries of neglect, moss and lichen had overtaken it so much Cyris could hardly read the name of the tombstone.  

“I had to punch a hole in the coffin…and claw my way through 6 feet of dirt” Astarion sighed “then…when I broke the surface, retching up dirt and congealed blood…Cazador was waiting…from that day on I was his…until now” he smiled. 

Cyris held his hand “you were never his sugerfangs”, Astarion laughed a little “maybe…but he did take it…there's almost nothing left of the person I once was…just a name on a rock…” he turned to Cyris “but you helped me change that”.

“You were by my side through all of this, you helped me figure out who I want to be now…though bloodlust, pain and misery you were patient, you cared, you trusted me when that was an objectively stuped thing to do” he looked into Cyris’s big doe-brown eyes “I feel…seen…with you, and whatever the future holds for us…I want it” he turned back to the grave “I should fix this…”

He began to clean it and make adjustments to the writing using one of his daggers…

Once he was done he turned to Cyris who sat next to him.

“I’ve been dead in the ground long enough…it's time to start living again, with everything life has to offer” he smiled “I love you, I love this…and I want it all”.

Cyris took one of the flowers from his flower crown and placed it on Astarion’s grave, “hmm, cute” Astarion chuckled softly “Cy…I want us to be together, regardless if I can walk in the sun or not, regardless of anything that may happen…I want us to be together” he took Cyris’s hands in his “marry me darling”.

Cyris’s eyes are full of tears, joyful happy tears “of course!”

An explosion erupted from the city.

“What was that?”, “I don’t know but we're about to find out” Cyris said worriedly. 

The team: ran through the streets as they came to a burning building. Inside was what seemed to be the remnants of a chemical lab “it may be one of Whimbly’s outpost drug labs…be on your guard” Cyris growld.

Then a familiar voice coughed out “oh hello there my sweet sanguin friend~”, “oh no” Astarion and Cyris grumbled in unison, “I wondered when we would meet again~”, “I hoped you’d have been eaten by wolves by now” Cyris hushly muttered under his breath “Hello Araj” he sighed.

“Forgive the mess…your blood is more…volatile…than expected” she hummed, 

“That's nice but we must be off” Astarion grumbled, “wait oh wait please, just try out my new formula” she pleaded, “what does it do?” Cyris humored her.

“You saw what it did to the lab…drink the formula and anybody that hits you or causes you to bleed…boom!”, “no thanks I don’t think that’s for me” Cyris shrugged. 

They bickered back and forth for a while until a chill ran down Cyris’s spine, he could smell something in her lab…

“Araj…what have you got in there?”, “hmm? Oh…nothing…”, Cyris could tell she was lying, her body said it all.

 “I smell it too…CYIRS!” Station and Cyris rushed past Araj and into the house, down into the basement were…

They found a cage…

Inside was…

A vampire spawn…

One of the turned Gur children who decided to live outside of Astarion’s rules, they looked…sick.

“Mm-mm-...” they tried to speak but they were so weak, “hush it’s alright, we’ll get you out of here” Astarion assured them,“m-mama…” they whimpered “I-I wanna g-go home to…to..mama”.

They were dying…

“Cyris, they need blood quickly!” Astarion cried as he held them, “on it” Cyris slit his hand and let his blood flow into their mouth…but it was no use their tiny skinny body going limp like a ragdoll in Astarion’s arms…

“No…Gods no…” Astarion whimpered, his voice shaking “no please, please drink…”

They were gone…

“What’s wrong? I…I fed them my blood-”, “THAT WAS THE PROBLEM YOU FUCKING DIPSHIT!” Astarion snapped at Araj “YOUR BLOOD IS DISEASED, YOU PRACTICALLY POISONED THEM!”

Astarion grabbed her by her throat, “WAIT WE NEED HER ALIVE!” Cyris stopped him, Astarion stopped and then glared at him “you better have a good reason…”, “look” Cyris showed him a note.

It was a receipt for alchemical ingredients that came from a place called “Aunt Fibi’s Brewery Ingredients Emporium”, “she bought this from Aunt Fibi, that’s one of Whimbly’s aliases, she can tell us where she may be hiding”.

“Well then? TALK!” Astarion growld as he squeezed her throat, “lower…City…by the..d-docks..” she whimpered “will…will you let me go now?”.

Astarion smiled evilly “oh sweet Araj…I thought you wanted to know what it was like to be eaten by a vampire?”

Araj wanted to scream but Astarion kept her quiet.

“Cyris, Gale, Wyll wait outside, I don’t think you want to see this”, Gale, Will and Cyris stepped outside while Astarion proceeded… 

He ate…he did not drink…he ate, he wanted nothing of her to be left to bury…for even maggots in the dirt to feed on…

He ate until nothing but clean bones were left…

She tasted awful… 

“Serves you right for torturing an innocent” he huffed as he patted his now very full stomach. 

The gang didn’t question or wonder what he did…or why he looked so…stuffed.

They pressed onward to their new objective: infiltrate Aunt Fibi’s Brewery Ingredients Emporium and get the stone back from whimbly.

[prettyboykatsuki]

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it’s you, always | k. bakugou 

➳ tags ;; fluff, meeting the parents, bkg and mitsuki have a normal relationship

➳ wc ;; 1k

➳ a/n ;; i miss him so much 

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It’s never not nerve-wracking to meet the parents. 

You were expecting this feeling of anxiety as soon as you got into the car. In a weird way - it helped to hear Bakugou mention his mom being just like him before the ride their. You hear a lot from Izuku about how much they take after each other, and even more about how your relationship with him reminds Izuku of Kacchans parents. 

Either way, you’re nervous to meet them in person for the first time. You’ve spoken over phone calls and all but this was the first face to face dinner. You were dressed in your nicest attire and made the dish you feel most confident in bringing, in your classy little porcelain serving ware. Bakugou has been making fun of you the whole night. 

“You know I don’t give a shit what those crows think, right? They could hate you and I’d still marry ya,” 

You give him a glare through the mirror as you check your appearance for the millionth time. He rubs your shoulder and gives you a kiss. 

“Nervous for fuckin’ nothing,” 

“I know you don’t care but I care. I want them to like me,” 

“And why’s that?” 

You turn to face him, your arms hanging over his shoulders with a soft little sigh. You meet his lips in a kiss that he melts into, your fingers threading through the blonde hairs with a gentle sigh. 

“Cause Kat, if we get married,” 

“When,” he corrects easily. You laugh a little. 

“Right. When we get married, they’ll be family and if we have some brats running around - they’ll be grandparents. And I know what you say but you care about them,” ― you tease, as he rolls his eyes but doesn’t deny ― “So I want them to like me,” 

He buries his face in the crook of his neck, unusually clingy like he knows he won’t be able to get a hand on you all night else. 

“They’ll fuckin’ love you. More than me, probably. That old hag is gonna adore you,” 

“You sound confident,” 

“Cause I never say shit I don’t mean,” 

You give him another quick kiss and then a few more, until it gets salacious and you have to pull away. A redness brushes his cheeks as he steps away like he knows you can’t be late tonight. 

“L-lets go,” 

You throw your head back. 

“Yeah, lets,”

__ 

Dinner at the Bakugou’s is going well. 

You couldn’t predict just how much Bakugou takes after his mom. Even his most basic mannerisms seem to reflect and the sight of them bickering together has had you giggling under your breath. His dad is relaxed and chuckles every time he catches you with your mouth behind your hand. 

“I’ve had Katsuki’s whole life to get used to seeing them argue, but even now.. it’s pretty funny isn’t it?”

He has the kind of smile that makes his eyes crinkle in the corners. You’re surprised by how gentlemanly he is, but maybe that’s where Bakugou gets it. You can tell that they love each other.

Mitsuki gave you one look at the door before deciding she liked you and Bakugou has been threatening her about leaving you alone the whole night. She’s affectionate with you, not failing to tell you embarassing things Bakugou did as a kid. How he used to parade around the house in little All-Might PJ’s and how he cried when he lost fights. You can picture it even now, it still feels like something he’d do. 

It’s nice, has been the whole night. The two of you will be heading home within the hour but Mitsuki thinks it’d be best if you left after having a drink. Bakugou refuses to partake but Mitsuki insists on having some wine with you. 

“Katsuki, go down to cellar and grab something sweet,” 

Bakugou gives her a glare, rolling his eyes. 

“Get it yourself, you old bat,” 

“I should knock you on your ass,” 

He rolls his eyes but stands up and exists the kitchen. Mitsuki gives her a husband a look which he reads and takes his leave, bowing a little and stretching. It leaves the two of you in the kitchen alone. It’s the first time you’ve been alone with her all night. 

“So,” ― she leans a little in her seat, eyes a bit more weary than before ― “Our Katsuki went and found someone as nice as you. I’m glad. I was worried that brat would end up alone,” 

You laugh a little at that but then her voice goes soft, a little serious too. 

“I worry about the way I raised him sometimes. He’s a good kid. I should tell him that more but you know how it is,” 

You see something in her eyes, probably something you don’t understand. You smile a little. 

“Knowing him, he’d be hard pressed on accepting it. He’d appreciate it though,” 

She smiles and it’s longing. 

“...Can I ask you something?” 

You nod

“What do you.. ah jeez, there’s no good way to word it. I guess I’m interested on how you feel about him. He’s a good man but I know it wasn’t easy to get him to let you in,”

You wonder if she’s really talking about him but you let the idea ago as you smile, looking a little at your hands. 

“He’s rough around the edges. Aggressive and argumentative. Immature sometimes too,” ― you say with a laugh, amused ― “He seems mean but really he’s his own worst critic. He sees people for who they are and always accepts them and sees the good in them. No matter what,” 

“It’s hard for him to show love but sometimes he does things for me and loves me and I see him smile and I feel lucky. I see him and I want to make him happy. It’s something like that.. I don’t know if I’m making sense,” you say flushed. Her eyes goes wide and then teary, and suddenly she’s wiping them. 

You panick but she waves you off with her hand. 

“Ah..that’s good. I’m glad.. I’m glad you love him” 

You grin. 

“I’m glad he loves me too,” 

On the other side of the wall, Bakugou rests his head and blinks. The wine bottle feels cool against his chest, warm. The ceilings have windows in them and just above him are the stars. 

He’s glad, too. 

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[dallonwrites]

[image description: a photograph of multiple sunflowers. in a light yellow, bold serif font reads “@dallonm” at the top, and “camp nano update #1″ in the middle. /end id]

Hi friends! It’s time for the Camp Nano middle of the month update! And the update is that I have ended my friendship with novels, short stories are now my best friend! I’ve abandoned my goal for 5000 words of Us, In Watercolour, not because it wasn’t working but because I had stuff I wanted to write more. I’m also no longer writing every day. I used to think this goal would be good for habit building but for me, when I already have other work going on, it just ends up being the end of the day and I rush to write something small because I have to. Now I just have a generic goal of finishing two short stories. When I was making myself write everyday I wrote about 300-400 words in four days, now I’ve written 1.1k in two days because I’m just allowing myself to write when I want to and not when I don’t want to! I’m also in the midst of my dissertation deadlines, so I’d rather work on smaller pieces

That being said, I’ve played around with the opening of I Am Made Of Indigo, which I plan to be my Camp July project. I want to wait until I can really dedicate my time to novel writing but I had a vision and could not ignore it! I won’t be sharing much of it, but you can read a little first-draft snippet in the WIP INTRO. I also wrote a little bit for my Revelations, Revelations rewrite, which I will give more info on when I re-intro it, but for now here’s the current opening line:

You’re in the laundromat at 3am - with the broken lights and leaking machines - and your brother - with his stolen corduroy jacket and face you haven’t seen in two years - asks you the nearest place he can get cigarettes.

Anyways, short fiction is back to being the love of my life. I have two pieces due for school things, and a story I want to draft straight after, so I basically have my next stories lined up and I thought I could just intro them now, and update on how far I get at the end of the month. (All of these are working titles, I plan to change them all but I need a title to actually draft the piece LOL)

Baptism Boys: This is a piece I’m specifically writing for my University’s litmag because it’s my final year and I’m mad that I missed the deadline for the last three years!! I’ve had this idea for weeks but it literally only clicked today. My original idea was of two trans boys re-baptising themselves. Now it’s about a character’s experience as a girl in a religious cult whose womanhood is celebrated with a ritualistic “cleansing”. As she begins to rebel and understand gender, he rebaptises himself as a boy. Since RR is less of a “cult” story now (more on that later), this story kind of put all my original ideas for RR into good use. At (currently) 738 words this story is carrying my Camp Nano on its back!

Wilted Suns: It’s a working title and I kinda Hate It, sometimes love it? This is for my next workshop which is on worldbuilding for means of destruction and I am so out of my comfort zone lmaooooo. But post apocalypse fiction was my first love so this is my way of easing into this type of worldbuilding. I got the idea from a prompt in class of an old woman (affectionately calling her hag <3) who lives in a tipped over cargo train and offers shelter to people in exchange for shelter. The story itself follows the night a former plant shop owner offers her a bunch of dead sunflowers for a night of shelter. I’m obsessed with the concept but it’s taking its sweet time to turn into literally anything. I’m currently at 141 words. I have hope!

The Bat Mother: oh how I love this one. I saw something about a person studying bats and wanted to write a character that obsessively studies bats. I also wanted to write a story that was basically “what if we were BOTH the weird roommate? and we are both girls” and here we are. This follows a nameless narrator the night her boyfriend breaks up with her, coming home to find out her elusive roommate has stolen two live bats and hidden them in her spare room. If I’d written this a year ago I would’ve obsessed over trying to explain the logic of how she got these bats, but now I think especially since it’s going to be a short piece (no more than 1.5k i think), the story is actually stronger if we don’t know and we just focus on the characters being weird about it <3 I started this yesterday and I have 329 words. I want to finish the above stories first but I’m excited for this one! And I need a new story to submit to litmags lol! 

Will I draft all three? Who knows! Probably not! But I’ll have fun! We’ll see on April 30th! 

 General Taglist ; as to be added or removed! @mcximilians @starsprung @rataltouille @stormharbors @thistlebloomed @chewingthescenery @rowenkrahn @svpphicwrites @ziyin @coffeeandcalligraphy @musingsbycaitlin @shaelinwrites @artie5o5 @interestingchaos @reowrites @mymilim 

[emilyhufflepufftlk]

The Best Christmas Ever | Sihtric & OC

Modern AU

MASTERLIST

After finding out her best friend has nowhere to go for the holidays, Lucinda invites Sihtric to her house for Christmas. Lucinda is determined to make it the best Christmas ever, despite her sisters' incessant teasing.

This is for the amazing @solinarimoon - happy belated Christmas! 🎄💜

Word Count: 2656

Warnings: mention of grief

Frost covered the ground as Lucinda stepped off the bus, lugging her heavy suitcase behind her. Standing on the curb, she rubbed her cold hands together and watched as her breath formed clouds in the icy air in front of her. She turned to see Sihtric clamber off the bus behind her, a large rucksack on his back and a joyful smile on his face. She couldn’t help but smile at how happy he was.

Sihtric was Lucinda’s flatmate at university, both in their first year. Living next door to each other, they had soon become best friends and had become inseparable. When she had discovered that Sihtric had nothing to do with his family and had nowhere to go at Christmas, she had been quick to invite him to come back with her. She had only known him three months, but she already thought of him like a brother.

‘Can I help you with your bags?’ Sihtric asked as they began to walk down the street, houses decorated with bright lights on either side of them.

‘I’m fine, thanks,’ she smiled back, adjusting the rucksack on her back and continuing to struggle with her large suitcase, too stubborn to admit defeat. Sihtric rolled his eyes as he watched her, earning a sharp glare in his direction.

‘Thank you so much for this. I haven’t had a proper Christmas since my mother died. I’m excited!’

She looked over at him and could see the excitement and a kind of childish joy on his face. His mother had died when he had only been a kid, for the best part of half his life he had lived with only his abusive father and bully of a brother. She couldn’t help the pang of pity that stung her heart at the thought of him celebrating Christmas alone or being miserable for all those years, although she was careful not to let it show – if there was one thing Sihtric hated, it was other people’s pity.

‘It’s nothing! I’m so happy to have you! Although I warn you my family are… well, they can be a bit much.’

‘I’m sure they’re great – better than mine anyway,’ he smiled back, although there was a slight frown on his face as he thought about his father and brother.

‘Hey,’ she said gently, placing a hand on his arm, ‘don’t think about them. We’re going to have a great time!’

They reached her front door, a large wreath hanging on it. She barely knocked once before the door was pulled open and Aaliyah pulled her into a crushing hag, her oldest sister squeezing her so tight she could hardly breath.

‘Hey, careful,’ Lucinda warned, a laugh in her voice, ‘you’re going to break a rib!’

‘Lucinda!’ a young voice shouted, her nine-year-old sister, Ottine, running to meet her and hugging her waist. ‘Mum! Dad! Lucinda’s back!’

‘I can see that,’ her dad said in his deep warm voice. ‘Give them some room so they can actually get into the house, or are you going to make them stand on the doorstep all night?’

They moved down the hall, putting their bags at the bottom of the stairs and taking off their shoes. Ottine ran into the kitchen, presumably to see their mother, and Aaliyah ran up the stairs, shouting at the top of her lungs that Lucinda was back.

‘There’s no need to deafen us,’ her dad told Aaliyah with an affectionate roll of his eyes. ‘This strapping young lad must be Sihtric,’ he added, nodding towards Sihtric who stood awkwardly just behind Lucinda.

‘It’s nice to meet you,’ he said politely, taking the hand her dad offered him and shaking it. ‘Thank you so much for having me.’

‘Nonsense,’ her dad smiled, ‘any friend of Lucinda’s is welcome here.’

They went into the living room where two of her sisters, Luana and Caia, sat on one of the sofas.

‘Hey, sis, happy Christmas!’ Luana grinned. ‘Is this your boyfriend you’ve told us so much about?’

‘Friend,’ she corrected her. ‘Me and Sihtric are just friends.’

‘Could have fooled us,’ Caia said as she took a sip of her drink, ‘you never shut up about how great he is.’

‘Shut up!’ Lucinda hissed, hitting her sister’s leg, feeling her face begin to burn. She took a seat on the other sofa, Sihtric sitting beside her. ‘They’re exaggerating,’ she said quietly to Sihtric, feeling a little embarrassed.

‘It’s fine, don’t worry about it.’

She smiled gratefully at him.

The door to the kitchen opened and her younger sister, Raina, came in, giving her a huge smile before taking a seat beside Caia. ‘Hey Lucinda, how’s everything?’

‘Good, thanks, you?’

‘Not too bad,’ she replied with a shrug. ‘School is shit as usual.’

‘Language,’ their dad scolded as he came in, Ottine on his shoulders. ‘Do you want anything to drink, Sihtric?’

‘I’m fine thank you,’ he replied quietly.

‘Sure you don’t want a beer? I’ve got plenty,’ her dad added with a wink.

‘Leave him alone, he doesn’t want your stupid beer,’ their mother sighed as she came in, perching herself on the arm of the armchair their dad was now sitting in, Ottine curled up on his lap. ‘It’s lovely to have you, Sihtric. We’ve heard a lot about you.’

‘Why do people keep saying that?’ Lucinda asked in frustration.

‘Because it’s true!’ Luana laughed, earning her a smack in the arm from Lucinda. Sihtric just chuckled beside her.

Aaliyah and her other sister, Solvor, walked in a moment later. Lucinda’s face split into a grin, getting up and throwing her arms around Solvor’s shoulders. ‘I missed you too,’ she laughed as she returned her hug. Out of all her sisters, Solvor was the one she had always been closest to, her best friend as well as her sister.

Being surrounded by all her family after months of being apart brought a lump to Lucinda’s throat. Going to university had been the first time she had ever been parted from her sisters and to say she had been homesick would be an understatement. After a couple of weeks, being so far from her family had really hit her hard, making her miserable and stressed, however Sihtric had been wonderful and had hung out with her every day to take her mind off it. It was one of the reasons why she liked him so much and had consolidated their friendship. She desperately tried to stop herself from crying, knowing she would be teased relentlessly if she did.

Later that evening, after Ottine had gone to bed and her parents had disappeared to the pub with some of their friends, the sisters sat in the living room, a large amount of empty chocolate wrappers around them. Their favourite Christmas movie, The Holiday, was on in the background however no one was really paying attention to the rom com – they had all seen it a thousand times after all. Sihtric sat next to Lucinda, joining in the conversation and the sisters’ banter, soon fitting in and feeling like he had always been part of the family. They discussed uni, teased Caia about her knew boyfriend, Raul, and looked forward to Christmas, telling Sihtric about all their family traditions.

Sihtric excused himself to go to the bathroom, leaving Lucinda alone with just her sisters for the first time since she had come back from uni. All her sisters turned to look at her.

‘What?’ she asked, confused at what they were all looking at.

‘Are you really telling us that there isn’t anything going on between you?’ Aaliyah asked, a sceptical look on her face.

‘Seriously? Two people can just be friends ya’ know!’ she replied defensively.

‘Yeah, we know,’ Solvor answered with a roll of her eyes, ‘but if I was the one that had been living with that hottie for months, I would have gotten into his pants already – just saying!’

‘Please don’t call him a hottie,’ Lucinda groaned, cringing internally.

‘Why when it’s true?’ giggled Raina. ‘His eyes are so pretty!’

‘Okay that’s enough! He is way too old for you.’

‘You’re no fun!’ her younger sister pouted.

‘He is hot though,’ Luana put in.

‘Luana!’

‘What? I’m gay, not blind!’

‘He must work out,’ Aaliyah added, taking the half empty bottle of wine and refilling her and Caia’s glasses. ‘He. Is. So. Hot. All those muscles and that arse-‘

‘Can you please stop objectifying my best friend! He is not a piece of meat!’ Lucinda interrupted, a frown on her face. ‘Plus if he walks in and overhears any of this I think I might actually die from embarrassment!’

‘All the more reason to do it!’ Luana laughed. Lucinda promptly hit her around the head in response.

‘You’re all morons,’ Lucinda sighed, getting up and going into the kitchen, Solvor following her.

‘Hey, are you okay?’ Solvor asked her, concern on her face.

‘Yeah, why?’

‘Only I have never seen you blush that much in your life,’ she laughed, leaning against the counter with her arms folded.

‘Yeah, well I am related to idiots!’

‘Come on, we were only teasing and it’s not like it’s anything new. We did the same when you fancied that Ollie kid at high school.’

‘I did not fancy him,’ Lucinda pouted.

‘Oh sure, I believe you,’ Solvor said in a way that clearly said she did not. ‘Anyway, you are just as bad! Remember how you teased me incessantly for months because I went on one date?’

Lucinda turned to face her sister, her hands on her hips. ‘What’s your point?’

‘My point, is why are you getting all hot under the collar over our teasing all of a sudden? Because the only reason I can think of is that you actually do like him.’

‘Look, I can’t deny it, Sihtric is attractive – you’d have to be blind not to see that,’ Lucinda admitted. ‘And did I have a small crush on him when he first moved in? Yes. If he had asked me out in the first week of term, I would have said yes, but he didn’t. Instead, we became best friends, totally platonic best friends – not the ‘let’s become friends and see if it leads to something more’ kind of friends. And it’s not because I’m afraid to ‘ruin our friendship’ or anything, I just don’t like him like that. He’s become like a brother to me, and unless your second name is Lannister, you don’t tend to sleep with your siblings!’

‘Okay, I get the message,’ Solvor laughed softly, a fond look in her eyes. ‘But he is single right?’ she added, a mischievous smirk growing on her face. ‘Nothing stopping me trying to get him under the mistletoe?’

‘Solvor!’

‘I’m joking!’ she grinned. ‘But seriously, I’m happy you’ve found such a great friend, he seems like a really great guy.’

‘He is.’

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

The days passed quickly, Sihtric fitting right in and them all having a great time. Their time was spent Christmas shopping, watching Christmas movies and helping their parents with the Christmas preparations.

Christmas Day was wonderful as always, made even better this year by having Sihtric there too. They exchanged gifts and then ate until they thought they would burst, before curling up to watch a movie together. In the evening, the music was put on loud, the alcohol was opened (not for Ottine or Raina of course, although Raina pouted that it wasn’t fair as she’s fourteen). Everyone got up and danced, as was the family tradition. Lucinda’s grandfather had always been a big fan of dancing, always the first one on the dancefloor and the last one to leave, and had always insisted that their family got up and danced on Christmas Day.

One person not dancing was Sihtric. Lucinda found him in the kitchen. ‘Aren’t you going to dance?’ she asked, knocking her shoulder against his. ‘It’s kind of a family tradition.’

‘I’ll pass thanks. I can’t dance.’

‘Neither can half my family, but that doesn’t stop them!’ she laughed in reply.

‘I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself.’

‘I’m sure you wouldn’t,’ she said kindly, but he gave her a glare clearly not believing her. ‘We could dance in here? Where no one is watching,’ she suggested, as I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day by Wizard came on. ‘Please? I love this song.’

‘Fine,’ he sighed, ‘one dance.’

She held out her hand and he took it in his, leading them into the centre of the kitchen. Sihtric stood awkwardly, not seeming to know what to do. Lucinda encouraged him to dance, doing silly dance moves to show him not to take it too seriously. Soon they both were doing increasingly stupid dancing to make the other one laugh.

Their fun was interrupted by Luana screaming in laughter as she was chased through the kitchen by an angry looking Caia. ‘Give it back! I swear Luana I will kill you! Give me my phone!’

‘What? I only wanted to talk to Raul!’ Luana giggled as she hid behind Lucinda.

‘What did you write? Tell me what you wrote!’ Caia shouted, running after their sister as she fled from the room.

‘I’m sorry about my sisters, I did try and warn you that they’re an acquired taste,’ Lucinda laughed lightly.

‘I like them. I never had a big family like this,’ Sihtric replied with a genuine smile. ‘I’m just glad to be welcomed among them.’

‘Well, you certainly made an impression. I’d be careful if I were you, several of them are planning to try and trap you under some mistletoe later.’

‘I’ll take that as a compliment,’ he chuckled before looking at her more seriously. ‘I overheard you talking with Solvor the other night – I didn’t mean to but… You really had a crush on me?’

‘Yeah,’ she giggled nervously, ‘if that isn’t the most hilarious thing you’ve ever heard.’

‘I’m honoured. And for the record, I think you are very attractive too.’

‘Thanks… but in the very much platonic, sisterly way, right?’

‘Right,’ he agreed, his hand running through his hair awkwardly.

‘So we’re good?’

He smiled and wrapped an arm around her. ‘Yeah, we’re good.’

‘You’re my best friend,’ she said after a moment.

‘You’re more than my best friend. You’re the only family I’ve got.’

‘Well, I’m not going anywhere. You’ll always be welcome here – to be honest I think my mum wants to adopt you!’ she laughed looking up at him. She was surprised to see his eyes lined with unshed tears. ‘What is it?’

‘The song,’ he murmured, the sound of Last Christmas by Wham! drifted in from the living room. ‘It was my mum’s favourite Christmas song. She would have it on repeat, it used to drive me mad, but she was always so happy. She used to love to dance to it, and would always drag me to dance with her. Even towards the end, when she was ill, she still got up and danced. When she was in hospital, she asked them to play it for her even though it was July,’ he chuckled sadly.

‘She sounds like an amazing woman.’

‘She was.’

‘Come here,’ she said gently, pulling him into a tight hug, his face buried in the crook of her neck.

‘I miss her so much,’ he murmured into her neck, his tears wet against her skin.

‘I know, but she’d be so proud of you, you know that right? And she’s not really gone, not really. She still lives on through you.’

Sihtric pulled back, wiping his tears away. ‘She would have liked you.’

‘Who doesn’t? I’m very likeable,’ she teased, making him roll his eyes. ‘Come on, let’s go back and join the others. I’m determined to make this the best Christmas ever!’

‘It already is,’ he smiled back at her, taking her hand and going back to the others.

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

@morosemagick @lauwrite1225 @solinarimoon @trenko-heart @93xdiagonxalley @thebohemianpenguin @magravenwrites @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie

[glasyasbutch]

lesser used shared backstory prompts

siblings and childhood friends are fun but oh so common, old rivals makes for a tense party dynamic, and people who share one deep dark secret only works if you can trust each other to actually keep it. but shared backstories are still so much fun to do! 

not to worry, my friends and i spent the night brainstorming new shared backstory dynamics to mix up your d&d experience! (most of these are not meant to be taken seriously)

- we’re exes and we hate each other but we don’t yes we do no we don’t <3

- i was cursed by a witch to be an animal and you adopted me as a pet and the curse just got un-broken

- you once testified against me in court and told the jury a bunch of unnecessary and embarrassing details

- you pied me in the face during a festival 

- i saw you lying on the road covered in blood and asked what was up and you said ‘its not my blood. i like your hat.’ i did appreciate the support of my hat choice. 

- you fucked my mom

- you’re my kid’s ex (subcategories here: you’re my kids ex and you didn’t deserve them, you’re my kids ex and i actually thought you guys were really cute together, you’re my kids ex and they didn’t deserve you)

- you stared at my ass as i bent over a counter for an embarrassingly long time, especially given that i was in the act of robbing your place of business at the time

- you were dared to kiss me by your drunk friends and you tried to apologize for them but you were also very drunk and it quickly spiraled into an impromptu therapy session

- you’re on a quest to ‘vanquish the one who bears the mark’, and my son is named mark, so like, technically i Have borne a mark, and i’m getting worried because you’re taking this quest VERY seriously

- you were a performer/athlete/celebrity before adventuring and i had all your merch as a kid. you’re my hero and i short circuit whenever you say my name

- we were both on a tournament winning pub trivia team like five years ago

- you were my second grade teacher

- we’re part of the same very complicated polycule, but we’re not involved with each other, so we mostly recognize each other’s names from the dates/sex planning chat

- you officiated a wedding where i was left at the altar

- we used to be desk neighbors at the same horribly boring job and never learned your name and now the party only calls you by affectionate nicknames and i still don’t know it

- you used to work as a bartender in my family’s restaurant and were notorious for skimming tips

- we’re the twins from parent trap

- we both made deals with the same hag and she fucked up which one of us was which and now we’re living out each other’s wishes

- your old adventuring party fought me as a minor villain and i’m reformed now but i remember you being very adamant that you wanted to kill me and only backing down because the party out-voted you

- we were both part of the same dragon’s human hoard

- you live next door to my SO and got a misaddressed sexy letter from me, and you can ID me from the very detailed description of my body i wrote to them

- we were opposing candidates for mayor and ran very nasty smear campaigns. neither of us won.

- i write erotica under a pen name and you’re a huge fan and have recognized me from the turns of phrase i use in normal life

- you shot me while you were hunting in the woods and came to help me but pretended that you didn’t do it even though you were still holding the gun

- i stole this article of jewelry out of a lost and found bin because it looked cool but it turns out its one of your long lost family heirlooms

- you nude modeled in my art class and i don’t realize until i see your bare ass

and, two that have been playtested by my strahd party and are VERY funny:

- you hired me for a night of BDSM and then we showed up to the same adventuring job the next morning morning

- my sibling hired you for night time services and you’re both so bad at math that you had to come and ask me for help breaking the bill my sibling paid you with

[angel-squid-trash-ghost]

Parental Guidance Pt.6

            Hakoda had the children dressed and fed by the time his mother had woken up. She fretted and fussed that he needed to be resting so he can get back to his regular duties. But is seemed his cold had all but disappeared. And for the time, Hakoda was enjoying spending time with his family. It had been too long.

              Hakoda left to go get some burn ointment for Zuko’s burns. He found it strange how adamant they were of not going with him. Not even Sokka wanted to go. Smoke billowed from the small chimney of the healing hut. A noxious smell radiated from the entrance. Kehana always had reminded him of a ghost story Bato used to tell when they were lads. A tale of a winter witch that lived in the middle of nowhere. She never left her home until a blizzard came and would snatch and eat anyone who dared to venture out.

He entered the healing hut. Danak was inside holding a cloth around his thumb. It looked like he had cut it deep. The cloth was turning redder by the second. Danak tapped his foot impatiently. Kehana was hunched over her mortar and pestle grinding some green paste.

“Woman, I came for a bandage. By the time I get one I will have passed out from blood loss or the fumes of whatever poisons is in that brew of yours.” Danak sneered.

“You interrupted me. I will attend to your parchment cut in a moment.” Kehana mumbled.

Danak straightened his broad shoulders, “Parchment cut!? Woman, I am bleeding out here!”

“I do not think it is that bad.” Hakoda chuckled. “And Kehana with your usual Northern charm and impeccable bedside manner.” They both turned to face him.

“Good morning Chief Hakoda. Could you kindly tell this wicked woman that I am in need of aid? Seeing how she is the healer!” Danak finished shouting at Kehana.

Kehana ignored him throwing a dried plant in the pot. Hakoda shook his head. “So what happened to you?”

“I was trying to hold the baby and reached for my paring knife rather than the rattle.” Danak looked away embarrassed.

“How is the baby? No name yet. I bet Yise cannot choose just one.”

 Danak wrapped the cloth again as it was becoming too saturated. “Actually, she has her heart set on an Earth Kingdom name.”

“Well if she is insistent, then just agree you get to name the next one. That is what me and Kya did.” Hakoda tried to smile.

“So, an Earth Kingdom name would be alright?” Danak pondered.

“Of course not! Fire children and Earth kingdom names. Next you will suggest marriages between nations.” Kehana put another plant in the pot making the smell recede.

Hakoda narrowed his eyes. “Marriages between nations already exist in the North.”

“To immoral men who couldn’t resist the sight of opened legs and green eyes. Children born out of wedlock are a pitiful result of war.”

“Pitiful is your outlook of the world. Get this man a bandage before he starts dripping.” Hakoda bit.

Kehana rummaged through a basket of bandages of varying sizes. “Here!” She threw the roll at him, “Now get out and tell your dim wife that she should have proper supplies instead of listening to silly ideas from foreigners.”

“Old bitch.” Danak stomped towards the door, “Feel better, Chief.”

“Thank you, Danak. Well wishes to your daughter and Yise.” Hakoda waved off.

Kehana moved back to her mortar, “What do you need?”

“I need something for my cold.” Hakoda said.

“Then why are you here? Ask your mother to make you soup.”

“I also need burn ointment.”

“For whom?” Kehana paused her grinding.

He smiled in disbelief, “Does it matter? I asked for it.”

“I’m not wasting anymore of my good medicine on that ugly thing.”

Hakoda growled, “Watch your mouth. Stop your assuming and just give me what I ask for. ”

Kehana hissed. “Your affinity for him is concerning. You are Chief. You have an obligation to protect-”

“And your obligation is to provide medical help to my village! You left a man to bleed from a knife wound while you mind your concoctions.”

“Is it for him?” Kehana ticked her head. A wild look came to her pale blue eyes. “It is summer. Many firebenders bloom at this time. Best to stomp a spark out before it becomes a flame.”

Hakoda watched her face warp into something hideous. Monstrous. “The burn ointment please.”

Kehana took a step closer, “I suggest you take him out far and club him like a seal.”

Hakoda couldn’t believe his ears. He curled his lip, “You’re disgusting.”

“Then if you don’t have the… gumption, there are many plants here that will do the trick.”

“Give me the ointment. Now.”

“If he is a firebender, he cannot be here!” Kehana ran to his face.

“Kehana! Give me the ointment!” Hakoda would doubt if the next village over did not hear him.

Kehana glowered a few moments. She spun around rapidly almost hitting Hakoda with her hair. She snatched a corked jar and shoved it in his hands. “What happened to your beard?” She smiled showing her worn teeth.

Hakoda tilted his chin away from her, “There will be a village meeting tomorrow. You are not to attend. Am I understood?”

“Of course, Chief Hakoda.” The crazed smile became wider.

               He left without another word.

…

               It was a relief to be back inside. The village had given him odd looks on his way home. Someone was surely to come by later and ask what happened. In a small village things get dull. Gossip of a confrontation will be good entertainment for a few hours.

               Sokka was siting surprisingly still brow twitching as Katara and Zuko braided his hair. His mother was smiling softly holding a cup of tea. She was the first to see him. She had lost her smile. He called Zuko over. He looked very different from the distraught boy he held last night. He bounced over to Hakoda happy and affectionate.

“What are you two doing to Sokka?” Hakoda didn’t want the children to hear any of his previous tone.

Katara skipped over abandoning Sokka’s hair, “We’re making him pretty.” She sat next to Zuko.

“I’m already pretty.” Sokka rejected.

Zuko and Katara giggled. Zuko cocked his head, “Are you ok, Sir.”

“I am.” Hakoda said softly.

                 Zuko put his hands on Hakoda’s cheeks. Hakoda eyes drifted to his scar. Realizing this, he looked away. Zuko’s arms moved around his neck. The scar grazed his jaw. Zuko hugged him. Hakoda reciprocated. Katara joined with a kiss. And Sokka from behind. Kanna made her way over too. Her arms encircling them all. Hakoda breathed in deep. Their love radiating into him. He felt fulfilled. An image of cobalt blue eyes shining with delight, flashed in his mind.

When they broke apart Zuko was smiling, “Better?”

Hakoda nodded. “Yes. Thank you.” He took the jar from inside his pocket, “Let’s get this on just now. Shall we?”

               Hakoda unwrapped Zuko’s fingers. He could tell the boy was putting on a brave face as he revealed the raw and peeling burns. He uncorked the jar making everyone cover their noses. Did everything that hag made have to smell so terrible? Katara handed him a brush and he got to work on applying the ointment.

“Do they hurt?” Sokka asked over his shoulder.

“Not bad.” Zuko winced, “My face hurt more.”

Katara watched as if she were supervising his work. Zuko saw this and put a finger on her forehead. He said something in Fire’s Tongue, and she responded. Zuko said something else mentioning Kehana’s name.

“Was Kehana ever mean to you?” He watched their faces drop.

“Kehana is not nice.” Zuko said simply.

“She’s more than not nice. She’s horrible. She has witch’s fingers and rats in her hair! She’s ugly and I hate her.” Katara raved.

“She said bad things about Katara’s and Sokka’s mommy.” Hakoda barely heard Zuko say.

He distracted himself with his task, “Do not worry about her children. You do not have to go to her if you do not want to.” He set his jaw so he would not scowl.

“When I’m a master waterbender I can just make a snowstorm and whoosh her away!” Katara declared.

“Yeah. And I can throw my boomerang!” Sokka held up his fist.

“She will get a smack upside the head from me if she keeps messing with my grandbabies!” Kanna added.

The children laughed. Hakoda shook his head chuckling. Kehana should run for the hills.

“Well to be a master waterbender you need a teacher.” He said to his daughter.

“Yeah but there’s no one here to teach me.” Katara shrugged.

“Which is why I am going to send for one. The only waterbenders are in the North. It is our only option.”

“Zuko will need a teacher too.” Katara looked at Zuko.

“No. I don’t want to firebend.” Zuko added quickly.

“Why is that?” Hakoda asked.

Zuko looked at him like he had three heads. “Firebending is bad.”

Hakoda put down the brush. He held Zuko by the wrists as he had done the night before, “Zuko. We have suffered much. All of us.” He looked around sadly. “By men who can control fire. They use their fire to burn towns and hurt people. What do you see there?” Hakoda pointed to the hearth.

Zuko paused, “I see fire.”

“Exactly. It keeps us warm, and cooks are food, and gives us light. We need fire to survive.” He released the small wrists, “You want to do good right?”  

“Yes!” Zuko said desperately.

“Then that is what makes you good. Do not loose apart of yourself to please others.” Hakoda put his hand on his silky hair, “Never forget who you are.”

“Well said my son!” Kanna smacked her knee and held her chin high.

“You should be proud to be a bender.” Katara put her forehead to his, “We can learn together.”

“But you still have to do weapons training!” Sokka tackled Zuko.

“I will announce a village meeting tomorrow. I want the whole village to meet you formally. And I will make the announcement that you will live with us-”

“Yay!” Katara flung herself to her best friend. “I’m so happy!”

“Me too!” Zuko hugged her.

Hakoda shook with laughter, “And then we will make you an honorary citizen of the Southern Water Tribe.”

“What’s that mean?” Zuko sat up.

Sokka gave him a firm pat on the back, “That means you’ll be one of us and no one can say otherwise! You’ll be a warrior!”

“And a bender.” Katara cheered.

Hakoda nodded, “And Water Tribe.”

“And my newest grandson! Oh! Come here!” Kanna scooped him up and gave Zuko the tightest hug he had ever received.

…

               The next evening, the entire village had gathered to the communal hut. Hakoda wore a ceremonial Artic fox shawl and a band of seashells. He carried his Whale bone spear unwrapped showing its sharp point. Kanna wore her favorite Snow Leopard Caribou stole albeit the season. She didn’t get to wear it often and would never miss a chance to dress up. She looked dignified on her favorite stool in her faint blue gown and silver jewelry. Both Katara and Sokka were dressed in darker blue summer outfits with a variety of beads strewn in their hair. And Zuko in an ashen grey. Gran-Gran had given him a braid wrapped in cord. A Water tribe symbol of humility and innocence.

               Family groups made a circle around the hut so everyone could be seen and heard. Hakoda sat at the point with his mother to his right and the children to his left. Once everyone was settled, dried meat was passed around. It was believed a full stomach would make for a better temperament.

“Good evening.” Hakoda began.

“Good evening.” Everyone responded in their own time.

“Some of you may wonder why we are gathered here today and other’s probably have already guessed.” He looked around the room, “Firstly, I would like to address that my daughter, Katara, is a waterbender!”

Many cheered and gave their congratulations. Katara gladly accepted the praise. She slipped her hand into Zuko’s

“Wonderful news!”

“We finally have a bender!”

“How will she be trained?” Vakita, Moak’s wife asked. Moak raised a brow.

“I will have to send for a teacher. I have written a letter to Chief Arnook. I will send this letter in the morning.” Hakoda said absolutely.

“Another Northerner?” This time it was it was Kursru to speak.

“I understand your concern. But we have no choice in this matter.”

“It will be good to have a bender. Send for as many Northerners as you need. We need little Katara to learn as much as possible.” Bato said. No one was more loyal and understanding than Bato.

“Thank you, Mr. Bato.” Katara held a regal pose, “I have accepted my duty as sole waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. I will train hard and endlessly until I am confident that I will be able to protect my people. I look forward to learning and mastering my element.” Katara recited the speech her grandmother helped her write.

“Does anyone else have any questions for me or Katara about this subject?” Hakoda asked.

“Yeah, can you not freeze us in an ice block again?” Noaluk groaned. Moak swiftly smacked the boy in the back of the head.

“That depends.” Katara said haughtily.

“That is enough. Any more questions? No? Ok. The matter is settled.” Hakoda pounded the spear to the ground. “Our next subject is probably something you all have been very eager to speak to me about.” He looked around the room again. Everyone stayed silent waiting for their turn to say aloud what they have been keeping to themselves. “We have had a guest here for quite some time. Almost seven months now. I understand that opinions about our guest have been divided. Some hateful even. I would like to introduce our guest.” Hakoda held out his hand.

               Zuko looked around at the faces of all the village. Big and small were all staring directly at him. He felt stuck but shifted slightly. He watched their eyes move with him. He felt like a mouse trying to creep around a Mink Snake. No matter which way he moved, he would probably end up bit.

Zuko curled inwards. “Don’t worry. I’m right here.” Katara whispered in his ear.

He moved to Sir and sat in his lap with a finger to his mouth and his eyes down. “Ah-ah. Sit up straight and face everyone.” Sir said pleasantly moving his hand away. “Speak clearly now.”

“Hello. My name is Zuko.” Zuko felt his heart would burst from his chest.

There were oohs and ahs from the circle.

“Why does he talk funny?” Someone asked. Zuko didn’t see who but it sounded like an older boy.

Sir gave him a pat on the shoulder. “I like to sew and play outside.”

“And hit people with sticks.” Zuko could guess who said that.

“I came on a boat from the Fire Nation-”

“We know this. When is he going back?” It was an adult’s voice.

Zuko didn’t think his heart could beat faster, “I look forward to being a productive…” Zuko couldn’t remember what he was supposed to say as the room got louder with murmurs and whispers. Zuko went to stand to run away.

Sir held him in place, “We do not run when things get tough.” He said into his ear, “We stand strong and face our obstacles. If one way does not work, then we choose another.”

Zuko took a deep breath. He looked to Katara. She nodded. “I’m here.” She said in Fire’s Tongue. Zuko barely heard it amongst the growing noise.

He stood from Sir’s lap. “My name is Zuko!” The village went quiet. “I like to sew with Gran-Gran and play outside with Katara and Sokka. Katara teaches me Water Language and Sokka teaches me how to use weapons. They are my friends. Gran-Gran and Sir teach me lessons and how to be good. I want to be good. I want to be Water Tribe!”

“He can’t be Water Tribe!”

“Is he crazy?”

“Did you hear that? He wants to be one of us.”

“I think that’s a good thing!” Yise shouted. Everyone turned to Yise who was cradling her baby. Danak tried to hold her still, but she snatched herself away, “Why would we send the boy back just to grow up and be another Fire Nation soldier? If he wants to be Water Tribe, let him.”

“You foolish woman! You have always not been all there in the head!” The widower Lohara cried.

“Do not speak to her like that!” Danak shouted, “Go ahead sweetie. Finish what you were saying.” He grimaced suddenly having a change of heart.

“All I mean is that he is a little boy! He is not a danger to us!”

“He is Fire Nation!” Kursru complained.

“He is dangerous. He hit my son with a stick.” Vakita pulled her son’s closer to her.

“Because they attacked me and Sokka! Zuko was being a good friend! Noaluk and Yoton were being bullies!” Katara cut in. Zuko looked at her in awe.

“What if he turns out to be a firebender?!”

“Then he will be a danger to us all!”

“I am a firebender!” Zuko yelled.

               Zuko with all his fury unintentionally summoned sparks to his hands. They did not spit like before but crackled like kindling when he clenched his fists. If Katara could be brave, then so could he. Several men stood. Zuko held his ground. Katara rushed to his side. Hakoda pounded his spear and demanded they sit. But when Kanna stood the men froze.

“Shame! All of you! Shame!” Kanna glared at every last man who stood.

“You say shame, but the Fire Nation killed my husband and left my children without a father!”

“And my brother and his son.”

“And my wife!” Hakoda bellowed. “We have all lost to the Fire Nation!”

Kanna took Zuko and Katara to sit back down with her. She kept them both firmly to her chest. “All of us. Even him.”

“More of reason he should stay. Look at what they did to him.” Yise pointed to Zuko’s scar. The baby started to wail.

Sokka rose. He couldn’t hold back anymore, “You think letting Zuko live here is the same as forgiving the Fire Nation! It’s not. I will never forgive the man who killed my mother! We’re sitting here arguing when there is no argument. Zuko doesn’t remember anything before the ship. How can he be loyal to people he doesn’t remember? But Zuko is loyal to us. He made a promise to my sister that they would be friends forever. And he really means forever. And I know he will keep that promise because Zuko is the most honest person I know! Yeah I’m looking at you Jiliruq!” Sokka pointed dramatically.

“I didn’t take your sharpening stone!” The older boy groaned.

Sokka shook his fist. “I know it was you! You were the only one near my stuff-”

“Sokka.” Hakoda warned.

Sokka exhaled, “Alright. When it all comes down to it, Zuko is going to stay with us. He is not gonna run around melting igloos, or eat babies, or steal people’s stuff. Katara froze the porridge this morning. Should we send her away too? Zuko’s a boy like me. Who’s lost just as much as we have and wants to be one of us. If an Earth Kingdom ditch digger washed up, we’d hand him a blue parka and a spear, right?” Some in the circle laughed, “Then we’ll do the same for Zuko. I mean he’s a human heater spit out by the ocean!” There was more laughter, “If La wants him here then I want him here too.”

                The crowd spoke quietly on their take of his point. Zuko eyes traced the faces of the families around the room. He saw Yoton quietly speaking to his parents and Ms. Yise to her husband. The air in the room had gotten lighter. Zuko felt like he could finally take an entire inhale. Katara seemed to relax too. Her grip on his hand had loosened some and her face wasn’t wound as tight.

“But Chief Hakoda.” Bato spoke, “This arrangement is very unusual.”

“Yes. I think it will be a good change of pace.”

Bato nodded at the nonchalant answer. He knew Hakoda had already made up his mind.

“Does anyone have anything else to say?” Hakoda surveyed the circle.

Everyone had digressed to reserved utterings.

Bato let out a dry laugh, “I suppose he is to stay then.”

“Then the matter is settled.” Hakoda pound the spear again.

Kanna kissed both of their heads. “Did you two hear that? No more worries ok.”

               Zuko let that sink in. No more worries. Katara beamed brightly. Sokka was smiling too. He came over to pat him on the back. Sir motioned for him to come over again. Zuko reluctantly untethered his finger’s from Katara’s and crawled to Sir. He directed Zuko in front of him and look out a beautiful porcelain jar. It was inlayed with mother of pearl in the shape of a Snow Eagle. Inside was a thick paint made of ash and squid ink. Sir dipped two fingers in and smeared two lines from Zuko’s hairline to his brow. He dipped one more time wiping his fingers across his forehead.

“This boy is now my ward!” Sir announced strong and proud. He turned Zuko around, “He is now known as Tulujok, child of the ocean!”

               Tulujok. Water language for Crow-Owl. Katara joined him again. She snuggled into his cheeks.

“You are happy.” Zuko giggled.

Katara squeezed around him. “Aren’t you?”

Her smile made him want to leap for the moon. “I am always happy when you are happy.”

                 Life had only improved for Zuko after that. Although he had to split his time between Sokka and Katara. In the morning he would go to weapons training with Sokka and sometimes Sir would join them. After a while, the sight in his left had diminished to nothing. He was constantly swiveling his head further earning his name of Tulujok. He had to work twice as hard with half his sight. Eventually ,with weeks of relentless practice ,his spear had flown straighter and his arrows piercing their practice target. Never dead on. But knife play was always his calling. With the help of Sokka and Sir he was quickly becoming a skilled knife wielder.

                 His afternoons were shared with Katara and Gran-Gran in the igloo. His knife experience was put to the test when he skinned his first Seal. Gran-Gran had guided him through the rite earning him respect from the other home keepers. After chores, Zuko would help Katara and Gran-Gran with dinner. There was nothing like sharing stew with family after a full day of learning.

                 As for Katara’s and Zuko’s bending, neither had made much progress. Their lack of direction made for lack of control over their elements. There were  accidents here and there. Zuko sneezing a flame or Katara hiccupping tea frozen were common mishaps around the igloo. And when Zuko and Katara had their first fight, Hakoda physically had to hold the children down before the igloo had caved in on them all. It had all started over something as trivial as a shared spinning top. Each of their screams either engorging the hearth or making cracks in the ceiling. It didn’t take them more than an hour for the best friends to make up. Each promising they’d never fight again.

                   Winter had come again. The ocean had frozen for miles out creating an icy labyrinth. There wouldn’t be another visitor for at least three more months. Zuko didn’t like the winter. He hadn’t before, but with the sun not giving him it’s light, something in him had weakened. Katara had seemed the opposite. She thrived under the silvery moon beams.

                   Snow steadily fell outside. Zuko was curled up by the fire. He had found a shiny black stone at archery practice. It was so beautiful. He knew Katara would love to see it. He traced over the smooth stone reflecting the fire’s light in its surface. The moment the furs moved Zuko was upright. Katara skipped happily to him.

“Zuko! Guess what? Ms. Vakita is going to have a baby!” Katara said excitedly.

“That is great news!” Zuko threw up his hands. The stone glinted.

“What is that?” Katara tried to grab his hand.

Zuko easily evaded her. He grinned, “It’s a surprise. Close your eyes.”

“Why? What is it?” Katara rolled to her knees.

“Close your eyes.” Zuko insisted in Fire’s Tongue.

Katara closed and covered her eyes, “Ok. I promise I’m not peeking.”

Zuko took her hand and placed the dark stone in the middle of her palm. Katara looked down to see the shining crystal. She gasped.

“Zuko! It’s so pretty! Where did you find it?” She too examined it in the light.

“At the archery range. Do you like it?” he was on his hands and knees quaking to hear her answer.

“It’s for me?!” Katara’s eyes glittered.

“Of course!” Zuko sat on his heels.

               Katara was just about to hug Zuko when a commotion came from outside. Men were yelling in alarm. Zuko pulled Katara up and ran to Gran-Gran. Gran-Gran was on alert listening for any news. Katara’s started to think dark thoughts. Another raid. After all the time of peace. Another raid. More murder. This time they would come for her. And take her away like all the other waterbenders. She looked at Zuko. They would take him too. They would make him a soldier and make him kill. Katara started to cry. Zuko clutched her face. The look in his eye was striking.

“Don’t worry. I will protect us.” Zuko showed Katara his knife.

“A ship! A ship!”

“Zuko get your parka on now! Katara grab a blanket. We’re going to the communal hut.” Gran-Gran gathered what appeared to be an emergency bag. “Hurry both of you!”

               Katara and Zuko did as they were told then helping their Gran-Gran pack water and dried food. She pushed the children out of the igloo with Zuko faithfully in front holding his knife ready to strike. Katara knew she might have to run. Scenario after dreadful scenario played in her mind. Flashes of her mother’s face kept appearing. The begging, the shrieking, the smell.

              There was a terrible cracking sound coming from the ice as it broke. The ship was getting closer. Other families were running to the communal hut. Katara could see Sokka running towards them with a real spear and not his wooden practice one. Sokka took the bag from Gran-Gran and went in front of Zuko. The cold stung her face nearly freezing her tears. Zuko locked his arm in hers. He was walking fast but not too fast in front of Gran- Gran. He turned his head back and forth trying to catch any and all movement. Katara steeled herself and did the same. She saw her father shouting orders. If the Fire nation were going to come back, she would be ready this time. She no longer had a mommy to cling to. But she had Sokka and Gran-Gran and Zuko. She wasn’t going to let anything happen to anyone she loved ever again.

“They’re Water Tribe!”

“They’re Northerners!”

               Katara fell to her knees in relief.

[misc-headcanons]

Could you do a scenario where Bakugou's girlfriend meets his parents for the first time?

(So I’ve never written Bakugo before and getting his character down was a fun challenge. Hopefully this isn’t too OOC!)

“So…you’re seriously okay with this?” ____ asked incredulously. “Me meeting your parents?”

Bakugo scowled and shifted in his seat on the common room’s couch. “That’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re going steady and shit, right? You’re gonna see ‘em at some point anyway,” he grumbled. He absentmindedly tugged on the hem of his shirt. “Besides, my mom won’t shut up about wanting to meet you.”

____ smirked and reached over to pinch her boyfriend’s cheek; by Bakugo standards, he was actually being sort of…sweet. She knew he couldn’t just come out and say that they were officially an item, but the casual way he just mentioned that they were going steady was the next best thing. And of course, he just had to bury that tenderness underneath a few dismissive and coarse comments. “Aww,” ____ cooed playfully, “Your mommy wants to meet your new widdle girlfriend?”

Bakugo squirmed away from her and rubbed the fresh pink spot on his cheek. “Fuck, you’re worse than my grandma,” he whined, trying to massage his sore face. He crossed his arms and looked at her. “Look, it’s just gonna be dinner. You don’t have to dress up or anything, whatever you wear’ll be fine. If they say anything about it, I’ll just tell ‘em to fuck off. And don’t think you need to impress them, either. Just be…” He shrugged and shifted his weight. “Just be you. They’ll like you. I mean, I like you, and I hate everyone.” His gaze drifted down, and he wasn’t sure where he really should look. He wasn’t used to telling people he liked them, mainly because he didn’t really like…anyone, really. But ____ wasn’t some random loser, she was…well, ____! She didn’t get pissed whenever he said something without thinking how it’d come out, and he actually tried to consider her feelings sometimes (which was a very foreign concept). 

Bakugo’s cheeks weren’t the only ones that were pink now. After a few months of dating, ____ was fluent in “Bakugo-ese” and she could see right through his typical blustery outbursts to what he was really trying to say. Being tender and vulnerable wasn’t really his thing, but he really was trying to give her a decent compliment. She kissed his cheek where she’d pinched it. “Thanks, Bakugo,” she said with a warm smile. “Just let me know when I should head over to your house tomorrow and text me the address.”

Bakugo scoffed. “No way! I’m taking you there myself,” he protested. “You’re fuckin’ terrible with directions. We’ll just leave here together.”

“Oh, c’mon,” ____ sighed, “Your parents are only a few blocks away!”

“Yeah,” Bakugo said with a smirk, “And you’ll find a way to get lost on the way there. We could be next-door neighbors and you’d still have no idea where to go.”

____ laughed and gently punched her boyfriend’s shoulder. “Fine, asshole,” she replied with a sheepish smile. Okay, so maybe she did have no sense of direction; even though she’d been at UA for months, she still had trouble finding her way to classes every day. She headed up the stairs to her dorm room and gave Bakugo a small wave. “See you tomorrow then.” She paused and cocked her head, and Bakugo raised an eyebrow.

“What’s the problem?”

____ flashed him a cheeky grin. “Could you help me find my way to my room? I don’t wanna get lost…”

“IT’S THE FIRST ROOM ON THE TOP FLOOR! How the fuck did you even get into this school!?

____ snorted. “I was joking, you dick.”

“Could’ve fooled me!”

The next day, Bakugo was spending the entire morning pacing in his room. He’d meant to go upstairs and get ____ twenty minutes ago, but there was something keeping him from just getting up and leaving his room. He pulled on the sleeves of his t-shirt and grabbed the doorknob to leave. Why the fuck am I so nervous? She’s just meeting Mom and Dad, and it’s not like I care if they like her or not; if Mom doesn’t like her after all that nagging at me to meet her, it’s her own damn fault! 

He felt his phone buzz and he took it out of his pocket. He was expecting it to be ____, wondering what was taking him so long, but it was actually from his mother.

Old Hag: You two on your way, or are you two lovebirds still making out? :3

Bakugo: WE’RE NOT MAKING OUT, YOU FREAK

WHAT KIND OF GROWN ASS WOMAN USES EMOJIS

Old Hag: Calm down, it was just a joke. You know girls don’t think popped blood vessels and yelling all the time are attractive right :P

Bakugo: I’M NOT DOING IT TO BE ATTRACTIVE I’M DOING IT BECAUSE YOU’RE CONSTANTLY PISSING ME OFF

BE THERE IN HALF AN HOUR

Old Hag: See you soon :3

Bakugo: STOP DOING THAT

Old Hag: Doing what? :3c

:3c

:3c

Bakugo growled and shoved his phone in his pocket, and he quickly slipped on a pair of old sneakers before throwing his door open. When he saw ____ standing outside his room, he blinked. “Oh, you’re here.” He looked her up and down, eyeing her outfit. Despite telling her not to worry about impressing anyone, she was clearly dolled up a bit compared to her usual torn jeans and ratty t-shirt: She was wearing a fresh-out-of-the-laundry tank top and one of Bakugo’s jackets that he’d left in her room a few days earlier, and her hair was done up in a naturally-tousled, “I totally didn’t spend half an hour getting it to look like I woke up like this” look. She smelled faintly of one of her perfumes, the one that Bakugo liked (because it smelled like candy) but also hated (because it made him crave candy). 

____ gave Bakugo a small smile. “You ready to go?”

Bakugo took her by the arm and marched out of the dorms with her. “Tch, I was ready ten minutes ago,” he replied tersely. “C’mon, let’s head to the train station.”

The walk to the station was fairly uneventful, and soon the two of them were on the train. Bakugo slung an arm around ____’s shoulder, and ____ leaned against him; a few older ladies cooed at the two young lovebirds, and Bakugo promptly gave them a death glare to get them to leave him alone. They awkwardly shuffled away, and ____ chuckled. Bakugo felt his cheeks warm up at the sound of her laugh, and he tried to rub his cheek to get rid of the warm sensation.

When they arrived at their stop, Bakugo took ____ by the arm and briskly walked with her. ____ raised an eyebrow at all of the physical contact; Bakugo usually hated being affectionate with her in public. “Not that I’m complaining,” she started, “But what’s with you taking me by the arm and holding me on the train?” She smirked. “You’re not going soft on me, are you?”

Bakugo squeezed her arm tighter and walked at a faster pace. “Fuck no,” he replied brusquely. “I’m just makin’ sure you keep up with me and don’t get lost. I’m already hungry and it’d be a pain in the ass if you wandered off and I had to look for you.”

____ rolled her eyes. “Yeah right,” she replied sarcastically, “If I got lost, you’d just leave me behind and have dinner anyway.” She scrunched up her face and tried to imitate Bakugo’s “pissed off at everything” expression. “ ‘Just eat the scraps you find on the street, stupid! It’s your fault for getting lost, nyehhh!’ ”

Bakugo looked back at her with an annoyed and confused look on his face. “….I’ve never said… ‘Nyehhh…’” The corners of his lips twitched into a smirk. “What the fuck, that’s the worst impression of me I’ve ever heard!”

____ stuck out her tongue. “ ‘Nyehh, that’s the worst impression of me I’ve ever heard!’ “ 

Bakugo tried to hide the smile that was forming by walking slightly ahead of her. “You’re so fucking weird,” he remarked, slightly squeezing her hand. ____ gently squeezed his hand back, and they continued walking to his parents’ house.

When they made it to his front door, they stood outside for a moment. “So,” ____ said, “Do we knock, or do you want to send a text that you’re here, or—”

Bakugo promptly kicked the door open. “Oi, we’re here,” he yelled out. “Is the food ready? I’m starving!”

____ stared at the door, then at Bakugo, and then shrugged before following him inside. “Or you could do that,” she muttered. “Honestly, I shouldn’t be surprised.”

An older man with dark brown hair and glasses poked his head out from the kitchen. “Oh, Katsuki! There you are,” he greeted. He noticed the person standing behind his son and smiled. “And you must be ____!” He stepped out, revealing that he was wearing a blue polo shirt, tan work pants, and an old apron. “I’m Katsuki’s father, Masaru,” he said, shaking her hand. “It’s so nice to finally meet you!”

____ returned his handshake. “Thanks, Mr. Bakugo,” she replied kindly. “It’s nice to–”

“SHE’S HEEEERE~!” 

____ turned her head at the sudden new voice and saw a young-looking woman with blonde hair run up to her and wrap her in a bear hug. Bakugo groaned and tried to yank the woman off of his girlfriend. “Mom, you’re gonna fucking kill her! Let go, ya old hag!”

Bakugo’s mother released ____ from her arms and playfully punched her son’s shoulder. “Relax, ya little brat,” she replied, “I’m just so happy ya finally brought a girl home!” She crossed her arms and smirked. “Not sure what the hell she could see in a bratty little hothead like you, though.”

Bakugo glared at her, and ____ looked up at his mother now that she wasn’t buried in her arms. She looked a lot like her son, with spiky blonde hair and crimson eyes. She was dressed more casually than her husband, with some well-worn jeans and a white tank top with a lilac-colored jacket over it. “It’s, uh, nice to meet you, Mrs. Bakugo,” ____ replied, rubbing her sore arms. “You’ve got a really strong grip.”

Bakugo’s mother laughed. “No need to be so formal, hon,” she replied with a sweet smile. “Call me Mitsuki!” She ruffled ____’s hair and grinned. “Man, I can’t believe I finally get to see ya,” she marveled. “I always hoped Katsuki would finally start dating and acting like a normal teenager instead of just blowing shit up and harassing all his classmates.” 

Bakugo glared at his mother. “I CAN DATE ____ AND BLOW SHIT UP,” he replied angrily, “THEY AREN’T MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE, OLD HA–”

Mitsuki lightly swatted the back of her son’s head. “Oi, don’t be so loud,” she yelled. “You’re gonna ruin ____’s hearing, yellin’ like that all the time!” The two of them glared at each other, and Masaru gently put a hand on ____’s shoulder.

“I know she’s joking,” he said offhandedly, “But she may be right about that. A few years after we got married, I started to develop tinnitus…” 

____ smirked. “I’ll be sure to invest in some earplugs then,” she replied. The two of them watched Katsuki and Mitsuki yell at each other for a while. “So, do you usually step in or let them wear each other out?” she asked.

“I’ve got it,” he replied with a reassuring pat on her shoulder. He cupped his hand around his mouth. “Dinner’s ready!”

Instantly, Bakugo and Mitsuki stopped fighting and bounded into the kitchen, bumping each other’s shoulders as they went inside. “Why didn’t ya say so, honey?” Mitsuki stopped to kiss her husband’s cheek and when he smiled at the sudden kiss, ____ noticed that he and Bakugo both had the same little dimple on their mouth. Mitsuki eagerly rubbed her hands together and grabbed a few bowls. “C’mon, let’s eat before it gets cold!”

As the four of them ate a delicious homecooked meal (beef curry with vegetables and egg over rice), ____ quickly warmed up to Bakugo’s family and got to know them better. Mitsuki and Masaru eagerly showed her old family photos of Bakugo, despite his frequent protests. She also talked about how she and Bakugo had met and started dating, and both Mitsuki and Masaru gushed about how sweet the two of them looked together. ____ and Masaru also bonded a bit, since Mitsuki and Bakugo would frequently get into arguments and leave their significant others to their own conversation. 

During one of these arguments, Masaru cleared up the dishes and gently laid a hand on ____’s shoulder. “I’m really happy we finally got to meet you,” he said with a kind smile. “I know Katsuki can be…” He glanced at his son, who was red-faced and in the middle of calling Mitsuki a nosey old hag. “Well, he can be prickly and abrasive sometimes, even to people he cares about. I’m just glad he found someone who can see through that side of him.”

____ smiled. “I know what you mean, Mr. Bakugo,” she replied. “I mean, yeah, he’s kind of an assh– er,” she cleared her throat. “A jerk sometimes. Or, well, most of the time. But he makes me happy, and I think I make him happy. He’s actually sweet sometimes, and I feel like he’s less abrasive and stuff now compared to when he was just by himself.”

Masaru nodded. “I agree,” he said. He glanced back at his wife and son with a nostalgic smile. “Usually they’d get into arguments and just go at it for almost an hour, even when I tried to rein him in and get him to focus on something else. But with you here, he actually listens to you and he’ll stop fighting to talk to you. I can’t remember the last time he’s listened to anyone.” He and ____ shared a laugh, and he rose up to wash their dishes in the kitchen sink. Mitsuki noticed what her husband was doing and grabbed her and Katsuki’s bowls before getting up to take them to the sink as well. 

Once the two of them were alone, ____ called over to her boyfriend.

“Hey, Bakugo.”

Bakugo immediately turned his head and forgot what he was about to yell in his mother’s face. “Yeah?”

____ reached over and gently pecked his cheek. “I really like your family,” she replied with a smile. “Thanks for finally letting me come over.”

Bakugo raised his eyebrows. “You do?” he asked incredulously. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well…good. They like you too, I think. But even if they didn’t, I’m not gonna stop dating you or anything if they tell me they don’t like you.”

____ rested her head on Bakugo’s shoulder and placed her hand on his underneath the table, and they cuddled for a bit. Mitsuki poked her head out to check on the two of them and quickly pulled her husband by the shirt collar so he could see what he was seeing. “Masaru, look,” she whispered. “He’s being sweet! Aaaah, I think they’re holding hands!”

Masaru looked at the two of them in disbelief, and his face slowly broke into a smile. “It’s about time,” he murmured quietly. “I really think they’ll be great for each other, don’t you, honey?” 

Mitsuki covertly whipped out her cell phone and snapped a few pictures of her son being affectionate with his girlfriend and slipped her phone back in her pocket. “I think you’re right,” she said with a smile. The two of them watched in silence for a little while longer, until a loud voice signaled that they’d been caught.

“WHAT THE FUCK’RE YOU STARING AT!?”

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

Born Into the Wilds - Chapter 14

I did it! My brain is mush now, but I managed to finish it. XD My patience is zero.

Here’s the Link to AO3.

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In which invitations are issued, future plans for the war are made and a wild Gladio appears.

Featuring: family drama, Galahdian Clan politics, crafty old men, a bitter old woman, a training exercise, Iris being a precious bean, Gladio being Gladio, Nyx and Libertus being idiot dorks, Tredd the flame brain and many more

Warnings: mention of not-quite incest (the relation is 3rd cousins, so quite close)

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Hadnissa glossary:

oirkar = chief, clan head; lit.: leading person; a title makti-oir = war chief, commander-in-chief, warlord; lit.: leading/first hunter limeschti = traditional welcoming tea mahir = mother; woman who birthed me; affectionate form gisdrauht = Storyteller ahtri = spirit; umbrella term for everything from actual nature spirits to the presence of their ancestors wognesfahli = insult; lit.: cloud head; describes a thoughtless and/or reckless person

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Organizing a Gathering of the Clan Heads on top of everything else was a logistical nightmare. They were all a very prideful bunch, which meant that over the next few days, while Insomnia slowly imploded with speculations, Nyx visited every single oirkar in person to announce the Gathering. It wouldn't have been half as bad, if he hadn't had to suffer through half an hour of drinking tea with every single one. Even Murus Ostium, Libertus' uncle.

It got especially awkward when he had to go to Clarice Utris. The old woman was oirkar of her Clan and also a relatively close cousin to his mother and held a strong dislike for everything with the name Ulric. It was so bad she had nearly cut all Clan support Alyxa Utris was due, when she had married Ilias Ulric against the wishes of her Clan Head.

“To what do I owe you the pleasure of your visit, makti-oir?” Clarice Utris asked with a caustic voice.

She had been old when they had still been on Galahd, and now she was even older. Her wispy snow-white hair was done in her Clan's braids – two thick braids that started at the temples and held the rest in a bun at the back of her head; men tended to pull it into a tail – and her gaze was as sharp as ever. Nyx felt like a child again that tried not to cower in front of this intimidating woman with her tall stature, wide shoulders and muscular arms.

“Thank you for granting me entrance to your lands,” Nyx intoned, despite the fact that none of them currently had any lands to grant entrance to, and held out his left hand.

He knew Clarice Utris was left handed and hated it, when people greeted her with their right hand. It was ridiculous, but right now he needed to be on her good side. Well, as good as he was ever going to get. She eyed it like a gryffin would its prey, before she grabbed his wrist in a greeting of equals.

Her grip was strong and firm despite her old age. Normally a oirkar would have declared a successor by the time they hit 70 at the latest, but the Utris Clan was one of the few exceptions. Age didn't count so much as the ability to swing a hammer in the forge did. As long as Clarice Utris could do that she would remain oirkar, even at the age of 87.

“No harm shall come to you, makti-oir, while on the land of the Utris Clan. Be welcome and take rest at our hearth,” Clarice Utris said with no inflection whatsoever in her voice.

Nyx nodded and followed her inside the apartment. It was small and utilitarian, with the largest room barely fitting a small couch, an armchair, a coffee table and a huge shelf. The highlight was the actual fireplace, which was most likely why the old woman had chosen this place to live. One of the only frivolities – if one wanted to call it such – was the wooden fire bird statue by the entrance.

It must have once been a large town house, made out of brick with large windows and an unusually sweeping roof. Located at the upper edge of Little Galahd, it was close to the stairs that led up to the main highway of the city. Nowadays five apartments were crammed inside.

Clarice Utris offered him the armchair to sit and wait, and vanished into the kitchen to make some tea. Nyx sat down and plugged at the clothes he wore. Tunic and trousers were a hunter's grey at the base and melted into intricate patterns of different shades of browns and greens with splashes of other colours in between. Athina had practically shoved them into his arms after rooting through his closet and declaring most of its contents unfit for meeting the oirkari in his role of makti-oir.

A tray with two earthen cups and a round bodied tea pot was set down on the coffee table. Clarice Utris did not spare him even a glance as she prepared what Nyx now identified as limeschti – the official welcoming tea.

Despite having already greeted him, she set a cup down in front of him and took her own in her hands and spoke the traditional words: “Be welcome. We grant you safety in passage through our lands, and a place at our hearth for as long as you wish to stay. No harm shall come from me and mine. Fire and sun as my witness.”

“May your hearth burn strong and bright. No harm shall come from me to you or yours, during my journey through your lands. Fire and sun as my witness,” Nyx said, raised the cup until it was level with his eyes and then took a sip.

The tea had a very smoky quality to it.

“Now tell me, makti-oir,” Clarice Utris spoke after she set her cup down, “why do you come to me only after you have already visited the Lazarus?”

Nyx blinked and bit the inside of his cheek to not blurt out the first thing that came to mind. Instead, he took a calming breath to keep his words as polite as he could make them.

“The Lazarus are brokering an alliance with Clan Ulric. Allies take precedence over the other Clans, as a woman of your standing is, without a doubt, well aware.”

“Family takes precedence over allies.”

It took everything Nyx had not to bark a bitter laugh. Though judging from her expression, the smile he gave her was too sharp. Family. What a joke. An Utris had been his mother. An Utris had been his sister. But where had the rest of that Clan been after Ilias Ulric's death? His mother had barely managed to feed the three of them during the winter afterwards.

“For there to be familial ties, they must be acknowledged first, Oirkar Utris.”

The wrinkles on Clarice Utris' thin face grew even more pronounced. “You had a mother and a sister that were counted amongst this Clan.”

“Mahir and Selena were family before they were members of Clan Utris.”

The old woman's lips twitched as she glared at him. Nyx was very careful not to let any of his inner conflict show on his face. He would have loved to call the members of Clan Utris his family. A long time ago. Now he didn't quite know how to feel about them, other than the dull ache he always got when he saw Archyll and Ariadne. They had been his sister's and his favourite cousins.

“Alyxa would have been happy with the match we had for her,” Clarice Utris said, and it sounded like a challenge.

“Maybe she would have. Maybe not,” Nyx said, trying to be as diplomatic as possible about this. “But in the end she found her greatest happiness with Ilias Ulric.”

“You could have been one of ours,” she said then, something wistful in her eyes. “You could have been my grandchild. The name Ulric brings nothing but death to those who are close to them.”

This time Nyx felt his jaw drop open. “You don't get to do that,” he whispered. “You don't get to do that. You don't get to hide your bitterness behind what happened to my Clan. The simple matter of fact is that mahir did not want to marry her third cousin, no matter how much you wanted it to happen.”

Fuck.

Nyx closed his eyes for a second in the following silence. He should not have said that. No matter how true it was.

“Out,” Clarice Utris breathed.

Her face had gone bone white behind her natural tan. Her hands shook as they balled themselves into fists on her knees.

“Get out!”

Nyx heart thundered in his chest as he stood up. For a moment he looked down at the old woman seething with anger, then he spoke the words he had come for in the first place.

“Clarice, Oirkar of Clan Utris. You are hereby invited to the Gathering of Clans, which is to commence in three days time at midday in the storyteller's yard.”

He marched out of the apartment without another word, down the stairs and out onto the street. The air was humid and it smelled nauseatingly of exhaust fumes. Nonetheless Nyx took a deep, calming breath. This could have gone better. Why couldn't that old hag simply let it go? He glared up at the underside of the road above him, as if his gaze alone could make it catch fire.

No, he told himself firmly. No, don't go there. Down that road lie too many painful memories.

With an annoyed grunt, he turned around on his heels and walked into the mass of alleyways leading further into Little Galahd. This had not been the last home he would need to visit today.

Ethin Sarcina welcomed him into his home with a jovial laugh and a firm shake of his wrist. The man was a welcome distraction with his good mood and truly delicious chocolate covered blackberries. Nyx listened for nearly ten minutes to the glowing praise the older man had for his grandniece, before he managed to inform the man of the Gathering.

“Clan Sarcina is honoured to be so high in your regard,” Ethin said with a solemn gravitas that was only pronounced by his mane of shoulder length hair.

Nyx didn't even bother to ask how he knew.

“It was a wise decision to go to the Lazarus after talking to the Ostium,” the older man continued and subtly shifted his weight on the cushion.

The Sarcina came from the smallest island in the south. There, tables were low and people kneeled on cushions on the ground. Nyx had no ideas where that custom had come from, but he certainly was no fan of it. His toes were growing numb.

“If I may be so bold in asking: whom will you visit next?”

Nyx' gaze wandered over the tea set on the table between them. From the tea cups without handles made out of porcelain, to the flat teapot that looked like a disk in Nyx' eyes and the wide rimmed snack bowl, all set out on an intricate table cloth depicting colourful birds.

Should he answer? On one hand he didn't want to inflate Ethin's ego even further, on the other, he would know soon anyway.

“Khara and Najad,” he said at last. “Then the Arra, the Bellum, the Patientia and the Altius.”

Ethin hummed, gaze thoughtful. “A packed schedule you have there, Nyx Ulric.”

“Yes,” Nyx agreed and made a face.

Tomorrow would be even worse. He'd have to take a free day to manage them all, and if he was really unlucky, he would have to ask Libertus to tackle the lowest ranked Clans. Which wouldn't go over all that well.

A calculating gleam entered Ethin's eyes. “You went to the Lazarus after the Ostiums because you're brokering an alliance with them. But that can't be all. A personal favour? No matter. The Najad are high up the list because they were personal allies to your father. The Arra are the record keepers, they are always amongst the first ten Clans to be invited. But why the Patientia after the Bellum? The oldest gisdrauht is a Patientia, after all.”

It took Nyx a second to realize that this was a question he was supposed to answer. “Because it was the Bellum that got so many of us out of Galahd. They deserve to be honoured for that.”

“Very true. But following that logic you will deal the Pontos Clan a grave insult. Didn't they help as well?”

“The Pontos were amongst the first to flee, took nearly all of their ships, loaded them with what goods they could, and lost half of them to the waves anyway. Regard for them is low.”

In Nyx' opinion they had gotten what they deserved, though it pained him to think about how many Galahkari lives had been lost in their foolishness.

“And you would risk insult to everybody else should you place them too high,” Ethin nodded and took a sip of his tea.

Nyx tilted his head in acknowledgement and bore the older man's renewed gaze. Approval was clear in his green gaze, it made Nyx feel like he had just been tested without realizing it. It was disconcerting.

“Now, don't look at me like that, Nyx Ulric. You may have the standing, but I would never give my grandniece to an idiot.” Another lingering look. “I will personally see to an outfit for you to wear during the Gathering.”

Ethin held up his hand to pre-empt Nyx' attempted protest.

“Please, do not protest this. If we were on Galahd, this wouldn't nearly matter as much, but the sad reality is that we're not. The mainlanders will notice sooner or later and when they come to investigate, we need to make the most of it. For them, illusion is more important than fact, and it's high time we use that.”

This would be a lot easier a pill to swallow, if Nyx wasn't the figurehead in all of this. He had no particular desire to play into the Lucians grand notion that he was a king.

“Thank you for your help, Oirkar Sarcina,” he chose to say instead of all the other things tumbling through his head.

“Of course,” the older man acknowledged.

Thankfully the hard part of this conversation was over after that.

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After a light lunch and a change of clothes, Nyx went to work.

“I'm thinking of getting some units back into the old stealth tactics,” he said to Luche as they watched a mock battle between Troop Zwihr under Libertus, and Troop Kihna under Kepho No-Name.

Both troops consisted mainly of heavy hitter front line fighters. Libertus tended to go more in the direction of ambush tactics, while Kepho was like a hard hitting hammer. Blunt and blind force, but when directed very effective. Right now Libertus' people were winning.

Next to him, Luche frowned. “The tried and true method of hiding in trees and attack from above? That worked in the jungles, but won't do so on plains and within Niff bases.”

On Galahd the trees grew strong, sturdy and tall, able to carry people many metres above ground without trouble, but here on the mainland, trees were feeble things that looked more like tall bushes.

“That's not what I meant.” Nyx cast the blond a look. “What do you know about the Ostium way of fighting?”

Luche took a few seconds to contemplate his answer. Down in the field Libertus and his hunters had managed to encircle Troop Kihna, whose members started to drop out of the fight even faster now. It spurred them to fight with a grim determination.

“Very strong, but also very fast. They are most likely the only ones who can wrestle a gekkan bare handed and not only not die, but also win. They are cunning to a surprising degree.”

Nyx nodded. “Most people tend to only focus on their strength. But they forget the Ostiums also have a very close bond with snakes. Snakes are fast, snakes are cunning, and they also know how to hide, how to camouflage themselves and strike from an unexpected position.”

“You want to turn Zwihr into another stealth troop? That's not a good idea, Nyx.”

“That's not what I meant.” Nyx gave an exasperated sigh. “But it would be beneficial, if some of our units and troops weren't so static in their functions. Libertus makes a great front line fighter, he's strong and knows how to use the hunters under his command for maximum impact, but half the time I want to put him with Tahrolin Troop for an ambush. What if we make Zwihr Troop into both front line fighters and an ambush force?”

“It might work. Might, mind you. You'll need a diversion. A force that will manage to absorb first contact with minimal losses and stand it's ground.”

They both watched as down below Kepho managed to rally his remaining hunters into a circle formation facing outwards, using localized shield spells to defend themselves. No, that was not quite right. The hunters formed pairs, where one cast shields and the other attacked. Right at that moment it turned into a battle of attrition. If this were a real battle, losses would be heavy on both sides, though the defending force would make the enemy bleed for each step they took. Nyx whistled in appreciation. So Kepho was not just blunt force, he was also a tree with deep roots and a thick bark.

“I guess we found our diversion,” Luche stated.

A few minutes later the fight ended in a stalemate. Libertus stank of sweat and Lucian magic when he stepped up to them, after making sure his people were alright.

“Kepho's one tough son of a bitch. Hadn't expected that. Wait, since when are they here?”

“Who?”

Nyx turned around and saw Gladiolus Amicitia along with whom he assumed was his younger sister, lurking at the edge of the training compound.

“Don't turn around like an idiot, you dumbass,” Libertus hissed.

“Alright, alright. Still, what are the Lord Shield's kids doing here? Don't they have lessons or something?”

“His Grace must have told them the Gilgamesh story,” Luche concluded after a moment.

“'His Grace'?”

“Yes, Nyx, 'His Grace'. I learned some of the finer points of Lucian nobility – like you should, as well. The Lord Shield is a Duke, the Duke of Taelpar to be exact, and as such is addressed as His Grace. Lord Shield is the title used to show his capacity as the Shield of the King.”

“Great, that's just great,” Libertus grouched and rolled his eyes. “I'm not dealing with that. If those two want to talk, they better not expect me to come to them. So, any conclusions to that exercise?”

“Yes, actually. Luche and I were just talking about it. How do you feel about being the snake hiding in plain view?”

Libertus blinked, then grinned. “Ah, a snake amongst the leaves. You think it'll work?”

Nyx nodded. “If we take the initiative and attack instead of defend, yes. Everything east of Tealpar Crag is mostly clear of Niffs. If we find a way to stop their sovereignty over the airspace, it'll be firmly within the Crown's hand again. The enemy has currently only two bases on the western side of the Crag. The closest is Tollhends Stronghold. It guards the main crossing over the Crag. We have that, they can't just move their ground troops further inland.”

“Hmm. A surprise attack from within?”

“Basically yes. That's the general idea for now. Can you do it?”

Libertus scratched his stubble in thought. “With a whole lot of training, maybe. I'd need to talk to Draskelio, Ares and Nube about it.”

Draskelio Furia, Ares Bellum and Nube Dala were the lead hunters of the units under Libertus' command. All three of them were good hunters with Draskelio being the oldest in his mid forties and Ares the youngest at 33. Nyx didn't know them very well, but he was confident they would be able to pull it off.

“What do you think, Luche?” he asked.

“Ares will me on board without much prompting. Put a strategy in front of him and he can come up with the tactics to make it happen. And the bloodier a nose the Niffs get, the better. Draskelio is very forward, and he very much prefers to hit the enemy straight in the face, so to speak. But if you convince him to do it, he will keep to the plan. Nube I don't know very well either, but from what I have seen and heard, she fights smart instead of running straight ahead.”

While Luche talked, Libertus' eyes had flittered multiple times over Nyx' shoulder where the Amicitia siblings were lurking. Nyx concentrated and heard quiet shuffling over the sounds down in the training field, where Arl Unit was setting up a perimeter now that he fight was over. The next exercise would be a capture the flag kind of deal.

Libertus' face morphed through several expressions before it settled on annoyed. Nyx shared a look with Luche, who returned his gaze, eyebrows raised.

“Alright,” Nyx said. “Libertus, after the Gathering you'll start the preparations. Do we have a plan or something for the Stronghold? One of the demolition units could rig something up for training, if we do.”

“I will look into it,” Luche nodded.

“What? Uh... yes, okay,” Libertus said. Then, he switched into Lucian. “Damn it, kids. If you want something come here and say it!”

There was a light scuffle behind his back, at which point Nyx decided to turn around. The moment his eyes landed on the Amicitia siblings, they both froze. At once the boy pushed his younger sister behind him and gave a deep bow of respect. The girl brushed off her brother's hand to do the same.

“Your Majesty,” the boy said. “We are very sorry to disturb you.”

His younger sister nodded.

Nyx made a face at being called that, yet again. Behind him, Libertus gave a snort.

“Don't call me that.”

“But father said you're a king,” the girl chirped from half behind her brother.

How old was she? Ten?

“That's not a title we use,” he answered, patient.

The girl just didn't know any better.

“Well, what do you use then?” she wanted to know.

Stumped, Nyx looked at Luche, who was looking at the siblings in consideration. The blond man was definitely planning something. The question now was: How much of a pain in the ass would it be for Nyx?

“If you need to use a title for him,” Luche spoke up, “then call him makti-oir.”

Gladiolus tilted his head. “Makti-oir,” he repeated carefully.

All three Galahkari did their best not to wince at the butchered pronunciation. The 'r' was articulated to far back in the mouth, the 'a' was too long and the 't' sounded wrong.

“What's that mean?” the girl asked.

“First Hunter,” Libertus spoke up.

At once both Amicitias' eyes were on him. The boy's considering, searching, and the girl's just plain curious. What by Pitioss had the Lord Shield been telling them? Before one of the two could open their mouth to ask another question, Libertus asked one of his own.

“What are you two doing here? You should know how dangerous it is to walk into an active training field!”

“Gladio wanted to see you, so I decided to come along, so he wouldn't do something stupid,” the Amicitia girl said and walked around her brother, more confident now, though she still stayed close to him.

“Iris!” Gladio hissed.

So her name was Iris. Nyx should really make more of an effort to remember it. Giving a charming grin, Nyx crouched down so he was closer to an eye level with her.

“Thank you for making sure your brother wouldn't get into trouble,” he said and winked.

“You're welcome!” Isis grinned.

Nyx did his best not to laugh at the face her brother made. “Now, would you tell me why you and your brother came here?”

Iris looked up at her brother who gave her a nod. “Father told us about the Blademaster, and the story Lord Ostium told him and King Regis. Is he really our cousin? We never had much extended family before. Father also said that Lord Ostium is your Shield now, because he beat the Blademaster in a fight, and that Gladio had to learn how to be a proper Shield.”

“You better ask him that yourself, Iris. It's very impolite to talk about people like they aren't there, when they're standing right next to you,” Nyx said and stood up.

The siblings looked expectantly at Libertus, though Gladiolus looked decidedly more embarrassed than Iris. He was not exactly a boy anymore. His features retained no baby fat, which made him look older than he was, though Nyx guessed him to be in his late teens. He was taller than all of them, and had a solid musculature that faintly reminded him of an Ostium, though that might just be him seeing things.

Libertus looked between the two siblings, clearly considering things, before he sighed in defeat. He had never been able to say no to kids, and had often looked after his younger relatives. Still did, when time permitted it, and to Nyx, it looked like the Amicitia siblings had just been added to the list, no matter how much his hunting-brother may grouch and complain about it.

“Okay, first of all don't call me Lord Ostium. Neither of you. I ain't no lord. I just make sure that guy-” he jammed his thumb in Nyx' direction “- doesn't kill himself with one of his stupid ideas.”

Nyx made a scandalized sound, which caused Iris to giggle. Gladio frowned, thoughtful.

“But you beat the Blademaster and proved yourself worthy of being a Royal Shield. You deserve being called a lord.”

No one who didn't know him well would notice, but by this point Libertus started to struggle to keep his temper in check.

“For you Lucians, that may be so. But to us Galahkari, it was justice served. We don't give people titles like lord, for doing something we deem important.”

It was Iris, with all the wisdom a child possessed, who asked the most important question: “What do we call you then?”

“... Libertus. Just call me Libertus.”

“Nice to meet you, Libertus! I'm Iris and this is my brother Gladiolus.”

Libertus gave a solemn nod as a greeting. Nyx had to stifle a grin at the scene. Iris' face gained an expression that was probably supposed to be business like, but could only be called cute.

“Are you going to do it?” she asked.

“Do what?”

“Teach my brother.”

Gladio hissed something at Iris while the Galahkari present shared glances. Libertus looked pleadingly at Nyx, who looked at Luche, who looked at them both in exasperation. They were saved from having to answer by a small explosion going off on the training field.

At once, Nyx whirled around, lightning crackling along his arms and hands, and hissed like a startled cat, ready to pounce at the source of danger. Only there was no danger. Down below, Tredd gave off a slew of creative curses, before he called up to their group.

“We're alright, in case you wanted to know!”

“Tredd!” hissed Nyx. “You fucking idiot!”

From the corner of his eye he could see the Amicitia siblings startle. Gladio had pushed Iris back behind him and gone into a ready position, a summoned sword in hand. Libertus had positioned himself at Nyx' shoulder, ready to fight, while Luche was ready to take the rear.

Now, Luche actually rolled his eyes and muttered something about idiot distant relatives, while Libertus spat his own curses back at Tredd, before making sure the siblings were alright.

“Fuck you, too!” Tredd yelled back, much to the scandalized looks of Gladio and Iris, who may not have understood the words but certainly their intent.

With a quiet growl Nyx jumped down – to the loud protest of his hunting-brother – and warped with the clap of a lightning bolt. This was still strange, warping without using much, if any, Lucian magic. Though his control of it was still pretty much hit and miss, so he overreached himself, stumbled, and tumbled to the ground.

Above him, Tredd laughed.

To save some of his dignity, Nyx could only do one thing: He kicked Tredd's legs away from under him. With a thud and a curse, he landed in the dirt next to Nyx.

“Very mature of you,” the redhead grumbled.

“Right back at you,” Nyx shot back, voice still a deep rumble.

“Whatever got your whiskers in a twist,” he heard Tredd mumble, but chose to ignore it.

This time.

They stood up and dusted themselves off as best as they could. Both of them were dressed in a strange mix of their Kinglsglaive training uniform and their traditional hunter's garb.

“What exactly were you doing?” Nyx asked.

Instead of answering, Tredd waved him over to where the rest of Arl Unit was standing. Two of them were putting out the burning dirt, while another tried to scrub off the soot from her face, and the rest were discussing amongst themselves what might have gone wrong.

On the scorched ground, still half visible, were lines made out of crumbled coal. They had been part of a circle along with a few sigils and runes. Nyx raised an eyebrow.

“A daemon trap? You tried to make a daemon trap with a fire element? No wonder it exploded.”

“Yes well, if it works with water as a base, I don't see why it shouldn't work with fire.”

“Maybe because fire is fickle with too much of a temperament?” Damn, that had sounded condescending, hadn't it?

Tredd sneered. “You got a better idea? We're nowhere near the ocean, and using earth as a base is a really bad idea anywhere close to Duscae.”

Nyx scrunched his face in thought. “Lightning?”

The redhead opened his mouth to argue, blinked, and closed it again, a thoughtful look on his face. The fingers of his right hand trailed over his chin.

“Damn,” he whispered. “That might actually work.”

Without another word he turned around and started barking orders. The members of Arl Unit scrambled to obey them. With a good-natured huff, Nyx turned away to leave the nut jobs to their work. Tredd knew all about weapons, true, but he was also an artisan, and one of their duties had always been the construction of new wards and other things.

That's what the Arl and Sevah Units were at their core: Trap and ward specialists respectively. Most of their members belonged to the Furia, Lazarus and Sarcina Clans as a result.

He warped back up to Libertus and Luche in two quick bursts of Lucian magic. This time he stuck the landing perfectly. The Amicitia siblings watched him with large eyes. Nyx ignored them for the moment. Maybe they would go away? Unlikely, but a man could hope.

“So what did Tredd do?” Libertus asked in Lucian.

Nyx raised an eyebrow but responded in kind. “A fire based daemon trap.”

It was amusing to see how Luche's face grew slack and his eyes became unfocused as soon as the words registered. Meanwhile Libertus did a passable impression of a fish on land.

“He did what?” Luche demanded after he composed himself.

“You heard me.”

“That idiotic ahtrii damned wognesfahli...” The rest grew intelligible as Luche turned around and marched off. The last thing Nyx could hear was something along the lines of “That fire brained dumbass could have blown us all to Pitioss and back!”

Nyx looked at Libertus, who looked back. His lips twitched and the next moment both of them were howling with laughter.

“Did you see his face!”

“He was gaping! Gaping!”

They looked at each other and burst out laughing again. Nyx' cheeks started to hurt and tears gathered in his eyes. It took a while to calm down enough to notice that the two Amicitia were still there. Both were staring at the grown men like they had lost their heads. Nyx nearly laughed again.

“Shouldn't you two be at school or something? Does your father know you're here?” Libertus demanded.

Gladiolus' face gained a defiant expression. Oh dear.

“Lo- Libertus, I would be honoured to spar with you in the future.”

His hunting-brother tried to stare the boy down, but he held his gaze, head held up and spine ramrod straight. It came very close to a parade rest. After a while Libertus sighed and threw his hands up.

“You know what? Fine. You've got guts, kid. But we're going to talk about this. This evening, 19:00 straight at the Rose's Thorn. You're late even one minute and this whole deal is off.”

“Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!”

The kid saluted. Actually saluted. Nyx bit the inside of his cheek and did his best to make a serious face.

“Thank you,” Iris parroted.

They both bowed to Nyx with a mangled “Makti-oir” and finally left the Glaive's training ground. Nyx and Libertus stared after them.

“Libs.”

“Hmm?”

“I'm proud of you.”

“Fuck you, too. What the fuck did I just do?”

“Seems like you got yourself a little apprentice.”

“I don't even have a job that warrants an apprentice. And he's way too old anyway!”

“Now you're just being mean.”

Nyx grinned and took a step away from Libertus. His hunting-brother sputtered, then threw himself at his best friend with an echoing war cry.

[softstraykids]

M.I.A | alternate ending

⋆ ──────── ⋆ ✩ ⋆ ──────── ⋆ link to M.I.A member(s): han jisung ft bang chan genre: angst with fluffy ending summary: best friends to lovers au! after being hurt by chan over and over again. you finally come to terms with letting him go. but can you really move on from your childhood best friend? with a little help from your knight in shining armor maybe you finally can warnings: bullying, minor violence requested: yes holy shit like 20 requests to do this alternate ending lmao a/n: please read M.I.A first to understand absolutely anything in this scenario. this is not a stand alone. the scenario will start after the bullying scene, please note this is just a rewrite of the last part and is similar to the original. ⋆ ──────── ⋆ ✩ ⋆ ──────── ⋆

they heard a scream from the girls bathroom

both of them bolted to the bathroom

both of them hoping you were okay

when they entered their hearts broke

you were bloody and bruised up tied to a pole looking like absolute death

while katherine had her hand up looking like she was about to hit you

both of your faces were etched with pure unfiltered hatred

jisung automatically grabbed katherine’s wrist

“don’t you even fucking dare lay another finger on y/n ever again”

“what th-” she started as she turned around then she saw jisung’s expression

her face paled significantly

“jisung” you said letting out a sigh as a wave of relief washed over you

he really was your knight of shining armor

but then the softest hands started to untie you from the pole

and you saw a bed of some very familiar curls in front of you

ones you used to run through your fingers through on nearly daily basis

“c-chan?” you stuttered completely shocked

chan looked at you directly in the eyes

and you could see it all in his eyes

his eyes were glazed over with unshed tears

anger, sadness those emotions were all there

but most of all was the care he had for you and the worry

chan gave you a weak teary eyed smile and tried to keep his voice steady as he said

“hang on princess you’re gonna be okay”

your body eased knowing you really were safe

though you hated the fact he made you feel so safe with him

even though the last few months all he’s done was cause confusion, pain and heartbreak for you

but a part of you also felt like breaking

it was hard hearing him call you princess again even after everything that’s happened

“c-chan it’s not what it looks like” katherine said trying to defend herself

“not what it fucking looks like?” chan’s voice echoed throughout the bathroom

you’ve never heard chan sound so cold

“so literally a few hours after i break up with you saying it’s unfair to you for us to be together because i never loved you and you were a distraction from y/n you go and do this?” he spits out

your head started to spin when chan said that she was a distraction from you

you had no idea how to feel about it

absolutely no clue

as chan said that jisung’s jaw clenched 

to all of you it was like being drenched in cold water

but chan’s voice breaks you all out of your thoughts

“don’t ever fucking come near me, y/n or any of my friends ever again” he said with such finality

you knew katherine never would

chan scoops you up gently as possible as he does he whispers to you

“i’m here now”

and with the thought that you were being carried too much these days

you passed out

hospital bed again you thought groaning internally

you look around and see chan and jisung fast asleep on the couches

suddenly someone enters and you see minho

he has a distant smile on his face as he comes over and hugs you

“are you okay?” he asks concerned

“kinda” you croak out

he gives a soft laugh handing you a cup of water

“let’s not wake these two up they haven’t slept in like 2 days plus the drama that would happen if they did” he says lightheartedly

you snort “you would love that” you say smirking

“of course i am THE drama queen of the school but for your mental and emotional wellbeing probably not a good idea” minho says with a wink

silence overwhelms you two for a few seconds before you quietly asked

“what happened?”

a painful smile on minho’s face appeared

“well chan got a full on beating from all the boys for letting this happen and dating that old hag”

you laugh again at minho’s disgusted expression when he mentioned katherine

“she got expelled by the way also she literally like legally can’t be in the 50ft radius of you” he adds

“thank goodness” you breathe out glad you don’t have to ever see katherine again

“your parents went ballistic is an understatement but they’re thankful to both jisung and chan but they kind of think you’re a bit of a heartbreaker” he whispers the last bit like a secret

“me? a heartbreaker? what a joke” you scoff thinking of how much pain you’ve been through the last few months

minho gives you a knowing smile

“well you have the two most sought out guys in school wrapped around your little pinky finger” minho says gesturing at the boys sleeping

“well the two most sought out guys after me of course” he cockily adds flipping his non existent hair over his shoulder

you giggle you love minho and his antics

“but y/n you need to choose who’s it going to be chan or jisung?” minho seriously says

“i-i have no idea” you stutter out having absolutely zero clue

you didn’t even know how you got into this situation where you had to choose between them two

“think about it okay? cause you need choose. fast” minho says with a warm smile and a ruffle of your hair before leaving  

your head was spinning you had no idea what to feel

chan you knew you loved as a friend

but when did that even become a crush?? when did those feelings sneak through the cracks? you didn’t know how or when but it happened

though you were so hurt by him the last few months and you didn’t know how fast you could recover from all the pain he gave you

but then there was jisung

your knight in shining armor

he was there for you when chan wasn’t there

he comforted you, cared for you and loved you when no else did

you didn’t deny your heart fluttered when he was affectionate with you or complimented you

that he made you feel safe, warm and loved

maybe even more chan

but you still had no clue 

and you couldn’t bear the thought of hurting jisung

just a few minutes after minho left both boys stirred

“y/n?” jisung groggily said rubbing his eyes

“Y/N!!” he shouted rushing over to you giving you a hug as you laugh as he tightly squeezed you

“jisung i can’t breathe” you choke out

“oh my gosh i’m so so sorry” jisung says letting go of you quickly

chan looked at you two with a painful smile and says to you two

“i’ll let you two catch up, if you need me i’ll be at the rooftop garden” he says distantly and leaves

“y/n you should go after him” jisung says calmly

“what?” you ask in surprise

“you need closure, to sort everything out with your feelings and as much as i just want to wrap you in my arms and never let you go. protect you from everything and everyone. you need to do this for your sake. you love him y/n so go.” jisung says not looking at you

guilt and sadness was piercing your heart

the way jisung cared about you wasn’t like anything you deserved

the fact he had to wait for you to choose was absolutely ridiculous and you knew he deserved so much better

but you knew you couldn’t let go of him

he made you so so happy

but chan also was everything to you for so much of your life

and you needed to talk to him

you needed to know whether you were still in love with him

and if you still are you knew you had to let go of jisung cause he deserved better

you didn’t realise you were just standing there looking at him

until jisung wrapped his arms around you

“don't worry about me y/n just remember i love you” he whispers into your hair and gives you a gentle kiss on the forehead

your heart melts with his actions

and you knew for his sake and yours you need to talk to chan

but you wanted to come back to jisung

back to the love, warmth and happiness he gives you 

so you gave him a weak smile

which he returned with his signature bright one as you walked out of the hospital room

the moment the door shuts jisung’s smile immediately drops

he knew you might not have chosen chan yet

but he felt like you would  

and if you did choose chan he had no idea what he’d do

how would he ever find someone like you

his heart ached and he felt sick  

he lowered his head and shook his head putting his face in hands he said to himself “han jisung you’re such an idiot”

you on the other hand were going to the rooftop garden to find chan

the moment you got there you froze

what were you even doing there?

what were you going to say to him?

what were you going to do if you still loved chan?

your thoughts were making your head spin

before a voice interrupted them

“y/n?” chan says perplexed

you whip around to see chan sitting on a bench looking out onto a gorgeous skyline

“uh hi?” you awkwardly say sitting next to him on the bench

chan takes a deep breath and suddenly blurts out

“i’m sorry for everything, i thought i was doing the right thing and now i’ve realised all i was doing was hurting you”

“i’m still so confused chan what even happened between us? we were best friends” you say your voice barely above a whisper

chan sighs out before chuckling humourlessly

“i fell in love with you y/n” he breathes out

your breath hitched in your throat you were trying to process what chan said

“but then-wait what-then why did you treat me like absolute shit?” you struggled to formulate coherent words

because what he was saying didn’t make any sense to you 

“it was pathetic really i knew you didn’t have feelings for me so i became distant so my feelings would go away. katherine was merely a distraction that’s all. then you became close with jisung and everything came flooding back again. including the jealously which is why i said what i did in the cafeteria and i instantly regretted it but i thought you’d be happier with jisung which is why i said yes to let you go.”

chan finished quietly in an apologetic tone 

“chan i loved you with literally every single part of myself even if it was just as friends. were you that selfish that you didn’t think of me at all? how hurt i’d be? how even if we weren’t close or just friends i would want you in my life?” you ask bewildered 

chan chuckles bitterly “of course i thought of you day in and out and of course i felt like shit but somehow i deluded myself into thinking you didn’t want me in your life. it got worse once i saw you with jisung. romantic or not i love you y/n and i’ve always kept our promise and i always will keep it” he mutters under his breath giving you a look which softens your attitude with him

your heart warmed slightly

chan didn’t forget your promise and he never broke it

before you could say anything he continued 

“but i think i did the right thing by letting you go, your smile came back because of jisung, the pretty one, i missed it a lot” he says giving you a soft smile showing off the dimples which could melt even the iciest heart “so for once in your life please don’t care about anyone else including me but only yourself and go to him. i can see how much you love him” he says understandingly

but you could see the pain and regret in his eyes but also the care for you and acceptance of what was going to happen

he genuinely wanted for you to be with jisung and would be okay with it 

and now you knew hearing his reasons and seeing him and talking to him again

you loved him

but just as a friend 

but you won’t give up on you and chan’s friendship 

it still meant the world to you 

“chan i still love you as a friend and i was in love with your for months but we both know it wouldn’t work out between us after all this. and now all i want is for us to go back like we were.” you said softly not looking at chan until you say desperately 

“just please be my best friend again” 

he smiles at you softly with not even a single hint of hurt or anger

and gives you a hug which you relax into instantly 

but your heart didn’t flutter and there were no butterflies

it just felt like home, safe and warm

just like chan

“of course i will y/n. i’ll be honest i’m not over you completely romantically but i will with time and i promise in the mean time that i will never get in the way of you and jisung.” he says with sincerity

“i know you won’t” you say assured of his intentions 

"let’s watch the sunset together for old times sake and then we can both head down to jisung and sort everything out. how does that sound?” chan asks you 

“sounds like a plan” you say smiling finally feeling like everything was going right again

once you guys watched the sunset talked a few more things out and joked around a bit  

you headed back down to the hospital room

“can you wait outside i just want to talk to him first?” you asked chan 

he nodded

and he went in 

jisung was plopped on the bed looking like crap

but instantly got up as he heard the door open

“y/n?” he questioned with the cutest tilt of the head and his eyes wide

you give a beaming smile and run to him 

he catches you still in a state of shock as you jump and you instantly wrap your arms around him and laugh lightly into his ear

you fit perfectly with him, warmth filled you head to toe, and you felt butterflies fluttering in your stomach

he was the one 

“i’m in love with you han jisung” you whisper into his ear

he looks at you in absolute shock and slowly but surely seeing your beaming smile and eyes which you were literally shining

he broke out in the most heart melting smile which made your insides feel like jelly

he presses his forehead against yours and you're barely a few centimeters apart 

“are you sure? really?” he asks sounding like he couldn’t believe it 

you laugh again “yes i talked to chan and i won’t lie i still love him as a friend and i still want him in my life but the one i’m in love with is you sung” 

with how much love jisung looked at you in that moment you knew you could never be happier with chan 

and before you knew it 

jisung’s lips met yours 

and you knew in your head it was cheesy as hell to say 

but everything felt like it was falling into place 

it was passionate and sweet kiss with so much love between the two of you 

it’s like you could feel the happiness radiating off like waves

you guys broke apart laughing and jisung gently lowered you to the ground

“chan needs to talk to you so i’ll be back in a few minutes”

you say giving him a soft smile as he pouts jokingly as you leave making you laugh

as you left chan went back in

chan gave him a smile 

“i know i’m not the person you want to see but i won’t take much of your time. i want you to know i still love y/n as a friend so much and i want her in my life but my feelings for her are fading. and i promise i won’t ever get between you two” chan says reassuringly

jisung smiled and said calmly “if she forgives you i forgive you. and i know you won’t come between us just don’t ever hurt her again and we won’t ever have any problems” 

“no plan to” chan says smiling widely 

“missed ya brotha” jisung says jokingly 

both of them laughed giving each other a bro hug 

suddenly the door opened

they heard a loud gasp 

“y/n i think they’re leaving you for each other” minho says acting shocked

“i can’t believe it” you cry out playing along 

there were a few moments of silence 

then all of you burst out laughing

jisung came over to you and wrapped his arm around your shoulder and gave you a quick forehead kiss

you smiled lovingly back at jisung

chan and minho just gave each other a look 

that day you realised that you were never the girl who was going to fall for her prince charming

you were the girl who broke the rules and ran away with her knight in shining armor 

and still lived happily ever after 

⋆ ──────── ⋆ ✩ ⋆ ──────── ⋆ my gif take with creds!! i am genuinely the most sorry person in the whole entire world for everyone who’s literally been waiting for this alternate ending for a whole year. I’ll be honest I’m not going to be on tumblr at all and I haven’t been for a long time. but I feel all my readers who have stuck with me deserved this alternate ending. also the ending itself is so bad and rushed im so so sorry lol. thank you to everyone who's supported my writing and this blog it means a lot and im so sorry im not active on it anymore. my blog will still exist but i won’t be active. lots of love for everyone who read this message.  as always please send in anons, comments and feedback i always love everything you all send me!! ⋆ ──────── ⋆ ✩ ⋆ ──────── ⋆

[ficsandpieces]

“Here, let me see.” papa!Ranmaru, kitten 1

Ranmaru hadn’t thought much of it at first but his son was deliberately avoiding him since the second he had returned home. He only begun noticing when Sousuke kept his head down and did all he could not to look him in the eye at dinner, and when he told him to look up the boy immediately said he was full and excused himself from the table, practically fleeing to his room and leaving Ranmaru in a mixed state of puzzlement and annoyance. Sure, he had never thought of himself as the best father although he did try his best whenever his children were involved, but he was pretty sure he hadn’t done anything recently to warrant this sort of behaviour from his son.

“What’s up with him?” Ranmaru demanded after putting Tsubaki to bed. The explanation from his wife was short and succinct and led to him rapping sharply on Sousuke’s door before barging in despite his son’s protests. He settled himself on the bed where Sousuke had been brooding while hugging a pillow and had hastily buried his face in it with a squark of surprise when Ranmaru entered. He literally felt his boy stiffen with shock when he placed a large hand on his head.

“Let me see.”

“No! Leave me alone!”

Unfortunately for Sousuke Ranmaru’s fingers were much stronger than his ten-year-old neck. His tear-stained face was soon lifted by force from the sanctuary of the pillow. He frowned mightily as Ranmaru held him by the chin and stoically examined the bruises colouring his forehead and the side of one cheek. He rubbed a thumb over the black eye Sousuke was sprouting, eliciting both vocal and physical protests from his son.

“Your mom said you got into a fight at school today. Wanna tell me what happened?”

“No.” He attempted to duck back into his pillow again and wailed when it was plucked out of his hands and tossed to the other end of the bed. “Dad! It’s got nothing to do with you so go away.”

“That right?” Sousuke’s high-pitched whine of protest made Ranmaru’s mouth quirk involuntarily as he lightly pinched and refused to let go of his son’s cheeks. “That’s not what I heard. Now spill or we stay like this for the rest of the night. Your call.” 

The way his son puffed up his cheeks in childish defiance was so much like Tsubaki’s when told she couldn’t have a snack right before meal time that Ranmaru couldn’t help but pinch just a little bit tighter, amused at the squirming Sousuke was doing in a futile effort to get away from him.

It didn’t take him long to give in, much to Ranmaru’s amusement. Sousuke was still averting his gaze as he grumbled. 

“You’re gonna laugh at me.”

“Depends on what you’re gonna say,” He finally released his hands and ruffled his son’s hair affectionately. “Out with it. What happened?”

“Aki said--” Sousuke’s voice was small at first, but gradually grew louder in defense of his actions. “He said bad things about you and Mom and wouldn’t take them back.” He returned to his sulk, fully expecting to hear Ranmaru dismiss his answer as something childish and trivial. Instead he found his chin being chucked up again and his father meeting his eyes seriously.

“What did he say?”

Sousuke swallowed, suddenly nervous, his brow furrowing in recollection.

“He said… He said Mom only had me and Tsubaki to get your attention and you didn’t want any of us to begin with.” Ranmaru’s fingers tightened into a fist under Sousuke’s chin at these words but the boy was too worked up to notice. “But that’s not true! You said before it wasn’t true! I told him that and he laughed at me and called me names and I got mad so I tried to punch him to make him take it back but he wouldn’t so I, so I---”

The fury of the afternoon made Sousuke close to hyperventilating and unable to finish his sentence as his own little fists clenched in anger at the memory of the afternoon washing over him again. It was a while before he came to himself again and found Ranmaru rubbing his back in rough strokes.

“Oi, calm down. Breathe, kiddo.”

Dashing the tears of anger from his eyes, Sousuke looked up at Ranmaru in defiance. 

“But I lost and the teacher saw us and Mom got called down to pick me up and she had to apologize and I don’t know why. It wasn’t my fault, he shouldn’t have said those things about Mom. It’s not fair, he said all those horrible things but I had to say sorry and-and I hate it! It’s not fair, Dad!”

Ranmaru continued rubbing Sousuke’s back, his own brow creased with resignation that his boy had to go through something like this because of his job. He certainly wasn’t the first celebrity to have a family and he’d heard the stories of how cruel both children and adults could be under the influence of rumours and jealousy, but it still stung having it actually happen right in his home despite already expecting it. 

“Are you going to laugh at me now?”

Ranmaru’s hand reached up to ruffle his son’s hair again. 

“Nah. You did good, kiddo.”

“I did?” The wary surprise in Sousuke’s voice made Ranmaru mess his hair up even more. “Stop that! I thought you’d say it was my fault for fighting in school.”

“You said it wasn’t, right? You telling me now it was?”

“No!” He took his words back quickly, pushing Ranmaru’s hand away from his head impatiently and scooting a bit closer towards his father at the same time. “Aki shouldn’t have said those things about Mom in the first place.”

“Yeah well, can’t stop people from being idiots.”

“But it isn’t true, right Dad?” He leaned against Ranmaru who found himself putting an arm around his shoulders in assurance. “You’re okay with me and Tsubaki, right?”

“Now who’s the idiot? Didn’t I say before you guys are my kids and I’m not going anywhere? You calling your old man a liar?”

“Nah,” Sousuke pressed his face into Ranmaru’s side in a surprising display of affection. “You’re a meanie sometimes, but you’re okay.”

“Dummy.” He rubbed Sousuke’s shoulder roughly, his voice gruff with awkward sentiment. “Nothing’s ever going to change the fact that you guys are what keep me going, alright? I’m not giving any of you up for the world. You’d better remember that.”

There was a sniff and a muffled chortle from his side.

“Okay. Thanks, Dad.”

“Whaddya thanking me for, weird kid.” Ranmaru patted the back of Sousuke’s head. “No more fighting in school. Or outside.”

"Okay. I'll wait until high school like you, Dad." Sousuke replied obediently. Ranmaru felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

“Where did you get that from?”

“Grandma likes telling Mom stories about you when she calls. Did you really destroy the statue of the school’s founder?”

“THAT OLD HAG--- That was an accident! I was late and I lost control of my bicycle and it was in the way!”

“So it’s okay to do that?”

“NO! No destroying school property either! Don’t give me that look, now go to bed!”

[cosmicspirit]

Dating Bakugou Katsuki Would Include:

- the whole class is in awe of you

- how have you managed to tame this wild ball of anger? they may ask

- well, no one knows

- not even bakugou tbh

- him crushing on you was the most frustrating thing

- not only for him, but for you as well

- poor baby didn’t know how or what he was feeling so he would have these weird mood swings

- one day he was more soft (if that’s even possible) and other days he was a total nightmare

- honestly surprised you even tried after all the times he screamed insults at you

- but alas here we are

- calls you idiot but in an affectionate way

- helps you study

-sometimes with kirishima, other times not

- and during those other times you two rarely studied

- he just wanted an excuse to hang out with you but didn’t quite know to ask

- oh and you be best bros with kirishima duh

- cause while he hates to admit it, kiri is his best friend

- you be part of the bakusquad and probably hang out with mina a lot

- sometimes you have sleepovers and just bitch about boys

- his mum adores you

- it’s actually quite funny cause the first one you met her she was a bit intimidating, i mean you can see where he gets his attitude from

- “y/n, would you like to see some of katsuki’s baby pictures?”

“SHUT IT YOU OLD HAG! NO SHE WOULDNT”

“ OI YOU SHUT IT YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT I THINK Y/N CAN ANSWER FOR HERSELF! so Y/n you wanna see some?”

“... i think i would” you just smirked at bakugou who seemed to pale and just sat the like 😑🤦🏻‍♀️

- you being the only one to calm him down

- agressive cuddles when your alone

- if some guy is flirting with you he won’t hesitate to come up to you and start making out with you

- but that’s probably the only pda your gonna get really

- he’ll always be standing near you and sometimes he’ll put his hand on your shoulder or waist

- he won’t tell anyone this (except maybe kirishima) by he’s scared to hold your hand

- he doesn’t want to accidentally burn your or anything

- sometimes you just hug him cause he smells so good

- if you tell him this he’ll blush and tell you to shut up shyly

- this boy ahhhh he’s too cute i swear

- pretends to get mad when you steal his clothes but secretly he finds it cute

- joking call him lord explosion murder when you want something and you shall receive

- overall sparky sparky boom boom boy is whipped and no one in the class can deny it

[trashyslashers]

Masterlist

I will be adding to this as I go!

Requests involving multiple characters are grouped together, but solo requests with only one character are filed under the name of that character. Separated by slashers and DBD characters.

----- SLASHERS  ------------------------

Jason, Bubba, and Freddy with a chubby s/o

Bubba and Michael with a petite s/o

Cuddling for Bubba and Jason

Jason, Michael, Thomas, and Freddy with a s/o who self harms

Jason and Thomas with a s/o who treats their dog like a child

Michael, Jason, and Thomas when their s/o attacks someone twice their size

Thomas, Jason, and Michael with an animalistic s/o

Drayton Sawyer headcanons 

Bubba and Jason x cannibalistic s/o

Pet names for Jason, Michael, and Bubba

Bubba and Thomas x pregnant s/o

Thomas, Michael, and Jason being nursed back to health by their s/o after a fight

Bubba, Jason, and Michael x 2009 emo s/o

Bubba, Jason, and Michael with a s/o who collects snakes

Bubba and Jason when their s/o see’s their abusive ex

Michael and Brahms x sick /so

Michael and Jason x s/o who has painful period cramps

Michael and Bubba x s/o who’s sensitive to loud noises 

Michael, Jason, and Brahms x jumpy s/o

Michael, Bubba, and Jason x normally mild-mannered s/o who’s incredibly angry

Michael, Jason, Bubba, and Freddy x s/o who speaks German 

Michael, Jason, Bubba, and Freddy x s/o who was disowned by their family for being in a relationship with a murderer 

General fluffy Michael and Bubba x s/o headcanons

Michael, Bubba, and Jason x usually calm s/o who can be violent when they hate someone

Brahms, Bubba, and Jason x tall, broad-framed s/o

Michael, Jason, and Bubba with a s/o that gets bad migraines 

Thomas and Michael x s/o who’s an empath 

Michael, Thomas Hewitt, and Todd when reader shaves and has smooth skin

Jason and Bubba x s/o who loves how big their hands are

Michael and Bubba x male reader headcanons (this one includes a DBD Killer as well!)

Michael, Max*, and Todd with a s/o that draws on themselves whenever upset (includes a DBD Killer)

Michael, Bubba, and Jason with a s/o that likes to draw on them

B&W Soulmate AU with Michael and Freddy | Pt II

Michael and Jason with a creepily cute s/o 

Slashers getting cursed at by nine year olds on Fortnite 

Michael and Jason x mechanic s/o

Bubba and Jason x vegetarian male s/o

Bubba, Michael, and Jason x s/o who’s addicted to hot Cheetos 

Michael, Jason, Bubba, and Thomas under the influence of laughing gas

Michael, Bubba, and Brahms x male s/o who has albinism 

----- Solo requests:  ------------------------

• Michael Myers: (please note that some of these pertain to DBD Michael, and some Michael content can be found under the DBD section)

Michael with a s/o who self harms and struggles with depression

Michael with a s/o who was sexually assaulted

Angry Michael being calmed down by his s/o

Michael x s/o who has anger issues

Michael x reader who sneaks into his room at Smith’s Grove to visit him

Michael x s/o who has telekinesis

Michael x short/chubby s/o

Michael x tough s/o

Michael, Jason, Leatherface, and Freddy when their s/o dies

General older Michael x younger reader headcanons 

More older Michael headcanons 

Michael x traumatized s/o

Michael x short!s/o

(DBD) Michael x s/o who does well in trials but is unliked because of her relationship 

Michael (DBD) x s/o who was training to become a psychiatrist/psychologist

A fight with Michael (Angst)

(2007) Michael x young nurse s/o

Michael, Jason, Bubba, and Freddy being forced to watch Disney films

Michael, Jason, Bubba, and Freddy when their s/o is almost killed

• Jason Voorhees:

Cute relationship headcanons with Jason

How Jason would shyly confess to the girl he liked

Jason attending a family dinner with his s/o

Jason x younger s/o

Jason x motherly reader 

Jason murdering the abusive partner of reader 

• Freddy Krueger: Freddy x s/o who likes to watch him kill

Freddy x s/o who died of natural causes and can stay in the Dreamworld

Freddy x s/o who knit him a new sweater

Burger Time With Freddy Krueger

Freddy roughhousing with this s/o

(Fluffy) Freddy x s/o headcanons 

• Bubba Sawyer: Bubba Sawyer spending holidays with s/o

Bubba x s/o headcanons 

Bubba x s/o who wants to see his workspace and watch him kill

Bubba when his s/o wants him to live with them

Bubba and accidentally injuring/killing his s/o

Bubba x s/o who simultaneously craves but is terrified of affection 

Bubba x younger s/o who looks even younger than they are

General Bubba x male!reader headcanons 

Bubba and his brothers after their s/o gets injured by a victim

• Thomas Hewitt: Thomas Hewitt headcanons

Thomas Hewitt x reader who “adopts” him as her older brother

Birthday headcanons!

• Brahms Heelshire:

Brahms x female!nanny who’s afraid of dolls

Brahms x s/o who’s sweet but doesn’t take any BS

Brahms realizing he needs to grow up if he wants his s/o to stay

Brahms with a s/o that sneaks him out of the house for a date 

Brahms being reunited with reader, who was a childhood friend of his

Soulmate AU

Brahms x reader who can teleport 

• Vincent Sinclar: 

General Vincent Sinclair headcanons 

Vincent Sinclar x s/o who loves to spoil him

• What We Do In The Shadows:

General Viago x reader headcanons 

Viago x werewolf!s/o that got kicked out of their pack

• Hilliker brothers (Wrong Turn):

General headcanons 

Protective Hilliker brothers

Hilliker brothers x sick s/o

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

DEAD BY DAYLIGHT:

----- Killers  ------------------------

DBD killers with a s/o who likes to dance

DBD killers most to least likely to spare their s/o in a trial

DBD killers most to least likely to get scared by a toaster

DBD Onesie party

Michael, Bubba, Max (the Hillbilly), and Evan (the Trapper) when they’re forced to kill their s/o in trials

Jeffrey (the Clown), Philip (the Wraith), Anna (the Huntress), and Frank (the Legion) when the Entity kidnaps their s/o | Part II

Michael and Max (the Hillbilly) x s/o who’s sweet but blunt

Michael and Max (the Hillbilly) x s/o who always drinks with a straw

Michael and Max (the Hillbilly) being taught by s/o

Michael and Max (the Hillbilly) x impulsive s/o

General headcanons for Michael and Max (the Hillbilly)

Michael and Max (the Hillbilly) x s/o who’s mesmerized by the stars, moon, and ocean

Frank (the Legion), Evan (the Trapper), and Philip (the Wraith) x sleepy and cuddly s/o

Evan (the Trapper), Philip (the Wraith), and Max (the Hillbilly) with a s/o that loves to have their hair pet

Meg Thomas, Susie, Julie (the Legion), and Anna (the Huntress) x artistic fem s/o

Meg, Julie (the Legion), Amanda (the Pig), and Anna (the Huntress) walking in on their fem s/o singing

Michael and Max (the Hillbilly) x s/o who’s just a dumb bitch and doesn’t know shit

Michael and the Legion girls x s/o with piercings

Adiris (the Plague) and Herman (the Doctor) reacting to reader confessing their feelings

Herman (the Doctor), Evan (the Trapper), and Max (the Hillbilly) with a s/o who likes to read to them

Herman (the Doctor) and Philip (the Wraith) with a s/o who likes to make them small embroideries 

Herman (the Doctor), Michael, and Bubba x male reader headcanons

Herman (the Doctor), Philip (the Wraith), and Max (the Hillbilly)’s thoughts on a s/o with tattoos 

Dwight, Anna (the Huntress), and Frank (the Legion) x very affectionate and considerate reader

Frank (the Legion), Joey (the Legion), Evan (the Trapper), and Herman (the Doctor) when they trip and fall and their s/o finds it funny

Evan (the Trapper), Joey (the Legion), and Frank (the Legion) x male!sick!reader

Frank (the Legion), Max (the Hillbilly), Danny (the Ghost Face), and Anna (the Huntress) x male!adult!reader that’s into childish things

The Trapper, the Wraith, the Hillbilly, and the Nurse when not yet s/o reader 360′s them in a trial

Evan (the Trapper), Frank (the Legion), and Joey (the Legion) getting jealous after seeing their male s/o having fun/laughing with other male Survivors

Michael, the Legion, and Anna (the Huntress) x reader who grins & bears with pain easily

Herman (the Doctor), Sally (the Nurse), and Michael x reader who’s studying to become a therapist 

Max (the Hillbilly) and Frank (the Legion) after accidentally hurting or killing their s/o (Angst)

Bubba, Max (the Hillbilly), Dwight, and Kate x hopeless romantic s/o

Max (the Hillbilly), Frank (the Legion), Danny (the Ghost Face), and Freddy with a male s/o that loves to show them off

Jealous Herman (the Doctor), Jeffrey (the Clown), Michael, and Amanda (the Pig) x male reader

Pranking Frank (the Legion) and Jeffrey (the Clown)

Danny (the Ghost Face) and Frank (the Legion) finally getting their hands on reader, who kept managing to escape them before

Herman (the Doctor), Danny (the Ghost Face), and Michael when their s/o is kidnapped by the Entity 

Philip (the Wraith), Anna (the Huntress), and Adiris (the Plague) x pyromaniac s/o

Evan (the Trapper), Herman (the Doctor), Frank (the Legion), Joey (the Legion) finding out their male s/o is ticklish 

Evan (the Trapper) x vegetarian male s/o

Herman (the Doctor) and Evan (the Trapper) x male s/o who breaks down from stress

Evan (the Trapper), Max (the Hillbilly), Anna (the Huntress), Danny (the Ghost Face), and Sally (the Nurse) x super cute s/o

----- Solo requests:  ------------------------

• Evan MacMillan | The Trapper (DBD): 

Evan MacMillan (The Trapper) x pregnant s/o

Pranking/messing with Evan MacMillan (The Trapper)

General Evan MacMillan x reader headcanons 

Evan when fem survivor reader ends up at the MacMillan Estate outside of a trial

• Philip Ojomo | The Wraith (DBD):

(Slowburn) The Wraith x Survivor!reader

The Wraith x survivor!reader with the prompt Predatory

General the Wraith headcanons 

• Max Thompson Jr. | The Hillbilly

The Hillbilly x s/o who loves to craft

Max (the Hillbilly) caring for barn cats

Max (the Hillbilly) x survivor reader that’s really good at running during trials

Cute Max x reader scenario 

• Sally Smithson | The Nurse (DBD)

The Nurse x s/o who has awful anxiety

• Lisa Sherwood | The Hag (DBD)

The Hag x witch s/o

• Herman Carter | The Doctor (DBD):

The Doctor x s/o who can purr

Herman’s sadism 

Fluffy the Doctor x reader headcanons 

• Jeffrey Hawk | The Clown

Obsession (Prompt)

•  Rin Yamaoka | The Spirit 

General headcanons for Rin Yamaoka (The Spirit)

• The Legion (DBD):

General Legion headcanons

The Legion with a s/o who walks quietly

Joey (The Legion) headcanons

(Angst) Reader discovering Frank’s Bad Boy ™ weekend activities

(Angst) Frank x survivor!reader who’s his past girlfriend

(Platonic) The Legion x reader who seems like they’re put together but really they’re a wreck

Dating the Legion

• Adiris | The Plague

The Plague x s/o with a weak immune system 

• Danny “Jed Olsen” Johnson | The Ghost Face

Random drabble 

Tunnel Vision Part I | Part II

----- Survivors ------------------------

Quentin, Ace, Dwight, and Adam x charismatic and outgoing fem s/o

General Dwight Fairfield and Feng Min x reader headcanons (Fluff)

Jake Park and Quentin Smith when having to hide in a locker with their s/o

Dwight, Joey, Quentin, the Wraith x s/o who has night terrors

----- Solo requests:  ----------------------

• Quentin Smith:

Fluffy Quentin Smith x reader headcanons 

Quentin watching his s/o get killed by Freddy

Quentin x reader who Very Obviously has a crush on him 

[calofdunbroch]

Merry Christmas Darling

I've just one wish on this Christmas eve I wish I were with you

Tiana’s was hardly ever empty. One of the most popular dining spots in all of Auradon City, there was almost always a wait. But today was different. The restaurant had been virtually empty, with just a few stragglers and lonely diners floating in and out. Currently the number of patrons could be counted on both hands. Two old men sat across from each other, laughing over a tall plate of beignets and reminiscing of holidays come and gone. A family of four were snuggled into a tiny booth; the two children’s eyes widening as the lone waitress dropped their cups of hot cocoa before them, a mountain of whipped cream adorned with green and red sprinkles slowly melting into the warm beverage. At the other side of the bar sat a man with his scarf wrapped up to his ears, quietly humming along as Karen Carpenter crooned a sad, slow holiday jingle from the radio, pausing only to enjoy a spoonful of gumbo every few seconds. 

Callum sat alone, watching the other patrons with a quiet reverence. His gaze followed them curiously, dropping down to then allow his hands to replicate the scene on a page in his sketchbook. Despite the invitation, he had opted to decline Beatrice and Fairy Godmother’s request to host him for the winter. As much as he would have loved to have been there, spending time with the horses and other creatures on their quaint farm, Callum felt uncomfortable with the idea of invading on the holidays. It felt like too intimate a time to be in another person’s home. But most of all... He hated the idea of anyone being audience to his homesickness and melancholy. This time of year brought that sadness that lurked within the deepest reaches of the boy directly to the surface, bubbling and desperate to break free. His stoic nature and powerful reserve were no match for the warm tears that seemed to lull him to sleep almost daily. He missed home, more than he’d like to admit. It had already been over a year since he left Scotland, and would be even longer before he could rightfully return. Time was weighing heavily on him, and the last thing he wanted was to appear vulnerable in front of anyone else. So he did his best to lock up the feelings, straying out into the cold only to be at this empty diner where the other patrons were too occupied in their own little worlds to pay him any attention. 

“That’s really good. I’m impressed... Really. Are you studying illustration?” 

The worlds pulled him from his thoughts, his hand pausing mid pen stroke as he looked up in time to meet the warm, chestnut colored eyes of the waitress. She’d been making frequent rounds to check in on her customers, perhaps the only people she had been able to interact with most of the day. It was Christmas Eve after all, very few places were open and even fewer people were going out. 

Cal followed the trail of her gaze to his sketchbook where he had been doing his best to replicate the wide smile the little girl across the way made when she first got her hot cocoa. Subconsciously he glanced towards the child. The whipped cream was long gone, remnants of sprinkles now peppering her chin as she giggled along to something her father said. “Uh... Aye, yes,” he finally blurted out. “I study art over at AU. It... Kinda keeps me calm.” A grateful - albeit rather small - grin graced his lips momentarily as he moved his pen away from the book. “Thank ye, for the compliment.” 

The waitress shrugged, “I’m just giving credit where it’s due, kid. You’ve certainly got a gift there.” She flashed him a warm grin, which Callum hadn’t noticed he reciprocated, before nodding at his empty mug. “Would you like some more coffee?” 

Blinking, Callum spared a glance at his cup. He had almost wanted to say yes, until he’d noticed the time. Quarter after five. He needed to go. Shaking his head, he closed his sketchbook and began gathering his things. The waitress laid his check down on the counter but Cal barely registered it before fishing out all the cash in his wallet and dropping in onto the counter. The waitress gathered the bills, her eyes widening at the amount he’d laid down. “Um, sir,” she began to protest but her words were drowned out by Callum’s exclamation of, “Happy Holidays, ma’am, have a great rest of yer Christmas Eve, aye?” 

And before more could be said, the young man got up and walked out of the diner, ducking his head as the icy winter air kissed his the exposed skin of his face. Callum readjusted his scarf to cover his vulnerable ears as he began the walk back towards campus. He couldn’t be even a second late. It was rare that he got opportunities to talk to his mothers, and given how desperately he missed them... He didn’t want to chance missing any second. Listening to the rhythmic crunch of the snow beneath his shoes, Callum practically ran back to the dorms. His roommate wasn’t in. Thankfully. Callum was gifted with an empty dorm throughout most of the holiday break. He had no idea where the Hart kid had run off to, and honestly he didn’t care. He wanted privacy for what he’d been anticipating all month long. Within the warmth and seclusion of his dorm, the young man tossed aside his heavy winter coat and tartan scarf, shaking out his wet hair to wipe out the snow flakes that gathered upon his head on the walk, and settled down onto his desk. 

His hands smoothed over the cool lid of his laptop, closed and waiting to be used. As his fingers began to push the monitor up, he paused and looked at the alarm clock he’d had by his bed. Just five minutes until six. Showtime. With a deep breath, Cal pushed the monitor open and quickly typed in his password, waiting impatiently as the computer came to life. Skype instantly popped up, already prepared for the call, and Callum sat straighter in his seat as he waited for the chime. The second he heard it, he’d wasted no time in answering, and his eyes widened as the screen came alight. At first the image was pixelated, but it wasn’t too long until the lag cut off and everything came into focus. The first thing he saw were bright cerulean eyes, equal in shade and shape as his, framed by thick dark hair and followed by a smile that made his heart both soar and ache. 

“Cally,” The nickname came out in a breathless whisper that the microphone had barely picked up, and yet Callum heard it loud and plain. A smile larger than any smile he’d managed in the past year spread over his face, dimpled and full of the kind of happiness only two people could bring out of him. Before he could speak, Caitriona was turning away from the screen to call out to another. “Mer! Mer, come quick, He’s on! Come over ‘ere, a leannan.” 

“Alright, alright! I’m comin’,” Cal could hear coming from the background. It was not long before a flash of red appeared on the computer screen, a petite redheaded women coming into focus, as Merida joined Cait before the monitor. The second she sat and came into focus... Callum thought he was going to lose it. “Oh, my boy,” Merida practically melted, her gaze, full of love and joy, clearly fixated on the monitor. “Oh my sweet, sweet boy!” 

“Ack, dinnae tell me yer already crying,” Cal chuckled, hiding his face as if he were embarrassed. In truth, he was checking to be sure his eyes hadn’t betrayed him just yet. There was a slight quiver to his voice as he spoke which he hoped his mothers hadn’t picked up on just yet. 

“Shut yer mouth, I’m nae crying,” Merida responded, Cait laughing softly along in the background. She shook her head but her grin had not faltered one bit. “I’m just so glad to see ye - it’s been a wee bit.” Both of their eyes were scanning the screen and Callum suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable under their scruitenizing gazes. Video call or not, they knew him better than anyone and could read every subtle twitch in his expression. He held his smile, though, a grin which for once reached his eyes and conveyed his happiness at just hearing their voices. Merida’s brows furrowed in response, which had him momentarily worried until she said, “'S it just me or does he look wee skinnier than he did last time we skyped?” 

Cait lightly smacked her wife’s arm in response, shaking her head at her, and turned her attention back to the screen. “He looks fine - You look fine. How are ye doin’, Callum? How have yer classes been? Tell us everythin’! We want ta ken all about it.”

“How’s archery been goin’? Ye been practicing, right?” Merida added with a bit of a stern voice which contradicted the beaming grin on her face. 

Callum resisted the urge to roll his eyes, instead chuckling under his breath and shaking his head lightly. “Yes, mum, I’ve been keeping up with archery. Two hundred and fifty shots a day, six days a week... Just like ye taught me.” 

Merida nodded curtly, about to respond when Cait interrupted her. “Oh never mind that! The two of ye can talk about archery another time - I want to hear about everything else. Tell me about school - How have ye been doing? Have ye been making friends?” 

Before Cal could respond, Merida added, “Wooing any young ladies?” The young man groaned in response, burying his face in his hands. He could hear Cait hissing something at Merida, likely chastising her for the outburst. Merida responded with a louder, “What? He’s a grown man now. And I would like some grandchildren before I’m old and gray like mammy is. Ye hear that? I want grand babies, Callum, that’s my Christmas wish this year.” 

Callum’s head rose from the comfort of his hands. “Ah, yes, speaking of which - Happy Christmas. If I’m nae mistaken, it’s after midnight over there... How in the bloody hell are ye two hags up this late?” He spoke affectionately despite the insulting words. Both of the women erupted into laughter on the other end, speaking over each other. He caught some of the gaelic words being flung at him, but just smiled in response. “To answer yer many questions - I’m doing alright, mammy. Classes have been good, I’ve gotten a few clients over the past few weeks which has meant extra cash in my pocket. Ye know... Aside form the money the two o’ ye sneak into my bank account. Aye, I ken what yer up to.” He chuckled, not about to pick a fight with them about it but appreciative nonetheless. Obviously Merida and Cait weren’t fans of their only child living the “starving artist” lifestyle, he couldn’t blame them for worrying. “I even gave a piece to the King of Auradon, odd as that sounds. Still not really sure how that one happened, but it did. I’m making friends, yes, though nae always willingly. And... No. There are no ‘young ladies’ in my life for ‘wooing’. Sorry, yer gonna have to keep that Christmas wish for another year, mum.” 

Merida let out a sigh and turned to Cait, her voice low but not low enough for the mic to not pick up. “He’s still stuck up on that Charming girl.” 

“Wha - I... I’m nae stuck up on anyone!” His cheeks burned as he protested, though the women were not listening.

“Aye, well, she is a pretty little thing last I remember,” Cait conceded. 

“And charming, probably,” Merida snorted. “Oi - why can ye nae date that Anderson girl? She’s cute. And she talks to ye, right? Probably the only girl that does.. He’s so hopeless at socializing. Honestly where did we go wrong?” 

“I’m just fine at socializing, thank ye very much. I have some friends,” Cal tried to interject, but the women were quickly speaking animatedly over him. 

“Ooo, Elsa’s girl! We do like Queen Elsa,” Cait responded to Merida instead. 

Merida snickered. “Well you most certainly like Elsa. More like fancy her, ye do.” 

“I do nae. Stop that.” 

“I’ve seen the way that ye look at her. I understand, she’s a bonny lass. Nae as pretty as ye mo nighean donn, but.. Well that is a sandwich I wouldnae mind being caught in...” 

“Can we please stop talking about my friend’s mum like this?” Cal groaned, hiding his face in his hands again. He was beginning to remember the one downside to family skype calls.

Cait narrowed her eyes at Merida before turning back to her son. “Anyway. I’m glad to hear yer doing well, Cally. Ye ken... We worry about ye often.” There was a sudden shift in the tone and Callum became aware of that lump that was sitting in his throat. He felt a new warmth in his face, followed by that sweeping melancholy that settled in whenever he thought too much about home and how much he missed it. How much he missed them. His eyes burned. 

“Aye, I ken,” he said hoarsely. 

She continued, “It hurts that we have to communicate like this... That ye cannae just come home and be here with us to celebrate the holidays. They’re just nae the same without ye. Everyone - absolutely everyone - misses ye terribly son. There’s a gaping hole here and we just... Nothing can fill that. We miss ye so much.” Cait’s voice broke and she turned away to subtly dab at her eyes. Callum didn’t see this though. His eyes had dropped to his hands which sat folded in his lap. He could see his gaze growing hazy but bit back on his tongue hard and willed the tears to stay inside. 

“Things could be different, ye ken.” It was Merida who spoke now. “If ye just... Came back, and faced the lairds’ sons... Then things could be different, Callum. Ye could come home, whenever ye wanted to. Ye could be here with us.” 

He blinked, jaw tightening to the point where he thought his teeth might shatter from the pressure. He could hear Cait whispering a warning to Merida, but he didn’t pay it much attention. Looking away, his gaze landed on the tartan scarf he’d been wearing earlier. DunBroch Tartan. The Tartan of the Royal Family. He felt another emotion rising up in him, the embers of his anger smoldering in the pit of his stomach. He felt sick.  

“All ye have ta do is -”

“I ken what I have ta do,” he barked back, annoyance coating his words. He closed his eyes momentarily, willing his fury to calm down. It had grown quiet and Callum sat still for a while, attempting to get his breaths to even out. 

“Ye dinnae have to do anything,” Cait finally said in a stern voice. He glanced up to see that his mothers were staring at one another, a silent battle brewing between them. They quickly dropped it and both looked back at him. “Dinnae worry about it. We are working on that. Every day we all work tirelessly to stop this conflict with the lairds. Yer mum and I, yer gran, even yer uncles have started joining the conversations... We’re certain we can pacify them and get them to back off from the call for a Highland Games. And once that is settled then ye will come back, Callum. Ye’ll come home and we will all be waiting here with open arms, ready to welcome our prince home.”

“Because that is what ye are... Yer the prince of DunBroch,” Merida added firmly. 

Callum looked away again, just letting the words hang there. Prince of DunBroch. That’s what they were fighting over ‘tirelessly’. A title - his supposed birth right. Yet Callum felt far from it. He didn’t feel like a prince. He barely felt like a member of the clan most days. Still, he bit back the feelings threatening to spill over and just nodded and smiled half-heartedly at them. “Aye,” he breathed. Blinking, he hadn’t realized how misty eyed he’d gotten, his gaze shifting to the clock. How had they only been talking for half an hour? He sniffled and smiled again at them. This time his smile had not reached his eyes, which remained stormy and distant. “It’s getting a wee bit late over there... Ye must be tired. Perhaps I should let ye go.” 

Both women appeared crestfallen, and Merida opened her mouth to protest. But there was a look of understanding on Cait’s face. She knew him better than most - after all, he was her son by blood. Her smile was small and warm, but there was a sadness teetering on the edge of her expression. “It has been a long day... The family of course sends their love, Cally. Gran Elinor, yer uncles... The dogs even.” All three let out breathless chuckles. Callum wanted to ask where they were, but the last time he had skyped and the dogs were in the room they went wild at the sound of his voice. It was better this way. More quiet. More intimate. 

“We love ye, Cal. And we will see ye soon... Sadly nae in time for Hogmanay but, hey - maybe ye could try introducing it to those Auradonians. Make some actual friends that way, aye?” Merida spoke in a teasing tone, trying to lighten up the atmosphere of the call, and Cal couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him, as well as the eye roll.  

“Who’s hosting Hogmanay anyway this year?” The women looked at each other before responding in unison, and in a monotonous tone, with, “The Dingwalls.” The boy grimaced and shook his head at them. “Aye, well... Hopefully it’ll be a good time.” 

“I’ll be very drunk, so I’m sure it will,” Merida laughed, and Cait shot her a look that seemed to contest her plans. They fell into another silence then, though this was more comfortable than the last. Callum swallowed against the hollowness in his throat, sniffling as he fought, and failed, to conceal some of those hot tears which wanted to fall. “Soon, M’annsachd,” Merida added. “We will be together soon.” 

As he swiped at his cheek, the only thing he could think to say in response was, “I love ye both. Happy Christmas.” His jaw clenched and his gaze dropped from the screen, unwilling to let them see the pain in his eyes. He didn’t want the call to go this way - he didn’t want it to end on such a sour note. What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he just maintain his composure and have a good talk? He didn’t even get to find out what was going on at home - how the family and the staff was. He felt even more distant from them and his homeland than he’d ever felt before and it was all his own fault.  

“We love ye too. Happy Christmas, Cally,” Cait spoke up for both her and Merida. They fell once again into a silence, which hung in the air a moment longer. Callum sucked in a breath, ready to look up and see them one more time. But before he could, he heard the chime signaling the end of the call. When he looked up, the screen was blank, and the warmth that had entered into the dormitory, and seeped into his bones, all but vanished in a matter of seconds. He felt cold; cold and hollow. Broken. He just sat there, staring at the screen for a few minutes longer until finally he snapped the monitor shut. Gathering his things, he slumped onto his bed, curling into a ball facing the wall. 

After a few moments alone, engulfed in the silence, Callum moved to turn on the radio which sat on his desk, the speakers coming alive with the tunes from the local radio station. He paused as he found himself listening to that same Carpenters’ song which played back at Tiana’s when he’d been dining there earlier. Laying on his back, he closed his eyes and listened to the words, feeling his bruised and broken heart cracking more and more with each lyric, as warm tears welled and slid down the curve of his cheeks. 

I wish you Merry Christmas Happy New Year too I've just one wish on this Christmas eve I wish I were with you I wish I were with you