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sunjaesol · 3 years

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“The simple act of being in love with you is enough for me.”

jiara | post-s2 | pining idiots | title: quote by Pacey from Dawson's Creek

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“Kie.”

“Hm?” The girl’s mop of curls obscured her face as she mumbled out some vowels, clearly still buzzed from the night before. An amused smile ticked up his lips and slapped her calf again. She sighed. “What?”

“Leggo,” he pushed, “we gotta get to Pope’s place.”

“Why?”

Even if everyone else would deny it, JJ swore Kie was as bad as he was: slow and fucking lethargic before eleven in the morning. Sure, she had better grades in school, but he wasn’t gonna give her more credit than that. Speaking of, “Helping him with that new scholarship, remember?”

The girl groaned and rolled over to face him, droopy eyes cracking open to scowl at him. She slept where he used to crash whenever his dad’s place became too much, but since the old man fucked off to Yucatán, he found peace in the quiet walls and cracked windows. Regardless, it was weird seeing her sprawled on this mattress, the boy almost able to envision himself beside her. A dangerous fantasy to linger on, so he pushed it aside and kept on trucking.

“C’mon, Kie.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered and sat upright. “How did you even get in the Château?”

JJ grinned and snagged a key chain from his shorts. “Spare key. Duh.”

She rolled her eyes, uttering, “John B’s stupid,” and then pushed him out the guest room, telling him she’d get ready. His mouth opened to make the joke if he couldn’t stay and watch, but the door slammed in his face and that was that.

Having a crush on Kiara was the freakiest thing ever. First of all, JJ and emotions didn’t mesh well — it only led to trouble, a perfect example being his dad and him with the most fucked up dynamic to boot. He preferred to not even think about the man, though one glance in the mirror often betrayed his mind and brought a rush of memories to the forefront, whether it was a shiner against his eye, or the fact that he resembled his father when he was young.

So yeah, he didn’t like anything ‘love’ related. It was stupid. It was more reckless than buying a jacuzzi or trying to steal a golden cross from a boat with dozens of armed men. Friendship, however, was easy. He told the Pogues just that: they were ‘it’ for him, he’d go through fire for them, through hell and fucking back.

But he didn’t think he’d actually die for them, which almost happened when he tried saving Kie on the Coastal Venture — to which she ended up saving him. (A vision illuminated by a golden sun, hovering over him. He’d never forget it.)

While he inspected the contents of the fridge, embarrassingly filled with only beer, eggs, milk and junk food, the door creaked open and revealed a dressed and less-wrecked Kiara. His gaze flicked up and down her frame, quick, and then averted it back to the fridge.

“You got no food, man.”

She chuckled. “I know. It’s not exactly The Wreck type of food…”

“You haven’t gone back?”

“Nope,” she replied, curt, and moved past him to shove a container of sausages aside to grab a bottle of almond milk. Even if she wasn’t with her parents, she still somehow kept up her ‘no dairy’ principles.

Also, Kiara was hella beautiful. He hadn’t let it register when she walked in, but it was true. Her soft-looking, shiny skin, sporting the prettiest smile in all of the OBX, and she was just hot. Especially when she propped herself on the kitchen counter, to which he settled beside her to not look at her legs.

“How many scholarships are there?” she asked. “Like, I’m obviously proud of him, but…”

“He told us last night,” JJ laughed. “You were that fucking high?”

She giggled, “Yeah! You were there, I was just on my ass.” And then, quieter, “And… I don’t know, I guess I’ve been kind of distracted.”

He perked up, surprised. Though the Pogues were family, openly talking about emotions when it wasn’t prompted by anything, remained rare. They were better at talking shit and smoking and napping on boats. Whatever, he took the bait.

“Why?”

She shook her head. “It’s stupid, JJ.”

“Kie, you’re talking to me,” he nudged her shoulder, “throw me a bone here. Is it Pope? You got the hots for our favourite nerd again?”

Taking a sip from the bottle, her brow quirked up as though that was the stupidest thing he ever said, and retorted with, “Why’re you always doing that?”

His hands raised instantly, defensive. “Doing what?”

“You’re always digging, like, when I was with Pope you got all weird.”

“I don’t dig.”

“You do.”

“I don’t. Kie, what’s up?” He kept it moving before she found the core of his problem, and bounced back to the original issue. “Before I start saying shit to Pope.”

She scoffed. “You're full of shit.”

“Oh, Kie,” he drawled with a smirk. “You can do better than that.”

Silence fell. He waited, fiddling with his fingers, and quietly hoped Pope wouldn't be too annoyed when they arrived late — then again, they were begrudgingly coined 'tortoise and tortoise' by the group anyway.

She placed the bottle back in the fridge and sent him a rueful smile, one he often saw her showing Sarah before they went aside and had a private talk. Their eyes locked and she finally spoke.

“Sometimes, I… I miss my parents. And it's like, I don't get how they don't just accept that I'm a Pogue, that I'm friends with you guys, you know? But I still miss them.” She looked down at her feet, crossing at the ankles like a little girl waiting to be reprimanded by the teacher. “I miss my dad's hugs.”

Instantly, his arm swung around her for a gentle side hug, a grateful smile pulling on her lips as she leaned into him. Both knew they should savour a moment like this, as hugging with a twitchy JJ and often irritated Kie happened once every blue moon.

Ignoring the guilty look in her eye — yeah, he didn't understand missing a paternal embrace, rather used to a blow in the stomach or a crude remark, but that didn't mean he lacked empathy — he resisted the urge to encourage her to reconnect with them. Knowing her, she'd just close up and glare at him for the rest of the day.

So no, he wasn't going to ask her. And no, she shouldn't feel guilty. P4L 'til the end, baby.

“Thanks, JJ,” she whispered.

He snickered and pushed her off. “You can't tell the guys I'm becoming soft, dude. Theyʼll give me so much shit for it.”

“They know you're soft,” she teased, “don't even try.”

“I'm tough,” he tried.

“Like Play-Doh.”

“Whatever,” he mumbled and motioned at the kitchen door. “Let's go, Carrera. Before John B and Sarah come back and act all married.”

Now that was fucking annoying. After John B and Sarah faked their death, they got married by a bandana strip and hadn't let that notion go after returning. Sure, there was that small blip when they were fighting the crazy religious chick, but that was old news.

John B made him swear he wouldn't tell a soul, but the guy waxed poetry about Sarah whenever they were drunk and alone. It was hilariously sad. Another man lost to a girl.

(“She wants a beach wedding,” JB sighed a couple nights ago. “Nice, right?”

“I– yeah, I really don't care about this, man.”)

JJ knew that when he got a girlfriend (Kiara unintentionally but also very intentionally crossed his mind), he'd act normal. No mushy shit. No poetry. Definitely no creepy Romeo and Juliet references thrown in as if that shouldn't freak the Pogues out. Their behaviour better not be infectious.

Expectedly, Pope's scowl reached them all the way from the car, Kie and JJ sharing a sheepish look before stepping out.

“Gee, guys,” the boy deadpanned, “thanks for making haste. Really appreciate it.”

JJ's wide grin hoped to salvage it. Slapping his friend on the shoulder, he pushed past him and yelled, “Kie was dead, dude!”

Pope grimaced. “Don't joke about that.”

He watched as Kie stopped beside Pope with an apologetic expression, telling him she overslept and was sorry and that he knew how JJ was — “Always joking.”

His chapped lips pursed, a familiar punch hitting his chest with him then pretending it didn't hurt. She always did this. Even if she claimed she didn't, she always took Pope's side. Relationship or not. JJ knew she didn't owe him her 'side', but it'd be a nice change of pace either way.

Whatever. This wasn't the JJ Pining For Kiara Show. Pope needed their help.

A state-wide scholarship competition gave Pope another shot at winning a huge chunk of money (no gold type of rich though) and getting his ass out of OBX, hopefully launching himself into some fancy college when he revealed to be of Denmark Tanny's lineage. Those hibrow assholes loved a good sob story.

All Pope had to do was score hella high on some test — easy — and impress the panel — not so easy — and he'd be the luckiest Pogue of all.

But that did mean Kie and him had to sit on his creaky bed with a freaky amount of flashcards while a stressed out Pope paced around his room. He was pretty sure the floor was eroding.

Also, he had no fucking clue what any of the flashcards meant. Did Pope's smarts really attracted Kie that much? Was it the brain? Brain over brawl? But where was the fun in that? JJ loved Pope to death, but the guy had to be fully medicated or high before his brain shut off and he acted carefree.

“Pope, do you even know what this all means?” Kie bemoaned, flipping the cards around.

“You got a dictionary somewhere?” added JJ, squinting at the word aberration. It sounded like some weird disease. He showed him the word.

Pope dismissed it. “It means: different from the norm.”

“Dude, why not write that then?”

“Because they want aberration.”

He didn't get it. “No one uses it though.”

“JJ, that's just the way it is,” Pope pressed.

“Guys, stop,” Kiara interrupted. “But honestly Pope, it's so, like, elitist. None of these questions are important to the world, or the well-being of the people.”

“Sorry, Kiara, but unfortunately not everyone cares that much,” he sighed. JJ could tell they were starting to annoy their friend, their tortoise bullshit bleeding through.

Her nose scrunched up, peeved. “Right. Because there's a planet B just waiting to be used by us. Duh.”

“Ooh,” JJ drawled, nudging her arm. “Are there donkeys shitting money?”

Kie laughed. “Yes. All beaches, clean air, no Kooks, and money-shitting donkeys.”

“Nah, I want it to be hella Kooky,” he joked, gesturing wildly. “I want a yacht and tell people someone else does my laundry, or something.”

“You don't even do your laundry anyway,” she bounced back with a roll of the eye. “I know you force John B.”

“He's already playing House with Sarah, might as well wash my underwear, too.”

Oh, man. He could do this all day. Talking shit with Kiara went as smooth as fishing for him. Each time he thought he one-upped her, she threw more on top and kept it going 'til neither knew what the point even was anymore. Sarah dubbed it as 'banter' which he believed was a rich way of saying 'talking smack.'

“I don't believe you even know how to do it,” she challenged.

JJ huffed and crossed his arms. “I can do it.”

A smirk bloomed on her lips as she kept jabbing. “It's kinda cute, how you need John B to be your mom.”

“I don't.”

“You literally said it five seconds ago.”

“Guys,” Pope groaned, followed by an exhausted sigh eerily similar to Heyward. “Can we get back to the flashcards?”

Kie and JJ were too far into their discussion though, jabbing at each other at rapid speed. Then she threw her cards at him and all bets were off. He yelled she should make a goal with her hands, to which he folded up a flashcard and shot it straight between her fingers.

And that was when Pope kicked them out. JJ presumed it was a victory they lasted as long as they did. Kie kept apologising over her shoulder, prompting Pope to ask Cleo for help instead.

For a beat, they were silent stepping out of his place and back into the car. JJ felt a stab of guilt for fucking up Pope's study time, but it was hard to dial his brain to school when his friends surrounded him. Just when he wanted to ask if she felt bad too, she went off about the climate — as usual.

“It's so dumb how there were no questions about the environment or human rights or, or anything like that! It's all science and lit, like, there's more to life than fucking chemistry formulas!”

“I skipped those cards. Didn't get them.”

“It's so fucked,” she hummed. “And I'm obviously glad that you drove to the Château to wake me up and all—”

“Yeah?”

“—but I really wish those questions would matter. We almost died, JJ!”

“No, shit,” he grumbled, quickly starting to lose his patience with the ranting girl. She didn't even realise what the fuck she was saying anymore — what she did to his heart, skipping like some elemtary school girl on the playground, when she slipped some nice words in.

“Died!” she pressed. “Why even care about stuff like that?”

“Fucks sake, Kie—”

“And I didn't want to say it, but did you see how many flashcards there were? How many trees were cut for that? It's like, hello, Quizlet exists!”

“Kie, shut up!” he yelled.

Her mouth fell slack, gobsmacked, gawking at him like his interruption was a slap in the face.

Gesturing wildly with one hand, he exclaimed, “You know, you can just go on and on and I hear you talking and it's like, yeah, we get it, Mother Earth needs to be saved, we're fucked, you don't gotta repeat it twenty-four seven.”

“What the hell, JJ!”

“You have an opinion about everything! A man gets tired!”

“A man?” She scoffed. “You're not even eighteen.”

“Point is you don't gotta act all preachy all the time.” He turned the corner, hands tightening around the steering wheel.

Kie scowled. “Where is this coming from? I'm not preachy, I'm educating you.”

Now that was just fucking with his head. Incredulous, he exclaimed, “You think I don't listen? Kie, I'm the only one that does. JB is on Planet Sarah all the damn time and Pope only did shit 'cause—"

"That!” she yelled, throwing her hands up with frustration. “That's what I mean! You're doing it again! You dig!”

“What?!”

“Every time you mention Pope and I, you dig. You needle!” Twisting in her seat, his gaze flickered to catch her disgruntled expression. “Why do you do that? It's so… sus.”

JJ laughed. “Sus?”

“You don't ask John B about Sarah.”

“'Cause they're fucking obvious.”

“Still,” she pressed. “Did I do something to piss you off? Is that it? Is it me constantly asking you to recycle and yet — shocker! — you never do?!”

“Fucking God,” he grumbled under his breath.

With frazzled thoughts and shaking hands, adrenaline coursed through him as he swerved to the side of the road and stopped the car. If he fought with Kie any longer to this degree of fuckery, they were gonna crash.

She frowned. “What're you doing?”

“You, Carrera, are driving me insane,” he deadpanned, matter-of-fact. Then he slammed the door open and stepped out, desperate to catch his breath.

In the back of his mind, he had an inkling as to why he was so keyed up. Kiara would call him a Neandethal, but fuck it, here was the truth: Kiara was hot as hell when she argued with him.

Following his lead, she got out, her sneakers stomping against the asphalt. The sun steeped low on the horizon, the light hitting the hood and reflecting onto her face; her curls shifting from dark brown to gold. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He was so fucked. He almost missed the start of her spiel, too enthralled.

“I'm driving you insane? I'm always getting you out of trouble, because you never think things through! You never see the bigger picture!”

He rolled his eyes. “Bigger picture? The only thing I see, Kie, is you going on about nature. That easy.” And then, before he could stop himself, he spewed out, “And you don't have to do that.”

“What?”

“Getting me out of trouble,” he said, pursing his lips. “That's not your responsibility.”

“Right. Duh. Because after everything we've been through, I can't care about you,” she exclaimed, face twisting up in pure fury. She got in his space, shoving his shoulder, but when he didn't budge, it only seemed to anger her more.

JJ didn't know what was going on anymore. Why was she so mad? Even if she didn't want to admit it, he was telling the truth. Of course all the Pogues had each other's back, but Kiara doted over him more than was necessary. The constant checking of injuries, limiting his day drinking, all that. Like he was some child!

He leaned in and mumbled, “I can take care of myself.”

Kie smirked. “Then do your own laundry.”

It happened naturally. One second he stared at her furious eyes and thought about how much he loved arguing with her despite the bullshit, the next his fingers curled into her hair and pulled her in a fierce kiss.

At first, her hands laid frozen on his shoulders, surprised, but the moment he realised his impulsive decision was a mistake, they slid around his neck and kept him close.

JJ sighed in relief and deepened the kiss he'd been craving ever since they were fourteen and Kie went from gangly to statuesque. Her lips were warm and soft and her hands were soft and she hadn't let go and holy shit — he was kissing Kiara Carrera.

The kiss lessened when her mouth quirked into a smile, their grins pressing flush together, and JJ shivered from delight. Oh, man. He was gone.

“You drive me damn crazy, Kie,” he murmured, voice dropped to an undeniably soft tone.

She bit back her silly grin and whispered, “Good.”

Taking a deep breath, he tried focusing up, but all he could do was stare at her face. A shy hand grabbed hers.

He had to get it out of the way now, or else he'd kick himself later. “I'm… really into you. I'm– oh, fuck, uh–”

“Maybe we can talk about it not on the side of the road?” she suggested, amused.

JJ grinned, elated (What was the word he saw on the flashcards? Exalted!), and kissed her again, because he could.

On the ride back to the Château, he confessed to seeing her in a different light for years, while she couldn't really pinpoint a time or moment, that it just happened. It didn't matter, though he was in utter disbelief that he and Kie were having this conversation. No jokes, no BS, all seriousness. Tomorrow, he'd wake up and it wouldn't be some sick dream. Kie liked him back.

JJ was sure he'd doubt himself or overthink it in the future, but today, he'd bask in the certainty and the major ego boost.

“Okay, but did you ever legit like Pope then?”

A sheepish smile crawled up her cheeks as her gaze averted to the window. “I thought I did. But we have, like, no chemistry, so…” She shook her head. “I was confused.”

“That's okay,” he uttered. He couldn't give her shit for it. Even if he did torture himself with their short-lived relationship, he understood.

How would he react though? John B and Sarah wouldn't care, or Cleo, but Pope? He didn't want one of his brothers hating him. Being iced out by the guy fucking sucked, as it meant he was truly hurt and therefore meant JJ truly fucked up. He couldn't handle disappointing him.

Kie read his mind. “He'll be fine with it.”

“I dunno, man…”

“He will,” she repeated. “We're Pogues. We've all narrowly survived death. And besides…” She turned back to him with a secretive grin. “I think he has a thing for Cleo.”

Whoa. He did not see that coming. His brows shot up to his hairline, mentally kicking himself for being so focused on Kie that he didn't even notice the shift of interest between Pope and Cleo. They made sense, too. Know-it-all's, but well-meaning, and only speaking when needed.

If the idea didn't relief him of worries, he'd be concerned as to why they were all seamlessly coupled up like in some 90s sitcom Big John had on VHS.

“What a player,” he joked.

“Tell me about it.”

They arrived at the house, the Twinkie and Sarah's bike sprawled on the overgrown front lawn. JJ frowned. He had hoped to have some alone time with Kie, not to jump her bones and fulfill a regular dream of his, but to talk. To figure it out. He wanted to do this right. Because after everything, they deserved to have good things, to start on a high note — he deserved it.

Kie noticed it, too. Puckering her lips on contemplation, her gaze trailed from him to the rest of the property, ending on the trusty ol' hammock. She jabbed her thumb at it.

“Let's sit there.”

Normally, they laid on opposite ends on the hammock, if they even shared one to begin with. But now, she pressed herself right beside him and he felt like heaven dropped down on them in the best way possible. He suddenly understood what John B was lamenting about — the company, intimacy, the ease. Nerves rippled through his body like a summer storm, but he figured that was what it cost to lose one's mind over a girl.

He didn't know what to say, so Kiara spoke instead.

“I don't want us, the way we are around each other, to change, you know?” she said. “Like, I don't want you to think you have to act like some mellow ass boyfriend all of a sudden.”

He smirked. “Who said anything about boyfriend?”

“Bye.”

“Hey, wait,” he grinned, latching onto her arm before she pushed herself out. “C'mon, Kie.”

Her nose scrunched up. “I don't do this usually, okay?”

“You think I do?” he asked. His hand softly slid down to wrap around hers, to which she hooked their fingers together. Okay. Wow. It felt so damn nice that it propelled him to say, “I wanna be your boyfriend, Kie.”

The girl smiled and then surprised him by leaning in herself, pressing a gentle kiss on his chapped lips. It was overwhelming having her instigate it, his gut twisting up in excitement like when he was about to backflip from a boat, or cliff dive, or something similar like that.

He let go of her hand to cup her cheeks, only to whisper, “That's a yes, yeah? Gotta get a yes.”

“Yes, JJ,” she uttered back. “Here's to not fucking this up.”

“Cheers, baby.”

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#jiara #outer banks #obx #obx fanfiction #otp: cause i'll come #It's messy but in a cute way

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tedturneriscrazy · 3 years

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Another Saturday, another episode! Let's take a look at Keeping Up A-fear-ances!

(Good lord I'm starting to make myself sound like some sort of content creator)

Oh, okay, we're just starting at that level of intensity, huh?

Chest gem origins

Gwendolyn not being satisfied with managing the curse and determined to cure it? I'm sure this won't be a real world allegory in the slightest.

Oh, so Eda literally just stumbles upon the portal? I could call that contrived, but honestly it's not dissimilar to how Dipper found Journal 3. For that matter, the entirety of Lord of the Rings is predicated on an accidental discovery like this and nobody gave Tolkien shit about it.

Was the eye on the portal cracked in previous episodes? I don't remember.

Seems like Gwen is the "well-meaning but ultimately misguided" flavor of mom.

As an aside, I am now quite curious about how Eda's first trip to the human realm went. Maybe a future episode will cover it? At any rate, I smell a new favorite fic prompt.

The screaming alarms in the Demon Realm will never not be funny to me.

Also, that is a worrying number of hearts. Eda is straight up murdering these poor creatures.

For some reason the gold fang being removable never occurred to me as a possibility, and now I feel like a kid who's discovered that Santa isn't real.

Oh hey, the new outfit! I'm also impressed how close to symmetrical that tearing was.

I need to get a screencap of Luz sleeping on that stack of books because she is adorable.

Also, staying up all night researching? This season seems determined to completely eradicate the notion of Luz being dumb, and I am here for it.

I have a feeling the Hexside mug will be making its way to The Mystery Shack in the near future.

Lilith's first experience with transformation and she seems understandably horrified.

The curse acting stronger when stressed? That seems...important.

Ah, so the dismemberment is from the curse! A surprisingly useful side effect from what we've seen so far.

Can I just say that I appreciate how Eda's reaction to Lilith's first taste of transformation is immediate remedy, explanation, and reassurance? And doesn't make any snarky comments along the lines of "now you know what it's like?" Whatever happened in that week and a half must have been cathartic as hell.

"Always. Always curious." Luz is the TOH fandom.

(Also, Eda, you know she is, considering how much she went on about your "mysterious past" at the Covention)

"Magic bird tornado?!" Luz has a way with words that's just *chef's kiss*.

"Gwendolyn." Eda is already just fucking done.

"MOM?!?!" Jeez, Lilith, you're just now hearing all this?

I was charmed by how motherly Gwen was acting toward Eda, but then she kinda just...dismissed Lilith, and now I'm somehwat less charmed.

(Sweet flea as a term of endearment is kinda cute, though might have some unfortunate implications depending on how you want to interpret it)

"Who knows what they put in those nasty concoctions?" OH WE GOING FOR THE ANTI-VAXXERS NOW YESSSS

Luz and Lilith's reaction to that whole exchange is priceless.

Everyone's perspective here makes perfect sense for who they are and what they've been through.

Poor Lilith. Her cursing Eda is beginning to make more sense.

Ah, thus begins the collaboration.

"We'll be consulting someone very special." Why does that seem so...ominous?

Is there anyone who watched this episode for the first time whose bullshit detector didn't go off immediately when Gwen mentioned finding someone who promised a cure?

Heh, Palm Stings.

Nonbelievers will be blinded by the power of the tome? I'm sure they will be, Wartlop.

I must say, as something of a scientist myself (okay that's not true, I'm a QA tech for a food manufacturer, but I do have a chemistry degree), I am 100% here for the swings being taken at faith healing/"miracle" cures/anti-vaxxers in this episode

Oh, we Wile E. Coyote now, huh?

Also, interesting how much apple blood is being played up in this episode.

Lilith please you're projecting your mommy issues on a literal child

OH WE REALLY JUST WILE E. COYOTE HUH?

You're right, Luz, Gwen's bicep game is goals.

(Somewhat disappointed the scars are from questing and not beastkeeping, but eh)

Why do I get the feeling there's gonna be a future episode where everybody stages an intervention for Eda's apple blood problem?

"Those feathers mean we're driving the beast out" Gwen no

Hooty is holding the brain cell? Oh no...

If that ice cream came from the Night Market it would explain why Lilith sounds drunk.

(Side note: I can't be the only one getting flashbacks to Mermista's ice cream binge, right? Different context, but still)

"Abomi-berry" "Franken fruit" "Key slime pie" These are A+ flavor names.

Oh, there's the transformation...

I must say that whole segment kinda rubbed me the wrong way. The way King's opinion on his dad was changed seemed...I don't know how to describe it. I get that they needed a trigger for Lilith's transformation, but honestly if any part of the episode is contrived it's this.

"¡It really is that good!" So that's what an accent slip in written form looks like. (The upside down exclamation point is used in Spanish, in case anyone didn't know)

I keep half expecting Eda to say "Beep! Beep!" at this point.

Luz is finally asking questions. Took long enough.

Ah, the classic "moving the goal posts to extract more money from a desparate family member" technique.

Luz channeling Scorpion, we love to see it.

There is an exquisite irony in Eda's mom being scammed, I must say.

Ah, so that's where the elixirs went. Dammit, Gwen.

Luz is definitely thinking "Are you fucking kidding me right now?!"

Beast!Lilith is massive.

"Sweet flea?" Gwen just realized she done goofed.

"I can see you still need a little time." God Luz is so fucking smart.

The con revealed.

OH DAMN SCARY MAMA

(Also I am terrified of bees/wasps, so extra scary mama in my book)

The scam is revealed, goblins, getting back into the Wartlop disguise is kinda pointless.

She joined the Beast Keeping coven entirely to cure the curse? That's dedication. A shame you couldn't have spared some of that for Lilith.

Still, I do like badass scary mama Gwen. I'd be down to see more of that.

Owl Beast fight!

I am slayed by the fact that the portraits are now officially a recurring gag 😂

Aw, here's The Moment™️

"My turn to drive" Does this imply cars are a thing on the Boiling Isles after all?

Lilith crying almost immediately💔 She was holding onto a lot of pain.

Yes, King, she was trying to do her best. I mean, road to hell or whatever, but at least Gwen got there in the end.

WHAT?! YOU'RE BREAKING UP LULU AND HOOTCIFER?!?!?!?

Terrace, that's just cruel. (Worthless brownie points for whoever understands that reference)

No, seriously, you can't just give me my favorite inter-character relationship in the series after Lumity and just...take it away like that, come on! 😭😭😭😭😭😭

I know I should remark on how Lilith told Gwen about the circumstances of the curse, how Gwen rightfully accepted responsibility for the whole situation, and how Luz finds the big hair aspirational, but...NOOOO DON'T END THE ADVENTURES OF LULU AND HOOTCIFER WHYYYYYYYYY💔😭💔😭💔😭

"BUT I CAN'T HOLD A PEN!"

I will never emotionally recover from this.

Okay, I think I got that out of my system. Anyway...

Not the only human, huh? Cue the "Belos is a human" theorists going into maximum overdrive.

That said, a tantalizing lore dump.

We certainly do have a lot of garbage. Some of it even holds office. HEY-O!

Setting up the next episode, too. Continuity!

Camp's over, huh? That means it's been three months.

Way to misdirect with Camila, guys. That said, we have now seen Camila cry and I HATE it. (In the right way, I think)

WHAT THE FUCK

HOLY SHIT

CREEPY LUZ IS REAL WHAT

OWJEIWHQGIWWOPQ

(It's hard to keysmash on a phone, even with autocorrect off)

That wraps it up! The flaws in this episode seem more pronounced than any others in the season so far, but the good stuff was really good! Overall a solid episode! I know everybody's looking forward to library Lumity in the next one (so am I), but I'm personally eager to see what they do with Gus. His part is the A plot, after all.

Anyway, I'll be back at this next week! Still hard to believe this is a thing, but that's life, I guess.

#the owl house #eda clawthorne #gwendolyn clawthorne #luz noceda #lilith clawthorne #king of demons #toh king #toh s2 spoilers #the owl house s2 spoilers #the owl house season 2 spoilers #toh spoilers #the owl house spoilers

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amethystpath-writes · 4 years

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Okay so this isn’t my original idea but remember that one post where it was like one soulmate is killing their other soulmate to stay immortal but their soulmate keeps on being reborn or just doesn’t stay dead for long??

If that’s too confusing basically can you do a continuation of your own prompt there the villain is the immortal, not the hero. (Prompt 41?44? I don’t remember oops)

I don't think I know that post, but if you still want me to write it and you can find it, feel free to send another ask! For now, I'll just fill the prompt!

******

“But- but I killed you.” Hero swore he couldn’t breathe. Villain wasn’t supposed to be in front of him right now. He- he was supposed to be in the morgue or wherever they kept and processed dead bodies. He was supposed to be dead. This had to be some kind of trick. Maybe there was a part of Hero’s mind that felt guilty for killing Villain, and now he was hallucinating. “I watched you die. I- I checked your pulse. You’re dead.”

Villain huffed and rolled his eyes. “Why is this always such a surprise to everyone?” He took two steps forward, watching with boredom as Hero flinched back, shielding his eyes. “You need me to pinch you? Convince you I’m right in front of you?”

“Not real,” Hero muttered. “Not real, not real, not. real. It’s in my head. It’s just in my head.”

Tossing his head back, Villain sighed. “Most of your little crew in the past at least tried to swing at me, finish the job. Some of them actually achieved killing me for a second time. I was impressed! Much more exciting than what you’re doing right now.” Hero kept muttering. Villain asked, “You really think you’re imagining me still? What’s it gonna take? Do I need to jab you in the gut? Would that help?”

Maybe I’d deserve that, Hero thought, continuing to consider the concept of guilt. What Hero was really curious about right now was, How is this so real? He acknowledged it was all fake, but he didn’t think his brain was capable of creating such a realistic version of Villain. The look, the voice, the condescending tone, everything was drawn up to a T. It shouldn’t have been possible, especially after a whole week of Villain’s death.

“Alright, this is getting old. I want to try something new since I haven’t had this reaction before. You really shouldn’t be a hero if you go into shock this easily.”

The image in front of Hero was moving closer. Villain was pulling something out from behind him. Hero already knew what it would be; Villain always kept handheld weapons back there in case his powers- whatever those were, Hero never knew- were unsuccessful. Usually it was throwing knives. This time it- Hero swallowed.

“You remember this. Good.” Villain nodded. “I figured you would, given how you stabbed me with it- rude.”

Now Hero had the sense to stand from his seated and shaking position. As a change, he was now in a standing and shaking position. This was becoming real to him- too real.

“Okay. What I’m thinking is that I clean this blade- a very pretty one by the way; love the chromatic look…I’m going to go over to that sink, and I’m going to clean this.” Villain made his way to Hero’s kitchen, turning on the sink like he said he would. He began scrubbing with the pad of his thumb. “I have two reasons for this: one, there are other victims’ blood on it now- from the morgue; they were about to cremate me if you can believe it. Props to you; that was my first time ever being in one of those places. And, two, because I want this to play out for you as it did for me- it was clean before you stabbed me with it; it should be clean before I stab you with it.” Villain turned with the blade now clear of any blood.

Hero couldn’t move, but he didn’t need to, did he? Because this was all his imagination, all his guilty conscious. Nothing else.

“You aren’t going to do anything to protect yourself,” Villain observed aloud. “You’re just going to stand there shaking like a rotting leaf stuck in a tree during October. Fine, then. Might as well take this to my advantage.”

Unable to move or think for himself, Hero was easily taken by Villain. All the while, Hero continued to believe this was a hallucination. Villain absolutely could not be alive because that meant- that meant he could…No. Villain can’t- can’t come back to life.

Hero knew for a fact he killed Villain. When he bled out, Hero listened to the silence of his opponent’s chest, watched its stillness. He. Was. Dead. It was that solidity in Hero’s mind that made him deny the obvious fact in front of him. Because it was impossible to become…undead. It just wasn’t possible. And since it was impossible, the person standing in front of Hero, talking to someone or something else in the room was fake- was a ghost in Hero’s head.

“-tired of this game. It’s becoming boring, but I found some entertainment for myself, and I think it can become a lesson to you. See…”

A red light was in front of Hero’s face. He looked, blinking slowly, beyond the red light to Villain. Hero didn’t quite understand where he was, or what his mind was conjuring up at the moment. He felt so tired because of his current insanity, and so it didn’t matter much what his location was.

“I think this can serve as a lesson to you- not that I care to help you, but it gives me an excuse to torture a poor soul.”

Hero blinked again. The red light belonged to a camera, he realized. Villain- or Ghost Villain- was recording him and talking to whoever was watching on the camera. In all reality, Hero figured it was he who was recording himself. Maybe he was even talking- he didn’t know. He was likely telling his base leader about how he was losing his mind and thought he was in a cellar-like room with Villain.

“I’m going to screw this back on the tripod, and then, I’ll show you what happens when you guys keep sending your men to kill me. It doesn’t work, alright? And I’m tired of dying.”

The chromatic knife was lowered in front of Hero’s eyes. He didn’t startle at it, but, as it was lowered out of his vision and Villain’s amused grin replaced it, he felt worry. Worry turned to searing pain in Hero’s leg and he let out a blood-curdling scream, grasping at the cold ground, fingers curling into fists that grasped onto nothing. The same pain magnified again as the knife came into sight once again- this time half coloured with red.

It’s real, it dawned on Hero as he finally looked down to find a hole in his leg. “A-augh!” It was throbbing and he swore he could feel his blood pulsing out of the wound. His stomach twisted with his pain and he turned to his right as to not throw up on himself.

What made the pain in Hero’s leg worse was the fact that his muscles were clenched. He couldn’t relax them no matter how hard he tried and that only meant the throb was everlasting.

The knife made its strike again- this time down the arm opposite of Hero’s now-injured leg. He hollered again, writhing and crying in anguish. “Stop! Stop it!” Quieter, he repeated to himself, “It hurts. It hurts, it hurts.”

For once his body protested as he eyed Villain in front of him. His good leg twitched like it was ready to assist in springing on and tackling Villain to the ground. But the controlled side of Hero’s mind told him it’d only make him hurt worse. Not to mention, he might land on the blade and therefore kill himself. Wait. “You’re- you’re going t-to kill…kill me.”

Villain paused, tilting his head almost curiously at Hero. “That was the plan originally, but then you fell to cowardice, and that was boring.” As he spoke, Hero could feel his limbs jumping, spasming. “So, now we’re doing something else. Kinda like it, actually. Centuries have gone by, and I never actually took my time with any of you. For once, I am seeing the true and utter fear I felt when I died for my first time.” Villain continued, “I could have been such a great person, you know? I would have been a perfect good guy, unable to die and all. But instead of seeing that vision, I was seen as a threat to humanity. They began hunting me, trying to figure out how to put me down for good. I decided to fit their little role, though.”

What Villain did and said next shocked Hero. “Go on, try it.” Villain held the blade handle out to Hero on the ground. “Take it. I’ll let you kill me again, and then you can leave.”

“You’re lying. That’s- that’s a stupid th-thing to- to offer. Why would you l-let me kuh-kill you, then let- let me go?”

Villain shrugged. “Something new. I want to live something different this time. I told you many times that few have killed me twice- and the ones who did it were killed as soon as I could find them. I want to see how far you can go if I give you a month’s head start.”

“You- you want to hunt me.”

“I do. Seeing as you did it to me, I think it’s fair.” He jutted the handle out to Hero again as an offer. When Hero took it, Villain said, “I know I took out your dominant arm out, but- well, I have confidence you’ll do just fine if it means you get to kill me again.” Villain tapped at his chest, right where his heart was located. “Go on. I know you want to.”

Hero considered this for a moment, staring at the knife- at the knife with his blood on it now instead of Villain’s. Did he ever question why his organization was going after Villain? Not really. He just knew Villain murdered every single man Leader sent out. Maybe it was self-defence, in which case Hero shouldn’t have been going after Villain like he was, shouldn’t have killed him like he already did once and was being given the opportunity to once again.

But now was different. Now, Villain really was sadistic- assuming he wasn’t before. Villain, if he was any sort of a healthy and sane man, would have had Hero jailed for trying, and succeeding, in killing him. Or, if he was afraid of the authorities taking him in for being- ahem- unkillable, then he would have only kept Hero locked up. Villain wouldn’t have had Hero in a cellar room, stabbing and slashing at him while a camera recorded it all. If Villain ever was good, that morality was stripped from him now, and that meant Hero needed to take this chance at life. Maybe he could go back to his base and demand answers. Because based off what Villain told, they knew he was immortal, and they never told Hero- or Hero’s previous teammates, who were now ‘mysteriously’ dead.

Without another word, or even a warning glance, Hero weighed the knife in his left hand, gripped the handle, and slashed at Villain’s throat. As he laid dying, Hero searched for the key on Villain’s person, and left.

#request fill #writing request #hero x villain #immortal villain #immortal whumper #mislead hero #the ending wasn't as strong as I wanted it to be but it's fine lol #hero x villain story

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thebibliomancer · 3 years

Text

Tides of the Dark Crystal liveblog pt 11

Tides of the Dark Crystal by J.M. Lee because uh oh Amri’s in trouble!

Last times on book: Amri and co are on a quest to unite all the Gelfling clans, a quest that is starting off on the wrong foot already. Maudra Ethri of the Sifa told them no thanks and it turns out that she’s hosting the Skeksis Mariner skekSa. Sifa Tae gets poisoned while the heroes are adjacent and they get briefly blamed for it but skekSa sleuths out the real culprit. But while Dr. Detective Captain skekSa is healing Tae, Amri tries to stab the Skeksis for reasons that seemed like a good idea at the time.

Chapter 11

Maudra Ethri’s plan and spider crimes

With Tae healed and rehydrating, skekSa calls everyone into the accusing parlor. Which is still her lab but she’s sitting in a nice chair chugging something from a decanter.

“Go on, then. Let it all out. All the pieces are here. I will preside, to make sure no one gets untoward... or tries to kill me.”

The last she tossed like a stick on the fire in Tavra’s direction, though the spider had retracted all her legs so she looked like any other gem resting inertly on the table. Amri soured with guilt. He had been the one who’d tried to kill skekSa, not Tavra.

YOU GOOFED UP AMRI.

Amri wants to confess that the spider is blameless but since skekSa hasn’t retaliated, he holds back hoping that everyone can get out of this okay.

Since nobody volunteers to be first in the accusing parlor, skekSa volunteers Captain Staya to air his grievance. But instead he apologizes to Tae, saying he never meant for her to be in danger. He only wanted to drug her and pick her brain! Tae is wry about his apology but this isn’t want skekSa is here for.

“Enough apologies. I want grievances!”

Hah.

She’s been out on the sea alone so mama needs her drama fix!

At her prompting, Staya says that there’s been a rumor because of the pink petal message that the Skeksis have betrayed the Gelfling and that Maudra Ethri has called them together in Cera-Na not to rise up but to gather all the Sifa to flee.

Which Ethri casually confirms. Yes, they’re all leaving tomorrow at sunset.

Staya is aghast but Naia is furious. She tears into Ethri for abandoning the rest of the Gelfling. But Ethri says that as maudra “if I choose to lead my clan out from under Emperor skekSo’s claws, that is my choice to make.”

Staya has a different objection.

“But, Maudra, you ignore the signs! The wind is against us. The tide is against us. With every limb of its body, Thra pushes us back toward the south, yet you’d sail in the face of that? You’d trust a Skeksis over the signs of Thra?”

“I don’t need the wind or the tide! The Lord Mariner has looked after the Sifa since we first touched toe to the sea. Has sailed with us far from the Castle of the Crystal and the traitor Skeksis. We have our Sifa charts and navigators, and skekSa’s ship will break the waves for us. She has promised us this, and I believe her.”

skekSa’s only response was to take another swig of her drink, as if she were watching a performance and was pleasantly entertained.

Which, in fairness, has been her attitude throughout.

Interesting how she’s forcing the airing of these grievances when she’s part of them but it doesn’t really feel like she feels like she’s part of it.

But taking her favored clan out of the clutches of the other Skeksis who she doesn’t like, I wonder whose head that idea originated in.

Naia growls at Ethri that despite what Onica said, Ethri is just a coward and a traitor, and Ethri momentarily looks as lost and confused as Amri feels.

She’s the youngest Maudra and she’s suddenly been exposed to this idea that the power structure is feeding on the Gelfling in a very literal way. She has no trust that the All-Maudra will stand against the Skeksis given how she hasn’t so far. Even Onica doubts Mayrin’s commitment to resisting the Skeksis. And she was in the shared dream conference call!

The moment passes and Ethri gets her steel back and relays an ultimatum.

“Staya, you are welcome to remain in Cera-Na if it pleases you. Stay here and die. But if you will choose wisely, then you will set sail with the rest of the clain tomorrow night.”

Then she helps Tae to her feet and leaves the accusing parlor. And after a moment where Staya internally struggles, he follows after her. Which, I guess, is a metaphor for him falling in line. Probably.

With that out of the way, skekSa turns back to the elephant in the room, so to speak.

Hm. I wonder what Thra has that fills the ecological niche that elephants do.

“Now then, on to other matters.” In a single garish movement, she lifted the jar and flung it over a shoulder so it crashed against the wall. She leaned in and sneered. “Tell me what you want, Arathim. Spider. Have you reported all this to the Emperor, then? Shall I expect he and General skekUng will arrive shortly to dispatch me? Or will it be skekMal, your mad pet?”

OKAY!

So there’s a lot here.

First, skekSa is dramatic as heck.

Second, reasonably enough, she assumes that a Gelfling with a spider on him trying to stab her is an Arathim. And so working for the other Skeksis.

I didn’t realize that the bad blood between skekSa and the Castle was ‘send assassins at her’ level bad. Or, I guess, that she was paranoid to assume it is. Then again, a Gelfling with a spider on him did try to stab her while she’s about to sail off with an entire clan the next day so maybe that’s the most reasonable paranoid thing to assume.

I wonder if the Emperor did send assassins after her before. Not out of any desire to have her actually deaded but just to send the message that he’s not happy with her doing her own thing.

A lot of questions being raised.

Third, huh skekUng is the General. I wonder if skekVar exists in the J.M. Lee continuity. And what his title is.

Anyway, Tavra refuses to speak up and out herself so skekSa decides to grind her to spider dust. Kylan scoops Tavra off the table and insists that she’s not an Arathim.

“Of course it’s Arathim,” skekSa retorted. “It’s a spider, isn’t it? Sworn to Emperor skekSo. The crystal-singers, the silk-spitters, the whole squiggly lot of them. Make my scales crawl, they do.” She eyed Kylan suspiciously, but tossed the pestle over her shoulder to join the broken jar. “What’s going on here?”

Amri can’t think of anything to say so skekSa drops the matter, just promising that one day they’ll tell her. “I will wait. After all, I have eternity.”

Then she gives Amri his sword back as “A reminder of my generosity” and calls a boat to transport them back to shore since she can tell they’re afraid she’s going to do something while they’re on her ship.

Dang, skekSa, you’re so classy. You’re going to turn out to be evil but you’re doing a great job at it.

The group regroups on Onica’s ship and catch her up on what happened.

Kylan, that nerd (affectionate), asks Onica Far-Dreamer whether its true that all the signs are against Ethri’s plan.

“There are many signs, all with many meanings. What I know is that the tide is against a northward journey, and the wind this time of season would make it impossible if it weren’t for skekSa’s promise to help. And aside from that, no one even knows what’s across the Silver Sea. Ethri is well aware of all this, yet she plans to defy the signs... It is not the Sifa way. Something has come over her. I don’t know if it is the fear of the Skeksis, or that she is being manipulated by Lord skekSa.” Onica sighed and pushed her fingers through her hair before adding, “Worst of all, I fear she is no longer the Ethri I knew.”

Still low to medium key fascinated about this Unknown Continent. All the action of Dark Crystal just takes place on this one place. And if the coast sees snow up where the Vapra lives, how cold is the unknown land that Ethri wants to sail to?

Tavra comforts Onica, promising that they’ll speak with Ethri again and change her mind. And then apologizes to Amri for biting him, saying she didn’t take control of his body on purpose.

But he’s just imagining what would have happened if Tavra hadn’t stopped him. Hitting skekSa with a teeny little Gelfling sword and only enraging her, ensuring Naia’s death because he wanted to act the hero.

“I’m tired,” he said.

He took the sword from his belt and set it on the table beside Tavra. He found a darker corner of the cabin among the cushions and quilts, wrapped his cloak tight around his shoulders, and pretended to go to sleep.

#dark crystal #the dark crystal #Tides of the Dark Crystal #liveblog #Amri #Kylan #Naia #Tavra #Onica #skekSa #the Mariner #Maudra Ethri

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draggingthedregs · 4 years

Note

Writing prompt: please please write about Kaz and Jesper where Kaz is actually treating Jesper like a friend and not an inconvenience? Something post-series, I guess? Like they could be talking about wylan or inej or anything! Thank you ❤️❤️❤️

a/n: okay, okay, i was super duper excited about writing this. when i saw it in my asks i immediately got excited for all the possibilities. i love jesper and kaz’s friendship so damn much and i always love their little moments in both the books and any other fanfics i’ve read. more people need to give them the best friend content they deserve.

word count: 1577

~~~

Maybe it was the weather, but Kaz and Jesper found themselves alone together.

Everyone in Ketterdam believed they would have a few more weeks before the harshest of winter set in, believed the ice from the north would refrain from reaching them quite yet, they had been wrong. Frigid wind whipped through the alleys and streets, the tops of the canals beginning to freeze over, trapping the stagnant boats against their mooring.

Jesper stayed with Wylan most of the time, all-but moving in with him. However, his room at the Slat still remained, just in case he ever needed it in between jobs or after a long night at the Crow Club. Jesper had asked Kaz why he never gave it to someone else, tossed whatever was left of his belongings into Fifth Harbor, and Kaz could never give him a straight answer.

On this night, as the cold settled deep into the bones of anyone stupid enough to be out, Jesper found himself thankful that he didn’t need to walk all the way back to Wylan’s mansion. He bounded up the Slat’s rickety stairs, taking two at a time, to pay Kaz an unexpected visit, one of which he was sure to enjoy.

Jesper rapped twice before announcing his presence through the wood. “Your favorite crow has returned to the nest.”

He heard Kaz’s uneven gait through the door as he approached, opened the lock with a soft click, and swung the door wide for him to enter. “Favorite is a very strong assumption.” Kaz turned and started back to his desk, “Lock it behind you.”

“It’s alright. You don’t have to say it, I know it’s true. I can feel it in my heart.”

Kaz let out a scoff, but the smile on his face was genuine. “I’m sure you can.”

Jesper pulled a chair from the corner of the room, setting it in front of his desk. “Well, actually, I think I might be tied with Inej nowadays.”

The smile on his lips faded, replaced with an ache that was so apparent, it was palpable. Inej had been gone for over eight months and, from what Jesper understood, mailing letters to and from a ship on the ocean was exceedingly difficult. Not to mention never knowing if the girl he sent letters to was even alive to receive them anymore.

The joking edge left Jesper’s words, replaced with sincerity. “Have you heard from her?”

Kaz shook his head, staring at the paper on his desk. “Not since I responded to her last letter.”

That had been over three weeks ago.

Inej had written letting Kaz know that she would be home later then she originally thought, months later in fact. She explained that the slaver she had been following was part of a larger fleet, and the Wraith would be their undoing.

Jesper looked again at the papers laying in front of him, now seeing what they were. Inej’s original letter was there, her delicate scrawl dancing across the page, the ink remaining untouched and unsmudged. Above it lay another piece of parchment, this one unfinished and in Kaz’s thick, scratchy handwriting.

He had been writing her again, possibly for a second or third time for all that Jesper knew. There were ink stains along his hand and even on his temple, where he had clearly gotten lost in thought.

“Kaz, I’m sure she’s alright. She’s the Wraith, no one can get a hold of her.”

Normally, and with anybody else, Kaz would’ve ignored them, would’ve waved them off and pushed his pain aside. “Things are different at sea… Even Inej could fall victim.”

“But she won’t. She’ll come home and crawl right back through your window and feed those stupid birds.”

Kaz sighed, his thumb tracing across her words. The closer Jesper looked, the more pain and exhaustion he saw. Kaz didn’t sleep on a good day, let alone when he was focused on a job or a fat sum of kruge coming their way, but this was different. The entirety of his body seemed weighted now, his shoulders drooping, the circles under his eyes purple, instead of their usual grey.

Jesper’s voice broke the silence. “I miss laughing with her. She always found my stupid jokes funny. Or at least she pretended to.”

Kaz didn’t even look up from her letter as he answered. His voice so raw, it almost felt as though these words weren’t intended for Jesper at all. “I miss her voice. I keep hearing it in my head… I didn’t think I’d ever ask for another Suli proverb to tell me what an ass I was being but…”

“She did have a lot of those, didn’t she?” Jes couldn’t help but smile, “And she’d pop out of the dark, waving her finger, telling us off like the ghost of an angry grandmother.”

Jesper saw the beginnings of a smile pulling at Kaz’s lips and he continued, hoping that these stories of Inej might make her reappear in front of them, clucking her tongue at their memory of her.

“She’d stand with her arms crossed, staring as you explained a plan, waiting to call you out on something. And she could always find something. Then she’d shake her head and disappear again.”

“My ever-opinionated shadow.” Kaz chuckled.

“That’s certainly one way to put it. She was never afraid to say what she thought or to be who she was. I guess it’s one of the things I’ve always admired about her.” Jesper took another moment, the joke faded from his voice but a fond smile remained. “She’s the best of us.”

Kaz glanced again at the letter and, to Jesper’s shock, laughed. “Inej would kill us if she heard us talking like this.”

“Like what?”

“Like she’s dead.”

Now it was Jesper’s turn to laugh. He hadn’t even thought of how remanicient their conversation was to a funeral and when he realized it, he couldn’t help but find it hilarious. The idea of Captain Inej Ghafa, the Wraith, dying was nearly unthinkable, though Jesper was unsettled by certain memories that didn’t render the thought impossible.

Kaz tucked the letters into a neat stack, setting them to the side, then reached into his desk, pulling out a bottle of whiskey. Along with the bottle, he set two glasses in the table. He poured them both generously before sliding one over to Jesper’s side of the desk.

“Are we getting drunk at our non-funeral now too?”

He took a sip, his lips curling as it burned along the back of his throat. “Let’s just see how this one drink goes.”

Jesper lifted the glass in a half-cheers, taking a drink himself.

“So,” Kaz began, “Why are you here?” Though it may have come off as harsh, Jes knew what he meant. After so many years, it was easy to tell when Kaz really wanted you gone.

“I was picking up something at the club and it was way too cold to walk all the way home.”

“Then I take it all is well with our sunshiniest demolitions expert?”

A laugh escaped Jesper. “We’re fine. He hasn’t thrown me to the curb yet.”

“And he won’t.”

“I mean- I might throw me to the curb too. Or maybe into the harbor.”

Kaz took a nonchalant sip. “I wouldn’t.”

The remark caught Jesper off guard. Sure, he knew that Kaz had taken a liking to him, perhaps even cared for him, but hearing it aloud seemed to strike harder than he’d expected. Instead of pushing the matter as he may have liked, he simply shrugged. “You’ve never had to share a bedroom with me.”

Another smile creeped onto Kaz’s lips as he leaned back in his chair. “And perhaps that’s a good thing.”

Jesper finished his drink, setting the empty glass on the table. “I suppose I’ve annoyed you enough for one night, I should probably get to bed. I’ll need to be home early before Wylan starts to panic.”

“Of course not but we wouldn’t want that.” Kaz glanced to his letter, already longing for the near memorized words beneath his attempt.

“You shouldn’t panic either, if you even can. Truth be told, I’m never sure what emotions you possess, though Helvar does have a few theories.”

A small grumble escaped Kaz’s throat as he rolled his eyes. “I’m sure he does.”

Jes laughed, “I just meant that she’ll write. Or she’ll pop back up in the middle of the night and scare you out of your gloves.”

With a roll of his eyes, “A man can certainly dream.”

As he made his way to the door, Jesper found himself stopping short, a question rattling around in his brain that he couldn’t keep down any longer. “Why wouldn’t you? Why haven’t you?”

“What?”

“Thrown me out. Everything is still in my room and earlier you said you wouldn’t throw me out… Why?”

Kaz considered him for a moment. The silence hung between them like a thick blanket, needing to be wrung free of water, until he finally answered. “I suppose I like having you around, Jesper. I don’t think I’m really ready to see you go just yet.” A wide, genuine smile took over as he continued. “Even if you are a little too comfortable gambling away my money and shooting bullet holes in my walls.”

Jesper nodded, realizing he had a smile of his own to match. “Goodnight, Kaz.”

“Goodnight, Jes.”

fin.

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gryfon-spanish-werewolf · 3 years

Text

The Choice - Part 2

Part 2 of my elsanna Hulder/Valkyrie au :D I know I said I’d make them 1-1.5k but I guess my sweet spot is 2-3k ¯\_(^^;)_/¯ Good for y’all

I highly recommend reading Chapter 1 and/or the original concept for context because this chapter picks up EXACTLY where we left off. And I do mean exactly. ao3 and ff.net links are up too!

Shout out to @like-red-lads again for indulging me in the concept, @giuliaciulia89 bc I know you’ve been waiting patiently for this one, and a quick spike for @snowmanmelting since you asked ever so politely for a notification of publishing 💖

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

The woman who still crouched naked in the water leveled a glare at the Valkyrie. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

Anna felt like someone had wedged the padding of her armor directly into her skull. Her thoughts zipped too and fro, bouncing off the sides while whatever still sane part of her brain jumped desperately in the middle, trying to grab even one coherent thought.

Who are you? Well that’s easy, I’m Anna, the Valkyrie! Wait no, no, I can’t say that, humans that are still alive can’t know that.

What are you doing here? So funny story - I felt like I needed to be here and find you and I know why but I can't tell you or you won’t believe me, or maybe worse you will believe me and then we’re still stuck because-

Life or Death?

This question was causing the most trouble. Anna felt the answer gallop up her throat again, only for it to wilt and corkscrew off somewhere else as it neared the tip of her tongue. It leaped up her legs and tornado’d around her insides like a rock trapped in a gale, bruising everything it touched, but still it didn’t make itself known to her. It was a pressure, the kind that rattled the lid of a pot over-boiling above the cookfire.

Anna shook her head, feeling more than a little dizzy. The remaining part of her brain that was still running around for a legitimate answer grew tired as well and sat down, which prompted Anna to do the same, plopping down onto the rock below her feet in an unceremonious heap. The woman across from her flinched.

“I guess I mean,” Anna replied slowly as she crossed her arms over her chest, “that I really don’t know. And that’s never happened before.”

The woman narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Which part?”

“All of them. Oh!” Anna pounded her fist into her palm. “Except the first question, I can answer that one. I’m Anna!” She grinned broadly, just like she had for the warrior in the battlefield. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“I wish I could say the same,” the woman groused, “but considering the circumstances, you will have to forgive me for not feeling the same.”

“It’s certainly odd,” Anna mused aloud, putting her chin in her hand. She missed the other woman’s exasperated expression entirely. “Today started out so normal but now everything is strange.”

“That I can agree with.”

“I know!” Anna threw her arms out. “First there was the fight, then my plans changed without warning and I miss my ride home, then I stumble-sprint through the forest following your voice and now you’re talking to me and--!” Anna pulled up short.

She was having a conversation with a human.

A live human.

Which meant…

“Hey, this is going to sound like a trick question but, you can see me, right?”

The woman blinked, a furrow deepening between her brows. “That… does seem like a trick question.” Anna waited patiently, and saw the moment the other woman realized she would have to answer: a defeated drop of her shoulders. “Yes. Yes I can see you.”

“Oh good!” Anna chirped. “I mean uh, not good, actually,” she frowned and looked to the side, thinking. “Well not baaaad.” Anna bobbed her hands in front of her, as though physically weighing the implications on a scale. “Just… unexpected, y’know?”

The look on the blonde’s face told Anna that she did not, in fact, know.

“I… can imagine that thinking you can’t be seen, only to be seen, would be… unexpected,” was the diplomatic reply.

But Anna had already retreated back into her own head, her mini-me having rested long enough to start picking up the pieces and sorting them into piles. Piles of Normal, piles of Weird, and piles of Highly Irregular.

Being seen by a living human was definitely Highly Irregular.

Maybe something had gone wrong with the magic today, or by leaving the company of her sisters the cloaking spell had frayed and broken with distance. Regardless, if this woman did not suspect Anna’s true nature, then she supposed it wasn’t a big deal. She still had the largest issue at hand anyway.

Again the Choice stirred under the skin of her palms, racing past her funny bone in a jolt and stinging the junction of shoulder and neck before disappearing like a snuffed candle.

“Any update on that second part,” a voice startled Anna from her thoughts, “or are we free to move on with our lives?” The woman in the water had started to shiver, goosebumps covering her arms and legs.

“I’m sorry!” Anna jumped up and reached out. “Here, let me help you up.”

The blonde looked at her hand like it was a poisonous snake. “I’m more than capable of getting out myself, thank you.” Her gaze flicked back up to Anna’s, “Especially because you won’t tell me why you’re here. Or you can’t remember, which I can’t say is any better.”

“Oh, right, well…” Anna withdrew her hand and rubbed the back of her neck instead. “I’ll let you do that then.”

A beat passed before something seemed to click in the woman’s brain. “You’re just going to stand there?”

“Huh? Yeah?” Anna cocked her head, “I mean, we’re both women.”

“We’re also strangers,” the woman responded, grinding the final word between her teeth.

“Sure but, it’s not a big deal, I’ve seen plenty of naked women.”

This time it was the blonde who blushed, making her hair stand out more starkly against her reddened skin. “Right,” she said flatly. “Be that as it may, if you’re so determined to stay I’d prefer it if you at least turned around.”

“I… of course. If it makes you more comfortable.” Anna spun on her heel, her back to the water. Throughout their conversation, the strength of the tugging had ebbed, less a riptide and more a kitten batting at a string of yarn, pulling against the middle vertebrae of her spine.

If the woman replied it was lost in the swoosh and splatter of water as she moved from the middle of the stream to the bank. Anna heard the droplets of water splash onto the rocks below, sometimes more, sometimes less. Perhaps she was wringing out her hair.

“Don’t peek,” the woman scolded.

“I wasn’t going to!”

“Prove it. Close your eyes.”

Anna nearly turned around to answer in spite, but caught herself and set her eyes straight into the trees. “I’m already facing away from you, isn’t closing my eyes a little much?” But Anna did as she was told.

“No,” came the muffled reply, as though the woman had turned away from her, also. There was a ruffle of cloth and the sounds of dressing, the clasp of a belt and the slide of shoes.

And then there was the knife.

It was nearly impossible for someone of Anna’s age and battle prowess to mistake the sound of a blade leaving it’s sheathe. And even if she had, the tether pressing against her back suddenly ignited - combusting, roaring and leaping against her like a brush fire.

In a heartbeat Anna whirled around, knees bent and legs spread apart. The woman stood before her a few feet away, now dressed, though water still dripped from her legs and soaked the fabric of her dress at the collar. Between them was a hunting knife, pointed at Anna’s heart.

“You’re armed!?” Anna blurted out.

“Isn’t everyone?” The woman called back, gesturing with the tip of the knife to Anna’s waist before aiming right back at her center. “And so are you, by the way.”

“Yes but that’s because I’m--!” Anna clapped a hand over her mouth in the nick of time. She couldn’t just say she was a Valkyrie, there had to be some kind of rule against that.

“A warrior, I know.” The woman scoffed. Anna swore for a moment her eyes flashed like the glint of sea rime at dawn but it was gone just as fast. “Come from the battle up the hill have you? Is that why you won’t tell me what you’re doing here, you’re not sure whose side I’m on? Whether I’ll run away from you or into your arms? Or are you a deserter? Tucking your tail between your legs and winding up here, caught without a backup plan?”

“Yes! No. What? Absolutely not. A-And no! In that order!” Anna straightened, rubbing a hand on her temple. Her head was starting to ache, not just from the situation (which was already far, far beyond what she’d ever imagined), but from the strain of the pull on her body. Never had it lasted so long or been so overwhelming. It trod up her sternum and into her throat, dancing along the edges of her jaw. Anna ground the heel of her forward foot into the rock below, needing to physically restrain herself from walking forward. The woman noticed her shift in posture and took a half step back. “Yes, I came from the battle,” Anna said, taking a deep breath. “But not because I was involved in it. I came here because… because I needed to find you. Because I heard you singing.”

Well that was true enough, Anna thought to herself. “Who lives and who dies is important to me,” she continued, finding her way through the half truths that would have to bear her along, like stepping stones made from clouds. “But equally important is that those who are not destined for combat are spared. That those whose lives are decided by other things are not drawn into battle needlessly.”

The woman knelt slowly, keeping her front towards Anna at all times while retrieving a bag from behind a rock. She slung it over her shoulder before speaking. “Oh, so you are a judge, too,” she said icily. “Well then decide. But bear in mind - your choice is not the only one guiding my fate today.”

Decide. Choose.

The words barked in Anna's head, bayed like hounds on the scent. The Choice bore down on her again, like the stones that crushed guilty men, one on top of another.

“My name is Anna,” she said gravely, drawing upon the power with which she made Choices before the war drums had even played their first beat.

“Part one,” the woman counted, standing tall.

“I came here to solve a mystery, to find whomever was at the end of a string… a song.”

“Part two…”

Anna felt it, the Choice zinging up her arm, raising the hairs on her neck, feeling the thrum of her heart in her chest. It was time.

“And I choose... to let you go.”

Silence passed between them, and then the woman frowned, the tip of her knife dropping just slightly. “What?”

“I mean, I never meant to keep you here, and I’m sorry that you felt threatened.” Anna placed as much compassion as she could muster into her words, which was quite a lot. One didn’t get good at comforting dead souls by being callous for hundreds of years. Besides, this woman was only human, and if there was a problem with Choosing, that wasn’t her folly but Anna’s, and something she needed to investigate on her own. “You must live somewhere nearby?” Anna coaxed. “The village southwest of here perhaps, down the hills? I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you safe. I won’t tell anyone you were here, just in case. But it’s not safe to stick around. You should go back home.”

“Home…” The word fell oddly from the blonde’s lips. “Yes I-, I’ll do that.”

Anna rocked back on her heels, hands settling genially on her hips. Despite the draw she still felt between her and this woman, it was manageable now. She wasn’t sure what she was going to tell her fellow Valkyries about this, but she’d cross that bridge when she came to it.

“If it’s all the same to you,” the woman said, interrupting Anna’s thoughts, “I’ll wait until you leave. You’ve made yourself more trustworthy than you first appeared, but I’d not like to take chances.”

Anna smiled despite the scrutiny. “Well I was going to offer to walk you home, but you seem like you can take care of yourself. That knife has hardly lowered once.”

“I think that’s a genuine compliment, for which I’ll say, ‘thank you’.” The flicker of a smile came and went in the dappled sunlight across the woman’s face, so quickly Anna almost missed it. “Don’t take this the wrong way… Anna,” the woman spoke as Anna began walking back into the forest, “but I hope I never see you again.”

The Valkyrie’s heart trilled at the use of her name, even as sadness dampened it’s cheer. It was entirely possible they’d never meet again. Perhaps on the next morn, battle long over, Anna would wake and the pull would disappear completely. Freed from the burden of Choice until it came around next time, for someone new. Though, Anna hadn’t been lying when she said she’d arrived following a mystery. And mysteries hated going unsolved.

But for now she trudged through the trees back toward the hill, throwing a last hand over her shoulder in farewell.

With each step the tug grew lighter and lighter - a snag, a tap, a whisper across the room, until finally it was only noticeable if she concentrated.

Clear frost filigree inside a spyglass.

------

Elsa waited until the Valkyrie was long out of sight. She sheathed her knife only when birdsong came back to the wood, and with that movement went the last of her strength.

She fell to her hands and knees, trembling.

A Valkyrie. A Valkyrie had come looking for her.

In all her years, all her centuries of life, Elsa had never been so close to one. She knew who they were and to whom they were sworn. What they dedicated their life to. Reaping souls for the glory of another war and leaving the rest to rot.

Elsa breathed heavily, her brave and icy façade melting as her lungs begged for air to quell the panic in her heart. She’d made a mistake reacting to the Valkyrie's presence, even if it had been a genuine surprise. Humans couldn’t see Valkyries, and if Elsa wanted to remain hidden, she needed to keep pretending she was human.

But the Valkyrie… Anna..., had seemed distracted too. Something had been bothering her, or maybe even hurting her.

Yet she’d been armed, and knew how to use the sword at her hip. She was a woman who decided whether a person would continue on to see the sunset or not.

Even though she’d been kind, Elsa had not been willing to take the risk.

Elsa’s jaw clenched, her hands forming fists, drawing lines in the sand and loose dirt of the riverbank. She’d been clumsy but she hadn’t been caught. Her secret was safe, for now. The Valkyrie still thought she was nothing but an innocent woman, bathing too close to a battlefield.

She gathered the rest of her things, not that she had many. It was time to disappear and lay low for a while. The song she was singing before came back to her mind, but now it felt tainted so she didn’t even hum. Her malaise showed despite her best efforts however, in the irritable swish and flick of her tail beneath her dress.

That is when she had felt the most terror. Anna had not just come upon her naked in flesh, but in spirit.

Every moment she’d crouched in the water had been eons in her mind. Her muscles still ached with the effort of keeping her tail wound around her calf and ankle. Praying that the Valkyrie would have the modesty not to look, or if she didn’t, to be unable to see through the ripples in the water.

Coupled with the intense need to keep her front to Anna’s at all times, lest she see her back, left Elsa with hardly enough energy to stand.

That’s why Elsa had asked her to close her eyes, even with her back turned. She couldn’t trust the Valkyrie’s word, not when Elsa didn’t know the true reason she’d come. While her lie about following a song hadn’t been entirely false, it certainly wasn’t the whole truth. At least Anna had complied with her request. Elsa wasn’t sure what she’d have done if she hadn’t.

Probably disappear into thin air.

But that would have been more suspicious, and Elsa had known she still had a chance to ward off the preoccupied Valkyrie. Though she’d been successful, that triumph, in its wake, only made her light headed, with nerves so bundled up in her core she felt nauseous.

Elsa checked her surroundings one last time before reaching out in front of her, a little above her head. She felt for a Seam, running the pads of her fingers up and down, along divots and warps until she found one and pulled. An opening appeared before her, like a drape pulled away from a window. Inside the world was muted, duller, quieter.

Elsa took one last breath of fresh air before she stepped inside, feeling the doorway close behind her.

After all, the Hulder did say she’d go home.

#The Choice #The Choice Part 2 #my writing #mythical creature au #Valkyrie!Anna #Hulder!Elsa #elsanna #must I always publish these late at night where they won''t get notes xD #yes the answer is yes #(I'm joking I just always want to publish the moment I'm done and that tends to be late xD)

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ink-and-flame · 4 years

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Kinktober Day 14 : Intensity Bared

Kinktober Day 14 Prompts: Exhibitionism (strangers) ~ High heel wearing(forced) ~ Lingerie (wearing) Fandom: Original (Auchendale Archives) Tags: exophilia, exhibitionism, high heels, lingerie, oral sex, rough sex Pairing: Orc(m)/Human(f), ?(M)/Human(f), Darnok/Lia, Lucien/Lia

[Author’s note: I skipped day 13 for personal reasons and had to struggle with tonight’s because my wrist pain was acting up, but I got through it. We get to experience a little more drama and some intense moments. I hope you all enjoy.]

The time spent with Lucien had been a unique and surprisingly pleasant experience for Lia. After the first night she was surprised that Lucien requested they continue doing scenes for the rest of the weekend. Lia had agreed and ended up enjoying herself more than she expected she would. There were a few things she simply would not do, as they were special for her and Darnok and it felt wrong to do them with anyone else. Lucien was understanding and had a few lines of his own that he requested not be crossed. Overall Lia found she was more compatible with Lucien as a dom than she had ever expected she would be.

The compatibility was enough of a surprise for Lia that she had to sit down and spend some time thinking about it logically. If someone else could give her what Darnok could give her, and possibly more, were her feelings for him as real as she thought? There was something to be said for time. She had known Darnok a while now, and they had grown close, despite him being practically a mystery to her.

Her mind kept going back to the conversation with Lucien. If he knew she loved Dar, then why hadn’t he said anything before this? Rationally there were plenty of valid answers for this question but Lia couldn’t help but mentally torment herself for a bit before snapping herself out of it with more logic. It honestly didn’t matter. She felt what she felt and at some point she would have to come clean. It wasn’t healthy to keep her feelings inside like this, but telling Darnok could lead to losing him. That thought bothered her.

There was also a concern about whatever orc clan meeting he attended. As usual he told her nothing, so of course her imagination ran wild with arranged messages, or him being forced to move far away and she would never see him again. Of course the rational part of her brain told her she was being ridiculous and that she could just ask him when they spoke again.

Time for that would come soon enough as Darnok had contacted her, wanting to see her and talk to her before the weekend. Lia agreed, but the day he chose meant she would have to wait until after work to head to the club, something she didn’t really like to do. She wanted time to relax, eat, and clean up, but that would cut into what little time they would have.

There was nothing for it and Lia found herself leaving for the club just a little later than she had intended. By the time she had gotten there the worry inside of her had increased to full on anxiety. She had convinced herself that he would only do this if something had happened and no amount of logic was working to convince her otherwise.

Heading into the club Lia saw Darnok in the lounge, he was already talking to Lucien. Dar did not look upset, but that didn’t mean much. Lia made her way over and sat down smiling at both men and giving each a little polite bow of her head.

“Sorry I am late, I was held up at work.”

“It is quite alright Lia. I knew that would be a possibility and I wont keep you long. I know you haven’t eaten dinner yet or had a chance to relax. I do apologize, schedules being what they are, this was the best I could do and I wanted to do this in person.”

Lia’s stomach dropped and she already felt nauseous. Despite the smile on Darnok’s face Lia thought the rug was about to be pulled out from under her. “Ok?”

Darnok reached up and stroked her cheek gently. “Lucien was telling me about how wonderful you were for him and I am so very proud of you.” He leaned in kissing her forehead. “You have been such a good sub and have impressed me at every turn.”

Lia felt like she was being buttered up like a turkey about to be shoved into an oven and the feeling wasn’t great. “I wasn’t acting or trying to impress or anything.”

“I know, that is what makes you so special Lia. Everything about you is genuine. I am so impressed with you. I couldn’t be happier to have you as my sub.” Darnok was beaming

Lia noticed that Lucien had the most neutral expression on his face that she had ever seen. He was blank, sheer blankness, so he was no help at all. Now she was just confused. Was she getting the boot or not?

“I wanted to talk to you about doing something special, but it will mean I have to cancel this week and move it to next. Would that work for you? I know that we had scheduled that weekend off and I couldn’t remember if it was because you had a prior engagement.”

“I did, but I don’t anymore. It was already canceled and I wasn’t sure that we could rework the schedule so I just left it alone.” Lia was still suspicious, but relaxing slowly.

“Wonderful. Then I will see you next weekend instead of this weekend.” Darnok took her hands into his. “I will be renting one of the larger spaces here and hosting an event. I want you there as my sub. I will have a special outfit for you to wear and during the evening, at some point, I would like to do a scene. There will be people in attendance you don’t know. Most of the people in attendance will be unknown to you, but this is quite important to me and it would mean everything to me if you could attend.”

Oh, so it was a public scene with strangers. That was what all this was about? She wondered if she got worked up over nothing, but then something tugged at her mind. He had never been this insistent when it came to a public scene. At least it was more a whoever sees, sees, and that was fine. This seemed to be built around it and they had only done a few of those. The way he worded it, something was telling her to push for more of an explanation. “We have done a public scene before, I don’t understand what makes this one different?”

“Ah, yes, well. That is where I worry you might not want to agree. This event will be almost entirely orcs and a few individuals I trust. Lucien will be there, of course, but he will most likely be the only person you know. I can understand how this would be daunting and I wont be mad if you decline.”

A room full of orcs? Now that was something Lia wanted to see. It made her even more curious about just what that meeting was all about. Still, this was important to him and if she was honest, she was curious. Maybe this would give her insight into his life, into parts of him she had yet to see. “Of course I will do it. We will need to discuss details and expectations before the event. I want to make sure I do everything right and know what is expected of me, but I am not afraid if that was what you were worried about.”

“A little, yes.” He admitted looking sheepish. “I know you are still new to public scenes and it has always been with smaller crowds, this will be my first hosted event at this club and there will be points where you will have to be on your own while I handle the event itself.”

Now Lia understood the crux of his worry. She would be spending part of this alone, similar to the gala. Considering how well she did there, she figured she could do it again. The difference was she was in a cage and no one could touch her. The only other time she had ever done something so public where Darnok was not at her side was when she was a serving tray at an event the club owners were running. She had been particularly proud of herself for that one and felt that she had more experience now than she had then. If she could do that, she could do this.

“I still agree. Just be clear with instructions and expectations. If someone does something I don’t like am I allowed to refuse them or move away?”

“Of course. I would never allow that. The basic rules will always apply. Your consent will be required and that is something understood by the guests.” Darnok pulled her into a hug. “I am so happy you agreed to this.”

Lia leaned into the hug with a smile, her worry almost completely vanished. She stayed chatting with both Darnok and Lucien until her stomach growled loudly and she announced it was time to go.

Arriving home, Lia made herself something quick to eat and sat on her couch lost in thought. She had worked herself up over nothing and caused herself undo anxiety. She knew she needed to work on that, but maybe she wasn’t the entire problem. Darnok’s insistence on secrecy, division, his refusal to tell her even basic information. It was causing trust issues for her. What if he was hiding something like an arranged marriage, or a relationship. That would be a valid reason for him to not let her know anything. The less she knew the less chance of him being caught. That just didn’t seem like something Darnok would do.

Lia did not sleep well that night, or the night after, however the weekend proved to help soothe her a bit as she spent it with Ember. They saw a movie, went shopping, and talked through the evening and well into the morning. It was something Lia needed. She finally confided all of her feelings, thoughts, and emotional turmoil to her friend, needing a shoulder and a kind ear. Ember was supportive and rational, trying to help ease Lia’s fears, but also while being pragmatic and making it clear that the current agreement she had with Darnok benefited him more than it did her and that her concerns and suspicions were valid. They may not be true, but her feelings and reasons for having them were still valid.

It was what Lia needed to hear and help lift some of the weight off her chest. Maybe it was time to start thinking about renegotiation. Though she did admit that after the island get away, her and Darnok had been closer than ever and that maybe the shift was already happening, just slowly. She was willing to wait, not wanting to rush anything and potentially ruin what little good was developing.

By the time the event moved closer, Lia had almost forgotten her worries and concerns as excitement filled her. Darnok had her come to the club to pick up her outfit for the event and try it on. Of course it fit perfectly though it didn’t cover much. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the heels, not really being a fan of them if she knew she had to do any amount of walking, but they were non negotiable. The rest of the outfit could be tweaked to a degree, but time was not on their side for any heavy alterations.

The night arrived and Lia followed the instructions she was given. She arrived at the club early, she was escorted to the employee area to change with the small handful of other subs that would be at the event. For a while Lia had worried she would be the only one there and wasn’t sure how well she could handle being the only sub. It was nice to not be alone and she dressed carefully.

She pulled on the corset. It was lace, showing her skin through the detailing. It was cut so that it cupped under her bust, but her breasts were mostly free, nipples on display. She had delicate nipple clamps with silver bells she needed to wear. The thigh high stockings had matching lace detail around the thighs, as did the heels she was wearing. She wore arm coverings of delicate lace that looped around her middle finger and fit snug around her bicep. Her collar was a simple silver band with a loop. There was nothing covering her most intimate of places. The corset only went down so far, the rest of her was fully on display.

A stylist helped her get her hair pulled up into a strategically messy updo. It looked far more elegant than messy, but had a sort of carelessness about it that Lia found charming. She didn’t understand how it took that long to make her hair look like she didn't actually work to have it styled.

When the time came to enter the event room the subs were lined up and walked out into the room. Lia was led over to Darnok as the other subs were led to their stations. She smiled at the way his eyes roamed over her body and wished for a moment they were alone. Those eyes held promises, ones she intended to make him keep.

As it was early in the evening, there wasn’t as much for Lia to do but stand with Darnok and look pretty. She didn’t speak unless directly addressed and glanced at Darnok several times to make sure it was ok before doing so. It did not take long for her to find her comfort zone and she was given breaks to lounge on one of the cushioned platforms like the other subs.

When there, people at the event could approach her, talk to her, touch her, only with her consent of course. She found that the bells on her nipples were quite popular and the various people she met seemed to enjoy trying to find different ways to make them ring. Lia found she liked it, the touches did not hurt and no one was being overtly disrespectful.

At one point Lucien stepped over to see how Lia was doing. She spoke with him for a bit, allowing him the most familiarity with her form. Knowing that she could trust him and he probably had spoken to Darnok to find out just how far he was allowed to go before even approaching her.

With his face between her legs and her hands gripping his horns, they made for quite a show. She heard Darnok’s deep voice from off to the side, his rumbling tone so familiar to her. It was the voice with him she did not recognize, but it was just as deep.

“She is exquisite is she not? I have never had a more perfect submissive in my life.”

“For a human, she is temptingly beautiful. I had always found them to be a little too frail for my liking, but this one, her beauty is enough to make me reconsider.” The unfamiliar voice trailed off.

Lia risked turning her head and saw an orc, just as large as Darnok, standing there next to her dominant. She was a little too distracted by her pleasure to pay as much attention, but she wondered who he was. She kept her head tilted towards them, but her eyes were closed now.

“I am surprised you allow that.”

Darnok chuckled. “Lucien is a friend and he has been with Lia before, with my blessing of course. He is one of the few I trust with her. He knows where the line is and will not cross it. I enjoy watching her pleasure. I rarely get to see her like this. Usually I am so focused on creating that pleasure, I never get to fully enjoy her reactions.”

“As you said, she is exquisite. I suppose everything makes a lot more sense now, seeing her. I couldn’t imagine what would make you risk it all, but now I think I understand.”

“There is no risk and that is not a conversation we should be having here.”

“I am just saying if I had a Taledras in my” The words were cut off suddenly.

Lia opened her eyes to see Darnok dragging the other orc away where she could no longer hear them. Darnok did not look happy, but Lia lost focus as she came hard, her thighs shaking as she arched up to Lucien’s face. Her grip on his horns tight. Her brain was trying to make sense of what she had heard but her orgasm clouded her ability to think straight. She collapsed back against the cushion panting as she smiled at Lucien. Her smile faded when she saw his expression briefly before he resituated it back to neutral. It seemed that something in that conversation was not meant for her ears, or for anyones.

She lounged on the cushion, not wanting to rouse suspicion by sitting up too fast or seeking Darnok. This was one of the reasons she came here, to learn, and she had clearly just learned something if Lucien’s face was anything to go by, or at least the face he had made briefly. The smart thing, would be to wait and not ask, to pretend she saw nothing and heard nothing. Which was what she did. There was a risk involved if it turned out to be something she didn’t want to know.

“Wow Lucien, you really know how to please a lady.” Lia said quietly with a smile.

“I do indeed, can you stand or do you need more rest?” Lucien smiled back gently as he kissed her thigh.

“I think I can stand. Am I allowed to clean up or no?”

“No, I am afraid Darnok was particular about that. He wanted to have you shortly after I finished.”

“Oh, well then maybe I should just relax here for a bit longer?” Lia did her best to pretend that everything was normal and it did seem to be working.

“That seems like an excellent plan. I will stay here until Darnok returns, I wouldn’t want anyone else getting any ideas.” Lucien stroked Lias face in a gentle, almost affectionate manner.

His gentle kindness and open affection worried Lia as much as his expression had. She was not going to show it though. She had to remain outwardly oblivious, but she already knew what she was going to do the moment she got home.

Lucien stepped away only long enough to bring her a drink. It was long enough for others to come over, to compliment her on her beauty, to ask if she was free for others. Lia declined and Lucien’s presences helped keep them at a respectful distance. She sipped at the water, and glanced around, hoping to spy Darnok. Wherever he had gone, she couldn’t see him.

It was only a few more minutes when Lia heard his voice not too far behind her and it was getting closer she turned to see him smiling at her, but something in his eyes gave her a slight pause.

“You looked so lovely with Lucien between your legs like that. The two of you make quite the attractive pair. I do hope I am not being replaced?” His voice was light but tense.

Was that jealousy that Lia detected? It couldn’t be. Darnok had never shown signs that he could even feel that. Yes he occasionally got possessive, but only when he lost control. Something about this excited her and it helped push her worry away. “I could never replace you, all Lucien did was help get me ready for you.”

Darnok moved onto the cushion and pulled Lia to him, Her back pressed against his chest as his hands roamed her body. “Well then, I would hate to waste such a thoughtful gift.” His tusks rubbed at her neck as his fingers slid between her legs.

Lia’s eyes closed as Darnok’s thick fingers teased over her clit and spread her already soaking folds. She could feel him hard, throbbing, almost desperate behind her as his cock slid between her thighs spreading both her cum and his precum all over her. She could feel the eyes on her, on them, and no longer cared. This was what she wanted and was excited to have it.

Darnok lifted her easily by her thighs, positioning himself at her entrance. Arching his hips and teasing her just a little before slowly letting her sink down onto the tip of him, pushing in ever so slowly. Inch by thick throbbing inch of his cock pressed into her, stretching her. Much to her absolute delight. He was taking his time and it felt incredible.

He was half way in before he pulled back and pushed in again, still going almost tortuously slow and Lia was close to begging for it harder and faster. She wanted more, but she was also enjoying the teasing. It would drag things out, make her pleasure last longer, her orgasm more intense. She opened her eyes and found that yes, many were watching them, including the orc from before. At this angle she could see him better and he had a hungry look in his eyes as he focused on her.

Lia’s eyes were not open long as Darnok filled her, thrusting up into her, hilting himself with a groan. His tusks scraped at her neck and ear as he began to thrust. His pace still slow, but not as slow as before. Lia could tell by the way his hands moved to grip her, to pull her closer, that he might lose control again. He was growling against her ear, a possessive noise she recognized when he wanted to rut her.

“So beautiful, so soft, so yielding. You are mine Lia. No matter who touches you, or how they please you, they can’t have all of you.” Darnok growled and nipped at her neck.

Her moans grew louder at his words, as the soothed the worried part of her. She hated how much she liked him like this. She wanted him jealous, wanted him possessive, because it meant she mattered to him, she was important to him, and that thought alone pushed her pleasure even higher.

Darnok’s thrusts increased in speed and intensity as Lia gave in. She could feel him stretching her, pushing her body to its limits, and she was able to handle it. All the times in the past that Darnok had gone too hard, or lost control had prepared her for this. Her body had been conditioned to handle him now, despite how big he was or how powerfully he took her.

Lia was in heaven with each thrust deep into her body. She opened her eyes, watching the people watching her. Their expressions driving her on as she lifted her arms to wrap around the back of Dar’s neck to help her brace herself as she moved with him, actively participating instead of just letting Darnok do all the work. All this did was encourage him and drive him to be rougher with her.

Soon Lia was pressed onto her front, Darnok’s large hand around her neck, his other between her legs as teased her clit while rutting hard into her. She could barely keep her eyes open but she needed to see. She wanted to see the reactions to her being taken like this. Darnok had never gotten this rough with her in public, never like this. He had pushed the line, pushed her limits, but he always held back just enough.

Her cries wer loud, filling the room as the sounds of their bestial fucking filled the space. Other couples had joined in, fucking in other parts of the room, where they could still see the show. Lia saw that the orc from before was watching her with an intensity that would have frightened her any other time.

Soon she came with a scream, her body bowing as she spasmed around Darnok. Her core clenched around him hard as she felt him swell and let loose his seed deep inside of her with a loud roar. Other roars joined in from different parts of the room as many of the orcs there had also reached climax.

Lia was panting and shaking, thankful for the soft cushion beneath her. Darnok had not marked her this time, but that was probably for the best. She could feel as well as hear his heavy breathing as he pulled her up against his chest, nuzzling at her. She felt tired and was happy when he began to stroke her skin and soothe her with his voice.

Darnok’s aftercare was always so gentle. No matter how rough their scenes got, it was his tenderness afterward that Lia loved most. He pulled out slowly, carefully, and had someone bring over some supplies so he could clean her. He gave her water to sip as Lucien brought over a blanket.

There were still scenes going on around the room. People who had not climaxed, or who were engaged in more intricate scenes. Lia glanced around with a smile. She hoped that the event went as well as it appeared. She only wanted Darnok happy. As she curled against him feeling warm and safe, a small thought plagued her.

Who, or what, was a Taledras.

#exophilia #orc boyfriend #Orc x Human #intensify series #Auchendale Archives #Kinktober 2020

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ohwereusingourmadeupnames · 4 years

Note

I have so many prompts😭😬 my last one was "Peter works at a rescue, Tony comes to get a doggo because he’s a single man in his 50s starting to feel the emptiness of the penthouse more and more. He gets way more than that."👬🏻🐶 But if that's not your thing and you fancy having a look at the ones I think of + ones others have come up with and I thought were cute I'll leave you the link ( /tagged/pp%3A%20prompt ) 🌸🌸🌸 can't wait to read regardless of the prompt!! have a lovely day!!

Struck From A Great Height

Pairing: Peter Parker/Tony Stark (Starker) Rating: Teen (T) Notes: This was perfect! I love puppies and Tony with a puppy was a true treat to envision. Thanks for the prompt @puppypeter! I’ll take the next one please ;D Oh, & the picture Tony sends to Peter is this one! Word Count: ~3.3k Warnings: There aren’t any - just cute puppies. Summary:

Tony is lonely so he adopts a white lab named Zero. He meets another kind of puppy at the rescue and decides to keep him, too.

do the thing, send in all the prompts

Loneliness – a word that could easily be used to describe the feeling that steadily crept up on Tony Stark.

He couldn’t pinpoint when it became a thing. For most of his life, being alone was the goal – with no one around to want things from him, Tony was free to do whatever he wanted, when he wanted. Building a multi-billion-dollar company up from a structure that Tony didn’t want anything to do with took a lot of time and effort. Simple things like love and affection weren’t really anywhere near his scope.

When getting older started to become apparent, Tony ran from it. He hopped into bed with whatever man looked his way with the right sparkle in his eye. If these people found him to be desirable, did looming near 50 actually mean anything?

The longer he let himself stoop to the lowest of low, the more he realized that men who wanted nothing more than his body weren’t worth the effort it took to get dolled up, go out, entice them, and do the whole song and dance that inevitably led to something quick in the bathroom or a rough fumble in his bed. Waking up alone after that made the emptiness ache a little more.

It became pretty apparent that behavior like that didn’t particularly help, so he reverted back to the lab rat that he truly was and put all of his efforts into the creation of tech and furthering of the projects that were already in the works. If Tony could rely on anything to get him by, it was his brain and the depths that existed within it.

And while that was fulfilling in a professional sense, Tony craved something more. No matter how much he told himself he didn’t need anything or anyone else – the deepest part of his soul called out, his soft bits desperate to take care of another living thing. The grandness of his penthouse that used to bring him so much joy just seemed empty – the multitude of rooms wouldn’t make him happy, that much was for sure.

Rhodey brought up the idea of a pet one night over dinner – he’d been able to step away from his pregnant wife to spend a bit of time eating junk food and playing the latest COD update. Tony didn’t like to admit it, but this time with his best friend was the highlight of his month. The thought of that made his skin crawl slightly – he loved the hell out of Rhodey, he couldn’t deny that. Yet, being completely overjoyed by nothing other than his presence had that pit of loneliness opening up within him a little more.

Listening to him talk, Tony wasn’t put off by it – in fact, having a dog with floppy ears to make a mess around the place might actually be the cure to the melancholy that didn’t want to go away. Tony couldn’t take the blue feeling for much longer – to most people, his life was perfect. Trying to portray that constantly was exhausting and compounded the already shitty feelings that weren’t anywhere close to changing.

The very next day, Tony spent the first part of the day looking up rescues that were open for adoption. His heart started to beat a little faster when he started to scroll through the many adorable little faces of the dogs that were just waiting for someone to come along and take them home. A small white lab puppy caught his eye, the small dog making his decision pretty easy.

Tony took the rest of the day off – he wanted to see about the adoption process and if all things went well, get his new friend home and on the path to adjusting to the good life that he couldn’t wait to provide. Changing out of his suit into a pair of jeans, an old AC/DC shirt, and an open black and red flannel, Tony set out towards Happy Tails, his final destination.

A wave of nerves washed over him when he first walked through the door of the shelter. The smell of cleaner reminded him of the many hospital visits he had over the years, the memories almost enough to send him back through the doors and as far away as possible. Before that could happen, Tony was welcomed by a soft voice – a sense of calmness surrounded him almost immediately. Continuing on his original path, Tony clenched his fist tightly and walked towards the comforting voice.

“Welcome to Happy Tails!” Tony heard again when he got a little closer. Looking up, Tony had to stop himself from gasping – the man behind the counter was the most exquisite being he’d ever seen. Chestnut hair framed sharp cheekbones that were covered with a soft redness that probably sat there enticingly all day. There was the slightest touch of facial hair coating the man’s face, the chin strap he was working on still on the thin side. When they locked eyes, Tony felt himself blush, the wide smile on pink lips knowing and entirely too enticing to actually be real.

Raising a hand like the idiot he actually was, Tony waved at him – his stomach dropping at his stupidity almost instantly. “Uh, hi – “ Tony muttered, his brains attempt to fix the situation failing miserably. The hearty chuckle he was met with was just as sinful as the smile and eyes and cheeks that this man was graced with.

“Hi! Thanks for stopping in. I’m Peter – one of the resident puppy gurus. What can I help you with today?” The man – Peter, said with a wide smile and the most brilliant twinkle in his eye. Tony found himself returning the look without a second thought, his cheeks pinching uncomfortably after a few minutes of the beaming grin taking over his face.

“Puppy guru, huh? You may be exactly who I’m looking for, then. I saw this dog online,” Tony started as he walked closer to the desk Peter stood behind. He showed him the beautiful white lab, the fingers on his phone shaking slightly. “I want to adopt him, if he’s still available.”

“Oh, that’s Zero. He’s one of the newest fellas on the block and is very much available. He’s really chill and likes to sit around a lot for a dog his age. Labs are usually filled with energy. Not Zero – he’s just along for the ride.” Tony listened intently, Peter’s babbling about the dog absolutely adorable. Not to mention the fact that Zero sounded like the best companion – another entity in the house that just wanted to exist.

“Why don’t we got back and meet him? They just got fed, so he’ll be ready for a nice cuddle.” Peter gestured for him to step around the counter and opened the door leading into the kennels, following behind him closely. Tony looked around, his senses overwhelmed by all the sounds and smells that immediately hit him. There were a multitude of dogs in kennels, all shapes and sizes of them, each one looking at him with some sort of look in their eyes.

Peter put a hand on his lower back and pointed towards the end of the hall – “ the puppies have their own hallway.” The hand stayed where it was until Tony was out of the danger zone and in an area that was far less populated. Tony saw Zero before Peter could point him out, the small white lab sat in the middle of its kennel, looking at them curiously.

Tony felt his heart melt a little when Peter opened the kennel and Zero walked right over to him. Crouching down, he put his hand out to be smelt – the wet nose against his skin had him laughing, a huge smile slipping across his face. When the paw shot out to press against his wrist, Tony was a goner. He sat on the floor and let Zero walk into his lap – Tony wrapped his arms around the pup and scratched wholeheartedly up and down his back.

He saw Peter sit down beside him in his peripheral vision, his hands reaching out to run over Zero’s soft fur, too. Tony turned his head to look directly at him, the grin still alive and well on his face. “What do I need to do? I can’t leave here without him,” Tony admitted shamelessly, his chest light in so many ways for the first time in a while.

The smile he got from Peter in response to his question could only be described as breathtaking – the roundness of his cheeks made Tony want to reach out and touch; his entire being ached to see if his skin was really as soft as it looked. He watched Peter slip his tongue out and wet his lips, the other not missing the fact that Tony couldn’t look away. Peter let out a soft breath and kept staring at him.

“The process is pretty easy, honestly.”

And it was – Tony paid the fee and signed the paperwork while Peter ran through Zero’s latest vet visits and the ones that would be necessary in the future. Tony didn’t think to bring a leash, so Peter gave him one hanging behind the desk. “I teach a behavior class on Friday nights. You can bring the leash and Zero back later this week for it,” Peter said confidently, their fingers brushing when the leash exchanged hands.

Nodding, Tony held up the leash in salute. “Whatever you say, puppy guru. Do you happen to have a card? Just in case I have any questions, or anything.” Tony tried to sound innocent, but the smirk that pulled across his face gave him away. It’d been a long time since he tried to get someone’s number – he felt a little rusty.

Peter didn’t miss a beat, however – he pulled a drawer open and de-capped a pen, his hand flying over the card quickly. “That’s my personal. Just in case,” Peter shot back, his fingers pushing the card across the counter.

Tony picked it up before he knelt down to get the leash attached to Zero’s collar – the dog resting heavily against his leg while he did. Petting his head lightly, Tony stood back up and threw Peter one last grin. “Thanks for the help, Peter. We’ll see you Friday.” Tony couldn’t help but smile as Zero started to pull him forward, the dog’s paws slipping on the floor in his haste.

----

After letting Zero explore both the front and back seat of his car, Tony settled into the driver’s seat and set off towards the nearest pet store. He felt a little nervous bringing his brand-new friend into the store – they weren’t used to each other yet. Zero didn’t even bat an eye, though – he followed Tony around the aisles with a wagging tail and minimal barking. Tony held the different toys down for Zero to sniff every now and again, his dog just as indecisive as him.

In the end, they left the store with a whole lot more shit than Tony originally intended. The big bed looked hilarious in the backseat of the small Audi. Zero seemed to like it, though – he curled up on the thing the second Tony started the car. He figured he’d be dealing with an unruly puppy, or overexcited thing that couldn’t control itself. The reality of the situation was even better.

The night went surprisingly well – Tony let Zero take up whatever space he wanted in the penthouse. Peter assured him that he was potty trained, which proved to be correct pretty early on when the dog scratched his leg and looked longingly towards the balcony. He did it again early the next morning, his cold nose pressing against Tony’s cheek more than enough of a wakeup call to get him out of bed, stumbling towards the sliding glass door. The damn dog was too cute, it seemed impossible to hold anything against him.

Physically unable to part himself from Zero, Tony put the brand-new blue collar and tags they got the night before around his neck. The ‘bad to the bone’ leash clipped nicely to it – the whole look totally fitting for the badass little pooch. With Zero completely decked out and identifiable as Tony’s, he felt comfortable enough to leave with the pup for the day.

Tony’s caffeine headache had him pulling into the drive-thru of his favorite café, a smile coming to his face when he got to order a pupachino for the little dog that already owned all the pieces of his malfunctioned heart. Zero climbed up onto his shoulder while they waited in line, so Tony flipped the camera on his phone and took a picture of the two of them. Fumbling around the cupholder he put Peter’s card in, Tony sent the picture in a text – the happiness he felt needed to be shared.

Tony Stark: Look how cute we are. Thanks for hooking us up.

He got a few sips of his coffee in before his phone went off, the number he already typed in as Peter Parker lighting up his screen. Tony shook his head at the giddy feeling spreading through his chest, an old man like him shouldn’t feel as on edge about a cute guy texting him as he did in that moment.

Peter Parker: You two are quite the pair. Peter Parker: It was my pleasure! Glad to have made such a sweet connection.

The soft grin he already associated with Peter stayed on his lips the rest of his drive into the office and even further into the day as the two of them continued to text back and forth. Tony didn’t get much work done – between trying to be as charming as possible in his texts to Peter and loving the fuck out of Zero, there wasn’t much room for anything else.

Predictably, the rest of the week followed suit. Tony couldn’t get enough of the white fur-ball that got more and more comfortable with him as the days passed. Zero stayed by his feet while he was in the lab and followed him around the penthouse when Tony was finished for the night. The mutual appreciation of walks had them wandering around the little neighborhoods Tony never took the time to explore before.

By the time Friday rolled around, Tony was excited to show off his and Zero’s bond – a big part of him thought that Peter would be the most impressed by something like that. In their conversations throughout the week, Tony learned that Peter trained dogs professionally after studying behavior in college. He answered any of Tony’s questions and appreciated all the little anecdotes Tony shared about the short time he’d been enjoying the heck out of Zero.

Walking into the room he was directed to, Tony lit up when Peter noticed him. In a couple of long strides, Peter was right in front of him, his hand already reaching down to press against Zero’s head. “Hey you two! You guys are in luck – it’s a small class, so you’ll get lots of hands on stuff tonight,” Peter caught his eye as he spoke, the smirk on the younger man’s lips making Tony’s throat suddenly very dry.

He nodded his head listlessly, his hand tightening on Zero’s lead. The crush on Peter that he’d been fostering for the past few days doubled in size throughout the next hour. There was one other dog owner and their pup – another puppy adopted from the rescue. Not only was Peter attentive, he knew his shit and didn’t mind explaining things as he went. As someone that put information above almost everything else, Tony liked all things about that.

Zero seemed to like it, too – he showered Peter with affection when he stood talking to Tony at the end of the class. He nosed at Tony’s hand, then pressed against Peter’s leg and licked at his ankles. Tony couldn’t help but grin down at him – the antics already too much.

“I found a local brewery that has a patio that allows dogs – any interest in catching a drink with us?” Tony asked – the conversation had got to the point where they were just staring longingly at each other. It seemed like the perfect time to put himself out there. The grip on Zero’s lead tightened for just a second; he didn’t think he read their interactions wrong, but after so much time away from the dating game, he could never be too sure.

Peter reached out and laid a hand on his arm, the touch the slightest bit reassuring, “I would like that very much. I hope you’re talking about Landry’s – they have the best cheese curds.” He turned his body and started to gather his stuff up like he’d merely been waiting for Tony to buck up the courage to invite him out before getting his shit together. Maybe he was – the idea of that honestly not the worst thing. At least then, he was joined in the intensity of his feelings.

They split up for the few minutes it took them to drive their separate cars to the brewery and met back up at one of the picnic tables closest to the open grass space right next to the building. There were a couple of other dogs milling around the grass – Zero looked over at them curiously, but remained by Tony’s side, his body resting on his feet after a while.

Their view of the sunset was fantastic – they shared a couple orders of cheese curds and truffle fries; Tony liked the way Peter closed his eyes around the bites that were extra indulgent – the redness of his cheeks absolutely divine. The amount of times being caught looking at him probably should have been embarrassing. Yet, Peter simply smiled back and moved his hand a little closer to Tony’s on the table.

It took most of the night for their fingers to finally tangle together – Tony wanted to be sure and enjoyed the build-up to it once he was. Peter’s hands were just as soft as Tony imagined them – his long fingers fit perfectly between his own. They shared a shy smile and sat together until the sky started to rumble a little while later.

Big raindrops suddenly falling on them made the decision to pay the bill and huddle for warmth in Tony’s car easy – Peter climbed into the passenger seat without any restraint. It was obvious that neither man was ready for the night to end.

In hopes of a few seconds to think his next move through, Tony started the car and made sure the vents were open so the car didn’t get too hot. He was startled by a cool hand on his own, Peter’s fingers around his wrist pulling his attention back to where they both wanted it to be.

“I had a really good time tonight,” Peter admitted, his body shifting in the seat. The Audi didn’t have too much space in it, so they were already close. The move of Peter’s shoulders brought them within breath sharing distance. “I like spending time with you.”

Tony didn’t bother trying to find the words to respond appropriately. Without any hesitation, he closed the space between them and pressed their lips together. His hands wandered to the front of Peter’s shirt; the fabric there warm from the heat of his body. A soft moan left Peter’s lips, the sound so encouraging – Peter’s response to it all exactly what Tony was hoping for.

Tilting his head, Tony was about to deepen the kiss when he felt a wet tongue on his cheek. Since his was currently tangled with Peter’s, it could only belong to none other than Zero. He pulled away with a sudden laugh – the excellence of the situation hitting him when Peter beamed at him.

“Better get used to him, Zero. I don’t think he’s going anywhere,” Tony murmured, one of his hands running softly over the puppy’s head.

Peter pulled Tony and Zero towards him, the group hug the sweetest thing Tony figured he’d ever been a part of. The press of lips against his forehead had Tony sighing, his body light for the first time in decades.

The start of something new felt pretty damn good.

#starker #ironspider #puppypeter #bobbie writes #au prompt #struck from a great height

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awhitehead17 · 4 years

Text

Whumptober 2020: Day 5 - Where do you think you’re going?

Prompt: On the run

Summary: When a bunch of thugs crash a gala, Tim and Damian find themselves running through corridors to escape them. It would be easy if they didn’t have different opinions on how to handle the matter.

Enjoy! :D

“There is no reason for us to continue running Drake! We are more than capable of defeating three idiots with guns.”

Tim huffs in annoyance, that’s the fourth time Damian’s brought up the three men chasing after them with guns in less than 5 minutes.

Yes, they can in fact handle three idiots with guns. Yes, there was in fact a reason on why they had to continue running.

Just over five minutes prior Tim had been having a normal night. The evening started out with him, Bruce and Damian all attending a charity gala in the heart of Gotham at a hotel, they didn’t want to go but being public figures meant that they needed make the appearance. As the three of them attended the gala, the rest of the family were on patrol duty as they wouldn’t be available.

Tim had been sipping a small glass of champagne, laughing without humour at dull stories by Gotham’s elite’s and counting down how long he had left until he could go back home, collapse on his bed and curl up in his blanket.

His night took an unexpected turn once he excused himself and went to the bathroom. He did his business but upon returning back to the function hall where the gala was, he found a handful of thugs with guns forcing everyone to their knees and barking out orders and threats. From where he had been standing, Tim couldn’t see Bruce, he didn’t know how the man wanted to play this. There’s no doubt about it, he’s already alerted Dick and Jason about what’s going on as soon as the thugs entered the room.

Just as Tim was about to make a disappearance act, he had been spotted. They shouted at him but in a spontaneous decision, he bolted. The thugs cursed and Tim could hear them instantly run after him. Tim sprinted down a corridor before turning onto another one, trying to make as much space between him and his pursuers as possible. It was a few moments later gun shots could be heard, Tim instinctively covers his head but doesn’t stop running.

He finds a stairwell and scrambles up the stairs to the next floor. The hotel was huge, surely there’ll be an easy way to lose them. It was on the next floor where he unexpectantly bumps into Damian. The boy had just strolled out one of the rooms when Tim came crashing onto the corridor.

Damian simply watches him with a look of something close to disgust as Tim does his best to avoid crashing into him. They stare at one another in question for a few beats.

Tim breaks the silence first. “What the hell you are doing up here brat?”

Damian narrows his eyes and glares at Tim. “I could ask you the same question Drake.”

Tim opens his mouth to retort however he doesn’t get the chance to because the door he burst through moments ago slams open and reveals the men he had been running from.

“There!” They point their guns at the two of them and open fire. Tim and Damian both duck the bullets and scramble away with Tim shouting, “That's why I’m up here!”

The two of them run together through the floors of the building trying to get away from their pursuers. Throughout that time Damian repeatedly brings up about fighting them, when he brings it up a fifth time, Tim’s had enough.

They’ve been running continuously for far too long and it’s only a matter of time until one of them gets hits by a stray bullet. They’re lucky they haven’t been hit yet, but Tim knows their luck is wearing thin.

When they get onto the next floor Tim makes a decision and stops running, he grabs the back of Damian’s suit and drags him into a small closet. It wasn’t ideal but they couldn’t keep on running forever. The closet had shelves lining two walls which were stacked with towels but other than that it was empty. The door in front of them was solid with no way to look in or out, the only gap it offered was the tiny one at the bottom where the door doesn’t quite reach the floor.

“Why are we hiding? Hiding is for cowards, we can fight them and take them out.” Damian scoffs after a few moments of silence.

Tim takes a deep breath in attempts to control his anger before turning to face his brother behind him. “We can’t fight them because right now we’re not vigilantes. Instead we’re Wayne's, who don’t know how to fight.”

Damian scowls, “Tt. This is a disgrace to the family name!”

Tim opens his mouth to retort but commotion coming from outside of the closet they’re in gets his attention instead. Though it’s slightly muffled, there’s no mistaking it that the noise was their pursuers, they were being incredibly loud and obnoxious as they make their way through the corridors. Tim holds his breath and prays they simply walk past this closet.

“Hiding in a closet is dishonourable and I will not stand for this!”

Suddenly Tim is shoved out of the way as Damian barges pat him and towards the door. Just outside of the closet the men were getting louder meaning they were getting closer. There’s no way Tim could let Damian jump out of the closet, it would end terribly for them whether they get out of the situation injured or not. There was just too much at risk.

As Damian reaches for the door, Tim lunges forward and grabs the collar of his suit. He yanks Damian towards him and wraps his arms around the kid, slapping a hand over his mouth and using his other arm to restrain him.

Damian thrashes in his hold, trying to fight him to get free but Tim simply holds him tighter. Just before the kid could make any noise, Tim ducks his head so he could talk into Damian’s ear.

At a low, hushed whisper he hisses, “If you make a sound, we’re good as dead. If they open that door we have nowhere to run or hide. We’re Wayne’s right now and we don’t know how to fight, we’re vulnerable rich civilians, if we were in our suits then yes we could take them.

Use your brain Damian. We are not in a position to fight. No doubt about it that Dick and Jason are on their way here now. Do not put us in a jeopardising position because you couldn’t handle the idea of ‘looking weaker’.”

Once he was done talking Tim stays silent, glaring at the side of Damian’s head and waits for him to do something. It looks like he’s using his common sense because the kid stays silent, not even making a peep to argue against Tim’s words. Tim removes the hand from Damian’s mouth but keeps the restrictive hold on him.

From outside the closet the men could be heard stomping past their location and down the corridor. Tim doesn’t let Damian go until he’s absolutely certain they’ve disappeared, when he does finally let the boy go, he pushes Damian behind him and goes to the door, gently pushing it open enough so he could peek out into the corridor. Sure enough the coast was clear. Tim opens the door wider and gestures to Damian.

“Come on, lets go find a computer and work out what’s going on while we wait for the others to arrive.”

Without waiting for the kid, Tim starts heading down the corridor where they originally came from. he gets a few feet ahead when he’s called for.

“Drake.” Tim stops and turns around, he watches as Damian strides to meet him and as he carries on past him, Tim quickly continues to walk to meet his pace. “I realise that my actions were irrational and not thought through at all.”

Tim looks down at him with surprise. He hadn’t been expecting that, however that seems to be all that Damian was offering up because he doesn’t elaborate.

They get to the end of the corridor and together they start making their way down the stairs, staying alert for any potential thugs lingering around. Tim takes the lead on the stairs as he does he glances over his shoulder at Damian behind him.

“I know it’s hard Damian. Trust me, I do know. It takes every inch of your willpower to stop yourself from lashing out at the nearest guy with a gun, fully knowing you can take him out in a heartbeat. It’s impossible to just stand by, to act scared and pretend everything you train for day in and day out doesn’t exist. But we do it because it protects us, it protects our family and everyone we know who aren’t in the capes community. Us especially, have an image to maintain where our secret is the most important thing to keep.”

Tim takes a deep breath and very pointedly keeps his gaze ahead of him. “I’m proud you choose to stand by, it was a mature decision to make. Bruce and Dick will be proud too.”

There was silence behind him, not that Tim had been expecting Damian to respond to him. There was a lot of emotion packed into that speech, a lot more than Tim would rather there be but it’s all true.

Eventually Damian seems to want to respond because a couple floors later he says, “Thank you Drake. Both father and Grayson have been trying to help me understand why it’s important that we maintain a public image despite how infuriating it is. You have also helped that knowledge come along.”

Tim doesn’t say anything to that. He doesn’t really know what to say. Damian was thanking him, Christ the world must be ending.

“Now get a move on Drake, we’re wasting time when we could be making ourselves much more useful, even in these personas we play.”

That makes Tim grin, it’s something he can easily agree to. “Let’s go.”

#Whumptober2020 #day five #on the run #Tim Drake #Damian Wayne #sibling relationship #running #arguing #hiding in closets #fanfiction #tension

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bi-bard · 4 years

Text

Long Forgotten Past- Arthur Pendragon Imagine (Merlin)

Title: Long Forgotten Past

Pairing: Arthur Pendragon X Reader (I tried to make this gender neutral but if I slipped up, I’m sorry)

Requested: Nope...

Warning(s): Mentions of past abandonment and memory loss

Summary: Someone made a decision that changed (Y/n)’s life forever. Now things are changing and the truth will be revealed. A visitor coming to Camelot makes sure that the truth comes out and (Y/n) learns more in a day than they had in forever.

Author’s Note: I have had this sitting in my drafts for so long! This was originally a musical prompt but I drifted very far from that original idea... whoops!

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“Merlin, let go of my wrist,” I hissed as he dragged me through the halls of the castle.

“No, this is important,” he replied, continuing to drag me along.

“Merlin,” we heard someone shout behind us. Merlin stopped with an angry sigh, tuning around to face Arthur. “Hello, (Y/n).”

“Hello, Arthur,” I smiled.

“Merlin,” Arthur turned his attention to the boy that was still grabbing onto my wrist. “What on Earth are you doing?”

“I need to speak to Gaius and it’s important that (Y/n) is there,” Merlin explained. “You can make me do any chores you want afterwards.”

“(Y/n), are you alright,” Arthur touched my arm gently.

“I’m fine,” I said with- what probably looked like- a dumb smile. He nodded before waving us off. “Bye.”

“Bye,” he replied.

“God, you two are pathetic,” Merlin muttered once Arthur was out of earshot and you had continued following him to see Gaius. “He is absolutely in love with you.”

“No, no he is not,” I insisted. We had this discussion all too often. Merlin had this idea that Arthur loved me... which wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true.

“Gaius,” Merlin shouted as opened the door of their room. “I’ve discovered something.”

“What is it,” Gaius asked, stepping away from whatever potion he was making.

“There’s a king missing his child,” Merlin explained. “His wife died when the kingdom was attacked and the child disappeared.”

“Merlin, where is this going,” Gaius asked. I furrowed my eyebrows and crossed my arms.

“(Y/n) is that child,” Merlin exclaimed.

“What,” Gaius and I shouted at the same time.

“Is it impossible,” Merlin asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

“You have no memories from before... about eight years old,” Merlin added. “You know that your parents didn’t give birth to you. Why can’t you even think that this is a possibility?”

“Gaius,” I turned to look at the old man. “Please tell him that he has lost it.”

“Well...,” Gaius started.

“Gaius,” I shouted.

“We need to tell Uther that there’s a chance,” he continued. “The only one who could confirm this is the man who is potentially your father.”

“You’re kidding,” I shook my head and looked down.

“Come with me, we’ll speak with him before his meeting with the knights,” Gaius said, motioning for Merlin and me to follow him.

“We’re doing this right now,” I asked. I was scared. I shouldn’t have been scared. None of this was possible. They both nodded. “Okay.”

“Sire,” Gaius said as we all walked into the throne room. “I have an important issue to discuss with you.”

“Make it quick, Gauis, I have a meeting soon,” Uther replied.

“You may have heard about King Rowan,” Gaius explained. “He lost his wife when their kingdom was attacked and his child seemed to disappear at random. Merlin and I have reason to believe that we’ve found his child.”

“Really,” Uther looked stunned. “His child has been missing for almost fifteen years. Who do you believe it is?”

“(Y/n),” I straightened my spine when Uther looked at me when Gaius said my name. “The only person who can confirm that is King Rowan.”

“I’ll have someone go and deliver a message to him,” Uther promised, walking over to us. He placed a hand on my shoulder. “It should only take a few days for him to arrive. We’ll find out the truth.”

“Thank you, Sire,” I said, nodding before going to leave. I still had work to get done... even if my thoughts were in a mess now.

**A Few Days Later**

I ran through the hallways once Gwen and Morgana finally let me go. They had insisted on making sure I looked my best when my potential father showed up. I understood why but it made me even more nervous.

I only stopped when I was right outside the doors to the throne room. The guards at the doors gave me nods that I think were supposed to comfort me. I nodded back and they opened the large doors for me.

“This is (Y/n),” Uther said as I walked in. Another man was standing there. That must have been King Rowan.

The room was completely silent. I stood in the middle of the room, scared out of my mind. King Rowan walked over slowly. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest.

“Your necklace,” Rowan said. I touched in out of instinct. It wasn’t much. A single charm on some string. But I had always had it. “It belonged to my wife. She told me to give it to my child. It was her last wish on her deathbed.”

“That... That means...”

“(Y/n),” King Rowan pulled me into a tight hug. I felt him shaking. I let tears fall from my eyes. “My child.”

“Father,” I mumbled. I stepped away after a minute, trying to wipe my eyes so I could look presentable. “Why can’t I remember that time? I would’ve been old enough to have memories.”

“That was my doing,” he looked down. “I had a warlock wipe the first ten years from your mind. I didn’t want you to hold onto that pain. Now that you’re here, we can find a way to restore them.”

“Gaius,” Uther said. “He would be able to fix this, yes?”

“I could certainly try, Sire,” Gaius nodded. I turned around and hugged him.

“Thank you,” I mumbled.

“You’re welcome,” he replied before stepping back to look at everyone. “(Y/n) will need to stay in my chambers and I will need to be able to work with her in private.”

“Of course,” Rowan nodded. He gave me one last hug before following Uther, who was offering him a tour of the castle. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Of course,” I nodded. Everyone had left the room except for Gaius, Merlin, and Arthur.

“I told you so,” Merlin said. I rolled my eyes at him.

“Merlin,” Arthur warned. “One more word, you’ll be sleeping in the stables.”

“Sorry,” Merlin held his hands up. He moved over to hug me. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled.

“Gaius and I will go off to prepare for... whatever is going to happen,” Merlin said before following Gaius out of the throne room.

“So, you’re royalty,” Arthur said after the door shut behind them.

“Apparently,” I looked down. I was caught off guard when he hugged me and twirled me around. “What is it?”

“This is the best news,” he replied. “This is perfect.”

“Why is it so perfect?”

“We’ll talk about that later,” he shrugged with a smirk before kissing my forehead. “Good luck.”

“Thank you,” I gave him a nervous smile before heading off to see Gaius and Merlin.

I walked through the door, fiddling with my hands. My stomach was full of butterflies and I was scared that I would actually throw up. Merlin gave me a comforting smile once he saw me shifting from one foot to another.

“Come lay down,” Gaius said. I nodded and sat on the cot that Gaius had.

“How is this going to work,” I asked.

“Well, I’m going to give you this potion,” Gaius held up a bottle. “It should start bringing your memory back but it will cause you to fall asleep because the process of regaining memories can be...”

“Overwhelming,” I completed his thought. He nodded. “Have you done this before?”

“Never had to,” Gaius replied, kind of shrugging at me. I let out a heavy sigh. “It’ll be okay.”

“Okay,” I shook my hands out before holding one out to take the bottle from him.

I shifted so I was laying down, then took a huge gulp of the potion. I winced at the flavor as Gaius took it from me. My wincing stopped as I started feeling drowsy, my eyelids struggling to stay open. After what could’ve been seconds, I was falling asleep.

**Time Skip**

I slowly blinked as my brain became less and less cloudy. I rolled my neck before moving to sit up on the cot. I jumped a little when I saw how many people were there... just looking at me.

“Hello,” my father said softly, sitting next to me. I smiled at him. “I know this is going to sound a little silly but... can you tell me the name of your mother?”

“My mother’s name was Aleida,” I replied, my eyes filling with tears. “She was killed by a neighboring kingdom when I was eight. And I just forgot her.”

“No, no, no,” my father hugged me, rubbing my back. “You did nothing wrong. I am so sorry. I am so sorry for everything.”

“May I have a few minutes,” I asked. “I just want to collect my thoughts.”

“Of course,” my father nodded, moving to stand and guide everyone out.

Once the door closed, I felt all of my emotions truly come out. I was scared and I was confused. I placed a hand over my mouth as I cried. Almost eight years of lost memories came crashing back in less than a minute. I couldn’t sort through all of my thoughts.

Whether or not I understood what was going on, my tears eventually stopped. I finally stood from the cot and walked towards the door. Everyone was waiting just outside.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I just needed to pull myself together.”

“You’re alright,” Arthur stepped forward and touched my shoulder. I smiled at him.

“Merlin, I believe you and I have some work to finish up, don’t we,” Gaius asked. Merlin nodded, a very smug smile on his face as they walked back into Gaius’ chambers.

“Rowan, I believe we have a deal to discuss,” Uther announced. “Would you like to go discuss the matter?”

“Of course,” my father replied, walking towards the throne room.

“So,” Arthur said slowly. “It’s true.”

“It’s true,” I chuckled. “So, you can tell me why this was such great news.”

“Well,” he looked down for a moment. “I just want you to know that I love you.”

“Oh,” I froze up for a moment. “As in you’re in love with me?”

“Yes,” he confirmed with a small smile. “I didn’t want to say anything because of the stupid rule about royals not being with people that aren’t also royals... but this was the best stroke of luck because now no one can do anything to you if I was to say anything... which I did.”

“I am very happy that I do know,” I replied. I glanced around the nearby hallway before leaning up and kissing his cheek. “Let’s go see what our dads are so adamantly discussing.”

“Alright,” he nodded, holding his arm out so I could wrap mine around. I leaned on his shoulder while we walked down the hallway. It was nice. This was a definitely a nice moment.

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#merlin imagine #merlin fanfiction #arthur pendragon imagine #arthur pendragon fanfiction #imagine #fanfiction #character imagine #character fanfiction

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unfortunatelysirius · 5 years

Text

╰☆☆ ℕ𝕆𝕋 𝕐𝕆𝕌ℝ 𝔾𝕀ℝ𝕃𝔽ℝ𝕀𝔼ℕ𝔻 ☆☆╮ [Sirius Black – Marauders Era] [Part 14]

Previous Installments: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13

╰❂╮ prompt ╰❂╮ ☾ ¡Original! ☾ With the perpetrator on their tail, and Sirius’s prejudices no longer something that can be ignored, relationships shatter and a safe way out is near unimaginable. ╰❂╮ author’s note ╰❂╮ Sorry this is so, so late. I hope the installment is to your satisfaction. AND IM SORRY IT’S SO SHORT BUT PLS, FEEDBACK WOULD BE APPRECIATED AND I’LL BE MORE PROMPT ON UPDATES. Will be updating Chocolate Frogs and Love Notes soon. Tell me if you want added to any of my tag-lists! ╰❂╮ warnings ╰❂╮ Angst, Swearing, Violence ╰❂╮ word count ╰❂╮ 2043 ╰❂╮ tag-list ╰❂╮ @kapolisradomthoughts @rageofcaliban @saucyleftovers @bunnymother93 @siriuslyr5 @apareciumimagines @random-quartz @ruefulposts @seabasstiantrash @starlightspidey @pinkettepoet @peppermintspecks @jiongyongguk @bethanystan @raindancer2004 @where-are-my-gummy-bears @cutebutnotinorcent

IT WAS NEARLY MIDNIGHT, and a disturbing sort of cold Y/N thought she might never experience in her lifetime, shivers up and down her spine within the dark, suffocating corridor. The stars were like silver dewdrops splattered across the navy sky, visible through each old window’s silhouette littered around the castle; with every passing step, Y/N caught another glimpse of Nature’s finest canvas. She was curled into Sirius’s side, squished between his subtly muscled body and James’s near-identical shape, both Remus and Peter trailing the three of them by seconds. It was reminiscent of times that seemed so far away.

Y/N thought it was all too good to be true. Everything, from her and Sirius falling back into same-old, same-old routine like they’d never left the honeymoon phase to James looking quite sullen compared to his usual upbeat, enthusiastic self. She wondered if it was all a twist on reality to make her think things were fine when really, Sirius wasn’t anywhere near, James still hated her, and the Marauders were leading her somewhere to hex and discard their latest “conquest.” It made all the more sense the longer she thought about it, but thoughts of the way Sirius felt—flesh, bone, whole—made her realize she was daft, and just a little bit mad.

He was so obviously here, a living, breathing wonder, and she was trying to make it a mirage. She wanted it that way.

Or maybe she’d just went long enough with things going wrong that miracles seemed far too good to be true.

“I have to meet with Regulus,” murmured Y/N into the quiet air, after the silence became a tad bit too smothering. She was also alert of her own negligence, from her delirious daze to her angry soul’s demands for an apology, as Sirius’s arm looped around her became a bone-crushing reality. Not so much a reality she craved anymore, but one that needed multiple bandages slapped across it; the Muggle way of rekindling old flames and licked wounds. Y/N was beginning to grow agitated and nervous, as this reality crushed down on her. As her newly-put-together world fell apart in the wake of unanswered questions. “He—wants to help. He thinks I was Obliviated.”

Sirius glanced down at her, looking unsure, his own face not betraying the inner turmoil running their world ragged. The two of them didn’t know how to approach their current problem, the one that kept them from falling together as happy memories asked them to; Y/N was afraid of what lay in wait, Sirius’s admittance that he thought so lowly of her that for even a millisecond he thought she might have been a slag, and Sirius dreaded the moment he had to let his betrayal out into the open. Neither of them were willing to ruin their reconciliation by simple, trivial ire, the kind that winded up someone alone and heartbroken, the kind that could get anyone and everyone hurt.

Even the most painful of thoughts were best kept internalized, if it meant staying locked tight in a dream.

Even now, the two of them were so different. Differences Y/N once overlooked in favor of what made them compatible.

“Regulus doesn’t care about anyone except for himself,” Sirius snapped at Y/N, the three Marauders looking nervous in anticipation for the argument to come. “He’s a Slytherin. The bloody git is tricking you.”

“How the fuck would you know?” Y/N was never one for confrontation. This was all new territory. She was tired, and depressed, and dying of questions; she loved Sirius, she did, but he was still the prejudiced, arrogant prat he was before they started dating. He’d always hate Slytherins because he grew up in a world full of snakes that rejected him for being who he was, and maybe that was a drawn line for why they weren’t meant to last. He was the charismatic, hateful railroad tycoon, and she was his subdued wife that tiptoed around his temper. Stupid, foolish—she was letting herself use another goddamned Muggle analogy—Americanized, no less. Maybe Y/N was running low on a lucid mind as much as she was excuses.

He knows nothing about Regulus, she thought anyway, looking into those silver grey eyes she’d always loved. Sirius didn’t. He refused to talk to his brother; maybe Regulus was growing into himself and losing that part of him that preened and prawned from pleasing his parents. If he was scared, if he was determined to find the truth because he wanted to sabotage dark plans, he never once betrayed it. But deep down, there was nothing else rational to explain his motivations, and Y/N knew he was a scared little boy afraid the monsters would someday catch up to him—

And they’d eat him alive like all wolves just so happen to do.

“Regulus is your brother,” continued Y/N. “He doesn’t want to be part of whatever it is your parents do. I can see it in his eyes.”

“You didn’t grow up with him. You didn’t see him do nothing when his brother was lying on the ground, with their father standing above him,” seethed Sirius. “Don’t act like you know him; you sure as hell don’t.”

Y/N felt like crying, as she wrenched herself away from Sirius’s warm, comforting embrace. “Don’t act like you know me,” she spat. Sirius’s jaw fell downwards, a flicker of hurt flitting across his face. “Go mope in your dorm. I’m getting down to the bottom of this, with or without you.”

Sirius was silent. Y/N continued to watch him, imploring him to say something, wishing he wouldn’t just let her leave. If she left, she could get hurt, and Sirius wouldn’t be her knight in shining armor. They went so long in turmoil that Y/N wanted there to be some sort of compromise; if they could argue and fight for so long, the two a mess with their friends on the fence on how to fix them, then they sure as hell could be soft and melted together, too. Maybe they were different, maybe Sirius couldn’t let his old ways go, but truth be told—Y/N always wanted to show him a new perspective.

She’d tried doing that before things went wrong.

“Really, Sirius?” she said now, staring brokenly at him. “We could finally figure this out, and you’re backing down? Really?”

“Whoever’s done this is dangerous,” Sirius told her. His voice had lost all its shake, all its fury, rendered a new sort of mellow Y/N had hardly ever seen from him. He looked like he itched to hold her and reassure he was just an asshat, but his asshat ways betrayed none of his true love for her, or his need to protect her. None, nada, zilch: right? He was a teenage boy, a prat, but he didn’t mean anything out of his pathetically unfiltered mouth. “I want you safe, Y/N. We should leave this to the professors.”

Those words were foreign out of his mouth. Y/N took a heavy breath and she said, “Sirius, do you even hear yourself? Merlin, what’s happened to you?”

“What’s happened to me? Me?” Sirius’s laugh was humorless. “You’re bloody mad.”

“Sirius, Y/N, this isn’t the best time,” said Remus, looking between the two with apprehension.

“This is the best time, Remus,” Y/N said, refusing to look at any of them. She knew Peter was fidgeting; she knew James was gap-mouthed like a pufferfish; she knew Remus was trying to hide his trepidation. She knew Sirius was silently seething. All of them, they weren’t clearly thinking. They didn’t have their nerves together. Y/N was terrified that solving the bottom of the mystery would never come if they fell apart before they came together. But Y/N could no longer go on if her experience with the love of her life was only going to be heartache and pain, two things she had felt since coming to this God-awful school.

You’re not any better than him, thought Y/N, her brain suddenly going to Ashton. He was dead, and she’d never get to see him again; she’d never get to tell him she was sorry, that she never meant to use him, that he was someone she came to love in her desperation to feel. He taught her about love. He taught her that it was okay to be without for a little while because wholes always regain their lost pieces. Maybe he threw her into an abyss after he broke her heart that left her sad and lost of all hope, but now, with her head on her shoulders again, she could safely say he taught her a lot—yet she gained nothing.

Y/N was happy with Sirius, but he did not teach her anything. He was a fun partner in crime, but when it truly came down to life lessons, he wasn’t a teacher; he was along for the ride, a mere passenger in a bus packed to the brim with faces from the crowd.

Standing in the hallway, letting these thoughts wash over her, Y/N could not do this anymore. She needed to find Regulus and reach the climax of this game. Someone was toying with her and her feelings, and if she didn’t put a stop to it, if she didn’t find a way to draw the villain out and stifle the madness, there was no way for her to get peace—and she’d stay stuck in an endless cycle of being a living ghost.

“I can’t anymore, Sirius,” whispered Y/N. “I can’t.”

She turned around and ran.

The Marauders watched after her, one looking horrified, two looking shocked, and the one this mattered to most—he looked heartbroken.

And none of them even bothered to go after her, as the guilt sunk in and they realized—

Was the love-potion maker truly the villain? Or was it them?

Y/N had stopped running after reaching the fourth corridor. She eventually stopped walking altogether. Her pace slowed until it was nonexistent, her harsh, shaking breaths fell into soundless sniffs, her erratic thoughts slowly but surely came to a close. All she could think about now was Regulus, who was waiting at the library for her presence. And that half-blurry, half-familiar memory of a white-haired girl in the very same forest Y/N was in herself

Y/N knew it mattered. She knew she’d been Obliviated, and she was foolish not to go to Headmaster Dumbledore for help in retrieving her memories… but she was a foolish girl, and foolish girls wanted to figure out mysteries by themselves.

“I’m a bloody fool,” mumbled Y/N to herself, clutching her head like that would heal all trace of confusion, as well as her sadness. It wouldn’t, but it felt like it did—so Y/N continued to grope at her temples and scalp. The corridor echoed with spooky creaks and even spookier whistles. Y/N felt regret seep into her bones, as she realized she was still a bit of ways away from the library—and she was totally, utterly, completely alone.

Y/N heard someone laugh.

“You are a bloody fool,” they said.

Out from the end of the corridor emerged a girl, whose entire face and hair were obscured by shadows—but the pretty little patch on her robes had a snake on them. Y/N knew it was a Slytherin. But all she saw was the patch, as her body and face were near invisible—and even then, the patch’s emblazoning was blurry to her. She felt her head grow light, her eyes squinting to see within the darkness. She was so caught in looking at the patch to even pay any regard to the words the stranger spoke or the wand as it lifted, pointing right at Y/N’s chest.

“Who are—”

The girl flicked her wrist. “Stupefy,” she said.

Suddenly Y/N was knocked off her feet by a powerful spell, the backlash sending her head cracking against the corridor wall, rendering her immobile and near-unconscious.

She felt her body crumble, but only half of the way—a steady stream of numbness shooting through her like lightning.

The stranger walked up, a laugh emptying from her mouth.

“Got you!” the girl sang happily.

That was when things went black.

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onefourjisung · 5 years

Text

Newfound Friendship (Stray Kids Han)

Prompt: (y/n) is a kid who doesn’t usually care about things that doesn’t affect themself, but when a foreign exchange student, Han Jisung, was struggling to fit in, they can’t help but step in. Even going out of their way to make sure no one messed with the fluffy cheeked boy. (gender neutral reader, highschool au)

Warnings: bullying, racism, a small school fight, strong language

Word count: 1,551

“Everybody, I want you to welcome our new exchange student, Han Jisung.” Your homeroom teacher walked in, a blond boy tailing behind her. “Go on, introduce yourself,”

“Hi, uh- my name is Jisung, from Korea.” The new kid awkwardly waved, his bottom lip unintentionally sticking between his teeth by the end of the sentence.

Your teacher patted his back gently before smiling at Jisung, “Go on have a seat,”

He nodded before walking nervously down the rows of desks searching for an open spot. Just to your luck, the first one he noticed was the seat next to yours. You didn’t have anything against the new kid in particular, you’re just not very good at making friends. Your slightly individualistic demeanor and resting bitch face (along with your dark aesthetic and your undying love for leather jackets) have always been successful in sending people away and earning you the title of “the bad kid not to messed with” -and you never bothered to deny it.

When Jisung wordlessly pointed at the empty chair beside you, your brain didn’t even have enough time to come up with a proper response before he grinned, putting his bag on the desk. You internally sighed, saying goodbye to the peaceful semester you had imagined.

“Hi,” Jisung whispered, leaning slightly to you while keeping his eyes on the board. “I’m Han Jisung.”

“(y/n),” you answered shortly as you continued to make no effort to actually pay attention to your teacher.

“My English name is Peter,” he casually said with a smile.

You finally turned your head to the boy, eyeing him up and down. Once again, your resting bitch face must’ve sent the wrong signal as Jisung’s smile faltered to a somewhat scared look that reminded you of a squirrel due to his chubby cheeks.

Not wanting to give off a bad impression to the already nervous boy, you mustered up a small smile. “You look more of a Jisung to me,”

After your lighthearted reply, he seemed to regain his positivity and lowly chuckled making sure you weren’t getting any unwanted attention from the teacher. He then became quiet for a while before saying “Will you help me?”

You raised your eyebrow slightly at the sudden proposal, “help you with what?”

You noticed him fidgeting with the pen in his hand before looking up to you. “Uh- my English is not very good? Will you help me?”

You once again smiled softly, “I think you’re doing just fine, but sure I’ll help you.”

Jisung couldn’t help but grin at the confident boost from you and he sighed in relief as he already gained his first friend within a few minutes.

Turns out, Jisung ended up being in most of your classes trough out the day, this led to Jisung always sitting next to you. You thought the stares people were giving the two of you was because the notorious (y/n) who had always sat alone and don’t give a damn about it finally has a chair mate slash friend. However, when you find a sad Jisung on the other side of the door as you exited your chemistry class –the only class you didn’t have with him- you were unfortunately proven wrong.

"Jisung?” you touched his shoulder in worry. “Are you okay?”

He raised his head at your presence, the usual cheerful glint in his eyes was nowhere to be seen. Instead, his eyes were tinted red and slightly puffed as if he had been crying.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” You questioned your friend further, ignoring the stares of your pupils passing by on their way to the cafetaria.

“They’re mean,” Jisung pouted, his eyes getting slightly teary.

“Who is?”

“Kids in biology class.” Jisung sighed, blinking faster to stop his tears from falling. “They teased my English.”

You felt your heart drop to your stomach at Jisung’s confession but managed to keep your composure. “Look at me,” you grabbed Jisung’s hand gently before smiling at him. “I’m here now, let’s go grab some lunch, yeah?”

Jisung only nodded as he let you guide him through the hallways, your hand still securely wrapped around his.

You sat on your usual table as the both of you ate your food. Jisung’s mood was getting better thanks to the distraction the horrible food provided.

“Do you eat this everyday?” Jisung cringed as he continuously poked on the undercooked green beans on his plate.

“Well, not exactly this menu everyday,” you smiled in amusement, “but the other menus are not any better, honestly.”

“Ew, gross.” You heard Jisung murmur under his breath, causing you to laugh.

“Well, you gotta deal with it now that you’re here, Jiji,” you teased.

“Jiji?” Jisung pointed out your nickname for him.

“Yeah, why not,” you shrugged. “Can it be your nickname? Do you like it?”

Jisung contemplated for a bit before responding. “But jiji in Korean means gross,”

“Great, just like this food and just like you.” You joked.

“Hey, not true!” Jisung retorted playfully.

“I’m gonna start calling you Jiji from now on.” You stated and when he didn’t argue, you accepted it as a permission.

It was quiet between the both of you for a bit before a boy passed by your table, throwing some rude remarks and a degrading laugh, you recognized the kid as Ashton from your PE class. You were taken aback and couldn’t help but feel offended and stared at the brown haired kid as he left the cafetaria. When you turned back to your original position, Jisung was slightly hunched as if trying to make himself smaller, keeping his eyes to the untouched food in front of him.

“Jisung,” you called to gain his attention. “Was that the kid that’s been bothering you?”

His silence was more than enough to clarify your theories. You eventually got up from your seat with Jisung staring at you questioningly.

“I’m going to the bathroom, you stay here, okay?” You told him.

Ashton fell back with hands on his cheek, obviously not expecting you to actually throw a punch. "What the fuck?!”

You obviously were not going to the bathroom. You were going to find Ashton and have a little word with him. You were really not planning on picking up a fight. Ashton was a well-known dick with nothing but a big mouth, he was not a fighter and you knew it from that one time last semester when you kicked his ass during a Taekwondo lesson. But when Ashton exaggeratedly mocked Jisung’s accent in front of you after you brought up the problem, you just couldn’t hold yourself back. Before you knew it, your knuckle had made contact with his cheek in full force.

By then, people were starting to crowd around the two of you, it was only a matter of time until a teacher will come and break you two up.

“Next time you even try to look at Jisung the wrong way, I’ll be giving you much more than a bruised up cheek.” You pointed your finger at him threateningly to make sure you got your point across.

“Okay! Fuck, I’m sorry!” He finally responded.

Ashton, still taken aback by your outburst only stared at you in disbelief, knowing better not to fight back. To this, you reached out to apply more pressure on his hand that was still on his cheek, making him groan in pain as he flinched away from your touch.

Just then, one of your teachers finally got to the scene, breaking through the crowd of student surrounding you.

“(y/n) (y/l/n)! Ashton Carter! Principal’s office, now!” He shouted sternly.

You obeyed his words and wordlessly left as the teacher shoo off the crowd. In the corner of your eyes you see Jisung’s worried face, you spared a glance at him as you smile reassuringly, silently telling him not to worry.

The hour you spent in the principal’s office was not too bad. Considering Ashton's reputation, the principal didn’t need to be told twice to believe your words. Still, he didn’t agree with your way of dealing with the issue so he sent you to detention while Ashton was suspended for three days.

You were mindlessly doodling on a page in your notebook when the door of the detention room opened. The teacher on duty really couldn’t care less as he continued to scroll on his phone without acknowledging the new presence. You tilted your head in confusion as Jisung made his way towards you after spotting you in the back of the room.

“What are you doing here?” You asked as he took a seat beside you.

He rummaged through his backpack before pulling out a chocolate bar and a boxed milk. “I’m lonely,” he shrugged.

“What’s this?” you eyed the treats he offered to you.

“I bought them at the store.” He smiled. “You didn’t eat because you were fighting,”

“Right.” You chuckled at his words before accepting the food. “Thanks, Jiji.”

“No, thank you.” He replied. “But you don’t have to punch people for me next time.”

Once again you laughed quietly. “Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”

A few minutes ago you kind of hated the fact that you got detention, but with Jisung by your side, the one hour actually was unfairly short for your liking.

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #stray kids han #han jisung x reader #han jisung imagine #stray kids fanfic

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winnipegpatty · 5 years

Text

You Wrote a Letter to the Wrong Guy | s.m.

Summary: You’ve been in a back and forth relationship with Shawn for years now, and you finally think it’s time to say goodbye for good. Shawn doesn’t see it that way.

Words: 5k+

a/n: this fic prompt is based off the tv show Younger.

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

Dear Shawn,

I can’t imagine my life without you. There’s no easy way to say it, and writing doesn’t make it any better. But I have to try to explain why this is happening. Over the past three years, you’ve changed everything for me. There are so many memories I have of our time together. Some that I know I will cherish for a lifetime. I think of our first night together, when we met at the bar. Or my first time backstage at one of your concerts. Some memories were good times. And some I wish I could forget, but through all of our moments, you saw me for me. You loved me in my most difficult time, and you accepted me when people were leaving me behind. I say I can’t imagine a life without you, a life without your guitar playing in the back of my mind, or hearing your laugh over the phone, but it’s time I let you go. It hurts to tell you these things, but I want my relationship with Nick to work. And the only way I can do that is for there to be space between us. I’m so sorry, Shawn.

Love Always.

Shawn’s hearts sank deeper with every work he read. His stomach twisted into knots, and he really could vomit. He’d always heard people say that watching the love of their life with someone else was harder than losing them, but what did those idiots know? Did they ever actually experience both options? Because seeing her with Nick was horrible, but they’d still remained friends. They still shared moments with each other. She’d still convinced Shawn to go back to tour when he thought he couldn’t handle the pressure anymore. They still had late night phone calls where they bared a little too much of their soul for exes. He’d still been able to convince himself that one day she’d come back to her. Because truly, he always thought she would. He’d given her every single piece of his heart. She had it all. Surely, that was enough for her to come back, right? They’d had ups and downs, but far more ups. He’d take her any way, even if it was this small fragment of a friendship that was left. Why wasn’t his all enough to convince her to stay?

People told Shawn he’d get over her. But he never thought those people had truly been in love if they thought he’d ever be the same again. He could live his life, sure. But he’d never feel the way he felt about her again. The moment he saw her alone at the bar, he knew it. Shawn used to say he wanted his first ever heartbreak. Like it would fuel his career or something. But that was only when he’d thought that the heartbreak would end and eventually give birth to a new form of love. But there was no new love. There was no love outside of her.

And what? He’s just supposed to accept that she wasn’t going to ever speak to him again? So she could give Nick a try? What about giving Shawn a try? What about all the times she’d ran from him because she was too terrified to give it a true shot? No, no this, this letter, this apology, this ending — it’s bullshit.

——

It was about to be a crazy night. You were already preparing yourself, but you weren’t really sure there was a true way to prepare for your best friends bachelorette party. But nevertheless, you were maid of honor, and you were determined to give her the best possible night. Starting with a surprise kidnapping and s strip club visit (or two).

“Dee, just get in the damn car,” Haylee, one of the bridesmaids, shouted at the bride as she yanked her by the arm into the hot pink limo sized Hummer. “Why can’t you be normal and just let loose for once in your life!” Haylee huffed as she finally pulled Diana into the car.

“So you planned something,” Diana looked at you.

You smiled at her, “I know you.”

Diana smiled, as she was handed a glass of champagne.

“Let’s get crazy, bitches!”

You knew Haylee would take the reigns at some point over the night, it was simply in Haylee’s nature. You weren’t to upset over it, even as maid of honor.

——

Four shots into the night, multiple lap dances, and two clubs later everyone in the bridal party was drunk, and Haylee was calling the shots as predicted.

“Let’s go!!!” She was always shouting, “It’s a night for spontaneity.”

The group of girls shouts out, as they all threw back one last shot and stumbled out of the club.

“Into the Hummer,” Haylee called, “We’ve got a concert to get to!”

Something in your brain registered that this might not be the original plans for the night, but you were so far gone you weren’t even sure what the plans had entailed. And you’re the one who’d made them. The next thing you know, everyone’s being shuttled into the Hummer, and Haylee’s somehow reminding everyone to stay hydrated. So with bottles of water in hand, you head in the direction of wherever Haylee has decided to take the rest of the night. The girls are in the back of the limo, laughing about something someone did at the bar, but your mind drifts as you watch the buildings fly by.

You thought about the letter you sent Shawn, it was a Dear John kind of goodbye letter. Even though you’d sent it a few days prior, you still weren’t sure it was the right choice. Shawn held the most special place in your heart, but you felt like a part of you could never truly leave him, if you continued to have him in your life. Nick deserved better than that. He deserved a girl who wanted to be with him and no one else. You so desperately wanted to fit the mold of that girl.

Eventually, the Hummer pulls to the back of...what looks to be the Madison Square Garden? The building is already booming, and it’s clear that a concert has already started. And come to think of it, it’s really late.

“Wait, why are we coming to the concert when it’s almost over?” You ask Haylee.

“Because I’ve got backstage passes, bitches!”

What Haylee holds up is a group of Shawn Mendes The Tour passes, that ones Shawn had handed out to all of you at the beginning of the tour, so you could all go to any show you wanted too, without getting tickets or fussing with passes.

“Wait, what?” You panicked, “We can’t go in there!”

Haylee rolled her eyes, “We sure can, just because you said bye to the rockstar, doesn’t mean we all did.”

Your stomach was tightened as you felt the urge to vomit. You ran to the nearest trash can and hurled yourself over it.

“Hurry up, girls,” Haylee sang over the crowd. As the group passed by you, Haylee settled a hand on your shoulder. “Remember, it’s not about you tonight, it’s about Dee.”

You pushed yourself up and nodded, following the group of girls into the back door where they showed their passes to a security guard. She was right, this wasn’t about you or Shawn. It was about Dee having a good bachelorette party. You could ignore Shawn for one night.

Walking into the back hallways, you can hear In My Blood playing through the arena, which you knew to be Shawn’s closing number. The group of girls turned the corner, and came to be standing right off the stage, where Shawn would exit from. You had two minutes, tops, to prepare yourself.

Shawn comes running off stage, breathing heavily. He tosses his guitar to a roadie before he sees the group. He stops, seeing you for the first time since reading your letter. And his eyes instantly look tired. Your heart lurches for a moment.

“Wow, hey girls, what are you doing here?” His body is turned toward Haylee, but his eyes linger on you. They’re sad, doe eyes, and they make her heart hurt just a little more.

“We are here to party!” Diana hollers, completely out of character for her stoic self, but alcohol has a way of doing that.

Shawn looks at Haylee for a moment, “Okay, well I am sure Connor would love to party with you.”

The girls holler together, and set off in search of the boy. Shawn heeds a warning at Haylee, asking her to be safe. She responds in kind, and they’re off. You follow at the back of the group, before you hear him turn towards you.

“Really?” He chokes, “What? You’re just going to write me a letter and just never going to speak to me again. That’s the plan here?”

You turn to look at him, “Yes, because I care about you. And that’s the problem.”

Shawn scoffs, “Well, I’m calling bullshit. You convinced me to stay touring. You told me not to give up. You said you’d always be here. You said that! You said those things!” Shawn’s voice rose, “And now you’re just going to abandon me!? Just like that? That’s bullshit!”

“I want to give things with Nick a shot, a real shot. I can’t go around flying across the country to see a show for you or having late night phone calls when you can’t fall asleep on the bus. I can’t do those things and still give Nick what he deserves.” Your words are true, but with every word, you feel like your delivering a fresh stab to your heart. “You know this is going to hurt me too,” your voice cracks, “it’s going to kill me not to see you.”

Shawn took an unstable step towards, you wanted to reach out and grab his hand. You knew you couldn’t do that. “Then why are you doing it?” Shawn questioned, completely broken and vulnerable. “Is Nick that much more important to you?” He waits for a moment, but you stutter, unable to answer him. “Are your feelings for him stronger?”

You gasp, turning on your heel to walk away from him.

“Look, I get it!” Shawn calls after you. “I get it, you’re scared. You’re scared of us, what we were, what we could actually be. What we still are, so now you’re making the safe choice. Comfortable life with a business man who loves you, over the unpredictable life of a rockstar who’s all over the place.”

You turn back, stomping towards Shawn, “You know what, you don’t know anything about Nick! You don’t know about our life together.” You let out a choked cry, “Don’t tell me how I feel, Shawn! I know this is hard to accept, but what we had, while great, was just for a season. We were a moment in time, Shawn,” it kills you to see the way his eyes are getting glossy, but you forge onward, determined. “And our moment is gone,” you whisper. “It was amazing. And I will cherish it, the memories, and you. But the time has passed.”

Shawn took another step towards you, now only feet apart. And despite all the chaos around you, of roadies tearing down the stage, you’re locked in with Shawn, you always are. “So then just say it. Say you love Nick more than you love me.”

“Is that what you need to hear? You need me to say it?”

Shawn nodded.

“Fine,” you choke out, your voice wavering for only a moment. “I love Nick more.”

Despite his tears, he smiles, “Oh, honey, you forget that I know you. I know when you’re lying, especially when it’s to yourself.” He paused for a moment, searching your eyes. You stopped breathing for a moment because when Shawn looks at you like that, you feel naked, exposed. It was chilling. Eventually he blinked, chuckled lightly before delivering his closing line, “You wrote a letter to the wrong guy.”

——

You wrote a letter to the wrong guy.

Why was loving Shawn so hard? And yet, so terrifyingly easy? What made it impossible to move on? Even when you had the most picture perfect man, waiting for you to come home to him. One that wanted to marry you, have a life with you. A normal life...a safe life. What was so wrong with wanting a safe love? You loved Nick, so why does your heart and mind continually pull you back into Shawn’s atmosphere.

Dear Nick,

Maybe writing a new letter could help you think.

——

Shawn knew he hadn’t seen the last of her. She could deny it, she could try to move on, move away. But Shawn knew her. And he knew their love. It was everlasting, and their conversation the other night, was enough to tell him. She wasn’t over it. Not even close. Her heart was tugging her just as much in his direction as it was in Nick’s. But what Shawn had going for him was time, honesty, and a passionate love that he knew she’d never have with anyone else. Shawn was the only one to stick by her through thick and thin over the past three years, and he knew that counted for something. Maybe even everything.

——

“This was supposed to be good for me. This article was supposed to be everything I’d ever dreamed up, but this sucks. This just keeps happening,” Shawn threw his hands up, utterly lost. “I can’t be in your life, you can’t be in my life.”

“Not yet,” You whisper.

“Well when!”

Shawn waits for a moment but you can’t answer him. You have no answer for him.

“Hmmm?” He asks again, but you still don’t respond. He shrugs his shoulders, “I can’t do this anymore.

“Shawn,” you finally speak up.

He simply shook his head, “I’m done.”

That had been the first time.

——

“I’m sorry, Shawn. I’m so sorry. I want to make it right. I messed up, please, Shawn. You have to forgive me.”

“I didn’t care about the distance. I didn’t care about not going to sleep every night next to you. I didn’t care about you job having you all over the place just as much as mine does, and us never seeing each other. I didn’t care about you wanting to keep everything a secret, when it fucking killed me inside. I didn’t care about any of it. I chose you. Over all of the crazy chaos. I chose you. I made that choice. Even when you told me you didn’t want to have kids, and I knew I did. I still chose you. I wore my goddamn heart on my sleeve. I loved you with everything inside of me. What more could I possibly have done?”

You would have expected him to yell maybe, get angry, furious even after what you’d done, but Shawn wasn’t doing any of those things. No, what Shawn was doing was so much worse. He was giving up on you.

“I love you, but you’re a liar. And whether you realize it or not, your lies are hurting everyone around you.”

——

“Shawn, one day you’re going to meet the love of your life. And she’s going to sweep you off your feet. And there will never be anyone for you but her.”

“Haylee, what if I already met her.”

“Then nothing will keep the two of you apart.”

——

“What’s keeping me here? I could be anywhere in the world. I could be writing music in fucking Jamaica like Harry Styles. Or backpacking Asia like Niall did. Why do I keep coming back here?”

“You’ve got family here. All your friends. Haylee, Dee… you’ve got me.”

“No,” Shawn choked, “I don’t...have… you. And that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

——

“I can’t give you the life you want, Shawn.”

“No,” he gripped your neck just a little tighter, but his kiss was so gentle, full of incomprehensible emotions. “The life I want. It’s any life with you.”

——

The way Shawn saw it, he had two courses of action. Do nothing, letting her leave. Or fight for her, again. One option left him without her, certainly. The other option...provided possibility.

So he’d fight for her, again. He didn’t care if he’d done it before. He’d do it however many times he had to. If she was scared, then he was determined to make her feel safe. With him.

Andrew wasn’t fond of the idea, because it required a massive hit to Shawn Mendes brand. In order to really win her back, he’d have to do something drastic. He’d have to give up everything for her, but he was willing. So Shawn left his tour behind, cancelling the last leg. He’d come back eventually, he promised that much. His fans were upset, understandably, but there wouldn’t be much left for Shawn to give them, if he couldn’t fix this. The music only happened because of her after all. She kept him sane.

So he hopped on a plane back home and prepared to see her again.

——

There was a knock on your door, which was strange for so late in the evening. Weary, you padded over to the front door, opening it slowly. As Shawn came into vision, your entire body froze.

“What are you doing here?” You ask, not even having fully opened the front door.

“I wrote you a letter, but it’s not a Dear John letter. I know that’s what yours was.” Shawn swung his backpack around and frantically fumbled around his pockets until he held out a piece of folded paper. “Mine is more of a Noah from the Notebook kind of letter.”

You body was shaking, you realized, as you reached out to take the letter from Shawn’s hand. You took a step away from your door, leaving it open to allow him in. Your throat is tight, and you’re not really sure if you’ve been breathing.

To the Love of my Life,

Did you know that’s what you are? Did you know that there’s no one else for me? That I’m hopelessly, irrevocably, forever in love with you. There is no one else for me. Not one day do I wake up wanting anyone beside me but you. My life changed the day I met you in the bar, and I knew it in that moment. It might sound cheesy, but shouldn’t everything in a love letter sound so? I’ve written countless songs for you, many you’ve heard over the years, most you never will. I’m well aware I write way to many songs about you, but I can’t help what comes out. My heart aches at the thought of not seeing you, not talking to you, not holding your hand, not kissing you, brushing your hair out of your face in the wind, taking you to see the wonders of the world, doing even the most mundane things with you. My heart aches thinking of a life without you. And I won’t sit back and let you take that from me. I won’t let you take my happiness, not without a fight. The fight of my fucking life, if I have to. Kicking and screaming and tantrums and all. I’ll do it all if it means you’d consider it. I know he’s safe. I know he’s kind to you. I’m sure he loves you too, why wouldn’t he? He’s a good man, if you’re willing to love him. But, darling, it can’t be anything like what we have. Your eyes tell me everything that your lips refuse to say. So if it’s safety you need, then I’ll give it to you. I’d give up everything for you, if you asked me to. I canceled the rest of my tour, just to be here for you. To show you how serious I am about this. About you. I’m not kidding around here. I’m not making jokes. This is our life. Our future. And I want it. Suburb house, picket fence, and seventeen dogs or cats or whatever you want. I just want it all with you. You wrote me a letter saying goodbye because it was easier than fighting. Remember, I know you. I know you love me, just like I love you. So I need you to tell me how I can make this right, because it’s the only thing on my mind. The only thing I care about. Nothing else matters if you’re not in my life. Fame, money, performing, it means absolutely nothing if I can’t share it with you. Let me give you everything you could ever desire. Let yourself be loved by me. Give me a chance to prove it’s not temporary, but that it’s forever. I chose you, please choose me too. Every day is a new day that I fall in love with you.

Love Always,

Shawn

You’re left utterly speechless. You feel your heart almost physically shatter into pieces, your stomach drops, your mouth goes dry. It’s lovely and romantic and stunning...and so, so confusing. Your mind reels, thinking somehow simultaneously of the most amazing moments of your life, and yet somehow the most painful times as well. There were so many things to unpack. He left tour? There still had to be at least a month’s worth of shows left. Why would he do that? How could he do that? And he did that for you?

“Shawn,” it’s the breath of a whisper, barely a spoken word between you.

“Please, let me show you how much I love you,” Shawn desperately grasped your arms, your hands shaking with the letter still tight in your grip. “I need you,” he whispered.

With tears slowly trickling down your cheeks, you look up at Shawn, the man who is undeniably also the love of your life. Your heart is broken, not because you don’t want him, but because you don’t think you can have him.

“I’ll stay, when it’s hard, when we make mistakes, through thick and thin. I want to be beside you for every moment. Please tell me you understand what I’m saying.”

“It was never a matter of misunderstanding, Shawn…”

“What do I have to do to show you?”

“Shawn,” you stopped him before he could finish, “Nick, he...he asked me to marry him.”

The color drained from Shawn’s face right before your eyes, and your heart lurched once again. Gone were the doe eyes and rosy cheeks, eager to hear your declaration of love. His eyes were dead, and you couldn’t read his expression at all.

“I, well, I mean,” you stuttered for a moment. Shawn’s hands dropped from your arms, and he stumbled backwards a step, “I didn’t say yes, I mean, I told him I needed time to think.”

“About what?” Shawn’s voice was ice cold, but you thought maybe you saw a glimmer of hope in his beautiful eyes.

“You told me I wrote a letter to the wrong guy, and I think you might be right.”

Shawn’s swallowed hard, “I’m going to tell you one thing, and I really need you to listen to me.”

You nodded, unsure of what was to come, yet somehow mesmerized.

Shawn took a deep breath, drawing closer to you once again. His eyes remained closed for a beat, gaining composure or confidence, maybe. When he opened his eyes, he peered at you, searching for an answer of sorts. His hand slowly came to rest gently at the nape of your neck. His thumb brushed your chin slowly, once, twice. You closed your eyes for a moment, remembering what this felt like. The familiarity of it all, of Shawn’s touch and presence, aching to come back home. Your lips tremble for a moment, and you finally allow yourself to look at him.

“Honey,” His voice is slow, sweet, like honey. “You know me. And I know you. It’s both beautiful and completely terrifying.” You let out a wet laugh that sounds more like a sob. You’re not entirely sure when you started crying so much. “We may not have always been honest with each other to begin with, but we both had our moments and learned from them. In the end, I was completely honest with you. With my feelings. My intentions. What I want. From this, from you, from our life. I won’t pretend to know Nick or what you did together, but I know us. And I know you. You’re not one to make decisions on a whim, even with a grand romantic gesture.” You nodded, knowing he was right. “If you think about your life and you future, and you see yourself happiest with him, I will accept that. But if you have any doubt about me because of where we left things, you need to tell me. I’ll be honest with you. I want nothing more than to be with you, so if something is holding you back, scaring you. Just tell me so that I can make it right.”

Shawn’s hand trailed from your neck, down your shoulder and arm, until his fingers came to wrap around yours where you still held his letter. He guided your hands to fold the letter.

“Think about it. You know where to find me, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Shawn leans forward to press a gentle kiss to your forehead before turning and leaving you alone with your thoughts.

——

Two days alone with your thoughts. You’d spent most of it in bed. Nick had come home from his business trip yesterday, but you were ignoring him, along with the rest of the world. You’d considered making a pro and con list at one point, but laughed at the idea because you already knew what you wanted. Known it from the start. You were just scared of it, of that life. Your fear of abandonment crept up often, reminding you that you’d never survive being left alone.

Give me a chance to prove it’s not temporary, but that it’s forever.

Were words enough to convince you? As if Shawn had only ever given empty promises. You mentally rolled your eyes at your own theatrics. Shawn had time and time again stayed by your side. Even through the break up, the second one that you chose by the way. And even through your relationship with Nick. Even through Shawn’s most recent relationship, though it hadn’t lasted long. None of it ever mattered because somehow you’d still managed to stay friends. And not those friends who just say they’re friends, but never see each other or speak. But real, proper, friends. Shawn was still the most reliable person in your life. And he had been since day one, three years ago. So the fact that you were even scared was stupid and unfounded.

Why wouldn’t you just allow yourself to be happy? You just wanted to be happy, and you were so tired of holding yourself back. It was exhausting. But you knew what you had to do. You had to finish writing your last letter. And this one, would be the last one.

Nick was a wonderful, sensible, kind man. He’d find his true love one day, but it wouldn't be with you. He’d find his passionate, knock you off your feet, kind of love with an amazing girl who felt the same way about him as well. That’s what he deserved. And that’s something you couldn’t give him. Living a life of safety was one thing, but holding someone else back because of your own fears was not something you wanted to add to your list of wrongdoings in life.

So you met with Nick and explained yourself. Apologies would never fix it, but you could do your best to try and mend the wound. You knew he’d be alright though. He’d heal and move forward with life. He was strong enough for that.

You last stop of the night, and it was your final letter.

The elevator door opened as you found yourself in a high level condo, front and center, it was Shawn’s home. You knocked, not sure if you were really ready for what was about to happen. But there was simply no going back now, and you were so tired of dangling true happiness over your own head as if it was somehow unattainable, when really it had been right in front of you the whole time.

Somehow, you felt like you were simply coming back home.

There’s a turn of the handle, and you take your final breath before the rest of your life changes. Shawn opens the door, coming to find you waiting on the other side. He looked hesitant at first, unsure if this is a good or a bad visit. He steps to the side and gestures for you to come inside.

As you step into his home, you breathe in the scent of him everywhere. It’s both overwhelming and instantly calming. You take a moment to look at each other before you remember what you came here for in the first place.

Reaching into the pocket of your black leather jacket, you put out a thin piece of paper. “I have something for you.” You hand the letter to Shawn, who accepts. He doesn’t immediately open it, he just stared at you. He still hadn’t said anything to you, which was unnerving.

Finally, he unfolds the letter to find the contents to be much different than expected. Not a long letter proclaiming love, but also not yet another long letter bidding farewell. Instead, a short couple sentences, only containing eleven words.

You were right. I wrote a letter to the wrong guy.

Shawn looked up at you with the most sincere expression, eyes watering and bulging. His cheeks rosy pink, and his neck tense in anticipation. “You’re sure?” He whispers, scared that you may go back on your words.

But you’re not going back. This is it for you. This is the final step. This is the completion of a long story with Shawn, and the start of a whole new sequel. The rest of your life. It starts tonight. Not because you’d found your dream man. Not because you were in love. Not even because you were no longer terrified of your future. The rest of your life started now because you finally chose to stop lying to yourself, and you were ready to let yourself be happy. As far as you were concerned, that was reason enough to consider the future exciting.

You take a step closer to Shawn, reaching out for his hand, where he readily meets you halfway. You’re are equally teary eyed because you can’t believe what you’re about to say, “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I want to be happy again, Shawn. Can we be happy together?”

Shawn let out a quiet sob before connecting his lips to yours in earnest. His kiss is soft at first, taking his time to allow you to respond. But quickly his hand finds its way to the nape of your neck, and his lips widen just a bit with a smile. He lets out a quiet giggle into your mouth, and you smile. He’s happy. You feel it radiating off his body, and there’s not a feeling quite like it. You take a step back from him, just looking at his teary, happy eyes. The excitement and just pure joy coming out of this boy makes your heart swell. You love him so much, you’ve never loved anyone quite like this.

“I love you so much, Shawn,” Your whisper falls out of your lips.

“I love you too. Thanks for writing me another letter.”

thanks for reading! Let me know if you want to be tagged in my future work! Please leave me feedback if you liked what you read. you can always send me requests too if you want something to be written (don’t promise to fill them all, but i’m always open to ideas). and if you’d like to check out my masterlist or buy me a coffee, both of those links are in my bio!

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes fic #shawn mendes blurb #shawn mendes fanfic #my writing #youngertv #mine

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eratobard · 4 years

Text

Oxenfurt: Witchertober Prompt

Fandom: Witcher

Pairing: Geraskier

Rating: G

AO3 | Patreon

~~~

The days at Oxenfurt had been cold. It was winter afterall. It didn’t help that the university was vast and built from stone. There were many fireplaces scattered throughout, but it didn’t help much in the large lecture halls. Jaskier’s breath was visible as he blew hot air into his hands before rubbing them together. It was an effort that did little to stave off the cold.

“Jaskier.”

It was a name he hadn’t heard for several weeks. Most of his students called him Mr. Pankratz, while the professors referred to him as Julian. Only one person here would call him by that name. He turned and smiled at Shani, his friend. She had studied medicine while he pursued the liberal arts.

“Shani, what brings you here?”

Shani smiled, she crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head. Her red bangs slid out of her eyes, “Last I checked I was a student here. You on the other hand, have graduated and are no longer teaching. So, what are you doing here?”

Jaskier laughed, “I guess that’s true. I’m a guest lecturer during the winter months. It’s too cold for my taste to continue traveling. I was nearby so I decided to winter here.”

Shani pulled him into a hug, “It’s so good to see you again.”

Jaskier patted her on the shoulder, “It’s good to see you as well. You are doing well with your studies I hope?”

“Of course, one year left and then I’ll be able to go out and practice medicine. I’m thinking of heading to Vizima. It seems a good place to start, and it’s nearby.”

Jaskier placed a hand on his hip. He gazed out the archway to a nearby garden. The trees were starting to get a bit of their green back despite the chill weather. It would be spring soon. He smiled.

Shani gazed at Jaskier questioningly, “What are you smiling about?”

Jaskier turned to look at his friend, “Hm? Oh, sorry. I was just noting how it was almost spring, despite how cold it is outside.”

Shani laughed and shook her head, “It’s not that cold Jaskier. It’s actually quite nice.”

Jaskier breathed out, his breath visible in the air, “My breath begs to differ.”

Shani grinned and patted his shoulder, “You weren’t made for the cold. Today is a bit colder than it should be so close to spring, but it should be warming up soon enough. Maybe next year you can winter somewhere warmer.”

“Hmm, maybe,” Jaskier hummed, “or maybe somewhere colder… with a nice big fireplace I can sit next to, covered in furs.”

Shani raised an eyebrow, “It sounds like you have a place in mind already?”

Jaskier shrugged his shoulders as he smiled, “If I’m invited…”

Shani followed Jaskier as they walked down the outside corridor. “How mysterious,” Shani smirked, “You have a lady up north you wish to winter with?”

“You could say that.”

Jaskier stopped when he spotted a white cat cross in front of them. He crouched down and held out his hand. “Psspssps, here kitty.”

The cat stared at him curiously. It’s bright amber eyes shone at him. Jaskier smiled and rested his head on his knees, “Hey pretty kitty. You remind me of someone. Can I pet you?”

Shani watched in amusement as Jaskier tried to gain the cat’s favor. “I’m not sure you’ll be able to woo him. He doesn’t seem interested.”

“Who?” Jaskier glanced up at her quickly.

Shani smirked and motioned to the nearby feline.

“Ah… right, the cat.” He laughed and returned to stare at the cat. It hadn’t moved any closer to Jaskier, but it stood a few away, watching him carefully. “He hasn’t left yet. So there’s a chance I’ll win him over.”

“I’ll leave you to it. I have class to attend to.”

Jaskier grunted in response as his focus remained on the cat. He had moved to a sitting position and leaned against his criss crossed legs. “Your eyes are so pretty, just like my friend’s. He’s stubborn as well. Doesn’t let anyone get close to him, but I know he secretly wants friends. That’s why he lets me hang around.”

The cat blinked as it continued to stare at him.

“Not very trusting for a cat who lives on a campus,” Jaskier sighed as he laid on his side. He propped his head up on his elbow as he admired the cat. “That’s understandable though. I’m sure there are a lot of grumpy professors that shoo you away. I’m not one of them. I only come here every once in a while because they beg me to. ‘Please Julian, the students are in need of your tutelage.’ If I had the choice I would stay on the road forever.”

The white cat meowed and took a few steps toward him. It stretched as if it were pretending that was the reason for it’s closer proximity. Jaskier smirked, “I love traveling, seeing new sights, being free to go where the road takes me, the new people I meet. It’s all so lovely, but you know what the best thing about traveling is?”

The cat’s tail swung back and forth as it laid down in front of him, carefully watching Jaskier. Jaskier slowly rolled onto his back so as to not startle the cat. He stretched his arms above his head, “My traveling companion. Looking at him you wouldn’t think he would talk a lot, and he doesn’t. Not at first. Once he gets to know you, you can’t get him to shut up.” Jaskier chuckled to himself. “He’s all stories and jokes. It’s quite endearing actually. I’d be with him right now if not for him needing to be at Kaer Morhen to train with the other witchers.”

The cat seemed to no longer deem him as a threat. It sauntered over to him and rubbed his body against Jaskier’s side. Jaskier dared not touch him. Not yet. He maintained watching the cat as he resumed talking. “I’d like to see what sort of place he grew up in. I imagine it looks cold, like him at first, but then once you get to know the place, it bubbles with laughter and is filled with warmth.” He smiled as he reached out a hand to the cat. It nuzzled it’s face against his fingers. The bard grinned as he gently stroked the cat’s ears.

“Just like him,” Jaskier mused.

“Just like who?”

Jaskier gasped when the cat ran away at the sudden appearance of the stranger. The bard frowned as he turned indignantly, “I had just-- Geralt?” He beamed at the unexpected company of his friend.

Geralt smirked as he eyed Jaskier on the ground, “Is this what you do at academy? Lay on the ground and pet cats?”

Jaskier flushed red as he quickly stood up, brushing off any dirt that might have gotten on his clothes, “Of course not. There are other courses besides learning how to befriend and tame animals.” He grinned and poked Geralt on the chest, “Although that course is how I do so well with you.”

“Is that so?” Geralt raised an eyebrow. “Maybe I should take the course. Have another class under my belt.”

Jaskier snorted, “You mean beside your astrology courses? How are those helping you with your witcher contracts?”

Geralt shoved him playfully, “I come all this way and this is the thanks I get?”

Jaskier smiled as he placed his hands on his hips, “Why did you come all this way? We usually meet up at Ban Glean.”

Geralt stared at the ground and nudged a bit of rubble with his foot, “The ice melted early. I had some business south. I was nearby and was afraid I would miss you at Ban Glean, so I headed here.”

“Down south? Where down south?”

“Vengerberg…” Geralt mumbled.

Jaskier’s brows furrowed in confusion, “Vengerberg, but that is far closer to Ban Glean than Oxenfurt. If anything you would have run into me along the road on my way to Ban Glean. Or you could have waited there for me to arrive. It’s such a long journey to come all this way by yourself only for us to head back.”

“So you’re not happy to see me?” Geralt growled.

Jaskier frowned and shook his head, “I didn’t say that…” His eyes widened when his brain clicked. When he finally realized the reason for Geralt’s strange behavior. “Ah, in fact… I am very happy to see you.”

Geralt’s expression softened, “You are?”

Jaskier smirked, “Of course, now I don’t have to walk all that way. I can ride Roach with you.”

Geralt sighed, “...so it’s Roach you are happy to see.”

Jaskier shrugged and nudged Geralt, “I’ve always said it’s not fair that I have to walk so far. The distance for us is about the same, but when you think about it, not all that equal since you have a mount, and I only have my boots to carry me.”

Geralt snorted, “You can get a horse.”

“Oh can I?” Jaskier responded sarcastically, “Thank you for your permission.”

Geralt huffed, “I only meant--”

Jaskier smiled and rested his hands on Geralt’s chest, “I know what you meant. Just like I know the meaning behind you traveling all this way to greet me at Oxenfurt.”

“...and that would be?”

Jaskier smirked as he leaned in close, his lips a breath away from Geralt’s, “Because… you missed me.” He quickly pulled away and spun around on his heel. “I need to go to my quarters… to gather some things before we go.”

Geralt stared at him stunned as he watched him walk away.

Jaskier called back over his shoulder, clearing his throat as he spoke more loudly, “My quarters? I must go… to gather my things? …Geralt. Aren’t you going to join me?”

Geralt bolted forward when he realized what the bard meant, “Ah, yes, I’m coming.”

Jaskier chuckled, “Not yet, but you will be.”

“What?” Geralt’s voice broke as he followed after him.

“Hurry along Geralt, we have a lot to do,” Jaskier reached back as he held out his hand to Geralt. Geralt smiled as he took Jaskier’s hand in his, their fingers intertwining. Geralt nodded his head. Yes they did.

FIN

A/N: I originally meant this to be sad, but with Shani there, timeline wise it didn’t fit with the Netflix story. I was going to have him detail being excited to see Geralt because he was going to tell him his feelings. Then hint to the reader it was before the mountain, but the idea changed. I like this though, I think.

~~~

AO3 | Patreon

#the witcher #geraskier #geralt #jaskier #geralt x jaskier #geralt/jaskier #panerato writing

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