#I still don't understand what happened. i was just chilling doing the assignment having a good time

[bellflower-goat]

<:]

[forest-hashira]

Butterflies

i have no chill so yes i'm back with a new fic a week after the last one. idk how or why i'm like this so don't ask. this is my second entry for @threadbaresweater's "summertime (and the livin' is easy)" collab event! my chosen prompt for this one was geto + botanical gardens. this got away from me literally in the first sentence AHAHA.

read on ao3 | wc: ~1.8k | cw: gender neutral reader, first date, minor miscommunication, both suguru and reader are bashful as hell and have been crushing for a while, several types of bugs are mentioned towards the end, but i think that's everything!

When Suguru had invited you to visit the local botanical gardens with him, you’d accepted without much thought, assuming that all your other friends would be there, too. You’d all spent nearly every waking moment together since the weather had gotten warm enough and the days had gotten long enough to spend more time outside, so it seemed like a foregone conclusion that this was going to be another one of those days.

You were quite mistaken.

Suguru was standing alone outside the front gates waiting for you, and while he was usually the first person to arrive whenever you all got together, Shoko, Utahime, or Kento usually weren’t far behind and consistently arrived before you did, so you were a bit surprised.

“Is everyone else on their way?” you asked as you approached, one hand above your brows to block the sun from your eyes as you looked up at him; you’d forgotten your sunglasses, again, something Satoru teased you about constantly. Even with the small amount of shade your hand afforded you, you squinted a bit up at your friend. His hair was pulled fully up into a bun, a hairstyle he didn’t wear as frequently as he did when you were all in high school, but with a heatwave rolling through the area, you weren’t exactly surprised he wanted all that hair off his skin.

After a moment you realized the sun was creating a sort of halo around him. Like an angel, you thought to yourself. He’s certainly pretty enough to be one. The thought caught you off guard, and you hoped it wasn’t obvious that you’d grown flustered by your own thoughts; you didn’t need him finding out about the crush you’d been harboring on him since you were teenagers, especially when no one else was there to save you from yourself.

His brows pinched in confusion, and he cocked his head ever so slightly to the right. “What do you mean?” he asked. 

“Satoru and Shoko and everyone,” you said, now feeling a bit confused yourself. “Are they just running late? Usually at least Kento is waiting with you by the time I show up.”

A look of understanding crossed his face then, and his face visibly reddened. “Ah,” he sighed, looking away from you and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “It’s uh. It’s just us, actually. Sorry, I thought you knew that when you accepted the invitation.” 

“...Oh,” you uttered intelligently, feeling your own face beginning to heat as well, and not just from the sun beating down on you. It never occurred to you that Suguru would want to spend any alone time with you, away from the group; not that you didn’t get along without everyone else – you definitely did, you were just usually around the rest of your friend group – but the occasion for one on one time hadn’t arisen since you’d been partnered for assignments in school.

“We don’t have to go in,” Suguru offered gently, meeting your gaze again. “We can pretend this never happened. Or we can see if anyone else wants to join, I know Satoru’s not doing anything today.” When all you did was blink dumbly up at him, he looked away again, staring down at his feet. “I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

That brought you back to yourself, and you shook your head vehemently. “No!” you burst out, then cringed at your own raised volume and squeaky voice. “I-I mean, no, you didn’t make me uncomfortable. We can still go in. I looked this place up when you invited me, and I really want to see their pollinator sanctuary.”

Suguru’s shoulders dropped in relief at your words, and his small smile returned almost instantly. “I’d like that.”

As he turned and headed towards the gates, you followed barely a half step behind. You started to pull out your wallet as you drew closer to the ticket booth, but Suguru stopped you.

“Don’t worry about it,” he told you. “I bought our tickets already.”

His words had your face burning yet again, and you looked away sheepishly. “Thanks.” You followed him up to the gates, pausing long enough for the gate attendant to scan the tickets Suguru had bought – he’d printed them out, so the employee didn’t have to try and scan his phone screen, which struck as so distinctly Suguru that it made your heart flutter, though you’d never admit that to another human being.

Tickets now scanned, the pair of you were free to explore the grounds at your own pace. Ever the planner, your friend led you over to the large standing map. “Do you want to start with the pollinators?” he asked. “Or would you rather save that for the grand finale?”

Taking a few moments to consider, you looked over the map; the grounds were bigger than you thought, and you knew with the sun beating down on you, it wouldn’t be long before you were tired of the heat and ready to go somewhere with cold drinks and air conditioning. “Let’s do that first,” you said after a bit. “I don’t wanna run the risk of missing them because they’re hiding from the heat.”

Suguru nodded easily in agreement with your words. “I think that sounds like a good idea,” he confirmed. When he reached up and started tracing a path on the map from the “YOU ARE HERE” sticker to the pollinator sanctuary, you couldn’t help but watch, his hand making the sections of the map look smaller than they actually were. 

“It looks like we need to go this way,” he said quietly, and though you couldn’t quite tell if he was speaking to you or just thinking aloud, his words were enough to bring you back to yourself. “The pollinators are near the back, but this section with the trees should be pretty shaded for the walk back. What do you think?”

He turned to face you then, head tilted ever so slightly as he waited to hear your answer, oblivious to the way you’d been ogling his hand. You blinked dumbly for a moment, processing his words as you did your best not to make a fool of yourself.

“That sounds good, yeah,” you agreed sheepishly. “This way, right?”

When he nodded, you turned and made your way down the path, Suguru at your side. He was right, the path he’d chosen was pretty well shaded from the sun, offering you a bit of relief as you walked. The pace you maintained was steady; you weren’t rushing by any means, but you were eager to see the pollinator sanctuary, so you were walking a little faster than you normally might have.

Birds chirped overhead, singing to each other as they hopped from branch to branch, and the sound made you smile; summer wasn’t necessarily your favorite of the seasons, but right now the pros were definitely outweighing the cons.

“Thank you,” the raven haired man said after a few minutes of comfortable silence, and you looked up at him in slight confusion.

“For what?”

“For agreeing to come here with me,” he said simply. Then, looking a little bashful again, he added, “And for not freaking out on me when I told you it was just us after you got here.”

“Oh,” you said quietly. “I was happy to accept your invitation. And I’d never freak out on you for something like that, y’know. You’re easy to be around, and if nobody else is here it means I actually get to appreciate your presence.”

“You make a good point. Satoru does tend to demand to be the center of attention when we’re all together, doesn’t he?” A soft smile painted his lips as he spoke, and his words made you giggle a bit.

“Yeah,” you agreed. “He does.” 

Conversation was easy after that, talking about everything and nothing all at the same time, but it felt so good to talk with him; to spend time with him without anyone else around, something you rarely got to do, and never felt like you could suggest yourself until now. Now, though, you were sure you’d be spending a lot more one on one time with your companion.

“Oh, what was it that Satoru was trying to explain the other day? He kept comparing it to digi…mon…” you trailed off mid sentence as you stepped out from under the trees, completely forgetting what you’d been saying as you saw the pollinator sanctuary unfolding before you. Your steps slowed, and you looked around with wide eyes, taking in the sight of all the insects flitting between the brightly colored flowers: the honey bees climbing out of blooms covered in pollen; hummingbird moths hovering as they sipped before zipping to the next flower; bumblebees droning through the air; butterflies flitting from plant to plant.

Suguru slowed to keep pace beside you, and unbeknownst to you, he was looking at you far more intently than anything else in the garden. He paused for a moment, letting you walk a bit ahead of him as he admired you. As he watched, a few butterflies flew closer, dancing around your head as they came to investigate the scent of your shampoo. You stilled, though your eyes were wide as you tried to watch what was happening above you. One by one, about half a dozen butterflies landed in your hair, almost forming a crown around your head, making you look like some sort of nature spirit.

“You’re beautiful,” Suguru blurted out, and the sudden compliment startled you a bit. You turned back to face him quickly enough that all the butterflies went fluttering off again, now that they knew you were not, in fact, a flower.

“Huh?”

“You’re beautiful,” he repeated, though a bit more bashfully this time. “I’ve always thought that, y’know? I just didn’t want to make things weird between us by telling you that.” He closed the distance between you as he spoke, and he offered you a sheepish little smile. “I hope it’s okay that I’m telling you now, though.”

“Yeah,” you murmured back, smiling just as bashfully in return. “That’s more than okay. You’re beautiful, too, actually. I’ve always thought that.”

A small laugh bubbled out of Suguru at your words, and his expression grew impossibly more fond. “I’m glad we’re on the same page about that, then,” he mused. He was quiet for a moment then, his dark eyes contemplative, before he leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to your cheek.

The touch surprised you, but it wasn’t unwelcome. You felt your face burn a bit more as he pulled away, but your smile only brightened as you looked up at him.

He smiled back just as brightly, and as he spoke again, he took your hand and laced your fingers together gently. “Do you want to keep going?” “Yes, I’d like that very much.”

taglist: @mitsuristoleme @kentohours @peachdues @ghost-1-y @witchbybirth

@marinnnnnnnnn @dr-runs-with-scissors @enchantedforest-network

divider by saradika-graphics

[dazaiandhislovelybandages]

Hey girl! Since you write 2 of my fave genres and saw your're accepting requests I hope that maybe this message reaches you and you will give my idea a try. It is of course some angst to fluff with Gojo x reader. Both in their 20s (let's say JJK0), reader is pretty new to the Jujutsu world but just as strong as Satoru, super funny and sarcastic but very chill (so a bit his opposite if you will). Shoko, being close with the reader notices that she has feelings for Gojo and she doesn't confess because of fear of rejection. Things get worse when reader *thinks* she sees him flirting and tries distancing herself and wallow a bit. So maybe at the end either something happens and Gojo confesses (in his own emotionally constipated way) ooorrr Shoko *helps* out a bit by having a talk with good 'ol Gojo (or both *wink*). Either way, you take this idea, turn it, twist it, do whatever your magical talented self wants with it and you have all the love from me (you have it nevertheless ^^). Thank youu

Misunderstandings Can Often Be Helpful {Gojo Satoru}

A/n: thank you for requesting, I hope you like it

Pairing: Gojo x fem!reader

Trigger Warnings: none

Everyone who knew Gojo in a relatively more personal level could see it. Geto leaving hurt him. His wounds were still fresh and bleeding but he was now the strongest. Alone. The word didn't even feel right, refering to himself as the strongest when he had been so used to saying "we" since Geto was supposed to be always there with him. His best friend. His one and only.

But life went on and soon a new student was announced. With the only exception that you were no regular student. After the arrival of Yuta in Jujutsu Tech, Gojo had naturally expected you to be more around the first years age. The shock on his face when he learnt that you were just a few years younger than him would forever remain imprinted on your meomory... and on paper since Shoko managed to take a picture of him.

When the principal told him about you, Gojo expected to see someone with no abilities whatsoever. He knew of course that you were almost on the same level as him power-wise and from Yaga's sayings, you had no idea how to control your powers. It went without saying that he had been assigned to be your teacher since he not only was the only one who overpowered you but because he was the only one knowledgeable enough to help you understand and control your powers. That was what he told Shoko anyways.

What he didn't expect however was to get his ass kicked both physically and mentally. And all that on your first day there as well.

"Whoah, were are you going?" He quickly stood up, stretching his back. The last kick you had given him behind the knees had been enough to make him realise that turning off his limitless was a wrong decision.

"To get some water, I assumed we were taking a break? You seemed really friendly with the floor." You opened the door, ready to walk out.

"Do you usually assume a lot of things?"

"It appears as such. I assumed you were stronger in physical combat."

Now that was a hit below the belt. Apart from Geto and occasionally Shoko, no one ever had the balls to call him... weak. Gojo Satoru wasn't weak. He was the strongest!

"Damn that would have looked great on camera..." Shoko shrugged, blowing out the smoke from her cigarette.

"Are you kidding me? I don't even have time to respond! It's one sarcastic comment after another!" Gojo chuckled before shouting a 'time out' for the first years.

After that day, Shoko took a great liking in you, mostly because Gojo seemed to be getting gradually better emotionally. In fact, she went to properly meet you the very next day. And the rest was history.

You and Gojo were the only reasons why she would stay up late in her office, waiting for your training session to end, just so she can catch up with all the latest gossip brought by none other than the new strongest duo.

But Shoko was no fool. Be it after training sessions, after missions or even after some casual nights out with the two of you, she had quickly picked up on the way you looked at Gojo. It wasn't really admiration. Hanging out with his annoying ass had brought your ego to the same level as his. It wasn't the expected teacher-student dynamic either. That had long been gone after you managed to give him a black eye (accidentally obviously) during your early days of training.

It was something else, something she could say was a developing crush on the world's most annoying human being. But it was fun seeing it. Gojo knew your favourite drink by heart and would order it for you before you could even open your mouth. You would slightly blush when he would pass it on to you after the waiter mistaking it for his order. On extremely rare occasions she would catch your apologetic expression as you brought him to her office after landing him a hit that wasn't supposed to hurt him at all. Not to mention how she would notice you looking at him during your breaks. Yes, that was what sealed the deal for her.

The only problem was... Shoko knew Gojo and most importantly, she knew the reputation that surrounded him and if not the reputation then... the crowds of women. Not to be mistaken though, Geto was surprisingly far more popular with women back when Gojo and him were teens.

"You're here alone? That's a new one." She patted Maki's back, signaling for her to leave as Gojo entered the office.

"Yeah well... y/n left right after practice ended." He groaned and laid down on the cold metal bed Shoko had. "She did strain her leg though so I don't know why she refused when I offered to take her to you."

Shoko's alarms went off. You, refusing help from none other than Gojo Satoru? The guy you had a crush on for the last year now? Sure, there had been a few times here and there when you refused to help each other out of pure banter but at the end of the day, both of you walked into her office together.

"What's with that smile?" Gojo raised the left side of his blindfold just to side eye Shoko. "It's creepy."

But Shoko's life had just gotten a new meaning because the very next day she was ringing the doorbell of your apartment. She knew it was Saturday, you didn't have any missions and no practice time with Gojo so this was the perfect time to learn what had happened the night before.

Shoko wasn't someone who liked gossip. Scratch that: she wasn't someone who liked to work in order to learn the latest gossip. To his credit though, Geto always brought her something juicy. With him now gone, she was counting on you and Gojo.

"It's... 8 in the morning... what are you doing here? Why are you even up so early?" You let out a yawn and stepped aside to let her walk in your apartment.

"I need to know everything." She removed her shoes and her coat. "And when I mean everything, I mean even the tiniest bit of sweat that ran down Gojo's exposed forehead that made you not come to my office yesterday." With an air filled with nonchalance, Shoko took the ashtray you had bought specifically for her and walked towards your balcony. She knew you didn't like the smell of smoke in your house. "Come on! I need words coming out of your mouth sweetheart!"

You would have made up an excuse. Shoko knew you would, she could practically see it forming in your head but she knew you weren't going to say it. Because she was your best friend and you were hers and in the past year, the two of you had shared more secrets with each other than she had with anyone else. Yaga's hemorrhoids? You had discussed that in your first week there. Yuta's crush on Maki? Been there, said that.

"Um... I just... does he have a girlfriend?"

"No? Why?"

"Because... like..." And then you finally caved in, taking the closest chair and placing it next to the one Shoko was sitting on. "Two days ago, after we had returned from our mission, I filled in the paperwork and as I was heading to Yaga's office I saw him talking to a woman... and she seemed both serious and flirty?"

"How did she look like?" Shoko asked a little hesitantly, hoping you weren't talking about the one she thought you were talking about.

"Tall, blonde hair, she was holding a helmet."

Her assumptions had been correct. "Yuki? Tsukumo Yuki?" She turned to look at you with wide eyes and a cigarette that was hanging so loosely from her fingers that could fall in any moment. When you didn't respond, Shoko bursted out laughing. "Are you shitting me? Yuki is a special grade sorcerer. She would never... god... anyways, I have to go to the office."

That was a lie. Shoko wasn't going to the office.

Conveniently enough, yours and Gojo's apartment were as close as a fifteen minute walk so when she finally reached the fifth floor of his flat, she wasn't breathless.

"If you don't confess to that poor girl in the next hour, I will personally call her and tell her that her contact name in your phone is love. With a red heart."

"It's almost nine in the morning what are you doing here? Why are you even up so early?" He let out a yawn but unlike you, he didn't let her in so Shoko just pushed her way in. "No matter the case, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh you do. You have bought her kikufuku over a thousand times. Kikufuku that were meant for you!"

"I am a person who likes to share." Gojo leaned against the kitchen bar.

"He is lying." The old lady that he had hired to clean his house on Saturdays spoke, walking out of his bathroom. "He keeps following me while I clean and talks about her. I even sent her a gift on her birthday since aparently I know her better than her own mother."

Shoko's eyes widened at the sound of this new information and it wasn't long before she started throwing the apples on the kitchen counter at Gojo.

It took Gojo three minutes to put on some nice clothes and he could swear that if Shoko was tall enough to reach him, she would be dragging him to your house by his ear.

"What's-"

"Have fun!" Shoko pushed Gojo inside your apartment and before both of you could protest, she closed the door and glued her ear on it so she could listen to every single word, every single comma said between the two of you.

"How's your leg?" He asked. If anyone were to grade him right now, maybe he could get a D- for the effort.

"I'll live."

"Um... so..."

Was he nervous? Gojo Satoru, nervous. Let me rephrase that: Gojo Satoru was nervous while talking to a woman?

"You have made huge progress this past year. And I appreciate that we..."

The truth was that not even Satoru himself knew why he was so nervous. He had performed this speech for months in front of his mirror even though he knew how unlike himself this was. Gojo Satoru never rehearsed love confessions because he never needed any. The girls confessed to him, not the other way around.

"We?"

"Please calm down a little. I am trying to remember the highlighted part at the corner of the page."

No, he hadn't written anything down. Hell, he had never even completed one rehearsal of this supposed love confession. But humour came naturally to him; it was the only way Gojo knew when it came to dealing with stressful situations. Especially after Geto left.

"I am glad we are the strongest um... together."

"Sure." You brushed it off, unaware of the amount of effort this poor guy was putting into confessing.

"Great, I'll pick you up at 7."

"For what?"

"Our date?"

"What date?"

"The one I am taking you on because I just confessed and this is what couples do?" A small pause followed and Gojo could practically feel the sweat staining his forehead even though he wasn't really sweating. "No?"

"8 works better."

[xxxnightcorequeenxxxv2]

Humans are Space Fae 2

Safe to say, when humans joined the spacenet, new things were bound to crop up. Memes were quickly understood to be a language of its own, and most humans could tell you if you were looking at one. Most other beings got it or tried to engage with it as it was too confusing and convoluted for them to understand. That leads us to where this story starts; At a universal campus, where roommates had only been assigned a week prior. A student pair that happened to include a human. Was chilling in their room doing homework. The human, as usual, was wearing an earbud while working. "I'm sorry, but I've been really curious, human friend, about what you have been listening to while you have been working." "Oh, I've just been listening to music while I work, nothing unusual. " "So you have been doing the ritual of Lo-fi study music. Would you mind if I joined you in the practice." "eh... not exalty. Lo-fi is fine and all, but I never really got out of the so-called "Nightcore" phase. Not everyone is a fan of it. It can be a bit jarring if you are not used to it." "Is this Nightcore a music genre?" "yes and no, it's debatable. You'll know a Nightcore when you hear it, but Nightcore could be multiple genes. " "Curious, would you consider any other species songs to be Nightcore?" "Not originally, but, I've heard them made into Nightcore." "Fascinating, how do you make a song Nightcore?" "Well, the short and sweet of it is that you speed the song up so you can dance to it." "That's it? I find myself confused. Most songs are perfectly adequate songs to dance to already. Why would you speed them up?" "Well, it's a preference thing, but it still has value. Nightcore has introduced me to many more songs I would not have been introduced to if I hadn't listened to Nightcore." "Why won't you listen to the song normally?" "Sigh, I know, that's what most non-Nightcore fans say. But let me tell you the value a Nightcore could bring to you. You know those sad songs that tell you about the state of the universe?" "Yes, we do have some songs like that I enjoy; they are not as popular as other songs." "Well, they can be played for a bigger audience if you Nightcore them." "Won't that devalue the nature of the song if you make it a dance track?"

"No, it won't. See it like this: you hear the song in the club. Love it there. Add it to your playlist; you play it a couple times. And once have a quiet moment, you listen to the lyrics for once. And then the true meaning of the songs comes to you. " "So you are saying that songs an individual would have lost out on the message, don't get lost because the individual is not a fan of slower songs." "Yeah, that's it. You can also do it the other way with Anti-Nightcore/ Daycore If you are a fan of slow songs. It makes a dance song's lyrics stand out differently to you depending on your mood." "I would like a demonstration." "Alright then, listen to this song, " The human says as they deactivate their earbud.

After the song finishes they both look at each other for a second. they both grin at each other. "I understand your point friend. May we perhaps make some of my favorite slower songs Nightcore?" "Sure but let's see if they been Nightcored first. "

[garthofshayeris]

"you're always so negative, what kind of Aquaman story would you NOT complain about?" so glad you asked. I have some thoughts, DC, on how to make things fun again. You can reboot everything at any time and I will only be a lil mad if you don't let me write it.

To begin, the info below would cover multiple arcs: I think too many Aquaman comics just start out putting him in Atlantis, but not this one. The journey to Atlantis will take some time, giving the reader the opportunity to know Arthur before he's a king and get the lay of the land (extra joke) underwater.

Let's start with Arthur. We're doing a little combo action here: Arthur is fully Atlantean, abandoned by a baby but found by a pod of dolphins. Since he's a telepath, and for Divine Plot Reasons, the animals know he is someone of great importance. However, he very quickly becomes too much for them to handle. They're just dolphins, after all. The dolphins, led by the iconic Porm, bring him to a lighthouse when he's around 5ish. There, he is discovered by Thomas Curry.

Tom Curry is no dummy. He knows this kid Is Not Human, but he also knows that revealing him as a non-human will just get the kid sent to some unknown lab to be experimented on. So he raises the kid as if he's a human and tries to keep him out of the water at all times.

Obviously, this doesn't work. Arthur is drawn to the ocean, and the dolphins who keep visiting him. There’s no hope in keeping him from the water. Tom doesn't reveal that Arthur is non-human, but he does coach him on never revealing any of his powers to people. Arthur becomes a local hero, mostly because he's often out swimming or on the fishing boat and ends up saving people.

Tom gets sick and, fearing he will die and leave Arthur unprepared for the world (he's in his 20s but just chills at home) he explains Arthur's origins and how Arthur is not his biological son, but a creature from the oceans.

Arthur always assumed he was a meta human; he knows now that he's not human at all. Arthur wants to learn about his people and Tom is like "we have no idea if they're dangerous, we have no idea why you were left here" and Arthur is like "how bad can they be?"

Arthur leaves home and tries to find Atlantis. This is no easy feat, considering he has no idea where to start. The dolphin pod is able to give him general directions to where they think they found him, but he still doesn't end up anywhere near a sunken city. Eventually, he finds the ruins of some kind of settlement, a cave...and a kid.

The kid is speaking a language that Arthur doesn't understand, but they quickly realize they are both telepaths! Slowly they learn to communicate; the kid will say something out loud and then convey the same message telepathically, and Arthur will do the same while responding in English. They slowly figure out how to speak each other's language, but the kid has a very limited vocabulary of his native tongue. However, he manages to explain some things:

The cave they are in used to be full of people, rejects from Atlantis for some reason or another; criminals, "mutants", etc. Atlanteans have a tendency to abandon their kids to die of exposure but people can be kicked out for any reason. This kid was the last baby they found, and were raising him as a group until Something Happened. They were attacked and all the adults died; he only survived by being hidden and has been alone in the years that followed the attack.

Here's the thing: the kid thinks his name is Baby, because that's what he was referred to as (aka "the baby") before everyone was killed. Arthur is convinced that the kid must have parents who are grieving him in Atlantis, and that they have a name for him. So he doesn't want to assign a name that's wrong, but he can't just call him Baby. So he starts using similar names, Baby Shark, Minnow, Tadpole, etc. as nicknames.

So! Arthur is convinced that he needs to find Atlantis and figure out who he is. The kid is like I was always told to avoid going there also they killed everyone, but I like your energy. Also you are my dad now. The kid doesn't know where Atlantis is, but he has seen some people like them nearby. So they start venturing off to find other Atlanteans.

Eventually, they discover an Atlantean man out in the wild, doing some kind of research. Arthur swims right up to him to introduce himself. The man is absolutely shocked to see Arthur (and the kid, who followed behind) and introduces himself as Vulko. Vulko works for the king as a scientist and advisor, but honestly hates that guy. The king is a real dick and only king because of marriage, not royal lineage. He believes the ocean is dying and they need to reveal themselves to the surface to save their home. Arthur is like omg no way, I'm FROM there can you introduce me to the king I can defend your case! :3 I'm somewhat of a folk hero on land, you know...

Vulko says no, and that Arthur and the kid are "throw backs" or undesirables in Atlantis. The people of Atlantis will not take kindly to someone like Arthur, but also implies that Arthur SHOULD try to win their affection because he likes his style. They decide to do that by "saving the ocean" they start taking on bigger, badder threats. Vulko provides them with some outdated Atlantean armor that he steals from the palace (orange for Arthur, red for the kid) and they begin to take on pirates, monsters, etc. They are not only gaining notoriety on land, but in the sea as well. Scouts from Atlantis are reporting back about a duo of mysterious Atlanteans taking out threats the king had been too cowardly to take on. They take on celebrity status.

Along the way they find Mera. She has fled her home dimension (unrelated to Atlantis at all, she's literally not from their world) who needs a place to crash. Arthur and Garth invite her to stay with them, in that destroyed settlement turned bachelor pad, and explain their plan to get into Atlantis. Mera, a princess, has the tact and manners that the others lack and joins the team.

Meanwhile, Vulko is stoking the rumor mill, trying to put in a good word for Aquaman and Aqualad, and he starts digging around for records of them. Vulko finds no record of Arthur's birth, and can only find ONE instance of a boy being born within the approximate age of the kid; the boy was named Garth and abandoned as an infant. There is no official record of him, or his parents (which is customary) and it appears this was done intentionally, and that information was destroyed. He only learns about this from talking to people who used to work in the palace. Vulko starts to suspect there is more to the story and also tries to dig into any of info on about Arthur…

And eventually he finds it; everyone knows the late queen had a son named Orm, but what they DON’T know is that she had a son before him with an unknown father. The people believe this child died during childbirth but Vulko finds a single woman who was around for his birth (the others involved have “mysteriously died”) who can confirm that the child was born, and born with blonde hair. While the queen rested, the king took the child out of Atlantis to leave him to die. The queen was told her child died shortly after childbirth but she never truly believed this. The queen bore a second son, Orm, and took her own life when Orm was a child.

So, why is the king so adamant about killing off the outsiders? Although he believed the baby had died, an oracle told him that the boy lives and would dethrone him (he’s VERY superstitious). He has been sending out soldiers to kill anyone harboring throwbacks and he has been training his son, Orm, to be a great fighter so he can defend his father and anyone who might claim the throne. He’s paranoid that the child he tried to dispose of will return and dethrone him.

So anyway. Arthur returns to Atlantis to try and convince the king to let him on as an advisor to the surface world. The king recognizes the blonde hair immediately but cannot react and give himself away. He tries to remove the squad by virtue of them being throwbacks but the people LOVE Aquaman and Aqualad, they are so excited about their visit that to avoid an uprising they are allowed to stay as guests.

They meet prince Orm during their stay. He's a little standoffish and not at all happy to see throw backs trying to get into the palace; his father had assured him that they were all dead, that throwbacks cannot survive into adulthood.

In an attempt to kill them off/make them leave and lose favor with Atlantis, the king starts making up increasingly dangerous tasks they must complete (like the trials of Hercules tbh) but of course Arthur is absolutely killing it! He’s having a great time and thinks this is very normal, but Mera, who is unfamiliar with Atlantis but very familiar with royal schemes, decides that something fishy (extra joke) is going on. She and Vulko investigate the events surrounding the queen’s suicide.

One of the “challenges” is for Arthur to fight Orm in a public arena. Orm gets his ass beat but Arthur, who had taken a liking to Orm, let’s him get a few punches in so he’s not embarrassed. Even after the fight he’s acting really buddy-buddy with him. Orm is confused and angry at being public ally defeated, but cannot help but think that Arthur is a really nice dude.

Once again, I’m imagining this taking a long time. It’s part monster fighting, part investigation, part hijinks in a new location, etc. They leave Atlantis occasionally to take on land-threats and visit Arthur's father. FINALLY, though, Mera figured it out; the queen didn’t kill herself. This is already long so I'm just going to say that she confronted her husband and he killed her to secure Orm's place on the throne.

The king has another very public venue in which to try to embarrass Aquaman. For example, having him fight some giant monster. But Arthur doesn’t like to kill innocent animals and he uses his telepathy to calm the beast down. Telepathy is not a common ability (and until now nobody had seen Arthur use it) but it’s also a mythical sign of the divine right of royalty in Atlantis. Only kings of yore have shown the ability, and even the late queen couldn’t manifest it. So ofc the king accuses Arthur of being some kind of freak or faking it. That’s when Mera, Garth, and Vulko come on the scene with their receipts: they’ve pieced together the king’s attempted murder of the baby, that Arthur is rightful heir to the throne, and that the king murdered the queen. The king initially claims they’re lying, but then they pull out the receipts and display them to the entire crowd. Enraged, he tries to kill Arthur and another fight ensues. Arthur manages to get the king pinned but refuses to kill him. The king takes this opportunity to break out from under the trident and flees the city. although soldiers pursue him it seems that he has completely disappeared. There is a bounty out for him, leaving the possibility of him returning as a major threat still in the air (extra joke).

Arthur is named king, as the oldest heir to the throne, to his absolute bewilderment. Orm is absolutely furious, as he thinks Arthur only came there to steal the throne from him, just like his father said he would. Arthur tries to explain that it wasn’t his intention, but Orm storms off and hides away in a wing of the castle. The squad lets him stay, but there’s animosity for sure.

Now that he is no longer in celebrity status, the people begin to poke holes in their love of the group; they did not have the full story (of them being throw backs) and now they're a bit suspicious about Garth and Mera, specifically (they don't realize she's not Atlantean, though you would think the flipper feet would give it away...) and there are some who loved the old king and want him back on the throne (conspiracy theorists essentially) Now that they aren't essentially there on vacation, they begin to notice how isolating it is in Altantis...and then we begin the more introspective plot lines, talking about feeling like an outsider and what it means to fit in!

Now Arthur has a new job, a reputation as a hero, and no idea what to do next!

Character's main traits/inspiration

Arthur: did NOT anticipate finding out he was a long lost king, he just wanted to learn about Atlantis! He's trying to balance being a hero, which he likes, being an adventurer, which he loves, and being a king which is...fine, I guess. This version will lean more into his Silver Age personality, which is my favorite, where he seems a little confused but excited about everything. Rather than try to sweep all the "uncool" things under the rug like some versions of Aquaman do, he's so genuine about his life that it's difficult to make fun of him. He is not actually that great at being a king, so luckily he has a lot of friends to help him.

Garth: he follows Arthur around like a lost puppy and is SO happy to be living in a place with real walls and a real bed. However, he still wants to know more about his parents and why records of him were destroyed... We are going back to the classic sidekick genre with him, something DC seems afraid to do. If DC also wanted to have the Titans, or the rest of the fab five be older, I could see him being significantly younger than the others but still part of the "first wave" of sidekicks so they're lumped together anyway. Like the Silver/Bronze age, he could visibly age during the run of the comic and be in his teenage years for any Titans-related plots DC wanted to run. I would be keeping his lost prince backstory, but that wouldn't come up for a very long time. I like the idea of having him age throughout the series, I think that's a very fun aspect of comics that has been lost. He would keep his post-crisis origins, but not learn about them for quite some time.

Mera: She never told Arthur the real reason she was exiled, and to be fair he didn't ask. She's excited to be in the political world of Atlantis and make changes for the better, something she couldn't do back home... I like the idea of Mera being from another world altogether, I think it adds to the overall theme of them being outsiders. She will be a combination of her very domestic original version and the feisty modern Mera. Since Mera doesn't have much of a personality usually (sorry girl) I'm going to make her very studious and politically minded. She LOVES politics and is passionate about making changes to help the everyday Atlanteans. She’s also worried about being sent back to her home dimension, so she tries to keep everyone pleased with her.

Vulko: the only one of the group who understands Atlantean customs. He is always so, so tired of shenanigans... Vulko is going to be a bit like Merlin, an advisor and advocate for Arthur taking the throne. and yes he WILL be old and he WILL be fat.

Orm: royally (extra joke) pissed about losing the throne, but conflicted about his father being Very Evil and hiding the existence of his brother/killing his mom. He mostly sulks and keeps to himself, making it unclear if he is friend or foe... I LOVE his Silver Age jealousy, but DC wants them to be related by their mother and I don't want to fight them on that. I actually prefer when Orm is at least partially human, but I don’t think I can have my cake and eat it too with the origins here, so he’s the biggest compromise tbh. I think Orm could be a shifty character, not outright evil but clearly angry about how things are going so he causes problems on purpose. But there's still the chance that he might sway to either side...

Manta: Honestly, he's the hardest one to introduce into the fray because he only recently started getting actual reasons to have beef with Arthur. Which I respect. Since Tom is going to be alive (for now) I think having Manta slowly develop a beef with Arthur that all comes to head by killing Arthur's father could be interesting. Or maybe Tom gets to live, and Manta does something equally terrible. It's unclear in my mind tbh. So! Manta is trying to develop his empire of piracy and Arthur, trying to win over the people of land and sea, starts really going after him. He sinks every single one of Manta's subs, thwarts every single plan, and is ruining Manta's reputation. He HATES Aquaman, and unfortunately Aquaman doesn't really know who he is or realize he's made an enemy... he would show up as a big threat in later comics, after Arthur has established himself in Atlantis

The former king: this could be Orvax, who was introduced in N52, but honestly if the writer wanted to make a new OC I wouldn’t mind. Orvax doesn’t have much in ways of background of personality because he only exists in flashbacks, but I know how sucky it is to just use the same name for a totally different character (looking at you, rebirth Garth!) so I’m just going to call him King for now. It would be interesting if he was corrupted like Orm in previous volumes into making a deal with an entity in exchange for power…perhaps even serving as a patron for Orm if he shifts to the dark side.

So. That's a quick rendition of my ideal Aquaman reboot. I think it s a fun combo of all the elements I've liked over the years without simply be a rehashing of the stories. Thoughts, opinions. etc?

[kalims]

‎˃ ᵕ ˂ . . "if we ever break up I'd go back to my ex because I love them too much—you're my ex stupid."

premise. let's all pretend that in a state of emergency at the word of "breaking up" some are gonna lose all logic and not register the ex part. (I also was rather busy as of late so hence why this took so long to publish :D)

"if I broke up with you, I'd go back to my ex."

characters. malleus, trey, ace, deuce, leona, lilia, and vil.

cw. established relationship, fluff, crack, nothing too triggering so this is safe to proceed with.

🏷 : for @vyndiesel

malleus draconia

"I do not understand. are you implying you will?"

malleus doesn't have a single idea on why exactly you're telling him of your.. possibly future plans. for your information, he did not consent to knowing how your life will go if you guys do end up breaking up. which is honestly something he'd do over his dead body.

he'll automatically think there's something wrong going on cause why else would you make such an idea? did he do something that displeased you? if so, can you pretty please tell him so he can apologize and fix his non-existent mistake?

says something like 'then I apologize if I did something wrong. please don't leave.' and it's kinda sad cause this joke completely flew over his head and if you mentioned something about it he'll look up respond with. "but there is nothing flying over my head?"

his clueless self is enough for you to immediately deny his assumption.

oh. so he will be the 'ex'? honestly he only knew whatever that meant through lilia and his people would normally call them past lovers.. oh well, now he thinks that this is a sign that you would never leave him so = happy dragon.

trey clover

"well, will you?"

unlike malleus, trey has the brains and experience to come to the conclusion that you're playing a joke on him. he's that perspective to be able to discern what is true, and what is false. not the justice kind of course but like an eye for truth or sorts.

or maybe it's just that you share the braincells with the adeuce first years and he just so happens to be the one who's 'supervising' them when you're not around. he knows their tricks, and to be frank it's like you three + grim all collectively share the braincell.

plus.. who's to say that he hasn't been one of the people at the end of pranks. for a strict dorm, heartslabyul holds a few students who are too mischievous for their own good. yeah, he's looking at cater.

anyhow he's still a little suprised by your bold statement but who wouldn't honestly? just straight up admitting to your spouse, implying a break up is shocking itself. you aren't trying to actually break up with him, are you?

silence blends with his mind and it eventually fixes his logic. won't really tell you that he knows now and waits for you to tell him yourself. partially cause he wants to mess with you & see your reaction. a payback of sorts? goodluck putting him with him though :)

ace trapolla

"is this foreshadowing or something?"

truthfully ace's humor which is admittedly dark at times usually is the one to remove him from sticky situations, lessening the times where there's an atmosphere he doesn't want to deal with at all.

he's dumb (you are too <3) to put it simply, out of all of them he & deuce would be at the bottom to figure out the joke and won't get it at all cause he's too occupied about the breaking up part practically flying above his head and making fun of him.

literally will keep on pestering you throughout the day, I say that cause I think he's in your classes? unless I read the dialog wrong in the story. if you're chilling in your assigned seat he kicked the person who's supposed to be beside you to ask you more about "whatever that was about."

he's paranoid. and his mind will not be at rest until you fully explain whatever you meant by that! so you'd run out of patience with this mf and go: "ace. if we broke up who do you think is gonna be my ex?"

actually pauses to think about it. "oh. me?" "yeah." "...i knew that."

deuce spade

"did I do something wrong??"

thinking that he fucked up in the most unknowing way ever possible 🤝 deuce spade. it's like ace but he only yearns to ask you about it cause he thinks it will only make things worse by pestering you more about it.

goes to ace and the boy is like 'wtf are you talking about bro' cause it's literally 3 AM in the morning and your statement kept him up all night, ace just happened to be breaking the rules by staying up all night. so while chilling in bed ace just gets urgent spams from deuce.

since it's from text which means it's more clearer to register instead of text, and ace isn't the one in the relationship with you: naturally he gets it pretty quick but still messes with deuce by agreeing with him. "yea dude they're totally gonna break up w/ you, u fucked up horrendously"

HE DIDNT SLEEP THAT NIGHT??

so you feel bad cause you can see the darker patch of skin under his eyes and he's visibly trying not to look miserable. "so you're not mad?" "of course not." GIVE HIM HUGS OR ELSE.

leona kingscholar

"shut up you're disturbing my nap with your disturbing thoughts."

or, a translation for you : what the hell are you talking about, I am actually disturbed and perplexed by your words so I'm gonna pretend I don't care and that it totally isn't messing with my head.

you know what's the leona way to solving problems or things he doesn't wanna even think about? ding ding. if you thought it was sleep then you're completely right, just sleep it away for temporary relive!

until his dream had you both breaking up. he stayed up and reflected on his own life while grumbling.

well. you won't even dare to break up with him when you finally see how mighty he is won't you? he'll just have to show you how much you are cherished in his arms, and what you'll miss on if you break up.

"did you know you'd be the ex?" "..." silence and a little embarrassment. all this effort for what, a joke? he hates you. /j atleast the totally non-existent worries will fade away.

lilia vanrouge

"how mean.. going back to them just like that and leaving me in the dark.."

catches on the fastest. he applauds you in his mind on the attempt to catch him red handed though. it's a very smart idea!

so he just resorts to making you feel sorta bad cause he's quite entertained at the moment and you're the one that started this game anyways. wouldn't it be boring if he just catches your words and does nothing at all?

oh no. two can play at that game dear prefect. meanwhile you're confused at why lilia is suddenly more clingy than before. it seems like he's really intent on proving that there's nothing here to leave. nothing worth to anyways.

or an alternative : lilia gives you the cold shoulder for a 'prank' as well. it's only fitting for him to return your oh so cruel one atleast two times worse. after all, that's how things work in twisted wonderland.

will be very pleased when you finally start apologizing to him for the joke and just happily showers you in love as if nothing ever happened.

🚩

vil schoenheit

"you'd really leave someone like me? hmph. how crude. leaving your queen all alone."

he's offended really, are you seriously gonna leave him out of all people? the most beautiful man you'd ever lay your eyes on? and for what? don't you see what kind of jewel he had so graciously let you keep and admire everyday? for free?

vil starts looking a lot better than he used to, and his "used to" was always crazily beautiful in the first place and now he looks like a perfect sculpture god himself carved. like his skin is literally glimmering and smooth.. his hair looks much healthier.

it seems like he's put more serious effort into keeping himself healthy and beautiful. hell he was doing great academically but now he's better. geez, if you'd known your words would be able to pull this kinda power you would've not spoken in the first place.

^ cause it's worrying how much he might've exerted his energy.

"but vil you'd be the ex if I broke up with you." "that's even worse. don't you dare break up with me."

[bigbadwolfhye]

Read or Unread

Winter x Male Reader x Haram

I've been busy with assignments and projects so I've been slacking with stories but here's a short story to compensate, took a slight turn on the ending.

Angst, Smut (Slight Fluff)

Warning: Cheating ❌

You and Winter has been in a secret relationship for 2 years now since their debut, anniversary on the 30th.

Winter has been busy flying back and forth from America to Korea so it's hard for you two to meet up or hang out.

You knew Winter as Minjeong from High School as she is in your circle of friends and even had crushes with each other, you eventually confessed and she accepted the confession. Before she got casted as a trainee at SM Entertainment, you two were pretty close, always hanging out at your house and Winter is even close to your parents. But after debuting and constant promotions, she became so busy that you can't even call her for a 5 minute talk on the phone.

Now that Winter and her group are in the USA, you can't hang out with her but she did text you that later at lunch which is late at night for her, she'll call you and make up for the busy schedule which she promised to do. You can understand her, though. The workaholic and busy ethic was still in her just like when you were kids.

But now, you don't know what to do while you're waiting for lunch to come, you are bored yet excited.

You decided to go out and eat first before she calls, so you went to a cafe next to your apartment.

You ordered and sat on a chair and wait for your drink.

While waiting for your drink, a girl sits on the seat in front of you "Hey" she said.

You looked at her, confused "Uhmm... Hey? Do I know you?" you asked.

She giggled "You silly, I'm Haram" she said.

You immediately thought of Sungchan (One of your close friends) and looked at her "Doesn't ring a bell" you pretended to not know her.

She scoffed then rolled her eyes "You're kidding me, right? I'm Sungchan's girlfriend" she said.

"Oh! Yeah!" You pointed at her "Haram! I just remembered" you over-exajurated.

She took out her phone and showed her phone screen with her and Sungchan as the wallpaper "See?"

You felt a vibration on your pocket and you took out your phone looked at the screen and saw that Winter texted you, you didn't look at what she texted you but you just saw that she sent you a message "I'm sorry but I need to go now" you stood up and went outside, heading back home.

"Hey! Stop!" you looked back at the cafe, Haram running towards you.

"What do you want?" you asked.

"I need to talk to you" she replied.

"I have something to do, I'm sorry" you said as you turned around but Haram grabbed your arm tightly.

"Please, can you just give me a second to talk to you? I need your help" she said getting teary eyed.

You felt chills running up your spine as a tear left her eye, you uninstinctively pulled her into a warm embrace. She dug her face inside your chest as you rub the top of her head, she was sobbing quietly on your jacket.

You two are in the middle of the sidewalk, standing still. People stares at the both of you as they walk pass, it lasted a couple of minutes until you couldn't hear her sobbing anymore.

You broke the hug to look at her face, you gently moved the hair that is blocking her face and wiped her cheeks.

"Did something happened?" you asked.

She didn't even looked at you as she shakes her head no.

"Something definitely happened" you said, you grabbed her chin smoothly as you tip her head, facing you. She looks at you with her eyes starting to water again.

"He's cheating" she said, crying again.

"Ch-chea-cheating? Who? Sungchan?" you were outraged "Where is he? I'm gonna fucking kill him!" you yelled not caring about other people that walks past.

She looked at you then grabbed onto your arm once again "No! Don't! I need your help to bring him back to me" she said.

You looked at her, you were confused but you went with what she said "What help do you need?" you asked.

"I need to make him jealous" she answered.

"Jealous? Do you need a fake boyfriend or something?" you suggested.

She was elated with what you said "Can you be?" she asked.

You thought about Winter for a second before Haram grabs your hand and pulling you.

"What are you doing? Where are we going?" you asked.

"I need you and your house" she said.

She pushes you into the driver seat while she sat next to you, she passes you her car key.

"What are we doing?" you asked.

"Drive to your house" she said.

"Why my house?" you asked.

"Because my house is farther than yours" she replied.

"But could've just walked there, it's like a street away" you said.

"Do you really want your fake girlfriend to walk? I might get tired" she said.

"I'm still uncomfortable with you calling yourself my girlfriend" you said as you start the car.

"Fake girlfriend, you're just here to make Sungchan jealous" she said.

"I'm still gonna punch him if we meet" you said stepping on the brakes "And we're here"

"Wow, that was fast" she said.

"Told you it was near" you said as you open the door.

"Can I go to the bathroom real quick?" she asked.

"Yeah sure, the second door to the right" you said.

Haram went to the bathroom as you go and sit on the bed. You took out your phone looked at what Winter sent you.

"I'll call you after I do my skin care routine" Winter texted.

You replied with "I'm sorry for the late reply, I was talking to a friend of a friend at the Cafe. I'll be waiting for your call"

You looked at the clock and it's 11:28 am, plenty of time to cook something for Haram and talk about the plan to make Sungchan jealous.

You set your phone screen facedown on top of the bedside table and stood up, you went ahead and opened the bedroom to the living room where you found Haram with your towel wrapped around her, her hair dripping wet, and her clothes on your laundry basket.

"Sorry I took a shower" she said.

You immediately turned around to avoid staring at her.

"It's fine!" you said.

You heard her giggled "You can stare all you want, I won't mind" she said.

You turned back around, she was closer than what you think was. She suddenly hugged you.

"You do this to strangers you meet everyday?" you asked jokingly.

"No. I don't know but when I'm with you, I feel safe" she said.

Your heart skipped a beat as you broke the hug "Y-you... like me, don't you?" you asked.

She smiled shyly "What do you mean? This is the second time we met, I don't like you"

"Just making sure that we are on the same page, what we are doing is just fake, just making Sungchan jealous" you said with a straight face.

She looks down "Yeah..."

You went back inside your bedroom and took some clothes for her to wear, she followed you inside "Here's a t-shirt" you handed her a t-shirt which looked too oversized for her "No, not that" you took it back.

"I can wear whatever, I won't mind" she said.

"Okay, then you should pick, I'll cook something for us to eat" you said.

You left Haram on your bedroom as she pick clothes from your closet to wear.

You went to the kitchen and opened the fridge, you saw the kimchi as soon as you opened it so you immediately thought of cooking kimchi fried rice.

Haram comes out of the bedroom in your gray sweater which looked oversized on her.

You went ahead and placed a pan on the stove and turned on the fire, you put a small amount of oil in the pan. While you wait for the oil to heat up, you grabbed some pork belly from the freezer and slice it up to bite sized pieces. You then cut the kimchi and scooped some rice from the pot. You noticed that the pan was heated and sauteed the sliced up pork belly, after they browned a bit, you put the kimchi and some sesame oil. You smell the fragrant scent of the kimchi with sesame oil. After some time, you put the rice and green onions, you stirred that up and plated it.

"Eat" you said, she hurried to sit down and you gently helped her.

She took a bite of your dish, her eyes grew bigger as she continues to chew, she was amazed by the dish and ate it all.

"Wow, you eat fast" you complimented her.

"It's because it was so delicious" she said, "You're a great cook" she added. You could only do was smile at her smiling at you while keeping the eye contact.

She stood up not breaking the eye contact, she sits on your lap.

"H-haram?" you gulped. She got closer and closer until she kisses you, you froze in time as you close your eyes. Haram immediately stopped as you break the kiss she started.

"I didn't know what's gotten into me, but I think I'm in love with you" she says out of nowhere.

"What?!" You pushed her off.

You walked away to your bedroom and as you closes the door, Haram pushed herself in, locked the door and pushed you on the bed. She took her top off and sat on your crotch, "I'm fucking in love with you, from the first time I saw you and even more after we met today" she kisses your neck, she kisses deeply, lovingly. You tried to struggle but she tied your hands together with some shoe laces onto the bed frame.

"Haram, let go of me!" You pleaded, begged. But Haram didn't listen, she wanted you.

*Ring, ring, ring*

Haram looked around the room, your phone is ringing, probably Winter is calling you. She grabbed your phone on top of the bedside table, knowing that Winter is your girlfriend from the call name "Baby Winter❄️"

"Baby Winter, eh? You have a girlfriend?" Haram smiles in amusement as you struggle and have that angry face yelling no, over and over again.

Haram answers the call and put it on speaker.

"Hello?" Winter asked.

Haram signaled you to answer "H-hi! Hell-lo"

"Are you nervous? Or cold? Why are you talking like that?" Winter asked.

"No, It's just cold out here. I need to turn the AC down" you said.

"Don't get a cold, ok?" Winter said. Haram took this opportunity to mess with you, she pulled down your pants and started sucking on your cock.

"Oh my GOD! Yeesss!" You uncontrollably moaned as Haram took down your cock in her mouth, not feeling a touch of a woman in so long.

"Babe? Are you okay?" Winter asks worriedly.

"I'm fine, Winter. Just masturbating" you said unconsciously.

"What? You're masturbating? Now? Is it me? Are you thinking of me while doing it?" Winter's voice changed into a sultry seducing voice.

Haram's mouth pops as she lets go of your cock, she moved up and kissed you so you could taste yourself. She lines up her naked pussy into your cock, when she felt her pussy wets itself with just the touch of your cock into her pussy, she bounced onto you.

"Oh my god! I love your pussy!" You screamed. You made a quick movement and broke free from the shoe laces.

"Oh my, baby. You're so horny for me, I might need to masturbate too" Winter says.

You grabbed Haram's waist and pushed her down to your cock, now hitting her deeper parts.

Haram unconsciously moaned as you fuck her brains out "Oh my god! Your cock is the best! I love your cock, nothing will satisfy my pussy other than your cock! Babe, please! Fuck me more! I want you to be my baby's father! Please cum inside of me! Make me pregnant! Make me pregnant with your giant 12 inched cock! I need your cum in my pussy! I love your cock! My pussy is holding into your cock, pulling it deeper and you continue to fuck me deeper! I need to be bred by you! You need to cum inside me! Breed me! Fuck me like a slut! I'm your slut! I'm a cumdump! Cum inside me and breed me! I'm a slut, Master! I'm a cumdump for you to fill up with cum! I need to be pregnant by your cum! I'm s slut and you are my master! Fuck me, Master! Fuck me! Fuck Haram, Master! Cum inside Haram! Get Haram pregnant, Master! Just cum inside me, Master! Haram is a slut and a cumdump for you to put cum side Haram's pussy! My pussy is yours, Master! Haram's pussy is yours! Fill it with cum, please!" As Haram begged to be cummed in, Winter was speechless the whole time.

Winter was about to masturbate when she heard Haram talked. She continued to masturbate, but hearing your moans with another girl other than hers really broke Winter. She cries fingering herself, as she imagines you fucking somebody, cumming inside somebody, getting somebody pregnant. She squirted so hard that her whole bed was soaked, like it was rained on. Winter twitches as she cries after just squirting so much cum.

Now she's crying and you're cumming inside Haram.

[newkatzkafe2023]

I was wondering: what would happen if the reader were a non-legitimate celestial princess and lived in heaven. Under the protection of her father, The Vermilion King of the South.

And then, when Wukong invades the celestial kingdom, he meets her, and she is very kind and respectful of her title as king. She doesn't make fun like the others, she offers him drinks and food very politely and they talk a lot.

And after all the drama, after defeating the army of 1,000 warriors, she will eat all the peaches of immortality and alcohol.

She decides to kidnap her and make her her legitimate wife, and then, she casually arrives where her dear friend and brother swears by her Macaque and tells him.

"Guess what, I have a wife!"

And Macaque type "What?..."

Mac would be surprised, he had seen Wukong conquer kingdoms, dethrone kings and humiliate celestials.

He has witnessed his anger and his bloodthirsty way of fighting, but he has never seen him interested in romance.

He was not the type to seek seduction or fall into those worldly pleasures.

He guessed that this girl must have something special, like a cute and adorable pet.

I imagine Mac being dismissive of her for some reason he doesn't know about beyond being "human."

He admits that her appearance is unique, but he still couldn't understand her brother.

But he remembered that he was the Monkey King and he did what he wanted but still

Wukong is more special, because he is not the Wukong from the journey to the west.

He is the self-centered and selfish Wukong who had everyone afraid, so he imposes himself on the reader.

And he doesn't care about the Macaque option either.

"Why is she here?"

"Because I wanted to make her my Queen."

"Because?"

"Because I am the King, do you have any problems brother?"

"No. . "

Reader is more than confused, she only knew that she was kind to the unruly Monkey King, then there was chaos.

And she ended up in a beautiful mountain of flowers and fruits, and although she is a point for beauty

He doesn't take away the fact that she is kidnapped in a nutshell.

They treat her well, her monkey subjects welcomed her with enthusiasm, crowning hers as such. However, Jian demands explanations and naively believes that it is just a joke and that Monkey King will return her to heaven but...:

"Come back? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, thank you. You can't come back"

"What!? Why not!?"

"Because you are my queen and my wife and your place is here by my side"

"But My Lord" here reader resorts to flattery and submission without success "I am grateful and honored, but my place is not here, I have a task and title assigned and..."

But the monkey does not let her finish, with a haughty and capricious attitude, Wukong downplays the importance of the words.

"Enough chattering! I said no..." the monkey says authoritatively before his new submissive wife.

Reader tenses up and looks down, the monkey just sighs in annoyance and approaches her.

"Look, I'll make it this easy for you so you can understand me, you have two options; Either make this pleasurable for both of us... Or I will destroy you like everyone else who dares to impose themselves on me, say cherry, no matter how captivating and sweet be you"

reader feels a chill

Ok Wow as great as it is to get Out of the celestial realm and away from their boring ass rules, Being sun wukong wife Doesn't sound like it's also a good option either.

First of all, he brought you away from your home like a object then a love interest Because you know kidnapping and breaking and entering and all that. It's flattering that somebody wants you to be their wife Queen by so much context was taken out of that and now you're confused And getting concerned. There are like millions of powerful and beautiful females for him,to Marry and a bunch of nobles who would bring more benefit. Yet He decided to choose you, And He has the nerve to threaten you when you clearly don't understand on what He wants with you of all people, you could play into his whole Being a humble Submissive wife and stuff because that's how you were raised and have displayed on your first meeting. But it's still a scary situation.

I don't blame Macaque for being majorly confused because he thought his brother only knew violence and destruction and death.

The nuclear Option is to just drop off the face of the earth and hope he don't find you because we know he's going to Level neighborhoods and villages trying to find you. (Don't follow my advice)

(Author's note) Sorry but I have no idea how to answer this. Can you try give an easier question but This is the best answer I can give you After looking it over that is.😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥

Feel Free to Reblog😊👍

[ninebluehearts]

I beg you for fluffy fluff (or as fluffy as possible, all things considered) Joel / whomever with Joel being sick (not seriously, but like a guy tends to get a bit helpless when he has a cold!) and his s/o having none of it!

Ahhhh, thank you for the ask anon!!💗 Man-colds are no laughing matter 😤✋

Rated: E

Your eyes slowly fluttered open in the limited light in your bedroom- you sat up, glancing around for anything that could've woken you up before the sun could. You squinted your eyes, trying to focus them on the clock that quietly ticked away on the wall nearest to you. It was only three in the morning; you didn't start your shift for another two hours.

Figuring you just had a nightmare and didn't remember it, you tried to lay down and go back to sleep. As you slowly started to let your body slip into the heavy darkness, a sudden thud right next to you pulled you out of your light sleep. You stared at the wall again, waiting to see if it would happen again.

Not a minute later, another thud sounded next to you, followed by what sounded like a bear's growl. You sat up once again, gently pressing your hand against Joel's shoulder. "What is it baby?" You mumbled, gently running your nails along the skin his t-shirt sleeve didn't cover.

"Don't feel good." He mumbled, followed by another deep groan.

"Awe, my poor baby," You cooed, reaching over to feel his forehead. "You're warm."

Joel leaned into your touch, pressing his forehead against the palm of your hand. "But I'm soo cold." He whined.

To be honest, you were more than a little shocked. The man that was always so stoic and intimidating was now here, cuddling your arm and whining over a little cold. You thought it was the beginning of October, considering all of the leaves started dying and falling once again, and the familiar gentle nip of a chill hung in the air, but no one could know for sure. Allergies would explain where the cold came from though.

"Oh baby, what can I do?" You asked as you ran your fingers through his hair, gently massaging his scalp. Joel slurred out an answer that you couldn't understand, but a yawn followed, and soon he was fast asleep once again. You laid down beside him, one arm draped over his chest as the other continued to gently play with his hair.

-

You don't remember exactly when you fell asleep, but thankfully Joel was still fast asleep when you woke up. You managed to get yourself up and ready for work without waking him up, leaving a glass of water and two antibiotics Joel had been saving on the counter, waiting for him when he got up for work.

You worked from five in the morning to seven that night, waiting in line for an extra thirty minutes for your pay. When you reached the front of the line you noticed your friend Ben was working the counter today. Though Joel didn't like him very much, Ben let you get away with a lot of shit, and that was enough to convince Joel to swallow his pride and play nice.

"Hey Benny, how ya been?" You asked as you stepped in front of him, gently rapping your knuckles on the table.

"Same old, same old." Ben said with a sigh, licking his thumb before picking through the box of cards. "Oh hey, have you seen Joel today? He didn't show up for his shift this morning." He asked as he held out the cards you had earned for today and a small piece of paper that had the details for tomorrow's assignment.

"No, I haven't seen him since this morning." You said as you took the papers from him, worry laced in your tone. "I'll make sure he shows up tomorrow though. Thanks Benny." You didn't register his goodbye as you walked away, your mind swarming with the What-If?'s.

You knew about Tess and Joel's missions outside of the QZ- what if he got bit and didn't know? What if he got tetanus from a rusty fence? What if he took a bad batch of pills? The list of things Joel Miller could've done to accidentally kill himself went on for miles, and it felt like you went over every scenario on your way back home.

As you approached the door to your apartment, your hand wrapped around the doorknob, you froze. What if he was infected? The thought made you sick to your stomach, but you had to consider it..

Fuck, when was the last time he left the QZ? You thought, trying to think back to the last time you had to cover for him when he didn't show up for work. Though you hoped he was actually sick this time.

Infected or not, you had to check on him. If he was infected, then there was a bat he kept by the door you could use.

You gently turned the knob to the right, scanning the room as you slowly pushed the door open. When you didn't see anyone, you fully stepped into the room, looking behind the door just in case. "Joel?" You called out as you slowly walked towards the wall that hid your bed.

A deep growl sounded from behind the wall, stopping you dead in your tracks. Your heart dropped to your stomach, sweat beaded on your forehead. You had never seen an infected person before; only hearing stories about them from Joel and Tess or others from the QZ. But if you had to guess, growling was a sure sign of infection.

You took a quiet step back, grabbing the handle of the bat and holding up and ready. "Honey?" You called out, slowly walking towards the bedroom once again. Though this time there was nothing but silence. Once you were close enough, you whipped around the corner, ready to smack an infected for the first time ever.

What you weren't ready for was Joel lying in bed with two tampons shoved up his nose, cuddling a bottle of cheap QZ moonshine.

You sighed, lowering the bat. "What the fuck Joel? I thought you were infected or something!" You hollered, tossing the bat onto the nearby couch.

Joel groaned, rolling over onto his side. "Why would I be infected?" His voiced sounded hoarse.

"Well, considering that all I knew was that you recently went out of the QZ, you had a fever when I left, and you didn't show up for work today.." You huffed, your hands planted on your hips.

"That run was over a week ago; would've been dead by now." He mumbled, sniffling around the long piece of cotton.

Your hand flew up to cover your mouth, trying your best not to laugh. "Joel Miller, are those my tampons? Really?"

"I couldn't find a rag!" He said with a groan, throwing the blanket over his head.

You rolled your eyes, shaking your head in disbelief. "And you're the Joel everybody's scared of.." You mumbled as you grabbed the edge of the blanket, gently pulling it off of him. "Up." You said, rolling your eyes at the mix of a groan and a whine he let out. "Come on, I'll make you soup. You can't just lay around all day." You held out your hand for him to take, pulling him to his feet when he did.

Joel sighed, leaning against you as some form of hug. "You're late." He mumbled into the crook of your neck, his arms wrapping around your waist.

You rested your chin on his shoulder as you gently rubbed his back, enjoying the closeness after a long day. "I know. I had to help clean up after the after-work rush and there was a long line at the card table today."

Joel nodded, taking a deep breath in and out, his hot, sick breath striking your neck.

You shivered, gently pushing him away. "I love you, but you're so gross. Seriously, let me make you soup and then you can lay back down." You guided Joel into the living room and sat him down on the chair in the corner. After that, you grabbed a pot and a can of chicken noodle soup Joel had found on one of his missions and stashed under the bed for times like this. You used the small, white heater under the window as a makeshift stove to heat up the soup.

Once Joel finished eating, you tucked him back into bed and felt his forehead, his fever had thankfully gone down. "Did you take those antibiotics I left for you?"

Joel nodded, patting the open space next to him on the bed. "Will you sleep with me? I know it's a little early, but I don't wanna be alone."

"If it'll make you feel better faster." You responded with a smirk, lying down next to him.

"It will." Joel pulled the blankets up and over you then slung his arm around your waist, holding you as close as possible. "You always take such good care of me.. I love you, baby." He pressed a gentle kiss to your cheek then buried his face against your neck, his thumb gently rubbing circles on your stomach where your shirt rode up.

"I love you too, honey." You settled into his embraced, your eyes suddenly getting heavy. It had been a long, draining day and you couldn't imagine a better way to end it.

[our-transmasculine-experience]

I haven't legally changed my name, but I have been pushing my chosen name in my university - writing it down on quizes and tests, using a personal email instead of the assigned uni email that has my dead name, introducing myself with my actual name, just to name a few.

Also my native language requires a suffix at the end of the surname to indicate feminine gender so by removing the feminine suffix, leaving it bare and making it masc./neutur, it becomes pretty clear something is up, everyone in the country will either think you were born outside the country or you are trans if there's other factors (first name change, appearance) if you lack/add the suffix later in life.

Some professors have taken it well, very well actually. Some had a harder time because the name I go by can be seen as a nickname and not a full name - and I'm too scared to go by the full masc version of my name without legally changing it first - but they either got used to it or a simple change in pronunciation of the name made them more comfortable.

And then there's the ones that either cannot comprehend what's happening or are malicious about it. The first type is a professor to whom I literally wrote "prefered name: Name" in an attendance/topic sheet she gave us for one of the projects we needed to do. Ignored. I sent an email from my non-uni assigned email. She saw and replied to it. Ignored. But not only ignored, she used my government name. Which was extremely weird. She keeps forgetting my name, so I reintroduce myself and then she keeps ignoring me and uses my government name. But I still think she isn't too malicious about it.

Unlike the latter type - the straight up transphobic ones. I've had just two professors like that so far. The first one was easy to ignore, especially because we had the majority of our classes online with her. Again, she'd ask my name, I'd reply and she'd get grumpy about it. I know it was malicious because of comments shes made about trans people and neutral language.

And then we have the second one who also can't seem to remember my name, asks, I say my name and she makes a point to say the other name. I tried the different pronunciation trick and at first she accepted that... Until she figured out who I was and again made a point to say my legal name loud and clear for everyone to hear. In addition to that, she's been giving a little too many examples to definitions and the material we are studying that have been low-key transphobic.

Tbh if there were more people attending her seminars I'd straight up ignore her until she gets my name right, but because of how few we are, I don't want to start shit. Especially because we'll only have her for this one semester.

So yeah, academics can be a lot while being trans and not having access to medical transitioning. Still, I'm extremely glad my department is lefty and open minded and the majority of the people are chill. Yes, the negative experiences can sour the mood but I like to remind myself of all the good and understanding people around.

i’m really sorry to hear that some teachers have not been accepting, but the good part is that those teachers seem to be the minority of your college experience.

remember, there are always more good people than bad people.

[usernoneexistent]

Once Rowan has recovered and heads into the new year, Juniper and Rowan discuss what their next moves are and who could possibly help them.

Warnings: one use of bad language

A week passed, and Rowan mostly recovered, albeit with the occasional chill. Still, by Madam Pomfrey's standards, she was healthy, which was good enough for Juniper, and the blue tinge on her skin had faded entirely. During that time, Juniper brought chocolate frogs, star charts, books, and the missed assignments to occupy Rowan's mind. Juniper shared her concerns that they might have a traitor in the midst who tried to sabotage her. They immediately ruled out Badeea because she would have no motive and was often seen painting in her own world, whereas Tulip was tricky. Depending on the offer, her alliance could change on a dime, while their other dormmate, Skye, could have framed Juniper. Still, she isn't that sneaky, nor would she ally with a Slytherin to get back at Juniper. She could do that all perfectly on her own.

However, Rowan pointed out that a Prefect could have just as easily snuck in and avoided suspicion. Prefects check in on the younger students all the time. With that, they were bad to square one, but something in her was nagging that it wasn't perfect.

Rowan is slightly tired by Juniper's hovering. She appreciated it, but it can be a lot, too, from Juniper.

Juniper knew how to take care of people, and that's for sure. Looking after her mum had been her job since she was six.

"I just want tae make sure that you're okay."

"I know but I also feel so useless." Rowan lamented.

Juniper sat beside her, resting her head on Rowan's shoulder. "You're not useless at all, Rowan. You saved me; remember that, at least."

Rowan smiled, but she didn't seem entirely convinced. "We'll see."

Winter was approaching faster than Juniper could anticipate. The dreaded Christmas holidays were going to be spent with her father, whom she was not pleased to see. She wrote lots of letters to Rowan and Ben. Basem was away on holiday with his family in France, so she was alone, and to add on everything else, she caught a cold. Juniper wondered if it was the rain or a build-up of stress causing her blocked nose and itchy throat.

She recovered with the help of mint teas and caught up on lost sleep. Juniper returned tired but ready to continue her quest for that cursed vault.

Dumbledore's welcome-back speech again reminded students to stay safe and report any strange activities. There was an unsettling feeling in the air. Did something happen over the break? Did Merula get to the vault while she and Rowan were gone?

"Do you think he's onto tae us?" She whispered, trying hard to hold in that cough.

Rowan leaned, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, and whispered, "I don't think so, or at the very least, I hope not."

Juniper caught the stares of another intruder in their conversation. Dark eyes matching Juniper's darted away, and red hair swished as Tulip moved her head away from Juniper and Rowan.

Juniper's hunch was correct. Dammit, Tulip is too much of a wildcard to understand her intention. The self-made chaos followed that girl. Juniper could never recall if she hung out with anyone or if Tulip even had friends. The only thing that assured Juniper was that if Tulip pointed fingers at her for the Slytherin attack, she would implicate herself.

In the common room at their corner, Rowan and Juniper just chatted. It was the furthest away from everybody; they had claimed it since the first year. It was nice having their own space. She found her fellow Ravenclaws less hostile, but they ignored Juniper. Those points of redemption really helped her image.

"Do you want to return to the cursed vault?" Juniper inquired, wondering if she might need to continue independently. She didn't like to ask Ben again, nor did Juniper want Penny injured under her care.

"Hmm. I don't think so," Rowan noticed Juniper's face dropping. "Or, at the very least, I don't think I'm ready now."

Juniper rested her face onto her hands. Her face was stiff from overthinking. "I don't think I can ask Ben or Penny to help but even if I took one of them, I don't know if they want to or if that's even enough to fight that door."

Rowan crept up and bared a broad, thin smile. She had something handy up her sleeve.

"Luckily, you have a friend who makes multiple lists on everything. I've spend countless hours alone in my room making lists of the most powerful students at Hogwarts based on various factors."

"What's your recommendation?" Juniper perked up.

"Ben is an obvious answer, but we both know he might not want to get involved again. Merula, we can forget about it. Both were no-brainers, and she felt her heart sink, but Rowan came to the rescue. "There is someone more powerful than you, Ben and Merula, who could maybe help."

"Who?"

"Bill Weasley."

Juniper's eyebrows furrowed in as she searched through her brain. Of course, she knew of the Weasleys, and there was a Charlie Weasley in her year. Maybe a brother or cousin?

"I ken the name but I don't ken the person."

"You've never heard of Bill Weasley?! He's one of the most popular boys in school! He's one of the most powerful wizards in his year!" A creeping pink colour filled her cheeks as she rambled on about him. "He's sure to be a prefect and head boy, and everyone says he's one of the bravest students at Hogwarts!"

"Sounds like you fancy him," Juniper teased her, taking the opportunity there.

"I, ah...I don't..." Rowan mumbled, her face flushed to a bright scarlet. "I think he's cool that's all."

"Aye, okay," the girl said, shaking her head with a cheeky grin in disbelief. "And how will we get him to help with the cursed vaults?"

"Well wouldn't the sound of adventure be appealing for anyone brave ?"

"Maybe a gift too?"

"Oh, you could get him this book by Patricia Rakepick. She's a world-renowned curse-breaker and current head of cursebreakers at Gringotts Bank." Rowan rambled on a little more, but Juniper didn't mind. She's amazed at how much Rowan knew. She is the walking embodiment of the lexicon. "It's in line with Bill's interests."

Juniper teasefully nudged. "I take it you have been watching him for a while."

"You're enjoying this far too much aren't you?"

"You know me too well," Juniper quipped. Even Rowan had to chortle. It felt nice to laugh. It had felt like forever since she had been able to laugh about some normality.

Juniper found out more from Rowan. She explained Bill's training schedule, so Juniper selected a weekend as the professors slowly started to cascade down homework and assignments. It was the freest time she could get. She thought the first year was terrible, but the second year was worse.

If there was any proof, Snape would double their workload. Juniper thought she might have some sanctuary because of Merula's lies. Still, Merula's mood soured more due to the detention given by Professor Snape.

According to Rowan, Bill occupied the training grounds to practise his duelling. Juniper avoided the weekend training in the first year due to the senior students taking claims. She had Ben or alternative dummies to practise with.

A tall and lanky boy was whipping about his wand. His shoulder-length red hair swung with his movements. All spells targeted the dummy perfectly. Juniper was impressed that he could even do it verbal less; she wasn't at that stage yet.

"Um...Bill Weasley?"

Bill Weasley stopped what he was doing and turned his attention towards the second year before him. His eyes patiently waited for her.

"Did you get my owl?"

"Yes, what can I do for you, Juniper Moss?"

Juniper tried not to look surprised; she shouldn't have to be. Her name was well known throughout Hogwarts, but it was still shocking to have someone immediately know her. Juniper felt it robbed the joy of getting to know someone on a fresh slate.

"I can tell you're wondering how I know you, aren't you?" He laughed, flashing a bright white brick wall with a smile. "Your brother was the talk of the Weasleys household when the Daily Prophet printed his search for the cursed vaults. Rumour mill is that you're following in his footsteps."

Jacob's shadow struck again. Juniper didn't want that to bog her down. Instead, she realised the gift. She held out the book in hand.

"I brought you a gift...It's a book about a witch named Patricia Rakepick. Rowan says she's one of the world's most famous curse-breakers." Juniper trailed off. She searched for any reaction on the older Gryffindor's face.

A broad smile formed. "Thanks, Juniper. You didn't have to do that. I want to help anyway I can with the cursed vaults."

"You really sure about that?" Juniper still had to ask despite him already agreeing to help her out. "You could get hurt?"

"I'm aware, but I want to become a curse-breaker," Bill said with determination. "And if I want to be the best curse-breaker, I need to have experience."

"Sounds like a cool aspiration."

"I think you would make a great curse-breaker, too with your experience with the cursed vaults."

"Well, I don't know what I want to do yet after Hogwarts." Juniper shrugged. Her plan after Hogwarts was just to get a good-paying job; besides, she had other matters to worry about. "Also, any advice on improving my spellcasting?" The Ravenclaw queried.

"I would focus on your charms, transfiguration, and DADA classes. Always practise your spells there first before practising outside. Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall can help you practise safely." Bill pondered more, his hand resting on his chin. Okay, maybe not DADA. That was bad advice. The Professor is terrible."

"Tell me about it; he's constantly disappearing. It's like he does nae want to teach." She rolled her eyes. She quickly fixed her scarf, pulling it up to her chin to keep warm.

Bill chuckled, "I think we both can agree on that. How does Saturday at noon sound for training?"

"With you?"

"Of course, who else? After all, you came to me for help and this is me helping." Bill proudly said.

"Sounds like a plan, Bill."

***

"So how was meeting Bill like? Learned any cool spells? Was he cool? Did you guys discuss the weather?" Rowan immediately showered Juniper with questions to satisfy her unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

"Aye, he's cool, Rowan." Juniper smiled. "He agreed to help me but first we're going to practise our duelling every Saturday until I'm as good as him."

"I'm so jealous. Did he ask about me?" Rowan looked eager like a cruppy.

"I don't think he knows who you are..." Juniper trailed off. She had mentioned her friend's name in passing, but that's it.

"Oh..."

"But if you want me to, I could mention you more." Juniper threw out the suggestion, eager at the idea of helping Rowan. Rowan looked almost as keen on her idea.

"You can tell Bill Weasley to send me an owl if he ever wants a study partner," Rowan suggested, shrugging awkwardly. "Or just someone to hang out with."

"I'll be sure to tell him that. Maybe you'd could even join one Saturday? That way you meet him in person."

But her friend shook her head shyly in refusal.

"I don't think I'm that ready to meet him." Though the intense stare from Rowan was rare. "But can you promise me that you'll tell him that we can be study partners."

Juniper laughed; there was nothing she wouldn't do for her best and first friend.

"I promise."

The weeks passed quickly as Juniper found herself occupied by quidditch practice after lessons and weekends spent with Bill Weasley. Her skills improved as she honed into this new routine, yet her motivation waned. She would tell herself that she was a Tern. Tenacious. Nevertheless, she felt pressured by all the different responsibilities and the nagging voice in the back of her head about the faux Slytherin attack.

In her Quidditch, Skye gave many valuable pointers in return for Juniper aiding—more like writing—her charms homework. However, Roan Smith often grunted about helping the green players. Juniper and Andre decided to teach each other and gather information from Murphey McNully, who had unlimited information on Quidditch.

"Earth to Juniper," Skye waved.

"Yeah, I'm listening," Juniper pretended that she did.

"I'm seriously doubting that," she raised an eyebrow. "You've been distracted lately, and we need everyone prepared for the match against Slytherin."

That worried her: Slytherin would retaliate because of the accusations. People still whispered about the November incident, which would be all her fault if that did happen.

"Don't worry. I am taking it seriously. Look at the long way I've come." Juniper mustered a feeble smile though the training was evident. Her arms grew dense as once-nonexistent muscles formed. She even managed to lift a stack of heavy textbooks without relying on Charlie or Andre.

"Well, you're less likely to land on your arse, that's for sure," Skye said, which garnered a frown that quickly turned to a chuckle from Juniper.

"I don't think I'm that bad," Juniper said, to which Skye raised an eyebrow.

"Also, I have been doing my own investigation. I'm following several of the Slytherin players, especially Erika Rath to see if I can catch them cheating."

A lump formed in Juniper's throat. Deep down, she knew she had to finally say something or else Skye could do something drastic, which could lead to an actual dispute as if there wasn't enough animosity.

Skye hesitated, "I won't expect you to help but I don't mind having extra help. If you can make sure not to have conflicting schedules."

Juniper quickly turned down the offer. "No, I'm too busy."

"Alright, your loss then," Skye said as she went to put her broom away.

Juniper should be happy that she has gained Skye's trust, but she really needs to put a stop to this. Let the truth come out, but Juniper knew Skye would not react well. Understandably so because Juniper had deceived her, but her lips were ready to slip out everything.

Considering all her options, she turned to the one person who could possibly help. Juniper went to the pitch; she walked up to where Orion was meditating on the field.

"Hey, Orion," Juniper sounded unsure.

"Greetings Juniper, I sense that you are not coming for a social visit." Orion greeted her with an all-knowing yet amiable smile.

"Aye, I need to discuss something important with you," Juniper cracks her knuckles. "I did something, and I'm not sure how to undo it if you know how."

"This is regarding what has been weighing on your mind," Orion responded. Not even the slight breeze could shake him. Juniper nodded as Orion continued, "I have noticed that you have been slightly off balance even after you and Skye have found peace."

"I guess you could say that," Juniper acknowledged. It must have weighed heavily if her captain could see the scales of a guilty conscious tipped heavily to one side. "I am a numpty; I did something incredibly idiotic -and reckless-" she quickly added. Orion's gaze fixated on her as he attentively listened. "I was the one behind the Slytherin attack. But I had never intended to create discord between the houses. I just needed a distraction for another matter, and I thought it was the perfect plan. Well at least I thought so at the moment. I can see now how incredibly stupid it was of me."

Orion paused; Juniper could see him pondering behind his eyes. His calm smile remained. "First, I want to applaud you for taking the initiative to admit a transgression. It is difficult to acknowledge a fault that many others would not admit."

"I'll understand if you want to kick me off the team," the reserved player mumbled.

Orion shook his head. "You possess an untapped potential, but I fear you tend to stand in your own way. Naturally, you will have to make amends for the people who are hurt because of your actions. How you handle it is up to you, and the first step is to redeem yourself."

Juniper, ashamed, had to nod in agreement. She knew Skye would be very hurt, as would the Slytherin quidditch team, who had been unjustly criticised because of her.

"What the hell, Juniper!" She looked down at the source of the loud voice. Skye was standing below them, with steam blowing out of her ears. "That better not be true!"

"I know who I need to apologise and explain to first, and thanks, Orion," Juniper braced herself before going down. The captain nodded sympathetically and let her go. She took a deep breath in before facing Skye, "It's true I was behind the Slytherin attack, but it was not-"

"You lied to me! How many more lies have you told, huh?" Skye accused. "And to use foil a quidditch match on top of that, too! Quidditch may be a joke to you, but it isn't to me! I can't believe this!"

Juniper wasn't sure what to say. Any action she takes will make it worse, but not doing anything will also make it seem to Skye that she doesn't care when she actually does. Maybe she doesn't take Quidditch as seriously as Skye or Andre, but she still finds it necessary and has grown fond of the sport.

"All I can say is I'm sorry. The only thing I wanted you to know was nae to undermine or deceive you initially," Juniper gulped, fighting back her undeserving tears. I lied because I was scared you would react and lose you as a friend."

Her words don't have any effect on Skye's demeanour.

"If you were truly a friend, then you would nae have done it in the first place," her icy gaze turned to Orion, yelling at him for allowing her to stay.

Juniper knew when she overstayed her welcome. She got changed and knew her next steps were to explain to the Slytherin team. She put her face into her hands, trying to not weep over her actions. The consequences would come sooner; maybe it was best that it was now.

She quickly wiped away her tears. She couldn't let anyone see her like this. Nor does she deserve to cry over her own stupidity. Instead, she left before having to continue to witness Skye's wrath.

After hiding out, Juniper went to practise with Bill to ensure she looked okay. Saturdays have become her busiest days. She needed Rowan to remind her of all the assignments and second-year exams they needed to revise.

Her aim was sloppy during practice, which Bill immediately picked up on. She didn't want to repeat the whole story, so he seemingly understood that something was bothering the young witch and tried to direct her focus on something else.

"I hope you're up for proper duelling." His red eyebrows raised in concern, though his tone was light. "I'll go easy, no worries."

"Then you're making it too easy." Juniper dryly chuckled. She had already had too many trips to the hospital wing and probably couldn't handle it anymore.

"You sure? We can continue practising with dummies." Bill suggested, but the girl was adamant that she would see this through.

"No, I can duel with you."

"I know that you're no stranger to duelling after that fight between you and Merula."

The fight from last year, Juniper, was over Merula's hunger for power and quest to stop the Ravenclaw. She knew she took things too far when she used the banishing spell, but an eye for an eye sometimes was necessary.

"I hope I wasn't too bad." Juniper joked.

"Oh, I didn't see it but my little brother, Charlie told me. He's a second year like you."

"Aye, I think I know him. He's pals with Ben Copper." Juniper mentioned. She had heard about Charlie in passing, and they shared a few classes but had yet to interact with one another. "What'd he tell you?"

"That you were a brilliant dueller. Especially the way you knocked down Merula." Though the smile faded. "A little harsh but I get it. You were saving your friend."

"Not my finest hour but I couldn't just let her continue and terrorise Hogwarts."

"Agreed and it seemed to have work for the most part." A crooked grin formed.

"But just made her attitude worse."

"Oh, absolutely," Bill agreed. "Let's get this duel underway then."

Juniper pulled her wand from her pocket. "Ready to go."

"Alright, on the mark of one." Bill counted down, "Three, two, one."

"Rictusempra!"

"Protego!" Bill immediately countered her spell. There goes disarming him with laughter.

"Tarantallegra!" Bill cut off Juniper. Her instinct was to dodge. She knew the dancing feet spell as it was recently covered in charms. However, she had another ace.

"Reducio!" she charmed herself. Juniper almost laughed in surprise at Bill's widening eyes before a surprised grin followed.

Insect Juniper now had the advantage of being hidden out of sight in the tall wet grass. She hadn't expected the droplets to easily drench her. She sprinted, got behind Bill, and caught him off guard. Bill had a watchful eye speculating her position.

"Engergio," Juniper muttered, pointing the wand to herself. Bill swiftly turned on his heels the moment she grew. "Nice try, Expelliarmus!"

The wand flew forcefully out of her hand. Juniper tried to rush to grab her wand but tripped over her shoes and fell face flat into the grass. Her hat fell off.

"Blimey, you alright?"

Juniper groaned in pain. Bill rushed over and helped her.

"Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"No, but thanks, Bill. It was just a fall. Nothing serious."

Internally, she was relieved because she didn't want to go to the hospital wing. Still, simultaneously, she didn't like to remain seriously hurt.

"I think it's safe to say, you're not a novice." Bill chuckled; his blue eyes were bright. "You could give me a run for my money."

"I don't think I'm that good."

"You give yourself less credit than you actually deserve."

"Really?"

"Yeah really. Wanna have another go?"

"Aye definitely."

They resumed their duel, Juniper trying to produce the less powerful spells, which made them more refined and focused. It helped to distract her and clear her thoughts. Maybe she could even start using them nonverbally.

They continued dodging, ducking, and casting until they collapsed on the frosty grounds—so much for not overdoing it.

"I'd say we've did some great progress."

"Yeah, I would say so too."

The sound of the heavy breathing was somewhat amusing. Bill couldn't help but laugh at their hopeless state.

"We're going to break into the ice vault surely."

"Ice you say?"

"Aye."

"Well I was doing some thinking when you said it and I figured a good spell for you to study is the fire making charm, incendio."

"Who would have thought that a fire spell is great against ice." Juniper said in a joking manner. Bill rolled his eyes playfully at her sarcasm. "But that's good to know. I can study with Rowan, she'll have it somewhere within her six editions of charms textbook."

"Six editions?"

"Oh, for history, she has fifteen editions and a photographic memory." Juniper used the opportunity to praise her friend as she had promised.

"Sounds like someone who would be a great study partner."

"Rowan would nae having a study partner, you could always owl her." Juniper figured it best not to add the other statement about following around.

"Thanks, I might take her up on that."

Juniper felt she was finally getting somewhere. There was a stride in her steps and a noticeable shift in her energy. Her mind was clearer, and she managed better with her school work, Quidditch and duelling practice. Though nothing good lasts forever.

Previous chapter: chapter 16

Next chapter: chapter 18

[votestaynight]

9th day - "NEO" (scene 2)

――Let's go and get Tohsaka.

I shouldn't break any more lamps.

…Well, I don't think that's much of an excuse for someone that already broke forty lamps…

"Hey Tohsaka…"

There's no reply even when I call out.

…That's weird, maybe she's not in the house.

The only other place Tohsaka could be is――

"…There's someone in the shed."

It seems Saber and Tohsaka are inside, talking.

"Hey, Tohsa――"

As I raise my hand to call out to her…

I feel a chill run through me.

…I think it was a wave of Tohsaka's magical energy filled with enmity, that came flowing out from the shed.

"――!"

The voice that was calling out to her stops.

…It seems Tohsaka is so irritated that I can feel it from way over here.

"―――――"

Their conversation can be heard.

Without realizing it, I'm eavesdropping on them.

"――Just who is he?"

Tohsaka murmurs in a tone that could be angry or horrified.

Saber is standing silently behind her.

"I can't believe it. Saber, you knew about this…?"

"…No, I did not know. I am a knight, not a magus. There was only an odd feeling here, so I do not understand the situation as well as you do."

"――I see. Then I'll tell you. He's not a magus at all."

In a voice filled even with hatred,

Tohsaka spits those words out.

"…Rin. What does that mean?"

"Just like it sounds.

Magic is an equivalent exchange after all. No matter what kind of magic it is, it can only bring what's elsewhere here to use it."

"…But this is different. He's bringing something that comes from nowhere. He's forming something that should not exist here.

That can only be a concept that violates reality.

His magic is probably a deteriorated version of that one magic."

"……"

I don't understand what Tohsaka is talking about.

But this is something that I should not be listening to.

…I get away from the shed.

I'll be lying to Tohsaka, but I should return to the room and pretend I was waiting for her return――

It's two o'clock.

There's no sign of Tohsaka returning, and I diligently finish the task assigned to me.

"Oh, phone call."

The phone is ringing far away.

"…It's the living room. Tohsaka is――wait, it's a call at my place, so she shouldn't answer it."

I don't think it's important, but I can't just ignore it.

I get up and head to the living room to pick up the phone.

There's no one in the living room.

Saber and Tohsaka must be somewhere else, like in the yard.

"Yes, this is Emiya."

"Hey Emiya. It seems you're absent again today. Are you sick or something?"

As soon as I pick up.

I hear Shinji's voice, mixed with hidden laughter.

"Shinji? Do you want something? I don't think there's anything to talk about."

"Don't be angry. I just called to tell you something."

"…Tell me something…?"

"Yeah. There's something I needed to tell you, but you never came to school.

I don't want to wait any longer and I can't stand it, so I contacted you. …So, is Tohsaka there?"

…Shinji's tone is strange.

I can't tell much from just his voice, but he sounds like he's really excited or pressured.

I can hear students in the background, so he must still be at school.

It's past two. It must be break time right after the fifth period.

"Hey, I'm asking you, Emiya. Is Tohsaka there or not?"[r]

"…She's not here right now. She's gone at the moment."

"Oh, that's great. I wanted to talk just between us. ――I'll tell you something good, so come to school now. Keep it a secret from Tohsaka, of course."

"―――――"

I don't know how to answer.

Shinji is acting strange, and anyway, we're already talking.

There's no need to go to school, and going there without telling Tohsaka would mean betraying her.

"――No. I'm sorry, but I can't go to school. If you have some business with me, wait until next week. I'll go back to school after the weekend."

"…Huh? What are you being so selfish for?

That's too late. I just told you I can't wait any longer…!"

Shinji screams at me.

He must be excited as I can hear his heavy breathing even over the phone.

"Hold on. Calm down, you're acting weird. I don't know what happened, but――"

"…Huh. I guess you're thinking a bit. You're right, there's no way you'd come by yourself now. This call sounds too strange no matter how you take it. I guess even you found it strange."

Completely changing, he laughs.

"Ahahahaha! Don't lie, Emiya. It's Tohsaka, she would have told you everything. You don't have to hide it. You're right, you're Saber's Master. That means you're a better murderer than I am…!"

Shinji sounds cheerful.

…I've known him for five years now, but I've never seen him this high.

"No, even Fuji-Nee would get mad if I was late. And if I go there for only the sixth period, I get the feeling I'd be scolded more than if I skipped the whole day."

"Shinji, you…"

"Anyways, I'll be waiting at school. Hurry up, Emiya. You should make it in time for sixth period if you leave now. It's Fujimura's class, so there won't be a problem if you're late."

"That's your own fault. Oh, and if you tell Tohsaka, I'll really end our friendship. I let you go about Sakura until now. You can at least fulfill your duty as a friend in the end, right?"

The conversation ends there.

The phone is repeating a boring beeping sound.

He seems distraught after being refused by Tohsaka last night, and he might hit Sakura again if I leave him be.

"――What's with him?"

…But what should I do?

I haven't been able to find Tohsaka in the house, and if I'm going to school, I can't take Saber.

Still, I'm worried what Shinji will do if I refuse his invitation.

"…Right. It's still light out, so there should be no problems."

If that's decided, I should hurry.

I'll make it for sixth period if I run.

There's no one at the school gates.

As it's classtime, it looks from outside like the school is empty.

There must not be any PE classes at the moment, as nobody is out in the yard either.

Well, this will all change in a little while.

School's over once sixth period ends.

The schoolyard and the gate should be filled with students.

I reach the third floor.

Of course, the hallway is empty as well.

Class is in session, and it feels a bit awkward walking to class C like this.

"…Well, it's not like I'm completely visible, so let's hurry to the classroom."

Class C is down the hallway.

This class by the stairs is class H, so I'll have to walk past five classes to get there――

"Eh――?"

The dizziness hits me suddenly.

It attacks my whole body with nausea.

"Ha――guh."

My stomach crawls around.

My senses are reversed.

My vision is filled with crimson.

As if blood has seeped into my eyes, everything in my vision tints red.

"Ha――ah, guh…!!"

The temperature hasn't changed, but my body is strangely hot.

"――What… is this――!?"

My feet tremble.

I can't put any power into my body.

I'm weakening like an hourglass, unable to stop it.

It's as if I'm breathing out my insides with every breath.

"Kuh, …!"

I'm suffocating.

My throat hurts.

Could it be that the oxygen has disappeared from the hallway, no, from the whole school?

As if urged by my gasping lungs, I lean against the wall and open the window unconsciously.

"Wha――?"

My mind freezes.

The scale of the situation erases even my confusion.

Outside the window.

Around the schoolyard is a field of red.

It's as if only this school is cut out, surrounded by a red world.

The school building is an altar covered by a red canopy.

And with that, finally…

I understand that this is "that kind of a thing".

"――!"

I move away from the window.

Holding my wobbling legs firm with my will, I enter the classroom in front of me.

Inside is the result.

There are no students sitting in their chairs.

All the students are on the floor, and the teacher that was probably standing on the platform is lying on the ground as well.

――They are still breathing.

Everyone is convulsing as if asking for help.

There are no fatalities yet.

It's just that they don't have the power to stand up, and they'll soon rot away.

Seeing their miserable condition on the floor…

…I even think that they look like scattered garbage.

"Ah――guh――"

My nausea gets stronger.

But I deal with it calmly.

I observe the students on the floor.

Even though it's hard to breathe, it doesn't mean they can't breathe.

If they are only weakened, I can still save them if I hurry.

And the instant I check the face of a student nearby, a sound goes click inside my head.

"――The… skin…"

It's melting.

Not everyone, though.

There must be individual differences, as the most weakened students are starting to have their skin melt away.

Oozing.

Inflamed arms like a keloid, and eyes that look like that of a dead fish.

"―――――"

I know this.

I know a scene like this.

"―――――Stop."

This is just hell.

I know it from a long time ago.

"―――――So, stop."

And so, eclipsing fear,

Anger overtakes my body.

"…!"

My left arm throbs.

The Command Spell on my hand tells me an "enemy" is nearby.

"Hah, ah…!"

I run, still breathing hard.

My mind has already gone insane.

"Hey Emiya. Thank God you look better than I thought.

How is it? Do you like this idea?"

Across the hallway.

Matou Shinji is standing right in front of class C.

My arm throbs.

The Command Spell tells me that the man standing there is the cause of this.

"――This is your doing, Shinji?"

Unable to breathe properly, I stand there and glare at Shinji's distant figure.

…He must really like how I'm acting.

Shinji spreads his arms exaggeratedly and laughs aloud in the red hallway.

"That's right. I knew you were here, so I quickly activated the boundary field. I had trouble getting the right timing, you know? You'd have run away if I did it too early, and we'd have met up if I did it too late.

As for me, I wanted to see you go pale, so I didn't want to make this too simple."

"――I see. So you were lying about having something to talk about."

"Talk? That starts now. I have to show Tohsaka which one of us is superior, and I also have to apologize for lying to you.

See, I didn't tell you, but I'm the one that set up the boundary field at school."

Ahahaha, Shinji laughs cheerfully.

"―――――"

That…

Makes me realize from the bottom of my heart.

"Huh? You're not as surprised as I thought you'd be. What, I told you the boundary field wasn't mine, but I guess you didn't believe me. …Haha, that's great. That means for once, even you didn't believe someone!"

His laugh drills into my skull.

"―――――"

I'll make this clear, but I'm surprised enough.

I was only prepared for the discovery that the Master who constructed the boundary field was either Shinji or this other Master.

"…Shinji, why did you set up something like this? Were you lying when you said you had no intention of fighting?"

That's all.

This is the result of the optimistic view.

Back then――as soon as I figured out Shinji was a Master, I should have settled this matter.

So this is my mistake.

"…I see. But Tohsaka said the boundary field needed a few more days' preparation. Was her estimate wrong?"

"Nope, it's true, isn't it? I didn't intend to activate it either. This was only for negotiation.

If I set a bomb, Tohsaka won't attack me so readily, and it can be my trump card in case something happens."

"Heh, I knew she'd think like that. The boundary field is not complete, but its shape is already there, you know? There's no problem just activating it.

Well, the effect is lower because of that. It should take at least a few more minutes to kill anyone."

"Stop? Stop what? Don't tell me you're telling me to stop this boundary field. That'll be such a waste. I can't just stop something I've already started."

"――Stop."

The nausea has already gone away.

I say so, staring directly at Shinji.

"Stop. Do you know what you're doing?"

"――Hey. What about Fuji-Nee?"

"…You're annoying me. Are you ordering me around?

This is my power. The only one who can decide whether or not to stop it is me, and if you want it stopped, isn't it logical to at least kneel and beg to me?

Geez, you and Fujimura, you guys don't know your positions."

"Huh? Oh, Fujimura? She could move pretty well after I activated this boundary field. Everyone else was falling to the ground, but she was still wobbling, you know?

And she came to me, still upright, and told me to call for an ambulance. It's amazing, wouldn't you say she's a model teacher?"

"But I shouldn't call for something like that, and I don't even want to. That Fujimura kept clinging to me and it got annoying, so I kicked her and she ended up not moving at all!

Hahaha, in that state, I think she'll die first!"

"―――――"

I've switched over completely.

Tohsaka said something about pushing a switch in my head, but it's not like that.

Clang.

A hammer strikes in my head and the inside of my body completely changes.

"――This is your last warning. Stop the boundary field, Shinji."

"You don't get it, do you? The more you ask me, the less I feel like stopping the boundary field. If you dislike it so much, why don't you stop me by force?"

"――I see. Then it's simple."

So basically.

I need to stop him before I can stop this boundary field.

My body leaps.

My body is burning like a fire.

There's less than twenty meters between me and Shinji.

For me right now, that will only take an instant.

My body is full of energy vastly higher than when I have a Magic Circuit inserted in me.

"Ha, you really are stupid――!"

The shadow wiggles.

The shadow settled in the corner of the hallway starts to take form and move.

A sharp edge made of black.

Like a guillotine to cut anything that approaches Shinji.

"―――――"

I don't know what kind of magic it is.

There are three shadows.

With that number――

[thewolfisawake]

Agh, October was the worst. The one blackout period within the Bastion. It wasn't that Aspis didn't understand why. It was when there was so much supernatural stuff going on. Especially with the Veil getting thing around this time. But that didn't mean it wasn't a pain to be running around all month. Although he intended to meet with his friends when he could...after all, it was still the month of spooks and the high life of fall.

But at current, the hunter was trying to head for his next assignment. He could imagine someone nagging at him for putting everything so close but Aspis thought if he could get his quota for the week faster...then he might be able to chill. Or at least be a little more picky on what he wanted to do for the week.

So preoccupied, he didn't notice a body moving out until he collided with them. His hands gripped their arms to keep from falling, "Sorry!"

He had steadied them and prepared to run off again, when a hand gripped his as he heard a soft, "Like water, always in a hurry, Kai."

Aspis bristled under that name. It wasn't the same feeling as when Jasper had called him. There was an iciness that crawled up his being at it. He looked down at the person and a gasp left him.

There before him was Ioane Kamisarizuki...his grandfather. His lolo. His wrinkles parting with a gentle smile. Like the sea salt breeze he'd long since left. So many impossible things happened in his life that Aspis didn't found it difficult to believe. Hell, even the Bastion said that it was during this time that strange things could happen. But even knowing the possibility...it had never come for him. It had never happened.

But here before him...Aspis paled. His heart hammered in his chest as it pulsated agony that radiated across his being. Nausea and revulsion surged through him. His legs felt unsteady. Despite it being something so fervent in his heart for years...fear struck the hunter so mercilessly, he recoiled as if he'd been attacked.

A step back.

"Kai, please wait," Ioane said, sensing the trepidation from the boy. His hand that had finally held hands he had been unable to watch grow personally reached out.

Another step. Another. Before Ioane could grasp again, Aspis fled. Despite the uneasiness in his limbs and the constriction in his lungs. Pain was nothing new after all. But that. That was and despite thinking he was ready...he felt anything but.

Ioane helplessly could only watch and sigh, "I hope Noelani faired better..."

--

"JASPER LEE, OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR!" Noelani roared from the other side. Nathan had already backed off, finding it futile to stop her now. Although he did call, "She already full named you, you might wanna reconsider, mate."

From the other side, Jasper could only think of how much trouble she was causing. Yelling and cussing. He could only think it had to be Noelani. But there was no way. Kai himself said that they had not survived. Maybe he was wrong? Maybe he was just experiencing a long hallucination about it all? Or maybe it was a ghost. And if that was the case, he was not about to let that into his house.

"I got a 50/50 shot at actually hitting you," Jasper remarked, "maybe you'd want to reconsider."

"Are you serious? You'll shoot us?" Noelani said incredulously.

"Please don't," Nathan chided, "it'd actually put us in the hospital. C'mon Jas, what do we have to do to convince you we're here? That we're really here?"

Jasper pondered. What would they have to do? They were already here. Their voices, even Noelani's rage, brought heartache to the mercenary. He feared himself if he saw them personally. He could let his stony heart crack any further...

"...your last bid to get me to stay," Jasper said, "the last time...I ever saw you...what did you say to me?"

Nathan breathed, recalling that night of heartbreak and pleading. Truly, the last time they had ever seen Jasper. At least until now. And it was that thought that allowed him to say, "...come the rising tides, the devastating storms, even the rage of the cauldron of ash and flame, we would weather it all with you."

...and Jasper could only regret that he could never do that for them.

The door swung open.

[runner-owen]

cw: discussions of Victorian period inspired sex work, specifically underage [teen] sex work, intense values dissonance between our time and the Victorians. I don't know what to tag this as, sorry in advance. Reader discretion recommended.

If there was safety in the arms of the Goddess, there was security in the walls of the Palace Mysterie. High walls, where discreet discussions far less polite or proper happened than any Aurum entertained inside or out. There his friends with chilled glasses of spirits in hand awaited him, eager for the news of his personal quest. And what stories did he have to tell.

"Well!" Said Lord Allen Brynte as the door closed. "Seems you are in some intense spirits, Aurum. How did your trip go?"

Perhaps the light in his eyes burned too bright, perhaps he tossed his top hat aside too strong, for when he looked at them, the men assembled sat up straight, with expressions of almost youthful eagerness.

"A disappointment!" Aurum said. "I would have done better to stay inside in the warmth."

"What did you see?" Lord Talbot James asked, handing Aurum a square glass full of amber liquor.

"Nothing I did not already know," Aurum said, settling into his preferred chair. "Battlenew has not changed, nor has the poor fellow his wife assigned to him before her death. Their papers churn out the same drivel they always have, and their columnist "Quiet A" is no more secretive about her identity than she ever has been."

The men mumbled, looked between each other, flashes of disgust and disapproval crossing on their faces.

"And what of the boy?" Sir Dartling Sonne leaned forward. "The Rosedown child."

Now Aurum paused, thinking. He took a sip and let the burn of it fill his words.

"A child," he said, narrowing his eyes. "As if any who lived on the streets of Ripper's Alley could retain any innocence." He shook his head, his gaze turning to the bleak darkness through the window across from him. "And plucked from the muck by who he was, with such a sweet face, I've no doubt what his nature is."

"A jam tart?" Someone said, "At fifteen years?"

"Old as one could start, with the new laws," another said. "Unlikely to have been with any much older than he. The Sanctum youth pass money between each other for all types of entertainment. He will find some fellow and abandon such ways as he ages. We cannot expect them to understand good values from the start, not without good mothers and good teachers."

"Good mothers indeed, if he is so sweet-faced," Talbot James said. "Lord Aurum, can something be done?"

"For his sake?" Aurum raised a brow. "Or for mine?"

"Well, if he's guided by Battlenew as mentor - both!"

Aurum looked to the window again as the conversation stirred. Battlenew certainly stood a lot to lose in this trial. Society tolerated him and his strange ways, his peculiar beliefs. He would preach, of course, that the boy under his care was just an innocent - but was he?

If he ordered the boy to be checked for venereal diseases under the law, then that would solve many issues. None would even have to know he'd planted it in the ears if the judge. But the thought of anyone, youth or adult, being put through such a cruel thing, with painful restraints and cold fingers and laughing onlookers… it turned his stomach.

Aurum knew the shivering caverns of his heart better than any other. Even still, he had limits.

"Lord Aurum, what of you?" Another voice said. Aurum looked from the window.

"What do you mean?"

"What will you do with the boy? What would you do with him, if you could?"

That gave him pause. Him? What was he supposed to do with that runt?

"If the stories are true," another said, "then he is certainly wasted, wandering from bed to bed."

"If they are," said a third. Someone chuckled.

Aurum tapped his free fingers on the arm of the chair. What would he do? What could he do? Enlist the boy into the Knight Hunters? He'd find use there but it would be no different from what he knew on the streets. Pull strings, find him an apprenticeship? But who knew what substandard education he'd been given?

With his reputation and face, Aurum knew, the runt would have no troubles as a courtesan. The whole elite would flock to experience him. But he'd not yet begun the potions to transform his body. What would he become as his appearance shifted from a girl's youth to a man's maturity?

"I'll see what I can do, for him," Aurum said. "Perhaps it is the least I can do. I will show no kindness in this trial."

The answer seemed to please his friends. They smiled, conversation shifting as the spirits flowed. Of course, Aurum took another. And when he looked out the window again, his thoughts did not go back to the boy. In the reflection of the glass, Aurum watched his eyes narrow.

The real challenge of the trial was not the prosecution. It was, and would be for humanity forever, the circling steps of the vampires and the hungry smile of the Scarred Man. 

---

*A few notes: 'Jam tart' is Victorian slang for a prostitute. A lot of this is taken from the books on the Victorian period I've read for research. The age of consent at the beginning of the period was 13, but was upped to 15 after a horrific and possibly sensationalized news story was released about what we'd consider human trafficking of children as young as 8. It was only after the Victorian period that it was bumped up to 18. Prostitution was extremely common among people we'd consider minors during the period. According to Ruth Goodman, iirc, for many working class women, they'd become prostitutes in their teens and marry in their mid to late 20s or early 30s. It was just part of the life cycle of the working class women. Most were completely independent, at most renting a room out instead of using their own homes. Life was hard but for a lot of them, factory work was harder. That said, from what I remember reading, teens hung out with teens and adults with adults, so to speak. Even back then, people didn't like pedophiles. I actually probably could've given the men in this scene harsher perspectives on all this, and maybe in a published draft I will. However, while it was railed against on all the pulpits and in all the papers, men of the period slept with prostitutes and had a lot of mistresses and there was nothing their wives, present or future, could do about it. I don't even want to get into the examination of prostitutes for STDs in the time period. I will, eventually, and how I plan to draw parallels between it and modern day transphobia, but not right now. I don't have the time.

This is why I made that post earlier about how the Victorian period was fucked up. It's so fucked up. But the gothic has a tradition of exploring the taboo and what we'd find morally disgusting. It doesn't often approve of those things, but it does make us look at them. So I guess this is par for the course for the genre.

[beatrice-reden-official]

Ever since she was a child She always knew how to get her way Just act a little bit wild And someone will surely come to play

^Ok for this like. She canonically started going insane over australium as a little girl. Right.^

It's a truth she took to heart But humility and patience didn't come with age She's born to play this part A diva's always center stage

^Two things. Because like she is the controller, she dictates a lot of what happens and has been pulling strings for a very very long time. But you could also take center stage literally as she is the bridge between RED and BLU, making her. The center.^

Toddler's cries that grow louder and louder Relishing in untestable power Glowing red in a black and white scene The one and only candle queen

^Ok so like. Again she has been pulling strings, she has almost everyone invloved with Mann CO. under her thumb (Untestable power) and like. Glowing red in a black and white scene. You know. Colour stuff)

Stoking the flames that burn higher and higher Royalty with a crown of fire Setting ablaze an extravagant scene The one and only candle queen

^And like she is referred to as "pitting two gravel magnates against each other". She's continuing this battle for her own benefit, or you could say "stoking the flames".

Addicted to adrenaline And always looking for attention Thought to be so genuine When she's suddenly met with apprehension

^I don't have muuuch for this but you know. You know.

The fighting has begun And she'd do anything to get ahead Like using people as ladder rungs And sweeping eggshells under the bed

^Again this is just what she does. She's the one assigning the Mercs things to do, she's the one keeping this fighting going even if it means hurting people as she does so because she needs to maintain her power. This could also tie into after the fall of Mann Co, where's she still getting people to fight for her.

Ah, but theres hope for you still Before it all comes unfurled Ah, you just need to chill It's not the end of the world

^I honestly relate this part to when she's dying because she can't have access to australium anymore, and Engineer is trying to, y'know, comfort her

She just can't help but be this way She lost her true self long ago Now all her friends have been pushed away Because a caricature is all they know

^Uhhhhhh yeah you get it

Toddler's cries that grow louder and louder Everyone rushing to disavow her All alone in a black and white scene The one and only candle queen Hurt by the flames that burn higher and higher Clutching a broken crown of fire All alone in the final scene The one and only candle queen

What a pity, that candle queen

^I would like to reiterate for these last lyrics. She is dying during the comics. She's losing her power, and she still has debts to pay. She's losing. Yeah. Yeah.

HOLY SHIT YOU UNDERSTAND. EVERYTHING QJKWQKKWQK YEAJ YEAH-bibi

[the-very-rubiest]

I've been thinking about a cute lil fic where someone in the audience holds a asexual or aromantic flag and that's how maybe joel or aleksi find out that that's a thing you can be and figures out that he is normal after all and there's other people feeling the same

Hey anon, so I've had this ask chilling in my inbox for a while now, bouncing back and forth in my head a little with some disjointed ideas. I'm definitely not gonna write it, and this is not at all what you requested (tonally), but some thoughts:

First of all, I can't imagine them recognizing the flags at a glance so the first thing that happens in my head is that someone bumps into the person holding the flag and goes, "What country is that? I don't know the flag—Joonas, you know all the flags. What flag is that?" (Joonas: "Uh, I don't think that's a country flag…") Cue laughter from the fans in question and an explanation, which leads to:

"What's that?" More explanation. Explanation processing, please hold. And this is where I deviate from your idea, anon, because as common an experience as the "I'm normal after all" feeling is, I'm also a big fan of the "Wait a minute, people are feeling WHAT? I thought everyone was exaggerating!"

Definitely not because I had that experience, no no.

Results would still be the same, a whole lot of introspection and feelings of "huh, I guess that makes sense" and finally a better understanding and acceptance of yourself. I just uh…had to be funny about it. Sorry.

(More serious thoughts under the cut because this is kind of a touchy subject.)

That said, I can see your scenario happening especially re: Joel and the aro flag. Regardless of his actual identity (which we don't know and can't speculate on), Mr. "I don't know what love is" definitely has a difficult enough relationship with romance to at least question if the label might fit him after learning about it. What happens from there, I shall leave to an author who's more comfortable writing about all this because TBH I'm always iffy about fanworks assigning identities to real people, no judgment to people who do, it just feels a bit risky to me. Ship fic I don't mind as much because it's more of a silly little what-if scenario and less focused on something this personal, does that make sense?

(But also, as an asexual myself who has encountered quite a few oblivious aspecs in my lifetime…you ever hear someone talk and wonder if you should alert them to the existence of the ace/aro spectrum, just in case? Like "Hey, you good over there or do you need some vocabulary?" because regardless of their actual orientation, people can only benefit from having that info to help understand themselves. So…I'm not saying someone should actually take one for the team and wave an aro flag in his face buuuuuut—?)