#No one will however make me sit through a bad drama

[dixons-sunshine]

A Healing Touch | Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Summary: Being sick was never fun. Steve hated being sick. However, having you to nurse him back to health was a bonus in his ill state.

Genre: Fluff.

Warnings: Swearing, sickness, coughing, fevers.

Word count: 1k

A/N: I had this idea this morning and had to write it. For some reason, I love writing sick fics with different characters lol. I’m currently working through requests, though, and will have one ready to be posted tomorrow!

Steve groaned in pain as he turned over onto his back. His entire body ached all over, and his head was pounding like he had just bashed it against a wall. “Kill me now.”

Your soft laughter was like music to the Harrington boy’s ears. “I think you’re over exaggerating just a little bit, don’t you?”

“No,” Steve denied whilst shaking his head, instantly regretting it when it only accentuated the throbbing against his skull. “No, I’m serious. Please kill me. Put me out of my misery. I beg you.” A small smile spread across his face when your laughter filled the air once more. “What?”

“I think you should think about becoming an actor one day. Your drama was spot on.” You approached his bed and sat down on the edge, gingerly dabbing at his forehead with the wet cloth you had gotten from the bathroom. The sigh of pure relief he let out was enough to make you smile. “Good?”

“Very good,” he confirmed with a slight nod, shutting his eyes at the cooling feeling against his feverish head.

You gently laid the cloth to rest on his forehead, standing up again to grab the medicine you had collected from the bathroom cabinet—some Tylenol and ibuprofen, along with a glass of water. You would have to leave to go buy something for his scratchy throat later that day. At that moment, however, you would attempt to nurse him to the best of your abilities.

“Sit up for me, Stevie,” you instructed him in a soft tone of voice, walking back over to the bed and taking your spot on the edge.

With great effort, and a few overdramatic whines thrown in just to make you smile, Steve complied with your request. He pushed himself into a seated position, the washcloth falling from his forehead and onto his lap. However, he ignored it for the time being, instead wordlessly accepting the two pills from you, downing them both with the water you handed him.

Steve grimaced at the aftertaste of the medications. “Ugh,” he voiced, smacking his lips a few times in an attempt to rid himself of the taste. “That’s really gross.”

“Seriously?” you laughed and shook your head. “You can handle that nasty tasting cough syrup but this is gross to you?”

Steve let out a small gasp of mock offense, but he could not keep up the facade for long. He chuckled and shrugged nonchalantly. “What? It really doesn’t taste that bad.”

You brought your palm up to touch his forehead and nodded to yourself. “Yup. It’s definitely not just the fever. There’s just something wrong with you.”

Steve laughed and leaned his head back against the headboard, his laughter soon being replaced by a small coughing fit. He quickly leaned forward again and coughed into his elbow, his body wracking at the exertion.

All jokes instantly flew from your mind. You moved closer to him and gently began rubbing his back, hoping to alleviate some of the pain you knew he must have been feeling. Your heart ached for your boyfriend. He rarely got sick to this extent, but when he did, it always got bad. It broke your heart to see him like this.

When his coughing fit finally came to an end, Steve sighed shakily and leaned to rest his head on your shoulder. He closed his eyes at the feeling of your fingers slipping into his hair, savouring the way it brought comfort to him. He could have fallen asleep like that.

“So tell me, Doc,” Steve spoke up hoarsely. “What’s the verdict after that assessment? Am I gonna make it?”

You laughed lightly at his comment, appreciating the way he attempted to lighten the mood despite his current state. “I don’t know, Mr Harrington,” you began, choosing to play along with his joke. “This is a serious case. We might have to consider surgery.”

“Fuck,” he groaned playfully, wrapping his arms around you and tugging you closer to him, smiling at your soft giggles. “Are there any other options, Doctor? I have to admit that the thought of surgery is downright terrifyin’.” He pulled back slightly to peer at you, a goofy, lopsided smile on his face. “How well do alternative medicine work? I’ve been told that girlfriend kisses are amazin’ at healin’.”

“Hmm. I’m not too sure, but I guess it’s always worth a try, right?” You smiled and pressed a kiss against his warm forehead, before leaning back and looking at him again. “How do you feel?”

“So much better,” he joked, playfully pinching your side. He inhaled sharply and fought against the urge to start coughing again. “You have a healing touch. I told—I told y—”

Despite his best efforts, he lost the fight. Another fit wracked through his aching body. You once again gently rubbed Steve’s back, pressing one, two, three kisses against his bare shoulder. Thankfully they subsided quicker than the last ones had, and you were grateful for that.

“I think you should try to get some sleep,” you suggested, urging him to lie down by gently pushing against his chest.

Steve made zero protest. He lay down on his bed, his head falling against his pillow. “Sleep sounds great,” he admitted quietly.

You brushed his hair back with your fingers, before cupping his cheek in your hand. “Go to sleep, Steve. It’s okay.”

“What about you? What are you gonna do?” he questioned.

“I’m gonna run to the pharmacy real quick and go get something for your throat.” You pressed another kiss against his forehead, before pushing yourself up from the bed. “I’ll be back when you wake up.”

“You promise?”

His voice was so soft when he asked that. When you looked at him again, you could see the way he looked at you with silent adoration, love, and appreciation. You smiled at him and nodded.

“I promise. I’ll be back before you know it,” you said sincerely. “I love you, Stevie.”

The smile he sent your way gave you butterflies. “I love you more.”

[drtwit]

Random Fic Idea

Since I've been seeing more people reading this post, just a heads up: the fic has been made.

______________________________________________________________

You know, we have a lot of 'Villain Chat Noir' AU fics, but is there any that have it be positive?

Like, Adrien getting to work along side his father actually leads to more father/son bonding because their villain identities are both goofy drama queens who finally found something they have in common. As well as both having outlets for the frustration of what they have to pretend to be in their real lives.

In the day time, Gabriel is sitting in his office, lecturing Adrien about upholding the Agreste name and dolling out his strict schedule. By night, Hawkmoth and Chat Noir are hold up in the lair, brainstorming puns and quips while Chat gently tells him to stop akumatizing Mr. Pigeon.

Their version of a fishing trip is stealing from the Dupain Bakery. "We're rich, can't we just pay?" "No, because we're evil." *Chat proceeds to leave money on the counter anyway.*

Gabriel coldly reprimands Adrien for getting anything less than an A, while Hawkmoth akumatizes the teacher who dared give his son a B+.

Ladybug is like 'Oh my god, there's two of them.' as Chat and Hawkmoth synchronise their team rocker-ass intro speeches and Mayura's just shaking her head because she has to live with these two goobers.

Gabriel's making a snobbish speech about those damn hooligans wasting their time with silly shenanigans, all while Adrien's resisting the urge to laugh 'cus Hawkmoth akumatized a baby yesterday and spent half of the fight trying to get the baby to pronounce his name right.

Master Fu wonders what horrors the villains are putting his innocent kwamis through, and it just cuts to Nooroo and Plagg dropping the beat.

Chat: *Starts helping old ladies across the street.* Hawkmoth: I knew that Marinette Dupain Cheng was a bad influence on you!

Adrien in the middle of class having a heart attack as an akuma flies straight into the window trying to get his attention. Adrien: Father, now is not the time! Hawkmoth: I just- I just- I just want to check if Chloe's pissed anyone else off yet. Adrien: Didn't Nathalie say no akumatizing until you finish your paperwork? Hawkmoth: She's not the boss of- Nathalie: Gabriel, I can hear you monologuing from the dining room. You better not be interrupting Adrien's education! Hawkmoth: Gotta go!

Adrien: Father, can you not akumatize one of my friends for five minutes?

Hawkmoth: Young man, what do you think you're doing? Plagg: Don't panic, Kid. Show him who's boss. We don't take grief from anybody. Adrien: I'm r-rebelling, Father. You don't own me! Hawkmoth: I do, however, own all of Plagg's cheese. Plagg: ...Okay, Kid, let's think about this-

[torakowalski]

Swimmer Steve has reached summer 1988 and is inching closer to become Olympic Swimmer Steve!

I've got a confession. When I checked where the Olympic swimming trials were in 1988, the site I found told me Indianapolis. So I wrote this part! But then I double checked and it turns out the 1992 trials were Indianapolis but the 1988 ones were Austin. HOWEVER, it's too late, so pls accept this tiny deviation from reality.

(part one | part five)

"This is so fucking cool," Gareth yells in Eddie's ear, over all the different noises crashing around the natatorium.

"Yeah?" Eddie says, way more pleased than he wants to let on. He doesn't know why Gareth's here, but they all are: Gareth and Jeff and Chris, plus Robin and all Steve's kids.

Wayne's sitting further back with Mrs Henderson, away from some of the noise, but he's here too.

"Hell, yeah." Gareth grins at him. "How many times can you say you've seen someone you know audition for the Olympics?"

"It's not called auditioning," Chris says, elbowing him.

"It is, if you want to annoy Steve," Eddie tells him. He thinks it goes without saying that he always wants to annoy Steve.

It's blind luck that the Olympic swimming trials are happening in Indianapolis. Sure, Steve acted like it was no big deal, and said he didn't expect anyone to come, but Eddie knows how goddamn delighted he is that everyone's made it here for the second day.

Eddie's pleased too, of course he is, but he did kind of enjoy yesterday when it was just him here for the heats. Sue him, but he gets Steve to himself so often that he's maybe forgotten how to share.

There's some shuffling from further down the row of seats, and then Gareth gets shoved out the way and Dustin takes his place.

"Who are our main competitors?" he asks, looking at Eddie expectantly. He's got a notebook out and everything, like he's gonna come up with a plan to take them down.

Eddie starts to answer and realises that the rest of Steve's gang are listening in too. It dawns on him that he's the expert here. He's the one who's been up and down the country, going to meets with Steve, and he knows about this shit now.

He never thought he'd willingly learn anything about a sport, and even less that he'd admit to knowing anything, but it turns out you'll do a lot of unexpected shit when you're head over heels for a jock.

Even a straight jock. Even one who's been nothing but sweet about his stupid crush.

Speaking of which, here he comes now, golden skin and black speedos, standing out from the rest of the hopefuls, at least to Eddie.

"What happened to his chest hair?" Lucas asks, from one of the seats in front of Eddie. Their little Hawkins gang is really taking up a lot of this stadium.

"Right?" Max mutters, sounding disappointed.

Eddie tips forward to lean in between them. "He has to wax. Legs too."

"Ow," says Lucas, shuddering. "What's wrong with staying hairy?"

"You didn't say that when you asked why I hadn't shaved," Max says.

Lucas throws up his hands. "I didn't mean it that way! I've said I'm sorry and that I didn't mean it that way!"

It sounds like an old argument. The only bad thing about spending all his time with Steve these days, is that they miss a lot of the kids' day to day dramas. The ones that are too small to get relayed to them over the phone, anyway.

He knows Steve feels that too. He's planning to have a real break back home, after the Olympics. If he makes it to the Olympics. Fuck, Eddie hopes he makes it to the Olympics.

There's a buzz down below by the pool, everyone lining up for the first semi-final. Backstroke first. One of Steve's favourites.

"Okay," Eddie says, and takes a deep breath. "Here we go."

Steve makes it through all his semis easily, which Eddie had known he would, but had still panicked about.

There's a break before the finals, but Eddie unexpectedly can't make himself move. He's too keyed up, so tense and nervous for Steve that it's gone all the way around in a circle and frozen his legs.

"He's doing great!" Dustin says, easy and relaxed, because he's not worried. Whether Steve believes it or not, Dustin thinks he can do anything.

"Yeah." Eddie nods. "Yeah. Yeah, really great."

Dustin frowns at him. "... isn't he?"

Fuck, now Eddie is infecting other people with his anxiety. That's not cool. "He is doing so great," he says. "Like, fucking fantastic." He grins at Dustin, wide enough that he feels it stretch the scar on his cheek that doesn't move as easily as the rest of his face.

"So what's wrong with you?" Dustin asks.

If it was anyone else, except Wayne and maybe Gareth, Eddie would deny anything being wrong at all. But he and Dustin are bonded by like, bats and death and shit. So instead, he finds himself admitting, "He just wants this so bad. It's gonna shatter him, if he doesn't qualify."

"But he will," Dustin says. He grins crookedly at Eddie. "It's cute how much you care about him getting what he wants."

"Shut the fuck up," Eddie tells him, but affectionately.

They grab lunch while the 1500 metres guys do their semis, and they're back before the 50 metre finals.

Steve doesn't do 50 metres, says it's too short to be interesting, but Eddie thinks there's something cool about watching people whizz along down one length then be done. The fact that he enjoys races that Steve isn't even in is no good for his cred and not something he's gonna tell anyone.

Two minutes before Steve's first final, Robin drops into the seat next to Eddie. She doesn't say anything, just reaches out and clutches his hand.

Since he knows exactly how she feels, he just clutches back.

Steve qualified third fastest out of all the semi-finalists for this one, so he's in a decent, middle lane. He's easy to spot in his yellow swim cap, amongst all the reds and blacks.

"I'm gonna throw up," Robin says conversationally.

"Yup," Eddie agrees.

It's backstroke again first, so the swimmers all get into the water before the start. It feels like it's happening in slow motion, which might be because Eddie isn't breathing.

The whistle blows and they're off. It's a 200 metre race, so four lengths. Steve keeps up easily for the first length, is slightly ahead at the start of the second, but he falls behind just, just slightly right before the turn for the third.

Robin's fingernails digging into the back of Eddie's hand are all he can feel.

"Go Steve!" Max yells, followed a second later by the rest of the kids.

But Eddie already knows it's too late, Steve pushed himself too fast too early and he's not gonna catch up.

He finishes fifth. And, like, that makes him the fifth fastest guy in America in the backstroke, but fifth isn't gonna get him a spot at the Olympics.

"It's okay," Eddie hears himself saying, because the kids look kind of stunned. "It's okay, backstroke's done, we move on. He's still got three more finals; he just needs to place first or second in one of those. It's totally okay."

"What if it's not?" Robin hisses.

"Then I'm gonna cry."

She nods. "I'll join you."

Eddie watches as Steve drags himself out of the pool. He stands for a minute, then follows the others back to the changing rooms, without looking up at the stands.

He finishes third in the butterfly.

He comes second in the breaststroke, but it's a joint second, tied with some guy from Nebraska, and Eddie just doesn't know if that will be enough. What he really needs is a win.

"He's better than this," Robin says, voice hoarse from yelling Steve's name. "He is, right? He's been winning all his other meets."

"He's nervous. He's tensing up." Eddie wants to go down there and do something, anything to make Steve believe he can still do this.

It's late by the time the swimmers troop back out for the breaststroke final. Eddie's tired just from watching, he can't imagine how they all feel.

Steve's last out because he won this semi-final. He's the favourite for this one, but even across the distance between them, it's easy to see he's still frustrated with himself from the other races.

"Everyone cheer," Eddie orders before jumping up and fucking, whooping. Making a fool of himself at a sports event? He never thought he'd see the day.

Steve sees him then sees the kids join him and laughs, his whole body relaxing. He waves, waves again.

"Knock 'em dead, Harrington!" Eddie yells and ignores the looks he gets from the other families dotted around.

"Drown them!" Dustin yells, which makes Steve cover his face with his hands, but probably to hide his laughter rather than his dispair.

"He's gonna do it," Robin says. "He's got to."

Eddie sinks back into his seat, and can't say anything.

They line up, Steve dead centre this time. The whistle blows.

Steve's dive is beautiful, sends him nearly half way down the pool before he has to come up for air. He makes the first tumble turn ahead of everyone else, and then he's unstoppable. It's like he's been waiting for this moment, like everything has kicked into place.

He's in the lead for the second length, the third. A guy from California starts to creep up on him half way down the last length and Eddie has a second to think this is all gonna get snatched away, but it turns out Steve's not gonna let it.

He puts on a burst of speed that looks superhuman, fucking shoots himself through the water, leaves everyone in his wake and slaps his hand down on the end two maybe three strokes ahead of everyone else.

Their section erupts.

Dustin and Gareth and Robin all hug Eddie, like he's somehow had anything to do with this. Over their shoulders, he can see Wayne and Mrs Henderson cheering as loud as the rest of them.

He kisses Robin's cheek, says, "You're crying."

"Damn right, I am," she sniffs. She pats her hand against his cheek. "So are you."

"Huh," says Eddie, who hadn't noticed. "Your boy done good."

"Our boy," Robin says, "is going to the Olympics. You should say congrats to him with a kiss."

Eddie snorts. "Maybe I will," he says, knowing he won't. Steve doesn't want that. "Maybe I will."

(continued)

[starlightandfairies]

Ok ok I really love you! That's the last request hahaha I don't wanna annoy you ❤️ I had this somehow cute idea where you've fallen in love with him but he doesn't know and one time you get a little drunk with the girls, later deciding to grab a taxi to the Mikaelson house. Klaus is the one letting you in but Elijah already felt your presence and tries to keep you safe around Klaus, or as you start playing with their swords and stuff. Klaus watches with amusement at his brother taking care of a human girl and makes a comment like "better keep her before I do", and that wakes something in Elijah that he takes you to his room, just to keep you safe. You end up cuddled on top of him, admitting your love to him before falling asleep. He also realizes that he has feelings for you, but he decides to tell you properly in the morning when you wake up 😊😙

Description: A drunken reader leads to playful chaos between the Mikaelson brothers and feelings being revealed.

Warnings: she/her pronouns, drunkness, fluff, swearing

*Requests are open, please send through as many requests as you want, check my character list and requesting rules.*

Thank you so again for requesting! No! You're not annoying me! I'm really enjoying getting requests so don't feel bad! I hope you also enjoy this one!

Key: Y/N = Your Name, POV = Point of view

Word Count: 1,156

First Person's POV

Girls' night out was amazing, I haven't had a night like this in ages, away from all the drama and finally able to just relax with the girls and just be us. I knew I was getting tipsy, I could feel my giggles becoming more and more prominent than normal. The girls were going home, so I decided to head towards the Mikaelson house, I stood on the street hailing a taxi and stumbled into the vehicle once it arrived. I asked to be taken to the address, the walk to the porch of the Mikaelson resident seemed like an incredible challenge, I'm sure that to an outsider I just looked like a fawn learning to walk but I felt as if I was climbing Mount Everest. 

I giggled to myself as I fell against the door, I sucked in a breath, trying to pull myself together as I knocked waiting for someone to answer. I was surprised when it was Niklaus, I waved almost childishly, smiling brightly at the Hybrid who clearly seemed amused by my current state.

In all honesty, I have no clue how I ended up sword-fighting with Niklaus, however, somehow this is where we ended up. Sword fighting in the parlour. I highly recommend it, however, do take care. I grinned brightly seeing Elijah walking forward with his usual look of concern plastered on his face, however, once he was at my side he smiled. 

"Good evening, Y/n, I didn't realise you'd be joining us." 

"Spur of the moment type thing." I turned my attention back to Niklaus, continuing our little sword fight, I jumped as Elijah used his speed to appear in front of me, I grinned excitedly but quickly pouted as he took the sword off of me. 

"How about instead you sit with me, and tell me all about your night?" The pout faded away, I nodded in agreement, sitting on the sofa with him and instantly began rambling on about every little detail that went on tonight. I'm sure I shared details I wouldn't typically share in normal conversation, my filter was non-existent and oh, how I know that if I could watch myself right I would wish for it badly. 

"Am I okay to take my shoes off?" I questioned glancing down to the hells that were now becoming painful and unwanted. Elijah nodded, though, after watching my struggle he lightly took my hands and proceeded to continue to charm me with his gorgeous smile that drew me in the first time I saw him. 

"May I help you?" I nodded, frustrated with my inability to undo the damn straps on my shoes, Elijah kindly took my shoes off for me and rested them to the side. The vampire stared at me for a good minute, assessing my needs and whatever else that was needed to be assessed. 

"I'll be right back, I'll get you some water." I threw my arms around him, giggling happily, thanking him and plopped back into the couch. I waited patiently for both vampires to return, I fiddled with my hands, staring at everything in the room and running my finger over my lips making odd sounds just for the sake of it. 

Elijah's POV 

I began pouring some water, and getting some things prepared for Y/n knowing that in the morning the hangover would come, I wanted her to be okay and wanted her to be safe. So I was quite glad that Niklaus chose to follow instead of causing more havoc with Y/n. 

"You know, brother, you better sweep her up before I do." His smirk and words struck a chord. He knew of my feelings, Niklaus knew that I would do anything for her and knew that he would follow through on his words. I made my way back to the living room, stopping in my tracks seeing her laying upside down on the couch, he head on the floor and her legs dangling over the backrest of the sofa. 

I bit back the smile dying to show, I sat beside her, smiling as she waved happily and awkwardly twisted and turned trying to get back into an upright position. I took her hands, smiling as she rested her head on my shoulder and that gorgeous smile just permanetly stuck on her lips. 

"Come with me, will you, please?" Y/n nodded, taking my hand and following me to my room. I handed her the glass of water, watching as she plopped onto my bed finishing the glass of water within a gulp and began curling up underneath the blankets. 

'Would you lay with me, please? I couldn't refuse, I nodded and kicked off my shoes and rested besides her. I wrapped my arms around her as she began to lay upon me, her eyes were fluttering open and shut her words escaping in a mumble. 

"I love you, Elijah. I really love you. Like a lot. Super a lot." Before I could even deny anything, I could feel her swiftly fall asleep, I didn't want to disturb her, I didn't want this moment to end. I knew that in this moment I wanted to confess my feelings for her, so I thought it would be best to do so in the morning. 

First Person's POV 

As the light shined into the room, I knew my headache would be a bitch to deal with, I pushed myself up into a sitting positon in the boat. I stretched briefly, jumping slightly to see Elijah walking into the room with a glass of water and a packet of painkillers. 

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you." I whispered, sipping the water and taling the painkillers. Elijah sat on the bed besides me, I rested my head on his shoulder and began sharing my apology. 

"I'm so sorry, was I a complete mess?" 

"No, not at all." 

"You're a liar." I whispered. 

"You were just really giggly and silly. You told me you loved me- I don't know how much of that was true..." 

"That was true, I meant that." I confirmed, seeing there was no point in denying the fact that I loved him. Elijah sat in silence for a good moment, I could feeel my heart halt for a second fearing that his reaction cold be poor and that he would react in a way that ruin our friendship. 

"I love you too." He whispered, his eyes focused on me, I glanced to him surprised and shocked about the outcome of the confession. I smiled pushing myself up and grabbed ahold of his face. Looking to see if the noble vampire was lying to me, he grabbed my hands, his look gentle and comforting. I knew just then that it wasn't a lie and that this was all true. 

[demonslayedher]

Higher Stakes, Lower Tension: The Swordsmith Village Arc

Although we love it for a lot of the moments and how we got to know more characters through it, the Swordsmith Village Arc is not as popular as other arcs, and there was a lot less excitement for it compared to other arcs. I'd like to break down why I think that is, especially in comparison to the Entertainment District Arc, the tough act it had to follow.

Follow below the cut for: How lore was prioritized over momentum How setting and consequences trivialize hard-earned victories Drama and character arcs that feel incomplete How much deeper and more satisfying this arc had potential to go

Lore Over Momentum

This was an important arc. Setting aside the major accomplishment of ridding the world of two more Upper Moons, this arc was the impetus for everything that would come later, thanks to Nezuko's triumph over the sun at the very end. However, in the overall structure of the Kimetsu no Yaiba plot, this arc also laid important groundwork about Yoriichi, thereby making sense of many later developments that will come in the Infinity Castle and Sunrise Countdown arcs.

It was also a chance to develop on the importance of swords, which has been brought up on high-stakes occasions like when Tanjirou's sword breaks in battle against Rui or is at risk of breaking in battle against Daki. We learn more about the Corp and the lengths they go to in order to protect their source of swords, and Tanjirou makes it clear from the very start of the arc how reliant everyone is on the fact that these swords exist.

We know this, and for clarity's sake it is worth having Tanjiro state it both for what this says about Tanjiro and for how it brings a tidy and heartwarming resolution in his ongoing bouts of danger with Haganezuka, but it's hard to care about what is said instead of shown.

The danger the village was in was, actually, the highest-stakes battle we've seen thus far in the series. If the swordsmiths and all their know-how is wiped out, the battle again demons may be done for. But why are we not as worried for them as we were for the residents and customers of the pleasure quarters?

The Setting Lowers the Our Perception of the Stakes

This comes out in the emotions of the innocent bystanders, including and especially those heartlessly slaughtered. It's not so much because of a lack expressions of terror due to the swordsmith masks, for their body language and desperation to keep fighting and protecting the swords is clear. However, it's because they keep fighting that there is a certain stoicism that keeps us from feeling as bad for them.

This is something they always knew to expect, and they were prepared to live with the consequences of their mission.

The people of Yoshiwara, on the other hand, were simply trying to go about their nightly lives, and we taken completely off-guard by the attack. We can picture how much losing a hand is going to impact a proprietor's daily life, how traumatized a woman will be seeing her friend's head taken off right in front of her, and how even non-life threatening injuries were painful and cause for alarm with how much they bled. We see how their lives were turned completely upside-down within seconds.

On the hand, the swordsmiths buried the dead, and then scurried off to a shadow village, ready to keep working without many setbacks. The extra ending Ufotable gave this arc with the mourning swordsmiths taking time out of their busy moving process to go happily throw confetti still doesn't sit right with me for how it trivializes what happened instead of celebrating it.

While Yoshiwara is a well-known area now destroyed by enemies that usual lurk so deeply in the shadows that the many witnesses have always doubted their existence, in the Swordsmith Village every witness already knew the enemy, but no one knew the victims. Their tragedy is a hidden tragedy, and their annihilation would only have been known to a secret society.

This issue is similar to how storytellers often add somewhat obvious yet hard to picture tension about the fate of the world at stake, when something small and innocuous can be far more gripping because the stakes are easier to grasp and imagine. However, the scale of the stakes are not the only issue with building tension; the pacing is also an issue.

Lack of Narrative Build-Up

Previous arcs, especially the Entertainment District Arc, pulled this off really well. We go in knowing there will be a demon, but we don't know anything about this demon aside that Uzui's wives have gone no-contact, likely because of its interference. The arc deliver tidbits that give us the satisfaction of thinking this is it, we've found her, we've found the wives, we see she's dangerous, but then we're stunned to find out she's not even the one we should have been worried about all along.

Conversely, in the Swordsmith Village Arc, we know right away that these two are Upper Moons and they are coming. They have transformations throughout the battle that keep it challenging (at least in the case of Hantengu), but we never feel much of an elevated sense of danger or loss partway through.

Yes, we easily could have lost two Hashira that night, and it would have been devastating. However, we were quickly gratified to see their mid-battle recoveries. In Uzui's case we had to assume the worst, especially coming off the heels of losing Rengoku.

Speaking of our Hashira heroes...

Incomplete Hashira Arcs

The Mugen Train Arc was essentially Rengoku's full and, despite its brevity, very impactful character arc. Not even so much of an arc as a very loud statement of who he was.

The Entertainment District Arc, following on its heels, was like a call and response answer to the loss we and the Kamaboko boys felt. They get adopted as Tsuguko again, with more time to get to know and appreciate their mentor this time, one who is also still grappling with the loss of Rengoku and how to measure up to that. We also get a full look into the multiple sides of Uzui, from his past to his motivation to how he handles the biggest struggles, from the fear for his wives' to having to fight nearly to his death. The fact that we got to keep Uzui in some form, even if it is no longer in fighting form, felt earned and a relief.

On the other hand, we got important back story and got to know Muichirou and Mitsuri very well in this arc, but in a way that we the viewers had a physic link inside their heads instead of appreciating them through how they fight alongside Tanjirou. Tanjirou is of course amazed to see how Mitsuri fights, but as far as fearing for her safety is concerned, he saw her very quickly recover from the one fearsome hit before they parted ways on the battlefield.

Muichirou and Mitsuri both had surface-level interactions with Tanjirou without necessarily feeling a propensity to raise him like a Tsuguko, and then they face their own battles with narrow brushes with death and moments which force them to confront elements of their pasts, resulting in renewed confidence and relatively easily-earned victories without many consequences.

At least, as far as we know. As we find out later, they've already paid for those easy victories with the majority of their lifespans. Again, this arc is important to the overall plot of Kimetsu no Yaiba because those victories show how much more powerful the Corp is after the struggle defeating an Upper Moon, at long last. That was the battle that unlocked the mark, which will be the game changing in upcoming battles. Again, the lore is doing a lot of heavy lifting, but at the expense of satisfying victories.

And, because we still have future battles for these Hashira to fight, their arcs are not over. That makes their incomplete arcs feel lacking compared to the completed arcs that came before them.

But it's sure not just the fault of the Hashira for surviving in (what looks like) good health.

Those Villains Sucked

Don't get me wrong, I love Gyokko and Hantengu, at least when it comes to being as amused by them as I am by any other element in this series, and appreciating their character designs. In the wider scheme of Kimetsu no Yaiba, a series known for making us feel deep sympathy for the villains right after feeling so thrilled about them finally meeting their demise, we don't get that sense from these two. That's because they are as wretched as demons come, and they are fun to hate for all the suffering they cause simply by having been rotten to their cores. We don't get any backstory for Gyokko until post-canon publications, so that makes him seem a bit hollow, and in the case of Hantengu, he created all his own problems by being such a terrible person that we relish the chance to deny him the pity he so desperately always clamored for.

But as a Kimetsu no Yaiba arc, this leaves us hanging. Where are the little glimpses of who victims like Kyougai and Mother Spider were, or the gut-wrenching memories of Rui that forever alter our experience of him? Even worse for this arc, it comes right after the Daki & Gyuutarou flashback, once of the hardest-hitting of the whole series. Sure, Enmu never earned our sympathy because he was likewise rotten to his core, but he had more rizz about it.

As far as their impact on the arc is concerned, you could have replaced them with any other kind of challenge the characters have to face, and the results probably wouldn't have changed much. Daki and Gyuutarou were integrated with Yoshiwara both in their dealings and their backstories, Enmu was literally integrated with the setting (and trains always make great settings for added tension) and his powers brought out different sides of the main cast, Akaza drove that whole battle by virtue of his own personality and value set, Rui's preoccupation with 'family' dragged everyone into a hell of his own making.

Meanwhile, Muichirou could have annoyed the hell out of any talkative demon that had brainless minions to attack the villagers, and Mitsuri could have looked just as cool fighting a giant table made of all that wood. It's refreshing to see Tanjirou have so much anger and hate for a demon and not spare an ounce of empathy after finally taking its irritating little head, but he had more important things going on.

Nezuko's Ultimate Victory, Also Trivialized

Nezuko fully masters the sun within one chapter, so was anyone ever truly scared for her? I was spoiled long beforehand, but even if that had not been the case, the popularity of the franchise itself has shot that tension in the foot; we never really got to be sacred for her (though the art in the manga and anime really sells how hard-earned her victory was).

It's sad that we don't see much of Nezuko after she accomplishes the biggest feat a demon has every accomplished, and a lot of people have said her character was underutilized. I agree, though having her in the Fortress would have only led to more mayhem. It's hard to (but not impossible to) justify an additional arc to put her in battle since her transformation is the catalyst for everything that comes later, but the issue I have is that this transformation makes Nezuko so close to human that, realistically, if Tanjirou didn't want to or couldn't fight anymore, he'd already have the assurance that Nezuko leads a somewhat normal human existence again.

What I could have loved to see is at least one more instance of Nezuko being tempted to eat a human, like the danger we felt in the previous arc. That would be a very satisfying reminder of the stakes, and why Tanjirou must keep fighting to regain her full humanity. Making her hungrier due to her new state would be satisfying price to pay for her new ability, wouldn't it? Having that lurk in the background of an otherwise peaceful Hashira Training Arc would add as much satisfying tension as the Nakime eyeballs did. We expect Nakime to succeed in what she sets out to do, but we don't want to see Nezuko fail in that which is most taboo. One last burst of violence would also make us worry a lot more about how that medicine is going to work out for her (and anyone around her) in the few glimpses we get of her throughout the lengthy Infinity Castle Arc.

In Conclusion

Chapter 112 started with us in the heart of action and bloody devastation of the village, and then you turned the page to see a celebratory two-page title spread and announcement of the anime.

When this was compiled into Volume 13 later, Gotouge apologized for how this made it look like they were celebrating the death of the swordsmith who was killed up in the watchtower, and how insensitive that appeared.

But that's the sort of tension we were working with in this arc. It doesn't feel out of place to step away from this battle, because we were never that concerned about a bunch of giant fish with no personal vendettas against the men who were stoically prepared for just such an attack.

Despite all the heavy lifting this arc did for the plot, it's biggest pitfall is being a functional arc with a to-do list of things to accomplish. It succeeds in those things, but sadly, it didn't grip us with worry as well as it should have, despite the stakes.

Or, maybe this arc could have been saved with more lore.

Build more love for swords in the audience instead of only showing us Tanjirou's appreciation, show us swordsmiths who tremble with worry about what happens if their supply chain is cut off, or if they lose the know-how of someone like Tecchin because the rest of them carry the knowledge of how the swords they made weren't enough to save the swordsmen who wielded them, let them struggle with their own drive to create art that is also purposefully to contrast it with Gyokko's, show us swordsmiths who love their weapons but are too afraid to use them. Show us Gyokko's flashbacks and how he's always been callous toward others, show how it is his loss as an artist not just for how he can't break Haganezuka's focus, but for how his art is hollow compared to the mission of the swordsmiths. Show Hantengu having a twisted sense of righteousness well before Zouhakuten appears like a deity to serve justice by protecting him; let all his clones re-enforce his worldview about the strong protecting the weak with perverse religiosity that would make Tanjirou's stomach crawl. Show Mitsuri contemplating how she might not live up to Rengoku's example and how his loss still stings and how even Uzui was so terribly injured by lower ranked demon, show us Muichirou contemplating more how strangely easy the battle became to give us uneasy foreshadowing and a suspicion that something isn't right. Show us whatever the hell Genya was doing in the village all that time with people who he was too awkward to interact with and how he is fighting to protect the swordsmiths he snapped at in addition to his stated goal of wanting to earn Hashira status, and how he struggled to not let any well-meaning villages worry about how he refuses to eat, and how those villagers were undeterred by his brash exterior and worked around his lack of Breath of Breath by giving him firepower, for they are artisans whose ultimate goal is to enable the Corp.

This arc deserved more. It needed to Breathe.

[honeymoonblues]

Gossip & Giggles

Professor Remus Lupin x Professor!GN!Reader

Summary: You've gone away for the day, and Remus feels like everybody is acting strange. (Gender neutral reader)

Word count: 724

A/N: Fluffy little thing. Is implicated that the reader and Remus are in an established relationship. Please, let me know if there are any spelling errors, English is not my first language.

“I give him 10 minutes at most.”

“I’d say at least until he walks through the door of the first class.”

“Have a little faith! I think he won’t go five minutes without noticing.”

A few professors were clustered in the entrance of the great hall, murmuring to each other. Remus thought that was a bit odd, but didn’t question it much, it was far too early, and his hunger was stronger than his curiosity at the moment. 

When his coworkers felt his stare, they quieted down, which was even more curious. Were they talking about him? Lupin wondered. But the hot tea in his cup was much more enticing than whatever they might have going on.

His gaze was fixed at a random point of his table, his mind lost in the haze of the cold morning and the memory of you saying goodbye. 

It was much, much earlier when your owl had woken up both of you by clawing at your bedroom window. It carried bad news for you. Thankfully, nothing tragic had happened, but the letter received demanded your immediate attention. That’s how, before the sun was out, you left the castle, not before hugging and kissing Remus goodbye, of course.

Breakfast passed without giving professor Lupin much time to raise his spirits, so he walked to his first class with his mind still elsewhere. 

The students were lively, in total disregard of the early hour or the freezing weather, as expected from the second-years. When he called for their attention, however, they fell silent ridiculously fast and started to whisper to each other in a way that reminded Remus of the professors in the great hall this morning. The nervous tic in his eye started acting up, he sighed and tried to make his student’s concentrate on the class once again. 

Overall, it was an all-right lesson, even outstanding considering Remus was fighting his neck pain, five hours of sleep, and the constant gossiping the students seemed to have going on through whispers and notes for the whole two hours. 

Stretching and comforting himself, Lupin thought “the second years always have some drama to murmur about anyway”. But his next class with the fourth-years was somehow worse! 

This particular group of hufflepuffs and ravenclaws was usually quiet, so much that he had to beg them to participate. But this morning, they seemed to not be able to hold their tongues, or keep their giggles at bay. 

“What’s going on with you today!” Even Remus had to chuckle at the unusual circumstance. 

In spite of that, he took advantage of the energy in the class, and used it to make an impromptu dueling class, which would have been impossible with these students any other day.

Sitting down for five minutes between lessons, he scratched his head, in an almost meditative state. Why was everyone acting strange? Is he missing something? 

While making sure he had a matching pair of shoes, and had not magically changed his pants for a multi-coloured kilt somehow, the seventh-years entered his classroom.

The older the students, the more tired they usually are, so this class went along ordinarily. They did seem to be smiling more, and Remus thought he heard one of them call him ‘cute’, but what were the odds? 

As the hours passed, Remus felt more worn out than other days, so every little bizarre experience in class or after it, he ended up attributing to his own tiredness-induced-paranoia. 

To his heart’s content, you were back to the castle just in time for dinner. With all these odd happenings, he felt like you were gone a week rather than just a few hours, but here you were, finally. 

The silly grin he had on his face when he saw you, rapidly faltered when he noticed how you giggled at the sight of him. Merlin, you too?

Blinking slowly, he felt your arms wrapping around him.

“Hello.” his voice was muffled against your shoulder.  “I missed you.”

“I can tell, darling.” Moving away from him, you looked into his eyes and took his face delicately in your hands. “Is that why you decided to leave my lipstick mark on your cheek for today?”

Then, he laughed heartily in realization, while you wiped his face to get rid of the remnants of your morning goodbye kiss.

(i hope no one minded the concept of the reader wearing lipstick, considering it's a gender neutral reader, but i think makeup is pretty genderless! even us they/thems have to wear lipstick once in a while!)

[igotanidea]

Rom-com, doubts and older brother complex : Dick Grayson x sister!reader

„Hey you, how was the movie?” Dick grinned with the brightest smile upon seeing his sister back from the cinema. Said sister however was far from being happy. “Y/N?”

“Yes? I mean, yes, sure, hi Dickie. It was fine, I guess.”

“Oh no.” he muttered

“What?”

“You got that face.”

“What face?!” involuntarily she glanced at the mirror just to check whether her older brother was serious or just trying to prank her.

“Please tell me you are not psychoanalyzing the movie.”

“Psycho…..? What? Me? Pfff, never.” She scoffed

“Mhm. Sure.”

“I’m sorry, what is your problem here, Grayson?” Y/N crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance. “Honestly I came home hoping for some peace and quiet and I feel so attacked right now.”

“Are you doing this… what was it called….?” Dick scratched his head searching for the right word “watcher insert!”

“IT’S READER INSERT!”

“Well, it was a movie, so definitely watcher insert. And you practically admitted you do.”

“I DID NOT SAY A THING LIKE THAT!”

“You didn’t have to. Like I said, you got that face.” He shrugged, absolutely not convinced and unimpressed by her yelling.

“Ugh! You are insufferable!”

“Part of my charm, you know that. Now come on, come sit here and tell me what got you spinning, huh? As a big brother…..”

“Please, spare me the talk about oldest sibling and all the duties that come with it. I can handle my own shit.” She hesitantly perched on the armrest of the sofa, but Dick was not satisfied with that and grabbed her by the waist pulling next to him.

“Come on, sis, don’t be stubborn” he pinched her stomach getting a slap on the hand in exchange “that hurt.”

“Serves you well!”

“Ok, I’ll stop. Jokes aside. Get out of that head of yours and walk me through it ‘cause I don’t get it. You went to the movie theatre to have some fun ….unlike someone we know….. and came back stuck in thinking and, let me put it simply, melancholic. Not really a normal reaction after a young adult movie. It’s young adult, right?” he frowned

“You got that one right.” She sighed “I … I don’t really know. I mean, this movie was as cliché as possible and only confirm my belief that it’s not for me.”

“How come?”

“You know… nice girl, A-grade student, not knowing the bad side of life changes the surrounding, most likely moves out of the small town.  And in the city, she meets a guy, a well-known trouble-maker and more often than not, a womanizer. Of course, she swears she wants nothing to do with him but after an hour or so, couple of fights and few misunderstanding they end up together, most likely in a X-rated scene. And after another half hour, some family drama or demons from the past emerges, but all ends well and you get those fucking singing birds, shining sun, doves and all that shit. I’m so too old for that. And I think I’m starting to get bored with such films.”

“Are you?” he looked at her carefully, voice turning soft not to startle her.

“Yes.” She made a face at him

“Y/n. You say you hate it, but …”

“Don’t you dare say it!” she jumped on the couch and jabbed his chest “Don’t. You. Dare.”

“I won’t. I’ll leave that to you. Come on, say it out loud so we can process that. No one else is here.”

“I’m sorry, since when are you my therapist?”

“Since Bruce provided all his kids with trauma and forgot to equip them with the specialist to fix it. Say it.”

“I wish I have a cliché love story.” She looked down and hid face in hands because of the embarrassment. “But I’m not exactly a material for it.”

“Why not?” Dick asked, grabbing her hands and making him look at her ‘is it because you have four vigilante brothers? That can go well in a movie.” He grinned “I bet Bruce would love a cinematic work of art about himself. Can you imagine the movie “Batman?” Two and a half hours of him brooding on the screen and saving Gotham, all while looking like a sad, tormented cat” he laughed and waved his hands around

“I got this at the manor whenever I want. And when I don’t want as well. So hard pass on that movie, thanks. Jason would love it though. It would give him an opportunity to point out everything wrong with Bruce. And Tim…”

“Nice try, but stop getting off the track. Why do you think you can’t have a love story?”

“Cause I can’t define myself.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Dick’s eyes widened in disbelief “you think you need to put a tag on yourself? My lovely, crazy, irrational, foolish sister…”

“Look Dick, I’m a mess, all right? I can do hundred different things, but cannot excel in one. I start so many projects I don’t finish. I am disorganized, got plenty ideas per minute and it’s extremely hard to keep up with me. I'm stubborn, hot-headed and always need to do things my own way. ”

“So?” he shrugged

“What do you mean by so?" Y/N frowned "I don’t have routine, and apparently I’m supposed to. I’m not the best version of myself, I hate motivational quotes and I’m not sophisticated or elegant or even close to it. Shit, I hate dresses and skirts, my make-up is limited to the most basic one and I don't feel like I'm woman enough.”

“Ok, stop right there.” He cut her off “that last one is bullshit and as for the rest, why in the world would you think that eliminates you?”

“I… It just does.”

“Why?” he insisted

“will you stop this interrogation! Let me remind you, you are not a cop anymore!”

“Old habits die hard.” He blew a raspberry.

“Be a brother Dick. Sock me for wasting your time or hug me, just don’t do this….”

“Do you need a hug?” he asked opening his arms

“Yes, please” she mumbled, diving into his arms and hiding face in his shirt, smelling that familar scent. “This feels nice.”

“Told ya! Oldest brother. Now, since we are taking the comforting approach to the problem… all the things you mentioned are those what makes you, you. All right, pumpkin?” he bopped her nose “you could adopt someone else’s lifestyle, but would you feel better then? Doing all those things that does not seem like they are yours?”

“No…” she muttered

“See? You just keep doing your thing, ok? Cause when you do something that makes you happy, even if it seems like you’re a mess, you’re just glowing and that is what makes you special, you know.”

“Example?”

“You were writing, last night, and you had that focus and spark in your eyes. Nothing but you and your ideas, put in words on the sheet. You were just beaming. That was you. You don’t need to put  a tag on yourself, believe me. It's not a competition or anything.“

"Really?" she pulled back and eyed him, raising one eyebrow "'cause you are absolutely not the one who would join The Bachelor, right?"

"That's irrelevant..." as much as he did not like it, her words made him blush a bit. (did she find that application form he hid under the bed?!)

"Let's agree to disagree" she grinned "I'll importune you for explanation on that matter later. And since we're on the subject, what about....?"

“Do you think me the role model on relationship advice?” he smirked, but a bit of sadness crept in “I made a lot of mistakes and speaking from experience, I can tell you just can’t hurry that. Just keep your mind open?”

"Did you just admit defeat in the romance matter, Dickie?" she mocked.

"Romance? Hell no! Just long-term relation..."

"Don't worry, big brother" she his his shoulder playfully "you keep my secret safe, I keep yours. But still, that’s the worst advice I ever got.”

“Maybe…” he tickled her tummy making poor girl squeal “think Damian would have better one?”

“He’s younger than me, sure as hell I’m not gonna ask him!”

“I’m serious, sis. Once you figure out who you are inside, even if it’s a bit complicated and come to terms with it, everything will fall in place.”

“Still the worst advice ever, but thank you for trying, Dickhead.”

“Doing my best for my little princess.”

“Ugh! Stop calling me that name!”

“You used to like it.”

“I was 7 years old!!”

“All right, fine, hold the fire” Dick raised his hands in surrender “Gosh, for someone who got so much fire inside, you suffer from too little self-value.”

“Four vigilante brothers can do that to a girl.”

“Y/N? I need you to promise me one thing.”

“Shoot.”

“When you get in a relationship you will let me act like big protective brother.”

“You may have to wait a while, but sure, it that’s your dream…”

“How about I play that role in a Nightiwng suit?”

“OVER MY DEAD BODY GRAYSON!”

[autisticlancemcclain]

part one

———

“You did what.”

Keith coughs. “We, uh, we got married.”

“Accidentally,” Lance pipes up, because he can see the Stress Muscle in Shiro’s eyebrow start to twitch, and doesn’t want him to start freaking out which will make Keith get defensive and put his foot in his mouth — he’s as bad as Lance, really — and then the whole thing will be more difficult to handle than it already is. “It’s a whole big thing.”

Shiro stares at them for several minutes, then sighs, sitting heavily onto the kitchen floor with his bowl of goo. He shovels a bite in his mouth, then reaches blindly for the intercom switch on the wall, slapping around until he finally manages to hit it.“Team,” he says tiredly as it crackles to life, “please make your way to the kitchen. Keith and Lance made something stupid again.” He drops his hand back down, returning his full attention to his goo, committing to pretending Keith and Lance aren’t in the room.

Which.

Fair.

“I resent that ‘again’,” Keith mutters petulantly. “We’ve been remarkably well-behaved lately.”

“No,” Shiro says, without a second of hesitation. He doesn’t bother arguing.

It doesn’t take the rest of the team long to get here — Hunk and Allura have appeared to have sprinted, drama loving bastards — and they join Shiro on the floor, turning expectant eyes to the Red and Black Paladins. After a look of deliberation, Keith and Lance sit down, too.

“Tell them what you just told me,” Shiro says, voice garbled through his food goo.

Here’s the thing.

Lance knows he should feel nervous. Or worried, or scared, or embarrassed, even, about getting literally magically bound to his self-proclaimed rival (once a rival always a rival) because he got brained by the jacket that he left unattended. It is, objectively, a sitcom-level ridiculous situation. He knows that he is going to be shamed, and possibly gently bullied.

However.

Keith’s hand still grips him tightly. Lance doubts the Black Paladin has noticed, but every so often he runs his thumb over his knuckles, and every time he does his lips twitch up in the slightest smile. Lance couldn’t feel anything but ludicrously happy if he tried.

Plus. He and Keith just, like, made out in the hallway a bunch. If Lance is being honest, his brain is still kind of fuzzy. He’s half focused on everyone else and half focused on replaying the feeling of Keith’s hands pressed to his cheeks, cupping his face, kissing him like he was drowning and Lance’s lungs were the only place he could get oxygen. He’s still kind of lightheaded, and keeps having to fight off giggles.

“We got married,” Lance says, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face.

As much as the team is used to their shit, that visibly shocks them. Coran squints at them and types something rapidly into his tablet. Pidge cusses and hands Allura a handful of GAC, which she pockets with a cackle. Hunk is the only outlier, the only one with a reaction Lance can’t place: he straightens up, looking between them with narrowed eyes, mouth flattened into a line.

“Explain yourselves.”

“It was an accident,” Keith assures, much like Lance did earlier. But instead of expressing is understanding, Hunk’s eyebrows only climb higher. Lance gets the same distinct feeling he gets when he knows he pressed the Wrong dialogue option in a video game.

“I hope you didn’t marry my best friend on accident, Kogane.”

Lance puts his head in his hands. He can physically feel the panic leeching from his husband’s (!!) body. He considers all the ways he can murder his best friend and make it look like an accident. He honestly doesn’t think he’s ever been this mortified in his life.

“No no no, I didn’t mean accident, well I guess I did —”

“Hunk,” Lance says through grit teeth. Hunk gives him a ‘what did I do’ look, stubborn set to his shoulders. Lance vows to take a seam ripper to his shirts.

“— like it was technically not a planned sequence of events, per se, if you want to look at things technically —”

Hunk continues to stare at Keith with his eyebrow raised and his arms crossed. Lance digs around in his pockets for something to chuck at his face.

“— if it went according to how I’d planned it in my head there would be more flowers involved, probably, and we’d be on Earth at least, but it kind of just happened, you know? It was so fast I swear I couldn’t have done anything —”

Lance tears his gaze away from Hunk and stares at his rambling mess of a husband. Any annoyance practically evaporates from his system as the implications of Keith’s words set in.

“You thought about marrying me?”

Keith flushes redder than he already is. “I’m not answering that.”

Lance barely manages to shove down the giddy laughter that bubbles up his throat. Keith, his crush, his rival, his husband, spent time daydreaming about marrying Lance. And kissing him, probably, and holding him and building a future with him. Keith maybe even got just as flustered as Lance did when they got too close, back off when sparing got a little too close, breathing heavy. The knowledge is exhilarating. Lance leans over, pressing his beaming smile to Keith’s lips. He softens immediately.

“I thought about marrying you, too.” He smirks. “Among other things.”

Keith’s gloved hand finds it’s way back up to his cheek, for the second time today, and the blood rushing in his ears downs out the sound of Pidge gagging.

“Gross. Can we force them to divorce? This is worse than the pining.”

“Physically impossible for me to divorce him,” Lance murmurs, distracted. “Since he technically owns me, now. Kind of.”

Keith makes a face. “I hate that a little.” He presses one last chaste kiss to Lance’s mouth before pulling away. It’s casual, and small, but the novelty of it is not lost on Lance.

He was not kissing Keith this morning, that was for certain.

It’s not until Lance manages to blink away his ga-ga eyes that he realizes that the rest of the team is looking at him in shocked confusion, and it clicks that his sentence would, sans context, be kind of horrifying to hear.

“Oh,” he blurts, without thinking, “I’m a Selkie.”

“You’re bad at this whole revelation thing,” Keith notices. “I think my Galra thing was somehow handled better.”

“Shut up.”

To his credit, Keith’s observation isn’t too far off. If anything everyone’s shock has only worsened, and it’s clear that Lance’s messy, half-explanations aren’t going to do much. The Alteans could probably do with some actual historical context, but for now, Lance thinks a demonstration is the wisest choice. And since he doesn’t have an ocean available to him, he decides to do the next best thing.

He slips his jacket carefully over his shoulders, spreading it out over his legs and gently running his fingertips over the rough canvas. Just as in his room, the fabric begins to blur, warp, change. He understands the change that is happening — it is his coat, after all; his own flesh — but he cannot find the words to describe it. There may not be. The coat simply changes in a way that is not comprehensible by non-Selkie eyes, as evidenced in the various strangled noises of bewilderment around him. Even Keith looks at the pelt in awe, unused to Earthen magic.

“How long have you been a seal person?” Pidge asks, hands twitching like she’s itching to touch.

“Two decades,” Lance says drily.

It doesn’t take long for the shock to melt away. That’s due in part to everyone’s curiosity, and the rest is because, as Lance suspected, their lives are just so goddamn weird — this Selkie thing just doesn’t even make top ten.

“So was that what the whole dramatic running out of the common room was about earlier?” Hunk clarifies.

Lance nods. “Yeah. I didn’t…I got too comfortable. Left my pelt out, Keith tossed it at me, boom, it’s not longer mine. Luckily I was wrong about how dangerous that is, ‘cause I didn’t lose my free will or anything, but I am essentially married to Keith now. So.” He turns to his husband and grins. “I don’t think he minds.”

Ignoring Pidge’s mutter of “here we go again,” Keith smiles back, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek.

“I don’t.”

“I’m sorry you weren’t comfortable before.”

Lance looks up at Shiro, startled by the seriousness in his voice. His tired look from earlier is gone, replaced with something narrow-eyed, serious.

“Huh?”

“You said you got too comfortable.” He gestures to Lance’s lap. “With your pelt. I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t tell us.”

“And I’m sorry for threatening you, Keith,” Hunk adds. “Well, it was barely a threat, but still.”

Keith reaches over to pat his shoulder. “All good, man. It was understandable. Lance probably warrants some threatening on his behalf.”

Lance narrows his eyes. He’s sure that’s an insult, somehow.

“Hunk, do not scare my husband away with your foolishness —”

“I know you’re just saying that to have an excuse to say ‘my husband’, you whipped simp —”

“Fuck off, no one asked you —”

“Pardon my interruption,” Coran says, holding up a hand. “But what is a Selkie?”

Allura raises her hand as well. “I would also like to know!”

“If I’ll be honest, I’m not that familiar with the legend either,” Pidge admits.

Lance pauses for a moment, considering. He knows that explaining everything would take a long time, and he knows he doesn’t have the energy for that. It’s something you learn over time, anyway, over years of stories at the right time. He can simplify some information, though. Get the point across.

“I’m not human,” he starts carefully. “I’m also not alien, not not-human. It’s complicated.” He runs his hand over the soft fur of his coat. “My pelt is like…a physical manifestation of my soul, I think. My quintessence? I’m not entirely sure. But when I wear it, I become another form of mine. Kind of like your shapeshifting, maybe? I turn into a seal, but I’m still very much me. And it’s not like I’m a seal with a human brain, or whatever. I’m a seal, I’m a human, I’m a Selkie. I’m never not those three things.”

Pidge cocks her head. “So you’re a seal right now?”

“Yeah. I’m a Selkie, I have to be. Unless my pelt were to be truly lost, I guess. If someone set it on fire I wouldn’t be a Selkie anymore. I’d lose my soul.”

“Jesus,” Pidge shudders.

Keith looks determinedly at him. “I won’t let that happen.”

“No shit,” Lance says, raising an amused eyebrow. “That’s your job now, Mullet. The pelt is yours to guard. You took it, it’s your responsibility.”

Keith’s determined expression does not change. Lance is just a little endeared but it. As unconventional as this has been, Keith genuinely seems to be excited to be with him. And if Lance trusts his word — which he does — then Keith has wanted to be with Lance for a while. With his space family’s approval, and the certainty that he will have the same from his Earth family when he makes it home, the weight he hadn’t realized he’d been carrying finally drops from his shoulders.

“God, I can’t wait to human marry you.”

Shiro sighs. This time, it sounds significantly more amused. He gets to his feet, dusting off his hands. “I guess that falls to me, huh,” he says, waving them over. “C’mere.”

Keith and Lance scramble up, running over to where Shiro stands, at the head of the table. He holds two twist-ties in his head that he has formed into rudimentary rings.

“I feel contractually obligated to remind you about Adam’s stance in elopement,” he says, looking pointedly at Keith. “And Lance, I don’t know your mother personally, but your sister and I were colleagues. You are also going to get into leagues or trouble when we get home.”

Lance grins brightly. “I am going to get in leagues of trouble anyway!”

Keith nods. “I left Earth against Adam’s specific instructions. I’m toast no matter what, so I might as well do the best thing I will ever do in my life before then.”

Lance’s ears burn. He glances down at his sneakers, embarrassed and pleased all at once.

He’s the best thing that Keith will ever do in his life. God.

“Well, that answers my first question, then.” Shiro turns to Lance. “Since Keith obviously does, do you, Lance, wish to take Keith as your lawfully wedded husband, so long as you shall live?”

Lance grins. “I would love nothing more.”

“Then by the power vested in me by the five dollar certificate I got online, I pronounce you wed. Congratulations. You may kiss the groom.”

Neither of them wait for Shiro to finish his sentence, surging forward immediately, colliding in the middle like magnets. Lance feels the weight of his pelt on his shoulders and Keith’s hands on his face in equal measures. It feels like swimming free.

[pwblant]

07. soup and company

early in the morning, wonbin decides to go to the cafe; however, this time, he isn’t coming for drinks. he’s been wanting to ask you since two days ago if you’d like to either go with him to dinner, to the park, or grab a snack. basically wanting to ask you to go anywhere with him outside the cafe.

he walked into the store, eyes scanning the place, but he doesn’t see you around.

“huh, i thought she worked on thursdays?” he thought to himself.

he sighed as he went to the counter to order his usual cloud americano just so that his efforts of getting there weren’t fully wasted.

you look through the door’s peephole only to see wonbin there, surprisingly, looking like a lost kitty standing outside. it was weird how you didn’t seem to hear the knock—you were just sitting on the couch that wasn’t far from the front door.

you open the door quickly, feeling sorry for not hearing the knock earlier. the poor man holding the hot soup and chicken was really convinced he was at the wrong unit, so the door suddenly swinging open really startled him. he let out a little gasp, not expecting this to be the right place.

“omg that was so cute,” you said, teasing him for his reaction.

“u didnt see anything, shut up and take your food.” he said with a pout.

you smiled at him. “why’d you wanna come over? we barely even know each other.” you asked with a puzzled look on your face.

“just worried about you, you live alone too. i’ll be the one to take care of you today.” he said, catching you off guard.

“oh—don’t you have other important things to do?” you ask, doing your best to avoid his eyes.

“no, i don’t actually. today’s my rest day.” he replied.

“then i feel bad if you’d end up spending your time taking care of me. i can take care of myself!” you told him.

“trust me this is way more productive than rotting in bed all day.” he chuckled.

“oh… well in that case, what do you wanna do?” you asked, stomach making a slight noise after smelling the heavenly aroma of the soup he brought in.

“your stomach’s telling us to eat first, yn.” he responded with a little laugh.

as you finish up your yummy noodle soup, you see wonbin eyeing you from the corner of your eye.

you turn to him to ask a question, in hopes of breaking the tension and unbearable silence.

“sooo do you wanna watch something? or we could do something else if you want.” you offered.

“yeah, anything is fine.” he said, his eyes wandering on your face. he looked at your eyes, to your lips, and then your eyes again.

a silence filled the room as you blanked out when you saw him do that. you remember seeing online that what he just did was the Triangle Method. it’s what you do to make someone fall in love with you.

WAS HE TRYING TO FLIRT WITH ME? no no no, never. i must be seeing things—men these days. you thought.

could he tell your face was turning red from his gaze? you couldn’t get that thought out of your hazy little brain. you hoped the warm and dim lighting of the room could cover up the fact that your cheeks were turning into tomatoes.

you try to maintain your composure, “okay, how about Cheer Up? i’ve always wanted to start watching that drama, so why not do it with you?”

he nods his head in approval. the two of you switch locations and move to the couch as you find Netflix on your TV.

it’s only been half an hour and you’re starting to doze off. maybe it’s the effects of being sick.. or that you accidentally took the medicine with sleepy side effects today.

sitting next to wonbin, you unconsciously rest your head on his shoulder as you progressively get drowsier. he doesn’t budge though—he lets you rest your head comfortably on his shoulder as you like.

a few hours had passed and the two of you were still in the same position as you were when this first happened. his arms started cramping, trying their best not to move or else you might feel his movement and wake up. however, he could no longer take it. noticing that you were sound asleep, he gently lifts your head and moves it to rest on the wall as he uses this opportunity to stretch his arms. once they felt normal again, he moves your head back to lay on his comfy shoulders.

he lets you sleep again for about an hour as he uses his phone, taking pictures of you from time to time because he found you pretty even while you were knocked out.

eventually he does have to go back to his place. to him, this was actually a good replacement bonding moment for the two of you. his bandmate was here to pick him up, so he wakes you and says his goodbyes. you were shocked by the position the two of you were in. on top of that, you saw that his shirt had a darker, almost wet looking area. hold on, did you drool on him? oh my this was so embarrassing for you.

masterlist | next

TAGLIST : OPEN (comment to be added)

@binoyu @sqh3e @antosaurius @yoursyuno @jvngw0nlvr @dorritoni @dudekiss3r @tadadw

[lazywriters-blog]

BAD SON

Warning: DRAMA, forced relationship, just Aqua being the creepy manipulative dork he is, two stalkers playing, sorta friends to enemies? Enemies to menaces. Not really yandere?

Summary: You come to realize your friend had been trying to stab you in the back. Being a skilled stalker works well in these situations.

In all honesty, he couldn't be doing anything wrong. These were just tricks to get her close, to make sure things went his way and he could breathe easy, every once in a while, he deserves it. For everything to succeed, there's hardships first so if he took the time to brace through the storm, he could have the puzzle pieces.

But perhaps, he underestimated how mentally strong one can be, all the things that are supposed to hurt her and get her to ask for help, resulted in a rather odd reaction. She ended up getting stronger, more independent, and more capable than before.

And she didn't come running to him.

He even made sure to offer help, standing there willingly so that she could see him as clearly as day, spoke to her, and reassured her, however, his plans had holes in them.

She did not ask for help. From him. They did not get any closer than they already were. She even avoided him, building invisible walls, and he had to wonder if she knew he controls the situation to his liking and pushes some to fall in place. A manipulator.

Even though her reputation had been torn down and shredded into bits, she smiles. She smiles.

He could have given up, let her be, let her breeze through peacefully but should he admit defeat so early on? He can't, he won't. How long can a person withstand verbal harassment before breaking down? Not forever, he can be her ally, her best friend.

He had to make himself impossible to ignore. He just had to make her come to him.

"Hey." he approached her sitting at her marked bench, and she hadn't noticed him watching her from a distance, did she like to pretend?

"Hi. Is there something wrong?" she replied, shifting over to make space between them.

"No."

"O... Kay? Then, what's up? Did you find the one behind the rumors? You did say you would but you don't need to worry about it." she grinned, looking away to the ground, anything to not make eye contact. Was she secretly ashamed?

"I don't break my promises," he said, crossing his arms as he leaned back, "you didn't make a promise though." she raised her eyebrows, blinking a couple of times before turning away.

"I appreciate it, but I have a hunch on who did it." she swayed her legs back and forth, maintaining her smile, "I'm not too sure yet."

"How do you know?" he asked.

"Oh, you know, just connected the dots, and boom! I found it, but there were only three people who knew about it, my tendency to play around with anyone sure is troublesome but eh what can I do?" she mused, pouting.

"But you know, I realized an interesting clue. No one who could have spread it is any better than me, so I think it's someone I know but haven't quite yet gotten to know them." she looked at him, stretching her smile wider she kept her gaze on him, "But, yeah like I said, I'm not sure, because I can't care about everybody hehe." she quickly turned her face dropping her smile and softly glaring at passengers.

"You know..." she slowly started, "we don't know each other that much, right? Strange, even though we've been friends for months," she stated, sitting up straight she glanced back at him, "the other day, I'm pretty sure I followed you around, and you didn't even notice me." she frowned, quietly waited for the response she had envisioned in her head.

However, he had nothing to say but his face surely indicated some of the things his poker face couldn't hide.

"I even made sure to call out your name, but at last, you didn't even see me." she sighed louder, "Pity really, we could have been best friends." she got up, staring down at his facade.

"I hope you go to hell." she hissed, disgust was written over her face, and no matter what he said, nothing would change in the slightest, she had already walked away and left him behind.

Maybe he isn't as good as he thought himself out to be, he's let pride rust his brain.

Just as he had ruined her reputation, she ruined his, doing plenty to hurt him in the long run, and he didn't like how it stung, how despite being careful, he wasn't careful enough, she could have been the special tool he could use, but she had more personas than one.

How was he going to recover her?

Who told her he was behind the rumors, did she figure it out herself by following him around? Could she still have dirt on him she could use to threaten him with, when had she trailed him? He couldn't have mentioned anything about his final plan.

He couldn't afford another slip-up.

He had to get her on his side.

A fake love confession seemed to be his only chance if she's got more tricks up her sleeves, then he would have to dig deeper to find her darkest secrets. Her weakest points. He couldn't sit back and let anyone give him what he doesn't want.

The next time they had a project together, he'd get her to come, alone. She wasn't anybody special, and he won't let her top him.

The fun part was, nobody wanted to be partners with him, so by default, pulling some strings to get someone to exchange with him wasn't hard. Since, well, both of them were outcasts at this point.

"Hm... You are one hell of an enemy," she muttered to herself, pushing her face against her palm as she looked outside, "by now, you could have saved yourself, I'm sure people would believe you more than me, but oh well, they sure would be blind then." she giggled.

"I want to meet you after school." he bluntly uttered after ignoring her words, "What a joke, you want to confess to me or something?" she smugly stated, intently side-eyeing him.

"Even if you were sincere about it, you're an actor," she smirked, "you are supposed to fool everyone with your charm and looks, and most of the time, it works." she shrugged.

"Alright, if you insist." he wanted to shut her up anyway, so taking a quick look at their subject teacher, he pulled her face to his and dismissed the shocked face of his classmate when he kissed her. As soon as it began, it ended.

This way, it was sure to spark more gossip. Bring her to him even if she didn't want to.

And it worked, she and he were a thing in the eyes of the people. Even if, she hadn't accepted his confession, he wasn't going to give her a choice. Everything should be going his way.

He's going to make sure she falls in love.

"We should finish this project today." he stopped her by the entrance, grabbing her wrist and making it impossible for her to leave. "I'll come if you want."

"No need," she argued, softly attempting to pull away from him without causing a scene, "It would be better if you let go now. I don't want to report you for sexual harassment and make your career a burning pile of garbage."

"Would they believe you?" he spoke, "I'm the one with connections, not you. So let's make some concessions."

"I don't care, let go! Don't touch me!" she forced her hand out of her grasp and made haste to the exit, and if anyone had paid attention to them, he hopes it makes them think they are closer than anybody else in the whole world. Because the last thing he wanted is for his plans to fail.

She was making it harder for him.

At this rate, he was going to lose her.

With her help, he's sure they can easily overpower his wicked father, he needs this relationship to work. He will make it work.

He will fall in love and so will she.

[apocalypse-shuffle]

DICK GRAYSON & JASON TODD | BATFAMILY (assorted canon)

—

“Long Overdue: Epilogue” (Dick Grayson & Batmom!Reader), (Jason Todd & Batmom!Reader) and (background Bruce Wayne x Batmom!Reader)

| Reader was with Bruce in the past but grew distant after Jason’s death. No one tells her when he comes back from the dead until Bruce is forced to bring her in on a raid when they’re overwhelmed. -Jason and Batmom!Reader reunion.

| SFW, canon typical action/violence, cursing?, mentions of grief, past death of a child

| This is like half fanon half UTRH/Batman:Hush. I’m really just fucking around with canon rn. Also the pictures used are just for aesthetics and have no contextual meaning to the story. (pic source: Gotham Knights video game)

| 2k+ words

| parts: one, spurt, two, three, four, five, six/six point five, seven. (series masterlist)

You walk out of the weapons cache lighter than how you walked into it and head directly for your eldest.

“Dick what the hell?”

Said man, halfway through what looks like calf stretches, sits up and throws a slight frown your way.

“What? What’d I do?”

And bless him but he’s actually thinking it over. Eyes sliding to the side and lips pursing and everything. Racking his brain over what mess he forgot to get himself out of this time.

Somewhere behind you Jason starts laughing at Dick so when he passes by you flick him on the arm. The drama queen then makes a whole show of blowing you off with a half assed ‘ow’. Your eyes meet the dark depths of the cave ceiling for a second as you beg for strength before they lock on Dick once more.

From there all you have to do is purse your lips and raise a brow for him to catch on. His arms fling into the air.

“He said he’d ‘take care of it’, and I haven’t seen you since then. Fuck me for thinking he actually did it! And he only felt the need to tell me three nights ago so it’s not like you’re the only one.”

Your shoulders start to shake and you move closer until you can nudge him. His arms drop and he huffs.

“Easy, little D, I’m just teasing. Don’t beat yourself up over that man’s horrible communication skills, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be,” he says.

You do catch the nasty look he throws the cave entrance with despite what he’s said, and the easy tone he’s said it with, however.

“Actually,” Jason pipes up, helmet back on and voice once again skewed. “I’m still hung up on your shit communication skills. Nightfall? Since when has that been a thing?”

He jabs a finger in your direction while pacing around to Dick’s other side. Dick doesn’t do anything but follow the younger’s antics with his eyes.

You laugh, shrugging, and lean back on the cave wall beside the desk. You're still within spitting distance of the boys but you can’t bring yourself to travel any further.

“I’ve been in the game longer than Bruce has, but mostly under an independent contractor. It wasn’t till I came to Gotham that I changed my suit and started calling myself Nightfall; that gimmicky shit is contagious after all.”

“Immensely goddamn contagious,” Jason mutters darkly. He throws a glare Dick’s way that translates pretty perfectly even with the helmet to get him to knock off the staring, but you get the feeling the older only looks away because grilling you is a more pressing matter.

In the next moment Dick snaps his fingers, “You know what I still don’t get? How come we never found out? I mean you didn’t tell me until I was in Blud already.”

That question you can’t shrug away as easily. A grimace crosses your face and Jason makes an intrigued ‘ohh’ sound that honestly makes you want to flip him off. How are you being cajoled by your children right now?

“Well…” you kiss your teeth. “I was in love.”

The “Gross,” Jason lets out is instantaneous as he holds a hand up - it's a flawless reminder that 19 is not yet fully grown. “Pretend I didn’t ask.”

You roll your eyes. “It’s not that damn bad. It’s just that when we first got Dick Bruce thought it’d be best if he had a greater sense of normalcy out of the cape, and I agreed; one vigilante guardian was enough. Then we just kept that same dynamic when we got you,” you gesture to Jason and he tilts his head.

“I’m still not seeing how that relates to the completely unnecessary ‘in love’ comment you made earlier.”

“Jason,” you scold. “I’m getting there, goddamn.”

Dick poorly muffles a laugh and you give him a hard look before rolling your shoulders.

“Back in the day, before Bruce stopped acting like we were a unit and more like I was a casualty of war in the waiting-” you take a deep breath and cross your arms, closing your eyes against the white lights of the cave.

You can hear the way they falter, likely glancing to one another to figure out what to do before they each take a step forward.

“You don’t have to-” Dick starts.

“Forget it-” Jason’s saying at the same time, their voices overlapping, and you shake your head.

“It’s fine,” you say. You blink your eyes open; both men have stilled but they’re balancing forward like they think you’re gonna drop. You huff. “Point is, there was a time where he could’ve convinced me of anything. He used to look at me like I hung the fucking moon just to provide people free light to see, you know? So at a certain time I chose not to tell you two because I didn’t want to challenge the perception of me that you had gotten from Bruce. That’s why you didn’t know, I didn’t want you to think I was as bad as the people you were fighting every night; the people who took away your parents from you. Dick running off was what made me finally spill, but you died years before I would’ve been ready to tell you, Jay.”

Jason clears his throat, “Uh. That why you and hi- Bruce separated?”

“Not really,” you sigh, shaking your head. “It wasn’t Bruce before…it was Bruce after. After you died we didn’t just bounce back…so eventually things between us soured. I loved him but expecting someone to put up with you constantly pushing them away isn’t fair,” you shrug. “How Bruce saw me stopped mattering as much after that.”

Dick nods, lining up what you’ve said to his own memory of the aftermath and coming up with a corresponding connection.

“Yeah, you and Bruce argued for hours after you met Tim that first time…and then some more when Stephanie became Robin. Hell, even by the time I’d gotten back earthside you and Bruce were down right frosty when you were next to each other even though you were trying to hide it from us.”

“Yeah,” you grunt. “That’s all we tend to do now: stay mad.”

Staring off into the distance Dick nods and Jason catches your eye, or maybe the other way round. His gaze on you is heavy all the same.

Whatever expression he is looking at you with is impossible to place with the helmet on but he is definitely watching you. Uncannily nearly all his mentees had Bruce’s tendency to look at things, and by extension people, like they were puzzles to solve. Which came with the added bonus of the recipient of said stare being able to feel it. Feel the weight of being dissected and picked apart as if it was a physical thing.

Most buck under that level of analysis. Wholly used to the originator of that stare though you continue on as usual. If he wasn’t going to ask then you had nothing to say.

After it becomes clear you won’t be coughing anything more up Jason backs off, pushing the conversation towards lighter material until Dick and him are carrying the back and forth together. They play off of each other in stunted stops and starts, and barely concealed hostility on Jason’s part, but their awkward attempts at light hearted banter still get your mind out of the gutter you’d landed in.

Ten minutes of forced jokes and almost insults later and Jason starts giving less than subtle hints at wanting to head out. After that it doesn’t take long before he comes over, and he doesn’t reach out to you but he does softly knock your shoulders together.

“See you later, Ma,” he says for your ears alone.

“Goodbye Jason,” you respond even though you’d rather never have him leave your side again.

You watch him go and are drastically reminded that your eyes have been incessantly brimming with tears this whole time when a few slip down your face with little prompting.

A few more beads follow the path of the others after you catch sight of the truly cracked look on Alfred’s face when Jason comes up to him before there’s an arm slinging across your shoulders and Dick’s urging you into a hug.

You take it. You raised some good kids, you’ll give yourself that much. Even if there were some major fuck ups along the way.

“It’s kinda surreal, isn’t it?”

“Oh absolutely,” you croak. “I like it though.”

Dick shrugs, “Yeah. It wouldn’t really be us if things got too predictable anyway.”

He waits a beat and then, “So who’s updating Babs?”

“Let me guess,” you deadpan, “he told you two at the same time?”

“Pretty much. Which that, combined with everything that happened with Steph and The Birds, and having to break all this to Cass means her fuse is waaay shorter than usual.”

“Not it,” you proclaim.

Dick’s mouth drops open, his gaze snapping to you.

“What? That’s not fair.”

“Says who? I’m not cleaning up after Bruce anymore than I already am, and she’s your friend, Dick.”

“It’s still unfair,” he grumbles. He brushes it off quickly though. “So….I heard you and Cass ran into each other a few days ago.”

“Yeah. Last Sunday.” You side eye him. “Right after you almost started a grease fire in your new apartment.”

Dick holds his hand to his chest, tone barely upset enough to sound like true hurt. “Don’t look at me like that, I can cook.”

You nod slowly, “I know you can cook,” then shake your head in the same manner. “But you cannot fry.”

“It’s not my fault the oil fights back. I get enough shit in my nightly life. I don't need it when I’m at home on top of that.”

He smiles but the way it doesn’t reach his eyes churns your stomach.

“Maybe pan frying just isn’t for you,” you murmur but your hand goes up to touch his arm. “How’re you feeling?”

Dick shrugs. Gaze locking somewhere over your shoulder.

“As good as I can be,” you give him a sideways look and he forces a chuckle, rocking back from your touch. “Seriously I’m fine. Please don’t stress out about me. Are you okay?”

“Uh huh,” you grunt before pushing him towards the benches on the other side of the cave. “Sure. I’m fine. Now come on, let’s go sit.”

“Mom-”

“Nope. Move before you pass out or some shit.”

“Ah,” he gasps, grinning weakly. “You said a bad word.”

“Dick,” you curb the urge to roll your eyes.

─────

Whatever conversation Jason’s just had with Alfred doesn’t seem to have left him any more tense than he already was, which is good. You and Dick stop mid sentence to watch him walk off from your new position on the floor.

You with a foam roller and your first child dramatically cringing every time you go over the area just above the hole in his calf. Part of it you’re sure is him trying to cheer you up but the other you're certain are actual expressions of pain because he went out on a literal bullet wound even though you’d told him to stay his ass home.

“I don’t know why he’s under the impression that I can’t shoot without killing someone but he’s wrong,” Jason’s saying. He pats the occupied holster at his thigh while making his way towards the vehicle pathway. “Anyway, I’m gonna get outta here. The later I see you Bats the better.”

“Jason!”

“Except for you, Ma! I’ll call you tomorrow!” He yells over his shoulder, running his fingers over the handle of the bike closest to him.

“You’d better,” you yell back. You’d be happy to reinstate another child that would lament the drama in their lives to you on your call list.

“Uh oh,” Dick says under his breath.

You turn to look over at him for barely a second, brows raised and mouth partially open, when the sound of a motorcycle revving answers your unasked question for you.

Looking back at the bikes shows Jason’s already peeling out of the cave with a yell of: “I’ll leave this somewhere you can find!”

You blink after him, not sure if you want to laugh or not.

“That’s not good,” Dick murmurs. When you turn to him he’s grimacing and seeing your expression he nods to the now empty spot. “That was Tim’s bike.”

“Oh.” For the first time since finding out the implications of Jason being Red Hood really hit you. Your lips purse. If he’d really been at that confrontation Tim came out of with a (mild according to him) slit throat during the Hush debacle, and been the one to infiltrate Titans Tower and lay Tim out a few weeks back you had a situation. “Oh lorde.”

“Yeah,” Dick gets up in one swift motion, hands on the roller. “We can’t have regular family problems. Nope.”

Unfortunately he’s right. A sigh falls past your lips. Either way, that was one down. You stand, addressing Dick while he’s putting the foam back.

“Excitement aside, before you head back to New York you want to come help me make dinner?” You incline your head. “Tim can come too.”

He smiles at you. You know he understands you not wanting to get too close to the teen but appreciates you including him in stuff anyway.

“Yeah, Mom, I’d love to. Just let me get my stuff and I’ll call him.”

“Okay.”

Dick leaves and you settle in to wait just as the Batmobile comes rumbling into the Cave. You cut your eyes at the vehicle but otherwise don’t acknowledge as Bruce gets out of it, heading immediately to change.

Alfred comes up to your side a breath later. The two of you nod in greeting.

“Sorry for taking the kids from you.”

“That’s quite alright, Mistress Y/n,” His voice drops to a whisper. “Between the two of us I believe Master Timothy may resort to camping in the woods behind the estate if he’s stuck here a moment longer. I’ll gladly allow you to take them both. You go deal with yours and I’ll deal with mine.”

“Have fun,” you croon lightly. The butler gives you a wry look in response. You shrug. “Oh, and if you wouldn’t mind could you tell Bruce to meet me at the Wayne Plot?”

A nod from the old butler.

“Is there a specific time you would like for me to convey as well?”

“He’ll know,” you say simply.

Alfred gives a curt nod.

“Certainly then. Farewell, my dear.” Alfred arches a brow at Dick as he comes back with a duffle swung over his shoulder. “And do try to express upon Master Richard the necessity of wearing his winter gear this year.”

“Alfred,” the man huffs.

You laugh and flick said man in the side. “I don’t think I’ll have to. He should have learned his damned lesson with that two week cold.”

“And I really did,” he bats your hand away and then speeds off. “I'll be upstairs.”

“Bye!” You laugh after him.

This was something you could work with. Putting time into your relationships with your boys and Tim. Solid plan. You say your farewells to Alfred and then follow after your eldest. Your gripes with Bruce could wait, you had dinner to make and two boys to feed.

Fin.

NOTES: I don’t know how severe the implications of a two week cold are but whatever. Hope you enjoyed!!

Thank you all for embarking on this journey with me, this is the first long form series I’ve actually finished so I’m very excited to cap it off!!

Anyway, long overdue is done but I will also write extras to this series at some other time in the future (if you’d like to be tagged in those then tell me).✌🏾

And yes I did my best not to have to write Tim or Cass yet, I can barely write Dick as is. Also let’s just assume Reader had the decency to actually inform Dick about Jason’s death and as such he wasn’t forced to dig for that information himself behind Bruce’s back.

btw: if you’d like to leave a comment I’d very much appreciate it. this is a sideblog tho so I won’t respond.

Tagged: @aarinisreading, @niphredil-14, @mxtokko, @calsjack, @brunnetteiwik, @trashpenguin

[callmearcturus]

(i posted this but tumblr fucked up the formatting SO BAD and then the editor would not open so here's a re-do i guess!

bless u, bc this is the one that's gonna be Another Batshit Arcturus AU

except all the scenes I have sketched out are massive Act Two spoilers.... so instead, I'm gonna share the work-in-progress outline for Act One. or, specifically the modern day half of Act One. this story is told in approximately 2024 and 2011 concurrently, with the 2011 plotline providing vital context for the 2024 plotline.

for context: Ted is a director working with Rebecca's A24-style production company. Trent is a writer. Keeley is Trent's agent who managed to convince him to sell the movie rights to one book. act one is Ted trying to get those rights before a larger studio snaps them up. Act two is the filming of the movie. Act three is post-production and press tour.

One piece of additional context is that Trent is a reclusive writer who keeps writing extremely location-accurate novels set in America. Ted is shocked to learn the guy's not American, tbh. Here's the bibliography i made up for Trent:

[SPOILER, REDACTED]

editor for a few anthologies

The Sarpedon EP, 1968 (moody psuedo-mythical story about psychedelic/progressive rock in Nashville)

An Aquarian Guide to Atlantis, IL (weird, almost ergodic story of a hitchiker trying to get from St. Louis to Chicago and finding a strange town)

The Tides of Static (an anthology of seemingly disconnected vignettes that wind up linked by a radio DJ working a remote blowtorch tower)

Paris of the Plains (a sports drama/romance about a journalist uncovering a massive scandal in Kansas City football while trying not to rekindle her love of an old fling who's now working on the same team embroiled in the scandal. later adapted into the film The Time After The Last Time, directed by Ted Lasso, produced by Rebecca Welton)

so here, a glimpse of how I outline a story

ACT ONE: Pre-production

Storyline A (Ted POV):

Ted, modern day: Ted has to find Rebecca. She's supposed to be on vacation and Ted would never dream of interrupting her HOWEVER there's a scoop in Variety that Trent Crimm is auctioning the rights to his latest book despite years of resistance. Ted is terrified that someone is gonna buy the rights and make a bad movie or worse sit on the rights and never make anything out of them.

finding Rebecca takes some doing but Ted is determined and he knows all her offices and hiding places.

Ted is a huge fan of Crimm's work, has read all his previous books and has been keeping an eye out for him to maybe offer something up for adaptation. That it's specifically the one about a football scandal in Kansas City with a fantastic sense of space and also is a romance? Ted HAS to direct this movie, but Rebecca's studio can't compete with the huge prices that a Paramount or Disney would be throwing around. So they need to make a direct offer before the sale.

Rebecca emails Crimm's agent. This first attempt gets a polite, impersonal dismissal. So Ted is the person to reply (as Rebecca watches over his shoulder to ensure he's not making a fool of them) and tries to convince them to reconsider bc Ted is specifically interested in doing it right.

Still no.

T: "Get me an address, I'll fly out--" R: "Fly out? The address available through his agent is in London." T: "Okay, wouldn't've called that."

Rebecca gets Ted the address and Ted takes the Tube to get there bc he still doesn't have a car-and-driver. (He claims its organic location scouting.)

The address seems to be Trent's house but he's not there, just Keeley and Adelaide Crimm. They will not reveal where Trent is.

Ted notices Adelaide's accent and is relieved Trent is American. Adelaide says no, he's super british, but he took a job in America when she was young and brought her along.

The house is fully of photos of places. Addy is a photographer. Ted is thrilled to see shots of the Paseo, the Plaza, and other KC landmarks.

Keeley explains they are not really looking to option the book out because, well. They're not.

Adelaide kind of likes Ted and how he talks about her dad's books so she texts him later, gives Ted her dad's email. the one he actually checks, not the fake ones that get listed.

A turn for the epistolary as Ted attempts to reach Trent Crimm.

Ted emails Trent, who is baffled that he found this email address. Thanks Ted for his interest but tells him it was difficult enough to decide to offer up any rights and he frankly doesn't want to talk about it further, goodbye.

Ted takes a little time to try to read/watch every interview he can with Trent Crimm. They are basically non-existent and the ones that do exist are fully text.

Emailing each other continues: Eventually, Trent admits he's hoping the book rights are bought and sat on forever. Keeley was the one to convince him this was a good way to ensure Adelaide was set up for years to come and he could write his next few books without concern about money. But actually seeing such a movie? He wants nothing to do with it.

There's something unique about this email, a slip-up: Trent mentions he's in KCMO. The moment Ted realizes, he's inbound, racing to get there in time.

All for naught: Ted makes good time, probably the best possible time a guy can make from Heathrow to MCI to Emmanuel Cleaver Blvd without use of a fighter jet.

Still: Trent's gone, and Keeley's there.

Ted hangs a lampshade on the running gag: How in the sam hell is she always there instead of Trent?! "Yanno, I ain't ever seen the two of you in the same room together, Ms. Jones." Keeley cackles. "He's a slippery one! But trust me, you'd know him if you met him. He's got that aura of irritable uptight fiction author."

Ted is extremely discouraged that he missed Trent yet again, tells Keeley he is bound and determined to make sure this movie's done right but doesn't know what to do anyone. Keeley cracks, sympathetic, and gives Ted the Actual phone number for Trent. "Do not call him. He blocks all unknown numbers. Text."

So Ted does. Takes a photo of the fountains at the Plaza at night and sends it to Trent.

TL: I think the fight between Kit and Moses happens here at night, when they turn the lights on under the fountains and it's beautiful, all that watery glow. The contrast there, it reminds me of how painfully obvious it is that Moses wanted to take her there for real, to see her son playing in the water. It's the right place and the wrong time, it's always right place wrong time with them. LONG pause but Ted sees the text has been marked as "Read". Honestly he's surprised Trent has read receipts on. TC: Why are you in KCMO? TL: Flew here hoping to catch you. Last email, you accidentally hinted you were at your rental off Emanuel Cleaver. TC: Ah. An amateur mistake, I see. But I've slipped your net again, it seems.

Ted returns back home to London, resigned to taking another project and letting this one go. Pulls his copy of Paris of the Plains from his bag, reads it on the plane back.

Gets off the plane and he's missed a call from Trent Crimm. Shocked, Ted immediately calls back.

TC: "You have one shot, Mr. Lasso, so make it count. Tell me why you're so determined. It's not the job of a director to try to cajole a reclusive, unfriendly author into optioning his book to a boutique film studio. So why?" TL: "When I first moved to the UK, I was missin' home so much, I was turning into a barely-functioning daydrinker, and I almost gave up, went back to Kansas, gave up my career. But Beard loaned me his copy of Atlantis, IL and you... knew those roads and those people. You gave me a home I could carry around in my bag. Dunno if I would have survived without. Then I read Sarpedon, and Rebecca got me an advance copy of Tides of Static for my birthday." TC: "So you're a fan." TL: "No! I mean, obviously I'm a huge admirer, yeah, but... Trent, I just flew almost nine thousand miles just for a chance to talk to you about this, so I'm not gonna split hairs here. I need to be the guy to direct this. No one else is going to get it right, and I need it to be right, 'cause I know it. If you give me a chance, I'm going to move the whole production out to KC, I'm going to take what's in my head and put it on the screen. And I-- I think it's what's in your head, too." TC: "You know, it's supposedly my worst book. That was part of the little joke of it all; Keeley convinced me to sell something, so I picked the one the critics hated. You'll need someone good to do the adapting." TL: "Heck, if I need to write the treatment myself, I'll do it." TC: "..... Alright." TL: "!!!!" TC: "Nine thousand miles is an absurd ordeal to put yourself through and the writer in me wants you to get some payoff for it. So. Tell Ms. Welton to tack on another five million and its yours."

[m-jelly]

Mask of the heart - Chapter 2

Levi x fem!readerRoyalty, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Curses, Curse Breaking, Demons, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Magic, Romance, Drama & Romance, Falling In Love, Love, Love Confessions, True Love, Demon Levi Ackerman, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Running Away, Arranged Marriage, Obsessive Behavior, Soft Levi Ackerman, Levi Ackerman Needs a Hug, Protective Levi Ackerman, Possessive Levi Ackerman, Cuddly Levi Ackerman, Masks, Curvy Reader

In this chapter: Levi and you get very close to each other. You make steps in your relationship as you build confidence in yourself and you start healing.

Ao3

Part 3

After settling in for a few days your chipper personality faded into a sad and scared one, mainly because what you had done sunk in. There was a chance your only remaining family would be hurt or killed. It stung your heart. Part of you was thinking that you should just go back, sacrifice your happiness and just marry him. However, Harold came to mind and how he helped you run away.

People who came in to tend to you were so sweet, but you were so scared of the women and Anne due to the last maid you had betrayed you. They meant well and tried hard to connect with you, but you had this deep concern inside you. You wanted some sense of happiness and friends, but you didn’t know how to achieve it all.

The only person you would let come near you was Levi. Levi was so gentle and kind to you, he would help you eat or do things around his grand home. You would often stay curled up in his bed, unable to move an inch. So, Levi would sit and work next to the bed or sit in a chair and read while you lay there curled up.

Last night you had nightmares, so today you were extra fragile. Levi noticed and wanted to make things better. He was sitting on the floor working on some policies for his land and wondering what to do with his massive fortune. He eyed you and thought about buying you something nice. Compelled by his feelings for you, he slid across the floor and sat right by your head on the floor.

You sniffed back some tears and looked at Levi, his brilliant steel blue eyes sparkling through the mask. “Your lordship. Is everything okay?”

He held the edge of the bed and whined. “L-Levi is f-fine.” He gripped the bed. “You are unhappy. Forgive me for not providing a good home.”

“It’s not you or your people. I had a few nightmares last night.” You sat up and moved your messy bed hair. “I am finding it hard to trust your staff.” You looked over at him. “I-I’m not saying your staff are bad…” You welled up. “I’m sorry.”

Levi scrambled up and sat on the bed next to you. “Please don’t cry.” He reached over for your hands and paused. “Sorry, I shouldn’t touch you with these things…”

You reached over and took his black-clawed hands. “Your hands are lovely.” You played with them, they were warm and smooth. You lifted his hands and kissed them. “Your people are lovely, it’s just back at the palace a maid was assigned to me and I got to know her over the weeks I was locked up there. I thought we had a bond.”

Levi reached up and wiped your tears away. “What happened?”

You sniffed. “She had been poisoning me the whole time because she wanted Jareth all to herself.” You lowered your head. “I didn’t want him. She knew I didn’t want him, but she still…” You shook a little. “Anne is so lovely and gentle. She’s so caring and I feel terrible.”

Levi cupped your face. “You are a good person. You have a good heart. Bad selfish people hurt you. My words probably don’t mean anything, but you are safe here. People here care about you.” He dragged his hands down to your upper arms. “I will protect you and if anyone hurts you or makes you cry…”

You started shaking. “Please don’t hurt them.”

Levi tilted his head. “I won’t lay a finger on their head. I’ll talk sternly to them and tell them I’m disappointed in them.”

You gazed at him. “You’re really sweet and adorable.”

Levi whined a little and felt nervous. “I-I’m not.” He climbed off the bed. “I’ve done bad things to protect this country. I know how to use my sword and I use it well.” He looked at his clawed hands. “My body is made for destruction.”

You slipped out of bed and walked over to Levi. “You see destruction, but I see as protection. You cared and looked after those who needed strength when they had none.” You wrapped your arms around him and rested the side of your head against his back with your hands on his pecs. “You’re a good man. You’ve cared for me when you could have just left me to die.”

Levi placed a hand on yours. “I could never let something like that happen to you.” He pulled your hands off him and turned to face you. “I have an idea. How about you come with me as I do my rounds?”

You nodded. “Y-Yes.”

“Do you need help from Anne in changing?”

You gripped your night dress. “Mm…okay.”

He moved to the room door and saw Anne was waiting. “She’s said yes.”

Anne gasped in delight. “Yes! I’ll dress her up in so many pretty things!” She ran inside and squealed in delight. “Hello, my lady!”

You gripped your dress and bowed. “H-Hello.”

Levi leaned down and whispered to Anne causing her to nod and look sad. He pulled back a bit. “Is there a colour you don’t like?”

You shook your head. “No, I’m okay with anything.”

“I’ll be on my way. I’ll see you in a bit.”

Anne clasped her hands together. “Something light and pretty.” She hurried to the walk-in and grabbed a pale light green dress with pretty hand-stitched flowers, the fabric long and flowing. “What do you think?”

You lightly touched the dress. “It’s pretty. I like it.”

She bounced up and down. “So exciting! Ever since I started working for his lordship I’ve dreamed of the day he takes a bride and I get to dress her up, look after her and help her make my lordship blush!”

You giggled. “He’s cute.” You gulped hard as she started to dress you. “Does he always wear that mask?”

“Yes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen his face.”

“I have.” You smiled at her as she looked in pure awe. “When I jumped into his arm in the snow. He didn’t wear a mask. I thought he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen.” You nibbled your lip. “I want to see it again.”

Anne fixed your hair for you. “Well, let’s work together. We will get him to remove that mask to kiss you.”

You gazed at her. “You don’t want him?”

She shook her head. “I don’t. I have a man I love very much.” She held your hands. “I’m not that nasty maid, okay? We all here care about you and his lordship. Most of us here ran away from the prince’s country.”

You squeezed her hands. “I understand. Levi whispered to you about what happened, right?”

“He did. I will work hard to be your friend. If you need boundaries set, please tell me.”

You nodded. “I will communicate everything.”

“So will I.” She stepped back and sighed. “You look like a countess.” She giggled. “That position is available too.”

You felt your cheeks heat up at the thought. “That would be lovely.”

Anne clapped her hands. “Yes! Wonderful. Let’s return you to the count so you can move on him.”

You walked with her and hummed a laugh. “I will try my best.” You gripped your dress a little. “His lips seem very kissable.”

Anne hugged herself. “I know what that’s like, wanting to kiss someone a lot. I’m the same with my man.” She growled. “Just wanna grab his face and cover it in smooches!”

You giggled. “Cute.”

She grinned before pausing and turning to a butler. “Where is his lordship?”

Jean smiled. “He is outside speaking with Sasha about the grounds. Fair warning, he is the king of bunnies right now.”

Anne giggled. “I love it when he is.”

You frowned a little. “King of the bunnies?”

Anne guided you out of the grand mansion home into the vast gardens. “We don’t know why, but animals seem to love the count.” She paused and allowed you to admire Levi in his black suit, cloak and mask. Around Levi was a lovely collection of bunnies gazing at him and wanting attention. On his horns sat little birds. “Whenever he goes outside they surround him.”

You gasped in delight. “So cute.”

“Go to him.”

You lifted your dress and hurried over to Levi as he talked to Sasha about the land. “Levi.”

He felt a warmth shoot through him at hearing your voice. He turned to face you and felt like he was walking on air, you were breathtaking. Every time you talked with each other, it was always in dim lighting in his room. So, this was the first time he was ever seeing you in the sunlight. He mumbled your name. “You…you look…b-beautiful.”

You looked down at yourself as if you weren’t aware of your beauty. “Thank you.” You looked a little to see a little bunny pawing at Levi’s leg. You scooped it up into your arms and saw it kick a little because it wanted Levi, but as soon as it looked at you, the bunny melted like Levi did. “Aww, such a cute little bunny.” You giggled as it started nuzzling against you. “I think it likes me.”

Levi reached over and petted the bunny. “How can it not? You’re wonderful.” He walked right up to you and petted the bunny. “I am sorry for the army of animals, they follow me around.”

“Animals are a great judge of character.” You leaned up and kissed the mask where his cheek would be. “You’re a sweet man.”

Levi felt a whole body blush. “I-I-I…uh…mmm…th-thank you.” He cleared his throat. “Would you like to walk with me?”

You placed the bunny down. “I would like that.”

He fiddled with his shirt and then started walking with you. The two of you talked so naturally as if you had known each other for years. Everything was so natural between the two of you. The more you walked and talked with each other, the more animals seemed to turn up and want Levi’s attention. After a while, he took his cloak off and placed it on the floor allowing you both to sit together. As soon as you both sat, bunnies climbed onto your laps.

You fussed the bunny on your lap and hummed. “The place is beautiful.”

“I do like my home.” He looked around then back at you. “I am glad we did this.”

“Me too.” You reached over and caressed his neck so he could enjoy the skin-on-skin contact. “I loved getting to know you more. Each time we talk about ourselves, the more my heart flutters for you.” You pulled back from him. “Sorry, I’m probably flustering you.”

Levi gazed at you. “I like that contact. You’re the only person I like touching me.”

You shifted closer to Levi. “Levi?”

He locked eyes with you as his heart raced. “Yes?”

“Can I move your mask? Just a little bit?”

He felt nervous. “I ah…I’m not nice under this.”

“I’ve seen your face before and I thought you were so handsome.”

He gazed deep into your eyes. “I believe your words that you wouldn’t lie to me but I don’t think much of myself.”

You shifted the mask to the side a bit to see his cheek which had some black marks and scales. You leaned closer and kissed his cheek and discovered it was soft and warm. You kissed again before moving the mask back. “Thank you for indulging me.”

Levi gazed deep into your eyes as he gulped a little. He reached over and caressed your cheek with the back of his clawed fingers. “Can you indulge me then in return?”

You nodded. “Sure, what is it you would like?”

He moved the bunny off his lap and got a bit nervous. “I ah…you…um…well…”

You hummed a laugh. “It’s okay, ask away.”

“I would like to h-hold you but in a specific way.”

You smiled at him. “In what way?”

He gripped his thick muscular thighs. “I w-would like y-you to sit on m-my lap with your b-back to me. I w-want to hold you f-from behind.” He looked away. “I’m s-sorry, I’m asking t-too much.”

Shame ran through him as he thought about his request, he thought he was asking too much of you. All he wanted was for you to be his bride, but you ran from a marriage so you wouldn’t want him. A pure delighted heat of excitement went through him when you crawled over and sat right between his legs before pressing your back to his chest.

You wiggled a little and smiled. “Comfy.” You lightly grabbed his wrists and then helped him put his arms around you. “Here.”

There was a slight hesitation, but hearing you give him full permission encouraged him to move. He wrapped his arms around you and held you tightly. “Mm.” He clung tightly as his tail swished a lot. Now he was wishing he didn’t have a mask on because he wanted to nuzzle the crook of your neck. He looked around to see the two of you were alone.

You gasped when Levi’s clawed hand covered your eyes. “Levi?”

He slipped his mask off and whispered against your ear. “Keep your eyes closed and don’t move.” The heat of his breath caused you to shiver against him. “Just for a bit.”

Your senses heightened causing this moment to be all the more sensual. A gasp escaped you as Levi’s soft hot lips ran up your neck to your ear. A gentle kiss made you shiver then a playful bit on the edge of your ear made you moan. You leaned your head back as he kissed down your neck to your shoulder. His canine teeth playfully nipped your shoulder causing you to squeak.

Levi pulled back a little and saw he’d made a love bite. “A-Ah, s-sorry. I got carried away.” He pulled his mask back on. “I am sorry, I left a mark.”

You turned your head as soon as he removed his hand. “I liked it.”

He gazed deep into your eyes before tapping the forehead part of his mask against your forehead. “Good. I don’t want to scare you.”

“You don’t scare me.” You cupped his face and kissed his mask right where his lips would be. “You’re sweet and caring.”

Loving words were on his lips, but he didn’t get a chance to speak to you because a staff member came over and asked for his attention. He rose to his feet and felt sad. “I must go. Could we go on another date soon?”

You nodded. “I’d love that. Oh, your cape.”

“Keep sitting on it. You can return it later.” “I will.” You waved to him. “Bye.”

You let Anne dress you up in a cute dress and then add a pretty cape after as the spring air was cold today. As soon as you were dressed and ready, you ran through the grand mansion until you were outside to see Levi preparing a carriage to go into town. Once you saw Levi you felt excitement surge through you. “Levi!”

Levi turned and gazed at you, a sparkle of delight filled his eyes when you sprinted towards him. He called your name. “My little bunny.”

You leapt into his arms and hugged him. “Don’t go without me.”

He squeezed you before placing you on your feet. “I didn’t know you wanted to go into town. Forgive me for not thinking of you.” He whined. “I’m a bad man…”

You held his clawed hands and noticed he’d put gloves on them. “You’re a good man.” You lifted his hands. “How come you’re wearing gloves?”

“I don’t want to scare people.”

You kissed his hands. “I think they’re pretty.” You smiled at him. “I’m looking forward to going out.”

He held your hand and helped you into the carriage. He climbed in after you and closed the door. “I have work to do there, but we c-can go shopping?” He fiddled with his cloak. “M-Maybe umm…go to a café?”

You shuffled up to him. “Like a date?”

He nodded. “I-If you want to?”

“I do.”

He perked up a bit. He glanced out the window as the carriage moved into town. Shame and fear started to move through him. He grabbed the hood of his cloak and pulled it up. “Mm.”

You tilted your head. “Why the hood?”

“To hide my horns.” He sighed. “I’m ugly and frightening to look at…I don’t want to scare my people. I don’t want to scare kids, I like kids and I want to be a father someday, but I’m too scary and horrific for that.”

You smiled as your cheeks heated up. “I think you’d make a wonderful father.” You knelt before Levi and undid his cloak. “You should have faith in your people. Your staff adore you and they have seen your tail, claws and horns. Have they run?”

He shook his head. “they seem to love me more.”

You slipped his gloves off. “Have faith in them and if they judge you, well I’ll give them a stern talking to.”

He chuckled. “You’re a good person.”

You held his hands. “I will be with you every step of the way. If you want to leave, we will.”

He gulped hard and nodded. “Okay.”

You smiled. “Plus, there might be a demon kid in this town and seeing you with your horns and tail out will give them confidence.”

He perked up. “You think so?”

You nodded. “I believe.” You gasped a little. “Oh, I’m taking your cloak off and it’s cold out.”

“I wear it only to hide. I run very hot.”

A shiver ran through you, you felt pleasure in knowing he was always hot. “I bet you’re wonderful to cuddle in bed on cold nights.”

Levi’s heart skipped a beat as he heated up at your words. “I-I uh…mm…maybe I am.”

You sat next to Levi. “Have you had a girlfriend before?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes.”

“Sorry I asked, it’s just you seem a little nervous around me.”

He shuffled closer to you. “Well, you’re different. I’ve had two girlfriends in the past, both were lovers and I was intimate with them. One of them was magical and is the reason why I’m cursed, she was rather cruel…” He sighed. “So, if you’re wondering if I’ve had sex and been with women, I have.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I am nervous and flustered around you because my feelings are very strong for you. I want you as my bride, but I won’t force anything.” He turned to you and held your hands. “I get so overwhelmed with my feelings for you that I just stutter and stumble on my words. I’m also conflicted, you’ve been through so much with Prince Jareth and I know I’m ugly. You deserve freedom and a good sweet love.” He blushed. “You’re giving me such a cute sweet look like you’re an innocent little bunny.”

You giggled. “Sorry, I just think you’re so sweet and I love that you’re opening up to me more.” You cupped his face. “I don’t think you're ugly and I am not pressured. I think you’re the man, or should I say demon, for me.” You hummed a laugh as Levi chuckled. “Thank you for caring so much about how I feel and the shit I’ve been through. I want you to know I feel very safe with you and my heart flutters a lot around you.” You leaned closer and then pouted hard. “I don’t like your mask, it stops me from kissing you.”

He reached up to his mask and paused a bit. “Mm…I want a kiss.”

You grabbed the carriage door before it was opened. You opened it a tiny bit and smiled at the driver. “Give us a few minutes.”

The driver bowed. “Of course”

You closed the door and turned to Levi. “We’ve made it to town.”

He gripped the edges of his mask for a moment before unclipping it and slipping it off. He stared at the mask in his hand before looking over at you. “Last time you saw me like this you were sick and weak from running through thick snow. You were a little delirious.” He turned to face you. “Am I still handsome?”

There was a sparkle in your eyes as you took in the darkly handsome Levi. You clutched your chest as you gasped. “So handsome. My heart is racing so much.” You felt yourself shaking. “I…wow…I’m shaking.”

He ran the back of his clawed fingers over your cheek. “Due to fear?”

“Excitement.”

He smiled at you causing your body to heat up. “I’m glad.” He eyed your lips. “Is kissing still on the table?”

You inhaled as he dragged you closer to him, all the worries were gone and he was overflowing with confidence. You were the one that was flustered now. His hot lips ran along your cheek towards your lips causing you to feel dizzy. When his lips touched yours you felt fireworks inside you. Your body burned and ached in pure bliss. You clung to Levi as you kissed him back. As soon as you kissed Levi back he added more passion and confidence to the kiss.

Pleasure pulsed through Levi, all he could feel was pure euphoria. The connection between you and Levi was on a special soulmate level. He could feel the bond with you just by a passionate kiss with you. He tangled his claw fingers in your hair and nipped your lip. His hot pointed tongue slipped into your mouth and massaged yours in a blissful kiss. Your bodies throbbed with pleasure as the two of you confirmed your feelings.

He pulled from your lips and kissed along your cheek to your neck. He nipped your neck with his sharp canines. He sucked on your skin and rolled his tongue over the small mark he had made. He moved back a little so he could gaze deep into your eyes. “That was…” He smiled and tapped his forehead against yours. “Please say you felt what I felt.”

You nibbled your lip as your body throbbed. “I did. It was incredible.”

He kissed the corner of your mouth. “I want to kiss you more.” He flinched when he heard a knock on the carriage door. “A-Ah, we’re needed.”

You gazed at Levi as a cute blush spread on his cheeks. “Cute.”

He lifted the mask and glanced over at you. “You’re cuter.”

You leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I also would like to kiss you more.”

His eyes widened as his cheeks got pinker. “G-Good.” He shoved the mask on his face and whined. “You fluster me, i-in a g-good way.”

“I’m glad.” You kissed Levi’s shoulder. “We should head out.”

Levi climbed out first before turning to you and helping you out. “I need you.”

You felt yourself flush. “You do?”

He nodded. “This is the first time I’m showing off my horns and tail to my people. I need the woman I care about to be at my side.”

You smiled sweetly. “Of course. I’m here always. Do you want me to hold your hand?”

He gulped hard. “Please, th-that’s if m-my claws d-don’t bother you.”

You entwined your fingers with Levi’s. “I adore them because they are part of you.”

“You make me feel so loveable.” He squeezed your hand and then led you through the town to his first stop. “People are staring.”

“They’re thinking you’re so handsome. It’s the first time they’ve seen you like this.”

He hummed. “I hope they’re not scared.” He pushed the shop door open. “I would hate that.” He stepped inside and gasped when he saw a little girl run over to him. “Ah! I n-need to h-hide.”

You crouched down and smiled at her. “Hello, what’s your name?”

She gazed at Levi and wiggled a bit. “Frida.” She reached for you. “Who is the handsome man?”

You giggled. “That handsome man is Count Levi.”

She gasped. “You’re the Count! My friend!”

Levi shifted to one knee. “You’re not scared of me?”

She moved closer to him. “Pretty.”

He reached over but say she flinched. “S-Sorry.”

She eyed his fingers. “Wow!” She grabbed his clawed fingers and giggled. “They’re big and warm!”

He held her hand. “Yes.”

She reached up and touched his horns. “They’re cute.”

You giggled. “That’s what I keep telling him.”

She pulled back and giggled. “Is she your wife?”

Levi gazed at you and felt his heart race. “N-No, but umm…maybe someday.”

Frida huffed. “You should hurry up and marry her.”

Levi looked over at you. “I would like to.”

“Your Lordship!” A bearded man with round glasses scooped his daughter up. “Is my little one causing trouble?”

Levi rose to his feet. “She’s been wonderful.”

Frida kicked her little legs. “He loves her! They’re gonna get married! She’ll be our new Countess!”

The man chuckled. “You’ll make the two of them blush.” He looked up and went quiet for a moment as he took in Levi. “Your Lordship…”

Levi backed up. “I know I look…”

“So charming and handsome!” He chuckled. “It’s lovely to finally see you, well most of you without the hiding.”

Levi wrung his hands a little. “Oh, well my face isn’t very nice.”

You giggled. “He lies, it’s very lovely and he’s incredibly handsome.”

“Th-thank you.” Levi cleared his throat. “Shall we get to work?”

The man placed his daughter down. “I have everyone gathered.” He gazed at you. “Could you watch over my daughter?”

You nodded. “I’d be happy to.”

Levi held your hands. “It’s just a meeting about trading. He is from an ogre clan and I’ve been working with them for a while. I will tell you all about it after the meeting.”

You gazed at him and looked like a sweet little bunny again. “How come you’re telling me?”

“Because you are important to me and I don’t want you to feel left out, or maybe I’m doing business and the lady has to stay away. It’s not true, okay? I want you at every possible meeting, but there is a lot to go over and you might be confused midway through the meeting.”

You hummed a laugh. “I understand.” You leaned closer and kissed his neck. “I’ll do a bit of shopping with Firda.”

He retrieved a pouch and gave it to you. “Here is some gold. Treat yourself.”

You looked inside the pouch. “This is a lot!”

“It is?” He frowned a bit. “I didn’t realise.”

You gripped the bag. “I’ll buy a few things and something for you.”

“I’d…I’d like that…”

You took Frida’s hand. “Let’s go shopping.”

Frida bounced up and down before grabbing your hand. “Yes!”

The father moved closer. “She’s perfect, your lordship. I look forward to your wedding.”

Levi felt himself blush. “Y-Yes, wedding…”

You walked with Frida outside and let her pull you along to different shops and stalls. There were a lot of sweets and food, so you bought some for Frida and a fair few things for Levi that you wanted to try with him. After a bit of looking around, you came to a stop at a jewellery shop. As you admired what they had your eyes locked onto something so perfect, it was a stunning decoration and clasps for a demon’s horns.

“Excuse me?” You smiled at the seller. “I would like to buy these please.”

The demon gazed at you, the only thing hinting they were a demon was their horns. He smiled at you. “Of course. You’re really pretty.”

You felt flustered. “Ah, mm…thank you.”

He picked up what you wanted. “He’s a lucky man.”

You handed the gold over. “Sorry?”

He placed it carefully in a wooden case lined with felt and placed it in a bag. “The demon you are gifting this to.”

You took the bag from him. “I’m the lucky one.” You bowed your head. “Thank you so much.” You hugged the bag to your chest and moved with Frida. “Where do you want to go next?”

She hummed as she ate a snack. “I want to see the count again. He’s so pretty.” She gasped when she saw a group of cats. “He’s here!”

You watched the cats go running over to Levi and make a fuss of him. “Cute.” You smiled as your heart fluttered. People flocked to Levi and showered him with compliments about his appearance. You giggled as ladies told him he was handsome and touched his muscular arms. “Very cute.”

Levi looked down at Frida as she ran over to him. “Hello…um…where is…”

Frida pointed. “She’s over there.”

Levi looked over at you and felt his whole world slow down, all the noise went and the cats meowing at him for attention went. He walked towards you as if you had this magnetic hold on him. He stopped right in front of you with a blush on his cheeks. “Did you have a nice day?”

You nodded. “It was okay.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

You walked closer and pressed your body against his causing him to be flustered. “It’s because you weren’t with me. Today would be perfect if you were with me.” You looked up into his eyes. “Levi.”

He whined a little as you gave him the sweet bunny luck again. “Let’s go on a date.”

You held his hand and walked with him. “Yes.”

He eyed what you were clutching. “What do you have there?”

“A gift for you.”

He blushed hard. “Th-thank you.” He pulled you closer to him. “Are you warm enough? The spring chill is still bad.”

You smiled up at him. “I’m perfect.”

He opened a café door and ushered you inside. “Good. Oh uh, pick anywhere you like and choose anything you want on the menu.”

You moved to a quiet corner. “Here okay for you?”

He pulled a chair out for you. “Anywhere is good for me as long as I’m with you.” He pushed the chair in when you sat. “I uh…that was a bit…uh…corny.”

You gazed up at him. “I liked it.” You took his hand. “Sit.”

He sat down on your left. “You look so pretty.”

You reached over and cupped his face. “I adore you.” You leaned closer and kissed where his lips would be. “Such a sweet man.”

He lowered his head. “Am I am bad person?”

You frowned a bit. “Bad person?”

He nodded. “All I can think about is locking you up in my carriage and kissing you.”

You gasped as you felt a rush of pleasure go through you. You shoved the gift into his arms, lifted the menu and hid a little. “I want that too, but f-food and a d-date.”

Levi smiled a little at how adorable you were. He opened the bag and admired the box inside with perfect carvings. “Pretty.” He unclipped the box and opened it to reveal the silver clasps with delicate and simple stones. His heart throbbed when he saw a galaxy stone on each clasp. The galaxy stones were important to demons as they were given to their lovers as an engagement gift. “I accept.”

You lowered the menu. “Huh?”

He placed the clasps on his horns so they were perfectly decorated. “The engagement.”

You stared at him. “Engagement?”

He nodded. “The galaxy stones are an engagement gift demons give to each other. I was going to get you a galaxy ring and propose, but you beat me to it.” He saw how you were staring at him. “Oh, I misread the meaning. This is…embarrassing.”

You reached over and gripped his hands. “Levi.” You lifted them and kissed his clawed fingers. “I care for you, Levi. I want you. You said it yourself, I am your bride.” You smiled sweetly at him. “Marrying you would be a dream.”

“Even with my face?”

“I will kiss it every second of every day.”

He squeezed your hands. “I will kiss every inch of your body every second of every day.” He cleared his throat. “I ah…”

You giggled. “I will hold you to that, Count Levi Ackerman.”

He placed his hand on your thigh. “Bunny lady, I am stuck as this version of me and I don’t think I can have a human form. I don’t want to hurt you because you’re a soft pretty human.”

You shifted closer to him. “I’m not fragile. I jumped out of a moving carriage and ran a whole night and day through a snowstorm.” You leaned over and kissed his ear before whispering. “I think I can make love to a handsome demon fiancé.”

Levi growled. “Bunny.”

You pulled back. “We should order something to eat, right?”

He massaged your thigh. “Yes.”

[a-world-with0ut-dr34ms]

Ghost x City Girl Reader

You expected Ghost to leave you before the morning; he usually does. However, you're surprised to see him rush to your aid after being woken up by violent night terrors. A sweet and unexpected moment between you, that only ends as quickly as it began.

Tags: Romance, Drama, slight Hurt/Comfort, slight Angst, Intimacy, Fluff that turns sour, Mask-Kissing, Arguing, Swearing, Enemies to Lovers, FWB, Jealousy, Toxic Relationships, "Couples", Arguing, Swearing, A Little Melodramatic, I'm aiming for something more real though, Reader is somewhat bratty and immature, Ghost is bad at communicating his feelings, Damaged people not knowing how to talk to each other and let their walls down, reader has night terrors, I wanted representation!

WC: 4.5k~

Author's Note: I'm back from Vegas! I was on a drunken bender on Fremont St. partying with my brother for his birthday this week (I talked to a lot of interesting people too 😏). This chapter might be a little different, I don't know? I'm not gonna lie, after this chapter, the tone is about to take a shift. Please enjoy~

Also, thank you so much @argella1300 for helping me out when I asked. Your insight was greatly appreciated and it really meant a lot! 💞

Masterlist

It came in the dim shade of dusk, tucked in by shadows of your hall -- the abnormally tall silhouette of a man. Stalking you. Haunting you.

He looms at the brink of your hallway, expressionless, unmoving, and yet somehow inching forward all at once. With each step he closes between you and himself, an encroaching darkness fills the room behind him within the blink of an eye.

Who was he? It's a question you've had since adolescence. The answers never felt as true as his unsettling existence.

The world around you is silent, fogged as though you were being held underwater, your mind racing at an incoherent speed. The only sounds you hear are that of your own screaming. You knew what was happening; your body and mind had just been unable to control it.

Night terrors.

You've never told anyone about them before; you've never felt any need to. It's not exactly a hot topic of discussion, nor something you could even put forth any real value into if asked; you can't explain something you don't understand.

They haven't been anything beyond a waking three-minute inconvenience. An on-and-off occurrence throughout your life. But once it happens, there'd be no avoiding it.

They send your body into a mindless, cold panic, the only emotion coursing through your veins being the unknown fear that first woke you. Your arms thrash frantically as you scream, your body feeling as though it were being grabbed by a million hands...

Don't touch me, your mind cries out. Don't touch me. Don't touch me...

...Until you've felt the one, very real hand touch your shoulder, taking with it the darkness you'd thought had all but swallowed you whole and replacing it with the waking world around you.

The morning returns, as do the rest of its unpleasant realities.

"Hey." That deep and raspy Manchester voice is the first sound you finally register, and for once in your life, it couldn't have sounded any sweeter. "Hey," Ghost says again, placing both hands gently over your shoulders to wake you. "Everything's OK. You're in your living room."

Your chest heaves shallow breaths when sitting up on your couch, taking in your surroundings. That's right, you're still in your living room. You'd almost forgotten you'd passed out on your couch last night, now catching the breaking dawn which pooled through your windows.

It always takes you a moment to regather yourself after it happens, having to make sense of what had been real versus some strange in-between with you and your REM state. In those moments, everything felt real, and fake all at once.

Even the shattering and reforming of reality around you could not take your mind from Ghost's hand, which remained wrapped protectively over your arm, fingers trembling with the hesitancy of his own actions.

"Are you alright?" His dark eyes look your face up and down, taking in every twinge your lips made and how your eyes seemed to look in every direction but his own, still glossed over and dazed from sleep. "You just started screamin' out of nowhere."

Once his words run through your head a few more times, you realize that you'd made a scene right in front of the one person you hadn't wanted to know this about you, a new detail he no doubt did not expect from you at all.

Ghost has known you to be many things -- seductive, witty, cold, distant, and near every other synonym in between. He's heard your voice moan in pleasure more times enough to recognize it within a crowd; he's heard you hurl enough insults his way to send even the hardest of soldiers home crying and insecure.

Never has he heard you scream like this before, with such fear and strife. In fact, he can't think of a single time you've ever been so frightened around him. To see a glimpse of that had been more unsettling than he wished to let on.

He'd only woken up a few minutes shy of you, having slipped away to fix himself up and reset his balaclava. His lips had still felt stained by your kiss from last night, the skin on his face tingling off the memory of your touch alone.

Nearly two months he's spent with you in this odd, little fling and he's never actually kissed you like he had last night before. Never for so long. Never so deeply. He wouldn't allowed himself to. Kissing just for the sake of it always felt like a step beyond casual, as much as he often craved your lips on his most exhausting days.

Ghost must have stared at himself in the mirror longer than he should have, just chasing that feeling again, making himself sick with it. He debated on leaving before you woke, though he'd keep that to himself, having heard your screaming once he'd rounded the corner. In which case, Ghost ran to your aid without question.

His first thought had been that you were in danger; perhaps someone had broken in, or worse, you'd been hurt. You might get on the man's nerves, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't care about your well-being at least somewhat. He never wished any harm to you, and he damn sure wouldn't let anything happen to you if he can help it.

The archway between your hall and you had felt as foreign and distant as space itself, however. When Ghost found you on your couch, your arms writhing, and wide eyes locked on him with confusion and terror, he had frozen in place.

For a split second, he thought that fear had been caused by the sheer sight of him. And then, the strangest thing had happened -- it tore him to pieces being given a glimpse of a reality he didn't know he feared most of all. One where the sight of him brought you complete anguish.

Your screaming didn't stop when he approached you, nor had it stopped when he knelt beside you, saying your name and asking what was wrong, only falling on deaf ears.

Nothing had stopped your screaming, nor these emotions that ripped at him, until his hand had touched your shoulder, and you both felt the sensation of one another.

Your features calmed, your gaze softening at the sight of him, now having been pulled from that sudden trance. In a matter of seconds, you'd just barely managed to get your breathing to a more manageable pace, your heart not drumming so loudly in your ears. You played his words in your head, again and again, until you've slowly regained composure. Everything's fine. Everything's fine.

Had you noticed he had this effect on you? Ghost imagines you'll only carry on as though it were just another thing; the kindest of gestures are often the hardest to notice in the moment, and you never did like to dwell. It only took years' worth of tragedies for Ghost to be able to recognize them himself. Though every now and then, it isn't something he can catch either. He only wishes this hadn't been one of those times.

Embarrassment and shame flood within you like a crashing wave, though you mask it in an annoyed groan, turning your body away from Ghost in hopes he'd take the hint and give you some space. You always hated when this happened around others, most of all around the men you slept with. Slowly, you prepared yourself for your usual dose of reactions.

"I'm fine," you say. "I just... I'm fine." You rub your hands over your face in defeat, before sinking your head into them with a low groan.

There had been reasons you didn't sleep over or have others do the same often, this being one of them. You didn't need to have another guy slowly ghost you because you scared him awake at 2am in a frantic panic; the best way to avoid it would be to not put yourself in the situation at all, right?

But what happened last night hadn't been like any of your normal nights with Ghost. Last night had been something... not quite the same. There had to be some reason you haven't sent him home yet otherwise. You wondered if it had been the same reason why he hadn't gone home yet either.

"Fuckin' hell," Ghost sighs. "You might've woken the neighbors with that one."

"It's nothin' they're not used to," you say casually, though the second you do, you wish you hadn't been so cavalier about it. You hadn't meant to invite him into your world like this.

However, no one had been more understanding of these sorts of troubles than he; Ghost knew what a pain it could be feeling as though you needed to explain emotions you had no control over. So he wouldn't ask you what that was about, or why you think it may have happened. He didn't need to know anything beyond the fact that you were OK.

"Well," Ghost sits down beside you on the couch with a dramatic "oomph", huffing to himself with a certain contentment to it. "I've been there."

"I'm sure you have," you groan. You couldn't help being sly with him, even now. It came out of you impulsively, knowing he'd always reward you with some form of attention you both could get something out of. Something you both let sit at the back of your minds all day.

You stretch your arms over your head feline-like, your body now finally feeling as though you'd slept in your living room instead of your bed. Your shoulder ached dully, your back already popping at each stretch you made with your body. The wonderful joys of aging.

"That's one way to get the blood pumpin' in the mornin', yeah?" Ghost jokes, he always did feel a little humor could lighten any mood. "You never scream like that with me."

"Perhaps you should do a better job then," you tease.

"Don’t tempt me, love."

Love. He doesn't call you that often. Only in your most intimate of moments. You hadn't felt your face smiling, but you knew you were.

You looked so innocently up at him after without even thinking. "Tempt you, Manchester?" You give the man a rather tired but still lurid look, bumping his shoulder playfully with your own. "Perish the thought," you say. "As if it's that hard to do."

"Oh, fuck off." Ghost sighs, and you can practically feel the man smiling beneath his mask. A smile that felt as warm as a heater come after a snowstorm.

Wind chimes clung lightly outside your window, the finches gathered at your bird feeder chirping blissfully. You both laugh lightly to yourselves, your arms faintly brushing at every small exhale from your noses. And you both sat there even after the laughter, simply looking off ahead of yourselves, with eyes still heavy from waking.

It had felt suddenly a tremendous task to look over at Ghost. Once you've worked up the courage, you catch him gazing out your window aimlessly, peacefully, his body settled into your couch as though he'd been with you the day you bought the thing.

And then he looks down at you. Maybe he felt you staring, but you never noticed how brown his eyes are, or how deep they could look in a dimly lit room. Similarly, he's never noticed how animated your own eyes are, always moving and observing some small, unknown detail. It made his skin crawl delightfully. Ghost would have thought that feeling to be a bad thing, and yet it had been quite the opposite.

Why don't we ever do this? You asked him that last night, and though he'd answered you, it hadn't been the entire truth.

A sudden burst of energy springs from you, pulling you from your seat and inviting yourself onto Ghost's lap, who leans back and lets you do so without question. Your legs settle over his boulderous thighs, humming lightly as he rests his hands back against your hips, sighing pleasantly to himself and looking back up at you.

Ghost did his best not to squirm around too much with you on top of him. It hadn't been the worst thing you two have done together. However, it wasn't common for things to feel so... easy. He could stay like this all morning if you let him.

Something tells him you felt the same way; you don't usually take this long to start getting to the point of things physically.

"What is it?" he asks.

"I'm surprised you're still here."

You watch your comment bring him to a short pause and find yourself now at the edge of your seat, arms resting gently over his shoulders and not being used to this sudden anticipation towards his answer.

Ghost had thought about being completely honest with you, admitting that he'd been equally surprised. That's when he woke up and saw you still sleeping on the couch next to him, it had been the hardest thing to even excuse himself to the restroom.

Your arms had been entangled around him, cuddled against his large shoulder like a giant pillow. You slept soundly beside him, peacefully, having felt so at ease with letting your guard down, all things considered. An innocent sight too far and few between bitter exchanges.

He's never slept over after before, nor has he ever held you in his arms like this. Yet, it had felt like the most sensible thing to do now, something as natural as breathing or blinking.

He found himself just watching you sleep for a while, still. In the early morning light that crept through your living room window, he sees all these details to you he's never had the chance to; you are beautiful. Truly. And he hadn't meant it in ways that were superficial or lustful. Genuinely, he really did find you a stunning woman. He's always found you so, even behind the toxicity.

Seeing you next to him had made him happy, and all at once, it hurt him the same, knowing this time would always be finite. You'd bore of him soon enough, only to call him later as another passing thought. Maybe one of these days, he'll gather the strength to stop answering.

Even now, with you over him like this, it's odd. He doesn't want to get up, and yet he does. He wants to pull you in closer, and he wants to leave. He can feel himself breathing, yet the sight and touch of you made the air catch in his lungs each time he went to inhale.

Maybe he could just blame that on the smoking.

"Good thing I was 'ere, yeah?" he finally quips.

"Right," you lean forward, letting your nose brush the tip of his just faintly enough for him to long for its sensation beneath his mask. You watch the blond of his lashes flutter innocently, with eyes wrapped up in you even more than they had been last night. "My knight in shining armor. You won't hear me complaining."

"That's a first," he teases.

"Fuck you."

Your kiss is what truly wakes him that morning, your lips sculpting the shape of his mouth through his mask and gently planting slow, light pecks. His arms hug around you warmly, with strong fingers gently grazing their way up your back. He always did like these rare occasions where you'd treat him softly; he liked to think it had been a side of you that only he had seen. Even as he knew it wasn't true.

You continue to kiss him for a little while, the man's hands only remaining comfortably at your back to keep you over him. Ghost wasn't sure how much more he could take of you wiggling about on his lap before he gave you what you were clearly looking for. But it wasn't until you started reaching for his mask that he felt a sudden bolt of lightning strike him.

Both his hands shoot up to grab yours, large fingers hooping across your wrist like cuffs, keeping you just out of reach from the brim of his mask. His sudden hesitancy makes you smirk, and already does he know that you're about to push his buttons.

"Aw," you tease, purposefully rocking your hips into him. It makes you giggle when he huffs to himself. "Feeling shy?"

"Not shy," Ghost says. "Just..." Vulnerable. Anxious. Wary. Careful. "...You know how it is."

"Aww," you start to pout mockingly. "Is that honor only reserved for the special girls in your circle?" you ask. "Or just the ones you don't fuck?"

"For the ones actually interested in sticking around," he says. "Instead of just being some fling."

You can't help but scoff, and Ghost can't help but tense up afterward, already preparing himself for an outburst. You certainly were good for them, and Ghost hadn't wanted to kid himself here either; this would all end soon enough.

It wouldn't be long now... and he knows he should pull away before that day comes. He's lost enough people in his life to recognize not to get close to something that won't last long enough to really matter. So he won't hold back his words with you. You can't have your cake and eat it too, he thought.

But some small, sad part of himself wanted you to fight his words, however harsh that storm would be, just like you always do.

Your shoulders slouch and your eyes drift off somewhere into the room. You couldn't make it more obvious that what he said had stung, in ways you hadn't even known you'd been capable of feeling towards him.

A fling. A piece of meat. That's how you liked to present yourself -- it's how you've viewed others too -- most of the time. So you can't get mad if that's how he sees it.

Yet every time that truth is brought to attention, it can't help but make your gut twist up in knots. As if some delusional part of you felt you could continue to sleep with Ghost and see other men as well without him caring.

You've been in a losing battle with Ghost since you first slept together. You knew on that night that any real formalities between you two were forever gone; you'd already spoiled so many of the first joys of being with someone, and it often left this feeling of things being too late to change. What you have now will probably always be what it is. So why can't you enjoy it for that while you still can? Why must he complicate things?

"I just wanted to kiss you," you admit.

It's the honest truth. You dreamed about his lips; his kiss had felt that good. You never expected him to have left such an effect on you, yet you've woken up, and the want to taste him has not subsided.

Ghost takes his eyes from you, dark orbs lowering to your lips as though to telepathically share the same thoughts as you.

"I..."

BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!

Your eyes turn to the thunderous rumbling of your cell phone against your hardwood coffee table. A phone call.

Ghost looked back at you, expecting you to sit up and answer it. You merely turn back to him, letting it buzz until the call finally drops. You could always call them back.

As you've opened your mouth to speak, however, the phone begins to buzz again. Another phone call. It's this time that you've decided to sit up and see who it is; you freeze once you read the caller ID. Shit!

"Who is it?" Ghost regrets asking the second his voice lets the words rumble out.

"It's uh..." You stumble on your words, purposefully being coy, knowing he wouldn't like the answer.

"Your boyfriend?" Ghost answers for you, and your silence after speaks volumes.

Your boyfriend. Mr. Sweet and Super Understanding himself. This supposed "doomed" second relationship that has been nothing but highs since you've known him, if anything you told Ghost last night had been true. It figures he would call you so early this morning, you two had seemed close after all.

And like the strike of a match, his entire demeanor runs from cold to ticked off. Ghost can do nothing more than laugh to himself, shaking his head as though you'd just pulled the rug from underneath him and blown the ceiling off the roof of your prior delusions.

After all, you got exactly what you wanted here from him. He fixed your car, fucked you after, and now you get to send him on his merry way while you spend some real time with someone else.

Grumbling to himself, almost without him even knowing, he mutters, "I don't know what else I fucking expected-"

"He's not-" You struggle to find the right words to say, feeling as though every sentence spoken made a true difference between Ghost walking out of your life for good or not. The thought made you start to panic all of a sudden. "I'm not with him like that. You know this already."

You're right; he does know this. You haven't lied about a single thing since he drove over to jump your car. "Besides," you start to argue. "Why does it matter anyway? Why do you care? It's not like you want to be with me. You won't even let me look at you! You've said it yourself; I'm just some "slag" you sometimes like to fuck. Why the fuck do you care if I'm seeing someone who doesn't think that way about me?"

Because he hadn't felt that way about you. Not anymore. Not ever.

Never has he met a woman able to push his buttons so effectively, in ways all too familiar to his childhood. But at the same time, this woman, this human who unknowingly held so much power over him without even being aware, you equally found the littlest of ways to creep into his mind and bring him a bittersweet peace he had not felt since his youth.

But if he said that to you would you listen? Would you even understand? You've never been a woman to be tied down. He's known this. Who was he to think he'd be the difference when what you say is true. He has not been kind to you, not until it was too late, and now you've one foot out. How could he blame you for that?

And yet Ghost stands up, a bubble now having been burst. "As though you're so innocent," his voice raises, emotions finally starting to tip. He matches your hostile energy, his dark eyes glaring down at you, a mirror of wounded gazes. "How many times have I been here for you, only for you to cast me aside like an old toy you can just play with when you're bored? All I've ever been to you is an easy out; you've never cared what I've thought-"

BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!

Ghost's eyes shoot down to your phone ringing in your hand, and you swear you've never seen him more upset.

A passing fear of him stepping over and snatching your phone from your hand passes over you, and your entire body language subliminally shifts in response. You instinctively take a step back from him, lightly turning your body to keep your phone from his reach. You'll be damned if he thinks he can try that.

He notices this small action, and a part of himself felt akin to his father, recognizing that fear in your eyes from his mother, even as you hide it behind a biting glare. That feeling alone could have done him in for good.

Though Ghost wanted nothing more than to answer that call and tell that other man to fuck off already, he had more self-composure and respect than that, along with his own moral obligations.

Still, it didn't take long for the conversation to take a turn, and from that point, it had been as though everything this morning had been but a slow build-up to an inevitable argument between you two. It always did come naturally.

It started out antagonistic from the jump. You questioned and belittled his sudden emotional flare-up, criticizing every one of his reactions and ignoring the obvious signs that you really needed to back off and just let him go. Or it would be better to say you didn't care for it.

To be frank, you didn't understand his frustrations. If other men had been such a problem, why does he keep coming back? What is it that he keeps seeking here?

Ghost hadn't been interested in spending his whole morning arguing with you, and physically feeling a grave be dug for the remains of your tarnished relationship. He moves around you and begins gathering his things, needing the air now more than ever.

"Hold up-" you approach him, throwing any caution or personal space out the window, as you've stopped a few steps shy of him. "Where are you going?"

"Back home." Ghost starts to put his boots on, the frustration he controlled in his voice being taken out by the aggression he used to tie his laces. "It's time I've made myself scarce."

"You're just gonna run off now? Just like that? I didn't take you for such a pussy, Manchester-"

"Don't push me, Spice," Ghost warns you. "I mean it."

"Or what? You'll leave?" you taunt. "I'll do whatever the fuck I want to."

"And that's the problem," Ghost says, standing up on his two feet and towering over you. "All you ever do is what you want. You never care how your actions affect others or what someone might think of them."

"What do you want from me, Simon?" You finally ask him, voice starting to rise, your chest puffing up aggressively. You'd curse him for getting you so emotionally riled up this morning.

What do you want from me? What do you want? A simple question that had been impossible to answer, because answering it would mean being honest with himself about what's happened with him here. It would mean being vulnerable.

"Stop calling me," Ghost says. "Stop seeing me. Stop being with me. We should never have done this in the first fucking place... This has to stop."

No longer did he wish to feel this way, to feel as though the worst parts of himself came at a constant full display with you. No longer did he want to feel himself slowly start to care for you, knowing that at any moment you could be gone. He's not sure he could handle something like that again.

Your mouth opens, and then it closes, and then you frown. Ghost thought you wouldn't say anything to him. He thought you might even cry. But no, you never were one to just leave things at that. You always had to say the last thing in an argument, and you never minced words.

"Then fucking go already," you say. "Get out. You won't have to worry about me calling you ever again."

Ghost didn't say anything after that, though he had looked at you for a little while longer. If you hadn't known him as well as you think you did, you'd say his brown eyes looked rather sad.

He moves away from you, making his way to your front door and unlocking it. He makes sure not to look back as you see him out. The man wouldn't be able to stomach the sight.

He remained on the other side of the door after you'd slammed it, feeling the wind hit his back and the sharp silence that it brought with it. Ghost then cocks his head back and closes his eyes, sighing in defeat. He felt the warm, morning air hit the little parts of his skin left bare for the air to kiss, and as though his mood couldn't drop any lower, he remembered he still had to go to work with you this morning.

Part Seven Coming Soon. Stay Tuned~

Since I'm trying to explore toxic relationships, I wanted to delve into the complexities a little (while not being so on the nose about it). They have their ups and they have their downs; they blend and happen all at once and take each other's places at every positive or negative interaction. You can have genuine moments of care and empathy with people you simultaneously butt heads and take issue with I feel; nothing is ever just black and white. I'm rambling and probably not making a lot of sense.

But, now that Ghost and the Reader are in the pits, they've gotta look within themselves and fix their shit if it's meant to be. I want to write them in a way where it's clear if they could just sit and figure out what it was they wanted from each other, then this could be something real if they let it. However, life waits for no one, and they're about to be in for a doozy. The mission i have planned for them is gonna be 👺👺👺

Taglist: @cabreezer0117, @homicidal-slvt, @deadbranch, @argella1300, @poohkie90, @glitterypirateduck , @sarraa-26, @quincessimus, @0-444-4444, @crazymela, @13thprogenitor, @joce2fine, @sapszilla, @dmitriene, @justherebecauseafarisucks, @zevrajalexxandra, @corvusmorte

[bonny-kookoo]

Can we get a little drabble of pup’s history with her past owner/caretaker please xx

Ps re-reading your hybrid stories are giving me life rn

Obviously warning for angst. This is pre-incident/Take Care

You're not really sure most of the time why you're even here.

Neither the older woman who's supposedly your designated caretaker seems to be even remotely interested in you, nor is your legal owner who's barely ever even around.

You see him on TV a lot- either in movies or dramas he's acted in, or in interviews and reality shows where he's often asked about you- the hybrid he 'rescued'.

You didn't get rescued. You just went from one stale place to the next.

But you assume it's just the way it is for hybrids living amongst humans, clear lines drawn between the two species' as he and the caretaker get to do a whole lot more than you. Like using the phone, or even the computer, or the fancy tablet you get to watch videos on on special occasions. Mostly when people are over to visit, that's when he gives it to you- a Playlist with pre-chosen videos set up, or a random simple game that's easy to understand and play.

He doesn't like it when you talk to his friends or other visitors, so you don't, and rather enjoy the luxury of the little tablet while it lasts.

Most of the time, like today however, you're left in your room. The room is lit, and you're sitting on your bed, unsure what to do. In the past, you've gotten into trouble often for the things you'd occupy yourself with- picking on the stitches of your blanket, shoving the large closet from the window just to get a glimpse of the outside world from the window behind, or when one time you pulled all the stuffing out of a pillow.

You're not sure why you do these things out of boredom. But you know now that he hates it.

So what do you do then?

You listen closely before you get up again, turning off the lights to not make it suspicious, before you push against the heavy closet once more, revealing a tiny bit of the window to look through.

The streets look magical with all the lights and cars and colorful images on the billboards. You're so high up that the people down look like little ants, and you wonder how quickly you'd get lost amongst them. But surely you'd have to hide your features, because your owner had warned you that you can't be outside on your own.

You really want to smell the fresh air, room feeling too stuffy, but you know you can't do that. The only windows that are open are outside of your room, and that is locked until someone comes back- so you rather not think about it too much.

You push the closet back, making sure nothing is out of place before you throw yourself on your bed again, opting to sleep now. There's nothing else to do, after all, and you can't come up with more bad ideas when you're unconscious down the line.

So you rather sleep, and dream of a world where you can be one of the tiny ant people.

And not you, alone in your room.

[nancylou444]

Hi Nancy,

I hope it's okay I turn to you with this, but I just recently joined spn tumblr so I haven't really discovered many blogs I share my opinions with yet (though I did find some awesome blogs I'm excited to follow, but most of them only really talk about spn and the characters and not the actors, and this ask is concerned with j2m and danneel). Buckle up, this will be long because I tend to over-explain myself. Sorry in advance.

So I've been in the fandom since 2018 but haven't really paid attention to the cast other than watching some gag reels/bloopers, interviews with j2(m) and clips from cons. I never dug deep into the relationships/dynamics of the cast members (and also took like a 3-year break from the fandom so I'm not at all up-to-date)

I like to think I'm pretty good at reading people (in that when I find someone likeable they tend to prove themselves to be a good person and when I dislike someone seemingly for no reason I usually discover some pretty fucked up things about that person later on. Obviously with celebrities you never actually know what they are like irl but so far I've been right about people as far as I know.)

All this to say that I had an inkling about misha from the start, even though I never cared enough to do my research and justify my dislike towards him. I always got this pick me vibe from him, and like he's trying to insert himself into the j2 friendship to seem more relevant and likeable. And it seemed pretty clear to me that he is clinging to jensen and making it look like they are besties, ignoring jared or making him look bad as much as he can get away with only to fuel destiehellers in their belief that jensen also supports destiel and that jared is to blame for it not being canon. I've since found your masterpost about why you're anti misha, and finally feel justified in my feelings towards him, so thank you for collecting his shitty displays in one place.

So what my ask is about (getting to my point at last) is that in my browsing the anti misha tags I came across the anti danneel tag and decided to check it out out of curiosity (and arrogance, as I wanted to see if I was right about danneel as well, since I always got a bad vibe from her too (even though I never actually paid attentionto her)). And I did find some things that makes me think her and jensen's relationship isn't a healthy one built on mutual love and respect, and is possibly even abusive. I'm inclined to believe it not only because of my own instinct, but because of a video I saw where jensen's body language screamed that he is uncomfortable while sitting next to danneel who was rubbing/petting his back (though I don't have context for that clip so there might be another explanation for his body language that I'm not aware of). However the only 'evidence' about her being abusive was instagram posts that were (slight) jabs at jensen, that could just as likely be playful teasing as actual bullying depending on their relationship dynamic and whether the teasing is reciprocated imo (& there's no way of knowing how they interact in private so who knows). I'd be curious to know if there are more concrete instances of her treating jensen badly or generally being a bad person, but I couldn't really find anything useful in the tags.

But anyways, reading these posts I discovered yet another anti tag, this time anti jensen, which I definitely did not expect. I obviously know about The Winchesters drama but I thought they moved past it and are tight again, so I'm confused about what other reason there is for people to be anti jensen. I've seen some posts discussing him not standing up for jared/not being very supportive of him, siding with misha (though I'm especially sceptical about that one) etc.

I would like to be better informed about these things without having to watch hours of footage to analyse their interactions or read through hundreds of posts that either have some proof or not, without having to decipher whether what someone says is their opinion/interpretation or actual things that happened. From looking through some of your posts you seem to be well informed and trustworthy, so I'd kindly ask if you could explain the situation to the best of your knowledge or refer me to someone who has more information regarding danneel and jensen's relationship as well as jensen and jared's and can provide receipts. Thank you so much, and again sorry for this super long ask <3

Hello my darling.❤️ Nothing to apologize for.

@lightofraye recently posted an awesome anti danneel post with pics and videos. HERE

As for anti Jensen, for me, the prequel mess is a done deal. J2 have moved on from it and are besties again. I have the 'anti jensen' tag blacklisted. I really don't see him picking misha over ANYONE, let alone Jared.

Maybe @its-sassyboots @hologramcowboy or @walkergirlsposts can help you with the anti Jensen stuff.