#THE WRONG WORLD CH 2 WE ARE SO BACK BABY

[lexluvswriting]

ꔫ L'autunno.

☆ Ch: 2 [last page] [next page]

-> Pairing: Eris x ballet dancer!fem!reader.

-> (CW): x fem!reader (she/her), slow-burn, rivals to lovers, tinkle of angst on occasion, fluff, non-specified identity Summer Court!reader, regarding canon ACOTAR time: after defeat of Hybern. Dual p.o.v!!

-> (TW): Eris Vanserra, slightly softer today, Lucien cameo!! Beron Vanserra is still a c-

W/C: 2.8k (what a coincidence)

╰┈➤ Lex's note: I hope this chapter was a bit more reader and Eris focused!! i wanted to add some backstory to Eris -even tho there isnt much to go off- (slightly ooc as i am embellishing a lil, teehee!) ALSO: I did a dual p.o.v!! Thought it might be cute! pls lmk how we feel abt it!!

A gentle breeze swept back the Lady of the Autumn Court’s hair as she sat out on her balcony. The moon dangled in the sky, and a small ball of auburn hair shifted in the lap of the Lady- two golden eyes blinking through baby tears up at the female who watched the moon with an expression Lucien had seen before, but could never name. There was angry yelling in the distance, deep within the manor as glass shattered and feet stomped around.

“Why does he always do that, mamma?” A little voice called out. The Lady sighed in response, lips parting to bestow more motherly reassurance when another voice answered.

“Because he’s a horrible man, Lucien.” Eris, stone faced despite his youth, stalked towards his mother and younger brother as he entered the balcony clearing.

Eris Vanserra was many things. A big brother. A good dancer, a cheater at all the games, a little fox. And he certainly wasn’t an idiot.

“Did he write to you again? Is that why he’s angry?” Silence hung on the end of his question, sliding off the words like a droplet of dew as the Lady extended her other arm, and ushered Eris closer. Both boys held their mother, who looked up at the sky with weary eyes.

But they weren’t weary- they were tired, but not exhausted. Sad but not miserable. It was like she was holding onto-

“I hoped to negotiate with your father about letting Lucien see… him. But it didn’t… work out well.” Her voice was hushed, like the whisper of a willow that swayed by the lake near the manor.

There it was. Hope.

“Why bother? You know he’ll only hit you. Why do you let him? Why can’t he- why can’t-” Anger bubbled up in Eris the same way it did in his father, and that only made the boy more angry as he pulled away, kicking a loose rock over the edge of the balcony.

“Why can’t he help you? And take you away from this?”

“But where will you go, Eri?” Lucien’s sleepy voice cooed, the little one rubbing at his eyes with chubby fists. Eris glared at his younger brother- as if he was foolish for not understanding.

“I would stay back with father- to make sure he…” The words constricted in his throat. The Lady of Autumn hugged Eris again, tears welling up in both pairs of eyes.

“I know. I know. You are so brave, Eris. My sweet little fox, the boy who would string up the world for me.” Her words were always flowery and poetic- they always made the tips of his ears go bright red, but tonight he allowed them to find their mark as he hugged his mother tightly while her kisses littered the side of his head. Little Lucien, who squirmed when he realised he was missing out on the affections, stood up on wobbly feet as he grabbed his mother’s hand.

“Mamma, if I hang the moon on a sting, will you kiss me too?”

--- ⋆⁺₊✧˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☾⋆⁺₊✧⋆ ---

Your brows were furrowed in concentration as you planted your foot firmly on the ground, counting in before sucking in a breath as you went up on pointe, earning a grunt of approval from Gustav, who simply let the music play as you began to run through the steps of the solo. 

“Wrong- immediately. Your transition from the pas de deux should be seamless- as if he wasn’t even there. They are focusing on you- You are the one with the power- you are the one with eyes following. They will be watching your every movement.” 

Every word that left his mouth made you scowl harder, and your pirouettes became faster and faster, until you were a blur. A ‘thwack’ startled you, a stinging sensation against your thigh made you flinch and fall to the ground.

“Gus!”

“Wrong! All of it- wrong! What is wrong with you? Where is my jewel? Bring her back, instead of this monstrous thing. Money is on the line- my studio is on the line- prestige and fame for you is on. The. Line! Get it together. Again!” The orchestral backing seemed to rewind and restart, and your eyes glowered at the ballet master who simply inspected his nails, elbow leaning on his ‘discipline stick’, a thin, long piece of wood that ‘thwacked’ against the limbs of any sorry dancer who ‘lacked discipline’. You had been very familiar with it- an arch nemesis from youth, yet you let out a huff, which Gustav mocked, though you rolled your shoulders and resumed first position.

You danced- your arms swinging around as your legs carried you across the wooden floor. You saw glimpses of your reflection- and you weren’t at all displeased with what you saw. Strong, dedicated, pretty- Primrose would croon these at you prepared before a session, and they had found a mark in your heart as you paraded yourself around. You tried to push all the worries out of your mind for the moment, honouring the music that played by worshipping it with the graceful movements of your body, twirling and leaping- not like a dancer, but like a leaf on the wind. Like a stalk in the long grass. Like the pretty ember in a lantern.

Your heart raced in your chest, beating wildly despite the organised chaos of the accompaniment you danced to. All you had to do was dance- the rest would sort itself out, right? All you had to do was keep your head down, do your pretty dance, do it correctly and get the royal family of the Autumn court off your back. Then you could go back to being a normal dancer at a normal studio and pray that you weren’t swept up in the exodus that seemed to be occupying most of the Autumn Court. The shrill song of a violin pulled you out of the sea of thoughts just in time for you to complete a grand jeté before the coda started. As the steps got more complex- and dangerous, if you didn’t land them properly, you didn’t notice a bug eyed Gustav who had looked above to see a certain lordling glowering down at you- his russet irises blazing with an unreadable, but probably shrewd emotion as his eyes tracked your every movement while you danced.

You were having the time of your life- your blood always ran when you had to perform the more complicated sequences. Plié, pas de basque, pas de bourrée, glissade, a wondrous grand jeté- high enough for you to touch the ceiling if you really wanted to- land into another plié, and then, your favourite- the fouettes. You could get lost in these if you really wanted to, and perhaps you would, with the way you caught yourself smiling slightly in your reflection. Gustav hadn’t protested, or warned you not to go crazy, so you did the usual routine, body charging up to spin and spin and spin. A crescendo of the music made you stop spinning, and you saved yourself by doing a more ‘modern’ move as you tumbled across the floor, only to end up on your feet again, hands poised perfectly in the air in your finishing pose as the music slowly ceased. You laughed a little, amused at your ballet master’s silence before you noticed him staring at something, bug eyed and pale skinned. You realised he hadn’t looked at you at all, and your gaze followed, head tilting up until you noticed your voyeur, and froze momentarily.

What to do? Hiss? Swear? Burp really loudly and slouch? Throw something? A hiss from Gustav to ‘bow!’ made you slowly turn your head to look at him with blatant disgust, before your eyes slid back up to Eris, rolling them as your lip curled out and you let out a soft, delicate “Ugh.”

You heard something that sounded like a snarl and a squeak from Gus behind you, but you waved a hand, declaring airly, “I’m taking five!”

--- ⋆⁺₊✧˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☾⋆⁺₊✧⋆ ---

Eris’ face was the last thing you saw in your mind as you went to the studio’s small cafe to purchase a well-earned treat. It’s certainly handsome. Well- Grumpy, miserable-looking, arrogant, snobbish and so so so many other wonderful adjectives. But you had to give him credit… He was… pretty.

The croissant you purchased was steaming hot, so you tossed it in its brown paper bag between both hands, fingertips suitably warmed against the cool autumn weather. You walked along the hallway, your eyes focused on the large, golden gilded framed portraits of various dancers who had also traisped about the hallway you ambled through, croissant in hand as you appreciated each stroke of paint which captured their serious, serene expressions. You stopped in front of a painting to take a bite out of your warm treat- the clerk claimed it was filled with raspberry coulis, but you figured she was lying after the first bite, where you had bitten into nothing but fluffy, buttery goodness. The second bite was as uneventful as the first, but it was the third that made you jolt, as a hot, raspberry-ness flooded your mouth, your hand cupping under the treat a few seconds too late, before you heard a ‘splat!’, peeking down and swearing softly as raspberry hit the marbled floor.

“Oh… bloody… fuck.” You hissed, glaring at the dark pink splat, before stomping back to get tissues, kneeling down at your mess and sighing irritatedly- that would have been the perfect bite if the filling didn’t try to jump down your throat.

“Charming.” A voice replied, and you noticed the tips of brown, shiny leather shoes near your knees, making your eyes narrow. Oh, for fuck’s sake.

Eris Vanserra peered down at you, his grating voice a drawl as you slowly craned your head to peer up at him with an unamused glare, to which his lips quirked to the side in a crooked smirk.

“I hope you won’t be this uncouth when you perform for my family.” You immediately stopped kneeling, lest to give him any more of an inflated ego than he already has, and glowered.

“I don’t really care what you nor your family think of me.”

“Charming, indeed.” He hummed, russet eyes filled with a smug gleam, the light seeming to dance in his irises the more you glowered and frowned at him. You both stared at each other, you more hostile in your gaze than he, before you turned away to distance yourself and ignore him, only for his grating voice to sound off again, your ears catching his reply a little too attentively for your liking.

“You’ll have to accompany me to the Equinox ball even after you dance, by the way. It is custom- and honourable for someone like… yourself.” His eyes slowly scanned your face, meeting your eyes before they found something else on you to hone in on.

Oh, brilliant. Here we go.

“Someone like myself?” You repeated, raising an eyebrow as irritation made itself known even more than before.

“Of course. Independent, apprehensive, different. I’m surprised you can even bear to be in those impossible costumes and tutus. It’s like putting a bonnet on a bear.” His smile- mocking, unserious, condescending, was all you could focus on- your ears twitching at his tone of voice.

‘Apprehensive? Different! I’ll show him apprehensive-’

“Hah! ‘Different’?” You kissed your teeth, nodding before standing in front of his face, raising your coulis filled croissant and taking an aggressive bite, letting a small, thick glob of raspberry splatter onto his shiny, pretty shoes. Eris let out a small grunt as he stepped back, glaring down at his shoes for a long time, before his gaze lifted up to you, only to see your back as you had stormed off promptly, croissant in hand.

“You have something on your face, by the way!” His voice called out, in what you could only figure was mockingly. A hand raised up to the corner of your mouth, and you swore under your breath, yet you doubled down.

“And you’ve got something on your shoes!”

--- ⋆⁺₊✧˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☾⋆⁺₊✧⋆ ---

Eris blinked at the dancer down below, his eyes wide with awe. From the first time he had seen her at the start of the week, she managed to become more and more brilliant over time- as if each day that he didn’t see her, she became more talented and beautiful. [Y/N] was your name. [Y/N] [L/N].

He had seen you when you debuted for one of your more high-achieving roles- had taken his mother privately for a viewing of one of the ballets that had played in the amphitheatre when just after Amarantha had been destroyed- a celebration of freedom. Your rendition of Swan Lake, and your variation of the white and black swan had brought the Lady of Autumn to tears- how could a small thing like you capture the understanding of being trapped, of isolation and grief so beautifully? For a long time he had wondered about you- even at balls, where he waltzed around with other nameless women that could never compare to your poise and discipline- your fluidity and grace. Did you like to waltz? Were you shy and reserved? Angelic and sweet? Or were you alluring and confident? Seductive and playful?

Neither, he had decided when you looked up at him with your evident disdain, and your uncaring sneer. You were a third, greater thing. And you were absolutely magnificent. He realised there and then that he had to speak with you, even if just for a brief moment- he needed to feel the brunt of your fire firsthand. So when he had spied you walking through the halls so prettily, each step poised and perfect even off-duty, it made him feel strange. He just had to be close to you.

“Charming.” He mused, though he had paused when he realised he had spoken out loud. He wanted to correct himself, but your gaze knocked the air out of him, and he panicked- opting for his signature smirk to disguise his awkwardness. 

‘Whatever is going on, snap out of it.’ He thought harshly, before blinking as he realised he had been staring- so he spoke again.

“I hope you won’t be this uncouth when you perform for my family.” His voice was smooth, cool and collected like it usually was, and he was amused by your glower. Were you this angry all the time? It was oddly endearing, in a strange, funny way. Cauldron, your gaze was unforgiving. He wondered how many stupid males had been on the end of it.

“I don’t really care what you nor your family think of me.” His ears twitched slightly at that tone, and something stirred within him, making him want to smile. Oh, you were really funny when you were upset.

“Charming, indeed.” He nodded, a smile growing on his face as he admired you, enjoying the banter you two seemed to share.

“You’ll have to accompany me to the Equinox ball even after you dance, by the way. It is custom- and honourable for someone like… yourself.” His eyes slowly scanned your face, and he hoped he didn’t sound too excited when he mentioned it. He’d get to waltz with you, and show off his skills, and hope that you’d be as impressed with him as he was with you. He was too excited indeed, though he was curious with the way your irritation grew.

“Someone like myself?” You repeated, and he wanted to laugh. You were so silly!

“Of course. Independent, apprehensive, different. I’m surprised you can even bear to be in those impossible costumes and tutus. It’s like putting a bonnet on a bear.” He joked, enjoying himself greatly as he caught your attention and held onto it as long as he did. You were quite apprehensive, yes. Very grouchy and unagreeable, but still certainly pretty. He was proud of his ‘bears in bonnets’ joke too- that usually worked wonders with anyone he mentioned it to.

So why were you still looking at him like that? And did you know about the smear of raspberry under your lower lip? He wanted to tell you, or wipe it off at least when you spoke again.

“Hah! ‘Different’?” You made a noise that he recognised as irritation, and Eris watched you shift your stance, as if you were aiming to lob the pastry you had been eating at him. Had he misspoke? He watched you move closer to him, his eyes on your mouth as you raised the croissant and bit into it messily, letting a small, thick glob of raspberry splatter onto his shoes.

How inconvenient.

Eris let out a small grunt as he stepped back, blinking dumbly at his shoes for a long time, before his gaze lifted up to you, only to see your back as you had stormed off promptly.

“You have something on your face, by the way!” His voice called out in a weak attempt to be helpful.

“And you’ve got something on your shoes!”

Hah! She was certainly... spirited. That was no way to treat a Vanserra. She wouldn't last a minute in front of his father. Eris chuckled as he glanced down at his shoes again, clicking his tongue.

He'd simply have to come back and see you again.

╰┈➤ Lex's note 2: AHHHH it's done!! almost 3k AGAIN lmfao. i hope the dual p.o.v was good & made sense!!! if not, lmk and i'll stick solely to reader p.o.v only!! tysm everyone for the love this is getting! ch 3: 29/04 Week!! 🥹🫶🏼

[creative-caramel-coffee]

The Bear ch 4

Pairings: Wanda x R || avengers (platonic) x R

Word count: 3.8K

TW: flashback, torture, themes of death, panic attack, concussion, nonverbalism, brain washing, mind control, trauma, abuse, violence, needles, restrains, bruises, injuries, guns, medical malpractice, human experimenting, tears, insanity (implied), headache, (damn thats a lot of warnings.)

Summary: You join your uncle tony in the avengers, it wasn’t your original plan but you never planned for your powers either so here you are. Now your at the avengers tower and falling for the girl of your dreams. With a haunting past and interesting abilities can you navigate your way through the challenges of being a hero? After a mission gone wrong and a cruel twist of fate the team starts digging for answers. Can tony keep them from finding out the truth?

A/n sorry this took so long to publish I might have broken one of my fingers im getting an X-ray in three days. Also the sign language I describe is auslan (Australian) sign language so … yeah. Also im not great at it so it might be wrong sorry.

PART 1 || PART 2 || PART 3 || PART 4 || PART 5 || PART 6 || PART 7

When your mind awoke the dull headache still sat behind your eyes which you had kept shut. You wiggle slightly and Wanda knows your awake.

“Hello sweet girl. How are you feeling” she asked rubbing her thumb over your cheekbone. You were in her lap and quite comfortable. You let out a content hum and Wanda chuckled slightly. The vibrations of her chest were soothing on your head as you had your face nestled into her chest.

“Baby?”

“Mm?”

“If your feeling good enough natty and i wanna ask you something my love.” Wanda asked taking note of your muscles as they stiffened. You knew this was coming, they wanted to know why you had frozen on the mission. You fought back the emotions that bubbled in your chest and nodded.

“You want to know why i froze.” You said in a small voice. Wanda wiped the baby hairs from your eyes and looked down at you softly. Nat laid a comforting hand on your thigh and you almost had forgotten she was in the room. Wanda and nat were sat against the headboard on your bed and you were curled in Wanda’s lap.

She began to run her hands through your hair and you let out a content sigh.

“Baby we just want to know so we can help you and keep you safe.” She said softly and nat nodded her agreement.

“Alright, but i-i c-cant t-talk about it.” You stuttered clearing your throat at annoyance at the nervous habit.

“Baby thats ok, can i look and show natty then?” She asked your consent and rubbed her thumb over your cheek again with her hand cupping your face. You suddenly felt small and nodded, words becoming too hard for you.

“Ok if you need me to stop or it gets too much at all i need you to tap twice on my thigh baby girl. Can you do that for me now so i know you can do it?” She asked still speaking softly. You used two fingers and tapped twice on her thigh. She smiled down at you. “Perfect baby your doing so well. Let me know when your ready ok my love?” She asked and you drew a shaky breathe and looked into her eyes and nodded your consent.

“Words baby. I need to hear you say its ok.” She said. You looked slightly stressed and signed ‘no talk’ with your hands. Bringing your middle and pointer finger to your thumb to say no and then bringing your finger to your mouth and drawing circles to say talk. Wanda understood and began storing your hair.

“Ok baby no talking. Are you nonverbal baby?” She asked and you nodded and sniffled slightly. She cooed and asked you once more if you were ready. When you signed yes she hummed and began to project from your mind to her own and Natashas.

As she sifted through your memories her brow furrowed. They were fragmented and many were repressed, the trauma distorting the images. She saw many things. A damp cold cell with white chalk drawing of tony and the outside world covering the walls. The drawings were magical and intricate. She saw a small room with nothing in it but a chair, a man and a tray of what looked like torture instruments. She saw the lights of hospital but it was unlike anything private or government, more like a run down covert facility. She saw the man from the mission standing over you as you writhed in the restraints that kept you strapped to a table. He held a long needle filled with black liquid. She saw you standing over a man, a bear skull mask on your face and a black suit on you body. You had a gun pressed to his temple and sick grin on your face. She knew that suit. That grin. That gun. She recognised the cold sadistic chuckle as you drew the trigger. The crack of a bullet firing ricocheted throughout the ally and she watched the body fall limp on the floor with a sickening thud. But despite the cruelty of then action she saw the lacquer in your eyes. The gloss that told her you weren’t in control. She saw the light in your eyes flickering as you fought for control. She watched as the scene changed again and you were laid beaten on the floor of a cell cradling a bruised abdomen as you wore nothing but a ruined and bloody rag. She saw a man, the man from the mission again land hit after hit across your already broken and bruised body.

She watched you be broken and bled in every way possible before you were thrown back into your cell. She saw the kind scientist sneak you chalk that you covered the walls with. She watched you cry alone and broken. But the last thing she saw, was the logo of hydra printed on the door of your cell. The red ink bleeding down the walls.

She found nothing else. Careful not to damage your mind further she withdrew her controls. Looking down at you in her arms she pulled you tighter to her despite the shock. Your body shook with sobs as you wailed slightly still not speaking. In a surprising display of strength you pushed yourself away from her chest and sprung from the bed. Natasha looked dazed as you curled into a ball in the corner. Shielding your head with your forearms and rocking back and forth. The sound of your broken cries permeated the room and broke Wanda’s heart. She slowly came over to you seeing the panic in your eyes as she tried to stop the flashback. She pulled you into her arms and rocked you slowly as you sobbed. Slowly the sobs slowed as your hand gripped her shirt in fists.

As you began to recognise who was around you and where you were Wanda held you tighter.

“Baby we understand you weren’t in control. That wasn’t you. I remember fighting you but i know it wasn’t you. You couldn’t ever be that cold.” You howled and Wanda squeezed you again.

“Baby we love you the same as always and now we know just how strong you are and we love you even more.”

You sniffled and began to move your hands as you began to sign that you wanted to explain.

Wanda placed her hand over yours. “Baby you don’t have to do that just now.”

You signed back ‘I want to or i know i never will be able to.’

Wanda hesitated but nodded. Carefully she stood with you in her arms and walked back to the bed where nat sat and offered you a smile. You knew she didn’t care about your past the same you didn’t care about hers. Wanda held you as you explained. Hydra took you in the early days of tony being Ironman. You, behind the spotlight helped on missions and when you were captured one day things changed. They tortured you amongst other things and brain washed you to do their bidding. When tony rescued you he hid you away when he saved you from hydra and you and him faked your death. When you told him two months ago your powers returned after hydra suppressed them and made sure only you could use them when told, he panicked and made you come to the compound. The drugs they gave you to control your powers finally wearing off. You had always loved your powers, they made you feel safe and you quickly regained full control but the damage hydra did made some of them dissapper. Tony wants to keep an eye on you to make sure your ok if they come back also. But now hydra knows your alive and your powers are back and stronger, and they have almost certainly ordered a hit on you.

Wanda sat back and sighed running her hands through her hair as she took it all in. She was quick to comfort you as you took her silence as a bad sign. Tears formed in your eyes. And your loud thoughts told Wanda you thought she was mad. You began to struggle in her lap. She quickly pulled you into her chest again and shushed you reassuring you everything would be ok.

After all the stress and crying your head felt even worse and the familiar nausea returned. You thrashed in Wanda’s arms who pulled you from her neck to look into your eyes. They looked frantic and you quickly signed the word for throw up. Nat was quick to understand and grabbed another sick-bag. She had half expected this to happen after the stress this had put on you and the pain of crying that hard with a concussion.

She carefully placed it under your chin and you put your hands over hers as they shook. Wanda rubbed circles between your shoulder blades. You hunched over your hands clinging to Nat’s wrists for dear life she she held the sick-bag for you.

“Its ok baby. Let it out. We’re here. Don’t hold it back bubs.” Wanda said seeings you gagging and struggling to keep it down. Tears formed in your eyes before you ducked your head lowered towards the sick bag. The sound of you throwing up filled the room as all the food you had eaten in the past few hours was violently expelled.

“Shh sh sh your doing so good for us Detka. So so good baby girl.” Wanda said.

“It’ll be ok y/n/n its alright love.” Nat said. When you stopped gaging nat went to take away the sick-bag but your grip on her wrist tightened and you shook your head slowly.

“Going to go again?” Nat asked raising a brow and her question was answered as you threw up a second round. When you stopped you pushed her hands away and nat nodded to Wanda who pulled you into her as nat went to dispose of the sick and grab some more mouthwash for your sensitive tastebuds. You sniffled and buried your face in her neck.

“Aww bubs your ok. Your ok now love.” Wanda soothed. After a bit your sniffles died down and you simply laid curled in her arms. Nat returned and you rinsed out your mouth and then began to drift off to sleep.

“Its ok baby you can close your eyes. You must be exhausted after all that my sweet.” Wanda said and you nodded and curled into her chest. After a little your soft snores sounded throughout the room.

When you woke up the room was dimly lit still but the headache was lesser. You signed to Wanda you wanted a snack and you were hungry. She stood getting ready to leave but you signed that you wanted to come with. Nat who had been watching the conversation over the top of her book frowned. After a series of quick hand movements from you you made it clear that you were coming with. Nat stood pulling some sunglasses out of a drawer.

“If you come with you wear these. You don’t need to loose the progress you have made in recovering.” Nat said and you pouted but let her slip them onto your face regardless. After a second you blinked and then turned grabbing nat and Wanda’s hands before dragging them out of the room.

Nat snagged a sick-bag on the way not knowing how your stomach would react to the lurch of the lift. You raised a brow but didn’t comment. After a successful trip down to the kitchen you realised it was mostly empty. Clint stood by the toaster making bagels with cream cheese and looked up smiling at you when you walked in. Nat waved and went over to talk to him. But he frowned and nat paused. Looking sheepish he signed to nat he broke his hearing aids while training and nat laughed. Quickly signing back she told him it was ok and she would tell fury to send more. Clint looked up from his conversation and noticed you signing to Wanda about what you wanted to eat. He frowned.

‘I didn’t know she knew sign language.’ He signed. Nat froze and Wanda swooped in.

‘She’s got a sore throat so she’s resting her voice’ Wanda said and you smiled shyly. Clint smiled, happy he had someone else he could sign with. The toaster dinged loudly and you flinched still slightly on edge from earlier. Wanda took you hand rubbing her thumb over you knuckles to smooth you.

You sighed softly and gave her a look of thanks.

‘Are you alright y/n?’ Clint signed not missing the way you had flinched.

‘Yeah toaster startled me’ you signed back and Clint nodded in understanding. He shot a questioning look to nat who shook her head and indicated he should just drop it. He nodded and pulled out his bagels which nat pointed too seeing he couldn’t hear the ding.

“Wanda once you got y/n/n’s snack head back up to the room and I’ll join you a bit later. I need to call fury to get more of Clint’s hearing aids sent to the compound. Clint signed thanks after reading her lips and nat waved him off. He wouldn’t be able to make the call himself because he couldn’t really talk right now.

Earlier you, nat and Wanda had decided on how to tell the team about your issues but decided to start small. Clint would be the first one to tell he would understand the best. But you hadn’t had the courage to tell him yet.

Wanda and you headed back to the room and after around a half hour of relaxing and listening to Wanda read to you you had been dozing lightly when Jarvis startled you into fully being awake.

“Director fury is asking for everyone to meet him in the conference room.”

The AI said.

“Alright tell him we are on our way.” Wanda said slipping the sunglasses back on your face rubbing her thumb over your cheekbone as you basked in her touch. She grabbed you hand and softly pulled you from the bed.

Fury was waiting in the meeting room. Nat and the rest were already there and Wanda pulled you into a chair next to her and Natasha.

“Nice of you to join us Maximoff and L/n” fury said and you made yourself smaller in your seat as the team looked at you.

“Alright getting straight to the point.” Fury said. “Operative has confirmed that hydra has put out a hit on y/n.” Wanda, Natasha, tony and you tensed but stayed quiet. “L/n will need to be accompanied by another member of the team at all times and is not to leave the compound unattended.” Fury said and you groaned quietly. Whenever similar things had happened in the past it had made you feel trapped. And as you explained to Wanda and nat earlier that often led to you disappearing for a couple hours to be alone. “This is not up for discussion L/n.” Fury said when he heard you groan. You slouched but didn’t protest not wanting to talk still or make a scene by using sign language in front of the team who still didn’t know.

“Everyone else you are to be going to this hydra base here” fury tapped a spot on the map behind him that was being projected on the screen. “This meeting will brief you all on what will happen and i trust tony to brief the rest of you with more details on y/n later.” Tony, Wanda and nat stiffened knowing the truth about you. “Only a handful of you will be staying behind. Clint seeings you can’t hear right now which would make using coms a nightmare.” Clint frowned crossing his arms and sounding in. The chair but knowing fury was right. “Y/n for obvious reasons and a concussion. Bruce will stay here in case y/n requires medical attention and Wanda and nat seeings you have taken a liking to young ms L/n will stay behind to protect her. The rest of you will be going to the base. You leave in three days. Tony you have three days to tell the team about y/n or I will be. Alright now lets get into the details of what’s happening on the mission. L/n, Barton, Maximoff and Romanoff you all stay for this as well, you might be needed as backup at any point so stay focused here.” You deflated in your chair, feeling yourself getting overstimulated. It was a mix of the constant flow of information and the fact your concussion was making everything around you seem ten times louder than it was. Nat was taking note on your left and Wanda sat doing the same on your right. Even though they wouldn’t be going on the mission they wanted to stay informed.

You drummed your fingers on your thigh and fidgeted softly trying to lay attention. You felt the headache begging to worsen and you winced, luckily hidden by the sunglasses. After another five minutes you were struggling even more. Even through the sunglasses the light was hurting your eyes slightly and the noises had blurred together to create an endless stream of overstimulating pain. You couldn’t tell nat or Wanda because you couldn’t sign in front of the team. Quietly you took a pen from the cup of them in the centre of the table. Uncapping the black biro and starting to draw up and down your arms. You drew and octopus to start and were putting the details on the tentacles when you felt a hand on yours. Looking up you see nat offering you her notepad. She slides it to you across the table indicating to draw on it instead. With slightly shaky hands you take it. Nat frowns seeing your tremor. You glanced around before moving your hands below the table and signed “what about your notes?” And she points to Wanda who is talking notes as well and she gives a finger wiggling wave with a cheeky grin. You chuckle and when you realise the room us quiet you see Steve glaring at you.

“Y/n? Are you even paying attention.” You swallow nervously.

“Yeah thats what I thought. Please listen this is important or we will have to. Bench you on the next mission.”

when nat saw the tears collecting in your eyes she stood up for you knowing it was too much and you couldn’t talk or leave. You felt trapped. Steve was still lecturing oblivious to you going a deep shade of red from the teams eyes on you.

“Alright thats enough Steve you made your point now get back to it.” Natasha said sounding very annoyed. Steve paused taking note of the authority in Nat’s voice and swallowed before returning to the briefing as fury had left to deal with more important matters. Wanda’s eyes lingered on you for a second before meeting Nat’s as they silently and possible mentally conversed thanks to Wanda’s powers. You were a little annoyed because you knew they would be talking about you. You huffed and fixed your gaze on the screen trying to get your buzzing brain to pay attention to the details. After what felt like hours Steve dismissed the team and you made a beeline for the door. Quickly retreating to your room and despite the silence, slipping on your noise cancelling headphones and starting to draw in your sketchbook. You were chewing on your pinky finger absentmindedly as your pen flew across the page when two short raps came on the door. Wanda and nat wanted to make sure you were ok. They knew something was up. Of course with the headphones on you didn’t hear them. Only realising when then door cracked open spilling light into the dimly lit room. Wandas head peeked in cautiously and you gave a small apologetic smile and signed for her to come in, looking sheepish. She smiled wildly and pushed the door open the rest of the way as her and nat entered. Shutting it after them, the room returned to its previously dimly lit level of light but the two girls didn’t seem to care. Nat eyed your sketchbook complementing your art before Wanda pulled you into her arms.

You buried your face in her neck and drew in a heavy breathe pf her calming scent.

“Baby girl was that meeting a bit much for you?” Wanda asked softly and felt you nod into her neck.

“Im sorry my love. The reason we didn’t come find you straight away is natty here chewed out Steve for calling you out like that in front of the team.” She heard you sniffle into her chest and felt small sobs wrack your form.

“Aww sweets don’t cry we’re here now.” Wanda said and you pulled away still straddling her with her hands on your hips. You signed ‘too much’ and nat carefully slipped the noise canceling headphones back over your ears. You sighed and Wanda pulled you into her again and drew circles on your back with the palm of her hand. It soothed you like the presence of the two women. After a bit you fell asleep and Wanda quietly talked to nat about telling the team. They would find out sooner or later and right now them not knowing was making things harder on you. Stressing to keep it secret was taking its toll on you. Nat knew the team the longest and knew they would be fine with it. Helpful even.

When you next woke they posed the idea and tired and sad you agreed. Pointing at them and signing that they would tell the team for you. Nat chuckled. “Sure thing kiddo whatever you want squirt.” She said ruffling you hair with a smile you batted her hand away grinning and poked your tongue out at her.With mock offence she placed a hand over her chest and gasped. Wanda rolled her eyes at your antics.

“Honestly you two are such children.”

“Yeah but you love us.” Nat said and Wanda sighed.

“I do. I love you both very much” she said peppering your face with kisses as you giggled slightly the sound warming Wanda’s heart.

“Right we have a meeting to call.” Nat said standing up.

MASTERLIST

[thegreenthepeacetheorange]

Everlark (Mockingjay, Ch. 23-24)

the fact that she automatically goes to unlock peeta's handcuffs when she sees his wrists are bloody even though he is still dangerous to her

i can't remember who did the analysis of katniss with gale's injury vs peeta's in this chapter but if you know of it please reply to this with the link to it!

but anyways, it's gritting her teeth, jagged stitches and smearing on cream for gale vs attending to peeta, gently rinsing, bandaging

with each page, it becomes clearer that peeta is returning to himself, for him to be able to remember the blood poisoning comment and the way she risked her life to get his medicine in the first games

"i think.. you still have no idea. the effect you can have" SCREAM. this is one of my fave things peeta ever says to katniss and he remembers it!! still!

"i don't know why his voice reaches me when no one else's can." thats LOVE baby. literally none of the others are able to get through to her, but him. not even gale. she values peeta's opinion so much. it matters in a whole other way

"but if he's right and i think he is" girl, the others said the exact same thing and you didn't wanna listen lol

cute that this reassurance and belief from peeta is what gives her "new resolve"

shoutout to gale for highlighting the QQ kiss, as he should

the doubt in peeta's voice when he says it was just for the show. because he remember it, remembers the feelings that were mutual, the desire spilling from katniss in that moment that was undeniable

gale thinking he's still part of the equation of katniss's love life at this point is so funny it's almost sad. that he thinks it's still a choice

gale's assessment of how katniss will pick really rubs me the wrong way. he doesn't know her at all.

katniss being rightfully mad at his incorrect assessment. and her contemplating his words here highlight how much passion, love, desire and compatibility are actually important to her. for him to reduce her down to survival instincts is terrible actually. because those other things actually drive her far more.

her being angry at peeta for not refuting it. girl, a few pages ago he was asking you if people can grow wings. let's give him a break, hothead

"as if in the end, it will be the question of whether a baker or hunter will extend my longevity" what's funny to me about this is that "baker" shouldn't even be part of this equation. a baker for survival for extending longevity would be out of place any other time. but actually the baker here is so important to her and her life that it works. in the end it is a baker and a hunter, but katniss doesn't pick on survival. she picks on what means the most, where her love grows and thrives the most.

katniss feeling peeta's eyes follow her and gale out of the room. she's so hyperaware of peeta at all times. has been from book 1 chapter 2

katniss giving peeta permission to take the pill be closing his fingers over the pill. like he'd been waiting on the permission for her by keeping the pill in his open hand.

peeta charming tigris and katniss picking up on it. we're so back

katniss's desperation like she's back in the QQ

peeta embraces her back

"not as steady as they once were, but still warm and strong. a thousand moments surge through me. all the times these arms were my only refuge from the world. perhaps not fully appreciated then, but so sweet in my memory, and now gone forever"

this passage highlights the significance of when they grow back together and his arms being there to comfort her. she thinks it's gone forever so how much more meaningful when it comes back to her

"thousands of moments" that many moments. moments we haven't been privy to because they were so often and so habitual that katniss didn't always need to spell it out

katniss walking and still looking back to see if she can see peeta

and when everything is going down, she holds onto the idea that he may have gone back when he felt the attack coming. even though she must know he never would have. this is an arena after all and he knows his job is to protect her

katniss clearly loves gale as a friend and she doesn't ever want to see him hurt/tortured/killed but he ultimately takes a second seat to her love for peeta. always an afterthought, never the bride

contrasting the moment that gale is captured by the peacekeepers with the moment that cato has peeta trapped. even though her and gale had talked about what to do, in that moment she's confused, doesn't know what to do, her instincts don't kick in. but with cato, she automatically understood, within milliseconds, that peeta wanted her to shoot cato's hand when he marked the x there. thinking thinking

RIP prim. honeslty still a very chilling moment all these years later

[myloveforhergoeson]

reading round up REDO!

sorry for the double tag, first post didn’t save properly and i wasn’t able to give you all your flowers. please find them under the cut. i’m so embarrassed.

original here:

fic list:

assorted works of @ceruleanmusings <3

Blood Diamond; Year Five

ahh!! the blood diamond one shots are always so enjoyable to read and that make me think so much about my own characters and their backstories and childhoods as well. this one in particular really got to me; there isn't much room for childhood discussion in btrtv and the way you characterize young kendall and james made me MELT. so accurate to real kids, first of all, but there was so much shared about each other with just a few lines of dialogue. katie tugging james' hair at the end is like. the perfect precursor to their relationship as they grow older too lmao! i always look forward to your work :) <3

2. assorted works of @partiallypearl / @praetoravila <3

adorable kaela blurb

lolive ghost blurb

mighta found the one (but i need you too)

'cause i don't wanna keep you guessing

ipod shuffle challenge

all over again

pearl... darling.... there is nothing i love seeing more than your lovely works! from our dms to your full works, you are truly so creative it blows my mind! this month was no exception. the kaela blurb already had me by the throat... those two mean the world to me i mean it! and the various lolive blurbs and all over again... lord you had me crying with the last chapter of that one... and of course... the wag au one-shot... you are so sweet to me and my baby girl roxy, and that blurb had me literally giggling and kicking my feet hehehe. tysm for the sweet gift for my birthday <3 and your iPod shuffle challenge was so interesting! i love all the stories you chose to tell and how every word in the small drabbles packed a punch!!!! lovely as always <33 tysm for sharing :)))

3. assorted works of @selangkir <3

promptober one-shot!!

aughauifafvaibie there are never enough words to describe how well you write katie and the knights. even if this was just a short story reworked to be in kendall's pov, the strong ties between them are evident and i love the little quirks and rituals they all have that you sneak in there. how kendall instantly knows something wrong with katie, how katie pushes back against him, everything is just *chefs kiss* excited to read katie's pov if you ever wish to share that as well!!! <33

4. assorted works of @inkameswetrust <3

date night

god. in kames we DO trust. everything about this one-shot had me going through like. every single emotion possible for a person to feel. lyn is the character of all time + i love how james (and kendall, reluctantly) got to participate in a scheme akin to their youth to make sure her date goes perfectly :)) and the dual line between what was going on with lyn and Nathan helped kendall and james learn more about each other - even after being together for so long!! thought about this one for days ngl and the drawings you made live in my head rent free. im just 1000% obsessed thank you so so so much for sharing :)

5. assorted works of @naquey / @ithinkyouhealedmyheart <3

ghostwriter ch 3-8

AHHHHH RONNIE MY SWEET MY LOVE MY EVERYTHINGGG god the story you are weaving her for and kendall have me (affectionately) tearing my hair out. the way these chapters set up her relationships with most of the main characters is just so special. though everyone is just a little bit different than one another, and all the teens have their own special quirks, they're all still able to get along and make friends. i imagine in the tough Hollywood industry, that's all they have. ronnie slowly getting to know and opening up to the other girls, the band, guitar dude, and everyone else is so sweet! each chapter brings a new understanding to her character, and i love every little thing about her :) getting to read her and kendall's story is a privilege!! so excited for their future heheh <33

6. assorted works of @icegirl2772 <3

Take A Shot In The Dark Ch. 16

eee kaelyn!!! my sweet sweet girl!! this chapter follows one of my favorite episodes, and i love all the special additions you made for kaelyn and her story. so happy to read that she and neil are over... now james can step in and pick up her broken heart!! akifaiufaiufbaie i can't wait for them to get together, you've got me on the edge of my seat :))) <3

7. assorted works of @fiyero3305 / @fiyero0533

promptober one-shots!!

MY FRIEND!!!!!!!!!!! thank you so much for using my prompt list, i'm so happy you were able to find inspiration from the things i put together this month :) though i am just a casual fan of the umbrella academy, from my two seasons of knowledge, i'm confident in saying i love your version of the characters even more lol! each blurb brought in a new sibling dynamic, something of your own to bring to the table. just blew me away, truly. my favorite was the cemetery prompt you wrote with ben. got my heart squeezing harder than ever before! and the one with the psychic and klaus and allison was soooo so so good. so happy you were able to get these out and share them ;) looking forward to more in the future

8. assorted works of @bunnyfern

a field of blooming tulips

ahh!! my lovely crowe!! i love her and james' story so much :)) the bad boy chapter never disappoints... crowe getting hints of home and talking to luka in the middle was so great! i love getting little glimpses of her life back home :) her ever-evolving relationships with the others at the palm woods is so adorable too!! always a pleasure to read <3

[hiddenwritingsintheworld]

Midnight Rain Ch. 2

(I am so sorry for the long delay, I've been going through so much shit in RL & my writing has taken a backseat to everything, but im working on it and hopefully NaNoWriMo kicks me back into doing what I love!! Enjoy Chapter 2 of Midnight Rain :P )

Rich Mans World Series | Man After Midnight Series | Chapter 1 | Donations | Thoughts & Feelings

“Did you have to be such a bitch about it?!” Sebastian yelled as he rushed after Brooke who turned and slapped him. “You don't have the room nor the worth to stand there and call anyone a bitch when you didn't even have the balls to fucking tell him about what happened!!” Brooke and Sebastian continued to yell at each other, Chris sat in the living room for a moment listening to them fight. He got up, walking up the stairs and moved past them down the hallway as they fought before stopping at your door. 

You were lying in bed, facing the window when you heard the door open; You glanced over your shoulder to see Chris standing there. You shot up as you heard Brooke yell, “What are you doing?!” Chris shut the door behind him and locked it. He walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, looking down at the ground he didn’t dare bring a hand to touch you, or even face you. The silence felt like a weighted blanket draped over the two of you, holding you down in the shadows of a deadly secret. 

“I was….saving our wedding photo….that’s how they caught me in our bedroom….when you left, I moved the only one I had from my office to our bedroom. I didn’t care if everything else got destroyed. I could buy new stuff all day long…but not that photo…” he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a photograph of the two of you. He stared at it, the edges were burnt, and he smiled softly. “I love this photo…” he whispered. You were staring up at him, a doe eyed look, evident on your features. Chris was smirking at the camera, but he didn’t care how he looked, he only cared about how you looked in the photo. You were holding onto his arm, staring up at him. He fell in love with it the moment his mother had sent it from the photographers. 

“I always liked that photo….” you whispered softly as he turned his head toward you, however his eyes remained on the floor. “You could have called me…” he said as you looked at him. “I was in a sedated state for two weeks in the hospital...they didn’t know if I would make it…Brooke informed them we were separated, that's why they didn’t call you.” you said. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said looking at you, finally meeting your eyes. 

You looked at him, your eyes glistening with tears, “but I couldn’t protect our little girl…” you sniffled as he moved, engulfing you in his arms as you sobbed into his chest. “But you protected yourself…now we can go after the son of a bitch who did this to our baby.”  Chris whispered, rocking you gently as he rubbed your back, letting you sob into his chest. You clung to him for dear life, feeling nothing but warmth and safety in his arms. “You don’t blame me?” you whispered looking up at him, as he looked down at you, “No baby…you did nothing wrong, this wasn’t your fault at all.” he whispered kissing your forehead. 

You and Chris stayed wrapped in each other's arms for a while, until you’d both dozed off, Brooke and Sebastian had talked to Anthony, sharing what knowledge they all had about that night, which they’d learned what happened to you, and what happened to Chris seemed to happen on the same night. Anthony shared with them how Chris’s physical therapy was going and how he had been trying to figure out who came after him but they were coming up on a dead end. 

“I mean…it had to be the Irish right? Who else is at war with Chris that they would try to kill Y/N, and his child?” Brooke asked as she poured each of them a drink. “It's just…..the Irish extended an olive branch to Chris months ago…..well before this happened. Which was weird in the first place.” Anthony said sipping the bourbon Brooke had poured. 

Brooke glanced at Seb as she downed the contents of her own glass, causing both men to look at her. “Well that’s great I think but it still leaves the question of who is responsible for this?” She asked as Anthony shook his head; “I don't know…but we need to find out.” 

When you woke up, Chris was snoring softly next to you. You hadn’t slept as well as you did that night, since you’d left Chris months ago. You watched him sleep for a little bit before rolling over and staring at the ceiling. You wondered what life would have been like, a little girl with him, would he have spoiled her? Would he’ve gotten up and done the late night feedings and changings? Would he have spent more time at home with you and her instead of out at the clubs? Yes. he would have been the most perfect father to the children you could of had together. A voice called in the back of your mind. You sighed and closed your eyes for a moment, wishing you could go back, beg Brooke to not leave that night. 

“You look so beautiful in the mornings.” Chris whispered softly; you opened your eyes, seeing him watching you, as he smiled softly. You felt your lips pull back just a little, smiling for the first time in months. You both laid there, arms and legs tangled together, you both laid in silence for a while before a soft knock on the door alerted you both that you weren’t alone. “Y/N…I’m going to run to the store…Anthony is here for Chris so I’ll make sure Sebastian stays behind in case you need anything.” 

“Why don’t I come to the story with you today?” you asked as you got up, Brooke was silent for a moment, “Are you sure? You haven’t left the house since you got home from the hospital.” Brooke pointed out. You walked over, opening the door so she could come in and nodded at her. “Yeah, I feel like I should go with you.” you said, giving her a shrug. “Gotta face the world sometime right?”

Chris sat up, “If you’re not up for it Y/N, don’t push yourself.” But you looked back at him and gave him a small tight smile, “It’ll be good for me, don't worry,” you changed into a pair of jeans, pairing it with a black shirt and tan sweater. You grabbed your purse and walked downstairs with Chris after he’d gotten dressed as well, smiling a little at Bucky and Brooke before looking at Chris, “Um…how about I call you later? We can talk and see how everything is going,” you said, shoving your hands in your pockets. 

Chris looked taken back before he nodded, “Right, yeah, I’ll talk to you later and check in with you.” He grabbed his jacket before he looked at Sebastian, “When you get some time, let’s talk about a few things.” he shook his hand before walking out with Anthony. 

You left with Brooke, going to the store for the first time since you were pregnant. You noticed how things looked different and the same, you carried on with light talking while you two drove on; and once at the store, you helped her grab a few different things. “Why don’t we get some snacks and have a movie night tonight?” Brooke asked as you smiled and nodded, “I’d really like that. I’ll go grab some chips, salsa, candy, and some stuff to make that dip your mom taught you to make!” you grinned as she did too, “yes!! Okay! I’m gonna go grab ice cream, toppings, and whatever else sounds good!” she took off toward the frozen section while you went to grab a basket and grab your list. This was the first time anything really had sounded good to you in a long time. 

As you shopped you reached for a bag of chips, when another hand reached for the same bag. You looked over, withdrawing your hand and apologizing when the gentleman in front of you chuckled and handed you the bag. “I’m sorry, here, front bags are always fresher,” he said smiling at you.  You were frozen like a deer in headlights, he was handsome, and a dazzling smile to match. “Oh, uh,” you let out a soft giggle, “Thank you, but go ahead, I can get a different bag.” you said looking up at him as he grinned at you, placing the bag down in your basket. “Don’t worry about it sunshine. I don’t mind.” he winked before turning to grab a bag himself. He was tall, with short, soft, blondish-brown hair, bright blue eyes and a dashing bright smile. “Well thank you sir,” you felt yourself blush as you stared at him, he was captivating as he stood tall and smiled down at you, “I’m Steve…Steve Rogers,” he held his hand out to you.

Tag List: (Message me if you want to be added!)

@notebooks-of-nonsense @fdl305 @bval-1 @calimoi @syntheticavenger @Forgetmenotsexy @mrsjenniferwinchester @chaneajoyyy @mommad @wolfieeebbbyyy @dontbescaredtosingalong @ellen-reincarnated1967 @adriellej @coffeebooksandfandom @patzammit @posiemax @auriel187 @ladybug05 @stoneyggirl2 @fallenoutofrose @mrspeacem1nusone @teamfreewill-imagine @inlovewith3

[cigarcloud]

The Sun Hardly Touches Me - Ch. 3

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 Word Count: 2000 Ao3 Link Summary: Crocodile confronts his past to try and make a better future. Author's Note: This chapter was like pulling teeth, but she's here. Thanks everyone who has read so far, it means a lot!

   “You look beautiful.”

    “I’m soaked in sweat and you just had to clean up my shit.” Dragon laughed, and Crocodile was far too tired to fight a smile in response to the sound. His gaze drifted down to the small bundle he held. Their baby. Their son.

    “And yet you look beautiful all the same.” Dragon kissed the top of Crocodile’s head, and breathed out softly as he looked don at their baby. “And you! Look at you, so handsome ! Somebody gave you good genes , huh?” Arms wrapped around his back, a chin landed on his shoulder. Crocodile snorted.

    “Hope you’re not referring to yourself, uggo.” Dragon laughed, peppering Crocodile with kisses, ignoring the performative disgust that followed.

    “Never, Wani.”

    “ Can you get that shit out of here?” Crocodile asked, looking at the thankfully now unshackled sea prism stone handcuffs. The birth had been a trial, and Crocodile hadn’t been able to control his body’s natural urge to shield itself.

    “I can’t exactly touch it myself, love.” Crocodile groaned, before deciding there were more pressing matters.

    “ What are we gonna name him?” Crocodile asked, letting himself lean back on Dragon.

    “I was thinking-” A loud crash interrupted Dragon, and he whipped his head towards the door. “Stay here.” Crocodile sighed. Dragon had been growing evermore paranoid over the past week. The Wind Granma had been anchored close to an island for far longer than usual. Ivankov had insisted that they needed to be ready for anything to go wrong during the birth. Dragon had agreed, though not without reservation.

    “It’s almost certainly Ivankov’s fat head knocking something over. Come back.” Dragon shot him a strained smile.

    “Well then, I should only be a minute.” With that he left, closing the door with the lock clicking into place . Crocodile rolled his eyes and looked down at the baby with a smile.

    “Just you and me for a minute, kid.” The baby yawned and stretched a tiny little fist out. “Can’t believe I let you kick the shit out me for so long, brat. No one else would get away with that, you know.” But there was no malice in his voice. “How did I make something so sweet, hmm?”

   Instead of quieting down the clamor was only growing louder. Crocodile looked towards the door, anxiety finally rising to overcome exhaustion. He took a deep breath before using every ounce of will he had to stand, his legs shaking. He turned and put Luffy on the bed, and stood guard over him. It was easy to hear now that there were intruders on the ship.

   “I’m going to look in here!” A voice called out, followed by the rattling of clumsy hands picking a lock.

   As soon as they burst in, Crocodile attempted to whip his sand towards t he intruder. His eyes widened as nothing happened. He was too exhausted, and he hadn’t fully recovered from the sea prism stone. The intruder grinned at him. She was wearing a World Government logo on her jacket, most likely a Cipher Pol agent.

   Crocodile did his best to assume a fighting position, and fended off the first few attacks from the agent. He was still covered in sweat, and his sand was of no use to him now. He managed to get a decent kick in, but it wasn’t nearly as forceful as it typically would be. Crocodile lost his balance as his baby began to wail.

   The agent took the opportunity to swipe her leg out, causing Crocodile’s knees to buckle. He grabbed her ankle and pulled, but as she crashed to the ground there was a wild grin on her face.

   “Got a little one to protect, do you?” She asked, voice vicious. Crocodile lost all composure and screamed.

   His movement grew sloppy as he tried to push her away from the bed, away from his baby. She pushed forward, and withdrew a dagger. Crocodile attempted to lunge for her but she side stepped him easily. Crocodile's eyes widened as she lifted the dagger over his son's prone form. Crocodile did the only thing he could, throwing himself on top of his baby. There was a sickening sound of blood spray, and Crocodile felt his entire left arm go numb. When he looked over, his wrist had been cleanly severed.

   “Look at that! Ha! Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of-” Crocodile used her distracted state to grab the hand holding the dagger and twist it back into her throat. He caught his breath as she hit the ground with a dull thud.

   The baby’s cries grew louder, and Crocodile snapped back to attention.

   “Shh, it’s okay baby. I’ve got you.” Crocodile looked down at the little bundle, barely bigger than his hands.

Hand.

   The thought drifted across his mind with no real emotion attached to it yet.

   He watched in fascination as the wails died down and his baby smiled up at him. His face wasn’t one known for its calming effect , but the baby didn’t seem aware of that.

   Dragon burst into the room, the door blown off it’s hinges. He looked over at Crocodile and the baby, relieve covering his face.

   “Wani, thank goodness I-” His sentence ended in a choke as he took in the bloody stub awkwardly cradling their baby. “Wani!”

Crocodile shot up straight as he woke up, breaking the silence of his ship with a gasp. No one else was on board, but it was small comfort. He was covered in a thin layer of sweat, his hair caught on his skin as he turned his head. He moved quickly and silently to the bathroom, finding a towel. It raked across his skin until it was raw and red, and most importantly dry.

In the best of times he never liked being damp, but after he had this particular nightmare it was always worse. It unnerved him. T o o similar to when he was at his weakest. T o o similar to when he almost lost his baby. To when he did lose his baby, really.

He kept Luffy alive that day, but Dragon had all his worst fears proven true. It wasn’t safe to keep him.

   “I’ll contact my father, he’s… a good man.” He whispered softly, flinching as Crocodile reflexively took a step back.

   “How long?” Crocodile whispered, hating the way his voice cracked. Hating the way this little brat had already rendered him so weak. He was pathetic.

   “He’s been in the New World before, but he spends most of his time in the East Blue. Probably a few weeks.” Crocodile’s arms circled their baby tighter. “We didn’t get to name him…” Dragon whispered, and Crocodile shook his head.

   “Don’t tell me. Whatever you pick just… don’t tell me.”

And so he hadn’t. Not when he sent their baby away, not when Iva had finished his transition and Crocodile stepped off the Wind Granma for the last time, not once in those seventeen years that followed. It may have been at his request, but Crocodile couldn’t help but be furious.

Not now, after he had pulled all his lingering connections together to gather information o n Luffy’s life thus far. Not now, after he had read the tale of Roguetown. His baby on the scaffold, until he seemed to literally catch lightning in a bottle. It was Dragon, Crocodile was sure of it. Which meant there was no possibility he didn’t know that their baby was a pirate, entering the Grand Line. A place where Crocodile was very publicly executing rookie pirates left and right. Not a damn word to him, and their son almost payed for it.

If Crocodile hadn’t been high on the near completion of his plans, it wouldn’t have been almost. He was sloppy in his final moments in Alabasta, and that saved Luffy’s life.

He gazed down at his newest picture of Luffy, and the article attached. The boy had already returned to Marineford, to make a statement . What a statement it was. A funeral, a show of respect, a declaration of war, a signal to a new era. One his son was sure to helm, in time. 3D2Y. Crocodile had heard Luffy talking about his crew, their agreement to reunite. It made it quite clear what his message was. Two years. Crocodile had two years before his baby reemerged and had the whole world against him.

He walked to the upper deck of the ship, his gaze scanning the horizon. His target was close now. When he saw the outline of the distinctive figurehead, he dissipated into sand, speeding towards the ship.

It was far too easy to slip in under the cover of night. Dragon was still sloppy with security. Most wouldn’t dare attack this ship directly, but Crocodile wasn’t here to kill the revolution. Probably. He maneuvered his way down the all too familiar halls, right back to the door that got him into this lifelong mess. He opted to scatter, easing himself under the door and reforming on the other side. He knew Dragon’s haki was too strong to truly sneak up on him, but he wanted to hold out for as long as he could before hearing that voice.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, and he stared down at Dragon laying in his bed.

“You know, few would dare to come to the most wanted man’s bedroom all alone.” He said, his eyes still closed.

“That supposed to be a pick up line?” Crocodile growled, frustration growing as Dragon remained still and relaxed.

“Even fewer who would come to my chambers with that in mind. Just who are you?” He asked, a smile growing on his face.

“Could it be you’ve forgotten your precious little Wani ?” Crocodile spit. He watched with dull satisfaction as Dragon’s eyes opened, wide and frantic. His stoic mask cracked, if only for a moment.

“Wa-” He stopped himself staring up at the hulking figure next to his bed. “Crocodile.” He stood, and Crocodile cursed his luck that Ivankov’s transition left him one inch shorter than the man. “What are you doing here?”

“ You know exactly what.” Crocodile snarled.

“If it’s about Luffy-”

“What the fuck else would it be about?” His hand raised to shove Dragon, but he faltered before making contact. He couldn’t bring himself to make contact. It only annoyed him that Dragon relented and stepped back, giving him space.

“You asked me not to tell you anything.” Dragon pointed out, arms crossed.

“You knew he was entering the Grand Line. I heard about Roguetown.” Crocodile stepped back into Dragon’s space, his hook pointed at the man’s chest. “You should’ve told me then.”

“Perhaps you are right-” Crocodile growled, but Dragon didn’t waver.

Infuriating.

“But I cannot change the past. Luffy survived you, and he survived far worse.” Crocodile scoffed at the insult, and turned away. “Do you want to be near me or not?” Dragon’s voice was light, teasing.

The audacity.

“Shut up.” It was weak, not even really a retort. Crocodile didn’t care.

“ I can’t bring myself to believe you invaded my bedroom just to yell at me for a few minutes. Why are you here?” Dragon asked, and while the teasing tone was gone there was a warmth that made Crocodile’s throat itch.

“You needed yelled at.” Crocodile said. There was a long pause, and Crocodile sighed as he forced himself to continue. “Luffy has declared war on the World Government. There was the Enies Lobby incident, and apparently he punched a Celestial Dragon a few weeks ago.” He could hear Dragon smile at that. “So, when he recovers, the weaker the World Government is the better.”

“Are you offering your assistance?” Dragon asked, and there was a note of hope in his voice Crocodile had to place under his boot.

“ Financial assistance. Possibly information as well, although I won’t speak to you .” Crocodile knew just how immature he was being, he didn’t care. Anything to keep away from Dragon’s stupid voice and ideas and intoxicating charisma. He struck that last thought out with a slight shake of his head.

“How kind. I’ll let my Chief of Staff know, you can coordinate everything with him if that’s more comfortable.” Crocodile kept his eyes at the wall as he heard Dragon lay back down in bed. “You’re welcome to st-” Crocodile dispersed into sand before the quite frankly egregious offer could be finished, and pretended not to feel the heat in his face after he reformed, Dragon’s laughter ringing in his ears.

[babybemydownfall]

The Storm and the Sunrise Chapter 2: Rules and Bargains (Ch 1 - Ch 3) Feyre x Rhysand (x baby)

He knelt before her and kissed the same spot. "I've always wanted to tattoo you here," he said gruffly, tugging her waistband lower.

Righting some wrongs.

AO3 or...

II

In the two days since the pregnancy test, Feyre and Rhys had barely spent a minute apart. They hadn’t even left the house. Official Court business was cancelled; plans with friends postponed. Rhys had asked the servants to prepare them a few days’ worth of food and then gifted them paid leave, so he and his mate could be completely alone.

It was just like their holiday to the cabin, when the entire world disappeared and all that was left was the pure luxury of each other’s full attention. Feyre was so happy she couldn’t stop smiling; Rhys spent his time either mirroring her joy or staring at her like he couldn’t quite believe they had finally made a baby - which she understood, given there were no outward signs except for her sore breasts.

And that very quickly became her first rule of pregnancy: no touching them. When he carried her upstairs from her studio on that first morning, the news and emotions were still so fresh that words were few and constant touching mandatory. It was like they had remade the world all over again: everything was the same and yet it was impossibly different too.

They slipped back into bed and wrapped themselves around each other in every way they knew how. Feyre stroked his mind and his face with her fingertips, gazing into his eyes, into the beginning and end of time. This kind of intimacy wasn’t new to them but it suddenly felt more meaningful than ever before. They had taken their love and created life. And she was honoured - truly honoured - to be growing his child inside her womb.  

When she told him so, he looked stunned. Then he was blinking back unexpected tears and saying urgently, his voice rough with emotion: “I am honoured, Feyre. You… you are everything.”

His expression was the most open and vulnerable she had ever seen it. She could hear his unspoken words: I am not worthy. He was heartbreakingly beautiful - and he was wrong. So, so wrong.

“You are worthy, Rhys,” she said firmly, still trapped in his violet gaze and unable to look away. “I see you. I know you. I am you, and you’re me; we don’t exist without each other. And we are going to have this baby and live happily ever after because that is what we deserve, after everything we’ve endured. Okay?”

He let out a long breath and slowly nodded. He trusted her implicitly - more than he trusted himself - and it still made Feyre marvel.

And then he said, “Okay,” and he kissed her.

It was soft and loving and gentle, until it wasn’t. Then it was hungry and searching. Kissing became undressing, which became warm, bare skin and eager hands and then -

“Ouch!”

He had squeezed her breasts; she pulled away sharply, wincing in pain.

“Fuck. Feyre, I’m so sorry.”

She glanced down at her chest, expecting to see hot, angry swelling because that was what it felt like - but nothing. She looked exactly the same.

“It’s alright,” she sighed as the soreness dissipated. “Gods, I hope this doesn’t last long.”

“Me too. For your sake of course, darling,” he added quickly, smirking. Feyre hit his tattooed shoulder with the back of her hand, which he took and kissed. “Do you want to stop?” he asked sincerely.

“No.” She did stand up though, walking around their enormous bed to her armoire. “But I am going to wear protection.” She felt his eyes on her naked body as she carefully slipped on a plain white bra.

“A serious question,” he said.

“Yes?”

“We can still have sex.”

She knelt on the bed beside him. “That’s not a question.”

Then she watched as his dark gaze travelled downwards, pausing at her abdomen, then the apex of her thighs. She tutted at his distraction, even though it turned her on no end. “Rhys.”

She waited until he looked at her again. She could feel his heat, his power, coiled like a spring - ready to claim her. Just as soon as she soothed his hesitation; gave him permission to pounce.

“We can definitely still have sex. It’s perfectly safe. Besides, I was pregnant last night - we just didn’t know it. And the day before, in the bath. And on the sofa. And the countless other times we’ve been together in the past few weeks - honestly, I lose track.”

His wings flared and a wicked smile graced his gorgeous face, and Feyre recognised it as a sign that she was stroking his ego. He was a High Lord, a fearless warrior, an adoring husband - but he could be such a male sometimes.

“Are you complaining, my love?” he asked devilishly. “In case you’ve forgotten, I was trying to get you pregnant.”

A shiver ran all the way through her. She couldn’t explain why, but that was one of the sexiest things he’d ever said.

“You succeeded,” she breathed, finally closing the space between them, pushing him onto his back and the covers out of the way so she could straddle his hips. Gods, he was ready for her, and she couldn’t help but rub herself against his hard, bare length, making them both groan. “I am not going through the next nine or so months without sex. Without you.”

Rhys’s big hands covered her thighs as he watched her grind on him. “Another serious question,” he said, and this time his voice was much, much deeper.

“Go on.”

“Can you come if I don’t play with your nipples?”

His playfulness took her by surprise and she couldn’t help but laugh, her head tilting back. And then suddenly he was sitting up, his mouth clamping onto her throat and sucking hard as he inhaled her scent, as wild as any animal. Then his hot tongue was licking her skin, from her collarbone all the way to her ear, and her core throbbed so hard it made her vision go black - or was that just his night, coming to take her?

“Mm,” he murmured, doing it again - slower this time. “Feyre… you taste divine.”

And more than anything else in the world, there was one thing she wanted in that moment. No, not wanted - needed.

Speech had abandoned her, and even between their minds her voice sounded breathless, pleading, but she didn’t care.

I can come if you use your tongue somewhere else.

His laughter lasted only as long as it took for him to lay her down and bury his face between her legs.

And afterwards, when she had indeed come in his mouth and then again when she rode him and he stretched her so exquisitely, Feyre fell asleep with his head resting on her belly.

And it was a shame, because she missed Rhys speaking to their baby for the very first time, his words softer than any he had uttered before:

“The stars listened, little one. They listened and they answered… and they sent us you.”

II

Two days later, as they were preparing to go for a walk and finally get some fresh air, Feyre’s second rule of pregnancy was forced into being.

They were dressed, they’d had breakfast; she had even spent time braiding her hair. But there was a strange new tension in Rhys which she didn’t understand, because the past forty-eight hours had been blissful.

“Do you not want to go out?” she asked, putting her palms on his broad chest and looking up at him. She could smell his fresh minty breath, the citrus-sea scent of his skin. The smell of home. “Because as much as I love you, you can’t keep me cooped up in here this entire pregnancy. I do have other friends apart from you, you know. Someone will miss me eventually.”

He chuckled, but didn’t relax.

Feyre frowned. “What is going on?”

And then she realised, even as he opened his mouth to explain. Her eyes widened and he closed it again, looking away.

“No,” she said firmly.

“Feyre. I can’t help it.”

His tension was anxiety. Fear.

“No. You will not overprotect me, Rhysand. You will not shield me from the world. Especially not in Velaris.” She stepped back from him, breathing hard. She knew she shouldn’t be angry but she couldn’t help it. With everything they’d been through - surely he trusted her by now?

“I can look after myself,” she went on, her voice as hard as steel. “After us.”

They both glanced down at her abdomen beneath her sweater; at the new soul that made her an ‘us’.

“I know you can. But Feyre -” He reached for her and she let him take her hand. His deep blue eyes were begging her to listen, to hear, to forgive. “Protecting you, and our offspring, is inherent. The animal in me that you love so much - it is a creature of pure instinct. If anything were to threaten its mate, threaten its child…”

His eyes flashed suddenly and he almost snarled his next words: “I would kill them. Rip their head clean from their body and tear their remains to shreds.”

Darkness billowed out from him, filling the room. She felt his talons pressing into her palm; felt a shudder course through her at the feral beast writhing just beneath his skin. Not a shudder of terror - of awe.

“Fine,” she breathed, equally as riled. “If you see a deadly foe about to attack me, and I am somehow both unaware and completely defenceless, you may kill them for me.”

“You jest, darling.” His voice was a deadly purr. “But you know what’s out there.”

“Not anymore. You hunted them down, remember? You already slaughtered them all.”

“There is always evil in the world, Feyre. No matter what we do, what we give… it never stays subdued for long.”

And she was reminded of his age then, and all the sacrifices he had made in his five hundred years: his people, his warriors, his brothers; his body, his power… his life. How many battles had he faced? How many wars won, how many brief eras of peace enjoyed before the next resurgence? Because there had been a resurgence. Every single time.  

The world was cruel, and brutal, and Feyre knew she had seen only a small piece of it. But they had already made so much change since Hybern; made strides towards alliances with the human realms, towards equality for all. And she believed with her whole being that they could have peace, and keep it. She had to. Especially now, with their son growing inside her, because what would be the point if there was no hope of a better future?

She felt her heart swell with sorrow, and love - and it vanished her anger.  

“There is always good, too.” She moved back into Rhys’s embrace, reaching up her hand to his cheek, brushing her thumb there. Light began to seep back into the room. “We are good. Velaris is good, full of good people. I don’t fear anything here.”

Her tenderness calmed him; she saw the beast take flight, leaving her tired, scarred, beautiful mate behind. “So what are we going to do?” she asked quietly. “I understand your perspective. Thank you for explaining it to me. But I will not be shielded and subdued. We’re all free now, Rhys.”

“I know.” He sighed heavily. “And I never want to subdue you. Never. But I'm not sure how much control I will have.”

“That’s interesting,” Feyre mused. “I’ve always known you to be a master of self-control.”

His smile banished the last of the night, finally allowing the winter sun to stream back in through the window. A strip of light fell across her right arm and then the idea came to her in an instant: “Make me a bargain.”

Rhys blinked. “What? I can’t do that. If I break it… The magic could do anything. It could hurt you, Feyre.”

She considered for a moment. “Let’s make our own then. A promise: that you will try your best. That’s all I ask. But I want it written on our bodies so we can’t forget.”

He gazed at her for a long time before he finally nodded. “Okay.”

“How did you get your tattoos?” she asked, running the tip of her finger over the ink which peeked out from the collar of his shirt. “I can’t believe I’ve never asked before.”

His own fingers glided along her right forearm, pushing back the sleeve of her sweater as he went. “With a fucking sharp needle, a lot of swearing and a lot of goynych. That’s an Illyrian spirit which can dissolve a blade if left overnight.” He shivered at the memory. “And it still hurt.”

Feyre pouted. “Well, that doesn’t sound appealing at all. Is there another way?”

She watched as he kissed her existing tattoos, pressing his lips along the inside of her arm, all the way to her elbow. “Yes,” he murmured. “I can use the magic that made these, just without the bargain enforced. But you are the artist, my darling.”

His eyes met hers and heat flared all over her skin. Then she pulled off her top entirely, leaving her bare except for her lacy lilac bra. "Here," she said, drawing a line with her finger below her navel, just above the band of her black fleece trousers. Right over her womb, where their little babe lay. 

Rhys's gaze darkened. "Really?"

"Yes."

He knelt before her and kissed the same spot. "I've always wanted to tattoo you here," he said gruffly, tugging her waistband lower. His nose caressed the soft skin just inside her left hipbone which dipped invitingly, leading him down to his favourite place.

Feyre filled with longing in an instant, her core melting completely at his words, his mouth, his love. 

He knew, of course, and smirked up at her. "You do it," he said, taking her hand. "Paint it on yourself." His voice dropped further, dripping with suggestion. "And then you can do me."

She thought of a design in her mind: swirls of night sky and twinkling stars, mountains and snow and in the centre, a space - a safe haven. A cocoon. Rhys held her fingers and made their promise come to life on her body, channelling his power through her hand, marking the skin below her navel and across into the hollow by her hip that he so loved.

He sat back to admire their work. His eyes were so dark, his breathing uneven as his gaze roamed up to her face. Then he pushed off her trousers, revealing matching lilac panties, and his hands slipped around to grip her backside. "Fuck. You are so beautiful Feyre."

He kissed the black ink, her belly button, her very centre. She stopped him with a breathless gasp of his name.

"My turn," she said, and pointed to the bed.

She unbuttoned his shirt and lay him back on the mattress. His erection was already straining against his pants and she gifted him the briefest stroke of her fingers before focusing her attention on his incredible torso and abs. Just like he loved this part of her body, Feyre loved the thick V of tanned muscle which enticed her downwards. She pressed her palm to the same space inside his left hip bone.

"I'm ready."

She felt so powerful at the way he trusted her. The way he was looking at her like she owned him; like he would do anything she said, for the rest of their lives.

His hand covered hers and she painted him with her mind. When he glanced down a second later, his mouth fell open in shock. “What the-”

And she fell about laughing, at the word Feyre's etched into his skin; at the glamour she'd quickly placed over the real ink beneath. She let it fall away, unable to torment him for too long, and he visibly relaxed when he saw the same pattern she'd drawn on her own skin, his head falling back onto the bed with a groan.

"You fucking tease.”

She leaned over him and kissed his dirty mouth. "Got you."

And then she was gone - standing up, pulling her sweater back on. She had to put some space between them, to quell the fire in her veins.

“What are you doing?” he asked, frowning.

“I am determined that we are going out for a walk,” she said seriously.

“Feyre…”

“Come on. You can practice your self-control.”

He grumbled a lot as they both redressed, but five minutes later they left the front door and breathed in the fresh, cold air of Velaris.

II

They strolled hand-in-hand through the city streets, clear of snow now but still frigid, still stunning. She could tell Rhys’s senses were on high alert, even though he seemed perfectly calm on the outside. The animal protecting his pack, she reminded herself.

She could live with that.

Her thoughts wandered. As they neared the Sidra, she asked: “Would it have been so bad?”

Of course, he knew exactly what she was referring to. “Feyre. Darling. I am High Lord of the Night Court.”

She glanced up at him, smiling mischievously. “So?”

“So?” he echoed. “So I can’t walk around with your name on my body.”

“Why not? Everyone knows you’re mine.”

He laughed then, as they came to the main bridge across the river. “True.”

They stopped halfway across, listening to mid-morning bustle of people going past and the rush of icy water beneath them. Feyre watched its journey out to sea, Rhys standing beside her as they leaned on the wall.

“Thank you,” she said solemnly.

“For what?”

“For making me that promise. For trusting me.”

He turned to her, drawing her into the warmth of his body. His eyes were as serious as she was. “I have always been your biggest champion, Feyre. From the very beginning.”

“I know,” she breathed, and the world around them faded away. “You were my first champion, Rhys. The first person who ever believed in me.”

He gently held her face in his palm. “I still find that astounding. Because you are extraordinary.”

Sometimes his love made her the happiest Fae in all the land; sometimes it made her the horniest. And other times, like right now, it just made her cry.

He wrapped his big arms around her and held her close - but not too tight to hurt her breasts, which were still annoyingly tender. She silently thanked him for that and he laughed again.

Look at me, abiding by both your rules, he said proudly in her mind. Do I get a special present?

She smiled through her tears, gazing up at him and then out towards the ocean once more. There was a whole world out there, full of new things and wonder and - undoubtedly - danger. But the world right here, in their home, where they belonged: that was all she needed. 

She moved to stand in front of her mate, his chest pressed up against her back, and took his right hand in hers, sneaking it beneath her coat and sweater and over her brand new tattoo.

Here you are, she said softly, curling her fingers into the spaces between his and squeezing tight. But don’t tell anyone else just yet. It’s our secret.

He buried his face in the side of her neck and she felt his emotion and his adoration surrounding her, as warm and golden as the sun. People moved around them, birds swooped and soared, fish shimmied beneath the crystal clear water - and Feyre and Rhys held onto each other, and peace, and hope.

II

TBC

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi Steph!

How have you been doing? I have the seasonal flu and have been kinda depressed but Johnlock fics helps me keep right sort of.

Can you please rec me some fics based after s4 or post Mary where Sherlock loves Rosie a lot more than he lets on. Like he wants to play with her, hug her and kiss her but refrains himself from doing so infront of John afraid John might not like him being so loving towards Rosie? Like not John being necessarily mean finding out Sherlock loves pampering Rosie , but just Sherlock being afraid to shower his love to Rosie in John's presence?

Thank you 💜

Hey Nonny *HUGS*

I'm SO sorry you're feeling AWFUL, and I really hope you feel better soon! <3

Ah, nothing with Rosie immediately comes to mind, but I know of two fics with "other kids" that Sherlock does this:

Iris by slashscribe (E, 11,948 w., 1 Ch. || Parentlock, Pining Sherlock, Post-S3) – Sherlock does his best to make John happy when John comes back to 221B with his new baby after the events of Season 3, but Sherlock has a track record of getting things wrong in this area. This story is an exploration of their gradual shift from friends to lovers, told from Sherlock's perspective, full of a lot of pining and lack of emotional awareness.

Wars We Fought, Things We're Not by blueink3 (M, 55,204 w., 10 Ch. || Post S3 / Post TAB, Parentlock, Fluff & Angst, Kidnapping, Whump, Post-TAB, UST/URT, 3G, Mild Peril, Slow Burn, Couple for a Case, Protective Mycroft, Infant Death Pre-Story, Friends to Lovers) –  Five months after John's world has fallen apart, Mycroft sends the consulting detective and his doctor on a case that neither is prepared for.

But I am CERTAIN I have some on one of my parentlock fic lists:

Parentlock

Parentlock Pt. 2

Parentlock Pt. 3

Adoption

Sherlock Soft With Children

Parentlock with Rosie (Nov. 2022) (COMMUNITY RECS)

If anyone has something they really want to suggest, please do!

[sticktopia]

Stickober Day 2: Likes Surprise

Dark groaned as she awoke, feeling absolutely exhausted for whatever reason. As she forced her body to sit up, she grabbed her phone to look at the time. 8:30 Am. Dark sighed as she caught a glimpse of the date; October 2nd.

“No wonder I'm so exhausted.” Dark grumbled as she placed her phone down. She hated her birthday. She hated that she was brought into this world by her selfish creator, merely wanting her to destroy her ex best friend. She hated what her existence meant to the world.

Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her waist. Dark’s mood lightened slightly as she chuckled, turning over to face the pastel yellow stick in the bed.

“Good morning Gemstone.” Dandi chuckled as she nuzzled Dark’s hair.

“Good morning Sunshine.” Dark chuckled as she kissed the taller stick. Dandi smiled as she looked at Dark, her baby blue eyes staring into Dark’s stormy grey ones. Dandi’s smile faltered a bit.

“What’s wrong?” Dandi asked as she gently caressed Dark’s face. Dark sighed and shook her head.

“It’s nothing, just a bit tired.” Dark replied as she sat up, Dandi following her movement.

“Then why not sleep more? It is still early.” Dandi suggested. Dark chuckled as she leaned on Dandi.

“I wish I could, but I have some things I need to do.” Dark said as she climbed out of bed. “I gotta go out to the city. So I'd prefer to get to where I need to be before everything gets wild.”

“Alright then.” Dandi chuckled as she moved some of her hair out of her face. “Will you at least be home for dinner?”

“Yeah I should be.” Dark chuckled as she went to prepare for the day ahead.

**********

Dark sighed as she walked through the busy streets. She wasn't all that fond of the city, but she needed to get some things to finish her project that needed to be done sooner than later.

Dark spent the next few hours looking for and shoplifting the things she needed. She knew she promised Dandi she’d stop doing that, but she was low on cash and didn't want to go back and ask her girlfriend for money.

“Thief!! Stop right there!!!” Dark jumped as she heard the store owner shout at her. Dark quickly turned and ran, making sure that her hood stayed on. The red hollowhead quickly got outta there, hiding in an alleyway. She panted softly as she slid back into the shadows. Looking at the loot she managed to snatch, she realized that she had about half her shopping list.

“Ah, not everything, but it should be good enough.” Dark hummed as she stepped out of the other end of the alley, bumping into someone.

“Ah! I’m so-” Dark paused as she saw a familiar Orange hollowhead standing in front of her. Her heart stopped as she came face to face with her ‘murderer’.

“Ah, no it’s o-” The kid froze as they saw Dark as well. The two hollowheads stayed frozen, both too afraid to move. Second then softly spoke.

“Um, D-dark… right…?” They squeaked out. Dark took a step back, body trembling. She could barely keep her feet underneath her.

“Wh-what’s it to you?” Dark kicked herself for stuttering. Second calmed down a bit and gave a small smile.

“Um, Ch-chosen talks about you a lot.” Dark stared at Second, her breath hitched in her throat.

“Come again?”

“Ch-chosen. Your friend, he talks about you a lot.” Second said. “He says that he misses-”

“Bullshit.” Dark scoffed as she looked away from the teen. “Chosen doesn't give a shit about me.”

“Why do you say that?” Second asked. Dark huffed.

“Would you still care about someone who tried to kill you?” Dark scoffed as she turned and began to leave.

“Uh, wait where are you-”

“Anywhere from here. Jack off kid. Let's just pretend we never saw each other.” Dark was walking away when Second spoke again.

“Dark, please wait.”

“No, I'm not going to. I have things to do kid.” Dark said as she exited the alley. Though, Second was stubborn, they weren't going to give up yet. They Followed the older hollowhead.

“Why are you following me.” Dark demands, still walking.

“Because, I think that you need a friend.” Second said. Dark scoffed.

“You're annoying as hell.”

“Well, no one should be alone on their birthday.” Dark paused and looked at the orange hollowhead.

“How-”

“Chosen said that today was your birthday. And, it’s kinda crazy because it’s also my birthday today.” They chuckled. Dark stared at Second.

“Your kidding.” Second shook his head.

“Nope. October 2nd is the day I was created.” Dark sighed and rubbed her temples.

“Of course that damn creator made an obedient goody two shoes pet the same day he made me.” Dark growls.

“I am standing right here.”

“And?”

“Ok, fair point. But still, I don't think you should be alone on your birthday.” Second said as he held the sleeve of Dark’s hoodie.

“As someone who’s never celebrated my birthday before, I don't really care to start.” Dark scoffs as she tries to pull her sleeve from Second, but they then grab her wrist. 

“Why not? Everyone deserves to be celebrated on the day they came to be.” Second said as they looked into Dark’s eyes. Dark stares back at Second, slightly annoyed. Eventually, she sighs and fully turns to the younger hollowhead.

“Fine. What do you want?” Dark scoffed. Second smiled and released Dark’s sleeve.

“Come on! I’ll show you what a real birthday’s like!” Second then spent the rest of the day showing Dark things that people do on their birthday. They took her to many food places, getting them free food and drinks. They then went to an arcade, where Dark showed off just how good she was at the games. Second was quite impressed by all the points that Dark managed to win. As they went to the prize counter, Second got some small trinkets for his friends while Dark got a cute mouse plushie.

“You're getting that?” Second asked with an arched brow. Dark scoffed.

“It’s not for me. It’s for the stick who saved me when you nearly killed me.” Dark said as she walked away. Sec froze as Dark said that.

What?! What do you mean I nearly killed you?!” Second asked as they followed after the red hollow.

“What? You don’t remember blasting me in the face with that… death ray that came out of your face?” Dark asked as she shoved the mouse into her backpack.

“N-No…? I-I don't know what you mean, I dont have powers.” Second said as they kept up with Dark. She huffed as she looked at him.

“You don't remember obliterating me through a mountain and destroying my life’s work?” Dark asks as she puts her hands on her hips.

“Ch-chosen said the same thing to me. But I really don't remember anything after… After you killed my friends…” Second mumbled as he rubbed his arm. Dark sighed.

“Just don’t blast me like that again. I don’t have time to be on the brink of death again.” Dark said as she turned and continued walking. Second quickly followed.

“Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to do… whatever I did.” Second said as they trailed slightly behind Dark. “Um, the mouse, you said it’s for the stick who… Saved you?”

“Yeah. She’s kinda stupid, but I like that about her.”

“That’s not very nice to say about the stick who ‘saved your life’.”

“Well, hell kid. I’m a terrorist and she literally doesn't know that. Somehow.”

“Let me guess, you have no intentions of ever telling her?”

“Why would I? That would just cause a bunch of drama that I don't want to deal with.”

“But wouldn't there be even MORE drama if she finds out she’s been housing a terrorist without knowing? I think you should tell her.”

“Fuck you and your ideology.”

“Thank you.” Dark scoffed and flicked Second’s forehead.

“Ow! Hey!” Second scoffed as they rubbed their forehead.

“Well kid, I'm off now.” Dark said as she looked at her phone. “Sunshine’s waiting for me.”

“Ah, alright.” Second said as they suddenly snatched Dark’s phone.

“The fuck-” Second then handed the phone back to Dark.

“That’s my number. If you wanna reconnect with Chosen at any point, just call me and I can help you out.” Sec said as they turned and left. Dark stared at the orange hollow before staring at the new contact in her phone. She scoffed and shoved the phone in her hoodie pocket.

“Ass.” Dark sighs as she walks away.

Follow Dark home Follow Second Home

[alltoolewis]

mason helping you after reader needs surgery for some reason super fluff

Always there: Mason Mount

Oh to be helped by Mason Tony Mount!! Hope you enjoy this honey!!! ❤

The minute the possibility of surgery was mentioned Mason dropped everything to be by your side. Having secret words with the head staff at Chelsea to make them aware of his possible absence, although it caused a little bit of tension and he was given a warning of consequences... he would pay any fine, miss any matches if it meant he could be by your side throughout it all. His little plan however didn't sit well with you, hating the idea of him missing out on matches and possibly some of his wages because you decided to fall down the stairs and fracture your leg in 8 places!

"Mason.. you need to go!" You groaned as he waltzed back into your room, pillow in hand as he makes himself comfy on the hard hospital sofa. Ignoring your groans, he continues to make himself at home, throwing down his night bag before making his way over to you. Caressing your cheek gently as if you were made from porcelain, he stared deep in your eyes.. repeating the words he had spoken way to many times since you had started camping here "I'm not going anywhere, baby!"

"Mase... It's the club world cup! You need to support your team!!" No matter how many times you told him of the importance of attending such a event, he remained adamant in staying by your side. "I need to support you!"

Although his words caused your heart to flutter, you weren't going to let his sweet talk persuade you "I might not even need surgery tho... you heard what the doctor said, if I keep this cast and brace on for 2 more days... there's a ch-"

"A chance you may be able to heal on your own...." Mason continued the doctors words. Leaning down, his lips met yours sweetly "But... until that is confirmed, I am not leaving your side not matter how cutely you ask!"

"But-!"

"No buts!" He laughed, dragging a small chair over to your bedside as his larger hand embraced your smaller one "I'm staying... gorgeous! Now get some sleep, we have a big couple of days ahead of us!"

The words 'us' instead of 'you' made your heart leap! Although his stubbornness was frustrating, you couldn't help but admire his sweetness... somehow you were lucky enough to have such a supportive, caring boyfriend who was willing to miss out on some of his big career making moments just so he could hold your hand... and as the 2 days came to an end, and the doctor confirmed that you had to have a major surgery... he never left you!

"You okay... darling?" Mason sighed, as the doctor left the room. Informing you that in 2 hours you were going into theatre. He knew you to well to know that you were scared... although you being brave and not wanting to admit it. Shaking your head lightly you let the tears slip, Mason's finger immediately sweeping it off your cheek "I thought it would be okay..."

"I know you did sweetie!" Sitting on the edge of your bed, careful not to knock your leg he kissed your temple before lifting your chin to look at him "But listen to me... you are going to be fine... I'm going to be here with you every move okay? Your not going to be alone!"

"I love you..." You voice broke as his words sunk in.

"I love you too... darling.... your going to be fine.."

And just like he promised, you were fine! Spending another week in the hospital was somewhat bearable as you had him by your side, making sure he was present for all your appointment from that day forward! Don't get me wrong, you were angry to find out about the huge sum of money he had to pay off for his own absence... however apart of you knew you wouldn't of been able to make it through without him! Making a mental note to repay him with alot of kisses and other intimate stuff when your leg was fully healed!

[fandomlovingfreak]

Egon Spengler/F!Reader (1/3)

Before Summerville

Ch 2. Ch3.

Rating: General Audience

Trigger Warning: unplanned pregnancy, and angst

Word Count: 1356

MasterList Link I AO3 Link I Wattpad Link

Summary: Congrats! You are Callie's mother in this fic. What really happened before Egon fled to Summerville?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Ghostbusters (sad, I know). This work has not been created for profit or financial compensation, and is a transformative fair use work in accordance with Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act.

Notes: I’m sort of nervous to post this. But, I hope at least some people read it aha!

Enjoy

***

He reacts just how I expected. Shock and confusion.

"You're sure?" 

"I've taken half a dozen tests, so I guess I'm fairly certain..."

"Oh--" The color has completely drained from his face.

"You don't have to-- I mean, I don't expect anything from you. If you don't want to be in... the baby's life or mine now, I understand--"

Egon blinks a few times before grabbing my arm, "I never said I was leaving you." His voice gets quiet, "I'm just confused why you want to have my baby."

Baffled by his words, I have to take a moment to digest the comment, "You don't think I'd want to have a baby with you?"

His cheeks pinken, "No."

"I want to have this baby with you. I wouldn't want to have a baby with anyone else," I cradle his face in my hands, pulling him closer to press a quick kiss to his lips, "In fact, I'd choose you to have a baby with nine out of ten times." 

His smile is small, "So, we're really doing this."

I lean my forehead against his, "I guess we are, Doctor Spengler."

four months later...

"Oh my god!" I sit up as quickly as I can.

Pulled from the first moments of sleep, Egon sits up quickly, looking slightly panicked, "(y/n)? What's wrong?" He reaches for the side table, fumbling around for his glasses.

"I swear I felt them kick," I reach for his hand, placing it right where the baby had kicked. His eyes dart up to mine before he focuses his attention on where his hand is laying on my stomach.

Minutes of silence pass before the baby aims a kick towards Egon's palm. Eyes widening comically, he moves to kneel between my legs, cradling my stomach in both of his hands.

"Oh wow..." He's got a goofy grin on his face as he continues to watch intently, waiting for the next sign of movement, "I didn't think I would... I mean, you don't realize how something like this will affect you until you experience it."

"Every moment like this makes it a bit more real, don't you think?" I yawn, settling further down in my pillow. 

Egon nods, still fascinated with the little kicks, "they're already so strong."

Four months...

"Callie Eden Spengler," I proudly announce to Ray, Peter, and Winston as they crowd around me to get a better look at the baby. "Isn't she precious?"

Peter raises his eyebrows at Ray, earning himself an elbow to the ribs.

"Ow! I was joking," Peter glares at his friend before turning back towards me, "She's obviously very beautiful (y/n). Somehow you reproduced by yourself."

Knowing Peter, I roll my eyes at the comment, "She has Egon's eyes, so I think your theory may be wrong." 

"Knock it off, you two. Now, can I hold her?" Winston asks. Handing over the baby, I glance over at the father of my child. He's got a small smile on his lips as he watches the people most important in his life interact.

I feel extremely lucky at this moment.

Three Months Later...

My stomach drops as the words leave his mouth. Leaving--? Everything is so perfect. How could he just leave?

"...and it's not-- you can't let her follow after me when she's older if she asks to. It will always be too dangerous where I'm going."

"What about me?" I feel the tears prickling at the corner of my eyes.

He just looks at me blankly. It says everything I need to know. "So it's over then." I feel strangely calm as my world crashes down around me so suddenly. Who knew your life could be so fragile without you knowing.

"(y/n)--"

"Is it done, Egon? Be honest with me."

He runs a hand through his hair, "Look. I don't want this, but it's what has to be done."

I let out a pathetic laugh, "What every woman wants to hear. You have to break up with me? We have a child!" I point towards Callie's room, "Your daughter is in the other room asleep, and you have to leave?"

He at least has the decency to look guilty as he looks over at the closed bedroom door. "There is nothing I want more than to stay--"

"Then stay!" My voice cracks as I grab his arms, forcing him to look at me, "Don't go! Stay here with me. If not for me, stay for Callie! You can't just leave us--" The tears spill from my eyes as I plead. Plead for him to see that staying here would be the right choice no matter what the future holds. I lean my forehead against his chest as I let all the impending grief spill.

A moment of hesitation later, his hands run up and down my back. I want to lean into the touch. I want to pull away from it too. 

"Don't go," I whisper against his sweater.

Egon doesn't reply with words, continuing to try to soothe me, "Please believe me, (y/n). I don't want to. I promise you if the end of the world wasn't impending... I would never leave you."

"We'll come with--"

He cuts me off before I can continue, with a stern, "No." 

"Egon..."

"You cannot come with me. I would've led with that if it were possible. I'm moving to the middle of nowhere; life will be rough and--"

"I don't care where you're going. If the three of us are together, I know it would be okay. I know how risky things can be working against the paranormal. I know the risks, and I'm ready to accept that it won't always be pretty..."

His hands cup my face, forcing me to stop speaking, "I can't take that risk." His thumb brushes against my cheek, eyes glancing down to my lips for a second before he's pressing his lips against mine. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him as close as possible.

He pulls away first. "I have to go alone."

"Why didn't you just-- just leave before Callie was born? Why did you have to stay around and let me get used to having everything I wanted?"

Egon startles "(y/n)."

"Don't you dare deny it. You could've walked out then. It would've been easier if you walked out then, Egon." My words are cruel, but I can't find it in me to care for his feelings when he's breaking my heart for some hypothetical end of the world. And worst of all, he's breaking our family apart.

He recoils, taking a step back and wearing a wounded look. "Because I love you. That's why (y/n)."

"If you loved me, you wouldn't do this. You wouldn't do this, Egon!"

"Someday, you will realize I'm doing the right thing."

Recoiling, I glare at him, "I will never understand why you did this."

***

Reality sets in when I open my eyes the next morning. Callie is crying, and the sun is too bright. I glance over at Egon's unoccupied side of the bed.

I want to scream... want to sit in my bed and sob over the broken pieces, but I can't. I know I have to get up and live for Callie. I won't let her lose both of her parents in one night.

I get up to tend to the baby with determination in my heart. Cradling her against my chest feels good like my heart has the capability of healing as long as I have her in my arms. 

"It's okay, my darling girl. Momma is here," I press a kiss to her forehead, comforting her, "We're going to be okay, just the two of us."

"(y/n)?" I turn towards my name. Ray stands in the doorway of Callie's bedroom.

I feel my throat clench in that terrible way that always means tears, "Ray, he's gone."

Ray can only nod.

Carefully, I set down Callie, "he's gone... and I don't think he's coming back." The words seem eerily final.

He takes two steps across the room, pulling me into his embrace. I let myself crumble.

[certifiedwizardfucker]

My process was just to pick one song per chapter to fit the vibe of that stage in their relationship. Explainations for the songs under the cut :)

Blades And Spells - Syndicate by The Fray: This song really feels like it's exactly about the moment in Rolan's life that Tav meets him, I feel this most in the first verse, "Halfway around the world lies the one thing that you want/Buried in the ground, hundreds of miles down/The first thing that arises in your mind when you awake/Is bending you 'til you break" and this line in the second chorus, "All we know for sure is all that we are fighting for/Baby, don't forget we haven't lost it all yet" feels a lot like Lia's side of the argument.

Good Night For Company ch. 1 - Another Place by Bastille: A song about wanting more with someone you'll probably only have one night with, perfect for this chapter, "Oh, in another place/In another time, what could we have been?"

Good Night For Company ch. 2 - Pieces by Rob Thomas: There's a sort of desperation in this song that just vibes super well with this chapter, especially in the chorus, just wanting to hold onto someone when everything is going wrong.

A Strand To Climb ch. 1 - Ashes of Eden by Breaking Benjamin: "Will the faithful be rewarded/When we come to the end/Will I miss the final warning/From the lie that I have lived/Is there anybody calling/I can see the soul within/And I am not worthy/I am not worthy of this" I feel like this one just fits so well with Rolan's doubts about his future after finding out what kind of man Lorroakan really is.

A Strand To Climb ch. 2 - Kill Me by Landon Tewers: Rolan self deprecation time! But really that scene of him hiding in the back room of the shop hits me so hard its just *chefs kiss* "So kill me, I won't even feel it if you're with me/All that I can say is it's the worst I've had/But I'm fallin' deeper, yeah, I'm falling deeper in it"

A Strand To Climb ch. 3 - November Rain by Guns n' Roses: The scene where they finally meet in the rain is also just so *chefs kiss*, and I feel like this is the ultimate "lovers kissing in the rain" song, especially when there's angsty vibes to it. "If we could take the time to lay it on the line/I could rest my head, just knowin' that you were mine, all mine/So, if you want to love me/Then, darlin', don't refrain/Or I'll just end up walkin'/In the cold November rain"

A Strand To Climb ch. 4 - All Around Me by Flyleaf: I don't have a whole lot to say about this one I just love the early morning love making vibes of it "My hands float up above me/And you whisper you love me/And I begin to fade/Into our secret place"

A Strand To Climb ch. 5 - Fake It by Bastille: I had a hard time trying to come up with a song for the battle with Lorroakan that didn't completely kill the vibe of the rest of the playlist (but if I had to pick, it would be Had Enough by Breaking Benjamin), so this is for the scene after in the bathroom. "Don't turn over, turn over the page/We should rip it straight out/Then let's do our very best to fake it"

A Strand To Climb ch. 6 - From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea by The Cure: I 👏 LOVE 👏 THIS 👏 CHAPTER 👏 SO 👏 MUCH and I love this song so much and just the vibes of finally being able to make a home with your lover, "And all I want is to keep it like this/You and me alone/A secret kiss/And don't go home/Don't go away/Don't let this end/Please stay"

More - Never Knew I Needed by Ne-Yo: I know this fic isn't technically part of this series but I love it too much not to include it. I just feel like this song captures Rolan's feelings for Tav and their role in his life so well. Plus, I feel like he's so Princess Tiana coded, ya know what I mean? Also this song has such a wedding/first dance vibe that makes it so good for a proposal fic. "For the way you're something that I'd never choose/But at the same time, something I don't wanna lose/And never wanna be without ever again"

Hypothetically, if someone made a playlist for your Sage & Soldier series... how would you feel?

For real?? 😭😭😭 Probably die and then resurrect to drown in my own tears!! If you are willing to share a link I would really really love to listen. 🥺

[haechanniesunflowers]

"I promise"

A Bang Chan scenario

A/N: mentions of pregnancy and labour, blood and childbirth, angst, fluff

After Stray Kids' contact expired with JYP, the boys went their separate ways but were still very close with one another. Minho became a choreographer, Felix, Hyunjin, Jeongin, and Seungmin signed with other companies for solo promotions. 3racha became full time producers under a different company, all 8 of them were doing very well.

Chan got married, the couple was living happily in an apartment. He set up a studio on one of the rooms so he could spend more time with her. Chan really did care about his wife but his 3racha signed a project with a sequel to a blockbuster movie and they were working on the songs for it.

"Chris I can't believe you forgot again!" y/n yelled at him. She was at her wit's end with him, she was eight months pregnant and wanted Chan to be a part of it for the final months, he promised he would take her to see her gynecologist two week ago but he was busy producing music and completely forgot. They rescheduled twice but he forgot both times. She called him several times, but he didn't hear it ringing. Now he came home, tired and upset that he completely forgot about his wife and unborn child, yet again.

"I'm not even going to say I'm sorry. I messed up big time and I'm embarrassed." he spoke.

"what do you want me to do about it?" she replied.

Chan didn't have the words to tell her how upset he was with himself. He let her down again and again and she had to go through the last months of her pregnancy alone.

"do you even know we’re having a child? I'm scared Christopher. Will you keep this up after the baby is born too? I can't have my child grow up longing for his father. I understand you love your work but if you love it to the extent you're forgetting about important things, why did you get me pregnant? Why did you want to bring a child in this world? For me to go through it alone? Will you even be there when I'm in labour?" y/n let her frustration out, with hot tears streaming down her face.

Chan came to hold her face but she backed away. He gave her space to cool down and opted to sleep on the couch.

For the next two weeks she she avoided him and did things in her own, she went to the gynecologist alone, and got food for herself from the store. Chan saw her entering the apartment with bags of food in her hand. It broke his heart that she was doing things for herself in the cold weather, and he wanted to make amends. He walked towards her and grabbed the bags from her hand, earning a warning glare from her.

"don't overburden yourself sweetheart" he said. She gave him the bags and went straight to their bedroom. He was right, she was overburdening herself but it was his fault. Coming out of the shower, she got into an oversized t shirt and pajama bottoms, and snuggled into the comforter. Chan stood at the threshold of the door, looking at her with soft eyes as she was facing away from him.

"can I lay beside you?" he began. Y/n missed him too much but he had to learn his lesson.

"no."

Chan felt helpless, he walked inside and knelt beside her side of the bed, facing her.

"I just want to say that I'm really sorry for being ignorant and making you go through these months alone but I promise you I will be there for you when you need me." he spoke and gently kissed her forehead, which she didn't back away from. Y/N closed her eyes, signalling Chan that she was about to sleep so he went out to sleep on the couch again.

At around 2 in the morning, y/n woke up to pain in her abdomen and lower back. It was intense and painful and she clutched the comforter. When it was over she was panting lightly. Her gynecologist told her about cramps near child birth. She got out of bed to drink a glass of cranberry juice. Looking around the house, there was no sign of her husband.

"where did he go?" she mumbled. Y/N went to check his studio and to her surprise he wasn't there either. She started to get annoyed and worried so she called Jisung to ask him if he knew.

"yeah noona he's in the company's studio with us, wait I'll pass him the phone." he answered and handed the phone to Chan, who didn't know how to explain himself.

"you're unbelievable" was all she said and hung up the phone. Chan gave the phone back to Jisung and excused himself saying y/n was asking him to come back home. The other two agreed to finish up with the lyrics.

Chan let himself in through the front door and saw y/n sitting on the couch, slightly bent forward and clutching the cushion. She looked towards him and her expression changed to an annoyed one. Getting up, she walked towards the bedroom but was stopped by Chan, who pulled her by her arm.

"what is your problem?" he inquired.

"nothing, let go of my arm."

"no, what are you trying to prove. You have been ignoring me for two weeks now, you don't even let me near you and you're doing things you're not allowed to do. Then when I'm not around, you suddenly have a problem and want me back, for what? When you're perfectly fine on your own and not speaking to me, what do you want me to do? Sit around all day? Doing what you want me to do? And be okay with with your attitude?" Chan blurted out in anger. Y/N pulled her arm out of his grip.

"I didn't call you back, I only asked Jisung where you were. And you're saying it like I made this child on my own against your will so I shouldn't expect anything for you. If that's how you felt then you should've told me from the start, I wouldn't have depended on you even in the slightest." she said and walked away, lying in bed and crying. Chan understood how hard it was for her but he had a huge thing going on and had to give time to that too. He put his headphones on and lied on the couch.

Y/n yelped in pain as she propped herself on one arm, the other one clutching her baby bump. The pain was excruciating and she couldn't even let out a scream. It was too much that tears welled up in her eyes. She looked around for her phone but she left it in the kitchen. Then she saw the time, it was 8:40 in the morning and Chan probably left for work. Squirming out of bed, she used the walls for support to walk out of the room and saw Chan sleeping on the couch with his headphones on.

"Ch-Chris" she breathed, he didn't seem to hear her since he didn't move.

"oh my God" she whined, clutching her abdomen, "Chris!" she cried. His eyes shot open and he looked to where she stood, bent forward.

"y/n? What's wrong?" he asked and hurriedly walked towards her, and saw her tear stained face, evidently in pain. He wasted no time and took her to the hospital.

The nurse told them she was going into labour and got everything ready. It was happening so fast, Chan stood there, watching his wife trying to push their child out, into the world. He was in awe of her. The scenario gave him goosebumps as we witnessed the moment. His whole world came crashing down, however, when the doctor revealed that y/n was losing blood and the baby wasn't coming out so they had to perform an emergency C-section. He was told to leave the operation theatre and wait outside.

So he stood outside and waited for any kind of news. In that mom he regretted how he treated y/n, for not spending more time with her, for letting her go through the pregnancy with him seldom by her side, for the argument he started the previous night. He was worried for her, he realized how important she was to him and he needed her. In a state of helplessness, he prayed for her wellbeing, for her to stay with him.

20 minutes later, the longest 20 minutes of his life, the nurse came out, holding a baby, wrapped in a small blanket.

"congratulations it's a healthy baby boy" she spoke and put the baby in his arms.

It felt unreal and surreal. He watched the baby, his baby, squirm in his arms, nuzzling towards his warm chest. His heart felt like iit would explode.

"how is my wife?" he immediately asked.

"she's unconscious from the anesthesia, we're shifting her to the ward, you can see her then." she answered and left.

Chan felt light headed. He didn't expect to become a father in the morning, when he went to sleep the previous night.

He went inside the room y/n was in, she laid there, little sedated but conscious. She looked towards Chan and smiled warmly. He walked to her and handed her their son for skin to skin. They looked at him with so much love in their eyes.

"our son, y/n" he spoke in a hushed voice, to not scare the child nuzzling himself into his mother's skin.

"I love him so much" y/n admitted.

"I'm so sorry. I don't have the words to express how sorry I am. You mean everything to me and I was wrong to not pay attention to you when you needed me. I won't let that happen again. I am going to protect you and our son, I promise." Chan stated.

"forget about that Chris, you promised me you would be there when I needed you and you were. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't home. I know you will keep your promise. I love you."

"I love you too."

[sergeantsporks]

Another Shot at Life

Rating: General Audiences, Gen

TW: Child abuse, emotional manipulation

Ao3

Hunter accidentally makes his way into the human realm and can't get back home. But he's discovering that might not be such a bad thing.

Ch 7/7: Home

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6

Vee trudged up towards the old abandoned house. She’d started checking it every single day since Hunter had been taken, hoping he’d be there.

He never was.

She pushed open the door, and stopped, dead in her tracks. “L-Luz? Red?!”

Red was shrieking like its little heart was being torn in two, fluttering around where the portal had always appeared.

Vee rushed forward, panic building in her chest. “Hey—are you okay?!”

Luz was turning a key over and over in her hands, poking at it. “I need to go back,” she said dazedly, “I need to rescue him.”

“How long have you been here?!”

“I—I don’t know. A couple of hours? I can’t… get the key to work. But I have to go back, I left Hunter behind, and Belos has him, and—” She struggled to her feet, then immediately fell.

Vee caught her, slinging one of her arms over her shoulder. “You need to go back home. You look awful.”

“But Hunter—”

Vee took the key from her. “I’ll go back for him,” she promised, and a sort of steely calm settled over her. Yes. She would figure this out, she would rescue Hunter.

“Mom will never let you—”

Vee bit her lip. Of all the things to take a leaf out of Hunter’s book for. “We won’t tell her.” She tucked the key into her hoodie pocket, half-carrying, half-dragging Luz back home. “Camila!” she called, “Come quick!”

Camila poked her head out of the kitchen, then shrieked, rushing forward and taking Luz from Vee. “Mi carina! Luz, baby, what happened?!”

“Mama,” Luz half-sobbed, “Mama, I left Hunter—he helped me get away from Belos, he—”

Vee slipped out, wandering back to the old house. Red was sitting on the floor, staring at the spot where the portal had been. Vee gently scooped up the bird. “We’ll get him back. I promise.”

Red chirped sadly, hopping back down out of her hands to sit on the ground again.

Vee tugged the training wand Hunter had given her out of her pocket. It glowed blue, and she sucked the magic out of it. She hadn’t needed it to hide from Belos. But she could use it to save Hunter.

Now there was just one more person she needed.

Xxx

Vee strode into the museum. “Hey!”

Jacob jumped. “What are you doing here?” He glanced behind her. “Your—your friend isn’t here, is he?”

Vee felt tears prick at her eyes, but she blinked them back. “He’s… not here right now. I need your help.”

“My help? Why would you need my help?”

Because you’re stupid, and loud, and prideful and the perfect distraction.

“Because you’re right. Because witches are planning an invasion of your world, and I’m a rebel against them, but I need someone to help me take down their leader, and you’re perfect.”

Jacob stared at her, his mouth hanging slightly open. “You’re… you’re a rebel?”

“Yes. Against the beings that want to conquer your planet.” Vee swung the key back and forth on its string. “I can get you inside the witch emperor’s castle. All you have to do is kill him. Protect your planet.”

Jacob made a grab for the key, and she swung it up, catching it and holding it tightly. “Uh-uh. I control the portal.”

“Why?”

“Because you need someone on this side to keep it open,” Vee lied, “Now, are you going to be a hero and defend your home, or do I have to find someone else?”

Jacob shook his head. “I’m coming! I’m coming.”

“Good. Meet me at the abandoned house you were watching, and I’ll open the portal. The fate of your world rests on your shoulders, Jacob.”

Vee strode purposefully out of the museum, making sure she was out of Jacob’s range of hearing before sighing. “Now I just have to figure out how to open the portal.”

She jogged back to the old house, where Red was still waiting, and held up the key. “Hey. Any chance you know how to use this?”

Red fluttered up and pecked at the eye.

“Hey! Don’t break it!” Vee examined the key. “Now how do I…” she pressed gently on the eye of the key, but nothing happened.

Vee stepped to the place where the door had been.

And was met with resistance.

“Huh?”

Vee clicked the key, and the resistance disappeared. She clicked it again. There was that strange wall again.

Or maybe not a wall. Maybe a door.

Vee put her hands on the solid area, feeling for a knob. “Come on,” she muttered, “You have to be around here somewhere!”

Red fluttered up onto her shoulder, chirping. Its eyes glowed, and suddenly, there it was.

The door.

It looked like the sketches Hunter had left behind, but instead of huge eye on the top, there was a keyhole.

Vee gasped. “Oh! You need a palisman to get in! So no one but a witch could get in from this side! That’s clever!”

She heard clanking, and turned around to see Jacob, in all of his armor. Wow, he really looked ridiculous.

“Where’s the portal?” he demanded.

Vee reached up and inserted the key into the lock, twisting it with a quiet click. A doorframe filled with a golden curtain of light appeared, the key at the top of the doorframe. She gestured to it. “The emperor wears a golden mask with deer horns. You’ll know him when you see him.”

Jacob gulped, then plunged through. Vee briefly considered that she should feel guilty about sending him in to face Belos with absolutely no idea what he was up against.

Eh.

Red tried to dive into the portal after Jacob, but Vee held a hand up, blocking the bird. “I know you want to see Hunter, but I need you to stay here and watch the portal, okay? Make sure no one comes for the key. I’ll bring him back. I promise.”

Red ruffled its feathers unhappily, but perched atop the doorframe.

Vee pulled on the magic she’d absorbed from the wand, shifting to match the look of a coven guard. Then she crept through. She could hear Jacob yelling and clanging his way down the hallway, and the sounds of other coven guards chasing after. Perfect.

Vee slipped unnoticed through the hallways, her nerves spiking. Everything about this place was just one bad memory after another. She spotted a singular guard outside of a door, and sidled up to him.

“Um—” she squeaked, “hello? I, uh. I’m a bit lost, I just transferred here. I’m… I’m supposed to go on guard duty for… the golden guard?”

The guard heaved a sigh. “Finally. I thought I would never go off-duty. It’s just so boring, you know? It’s not like he can escape.”

“Oh. Yes. T-totally.”

“Right. See ya, new guy!”

The guard waved and strode off. Vee shuddered. He seemed so… normal. Like his job wasn’t locking up and hurting innocent teens.

She waited for him to disappear down the hallway, then turned the knob of the door, pushing it open. The room was well lit, surprisingly.

Vee almost wished it weren’t.

Hunter was buried all the way up to the nose in a mountain of some kind of… slime that shifted and moved. His eyes were blank—no pupils, no irises, just eerily glowing white.

“Hunter?” she whispered.

He didn’t respond.

Vee crept forward, poking the slime with one finger.

It glowed blue, and Vee gasped. The whole thing was magic. “Hang on, Hunter, I’ll get you out of here.”

Vee wrinkled her nose and put her hands on the slime. It glowed, and she inhaled, sucking up the magic. She almost immediately gagged. There was something wrong with this magic. It tasted rotten.

But the mountain had gotten just a little bit smaller, so she braced herself, and started eating the magic again, suppressing her gag reflex.

The mountain shrank smaller and smaller, and the slime receded from Hunter’s face. He fell forward, and Vee lunged to catch him, her stomach writhing like she’d just eaten live snakes. “Hunter?”

The eerie glow faded from his eyes, replaced with his usual magenta eyes.

“Hunter!”

He just stared blankly up at her, shivering violently. Vee hefted him in her arms, glancing both ways out into the hallway before starting down the hallway. Maybe it was the huge size of the coven guard she’d shifted into, but he seemed smaller than he ever had back home.

And then there were his eyes. They were so… bleak. Hopeless. It was like he couldn’t even see her.

Vee made her way back to the room with the door, occasionally ducking into other rooms or behind statues to hide Hunter.

She heard a clank, clank, clank behind her, and Jacob came tearing back, screaming. Wow, he could run fast, even in all of that armor.

The meaning of why he would be running like that hit her, and she sprinted after him, bolting through the doors to the room.

Only for several guards to be standing in front of her way out. Jacob was nowhere in sight—they must have let him through the portal. Vee skidded to a stop. “Oh. Hey. Uhhhhhhhh…”

“We have a traitor!”

“That’s no traitor,” Belos’ voice hissed behind her, “That’s a dangerous creature, masquerading as one of our own.”

Vee’s veins turned to ice, and every bad memory from her time locked in the dungeon flashed through her mind at lightning speed.

She didn’t see him move, but suddenly Belos was right in her face. “I’ll be taking Hunter back, now. You don’t know what he needs.”

Xxx

“Mom—I’m okay. Really. It was just a fall off of a wall, and a little bit of light torture, and a blow to the head, and a fall from the sky—I’m fine, really.”

Camila finished applying band-aids to all of Luz’s scratches, her chest tight. “A blow to the head? I’m going to call a doctor.”

“I’m okay, Mom! Really! Hunter gave me these painkiller things, and they really worked, but I think they’ve worn off now, and I know I promised I’d stay here, I know, but we have to go back for him!”

Camila sat down next to her daughter. “Okay.”

Luz stopped, mid-rant. “Wh-what?”

“Okay. I’m going to get Hunter. You stay here and rest. How do I get there?”

“I…” Luz’s eyes teared up. “I don’t know! I couldn’t get the portal open from this side, and Mom, it would be too dangerous for you to go!”

“If it’s too dangerous for me, do you think I’d send my little girl in? I failed Hunter—I let Belos take him. So I’m going to get him back.” If we can get the portal working, if he’s even still alive. Camila shook her head, trying to chase away the niggling doubts in her head. No. She was going to rescue Hunter. No matter how far she had to go.

“He was so miserable, Mom,” Luz whispered, “But he’d just… given up.”

Camila’s heart seemed to tear itself in two. He’d gone back to protect them—and had given up on seeing them again. Camila glanced around the room. “Where’d Vee go?”

Luz clammed up.

“Luz? Do you know where she went?”

“I’m… not supposed to tell you?”

A bolt of panic shot through Camila, and she jumped to her feet. “She opened the portal, didn’t she?!”

“I don’t know—I know she was going to try.”

Camila raced for her purse, throwing a few things in. “I’m going to find her, and maybe Hunter if she’s managed to open the portal. Luz, you stay here. You’re not in any state for a rescue mission, kay? Just trust me to bring him back.”

Luz nodded. “I trust you.”

Camila ran out the door, racing up the path towards the old house.

Please be okay.

Xxx

Vee clutched Hunter tightly, his body quivering so hard she thought she might drop him. A surge of anger rushed through her. “What he needs?! He doesn’t need this!”

Belos shrugged. “He got to be too much of a hassle to keep awake. It was simpler for everyone if he just went to sleep until I needed him. Less painful for him as well—but apparently, you just want him to suffer needlessly. Now, little basilisk, give him to me and I might consider letting you go.”

Vee backed up. “No!”

“HEY!”

Vee jumped as she heard Camila’s voice. She whirled around to see her adoptive mother standing over two unconscious coven guards, holding Luz’s baseball bat. “Camila!”

Camila glared at Belos. “Get. Away. From my. Kids.”

Belos disappeared, reappearing next to Camila and plucking the baseball bat out of her hands. “Oh? How interesting. Are you going to make good on that threat to end me, little human?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.” Camila whipped out a can of hairspray and a lighter. “Adios, Belos.” She held the lighter up to the hairspray, and clicked them at the same time. A jet of flame shot out, lighting Belos’ robes on fire. The emperor stumbled back with a shriek, and Camila pushed past him, grabbing Vee’s arm. “Let’s go!”

Vee shot through the portal, Camila not far behind. Vee reached up and twisted the key back out of the portal. The curtain of light closed on Belos’ howl of rage.

Camila whistled. “I cannot believe I just did that!”

“That was—it was scary, but it was amazing, and…” Vee glanced down at Hunter, and the euphoria died away. He was still shaking, still blank-eyed. Red fluttered down to his shoulder, nudging his face and warbling softly. Hunter didn’t respond.

Camila put a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s get him home,” she said softly.

Vee trudged back up the path to her own home, struggling to squeeze through the door. She gently sat Hunter on the couch, shifting back to her usual form. Eating that cursed prison might have been disgusting, but it had given her a huge backup magic reserve—she’d be good on magic for a while yet.

“You’re back!” Luz limped down the stairs, freezing when she saw Hunter. “Oh—oh, no. Hunter?”

He didn’t respond, just kept staring ahead with those dull eyes. Camila wrapped a blanket around his shivering shoulders, taking his hand in hers and giving it a squeeze. “Oh, Hunter. What happened to you?”

“He—he looks kind of like Matholomew did when he got out of detention,” Luz said softly, “Vee, what—”

Vee twisted her hands. “I—there was this cursed mud, and it made his eyes go all creepy—maybe I shouldn’t have taken him out? Maybe it was supposed to run its course and I made it worse by taking him out early?”

Camila squeezed her shoulder. “You did what you thought was best,” she said softly, “We have him back, and that’s—that’s what matters. We can fix this. He’ll wake up.”

Vee blinked back tears. “But—what if he doesn’t?”

What if I was too late?

Xxx

“H-hey, I’m gonna… gonna put on some Stephen Universe? Hunter? Remember, you liked that?” Vee rubbed her arms. Rain had been gently pattering on the windowpane, but it was starting to pick up. “You did. We watched it together, and I liked Amethyst, and you couldn’t pick your favorite character, remember?”

Hunter still just stared forward, wrapped up in his blanket like a burrito, and Vee sat next to him with a sigh. Red hadn’t moved from his shoulder since they’d gotten him back two days ago—and Hunter himself hadn’t budged, either—he didn’t eat anything, he didn’t sleep, as far as Vee could tell, he just sat there, staring into space. Red chirped softly, nuzzling Hunter’s face, and then hopped over to Vee, giving her big, worried eyes.

Vee cupped the palisman in her hands. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, “I don’t know how to get him back. I don’t know if he’s just in shock, or if this is something that the curse does, or…”

The rain was picking up, wind howling against the window. Vee slid off the couch, setting Red on the floor and digging out birdseed for the palisman. She sat back down on the floor next to the cardinal. “You’ve got to eat something, right?”

Red warbled sadly, and fluttered back up to Hunter.

“I know. I miss him, too.”

Lightning flashed, followed by a crack of thunder, and Vee yelped, putting her hands over her ears.

She heard a rustle and a little whump, and then something warm settled over her. Hunter’s chin rested on her head, his arms flopped over her shoulders so that they were sharing the blanket. Red chirped happily, and Vee froze, her heart thumping hopefully in her chest.

“Hunter? Camila! Camila, Luz, I think he’s waking up!”

Another peal of thunder crashed, and Hunter hugged her just a little tighter. Camila came thumping down, Luz not far behind. Vee didn’t move, holding her breath, worried that if she moved and disturbed him, he’d go back to the way he’d been, barely daring to hope...

xxx

Camila rushed into the living room, where Hunter was flopped over Vee, wrapping her in his blanket. He was still blank-eyed, but his brow was furrowed, like he was trying to remember something. Camila gently cupped his face in her hands.

“Hunter?” She asked softly, “Mijo?”

He blinked, hard, like he’d just woken up. “C-Camila?” His eyes filled with tears, and he fell back, letting go of Vee. The basilisk tackled him in a hug.

“Hunter!”

Camila wrapped her arms around both of them, squeezing them both tight. “Oh!”

His shoulders started to shake. “It was s-so dark,” he whispered.

Camila squeezed just a little harder. “I’ve got you,” she promised. She let the two of them go, and Vee wriggled under the blanket, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with him as the thunder cracked. Luz sat down next to Camila.

“Hey,” she said softly to Hunter, “Thanks.”

He sat bolt upright, making Vee yelp. “The key! Belos!”

Vee held up the portal key. “Oh, you mean this? Don’t worry, Belos can’t get to us.”

“Vee managed to open the portal,” Luz supplied, “She went in after you!”

“And then Camila came for both of us,” Vee finished, “She lit Belos on fire, it was awesome!”

Hunter looked up at Camila, his lip quivering. “You… you fought for me?”

“Of course I did. I said I would, didn’t I?”

Tears rolled down his face, and Camila wrapped him up in a hug. “Hey. Heeey. You’re okay now.”

“I kept—I kept making him mad—and it—and I—”

Camila rocked him back and forth. “Okay. Ooookay. I’ve got you.”

“I couldn’t get out—it was all dark, and blank, and I just kept sinking, and I couldn’t do anything, and I was drowning, and—” Hunter buried his face in her shoulder.

Camila cradled his head in her hand. She could feel a lump on the back of his head, like he’d hit it, and she hadn’t failed to notice the bruises that hadn’t been there when he’d left. A tide of anger swept over her, and she started regretting leaving the Boiling Isles quite so soon. “You’re safe now, Hunter. I promise. Belos can’t hurt you anymore. And if he even thinks about it… well, I have no qualms lighting him on fire again.”

Hunter slumped against her, and she scooped him up, Red fluttering around the two of them. “Okay. You need some sleep.”

“He can take my bed,” Vee offered, “I’m too wired to go to sleep, anyway.”

Camila gave her a grateful nod and carried Hunter up the stairs. He was already asleep by the time they got to Luz’s room, his breath coming in soft little puffs. She nestled him in the bed, pulling the covers over him.

“Good night, Hunter.”

Xxx

Hunter was woken up by the sun.

The sun.

How had he slept this long?!

He bolted upright, nearly scraping his head on the ceiling. Wait. What?

Everything that had happened, came back to him in a rush, and he flopped backwards, running his hands through his hair. “Oh.”

Lying here, in the Noceda house, he could almost imagine that going back to Belos had been nothing but a bad dream.

But it hadn’t been. He had some very real bruises to prove it.

He shuddered, remembering the cold, acidic feel of Belos’ curse.

But then Red soared right into him, singing brightly, and he could almost forget it had ever happened.

Almost.

Hunter’s hand closed around the pin on his cloak. He ripped it off, tossing the cape to the floor, followed by his armor. He didn’t have to wear it anymore. Ever. Belos had no way to get back to him.

Belos had no way to get back to him.

The enormity of the statement caught up to him, and he ran his hand through his hair again. “He can’t come back for me,” he whispered, “I—I don’t ever have to see him again!”

Red chirped in agreement, and a bewildered laugh escaped Hunter’s mouth.

No more running errands for Belos.

No more worrying about what would happen to Red.

No more fear that an attack would hit, and he’d get hurt.

Just Camila and Vee and Luz.

Hunter shuffled down the stairs into the kitchen. “Good morning!”

“You’re cheerful.” Vee grinned. “Afternoon, actually.”

“Really?”

Luz nodded. “Mom said we should let you sleep. Speaking of my mom, she said something about how she shouldn’t have forced me to promise not to go back to the Isles—she doesn’t want me to keep trying to use that key, because it’s too dangerous to get into the keep, but she hasn’t outright said I can’t go back if I can find another way.” Luz glanced around. “I miiiiight ask to borrow Red at some point. If that’s okay with the two of you. I need to let Eda know I’m okay.”

“Luz, are you plotting something behind my back?” Camila came bumping down the stairs, holding a brightly wrapped parcel. “Oh, hey! You’re up!” She thrust the parcel at him. “That’s for you! I actually got it before… but that doesn’t matter, you’re here, I have it, everything’s great.”

Hunter gingerly took the package. “What… is it?”

“It’s a present,” Vee explained wisely, “It’s a surprise. You open it up.”

“Did it… come like this?”

“Nope, Camila wrapped it.”

Hunter squinted at the package. “But… now I’m just supposed to open it?”

Vee nodded. “Yep.”

“Then what was the point of wrapping it up?”

Luz nudged his shoulder. “It’s fun!” Her face dropped. “Oh my gosh, you’ve never gotten a present before, this is so sad. Okay. Just trust us, it’s fun.”

Hunter stuck his tongue out at her, and pulled gently at the paper, trying to unstick the tape.

“Rip it!” Luz demanded, “Tear it open!”

Hunter glanced back at Camila. “But you worked so hard to—”

She laughed. “You’re supposed to rip it, mijo. Go ahead.”

Hunter tore at the paper. It was… oddly exciting.

The wrapping had contained a set of clothing, jeans that actually looked his size, a t-shirt, and a hoodie that looked just a little too big—therefore, exactly the right size.

Hunter turned the fabric over in his hands, tears bubbling to his eyes. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Vee pushed him towards the stairs. “Go see if it fits!”

Hunter scooted up the stairs, closing the door behind him and switching clothes. The rest of his uniform joined the armor and cloak in a pile, and he tugged the hood of his new sweater up, retracting his hands into the sleeves. It was soft, and comfy, and he felt like he could just melt into a puddle right here.

He shuffled back downstairs, and Camila clapped her hands. “Ooo, good, it fits! Look at you!” She grabbed her keys. “Okay, Hunter, Luz, in the car, both of you are coming with me to the doctor’s office, I want both of you checked out for concussions.”

“Mooooooom,” Luz groaned, “I’m fiiiiiiine!”

Hunter let Camila shoo him into the car, stepping out into the bright sunlight (hadn’t it been raining last night?). Warmth spread all through him, banishing the last of the lingering coldness Belos had left behind.

Camila looked back at him as she turned the car on. “Everything good?”

Hunter took in a deep breath, burying his face in his new hoodie. He was back home—this time to stay. “Everything is perfect.”

[meltwonu]

| 🍒 CH-CH-CHERRY BOMB! 🍒 |     [CHAPTER 20] FINAL

pairing; dom!seungcheol x camgirl!reader

this chapter’s notes; camshow, sex toys, shibari, dom!seungcheol, dirty talk, overstimulation/forced orgasms, squirting, degradation, name calling, daddy!kink, gags! 😍💕 ✨HAPPY NEW YEAR!!✨ Here’s to more fun fics in 2021! I can’t believe this is our last chapter though omg 😭 It’s been suuuuch a journey and a privilege to write this little series out! I’ve honestly thought about a camgirl/boy series for like, over a year now, and I’m glad I finally did it! I completed one of my goals! 🥺💕 2020 was definitely a wild one, but I want to thank you all so fuckin’ much for supporting me and stickin’ it out with me all year! Here’s to more in the coming year!💕 Also I was proofreading this at the dining table last night thinking my roommate wouldn’t come out of their room but they did(while I was making dinner and my hands were dirty so I couldnt close my laptop ☠️) and they walked past my laptop and now I’m convinced they saw my fucking smut fic right in the open so yes my little mini-break next week is MUCH needed cause I am ✨embarrassed✨ 🤣 I’ll still do my inbox roundup tomorrow and probably answer a bunch of small thirst posts ‘n stuff throughout the week but there won’t be any drabbles! For now, enjoy chapter 20 🥺, have a safe weekend, and remember that I love you~ ❤️🍒💕

chapters; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 COMPLETE

Seungcheol wakes up much earlier than you do the next morning; pressing a kiss to your forehead as you groan and snuggle deeper into your pillow.

“Baby, I need to go run some errands for a little bit, okay? Just keep sleeping, you don’t need to get up yet. But, I made breakfast and put it in the microwave for you when you decide to get up later.”

His voice is muffled and you can barely understand what he’s saying but you nod; a soft sigh on your lips when you drift back into dreamland. He takes his time getting ready, checking his phone notifications as he gets dressed and places a note on the nightstand knowing that you didn’t catch a single word he said.

‘Hey, did you get everything I asked for?’

Jimin🧍🏻: of course, who do you think I am? Jeongguk?

Jimin🧍🏻: and btw, i’m just giving you a crash course okay? We don’t really have a ton of time

Jimin🧍🏻: did you watch those tutorial videos I sent you?

‘Yeah, I did some practice on my breaks, but I guess you can tell me if I’m doing anything wrong.’

Jimin🧍🏻: okee, i’ll be waiting. Don’t get here too late!

‘I’ll be otw soon. Thanks again, Jimin.’

“Ow--damn, okay, you don’t need to tug on it so much!”

“Sorry, I’ll be careful! And why are we practicing on you anyway?! Couldn’t you just have shown me pictures or something?”

“How else will you learn if not on an actual body? It doesn’t work the same way, Seungcheol.” Jimin pauses, checking himself in the mirror. “Also, keep in mind she does have boobs so just… go slow, okay? It’s not gonna sit like this on her.”

Seungcheol blushes a crimson red; biting the inside of his cheek at how amateur he was at this.

“Okay…”

Seungcheol is gone for a lot longer than you anticipate and although he replies quickly to your texts, you can’t help but be curious about where he’d gone and what he was doing.

Especially knowing that the two of you had to film tonight and knowing that everything was up to Seungcheol.

A shiver rolls down your body at the thought and you quickly try to shake off the nerves that seem to slowly invade your body when your mind starts to wander.

“It’ll be fine, I’m sure…”

“I’m home!”

“Where have you--oh, that’s… a b-big box? Um, should I be concerned...”

Seungcheol grins, shrugging as he sets it onto the kitchen counter. “Just some supplies for tonight. I had to go pick them up from a friend but I had to make sure everything was right.” He notices the way you can’t seem to take your eyes off of the box; eyes twinkling when he makes his way towards you.

He tilts your head up to meet his in a searing kiss, lips easing into a smile when you wrap your arms around his neck and melt under his touch. You moan against his lips just before he pulls away; staring dreamily at him while his hands start to roam over your clothed body.

“We have a long night ahead of us, sweetheart. Let’s pamper you a little before then, hmm?”

j__min: ??? where’s the loverboy

j__min has donated $200

angelhan has donated $75

therealchan99 has donated $50

xcaliburDK has donated $75

xcaliburDK: is that the sybian? Haven’t seen that in a looong while

You bite your lip and nod, somewhat shy as you sit alone in front of the camera. “Seungcheol’s still… setting up but he told me to start! I’m a little nervous, to be honest…” Your eyes flit to Seungcheol who rummages through the box in the kitchen and from the angle you’re sat in, you can’t see a single thing he takes out.

Earlier, he’d cooked you your favorite meal and even took the time to give you a full body massage before the two of you cuddled on the sofa and watched a movie. To you, it seemed a little too suspiciously tame and you only found yourself more nervous when he made you drink two glasses of water and ever so quietly announced it was time to start getting ready for the camshow.

“He’s being so suspicious! He was even gone for a few hours earlier today…” You mumble; brows furrowed at the camera before checking the comments.

It still amazed you every time with how much money you and Seungcheol made from the camshows and videos and it made you feel even better knowing that everyone loved the chemistry the two of you had together. There were a lot of video requests and ideas mixed in with the comments at any given time and you were definitely ready to pitch some to Seungcheol now that you’d rebranded your channel to be a couple’s channel instead.

“Almost done, sweetheart!”

gc__koo: he told me to watch cuz he was being suspicious with me too 

gc__koo has donated $50

alphagyu97: what is he even plotting

alphagyu97: i am excited to see the sybian again tho ngl

artist8hao: pretty baby gonna squirt for us again?

universe_WZ: hell fuckin yea let us see how fuckin wrecked you get on that machine

You feel your pussy clench around emptiness at their comments; already feeling yourself getting wetter and wetter with the anticipation.

Movement out of the corner of your eye catches your attention and Seungcheol walks towards the bed with a wide smile and the same box in hand. “Ready?” You can only nod back slowly, watching as he dumps the contents of the box right next to your body.

gc__koo: oy

chwenon: oh shit

sleepy_wonu: oh baby, you’re in for it now

sleepy_wonu has donated $100

Your entire body fills with warmth as you look over the various objects; unsure of where to really look first. “I, um--”

A stack of red ropes sits next to a small bullet vibrator that sits next to a ball gag that sits next to a pair of EMT shears and your eyes immediately flit up to Seungcheol who only smirks back at your shocked expression. “I had some other toys I wanted to use but I figured I should go easy on you, y’know? Since you showed me some mercy last night.”

Nodding, you reach out towards the ropes, touching them shyly. “Why red?”

“Thought they’d be on theme for you, babygirl.”

Seungcheol takes his time; remembering Jimin’s words when he tugs the ropes around your wrists.

“Colour, babygirl?”

“G-green… daddy…”

He nods, sitting up on his knees behind you as you sit on the sybian and face the camera. You bite your lip, somewhat embarrassed that you were already soaking the toy underneath you as Seungcheol worked to bind your arms behind you.

“D--daddy, where did you l-learn this?” You whisper, somewhat curious if this had anything to do with why he was gone for so long earlier in the day.

“Mm, daddy’s friend Jimin was kind enough to help me get the tools and teach me a few tricks to make sure I kept my babygirl safe. Wasn’t that kind of him?” You nod gently, gulping when you shift atop the machine slightly in hopes of relieving some of the growing sexual tension in your body. “Why don’t you thank him properly, sweetheart?”

Your hazy eyes make eye contact with the camera, head tilted slightly. “T-thank you, J-Jimin… for--for helping daddy…”

j__min: omg a shoutout ive made it

kitty_junjun: we never thought we’d see the day

tangerine_kwan: and here we all thought you were gonna be the bad guy huh

hoshi_tiger_xx: like when u only see previews of the book online but the rest of it is different ykwim

Seungcheol makes sure your arms are bound snug enough but not too tight; leaning away slightly to admire his rope work. “Feeling okay so far, babygirl?”

Nodding, you whine back slightly. “Y-yes, daddy… But… my--my pussy wants s-something…” He laughs in return, readjusting so that he’s sitting on your side this time to give himself easier access to start the rest of the bindings.

“Is that so? You’re gonna have to be a little more patient this time ‘cause daddy’s not done yet.” He starts working on the rest of the harness; going slow and checking in with you often to make sure none of the ropes were digging into your skin or making you uncomfortable. “You’ll have to forgive me a little though, I’m admittedly a ‘lil inexperienced so our pretty babygirl is only going to be tied up in this pretty harness for tonight.”

gentleman_josh95: the fact u even took the time to learn just for her

gentleman_josh95 has donated $100

artist8hao: seriously, the dedication

kitty_junjun: we stan a man who knows safety and etiquette 

Comments of reassurance and donations flood in at Seungcheol’s small apology and although the two of you are in your own world; you can tell from just the amount of pings coming from your laptop that they all seemed to be encouraging him.

The two of you fall into a comfortable silence as Seungcheol continues to move around you on the bed to finish the harness and a smile graces his lips when he starts to secure the last knots in the back. He can’t help but mentally pat himself on the back at how neatly he’d done it for his first time.

“There. All done, baby.”

Your eyes flit to the laptop’s screen to see yourself; cheeks hot when you see how fucked out you already look and he hadn’t even touched you properly or turned on the machine.

The star harness Seungcheol had tied looks pretty with red ropes and you can’t hide your smile at how good it looks on you too either. “Ah, daddy made it really p-pretty… Thank you.”

This time, Seungcheol nods, letting you admire yourself as he silently reaches for the small remote for the sybian, switching it on.

Your entire body lurches forward as soon as the vibrations attack your clit and you immediately find yourself moaning and grinding down onto the machine as he gives you some relief.  

“You’re welcome, babygirl. Now let’s really have some fun, huh?”

You need to cum.

Badly.

“Awww, is my pretty baby drooling? Does it feel that good on your sensitive ‘lil clit?” He teases, smoothing down your hair as you cry around the ball gag in your mouth; drool seeping out from the side of your lips when he raises the vibrations a setting higher.

You don’t know how many times he’d played with the settings and edged you by now, but all you do know is that the urge to cum only grows stronger as you grind against the machine, soaking it with your wetness as you chase the pleasure building up in your body again.  

Surely cumming was okay, right? He never said you couldn’t.

You whimper around the ball gag, eyes fluttering shut when the tension in your body snaps in the blink of an eye and your thighs clamp down onto the sides of the machine. Throwing your head back, you moan against the gag and ride out your high as Seungcheol watches you from the side.

“Mm, bet that felt good, huh? But I know you want something in that greedy ‘lil cunt of yours, don’t you? You want daddy’s cock slamming into your tight ‘lil hole ‘til it’s full of my cum, right, sweetheart?” He licks his lips, turning off the sybian as you slump forward.

universe_WZ: shit shes so sensitive

chwenon: especially with her arms bound like that i bet she’s on cloud nine rn

gentleman_josh95: her cute lil head is probably all fuzzy already from all the sensations

therealchan99 has donated $100

gc__koo has donated $75

j__min has donated $150

All you can do is whimper and nod; teary eyes blinking back at Seungcheol as he smirks and leans in towards you.

“Mmm, you’ll get what you want eventually. But for now, you’re gonna cum again.”

He turns the sybian back on, licking his lips when he sees your body tensing again. It was always easier to get you to cum a second time and his point is proven when you mewl around the ball gag a few minutes later; chest heaving in stuttered breaths as you try to shy away from the toy still vibrating against your overly sensitive clit when you’re quickly thrown into another orgasm.

“You always cum for daddy so easily, don’t you, babygirl?”

Your head feels fuzzy after already cumming twice in such a short span of time but you nod, head lolling to the side as Seungcheol finally turns the sybian off for good.

Seungcheol gives you a second to catch your breath before he’s scooting in and fiddling with the clasps at the back of your head to take the ball gag off.

A thread of saliva connects your lips to the gag and you whimper at how good it feels to be able to actually speak again. “D-daddy…” Drool drips from your mouth as your lead lolls forward and Seungcheol is quick to bring a hand up to keep your head up as he looks into your lust filled eyes.

“Colour, sweetheart?”

“Still g-green…” He nods back, checking to make sure none of the ropes had shifted. “Would you like some water before we continue, baby?”

“Yes, daddy…”

He fetches you a glass of water, tilting it against your lips as you down the entire glass and you find yourself a little surprised at how needed it was. “Thank you, d-daddy…”

“You’re welcome, babygirl. Ready to keep going?”

You nod, a little bit more energized. “I hope everyone, mmh, l-likes the show so f-far~” Your teary vision prevents you from reading the comments and before you can even make an effort to, Seungcheol is already helping you off of the machine and helping you sit on the bed across from him.

alphagyu97: ugh she looks so fucking good in that harness

angelhan: right? That shade of red looks so good against her skin too

angelhan: so fuckin pretty

tangerine_kwan: pics for the private room later? Plz i beg

Seungcheol takes this time to take off his boxer briefs, cock curving up against his abdomen when he’s fully naked across from you. He wraps a hand around his cock, moaning and spreading the precum down his shaft as you watch. “D’you want this, baby?”

Your lips fall open in a silent moan as you watch Seungcheol jerk himself off and you can’t help but squirm. “Y-yes…”

“Tell me exactly what you want then. Let them hear what a filthy little slut you are for me.” You can’t help but feel miserably empty watching him and despite having already cum twice, you want his cock fucking you open and making you cum again.

“I--I--”

“Yes, babygirl?”

“I, ngh, I want d-daddy’s cock… Please? Ah, I--I wanna feel you fucking my--my pussy into the, mmh, s-shape of your c-cock… And I w-want you to c-cum inside my--my slutty little h-hole…”

Seungcheol scoffs, hips shallowly thrusting up into his enclosed fist. “That’s right. You’re just my slutty ‘lil babygirl that lets me use all her tight holes how I please, right? You like it when I cum down your throat and in your pretty ‘lil ass. But we all know you like it best when I cum in your hot ‘lil cunt. Makes you feel all warm and full, doesn’t it? You like it when my cum is dripping out of your spent cunt and sliding down your shaky thighs.” This time you nod furiously as you whine back in response.

“P-please… Can’t wait any--anymore!”

This time, the impatience takes over as you slightly tug on the ropes; whining when they don’t give. “Daddy!”

And this time, he gives in quicker than he anticipates, growling as he reaches for the EMT shears to cut you from the harness. “Don’t let your arms down, no matter how much you want to. You’re going to strain your arms if you move too fast so let me handle it, okay, sweetheart?”

The sudden gentleness in his voice has a giddy warmth pouring over you as you nod and sit still while he cuts at various points of the harness to make the ropes fall loose around your arms and chest. You keep your arms in the same position like he requested and you soon feel his hands roaming your skin and massaging your arms to get the blood flowing again.

“You’re so good for me, baby.” He whispers against your hair, leaning down to kiss your shoulder before he slowly easing your arms down from being folded behind your back.

He continues to massage your arms for a few more minutes before it’s you that’s getting impatient. “Daddy… Can you fuck me now?” Whispering, you slightly turn your body to the side to meet his gentle stare.

Seungcheol laughs under his breath, nodding. “Lay on your back for me, legs spread.”

You follow his orders as you quickly scramble to get into position; legs spread wide for him to situate himself between.

“Mm, your pussy is still so fuckin’ wet. I wanna taste you on my tongue, baby.” Whines spill from your lips as you shake your head ‘no.’

“No! My p-pussy feels empty, I need y-your cock, daddy… ‘n I’m so wet, you can probably, ah, just s-slide your cock in…”

He wraps a hand around his cock just as you wrap your legs around his waist and he guides himself until the head of his cock is right at your entrance.

Neither of you say a word as he slowly starts to sink his cock in; guttural moans on his lips when he meets no resistance and bottoms out in a singular thrust. “Holy fuck, your cunt is so fuckin’ wet. Shit, and so t-tight!” You clench around him, already feeling good with his cock inside of you as you beg him to fuck you hard and fast.

“Ngh, p-please fuck me like--like I’m your, hah, c-cocksleeve… I want it f-fast, daddy!”

He grits his teeth at your words; drawing his hips back before snapping them into you just how you wanted. “Fast, hmm? All you think about in that pretty head of yours is my cock pounding you open, huh? Slamming into you so fuckin’ good, it makes your toes curl when you cum.”

Seungcheol starts a quick pace, already feeling the pleasure building up for himself when you’re reduced to garbled noises and broken cries of his name. The heels of your feet dig into the small of his back as you try to press him in closer and he’s quick to reach for the small bullet vibrator left on the bed next to your body.

“Your body is so fuckin’ sensitive, I can already feel how tight you’re getting around me. So fuckin’ greedy to cum too. Already came twice and you still want more. You’re not satisfied until your whole body is shaking underneath me, huh, sweetheart?” He turns the small toy on, pressing it to your clit as you yelp and let out choked sobs.

“Ah, ngh, d-daddy, my--my clit’s t-too sen--sensitive! I--I can’t--!” Squirming, you feel the pressure building up obscenely quick; bottom lip quivering when he takes one of your free hands and makes you hold the toy to your swollen clit.

“Just a little more, sweetheart. Don’t you wanna cum?”

He angles his thrusts to graze against your g-spot and loud cries of his name leave your lips in a hurried, jumbled mess when he only doubles his pace.

The sound of donations and comments pour in like water and get lost within the ringing in your ears; unable to even warn Seungcheol that you’re about to cum when you feel your entire body starting to lock up underneath him.

Your lips part in a silent scream and your back bows off of the bed, thighs shaking uncontrollably as you cum for the third time. Seungcheol growls, fucking you through it as you squirt all over his lower half.  He finds it harder and harder to thrust into you as you cum, but he feels himself quickly following suit with your warm walls fluttering around his cock.

“Fuck, baby, that’s right. Squirt for me, get me fuckin’ soaked while you cum.” He uses a free hand to make sure you keep the toy pressed to your clit, growling when he starts to unload his cum inside of you. “Mmh, gonna fill your cunt up with what you want, baby.”

A shaky moan leaves your lips as you feel him throbbing inside your pussy; walls clamped down onto him in a vice grip as you ride out the remnants of your orgasm.

“Ah, d-daddy’s cumming suh--so much inside of my p-pussy…”

Whining, you feel Seungcheol’s grip on your hand give way as he rides out his pleasure and you take the opportunity to turn off the small bullet vibrator while he doesn’t notice.

You watch his face contort in pleasure, hips still shallowly thrusting into you as his entire body shivers above you.

“D-daddy’s so h-handsome...” You mumble, cheeks hot when he cracks a smile through the pleasure wracking his body and chuckles under his breath. 

“Thank you, babygirl.” 

After you end the show, Seungcheol makes sure to cuddle with you on the bed for a little while longer.

“One more glass of water, baby.” You whine in response, pouting up at him before he gets up from the soaked sheets. 

“But I already had a glass! If you have a piss kink just say so, ‘Cheol!”

He lets out a boisterous laugh at your comment, trudging back to the bed from the kitchen with another glass of water for you. “You need to be hydrated, sweetheart. You came three times and we played a little more rough today. I just wanna make sure you’re okay.” 

“Fine, but you didn’t deny my comment.” You snarkily reply, taking the glass from him as you down the water. 

“Don’t make me have to punish you again! I’ll have you know I still need to get you all washed up and change the bed--”

A faint pinging has the two of you turning to the laptop; still on your camming homepage from where you’d checked the revenues from tonight’s show. 

A small [1] sits above your inbox and Seungcheol is quick to turn to you with an eyebrow raised. “I thought you turned off the messaging system on your profile?” 

You tilt your head in confusion, handing him the emptied glass. “I did. The only messages I should get are from, like, the actual system admins or other creator accounts which, I haven’t received any ‘til... now, I guess?”

Seungcheol sets the glass down onto the nightstand before he takes a seat next to you, dragging the laptop closer as you go to check the notification. 

“’Love&Letter Films’? Aren’t they one of the biggest adult film companies?” Mumbling, you click on the message, giving yourself and Seungcheol a second to process the message that stares back at you; a shocked smile on your lips.

‘Hello!

I hope this message finds Cherry and Seungcheol well. 

We, at ‘Love&Letter Films’, have really enjoyed the shows and videos from your channel throughout the years and we really have enjoyed watching the growth of your channel and the addition of Seungcheol to it. The dynamics between the two of you are rare in this industry and we’ve yet to see anyone like the two of you in this market. 

The shows from the last two nights have proven that the two of you have the right kind of chemistry to film together for bigger productions and we would love to hire you for a few film productions we have planned in the upcoming weeks as a feeler. Of course, all expenses paid by us if you would kindly take our offer. 

We love the various scenes and roles that the two of you take on with ease and we would love to help propel your careers forward, should you pursue a career in the adult entertainment industry. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact me as I’ve listed my contact information below. I’m excited to hear from the two of you and hope to work with you in the future on many projects.

Respectfully, 

Kwon Soonyoung, L&L FILMS CEO’

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket Manga Review , ch 112 & 113 (part 2)

I hate that this chapter is cut... mainly cuz it deals with the most “ horribly presented” theme in furuba anime.... grief.

-The shame of grieving: “ Rarely discussed theme in Literature”:

When a love one dies... ppl differ in how they deal with it. Some cry their hearts out, some become depressed & painfully lonely, others get angry or cynical, some might deny it, some move on quickly, others move on but years after the realization crushes them, others stay still... Above all, you feel ashamed of yourself if you didn’t move on or if you DID move on.. “ Sometimes ppl around you judge you for it... for your grief”

The later is the theme of these two chapters. Rarely discussed themes & it saddens me that it is cut. You see, Furuba anime doesn’t get grief  at all. To them, it’s a small part of the generic protagonist after she finishes her job of nurturing the real main protagonist. Mothers are strong, they help us cross the bridge between childhood & adulthood. Tohru, the show’s mom, did it so thoroughly & in slow visual & narrative details for yuki. Afterwards, the anime brushed whatever is left of her character, which the anime viewed as sheer suspenseful drama, & collected it thro 3rd person story-telling techniques in one ep “ se3, ep6″ & excessive monologue for 10 minutes in se3, ep9.

In this chapter, Kakeru, a side character, sheds light into this theme. Kakeru didn’t lose a parent by death, didn’t grieve, has no dependent familial bonds with either dead parents “ kyoko & komaki’s dad”. Yet, kakeru stood & judged tohru on how she “ should” grieve. Harshly tearing her down while she’s standing there lonely, trying to hide her shock at the loss of her only pillar in life, broken & traumatized, dealing with the pushed down traumatic feelings from her past where her mom abandoned her as a child..now her mom did it again, this time thro death.. & kakeru, rightfully not knowing all that, but wrongfully lecturing her on how to behave... kakeru isn’t a monster, but he only saw what he wanted: komaki & how the world should grieve with his lover, how he should be the hero protecting her. So self-centered, insensitive, horribly cruel & unbelievably conceited, but above all... what he did is so sadly common... it hurts.

-Judging Grieving People:

As I said many times.. grief is so personal, so unique to the person & as common as it is, so misunderstood. According to kakeru & many ppl I’ve sopken to lately, tohru should have acknowledged komaki. Komaki, the not-traumatized version of tohru, did the right “ tohru-like” thing. Not only felt sadness at the loss of her own dad, but found it in her heart to visit the other orphan, tohru, & give condolences & respect to the dead mother. Such kindness & purity. Very deserving of applaud: To not only see your pain but others’ as well. Tohru has always done the “ right, kind” thing to other ppl. When she can’t now, the author brought another “ tohru” to do the “ right, kind” thing.

Kakeru is so many ppl. During my brother’s funeral. I’ve heard so many gossip on how my mom should’ve stood tall & greeted the visitors.” Being silent , emotionless & non-responsive is not how you show visitors you value their kind words”, they said. How his widow should’ve collected herself & acted properly, respected his memory by taking proper care of herself & her kids. “Being a broken mess is not how you “ honor” loved one”, they said. Kakeru is indeed many ppl & that’s how you discuss a theme by creating characters who sin, screw up & be cruel, even if momentarily.

Kakeru is wrong. There is no “ you should have” in grief. There is no ounce of truth in his demeaning lecture to tohru & I respect komaki for her reaction to him so much. Kakeru did learn & grew from it, apologized to tohru even if he didn’t actually sought her to do so & even if she herself started the apology. But you see, these two chapters are 90% focused on kakeru as a character, his growth, thoughts, the mini focus on his relationship with komaki as an example of healthy relationship & all that is another lesson for yuki to observe & learn. He learned abt tohru’s past, kakeru’s personality & growth & got to observe another example of romantic relationship so yuki can grow as a man & approach machi healthily. But then again... nothing at all stops yuki/machi from being healthy, no past issues, no contradicting personalities “ they’re quite similar” & yuki is the only furuba character that doesn’t screw up big. He learns & teaches. He’s the personification of the author.

-Tohru.. stays a “ tohru”:

Tohru’s part is 10% of the this chapter which is fine as I think/hope it will lead into more tohru depth in the following chapters. But It is for this reason I’m glad this chapter was cut in the 13 eps season of furuba anime, cuz tohru doesnt have much depth in the anime due to the quick wrap up & the la~~~~st  thing I want is another 3rd person story-telling flashback abt tohru in the anime. Honestly, one of the most frustrating aspect to me of the anime & I’ll hold judgement abt manga- tohru till I reach its end. So far~~~ Tohru’s depth & character exploration gets better one chapter, then regress the next one, then moves on, the... it’s a fluctuating process. It has nothing to do with tohtu’s feelings.

you’ see ... kyo himself as a character with issues fluctuates a lot, he does sth good, then does sth bad, chooses right words, then makes a horrible mistake & chooses wrong! which is one of the most well-done aspects of character exploration that is rarely attempted by authors! I highly respect Takaya-san for what she’s doing with kyo in the manga so far. Other authors show us a character doing one big mistake & then he/she learns from it in a dramatic way. But Takaya-san, nope! she decided to approach it in a very human way, making us be frustrated with kyo’s repeated mistakes yet understands where he’s coming from! kudos to her!!

But I’m not yet satisfied with how tohru is portrayed in the manga & this has nothing to do with tohru’s character. Takaya-san is discussing rare themes thro tohru’s character. But what I mean is how tohru is approached thro the viewers/readers eyes. I wont judge until the last chapter. but this is the part that is frustrating to me.

Side Notes:

The flow of the 2 chapters is little off. We go back & forth between the past & the present, between yuki-machi & komaki-kakeru. Again, I’m so glad the anime cut it cuz, nope! they can’t handle such narrative. they’ll reorder it in a such heavily monologing way & insert the comedy abruptly to lighten the mood. Just look at how the comedy is inserted in momiji’s se03 ep!

Komaki is such a tohru with a sprinkle of kagura’s very softened outbursts. lol. she’s fun!

I’m liking yuki-machi interactions a lot. no drama, which is why the anime cut it -_-’, but it progresses healthily. Machi is yuki’s third-stage growth after (1) leaving tohru’s nest (baby yuki), (b) making friends with kakeru/someone who gets him (young boy yuki), (3) finding romantic love (being a man). The anime was so interested in the 2 stages above cuz that’s where the drama is & cut the third. Honestly, the anime didn’t have to include everything as there is never a space in 13 eps, but they certainly could’ve squeezed few panels or even made brand new very short yuki-machi scenes. but the anime weirdly decided after yuki “ saved” machi from her trauma by talking with her in her apartment, he should just marry her.... lol.. that’s why next scene is ep 5 momiji’s ep intro montage where yuki was abt to confess!!! making yuki-machi the least developed couple in the anime!

I love all furuba’s characters, but yuki, tohru, kyo & akito carry the big themes, therefore, I not only analyze their characters, but how the themes are presented thro them & how their presentation affects such themes. This might make it sound as I hate them or am harsh on them. not at all. It is the anime director/ manga author that I’m positively or negatively criticizing most times. Most importantly, my criticism is not the law. It’s just my perspective & my consumption of the material. Feel free to differ with me. I dont mind it. It brings interesting discussions!

When it comes to tohru’s issues... his chapter introduced nothing new. We have seen/read in canon repeatedly that tohru hides her pain behind a smile (heck! even kisa knows that & told us), that she cant stand up for herself much, that she smiles for other ppl not for herself. All this was presented thro so many characters already, which is why I understand the anime’s decision to cut it. What’s new? that yuki didn know tohru’s smile is mostly a mask & that kakleru has depth.

I love this chapter for the grieving themes it discussed that are rarely touched upon in literature, but since such themes are rarely presented, the anime’s decision to cut it, ironically proves my point! lol . They don’t get grief & so, they reduced it to se03 content & two eps worth. sad.. but expected. The anime is indeed another form of “past” kakeru: seeing one side of grieving person. The happy side.