#They be like oooooh let them eat cake

[freebooter4ever]

I feel like people sometimes forget that janelle has been radical, gender nonconforming, and an epic storyteller from the start \o/ this SONG. Man this song was the entirety of my 2013 (the whole album really), i have all the lyrics memorized. I think ive listened to it even more times than the archandroid even

[esmeislewd]

*Demon summoning complete*

You're so soft and squishy looking! But it's not enough is it? You need more don't you? More fat, more food, more lazy gluttonous days of stuffing your face, glutting that gut till it's full to bursting, yet still wanting even more. Can you can't help your greedy self, that's why you're so chubby! Come, relax in my lap, I can handle the heft. I've got donuts and cookies by my side, and there's a big yummy cake waiting for you! Rest it in your lap (if there's room for it alongside that belly) and let your mind go numb as you enjoy the creamy sweet fattening taste, so numb that when my hands float over with additional treats you don't even think twice before eating from them, then go right back to the cake. By the time you need some belly rubs I'll be out of cookies so I'll have a free hand to rub your engorged tummy, so you can feel even more relaxed and satisfied getting lost in your gluttony. Lick the plate clean when you finish that cake and enjoy all the calories being turned right into more fat, only making you even more of a gluttonous fatty. And we can do it all again if you like. You might say you've had enough...we'll see how long that lasts~

oooooh this is so devious, I am actually incredibly susceptible to treatment like this. Just allow me to keep mindlessly following orders and having fun and I will walk...or eventually waddle myself into any trap laid out for me. Taking away my need to make decisions or take initiative makes me so submissive and eager to please~

[stormyblue90]

Clone rights have passed and the war is ended. Clones can now marry and get benefits from that as well. Who are you marrying? What kind of wedding will it be? Will there be a wedding cake? What flavor? Are jedi invited to the wedding? Where are you settling after? ( give as many details as you want~)

Oooooh boy. Well, let me preface this by saying that IN REAL LIFE I'm Ace/Aro. HOWEVER.... That doesn't mean I can't fantasize and have some fun and "what if thoughts" Like, me being within in the SW universe is already of AU version of myself, so lets say this AU me is alloromantic! Anyway, on to the question!

Soooo.... the groom would most likely be either Rex or Fives. (these two are the most common reader insert fics I read sooooo)

Wouldn't be anything super fancy or big. Closest friends and family sort of deal. TBB would be invited too, like.... Flower Girl Omega, SO CUTE! Closest Jedi of course would be invited (wonder, could a Jedi officiate a wedding? Eh who knows) So Ahsoka, Obi Wan, and Anakin for sure, and probably some of the council members. Like, it's NOT a destination wedding at all, but it would NOT happen on Coruscant. Sorry I despise that planet. Instead it'd be on Naboo, in the lake country, which is where we'd probably settle. Somewhere in the party there is likely a Loth-cat with a formal looking collar roaming about....

Cake would be chocolate! Or Red Velvet....well... BLUE velvet for the 501st. And there'd be plenty of it because those troopers can EAT! And they deserve all the delicious food!

Dress would be similar to Padme's lake dress, my FAVORITE dress of hers. However instead of the pale yellow, purple, pink gradient, it'd be a silvery blue to sapphire blue gradient. The necklace/halter would be inlaid with blue fire opal, instead of the white opal (or was it abalone shell?) No veil, but a simple, silver circlet with matching tiny blue fire opals. MY hair is super short, so no extravagant hairstyle.

Also, NO WEDDING RING!!! I can't stand wearing rings, sensory issues with them. Instead, I'm ALWAYS wearing a necklace, so it'd be more like a wedding necklace. Silver with a sapphire, my fav gemstone.

Bonus: I think it'd be fucking hilarious if one of the clones caught the bouquet. I think Dogma catching it would be the funniest.

[ffauthor]

Oooooh you write for Michael Afton? Omg, that's so awesome! Here's my request:

Michael with a female reader who he used to be academic rivals with back in highschool. The two haven't seen each other in years and Michael was wondering where she is now and what she's doing.

He wanders into a small bakery where he looks around for a snack. He looks into the kitchen and sees the reader, now all grown up into a beautiful woman, making cookies and is awestruck by her beauty. He asks if he can talk to her and she complies. The two then sit together and catch up.

Oh my God, I love this idea!! Thank you!

Sorry if I'm late, I just now saw it! :,)

Here u go! (Sorry if this wasn’t due to your expectations)

Oh god i just realised i changed 'making cookies' into waitressing, so sorry about that!

‐-------------------------------‐----------------‐--‐---‐--‐----------------

Michael was having a bad day, like, bad bad. First, he got scolded by his dad for staying inside the whole day, and then he got a message saying his girlfriend wanted to break up, over text. right there, right at that shitty fucking moment.

He asked to talk to her, talk it through in person but it didn’t deliver, she had already blocked him and was unreachable. It wasn’t like he was devastated that they broke up, nor was he relieved, he was rather.. annoyed. 

People making him in a bad mood when he already wasn’t feeling himself makes him even more annoyed, let alone his rumbling stomach. With all the drama and exhaustion he had gone through the whole day he forgot to eat, and he knew he needed to eat did he want to restrain energy.

He knew there was a bakery in town, a tiny one but a beautiful scheme-themed interior. He always found himself there when he was stressed or had a bad day like he was having right now. It always brought back memories from when he was in academic school. He always finds himself smirking when he thinks back about the way he ‘accidentally’ threw hot coffee on his rival y/n’s clothes. 

He swore it was an accident, but neither he himself nor y/n believed it. She gripped some of the paper towels that were stacked next to the register as people all around them gasped. She told him, ‘’Oh- you really wanna do this huh? well then, I guess you really didn’t expect me to -’’  It made her throw her muffin back on him, dumping her iced coffee on top of his head.

Thinking back at it made him chuckle out loud by accident, realizing that he was standing right in the middle of the cafe. It was busy, the waiters and waitresses were taking orders here and there and were trying their best to bring their orders on time, even those complaining it ‘took them long enough’. 

He slowly and unbothered walked towards the register, looking straight into the shelves and what was on top of them. All different kinds of bread and small decorated cakes. The smell of freshly baked toast and the strong smell of coffee was increasing a delightful tension in the place, the chatter of people making it seem really full. 

His stomach rambled once again, motioning for him to eat something, and quick. He just couldn’t quite figure out what.

The bakery had a lot of things, and he wanted a lot of things. It all looked so extremely good and tasteful, he really didn’t know where to look. The confusion and stress he was slowly creating made him look towards the kitchen, his eyes darting into one specific position. 

The position of a gorgeous female waiting to grab food for one of the tables. She had her arms crossed over each other and had a red apron tightened around her figure. She was smiling and had her hair back into a ponytail. 

It reminded him of her, the person he hadn’t talked to for years and surprisingly even started to.. miss?

Y/n, aka his past ‘rival’, a rival he secretly started to adore. Adore even more than he should’ve. He just couldn’t help it. you were beautiful. you were even more beautiful than he remembered, seeing you years later in his favorite bakery. 

‘‘Hello? Sir?’‘ one of the waitresses who was waving her hand in front of Michael’s face particularly half screamed, impatiently waiting for his bare attention, which she didn’t get. Michael's eyes snapped back at the waitress when he saw y/n move forward, out of his sight. ‘‘Finally.’ the female in front of him muttered under her breath, making him tilt his eyebrow slowly.

‘‘I’m sorry about that.’‘ He had his hands in his pockets, looking at the woman in front of him as she asked for his order. ‘‘It’s alright mate.’‘ the woman smiled, their impatientness seeming to loosen up a little. ‘‘What would you like?’‘ the woman asked again, making him blurt ‘‘Her.’‘ out.

The woman's eyes widened as he realized what he had just said out loud. He couldn’t take it back now, he has fully exposed himself in front of one of her co-workers. 

He felt his cheeks heat up as he tried to find the words to say to make things right.  ‘’I-I meant, I was wondering if I could talk to her.’’ The woman shook her head and met Michael’s gaze, now seeing y/n walk out the door with three plates in her hand, one supported on her wrist, one in her right hand, and one on her left. 

she went past them, unbothered and with a smile on her face as she arrived at a table, placing their plates down. The woman who was now smiling like crazy waited until she was in hearing sight, and when she was, she took her change.

She got closer to y/n’s ear and whispered something he couldn’t quite catch, but when her gaze went up and met his she froze. her eyes widened and her mouth met agape.

‘‘Hey... I-.. was wondering if we could maybe talk?’‘ 

[beardedmrbean]

[Huey Zoomer Anon]

People will say that Gen Z will be the most racist people blacks will face…

I mean you were born in the late 90’s-00’s and during your tweens to teens that you are the roots of all evil by society who also infantlize the fucking Obama family…oh there going to be a snap

Not saying I support white Gen z being racist…but as older blacks who grew up in the black communities pointed out. A LOT of us are taught to see white people the same way the Nazis saw the Jews

Just…this is French Revolutionaries Marie Attonite “Let them eat cake!” Propaganda in real life when it comes to these tik tok vids https://youtu.be/FEsgic5cCZ8?si=P4xZd0Auosv8KPp2

You know there this drawing of Spider-Man saying “respect minorities” going around in Twitter and people saying modern fans hate that…they kinda forgot in the 90’s-00’s that marginalized people were told NOT to hate the majority as many of them are misinformed or brainwashed.

IE like those Palestinian kids vid I saw…was it like that when people sneak into kkk communities and as kids would have been friends with black and Irish kids if not for their parent bigotry?

Also let me break it down, so are you telling me that the left are shocked that white Gen z men (many of whom are probably from a low income background) get FUCKING SICK AND TIRED of economic privilege blacks that get more money in a month than they will in their lifetimes?

Oooooh riiiight my ex stepfamily was a trucker one with the same damn problems I see in my community. Baby momma and daddy issues, my abuser had the embodied of a deadbeat boomer sperm donor

So I can never comprehend the idea of white privilege like what the woke stated…unless many of them never interact with poor white people?

*Slamming my head against the wall as I have more empathy at fucking 13 with my autistic ass vs those with several college*

Not saying I support white Gen z being racist…but as older blacks who grew up in the black communities pointed out. A LOT of us are taught to see white people the same way the Nazis saw the Jews

Ya a lot of it is a 2 way street, the attitude of you can't be racist to white people has contributed more to racism than most anything else I can think of, because some people ran so hard with that bullshit line that they would have made a 1830's plantation owner blush.

Just…this is French Revolutionaries Marie Attonite “Let them eat cake!” Propaganda in real life when it comes to these tik tok vid

Yeah, like I said.

You know there this drawing of Spider-Man saying “respect minorities” going around in Twitter and people saying modern fans hate that…they kinda forgot in the 90’s-00’s that marginalized people were told NOT to hate the majority as many of them are misinformed or brainwashed.

Hate breeds more hate is how I was taught, that and you overcome hate with love, which yes it's corny and cliche' but it also does the trick a lot of the time.

And yes I will also say it's obviously not going to work in every situation, but honestly it feels like it should be tried here soon because it was working before people started to poison the well.

IE like those Palestinian kids vid I saw…was it like that when people sneak into kkk communities and as kids would have been friends with black and Irish kids if not for their parent bigotry?

hate is learned, that's a lesson lots of people should learn before teaching hate to other people, especially kids.

Also let me break it down, so are you telling me that the left are shocked that white Gen z men (many of whom are probably from a low income background) get FUCKING SICK AND TIRED of economic privilege blacks that get more money in a month than they will in their lifetimes?

yeah.

Oooooh riiiight my ex stepfamily was a trucker one with the same damn problems I see in my community. Baby momma and daddy issues, my abuser had the embodied of a deadbeat boomer sperm donor

I've said it tons of times, the powers that be love to keep the racism going because if folks started in on class solidarity there might be trouble for them.

So I can never comprehend the idea of white privilege like what the woke stated…unless many of them never interact with poor white people?

As seen in the example tweet, they apparently think that's the fault of the white person for not exploiting their privileged position as a white person.

*Slamming my head against the wall as I have more empathy at fucking 13 with my autistic ass vs those with several college*

yeah

[j-a-n-e--d-o-e]

Oooooh! let's say Neuvillette, Wriothesley, and Clorinde get sent back in time to a few years before the Archons quest.

Maybe there was a situation at meropide that required the Ludex/Fontaine's ruler, and Clorinde went to act as a bodyguard even though we all know Neuvillette doesn't need one. Or maybe Sigwinne ordered Wriothesley to leave the fortress and get some vitamin D, and he decided to check in on his friends. Either way, the traveller turned up, things went sideways, and the next thing they know, they're waking up in Meropides infirmary, and there are 2 Wriothesleys.

Only it isn't that there's 2 of him but that they are apparently several years in the past.

It isn't a complete disaster as they know that the Traveller is probably somewhere sorting things out as they speak.

However, all of them are acutely aware that the longer they're here the greater the risk of them destroying their future. No matter how much they all want to stop the disaster trial from happeningas it did the first time, they can't say anything without risking Furina and Focalors' plan. They agree as a group to just act calm and pretend nothing has changed all that much in the future.

This fails spectacularly given only Wriothesley seems to be able to hold it together.

Neuvilette can sense that his Future self is now whole and given that everyone but Furina can see the guilt in Clorindes eyes whenever she so much as looks at his Archon... Neuvillette is inches away from doing something drastic.

Past Clorinde is close to lossing her composure and tearing her hair out because why is her future self looking at her Archon the same way she sometimes catches herself staring at Navia? How could she mess up and hurt someone she cares for that badly a second time?!

Meanwhile, future Wriothesley has carefully lead furina and his younger self into another room to have a tea party because he knows the little Lady has the best teas topside and for everyone's sake she cannot catch on to whatever disaster at subtlety Neuvillette and Clorinde are failing at.

The trio are drinking tea and eating the best cakes all the while ignoring whatever fight seems likely to break out in the other room.

Both Wriothesleys are privately glad that they are not at the center of the drama unfolding.

The younger may be incredibly curious, but given his future self suggested that he should start focusing more on fixing up his 'boat'... it's probably best to just raid the hydro archons tea cupboard and remain ignorant of the matter.

Thinking of how Pre AQ Neuvillette must hate Post AQ Neuvillette because he get irritated at how affective he is toward *HIS* Archon but also sensing his Full Authority, meaning he possibly killed her to gain it back---

[jcbbby]

can you write something with jamie where y/n is pregnant and she’s at a jamie’s family dinner and she received some comments about how big her belly is compared to the other women, so she refused the chocolate cake dessert and jamie follows her after the dinner in the kitchen, seeing her crying and stuff ?

Okay first of all, my first request heyoooo! :) I'm not sure if I'll start taking requests on the regular, I don't often have a lot of time to write sadly. But THIS hits close to home. Oooooh boy does this hit close to home. Full disclosure, I've been in recovery from an eating disorder for years, and it's something I still struggle with. So this struck a chord with me and I liked the idea of Jamie being just hella supportive about his partner's insecurities and making them feel better. I had to write this one lol. Thank you for this prompt!

I hope you enjoy!

**************************************

Growing and Glowing

You're very pregnant with Jamie and yours' first child. You've been feeling insecure about your pregnancy weight gain, and struggle at a family dinner. Jamie takes notice and tells you just how beautiful you are and always will be to him.

****************************************

You stood in front of your mirror in your bedroom, looking over yourself after getting dressed. You were getting ready for dinner over at Jamie’s parents’ house with his family for his brother Sam’s birthday. You sighed and frowned as you messed with the hang of the dress you had chosen to wear. Your 8 months pregnant bump was prominent on your once smaller figure.

“What’s the matter, love?” Jamie asked, walking out from the bathroom shirtless, rubbing his wet hair with a towel.

“Nothing…I just feel like a gross blimp.” You rubbed your belly.

“Darling…” Jamie said, his tone sounding sad, coming up to hug you from behind, wrapping his arms around where yours were on your bump.

You looked at him in the mirror. “The clothes I bought last week don’t fit now. And my boss was talking about how much bigger I am now than she was the day she gave birth.”

“Baby, you look as beautiful as ever, forget the clothes, forget those comments. You’re a goddess, a goddamn glowing goddess.” He planted kisses starting from your neck, working his way up to your cheek.

You giggled as his lips tickled you.

“There's a smile! Let me just grab a shirt and we can head out.” He gave one more peck to your cheek as he turned to the closet.

On the drive over, Jamie held one hand on the wheel with the other stretched across the center console to hold your hand. He always held your hand while driving. It was little things like that that meant so much to you. 5 years of being together, and he still did these little things as if you were perpetually in the honeymoon phase.

Jamie pulled the car up to the curb outside of his parents’ home. You both ascended the steps to the front door and Jamie rang their doorbell, exchanging a quick smile to each other. The door swung open as Jamie’s mother excitedly let you in. She immediately went to hug Jamie, and then turned to bring you into a hug. She pulled you to arm’s length and looked you up and down.

“Oh my, look at how big you’ve gotten! Won’t be long now, huh? How are you feeling, dear?” Jamie’s mum asked, smiling so wide.

“Oh uh…feeling okay. You know, just excited to finally meet the little guy.” You smiled sheepishly, placing a hand on your bump, her words about your size echoing still.

“Where’s the birthday boy?” Jamie inserted himself into the conversation.

“Oh, him and dad are in the living room watching a movie. Dinner’s all ready, if you can just help me set the table, J? Y/N, why don’t you go and join them and get off your feet.” She smiled.

You smiled back. Jamie placed a hand on your back as you exchanged small smiles to each other. You went into the living room and said hello to Jamie’s dad and happy birthday to Sam. They both got up to give you a hug, before settling back down into their respective chairs. You heard the clanking of plates and silverware from the other room as the table was being set. It didn’t take too long before Jamie’s mother called you all into the dining area for the meal. You walked over to a chair as Jamie pulled it out for you to sit in before taking his place next to you.

Dinner was nice, and conversation was light and fun. Jamie’s dad then asked how long now until the baby was born.

“Oh, just about 4 or 5 more weeks probably.” You looked to Jamie and smiled to each other.

“You look about ready to pop any moment!” Jamie’s dad chuckled.

“Yeah, you know it’s funny, the neighbor’s daughter, she barely showed the whole time. You would have thought she just had too much to eat maybe!” Jamie’s mum laughed as she took a bite.

You gave a half-hearted smile, staring down at your plate. You scraped some potatoes around with your fork as the conversation went on. Suddenly, you no longer had an appetite.

“You sure it’s not twins?” Sam asked, smirking.

“Nope. Just one baby, guys. You know, every body is different.” Jamie said, sitting up straight in his chair.

You put your fork down on your half-eaten plate and went to take a sip of water. You cleared your throat after swallowing, feeling the knot starting to form and your face getting hot. Jamie sensed your discomfort and discreetly reached his hand over to your thigh under the table, giving a light squeeze in support, before going back to his meal in front of him.

The conversation turned to a different topic after that. You sat staring at your plate as the rest of the table finished theirs. Jamie took both of your plates into the kitchen, as his mother took the other 3. After a moment, they walked back in to the dining area, Jamie’s mom holding a small cake with a few candles on it.

“And of course,” Jamie’s mum chimed. “We have chocolate cake for Sammy! Haaaappy birthday to you…” She began to sing, and everyone soon joined in, to Sam’s annoyance.

She placed the cake down, and you stared at it as Sam blew out his candles. Usually, you’d be excited for cake on any occasion, but all the comments about your pregnancy weight gain were running through your head and making you more upset by the second. Jamie’s dad begun slicing up the cake and passing out pieces around the table.

“Y/N, how big would you like yours?” He asked, looking at you.

“I um…I think I’m going to pass on it. I’m actually not really feeling that well at the moment. Excuse me.” You said, pushing your chair back, bringing your hand behind your back for support as you stood up and walked out of the room.

You walked into the kitchen, tears already starting to run over your cheeks. You trembled as you tried not to audibly cry and draw attention to yourself. You knew they didn’t mean any harm by their comments, or maybe even knew the power that they had, but you still couldn’t help but feel devastated. Before getting pregnant, you were generally fit. You ran a few times a week and hit the gym too. Your mind wandered, wondering if you could ever get back to your pre-pregnancy body. You worried that Jamie would stop being attracted to you. You leaned against the counter, wiping your face.

“I’ll be right back, I’m just going to go check on her.” You heard Jamie’s faint voice from the other room say.

His footsteps echoed as he came into the kitchen with you. You looked over at him, eyes and face reddened. His pace quickened as he stepped up to you and wrapped you in a tight embrace.

“Darling, are you alright?” He asked, stroking the back of your hair.

You sniffled. “I’m sorry, baby.”

“Sorry? What on earth are you sorry for?” He asked, rubbing your back.

“I’m sorry I’ve let myself go. Even your family noticed too.” You took in a shaky breath, wiping another tear away.

“Oh, sweetheart, no. No, they didn’t mean anything like that. You know my parents; they’ve got no filter! Please don’t let that upset you like this.” He brought his hand to your cheek and caressed just under your cheek bone.

“I just…I feel so poorly about myself. It’s been really hard these last few weeks. I knew I would gain weight, but I just didn’t expect to feel this bad about it.” You looked down at your feet.

“Baby, look at me.” He brought a finger to your chin so that your eyes could meet. “Listen, you are beautiful. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever been lucky enough to lay eyes on. Your body is always and will always be beautiful. And you know what? Your body is doing a the most beautiful thing right now; it is growing our child and keeping him safe. And soon, it will bring that beautiful boy into the world and into our lives. You are gorgeous, and glowing, and I would not want anything any other way right now. I love you, always, Y/N.”

You smiled as more tears spilled over, but this time due to gratitude. Jamie placed a hand on the back of your head, pushing it forward to meet his lips to your forehead.

“I love you too, J.” You smile. “Thank you.”

“Now, why don’t we go back in there.” He held out his hand to lead you back towards his family.

Sitting down at the table, Jamie’s family spoke all at once asking how you were doing now. “I’m feeling much, much better.” You smiled over at Jamie. “And you know, I think the baby would really like a slice of cake.”

[captainseaweedbrains]

Fav Peeta moment or quote in each books?

(Please tag other blog who want answer too)

Thank you 😊

@curiouspeetamellark

Oooooh, this is hard because Peeta is my favorite character in the series. Let's see... I'm doing both moment and quote because my favorite moments don't have my favorite quotes.

The Hunger Games:

Moment:The cave scene is the obvious choice, but I absolutely adore when he's teasing her in the river to help ease her stress over his injury. That scene just really highlights his easy-going, self-deprecating humor and I love him for it. Not caring if she and the entire country see him naked? Iconic.

Quote: I stand by this being the most important quote in the series because it shapes Katniss' narrative and how she moves forward in the series. And also because it proves Peeta isn't some weak character.

"I don't want them to change me in there. Turn me into some kind of monster that I'm not...No, when the time comes, I'm sure I'll kill just like everybody else. I can't go down without a fight. Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to--to show the Capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than just a piece in their Games," says Peeta.

Catching Fire:

Moment: Listen, Peeta Mellark shines in this book. Shines like the sparkling pearl that he is. Collins made him shine because she knew what she was going to do to him in Mockingjay and wanted us (and Katniss) to hurt. There are so many moments I could choose.

But my favorite moment probably in the whole series if I'm being honest is when Peeta gets knocked out by the force field and Katniss freaks the eff out, slapping him in the face, flabbergasted when Finnick starts kissing CPR, shoves Finnick out of the way when he comes to, AND THE FIRST THING PEETA SAYS IS "Careful. There's a force field ahead." LIKE. SIR. YOU JUST DIED. YOUR GALLOWS HUMOR IS SHOWING. And then he COMFORTS KATNISS AFTER JUST DYING. A true star. We stan Peeta Mellark in this household.

And then the fact that this moment is Peeta's true death sentence because it's what convinces Snow that Peeta can truly be used against Katniss???? *chef's kiss*

Quote: I am a simple woman and Katniss observing him drawing always gets to me. Look at them, being a normal couple for once, drawing on the couch while her foot heals. Just look at these two idiots.

“I like to watch his hands as he works, making a blank page bloom with strokes of ink, adding touches of color to our previously black and yellowish book. His face takes on a special look when he concentrates. His usual easy expression is replaced by something more intense and removed that suggests an entire world locked away inside him... I don't know quite what to make of it. I also become a little fixated on his eyelashes, which ordinarily you don't notice much because they're so blond. But up close, in the sunlight slanting in from the window, they're a light golden color and so long I don't see how they keep from getting all tangled up when he blinks.”

Mockingjay:

Moment/Quote: I absolutely love when Katniss and Peeta talk for the first time since his hijacking. That scene is incredible and proves Everlark would be incredibly obnoxious in a modern au if/when they ever broke up because that's literally what Mockingjay is with war thrown in. The pain and anger in this scene. Katniss' frustration. Peeta's hard, observant words. I eat this stuff up like it's cake.

"I must have loved you a lot."

"You did." My voice catches and I pretend to cough.

"And did you love me?" he asks.

I keep my eyes on the tiled floor. "Everyone says I did. Everyone says that's why Snow had you tortured. To break me."

"That's not an answer," he tells me.

Thanks for asking, dearie! I think everyone who would do this has already done it, so anyone who wants to talk about Peeta and how awesome he is, I tag you!

[stormyoceans]

[VICE VERSA episode 8 parts 1&2]

I GOT SO INTO IT I’M WATCHING ANOTHER EPISODE LET’S GO

If they don’t kiss in this one I swear to god

“Though the board is a little intimidating” and a bunch of assholes

All goodwill episode 7 built up for Puen is gone thanks to that jumpscare

“You’re so into being Tess these days” I mean, it /has/ been a year

Puen trying to ease the tension by being all cheeky, he’s great

How and when did Tess’s dad become so nice, he was the absolute worst when we first saw him

HOW RICH ARE THESE JACKASSES

Oh no, their movie’s gonna be one of those low-budget low-quality below-the-radar I-asked-my-friends-to-be-the-actors movies that a YouTuber might find and make a review on

… what is Puen doing

“I don’t want my friends to sell their stuff, Tess’s is fine though, fuck that guy”

The actor who plays one of Tess’s friends sounds like he has a speech impediment and if that’s the case bless whoever cast him

Tess’s friends are so sweet, he doesn’t deserve them

JUST ADMIT YOU LIKE HIM ALREADY TALAY, GOD

CAT???? IF SOMEONE TOLD ME THERE WAS A CAT IN EPISODE 8 I WOULD’VE CONTINUED WATCHING

………………………… so this fucker’s cancelled for literally trying to slap a defenseless animal (for reacting instinctively to something that was probably his fault to begin with, cats don't lash out for no reason)

Legit thought Aou was flipping him off and god do I wish he had

HE JUST UP AND PUSHED HIM INTO THE CAKE WTF

“I can’t tell the difference between you and the cake” and cake is meant to be eaten so that means…………

“I’d eat it right from your face” Puen and I are on the same horny wavelength, not sure if I’m happy

Oooooh boy what did Tess do

All goodwill episode 7 built up for Puen is gone thanks to that jumps care <<<<< puen saying "you looked really stressed so i just relieved that for you" like my dude i know you mean well but if someone did that to me my stress levels would skyrocket

“You’re so into being Tess these days” I mean, it /has/ been a year <<<<< not to always bring this up but it will always be weird to me how some people refused to understand why puen would want to stay in the alternate universe when even talay, who actually has friends and family in their universe, started to think about tess' parents as his after a while (im not saying puen is right, obviously, but after a year of living as someone else it's hard not to get attached to that life, but im gonna get more into this in the next episode)

Puen trying to ease the tension by being all cheeky, he’s great <<<<< I WILL NOT LET YOU FIGHT ALONE!!!!!! WHERE THERE'S YOU THERE'S ME!!!!!! YOU ALWAYS HAVE ME BY YOUR SIDE HOW CAN YOU BE SO DAMN LUCKY!!!!!! god puen is just so perfect for talay because talay is an overthinker while puen is both cheeky and caring so he can easily get talay out of his head when he gets stuck there and I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH

How and when did Tess’s dad become so nice, he was the absolute worst when we first saw him <<<<< i call it 'the talay effect'. he is just so nice and sweet and caring and kind and hardworking and responsible that he can make even the worst asshole repent and turn them into a decent human being

HOW RICH ARE THESE JACKASSES <<<<< NOT AS RICH AS THE OTHER TWO JACKASSES (affectionate) THAT ARE ACTUALLY GONNA FUND THEIR MOVIE

Oh no, their movie’s gonna be one of those low-budget low-quality below-the-radar I-asked-my-friends-to-be-the-actors movies that a YouTuber might find and make a review on <<<<< SFJKSGFKSGDKSG YOU DON'T NEED TO CALL THEM OUT LIKE THAT

… what is Puen doing <<<<< TRYING TO STOP TALAY FROM BEING THE SELF SACRIFICING SWEETHEART HE IS which brings me to....

“I don’t want my friends to sell their stuff, Tess’s is fine though, fuck that guy” <<<<< TALAY LITERALLY THEE BESTEST BOY HE WAS SO REAL FOR THIS. and i know i tend to be more vocal about my love for puen because while the show was airing a lot of people used to dislike him so i ended up feeling very protective towards him, but GOD I LOVE TALAY SO FUCKING MUCH. he is just so selfless, from being willing to sacrifice his own happiness if it meant for puen to go back to their universe and be safe down to the smallest things like paying for movie night and trying to sell tess' clothes as quickly as he can because he knows that tess is so rich it won't make a lot of difference for him, unlike up and aou and puen who have to ask for their families' help to sell stuff and get money. NO WONDER PUEN WANTS TO SPOIL HIM ROTTEN

The actor who plays one of Tess’s friends sounds like he has a speech impediment and if that’s the case bless whoever cast him <<<<< i've seen pepper (kita's actor) in another BL before and it does sound like he may have a bit of a lisp but i don't want to presume. i actually really him and wish he could have his own BL series, but since he has a girlfriend who also works as an actress for GMMTV i doubt it will happen (mostly because the industry still relies way too much on the 'maybe these two actors who played a BL couple are actually together too who knows!!!!' thing......)

Tess’s friends are so sweet, he doesn’t deserve them <<<<< IKR??????? BOTH KITA AND FUSE ARE SO CARING AND SUPPORTIVE IM SO SAD THEY'RE NEVER GOING TO KNOW ABOUT TALAY. i mean.. i guess they do like tess despite him being an asshole if they are his friends to begin with, but still!!!!! imagine seeing your immature hot-headed friend grow so much in the span of a couple of years and become incredibly reliable and conscientious only to wake up one day and have him go back to being a jerk..... TALAY YOU'RE GONNA BE SO MISSED

JUST ADMIT YOU LIKE HIM ALREADY TALAY, GOD <<<<< THE WAY AT THIS POINT TALAY IS FULLY AWARE OF HIS OWN FEELINGS FOR PUEN AND OF PUEN'S FEELINGS FOR HIM SO HE'S JUST ENJOYING PLAYING HARD TO GET AND TEASING PUEN WITH IT!!!!!!!!!! and i love that this isn't really gonna change even when they get together because that's a side of their dynamic they BOTH like (as shown by puen's fantasy in episode 6): puen pushes and talay pulls, talay moves and puen follows, but they both love and want each other and you never really doubt that!!!!!!

CAT???? IF SOMEONE TOLD ME THERE WAS A CAT IN EPISODE 8 I WOULD’VE CONTINUED WATCHING <<<<< SFJKSHFKSG you've already watched the entire episode at this point so it's useless for me to say it but this really is THE CATS EPISODE

………………………… so this fucker’s cancelled for literally trying to slap a defenseless animal (for reacting instinctively to something that was probably his fault to begin with, cats don't lash out for no reason) <<<<< it’s really not hard to imagine how fuse constantly handling and bothering the cat would have caused it to lash out, and this comes from someone who has zero experience with pets of any kind, so he should have definitely known better and NOTHING excuses trying to hit an animal. at least he does redeem himself in the next episode!!!!

Legit thought Aou was flipping him off and god do I wish he had <<<<< im suddenly wondering how would you flip someone off in the alternate universe since giving someone the finger clearly isn't a thing there sfjksgdj i think this is also one of the very few moments where you can see why would kita and fuse be friends with tess, because they're still kinda entitled, but despite everything they do have a good heart (which is more than i can say about tess tbh)

HE JUST UP AND PUSHED HIM INTO THE CAKE WTF <<<<< TALAY REALLY SAID 'I CAN HELP YOU SMELL LIKE VANILLA IF YOU LOVE IT SO MUCH' HE IS A SAVAGE HASHTAG CONFIRMED (it's also very funny to me because if that had happened in real life puen would have probably hit his head against the table and completely smashed the cake sfjksgdj)

“I can’t tell the difference between you and the cake” and cake is meant to be eaten so that means………… // “I’d eat it right from your face” Puen and I are on the same horny wavelength, not sure if I’m happy <<<<< PUEN IS SO PREDICTABLE HE LITERALLY HAS A ONE TRACK MIND AND IT'S FILLED WITH NOTHING BUT THOUGHTS OF EATING TALAY OUT ALL DAY EVERY DAY IM SORRY BUT IT'S TRUE AND I HAVE PROOF (this is the only time im ever gonna be grateful for not being able to write because the amount filth i would subject everyone on this topic if only i had the chance........)

Oooooh boy what did Tess do <<<<< HE WAS AN ABSOLUTE DICK HEAD AS ALWAYS THAT'S WHAT

[my-simp-land]

Orange Blossom Kisses

more domestic fluff because that's all I dream about. Bucky x reader. 1747 words. again, i didn't do any profreading so...happy reading!

Fridays are reserved for baking. Ever since I moved into the compound, I’ve trashed my(Stark’s) kitchen making delicious cakes, pies, pastries, you name it. Each week I try to make something for someone, but I don't tell them it’s for them. Kinda like gift giving. This week, I’ve been pestering Steve about things Bucky may like. I think he knows I’m trying to get recipe ideas out of him, so he’s made it quite difficult.

“Cakes? From the old days? Oooooh, I don’t know. It’s been so long ago. You said yourself I’m an old geezer. My memory isn’t as good as it used to be.”

“What’d ya say? I can’t hear ya. These ears aren’t as good as they used to be.”

“Oh I don’t remember any pie recipes. I was but a wee lad and didn’t pay attention to the kitchen.”

Thankfully, I got Sam to work as my spy in exchange for an apple pie. Steve had told him about the orange blossom cookies Bucky’s mother would make. Usually Steve and Bucky were joined at the hip, but on orange blossom days, Bucky and Becca would stick to their mother’s side. Steve would usually hang around and enjoy the fresh orange smell. I used a couple favors to track down an old fashioned orange blossom cookie recipe. I changed it up to fit Bucky’s description of a good cookie (don’t worry; he can be pretty critical.)

“Damn hothead. The whole building smells like an orange. What are you making?” Tony asked. He funded my Friday

baking extravaganza as long as he got his ‘blueberry stuff.’

“I’m making orange blossom cookies, Tony. Orange. Blossom. The kitchen is sticky, so I couldn't come any closer.”

“The kitchen? The whole thing? How did you manage to get orange juice everywhere?”

“I’m the one baking. What did you expe- oh hey guys. Y’all are back early. What are you doing here so early?”

Steve, Sam, and Bucky shuffled their soaking wet bodies onto the dining room rug. “Rain. Apparently, the weather station is as bad as it was in the 40s.”

Tony switches his concern from the sticky kitchen to the soaked rug, but Bucky steps into the kitchen.

“Whatcha makin, doll?”

“Uh, just some cookies. Go get dried off and you can help me if you want.”

“Sure. I’ll be right back.” Bucky hurries down the hall. His heavy steps down the hall gives Steve enough cover to slip into the kitchen behind me.

“Bucky loves orange blossom cookies. It was one of the only things that could separate us. I know you’re good at guessing, but how did you end up hitting the nail on the head?”

I could only smile. Steve was a smart guy, but he could get pretty boy syndrome sometimes.

“A little red bird happened to mention something to me. A few favors later and I was presented with the finest orange blossom cookie recipe in the Northeast.”

“I see. I guess I should’ve known the master baker could get whatever they want with the promise of a home baked pie or honey butter croissants. I’ll keep that in mind next time you need something. I’ll see you two around.”

With Steve’s departure, Bucky slides right next to me, hip to hip. He’s only wearing some classic grey sweatpants and the tee shirt I embroidered a chibi Bucky onto. His hair is pulled back into a bun, still dripping water onto the nape of his neck. At this distance, I can admire Bucky’s baby blue eyes and his 5 o’clock shadow. Once Bucky got back from Wakanda, he cut his hair short and shaved his beard, but recently, he’s been working towards the white wolf look.

“Alright, doll. Let’s get this show on the road.”

“Oh okay. Uh, I’ve got all the ingredients prepared for baking. Let me check the recipe.” I go to grab the sheet of notebook paper that I scribbled the recipe down on, but Bucky gets to it before I do. He studies the paper hard. His brows scrunch together and his lip between his teeth. His metal arm falls around me and brings us shoulder to shoulder. At this proximity I can tell Bucky spritzed a little cologne on. The refreshing smell of pine and eucalyptus cuts through the overwhelming smell of oranges.

“This recipe is shit. What if I told you I know a better one?”

“Oh um well then I’d say take the lead. I hope I’ve got everything you need.”

“You’re everything I need sugar, but this stuff should be good.”

I can feel the heat rush to my cheeks. “Let's start by making the wet mix and then we’ll slowly add the dry ingredients in.”

Baking with Bucky is a dangerous game. We work well in the kitchen, but Bucky’s hands tend to wander. Resting on my lower back, brushing my thigh, standing close enough that I could feel his warm breath on my neck. By this point, my face is flush enough to cook these cookies, but the cookies are already in the oven. Maybe next time.

“Lookin’ beautiful, dollface. The cookies are looking pretty good too. They gotta rest a bit. We can work on the glaze now.”

Oh god. Things got saucy with the glaze. Not only did Bucky wiggle his eyebrows and point to the glaze in an inappropriate manner, but he was very handsy. We basically recreated that one dirty dancing scene with the kitchenaid. It didn’t help that Tony walked into the kitchen halfway through our romantic mixing. He had quite a lot to say: tinman and hothead, the cold and the hot, opposites attracting. You get the bit.

“Doll, I think this is the best glaze I’ve ever seen. We make quite the pair.”

“I’d have to agree with you there. I wonder what else we could get into.”

I realize what I said too late. His eyes grow wide and his smirk stretches from cheek to cheek. “Is that so, doll? I would love to work with you some more. Cooking dinner, dodgeball, go karts. Maybe some f-”

“Aren’t you supposed to be best friends with Steve? Like two peas in a pod? I wouldn’t want to upset Steve. That just doesn’t seem right. A disrespect to America. America’s ass, you know? A disrespect.”

That shuts him up.

“You look at Steve’s ass?”

“Well, yes. I mean no! I don’t look. I mean it’s a nice butt, you have to agree, but I wouldn’t know since I don’t look. I do not look at Steve’s ass.”

“Oooooo. You look at Steve’s ass. No wonder you zone out during meetings so much. All that cake bouncing around. Is that why you bake? Trying to recreate that dump truck? Do you look at other people’s ass? Do you look at my ass?”

“Bucky! I- I just know a good ass when I see one okay?”

“Well, what about my ass? Whose is better: mine or Sam’s? I know you’ve looked.”

Christ on a cracker this man is gonna kill me. “Bucky, y’all both have nice asses okay. Steve has the ass. You have the thighs. Sam has the pecs. It's as simple as that, okay? Why don’t we invite everyone down to try these cookies”

“Whatever you say, angel.”

Once everyone made it to the kitchen, we fixed everything up nice and served them to the rest of the family. They were an overall hit. Tony loved them because he’s a hardass, but Rhodes would’ve liked them just a bit softer. Thor enjoyed them with milk. Natasha made quite a few comments about how silky smooth the glaze was and how it complimented the cookie perfectly.

Once everyone was served and sent on their way, Bucky and I sat down to try our creation. I set our plates and meet Bucky in the common room. We cuddled up hip to hip and shoulder to shoulder in the common room to enjoy our cookies and begin a movie.

“You know, my mother used to make orange blossom cookies when I was young.” I looked up to Bucky’s face. I could see all the emotions. Pain. Happiness. Nostalgia. “My sister and I would always help her cook them. It was damn near impossible to come by an orange back in the day so sometimes we’d use other citruses. Orange was always the best. There was one time Becca had gotten some flowers from a sailor visiting from down south. The flowers were damn near dead when she brought them home. My pa told her that they would eat the flowers on their journey, so she did what she could to stick the flowers in the glaze and make pretty cookies. I wish I could remember what the flowers were.”

“I’m sorry Buck. I wish I could help.”

“No, no. I should say thank you. Coming in and smelling the orange and you telling me what you were making awoken something in me. At first, I was upset because I never got to make those cookies with my mom and sister again, but I’m glad I go the opportunity to make such sweet memories with you.” My breath was caught in my throat. I could feel the tears in my eyes and could just see the reflection of some in his. “She would’ve loved you. So strong, don’t take any shit, but so soft and gentle. You could keep me straight and make me bake cookies with you. Becca would’ve picked at you a bit to see if you’d hold, but she would’ve made you her sister quicker than I could’ve married you.”

“You want to marry me?”

“Well, doll, I love you. I’d love to spend a future together with you, but I think I should ask you to be my girl first. But I don't want you to feel pressured. Or you might like Steve or Sam or someone else. I don’t know. I don’t want to assume. You-”

I don’t you what came over me, but his lips were so sweet. They were sugary sweet from the cookie glaze, but the tartness of the orange made it refreshing. His lips felt so soft against mine; I never wanted this kiss to end.

“Yes.”

“Yes what?”

“I’ll be your girl. Only if you’ll have me.”

His smile took over his face. His lips were stretched thin and wrinkles fell beside his eyes.

“My girl. My best girl.”

[things-happens]

In Memory

Levi Ackerman x gn! Reader

Armin Arlert x gn! Reader

Erwin Smith x gn! Reader

Mikasa Ackerman x gn! Reader

hola 😎 i have a request for ya! which i do hope you like cause I literally spent hALF aN hoUR thinking of how it should go... anyWAYS, i’m gonna request it rn cause why not? .. anyways—maybe a hc for Levi, Armin, Erwin, Mikasa, and Pieck; their S/O’s favorite memories with them are playing in their mind. They wished it happened again. people thought they (they = pieck, levi, armin - yk)—people thought they went crazy. out of their mind insane. They do often smile, when they hear their S/O’s laugh. They cry when they hear their S/O’s screams. They couldn’t save them in time. they were now dead. // now do keep in mind, that this all happened weeks after their S/O’s death. they felt so useless at the fact that they couldn’t save them in time. the one they loved the most...

Note: I DELETED THIS AND HAD TO MADE THE POST so... please like and share thank you. Also I'm not caught up on season 4 but I know what has happened so I don't know Pieck's personality, I didn't want to get her wrong.

Prompt List

Mastlister

Summary: their s/o passed, they blame themselves and other and sadly cannot cope.

Warnings: Death, Blood, Feels and Fluff Words: a lot just a lot

Levi Ackerman (Sadderdaze)

Somethings never change for Levi losing the ones he loves left and right but why did he think that would change with y/n.

During the Battle of Shiganshina, Y/n was by Levi’s side the whole time.

They always was anyways, the lone survivor of Levi’s Squad after the 57th Expansion. Years ago, they vowed the loyalty for him then again 3 years later, till death did them part.

They both lead the group of soldiers to eliminate the Beast Titan.

As the Beast began to throw rocks everyone took covered in an abandoned town, after the first-round y/n and Levi resurfaced on the roofs.

They both noticed the beast was readying for another throw, yelling for the other to go bad into cover.

“GO BACK!” Y/N yelled into their cupped hands; they still couldn’t hear them.

Levi started to run to help them, only to be held back, y/n telling him there isn’t enough time.

Levi protested only for Y/n starting to push him back down to between the houses.

Suddenly, Y/n gave him a hard push on his back making him lad down on the ground. Looking back up to his love, their leg of in a now, missing part of the roof.

Levi quickly shot back up to help them out, grabbing their hands pulling as hard as he could.

“Levi… LEVI! Please take cover, you’ll die.”

“I’m not leaving you behind… not again.”

Levi had left Y/n in charge of his squad as he joined Erwin in the 57th Expansion. Nearly dying because of the Female Titan and protecting Eren.

Y/n pulled their arm away from him, giving him one final hard push in the chest right before the rock came pass them.

“I love you” they whispered.

As Levi flew back to the ground, he held eye contact with them all of his memories going through his head, knowing that this was the last time he would see of them, forever.

As for y/n, all their memories flew through them.

Late nights with Hanjie, mornings drinking tea with Erwin and Levi.

Levi… the night of their wedding, cake, slow dancing together, then stargazing. Oh, what they’d give to do that one more time with him.

Then they were gone.

Days later, everyone was concerned about the Captain. They could hear his cries and sobs when they’d pass his room. If you’d knocked, his cries would stop, and he’d stay silent till he watched your feet leave.

Every time Hanjie would open his door to bring breakfast or dinner, they could see the hopefulness in his eyes only for them to fall. Not like he ate till he was starving and knew he had too.

Years later, as Levi slept at night, he could still hear the whisper and cries of his love. That’s all he could hear ever, yet now he hid it well.

The nights he couldn’t sleep he’d walk through the halls of the fallen soldiers. In the middle of all the paintings, was Erwin. A gold frame shining in the moon light. Next to him was y/n.

They also had a golden frame and at the top were their favorite floor in their favorite color. Whomever painted it, Levi thought they did an amazing job.

The captured the brightness of their eyes, their gloss on their hair and the perfection on their hands.

Levi sat on his knees, lightly placing his hand on theirs. Wishing he could feel them just one more time.

BONUS:

“I bet you’re not popular with the ladies…” Zeke sighed.

Levi looked down thinking about y/n for the first time since the battle. “I was popular enough…”

Armin Arlert (When Will I See You Again)

Most people admired Y/n relationship with Armin, never put a title on side thing but the two and others knew they loved each other.

And when y/n died… well it was hard on everyone.

Since Armin inherited the Colossal Titian he saw and heard y/n die with his own eyes or really with Bertholdt eyes.

They stood by Armin till the very end or what they thought was the end.

The two stood in front of the giant titan, directing him. The plan… they knew they were going to die but it was with Armin and that’s all y/n would ever want.

Bertholdt let out the burning steam, burning them alive. y/n’s eyes looked at Armin, they screamed and cried till nothing… black.

Armin on the other head was giving the Titan Serum, eating Bertholdt and becoming the monsters he hated.

From the second he woke from the shift, all he could thing of was Y/n.

Where are they?

Are they okay?

Then and dare he say naturally, the memories caved in.

Seeing through his predecessor’s eyes, he remembered his love burn to death. Hearing their caries and he saw them always looking at him.

He cried and blamed himself for their death, y/n thought they were dying together but Eren couldn’t let him live in peace.

“they died thinking they were with me.” He whispered.

He always tired to keep his resentment in around Eren and Mikasa, but everyone could here him scream in pain in the forest next to the HQ.

He used Bertholdt’s memories to see them together all the time, Sasha and Mikasa would become worried he wasn’t grieving well but soon like screams every night stop.

Instead, it was quite crying at night, which wasn’t any better for anyone.

Then they left to find the Sea, one thing that could make Armin come to peace with himself.

Reaching the ocean everyone would play and have fun their but looking down in the water, Armin could’ve sworn he saw his love looking back at him but alas he lost the sight as fast as he saw it.

He knew Y/n would and still is by his side everyday till death brought them back to each other.

Erwin Smith (My Kind of Woman)

Everyone knew Erwin as a very stoic man, a calm gentle giant but with a heart and will of Iron.

And that was true, but that was after someone not one would talk about.

Their name is Y/n, Erwin Smith’s great love.

In 845, the Survey Corps returned from an expiation, but most do not know what happened.

“Four abnormals on the right wing!” some one shouted

Erwin looked at y/n who was smiling but still looking out for themselves and others. They looked over at Erwin and smiled even wilder.

Ever since training, Y/n saw bright side of things. It was their idea to recruit the Underground rebels.

In all most a flash of lighting, rain pored down soldiers dying all around.

10 abnormals flailing around, killing and eating people.

Erwin stared behind him, watching his comrades die under his orders. Then he locked eyes with y/n as they jumped off their horse as a Titan waved its arm at her.

“Erwin!”

Y/n yelled hoping he would turn and help them, and he did, yet despite the connection they had…

It was too late, they were harshly picked and swished, screams reaching everyone’s ears. Held above the Titan’s mouth their blood poured into then as the life quickly left their eyes they were dropped into its mouth.

If it wasn’t for Levi, Erwin would’ve been died too.

Ever second since then he blamed himself, knowing if he was just a little faster.

He paid someone to make a painting of her for his office, they were his right-hand person, but others knew it was more than that.

He would cry as quite as he could for years till it was small smiles or few tears while in his office or drinking tea with Levi or Hanji.

They both learned not to question it as it was a normal thing for the man after five years.

The new recruits would ask about the painting of a random person in his office, he would say someone special.

Yet it’s been years he would still become choked up that night.

Mikasa Ackerman (i wanna be your girlfriend)

Mikasa and Y/n met in training, two people how just sat not needing to say anything to enjoy each other’s company.

Eating dinner, they’d just sit and watch everyone else bicker and talk, nothing needed to be said. Despite being Sasha’s sibling, the older one seem to get all the personality then again there was nothing wrong with the way they were.

Although being close to death of a many of times, they lived and slightly loved Mikasa and watched her grow into a beautiful women she was.

Over the years, y/n become more vocal not wanting to miss out on the moments they had left with everyone. They and Jean would bicker and laugh about dumb things, Connie and they would just sitting and reminisce on old times.

Then Sasha met Nicolo and well y/n had never more vocal about anything before.

“Oooooh the cook, he’s perfect for you.”

y/n would tease Sasha along with Jean and Connie, although Nicolo didn’t seem to mind, Sasha would turn redder than a beet!

Then the war came, Y/n didn’t leave Mikasa side unless it was to save their ether extremely brave or stupid sister.

As y/n and Mikasa run to Eren’s ad after killing the War Hammer Titan, Mikasa yells at Eren.

Y/n watches the two argue, as the War Hammer Titan stands tall and definitely not dead.

Y/n watches as it starts to shoot a crystal goop at them, Y/n wipps around slamming themselves into Mikasa, holding onto her and they both flay away from the now hardened crystal.

“thank you, y/n.”

Y/n only nodded, looking back at the crystal. Again, they themselves in danger for Mikasa but they knew if it came down to it, they would die for their family.

After the battle, everyone was on the air ship, Mikasa had left y/n with Jean, Connie and Sasha. They talked happy to see each other alive.

“You guys are really special to me.”

Next thing anyone knew, both Jean and Y/n heard rumbling from the entrance. Turning around they saw a little girl with a rifle.

y/n quickly realized she was aiming for everyone of the ship, mainly their sister. Running in front of the fire, trying to do the same thing they once saw Hanjie do years ago still the girl shot.

The bullet went straight threw y/n’s stomach; push through the pain they grabbed the gun from the girl. They butted it into the little girl’s head, knocking her out.

The adrenaline wore off, y/n put their hand on their stomach. Their hand covered in blood, they turned around to see their sister on the floor surrounded by their friends.

“Guys…” they dropped the rifle on the floor.

The word came out their mouth, everyone with tears in their eyes slowly turned to look at them.

Jean watched as the blood dripped from their suit on to the light brown flooring.

Y/n began to walk to them, waddling side to side.

Mikasa entered the room watching Y/n fall over into what was now a pool of blood. She quickly ran over, flipping them over sobbing.

Jean quickly applied pressure into the wound, but it was too late. Y/n looked up at Mikasa, their bloodied hand lightly touching her face.

Mikasa sat head on her knees, in between both Blouse graves. She could still here the raspy breaths, the yells of Jean telling them to stay awake and the laugh Eren let out seeing the dead bodies.

She’d cry at nights realizing she loved them more than a friend, she felt like a piece of her was now gone.

During dinners Mikasa would push her food around till she couldn’t sit and not laugh or sob. Armin had become worried of her, but he knew she just needed time.

[nan4fallout]

[dba sleuthomatic] (all the food and drink ones because eating is my favorite thing lol)

Oooooh, okay, let me think...

🍦Ice Cream: Her favorite treats are those fancy lads cakes. She loves them

🎂 Birthday Cake: Her birthday is June 5th! She forgets to celebrate it more often than not, but if someone remembers it she's really happy

🧀 Cheese: She loves puns and dad jokes. They get her every single time

🍾 Champagne: She'd probably have a few drinks with her friends

🍿 Popcorn: She doesn't seek out the lime light, but she does like being in it. It makes her feel good

🍲 Soup: She's a decent cook, but it's not a passion of hers

🍺 Beer: She drinks on occasion, but she doesn't do chems. She's not against them, they're just not for her.

Thank you so much for the ask! I love doing these

[mieohmy]

𝖬𝗂𝗌𝗆𝖺𝗍𝖼𝗁 | 𝖫𝖾𝖾 𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗇

PAIRING: lee chan x model! reader

GENRE: humor, kinda fluff, enemies-to-something-more

WC: 1.4k

NOTES: none??????????

↳ “Ew, are we matching? Change immediately.”

❧

If someone asked how you fit thirteen boys in your small studio apartment, you wouldn’t have an answer. Luckily, maybe this time you would get one.

You were shocked to say the least when you opened the door to find the whole group crowded in front. 

*cue Joshua's surprise~* 

“What are you guys doing here???” 

“We came to congratulate you on your new debut! We saw your photos, they look really good.” 

You had just debuted as a new model, your first photos released a couple of days ago. So far, it had gotten pretty positive feedback, but you were still new to the industry. 

“Well? Aren’t you gonna let us in?”  You blink. “Right.” You step aside, letting all the boys file in. 

Your eyes focus on the cake Joshua’s holding. “Guys, you didn’t really have to come. Thanks for the cake. Well, uh...” 

All thirteen pairs of eyes look at you, expectantly. “Are you guys just gonna hang out here or something? Like, do you not have something else to do??”

“Nope,” Jeonghan says, causally cozied up on your couch. “But we brought food, so... yeah.” You roll your eyes. “Right, like that automatically means you all can just barge in.” 

All of them somehow settle into your extremely small apartment. You groan, thinking about the mess that’d be left later.

“Cheer up, y/n. We got your favorite cookies!” Hoshi says. You gasp, staring at the box handed to you. 

“Who bought these? Minghao??” 

You look around the room expectantly, beaming. 

“No, actually Dino,” Joshua responds. 

You deflate, letting out a disinterested oh, but on the inside, you were quite surprised.

Dino was not really someone you would expect to buy something for you. You were surprised he even came here with the others. Let’s just say, your relationship with him wasn’t the best. You two just didn’t really get along, always arguing and bickering. 

Speaking of, where was he? You glance around. “Is Dino even here?” Joshua shrugs. “Went to the bathroom, I think.” 

You nod slowly, processing everything until seungcheol’s voice cuts you off. “Y/n, let’s go out and celebrate! What restaurant do you wanna go to?”

You frown. “We’re going out now?” “Yes,” seungcheol sternly replies. “Now hurry and get changed so we can eat!!” 

Grumbling, you go to your room, deciding on a nice outfit and placing on your cap- just to add a little extra. 

After closing your door, you walk out to the waiting guys. “Alright, I’m ready. We can go now.” You suddenly hear a snicker and whisper. 

Confused, you look at all of them, trying to figure out what was so funny before your eyes land on a certain person, or to be more specific, his outfit. 

“Ew, are we matching? Change immediately,” you blurt out.

The shirts were extremely similar, jeans too. Not to mention the same color shoes. Bruh, he even had to have the cap, too?

Dino laughs a sarcastic bark, before staring you dead in the eye. “No- you.”

You groan in frustration. “Chan, I don’t have time for this! Please?” 

He shakes his head, absolute. “No way. I look fine in this outfit alright? You can change if you’re so bothered by it.” 

Seungcheol interrupts. “Come on guys, we don’t have all day for your arguing again. By the time you two finish, all the restaurants will be closed.” 

Huffing, you stubbornly reply, “whatever. I don’t care. Let’s go.”

As the whole group exits, you make sure not to walk near Dino. You didn’t want anyone to misunderstand. 

“Wow, can’t believe how similar yours and Dino’s clothes are. Did you purposely plan the couple outfit or-?” Dokyeom teases. 

You raise an arm up to him threateningly, annoyed. “Yeah right, like I would.” Sighing frustratedly, you continue. “I mean- how could we basically choose the same clothes? I didn’t even see what he was wearing until after I finished.”

Dokyeom hums next to you. “Well, you know... you and Dino are more alike than you realize. Like, a lot more.” 

You raise your eyebrows in shock. “What? Me and Dino?” He shrugs. “Yeah, you guys act similar, like the same things. I mean, your outfit choices today kinda prove it.”

As the group stops at a crosswalk during a red light, you take the chance to really think. 

Were you and Dino really that similar? 

You find yourself in front of a noodle restaurant (you note that you didn’t get to choose even though it’s your celebration.. )

When all fourteen of you somehow find a table, guess who’s sitting next to you? Ah, yes. The one and only lee chan. You swear everyone else did this on purpose. 

“Oooooh look at our matching couple~~,” someone says. You think it’s Hoshi or something, making a mental note in your head to ‘talk’ to him later. 

“I swear if you don’t stop-” you hiss, raising your fork threateningly. Luckily, a waiter comes to take everyone’s order. But after spotting you (and Dino), they immediately stop, muttering an excuse me, and quickly running back. You share a look with chan, confused. 

They return with an older lady in tow. Once she spots you two, she immediately gasps, clapping her hands together. “Perfect.” 

Walking over, she displays a flattering smile. “Not to be intruding, but you two look like such a handsome couple together.” You hiccup. Handsome??? 

You hear Dino interrupt, “oh, we’re not a-“ but she cuts him off. 

“-especially since those outfits are perfect. Would you be interested in doing a quick photoshoot for our restaurant together? Once you’re done you can just come right back, and your food will already be there!” 

“Wait, right now?” You finally manage to get out. The lady nods enthusiastically. “Yes, it won’t take long. Oh, and the compensation will be your food bill!” 

Immediately all the guys push you and Dino forward. You’re hesitant though, this was supposed to be a fun night celebrating, but you’re over here about to do work. Slowly, you start to speak. “Guys, I don’t-“ “yeah, sure. We’ll do it.” 

The lady beams as you look at Dino in shock. 

“What are you doing?!?” You mutter. “Idiot. Can’t you see? This is a great opportunity for your career.” he hisses back.

The lady leads you two somewhere, and you fall silent. Lee chan was actually trying to help you, ha...

You end up in a room at the back of the restaurant- cameras, and lights all prepared. Even a photographer was called. Who just has a whole photoshoot set up at their restaurant like that? 

Eventually, they get everything set up, and you’re suddenly next to Chan, posing your modeling face and holding fake props.  

It was strange- you’re guessing they thought you two were a couple, probably because of the stupid matching outfits, but it was too late to say anything(especially if you got free food). 

You had never really been so close to him before, being so touchy, but right as they paused, you two would immediately move away.  You even had to sit in his lap- it was hard to keep a straight face. 

It makes you surprised at how good Dino is at this, he didn’t seem fazed by the close proximity between you two. 

That caused you to wonder if he was feeling the same thing as you. It was an unknown feeling in your chest, whenever you had to pose extremely close to him. 

When they finally tell you they’re finished, it was quicker than you thought. The lady runs over to you, gushing. “Wow, the photos look amazing. You two are so good at this- it’s like you’re models or something.” Chan smiles, shaking his head but thanking her. 

She directs you to where the photographer is, photos showing up.

They look good. You two look good together. Heck, if you saw this out in public, you would totally go to this restaurant. 

Having to squat to see the photos, you glance up and notice Chan’s head right above yours. He’s smiling at the photos, a soft look on his face. The photographer says something that finally breaks your attention away. You blush, hoping he didn't notice you. “Alright, if that’s all, you guys can return to your food!” 

The lady once again thanks you two a billion more times, saying “please, you two can come back whenever you want to eat for free, and we can do more photoshoots too!”

She guides you out of the room, leaving you to go back to the others. 

You and chan glance at each other, a different look that’s not filled with annoyance or anger. 

“... we should wear the same clothes more often.” 

“Why? Cause you want to match with me?” 

“No, stupid. For offers like this.”

“Be honest. you Iike matching, don’t you?”

“.... only a little.”   

[jojolu]

Mom's Weekend and The Winter Soldier

Chapter 3

Pairing: James "Bucky" Barnes and Sarah Wilson

Summary: Sarah Wilson, Connie Caro and Avery Vance were the only three of Sarah's friends that were still here after the blip. They have a monthly girls day before having a kid free weekend. Normally Sarah has nothing to talk about...but not anymore.

Word Count: 3.5K

Rating: Mature

July:

You are putting the last decoration on the Fourth of July cake you are making.

"Hey beautiful."

Your smile is so big that he can see it as he walks up to you.

"Thank you. You look very patriotic." You bought him an American flag button up shirt.

He walks up to you then quickly glances to the back door then kisses you.

"He's going to the store to grab ice cream."

Avery and Connie coming walking back in with Sam right behind them trying to get past them so see what you and Bucky are doing.

Bucky was loading the dishwasher and you were putting the lid on the cake platter.

"Hey Buck, let's go." He says very abruptly.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"Store."

"OK. Give me a second."

Sam huffs and walks out with waaaaay to much attitude.

"Be safe." You say kissing Bucky on the cheek.

"Bye, babe. Bye ladies." He has waving to the girls.

You walk to the door to watch them them walk out to Sam’s truck bickering the whole way.

“Soooo Sam’s not taking it great…..” Avery says grabbing a beer out of the fridge.

“Yeah…he’s acting like I stole Bucky away from him. Like damn do you have something to tell me?”

You all laugh

“When did you tell him?” Connie asks.

“We didn’t get a chance, he just came to us a three day ago, ‘I know what you two are doing, so stop it’ and we were both like what are you talking about and mind your business.”

“You two aren’t the best at keeping it a secret.” Connie says.

“It’s not a secret. We just wanted to make sure we were ok with others knowing. We are enjoying it just being us. Not going to lie the sneaking around is pretty fucking hot.”

“I’m sure it is. All the looks and the trying to keep quiet during sex……whew. Did E go with the guys?” Connie says looking around.

You think about all the times you two have had to stop or stop making any sounds while you two were being intimate.

“Oooooh is that a smirk…..we are behind on our hoe tales.” Avery says sitting at the dining room table.

“Why am I always the one telling hoe tale’s? You both have very active sex lives.”

“We do, but our partners aren’t a LITERAL super hero.”

“Buck would never call himself that. That’s definitely one of the many reasons I love having him around…….well that and…’

“His amazing penis.” Connie says.

“I never texted that!”

14 Days ago:

You are trying to muffle your impending orgasm with a pillow over your face as Bucky eats the life out of you.

“Shhhh. You’re so loud.” Hey says quickly before going right back to pleasing you. He slides both of his hands up your thighs and puts them on your hips bringing you closer to his mouth.

Your trying to think of something sassy to say but you just moan out ‘shut up’.

There's a quick knock on Bucky's door.

"Hey, Buck? You know where my sister is? I thought she walked in the house."

"I think she said she was going to take a walk." Bucky says without any hesitation.

You are trying not to moan as he rubs tight circles into your clit as he talks.

"Thanks man. Imma go look for her." Sam says outside the door.

"If I see her I'll let her know that you are looking for her."

You sit up and both wait until you hear the screen door close before you say anything.

"Hey your brother is looking for you." He says with a smirk.

"Why is he looooooo.......don't stop." You moan out as he quickly continues his mission.

A few intense minutes later you are cuming in his mouth.

"Oh my God…..shit.....that was so good. I don't even remember why I knocked on your door.” You say as your pull the pillow away from your face.

“You were looking for your phone. Although, I'm pretty sure I said it's on the coffee table." He says getting up from the squatting on the floor.

He licks his lip and wipes his mouth.

"Oh yeah.....my bad." You say sitting up trying to not sound like a constantly horny teenager.

"You knocked and then I saw you in this yellow sundress.....I just had to taste you."

"You are insatiable." You say giggling.

"Me?" He saying feigning innocence.

He offers you a hand and pulls you up off his bed.

You give him a quick kiss then head to the door and walk out.

You close his door and walk to the kitchen for some water and try to act like Bucky didn't just take your soul.

You are drinking water when Sam walks in the back door.

"I've been look for you! Where have you been?" Sam says with waaaaay to much bass in his voice.

"Umm, first off, who are getting loud with Samuel? I know its not me. And secondly, what do you need?"

"Can't I just want to know what my sister is doing?" Sam asks changing his tone.

"So not only do you want to know where I am but you also want to know what I'm doing." You say walking past him you can see Connie's van driving up the driveway they were coming over for dinner.

As you passed Bucky's door, he walks out and you two exchange a quick glance and he smirks at you as you head out to meet the Caro's.

"What was that? I saw you two smile and shit. What did I say Barnes? Don't flirt with my sister." Sam says in his Captain America tone.

"That tone doesn't work on me." Is all Bucky said as he headed to the laundry room behind the stairs.

~~~

“I knew you looked super refreshed! That was post orgasm face.” Connie says smiling at you.

“Wow, I’m glad your happy. He makes you happy right?”Avery asks you.

“I am. I can honestly say I never saw this happening. Did I know I was going to….you know definitely give him a sample but I didn’t know it would lead to this. I don’t even know what to call this or whatever we are doing or not doing.”

“Have you guys actually talked about it? Like what exactly are you both doing? Because you aren’t a spring chicken and he is well an old ass man.” Avery says matter of factly.

“Well damn, Ave tell Sarah how you really feel.” Connies says trying to defuse the question.

“What? Are we going to sit here and act she isn’t fully in love with that man. Cuz you can lie to yourself but you can’t lie to us. Do you even see the way he looks at you? You are his beginning and ending, why else would he stay in this house? He literally could be anywhere than hot ass Delacroix, Louisiana. He’s here for you and those boys and a teeny bit to annoy his best friend.”

You sigh heavily and walk out of the kitchen and head to the front porch and plop down on the porch swing.

You can hear Connie whisper yelling at Avery.

You know she right you both have basically said that to each other.

“if you two stop whisper fighting, I’ll tell you about the night we kinda admitted our feelings!” You yell.

They come out and Avery hands you a beer and gives you an apologetic smile.

“So you remember when Buck started going to the VFW?”

11 Days Ago:

Cass, baby you are so sleepy just head to bed. I'll tell Buck to come say goodnight when he gets home." You say to the little boy currently asleep on the couch next to you.

"Okkkkkk....night momma, night Unc."

"I'll take him to bed." Sam says as he finishes his beer. He gets up and helps Cass upstairs.

You get a text.

Buck: So sorry this took so long! You know these old veterans love to talk. I'm at the Main Square light. Miss you.

Sarah: you are absolutely fine. I'm proud of you and I love that you get to hang out with all those youngins.

Buck: oh aren't you funny. They all get a kick out of my arm. I'm very popular and everyone loves me here.

Sarah: I mean that metal arm is something. We all love you here, but I know you need that comrade.

Buck: you're amazing. You are something. Something, that I don't deserve.

Sarah: you deserve the whole fucking world James! It was literally stolen from you. You deserve anything you want.

He doesn’t reply.

You hope he is pulling up the road.

You get up and head to the front door and watch him get out of his truck and solemnly walk up to you.

"I want you…I want this…I want the boys...I want it all." He says as he gets closer to you.

"Are you sure. This is a lot.....I am a lot."

He takes your hands and pulls you closer to him.

The sounds of Sam humming 'American Woman' ruins the moment.

You figured he saw you two talking on the porch because his humming stopped for about 8 seconds before he started singing the song out loud.

You both head inside to Sam's stares.

~~~

“Oh my Sweet Baby Black Jesus! He said that? My heart and vagina!” Avery says wiping her eyes.

“Right!??!! He kills me with that. He’s always so sincere and honest and so open.”

“And?” Connie says wiggling her eyebrows.

“And nothing….anyway how’s does the cake look?”

“Patriotic.”

"What do you want me to say? I know how I feel and I know how he feels.....well a little bit." You sigh out.

"I can't begin to imagine how confusing this all is. Do you think your apprehension is coming from his.....past?" Connie asks you in a small voice.

"No. Not even a little bit. I guess deep down I realize that he will never be fully mine.....does that make sense? He has this deep sense of duty to protect Earth and at a moments call he'll leave in the middle of the night and one time he.......won't come home. I can't do that again.....I can't." You say your voice full of emotion.

"You can't let that stop you from finding and reclaiming love. Being afraid of losing someone will never change. Losing Davis was the hardest thing but I had to open my heart again and I was able to find Julia." Avery says with her voice full of emotion.

You remember vividly the day Avery found out that her husband's helicopter was shot down in Iraq. Davis Jadot asked Avery Douglass to marry him during his Valedictorian speech in college.

"I know......I think that I love him but I don't know if I'm ready to say it. I'm pretty sure he said a week ago when we were......talking."

"Talking? 'Ohhhh James don't stop' You call that talking?" Connie says.

"I fucking hate you!" You say laughing.

"Ooooh....that's it. That's the spot!"

"Yesssssss! Yesssssss!"

You three are all laughing hysterically when the guys walk in.

"What's so funny?" Bucky asks walking into the kitchen

Avery and Connie just laugh even harder.

A few minutes you join them outside in your screened in porch.

"So imma need the rest of the 'almost I love you' story." Avery says the second you open the door."

"Well.....geesh let me sit down. Well, the night before we were talking and fell asleep after, the next morning......" You mumble out

8 Days Ago:

The gentle sounds of mechanical humming wakes you up and you turn your head to see a sleeping Bucky.

He told you about the fight with that fucking crazy Captain America and about his arm. He got a call the next day from a very busy Shuri who told him that she got an alert that his arm was damaged so she would be fixing it remotely and she would do it while he was asleep.

It poured last night so the coaches called saying baseball would be canceled for Saturday morning. Sam was out of town for the weekend you two didn't have to try so hard to act like a couple.

This is the 4th time he has slept in your bed, you two were folding laundry and you helped him put his clothes away and he helped you put the boys away. He's the only one who can walk in the boy's room without them waking up. He gave them boys forehead kisses and walked back to you in the hallway.

You just grab this left hand and lead him to your bedroom to show him your appreciation.

You can tell by his movements that he is starting to wake up, you roll over to see his face.

"Hi. I hope this thing didn't wake you." He says shrugging his shoulder.

"It did, but I was naturally waking up. Good morning by the way.”

“Good morning, you look amazing in the morning.” He says pulling you closer.

“You’re a terrible liar, Buck.” As you stretch and roll unto your back, the sheet falls and exposes your bare breasts.

You can see the smirk on his face.

“What’s that look for? You definitely see these before.” You say moving the sheet down more.

He slowly moves closer to your breast and runs his warm tongue over your left nipple.

You moan out his name and lean closer to his mouth.

"I love waking up next to you but I love it even more when your naked." He says looking up at you.

"You are so naughty. Come here." You say pulling the sheet down to your waist.

He quickly gets in between your thighs and is kissing up your neck.

"You smell amazing."

"I do? Thanks." You say as a moan.

"So.....so......good." He says as he nips and sucks on your neck.

"I just wanted....you....to know that......your presence here.....is very appreciated." You say moaning as he kisses down towards your breast.

"You are very welcome. I'm assuming you mean everywhere not my current state."

He says as he kisses his way down your stomach.

You sit up on your elbows and look down at him.

"Nope. Definitely just this and maybe when your pick up something heavy." You say with a smirk.

"Wow....fuck you Sarah." He says laughing.

"Ooooh James Buchanan Barnes do you kiss your mother with that potty mouth."

"Nope, especially since she's been dead for 80 years."

You fall back dramatically on your back and cover your face with your hands.

"Ughhhh sorry......that was so dumb of me to say." You mumble out.

You can feel him move off of you and your pretty sure he's leaning over you.

"Its fine. I swear, although my entire life was changed there is nowhere I'd rather be......well there is one place I'd rather be."

You can feel his left hand on your hip as he pushes your hip so that you are on your side.

"More."

You turn so your hip is against the bed and both knees are on the bed then you push your ass against his metal palm.

"That's it......just like that." He says as smacks your ass gently.

He slides his hand over the curve of your ass and slides his middle and ring finger along your lips.

You moan out his name.

"This wet and I've barely touched you."

"I don't even need to see your face to know you.......are.......smiling........ohhhh I absolutely hate you." You try to say as he starts to make small circles around your clit.

"I don't think you do....you say that but then.....oh so it's like that?"

You had reached your hand over and started to stroke him.

"I want you.....I want you so deep inside me."

And without another word he is pressing into your folds.

"Oh Buck." is all you manage to say as he slides deep inside you.

He slowly starts to rock into you rolling his hip to hit your spot over and over and over.

You are a panting mess as slowly thrusts into you. He's hand is on your hip and he kisses your neck and is moaning in your ear.

He can feel your walls clench around him

"You feel so good around me, are you going cum for me?" He whispers in your ear.

You have no words.

"I am going to need you to cum for me, I know you are so fucking close I can feel it." He grunts in your ear.

"Oh god........please" You plead as orgasm tears through you and the waves of it are coursing through you as he keep pounding into you.

"That's it, that's what I wanted "

You are trying to ride out the aftershocks and the waves of your orgasm are still happening as he starts to chase his own orgasm.

"Buck, don't stop. I am going to cum again" you clench around him for a second time not sure if you will survive this orgasm. Tears form in your eyes and the moans you are trying to suppress are just sighs and screams.

Bucky leans down to your ear and grunts and moans your name.

"Yes...." you barely manage to say

"I love you"

Oh my God.

He clenches his jaw as he tries to hold off his orgasm as continues.

"I'm falling in love with you " You are trying to process what you feel but it very hard with him being you to multiple orgasms.

"Me too." You mumble out hoping he heard it.

He start pumping into even harder and faster and a surprise orgasm hits you harder than you have ever experienced and triggers Bucky to empty himself into you. You are a full on crying trembling mess. He pulls you back to the side and slows pulls out of you.

You fall asleep to the gentle whirring sounds of his vibranium arm.

~~~~

"Wait a goddamn minute Ms Wilson.....ALMOST? That was definitely not almost." Avery whisper yells.

You try to look over at Connie to gauge her response.

"Don't look over here. That was a clear statement.....I mean everyone says stuff during sex they don't necessarily mean. But he did say it twice and you said 'me too'."

"I did and I do....I'm pretty sure I do. I still can't believe this is even happening he came from nowhere and I'm in love with him. I can't believe I said that out loud. Holy shit. I'm in love with him."

The thing you didn’t realize while you were busy confessing your love for Bucky Barnes was Connie and Avery's faces, they were both looking past you and Avery was practically blinking Morse Code.

"You're in love with who?" Sam says from behind you.

"What?" You say turning around to face your brother, Bucky, Ethan, Cass and AJ.

"You just said and I quote 'Holy shit. I'm in love with him' Him who? It better be Jesus."

"Uncle Buck.....that's what I think. I've seen them kissing in the kitchen." AJ says walking into the yard.

"Gross. But I think its Uncle Buck too...I'm mean why else would he live here. Isn't he rich or something? I mean personally I'd be in Wakanda!" Cass shouts as he follows his brother to join Connie and Ethan's kids.

The adults are just standing in an awkward silence as Sam looks from person to person realizing everyone knows just how serious you two are.

"The cake."

"The kids...."

"I need a drink."

Ethan, Connie and Avery all disperse in every direction, leaving you, Bucky and unfortunately Sam.

"I thought you two were just bored...."

"Sam go the entire fuck away." Bucky says without looking at him.

"Wow. WOW. So it's like that? My own associate and my sister? Wow." Sam says dramatically as he walks back in the house.

"Well, that didn't go as planned."

"Nope." Buck says with a smirk on his face.

"I wasn't sure you heard me during.....you know." You say walking towards him.

"I did. Very clearly....super human hearing. But it is nice to hear it again and not because I was making you cum."

"Oh my goodness! Buck! You are the worst." You say pushing him in the chest which because he wasn't expecting it actually made him move.

He pulls you into his arms and kisses you.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Ughhhh. I can't. I can't believe this old ass man is macking on my baby sister." Sam sighs out as he walks past you two.

[mandiemon3]

Untitled Goblin Project

Chapter 6

Word Count- 2.4k

Content Warnings- none

“Andi! Come on in, you party animal!” It was Saturday night, and Andi had just arrived at the Osborn house to hang out with her friends while Norman was out of town. Harry led the way down a series of hallways, to the living room. Andi knew her way around the house fairly well by that point, much more than Harry would have or could be allowed to expect.

Once they entered the large room with mahogany walls, sprawling oriental rugs, and a huge ornate fireplace, Harry plopped down on a plush upholstered armchair. “Alright,” he asked to the rest of their friends, who were standing around after beating them there, “who has a party game they want to play?” “I have one,” MJ offered. “How about the classic truth or dare?”

“I can get behind that,” said Andi. “What about you, Peter?” Peter nodded. ��Sure, I’m in. Harry?” Harry grinned. “Let’s do this. Circle up, nerds!”

The rest of the gang chose their seats, with MJ and Peter on the couch in front of the grand fireplace, and Andi sitting sideways in another armchair, her legs dangling over one arm as she leaned against the other.

“Should our generous host go first?” Andi suggested. Peter and MJ gave their approval while Harry feigned humbled surprise.

Harry hummed and tapped his chin. “Aha!” he exclaimed. “Okay, Petey, truth or dare?” “Truth.” “Did you or did you not eat the missing part of MJ’s birthday cupcake cake that one time in middle school?” Peter froze before smiling sheepishly at the girl next to him, who gasped and smacked his arm.

“Peter Parker!” she exclaimed. “I asked you if you ate it and you said you didn’t!”

All four friends laughed as Peter rushed to defend himself. “I’m sorry! I had assumed you had a normal birthday cake and that the cupcakes were a side. By the time I realized they werethe cake, it was too late. Good thing there’s a statute of limitations on that, right?” he joked. “Hopefully one around five years.” MJ laughed and Peter chuckled, glad to be in the clear.

“Alright, mister cupcake thief, it’s your turn.”

“Hmm.” Peter clasped his hands in front of him, clearly giving it a lot of thought. “Harry, truth or dare?” “Easy, dare.” The charming young man propped his feet up on a table and leaned back. Andi knew that Norman would smack his feet off the expensive coffee table, but she honestly didn’t care at that moment.

“I dare you,” said Peter, “to order us a pizza.” Harry laughed. “Really, Parker? That’s what you’re going to waste your dare on? Like I wouldn’t have gotten us food in a bit anyway.” “Yeah, but I’m hungry now,” Peter replied, grinning.

“Alright, fine.” Harry rooted around in his pocket for his phone. “Un momento, por favor.”

The other three chatted quietly while Harry placed a delivery order at their favorite pizza place.

After a few minutes, Harry tossed his phone onto a nearby end table and clapped his hands together. “Where were we?” he asked. “Oh yes, Andi, truth or dare?” “Truth,” she answered immediately. “Like I’d let a perv like you give me a dare.” Harry clutched his heart with fake indignation.

“Oooooh,” said Peter. “You better have a good one, Har’, to make up for that burn.”

“Alright, answer this perv on question, dear Andi.” Harry leaned forward in his seat, pointing at his friend. “Why are you really so upbeat right now?” Andi’s smile faltered as her friend continued. “You spent weeks moping around, no offense, and suddenly you’re happier than we’ve ever seen you.” Andi opened her mouth to respond. “And before you go and say it’s just a mood swing or hypomania,” Harry rushed to finish, “keep in mind that the three of us have seen all your mood swings, and this ain’t one of them. So, back to my question: what’s really going on?” Andi glanced around the room, looking for help from one of her other friends, or some exit strategy that she could use to get out of answering the question leveled so directly at her. MJ was shaking her head at Harry’s antics, while Peter sat back in his seat, looking at her intently, waiting for her to answer. Andi could feel the beginnings of panic rising in her chest, when she blurted out her answer.

“I have feelings for someone, and I think he feels the same way.” She looked at Harry, then MJ and Peter, all of which seemed stunned by her answer. She sighed. “I-I’m sorry,” she stammered. “It’s really no big deal. It’s something new, and confusing, and I didn’t want to jinx it by going around yelling ‘I’m in love’ or anything. I didn’t want to tell you because there’s not much to tell. I’ve known this guy for a while, but we’ve been spending more time together recently, and I developed feelings for him somewhere along the way.”

“Hang on a minute,” MJ interrupted, grinning ear to ear. “Did you say you don’t want to go around telling people you were in love?” She giggled. “Are you in love, Andi?”

Andi froze, once again shrinking under the spotlight of her friends’ eyes. Seconds ticked away as her mind’s gears spun wildly, looking for a simple answer that would satisfy her friends’ curiosity without being a direct lie. “Look, I don’t know,” she finally said. “It’s all new, and I’m barely brave enough to admit I have feelings for him, let alone go around confessing love that I’m not even sure I have. Honestly, I’ve been too scared to even stop and consider that because of what that might mean for us.” She could tell that she had begun to ramble, but she couldn’t stop, all her thoughts suddenly spilling out now that she had paused long enough to begin pondering them. “I mean, how does one even know that they love someone? Is it the feeling of needing to protect someone, like the media says it is? And who the hell decided to make being in love look so easy in all those stupid, inaccurate romance movies? It’s not as easy as just saying ‘I love you’ and then making out in inopportune weather. Sometimes love makes things harder. Sometimes you can’t be with the person you love because of what other people might think, or because you have other relationships that would be destroyed if you told them you loved the person you loved.” She sighed, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation. “So, in short, I don’t know guys. Do I love him? Your guess is as good as mine, but I can tell you one thing. If I do love him, it’s not going to make things any easier on me.” She looked around at her friends, who were stunned into silence by her spontaneous outpouring of emotion and frustration.

Andi sighed. “I’m sorry,” she said after a moment of awkward silence, speaking slowly to ensure she wouldn’t go into a rant again. “The truth is, I’m scared. I’m scared because he makes me so goddamn happy, and I’m afraid that I’m going to mess it up somehow and make it all go away. Or that people will find out and he won’t want to be with me because of how they would react.” She paused, thinking her next words over carefully. “But in the end, it’s worth it, because I know that we make each other happy.” The four friends sat together in silence as Andi’s words sank in.

“Damn Berch,” Harry finally said, breaking the silence. “I half expected you to say you tried yoga or some vitamin thing or started writing again, not confess your love for a mystery man.” “For one thing, I never said I loved him, and for two, fuck yoga, you know my body isn’t built for that. Have you seen my wrists?” Andi joked, relieved that the subject had changed. “I can barely hold a pencil without hurting myself! What, you expect me to try that stuff in wrist braces?”

“And elbow braces, and knee braces,” Peter mumbled, taking a sip of his drink.

Andi feigned ignorance. “What was that Parker? Did you say something? Because I can’t hear you over the sound of you being the only person worse than me in gym class.” “Wow, making it personal. Love has not mellowed you out.” Andi pointed a threatening finger at him, and Peter raised his hands in defense.

“I’m just glad you’re back to normal,” said MJ. “I really missed having you around. And it’s pretty hard to keep these two knuckleheads on track without you.” She gestured to Peter and Harry, who pretended to be offended.

“And for what it’s worth,” Harry added, “if there’s anyone who can kick love in the ass and make it their bitch, it’s Andi Berch.” He raised his red solo cup of soda. “To Andi!” “To Andi!” said MJ and Peter in unison.

Andi grinned. While she wished she could be completely honest with her friends about who the man who held her affections was, she was glad that she could still hang out with them and joke around about her relationship as if it were any other silly high school romance. The young woman took another bite of pizza, trying her best to push down the knot in her stomach reminding her that she was lying to her friends, possibly in a way that would irreparably shatter her bond to the group.

“So,” MJ said, “what’s this mystery man like, anyway?” “Well, he’s smart. This guy’s intelligence could be a conversation all on its own, but I’ll spare you guys that for now.”

“We appreciate it,” Peter joked.

“He’s also really generous. If he sees that someone did something kind, or really witty, his first impulse is to help them so they can continue their good work. Like, he saw me helping out Harry a bit with our science project and his first thought was how to get me into a lab so I can follow my dreams and work in my element. It’s because of him that I’ve been working so much more, because they actually let me into the labs as Oscorp. Harry’s father says I’m the only person this young they’ve ever allowed to even set foot in there, let alone conduct real research.” Andi smiled fondly, thinking about all Norman had done to try to help her, oblivious of her friends sharing knowing looks. “And he’s really sweet. He’s one of the few people in this city who actually treats everyone with respect, instead of just those he deems worthy or those who could help him move up the social ladder.” Her hands twitched as her heart pounded. “Best of all, he actually sees me for me and supports me fully. He knows that I’m silly, and that I’m not always in control of myself, but instead of freaking out or thinking less of me, he actually likes it. He thinks it adds character, that it makes me more interesting and more fun to be around.” She sniffled. “It’s a rare day that I find someone who doesn’t look down on me because I’m so odd. But he not only sees it all, he appreciates it. He compliments me on it, and makes me proud to be who I am, and not want to fit in.” She looked up at her friends, her vision foggy with emotion. “So yeah, maybe I do love him. Because he’s one of the best people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, and he makes me like myself.” “Wow,” MJ whispered. “You really do love him.” She got up and crossed the room to hug her friend. “I’m sure everything will be okay with you two. And for the record, we all love your weirdness.” Andi nodded, sniffling and wiping her eyes. “Well, I’ve said my news. What about you guys?” she asked, looking between her friends. “Anyone else have any secret romances? Maybe someone’s pregnant?”

Peter and Harry looked at each other. “Oh shit!” Andi exclaimed, pointing between the two young men. “Which one of you is pregnant? Out with it, because I’m not ready to be a fun, hot aunt yet.”

The group erupted in laughter, taking a few minutes to calm down.

“Well,” Peter began, “Harry and I were talking about our plans for after we graduate, and we decided that we want to get an apartment in the city and live together.” MJ gasped. “Really? That’s great news! Oh, and Andi and I can visit you guys in the city and finally get out of here. Andi,” MJ turned to her friend, “isn’t this great?”

Andi smiled. “It is great. Congrats guys!” She paused, realizing for the first time how close the four of them were to graduating high school. Prom was only a month away, with graduation only a month and a half later. “Wow,” she mumbled. “We’re almost, like, actual adults. We’re not going to be going to school together anymore. Well, not all of us will.” She and Peter had both applied to Columbia College in the city, and although Peter had some anxiety about getting in, Andi was certain they would both be accepted.

“It’s going to be so weird. I can’t imagine life without us all being able to have lunch together or see each other in the hallways between periods,” said MJ. “You all will still be seeing each other regularly between classes and being roommates. And I’ll…I’ll still be here,” she trailed off.

Harry scoffed. “What? No you won’t, you’re going to be right there with us, up on stage at Broadway.” “Yeah,” Andi chimed in. “If anything, you’ll be too busy meeting stars and signing record deals to hang out with us. Besides, we know you way too well than to think you won’t be moving out to the big center stage of New York the moment you get that diploma. At the end of the day, I don’t think any of us could stomach leaving any other one of us behind.”

Andi reached out to give a fist bump. One by one, her friends added their fists until it was unanimous, and the four young adults flung their hands in the air and cheered. Andi hoped that her friends would keep the “all for one, one for all” mentality when they seemingly inevitably found out about her and Norman Osborn.

[a-vintage-snake]

9. In All My Dreams I Drown

Pairing(s): Pre-romantic Dukeceit

First chapter - Previous chapter - Next chapter

Warnings: Implied child abuse, vomiting, dirty humor, basically Remus is Very Thirsty™ for that Snake Booty Characters: Janus “Deceit” Sanders, Remus Sanders

Summary: It is time for Remus’ first magic lessons

Word Count: 10213

Author’s Note: Heeeey there... Been a while, huh? Sorry if this took so long, I had to take a mental health break from writing for a while. But the good news is that I joined NaNoWriMo! I didn't hit 50k unfortunately, but I did hit nearly 30k! Anyways, enjoy!

Taglist: @avocados26, @fandoms-will-collide @nottoonormalme, @bihighandgivinghighfives, @atticusfinchthelegend​, @hekking-happy-nonsense, @lockmcduckwoodchuck

If you want to be removed or added to the taglist, just ask!

Read on AO3

He was floating.

Remus wasn’t sure how, but it didn’t matter. He felt light as a feather, a drowsy grin stretching on his face. His gaze idly, unhurriedly, moved up. Stars and galaxies twinkled above him; shining in a symphony of colours that made him half-heartedly wish he had his sketchbook with him. Their light was filtered however… As if he was looking at them from underwater. Was he in the ocean? How was he even breathing?

Remus leaned back against his partner, and all those silly questions left his head. The man behind him was the only solid thing in this floaty, tranquil world of his, and the only thing that mattered right now. Hands ran down Remus’ body, lazily exploring his skin. They traced down his back in small circles, before sliding up and pulling through his hair, making him almost purr in contentment.

“Aren’t you a lovely thing, my little prince.” A voice amusedly crooned into his ear. It was not just a voice. It was without a doubt the loveliest voice Remus had ever heard, and he would never tire of listening to it.

“I’m your lovely thing.” Remus answered with a grin.

“Are you now? Does that mean…” Remus felt a playful bite in his neck, scales dragging along his skin. “You want to stay with me?”

“Yes…” Remus answered in a haze.

“Will you be loyal to me?”

“Yes…”

“Will you help me?”

“Yes…” Remus moaned. “Yes.”

Abruptly the man behind him disappeared and Remus fell. He shouted in surprise as gravity suddenly had its hold back on him as he crashed hard into the painfully solid ground beneath him. Bewildered, he sat up and looked around. The stars above his head died away, one by one. Until he was left in pitch-black darkness.

“Worthless traitor.” A chorus of new voices echoed, the sheer disgust in them making Remus’ stomach turn.

“No! I’m not-! I don’t-!”

“Turn your back on us, after all that we have done for you.”

“You’ve done NOTHING for me!” Remus screamed as he shuffled back. “You deserve what’s coming for you!

“Deserve?” The voices laughed coldly. “You know what you deserve?”

A harsh wind knocked Remus back onto his back.

“You deserve to be punished.”

No! Anything but that! He tried to stand and run, but painfully bumped his head into a sudden low ceiling. He crumpled to the ground, nursing his aching head. The groaning sound of wood and stone surrounded him, deafening him.

The walls-! The walls were closing in!

“No… No!! NO!!” Remus screamed as the room became smaller and smaller, pushing onto him until they were squishing him down. It didn’t stop him from kicking and banging at the unyielding walls, his arms and legs barely able to move in the space that kept getting smaller and smaller. Even as he screamed as hard as he could, he could feel the air becoming thinner and thinner. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t breathe-!!

Then he heard it. The sound he always dreaded. A lock falling into place and a key being turned.

“That is what you deserve.” The cold chorus of disgusted voices said from beyond the walls.

“NO!! PLEASE NO!! LET ME OUT, PLEASE LET ME OUT I WON’T THINK I WON’T SPEAK!!” Remus banged and pounded as the walls pressed in, slowly suffocating him. “JUST LET ME OUT PLEASE!!”

“PLEASE!!” Remus screamed as he rolled over, fighting against the hold the walls had on him. Funnily enough, now they seemed to yield a little easier. They felt a lot softer too. They were white. They were… Sheets?

Panting Remus sat up and looked around wildly. Rough stonewalls, large windows showing mountaintops and a sky slowly turning bright, a small desk and a fireplace… This was not his room-! Where the FUCK was he-??

-Lovely mismatched eyes, looking at him like he was a puzzle he wasn’t quite sure how to solve yet-

Slowly Remus’ breath evened. Oh. Right. Not a hopeful fantasy then. The last few days actually happened.

“Stupid fucking dream…” Remus muttered, trying to free his arms from their cotton prison. Fuck it, the dream had started out so nice too! The ghost memory of the hands in his hair made him sigh. Couldn’t that part just have continued for a little while?

As he sat up and tried to shake away the lingering dread the dream had caused, he looked around his chambers. Heh, funny how his actual life had become more dreamlike in just three days. It was almost impossible to believe!

…Unless he was still dreaming?

He pinched his arm. Nope, definitely awake, and still in the castle of a legendary warlock, who somehow seemed to tolerate his company enough to let him stay here.

…Not only that, he remembered. He was going to be taught magic.

Instantly erasing any leftover terror the dream had caused, Remus grinned widely.

“WOOO!!” He yelled, throwing himself back onto the very soft bed. He rolled around giggling wildly. It got him tangled in the sheets even further, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t hold in all the sheer excitement even if he wanted to try. Him! Him, learning magic!! Remus, the wizard! Remus, the sorcerer! Perhaps some day even… Remus the warlock!

Finally slowing to a halt Remus stared up at the ceiling for a while, his mind reeling with the options of what could happen today. Would he be taught how to do light illusions, just like he had seen on his ninth birthday? Or would he make potions like Virgil did? Perhaps he would be taught how to summon fire!

And let’s not forget just exactly who would be doing the teaching... Remus bit his bottom lip, excited anticipation making him squirm in his place. He had never understood people who had Sexy Teacher fantasies, but oooooh man did he get them now. It would just be the two of them, literal magic in the air… The idea alone made his heart flutter. Ugh, gross, his heart fluttered. Was this how Roman felt whenever he saw Patty-cakes? How did he ever get anything done?

Finally untangling himself from his sheets, Remus jumped out of bed and sprinted towards his luxurious bathroom with an eagerness he hadn’t felt in, well… Ever. He washed and dressed himself hurriedly.

“Right,” He said to his reflection. “Rough start yesterday! But it doesn’t matter! I can still turn this around!”

Can you though? The voice of reason chimed in. Oh wow, he was early today.

“Yes I can! I just need to make sure to act like Roman, and everything will work out just fine!”

Your disillusions could almost be called cute, if they weren’t so damn pathetic.

“Whatever,” Remus dismissed, ignoring the swirl of uncertainty in his stomach. “I just have to channel my inner Roman! I gotta think like Roman!” He placed his fingers at his temples. “Become the Roman! Right! What does Roman like??” He slapped his cheeks. “What. Does. Roman. Like?”

Remus wracked his brain for a few minutes, staring at his reflection with all the concentration of a child trying to win a staring contest.

“…Horse riding!” He eventually blurted. “Chubby men! The latest fashion trends! Boring dinners! What’s that? Why, I certainly want to kiss that ugly ass baby of yours! Just as long as it doesn’t drool on my ivory jacket! No, it’s not white, it’s ivory, you uncivilized peasant! Oh, let me just flip my luscious locks in this non-existent breeze as I trot towards the dance floor!”

Satisfied Remus nodded at himself. Oh yeah. He had this in the bag.

Leaving his chambers Remus took off towards the dining room. It had taken him a couple of hours yesterday, but eventually he had found his bedchambers again, where a small lunch was waiting for him. He had taken the rest of the day to map out the route between his bedchambers and the dining room until he was confident he could find it without too much trouble. Honestly, this place was a goddamn maze.

In the end he took only one wrong turn before he found the dining room again. The warlock wasn’t there yet. Remus shrugged off his disappointment as he took the same seat as he did the day before. He supposed he was too early anyway. The sober food hadn’t changed; they were still the same plates filled with fruits, dark bread and dried fish. Not exactly a varied diet in this castle, heh?

No matter. Remus' stomach growled anyhow. He already reached out to fill his plate, but paused midway. Uncertainly his hand hovered over the food. Was he… Allowed to eat now? His host hadn’t arrived yet… What if he accidentally insulted him by not waiting for him?

He shook his head. It was not worth the potential reprimand if he did eat. So Remus sat back and waited.

And waited.

Remus wiggled in his seat, tapping his fingers against the wood of the table. Boredom quickly took over. Fuck, he shouldn’t have arrived this early. Now what was he supposed to do?

He eyed the spare firewood for a second, but the dinner knife turned out to be too dull for whittling. He really missed his sketchbook by now. Why oh why hadn’t he brought it on his quest with him?

With nothing else to do Remus let his head fall back against the chair and started to tap out a little tune on the table. He hummed lowly, little no nonsense lyrics floating to his brain as he experimented with the melody.

“Went to the mountains today,” He sang to himself. “Went to the mountains and expected to slay… Little did I know that I would stay, oooh that I would stay…”

Really getting into it, Remus gently started tapping a knife against his glass alongside his other hand that still tapped the table, creating a whole new melody.

“Went to the mountains to find my destiny,” He now rocked back and forth in his chair. “How could I know that instead destiny would find me?”

“Very lovely.” A voice commented. Remus jumped in his chair with a shout, knocking over his glass. His heart beat a mile a minute as he turned to the right, finding the warlock sitting in the opposite chair, looking as hot as ever. Eris was once more wrapped around his shoulders, and the cobra glowered suspiciously at him.

“An original?” Deceit asked with a half smirk.

“Uuh, yeah,” Remus nodded as he looked between Deceit and the door, which he confirmed with a quick glance was still closed. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack or is scaring people shitless just a hobby of yours?”

Fuck, Remus cringed, that was too forward, wasn’t it? Too Remus, not enough Roman. Luckily the warlock only shrugged.

“Nothing like a little scare in the morning to get the blood pumping, as I totally always say,” Deceit grabbed an apple from the fruit plate. “Don’t you agree?”

Remus quickly nodded. He would agree with anything as long as the warlock just kept talking in that velvety voice. Somehow he kept forgetting just how brain meltingly gorgeous it was.

“You’re quite early.” The warlock said as he rubbed the apple against his sleeve. “Bad night or just eager to start the day?”

“Eager to start the day!” Remus beamed, cheerfully ignoring his dream from last night. “I am ready to do some magic!” Enthusiastically he started piling his plate full. “Let me just eat something real quick and then I’m ready-!”

“You haven’t eaten yet?” The warlock frowned.

Remus halted. “No…?” He said uncertainly.

“Why ever not?”

“I… Uhh…” Remus fidgeted. “I wasn’t sure if it was… Allowed?”

“Allowed? Oh stars above…”

Remus cringed. He did something wrong. Already. For fuck’s sake, the day hadn’t even started yet!

Obviously. What did you expect?

“I’m sorry.” He said quickly.

“No, you don’t need to-! Remus, understand this,” The warlock’s voice lost all its teasing quality. “You are completely free to do whatever you need to make yourself at home here. You don’t need my permission to eat, drink or otherwise make yourself comfortable. I mean, goodness,” The warlock huffed a laugh as he lifted the apple to his lips. “Next you’ll ask me to bathe you.”

Remus quickly shoved a forkful of fish in his mouth before he could moan out ‘Oh, please do’. The salty flavour sobered him up enough to not let any delightful bathing fantasies grab his attention for too long. Chewing like his sanity depended on it Remus quickly shoved a few more bites into his mouth, looking to his right to show that yes! He was eating now! Only to find that the warlock paid him no mind, focusing on his own food instead. Deceit’s fangs glistened in the light of the fire as he finally sunk his teeth into the apple, breaking the skin and taking a bite. A drop of juice gathered at the corner of his mouth, and he absentmindedly licked it away. Did Remus’ eyes fool him, or had it been a split tongue he had gotten a brief flash of?

Remus had to gulp and swallow his food, even though it was too big of a mouthful to go down comfortably. This was unfair; this was so unfair! No one was allowed to be this hot while just eating a fucking apple, of all things.

He wanted to lean forward and kiss him breathless. He wanted to taste the sweetness of the apple on his tongue. He wanted those fangs to bite his bottom lip, a low growl emitting from the warlock. He wanted to pull back, look in those mismatched eyes and hear him say-

“You’re stabbing your face with a fork.”

Remus blinked, the images disappearing, leaving him with the very real warlock giving him a weird look. “Wha…?” He asked dumbly.

“The fork you’re currently stabbing in your own face?” Deceit repeated deadpan, and now Remus finally noticed the pricking sensation in his cheek. He floundered, almost dropping the utensil as he quickly threw the fork over his shoulder.

“I do that! Sometimes!” Remus fumbled as the fork landed behind him with a ting. “Part of my, uuuhm…” Shit, shit! Quick! What would Roman say, what would Roman say??

“…Skin care routine?”

Somewhere, somehow, Remus’ inner Roman started crying.

“Ah, of course!” Deceit said. “How silly of me, to just forget the single most important step of every skincare routine!”

“HAhahahha, yeaaah…” Remus choked. “So silly!”

“Well then,” The warlock dropped the half eaten apple on his plate. “If you’re finished with eating and your, ahem- skin care routine,” Deceit rose from his chair. “How about we get started?”

--

“What are we going to do first??” Remus asked, barely able to keep himself from hopping up and down as he followed the warlock through the castle’s halls. “Fire from my hands?? Light illusions?? Holy shit, am I going to learn how to teleport??”

Eris gave him a disapproving glare, but the warlock only chuckled. “While I appreciate your enthusiasm, we’re going to start with something different.”

“Oh.” Remus shoulders sagged. “Like what?”

Deceit threw him an amused look over his shoulder. “Like some beginners lessons, perhaps?”

“Aaaw…”

“No need to sound so disappointed! We’ll get where you want eventually.”

“Tomorrow?” Remus hopefully asked.

“No.”

“Aaaw!”

“Honestly,” The warlock laughed and stopped in his tracks to turn to him. “Do you expect to become an expert at everything you do within a day?”

“No, but I would sure as hell would like to!”

“Don’t we all…” The warlock shook his head. “But I’m afraid that’s not how it works. Magic, like all crafts, requires studying, time and discipline.”

Remus grimaced. Oh great, his least favourite STD.

“Look, I know you said you’re an amazing teacher, and I believe you!” Remus tried again. “But I was not joking when I said I’m horrible at learning!”

“I still don’t believe that.”

Trust me, you will, the voice of reason piped in, making Remus wince.

“Isn’t there like a magical amulet or something that can give me super instant magic?” Remus asked. “Instead of wasting your time?

“That’s now how magical amulets work, or even how magic works,” Deceit laughed. “A magical amulet can only enhance a person’s magic, not create it.”

Not even trying to stifle the desperate whine that left his throat Remus threw his hands up in frustration. “Then how does magic work??”

The warlock thought that over a few seconds. “Imagine…” Deceit eventually slowly said. “Imagine the world around you as a calm lake. And see magic as dropping a stone in the middle of that lake. One small act creates a ripple, which spreads over the water. Changing the world as its waves surge through it. Of course, that calm lake would have remained a calm lake if you had never been there. Because those ripples start…” Deceit tapped a finger against Remus’ chest. “With you.”

Remus held a hand over the place where the warlock touched. His heart thrummed against his palm.

“So…” Remus frowned, his head slightly spinning. “Magic is like water where I dropped a stone in…?”

“Correct.”

“…But if that stone sinks, does that mean the world will just swallow up my magic? And if they’re ripples, does that mean that magic eventually becomes less powerful the more it spreads?

“I-” Deceit blinked a few times, looking mildly bewildered. “No? I mean, that’s not-! Look, it’s not a perfect metaphor-!”

“Also how big is the stone? I mean a stone won’t give much ripples! Why not throw a rock in? A boulder?? An entire mountain-!”

“The point is!” Deceit interrupted. “That all the things you wish to do won’t be possible if you don’t summon your own core magic first! That is the key to magic, not spells or potions!”

“Does that mean spells are the ripples-?”

“Forget the ripples!” Deceit said through gritted teeth.

“Right, sorry.”

The warlock raised a hand. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, his eyes were burning in that now familiar spellbinding molten gold. The gold spread through his veins, his face and hands coming alive like rivers of lava rushed through him instead of blood. Even Eris lit up, the ridges between her scales glowing gold as if red hot coals burned inside of her. Remus stared breathlessly as Deceit became a living golden statue, light pouring from him and Eris, lighting up the dark hallway like they trapped sunlight in their very forms.

“Summon your core magic,” Deceit spoke, gold pouring from his mouth. “With it you can accomplish anything your heart desires, and change your world.”

Currently what Remus’ heart desired was finding out if Deceit’s tongue would burn his if he leaned in and captured those lovely lips in a kiss, but somehow he didn’t think that’s exactly what the warlock meant.

“Summoning my core magic!” Remus grinned and clapped his hands. “Awesome!” His grin tempered somewhat. “How do I do that?”

Deceit closed his hand, and the glow in his eyes and veins disappeared. Eris returned to her normal state as well. Remus blinked some spots in his vision away. His eyes had to get used to the sudden darkness of the hallway again. Taking a calming breath Deceit crossed his arms at the small of his back.

“Close your eyes.”

Remus frowned but obeyed, uncertainly closing his eyes.

“Breathe in deeply,” The warlock’s voice ordered. Remus inhaled. “Very good. Now exhale through your mouth. Think of nothing. Let all thoughts pass by and leave you…”

Think of nothing? Well shit, if that was a requirement for using magic he was fucked.

“Relax your muscles. That includes that frown you currently have.”

Remus quickly relaxed the muscles in his face, allowing his shoulders to sag.

“Continue to breathe deeply. Inhale… Exhale. Inhale… Exhale.”

Remus followed the pattern that the warlock set for a few minutes. He felt a little silly, standing in a hallway and breathing like he was an old man trying to calm his heart after running a marathon. But if it meant listening to that voice for a little longer he was more than happy to continue this odd little exercise.

“Continue breathing in this same pattern,” Deceit said. His voice was slower now, softer. “Now, as you continue breathing… Allow the world to fall away. In this very moment, there is nothing in this universe but you and my voice. Everything else ceases to exist.”

Nothing else existed? Man, what he wouldn’t give for a universe where it was just the two of them…

“Continue breathing like I showed you,” The warlock’s voice had shifted. Now it came from his right, still ever so quiet. “With every breath the world falls away bit by bit, until the only thing left is you. You, and my voice… At this very moment, you need nothing else.”

The warlock’s voice continued to circle him, closer and closer, yet Remus heard no footsteps. Not even when he strained his ears. His head felt incredibly fuzzy. If it weren’t for the solid ground beneath his feet he would think that the warlock spoke the truth. That in this moment Deceit had taken away everything and left only them, drifting in the vastness of space. The thought was exhilarating.

“Turn yourself inwards…” The warlock said, slower and softer, closer to him than before. “Feel every inhale, every beat of your heart. Search deep inside yourself…”

Remus’ head spun. The world truly became a distant mirage for a brief second, and he distinctly felt like he was floating outside of his own body. Now even the ground felt distant and far away, as if he had left behind such commonalities as stone and mortar. Perhaps, in this moment he really didn’t need them. Fuck, he felt weird… Weird… But amazing.

“Very good, Remus.” Deceit’s voice suddenly came from right behind him, and just like that Remus fell and was slamdunked back into his own body. He jolted, acutely aware of the world around him. The ground beneath his feet, every itch on his arm, every blow of the wind outside and most concerning of all, the very real and solid presence behind him. Warm breath hit the back of his neck, making his hairs stand on end.

“Turn yourself inwards,” Deceit whispered in his silk on leather voice, making all kinds of delicious shivers roll down Remus’ spine and his head fill with warm, bed-tousled fantasies. “Feel your heart beating, in rhythm with every little part of you. Here, at this very place… You will find your core magic.”

Don’t get a boner, don’t get a boner, Remus thought desperately. Don’t get a boner, don’t get a-

Suddenly, Deceit pressed a hand between his shoulder blades, and Remus’ head snapped back with a sharp gasp.

Magic!

Like lightening it struck, alighting every nerve in his body in response. Magic streamed through his blood, bold and confident, filling his head and making it spin with light. This was not like how the hypnotizing had felt. That had filled only his head, dulling his senses and making him feel lazy. This sparked up every cell, every inch of him awakened by its call. His heart beat out an enthusiastic rhythm, answering the thrum of magic that rushed through his body with a melody of its own. Remus blinked his eyes open and gasped again at the sight of his hands. His veins were lit up in a golden glow, making his hands tingle and tremble. He did not need a mirror to know his eyes were alighted in that same golden flare.

The warlock pulled his hand back, and just like that the magic rushed away. Remus wanted to howl when the magic started to leave him. He wanted to grab onto the feeling with claws and teeth, to try to keep it inside of him like a dragon guarding its hoard. Let him have that confident feeling just a little longer, please!

No use. The magic left, leaving him feeling empty as Remus grasped his heart and resisted the urge to cry. He was shaking. Shaking as every fibre of him wanted that feeling back.

“And that,” Deceit said casually, as if he hadn’t just reduced Remus to a trembling mess. “Is magic. Do you understand now why you must summon that first?”

Remus turned to him, shakily. “I want to do that too.” He said breathlessly.

“You will. In time.” Deceit said lightly. “Here is your first assignment. From this day on you will do this breathing exercise every day, until your core magic is brought forth. Understand?”

Remus nodded wildly. “What are some other beginners lessons??” He asked eagerly. He had to get that feeling back, no matter what it took. The warlock smiled, and Remus felt his heart skip a beat. If that happened every time this man so much as looked his way, he would have died from a heart attack by nightfall.

“I know the perfect place to start.” Deceit said.

--

He really had to get used to infinite stairs if he was going to live here for the near future, huh? Remus would never have called himself unfit, but right now the sweat was starting to bead on his forehead and his breath came in heavy pants. The warlock ahead of him didn’t appear to be troubled at all. They had done nothing but climb stairs for what felt like ages, yet he still looked as if he freshly stumbled out of a dark fairy-tale. Eris hadn’t moved from her spot on Deceit’s shoulders, and occasionally she casted a look down at him full of mocking disdain. Remus had no idea how a cobra could convey this sheer amount of dignified disgust at him when she didn’t even have facial features, yet here he was.

“You try climbing all these stairs!” He mouthed at her when she gave him again another look as if she smelled something foul (to be fair, he had been climbing for a while now). Eris pulled up her nose at him with an “Hmph!”movement and nestled her head into the warlock’s curls. Remus squinted bitterly.

He was not going to be jealous of a snake, he was not going to be jealous of a snake-!

As if she tasted his bitterness in the air, Eris burrowed herself a little deeper into the warlock’s hair and threw him such a smug look Remus considered strangling her for a brief second. He settled on sticking his tongue out at her instead, grinning at insulted hiss he got in return.

“Will you two stop fighting?” Deceit exasperatedly said over his shoulder. Remus jumped. How the fuck did he-?

“You,” Deceit said as he scratched Eris’ yellow and black scales. “I told you to be nice.” Eris grumbled and moodily slithered her head inside the warlock’s cloak.

“As for you,” The warlock stopped and turned to Remus, who halted sheepishly in his steps. “Please stop antagonizing my familiar. Trust me, it’s not going to help you endear yourself to her. She’s a delicate lady.”

Remus took one glance at the cobra, who stuck her head out from her hiding place just enough to bare her fangs at him, the murder clear in her eyes and was just about to comment that they had a very different definition of what ‘delicate’ meant, when he frowned.

“Wait, what’s a fami-?”

“Keep up, we’re almost there.” The warlock interrupted as he resumed climbing the stairs. Remus cursed and quickly followed, despite his lungs and legs protesting.

Eventually they reached the top of the stairs, which led them to a narrow hallway with worn double doors at the end. Remus felt some of the sweat on his back turn cold. Hurriedly scrambling after Deceit he tried his best to ignore how the walls seemed to grow narrower and narrower the closer they got the doors.

“Doors!” Remus giggled nervously, trying to distract himself from the hallway. “Obviously the most magical thing of all!”

The warlock chuckled. “You might be more right than you think…” And with that, he pushed the doors open.

Remus blinked at the unexpected brightness that came pouring from the open doors. When he was adjusted to the sudden influx of light and looked around his mouth dropped open. Funny, it had been doing that a lot recently.

They were in a greenhouse. Somehow, at the high top of this mountain, there was a fucking greenhouse. Following the warlock in and instantly forgetting the narrow hallway, Remus spun on his feet to take everything in. The temperature was much milder in here than the rest of the castle, making him relax at the warmth. The distant sound of rushing water filled his ears. Suddenly he wished he had been born with a head completely covered in eyeballs just so he could take in every little detail of the greenhouse and its multitude of greenery. The high glass pane ceiling illuminated the vast array of plants, some he recognized, and some he didn’t. An apple tree stood next to a long elongated plant with large purple flowers, whose leaves swayed as if they were tousled in a non-existent wind. Familiar flowers like roses, daffodils and lilies grew alongside flowers who looked like see-through pink glass, or ones whose petals flickered like a small candle flame. Plants folded their leaves open like silk green fans, others let theirs droop like little golden bells. A willowy tree that carried curtains of silver clustered flowers opened its petals as Deceit and Remus walked past them, and unfurled to reveal long yellow stamens thick with pollen.

“Keep up, will you.” The warlock’s voice came from further ahead. Remus shook his head and tore his gaze away from the plants for now to catch up with Deceit. Hidden amongst the green there stood a worn table, wedged against a rocky wall where a modest indoor waterfall steadily rushed. Remus guessed this had to be where the castle stopped and the mountains began. The steady sound of rushing water became louder, louder than the small stream could be. Remus curiously walked up to the large windows that were opposite of the wall. They were foggy with little water droplets, but could not hide the massive waterfall right next to the window, plunging into a depth that made Remus’ legs feel all jumbly.

“Wicked…” Remus breathed.

“It is quite spectacular, isn’t it?” Deceit said, a pleased undertone in his voice. Remus tore his gaze away from the waterfall to look back at the warlock, who rummaged through the equipment that was scattered all over the table. As Deceit searched through a short pile of books that stood at the edge, Remus stepped closer and curiously inspected the table’s contents. There was a mortar and pestle, a watering can, a wooden cutting board and a knife etched with runes on the side, a book flipped open to a page explaining the anatomy of a plant he did not recognize and more dried plants than he ever saw. More so even than the collection Virgil had hanging from his ceiling, back home.

“What do these do??” He asked, pointing at the runes on the knife.

“A bit more patience, I will start the lesson shortly. But before I do that… Aha!” Finally founding what he was looking for, Deceit turned back to him. “This…” He held something out for him. “Is for you.”

Remus hesitantly took what the warlock held out for him. It was a book. A small, leather-bound tome. Curiously Remus flipped through it, only to find that the pages were all blank.

“What is this? Horrid Spells written in invisible ink?” Remus frowned up at the warlock, who chuckled.

“I’m so tempted to say yes, but no. This,” Deceit tapped a finger against the leather cover. “Is your very own grimoire.”

Remus blinked. “My what now?”

“Your grimoire. Or Book of Shadows, spell book, whatever you wish to call it. The name is not as important as its purpose.”

“Which… is?”

“To document your journey. Everything you learn about magic you put it here. Not only to track your progress, but also to look back if you ever need to remember something you might have forgotten. A grimoire marks a diligent student, and later a true magic user.”

“Wow… Uhm, okay.” Remus turned the book over in his hands, inspecting the simple black leather and the yellowed pages. Now that he thought about it, hadn’t Virgil always read and written in a tattered tome bound in black leather? He wondered if he got his own grimoire from the warlock too…

Oooh, how cool would it be if he used the blood of his enemies to write in this?? Now THAT would make it a properly badass cursed spellbook-

Remus quickly shook his head and repressed that thought faster than Logan would dismiss his weird experiment ideas. Oh nice, he was getting good at that!

“Thank you.” Remus said sincerely as he held the book against his chest. It had been years since anyone had given him something, anything, even as simple as a book. He wished he could give something back in return. What would Roman do? Pay him a compliment maybe…? But what was a good non-weird compliment?

Tell him his face is magnificent, and you totally want to sit on-

Remus quickly squashed that down. Nope, nope, definitely not!

“Now then,” Deceit smiled as he handed Remus a short pencil. “Shall we begin?”

“Yes!!” Remus grabbed the pencil, bouncing in his spot. Finally! “Yes, yes, yes please!!”

“I like your attitude. Here is your first study subject,” Deceit gestured to their surroundings. “Herbology.”

Remus blinked a few times. “Hebelowhatnow?”

“Herbology, meaning the study of magical and mundane plants and their use in occult practices. It is the perfect start for a beginner, as herbology is a type of magic where you don’t necessarily need to have other magical qualities to become an expert in.” Deceit explained as he grabbed and filled the watering can at the indoor waterfall. “And much like potions, it is more of a science than an art.”

“Right, awesome!” Remus opened the book and hastily scribbled ‘Hebelogie’ on the first page. “So is herbology just a fancy name for gardening?”

Deceit chuckled. “Not exactly.” He took his watering can and took off into the greenhouse. Remus followed.

“While it’s true that there are obvious similarities between gardening and herbology, they are two very different things,” Deceit explained while they walked, occasionally watering one of the plants. “For one, gardening is for plants used for either beautification or consumption. A herbology garden is explicitly used for magical purposes.”

“Makes sense, makes sense…” Remus nodded seriously, hoping to sound very knowledgeable.

“Secondly,” Deceit halted for a minute and drew a rune in the dirt of a small bush with heart shaped fruits. “While spells and runes can absolutely be applied in an ordinary garden as well, it’s more common to do these things in a herbology garden.”

“Spells and runes, gotcha!” Remus tried to see what kind of rune Deceit had drawn, but he had to catch up to the other before he could get a clear look.

“Lastly, and most importantly, there are some plants that no gardener without magical experience should ever handle. For example.”

The warlock halted before the tree with the silver clusters of flowers. Once again the flowers unfurled to reveal their yellow stamens. The warlock stooped down and grabbed a bucket with a tightly closed lid, which had been hidden under the greenery of another plant.

“Observe.” He said as he opened the lid. Immediately the sickly stench of rotten meat drifted upwards, making the warlock draw back with a small flinch. Even so though he reached into the bucket with his bare hand, grabbing a handful of slimy, rancid meat and righting himself. Remus’ head completely blanched on the many questions he had as he saw how the tree’s stamens righted themselves, swaying back and forth, as if it reacted to the smell.

“Putidus Carptus.” Deceit said as he threw the meat right into the awaiting flowers. The branches immediately wrapped themselves around the meat, pulling it inwards and out of sight. “Otherwise known as ‘Soldier’s Despair’ in farmer’s tongue. A tree known for sprouting in the midst of a ravaged battlefield, eating away any rot and decay around it. Whole forests have been known to sprout in prior combat zones.” He threw another piece of meat into the flowers, which was met with equal enthusiasm. “Usually it dies out if it has eaten all the decay, but when hungry enough in its final days of bloom it has been known for eating fresh meat as well in its desperation.” The warlock murmured a quick spell and the filth on his hand disappeared. “Funnily enough, it’s flowers and stamens can be used to create multiple healing potions for various illnesses. Just goes to show you even Mother Nature likes irony sometimes.”

Remus nodded, open mouthed and only half hearing the explanation. He stared, starry eyed, at the moving branches as they ate away at the meat.

“That… Is…” He said with a growing grin on his face. “So…” Amazing, awesome, fucking cool as SHIT, his mind supplies, but he said none. Biting back his grin he considered his options. Yes, he thinks it’s cool, but Roman would hate the plant. In fact, he would probably be disgusted by it!

Be like Roman, he reminded himself. Be. Like. Roman.

“…Disturbing,” Remus said finally, despite his heart wanting to stick his hand in the flowers and see if they would nibble on him too. “So very disturbing.”

The warlock gave a short hum. “Its beauty may be lost to those who look no further than what purpose it can serve, but I can appreciate its willingness to do a dirty job.”

Suddenly uncertain if he had said the right thing, Remus turned to the other to ask more. Deceit however seemed to already have moved on, now picking away dead branches of a very normal looking apple tree.

“But if this is a magical garden,” He asked, repressing his doubt for now. “Why are things like apples here? Isn’t that regular garden stuff?”

“Hardly. While it’s true that some plants have more… Obvious magical qualities than others,” Deceit picked away another branch, “More ‘mundane’ plants can actually enhance intentions in spells and potions.”

“Right. Because…” Remus thought for a second. “You choose them based on what your intent with a spell is…?” He hesitantly asked. He was rewarded for his question with another brain melting smile from the warlock.

“That is correct. Well deduced.”

Remus felt something in him swell with pride. He couldn’t remember the last time a teacher (or anyone really) complimented him. Usually people either looked disgusted or annoyed when he asked questions.

Then it hit him. The perfect compliment. One that wasn’t gross or inappropriate. Wiggling his shoulders in excitement he propped his elbow on the tree next to the warlock and planted his other hand on his side.

“So… He started, hoping he sounded casual and failing miserably. “Herbology, potions, spells…” He smiled what he thought was a good imitation of Roman’s signature golden smile. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

The warlock’s smile fell. A flash of some emotion crossed his face, but it was gone before Remus could decipher what it was.

“…Let’s continue.” Deceit said flatly as he turned away from the tree, leaving Remus in his prime flirting pose feeling very confused. After a few seconds of him puzzling what the fuck just happened Remus hastily scrambled after him. Obviously he had said something wrong… But what? For the life of him he could not figure out what.

He’s probably just disgusted by you. Accept it.

“Uuuh, hey!” Remus called out to drown the voice of reason. Deceit stopped and turned.

“What?” He said in that same flat tone. Remus winced, his eyes darting for something, anything-!

“Roses!” Remus quickly said.

“…What about them?” Deceit raised an eyebrow.

“Well, uhm- What kind of magical qualities do roses have?” Remus gestured to the plants in question, which grew alongside the path they currently walked. “I mean the gardens back home were full of them! Don’t tell me I had a secret stash of magic supplies right under my nose and wasted an opportunity to sell them off to the highest bidder!”

Deceit’s stance eased. “Ah, good question.” He said. Remus sagged in relief. Good save there.

“It’s true that roses have no overt magical qualities,” The warlock said made his way to Remus and smoothed out some of the roses. “But they’re used in plenty of potions and spells as enhancers.”

“Like what kind?” Remus asked curiously.

“The thorns can be used in protection spells and minor curses,” Deceit fussed over a white rose, one that hadn’t quite bloomed yet. “With the petals it depends on the colour. Remember, intent is everything. White petals for example can be used for blessings, while yellow petals are useful in anti-depressant potions.”

“Right,” Remus nodded as he scribbled ‘patels and colur meening’ in his grimoire. “And red petals?”

“Oh, those are used for love potions, aphrodisiacs, that kind of thing.”

“R-Really…?” Remus gave himself a mental pat on the back as he managed to push away the delightfully delicious images that the word aphrodisiacs conjured up. “That- That’s interesting…”

“You know,” Deceit said slowly as he looked at the rosebud. “It’s here you find the real difference between gardeners and herbalists.”

“Oh yeah?” Remus raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. While we both agree that nature will always do the most work, sometimes we can give…” Deceit gently touched the bud. A spark of gold flickered at his fingertips, before it spread through the veins of the flower like thin glowing rivers. “A helping hand.”

The flower trembled as it slowly, ever so slowly, unfurled its petals. The golden veins glimmered, casting Deceit’s face in soft light. Lightly Deceit cupped the flower and leaned in to inhale its scent. Remus couldn’t help but stare as a smile softened the sharp angles of the warlock’s face.

“I wish I was that rose…” Remus muttered reverently.

“What did you say?” Deceit blinked up at him.

“I SAID YOU’RE GROSS!!” Remus blurted.

Slapping a hand in front of his mouth, Remus stared at the warlock’s stunned face. Oh fuck oh fuck OH FUCK-

How the fuck do I get myself out of this, what do I do what do I DO-??? Don’t let him ask questions do something follow your instinct QUICK!!!

Turning, Remus grabbed and pulled the nearest plant from the ground and shoved it into his mouth.

“No wait, DON’T EAT THAT-!!”

--

Remus hurled, and added some more of his stomach fluids into the empty flowerpot he was currently hunched over. He lost count at this point how many times he had puked into the clay pot by now, and yet the vomit still came at an alarming speed. The cool hands that diligently brushed his hair back as he was unpleasantly reacquainted with his breakfast only made this whole situation so much worse.

“Well then,” The warlock said dryly. “Hopefully this will be a wise lesson not to eat any plant you’ve never seen before.”

Another miserable roll of his stomach made Remus heave out some more fluids. At this point it was nothing but bile. “W-What the fuck did I eat…?” He managed to miserably whine out.

“That was a little plant called “Atrejeci”. Or, as it is more commonly known, Charcoal Root. In its diluted form it can purify mild poisons from your bloodstream. In its undiluted form however it just purifies the body…” Deceit paused as Remus puked out some more stomach acid. “…In a more literal sense.”

“Cool,” Remus muttered pitifully. “Cool cool cool cool cool. How long is this going to last exactly…?”

“Seeing as you ate nearly half a plant, you’ll probably be here a while.”

“Great…”

“Not to worry, it shouldn’t be fatal in the long run as long as we treat it well.” The warlock patted him between the shoulder blades. “I’m going to get you some water. You’ll be losing a lot of liquids in the coming hour, and we need to make sure you don’t get dehydrated.”

“Okay, you do that…” Remus babbled as footsteps echoed away from him. “I’ll be here…!” He heaved again and leaned his sweaty forehead against the flowerpot’s cool edge. “Not going anywhere…”

Nice going, idiot. Nothing quite says “romance” like gratuitous vomiting!

“Well at least I distracted him…” Remus muttered. His stomach felt like it was determined to burn a hole through his flesh and turn him into the world’s most horrifying fountain.

Ah yes, at least you did that… All the while showing how you are nothing but a screw-up. How long do you think those magic lessons will last now?

“Shut up-” Remus murmured miserably before he felt another hurl coming up and he had to spit out more bile.

--

The serene sounds of vomiting followed Deceit as he made his way to his little indoor waterfall. His new student was an… Odd one, to say the least.

“he’s an idiot.” Eris contributed from his shoulders.

“Be nice, dear.” Deceit distractedly muttered.

“he does not take this seriously. why do you bother?”

“On the contrary,” Deceit answered as he grabbed a wooden pitcher from his supply table. “I think he takes it incredibly seriously.”

Eris gave him a disbelieving head tilt. “how can you tell?”

“Because, my sceptical serpent,” Deceit gave Eris a small flick on her nose, earning him an offended hiss and a snap at his fingers in return. “He wants this chance to prove himself to a near desperate degree.”

Yes, spending more time with Remus this day had given him a clearer image of the prince. The eagerness to please, the careless willingness to put his life into the hands of a complete stranger, the disbelieving joy when he got even the smallest of compliments, the fear and badly hidden flinches when he did something wrong… All of it was starting to paint a picture, and not a very pretty one.

With a scowl he held a pitcher in the waterfall. Goodness, just when he thought he couldn’t hate Augusto more… The man unfortunately just kept surprising him.

Oh well… In a weird sense he supposed he should be thankful that his nemesis had screwed up his parenting this badly. If he hadn’t, it would have been so much harder to persuade Remus to his side. Now he didn’t even need to do anything! The ease almost unnerved him a little bit. Although he definitely could have used that same kind of ease with his… Previous student…

He had wandered quite a bit further from the castle than he usually did. He tried to convince himself it was because he was looking for a specific herb for one of his potions, but in truth… It had been for no other reason than pure restlessness.

The lights of the small city at the base of the mountain gleamed in the darkness of the night. Occasionally shouting of drunken folk would echo upwards to where Deceit stood, silent and observing. He had gotten close enough to the houses that he could see the people walking in the streets, crawling around like busy little ants. Usually he avoided coming this close but alas, it appeared that his hubris had gotten the better of him yet again. Though he doubted anyone would see him even if they did bother to look up. His black cloak made him one with the shadows. Invisible to those unsuspecting fools who cowered at the mere mention of his existence.

The night sky deepened, and one by one the lights went out in the city. People sought out their warm homes and comfy beds, yet the warlock kept looking until the quiet of the mountains pressed in on him once more. Like he was suffocated under a pillow.

Deceit sighed. Why did he come here? More importantly, why did he stay here so long? Reluctantly he tore his gaze away from the darkened city and started to walk up the path he walked a thousand times before. Eris would probably have started to worry by now. He better try to come up with some good excuse-

He stopped. He perked his ears, frowning. Deceit had been in the mountains for a very, very long time. He knew every sound these peaks and valleys made at night by heart, every creature’s howl, every whisper the wind would carry.

What he heard now however? That decidedly did not belong here.

Curiously he followed the sound. To him it almost sounded like a wounded animal, but the closer and closer he got he slowly realized that couldn’t be it. That’s how he found the ravine.

The ravines could be found all throughout the mountains. Treacherous, gaping chasms hidden in the rough landscape. Invisible to the eye until it was too late. Especially in the dark, when the shadows would hide their depths until someone stumbled into them. Deceit suspected that these fissures had added more people to the missing list than he ever did. Unless you were very careful or knew the mountain paths well it was almost impossible to avoid them.

Treading carefully towards the rocky edge of the fissure, Deceit peered in. It was not as deep as some of these ravines could get, but still deep enough that the moonlight did not reach all the way down. Luckily Deceit’s night vision had always been very good, so he could just make out the figure squirming at the bottom. Hurt grunts floated up towards him as the person in the fissure tried to wobbly stand, only to fall back over with an anguished wail.

Deceit tilted his head. Why on earth had they tried to enter the Desolate Mountains? Surely if they lived this close they must have heard the stories of him and his infamous reputation. Hadn’t those been enough? He almost felt a little insulted.

Well, he supposed it didn’t matter now. Whoever the poor sod was, if they were hurt they wouldn’t be able to climb out of the fissure by themselves. They would just become another disappearance. Another rumour for the gossipers down below. Deceit shrugged and turned to leave.

“Shit-! Come on, get up get up-! OW!!”

Deceit froze on the spot. The voice that drifted upwards from the fissure kept on babbling, panicked, pained and…

And they sounded so young.

Another distressed ‘No, no! Get up please!’ floating up only confirmed it. Whoever it was down there, they were young. Hell, they sounded like they hadn’t quite hit puberty yet. Maybe it was one of those snot-lipped city kids who dared each other to go in the mountains to prove how brave they were. But even then they never got this far up! Why had this kid travelled all this way?

Deceit shook his head. It was none of his business. Surely if their parents missed them they would come and look for them.

…But would they be on time? Even if they dared to enter the mountains for a rescue mission (which was unlikely) it did not guarantee that the kid was found before a predator with less mercy than Deceit would. Or before he starved to death, or any other gruesome fate. The mountains were cruel, especially to those who were hurt. By this rate the kid would most likely be dead by morning…

No, this was ridiculous! He didn’t know the little idiot, and besides! They knew the dangers when they went into the mountains! It was their own fault for coming here!

Deceit knew all that, and yet his feet refused to move away from the fissure. A pained cry echoed towards him, causing something to tug at the tattered strings of his heart and- Oh no, was that his conscious talking??? He thought he got rid of that thing years ago!

Another distressed wail. Deceit closed his eyes, frustration and resignation coming out in a long grunting sigh before he snapped his fingers and transported himself. Right before the teenager stuck at the bottom of the ravine.

At first they didn’t notice him. The boy- Or at least, Deceit thought it was a boy- looked to be around twelve or thirteen. Dark locks fell down in unruly bangs, hiding away his eyes behind a thick curtain of hair. The boy grunted and grabbed the rocky wall to try to stand up once more. Incredibly dumb of him. If Deceit had to judge from the sight of the boy’s ankle, which was wrapped in improvised bandages darkened with blood and bent at an angle that couldn’t mean anything good, he had made quite a nasty fall.

As Deceit moved to get a better look, the boy finally noticed him and fell back down with a startled shout.

“Who are you?!” The boy yelled, shuffling backwards. Deceit held up his hands in a calming gesture.

“I’m not here to harm you.”

“Like hell you are!”

Deceit rolled his eyes impatiently and didn’t answer. What use was explaining now when that ankle was in such desperate need for a healing?

“Stay back!” The boy yelled as Deceit kept advancing in on him. “I’m warning you!”

“Foolish boy, I’m just here to help you-!”

“I am the warlock of these mountains!” The boy growled with a ferocity that made Deceit pause in his steps. “Dare to come any closer and I will hex your ass!”

Blinking a few times in surprise, Deceit fought against the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. Now that was one he hadn’t heard before. If it hadn’t been for the underlying prepubescent quality of the boy’s voice, he would have actually sounded threatening enough to fool someone.

“I said stay back!!” The boy growled once more as Deceit stepped closer. “Didn’t you hear me?! I am the warlock of these mountains!!”

“Oooh?” Deceit said amusedly as he kneeled to the boy’s eye height. A snap of his fingers made a small flame flicker to life in his palm, illuminating his face in threatening shadows. “Are you now…?” He grinned, his fangs flashing in the flickering light.

In the light of the flame Deceit saw the colour drain from the boy’s cheeks as he realized his mistake.

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit- I’m sorry-!” The boy babbled as he tried his best to crawl even further back, despite the stone behind him. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know-! I didn’t mean to insult you, I’m sorry-!”

“Look into my eyes.” Deceit said calmly.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please don’t hurt me, I didn’t mean it-!”

“I said look into my eyes.”

At the commanding hiss the boy’s eyes unwillingly snapped up and looked right into the bright glow of Deceit’s hypnotizing gaze. As he saw the boy’s eyes glaze over in molten gold obedience Deceit smirked.

“There we go! Was that so hard?” Deceit drawled. “Now, tell me the truth. What is your name?”

“V-Virgil…” The boy stammered. “Virgil Becker.”

“Virgil.” Deceit nodded. “Such a pleasure to meet you! What exactly are you doing in my mountains, Virgil?”

“I… I…” Virgil seemed to struggle to find the words. Trying to lie already? Goodness, what a shame.

“No use lying to me, boy. Why are you here?”

“I ran away!” The truth finally came out in a rush.

“Right,” Deceit nodded. “And your first idea was to come here? That seems a little foolish, don’t you agree? What, were you looking to prove yourself? Hoping to earn your peers’ praise by pretending you’re brave?”

“N-No…” Virgil shook his head. “I came here because… Because…”

“Because…?”

“Because he wouldn’t follow me if I went into the mountains.”

Deceit paused. Forgetting his ‘dreaded warlock’ act for a second, he finally fully took in the boy in front of him. His thin frame, the hollowed out face. He squinted. Now that he took a closer look, there seemed to be something… Hiddenbehind the boy’s long bangs.

Virgil flinched as Deceit reached out his hand, but all he did was gently brush away his bangs from his eyes. Deceit’s breath hitched. Virgil’s left eye was almost swollen shut, dark purple and yellow bruising pulling most of his eye white from sight. It didn’t look like he had gotten it falling down. It looked to be at least a few days old.

“Oh dear…” Deceit said softly. “This world has hurt you terribly, hasn’t it…?”

Perhaps it was Deceit’s words, or his drastically gentler tone, but the fear seemed to disappear from the boy’s shaking frame. Confusion seemed to take its place as Virgil openly gawked at Deceit. Suddenly uncomfortable under the boy’s stare Deceit grappled to find back his control.

“Sssleep.” Deceit hurriedly commanded. Immediately Virgil’s eyes started drooping, and though he valiantly tried to fight it off it was no use. Deceit breathed a sigh of relief as Virgil’s head eventually nodded forward and he fell into a deep slumber.

Hoping to get rid of the uncomfortable ache in his stomach, Deceit finally focused on the boy’s ankle. As he unwrapped the boy’s improvised bandages he fought back a wince. Up close it was even worse than he had initially thought. The skin had broken, and if he saw it correctly through all the clotted blood the bone was actually sticking out. Not only that, but also the too warm skin and the beginning of blackened veins surrounding the wound suggested that the boy was developing an infection. This was not something he could just heal then and there. The boy needed five separate healing sessions at the very least.

He shook his head. No. No, this was not his problem. He would heal the boy just enough that he wouldn’t die for the next 24 hours and leave him at the edge of the mountains. He would go back to his life thinking this encounter was just a fever dream, and they would go their happy separate ways.

Except… What if he didn’t survive it? What if he couldn’t stop the infection from spreading to his heart, and the boy would die a miserable death before he could even reach his hometown again? Besides, there were still other predators on the loose. Deceit highly doubted a mountain lion or one of the Fair Folk would be as kind as him.

Not only that, what if the boy did somehow survive and didn’t think it was a dream? What if he told everyone about this encounter? Yes, most people would probably declare him crazy, but there would always be people who would believe him. Who would know the warlock they feared had not only spared, but also healed someone who went into his mountains. The reputation he had so carefully cultivated would slowly fall apart, and before you know it some brainless knights would march into the mountains again to come for him. He couldn’t let that happen!

Or, some traitorous part of Deceit whispered as he looked at the unconscious boy, what if the one he fled away from will find him first…?

He didn’t realize he had dug his talons into the flesh of his own palms until his skin broke and small beads of red trickled from his clenched fists. Cursing the traitorous little voice and every deity he could think of, Deceit spat out a spell under his breath. The boy levitated from the ground, his head rolling backwards like a marionette without its strings as he floated in mid-air. Deceit rose, already dreading the journey home.

How on earth was he going to explain this to Eris?

The sound of another hurl pulled him out of his memories. Deceit shook his head and grabbed the pitcher, which was full by now. There was no use dwelling on his past mistakes. All he had to do was make sure he wouldn’t repeat them.

Walking back to his newest student with the pitcher in hand, Deceit carefully thought over his next step. Perhaps it was wiser to not jump to his next course of action too quick. It appeared he was compromised anyhow. He shuddered. At first he had thought he had finally found the person who could actually successfully lie to him... Wasn’t that a terrifying thought?

But thank the stars that hadn’t been the case. He just hadn’t seen his honesty. True honesty… Now that was something he hadn’t seen in a long while. No wonder he hadn’t recognized it at first.

Nevertheless, better to tread more carefully. He had always prided himself on his talent to see right through people, but it appeared that his years of isolation had damaged that talent. Deceit snorted. Hell, if he didn’t know any better he would think Remus was attracted to him.