#a kid tried to eat plants and rocks but i wouldn’t let him so he started screaming because he’s nonverbal (from the trauma)

[sweaters-and-vertigo]

i’ve been in the wars today

[kelyon]

Live Wire 2: Moving In

Bailey Gold gets dragged across state lines to live in some creepy old mansion.

Reference photos for the house

Read on AO3

Bailey Gold slumped against the window of the passenger’s side of his dad’s car. He held a potted plant on his lap and a fish tank between his feet. Some things were too fragile to let the movers take in their van. 

The drive from Boston to Maine was hot and long and stupid. Most of the conversation was about the new town they were moving into, Storybrooke.

“So you’re telling me this place doesn’t have a movie theater?”

Papa kept his eyes on the road. “There’s one the next town over.”

He rolled his eyes and thwumped back into the seat. “You’d have to drive me there. Every time. You’d probably sit in the car in the parking lot and read for two hours.”

“Sounds like a treat to me. Or we could go to the movies together.”

“Yeah, but you don’t like movies.”

“I like movies,” Papa protested. “What I don’t like are feature-length theme park rides.”

Bae blew out a stream of air. In Boston, the nearest multiplex was only two bus stops away from their apartment. He could go by himself and meet his friends there. They could watch movies and eat junk food and he never had to care if it met the ‘artistic merits’ his father cared so much about. 

He tried another tactic. “Are there any museums there?”

For as long as he could remember, they’d had memberships to every art, science, and history museum in town. He’d been crazy for dinosaurs when he was a kid. Even now that he was older, the museums were still interesting. At least, they were something to do. And there was no question that they met Papa’s approval. 

“I’m sure there’s something about local history.”

“Local history? Papa, we’re leaving behind the entire history of the American Revolution!”

His father only snorted. “There’s more to the world than America.”

He fell back against the headrest. “Then why didn’t we move to Scotland? It’s gotta be better than Maine.”

“I don’t think your mother would appreciate me taking you out of the county.”

“Whatever. She doesn’t care.”

Papa slowed down a little. He took one hand off the steering wheel to put it on Bae’s shoulder. “Hey, listen. Your mother is a complicated woman, but she does love you. It was brave of her to admit that she can’t take care of you the way you deserve. She will want to see you again, and when she does, it will be easier if you’re close.”

Bae didn’t say anything. He looked out the window, watched the forest pass by. It didn’t make sense that Papa had more faith in his mother than he did. Wasn’t divorcing someone supposed to mean you hated that person? But Papa never seemed to hate Mom, even when she was at her worst. He was just sad for her. It was the same thing whenever Bae messed up--he said he wasn’t mad, just disappointed. 

Bae was mad. Your mother is supposed to care about you. Your mother is supposed to put you first. At the very least, a kid should be in the top three on a mom’s list of priorities. From a young age, Bae had figured out that his mother’s first three concerns were always sex, drugs, and rock and roll. 

He shook his head, got back to the subject of why Papa shouldn’t move him to some stupid little town in the middle of nowhere. 

“Does this place even have a library?”

“That it does,” Papa grinned. “Practically right next door to where I’m going to have my shop. You can go there whenever you like.”

Bae sighed. It probably wouldn’t have any of the events and clubs the Boston Public Library did. But at least it was something. That was all he wanted: Something interesting to happen in this new place.  

****

Why was it pink? 

He was still in the car. At fourteen, Bae hadn’t been taught how to drive, or how to hotwire a car, but he was pretty sure he could figure out both skills on the fly. All he had to do was slide over into the driver’s seat, fiddle with some wires, and press the gas pedal--whichever one that was. He could be on the road back to Boston and Papa would never be able to run after him. 

Nah, he’d get pulled over. Or he’d need to stop for gas and he didn’t have any money. There weren’t any gas stations that would accept a potted poinsettia or a tank full of female betta fish as payment, and that was all Bae had on him right now. 

So he opened the car door and stepped out, holding the plant in both hands. Papa was standing in front of the yard, looking up at the house. When Bae stood beside him, he saw that he was smiling.

Seeing how happy his father was to be here made Bae feel bad for hating moving so much. He still wanted to go home, but he was ready to admit that wasn’t going to happen. One way or another, this was their home now.

“So, pink, huh?”

Papa chuckled. “They liked their colors in the Victorian era. I did check to make sure the walls weren’t papered in arsenic green.”

He walked to the porch, so happy he barely needed his cane. Bae followed. 

“Arsenic? Isn’t that poison?”

“It certainly is.” Papa pulled out the key to the front door. “And also a very vibrant dye. But don’t worry, son. Everything is safe in there.”

While his father fiddled with the lock, Bae looked around the outside. He tried to think of something good to say about this new place. “We’ve never had a yard before.”

“There’s a patio in the back, too,” Papa said. “I was thinking of putting in a fire pit.”

He nodded slowly. Their apartment in the city had been great, but there weren’t a lot of options for outdoor stuff. Papa had tried to “enrich” Bae’s summers with camping trips that had always ended in one disaster or another. Maybe a yard and a fire pit was a better place to start. 

With a heavy sigh, Bae followed his father into the house. 

“Count yourself lucky,” Papa said. “It used to be pink on the inside too.”

Bae wrinkled his nose as he looked around the main entrance. “And now it’s gray and white.”

“Gypsum and Homburg. It took me a long time to decide on those paint colors.”

It looked… clean, Bae guessed. The movers would be coming later with the furniture and most of the boxes, so right now the whole house was empty. It felt empty. Their voices echoed as they spoke. Outside it was getting hot, but the house made Bae shiver. It was all really weird.  

“I bet somebody died in here,” he said.

Papa just chuckled. “Maybe you were right about moving to Scotland. Back there, it’s when someone hasn’t died in a house that you know something’s wrong with it.” 

“No, I mean… doesn’t it feel creepy to you?”

“No,” Papa said. He ran his hands over the polished wood around the door and the staircase and the fireplace inside the entryway. Bae could see how much he was trying not to smile. “This place feels exciting, son. It’s a blank canvas, it can become anything.”

Bae let out a whoosh of air and tried to see the house the way Papa saw it.

“The stained glass around the door is pretty,” he offered.  

“There’s more on the stair landing, do you see that?” Papa turned Bae’s body to look. “And there’s a window in that little nook here.”

“Oh that’s cool,” he admitted. “I didn’t know we had nooks.”

“Might even be a cranny around here somewhere.” Papa looked at his watch. “The movers will be here soon. Why don’t you look around upstairs while I handle things down here? Go say hello to the house.”

Bae snorted. “What?”

“Like in that movie you used to watch. The Japanese cartoon? About the two little girls who moved into a new house.”

“My Neighbor Totoro? That’s a kid’s movie.”

“I liked it.”

Bae rolled his eyes but started to go upstairs anyway. “I’m gonna go find a sunny window for the plant,” he said. “Then a shady spot where I can put my fish tank. I do not need to say hello to a house.”

Papa just shrugged. “Well, don’t blame me if the soot spirits decide they don’t like you because you were rude to them.”

He shook his head and went to the second floor. Soot spirits! Did Papa think he was still a kid? There weren’t any spirits in this house.

****

Bae’s bedroom was on the third floor. He picked it out because he wanted a balcony. Papa had let him because the balcony was so high up there was no way he could climb down to sneak out of the house. Not that Bae would do something like that. In Storybrooke, where was there to go?

He put his poinsettia on the balcony, and his fish on a shelf in a nook by the balcony door. When he plugged in the tank, the filter gurgled to life and started working right away.

“Awesome,” he said to himself. He meant it, too. That filter didn’t always work the first time, or at least it hadn’t in Boston. He’d thought he would have to get Papa to buy him a new one, but now maybe he wouldn’t. 

With his two most important possessions taken care of, Bae decided to help move in everything else. The charger for his phone was in one of the suitcases he’d packed into the car. He should find that before the battery ran out. His laptop, too, he should get that out of the heat as soon as he could. 

He took the narrow back staircase that led down into the kitchen. The movers were using the main stairs, now he could stay out of their way. This would also be a great way to sneak past Papa for late-night snacks.

Maybe this house wasn’t so bad after all. 

[javisjeanjacket]

Safety Net - (marcus moreno x fem!reader)

A/N: I have nothing to say for myself except that i’m not sorry at all and don’t look at me. YES IM AWARE ITS A KIDS MOVIE BUT LIKE ...he hot🥺

Word count: 2.6K

Warnings: marcus moreno’s sexy ass, NSFW, 18+, eating, unprotected sex (wrap it up gang), oral sex (m recieving), fucking in a chair, f masturbation, cursing, i think that’s all:)

The smell of a hot pan cooling on the stove wafted through the house, and you breathed in it's scent gratefully.

"Mm, smells so good, honey." You noted, flicking your eyes up from the steaming lunch on the plate before you to meet Marcus's eyes.

Marcus grinned and chewed the bite of vegetables he was crunching in his mouth.

You scooped a helping of veggies into your mouth and chewed, the flavor of the spices Marcus used enveloping your taste buds in warmth. You tapped an impatient finger on the kitchen table and trained your eyes on the spot where the pad of your finger met the texture of the wood table below.

Marcus swallowed and asked, "You okay?"

You looked up to him and swallowed your bite. "Can we...talk?"

Marcus's eyes widened and the dark rims of his glasses made them look almost cartoonish. He put his fork down on the rim of his plate and wiped his hands on a napkin. He took in a deep breath and answered, "Sure."

You bit the inside of your lip and began, "We've been together for...awhile now."

Marcus nodded eagerly, his chest burning with the words he knew would be tumbling from your mouth any second. He could feel the disappointment and the melancholy that would fester in your absence already settling over his shoulders.

"And we still haven't, well, you know." You raised your eyebrows at him, trying to indicate what you were thinking. 

Marcus swallowed against his dry throat and nodded that he understood.

"So what I'm asking is," Your chest pounded so loudly you could feel it's reverberations in your ears. "Do you-,” You sighed, trying to summon the courage to finish your question. “Are you attracted to me? Like, sexually?"

He reached across the table and grabbed one of your hands. "Sweet girl-" He pressed your knuckles to his lips, pressing soft kisses to each dip. His dark eyes looked into yours and flames began to sizzle in the pit of your stomach.

Your hips shifted slightly in the chair, the movement warding away the inkling of want in your core. "If it's me, I think I deserve to know." You added, your voice afraid.

Marcus dropped your hand from his lips and shook his head vigorously. He leaned back in his chair and let out a flustered breath.

The light from the windows behind him cast a dark shadow around his form that reached across the table and to you.

He took off his glasses and set them on the table, then rubbed the heels of his hands over his eyes. "No. No, honey, it's not you. Believe me.” He dropped his hands from his face and let out another heavy sigh. “It's not you."

You dropped your gaze from his eyes to his unfinished food in front of him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Marcus crossed his arms over his chest. He looked into the kitchen and lost himself a moment before replying, "The last time that I was with anyone was with...." The ending to his sentence too precious for him to bring to life again.

"Your wife?" You whispered, the words tender and shivering on your tongue.

He pulled his lips into his mouth and nodded slowly. He looked back down at his plate and you could see the tops of his ears growing red.

"I don't mean to put pressure on you, Marcus. If you want to wait, we can wait. I just wanted-" You tried to assure him.

"No, I don't. I don't want to wait anymore.” He looked down at his hands and the small Heroics symbol tattooed across the skin by his thumb. “Not with you." His dark eyes looked up to yours and it was their force that knocked the wind from your chest. 

Struggling under his gaze, your rib cage seemed to breathe in it's own marrow- inhaling the surging adrenaline fizzling to life in your veins. Your eyebrows tensed and you reached your hand across the table towards him. "Are you sure?"

He took your hand cautiously and ran his thumb over your digits softly. "Yes. I'm just...kind of..." He trailed off, getting lost in the texture of your skin under his.

"Afraid?" You finished for him.

Marcus's eyes looked back up to yours, emotion sitting underneath them and bubbling in his chest. The need and desire on his face was matched fully by the fear snarling underneath the surface. His grip tightened on your hand and you took in a shaking breath.

You stood from your chair and walked towards him. You ran a tender hand through his thick, dark, hair and cupped his cheek.

Marcus's eyes shifted over your face and his chest thumped rapidly as you leaned closer to him. 

"Just tell me if you need to stop, okay?" You whispered, gently brushing your lips against his.

He reached a hand up to your neck and nodded as he gently pushed, bringing your mouth to slot against his.

You melted into his kiss, your eyelashes fluttering at the softness in his touch. You rested a hand on his shoulder and the other sprawled over his face, his stubble tickling your soft palm.

He moved his second hand to grip your waist, his thick fingers fiddling with the hem of your shirt. He swiped his tongue across your bottom lip and you opened your mouth for him.

You could feel passion growing within him and smiled into his kiss as his hand on your hip guided you towards his lap. You sat on his thighs and the fire kindling in your stomach began to crackle and pop, the bulge in his jeans moving across your needy core. You moved your hands up to work through his hair and pulled softly.

He moved his hands to cup your ass, one of his wide palms shifting upwards and underneath your shirt. The warmth of his skin sent a jolt of pleasure through your simmering body.

Your hips jerked involuntarily and you cooed into his kiss. Your hands grasped at his green t-shirt, pulling it up and over his head to drop it on the floor behind his chair. You nuzzled your face into his skin, sucking and biting tenderly at his exposed chest.

Marcus hissed as you laved your tongue over the bites you adorned him with. His hands moved up your torso to your bra, his thumbs swiping across the cups and his fingers squeezing your body.

You kissed up to his ear and whispered his name as your hips began to rock against his, the rough fabric of your pants and his sending heat through your pussy.

"Hmm?" He answered, his hands now unhooking the clasp of your bra.

"Is it okay if I get on my knees for you?" You breathed on his ear and could almost see the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Marcus tried to stifle a moan and his hands shook as they gently pulled your bra and shirt down your arms, dropping them to the ground beside the table. He let his fingertips drag lightly down your skin as he looked over your body. He bit his bottom lip and whispered, "Yes."

You lifted yourself off of him and unzipped your pants enough to give your fingers access to your throbbing core, then sank to your knees, careful to move his chair so you wouldn't hit your head on the table. You unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants, wiggling the pants and boxer briefs down his legs as he stood.

He sat back down and ran clammy hands down his bare thighs. "I've never been this scared before." He admitted, his gaze trained on you.

You shifted your eyes up from his impressive length up to the deep pools of his eyes. You ran your hands up his thighs to meet the shaking ones resting near his hips. You curled your fingers around his wrists. "Do you want me to stop?"

Marcus shook his head no, his blood pumping hotter and hotter in his veins. He had never faced something as overwhelming as this. He had never had to risk as much as this, never even wanted to consider the possibility before he met you. The fear of loving and losing was paralyzing. Anxiety surged through his body and was ticking rapidly in his chest. He felt the love he had held for his wife and how overcome with love he had been for her. He thought of the space between that love and the hollowness, the nothingness, he had felt when he lost her. More than anything, he wanted to just be a man in love with someone wonderful again. Not a Heroic or a widower, just Marcus. There was nothing more he wanted than for you to feel the fullness of his love blooming in his chest, and give you all he could despite the monstrous fear looming in his heart. Marcus was without a safety net, having had to live through the perils of falling from the life he once knew and down, down, down, into someplace he thought he would never make it out of alive.

He ran a hand through your hair, cupping your cheek in his hand. "I just-the last person I did this with, I lost. And I couldn't-" He let out a sigh and looked down from your gaze. "I couldn't do that again."

Keeping your eyes locked onto his, you pressed timid kisses to his legs. Your heart broke at his words and the expression on his face. You ran your hands back and forth over his knees, trying to soothe him. “Look at me.” You whispered. 

He swallowed tightly and flicked his eyes up to you, his face still cast downward.

"You're not going to lose me, sweetheart.” You whispered.

Marcus tilted his head from one side to the other, his eyes piercing. 

You pressed tender kisses to his legs, moving cautiously closer to his cock. “I’m not a superhero.” You said, then pressed your lips to his thigh. “I have a normal job in the city.” You kissed his opposite leg and let your hands shift higher up his body, your fingers brushing against the trail of hair near his belly button. “It’s safe, Marcus.” 

His dick twitched and wept for you, hungry for the friction of your walls around it. His hips bucked and he let out breath through his teeth as your hands moved steadily closer and closer to his penis. One of his hands gripped your hair and the other planted itself on the chair behind him.

"Let someone save you for once." You whispered, taking his cock in your hand and pressing your lips tenderly to the throbbing member. You looked up at him through your eyelashes and slowly swirled your tongue around the tip of him. You took a small portion of him into your mouth and bobbed up and down slowly, allowing him time to adjust to the feeling of being pleasured by someone other than himself.

He dropped his head back against the chair and let out a soft moan. His hand in your hair loosened it's grip, his fingers weaving in between the strands slowly.

You sunk more of him into your mouth and let your spit coagulate and drip down him. You gently moved your lips up and down his thick cock. You could feel his thighs tense around your torso and you moaned around him.

His body jerked subconsciously and his eyes fluttered closed.

You pulled off of him and whispered, "Tell me how it feels, baby." You took him back into your mouth and started to quicken your earlier pace, your hands working the skin where your lips couldn't reach.

Marcus opened his mouth and began to form a response, but the sound fell out of his lips before his brain could create the word. His body squirmed under your touch and he moaned low in his chest.

You cooed around his length and reached your hand into your underwear, rubbing the soaked folds at the same pace your mouth moved up and down him, faster and faster until you dropped him from your mouth to ask, "It's been so long, hasn’t it?"

His hand in your hair tensed and he growled, his hips moving to fuck your mouth. The chair underneath him squealed as he moved it over the floor little by little.

You took as much of him as you could into your throat and wiggled your mouth as far down as you could, choking as he pushed against the back of your throat. You moved your free hand to gently tease his balls and the other circled your clit, bringing a groan of pleasure out from your chest.

Marcus's hand in your hair tugged hard and he pulled you away from him, his chest heaving. "Stop, stop. I'm gonna cum."

You ran your hands up his abdomen and around the curve of his hips. "I want you to cum, Marcus." Your eyes flicked back up to his innocently.

He licked his lips and pulled you up from your knees. "I want to fuck you first."

Your eyes met his and you could feel his passion burning and crackling in his chest. Your pussy clenched at his words and you shivered as his hand brushed against your ass, moving you back towards him. You straddled him, taking a moment to align his cock with your entrance. A wild whimper escaped your throat as you settled on him. Your hands clenched into his broad shoulders and your eyebrows tensed. Your body subconsciously began to grind against his, and the sheer mass of him inside you sent rockets of pleasure bursting and popping behind your eyes.

Marcus hummed low in his chest, the rumble sending warmth through you. His hands clutched at your hips, squeezing and guiding them as they squirmed, trying to adjust to his size. His mouth nipped at your breasts, sucking softly and rubbing the skin back and forth over his teeth hard enough to leave a mark. His mind began to blank, the pleasure of you around him pushing the doubt and anxiety so far from him he couldn’t remember what he had been scared about in the first place. He moved a hand from your hip to grasp your bouncing breast, his thumb teasing and pulling at the raised nub there.

You threw your head back and closed your eyes as you moaned.

"Okay?" He asked, his breath short and hot on your skin.

You nodded yes and wrapped both of your arms around his neck. You could feel yourself clench around him, the pressure so long awaited that you struggled to pace yourself.

Marcus's hand ran so softly up and down your body it almost tickled. He moaned as he thrust into you, the chair underneath squeaking with his movement.

Your back arched as you began to roll your hips against his. You whimpered and clutched at the ends of his hair desperately. Warmth ran up from where your core met his and wrapped itself around your lungs, your breath becoming shallow.

He hissed and moved both of his hands back to your hips as he picked up his pace. Your name fell from his lips followed by a loud groan.

You echoed him and tucked your face into the crook of his neck. His skin was warm under your lips as you whispered, "I've wanted this for so long. Fuck, you feel so fucking good."

Marcus kissed your cheek harshly and then groaned, his chest shuddering, "I'm sorry, honey."

"Wha-?" You asked breathlessly

He chuckled. “I'm gonna cum already." His arms flexed as he hugged your body to his and you could feel his cock twitching inside you.

You let out a few stacattoed yelps at his pointed thrusts, and said once you caught your breath, "Cum for me, Marcus."

His breathing warmed the shell of your ear as his pounding into your core became frantic. His hips snapped loudly and his jaw went slack. His face began to twitterpate and his chest heaved against yours. He grit his teeth as he reached closer and closer to his peak and you could feel the tension against your cheek.

Your mouth hung open and you braced yourself on the chair behind him. You cooed at the passion with which he loved you.

He growled and his pumping slowed as you felt the hot ropes of his release shoot into you. His body began to tremble and his breath fanned over your skin. "Holy shit." He stuttered. His arms relaxed, allowing you to sit up again.

You ran a gentle hand over his cheek and down his side while your mouth placed soft kisses to his jaw line and shoulder, soothing the trembling man underneath you.

"I never thought I’d feel like that again." He chuckled, running a warm palm down your thigh towards your ass. “I almost forgot how good it feels.”

"Well, I'll be here whenever you need a reminder." You teased him, pressing a kiss to the side of his mouth.

He gripped the back of your neck and pulled your lips to his, smiling as he kissed you. "I think you might need to remind me again, I’ve already forgotten.”

MARCUS TAGLIST: @artsymaddie​ @apples-of-february​ @anetteaneta​ @supernovafeather​ @phoenixhalliwell​

GENERAL TAGLIST: @softly-sad​ @autumnleaves1991-blog​ @over300books​

[baka-monarch]

Caught

Garden People Bench Trio au! :D

Trigger warning: getting burned on metal (idk what to call it-)

____________________________________________

Tommy sat on a rock at the edge of the koi pond, he kept his legs in the water kicking and splashing whenever the dark blue and white dewdrop would surface. It was a calm day so far, well, that and very hot and as a garden Tommy never really did well in heat which is why he chose to hang out with Ranboo today. He knew he could've gone into the human house with Tubbo, but he didn't really feel like growing a vine to get inside…. Actually, where was Tubbo? They usually came out to the garden by now-

A sudden splash cut off Tommy's thoughts. "If you're so hot then come into the water" Ranboo complained, only really his head poking out of the water.

"I'm not getting in that fucking death trap-" he glared down at his swimming freind. Gardens weren't really good at swimming, to the point that most would drown if they got into water, unlike dewdrops who were actually born in water. "Anyways- we're still waiting for Tubbo-" as if the name had summoned their third, Tubbo's hook suddenly appeared on the side of Tommy's rock, and soon after Tubbo was up too.

"Guys!!!" Tubbo yelled, his excitement evident on his face, even before he pulled his goggles off his golden face. "There's cinnamon rolls in the house!!"

"There's what?" Ranboo was quick to use some water to lift himself up and onto the rock with the two.

"Those weird pastry things the humans eat in the morning- right?" Tommy answered uncertainly.

"Exactly! And there's a whole tray just sitting on the counter!!" The Tinkerers exclaimed, bouncing from foot to foot with a boundless energy.

"Wait-" Tommy gasped. "Are we gonna- do you wanna-"

"Yes!"

"No, no we're not stealing them. We almost got caught last time we took food." Ranboo was quick to cut off the chaotic planning.

"Oh c'mon Boo, live a little- plus even if the humans do walk in we'll be fine" Tubbo smirked and summoned some electricity into his hands, the small bolts of lightning crackling in an endless static.

"Yeah big man, it's not like we're helpless" Tommy added, and to prove his point he made a little vine staircase off of the rock.

The dewdrop sighed. "Fine. But if one of you is caught I'm not saving you." As he started to climb down the vine he didn't see the two fist bumping behind him and quietly snickering. They knew Ranboo would never actually abandon them.

•••

It wasn't long before the trio was climbing some vines up to the window of the human house (courtesy of Tommy), the one that lead straight into the kitchen. Just as Tubbo had said, there was a metal tray filled with steaming cinnamon rolls just sitting unsupervised on the counter. All three of the kids' mouths started watering at the scent of freshly baked pastries.

"Now do you understand why we should take them?" Tubbo smirked up at Ranboo, noticing his wide hungry eyes.

"I'll admit… it smells really good…" Said dewdrop licked their lips as they looked at what had to be hundreds of huge sweets that no one was guarding.

"Let's dig in!!!!" Tommy shouted, and ran forward without thinking. He grabbed the edge of the tray to jump over the edge, but started screaming in pain as soon as he was touching it- and now he wished he hadn't already jumped as he crumpled into the hot tray, feeling the metal burning his white skin.

"TOMMY!!!!" Both Ranboo and Tubbo shouted at the same time as they ran forward to help him. Ranboo carefully reached over the edge of the tray to pick Tommy up since he was taller making them whimper and squirm since being touched hurt, and at the same time Tubbo tapped the edge a few times.

"Shit that's hot-" The tinkerer pulled his hand back. "It must've just come out of the oven…" Tubbo mumbled to himself while their tallest fretted over their burned friend.

"Tommy? Tommy, are you okay?" Ranboo gently held Tommy as he noticed their face twisted in pain and leaking tears.

"N- no I'm fuc- fucking not" Tommy rasped out, "I- I fe- feel like I'm on fire" he squirmed a bit, wanting to be put down, but Ranboo tightened his grip, knowing that Tommy wouldn't be able to walk like this.

"Let's get him to the pond to cool off" Ranboo nodded down at Tubbo as they spoke.

"Do you think you can handle it?" Ranboo asked Tommy who nodded weakly. Tommy's eyebrows knit together in concentration as he tried to make a vine to get out, but lost all power he had part of the way through and almost passed out.

"To- too hurt…" He explained. To do anything with plants Tommy had to concentrate, and right now all he could focus on was the burning all over his body.

"It's alright… Tubbo, do you have your hook?" Ranboo asked the shortest.

"Yeah but he can't climb down it like that-" He started to explain but cut himself off halfway through as he got an idea. Tubbo attached his hook to the counter's edge and started climbing down. "When I get to the bottom, tie the string around him and lower him down to me." He told Ranboo, and didn't wait for them to nod as he slid down.

Ranboo watched over the edge, and as soon as Tubbo let go of the string he pulled it up. The dewdrop waisted no time in tying the string around Tommy. "Tommy, try not to move, I'm going to lower you now but please please please, don't do something that might untie the knot" Tommy only gave a quiet hum to acknowledge he had heard. Ranboo took the answer and slowly started to lower Tommy down to Tubbo.

As bad luck would have it, it was at that moment that they heard the tell tale sound of loud booming footsteps approaching. Human footsteps.

"Hurry up!" Tubbo yelled up, while now nervously glancing to the door.

"I'm going I'm go-" He started to respond but cut himself off as he accidentally dropped the string and had to leap forward to grab it.

"..... What the…" A new voice came from the direction of the door. Both garden people paled, knowing what- or really- who it must be. Slowly Ranboo turned his head to look up and up and up, into the green eyes of one of the humans.

Tubbo was the first to start screaming, and Ranboo quickly joined, while Tommy just squirmed uncomfortably from his perch, the sound was very annoying.

"Woah woah woah, hey it's okay it's okay" The human lifted their hands in surrender and crouched down so they wouldn't be so tall. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Liar!" Tubbo yelled, and summoned some electricity making the human go wide eyed.

"I promise I'm telling the truth- please calm down-" The human said.

"Oh sure," Tubbo rolled his eyes. "we'll calm down and totally let you kidnap us." He stated sarcastically, still holding a ball of electrical charge.

"Look I'm sorry I startled you- can you please just put down the lightning?" They scooted back a bit, and Ranboo could see the slight fear in the humans eyes.

"Why? So you can grab us with your big meat hands?" Tubbo made the electrical ball larger.

"Wait Tubbo-" Ranby called down, hoping to at least deescalate the situation. "If he wanted to do that, wouldn't he have done it already?"

"Wha- but- Ranboo, you can't seriously be…" Tubbo started but looked up to see Ranboo's face and understood what thet meant. He got rid of the electricity, he could resummon it to tazer the human at any time anyways.

"Thank you…" the human let out a breath of relief. "Sooo…." They started but didn't continue- what were they supposed to say? 'Hey we thought tiny people lived here so you don't need to be scared?' No, that'd end horribly. "Need help?" They said instead, noticing the situation with the white one.

"No."

"Yes." Ranboo answered at the same time as Tubbo, which confused the human.

"Which is it…?"

"Yes, could you please help us." Ranboo was quick to respond before Tubbo could refuse. This may be a dumb idea- but they really needed to get Tommy to the pond quickly, or at least get an adult's help quickly. Ranboo didn't know what getting burned all over their body would do to Tommy, and if the human could get them out to the garden where they could get answers quicker, then he'd risk it.

"I assume you want me to get them down?" Ranboo nodded, and glanced down to see Tubbo had his arms crossed and was pouting. "Can I come closer?"

"...sure" Ranboo said hesitantly. "But please go once you're done." The human nodded, and slowly scooted closer. They were very gentle and careful, as they cupped their hands under Tommy and gently set him down next to Tubbo. As promised, the human backed away once done.

Ranboo waited a few minutes to make sure the human wouldn't come back over before he grabbed the string again and slid down to the floor next to Tubbo. The dewdrop picked up Tommy again, only getting a small squirm of protest from Tommy at the action. While Ranboo did that, Tubbo grabbed the string and pulled his hook down.

"Would you want some aloe vera?" The human's voice suddenly rang out in the silence.

"What th fuck is an aloe vera?" Tubbo had watched the humans and watched human tv several times before, but he had yet to hear of that human thing.

"It's a gel that uhm helps with burns" He explained, looking at Tommy a little worried.

"That'd be nice, thanks" Ranboo said, and got a mod in return before the human stood and left to get some.

"What are you doing!?" Tubbo asked Ranboo once they were gone.

"Letting them help us?" The dewdrop was a little confused about why Tubbo was mad.

"Yeah- but it could be an act! What if they're just waiting to catch us later-"

"Why would they do that?"

"Because that's what humans do!!! Well, unless I electricute them-"

"Tubbo don't- can't you tell they're actually helping? That they're actually worried?"

"Yeah, but humans lie-"

"If he really wanted to catch us, don't you think he would've done it, don't you think if he wanted to he would've just run away with Tommy in his hands." Tubbo went quiet for a long time as he mulled that over in his mind- even if he had electricuted them while they had Tommy, it would've hurt Tommy… and he knew humans were smart enough to know that Tubbo wouldn't risk hurting Tommy.

"Oh….."

"Here-" the human was finally back, carefully carrying a thimble. "I have it- uhm, how do you want me to give it to you?"

"Just put it down there, and we can get it." Ranboo smiled up at the human as they followed his instructions.

"Okay, well, be safe" The human gave an awkward small wave before leaving. Tubbo waited a few minutes to make sure they were gone before he walked over and grabbed the thimble that was full of a green goop that reminded him of Charlie.

"Let's get out of here before another one comes-" Ranboo nodded, and they both ran out of the human house carrying Tommy.

If later Tubbo found a cinnamon roll in front of one of his holes and took it to Tommy and Ranboo later, none of the adults had to know where he got it.

Mcyt g/t list:

@trashpumped @lorie-the-little-ghost @encaos @i-am-a-weeb @wyforyu-gaming @shy-septic-dragon @5unfl0writ3r @colorfulsiren @moonmwah @iwasgoingtohellanyways @echoslime @wilbur-simp @trouble-off-grid @lilsyxx @smogs-0

[macnevercries]

Fantasy

(Deku x F! Reader)

warnings- stepest, mentions of alcohol, dubcon/noncon, penetrative sex

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

It’s fun to pretend. You run down the sidewalk, bidding your friends goodbye and stumbling a little, alcohol still in your system. Your heart beats quickly as you run faster, it’s scary to be out at three in the morning alone. Make it a game, you’re playing tag and you will be less afraid. You round the corner and bounce up the steps to your house, parents gone on a business trip so you decided to stay here for the weekend instead of your college dorm.

You turn the key and the lock clicks open, shutting the door quickly behind you. Once you’re inside you sigh happily, you win. You know that no one was chasing you but sometimes it’s fun to pretend to be a kid again, run from monsters that don’t exist, blood coursing through your veins as your heart pumps faster than it ever should.

Imagining running from a dragon, your pretty dress flowing behind you as you tear down the hallways of your castle. Studying to become a writer had its perks, being alone for you was never boring when you always have a story in your head.

You toss your keys on the counter, flicking on the kitchen lights and turning on the stove. You should probably eat something before you go to bed, alcohol and an empty stomach don’t mix well. You sift through your parents fridge, humming a tune softly.

“Why were you out so late”

You jump at the voice, whipping your head around to face a large chest. Broad tan shoulders block your view. Slowly turning your head up, you meet the green eyes of your older brother.

“When did you become the bad kid, out past 3 and” he leans forward, taking a whiff of you “obviously drinking, what happened to college?” he smirks.

“Why aren’t you at your job? You shouldn’t be here” You retort, a little defensive and embarrassed you were caught. Izuku won this game of tag and you didn’t even know he was playing.

“I’ve been working, just wanted to take a break and visit my lovely little sister” He leans foreword and pinches your cheek. His touch lingers a little too long, brushing his large fingers down your cheek. He always did love teasing you. You move around the barricade that is his body, continuing your conquest for food.

He frowns at the space you put between you two, coming up behind you where you stand in front of the stove. He grips your waist, tickling you.

You burst out in a fit of giggles, bending over as he finds your weak spot. “Iz-zuku stop, I’m trying to cook”

He lets you go but doesn’t move far, breathing over your shoulder with every movement. He’s very protective of you, as any older brother would be. But sometimes it was strange. You didn’t need a knight in shining armor, but he didn’t seem to understand.

You fry two eggs, plating them and sitting down. Izuku sets a cup of water in front of you, taking his place across from you. Your dining room used to be a throne room to you, but with your adult brother it felt so much smaller.

You nod at the water, an inquisitive look on your face. He laughs at you, “You need to sober up”

You frown, not fond of the idea of letting go of the warm blissful feeling the alcohol had left. You drink it anyways, bringing the dishes back to the sink but not washing them, you could do them tomorrow. You trudge over to the couch, flicking on the the TV. Izuku follows your every step, right behind you at all times.

After staring at the brightly lit screen for what felt like hours, trying to ignore how close your brother was, you got up from the couch. He moved up to follow you and you snapped.

“Why do you keep following me, can I use the bathroom alone?”

He falters at your tone, taking a step back. “Oh yeah, my bad I just miss hanging out with you, like we used to?”

His implied words make you shudder, things you’ve tried to forget resurface in seconds. A princess shouldn’t be with her knight, especially if they ‘serve the same king’. Ever since his dad married your mom, things have been weird between you two.

Sneaking into rooms at night, exchanged kisses that weren’t quite right. It was wrong and you knew it, but you could never get enough of him. As you grew older and he went away for school you realized how bad it was and you tried to forget, vowed it wouldn’t happen again.

You walk up the stairs, a little bit too quick. He stays in his place on the couch but watches you go, your hips mesmerizing him. You change into pajamas, brush your teeth, do everything you would normally do. You hop into bed, turning off your lights and wishing sleep upon yourself. Maybe if you just pretend then it wouldn’t be real. His footsteps up the stairs, the knocking on your door, walking in without your response, his weight on the bed, his hand on your thigh. Maybe if you just pretend. This can’t be real.

He pulls your blankets off your unmoving form, he knows you’re not sleeping, he knows you too well. Everything about you, your friends, your school, your relationships, your mental health, and your body. He has it all logged in his head. If he didn’t know all of these things then how was he supposed to protect his baby sister?

Your breathing becomes labored as he pulls down your cotton shorts, lust or fear you’re not sure what makes your heart beat so fast. You’re not familiar with his adult body, he’s grown so much, too much. He could easily overpower you. He’s muscled up for his job and everything is just.. bigger. He’s no longer the sweet boy you knew, the one that comforted you through your mom’s new marriage. No, he’s someone else.

Your mind screams no but your body aches with his familiar touch. He might not look or act the same but he has always been gentle. You mewl when he lifts up your shirt, rough fingers rolling your nipples back and fourth. He plants soft wet kisses on your chest and stomach, never leaving marks. This was a secret, just for the two of you.

You can’t help the way your body jumps towards his hands when he pulls down your panties, thick digits swiping through your folds. You can deny it as much as you want, but you crave him. You whimpers become louder, all of his touches last so long when you can’t see anything in the dark. Right here in your childhood bedroom, you can’t see your brothers face but you know he’s smiling.

You hear fabric shifting and you know he’s discarded his pants as well. He climbs over you, towering, caging you in. Your hips grind up into his, desperate for friction.

“Slow down princess” he chuckles.

The nickname takes you away, let’s you believe that this is okay. It’s just a fantasy, it’s not real. You snap out of that mindset when Izuku pushes into you, bottoming out in one thrust. He groans as your wet walls envelop him, squeezing tightly. A muttered string of curses leave his lips when he starts moving, rocking into you slowly. He speeds up quickly, the warm feeling taking over his control.

He fucks into you hard and fast, the tip of his length kissing your cervix with every movement. He pounds you into the mattress as tears roll down your cheeks. He wipes them away, caressing your face and kissing you earnestly. He wanted you to be his but he knew it couldn’t be that way. If he couldn’t have all of you, then he would at least have this.

“You like it when your step brother fucks your tight little pussy like this? Yeah I know you do”

A broken moan escapes your lips, turning into a sob when his cock twitches at the sound.

His large thumb finds your clit, making quick circles to match his thrusts, bringing you over the edge quickly. He follows right after, pulling out and coming all over your breasts. Sticky fluids drip down chest, an uncomfortable feeling. He tucks himself away, kissing your forehead and exiting the room.

It’s fun to pretend, especially when it lets you believe that moments like these are just a fantasy.

[salty-sith-bitch]

Hey, so I saw you needed some writing ideas. I was wondering if you would be ok writing a platonic Mando/Reader (the reader is like a teenager or young adult), where the reader gets anxious when Mando is gone for long periods of time hunting for bounties due to past trauma of their family leaving them (albeit not on purpose, they were taken away). And since they have to stay on the ship and take care of the child, they can’t go with him to make sure he’s alright. Just something I thought of.

This is very angsty I AM SO SORRY! I absolutely enjoyed writing this and it's probably one of my favorite pieces. 

The reader and Mando have a sweet platonic almost father/ child relationship in this.

Ni cuy' olar ad'ika (I am here Little one)

Wanings: Hurt/comfort, angst

Words: 1557

Ao3

"I'll be back," the Mandalorian said to you as he descended the ramp of the crest.

You nodded as you snuggled the child. Giving a soft coo the child looked up at you and moved his ears. Sighing you turned and entered the crest, heading off to make lunch.

***

You decided to eat lunch outside and enjoy the sunlight with the child while you could. It had been a while since your trio had inhabited a warm plant. The sun's rays kissing your skin left you feeling warm and hopeful. Hopeful for a better future and of not being alone again. 

It felt like home. The home you once knew for nearly 17 years where you had never felt alone or unloved. Where you had a garden and a family. Where cooking lessons from mother took place and sarcastic banter with your father. Where giggles from your brother bounced off the walls as he pulled your hair.

Eyes stinging and bottom lip quivering you looked down at the child as he brought his soup up to his mouth. Just like him, you had been alone until Mando found you. A child without parents or someone to take care of you. Lost and abandoned trying to find your place in the galaxy.

Before you met Mando you had been loved by your parents. They worked hard for you and your brother and made every moment worth living. Your home had been small and your parents would work until exhaustion overtook their bodies, leaving you to cook and look after your brother. You would tend to the garden and sew clothes for the family. Each day you would thank your mother for the skills she taught you and your father for his sense of humor and hard work. Your family was all you had known In life. It was all you needed. It was home. Where you felt safe and adored.

But everything changed when the troopers came. To this day you swear you can still smell the fires and feel your lungs ache as they tried to breathe anything besides ash. The fires and storm troopers engulfed your village, taking the children and killing off anyone who tried to stop them. 

Your parents had gone out earlier that day to the market and had never returned. They had taken your brother as you spent the day reading and basking in the sunlight in the garden. The first sound of blaster fire startled you, your muscles freezing as you pulled a vegetable from the soft soil beneath your feet. It was another couple of moments before the next round of blaster shots could be heard, this time closer.

When you could finally move again you looked off into the distance as the fires grew and smoke filled the sky. Panicking you ran inside and hid in the back of your parent’s closet. That was where your parents had told you to go if there was ever an invasion. They had created a room that was safe and where no one could find you. You waited and waited for your front door to be knocked down and for you're home to be stormed. No troopers ever came in search of you though. 

Neither had your parents.

You had spent days in and out of sleep not daring to leave the confined space of your hideout. On the third day, you had awoken to the noise of the front door opening and the shuffle of heavy footsteps. You waited a couple of minutes silently crying and praying to the maker that you wouldn't be found. Minutes turned into an hour, then two, then three, and eventually, night has fallen.

You knew whoever had intruded your home had not left yet and they didn't seem like they were in a hurry to. You waited until the early morning just before sunrise to try and sneak out from your hidden space and had almost made it to the front door when heard the click of a blaster and felt the barrel of it pressed into your back.

It was then that the Mandalorian and Grogu had found you, starving, dehydrated, and filthy. You broke down crying and begging for him to just kill you. You refused to be taken as anyone's slave, servant or turned into a soldier. 

Watching you shake and please for death Mando had gracefully holstered his blaster and instead comforted you, explaining he would not hurt you and that he could leave once the sun rose and his child woke. In response, you told him that you would instead go. This place was a house but no longer a home.

Putting the pieces together the Mandalorian sympathized with you and offered you a new beginning and what would eventually become your home. He expressed his concern about his son and needing someone to watch him while he went on missions. You considered and said you would think about it. Mando would be leaving later that night and told you that if you decided to join him to meet him at his ship just before sundown.

That evening Mando found you sitting outside of his ship with the few belongings you had and any produce that had not wilted from the ash and fires. The Mandalorian didn't say much or ask much of you and you quickly fell into a routine with him and the kid.

That had been nearly a year ago. You had been too old to be a foundling but too young to become a bounty hunter yourself so you stuck with watching the child much as you did now.

Looking down at the child again you saw his eyes begin to droop. Smiling weakly you packed up the remaining bits of lunch and scooped up the child.

"Naptime my friend."

Grogu cooed, nuzzling his head into your chest.

Making your way into the ship you shut the ramp and laid with the child on Din's cot until you both fell into a deep slumber.

***

Three days. It had been three days since Din left to go search for his bounty. You generally didn't worry but when his adventures hit the three-day mark anxiety started to kick in. You knew Din was capable of handling himself and would always comm you if there was trouble or if he needed you to fly the Crest to him. Despite knowing all of that you couldn't fight the bile that rose in your chest and the tunneling sensation of the world around you.

By sundown, on that night  you felt like a walking corpse. You hadn't eaten but still had to fight the urge to throw up or break down crying. Grogu had watched you in concern all day and had been extra cuddly and affectionate. He could sense your unease and see your fear through forced smiles and glossy eyes. 

Bedtime came early that night for the little womp rat. Trying to comfort you tuckered him out.

Having time to yourself is both a blessing and a curse. You could cry freely without being embarrassed and without tiring out the kid but it also reminded you that you were alone and what you had lost. It reminded you that it could happen again. That the family you now had could be torn apart just as easily as your last.

Sobbing, you sat in Din's chair in the cockpit wrapped in your favorite blanket from home. It still had the smell of your mother's perfume and your father's aftershave on it. Realizing one day that that too would fade and disappear you wept harder, letting out gasps of air as your lungs tried to replenish themselves. The material of the blanket caught the tears that rolled down your face and you wrapped it tightly around you in desperation to feel close to your family again. Eventually, your body gave up on supporting you and you fell out of the pilot's chair and laid on the cold metal ground. Eyes squeezed just hit salty tears continued to flow and splash onto the worn metal of the Crest. 

You don't know how long you were down there or how long you had been crying but you felt yourself being lifted and scooped into a hug. You wailed into Din's chest as he slowly rocked you.

"Ni cuy' olar ad'ika." His unmodulated voice rang through your ears and you felt his own tears fall down and into your hair.

You may have been too old to be a foundling when Din found you but he still adopted you as his own. He treated you as I'd you were his own child, laughing when you laughed, threatened to take away credits when you sassed him and cried when you cried.

He understood your pain and hurt and his chest tightened every time you shed a tear. He knew you longed for your parents as much as he longed for it. If there was a way he could bring your parents back he would. You would do the same for him if you could.

That was not a possibility though and you both knew it. Instead, the three of you made your own family. Your own clan.

This is the way.

Rocking together on the floor of the cockpit you both cried into the night.

[toomanyfandomssss]

His Girl - Four

In a sort of protective manner, Violet opted to walk with Clarke and Wells in case Bellamy and Murphy decided to pull anything. And of course, her intuition was correct.

"Hey, hold up." Bellamy pushed through some trees as he and Murphy caught up with Violet, Clarke, and Wells. Waving his gun in the air he continued,"Whats the Rush? You don't survive a spear through the heart" he smirked arrogantly. A tone Violet thinks she'll have to get used too from now on.

Murphy pushed Wells forward, "Why don't you do something about it, huh?"

Clarke interrupted, "Jasper screamed when they moved him.  If the spear struck his heart, he'd have died instantly, doesn't mean we have time to waste."

Bellamy grabbed Clarke's wrist and help up her arm, "As soon as you take this wristband off, we can go."

"The only way the Ark is gonna think I'm dead, is if I'm dead. Got it?" Clarke challenged, snatching her wrist back.

Bellamy smirked, "Brave princess."

Suddenly, a voice came from behind the group. "Hey, why don't you find your own nickname?" Fin called out. "You call this a rescue party? You've gotta split up. Cover more ground. Clarke. Come with me."

✶✶✶

Violet and Wells walked together a little ahead of Bellamy and Murphy. The doe eyed brunette had little interest in being around her boyfriend at the moment. As they continued on their way Violet kept catching Well's glances at the spacewalker and princess.

"Are you okay?" she looks at him concerned.

"Yeah," he forcibly smiled at her. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Violet just looked at him, then reached over and squeezed his arm in a comforting manner.

Wells was able to give her a more genuine smile after this act of kindness. Why is a girl like this dating a guy like Bellamy Blake?

Not wanting to see his girlfriend near another guy for any longer, the man himself interupted the moment between the two. "Guess we got more in common than meets the eye, huh?" Bellamy glanced at Clarke and Finn as he spoke. Violet rolled her eyes.

"We have nothing in common." Wells denied.

"No? Both came down here to protect someone we love," Bellamy wrapped his arm around Violet.

Wells stayed quiet, so Bellamy continued. "Your secrets safe with me. 'Course, for you its worse. With Finn around, Clarke doesn't even see you." "It's like you're not even here." he finished, grabbing Violet's hand and pulling her forward to walk with him.

✶✶✶

After Clarke and Finn's discovery of Jasper's goggles near a bloodied rock, they had met up with the other half the group to follow the trail.

Murphy broke the silence, "Hey, how do we know this is the right way?"

"We don't. Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker," Bellamy mocked.

"It's called "Cutting Sign." Fourth-year Earth skills. He's good." Wells defended the long haired boy.

Annoyed, Finn interjected "You want to keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?" He stopped at a plant as he noticed some blood dripping down. He sunk to the ground to see a rock that had drops of blood on it, coming from the plant above. He and Clarke shared a look.

Bellamy chose this moment to taunt Wells even more, "See? You're invisible."

"Give it a rest Bellamy!" Violet harshly whispered to him, completely over his constant teasing of the chancellor's son. She separated herself from him as much as she could.

He was shocked at the small outburst, getting mildly angry that his girl was defending someone else. His girl.

A loud moan broke out and everyone looked up . "What the hell was that?" Murphy spoke all of their thoughts in the moment.

"Now would be a good time to take out that gun." Clarke suggested.

Everyone moved forward towards the direction of the groaning. They all stopped once they came to the source of it. There was Jasper, strapped to a tree. "Jasper!" Clarke gasped.

Violet was the second one to move forward, after Clarke. "Jasper!" Clarke called out again. "What the hell is this?" Bellamy said before there was a loud snap.

Clarke has stepped onto a trap and was falling when a hand caught onto hers.

She looked up to see that Violet had caught her before she could fall. The brunette immediately tried to pull her up but was having a difficult time by herself.

"A little help?" she called out to the boys behind her.

Bellamy came rushing over and grabbed Violet at the waist as the rest of the boys helped her pull Clarke up. The blonde was breathing very hard after her near death experience. She looked at Violet, "Thank you," she nodded gratefully.

"Anytime," Violet said, letting out a small laugh.

Clarke looked back up at Jasper. "We need to get him down."

"I'll climb up there and cut the vines." "Yeah, yeah I'm with you." Wells offered to Finn.

"No. Stay with the girls. And watch him." Finn orderd. He then gestured to Murphy, "You, lets go."

Clarke noticed something on Jasper, "There's a poultice on his wound."

Wells questioned, "Medicine? Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?"

"Maybe what they're trying to catch like's its dinner to be breathing," Bellamy suggested, making Violet grimace.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us." Finn said from his spot by Murphy and Jasper, making everyone worry.

As the two boys worked to get Jasper down, there was a strange noise that came from behind them. "What the hell was that?" Murphy asked no one in particular.

Bellamy quickly grabbed Violet and pulled her close to him. "Grounders?"

Clarke noticed a panther beginning to charge at the four, "Bellamy! Gun!" However when he felt for it, he couldn't find it.

The, gunshot came from over where Wells was. He was aiming it at the oncoming animal, hitting it once but it wasn't enough. He kept shooting randomly as the animal made it's way into the grass in front of Bellamy and Violet.

Bellamy was quick to push Violet behind him, shielding her. He would move her and himself the opposite way of where he could hear the dangerous animal.

All of a sudden it went quiet. Hearts racing, the couple held onto each other.

The panther had made it's way behind Violet when it finally jumped out. Bellamy shoved her to the ground and covered her, waiting for the impact of the panther.

When he had heard another gun shot and felt no impact, he looked up. Wells finally was able to shoot and kill the panther. He slowly got off Violet and helped her up, holding her close to his chest. He looked at Wells, "Now she sees you."

✶✶✶

After an eventful day, the small group made it back home to their camp. Bellamy and Murphy who had been carrying the now dead panther, dropped it as Bellamy shouted "Who's hungry!"

Bellamy and Violet embraced Octavia as the 100 celebrated finally having food to eat.

The price of that food though, ended up being wristbands. Violet shook her head as she watched the boy she loved and his hench men taking off wristbands. When Clarke and Finn had come out to see what was going on, they detested it as much as she did. Finn had went up to grab two meat sticks for him and Clarke, knowing Bellamy wouldn't let his girlfriend go hungry. When he went up he was greeted by Murphy who had taunted him about not following "rules".

"I though there were no rules," Finn said before turning around and walking back to the two girls.

One kids who has seen the spacewalkers act of defiance had decided to follow, grabbing his own stick. Unfortunate before he was able to get away, Bellamy punched the poor kids in the face hard enough for him to fall to the ground as the brooding leader glared at Finn.

Violent instantly went to help the boy up, much to Bellamy's dismay. After glaring heatedly at her power-hungry boyfriend, Violet walked the boy to his tent.

Instead of dealing with anymore bullshit today, she opted to go to her and Bellamy's tent to sleep off every stressful event that has happened on the ground so far.

✶✶✶

Feeling herself being lightly shaken, Violent opened her eyes only to see Bellamy sitting next to her, one hand on her shoulder and one hand cradling her face.

He takes the hand from her face and reaches next to him to grab the panther meat he had saved for her after she had walked off. "You need to eat angel," he softly demanded.

"You need to stop being an ass." Violet retorted, accepting the food.

"I have to be strict or else the kids won't follow orders," Bellamy defended.

Violet tiredly shook her head, "There's a difference between being a leader, and being a power-hungry dictator Bell."

The boy sighed, equally as exhausted "Can we please not fight, I just need you to eat angel."

Nodding, Violet silently finished up her meal before laying in her boyfriends awaiting arms. She put her head on his chest listening to the sound oh his heartbeat, lulling herself into a deep sleep.

[heartbreakgrill]

Birthday Girl; Luke Alvez

description: pining after a fellow team member adds a little bit of spice to your birthday celebrations

a/n: ahhhhh this is my first time writing for criminal minds and I’m so nervous to share. I want to write more for them, especially for the entire team because they make me happy 😚 enjoy, kids!

“Tonight! Tonight! It all happens tonight!”

You spun your office chair around, facing the giddy glee that was Penelope Garcia. She had a party hat on, extra glitter upon her cheeks, and was singing incredibly off-key. Your eyes flickered to her hands as they moved towards you. Next thing you knew, you were wearing a sparkly, pink princess crown and a sash stating you were the birthday girl.

Your cheeks turned a bright red, but you stood nonetheless and enveloped Penelope in a hug. “Happy birthday, my dearest, most beautiful-est, wonderful, sweet little munchkin baby!”

You giggled into her shoulder, inhaling her sweet perfume and attitude. “Thank you, Pen.”

She squeezed you, rocking the two of you side to side. You wobbled on your heeled booties and took the liberty of pushing her off of you before she could knock you down.

“I swear to the sweet, sweet heavens above that if your birthday gets interrupted by some sick weirdo, I will be absolutely unhappy,” Penelope followed you to your desk as you sat back down. She leaned against it, eyes at the heavens and a fist raised, too.

You planted your elbows on the desk, “It’s okay, Pen. We can always celebrate when we get back, if we have a case. Which we won’t. Because you’re manifesting it.”

Penelope looked at you firmly, “You’re dang right I am. But don’t think I don’t know you’re thinking of ways to get out of it. I know you’re not a little social butterfly, but please, just let me have this one birthday.”

You had worked at the BAU for 5 years, but you were a quiet little thing. You went out for drinks and hung out with your little family often, but you didn’t like when all of the attention was on you. It was slightly unprofessional whenever you would stutter during profiles, but you tried your best.

However, this year, Penelope had managed to talk you into allowing her to throw you a birthday night you would never forget. You didn’t know the itenerary, but the get up she’d put on you was tell enough that it would be all eyes on you.

The rest of the team slowly trickled in as the day began, Penelope continuing to talk your ear off. You responded every once and awhile, sometimes barely able to get much in. Everyone had gotten there, but they came in small crowds, so they hadn’t really noticed you yet.

Spencer was the first to point out the tiara and sash. He was coming over with a cup of coffee and muffin he had bought for you at the cafe down the street. It was your birthday, after all, and he was celebrating with a kind gesture.

He set it down beside your folded hands with a smirk. “What’s this, Y/N?” He tugged at the points on the crown.

You blushed, glaring up at him. You nodded your head towards Penelope, who trailed off and met pretty boy’s eyes. “Don’t even, Reid. It is my baby’s birthday and I am finally allowed to celebrate it,” she warned him with a pointed finger.

The word birthday caught the attention of the rest of the team. Matt was especially drawn in because it was his first year with the team.

“I didn’t know it was your birthday, Y/N,” he spoke from across the aisle.

You spun in your chair, cheeks bright red and lips pursed. “Yes, it is.”

“Well, happy birthday, agent...or, I guess, princess.”

The team burst into laughter, Spencer setting a friendly hand on your shoulder. He leaned down and whispered, “Good luck.”

You turned back to your desk and began to fill out more files. Luckily, everybody found their seats and began their work for the day. The rest of the bullpen had gone up in action. A few minutes later, you looked up as a hastened Luke Alvez bounded through the doors. His desk was right next to yours, divided by the plastic overhangs. He sat down, muttering a good morning without even looking at you.

You were so thankful he didn’t notice the crown. It was enough that the entire team had pointed out the get out, and that tonight, they’d all have their entire attention on you. You didn’t need a hot, fit man teasing you about it, too.

But, eventually, when Luke stood up to get coffee, he saw. “You need a refill, Y/N...”

You knew as soon as he trailed off what was to come. You looked up at him timidly, already red in the face. “Yes, please.”

You held out your coffee cup, eyes not meeting his as he gently smiled at you. “Sure.”

He took the mug and left for the kitchen. Your brows furrowed slightly at the fact that he didn’t even say anything. When he came back, he set the mug down beside your half eaten muffin. His palm planted on your desk and he whispered in your ear, “Happy birthday, princess.”

You hung your head, hot all over the place. It was different when it came from Spence and Matt, who you saw as just friends. You had the biggest crush on Luke. And that just sent you over the edge. You bit down on your bottom lip, hard. Luke slumped into his seat with a cheeky smirk. His eyes glanced over at you occasionally. Oh, god. He knew.

You stood from your desk at lunch time before anybody else, quickly striding to Penelope’s office. You threw the door open and closed, loudly.

“Aw! I was going to bring you lunch to you desk, with this cute little unicorn cupcake I bought for you...you look like you just got flashed. Are you okay?” Penelope pulled you into her abandoned chair.

You let out a deep sigh of breath, tugging off your blazer. “I’m so, I’m so...I’m so ugh! He’s so hot, and he knows it. And I’m pretty sure he knows that I think he’s hot, and he’s just so smug, I can’t deal with it. Like, look at his stupid face, Penelope! It’s- UGH!”

Penelope giggled at your reaction. She grabbed your hands and squeezed on tight. “Listen, my love, deep breaths. Is it really so bad if he finds out you’ve been pining over him for a year?”

“Yes! Yes it would! He’s, like, a 20 outta 10. And I’m, like, at least just a 6,” You exclaimed.

Penelope stomped a foot, making you jump in your seat. “Excuse me! Don’t talk about my best friend like that. You are a 1,000. Hell, you are infinite out of 10. Plus, hes just a man. Since when were you so concerned with men and their opinions?”

“Since one made me feel like I was a 10th grade again...” you pouted up at your friend.

Penelope awed at your expression, dropping your hands and wobbling over to her purse. She brought out a purple unicorn cupcake, as promised. She cracked open the plastic covering and set it front of you.

“Eat away the feelings, love. I will be right back with some flower-cut finger sandwiches and homemade lemonade,” Penelope turned to leave, but you stood and tugged her into a hug.

“I’m sorry for being so grouchy about my birthday. I just hat-“

“The attention. I know. It’s alright,” she pulled back and tapped your nose, “I just want to celebrate my beautiful best friend. After today, I will leave you alone. Forever.”

You scoffed as she left, “Yeah, right.”

The day soon came to a close, though you felt like throwing up as each hour passed. Luke continued to make remarks, little, flirtatious ones that had you squirming in your seat. You bit back with quiet mhm’s and sarcastic one-liners. Each time you focused on your work, you felt his eyes watching you. You flipped him off at one point, only gaining a wolf whistle that made you look up and a cheeky wink with, “You make it so hard to love you.”

Penelope dragged you back to your car and into your apartment as quick as possible. She wouldn’t tell you what time things were happening, or what was happening at all. Just that the team would meet you all there. She tossed open the doors to your closet, tearing through the hangers like a wolf.

“You better be coming tomorrow morning to clean this all up,” you crossed your legs and leaned back in your bed. Your birthday had landed on a Friday, lucky enough.

“Oh, yeah, yeah. I’m just trying to find something that screams, ‘Luke Alvez, let me climb you like a tree, but also bend me over the desk because it is my birthday!’”

You gasped the loudest you had ever, pure shock overcoming you. “Penelope Garcia, that was the filthiest thing you have ever, ever said!”

Penelope was giggling inside your closet, but cut herself off with a gasp that matched your own. “I found it! I found it, I found it.”

She pulled out a black dress you had bought a while ago for JJ’s wedding. You never ended up wearing it because you felt it drew too much attention to your chest, and you were nervous for that. But Penelope threw it over your head and turned her focus to your curling iron.

“No if’s, and’s, or but’s, my love. You are wearing it. No questions! No complaints! Hurry!”

Eventually, you were ready to go, matching Penelope’s height in blush pink, open-toed heels. Penelope had taken off your everyday makeup and went completely nuts. She made you look incredibly hot in a way you couldn’t even describe. You felt attractive as you walked with Penelope to her car.

The first stop on the birthday celebration, after Penelope had argued with you to put back on the crown and sash (you had), was a really fancy restaurant. You and Penelope often admired it from afar, every time you walked this street to shop and get drinks with the girls. One time, you’d even walked in to see how much it would be and automatically turned around.

“Don’t even try to object, just get out of the car,” Penelope had ran around the car after throwing it in park, pulling open your door excitedly.

She grabbed your arm and tugged you from your seat. You stumbled onto your heels, balancing on the concrete of the sidewalk. You clutched your purse to your chest as the feelings of insecurity and nerves inhabited your body. Penelope threw her arm into your and set the pace. Inside, the hostess asked for the name and you weren’t surprised that it was under ‘Rossi.’

The entire team was sitting at a lengthy table in a private, little corner of the building. You slouched as you noticed them, stopping in your tracks. Penelope didn’t say much, just pushed back your shoulders, patted your cheek, and presented a wide grin. You felt slightly better and put on faux confidence as you made your way to the table.

“Hey! Look who finally arrived!” Dave held up his champagne glass, dressed in his same old two piece suit.

Spencer, Emily, and Matt twisted in their seats to look at you. Luke and Dave were across from them and your breath hitched when the former looked up from the menu in his hands. He smiled cheekily, eyes flickering up and down your body.

Everyone stood up, exchanged hugs as if you hadn’t just seen each other. Penelope sat across from Matt, next to Dave, leaving the only open seat at the head of the table, next to Spencer and Luke.

Luke hugged you last, large hands gently pressing against your hip and back. You shivered beneath his touch and he felt the tense slouch you gave. When he pulled back, he whispered in your ear, “You look beautiful.”

With bright red cheeks, you pulled in your chair and sat. Soon enough, Spencer was pouring you champagne, the waiter was collecting orders, and you were picking at a buttery roll. The team was exchanging conversation that you occasionally chimed in on. It was normal routine. You were surprised Penelope hadn’t thrown in the middle of a bowling alley or something along those lines. This was perfect.

The food came, finally, and the conversation slowed somewhat. Luke nudged you with his elbow and you looked up to meet his eyes.

“How’s your birthday going, princesa?” He bit off a piece of steak.

You swallowed, reaching for your champagne. “It’s really good, actually. I was worried Pen would go over the top. But this is good.”

“You’re not one for attention, I noticed,” he flicked his brows up.

You shook your head gently, “It makes me nervous.”

“Well, I apologize for toeing the line with my comments and stuff.”

“No, it’s...” your eyes flickered away from his, but came back, “it’s okay. I...like it.”

Luke grinned widely, eyes glinting, “Oh, really?”

You blushed and looked down, “Don’t push it, Alvez.”

Luke did push it, though, “Hey, it’s cute. You’re cute.”

You kicked him under the table and he went back to his food with a playful laugh.

Eventually, the food was finished. You handed your plate to the waiter before wiping off your hands and sighing. “Does anybody want dessert?”

The team glanced at you and then to Penelope. She shrugged, “No, I’m good.”

You tilted your head, “There’s somewhere else that we’re going, isn’t there?”

Penelope shrugged again, avoiding your eyes and caressing the mouth of her glass. “No, no there isn’t.”

“Okay, then you won’t mind if I just catch a cab home,” you stretched your arms above your head, yawning. “I’m awfully tired.”

Penelope shouted, “No! No, do not move. I will make Luke hold you down if I have to.”

“You always say so much, Pen, so much,” you bantered with a knowing smile.

She huffed, eyes rolling back, “And you always ruin it.”

Luke winked at you before nodding towards an approaching waiter. He held a giant cake in his hands, with lit sparklers and candles. The team broke out into song and you hid your face in your hands.

You felt warm hands on both of yours, pulling them from your space. Luke held your eyes on his, singing softly with the team. He managed to ground you, to make you feel more comfortable in this setting as the cake was put down in front of you. He tugged your hands back and forth in a little dance, drawing a grin to you face.

“Make a wish, princesa,” he pointed to the cake, holding onto one hand.

You shut your eyes, blowing hard and aiming for the candles. They went out, the sparkles fizzling to an end. Suddenly, your face went red hot and you squealed. Spencer took a big glob of frosting on his finger and smeared it all over your face.

You opened your eyes, squinting to avoid getting icing in your eyes. “Spence Reid! What the hell?!”

The team laughed, and you couldn’t help but join them. Luke’s fingers intertwined with yours, settling on your lap. He squeezed.

You took your own bit of frosting and reached across the table. Spencer tried to hide in Emily’s side, but she pushed him into your finger. He stuck his tongue out and licked a bit of frosting from his chin.

You tossed your head back, laughing the loudest you had ever. Emily called from her end of the table, “Well, now we know who our next unsub might be.”

Rossi replied, “And the victimology would be tall, skeletal, dorky men with unbrushed hair and the inability to shut up.”

“Oh, yes! Time to roast Spencer!” You closed your fist around a napkin, shaking it at the doctor. “Yes, yes, yes!”

You didn’t feel as insecure anymore- you finally felt comfortable. Luke’s hand stayed in yours as you began to wipe off your face.

JJ took her turn, “Hey, have some hope. Maybe she’ll only kidnap you.”

“How is that any better?” Spence exclaimed.

Penelope finished JJ’s thought, “Because you’ll bore her so much with your ‘actually’s’ that she’ll just drop you back off where she took you from.”

You wiped at the frosting on your house, probably just smearing it. Luke tapped your hand, holding his palm open. “Here, let me.”

You hesitantly handed him the napkin and he twisted a small section. He dipped it in a forgotten glass of water and using that part to wipe off the frosting.

“You know, I could just lick it off, like Reid, here,” Luke tapped your nose as he moved to the other side of your face.

You squeezed his hand, giggling, “In privacy.”

“Oh?” He retracted his hand, but you grabbed his wrist and pulled it back in place. “Oh, I see. I see. So I just have to get you alone.”

You swallowed, hard, a silence expanding between the two of you. His face fell slightly and he dropped his hand. You didn’t stop him.

“Are you being serious? Or is this just another banter of yours?” You muttered, hoping nobody was listening.

Luke sighed, pressing his elbow into the table and rubbing his forehead. His head hung low, but he looked up at you through his eyelashes. “You tell me.”

You squirmed under his gaze, redder than you’d ever been. Your mout hung agape and you tried to form a sentence. But, Penelope interrupted the moment. She came to your side with a butter knife and started cutting slices out of the cake for everyone.

“Here you go, my birthday queen!” Penelope set the first slice down in front of you.

You moved your hand and gaze from Luke, brandishing a fork. “Ah, I see I’ve moved up in ranks. It’s queen, now?”

“Red Queen could be your nickname, ya know, when the media flags you down for my murder,” Reid took a full plate from Penelope.

He cheekily smiled at you. “Oh, we’re still on this?”

He nodded, “We’re still on this.”

You and Spencer continued arguing about the possibility of his murder by your hand, the conversation soon turning into either of your opinions on the perfect way to actually murder someone. Sadly, the night was winding down.

But that didn’t mean Penelope didn’t have more plans. “Now, it is time for drinks and presents at Barb’s!”

The team pulled back on their coats, picking up the checks that were split and put on the table. You had just finished buttoning your jacket when you reached for your check that had been right next to your empty glass of champagne. You were surprised to see it missing. You felt around for it, but couldn’t seem to find it.

You caught up to the team, who were already paying. You grasped Penelope’s forearm and she grinned at you, “Yes, queen?”

You cracked a smile, though you were still confused. “Did you take my check?”

Penelope’s brows furrowed. “No. No I didn’t. Just see if you can get a new one.”

You sighed, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’ll work.”

You approached the register right after Penelope, the rest of the team lingering to the side to wait for you and Reid, who was behind you. “Hi, I was sitting with the rest of them and my check seems to have gone missing.”

“What did you order?” The hostess smiled kindly. You rattled off your order and she looked through the receipts.

“Oh, here it is,” she remarked, pulling it from the pile. “Uh, yes, it’s already been paid for.”

You leaned forward, attempting to see the receipt. She turned to towards you. “Who paid for it?” You asked.

She shrugged, “I can’t give out that information. Although, I could say that it’s your birthday, and you should just appreciate the kind effort.”

You thanked her and joined your friends. They were all in their own discussions, and the group began walking out when Spencer joined. You fell in stride beside Luke, accidentally.

You looked over at him and when he felt your stare, he returned your gaze. “What?” He let out a dry chuckle.

You cleared your throat, “Did you pay for my check?”

When he didn’t respond, you knew that he was answering your question.

“You didn’t have to do that,” your fingers felt from your pockets, noticing his were swinging between your hips. You let them find each other’s again.

Luke‘s stride ended, pulling you to a stop beside him. You turned your body to him as only the tips of your fingers touched. “What?”

Luke smiled at you, “You never told me.”

“Told you what?” You were far too nervous to give him the answer he craved to hear. One night of activities couldn’t calm your introverted behavior that much.

Luke groaned, tossing his head back. He pulled your hand into his all the way. “Come on, princesa. This is exhausting.”

You breathed steadily, trying to calm the hoards of butterflies flapping through your body. “I...I’m going to tell you that I want...”

You couldn’t word it properly, which was obvious, due to the wrinkled expression on your face. “I’m going to tell you that I want...god, Luke, help me out.”

Luke’s innocent little smile twisted into a cheeky smirk. His hand moved to your hip, pressing your stomach against his. He swept the hair behind your ear, caressing your cheek.

“What did you wish for, birthday girl?”

“You.”

[softcallofdutyimagines]

Stay | Russell Adler x fem!bell!Reader

Summary: Despite having developed deep feelings for you after all this time working together, Adler takes you to antarctica like he was told. The only issue is... Things aren't as they seem when he finally confronts you.

Aka, sorry Treyarch, but this time the thotlers win.

SKSKSKS I ONLY MADE THAT POST TO TEST THE WATER, SO THANK YOU @smokeywhalee FOR ASKING FOR THE FIC. I ACTUALLY WROTE THIS WHOLE ASS THING LAST NIGHT SO COME GET THIS FLUFFY ASS BREAD Y'ALL AND ENJOY

Tags: fluff, angst, and angst with a happy ending

Warnings: some strong language and you might need a tissue box bc I sure did 😭😭

"Nothing like arctic air, eh?"

Russell Alder stands just a few feet away, hands resting squarely on his hips, looking out over the cliffs.

"Sure", you smile tiredly, a little sleepy from the long flight, as you walk up beside him. Without needing permission, you slip your pinky around his as he loosens his grip to allow you to do so.

Adler takes a glance down at your intertwined hands. He can't keep you in the dark for long. But still, he's afraid to tell you...

You move to lean your head on his shoulder, only to be left alone as he wrenches himself away.

"Listen Bell, there's... There's something I need to tell you", he refuses himself a glance at you. It would hurt him too much. You make an inquisitive noise and a long silence passes.

Perhaps it would be best just to get the hard part over. He was never one for beating around the bush anyway. "They sent me out here to kill you, Bell"

His voice is hardly audible, a clever trick to disguise the hurt in his voice. He grits his teeth, wondering if you really needed to know that, but then he remembers... He's done lying to you. You deserve to know.

Adler braces himself for the backlash, perhaps even a bullet in the back. Instead, he's met with a whisper.

"I know"

Your voice is only audible thanks to the bitter wind helping it along to his ear, leaving a ghostly caress as it passes him by. Russell turns around this time, almost disappointed to see your back still turned to him.

"How d-?"

You turn slowly, and even from there he can see the tear rolling down your face, "Why else would we be out here?", you gesture around to the great nothingness enveloping you both. You sniff and swipe a hand across you cheek, a joyless laugh escaping you, "Besides, you never take me anywhere nice"

In any other scenario, it would be playful and teasing, just like he knows you for.

Adler huffs a half hearted laugh at that, before tearing his gaze away. "Bell, I..."

"Oh, cut the shit Russell. Just do it, alright?", the tears flow freely down your glassy eyes now, "I know you have to... Really, I get it. A-and it's alright, you know? I-"

By now, Adler has made his way across to you. Even now, he hates to see you so upset. He gently grips your arms in his strong, steady hands, hoping against hope to give you some sense of ease. He needs to finish what he has to say.

"Bell..."

He then tries to say your name, but you won't allow it.

"Just shut up, alright? God, I hate you! I h-hate you..."

You struggle in his grip, beating weakly against his chest as your body becomes wracked pwith sobs, voice trailing off pathetically. Adler pulls you close, just in time, as you collapse into his arms.

"God, why? Why why...?"

You're choked up with hiccuping sobs again as Adler lowers you both to kneel in the grass. He squeezes you tighter, comfortingly he hopes, and if nothing else, to keep him from allowing tears of his own to fall too.

With a ragged gasp, you find your voice, allowing your anger and frustration to seap in at last, "After all I did for you people... This is how yo-?"

But you're cut off, and suddenly all your senses are overwhelmed with... Him.

Adlers lips crush into yours, the eagerness with which he kisses you is enough to erase all the fear, and pain, and sadness. At least, for the moment.

The crisp arctic air only accentuates the musky smell of his cologne, infusing every breath you breathe with its familiar scent. Charred birch and a hint of cigarettes. You almost smile at that.

He's been trying to quit, per your request, but... Old habits die hard.

The uneven stubble of his scarred chin tickles as he works over your lips, sucking gently, but adamantly once, then twice, before sustaining one long kiss again.

At last you part, lungs burning for air. Small puffs of condensation intermingle between your mouths as you catch your breath.

Adler takes one last gasp for air, to steady himself more then anything, before delivering one more kiss to your forehead. He knows he doesn't deserve to think such things, but...

You have no idea how long he's wanted to kiss you.

A few more tears start up from you again, but in that moment, he decides once and for all to commit to all the promises he's been wanting to make to you. He's done watching you suffer, and it's time you knew.

"I'm not going to kill you Bell...", he whispers against the warm skin of your forehead before pulling you to the crook of his neck.

You sniff, instantly frozen as you try to make sense of what you just heard. Too soon, faster then your mind can catch up, you search for words, "Wha-? Why? How? Russell, if they find out they'll kill yo-"

"Shhhh, they're not going to find out. I'm defecting. Right here, right now"

"B-but, why? I already told you, it's o-"

Adler moves his hands to cup your face, training your gaze to be all on him.

"No, it's not ok Bell. What we did to you... What I did to you... Was fucked, and unfair, but... it was for the greater good. But this? No."

"W-well ok... but-?"

"I'm doing this because I love you Bell", he barks it out, almost angrily, but even behind those old tinted aviators, you can see his expression soften almost immediately as he gently strokes your cheek with his thumb, "I love you... So much. Do you understand?"

He pauses for a moment, and his grand show of steely emotions breaks as he removes the sunglasses to wipe away his tears. And when he looks back at you... You're surprised at the reminder of how beautiful his eyes are.

"And... I'm... sorry I never told you before... Well, this"

Your mind is reeling at the rush of information. This... confession, isn't exactly news to you, but to hear him say it...

With one more sniff, Adler manages to pull himself together for a final moment of vulnerability, "Look, I know this is... a lot, but I was thinki- I...", he sighs and takes a deep breath. This is it.

"Would you... Come away with me? The CIA is going to be looking for both of us, and, well... No body and all, so I was thinking... We could find somewhere... off the grid, just you and me, start fresh? I know it'll be tough bu-"

"Yes!"

"-t I can protect you an- Wait... Yes?"

"Yes!", you seal the statement with a quick kiss. A promise. Then, you grow serious, "There's nothing left for me out here Russell... You're my only choice"

"...I'm sorry to hear that"

You cup a hand to his face, a tiny glimpse of that beautiful smile he loves so much peeking through, "No no, I didn't mean... This is a good thing. I meant to say, I wouldn't want to choose anyone else"

Adler sniffs and huffs a laugh, rocking gently as you pull in for an embrace, "Well in that case... I'm sorry to hear you have such terrible taste in men"

That earns a genuine laugh from you, and to him, it sounds like music.

You slip your hand into his, holding on just by the fingers before reaching up to plant a kiss over the scar on his jaw. You always rather liked those scars of his, no matter how much he wishes they never were.

But then again... He loves the way you use them to make him feel handsome, and he'll never understand how you do it.

After a few moments more, Adler gets up, pulling you to your feet as well. You wipe away the last of your tears, and as you glance up at him, a look of uncertainty crosses you.

He knows he has no right to ask you to trust him. Not after all the lies and the manipulation that got you and him to this point. But even after all that... The fact that you're willing to give him a chance humbles him to no end.

Adler looks back at you, and wishes for nothing more then the ability to make sure you never have to worry, or hurt, or live in fear ever again. But if there's one thing he does know, he'll be damned if he doesn't try.

"Come on kid", he rubs some warmth back into your arms, then kisses the top of your hair, "let's get out of here, huh? I've got just the place in mind..."

And just the place indeed.

A few months of preparation go by first, but at last you've managed to escape to the Swiss country side. Fields and fields of vibrant green grass and small wildflowers pass you by as Adler drives along, the great alps standing tall and strong just in the distance.

The sun glows warmly over head, and a little sparkle catches your eye. You look down and admire the ring on your hand once again, turning it this way and that, before stealing a glance at Russell's matching one.

With a couple more twists and turns, Adler asks you to close your eyes. A little while more, and the car comes to a stop. "Hey, don't open yet!", He hurries around to help you out, guiding you along want feels like a gravel path.

He puts his hands over yours, "Ready?"

You nod, the suspense absolutely eating you up. Finally, he moves your hands aside, revealing a small, brightly painted house before you. A stone path leads up to a white fenced porch complete with a swing for two.

The whole thing is practically overgrown with wysteria, coiling in and around the pillars and walls, and out front a wild garden stretches up towards the sun.

It's perfect.

You whip around, finding yourself unable to speak. But, he already knows. Adler sweeps you up off your feet and gives you a little spin as you shriek in surprise, melting into a fit of laughter as he sets you down.

He leans in and kisses you, just another of countless more to come, before pulling back. You have no idea how much it means to him to see you this happy....

"Welcome home"

[sweetyaoigirl]

Hii, could you write an angst/fluff Deidara x Reader where was Dei hurt during a fight and after he was not returning home, reader would go to look for him and then after she found him, she would take care of his injuries.

Yes of course ^^

I hope you enjoy anon <3

Warnings: Blood, cursing, little bit yandere reader

(Also Deidara is a bit tsundere X3)

It was another boring day as usual in the Akatsuki base.

I woke up and the first thing I noticed is that Deidara is missing.

Early mission ? Yeah but he will be fine. I'm just worried about how many people will he blow up again. Actually I'm not. I don't care about the others. I was only invited to the Akatsuki because of my assassin skills.

Even if leader praise me I simply don't care. In my opinion Deidara is the only normal person here.

Also the most important person to me. I took a liking to that evil terrorist man.

Everyone in the base is teasing me about that.

They are even making fun of me that how can I love someone who is smaller than me. (if you are not that tall reader-chan I'm sorry you can read it how you want X3 ) .

Some days I would like to slice their throats open. But I can't do that because of leader. And Deidara would also be not happy about that.

But because of my assassin skills they can't predict my moves since my kunai is pressed against their throats long time ago.

I smile as I prepared my breakfast thinking about flustrated Deidara every time I compliment his art.

His cheeks always turn pink and says that he knows it even without me saying that. He is so cute when he is like that. If only he knew about my little crush towards him. The whole base already knows that but only Dei is the one who is so blind. But it doesn't matter. I ate my breakfast and sat on my bed.

So how should I spend my free day without mission ? I guess I should paint my nails. The color is coming off. I grabbed my nail polish that was on my shelf and I painted my nails f/c.

When it dried off I stood up and admired my painted nails.

Good. I walked my way to Deidara's room and gently opened the door in case some explosion would fly off.

He used to prepare traps because of Tobi.

When I fully opened the door I noticed all the mess on the floor. He was probably in hurry and leaved his room messy. Geez.

I'm bored so I guess I will clean it. I lazily started cleaning room and when I finished I tossed myself on his bed.

He should be grateful. But I can't just lay on the bed the whole day. I should go train for the rest of the day. By that time Deidara should be back. I stood up and go outside.

The weather was nice, ideal for training.

Let's get started.

Timeskip

It was night already so I decided to return to the base. Deidara should be here any minute. I will make him something for dinner. I started preparing food with a smile on my face.

I put a lot of oil in the meat to make it more delicious and when it was finished I placed it on the table with my eyes widened. It was a little burn up but the taste should be fine. In that minute Sasori came to kitchen and looked at the food that was on the plate.

What is that ? Even my puppets wouldn't eat that if they could to. Sasori said as he leaved.

I grabbed a pan and clenched my fist.

I hate to admit it but he's right. I'm not really expert at cooking but I tried. And he is puppet too so what was he trying to say ? Nevermind I will just lay here and wait for Deidara. I made myself comfortable on the chair I was sitting and laid my head on my hands.

Soon I drifted into a deep sleep.

When I woke up I rubbed my eyes and noticed Zetsu eating human. Great right in front of me.

Hey ! Did Deidara returned ? I asked the plant creature.

He just ate the human and disappeared without saying anything.

Weird creature. At least answer me.

I will go ask the others about Deidara. Maybe they know something.

After I asked every single member nothing came out of their mouths. What is wrong with them ? I'm pretty sure Deidara already had a birthday. Everyone is acting weird. Even Tobi was silent when I asked him. He is the loudest member of the Akatsuki and he should be worried about Deidara. I mean he is always calling him senpai senpai which is pissing me off but now nothing. No I didn't asked everybody. Leader gave him the mission so he should answer me.

I knocked on his door and no one came off. Maybe he is not here. Just when I wanted to leave the door opened and revealed Pain himself.

Leader can I ask about Deidara's mission ? When will he come back ?

Out of my way. I'm busy. He said in that cold tone in his voice.

Even leader ? What is wrong with them ?

Deidara should be already back. He should be here even sooner since he is using his clay bird. I sneaked into the leader's office to search for the files about Deidara's mission. So 2 days mission huh. He should be back today. I was worrying for nothing. Maybe that's why leader didn't answered me.

He is going to be fine. He is going to be fine. I'm sure of it. But my mind was saying something else. Is he okay ? Or is he already coming back ?

No no calm down Y/N. He is going to be fine. If he won't return today, he should be here early in the morning. I reassured myself.

But all day I thought only of Deidara. I don't have a good feeling about this. I came out of the base and sat next to big rock.

I hugged myself as I continued trembling.

Come back as soon as you can Dei. I closed my eyes and few tears escaped from my eyes.

I woke up at the next day but Deidara was nowhere to be seen.

This is bad. He should be here. Something must happened. I must go save him. But I don't know where he is. What should I do ?

The files...

Of course I just need to read where he is.

I sneaked into the office to read about Deidara's mission.

Near the hidden wind village ? I will be right there. Wait for me Deidara. Just be safe. I packed a bunch of kunai and mini shurikens just in case and run away from the akatsuki base.

I was running for my life to get in here as soon as possible.

Did they outnumbered him ? The wind village is very dangerous place even I know that.

Damn it why is it so far ?! How many days will it took me to get here ? There is nothing I can do about it. I must just run.

Why did leader let Deidara go alone ? Even he knows that it is very dangerous country.

Another timeskip ╰(▔∀▔)╯

I made it in one day. That is incredible. Okay where is Dei ? I noticed someone laying on ground and run up to the it seemed like wounded person.

When I look closely it was Deidara.

T-that's no way. Deidara wake up ! Come on you are not dead are you ? Wake up this is not funny !

Hey....

Don't leave me Dei. I placed my hand on top of his bloody hand.

Are you kidding ? There is no way you can die that easily. I sobbed.

W-who i-is there ? Deidara asked.

It's me Deidara. Y/N. I said now with a smile on my face.

W-wha what a-are you doing here ? He asked weakly.

You were not coming back and I was worried about you. I said.

Y-you came a little late. I can't feel my leg. I don't even know if I still have my leg. Deidara chuckled.

What ? I checked his leg and my eyes widened.

With my eyes I could tell he was stabbed more like twenty times.

His entire leg was covered with his blood.

I can't believe that you survived that. Why didn't you come back ?

T-there were so many of them. I-I'm not asking for your help. He caughed blood from his mouth.

His entire body is covered with nasty wounds.

I will help you stand up Deidara.

W-who asked you to help me hmm ?

I came on my own ! I will help you if you like it or not. I placed his hand around my neck.

Do whatever you want. He said avoiding my gaze.

Is your other leg okay ?

Yeah. I can move freely with my other leg un. B-but I'm not saying thank you.

You don't need to. I'm afraid you will lose more blood if we keep walking the whole time to the base. I should have bring some healing supplies.

Don't talk nonsense. Let's move. I faced death so many times.

But now you have someone who cares about you !

I don't care if someone cares about me or not. Just go away.

Deidara are you okay ? Hey stay with me ! He is losing a lot of blood. There is no chance that he will survive if we keep moving.

Y/N I'm afraid that we will not make it in time to the base.

I have my last words.

What are you saying ? Stop joking.

Tell Sasori danna that my art is better than his.

This is your last words ? You idiot. I smiled at him with tears rolling on my face.

And I want to tell you something too. I always admired you. You are such a fine women un. Too bad I won't see you again.

I will watch over you. Deidara fell on ground.

Stop joking ! You are not dying ! This isn't even like you to say such a nice words to me. Or is it because you are really dying ? I clenched my fists as I fell on my knees.

Don't leave me don't leave me don't leave don't leave me don't leave me !!!! I yelled.

No. I refuse to accept this ! I won't let you die ! I know that you can still survive. We will get to the base in no time.

I ripped a fabric from my shirt and wrapped it around Deidara's leg.

The wince in pain means that he is still alive. Thank Jashin.

We crossed the river and I tried to clean his wounds.

When I saw the wounds that were deep and the blood were escaping from them, I ripped my shirt again many times in order to bandage all the wounds.

I'm glad that I'm wearing my Akatsuki cloak because I used almost the whole shirt for Deidara's wounds.

I panted heavily as I dragged Deidara with me. I couldn't feel my legs but I kept walking. I don't know how many hours are we even walking.

With a lot of breaks and walking I looked up at the two rock platforms.

We are home Deidara. I turned to face the still unconscious Deidara.

I opened his door with my leg and gently laid him on the bed.

I changed his bandages and cleaned his wounds.

Ughhh. He grunted.

It might hurt a little bit but you will be okay. I caressed his cheek and it seemed like he calmed down.

I came to my room to put something on beneath my akatsuki cloak and then I returned to Deidara's room. He was sleeping peacefully so I decided to let him rest.

The next day Deidara finally woke up.

Where am I un ? He asked still sleepy.

In the base. I'm suprised that you woke up so soon. I said.

You ! You bringed me here ?! Alone ? Are you out of your mind ?! Who would go so far for me ?!!

Me. I'm so glad that you are okay. I hugged him tightly.

Ow ow my wounds ! Are you out of your mind ? Who allowed you to hug me un ?!

Sorry I couldn't helped myself. I just want to say welcome back. I said shily.

You are really big idiot going so far for me. He smiled.

Is that true that I'm important to you ? I asked.

What ? What are you saying un ?

You said it. You even said that it's too bad I won't see you again. Do you feel the same like me ? I asked all curious.

Shut up ! I never said something like that. It must be your imagination. I would never say something like that even if I would die. Deidara crossed his arms.

Is that so ? But I remember that you said it. I teased.

Leave me alone ! I would never say such a bullshit.

Right right. I will leave you now. I opened the door my leg already outside but voice stopped me.

Wait ! Maybe what I said is true but don't you dare say it to others you got it un ?!

I smiled at his confession.

Yes don't worry. It will be our secret. I winked at him.

Also.....thank you......for saving me. He tried to hide his blush but I noticed it.

I will never let something bad happen to you ever again Dei.

Shut up ! Just because you are a little bit taller than me doesn't mean that I can't protect you too !

So you would protect me too ?

I-I didn't said that ! Just shut up !!!

[writeforfandoms]

Merry Go Round of Life 7

Find my masterlist

Here we are. Chapter 7. Stuff is happening, we’re getting to see more of plotty stuff. We’re still nowhere near the end, I have Plans still, but! 

This will be Din Djarin x f!reader eventually. Don’t hold your breath folks, this one’s a slow burn. Sort of.

Warnings: Some mild violence. Some magic. 

Taglist: @tibbietibbs​ @fandom-blackhole​ @pedrocentric​ @shoopidly​ @sarahjkl82-blog​ @cannedsoupsucks​ @zinzinina​ @beskarprincessjenny 

In which there is some adventuring

“Now?” you asked, surprised. It wasn’t late, there was still sunlight out, but it wasn’t going to be light for much longer.

“Now,” Djarin confirmed, sweeping over to his work area and starting to gather things up.

A bit perplexed, you picked up the kid and shrugged at Peli. Well, if the wizard said so, it looked like you were going with him. He wouldn’t take the kid anywhere dangerous, which likely meant that, by extension, you’d be fine. 

Djarin nodded when you walked back over to him, and he opened the door again and ushered you out first. You stepped down into the sand, taking a moment to adjust. It was slippery under your feet, softer than you were used to feeling. It was a very curious feeling, but not altogether unpleasant. 

“I’m Cobb Vanth,” the silver-haired man said, holding out a hand to you. You took it after a moment of juggling the child to your other side, giving him your name in turn. 

“Which way?” Djarin asked before you and Vanth could talk further. 

“It’s not too far,” Vanth said, jerking his head and starting to walk. You kept pace with the two men, although you had the feeling they were taking pity on you and walking slower than they otherwise would. Well, that suited you fine. You could only hobble so fast.

“You say you found this crystal near your town?” Djarin asked as he walked.

“‘S right,” Vanth agreed. “There’s a deposit of ‘em. Too close to the creature, now. Can’t get close without getting trampled. Once the creature’s gone, you’re welcome to as many of ‘em as you want.”

Djarin hummed quietly at that and then fell silent. Vanth looked at you, and you shrugged and continued walking. It was a bit harder to walk in the sand than you were used to, and before long Djarin reached over and took the kid from you. You rather wished you’d grabbed your trusty walking stick before you’d left. Vanth offered you his arm, which you took with a grateful murmur.

“Not much farther,” Vanth told both of you as the sun slid towards the horizon. “We’ll be there before full dark.”

Well, that wasn’t as reassuring as he thought it was. You huffed but soldiered on, grateful for the assistance. 

Finally, the village wavered on the edge of your vision, slipping in and out of sight for a while. It was quite curious, but you didn’t quite dare to ask Djarin or Vanth about the illusion effect. It also occurred to you that your eyes were possibly just acting their current age. (Another thing to wallop the Witch for.) 

And then all at once you were just outside the village. Only a few people were still out and about, but you could see lights flickering in the huts. 

“C’mon,” Vanth murmured to the two of you. “My place is this way. You can stay the night and start out first thing.”

Djarin started to protest but Vanth still had you firmly in his grasp, and he led you away. You heard Djarin sigh behind you and then start after you, and you smiled a little.

“It’s very kind of you to let us stay,” you murmured to Vanth.

“Oh it’s no trouble, ma’am,” he replied with a grin. “I like havin’ visitors over.” He shot you a wink, and you half-hid your chuckle behind a hand. “How’d you end up working for the wizard, anyway?”

“It’s a long story,” you deflected, waving a hand airily. “I’m sure a youngster like yourself wouldn’t be interested in anything so dull.” 

"Indulge me?" Vanth asked, giving you his undivided attention. 

You hesitated and then started crafting a somewhat vaguely truthful account. "I'm from Kalevala," you said, starting out speaking slowly. "I decided that I wanted to see more of the world, so I left home. I found the castle as I was walking and let myself in."

Vanth choked briefly on air as he opened the front door for you. "You let yourself in? Ma'am, you are far braver than I."

You waved off his compliment. "That's when I met the child. And, well, I have experience with my niece, you know. So I offered my services to the wizard."

"Offered?" Djarin drawled from behind you, very nearly giving you a heart attack. 

You made a face at the wizard. He wasn't exactly wrong. 

"Well, that's quite a story," Vanth said, looking between the two of you like he wasn't sure he'd gotten the whole story. Good instincts on this one. "Have y'all eaten? I can whip somethin' up for you."

"No, thank you," Djarin answered. He handed the kid back to you, and you cradled the little one easily. 

Vanth nodded after a moment. "Make yourselves at home," he offered, waving at the space. He kicked his boots off and padded further inside. 

You exchanged looks with Djarin, shrugged, and carefully toed your own shoes off. You were going to poke around (just a little), but Djarin expertly herded you to the couch. 

"Let the kid sleep," was all the explanation he offered. You huffed but gave in, settling there for the moment.

Honestly, it wasn't as awkward as you would have feared. Not to mention the walk had worn you out more than you'd anticipated. By the time it was fully dark, you'd fallen asleep on the couch. You roused only briefly when Djarin encouraged you to lay down flat, the kid sprawled across your torso, and then you were out again. 

Gentle nudges roused you in the morning, and you blinked your eyes open, bleary and a bit irritated.

"We're going now," Djarin murmured to you. He was crouched next to the couch, in his usual armor. 

"Hmm?" You blinked at him, lifting one hand to rub crust out of your eyes. 

"Vanth is showing me where the creature lives," Djarin reminded you patiently. 

You grumbled something unintelligible at him. Djarin chuckled and stood. 

"Go back to sleep," he told you. "I'll be back soon." 

You lifted your head to watch him leave. Vanth nodded to you and shut the door after the two of them. Your head hit the pillow again and you were out. 

You woke again later to little hands patting your cheeks, and you smiled without opening your eyes. 

"Good morning," you murmured to the kid, who burbled happily at you. You cleared your eyes carefully and looked at the kid. "Hungry?"

The kid cooed, and you got up carefully. You weren't as sore or stiff as you thought you would be, which was nice. It didn't take long to find a little something for the kid to eat, but you both grew bored quickly. 

"Shall we take a look around?" You asked the kid. He blinked up at you, and you carried him outside. You didn't plan to go far, you just wanted to look around. Stave off some boredom waiting for Djarin to return. 

The village was small. You might even use quaint, if asked. It was a handful of huts and other buildings, with one general store and a few other odds and ends. Sand stretched out in all directions from the village, but you could see some greenery. Likely the crops Vanth had mentioned before. 

You wandered over closer to look. In the clear light of day, the footprints you could see looked… large. Just a little worrisome.

"Well, whatever did this clearly wasn't happy," you murmured to the child, crouching down to get a better look at the crops and the footprints. "Look at the size of these! Why, I would certainly like to flee from anything with feet so large." 

The kid cooed his agreement of that, looking around with big eyes. He wiggled to be put down, and you set him on his feet. He promptly stuck one of his feet in the massive footprint with a quiet noise of awe. Then he stuck his other foot in. And then jumped up and down a few times for good measure before he turned to you with a toothy grin. 

"Ah, I see. You vanquished the footprint. Well done, my little friend." You chuckled. "Let's see how the remaining crops fare, hmm?" 

The answer to that was not well. They looked traumatized - smaller than they should be and not at all healthy looking.

"Well, this won't do," you tutted. "Straighten up there, plants! Yes, you've had a fright, but you can do better than this! People depend on you, you know. You'd better get in shape soon." 

A villager passing nearby gave you a look that was equal parts scared and wary and hurried away. 

"How's that for gratitude?" You grumbled as you stood up straight. You looked down, expecting to see the child agreeing with you, and found no child. It took you a few moments to locate him, during which you had a minor heart attack. He was busy toddling away from you as fast as his little legs could carry him, heading further into the desert. "Kid?"

He made a noise somewhere between distressed and angry, and you caught up to him quickly.

"Show me," you told the kid, picking him up. There was a sense of urgency about him that you couldn't ignore. 

The kid pointed off towards the desert, and you took off at a brisk walk. You could still see evidence of the creature as you walked - half-erased footprints in the sand, a few dung heaps, a tuft of dark, matted fur. You could also see occasional footprints from Djarin and Vanth. Worry started to gnaw at your insides. 

The ground started to slope downwards, and rocks started to accumulate. It wasn't long before you were looking at… not quite a mountain. A hill, certainly. With a lot of mud. Sandy mud. You could feel it squishing under your shoes. 

You found Vanth first, crouched down behind some boulders. He hissed at you both, waving you over.

"What are you doin'?" He demanded. "It's not safe out here! The wizard said to stay out of it and stay here!" 

You set your jaw stubbornly. "I'm going to check on him," you said, shaking your head. "I'll be careful." 

"At least gimme the kid," Vanth tried. 

"Where I go, he goes." You stepped around the boulders and started towards the muddy depression. You could see a cave opening yawning in front of you. It took you a moment to spot the creature, but only a moment. It was well away from you, head lowered, gigantic horn aimed at the wizard. Who was sprawled inelegantly on his back on the ground, covered in mud and muck. 

The kid let out a cry, and you found yourself mirroring him. The great head swung towards you and the kid, and Vanth yelled a warning. The creature snorted and then charged.

The kid raised a hand, eyes closing in concentration, and you felt the air around the two of you humming and vibrating with energy. So you focused on the kid, well aware that whatever was happening, he was doing it. 

“Good, kid,” you murmured encouragingly. “You can do it. I know you can. I can feel how much strength you have - you’re quite impressive, actually.” 

The creature stopped advancing towards the two of you and slowly lifted up into the air, its feet still going. It bellowed, clearly confused. 

“Good, very good. Hold it there,” you instructed the kid. “You’re doing an excellent job. Just hold it a little longer.” 

Djarin had jumped to his feet at all the yelling, and stood staring (so far as you could tell) at the scene until Vanth yelled something. You couldn’t quite hear, honestly, too focused on the child in your arms and the scene unfolding in front of you. But Djarin pulled a knife from… somewhere, you honestly weren’t sure where, and ran up to the creature. One quick plunge and twist of the knife, and it was over. The creature dropped to the ground. The kid slumped in your arms.

And you abruptly found yourself sitting in the mud, dizzy and euphoric and so scared, staring up at the wizard before you.

[shutupanddance]

Master Post

If you’re looking for my Master List, check out this link:

https://shutupanddance.tumblr.com/masterlist

Okay cool cats and kittens, I’m creating this master post to help you navigate my page and stay updated :) It will be pinned to my blog, and it will have my fandom list, my prompt list, my to-do list, any current events, and a few frequently asked questions. So, looking for information about requesting? Suggestions for requests? Or wondering what I’m currently working on? Don’t know if I’ve received your request? This is the place to look! Just keep on reading <3

Current Events 

None!

Fandoms

Here are the fandoms I write for!!

+ Marvel (MCU)

+ DC (DCU)

+ Sherlock

+ Star Wars (trilogies, Clone Wars, Rebels, Mandalorian)

+ Star Trek (reboots, original series)*

+ Pacific Rim

+ Knives Out

+ Night at the Museum

+ LOTR / The Hobbit

+ Jurassic Park/World

+ The West Wing*

+ NCIS*

*fandoms that you will see the most of on my blog.

Prompt List

(Does not include prompts from any current events) Here are some prompts that you can use for your request, or for your own writing! As a reminder, not all of these prompts are properly credited. Please let me know if you have the original creator’s @!

#1: “I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.”

#2: “Should I ask why you have a knife in your purse?”

”It’s a dagger, actually, and no you shouldn’t.”

#3: “Close your eyes and listen. And trust me.”

#4: Rosemary, broken glass, and an old gun.

#5: “Do you remember when I loved you?”

”No.”

”Good, because I never did.”

#6: “He saw the notice in the paper.”

”Why would you let him see the paper?”

”What was I supposed to do, eat it?”

#7: “I didn’t catch your name!”

”I didn’t throw it.”

#8: “I’m not better than you, but at least I’m not you. And right now, that’s worth a whole lot.”

#9: Romantic dinner, but something is wrong.

#10: Forehead kisses during an apocalypse

#11: “This isn’t BBC Sherlock! You can’t just run around administering justice as you see fit!

#12: Trying to get a smoke detector to shut up

#13: Falling out of a closet during Hide N Seek

#14: Revealing a dark secret, but it turns out that they already know

#15: Once upon a midnight dreary

#16: The odds were never in our favor

#17: If I should die, think only this of me

#18: Attack hugs

#19: Afraid of ladybugs

#20: The dumb*ss God couldn’t stop

#21: “There’s a rumor going around that you’re the one to ask if someone needs to acquire rare and dangerous objects.”

”There’s a rumor going around that you’re an undercover cop.”

#22: A parking lot, a coroner, and snails

#23: “You’re the only person I know who calls me that.”

#24: This is not a drill.

#25: It’s the price we pay to feel

#26: A character is cleaning/sweeping the floor when someone walks by with dirty shoes (via @writingprompts365 )

#27: “I’m back from my mission!”

““You failed it.”

““How’d you know?”

They point at the TV.

#28: A character is pushed into some bushes/plants/flowers (via @writingprompts365 )

#29: A character picks up a very shiny rock (same @)

#30: A character combs another character’s hair (same)

#31: A character is forced to have a conversation with someone they don’t like (same)

#32: Laughing hysterically at their own joke

#33: Stuck under the same umbrella

#34: ““Well, this is a nice change of scenery!”

““It’s a jail cell.”

““I was being sarcastic.”

#35: ““Let me just be perfectly clear that this was not my fault.”

#36: ““Can I buy you coffee? For old times sake?”

#37: Fake dating

#38: Huddling for warmth

#39: Being high on painkillers and confessing undying love to everyone

#40: “That’s starting to get annoying.”

#41: “I fell asleep on the bus and woke up here.”

#42: “It’s freaking cold.”

#43: “You’re not exactly known for your great ideas.”

#44: ““Can you keep a secret?”

#45: Character A lives above character B, and always drives B insane with how much stomping they do. One day, A’s foot goes right through the floor, into B’s apartment.

#45: Character A and Character B, sworn enemies, are chosen to prepare the company Christmas Party.

#46: you’re a security guard at an art gallery and you held the door for me so I left you a note in the door where we met I hope you read it

#47: Person A and Person B both trying to break into the same place on the same night by accident, only to be chased by the police upon meeting and having to hide in a closet/cupboard/safe together until they leave.

#48: the first and the last word they said to each other

#49: your kid hates my kid

#50: ‘picking them up’ hugs

#51: an incredibly loud and painful high-five

#52: "Let me fix that for you."

#53: “Can’t we listen to something else? We’ve been listening to this CD for three hours now.”

“You know, I would but the CD slot is broken so it’s either this or talk to each other.”

“I wouldn’t mind talking.”

“[turns up the music louder]”

#54: "My kiss quota for the day hasn't been filled. I need a thousand more."

#55: Person A making fun of Person B's bed head

#56: Squeeze three times for “I love you”

#57: writing a love letter but keeping it to themselves

#58: Messing around in IKEA

#59: “Hey - what’re you hiding behind your back?”

#60: going to a bookshop and selecting books for each other

#61: smiling at each other from across the room

#62: arms wrapping around your waist from behind while you’re on a phone call

#63: “ rich coming from the guy who tried to kill me three days ago. “

#64: message in a bottle

#65: becoming the parents of the friend group as soon as they start dating

#66: “I love you.”

“Ouch.”

#67: “We...we did it. We did it! Oh my God, I could kiss you.”

“Well, don’t be shy.”

My To-Do List

Here is everything that I’m currently working on! If you’ve sent a request in, and I see it, it should pop up here!

REQUEST SLOTS: FULL

+ Sherlock / Reader (not requested) undetermined topic

+ Rusty Ryan / Reader (not requested) #4

+ Sam Seaborn / Reader (requested) slow dancing

*anything with an asterisks has already been started.

Tag List

@girloncorneliastreet​ for The West Wing

@wolviesbabes​ for Gibbs / Reader

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I submit a request? When you look at my blog, there is a link titled “Asks/Requests”. Click that, and submit something!

How specific does my request have to be? More detail is always better if you’re looking for something specific, but if you’re not picky, it’s no big deal! Even if you just say “could I have some more Spock content please?” I’ll answer it!

Do you write smut? Nope! Not for me.

Are your requests open? Not at the moment! They will be soon, though.

What do I do if your requests are closed? Send it later, when they’re open again!

Do you have a master list? I do! I also have a tag called #masterlist, which all of my work is under. You can access the master list itself by navigating to the page on my blog, or just clicking the link at the top of this post!

What’s your name? You can call me C :)

Why didn’t you reblog my post about social justice? In order to avoid burnout for myself and my followers, I am doing my best to keep this blog free of anything other than fan content. This does not mean that I disagree or agree with you, it just means that I’m not commenting. I do not need to participate in internet social justice activity when I am already an activist on other platforms, including real life.

What can I send asks or messages about? Anything!! Life updates, random questions, whatever! I love to hear from you <3

That’s all, folks!

[brutal-nemesis]

Forest Day 2021: Un-cursing a Forest Tutorial (Gone Wrong)

Come into the woods with me, won’t you? I promise everything will be super normal and it’s totally not a little over 5k words hahahahahaha

Castys Masterlist

Ingredients: cannibalism mention, plant/animal/body horror (there is a lot of this and it is weird and kind of gross at times so this is your warning), acid burns, i use the word “pustules” multiple times, eye whump, gore, suicide for convenience

Castys woke up to darkness.

His head was pounding, so it was sort of nice, but much less nice when he tried to move and discovered his arms were tied behind his back. Upon further investigation, he realized he was gagged and blindfolded as well. 

Great.

He sat up and was just starting to try and get his gag out using his shoulder when a pair of hands grabbed him and hauled him to his feet. He tried to jerk out of their grasp, but a second person grabbed his other arm, and then it was all he could do to keep up as they hauled him to wherever. The ground changed from something solid feeling to something dirt-sounding, and then solid again after the creak of a door opening. 

“He’s awake, Chief.”

“Thank you. Just leave him and wait outside.” One of the men kicked the back of Castys’s legs, forcing him to his knees. He was tempted to get up once he felt their hands leave him, but he figured it would be best to just wait and see what the hell was going on for now. Once the blindfold was removed, he tried to look around, but a rough hand grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up at his captor, a strong looking woman with her dark hair in a complicated braid. She examined him with concern. “I didn’t think you would look this young.” Her free hand untied the gag, and she gently pulled it out of his mouth. “You are him, and not just some child, right?”

“Nope, just a child. A nineteen year old boy. Not immortal, so I think you’ve got the wrong guy.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I never said I was looking for an immortal.”

Castys opened and closed his mouth a few times, blinking. “I-okay that one’s on me. Hooray, you caught me.” He glared up at her. “Now what do you want?”

She let go of him, stepping back and crossing her arms. “I am Citlali, the chief of Nauhiliv’s Hollow. For centuries, my people have-”

“I’m not really in the mood for a history lesson, so just get to the-”

“Either shut up and let me talk or I will gag you again.” Castys rolled his eyes. “I promise it’s relevant, alright?”

“Fine.”

Citlali took a deep breath and began again. “For centuries, the people of Nauhiliv’s Hollow have lived as one with the forest, taking only what we need from its bounty, hunting and gathering from the lands around us. But now,” she looked away, “now the forest is...twisted. What was once a familiar place has become dark and horrifying, and they are now far too dangerous to hunt in. Everyone we have sent in to find the source of the curse has not yet returned.” She took a shuddering breath before looking back at Castys. “You, however, can’t die. So would you-”

“How much will you pay me?”

“Just...this.” She held up a small leather pouch, one that looked kind of like...Castys hurriedly looked down, feeling his stomach twist when he didn’t see the familiar string around his neck.

“You took my-give it back! How did you even find out about that?!” Castys fought to keep his voice even, his fists clenched behind him. That pouch was important to him, it had his rock that allowed him to kill himself easily and painlessly, and it also had...he just needed it, dammit.

“You’re apparently, ah, quite chatty when you’re drunk.” She twirled the pouch on her finger lazily. “So, if you lift the forest’s curse, you’ll get it back. And until then, my other half is going to keep it safe in a pocket dimension, where even a notorious thief like you can’t get to it.”

Castys’s face darkened. “That’s-if you wanted me to help you why didn’t you just, I don’t know, ask instead of fucking kidnapping me and stealing my shit?”

“Because I’ve heard tell that you’re a selfish asshole who definitely wouldn’t help us unless we paid you a ton of money or forced you to. And since we’re not exactly drowning in cash…”

Castys mulled it over for a moment, wiggling his hands against the ropes. “Yeah okay that’s fair. I still hate you, but that’s fair.”

Citlali rolled her eyes. “Are you going to do it, then? Because if not,” she stalked over and grabbed Castys’s chin tightly, forcing him to look up at her, “I could think of a different way you could help my people, immortal.”

“I promise you, I taste terrible.” Citlali flinched back, letting go of Castys’s face.

“What-no that isn’t-I meant I was going to sell you, idiot! That’s so-we’re nowhere near desperate enough to eat…” she shook her head. 

“Okay, sorry, I figured if you were desperate enough to kidnap me you were also desperate enough to want to eat me and my infinite flesh.”

“Those two are absolutely not the same level of-look, are you going to do it or not? Because if not I will sell you and keep your precious-” 

“I’ll go kill your stupid forest curse thing,” Castys sighed. “Being sold is super annoying, and escaping will be way harder without my rock.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “Can you untie me now?” 

“Do you promise not to try to run off? You won’t be able to get your pouch back by force, and this village is surrounded by these cursed woods except for a single, well guarded road, so there really won’t be any point in trying, anyway.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Castys got to his feet after she freed him, rubbing his chafed wrists as he looked down at his very empty belt. “You’re going to give me my sword back for this, right? I know I can’t die but fuck if I’m going in there without a weapon.”

“You can have your sword, and the small amount of supplies we can spare, once the sun rises and you set out. Until then,” she gestured to the door, “let Tlaloc and Meztli show you where you can sleep.” 

~~~

Castys took a deep breath as he looked up at the trees towering over him, gripping his pack tightly. They looked like normal trees to him, and he was sort of disappointed that they didn’t look...creepier? He expected this horrible cursed forest to look more horrible and cursed, especially with all the trouble that bitch went through to make him do this. He glanced back, but Citlali and the guards were still behind him, and she waved her hand at him to get going. Sighing, he started walking into the forest, hoping this whole “curse” thing was just some asshole wizard kids playing a trick. 

Soon enough, he spaced out listening to the forest sounds. The rustling of the wind in the branches, the chirping of birds, the faint screaming...wait what. No, yeah that was screaming or something. He looked around frantically for the source of it, just now noticing that the trees were...different, somehow. They sort of...shimmered, moving in a strange way. Cautiously, he approached the nearest trunk and studied it. It was...it was moving, the whole surface shifting and crawling, like it was covered completely in bugs. O-kay then. 

Moving on.

Castys wasn’t even sure what he was supposed to look for. That chief lady had really just sent him in here with the very helpful instruction of “fix it”, like he had ever un-cursed a forest before. He didn’t know where he was supposed to go, or...where he even was. He’d been trying to walk in a straight line, but the way behind him looked unfamiliar, as if the trees and plants had decided to move around while he wasn’t looking. Well, it appeared that wandering aimlessly was his only option now. Delightful.

Maybe he should do something as he walked along to help pass the time. Not that he didn’t mind walking around in nature, this place was just...he pulled out his rekara, twirling it between his fingers for a moment before putting it to his lips and blowing, tapping his fingers on the slender instrument’s holes to play a stupid little tune. It covered up the faint screaming sound quite nicely, and it eventually attracted a little bird, which fluttered down on a nearby branch. It was a very normal-looking one, with plain brown feathers and cute lil’ eyes.

When it opened its mouth to chirp at him, though, another scream rang out through the forest, so loud it sounded like it was coming from right next to Castys. Startled, he jumped a bit, stumbling back and tripping over a tree root or something, falling right on his ass. Frantically, he looked around for the source of the scream, but there was no one around him, as far as he could tell. “Anyone screaming out there?!” he called as he stood up, but he was met with silence. Well, not silence silence but just...nothing un-ambient. Maybe the trees were screaming. It could be a tree thing. 

The bird was still sitting there staring at him, and oh my fuck it’s the bird isn’t it-again, the bird opened its beak, and again, a horrible scream echoed around him. Well wasn’t that nice. A bird that screamed like a person. Castys slowly backed away, hoping the little thing’s only weird quality was the noise it made. Once he felt like he’d gotten far enough away, he turned and ran, and he was only running to cover more ground quickly, not because he was scared, no, a little unsettled, maybe, but not scared. 

He stopped to catch his breath after a few minutes, and as he stood there panting, he realized the forest around him had grown even more...strange. The trees actively waved in the air now, though there was no wind, and many of their branches hung limp, like they were made of cloth or something and not solid wood. Their bark still glistened and crawled, swirling into strange, mesmerizing patterns. The leaves of all the plants were different now, too, having taken on a sickly pink color, almost like...light-colored skin. Tasty.

Okay, yeah, something was obviously very wrong and cursed here, but he still had no clue what the fuck to do about it. He’s been hoping he could find...he didn’t know, something that looked like the source of it, like a very giant tree with a hole in it or perhaps a big magic crystal or an evil bear. But all around him were just normal sized haunted trees and no crystals and weird greenish mold and all the plants with their gross fleshy leaves-wait that mold or whatever was new. He crouched down and pulled out his knife so he could poke at it.

Upon closer inspection, it was like...little green pustules clustered together on the surface of the shifting tree bark. He used the tip of his knife to prod one of them, but it burst far more easily than he had been expecting, splattering greenish goop all over his hand, and it burned. Crying out, he dropped his knife and looked frantically around for water or something he could use to get this awful stuff off because dying wouldn’t make it go away so until he got rid of it somehow he was just stuck feeling it burn away his fucking flesh but there wasn’t anything here besides plants and more plants so it looks like that was all he was going to get-

With shaking hands, he grabbed a nearby leaf, shuddering at the fleshlike texture, the warmth, and wiped it desperately over his wounds, trying to scrape away the acidic sludge. It sort of worked, getting the larger clumps off, but he could still feel it eating his damn flesh, if only he had-wait he was a fucking idiot-he pulled out the waterskin Citlali had lent him, sloppily splashing water over his hand, gasping in relief as the pain lessened slightly. Obviously nothing was going to heal the wounds besides dying, but now he could actually do that without the acid continuing to burn him. He reached down into his shirt, feeling for the pouch containing his death rock, but...no, that’s right, he didn’t have it, he’d have to slit his throat like old times. Sighing, he wiped the acid goop off of his knife before turning it on himself.

Castys woke up very pleased to find that his hand no longer had holes in it, but when he saw the leaves he had wiped it on, his stomach twisted. The acid had burned right through them, and the holes were rimmed with red, dripping...it was blood, blood leaking from those fleshlike leaves. Quickly, Castys wiped off his knife and sheathed it, getting to his feet, ready to run the fuck away from those gross acid pustules. But...maybe it was a good sign that things were getting weirder, maybe he was getting closer to whatever the hell the source of all this was. So maybe he should…follow that stuff. It was the only sort of idea on where to go he had gotten this whole time, so it really was his only option, huh? He’d just have to be careful not to touch it. 

The streaks of green on the swirling tree trunks, which had darkened to a shiny black at some point, led him, allegedly, deeper into the forest. Wait, how was the green stuff staying in one spot while the trunk beneath it was shifting? That didn’t make any sense, not like anything did here, but still…physics. He studied the nearest tree for a moment, watching its surface move as the clump of acid bubble things stayed still. Though...he could see something between the cracks in the crawling trunk, something long and off-white, like...yup. Trees with bones. Lovely. Shaking his head, Castys resumed walking, deciding to just not question anything ever again. 

Things certainly got stranger as he continued. There was a pond where his reflection didn’t have a face, dragonflies with wings that looked like overgrown fingernails, and a herd of deer with skin and muscle so clear that all he could see were their organs and bones okay but what would clear deer meat taste like, so he felt like he was probably going the right way. When he heard a strange thumping sound, like something large walking around, he cautiously moved towards the source of it, poking his head out from behind a tree to see what it was. 

It was the ugliest, most disgusting horrible abomination creature thing he had ever seen. It’s main body was the same light fleshy color as the leaves, dotted with clumps of acid pustules, with a mishmash of vaguely humanoid limbs with all sorts of skin tones jutting out of its misshapen body every which way. And it had so many eyes all over, some frantically darting around, some focused horrifyingly on him. But the worst part were all the flowers sprouting it from it, not because they were flowers, but because these flowers had little white teeth in their centers, probably serving as the mouths for this thing since he didn’t see one anywhere else on it. Honestly, he wouldn’t mind cutting this thing to bits in the slightest, it was freaky. He stepped out and drew his sword, watching the monster warily as it shambled towards him. If this thing wasn’t the source of the curse, he didn’t know what would be.

Once it was within range, Castys slashed at it, wincing as a high pitched shriek rang out from one of the flower-mouths. He danced back as it swung at him with two of its arms, their hands reaching out to grab him. This kept on for a bit, him slashing at the monster and dodging its blows, though he’d occasionally make the mistake of slicing a clump of acid pustules, spraying himself with the corrosive substance. When he stopped for a moment to catch his breath, he noticed something...unfortunate. All the gashes he’d cut in the monster were slowly closing, healing that thing up like his attacks hadn’t even happened. He, on the other hand, was covered in acid burns and not sure how much longer he’d actually be faster than this thing. His healing was useless in a fight, since dying left him completely defenseless for a good minute or so.

He had to figure something else out some other-shit, he couldn’t stand still for very long, this monster just wouldn’t quit attacking him. He might have been safe in a tree, but all the ones in the area were pretty much completely covered in that acid stuff, so that was out of the question. Seeing an opening, he lunged, trying to stab one of those fucked up mouths, and he couldn’t help but feel a spark of relief as his blade sank in, knocking out some of its teeth. But his elation turned to fear as he felt something grab his ankle the same moment the mouth clamped shut around his sword. He tried his best to keep his grip on his sword as it yanked him up, but it slipped through his fingers, leaving him defenseless as the monster slammed him down onto the ground, his whole body lighting up in pain. 

Over and over, it smashed his body against the ground with inhuman strength. All Castys could do was scream as he felt his bones break, their sharp edges piercing him from the inside. To finish, it threw him against one of the trees, the impact of his body bursting a myriad of acid pustules open, drenching him in the stuff. Castys fell to the ground in a heap, sucking in pained breaths beneath his shattered ribs, and all he could do was helplessly watch through his one good eye, the other reduced to goop by the acid, as the monster raised a foot above him. His mind was screaming at him to go, to run, but he could hardly move, he should just let himself die so he could heal, but he didn’t want to, he didn’t want to just lie still and let this thing step on him, slowly building up the pressure on his already ruined ribcage, forcing ragged screams out of his acid-burned throat, he was going to be crushed but he didn’t want to be, g-get off please it hurts so much why do I have to do this it’s not fair I didn’t even do anything wrong this time please-

Castys came back to pain, sparking, burning agony soaking deep into his flesh. He was still covered in acid, and even with his bones intact now he could barely bring himself to move. But he had to, he had to get up, he had to kill this thing, had to get out of this awful place himself, because there was no other way out, because no one was going to come save him, not now, not ever. Just as he was psyching himself up to try and stand, the monster’s hands grabbed him all over, dragging him off the ground. He tried to squirm out of its grasp, and while it had too many damn hands and he had too many damn acid burns for this to actually be effective, he struggled anyway. As it lowered him towards one of its flower mouths, he tried to at least scream expletives at it, but of course he’d still had acid in his throat when he died so he couldn’t even relish the simple joy of yelling “fuck”.

What would happen to him if this gross monster ate him whole, he didn’t want to find out, but it seemed like he was going to if he didn’t break free. Castys shuddered as the mouth opened wide, wider, impossibly wide, showing off an unnecessary amount of wicked sharp teeth, and oh fuck they were a lot closer to him than he’d thought because his damn left eye was a corroded mess again and all of a sudden there were teeth tearing through his flesh and he was falling, falling into that horrible mouth surrounded by bright purple petals, pointed teeth digging into him, but he felt something, he felt something, hard and rough, and maybe it was his sword, and he could still kill this thing, so he wrapped his burned hand around it, fingers screaming in protest, and pulled, and as much as it hurt, as much as his sword was stuck, he wasn’t going to lose here.

His sword finally broke free with a disgusting squelch, though it felt a lot lighter than he remembered, and just as he pulled it out, the monster collapsed to the ground. Castys somehow managed to worm his tattered body out of the creature’s mouth, and once he was free, he held up his sword so he could stab himself with it, but discovered the object he was holding was very much not his sword. It was a strange wooden carving of a twisted tree, like ones surrounding him, a small bone fitted so snugly inside that it was almost as if the wood had grown around it. Was this...the source of everything? It was the most curse-causing looking thing he’d seen so far, and given that it seemed to be the core of that monster...oh, it was starting to grow flesh. Oh absolutely not.

Castys looked around frantically for his sword, his dagger, anything to break this talisman thing with. The first thing that caught his eye within reach was an unfamiliar axe, but he lunged for it, wishing he had time to kill himself and reset his body’s condition, but there was no telling how much this thing would grow while he was out. If he wanted a chance at ending this for good, he had to do it now. He rasped in pain as he dragged himself upright, grabbing the axe with blood-slicked fingers before he set the cursed object down and swung, crying out brokenly in pain and frustration. After a few clumsy whacks, the talisman broke in two, and the flesh bubbling out of it ceased moving. Was...was it over? It had to be. It had to be. It had to-

Head spinning, Castys fell sideways, the vision in his functional eye starting to blur. He knew he needed...to die...but he just...didn’t have...the...strength…

It was warm...comfortable...but it hurt, and...everything was...itchy. But still, so warm, and that was pleasant, and he found himself leaning into it. It was almost like...

Castys jolted awake, his eye snapping open. He was inside some building, the wooden ceiling above him lit by rippling firelight, in what felt like a bed, his whole body throbbing fiercely, and there was...a hand on his forehead. A hand attached to the village chief, Citlali, who was looking at him with concern. Her face broke into a relieved smile when she saw he was conscious, despite him flinching away from her touch. “So, our hero is finally awake.”

“I-” Castys tried to speak, but his throat was still severely fucked up, in fact, his whole body was. He hadn’t fucking died since he’d passed out, and these idiots didn’t know how his immortality worked, so they’d actually bandaged him up. The feeling of them was totally foreign, if not a little nostalgic. God, he must have looked fucking awful when they found him. He hoped it would make them think twice about kidnapping people to do their dirty work in the future. 

“Don’t try to speak; your throat is quite badly damaged. Do you want something to write on?” Castys nodded, and she fetched him a wooden tablet and a stick of charcoal. He considered writing something on the angrier side, but seeing as he still didn’t have his pouch back, and that she had tried to help him...he should probably play nice. He was too tired for any more fighting, anyway.

“If you’d just kill me so I can heal that would be great.” Pausing, he decided he should probably explain that a bit better. “Every time I die I come back to life fully healed. And the most convenient way for me to die is to touch my rock, which I believe I’ve earned back. Unless the forest is still wonky.”

“No, you did break the curse, and I want to thank you for that, because obviously it wasn’t easy. I-” she cut herself off. “First things first, let’s get you healed for good.” She furrowed her brow. “Will healing with these bandages on...mess it up somehow? Some of them might be a little...stuck to your wounds. Should I take them off of you first?” Castys considered it for a moment. He’d never tried to heal with bandages on, but if things went wrong...it might be more painful to have to cut them out of his flesh or whatever. He nodded, holding out an arm.

Citlali was gentle as she unwound the bandages with practiced skill, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt like hell. It felt like she was ripping his damn skin off, and every time his idiot body tried to scream in pain, it tore up his throat even further, making the whole affair even more damnably unpleasant. He could hardly stand to look at the wounds underneath, all pink and red and oozing what he assumed was pus. The worst part, however, was when she removed the bandage from around the remains of his left eye and it pulled a little string of bloody flesh off with it. He screamed at that, really screamed, and he realized he was crying, and he didn’t understand how mortals did this all the time. Citlali didn’t so much as flinch at the gore, the smell, or his pain, and he almost felt embarrassed about how poorly he was handling this.

When she was done, she retrieved his pouch from a nearby table, giving it to him wordlessly. With shaking hands, Castys managed to pull it open and stick a finger inside, sighing in relief as the familiar blackness took him. When he woke up, he was happy to find that there wasn’t any more acid on him, so he was actually fully healed this time. “Thanks,” he muttered, flexing his hands.

“Thank you, you really saved us. I...I know you were forced to, and I know that I shouldn’t have done it that way, but I felt like we didn’t have any other option, and-”

“It’s fine,” Castys sighed, waving a hand dismissively. “That shit was pretty fucked up so I’m not really surprised all the mortals you sent in died. And it’s not like I’m known for my benevolence.” He put the pouch around his neck, where it thumped against his bare chest. “So, did my clothes-”

Citlali shook her head. “They were full of holes and covered in acid, so we asked around and got you a spare set.” She handed him a folded shirt that was similar in style to the pants he’d been wearing when he woke up, and he pulled it on. She handed him the rest of his belongings before picking up the pieces of the wooden carving that he’d destroyed. “Where...where did you find this?” 

“Inside the freaky monster with all the limbs and shit.”

“The what.”

“Was its giant corpse not near where you found me?”

“There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary there besides this and some of the weapons and equipment from our lost expedition parties.” She put it down, standing and crossing her arms. “We all felt the shift in the forest when the curse was lifted, and when we went out to investigate, everything seemed just like it had before all of this started. We found you collapsed in a clearing not too far from here.”

“Not too-I feel like I wandered around for hours! Stupid cursed forest.”

Citlali huffed. “Regardless, we found the talisman next to you, but no monster. But if this was what caused everything…” She picked up one of the pieces, gripping it tightly. “I think I understand what happened.”

“That’s great for you, don’t let it happen again.” Castys stood, shouldering his pack. “I...I can leave now, right?”

She looked up abruptly. “Oh, uh, yes, though you’re welcome to stay as long as you like, and we were thinking of holding a feast once we-” she stopped, clearing her throat. “We’d like to make it up to you in any way you can, but I understand if you’d like to leave. I’ll walk you out.”

Part of Castys wanted to stay and get a bunch of free food out of these people, or at least actual compensation for the ordeal he just went through, but he didn’t know if he could stand to be surrounded by these woods for much longer, despite the fact that they were allegedly no longer cursed. He couldn’t fight the nervous feeling in his stomach as walked away, his steps quickening once he and Citlali parted ways. He didn’t really relax until he had left the forest far behind him. 

Once he was safe, Castys opened his pouch and reached inside, worming his finger into the secret side pocket that was separated from the rock. He gently pulled out the piece of paper, unfolding it and sighing in relief upon seeing the drawing on it still intact. Not that he’d expected anything to happen to it, but…The memory of the first day of his life, at least that he was aware of, was far more precious than anything else.

Because if he lost it, if he lost that spark of happiness, that piece of who he was that day, he felt like he would collapse under the weight of every awful thing he’d endured ever since.

Castys Cult: @as-a-matter-of-whump​ @blackrosesandwhump​ @fanmanga1357-blog​​ @thehopelessopus​ @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi​ @hearse-song​ @muddy-swamp-bitch @whumpasaurus101 @yet-another-heathen​​ @galaxywhump​ @starnight-whump​ @his-unspoken-words​ @misspelledwitch

[peachpitfics]

Mistletoe

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Request: No

Summary: Every year Rossi holds a Christmas Eve dinner, the Team and their little families attend. This is your first one, and coincidentally, you get caught under the mistletoe.

Length: 2.6k

Pairing: SpencerReid x Female!Reader

Content Warnings: ~none~ 

A/N: Hiiii, this is super fluffy and sweet. Hopefully the first of a few Christmas themed fics. I hope you like it!!

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

You never had anywhere to go for the holidays. You had no real family, moved to a new state, and joined a new force only a few weeks ago. The new team you worked with was a tight knit family. They had been together for years and while they were welcoming and did their best not to exclude you, it was hard to bear the inside jokes and recalling of memories you were not a part of. What shocked and surprised you most about their bond, was the family Christmas held at Rossi’s huge house. Everyone, and their families would come, eat a glorious Christmas dinner, and spend it together.

You rang the doorbell and stood, rugged up on the doorstep, huge wooden and glass double doors in front of you. Dave answered the door, arms wide open as he took you in a loving embrace. “Thanks for inviting me” You shuffled into the house awkwardly, passing Rossi two bottles of wine as he showed you where you could shed your winter coverings. Rossi’s house was beautifully decorated from top to bottom. You were sure it had to have been professionally done. “Thank you y/n, this is great. I’m so glad you could make it out here tonight” Dave beamed at you, “And you look beautiful”. You hadn’t put too much effort in tonight but dressed nicely for dinner at least. What he said made you blush; you hid your face as he led you into the dining room. “Hey! Looks who’s here” Morgan smiled across the table. Garcia, sitting next to him, waving overly excitedly. You waved back, clearly not having had any eggnog. As you sat down, in between Hotch and JJ, Hotch poured eggnog into your glass and clinked glasses with you. “We’re just waiting on the kid, he said he was on the phone with his Mom. But he should be almost here” Rossi shared with them.

They all sat around the table, laughing at Garcia who was intoxicated, conversing over Christmas memories from their childhood. Not all of them were overly happy memories, just thoughts of a simpler time. “What about you, y/n? Favourite Christmas memory from when you were a child?” Hotch asked. Emily looked worriedly at you, she had been the one you spoke to and got to know out of everybody. “Well... um” Clearing your throat, you paused as Spencer walked in and slipped into his seat beside Garcia and across from you. “Yeah, okay. I think I was about 8... I was in my second group home and there were about 15 kids of all different ages. The church choir stopped by to sing carols to us in the evening; and, uh, we had a roast chicken, a lot of us had never experienced Christmas before so it was pretty wonderful. The church also brought us a box of second-hand toys, which was lovely. I think that’s probably the best one” Everyone stared at you in awe. The type of awe you were dreading. You shuffled uncomfortably in your seat as they started to notice that the staring was out of control. “I didn’t know you were a foster kid” Morgan said somberly, having grown up in an area with a lot of foster kids himself. “Yeah, I was. It wasn’t so bad” You smiled softly, begging someone to take the attention off of you. “Sorry I’m late, you guys, my Mother was reminiscing about Christmas in 1969” Spencer chuckled awkwardly. And that was the end of it, their focus was changed, and Spencer was explaining his Mother’s story, which in turn was quite boring.

Within 30 minutes, Rossi and several servers emerged from the kitchen, bringing platters and large bowls and more wine. It was the most extravagant thing you’d seen in your whole life. I’ve never even been a restaurant this nice, you thought to yourself, watching as they served. Rossi held in his hands an exceptionally large knife, whilst standing over the bird, gathering everyone’s attention. “For me, Christmas means being with family. Sharing it with you, makes it the most precious and special time of the year” Rossi paused, “To family”. Everyone raised their glasses and repeated the toast back to him. He carved the meat, and you all passed the fixings round the table. It was the most delicious food you’d ever had. You began to wonder if everyone with a family had a lovely Christmas like this every year.

Before long, the kids were playing hide and seek throughout the house as all the adults made their way into the awesomely large sitting room. Everyone gathered around, sitting in the settee’s or on the rug by the fireplace. “Anyone care for brandy and a cigar?” Rossi asked. “Am I in a game of Clue?” Garcia looked around the room, “Where the hell is Miss Scarlet, I want to ask her some questions”. People snickered at her comments, she got more sarcastically funny as she got further intoxicated. “No seriously, would anyone like a drink?” Rossi stood by his sideboard bar, crystal decanters lined up with matching glasses. “Scotch, for me Dave, thank you” Hotch nodded. “I’ll take one of those as well” Emily smiled. “Not for me, I’m driving” Will grinned at JJ, hoping she would have another drink and let her hair down a little. You noticed this and nudged JJ in the side, “I brought more wine” You raised your eyebrows cheekily at her.

She looked long and hard into your eyes, really thinking over how hectic the headache was going to be in the morning. “Screw it” She mumbled, caving in to your devilish look, “Go get the wine” She lightly tapped your arm. “Oh no, come on y/n, I’ll go” Rossi offered. “Seriously, it’s fine, I’m sure I won’t get lost on the way back or anything” You giggled, jumping up from the floor and heading towards the big arch way through to the foyer. “Hey, y/n!” Spencer stopped you in the doorway, “Would you mind getting me a glass of water?” He asked in a soft tone. You nodded happily; it was an easy request.

“Hold on...” Hotch said quickly. They all stared at you again. “You can’t move” Hotch smiled gently, “You’re under the mistletoe”. Everyone laughed and gaped as Hotch caught you out under the mistletoe. “What do you mean I can’t move?” You laughed, as if this were a silly game. “In the Rossi house, if you pause under mistletoe and get caught out, you have to wait there until someone kisses you” Dave explained. Obviously Hotch had been caught before and was now pointing out Rossi’s next victim. “Who’s gonna do it?” Garcia looked intrigued, waiting for the war between them to begin while you stood there, knees shaking at the thought of having to kiss someone on the team. “Well, I’m out” Rossi said, having reconnected with an old lover recently. Will and JJ snuggled closer together, that was an obvious no. Hotch uncomfortably sat back into the settee, smiling cheekily into his glass.

A few faces turned to Morgan. “Hey now, that’s usually my style, but I’m seein’ somebody at the moment” Morgan shrugged, hoping Penelope wouldn’t pull him apart over the comment he made. Which inevitably, she did. “Can’t I just go to the kitchen, come on, this is silly” You spoke over them, they were discussing among them who should be the one to kiss you and set you free from the nasty grip of the mistletoe. “It’s gotta be Reid” Emily’s voice rang out over all of the incoherent babbling.

Spencer had been laughing and watching this unfold around him, blending into the leather settee like a chameleon. Now that the faces turned to him, he flushed red and he eyes grew wider. “Ha ha, you guys” Spencer tried to redirect, blushing madly “Emily, it’s you! You know it’s you” He laughed awkwardly. “It could be me; I just don’t really think that’s y/n’s speed... whereas you...” She let the rest of the team join in on the end. “Yeah I don’t think she swings that way” JJ looked back at Emily, shaking their heads together negatively. “Which leaves you Spencer, everyone else is attached at the moment” Hotch's voice seemed confident and firm, but had a hint of a giggle in it.

This started to seem like a set up to you, everyone was grimacing, smirking up at you. No one else tonight had been caught under mistletoe and there was no shortage of it in this house. You crossed your arms in front of you and lovingly glared back at each of them. “Come on Spence” JJ grabbed his knee and shook it, as if this provided some sort of moral support. “Spencer! Spencer! Spencer!” Penelope started a chant and within seconds, they had all joined in. “Okay! Okay, okay, you can stop doing that now. The peer pressure has worked” Spencer’s face couldn’t not smile. His cheeks tugged tightly at his lips, and though his face was red, he looked pleasantly excited. Reid stepped over JJ and slowly approached the door frame. He got closer to you, looked into your eyes, and pursed his lips, eyes widening as if to say, “This is weird”. He rocked back on his heels for a moment, hands awkwardly in his pockets. You remained still, one eyebrow raised in shock, arms still folded in front of you. “Come on pretty boy, we haven’t got all night” Morgan teased, Garcia gripping onto him, her eyes as wide as possible so she didn’t miss anything.

In an instant, he lunged forward, a hand landing on your cheek and one at the small of your back. Spencer planted his lips onto yours, you could almost feel him smiling into it. Your arms softened and untangled as they found their way onto his chest in front of you. As you parted, the embarrassing hail of whoops and clapping arose. Spencer stepped back giggling, hiding his face from his colleagues. You pursed your lips together and held your fingers to your lips briefly, surprised at how good that felt. “I’m gonna go grab that wine now” You blushed, laughing along with the hyenas in the sitting room. Pausing slowly at the fridge, your head hitting the metal, you exhaled from deep in your lungs. Never in your life did you think you would be in such a position. But you were happy and almost grateful for your embarrassing workmates.

You returned with the wine, rose coloring still in your cheeks. Spencer was now playing with the kids under one of the many Christmas trees and you retook your position on the rug with JJ and Will, pouring them both a glass of white wine. No one teased anymore, no one laughed. There were just separate pods of conversation. Eventually, after picking up sleepy children off the couches in the lounge room, JJ and Will were thanking Rossi for such a lovely evening. Hotch not far behind with Jack. Those that were left were Morgan and Penelope, desperately arguing over whether or not ‘Die Hard’ was a Christmas film. Rossi and Emily, who were debating finer Scotches and Whiskeys. You watched on, amused by their friendships, and longing to be one of them. Until you noticed that Spencer had gone. You got up from the rug and wondered through the house, finding him on the balcony off the dining room.

You unlatched the door, alerting him to your presence. “Hey” He smiled softly at you. “Hey” You sounded unsure, “I’m sorry if that was super weird for you in there”. He chuckled under his breath slightly as you approached and stood next to him in the cold night air. “You know, I thought it would be... But it was... nice” He nodded, tucking his smile into his scarf. You tried to look away, hiding the permanent smile plastered on your face. “It was nice” You said gently. Spencer turned towards you, and unintentionally looked you up and down, “You must be so cold” He said, shedding his coat and draping it across your shoulders. You looked at the soft brown tweed and curled your nose, “But now, you’ll be cold”. “Doesn’t matter” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Spencer I-” He interrupted quickly, “Can I have a do over?”. “Sorry, what?” You shook off whatever you were going to say and clarified you heard him correctly. “I just- I would have kissed you differently, had they not set me up and cheered like an audience” He closed his eyes, “ I would have kissed you differently”.

Without saying anything, you slid your icy cold hand into his. Warmth radiated from his large hands as his fingers slid between yours. You pulled his hand and turned him to face you. “You can kiss me again” You mumbled. His eyes were so dark and deep, he held eye contact with you, bringing his face slightly down to meet you in the middle. His soft lips, tripping over yours hungrily. His breath warm on your face. His tender hands, not so gingerly on respectful places on your body like before. One hand slid up to your neck, lightly holding on, but eventually wrapping around to grasp the back of your neck. His other hand placed further south of the small of your back, pulling your whole body into him as his tongue delved into your mouth. You tried to move your hands, you tried to do anything, but your brain was completely overwhelmed and stunned by the warmth and pleasure washing over you.

He pulled away, kissing your cold nose, along your jawline. Pressing on last kiss to your lips, and then to your forehead as he wrapped his arms around you. Your body sunk into him. Even without his jacket, he was still so warm, and it was so inviting. You wrapped your arms around his back and held onto him as tightly as he held onto you. “This is a better Christmas story than the one I told before” You muttered at a giggle into his woolen jumper. Spencer smiled into the nape of your neck. “God, I hope so” He laughed, and you felt his whole body move against yours. After a while, you parted and just stood snuggled together on the balcony. “They really set us up, big time” You pondered. “I can’t believe Emily blabbed” Spencer shook his head. You looked sharply up at him. “Blabbed?” You asked confusedly. “Yeah... I kind of told her I had a crush on you” He tried to hide his face but you wouldn’t let him, you grabbed his hand and held it in your own. “Oh my god” That same old shocked expression was strewn back across your face. “I know, it’s super embarrassing and I’m sorry I didn’t -“ You interrupted him this time, “No, Spencer, I told Emily I had a crush on you” You said quickly, without thinking.

Both of you, stunned, really thought about how devious Emily was. Why did we do that? You asked yourself; the answer quite simply was, she was a very open person and people often told her their secrets. “I guess, I’m glad I told her” Spencer smiled, “Because otherwise I never would have got to kiss you”. You leaned up to his lips and kissed him again. “Now, you can kiss me anytime you want” You whispered to him, that gorgeous smile still fighting its way onto his face.

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

Inside, Emily and Rossi stood in the doorway of the dining room, peering out onto the Balcony like a pair of sneaky teenagers. They had been watching for several minutes, and though they couldn’t hear the conversation, they knew they were busted for setting the whole thing up. “Thanks again, Dave” Em raised his glass of scotch to Dave’s brandy, both of them grinning like school girls. “Absolutely anytime, my dear” They clinked glasses and walked steadily back into the sitting room, arms around each other.

[all-my-love-for-harry]

Shower thoughts and long walks.

summary: Harry forces Y/N to go for a hike. 

word count: 1.4k

a/n: i decided to join @fallinharry ‘s celebration a wrote a little something, hope you like it <3

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Y/N hated hiking. In fact, she hated any physical activity that could possibly make her sweat. There was something about having literal water coming out of her pores that made her creep out.

Harry, her boyfriend, of course knew about this, however he did enjoy a good hike. He was a very active person, always going for morning runs and constantly spending time at the gym. But right now they were stuck in California in the middle of a pandemic, so he had to stick with his daily runs.

But besides loving hiking, Harry also loved spending time with his girlfriend. And would constantly try to convince her to go outside with him in the mornings, as she has been in the house for far too long in Harry’s opinion. He was very persistent but Y/N was yet to agree to his idea.

“You haven’t been out in a week” he said to her one morning.

“That’s not true, i watered the plants in the garden today!” she defended herself.

Harry gave her a look. “That’s not what I meant, love. When was the last time you got out of the house?”

“I don’t know, wednesday? Kind of hard going outside while being in lockdown” she shrugged.

“You can’t stay in the house for that long, it’s bad for you” he said while flipping a pancake. “What about you join me for a run tomorrow and-”

“Can’t I just get the groceries next time?” she groaned.

“No, you know I don’t want you to expose yourself like that”

“But you wanna take me for a run in the streets?” she raised an eyebrow. Y/N knew he just wanted to look after her, but God, she hated running.

Harry sighed, knowing that despite his best efforts, he wouldn’t even be able to get her out of bed the next day. He thought for a little bit before a grin formed on his face, giving away to her that he has had an idea.

One that she would probably hate, but an idea nonetheless.

“I’ll take you on a hike” he said with a big smile, as if he didn’t just made her want to die.

“Ugh, nooo” she frowned. “You know I don’t like hiking. It makes you sweat and be sticky, you’d also take me very high and I’m scared of heights”

Harry rolled his eyes at his girlfriend’s excuses. “Then I’ll take you in the afternoon, before the sun sets. That way, you’ll not sweat as much and the sun won’t bother you”

“But what about the height?”

“We will not go that high” he shrugged.

“And the bugs?”

“There won’t be any, Y/N” he groaned, starting to grow frustrated. “Stop making excuses”

Y/N sighed dramatically before saying “Then I guess I’ll go” at her words, Harry started cheering, making a little victory dance before lifting his girl in a hug.

“We’ll have so much fun watching the sun set, you’ll see”

°°°

Afternoon came quicker than Y/N thought. She spent all day trying to make Harry forget about their hiking date, making him watch a movie or two and even gave him a blowjob in the middle of one. But no matter what she did, Harry was just so excited to do this with her. He couldn’t stop grinning like a little kid in a candy shop, making her want to both melt in his arms and punch him in the face.

You’ll think she was overreacting, but she wasn’t an athletic person at all. She was the least coordinated person you’d ever meet, so she gave up at trying sports a long time ago. Plus her hate for sweating, and heights… and bugs.

But every time she looked at Harry, all happy and excited for taking her hiking, she remained herself that she had to do her best to at least not die before they got there.

Y/N started changing after Harry, taking her time to undress herself, slightly hoping and praying he would change his mind before it was time to go.

But of course he wouldn’t.

“Why are you still in your underwear? We gotta get going, darling” he burst into the room, already dressed in a pair of black shorts and a black hoodie. “You haven’t change your mind, haven’t you?”

Yes.

“Of course not, baby”

Grabbing a pair of baking shorts and a hoodie from Harry’s merch, she changed quickly before sitting on the bed to put her shoes on.

“Lemme help you” Harry kneeled before her to tie her sneakers, knowing he would do it faster than her. “Okay, we’re ready to go” he said excitedly.

Y/N had to take a deep breath before getting out the house and told herself she was going to have fun with her boyfriend, so she needed to stop whining.

They got on the car and Harry drove to the Griffith Park. After no longer than fifteen minutes they arrived to their destination. The park looked very intimidating in Y/N’s eyes, but she remembered Harry told her they wouldn’t go that high and her nerves died down a little.

“I packed water and sunscreen, oh and don’t forget the mask” he said, handing her a black, reusable face mask. “Ready?”

“I can feel my death already, let’s go” she dramatized, hopping off the car.

“If you’re nice I’ll carry you back” he joked, pushing her shoulder playfully. She narrowed her eyes.

“I hope you eat a bug”

°°°

The couple had been walking for half an hour now. Y/N had taken off her hoodie, after feeling a thin line of sweat on her forehead, leaving her in a black sports bra.

She looked like she was dying, but Harry was thriving. He was having the time of his life, enjoying the beautiful view Los Angeles had to offer them and holding the love of his life’s hand the entire time. It wasn’t until Y/N tripped over a rock that she noticed how high they actually were.

She immediately clung to him as if her life depended on it, growing terrified when the same rock she tripped over fell off the cliff.

“You said we weren’t going high!” she protested but kept walking anyway.

“I know I did, but if we want to watch the sun set we’ll have to go a little higher. The view it’s worth it, I promise”

“If I fall, I’m taking you with me” she pointed a finger at him.

“Yes, ma’am”

Harry led the way to his favorite spot to watch the sun set, and kept a strong grip on her hand, knowing that in any moment she will grow anxious by being this high. And when she was feeling anxious, she wouldn’t stop talking.

“Most dogs have siblings that they will never see again” she blurted.

Here we go.

“That’s… and interesting thing to think about” he said.

“If you die before someone else does, does that mean you’ve beaten them to death?” she asked.

“I… guess?”

“If Pinocchio says his nose is going to grow… will it grow?”

“I don’t think so” he tried to keep up with her questions.

“You live the anniversary of your death day every year without knowing”

“That’s pretty dark, love” Harry chuckled.

“When you close both eyes you see black, but when you close one eye it sees nothing. Have you notice?” she said, closing both of her eyes then opening just one, trying to prove her point.

“That’s oddly true” he said, trying it himself.

She was lost in thought for a second before looking back at him. “Hey... what do you think happens? You know, like, after we die and stuff.”

He blinked, amused yet concerned about how her mind would come up with so many things at a time when she was anxious. He knew she just wanted to divert her attention off of the fact she was literally climbing a cliff where she could potentially die, not that Harry would let that happen anyway.

“Okay, enough of the shower thoughts, we’ve arrived!” he exclaimed, dropping her hand just so he could wrap his arms around her shoulders. “Look at the view, my love” he sighed happily, squeezing her slightly.

Y/N visibly relaxed at his touch and sighed happily herself. The sun was setting and the sky was a mix between yellow, orange and blue… or was it purple? She didn’t know because she was too busy looking up to the man who was responsible for her being there. He wore a dimpled smile, already feeling her eyes on him but refusing to look down at her.

“Oi, what are you doing looking at me when we have this view?”

“Surprisingly, you’re so much prettier to look at”

“What do you mean surprisingly?”

[fanfoolishness]

The Scent of Whiteleaf (The Mandalorian)

Grogu and his protector visit a calm and peaceful world, searching for those who could help them find a Jedi. They find something else instead. Grogu POV. Grogu & Din, some of Din's backstory, and several gentle family bonding moments. 4800 words.

***

The air smells clean and crisp and biting, underlaid with the scents of dry soil and bitter plants. Grogu blinks against the wind, his ears fluttering, and he feels safe in strong arms.

His protector explains to him what they are doing here. Grogu leans against the man’s chest, feels the metal warmed by the late afternoon sun as the familiar voice speaks. He likes the sound, even if it comes out metallic; when the man talks to him, there is a gentleness that comes through, clear and shining, in the Force.

“This is Ysedros Major,” the man says, gesturing to the hills beyond them. “I used to live here long ago with other Mandalorians. Some may have returned. If they did, maybe they can help us.”

The man’s footsteps are wide on the narrow path. It looks rocky and overgrown. Grogu is jostled with every step, but it’s fun with all the bouncing. He looks up at the man’s head, gleaming silver in the sun.

“I know, I know,” says the man. “It would be quicker if we could take the Crest, or use the Rising Phoenix. But we don’t want to scare anyone if they’re still there. And there’s creatures here that don’t like things flying in their airspace.” He points high above, and Grogu squints, following his arm. Great winged things soar together in the distance, keeping close to one another. “We called them baj’uliik. Beasts of the air. I remember they were… feisty.”

Grogu shrinks away from the beasts, though they are far away. The man chuckles. “Don’t worry, kid. They only attack things on the wing.” He takes a few more jostling steps as they descend. “Are you thinking about the creatures on Nevarro?”

Grogu curls one hand over the man’s thumb. It’s strange how the man understands him perfectly sometimes, and other times, seems so confused by what he is trying to say.

“It’s okay. The baj’uliik will only bother us if we bother them first.” His steps are steady on the rocky path. Grogu watches the way the man’s boots avoid big rocks on the path, brushing against bushes and leaves as he walks. Grogu squirms in his arms, reaching down to try and grab a few leaves as they pass. The man walks faster, lifting him up high enough so that he can’t reach them. “Not those ones,” the man says. “That’s fire-nettle. It won’t hurt me in my armor, but it would give you a horrible rash.”

Grogu lets out an annoyed sigh. The leaves are pretty, olive green and clustered in groups of three, their edges reddish orange and serrated in an interesting pattern. Maybe he’ll find a way to touch them later.

The path twists and turns as they descend lower into the valley. Grogu watches the plants and rocks as they walk, sniffing deeply as they pass a plant of shiny, spiky dark green needles, or a plant of pale long leaves and purple-pink flowers. He settles into the man’s arms, his eyes growing heavy with the rhythm of the footsteps.

***

Grogu yawns, opening his eyes and stretching his arms upward. It’s getting dark now. His ears swivel, picking up sounds of bugs chirruping, birds calling hoodu, hoodu, a trickling sound. He smells water.

The footsteps stop and the man lowers him to the ground. “Stay close, buddy. I’m gonna check and see if this stream has fish for dinner.” Grogu scrubs his eyes with his fists, blinking, and hurries to keep up with the man. His feet sink into mud and he giggles, feeling the squishy sensation between his toes. This might be a good place for --

His ears twitch. Little sounds, familiar sounds, skitter along the water’s edge. Grogu’s stomach rumbles. He reaches out through the Force, feels a little creature hiding in the mud, feels its heartbeat -- he pounces!

The frog squirms in his hands, wet and slippery and smelling delicious. He shoves it into his mouth, and the man finally notices him. “Hey! What have I told you about --” The man sighs. “Oh, go ahead.”

Grogu swallows his prize, grinning. He will never understand why the man doesn’t seem to like frogs, the best food in the galaxy.

The man turns back to him, holding up a fish squirming on the end of the cord that comes out of his wrist sometimes. “Come on. We’ll have some real food, too.”

Grogu scowls. Frogs are real food.

The man cooks the fish over a little fire. It does smell good, though. Grogu sits close to the man’s boot, leaning against it. He likes dinnertime with him. The man always gives him tasty things to eat, and he likes to talk some while Grogu eats.

Sometimes the man is so quiet, and Grogu can only get little flashes of him through the Force, focus and duty and… and fear, sometimes. Grogu knows that one. But he never feels fear when the man sits with him in these moments, around the fire.

“Hey, look here, kid,” says the man, stepping away from the small flames. He beckons to Grogu, and he follows curiously. The man crouches beside a bush. It smells good, crisp and herbal. It’s one of the pale bushes that he saw on the path, instead of the one with the pretty red-edged leaves. “This bush is okay for you to touch. It’s called whiteleaf. We can cook the fish with it.”

Grogu reaches out, stripping a few leaves from the plant. He crushes them against his palms, smells the clean herbal scent, and grins up at the man. He plucks a few more, then carefully holds them out for the man to take.

“Thank you,” he says. He takes the leaves and adds them to the fish. The smell is rich and Grogu licks his lips. He holds up his hands, grasping for the food.

“It’s hot,” the man warns, putting a portion of fish into a small dish and handing it to Grogu. “Let it cool for a minute.”

Grogu sits down with his treasure, balancing the dish on his knees. He blows on it to cool it down, and glances up at the man, who is taking the rest of the fish.

“We’ll rest up tonight,” says the man. He lifts his helmet slightly to take a bite of food. Grogu watches intently. He had known right away the man was not a droid -- he could feel the man through the Force, hear his heartbeat pounding -- but it had taken some time to realize that his silver skin, his armor, could be adjusted or removed. He looks at the man’s chin, watching as he eats the fish. He senses contentment, ease.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

Grogu startles at the man’s question, then takes a bite of his fish. The whiteleaf tastes rich and earthy under the delicious fishy flavor. He hums a cheerful sound, then leans against the man’s boot again, giving him a gentle nudge.

“There you go,” the man says. “It’s pretty good. We used to eat a lot of fish here. River trout’s the best, but greengill are all right, too.”

Grogu finishes up his fish, his eyes getting heavy. A content feeling of fullness spreads through him, and he sighs, leaning harder against the man’s leg.

“Getting sleepy, pal?” he asks. “It’s been a long day. C’mon.” He picks Grogu up, cradling him in his lap, and Grogu curls up against him. Up above Grogu can see the stars, swinging bright and glittery in the darkness. The insect chorus gets louder, and Grogu senses them, tiny pinpricks of light in the Force all around them. It makes him feel relaxed. He remembers the Jedi temple, feeling others around him all the time, safe and content in their home.

“I think we’ll make it to the covert tomorrow,” the man says quietly. “If they’re there, maybe they can lead us to a Jedi for you. Wouldn’t you like that?”

Grogu frowns. The Force contracts around the man, his normally bright signature darkening. Fear. Dread. Sadness. Grogu doesn’t understand. Usually the man’s words match the way he feels, strong and strong, sad and sad, angry and angry. But when the man brings up Jedi, the words and the feelings never match.

Grogu grips the man’s hand with his own, closing his eyes and holding on tightly. He tries to send an image of the two of them by the fire in the cool evening breeze, the sound of insects buzzing in the dark, good fish in their bellies, and he tries to send happy, safe, now.

But the man just pulls him a little closer, hand brushing over Grogu’s ears, and says, “We’ll find that place where you belong.”

***

Grogu shifts in his soft blue blanket, a gift from the nice lady on the planet of trees and krill and frogs. He misses the children he used to play with there, Winta and Soris and Nibs. He wonders if he will see them again, but no visions come to him, no future sight showing the children delighted to see his return. He pushes his blanket aside.

The dawnlight is bright and fierce, and he squints against it. He gets to his feet, standing up tall and looking over the man, who still seems to be asleep beneath his own blanket on the rocky ground.

Maybe he can find something for breakfast while the man sleeps. Another frog, maybe, or even a fish! Wouldn’t the man like that? He carefully walks to the stream edge, watching the water sparkle beneath the sunlight. He glances to his side and sees the pretty red-edged leaves, fluttering in the breeze. Fire-nettle. But maybe the man is wrong, maybe he’s mistaken --

Grogu grabs the pretty leaves. For a moment he feels excited, seeing the way the green and red looks against his hands. And then he realizes --

He can’t help it. He closes his eyes and lets go of the leaves and wails.

The man is there, flinging his blanket aside and rushing to the stream’s edge. “What is it, kid? What happened? Are you okay?”

Grogu holds out his hands, quivering. They burn! His skin prickles and sears, and he whimpers, stumbling towards his protector.

The man carefully takes his hands in his own, examining them. “Did you -- oh, no, the fire-nettle,” he groans. “Come here, come here, quick.” He plunges Grogu’s hands into the cool stream-water, and the burn lessens. He holds Grogu’s hands deep in the water, and Grogu trembles.

“I told you,” says the man, but his voice is gentle. “You have to be careful, okay? Don’t scare me like that. How are your hands?”

Grogu shakes his head back and forth, wincing. They still hurt. It isn’t fair! The leaves were so pretty.

The man sits him on his knee, holding him there with one hand while he rummages in his belt for something with the other. He pulls out a little packet of ointment and squeezes it into Grogu’s palms, then rubs his hands together. Cooling relief spreads over his hands, and Grogu sighs gratefully.

“Feeling better?” the man asks. He rubs Grogu’s back with one hand, cradling Grogu’s sore hands in the other one. He is quiet for a moment, but when he speaks again, Grogu feels it coming from him, that warmth, that gentleness.

“I learned this the hard way too,” he admits. “I was young when I lived here, and it was only for a few months. We had to move a lot to stay safe. I heard some of the older fighters talking about fire-nettle, about getting it on their armor and their hands. I thought --” He chuckles. “I thought they were being too cautious.”

His knee bounces slightly, Grogu bouncing with it. He smiles a little at the bouncing as the man continues. “One of them dared me to hold some. I took off my gloves and… Well, it has that name for a reason, kid. Which you now know. My hands didn’t stop burning for a week.” He shakes his head. “But this ointment should take care of you. You let me know if you need more, all right?”

Grogu nods, looking up at him. He’s so bright in the sun, bright enough it hurts his eyes, but Grogu keeps looking at him anyway. He loves the way he shines.

***

They travel through the morning. Sometimes Grogu walks at his side where the path is relatively flat, and he enjoys the feeling of silty, sandy soil under his toes. He smells the plants as they walk through scrubby hills and valleys, and though he stays far away from fire-nettle now, the man teaches him names of some of the other things they see. Whiteleaf and bitterbush, good for cooking. Shivertree: the man lifts Grogu’s hand and rests it on the smooth reddish bark. It’s cold! Much colder than the warm outside air. It makes Grogu’s mouth drop open in surprise.

They pass short trees the man calls buckleberry, golden bushy plants he names shimmershrubs. The coarse grass waving on the hillside he says is red cheatgrass, and the white flowers like soft bright stars he says are snow weeds. Grogu looks at all of them, and he marvels that the man knows so many names.

Sometimes there are animals. In the distance they sometimes see the baj’uliik, but there are nicer things, too; the man points out wild bantha, flower beetles, no-no birds and grub worms. (Grogu eats three before the man notices and scolds him.)

Lunch is a hill hare the man shoots with a blaster and roasts over open flame, flavored with bitterbush that Grogu helps him collect. The meat is rich and juicy, savory and tender. The man cooks well. Grogu belches broadly as he finishes his meal, and the man laughs, a sound that rings out metallic and true. Happy and happy. There is no talk of Jedi.

***

The evening sun slants low over the canyon. There are small buildings below them, a little group of them clustered together. Plants grow on the roofs, mostly hiding their forms, but with the sun hitting them Grogu can see streaks of gold and red in windows and on the edges of the walls. He looks up at the man curiously.

“That’s the covert,” the man says, his voice rough. “It may still be in use by others of my kind.”

Grogu thinks of the strange word the man keeps thinking, feeling, when he says things like that. Mandalorian. He talked of it a lot on the planet of ash and lava, when the Ugnaught and the droid tried to help them; others say it, too. He wishes he understood. He knows it’s important. Is it like Jedi?

The man carries him close on the path down into the canyon. Grogu catches determination and something complicated that he doesn’t have the words for. It’s like hope and fear combined. The man’s footsteps are careful and measured, and Grogu scans the environment as they walk, looking for signs of other people.

He casts his awareness out into the Force. He has grown used to the lonely feeling of never feeling anything reaching to him, but there is still a part of him that hopes something will touch back.

It doesn’t, this time. He closes his eyes, reaching, reaching, and finds only tiny creatures among the walls, beings even smaller than himself. Little grass mice, scurrying in the empty buildings. He reaches up to the man, his claws tapping against the metal armor, but the man just nods at him, absently patting the back of his head. “We’ll be there soon, kid.”

Grogu sinks back against him, letting out a long breath. The man will find out soon enough.

***

The man sits quietly on a stone bench in a solitary courtyard, secluded and hidden by the canyon walls. The last rays of the day’s sun line the edges of the walls in gold, leaving the rest in deep blue shadow. Grogu walks through the gritty soil, bending down periodically to poke at a glittery green beetle or play with a patch of blue-flowered grass. He tries to distract himself, but the man’s feelings buzz in the back of his mind, louder than they ever have before. The more the man protects him and keeps him safe, the easier it is to feel him, all the time.

The man sits very still and calm on the outside. But confusing memories flicker through him, snatches of sound and image that Grogu can only catch little pieces of. He remembers far-away lessons in the Temple, Master Yoda teaching him about people who could use the Force the way they do, and people who could not. He remembers Master Yoda saying the Force is in all living things, that even if a person cannot use the Force, the Force still surrounds them. Grogu concentrates and he sees --

The young man in the silver helmet, training hard in the courtyard, taking blows that make his head rattle and his teeth ache, but he has to -- has to prove he’s worthy --

The burn of fire-nettle on his hands, slipping gloves back over the skin despite the throb, the laughter of the other young people --

A language Grogu doesn’t recognize, but its words mean home and family --

Hurrying to gather his things, the voices of the others urgent and metallic, fleeing through the canyon paths --

The dark tunnels beneath the town, the man sinking to his knees, loss rolling off of him in waves --

The shining woman in gold and red, metal sparking under her hands, speaking words of clan and quest --

Grogu walks back to the man, his hand held tight around the stem of a bluegrass flower. His palm feels smooth and whole again, the burning of the fire-nettle a distant memory.

He tugs at the man’s leg, holding up his flower when the man’s shining head tilts to look at him. The man sighs, a long, shivering sound. “For me?” He reaches out and Grogu presses the flower into his hand. “Thanks, buddy.” He lifts Grogu onto his lap, stroking one of his ears gently between his fingertips, and in his other hand, he carefully holds the flower.

“I wish we could have found them,” the man says. “I thought I could help you here.” Disappointment, loneliness, relief. Grogu shakes his head, confused. He reaches to the man’s arm, tugs on his sleeve.

“I never thought I’d see this place again,” he says, gazing down at Grogu. “We were safe here, for a time.” He looks around at the courtyard, the light vanishing into darkness. “Come on, kid. Let’s get some rest. It’s too late to hike back tonight.”

He carries Grogu through the halls, switching a light on his helmet that shines bright in the dark. The hallways are lined with bunches of cheatgrass or climbing vines, and Grogu can hear the grass mice scampering on the floors as they pass.

“There’s the public quarters,” the man says mechanically. “If your meal and training and work were done, you could spend time here. Talk to people. I didn’t do it often.” Grogu nods. That seems right.

“Here’s the mess. We’d prepare food here, take shifts serving. We ate alone except for family groups. Easier, that way. It’s where I learned about some of the food on this world.” He waves at the empty hall, and dust shifts as they move onward.

“There’s the weapons lockers. We each had one for our own weapons. The whole room was cleaned three times a day to keep the dust out.” But the dust is thicker here than anywhere else.

“And here’s my quarters,” he says suddenly, stopping in front of a narrow doorway. He jimmies the door open, since it doesn’t light up, and they slip inside. There’s a small bed inside, barely bigger than the one back on the man’s ship, and a cramped refresher unit wedged into the back. A narrow metal cabinet leans against the wall, its drawers open and empty. The man shoves the drawers back in and settles on the sleeping surface, and Grogu coughs in the dust.

“Sorry,” the man says, fanning the air rapidly to try and move the dust away from him. “I guess it’s been a while.” He wipes away as much dust as he can from the bed and stretches out on it, holding Grogu carefully against his chest. Grogu holds himself up on his forearms, looking curiously at the man.

“What is it, kid? What do you need?”

Grogu sits back down against the man’s armor, huffing. He doesn’t need anything. He just wants. That’s different. He looks around at the little room and he wonders if it was like the temple, long ago. He tries to see inside the man’s mind, but it’s gotten muddled again, and Grogu gives up, frustrated.

“Well, you tell me if it’s something major,” says the man. “Vacc tube probably still works. And I have more of that bacta ointment, if your hands are bothering you. You let me know, okay?” He pauses, then realizes. “You need a story?”

Grogu babbles, climbing up so that he can rest against the little spot of softness between the man’s face and the metal on his shoulder. The man rubs his back, holding him close.

“Hm,” the man begins. Grogu has noticed it always takes him a little while to come up with a story. He doesn’t know any of the Jedi stories, the tales of heroes of the past, the ones they used to tell him in his old home. But sometimes the man tells stories of his own people, and sometimes he tells stories with Grogu in them, too. Grogu loves them all.

“I learned a lot here,” the man says thoughtfully. “I had just sworn the Creed, and there was much I still needed to learn. I practiced with weapons and the Rising Phoenix. I know -- I told you the baj’uliik didn’t like the Rising Phoenix -- well, we used to use them for target practice. One of us would practice our flying. The other one would practice their aim. Sometimes there were some close calls.” He chuckles. “One day the baj’uliik came flying right toward me. I tried to fly away, but I couldn’t shake it. It took a bite out of me.”

Grogu’s mouth falls open. He grabs the man’s cloak, holds onto it tightly.

“I was fine!” he says hastily, patting Grogu. “But I lost my training Phoenix. The baj’uliik swallowed it, I fell about twenty feet straight down and broke my leg, and my partner was so surprised she let it get away. For all I know, it’s still flying somewhere out there, just a little bit heavier than all its friends. That’s why I didn’t have a Phoenix until our last trip to Nevarro.”

Grogu turns around, looking at the man’s leg. Is this why the armor on his legs is not the same, why one leg is heavier, why it’s nicer to hug the leg wrapped in leather instead of the leg clad in metal?

“Yeah,” the man says, bending the right leg and tapping it below the knee with his knuckles. Metal clinks on metal. “This helps keep it steady. It never healed quite right. But it still works fine, kid, don’t worry.”

Grogu swallows his worry. He feels mild embarrassment coming from the man, but nothing like pain, nothing like fear. Grogu relaxes, letting out a sound of curiosity.

“Tomorrow we’ll keep an eye out for the baj’uliik,” the man says. He leans back against the dusty bed, considering. “It was an opponent worthy of respect. Even if it tried to eat me.” He chuckles again. “Especially since it tried to eat me.”

Grogu isn’t sure if it’s his favorite bedtime story the man has told him -- it’s a little too scary -- but it seems to make the man happy, and the happy feeling soothes him. He curls up against the man and the warmth inside him, and the weight of the man’s hand on his back helps him fall asleep.

***

The man wakes him up far too early, and Grogu is grouchy as the man works through their morning routine -- using the vacc tube, a quick bath for Grogu and a hasty breakfast of ration bars. Grogu’s not too fond of them, but he munches his bar as the man carries him out of the lonely compound and up the steep hill.

He falls asleep halfway up the canyon and doesn’t wake up for some time. When he does, he realizes the man’s footsteps are quick and long, nearly a run. Like there’s nothing left to see here. It makes Grogu feel sad, though he isn’t sure why. He holds the man’s hand as they journey, and he watches the paths for creatures.

The long day stretches on, and the sun begins to swing low once more. The man’s faster stride and their early start mean they will reach the ship before night falls. He wishes they could stay and hunt frogs instead.

They reach a narrow canyon and look down. To Grogu’s surprise there’s the ship! They had reached it even faster than he had thought. He looks up at the man, resting a hand against his chest. The man is tired, he feels. “All right, kid. We’ll have one more dinner here before we head out. I could use a break anyway.”

He sets Grogu down on a flat stretch of land, the cheatgrass tickling his toes. Grogu sniffs, rotates his ears. He senses another hare, and he looks meaningfully up at the man, then waves a hand in the hare’s direction. The man nods, and it’s just a few moments later that the man has a cleaned hare over the fire while Grogu hunts for bitterbush and whiteleaf.

He finds a small whiteleaf plant a little ways away, and he sits beside it, carefully pulling a few leaves from the bush. It smells so clean! He hums to himself, pleased, then shivers at a ululating cry, carried on the breeze.

He stares up at the sky and he sees it -- a baj’uliik flying overhead, its leathery wings shimmering in rippling gold and green and scarlet, its long feathered tail streaming behind it, glittering in the fading sun. He watches it fly away, each wingbeat slow and methodical and so, so beautiful. He is sad that one hurt the man, but happy that it got away.

He lifts one hand and waves as it goes.

“They’re something else, aren’t they?” the man asks him. He kneels beside Grogu, carefully taking the whiteleaf leaves from him. He watches the creature fly, head tilting to one side, then shakes himself into action. “Come on, kid. Dinnertime.”

They eat the hare together, Grogu making a mess of his meal and thoroughly enjoying every bite. The man just laughs and helps to clean him up.

They sit quietly together as the sun vanishes and the moons begin to rise. Grogu leans against the man’s thigh, full and glad. He knows the man did not find what he came here for, but there is the cool evening air, the cry of the baj’uliik far away, the scent of whiteleaf.

The man clambers to his feet, lifting Grogu into his arms. “Come here a minute, kid,” he says. He carries him back to the whiteleaf plant, its leaves glimmering beneath the moonlight. He crouches down and sets Grogu down beside him, then begins digging with his hands. Grogu watches curiously.

“There’s a little UV light on the Crest,” the man says to Grogu. “Helps me keep a schedule for day and night, when I want. But… we could use it to help grow a plant, too.”

Grogu claps his hands together. He senses from the man hope, longing, things hard for Grogu to understand. But they are good things, he thinks, and he likes it when the man feels good. The man lifts the plant from the ground, its roots tangled up in a ball of soil, and he gently sets it in Grogu’s arms.

“Keep hold of that til we get back to the ship,” the man says. He picks Grogu up again. “I know you’ll keep it safe.” He cradles Grogu carefully so that Grogu can keep good hold of the plant. “Ready to go, buddy?”

Grogu nods. The fresh scent of whiteleaf flares with every step the man takes toward the ship. They reach the Crest and it lights up with their approach, the door opening as the man adjusts something on his arm. Grogu curls a sweet-smelling leaf between his fingertips, feeling warm and safe; and in the Force, he feels the man is happy, proud, home.