#actually all my fic inspiration come to me when its the middle of the night and i should be sleeping

[arinnandout]

woke up in the middle of the night bc of a group of teens being rowdy outside my house and went into a complete nose dive into a fic idea where sirius survives and has to deal with the fact that his godson is dating ex death eater, pureblood bigot, draco malfoy

[tortureddarkstar]

✩ IN BLOOM

AND HE LIKES TO SING ALONG / / AND HE LIKES TO SHOOT HIS GUN

DEAN WINCHESTER X F!READER

18+ CONTENT. MINORS DNI.

summary: dean teaches you how to shoot a gun. amongst other things.

inspired by: in bloom- nirvana

this was a very much ‘fine i’ll do it myself’ kinda feat. not enough dean fics out there esp since its spn season. this is also my tumblr debut x

lots of smut, not a lot of plot. hope u like x

“hey, focus.”

your attention snapped back to the ‘x’ dean had etched into a tree.

dean had his arms around you, thick hands encompassing yours which aimed his white colt at dean’s makeshift target.

“hm? oh, sorry.” you blinked your eyes a few times, drawing in on the target.

“no. not ‘sorry’. focus.” he grunted in your ear. “sure thing you can use a knife, sweetheart, but what happens when you’re too far? y’gonna throw your knife at a ghost?”

“well that’s why i have you and sammy.” you shrugged, to which earned you a jab in the back from dean.

“keep your back straight.” dean rumbled, eyes rolling at your overt smartness.

“ow.”

“yeah, you’re gonna feel an ‘ow’ when you’ve got claws down your body. back straight, eyes on the target.” you took note of how his father’s drill training peeked through his orders to you, even after all these years.

you huffed, fixing your posture and lining up dean’s colt.

there was something twisted about such a pure, little thing using dean’s favoured weapon.

not only had he used it on countless demons, ghosts, werewolves- heck people too. but you remembered the first time time he had used it on you.

on a hunt, not too long ago, he caught you staring a little too mindlessly towards him.

well, not towards him. more so the colt.

and when you had told him later that night that you wanted him to use it on you, he seemed, at the time, a little taken aback, hesitant even.

however, you watched, writhing under him, as that hesitance turned into malevolence and instead of giving himself to you that night, he gave you only his gun.

“come on baby, work for it.” dean coaxed, admiring your contorted face and your wanton whimpers.

“you gonna shoot that anytime soon?”

fuck, now you were wet.

“sorry, m’just distracted.” you mumbled, furrowing your brows, determined to actually shoot now. “focusing now.”

dean was still behind you, heavy grip on your elbows, heavy breath in your ears.

yeah we’ll see about focusing.

dean had no intention to distract you by any means, in fact it was his idea for you to learn how to use a gun- “sam and i aren’t always gonna be there. and i don’t plan on you leaving anytime soon either.”

but you were taking way too long trying to shoot a target less than six feet from you, and dean never has any objections to a bit of fun.

he watched as your index finger finally began to apply pressure over the trigger. his mind calculating when exactly to introduce some fun into this little training session.

dean slowly took his hands off yours, letting it snake down to rest on your waist.

“dean, what are you doing?” your voice had already begun to shake, the weight of the colt feeling heavier as your palms started sweating.

“nothin’. focus.” dean dismissed, his hand traversing down, down, until he found the buttons on your jeans, toying with them until he hit the band of your panties.

“dean.” there was no way you were concentrating at all on that tree anymore.

“let’s play a little game, huh? the closer you are to the target, the closer i get to where you really want me.” his fingers slipped under the waistband of your underwear. “that sound fair, sweets?”

instead of answering, you pulled the trigger, the bullet burning a hole in the tree 20 centimetres above from where you wanted it to go.

“that a yes, huh?” he grunted in your ear “but, i said the target, baby.”

“dean.. please.” you huffed out, eyes rolling as your head fell back onto his shoulder, the gun almost slipping out of your hands.

“monsters are more distracting. shoot. right in the middle, i know you can do it baby, come on.” dean’s voice was gruff in your ear, sending an entire wave of shivers down your spine.

you glanced down as his hand crept closer to where you craved him, edging around your clit, but never touching it.

inhaling, you straightened your back, shook away the shivers, and regained your grip on his colt.

“that’s a girl.” dean whispered, nipping your earlobe before granting you a sickly sweet kiss, stark in contrast to the current situation. he felt you whimper into the kiss before pulling away, not yet granting you any such reward.

this time you tried not to think as hard. yes thinking too hard would send you over the edge, resulting in a punishment from dean, but you also tried to rationalise- you wouldn’t be thinking too much if you were being chased by a demon, right?

the second shot was much better and much closer, not smack in the middle like he wanted but close enough for dean to finally reward you with attention to your aching clit.

“come on baby, third times the charm.” now dean was moving his right hand from your right elbow, allowing it to slip under your shirt and rest upon your left tit.

“s’too much, dean. please.” he could tell from the whiny tone of your voice that you had begun to tear up.

oh, he’d give you something to cry about.

without warning, he stuck his middle finger into you, letting the heel of his palm push against your core.

“see how nice i am? hmm?” he grunted, digging his finger and palm into you. “now, you make that shot and i’ll give you what you want. if not, all you’ll have tonight is that there colt.”

now that drew a moan out of you.

“we’ve a deal, pretty girl?” dean nosed at the side of your face, grinning slightly at your torment.

nothing but a pathetic hum, bordering a grumble, came out.

a mumble of ‘good girl’ came out of his mouth and into your hair as he resumed his movements inside.

just like the previous two times, you repeated your actions. straight back, tight grip. and just like the last time, you tried your damndest to clear your mind. even though it was harder now with his finger in you, moving with more fervour and more dexterity.

you bit your lip in both concentration and suppression of a throaty moan. your finger, once again, gripped the trigger as you pressed down, your eyes following the bullet as it hit the target.

smack. in. the. middle.

you began smiling but your celebration was cut short by dean finally moving as fast as you wanted, adding another finger, just as you wanted and finally, turning you around so he could kiss you. just as you wanted. finally making you cum, just as you wanted.

“atta girl. knew you could do it. baby just needed a bit of encouragement, huh?” dean goaded. through your concentration and your post-orgasmic haze, you hadn’t noticed that dean had taken himself out of his confines, allowing you to feel just how hard he was.

with as much might your jelly-legs could muster, you jumped onto him, caging him as you pushed him backwards on the hood of his impala parked conveniently behind you.

“you want this, baby? want me to fuck you on my car?” he tugged your head back by your hair to watch your reply- jaw slack with a hastened nod and moan. “dirty girl.”

you let his mouth envelop yours before he spun you both around, setting your back onto the car. from here, you could see just how desperate you were for him, a collection of your juices had darkened his boxers, a little on his open fly, catching the light of the cloudy sun.

you carried on staring, eyes glazing over as he lined himself up with your entrance, that beautiful sting electrifying as he settled deep into you.

“dean.” you whined. your hands had moved from holding his midsection to cradling his face as your nails dug into his neck, bringing him into a kiss that was purely teeth and tongue, encouragement for him to keep moving.

a few, albeit long, minutes pass of dean rocking in and out, in and out of you with the occasional kiss or tug at each others hair, all the while your moans of his name and other incoherencies fill the air of the murky woodland dean had sought out for your ‘lesson’.

oh what a lesson this was.

dean found himself moving faster now, his hands and hips most likely bruising you. he would be lying if he said that’s not what he wanted. swallowing one of your breathy moans once again, his thumb moved to your clit, bringing you to the edge right next to him.

the twittering of crows were now drowned out by mumbles of ‘dean’, ‘so good’ and other mismatched phrases, stark in contrast to your usual eloquence.

“come on baby, cum with me. come on.” dean goaded, his thrusts getting harsher as his words got more strained.

obedient as always, you took the thumb of the hand cradling your head into your mouth, sucking, licking, biting on it as your brow-bone tilted up- both signs of your ever-approaching orgasm.

soon enough, ramblings of heated compliments were overtook by the increasing pitch and tone of moans, the last articulate sentence being dean’s- a simple warning of his seed spilling into you falling from his pout lips, enough to push you over the edge you’d been teetering on for the past ten minutes.

ever eager to please, you let go.

spasm after spasm washed over you as dean watched from above, cheshire cat-smile across his face as he watched yours contort when he pulled out to stand and admire his handiwork.

he waited and watched as you sat up on the impala, leaning on your hands. dean revelled in the way your hair tangled, your tits spilling from the tank you wore, matching the dark-wash jeans that had bunched up around your knees.

you were in bloom. and oh how he basked in it.

[magpiefngrl]

hey! curious new writer here. which fix of yours were the easiest to write and which were the hardest? in what way?

Hello anon! Thanks for an interesting ask.

OK I'll start with the disclaimer that every fic has its difficulties as well as moments when it flows, but there have definitely been some that poured out of me with great ease than others which were a constant struggle.

The Miseducation of Draco Malfoy, my first drarry, was written at the height of my obsession and it poured out of me. I wrote like a fiend all day and would go to bed at night and reread what I wrote. I breathed that fic day and night for the weeks it took me to write it. It was also the most fun I had writing, prob because I was a complete unknown and there were zero expectations from me. Similarly, The Full Monty, written just after TMODM, was an easy fic to write. I remember I read the prompt and was immediately assaulted by images and started laughing on my own and was like, OK I need to claim this, the fic is writing itself.

Similarly but in a more tortuous way, dirtynumbangelboy poured out of me too. More tortuous because it took me ages to find the right beginning, and by then I was behind with my deadlines and got stressed. Also, I wrote it in a sort of dread of the Erised fest, because it had some amazing writers that year and I was intimidated. I remember my goal was to "at least not embarrass myself" .

But, aside from the doubts and stress, dnab itself flowed like nothing else. There are passages that I really love, even now years later, and they are exactly as they came out the first time. I did very little editing (compared to other works).

With The Boy Who Died I made a fun post on tumblr about a mdzs AU of drarry and then the idea wouldn't let me go so I had to sit and write it. Luckily it was summer and I didn't work and I could spend my days writing it. There were moments I got stumped but it mostly came out easily.

Finally, a lot of my short fics poured out of me in one go and came out almost perfectly formed. The Dare, A Perfectly Normal Reaction, and my MCD The Death You Carry are good examples.

Fics that took ages at first:

so my thing is that I have to find the right opening to begin the story, otherwise I can't proceed. I don't plan; the first scene/chapter is my plan. And sometimes I get stuck for yonks. With The Unquiet Grave I began with a Draco POV, him being a politician and Harry his bodyguard, had an interesting first scene and then---nothing. It's like I hit a wall. Zero words come. When I have this feeling, I know I need to go back and revise. Long story short, it was when I changed the POV to Harry that somehow the whole gothic mood came about and I felt the auspicious click: I got it. That's what the story is. A gothic romance. After that, it was easier.

The same thing happened with Hush, darling. I rewrote a first scene fruitlessly several times until a random bit of inspiration fell into my hands: the visual of a card game. I began with it and I let it guide me and the whole plot/stakes/cast fell into place.

Fics that needed a LOT of work and had to be dragged into existence:

The Gift is the first that comes to mind. First couple of chapters were pretty easy and then I was stumped. Writing it felt like dragging myself up a slope, step by step and also not being happy with anything, so that was fun. :/

The other is 9 ½ Days, which took actual years to finish. In that case the middle part was the hard one. I wrote the beginning fairly easily and the last chapters, the plotty ones, also flowed. But the middle. Zeus almighty. It took me years and I thought and thought and thought about it a lot. Finishing this fic was an immense relief but also a source of pride, especially because I really liked the result, and judging by the comments I get, people seem to love it too.

Thanks for an unusual ask! It was good to ponder about my fics and my writing process. The same issues seem to crop up with my original works too, and it's helpful to remind myself that I got over those issues before and I can get over them again.

[sequinsmile-x]

I Knew You'd Linger Like a Tattoo Kiss - Chapter 1 - Wake-up Kisses

A series of unrelated one-shots and mini fics about the many types of kisses Aaron and Emily share.

-x-

Hi friends!

I hope you are all okay <3

This is for my dear friend @sometimesitswho who inspired this new little series!

The prompt list for this series can be found here! Feel free to send me some via my inbox/leave some in the comments if you don't have tumblr <3

This...got sadder/has more feelings than I intended...but it's also kind of soft.

As always, let me know what you think <3

-x-

Words: 2.3k

Warnings: Nightmares, pregnancy (tomorrow I will create a master list for this fic after i've had some sleep haha)

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

The first time it happens, they haven’t been together long. 

It isn’t the first time he’s slept over at hers, but it’s still new enough he has to think about the layout of her bedroom if he gets up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, his shins bruised from walking into her dresser more than once. At first, he isn’t sure what has woken him up. He groans when he checks the time, blinking to clear his vision in the darkness of the room. 

That’s when he hears it, a pained whimper from the woman pressed up against him, her grip on his shirt tightening, her nails digging into his skin through the thin material. 

“Em?” He asks, switching on the lamp on the nightstand, “Are you…” He trails off when he realises she’s sleeping, her face screwed up in distress as she mutters something he doesn’t quite hear, whatever monster she’s fighting in her dream making her fold in on herself as she twists in his arms. His heart feels like it’s in a vice, wound tighter together with guilt and sorrow as she whimpers again, “Oh, sweetheart.” 

He was no stranger to nightmares himself. He’d wake up sometimes, his breath caught in his chest as he felt the blade of Foyet’s knife, or the warmth of Haley’s blood against his skin, his knuckles aching, scars that had long since healed about to burst open. At first, he’d barely slept when he got back from the hospital. His apartment quiet even though it had never been the home he’d shared with Haley and Jack, and every sound he heard was Foyet coming back to finish the job. Sleep only found him when he was away on cases. Cheap, lumpy mattresses more of a safe space than the place he lived. He’d still wake up from nightmares though, unsure if he’d actually screamed or if he’d imagined it. The echo of his dream following him into consciousness, his past only ever one step behind him - its hand stretched out to pull him back in. 

When Jack came back home, the house Aaron had bought with Haley now a wretched tomb instead of the place he’d once found sanctuary, he had nightmares too. His brain filling in the gaps of all he’d heard when he was lying in the chest in his father’s office, his monsters real and tangible when he would wake up screaming for the mother he’d never get to truly know. 

Aaron gathers Emily closer, easily sitting up with her in his arms. Despite his instinct to do so, he doesn’t hold her any tighter, doesn’t want to restrict her movement as he holds her lightly to his chest. The last thing he wants to do is make her nightmare worse, to add to it, so he sits there and rubs his hand up and down her back, repeatedly pressing kisses to any part of her face that he can reach, murmuring against her skin the entire time as he slowly draws her back to him. 

“You’re okay.” 

“You’re safe.”

“You survived.” 

She wakes suddenly, tense and stiff in his arms as she pulls herself out of his embrace, her eyes wide as he willingly lets her go, “Em, sweetheart, it’s just me.” 

She looks at him, her eyes wild and shining, her chest heaving as she looks around, her gaze finally locking on him, “Aaron?” 

She sounds so ragged, so unlike her, that it takes everything in him to not reach out and touch her, well aware from experience that it needed to be her who initiated any physical contact. 

“Yes, baby,” he says, painting on a soft smile he does feel connected to, the expression misplaced in the heaviness of her bedroom but hopefully reassuring, “It’s me. It’s Aaron.” 

She sinks into him, her forehead against his neck as she breathes him in, her chest shuddering so hard he feels it, the stutter of her ribcage against his palms as he pulls her closer. 

“Fuck…I…” she trails off, her words stuck in her throat, her grip on him tightening as he tucks her against his chest, feels the shiver of her shoulders even though her skin is warm to the touch. 

“I’ve got you,” he says, kissing her forehead, her temple, anywhere he could reach again, “I’ve got you.” 

She shifts, curled up in a way he’s sure must be uncomfortable, her cheek pressed against his chest so she can feel his heartbeat, “Can you…can you talk?” 

“About what, sweetheart?” He asks, desperate to help her in any way he can. 

“Anything,” she breathes out, “Please just…anything. I need to…”

She doesn’t have to say anything else, doesn’t have to tell him that she just needs to think of something other than the cold warehouse floor where she’d almost died. Where she had died. He says the first thing that comes to mind.

“Did I tell you that Jack’s teacher pulled me aside today?” 

She huffs out a shaky breath and shakes her head, “No.” 

“Well,” he says, resting his cheek on top of her head, his hand still moving in soothing circles on her back, “Apparently, a new kid called Caleb was being bullied by someone else in their class, and after Caleb was pushed in a puddle by this kid, Jack jumped in after him.” 

She chuckles breathlessly and pulls back to look at him, her eyes still shining, sticky tracks smudged down her cheeks, “He jumped in?”

Aaron hums and nods, wiping her cheeks, “The teacher had to tell me because he had to change into his spare clothes. She wanted to explain why the clothes he went to school in were covered in mud.” 

She closes her eyes and shakes her head, “He’s a sweet kid,” she says, pressing her forehead against his.

“He told me he wanted to make sure Caleb was okay, and that he knew he had a friend.” 

She smiles and kisses him, her lips against his for just long enough to press the taste of her tears against his, “Like father, like son.” 

He kisses her, his hand around the back of her neck as he holds her in place, his nails scratching at her scalp when he feels her now even breath skip across his face, “Want to talk about it?”

She shrugs, her lips pressed together as she swallows thickly, “Not really.” 

He nods, understanding more than most, and he encourages her to sit against him, her side against his chest as she snuggles back into him, “Want to hear more about what Jack got up to today?” 

He feels her smile against his neck, a silent answer before she whispers her response, “Yes please.” 

___

At first, she thinks the baby has woken her up. 

She groans, her hands automatically drifting to her stomach, the curve beneath her palm making her smile just like it always did. She was enjoying the changes to her body, loved that she actually looked pregnant now and not just like she’d had a big meal, but she could do without the frequent trips to the bathroom. She’s about to quietly chastise the baby, whisper her usual half-hearted annoyance to her son about being woken up because he’d kicked her bladder, when she realises he hasn’t woken her up at all. 

Aaron tightens his grip on her even in sleep, his arm heavy over where her waist used to be, his hand in a fist around the covers lying over her. He’s murmuring something she can’t quite catch under his breath, his body tense as he pulls her closer, protecting her from whatever it was he could see in his dream. 

The first time she’d had a nightmare in front of him, she’d been embarrassed. She’d pressed her face against his chest as he told her all about his son, now their son, and apologised, cutting him off halfway through his story about Jack’s obsession with the sharks at the aquarium. Aaron had kissed her, his lips still just about touching hers when he told her she had nothing to apologise for, that he knew all too well how it felt to be haunted by a dead man. 

She knew he was telling the truth, but it was confirmed just a few days later after she woke up to him knocking on her hotel room door in the middle of the night, breaking their rule of never on cases less than six weeks after they’d set it. His eyes had been wild and shining when she’d opened the door wearing one of his shirts, something she’d stolen to try and settle herself that night, already too used to sleeping next to him. She’d known what had happened without him saying anything, the look on his face, the half-crescent indents in his palms gave him away immediately. She’d pulled him into her room and locked the door behind them and led him over to her bed. He’d curled up against her, his head against her chest in a way that made him seem like a little boy, an image distorted by his large hand grasping at her waist, his thumb and little finger skimming her ribcage and her hipbone. 

In some ways, she hated that they had this in common, that they each knew what it was like to stare into the abyss and have it stare back, but in another way, one that felt entirely selfish, she was glad he understood. Sure that she would never have been able to let herself fall apart in front of someone who didn’t understand as he did, the knowledge that he knew what it was like was enough to let her let him pick up all the pieces of her and slot them back into place. 

He was, after all, the only one who knew where all the pieces went. 

She rests her hand over his and eases it away from the comforter, sandwiching it between the two of hers as she lifts their hands to her face, first pressing her cheek against his knuckles before she starts to kiss them one by one. Focusing on the scars she doesn’t need to see to know where they are, evidence of when he’d torn himself apart for vengeance for the last woman he’d loved. 

She draws him back to her, feels his grip briefly tighten before he tenses behind her, his breath harsh and fast against the back of her neck. 

“You’re okay,” she says quietly, unwrapping one of her hands from around his to switch on the lamp on the nightstand, still squeezing his hand tightly with the other, “It was just a dream.” 

“Em?” 

She hums and sits up, scratching her nails across his scalp as she encourages him to look up at her, “It’s me, sweetheart,” she assures him, “It’s your Em.” 

She usually called him honey. It was the first nickname she’d tried on him, the taste of it as sweet as the nectar it was named after, as sweet as the smile on his face when she called him it. She only ever called him sweetheart in moments like this, when he looked afraid as if he’d somehow lost everything again, because it always made her feel better when that’s what he called her. 

He slides towards her, only sitting up enough to rest his head on her chest, his cheek against her breast as he places his arm over her bump, his palm resting where he knew their little boy kicked the most. They lay in silence for a little while, her nails scratching idle patterns on his scalp as his breathing slowly returned to normal, the warmth of it fanning out against her skin. 

“You know,” she says eventually, resting her cheek on top of his head as she wraps her arms around him, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this was just an excuse to press your face against my breasts.” 

He laughs, a broken sound that cheers her up nonetheless. He turns his head just enough to kiss the closest bit of skin he can, his lips catching the edge of the brand left behind by a man who had once killed her. 

“You’ve got me,” he says wryly, his voice cracking still, “I can’t believe you saw through my plan.” 

She smiles and kisses the top of his before she rests her cheek against it again, wanting him as close as possible. They turn serious again, as they always did on nights like these, and she whispers, “Want to talk about it?” 

“No,” he replies, and she knows it’s because she’s heard it all before, that it was nothing new, so she seeks out his hand, linking their fingers over where their son rolled beneath her skin. 

“Jack told me he had some ideas for how we could decorate the nursery today.” 

She feels his smile against her skin, feels the way he clears his throat, their tradition something they both held fondly. It had started that first night when she’d been torn from sleep, unfocused and panicking as she asked him to talk about anything and he’d spoken about Jack. It was something they carried on doing, idly talking about the little boy, even if it was something the other knew, until they felt better or fell asleep. She knew that soon enough their son would be in the mix too, that they’d talk about him as well as his older brother. A much needed reminder of what they’d survived everything for, what they had now they’d fought their way here. 

“Oh yeah?” 

She hums, “Apparently,” she says, smiling as the baby kicks, “He thinks the baby will like dinosaurs.” 

He chuckles, his laugh already sounding more like his own, and he tilts his head to look up at her, his smile soft and his eyes looking like nothing short of the future, “I guess I’d better find some dinosaur stencils for the walls then.” 

She leans down to kiss him, ignoring the crick in her neck, and smiles as she pulls back, “Yes, I think you should.” 

[opiopal]

just wanted to say I have started the third part of my TSL fic "all I wanted was bread"! I dunno if more than a few people were on edge waiting for it, But i do apologize for dipping on it(life got crazy). I will be attempting to get it out before this up coming monday, but it depends on how busy thursday and friday will be for me. but I pray giving myself a deadline will make my stupid brain actually do it.

on a side note: do you guys want to know what inspired this fleshed out AU? this song

and yes I'm serious.

like 100% serious. everything I ever imagined happening in my AU came from me listening to a shitpost song on tiktok about bread and imagining it all happening. (also yes ofc the title is also based on the song) ((SONG CRED TO ANYA NAMI ON TIKTOK!!!!)

and funfacts about the Og story: originally Mc was going to have a habit of stealing bread for their brothers. simeon was aware and disapproved but knew he couldn't do much apart from telling luke that it wasn't stolen, but I felt that it would be a lot better if it was a thing Mc did out of desperation and hunger. which is why they get caught, they aren't used to stealing. and before that when Mc was still a thief at heart, Simeon originally never got the job at the castle, and Mc never got cauht. HOWEVER, they still fed the crows, in my beta version mammon was going to jasmine from alladin shit and dress up as a peasant to go out without people noticing him. mc finds him in their garden talking with the crows in the middle of the night, they assume he may be crazy and invites him inside because its cold, they slowly fall inlove after a few months then BOOM its revealed who he is in a brutal turn of events when Mc goes on trial!!! Luke was also originally going to be sick, which would be Mc's main reason to steal food, so then he could eat and live longer. but all that hurt my soul and I am a big fat baby. typically I LOVE LOVE LOOVEEE angst... when they're my own characters that is. but I love the boys to much:(

[it-happened-one-fic]

Late Night Swimming - Jade

Author Notes: Happy Mermay Twst fandom! I actually didn't know if I was going to get this fic done but I managed to get it written. I wasn't able to right octopus Azul though, despite my best efforts. Reader is gender-neutral in this one and, since its mermay, Jade and Floyd both make an appearance in their merform. I hope you enjoy!

Type: Fluff/ gender-neutral reader/ features Floyd

Word Count: 1703

You didn’t know why you’d agreed to come to Octavinelle in the middle of the night at Floyd’s request.

Simply put, his reasoning for having you come here after dark couldn’t be anything good. And yet you strolled through the darkened hallways, following the directions that Floyd had sent you via text, up some stairs, and over to a dimly lit area that led to the opening of a massive fish tank.

You supposed it did make sense for a dorm inspired by a sea witch to have an aquarium. It was just odd that Floyd wanted you to look into said tank from the very top. But as you peered into the watery depths, you saw something that made your breath catch in your throat.

It was large and faintly glowing as it coiled through the water in a distinctly unfishlike manner. As soon as you inhaled slightly, taken aback by the sight of it slipping through the water like there was nothing there to impede its motions, the creature froze.

You twitched, your fingers curling on the edge of the tank as you watched it slowly twist around until a single glowing yellow eye was latched onto your form.

The creature was motionless for that brief moment, staring up at you as you stared back down at it. Half-mesmerized by the foreign entity and half-apprehensive as to what it might be.

But you didn’t get to ponder what it might be for long, though, since it shot up towards you. Speeding through the water so fast that you barely even had a chance to fall backwards in surprise.

It surfaced, sending water spraying into the air and splattering you where you sat on the ground, having fallen back and away from the tank's edge.

But you recognized it—or rather, him—now.

"Jade," You exhaled his name more than said it as you stared up at the merman who was now staring down at you, his eyes wide in surprise that you seldom saw on his face.

"You... you startled me," You at last managed as you continued to gaze at the faintly glowing marks on his arms and face.

"My apologies," Jade blinked, at last seeming to recover from having discovered your presence here as a smooth smile flickered onto his face.

“I do have to say you surprised me as well, though. What are you doing here, Prefect?” He relaxed with a smile, letting himself sink back into the water and lean against the tank's edge as you sat up.

“Floyd told me to come and sent some directions to this tank.… He wouldn’t really say why he wanted me to come, though. He only said to bring a towel.” You looked down at the cloth in your hands, pondering why Floyd had wanted you to come here while his brother was swimming. 

It couldn’t be that he’d wanted you to see Jade in his mer-form. You’d already seen that back during the Ramshackle ordeal when you were trying to swipe that photo from the museum. Though you admittedly hadn’t exactly studied him in detail, but you doubted that was what Floyd wanted either.

Jade was silent, staring at you with an unreadable expression before he pulled himself up a little bit more against the edge of the tank, his eyes flicking from the towel and then back to you.

“Would you like to swim then? I imagine that’s why Floyd directed you to come here with a towel,” He tilted his head as he spoke, and you felt yourself going still.

Swimming… With Jade… In the middle of the night.

“I don’t know… Maybe he just wanted me to bring you a towel. It’s not like he told me to dress for swimming after all,” You shifted awkwardly as you gently deflected away from Jade’s suggestion, which only made the young merman smile with poorly concealed amusement.

But then, knowing Jade, if it was poorly concealed, he wasn’t really trying to hide his amusement, and your excuse had been rather…lacking.

“But you don’t have a swimsuit, do you? After all, the school doesn’t provide one, and you said that you came into this world with only the clothes on your back.” 

You didn’t know if you were relieved that he hadn’t bothered questioning your excuse or if you wished he’d done that instead of pointing out one of the many holes that it had. Either way, you had no words to reply to him with. He was right, and his reasoning did provide a good explanation for Floyd’s strange request.

So you just continued to stare at him silently as his smile grew more and more amused the longer the silence lingered until he at last held out his hand, “Come, I assure you that everything will be fine. After all, Floyd will probably join us before long since he invited you.” 

Jade gave a slight chuckle before continuing, “I imagine he’ll make you get into the water when he comes, so you may as well enjoy yourself till then.”

Your gaze flickered between him, his hand, the water, and then back to his hand before you at last reached your decision. 

Because Jade was, yet again, right. You could get into the water now, while you had the choice, or you could wait until Floyd got here and made you get in.

You sat the towel aside and shrugged out of your jacket, pausing only to glance Jade’s way, “Will I, uh, be able to borrow some clothes from someone to go home in?”

His eyes glimmered with amusement in the dim lighting, his yellow eye still glowing slightly as he nodded, “Certainly. I imagine Azul’s clothes will fit well enough for you to be able to make it home.”

You nodded, swallowing as you hesitated before slipping your hand into his far larger, wet one.

You didn’t know how you’d forgotten how much the Leech twins grew when they switched forms, but even just the difference in your hand size was the perfect reminder as you stood and he helped you carefully start to slip into the water.

“Have you considered installing steps?” You wobbled slightly on the tank's slippery edge before letting out a tiny shriek as you lost your balance and tumbled over into the aquarium. 

You splashed down into the cold water, but Jade caught you easily. Letting out a chuckle as he wrapped his cold, wet, and slightly slimy arm around you. 

You stopped splashing around like a panicked bird and slowly began adjusting to the water, trembling slightly from the change in temperature.

“No, it isn’t really a problem for us since we usually just jump in and transform all at once,” He was smiling down at you as you clung to his shoulders for a brief moment before realizing what you were doing.

You hastily let go of him and swam backwards, placing distance between yourself and the merman, who still wore that infuriatingly amused expression.

“Do let me know if you start to tire. We can’t have you getting worn out before Floyd gets here. He’d be so disappointed,” Jade’s hand rested against his chin in his signature pose as he finally let himself grin fully. Apparently comfortable enough to drop his butler facade and show off his incredibly sharp teeth.

But then you supposed you were fully in his territory right now.

Perhaps it was decisions such as these that made your companions worry about you and fuss about your occasionally risky decisions. But, in truth, you really didn’t feel like you were in any danger at the moment.

In fact, you felt perfectly safe. While Jade was a complete and total fart, you also didn’t really think he would do anything to harm you. At most he’d tease you like he was doing now, swimming lazy circles around you.

“Do you swim here often?” Your eyes followed his motions, half amused by his actions and half fascinated by how easily he cut through the water.

“No. Our status as mermen is largely a secret after all,” He came to a slow stop, straightening as he glided to a halt in front of you. “Only a few people know about our aquatic nature.”

You blinked, half-surprised by this revelation, before you tilted your head, continuing to question the young man as you treaded water, “So swimming like this is sort of a nicety?” 

Jade nodded, drifting closer with a mere twitch of his tail, “Yes, that’s why I hadn’t expected to see anyone here. Much less you, considering you don’t usually visit Octavinelle at this time of evening.”

As he spoke, his eyes flicked over to something behind you, and you heard a rather large splash that had you paddling rapidly in his direction and not turning until you were close enough to Jade that you deemed you were reasonably safe.

“Oh dear, I believed you startled them, Floyd,” Jade chuckled slightly as he glanced down at you before looking towards where his twin now surfaced in his eel form, a wide grin on his face.

“My bad~” You frowned at Floyd’s sing-songy tone, almost positive that he didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty as you watched him swim over.

“So are you two done flirting yet?” Floyd grinned widely as his gaze flickered between you and his brother, his words causing you to falter as you searched for a response.

“You could have given us more time, Floyd. They’ve hardly been in the water any time at all,” Jade feigned a pout, his hand reaching up to rest lightly on your shoulder and causing you to look up at him feeling incredibly betrayed.

“We weren’t flirting. And you know it!” Your words made both of them laugh before Floyd shook his head, his eyes alight with purpose to tease.

“Sure, and you didn’t get in the water willingly.” The young man reached out, ruffling your hair with ease as he grinned, his gaze continuing to dart between his twin, who still had an arm wrapped around you, and your frowning face. “Don’t worry, Shrimpy. Your secret’s safe with us. I won’t tell a soul that you like my bro.”

[padfootagain]

That spot on your finger

Hello!! Here I come with a new Ben Barnes fic! I hope you like it! Please, let me know what you think of it :)

(Also, side note… the beige suit for Ben in this fic is directly inspired by that Ferragamo campaign he did a few years ago. Was that forever ago? Yes. Am I over it? Absolutely not.)

*****

Pairing: Ben Barnes x reader

Warnings: none but fluff. Soulmates AU

Sum up: The mark on your skin that should allow you to find your soulmate is pretty hidden, hence your difficulty in finding them. Or maybe you simply haven’t them yet? Anyway, this guy at your friend’s wedding makes you fall head over heels. Could he be the one?

Word count: 5164

There was a mark on your ring finger.

Right there, on the right side of it, the piece of skin that was almost invisible because often hidden by your middle finger. A tiny space you had to purposely reveal.

Three little dots, a red line. Tiny and invisible almost.

You reckoned that it was the reason why it was taking so long for you to find your soulmate.

It was easy for others to recognize each other. When your mark was imprinted right in the middle of your forearm, or at the base of your neck, it was easy to spot. You could have had a mark on the back of your hand, that would have been easy as well. But you didn’t. You needed to find, in this ocean of people, in these billions of individuals walking across the globe, the only person who also had a red mark of three dots crossed by a line… on the inside of their left ring finger.

Obviously, you were still single.

But then again, you couldn’t exactly pretend that you were particularly lucky, as a person in general. Even worse, you were clumsy and just… a bunch of chaos. The location of your birthmark was just one more proof that when the Universe had decided to create your life, they dropped the bottle for ‘bad luck’ right into the mix.

But then again, it was alright. You had made a lovely life for yourself on your own. You had your hobbies, your passions even. You had a nice little apartment where you cohabitated with your neighbour’s cat named Reggie who, in all fairness, spent more time at your place than in his home. You had pretty houseplants, a wonderful collection of books, friends you adored. And it was more than enough to fill your life with sunshine. You had kind of stopped looking for your soulmate, actually. When you were younger, it was an obsession. But then, every teenager had to go through this phase of obsessive search for their soulmate. You had grown out of it. If you met them, then wonderful. If you didn’t, then you would still enjoy your life to the fullest.

As you walked through the venue where one of your oldest friends was about to get married, you genuinely were not jealous of her. She had found her soulmate; they were getting married. Meanwhile, your life was already full of everything you wanted.

You smiled as you opened the door to the room where you friend was getting ready. On the opposite side of the building, the groom was adjusting his tuxedo.

Mary was lovely. A true ray of sunshine. She turned to you at the sound of the door turning on its hinges.

“You’re right on time!” she gave you a thumbs-up.

On her neck, you could see the four lines of her birthmark aligned along the curve. They were visible even from the doorstep.

“I might be a little chaotic, but I can be on time for my friend’s wedding,” you rolled your eyes at her remark, closing the door behind you.

“It is literally the first time in my entire life that I see you arriving anywhere on time…”

“That… might be true. Shows you how much I love you, I guess.”

She laughed, looking so happy on this bright and sunny day.

Her day…

“Do you need anything before the show begins?” you asked her, waving at your friend’s mother who was on the phone on the other side of the room.

“I would kill for some coffee, to be honest,” she confessed. “I was so nervous, I’ve barely slept at all last night.”

“I don’t see what you could be nervous about. You’re marrying your soulmate. The Universe literally planned that you would fall in love and spend your lives together. I don’t even see what the point in getting married is, you’re already sure it will work between the two of you.”

“Once you’ve found your soulmate, you’ll understand. It’s just… an extra step. An official promise. And a way to tell every other woman to back off from my man cause he’s taken.”

You both laughed at that, and you congratulated her with a hug.

“So… a coffee? You sure? Aren’t you nervous enough as it is?” you asked her one last time, but your friend was determined, and so you walked out of the room in search of a cup of the hot beverage.

You had to walk across the parking lot to reach the park of the venue the couple had rented for the day. The venue… it was a mansion, it was huge, it had a parking lot and a park where the ceremony and the celebration would take place. It was a place that could have existed in a fairy tale.

And you found it cute, of course, but also… you promised yourself that if you were to get married, you would organize something small. Something intimate. In a place you loved, and nothing more. Nothing too fancy.

One of the employees of the venue gave you the precious beverage, and you started your walk back towards the mansion, not paying too much attention to your surroundings, lost in thought instead. As you usually were… Besides, there wasn’t anyone on the parking lot, so it wasn’t too risky to walk with your head in the clouds.

Or well, that was what you thought, at least…

Because on the other side of the parking lot, a man dressed in a beige tuxedo was hurrying towards the mansion. Actually, he was almost running. He was late. And he felt terrible about it, because if there was one day in his life when he needed to be on time, it was today. His little brother was getting married, he couldn’t afford to be late today. And he was always on time, so why now? Why was he late on the only day that truly mattered? He checked his pockets, and got out the velvety box that protected the wedding bands. What a groomsman he made… he had to drive back to his apartment when he was already halfway to the venue because he had forgotten these bloody rings.

But now, Ben had arrived. He was late, but not desperately so. He had the wedding rings. He was dressed, ready to celebrate his younger brother’s wedding.

He walked even faster – even if that hardly seemed possible – checking the time on his watch. And thus, he was not looking at where he was going for several seconds.

Several crucial seconds.

Before any of you knew what was happening, Ben was colliding quite violently with you, and your precious cup of coffee fell to the ground, along with Ben’s precious velvety box. As you collided, you dropped everything to hold onto whoever had bumped into you, and Ben did the same, out of pure reflex. You were thus holding onto each other’s forearms, for now trying to not fall down and to understand what was happening.

Ben felt something wet on his chest and knew even before he looked down at his white shirt what had happened. The coffee…

“Oh…”

He looked up at you, getting both panicked and angry in a mere second, until his eyes met yours and then… then something very strange happened.

It was like… time had stopped suddenly. He took in your features and it felt like he knew you, like he had seen you before. And every ounce of anger or annoyance disappeared.

“…fuck.”

All of a sudden, all the air had left his lungs, and his mouth was dry and all he could do was to stare at you with his mouth slightly agape and a dazzled look across his face. His brain had stopped functioning altogether.

And you felt exactly the same.

He saw you look down at the ground, but he didn’t, he kept staring at you, and in the back of his mind he wondered what this was all about…

"Huh... were you going to... propose?!"

You sounded panicked, and when you looked up at him, your eyes were wide in horror.

“Oh no! Have I ruined your proposal?”

“Proposal… wha… what?”

He didn’t understand a word you were saying, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of his brain suddenly deciding to shut down, because you didn’t make any sense, or because he was too busy staring at your eyes to listen properly to you.

“The box… were you going to propose to someone?”

Finally, Ben looked down, and seeing the black velvety box he finally understood.

“No… no, I’m with the wedding party.”

“Oh! You brought the rings!”

“Yes, I did.”

“I’m with the wedding too.”

“Really? I don’t think we’ve met…”

“I’m with the bride…”

“Groom.”

“That’s why, I guess.”

“Yeah… I guess so…”

You exchanged a smile, not really knowing why. You were still holding onto each other, not really knowing why either…

“Ben!”

You were interrupted by a deep voice calling from the front door of the mansion.

“What are you doing? You’re late! Come on!”

“I’m coming, dad.”

But the old man walked a little closer, and after just a few steps, noticed the disaster the two of you had caused…

“Your shirt!”

Ben finally looked down at his shirt. It was drenched with coffee. Luckily, his vest and tie were alright.

“I’m so sorry,” you apologized over and over again. “I’m so clumsy and…”

“No, it’s nothing,” Ben reassured you. “I wasn’t looking at where I was going either.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

“We have a couple of extra shirts inside, come on,” Ben’s father started to walk back to the building, inviting his son to follow him by a quick hand gesture.

But there were still the cup of coffee – now empty – and the box containing the wedding rings to pick up from the ground. You both bent down at the same time, bumping your heads together.

“Ouch!” you exclaimed in unison, rubbing the now painful spots on your foreheads.

You looked at each other, and couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m sorry, I’m very clumsy,” you apologised with a smile, standing back up.

“I’m sorry too. Looks like I’m particularly unlucky today.”

He picked up his box, and he handed you your empty cup as well. You thanked him as he finally turned away from you and towards the mansion. Thomas had not waited for him, and was already rummaging through the bags he had brought in search for a new shirt.

But Ben had merely taken three steps towards the building when he turned towards you again.

“I’m Ben… by the way.”

He seemed a little shy. A little hesitant. As if, as soon as the words had passed his lips, he felt ridiculous for saying them.

You probably didn’t care what his name was anyway…

He was wrong though. You offered him a bright smile as an answer.

“I’m Y/N.”

He smiled back at you, a bright, wonderfully warm smile.

“Y/N…” he repeated your name under his breath, liking the taste of it on his tongue, the way it rolled passed his lips…

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Y/N,” he went on. “Eventful, but nice…”

“And a little painful too,” you added to his joke, successfully making him laugh.

“I hope it won’t be so painful if we cross path again during the day.”

“Yes… let’s hope so.”

Finally, he turned away for good, and soon disappeared inside.

You let out a long, shaky breath.

Who the hell was that…?

The ceremony went perfectly. Mary and Jack took their vows, and didn’t stop smiling for a second as soon as they shared their first kiss as a married couple. The rest of the day flew by with games, and drinks, and dancing, and funny speeches about the newlyweds and an awful lot of joy.

And it turned out that Ben was the groom’s brother, which meant that he was involved in every game and every activity planned for the day.

You were not one of the bridesmaids, but you were close enough to Mary for her to always look for you in the crowd to join the games with her, so you did spend quite a lot of time with Ben.

And it seemed that, somehow, Fate had decided to team you up very often. You were not, however, one to complain about that fact.

It turned out that he was a lot of fun to be around, and a little shy sometimes, and awfully charming with that. Which… did not help you focus on the games you were playing at, but it did make your heart jump in a very sweet way.

However, now was not the time for letting your heart be softened by a charming smile. It was a duel, a battle to the death…

… for the last chair.

You were the two finalists for the game of musical chairs, and the battle was merciless.

On the right, Ben Barnes, mischievously charming, winner of the previous round.

On the left, Y/N Y/L/N, ruthless and ready to push her opponent to the ground, but she had landed second on the previous round because of her stupid dress that impended her movements (or because she was clumsy and sat down next to the chair… we’re not sure).

It was time for a rematch. The duellists were staring at each other in the eye, wary of their opponents’ movements.

Until…

The music stopped.

It was then a rush of limbs reaching for the lonely chair, a bit of pushing and a lot of pulling and an awful lot of laughing.

You shoved Ben aside, and sat down, victorious, onto the chair. Mary was cheering for you, and everyone clapped and laughed as you shouted in victory.

By your side, Ben was laughing as well. He buried his face in his hands to fake disappointment, when really, he was grinning like an idiot.

The look of glee on your face had made him blush outrageously…

You had a little victory dance before receiving your great prize: a plastic whistle.

Ben offered you his open palm as the guests were looking for drinks again and settling into conversations, waiting for the next game or dance.

“Congratulations, it was a great win,” he complimented you as you shook his hand.

“Well, thank you, my good sir. You put up a decent fight.”

“Only decent?” he asked with a loud laugh.

“Well… not bad, I’ll admit.”

As if to make your point clearer, you put the whistle between your lips, and blew. Some guests turned to you their amused faces. And you successfully made Ben laugh some more.

“I’m sure you could lend a pretty good deal coaching with that thing,” he laughed, pointing at the silly whistle.

You blew again, with an interrogative tone this time.

“Hmmm… it would suit you just fine. After that pushing skill you showed out there, they could recruit you even in a rugby team.”

This time, you couldn’t help but laugh, and had to put down the toy.

“I was a bit ruthless, right?”

“No, I was too. It was fun.”

Ben started to fumble with his tie, until he managed to untie it, and he popped open the first button of his shirt.

“I did not expect that a wedding would ask so much energy though,” he joked.

You realized then that he had become a little dishevelled during the game, a few locks of dark hair falling before his eyes, although he didn’t seem to care. You decided that it suited him a lot…

“Me neither, to be honest. But I prefer it that way, I think. It’s a lot of fun.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

You settled at an empty table together, grabbing a glass of water. You lost yourselves in a relaxed conversation about your families, your jobs, your lives. It felt familiar, comfortable. Like talking with an old friend you had not seen in years. It felt more like catching up, than revealing yourself.

It was a strange feeling, and you weren’t sure where it came from. Ben couldn’t really understand it either. He didn’t mind though. Basking in the warmth of the late afternoon, he decided to merely enjoy the moment, while it lasted.

The afternoon drifted into a warm summer evening, and soon enough into a bright summer night. Lanterns and lights had been set all around the park, revealing the beauty of the mansion and its architecture. It was a time for dancing now rather than playing, and after a delicious meal, most couples directed their attention towards the dance floor.

You had not seen Ben in a while. After spending most of your afternoon with him, you had gone your separate ways when it was time to eat, being placed at different tables. You kept on stealing glances in his direction though, which Mary did not fail to notice.

“So… you like my brother-in-law, huh?” your friend asked you, sitting down in the chair next to you.

She was taking a break from dancing while Jack was talking with a few friends. She took off her high heels, and let out a relieved sigh as her feet met the cool and soft grass.

You laughed at her, disregarding her remark, even if it meant blatantly lying to your friend.

“Absolutely not, what are you saying? I don’t even know him!”

“You spent your entire afternoon talking with him.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“You like him. You’ve been staring at him all evening. Besides, he likes you too, so…”

“He does?”

You couldn’t help but interrupt her, revealing your lie. Your friend laughed at you.

“Yeah… he does like you. He’s not even discreet about it.”

“Really?”

“Well, besides the fact that he spent his afternoon with you? He also asked me many questions about you…”

“And I’m sure you revealed my most ridiculous moments…”

“Of course not. I told him you were lovely. And single.”

“Mary!”

“What? You said yourself that you’re not looking for your soulmate, but that doesn’t mean you have to live like a nun.”

“I do not!”

“He likes you. And I know him, he really is a good guy. You should give it a try.”

You reflected on your friend’s words, but were left undecisive. You did like him. But it felt different this time around. Not like a mere crush. Not like a fling you knew would disappear on its own after a few months. You couldn’t explain it, but you felt like there was something important about this decision, and it made you afraid.

Mary was off with her family again, and you talked with a few friends as the night went on.

Meanwhile, Ben was puzzled.

He was puzzled because of you.

Because he had talked with his mother about this weird feeling that had settled in his heart and chest as the day went on, stronger, softer, warmer with every moment he spent with you. And his mother’s words woke up an old desire of his he had almost given up on.

You should ask her about her birthmark.

Why?

Was he attracted to you? Yes, absolutely. Did he enjoy your company? Without a doubt. Did he want to make you laugh as much as he could? Definitely. Did he feel pulled towards you by some invisible string, like a moss towards a flame? Undoubtedly…

Was it some kind of ‘love at first sight’ situation? A crush? But it felt different this time around, and he wasn’t sure why. And who better than his mother to advise him? But her answer was unexpected.

You should ask her about her birthmark.

Was it something to be taken so seriously? Could you be…?

He was staring at you, and he knew it was considered rude, but he couldn’t help it. He was hesitating. Even if he wanted to ask you about your birthmark, how could he do it? He couldn’t simply walk up to you, and blurt out something along the lines “hey, nice evening, don’t you think? By the way, what’s your birthmark? Because I think you might be my soulmate, so… thought I’d check.”

No, that would not do.

He decided that a drink would help, so he went to get a glass of wine. But when he turned towards you again, you were gone.

He scanned the crowd in search for you, but he couldn’t see you anywhere. Had you gone home? It was late at night, and most of the guests had decided to sleep at the mansion. You had assured him during the afternoon that you were staying till morning, so… had you left anyway? Where could you be?

He set out looking for you, a hint of worry setting a slight frown across his brow. When he spotted Mary, he asked her about your disappearance.

“Oh, I saw her setting off further down the park with a blanket. Have no idea where she found one though. I guess she must have been tired of partying, and wanted some quiet.”

Ben nodded, visibly relaxing. Mary offered him a knowing smile.

“But… quiet doesn’t necessarily mean alone…”

He couldn’t help but laugh, the tip of his ears turning red.

“I see… I wouldn’t want to seem too desperate though,” but he was only half-joking.

“Desperate is better than stupid.”

“Well, thanks Mary. I do love it when you insult me.”

“She likes you. Don’t ask yourselves so many questions about all of this and just… go with the flow.”

“Go with the flow?” he mocked her, but Mary didn’t back down.

“What are you so worried about anyway?”

“I don’t know… I guess… I don’t know, really.”

“Then… off you go!”

She gently pushed him in the right direction, and Ben could only yield, laughing as he walked away.

It took him a while to find you. You had followed a path that led further down the park, and had settled under the falling branches of a willow.

You admired the stars picking through the leaves, looked at their reflection on the pond that was splayed at your feet. There were lanterns set around the water, and a small picnic table on the left side of the water. It was quiet, with only the sound of crickets singing the song of summer, and the distant music from the party. Ben almost walked by without seeing you, hidden as you were by the branches of the willow. You were barely visible in the dim light, a blanket set across your laps and your head turned towards the sky.

His heart skipped a bit at the sight, but he chose to ignore it.

You heard someone approaching, and offered the newcomer a smile when you recognized him.

“What are you doing out there on your own?” he teased.

“Just relaxing. It’s been a tiring day. Good, but tiring.”

“Yeah… I agree.”

“You want to join me for a while? It’s lovely here.”

Ben didn’t notice the dreamy smile that curved up his lips.

“I’d love to. Thanks.”

He walked under the branches of the tree, fingers tickled by the soft leaves as he pushed them aside, and he sat down next to you. He started pulling on your blanket to tease you some more. You resisted, laughing.

“Stop stealing my blanket!” you protested, faking outrage.

“You could share, it’s cold out here.”

He finally stopped, letting out a laugh and setting his dark eyes on the pond before you.

He thanked you when you placed the blanket on his legs.

“How’s the party? Still going strong?” you asked after a short silence.

“Yep! And it doesn’t show any sign of stopping. Jack is wasted, but then again, I reckon he has the right to be tonight.”

“Mary is pretty drunk too, I’m sure.”

“It’s safer if they both stay away from the dance floor, I reckon.”

You exchanged yet another laugh, something that seemed abundant whenever you were together.

There was barely a breeze to shake the leaves of the trees around you, to disturb the mirroring surface of the pond. Waterlilies were in bloom, white and pink touches of colour above green leaves. The moon, high and full, shed a silvery light upon the world, painting the grass with ethereal hints on every blade. You barely noticed your fingers moving towards his, only when your skins collided did you acknowledge your movement. You couldn’t ignore it, given the jump your heart made under your ribcage…

You remained silent and motionless, sitting there in the night, fingers brushing against his and afraid he would pull away if you moved at all.

Instead, he wrapped his fingers around yours, gave your hand a gentle squeeze.

You caught yourself looking for any sign of birthmark, but just like yours it didn’t seem visible, not at first sight at least. It made you stare at him for a while, and he couldn’t refrain a teasing smile.

“Do I have something on my cheek?”

You jumped, looking away.

“No, no… nothing.”

“Why are you staring, then?”

“No… no reason. I wasn’t staring.”

You cleared your voice, fidgeting with the corner of the blanket.

“Why did you come out here, anyway?” you asked, trying to change the subject.

“Honestly? I was looking for you.”

His response made the two of you stare at each other. There was no one around, in the calm night; but you reckoned that, had there been anyone else, you wouldn’t have noticed their presence at all. Not when he stared at you like that.

You noticed the freckle under his right eye, found the detail endearing, for some reason…

You looked away.

“Why? Why would you be looking for me? Aren’t you supposed to be with the groom?”

“You say that as if I haven’t spent my entire day with him.”

“Just saying.”

“Well… I… I wanted to be with you instead.”

 “Why?”

You asked again, but couldn’t muster the strength to look at him. You noticed then how unbearably close the two of you were, shoulder against shoulder…

“I… I wanted to ask you something. Even if it’s a bit weird.”

The music from the party seemed to grow louder, people were cheering. A brand-new wave of dancers was standing up from and joining the jumping fray.

You didn’t care about it at all.

“Go ahead,” you encouraged Ben, as he seemed to have fallen silent.

It was his turn to nervously wrap his fingers around the corner of the blanket.

“I was just wondering… have you found your soulmate, yet?”

He tried to ask it in a nonchalant tone, and failed miserably.

At last, you turned your gaze towards him once more. It seemed that you had caught his whole world, trapped it in your eyes…

“No, I haven’t,” you gave him an earnest answer. “Why do you ask?”

He shrugged, looking more vulnerable now. Still charming though, he gave you a shy smile.

“Just… the usual.”

“The usual?”

“I… I kind of like you. So…”

He was surprised when an amused smile appeared on your lips.

“That was not very smooth,” you commented.

“Doing my best. But you’re not making it any easier on me.”

“Really?”

“It’s hard to be smooth next to someone who seems to be turning your world upside-down.”

You let out a chuckle, and it was your turn to be shy.

“That… was smoother.”

“Still true, though.”

You struggled to swallow, but forced your voice to come out anyway. You didn’t notice the way you held his hand tighter in yours.

“Have you found your soulmate?”

But Ben shook his head.

“No, haven’t found them yet. Have… kind of given up, if I’m to be honest.”

“Yeah… me too.”

“Besides… my birthmark is pretty hidden, so it’s not easy to spot them in a crowd.”

“Mine too.”

Ben nodded, and weighed his options. But he decided against asking you about your birthmark. It felt like it would break the charm of the evening. And this moment made too sweet a memory to taint it in any way. It could wait. For now, he didn’t mind not knowing.

“I was wondering,” he went on instead, “if maybe… after tonight you would like to… have a coffee with me, one of these days.”

You offered him a bright smile, somewhere between joy and mischief.

“That was smooth.”

“Thank you, I’m practicing.”

“I’d love that. Going on a date with you, I’d love that.”

He offered such a smile, it felt blinding almost.

“But…”

The curve of his lips disappeared.

“I don’t want to make you waste your time,” you added. “Because I really like you too, and I fear that we… we could get attached. Like… really attached. And maybe, if we’re not meant to be together, then there’s no use in breaking our own hearts by going any further than this lovely day we’ve shared. So…”

You raised your hand and revealed the three red dots crossed by a line, hidden on the side of your ring finger.

“I bet it doesn’t match, does it?” you asked, already disappointed.

But Ben’s eyes seemed glued to the mark on your finger, and you wondered why. His expression was unreadable.

He let go of your hand, and you hated yourself for feeling so disappointed to be rejected. You hated your throat for tightening, and your lungs for pushing out every molecule of air, and your eyes for watering. You were ready to look away to hide your reaction, when Ben lifted his left hand before you, separated his fingers.

You stopped breathing altogether.

Three dots crossed by a red line…

When you looked into his eyes again, none of you were able to move or say anything. You needed a moment to take it all in.

“So… it’s you,” you let the words out in a breath, shaky and fragile and hesitant.

But Ben answered with a smile, withheld tears making his eyes shine.

“Nice to meet you, soulmate.”

You brushed a tear away as you laughed.

“Smooth.”

“Not really. I’ll work on that.”

“It’s okay. I kind of like that cheesy style.”

You both chuckled, his hand falling to hold onto yours again.

“So… what do we do now?” you asked, shaking.

Ben shrugged, and you could hear in his voice that he was struggling to stay calm as well.

“I mean… I reckon you should definitely accept that offer for a coffee.”

You both let out a laugh.

You turned around as loud shouts echoed through the park, coming from the party that was still raging near the mansion. It gave him a moment to take a deep breath, to finally calm his nerves, at least a little bit. At least, enough to speak again.

“But I think that for tonight… a dance sounds like a nice beginning. What do you think?”

[whentommymetalfie]

I’m not sure if its the kinda thing you write but I quite enjoy mpreg fics and I had some ideas for Tommy & Alfie

When Tommy goes to Margate to tell Alfie of his plan to shoot Mosley, he also tells Alfie that he is pregnant with his child as it’s getting rather difficult to hide his growing bump

Tommy goes into labour in the middle and of the night while Alfie is still away and in London and isn’t due home for another few days so Polly delivers Tommy and Alfie’s daughter and calls Alfie to get him to come home immediately

Tommy is even more hurt by Alfie’s betrayal when he, thanks to Polly, discovers that he is pregnant

Alfie is stunned when Tommy turns up to their meeting heavily pregnant and working out the dates Alfie realises that its his baby and Tommy never told him

You are in luck because I'm right there with you, this is definitely my thing, and you've come to the right person with these mpreg thoughts! ❤️ I've even written an mpreg work and I keep meaning to add more to that series, but I've obviously got about a million things I want to write, and only so much time. But, it's in the cards for sure.

These are all such great scenarios -loving all the opportunities for angst. The betrayal one, God imagine the possibilities for heartbreak (and then reconciliation and comfort because I mean, it's me, writing it).

And I can imagine, if Tommy had come to Margate with these news, only to two seconds later tell Alfie about this assassination plan, Alfie would've straight up just not let him leave. If Tommy thinks he's waltzing off to assassinate Mosely while carrying Alfie's baby, he's got another thing coming.

There could also a bit of humor possibly, with Tommy showing up at the bakery with this kind of surprise for Alfie. Poor Alfie nearly has a heart attack. Also loving the imagery of him sitting there in stunned silence, quickly trying to count backwards to see if this could be his doing. And Tommy watching this unfold with mild amusement.

Oh and I actually have a super old draft for a story where Tommy goes into labour when Alfie is away (I vaguely remember someone rushing to get him on horseback...) so I'll take this as a sign that I need to write something along these lines. I don't know why but the idea of Alfie dropping everything and rushing to Tommy's side is just something I really enjoy

In the meantime, there are many great omega!verse stories for this ship, and when reading your ideas, I realised there's one in particular that you might really enjoy. It's a series centered around Tommy being pregnant with Alfie's child, and it's written by @itshoneywhatever. You can find it here on AO3,. It's one that I really enjoy, with so many wonderful moments, and I go back to re-read it all the time. I highly recommend checking it out!

Finally, thank you for sharing these very inspiring ideas with me ❤️ I hope to make something with them in the future!

[ameftowriter]

Pokemon SV fic: What have you done, my dear friend?

FINALLY!! Oh man it took me a few days to write and edit this but here it is! I wrote this when I was inspired by @k-chips ‘s Dadvell AU. Check her art as well for that AU, its quite beautiful :3

Either way, I even wrote this while there was downtime on my night shift.

So I hope you all enjoy this! Thank you for reading!

Ao3 Link in the replies

WARNING: MAJOR POKEMON SV ENDING SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

"Sada?!" Clavell drove around the middle layer of Area Zero as he yelled despite knowing it was of no use as he searched for his friend, "Sada! Where are you?!"

Clavell grumbled as he let Cyclizar drive deeper down to the crater.

"I swear to Arceus if I find you, Sada…" 

He sighed for the nth time. He knew that he's going to be in a ton of trouble just being in Area Zero. But he had to come here.

He needed answers.

And he needed them now.

It's been a few months since Arven and his Mabosstiff came into the crater by themselves and ran into something that gravely injured the Pokemon. Since then, Arven had grown cold and distant to everyone else. Clavell has since then taken responsibility for them, but that still really didn't solve anything. He tried, he really tried like hell to contact her. The real biological mother of Arven, Professor Sada. He wanted to know what it was that attacked Arven and Mabosstiff. How strong it must be to gravely injure a Pokemon like that.

He wanted to know why she never bothered to reach out to them.

He knew that she was buried in her research. She always was, ever since they met. He knew she was too busy to even take care of a child. He knew that…

That…

He knew her well. He was the only person that would be considered her friend. They worked together on the Tera Orb technology. It's how he and even later his new colleague, Jacq met the young boy. 

And now he's the only one who has been there for him.

Clavell has tried to contact her since the incident. Calls, emails, texts, instant messaging… anything he could use at his disposal to contact Sada at this Arceus-forsaken hole in the middle of the region. But it was all to no avail. It was just nothing. Radio silence.

So now, he's resolved to jump into Area Zero in secret, in search of this boy's mother. 

He stopped at the 3rd Research Station for a break and to rest his Cyclizar. He sat himself on the bed and opened up his sandwich for his lunch. He realized then that this place hadn't been used in a while. There were vines all around the outer walls.  There was quite a layer of dust in the desk and bed and he had to clean up a bit in order for him to actually relax. He knew that ever since the end of the Tera Orb project, that most of the assistants, including himself, had gone on to do other research. Only Sada and a couple of assistants had stayed behind. 

But he recently met up with them just before he became the Director of Naranja Academy. They were mostly quiet about the project as they were asked by Sada herself to keep this secret. But they did tell him that something has gone wrong with Professor Sada once the Tera Orb project ended. Ever since her husband, Turo left her unexpectedly one day, they had barely even seen her or let alone even talked to her. The last time one of them spoke to her, they were met with nothing but rage. Over something as simple as her needing rest. The assistants then both agreed to leave after that. Not only was Sada getting more volatile, but they felt there was something… something deeper down the depths of Area Zero, that was far, far more dangerous than they first thought.

As Clavell finished his sandwich, and fed his Pokemon, he stretched himself, mounted his Cyclizar once more, and headed off deeper into the crater. 

He entered a large cave that gave him a path to bring him lower and lower down the crater. On the way he saw a lot of unusual Pokemon wandering around. Most of them he has rarely seen in the wild and even saw wild Glimmora which was never recorded to have ever been spotted in the wild. In fact, he only knew what it was, when he first met the newest Top Champion, Geeta. He saw that there were more Tera Crystals around and some had even grown larger than he last saw them, and saw had crept closer to the entrance. He managed to evade many Pokemon around him and found his way into the 4th Research Station.

He's been here before of course, he spent a lot of time in this research station before. It was closer to the Tera Crystals for him to study and collect samples from. Plus he used to be Champion rank himself, so he was allowed here due to his battling prowess.

He dismounted Cyclizar and returned him back to its ball. 

He found it quite odd though, normally there would be other Pokemon casually roaming around this area, but now, he hasn't seen any near this station at all.

He knocked at the Station doors despite knowing that no one would be there to answer anyway, and opened it himself.

What he saw in the station was something he could never forget …

Cables were strewn all over the floor, the giant metal canisters had fallen over, various machines broken as if they were physically torn apart by hand. Human? No, impossible. It must be a Pokemon's doing. But he remembered how sturdy everything in these stations were. Not even Dodonzos or Gagrnacls could wreck the place. He could then see that tera crystals have slowly crept in from the crevices of the walls. The power was shut down from this station, as he expected to see sparks coming from the disaster he walked in, but there were none. He couldn't even get the light switches to turn on. 

Using his Rotom phone's flashlight app, he looked around the mess. The only thing he could see upright was the little command centre. He jokingly commented once before how these little things could survive a nuclear disaster. He didn't think he was actually correct.

Judging from the wreckage, he knew something went loose in here. But what kind of Pokemon could do such massive damage here?

Just then he felt something on his shoe, he peered down along with his phone, and saw that there was some sort of liquid dried up on the floor, staining it. It came from underneath one of the canisters… It was dark, dark… red? Brown?? Black?? 

Wait…

It…

It's….

No….

It looked like b—

"Who's in here?!"

A familiar voice quickly grabbed Clavell's attention away from the stains. His head snapped up and looked towards the source of the voice. And there he saw… he finally saw the woman he was looking for.

"Sada!"

"Clavell?!" Sada was shocked to see her friend down here. "What is Arceus's name are you doing down here?!"

Clavell blinked as he tried to just absorb the question thrown at him and then again. 

'So Sada's here…' He thought… for a second he thought the stain was… that it belonged to… 'So this stain couldn't be…?'

"Clavell? Hey! Are you all right?" Sada asked him with great concern, "I overheard a Cyclizar coming down here so I went to check. I didn't expect to see you down here."

'Wait… how did she know it was a Cyclizar?' Clavell was confused, Cyclizars are typically not loud when they are driven. But then quickly changed the topic, as he had more priorities. "Sada. I came down here to look for you."

"For me?" Sada wondered, "How come?"

"Sada…" Clavell shook his head and sighed. He stepped outside the station to approach his friend, "Arven was here. A few months ago."

"He was?!" The professor was shocked to hear that from him. "Wait! What was he doing in here?"

"He was looking for you Sada!" Clavell quickly shot his answer at her as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Your son came down here all on his own to search for his mother who has barely sent an email to him for the past year!"

"I was… I've been…"

"Busy. We know." Clavell finished it for her. Every word dripped with sarcasm. "And do you know what happened to him, Sada? He got hurt. And what's worse, the only thing he had that was a semblance of a family is Mabosstiff. Or do you only remember him as a Maschiff? Either way, Mabosstiff got gravely injured while protecting him."

"Oh no…" Sada muttered as she felt incredibly guilty as she heard the news, "Is he?"

"No… Thank Arceus he isn't." Clavell shook his head, and pushed his glasses back up, "But Jacq and I, I hope you still remember him, have tried everything at our disposal to heal him. We've asked every professor in the world for help and while we have made some progress, none can't even guarantee if he'll ever be back to his old self again!"

Clavell, safe to say, was furious. The second reason why he came down here was to just tell Sada off. It felt wrong to him for doing something so ungentleman-like. But seeing Arven and Mabosstiff in such a terrible state… he couldn't take it anymore. He felt so helpless just being unable to help them. 

He was without a doubt, taking out his frustrations at her.

Sada remained silent. She turned away, not making eye contact with Clavell. 

"Sada…" Clavell took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Arven. Your son. He misses you. More than you could ever imagine. He went here to look for you. He wanted to know. Just like I wanted to know…"

"Why won't you come back?"

Sada finally turned to face her friend. Clavell was not angry at the moment. He was… 

To her, her friend was pleading with her.

"Clavell… I…" Sada muttered just enough for him to hear, "I can't…"

"I can't, what?!" Clavell demanded an answer, "Why? Is there a reason that we don't know, why you can't leave this Arceus-forsaken hole?" 

"I just can't leave Clavell…"

"Then tell me why?!" He repeated himself, but there was no response from his friend. "We just want to know!"

"I'm sorry…" was the only thing Sada could muster.

"Don't tell me that." Clavell shook his head, "Tell that to Arven. To Mabosstiff."

Clavell clenched his fists as he tried to restrain himself.

"His father left both of you when he could barely remember him. And now you left him for… for this!" He waved his hand and pointed at the wrecked station, "And now you're just going to let him lose the only family he has left?!" 

Silence once more.

"Answer me Sada! Anything!" Clavell pleaded, "Anything to just… explain this?! Is it really worth leaving your loved ones behind?! Your friends! Sada, please…"

Professor Sada instead turned away, back facing her friend. She couldn't answer him. She couldn't even begin to try to answer him.

So Clavell took that silence as his answer.

"Very well…" Clavell pushed his glasses back, "Very well, Sada. I shall take my leave then."

He brought out his Cyclizar and gave him a good pat. As he mounted his ride, he then said to her .

"Despite all of that, Arven is surprisingly doing well." 

Sada bit her lip but didn't show it to him.

"He's a strong young man. More than I could ever imagine." He continued, "I'm proud of him despite all of it."

Sada didn't reply.

"I'm going to take them in." Clavell declared to her as he refused to look at his friend anymore. "I'll take full custody of them. I'll take care of them. And they'll finally have a home. With me."

If Sada could cry right now, she would. Instead she replied.

"Thank you… and good luck…"

“You have no right to say that, my dear friend…”

Clavell didn't say anymore and drove away. Away from this hole. And away from her.

Sada turned her head just to see, to see if her friend had left the caves. Just so she wouldn't be seen. 

Just so he wouldn't see the truth…

She entered the wrecked station, walked towards the large stain, then looked at what was peeking out underneath the canister.

"I'm sorry…" Sada? said as her eyes glowed red. "I'm so sorry my dear friend…" 

She rolled out the canister to reveal the horrible truth underneath. 

"I cannot tell you. I cannot tell you this…" AI Sada lamented, "You and Arven… deserve better… better than this…"

"You two… would be happier if you didn't know about truth…"

Clavell felt bad deep down. He had just exploded in front of his dear friend because he was frustrated at himself. But he wanted to tell her all of that. He didn't know what else to say to her in the first place. 

And yet something…. Something is telling him that the entire interaction with Sada felt very off.

It is as if he wasn’t talking to the real Sada in the first place.

But he was so sure that he was talking to her. It was no illusion, there were no Pokemon around them. It was just Sada and the broken down research station.

Come to think of it, he never looked much deeper into the stain he found. He assumed it was just a chemical spill.

It's just….

It's just that Sada he talked to….

Was it really her?

Was it really his dear friend?

Was it?

Deep down… he knew something was up. He knew something was wrong with this….Sada…

If that is the case then is Sada….?

Clavell went home and never spoke word to anyone, not to Jacq, not to Arven. About what he did that day.

________________

The crystal pillars lowered down back to the ground as the AI Sada tried to put herself back together. She thanked Juliana, for her hard work and perseverance despite the challenges to be able to shut down the Time Machine once and for all. 

AI Sada felt relief. That's what her emotional calculations concluded. It was a great relief that her struggles would be no more.

"Julie!"

"Jules!"

"Little buddy!

"Miss Juliana!"

Four voices rang out as the two saw the remainder of the group rush to their friend's side.

"Wha–" Penny was the first to notice the robot standing right infront of them. "What is this?!"

"Did you already beat all the baddies without me?!" Nemona added with a hint of disappointment, as she wanted to join in the battling.

"Is this…" Clavell then spoke as he tried to piece the situation together, "What I think it is? Sada? You really made it didn’t you?”

But Arven wanted an answer to a more pressing question.  "Ok, out with it, you…" 

Juliana and Clavell looked at Arven with great concern.

"Who are you, really?!"

That feeling… that feeling deep down within Clavell began to resurface again. As he looked at his…. Friend?? Her body is all stiff, unblinking, and with twitching movements…. As if she wasn’t even a human… as if she was a… 

"Th-thank you… for… everything…." Her voice was soft but filled with buzzes and static. It is now obvious to anyone who she really was. "The time machinӘ… has final|y… ShӘ has…. fina|ly… bæn stoppӘd…"

"S-Sada?" Clavell managed to utter out.

"You're really not… my mom, are you?" It was hard for Arven to say it, but he braced himself for the truth…

"I'm sorry …" AI Sada looked at Clavell first. "I am so sorry, my dear friӘnd… tha7 I… |… I had to liӘ to you… back thӘn… didn't wan7 to… upsӘ7 you morӘ…"

"Wait what?!" Arven turned to Clavell only to see that the man whom he called a parent, turned pale, eyes wide, and fingers shaking, "You… you know about this…?"

"Sada…" Clavell could only say… as the horrific realization came to him. "You… can't be…"

Then AI Sada turned to face Arven this time… She wanted to shed tears… for him… She knows she can't, but the feeling is all too real. Whether it was made by her codes telling her so or not.

"Oh…   Look… how big you'vӘ grown…" AI Sada managed to say with the sweetest voice, despite that it was all robotic. She meant it… she felt it… emotional calculations or not. She truly felt this emotion of love and pride. "5o… p-proud of you… my…"

Her voice disappeared for a second. She tried to say it. She tried to say the word she wanted to say so badly. But the emotions… it's telling her, stopping her. Telling her that she shouldn't say that… Because she cared, she cared so much for him.

So she instead said, ".... sorry… you wӘre alone s-so… |ong ArvӘ—-"

"M-Mom?!" Arven could only say instinctively… 

Then the surrounding crystals within the room turned a deep scarlet colour.

Security System failure!

Security System failure!

Threat to time machine detected!

Threat to time machine detected!

The robotic voice filled the room and filled the room with a buzzing alarm.

"Wh-wh-whoa! What's going on now?" Penny spoke up, scared of what would happen next.

"Is another army of Pokemon on its way here?!" Nemona was ready to battle once more, but for once, she too was worried of what was to come.

The group turned to face each other, back and forth, looking around to see where the robotic voice came from. Trying to understand was happening right now. 

It was not good.

"|t…. cannot bӘ–!" AI Sada looked up, as the program began to take over her systems.

An obstacle is preventing the time machine from performing as intended.

Activating Paradise Protection Protocol to remove the offending obstacle..

The elevator doors where the group came from then shut itself. Everyone took a step back but then realized they were already trapped.

"Wha–?! Was kӘӘping the time maɔhine running truly all thӘ profӘssor cared about?!" AI Sada was horrified. She was made as the exact duplicate of her creator, her emotions, reactions, movements, were all based off calculations based off the real Professor's personality. And yet… this…. This was something she did not expect at all… Or rather…

This is something she thought her creator would never try to do.

Locking all Poke Balls except those registered to Sada's ID.

"Wait what?!" Nemona looked at her Pokeball and tried to call her partner out of it. But she couldn't. Her Pokemon couldn't come out of the ball, no matter what she tried.

Penny pulled out her phone, as she tried to unjam the systems blocking their poke balls.

Juliana then turned to look at the AI, hoping she could give them an answer. 

Instead...

Program initializing…

Gathering Terastal energy…

The AI had tera crystals, creeping out from underneath her feet. 

"|'m sorry childrӘn, I'm sorry my dær friӘnd… " the crystals grew from her feet, legs, her coat, to her hands, her body… as if she herself was being Terastallized.

"This is al| too much for you…."

AI Sada slowly stretched out her arm… she wanted to reach out  to her son. All she felt then was her own will, slowly being overtaken by the will of her own deceased creator.

She looked at Arven, at Clavell, at Juliana, at Nemona, at Penny… She was scared, terrified even. Because she now know what this is capable of.

She knows what this Protocol will do to her and to her friends.

She knows that she would lose all control of herself.

She knows that she would no longer function as Sada.

She knows that she would become nothing more than a cold and cruel machine…

Dead set on removing everything and everyone that is in the way … no matter what the cost…

"You… must… run…!"

Arven took a step forward, he wanted to reach out to her, to save her. Despite the dangers, he wanted to… save her…

AI Sada disabled.

Paradise Protection Protocol initialized.

The black platforms rose once more, lifting the Paradise Machine up to prepare it for the final sweep. To remove everything. To eliminate everything that is not part of the Paradise. 

For Paradise must be maintained no matter what!

"Oh Sada…." Clavell trembled as he feared for the worst, "My dear friend…. What have you done?!"

"You are no7 getting in my way!"

You are challenged by AI Sada!

You are challen?ed by the Paradise Protec?ion Protocol!

AI Sada has no intention of fighting anymore!

You are challenged by the Paradise Protection Protocol!

[grahamcrackers4hanni]

So, a while ago in the middle of the night, I wrote the beginning of a shitty Hannibal fic. I decided to post the parts I have rn on here to see if it’s good enough to continue!

Carnival of Venice AU inspired by the Cask of Amontillado

- Blood, hannigram, main character death, m/m, murder, stabbing, drinking, masks, etc. I don't know how to do this. Alt universe, Will Graham POV, 1st Person POV, grammar mistakes, unfinished, the beginning of the story and then a small snippet of the end at the bottom of the post, and probably some mistakes in characterization. I mean I was half asleep when I wrote this. I would love ideas for costume ideas for characters if anyone has any!

Quick summary of the basic idea if you don't want to read it all:

Will goes to the festival with his friends for the first time, borrowing one of their old masks. There he met this man with a gorgeous mask; one as extravagant as an elk. He wouldn't normally be able to go up to the man with the intentions that he has due to society’s expectations to love a woman, but there he has freedom. They talk for a while and eventually, the man invites him to dinner. He told him to wear a mask with no bottom half but still hide your identity so that he’d be able to eat without taking it off. They meet again the next night and they have dinner. It all seemed pleasant and peaceful at first with the meal being like that of which Will had never seen much less tasted. It was all wonderful. Eventually, he realizes that the man nor the meat was as they seemed. The man was a serial killer and a cannibal. He had done the same thing with Will with that of many others. Yet in the end ‘I truly am sorry, William. You’ve been like no other…. For you, I think that I'll eat your heart first.’

Actual fic:

I was invited to a carnival in Venice by a friend of mine, Dr. Alana Bloom. Alana typically moves between Venice and Florence, so I wasn’t initially startled by her offer. However, I was very tentative. But, in the end, guilt weighed me towards the idea. I must admit, I’m not used to events such as this. The activity was… suffocating. She gave me a spare mask, a simple one that hides the entirety of my face. It was a golden knight.

As I found myself surrounded by a crowd of sharks, I heard the laughter of her voice grow further and further. At least she finds happiness. Eventually, I find refuge from the inane and mad near a few barrels of rum, wine, beer, juice, etc. Their unmarked property assures that it is not of a soul’s awareness, which barrel contains what. It was a gamble, but wasn’t also being at this carnival? A place to be whomever and act however without discomfort or fear.

I pour myself a handle of the second barrel’s contents. With a sip, I’m pleased to find myself consuming wine. As I stand near the stand, a stag walks over to me. His mask was black with golden accents and showed the lower half of his face. The beauty and detail left me in awe. I’ve never seen someone with such a mask. I nodded softly, readjusting my hood and mask as I stopped drinking.

“Tell me, what are you drinking,” the stag asked with an accent that left me feeling confused as I attempted to pinpoint its origin.

“Red wine.”

“I see. Which barrel? They never mark these barrels for some idiotic reason.” A scowl formed on the man’s face as he looked at the barrels with distaste.

I smiled under my mask, appreciating the stag’s scowl. “The second.”

“Ah, thank you. I appreciate your help.” He pours himself a wine glass of the drink before moving to stand next to me. “Have you come to the festival before? You seem… out of place.”

“No. This is my first time. I was invited by Dr. Bl—… the um… the woman in the bluejay mask.” I shifted uncomfortably, tilting my head towards her direction.

“Dr. Alana Bloom?”

My head perks up at the mention of her name, tilting lightly.

“She’s a friend of mine,” he explains instantly, “I would rather not provide any other details as they would hint at my identity, but please be reassured that I do know Dr. Bloom quite well. Do not hesitate to converse about her with me.”

I nod, although the fact doesn’t console me fully. I continued, “She asked me to come here. Provided my mask and everything.”

“Do you enjoy it here?”

“As you mentioned, this is not my scene.”

“Then pray tell, what is your scene, my dear?”

I hesitate for a moment looking in the stag’s mask. It was as black and dark as a nightmare’s soul or as a raven’s death. “What’s yours?”

He stays quiet, turning back to the crowd in front of them.

It stays like that for a while. The two of them together watching the others dance and drink. For a moment I see a moth attempt to court a red dragon before the dragon declines and turns away.

“Ballrooms.”I snap my head back to the stag upon hearing his newly sincere voice harboring a new emotion or maybe lack of one. “Or my kitchen,” he continues.

“Your kitchen? Do you cook? A stag like you, I would’ve assumed you to afford many maids and cooks,” I say, looking into the mask. I’m sure that the fortune it must’ve cost to make would’ve sent me to the slums.

“I can, but I prefer to make my own food. No one else would make it the way I prefer.”

I hum in understanding. “I see. I’m sure you are a wonderful cook.” He hums and nods his head.

“Would you like to find out, my knight?” My head whips around towards him, his words taking me by surprise.

“That’s impossible, stag. The masks.”

“We can eat with masks. Ask Alana for one which leaves the bottom half of your face open. We can meet again here, at the same time, tomorrow night. I will be wearing the same mask. If you do not wish to, then do not show up.” The stag looks within the crowd spotting a jester walking further into it, pushing a woman butterfly along as he laughs at her. “I’m afraid I must part. My hunger is only growing, and I must prepare dinner. I yearn to meet again, my knight.” The stag bows before making his exit, walking towards where the jester was previously, going after him. They must know each other, I conclude, watching as he leaves.

The festival was nearly closed, and the crowds had almost completely dissipated. Nearby, a bluejay waves goodbye to a woman in a pig mask. She began to trot over upon realizing my location. “Will, I’ve been looking for you. Where did you go?”

“Alana, I just went to get a drink. Who was that?” I walked over to meet her halfway.

“I don’t know, but she was nice. I wish I managed to get her name. Shall we be off?”

I nodded as she led me back to her abode. The building was in one of the many lantern-lit alleys. The walls only further reminded me of my home in Florence, causing an itch to form where the heart beats and the bones grow.

As we arrived inside, we stripped off our concealing attire. I laid my mask on the table and hung my coat on the coat rack. I studied her as she took off her costume. “Alana,” I hesitantly began, “could I attend alongside you again tomorrow night? Maybe in a mask that allows me better access to my mouth?”

Alana gave me a suspicious glance. “Oh? And what would you need it for? Don’t tell me you plan a night of pleasure for yourself tomorrow with some handsome lady?”

I felt my face tense as I turned towards the fireplace. I managed a quick shake of my head as I spoke, “No, no. Nothing of the sort. I just got hungry. It was difficult to get nourishment and quench my thirst with this mask; although, I do marvel at its beauty. It was just a little-“ I paused, trying to find the word, “suffocating.” would greatly appreciate a more appropriate mask.”

Alana nodded and went to her bedroom before coming out with a gorgeous mask in hand. It was detailed with a bone-white coloring and two things that looked like ears on the side of it. She handed it to me carefully. “I went to it as a lamb a few years back. It was…enjoyable. I hope you find the same outcome.”

I attempt to hand it back to her after feeling the hills of the lines and the cannons. “Surely you can hold onto it for me until morning.”Yet, she hands it right back.

“Keep it. You never know when you might need it.” She smirks and takes her stuff as she heads back into her bedroom. “You best be leaving for your inn. I hear that it will rain before morning.”

-

As I lay in my bed for the night, my mind kept trembling with restless moths of thoughts, crowding the lightbulb of my sanity. In the pitch of my room, my eyes kept trying to identify the white lamb mask on my dresser, but they were left to only imagine its curves and indents.

Eventually, I shut my eyes. My mind drifts off to the darker place it usually finds residence. The woods crackle and live soundly around me as I look past black, stretching trees. In it, I see a familiar suited man with a familiar black mask. He huffs as red coats his figure. A sickening cut is heard causing me to stumble on a branch, breaking it. He spins around to face me. The mask…isn’t a mask at all. It connects to its person, merging into an overwhelming beast. A black, tall, lanky stag-man stands before me covered in blood. He was something out of children’s horrific nightmares and warnings. It creeps towards me before offering a long, lanky hand. Its fingers were twisted like tree branches and as sickening as bloody organs.

“Would you care for a dance, my lamb in knight’s clothing?”

-

The next night I hesitated at the entrance. The sounds of laughter and enthusiasm were overwhelming to hear as he studied the grounds.

“Will? What’s wrong? You look nervous. You weren’t nervous last night.” Alana looks at me with a furrowed brow, rubbing her soft palms over my coat. I remember a time when I used to fawn over her touch, and frequently find my gaze drifting back to her, now I just enjoy the company.

“I didn’t- I didn’t have plans tonight. I may leave tonight without you.”

“You will?”

“I might,” I correct immediately. She raises a brow. “I’m ok.”

“You were just hyperventilating.”

“I’m- I will be ok.”

“Will, tell me what’s going on.”

I hesitate, glancing into the crowd, and catching sight of the barrels. They appear alone. A frown crosses my face without apparent reason.

“Will? Are you ok?” She takes ahold of my shoulder, trying to ground me.

“Yeah, yeah. I just-…I’ll be ok. I’ve got this. I’ll be seeing you.” I leave her standing aimless and confused as I make my way through the crowd towards the barrels.

Once I arrive, the place is lonely. Not a mask in sight, much to my dismay. I pour myself a glass of the liquid in the second barrel. My face scrunches in disgust at the taste of beer after assuming wine.

A hollow laugh erupts beside me, making me whip my head towards them. “I suppose the second barrel isn’t red wine tonight, is it?”

It was the stag. His appearance brings a smile to my face. “Stag.”

“My knight, I love tonight’s mask. A lamb, yes?” I nod. “It looks beautiful on you.”

I turn back to my drink, wishing the mask covered more of my lower face. “I believe you promised me dinner, Stag.”

“I did. How could I forget?” He offers me his arm. “Shall we be off? My home isn’t far from here.”

Hesitantly I link my arm around his, letting him lead me to his abode.

—

Test for ending:

Pain seared and burned like molten lava as the blade began to carve a slit into the folds of my skin, tainting them scarlet. The blade lifted for a moment before moving to the next area for an incision. My hands wrapped the wrist, stilling the knife as it pressed softly against my skin, eliciting a small bead of blood.

My eyes blur as I look past him… at him… the pitch, lanky figure carving me like dinner. “I see you,” I rasp, softly. My voice barely evolved to a whisper. The wind brushing branches against the panels of glass windows almost hid my speech.

My hand fell slowly as I watched the eyes above me. Crimson eyes studied mine as we held each other’s gaze. “I let you see me,” he corrected quietly. His voice hid an emotion buried deep like a skeleton in a ditch. If I believed that he cared about me any more than a random stranger picked as a victim, then I would've mistaken it for remorse or regret.

I felt as he fixed his grip on the blade, pressing it in again slightly. I didn't realize that it had faltered, previously. “I truly am sorry, William. You’ve been like no other…” He pauses for a moment, studying my eyes again, a new hunger filling them. “For you, I think that I'll eat your heart first.”

[ageofhearingloss]

Who Are You Now ⎮Danny Wagner x Reader

A/N: hey guys, i am sososooo excited to give y’all my very first fic that i’ve ever written :’) this is an ode to danny lane, but also a little morsel for jake lane as well (i wouldn’t be a janny girl if i didn’t do that now would i). i’m thinking that this will be four, maaaaybe five parts so please let me know what y’all think (but please be kind cause i am fragile as fuck) and if you’d be interested in reading the rest! (this story exists in a timeline where the boys aren't in the band aaaaand it will have 18+ content so minors DNI! go away please and thank you!)

also quick shoutout to real life bestie @joopsworld for being my editor-in-chief and urging me to start writing again in the first place! she also made this collage (all pics sourced from pinterest and insta) and it is just perfect. 

okay guys! hehe! thank you for giving me the courage to do this!

(here is part two!)

pairing: danny wagner x female reader, jake kiszka x female oc

warnings: swearing, alcohol consumption and that’s pretty much it, this one is fluff! but just y'all wait, that’ll change ;)))) This series will contain 18+ content so minors, DNI! shoo shoo!

word count: ~7k heh sorry

summary: you and your best friend have just moved to a new city and spontaneously meet a group of handsome young strangers during a night out. you hit it off with one of them in particular, but are left wondering if you are just friends or if there’s something more on the horizon.

“Girl, you gotta hurry up,” you yelled as you pounded on the heavy plastic door of the porta-potty, “They flickered the lights, I think we’ve got, like, five minutes.” “I’m trying, don’t rush me!” Natalie replied, anxiety laced in her voice as you listened to her fumbling around. 

The two of you had been waiting for this concert for months, and it couldn’t have been a more perfect evening for it. It was a seasonably warm, autumn night in Nashville, the outdoor venue placed along the river, allowing the sounds of the water, the chirp of the crickets, and birds of the night to waft over the fellow concert-goers. The sun had just made its descent below the horizon, leaving the sky a beautiful purplish-pink hue while allowing the stars to begin their nightly dance. 

Removing your hand from the door, you glanced around to admire these things that have become commonplace in your new home. You and your best friend, Natalie, were still adjusting to your new residence. The two of you had gone to college together to study music, but when you found your careers coming to a standstill in your hometown, the move to Nashville seemed like the obvious decision to make. Being in a city surrounded by the constant swelling of music and supported by fellow artists inspired the two of you to no end; it was something that you’ve never experienced before, and you knew it was something you weren’t going to be letting go of any time soon.

You were completely dumbfounded by the fact that it was October and you weren’t on the look-out for the first blizzard of the winter. The thought of not having cleats on the bottom of your boots and a 20lb bag of salt in the back of your car was absolutely unheard of. Yes, you were a long way from your hometown in the snowy midwest, but you had never felt more at home. You allowed your eyes to close, listening to the evening sounds around you.

I can’t believe we actually made it here. 

Startled out of your daydreaming, Natalie yanked the door open, strolling past you while fanning her hands in the air to dry them. “Pushy,” she murmured, wearing an amused smile while she glanced at you from over her shoulder. Her eyes, the color of the river dancing next to you, were sparkling with excitement, her milk chocolate hair shining golden in the last remaining bits of sunlight. You sent a beaming smile back to her, bounding after her as she guided you back to your seats. 

The seats you had selected were right in the middle of the venue, not too close to the stage, but not in the nosebleeds, either. Content with the view, you relaxed into your seat, Natalie handing you the beer that you two somehow found the time to buy. You took the time to look around once again; taking in the details of the stage, doing your fair share of people watching, until you found the eyes of a man who seemed to have already been staring at you.

He was sitting at the other end of the section, only a couple rows ahead of you. Even from this far away, you could tell that his eyes were the color of deep caramel, almost burnt. You held his gaze for a few seconds, convinced that it wasn't you he was actually looking at, so you glanced around at the people sitting nearby. When you realized no one was looking in his direction, you moved your eyes back to him and found that he was still watching you, this time giving you a small smile accompanied with a slight nod as if to say, “Yes, you.”

You felt a poke on your knee. “You totally said something to me, didn’t you?” you mumbled, still looking at the stranger. Natalie laughed out, “Yeah, I said that I can’t believe we actually made it– what are you looking at?” You looked back at her, then glanced down at the man who was now preoccupied with speaking to his friends around him. She got the hint, nonchalantly looking towards where you had directed her. “Oh, he’s pretty,” she whispered, a shit-eating grin creeping upon her face. You nodded eagerly as you stared at her, the two of you bursting into a fit of laughter a moment later.  

She was right, he was pretty. Maybe even the most beautiful man you’d ever seen. You took a second to gather in his features; you could tell he was tall even from sitting down; he had a muscular build, with deep brown, ringlet curls that swept over his shoulders and down his back. When you had met his eyes moments before, they were warm, kind, inviting. His smile was effortless, and even though he was extremely handsome, there was no hint of arrogance that came off him. 

Who is this guy?

You rolled your eyes at yourself, he’s just some random man. But you were eager to catch one more glimpse of him and as you looked in his direction, the lights dimmed all too quickly, signifying the show was about to start, and he’s lost to darkness.

The concert had been everything you hoped it’d be, and more. You and your friend had been speechless the second the show ended, and then flooded with excited comments all at once. She was your favorite person to see shows with; you both had a mutual love and admiration for live music, whether it be in an arena that seated thousands, or in someone’s backyard. Which was one of the driving factors as to why you moved to this music-filled city in the first place.

“By the way, I counted that guy looking at you six times tonight,” Natalie offered as she climbed the steps leaving your seats. “No, don’t tell me that!” You laughed back, heat flushing your face while you tried to hide the smile that threatened to break upon your mouth. “I’m being so for real, what if he’s at Mickey’s later?” She joked as she raised her eyebrows up and down before linking her arm in yours. 

“I gotta pee, and then we can head to the bar.” 

“Again?” 

“Hey, I had three beers! It’s not my fault you have a bladder of steel.” 

Waiting for her once more outside the porta-potty, you pulled out your phone and called an Uber to your favorite dive bar. The bar was nothing fancy; you and Natalie had made it a promise long ago to get skilled at playing pool, and this bar just so happened to be the perfect place for that. Slipping your phone back into your pocket, you watched the groups of people pass you by on their way out. 

You heard the door open just as you spotted him in the crowd, not surprised when you realized he was already glancing your way.

“How far away is the Uber?”

He gave you the same smile as before, and offered you a wave goodbye.

“Y/n?”

You didn’t hear her as you lifted your arm to give him a small wave back, to which he nodded in reply. You watched as he and his group made their way towards the exit of the park and into the night.

“Wait, did he come over here while I was in the bathroom?”

“Nonono, he just waved goodbye from over there,” You absently gestured towards his direction, eyes still strained on where he had just been.

“Yeah,” she snorted out a laugh. “I saw!”

You gave her a sarcastic smile, linking your arms together once more and before dragging her towards the exit. “C’mon, the car is only two minutes away.”

~~~~

Thanking the driver as you stepped out of the car and into the bustling streets of Nashville, the city was alive with more people and music than you were used to growing up. You and Natalie had found this bar one night in search of reprieve from the crowds, bouncers, and pricey cover charges, stumbling inside to find a hidden treasure trove, Mickey’s Tavern. The two of you had been regulars ever since. 

Walking through the threshold, one of the rotating bartenders recognized the two of you and got started on Natalie’s whiskey ginger and your gin and tonic without you having to say a word. 

“Ooooh the table is open, you wanna go grab it?” Pointing your thumb over your shoulder as you asked Natalie. She was already on it, leaving you to meander over to the bar to wait for your drinks. Thanking the bartender and leaving your tab open, you wandered over to the pool table, where Natalie already had two cue sticks, chalked and ready to go. 

“Are you sure those are the rules? I feel like that’s not right,” she brought her drink to her mouth, brows bunching together as she surveyed the pool table. 

You shot her a pure feline grin, “Yeah, Nat, I’m 100% positive. Didn’t you say you wanted me to teach you?” You did have a little more experience when it came to the game than she did, but you didn’t let on that you were feeding her bullshit rules in order to mess with her. 

“Well, yeah, but that rule contradicts everything you just said five minutes ago,” she muttered as you bent over the table, lining up your shot.

“That’s because she’s messing with you.”

Oh shit.

You paused at the unfamiliar voice coming from behind you.

You caught a quick glimpse at Nat as you straightened to stand up, and watched as her eyes widened with a smile already plastered to her face. Your breath caught as you turned on your heels and of course, standing right in front of you, was the handsome mystery man you’d been ogling over not even an hour ago.  

“Sorry to interrupt your game,” his eyes darted behind you to the table, “but were you two just at that show over on the river?” His voice was sweet, melodic, and matched the same warm, inviting demeanor that he presented to you at the concert.

This can’t be real.

Sensing that you had gone stiff with shock, Nat made her way to your side of the table while nodding and saying, “Yeah! You were sitting just a couple rows ahead of us, right?”

He smiled that effortless smile you’ve seen from him a few times now, and even though he was addressing your friend, he could not peel his eyes away from your stare. You began to notice the outfit he was wearing– it’s simple, but damn, was it effective. A loose, white button-down hung off his back, unbuttoned slightly to reveal the top of his chest and the obsidian pendant around his neck. He wore pristine black jeans that juxtaposed the white sneakers that looked like they’ve been to hell and back. Every article of clothing clung to his body as if they were handcrafted especially for him.

You were pulled back to reality as a hand clapped over the man's shoulder, presenting a shorter and equally handsome man with long, golden-brown hair. He presented a dashing, but secretive, smile, his eyes full of wisdom and swirling with cream and sugar. His tanned, smooth skin was on display underneath a black buttoned shirt, laying open nearly to his navel, with an ancient silver medallion dangling in the center of his chest. 

“And who do we have here?” His voice was husky, alluring, somehow matching the same glint in his eye.

Looking past him, you noticed two other men standing behind them, their attention pulled to the interaction you and Nat were having with the men in front of you. You quickly realized this is the group he was at the concert with. His friends.

The taller man turned slightly to face his companion who still had his hand on his shoulder, and smiled, “I haven’t gotten to that part yet.”

They all directed their attention back to you and your friend, Natalie effortlessly easing the tension with her warm personality, “I’m Natalie, and this is-” she placed a gentle hand on your back. “I’m Y/n,” you interrupted, not realizing that you had still been holding your breath. You hadn’t left those caramel eyes this whole time. Nat gave you a slight pat on your back for reassurance and finally, you felt a genuine smile grace your face, your eyes lighting up a bit and the anxiety finally vanishing from your body. Thank god for Natalie. “And you are…?” you offered to the men in front of you with a quirked eyebrow. 

“Oh right, I’m Daniel,” said your mystery concert man. “And these are my brothers, Jake,” he threw his arm around the shoulders of the long-haired man by his side, “Josh,” he gestured to the man who looked like Jake’s other half, who donned a head of wild, brown curls and gave you the most beautiful smile you had ever seen. Sunshine incarnate, you thought as Josh joined Jake's side. “And Sam,” he said as a lanky man, equally as tall as Daniel, bounded over to stand on the other side of the man doing the introductions. He looked like Josh and Jake combined; long, flowing hair just like Jake’s, but with an equally saccharine smile as Josh. He had a playful charm to him that put you further at ease. You looked between the four beautiful men, noting how Daniel was the only one who didn't look identical to the others. Sam, following your eyes, somehow knew exactly what you were thinking. He grasped Daniel’s arm and started shaking him slightly. “I know,” he grinned at you. “He’s the only one who didn’t get the Kiszka good looks.” He winked as Daniel shook his head, accompanied by a huffy laugh. The men before you presented an alluring, unified front, and you could tell that love flowed freely between the four of them and their bond with each other ran deep. You and Natalie were both grinning ear to ear as you finished exchanging greetings, the two of you shot a sideward glance at each other as if to say “Can you believe they’re all this gorgeous?” 

After shaking hands with the men, Josh proclaimed “We’re waiting for one more of our friends to join us, can we get you ladies a drink in the meantime?” 

“I think we’re all good for now,” you signaled to the drink in your hand, “but thanks, Josh!” You smiled sweetly to him, and he gave you a quick wink in confirmation before beckoning Sam to follow him to the bar. Left with Daniel and Jake in front of you, Jake lifted his chin in gesture to Nat’s drink, “what are you drinking?”

“Whiskey ginger,” she answered, blue eyes assessing him, bringing the glass to her lips.

“Aaah, a woman of taste,” He nodded contemplatively, earning him a smirk in return.

Oh, these two are gonna have some fun together.

You looked back to Daniel and could tell by how he was looking between Jake and Natalie that he agreed. 

Daniel’s attention then landed on the pool table behind you, “Would you mind if we joined you for a real game of pool? Jake here knows the rules pretty well,” throwing a smirk your way. “Not at all,” Nat said as she brought her cue stick up to gently swat your back, “I’ve gotta learn the real rules at some point.”

You laughed, “Hey, you gotta admit I had you going for a while!” Her eyes crinkled up in that smile you adored, throwing her head back as a laugh escaped her. 

Jake cut in, “I’m gonna be on Natalie’s team.” Daniel’s eyebrows lifted in question, Jake answering his friend, “What?” He began to walk around to the other side of the table, “Someone’s gotta show her some winning moves.” She made her way over to Jake, eyeing him up and down competitively, before playfully shoving his shoulder. The two of them shared a laugh, eyes burning into each other's with lustful amusement. 

“Looks like you’re with me,” you offered to Daniel, beaming, as he came to stand at your side. “Just don’t try to pull a fast one on me, too, y/n.” He grinned, his eyes sparkling.

Slowly, he bent to say softly in your ear, “I’ll bet you $5 they’ll go home together tonight.” You knew Nat like the back of your hand and you know how much she loves her own bed, but accepting the challenge, you offered your hand out to him. “Deal.”

He grasped it firmly, shaking it as his eyes seared into yours. 

~~~~

Those damned hands.

Watching him grip his cue stick, placing a hand on the side of the table, brushing the hair out of his face, it all made you nearly jump out of your skin. You were aware of every movement Daniel made, cursed to not look away in fear you might miss the tiniest detail. Noting how nimble his fingers were, how gracefully they skimmed the felt of the table, it told you just how skilled he must be with them- 

Focus on something else, y/n. 

It took pure willpower to pull you out of your flustered state, forcing yourself to look at the game table displayed in front of you. As Jake lined up a shot, you noticed how the game had progressed nicely; turned out you and Daniel made a great team, working strategically against your opponents, and Jake just so happened to be an excellent teacher, Natalie quickly grasping the rules and giving your team a run for your money. 

You listened intently to Jake and Natalie’s conversation– they were equally matched in wit and humor, and they seemed to hit it off exceptionally well. You even caught that Jake had called her “Nat” a couple of times. Funny, usually she doesn’t let that slide with strangers, you pondered, she must be in real deep. 

As your eyes bounced between the two of them, Daniel made his way to your side once again, his attention still on his brother's turn, but said to you,

“You don’t have to call me Daniel, I like Danny and Dan, too.”

You smiled as your brows knitted together in confusion, wondering how his comment was along the same train of thought you were just having. 

“Then why did you introduce yourself as Daniel?”

“Sam gets on my case about using my full name; he almost exclusively calls me Daniel.” He shrugged, “I guess I’ve gotten used to it.”

You peeled your gaze from the table to look at him, “I’m assuming his full name is Samuel, so why does he go by Sam?”

A Chesire grin crept upon his lips, “So you can imagine my frustration.”

Huffing out a laugh, you turned back to the table with a slight nod of your head.

“Dan it is, then.”

“BROTHERS!” Almost as if he were summoned, you heard Sam's voice boom over the atmosphere of the bar. You watched as he and Josh wove their way back to the table, Josh holding two drinks high above his head so they didn’t spill as he bumped into the people around him; it was impossible not to notice how much taller Sam was than his curly-headed counterpart, especially in this moment. Taking in the sight before him, Dan dropped his chin to his chest, chuckling, “Say the devil's name three times and he’ll appear.” He said it loud enough for Jake and Natalie to hear, the latter covering her mouth to mask her giggles.

“We come bearing refreshments!” Josh rejoiced as the two boys approached the pool table, and you took inventory of the drinks they handed to their brothers:

A glass of whiskey, neat, for Jake, and a Topo Chico seltzer for Dan. Sam was gripping a Corona bottle that had not one, not two, but three lime wedges floating in it, and Josh had already chugged the majority of his margarita. He noticed you watching him throw it back, and explained “Tequila is good for the soul” with a mischievous smirk. You couldn’t help but smile when you looked at Josh; he had a radiance that was undeniably unique and impossible to ignore.

Your attention moved back to check-in with your friend, but instead you found her preoccupied as Jake raised his glass to her. She mirrored his action and clinked her drink against his, neither of them relinquishing eye contact as they both took a sip of their amber liquids. Dan was also watching, and you weren’t surprised when he jabbed his elbow into your side lightly, wiggling his eyebrows to remind you of the bet you two made. 

Conversation was easy and enjoyable amongst this party of six. The pool game took a backseat while you all got to know each other; the men, you, and Natalie took turns volleying information back and forth about yourselves to the patient, waiting ears of the others. You could’ve guessed that Jake and Josh were twins, and were not surprised by the fact that Sammy Boy was their younger brother. You learned that Danny, in fact, wasn’t a Kiszka; he’s a Wagner. “We grew up together,” Josh explained, his empty glass chiming against the table as he set it down. “Jake was hell-bent on starting a band when we were barely teenagers, and we recruited Danny to play drums for us in our garage.” The four men exchanged knowing smiles as you inquired “And how did that go? The band?” “Well,” Dan cut in, “considering Jake is the only one who has a music career, I’d say it went pretty great.” He clapped his hand on Jake’s back, and you could have sworn you saw a hint of crimson color Jake’s cheeks. Nat noticed it too, her eyes saying to you, Isn’t he the sweetest thing? 

Beyond that, you learned that Jake was also an accomplished chef and had taught Sam everything he knew. Sam was in charge of manning the kitchen at a restaurant you and Natalie frequented, explaining to him that the restaurant had quickly become one of your favorites upon moving to this town. “I can’t believe I’ve never seen you! Who knew it’d be sweet, sweet Daniel who brought us together.”

Josh was a filmmaker, flying between Nashville, LA, and NYC regularly for work. He was animatedly talking with his hands while he explained the murder mystery he was currently shooting. He had all of you on the edges of your seats, dramatic tension hanging like dense fog in the air, when you all were interrupted by the abrupt change in song and volume, “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey roaring to life from the jukebox at the other end of the bar.

Mumblings erupted from the four boys; Jake shook his head defeatedly, “For fucks sake…” 

Sam shot straight up in the air to glare at the jukebox over the heads of the other patrons of the bar,  his eyes squinting on his target. Setting his Corona on the green felt, not caring if it tipped over, you all watched as he started his warpath into the crowd, hollering “DAVE!! DO YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF DEATH WISH?”

Josh’s shoulders shook with laughter as Dan turned to you and Natalie, explaining, “Dave, the friend we were waiting for. Also known for being an absolute menace on aux.”

~~~~

Dave and Sam had decided to join your game, after they stopped bickering over the music, of course. You found out that Dave was the one who had lived in Nashville the longest, and he was in a band of his own with his buddies Alex and Chris.

“We’re called “The Thing With Feathers,” if you wanna look us up.” He told you with a sideward smirk. “The thing with feathers…. Like Emily Dickinson?” Nat inquired. 

“Exactly like that.”

Dave was incredibly charming and charismatic, similar in energy to Sam but a hint more suave. You assumed their matching energy might be the reason as to why they bickered like they have been married for 50 years. He had a messy mop of brown hair, and wore a teal, silk top so stunning that you found yourself convincing him to tell you where it was from.

Dave joined your team with Dan (“Where you been, buddy? I’ve missed you!”), and Sam joined his brother and Natalie. Josh insisted on pulling up a bar stool and playing referee for your game that had somehow managed to go unfinished for a long while (“I can make any game interesting. Just you watch, y/n”). 

Your team was getting your asses handed to you, until finally Natalie claimed victory, sinking the 8-ball. Claps and cheers erupted from your group as she responded with a slight curtsey and bow of her head, grinning from ear to ear. You’re delighted as you watched Sam jump up and down, running to Nat to give her a double high-five. She was laughing up a storm as Jake threw an arm around her shoulder, a proud grin plastered to his face. “All thanks to my winning moves,” voice laced with a hint of sarcasm as he squeezed her shoulder a little tighter. Her eyes flickered with surprise for just a millisecond, before she wrapped her arm around his waist, hip-checking him, retorting “Hmm, I actually think it was beginners luck.”

It hit you suddenly that you had only met this group of men a little over an hour ago; you felt as though you’ve known them your whole life. You noticed how at ease you felt, how you could undeniably be yourself without feeling like you needed to win the others over. Your laughs, smiles, and teasing jokes came freely, and were received and reciprocated with joy and humor. It’s a welcome feeling, and you knew that you’d be chasing it for a while. Natalie met your eyes, still snug under Jake’s arm, and you could tell she felt similarly. The two of you had made a few friends since moving to Nashville, but most of your close ones still remained back in your hometown. You two have been dying to find a group to call your own, and these guys seemed like they’d be a perfect fit. You were just praying that tonight wasn’t a one time deal. 

“How about we get a victory round for our Pool Champ?” Josh asked, jumping off his stool and already heading in the direction of the bar. Everybody was celebrating as they followed Josh, you and Dan at the end of the train. He ushered you ahead of him, placing a gentle hand on the middle of your back, guiding you through the crowd. His touch was whisper soft, but his hand felt like a brand against your body, instantly lighting you up in a way that you’ve been fighting to acknowledge all night. 

Those damned hands. 

Huddled around the bar, you and Daniel were graced with the chance to speak one on one, Natalie involved with the twins about Jake’s music, Josh gushing over how talented his brother was and insisting that she had to hear him play his guitar. Sam and Dave were back over at the jukebox and you could vaguely hear Sam’s scolding and Dave’s boisterous laugh. 

You were eager to learn more about Dan- he was the only one who was still somewhat shrouded in mystery, but before you could begin asking him questions, he beat you to the punch.

“How far from here do you live?” Dan asked, bringing his drink to his lips until he halts, “Not– that sounded creepy. I swear I’m not a stalker.” He brought his drink back down with a nervous laugh, shaking his head side to side.

“No, no! I know what you meant. Nat and I are just about 15 minutes away from here.”

“Thank god,” he released a breath, fiddling with the tab on his drink can. “So I take it you come around here pretty often then?”

You gave him a sly grin, eyes squinting just a little bit as he stammered, “Just curious if I’ll see you here any time soon.”

You hadn’t seen him flustered at all tonight, but listening to him stumble over his words ignited that same flame inside you that now you’d need a firehouse to extinguish. 

“Yeah, this is our favorite bar, we come here all the time.”

He gave you a grateful smile, seeming to thank you for being gracious of his fumbling, and you returned it, trying to ease his nerves even the slightest bit more. 

“So you and Natalie live together? You seem like you’re really close, how did you meet?”

You regaled the tale of how you two went to college for music together, quickly becoming joined at the hip and inseparable ever since. You’ve been through hell and back together, and you’re honored to stand by her side. He listened intently, glancing between you and your friend with a smile that suggested he knew exactly the feeling you were describing. Once you were running out of things to say, he had an arsenal of questions ready to ask you about your studies, about the music you loved, everything, and you answered each of them with matching enthusiasm. 

In a breath of silence, you were able to ask, “So how about you and your brothers? Seems like it’s more than just playing together in the garage.” You were happy to have the spotlight shift back to him if it meant that you got to glean a little more information out of your mystery man.

“We’re from a tiny town in Michigan, and we really only had each other. Just like you and Natalie, we’ve been inseparable ever since we were little. I dunno,” he ran his fingers through his hair, “we rely on each other.” 

You sat your glass down as you looked between the brothers, and knew that he was telling the truth. You felt it, saw it, immediately when they introduced themselves to you. 

“I know about all the others, but what do you do–”

Suddenly, Sam and Dave were behind him, Sam hauling him out of his stool with a “Sorry, y/n! I need him to help settle a score between me and Idiot over here!” The two of them dragged Dan back over to the jukebox, him gracing you with an apologetic smile as you chuckled to yourself. Brothers, indeed.

You joined Natalie and the twins, eagerly listening to their conversation unfold, bouncing between Josh’s movies, Jake’s music, and their questions about Natalie’s career. Eventually, Sam, Dave, and Daniel made their way back to the group, and the seven of you indulged in one last drink, hearing stories about their lives and loving every second of it. Dave had everybody in stitches talking about his time on tour with the band; you truly couldn’t remember the last time your stomach ached so badly from laughter.  

You sat back, admiring how Dan interacted with not only his friends, but how he spoke to Natalie. He had a witty and dry sense of humor, but was the most soft spoken and gentle one of the group; you’d previously thought that it was Jake, but you were proven incredibly wrong once that man had a few drinks in him. You’ve always been content to be a fly on the wall- observing how others interact and listening to the words exchanged around you was always something that brought you comfort. With this group, it was impossible to be bored. 

But you were happy to let them pull you out of your head and back to the conversation, and Dan insisted that they had to hear stories from your college days with Nat. She enthusiastically agreed, and hopped off her stool to stand behind yours, leaning down to hug your shoulders from behind. “You guys have GOT to hear about how y/n passed out on the side of the road on Halloween!” And with that, she had their undivided attention for at least the next half hour. 

~~~~

Drinks had long been emptied, and you and Nat had agreed that it was time for you to get some shut eye; sorry to break up such a jolly group, but the night had turned to the wee hours of the morning, much later than you two were used to staying out. Nat pulled her coat from the back of her stool and smoothed her dress. “I’m gonna run to the bathroom, I’ll call the–” “I know the drill, don’t worry.” You winked back to her. Once she disappeared to the bathroom, you watched the boys start making their way to the door, agreeing with you that it was time to call it a night. You called over to the bartender to close your tab, and once he made his way over to you with your receipt, Jake appeared behind you, placing his card down on the bar.

You looked up, “Jake, you don’t have-”

He held his hand up to stop you from talking.

“I want to, plus I owe it to her.” His eyes twinkled. You could tell he cared for Natalie even in the short amount of time they’ve gotten to know each other. You couldn’t imagine there being any ill-will behind those eyes, but what kind of friend would you be if you still didn’t give him a warning?

“Just please don’t be an asshole to her, okay? I think she really likes you.”

He was signing the receipt as his head snapped up to look at you, a sheepish smile already evident on his face, eyes wide and sparkling, “Really?”

You couldn't help but giggle at his enthusiasm, and you nodded your assurance.

“The same goes for you and Danny. He has a big heart. Be careful with him.” He slid the pen and paper back over the bar and gave you one last mischievous show of his teeth before you two sauntered over to the front door to join the rest of his band of brothers.

Natalie returned a beat later, informing you that your car home was still a little ways away. The boys insisted on staying with you until then, and you didn’t mind if it meant you had a few more moments to share with them. Dan has made his way to your side again but you noticed him shifting his weight between each foot, something you would chalk up to a nervous habit. Your gaze naturally found his, and the man was every shade of flustered as he watched you with an unsure grin. Carefully, he finally leaned down to whisper in your ear, “Looks like I owe you $5.” 

You grinned at him, opening your mouth to tell him to save it, when he interrupted you with, “Hold that thought,” and briskly slipped away back over to the bar. Confused, you watched his head of curls ask the bartender for something, the bartender placing a Sharpie in his outstretched palm a second later. He turned to walk back to your group, his teeth bared in a smile that could have shot you straight to the heavens. He painted a picture of collected calm, worlds different from how he looked moments earlier. He returned to your side, grabbing your hand without hesitation, and held it in his as he lifted it up. Sharpie in the other, he proceeded to write his phone number on the back of your hand, and the gesture had everyone halt their conversations to turn their attention to the two of you. You couldn’t help but blush at his action; no one had ever done that to you before, not to mention it being a little outdated. Josh seemed to agree, exclaiming “Woooooo! Look at you go, Grandpa!” Dan shot him a glare out of the corner of his eye while quickly finishing up his writing. You chanced a quick look over at Natalie to see that her jaw was on the floor as she watched this event unfold, eyes darting between your hand and your face as your eyes widened, trying to say to her I know, I can’t believe it either! You peeled your attention away from Nat as he let go of your hand gently and replaced the cap on the Sharpie, finally looking back into your eyes. His demeanor was filled with confidence and laced with excitement. 

“Text me right now so I have your number, too.”

You chuckled, “Shouldn’t you just have asked me for my number?”

His smile turned cheeky, his gaze darkening just a hint, “Yeah, but I only thought of that after I started writing.”

The two of you shared a genuine laugh now.

“I like this much better anyways,” you said as you pulled your phone out of your pocket, Daniel intently watching your every move.

“There,” you said with a wink after pressing send, “Now we can arrange my payment.”

The Uber pulled up to the bar then, initiating the goodbyes between you and your new friends. For whatever reason, it shocked you that they each brought you in for a hug, Josh leading with a “Hope to see you soon, mama.” Dave crushed you in a side-hug that you swore could have left a bruise, and even Jake offered you a surprisingly larger bear hug than his smaller frame would suggest he was capable of. Sam damn near swept you off your feet, grasping you so tightly that you were winded when he released you from his vise-like embrace.

Dan was the last one to scoop you into his arms, his hands ghosting over your lower back ever so softly, but his hold on you was firm. His scent was all-consuming; musky, laced with bits of cedarwood, tobacco, and vanilla. He released you with a slight hesitation of a hand on your back, his fingers gripping the fabric on the back of your shirt as you turned towards the car, as if to say that he didn’t want you to leave so soon. Knowing the feeling, you threw an understanding glance over your shoulder as you made your way to the car, hoping to convey that you wished you could stay with him, too. 

Your breath hitched as you watched him go completely still in response, eyes darkening even further than they had been minutes ago. The look that he gave you was one you could not place and hadn’t seen yet from him that night. It made you want to turn on your heel and run straight back to his side, almost as if he were beckoning you back to him. It seemed as though the world had vanished around you, lights dimming, noises silencing aside from your heart thundering in your ears, and all you could see was him and that damn look on his face.

Remember, y/n, you literally met this man, like, three hours ago? Calm down. 

Finally, you blinked, and the world started coming back to life. You hadn’t noticed that you had frozen in your tracks, too, that look of his slamming your composure right out of you. It took every ounce of willpower to look away, and you could feel the heat on your cheeks begin to rise as you realized that the rest of the men were staring at you, and then turned back to the car to see Natalie already inside, watching you expectantly. Gathering the shred of dignity you felt you still had left, you threw the guys another quick wave goodbye before hurriedly sliding into the car and slamming the door behind you. 

Only then were you able to catch your breath.

Settling into the worn leather of the backseat, you felt Natalie pat your knee. 

“I can’t believe how much fun that was,” she let out with a tired sigh. 

You were sure she could hear your heart threatening to beat out of your chest.

“I know, I haven’t met a group of guys genuinely that nice maybe ever?” 

“I know! Not creepy at all! Must be some kind of miracle.” 

There was a breath of comfortable silence, Nat giving you a moment to calm down and collect your thoughts. 

“And I can’t believe they’re the guys from the concert, and that you have his number? Unbelievable.” She continued after a few minutes.

“The universe works in crazy, mysterious ways.”

Just then, your phone vibrated. Opening it, a smile started creeping wide across your face.

Daniel: I was thinking that I could use those $5 to buy you coffee, say on Saturday. What do you think?

Y/n: sounds like a good use of your money, i’m in! 

“Looks like I have a date on Saturday,” you said without looking up.

“Ha! I knew it wouldn’t take long, that man’s fast. Plus the way he looked at you when we were leaving? Forget about it.”

Your phone buzzed again.

Daniel: Great! I’ll send you the details tomorrow. It was a pleasure to meet you tonight. Goodnight, y/n.

Y/n: you too, dan, goodnight 

You set your phone down in your lap, still smiling to yourself thinking about the man who had come so swiftly into your life. Looking out the window, you watched the city put itself to sleep as the car sped towards your apartment. You blindly reached over for Nat's hand, and once you felt hers in your grasp, you gave it a quick squeeze. You sighed back into the seat as you slowly shut your eyes, feeling ever grateful that you took this leap of faith. 

To be continued…

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

Favorite writing song/artist/album of this year and a fic you didn’t expect to write this year from the list you reblogged?

End Of The Year Fanfic Asks (send me some???)

oooh yay!!! thank you for sending me some (even if I am a bit late answering them)

13. Favourite writing song/artist/album of this year?

So - I am going to assume that this means music that you enjoyed listening to while writing or music that inspired your fics?

I don't usually listen to music while writing fics, because I like to clear my head of all distractions during the actual writing process. But usually while I am thinking of ideas or getting in the mood to write a specific fic, then I will definitely curate songs for it. Or sometimes, if I am just listening to a random playlist, then a song that comes on will give me an idea for a fic and inspire me.

And like 80% of my fics are titled after songs, so I love using song lyrics as inspiration and using song motifs and imagery when writing fics.

This year, the album The Jaws of Life by Pierce The Veil was literally top notch for me.

I also really loved So Much (For) Stardust by Fall Out Boy, but surprisingly - The Jaws of Life inspired way more fics for me. It came out in February of 2023 and actually - while I did have the middle school emo phase and the emo trinity has always been sacred to me, I didn't start listening to Pierce The Veil actively until I was in my 20s. Which is fucking wild.

But upon hearing the single from this album, Emergency Contact, I fucking fell in love with it - and it was one of the main inspirations for this Jason Todd fic, which I think is one of the greatest fics I have ever written. And the sequel is going to be titled The Jaws of Life - which is another song off the album and I am so excited about how both song titles suit the fics so well.

And there is several other fics I have named after songs off this album (I could have easily named a fic after each song off the album cause I love it so much, but I was trying to use restraint) - Shared Trauma (Gar Logan x Reader), and Damn The Man, Save The Empire (Vanessa Shelly x Reader). And because I was listening to more Pierce The Veil in general, this fic got its title - King For A Day.

I highly, highly recommend the album if you are looking for some fanfic inspiration - or just something good to listen to.

14. A fic you didn't expect to write:

Okay so - this could have a few different answers. Because I absolutely was not expecting to randomly get back into Harry Potter, have another hardcore fixation with it, and end up writing fics for it in the year 2023.

But something I absolutely did not expect - to be writing Spencer Reid fanfiction. Writing the Lessons For A Genius oneshot (and it's follow up, especially so quickly) - I was shocked with myself, because I thought that the first CM fic I ever wrote would be my last.

Idk how many of the people reading this were following me in 2021, but I wrote and posted my first ever Criminal Minds fanfic back then - and mentally, as an artist, it was one of the wildest fanfiction experiences I have ever had.

Burn The Witch - my feelings about it are almost indescribable.

I often have these fics that I call 'mutated oneshots'. Fics that started out as a oneshot, that were always intended to be a oneshot (around 20k) that end up having these mutations and growths - some scenes need more shading in, the emotional arcs of the characters need more time to be fully informed, and while in my head, it is still fully a oneshot, it's now at 40k and I know nobody is going to read that in one sitting in a digestable way. So I have to break it up into parts and I hate doing that because it was never intended to be a series.

It's more like a movie that is getting commercial breaks when you put it on TV (and I think of a writing a series like an episode style TV show).

Some examples of these mutated oneshots are - You Shook Me All Night Long (intended to be one short part, ended up as four parts with a bonus blurb series). No Place Like Home is a huge one - meant to be a oneshot, then in my head it turned into a three shot - ended up as seven fucking parts and currently it's the longest thing I have written, sitting at 90k. I'm Still Standing is another good example.

And it gets even worse, because when I split things up into parts, I'm like "I can add a bit more to this chapter, because maybe I want the mood of the chapter to be a certain way, or I wanna frame the ending of the chapter a certain way so the audience is left with something cool" - and then that adds on like 5k more in a hot minute.

So - how does this affect my feelings about Burn The Witch and Criminal Minds fanfics overall?

Burn The Witch was supposed to be a short, smutty oneshot. That is it. But in the finished version, the sex scene and the smutty themes fall so far into the background - because this turned into an emotional casefic. This fic got so far away from me, and I drove myself insane while writing it, because I wanted to 'hold back', but then I couldn't. And I thought the dark and gory elements were some of the best things I have ever written - but it was received as a flop when I first posted it.

And when I posted it on Tumblr, the chapter with the smut scene in it was the one that always consistently got the most likes - even though it's a chapter in the middle of the story. So I could tell that even though I slaved over making the whole fic consistently very good, as a whole, well-rounded story, a lot of people were only reading one chapter in the middle of it for smut, and that's it. And that made me really upset.

(Like if you want a oneshot for smut, just go find one. It made me regret even labelling it as 'the smut chapter'.)

And just the pure mental and emotional exhaustion I went through to get such little return from the readers - I vowed that I was probably never going to write a Criminal Minds fic ever again.

And I have so many ideas for a sequel to Burn The Witch, but I think if I actually try plotting it all out and writing it and make it how I envision it - it will put me in a mental asylum, because it will end up being like 100k and I don't know if I can write it how I envision it being. Or if I will go crazy in the process.

So generally, I have such a love/hate relationship with writing Criminal Minds fanfics. I think they're fun and I think they can turn out so good, but the readers can be so picky and demanding in that fandom specifically. So I often like to steer clear unless a particular idea is just haunting me. Which is why I am surprised that I ended up writing more for CM this year.

[forerussake]

Triptych WIP 👁️????

Ohhh yay i was really hoping someone would ask about that!!!

Triptych is a very special and important story to me. Maybe the most meaningful intricate plot I’ve ever come up with, and i’m not sure i’m ever going to be able to actually write it all down but i’m very happy to talk about it to anyone who is interested :) Before i do that though: Content warning for discussion of mental health problems and a suicide mention. Please don’t continue reading if that might upset you! I’ll happily tell you about one of my other WIPs ❤️

Then to the fic:

Triptych, the official title of what I also like to call the Metaphorical Serpent Modern!AU, is a modern!AU adaptation of the Yin Yang Master: Dream of Eternity movie. It doesn’t really follow the events of the movie except for in one significant way, but is heavily inspired by it and its characters. The starting premise of it is that the serpent battle from the movie isn’t actually a real battle against a real serpent, but a metaphor Qingming (who in this AU is a psychiatrist) has at some point come up with to reflect the struggle with mental illness that his patients face. In this AU Qingming’s Spirit Guardians from the movie are all his (current or former) patients.

The story is mainly about Killing Stone, alternatively just called Mr. Stone, a middle school geography teacher who has been struggling with depression ever since the death of his wife, and who decides one night that he is going to end his life. The story begins when Boya manages to convince him not to, and takes him to the hospital, where he meets Mad Painter and Snow Hound, who are there for similar reasons. He quickly befriends them, and they eventually offer him a place to stay at their house, so he won’t have to go back home to his own empty apartment. From there the serpent metaphor looms overhead as the story describes their developing relationship and the wonders and woes of cohabitation, all the while incorporating as many YYM characters as possible. In this way it tells of how, through loss and love, Killing Stone finds himself again, and learns to become Living Stone instead.

In short, Triptych, called that after its three main characters, is a story about friendship and love, about fear and loss, about strength in the face of adversity, and finding community where one least expects it, about how, even though the serpent cannot always be vanquished, it can at times be put to rest. Mainly, Triptych is a story about hope ❤️

Phew, that became long. Thanks for allowing me to ramble about this story, which may not ever be written but still has a very special place in my heart 😊😊

[dk-wren]

A Letter to the Me I Was Four Years Ago Today

Hey Dakota,

Or, perhaps, I should address you as *****. I don't think we were Dakota quite yet.

In a few weeks, your whole life is gonna change. Okay, maybe a bit hyperbolic compared to the situations other people are also about to experience. But, take your time and enjoy today.

Its leap day, an extra day to do something, so take advantage of this supposedly "extra day of magic." I know you worked hard to get your homework under control so we could see the new Magic Happens parade on its opening weekend.

I remember the joy of getting to text our good friend "Happy birthday" on their actual birthday and not figure out if I should text them on the 28th or the 1st. The anticipation of waiting in a crowd of people to see this new parade, which could possibly run for the next decade like its predecessor. And sharing the specialty sundae at Gibson Girl and some of the dishes at this year's Food and Wine Festival with Dad. That chicken in a waffle taco was so good.

Smile and take your mind off of the pile of work you know you still have waiting at home, the APs you should be studying for, not to mention your upcoming SAT. That Coco float is more beautiful than anything you could have imagined and the Moana float is just beautiful.

You don't know it, but this will be your last trip to Disneyland as an annual passholder, or really your last normal day off for a while. In two weeks the world's gonna shut down, and no amount of optimism we try to muster will keep that initial two weeks as two weeks. But before that, take my advice, you should definitely apply to that Life is Strange fanzine you saw on Twitter. Then, you'll finally know who Dakota is. And who knows what else you may discover on this path.

Also, what took you so long to start writing for you? I know junior year of high school is not known for students having a lot any free time, but if this is what you wanna do for the rest of your life, you gotta start sooner than later. And hey, call me a hypocrite, I know I'm still trying to find a good work/life balance. But we're getting to use our free time in a way that makes us happy and productive. Just keep writing.

Over the next four, really two, years, you're gonna lose contact with a lot of friends. But the two who you do stay in contact with, let's just say you wouldn't wanna be (occasionally) texting with anyone else. They are gonna make you feel safe to be yourself and introduce you to some future obsessions. One of them will be the inspiration for the first piece you write truly for you and for fun. And they're gonna be so supportive when you tell them about what you've been up to/asking their help for.

There's gonna be a lot of rough nights and disappointments before you graduate. And the decision of what to do about college, let those tears fall. There's no need to keep holding those emotions in. It's a tough choice and while I'm still in the middle of it, who's to say I made the right decision. But, I can tell you this, you are gonna be so much happier when you start college. Maybe it's not the experience your sibling had or you dreamed of, but you are gonna fall in love with a whole new city with so much to do (and so little time!). And not to be narcissistic, but I know how proud you would be to see all the things I've done so far in my coursework.

Keep listening to that voice telling you to go for it. You're gonna start writing for some of your favorite fandoms (including ones that you'll meet down the line - I'm so excited for you to watch BD and TS for the first time). Then you're gonna join Tumblr, then AO3, and who knows what's next. Some incredibly sweet people will interact with the things you made (yes, you!) and you'll be introduced to so many talented writers and artists on here! Literally, every day I come across multiple fanarts and fics that I can't help but stare at cause they are sooo good!

I know I skipped over a lot of exciting (and not so exciting) things, but that's for you to discover and enjoy in the moment. Enjoy this moment of happiness, and don't let yourself get too consumed with all the things out of your control. I think the parade is just about to start over at It's a Small World. Take care. We'll meet again soon.

Love,

Dakota Wren 💜

[officialchristiancagebbgirlblog]

It’s the piss fic!

This won’t be for everyone so I’m only using a few tags! If you don’t like this topic, please don’t read! There will be no kink shaming, anyone who partakes in that will be immediately blocked. People can like what they like so keep an open mind. This is purely fiction, not based on real events (to my knowledge lol)

41: “I’m always willing to try something once”

Tag: @cheapheat thank you again for letting me use your headcanon for inspiration for this fic! Very much appreciate 🫶🏻

Warnings: just piss

Word count: 1649

Fic type: smut

Filler name: Jen

Link to masterlist

Happy reading 💛

It was a lazy day, stuck in the middle of a thunderstorm with nothing to do. The electricity had gone out leaving Jen and Christian sat in the dark living room. Even though it was the middle of the day, the intensity of the weather made it look like it was far later than it actually was.

They both sat there on the sofa, trying to think of something to do. It didn’t seem like the power was coming back on any time soon. The wind rattled the trees and bushes so hard that Christian thought they were going to uproot. He was thankful that he made sure to put his car in the garage before the storm, just to be safe. He looked over to Jen who sat watching the rain soak the windows, deep in thought. She looked so peaceful and he wondered for a moment what she was thinking about. But then the sound of the horrendous rain distracted him, pulled him out of that sweet moment. Oddly enough, it turned him on. Viciously.

It wasn’t something he had admitted to just yet as he was afraid of being kink shamed, but he had an undeniable love for piss. There was something about just watching someone else go, and even better, doing it himself that he loved. Even more so when he was able to show his more dominant side when instructing someone else to do the act. His love for it had reared its head back in his college days.

Christian had been the only one not drinking that night. Or more specifically, nowhere near as much. All of his housemates were completely drunk, empty bottles and cans lining the floors of the house. He had walked around, trying to find Adam and making sure anyone who was passed out laid on their side in case they threw up. Still with no luck finding his best friend, he heard one of the guys declare that they needed to relieve themselves. Originally, he had planned to just walk away so as to not hear, see, or even do much as smell their urine. But for a reason he was about to discover, he watched. Sneakily of course. He didn’t even know why he decided to watch but there was a feeling in his chest and stomach that begged him to stay still.

His friend pulled out their penis and just completely let loose on a plant that sat in the corner, neglected of water. Perhaps it was good that he decided to quench the plant's thirst but maybe he should’ve just stuck with water instead of using his piss. Hearing the mix of his friend groaning at the relief and the hiss of piss leaving his body, Christian stood there with cheeks beginning to burn. At first, he thought it might’ve been a gay awakening, not wanting to face the idea of it being a realisation of a kink. But in this case the latter applied. When he tried to think of men at that moment, there was no interest. But women? His cock twitched in his boxers at just the mere thought. The kink was solidified when, mid piss, his friend in his drunken state pulled his clothes back up. He continued to piss for a further 30 seconds, completely drenching his pants. A heat burned in Christian’s chest seeing that happen which moved south to his cock. In that moment, he realised he loved the idea of pissing. Both watching someone else do it, and doing it himself. That night, he had the best orgasm of his life thinking of a girl that he fancied pissing herself for him, and then later getting on her knees to suck the piss out of his body. Although he wasn’t picky with who he saw pissing themselves, he desired to have his partner do it for him.

He was fully hydrated, his bladder telling him it was time to start thinking about heading to the toilet. Such a shame as he was so comfortable! He went to move but as he looked back over to his girl, his hard on returned. An idea popped into his head but he wasn’t entirely sure if he should ask it. Jen noticed his apprehension and turned around to face him with a smile.

“Everything okay babe?” She asked, voice sweet and unassuming.

“Yeah…yeah I’m. I’m okay,” he stuttered. And before he could stop himself, the words tumbled out of his mouth: “can I ask you a question baby? I’m…uh curious about something.”

“Oh, you are?” Her cheeks flushed pink, her smile changing into a small one, “what’s your question?”

“Well it’s just…I mean I want to have sex with you, I definitely do. But I was thinking that. Maybe we could try something new. The thing is that…I don’t know if you’d be comfortable or interested in it though. But it’s something I’ve always wanted to try.”

“Oh okay! I’m always willing to try something once! What did you have in mind?”

Jen shuffled closer to him, placing her hand on his knee to encourage him to reveal to her what he wanted. She knew it was hard to talk about kinks. Even more so when they were less common and considered strange. He was apprehensive to talk about it still, but she watched as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Well…I’ve always wanted to experiment with uh pee.”

The room fell silent. It even felt like the sounds outside went silent too. At first, Jen didn’t know how to react. It wasn’t like she was disgusted or anything. Just surprised that this was something he was interested in.

“Okay…go on?” She nudged. Christian but his lip and began to play with the hem of his shirt. Sighing, he continued, not looking at her in fear of being rejected.

“I just…I have this fantasy, I’ve had it since college actually. That someone pisses themselves for me and I do it for them.”

“Like simultaneously?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” he was surprised that she hadn’t yet said anything about not being interested or even showing any disgust towards his fantasy. In fact she seemed to be in the process of being convinced to do it with him.

“It’s just,” he continued, “there’s something about seeing it happen and being a part of it that turns me on, wildly. I don’t quite know what it is but I just know I want to try it.”

“Have you…not tried it before?”

“Not with someone else, no. Well…” he thought for a moment if he should bring up that one time he had experimented with this one guy in college for $20 but he decided against it, “no, no just by myself.”

She raised her eyebrow at that, figuring out that he had tried with another but chose not to push further. At least for now. Then the words settled in that he had tried it before alone. Feeling an odd feeling in her lower region, she found herself blushing at the thought. Jen hadn’t thought about it before until this moment but the idea of him losing control and being unable to stop himself from making a mess. Her body tingled at the idea. Christian noticed her reaction and felt his heartbeat pick up. He slipped his hand between her thighs, squeezing gently.

“Did you want to try it with me?” He breathed heavily, hoping to god that she would say yes. Not only was he desperate to share that moment with her, but also he was desperate for relief as his bladder had become uncomfortably full, almost ready to burst. She looked at him silently. And nodded with cheeks growing darker.

He practically jumped up off the sofa, grabbing her hand and leading her into the dark bathroom. The sound of the rain was far louder in there which made things so much harder in terms of holding it in. Thankfully, relief was on the way. As they stepped into the shower together, she realised that she was rather desperate herself.

“Open your legs for me.” He whispered, standing with his legs apart, leaning on her slightly. As she did as she was told, he ran his hand down her body until it rested between her legs, pressing up against her pussy. He used his free hand to get her to mirror his actions, cupping the palm of her hand against his hard cock. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to hers, kissing her softly and slowly as he tried to get himself to let go and encouraging her to do the same. It didn’t take too long before they both released, allowing themselves to soak their underwear.

“Good girl…” he murmured into her ear, kissing the skin as she relieved herself with a gasp, watching him do the same. It felt good, the heat of his piss dripping down her arm as she caressed his cock. He hissed slightly as the pleasure of both actions egged him on to do the same for her. Deciding, however, he wanted to feel her wetness even more, he removed his hand briefly to slip it under the fabric of her trousers and panties, as she continued to let go on his bare hand. He groaned with a smile as she had no control over her bladder, rubbing her clit with the heel of his hand.

They both finished peeing around the same time, both trousers completely soaked. He removed his hand slowly to rest it on her hip, giving her cheek a kiss.

“Maybe later if you’re up for it…we could try having sex while, yknow…” he muttered, becoming shy again, “I think it’ll be really fun.” She giggled, planting a quick kiss on his lips.

“I think I’d be down for that. You may have to encourage me again though.”

[swag696942069]

The Blissful Paradise of a High

Hi, so this is ass. Like, genuinely. I wrote it when I didn't have wifi for two weeks, but this took me two days to write, and its 5167 words 😭 can you tell how bored I was? Any who, it's a Euphoria inspired oneshot that may or may not be turned into an actual fic. I make no promises. Thanks to @transdorcasmeadows for the help with it.

Tw: drug addiction, drug deal(s), self harm, suicide jokes, depictions of drug overdose, depictions of drug relapse, mentions of death (brief), cursing, fighting (they just like, yell at each other, but I know that can still be triggering)

James had made a lot of mistakes in the short seventeen years he had been on this earth.

His biggest one, was the one that ended him up in this place to begin with.

James was currently about to complete his 60th day in rehab, for his 'drug addiction' as his mother, friends, and doctors have told him repeatedly over the past few month.

James doesn't remember exactly what had happend the night of his overdose. No one had told him the full story no matter how many times he'd asked.

All he knew was, he was home alone, Lily got home, heard weird noises coming from his room, and when she went to go check on him, she found James facedown in the middle of the room, in the midst of a seizure, that was caused due to the overdose.

James remembers waking up in his hospital room with, his mom, Lily, and Peter asleep in chairs around his bed.

James remembers feeling a surge of guilt when he realized what was going on.

He didn't remember what happend, but he knew it had to be bad, by the way his mom immediately burst into tears when he shook her awake, and the way she wrapped her arms around his in a bone crushing hug, and refused to let go, even after Lily had ran to get the doctor.

Immediately after he was released, he was taken to a rehab center in the next town over. He was still in his hospital gown.

Peter, and Lily, rode with him and his mom on the way to the clinic, and James remembers singing along to some random song that he didn't remember memorizing the lyrics to, to try and get his friends to laugh, smile, do anything besides silently cry in the backseat.

James had one last group therapy session to go to and then he was home free.

James sat down in his normal seat, and did what he always did during group therapy, stay quiet, and whenever someone looked at him pretending he was doing what he was supposed to.

At the end of the session, the leader of the group, came up to him and gave him a hug, "We're so proud of you James. You've worked so hard. And I know in my heart you'll be able to over come anything after this."

James thought this woman was really fucking stupid. If she had been doing her job, she would be able to tell that half the people here were still doing drugs. Including him. James was high right now for Christ sakes!

James smiled at her, "Thank you, Susan. I really don't know what I would've done without this place. I probably would be curled up in a ditch somewhere by now." James thought that that wasn't such a bad idea actually. Curling up in a nice little ditch didn't seem that bad compared to most things.

She smiled at him again, "I'm just so happy for you James. This is the start of the rest of your life! And if you even feel like using ever again, you just look at this chip," She handed him a fucking drug addict anonymous chip, "and know that you can overcome even the strongest of urges!"

James had never wanted to hit someone so badly in his life before. How is looking at a fucking piece of plastic supposed to stop him from getting high?!

James smiles at her again, "Thank you Susan." He brought her in for another hug. "Thanks for everything." Fucking bitch.

James was escorted out of the building, he saw Lily and his mom parked outside of the facility.

"James!" Lily yelled as soon as she saw him. They both started running, and ended up almost knocking each other down when they met in the middle, wrapping each other up in a hug. "I've really missed you."

"I've missed you too, Lils." James smiled.

When they pulled away, James looked up and smiled at his mom, who was still standing by the car. James threw his arms up in the air, as if to say 'I did it!' His mom looked like she'd aged ten years, she had more wrinkles, her hair was beginning to grey, and she seemed really tired, but when she smiled back at him, James knew it was still his mom there.

On the car ride home, he sat in the back, letting Lily have the front seat, James always preferred the back, made it harder for people to notice how red his eyes were, his mom kept saying something about how proud she was of him, and how this was a good thing, and that this was a new chapter for him. James smiled and nodded along, not really listening to a word she said, too busy looking out the window, he saw a boy on a bike pass them, and for some reason, James couldn't look away, his high was coming down, it had been a few hours since he took anything.

After James put his bags away in his room he went back out into the kitchen and saw his mom sitting at the counter, busily typing away at something on her computer.

"Hey, so I was think of going out, to see some people." He said, trying to sound casual.

"What people?" She asked, not looking up from her computer.

"Just some friends." He said, opening up the fridge and pulling out the jug of orange juice.

When James turned around he was met with the sight of his mother staring at him suspiciously, "What friends? People I know?"

James knew what she meant by that question, were they going to be people he could get drugs from.

"I was thinking about going to see Marls and Mary, maybe Peter, I don't know. I just haven't seen any of them in so long and I," James knew just how to get what he wanted. "I just miss them so much," he let his voice crack a little and let a small tear run down his face, one that he dramatically wiped off, "and I just feel so guilty. They must've been so worried and I want them to know that I'm okay now. That I'm better. Cause," another tear, "I really am mom. I'm better. And I'm just so sorry for everything. I don't know what I was thinking. I was just-" he knew it was a dick move but, "I just miss dad so much."

That was it. That's what really sold it for his mom. "Oh, Baby." She got up and wrapped her arms around him as he cried. "I miss him too. Of course you can go see your friends."

"Really?" He asked, wiping away the fake tears.

"Of course, Baby. Just be back in time for dinner, okay?" She said, wiping away the rest of his tears.

"Of course, mom." He kissed her cheek. "Love you."

"I love you too."

James knew it was wrong to lie to his mom like that, but she would've never let him go if he told her where he was really going.

The Bottom was a convenience store a few blocks away from where James lived. It was run by these two brothers, Frank, and Neville. Frank was a bit of a dumbass, James figured it was all the drugs he did that fried the last of his remaining brain cells. Neville was a bit scary if James was being honest, he was like, twelve, and he knew more about drugs than anyone James had ever met, even more than Frank, and he was his dealer.

When James got to The Bottom, he saw Frank sitting outside on what looked like a old, rained on, couch that was outside for some fucking reason. "What's good, man?" James asked as he walked up to Frank.

"Wassup, man. How've you been? Heard you was in rehab?"

"Yeah, just got out a few hours ago."

"Oh no shit? How was it?"

"Well, ever since I gave my life over to my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, things have been, like, really good." James joked.

Frank obviously missed the punchline. "Oh, that's what's up."

"Dude, Frank, I'm fuckin with you." James laughed.

Frank put his hands up in defense, "Shit man, I don't judge."

"But for real, is Nev in the back?"

Frank gave him a confused look, "What, are you serious? Didn't chu just get outta rehab?"

"What? You think just cause I went to rehab, I stayed clean?" James said with a raised brow, looking around just to make sure no one was around to see this exchange happen.

"Well, ain't that the point?"

"Yeah, well," James started walking backwards into the store, "the world's coming to an end, and I haven't even finished high school yet." James had his hands up as he spun around and made his way fully into the store.

James went to the back of the store, where the fridges are and opened an empty one.

"Hey." James said upon entering and seeing Neville eating a bowl of cereal.

Neville looked up with a dumbstruck, expression on his face, like he'd just seem a ghost, "I thought you were fucking dead."

"What the fuck? Why?" James asked with a look of pure confusion on his face.

"I don't know? That's just what people be sayin and shit."

"Whatever. Got anything?"

"Yeah, yeah." Neville put his bowl of cereal down and opened up a box and pulled out some of James regular. "Wanna try anything new?"

"Like what?" James asked, as he finished putting the narcotics in his pocket.

Neville pulled out two little pills that looked like they could be ecstacy "We got, 2C-T-2, 2C-T-7, and 5-MeO-DIPT."

James looked at him blankly, "I'm sorry, I have zero fucking idea what you just said."

Neville waved him off, "It doesn't matter. But this shit is fucking lit."

James looked down at the little pill in Neville's hand, "What is it?"

"N-diisopropyl-5-methoxytryptamine. It's a fast-acting psychedelic. Got some similarities to LSD, but with, like, key differences. Not as visual and shit, but definitely a sense distorter." Neville explained.

James shrugged, still not fully understanding anything that was just said to him, "Yeah, okay." he said anyway, he was willing to try most anything once.

"That'll be 120."

"Uh, Frank said he spot me." James said, already walking away.

"Frankie don't spot nobody." Neville said, never buying into James's shit.

"Well you should go ask him. He said it was a post-rehab discount." He lied.

"I will go ask him, cause I know you're full of shit." Neville said as James walked the rest of the way out the backdoor and into the alley behind the store.

James saw Frank and Barty Crouch jr, doing a drug deal. James politely looked away, as anyone should when they encountered such a thing. You wouldn't want someone staring at you as you do a drug deal, would you?

Barty got into his car and began to drive away, "Ayo! I do it for Potter!" He yelled as he drove past James.

James never really had any sort of real problem with Barty. There was that time that he tried to kiss him, drunk at a party without his consent in freshman year, but besides that they barely knew each other.

James decided to just wander around for a while before heading home, that was until he got a spam all text from Sirius Tonks, saying that there was gonna be a party at Evan Rosier's house in a few hours.

And that gave James the, brilliant idea, to 'pre-game' with all the drugs he had on him, except for the new shit Neville gave him, James decided to save that for later.

James didn't really know Evan Rosier all that well, he knew that he was Barty Crouch Jr's best friend, and that he and Mary had been going out for a little while, this summer. He heard that from Lily on the drive back home, who heard it from Peter, who heard it from Marlene, who heard it from Mary herself.

Now, it was currently six p.m. the party didn't start until ten, and James knew he had to be home for dinner or else his mom would send out a search party, but, James was also really fucking high. Maybe taking all those drugs at once wasn't such a good idea when he had to be home soon.

James somehow made it home without any real problems, he had gotten a little lost on the way, but James figured it was probably just because he hadn't been home in a few months and he just forgot which way to go.

James stumbled in the house through the back door, his mom was standing in the kitchen.

"Where have you been?" She asked.

"I was at Mary's." He lied, making his way down the hall to his room.

His mom followed him, "No you weren't. You're high right now! Aren't you?"

James rolled his eyes. "I'm not high mom. I was at Mary's."

"You're lying. You're always lying, James! Just tell me the truth!" She was beginning to yell.

She never used to yell.

"I'm telling you I was at Mary's!"

"No you weren't!"

"If you don't believe me call her! Call her and ask her if I was there!"

"You know what? I will, cause I don't trust you anymore, James. I don't." She had tears welling up in her eyes.

"Mom." James said sadly, walking up to her.

She shook her head and backed away. "I can't trust you anymore James. I never used to have to worry like this."

"You don't-" James let out a breath, "You don't have to worry mom. I'm fine. I'm not lying, I was at Mary's."

His mom got a stern look on her face, "I need you to pee in a cup."

"What? You wanna drug test me?!" He was starting to get really fucking angry.

"I can't trust you James!" She yelled, trying so desperately to sound stern.

"I just fucking peed! I can't take the drug test if I just fucking peed!"

"James you have to take it! It's not an option."

"How do you expect me to take it if I just fucking peed!?" James was speed walking into his room. James went to go shut his door and it slammed harder than he intended it to.

"Don't slam any doors in my house!" He heard his mom say on the other side of the door.

"It was an accident." He said, sitting down against it so his mom couldn't open it. James had noticed when he got home earlier that his door no longer had a lock.

"You gotta take the test, James."

"I just fucking peed!" He laughed out of frustration.

"Fine! Slam another door!" And James heard her walk away.

Now, theres a few ways to fake a drug test. You could do what James had done with every other drug test he'd taken in the past two months, and get a sober person to pee in the cup for him. But, since most at home drug test had heat sensory, it has to be warm. And since James was sure his mom was going to stand in the bathroom while he did it, he couldn't really do the sink trick. So he had to get it fresh.

James snuck out his bedroom window and hauled ass down the street, making his way to Peter's house.

James knocked on the door and Peter opened it. "Hey, James." He said, wrapping his arms around him.

"Hey." James said, hugging him back. James saw Marlene and Mary sitting at the kitchen table a little bit away.

"What're you doing here?" Peter asked when they pulled apart.

James gave him a desperate look. "I need you to..."

"What?" Not getting it.

"No, like I'm serious, Pete."

"What?" Still not getting it.

James rolled his eyes and leaned in and whispered into Peter's ear.

When he pulled away, Peter looked at him with a look of anger and annoyance, and, sadness. "Are you serious?"

"Please, Peter." James whispered. He was really fucking desperate.

Peter sighed, defeated. "Okay." And he walked upstairs.

"Hey Jamie!" Marlene said, after Peter began to walk upstairs.

James put on a smile. "Hey Marls, Mary."

"Hey, Jamesie." Mary said with a small smile.

James actually really loved Mary. Most people though really low of her, but she was actually really sweet.

"You going to Rosier's party tonight?" Marlene asked.

Mary smacked her in the arm and gave her a look.

"Uh, I don't know. Maybe."

"You should. Sirius is going and Fabian's gonna be there, so you know theres gonna be a fight." Marlene said with a smirk.

Sirius Tonks was Mary's best friend. He had been going out with Fabian Prewitt for a little over a year. They fought non stop and had broken up a zillion times.

"Nuh-uh, Siri and Fab broke up. Sirius says he's so over him." Mary informed.

"Yeah but he says that everytime." Marlene rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well he says this time is different." Mary did her best to defend her best friend to her other best friend.

James didn't really know all that much about Sirius. He had moved to town when they were freshmen, after his parents died or something and he like, lived with his older cousin? James wasn't sure. The only time they ever even actually spoke was when they both so happened to be hanging out with the same group of people, and even then it was usually just pleasantries.

"Whatever. The party's still gonna rock." Marlene said with a smile as Peter came back downstairs and slyly handed James the medicine bottle filled with pee.

"Heres that book you needed." Peter handed him some random book that James didn't recognize from the cover.

"Thanks Pete." He whispered to him.

"Whatever." He mumbled, looking away from him.

"I'll see you guys later!" He called out before leaving. He heard a chorus of 'bye's' as he left.

James ran back home, snuck back in through his window, snorted some more coke and then called out to his mom that he was ready to pee. "Mom! I gotta pee!"

Once inside the bathroom his mom handed him the cup.

"I wish we could do this in a way that didn't invade my privacy." James said holding the cup in the air with a sad expression on his face, one that he hoped would get his mom to feel bad enough to leave the room.

But his mom didn't budge. "You lost your right to privacy when you overdosed." She said.

James sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to win this one, and turned to the toilet.

His mom at least turned around, as to not physically watch him pee, which James was very grateful for. It would've been really hard to explain why he was peeing out of his jacket sleeve.

James knew how to do this correctly. Drop a little bit in the toilet so his mom thinks he's actually peeing, then just pour the rest in the cup.

"Do you know how worried you made everyone? And to have Lily, be the one who found you... the girl who sees you as a brother..."

James's eyes filled with tears, "Can we, not talk about that right now, mom." He asked, taking in shallow breaths to try and stop himself from crying even more. James hated himself for it having to have been Lily, who found him. He hated himself anyway, but he could only imagine what must've went through Lily's brain when she found him. Face down. Basically choking on his own vomit. As he seized out of control.

Once James was finished pouring the pee into the cub, he slid the medicine bottle back into his pocket and turned around, placed the pee filled cup on the counter, and turned to wash his hands as his mom put the sticks into it.

After about a minute, the result came in to show that it was clean.

"I told you I was at Mary's." James whispered.

"I know, baby. I'm sorry." His mom said quietly, wrapping her arm around him.

"It's okay, Mom...." an idea. "Can I stay over at Peter's tonight?" He asked as they pulled away.

"That's fine, James. Just, grab some dinner before you go?"

"Yeah. Thanks, mom. Love you." He said with a small smile.

"I love you too, Baby."

He made his way back out into the kitchen, took a few bites of whatever the hell his mom made, and was back out the door.

James was walking to the party cause he didn't have his license, cause he was smart enough to know that addicts shouldn't drive, and he had this rule where he doesn't skate and smoke cause like.... James got a flash of memories of him attempting to skate and immediately eating shit.... its fucking dangerous.

He was walking past The Bottom when a car started driving really slowly behind him.

"What the fuck? Is that James?!" He heard a voice say from inside the car.

"Holy shit! I thought he died!" Another voice said, making James frown.

"Oh god I hate ghosts." James recognized the voice of Marlene say that.

"Yo, Casper!" James turned around at that. "Need a ride?"

James walked up to the car and saw, Sirius Tonks, Dorcas Meadowes, Marlene McKinnon and Pandora Rosier in it. "Why thank you." He said when he approached the car, hopping in the back seat when Pandora moved over to the middle.

On the car ride to the party, Marlene vaped, Sirius and Dorcas fought over directions, and Pandora sang along to the song on the radio, as James layed his head on the window, he could've sworn he saw the same biker from before, ride up to the motel on 36.

"I telling you it's to the left!" Dorcas said, looking at her phone, which had the map pulled up.

"I've been to Evan's house a million times! I think I know where the fuck I'm going!" Sirius bit back.

"Why don't you ask Pandora? Since she, like, lives there?" Marlene said, already baked as fuck.

All eyes in the car turned to Pandora.

"I don't live with Evan." She said with a ditsy expression on her face.

"But he's your brother?" Dorcas said confused.

"Yeah, but he lives there with our mom, and I live with my dad. I have no fucking idea where we're going."

James was wondering why she was in the car with them if she lives with Rosier. Turns out he was wrong.

"Oh." Marlene said. "My bad. Go back to fighting I guess."

"We wouldn't be fighting if Sirius would just listen to me when I told them where to go!" Dorcas said angrily.

"And if you would shut up and let me drive we would already be there by now!" The fighting continued until they finally arrived at the party.

"Hey Marls, wheres Mary? I thought she would've been with you?" James asked as they walked up to the house.

Rosier was fucking loaded! You could tell by the size of his house alone.

"Oh, uh, Rosier came and picked her up a little while after you left." Marlene said, not really paying attention to James.

"Ah. Well. I'm gonna go... walk around. I'll see you," he put his hand up to his forehead in a solution, "later." And walked off.

James wandered the party for a little bit. At some point he made his way upstairs to the bathroom, and crushed up the pill he got from Neville earlier that night, and snorted it.

"Ffffuuck." James said, eyes wide. He blinked, his eyes unfocused, as he slowly shook his head, leaning against the wall for support. His vision was blurry, and spotty, no matter how often he blinked or rubbed at his eyes, the music and voices outside the bathroom door were fading in and out in an echo, like he was underwater and in the sky at the same time.

He felt fucking great.

James didn't know what was in that thing, but whatever it was, he wanted more of it.

James attempted to walk out of the bathroom. He kept tripping over nothing, and ended up having to lean his whole body against the wall to be able to walk without almost falling over on his face.

James saw Mary and Evan Rosier sitting next to each other on the staircase, talking quietly to each other as he walked by, still leaning, heavily, on the wall beside him.

James made it downstairs and out to the backyard, where he found Frank, sitting by the pool.

"Yo man, you owe me 120" Frank said when James sat down next to him.

James smiled sheepishly at him, "Shit man, I forgot."

"It's alright, but I got a business to run, y'know? Can't be givin out handouts."

"I- I know man, I'm sorry. I'll get it to you later. You know I will."

"Yeah, alright." Silence settled between them for a few minutes before Frank broke it again. "Man, I don't know what kind of fucked up shit you been through, and I don't know how to help. But, what I do know, is drugs, it ain't it, man."

James bit the inside of his cheek before he spoke, "Y'know, when I was, like, thirteen, my dad died."

"Is that it?" Frank asked. Genuinely asking, not saying it in some snarky way.

"If only it was that easy." James was nodding his head absentmindedly.

James genuinely didn't know why he started doing drugs. He just knew that they made him feel better when he did them. So why would he stop?

Frank shook his head. "Shit, man..."

James nodded along, "Yeah. Shit, man."

James then heard screaming coming from inside the house and looked over to see, practically everyone who was there, gathering around the kitchen. And, since James was always a very curious person, he got up, and made his way to the kitchen.

Upon entering he saw Marlene and walked over. "What's going on?" He asked.

"Bro! Some dude just tried to kill himself!" Marlene said with wide, glazed over eyes, obviously very high.

"What?" James was sure he heard that wrong, but, then again, this was a high school party.

"Yeah dude it was crazy! Barty came in, yellin, and told everyone to get outta the kitchen, but that guy wouldn't leave so Barty kept yelling and then the guy pulled out a knife and, like, slit his wrist or something. It was crazy!" Marlene took another hit of her vape and blew the smoke out next to James's head.

"Oh, wow. Uh, alright. I think I'm gonna head out." James said, beginning to walk away. He wanted to find that guy and make sure he was alright.

"You sure? I'm sure Sirius can drive you home once hes done fuckin that guy in the pool."

James didn't have time to unpack all of this tonight, so he stuck with the first problem. "I'm good, thanks, Marls. I'll see you later." He was already halfway acrossed the room.

"K, bye! Love you!!!" She called out to him as he was walking out the front door.

Once outside, James looked around, trying to find the suicidal kid Marlene was talking about.

He saw a guy standing next to a bike, with blood dripping down his arm and assumed that must be the guy she was talking about and walked over.

As he got closer,  he realized it was the guy he saw earlier, riding into the motel.  "Hey, are you, uh, alright?" James asked, looking down at the guys arm.

"Uh, yeah. I guess I could tell that was gonna get violent, and this was the first thing I could think of to get him to back off."

"Ah, right... I'm James." He stuck his hand out for the boy in front of him to shake, mentally slapping himself for being so awkward.

"Regulus." The boy said, taking his hand to shake.

"Where you, uh, headed?" James asked, hands in his pockets.

"Uh," Regulus gripped the handlebars of his bike harder, "home." He nodded.

It was a good thing James was high, or else he never woulda asked this. "Can I come?"

Regulus stared at him for a few seconds, mouth ajar. "Uh... okay..."

Regulus got on his bike, and signaled for James to get on as well, and then they were off.

The ride over to Regulus's house was silent. James usually hated silence, his thoughts got louder in the silence, but this time, this time it was nice. James was too focused on the smell of Regulus's shampoo to think about much else.

When they got to Regulus's house he turned to James, "We have to be quiet. I don't want to wake up my cousin. I don't think she'd be too happy with me bringing a random boy home."

James's felt his cheeks blush, "Sorry..." he mumbled, feeling embarrassed to be imposing in someone's house like this.

Regulus smiled at him. "Its alright. She doesn't have to know." And he grabbed James's hand and took him inside, up the stairs, and into Regulus's bedroom.

Regulus went over to his closest and pulled out a cropped t-shirt, and some sleep shorts and began to change. James turned around hastily, not wanting Regulus to think he was some kind of pervert.

When Regulus was finished changing, he walked over to his bed and layed down. James continued to stand, awkwardly, in the middle of the room. After a few seconds, Regulus lifted his head up and padded the spot next to him. James cautiously walked over and gently began to lay down.

Regulus was looking at his arm, where the cut was, blood dry by now.

"Does it hurt?" James asked lowly.

Regulus shook his head.

"I c-" James struggled to try and find a way to say what he wanted to without having to worry that Regulus might take it the wrong way or something, "I could, like, clean it for you...?"

Regulus turned over to look at him. "You would do that for me?"

James felt his cheeks flush again, "Y- yeah. Its, uh, no big deal..."

Regulus smiled at him. "Thank you."

James just nodded his head and cleared his throat. "No- no problem."

Regulus got the stuff James would need to clean the wound, and James got to work.

When James was finished, cleaning, and bandaging the wound, he laid back down next to Regulus and smiled at him.

"I got an idea."

Regulus smiled back, "What?"

"Wanna get high?"