#also sorry in advance for any spelling/grammar mistakes

[kyyypo]

/// short comic (?) - Sealand & UK bros. (left -> right)

i totally forgot yesterday was also sealand's birthday (even though he's one of my favourite character) so i had to rush this today 🥲 i just want to see my favs interacting himaruya pls

‼️ i think everybody knows by now that my english SUCKS but i'm sorry in advance for any grammar and/or spelling mistakes.

himaruya pls sealand is a kirkland too pls let him interact with the fam

[rintoki]

visitors in the night

characters: kafka x dom!fem!reader

cw: use of strap, rough sex, mentions of somnophilia, reader might be like a robot or smth idk what’s going on with them

a/n: i have no clue what i was wafflin on about something about story setting i think i had a headache ok idk also sorry for any spelling / grammar / punctuation mistakes. even though reader is not actually gendered they just have a fem body, can be read as wlw, read it if u want to idk.

“kafka.”

you glanced up at the purple-haired woman from the book you were reading in bed, watching silently as she pushes it to the side, sidling into your lap.

she doesn’t speak a word, her body language telling you enough. the silk robe wrapped loosely around her body brushes against your skin, and out of your periphery you can see it falling to the sides of her thighs, exposing the milky white skin to you—surely all to get you to pay attention to her. but you can’t find it in yourself to entertain it, eyes boring into hers as you waited for her to explain the interruption.

kafka pouts when you seem unfazed by her advances, resting her arms around your shoulders and leaning in a little closer, “come on…”

she all but purrs into your ear, pressing her body against yours in yet another attempt to get a reaction out of you. to be perfectly honest, you weren’t expecting this out the her. sure, at one point, you played with and entertained her, thinking it’d be a one time thing and you’d both move on. but the enigmatic woman has come waltzing back to you just one too many times to be ‘just for fun’, clearly making herself at home in your residence. you sighed, this is going to be a long night.

and on your lap, kafka shivers. the thin material of her robe doing nothing to keep her warm from the cold air, and instead relying on the heat from your body. a jarring contrast from the iciness in your expression, the very same disinterest that first drew her in. with excitement beginning to swirl in her lower belly, kafka readjusts herself, loosening the knot that held her robe together and letting it slip lower on her shoulders.

“kafka,” you repeated, your eyes fall to the side as you reluctantly set down the half-read book to finally pay full attention to the woman on your lap. the sound of her name falling from your lips sent shivers down her spine, her back arching just a little.

“did you need something?”

she smiles; lips curling as her eyes scan over your face, tracing the curve of your jawline before finally resting on the neckline of your dress shirt, the top buttons unbuttoned with a clear view of your cleavage.

“don’t be like that, darling. i think we both know what i need from you,” she sounds almost breathless, her voice low as one hand reaches for the button that struggled to hold your blouse together, the soft cotton stretching tight over your chest. with a soft sigh, you put your hand over hers, effectively stopping any attempt to unbutton your top.

“i don’t believe i received any message from you about what you might need?” you tilted your head to the side, sitting up a little straighter as you slowly brought her hand to your lips, giving it a soft kiss before placing it where it was previously—wrapped around your shoulders.

“i’m sorry, should i have scheduled an appointment with you?”

“that would be ideal…” your voice trails off as you wrapped an arm around her waist, gently laying her on the bed as your other hand supported you. kafka smiles up at you, breathing deeply as your head dips down to kiss her neck, your arm wrapped securely around her waist; your slow, steady movements beginning to drive her mad.

“then i’ll have time to prepare,” you whispered, bringing your hand from around her waist to cup her breast, massaging it through the silk robe. you hear a soft sigh from the woman, her chest pushing against your hand as you thumb brushed over her nipple.

your lips traveled down her collarbone, pushing one side of the robe aside as you beginning to kiss around her breast, purposefully avoiding her sensitive bud that you know she likes to be touched. kafka’s breath quickens, feeling her back muscles tensed as you tease around it, her grip on your shirt tightening.

“prepare?” her voice was beginning to sound strained, breathing unevenly as you continued to kiss around her breast, everywhere except where she wants to feel your mouth the most, meanwhile the other side was left neglected and aching. kafka presses her head back into the mattress, her body begging for more but not wanting to push you for it. had it been anyone else, she might have just forced them into what she wants, take over their will to do her bidding. but for reasons unknown, that doesn’t work with you. which then begs the question of why she keeps coming back to you knowing you’d tease her like this. she doesn’t quite want to think about that yet, though, instead focusing on your hand that pushes apart her legs, fingers tracing along her thighs.

“to fuck you, of course.”

—

at this point, kafka wasn’t really sure how long it’s been, her hands gripping the soft sheets as you left get your strap. it actually hasn’t been that long yet, perhaps maybe a half hour had passed since she first sat on your lap. but in her lust-fuelled mind, it felt like hours considering you have yet to fuck her like promised.

instead, you spent the time kissing and caressing her body, massaging her chest and teasing her nipples. and you were so fucking good at that, licking and sucking on her sensitive buds until they felt raw and swollen. and even after you would continue to roll the buds between your fingers, until you drew out soft whimpers from her, shying away from your touch and yet her hips trembled with need.

“finally,” kafka mutters, watching from her spot on the bed as you came back with the toy, her purple eyes following your every move as you slipped it on and secured it in place. just the sight of it aroused her further, anticipating the feeling of your cock buried in her walls already.

her robe was a mess; the lower half pushed to the sides to expose her pretty pussy to you, glistening even in the dim lighting of the room. even so you stopped her from undoing the knot that held it together, “keep it on, i quite like it actually.”

kafka only smiles in response, holding your gaze as you crawled over to her once again, before hooking her legs over your forearms and pushing it up. now in this position, it was much more obvious how wet you’ve got her, pussy oozing with juices as it awaits your cock. her breathing gets heavier again as you continuing to toy with her, her walls clenching and unclenching. your fingers brushed along her entrance and watching as more fluid leaks out her, and an involuntary twitch of her hips.

“come on,” she groans, leaning her head back and wiggling her hips, urging you to do something already. you could only laugh in return, before lining up the tip of the dildo to her hole, and in one swift motion, pushed into her pussy completely.

“ah—!” the yelped that escaped her lips was uncharacteristic, and ‘surprise’ was not an emotion she could relate to, but the feeling of your cock buried fully inside her in one thrust was unexpected. instead she had expected you to take your time, fucking her slow and steady until she can no longer take it.

but now kafka could feel your cock in her belly, pushing against her insides so deeply that she could barely breathe. without even giving her time to adjust to the sudden stretch, you’ve already beginning moving your hips, pushing deep into her with every thrust and making sure your hipbones pressed against her ass every time.

you kept your breathing steady, and your movements sharp, pressing kafka’s thighs down until she was almost folded in half, forming a pretty V-shape as her legs hung limply. to you, it merely felt like a workout, the only pleasure you received from this was watching the woman below you gasp and moan out from your relentless thrusts. watching her normally collected composure crumble, and her eyes roll back with pleasure.

even as kafka started to squirt halfway through, her juices spraying out every time you pulled out, you kept up your brutal pace, pushing back in full force. her body bounced with your thrusts, and every movement caused her sensitive nipples to brush against the silk fabric which only amplified the sensations running through her body.

now, sounds of wet skin slapping against each other, and kafka’s gasps for air filled the room. her hands gripped your arms, nails digging into your skin but you barely noticed it, fully focused on the woman beneath, watching every rise of her chest and every twitch of her hips. you’ve done this enough to know, what her body likes the best.

kafka could barely take a full breath between each of your thrusts, and it didn’t matter how tightly her pussy walls clenched; not when you’re pulling out and forcing it back in like that. pleasure coiled in her lower belly, tightening until it was almost unbearable. she could feel her hips and thighs quivering, the muscles struggling against your grip. in and out and in and out, kafka feels her mind getting dizzier, your cock felt so good inside as her back arches, right on the verge of an orgasm before it all suddenly stops.

in an instant, all sensations was ripped from her and she could no longer feel your warmth. somewhere in her mind, she just barely registers the whine that leaves her throat, body aching for your touch, your cock, once again. so out of it that she doesn’t even notice you flipping her to her front, face buried in the sheets as you lift her hips off the bed. the moans that escaped her lips she can’t even care to muffle; high-pitched and needy when you pull her hips back onto your cock, the lewd sounds echoing through the room.

the orgasm that you had so cruelly ripped from her was quickly building again, this time much faster as the tip of your cock pressed against the swollen bundle of nerves within her with every thrust. pain and pleasure mixed together under your bruising pace, kafka was sure that she’d feel it in the morning, but she cannot complain. after all, this was what she wanted—what she needed from you.

this time, you don’t stop. even as her pussy ached from oversensitivity and the bed below has been completely drenched with her juices, your hips continues to fuck the cock into her. until nothing but shaky breathing could be heard from the woman below you, her body falling limply to the bed as you finally released her hips, imprints of your hands pressed into the milky skin.

—

thankfully, you still remembered the page you left off in the book you were reading, picking it up as you sat back in the spot you were in previously. having now showered and cleaned up, you were ready to resume your peaceful reading.

on the other side of the bed, kafka was still in the same position you had left her in. whether she had fallen asleep or passed out, you didn’t really care to know. and you could still see her body twitching occasionally; surely an after effect of your actions. well, it didn’t matter. you would finish your reading and go to sleep, and in the morning when you awoke again, she would already be gone.

—

when kafka awoke, the room was dark and you had long since fallen asleep. her body felt stiff and sore after what you did, but ultimately she can say gave her exactly what she needed. that you fucked her until she passed out was amazing in itself, but leaving her like that and going to sleep yourself was clinical. the coldness and disinterest from you that she can’t get enough of, her pussy throbbed as she observed your sleeping body, how easy it would be to use you to get off right now, rip off the damned clothes that hid your body from her hungry eyes.

instead she reels herself in; there was work to be done. biting down on her bottom lip, she drags her spent body off the bed, only now realising the huge stains left on the sheets. she assumes embarrassment is what she should be feeling now, but instead she finds a pen and some paper.

i’ll pay for the sheets. my apologies, you were just too good. ♡

as she leaves your residence, kafka pulls out her phone. thinking back to your words earlier, she smiles as she drafts a message scheduled to be sent to you.

‘i’ll be coming over again tomorrow night. don’t say i didn’t schedule an appointment with you.’

[dinas-a-bird]

For the Love of the Game

Pairing: soccer!Ellie Williams x soccer!fem!reader

Warnings: SFW, angst with a happy/hopeful ending, mean ellie and reader, Arsenal woso au, rivalry, hostility, first kiss, cursing, use of y/n

Summary: As a new sign on the Arsenal squad you seem to click with everyone, except the defender Ellie Williams. or i couldnt find what I wanted to read so I wrote it instead

Word Count: 4,005

A/N: this is my longest piece of writing yet and also probably my favorite. I kept the soccer terms to a minimum because I know they are difficult to understand if you've never played the sport. I've been meaning to write a woso au fic for quite some time mainly because i'm a huge fan of soccer and have played it my entire life, so i'm supper happy I finally got around to this. Sorry in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes. Hope you enjoy!

quick sidebar: I am so upset about Australia not making it to the WWC finals.

Pt 2: here

You sat in the locker room, lacing up your cleats, your mind racing with anticipation for the upcoming training session. Soccer was your passion, your lifeblood, and being a new sign on the Arsenal team was both a dream come true and a challenge you welcomed with open arms. The energy in the room was a mix of excitement and seriousness, as your new teammates chatted and laughed, sharing stories and trading banter.

Katie, a fellow teammate, leaned over with a playful grin. "You ready to kick some ass on the field today, y/n?"

You grinned back, your eyes shining with determination. "You know it, McCabe. Ready to show 'em what I'm made of."

As the training session began, you threw yourself into the drills, your love for the game evident in every sprint, every pass, every shot on goal. It was a fierce battle, each player giving her all, striving for excellence. Amid the sweat and shouts, there was a particular presence that caught your attention—Ellie Williams. The enigmatic American player was a force to be reckoned with, known for her skill and her no-nonsense attitude. Your interactions had always been colored with a hint of hostility and rivalry, Williams sharp wit and biting remarks keeping you on your toes.

"Nice touch, y/n!" Leah Williamson’s encouragement broke through your concentration, and she sent a quick nod and smile in your direction.

After the grueling training session, you followed the team into the locker room. The energy had shifted, the air filled with exhaustion and accomplishment. You were quick to shed your gear, peeling off your sweaty kit, replacing it with a band tee and ripped jeans. As you looked around, you caught Williams' gaze—surprisingly not one of antagonism, but something different, harder to define.

"Like what you see, Williams?" Your playful remark caught Ellie off guard, and a smirk tugged at the corner of your lips as you moved toward your locker. You could practically feel Ellie's eyes on you as you changed, a mixture of curiosity and something else you couldn't quite place apparent on her face.

The banter continued as you and your teammates made plans for drinks later that evening. The idea of spending time together outside of the pitch was new, a tentative step toward forming friendships beyond the pitch. The mention of Williams' not wanting to go to yet another team bonding session didn't escape your notice, a reminder of your ongoing rivalry and tension.

As the evening approached, you found yourself in a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. The exchange with Ellie in the locker room had been different, a crack in the armor she had always presented. But you were cautious, unsure of what it all meant. Your heart raced as you stood in front of the mirror, getting ready for the night ahead. You chose an outfit that felt comfortable yet confident—black trousers and a light pink button-up, French-tucked for a touch of casual elegance.

Your phone chimed, and you picked it up to see a text from Leah. "I'm outside ready to bring you to team drinks dummy." You chuckled, sending a quick response that you were on your way. Soon enough, you found yourself in Leah's car, driving towards the nearby pub where the team was gathering for drinks and bonding.

The pub was alive with the chatter and laughter of your teammates as you entered. You greeted the girls and grabbed a drink before sitting down next to Leah, who gave you a knowing look. "You think Ellie’s actually going to come?" Leah whispered, her eyes glancing over to the entrance.

"Dunno, don't really care to be honest," You replied with a shrug. "She's been a right twat for as long as she's known me."

Leah hummed in acknowledgment, and the two of you settled into the lively atmosphere. Your eyes wandered over the group, spotting Ellie’s absence. You couldn't help but wonder if the tension between you had kept her away.

After a while, your impatience grew, and you checked your watch. "Damn, she really didn't want to come," you muttered under your breath, feeling a mix of annoyance and disappointment. You leaned back in your seat, your mind lost in your thoughts.

Leah noticed your mood shift and rubbed your shoulder gently. "What's wrong, y/n/n?"

You sighed, a hint of frustration in your voice. "Nothing, just thought maybe she'd actually show up for once."

As the minutes ticked by, your frustration turned into resignation. You finished your drink and decided to get another one. "I'm going to get another drink," you announced to the group, receiving nods of acknowledgment before making your way to the bar.

"One whiskey, on the rocks, please," you ordered, your tone weary. You leaned against the bar, waiting for your drink and watching the team engage in playful conversations. Your mind drifted, thinking about the complicated relationship you had with Ellie Williamson.

The bartender quickly served your drink, and you took a slow sip, the cool liquid offering a momentary distraction from your thoughts. You couldn't help but wonder why Ellie’s presence or in this case lack thereof, affected you so much.

As you continued to observe the team, your phone buzzed in your pocket. You pulled it out to see a text from Leah, asking if you were okay. You smiled faintly and texted back, "Yeah, just needed a breather. Don't worry, I'm good."

With your drink in hand, you found an empty stool at the bar and settled in. You watched as the team's laughter filled the pub. You took another sip of your drink, feeling a mix of emotions bubbling within you.

Lost in your thoughts, you didn't notice when someone sat down next to you until you heard a familiar voice. "Whatcha doing over here, mate?" Caitlin Foord's voice broke through your reverie.

You looked up, a surprised smile forming on your lips. "Hey, just needed another drink, that's all."

Caitlin chuckled, giving you a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Well, the teams missing you, might wanna head back over soon."

You couldn't help but appreciate Caitlin's attempt at lightening the mood. You finished your drink and thanked the bartender, making your way back to the group. As you approached, Katie McCabe greeted you with a big smile. "Look who finally decided to rejoin us!"

Your lips twitched into a smile as you took a seat among your teammates. The atmosphere was surprisingly relaxed, and you found yourself easing into the conversation. You exchanged playful banter with the girls, your guard slowly lowering as the evening progressed.

Ellie’s absence was no longer a looming presence in your mind. Instead, you found yourself immersed in laughter and conversation with the team. It was as if, for a brief moment, the rivalry and tension between you and Williams never existed.

As the night wore on, you glanced at your watch, realizing it was getting late. You excused yourself from the group, giving everyone hugs and promising to see them soon. 

Outside the pub, you hailed a taxi with more success than the previous nights. You settled into the back seat, feeling contentment wash over you. The evening had been unexpectedly enjoyable, a welcome break from the usual tension.

When you arrived home, you thanked the driver and made your way to your apartment. You kicked off your shoes and flopped onto the couch, a small smile playing on your lips.

The events of the evening continued to replay in your mind as you lay on the couch. The unexpected sense of belonging with your teammates had provided a refreshing change from the usual tension with Ellie Williams. 

As the days passed, your thoughts kept drifting back to that night at the pub. You found yourself analyzing every interaction, every word spoken between you and your teammates, including the moments when Ellie’s absence was conspicuous.

Training sessions were business as usual, the banter and drills had become familiar over time. You couldn't deny that a part of you was secretly hoping for another chance to interact one-on-one with Ellie, even if it meant more of your usual back-and-forth.

One evening, after a rigorous training session, you were walking to your car when you noticed Ellie leaning against it. You tensed involuntarily, your heart rate increasing as your palms grew slightly clammy. "What do you want, Williams?" You asked, your voice laced with a mixture of defiance and caution.

Ellie straightened up and crossed her arms, her expression guarded. "Just making sure you're not slacking off on your game, y/l/n," she retorted, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

You raised an eyebrow, annoyance and amusement flickering in your eyes. "Trust me, you're not the one I need to prove anything to."

Ellie’s gaze held yours for a moment before she seemed to relent, her posture relaxing slightly. "Yeah, well, don't get too comfortable. I'm not here to make friends."

You let out a rueful chuckle. "Trust me, the feeling's mutual."

As the weeks went by, you and Ellie continued your dance of hostility, your interactions marked by barbed remarks and wary glances.

One afternoon, after a particularly grueling practice, You found yourself sitting alone in the locker room, lost in thought. You were startled when the door opened, and Ellie walked in, looking uncharacteristically solemn.

"What do you want, Williams?" You said, your tone a mixture of annoyance and curiosity.

Ellie hesitated for a moment before speaking, her voice lacking its usual bite. "Look, I may not like you, but I respect your dedication to the game. You're a damn good player, and you've earned your place on this team."

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise. It wasn't the response you had expected. "Thanks, I guess."

Ellie’s gaze held yours, her usually confident demeanor replaced by a vulnerability that caught you off guard. "I've had to fight tooth and nail to get where I am, and I won't let anyone make me doubt myself. Not even you."

You nod your head slowly. "I get it. We all have our battles."

There was a pause before Ellie spoke again, her voice softer this time. "Look, y/l/n, I'm not saying we're suddenly going to be best buddies or anything. But maybe... maybe we can find a way to coexist without tearing each other apart. For the team sakes if anything."

You studied Ellie’s face, seeing a sincerity that was unexpected. For the first time, you allowed yourself to truly consider the possibility of a truce between the two of you. "Yeah, maybe we can." The tension in the room seemed to ease slightly, replaced by a tentative understanding. 

However, the fragile truce you had established was put to the test during an Arsenal v Arsenal scrimmage. The game was intense, with both sides fighting tooth and nail for victory. As the clock ticked down and the score remained tied, the pressure mounted.

You found yourself being subbed onto the pitch after halftime, your heart pounding as you chased after the ball. You maneuvered past defenders with finesse, your focus on the goal. Just as you were about to take the shot, Ellie’s foot came out of nowhere, intercepting the ball and sending it in a different direction.

"Fancy move, y/l/n, but you'll have to do better than that," Ellie’s voice taunted from behind you.

Your frustration flared, and you couldn't hold back your retort. "Maybe I would if someone didn't think they were the queen of the fucking pitch."

The game continued with both sides giving it their all. The tension on the pitch was thick, mirroring the tension that still lingered between you and Ellie. As the match entered the final minutes, you found yourself facing off against Ellie near the goal. The ball was within reach, victory hanging in the balance.

You dribbled past Ellie, your determination fueling your every move. You took the shot, the ball sailing towards the goal. But Ellie was there, deflecting the shot with a well-timed block. The whistle blew, signaling the end of the scrimmage with a draw.

As the team regrouped in the locker room, your frustration lingered. You couldn't shake the feeling that the rivalry with Ellie had affected your performance. You sat alone in front of your cubby, your thoughts a jumble of emotions.

Ellie approached, her expression unreadable. "You played well out there. But you've got to learn not to let your emotions get the best of you."

Your temper flared, the familiar resentment bubbling up. "Oh, I'm sorry if I don't have years of experience in keeping my cool like you."

Ellie’s jaw clenched, and for a moment, it seemed as though you were on the brink of another confrontation. But then, unexpectedly, Ellie sighed. "Look, I'm not saying this to be nice, but I know you're a damn good player, anybody with a decent set of eyes can see it. You just need to channel that fire in the right direction."

You looked at Ellie, surprised by the genuine advice. It was a side of her that you rarely saw—the vulnerability beneath the layers of hostility. "Thanks," you muttered, your pride making it difficult to fully acknowledge the concession.

Ellie nodded, her eyes briefly meeting yours before she turned and walked away. The encounter left you with a mix of conflicting emotions. Maybe, there was more to your rivalry than you had initially thought.

Weeks turned into months, and you and Ellie continued to navigate the delicate balance between rivalry and mutual respect. Your interactions became less charged, your exchanges more civil. Training sessions saw fewer verbal jabs and more focused drills.

And then, one day, it happened. It was a routine practice, but something was different. You found yourself looking at Ellie in a new light, noticing the subtle nuances in her expressions and the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled, even if it was rare.

During a break, as you were catching your breath, Ellie approached you. "Not bad out there today."

Your heart raced, your nerves betraying you. "Thanks, Williams."

Ellie hesitated for a moment before speaking again, her voice softer than usual. "You know, sometimes it's okay to acknowledge your strengths. It doesn't make you any less of a competitor."

You met Ellie’s gaze, seeing a glimmer of something more in her eyes. You felt a connection, a shared understanding that ran deeper than your rivalry. In that moment, you realized that you were more alike than you had ever wanted to admit.

As you both stood there, the tension between you had shifted. It was as if a new chapter had begun, one that held the promise of something beyond the animosity you had known. And in that small shift, you saw a glimpse of the possibility for a different kind of connection—one that went beyond the field, beyond the rivalry, and into uncharted territory.

The weeks that followed saw a gradual evolution in you and Ellie’s relationship. You both continued to challenge each other on the pitch, but there were moments of unexpected friendliness that seemed to catch you both off guard.

During a particularly intense training session, you found yourself locked in a one-on-one with Ellie. Her movements were precise and calculated. As you managed to get past Ellie and score a goal, you couldn't help but feel a surge of triumph.

Ellie’s expression was a mix of frustration and begrudging admiration. "Not bad. Looks like you've been working on your footwork."

You caught your breath, your heart racing from the exertion. "Well, someone has to score goals for the team."

Ellie rolled her eyes, but there was a trace of a smile tugging at her lips. "Don't get too cocky. This was just practice."

As the days turned into weeks, you found yourself increasingly drawn to Ellies presence. You couldn't ignore the way your heart raced whenever Ellie was near or the moments when your gazes lingered just a fraction longer than necessary.

One evening, after another successful game, the team decided to go out for a celebratory dinner. You found yourself sitting across from Ellie at the restaurant, your interactions surprisingly easy. You traded stories and laughs, and you couldn't help but marvel at the way Ellie’s sharp wit and dry humor had you smiling genuinely.

As the night wore on, the group began to disperse, leaving you and Ellie alone at the table. The atmosphere had shifted from hostility to something more complex, and you found yourself wanting to explore it further.

"You know, we've come a long way from where we started," You said, your voice tinged with both curiosity and vulnerability.

Ellie nodded, her expression more thoughtful than usual. "Yeah, I guess we have."

You hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like if we weren't rivals. If we could actually get along."

Ellie’s gaze held yours, her eyes searching for something. "It's not that simple, y/n. We've got history."

You nodded, understanding the truth in Ellie’s words. "I know. But maybe we could start over. Put the rivalry behind us."

Ellie’s guard seemed to momentarily waver, revealing a glimpse of uncertainty. "And why would we do that?"

You took a deep breath, your heart pounding as you voiced what had been lingering in your mind. "Because I think there's more to you than the tough exterior you show the world, Ellie. And I think we could actually be friends."

Ellie’s expression was that of surprise. For a moment, you held your breath, unsure of how Ellie would respond.

"You've got a lot of nerve, y/l/n," Ellie finally said, her tone defensive.

You met Ellie’s gaze. "Yeah, well, maybe that's what it takes to break down walls."

Ellie seemed to study you for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle. "You're relentless, you know that?"

You grinned. "It's one of my best qualities."

The evening ended on a surprisingly positive note, with you and Ellie parting ways with a newfound understanding.

In the days that followed, you and Ellie’s interactions continued to evolve. You found yourselves sharing occasional moments of friendship, whether it was a congratulatory pat on the back after a tough training session or a shared joke that left you both laughing. However, the underlying tension remained, occasionally resurfacing in a sharp remark or a competitive challenge on the field.

One sunny afternoon, the team gathered for another friendly scrimmage. You and Ellie were on opposing sides, your rivalry intensifying as you fought for control of the ball. 

During a break, you approached the sidelines to catch your breath. You glanced over to where Ellie was standing, her chest heaving from the exertion. Your eyes met, and you couldn't help but offer a nod of acknowledgment. Ellie responded with a curt nod of her own, a silent acknowledgment of the mutual respect that had slowly begun to form between you.

As the scrimmage continued, your mind drifted back to your conversation at the restaurant. You wondered if Ellie had taken your words to heart, if there was a chance for you to truly move beyond the rivalry that had defined your relationship for so long.

The opportunity to explore this newfound connection presented itself one evening after practice. You found yourself alone, yet again, in the locker room, lost in thought. You were startled when the door opened, and Ellie walked in, her expression that of annoyance.

"Can't believe you managed to score that goal," Ellie muttered, her arms crossed.

You raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in your voice. "Jealous, Williams?"

Ellie rolled her eyes, but there was a playful glint in her gaze. "As if."

Your lips twitched into a smile. "You know, we could make a pretty good team if we put our differences aside."

Ellie’s response was a mixture of surprise and skepticism. "You're actually suggesting we team up?"

You shrugged. "Why not? We both know how to play to our strengths. And imagine the look on everyone's faces if we actually worked together."

Ellie seemed to consider the proposition for a moment before relenting. "Fine. But this doesn't mean we're suddenly best friends or anything."

You grinned. "Of course not. Just allies on the field."

Over the following weeks, you and Ellie’s partnership began to take shape. You pushed each other to excel, your competitive spirit driving you both to new heights. The tension between you had transformed into a unique synergy, a blend of rivalry and friendship that was as unexpected as it was effective.

Off the field, your interactions continued to be marked by moments of both warmth and hostility. You found yourself enjoying Ellie’s company more than you would have thought possible, relishing the glimpses of vulnerability that occasionally surfaced beneath her tough exterior.

One evening, as the sun set over the horizon, you found yourself sitting on the bleachers of the empty stadium. You gazed out at the field, lost in thought. You were startled when Ellie appeared beside you, her gaze fixed on the same view.

"Enjoying the peace and quiet?" Ellie’s voice was unusually soft.

You smiled, a hint of nostalgia in your eyes. "Yeah, it's a nice change from the chaos of the game."

Ellie nodded in agreement. "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but... you've made training a little less unbearable."

You chuckled. "High praise coming from you, Williams."

The stadium was bathed in the soft hues of the setting sun, casting a warm and golden glow over the field. The atmosphere was tranquil, a stark contrast to the intensity of your usual rivalry. You turned your attention to Ellie, your gaze lingering on her profile. There was a vulnerability in Ellie’s expression, a crack in the armor that had always shielded her from the world.

"Who would've thought that we'd end up here?" You mused, your voice laced with a mixture of disbelief and amusement.

Ellie let out a wry chuckle, her eyes never leaving the horizon. "Yeah, it's a strange twist of fate."

The air was thick with unspoken emotions, a charged silence that seemed to envelop you both. Your heart raced as you found yourself inching closer to Ellie, your body moving almost of its own accord. Your shoulders brushed against each other, sending a jolt of electricity through your veins.

"You know, I never really knew you before all of this," you said softly, your voice barely above a whisper.

Ellie turned to face you, her gaze intense and searching. Your breath caught in your throat as your eyes locked. In that moment, the world seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of you in a bubble of suspended time. The months of rivalry, the animosity, it all seemed to melt away, leaving behind an undeniable connection that neither of you could ignore.

Without another word, you closed the distance between the both of you, your heart pounding in your chest. You pressed your lips to Ellie’s in a hesitant, gentle kiss.

As you pulled away, a mixture of surprise and uncertainty played across Ellie’s features. Your heart raced as you searched Ellie’s eyes for any sign of regret, but what you found was a flicker of something else—something that mirrored your own feelings.

"I... I don't know what this means," You admitted, your voice tinged with a touch of insecurity.

Ellie’s lips curved into a small, genuine smile. "I don't either. But I guess we'll figure it out together."

Your lips twitched into a smile of their own, a sense of hope blossoming within you. "Yeah, I guess we will."

You sat there in the fading light, side by side on the bleachers, the weight of your shared history and newfound connection hanging in the air. The stadium that had witnessed countless fierce battles between you both now bore witness to a different kind of victory—one that transcended rivalry and embraced the possibility of something more.

[emptywwwriting]

Morning Patrol

Paring: Jackson!Joel Miller x Fem! reader

Summary: It's your first patrol shift since you joined Jackson. When your friend, Jesse, calls out sick you have to go on the patrol alone with Joel Miller.

Warnings: Horrible Writing, HUGE age gap (33 years LOL), reader smokes cigs,  reader is also lowkey a horse girl (shut up), smut will be added, edited this @ 3am sry for mistakes lol, no use of y/n

A03 Link: Morning Patrol

Word Count: 3.8k omg...

First writing ever. I'm sorry if it sucks LOL. I wrote this because I’ve been replaying TLOU2 and it re-awoken my love for these characters.

Idk if I will make this a story or not, it depends on the feedback I get. Correct my grammar/spelling if you see anything wrong, feedback is much appreciated. Also, this is a no-Ellie AU not for any reason, in particular, I just didn’t know how to combine her storyline into this. Please read the warnings!!

It's freezing this time of year, cold frosted winds that are carried by the slopes of the mountains swirl the small town of Jackson, freezing everything over. Even the small wooden stove that usually warms your bones isn't cutting it. Yet you have to stop your eyes from fluttering close while you sit next to the open flame. With only your undergarments to cover you, you're balled up as small as possible sitting on the floor next to the heat. Your alarm had gone off 15 minutes ago, but you’d been procrastinating since. It’s your first patrol shift ever since Jackson took you in nearly 4 months ago. This idea was suggested, rather drunkenly, by Tommy at a bonfire just last week.

…

“It’s about time you start pulling your weight here,” Tommy mumbled with a beer resting on his lips, tilting his head towards you.

Your head snapped up to meet his gaze angrily.

Jesse had arranged a get-together by a bonfire following a town event, inviting Tommy, Joel, Dina, and a few other lookout guards. The hangout was calm, warm, and cozy, with everyone sitting around enjoying their drinks, sharing funny stories, and discussing unusual experiences. As a fairly new member of the town, you were unfamiliar with most of the people there. Jesse, who had played a key role in bringing you into Jackson, made sure to introduce you to Dina, with whom you had formed a close bond. She introduced you to the wonderful team of people who manage all of the horses that Jackson uses. Having grown up around animals, and having extensive knowledge of them, you felt right at home. 

However, not everyone was as friendly. Tommy, in particular, seemed to have a strong dislike for you. Ever since the night shift had found you, he had been suspicious of your presence in the town. Tommy constantly questioned you about your past, making you feel like a criminal rather than a newcomer just trying to fit in. While you understood the need for caution in a town as advanced as Jackson, Tommy's suspicions seemed to linger longer than necessary, this pissed you off. Despite your efforts to become a part of the community and form relationships with Jackson’s people, his distrust towards you made it difficult. You couldn't help but feel like an outsider, even when you are trying to enjoy a casual gathering. 

Jesse let out a cough next to you in an attempt to break the tension. Tommy’s brother, sitting next to him, didn't look away from his bottle, staring awkwardly into the brown glass. Jesse adjusted himself upright in his chair and began.

“I mean you can always come with us on a morning patrol shift… if you feel like it of course,” he added quickly, before staring into his own beer bottle.

You hummed in response. 

Still mad at Tommy, you shoot him another hidden glare before finishing your drink quickly.

“I think it would be a good start for you, hell of an early shift but usually a quiet one.” He looks over at you. “Just me and Joel now, another person couldn't hurt.” Jesse finishes.

Tommy's brother, Joel, grunts from across the fire agreeing.

You stare into the open flame thinking about his words.

“You up for it?” Jesse prods.

“Yeah, I'll do it.” You reply.

Tommy lets out a huff but you choose to ignore it. 

Still basking in the awkwardness from Tommy's comment, Dina and Jesse yawn and start collecting their stuff murmuring their goodbyes to the rest of the group surrounding the fire. Tommy and Joel stomp out the flames before falling into quiet conversation, as you follow Dina and Jesse towards the housing strip.

…

You finally force yourself to get up, the cold air wraps around your body as the stove's heat leaves your skin, you quickly get dressed. Sliding your thickest sweatshirt over your head and thick pants onto your legs. Stepping into your boots, you grab a beanie, gloves, and your backpack, making sure that your revolver is with you. After extinguishing the stove's flame, you exit your house and start down the quiet road.

You thought that things were quiet at night, they are even more quiet at four in the morning. Not a soul is awake at this hour, you've never seen the streets of Jackson so still. None of the town's Edison bulbs were on, only the occasional lamp that came from a house's window illuminated your path. Your mind wanders to the patrol, and you recall how just yesterday Jesse called out sick. A horrible stomach flu had torn its way through Jackson, particularly the school kids and teachers. Jesse got it after participating in a snowball fight with the school children, and Dina was now stuck taking care of him.  You had been sick with it nearly a week ago, the aftereffects still haunting your body. Your stomach gurgled with hunger, feeling as if it had sunk in. Chills racked your body at night, but you had no fever and could keep food down, sometimes. You didn't want to leave Joel to do the patrol alone, even though you know he could.

You have never talked with Joel before, just knew of him. His gruffness made itself apparent when he entered a room. He is a very respected man in the small town and it makes you feel like you know him to an extent. You have to admit that his large size and powerful aura make you slightly scared of him, yet it intrigues you even more. You often catch yourself staring at his aged and calloused hands gripping a beer bottle, or while cleaning his gun, and would have to force yourself to look away; But for such a strong and large man he was so quiet. It made you nervous to go on patrol with him. It's not that you dread the patrol itself, nor does it mean you don't want to be alone with him, but you dread the awkwardness of it.

You are both very quiet people, it's bound to get awkward. With someone chatty like Dina, you could rely on her for conversation for hours, and there would never be a dull moment. But with Joel? Who knows.

Finally, you arrive at the greenhouses which are next to the exit of Jackson. In the moonlit shadows, you see Joel, hand near his mouth, a lit cigarette between his fingers. The tip of the cigarette glowing red illuminating his face in an auburn glow. The sight makes your stomach flip, or maybe it's the virus. He catches your eye as you approach, now a few feet from him.

“Mornin.” He mumbles, voice groggy with sleep.

“Morning” You offer back sounding weak.

His peppered beard nearly sparkles in the dim light, his nose sculpting his face beautifully. Towering over you even at a distance.

Fuck he’s hot.

“We should head out a little early today so I have time to show you all our check-in spots,” He says after another puff.

“Sounds good to me!” You say eagerly, slightly embarrassed at your peppiness. 

He tosses the cigarette into the snow, before stepping on it with his boot, turning away from you and towards the gate. You're suddenly very thankful for Jesse's illness, given now you get to be alone with possibly the hottest man you have ever seen. 

Fumbling for the key he unlocks the gate, before having to open a set of precautionary doors, that you remember entering just a few months ago after night patrol found you nearly dead.

“Watch your step.” Joel throws back at you as you exit the final gate and start up a path of icy rocks.

“Got it.” You retort.

Looking up you can see the moonlit glow of the frozen rocks, a long path up into the cover of the forest. It's eerie, too quiet, and too steep. You would not know what to do without Joel here. Even though his presence puts your mind at ease, it's still terrifying while dark. You had almost forgotten what it's like to not be in Jackson. A whole year of struggling to survive on your own forgotten in a handful of months.

I’m spoiled. You think.

You know Jackson has spoiled you but it's not like you don't deserve it.

 The thoughts of your life before, outside the walls of Jackson, creep into your mind and you become nauseous.

“How long will we be out here?” You ask, trying to get your mind back to Joel.

“Well-” He sighs. “Depends on how many stragglers we have to get through. If the weather holds up and there's nothing out of the blue, the whole watch will be about 8 hours.” 

“Eight hours?” You repeat shocked.

“Yep, a whopping eight hours.” He says sarcastically. “Forget how you outbreak, kids never worked a normal job.” He chuckles to himself.

“I was born as soon as the outbreak started, I think that's hard enough.” You say smiling. He huffs.

“I’d take eight-hour shifts over an infection any day.” You smile.

“Yeah me too.” He replies.

It's quiet again and the awkward tension seeps back in making you more uneasy. The sound of his boots crunching the snow under him fills the air, and you're now closer to the woods. You follow Joel a few feet back, studying his frame while he can't see you. 

Why can’t you think of anything to say and why is he so quiet? You pray for Joel to say something, anything, and when he doesn't, you force yourself to talk.

“Do you like your shifts with Jesse?” 

“Jesse's good, a little woman crazy but he's fine. At least he's a good shot.” He lets out a huff.

“Yep, that sounds like Jesse.” you smile to yourself.

The conversation goes silent again and you begin to wonder if it's just this awkward in your head. The path evens out as you enter the brush, and Joel turns his flashlight on, illuminating the now even darker path. As the forest thickens the moon becomes less and less of a help, your eyes strain, trying to make out the terrain. 

Crunch Crunch Crunch

Focusing on the sounds of snow and wind you space out, now trying to ignore the awkwardness between you.

“How old did you say you were?” 

you didn't 

Joel asks awkwardly.

“Twenty-five.” You reply, 

“Jesus.” He says under his breath.

“How old did you say you were?” You ask playfully.

He laughs, seemingly embarrassed.

“Too old.” He says shortly.

You laugh and begin walking closer behind him. When finally in the complete cover of the woods Joel climbs up onto a large rock, one nearly bigger than you. After getting himself up right, he reaches a hand down to you. He looks majestic like this, so tall above you looking down with a rough and large hand extended. Even his thick wool coat can't fully conceal how large his biceps and chest are. You want to take a picture of him. 

Him saying your name, snaps you back into reality, grabbing his hand quickly, he hoists you up onto the rock. His powerful tug launches you faster than you expected. Your foot lands on a chunk of ice and you slip slightly before he holds you up with the hand he was holding. Dangling from his strong  grip you quickly try to find some kind of footing grunting in pain.

His other hand comes down to the collar of your clothing grabbing it and pulling you up. You reach for his arms for stability and take a breath before opening your eyes to look up at him. You're a mess, knees weak, one arm on his bicep the other on his flexed forearm staring up at him like a hurt puppy. You snap your head back down and release him, brushing yourself off. He slowly lets go of your jacket collar and hand before huffing out a chuckle

“Told you to be careful.” He beams down at you.

Your face is so red it's warming you in contrast to the freezing night air.

“Not my fault you flung me over the rock.” You laugh lightly looking down to hide your face. Not only were you red but you are trying to hide the grimaces you are making from the shooting pain in your ankle.

“Whatever you say darlin'.” He laughs.

And, oh that made your stomach do actual flips. You freeze as he starts down the path again, you're trying to comprehend the nickname, and why it sounded so good coming from his lips.

Darlin’....

 Shaking your head you follow after him promptly. The wind picks up and your hair starts whipping onto your already red cheeks. It is cold, and the wind makes you feel even more miserable. Joel's hair, which had only grown since you joined Jackson, moved in the crisp breeze, he seemed to notice the wind picking up, and he started walking faster.

“I think we are getting caught in a storm.” He says defeatedly, pushing forward into the dark night. 

Your heart drops as you push to keep up with the older man who is somehow faster than you, your ankle screaming at you to stop.

“Let's turn back.” You suggest sighing, you pause for a moment to take the weight off of your foot. 

This earns a quick,

“No, too far back, we are closer to the first check-in.” His voice becomes more strained as the terrain gets more steep and the wind picks up. You quickly start following after him again, in a limp.

“How much further?” 

“Half a mile.” Joel quips.

“Focus on the trail. The wind is getting stronger, we have supplies at the check-in and can camp out there until day shift comes.” 

His strong legs take large strides up the mountain. You continue to follow, the wind nearly knocking you over at some points. The gusts of icy air start picking up fallen snow, blurring everything in a cloud of white dust. Your ankle only seems to be feeling worse as each twist and turn gets harder and harder to trek. In a panic, you grab Joel's backpack so as not to lose him. He yells something at you about the path you think, but you can't hear, the wind is screaming in your ears too loudly. Your ankle feels warm. Twigs and branches snap, each making you jump, you slip only slightly, catching yourself before continuing hot on Joel's trail. Your knuckles are white from the grip you have on his bag. Frozen in place. 

Finally, you see the outline of a shed, Snow, and ice slinging into the side of it from the wind. You see the back of Joel's head raise as he spots the structure before his pace picks up even more and you're practically being dragged. Noticing this he blindly reaches back, taking hold of your forearm and dragging you to the front of him, his warm chest pressed against your back. The wind slams into him, blocking it from you. He pushes you slowly, now noticing your limp. Step by step you make your way to the wooden shed. You hear him breathing ruggedly in your ear, your gasp and breaths fill the air along with his. Finally at the door moving you to the side yet not taking his hands off you he opens the door and shoves you inside. The sound of whirling wind, snow, and branches snapping disappears outside of the dark room, muffling the chaos nearly completely. 

Joel puts a large wood plank in the shed's lock and takes a deep breath before turning to you. He looks you up and down.

“You okay? You slipped a few times pretty good back there.” He sighs trying to catch his breath.

“Yeah, I think I'm good.” You breathe deeply and try to think. “I twisted my ankle a little though.” You sigh.

Throwing down your heavy bag you plop down on the dirt floor next to it. You definitely did something more than twist it because the pain is radiating up into your knee, making it hard to hide your discomfort. 

Inside the shed is small, there's enough room for you, Joel, and a small stove with a plastic crate filled with what looked like ammo and food and first aid, underneath it. Joel looks down at you and you meet his gaze. The feeling of his chest against your back lingers on your skin and in your thoughts. You push your thighs together and look away, hoping he can't read your mind. He kneels in front of you grabbing your ankle suddenly.

“Shit!” You hiss trying to pull your leg back up to your body.

He takes hold of your leg again, this time underneath your knee. You move around trying to find a comfortable position.

“Stop squirming, I need to look at your ankle.”

As he wishes you hold as still as possible as he pulls your pant leg up and begins to untie your boot. Gently he slides off the shoe and pulls your sock off halfway. Unveiling your ankle beat red and swollen. Joel cringes at the sight of it and gently puts your leg back on the ground. Reaching behind himself he grabs the plastic tote and opens it looking for what you assume to be painkillers.

“It's really not that bad, I'll be okay, just need to lay off it for a bit.” You sound defeated.

“We have pain killers in here, you can-” 

You cut him off “I'm okay, and I'm not wasting Jacksons supplies.”

He looks at you, at your ankle, and then slowly up your body. 

“You're not going to be able to walk back down with that.” He says.

You go to disagree with him but you stop yourself because you know he's right, there's no way in hell.

“Im sorry, I-” 

“Not your fault.” He cuts you off and places the small crate at your legs for you to prop your foot on.

“I know I just- I feel like the town already doesn't like me, hell I know Tommy doesn't. And I just don't want to be a problem.”

“Tommy’s a paranoid old man,” He begins. “I love my brother but his suspicions get the best of him sometimes, he loves Jackson, and wants to keep it safe, don't take it personal kid.” His eyes show you his sincerity, and you look down, still ashamed.

He looks up at you saying nothing sympathy written across his face. He groans as he gets up from his knees now looking down at you, examining.

“I hope day shift brings up a horse. We gon’ have to carry you if not.” 

You cringe at the thought of the issues you're causing but know he's right.

“As for this storm,” He walks around the room and cracks the door open slightly before having to slam his body on it to get the wind to stop pouring through. 

“Yeah-” He breathes heavily, locking the door back. “That's gonna hold up for a while.” He puts his fingers on the bridge of his knows like he's trying to figure out what to do.

Joel then spends the next twenty minutes doing something you may call nesting. As you watch, you can sense the anxiety pouring off him. He paces back and forth, seemingly unable to calm down. While he doesn't say anything, the worried look on his face speaks for him. It's as if he's trying to distract himself from the nervousness that looks to be consuming him. He checks and double-checks the locked door, and starts a fire in the small stove, he meticulously tends to it. The pacing continues, with Joel occasionally glancing at the door, as if expecting the weather to magically change.

At this point you're lying on the ground head on a Joel’s pack, just staring into the fire.

“Jesus sit down Joel.” You finally tell him, getting tired just from watching him.

He pauses his pacing and looks at you as if he didn’t know he was even doing it. Mumbling an apology, he walks over to you and sits against the wall a foot or two from your head. You two sit in silence for a while, listening to the fire crackle what sticks were left in there, while the wind whistles through the small shed.

“You got any more of those cigarettes you had earlier?” You ask shyly, like you are doing something bad. You meet his gaze craning your neck up while he looks down confused and surprised.

“Didn't know you smoke” He huffs, reaching into the backpack under your head, he grabs a small white beat-up box and pulls from it, a neatly home-rolled cigarette.

You hum, admiring his strong hands digging through the box.

“Don't tell on me.” You smile looking at him sheepishly. He rolls his eyes before sticking the cigarette in his mouth and bringing a match to the end of it, lighting it and inhaling deeply. Taking it from his mouth he brings the cigarette to your lips until you open them, sticking it between them. Your stomach does cartwheels as he focuses on your lips wrapped around the smoke. Inhaling deeply you lock eyes, staring back into his. He takes the cigarette in front you and lets it rest in his hand as you both exhale.

“How long until they come for us?” You sigh after gently taking the cigarette from Joel’s hand and sticking it in your mouth again.

“Day shift starts at 1:30, and it’s still dark out,” He takes the smoke from you and takes a drag before exhaling.

“So we still have a while sweetie.”

You hide the smile that forces its way to your face by adjusting your body so that your head is now closer to his thigh.

You both take turns puffing on the cigarette until it gets too short to hold, Joel tosses it into the stove, and wipes his hands on his pants. You however are plotting on how to get closer to him. Too shy to say anything, but too desperate to not be closer you casually scoot up more and place your head on his thigh before turning away from him, pretending to get comfy. He gets stiff at this and you get nervous.

shit was that too much?

Frozen in fear you listen and wait. Slowly he relaxes and you hear his head thump against the wall. You let a breath out you didn’t know you were holding, and begin to relax. It was nearly 15 minutes later when you started to hear a small grumble coming from the man under you, he was snoring. You smiled to yourself, proud that you had managed to lay on him and not weird him out, maybe he likes it as much as you do. When he wakes up you'll think about testing your luck again, for now though, you need to rest. Closing your eyes you drift to sleep on his thigh, thinking about his hands all over you.

Edit: Chapter 2 will be coming out soon, be on the look out!

[wonderland-smile-stories]

~ Chapter 1. 04 ~

I apologize in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes and how poorly written this fanfic is. English is not my first language and together with my dyslexia ass things can go wrong I'm sorry.

My head was bobbing to the music that was playing through my headset while I was finishing doing the dishes. The rest of the day went by normally. Nobody was weird and everything was just normal.

Normal is all I needed right now in my life with not too much stress.

I turned around to grab something from the counter when my ears began to ring. Grabbing my headset I took it off thinking it was that, but it was still there.

"What the hell," I mutter when it got louder before completely disappearing.

Great, put that on the list with the other things I have.

My phone went off that was on my couch making me snap out of whatever that just was. When I grabbed it I saw that it was Ji-su. She asked if I could come to her apartment because she wanted to let me hear something that she made for a song we were working on. I typed yes, but also said I needed to change first because I was still in the clothes I wore to work.

I took a grey long-sleeved shirt from the chair that I had in my room slipping it on before taking the black dress with spaghetti straps from the door where it was hanging. Taking my phone from the counter I walked to the door and put on my black covers.

The moment I walked out the door something felt wrong. The air was so thick that it almost was hard to breathe. I could feel my stomach turn telling me that something was off. I had had this feeling before. Every time I walked into the orphanage and it was so quiet I could feel that something was wrong or something bad would happen.

Most of the time I would be right because quickly afterward there would be a fight in the orphanage where someone would be in danger and whatnot. I'm pretty sure I developed it because I have had to be in survival mode my whole life there. I always had to look over my shoulder making sure I was safe.

Quickly I just shrug it off telling myself that it's all in my head and that I'm safe here. I came around the corner where the elevators were and saw Eun-hyuk standing there.

"Hey, going to work?" I asked grabbing his attention.

"Yeah. You?" He asked pressing the button for the elevator.

"I'm going to hang out with a friend that lives upstairs." He nodded looking away before talking again.

"Do you know how Eun-yu paid for her lessons?" I gave him a confused look.

"Why would I know that?" I asked with a laugh at the end.

"You two hang out a lot and I'm pretty sure you're the only one she talked to for the last couple of months." A frown came to my face at first, but then it hit me.

She told me she quit her lessons, but I guess she doesn't want him to know that. I didn't want to lie to him because he was also my friend.

"Eun-hyuk you are putting me in a tough spot here. If I tell you I would betray Eun-yu's trust, but I also don't want to lie to you. It's like asking to choose between you guys," I said scratching the back of my head.

A chuckle left his lips while he looked down before looking back up at me.

"I admire your loyalty to my sister and my friendship. It makes you a good friend, which she needs because she hasn't had one in a while. Maybe you could keep her out of trouble as well." I was happy that he understood what I meant.

"Do you also need a good friend right now? Seeing how you're always working and stuff. I haven't really seen you do other stuff than that," I admitted looking down while playing with my hands.

"You already are a good friend to me." He answers after a few seconds of silence.

I look back up at him seeing him smile at me.

"You're a lot over at our place and you don't ignore me like Eun-yu wanted you to do. We have fun conversations about old video games we used to play or really serious once when you have to wait on Eun-yu because she disappeared again." I let out a chuckle nodding my head.

I can't count on my hands how many times Eun-yu had disappeared in the evening. It always results in a worrying Eun-hyuk standing at my door asking if I know where she is. Most of the time I help him go look for her or try to call her because she would answer more likely to me than him.

"I'm happy you think about it that way," I answer truthfully.

"Can you just do two things for me?" He asked and in response, I nodded my head.

"Can you take care of her when I'm not around? She has the habit of getting in trouble and she needs someone to pull her back when she's going to do something, well stupid." I laugh knowing he was right.

After knowing her for a few months I know her ways to do it.

"The second one?"

"Can you tell me when she did something dangerous even if she asks you not to?" A frown came to my face while I bit on my lip.

If it were my sister I would be worried too and I would be happy if someone could tell me if everything is already with her.

"Yeah, I can do that."

He smiled at me before looking at the elevator.

"That's weird."

With a confused look, I looked at him.

"What?"

He looks up and down the elevator door before answering.

"The elevator isn't here yet. It should have been here a few minutes ago." Because of the talking, we hadn't noticed that any sound or movement was coming from behind the elevator door.

Looking to my right I saw what was wrong.

"Look, it's under maintenance. It's the stairs for us today." I look back at him and see him letting out a deep sigh putting his hands on his neck before looking back up.

"I guess you're right." I let out a laugh while we began to make our way to the stairs.

"So how are you doing lately? Are you still having those nosebleeds?" I didn't intend to tell anyone about it, but a few days ago I was over at their apartment in the evening because Eun-yu wanted my help with something.

When suddenly my nose began to bleed.

A lot.

I was used to it by then, but they weren't. I tried to stop it at first with the tissues she had in her room, but when she saw that it didn't stop she yelled for her brother who came rushing into the room because she never yelled for him. She yelled at him to do something pointing at me which he did. Having a brother who got into medical school is always handy. The bleeding stopped, but I fainted quickly afterward.

I woke up the next day in Eun-yu's bed with her looking down at me. The first thing she said was that I scared the shit out of her before asking me if I was okay. Of course, after that, I had to tell them about how it has been happening for a few days now, but that I have no idea why and that I'm okay.

Eun-hyuk wanted me to go to the hospital and let them check if everything was alright, which I quickly said no to. I don't really like people touching me. It brings back bad memories.

"I'm actually fine. I haven't had a nosebleed or fainted in a day or so now." Which was a miracle because I had them a lot.

"That's great. If it would have lasted any longer I would have taken you myself to the hospital. It could have been something really dangerous." It could be, but it's over now. It was probably related to stress. Seeing how the last couple of months have been before and right after moving here.

"Ooooh, does Lee Eun-hyuk care for someone else than his sister? Eun-yu was wrong and you are a human with feelings and not some super smart robot someone had created to annoy her." I laugh teasing him.

He tried to hide his smile, but I could see the corner of his mouth move.

"Honestly, that is probably one of the more friendliest things she has called me." I laugh nodding at him.

We said goodbye to each other when we finally reached the stairs, both going different ways. Before I took my first step up I turned around yelling his name.

"Eun-hyuk, she isn't in any danger."

A frown came on his face not knowing what I meant.

"Her lessons. She didn't do anything stupid so don't worry about it."

I began to walk up the stairs hearing him chuckle before walking down.

I know that Eun-yu is adopted. She had told me that a few months ago. It was one of the first times she opened up to me. She had shown me a picture of them when they were little with their parents. I knew their parents had died in a car accident, but she hadn't told me that it was because they were on their way to her ballet performance that she begged she could go to.

She talked about how she was an orphan and that now she had made Eun-hyuk an orphan too. I had tried to comfort her, telling her that it wasn't her fault and stupid shit like that happens. I tried, but she didn't believe me. Maybe that was the right time to say that I was one too, but I didn't want to talk about my problems when she had just opened up to me.

My feet stopped walking when I came to the fourteenth floor. The door was open, but the thing that made me stop was the smear of blood that was on it. With slow steps, I began to make my way to it. Did someone get hurt here? I haven't heard anything unusual when I was home.

Carefully poking my head out the doorway I try to see if someone was there.

There was only silence which made things worse. The bad feeling in my stomach returned the moment I stepped a foot into the hallway. Everything seemed normal until I almost slipped on something. Lifting my foot from the ground I saw more blood. I looked up and saw that it was a trail.

Someone who was hurt must have come through here. I bite my lip debating whether to just turn around and get the guard, but then the thought of him being exhausted came back. Taking just a look never hurts someone. If someone is hurt I just call someone for help. Walking beside the blood trail I began to follow it.

The smell of metallic became stronger the more blood I found on the floor. I halted in my tracks when my ears began to ring again. It wasn't like the last time. This time it hurts my ears making me cover them with my hands thinking that they will begin to bleed. It lasted a few seconds before it died down.

Slowly I moved my hands from my hands afraid I would see blood, but there was nothing on them.

"What the hell?" I mutter out taking deep breaths.

My body spun around when I heard a sound from behind me. It sounded like someone was in pain, letting out a low groan.

"Hello? Do you need help?" I was about to make my way back from where the sound came from when someone stepped from behind the corner I just come from.

It was a girl, that was for sure, but the rest of her body was kinda hiding in the shadows because the light above her was broken.

"Hey, are you okay?"

A loud squeal came from her before I heard her voice.

"I'm so hungry." To my surprise, it sounded like the girl I bumped into today.

"Uhm, I don't have anything with me?" I said confused.

I didn't know if the blood was coming from her because she was so hidden in the dark, but when my eyes traveled down her hands I saw something dripping from her hands.

"So hungry."

She took a step forward, making me take a step back not trusting the situation at all.

My eyes widened when I saw her completely now. Her face was covered in blood around her mouth and nose. The blood was definitely coming from her. My body completely tensed up when I saw her hands. They were completely covered in a grey tint that was underneath the blood together with some black vines going up her arm.

I even think that her nails seemed longer than normal humans.

"I'm hungry."

I took a few steps back when her croaky voice came out.

"J...just stay there." I managed to get out my lips.

The girl let out a groan taking more steps forward. How can this be real? She doesn't look human at all. Is she pranking me because of earlier?

"I....I'm sorry I called you a bitch!" I yelled out taking faster steps backward.

My words didn't seem to go through her. My feet stepped on something crunchy, making me stop walking scared I stepped on something she had killed. My body froze completely when she began to charge at me with a loud chilling yell.

I braced myself for what she would do to me when there was the sound of a door opening beside me, a second later someone grabbed my arm pulling me away just seconds before the girl could get to me.

Previous Chapter ~ Next Chapter

——————————————-

Hey guys! I hope you guys are liking the story so far! A lot more chapters are coming! I’m going to update this every other day! So it’s going to be a long ride on this one!

[live-laugh-neteyam]

Mine ||| neteyam x omatikaya!reader

part three of The Future's Better Than Yesterday | previous | series masterlist | next |

pairings: neteyam x omatikaya!fem!reader *aged up*

summary: feelings are confessed and sparks fly. basically this is my attempt at smut. (my first smut I’m scared) as per usual more of my corny writing.

words: 2.9k

warnings/notes: *SMUT!* *NSFW!* *18+* just basic smut. this is my first smut so it’s probably terrible sorry I’m advance. use of y/n, mates/mating, slight swearing, end of chapter mentions death, blood, and nightmares. probably spelling and grammar mistakes because who has the time to proof read?, (there’s some song references in this chapter, if you get them I love you forever)

taglist: I’ve had a few requests for tags so let me know if you’d like to be added to or removed from the taglist :)

@slythermania @ancientbeing10 @thexplosivegirl @thatonegirlwiththebeanie367 @luloveseddie

If you’re crossed out it means it wouldn’t let me tag you I’m sorry :(

I would also like to apologize to the people who wanted to be tagged and I was like here have this terrible smut

“I see you Y/N.”

His words rang through your ears as your mind tried to register them. You felt his breath on your face as he leaned impossibly closer. His eyes never leaving yours, staring straight into your soul, daring you to say something.

Reaching up you gently cupped his face. "Teyam, you want me?" You breathed out. “Even with everything that’s wrong with me?” You teared up.

“There is nothing wrong with you.” He pulled you into his embrace. “You are perfect in every way.”

He hated the way you viewed yourself. You acted as if you were broken, a burden to everyone around you. In Neteyam’s eyes you were anything but.

“I have always wanted you. And I always will.” Gently he moved your face up to look at him. “I want to occupy your brain Y/N. Let me be the only living space in your head.”

No one had ever said such words to you. You didn’t know what to say. Neteyam was practically a poet confessing his love and you couldn’t even form a single word.

“I want you to be mine Y/N. But if you don’t feel that way-if you’d rather be with someone else, I-“ not being able to hold back any longer you interrupted him. "Yours is the only name that's under my breath.” You whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

Your fingers found their home through his braided hair. “I see you Neteyam."

Neteyam felt his heart leap at your words. Words he had waited years to hear. He couldn't contain himself any longer as he lunged forward capturing your lips in a kiss.

Your eyes widened at the sudden action but quickly fluttered shut as you melted into the kiss. He urgently pulled you closer to him as if you would disappear if he didn't. You were putty in his hands as you molded into his touch.

The sudden need for air forced him to pull away from you. He admired your hooded eyes and your swollen lips. "I hope that was okay." He chuckled gently caressing your face.

"More than okay." You smiled at him.

This moment was perfect. It was everything you had ever hoped for. You desperately tried to commit every last detail to memory. You needed to hang onto this forever.

He kissed you again this time not as gentle. It was rough and messy. He was letting out years of pent up feelings. Years of not knowing what to say. Years of frustration.

Pulling away gasping for breath you stared into his eyes. They were the most beautiful shade of gold. They resembled the light right before eclipse.

When your eyes focused back to your surroundings you saw Neteyam offering you his queue. Your eyes widened for a moment realizing that he really was serious.

"Are you sure?" You whispered giving him one last chance to back out.

He gave you that soft smile that you adored so much. "I've never been more sure of anything." His thumb gently rubbing circles on your cheek. "But it doesn't matter what I think. What do you want?"

Reaching behind you you extended your queue to him. "I want you, Neteyam."

Slowly he brought his queue towards yours until they finally intertwined. It felt like an electric spark coursed through your body. Your eyes dilated as you took in heavy breaths.

Eyes staying on Neteyam you noticed his tail whipping back and forth as tried to tame the intense feeling.

Your whole body felt like it was tingling. Every sensation stronger than the last. You could feel Neteyam's heartbeat, it's rhythm matched your own. You felt every breath he took in your own lungs.

"Ma'Y/N." He breathed before capturing you in a kiss once again.

Not being able to control yourself you whimpered into the kiss. The ache between your thighs started when he first kissed you, but now thanks to tsaheylu it intensified.

Your mate could feel it too.

"Be patient my mate. I will take care of you." He said in between kisses. His words made you shiver. He was yours. He was finally yours.

Neteyam was trying his best to show restraint. He wanted to take his time exploring your body. But he also had a strong urge to completely devour you. He had spent too many years waiting.

His lips moved down until they found their home on your neck. He inhaled deeply your sweet scent making his head spin. Hands trailing up and down your sides as he left purple marks on your neck.

He tried reaching underneath your top cursing when the beads were making it difficult. He started to remove the clothing, first looking up at you. "This okay?" He asked. You violently shook your head. "Yes." Voice cracking.

Neteyam practically ripped the top off of you. Eyes widening he took a moment to admire your chest. His pause made you feel self conscious. You started to move your arms in an attempt to cover yourself. His brows furrowed at your movement. Gently pulling your arms away he shook his head. "Don't hide yourself. You're beautiful Ma'Y/N." Your cheeks went hot at his words.

His face dipped between your breasts ravishing them with kisses. His mouth found your nipple and started sucking on it. His hand reaching for your other breast gently kneading it. Moaning your back arched off the ground and into his touch. Pulling on his head trying to get him impossibly closer.

Releasing your breast with a pop he continued moving down your body. Leaving a trail of kisses down to your navel, his fingers traced the blue stripes on your sides. His eyes locked onto your face as you shuddered at his touches.

Fingers playing with the sides of your loincloth he searched your face for any hesitation. "Can I take this off?"

"Please Neteyam. Take it off." You wined.

He smirked as he removed it. He loved seeing you so needy and desperate all for him. Tossing your last remaining piece of clothing to the side he finally pulled your legs open.

Taking a deep breath the scent of your arousal hitting him. The sight of your glistening folds made him harder than he already was. It took every ounce of self control he had not to shove his dick inside you right then.

Leaning down he placed a kiss on your inner thigh. Your scent was driving him crazy. His face right in front of your aching core. He wanted to know if you tasted as sweet as you smelled.

"Wanna taste you." He mumbled. A deep moan erupted from the back of your throat. Neteyam blew onto your sopping cunt, enjoying the sight of you shivering. Hips bucking desperately searching for friction.

"Teyam please." You wined. You were on the verge of tears. You needed him to touch you and you needed him to do it now.

"Please what, Syulang? Use your words." He chuckled.

"Touch me. Please touch me."

With one last smirk he finally moved forward. His lips immediately finding their way to your clit, sucking and licking harshly. Throwing your head back with a moan your fingers tugged on his braids.

His tongue worked lower taking an exploratory dip into your entrance. Moaning at the taste he continued to eat you out like a starved man. Easily slipping a finger in his mouth went back to your bud.

Working a second finger in he continued to pump them, occasionally scissoring them in attempts to open you up. “So good Teyam.” You moaned at the stretch starting to feel pressure in the pit of your stomach.

Neteyam hummed against your heat satisfied with your little whimpers. They were like music to his ears. He wanted to hear you make them over and over again.

“Gonna cum for me?” He asked as he curled his fingers up inside you, nudging a spot that made your eyes roll. “Cum on my tongue love.”

His words were the last thing you needed to tip you over the edge. The coil in your stomach finally snapped your whole body tensing for a moment before relaxing. Pleasure coursed through you and for a moment you felt like you were floating.

Neteyam greedily lapped up your release not wasting a drop. He continued showing no signs of stopping until it became too much and you pushed his head away.

Sitting up he admired the view. Your eyes were hooded as they looked up at him. Still heavily panting you were a blissed out mess. He smirked knowing he was the one that made you this way.

His chin glistened with your release the sight turning you on more than you thought. Sucking his fingers clean he kept eye contact with you. “You taste so sweet.” Blushing at his words you looked away.

“Don’t believe me huh?” He questioned. Before you could respond his kissed you. Tasting yourself on his lips you moaned into the kiss. The taste was unfamiliar but not unpleasant.

You noticed that his loincloth was still on, his cock pressed against it. Reaching down you tried to remove it, he guided your hands helping you. Finally his cock was free slapping up against his stomach. Your mouth watered at the sight.

Wrapping your hand around the base you pumped him a few times, making sure to rub your thumb over the slit. His sucked in a breath practically hissing at your touch.

“No more.” He removed your hand. “I need to be inside you.” Leaning back on your elbows you smirked up at him. “Then what are you waiting for?” You asked.

Groaning he lined himself up with your entrance. “Are you sure?” He asked one final time wanting to make sure you wanted this as much as he did. “Yes Ma’Teyam.” You nodded.

Slowly he pushed into you. “Fuck.” He muttered as he bottomed out. Your velvety walls were practically sucking him in. You moaned at the stretch, hips slightly bucking trying to create some friction.

“Move please.” You whimpered. He immediately started thrusting pulling out until just the head was in and then slamming back up into you.

Thrusting up he hit that spot again making you clench around him. “So fucking tight.” He moaned. He didn’t know how much longer he could last with you gripping him like a vice. His fingers started to work at your bud.

Your head flung back your hands squeezing his shoulders. The familiar tight feeling in your stomach was forming once again. You knew you were close.

“Right there. Don’t stop.” You said breathlessly. He continued to rut his hips into you hitting your sweet spot each time. The sound of skin hitting skin mixed with the wet sloshing noises of your cunt was enough to drive Neteyam mad.

“You close?” He asked gently pinching your clit trying to get you off before his own release. “Gonna be a good mate and cum for me?”

“Yes!” You cried out. With one more thrust of his hips you felt your orgasm wash over you. Neteyam worked you through it chasing after his own release.

He stilled at he shot his load into you. The warm feeling of his seed filling you. Giving a few gentle thrusts he wanted to make sure it stayed in you. Pulling out the sight of his leaking cum mixed with yours was enough to almost make him hard again. Using his fingers he pushed some back up into you.

Neteyam laid down next to you pulling you into his chest. “You okay?” He checked in on you making sure he didn’t hurt you. “Mm, doing great.” You hummed. He chuckled and wiped you hair off your sweaty forehead.

“My beautiful mate. We are mated before Eywa for life.” He cooed. “You’re my mate. Mine.”

You giggled at his words. It was like he had to keep repeating it for it to fully register. “And you are mine Ma’Teyam.” You hummed.

Snugging you closer he kissed your forehead. “I love you Y/N.” Your heart swelled at his words. “I love you too Neteyam.”

You had seen so many glimpses of the future but you never in a million years expected this. A part of wished the Great Mother showed you this moment. It would’ve been something hopeful to cling onto when everything got too much. But you know you wouldn’t change anything. It was more than you could ever ask for, and besides sometimes not knowing what the future holds was ideal.

The two of you laid on the forest floor tangled in each other. Neteyam pulled you into his chest. Once in awhile he would gently squeeze you closer, as if he was making sure this was real. That you were really there with him. That you were his.

His thumb drew circles on your arm as his steady breath lulled you to sleep. For the first time in years you fell right into a peaceful sleep.

                                      ***

In the morning you walked into the village hand in hand with your mate. Knowing eyes and smiles were directed to the two of you. You blushed at the attention, slightly embarrassed.

Neteyam was anything but embarrassed. But was ready to announce that you were his mate to anyone who would listen. He was especially  eager to make it known to Ateyo.

His family smiled as you entered his home. They had been worried for his safety when he didn't return home last night, but Kiri was quick to inform everyone that you were the last person he was seen with.

Neytiri smiled beaming with pride that her son finally found a match. There was no denying that you two were made for each other.

"We have something to tell you." Neteyam started suddenly becoming a bit shy. "We are mated before Eywa." He smiled proudly.

"It's about damn time." Lo'ak snickered.

Neteyam rolled his eyes light shoving his brother. Neytiri pulled you into a warm hug. "Welcome to the family daughter." Your eyes glistened with tears at her words.

It finally hit you that after all these years you finally got your wish. You were a Sully now. Heart warming at the thought, this was your family now.

Jake congratulated you both while Tuk excitedly jumped up and down. She didn't understand what had happened but seeing everyone happy made her excited.

Kiri was last to come up to you. "My sister." She happily said before hugging you tight. "You've always been my sister, it's just official now." You chuckled.

Kiri stuck her tongue out pretending to gag. "Don't go into detail." She started, "I'd rather drink acid than hear about you and my brother."

Rolling your eyes you playfully shoved her. Leave it to Kiri to turn a heartwarming moment into something like this.

The whole day Neteyam did nothing but show you off. His grandmother looked at the two of you with knowing eyes and a smirk. You couldn't help but notice her look. You wondered if she knew what she was doing when she sent Ateyo to you. Mo'at nodded at you giving a glance of approval.

His hand never letting go of yours, he chatted all about the life you'd live together. He told you all about his plans for your future home. He was eager to show you that he could provide for you as your mate.

That night he gently caressed your face as he stared into your eyes. "Are you happy Ma'Y/N?" He softly asked.

You wanted to laugh at him for asking such a foolish question. Of course you were happy. The happiest you'd ever been in your entire life. "So so happy Ma'Teyam." You smiled.

He gave you a sweet sleepy smile before his eyes started to flutter closed. "Me too." He mumbled before falling asleep. Snuggling in closer to him you let sleep take you as well.

                                     ***

Smoke and fire consumed the forest. A thundering sound echoed through the air, the wind whipping harshly. The ground was littered with Na'vi warriors. Brothers fallen in battle. There were no arrows or other instruments of war that you knew. Their bodies instead were covered in small holes.

Blood was pooled everywhere, seeping back into the ground below. It was the most horrific sight you had ever seen.

You heard shouting and a loud unfamiliar noise. Looking up to the sky you saw a giant metal creature soaring through the air. The noise coming from it made you want to cover your ears.

You had seen something like this once. A few of the scientists that stayed on Pandora would sometimes use one. But this one was different. It had weapons-guns- attached to the sides. It continued firing even though there was no threat.

Looking back to the ground, robotic metal suits marched examining the bodies. Poking at them with their guns to confirm the kill. Inside of the suits were sky people.

Suddenly your home looked like it did during the war with the sky people - only this time it was worse. It was new. This had yet to happen.

                                     ***

Thrashing in your sleep you woke your mate. Neteyam's fight or flight response immediately kicked in and he was ready to fight. Eyes wondering the room he didn't see a threat. Instead he saw you sobbing in your sleep.

His heart clenched at the sight. As softly as he could he tried to wake you. "Ma'Y/N." He gently cooed. "Wake up."

You started screaming in your sleep until it woke you up. Neteyam's heart broke at the sight of you. Your eyes bloodshot, tears streaming down your face. You were shaking still terrified from what you saw.

"What was it my love?" He asking cupping your face.

"The sky people are returning." You said through sobs

•••

This was probably terrible I’m gonna go crawl in a hole and die now 🥲

[galaxiadreams]

Summer Love <3 (Alhaitham x reader Modern AU)

❦ Warnings: mentions of lack of self confidence(only like once)

❥ Genre: Fluff, romance <3

❥ Word Count: 2,831

❦ Synopsis: Your bestie Yoimiya begged you to go to a summer camp down in Sumeru with her. You were hesitant, at first. But who would've thought a summer camp changed your love life forever...

a/n: Hellooooo!!! This little fic is inspired by my own experience during summer camp. I had a couple "summer camp crushes" and this is kinda of what I fantasied of doing ehehehe. I apologize in advance about the possible grammar/spelling mistakes. Sorry if any sentences doesn't make sense. I'm still trying to learn more about writing! I am also trying out a new format. Please give me any suggestions!

Your best friend begged you to go to a summer camp down in Sumeru with her. You were hesitant, you wanted this summer to be relaxing for once. Go wherever you pleased, and do whatever you wanted. But her sparkling puppy eyes are working far better than you expected and you relented. 

“Pleaseeeee, y/n!!! I know you’re not that interested in ancient runes or whatever. Who knows, you might find a cute guy there! I heard Sumeru boys are a different breed! Plus, it’s at the Akademiya, THE top university in all of Teyvat. You know, your dream school. Maybe this trip there will send a message into the universe to make you get into your dream school!” Dammit Yoimiya, no wonder she’s your best friend, she sure knows the way to your heart. 

....................

After a long boat ride from Inazuma to Port Ormos, you were greeted by lush green grass, warm humid air, and the pungent smell of Padisarahs. A little melody sung by a bird attracted your attention. A Sumeru Dusk Bird. Its vibrant blue feathers gleaming in the sunlight due to the natural oil produced by the animal.The song is both simple and complex, and it stays with you long after you have heard it. Many, like your mother, may find the sound produced by the bird as a nuisance, overly screeching and loud. But you think otherwise, to you, nature is art in its most natural form. Both held complexity and simplicity in its form. Both evoke deep emotions within you.

The trip from Port Ormos to Sumer City wasn’t too long. But upon arriving, you couldn’t hold the gasp of admiration upon seeing the city before you. Sumeru, the city of wonder. Where nature and cityscapes blend seamlessly. Skyscrapers that reach the sky are embellished with green, lush plants. Trees stood tall and proud, shading the bustling citizens beneath.

You took a deep breath and smiled, this unexpected trip to Sumeru might be a good one.

....................

That’s where you meet him. The grey haired quiet dude from your Ancient runes summer camp council group. 

The first day you arrived at summer camp, you were enchanted. Sure, boys from back home were nice, but ohhhhhhh boy. Yoimiya was right, Sumeru boys are something else. You couldn’t help but feel all giddy when it was announced that he would be in your little council group with Yoymiya. Gosh, it felt embarrassing almost. You just learned the guy’s name, Alhaitham, after a little icebreaker and introduction. Hell, the two of you only have been breathing in the same room for merely 10 minutes. He was a total stranger, and you were totally crushing on him. You can’t help but feel shallow. 

Kudos to Yoimiya, she read you like an open book. The moment Alhaitham walked into the room she gave you a sultry glance. She knew your type well. When lunch time came, she made it her life mission to find a way to make you sit with Alhaitham. That “life mission” was extremely easy to accomplish. All she had to do was befriend Kaveh, who was introduced as Alhaitham’s childhood best friend, another hottie in Yoymiya’s opinion. 

♡ The Akademiya cafeteria is a large, open space with high ceilings and coloured lights shining through ancient stained glass windows. The noise level is deafening, with the sound of hundreds of students talking, laughing, and eating. The combination of strangers and loudness was making you lose your appetite.You watched Yoimiya, Kaveh, and a couple of new acquaintances chatting animatedly, and you felt a pang of jealousy. Not of Yoimiya but of the conversation they’re having; your introverted ass can’t hold a proper conversation with a stranger for 2 minutes, and here is your best buddy beaming at something stupid Kaveh said. Sometimes it makes you think you bore Yoimiya. Sighing, you sneak a glance at Alhaitham sitting across from you, he has a handsome face with a strong jawline, and high cheekbones. His porcelain skin made his turquoise eyes shimmer in the light. The deep glow of red-orange hue near his pupil creates a contrast that reminded you of the unison of the forest and desert in Sumeru. You watched his eyes move to absorb every single word in the book he was holding…you were getting butterflies, but the butterflies plummeted when those eyes flicker to yours. You quickly averted your gaze towards Yoyimya and Kaveh, the heat of embarrassment painted your cheeks a cheery red. You promised yourself that you were not shallow, and you vowed that you’re not a hopeless romantic.

The next few days were filled with teasing from Yoimiya and Kaveh (that freaking girl couldn’t keep her mouth shut). The two of them made sure you and Alhaitham sat together at all times. Yoimiya went as far as refusing to partner with you during activities in order for you and Alhaitham to work together. As you become acquainted with Alhaitham more, he becomes more comfortable with you. He’s not stupid, he notices all the shy glances and blushing cheeks when the two of you are together. Especially the obnoxious, oh-so not obvious suggestions made by Kaveh.To be honest, he’s not new to this behavior from women. The guy knows he’s attractive and he has been on various blind dates orchestrated by Kaveh himself (Alhaitham only relented on the condition Kaveh would stop pestering him about it). At first, Alhaitham wasn’t quite interested. He found your seemingly “secretive” glances rather uncomfortable, annoying even. But what piqued his interest is your love for physics and Astrophysics. Alhaitham is quite well-versed in this field, and this is the first time he has heard anyone claiming the want to pursue physics. 

♡ “Y/n. It’s your turn now, two truths and one lie.”  “Well, I had thought about this for a while now. Ahem— I choked on a peach pit as a baby and nearly died. I want to have a career in Astrophysics or a major in physics. I have a pet tarantula named Benny boy,” Yoimiya let out a loud laugh upon hearing your statement about the spider, “and Yoimiya is not allowed to answer.” The girl gave you a teasing grin and pursed her lips. After your group failed to answer correctly, you gave them the lie: You had a pet tarantula named Benny Boy. You were deathly afraid of spiders, if you had a personal hell, it would be filled with those nasty creatures.  As your council group walked towards the courtyard for recreation time, Alhaitham surprisingly struck up a conversation with you.  “You said you’re interested in studying physics?” “Oh yes, it’s rather a new interest that I’ve decided to pursue only recently. After the whole being an actress thing fell apart”  “Hmmm, and you said you want a career in Astrophysics?” You were surprised he even paid attention to what you said. You nodded in response.  “Well, I have a family member that teaches Astrophysics at the Akademiya, if you’re really interested, I could introduce you to them.” Alhaitham offered, while opening the courtyard gate for you.  “Oh heavens really? That would be great!” You smiled at him. Goddamn, that smile of yours caught him off guard. Your smile was like the sun, warm and inviting. It lit up your face and made the excitement in your eyes sparkle. After finding a seat by a marble bench under a giant Adhigama tree, the two of you converse all there is about physics and your interests, from string-theory to philosophy to art, Alhaitham never met someone so knowledgeable and opinionated about some of his favorite subjects.

After that late afternoon little discussion under the Adhigama tree, you and Alhaitham opened up to each other. Hell, you even started to make some physics jokes with him. Celestia must’ve placed a curse on him, because he started to look forward to talking to somebody, he wanted to talk to you, he wanted to be with you. Yeah shocker, the seemingly antisocial genius wanted to talk to a girl. What’s even worse for Alhaitham, is that he started to feel nervous being around you. He was never nervous around anybody, whether it’s strangers or the freaking Grand Sage, he never felt this strange fluttering in his stomach. What’s even more uncanny for him is that he found himself staring at you on multiple occasions. When a conversation ends, he would usually return to his books, but since he met you, he started to leave his books in his dorm. This way, he could listen to your voice, and see you smile. This has to be some curse, Alhaitham thought, he even tried to convince himself that you’re not all that great. But those are just futile attempts, there was something enigmatic about you. It’s hard to notice for the common eyes, some might even describe you as plain and average. But with Alhaitham’s sagacious eyes, he could see right to your soul. Alhaitham was bewitched, you’re the one that placed this curse of infatuation (perhaps even love) upon him. Through all the secret glances and “accidental” hand-touching enacted by both you and Alhaitham, the final bouquet has arrived. 

♡ You took a deep breath and tried to focus on the positive. You were feeling rather melancholic considering this will be last night you’ll be spending in Sumeru, the city of Wonder, where you met new besties for lifes and became an official ambivert (according to both Yoyiyma and Kaveh, two renowned extroverts). You couldn't help but smile as you stared at the reflection staring at you in the mirror. You wore a flattering green dress, it was made of a soft, flowing silk fabric that swayed with your movements. The colour of the dress brought out the e/c in your eyes and made your skin look even more radiant. You wore your hair down in loose waves, and your makeup was simple but elegant. White pearl earrings and necklaces completed your looks. As long as Yoimiya is here, you’ll always manage to look like a princess. Soft Sumeru music played as you and Yoimiya walked into the cafeteria. The usual loud, squalor of a cafeteria was transformed into a beautiful forest with soft fairy lights hanging from the tall stone ceiling. Plants, flowers and the soft light from candles placed upon the tables gave the most peaceful atmosphere possible. “Good evening.” Alhaitham's voice was deep and smooth. You whipped around to face the tall man behind you. He is wearing a well-tailored suit that fits him perfectly. His broad shoulders were enhanced in the black material. His hair was also styled, the usual strand of hair covering his left eye was slicked back.  As per usual, he had a confident and clamming demeanor, and he made you feel flustered immediately. You can’t deny the literal rizz radiating off of him.  “Good evening, you look really good by the way.” you complimented, why is it so hot in here?  Alhaitham smiled a little at the compliment. The reserved scholar felt his cheeks warming up a little. In return, he pulled a chair out for you, gesturing for you to sit. Shocked, you quickly sat down and thanked him. You were screaming inside, a man with manners and chivalry is making the butterflies swarmmmmmm. Alhaitam took a seat right next to you and filled up the fancy wine glasses for the both of you.

“How was your day?” He inquired, while taking a sip out of his drink. He initiated the conversation first, you noticed gleefully.  “It was alright, except for the tower building exercise. Can’t believe that Haypasia girl tripped and fell on our group’s tower! We would’ve been first place if she watched where she was walking!” You complained jokingly, Alhaitham chuckled at the disaster that occurred earlier today.  The two of you conversed throughout dinner, but you couldn’t help but notice how your elbow and his were touching the entire time. You wanted to assert dominance and didn’t move away, it seems he had the same thought. He didn’t move either, Alhaitham only leaned closer to you while talking. His eyes barely left yours while the both of you talked about life and dreams. One of the most attractive traits about him, besides literally everything, is his voice. He spoke with clarity, it's the kind of voice that makes you want to listen to him talk for hours. When he speaks, his words are carefully chosen and delivered with conviction. He has a way of making you feel like you're the only person in the room.  When the banquet ended, there was a surprise slow dance outside in the courtyard. When the organizers of the summer camp announced for everyone to find a partner, your e/c eyes immediately found his turquoise ones looking at you just the same. Alhaitham cleared his throat and held out his right hand.  “Would you like to have this dance with me?”  “Of course. I would never reject you.” You laughed and held his hands in yours. His warm calloused hands sent electric shots through your body and his. His eyes widen at the softness of your hands. Your already smiling face beamed when you saw his sudden red cheeks and bashfulness. The waltz music started, and the two of you swirled to the beat, Alhaitham taking the lead. The two of you weren’t afraid to stare into each other’s eyes. This is the first time you experienced what time stops truly meant. Alhaitham couldn’t help but sigh, it wasn’t a sigh of annoyance, but a sigh of endearment. The blue light of the full moon lit your perfect face, the gleaming of your pearl earrings made you an angel from heaven. A gift from Celestia just for him. Alhaitham was lost in a whole different dimension with you, to the young scholar, only the music, you, him, and the moon existed at the moment. Was this love? The both of you couldn’t describe this feeling that suddenly blossomed in your guy’s chest; it was this faint struggle of breath combined with a weird sense of yearning. It was truly indescribable. This continued throughout the whole waltz, the music only brought the two of you closer, closer, and closer. Both of you fell from heaven when the dance came to an end. Your heart skipped a beat when you realized how close you and Alhaitham were, both your noises were touching, you could feel his breath on your lips. “Eeeeeek! Just kiss already!” an excited screech made you pull away from Alhaitham. Yoimiya was with Kaveh and a few other campers with her phone on record in her hand.  “Oh by the way Alhaitham, me and Yoyimya recorded the whole entire dance! Ehe!” Kaveh grinned, pointing towards his own phone in his hand. The whole crowd all erupted in loud cheers and laughter. 

When it was time to say goodbye, Alhaitham didn't want to leave. Both of you guys didn’t want to leave this secret paradise. He asked for your contacts and if he could see you again, and who are you to say no. Plus, the two of you would be attending the Akademiya in a couple of months, imagine the excitement and glee in Yoimiya’s eyes and cheers when you told her you got into the number one University in Teyvat. You received the acceptance email right after the dance that night. Alhaitham walked away with a smile on his face (which is unnerving for Kaveh) knowing that he had met someone truly special. 

....................

You leaned your elbow against the window frame as you stared out at the sun setting beneath the endless ocean. The sky was ablaze with different shades of orange, pink, and purple. It was a breathtaking sight, and you felt lucky to be able to witness such beauty and art. The colours in the sky grew more and more vibrant as the sun disappeared, it was the perfect way to end a day. You turned your head to a sleeping Yoimiya hugging your arm. The sunlight brightening her features, you chuckled at your best girl and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Your head rests against the cool glass as you look up at the very first star that has appeared that night. A single white spot on a tapestry of orange and pink, you kept your focus on the sky as more stars appeared to embellish the darkening sky. The hum of the engine on the boat rocked you to sleep as you sailed home to Inazuma. The last thought you had before leaping off to dreamland was of a certain grey haired male and his luscious voice. At that moment you decided to embrace the fact that you’re a hopeless romantic, because as crazy as it may sound, you knew you just found your soulmate.

[silkythewriter]

Could I see hcs for Charlie, Vaggie, Cherri and Velvette with an adopted child that is heavily implied to have had a very difficult, sad and painful life before they took them in? The child is extremely quiet, timid and fearful, frequently has nightmares, cries a lot and often seeks them out for comfort. Thank you in advance if you decide to accept this!

꧁Charlie, vaggie, Cherri, and velvet with an adopted child that had a difficult past ꧂

Summary: Charlie, Vaggie, Cherri and Velvette with an adopted child that is heavily implied to have had a very difficult, sad and painful life before they took them in

Small warning!: Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes and sorry if the characters are OOC!!

Small note!: This is my first child reader Headcanons on my account so hopefully I do it correctly and you enjoy this! Also there’s some vaggie x Charlie ❤️❤️❤️

Fandom!: Hazbin hotel!

Daily song suggestions!:

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

✰Charlie✰

Best mom in this situation to be honest, I have to give it to her ☠️

She’d definitely in roll you to some of the best therapy hell has to offer, which is rare down here but still possible!

She’s very careful on who she lets you interact with, like let’s say alastor she keeps a close eye on you if your every around him cause she knows how scary he could get :(.

All the best comforting plushies her money can buy, she knows how terrible your nightmares get and she wants to make sure there’s something there to comfort you! Just incase.

Staying up most nights comforting you is frequent, she does get very tried but pulls through for you cause she wants to comfort you and make sure you fall asleep first before her

Sometimes she lets you sleep in her bed with her and vaggie! And she always makes sure you have the best pillow on the bed 😭🫶

Her comfort method is singing a lullaby or cuddling up with you and playing with your hair/massaging your scalp!

I’m gonna be honest with you whenever you cries she cries :(. She hates seeing you sad or scared, that’s why she works hard to make sure the staff and the hotel are as comfortable as can be to you! And she’ll do anything to insure that!

She always has tissues on hand just incase! She always kisses your forehead after you cry to comfort you ❤️

Alastor is usually very talkative and that doesn’t mix very well with your quite self sense he doesn’t understand why your so quite, he tries talking to you but leaves you be after Charlie explains why he’s stressing you out

She always near by to comfort you at any second! She knows how bad things get so she wants to make sure she’s there to make sure your okay!

She makes sure the staff and her parents (whenever they drop by) are careful around you, she always has a stern talking to husk cause he usually has trouble controlling his attitude but after awhile he warms up to you and lets you be just like alastor!

☾Vaggie☾

She’s use to tough love so it takes awhile for her to figure out how to make sure your comfortable

Surprisingly is very patient especially towards you she knows how hard it use to be for you so she wants to make sure she at least salvages some parts of your childhood

Charlie is a big part of your life cause she’s basically your second mother and helps vaggie a lot! Also pays for anything you need

Surprisingly is actually very good at doing hair so if you let her and it relaxes you she’ll gladly take a brush and softy brush your hair out before tucking you in to sleep <3

Literally growlers at anyone other then Charlie if they get close to you she doesn’t trust anyone, nor does she plan to so she is very over protective of you

Has matching necklaces with you (design is your choice) so you never forget she’s with you no matter where you are! She knows when she does have to leave you alone for awhile it can be more then hard so she tries combating it as much as she can

She’s awake the minute she even hears a creek in your room, sense she moved rooms to be closed to you and make sure your safe, anytime she hears a sound she very alert and ready to jump up and run over to your room 😭she just genuinely worried about you!

She knows how quite you are so she usually speaks for you in uncomfortable situations, she knows how scary things get for you so she’s just trying her best to make your life a bit more enjoyable and easier

Depending on your age like if your 5-6(oc/character wise) she’ll have a baby monitor and will check up on you randomly in the night just to make sure your okay!

The amount of plushies you have is astounding, vaggie will snatch any plushies she’ll see that she thinks you’ll enjoy! Same goes for clothing ect

(Idk I’d hell has an education system💀) but if we’re assuming they do either you go to the best one in the sinners realm or you have online school either or is a good chance but vaggie leans a bit to the online school system due to it being probably more safer

Over all very protective because she knows how dangerous hell gets, she has many trust issues so trusting someone with something as precious as you? No way, only Charlie is the most likely chance like I said but if she can’t take care of you vaggie would rather cancel any plans she has

⚠︎︎Cherri bomb⚠︎︎

One of the chillest moms out of everyone out of this list to be honest

Overprotective like vaggie but in her own way! She’ll let you do whatever you want but if anyone hurts you the last thing they’ll see is a bomb smashing into their face

Angel is like an uncle, he spoils you whenever he can! He absolutely adores you and Cherri appreciates when he can look out for you, but she kind of understands he isn’t the best influence, but I mean it’s hell what can she expect?

I think she just has a small cramped apartment sense the limited space in hell, so you guys will most likely have to share a room, but she tries making as welcoming and comfortable for you!

Isn’t the best mom, but not the worst , she’s new to all this new mom business but she’s trying to figure it out. She restrains from being overbearing due to her bursting personality she knows how overwhelmed it might get you so she goes down a few notch’s to make sure your okay!<3

No matter how tough she is on the outside, I’d you cry she’ll cry even harder, look she hates showing so much emotion but when it comes to you she just can’t help it she has such a mother bond to you after taking care of you she can get out of hand

You, her and angel have weekly game night playing any game of your choosing! Hide in seek, hell monopoly, or anything else really! Cherri loves uno though! She does let you win sometimes but she’s very competitive so even then there’s very little mercy ( ｰ̀εｰ́ )

Depending on your age again she carries you around or holds your hand mainly she likes to make sure your near her and safe!

Has a big sweater she bought and lets you have it cause of how comfortable it is, Also thinks your adorable in it !!!＾▽＾

She lets you do whatever you want honestly, want icecream at 8am? Let her go fetch the bowls and fill them to the brim, want candy at the dead of the night? Has a special stash in the closet!, Shes honestly a very free mom and does whatever makes you happy!

Your guys room is a mess of blankets, pillows, plushies, and empty candy wrappers and bags, you and her have a Friday Sunday cleaning day to at least clear the floor 😭😭 it’s a lot of fun! Especially when she puts on your favorite music

Overall let’s you do what you want at least if it doesn’t hurt you that much!, she tries helping you out of shell but she won’t force you, you go at your own pace and she’ll be there every step of the way <3

𖨆Velvet𖨆

Oh boy she might as well be a handful to you then you to her

Vox and Valentino are probably a big part of your life considering how much she hangs out with them, where ever she goes you go

She’s up 24/7 so when you have nightmares she right there by your side, with hot chocolate and some snacks and some hugs!

Absolutely spoils you rotten considering how much power she has she can basically get anything you ask for!

Even if your a boy, she’ll absolutely want to put your hair into pigtails like hers if you have the hair for it and let it! She loves twining with you in one way or another she finds it adorable!

She can’t exactly bring you to her job, she only does when it’s absolutely necessary and there’s no one she can let take care of you, but even then she makes you cover your eyes till you guys get to special room she made vox and Valentino make for you, filled with all types of snacks and game of your liking!

That being said she only lets vox babysit you, sense he’s the most responsible, and I feel like Valentino doesn’t favor kids all that much

She has a lot of comfort items she Carries around in a bag for you just incase you aren’t feeling that well or just need a good cry

People don’t even look at your direction after finding out who’s your mom, if anyone even messes with you their already dead, of course not infront of you but they’ll be taken care of in the back as vox takes you to get icecrem

She loves dragging you around hell and showing you her favorite shops and locations, she also adores taking you shopping! She enjoys it herself, if she doesn’t have money to pay she just walks straight out I mean who’s gonna stop her?

Your room is stuffed with toys, plushies, blankets, and any items you enjoy! Like I said she loves spoiling you! You also have a large bed to make your sleeping a bit better sense you wake up a lot in the night

Overall a very hyper mom and has random burst of energy so expect random adventures to make you feel better about something your upset about

[nobodysdaydreams]

OH AM I GONNA HAVE SOME FUN WITH THIS IF I EVER HAVE THE TIME TO WRITE FANFIC

(Or my reaction to Episode 61 of Wolf359: Brave New World).

Well gang, we did it. We've reach the end. Sorry for how my reactions went from super spaced out to speed running the finale in a number of days, but I did warn you that I'm just sporadic like that. Though I have been semi-putting Brave New World off, because as much as I want to know how Wolf359 ends, I don't want it to end. I love these characters. I want good things for them. As much as I hate what they did, I wish that Hilbert and Maxwell had gotten the chance to get the redemption arc that Jacobi got. Hilbert had plenty of opportunities, but Maxwell was young and its not fair. I don't know how much more sadness they are gonna throw at me, but I'm guessing its a lot and I can't listen to it all in one sitting, so I'm just mentally preparing myself.

I also don't want this to end because I've loved giving you guys these reactions. Thank you all for reading my rambles and enjoying them. It means a lot to me, and I hope you were entertained. Thanks for coming on this journey with me, and please know that the second this is over, I am gonna figure out how to unblock the wolf359 tags (I did it so long ago I forgot how I did it, oopsie-daisy), and I am am gonna be reblogging and going crazy over all your posts and fanart and stuff so I hope you're ready for that.

Plus finishing the podcast also means it's time for me to deliver on those fics I promised y'all, which have been very carefully written (in my head). I will write them out eventually, but if there is anything my tmbs mutuals will tell you, my wolf359 mutuals, it's that my ideas tend to lead to other ideas, which means my fics do tend to be a little long, but (based on the reviews I've gotten) worth the read. So it might take a while to get them on AO3, but when I do, I hope you enjoy them!

Tagging the mutuals who got me invested in this, and if you want to be tagged or untagged from these posts, lmk, or you can follow my blog or simply follow the tag "#bods wolf359 reactions". Anyone who has followed me for a while knows my updates are inconsistent, so I apologize in advance for that and for any spelling/grammar mistakes in my posts.

@sophieswundergarten @oflightningandstars @acollectionofcuriousreblogs @herawell @commsroom @lovelyladylavie

Episode 61: Brave New World

The fact that Brave New World was written in 1932 and Cutter and Pryce are old and the fact that the message of Brave New World is about humans losing their humanity...already we're setting the stage.

And based on Kepler's earlier declaration, why do I suspect that this is the part where Doug's daughter's life and Minkowski's husband's life are finally on the line. I know Cutter and Pryce won't hesitate to aim their guns at them (and probably the rest of the planet too).

That moment when you can't tell if Wolf359 starts with sad piano music, or if this is just an ad for another podcast.

Oh it's the intro. Hi Hera! Or Miranda...oh wait I genuinely can't tell if this is Miranda talking about herself or Hera talking about her.

Clouded eyes, weak heart, child genius, orphan, no friends...I see. Obsessed with making things stronger and better. Yeah, except for herself I bet. Oh. She made her friends. Because she could control them. "Never left her behind, never talked back, never were afraid of her...except when she wanted them to be." "The one thing she couldn't fix was herself" see I called it!

Until? Oh no. Marcus.

And Old Man? Almost as clever as her? "Hello little girl. I want you to make a doll for me. You're very best doll. It must look like a real person, and sound like a real person, and be a real person." "And if I can?" "Then you and I will fix the world. I will be young and you will be whole and the world will finally be everything it could be. Everything it should be."

Okay. Thoughts.

When I made my jokes about Pryce being Cutter's evil science girlfriend, I was not assuming a romantic relationship, I was trying to use that language to insult Pryce and Cutter by making them sound like the kids they hate so much in a frivolous, juvenile and toxic relationship. Then, I was told by a few of you that given this assumption, it’s important that I know that I shouldn't assume that Pryce met Cutter when she was young based on this story and it was meant to be "fairytale language", which does make sense given that Cutter being willing to call Miranda his "work wife" when he's known her since she was young enough to be his granddaughter is incredibly creepy.

I appreciate the clarification, but also, I really don't think it matters whether this is hyperbole or not. If it is, then okay. Pryce and Cutter's relationship is still weird. If it's not, then Cutter's a creep, what a surprise. Tell me something I don't know.

"And so they did. And everyone lived happily ever after. The end."

The fact that it's Cutter that interrupts Miranda's story to give that closing line and declare this the end adds to the creepiness. Miranda says what Marcus's promise to her was, but never says whether she agreed before Marcus jumps in with "and so they did". Also, if Miranda was dying, Cutter was her only chance at survival. It also sounds like she was a kid with a pretty messed up view of the world. Doesn't excuse anything she did, but see Cutter? THAT is how you give a good sad backstory, and she did it in five minutes. You spent a whole hour with Nash just so you could cry that the government took your precious telescope.

--------------

"THAT'S the evil plan?" Care to fill us in Doug?

"That's THE plan, yes." Shut it Rachel. It's evil and you know it.

It's...so evil. And so...planned. Doug's words might be simple, Rachel, but sometimes simple is better. It gets to the point and cuts through the BS.

"It's real and it's happening" And ARE you happy about this Kepler? And why tell them?

Good question Kepler, why are you here? Please tell me you're going to take Rachel away.

"You're going to help" "of course I am" Are you Kepler? Oh please tell me he gets a redemption arc and betrays Cutter.

Does anyone want to fill ME in on the plan? No one? Okay. :(

"Where's the trust?" That's not for you, Rachel.

"I really don't like her" I don't either, Doug.

"What about Cutter's plan?" WHAT IS THE PLAN? WILL BOB AGREE TO IT? WHAT WILL WORK? WHAT WILL THEY DO?

We can't stop them, so let's see our families again. No, Minkowski, you can do this! I believe in you! You can't just go home, we have two hours left! That's plenty of time to stop them.

It's been a long...years.

I forget how long they've been up there. And that everyone on Earth believes they're dead.

And not do anything about WHAT? WHAT IS THE PLAN PLEASE FILL ME IN.

What was that sound?

-----------

Oh Doug is in the comms room. Oh yikes. It's okay, Doug. We've all broken very expensive lab equipment before.

"Living in a cuckoo clock" you have no idea, Doug.

"I wouldn't do that." Is that Pryce or Hera? And yeah why is there gas?

"Good boy" oh good it's Hera. Hera calls him good boy, Pryce just calls him boy.

"Who are you?" OH THIS IS DOUG MEETING HERA FOR THE FIRST TIME. At first I thought that Doug...forgot her? Or something? I was confused.

Ultraviolet halo? Contraband cigarettes. 😂

"Just ask. I'm here to help." Aw that was sweet.

-------------

Ew Rachel. I'm gonna start using "----" breaks to cut off sections.

"Actually he's in quite a lot of pain. Back to work." Always charming, Rachel.

"Thanks for saving our lives-" Kepler, that's a great question. What IS this? Where was the concern for brainwashed Jacobi or better still, WHERE WAS YOU CONCERN FOR MAXWELL? Or Jacobi dealing with her death?

"And do what? Get myself shot? Get you shot? No. I played the game." Was it worth it, Kepler?

"That's the lie you tell yourself. The truth? The truth is that you were afraid. And the only thing YOU did was try to save YOUR hide?"

Dang this dialogue is amazing.

"You're not wrong." "Which one?" "Both of you." This isn't YOUR conversation Rachel.

-----------

Momentary weakness?

Oh my gosh, the good food too? Why does Cutter hit so many show Curtain parallels? He might torture, enslave, and kill people, but he's gonna get them a good meal first.

Good for you Doug, turning down the wine. I'm proud of him.

This is a sweet moment between Doug and Lovelace. I gotta say, since I'll be reacting to this section by section, it's nice that they have it broken up a little like this so I can reach a section and then get to a stopping point if I need to.

I'm just worried about who is going to die. These conversations feel like goodbyes.

----------

Minkowski. I know you miss your husband. But...yeah, ARE you ready to go back?

YEAH WE'RE DOING THIS! To borrow from Eris's words: "Let's beat the bad guys 🥳"

----------

Quiet Rachel.

LET'S GO MINKOWSKI. WHO CARES WHAT CUTTER AND PRYCE WANT?

Wait. Destroy a whole species?

Are they talking about humans?

...are they ecofascists? Eugenicists? Pryce is literally disabled, how the heck...

"Only stay if you have to." Well, it sounds like you all have to.

"Hera what did you say to her" "Something a friend once said to me" 🥰🥰🥰

"I'm starting to think these guys are my kind of stupid" GO JACOBI!

"Adorable corpses 🥰" Rachel you suck!

"Come with us. You're still people, you're still on our side, even if you don't think you are." Very true. What do you think Pryce and Cutter will do to YOU when they have what they want? They'll dispose of you too.

"You're allowed to make mistakes as long as at some point you admit that they're mistakes!" "I was wrong and people died. All I can do is not be wrong again" "You knew what you were getting into" "No I didn't. I didn't know I was getting into mind control and reducing people to nothing. There's a line. And you're almost out of chances to get on the right side of it." PREACH!

"There is no line. Forwards. Always forwards." FORWARDS TO WHAT RACHEL? WHY HAS NO ONE SHOT HER YET?

"Thank you, Daniel, and goodbye." Oh so that's how it is. Goodbye Kepler. I look forward to your last minute sacrifice.

Character arcs woven like a quilt.

"We're going to crush them" Yeah, let's do it!

A full reboot? Worth the risk? That kind of stuff always worries me.

Is this Maxwell's notes? It's hard to recognize the voice on the recording. "She really was something special" Oh it is Maxwell.

----------

Ah. Another flashback! Jacobi meeting Maxwell.

Looks like Kepler got an important text.

"Cool stuff with robots" good work Maxwell. The best scientists can always dumb it down.

"The Whiskey speech" 😂

"You're one of the best. You're gonna do great things. It's the last nice thing you'll ever hear from me. Except: you need anything I got you're back. No matter what happens, I've got your back. I'll take you up on that." 😭💔

Oh it's okay. Take my heart. I didn't need it.

----------

"Are they going to do the smart thing?" "Well who are we to deny them an agonizing death?" Shut it Cutter.

They put a tracker on Jacobi? See I knew Rachel was a snake. So is Kepler, but at least he's gonna take a bullet for someone or something. My money's on Jacobi, but I could be wrong.

----------

Yep. Eiffel logs everything.

"I never got the chance to say I'm sorry. YOUR DAD LOVES YOU, YOUR DAD LOVES YOU SO MUCH." 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

"Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something. You can go so far. I wish I could be there to see it. I love you Ann. Always and forever."

AKJLS;DJFKL;SJF;ALSKDJFA;KD

Time to go? Oh. The comms room? Oh, right. Poor Doug.

"One more day, and then we're done." This is so sad.

Wait...what is happening? OH SHE LIED. SHE'S TAKING EIFFEL HOME TO PROTECT HIM. SO HE CAN SEE HIS DAUGHTER? DON'T DO THIS TO DOUG! DON'T DO THIS TO ME.

"Go home Eiffel, hug your daughter" OH HE CALLED HER RENEE!

This leaves me with so much feeling.

Eiffel can't leave he's the main character. Who will make pop culture references? Who will save the day through the power of random associations, luck, and good intentions?😭😭😭

I hate that they the bad guys know exactly what happened too.

"I'm so sick of this happening!" Use too Doug.

Oh "For god's sake just let me change the flight plan!" So that's what the F stands for. The lore I've been waiting for.

"People need to know what's coming?" Minkowski...I get why you did what you did, but HERA DIDN'T GET TO SAY GOODBYE.

----------

Is this Minkowski's flashback?

Oh when Minkowski met Hera.

"I heard units prefer to go by their serial numbers..." "I don't" Good for you Hera!

I love this. I love these flashbacks, but they just make everything so much more sad!

----------

Ah. More piano music. Does this mean we're back to the bad guys, or...?

Is this Cutter playing the piano?

"The Tempest. Do read a book sometime. Is this the best use of our time?" Pryce and Cutter are really the most toxic people.

"A storm is coming. And on the other side..." "Oh Brave New World." "That has such people in it."

Yes, Pryce and Cutter. People. As in humans. As in: NOT YOU.

"How have they decided to throw their lives away?" "By destroying the device"

WHAT DEVICE? What are you talking about?

Heck yeah a harpoon! I hope Cutter gets it.

----------

"This is Minkowski. I love schedules and musicals and that man who I married." 😂 1-2-3-4-5? It was a good guess Doug. Would have worked in my fanfic.

Okay here comes Victor...

...um what is happening? What is this?

...a surprise party? Sounds fun! 🪩🥳

Oh right, the bio tracker. I'm happy to see Jacobi pulled one over on him. Now shoot him! Please tell me that was Victor that got shot.

They...they trapped him in the room. "Tell me this before I kick your ass" Why on Earth would he ever tell you anything Victor?

----------

Okay, so they are blowing up Pryce and Cutter's evil device, but...what is the device? What ARE they doing? Did I miss it? I'm sure they're doing something to enslave or kill all of humanity, but I'd like the specifics.

"The Hephaestus has almost fallen out of the sky so many times, it's hard to believe it's happening." Well...the show isn't over until it's over.

Is this a Lovelace flashback? A date? A date with who? Oh, Hilbert. Not that kind of date then. Oh, this is her introducing Hilbert to the crew he's going to betray.

"Prudent to keep things formal" to avoid the guilt.

Selburg. Once again with the constant fake names. Dmitri. Matthew.

Though I think Miranda has always had hers.

----------

Yeah Doug. You've listened to her say it so many times. This is like me trying to drive in my hometown. No, I wasn't paying attention in the car as a kid, I was not the one doing the driving. I just zoned out and we got from point A to point B by magic.

Oh, Minkowski. "Get up and do it already. You can do it."

Yes you can Doug. You are the main character. You are the guy that's gonna swoop in at the last second when Cutter pulls one over one them. So you CAN do it. I believe in you, Eiffel.

"Victor Uniform Lemma Charlie Alpha November VULCAN" I knew it must stand for something! Good work Doug!

----------

Oh dear. More of Pryce and Cutter's marriage falling apart.

"Time to change the world." Or you could not. Maybe you could just not.

WHY IS THE DEVICE RUNNING? WHAT DEVICE? WHY DOES HE NEED TWO MINUTES?

Please explain this? Oh of course he has a speech.

Oh he's talking to the dear listeners, not the Hephaestus crew.

Ah. The Decima virus. Thanks a lot Hilbert. DEPLOY THROUGHOUT THE EARTH? He wants to cause a pandemic????

Automatic, can't be stopped, destruction of human race? But why would the aliens care? Oh because Cutter wants them to talk to HIM? But the aliens prefer Doug.

As do most others it would seem. Hurts, doesn't it, Cutter? All those years of experience and work, and yet, you still just can't have what he has, can you?

Ah. It's Bob. Did he just shock Bob? No temporal jumps, no disintegration?

"Remarkable and cold" No Bob, you saw Doug! It's just them. They don't need to be cold.

Willing to disrupt species survival??? What piece of tech do they want? Surrogates?

They want to fill the world with people they can control?

"You can't make duplicates of our species." Bob, they are worst than you can ever imagine.

"We're going to make better humans." "That is not the way that-" "Random part out of the equation" That's a bad idea. Do you know how evolution works? Do you know the negative side effects that have come out of selective breeding of animals? The unintended consequences? To quote Miranda from earlier in the episode: READ. A. BOOK.

"Our Humanity" Gross.

HOW ARE THEY ACCEPTABLE? IT'S MUSIC. WHY ARE YOU THAT DESPERATE FOR MUSIC?

Oh here is comes. Betraying Rachel and Warren.

OH TELL HIM BOB.

"Your brains can't handle it without modification. I cannot with my limitations. Do you have Doug Eiffel?"

Hahaha...hahahahahahaha....HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA..... 😂😂😂😂

Oh boy...oh Cutter is gonna snap. If only Doug had just kept going...

Oh wow okay Cutter has lost it. What happened to emotionally playing the piano and giving speeches about how the time had come?

oh geez no, Doug is back. Doug, no, they need you for the evil plans. This is a good idea, but very bad timing.

"He wouldn't" Oh he WOULD. He really really would.

Show 'em how it's done Dougie Boy!

"I'll get it" No you will NOT Miranda.

Kepler, now is a great time to betray Cutter and Rachel. A really good time.

Also is Victor dead? I'm trying to keep track of how many bad guys are gone.

----------

"You're the only person who can receive the data Pryce and Cutter want" Oh dear.

"With my life darling, with my life" 🥹💕

So what is Hera going to do?

"Lets make sure at least someone makes it through this" YOU ALL NEED TO MAKE IT.

"Let's go get our idiot back" That's the spirit baby!

----------

Oh dear. Jacobi. "Terrific for an SI-5." Wow.

"I'm gonna win!" I hope so Jacobi. But it sounds very not good.

Oh and here's Doug. And um...other Doug. Aka Bob.

Bob. Do not do this.

That was it? "You shall not call me again" "No Bob. I shall not."

THEY KILLED BOB.

"I hate loose ends"

I mean, I saw that coming, but dumb idea. I'm SURE Bob's family will be cool with that! Oh right, he just...recreates himself. But this has got to be trippy for Doug because Bob takes his form. Imagine watching a clone of yourself die.

"Pryce is not right?" DANG IT DOUG, I WAS GONNA USE THAT PUN IN MY FANFICTION AND NOW I CAN'T (WELL MAYBE I STILL WILL WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS HERE).

"Let's make a deal 🥰" Wow Pryce is the worst. Again, very trippy how much she sounds like Doug.

Wait. GOING IN? What does. What does "going in" mean? Don't go in, I don't like going in?

Ah yes. Going into someone's mind. I've done that in my fics before too. Fun stuff. And um...it's because you're disorganized Doug, I hate to tell you.

"That was...that was...that was..." OH SHE DESTROYED THE MEMORY. OH SHE TOOK THE MEMORY?

This is...horrifying. She could take his daughter away. She could take Hera, Minkowski, and everyone and everything away.

HERA! HECK YEAH!

Oh my gosh is she actually here? Like as a person?

This is everything.

----------

Ah yes, confrontation with Cutter.

Cutter has modified his body or he has a magic shield.

He can catch bullets? Of course he can.

I wouldn't try hand to hand combat either. I bet he gave himself super strength.

There has to be a weak spot. He has to have a weakness. But what could it be...

...what is the opposite of a chai latte?

----------

Ah. Back to Jacobi.

Kepler this would be a GREAT TIME to come in and get your arc. "I'm not a good guy" oh Jacobi. What's happening now? Oh has he been pretending to lose this fight to buy them time? What is happening? It's hard to tell.

----------

She's always been interesting, Pryce! You’re just noticing now.

"You don't look like me." Disappointed, Pryce? Sad that she’s better than you?

And the fact that all these AI want human forms...this is so sad. They structured them based on human consciousness so of course they want human bodies and experiences, that's just cruel.

Wait Doug got beat up in the 2nd grade? The Star Wars Prequels? "I might be okay without that one" No one tell him about the sequels 😂😂😂

"Of course you can. You can do anything." 💕

"You and what army, 214?" The sounds in this really makes the fight sound super epic. One of my favorite parts of the whole thing.

----------

Oh gross not Rachel again. Why is she still here?

And Kepler. Dude, you wanna hurry it up? Grab your arc or go, the clock is a-ticking.

"We're changing what humanity can be." you suck Rachel.

Pulse beacon, half power? What does that mean? The signal wouldn't have made it back to Earth?

"We have tell Mr. Cutter." "Do we?" KEPLER THIS IS IT!

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!

He gave you a chance, Rachel. He gave you a chance. "After all, I am still a person. I'm on Jacobi and Minkowski's side. Even if they don't think I am"

And even if they never know you were.

Is she gonna blast him out the airlock? Rachel, you're dying, it's over! You were wrong! The best thing to do is let him live!

He's literally drinking as he goes out the airlock. My...my wish came true. But this isn't how I wanted it to... why now? Why like this? 💔

It's a true sacrifice though. Because even though no one will ever know, he still did the right thing.

You became more than just a Whiskey Boy in the end Kepler. You became so much more.

Rachel, no so much. You were never anything. It doesn't matter if Warren was not as good as you. Because now you're both dead. And your life, well...you were never anyone. Or at least, you haven't been anything or anyone for a long, long, time. So be quiet now.

Silence at last.

----------

HOW CAN CUTTER GET HER TO POINT HER GUN AT MINKOWSKI? WHAT...WHAT DID THEY DO?

Well this isn't good.

Ah yes. Back to Jacobi. Looks like Kepler's not coming to save him. But at least he took care of Rachel.

Explosives? Fireworks? Oh this is a party! 🎆🎇🧨

Well that was a grand surprise party! But um...does this mean Victor and Jacobi are dead now?

Ah back to Lovelace and Minkowski!

"It's...side wave radiation!" Okay, thank you Cutter, now we know what we need to shut down.

"Humans who do exactly what we tell them to do" "You're crazy"

Yeah. He is literally crazy.

OH SHE SHOT HER??? Oh no....Oh no please tell me SOMEONE makes it out of this.

What really did happen the night of Doug's junior prom? Sounds interesting.

Fishing with Dad? Okay these memories are getting personal.

Wait, what did Doug do?

What are they going to do? Oh they could delete the memories Bob put in there. But they need to find them before Pryce.

----------

Shut up about the stomach wound Cutter. No one cares. This isn't rewriting a person. And THAT'S NOT WHY PEOPLE CARED ABOUT HER YOU IDIOT. And without your intelligence and tech, who. are. YOU, CUTTER?

Renee Minkowski! YES! Tell him!

Lovelace you can fight this. I know you can.

Shut it Cutter. No one cares.

"Sooner or later, you're gonna do as your told" And sooner or later, you are gonna lose everything, Cutter.

"You really think I'm afraid of you?" "THE BEAUTIFUL THING IS I DON'T NEED YOU TO BE"

Please tell me they have the harpoon gun.

IT WAS THE HARPOON GUN? OH HECK YEAH!

"That's...not...how...this is suppose to..."

Yes, it is Cutter. Like you said. You know how these stories end. The good guys win. They might lose a lot in the process, but, they win.

Is he dead now, like, for real dead? I don't want to celebrate too early but MAN what a way to go.

He and Rachel even died in similar ways to. It's like they short circuited when they realized they didn't win.

----------

Ah Pryce. "I don't need to beat you. No matter how much I want to, no matter how much you deserve it, it wouldn't change anything. What I need to do is make sure you're not going to hurt anyone else again ever." That's right!

"I'm not going to hurt you." OH SAY THE CLIP YOUR WINGS LINE COME ON COME ON COME ON.

"Clip your wings a little. Goodbye Dr. Pryce."

So...Hera's gone now. So what is about to happen?

Oh no. Is she...is she gonna delete both their memories?

"Bye bye to my memories?" Oh Doug, oh poor Doug. His daughter, everything...oh Doug this sacrifice will not be forgotten. 🫡 This is so Milligan coded of him (@/tmbs mutuals).

"You can't. Don't do this." "Oooo...sorry buddy, we gotta" YEAH THROW IT BACK AT HER EIFFEL!

And goodbye. I hope you have a second chance with your daughter. I hope you never remember the trauma. All a bad dream. All a bad dream.

"Do you have any idea what you've...I'm sorry...what was I saying...where...where am I?" Oh my gosh the way her voice changed...and she apologized. Oh my gosh. She's literally a new person.

So...memories gone? Where does this leave her? Oh this will be fun in fanfics. Imagine having no memories, and people are weird about it, and then finding out that before you were basically the worst person to ever exist. How would you even mentally cope with that?

"Yeah commander, it's going." No, Doug! Doug!

"It was an honor, sir" Oh this is so sad.

"Hera...Hera I...I..." You know Hera. You were in his mind. Please tell me you know.

Oh. He's gone. 💔

----------

WHY IS RACHEL BACK I THOUGHT WE TOOK CARE OF THAT?

Oh it's her and Eiffel meeting, okay.

"Are you just asking if I'm the commander? Yes." I love Minkowski and Doug's friendship.

"Never use one word when ten will do" oh Doug...never change. Even if your memories are gone, I hope you find yourself again.

He didn't know you couldn't smoke in space? Oh Doug...at least now you can quit.

----------

"Do I know you?" Yes Doug. Yes you do.

She's briefing him. He...he doesn't remember Star Wars???

Well. At least he gets to watch it all again!

Wait. What's happening to the station? Are they...are they going into the star?

Oh no. So it's up to the dear listeners to save them, or...they just die here. Heroes. Heroes that everyone on Earth thought were dead already.

Oh she's rebooting now.

"Should we be doing something?" Oh did Renee pass out?

So...is Doug on the ship alone without his memories? What's happening?

----------

Where is Renee now? Lovelace? Where? What? The Urania? How?

Did they leave Pryce on board? Did Jacobi get out?

Oh good Hera, Minkowksi, and Lovelace made it. Jacobi did it! Nice work, Jacobi. Oh gosh he's so dramatic 😂

So I assume Doug made it too?

"What about Kepler" "No." Oh so, they must have found Rachel and discovered what he did. "You can't save everyone I suppose"

But you did save him, Jacobi. You did save Whiskey Boy.

And then where is Doug?

Oh he's listening to himself.

"I was a jerk" There's a lot worse things you can be, Doug.

It does make you wonder. If you looked at your life with a blank slate, what would you think? How would you be kinder to yourself? How would you be more critical?

"Am I still that same person?" If you want to be, Doug. If you want to be.

And what happened to Pryce? Please tell me you did not give her to the dear listeners.

IS THIS PRYCE?

Oh Hera and Pryce. "Your voice is like mine, isn't it?" "Nice to meet you, Hera." Oh. Oh my gosh. Pryce calling her Hera.

"And I'm...I'm going to tell you a very, very long story about the two of us, okay?"

I hope this ends well...

...please be a good guy, Pryce.

----------

Hey guys. Guys. Quick question.

Why are there 10 minutes left?

I um...I like this ending. They're going back to Earth, all is well. Please tell me nothing bad happens.

What happened with Pryce? Hera hasn't glitched at all? She did it. She conquered her fear. GO HERA! But um...what about Pryce? Is she...is she good?

Minkowski needs to find her husband. And yeah...you guys have a lot to figure out.

Lovelace...yep. Take Goddard down. Good idea. Explain to your friends you're an alien with extended lifespan...might want to break that gently.

Take who out?

Oh the ship. Is this it? They're going home? Please tell me they're actually going home. Don't tease me like this.

Oh right, what will Hera do now? I'm sure you'll find something.

And yeah. Doug might not know who he is, but he knows there are people he should see. And then...he'll figure it out. They'll all figure it out. "Am I still Doug Eiffel? I'm not sure. Want to find out together?"

Yes. I love this. 🥰

I also love how it connects to "will I miss you, when you go away forever Doug?" Yes, but he's not gone Hera. He's not gone.

----------

Five minutes left. So...what is that for? Do we finally get to meet Doug's daughter and Minkowski's husband...or���

That was wolf359! Oh it’s just the credits!

Great ending. But...wait. No wait. I'm confused hang on.

How did Jacobi escape from Victor to get the Urania? How is Hera going to survive on Earth? How did they fix those wounds? If the Hephaestus went into the star...

Wait. These aren't more alien copies are they? Oh wait, no Hera's here, sorry y'all I panicked for a moment. They duplicate human lives, but as far as I know, not AI. Also, if this was a happy dream sequence, why would Pryce be there? Okay, phew, we're good. We're...finally good.

And even if they are alien copies...the process will take 14,000 years. So. For the rest of their lives, at least. Especially since...they're still using Lovelace to spy on Earth. For the next 14,000 years. But I guess that’s a problem for future generations.

Okay. Great ending. Thoughts:

Cutter got what he deserved. So did Rachel, but I feel a bit sadder that she never realized the pointlessness of her life until it was too late (and really not even then). Also love that Cutter's original last name was "Newman" since he keeps making himself into "new men".

Kepler's sacrifice was great no notes. I hope he enjoyed the Whiskey.

Blessie should have come back, and in fanfic, I will find a way to make this happen.

Eris should have come back, and in fanfic, I will find a way to make this happen.

Are the Dear Listeners just going to leave Earth alone now? If the Hephaestus went into the star...does that mean they can make Rachel and Cutter copies? Because I don't like that...

I love that the aliens weren't the biggest threat in the end and Cutter was always the real monster.

Is Pryce cool now? She doesn't want revenge, does she? Like what do you even do with her at that point? (I have plans for this, don't worry).

How do they dismantle or repurpose Goddard? Cutter probably has guys still loyal to him on Earth or people who are gonna try to be the next Cutter now that he's out of the picture. How do you deal with them?

Okay...so the decima virus can be used for great good and great evil. Cutter apparently had stations with it set up all over the Earth. I hope no one stumble across one of those anytime soon. What exactly are they going to do about decima? It's still swimming about in Eiffel's blood.

Is Minkowski's journalist husband going to blow this case wide open? I hope that after her brief phone call with his secretary, Cutter didn't kill him to keep the rumors from spreading.

Will the families of all the other astronauts that died ever get closure? I know we don't want this getting out and causing panic, but they deserve answers too.

When. Is. The. Empty. Man. Going. To. Show. Up???? /j /It was Cutter the whole time because he has no humanity

Well that was fun. Again, the fanfic will probably take a good long while (I put off a lot in order to listen to this ending), but I look forward to mapping it out.

Once again, thank you all for listening along with me. This has been fun.

Now, to figure out how to unblock those pesky tags...

[recklesslycaffeinated]

hey i was wanting to write a fan fic but i haven't done one in years (it was BAD) i was wondering if you could give me a tip or two (I've also never posted anything on ao3 before just a heads up)

Confession time - this question is more than year old now.

I hang my head in shame.

The problem is, even after over 180,000 words written across three fanfics, I still feel like I'm not... qualified? To give any good advice. At least, nothing you wouldn't pick up from reading a metric ton of fanfic on A03 like I did before starting.

That being said, I'm feeling really, really guilty for not answering @arsonunderthedisco's question for so long, so here we go.

First of all, no fanfic is BAD.

I'm not sure what you thought was bad about it - but I've written more than a dozen fanfics which are just for me and they're delightful messy insert fanfics which I adore.

That being said, you'll be amazed at the readership of A03. So long as you tag your story correctly, you'll find your people. I did!

Writing

If you're talking about spelling/grammar/structure, welcome to the club. As any of my readers will tell you, my Dyslexic ass lets more than a few horrendous typos go out. I've started using Speechify to catch some of these mistakes and I 10/10 recommend it.

Conflict

Figure out the overarching, key conflict of your story you want to resolve by the end. That can be for all the characters or some of the characters. E.g. Nurse isn't brave enough to admit she loves the boys and truly commit to what that means. She has to either admit she loves them and dive in, accepting her life will never be normal, or walk away.

Each chapter set up a smaller goal or a desire of the character and by the end of the chapter, resolve or advance it. Bonus points if you can leave every chapter on a minor cliffhanger. E.g. Nurse wants to go to the funeral to pay respects to Sig and deal with her guilt. She does that (yay!), but gets into a row with Sans and now she has new guilt (boo).

Structure

Always have an outline. Even if you're a gardener who likes to let their characters dictate the story, HAVE AN OUTLINE. Or else you'll never know when the story you're trying to tell is finished.

That's why I broke up the boney brigade saga into different stories - I knew where I wanted the Nurse to be by the end of each section and it made more sense to turn them into two stories so it 'feels' complete.

Have fun!

If you're having fun writing it, your readers will know and be along for the write. Don't write drunk. Don't publish chapters when stressed. Don't write sad. Write sad things, but don't write sad. At least, don't send it out while sad before doing a re-edit.

Hope any of that helps and sorry it's taken me so damn long!

[melanieryssel]

Genshin's characters as your tour guide | P1

Character: Scaramouche, Venti, Alhaitham

Setting: Basically, now you're in Teyvat. It doesn't matter how you got here, it's totally up to your imagination. You could be a Vision wielder, born in Teyvat, or you could be a God!Creator who got shifted to this land. Anh on your journey to seven nations, you will meet up with other characters who will be your traveling companion.

A/n: I'm a new writer so I would love it if you guys leave me comments on how I can improve my writing. Also, this is a series so I plan on doing a lot of other characters too, let me know who you want me to do next. Finally, sorry in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Scaramouche/Wanderer

He somewhat reluctantly agreed to go with you. He thinks this whole situation is just so annoying. In fact, it's only because of the God of Wisdom who had actively and persistently encouraged him to make new friends that Scaramouche is now tagging along with you.

Your travel doesn't have a specific destination. He just takes you anywhere you want to and if you don't have a list of places you want to visit, you guys would probably end up wandering around Sumeru.

Your relationship gradually improves as he finds your presence comforting and calming. He would introduce the scenery to you with such a sarcastic voice like pointing out the landscape flaws or assuming you're boring or weird to enjoy what you see. However, you only laugh it off when Scaramouche is being Scaramouche because you know he secretly likes the scenery as well.

Would intentionally use his skill and makes you struggle to catch up with him. Especially when you have to move from mountain to mountain, he would definitely pretend to forget you and fly off alone until you loudly call his name out of frustration. He might shame you a bit or maybe a lot for being slow but he would still come back and pick you up then carry you in bridal style while flying.

Let's hope it's not going to rain because your intention to touch his hat is clear on your face on the whole journey from the beginning, so Scaramouche won't lend you his hat if it rains. Maybe he will find a leaf for you to use instead. 

Venti

Unlike Scaramouche, Venti seems immensely enthusiastic about the idea right when you ask him to be your tour guide. This man loves Mondstat to his bones and can't wait any more minutes to show you all the beauty of his nation and people.

You and Venti would ride on the strongest yet calming wind to travel on the sky of Mondstat. He would randomly speed up or make you guys freely fall for a moment only to tease you. Venti will give you a bunch of Celilia as an apology after.

Venti will definitely bring you to Starnatch Cliff. 

Then, he walks you to Mondstat City and eagerly introduces you to his acquaintances. Venti takes his responsibility as your tour guide very seriously. He would tell you the history of this land, the folktale behind a flower, and recite a poet to you. He would also take you to Good Hunter shop when it's time to eat something. You guys enjoy the food thoroughly, ordering a variety of dishes, and only stop when you find out he doesn't have any mora...

"I thought you treat me?" You say

"Ehe" 

Unfortunately, you have no mora as well. You feel deeply guilty but Venti is way faster than you so he just grabs your hand and escapes. Before you can say anything, Venti already comes up with a plan that could help you have enough mora to pay for the meal.

And that's the reason why you two end up performing on the street right now. Luckily, Master Diluc passes by so he did offer to help pay for you, you only, and not Venti.

Alhaitham

Alhaitham is not the type to easily display his feelings so you are not sure what he thinks of this idea. He asks you where you want to visit and because you don't have any specific places in your mind so you say he can decide where to go. Hardly did you know, this won't lead to anything good.

Undoubtedly, he will take you to Sumeru Akademia. First, you really enjoy visiting such a majestic building. However, he starts to talk about different Darshans in the Akademia, the history of Sumeru, the well-known or impactful research in the library... As much as you love how passionate he looks while talking, it slowly becomes too much for you.

So you think you should ask him to bring you somewhere else. Surprisingly to Alhaitham, you say you want to visit his house. He doesn't get why you want to go there but doesn't oppose the idea at all since he finds you actually charming and kind. When you guys arrive, you see Kaveh there working on his thesis. Kaveh takes your visiting as a sign from the Universe to have a break from his work, but right after when Kaveh and you greet each other, Alhaitham says "It's enough, let's go somewhere else."

For the rest of the day, you two go to many gorgeous locations. Before saying good night, as he walks you to your hostel in Sumeru city, he says to you: "You aren't interested in what I talked in the Akademia right? Maybe Kaveh could be a more suitable tour guide since you guys' personalities share similarities." You freak out for real and then try to reassure him that it's not true and you actually really like the academic research he introduced.

"Really? Okay, then let's come back to Akademia library tomorrow, I can explain that research to you."

[averagemizukikinnie]

"I'm sorry I deceived you, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you."

TW: HUGE warning for SH (it’s what the fic evolves about pretty much) , ED implication, cursing

a/n: it’s my first time in writing for a pair, i apologize for any grammar or spelling mistakes in advance since english isn’t my first language!! there are also more notes at the end. this fanfic can also be interpreted as platonic

“23, 24, 25…”

. . .

The bigger the number got, the more aggressive Mizuki became, and the deeper the slashes cut. They don’t remember how their abdomen looked when it was clear, all they can see now is red and brown lines over it, some are even white.

“Ahahaha… I’m really filthy and disgusting, aren’t I? I ate more than I’m supposed to when I was at the diner with Ena, Mafuyu, and Kanade. I made a promise to tell Ena the truth of what I’ve been keeping inside long ago, yet I still avoid the topic whenever it’s brought up being the coward I am. I’m surprised they didn’t leave just like everyone did…” . While they were indulging themself in their self-deprecating self-talk, they went in deeper than intended. It wasn’t really a problem anyways, their parents were out of the city for work, their sister lives overseas, no one could stop them from getting so engrossed in their own mind.

. . .

1 hour later

*doorbell rings*

“Mom and Dad aren’t supposed to be back until next Tuesday, who could it be?”. They panicked for a split second when they remembered they were supposed to have a sleepover with Ena tonight. “Good thing I finished cleaning up just a moment ago” they mumbled to themselves right before they put up their usual grin, when had they gotten so good at switching their expression? That is a question that they’re unsure of what a right answer for it could be. They felt the burning sensation of the clothes brushing against their stomach —but thankfully for them—, they were already used to it, so hiding it was a piece of cake, they already hide so much anyways.

“Yaho!~ Woah you arrived just 3 minutes late, that’s a new record!! Did poor lil’ bro have to shake the entire room to wake you up?”

“I knew this would happen.”

Ena muttered under her breath. “Can’t you just say a normal greeting for once whenever we both meet up alone?”

“Waaaaaahhh!! You’re so mean!~”

Mizuki fake-cried as they dramatically had the back of their hand on their forehead.

“Yeah yeah whatever. Anyways, can we just actually get inside?”

They finally settled in Mizuki’s room. Ena felt so fascinated by the aesthetic of the room, it felt so… Mizuki. She could tell they poured their heart in making it to their liking. It might not be obvious from first glance for others, but for Ena it is.

As Ena’s eyes were hovering around, she noticed the torso near the mirror with an unfinished project on it that seemed like it collected some dust, she found it a little strange since she had this idea Mizuki is the type of person to get absorbed into whatever project they’re working on if it’s related to their passions. Ena recalled some of Mizuki’s rambles about clothes making on Nightcord, she secretly adored these rambles even if she knew nothing about that side of fashion herself; because she can hear Mizuki being so passionate and full of joy. If she ever admits it out loud she will never hear the end of it thanks to Mizuki’s teasing.

“Oi~ Earth to Ena— Does the princess need to sleep already?~”

“Huh?! First of all, why the hell are you calling me that?? Second of all, is zoning out for just a single moment a sign of sleep deprivation now?? Ugh this is going to be a really long night.” Mizuki couldn’t help but burst out laughing at Ena’s reaction, her reactions are one of the reasons they tease her more than other people.

. . .

Later on, they both decided they will play on Mizuki’s gaming console. It was kept up in Mizuki’s closet, they haven’t used it for some while. They bought it back in those times as a way to distract themselves even further from reality. It was so up high, Mizuki was wondering how on Earth they got it there before.

“Ah! I’m finally getting a grasp of it!” , just when they said that, they lost balance and fell on their back.

Ena immediately rushed to Mizuki to check if they’re fine, and help them get up if needed.

“Are you alright?? Did you get hurt? Do you need help getting up?”

“It’s ok I didn’t get hurt! I’m totally fi-“

Right when they started to get up, one of the console’s controllers fell on their abdomen, right where the fresh, deep, red scars are.

“Again?? Seriously what’s up with its location? Anyways are you ok? Again did you get hu-“

As Ena was saying that, she saw a dark red spot forming on Mizuki’s white shirt. Her face turned white when she realized what it was, it was blood.

“Mizuki, can you let me open the shirt to see the wound and clean it? Please? It would be terrible if it gets infected…”

“… No.”

“Why?… It would be difficult for you to get up and clean it up all by yourself.”

“The reason is not important… I can handle th— SHIT—“

“Mizuki please let me see it. It’s clearly hurting badly-“

“As I said, I can handle this.”

“You’re obviously lying. Whether you allow it or not, I have to check the wound and how bad it is.”

Mizuki grabbed Ena’s wrists with all the force they could gather, Ena struggled for a bit as she was letting herself go from their grasp, thankfully, she eventually managed to do so thanks to Mizuki’s state.

Ena finally lifted up their shirt, and what she saw was horrifying to say the least. Her face got devoid of any traces of curiosity just now just for it all to be replaced with horror, as if she saw a ghost. She saw all the variations of red, brown, and white contrasting against Mizuki’s light skin color, how there was some skin peeling around some scars, and most importantly, how fresh some of them were.

On the other hand, Mizuki wanted to escape from Ena’s gaze on their body as fast as possible, she saw what they thought was the most disgusting, filthy, and deformed part of themselves they ever showed to her. They thought she was going to abandon them for good, just like many people did. Everything Mizuki did in order to preserve their bond with Ena, it all seemed useless and futile now, just like they feared.

What snapped Mizuki out of their thoughts was Ena’s shaky breathing, they thought that this is it, that there’s now another person on the mental list of people they lost because of something about Mizuki.

“What the FUCK is wrong with you?!”

“You’re so fucking disgusting.”

“I never imagined someone this filthy exists, but here you are.”

Mizuki can already feel the words coming, they embraced themselves for it, it’s a matter of few seconds before they actually hear them… Or so they thought.

“… For how long have you been doing this?… I might not be the best at comforting, but why didn’t you tell me sooner? I- I just- I wish I realized this sooner. I’m so sorry for not being the person you needed. You were going through such a hard time without me knowing about it… I just-“

Mizuki didn’t expect this would be her reaction, they thought it will be the last time they ever talk, they thought this was going to be the end.

“I *sob* I’m so sorry… I can’t believe *sob* I didn’t know about this sooner…”

Ena grabbed both of Mizuki’s hands and gently kissed them, she then proceeded to wrap her arms around them and pull them into a tight hug. Mizuki froze in their place because of how astonished they were, they never thought of such outcome, not just did Ena not give the type of reaction they thought they were going to get, not just did she sound genuinely concerned, but she was also apologizing for not knowing better?? They never even dared to try dreaming of this yet here it is being actual reality.

Slowly, Mizuki started to wrap their arms around Ena, and they could feel tears forming in their eyes as well, they kept it inside for so long yet they couldn’t bring themselves to say a word out of fear of their past repeating itself again, they didn’t want to lose yet another person they want to stay with.

“No… please don’t say that to yourself it isn’t your fault in the slightest… Please don’t cry…”

“How the hell am I supposed to NOT cry?? Seeing you in pain hurts me and this time and this time it affected you physically and *sob* and to make matters even worse I couldn’t help you because of how oblivious I am…”

“Ena please… It’s my fault for being such a coward and not saying anything… I don’t want to see you cry because of me…”

Ena’s expression turned to a determined one, with tears still in her eyes, her nose still red, and her cheeks still puffy. She cupped Mizuki’s cheeks with both her hands and wiped the tears with her thumbs and said

“Mizuki, don’t say this about yourself. You are not a coward for not telling me about your struggles, l know it can be hard to open up to someone, no matter who that someone is. But whenever you feel like you’re struggling again and are close to doing this to yourself, come to me instead okay? You don’t have to force yourself to tell me you’re so close to doing it, just come to me and start the conversation like you normally do. Please.”

This was Mizuki’s last straw. Before they knew it they started sobbing uncontrollably with Ena having a firm, right grip on them. They were feeling so many emotions, they were keeping it inside for so long, they were so scared of Ena leaving them because of this secret of theirs they deemed “ugly and filthy” , they were in so much pain, they had so much on their mind, and most importantly, they were happy the what-it’s in their mind didn’t come true.

They were happy Ena didn’t reject this part of them. They want to stay with her as long as they can, even if their time together isn’t meant to last much longer, they hope it is.

Note: i am not implying that sh scars are something scary in ena’s reaction, the reason i wrote her reaction that way is because i wanted to interpret that she’s horrified because it’s happening to Mizuki. I hope you understand i meant no harm in the way i wrote her reaction, i struggle with sh myself.

[poisonousmoonfics]

ੈ✩‧₊˚ Speed of Shadows

Pairing: fem!oc x pietro maximoff

Universe: MCU, Avengers AOU

General warnings: mention of torture, abuse and death. Mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. subjects like resurrection and dark magic. angst but also aaa looooot of fluff

Disclaimer: This is a non-commercialized fanfiction. I do not owe any of the Marvel characters mentioned. The following story is a derivation from the original script, which was used for inspiration and adaptation purposes. All the rights of the original characters throughout the book (‘Lola Mendez’ and her family) are reserved.

Synopsis: Pietro leans forward on the medical table, staring intently at his lifeless body. "Can we trust that your powers won’t malfunction this time?" he questions, his voice tinged with distrust and fear for his soul.

Lola shifts uncomfortably, her confidence is hesitant. "No," she admits quietly, insecurity evident in her tone. Trying to mask her anxiety, she adds with a nervous laugh, "But what's the worst that could happen? You can’t die again."

Pietro doesn't laugh. He fixes her with an unfriendly look, his expression hard.

"Sorry," she apologizes, her cheeks flushing with shame.

or

Where the new super-speedster member of the team, Pietro, saves Lola from getting shot, so she decides to return the favor by putting her powers to the test.

Chapter I

A/N!!: hey people, sooo this is my first fanfic posted on Tumblr!!! (still working on it lol). I hope the synopsis catches your attention and you enjoy the published parts. I will appreciate likes, but mostly positive comments or constructive criticism (pls be kind haha). Btw this won't contain smut no matter what, I have nothing against it, I just don't feel comfortable writing it oof.

I’ll be notifying u guys every time I’ll be uploading a new chapter. You can also read the story on my Wattpad account! I’ll stitch the link below. Please, DO NOT REPOST OR ADAPT my story (here or in any other social media platform or ao3) without my permission. Although I don’t owe the rights of the Marvel characters, my OC and part of the plot are MY WORK.

Also, English is not my first language. I apologize in advance if you notice any grammar or spelling mistakes, I will edit the parts when I have the time.

My Wattpad profile: @/writtenbythemoon

[mystic-myrtille]

✨Determination fake dating AU✨

So I have exams coming up and instead of studying I procrastinated and wrote a Lukanette version of determination based on this idea. Idk I‘m not super happy with how it turned out but writing is a learning-by-doing skill so🤷🏻‍♀️

Sorry in advance for any grammar or spelling mistakes! Please enjoy💙

„Marinette, are you still sure this is a good idea?“

Refusing to let any more doubts about the whole thing consume her brain again, she tightened her grip around Luka‘s arm as they turned the corner, approaching the Grevin Museum.

„I don't know,“ she admitted. „But we‘re going to stick to it now.“

She knew that didn‘t convince him. He had made clear fron the moment Marinette has proposed the idea that he didn‘t like it, and she had had a hard time trying to convince him to play along. Ultimately, he had given in, because Luka just was that kind of friend, and had eventually agreed to her plan. Luka was pretending to be her boyfriend.

She’d make it up to him later. Maybe show him more strictly confidential kitty section designs later. Or make him a gift and buy him the new album from this metal band they‘ve seen together with Juleka and Rose some time ago. Or maybe buy him ice cream… no, ice cream was exclusively for people who were actually romantically involved. André had scolded her in the past for not following that rule. Ice cream was for real couples to have a magical moment, not… whatever her and Luka were doing right now. Though she kind of did crave ice cream. The blueberry flavor from that one time she went with Luka when they were dating was really good...

„It‘s just,“ Luka said, „I don‘t get the point. Adrien has asked you out so that you guys can figure out your feelings, and instead of doing that, you‘re lying to him about your relationship status.“

„The point is to let Adrien down gently,“ she explained, „I can‘t date him. My crush on him has brought me nothing but stress and trouble, and now he’s interested in me while I no longer am interested in him. And he hasn’t yet gotten the hint that I’m not comfortable giving him a kiss on the cheek as a greeting. So if he thinks I‘m off the market, he’ll stop and hopefully we can just move on and never talk about it ever again!“

Luka tilted his head.

„I don’t think that’s the way to ‚let him down gently’. Also, you could‘ve also just told him earlier on the phone that you weren‘t interested?“

„Right, so that Juleka, Rose and Mylene could scold me over that later?“

Luka bit his lip, clearly regretting what he had said.

„You‘re right, I‘m sorry. I want for you to figure out what you want at your own pace. I just have a bad feeling about this.“

Marinette looked away.

„I know, it‘s not exactly the best way… but I really don‘t know what else I‘m supposed to do.“

„I want to trust your judgement. Just… I hope you know what you‘re doing.“

The situation sucked. For everyone involved. She really didn‘t want to rope Luka into her drama even more, but she didn‘t know what else to do. After not being able to confess to Adrien all this time, she would certainly not be able to just reject him now. Not because she didn‘t want to, but talking to Adrien has always been something she was bad at.

It did feel cowardly, hiding behind a lie of being already taken. But at least bringing Luka along might keep her anxiety at a tolerable level. And clinging to his arm right now already made her feel somewhat optimistic.

She looked up at Luka.

„I‘m sorry for getting you so involved. But I want to promise you that after this, I‘ll be done with that chapter of my life. Right now, I just need you to act like my boyfriend. Please.“

„Don‘t be sorry,“ Luka said and stroked Marinette‘s arm with his free hand, „love can be hard sometimes. I just want you to be happy.“ He grinned at her. „And if you need me to take the role of the boyfriend, I‘ll be the best boyfriend you‘ve ever had!“

Marinette laughed.

„I couldn‘t thank you enough, Luka.“

A few minutes later, they arrived at the museum and were greeted by a surprised looking Kagami and and an irritated looking Adrien.

„Marinette, you brought Luka…“, he said, „are you guys-„

Marinette took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Ok, this was it. Just stay calm.

„We‘re dating,“ said Marinette a little loud, tightening her arms around Luka‘s waist and smiling. „I wanted to let you know we‘re back together! More together than ever. An item. Just a couple of two people who really really REALLY love wach other! Haha, love is in the air, am I right? Soooooo yeah I'm no longer single. Anyway, how are you?“

…With the way both Kagami and Adrien looked at her, Marinette suddenly wished that the ground would open up and swallow her whole. God, why was it so hard for her to just be NORMAL for once?

Adrien opened his mouth, but before he could comment anything, Marinette felt Luka wrapping an arm around her. A surprised squeak escaped her as he pulled her a little closer, so that she was currently pressed against him.

„We were talking a while back and discovered that we still have feelings for each other. So we wanted to give our relationship another shot,“ he explained, „it‘s all pretty new, so I‘d like to ask you guys to not immediately spread the news. We‘ll do that ourselves when we feel comfortable enough.“

While they must certainly look like a real couple like this, Luka suddenly being so touchy caught her off guard. She felt safe and protected in his embrace, but there was also a feeling of excitement growing in her chest area.

Marinette‘s head was pressed against Luka‘s chest so that she could hear his heartbeat in her ear. Loud and erratic. Was his heartbeat always this fast? … why was she so fascinated by Luka‘s heartbeat, anyway?

Adrien looked from Luka to Marinette and then back.

„Oh, I see…“, he tried not to sound bitter, and failed.

Kagami stayed silent. With her entirely stoic expression, it was hard to tell what exactly she was thinking, if she had seen beyond the facade and was currently judging their life decisions or if she actually believed that Luka and Marinette were dating again.

"So… we should go in", Kagami finally said, and the gang followed her into the museum. Much to Marinette's disappointment of not being as physically close to Luka as a fee seconds ago.

But the feeling immediately came back when he leaned down, grinned at her and asked "So, am I being a good boyfriend so far?"

Marinette slowly met his eyes and nooded, and prayed he wouldn't notice the blush spreading across her cheeks. She was pretty sure her heartbeat wasn‘t normally this fast, either.

---

"You know, I didn't feel awkward that time when you kissed me as a statue-"

"NO- I mean, uh... this has been a long time ago and-", Marinette took a few steps backwards and almost crushed into one of the wax statues. She desperately wanted nothing more that to get out of that situation.

Maybe back into Luka's embrace. Yeah, that might work. After all, Kagami had dragged him only a few meters away to „have a little chat with him“. Judging by the why he held his hands up in defense while Kagami leaned forward, arms crossed, she was interrogating him. Yeah, she totally must've figured what was going on.

Maybe this was a bad idea after all.

Then again, Marinette got holding hands and cuddles out of it, so was is really that bad?

… Wait no, this isn‘t what this is about-

Adrien stepped towards her.

"Listen, it's just... I think since then I started seeing you differently... and I know you' re with Luka, but..."

He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

"I don't know, I guess I was just hoping for a chance... for the both of us..."

She couldn't do that anymore. He was really going to confess to a girl who, to his knowledge, was taken. Maybe she should just tell him directly, as Luka had said earlier. Just rip the bandaid off. It will hurt a little, but they’re going to be fine in the long run.

Hey Adrien, that's very nice, but I'm not interested, but we can stay friends...

You're just a friend. Even though I had a crush on you, I no longer do. I don't want to be with you.

This is fine.

We can be friends.

Please don't cry.

Let‘s stay friends.

The words were all there. Kind of. The only challenge was for Marinette to just say them out loud and don't make them sound too hurtful.

She could do this.

"Adrien, I... uh... look, I know... I mean I want to... it's nice that..."

Why couldn't her stupid mouth just cooperate for once?

Adrien stepped even closer, apparently not noticing how completely and utterly overwhelmed she was.

"Marinette, I just... I really, really like you-"

This was it. Every logical though Marinette might've still had left her and she ran, half crushing into Luka and pulling him along with her to the next room. Just out of there. God damnit, why was this so hard?

"I can't do it, Luka," Marinette said in a low voice and came to a halt in the middle of the room to press her face against his chest.

"I can't do it! He still confessed to me and I don‘t have the strength to say no and hurt him.“ She felt tears forming in her eyes. „Why can‘t I just say what I feel? Why is this always so hard?“

„Hey," he put his hands on her shoulders and and rubbed the lightly. "No need to freak out, you're not alone with this, I'm here."

Marinette pressed herself a little more against him. For a moment, she forgot everything around her. There was just her, and Luka, and that funny feeling he gave her when they were standing so close. It was calming, yet at the same time exciting. She felt her entire body relax, expect for her heart, rapidly beating in her chest, matching Luka's heartbeat. Did that mean Luka felt it, too? Was it normal to feel that way about your friend who was right now just pretending to be more than that?

Luka bend down to whisper in her ear. „I know how scary this is for you. But you‘re going to be okay. Just have a little more confidence. I‘m sure Adrien will understand.“ He gave her a kiss on top of her head. „You‘re more amazing than you think. Just be your wonderful self and everything will work out.“

With the way Luka stroked her shoulder and with what he’s just said to her, Marinette couldn’t help but ask herself, was this charade really fake? Why did Marinette wanted to stay so close to Luka, being absorbed by this feeling? Even if thier relationship was fake? Was all this really entirely fake?

Then it hit her. She really didn‘t want this to be fake. She wanted to stay in Luka‘s arms not as his fake girlfriend. She didn‘t want to hold his hand and be pressed against his chest and listen to his heartbeat as his fake girlfriend.

She wanted it to be real.

Marinette lightly lifted her head, taking a few deep breaths and turning her head to see Adrien and Kagami observing them from afar. Adrien did not look happy, and Marinette would lie if she said she didn‘t feel a little sorry for him, but she finally felt like she knew where she was supposed to be: in Luka‘s loving embrace.

Luka followed her gaze, then looked back at her.

„What are you thinking about right now?“

Marinette met his eyes and smiled.

„I‘m going to talk to him right now,“ Marinette said, „I know what I want and I‘m ready.“

And with that, she put her hands on his waist to steady herself to get up on her tippy toes and kiss his cheek. Luka‘s hands lightly squeezed her shoulders out of surprise and he stared at Marinette for a moment when she let go and smiled at him.

„Thank you, Luka. I appreciate everything you do for me… I appreciate you.“ she whispered. Then she turned away to talk to Adrien.

———

Marinette turned around to see Adrien waving at her before getting in his car. She waved back, then grabbed Luka‘s hand.

„He took it pretty good,“ he said, „I told you, everything will work out.“

He was right. Her talk with Adrien and the knowledge that now, she didn’t have to worry about it anymore had lifted a huge weight off her shoulders and she finally felt like she could breathe again.

„He did say he might need some time to get over it,“ she explained, „but at least he wasn‘t angry with me. I‘m just glad we‘re still friends.“

They went back and forth between chatting and walking in comfortable silence next to each other, enjoying each other‘s company. Their fingers were intertwined the whole time, and Marinette couldn‘t help but wonder if Luka was thinking about that as much as she did.

„Hey,“ she gently broke the silence between them, „I wanted to thank you again for helping me out today. You being there with me… that gave me a lot of courage. Even though you weren‘t into the idea of a pretend relationship at first, you still came along.“

Luka chuckled. „Of course, Mari. I‘ll always be here for you whenever you need me. Though now that I think about it, there was no need to make him think we‘re a couple, actually,“ he said, still not letting go of her and and instead, squeezing it lightly.

Marinette smiled and decided to be courageous one more time for today.

„I agree,“ she said, „but to be honest, I… I‘m still glad we- I mean…“

„Marinette,“ Luka stopped and turned to face her, looking at her with a mix of patience and encouragement. „Breathe. You know you can talk to me about whatever you want.“

Marinette did as he said and took a deep breath. She could do this.

„Uhm… what I meant to say was, I… I didn‘t mind. Us pretending to be a couple, I mean. It… I liked your hugs. They made me feel safe and encouraged and…“

She looked down and squeezed his hand.

„It didn‘t feel fake to me, Luka.“

She didn’t even really register what she had actually just said, but slowly the realization kicked in that she may or may not have just confessed to Luka. This was the first time she had ever confessed to anyone and she was pretty sure her heart was dangerously close to exploding. Had Luka felt the same when he had confessed to her?

„And earlier I thought about maybe inviting you for an ice cream at André. Even though that‘s a couple thing, but… I don‘t know. I liked the idea of us… being a couple, I guess, and… god I‘m making this weird-“

Luka took her free hand and put both her hands in his. She slowly looked up and noticed he was blushing. She had never seen him like this, but he looked awfully cute.

„Marinette,“ he said, „are you saying that you want us to be a couple? An actual couple, I mean?“

She couldn’t manage to form any words, so, she just nodded.

Luka stared at her for a few more seconds, then his lips turned into a smile.

„Well, if we‘re making confessions to one another… I kind of really enjoyed playing the role of your boyfriend. And also…“

His cheeks reddened even more.

„Right before you went to talk to Adrien, when you kissed me on the cheek, I… I had almost kissed you. That was the only thing I could think of at that moment.“

Now it was Marinette‘s turn to stare at him dumbfounded. Even if she couldn‘t see it herself, she was probably blushing too. She noticed his eyes dropping down on her lips, but he didn‘t move.

She swallowed. „Uhm… if you want to kiss me so bad… just… why don‘t you do it already?“

He bumped his forehead against hers.

„Are you really sure?“

She didn‘t answer. Instead, she put a hand on his cheek and slowly closed the short distance until their lips finally met.

It was shy, uncertain and the way their lips moved was a little clumsy at first, but still… it felt amazing. So amazing that after breaking the kiss and gazing into each other‘s eyes, they leaned in a second time, this time with more confidence. At some point, they had wrapped their arms around each other, pulling each other closer, forgetting everything around them.

They eventually pulled away, still wrapped in each other‘s embrace, foreheard pressed against each other, smiling.

„So,“ Luka broke the silence, „I guess our relationship isn‘t so fake anymore?“

Marinette laughed a little and gave him a kiss on the nose.

„No, Luka. This is real.“

[wonderland-smile-stories]

~ Chapter 1. 01 ~

I apologize in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes and how poorly written this fanfic is. English is not my first language and together with my dyslexia ass things can go wrong I'm sorry.

With a loud sigh, I open the door slowly hoping nobody would notice me. There were some voices in the living room and upstairs, but they seemed too busy to hear me entering.

Slipping off my shoes I held my stomach trying to ease the pain when I bent forwards. The beating from the previous night was still hurting as bad as when I received them. It also didn't help that I was pushed into the lockers about ten times today.

With slow steps, I began to make my way to the stairs. If I am lucky I can avoid everyone today and get a good night's sleep. My foot had just stepped on the first step of the stairs when I someone clear they were through. I close my eyes taking a deep breath.

"Mi-na. Where do you think you're going?" The sharp raspy voice spoke from behind me.

I turn around gripping tightly on the strap of my backpack that was hanging on my right shoulder.

"I was going to bed," I answered hoping she would be tired and just let it go.

While Taking a drag of her cigarette, her eyes scan me up and down before she blows out the smoke to speak. "Where have you been? It's eight a clock at night."

I opened my mouth to say something, but before I had a chance to speak she was already talking.

"Are you doing something behind my back again? I hope I won't get child services again at my door. I don't need to remind you what happened when they were gone." I swallow thickly grabbing my left arm while rubbing on the scars that were left to remind me.

"N....n..no. I....I was just."

"Just what huh? Speak up or you are spending your night in the shed."

The shed is a cold dark and nasty place. It's where you get sent if you so-called misbehave. You never know when you're allowed to get out or if even a day when by. It's just you in the darkness.

"I had to go to the pharmacy," I mumble looking down at my feet.

A scoff could be heard throughout the room before her shrill voice spoke again.

"Pharmacy? For what huh? Last time I checked you weren't sick."

I look up trying to steady my breath.

"M..my wou-"

"Stop mumbling! You know I hate when someone mumbles!" She yelled stepping closer to me.

"My wounds. They were getting infected. If I didn't threaten them it would get worse and had to go to the hospital. I thought it would be better to threaten them now before people would see it." I explain hoping she would just let me off by yelling at me.

For a few seconds, she looked at me before a stinging hit my cheek making my head turn to the side.

"Don't explain yourself as if you did something good! You wouldn't have those wounds in the first place if you hadn't disobeyed me!"

With heavy breaths, I look at her while holding my burning cheek.

"What money did you use to buy that shit." She asked calmly, too calmly.

"The money I got from my job," I mutter out.

Before I could brace myself she grabbed my hair pulling me closer to her.

"You stole from me?! You know that that money belongs to me!" Her face was so closed that I was getting dizzy from the smell of cigarettes coming from her mouth.

"I'm s..so....ry!" I cry out holding my hair where she was pulling on.

"Sorry? Sorry?! What the fuck does your 'sorry' do me?! Huh?" With every word her grip tightened on my hair, making tears appear in my eyes.

"I give you a place to live and this is how you repay me! Stealing and lying!"

With big force, she pulled me to the ground landing hard on my already bruised knees.

"It's like you're asking to get punished!"

Without any warning, she slammed her foot on my left hand. A loud cry escaped my mouth, but I quickly shut it hoping nobody else would hear it. I don't want the others to come down and help her.

"I....I'm sorry I'll pay it ba.." My voice was interrupted when she twisted her shoe on my hand while putting more pressure on it.

"Without a doubt! I don't care how you do it, I just want my fucking money!" With one last twist, she steps off my hand.

I cradle it against my chest feeling how it was throbbing from the pain. I swear I could feel something broken in it when I ran my finger over it.

"Get out of my eyes before I put you in the shed!" I nodded my head quickly standing up.

I watch as she walks back to the living room making sure she is completely gone before going upstairs. With the back of my other hand, I wipe the tears that had escaped my eyes.

Every day is the same.

Even if I do everything she wants she still finds a way to punish me.

With a deep sigh, I enter my room closing the door behind me. At least I didn't see the other kids. They love to watch or even help with her. Even in school, I can't escape. They just continue what they started at home there.

Walking to my bed I turn on the bedside lamp making it less dark in my room. It wasn't big and there wasn't much in it, but at least I was alone. I put my bag to the side before taking off my hoodie and shirt underneath it. I had just pulled my jeans down when I heard a crack in the floor behind me.

Quickly I turned around and came face to face with Drew. There was a cocky smirk on his face while looking me up and down. Quickly I grabbed my hoodie and threw it over my head hoping it would cover most of my body.

"Don't stop because of me. There is nothing I haven't seen before." I bite the inside of my cheek shaking my head at him.

"What are doing in my room, Drew? It has already been a long day and I really want to go to bed."

A part of me knew why he was here. While the other part hoped he was just here to annoy me. But seeing that it was late at night only one thing came to my mind. I have told myself that I won't let him do this to me anymore. That I would fight harder until he was annoyed and just left me alone.

A chuckle left his lips before taking a step toward me. As I said it was a small room, and it didn't take him much to reach me.

"Just wanted to say hey. Besides I heard that you were in trouble again with Ms. Ward. You just can't help yourself, don't you, love?" He reaches out moving a strain of hair out of my face.

The moment his fingertips grazed my cheek I could feel a chill run up my spine.

"Don't touch me," I mutter out moving my face from his hands.

"Just get out of my room. Haven't you done enough today?" I breathe out tiredly.

With both his hands he grabbed my face pulling me completely against his body.

"What the?! I said le.." Before I could finish he had crashed his lips on mine.

I had to process for a second what was happening before I began to struggle to get away from him. I felt him bite my lip, but I firmly held my two lips together denying entrance. With one strong shove, I push him away from me taking a deep breath immediately afterward.

"What's wrong with you!?" I cough out wiping my lips.

"Can't you go to one of your side chicks? Why do you want me?!" I whispered trying not to let the others know what was happening here.

A laugh came out of his mouth before he moved back in front of me. I took a few steps back but was quickly met with the bed behind me. Almost falling backward on it.

"Nobody is like you, love. You're just so different than the others."

I shook my head.

"Just go," I whisper hoping he would listen to me.

The same annoying chuckle left his mouth before he gave me a shove. Quickly I fell backward on my bed hitting my head hard on the wall.

For a second I think had passed out, but was quickly back to the present, well half the present.

My sight was hazy and blurry like they had put a filter over my eyes. When I tried to move my head the room seemed to spin around me, making me close my eyes tightly trying not to get dizzy. Without noticing I fell back in the dark, but not before I felt a presence beside me.

I felt someone grabbing my legs and putting them on the bed slowly I opened my eyes and saw someone sitting on the bed beside me slowly rubbing my bare leg. Goosebumps ran through my body making me want to pull away, but it was like my body wasn't listening. There was a voice, but it was muffled like I was in the water.

I think I passed out again because the next time I woke up I could feel coldness over my whole body. Slowly I looked down and saw that my hoodie was gone. I wanted to panic and run away, but everything was still blurry around me. A dark figure hovered above me before a hand touched my cheek and some words came out of its mouth that I couldn't understand.

When I woke up again I could feel something sitting between my legs. Still, with blurry vision, I looked down and saw what I thought was Drew. I watched as he moved his hands from my leg to my stomach stopping just underneath my bra. I shook my head and I could hear myself say a weak 'no', but that didn't stop him one bit.

I felt him put his two hands beside my face before leaning down and whispering.

"Don't worry love, I'll let you enjoy it too." before kissing my earlobe up until my cheek before crashing his lips on me. I tried to move away, squirming away from his touch and trying to push him away, but he didn't budge with my weak attempt.

Suddenly I felt myself sinking deeper into my mattress, before being fully in it and the touch of Drew faded away. The material of the mattress disappeared underneath my back and before I knew it I began to fall. My body felt like I was a doll that was tossed to the side of the room when a child was done playing with it.

Nothing worked not even my own voice.

I was ready to hit the ground and welcome the darkness of death, but when my back finally met the ground I only felt pain shoot through my body.

For a few seconds, I just lay there thinking I would probably pass out, but then I began to notice something.

It was so silent.

All the noise from the people in the house, Drew, or even the noises from outside my room was completely gone. I felt my fingers twitch from beside me slowly feeling the ground around me. I only felt cold concrete. Finally, I could open my eyes and was met with a dark room.

Is this the afterlife?

Am I in hell for all the shitty things I had done in life? The cold on my body was completely gone which made me look down. Somehow my clothes were back on. Maybe I am really dead.

"Don't worry you're still alive. For now." A voice spoke from somewhere in the dark and followed with a dark snickering.

I quickly sat up noticing that my wounds and pain were gone.

"You know you can still accept me. It's never too late to be the thing always wanted to be." The voice was so familiar to me, but I could place a face with it.

I began to turn around trying to see where the person was, but there was nothing. When a laugh came from behind I turned around ready to run towards it when the ground underneath my feet crumbled away. With a yelp, I managed to grab onto the side of the hole.

I pulled my head above the edge leaning on my arms underneath my chin. Being hopeful that I could pull myself up a cry left my lips when something grabbed my leg pulling me down. Soon others follow making me almost lose my grip.

While struggling to get free of the hands I heard a laugh in front of me. Looking up I could see a person coming from out of the shadows. My eyes widened when I saw that they looked exactly like me. The only things that were different and stood out were the black eyes and the sinister smile.

"You know, I can help you if you want to."

My nails were digging into the ground trying to get a grip on something to hold me up, but I kept slipping away. Everything inside of me was screaming not to trust her. She squad down in front of me looking down at me with those abysses of eyes and a smile.

"Don't you want to be strong?" She mockingly said with a chuckle at the end.

By now I was holding on to the edge with just my fingers.

"Come take my hand. I'll help you." A part of me wanted to let go so that I would be away from her, but the other part wanted to reach out.

It was the part that was tired of fighting to survive.

I have been fighting my whole life, maybe this is a gift for everything that has happened.

With a shaky hand, I began to reach out toward the other me, but before I could brush my fingertips against hers a hand reached my shoulders yanking forcefully so that I let go of the edge.

For the second time, I was falling, but now everything was dark around me. I yelled loudly while the hands were still holding me, their grip getting harder and harder. One reached my throat and I could feel it begin to squeeze cutting off the air that was going into my body.

A loud banging began to sound around me getting louder and louder while the light from the hole got smaller and smaller.

Next chapter

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The first chapter is out! I haven’t figured out what the update schedule will be. It won’t be every day that’s something I’m sure about. I hope you like it. See you in the next chapter!

[mamisfavmosherz]

DIRECTORY

Hello! Welcome to my blog, I write stories about celebrities and fictional characters, all with x reader.

First, I wanna say my first language isn't English, so I'm sorry for any grammar & spelling mistakes I might make! Also, I'm a college student and gonna start working soon, so I'm gonna do this at my own pace and when I can. This is also just a hobby and something fun I wanna do so I'm gonna write when I'm in the mood to do so, I don't want this to feel like a chore, so I'm sorry for the wait in advance!!

My stories are all gonna be Fem x Fem stories! I will also do nb!reader or nb!cleb/character! There will be male characters in the stories as friends, family members, extra characters, etc. But I won't write anything romantic with men.

Please, please leave requests! I will try to do as many as I can! Tho warning if I don't feel comfy with a request or just don't think I can pull it off, I won't do it.

Things I will write: Poly relationships, Fem!Reader/Character, Nb!reader/Character, SFW agere, Smut induendos/Teasing/Alluding, Fluff, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with happy ending, Platonic fics, Any pronouns, Au fics, Celeb/Character x Celeb/Character as side relationships in the story

Things I won't write: Full on Smut, Male reader, Male *romantic* character/Celeb, Angst with sad ending, Kidnapping, Yandre, Noncon, Dark!Au, Character/Celeb x Character/Celeb as the main relationship, Ageplay (this nsfw and it is not the same as agere pls do research!), Hurtful Pranks stories (like break up pranks)

Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy it!

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