#also yeah his legs don’t have shadows but that’s ok. i am past the point of caring <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[the-ranting-ravens-lair]

victor frankenstein, age 10, making the worst decision of his life

[khaleesiofalicante]

Ok imma be honest, this chapter moved me to tears and not the sad sobbing but the more inspiring kind. This chapter means the world.

She had told them her dreams were about ducks – since there were the only equally horrible thing she could think of.

Uncle Magnus had given her an odd look then, as if he knew she was bullshitting them. But he hadn’t said anything.

DUCKS AREN'T THAT BAD! HAVE Y'ALL EVER BEEN CHASED BY A GOAT?? I WAS CONVINCED I WAS GONNA DIE

Lexi would be royally pissed if this turned out to be some stupid pointless dream.

YUP

Even though she was only 7 minutes older than Lexi, Selena always acted like she was 7 years older.

That's so cute though

People looked at her pastel-coloured aesthetic immediately assumed she was the soft and sweet Fairchild twin. People saw Selena in her red leather jacket and thigh high boots and assumed she was in the infamous troublesome Herondale twin.

SMH THE DAMN STEREOTYPES

Why Selena hadn’t killed her in her sleep yet, Lexi doesn’t know.

BYE THAT'S EVERY SIBLING RELATIONSHIP EVER

The meals at the Academy were to die for – quite literally. Last week two students from the warlock fraction had almost killed each other over a blueberry muffin.

Oh how times change...they will never know the dreaded soup

NO ANJALI HAS BEEN GONE FOR OVER A YEAR???

IS JAIME OK?? PLEASE BE OK! HE CAN LIVE WITH TREATMENT SO I REALLY HOPE HE'S OK

Selena’s was Idris of course. She was kind of obsessed with it.

Max loved the shadow markets. Lexi thought they were very cool too.

Rafael loved his father’s office – which was weird. There was nothing to do in that room other than ponder about shadow world problems. Besides, the place still weirdly smelled like the tangerine perfume Anjali wore, even though the girl had left New York almost a year ago.

David loved the New York Institute – especially the library.

Gigi of course loved the dining halls.

Dining halls, kitchens, food trucks, vending machines - if a place had food with it, Gigi loved it.

It's so amazing how they all have their favorite places...(same David same)

“You’re supposed to pour the syrup on the pancakes not into your mouth,” Lexi chuckled as she sat down next to her.

“It ends up in my mouth anyway,” Gigi shrugged.

True enough.

AWW ROMAN MAKING GIGI PLAYLISTS!!

Someone make me a playlist.

“His parents fell in love in Rome when they were in Rome,” Gigi pointed out even though Lexi already knew. “I think it’s actually romantic.”

I had forgotten that-

Roman was nice. But not nice enough for Georgia. Lexi didn’t think there was anyone good enough for her parabatai – who was the most perfect person in the world.

Me @ anyone who tries to make a move at my best friend.

AWW GEORGIA LIKES HIM TOO!!

When's the wedding?

(you're telling me you didn't believe you were gonna marry your childhood crush? Liar)

“I like being his friend,” Georgia said. “I like spending time with him and all of that. But I don’t know if I like him…in that way. I feel like I need more time.”

Demiromantic??? YES GIVE US THE REP

Lexi sometimes thought life would be so much simpler if the world was full of women and everyone was a lesbian.

Ikr?? Life would be so much easier.

Lexi says Roman is too-nice-sus

Well well well

The kind of love that cheated death.

The kind of love that sustained memory spells put by princes of hell.

The kind of love that changed the world.

Trust me all of our standards are very high

Lexi successfully survived the class without falling asleep.

Me during English.

Ok who's the blond?

Lexi I thought we weren't gonna fall this soon-

Oh the girl's straight...sigh we've all been there.

which meant they had to hold hands. Kinda.

Lexi was a little scared of that.

Me.

Goddamnit, Alexandra. Get your gay together!

THAT'S SO RELATABLE LIKE?? YES

OH MY GOD IT'S EMMA AND JULIAN'S DAUGHTER GEIDIDHDOHDJSKSJSKGXJDHSODHKDGDDGDJHDJDGDJDGJDHD

Lexi knew Olivia liked boys. She hadn’t dated anyone officially of course. All the boys were kind of terrified of her father.

She could be bi or pan or omni. WE GOTTA HAVE HOPE

vegetable loaf... David I'm so sorry you had to go through this.

Lexi then decided not to do any of her homework over the weekend because she was not coming back to the academy. She was not going to survive the sleepover and whatever else Olivia had in mind.

Bestie...why is this me when I make eye contact with my crush.

“Good stuff?” Max snorted. “Rafe literally ran away from home cause shit got too intense.”

“I didn’t run away!” Rafael rolled his eyes. “Stop telling people that!”

“But you have rumours and shadowhunters getting thrown into silent city and cohort drama and all that exciting stuff!” Liv pointed out.

I-

Liv-

True though.

“Wasn’t there a serial killer when your parents were young?” David asked.

“And didn’t your uncle do necromancy?” Max said biting into a chicken wing.

True and true

“Sorry, Chouchou!” Lexi winced. “I, uh, sensed a mosquitoe on your leg.”

“Girl, your angel powers are weird as fuck,” Max laughed.

MAX LANGUAGE

“I don’t know,” the girl shrugged and threw her a wink. “I wouldn’t put anything past Lexi.”

Lexi looked at Gigi. She was one more compliment away from screaming.

But Gigi of course knew her struggle and therefore quickly stuffed a bread roll into Lexi’s mouth.

I need someone to stuff bread into my mouth when things get like this

There were rumours about David – and how Daddy had an affair. Lexi was yet to find those asshats and shove a witch light down their throats.

When you find them lemme know too.

“Or maybe it’s because you don’t need rumours be interesting,” David pointed out.

Max turned around, looking surprised at that. His cheeks turned purple. Lexi didn’t know why he was surprised. David only ever spoke fondly of Max.

JUST GET TOGETHER ALREADY OH MY GOD

“Oh. Oh! I did hear something a long time ago!” Gigi said suddenly. “Olly, is it true you were conceived at the beach?”

“Georgia, you can’t just ask people where they were conceived!” David sounded horrified.

That is very much possible.

“I heard you were conceived in hell?”

“Oh my god,” Selena looked horrified. “That’s not true! It must have been about Max!”

“Y’all I am adopted!” Max was shaking with laughter and then stopped. “Although our dads could have definitely had sex in hell. I wouldn’t put it past them.”

Oh yes. Both clace and malec.

Then they had of course continued to discuss that cursed topic until Rafael had threatened to tell the Consul about it.

LMAO

Lexi turned around and saw Liv waiting for her. Nope. She wasn’t going to talk a walk – a fucking stroll! – with Olivia all on her own.

“You are coming back to the institute with me or I will un-parabatai you.”

You know there being an un-parabatai ceremony would solve a lot of shit

What if their hands accidentally grazed or something? That shit was lethal.

RIGHT????

She is just trying to be nice. That’s what friends do. They are nice. And they give each other pretty dresses and say they would like to see them in it.

Honey that's gay.

EVERYONE ASKING HER OUT IM DEAD

Selena: Ugh boys

Selena: When I win back Idris, we are leaving all the men behind.

Lexi: Except Magnus? Lol.

Selena: Obviously.

Is that even a question Lexi? Duh.

ALEC LIGHTWOOD THOUGHT SHE WAS STRAIGHT? THE SHAME!

OH MY GOD IM CACKLING

Not everyone can kiss their partner in the Accords Hall. Some people didn’t have access to the Accords Hall.

And most important, some people didn’t have partners!

We're getting a lexi and Alec talk someone hold me

“I’m going to tell you something,” Uncle Alec said. “It might sound simple. It might sound ridiculous. But it’s the truth. So, you must believe me. Can you do that?”

Lexi gave him a small nod.

“It doesn’t matter what other people think,” Uncle Alec said. “Not when it comes to your future. Not when it comes to your identity. They don’t get to have a say in who you are and why you are the way you are.”

Lexi bit her lip.

“Alexandra, people will always tell what to do. But you shouldn’t let them. Never let anyone tell you what to do with your heart or your body. Neither belongs them. It only belongs to you.”

THIS RIGHT HERE MADE ME START CRYING BECAUSE DAMN YES!

“Yep,” she groaned and then hesitated for a moment. “Uncle Alec…Can I ask you something stupid?”

“Can I say no?”

“No.”

“Then go ahead.”

I love her so much

“I feel…I feel it’s something we have to bear, Alexandra. The fear of rejection. It’s something we have to accept as an inevitable part of our lives. Because no matter how much love we have around us, we will always be afraid of people not loving us – simply because of who we are.”

Yeah...

“Besides, they named you after me,” he pointed out. “I don’t know what else they expected.”

EXACTLY! Did they really expect a straight child after naming them after Alec?

“I do like shouting,” Lexi wondered out loud. “That’s good advice.”

“I didn’t mean it literally!” Uncle Alec looked alarmed.

“No, it makes total sense!” Lexi grinned. “Some of these people can be tone deaf. Gotta shout it out. Loud and clear. Awesome advice! Thanks, Uncle Alec!”

DO IT

“Hey, Lexi. I was wonderin-”

“MOVE, I’M GAY!” she yelled as she shoved him aside and kept on running.

ABSOLUTELY ICONIC

“I prefer she/her,” Lexi answered. "But sometimes I prefer she/they. But you can use she/her because some of y'all already shit at grammar."

That's exactly what I tell people when they ask for my pronouns. Istg people are shit at grammar.

alright girl im here to give you a lecture on how someone's dressing doesn't describe their sexuality

OH MY MY GOD THERE WAS A GENDER AND SEXUALITY CLASS IN THE ACADEMY ARE THEY RECRUITING???

One of the boys who had complimented cleared his throat. “So, uh, you don’t like boys?”

“That’s literally what I said,” Lexi rolled her eyes. “I’m gay. I’m very gay. I’m gayer than the Consul. Okay fine, that’s not true. No one gayer than the Consul. But I’m still pretty gay.”

Does the boy have hearing problems?

ALSO YES NO ONE'S GAYER THAN THE CONSUL

“Sexual orientation and gender expression are two different things,” she explained now, remember what Uncle Magnus had taught them. “Sexual orientation refers to who I am sexually and romantically attracted to. Gender expression is how I want to express my gender identity. Those two are not connected. Just because a woman wears feminine clothes it doesn’t mean she is straight. Just because a man embraces femininity, it doesn’t make him gay either. Does that make sense?”

“Ohhh,” the girl nodded. “Yes, it does. Thank you!”

“What I wear does not reflect who I like. It reflects who I am and what I like to wear,” Lexi explained. “And regardless of my sexuality, I like pretty things.”

Exactly.

“This doesn’t change anything. I hope you know that,” he told her. “I mean I have to change the pronouns in my shovel talk. But that’s not a big deal.”

Awwww

Also – my good friend Raziel told me that homophobia is a sin.”

“You mean homosexuality is a sin?” an older man asked.

“No, homophobia is a sin,” Lexi repeated. “That’s what Raziel said.”

“But that’s not-”

Someone cleared their throat. When he spoke, it was in the Consul Voice.

“Are you saying know better than Raziel?” the Consul asked.

Listen to Raziel you dumb shit

“Sure. Let me just call the Lesbian Alliance,” Lexi rolled her eyes.

Ugh I wish

OH NO NO NO NOT THE FAKE DATING. JUST CONFESS AND DATE FOR REAL

“Alexandra, I have a fucking undercut and I have pink highlights and I cuff my jeans and I literally walk around with a sword and I can quote Lady Gaga to perfection! Why would you ever think I was straight??”

Lexi your gaydar is broken bestie.

Don't do this omg this is gonna be a mess

Gigi: THIS IS A BAD IDEA. ABORT! ABORT!

Lexi: Relaaaax. It’s going to be fine!

Gigi: I’ve read enough fanfiction to know the fake dating trope never ends well!

Lexi: I’ve told you to include the ‘angst with happy ending’ tag!

LMAO

Also Gigi which fanfiction do you read?

Jace omg...

That's so him though.

“How about my peeps? It sounds very hip.”

“It does not,” Lexi replied. “Please don’t refer to us as your peeps under any circumstance."

IM SCREAMING ASHSKHSIDBSHSHDH

Her father chuckled at that. “Sweetheart, you’re a Herondale. Being problematic is what we do.”

EXACTLY

Daddy opened the notebook again. “I need names.”

Grabs flamethrower names

“Besides, the Lightwoods and Blackthorns have been hogging the gay genes for too long. Now it’s our turn. I say you gay it up.”

“Gay it up?” Lexi laughed.

“Yeah,” he grinned. “Go for the highest possible level of gay.”

DO IT

He blinked for a second and then it hit him. “OH MY GOD YES! DOES EMMA KNOW??”

Lexi laughed. Yeah, he can never find out it was a fake dating situation.

Hopefully he won't have to because it won't be fake :D

“To love is a privilege and to be loved is a blessing.”

THE GROWTH OH MY GOD

This chapter literally means so much to me. I don't even know what to say. I hope I too can one day have the courage to shout it in front of everyone and not be scared. See ya on Tuesday!

It means so much to me that this chapter meant a lot to you. I hope you find all the courage, strength and support you need. You are amazing.

And here. I made you a playlist.

You can find it here on YouTube. I hope you like it :)

[a-crash-in-time-collection]

Chapter 8: Ghost Dad Worries

The morning sun shone through the forest's leaves, a gentle breeze removing some weaker leaves from the trees. It was mostly quiet in this part of the woods, outside of the small things that came each time the hoof would make an impact with the earth. The young prince sighed as he took in a breath of the fresh air, and slowly, the laughter of children in the village he was approaching. It felt so great to finally be home.

AJ pulled back on the reins gently after they had past the bridge, the horse slowing to a stop gently as he prepared to get off. He hop to the ground, grabbing the reins and tied them to a nearby post. "Take a quick rest, Bay. I will return once I get the flowers." He said, petting bay's brown fur. The horse let out a slight huff, looking to the side as the prince smile, leaving as he took a glance around the town.

He felt so wonderful to be here again. While the place his school was located had quite the beauty, it could never match the feeling of being home. Nor did it have the same wonderful people. He caught a group of three children playing with a ball. He chuckled as one pointed him out, him waving with a smile as he walked past. He found himself staring up at the sky, the warm sun like a ray of life and hope.

He soon spotted his disation, the florist shop. There he would garb flowers for his lovely Vanessa and- he froze slightly. Something was wrong. Things weren't going to turn out right. Even if he just picked flowers from somewhere else, she would still accuse him. His legs became shaky as he tried to calm down. It's ok, you're ok. Don't let what already happened ruin the light for you. Just-

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" The scream was like shattering glass in the middle of the night, waking the ghost jolted right awake from his dream that had been becoming a nightmare. After he got himself to slow his breathing, his eyes instantly laid to the source of the scream, a shaking figure wrapped in the best blanket he could find. Glowing yellow tears falling onto the ground. "NO! PLEASE! I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

"Shadow Kid!" He said, quickly picking her up and pulling her into a hug. "It's ok- ow!" He said, when the child's reaction was to punch him in the chest in confused terror.

The child glanced up at him with a gasp, her eyes shaking slightly as more tears fell from them. "Snatcher?" She asked, her voice so small and meek compared to how it was just seconds before. Snatcher nodded as he floated back to his chair where he was sleeping, holding her close. "I-I.." The child stumbled. "I-I s-saw you frozen. T-The evil queen froze you then shattered you in front of me! S-"

"It's alright kiddo.. just a nightmare." Snatcher sighed, trying his best to stay calm. A small part of him was pounty he had to be woken up early, but he shoved it to the darkest corners of his mind. "That witch is still in the manor. She can't get to us now. She never will."

The child's breath slowed after a small bit. Her tears did as well. "I don't like nightmares.. they feel too real.." And sleeping in a closet was probably not helping with that. In Snacter's defense, he was slowly working on getting a 'second floor' grown into the tree for the child's bedroom, but it's only been a few days since he adopted her, so things were going slow. "What should I do to make them stop?"

"Well, you could always scare someone so you get the mindset you're in charge of scaring!" Snatcher piped up, it helped him out every now and again after all. The child looked confused by his request and just glanced to the side. "Right... sorry. You're not.. crazy like me. That won't work."

"I don't think you're crazy." Shadow Kid said, wrapping his ghostly tail around herself. Great, now he's got the kid trying to consuel the adult. Another great example of his parenting skills. He was so sure Shadow would just be another Hat Kid once the manor scares passed, allowing him to get a Dad plan ahead of time. But he was blind. Shadow was so different. Not that it mattered to him that she was...

"I am compared to before. But let's not talk about that..'' He could see the child look up at him, mainly as the words 'before' left his mouth. Peck, she was going to start asking questions. "You shouldn't worry about that after all. I'm your Dad. I watch and worry about you. I steal the souls of anyone who dares try to harm you. You don't need to worry about me at all, kiddo." He said, a small smile on his face.

"But what if I need to.. steal a soul?"

Snatcher froze for a moment there. On one hand, a part of him was happy by the idea. He could teach her soul stealing, it'd be great bonding time, and it could protect her later on! But at the same time, he knew it likely wouldn't be something she liked. The way the question was phrased was enough to tell that. "You don't need to worry about stuff like that right now, alright?" He asked, tilting her head up slightly.

Shadow Kid nodded. "If you say so... I just want the nightmares to stop.." she said, wiping at her eyes before any tears can form. Snatcher felt upset at the scene. And useless. After watching over the dwellers and minions for the last he didn't know how long, he just assumed he would be a great dad to any ghost child. He was wrong. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't be bugging you about it. I just... want to be happy."

"Boss?" A young voice piped up, Snatcher glancing at the minion who appeared. "Is the princess ok?"

"Yeah.. Yeah she's ok. She's my daughter, why wouldn't she be!" Snatcher playful chuckled, holding Shadow Kid in a more casual way. When he first introduce the child to the other ghost children, the minions quickly latched onto the fact that she was now, techoanlly, the princess of Subcon. They had been calling her 'princess' ever since. He honestly wasn't sure how to feel about that nickname...

"Oh, well, I heard a scream so I felt I had to check it out!" the minion claimed proudly, getting a chuckle from Snatcher in response. There was a small yawn, and Snatcher looked to see the child in his lap falling asleep. "You know, not to be rude, boss, but we noticed you've been struggling with your new responsibility the last few days."

Snatcher sighed slightly, waiting in a few minutes of awkward silence until he was sure Shadow Kid had fallen back asleep. He didn't want to say something that might upset her by mistake. "I would be lying if I tried to deny I have been. I thought having a kid would just be a piece of cake, especially since Shadow here doesn't need to eat or drink. Yet... it's been harder than I thought. I wish I had an idea how.. from someone other than a child." He gave the minion a knowing glare.

The minion shook their head slightly, with a yawn. "Well, you're the boss of things, so I can't make any good calls. Maybe there's someone who may have any idea out there... Welp, night!" The minion waved, before leaving the tree. Snatcher sighed as he looked down at his daughter. Maybe the minion was right... Maybe there was someone out there who would help him.

-------

Snatcher watched from his chair, letting his daughter play in little pool of water the tree had become surrounded in over the years. He was a bit paranoid when he first found her in it, but it wasn't deep enough for her to be stuck. And although she likely wasn’t the best swimmer, she seemed to know enough of the basics to stay afloat. Still, he kept an eye on her, rolling his eyes as a minion splash in the water beside her. It was a nice small distraction from everything. Although he couldn't stay distracted for long.

"You found what-" The DJ's voice brought Snatcher's attention back to the phone he summoned out of thin air. DJ Grooves was the only person he could think of that morning who might help him, so he had reluctantly given the penguin a call. "You're saying that all this time, the little darling had a piece of her own soul stuck here. And we've never known?"

"Don't get any ideas, Grooves. She's my daughter and you will need my consent before you throw her into any of your movies. Don't worry, same for Conductor." Snatcher warned, his slight finger wag could be heard over the phone. He sighed as he floated up, beginning to pace with the phone in hand. "But yes. Apparently she hid from me all these years and only came out recently." He found her, but he wanted to make her sound brave.

DJ Grooves chuckled on the phone. "Well, it's good the little superstar finally came to you, then." DJ Grooves, as one may expect, didn't know too much about Snatcher's past or the manor. But he knew just enough to know what the ghost child's fate could have been. "I do have to say, I'm really happy for you! Having a daughter is one of the most wonderful things in this world, after all." He chuckled.

"That's part of the reason I'm calling, actually.."

"Huh? How come?" DJ Grooves asked. Before Snatcher could respond, he heard a small giggle in the background, and felt a small pain in his soul. He could hear the Penguin place the phone down briefly, likely going over to share a small moment with his own daughter. He only saw the child a few times, but the relationship between the two of them seemed so perfect... "Sorry about that. Also, you seemed so happy about the idea of having her when you first called."

"Well... it's just... I'm failing as a Dad!" He nearly shouted, having no other real way to put it. Hopefully he didn't blow the Penguin's eardrums out. "I kept trying to bring my 'ghost that makes people sign contracts and then kill them' ways to her. I know it's dumb, but the other minons and dwellers seemed so used to it that I thought it'd be ok!"

"Well... I'll be honest, that isn't the smartness move on your part." DJ Grooves said, and Snatcher gave a slight glare to the phone. He knew the penguin was judging him for even thinking about bringing those topics up to her, but he just couldn't help it! Then again, that was the reason he was calling, so it wasn't like he could judge him in return. "She's just a child after all, if she does want to do those things with you, it'll likely be in the far future."

"Assuming she ages... but that's not all..." Snatcher amdited, sighing as he sat back in his soft chair. "Even when I try to treat her like I treated Hat Kid when she was young." As in treated her like a timeline version of Hat Kid where he didn’t try stealing her soul. "She doesn't seem too interested in other stuff! She... hasn't even called me Dad yet.."

"Relax, darling, she will be alright." DJ Grooves said, trying to calm the phantom over the phone. He never really saw this side of the ghost before, the closest he ever got was the last time they all saw Hat Kid back when she was first on this planet. Back when she swept them away from her spaceship. It was strange to see this side of the ghost, even a little unsettling. But he stayed claimed. "It took Dineanna a little over a year to call me Dad. Or to talk at all."

"I suppose..." Snatcher sighed, quickly waving his hand slightly at a minion who noticed him. "But I just... I don't know what to do. I was... hoping you might be able to give me some father pointers?"

"Well, I'm honored that you thought I would be your best choice." DJ Grooves chuckle slightly, as Snatcher rolled his eyes. He was the only father he knew personally. Well, that wasn't fully true. He glanced at the shadow child slightly, smiling faintly as he heard her giggle faintly. "But I'm not sure I can do much to help. She's 7 or 8 and Dineanna is only three. I don't know much about taking care of a child that age."

"Great..." Snatcher sighed, feeling tired slightly. "Is there anything you can tell me, anything? I need to... be better for her."

"Well... Maybe you should learn how Hat Kid was raised. Maybe that will give you some ideas?" As soon as those words came over the phone, Snatcher already knew what was going to be said. He didn't want to deal with them, especially the one...Looking over to the side, he got ready to hang up the phone. "Maybe go ask her, like what things helped her through hard times. What things calmed her down. Or you could-"

"You can say ask her Dads, but I'm not doing it." Snatcher said, glaring at the phone.

"Well... I don't see why you don't." The penguin asked. "They raised her ever since they found her, the little darling must have had some truma they needed to help her get over. They're bound to know the right things to do for someone like Hat Girl or Shadow Kid to be happy, and see you as a father as well. Besides, if- huh, oh right. I need to go darling, I have to head to the studio as soon as breakfast is finished, and I don't want to waste time with my family."

"Fine..." Snatcher sighed, using the opportunity to hang up the phone. And to resist the urge to throw it at the wall nearby. "They'll be the one who knows what's best for her? Yeah right, that kid was covered in scars when she got here! They couldn't have had her in a safe place when the rocket of thier's crashed!?"

Although, he really didn't have much of a choice here, did he? He sighed as he floated to the exit of the tree, watching Shadow Kid poke at one of those glowing mushrooms. The fact he tried to kill something so much like her before was crazy to him... the fact it was crazy to him was insane. He sighed and glanced to the side. "She deserves the best possible from me... Minions! Watch Shadow while I'm gone!" He shouted, to the surprise of many nearby.

The first one to snap out of the shocked state sluted him. "Yes boss! We promise nothing in rain, snow, or fire will come and harm our princess! You can count on us!" A few others shouted in agreement as he just nodded his head. He gave a small smile and wave to Shadow, who looked slightly confused, before turning away and beginning to head through the woods. To the one place where he could get help.

-------

"What do you mean Reg-Hats is busy?!"

"'e's T'e c'eif, did you expect 'im to not be busy?" Right Hand Man sighed, adjusting his position on top of the station.

Snatcher sighed as he looked around the place faintly. The toppats were doing a decent job of things, at least as decent as they could this early on. The kids and teenagers were close together, Snatcher having to glance away once he saw Hat Girl talking with her brother. He glanced back at the cyborg. "Look, I don't know how your clan works, but I need his help so do me a favor and call him here."

"Can't do t'at" Right Hand Man said, shaking his head with a sigh. "'e's In a meetin' wit' some of t'e ot'ers about 'ow exactly we can repair t'e station. You know, make it to w'ere we can go 'ome? W'atever you need 'elp wit', surely it can wait."

"Look, techally I can ask you it, but I rather speak to him about it." Snatcher admitted as he look at the cyborg, who rose a brow faintly. He glanced down at the ground, well, there was no way getting out of this now. The half metal man would just push him to answer if he tried to hide it, after all. "It's... with Shadow Kid... I may or may not be needing some help with her. And was hoping you could help."

"Only a few days and yer already gettin' the tried dad moments?" RHM chuckle, taking in the simple information.

"Shut it." Snatcher said, giving the cyborg a glare. How dare he assume that he would get tired of his own daughter. She was the most perfect and pure thing and she... deserved so much. Especially after everything that happened to her. He looked to the side, then backed at the man. He didn't like looking at him for too long. "I'm... having issues raising her right, I can't seem to get her to see me as a Dad."

"Really? That's the issue?" RHM asked, a little surprised when he heard that.

Snatcher sighed in defeat. "Yeah... I figured that since you two raised Hat Kid and she came out fine, that you would help me get her to see me as a Dad." And to be a better father overall, but he didn't want to admit that aloud. He was trying to act like he didn't care too much about it all, he couldn't let anyone see him acting kind... weak. "So, I suppose I should ask what stuff she would like."

"'ow Am I supposed to know t'at?" Right Hand Man asked. When the ghost first showed up and came to him, he found himself wanting to do anything else. Now he found himself wanting to see how this would go. "Can't tell ya what yer daug'ter would like or not like after all. 'er 'nd Hattie, despite t'eir connection, are two completely different people at t'e end of t'e day."

"Perfect, just perfect!" Snatcher stated in frustration.

The cyborg signed, shaking his head to the side. "Look, I can't give a better answer t'en t'at, ok?Even if she acts similar to 'ow Hattie was now, she's goin' to c'ange into 'er own person. T'e second she took 'er own form, 'er and Hattie were set on two completely different paths. Any tricks I've learnt over t'e years as a fat'er isn't goin' to be of any real 'elp to ya." Right Hand Man said. "'nd Don't go buggin' Reg for a different answer, 'e would tell ya t'e same."

"But... Hattie seems to care so much about you two!" Snatcher said, and now his desperation was becoming noticeable in his voice. "You two seemed to do a perfect job of raising someone like her. And you say it won't work for me... What should I do then." He sighed as he grabbed his head, trying to think. "I shouldn't have just adopted her on instinct. I should have prepared myself before I..."

Right Hand Man chuckled at that. "Bold of ya to assumed I was prepared." The ghost gave him a confused look. "It was a few days after we first found 'er. 'ad To go 'elp Sea Division for one day. T'e second I came back Reg told me 'e adopted 'er. 'nd S'e was already callin' 'im Dad, so t'ere was no goin' back."

Snatcher let out a chuckle. It felt nice to hear about the man's struggles. But, in a sense, it felt relieving to know the man had similar issues to what he had. "Really?"

"Yea'. I t'ought it was 'opeless, to be 'onset." Right Hand Man admitted. "I'm a fig'ter. I could easily be a murderer from 'ittin' cops wit' my bat alone! I didn't see myself as a good fat'er figure. I didn't brot'er tryin' to c'ange because I knew I couldn't."

"If you didn't change, how did you get her to see you as a dad?" Snatcher asked.

Right Hand Man sighed, a small smile formed on his lips. "Well... I guess I slowly tried to get us used to eac' ot'er. Allowin' 'er to bug me wit' questions to me looking for her if Reg got worried. I t'ought that was all our relationship would be. But one day, she came up 'nd asked 'Papa. Can ya 'elp me finis' t'is one puzzle.'" The cyborg chuckled. "'nd As soon as those words left 'er mouth, I knew I was doin' t'ings right. And it instantly became one of t'e best moments in my life."

"So... I should just... let us both try and get used to each other." Snatcher asked. The cyborg gave a shrug in return, allowing the ghost to sigh. "Well... for a man that got turned into half machine, you do seem to know a lot.. thanks."

"Anytime, I suppose..." he glanced back where the teens were, seeing Platinum backup from that 'Van' kid while Hat Girl was laughing. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but the ghost wasn't as bad as he thought... Still, he wasn't going to drop his guard around him anytime soon.

The two were there silently for a few moments, before Snatcher let out a clearly fake cough. "Well I suppose I should be going! Have to make sure those minions didn't get into trouble with Shadow..."

"Sounds good. I need to go check on how the solar panel repairs are goin'." Right Hand Man stated to the ghost. He hop off the top of the station, blasters under his feet activating and keeping him in the air. He floated to another side of the station, not even bothering to say goodbye to the phantom.

Snatcher didn't let that bug him... he had a job to do after all.

-------

"Snatcher!" The young girl's voice brought worry into the phantom's soul as he approached where his tree was. He speeded up his pace, worried inside. Until the sight entered his vision. "One of the Minions got themselves stuck in the ropes!"

"Again?" Snatcher sighed triedly as he went over to the hanging minion. He ignored the nouses' calls and gently poke the minion free. "You all need to stop going up there. You can't die, but you can still get hurt!" He schooled as he floated down to the ground.

"Sorry boss. The princess just wanted to see how strong it was, so I volunteered to-!"

"I didn't tell you to do anything." The shadow child corrected meekly, glancing at the monon in confusion. "You told me 'Wanna see a trick I can do' and got yourself stuck."

Snatcher chuckled a bit, a small grin forming on his face. "Well, looks like you are guilty, aren't you?" He asked. The minion just nodded his head, before beginning to walk away. Snatcher smiled at Shadow Kid. "Good on you, kiddo. Best to call out people like that as soon as you can. Make them know it's not smart to try and lie their way out of everything!"

Shadow Kid giggled slightly. She then glanced over at the tree she and Snatcher called home, looking up slowly. Her eyes seemed to gain a bit of awe to them, and a look of mystery. She looked back at the ghostly prince. "I wonder how things look from the top of the tree."

Snatcher glanced up at the tree. With how tall most of the trees in the forest were, he forgot his was a special case. Going beyond the human, and ghost, eye. He looked down at Shadow Kid, a smile forming on his face as an idea popped into his mind. "Why don't you and me go find out?" He asked, picking her up.

She let out a gasp. "Really?!" She asked, as Snatcher reached behind himself, placing the child, his child, on his back.

"Let's go!" He said, and began to float up. Admittedly, he could probably just float right up to the top right away if he wanted too. Would only take about 12 seconds. But he decided against that. It would be better to take things slow. Shadow could end up having a fear of heights, and he wanted to be as close to the tree for when he would need to make a quick turn around to get back onto the forest floor.

Shadow Kid glanced around in a bit of awe. Everything somehow felt bigger, but also smaller from all the way up here. She felt like she was as powerful as Snatcher! She found herself reaching for a purple mushroom, when her eyes caught onto an orange glow. She looked in the distance, and saw a tower that looked like it was filled with fire! Tilting her head a little more, she soon saw one so similar, but with ice poking out in every direction! "Woah! Snatcher, what are those!"

Snatcher paused when he heard her voice, glancing around to see the two towers. "Oh! Well, to be honest. I don't fully know.”

"Wait, there's something here you don't know!?" The child asked, her surprise making Snatcher flich.

He chuckled faintly as he turned so she could get a better view. "They've been there as long as anyone can remember." Snatcher explained, a calming tone to his voice. "But no matter how close you try to get to them, you never can get there. It's almost like they exist in a different reality altogether. Some even say they might be the remains of the Moonjumper's work."

"Moonjumper?" Shadow Kid asked, as Snatcher started to float up the tree again. "What's the Moonjumper, is it like a cow or something?"

Snatcher had to hold back a laugh at that. "No, no Shadow. He was a figure of Subcon folklore that supposedly protected the forest years ago, until one day he was just... gone" He shrugged slightly. "Who knows, one day I might get around to telling you those stories.."

"I think that would be nice. He sounds almost as cool as you!" Shadow Kid called, allowing a small smile to form on the phantom's face.

It took about half a minute to finish the trip up the tree, the phantom having sped up faintly since Shadow Kid didn't seem bugged by the idea of heights. He soon floated on top of the giant mushroom top that grew from the tree, placing Shadow Kid down. The child let out a gasp, spinning around like the mist and snowflakes around them. She soon stepped a bit near the edge, sitting down as she looked at the, a bit foggy, view.

"The forest looks so beautiful from up here." She said, a soft smile and faint blush appearing on her face. She looked over as Snatcher went beside her, mimicking how she was seated the best he could in his current form and size.

"Yeah... I wish you could have seen it when it was alive..." Snatcher sighed, as he looked at her. "Such a beautiful kingdom... that might be yours one day."

"Huh?" Shadow Kid asked, tilting her head to the side faintly. "But.. you can't die?"

"No, I can't. Already done that after all." he chuckled slightly. "But I could still have the chance to move on one day. Now, I don't see that happening anytime soon, especially willingly. But, if it does happen, I need someone to watch over the forest for me. Someone who won't let the dwellers and minions get hurt." He looked at her, giving her a small smile. "And who better to watch over it than my own child."

"But... I'm not like you.. I want to be but I can't." Shadow Kid sighed, looking at her hands. Not noticing the surprised look that dawned Snatcher's face. "I can't steal souls or cast spells or anything that you can do. What if.. I can't do a good job?"

"My little Shadow..." Snatcher said, reaching for her, gently pulling the chipped soul into a small hug. "You're kind, bright, and full of hope. That alone is enough to make you the best Queen Subcon has ever had one of these days." He glanced to the side. "Although, when you're a little bit older,I suppose I can try and teach you some tricks. Would that work?"

Shadow Kid let out a gasp, nodding happily. She quickly hugged him. "That would be perfect! Thank you Papa!"

Snatcher's world slowed from a moment, everything became a blur except for his little bundle of joy he held in his hands. A bundle of joy he could no longer see himself existing without. She called him Papa... she called him Papa.... He smiled as he wrapped his tail around her faintly. "Of course, my little shadow."

It was the best moment in Snacther's entire existence.

[northlight14]

Not so alone after all

After a lot of enbyphobic comments are made in Virgils class, zie retreat to the bathroom to have a panic attack. Zie is then found by a student who is able to help zim though it.

TW: enbyphobia, internalized enbyphobia, panic attacks, cursing

 Ships: analogical (platonic or romantic)

Virgil wandered into zir biology lesson, already ready for it to be over. Zie didn’t exactly hate the lesson but it was second last period and zie sat with enough assholes to make the lesson unbearable. At this point, Virgil just really wanted to go home.

 Virgil took zir seat and silently waited for the lesson to start as the other students came pouring in, speaking loudly over each other as they did so. The teacher, Miss Richie, did the register and then got on with todays topic: DNA. Virgil half paid attention as the teacher went on.

 Eventually, Miss Richie started talking about chromosomes. “There are only 2 combinations of chromosomes, XX and XY. Your chromosomes are the thing that determine your gender.” That bit really pissed Virgil off. Zie got that this was high school biology and things have to be massively simplified but that was just straight-up incorrect, on multiple levels. There were so many other types of chromosome combinations and even if there weren’t, chromosomes have never dictated gender. Heck, they sometimes didn’t even dictate the persons biological sex! Zie considered for a moment saying something, but zir anxiety decided against it.

 A boy sitting in the back of the class raised his hand “Miss, what about trans people and all that?” Virgil suddenly felt uneasy. Zie knew all too well the opinions of zir classmates and this conversation could only lead to a bad road.

 “Well, trans people can have surgeries to change their outward appearance but the chromosomes can’t be changed.” Miss Richie answered simply. Virgil prayed that would be the end of it. Zie had only recently been able to admit to zirself that zie’s genderqueer and the idea of telling anyone else made zim feel like all the air had been knocked out of zir lungs. Virgil also knew that zie had a long way to go towards self-acceptance. That means that any ignorant comments would be made without the knowledge that they were talking about someone in room (not like that ever-stopped ignorant teens before) and zie definitely didn’t have the confidence to not be affected by whatever was said.

 All zie could do was hope the universe would leave zim alone this once. But, of course, the universe just couldn’t give zim a break, could it?

 “Miss, do you agree with those people who say there are more that 2 genders?” Virgil felt zirself freeze at that, cautiously waiting for the teachers answer.

 “Well, people are born biologically either male or female. However, how someone feels is different from that.” That last part was cut out by the class practically yelling their views on the subject.

 “Yeah I think there’s only 2” said the boy who originally asked the question.

 “It’s basic biology” said another girl.

 “Yeah, I identify as an attack helicopter” joked the guy sitting next to Virgil.

 And Virgil knew, zie knew, that what they were saying was all bullshit. Just a bunch of high schoolers making comments about something they were uneducated on and likely recycling what their parents had taught them. But knowing that didn’t stop all the air leaving Virgil’s lungs. It didn’t stop the shaking of zir hands in zir pockets. It didn’t stop the tears threatening to roll past zir eyes, risking making zim look like an idiot and outing zim to the whole class.

 Miss Richie continued with the lesson but Virgil wasn’t paying attention. Zie was too focused on getting zir breathing under control while simultaneously trying to mask zir distress from the rest of the class. Virgil just desperately wanted to leave, get as far away from this room and these people as possible. But zie knew it would look too suspicious if zie asked to go to the bathroom right after what had just been said. So zie just sat there until the lesson was over before quickly shoving all zir stuff in zir bag and dashing off to the nearest bathroom.

 There didn’t seem to be anyone in there (although it was kind of hard to tell as the edges of zir sight were very blurry) so zie collapsed against the wall and slid zir back down to sit on the floor. Virgil gasped for air but it didn’t seem to be much use. Not with zir brain screaming at them.

 You’re going to have to see a lot of those students for last period!

What’s gonna happen next biology lesson?!

Or when you come out?!

Why are you even having an anxiety attack over this?!

You’re just being an attention seeker!

You’re probably not even genderqueer! You’re probably just a cis guy wanting to be special!

 Virgil was crying now, hugging zir legs close to zir chest and hiding zir face.

 Pathetic! You’re so pathetic!

“Hey, are you alright?” a sudden voice caused Virgil’s head to snap up. Zie was met with concerned navy-blue eyes framed by their rectangle glasses.

 Virgil wasn’t entirely sure zie could speak right now so zie shook zir head quickly. The stranger (Virgil vaguely recognized them, but the panic and tears made it difficult to see clearly) knelt down in front of zim.

 “Is it alright if I touch you?” Virgil slowly nodded, trying to focus on the calming, monotone voice. Zie felt a hand gently touch zir knee and begin to rub calming circles. “I want you to breath with me, ok? In for 4 seconds…” Virgil recognized this breathing pattern but was grateful to have someone guide zim through it. The first time Virgil didn’t quite manage to hold zir breath for the full 7 seconds but the other student adjusted accordingly and continued, Virgil managing the second time around. Soon, zie felt zirself breathing on zir own without much difficulty.

 Zie felt the stranger pull away and Virgil was able to get a proper look at them. Now zie could see the specs of light in their dark ocean eyes, few freckles along their nose were magnified by their glasses. Their dress sense was very formal, at least compared to Virgil who wore the same purple patched hoodie basically every day. Their tie was tied perfectly and matched their eyes. This was contrasted with their black polo shirt. Their dark brown hair was also brushed neatly.

 “Are you feeling better now” they asked.

 “Uh, yeah I think so. Um…thanks for helping…um?” Virgil mumbled.

 “-Logan and it was no problem. My younger brother struggles with anxiety attacks so I know what to do in these situations.”

 Logan stood up and offered Virgil a hand which zie accepted. Zie caught zir appearance in the mirror, slightly horrified at the sight of zir blood-shot eyes, red cheeks and black eye shadow running down zir face. Zie wasted no time in grabbing a makeup wipe from zir bag and attempting to make zirself look slightly presentable.

 “I don’t believe I got your name.” Virgil chuckled slightly to zirself at how formal the student spoke.

 “It’s Virgil.”

 Logan nodded. “Well Virgil, do you wish to talk about what caused you to have an anxiety attack?” Virgil immediately froze. Sure, Logan seemed chill but what if they were actually transphobic?! Or told everyone?! Or a teacher?! What if the teacher or someone else then told zir parents?! Even if they were cool, zie wasn’t ready to come out to anyone yet!

 Logan must have sensed zir hesitation because they followed it up with “If you do not wish to talk about it, that’s fine. However, I am here if you need me.”

 “Thanks.” Virgil answered simply, starting to be reminded of the reality of zir life. That zie was a lonely, questioning genderqueer in a catholic school filled with cishets, most of them who would be ready and willing to beat zim up if they knew. Sure, zie knew a few queer people but no one who was also nonbinary. The more Virgil thought about it, the more isolated zie started to feel.

 “Do you wish me to escort you to class?” Logan asked, taking zim out of zir thoughts.

 “Oh, um, no. It’s alright.” Virgil said, kind of awkwardly, scratching the back of zir neck.

 “Very well.” Logan nodded, picking up their backpack, which had been resting beside them. It was then that Virgil noticed it. A yellow, white, purple and black badge with “he/they” written on it. Virgil stared at it, stunned. Zie slowly started to feel a warmness and sense of belonging growing in zir chest.

 “Is there a problem?” Logan asked, sounding slightly confused.

 “What? Oh, no!” Virgil said quickly before smiling to zirself. “No problem at all.”

 Huh, Virgil thought to zirself guess I’m not so alone after all.

Reblogs > likes

[lovely-necromancy]

A Cure for Insomnia CH. 8

TW

Mentions of SELF HARM. Please be aware before reading.

“Yeah, in the end Jenna Rosencali decided that she didn't want to invite Meghhan Levei to her birthday party. And that's what started the water balloon war at eight in the morning.” Little Jo said as she scrunched her curls trying to get them to dry somewhat uniformly.

The poor eleven year old had walked into the shop soaked down to the bone. Her cousin had rushed her straight into the break room to have her get dry and change clothes. Even running across the street to Dunkin' and get her favorite breakfast sandwich and donut. Then Jo had come out not even a minute after he left and proceeded to tell you what happened, knowing her cousin probably thought she'd been bullied.

But you were different, you didn't see her as a target at all. She likes to think you see her as a little sister, one who enjoys hanging out with you. As much as she likes to think that she understands you probably just see her as the boss' kid that you have to be nice to. You don't immediately jump to her aid when things look a certain way, like just right now. You waited to hear what she had to say rather than assuming someone was mean to her because she was different. Jo knows her family just wants to protect her but sometimes she just wants them to listen to her like you do.

“It's always Megans. Lemme guess name spelt weird.” like right now, you heard her.

“Yea she's got two 'h's in the middle. Meghhan.” she laughs as you roll your eyes. She tics and yanks on her hair as she's scrunching.

“Ouch” stupid tics.

“I've got some shea moisture in my locker in the break room, want me to grab it for you? It'd help with frizz.” another reason she likes you, it took a few days before you stopped checking on her tics, so long as she didn't have scissors.

Even her family haven't mastered that and they've been dealing with her Tourettes for six years.

“Please.”

She follows you to the back for the hair masque. Letting her take what she needed you place the jar back in your locker. Letting her know she's free to it in emergencies like this or rainy days. It's not like your locker was ever locked with just you and Nate being here. And you're pretty sure Nate dipped into this emergency hair saver as well. You didn't have an extreme need for it here it was just a habit you've kept from living in muggy humidity most your life.

“How's your week been?” Jo asked as she finally settled her hair how she liked it, with help from the masque.

She startles at the frustrated noise you make as you both leave the break room.

“Bad?” she questions.

“Sort of...there's...this..it's...”

Shit, you hadn't thought about your response. With all the stress this week you just reacted naturally to the question. Who can blame you, what with your stalker being on your mind all week, minimal amount of sleep, plus the weird interaction you'd had with Brian at the start of it. Then yesterday you topped off your stress with a healthy portion of more frustration driving up to the lodge after work to see if Barclay would like some help with cooking or even shopping for the picnic. Stubborn man sent you off with a hearty laugh after getting you opinion on the vegetarian/vegan main course, eggplant teriyaki or tofu and pineapple chipotle skewers.

“Oooooooh a boy.~” she might not be your actual sister...but you're starting to understand the Cain Instinct.

“Half right I guess.” Jo starts bouncing waiting to hear more, she's probably expecting some juicy relationship drama. Sucks for her that you are probably the world's most boring twenty-four year old, and you're content with that.

“Barclay's just frustrating sometimes.”

“Wait! You and Barcl-”

“Nope.” you interrupt, “I asked him if he needed help with any cooking for the picnic and he brushed me off.” You know he didn't mean anything by it and from what everyone said he could more than handle cooking for the amount of people just fine on his own. You'd just thought it'd be a nice gesture to offer, though you did hope he'd accept. He'd been pretty quick to turn you down, had you been any one else you may have even been insulted by the speed of the rejection.

“That's what's bothering you?” Jo's face held a very confused expression on it. It was understandable since not a lot actually bothered you, especially something as small as this. However, it's not like you could tell an eleven year old 'Yea I'm kinda being stalked right now and this week has me looking at every shadow and movement differently but fortunately or...unfortunately no one seems to notice and just brush it off as my hallucinations.'

Yup, totally not the thing you confide to an eleven year old about. Especially now that you have your plan all figured out. You've planned to let the stalker continue stalking you, picking up clues where ever they may leave them. They're bound to slip up at least once after a month of following you through your routines. Should be able to find evidence to have Big Jo help you in no time.

“Well no...I've just had a lot on my mind...”

“We can talk about it.” kid's got a kind heart, but this isn't her problem and you won't put it on her.

“Nah, it's fine.”

There's a pause as silence settles over the shop front. Jeez how long does it take to get an order from Dunkin'? Jo is staring at you as if she can see every part of your being. Breaking open your soul so all your secrets are laid out on display for her. You really don't like it, it feels like being under the microscope and it's making your skin get that familiar itch under it.

“Stop staring.” thankfully she does as you ask.

“...you said it's fine...are you going to be ok though?” Damn Montessori schools, actually allowing children to pick up on emotions and meanings behind linguistics.

You have to pause when you go to respond with the polite 'Yea I'll be good'...because you hadn't given it any real thought. You've made up this best case scenario plan. A plan that requires time and a lot of it. But you never gave thought to the fact that you might not have much time at all. What if the situation was more dire than you thought...what if this wasn't simply a stalker but a serial killer and you happen to fit his MO. A cult who was looking for the perfect sacrifice for their god. And while those thoughts could also be far fetched so is the scenario that you've built up for this past week.

Even if this was a simple stalking case, who's to say it wouldn't escalate? You have an old steel baseball bat in the hall closet and you could use it in case things got dicey. But that would require it being on your person a lot more than it actually is. Maybe you could make it look like you took up going to batting cages...are there even any batting cages in Kepler?

'Fucking focus...stop the rambling. Am I going to be ok?' you think to yourself despite the roaring chaos of your mind. Even with all the possibilities being thrown around you don't have an answer. Maybe that's really the answer after all if you can't get even one 'yes' from any of the possibilities...maybe you wouldn't be ok after all. Maybe you weren't ok.

“I don't want to talk anymore.” It's said so plainly, in such a dull monotone that it throws Jo off.

Jo's not quite used to this but she understands from the two times she's seen it that sometimes you just shut down under pressure like this. This topic, whatever it is, must really bother you. She wishes there was something she could do to make you feel better, but you can be really volatile in this state. Easily going from shutdown mode to meltdown at the simplest action.

With a jolt joined by a 'yip-yup' she remembers something that might put you in a better mood. And if it doesn't she still needs to give it to you so you have it. Rushing off to the back as fast as her legs will take her, having the agility only years of dance can provide.

Nate comes back into the shop as she disappears to the back.

“Did you know the Dunkin' across the street does parties?” What? To the man's credit he had no reaction to your blank stare and lack of response. He clocked the eye contact aversion right away.

You've gone into shutdown mode. Sometimes you just go quiet and that's fine, you're like a robot in this state and if he sets you up with a task that should take all day you have it finished in a few hours.

Once when he asked you just said you needed to not talk at time and that the tasks were good ways to process thoughts. Nate was reasonably creeped out by this but you aren't hurting anyone so c'est la vie.

“Nate?” Jo's calls out from down the hall.

“Yea, I'm back. Brought food.” he set the bag on the counter and handed you the shitty hash rounds you like for some reason.

'It's only cuz they're bad, if they were good they wouldn't be worth eating.' you think as you pop one into your mouth.

Jo comes twirling back into the room. In a broad sweep of motion kicks her foot off the floor to do one final dramatic twirl that ends in a bow with the same leg pointed toward the ceiling. All to present to you and Nate two tickets. Tickets to what?

“Another dance rehearsal?”

“Nope actual thing this time.” she supplies passing you each a ticket.

It's such a formal looking ticket for a recital that only goes up to age twelve max. Most dancers will still be in elementary school. But they want you to treat this like the Russian Ballet. Oh it even says it's a black tie event, completely different from the rehearsals you've been too.

You aren't sure if you have anything black tie status. You'll have to make a trip further out of your normal bounds and go thrifting for an outfit. Luckily it won't be happening for another month, that gives you plenty of time to try finding something in your size that you also like. It also gets you out of Kepler and away from your stalker for a few hours. Hopefully. But there's a chance your stalker will follow you on your outings away from Kepler so you'd need to keep an eye out for familiar faces on the trip.

“YN...will you come?” Jo's looking up at you with her big puppy eyes. Unfair, even if you wanted to decline she pulled puppy eyes. What heartless monster would refuse puppy eyes.

You give a slow nod along with a smile that doesn't reach your cheeks let alone your eyes. And while Jo's a little disappointed with the lack of enthusiasm she's still excited for you to come to her recital. Nate nudges her into her personal reading nook making up a lie that you hadn't finished your task sheet today so he'd watch over her while you finished working. You'd only had vacuuming and organizing the shelves that got mussed up the previous day, needless to say you were done nearly as soon as you started. When he came back to you he had a whole stack of papers for books that would need to be input into the system. You got to spend the rest of the day on the dinosaur computer in the backroom.

The quiet was nice.

After you'd gotten off work you still weren't out of your funk. Frustrated with the idea of going home and not actually being alone with a stalker prowling around. You decided to go to the one place that can calm even your worst of moods. The stream.

There's a reason why you've never been able to do longer than a thirty minute hike through the Monongahela and that's the stream. Every time you've said you'd go further into the forest you're always drawn back into that spot along the bank right under the red spruce. It has the best smell of all the trees, you think.

Just thinking about it has you having a better outlook on the day. You hardly spare the RV a glance as you go along your usual route.

You've said it once you'll say it again for emphasis. You could walk the same path every time you came through and always find something different. Like that cool rock right there. Picking it up to inspect it closer you note the color is a deep dark brown that it almost looks black even obsidian, it reminds you of something but you can't quite place it. It's very smooth and oddly enough fits perfectly in your hand given it's larger size.

You think you'll keep it, this is a good rock. Idly rubbing the smooth surface of the stone as you trek through your trail, you can feel the tension start to ease off of you. You found a very nice worry stone, it works amazingly well. Hopefully no one lost it and it is just a naturally occurring stone that you happened on by chance. As much as you like it you'd hate to think of the chance of someone loosing something they need.

All thoughts cease once you hear the babble of the stream. As if on auto pilot you move with a fluidity through the brush and low hanging tree branches to your spot. Right under the spruce. Just as you did the last week and every other trip before you remove your shoes and socks placing them further behind you, so you can dip your feet into the cool stream. It's very refreshing on this hot summer's day.

Lying down with your feet still in the stream you close your eyes and just loose yourself to nature. All your cares and worries getting washed away by the steady moving stream. It's strange to be here without the buzzing in the back of your head. Oh great speak of the devil and he shall appear. It's fine, after all you're used to this, it's easy to ignore.

However, what isn't easy to ignore is the snapping of a branch, from in front of you just across the stream, how cliche. Cliches aside the sound rockets you back into a sitting position as you look for the source. And you find it...find him standing just on the other side of the stream emerging from the brush on that side. Toby. And he's mask less, not a weird choice considering he probably wouldn't have run into anyone had you not decided to come out for a hike.

Great you can feel your chances at friendship slipping through your grasp just like the water slips down the bend. He's gonna think you're weird when you don't respond to him verbally. Or worse he'll think you were rude for not wanting to talk to him and then never want to talk to you again in retaliation. Whatever relaxation had once been over you quickly dissipates and you are left anxious and with a tickle at the base of your skull.

Toby hasn't said anything yet. Not even a raised hand in a half wave. You also don't see Connor anywhere. Is Toby okay right now? Fuck even with that kind of thought you can't manage to move your lips let alone actually utter a sound, even ones that wouldn't ever be counted as words by anyone who was currently living. So you take the first move, literally.

Raising the hand without the stone in a mock form of a greeting. Toby doesn't seem to quite register it or you but he copies the movement. Oh he must be dissociating either that or in a catatonic state similar to the one you'd been in last weekend. That's probably how he knew he just needed to sit you down and keep and eye on you. You could do that for him...if that's what he needed.

You wave your hand beckoning Toby to come over to your side of the stream. Toby tilts his head to the side before his arms jolt up, going across his body. You assume it was a tic because he didn't keep the pose long. Tilting your head back at him, as if to say 'You coming over?', you pat the spot next to you.

Seems he registered that because he backed up a few steps before taking a running leap to cross the stream. He lands with more grace than you'd given the lanky guy credit for, normally someone with such long limbs would be a lot more clumsy. Not to mention that was a pretty wide jump, and Toby only has a few inches on you, you could probably barely cover the width of the stream. But he not only cleared it but he gave himself a good six inches of coverage away from the edge. You just hope he didn't roll or over exert anything by doing that. With his insensitivity to pain he wouldn't feel it and if he wasn't here mentally right now it's likely he wouldn't even remember he made a jump like that in the first place.

When he just stands in place staring at you, you get a bit uneasy. What's up with everyone staring at you today? You get really uncomfortable with people's stares normally, and now you're overstimulated and stressed it's not a great combination. But you can rationalize Toby is having a moment of his own. And since he helped you the best that he could you'll do the same for him, pushing aside your own issues for the moment. After all what are friends for.

He's standing within arms reach. You don't even have to get up as you gently grab his hand and give a few light tugs. Trying your best to get across that he should sit down with you. This would probably be a lot easier if you could speak right now. Did he speak to you when you were like this?

Toby thankfully gets the message and drops into a criss-cross position next to you. You start to retract your hand, now that the need for contact is over, when Toby's rough hand closes around it suddenly. Looking to Toby he's just staring straight ahead and not at you. His eyes aren't frantic or moving in any way, like yours sometimes do when you're following a hallucination. Physical closeness must help him through this kind of thing.

As gross as the feeling normally would be for you it isn't so bad right now. It seems Toby's CIPA also affects his body's temperature and his ability to sweat. Where there's usually the feeling of burning and clammy moisture coming off of another person, Toby is just tepid and dry. If anything it feels as if you're being held by a leather baseball glove.

Toby's hands are very rough, especially his palms, maybe you should let him burrow some of the goat milk lotion Dia gave you a few weeks ago. It smells pretty good and it only takes a little bit to soften your skin back up. But as you look closer at his hands you can see the spots roughest are around his nail beds. Someone has a biting problem, maybe he needs an oral stim toy. That would keep his flesh out of his mouth, and stop him from injuring himself...hopefully. There's still a chance he'd bite through his tongue without realizing, honestly you're a little surprised that hasn't happened yet.

You had completely forgotten about the stone in your hand until you went to grab at Toby's hand that still held yours in a firm grip. Seeing the dark brown rock again you remembered what it reminded you of, Toby's eyes. They were the same shade as the rock, that's funny...anecdotally at least. This rock helped you maybe it would help calm him down some. Worth a shot.

Since your hand closest to him is preoccupied you have to reach across his body to nudge the rock to his hand. He spares it a single glance before covering it with his other hand. Mission partially accomplished you guess. Now you're just sitting here, with Toby catatonic, by the edge of the water bank. Pulling your feet from the stream you mirror Toby's pose, you'll likely be here a while.

While normally you'd love to just loose your self to the sounds surrounding the stream, in the presence of another person you're too jittery to enjoy that. If only you had something to fidget with... You wonder what Toby's reaction would be if you just... Toby turns his head to watch you when he feels a gentle smaller hand on his own. Dark eyes watching intensely as you pull his hand into your lap. Turning it over so his palm is facing up, before you start tracing patterns into his palm lines and flexing his fingers individually. He watches for a moment before turning back to his original point.

Playing with his hand you noticed a few more things about Toby. From his chipped black nail polish, a look you personally think not enough guys go for even though it makes them look more attractive and approachable. To the single string paracord medical bracelet he's wearing, metal tag simply stating 'TOURETTE'S SYNDROME'. And a little further down you see scars, a few are crescent shapes easily identified as Toby's own nails. But most are straight lines, even a few jagged cuts, that run up and along his forearm.

'Tobais...what on Earth happened to you?' just as the thought rings through your mind you feel a sudden weight on your shoulder.

Toby is resting on your shoulder with his eyes close. You can tell he's just resting them by the lack of movement behind the eyelids.  With his head being on your shoulder you can smell him, not in a creepy way but he's just so close that his scent waifs your way. He smells like fresh dirt...it isn't a bad smell. It reminds you of gardening but on an overcast day. It hadn't rained today so how does he smell like it?

Moving your attention back to his hands, and away from how nice Toby smells, you catch sight of the scars again and bite your lip. Not wanting to dwell on the scars and their implications any longer. You curl and uncurl his fingers and start a rhythmic motion of curling them individually.

'You poor sweet boy.' is the only thought you can focus on. Even though the scars may be old and those wounds long healed. Toby at one point made them and it's very apparent that he is still not in the best way mentally. Once the two of you are friends, you'll do your best to be there for him. Like you are right now...you really hope it helps.

Toby didn't make even the slightest movement until the sky had begun to bleed its deep oranges across the horizon. He pulls his hand out of your grasp. And when you try to retrieve it to keep up you activity he softly pushes your hands back to you. Guess he's done for now.

With as late as it is, you'd like to go home. And Toby seems more aware of the things going on. But it isn't until you hear a call for him behind you two and he reacts looking in the direction of the call, that you decide he's safe enough for you to leave here.

Without much hesitancy you push off of the ground and stand. Toby isn't looking at you. Taking that as a cue you head back towards the entrance of the forest. Before you leave the clearing however, you look back to Toby and notice a dark colored stone resting nicely in his palm as he idly brushes a finger across it's surface.

Yea he's going to be fine.

[littlespaceporgs]

Inevitable

Leah! Congrats on your follower milestone! 🥳💕 May I request 5. a gentle “i love you” whispered after a soft kiss, followed immediately by a stronger kiss for Anakin Skywalker? Thank you, love! 🥰

A/N: Hey! This is my first time writing for Anakin, I tried to make him not as whiny as he is in the movies, so I ran with tcw! *cough* this is also my longest one somehow *cough*  So spoiler alert! It does have references and is set in the Zygerria arc in tcw, just a heads up, though it makes sense still if you haven’t seen the arc. Also fair warning, if you want it to stay fluffy at the very end, I recommend you don’t read the final paragraph. Anyway, enjoy :D

Want to Request? See Here.

Inevitable

Prompt: #5 - a gentle “i love you” whispered after a soft kiss, followed immediately by a stronger kiss

Word Count: 1.9k Pairing: Anakin x Jedi!Reader  Warnings: slavery, torture, hint of depression Description: Post-Zygerria, you contemplate your feelings for Anakin.

Tags for the fam: @anakin-danvers @fractiouskat 

It hadn’t gone well to say the least. Mind, it was rare that this type of thing went well. It was supposed to just be a trip to check on the Togrutans. Naturally, you had walked onto Kiros expecting a fight, after all, the last thing the Jedi had heard from them, a separatist fleet had entered the atmosphere. But this was by far the worst thing you’d ever gotten yourself into.

Kiros itself was a beautiful planet. The art and architecture was something to marvel at, and the landscape was vastly different to the cold grey of Coruscant. You found yourself hoping that one day you’d be able to holiday there, it was nice climate, there hadn’t been any traces of the war due to their neutrality until recently. The lack of habitants however was quite frankly disturbing.

Between Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, the troopers and yourself, you all had made quick work of the droids. When you received word that the Zygerrians had a part to play in all of this, Obi-Wan went to meet up with the separatist leader, you stayed behind to comfort Anakin. Said Anakin was currently sitting in front of a speeder, looking highly volatile. The best way to approach Anakin when he was in such a mood was with quiet and a steady hand, so you started by placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Ani? Are you ok?” While he didn’t turn to look at you, his hands did stop fiddling with the machinery. He exhaled heavily through his nose and went back to modifying the speeder.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” You sat down next to him, and snatched the wrench out of his hands, which prompted a noise of protest as he turned to glare at you.

“See you say that, but there’s this thing called a ‘facial expression’ which says otherwise.” Using the force to snatch the wrench back, he went back to using the wrench. “Ani, you know you can talk to me right?” He sighed and stopped once more.

“Yeah, I know,” you reached over, and took one of his hands in yours, “this is just digging up some memories I’d rather not think about.” He twisted his hand over, so that his fingers locked in yours, and squeezed gently.

“I’m really sorry that you went through that, Ani, truly I am. I can’t even begin to imagine what it was like,” you paused and took a breath, “but what I do know, is that you’re one of the strongest people I know, and I know that because of that you’ll move past this.” Though not seeming totally happy, one of the corners of his mouth pulled a little, he shook his head and looked directly into your eyes before they flicked to your hands.

“Honestly, what would I ever do without you?” The jedi in you wanted to recite the code, say that he would be perfectly fine without you, that he’d have to find a way to move on and accept it, say that he shouldn’t be saying such things. But the utterly human part of you felt overly fuzzy, and affection reared its head in your stomach. Ignoring the trepidation, you smiled back at him.

“Probably something stupid, or make more poor decisions.” He snorted out an airy laugh and squeezed your hand a little tighter. The moment didn’t last however, as the tone of a comm rang out from his wrist from Obi-Wan.

That was what led you to Zygerria, attempting to find the Togrutans. With quick assurances and a look that seemed to be forlorn, you and Anakin separated. He went with Ahsoka to find the Queen, while you, Obi-Wan and Rex went on the hunt for the missing people. You should have listened to the awful, rotting feeling in your stomach, then maybe, you all wouldn’t have been taken.

As a jedi, you relished in the feeling of freedom. With a connection to the force, you could feel everything around you, feel the flow of energy between all if you will. It made you feel light, like a small breeze could carry you away, like every breath of fresh was your first. Down here, that was all taken away from you. The walls combined with the heat made you suddenly feel claustrophobic and the collar around your neck weighed you down. Between you and Obi-Wan, it normally would’ve been easy to break out. A tiny twitch of a finger, and the collar would be crushed. A swipe of the hand would smack the guards into a wall. Then you’d both be able to grab Rex and go. If Anakin were here, maybe you’d be able to achieve that.

It wasn’t a normal situation however.

There were others involved. If either of you even threatened to do something, they would torture a civilian, possibly even drive them to death. In your current state, you wouldn’t be able to take out the sheer number of guards quick enough before lives would be lost. They had realised that there was little in the way of physical torture that would cause a jedi to break. This, however, felt hopeless. Your hands were tied. You were hungry, exhausted, and felt overwhelmed with the sadness that practically poured out of their force signatures.

When the slaver was finally dead, you couldn’t help the sense of sick satisfaction that came with it. He deserved to die for what he did, and the subtle brush of a force signature told you Obi-Wan felt similarly. Despite being able to breathe without a collar for the first time in days, your lungs couldn’t seem to get any air, and your knees were aching, and your back was pounding with angry pain. Vaguely you remembered your knees slamming the ground and Obi-Wan kneeling near your head and calling your name.

Out of habit from the past few days, you woke up abruptly, although things were different. You started hyperventilating, and suddenly the world felt too small again. No matter what was actually happening, you couldn’t see anything except the dirty halls of the mine, the faces of the Togrutans who were tortured because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut. And then blue eyes. There was a hand stroking your hair, and another trying to get you to keeping looking into the eyes. And then a whisper. It wasn’t loud, but it was comforting, soft. The words steadily became clearer and you finally noticed your surroundings. For one, instead of the smell of coal and grime, it smelt like a forest on Naboo. Instead of a metal bench, there was a mattress and a soft blanket covering your legs. The light was low, but you could see the glow of hyperspace speeding past. And Anakin.

The glow was luminating his face, which looked both soft and concentrated. You could see the shadows under his eyes that you likely mirrored. As he stopped speaking, the foggy feeling lifted, and you realised that he had been trying to force suggest you to calm down. Now that your breathing had returned to some semblance of normal, his hand moved from your face, though he didn’t stop stroking your hair.

“Are you ok?” You took a deep breath to steady yourself.

“Yeah. Yeah I think I’m ok.” It was silent for a minute before Anakin moved to sit in front of you on the bed. You sat with your back up against the wall with a pillow wedged between and your legs crossed. The meaning of the silence was clear. “I just – I don’t think that I want to talk about it yet.” You turned your head to your lap, and watched as he placed his much larger hands over your own.

“It’s okay, I understand the feeling.” The silence swept over you, the words got caught in your throat, choking you. Your eyes and throat seemed to burn. He only moved his thumb over your hand, acting as an anchor. He shoved your knee slightly, getting your attention.

“Y’know, as a wise jedi knight once told me, ‘you’re the strongest person I know, you’ll get through this’.” You laughed despite yourself, and Anakin’s hand beat yours to wiping the tears from your face.

“Thanks, Ani,” you sniffled, and you couldn’t help the warmth that flooded your cheeks when he didn’t move his hand.

“Of course, you know I’d do anything for you right? I was really worried when Obi-Wan had to carry you back here.” Your heart skipped a beat, and your stomach churned. If that wasn’t attachment, you don’t know what was.  You couldn’t bring yourself to point that out however. You knew that you’d do the same for him. You sighed.

“Anakin-I” you started, but you couldn’t seem to string together the words. Your heart raised in your throat, and he gave you a momentarily confused look. “You’re amazing, you know that? You-just-I- you always seem to ‘get’ me and I really appreciate that you’re always here for me and I-um” It was something that you’d never said before. You’d felt that way for him for the longest time, but you ignored it for the code. So instead of saying it, you closed your eyes, and pushed your signature out to brush his, hoping that it carried the years of longing, and the warmth that just looking at him brought you. And then a wave of the same feeling washed over you. It made your heart jump and you almost cried at the pure joy that came from him.

And then you could feel his breath on your face, and the most cautious of kisses. It was barely there, almost just a brush of the lips, but the feelings were all there. Foreheads pressed together, two hearts racing. Cautious, because of the code, because you both knew what could happen it you strayed, because of all the secrets that would have to exist. A whisper, like he was afraid that if he said it too loud, someone else might hear him, despite it just being the two of you.

“I love you.” Both your hands flew to his cheeks and pulled him closer again, and one of his drifted from your cheek to the back of your neck to hold you there. When you kissed this time, you threw caution to the wind. He kissed just as hard as you did, and stole your breath as he did.

When you pulled apart, the look you shared said everything. You smiled and breathed out a short laugh. To hell with the kriffing code.

“I love you too.”

                                                            <>

You supposed it was inevitable, you were the one he went to when he was mad at Obi-Wan, when he was so overwhelmed that he could barely think, when a mission hadn’t gone well and he needed to calm down. Therefore, this meant all the secret moments you were to share in the future were inevitable. You hadn’t even considered the possibility of what would happen in the future when you threw out caution. Was it inevitable that you were at least partly at fault for everything going to shit? Had that meant his fall was inevitable too?

[big1ron]

The Venator “Resolute” had jumped right into a separatist trap. Somehow a virus infecting the main computer has scrambled the hyperspace jump coordinates, and now the companies on board were outnumbered and without reinforcements, deep in separatist space. A few last, desperate SOSs to nobody, and the ship was quickly overwhelmed with fire. The Resolute was going down. But not before each of the escape pods could be jettisoned.

—————- Chapter Four: Contact. -—————

- this one is slightly shorter, sorry ‘bout that! -

“Why do you keep calling him kid anyways? He’s not a shiny.” Asks coric, finally.

“Because I’m older, and I can.” Jesse leaves off the ‘And cause rex does it and its cool when he does it’

“Whatever you say, kiddo.”

“Hey don’t call me that!”

“Why not? I’m older than you”

“Well yeah but I’m your superior officer so, it cancels out. Dogma, stop digging your chin into my head.”

“Sorry.” He tries to straighten slightly

“Only because you’re a commando. I outrank you in title.”

“Whatever. Still counts.”

“Alright Jesse, we’ve been walking for a few hours now. And I haven’t seen a droid in a while. We should rest somewhere, and I can actually treat that blaster burn.” Says coric.

Jesses legs are getting tired and the medic does make a good point. So fine, they’ll make rest. Jesse points to a small clearing by a low escarpment. “We can rest there for a while. But don’t take too long”

Jesse drops dogma by the rocks and takes a seat on the ground nearby.

“Thanks Jesse. This shouldn’t take long.” Says coric as he releases the snap on one side of Dogma’s chest plate. Dogma gets the other side. Coric removes both pieces and Jesse gets up, to better deal with any danger that might come to his vode while they’re more vulnerable. Coric cleans the wound, applies the bacta patch and binds it.

“Alright, if you’re done, we can get on our way then.” Dogma tried to get to his feet but Coric pushed him back down.

“No. We’ve been walking for hours, we should all rest for a little.”

“Hey you said this wouldn’t take long!”

“Changed my mind Jess. And all includes you.”

Hardcase does his best to check his fire but it’s difficult with a rotary blaster. The five droids on guard went down easily. The noise caught the attention of two mounted commando droids at the refuelling station. They leaped forward and into attack mode, easily weaving around the incoming bolts from the z-16. Hardcase just wasn’t fast enough like this, and he ducked behind some crates from returning fire. Fives had warned him against explosions but...

He dove from cover again, this time aiming past the droids and to their bikes sitting idly by. He struck one of the fuel tanks and both exploded, launching the droids forward and destroying them. He checked the premise for any remaining droids before entering the command outlet. Fives had already fried the lock and the droids inside. He was standing over one of the terminals.

“Does it have what we’re looking for?”

“Yeah, but I’ve got to time this right if I actually want this signal to get off world. So I have to piggyback our message off this stations next checkin signal, and then hope this planets main communications rig is powerful enough to get into republic space.”

“And we can’t just send a straight message why?”

“These channels are all monitored. Nothing can leave this outpost without the separatists knowing.”

“So then... we just wait? How long?”

“About 24 minutes. But after we get the message out, we’ll have to wait at this post until evac.”

Hardcase rolls his eyes. “Great.”

“Are you even paying attention to where you’re going?”

“No.” Kix buries his face in Echo’s shoulder to hide his eyes from the too bright sunlight. He ends up stepping on Echo’s heels again.

“Stop doing that! You’re going to trip me and I’m going to drop you”

“Good. You deserve it. Don’ drop me, Rex said no”

“Well Rex isn’t here right now”

“Yeah but I am and I will kick you if you drop me”

“Well you’re already kicking me so,” Echo pushes Kix over.

“Ah! Meanie!” Kix rolls onto his back and kicks out echos knees.

“Can you two just get along? Jesse, you don’t have to be mean to Dogma, he’s not even provoking you.” Coric was getting pretty fed up with Jesse not wanting to consider their teammate.

Jesse sighed. He knew just how eager to to please the kid was. He would probably throw away his own life if it gained him the approval of Rex, or maybe Jesse. That’s what made him so readily follow orders on umbara. And sure, maybe it was a little unfair to hold it against him, they had all been manipulated. But not all of them would have killed him. However, he also knew dogma would do whatever it took to get back in his good favour. And even if he might dislike him, Jesse didn’t really want him injured. “Fine, ok. We’ll rest. But only for an hour. Set your chrono.” Jesse sits against the escarpment to the left of Dogma and Coric sits to there right, and sets the timer.

“There’s nothing on this planet!” Ahsoka complains while the three of them take a lunch break. “And these bikes aren’t comfortable.”

“That’s cause they’re made for droids snips. And droids don’t need comfort”

“Well I’m not a droid. And I need comfort.”

“A better seat isn’t all these bikes need. They’re running on empty.”

“Well do you know where there’s a refuelling station?” Asks Rex

“Nope. No idea where anything is on this planet.” Responds Anakin.

“Can’t you use the force to find a base or something?”

“That’s not how the force works!” the two Jedi respond at the same time.

“Plus Anakin already tried.”

“Yeesh, Alright then.”

Tup tried to press forward as the ground started to move beneath him, rocking back and forth wildly. Trees and things he should be getting closer to moving farther away, and he tripped over things that seemed far away. His limbs felt heavy but also like they were floating. He tried to press on, but no use. He fell forwards, but the fall seemed much shorter than it should be, and the ground was still far below him. The rocks were pulsing like flesh and trees bent over him, long fingers looking to grab him. The shadows grew long and pooled beneath him, threatening to swallow him whole. He tried to get away, he had to escape, but movement was a difficulty, as this body wasn’t his, and was uncooperative. Even leaves on trees slowly morphed into hungry eyes, looking for him, searching. It was all too much, he squeezed his eyes shut, and covered his head. But it didn’t go away, he couldn’t escape.

“Stop pushing me over!!”

“Stop kicking me!”

“M’ not doing it intentionally!!”

Echo was about to push Kix over again, but he noticed white armoured figures in the near distance. This pause allowed Kix to preemptively kick him In the shin. For once, echo ignored the minor offence and approached. There were three troopers asleep, leaned against each other. Echo stepped on a twig as he approached and had to dive out of the way, dropping Kix, to dodge a blaster bolt headed straight at his head

“JESSE!”

The sound of the blaster jolted the other two awake as Jesse registered what he just did, looking at the blaster in his hand.

“Hey it’s not my fault. You two started me!”

“YOU ALMOST SHOT ME!!!”

“Yeah but if you were a droid that would have saved us. Wait is that Kix?” Jesse unwraps his other arm from around dogma and gets up to get a better look at Kix, who echo was now helping to his feet.

“Yeah but he’s got a head injury or something so he’s been annoying me this entire time.”

“Jesse! I’m so glad you’re here! Echo was being mean to me.”

Jesse shoots echo a (rather intimidating) look.

“Only cause he was annoying me!”

“I was not! You kept pushing me over for no reason.”

“Ookay you three, stow it.” Coric butts in before things can get violent. “I’ll look over Kix, all of you just try not to kill eachother before we goes moving ok?”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

“I’m so BORED!” Hardcase threw another droid part against the opposite wall. “You said it would be like twenty minutes but it’s been an hour.”

“Stop being over dramatic. That’s my job. Besides, it’s only been thirty minutes.”

“Yeah well there’s-“

“- SHHH IVE GOT SOMETHING!”

[flipper-kisses]

Higher Education

Rami x OC Veronica, Charlie Hunnam 

Word Count: 1446 

Tag list- none yet 

Warnings: swearing, mentions of parental death, car accident, college.    

Chapter 1 - Move In Day       

          The August sun was shining brightly when I pulled into the parking lot next to my brand new home- the dorms of Evansville University. My three hour drive had left my legs cramped and my stomach empty. I had zero desire to unload all of the stuff in my car, so I joined the line of students waiting to check and get their dorm room keys.  

           "Heads up!" I turned quickly toward the sound of shouting and saw a football hurtling towards my face. Instinctively I reached up and caught it, then looked around for the horrible quarterback. A tall guy with long blond hair jogged over to me, hand outstretched.

         "Sorry about that," he said with a smile, and a hint of an accent I couldn't quite place. "Great catch."          I handed the ball over. "I've got two football obsessed little brothers."         The guy looked me up and down. I was wearing navy blue shorts and a gray Nirvana T-shirt with my white and navy Adidas sneakers.         "I'm Charlie," he said and stuck out his hand.         "Veronica," I shook it. "Your boys want the ball back, I think." I nodded toward the group of guys he'd been playing with on the sun drenched lawn.         "Right. See you around then, Veronica." Charlie winked and jogged back to his friends. I watched for a second, one in particular catching my eye. Totally my type with dark, spiky hair, dressed in a black short sleeved shirt and gray shorts. I raised an eyebrow and turned back to the check in table.

        "Hi!" A bubbly brunette greeted me. She wore a name tag that identified her as the Resident Assistant. "Name?"         "Veronica Mason."         "Oh, hi Veronica! I'm Lauren, your roommate!" She stood up and gave me a high five. "Here's your key and we are room 323 on the third floor. I'll be around after all this check in stuff dies down then we can grab dinner later?"          "Sure, see you in a bit!" I pocketed my key and heaved a sigh, thinking about all the stuff in my car I needed to bring up. To the third freaking floor. No elevator in the building. I strode past the guys playing football, and all the freshmen with their parents unloading their things. I was transferring in as a junior, which made me very nervous. Everyone had already had two years to establish friendships with everyone on campus. I felt very new and very alone. I didn't have my parents with me, in fact, I didn't have any parents at all. They passed away in a car accident when I was 14 and I'd lived with my grandma ever since.          My thoughts continued to race as I opened my trunk and took out one of my totes. I started lugging it across the quad, sweating in the midwestern heat. I dropped the heavy tote under a tree and sat on it, catching my breath.          "Fuckin a," I muttered to myself. "This is going to be impossible."          "Hey," a shadow blocked the sunlight and I looked up at the owner of the deepest voice I'd ever heard. "Do you need some help with that?"          It was the cute guy playing football with...what was his name again? Chris? The one with the spiky hair and black shirt. Now with him so close up I could see his eyes were an interesting shade of greenish blue and they stood out against his tanned face.         "Yes, please," I replied gratefully and stood up. He was only a few inches taller than me, and absolutely gorgeous. He hefted the tote into his arms.         "Where am I taking this?" Mr. Handsome asked.         "Third floor of that dorm, 323 is the room number."         "Okay," he said and started walking towards the dorms. I expected him to drop the tote where we stood when he heard he had to go up three flights of stairs, but he didn't. I followed him, and we carried it up the stairs together. When we reached my room, I squeezed by him to unlock the door.         "You can put the tote in front of that bed, I guess. Thank you so much for your help. I appreciate you!" I said with a smile.        "That cant be all you have."        "No, I have much more in my car. But this was the heaviest. I can handle it."        "Let me help you. It will go much faster," Mr. Handsome kindly offered.        "Well...okay. I feel bad though. You don't have to do this. Shouldn't you be moving your own things in?"         "I'm a senior. I moved in yesterday. Plus, I threw the ball that almost nailed you in the face. So I figured I owed you one."        I laughed. "You have a shitty arm!"       "Good thing I'm a Fine Arts major," he replied dryly. I grinned and stuck my hand out.       "I'm Veronica."       "I'm Rami. I'm so sorry I almost knocked you out with my shitty arm."        "No worries. I guess we should get the rest of my stuff?"        "Let's do this," Rami replied and headed out to the stairs. —        Several hours later, I was unpacked, settled in and sitting on my bed, laptop open and reviewing my class schedule. A soft knock on my door snapped me back to reality. I climbed off my raised bed and opened the door to find Rami standing against the wall.          "Hey you," I said with a smile. "What's up?"          "Just wanted to see how you were doing. You had a crap ton of stuff to move in."           I laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty much all settled. Want to come in?" I stepped aside to allow him in.           "Looks good in here," Rami looked around. "You work fast. My room is still a shithole!"           I had strung up twinkle lights on the wall high above my side of the room. Posters of my favorite bands crossed my wall and I set framed photos of me and my parents, me and my brothers and me and my grandma. Rami slowly walked around my side of the room, taking in everything with his intense eyes.           "Is this your family?" He asked, gently touching one of my frames. "How come they weren't here to help you move in?"          I wasn't one to share my sob story the first time I meet someone, but he had to ask.         "Well, my brothers are still in high school. They're sophomores."         "Twins?"          "Yup. And my parents- they died when I was 14." I looked away. I was in the accident as well, I'd survived. They didn't. As much as I knew it wasn't my fault, I lived with guilt every day. Rami touched my elbow.          "I'm so sorry for prying. I didn't know."          "It's ok. I just don't talk about it much."           "I have a twin brother, and an older sister. Are these guys complete hell-raisers like my brother and I were?" Rami swiftly changed the subject. I smiled, thinking of those two idiots at home, missing them and their incessant teasing. I also did not miss the fact that there were two guys out there that looked like Rami. It seemed a bit unfair to the rest of the men in the world.             "They like to switch on people for sure, but they're actually really good guys. My grandma did an incredible job with us."             "This her?" He pointed at my favorite picture I had of her. It was from the early 1940s and she was about 19 years old. She had on an adorable knee length dress, cinched at the waist in the style of those days and sassy heels.            I nodded, already missing her terribly. But she was the one who understood my need to leave and be on my own. She'd encouraged me to come to a school 3 hours away, because she knew how desperate I was so start my own life.            "She's beautiful. You look just like her."            I blushed at the compliment and Rami looked at me with a lopsided shy smile. My stomach decided that was the opportune time to let everyone know it was dinner time. Rami laughed and I covered my stomach.             "I was going to ask if you wanted to get dinner with me and my roommate tonight, but If you're not hungry," he teased.           "I was supposed to eat with my roommate, but she got called into an RA meeting. I was going to head down there alone," I shrugged.            "There's no reason for you to be alone on your first night here. Come with us. I promise no flying sports equipment will be involved."

[aethelflaedladyofmercia]

If you're feeling up to it, may I ask for a fluffy number 2 “It reminded me of you.”??

Ok, fluffy. I can try and do fluffy. @thatoldbanshee

This is from the list of one hundred ways to say I love you. Comment/message/Ask with a number to request!

--

The Serpent was draped across a branch, enjoying the feeling of the early-morning sun on his scales.

He was supposed to be making trouble, but that could wait. It was the first time in...a very long time that he didn’t have to watch his back, or fight, or try to intimidate anyone. The very concept of relaxing was foreign to him, but if this is what it involved, he could stand to do it a bit longer.

A rustle below brought him back to reality. Someone was approaching.

He coiled backwards, sinking into the cold shadows, wishing he could hide his golden eyes as well. He’d lingered here too long.

A figure appeared in the clearing below. White robes, white hair, white wings spread wide, flaming sword in hand. Angel.

Well, I had a good run, the Serpent thought bitterly. Twenty whole minutes. It was nice while it lasted.

The angel scanned the area, the trees, the creek running past with its strange, calming sound.

And the angel put down his sword.

Gathering his robes around his knees, he stepped into the water with a sigh. After a few more steps, letting the flowing water swirl around his legs, he settled on a boulder facing eastwards, tilting his head back towards the sun.

The Serpent slid along the branch, peering down through the leaves.

The angel kicked his feet wiggling his toes in the water. The wind stirred through his feathers, fluttering them slightly.

His eyes opened -- all the colors of the world, blues and browns and greens mixed together -- and locked onto the Serpent above him.

The angel gasped and pulled away, then relaxed again. “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were...well, I suppose you must be some new animal.”

The Serpent lounged, flicked his tongue, pretended to be a normal snake.

“Don’t...er, don’t tell the other angels, alright?” His eyes glanced towards the wall. “They already think I’m foolish enough, and now I’m here, walking in water and talking to animals.” He tilted his head back, stretching his wings again. “Oh, but it just feels...so good, doesn’t it? The sun and the wind. And I just...I don’t remember the last time I could relax. Not have to worry about following orders or impressing anyone.”

The Serpent stretched out a little further.

“Yes, I think you know exactly what I mean. It’s good to be understood.”

“Aziraphale!” A voice echoing across the Garden.

The angel hopped out of the water so fast, the bottom of his robes became soaked. “Oh -- oh, dear.” He waved his flaming sword at the wet cloth, then gave it up as a bad idea. “Well, I suppose that’s all I get. Enjoy the sun, strange animal.” And he hurried off through the grass.

The Serpent waited a little longer, until he was sure no one else was coming.

Then he lowered himself to the ground and took a shape like the one the angel had worn -- arms and legs and wings and face. He walked over to the boulder and eased his unfamiliar feet into the water, spread his wings, tilted his face to the sun.

Oh. It felt very good.

--

It was hard to remain focused while patrolling the wall. The angel walked back and forth, trying to diligently watch the desert, but there was nothing to see. 

His mind drifted, again and again, back to the Garden, the way it had looked, the feel of the grass under his toes. How wonderful, just for a moment, not to have anyone looking over his shoulder, correcting him, berating him for getting it wrong again.

At least the sun was still here.

He paused, turning east to face it, tilting his head back to let the rays fall on his cheeks again. It was...lovely, really.

But he didn’t have time for this. Shaking himself firmly, he turned back to the path he walked.

A dark figure lurked just ahead. “S - Stop!” He brandished his sword, flames dazzling his own eyes, and had to pause and blink them clear.

When he could see again, there was no dark figure. Just something brown and green lying across the wall, and a black flicker disappearing off the edge.

The angel walked forward cautiously, in case it was some sort of trap. But no, the strange shape was merely a plant, each branch of the long green stem topped by a bright yellow flower with broad petals. Someone had torn it out of the ground, roots and all, and attempted to stand it up along the wall.

He glanced over the side, and thought he saw something long and black twist away among the trees.

Uncertainly, he stood the plant up. It was nearly shoulder height like this, and all the flowers pointed eastwards, as if following the sun.

“Well. What am I supposed to do with you?”

--

Rainfall.

An angel and a demon stood together on the wall. The angel had his wing stretched out, shielding the demon from the falling water, but he had his own face tilted back, letting the drops run down his cheeks.

“Are you alright?” Crawley couldn’t take his eyes off that strange, peaceful expression.

“Hmm? Oh, yes, quite.” He straightened up, blinking his eyes clear. “We just...well, there isn’t anything like this in Heaven.”

“Nor in Hell,” said Crawley, still watching the angel closely. “So how does it feel? As good as the sunlight?”

“No, I suppose that... Oh!” Suddenly his face turned pink. “Oh, dear. I thought you looked...you were the creature I saw in the woods.”

“Serpent,” Crawley corrected. He leaned a little closer and grinned. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone what I saw.”

“Um. Yes. Jolly good.” The angel fidgeted, but his wing didn’t waver. 

“Come on, though, tell me how it feels.”

The angel tilted his head back again. “Cold. And a little overwhelming, the heavier it gets. But the first drops felt nice. Soothing.” A small pink tongue poked out. “Doesn’t really have any taste, but...I quite like it.” He glanced to the side, frowning. “I suppose you brought that...that plant up here along the wall.”

“Oh! Yeah. What happened to it?”

“I couldn’t very well keep it. It was large and messy and, well, dying.”

“Was it?” Crawley’s heart sank. “Ah, guess I’m not very good with plants.”

“No, I didn’t say that. I mean, you probably just need practice. But I think you have to keep them in the dirt, for a start.” He shuffled his feet a little. “So. Why did you bring it up here?”

“I thought you’d like it. Um.” Crawley looked down at his own feet, dotted with black and bright red scales. “I found a whole field of them, standing there, looking east towards the sun. It reminded me of you.”

“Ah.” The angel smoothed his robes, and said nothing further.

--

The rain had cleared up, and the angels were setting off across the desert, but one lingered behind. He had something to take care of first.

“Crawley!” He felt a smile spread across his face when he spotted the demon lurking by the wall. “I thought you’d left by now.”

“I know. I’ll be going back where I came from soon.” He glanced up at the sun, crimson curls hanging past his shoulders. “I just...I’ll be going soon.”

“Oh. I didn’t mean...that is, I’ll be leaving soon, too. And, um.” He held out his hand.

The flower was bright red, even redder than Crawley’s curls, and seemed to have hundreds of petals packed tight together. The smell of it was almost overwhelmingly sweet.

“I, ah, I saw this and...it reminded me of you.” He tried to smile, but couldn’t quite hold it in place. “It’s...not clever like the yellow flower and the sun, I just liked the color but...here.” Crawley’s hand reached out for the stem. “Oh, ah, mind the thorns. They weren’t there yesterday.”

Crawley carefully plucked it from his fingers and cradled it in his own hands. “No one’s...ever given me anything before,” he whispered.

“Well, ah, I did owe you.” The angel glanced over his shoulder, then reached into his robes, pulling out the yellow flower he’d hidden there. It wasn’t as bright anymore, and it certainly didn’t face towards the sun, but he still liked it very much. “Er. No one’s ever given me anything, either.”

A genuine smile grew across the demon’s face. “I suppose I’ll see you around, ah...?”

“Aziraphale.” He smiled back, and this time it stayed. “And, yes, I look forward to it.”

--

Six thousand years later, in the South Downs, a little cottage stood in a clearing, with rose bushes in the back garden, and a sunflowers lining the front walk, facing ever eastwards to the sun.

--

(We usually do Aziraphale with blue or grey eyes, but Michael Sheen actually has heterochromia, eyes with lots of color in them.)

(Also -- while doing some quick research, I was disappointed to discover that mature sunflowers don’t actually track the sun across the sky, although young sunflowers do. But turns out that most adult sunflowers naturally face eastward all the time and, well, I couldn’t let that go without comment!)

[vidkid20ssimblrlair]

Episode 29: No Bones About It (Part 2)

As I reached the bottom of the steps, I thought about Gemma. She was in the kitchen now tied up in a chair again. Thankfully we all came to an agreement on that being the best option for now. Regardless, it still wasn't a permanent solution and I certainly wasn't breathing a sigh of relief just yet. Tied up or not, she was still here. Still a threat. Also still creepy as fuck.

I peered into the kitchen and immediately saw her bushy red hair. She was seated and all tied up with rope as I expected. Wade stood on guard beside her just in case she managed to wiggle free. Nothing usual about that, but someone else was with her. I looked over her shoulder and there was Aaron kneeling down in front of her. He appeared to be stitching up her arm.

"Aaron?! What are you doing?" I gasped staring down at the doctor.

"What do you think I'm doing?" he murmured refusing to meet my eyes. "I'm...I'm stitching her up."

"Wade," I fumed. "Did you put him up to this?"

Wade scoffed. "No. Why would I?"

"I have my own mind, thank you. No one made me or put me up to it," the doctor shot back. "DJ asked me about Gemma's wound and I as a doctor decided to have a look at it. Good thing too since it needed a few stitches."

"Are you kidding me?! After what she did?"

"I'm a doctor. I took an oath and refusing to see her would go against everything I believe in."

"So fixing her arm is more important than you telling us about what happened earlier? Or did you take some bullshit oath for that too?"

"Don't be crass, Parker."

"She threatened you and her presence threatens our lives. If it was me, I would let her bleed out," I snapped eyeing Gemma as she stared up at me. I shook my head. "You’re either really stupid or a coward."

I stormed off feeling the heat of anger rise up to the surface. I exit out the door and sat down outside on the bench. I looked up at the night sky thinking back to just a few hours ago. Aaron could barely speak. He looked terrified and broken. Now he was stitching up her arm as if it was nothing.

I sat there for a while trying to make sense of that while having Lin's words echo through my brain. I then heard the door creep open and looked over to see Aaron. He came over and sat down beside me. He folded his arms and crossed his legs looking downcast.

"Parker. I didn't do it because I wanted to, but I had to. Besides, her wound wasn't life-threatening. It would have just got infected at the most and I doubt she would have let herself decline to that point. She knew what she was doing when she cut herself."

"Oh?"

"It’s quite obvious it was self-inflicted. Audrey wouldn't do that. She didn't. Gemma..."

"Aaron?"

He seemed overcome with emotion pausing for a second, but he continued. "I have a confession. I've been drinking way too much, but you know that I guess from my abhorrent behavior. What you don't know is I've been self-medicating. I've been using some of the medicine DJ brings back from supply runs. Pain pills. Sleeping pills. Anything to selfishly numb my own inner pain."

"God, Aaron. We needed those. Matthew and Lin especially. Why would you...," I sputtered. I calmed myself. "Aaron, why are you telling me this?"

"She threatened to expose me. She knew. You know it's weird, but I do feel like someone is watching us sometimes. She said as much at least."

I looked around out into the darkness wondering if that was true. The hairs stood on the back of my neck just thinking about it. "What else did she say?"

"She told me if I say anything about what happened, that she would kill me. Maybe let me turn and watch how many of you I could infect. She made it seem like it was something fun. Like a game or something. Then she said if she really wanted to, she could have us all dead in a second with a snap of a finger. All she would need to do is signal her group." he said trembling. "But she told me if I keep my mouth shut and be a 'good little coward', she might spare me. Even after she's done with you all."

"Holy crap, Aaron. Why didn't you tell us that before?"

"Because frankly, I'm a coward, Parker. She scares me. You don't know how she is. How she is truly. She acts sweet, but she's terrifying."

I smirked. "Well, I got a taste of that the first night she came here. I have sort of an idea."

"I should have just told you, but I was afraid. This whole us vs. them thing. I don't know if I can do it. I feel so powerless. So worthless."

"Nah, you're not worthless. I can't even say you're a coward really."

"But the pills and the drinking..."

"We..we all make mistakes. It's all in how we handle them and you telling me shows me you're not a coward. The fact that you're still here and not packing your bags shows me that."

"Where am I going?" he scoffed. "Pack my bags and go where? Surviving in an apocalypse isn't exactly my forte."

"No, but you have your own strengths, doctor."

"Like what?"

"Like saving our asses. Do you think we would have survived this long without a doctor on hand? I'm pretty sure we would have been in rough shape right now if it wasn't for you."

"I guess I've contributed in my own way. Gemma did say she might spare me at end of this because I was useful."

"Well, you're more than just useful to me. To us. Your our friend and hopefully will see the end of this because of you," I said smiling. "Hey, maybe you'll be one to find the cure."

"I doubt that Parker but thank you," he sighed. He sniffled. "So you're not mad at me?"

"No. I mean you messed up, but I'm not mad."

The doctor grinned and grabbed me into a hug. I froze as he seemed overtaken by emotion. He whimpered, "I...I don't know what I do without you. If something was to ever happen. If...if..."

"Nothing going happen. We're going be alright," I insured him pulling away, but I paused staring at him. He looked so small. So sad and fragile. I gave him earnest smile. "We're going get through this together."

"Together?"

"Yeah. You. Me. Everyone."

He laughed bitterly. "Of course. I should have known better. I'm a fool to think... nevermind."

"Aaron..."

"You're a womanizer and I'm just an idiot. You also have Lin. You've always fancied her. I don't even know why I'm talking about this. Then there's no way you're -"

"Aaron. Shut up please," I moaned. "First off, I'm not a womanizer. Secondly, me and Lin aren't together and we will never be together at this point. Thirdly, I'm not entirely sure what you're going on about. Am I missing something?"

"You really are dense, Parker. Nevermind."

"You like me? Is that it?" I asked catching him off guard. He stared back stunned. "I know. I've always known. I tried my best to ignore it, but not because I don't like you. Because I don't know how to really feel about that. I do care about you. I wouldn't rule it out."

He then looked over to his left looking strange and gasped. "Nathan!"

I placed my hand on his. "Aaron. A relationship like that is not a foreign concept to me. It's just it's not entirely something I'm used to or been open about, but life is too short to worry about those things. Especially now right?"

He said nothing. I finally noticed he seemed focused on something. Not me as I expected, but something in the darkness. I frowned. "Aaron. I'm pouring my heart out to you and opening up to you and you're-"

"I heard something!" he whispered. "I swear."

"Ok. Probably just a walker. I'll kill it in the morning," I said. I leaned in inches away from his face. "Now I'm willing to take this seriously. Only if -"

This time I lost focus. I stopped immediately as I saw someone run past. It was a blur, but it was something or someone. A walker? No, they weren't that fast. A deer? No. It had to be human. The height. The size. That shadow was human.

I stood up, grabbed my handgun from my back pocket, and turned to Aaron who was in panic mode again. "I'm going to take a look."

I headed out into the darkness and made my way towards the bus. The shadow seemed to run towards that direction. I stood by the bus looking around, but I saw no one. I scratched my head trying to figure out how something like that could just disappear. Then I heard someone scream from inside the house and I looked up spotting it. A skeleton? No. A man in a skeleton mask. On top of the bus. Right below Lin's window.

Before I could utter a cry, he jumped down barely missing me, and ran off towards the garden.

I ran after him and to my surprise, I heard Aaron following closely behind me breathing heavily. I wanted to tell him to stay back or go back in the house, but it was no time. I just hurried after the stranger ready to confront or tackle him if need be. 

Then the man abruptly stopped in the middle of the garden. Despite almost colliding, we both stopped to stare at the man's back. It felt like a standoff. I moved forward. Finger on the trigger ready to shoot.

"Who are you?" I shouted. "You're trespassing."

The man turned around and the terrifying red-eyed skeleton mask stared blankly back at us. He folded his arms and cocked his head as if he was mocking me. Then without warning, he ran towards me full force. 

It was all a blur after that. I remembered pulling the trigger, but the gun didn’t hit its target as I pictured it. No. Instead, I saw it go flying up in the air as he kicked out my hand, and then his other foot was the last thing I saw. I felt it smash into the side of my face and I found myself laying flat on my back on the ground disoriented. The wind knocked out of me. My face and hands throbbing. My brain trying to catch to what just happened. He had run, kicked the gun up in the air, and kicked the side of my head like a soccer ball apparently. I wasn’t sure if I was dealing with Bruce Lee himself, but I sure as hell didn’t expect that.

The skeletal masked man then ran past me and pushed the doctor out the way as he bolted out the garden. Aaron then came over to me after making sure the close was clear and peered down at me expressing concern.

“Are you alright?"

"Yeah just peachy," I mumbled. "What the fuck was that?!"

"I don't know, but it looked like something out of an action movie just now," he said sounding excitable. “It was sort of awesome! He did some cool karate move on you. You should have seen it!”

"Aaron."

"Yes."

“Just shut up and help me up please.”

Part 1

Previous Episode

[lindzem]

THE SUGAR WITCH

"Frost, did you hear me?"

Jack jerked from his own thoughts and looked at his teacher, Miss Bellamy pointing at her board.

"Y-Yes ma'am. Sorry I--"

"Then would you please come up and solve the arithmatic problem."

Jack swallowed, but forced a smile.

"Yes, certainly."

He stood from his desk and walked up to the board. He knew his equations well enough, but his mind was too worried about other things. Much too worried. He took the chalk and wrote an answer.

"That's wrong, Frost. The answer is 35. Go sit back down and get your head out of the clouds."

Jack shuffled back to his desk and sunk down in his chair. He couldn't wait for the school day to be over.

Finally Miss Bellamy released them and Jack was the first one to sprint out of the building. He ran as fast he could through the town amd to the farm he called home. It wasn't much. It was quaint and cozy, with good crops and some small animals. However, when he heard a commotion from the barn, his eyes widened with panic.

"Augh--! What in heavens name-!?"

Jack rushed to the barn, dropping his school satchel and yanking open the doors. He saw his caretaker, North laying on his back in the pig pen cursing in a different language. Jack leapt over and helped him stand.

"North, what are you doing out of bed?! I said I'd take care of the chores when I got home!"

North groaned and stood, cracking his back a little.

"Oh, Jack, did not know you would be home so soon."

"I come home about the same time everyday--"

"Baghk--Nevermind. I am not going to lay in bed all day when there is work to be done--Buuaghuagh-!"

The older man hacked and sputtered some dry hard coughs. Jack clenched his jaw, the deep worry all over his face.

"Please, you need to rest."

North pushed Jack away a bit.

"Nonsense, I am fine! I have never felt stronger, see?"

The bearded man strolls over and attempts to grab an axe out of a tree stump, but it won't budge. Jack knew North was strong as an Ox when healthy, but this time he knew he had caught a terrible cold that was getting worse.

"North..."

"Just one second!"

"North please can we just--"

"Hold on, almost got it--"

"NORTH!!!"

The older man stopped and slowly turned back to the young teenager, whose chest was heaving and tears were streaming down his cheeks. North's expression immediately softened and he went over and hugged Jack lovingly.

"Alright, my boy. Alright....I am sorry. Please do not cry. I will be better soon enough."

Jack sniffled and smiled a little. They both went back inside the house.

The next day, Jack awoke to find North in a cold sweat, wheezing and hacking. A deep fear struck through Jack's heart. He grabbed his cloak and rushed to the doctor's house in town. He knocked on the door, practically banging until it opened and he saw Dr. Higgins standing there. He looked a bit annoyed to see Jack again, but also a bit sad.

"Dr. Higgins, please, I need you to come take another look at North right away--"

"Hold your horses, Jack. Have you been giving him the tonic I prescribed?"

"Yes, every day twice a day, just like you said--!"

"Then there isn't anymore I can do for him."

"Please, I beg you, it will just take a minute--"

"Jack, no. Im sorry. I have other patients. I do truly hope North recovers and you have my deepest sympathies. Good day, Frost."

Jack steps aside and watches in shock as Dr. Higgins moves past and leaves. He stands there for a few minutes looking heartbroken amd hopeless. Until another boy he knew from school named Terry spots him. He jogs across the street to meet him.

"Jack! Hey, Jack! What are you doing?"

Jack turns his face away, not wanting Terry to see him crying.

"Nothing...I was just leaving."

Terry watches Jack start to walk away, but catches up to his side.

"It's about North, isn't it..."

Jack sniffled and didn't respond. Terry piped up a little.

"Hey, I'm not suppossed to really say anything but...there's been a rumor going around lately at school."

"I don't have time for stupid pranks, Terry--"

"It's about a witch."

Jack pauses and eyes him.

"A witch?...Are you kidding me?"

"They say that if you bring her a bag of sugar and a name of a person, she'll curse your enemies. So we call her the Sugar Witch."

"And she...can do magic?"

"Well, yeah, Johnathan swears that he brought her two bags of sugar and asked her to put a curse on Riley for bullying him. The next day Riley was tripping everywhere he went! Everyone saw it! But you have to do it at night, they say. Head south until you find the giant burned tree stump and place your offering there."

Jack laughed and wiped his tears away.

"Thank you, Terry! Thank you! I won't forget this!"

Jack sprinted off as fast as his legs could carry him to the store. He used all of his allowance to purchase 5 bags of sugar. He stuffed them in his satchel and raced off back home to the farm. He checked in on North to find the man sleeping deeply. With a hopeful smile, the boy snatched a lantern and ran back outside off into the forest as the sun started to go down.

Jack went south and finally found the burned giant tree stump. It was quickly becoming dark and the forest was dangerous at night to get lost in.

He gently took out the bags of sugar and set them down neatly onto the stump next to his lantern. A breeze kicked up and the wind moaned all around eeriely. Jack shivered and looked around at the the encroaching shadows.

"This is lunacy...why did I do this?"

He cleared his throat and yelled.

"OH GREAT, UH...SUGAR WITCH! HEED MY PLEA AND SEE MY OFFERINGS OF--!!!"

Suddenly a voice rang sharply back close by.

"No need to yell! Heavens above, boy!"

Jack stood there frozen as he watched a tall slender woman with grey skin and short black hair step out from behind a tree just across the way. Her eyes, golden like the crowns of kings, seemed to glow and watch him in the darkness. Jack was terrified that he had angered her! He braced for an attack of some sort to punish him for his insolence. Until she just yawned loudly and stretched. She strolled lazily over and looked at the bags of sugar. She raised a brow and laughed.

"My goodness, you've brought so much. I can bake up a storm with all this sweet crystal goodness~!"

Jack slowly lowered his guard to see that she was inspecting all the bags rather nonchalantly. Her dress was as black as her hair and he spotted the slit v neck down her chest low to eccentuate her breasts.

He blushed and yanked his gaze away, never having seen any woman dress so boldly.

"I-I have brought you your sugar, now I would like to ask for your help..."

He spoke softer, fearful that she might curse him if he said or did anything she didnt like.

The woman nodded and sat down on the stump, crossing her legs and inspecting her long nails.

"Alright kid, make this snappy. Whaddaya want in return? Want me to put a curse on someone? Turn their hair gray? Put worms in their food? Make someone trip a lot? I got all kinds of curses, just name it."

Jack bit his lip nervously.

"I...I don't want to curse anyone. I came to request your magic to help my father. He's very ill and he's not getting better..."

The witch jerked up and stared straight at Jsck ith the most perplexed look. He had caught her offguard.

"You...want my *help*?"

Jack couldn't stop his desperation from showing through. He dove and knelt at her feet and bowed his head, clinging to her dress while he sobbed.

"Please, I'm begging you! You're my last hope...!"

The witch's eyes widened in shock at this boy before her. A terrified child with nowhere else to turn. She sighed and groaned in annoyance, letting her empathy get the better of her.

"Ok, fine, just stop getting your snot all over my dress! Ughh...This is gonna be a doozy..."

[fanfictrashdump]

Queening a Pawn, 19

If you're new: this is my procrastination fic. It is what I drabble around with when I'm being my worst self, and ignoring all my other WIPs and responsibilities! Enjoy!

X

Summary: During the Time Heist, Loki stole the Tesseract and escaped. He did not expect, however, to be pulled through a Time Loop that delivered him to a Midgard more than a decade older, wiser, and bitterer. Having just lived through his unsuccessful attack in New York, Loki must learn to live in Midgard after the defeat of Thanos (post-Endgame). The question is, who is Loki without a quest for a throne or total domination?

Pairings: Loki x OC

=

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Delilah inhaled deeply, stirring suddenly out of slumber. Her eyes barely opened and focused on a shadow in front of her before the scream ripped out of her throat. Loki sat up beside her, daggers brandished and in search of blood, eyes wild and unfocused.

"For fuck's sake, Bucky! What the hell!?" Delilah shrieked, throwing pillows at the shadowed figure. For what it was worth, he looked apologetic for having nearly given her a heart attack. She did not, however, appreciate the fact that the only thing between Bucky and her naked form was 800 threads of black Egyptian cotton she was holding up with her left hand. Or the fact that he had found them asleep in Loki's quarters. Or that he found them naked in Loki's quarters. They had made it a point to be careful, and yet here they were.

"Sorry, Li. You didn't answer your phone."

"What's up?" She asked, once her heartbeat had gone back down. Loki groaned, falling back onto the pillows to slumber.

"There's a situation, we're going off on a mission. We were hoping we could borrow him," he replied, jutting his jaw out at Loki, who turned his eyes to stare curiously at the Winter Soldier. "It's that group Dwyer was part of–"

"And you want to take Loki? On a mission?" Delilah glanced to her right, cutting across the calculating green gaze piercing the dark. "He's clear for it on my end, but you might want to, you know, ask him."

"You in? Two days, tops. We're just raiding a warehouse." Bucky stared expectantly. "Strange could use some magic back-up."

Loki narrowed his eyes at Bucky before he sat back up, turning his gaze at Delilah. A hand rested on her bare back, sending a shiver down her spine. "I don't want to leave you alone."

"I have Einherjar and this," she replied, tugging at the silver chain around her neck. "And about a million different daggers. It would only be two days." She shrugged, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes with the heel of her right hand. "Do you want to go?"

"I'd like to assist, yes."

"Good. Wheels up in one hour." He left before the other two could respond.

Loki took care dressing. It had been a while since he had pulled on any clothes that weren't Midgardian in fashion or design. Even for training, he had gone for Earthly training garb, weighing himself down with discs to mimic his armor. He had not felt the need to parade around in his royal dress, and at current moment he debated whether he wanted to break the streak.

The simpler battle leathers hung in his wardrobe fit comfortably. There were no flashy embellishments or trinkets–just leather and magic in black and green, layered and spelled to keep the better part of injuries at bay. Delilah had insisted on helping, despite the fact he could spell his armor on faster than he could explain how each piece fit. Still, there was something soothing about her, still naked from the night before, lacing up his vambraces after a little direction. They had ended up having to refasten his cuisse after a lone brush of her fingers down his chest had caused him to all but rip his trousers off and sink into her warmth.

"Are you nervous?" She asked, sitting cross-legged in bed after summoning the energy to dress. The jeans and T-shirt she wore were no less appealing than her bare skin, so he tore his eyes away before another re-doing of his armor was needed.

"Only about leaving you unattended. Norns know what could happen when I'm gone." The notch that formed between his brows confirmed his concern, but Delilah was quick to brush it aside. Not to mention, she could feel his anxiety as easily as her own.

"I'll be fine. Just hurry up back to me, OK?" Loki nodded, dropping to his knees before her and making a point of kissing her so thoroughly he could sculpt her lips from memory. "Let's go. It's almost time."

"I love you," he said, knowing it would be impossible to say once they got to the helipad.

"I love you, too."

Sam let out a cross between a groan and a yell when they arrived at the helipad ten minutes later. "Frickin' finally! How long did it take you to tear this fool away from a damn book?" Both Loki and Delilah were confused but tried not to show it in their expressions. "Also, why are you in the library at 3 am? Do you have nothing better to do?"

Loki rolled his eyes, looking nonplussed. "Some of us knowhow to read, Falcon," he sassed before cutting his eyes at Delilah. Delilah, however, was mouthing a quiet thank you to Bucky, who shrugged.

Stephen poked his head out of the Quinjet, watching Loki cast one last longing stare at Delilah before marching past him onto the ship. Strange rolled his eyes, frowning at the woman. "Oh, come on! I thought you were better than that!"

"Lower your expectations, Strange. We're all trash," she joked, rolling her eyes just as petulantly. "I want you all back in one piece, OK? Be safe!" She watched Sam, Strange, and Bucky pack into the jet. Loki lingered by the doors as they closed and offered a half-wave that she returned before they had slipped through a portal Strange had evidently created.

--

"Delilah." There was no answer as Pepper waved a hand in front of the other woman's face. "Lilah. Lilah! Lilah! LILAH!"

Seemingly snapping out of it, Delilah turned her eyes at the redhead with a frown. "Did you say something, Pep?"

"Like twenty minutes worth of something, yeah," she joked, closing the files on Delilah's desk with a sigh and pushing them aside. "How long has it been, then?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know that face. I invented that face." Pepper leaned forward, propping her elbows on the desk. "How long since he left on mission, Li?"

Color rushed to her cheeks, and she slumped in her chair despite the desire to deny the accusation. It was no use. She was distracted and jumpy ever since the mission had gone on radio silence. Ever since she felt Loki's last emotion tugging at her through space. "It'll be twenty-nine hours… now," Delilah replied, glancing at the minute hand of the clock on the opposite wall.

"I would say that the waiting is the worst part, but… that's not true," Pepper admitted, eyes softening.

Delilah sighed, not knowing whether to feel better or worse. She had never considered the possibility of anything going wrong. It sounded ridiculous. "I'm not worried. Quick warehouse raid. Two days."

"Oh, you sweet innocent child." Lilah shuddered at the implication behind her expression. "Always add two days to whatever estimate they give you. Always expect them to come home with significantly fewer limbs. Don't watch the news."

Delilah had heeded Pepper's warning. For the most part. She had added extra time to their time away since the team had not shown any signs of returning after 48 hrs. Missing limbs weren't really a concern to Loki, who somehow cheated death an extraordinary number of times. After nine days of no information, however, she had succumbed to the temptation to turn on the news.

"We're coming to you now, live, from the scene of the battle. Early yesterday afternoon the underground movement known as PURITY took arms against the superhero group formerly known as the Avengers. Local infrastructure has been severely damaged and the city evacuated, though local authorities have no estimate for when the area would be safe to return."

Delilah stared the screen, teetering on the edge of her seat as she watched mortar and brick explode in dusty clouds.

"Local witnesses report the sighting of one Loki of Asgard working alongside the superheroes. Loki is better known as the figure responsible for the 2012 attacks in Germany and New York City that ended in the invasion of the Chitauri aliens."

Out of the corner of the screen she could see a pair of golden horns stretching towards the sky in a gentle swoop. He was running, pumping his arms before throwing a dagger in his right hand, dispensing with a group of attackers in a single shot. The image shook and Loki whirled around on a dime. A building in the background was trembling on itself and out the bare front threshold, Sam ran out with a bundle in his arms, one metal wing bent and smoking. Loki glanced up, momentarily frozen, before he made off like a shot. With a twist of his hands Sam flew off to the side, leaving Loki with his arms up, trying to manipulate the building to keep it standing.

Bucky and Strange came out a few moments later, their arms equally laden with bundles that Delilah realized were children. She gasped, a hand covering her mouth–if to keep herself from screaming or crying, she didn't know. On the video, Loki's teeth were grit in effort and concentration, and as time trickled past, his whole body trembled, all in the name of allowing Sam another run inside.

Another building imploded nearby just as Sam skirted by. There was a shouted exchange that Delilah could not read as the air thickened with dust and destruction. She didn't notice that she had kneeled in front of the television set, mere inches away from the picture. With bated breath she watched him slowly turn, trying to get distance between himself and the collapsing structure. Out of the far left corner a group of attackers was closing in. They opened fire upon the god. He threw his mouth open in a roar and in a flash of lights, there was nothing left but rubble.

"Loki!" Delilah squeaked, tears running down her face. As the haze cleared, she could make out Bucky sorting through the stones while Sam and Strange tried to pull him away. Another group was closing in and they had to move. The signal flickered before it went dark.

Lilah wasn't sure how long she had stared at the blank screen for. "FRIDAY, where's the Quinjet?" She demanded as she pleaded for the transmission to restart.

The AI prickled overhead. "The Quinjet is in stealth mode and cannot be tracked."

"Don't give me that shit, FRIDAY. I know Tony patched that bug!"

"I don't have any information, Del. I'm sorry."

She growled, getting to her feet and pacing around the room. Her hands itched to toss things around, a reaction that was very much atypical for her, but there was a desperation in her soul that she could not logically explain away. Sure, Loki had survived far worse, but at what point did the lottery stop pulling up his lucky numbers.

The predatory stalking persisted into the early hours of the morning. She had not stopped to eat or drink, only to bark annoyedly at FRIDAY who continually told her that she had no information. The news channels had lost their feed. She was in the dark both metaphorically and literally. Her pacing had outgrown the expanse of both hers and Loki's apartments, and so she had taken to the hallways. Her stomping footsteps made it abundantly clear that she was not in the mood to talk to anyone. Even Tony's hologram promptly backed away when he naively asked what the matter was.

Around twenty minutes past four in the morning, on the eleventh day, Delilah happened to be walking past the cargo bays on her usual circuit. The complex doors opening caught her attention from several hallways away and she wasted no time in running towards the disturbance.

"You could be bleeding internally, you idiot! Go see Banner!" Delilah could make out Sam's voice yelling over the strained sound of a scuffle.

"Listen here, you pathetic worm. She thinks me dead–"

"And you will be if you don't get checked out!" Sam interrupted. As Delilah turned the corner, she could see Sam holding Loki in a chokehold, and doing his best to hold his own and try to wrestle the Asgardian onto the floor.

"Loki." The name dropped from her lips in a whisper before she had even noticed it. It had been exceedingly quiet, but she felt like, at that moment, he could have heard it across the Nine without issue. A wave of relief washed over her like a riptide that left her momentarily dizzy. They needed to work on controlling emotions through this connection, but that was a topic for another day.

The Asgardian sunk to the floor without any more hesitation and Sam panted. "Will you just tell her you're in love with her so I don't have to deal with your erratic ass every time we go on mission? I can't have you going from chill to feral at the drop of a hat!"

"Dude." It was Bucky who spoke, leaning against the jet doors with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. He wiggled the fingers on his left hand and Sam focused on the silver band glinting in the nightlights.

The Falcon turned to Loki with a scowl. "Then, what the hell was that all about?"

"She thought me dead," he repeated, much gentler this time, having eyes only for Delilah. Leaving Sam to mutter angrily under his breath about having to deal with him being crazy for days while turning to unpack the Quinjet with Bucky.

Loki hissed, struggling to get his feet under him. Delilah found she had suddenly frozen to her spot, unsure as to whether or not this was real or if she had become so desperate to see her lover again that she had hallucinated. His right eye was swollen shut and his nose was most likely broken. Though his armor covered most injuries, he was holding his left arm at an odd angle and limping on the same side. Every time he stepped, he left behind a trail of blood droplets from an unknown source.

He still made it to her, close enough for her to close her fists around the loose leather chest piece to keep him from collapsing. Their lips connected in a short but intense kiss that tasted bitter and metallic to her tongue. When she focused, she noticed his mouth was full of blood and she hoped to any deity that would listen that it was his own.

"I need a medic quite urgently."

"FRIDAY, get Bruce to the Medbay."

"On it, boss!"

When Loki came to several hours later, the sun was streaming through the windows of the hospital and threatening to trigger a headache. Beside his cot, Delilah sat, slumped in her chair, asleep, looking about as tired as he felt. They really needed to control their shared emotions. A world away, he had felt the utter terror of when that damn building fell, pinning him down in the process. He felt the despair of thinking him dead, and he was sure she felt his desperate attempts to get back and prove that rumor incorrect. It wouldn't do for them to always have to deal with that. Still, he felt like he had earned the right to her feelings and didn't want to deprive himself of them, ever.

"Hey, you're awake!" Bruce exclaimed, and Loki drew a finger to his lips, gesturing towards Delilah. "Sorry," he continued, much quieter. "You're lucky you're not human or else you'd be pretty much a goner. You maxed out your nanobots treatment in an hour. You'll be out of commission for a while." He tapped at his tablet to page through his medical chart. "Barnes said you saved an orphanage."

"Yes, we did."

"No. He said you saved an orphanage," he corrected, glancing over his glasses.

Loki eased himself up with a hiss. "Yes, well. I am not overly fond of watching children die in a war they didn't ask for." He reached over for Delilah, brushing a curl out of her face with a smile. "Is she going to be alright?"

"She'll be fine. You're the one bleeding internally."

"I'm made of steel. She's cotton wool. I'm a lot more worried about her."

Bruce grinned knowingly. "A little sleep deprivation. She'll be good in a few hours." He replaced the tablet in the slot at the end of the bed. "Should I expect an invitation in the mail or…?"

Loki chuckled. "I'm more likely to shout it off the rooftops now that people know, if I'm honest." He shrugged, exerting as much seidr as he had left to float Delilah into his cot beside him. "I didn't think everyone would be this interested."

"We've learned to appreciate the little things." The giant man shrugged, smiling affectionately at how Loki tucked the girl into his side and wrapped her tight in blankets. "Get some sleep and recover so she can do the same." Loki nodded, snuggling down into the medical bed with a groan. "You did good, Loki."

"Thank you, Banner." Loki frowned at how heartfelt the sentiment became. He felt like, at some level, he was erasing some of the errors of his other self.

[pumpkinsandsuckers]

Watermelon

AU where the only thing that happened was stopping the Heart of Etheria?

Princesses are still princesses, Catra loves parkour, and yeah, Adora might be able to crush a watermelon with her bare hands.

Catradora with hints of other ships

((I wrote this in a frenzy and don’t regret it at all))

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Fright Zone, Somewhere High Up, Thursday

“Right, you’re telling me she can crush a watermelon with her bare hands.” Catra scoffed, scratching her neck. God, why did she agree to a haircut? The chilly breeze sweeping past her now exposed neck was unnerving. She felt so vulnerable. 

“I mean, well, it is a rumour.” Scorpia laughed, fumbling with the equipment. “Whoops.”

“Hey watch it!” Catra hissed as she dived forward, catching the camera. “Yeah, it better be just a rumour.”

“Great reflexes! As expected of Catra!” Entrapta bounced forward, propelled by her robotic hair. “Speaking of rumours, my friends from Bright Moon have been hearing stories about your hair!”

“What stories?” the black claws from Catra’s fingers extended, sharp and menacing.

“Oh, you know, the stories about your hair being so thick because it contained so many secrets.”

Catra’s eyes bulged. “WHAT?!”

“Yeah, and the other one about She-ra’s amazing physique. Have you heard? She can crush a watermelon with her bare hands? I’d love to see that! Collecting data from a being with that strength can help me with my research!”

“Alright, enough about Bright Moon. It’s a place for academic snobs and spoilt princesses.” Catra sighed as Scorpia shot her a look of disappointment. “Fine. Not you guys, alright.” Her frown turned into a slight smile, and she stretched. “You guys are fine. Now, let’s get this video done.”

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Bright Moon Keep, Friday

“Whoa, did you see what was posted on Super Pal Trio’s page?” Bow bounced up and down with excitement.

“Bow, not again. Those sort of people from the Fright Zone are dangerous! I can’t believe you’re following them.” Glimmer groaned, and looked at the girl behind her. “Fine, not all people from the Fright Zone are dangerous.”

“What sort of corny name is Super Pal Trio anyway?” Adora laughed. “That doesn’t seem like a name that would fit in the Fright Zone.”

“Oh, the Super Pal Trio is the best group! Second to us, anyway.” Bow’s eyes shone, and he swiped through his pad to show Glimmer and Adora the content pushed out by the independent group. 

“Scorpia here is the muscle, but she also packs a powerful voice! She’s actually performed for many people!” Bow pointed to a video of a woman with an undercut, and-

“Really dangerous looking claws.” Glimmer muttered. 

Bow glared at Glimmer, but continued. “And Entrapta! We’ve met her before she moved to the Fright Zone! Ah, what one will do for friendship and love. She’s a genius inventor, and right now, she’s working on developing prosthetic limbs! I wonder for whom though, she doesn’t have a strong interest in organic creatures.”

“Wow, that sounds impressive. I really should start using this… social media more.” Adora squinted. “It’s a trio, right?”

“Yeah! The last person is pretty famous in the Fright Zone! You may have heard of rumours of her too!”

“No, not really.” Glimmer and Adora replied in unison. 

“Fine, your majesties.” Bow swiped, and let out an incredibly loud yelp. “She cut her hair?!?!”

“Who?!” Adora asked, and snatched the pad out of Bow’s hands.

The video was titled “Cat jumping dangerously”

“It seems that Glimmer is right.” Adora mumbled, and watched. 

A brief shot of the skyline, familiar, bulky architecture with protruding pipes and pillars. The camera focused on a pair of legs, clad in black pants clinging to the skin. A black tail swished.

Adora bit back a gasp.

The video continued panning up, and right before it reached the upper back, the person took off running, sliding underneath a pillar, vaulting over short walls, and leaping from roof to roof. Adora focused on her so much, her face was inching closer to the pad. 

And before she knew it, the figure turned around, having completed her run, and stuck her tongue out at the camera. A smirk, and the video ended.

“That’s..���

“She cut her hair!” Bow wailed.

“Well, she does look more adorable like this.” Glimmer commented. “Her long hair looked like a hazard in her past videos.”

Bow gasped. “No. Way. Glimmer! You had been watching their videos! Oh I knew it!”

“That’s Catra?!” Adora broke Bow’s celebration, and he stopped twirling Glimmer around. 

“Yeah. The Parkour Cat!” Bow struck a pose, completely unrelated to parkour.

“She cut her hair!” Adora passed the pad back to Bow, and started to pace up and down.

“Yeah. Wait, do you know her?” Bow raised an eyebrow. This was unlike Adora. This was…

“Gay panic.” Glimmer sighed.

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Fright Zone, Monday

“So, who even is She-ra?” Catra asked Lonnie, trying to appear as intimidating as she could. She was utterly frustrated, and was going to figure it out by herself. Pictures had shown a blonde, tall, ridiculously good looking female dressed in an equally ridiculous outfit, and Catra would not tell anyone, but she found this ‘She-ra’ to be rather hot. And familiar looking.

“Uh, Catra, She-ra is a princess? She helped bring balance to the universe? Remember when Etheria was about to blow up because of some weird princess magic?”

Catra folded her arms. “Urgh, princesses.”

“Yeah! She-ra is the greatest princess! She is strong, beautiful, and really cool! Also, I’ve heard that she can crush a watermelon with her bare hands.”

“No one asked you, Kyle!” Catra shoved him - well, gentler than before, and stalked off. “What is with watermelons?!”

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Bright Moon Keep, Thursday

“Alright, I got us invitations for Entrapta’s and Scorpia’s party in the Fright Zone. I know what you’re thinking, it’s dangerous! Why should we go? But come on Glimmer, it’ll be so much fun!” Bow pleaded, almost on his knees as he clung onto Glimmer.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Really? You mean it?” Bow grinned, and threw Glimmer into the air. “Hooray!”

Glimmer teleported right beside him. “Yeah. We are princesses. We got the invites.”

“Wait what? So I had to help Mermista out for nothing? Argh!”

“I’m going too.” Adora stood up, looking at Glimmer. “You know what that means.”

“Ahhh!” Glimmer shrieked. “Makeover time!”

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Fright Zone, A Revamped Area, Saturday

“Oh, I really don’t know about this.” Scorpia whimpered, swinging her claws around.

“You’ll be great, I promise!”

Scorpia smiled at her communication pad. “Aww, thanks, Perfuma. I’m looking forward to seeing you later. Uh, and the rest too. Yeah.”

A light, airy laughter, and Perfuma concluded the call with an “I’m looking forward to seeing you too, Scorpia. Ok, bye!”

“What a dork.” Catra laughed, leaping from a pipe, landing perfectly on her feet. “But I guess I’m kinda… happy for you.”

“Oh, Kittycat!” Scorpia laughed, lunging forward to smother Catra in a vice-like hug. “I knew you cared for me.”

“Alright, alright! Watch the hair! It’s hard to work with short hair!” Catra wriggled out of the hug, straightening her clothes. A red top, black formal pants, ripped at the knees, and a black blazer slung around her shoulders. 

“Looking good, Catra!” Entrapta yelled from her corner, still tinkering with some bots.

“I always do.” Catra smirked, and pushed Scorpia out of the room. “Now then, we have your debut party to attend. Entrapta, if you come out now, I’ll get you a whole room for bots.”

“Alright! Bots!” 

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Fright Zone, Party Venue, Main hall

“Oh man, I knew the Fright Zone underwent some changes, but this is great!” Bow’s eyes sparkled. “I’m going to find Entrapta to ask her about some tech stuff! Whoo!”

“I’m going with him.” Glimmer shimmered, and disappeared.

“Haha. Cool, I guess it’s just me.” Adora laughed, and received a reassuring pat on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Adora, I am here with you too.” Perfuma smiled. “Frosta and Mermista have decided to explore the intricate network in the Fright Zone, but I’ll be here with you.”

The lights dimmed, and a spotlight shone on the stage. 

“Er, hi, I’m Scorpia. Some of you guys may know me, and this is my first party as a princess.” She looked around the room. The lights were too bright, and she couldn’t make out anyone. “Oh boy. Er, I’m going to sing, so yeah. I’d love for my friends to be here to hear me so yeah.”

“Hit it!” Catra yelled from behind the curtains.

“Catra?” Adora frowned, and broke away from Perfuma, who was too distracted to notice anything other than Scorpia’s stage presence.

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Fright Zone, Party Venue, Shadow Weaver’s Daisy Garden.

Running away into the open was a mistake. Here, she was very obvious, and soon enough, she had drawn a crowd of familiar faces. 

“It’s the She-ra!” “She-ra!” “The She-ra!” “Sign my arm!” “No, sign my shirt!” “Sign my watermelons!”

“Wow, haha, that’s really kind of all of you.” Adora chuckled, eyes darting around to find an alternative route. “Welp, out of luck.”

“Hey, what’s going on here?!” A loud, slightly angry voice rang out, and the crowd quietened. “There better not be any damage to the plants here!” A figure leapt from the balcony above, onto the soft grass.

“But you just stomped on that flower.”

Catra glared at the bold creature who said that, and he yelped, taking off. A few others followed suit. 

“Catra!” The rest yelled, and took out their markers again. “Sign my arm!” “Sign my head!” “Sign my watermelons!!”

“What is with watermelons?!” Catra hissed loudly, before spotting the initial cause of the commotion. “Adora?”

She jumped over the crowd rushing towards her, stepping on a particularly tall reptilian as a stepping stone, before somersaulting and landing on the ground.

“Catra stepped on me! My life is complete!”

“Urgh, gross.” Catra ran towards the familiar blonde. “Hey Adora.”

“Catra?”

“You’re She-ra? Huh. I’d love to chat, but we should run. I hope you’re not that much heavier.” Catra hoisted Adora onto her arms, bridal-style, nearly heaving from the weight. “Okay nope, but this will do. I don’t think you can run in your dress.”

“Oh, I can’t, but She-ra can.” Adora grinned, and Catra dropped her.

“No, I don’t want any magical princess-”

“For the honour of Grayskull!”

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Fright Zone, Now-cleaner Sewers

Mermista paused, looking at an equally concerned Frosta. 

“I don’t know why, but I think something reckless has happened.” Frosta folded her arms. “And I wasn’t part of it?!”

“I guess Adora became She-ra. Urgh, why.”

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Fright Zone, Somewhere High Up

“Adora! Put! Me! Down!” Catra shrieked, her claws betraying her as she dug into She-ra’s arms, their positions now reversed.

“Ow, Catra!” She-ra landed on a roof, and dissipated, leaving Adora, hair unravelling from her ponytails, cheeks flushed, and straddled by Catra.

They stared at each other, taking in the physical changes, the softness of faces now replaces with a rugged toughness. And yet, they will still soft, so beautiful in each others’ eyes. Catra had to drag her eyes away from Adora’s chest, in particular. Adora wasn’t doing any better with Catra’s unbuttoned shirt. But that moment passed, and they were gazing at each other tenderly.

“Hey, Adora.” Catra smiled. “There’s a lot I want to ask you, but right now. I really missed you.” She leaned down, tucking her chin into the gap between Adora’s shoulder and neck. “I missed you.” She took a deep breath, and felt Adora return the gesture.

“I missed you too.” Adora held their pose for some time, before Catra sprang up, embarrassed by her affectionate actions.

“Urgh.” Catra sat up, pulling Adora up as well. 

“Heh, never knew you were so honest with your feelings.” Adora teased, smiling.

“Yeah, emotions are a thing I’m working on.” Catra smiled, scratching her bare neck again.

“I never knew you were a star! Parkour Cat, huh?” 

“For the record, I did not choose that name. And you! You were a princess? You’re… She-ra?!”

“I am. I’m sorry, I left without saying anything. It was just… I finally found out who I really was, and I had to go on a quest and everything was happening so quickly-” She inhaled, missing Catra’s scent already. “I didn’t get to say so many things.”

“You know, I was really mad at the start. I took it out on so many people, until I was alone. Then I learnt to rebuild myself, my friendships, and well,” Catra leaned forward, tucking a stray strand behind Adora’s ear. “I wanted to be a better person for someone I cared about.”

“I never stopped thinking about you.” Adora sighed, leaning into Catra’s palm.

“Me neither.” Catra cupped Adora’s face. “I love you. I always did.”

“I love you too, Catra.” Adora pressed their foreheads together again.

“You’re such an idiot.”

…

“By the way, Adora, can you really crush a watermelon with your bare hands?”

“Er, sure, as She-ra.”

“Man, that’s really hot.”

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

[the-masked-barona]

Yona 187 Spoilers, Thoughts, Future Speculation & Wild Theories

Long-time, no-speculation! The last one I posted was back in... July ... ANYWAYS. A lot has happened since chapter 178, so I’m going to get into some general thoughts of this arc so far, and my speculation for what’s to come! SPOILER ALERT (obviously)! 

HHB agreeing to this alliance, not only because Yona wants to protect them, but also because they all know Yoon wants to read ALL the books, my heart. His face when he got to see the library and started learning? GOLD, best, this arc is worth that alone 

And I’ve been waiting for Yoon and Min-soo interaction for YEARSSS and we finally got it, I almost forgot that it was never actually stated Min-soo knew medical knowledge until this arc .... lol 

Hak joining the army as a foot soldier is MY JAM 

The OG OT3 feels are in full force this arc, and everything hurts (say what you want about this arc but it’s giving me some good angst, I can’t be mad)

Oh yeah, and Soo-won is sick, but I’ll get to why I’m not too worried about that further down 

The Joo-doh content has been nIcE  

ALSO THE SKETCHY SHADOW BODYGUARDS ARE BACK??? Theory further below! 

OK OK so now what I think is in the future (or at least what I HOPE is in the future) and why I am not particularly worried about Soo-won:

I see Soo-won’s condition going one of two ways. Either 1) He’s being poisoned (by Min-soo?). It’s a bit of a further stretch but honestly I can see it happening. MIn-soo already feels guilty for his part in the Il assassination, and he specifically has mentioned poisons and medicines being 2 sides of the same coin. I WOULD think this is the answer if it wasn’t for, 2) Yoon will have a part in saving Soo-won. Senjusou was specifically brought up again this arc. This is not a coincidence and I think it’ll play a pivotal part in saving Soo-won. 

So what am I hoping to see in the future? 

Still hoping for answers about Il and the past as a whole. Il had his own secrets, and there was unrest that we don’t have background for. I’d like the holes to be filled. 

Lili is around, whERE IS SHE? Lili, come help yo girl 

I’m really looking forward to seeing more from Joo-doh. Ever since that chapter where we got some internal dialogue from him about hoping Yona was out there somewhere safe, I’ve been interested in Yona and Joo-doh’s interaction. Joo-doh is someone that has been around Yona nearly all her life, I want to see Kusanagi dig a bit deeper with them.  

The sketchy shadow bodyguards?? What’s the reason for keeping their identity secret? At this point- with them being purposefully hidden- there’s a reason for it. GIVE IT TO ME! A theory: Min-soo felt REALLY scared this chapter about Yona finding out about Soo-Won’s condition. Very on-edge. I’m almost wondering if that’s what these sketchy bodyguards are for ... what if they’re taking out anyone who finds out the secret. And maybe when they first appeared was when this illness from Soo-won started up. What if the same thing happened with Soo-won’s mother and these guards are actually hers? Maybe these guards are poisoning him ohohoho we know that nobody but “his closest aides” know about his illness. Considering Keishuk nor Ju-doh knew about it, who would be closer than maybe these shadow body guards? Questions... and pure speculation! 

Zeno still knows things we don’t, you can’t change my mind 

Ik-soo.... pls come back.... Gigan.... come back .... 

In conclusion: 

Thank you for the happy Yoons, the Hak and Gulfans

 and the Angst© (chapter 118 vs 187) 

“I told you.. that I’d be your legs.” - Jaeha, 187

Also Ao stayed behind with Yona ;__; 

Also I miss The Thing©, I MISS IT, I NEED IT BACK AGAIN, cause Jae-ha with the curtain this chapter doesn’t count.

Okay, that’s it for this chapter! Thanks to those who read through it! Tell me your thoughts! Personally, I’m enjoying this arc quite a bit, and I have full faith in Kusanagi. We’re just here for the ride! 

[redgillan]

I’ve got you under my Skin - 3

Bucky Barnes x Reader ♀️

Summary: Modern!AU  We’ve been sleeping together on and off for almost a year and I know it’s angry hate sex but I got you a little gift because it reminded me of you.

Word Count:1,658

Warnings: Language

A/N: Why are people always eating pizza in my fics? Anyway in this chapter, you’ll see some Kindergarten teacher!Bucky bc I couldn’t help myself. Hope you enjoy this, let me know what you think :)

Bucky stood in front of the class, his students reciting the alphabet in unison. They were sitting cross-legged on the carpet, looking up at the smart board with mild interest. They could hear people gathering in the hallway, signalling the end of the day.

From the corner of his eye, Bucky saw a shadow run across the deserted playground. He turned his head just in time to see you opening the front door. The sound of your high heels clicking rapidly across the linoleum floor brought a grin to his lips.

Steve had texted him earlier and asked if he didn’t mind taking care of his daughter after school. He couldn’t leave the precinct, something about a solving a major case, and Peggy was in London, visiting family.

Normally, Bucky didn’t mind babysitting Sophie. She was a student in Bucky’s class, and also his Goddaughter, but today, he had a meeting with other teachers. They were discussing details of their upcoming field trip to Washington.

Steve asked you if you could watch over Sophie until Bucky was able to leave work, and you agreed, even though you had an important meeting the next day.

Bucky could see you through the window beside the door and he laughed to himself when you sagged against the wall, out of breath.

He realized that you had come straight from the office and had not had time to change clothes. Your business outfit was simple, but the pencil skirt and high heels commanded respect. Bucky always found it strangely exhilarating.

He said goodbye to each kid individually, giving them either a hug or a high five. Meanwhile you were growing frustrated and impatient because Bucky seemed to take his sweet time. Yes, you were upset and it had absolutely nothing to do with the conversation you had overheard before Bucky opened the door.

“Damn, that is a man right there!” one of the dads had said. “He’s so sweet with the kids and he looks so soft,” one of the moms agreed, the others made a needy sound in the back of their throat. “I bet he’s into some kinky shit,” said another mom, giving a little eyebrow pump as she said it. “Mr Barnes in the streets, Daddy in the sheets.”

You wanted to scream. And the worst part was that they weren’t wrong. Everyone adored Bucky –well everyone but you. He had an athlete's physique, tall, broad-shouldered and powerful, and today, as you watched him high five a little girl, you realized he looked incredibly cuddly in that cable-knit sweater.

Bucky turned to you when the kids and their guardians were gone. Sophie was sitting at his desk, eating some biscuits. She greeted you with a toothy smile.

“You’re an ass, Barnes,” you grumbled when you walked past him.

Sophie pointed her finger at you. “You said a bad word,” she exclaimed with her mouth full.

Bucky grinned mischievously at you.

If a kid used inappropriate language, he calmly explained to them why they shouldn’t curse. Some teachers still had ‘naughty corners’ but Bucky believed that making a child stand in a corner for several minutes was humiliating. You, on the other hand, were an adult, and he loved riling you up.

“This is unacceptable,” Bucky said, using his teacher voice. “Go stand in the corner for five minutes!”

His words made Sophie gasp, her small hands coming up to cover her mouth. Bucky kept his expression blank while resisting the urge to laugh.

You stared at him, blinking slowly. “You serious?”

He nodded. “I sure am, doll.”

You gritted your teeth. He wasn’t sure what made you angrier, the naughty corner thing or the nickname. With a defeated sigh, you walked over to the corner of the room and threw him a dirty look over your shoulder before you faced the wall.

Smiling brightly, Bucky pulled out his phone and took a picture of you, making a mental note to post it on the group chat later.

“Okay, Soph,” he turned to the child. She had chocolate all over her mouth. “Time t’go home. Go wash your face, bug.”

Thankfully, she did not have to leave the classroom to use the restroom so she didn’t need an adult with her. Once she had shut the door behind her, Bucky made his way over to you. He let his eyes linger on your legs.

“I gotta say,” he whispered in your ear, “I’ve always had a thing for women in straight skirt and high heels. That’s kinda hot.”

“You know what else is kinda hot?” you whispered in a faux sultry tone, then continued without missing a beat, “My foot in your ass.”

He chuckled, his warm breath tickling your neck. “You’re not allowed to use your phone in the naughty corner,” he said, nodding toward the phone in your hand. “You’re grounded.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not going to stare at the wall for five minutes,” you replied with a sigh. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

He stepped away from you, walking backwards toward his desk. “Meetin,” he said, scrunching his nose up in distaste. “I’ll see ya later.”

*

Bucky climbed the stairs to Steve’s apartment, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He was in a good mood, his meeting hadn’t taken as long as he’d expected. He had dropped by his apartment to pack an overnight bag and arrived at Steve’s place just after seven.

“Aw,” your face fell when you opened the door and saw him, “I thought it was the delivery guy.”

“Tadaa!” Bucky held up the pizza box. “I was behind him when you buzzed him in.”

“You paid.”

“No, I grabbed the box and ran away,” Bucky deadpanned. “Of course, I paid.”

“It wasn’t a question,” you said with a roll of your eyes. “Well, I guess I should thank you, but since you ate my entire box of cookies the other day-”

“Talk ‘bout holdin a grudge,” Bucky cut you off, setting the box on the coffee table, “t’was two months ago.”

You sat next to each other on the sofa. Bucky handed you a few napkins before he lifted the lid. He had been craving pizza all day so this was a happy coincidence.

“Are you fuckin kiddin me?” he groaned, looking down at the pizza. “Spinach? Who the fuck puts spinach on a pizza?”

You leaned forward and picked up a slice, ignoring his offended look. “Gotta eat your greens.”

“Doll, I eat plenty of greens,” he said with a pointed look. “Here’s a list of things you’re not allowed to put on pizza.” Holding up his fingers, he enumerated, “Pineapple –no. Cauliflower –no. Spinach –big fuckin no.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think I was going to start World War III.”

“Seriously though,” he continued, undeterred, “stop turnin junk food into healthy food. What’s up with that trend?”

“Just pick them off and stop whining,” you sighed.

“Spinach on pizza is like toothpaste and orange juice,” he kept rambling, “it’s pretty gross.”

You shook your head. “I’m sorry, but who drinks OJ immediately after brushing their teeth? That’s just dumb.”

He gave you an annoyed look. “Ok, fair enough. So I guess it’s like-” he trailed off while he tried to think of a new example, “it’s like vampires and garlic. It will kill you.”

You snorted. “Now, that’s an exaggeration!” Bucky turned his head to look at you, a glint of mischief in his bright blue eyes. “Why are you looking at me like that?” He didn’t answer. “Stop it!” He didn’t stop.

Bucky bared his teeth and hissed like a vampire. He used to this when you were in college, it annoyed the hell out of you. He bit back a grin when your eyes widened. You wrapped your hands protectively around your neck and shook your head.

“Don’t you dare!”

He pounced on you so suddenly that you let out a high-pitched scream. He fell on top of you and jokingly tried to bite your neck. You squirmed under him, your legs twisted at odd angles.

“Jerk,” you said, laughing.

Bucky dropped the act and laughed with you, planting his hands on the sofa on either side of your head. You turned your head to face him and his laughter quieted down. You were so close that he could see the flecks of colour in your eyes. He kept his eyes on yours, unable to move.

You tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear, but the disobedient strand didn’t stay there. It tickled your cheekbone as Bucky leaned into your touch. It was soft, warm, real.

Something was changing between you. He wondered if you could feel it too.

“What are you doing?”

You pulled away from each other as Sophie walked into the living room. Bucky felt dizzy, his pulse pounding in his ears. Sophie rubbed one eye with her fist while she made her way toward the sofa.

“Did you have a nightmare?” you asked, avoiding her question.

“I heard noises,” she replied, clumsily climbing into Bucky’s lap. “Is my daddy home?”

“Not yet,” you said, gently tucking a curly strand behind her ear.

Your hand froze in mid-air, the gesture felt oddly familiar. When you looked up to meet Bucky’s eyes, he was already looking at you. It dawned on the two of you that you had shared something special, something innocent and sweet.

You cleared your throat. “Now that Uncle Bucky’s here, I’m gonna go home.”

“No, stay!” the little girl begged. “I want to watch a movie.”

“Stay,” Bucky mouthed the word but no sound came out. “Stay until she falls asleep.”

It didn't take you long to decide. “I’ll stay.”

You settled back into the sofa cushions and took the remote, aiming it at the television. You laughed at something Sophie said and Bucky felt his heart lurch. Goddammit, he thought. He had some thinking to do.

[kaijonginie]

Uncontrollable - Kai

Title: Uncontrollable Word Count: 2,700 Genre: smut, fluff, story + boyfriend!Kai, college au, light masturbation, ‘punish’, little part of Kai pov A/N: i did some research for this one, so hope you like it! Couple No. 1(part 2)

“Why don’t you come over?” Kai asked changing his tone noticeably. You pulled the phone from your cheek to give a glance. Pretending to see if it was actually him. 

“Is that a joke?” You raised your voice gaining the attention of the 30 people also walking to the library. You smiled cheesily, embarrassed at the judgmental eyes.  

He scoffed over the phone, “What do you mean?!” 

“I told you I have to study for mid-terms! And your response is I do it at your house! Pfft! Yeah.” When you got to the steps you settled to hear his laughable excuse. 

“Well, yeah. I have to mid-terms too, I can help!” He reasoned with you. 

“If I come over, you and I know no “studying” will happen,” He gasped loudly. As if you were speaking lies. “I’m not arguing with you.” Quickly, you smacked your teeth as you were easily drawn to the red button to end the call. Just as you ended the call abruptly and his cute photo disappeared; you could only feel the guilt build up in your throat. You opened his texts and typed: “I’ll call you later” Only a second later did it read: ‘read’  

You sighed, choking on your own breath wasn’t fun. You knew that you had barely seen him in the past two weeks. Even you were hungry for his hunger. You snapped your fingers repeatedly - a habit you picked up in high school to cope with nervousness.

You turned back to the stairs to step on each step. You felt your skirt hike up your waist. It scared you to think about how many guys were trying to look up it. You smooth the skirt out trying to pull it back down to its original place. 

Inside the library, it was more crowded than usual, and even though it was three days before mid-terms this was still much. You scanned the room for just one single empty chair. It was in the corner, but it was better than nothing. 

After you put your over-the-shoulder bag on the table. You searched the aisles for a textbook on basic history. Up and down the aisle you couldn’t find a thing. Until at the end at the very top, the exact book you were looking for was barely visible. You cringed, knowing that if you tried reaching for it your skirt would work against you. You sighed before making a reach for the title. One hand trying to snatch the book, the other pulling down your hem. All the while you were unwarily pulling on the delicate lace of your panties. Your sharp nails started cutting into the weak fabric. Before you knew it the ripping noise alerted you. You pulled back and went into a dark shadow of the library. You gasped realizing that half of your ass was exposed! 

You needed out! You went for your bag, halfway to it you hear a cruel cat whistle in the crowd of focused people. You can’t pinpoint it, but it sure does boil your blood anyways. 

“Immature.” You mumble to yourself. You reach into your bag aimlessly for your phone. You can only find it by the rough crystal DIY case it has. Grasping it by both sides. You press the power button. Reluctantly you open Kai’s text-only saying the word “ok”.

You know that if you ask to come over, it’ll be humbling but quite a blow to your pride. You slowly press the keyboard telling him that your way.

Kai POV

I wasn’t amusing myself. I was stilling beating my self up. The fact that my girlfriend thinks I can’t control myself baffles me. But it got me thinking...is she right? It can’t be! The last time I saw her all we did was kiss and eat dinner. She even slept over, and nothing happened. She’s just making excuses. I sighed aloud.

My eyes went down to rest in my palm for a moment. It stayed that way until my phone notified me of a text. I lifted myself out of my pitiful state peeling off the sofa in the centre of my bedroom. Immediately I lazily grab at the screen until I am completely gripping on it. I turned the screen on and she has texted me! I rapidly unlock it anxious to see if it was all a misunderstanding. 

“Oppa, I hope it's okay...I want to visit you now^^”

A sigh of relief leaves my lips, I begin to reply to her text: “It’s a long way from campus Y/N. Do you want me to come to get you?” I hear the rain outside begin to hit my windows urging me to add another text. “I hate it when you walk in the rain.” 

Three dots pop up, then they disappear. One more time and she responds.

“No, It’s okay I have an umbrella~”

I pout. She turned me down again. I take a deep breath deciding whether or not I should continue this conversation. I slam the phone down in anger as if I was moving on from it. I stormed to the bathroom door, slamming it behind me. I took one glance and I was already fixing my hair. I focused in on my hair. Moving the hairline back and forth. My frustration got the best of me. 

“Screw it!” I yelled.

I started at the hem of my shirt stripping it slowly in pace. When my shirt was blocking my face the lusty image came to my mind: her taking my shirt off for me. I winced. Internally begging myself not to think like that. But I couldn’t stop. A whole scenario played in my mind, of me fucking her till I basically pass out.

“Cold shower it is!” I announced to myself.

I spun around to the glass door, the crystal clear glass door. I reminded myself that my jeans were most definitely still on. As excited as I was for this shower I lingered in removing my pants at all. 

I took another two steps and one more into the large spaced shower. I stepped under the showerhead as if it was a spotlight. I was very reluctant when turning on the cold water and not the hot, but I still ended up turning it on. Like needles in my skin, the water was almost painful until I got used to it like I would in a pool.

It dripped down my face to my lips and to my neck. I tried to pry my eyes open but one involuntary blink and I was still seeing her mouth engulfing my dick. I cried out. I wanted to open my eyes but I couldn’t. My head fell to the tile wall in front of me. And my hand was almost instinctively sliding to my hard length. Seeing what I was seeing while stroking myself ever so gently, I was merely tasting faux satisfaction.

I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself around her at this point.

Your POV

You ran down the stone path to his house. You were barefoot at this point. Your cloth Converse shoes were more important than your now cold feet. An arm's length away from the lock you reached into your bag desperately for the house key Jong-in had given you. “Where is it!” You whined. Hyperventilating worried you had dropped it or left it somewhere. “Please.” You begged. when you heard the key chain shake you tracked it down, seizing it frantically.

You jangled the keys in front of the lock, using one hand to hold the umbrella and the other to find the matching key. Once found, you jabbed it into the door, then shoving the door open when it clicked. 

You stood up straight throwing your umbrella to the floor. All the lights were off. You could see everything but no lights were on. You dropped your shoes behind the door and started travelling up the wooden stairs. 

“Oppa?” You called out slightly. You didn’t yell it loudly, seeing as barely anyone was home you reckon he would have heard you. You got to the top of the staircase and peered up. All doors were closed except for his. Before going on, you fixed your strap and your skirt. 

When you got to his door, you tiptoed in and suddenly felt more comfortable. You dropped your bag and kept on to the bathroom. The sounds coming from it peaked your interests. “Oppa?” You called again. 

The moaning stopped, and he replied “Y/N! I’ll be out in a second!” He insisted nervously.

You shrugged and backed away to your bag. Grabbing your phone and tossing it to the perfectly made bed. Your hands went on the waist-line of your panties pulling them down, glad to be rid of them. You moved on to the lone clean close basket beside his couch. Digging through it in search of the underwear you left 3 weeks ago after making a quick escape from his parents.

No sign of them.

You stood up to the dark wooden wardrobe in the corner of his spacious room. You kneeled down to the mini drawers at the bottom of the closet. Digging through seemingly-endless pairs of socks and underwear. 

How hard can it be to find a bright yellow pair of panties?

As you began to give up you noticed the light fabric underneath it all. You pulled them out, stood up, and closed the wardrobe as it was before. 

You went to the right side of his bed where your phone was. You rested on the edge of the bed forgetting about the panties which you planned on putting on. You went into your pocket for your AirPods. Taking them out quickly and putting them in without a second thought.

You opened up Instagram. Scrolling endlessly. Double-tapping. Everything was unamusing and simply boring. You with your legs barely one the floor, and in a state of trance; didn’t even realize that the shower was off and Jong-in no longer in it. 

You were distracted by your phone when you felt to hands slide onto each side of your ass and massage smoothly. Your head leapt up and looked back. Jong-in starring at your exposed ass, merely drooling at the sight. He closed his eyes and stopped his hands. He stuttered out the shy words. “I need you.” You looked down almost ashamed. 

You frowned at his distraught face. You took out your AirPods and put them back in the Winnie the Pooh case. You shook your head. “Are you sure?” Chuckling out whilst questioning him. “, because if you really did you would already have me naked and begging for it.” You narrowed your eyes, cocky and sure of yourself. Hoping you would get him to fuck you. 

His hands started again and he revealed: “I’m afraid I'll be rough.”

You stood up looking at him face-to-face. Taking the lead with a kiss. You started to run your hands through his thick hair. His hands travelled up the back of your shirt, unclipping your bra you pulled back giving him a deep stare. At this point, he was so afraid of making the wrong move. He went on a limb and started sucking on your neck, making you moan under your breath.

Running out of skin to kiss he pulled the neck-line of your tight t-shirt. You scoffed and pulled it off yourself along with your bra.  You pinned back to his lips and he started to stick his tongue in to explore you more. You started to release yourself bit his lip sending adrenaline through him. He hands still caressing your back then slid down to the zipper of your black skirt. When it dropped to the floor, he pulled your bare pelvis to his to feel his staff stabbing through his towel. He snatched your waist again turning you around pushing you to the bed. 

You on your stomach, crawling up on all fours resting on your elbows. He stood behind you, untucking the towel still wrapped around his waist.

You didn’t know when h-- Your walls clenched around him, the cold shower making him nearly chilled. He almost fell over after feeling your walls around him making him groan loudly. Once he stood back up straight, immediately his hips starting thrusting into you. Now your breaths were matching his thrusts, however, his were rapid pants.

Pulling your hips further into him you moaned with the deeper feeling. You encouraged him with each cry of his name you shouted. When you tensed up your end was near. “I’m gonna cum!” You insisted. Without a second Jongin replied, “Not yet, baby.” You tried holding back. But only a moment later did you let go.  He slapped your ass, “Bad girls who don’t listen need punished.”

He pulled out and turned you on your back. You backed up until he grabbed your ankles. You followed him as he snaked up on you. He hung over you, set at your entrance once again. You laughed and requested, “Do better this time will you?” Only sparking his ego further. Almost annoyed by you he was abruptly in shoving his dick in you. You weren’t expecting this much force, in return, your nails dug into his back making him howl “Ow, fuck, Y/N!” He started thrusting harder and faster. Your moans started to be screams. “Oppa!” You called out. “Please!” You weren’t sure why you were begging for more, but you knew he sure did listen. The nails, which were still in his back, starting scratching marks into his. His snatched your arms from around his back and pinned them beside your head. He got lost in his throbbing trying to reach his orgasm. He threw his head back when you clenched around his member. His hands let go of your wrists, and his face fell into your neck. He began nibbling on your collar-bone. Whilst your hand stroked the back of his head and the other rested on his back. 

At this moment he felt his orgasm coming. He started to groan while still buried at your neck. “Aw, fuck! Baby, I'm gonna cum!” He yelled helplessly. He started to moan your name each time he went in deeper. “Y/N!” 

You wrapped your legs around his hips as he came. You cried out as he pulled out. He lifted his head up to give you another kiss. Smiling brightly he asked, “How about a cleanup?”  You nodded vigorously as he dropped down. He started in between your breasts, before taking one in his mouth. The travelling further down, giving butterfly kisses to each inch of your sensitive skin. 

When he was finally eying your soaked pussy, he licked his lips and said: “Baby, you look so good.”  One of his hands went to rub your clit softly, wary of how sensitive you are right now. You swallowed down one moan before letting out a louder one. His finger stopped and his mouth went to your clit. Sucking on it hardly and roughly. You grabbed each of your nipples giving a good massage before nearly smashing them between your fingers. Now biting on your clit he was ready to taste you. His tongue made a trail to your entrance. Then both his hand and his tongue went it. Beating in and out of you. His other hand went in too, on each side of your opening; allowing for easier access inside of you. You felt each digit add a second, both pumping in and out of you. “Yes, Oppa!” You yelled. Quickly, you reached for his head pulling him closer. Driving his tongue further in your pussy. His fingers found their way deeper than his tongue, they were syncing and stretching you. By the time you could catch your breathe his fingers were curling on the inside. Forcing a pleased scream from you. “Yes!” You shouted. His swipes and circles were hard to keep up with, you rocked your hips to feel them further. “I’m----” You had finally come. And Jongin was there licking every drop of your sweet juices up. 

He came up for air and found a comfortable resting place on your stomach. He caressed your waist and spoke after a long silence. “Thank you, baby.” 

You smiled weaving your fingers in his locks again. “I love you, Y/N...” He admitted aloud.

You sighed peacefully before replying - “I love you, Jong-In.”