#and definitely think his distance was her fault Again

[sovonight]

xan's candle event is so funny to me. you have to choose 1 specific option for the candles to even be significant to your charname, and yet the next day xan presents you with a lit candle no matter what you said, and if you're like um is that supposed to represent something, he's like yes but also no, and i will not explain, and also i'm still going to use this as a symbol to make a promise to you, even though i literally refuse to elaborate

[lovebugism]

hi! reader doesn’t like kids at all, but somehow eddie’s child is just different and the cutest sweetest child who warms their heart

✶ ┄ MAYDAY ! [ the beginning ]

summary: when steve harrington brings you as a plus-one to a munson birthday party, he forgets to tell you it's for eddie's four-year-old, maeve. (1.8k)

pairing: dad!eddie munson / f!reader

tags: strangers to lovers (eventually), slow burn, mutual pining, idiots in love, meet ugly-ish, fluff, girl dad eddie munson™, r is not used to being around kids (and it shows), baby blurb turned spin-off universe <3

When Steve Harrington invites you to a birthday party, he fails to mention it’s for a four-year-old. 

The tiny trailer is decked out in decoration. A fusion of black and rainbow, of bats and unicorns, of vampires and Tickle Me Elmo — like no one could land on a singular theme. 

Steve guides you into the home with a golden hand on the small of your back, his other clutching a sparkly black bag with Count von Count’s face on it. You stop very suddenly in your tracks. Happy 4th Birthday, Maeve! reads a handpainted sign draped beneath the ceiling.

You become very hyperaware of the whiskey bottle in your right hand, something you figured would be the most sufficient thing to gift someone you’d never met before. You just hadn’t expected the stranger to be a child.

“What the fuck, Steve?” you bite under your breath, glaring at the boy beside you. “I thought you said this was your friend’s birthday party?”

“Maeve is my friend,” he answers with a stupid shrug. “Though, to be fair, I did say it was my friend’s kid’s birthday party.”

He most definitely hadn’t.

“What the hell— I brought booze!”

“That’s okay,” assures a wild-haired boy with a pretty pink grin as he walks up to the two of you. The friend in question. 

Eddie Munson wears a silver ring on each finger and a thick leather jacket despite the warming spring season. His laughter sounds like sunshine. His smile is bright enough to give you a goddamn sunburn.

“Maeve’s been getting presents all day— It’s about time someone got somethin��� for me,” he jokes.

You grimace while the two boys laugh. “Sorry…” you murmur as you pass him the bottle, shrinking inside yourself in an attempt to hide from the moment. I’m never letting Steve convince me to leave the house again, you think to yourself.

Eddie shrugs. “Don’t worry about it. Seriously. I’ll go stick this in the kitchen— Make yourself at home.”

Your racing heart quells only slightly. He must be more of a good guy than Steve made him out to be, if he’s willing to keep you around after you brought booze to his daughter’s party. Though, you’ll contend that you were only half at fault for this.

Steve bites back a chuckle as he walks you to the back door, standing with you on the little wooden deck lined with sparkly streamers. There’s a picnic table off in the distance, covered in a bat-patterned cloth and set with Sesame Street-themed utensils. A small crowd of teenagers gather around it, and a couple of their parents, you figure.

The spring breeze only half soothes your burning skin.

“See?” he lilts, trying not to laugh and failing. “He likes you already—”

You swat his chest with a less than kind hand. 

“Ow!”

“I’m gonna fucking kill you, Harrington, I swear to—”

“What’s your favorite animal?” a tiny voice asks from behind you, a smidge too loud and confusing their R’s with W’s.

You look over your shoulder, face flooded with horror. A kid with wild chocolate hair stands at less than half your height, wearing the tiniest Ozzy Osbourne shirt you’ve ever seen beneath a rainbow tutu. You don’t know what to say, so you just blink at it for a moment — at her.

“Hey, Maeve,” Steve greets with a curt wave.

The girl beams, missing her very front tooth. “Hi, Uncle Steve!”

“Wha— Huh?” you stammer mindlessly. ‘Cause you’re not exactly the best at talking to people your own age, let alone to children. They’re too honest. And too loud. And beyond still feeling like a kid yourself most days, you don’t have anything in common with them.

“What’s your favorite animal?” Maeve repeats in the same inflection, smiling until a dimple appears in her freckled cheek. “Mine’s a Hefflelump.”

“Hef… Hefflelump?” you echo quietly, only vaguely registering Steve’s laughter as he disappears through the screeching screen door, leaving you all alone. You’re definitely killing him for this.

“Yeah… From Winne the Pooh!” she says like it’s obvious.

“Oh… Okay…”

“What’s yours?”

You stumble over your words to find an answer. “Um… Uh… I don’t— I don’t know…”

“Everyone has a favorite animal,” she scoffs like some kinda critic with a speech impediment. She tilts her chin to her chest and peers up at you with a pair of doe eyes, so brown they’re almost black. You shift your weight on your feet, visibly uncomfortable beneath her unwavering stare.

“Maybe like a… A blobfish, or something?” you shrug.

Her tiny face screws in disgust. “Gross,” she spits.

You flinch. “What? Why is that gross?” you retort, crossing your arms over your chest, more defensive than you’d like to admit.

“They’re so ugly,” Maeve giggles.

“Why?” you squint. “‘Cause they look differently than we do?”

“No!” she laughs, loud and golden, just like her father. “’S ‘cause they’re so slimy.”

“Well— You— You’re slimy,” you stammer.

The wild-haired girl grins with all her baby teeth (well, besides the front one, anyway). “You’re slimy!” she echoes with a mischievous twinkle in her chocolate eyes.

The screen door squeals open again, the rusted hinges screeching in protest. “Who’s slimy?” a male voice questions from behind you, a smile audible in his voice.

“You are!” you and Maeve chorus at the same time. 

You whip your head around a second too late. Your heart drops to your ass when you find Eddie lingering in the doorway behind you. You stumble over your words while Maeve giggles. “Sorry! I thought— I thought you were Steve! I’m so sorry!”

A chuckle sputters from Eddie’s mouth. He’s nearly as grieved by it all as you are. “He just left,” he tells you with a lopsided smile, cocking his thumb over his shoulder. “I think he’s helping Wayne out front. They’re putting together Maeve’s d-o-l-l-h-o-u-s-e.”

His eyes flit upward as he tries hard to spell the word correctly. Upon your confused look, he says, “I can’t say it, or she’ll know what I’m talking about.”

“Right,” you nod.

Eddie crouches and holds his arms out for his daughter. Maeve’s tiny feet patter against the wooden deck as she rushes to him. He huffs at the weight of her — heavier than he remembers and getting bigger every day (which is weird ‘cause she was a newborn, like, a week ago). He grunts when he picks her up, propping her weight on his side.

“What were the two of you talkin’ about, then?”

“Blobfish!” she shouts with a beam.

Eddie breathes out a faint chuckle and turns to you. “She’s forcin’ you to pick a favorite animal, huh?” he wonders, then laughs a bit louder when you nod. “Yeah, she’s been doing that all day. It’s her new thing,” he says, nuzzling the tip of his nose into her curls. 

Realization seems to him then, and his brows furrow when he looks at you. His face, all twisted in confusion, is an exact replica of Maeve’s. 

“Wait— Your favorite animal is a blobfish?”

“That’s what I said!” the girl laughs.

You shift your weight on your feet and cross your arms over your chest. “I’m… feeling very judged in this moment…” you murmur under your breath, only half joking.

“I think that’s the most creative answer we’ve had yet, huh, Mae?” Eddie chuckles.

You scoff. “Well, I think Hefflelump’s pretty creative considering—”

The boy clears his throat, seeming to sense the rest of your sentence. His eyes widen in a lighthearted glare before he nods to the girl on his hip. Only then do you realize the words sitting on the tip of your tongue. You swallow them down immediately.

“Right…” you nod instead. “Nevermind…”

“Here—” Eddie huffs as he sets the girl down again. “—Go find Aunt Robin, alright? She’s probably decorating your cake as we speak.”

Maeve rushes off at the word cake, tottering on lanky, ungraceful legs. The two of you watch her go and linger in an awkward silence. Neither of you is quite sure how to make conversation without her there. You decide to start with an apology.

“I’m, uh, I’m sorry, by the way. Again,” you laugh awkwardly at yourself, scratching at the back of your neck. “I’m not… I’m not really… great with kids. If you couldn’t already tell.”

Eddie grins, pink and lopsided and pretty. You don’t feel deserving of the warmth swimming in his button eyes, glimmering beneath an early setting sun. “It’s okay. Seriously. You should’ve seen Robin and Steve the first time they met her— they were hopeless. And now they’re… Sort of alright, I guess.”

You force a faint chuckle. “Yeah, I’m— I’m just not used to being around them, I guess. I don’t even think I’ve talked to a kid her age since, like, elementary school.”

“I was the same way. ’Til I had Maeve and all…”

“Well, I couldn’t tell,” you assure him with a wavering smile. “You’re, like, a total pro. You’re great with her.”

He ducks his head to hide his blushing cheeks. The apples of them speckle warm and pink beneath the weight of your compliment. 

“Well… thank you,” he says, deflecting from your praise with that stupid, posh, D&D accent he always uses when he gets nervous. You don’t notice him grimacing at himself because you’re still stewing in your own embarrassment.

“And sorry for the booze, too. I seriously didn’t mean to bring— I mean, Steve didn’t even tell me that—”

“Stop apologizing,” Eddie chuckles warmly. “That part’s not your fault, alright? I don’t know if you know this or not, but your boyfriend’s a total idiot.”

Your face screws up. “Oh, he’s not— Steve’s not my boyfriend.”

The boy’s smile ebbs. “No?”

“No. No way!” you laugh before you mean to. “I’m pretty sure I’m just, like, his replacement best friend since Robin started dating Vickie.” 

Wide-eyed and distantly relieved, Eddie stammers like a teenage boy. “Oh. Right. That’s… That’s cool. Yeah.”

“Yeah…” you echo.

“Well, uh— I’m gonna see if Wayne wants any help,” he blurts despite knowing he’s been barred from doing handy work since he nearly drove a nail through his own finger. He just needs a way out, lest he keep stumbling over himself and lose all of his cool points with you. 

He saunters backward through the opened door and nearly trips over the frame.

You bite back a laugh. He forces a wavering smile. 

“But, um, I was thinkin’ about cracking open that bottle you brought. You know, after Maeve’s in bed and everything. If you— If you wanna hang around that long…”

The silence makes him as nervous as a teenage boy, all writhing and uncomfy in his skin. You nod in agreement, and his sparkling chest swells all over again. “Yeah,” you reply, lip quirked in a poorly hidden smile. “Sure. I’d— I’d like that…”

He smiles, all proud of himself. “Good. That’s… That’s good,” he stutters, then swallows hard and scurries off before you change your mind. 

Before he shuts the squealing screen door behind him, you hear Robin’s voice exclaim loudly from the kitchen. “What the hell’s a blobfish?!”

if u have any other ideas for hijinks these two idiots (and maeve) can get into, feel free to leave 'em here! (⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

[steddieas-shegoes]

From @plasticcrotches. Thank you!

➿➰➿➰➿➰➿➰➿➰➿➰

It shouldn’t have mattered. It shouldn’t have affected him like this.

But the lights going out unexpectedly after flickering for nearly a full minute sent him into a dark spiral.

He could vaguely hear the kids talking, probably coming up with a plan to get out.

Robin’s safe, at least. She’s with her parents out of state. She’ll never have to go through this again if Steve can help it.

He should listen to the plan, figure out how he can use his body to protect the kids, get them all out of here.

“Steve?”

Steve turned to see Eddie frowning at him, coming closer.

“We’ve gotta get you out of here,” Steve stood, looking around for a weapon, any weapon.

It was too dark.

“Stevie, it’s okay.” Eddie’s hand gripped his arm, warm when everything else felt so cold. “Just sit down. Lucas and Dustin already went to check.”

“Alone?!” Steve tried to pull away, but Eddie’s grip tightened.

“They’re alright. We’re safe.”

“No we aren’t! What if something’s out there?” Steve finally pulled his arm loose, looking back at Eddie. His eyes were adjusting in the dark and he could see the concern on his face.

“Steve, where do you think you are?” Eddie asked, stepping in closer, hand gently cupping his cheek.

Steve looked around. It was difficult to see much, but he could see the shapes of the kids sprawled across a couch. His couch. In his living room.

His body relaxed slightly as he recognized more of his house around him. Not the Upside Down version, the real one.

“Sorry,” he said as Eddie leaned in closer, his forehead almost touching Steve’s.

“Why are you sorry?”

Eddie’s breath was warm against his face, sending a shiver down Steve’s back.

“Feel stupid. Thought we were back there for a minute,” Steve whispered. He didn’t want the kids overhearing. They had enough to worry about.

“Does that happen a lot?”

“No,” Steve could only think of one other time and Robin had been there to bring him back. “I’m okay. I should go check on Lucas and Dustin. They’ll probably break something.”

“Wait,” Eddie’s other hand gripped Steve’s hip. “We’re okay, Stevie. I’m safe because you got me safe. You protected me then and I know you would if you had to again. You know that, right?”

Steve felt his heart stop momentarily in his chest. Eddie usually kept a distance between them, maybe scared to get close to Steve after everything. Steve had sat by his side in the hospital every day until he woke up and Wayne could be brought in to see him.

But since then, they’d become friends. Just…they didn’t get physically close. Steve didn’t know why.

He wanted to touch Eddie, wanted to lean his head on his shoulder during movies or rub his back when he decided to stand in the kitchen and watch the kids take over Hellfire.

He wanted to play with his hair and kiss him.

He wanted.

But he couldn’t.

“I wish I could’ve protected you better,” Steve admitted, voice breaking. “I should’ve been with you.”

“You can’t be in two places at once. I did a stupid, unpredictable thing. It’s not your fault.”

“But I could’ve stopped you,” Steve argued.

He could see the kids leaving the room out of the corner of his eye, probably going to check on what Dustin and Lucas were doing.

“I wouldn’t have let you,” Eddie argued back. “I can be just as stubborn as you.”

Eddie was still touching his hip and his face.

His eyes were wide as he searched Steve’s.

“It’s over, right?” Steve asked.

“It’s over,” Eddie reassured.

“We’re safe.”

“We are safe.”

Steve should do it, he should kiss him. They’re alone and Eddie’s giving signals that he’s never given before. Or maybe he has and Steve just didn’t realize it.

Actually, he definitely has.

Steve leaned in the few inches he needed to brush his lips against Eddie’s.

He expected Eddie to pull away quickly, to stop touching him.

Instead, he let his hand drift to the back of Steve’s head and pull him in closer, nipping at his bottom lip playfully before kissing him harder.

Steve let out an embarrassing noise as he reached up to grip Eddie’s hips, stabilizing himself as Eddie groaned into his mouth.

“It’s not dark enough for us to not see you, ya know,” Mike snarked from the doorway.

Steve pulled away, ready to come up with an excuse, but Eddie wrapped his arm around him and pulled him into his side.

“Shut up, Mike. You can handle two people kissing.”

“Not when it’s you two.”

“Oh, are you homophobic?” Eddie smirked, already knowing that wasn’t the problem.

“No! You know I’m not!” Mike was flustered now, clearly looking for a reason to leave. “Just- just go somewhere else!”

Steve rolled his eyes. “This is my house, dude.”

The lights came back on and Steve fully relaxed against Eddie.

Eddie must’ve noticed, kissing the top of his head before all the kids rushed back into the room.

No one else seemed to notice the position they were in, but that was fine.

Steve didn’t wanna hide, and it seemed like Eddie didn’t either. If the kids did notice, they’d be fine.

As long as Eddie was there, he’d be fine.

[floweycidal]

i keep thinking about how flowey had to construct the very concept of cruelty from the ground up.

not from watching anyone else, not by osmosis, but by cobbling it together himself in the garden where he woke up. alone.

this was a child who fell asleep to his mother's stories, who knew every inflection of his father's laugh. who spent endless golden afternoons with his sibling, both of them doubled over with giggles as they filmed their silly videos, messing up on purpose just to hear each other laugh. again. and again. and again.

so warm. so safe. where the gravest offense imaginable was maybe tracking mud on the carpet.

the worst fear, disappointing people who would love you anyway.

where could he even begin?

save. say these words that once meant comfort, but twist them just so. watch their eyes dim as something inside them breaks. load.

save. make a promise—you remember those, how snug they once made you feel—then shatter it. document exactly how hope crumbles. load.

save. try another combination. another betrayal. watch what splinters differently this time. load.

the world's loneliest science experiment.

look at the cruelty he creates, it's all so personal, specific. so devastatingly asriel.

watch how often he comes back to the idea of being replaced. of being forgotten. how he taunts you with the possibility that none of your relationships matter, that everyone will move on without you. that none of your choices mean anything in the end.

your fault. your responsibility.

if only he you hadn't made anyone love him you. If only he you hadn't loved them back.

of course he'd fixate on all that. how could he not? his mother, who used to speak his name like it was sacred, those tender words she reserved for him—for THEM—are now handed out indiscriminately, like candy to anyone who asks.

all he can do is take note: see how easily love transfers? see how simple it is to fade away?

so, he sneers. taunts you with the thought that it's all dust. you're just another passing face in the crowd. nothing lasts. nothing is worth the weight of caring. but even as he pushes that narrative, as his voice drips with contempt, he is still out there. in the ruins. checking on her.

observing from a distance, like maybe if he watches long enough, his past will solidify into something he can hold again.

flowey develops his cruelty like he's trying to solve an equation. if this word plus this action equals pain, then surely there must be some formula that yields not caring anymore.

if he'd just gotten it right. if he'd just kept everyone at a distance. if he could just be flowey. save. load. the answer has to be here somewhere.

but how do you quantify the sting of hearing her say "my child" to someone else? how do you account for the absence left in the places where joy once thrived? how do you document, in clinical terms, why you keep watching over people you swear don't matter anymore?

you don't devote yourself to perfecting devastation unless you remember, with searing clarity, what it felt like to be whole.

you don't give so much of yourself mastering the art of ridiculing attachment unless you're terrified of how much you still have left to give.

unless every attempt to prove love meaningless just confirms how much meaning it still has for you.

...point IS! flowey did an interesting job creating his own idea of a bully. it's all pathological. so crudely stemmed from his own sorrows and fears. he's created his own textbook definition of meanness...but then every chapter's just him screaming in a mirror.

[shugarbunni]

pt.1 of kitty!reader x professor!james... enjoy!

"professor?" your voice breaks through the chatter of the group of professors (Mr Potter, Mr Lupin, Mr Black, Mr Pettigrew and, every students favourite, Mrs Evans.) as you crack the classroom door open. its lunch break, really you should be out in the campus cafeteria with your friends, but you just had to ask him (him being your secret sex god boyfriend, professor potter) about the test results, right?

their heads snap up, James huffing softly in exasperation when he sees you. none of the other professors know, to your knowledge. James said they'd have his bloody head if they knew he'd started sleeping with a student.

"uhm, sorry for intruding" you say in that faux sickly sweet voice of yours "i just had a few questions about my grade?"

Sirius gives James a smirk, only to be kicked under the table by James. James swivels his chair to fully face you, giving you a soft yet stern look.

"we can discuss at the end of the day, kit." he says, the other professors awkwardly looking away.

"i'm not gunna be on campus, I'm going out." you frown, brows furrowing in confusion. he never turns you down. like, ever.

"right." he huffs, scratching the back of his neck, his bicep pushing against the fabric of his shirt. jesus fuck, he's hot. "then we can go over them tomorrow, kit. alright?" he says, and its obvious he's trying to be strict. why the hell is he being strict?

"oh." you almost pout, shoulders slumping in disappointment "right, okay. yeah, tomorrow." you fluster, scurrying out of the classroom before anything else can be said.

well, great. you'd went in expecting a fuck and a five minute nap on his lap, only to be, what? turned down? asshole. he's a total asshole!

"you're doing the right thing, mate." Remus huffs as you leave the classroom, the energy tense "she's barely 20, James. trust me, you're saving the both of you a lot of trouble."

"i know." he mumbles, gazing off into the distance with a crease between his brows. lily shoves him, a stern look on her face "i know, okay?" he reiterates, trying to be more convincing "i know its better if i cut it off i just... nevermind." he says as he slumps in his chair, pushing his lunch away.

"its your fault for telling us." lily says, shrugging as she swallows her food "you must've known wed make you shut it down, James."

"i did- alright, i did know. i just didn't think id be this fucking bothered." he grumbles, rolling his eyes.

"yeah, well" Sirius grins, nudging him "were gunna go out tonight. like old times, hm? get y'mind off it?"

"..fine. but only us 5. I'm not going if you two bring your happy relationships to shove in my face. already have to deal with moony n pads." he complains, pointing at lily and peter.

"Emma hates going out, you know that" peter says through a mouthful of pasta. Emma, his girlfriend (who he's been with for four years, mind you. he's got to pop the question sometime, surely). she's a sweet girl - one of those vegan, farmers market, crochet all your blankets and tea pot covers type of people. her and Pete really suit, honestly.

"and Mary's working tonight." lily says with a proud smile. Mary, lily's girlfriend since they were all at high school. again, very sweet person. shes a nurse now, which is very on brand for her. always did love helping people.

"brilliant!" Sirius beams, toying with remus' hand, who gives him a soft smile and a nod.

well, tonight could either go wonderfully or horribly. James could definitely wait to find out which it's gunna be.

okay i don't know how to feel about this!! ill do an intro to my kitty!reader soon, let me know if you guys r into this or not<3

[themultifanshipper]

You could cut the tension with a knife. A double DNF was not good for the team or for you and Seb, both of you being so close to a championship win you could almost taste it.

Warnings: Violence, rancid vibes, under negotiated everything, very bad etiquette, rough sex, slapping, choking, all the good shit

Requested by 🐇

The crash was most definitely his fault. He tried to squeeze you into the wall, but miscalculated terribly, leading to both of you hitting the wall and losing a potential 43 points for the team.

To say you were pissed was an understatement. It was very obviously his fault, and everyone knew that, which made it all the more infuriating how cocky and dismissive Seb was about it.

On the walk back to the pits, he tried to make it out that you were to blame, trying to gaslight you into apologizing, and you completely lost it, launching yourself at him. You were halfway through strangling the life out of him before the marshals finally came and separated you.

Afterwards it was all side-eyes and glares in the media pen, doing interviews with at least 30 feet between you at all times. God knows what kind of bullshit he was spewing to the cameras as the interviewers swooned over his stupid handsome face as he flirted shamelessly to avoid having to answer any real questions.

When asked about what he thinks of you as a person, he answered with “Well it’s no secret that we don’t work well together, she’s not exactly a team player. Obviously she’s a beautiful woman everything, but she doesn’t belong here with the best of the best. She should follow her dad and stick to endurance.” He smirked and thanked the interviewer before moving on to the next one.

It wasn’t until you were back in your hotel room that you saw the interview, and when you did, you threw your phone across the room in anger. How dare he? You were p2 in the championship for the second year running. You dad had never even made it to formula 1. The fact that Seb would compare you to him even though he knew you wanted to distance yourself from your father’s image as much as possible sent you into a rage.

And before you knew it you found yourself banging on Seb’s hotel room door.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” you shouted, as soon as he opened the door. He’d obviously come out of the shower, his wet hair dripping down his torso as you quickly trailed your eyes up and down his body. He didn’t even respond, just grinning lopsidedly at you.

“How dare you compare me to my father?” you shoved him backwards into the room and slammed the door behind you. The fucker didn’t waver, still smirking at you as if you were the funniest thing in the world right now. You wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug look off his face.

“I’m p2 in the fucking championship you asshole!” you went to slap him but he grabbed your arm and used your momentum to slam you against the wall, pinning your hands above your head.

So you tried to knee him in the crotch, but he slotted one of his legs between yours, gluing himself to your front. You squirmed but it was no use, he had you trapped.

“What are you going to do now, hmm?” he purred smugly.

Headbutt him is what you wanted to do, but before you could move he grabbed your jaw and kissed you roughly.

You didn’t flinch though, if this is how he wanted to play it, you weren’t going down without a fight. So you bit his lip. Like, full on chomped down on it. He yelped and shifted backwards, wide eyes now full of anger and contempt. At least you’d finally managed to wipe that sexy infuriating smirk off his face.

He slapped you, hard, but instead of it hurting, it just served to fuel the fire burning inside you. You gasped and stared at him in disbelief, his pupils were dilated so the blue was barely visible, and his lip was bleeding slightly. What a sight.

“Do that again” He didn’t even hesitate as his hand struck your cheek a second time. Your hips involuntarily bucked up into his, and he groaned as they made contact with his rapidly hardening cock.

He rolled his hips and growled at the pathetic whimper you let out. He kissed you again and released your hands in favour of grabbing your ass and lifting you up, wrapping your legs around his hips and pressing you into the wall harder. You panted into the kiss, hands roaming and grabbing anything you could as he grinded against you roughly.

After a few minutes of biting and scratching and riling each other up even more, he couldn’t take it anymore so he put you down, immediately working at your pants to get them off as fast as he could.

Once you were both naked, he sat you on the nearest surface, which happened to be a desk, pushed you down roughly with a hand around your neck, propped your feet up on the edge and rubbed his cock along your folds, making you writhe in anticipation.

“You think you can take me just like this?” He asked, venom dripping from every word.

You nodded quickly but that didn’t satisfy him. He slapped your most sensitive area and you gasped, clit throbbing at the rough treatment.

“Use your words, slut”

“Yes! I can take it Seb just fuck me!”

He slapped your pussy again and you cried out. It was painful in the most delicious way and your concentration started wavering as you got lost in the feeling.

“That’s not very polite. Beg for it, baby.”

You did. You begged so much, so fast. You’ll deny till the day you die but any defiance you had disappeared embarrassingly quickly. Seb was so endeared that he wasted no time slipping just the tip in, but that was already a stretch.

Inch by inch, he pulled out and slid back in, doing his best not to hurt you, the absence of preparation suddenly in the forefront of his mind.

You on the other hand were loving every second of it. His cock stretched your walls out deliciously as you took more and more of him, and once he was buried inside you to the hilt, you moaned pathetically, feeling so incredibly full.

“Move, please Seb!” you whined, so he pulled out and slammed back in roughly, and the noise you let out, you would also deny making, but it drove Seb wild, so he tightened his grip around your neck and slammed into you repeatedly, hitting your g-spot with impressive precision.

You mind felt floaty and your body started going limp with the intensity of the pleasure he was giving you, and Seb noticed so he let go of your throat and shoved two fingers into your mouth.

“Suck” he ordered, and you did, biting his knuckles gently just to piss him off.

Once his fingers were nice and wet, he trailed them down your body to your sensitive clit and started rubbing tight circles as he continued to pound into you, trying to get you to the edge, him being embarrassingly close already.

It took you no time at all and you came with a shout, body arching off the desk as he chased his own high. He came inside you with a loud moan and slumped over your body, both exhausted after being so wired up all day.

He pulled out and got a damp cloth from the bathroom to clean you up with, before helping you get dressed, in total silence. You were both in shock at what you’d just done. You were teammates, bitter rivals, and now you had his cum dripping down your leg.

You stood at the door, unsure of what to say, when Seb pulled you into a brief hug.

“I didn’t mean it you know. The stuff I said in the interview” You looked at him with frown, he smiled. “I was just trying to piss you off enough for you to do something about it”

“You bastard” You giggled, opening the door to leave.

You were halfway down the corridor when he added “By the way, the crash was your fault! You should never try to pass the reigning champion when he’s leading a race!”

You rolled your eyes, not even bothering to look back.

God, you hated him.

[zoropookie]

SWEET MELODY

☆ chapter five — tricky plans & schemes (🎂)

"I'm not going to make it out of here alive if I see him."

The simple, yet harrowing sentence repeated constantly in your mind. It held you like an anchor while you were preparing the multiple long tables with sweets you baked last night purely with anxiety running through your body. It was a surprise that you haven't succumbed to a heart attack yet.

It was wide in the air with your freshly baked pastries, a soft mix of vanilla, cinnamon, and chocolate wafting through the air conditioned room. Each of the tables you filled was adorned with lacey and delicate cloths, each sweet arranged with your care. Rows of colorful tiny cakes and intricately designed cookies.

Your hands trembled placing the final touches on the tiny treats, exhaling once it was finally all done. You stepped back to admire your work, but you didn't know what it was about it that made you feel slightly bitter.

Behind your weaker smile, your eyes betrayed you with how much resentment was behind your eyes. Which turned into a small sadness for the fact; you didn't want to do this. It was a blessing that Ei could see how uncomfortable you were being in her wedding as an 'addition to the family', because you definitely weren't par to Kunikuzushi by any means.

Nor did you deserve to be beside anyone other than Kazuha. And even at the thought that something harrowing happened to him, you cracked under pressure to keep your mind from overthinking. That would mean that you'd forget about him entirely. You couldn't be happier about anything, extreme emotions would betray your memories of him.

Or...lack thereof?

Your jaw clenched, tears brimming your eyes which you quickly wiped away. There was nothing behind your eyes except the worry that all of this baking you were doing was for nothing. You didn't feel particularly excited to bake anymore, nor show anyone. It was like the spark that Kazuha gave you was missing, along with him.

A small sound broke through your thoughts, your eyes half-lidded as you slowly turned to see the only person you wish you didn't, following by a few other male voices fading and their tricky plans and schemes. His piercing eyes met yours, and for a moment, his unreadable expression almost made it seem like he was taking a moment to think before he speaks.

But your own expectations failed you once he scoffed, expression hardening. "Fucking hell, you're a disaster." He couldn't help but laugh, but purely from the misery he felt as he turned his back towards you to walk out.

But as soon as he was about to head out again, another visitor came through the door. This time in a stunning white dress, and in a frazzled state according to her expression. It was Yae Miko herself, presence a relief from the harrowing tension.

"Wow. Reunion, or what?" Yae asked, tilting her head, before giving a wave to you. "Hi, darling~"

You hesitantly waved back. "Hi! H..ow are you?"

The pink haired woman examined the room before she said anything else, and even the most braindead person in the world could see that there was nothing here except aversion. You awkwardly shimmied behind the table filled with sweets to keep your distance.

As Kuni was about to reply, Yae held her hand up. "Nope. Don't want to know. This is my day, I'll be back in business in four weeks."

His eyes dulled, patience clearly wearing thin. "You shouldn't even be here."

"Yeah, I shouldn't, right?" Yae crossed her arms over her chest. "But it'd be too much to ask for one peaceful day. Listen," She leaned in, closing the door behind her. "The cake is still at the shop. Our extremely useless deliverer quit before the wedding."

Your eyes perked up. "What?" You blurted out.

"It's my fault for relying on people outside of my own family to pick up a cake. Mind you, the cake isn't even ten minutes away." Yae's eyes rolled. "Typical for this country, full of dimwits. Can you two go get it?"

"Don't really feel like hearing your little political tirades right now. I'll get it, but they're for fucking sure not coming with me." Kuni pointed towards you, which made you flinch. "I'd rather die."

Yae could only sigh dramatically at his incessant whining. "You are both adults now; you can handle a simple task without killing someone."

"Easy for you to say on your wedding day, I don't ever plan on being pleasant to a rat," He snarled. "Fine. But don't expect it to be brought back in one piece with them in the car."

"Sorry. I'll... try my best." You said in a low tone, avoiding eye contact with either of the very confident figure.

Yae looked in between you and Kuni again before lifting her lips up to give a small look of bewilderment. "I guess it's too much to ask for some chivalry from you, Kuzu," She sighed before handing you the details. "Here's the address and a copy of the order. Just tell them I sent you, I'll be getting everything ready still."

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THERE ARE not many things that can sway your interest ever since the "incident", but in spite of that, you pushed forward. you are now the owner of the biggest bakery chain in your city, consistently seeing couples and catering to them as such. you've been a big host at weddings, events for celebrities, and even a big support for your friends and family. you've even earned yourself a niche following as well by how sweet you are to everybody around you. but, even with your kindness, you don't have a particular spark that keeps you going anymore these days. that is until one of your employees starts suggesting you write love letters to customers who request your services. at first you thought it was a horrible idea that could easily turn into trouble, but that was until you were tasked with writing one to your own (very very famous) ex-boyfriend.

taglist ☆ — @seternic @chemiru @coquettemaiden @1kio0o @emiixuu

@agaygothicmushroom @yomishen @jingyuan-wife-real @toruscorpse @whoooismkeee

@sketcheeee @st4r4ngel @xionri @scaradooche @lightyagamifan

@pwushizz @alatusorrow @eutopiastar @magica-ren @slu7

@vaxmpi @theyluvkatt @kyon-cherri @suzydarling @mimi3lover

@auroratumbles @vxcmx @yourfavoritefreakyhan @kunimylovee

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@balladeersflower @kazumiku @bananasquash @neversore @yevurin

@franaby @vicslz @kamiboo @thegalaxyisunfolding @morgyyyyyyy

@feikyuu @tamikahoshiko @kissingkzuha

[gatitties]

Hello again my little butterfly 🦋✨

I came to place another order if that's ok! so, the scenario is a One Piece AU, where YN has an arranged marriage with Shanks, who is one of the richest men in town, but even so, YN decides to run away on her wedding day and throw herself off a bridge, but she can't, they find her and the family manages to bring her back to the wedding, Shanks is a man very much in love with YN, the moment he sees the sadness in YN's eyes when she walks up the aisle and puts the ring on her finger Shanks, he decides to conquer her and make her the happiest wife in the world! ( PS: Shanks is in a desperate situation when he learns that his beloved literally decided to throw herself off a bridge rather than stay with him, even little sad :( )

─Shanks x wife!reader

─Summary: you didn't want to be part of that ceremony, but you're not brave enough to run away either

─Warnings: slight mention of suicide attempt, modern AU

Oh hi hi love!! 🫶🏻🦋 you really like angst ����

You ignored the perplexed looks of people, without stopping or thinking about a second option, you gripped the thin white fabric of your wedding dress harder so as not to trip over it, your shoes had long since disappeared so you could run more comfortably. You didn't want this, you didn't want to marry an unknown guy, no one thought about your feelings? It's not something your parents have the right to play with and you weren't going to let them ruin your life for financial convenience.

The moment adrenaline started to increase when you saw how you were now being persecuted, probably due to the absence in the ceremony that was taking place in the nearby church, you felt bad for the man you had been engaged to, since it wasn't his fault either and you didn't even know him enough to determine that he was a horrible person, but this decision was too hasty and you definitely didn't agree to this.

With your heart in your throat you ran until you tripped over your own sore feet, your breathing accelerated even more when you heard shouts of your name, taking courage again you stood up with a new impetus, although when you noticed how the distance between your pursuers was shortening more and more, your brain began to draw an extreme line in your thoughts.

Would it hurt? Could you die? Well, you were going to see for yourself what it felt like to jump off a bridge just to avoid facing an unwanted fate.

You quickly climbed onto the thick railing, stabilizing yourself standing on it, the next few seconds felt like a blur, like a part of memory that was difficult to remember, the fear of possible death and the indecision that comes with taking a long time to jump into the void made one of the guys chasing you caught you before you did something crazy.

The next thing you know after that, you were back in one of the private rooms of the church, being yelled at by your mother while your father looked on disapprovingly, you didn't care, nothing mattered to you at that moment, you let them go back to put on your makeup, you let them put new shoes on you and they changed the dirty surface fabric of your dress as if you were a doll, lifeless.

The ceremony returned to its course, Shanks waited awkwardly all this time at the altar, and when he saw you appear next to him his heart shattered, you weren't even looking at him, your eyes were lost somewhere far away in this unwanted reality, you lacked any kind of expression. He knew it, he knew how you felt, and yet he felt a little selfish for wanting to be your husband, for wanting to love you unconditionally, this marriage may be arranged, but he admired every drop of courage you poured out to prevent this event, every anger and every fierce response you gave to the first meetings between both families.

"Now… husband and wife, you can kiss each other."

You were both so absorbed in your own thoughts that you barely heard the priest's last words. Shanks was the first to step forward, holding your waist slowly as if he were asking permission and asking if it was okay to do so. You didn't move an inch, your eyes were still lost even when he sealed your fate with a cold kiss devoid of love, at least, lacking on your part.

Shanks knew it wouldn't be easy, that you weren't going to trust, that he wasn't going to receive tons of affection, even looks, he knew you were in a delicate state, after all, you'd rather almost kill yourself than get married.

You didn't bother with his emotions, you didn't bother to ask about his tastes, his hobbies or how his day had been, you just spent the days dead, repeating your routine, your life remained the same in a way, a few more numbers in the account. but in exchange of what? Your freedom and decision. You were hurt, you had been damaged by your own parents, your emotional wounds would not heal overnight and you would refuse to show a modicum of affection until you recovered.

Shanks knew that he would have to sleep alone for months, that an empty house would await him, that all his praise and gifts would be quickly discarded, but it doesn't matter, maybe you didn't look for him or you didn't want him, but as your husband, he would do everything he could to at least help you cope with the situation, he really loves you, but it won't be easy to win your affection because you never wanted this.

Your heart began to heal over time, it took a long time, you decided to completely break the relationship with your family, although before they were the only ones you could turn to, Shanks showed you that he would be there, that despite not being the husband that you chose as such, made you trust him, made you feel loved again.

He wasn't a bad man, he wasn't the most wonderful person in the world either, but he proved to be enough for you to stop feeling that emptiness inside your heart, step by step he managed to break the walls that you built around your emotions, Shanks turned out to be something unexpected in your life, someone you didn't think would be so important and he was able to grant some peace, some happiness back into your life.

Maybe you are not yet ready to accept that he is your husband, but you slowly began to meet someone you could voluntarily fall in love with.

[heavyhitterheaux]

Got Me Thinking

Part 4: If Your Girl Only Knew (Slight NSFW)

Synopsis: Jack invites you to one of his shows, and everyone is excited to see you, especially him. However, he had to warn you that the time had finally come for meeting the infamous Kelsey face to face.

Pairing: Jack Harlow x Reader

Series Masterlist

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

Ever since that lust filled night when Jack came to visit, you were longing to see him again and be in his presence. During different times of the day, your thoughts would go back to that moment and how much pleasure he had brought you. So much that in more times than you could count, you found yourself having a river form in between your thighs and often found yourself putting your vibrator to good use. That would have to do at least until you saw him again.

Luckily a few weeks later, an opportunity arose when he called you on Facetime and asked you if you would want to come to one of his shows. Surprisingly, you hadn’t seen him perform since the two of you called it quits and thought it was long overdue.

You had kept tabs on him throughout the years and still supported him, but you simply did it from a distance.

“You busy this Friday?” He asked and all you did was eye him.

“Depends on who’s asking.” You answered while eating your chocolate covered strawberries that was from an edible arrangement that Jack had sent to your house earlier.

“Well I’m asking because I have a show I’m performing at in L.A. and I want you there with me.”

“Hmm, I guess I can fit you in my schedule.”

“What do you mean you guess? Stop acting like you don’t want my face buried between your thighs again. And I definitely want to be one of those strawberries right now. Why are you eating it like that? Getting me bricked up and shit.”

“Jackman! Cut it out, he’s downstairs.” You exclaimed while getting up to close your bedroom door.

“Like I give a flying fuck about that. He doesn’t deserve you anyway. Don’t act shy now, or did you forget what happened last night when I called you?”

You instantly got a smirk on your face remembering how Jack asked you to get off in front of him and all you remember was the camera view becoming blurry as he hit his peak and his cum went flying everywhere as he watched you.

“I see your phone survived what you put it through.”

“Look, it was your fault and I’d do it again too with no hesitation.”

“I know you would.”

Jack then got quiet and you looked at him curiously wondering what was on his mind.

“Jackson, why are you so quiet all of a sudden?”

He simply sighed before answering you.

“Kelsey is going to be there too.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Jack, that’s your wife isn’t it? I would expect her to be with you sometimes.”

“Yes, but….”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll play nice and be on my best behavior and I might give you a private show once you’re done with your own.”

“Oh, do tell.”

“Nope, you just have to be patient and wait and see. But, why am I worried about someone that clearly can’t give you what you want or satisfy you? From what everyone says about her, she obviously doesn’t compare to me.”

“Doesn’t even come close.”

“Isn’t it almost two in the morning over there? And where is she now?”

“It is and I have no idea where the hell she is and I don’t care. Probably out spending all my got damn money.”

You stifled a laugh and he simply shook his head.

“Well Clay does call her the wicked witch of the west for a reason.”

“And now I’ve really started to see why over the last two months.”

“We’ll talk about it later, but for right now you need to go to sleep and get all the rest you can get for Friday.”

“Oh, and why is that?”

“Because you’ll have two performances to put on. One for your fans and the other one is for my eyes only. How do you think Kelsey would feel if we had a few minutes to ourselves after the show?”

“I can arrange it and make it happen and she can get the fuck over it.”

Friday was now here and you were on your way to the venue and made sure to leave a bit early so that being stuck in traffic wouldn’t become an issue. As you were driving, a facetime call came through and you saw it was Clay and quickly answered. You were now suddenly concerned and was hoping that everything was okay with Jack.

“Clay! Hi boo, what’s going on? Everything okay?”

“Please tell me you’re still coming, but hi to you too!”

“What the? What’s wrong?”

“Jack is in a mood again and you can guess why because there is literally only one answer at this point.”

“Oh, goodness.”

“I wish she would have stayed home but NOPE. So here we are and everyone is miserable so PLEASE tell me that you’re almost here. I don’t know how much more of her we can take.”

“Of course I’m still coming and I’m actually almost there. I left a little early because I knew traffic was going to be crazy.”

Just then Urban popped into the frame and was waving at you.

“Y/N!”

“URBANNN!”

“Hurry up and get your ass here. I’ll meet you outside and bring you to where everyone is. But uh, did he warn you about….?”

“Yes, I know.”

“Okay good. Didn’t want you walking into any surprises.”

“I’ll see you two in about ten minutes.” Without another word, you hung up and turned your attention back to the road ahead.

As promised, Urban met you outside and led you backstage where everyone was. As soon as you walked in the room, all attention was on you and Clay was the first one to capture you in a hug.

“We’re saved, we’re saved.” He whispered in your ear and you couldn’t help but laugh. When you looked over at Urban, he was laughing too so he obviously must have heard what Clay said.

“Y/N! Clay, move and stop hogging her!” Ace exclaimed while trying to get in between the two of you.

“Hiii Ace.”

“Hello, Y/N, and we need to talk business. As in business being your older sister.”

“ACE!! Leave the girl alone! She just got here! At least let her settle in before you start harassing her! Hi Y/N, I’m Neelam and I’ve heard such good things about you from Jack. It’s so nice to finally meet you.” So, this was the famous Neelam that everyone talked about.

“It’s so nice to meet you too!” You responded while returning the hug that she was giving you.

You scanned the room and didn’t see Jack or Kelsey so you assumed that they were together and sure enough right on cue, they both entered. Jack was walking in front of her and clearly pissed off about something as she was following behind him like a lost puppy and there was an obvious pout on her face.

“Babe!”

“Kelsey, drop it. I’m done talking about it.”

When Jack looked up and saw you, his grim mood turned the corner for the better and immediately ran over to you and picked you up as you began to laugh.

“Hiii boo. I see you’ve missed me.”

“You have NO idea.” He said loud enough so that only you could hear and squeezed you tighter. 

“When you left, I lost a part of me. It’s still so hard to believe, come back baby please cause weeee belong togetherrrr.” Clay started to sing when the two of you embraced and it was giving everyone in the entire room the hardest time in order not to laugh.

“I just love Mariah Carey. One of my favorites. Yall think she’s going to do a Vegas residency soon?” Clay asked as he was scrolling through his phone.

“I’d definitely come with you if she does.” Urban responded while shrugging and Neelam was eyeing the two of them.

She quickly mouthed ‘Behave’ while trying not to laugh herself.

Once Jack had placed you back on your feet, you suddenly felt a presence next to you and turned around to be face to face with Kelsey herself.

“Babe, who’s this?” She asked Jack and he clearly looked annoyed at the fact that she was even talking to him.

“Y/N, this is Kelsey, Kelsey this is Y/N, we went to high school together. She lives here and I asked her to come.” He answered while not taking his eyes off of you and his left arm was still around your waist which she was quick to notice. 

“It’s so nice to meet you.” You said as you held your hand out towards her, but she examined it before she took it.

“Oh, someone’s jealous.” Clay whispered to Urban and he immediately nodded.

“I didn’t realize you two were so close and had no idea you would be here tonight. I feel that is something important that you should tell your wife, don’t you think, Jackman?”

“Here she goes.” Clay quietly said while keeping his focus on his phone.

“They’ve been a lot closer than she thinks.” Urban muttered next to Clay and they both began to laugh.

“Kelsey, don’t start. So I have to tell you about every single person that I went to high school with and decided to reconnect with them?”

“I didn’t even mean it like that.”

“Well it sounds like you did.”

“Damn, 100 points to Gryffindor. He got her good with that one.” Ace said from behind you as you were simply standing there because it was now awkward.

Kelsey then turned back to you and gave you the fakest smile that she could muster. There was something about you that she couldn’t put her finger on, but she already knew for a fact she didn’t like you.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Y/N.”

“Okay, is she settled in now Neelam? Y/N! Let me at Janelle!” Ace said as he was now at the snack table and all you did was shake your head at him.

The time waiting for Jack’s set was spent with you goofing around with everyone backstage and getting to do a mini photoshoot in the hallway with Urban taking the pictures in order for you to be able to post them on your instagram later.

When you were across the room talking to 2fo with Jack right beside you, Kelsey went and sat next to Clay who had a confused look on his face when he noticed her.

“Uhh? Did you need something Kelsey?” He politely asked as he was silently cursing Urban for leaving him there by himself.

“How does Jack know her?”

“He told you earlier. They went to high school together. Didn’t you hear him?

“And they were just friends?” She asked, trying to find out more information about you.

“Don’t you think that this is a conversation for you and your husband to have?” Clay asked while finally turning to look at her.

“He doesn’t want to tell me anything anymore.”

“Hmm, I wonder why. Evil ass.” Clay muttered to himself so that she wouldn’t be able to hear.

“You still need to ask him and not me.”

“Is there…. Is there something I should be worried about?”

“Meaning what exactly?”

“Jack hasn’t taken his eyes off of her since he saw her when she got here.”

“Well.. they haven’t seen each other in a long time and they were really close.”

“How close?”

“Kelsey, ask my brother.”

“But obviously you know something, but aren’t telling me.”

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re a little jealous? You’re the wife, right? So you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

“I’m not jealous! It just seems like everyone adores her and all of the attention has been on her.”

“She’s an amazing person. Always has been. Our parents absolutely love her too.”

“Wait, she knows your parents, too?!”

“Like I said before, they were extremely close.”

Soon there was only about twenty more minutes until it was time for Jack to go on stage and you wanted to give him a small gift since you still hadn’t gotten him anything for his birthday. You knew deep down that he didn’t care and was simply excited to see you, but you still wanted to do something nice for him. As he was about to head to his dressing room, you grabbed his arm to stop him.

“Hey, I have something to give you, but I want it to be when we’re by ourselves.”

“Hmm, is it what I think it is?” He asked as he wiggled his eyebrows and you quickly smacked his arm.

“Behave! And no, but… if we can make our way to your dressing room now, I can give you a good luck kiss and maybe a little more?”

All he did was smirk and start to play with the ends of your hair which Kelsey was very quick to notice and was quick to interrupt.

“Babe, isn’t it time for your good luck kiss since you’re about to hit the stage?”

“Gag me with a spoon.” Quiiso said to 2fo who was trying not to laugh.

“Um, sure in a minute. Let me go get dressed first. And Y/N had something to show me so we’ll be back.”

He put his hand on the small of your back and guided you down the hallway to his dressing room as Kelsey was left sitting there fuming at what just happened.

Once the two of you got to his dressing room, he closed the door behind him and locked it then his lips were instantly on yours.

“Mm, I’ve missed that and this.” He said as his hand went to cup your ass in the skirt that you were wearing.

“You definitely made that clear on our facetime call earlier this week.”

“So, what did you want to give to me? Is it another purple thong? Because at this point I’m about to start collecting them like infinity stones.”

“I literally CANNOT with your ass.” You said while laughing and Jack pulled you closer to him so that he was able to kiss you once more.

“Look, I figured I’d ask and when I collected all of them it would unlock some type of bonus scene.”

“Jackson PLEASE stop talking.” You responded as you continued to laugh.

“What?!  What’d I say?!”

“Anyway, for starters, it’s not a thong because I’m not wearing anything under my outfit at all.” You whispered against his lips and grabbed his hand to place it underneath your skirt.

His fingers grazed against your core and you were getting wetter by the second. He then inserted two of his fingers and slowly moved them before putting them in his mouth and sucking on them. Just like he did the last time the two of you saw each other.

“There’s definitely more where that came from, but we have to save it for later.” He quietly said, but all you did was get on your knees without breaking eye contact with him and started playing with the waistband of his sweatpants.

“You definitely don’t need a good luck kiss from Kelsey, but will good luck head be acceptable?”

All he did was nod his head as you pulled down his sweatpants and boxer briefs and immediately took him in your mouth.

“Ahh shit.”

Jack didn’t want to mess up your hair so he simply pushed it back out of your face as you continued to pleasure him.

“I’m definitely going to need you to sit on my face after this later. FUCK!”

Because you knew that he didn’t have a lot of time, you were trying to move as fast as possible in order to get him to cum and you could tell that it was working seeing as Jack’s eyes were now closed as he threw his head back in pleasure and was trying to lightly force you down on him.

“My girl looks so pretty taking all of me in her mouth. That’s it baby, that’s it. I’m close.”

You hearing him say that he was close made you move even quicker with a sense of urgency because the last thing you wanted was for him to be late for his set.

“Fuck!” Was the last thing you heard as he came in your mouth and you swallowed it without wasting a drop.

When he was finished coming down from his high, he looked down at you and smiled before helping you to your feet and kissing you.

“I want to return the favor.”

“But… we don’t have a lot of time.”

“We have as much time as I say we have. I’m the headliner and calling the damn shots.” Was all he said before leading you to the couch and immediately pulling your shirt down to expose your breasts that he began to play with them, lightly sucking and biting.

“Babe, that’s going to leave a mark.” You whined and he simply shrugged.

“I’m marking my territory.”

He didn’t waste a lot of time before pulling your skirt up to your hips, spreading your legs and diving in head first.

By the time that Jack had gotten dressed and you had given him his gift, which was an exclusive Rolex that was personalized and had his initials on the band inside, he was only a minute late. 

“I’m definitely wearing this onstage. Thank you Buttercup.” He said as he leaned down to kiss you and you were simply admiring his outfit as you helped him put on the watch. 

His outfit was your favorite color.

Green.

“Hmm, you wore this outfit on purpose, didn’t you?” You asked and all he did was smirk.

“What ever do you mean, baby?”

“Such a fucking tease.”

—

As you were in the front and standing off to the side watching Jack perform, Neelam came up to you and smiled. You returned the smile and the two of you watched him in silence before she turned back to you to say something.

“Y/N, I just wanted to tell you how much the people around him see how much happier he’s been since you two reconnected.”

“Well you can thank Clay for that.” You said thinking about when he first asked you.

“I.. look.. Jack is not only my client, but someone who I consider my little brother. He has talked about you non-stop and all I want is for him to be happy and I know that his happiness is wherever you are. Kelsey isn’t good for him and we could all see it from the beginning. He just didn’t want to listen. ”She said, being completely honest.

“That seems to be the running theme of what everyone keeps telling me. He’s definitely important to me and I want the best for him. I just wish sometimes that we never broke up because I always think about how our life might have turned out differently.”

“Well the two of you reconnecting wasn’t by chance and it was definitely meant to happen. I just want you to know that whatever that you two have going on because I know that there is something there because my big sister radar is going off, I support it. I just want him to be happy again. That’s all we literally all want.”

“I wish it was that simple.” You replied while sighing.

“Well, why isn’t it?”

“You said Jack told you a lot about me, but did he mention my husband?”

Neelam looked at you dumbfounded before she responded.

“You act like the word divorce doesn’t exist?”

“And that’s my problem.”

“What is?”

“I love Jack like if he would have asked me to elope when we were eighteen, I would have without a second thought and that is still true as we speak, but I also love my husband as fucked up of a person that he is and I’m having second thoughts about divorcing him.”

Liked by urbanwyatt, jackharlow, neelamthadhani, claybornharlow, thenursecorner, and 450,831 others

anesthesiabae: friends supporting friends

jackharlow love you forever and I will always be proud of you 💖

jackharlow: so happy you came tonight, thank you 😘 claybornharlow: reunited and it feels so good yungskylark: aye! y/n lemme get Janelle's number!!! anesthesiabae: jackharlow any time you need me, I'm here urbanwyatt: mariah carey- anytime you need a friend jackharlow: anesthesiabae so this means I can ask for my hoodie back now right? anesthesiabae: ACE... NO! and jackharlow if I didn't give it back and 12 years have now passed, what makes you think that you'll get it at all? jackharlow: anesthesiabae closed mouths don't get fed, now do they? neelamthadhani: so happy that I finally got to meet you! jackharlowsource: oohh she's pretty! jackharlow spill! who is this pretty lady?!

[twistedwonderlandimaginesblog]

Ive just recently discovered your blog and i love it so much omg 😍 I also saw ur post in u said we should send in parent sc rqs 👁👁 so can i pls req scs for the dorm leaders when they accidentally hurt the child? and how they would react? its up to u on how you want the dorl leads to find the child tho! ✨💖

Idia Shroud: 

Idia felt dread, so heavy that it’s like the entire world was just dropped on his shoulders. Is it happening again? A repeat of the Ortho incident as some sort of cosmic karma? He’s already a constant homebody but he’s even more likely to lock himself away, like a princess in those fairy tales who’s always guarded by a vicious dragon. He doesn’t know how to articulate his pain or grief at hurting someone he loved dearly but you can be assured that he won’t take a chance like that again.

Kalim Al-Asim: 

Kalim is completely heartbroken as he had started off only wanting to show his child a cool trick he could do with his magic. He regretted it immediately, admitting to fault and learning another valuable life lesson: money really couldn’t make everything okay. He attended to them himself during their recovery, wanting them to feel how truly sorry he was. Not that he was a strict parent before, but he showered them in gifts, afraid of them potentially harboring hatred in their heart for him (something he could definitely never recover from).

Leona Kingscholar: 

Leona is agitated with himself for accidentally hurting his own child but he doesn’t offer words of apology, instead handing them off to you and closing himself off the rest of the day. You think it’s selfish of him to do so but you know that he’s always had a hard time dealing with his feelings, especially when it came to admitting he was in the wrong, so you did your best to let your child know it wasn’t their fault (while taking care of any leftover wounds incident). When Leona finally interacts with them again you’re proud to hear a very quiet apology slip out of his mouth, a hand placed on your child’s head as he stated they would both have to be more careful from that point on. 

Malleus Draconia: 

Accidents happen, and Malleus himself had been put into many dangerous situation when he was a baby. It was just a thing that fae children happened to be attracted to and he wasn’t the least bit surprised when the same happened to your child. He’s not happy that it was at his hands but he knew he had been holding back anyway, the damage could be far worse than what it was. He’s more afraid of dealing with you in the aftermath as he was sure he’d hear an earful but you just seemed relieved that your child wasn’t seriously injured, holding them close while they told you about all the cool things Malleus could do with magic. 

Riddle Rosehearts: 

Riddle gets the haunting feeling that he’s just like his mother. Her abuse was more verbal than physical but he couldn’t help but hear ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’ out of the mouths of everyone who learned of the accident. He felt sick to his stomach despite his constant apologies and overbearing doting over his injured child. He handled them like a fragile antique, no magic allowed in the house unless they were a safe distance away. He still had a specific set of rules in place to prevent something like that

[life-is-unreal]

Stranger Danger~ {Genshin Impact x reader} Chapter 1-5 (non teyvat chapters)

0.5- Note from the Author

*Hiiii :))) <3. This is my first fanfic so please don't judge it. Some bits are a bit cringe (SRRY!!!), you will be referred as Y/N and You. The MC will be a female so if you're not, just read it as a he/his. Btw, this story is a bit of a chat fic (Idk the proper name) but don't worry as it's mainly normal. (My grammar sucks so sorry in advance).

*this is my work from wattpad :D I'm not gonna post the OC descript or any images. Skip directly to Teyvat chapters if you wish :D

Wattpad: LifeIsUnreal

Tag list (I think that’s how u do it):

@dragontammerz

Chapter 1 - The Crimson Witch

Italic- thoughts

No! Please. Please wake up! Barbatos...please save him. I beg you...

"Rostam... Look at me, open your eyes. Please, it's over..."

You twiddled your fingers as you stared at Rosalyne strangely from a distance. It's such a pity that she died in Inazuma. Everything wants to kill you in that place, how the hell do people survive there? "Barbatos, I beg you." The woman sobbed, crumbling beside her lover.

"Miss Rosalyne, we've already checked his pulse. It's not there." Wrong move mister, wrong move. Her tear-filled eyes met with the knight's eyes. "Where is Barbatos? Surely he can save him?" She was met by the cold silence. You marveled at her from a random knocked-down barrel, the breeze mixed with blood and swayed her hair as she kneeled amongst the battlefield beside her lover. Her scholar uniform was stained with blood from interactions with dead bodies.

"Where is Arundolyn? Bring me to him!" She screamed. "Miss Rosalyne, he's severely wounded-" Rosalyne screamed even louder, clutching her head. She's deranged in a beautiful way. "No. Why? Why!" She whispered brokenly. You shifted your spot slightly, you could already feel small heat waves coming off from her. "She's going to go crazy soon." You muttered, checking your phone. Ah, Shit. No battery "When the hell is that portal going to pop out again?" you grumbled. It's been quite a few days since you've been in Teyvat. You literally had to save up your battery and camp outside. "I literally didn't finish my homework." After she gets batshit crazy, she's gonna ruin Monstadt, set it on flames, and get recruited by Pierro. I wonder if Khaenri'ahn's descendants are still chilling around. I mean some of them definitely survived. Meeting them would be cool, like imagine if I met Rhinedottir. And imagine if Lumine or Aether has already become the Abyss prince or princess.

"Who are you?" You yelped from shock as you felt some hair touching your skin. "Uh, Hi?" You gulped as you looked down to your feet. The knights were all tidying up the bodies and cleaning up so nobody noticed Rosalyne moving to you. Rosalyne's eyes narrowed, looking you up and down.

"Um, my name's Y/N." you giggled awkwardly. Her aura was still unbearing, "Rosalyne. Girl, chill. It's not exactly Ven- I mean Barbatos's fault since he was like, asleep during the cataclysm. As for the knights of Favonius and Arundolyn, well Rostam and the Grandmaster lead the war so you can't blame Arundolyn, and I mean a lot of knights died. Plus, I'm pretty damn sure that your lover wouldn't be really happy if you went batshit crazy due to him dying. And like if you wanna have your vengeance or something like that to the knights or citizens- well, I mean he died protecting them so uh yea."

Rosalyne opened her mouth confused. You took notice of this and babbled random things out, "And um, if you see random suspicious people coming up to you to join their cult refuse 'kay? They might like use you or something. Oh, and um, have some candy." You quickly shoved a bag of candy into her hands. My favourite lollipops. You sniffled slightly.

The woman's eyes shot open wide as she stared at you alarmed. "Bro you good? Oh wait, damn I'm disappearing. Wait that's fucking cool." Yup, you were dissipating right in front of your very own eyes.

Long after you disappeared, the platinum blonde finally reacted, "Y/N?" she muttered. Weird name. "I...didn't tell you my name. Barbatos? Asleep? He's indeed unqualified as an archon then, and those warnings...they're oddly specific but of course. Why would I listen to a random stranger who's been stalking me?"

The first thing that you did was to charge your phone. That random ass boar almost stomped on it. And fuck, I'm starving. You were literally living off the kindness of Monstadt citizens like you can fight but a visionless person in Teyvat can't really survive in the wild like you're pretty damn sure some random slime could kill you if it wanted to. They're so damn cute thooo.

A small noise captured your attention as your phone gained one single percentage of power. "Holy shit, it's only been a minute." You gaped at the widgets in amazement. I was there for a week or longer and damn.

After lying down and procrastinating for a long long time on your bed you decided to do your homework. Wtf is this. The hell am I going to do a 60-question paper. Oh, wait, I've got friends.

"Yooooo guys." You were met with two very disgruntled teens. Yvonne sighed, "Girl, it's bloody 12:35, what do you want? Credit card number? Cheque?"

"That's very tempting but I need the answers for the math assignment."

"Wait what." "What."

Yeleris raised a brow. How tf do you raise a brow? "You're supposed to be the smart one here. I was depending on you to do your homework so I could copy it. But then, I don't see why you and I should care since we're still going to get at least an A with our grades so far."

Yvonne gaped, "WDYM THERE'S A MATH ASSIGNMENT?!"

You sighed, "We're fucked if we don't do this, it's like 20% of our grades and I'm pretty sure Yvonne's gonna fail since she skipped like 20 classes alone this term. AND Yeleris, we all know that you're a genius at Science and that includes Physics which is literally Math but with weird ass words."

"Okay, I actually agree with that."

"I DON'T WANNA FAIL!"

"Weeeeell, you wouldn't have to worry 'bout this if you spent less time on shopping sprees and skipping class to do random stuff."

"YELERIS! That's mean."

"Achoo! Damn it, who's cursing me at 12 am in the morning jeez."

Chapter 2 - Wow, a pretty lady

Hello, my name is Skirk.

The rain was absolutely deafening, a black rain signal had already been issued the day before. You loved rainy days, there's no school when the black rain signal is issued. But then, here you are, under a tree for absolutely no reason.

"Where the hell am I?" You gaped at the grassy fields and scorching sun.

You quickly took notice of a teleport waypoint next to you. "Isn't only the traveler able to use this?" Yup. The waypoint was blue even though you definitely did not touch it.

After scanning the area multiple times to make sure that there weren't slimes or hilichurls you finally sat down. You almost got suffocated to death by a hydro slime, if you were a character, you're definitely going to be a level 1 character with the worst stats possible. 

It's literally so unfair, like a slime could kill you and they're like the most harmless and cute things ever in the game. Except for the geo slimes, they're hard to kill.

"Holy motherf- ARGH." A fucking boar was charging at full speed and the target was you. "WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU COME FROM?"

After climbing up a tree and killing the boar by throwing random stuff that you could find, you decided to stay exactly where you were. Why? Simple, you could literally see two pyro whopperflowers and a horde of geo hatchlings. Like hell you're coming down the tree.

Why the fuck are they coming closer?! Oh wait shit, they want the fucking boar. Don't look up. Dontlookup. Dontlookup. Oh fuck. As if on cue, one of the whopper flowers noticed you. "Oh hell no."

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" You clung desperately to the tree as it started to shake. The whopperflowers were literally burning the tree down and the wretched geo hatchlings were pummelling at the tree.

To your horror, the relentless attacks finally made the tree give out as it fell down, crushing you under it. Immediately, you screamed in pain. "What the hell did I do to y'all?"

Something that you didn't notice was that their attacks stopped the moment you fell to the ground. Suddenly, a shriek interrupted the silence. You whipped your head around, just to see the cryo whopperflower absolutely obliterating the pyro whopperflower. I thought the pyro whopperflowers were the strongest. You looked to your left after hearing screeches and it was chaos. 

The hatchlings were killing each other, you saw one of them tearing the other's scale and pulling its eyeballs out brutally. A few minutes ago, they were cooperating to destroy the tree and now they're committing amicicide.

"Holy shit." Although you usually refrain from swearing, this scene made you quite disgusted. They're literally tearing limbs and organs down. You attempted to get the branches off you. "How is a tiny thin tree so bloody heavy?" You sighed, throwing your head up. Holy- "WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?"

 Above you, inches away from your forehead was the cryo whopperflower. Seeing that it made no move to attack you, you decided to do the dumbest thing in your life. 

You cleared your voice and decided to ask in the babiest, honey covered words that disgusted you that such a sickenly sweet voice could come out of you. "Whopperflower dearie, will you pretty please help me to lift this tree?"

Why the fuck did I just say that. You closed your eyes in dread. I dug my own grave, Yvonne would literally laugh her ass off if she was here.

"Krrr. Krrr." Huh? You hesitantly opened your eyes and to your surprise, the whopperflower was subdividing the tree and it looked quite happy. You stood up slowly, noticing how something slimy stuck onto your shoe. That whopperflower -. 

Under your shoe was a dead geo hatchling with icicles imbedded so deep into his impenetrable skin that its scales were cracked and on the verge of peeling, and a few meters away were more geo hatchlings stacked up on each other, some disfigured, some with their organs spilling out and some with their bodies frozen or charred. Next to it was a pyro whopperflower, unlike the others, it was still alive.

It slowly hopped to it's feet- roots weakly. "Krr." The cryo whopperflower's eyes narrowed, shooting icicles towards it. The pyro whopperflower ignored it's half frozen petals and continued to nudge forward until it finally reached you.

"Uh, hi." The cryo whopperflower blocked your view as it growled menacingly at it.

"Yo chill. It's not trying to attack me." You seemed to finally accept the actions of the weird whopperflower as it slowly snuggled into your arms. To your amazement, the whopperflower began to heal almost immediately after touching your arms, only leaving a few minor injuries.OMG.IT'S SO CUTE AND WARM. Oh wait, it's still injured. 

You glanced at the cryo whopperflower. "Help me take out the bandage in my bag please." Begrudgingly, the creature fumbled with the zippers and took out the white bandages, slowly wrapping it around the head of the whopperflower.

Suddenly, both whopperflowers got into a defensive stance as they blocked your view once again.

"How interesting."

A girl slowly approached you. "They seem pretty protective don't you think so?" She giving me HSR vibes.

She grinned, her smile not matching her youthful face and lifeless eyes. "Sorry for not introducing myself. Let's start from the beginning. Hello, my name is Skirk."

You gently nudged the whopperflowers away. "Nice to meet you, my name's Y/N."

The name was weirdly familiar and you were pretty sure you've seen her before. "So you saw everything?" You asked, bending down and tearing a jagged scale from the ground. The girl giggled at your horrible choice of weapon. A sword materialized in her hand as she played with it. "You mean... The scene where you're clinging on the tree for dear life and screaming incoherent, inappropriate words? And then falling down from the tree?" She snickered, walking closer and leaning down to your face, watching your ears turn pink. "Then yes, I saw all of that."

She began to shoo the whopperflowers away. "I'm not going to kill some random stranger. So let me talk with her." Skirk then reached out to pull your body up to a standing position. Damn, she's taller than me. "You don't seem to look like someone from Liyue."

You inspected your clothes. Uh-huh, a hoodie and a skirt. To them, I'm wearing stuff even weirder than the traveler. "I'm an adventurer." She probably knows I'm already lying but I've got two whopperflowers that killed a horde of geo hatchlings.

"I'm just an apprentice that's in Liyue in search of some geohatchlings and I was about to take these until the cryo whopperflower killed all of them." She sighed, "You wouldn't mind if I took these would you? Don't fret, I'll exchange something in return." So basically, I'm getting something for free. "Do you have any uh, weapons?" You bit your lip. Yes, you couldn't fight anything to save your life but having a weapon was still better then fighting with absolutely nothing.

Skirk looked taken aback. "You don't know how to fight?" She asked incredously. "Yeah? Is it not normal." She blinked, "Everyone is taught to fight, some people even start from as young as four!" So, I'm weaker than a toddler. Damn. "I- You know what, I'll give you a catalyst completely free of charge since you absolutely have zero fighting skills. Now pick something else before I make up my mind."

Sugarmommy vibes.

In the end, you got a catalyst, an electro crystal and a bag that had infinite capacity.

Skirk left a few minutes ago to go aboard a ship to snezhnaya, saying something about meeting her apprentice. So now you were all alone with two very worried whopperflowers. 

"Krrrrr. Krr." The two of them circled around you, lifting your arms to see if Skirk had harmed you. I wanna keep them so bad. "I have to leave anytime soon man." They deflated almost immediately, their petals drooping down. I'm feeling so bad now. Please don't do this to me man. 

You cleared your throat. "Okay, listen up. I don't know when I'll come back and where. It could be hundreds of years or tomorrow but if you see me, ya'll can have my hairbands so tie them around your petal or something and I'll know that it's you ok? I'm pretty sure you guys respawn every now and then so it'll be ok." They perked up and began to tie their petals with your smiley face hairbands. Why they look so cute with it.

"Now come and watch the sunset with me."

Chapter 3 - Text Buddies

(very short chapter)

Approximately 13 minutes ago, you decided to do the Fontaine Archon quest since you completely forgot about it until you remembered that Skirk seemed to have her debut somewhere in there.

Picture your shocked face when you saw the way that Skirk casually yeeted Childe into some random portal.

Considering that she mentioned that Childe's her apprentice, she went to Snezhnaya to visit Childe, and considering that she looked like she was in her early teens when you met her, it's definitely been at least 3-4 years after she met you that she's met the traveler.

I take it back. She could've killed me the second she met me and stole the hatchlings. She wouldn't even need to trade the inventory bag and the catalyst. You checked the catalyst on the web and it was the "Lost Prayer To The Sacred Winds", it was a goddamned 5-star weapon. You were confused at why Skirk would even give you such a precious weapon but you decided that she just thought that you were interesting.

The moment that you touched the catalyst, your phone lit up and opened Genshin. As a firm nonbeliever of ghosts and spirits, you decided it had to be a "you" problem. Seeing that the phone automatically got into the inventory icon, you finally saw your catalyst and electro-crystal in a new category that wasn't named yet.

Purely out of curiosity, you placed the catalyst into the bag that Skirk gave you, and the catalyst's equipped tag disappeared. Oh wait, does that mean that I get to level it up? You immediately leveled it up to lv90. Oh hell no, I'm in the character menu. Right above your team was you, however, it was just a blank circle with your name on it. Clicking into it led to your stats, talents, artifacts, etc.

To your relief, your face wasn't on the screen but when you read the stats, you decided that you were truly weaker than a lv5 slime. Okay, Name: Y/N, Max HP: 1000. Okay, better than the traveler, Attack...20?! What?! Defence: 72. Not bad but Idk why I need that. EM: 0, Stamina.. WHAT?! 31?!

You threw a pillow across the room, "WHAT THE HELL? HOW IS THE TRAVELER STRONGER AT LVL1 ?! AND I'M AT LVL 3?!" Something that Genshin has gladly bestowed on you was that your starting point was at lvl 3 whilst everyone else was at lvl 1 but you were still weaker than everyone who's at lvl 1.

"STAMINA 20? I MIGHT DIE FROM LOW STAMINA BY CLIMBING A ROCK OR SMTH?"

"Ooooooh." Holy moly, 1608 attack and 33.1% Crit Rate. Damn. Ilysm Skirk

Ding. 3 Unread messages.

You raised a brow, lol, who uses that app anymore, only old ass people use it, like Zhongli would use it if he had a phone.

The sky has darkened and the bustling city slowly lit up with billboards decorating the skyline. You stretched in front of the brightness, the darkness of your room disappearing as the humongous screens started changing. Mihoyo, that billboard advertisement is expensive asf and you decided to put hsr and not Get Shit Impact?

Ding. 102 Unread messages. Wtf.

                                                                                                                                                                                Yo.

You finally picked up your phone.

                                                                                                                                                                       Srry bt dat.

Can you please speak English?

???

I don't understand what you're saying.

Oh I said "Sorry about that"

Lol, sorry.

Anyways, is there anything that you need me for?

From your description, it says "Teyvat here I come"

Oh, that was last year when me and my friends still used this app.

It's quite outdated now, I just update my description whenever I feel like it.

Can you tell me about Teyvat?

I don't understand the things online.

... wtf, this guy is creepy, theyve got no pfp and they don't understand text T-T, Pls don't be my mom...Act cool, act cool

Hm?

You want to start Genshin?

Genshin?

Bro's asking abt Genshin without knowing what it is, did bro just get his/her phone?

Genshin Impact?

Teyvat is the world that exists in the game??

Game?

My bafflement jeeeeez

Yea, Genshin.

Teyvat has 7 nations.

They have like 2 mcs (maincharacters) and the player chooses them and boom, their sibling disappears and they need to find them so they just travel around Teyvat whilst helping random people for no reason

Poor Lumine has traveled half of the world and the gods won't tell her shit. Just leave Aether and his abyss shit and go marry someone or smth. Bro's a prince and you're a traveler, he's living his life in the abyss.

Main characters...

Oh wait, is this some old person who just downloaded this app to find people chat? Oh wait shit, my bad, lemme channel my nonexistent inner angel.

Oh, sorry, I should've explained more clearly. :)

You see, the two main characters are called Lumine and Aether, they're travelers who go in and out of worlds, but they were trapped in Teyvat because of the Heavenly Principles.

If you're like me and choose Lumine, Aether will become the Abyss prince and wake up a few hundred years earlier than Lumine and go around the world. Then after Lumine wakes up, she fishes out Paimon and begins her journey around Teyvat searching for her brother who she found quickly enough but for some reason Aether wants her to find him after she visits every nation.

That...

Is a nice plot.

You know a lot.

I may have started it just a year ago but I know a lot of lore :D

Thank you.

?

For chatting with me, nobody answered me and only you replied

OMG. I feel bad for this old person,

:D my pleasure XD

I think you need to sleep now.

Good night.

You too!!! Good luck with the game XD

Chapter 4 - Lockdown

The rain poured and the sirens blared, the rain outside had already flooded the first floor of the dormitory.

"I know my luck sucks like hell but come on, we literally just came." Moniqa scowled as she lifted the satin curtains. "They even locked the gates, what, after two days are the winter holidays, they expect us to stay in here?" The strawberry-haired girl tossed her phone onto her bed. "I literally only came here to take my stuff back." Yeleris rolled her eyes, "I don't even have stuff here, like literally. I went to the mall and met Y/N and I brought her back to our dorms since it's cold as fuck out there," she flopped onto your bed sighing, "none of us even live here, it's just registered because of projects."

You peered through the window, the water had almost completely flooded the university and two floors beneath you, you could see several students blocking the doors with sandbags.

"My housekeeper said that only our area is raining." Moniqa's eyes narrowed, "quite weird wouldn't you say? This rain is quite- sudden, wouldn't you say Miss President?"

Your brows furrowed a bit, " Yea, I checked the school group chat, everybody's talking about the weird weather." You turned around, noticing Yeleris in the corner, staring emotionlessly at her laptop. "You're that annoyed? Princessssy?" Moniqa snickered, noticing her expression.

Yeleris stared at Moniqa blandly through her luscious eyelashes. "We're in a lockdown."

Silence. "WHATTTTTTT THEEEE FUUUU- " Yeleris thwacked her head with her laptop. That laptop is hella expensive, its case is limited edition and she bonked Moniqa with that?!

"Hey," you scrolled through your phone, noticing how everything was loading slower and slower. "Is it just me or does the WiFi suck and mobile data ain't doing what it's supposed to be doing?"

Moniqa gazed quietly at you, "I know who might be able to tell us some stuff." 

You hurriedly followed her out of the building, hissing as the ankle-length water splattered against your bare thighs. It was freezing cold, the three of you waddled into a nearby dorm building, it was one of the newly renovated ones that had stairs to it and didn't have any sandbags around.

"Who the hell are you- oh, it's Moniqa." you raised you brows at the man that towered over you. "Oh, hello Miss President." you scowled, being the president of several clubs are pretty nice but having everyone call you that even your friends could be a little annoying. 

"Is Lorelei here or did she go back home?" He rolled his eyes at the question, "She was planning to leave but the rain got a tad to bit large and she didn't want her eXpeNsive sHoes wet, but yeah, she's in her room, 109 I believe, one floor up."

Thud. Thud. Thud. "Lorelei, it's Moniqa." "..." "Lorelei?" "..." "I'll buy you boba." "...ugh...coming."

A short strawberry-blonde girl greeted you by the door. "You guys are lucky that my roommates aren't here. Get in before I change my mind," She tossed Moniqa a small booklet. 

"No snacks?" Lorelei squinted at her, "that's only for new customers."

She turned to you, "Oh, you're new, there's some snacks on your right." You smiled lightly at the short girl, not because of her kindness but because she has that one type of candy you love that the school doesn't sell. 

"Ahem, since you're a new customer, I will gladly give you an introduction to my services," she tossed a small bottle of peach juice to you, "I am Lorelei Stirling, sophomore, I basically give people info that they want on people on campus, test results or rankings of everyone, not the normal ones that the school gives you of course, and a ton of other stuff, in or outside school. Ummm, that's pretty much it, I'm the head of my dorm and pretty much everyone in this building helps me in gathering info, so we're like an association that tells you everything the school doesn't tell you and some news outside of school that the public doesn't know."

She smiled sweetly at you, "Of course, things come at a price but for you, Miss President, I'll give you a discount. If you want any info in school, the price range will be $10-250, and outside of school will be $10-400. Anything special? The price will be decided by me. Now how does that sound?"

"WhAt? You told me it was $20-600 for in-school and up to 800 outside?" Moniqa snarled. Lorelei rolled her eyes, "First of all, your cousin pissed me off when I was in freshman and you're loaded which means you don't really care about the price of stuff. And anyways, the quality of my info never changes. If I hated you, I would've given you double the price. You'd like that?"

She turned back to you, smiling, "My phone number is on the bottom of your drink, you can call me when you need my services. But considering that you guys literally waddle here like ducks meant that something went wrong with the wi-fi and the data at the same time right? So please tell me what you want before it reaches the point where you have to swim back to your dorm room." 

-...-...- Unknown's pov Somebody's gotten it. It's someone in y/s, the after-effects are growing, I need to find the host. Many things have already been infected with RH-o1, the amount of things that have been leaked will soon make Earth change drastically.

I need to find the diary, quickly, #%^*><\$&%* It has all the leaks, it materialized the moment this world was tainted.

I've been trapped here. We all belong on different paths, one is reality, one is $&@/"-, hopefully, I'll survive, I asked $&":$!(& to help me change how the time flows.

I've just gotten here but every minute feels like decades. My sister is out there somewhere, perhaps the paper that she took gave her a better fate than mine. We don't belong here, before I die, I will send her out. I swore to &&"-).

The sheer amount of rules in this place is driving me insane, if only I was like &&"-), she's insane but her type of insanity doesn't affect her logic and abilities. Why did I have to get the hardest one? Why me?

Chapter 5 - Fish blasting

"Are you sure that she can fix the Wifi?"

Yeleris nodded, eyes glued onto her book.

Moniqa giggled, "Lorelei may be annoying and bratty but she does have the skills that made her the head of her lil association in her sophomore year, my friend told me that two years ago, there was also an association like that one but it was taken down quickly because they dug a bit too deep and the high ranked members were all kicked out of the school. I'm pretty sure one of the high-ranking members who wasn't kicked out was her older sister. I heard that she had some blackmail on the school and she threatened to leak them if they kicked her out."

Ding.

All eyes swiveled onto the pile of devices that were charging in the corner.

Ding,dingdingidndinidgndingd- "SHE DID IT!"Moniqa lunged towards her phone, "FINALLY, I WAS DYING FROM BOREDOM-" Thwack. Yeleris towered over her, "Can you shut up."

You typed a few letters down,

.-.-.-.

Totallynotlazy

Is this Lorelei

Loreleisnotgrumpy

???? Who you?

Totallynotlazy

Y/N, you gave me your number in your room.

Loreleisnotgrumpy

? I wasn't there tho? Do you mean my twin Lorelie?

Loreleisnotgrumpy has added you as your friend

Totallynotlazy's name has been changed to Y/N

Loreliesnotgrumpy's name has been changed to Lorelei

Y/N

Can you give me some info on the rain?

It's not normal, in fact, it's kinda acidic?

Lorelei

WhAt?

I mean sureee but I need some time since, yk it literally just rained. Btw, I'll give you the price after I get the info because I'm actually nice and Lorelie told me to give u a discount so just wait for my messages.

Btw, how'd you know it's acidic?

Y/N

Me, Yeleris, and Moniqa had to go to your dorm because of the Wifi not working to ask you to get it fixed but as you said your twin was there and she fixed it for us.

Lorelei

Huh, Yeleris and Moniqa? They only came to me once and I never told them my dorm number and Anthony wouldn't tell random people my dorm number. Ig that your roommates had deals with my twinny rather than me.

Y/N

Prob. Anyways, when we got back, our skin was red and some bits were bleeding and I tested the PH.

Lorelei

Hmmm. I'll get you some info by the end of this week, I'll give Lorelie your number. Don't tell random people about Lorelie though, she's a bit bratty and hates a lot of people, and she likes acting like me. She'd get angry if people knew that she was pretending to be me

Y/N

Ok, tysm

Lorelei

Have fun XD

.-.-.-.

The lovely violet sky was soon covered in a sheen of eerie red, after effects of the blood rain. The WiFi had stopped multiple times in the last few hours, only recovering due to the twin's perseverance of fixing the WiFi for the enormous amount of money they were given by hundreds of people.

The power outs were so frequent that the night became very dark, only a few gleams from torches and phones, and soon you drifted into a deep sleep, unaware of your surroundings.

Patter. Patter. A silhouette was outlined by the faint moonlight. "Y/N...The time isn't right yet. You weren't supposed to have visions yet. Why did I have to be the only one in the dorm that's reincarnated? The apocalypse is in a year but since you've gotten your powers so early, does that mean that the timeline has been messed up? Lorelie wasn't supposed to be there too. Has she reincarnated? Perhaps transmigration? A time traveler?" The girl muttered.

"The rain, it's supposed to be acidic in a few days, the acidity is also stronger. What's happened? The future is changing. Butterfly effects, if I can come back, others can come back too. My sister is still finding the records of the apocalypse, we would all die without the records..." The figure opened your phone, "Genshin...maybe the world of Teyvat has something to do with all of this as you were in Teyvat for a year or two, but- who's this?"

-.-.-.

"Y/N WAKE UP." Moniqa shrieked as she woke you up. I finally wasn't in Teyvat, Moniqa scared the shit out of mee. "What?"You stretched happily, "Bro! It's raining fucking blood!" WHAT THE FUCKKKKKKKKKKKK You rushed to open the window. You cautiously placed a small cup outside the window. "Hey." Yeleris beckoned the two of you to the TV. '

"It's global." "No shit, Sherlock." You took the cup out and closed the window once again. "The rain here seems a lot darker than the TV." You turned to Moniqa, "Moni, you have a lot of small seedlings you got from the gardening club right? Add some of the rainwater in one, I want to see something."

~time skip~ (2days)

"Pretty sister! Pretty sister! Are you ok?" You rubbed your bleary eyes. The loli smiled down at you, "Pretty sister, are you ok? Klee was soooo worried about you." she smiled innocently at you, cherry pink eyes glinting under the morning rays.

"Hello Klee, I'm fine." You sat up, "Sweetie, where are we?" The girl laughed, clapping her hands together, "Is pretty sister a visitor? This is Cider Lake!" She grabbed your hand and pulled you towards the water.

She's unbelievably strong... "Since pretty sister is a visitor, Klee will show you around Mondstadt and we can go fish blasting with Dodoco!!!"

"Klee?" You poked her weakly, "Is something wrong pretty sister?" You pointed behind you, "You sure you want to do it in front of the city?"

You've woken up after you and Klee blasted the majority of the fish population of Mondstadt. At first, it was only Cider Lake, but she soon decided that it wasn't enough and she started putting bombs all over the nation, one on some poor lad's roof in Springvale, one besides the anemo hyptostatis, one near the statue of seven and a lot of other places that you couldn't remember. It was only until a knight of Favonius saw Klee putting bombs in a merchant's stall did you leave.  You did not want to be brought to Jean, so you hid on top of a tree as Klee was dragged away. She made a heart in the end which quite literally melted your heart and soul into a puddle.

The next few days passed like a flow, the rain never stopped but day by day, the water had slowly turned back to it's usual colour, in fact, the small samples of rainwater collected before slowly turned transparent just like the rain.

It wasn't until eight days later did you notice something was too eerie with the rain.

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

Teyvat Chapters 1-10:

https://www.tumblr.com/life-is-unreal/757207106530213888/stranger-danger-genshin-impact-x-reader-teyvat?source=share

[im-a-wonderling]

White Moves First, Part 7 ~ Edmund Pevensie

Summary: Despite the distance between their two lands, Y/N, princess of Archenland, is close friends with King Edmund the Just. But when push comes to shove, will friendship turn to more?

Warnings: an unhealthy paternal relationship and a deviation from canon as I don't think Archenland ever had chapels in the Golden Age. But we can't have a royal wedding without a chapel!!

Word count: 5.6k

White Moves First Masterlist | Main masterlist

Edmund ran down the corridor, the absurd frills of his blue and silver wedding doublet scratching at his neck. He should’ve known better than to trust Susan to give him something wilace, but that was not what he cared about now. Edmund tried to get the attention of the manservant walking past him, but the man didn’t notice him until Edmund grabbed his shoulder. “Where’s the king?” he asked.

“In his study, Your Majesty.”

Edmund took off down the hallway again. Of all days for the silversmith to go on a trip to visit his brother, why did it have to be today? The ceremony was going to start in less than an hour, and Edmund still didn’t have Y/N’s proper ring. It was supposed to arrive by courier this morning, and there was no sign of any courier, and the silversmith was gone. 

Was it Edmund’s fault? Had Edmund designed too complicated a ring for too short a time? He’d wanted the ring to be special and completely unique, something that Y/N could be proud to wear. Now, because he was so particular, she wasn’t going to have a ring for the wedding.

Which was unacceptable and entirely his fault. Two of his least favorite things. 

Edmund burst into the study. “Your Majesty–” He stopped in the doorway, seeing the desk empty. He scowled. Why would the manservant have said that King Loon was in the study when–

“Well, if it isn’t the groom himself.”

Edmund’s spine stiffened as he slowly turned to see the foreign prince who sat on an armchair, legs crossed and fingers swirling a glass definitely not holding water. Rabadash’s fashionable ensemble was neat and lacked any of the stifling ruffles of Edmund’s as well as any sweat stains like the ones Edmund could feel underneath his arms that he hoped were discreet. 

Rabadash rose from his armchair with smooth ease. “Does the Just King need directions to the stables for a quick getaway?” 

Edmund took a deep breath. 

It was not worth it. 

Not today.

He wheeled around and left. At first he thought only his heart was beating in his ears, until the sound of footsteps grew loud. “Don’t fret, Your Majesty, I assure you the princess will not be lonely in your absence.” 

Don’t answer, Edmund commanded himself. There are bigger things to worry about. Like Y/N’s ring. 

“Of course, my company would not be able to ease the pain in your heart.”

Edmund whirled around. “What in blazes are you going on about?”

“Do you love her?”

“I wouldn’t be marrying her if I didn’t,” Edmund snapped before he even had a chance to think about it. 

Rabadash chuckled, his eyes flicking to the ceiling like it would start laughing along with him if it could. “You don’t even understand how true that statement is.”

“Do you have anything of substance to say,” Edmund’s hands curled into fists, “or will you continue to prattle? Because I’m needed in the chapel shortly.”

Rabadash lifted his hand, showing off his much too long, yet perfectly manicured nails on fingers that had never done a hard or honest day’s work in their life. “You and your precious princess should know: I love a good challenge. Marrying her simply because of you would be too easy.”

Edmund started to turn away before Rabadash’s words fully registered, and he hovered. He wanted to keep walking, to pay Rabadash as much attention as the prince deserved, which was far less than he’d already gotten. But this concerned Y/N.

“What do you mean?” Edmund demanded.

“Oh, did Y/N not tell you?” 

Edmund kept his anger in check, knowing that a bland expression was far more antagonizing than an angry one. This crooked-nosed knave was trying to divide the two of them. Well, it wouldn’t work. Y/N would never keep information from him.

Would she? 

“Tell me what?” 

Rabadash leaned against the wall, clearly relishing Edmund’s attention despite the casual airs he was trying to put on. “I only wanted her because of you. If she was in Tashbaan as my wife, you would never allow Narnia to attack, because no matter how upset you were about your barbarian sister, risking Y/N’s life would be unthinkable. A lifelong hostage to secure my country’s well being.”

Edmund didn’t realize he was holding his breath until pressure started building in his chest. Rabadash had set his claims on Y/N because of him?

“The stoic,” Rabadash stepped closer, “level-headed,” another step, “mighty King Edmund.” He spread his hands, showing off for an imaginary audience. “The man capable of winning any negotiation leapt onto a dance floor to save one woman from a Calormen prince.” Rabadash lowered his arms, his smile somehow becoming more sinister. “And it wasn’t his sister.”

Edmund thought back to the ball, trying to recall when Rabadash had danced with Susan, but while he could list off every one of the nine dances Rabadash had partnered with Y/N for, he didn’t even have a memory of Susan on the dance floor at all.

“You showed your cards, King Edmund. All of this would’ve been easier if you’d just let me have her, but no.” The prince’s voice lowered to a whisper: “The Tisroc, may he live forever, has agents in the Narnian court.”

Edmund’s blood turned icy in his veins as the prince’s face darkened, hinting at the void of evil resting in this one man. 

“It wouldn’t take much, you know. An unlocked bedchamber door…a sleight of hand over a wine goblet…an unaccompanied walk in the gardens…and a marriage is over almost before it began.”

Edmund reeled away, putting as much distance between himself and Rabadash as he could. The faster he moved, the less likely it was that his fist would become enthusiastically acquainted with the prince’s nose. 

Y/N.

He had to find her. 

Not caring what the prince thought, Edmund broke into a run. 

-

I stared out of my drawing room window at the Northern mountains as I had many times before. Except now, I knew with certainty I would pass through those mountains to see the beautiful country on the other side. 

Narnia. 

Nerves fluttered in my stomach, reminding me that I hadn’t been able to force down my breakfast this morning, nor my dinner last night. When night fell, I’d lain in bed, worrying about whether or not my dress would be completed in time. 

As I gently ran my fingers along the soft taffeta of my bodice, I knew I needn’t have worried, and yet I was quite sure I would’ve found something else to worry about, like forgetting the vows that my father had written for the ceremony. Memorizing them had rankled every part of me, but I was grateful enough to Edmund for convincing my father to let me say vows that I couldn’t complain. Not when I was about to leave this castle. The vows would be the last time my father spoke for me. 

I heard the latch of the drawing room door lift. “It’s not even ten o’clock yet, Rona,” I sighed. “We still have another half hour to wait at least.” There was no answer, but I was quite content to draw comfort from the mountain line in silence. I might never see them again from this side. 

“Princess.”

The familiar voice so dear to me had me turning in an instant.

My fiance hovered just inside the doorway, his chest rising and falling as if he’d been running. “Edmund? What are you doing here?” Even as I asked, I laughed a little at the idea of Lord Trane’s face if he were to know that Edmund had seen me in my wedding dress before the wedding.

Edmund looked at the dress, looking more and more like he’d swallowed a frog.

“Do I look very nice?” I asked mischievously, referencing our conversation in the gardens after the ball. But my teasing didn’t make Edmund relax or smile.

“Y-you look…I mean…it’s…” 

“Edmund?” I stepped forward, concerned about his shallow, rapid breathing. Something wasn’t right. 

“I’m sorry,” he blurted. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I know this isn’t what you wanted, but Rabadash is here–everyone is here, and they’re all gonna stare at us as we get married and they’ll be watching us for the rest of our lives–and your ring–a-and your father–”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Edmund!” He buried his face in his hands, and I ran to him, placing my hands on his elbows, trying to coax his hands away from his face, but his stance was rock-solid. “How can I make this better?” I asked, feeling so helpless. 

“I don’t know.” His muffled words were so stressed, it made me feel sick. 

I lifted my hands to his head, taking off his crown and setting it on my chessboard right next to me before soothingly brushing his hair back like Rona did once when I was sick. “It’s not too late,” I whispered. “We can still call off the wedding.”

“Absolutely not,” Edmund croaked, pulling his hands away from his face, allowing me to see the deep distress written there. “I won’t leave you vulnerable to Rabadash.” He looked off to the side. Three times he opened his mouth, and three times, I was greeted only by silence. 

My anxiety rose. “What is it?”

Edmund lifted his troubled eyes to mine. “I have uncovered Rabadash’s motives for pursuing you. His observations led him to discover my affection for you and…he believed if he possessed you as his wife, I would never allow war between Narnia and Calormen.” He paused, as if waiting for a reaction. “I’m the reason he was trying to marry you.”

Rabadash’s words from my confrontation with him came floating back. A look is all it takes to know when a man is in love. But Edmund’s panicked expression looked nothing like what I imagined love to look like. Combining his panic with the sudden epiphany he seemed to be having, I knew. “You talked with Rabadash.”

“I tried not to. I tried to walk away, but then he came after me, spouting nonsense about me backing out and how he would,” Edmund’s mouth contorted with repulsion, “comfort you in my absence, and he said that you knew his true motives and didn’t tell me.” 

My gaze fell to the floor, and distantly I realized Edmund was wearing new shoes. 

“You did know.” The disappointment in his voice ripped at me. “Y/N, why in the world wouldn’t you tell me?”

“I should have, especially before you proposed. I-I just didn’t want you to feel…responsible.”

Edmund raked his hands through his hair, making it stick up in comically asymmetrical directions. “But I am responsible. I’m the reason you were ever in danger of marrying him, my treatment and attention put you at risk, not to mention it’s my country he’s trying to overcome. That makes it my solemn duty to do whatever it takes to make sure you’re safe.” 

Duty.

“Edmund, I…” I didn’t know what to say. It was just like him to do the right thing at the expense of himself. “You didn’t want a marriage. You shouldn’t change that just for some perceived injustice.”

“On the contrary,” he replied, “protecting you is one of the only things that could persuade me to marry at all.” 

A fleeting warmth filled my chest, but it was quickly snuffed out by guilt. “We shouldn’t do this, I cannot ever repay the debt I would owe you if we married, not even–”

“Y/N,” Edmund interrupted. “You do not owe me any debt. If anything, I owe you–”

“No,” I insisted, “how could you possibly–”

Abruptly, we both stopped talking long enough to meet each other’s eyes before laughing. “This is not the future either of us imagined,” I ventured when our laughter stopped.

Edmund’s mirth faded to obvious unease. “Soon we’ll be standing in front of the world, publicly declaring our…”

Love.

“Fidelity.”

My lips twisted at the choice of words, but I couldn’t hold any grudge against Edmund for it. Not with what he was about to do for me. If only we could marry without the onlookers, without all the ceremony. To start a marriage with a performance isn’t something I ever hoped for or something that the sweet, honorous king in front of me deserved. 

Then, an idea started to take shape. 

I licked my lips nervously. “What if…we make our promises here?” 

Edmund blinked. “Huh?” 

I had to withhold a laugh. Whether it bubbled forth from his somewhat adorable confusion or from a bit of hysterics, it wouldn’t be helpful. “We make our true vows now, without anyone watching and without any pretenses.” I gazed at the door. “When we walk out there, we’re a king and a princess, but here, we’re…us. And when we’re talking about the rest of our lives, it’ll be us. Not Rabadash, not my father, not even Archenland and Narnia. Us.” 

I almost could feel the king’s mind racing as it molded itself into an understanding of my words. The suspicion of his expression didn’t lift, but I knew him well enough to know his suspicion often ran alongside his intrigue. “So what would we promise?”

“Ummm.” I wracked my brain, trying to think of the right thing to say. Should I promise loyalty? To bring honor and prosperity to his kingdom? To maintain a happy home for him? But then I looked at my friend, taking in his freckles and soulful brown eyes, and my frenzied thinking slowed. I didn’t want the flowery and unrealistic promises that my father had penned for us, and nor did he. The grand gestures were for the chapel, not this room. My eyes fell upon my beloved chessboard, and the words came to me. “I promise to keep beating you in chess.”

My flippancy was rewarded with a smile and a snort. “You can promise to try.”

Together, we giggled, and I felt my heart lighten enough for my next statement. “I promise to keep believing in you. Whatever plans you set your heart on, I will encourage you and never let you forget your strengths.”

“Or my weaknesses?” Edmund’s mouth curved into a wry smile. 

I smiled back at him. “Oh, we can let those slide.”

“Not entirely, I hope,” he hurried to say. “I wouldn’t want my head to grow too big for my crown.” 

“Your siblings are too similar to mine for them to ever allow that.” 

The room was silent for a moment as Edmund’s gaze locked on mine. “I promise to keep you safe. I will protect you from any threat, whether in the form of a contemptuous prince from Tashbaan or otherwise.”

I tilted my head at the unexpected energy behind his words. “You can promise to try,” I echoed. “But if something happens to me, you don’t get to punish yourself.” 

Edmund shook his head slowly, and I knew there was no way to budge the determination in his eyes. There was no doubt that he would defend me strenuously, though I wasn’t sure what threats possibly awaited me at Cair Paravel.

My turn again. 

With the guilt of withholding Rabadash’s motives from Edmund, I knew what to say next. “I promise to always tell you the truth. If or when you ask for my opinion, I promise to give it as I mean it.”

The change on Edmund’s face was subtle: the ever so slight widening of his eyes and the parting of his lips. I knew the wheels of his mind spun as he processed the words I’d just uttered. 

For a split second, I wavered. Was that the wrong thing to say? I was certain that my mother had never uttered such a promise to my father, and if she had, my father would’ve been insulted, perhaps even angered by such audacity.

Then the corners of Edmund’s mouth turned up, a breathy laugh escaping. “You are sensational, you know that?”

I chuckled, feeling simultaneously self-conscious and relieved. “I am not sure of that.”

“Then I promise to never let you forget. That is what spouses are to do, right?” Edmund took both my hands, his thumb fiddling with the silver signet ring resting on my pointer finger. “Hearten and inspire?”

“I guess so.” I kept my eyes lowered. “I vow to look the other way if you take a lover.”

Edmund sucked in a breath, jerking his hands away from me. “Don’t–”

“It needs to be said,” I whispered. Edmund shook his head violently from side to side, rejecting my promise as vigorously as he could without words.  “Edmund, I know you. Someday, there will be a woman, a very lucky woman, and you will love her with all of your heart. And I won’t stand in the way of that.”

“Y/N–”

“I mean it.”

“That’s not how it’s supposed to be.”

“Nothing about this is how it’s supposed to be.” Edmund’s face fell, and I bit down on the inside of my cheek. I’d insulted him, and I hadn’t meant to. “I don’t want this to be suffocating,” I said slowly. “I don’t want to be someone that holds you down, I want to be someone that lifts you up.”

Edmund finally looked at me, his posture more burdened than before. “I will look the other way too,” he said finally. I wanted to argue, to assure him I would not—could not be with any other man—but this was him fighting to give me something he’d always fought to give me. 

Equality. 

“Very well,” I conceded. 

“I promise to do what you ask of me,” Edmund said slowly. “If you make a request that is within my power, I shall grant it.” Such a promise shouldn’t be made lightly, and I knew by my friend’s face that he’d thought it through and meant every word. 

I picked up Edmund’s crown from my chessboard and smoothed his hair down. “You seem calmer.”

“I feel calmer.” Edmund bent down slightly to allow me a better vantage point to properly set his crown on his head. “Are you ready?”

“There’s…something else.” I took a steadying breath, letting my hands fall away from him. “Children.” Edmund immediately ducked his head, red sweeping across his cheeks. His face likely felt as hot as mine, but I plowed forward. “I know it’s uncomfortable, but if we’re going to go through with this, we must talk about it first.”

“Alright.” Edmund rolled his shoulders. “Children aren’t…necessary. I am only one of four monarchs. I do not have to…produce an heir.”

I chewed on that for a moment. “But are they…wanted?” I didn’t receive an answer. “I know you didn’t want a wife, so it’d be fair to assume you don’t want children either.”

Nervous hands adjusted the ruffles at his neck. “I haven’t desired children.” He looked up warily. “Do you want them?” I gnawed on my lip. Edmund didn’t want children, so was there any point in bringing up–

“Y/N,” Edmund said softly. “You promised me honesty if I asked for it.” 

I forcefully pushed my breath out of my mouth in a long sigh. “Yes. I want them. Not right away, but…eventually.”

Edmund bobbed his head nervously, nodding along to my sentiment. “Then…I promise we’ll figure out a way to make it happen.”

My knowledge was admittedly limited, but based on an awkward conversation I’d overheard between my brothers, I was pretty sure there was only one way to make children happen.

Edmund scratched his neck. “I, uh, I designed a ring for you, but it hasn’t arrived, so…we may have to use the signet ring again today.”

He designed it? My curiosity rose, though I was careful to remain reassuring. “That’s alright.” I flashed him what I hoped was a warm smile as I wiggled his signet ring off my pointer finger and dropped it into his palm. “I quite like–”

The bells rang, startling both of us. As they tolled, I felt the weight of every ring. The signal of the ending of our lives up to this point and the beginning of a new life neither one of us had expected. 

“We have to go,” I said, dizzied by the rushing return of my nerves. 

“Yes.” Edmund lifted his head, looking much calmer and nearly resolute. “There is more for us to decide upon, I know, but for now, we’ve made a good start.” He nodded to himself. “We will work everything out.”

The door burst open, and there stood Rona, breathing heavily. “There you are, my lady.” Then her eyes fell on Edmund. “Oh dear,” she said quietly. 

Edmund merely held a hand up to his lips and slid past her. 

She watched him go, her expression filling with dismay. “Bad luck, milady!” she exclaimed once he was gone.

I grinned. “The king and I are making our own luck today, Rona.” I gazed out at the mountains again. “And it’s already quite a serendipitous day.”

-

Rona ushered me in front of the closed chapel doors. “Your father will be waiting at the altar for you, so you will be walking by yourself. When the doors open, that’s your cue!” With that, she scurried off, perhaps to reach her seat before I started my procession. 

My first time inside the chapel’s tall, imposing walls was when I was christened as a baby, but the first time I could remember was the ceremony for my mother’s death. My father had warned me not to fuss, to stand straight, and ‘for heaven’s sake not to cry’. 

Since then, the chapel had proved to be the prime hideout to shed the tears and speak the words I wasn’t allowed to elsewhere. The stained glass windows, the pews, and the great, golden statue of the lion were all great listeners. But there would be no tears today and every spoken word had been chosen for me.

I looked down at my dress, at the long sleeves that hugged my arms and the flowing skirt that ended just before it met the floor, committing the moment in memory. 

The telltale creak of the doors as they opened made me look up, and I froze at the sheer number of people standing at the pews, staring back at me. Blinking at them, I tried counting, but there were too many faces. For every face I recognized, there were five I didn’t. There weren’t even seats for them all, some of the less fortunate having to stand beside the walls. Why had my father invited so many? 

A gradation of harp notes played a sweet tune, spurring me to step into the chapel. 

My father beamed at me from his place at the top of the dias at the end of the aisle, just in front of the statue of Aslan. Edmund waited for me at the foot of the three stairs, looking so regal and composed that I didn’t know whether to envy him or worry that my nerves and dread made us an unequal match. 

As I reached the halfway point, I finally noticed Edmund’s sisters sitting on the right side—the groom’s side—and my brothers sitting on the left. While Queen Lucy lifted a quick hand to her already teary eyes, my brothers’ eyes were sharp. Following their gaze, I noticed Prince Rabadash leaning against the wall beside Queen Susan’s pew. 

When he saw me looking, he inclined his head. 

I quickly averted my eyes, trying to push the Calormen prince out of my mind. He may have been the reason for this wedding, but he would not be the center of it. 

It felt like an eternity before I reached Edmund. “I forgot to say,” he whispered as I took his hand, “you do look very nice.”

Instantly more at ease, I grinned at him as I held up my skirts to step up on the dias. As we faced my father, the king, my smile softened. Weddings were special days for fathers and daughters. For all that led up to this moment, it would still be a special day. 

“I think some part of me always knew this day would come,” my father began, looking at me with something so similar to pride, it nearly made my throat close. “King Edmund and my daughter have always had such a special bond, it seems this day was inevitable.” He placed his hands over his heart, looking over at the man holding my hand. “But to call King Edmund my son-in-law is a privilege I feel unworthy of.”

My smile slipped, and I lowered my eyes, trying to get my feelings under control before the guests could notice. 

“Putting feelings aside, this day will go down in history as the day Narnia,” my father gestured towards Edmund, “and Archenland,” and then gestured to himself, “swear loyalty to each other for many years to come.”

I reached down to grab Edmund’s hand, only to find that it was already waiting for me. He held on tight enough to keep me steady as I stared at my father. Look at me, I pleaded. Look at your daughter as she’s getting married. 

But my father’s attention was wholly claimed by the crowd. The pride emanating from him was directed at them, proving that this wedding was not a celebration, but an opportunity for my father to show off. 

Raising my eyes, I noticed that at least the lion statue’s eyes seemed to look upon me. 

“Now the groom shall take the bride’s hands.” 

I stiffly turned to face Edmund, thankful for the anchor that was having his warm hands holding mine. 

“King Edmund, your vows,” my father prompted.

Edmund looked at me, and though his face was placid, I could sense his reluctance to recite whatever pompous and overdone words my father had chosen. 

"Today, in front of these witnesses, I, King Edmund of Narnia, take you, Princess Y/N of Archenland, as my wife.” Here Edmund paused, the small muscle above the right side of his top lip twitching. “I pledge to thee my unwavering love, my unfailing sword, and my undying service from this day forth. I will be thine companion, in great wealth or want, in much joy or sorrow, until death us do part." His voice rang out clearly, and my ears caught the sound of multiple sighs from the more sentimental guests. 

Apparently, they didn’t think my father’s expectations for ‘unfailing sword’ and ‘great wealth’ were as obvious as I did. Nor would they see the way my father’s nostrils flared for a moment as our eyes met. “Princess Y/N.” He glanced at the guests. “Your vows?”

In the resulting silence, I knew those sitting amongst the chapel pews were exercising much restraint in not immediately leaning into each other and whispering. 

I squared my shoulders, meeting Edmund’s eyes, which urged me to just spit out the vows and get it over with. We’d already made the vows that mattered. My words were just part of the show, not part of my marriage. 

“Today, in front of these witnesses, I, Princess Y/N of Archenland, take you, King Edmund of Narnia, as my husband.” I took a deep breath. “With…nothing else to give but my heart, I pledge to thee my unwavering faithfulness. As the great lion binds wisdom, so do I bind my life to thee, in love and honor, until the very last of my days.”

It was humiliating. Absolutely humiliating. 

My father’s vows focused on Edmund’s ‘unfailing sword’ and ‘great wealth’, yet I had ‘nothing else to give but my heart’? And why had my father written Edmund’s vows to end when death parted us, yet mine lasted until the end of my life? 

I blinked away frustrated tears. My friends—the windows, the pews, and the statue—were not the only observers today, and I would not have my father twist my bitterness into tears of joy for all those watching. Edmund squeezed my hand, and I knew from the same twitching above his lip that he regarded my father’s words with a distaste rivaling mine. 

“Now the groom will place his ring on the bride.” Edmund slid his old signet ring on my ring finger. It felt wrong on that finger, and not just because it was too large. “And the bride shall place her ring on the groom.” Again, I could feel the astonishment of all the guests, but Edmund held out his hand, smiling at me as I slid the plain silver ring onto his finger. The sight of it there was strangely gratifying. 

“Now, with the authority vested in me by the great lion, I now pronounce you, husband and wife!” My father clapped his hands. “King Edmund, you may kiss your bride!”

I stared dumbfounded at Edmund who stared back.

Kiss.

We hadn’t talked about the kiss.

I’d forgotten. 

How could I have forgotten?

A kiss was a staple in every wedding ceremony. 

My heart tumbled into a furious pace. I’d never kissed anyone before, and the fears started flooding in. Did people’s noses bump together when they kissed? Could you taste what someone ate for breakfast? Was it possible to run out of air? Would it hurt?

No. No, this was Edmund. It couldn’t hurt…could it?

-

Edmund had no clue what to do. He’d kissed a girl back in England, but not since he’d come to Narnia. Centaurs and fauns weren’t his type. And now he had to kiss his closest and dearest friend in front of a crowd? 

He wanted this—the mark of the beginning of the rest of their lives—to be good for Y/N. Or at least not horrible. Oh Aslan, what if it was horrible? What if their marriage had a horrible start? And what if she never wanted to kiss him again? 

A quick kiss. A momentary kiss. A barely-there kiss. Something so respectful that it could barely count as a kiss. Yes, that was the way to go.

With a gulp, Edmund leaned forward. He was perhaps two moments away from touching his lips to hers when he remembered: Rabadash was somewhere in this chapel. A man who could use anything as evidence and even more as motivation.

This was another chance, just like in the garden, to show that Y/N wasn’t and would never be Rabadash’s. 

Maybe Y/N would hate him for it. But maybe she would be safer. And maybe that chance was worth it. 

Edmund’s hands found Y/N’s neck, his thumbs gently tilting her chin up as he tipped his head to the side. The intent was only for the ease of reaching her lips, of guiding her to him, but then he glimpsed a flash of her scar, bringing him straight back to the drawing room and the gardens and every other time he’d been this close to kissing her. And now he was actually doing it. His mind went blank just before his lips met heaven. 

-

The brush of our lips was tentative. I hoped with every fiber of my being that Edmund couldn’t feel my shaking, nor the great grip I had on his doublet. 

Oh, I thought as Edmund pulled away. So our noses don’t collide. 

Then he pressed his lips to mine more firmly. My anxiety skyrocketed as the guests cheered, making my limbs lock tight. Was this what it was supposed to feel like? It didn’t feel like I’d expected it to feel like. Was this a dream? Was I about to wake up and find out this whole thing had been a dream?

His grip on my face tightened ever so slightly, a great tingling starting in my stomach as my heart raced. My face and neck were so warm, I was worried they might burn Edmund’s hands, certainly his thumbs as he brushed them along my jaw. Then as his lips pulled away and returned a third time, one of his hands left my neck to cradle my back, pulling me in tighter as the skin of my back beneath his hand smoldered.

This time, when Edmund pulled back, I leaned forward, winding my arms around his neck as I relaxed into his touch, the racing thoughts slipping away. Was I floating?

-

Edmund pulled away, cursing his own weakness in such an important moment. That was not a barely-there kiss, and if Edmund wasn’t already married to Y/N, he’d certainly have to wed her after a kiss like that. 

The raucous, ear-splitting cheering of the guests meant nothing to him as he anxiously searched Y/N’s face.

Her eyes were still shut. Why were they still shut? Had he hurt her? Or made her uncomfortable? The idea of doing either made Edmund shake inside. 

But when her eyes fluttered open, she gave a small giggle, almost too quiet for him to hear amongst the noise of the guests. The tension drained away from his body as he stared at her with overpowering relief that weakened his knees.

They’d done it, they’d made it through the ceremony. 

“Everyone is invited to a wedding feast in the Great Hall!” Y/N’s father proclaimed to the crowd, who cheered louder in response, who started filing out. King Loon hastened to walk around the couple, diving into the crowd, likely to try and find the influential guests before they sat down to eat. 

“You alright?” Edmund said quietly. 

“Yeah,” Y/N said, a bit breathlessly. “Are you?”

Edmund looked down at his friend…his wife and swallowed hard. “Yeah.”

-

Hopefully the kiss wasn't cringy, lol. Here's Part 8!

Overall tag list:

@thelastpyle @valiantlytransparentwhispers

White Moves First tag list:

@thelifeofsecretpenguins @read-just-cant @chesh-ire-cat @emotionallyattachedteen @cassini-among-the-stars @uncontainedsmiles @mastermasterlist1p1 @goldfishinpainttubes @silverowl102 @daisyslife

[absoluteocellibehavior]

Ocelli’s TMAlev Masterpost

Buckle in, dolls, it’s about to be a long one. Two disclaimers before we hop into this! If you have not read my Multi-Avatar System, the Eye’s Great Chain of Being, and Spiders for the Web Avatars, pause your reading of this and read those first! Those will be referenced heavily and are crucial to your understanding of how the boys function in this particular AU. Additionally, if you are not finished with TMA or through Intermezzo in Malevolent, this will be EXTREMELY SPOILER HEAVY for you. Proceed with caution <3 Arthur Lester 

Avatar Alignment: The Eye – Complete/Infinite/Record AKA a “Triple” – THE AMBASSADOR Marked: By literally all of them, have you listened to the podcast?? /j Explanation: Ok, ok. I have gone round and round with people about the whole ‘Eye’ thing in relation to Arthur in the past but lemme just reiterate again here. The thing that cut Melanie off from The Eye in TMA was the complete destruction of her eyes. They were entirely gouged out. Arthur’s eyes are still entirely functional, but he is prevented from seeing due to John’s interference. Therefore, Arthur is still fully capable of falling to The Eye and I believe he does. I’ve seen a lot of Dark!Arthur due to the fact that he’s blind and it’s definitely a really cool take! I just don’t see him necessarily feeding in the way that the Dark reads. Now! Could there be an argument made for Cooperative Eye/Dark!Arthur flavored in the way of trying to find pull answers from things in “the dark”? Hidden discoveries and information that doesn’t want to be pulled from? Absolutely. Additionally, I do also really like Web!Arthur. I feel like that fits him as well with the amount of subtle manipulation that he does; however, I flavor this more as John’s influences on Arthur which bleed into how Arthur’s Eye feeding functions (and vice versa).  So, how exactly does Arthur’s Eye things work? First and foremost, I believe that when Arthur falls to The Eye, his ability to compel skyrockets. There are a lot of little moments peppered throughout the podcast but especially in season four where Arthur has these really compulsion flavored moments that have a sort of Web twist to them from John. Secondly, Arthur now has the ability to see through other people’s eyes in the absence of John from his mind (yes, John has his own body in this). Arthur is still blind himself but is able to see through others’ eyes if they are within his sightline, temporarily imposing his blindness on them while he navigates in a third person view. Oh, how the tables turn!  Lastly, Arthur is seated at one of the top links of the chain as THE AMBASSADOR settled below THE ARCHIVIST (Jonathan Sims) and above THE BROADCAST (Cecil Gershwin Palmer). Why the title? Well, he’s the Eye’s little representative from another universe! The main one at least and is marked by enough to hold special status. Additionally, Arthur’s placement on the chain means that he is graced with a Pupil, a low level Eye avatar that holds its avatarhood mainly for servitude. Arthur is a special little guy and gets TWO! Who are those two, you might ask? No other than Noel and Oscar. I’ll get into their specifics under their names but their fall to The Eye was entirely Arthur’s fault and was their fall to The Web being entirely John’s fault. I don’t have the specifics of this yet but the two are now bonded to Arthur and John for better or for worse. Arthur is able to tap into the sight of one of each of their eyes at any time, no matter the distance (two Pupils for two different eyes? Eh? EH? I think I’m clever sometimes-). This also means that Arthur can tap into the benefits when either one of them are feeding using The Eye and he can also help them do so as well. 

John Doe  Avatar Alignment: The Web  Marked: The Spiral + The End (KiY), The Dark + The Vast (The Dark World), The Eye (Arthur)  Explanation: I think it’s generally agreed upon that John is Web. However, if you see other relations with John, please send them! I love seeing different interpretations! John’s relation to the Web is fairly self-explanatory in the context of Malevolent. He is slowly taking over parts of his host’s body as well as being his guide throughout… well, everything. He quite literally controls Arthur’s sight. However, I think it’s important to add that John seems to fear the loss of control in return. Generally, just think back to season four and his anger (out of fear) of feeling like a passenger while Arthur got help from outside sources. John is incredibly manipulative, and his lies and string pulling are clear in his nudges to get Arthur to the Grey Stone. On the brighter side of things, John Doe is also resistive towards a “fate” so to speak. His separation from the King in Yellow had led him to becoming more human, so much so that The King couldn’t get him to fit back anymore. Generally, Web Avatars don’t have others that are tied to them like Eye Avatars do but John is a bit of special case. Like Arthur, Noel and Oscar are bound to John through their falls to The Web being entirely John’s fault. I need to think out what this bond to John specifically does (like stated above for Arthur) but for now know that John has those two under his umbrella as well.  Let’s talk about some marks now! The most obvious of these the The Eye through his ties to Arthur. I do think that Arthur’s Eye alignment has also influenced the way that John connects to The Web. This is certainly clear in how John uses it while still inside Arthur. Admittedly, I need to do a bit more work on my end about how he feeds in his own body. John also is marked by The Spiral and The End from the King in Yellow! Why? Well, the Spiral is all about madness and not being able to trust your own mind and thoughts. That is exactly what the King in Yellow does! The End may not be as clear at least in Malevolent. However, there is a lovely video by the Tale Foundry that talks about The King in Yellow as a metaphorical corpse of god and heaven which I just had to include in one form or another. John is also marked by The End in part of the Dark World as is where all of the dead things from other worlds are discarded. John is also marked by the Dark and the Vast by the Dark World. The Dark is due to…well…I mean it’s in the name- The Vast is due to the fact that if this Dark World contains the dead and forgotten things from other worlds or possibly dead worlds themselves, then the plane has got to be massive. Most likely further than the eye can see.

Father Oscar Pilon-Garcia 

Avatar Alignment: Dominant- The Corruption, Co-Passive- The Web/The Eye - Pupil – THE SAINT 

Marked: The Slaughter (Father McKenna) 

Explanation: Oh, Oscar… let’s get into it. Firstly, why is Oscar’s dominant fear The Corruption? It would have been the only fear that he fell to if it weren’t for Arthur and John <3. Why? I will direct your attention to Part 37 “The Farm” in which Oscar is 100% most assuredly about to be taken over by some parasitic worm if his arm wasn’t severed. This gets pulled on heavily by the other Fears when Oscar feeds, but we’ll get into that in a sec. 

I’ve established before that Oscar’s fall to The Eye and The Web were the fault of Arthur and John. He was NOT supposed to originally fall to those Fears, if any. But he did as his fall was able to pull on just enough inclination in those areas. Oscar is intelligent! We’ve seen this in how he deduced McKenna’s true intentions when he was younger and his investigative assistance to Arthur and John during everything with Scratch. So, there are some Eye inclinations to be pulled on. Now, Oscar is also fairly Web flavored. In general, we’ve seen that The Web loves to prey on religion and I think she has a particular drive towards priests(*motions to Father Edwin Burroughs in TMA* *motions to Father John Ward in Faith: The Unholy Trinity*). We’ll discuss the positives of this first. Like John, Oscar really had a particular fate weighed out for him that he rejected. He was 100% set up to be the violent, unwanted child to turn away from faith the moment he got out of the orphanage and on his own. However, he didn’t. He wasn’t adopted (I suppose due to the violence?) but went through process of holy orders and ordination in order to do his small part in balancing out the evil people that plague the magisterium and to specifically help others through service. Now, to the bad. Oscar truly, truly felt as though his calling and his purpose was Arthur. He gave up everything for Arthur. Finally, it felt like he could see the pieces fall into place as though all of the everything he went through had a direction. He was strung along and then that string was cut. Very abruptly with very little explanation. He doesn’t know the context for that abandonment but what he does know is the fact that he finally felt like his life meant something substantial and that was discarded. He was used. A pawn. A puppet. (Are we crying yet?).

I debated on a few options for Oscar’s title before settling on THE SAINT as it separates it enough from the titles of Priest or Father but brings in a comparison of Saints supposed to being these “exemplars of godliness” and the Fears manipulating Oscar’s ways of being a faithful servant to the people into feeding opportunities.

Speaking of which, how does Oscar feed with all this mess? Firstly, Oscar absolutely abhors feeding. This poor babe will attempt to starve himself in order to spare someone else the trouble. But he must somehow. Now, as a Catholic, I think the idea of Confessional Booth feeding is quite appealing in this case. It’s truly perfect for him. This Sacrament is supposed to be entirely confidential: just between the confessor, the priest, and God. And the Fears entirely twist it. The Eye pries into a person’s worst acts, The Web manipulates what is normally safe situation and a person’s trust in this church authority, and The Corruption worms its way into the situation in the form of the religious ideology of Sin being a stain, a plague on the divine human soul. Oh HO! It’s awful. I love it.

Charlie Dowd Noel Finley 

Avatar Alignment: Tri-Cooperative – The Spiral/The Web/The Eye – Pupil – THE INVESTIGATOR 

Marked: The Buried (Prison Pits) 

Explanation: I have seen SO many takes for Noel’s avatarship and they are so interesting!! Stranger!Noel, Vast!Noel, Dark!Noel! All very interesting options that I can see exactly where everyone gets these from. So, why the three I settled on? 

(Y’all are going to throw me to the dogs for this) 

Generally, when you see a tri-avatar, your automatic assumption is that they’re going to be a relatively high powered one due to their multiple associations. This is the exact opposite case with Noel. His three Fears are fully cooperative due to the fact that they represent his ties to three other Avatars- Arthur, John… and the King in Yellow. Noel has the sort of opposite case than Oscar did that he is very Eye inclined but much less inclined towards the Web. If you take a look at Noel’s previous occupations (i.e police, private eye, detective, and back to private eye in this au’s case) they are VERY Eye heavy. The Web mostly comes out in the trickery that we see Noel pulling off especially in the cases of his expedition in Egypt and his taking on of his best friend’s persona in order to protect himself. The Spiral is quite fun to play around with when it comes to Noel, though. Clearly, this man has gone through enough madness and mind games when it comes to the King in Yellow trying to pull information out of him about the whereabouts of John’s book. He quite literally cannot trust his own mind during his entire time in the Dreamlands. Then you have this odd dynamic after he gets out of the Dreamlands. He takes on not just the “name” of his best friend but specifically the “persona” of his best friend. Why is this distinction important? We assume that, on the surface, the King in Yellow was impersonating Charlie when he was “Adam Fry” in Part 5 “The Gift”. However, Charlie states that he is familiar with Adam Fry because he used “his best friend’s voice” in doing so. So, Adam Fry continues to be an impersonation of Noel, it’s just that, you guessed it, Charlie is also impersonating Noel. However, it’s become so ingrained in his personality over his time the Dreamlands and his two years in New York that he can’t separate the impersonation from his own personality. That’s why we don’t see him drop it at all, not even slightly, in front of Arthur and John. So, not only do you have Noel losing bits of his sanity in the Dreamlands, but you also have him losing a sense of himself outside of the Dreamlands in which he and his best friend’s personality become melded together.

As for marks, I knew that he would have an additional mark from the Prison Pits themselves aside from the overall Spiral. It’s difficult to put a specific fear to it when I don’t have detailed referenced, but I do believe the confinement of it all, the small cells, and the earthy aesthetic to them lends itself to The Buried. 

Why the title of THE INVESTIGATOR. I’m sure you may be thinking, “Um, Ocelli. It’s ‘Detective’ Noel. It should be Detective” and I hear you. However, remember we have now placed the boys in the TMA universe in which I do wholeheartedly believe in the “Basira would’ve been an Eye Avatar if things went slightly differently.” Elias consistently calls her “Detective” and Eye Avatars generally call others by their title if formalities haven’t been dropped. So, unfortunately, that title is taken! Additionally, I think that Investigator covers more of Noel’s jobs as well! Just be grateful that I didn’t go with the titles of Prisoner or Captive that were rolling around for a bit in the mind. 

I need to flesh out a bit more of Noel’s feeding specifically, but I’ll give you the small ideas I do have! Noel’s feeding is very interrogation based. I imagine this fully enclosed room that he visually imposes on the other person. It’s just a very dark concrete room, a table, two chairs, and a swinging overhead lamp. It’s entirely in black and white like a film noir except for Noel’s two piercing glowing yellow eyes fixated directly on the person. He asks all of the questions that the other person desperately does not want to answer all while this swinging lamp passes over the table before swinging away and basking the two in darkness once more. Now, while Noel uses the Eye and the Web to feed himself, the Spiral continues to feed off Noel himself, pulling on his identity crisis and sending him into these sleepwalking visions of the Dreamlands. It twists his relationship with them, making him think that that’s where he belongs. And as a fun little treat, it messes with his language as well. In these Spiral induced states, Noel can only speak in Carcosan (is that a thing? It probably isn’t but it is now!) meaning that generally John is the only one that can get Noel back to his senses.

Dennis “The Butcher” Collins 

Avatar Alignment: Cooperative-The Hunt/The Slaughter  

Marked: N/A

Explanation: Yep, the Butcher is in this too because I love he <3 and this is me and my friend’s self-indulgent “they live” au! The fact that we felled them to horrible fears in the process is entirely beside the point. I feel like the Butcher is the most obvious of these when it comes to fear choices. Like John, I don’t think there’s much debate on which ones he could be. Throughout the majority of season four, he quite literally uses like calling hunting a “devotion” and the love that he has for it. Additionally, Dennis seems to enjoy not only the hunting aspect of it but the killing as well. He likes the blood. He likes the gore. He is a renown serial killer due to this. Also the clear music themes associated with The Slaughter in TMA are also present with Dennis singing as he kills and the constant song playing in his mind. This is also why I think he is a fully cooperative dual avatar because the Hunt and the Slaughter are both fully used each time that he feeds. As for feeding, I don’t think he changes much! I’m sorry his is so short but ah… yeah, that’s all I have-

Nyarlathotep Kayne 

Avatar Alignment: Dominant- Slaughter, Tri-Passive- The Web/The Eye/The Spiral – THE ENTROPY KAYNE :] 

Marked: N/A

Explanation: Kayne, Kayne, Kayne… Kayne is so fun to play around with. Oh my gosh. He messes with literally everything. Let’s get into it. Kayne’s dominant fear as the Slaughter is VERY clear. This man is covered in blood constantly, he killed every other version of himself, he kills other people in extremely gruesome ways and relishes in every bit of it. So, yes, Slaughter is dominant here and was the fear used to pick up the rest of the ones he has. Kayne is also very Web. He is playing chess while everyone is playing checkers. He knows exactly know to nudge his little pawns into place to get them exactly where he needs them. A master manipulator in all forms. He killed all versions of himself in order to be able to “play all the keys.” I think Kayne also has his Eye moments. Due to the fact that he can dance across the keys of the different universes, he has a lot of information. He knows what to tease out of people to get them do what he needs to. I also think this is why his inability to see the Black Stone grates against him so much. Because he needs it but he CAN’T see it. He can see all of this other stuff but not this one. thing. he. needs. Oh! How frustrating!! Kayne is also Spiral. He’s not dominantly Spiral but just listen to him, come on. Spiral drips off of his entire everything. With the amount of mental strife he’s caused to so many people and his love of chaos, Spiral is definitely there as well. 

Due to the fact that Kayne is a preexisting Great Old One and a really powerful one at that, he is able to manipulate a lot of the systems the Fears have set in place for his own gain. The most egregious one is his manipulation of The Eye’s chain. Firstly, he’s gouged his title out, figuratively, to simply be his own name. No one else gets to name him, thank you <3. It’s HIS job to pass out the nicknames! Silly Eye… Additionally, with just how high Kayne is on the chain, he also gets a Pupil. Who’s his Pupil? Well, no other than our precious little English rose, Artie! “But! Ocelli! You said that Arthur is Triple! He’s high up there! He even has his own Pupils! How in the world is he a Pupil?” See, the silly thing about Kayne is that he’s forming a chain of his own using The Eye’s Great Chain of Being to bond Arthur to himself, and thus also bonding Arthur’s Pupils to himself as well. Didya notice that the Fears that Kayne is tied to is also the Fears that the other boys are too? That isn’t a mistake <3. As a fun little added bonus, Kayne also totally changed what spiders were tied to John and Arthur from The Web to the Sparklemuffin and Bunny Harvestman respectively. I highly recommend looking at pictures of those. They’re wonderful.

Thanking you for giving me your time to read this! I hope you enjoyed it! Please feel free to send in asks about it! This has been bouncing around in my mind since I began listening to Malevolent at the beginning of this year and I’m so happy to finally be able to share it with you <3 

[corpsebasil]

Shapeshifter Part 2

Part 1

Y/N, as it turned out, had more energy than almost all of Nikolai’s crew. Mal batted her away when she transformed into a cat, leaping onto his back as he walked across the ship towards the rail of it. Nikolai watched in amusement, allowing her to perch on his shoulder when another quick flash turned her into a small, white and grey hawk. She pecked him lightly on the side of his head before settling in, already having had decided that the prince was her favorite person on this ship.

“We should discuss the plan,” Mal said, eyeing the hawk in annoyance. She’d been terrorizing him all day, first as a rat sitting on his chest when he woke up, causing him to fall out of his hammock in shock, then as a snake that wound around his neck while he was trying to eat breakfast.

Everyone else seemed to find it infinitely funny, Y/N most of all, but Nikolai had been hoping to see her real face at some point that day. He couldn’t stop thinking about her last night—could hardly sleep as his mind drifted back to that white wolf form of hers and her strange power.

“When we sail in, we’ll take a group and attack together. Alina should be the one to kill it, but if it’s too vicious, it might not matter who ends the creatures life.” Nikolai said, pointing out at the eerie looking island in the distance. Was it his imagination, or did the hawk on his shoulder seem to burrow closer into his neck? “I hope you like fancy weapons, tracker friend.”

“What about her?” Mal asked, gesturing to Y/N. She snapped her beak at his outstretched fingers with a sassy click. “There’s got to be a way for her to help.”

“I’m not going to risk her life unless she offers it.” Nikolai argued, giving the shifter a glance. Mal mumbled something incoherent and strode away, headed to Tolya and Tamar to discuss the plan. Nikolai’s voice softened when he spoke, his eyes pinned on the distant island. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. This is going to be dangerous, and I’d rather not have the last shifter in the world die on my watch.”

The hawk seemed to ponder his words and then flew off, ducking inside the door of his office. When she emerged, sipping a glass of water with his shirt back on, she walked over to him barefoot, already staring out at the horizon as well.

“I might not be the last one.” She offered, tilting her pretty head at him. “But I’m definitely not letting you go alone.”

“You’d be safer here.”

“I can protect you, princeling.”

He rolled his eyes but smirked, glancing away from her. When he spoke again his tone was serious, tension crossing his shoulders.

“Hell of a way to die, though.” He said, casting her a sidelong glance. “A sea whip. Saints save us.”

“What does it look like?” She asked, and he tugged a sketching of the monster out of his jacket. When she saw it, her face paled. It looked like…and those teeth.. “No.” She scoffed. “You’re not going to fight that thing.”

“And why not?”

“Risking my chances of marrying a pirate prince? Very selfish of you.”

Nikolai grinned when she knocked her shoulder against his, her smile purely feline. But his expression sobered, and he gave her a questioning look.

“You’re coming with us, then?”

“No.” She said simply, her expression suddenly grave, and cast a look over to Alina and Mal. They had been her only companions for the past few days, and though she enjoyed annoying the hell out of them, they were also the only friends that understood what having power was like, what being feared was like, that she’d had in a while. “I’m not going with you. Because you aren’t going.”

The prince had all of five seconds to register her words before the girl hoisted herself over the rail and dropped into the ocean, disappearing completely under the waves. Nikolai shouted as Mal and his crewmates sprinted over, gasping in shock at the shifter that had just leaped over the side of the boat.

“Where the hell is she going?” Mal demanded, glaring at Nikolai like it was his fault. “I thought she was scouting not—”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence.

Not when a beast, so similar to the sea-whip and just as terrifying, flew out of the water and arced over the ship. Nikolai gaped up at it, it’s gigantic, menacing size, before it crashed down into the sea on the opposite side, spraying them with saltwater.

“Saints,” Alina gasped, watching as the beast’s body rippled just under the surface, swimming at a rapid clip towards the sea-whip’s caves. “She’s going to get herself killed. She’s been shifting all morning.”

“Can this ship move any faster?” Mal demanded, face paling, and Nikolai nodded mutely before rushing towards the wheel.

***

It took them five minutes to reach the entrance to the caves. Five minutes. And waiting there, on the beach, was…was…

“Y/N!” Mal shouted, tossing himself off the side of the ship and swimming towards her. Nikolai cursed to high heavens before he followed, Toyla complaining behind him that no one exited the ship in the civilized way, before going after his captain.

A monster lay on the beach. Huge, daunting, teeth gleaming in the sunlight. It was dead, huge bite marks gouged into its neck, and Nikolai shuddered as they approached.

“Where’s Y/N?” He searched around, the shifter no where in sight, when Alina suddenly shrieked. Nikolai jolted forward, running to the Sun Summoner’s side, then froze, ice filling his veins at the sight before him.

Y/N lay unconscious on the ground, every inch of her body exposed, with a deadly looking wound on her left leg. From thigh to knee the flesh was ripped, teeth marks marring her flawless skin. Blood pumped horrifically fast from the wound and all Nikolai could do was stare, gaping, down at the shifter who had risked her life for his entire crew.

She had killed it, had done the task for them, but it may very well have dragged her right after it into the underworld.

“Fucking move.” Mal cursed, knocking the prince out of the way. He tugged his shirt off and wrapped it as tight as he could around the injury, only for blood to soak the fabric in a mere second. Then he bundled her up in his coat and lifted her, holding the girl tight against his chest as he moved back towards the ship.

And Nikolai only gaped after them, his head reeling, the tang of blood in the air hot and heavy in his nose.

***

Y/N woke up from the worst nightmare of her life, only to enter a worse one when she opened her eyes.

She’d never been in so much agony. Had never shifted into something so big before; she had never been so reckless. And for strangers.

Truthfully, she was tired of a meaningless existence. Of stealing scraps of food from strangers, of being on the run, of spying or sneaking around or working for criminals that took advantage of her gifts. She wanted to mean something, so she wanted to protect her new friends.

And she wondered briefly if she might have actually died and this was what hell was like.

“Y/N.” A male voice said, groggy with sleep, and she tried to sit up. But a gasp of pain make her vision blur; fire seemed to burn down every inch of her skin, and her leg—she was terrified to look. “Hold on, just—just hold on.”

It was Nikolai, and a moment later, after some shuffling, she felt a prick of pain in her leg that made her cry out. She smacked at him, damn the agony the movement caused, but after a couple of heartbeats a sense of calm washed over her and the pain eased.

She groaned and laid back again, closing her eyes to welcome the bliss of a break from the torture. Nikolai moved close and scanned her face, setting down the injection he’d given her on his side-table. Sunlight leaked in through the windows of his bedroom. How long had it been?

“Do you need help sitting up?” He offered, and she nodded, allowing him to put an arm around her and prop her up on the pillows. She was shivering, damp with sweat, and she knew she had a fever. “You’ve been out for three days.” He said, his voice quiet and tight, and she gave him an incredulous look.

“How did—” she took in his face, his handsome features warped with pain and fear. “You saved me.”

“You saved us.” His laugh was unamused, and he reached out, resting the back of his hand against her forehead before he filled her water glass. “Why the hell would you do that? You don’t owe us anything.”

She remembered the sea-whip, the way it had roared in challenge. But she had overestimated it’s size, and overpowered the smaller monster easily when she’d tried to replicate the drawing he’d shown her. She snapped it’s neck, but not before it sank it’s rotten teeth into her thigh and almost tore her leg off.

She remembered the agony, the way that she barely made it two steps before she shifted back into her human form, and blacked out.

“I told you,” she laughed softly, taking a sip of water. “I like pirate princes.”

The expression on his face and the heat in his eyes told her he wanted to kiss the hell out of her, but his eyes moved down and he flinched at the sight of her leg. She looked down too, and nearly fainted. Her leg was covered in stitches, large gauge marks that had stayed when she’d shifted back sewn together, her flesh marred and ugly. The bleeding had stopped, but the bruising…the sight of the black thread in her skin…

She barely stifled a sob with her hand before she looked away, trying to focus on anything—anything but the ugly wound that she knew would scar. For the rest of her life, that marred flesh would transfer to any form she shifted to, marking her skin with the proof of her fight with the sea-whip. She was lucky they hadn’t amputated the limb, but she was vain, and was mortified that the prince beside her had seen her in such a destroyed state.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N.” He told her, reaching out to grip her hand. “I owe you my life. I owe you a debt I can never repay.”

She wiped her eyes with her free hand and looked at him, at the prince who she’d sacrificed her life for. He truly was gloriously handsome. And he was kind, she noticed, and he’d done his best to take care of her.

“Just keep the pain-killers and broth coming, prince, and we’re even.”

The relieved smile that crossed his face that she was even able to be playful right now warmed her chest. He stood, moving to grant her request and scrounge up some broth for her, when she called out to him, stopping him at the door.

“And Nikolai?” She asked, voice sweet. He glanced over, raising a brow. “What Im healed, you owe me a date.”

His grin was stunning, and she laughed when he shook his head at her, amused.

“I’ll do more than go on a date with you, sweetheart.” He teased, giving her a searing up down. “I can teach you everything I learned to do to women in the five years since you last saw me.” When her face reddened, he added, “that’s a promise.”

Then he left, and she tucked the blankets under her chin, knowing there was no way in hell she was letting that pirate prince go.

[rosakuma]

Predictions on What Might Happen in Drdt ch.3 Part 1

So with the emotional roller coaster of ch.2 finished, I figured it would be nice theorizing what could happen next chapter based off the current information we know and some predictions/theories I’ve either seen around or have. Share any thoughts about the theories/prediction or your own down below the comments or reblogs! This will be multiple parts due to the word limit, so let's get started!

For starters, lets go over who’s currently alive:

Teruko

Charles

Whit

Eden

J

Arturo

Veronika

Hu

Nico

Levi(Possible if Arturo can save his life)

David

Rose

As for gender ratio we have 6 girls, 1 enby, and 5 guys remaining(unless Levi dies, then only 4).

So with that being said, that means most likely to balance out the gender ratio between the guys and girls(excluding Nico our beloved furry enby), we would have to have 2 girls die and 1 guy die. Leaving only 4 girls, 4 guys, and 1 enby left. That is if Drdt follows the three people dying during chapter 3 formula(to which this post will pretend it will).

Now who would our victims and culprit be? We’ll get back to that later. For now lets move onto the current mental states and situations our cast is in and how that will reflect on their development/survival chances?

Teruko: As we seen in the last ep of ch.2, Teruko…..is not doing great. Now Teruko has definitely gotten a lot of great development in the sense of potentially starting to trust others again as we seen in the trial. But there’s also the factor that Teruko is suffering from the deaths of her classmates in secret due to thinking she’s to fault for their deaths because of her luck. Seeing Ace died affected Teruko badly because she was just like him in trying to push others away to be safe and not hurt(Ace being basically a dark reflection of Teruko this chapter). Along with seeing herself no different from him or Arei in being a bad person. This could definitely affect Teruko in her current relationships(Charles, Eden, Rose, Whit, and possibly Levi now), but I still think there’s a spark of hope that Teruko will allow herself to at least work with others or hang out a bit more with people at a distance. I conclude that Teruko Tawaki will start working with others again while suffering from guilt both survivors guilt and guilt of almost having Levi killed because she broke a rule via asking Ace to kill MonoTv.

Charles: Now last we seen of our beloved tsundere chemist was him going back to a state of shock from seeing Levi bloody and barely alive. To which after Charles recovers from it and Levi is taken care of, here’s what I think will happen to him. I believe we’ll see Charles starting to work more with others who are willing now that we see that Charles accepts friendship from others thanks to Whit(and kinda Teruko in ch.1). Along with his friends, he is definitely gonna be so worried and upset at Teruko for almost dying. Yeah she didn't get shot and instead Levi did, but still Charles was concern for her regardless if her luck would prevent her from dying. Another thing I saw brought up from a few posts is Charles starting to become more independent while still dependant on others. What I exactly mean is I think Charles will prevent others like Whit from trying to protect him as he does not want to be pitied and with him being sheltered by his parents, this increases his desire to do and face things on his own. This might cause complications in his friendship with Whit since Whit seems to be really protective of Charles to cover his eyes when death/blood happens or giving him an alibi in the trial. But who knows?(although I can see them targeting Charwhit as they had it good for too long and how every other yaoi/Yuri ship has been doomed). Also we might get more Charles and Elliot lore next chapter, I'm feeling it.

Whit: So Whit……its kinda hard predicting what will happen to Whit exactly since the dude doesn't let the current situation bother him(the secrets being all revealed, Levi almost dying, Ace dying, etc). Only concern he has is with Charles and like I said for Charles, maybe we might have CharWhit drama, its hard telling. But I will say that I believe Whit is probably going become more suspicious since we seen that one sprite in ep16. Like seriously WTF WAS THAT WHIT!? Like no joke if this keeps up, he is definitely the mastermind or at least traitor. I got my eyes on you Whit Young (≖_≖ ) . Oh and I do have a theory of what role Whit can play in ch.3 I’ll go more into another section.

Eden: Oh sweet Eden, you deserve so much 😭 Okay so definitely Eden is going to be in mourning over Arei and I feel like with now both Ace dead and Levi almost dying, she’s probably at her mental limit. Like I don't believe she’ll end up like Teruko in the beginning of ch.2, but I don't think Eden will be able to be the good support system for everyone with what she’s going through rn. Like Teruko and Xander with his family, Eden is going through survivor guilt over Arei, Min, and possibly Ace? We seen how Eden thinks Min’s death is her fault with the baking activity and think its the same with Arei during the trial. Along with Ace, Eden did state that while she doesn't forgive him for killing Arei, she feels bad for him and this happening. Like Eden said, this all could’ve been prevented. Eden probably blames herself in not checking up on Ace, trying to befriend Arei that lead to her trying to protect her, or not being able to help diffuse the fighting at the cafeteria as well since that lead up to David making everyone reveal their secrets to each other. I think it will take some time and emotional support hopefully from Teruko and anyone else kind to support her for Eden to be able to bounce back from this one.

J: Honestly I don't have a lot to say about J rn. Her main concern is on Levi, but if I was going to guess what might happen to her or be explored with her for chapter 3. We’ll probably get more lore on her family and perhaps why J seems more anti-murder than everyone else. Along with this, she’ll probably snap and get Arturo hopefully off her back for good if he still tries to stalk/bother her. Otherwise hopefully she’ll just be vibin.

Arturo: Oh Arturo, you are definitely being set up for some character development. With Arturo’s secret being revealed about his sister, his involvement with Eden and Arei, and along with having Levi’s life in his hands. He is going to be going through the wringer I tell you. To start off, if Levi lives, I think that will be a bit of hope and maybe redemption in himself in Arturo’s eyes as I feel like his dialogue to Ace in ep16 might hint he feels like he can’t save anyone since he couldn't save his sister from dying(via killing herself). If Levi dies, that is going to start a downspiral for him as he is going to believe he failed to save someone again and now has two deaths on his hands. Going into his sister and involvement with Eden, I think this is going to cause some discourse with others. Specifically J and Hu. J because she already thinks low of him because of his treatment towards her and the fact she believes he is actually responsible for Felicity’s death(although you could argue that maybe she just said that because she’s mad at him for causing this murder to happen a little). Hu I think will get on him too for both threatening Eden which lead to Ace being able to frame her and kill Arei and the fact Hu does not take lightly of someone causing a suicide knowing her secret. I think this will be apart of the discourse over the group’s secrets and potential fault in what happened last chapter.

Veronika: Oh girlie you’re the one I’m concern for the most! Okay so Veronika is starting to get more disturbing in the killing game with how she’s reacting to both Ace’s death and Levi getting injured. And with both her secret revealed and how the group is going right now, I don't think it will be good for her. We know how that Veronika uses her talent and to extent, the killing game to entertain herself enough to prevent her from self harming herself. With how I think the group will have conflict with each other, I think she’ll be fine at first since drama will be interesting to her. Even if she gets involve as I could see someone blame her for what happened last chapter since she failed to stop Nico and Ace’s fight along with encouraging Ace’s paranoia about dying. I don't think she’ll feel bad since there was other factors + she finds it more interesting how events happen. All of this will possibly come crashing down for her as if everyone starts distancing themselves from others, then how will Veronika be able to keep herself entertained? She won’t have any drama or anyone to watch horror movies with her. This could lead to her going to a dark space in possibly causing something to entertain her or be possibly manipulated.

Since part 1 is getting to close to the word limit, I’ll end this here and continue off onto the next part(will link post after I post this and finish the other): https://www.tumblr.com/rosakuma/763649926247940097/arturo-oh-arturo-you-are-definitely-being-set-up?source=share

[vivid-ink]

"To Know You Again"

Chapter 6 & epilogue - From Now Until Forever

Pairing: Neteyam x fem!Omatikaya OC

Summary: “Do you remember our last night here? The night before my family left?” The warm, rumbling timbre of Neteyam’s voice washed over her. “Yes,” Naia whispered. How could she forget?... She had replayed the memory of his lips over and over numerous times. One corner of Neteyam’s mouth lifted in a small smile as his eyes tracked over the delicate bridge of her nose and over her steadily flushing cheeks. His gaze stopped to rest on her lips, “You gave me something that night. I think it's time I returned it."

An exploration of what if Neteyam had to leave a girl he was close to behind when his family fled to the reefs to seek refuge. AU - Set 7 years after TWoW, exploring the many emotions and the eventual romantic reunion between Neteyam and his love.

Warnings: Adult content 18+, MDNI Content: Romance, drama, angst, fluff, sexual content, smut, soulmates, bonding. Word Count: 10.4k

Previous Chapter 5 - Doubt No More Series master list HERE

Warmth. Sublime warmth was what Naia felt all around her and within her as Neteyam flew them both back to High Camp on Tompa’s back: The warmth of the daylight kissing her bare skin; the warmth of Neteyam’s chest against her back; the warmth overflowing in her heart and soul after the most perfect night in his arms as his mate.

Tilting her face to her left, Naia nuzzled the skin of Neteyam’s bicep, loving the new scent that now seeped from his pores as well as hers. It was their scent now; a delightful combination of his scent and hers etched into their beings forevermore like a marker that they would both recognise anywhere going forward. It was commonly referred to as the mating scent and it was strongest in the days immediately after a mated pair had sealed their bond before Eywa.

They had stopped by a river spring prior to heading home to wash each other and rinse off the obvious evidence of their night in paradise, but their mating scent would still be evident to anyone in the vicinity like an unspoken declaration of their new union.

“We’re nearly home,” Neteyam murmured by her ear, “Shall we go to your family’s shelter first? Your parents will still be worried.”

Nodding in agreement, Naia turned her head with a query, “Although, I thought you said you’d told everyone that you’d found me so they knew I was alright?”

“Yes, but you know what your mother is like. She won’t stop worrying herself sick until she’s seen you with her own eyes.”

Naia snorted out a laugh and then immediately felt bad. Her mother was prone to being overdramatic, but Naia acknowledged that she would have caused her mother great concern with her prolonged disappearance yesterday. It was definitely best that she checked in with her parents first thing before seeking Mo’at out.

“And then we’ll go to the tsahìk to be blessed?” Naia asked.

A husky chuckle rumbled through Neteyam’s chest and he pressed a kiss to the side of her face, “Yes, my love, then we’ll go to my grandmother to have her bless our mating.”

It was well past the break of dawn now and the clan would be well into the swing of the day with chores and activities. Neteyam’s long-distance patrol had been gruelling the day before and it had been agreed amongst the warriors that today would be a day of rest for them. However, today was technically a work day for Naia.

Suppressing a tired yawn, Naia hoped to herself that the news of her mating to Neteyam, and her re-acceptance of her role as tsakarem, would be good news enough to tamp down any aggravation that Mo’at might hold towards her for her abandonment of duties yesterday and her no-show to work today. Naia’s yawn spawned one of Neteyam’s own and she giggled at the happening.

He nipped the point of her ear playfully, “It’s your fault I’m so exhausted, woman. You thoroughly wore me down last night.”

Naia narrowed her eyes at him with a sassy pout. Three times in a night after a long day was impressive, she supposed. The wicked part of her mused that she was going to thoroughly enjoy testing more of her mate’s limits in this area in the near future.

“We’ll see your parents and my parents, and then just take the day off to rest. We both need it. The rest of the clan can wait. I’ll tell my grandmother not to make any formal announcement for a couple of days.” Neteyam stated, urging Tompa towards High Camp as the familiar floating mount came into view ahead beyond the mist.

Swiftly alighting once they had reached their destination, Neteyam and Naia both thanked Tompa before sending the ikran on his way back to the rookery where Naia’s own ikran was surely awaiting her mate after a long day and night away. Feet firmly back on home ground, Neteyam smiled affectionately at Naia, instinctively holding a hand out to lead her to her family’s shelter. Naia’s hand slipped without hesitation into the larger warmth of his and flutters erupted in her belly as she once again marvelled at how handsome he was, how perfect, and all hers.

They passed several others on their way who gave relieved smiles and kind waves at the sight of Naia, all of which she returned somewhat shamefacedly. Neteyam had told her that Tarsem had mobilised most of the able-bodied yesterday in their search for her. Scout parties had taken to the skies, others had patrolled the forest floor on pa’li, while the rest had scoured the nearby cave systems around High Camp on foot.

Great Mother… all over one misunderstanding and a severe overreaction on her part…

Naia felt Neteyam squeeze her hand reassuringly and she breathed a quiet sigh. She just wanted to see her parents, share the news too with Neteyam’s parents and then spend the rest of today doing sweet, blessed nothing (preferably with Neteyam by her side). This was a sentiment she knew Neteyam shared too, judging by the darker rims around his eyes and his heavy eyelids.

Reaching the cloth-draped threshold of Naia’s home, however, any wish the pair had of a discreet return evaporated in the next instant when seven, no, eight pairs of eyes turned to settle on them as they parted the flaps to enter.

Naia froze in her tracks and she felt Neteyam bump into the back of her, before she heard him suck in a surprised breath at the discovery.

There were eight people crowded in her family’s living area. Ayepni and Tulut were expected, being Naia’s parents, but Jake, Neytiri, Mo’at, Leylani, Tarsem and Tupou, most certainly were not. Eight pairs of golden eyes were accompanied very quickly by their eight twitching, sniffing noses as they all undoubtedly scented the reason for Naia and Neteyam’s belated return to camp.

Naia wished the ground beneath her would open up and swallow her whole.

Eywa, she was so tired… She did not want to face so many people right now, Naia’s petulance grouched. With an almost inaudible groan, she began to turn away from their unexpected audience, trying to push past Neteyam to leave, “Let’s go.”

However, Neteyam stopped her with a gentle hand around her waist. He gave her a consoling look with a cock of his head, “Your mother, Naia.”

At his reminder, Naia turned on heel and sought out her mother’s form, finding her in the middle of the gathered circle next to her father. The older woman looked distressed, her eyes puffy and her cheeks wet.

Ayepni sprang to her feet with a cry and she hastened towards Naia with her arms outstretched, “Oh my daughter! We were so worried, Manaia!”

Naia received her mother in a tight embrace, apologising profusely and attempting to calm her mother’s sobs, “I’m sorry, sa’nok. My actions were rash yesterday. I’m sorry I worried you and sempu.”

In a flash her mother’s tone turned scolding, “You worried everyone, maite! Not just your father and I!”

Forced now to acknowledge the unanticipated assembly of people in her home, Naia lifted embarrassed eyes to them, “I apologise for the inconvenience I’ve caused. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

Ayepni was busy checking Naia over now, lifting her arms and circling her daughter’s torso, clucking at all the scrapes and cuts. She stopped to peer intently at a few bruises on her neck and collarbone, which made Naia squirm uncomfortably because she knew full well that those bruises were not in fact bruises at all, courtesy of Neteyam.

Slowly, the gathered group all rose to their feet, encircling the pair of them and ushering them into the space. Leylani was next in line to give Naia a hug, and Neteyam saw his mother and grandmother were close behind her.

Catching his father’s eye, Neteyam greeted Jake warmly as his father pulled him into a strapping hug. Neteyam took the opportunity to whisper a question by Jake’s ear, “Uh, why is everyone gathered here, Dad?”

Chortling softly, Jake nodded towards the spread of food on the floormats behind them, “Well, Ayepni was worried sick and so she did what she does best and busied herself with cooking. Leylani was here most of the night consoling her. Your mother and grandmother came to check in with them this morning, and Tulut invited them to stay for first meal.”

Neteyam’s eyes flickered to Tarsem and Tupou then in a silent extension to his original question and Jake continued, “Tarsem and I have reprimanded Tupou this morning. He’s here to make his apology. We figured you and Manaia would return here first thing.”

“Right, I see.” Neteyam breathed with a deep inhale and exhale at the irony of the situation. It was the exact opposite of the quiet return he had hoped for.

Tulut stepped up to Neteyam and gripped him firmly on the shoulder. He was a man of few words and also one of the few people Neteyam felt a little cautious around in life. Tulut was a master craftsmen and weaver who was well-respected among the clan for his work, but it was his position as Naia’s father that intimidated Neteyam.

“Our thanks to you, Neteyam, for bringing our daughter home safely.” Tulut stated in a genial tone, his shorter stature not making Neteyam any less nervous around the man, “Though, perhaps I should be addressing you differently now, son?”

Crouching immediately down onto one knee in a sign of deep respect, Neteyam took Tulut’s hand and brought the knuckles of it to his forehead and pledged, “It is an honour to have Naia by my side, sir. I promise you that she will want for nothing and that her safety and happiness are my utmost priority.”

Tulut gave an amused cackle and pulled Neteyam to his feet. Fighting not to be overwhelmed by his own humour, Tulut uttered between hoarse laughs, “I’m not worried for Manaia. I know she is in good hands, mated to our future olo’eyktan no less. However, my daughter is a handful like her mother is, with a tongue sharp like a whip, and a temper that could rival the fiercest of tempests. You’ll need an arsenal of skills to weather those storms, son.”

Jake laughed along with Neteyam at Tulut’s words, “All women are storms, but there’s immense beauty in their peril and strength. Your daughter is warmly welcomed into our soaia, Tulut. It has been a long time coming.” Jake jostled Neteyam lightly with his words, his eyes twinkling with meaning as he teased his son.

Tulut appeared to catch on to Jake’s meaning perfectly and he smiled at Neteyam, whose ears were fidgeting self-consciously after his father’s quip. He caught the younger man’s eye again and spoke, “I have never seen Manaia so happy as she has been in recent weeks. Likewise, there has only ever been one in her heart. Welcome to the family, Neteyam.”

Naia was not far from Neteyam, slowly disentangling herself from yet another one of Leylani’s very excited hugs. Leylani pulled Naia into a little nook, almost bouncing with glee, “Oh, my heart is so full for you and Neteyam, sister! Congratulations!”

“Thanks, Leylani.” Naia replied and her expression turned contrite again as she clutched at Leylani’s hands, “I’m so sorry for the way I reacted yesterday. I shouldn’t have thought the worst of you like that without clarifying. You’ve always been good to me, and I feel like such an ass now.”

Leylani waved Naia’s apology away with a good-natured scoff, “I’m just glad you’re alright.” She leaned in closer to Naia then, “Do you need moon-tea? I have a fresh batch that I just brewed the other day back at tsahìk’s hut.”

The question caught Naia off-guard and she blinked a few times while Leylani’s words sunk in. Moon-tea. She had not even thought of it or considered the possibility when she and Neteyam had sealed their bond last night.

Her surprise must have been evident on her face as Leylani felt the need to expound further, “The mating bond opens your body to conception, sister. I have the tea if you want it.”

With a small and wistful smile, Naia realised she did not want the moon-tea. There was no guarantee of course that she had conceived after last night, but the possibility was there. Everything happened in the Great Mother’s time as she willed it, and if Eywa deigned to bless her and Neteyam with a baby then Naia would gladly accept the blessing. “Thanks Leylani, but I’m alright.”

Leylani’s only response was another happy squeal and another bone-crushing hug that stunned Naia considering how petite the other girl was.

“Well, I suppose congratulations are in order!” Tarsem boomed over the throng of speaking voices. He had a vessel of drink raised like a toast to the good news, but he lowered it then and nudged his son forward, “But first my son has an apology to make.”

Neteyam moved to stand by Naia’s side as Tupou skulked up to them. The young warrior’s face was stony and his head was still held high, but Neteyam could see the cracks of shame in the surface of his haughty façade. Naia scowled at Tupou, unimpressed, but she wisely kept the multitude of sharp retorts waiting on her tongue to herself.

Tupou dropped to one knee before them, one fist placed on the ground next to him, “Please accept my apology, brother Neteyam. I broke the confidence you asked for and my actions have caused unwarranted harm.”

Pursing his lips, Neteyam regarded Tupou with a calculating stare, “It’s not me you caused the most distress to with your loose mouth, brother.”

Half-heartedly, Tupou’s eyes shifted to meet Naia’s before he dipped his head out of necessity, “I apologise, Manaia. Your feelings were an unintentional casualty.”

Naia ground her teeth where she stood, thinking that she had never heard an apology less sincere. But she muttered her quiet acceptance through gritted teeth nonetheless and reminded herself that the fault was not entirely Tupou’s. Neteyam had hidden the truth from her too.

Tupou unfolded himself to rise to his feet again, and his gaze shifted deliberately between Naia and Neteyam. With a telltale twitch of his nose, he spoke, “I assume, since you’re both mated now, that this means Manaia has reclaimed her position as tsakarem?”

A soft huff of disbelief puffed from Naia’s lips at the blunt and tactless nature of the question. She had not wanted to share the news of her re-acceptance with the clan for a couple of days yet, and she bristled at the way Tupou had thrown her out in the open in front of everyone, “By Eywa, this is so typical of you, Tupou. Still only concerned with your own agenda?”

As expected, Tupou met Naia’s rising annoyance head on and he spat, “I would just like to know where I stand. After all, I’m only making a logical conclusion based on your happy news.” His nose wrinkled visibly again as he scented the air.

A warning hiss and growl rumbled from Neteyam who took immediate objection to the erroneous implication of Tupou’s words, “Take care, brother. My intention to mate Naia was never in question. It was always the reclamation of my birthright that was dependent on Naia’s choice, not the other way round.”

Tupou’s lips parted, no doubt preparing to hurl another rebuttal, but Naia’s weariness had caught up to her and she just wanted peace. Exasperated, she interrupted and hissed at him, “But yes, Tupou, I have decided to re-accept the role of tsakarem. Eywa forbid we ever have you as olo’eyktan with poor Leylani doomed to your side as your minder and keeper for eternity!”

A loud and amused snort perforated the mounting tension in the air, and whatever tautness that remained quickly fizzled out as all eyes turned to see Mo’at’s wizened form quaking with laughter at Naia’s words, “Minder and keeper, hah! That’s a good one, Manaia.” The tsahìk’s eyes shone with mirth as she took in Tupou’s sullen expression at her laughing at his expense and she cajoled him, “Ah Tupou, don’t look so glum, child. You got your wish after all, did you not?”

“Sa’nok, a blessing for the happy pair, perhaps?” Neytiri suggested, moving to stand by Neteyam. She gave his cheek an affectionate stroke, noting the darker circles around her son’s eyes.

“Yes, come! A blessing and then some food and rest. You must both be drained after yesterday’s ordeal.” Mo’at agreed, swooping around the group and gesturing for Naia and Neteyam to kneel in the middle.

Neteyam’s ears caught the tail-end of a crass joke that Tarsem, Jake and Tulut were whispering between themselves; something about a particular part of him being well-drained indeed. Neteyam shook his head with a smirk. He took Naia’s hands in his and he guided them both down to their knees, facing each other. He could see Naia was uncomfortable with the audience.

Naia bit her lip as she knelt, preventing her words of protest from spilling. She had wanted an intimate blessing ceremony with just Neteyam and Mo’at. However, nothing about this morning was turning out the way she had envisioned. She was exhausted and everything around her at that moment just felt overwhelming.

Until Neteyam gently took her chin between his fingers to bring her attention back to him.

Naia’s eyes focused on his beautiful face and the tender smile playing across his lips mollified her frazzled senses.

Neteyam enveloped her hands in his and he breathed, “Just look at me, yawntu. Only me.”

Mo’at’s chanting filled the air around them, but the sound was dulled to Naia’s ears as she allowed herself to drown in the singular sight and scent of Neteyam. An idyllic smile stretched across her own lips. He was her world…

Most people would call her foolish for centring her happiness around one person, but for Naia, the habit was not new.

Neteyam had always been and would always be the focal point of her universe.

***~~~***

There were many things that Naia was learning and rediscovering about Neteyam now that they were mated.

They had been gifted their own home shelter shortly after returning to High Camp together that morning several weeks ago. Waking next to the warmth of his body and falling asleep in his embrace every night was bliss, and Naia knew she would never tire of the meaningful monotony.

Now that they lived and breathed daily life together, Naia learned that Neteyam was incredibly particular about certain things like the way the drink vessels and food mats were stacked on their shelves. It was imperative that they were stacked in size order from largest to smallest, running from left to right. Their sleeping mats and bedding also had to be neatly rolled and made up every morning. And Neteyam was prone to being what Tuk had taught her was called ‘hangry’ in their family, if he was hungry and last meal was still not quite ready.

Hangry Neteyam was a slightly surlier version of himself that had somehow lost the ability to speak in proper sentences and would only respond in a series of monosyllabic huffs and grunts. Naia found this side of him more amusing than anything else, but she still made sure there was a supply of fresh fruit and dried meat strips on hand for snacking on nonetheless.

The one thing, though, that Naia had discovered about her new husband that both surprised and thrilled her was that if she had thought Neteyam frisky before, during their evenings spent together, he was even more so in the mornings.

Naia swallowed back the small moan that tickled in her throat as Neteyam’s lips grazed the sensitive skin where her neck met her shoulder. She kept her eyes closed, continuing to pretend like she was still asleep where she lay on her side. She felt one of his warm hands stroke down her upper arm before his brazen fingers reached for the swell of her breast, the pads of his fingers toying with her quickly stiffening nipple.

It was a game they played most mornings. Neteyam would ease her awake with his secretive caresses, his smooth lips finding purchase on her neck and chest, while his hands stroked and roamed over her and inside her. All the while Naia would play the sleeping beauty, moaning softly in faux slumber until his touches stoked her desire past the point of being demure and she relented to their morning passion.

Truly, there was no deceit in their sport. Naia knew that Neteyam was aware she was awake because the first thing he always did was join his neural queue to hers, forming tsaheylu.

Good morning, Naia greeted through their bond. She rolled slowly onto her back and hooked a knee over Neteyam’s hip, consenting to his touch as his hand snaked its way down to the apex of her thighs. His fingers found her quickly growing slippery with want and a desirous growl sounded from Neteyam, muffled only by the fact that his face was pressed into the crook of her neck.

Afforded their own privacy now in their new home, they slept bare against each other most nights. There was no need for clothing when they were so in-tune with each other; when their hearts beat in time with each other’s and they kept no secrets.

Neteyam was extra restless this morning and he was impatient. Naia could sense it through their bond and she knew it also from the insistent press of his erection where it was attempting to find some friction against one plump cheek of her bottom. Beneath his intense desire though, Naia found an undercurrent of anxiety at what the day ahead would bring.

Of course… today was the day they would be formally presented to the clan as heirs to the leadership…

Opening her eyes so she could look at him, Naia kissed the crown of his head where he was busying himself with the plush softness of her breasts, and she teased, “Hey, my eyes are up here, skxawng.”

Neteyam snorted and ignored her request, choosing instead to enclose his mouth over one of her nipples in a hot, hard suckle that made Naia gasp and arch against him in pleasure. In a playful mood, however, Naia squirmed and pushed away from him to roll into a sitting position. She turned to look at him, finding him watching her through eyes of molten gold, his lips pursed into an unimpressed pout at the distance she had put between them.

“Come back here.” Neteyam patted the bedding next to him, where he still lay on his side with his head propped up on an elbow.

Naia was in a playful mood. Some mornings she eagerly surrendered to him, but where was the fun if she always acquiesced without some resistance? Eyeing him impishly, she reasoned, not untruthfully, “We don’t have time. The ceremony is due to begin after first meal and people are already eating.”

The lively sounds of the other clan members going about their morning outside their shelter was testament to Naia’s statement, but Neteyam was not swayed, “I know what I want for breakfast.”

You. The unspoken word was a titillating thrill down their bond and Naia had to suppress a pleasurable shudder.

“Well, that won’t fill my belly.” Naia remarked nonchalantly, shifting onto all fours to crawl slowly away from him.

“Oh I’ll fill your belly, just not in the way you mean.”

Neteyam’s racy retort made her nipples harden in want, and the pulsing ache between Naia’s thighs reminded her that it was not just her belly that was hungry.

Oh they had time, if they were quick…

Naia threw him a puckish look over her shoulder while she continued to slink away from him on her hands and knees. She lifted her tail in a suggestive curl away from her bottom, deliberately baring herself to him.

Neteyam pounced in the next instant.

Strong hands clutched at Naia’s hips, pulling her backwards towards him. She gasped in delight at the action. She rather enjoyed it when he was a little rough with her in bed. It was a sexy contrast to the gentle and noble side of him that she normally saw, and the notion that it was her that made him impatient like that was extremely arousing to her.

Neteyam pulled Naia’s bottom flush against his pelvis as he knelt behind her. He leaned down over her, one hand supporting his weight while the other moved to curl around her shoulders, pressing her slender back against the front of his muscular torso. He began to rock his hips against her, enjoying the way his throbbing erection smoothed over the flat of her slippery folds while he attempted to position himself to enter her.

Naia moaned wantonly at the contact, each stroke of his cock running past her sensitive flesh. Her core ached for him to fill her though and she angled her hips gently, arching her back to push her bottom out towards him. His cock finally found its seat at her entrance and Neteyam sheathed himself to the hilt with a single, hard thrust.

The groaning exhale that Neteyam let out was in perfect time with Naia’s inhale of pleasure as the physical and mental sensation of being joined washed over them. Making love like this with tsaheylu would never get old. But they did not have the time this morning to be languid in their enjoyment of each other.

With the arm around Naia’s shoulders serving as leverage, Neteyam set a punishing rhythm of thrusts that knocked the breath from her lungs in short, clipped puffs. His hot breaths ticked her cheek as he panted and grunted, and Naia let her head loll back against his shoulder as she moaned indiscriminately, “Oh Neteyam,”

Neteyam’s thoughts were a chaotic stream in the mental bond they shared; tender compliments, pledges of eternal love, his physical pleasure … You’re so beautiful, my Naia… feels so amazing… my love, I love you… I won’t last long… want you so much.. mine forever…

Naia loved this position. It was her second favourite after being front-to-front with him, and only because she could not easily kiss him like this. She could feel all of him like this, his cock reaching and filling her to its full capability, hitting a sweet spot inside her that made her toes curl in delicious pleasure. It was no issue that Neteyam would not last long today. Through their bond, his pleasure was hers and vice versa. Naia was hurtling towards her own peak at the same startling pace.

“Naia,” Her name fell from his lips in a pleading whimper and Naia could feel him teetering on the edge, stubbornly waiting for her to succumb first. She gave him a mental eyeroll, knowing full well that it did not matter. They always reached their peaks together now when they were bonded in tsaheylu. No matter who reached ecstasy first, succumbing to it always triggered the other’s climax simultaneously.

Deciding to grant them both the rapture they both hungered for, Naia reached down with a hand to caress the sensitive bundle of nerves at the juncture of her thighs. It was the last little push they both needed and they surrendered with a rhapsody of cries to the height of their mutual pleasure. 

Satiated and wilted from the climax, Naia sank down flat onto her front with Neteyam half atop her still. She hummed happily, enjoying the heavy weight and warmth of his body over hers. The moment was short-lived, however. The instant Neteyam’s growing drowsiness fed through to her, she wriggled to free herself from beneath him, remembering the upcoming ceremony that was now even less time away than before.

“Neteyam!” Naia hissed, intending to sound firm and failing when an amused chuckle ruined her attempt, “There’s no time for a lie in. We have to eat quickly, then wash and get ready!”

“We don’t need to eat now. We can eat after the ceremony.” A sleepy drawl from Neteyam.

“Well, I’m hungry. So I’m going to fix myself something without you.” Naia declared, successfully twisting herself free from beneath his weight and slapping his hand away when he made a half-wakeful attempt to reach for her again. She sat upright and sighed with a shake of her head, knowing what would wake him properly.

Reaching for their joined queues, Naia separated them and the now-familiar tingle and shudder of their bond ending washed over her. It was not an unpleasant sensation, just wholly unique and different in what it was to anything else. She knew the sensation would have broken Neteyam out of his dozy stupor and sure enough, she found his eyes open and alert when she glanced down at him again.

“The future olo’eyktan can’t be late to his own presentation ceremony.” Naia said, “That wouldn’t be a good precedent to set.”

Grinning mischievously as he rolled into a sitting position, Neteyam chortled, “Ah, that’s an easy fix. I’ll just tell them I was satisfying the needs of my wife. All the men will understand and all the women will approve.”

An indignant shriek sounded and a plump bolster roll was thrown.

Neteyam only just managed to duck out of the way of it, laughing.

***~~~***

The stagnant air in the enclosed space of the ceremonial tent felt stifling. The weather was not hot, but Neteyam’s skin prickled in discomfort and his heart palpitated at a quickened pace in his chest. The ceremonial tent sat at the back edge of the platform where clan rituals were conducted, and the excited chants and songs of the gathered Omatikaya clan outside could be clearly heard beyond the heavy entry flaps.

Neteyam licked his lips, tasting the earthy tang of the purple and yellow ochre that had been painted by his mother’s gentle fingers over his forehead, cheeks and lips. Matching patterns and stripes of paint adorned his chest, shoulders and back, and a blue-feathered armband hugged his left bicep. His warriors’ cummerbund was snug around his midsection and his hunting dagger was secured at his hip, next to his songcord that trailed down alongside a woven loincloth of regal blue.

Neytiri could sense her son’s nerves and she reached up to stroke his cheek, marvelling at how her firstborn son, her baby, had grown. He was fulfilling his destiny today, formally stepping onto the path of impending leadership that was his birthright, “I’m proud of you, son. Your strength of heart and your wisdom has led you here today. I cannot wait to see you walk on your path of greatness. I love you so much.”

Embracing his mother, Neteyam pressed a kiss to her temple, “Thank you, sa’nok. I wouldn’t be who I am without your or Dad.”

His grandmother hovered in the foreground, an expression of warm approval dancing across her wizened features. Mo’at dipped her head at him with a smile.

A cool hand came to rest on Neteyam’s shoulder and he turned to acknowledge Naia, who was dressed in her own ceremonial garb. The royal blue of her swirling chest piece and loincloth matched his own, and purple and yellow ochre had been swept across her face and torso in a matching theme to his. Eywa, she looked breathtaking…

“What a striking pair you make.” Mo’at pronounced sincerely, coming forward to tuck a stray beaded braid behind Naia’s ear, “Come now. It is time to face our people.”

“Wait, ah, can I have a moment alone with Naia?” Neteyam stammered, “There’s something I need to do before we head out there.”

Both Mo’at and Neytiri pursed their lips at him and they never looked more like mother and daughter than in that instant, united in their mutually unimpressed state. Neytiri clicked her tongue and stressed, “We’re already running late.”

“It’ll be quick. We’ll be out there momentarily.” Neteyam placated with a sheepish expression.

As the two older women swished out of the draping entry flaps, Neteyam turned on heel to his satchel in a corner. Searching through its contents, he found what he was looking for and he gently extracted the delicate article from its depths; his soul gift.

Returning to Naia with it in his hands, he heard her gasp and he grinned at her. He had spent several furtive evenings over the last few weeks fashioning a new cord for it, repairing it and also improving it. Where the iridescent and looping pendant previously hung from a single woven cord, Neteyam had now woven three strings from leather-hide and attached the pendant to their centre.

“These cords won’t be so easily sawn through like the last one.” Neteyam stated candidly.

A twinge of guilt stabbed in Naia’s gut and she apologised for her previous actions, “I’m sorry I cut it off last time. It’s beautiful, Neteyam.” She cupped the pendant in her hands and she pressed a kiss to the precious piece of jewellery that was a symbol of everything that they were to each other. She gathered her hair in her hands and instinctively turned away from him so he could affix it around her neck.

Naia noticed that Neteyam had also made the cords shorter so that the pendant did not dangle as low as it previously had. She felt him fasten it around her neck, tighter than before but not so tight that it was uncomfortable. The three woven cords sat flush against her skin and the pendant sat high over the hollow of her clavicle.

Finishing his handiwork, Neteyam came around to face her again and he cupped the back of her head with one hand, pulling Naia in for a slow and searing kiss. Pulling back with a soft smack of their lips, he rested his forehead against hers, “It won’t leave your neck ever again, Naia.”

“Never.” Naia breathed, “From now until forever.”

A thumping percussion beat began from beyond the intimacy of the moment they shared and the clan’s chants of anticipation grew.

Naia stepped back to regard her mate in all his handsome glory. She held her hand out to him, “We should go now. Ready?”

Neteyam’s throat bobbed in a tight swallow and Naia did not miss the clenching and unclenching of his jaw. He was nervous and alone with her now, he let the confident mask he wore fall. Uncertainty coloured his face and he fixed wide, gold eyes on her.

“Hey, it’s alright.” Naia soothed, stepping up to him again and smoothing her hands gently up his chest to rest on his shoulders, mindful not to spoil the dried pattern of ochre on his skin.

“What if I disappoint them? What if I’m not the leader they expect?”

“Listen, can you hear the people outside? They are rooting for you.” Naia assured, “You’ll make mistakes, make bad calls from time to time, because you aren’t perfect. But no one is perfect and you’re not expected to be. This is your birthright; you are the true heir to this leadership. I know that as long as you let the Great Mother guide you that this clan will back you like they backed your father before you.”

A crooked smile tugged at one corner of Neteyam’s lips and he took both of Naia’s hands in his, “And I have you by my side. Spoken like a true tsahìk in waiting.”

“We’ll do this together.” Naia squeezed his hands, watching as he took a deep breath and steeled himself.

“Alright, let’s get this ceremony over and done with.”

Naia grinned and parroted the advice he had given her a few weeks ago back at him, “Just look at me, yawntu. Only me.”

Parting the draping flaps of the ceremonial tent with an arm each, Neteyam and Naia stepped out onto the platform and the gathered Omatikaya clan broke into a chorus of jubilant cheers, howls and ululations.

Warmth flooded Mo’at as she surveyed the pair of them, the exultant greeting of the clan ringing in her ears. The picture of Neteyam and Naia before her was a familiar one. She had seen this very picture in a vision many years ago, even before the return of the sky people.

Back then it had seemed like nothing more than a pleasant dream, especially when her daughter’s family had been forced to flee to the Metkayina, and then even more so when the Long War beset them all with uncertainty and strife. Mo’at had forgotten all about it actually until that fateful day not long ago when they came home to the clan, when Neteyam had returned looking like the long-lost prince the Omatikaya needed.

Neteyam and Naia raised their clasped hands above their heads between them, their free hands also punching skyward in fists. The Omatikaya clan’s cheers thundered even louder and Mo’at smiled to herself.

The roar of approval had never sounded so irrefutable.

***~~~***

 Epilogue – Six moons later

“You haven’t eaten anything, Manaia. It’s a long journey ahead and you must keep your strength up to fly.” Neytiri remarked, her amber eyes tinged with concern as she held a niktsyey (food wrap) out to her.

Naia swallowed the biliousness that crept up her throat at the smell of the warm little parcel and gratefully accepted it nonetheless, “I’ll take it along for the first part of our journey. I don’t feel like breakfast currently.”

Neytiri cast her a gentle smile, “Neteyam told me you’re not fond of deep water. It is truly beautiful out in the reefs and Neteyam will be with you always. Don’t worry, we’ll look after you.”

Nodding and projecting an air of confidence, Naia tucked the food wrap into the satchel she had slung over her shoulder and tucked its flap shut. The smell of the food dissipated and she took a shaky breath in. Ordinarily the smell of niktsyey would made her mouth water, but in recent days, anything food-related made her stomach turn.

She was content to let Neytiri think her queasiness was due to her nerves about their imminent visit to the Metkayina and their oceanic home. It was true, after all, that Naia was anxious about being surrounded by so much water, but that was not the reason for her nausea. Naia had a fair inkling of the real reason, but their trip to Awa’atlu was for a joyous occasion and she did not really want to draw any attention away from the fact. Plus, she was still not fully certain.

Lo’ak and Tsireya had welcomed their little one and it was time for the family to meet the new baby. Jake and Neytiri were understandably excited to be grandparents, as was Tuk, who had spent the last week in the lead-up to their trip raving about being an aunt. Neteyam was less forward with his enthusiasm, but Naia could tell he was very happy for his brother.

Naia smiled as her husband approached her and he enveloped her in his arms. Pressing a kiss into her hair, Neteyam murmured, “You good? The ikran are all packed and we’re ready to go.”

Tucking her face into his neck as she hugged him, she inhaled several deep breaths of his scent. Neteyam always smelled good to her, but she was especially appreciative at current of how his scent seemed to relieve the rolling nausea that plagued her. “Yeah, I’m good. I do feel a little bad that Lortirea and Tompa will be away from their babies for an entire week though.”

“The young ones are four moons old now. Ikran mature quickly and they’re already flying. They’re practically toddlers now, by our standards.” Neteyam chuckled, “I’m sure they’re a handful. For all we know, maybe their parents will be glad for the break away from them?”

Naia laughed at the memory of the baby ikran. Lortirea and Tompa had brought them back to the rookery to introduce them shortly after the babies had hatched. Naia had been utterly enamoured by the little creatures who looked like adorable miniatures of their parents, with their soft wings and tawny eyes that had appeared a little too large for their heads. Unable to fly at that age, they had clambered all over her lap, demanding pats and scratches.

“A week surrounded by water.” Naia muttered, stepping back a little so she could peer into Neteyam’s eyes. She regretted her uneasy tone immediately. He had told her so many stories of his family’s time in the reefs; of the people, their customs and the magnificence of the ocean environment. She knew he was excited to show her this part of his life. Her apology was swift on her lips, “Sorry, I’m just nervous about diving.”

Neteyam placed a hand under her chin, “You don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with, OK? If you don’t want to dive under then we’ll just stay on the surface.”

“No, I want to see this underwater world that you lived in for so many years.” Naia pressed, heartening herself more than anything else. She placed a hand over his heart, “All those years you were gone and I used to wonder what you were doing, what the world around you was like. This is my chance. The Metkayina are a part of you too.”

Jake was calling out to the family now, announcing that it was time for them to depart.

Neteyam pressed a kiss to Naia’s forehead, noting absently that her scent was a little different than usual. She still smelled like she always did, but there was a sweeter note to it. “You sure you’re alright?”

“Yes, Neteyam, I’m fine. Just a bit tired.”

Naia knew from his doubtful expression that he was not convinced and she gave him one of her emphatic eyerolls to reassure him that she was fine, sass and all.

“We’ll break throughout the journey. Stay close to Tompa. And make sure you eat that niktsyey soon.”

“Yes sir,” Naia quipped sarcastically, earning her a shake of his head and a chuckle in response. Her nausea roiled in her belly again at the thought of the food wrap.

There was no time now, but she would see Mo’at as soon as they were home after their trip to confirm if her suspicion was right.

***~~~***

To say that Ronal was intimidating was an understatement. The Metkayina tsahìk was a silent force to be reckoned with.

Neteyam had warned Naia that Ronal was aloof with strangers, but she had not been prepared for the woman’s odd demeanour which seemed to vacillate between taciturn and tender at points. Their initial greeting the previous night had set Naia on edge.

The journey to the reefs had been a gruelling day-long flight on the backs of their ikran. It was well past nightfall by the time they had reached Awa’atlu. Ronal had embraced Neteyam openly with all the warmth of an aunt welcoming a nephew she had not seen in a while, whereas she had regarded Naia with calculating eyes and even given her a good sniff before frowning at her.

Exhausted and extremely queasy, Naia had gladly turned in to bed when the two families had completed their greetings and pronounced that they would reunite in the morning for a proper reunion. Blessedly, Naia had slept well and she had arisen in the morning feeling much more refreshed than she had in days. The crisp seaside air also appeared to ease her biliousness, which was a pleasant boon.

However, the moment the breakfast food was brought out, her belly began its roiling habit again.

“You know if there’s one thing I did miss about this place, apart from the people, it’s the fresh seafood!” Jake crowed cheerfully, tucking into a platter of raw, cooked and dried fish.

The rest of the Sullys appeared to agree and when Neteyam returned to her side with a well-piled wooden bowl with an assortment of food for them to share, Naia had done everything she could to tamp down the urge to wretch at the smell.

“Try a piece of this fish, it’s delicious when it’s dried and cured like that with sea salt.” Neteyam encouraged, handing her a small piece.

“Yes, and let us know your verdict. I daresay our fare of food is quite different to what you’re used to back home in the forest.” Tonowari added with a deep chuckle. Jake and Neytiri were smiling at her too with urging eyes and Naia found herself in the impossible position of not wanting to wretch if she ate and also not wanting to be rude by refusing.

Fortifying herself, Naia took a nibble of the dried fish, chewed quickly and swallowed with as expressionless a face as possible, “Thanks, it’s umm, it’s new.” Her stomach immediately churned and she swiftly reached for a piece of orange fruit from Neteyam’s bowl, popping it into her mouth and letting the juicy burst of flavour wash the salty and fishy tang of the fish from her tastebuds before it threatened to make its way back up.

Tonowari boomed with laughter at her reaction and Naia was glad for the Metkayina olo’eyktan’s light-hearted nature. She smiled guiltily and reached for more fruit from Neteyam’s bowl. Fruit was good. She could stomach fruit.

Naia’s gaze met with Ronal’s where she sat perched by her husband. The woman did not appear to share her husband’s mirth and though her eyes were once again calculating, they were not unkind, just astute in a way that made Naia feel like she was she being looked right through.

Maybe it was a tsahìk thing. Mo’at had often made her feel the same way, though Naia had grown close enough to the Omatikaya tsahìk now that she no longer felt uncomfortable in her presence. She vaguely wondered to herself if she would be the same in time to come when she took on that mantle.

“Naia,” Neteyam’s voice was soft by her ear.

“Hmm?” Naia turned to her mate to find him scrutinising her through concerned eyes.

“What’s going on? And don’t say you’re OK. You’re clearly not yourself.” Neteyam uttered under his breath, continuing to eat in order not to draw attention to themselves. “You’re normally a really good eater and I’ve never known you to be fussy.”

“I just don’t feel like food, but you need to trust me on this, there’s nothing wrong. I’m perfectly healthy.”

“You’ve barely eaten more than a few bites here and there for almost the last week. You’ve been like this since before we came here. It’s not the food here that’s making you like this.”

Naia felt irritation flash through her and she picked a small piece of cooked shellfish from his bowl and ate, cocking her head at him with an expression that challenged him, “Happy now? I’m eating.”

The shellfish rebelled the entire way down her throat though and she only barely suppressed the gag that came after it.

Neteyam’s jaw clenched and his lips pressed into a thin line, utterly unconvinced. “Maybe you should speak to Ronal, get her to look you over-”

“I’m tsakarem, Neteyam. A tsahìk in waiting.” Naia hissed in a whisper, “I think I should know if I was unwell, and I’m not-”

“Manaia, come sit with me.” Ronal’s voice called, and Naia almost flinched at the uncanny timing of it. She and Neteyam had been fairly quiet while they squabbled, so it was unlikely that the tsahìk had overheard them.

Naia looked to where Tonowari and Ronal had been sitting and was surprised to find that Ronal was no longer by her husband’s side. Glancing around, Naia found her perched by the marui’s entrance on the far side. Shooting Neteyam a hesitant look, Naia rose to her feet and made her way past the rest of the gathered family, holding her breath as she passed the platters of seafood.

“Come, sit.” Ronal said, patting the soft mat beside her.

Naia did as she was told, folding herself down alongside the woman. There was a cool sea breeze blowing through the marui entrance and she took a deep and languid breath of the fresh gust, gratefully letting it temper her queasiness.

“Better?” The tsahìk asked, and Naia turned puzzled eyes at her. Ronal chortled at her confusion and simply shook her head before gesturing to the ground before her, “I think you’ll find these things a little more palatable for the time being also.”

It was only then that Naia realised there were two small platters of food laid out in front of her. There was a colourful variety of sliced fruit on one and a range of plain, flat crusts on the other. There was also a small vessel of cool water. Before she could verbalise her thanks, her belly rumbled appreciatively.

“Thank you, tsahìk.” There was little doubt now in Naia’s mind that Ronal had likely surmised the truth of her condition for herself. Plucking a single crust from the platter before her, she took a tentative bite and was relieved to find that her body welcomed the crunchy plainness of it.

“So, you are the girl that Neteyam had to leave behind.” Ronal’s tone was affectionate and there was palpable warmth in her eyes as she regarded Naia, “Many years their family spent here as part of our people and yet Neteyam never truly considered staying for good.”

Naia glanced up at Ronal, not really knowing what to say in response to her remarks. She helped herself to more fruit instead.

Ronal continued, “You know, once the family had integrated into our way of life and proven themselves despite their differences, both Neteyam and Lo’ak became somewhat sought after by the women. They were different, exotic. There were many good females here who wanted to gain Neteyam’s affections, especially after Lo’ak and Tsireya made their romantic association known. But Neteyam refused them all.”

“Well, I’m glad Neteyam came home. Our clan needed him. You should have seen the moron we had as our replacement successor.” Naia snorted with a laugh.

“And you needed him too.” Ronal added, and her face was pensive, “I see now why Neteyam never found a home here. There is a way about the two of you; a blessed connection forged by Eywa that existed long before he ever came to us at Awa’atlu. You are meant to be. I am happy for the both of you and I hope that your clan thrives in time to come under your leadership.”

It was an odd conversation to have with someone she had never met until now, but Naia felt strangely at ease. She smiled at the older woman, feeling comfortable enough for the first time since she arrived to hold her piercing blue gaze, “Thank you for your kind words. I never forgot Neteyam, and every day I thank the Great Mother for bringing him back to me.”

“Yet, you’ve not told him your news. You’ve not told anyone.”

Naia swallowed her mouthful of fruit, and licked her lips uneasily, “It’s only really become clear to me in the last few days, and I want to check with Mo’at first to be sure.”

Ronal graced her with another warm smile, her voice quiet so their conversation would stay between the two of them, “Well, if you’ll take confirmation from me as tsahìk, I am certain of your condition. I can scent it on you and you are displaying all the signs; nausea, food aversion, fatigue. You are with child, Manaia.”

A bright feeling of joy burst in Naia’s heart. She had been more or less certain of her pregnancy, but the confirmation from Ronal was a welcome assurance. “I don’t want to tell anyone until after our visit here is done. This is Lo’ak and Tsireya’s moment. Their son is beautiful and I don’t want to take away from this celebration.”

Ronal tilted her head slightly at her response and Naia thought she saw a flicker of respect in the woman’s eyes.

“At least tell your husband.” Ronal urged, gesturing with another tilt of her head towards Neteyam who had made his way over to Lo’ak and Tsireya to get to know his new nephew.

Naia watched with loving warmth swirling in her belly as Lo’ak carefully placed the little bundle of waving fists and chubby legs into Neteyam’s arms. The baby was beautiful and Naia marvelled that she and Neteyam would soon have a little one of their own. Little Akahata had his father’s darker cobalt colouring and bright amber eyes, but his other features were of his mother’s Metkayina heritage. Softer, swirling stripes marked the baby’s torso, complete with a tiny, paddle-shaped tail.

“Jake and Neytiri have raised their children and taught them well.” Ronal affirmed favourably, “Neteyam and Lo’ak are strong husbands and they will be good fathers.” She placed a gentle hand on Naia’s shoulder and she urged again, “Tell Neteyam tonight, he should know. He’s already concerned about your wellbeing and he will worry himself this entire visit unless you give him an explanation for your behaviour. I will keep your secret from the others until you are both ready to share it.”

“I will, tsahìk. Thank you for the milder food.” Naia breathed gratefully, already feeling much better than she had previously thanks to the suitable food in her belly.

“I will prepare your food for you for the duration of your stay here.” Ronal declared kindly, holding a hand up when Naia was about to protest, “No arguments. You must eat what you can stomach, child. It is not trouble at all.”

***~~~***

The cool seawater rippled about her thighs as Naia gingerly waded into the ocean after Neteyam. It was after eclipse now and if Naia had thought Awa’atlu was beautiful in the day time, it was absolutely breathtaking after dark. The fine sand was phosphorescent beneath her feet and shoals of bioluminescent fish darted and swam about in the water around them. In the distance, the coral reef was a spectacular display of life and colour, the gentle waves rippling in the evening zephyr that blew.

“Are you sure you want to go out to the cove tonight?” Neteyam queried, turning to face her, apprehension etched over his handsome face.

Naia was getting rather sick of his fretting and fussing over her, and a part of her felt relieved that he would soon know the truth.

“For the last time, I’m fine. I said I wanted to go, didn’t I? Ronal told me it’s beautiful after eclipse and encouraged me to go tonight.”

“Yeah, but you got seasick this afternoon just swimming. I’ll ride gently on the ilu but it might still be choppy on the way there and-”

Naia silenced him with a kiss, “Call the ilu, Neteyam.”

With a resigned sigh, Neteyam emitted several whistles and clicks to summon an ilu.

Naia had succumbed to her nausea and vomited earlier in the day after a swim out into the reef, but it was not due to seasickness. She chortled at the memory.

Neteyam had been right about the beauty of the sea. They had not ventured beyond the safety of the reef and Naia had not dived under, content to just swim at the surface, but the myriad of the Great Mother’s undersea life had been stunning. It was an experience Naia would never forget.

An ilu responded to Neteyam’s call almost immediately, the friendly creature swimming up to the pair of them with a series of clicks and trills. Rewarding it with several fillets of fish, Neteyam patted the creature’s head and was about to mount it when it gave a low, burbling trill at Naia.

The ilu cocked its head to the side, regarding her with its set of four eyes. Its mouth was ajar as it emitted more squeaks and clicks and Naia thought it looked like it was grinning toothily at her. It dipped its head then to softly press its snout against her belly with another low burble, rubbing its head gently against her abdomen before raising its head to meet her eyes again.

No words were spoken, but no words were needed. Naia understood the ilu just fine and she stroked its smooth, muscular neck in thanks.

Neteyam mounted the ilu and deftly pulled Naia up to sit on its back in front of him, “What was that about?”

Naia shrugged nonchalantly, taking hold of his forearms and grinning shrewdly to herself, “No idea.”

They rode at the ocean’s surface, submerged only up to their waists on the ilu’s back. The creature certainly understood the assignment to swim gently and their journey to the Cove of the Ancestors was a smooth glide. Naia relaxed against Neteyam as they rode, one of his muscled forearms secured firmly about her waist to keep her from sliding off.

The glow of the Spirit Tree in the sacred cove could be seen under the water from a distance away. Naia straightened with a gasp as they approached the formations of floating rocks that hovered over the cove, which reminded her so much of Iknimaya back home in the forest.

“This is it. The Spirit Tree.” Neteyam whispered by her ear, both of them ducking their heads under a low-hovering rock formation to enter the sacred cove.

Sheltered from the currents out in the reef, the seawater in the cove was calm and clear, affording them an unimpeded view of the hallowed underwater tree that was the Metkayina’s gateway to Eywa.

Naia pressed the fingers of one hand to her lips, filled with emotion in the presence of their Great Mother. There were no words of adequacy to describe the magnificent tree beneath her. It blazed and pulsed with the essence of Eywa, its large, feathery fronds lilac and luminous.

“Not often you’re speechless.” Neteyam joked quietly with a nuzzle and kiss to her cheek.

Naia’s eyes were watering and her emotion was a lump in her throat. Her skin prickled in the nighttime air and she swore she heard the whispers of the Metkayina ancestors swirling about the points of her ears. Though she was not connected to the Spirit Tree, she could feel Eywa all around her and a pleasant heat filled her lower belly.

It was time to tell him.

“This place is so beautiful. I have no words for it.” Naia murmured wetly with a delicate sniffle.

Neteyam embraced her from behind, wrapping both of his strong arms around her. He pressed his cheek to hers and breathed, “I came here often during the Long War. I thought of you, prayed to Eywa to keep you safe. I always wondered how you were and what you were doing. Part of me wished I could speak to you through the Spirit Tree, to bridge the distance between us and communicate.”

Naia giggled and turned to kiss him, her lips finding his warm ones and instinctively slotting against them, “I did too, at the Tree of Souls. But that feels like a horrible lifetime ago.”

“Do you want to swim down there?”

“No, that’s not why I wanted to come here.”

Neteyam’s forehead wrinkled in question and he waited for Naia to continue.

Flutters of nerves sprouted in Naia’s gut and she mentally chastised herself for being nervous. It was silly to feel so when she knew it was good news she had to share.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Naia began, “I wanted to come here to thank Eywa for the blessing she’s given us.” She clasped hold of Neteyam’s forearms and gently pried them from her waist. Taking his right hand in hers, she settled it over her still-flat belly, just below her navel, “Neteyam, you’re going to be a father.”

“What?” Neteyam gawped.

Laughing wetly, she turned her head to look at him again, “I’m not unwell and I’m not seasick. I’m pregnant.”

Neteyam still appeared dumbstruck, his mouth agape and his eyes wide with surprise. Naia giggled at the sight. It was not an expression that he often wore at all. But his lips stretched into a beaming grin then, teeth all on display and a warm laugh of elation followed. Still bonded to his ilu, the creature expressed his joy too, squawking and clicking and flapping its flippers against the water’s surface.  

“We’re having a baby?” He asked, absolutely brimming with excitement.

“Yes, Ronal confirmed it to me this morning.”

Neteyam’s arms encircled her again in a tight squeeze, his lips repeating prayers of gratitude to Eywa in-between the kisses he was showering over Naia’s face while she squealed with laughter. Remembering moments later, amid his delight that Naia was pregnant, he loosened his crushing embrace and settled one of his palms on her lower belly with an apology, “Sorry.”

“We’ll have our own little one soon.” Naia beamed, her tanhì twinkling bright against her skin, “A perfect little half of you and half of me.”

“You have made me the happiest man alive, yawntu.” Neteyam said, twisting his head down so he could kiss her again, “I love you so much, Naia, always.”

“I love you too. From now until forever.”

***~~~***

Author’s Note: THE END! Thank you so, so much to all of you who are still with me here at the finishing line. I’m sorry again that this last part took so long. I really thought I’d lost my drive to write over the last few weeks, but it came back to me this past week and I was able to churn this out. 😁

This is Neteyam and Naia’s happy ending, and I hope that it brought warm fuzzies to you. I’m thirsty for your thoughts and comments as always, so please do not be afraid to share them with me. Reblogs and likes are massively appreciated too. 🥰