#and he was like i don’t know either! let me pull it up on pathways (corporates guide for everything)

[cxlamarisalxmi]

Some Sunny Day

[Platonic Drabble]

c/w: angst, depictions of trauma and injury, character death, no gendered terms used to describe reader

a/n: I couldn’t help it, the part two of the Spider-Venom reader is in the works and is being written and edited consistently and progressively, but this was inspired by me feeling in the shits about my trauma so.. here we are lol

—

[Unedited]

We’ll meet again

You hadn’t given much thought to how you would die, not ever really considering the thousands of possibilities that would result in the loss of your life. Never really finding the consideration of those pathways important enough to think about long enough.

Don’t know where, don’t know when

Perhaps you should have— maybe this wouldn’t be happening otherwise. That’s a lie, because death is inevitable.. it was coming for you one way or another. Perhaps it wasn’t you trying to trick yourself into believing you could avoid it— but prepare yourself for it instead. Had you considered all possibilities of death then maybe you could’ve prepared yourself for the painful one you had come to face.

But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day

It did not announce itself, did not trumpet it’s arrival. It had been silent, quiet in the darkness as it coiled itself around your throat pulling you off your feet. By the time you had seen it coming.. it had already set it’s teeth.

Keep smiling through

You didn’t wish for anyone to be sad for you, it was a good life you had lived. Sure, it didn’t start out too great but it had been decent.. and then it had turned for the better when you had found them.

Just like you always do

You didn’t want anyone to force their lives to a screeching halt for your sake, that wasn’t fair.. and you knew that regardless of what you had thought— they would celebrate your life everyday from here on out. Now settled in the acceptance of grief, the stage that had come after a long and painful endurance through denial, anger, bargaining and depression.

‘Till the blue sky drives the dark clouds far away

They had felt such a dark and heavy cloud hanging over them since your death, and they had grown accustomed to it. Not bothering to address the way all of them were feeling about losing you. Suppress it down and ignore the searing ache in their chests —they believe— being the best way to overcome it and grow forward.

But you knew that was utter bullshit and you had wished they knew that too. Ignoring it will only make it worse, because ignorance allows the pain to linger. And if it lingers long enough it will fester and grow into a raging inferno that will swallow them whole.

Only in acceptance could they move forward, only in accepting that you were gone could they move on. Grow past it and become stronger together. And you believed they could, they just had to let themselves do it in their own time— at their own pace.

And eventually, that dense and weighted cloud overhanging them would be driven away.

So will you please say hello

You were Miguel O’hara’s eldest. And you had been with him through everything, after the loss of your younger sister the two of you couldn’t overcome the grief that had overwhelmed you both. And in the wake of that dimension’s destruction— there had been a wedge driven in between you and him.

Your relationship, previously stronger than any trial or tribulation life had thrown your way, had shattered to pieces. And you had attempted to at least pick up the shambles and put your bond back together.. but you had met a wall every time. A wall your father had built around himself to protect his broken heart and vulnerable soul from ever being touched again.

He hadn’t made an effort.. so you figured you shouldn’t either, and just accepted the turn of his back on top of the ache you felt at the loss of your younger sibling. The weight of guilt at killing all those innocent people had become the icing on this shit cake.

To the folks that I know

It was hard for you to grow past what had happened, because you were doing it on your own. In the wake of it all, it was you and only you trying to mend yourself back together. What hurt the most was that you had depended on your father to be there for you.. you had expected that this would only make your relationship stronger. Not tear it apart.

And it was naive of you to think such a thing, childish and ignorant of you to dispose of your initial thoughts that he would react this way. Because maybe if you had you’d have been far more prepared to take the bullet that his neglectful response had fired at you.

In the end of it all —the final steps you had taken to improve yourself— you had developed a fierce sense of independence. Nobody has your back better than you. And that was the unfortunate and heartbreaking truth that you had faced head on, it was a hard pill to swallow but it was necessary for you to move forward.

You garbled a cough, the gob of blood previously sitting in your throat jacked up to spill down your chin.

You grunted as the pressure in your chest grew exponentially, the rebar pierced through your chest causing an uncomfortable sensation to sit heavy beneath your ribs.

Tell them I won’t be long

The young teenagers who have come to adopt you as their elder sibling will be heartbroken. You knew that well, and you hoped that you father had picked up on the subtlety in your message to not reveal you were dying.

They wouldn’t take it well, and you knew they would follow your father to this dimension. The last thing you wanted was for them to experience more loss than they needed at their age. You couldn’t help that though, this was going to court one way or the other. What you could control was them being there in your final moments.. you had thought that maybe it’d go down easier if your father just told them you had gone peacefully.

They’ll be happy to know

It certainly would’ve been easier for them than seeing you impaled through the chest and coughing up the blood that had begun to slowly fill your lungs.

They’d at least have some semblance of peace within the grief and pain they’d feel that you didn’t go in pain. Regardless of the fact that this was easily the worst experience you have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. But they didn’t need to know that nor did they need to see you like this.

That as you saw me go, you saw me singing this song

When your father had finally arrived he had rushed to you immediately, his mask peeling away as he approached and dropped to his knees at your side.

“No, no no no, not again. Please no.”

“Dad…”

“Shhh,” he encouraged softly, “don’t talk. Save your strength, I’m going to get you out of here.”

“It’s too late.”

He didn’t listen to the way you quietly murmured those words, their execution breathed on a plane of exhausted agony. Your heart’s rhythm slowly fading from it’s previous thunderous beat in your ears. Slowing as it gradually eased itself into a state of utter still and silence, not having enough strength to continue to keep you alive.

Miguel wouldn’t let this happen again, he refused. As he thought of the best way he could move you he thought back to when you both had come back from the dimension that had unraveled. How he had shut you out, built barbed barriers thick and tall— and left you on the outside of them.

At the remembrance an abrupt ripple of regret shucked down his back, it made the blood in his veins turn bitterly cold. It was regret that was soon joined by grief that settled in his heart, heavy as lead sinking through his chest at the prospect that you would not make it.

And he suddenly felt knots tighten themselves up in the gaping in his stomach, because he didn’t even know what the right thing to do was. He couldn’t accept this, he couldn’t.. not again. But you were in pain, certainly worse than anything you’ve ever experienced. Not only that, but you were certain it was far too late for you.

He knew if he pulled you off that thick rebar pipe you would immediately bleed to death, if he left you on there you would die of a broken heart. Literally— the rebar had punctured through your heart and lung. Now both metaphorically and physically torn apart.

“It’s too late dad.”

“Please—”

You reached up to him, cupping his cheek as he laid his hand against your own. You lifted your opposite hand to hold his wrist as he brushed his gloved thumb over your bloodied and bruised cheek.

“Please no, not like this.. please there’s too much.. too much I have to do to show you I love you. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.. I didn’t mean to shut you out mi amor I’m sorry—”

You did to him the same thing he had done to you seconds prior and interrupted by brushing your gloved thumb over his angular cheekbone. You felt the familiar sting in your eyes and burn in your nose as you watched him. His eyes broken and devastated, the windows into his soul wide open as his defenses crumbled. His brows taut together and a hurt frown tugging his lips down.

“It’s okay,” you promised giving him the only smile you could manage. Soft and small— but full of all the love a young child has for their father. “It’s going to be okay.”

Miguel couldn’t contain the pain he was feeling a moment longer, and his ache had erupted in the form of the rivulets of tears gliding down his cheeks. And he listened intently to them as they spoke, holding them in his arms as best he could with the rebar through their chest. Still holding their face and leaning down to press their foreheads together, he internally wept at the way theirs felt colder.

“We’ll meet again,” you promised smiling up at him as he held you in his arms and kept your foreheads together. “I don’t know where, and I don’t know when.” You felt the way your heart continued to slow, the pressure on your chest increasing dramatically as exhaustion began. “But I know we’ll meet again—”

Finally the injuries had grown to be far too much, and you had only wished you had told him how much you truly loved him no matter what. How much you had understood his feelings and how you had already forgiven him for the toxic way he had decided to cope. Breathing felt like too much work, needing extensive energy that you no longer had.

Your heart gave up first, and the very last thing you saw before the black that had been seeping in from the edges consumed you entirely— was your father looking you in the eyes with the love you had craved from him since the loss of your sister. Your lungs followed after, and Miguel only sobbed harder at the way your chest rose, then fell, rose once again.. and fell.

He felt sick and angry at himself for the way things had gone, the regret he’d felt since the destruction of that universe was abruptly more pronounced in his chest. And he wept over your body, long since gone cold, as he completed the promise you had made to him. Whispered against the skin of your cheek —cold to the touch— and lost of all color and vibrant life held within.

“Some sunny day.”

—

a/n: when this was being written I was listening to life eternal by ghost and it just encouraged me to put as much ouchies in this as I possibly could so I killed ya!

[kirislovelygf]

haunted pt. 1 (ronal x metkayina fem! reader)

content: you and ronal have been married for about 14 years and have lived with the metkayina happily ever since you left the forest. now imagine your surprise when your ex appears out of nowhere with the man she cheated on you with and the family they built together.

content also: ronal x reader, a bit of neytiri x reader, flirting, arguing, secrets, fluff, angst, and uhmmm ronal being the best wife

wrd count: 3.2k

a/n: this might be a two-three parter but i saw this idea floating around here somewhere and thought i’d make my own version without tonowari being part of it bc why. (can you tell i hate men)

꒰ 🥥 ꒱ؘ ࿐ ��*:･ﾟ

it was a perfect morning so far. ronal and i were at home, i was taking care of her. the kids were out and about.

tonowari was somewhere, i didn’t really care.

the sun was out and we were happy. until the outsiders came.

i was sitting in our shared marui, styling ronal’s hair while she sat in front of me. i hummed to myself while gently combing through her wavy hair.

“i have to train some of the children today. on the ilu.” i informed her.

“how fun.” she muttered.

i slapped her shoulder. “children respond easier when you don’t yell at them, my love.”

“if you don’t yell, they don’t listen. look at ao’nung.” she said, gesturing to her son playing in the water with his best friend.

one of them tackled the other info the water and was keeping them under the surface.

“that’s strange. when i ask him to do things, he does it the first time i say.” i said.

“yes, with you. i feel like i repeat myself 10 times everyday just to get that boy to listen.” she sighed out. i laughed slightly.

“he’s a teenager. he will grow out of that disobedience phase soon.” i put a finishing charm on the back of her head and then reached for the shell that ronal put on her forehead everyday.

i handed it to her to put on and i looked through my things for a mirror.

once i found it, i held it up to her face so she could look at her reflection. she held it and she started to touch her cheeks.

where her wrinkles were, her birthmarks. any sign of aging she could find.

“i’m getting old, my love.” she sighed out, putting the mirror down. she stands up and turns to help me up as well.

“no, you’re just growing wiser.” i smiled. she laughed and put my arms around her neck.

she hugged my waist closer to her body and kissed me. she pulled away and examined my face.

“you’re not getting any younger either, you know.” she muttered.

“wow. all you know is how to insult, don’t you?”

“i thought it was funny.”

“no.”

“i’m sorry! you know i love you.”

“no, too late.” i tried to get myself off her, but she pulled me back into her embrace. she held my face up to hers and kissed me again.

i laughed against her lips and pulled away when a horn began to sound in the distance.

i turned my head to see the opening of our marui. na’vi we’re running past, diving into the water, rushing all into one direction.

“what’s happening..” i muttered to myself. ronal and i walked toward the tarp that covered the entrance and i pulled it to the side.

i asked one of the villagers why everyone was running.

“apparently other na’vi have landed on the beach.” he said simply.

i looked at ronal all excited to greet the newcomers. but she looked.. worried. and unpleasant.

“let’s go meet them. maybe they’re nice.” i shrugged.

“hmph.” she huffed. she walked past me and onto the woven pathways.

we walked together to the growing cluster of green villagers gathering on the beach.

tonowari, ronal’s ex-husband, had already approached them and was greeting them.

my heart raced when i saw ikrans. my ikran passed away from old age years ago and i hadn’t seen one since then.

“ronal, they’re from the forest! i wonder if they’re omaticaya like me. maybe we’re from the same clan.” i smiled excitedly, grabbing her hand.

“even if they are, they’re still outsiders.” she mumbled.

“ronal. please.” i sighed.

she rolled her eyes. i tugged on her hand to make her look at me.

“i was an outsider too. and you accepted me into the clan.” i said.

she stared with more sympathy. “that’s different.”

“how? you didn’t know me when i arrived. i could’ve been a threat. but you took the time to get to know me, and ended up loving me and who i am.” i said. her gaze softened as i spoke to her.

“please be kind to them, whoever they are. for me.” i nodded.

she stared and kept quiet for a moment. i just kept a smile on my face until she gave in.

“fine.”

i smiled and kissed her cheek. excitedly, i guided her by the hand through the group until we were at tonowari’s side.

in front of me was a na’vi man with long locs, a strong build, and a tired face and a woman beside him with a slim build and the same fatigue.

something about her looked familiar.

her face was mature, like mine.

she looked at me and her eyes struck something in my memory. the way she eyed me curiously, the way her entire family eyed me curiously.

“you.. you’re omaticaya?” the man asked me.

“yes! you come all the way from the forest to here?” i asked. i was astonished that this whole family came here in one piece.

i looked at the wife again and her gaze changed from curiosity to fear.

“y/n.” she spoke.

i tilted my head when she said my name. then i remembered.

i remembered the heartache and the anger i felt when i left home. all of it caused by them. my smile faded away as i spoke her name.

“neytiri..”

she sighed out. i look up at the man. the man who took her from me. he changes so much. he was bigger, stronger.

“jake sully.” i said.

“yeah, uh..” he looked at his wife and she was looking down at the sand, one hand attached to her small daughter.

her family was beautiful. two sons and two daughters. neytiri aged so gracefully. she looked happy. but right now..

“you can’t even look at me?” i said to her.

she said nothing.

ronal put her hand on my shoulder and i looked at her.

she asked if i was alright. i gave her a simple nod, excused myself, and walked away from the group.

i hadn’t seen neytiri in 14 years. i almost forgot what she looked like. she was regal now.

i stepped into the marui and started pacing the floor.

why in the world would she come here? why did she, of all the people in that clan, have to be here?

and oh course, she had to bring that stupid sky person with her. as if her leaving me for him wasn’t enough.

someone walked into the marui, bringing me out of my thoughts. tsireya looked worried and walked toward me.

“mama, what happened? i thought you would be excited for these people, they’re just like you.” she said.

“i’m sorry, tsireya. uhm..”

“what is it?” she asked kindly.

“i know these people. and i’m just a little shocked, i haven’t seen them since i left the forest maybe 14 or 15 years ago. but don't worry about me, i’ll be fine.” i explained.

“are you sure? because mother’s hissing at them.” she said.

“i’m sure she is. don’t worry, i bet your father is going to let them stay anyway.” i chuckled.

tsireya sighed out and i plastered a smile on my face so she wouldn’t worry.

“i’m okay.” i chuckled. i hugged her tightly. she looks up at me and i tuck a few stray strands of hair back into place.

“my little flower. always worried.” i muttered. i held her face in my hands before kissing her forehead.

“my father’s making us teach their children.” she said. i pulled away and held her hands in mine.

“oh, fun! how did ao’nung react?”

“he tried to argue and now he’s being

forced.” she laughed softly.

“aw, poor boy. well, at least you’ll make some new friends.” i said to her.

ronal pulled the tarp aside and walked inside.

“tsireya, go find your brother. i need to speak to mama.” she said kindly.

tsireya nodded and walked out without another word. she let the tarp down and walked toward me.

“what happened? you were so excited a moment ago and then you ran off.” she said.

“i’m sorry, ronal. i shouldn’t have left the way i did.” i sighed.

“is there something i should know about this family? i already know they’re half-demon. whatever you have to tell me can’t be worse than that.” she continued.

“well, i knew them. the mother and the father.” i said.

i never told her the full story of why i left the forest. it hurt to even think about it, so i always gave her the brunt of it whenever she asked.

i always said “i was in a relationship, it ended badly, and i left for a fresh start.” i never gave names or specifics.

“i would have suspected you did. you come from the same clan. that woman, neytiri, knew your name. and you knew hers.” she continued.

“she’s my ex girlfriend. except, she wasn’t a very good one. and it took me by surprise to see her here. i never thought i’d see her again.” i said to her.

ronal sighs softly. she picks up my hand and holds it.

“i wish you would tell me what was so bad about the forest that made you leave. i hate when you leave me in the dark like this.” she said.

i still didn’t want to tell her. i didn’t know how she’d react. ronal is a passionate woman. and her emotions can be a lot.

especially when she’s angry.

“i’m sorry, my love.” i pulled her close and hugged her.

i pull back and hold her hands. “you’ll have to tell me sooner or later. tonowari let them stay.”

“stay for how long…?” i asked.

she winced and hummed, hesitating to give me an answer.

“ronal.” i laughed out.

“well… they’re not leaving any time soon.” she shrugged.

“ugh, i’m going to kill that idiot.” i huffed, letting her hands go. i covered my face and groaned as she chuckled lightly.

“tonowari was being nice.”

“he’s always been too nice.” i grumbled.

i removed the hands from my face and sighed.

“oh right, i need to go. the kids with the ilu, uhm..”

“go. it’s fine. we’ll discuss this later, alright?” she smiled.

i smiled back and gave her a hug before tonowari walked in.

he held his arms out, looking all confused. “what happened?”

“ugghh.” i groaned loudly before walking past him.

“what-“

“don’t speak to me. big-headed idiot.” i grumbled, holding my hand up to his face.

i did what i needed to do for the afternoon and made my way home in the evening as the sun started to go away for the night.

i walked past the marui that neytiri and her family were in. the tarp was pulled to the side so i imagine someone in there saw me walk by.

i confirmed this when i heard her voice call for me.

i looked back and saw her, one foot inside the hut and the other stepped outside.

i sighed out. i knew i’d have to face her sooner or later. i just didn’t think it’d be the day she got here.

“hi, neytiri.” i muttered.

she smiled weakly. she stepped out and pulled the tarp down, walking a bit closer. “i didn’t expect to see you here.”

“i could say the same.” i said as i crossed my arms.

“i know. so this is where you ran off to all those years ago.”

“mhm. thankfully, ronal didn’t threaten me when i arrived.” i said.

“oh.. you heard about that.”

“yes, i did. i also heard that tonowari let your family stay. i didn’t hear for how long though.”

her small smile faded away slightly. “oh.. well the forest isn’t safe for my family. i think we’re staying here for a long time. forever, even.” she winced.

i nodded. i kept my cool, but trust me, i was fuming.

“look, i know what you must think of me after what i did. but i felt really awful for how i treated you, and i still do. the fact that i couldn’t ask for your forgiveness had haunted me these past 14 years.”

“yeah. you hurt me terribly and i just couldn’t stand to be around either of you.” i shrugged.

“i get it.”

i glanced at the open window inside her hut and saw her children inside.

her son was holding her youngest daughter in his lap, both of them smiling and laughing.

“my kids asked about you. they were surprised to see another omaticaya here. of all places.” she said.

the young daughter spotted me and gave me a shy wave. the son said something to her making her look up at him before they both stood and walked away.

“you have a beautiful family.” i smiled.

“thank you.” she muttered.

“i’m sorry i couldn’t give you that.”

she raised her head to look up at me. she was confused and took a step toward me.

“oh, y/n-“

“that’s what you always wanted right? a family. obviously you couldn’t have that being with me.”

“that’s not why i left.” she said loudly. she looked like she said it louder than she should have and glanced at the window of he hit to see if she had caught anyone’s attention.

i just glared at her. i know i didn’t tell my family what happened but the reason she hadn’t told her was because she knew what she did was wrong.

“i didn’t mean to fall in love with him.” she said in a more hushed tone.

“what kind of excuse is that, neytiri?” i laughed out.

“i know how it sounds. i know i lied to you about jake and how i felt about him. and i’m so sorry.” she reached for my hand but i took it away.

“you didn’t just lie. you tried to convince me you two weren’t in love. told me i was crazy and jealous and how you couldn’t possibly love a dreamwalker.”

she sighed out and glanced at the hut.

“what? you don’t want your kids to find out you’re a liar-“ she grew terrified and grabbed my head, one hand holding it in place and the other covering my mouth.

“and a cheater!” i yelled into her palm.

“stopstopstop! please, i’m sorry. please don’t say it so loud.” she hissed.

i glared up at her. she removed her hand and winced.

“i’m really sorry.”

“oh you’re really sorry?”

“are you going to behave this way the entire time i’m here?” she snapped.

i shrugged. she sighed out and looked at her hut. “you’re still the same.”

“what is that supposed to mean?”

“you’re sassy and argumentative.. and getting on my nerves.” she snapped.

i laughed at how irritated she was getting.

“i’m going inside. will i have to see you tomorrow for training?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“no.”

she sighed out.

“you’ll see my wife, though. have fun with that.” i smiled.

i left her there before she could respond to me.

the next day comes and everyone splits off to train with the new family.

tsireya and ao’nung were out by the ilu pen with neytiri’s children, tonowari and a few of his friends were training jake sully.

and ronal was getting ready to go with neytiri.

“are you sure you will be okay by yourself?” she asked me as she looked in a mirror, fixing her headpiece.

“i’ll be okay. i have friends besides you and wari.” i chuckled.

“that’s funny.” she said with a blank stare.

“i’d honestly rather have you help her than me.” she said as she stood up.

“why? we would just bicker and get nothing done. all neytiri likes to do is argue.” i grumbled.

“i know, but it’s awkward for us. your ex girlfriend being trained by her ex’s new wife. it’s just too much.” she groaned. i laughed.

“i know this must be so hard for you.” i dragged on dramatically.

“stay strong for me, my love. you’ll get through this.” i kissed the tip of her nose, making her deadly stare fade into a laugh.

“if you need me, i’ll be on the other side of the island.” i walked past her and left the marui, smiling at the sound of her laughter.

i had to walk past the sully hut to get to where i was going and i just did my hair, so i couldn’t dive in the water to just swim there.

i sighed out and walked past really quickly, trying my best not to look inside.

i turned a corner and a little girl was staring up at me and standing in my path.

“oh!” i muttered. it’s neytiri’s youngest daughter. wow, she looks exactly like neytiri when she was that age.

“hi, little one. are you lost?” i asked.

“oh… no. i’m not.” she answered.

“uhm.. okay.” i nodded. i hesitantly walked past her but her stare never let up. i start walking away when she calls for me. “wait!”

“yes?” i looked back at her.

she starts nervously fidgeting with her hands.

“are you.. omaticaya?” she asks.

i smiled softly. “yes, i am.”

“really?! i knew it! i told my mom but she didn’t believe me!” she exclaimed.

“aw, well.. now you know.” i shrugged.

“i’m tuk! how long have you been here?” she continued.

“uh.. hi, tuk. i’ve been here a long time.”

“wow.. dk you like it here? i like it here a lot, but i miss home. do you miss home?” she spoke super quickly and it made me laugh.

“uhm.. yes i love it here. and i miss home sometimes, but it’s okay.” i told her.

“you’re very pretty.” she smiled.

“aw thank you! so are you, little one.” i said, putting a bright smile on her face.

“tuk? tuk!” her mother called. i grew horrified but quickly changed my face when i remembered her daughter was standing in front of me.

“your mother’s looking for you.” i said.

and just in perfect time, neytiri turned the corner to find her daughter and i. her eyes grew wide before looking down at tuk.

“tuk, come.” she held her hand out.

“okay..” tuk takes her moms hand but looks back at me.

“bye.. uhm, what was your name?” she asks.

“oh..” i glanced up at neytiri who avoided my eye contact like the plague.

“it’s y/n. i’ll see you both around.” i bowed my head slightly before quickly walking away.

“don’t look back, don’t look back, just keep walking,-“ i muttered quickly as i sped up.

-neytiri’s pov-

“tuk, come.” i said to her.

i watched y/n nervously and tried to get tuk away as quickly as i could but i know she can’t help her curiosity.

“okay.. bye, uh.. what was your name?” she asked y/n.

shit.

y/n glanced at me and i tried so hard not to look at her.

she told tuk her name before leaving and we walked back to our marui.

“mama, you should be friends with y/n. you will enjoy having someone like us here.” she said sweetly.

she smiled back at me before jumping back into the marui. i sighed out.

“i think you’re right, tuk.” i smiled at her.

i looked up at the sky before muttering. “i’m sorry for lying to her. i’ll tell her when she’s older.” i prayed.

eywa might strike me with lightning.

꒰ 🥥 ꒱ؘ ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

[jarofstyles]

FICTOBER DAY 5- Can I Hold Your Hand?

Here is day 4, a bit of cutie dadrry <3 Enjoy!

FICTOBER Prompt list and Masterlist

Patreon

WC-700+

-------

“Can I hold your hand?” The small voice peeped up at him. Their son in his train conductor costume had been insistent that he was too big to hold his father’s hand, he was a big boy now and he could do trick or treating all by himself. 

Y/N pushed the baby carriage, his little sister still a drooly little baby with a plush pumpkin costume on her body and a tiny hat on her head to keep her warm as the october air chilled up. His wife was dressed up in a poodle skirt and letterman jacket, a little tie around her neck and a bouncy ponytail bobbing as she walked. Harry had chosen function this halloween, wearing jeans and a black leather jacket. His saddle shoes were the only thing he purchased for the getup, his hair slicked back in a 50’s like manner- except that one strand that escaped and curled over his head. Y/N had been adamant he not try and fix it, it apparently did something to her. 

“Yeah? Not too big to hold my hand now, mate?” He teased, placing his hand down for the smaller one to take. Their gait was slow, their son not the fastest with his Thomas the Tank Engine soft cut out around his body. It made him a big more clumsy, too, which is why Harry was glad Y/N had put knee guards and gloves on him.

“No. I’m am big, but I don’t like all the noises.” He tried to maintain, but the spooky music filtering through the neighborhood and sound effects of the motion sensor activated decor making the poor thing jump. Hell, one of those things had even made Harry clutch his chest as he had approached the front door to ring for candy. What was with these things getting more and more accessible to the public? He remembered the only time he used to see these things were in haunted houses he went to in uni. Now it seemed everyone on the block had a jumpscare waiting to strike. Stupid screaming skeleton. 

“It’s okay, baby.” Y/N crooned. “Did you know that on one of our first dates, Daddy took me to see a movie and got so scared he screeched?” It was true, but it was justified. Most of the room had jumped or made a noise too- it just so happened that his had been a bit more loud and high pitched than he would have liked. 

Harry looked at her with narrowed eyes, scoffing as his wife grinned like the little shit she was. Really? “Are you ever going to let me live that down? I told you, it was just a bad jump scare. You jumped too.” He looked towards their son, who was giggling simply because Y/N was. “Mumma’s being silly. It’s not a bad thing to scream either, it’s natural.” 

“But you’re so big and old, Daddy. You can’t get scared.” He giggled, his fingers squeezing on to Harry’s as they approached another pathway to go up to the house. It was decked out in cobwebs and had some cool orange and purple lighting, spooky sound effects filtering through hidden speakers in the bushes. The howl of a wolf sounded, having him step closer to Harry’s leg. “You go with me?”

“What’s this, then hm? Make fun of me for being scared and then asking me to go?” He ruffled the conductor hat on his head. “You’re lucky I love you loads and Mumma is afraid of the spiders in those webs or I’d made you go with her.” It was all in jest, Y/N simply shrugging. How was she supposed to know what spiders were fake or real? It would be a perfect place for one to hide and jump into her hair!

“It’s okay to be afraid of things, baby. Your father is just silly. Even sillier than me.” Her hand came up to squish Harry’s chin, letting her lipstick give a big kiss mark on his cheek, the bright red in the perfect shape of her lips. When she pulled back, there were loud giggles as the mark was revealed. Harry didn’t mind, clearly, blushing slightly as he knew exactly what she had done, but to their son it was apparently the funniest thing in the world. Y/N shot him a playful glare before threatening him with the same.  “Go on, then. Or you’re getting a kiss mark from me too. Grab Mumma a chocolate if there is one.”

[scaredpigeons]

It’s always the smart ones, isn’t it?

Artist link: https://x.com/rueleaf_art/status/1720131112150695939?s=61&t=mQAX9COmvfjstwJ6klO6CQ

Please give Rue a follow, i just found them on twitter, and this piece is a part of their Huevember series.

WARNING: NSFW 18+ MDNI

Albedo x fem!bimbo!reader fem pronouns and anatomy used.

Word count: 2.9k

CW: albedo is pretty manipulative in this, but reader is willing, so dubious consent warning. Monsterfucking(literally, it’s a hydro slime.) ovipositon, pretty heavy voyuerism, i intended to write reader as a true bimbo, but i kinda lost it so she’s just a little ditzy. Use of an aphrodisiac. Use of leg restraints (inappropriate use of vision.)

Authors Note: listen, this came from the nastiest, most depraved depths of my brain, and its not even that bad. If you don’t like this shit, don’t read it, hands down. If you do like this shit, please let me know if you’d like a continuation, as i left it pretty open ended. This sat half finished in my docs for so long, so if the ending feels rushed, im sorry 🥺

“Right this way, please. Watch your step.”

Albedo led you through the entrance to the cave, a winding tunnel descending deeper into the earth, glowing stone and mushrooms popping up every few steps, illuminating what his lantern couldn’t reach.

“So, what did you say was wrong with the slime again? It’s… copy-lating?” You try to remember what it was that he’d said to convince you to assist him, but you ended up being distracted again by his vibrant blue eyes, and the way his mouth moves when he speaks.

If your crush on the Chief alchemist wasn’t evident to him yet, you’d swear he was more dense than the rocks he so carefully studied. You didn’t exactly hide your admiration, his pretty looks and seemingly limitless intelligence had you hook, line and sinker from the moment you met him.

He’d been kind in the beginning, but had held you at arms length like most others, polite greetings and updates on upcoming projects were the most you could pull from him. It took getting a glittering character review from Lisa and one babysitting trip with Klee—that surprisingly didn’t end in disaster— for Albedo to finally come to see you as a friend.

Now you just wished you could step past that carefully drawn line of friendship into something more.

Albedo sighed, but even with his back to you it sounded as if pushed through a half grin.

“Slimes are baser elemental beings, created from the sedimentation of elements dispersed throughout nature.” He turned slightly to look back at you. “Due to this fact, their intelligence levels are extremely low, resulting in a limited set of desires for their own survival.”

“Right…” you said, touching some of the glowing blue algae on the wall, before noticing the ground becoming more and more damp.

“They congregate around the elemental sources in which they formed within, seeking out other sources when those are no longer sufficient, and defending those sources when necessary.”

“Right,” you said, rolling your eyes with a grin. “That's why when a girls tryna fish, those little shits think that’s the most disrespectful thing I could ever do, and throw themselves at me until I’m either forced to run away, or stab them until they pop.”

“Precisely.” Albedo stepped through a rock cluster that seemed to cut the pathway in half, stepping over the bottom ledge and bending his way under the jagged top. He reached out his hand to offer assistance. You took it, and slid through.

“They have no reasoning, no cognitive ability to differentiate between someone who is harmlessly just passing through, or something that is a threat to their survival. All they know is to feed and attack.”

Albedo kept his hand in yours as he guided you around the corner, stopping to let you stare in awe of your surroundings.

It was a ruin of some sort, at one point it had probably been some kind of place of worship, but now it only housed the rubble that might have been walls, and the massive stone Dias surrounded by glowing water.

The Dias was easily twice the size of your house, a perfect circle carved with intricate swirls and patterns.

“This place is beautiful…” you whispered

Albedo smiled at you, gesturing for you to take a closer look.

You stepped across the stone path to the Dias, smiling at the little fish that swam through the glowing algae. Albedo followed you in your awe until you reached the centre, and looked up at the top of the cavern, grinning at the lights reflecting off the jade and lapis jutting from the rock.

“We will conduct the experiment here.” Albedo dropped his bag down, taking out some strange bottles and his notepad.

“Wait!” You said. “You still haven’t told me exactly what is happening, Albedo. This cavern is beautiful but what does it have to do with slimes?”

Albedo kneeled at his pile of things and began working. “I was exploring a series of caverns networking from Dragonspine to old Mond, when I came across a hydro slime behaving strangely.”

He uncapped his travel beakers, pouring tiny amounts back and forth between them before he seemingly got the right mixture.

“I believe this particular specimen is displaying clear evolutionary characteristics that would completely change the way that slimes are formed, and thus cause unforeseen consequences to the ecosystem not only of Mondstadt, but Teyvat as a whole.”

“Wait, slow down, what?” Your face reddened as Albedo stepped closer, flustered by his proximity and your inability to keep up with his explanation.

“I believe I’ve come across a slime that is evolving. Its actions make me think that if they continue down this evolutionary path, they could become smarter, stronger, and more dangerous.”

You released a tense breath, grateful for his slowed re-iteration. He was so close again, you could feel the gentle warmth he radiated, and see the lights of the cavern reflecting in the pretty blue of his eyes.

“What did it do? That made you stop and think, I mean.”

He paused and gave a soft smile, happy you were still interested in the experiment.

“Well first of all, it did not attack me. In fact, it was rather friendly, and approached me with cautious curiosity.”

“What! Really?” You could practically feel the sparkle in your eyes.

“Of course, would you like to meet it?”

He took your quick nod as intended, reaching into his pocket with his free hand and sprinkling slime bait on the Dias in front of you.

Within a minute, a medium sized hydro slime surfaced from the water, hobbling its way up onto the Dias and to the bait.

“Oh wow!” You whispered, looking between Albedo and the slime. “It’s so calm!”

“Yes, I noticed that too. I’m glad your presence is not alarming to it, that makes the experiment much easier.”

You looked at him in question, but he just handed you the mixed travel beaker.

“Here, this should be ready now.”

“I trust that it's safe,” you laughed. “May I ask what I’m drinking before I do?”

“It is a stimulant created using fire flower stamen essence among other ingredients, meant to warm the internal temperature of your body to create a climate that might be more suitable to the specimens requirements for the experiment.”

You couldn’t help but feel Albedo's eyes raking up and down your body, even though he tried to hide it— and so without hesitation, you drank the beaker in its entirety.

“What, you think it likes warm hugs or something?” You chuckled a bit.

“Something like that. Would you mind sitting down? I know it's damp but it will make interacting with the slime easier for you.”

“Oh not a problem!” You began to feel the effects of the potion take effect as you sat, and immediately the slimes interest was piqued, causing it to bounce in your direction. It was a little intimidating, but you trusted Albedo wholeheartedly, and knew that even if he was wrong about it being docile, he was more than capable of protecting you in case of an emergency.

The warmth in your body pooled outwards from somewhere deep in your belly, pulsing and pulsing until you could feel it in your fingertips.

“Wow…that took effect really…uh, quickly. why am I all… fuzzy?” Your words took longer to come to the forefront of your brain, feeling strange as they rolled off your tongue. A strange buzzing formed between your legs, which immediately embarrassed you.

You reached out to touch the slime, no longer thinking straight. Your fingertips ran across the top of its round body, sliding through the slippery substance it was coated in.

“Oh wow…. S-slimy, hehe.” You giggled, feeling like a child. “‘Bedo? What’s… what do I do?”

Albedo walked closer, leaning over you and causing you to feel incredibly small in his intense gaze.

“You… trust me, right?” Albedo asked.

“Pffft,” you snorted. “Of course I do, silly.”

He seemed to run his tongue over his teeth in thought. “You’d do whatever I ask of you, yes?”

Even through the fog clouding your brain, there was no hesitation in your answer.

“Anything for you, ‘Bedo.” You smiled at him, dizzy with the heat pooling between your legs. “I’ll be a good girl, so good for you.”

He smiled a bit at that, brushing some of his perfect blond hair from his eyes.

“I’ll remember you said that.”

Albedo pulled two chunks of lapis from his coat pocket, and suddenly they flew towards you. You flinched, almost reaching out to protect the slime, until you realized they were moving with the power of Albedo’s vision.

They seemed to melt and mold themselves mid-air, wrapping themselves around your ankles. With a flick of his wrist, Albedo had you thrown to your back, legs high in the air above your head.

You screeched, scrambling to cover yourself with your skirt, but to no avail.

“Now now,” Albedo tutted. “Your cooperation is vital for this stage.”

With cheeks heavy and hot, you lowered your arms back to support your upper half, trying to look at Albedo as he shuffled closer towards you.

“Please, try to relax.” He said, hovering beside you, so incredibly close now that your fingertips buzzed with the desire to reach out and touch him. He flicked a pocket knife from somewhere in his coat, and moved overtop the slime that was in between your legs.

“Hopefully, this shouldn’t take long,” he said, lifting your skirt and eyeing you as you squeaked in alarm but didn’t move to stop him. “And if you stay still, you shouldn’t experience any discomfort. Though from the looks of it, you wont experience any discomfort regardless.”

The way Albedo eyed what you knew to be a sizeable damp patch on your underwear embarrassed you to no end. You were so flustered, he shouldn’t be seeing you like this! Even as he lifted the edge of your panties with a gloved finger and ran his pocket knife through the cotton, exposing you to the cavern, you couldn’t help but chastise yourself for being so uncomfortably wet.

You were probably messing up Albedo’s experiment! You shouldn’t be feeling this way, yet the way he eyed your glistening core sent shivers up your spine.

“A—ah” you stuttered, feeling a single gloved fingertip run through your folds. The pleasure of such a simple touch was overwhelming, and you felt tears pooling in the corners of your eyes as you watched him raise his finger to the light, embarrassed he could see how startlingly wet you were. “I’m sorry B-bedo, I… I don’t know what’s w-wrong with me, I—“

“You’re doing perfectly,” he said, and something in his eyes seemed… hungry. “Everything is as it should be.”

You felt something strange against your behind, wet, slimy movement.

“Look,” Albedo said, looking between your legs. “It seems my potion worked just fine, and the bait made its way to your body’s natural lubricant.”

You stared down between your legs in absent horror as the slime shimmied its way up to your aching core, its front moving and rubbing around at your folds as if it was searching for something.

“B-bait? W-wait—“ you stuttered, moaning as you felt pressure at your entrance. “Albedo!”

But Albedo just watched hungrily as the slime pressed a small portion of itself into your waiting hole, the thick, slimy appendage sliding in with nearly zero resistance thanks to the slick pooling from your core.

Wait, you thought. Did the drink Albedo give me make me this wet?

“Yes.” It took him answering to realize you were mumbling your thoughts out loud. “I gave you a potion that would both enhance your natural lubrication and entice the slime to investigate, to see if my theories were correct.”

The slime moved completely over your core now, its gyrating form moving against your clit as the thick extension of its body began to thrust in and out of you.

Through the thick fog of delirious pleasure, you noticed something glowing within the slimes main body, small, yet bright orbs forming as it essentially fucked the thoughts from your brain.

You were so embarrassed, yet could only lay there and watch as Albedo eyed your exposed hole through the near-clear body of the slime, watching with a dark gaze as your walls pulsed around the appendage.

“Fascinating,” he murmured, only looking away to jot short notes in his notebook.

The glowing grew brighter, and you looked down just in time to watch as a small, egg shaped orb moved from the slimes main body down, down down until you felt it push past the ring of muscle at your entrance.

“It’s depositing the eggs now,” Albedo said almost reverently, watching with rapt attention as the egg was pushed deeper by the thick appendage still thrusting inside.

“‘Bedo…” you moaned, the pressure inside you causing a rushing heat to form, and you felt as if you might orgasm at any moment. The slimes appendage pushed at your walls, pumping another glowing egg past your entrance, and Albedo’s eyes bore into your core as he watched the glowing orb be thrusted deeper inside you.

You realized with a squirm that due to the semi-clear form of the slime, and the glowing nature of the eggs, Albedo was likely watching the entire process and clearly seeing everything happen. The idea that he was watching your insides be filled in such a way was what sent you over the edge, yet this only seemed to make the slime more invested in pumping you full even further.

Albedo looked as though he might drool as you clenched around the appendage, and you blushed even harder at the idea that the alchemist was gaining more than just scientific gratification from this.

You leaned up a bit to gaze at his crotch, and sure enough, a noticeable bulge strained against the fabric, tenting his pants.

The fact that he was enjoying this made your brain melt even further, and you threw your head back, no longer caring to hide your moans.

The slime pumped you full of its eggs, one by one it thrusted the glowing orbs deep into your guts, stretching and pressing sinfully up against your cervix, as if it meant to push them deeper within you.

And the appendage did, it pressed them deeper, and suddenly the pleasure turned to dull pain as it pushed and pushed against your natural resistance.

Albedo must have seen this, and must have seen the panic in your eyes, because his sword suddenly materialized in his hand, and with one swift motion, he cut the slime down while it was still inside you.

You screamed as it burst, coating your lower half in its residue, making you even more sticky and uncomfortable.

But the way Albedo called your name out broke you from your frazzled daze, and you looked up to see his eyes, those beautiful blue eyes still staring hungrily at your sopping entrance.

“Push them out.” He said simply.

“W-what?” You murmured, legs still suspended in the air, brain still heavy with the fog of whatever was in that potion.

“Push them out for me.” He glanced at you, holding your stare just until he saw the command register, and then he watched as your body clenched, and suddenly your hole opened up, pushing a slimy, dimly glowing egg out and onto the ground beneath you.

You groaned at the strange feeling, overwhelmed and yet so enraptured by the way Albedo was staring at you, you never wanted it to end.

“Good.” He said quietly. “So good for me, just like you promised.” He crouched down between your legs, spreading you even further with his fingers to look into your pulsing hole. Your insides clenched at his praise, and you could feel the eggs shifting inside you.

“Keep going, I want to watch them all come out of you.”

So you pushed again, this time, two popped out in rapid succession, and Albedo licked his lips as he murmured soft words of praise, though you could barely hear them over the sound of your own labored breaths and tiny moans.

You pushed again, feeling the remaining eggs shift and rub up against that sweet, sensitive spot inside you once more. You cried out, an egg barely breaching your entrance before your body sucked it back in.

“Come on,” Albedo thumbed gently over your swollen clit, rubbing tight circles with the perfect amount of pressure. “Orgasm if you need to, but keep pushing them out for me, darling.”

You keened, the word darling had barely left his lips before your body crashed over the precipice of orgasm, pulsing outwards in hot bursts from the point of connection between his thumb and your clit.

You managed to push the rest of the eggs out, and as the last one fell from your gaping hole, you heaved in a relieved breath, sweat running down your exposed thighs.

You watched as Albedo turned a couple of the slimy eggs over with the end of his pencil, eyeing them inquisitively before he stood over you once more.

Your eyes were so heavy, the effects of the potion still weighing in your chest and between your legs.

Just as you were about to whimper out your discomfort, Albedo’s boot stomped down on the pile of eggs hard, splattering the condensate all over your lower half. He stomped until they were all destroyed, then gazed upon your disheveled form with eyes that screamed danger, though to you it just looked like desire.

“A-Albedo?” You mumbled, legs shifting uncomfortably in their restraints.

“You’re still under the influence of the potion, yes?” He reached down and flicked his belt from the buckle, popping the button of his slacks with one hand. “Let’s take care of that.”

[monsterfloofs]

Rat (Male demon) x Anonymous Reader (Sfw)

(Welp. The audience voted for more silly beans. 👀✨️ So here yeh go! I hope you enjoy. I love Rat, he made me laugh quite a bit while I was writing skdksksjs)

“Witchling,” Rank breath causes you to wrinkle your nose, turning your head away from the sharp jutting teeth. A large snap trap of a maw and beady sunken in eyes leered down at you.

“Heard there was a new one of yeh creepin’ around downtown.”

“I live here now, thank you very much,” You managed to huff, but sounding airy and unbothered at being boxed into an alleyway was all but a mad bluff. You tried your best to see if you could eyeball a way to escape.

A first day in your new home and trouble was already brewing as soon as you had begun your walk to work.

“Yeh know, witch bones pay good on the black market ‘round here. I think I may just got my ticket to makin' a pretty penny."

You try to grin, but the disgust and horror on your face, pulls your mouth into more of a grimace.

“H-huh you don’t s-say. . .”

You covertly try to sneak your hand into your satchel.

"Now don't make me have to get rough with ya–" 

There was a hard thunk that shattered into a million glistening crystal shards of glass over top of the big fellas head. You jolt in surprise at the sudden explosion. Reflexes kicking in enough so that you shield your face with your arms. You watch with horror as the imposing figure that had been looming over you moments before crumple to the concrete in a heap. The brick walls that had been boxing you in shuddered violently. Your eyes look from him lying motionless on the ground to the figure behind the hulking form. With a broken booze bottle in one hand. it steps out from the dark like a newly animated shadow. A dark trench coat tied tightly around a wiry frame. Two broken horns left stumps on either side of their face and bright luminous silvery eyes with pin prick slits. A tail swishing back and forth with a number of kinks in it that you guess are from numerous broken bones. The shadowy demon catches your gaze before a wide smile cracks open on its abyssal face. 

It hums a jaunty tune as it stoops to rifle through the downed man's pockets. Silver eyes brightening as it pulls out a worn wallet and flips it open, tugging out a wad of cash.

"Is my Lucky day– Heya doll," That wide mouth grins wickedly up at you. "Wanna drink? He's payin."

Your eyes go round and you shake your head vehemently.

“N-nuh uh.”

“Yeh sure?”

“Ab-so-lutely.”

"Eh, suit yeh-self." The figure stands and pockets the money, tossingthe beat up wallet ontop of the would be accoster. 

"Hopefully this palooka will twince about threatenin’ folks eh? Thanks for the dough, joe." He salutes the unconscious body before an arm snakes around you and you are hustled out of the alleyway.

"Hey- hey!" You try to pull away before you are pushed into the bright light of more warmer streets. You stumble forward and wobble to retain your balance.

"Now, scat kiddaroo, youse need to get outta here." He grins and flaps a hand at you, "Ain't nothin' good in these backallies, I promise. No shortcuts worth gettin' shanked."

"I was lost," You grumble hesitantly. "I was looking for the library."

"Library, uh?” They think for a moment before shoving the jagged existing half of the broken bottle into your hands.

"Hold this a sec, will yeh?"

You hold the dripping bottle with the tips of your fingers, the smell of strong alcohol stinging your nose. 

“Come on kid, let’s boogey, before that big guy wakes up.”

Your eyebrows raise as the shade pushes a clear pathway through the brickwork of one of the walls. It cracked upon like a set of misaligned teeth, opening wider until you could see a dusty path between the stones.

“Whoa. . . what,”

“No questions, jus’ go!” With clawed hands shoving at you stumble through the cavernous open. “Get a wiggle on!”

You felt relatively harassed, as you are pushed into the tunnel you dig your hand into your bag. Fingers searching around before they close around the sharp edge of a crystal ward, just in case you had landed from the frying pan and straight into the fire. 

The brickwork was pushed back into place, yet instead of the light closing up, there seemed to be thin light coming from above. Smuggled into a secret passageway of sorts. 

“So,”

You jolt a little as you realize the demon had already moved close, without making a sound. Their hands resting on his cheeks as they propped their elbows on a dusty stack of empty kegs. 

“You gotta name, they’m in distress?”

Oof, that was the worst pick up line you think you have ever heard. It took you a moment to even realize it was one.

“Uh. . . uh huh.” And you left it at that.

The demons look unphased. arching their back in a stretch and giving a yawn. In the low light their dark skin had a shimmery purple sheen to it. You could see glimpses of it where lights crossed from above.

"So what brings ya into town? Ain't from around here, that's for certain."

Your eyebrow creases as the large luminous eyes go up and down your frame. You cross your arms around yourself protectively, hunching your shoulders. He didn't seem to pose a threat, but he was especially nosey.

"The library is. . . ?"

He makes a noise. "Not a conversationalist? Awight! I gettcha!" 

He breezes past you.

"Come'on cupcake."

"Cupc– Oh no. You are not calling me that." You huff, as you trot after them.

You had to hand it to your strange companion, after the confusing trek through passageways and then feeling like you were dismally lost in the heart of crowded city streets. He did bring you to the library. He had nudged you with his elbow, and pointed out the building to you a few blocks away. The sight of the library gives you a rush relief that if anything, you would be on time. Perhaps just in a more scuffed up state than you would have hoped for. Ah well.

The demon marches towards the double doors, pushing them open.

"Mags!" His throaty voice hollering into the quiet sanctum, "HEY MAGS!!"

A librarian looks up from her work at the large circular desk. She was tall and thin, with a hooked nose and long face. Long dark hard like fringed wings laid around her shoulder. Her lips part as the shade strolls across the threshold, about to say something before her eyes fall upon you. Looking alive if not worse for wear. . . and regrettably carrying a weapon.

They demon puffs themselves up proudly.

“Found this peach hangin around them back allies. Say's they work here. I'm their guardian angel or somethin’ swooped right in an saved em!”

They slung an arm around you once more, a quick hand mussing up your hair on your hair.

“He-heY QUIT!”

Her lips quirk forming an amused smile. “Oh no, certainly nothing like an angel. . . Thank you for helping them get here at least."

Mags eyes the broken bottle in your hands, and you wobble on the spot. She turns her graceful chin back in the demon's direction.

"Actually, I wanted to speak with you about something as well. . . If I find you sleeping in the library again Rat, I shall be forced to put a ward on this building.”

The demon, now dubbed Rat, had perked up, looking very pleased with itself. That is until it was threatened with expulsion. It gawked at her eyes wide. 

“It’ssa public place! Yeh can’t do—“

“I can and I will.”

She put her hands on her hips, giving him a cool look.

Rat scrunches his face, slowly untangling himself from you, squinting his bulbous eyes at her. “Witch.”

“Yes, I am quite aware of what I am, thank you, now if that is all Mr. Rathbone. . . ?”

His eyes pop open as he shudders from the tip of his crooked tail up his back.

“I’m goin! I’m goIN! No need to get all hexxy vexxy on me!” He spits with disgust and squares his shoulders. “Dis is what I gets for helpin you uh? I’ll neveh do it again!”

His wide eyes turn to you and his expression becomes more sulky, pouting as he jabs a thumb at himself. “You owe for me dis witchy! I’ll be back!”

And like an indignant black cat, he slinks out of the door. Pausing long enough to stick his tongue out at the both of you from the window, before disappearing.

Mags puts a perfectly manicured hand to her cheek and sighs.

“Such a dramatic creature."

The librarian turns to you, her face softening. “I’m sorry to hear that there was trouble. I will give you protection charms to help keep you safe. I had to also learned that the hard way. Some streets are too dangerous to travel upon, even during the day. I am glad Rathbone found you though,  despite his. . . flaws."

Mags snaps her fingers and the shards of glass as well as the broken bottle shimmer away. You flex your fingers in relief and sigh.

“Thanks. . . Sounds like you’ve dealt with him before.”

She raises her eyes to the ceiling, “Oh yes. I haven’t been here long, but we already are well acquainted.”

You were glad she hadn't mentioned the bottle, and you were all too ready to forgot the whole experience.

“. . .I take it then, you’re not from Verdigris either?”

She shakes her head, long earrings jingling. “I’m from Fayeweiss. We recently had our library system spread over to Verdigris, I am overseeing that we become established and connected to our sister libraries.” 

“Fayeweiss. Wow, I have heard a lot of good things about Wyrn.” You smile, “Does he really do all his work in his sleep?”

You see the budding of a true smile on her lips, “. . . Just about. He runs his poor secretary quite mad.”

You purse your lips to stifle a laugh. That poor person. . . whoever they were.

“You’re not from around here either, but I don’t know the accent.”

“Oh,” You scuff your foot sheepishly, “Sunmel.”

“I heard the festivals there are lovely.”

You nod, “I was able to attend the last one before moving, I was glad I got to be there one last time.”

She places a warm hand on your shoulder, leading you gently. "Let's take a tour shall we? So you can get acquainted with the library. Would you like to take a small tea break before we start? You have had a hectic afternoon, and I have something to help settle those nerves."

A rough start to a first job ended on a pleasant note. Mags wasn't going to be your boss for the remainder of your position. Once the library was running well enough to stand on its own, she planned on traveling back to Fayeweiss. Which you were sad to hear, she seemed to be a kind individual and would have made a great boss and ally in this topsy turvy town. However she had promised the person who was going to be stepping into her role as a replacement she had trained herself. 

You felt at least a little assured, but that assurance was short lived as you stepped outside. You stood outside the library doors, with your shoes facing twists of turns of the city's labyrinth before you. The sky was beginning to darken into twilight, and you felt your stomach clench. Clutching the carved stone Mags had given you until your fingers tingle from the pressure. What was the path you took earlier? Once mirror transportation was situated, work would be a step away. . . but in the meantime traveling on foot through the city was more than a little daunting.

“Witchy!”

The voice makes you jump, holding a hand to your heart. It was the shade you met in the ally. Not exactly comforting but at least they were someone you recognized.

“Yeh dropped ya wallet.”

You glare at Rat, before you pat yourself down. You had a faint glimmer of hope that despite that self-assured goofy grin on his face, you were going to find your pockets full. Alas, you are in fact missing your wallet.

“How did you–?”

“I neveh reveal my secrets.” He grins.

You make an attempt to take the wallet back but he snaps his wrist back.

“Oh no! Not afta you humiliated me. I said ya owe me.”

“Okay. I’ll buy you a new bottle of whatever you were drinking earlier?”

“Temptin,”

You take another swipe for the wallet but he dances out of your way. Waving the wallet playfully under your nose.

“How about a drink wit me?” He bats his large eyes at you, and you get the distinct impression that you have seen a similar looking face. One of an extremely bedraggled cat that dragged itself out of the bathtub.

“I am definitely not going to go drinking with someone who is blackmailing me. You can keep the wallet at that point.”

He pouts. “Yer about as fun as dat other witch.” 

You pout back at him. “Whatever!” You scoff and cross your arms. "I don't go on dates with crooks."

"Eh! Dis crook saved yeh skin!"

"And then you stole my wallet?" You spread your arms wide. "Do you see how that isn't really endearing me to you??"

He sniffs before begrudgingly handing it back.

"And the money?"

He puts up his hands. "It's in dere! Sheesh! Talk about a picky customer!"

You shoot him an unimpressed look, because with all things considered, it's still your damn wallet. You flip it open to check the contents. With a cursory glance it looks like it's in there, but honestly you didn't feel like you could trust him. 

"I thought you might want company on da way home. Yanno? Someone to show ya a safe path you can take."

You stare at him, watching as he widens his eyes and tries his best to look innocent.

"Imma upstandin' citizen."

He really was trying hard to sell that yarn wasn't he?

"Ah, no, I don't think so." You turn and march away from him.

"Come on!" He yowls. "Come on, come on, come on! You need me!"

You glance over your shoulder. Then take a nervous glance up at the sky. Do you really want this unsavory character knowing where you live? Or do you want to take the risk of running around lost in the big city when it's night time? 

It was like that saying you remember hearing. 

It's better to pick the devil you know, then pick the devil you don't.

At least with this weirdo you can perform a level of protection against his presence, if anything goes wrong. You suck in a deep breath and turn back around.

"Fine. . . since I am still learning my way around." You grumble.

He grins "Then come on, sweet cheeks! I'll getcha home inna wink!"

"Those nicknames. . . are horrendous. You know that right?" 

He cackles and walks with a jaunty swagger in his step. You watch his tail brush past your knee before you sigh and begrudgingly follow behind him. 

He slows his speed enough that the two of you end up side by side. He hums cheerfully to himself, lighting a small cigarette with a flick of his thumb and fitting it between his crooked maw.

"How'z the new job? Yeh like it?"

You give him a surprised glance before realizing he must have put two and two together.  "It seems nice. . .” You shove your hands in your pockets thinking for a moment. "Oh, I think I remember the slang word they use around here. You're like, some kind of grifter right?"

Rat chokes on his cigarette, and accidentally eats it. He sputters out smoke, a clawed hand thumping his chest.

Oops.

"A WHAT?!" He manages to wheeze out.

"You know, a con man, a pickpocket, a swindler." 

He squints at you, tears forming in the corner of his eyes as he gives one last cough of smoke.

You watch the smoke ring float past your head before you smile and cross your arms. 

"I'm right aren't I? Why else would you be ducking around dubious alleyways?"

"I ain't that bad!" His ragged voice hisses, and you frown.

"Two wallet's a day isn't bad? You could of fooled me."

"Alright you snarky little," He grumbles the rest of what he was going to say inaudible. But then his face changes, and he gives an evil grin at you. "An. . . how much would you wager on that little assumption?" 

"Wager?" 

"Mmhm," His throaty voice rumbles and you frown.

"You mean like. . . a bet of sorts?" 

His eyes glitter and you raise an eyebrow. Oh boy, demons and debts are like mixing bleach and ammonia. 

"I thought you said you were a model citizen."

He sticks his tongue out playfully. 

"I am doll! I am!"

Right. Totally model citizen behavior right here.

"I'll overlook losing a bottle of booze, hell I'll even be your escort until ya don't need help around the city. I'll prove that I ain't no grifter."

"And if you can prove that. . . ?" 

He holds up a finger.

"One date. With me, afta work."

"Just a date? Are you that desperate?"

He squints at you, and you feel your face grow warm.

Oh yes, yes he is.

—-

You have gotten settled into the library space. Things are going well, you are learning a lot and flourishing in the quiet environment. You thought after so many attempts you thought Rat had finally given up.

But on your lunch break you heard, yowling, howling? Something?

Whatever noise that it was outside, it had you racing to look out one of the arched library windows. And there was your loverboy. Singing in the most god awful tone deaf song. At least, you think it was singing. You could barely make out “The Best is Yet to Come” by Frank Sinatra. Or perhaps you were giving him too much credit. 

Perhaps.

Mags comes to join you at the tall paned window. Peering down over her spectacles at the scene below. “. . . I have to admit he is persistent.”

Your brow furrows, throwing up the window. “Rat!” You yell, “What that heck are you doing!”

“Date night!” He hollers back. He holds up a bottle of wine proudly. “I even brought wine! Th’ good stuff!”

“Where did you get the money for it??” You yell back.

You watch his hand fall to his side. Still staring up at you.

“Rat!! Where did you get the money!?"

Without answering his slinks away.

“Oh my gods,” 

“There he goes,”

She gives you a look, “You. . . said you would go on a date with him?”

You look at her, “No. I made a bet. But I told him it had to be a clean date. No crookedness. I am guessing I’m going to win this one."

You rest your elbows on the window and you hear Mags trying to keep in laughter.

♡｡｡｡｡｡｡｡｡｡｡｡｡｡｡｡｡｡｡｡♡

Enjoy what I write? I have a tip jar!ヽ(*ᵔ▿ᵔ)ﾉ

I also take art n' writing commissions on my Ko-fi! It's on that same link!

[myovergrowngarden]

Recurring Nightmare (a narrative prose poem by Stephanie Rose Hold, originally published by Fifth Wheel Press for their Dreamland Anthology)

I’ve been having the same nightmare every week since I realized I was transgender. I’m somewhere familiar, somewhere I’ve felt joy and safety in the past. A mall, the mountains, or more likely Disneyland. I’m wandering, looking for something. A new set of clothing, my friends, a quiet place to stop and rest. It doesn’t matter what I’m searching for, it’s always something arbitrary. What is significant is that I never find it. I don’t think I was meant to. Instead, I was only meant to want, to wander, to have a motive to be alone and vulnerable. Now that my mind has set the stage, the nightmare can begin. The final players make their way onto the proscenium. A mob of my old friends starts pouring onto the scene. They don’t approach like a band of marauders pillaging and crashing their way through crowds, nor like a dragon streaking through the sky and promising oblivion. I start to notice them slowly out of the corner of my eye. Old friends from my childhood who I fell out with over politics, old acquaintances from church who I began to bond with before I fell from grace. People who would only recognize me by a name I no longer speak.

The only thing worse than seeing them again is seeing the spark of something in their eyes. A flash of recognition, the familiarity of a feature or a habit through which they notice me. I quickly move away, averting my gaze and trying to fix my hair in case it looks too much like it used to. Of course I am followed. It would be naive to expect that I could get away so easily. They continue to pursue me no matter how many crowds I weave between, how many narrow pathways I duck through. They’re relentless in their pursuit, unafraid of any consequence so long as they can lock eyes with me and confirm their theories. I hear their voices calling a name. A name that should be mine in their understanding. I don’t respond, that isn’t me, that never was me. I keep moving, hoping that eventually they’ll stop searching for someone who only existed in their eyes. They don’t. I never reach freedom, it’s just hours of the chase until I run out of places to hide. Eventually, moments before I jolt awake, they catch me. Either they dart in front of me, force me to make eye contact, or I am pulled back as I feel their hands tighten on my shoulder. One way or another, night after night, I am forced to look them in the eyes and let them make their judgements.

They’re the same. No matter how much I’ve changed, no matter how differently I dress or carry myself, they’re unchanged. Maybe they’re taller, stronger, louder, but they’re the same. Their souls are perpetually immature even as their bodies grow to intimidating proportions. For as much as I want to criticize them for that, or sneer up at them with superiority knowing that I found a way to grow and see the world without the tinted glasses they’ve welded to their faces, I can’t. I can’t feel any confidence, or pride, or safety, because for as much as I think I’ve changed they recognized me. It doesn’t matter that I’ve become my own woman. It doesn’t matter that I’ve found my sense of style, my voice, my community. It doesn’t matter that I’m kinder, smarter, better than I was before. How could any of that matter, how could any of that be real if they recognized me so easily? In an instant I’m no longer a confident, grown woman who loves her life. I’m a fifteen year old boy who hates himself, the world, and everyone he knows, and he doesn’t know why. I’m a pathetic, immature shell built up to protect a girl who wasn’t ready to see the world, except this time there’s no one inside. It was all a lie, I’m a lie, I’m… asleep.

I wake up. I always do. It doesn’t take me long to adjust, to remember that I live in a new city in a new room decorated just how I like it. How I really like it. I curse myself knowing I’ve failed to conquer the fear of running into them again, as if they’d be able to drag me back to an ancient way of thinking with so much as a look of disapproval. Even if I am back in the real world, that nightmare walks with me every day. I avoid the places we used to hang out, I’m cautious where I make my identity known, and who I’m with when I do it. I look over my shoulder and stick close to the ones I trust every time I dare to leave the house in my favorite dress. The day that I see them again, the day that these fears are validated hasn’t come. If I’ve crossed paths with them, they didn’t recognize me and I didn’t recognize them. I hear stories about them, I know they haven’t changed much. With enough time and distance from my dreams I allow myself to believe that I have. I am a better and happier person than I was growing up, I’m a woman fully realized with room to grow and shift. For a few days, I’m myself. Until I have the nightmare again, and like so many things in my life, the performance starts again from the first line.

[melis-writes]

Not sure if this has been requested before but… Victoria giving Michael a blow job either whilst driving or the car is parked somewhere

Think we need a whole lot of this steamy, sexy moments if you ask me. 😈 PULL OVER! Let Victoria completely seduce Michael into it…🥵🥵🥵

“Victoria,” Michael mumbles under his breath, attempting not to distract himself any further as he continues driving up the pathway. “We’re ten minutes from home and—"

“I don’t care,” you purr back, teasingly letting your fingers glide over the smooth leather of Michael’s belt. “You know we won’t make it in time.”

Michael presses his lips down into a firm line, forcing himself to stare at the round as you purposefully begin to lower your hand on his crotch to feel the poking erection through Michael’s dress trousers.

“All day in that stuffy conference room and I don’t get a piece of you to myself…” You sigh dramatically under your breath, unclicking your seatbelt. “When we could be here relaxing one another instead.”

“While I’m driving?” Michael’s eyes momentarily flicker down to your hand continuing to sensually massage his erection.

“I guess you can still pay attention just as well.” You smirk, unclasping Michael’s belt.

“I don’t think so.” Michael mutters, steering towards the side of the road before slowing down the car.

“Mm, well, I’ll just help myself.” Leaning over from your seat and letting your breasts almost spill free from your dress, you pull off Michael’s belt and tug his trousers with his briefs down at once.

Hearing Michael’s breath softly hitch, you lick over your lips and let his fully erect cock spring out—already oozing with precum at the tip.

“You wanna make a mess in your new Alfa Romeo?” Michael presses on the breaks slowly, parking the car by the side of the road.

“If it’s your mess, why not?” You eagerly position your mouth over the tip of Michael’s cock.

“Fuck,” Michael hisses under his breath—his tone falling deep and breathy. “You’re really doing this here and now.”

“I just want a taste, Don Corleone.” Making eye contact with Michael, you wrap your lips around his cock and lick off the salty precum.

Michael grasps his cock momentarily to angle it in your mouth, relaxing his body against the car seat as he grips back a fistful of your hair out of your face. “’Atta girl… Look at me.”

You peek back up as Michael’s cock slips out of your mouth. Michael gives your face a gentle squeeze enough to pry open your lips, coaxing, “open your mouth.”

You do as Michael says obediently and blush furiously to feel him spit in your mouth, guiding your head back down on his cock. “Like that…”

“Mm…�� Mixing Michael’s spit in your mouth, the pool of wetness between your legs only grows from amplified arousal as you drool over Michael’s shaft.

Michael grunts quietly to himself, completely enthralled in pleasure from your warm, wet mouth sucking over his cock. “That’s right…”

With his expression twisted in arousal and lust, Michael watches you from lazy eyes as you take his cock down the back of your throat as much as you can.

Holding onto Michael’s thigh, you sloppily suck over his cock, coating all eight inches of him in your spit until it oozes down every inch.

Bobbing your head up and down, you suck Michael off at an insistent but steady pace and clasp one hand over his shaft to pump it at the same time.

“Oh fuck,” Michael moans louder this time, only turning you on even more to hear his voice strained with the pleasure you provide him. “Victoria…”

Giving Michael as messy of a blowjob as you can, you can tell from the way his hips buck up into your mouth that Michael’s enjoying every bit of it and demanding more.

Only the sounds of you sucking and slurping your spit back off Michael’s cock then drooling back over it can be heard in the car, mixed with Michael’s inability to stop himself from groaning out.

Long used to taking his length down your throat time and time again, you easily keep up and even quicken your pace.

Michael’s cock twitches in your mouth as he clasps one hand over the steering wheel and the other over your ass, squeezing harshly.

On the verge of his orgasm, you can tell Michael’s getting closer to his climax but you refuse to relent.

“Victoria, baby—” Michael groans loudly, moving his hand down between your thighs. “I’m close.”

You suckle over Michael’s tip, tasting more of his precum in your mouth as you let your tongue do the work.

“Ohhhhh,” Michael attempts to quiet himself and say your name again, but the shockwaves of pleasure rushing over him are too much to resist. “Baby, I’m cumming. Fuck, fuuuuck…”

Giving a final moan, the moment you feel Michael’s hips jerk up from releasing his climax is the very second you pull back but keep his cock pressed against your mouth.

“Shit—” Michael’s hot, sticky cum spurts out over a dozen times and completely coats over your lips and mouth—dripping onto your breasts.

“Couldn’t wait till we got home?” You lick off as much of Michael’s cum off your lips as you can, grasping his cock in your hand again.

“Since you’re that impatient,” Michael breathes out hotly, “I say this is a good look for you. You wanna come home looking like this, hmm? Like a slut?” He tilts your chin up to face him.

“Your slut.” You pant back, giggling. “Haven’t you noticed yet?” You press your free hand down on Michael’s between your thighs, inching it to your bare pussy soaked from your own arousal. “I’m not wearing any panties either, Don Corleone. What do you want to do about that when we’re ten minutes from home?”

[ghoul-bonez]

~Through the Wind and Rain~

Chapter 4 (Promise Not to Leave)

OC x OC set in the “Avatar: The Way of Water” universe…

Summary: Jake Sully has always been an intimidating man, so when he asked Niri’te to talk with him she feared the worst.

Word count: 1.2k

Author's note: Life has been crazy so this took 2 days to edit…

Last - Next

Masterlist

Chapter 4 (Promise Not to Leave)

I knew the Sullys enough to call them by a first name basis. Jake's attempts to get his kids to be friends with me had failed because I refused to let them in, but for some reason they still seemed to like me.

They would call us friends, even after the many times I would try to correct them, denying our friendship. I had always liked Kiri more than the rest, but saw a lot of myself in Lo’ak which I think is why I fought so hard against their attempts at being friendly. I was already a troublemaker. I would not turn the Olo’eyktan’s son into one like myself.

Walking towards the Sully’s marui I knew Jake wouldn’t do anything to harm me, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely worried about what would lay past the doorway, many outcomes came to mind, only about half seeming good. As soon as I entered their home Neytiri immediately stood in front of me, she hissed frustratedly while Jake rubbed her arm, “How could you abandon your own kind!?”

Jake seemed just about as upset and I finally had my first real doubt about my choice to come, I was so screwed if I messed absolutely anything up, “Yeah, what sort of idea wormed its way into your head that made you want to leave the Omatikaya people.”

I didn’t want to explain my whole story to the Metkayina who I barely knew, but I felt I owed Neytiri and Jake an explanation, “It didn’t feel like I was among my own kind.” I sighed, almost just as frustrated as Neytiri, “My parents died alongside you fighting the Sky People, and after they passed I had my aunt who basically counts as nobody. Nobody came to my side. I was essentially the clan’s pet, you should know that of all people. I know you tried your best to help, but I was stubborn and didn’t accept it, but when you left I truly had nobody. So I left the forest. Here I won’t just be “the orphan” that people feel the need to be kind to. I won’t have to mostly fend for myself. I will be my own person here.”

It was once the Sully children started to really stare at us that Jake sighed and spoke again, “Let’s go have a conversation outside.” I knew I didn’t want to be a part of the conversation that was about to happen, but I accepted it.

Whatever he had to say to me had to be better than the tongue lashing Neytiri would give me. We walked outside, him guiding me to the edge of the pathway and sitting down. I awkwardly sat next to him, making sure to keep my distance.

Jake sighed, “I want you to realize no matter how much you hated your aunt, or how little she did to show her love for you, your decision hurt her. I have felt the pain of losing a family member, I know how you feel with your parents, how long the grief sticks with you. I have promised the clan leaders that I will take care of you. I want you to succeed here, I want you to grow. I don’t want to watch you go back home with your tail between your legs. I know you don’t want to go back either. You will follow the same rules as my kids, you will adapt, and learn fast. You will pull your weight, and stay out of trouble. Got it?”

I let out a relieved sigh, happy that this was an accepting conversation, not a “go back home” one, “Yes sir. I know she is upset, but I did this for myself, and you of all people should know sometimes you have to be selfish for yourself to thrive.”

Jake placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing slightly to reassure me, “I get that kid, but you need to learn that you can’t run from your problems. I need you to promise me one thing.”

I frowned, I was never great at keeping promises, “I’ll try.”

He smiled at me, “Alright, I need you to promise me that you will not leave. No matter what happens, no matter how much you struggle to learn or adapt. You will stay.”

I smiled back at him, that was a promise I could keep, “I can promise you that. Also you do know you don’t have to feel obligated to watch out for me, right?”

“But I do, I was your Olo’eyktan. My job was to watch over my people and keep them safe. I may not be Olo’eyktan anymore, not with the Omatikaya, and definitely not with the Metkayina, but that spirit still resides in me. To care for my people, you are still one of my people.” He seemed a lot more relaxed now, “Alright, back inside. It's time to eat.” He ruffled my hair before heading back inside with me following behind.

When we got inside Neytiri was still visibly upset, but she seemed to not want to skin me alive anymore. I quietly took a seat between Lo’ak and Tuk, trying to not draw much attention, and after a couple minutes the food was served.

I ate happily, except for having to smack both Tuk and Lo’ak’s hands away from my food which they were trying to steal. Eventually they gave up though after Kiri pestered them.

It felt a bit empty without Neteyam, but I silently worked through the feelings I was having on my own. It led to me being quieter than usual, which I’m sure everyone noticed, but thankfully nobody brought it up although I would easily be able to pass it off as exhaustion after my trip.

Eventually we split ways and I found my way to my own marui which Leyra had shown me to earlier. I was exhausted so I quickly set up my hammock, hanging it from two support beams across from one another. I sat down in it but before laying down and going to sleep I decided to pray to Eywa as I added a bead to my song chord.

A bead for my new life in Awa’atlu. I felt this was a big enough occasion to add to the song of my life. I gathered my song chord and rifled through my things looking for the perfect bead, but as I came up short I looked around my marui.

Hung on one of the walls was a net with little shells weaved into it. I slowly went to it, exhaustion weighing down my bones, and used my knife to snag the net, cutting it and releasing the shell into my hand. It was perfect.

As I sat down to tie the shell into my song chord I spoke, “Eywa, if you are listening, I would love a sign that I am truly meant to be here, I don’t really have the choice to leave now, but I would like to get confirmation I made the right decision. I want to make sure I am on the right path. I will be watching for your sign, Great Mother. Thank you.”

Once I was done praying I heard a noise, once, twice, then more times than I could count. The rain had come once again. I knew that was some sort of sign, it had to be, but it wasn’t enough for me.

The rain will never be enough for me, and someday that will be my downfall.

After the rain began I felt at peace, and laid back, falling into a peaceful sleep. I will be looking for her sign.

Word Bank:

Olo’eyktan (Clan leader)

Marui (Metkayina homes)

Omatikaya (Forest Na’vi)

Metkayina (Ocean Na’vi)

Sky People (Humans)

Awa’atlu (Metkayina village)

Eywa (Na’vi goddess)

[elithilanor]

The Human Side of Peredhel

This is probably (never say never) going to be a fic but I can’t really get the plot bunny out of my head of how would Elladan and Elrohir react if Elrond had another biological child after Celebrían’s departure? Especially if the kid was somehow an accident (two peredhel one night may not have the same biological procreation as typical elves but really this is just crack fic in a way) and they find out about them later. I don’t think they’d be cruel and eventually they would warm up to their sibling, but I imagine the beginning might be a little rough.

So here’s a lil Elrohir & Fem (it’s like only one word) Newly Known About Sibling content? Rip to the story that I won’t write with a great fucking title (how it usually is tbh).

.

.

.

“Will you stay here in the courtyard paths for the rest of the evening rather than join us then?” Elrohir asks, tone just on the side of disapproving.

“I thought you and Elladan would be happy were I not to show.” You say, eyebrow raised.

He lets out a breath and looks away from you towards the pathways leading towards his mother’s gardens.

“Ada would be displeased and worried if you did not,” is his reluctant response.

You nod and anxiously dance your fingertips across your thumb pads. 

“That matters then.” You state, but still unsure of well..everything really, since your mother had passed and you had met your father.

“Of course it does.” He huffs, exasperated. “Ada wishes for you to be here. Arwen - you’ll meet her by the week’s end - is ecstatic for a sister.. She’s so throughly pleased, in fact, that she’s changing mounts every town. Her husband, Aragorn, can hardly keep up.”

“‘Dan and I…”. Here, he hesitates, looking like his mind is arguing with itself.

“Dan?” You ask. You hadn’t seen any other Men here, though you knew enough to say they passed into the valley often.

“Elladan?” Oh, of course. You hum to acknowledge his response in lieu of embarrassing yourself further.

Feeling the warmth rising in your cheeks, you shift your eyes to the hydrangeas. You had never seen these flowers in such a vibrant hue until you arrived in Imladris. The upcoming spring rains will treat them well.

Time crawls by as the bees finish with the cobalt-colored flowers farthest from you and come closer, searching for the next part of their meal.

Elrohir stays silent.

You pick at the edges of your over-robe laying on your wrists. Perhaps you had offended him, you wonder worriedly.

Maybe you should go back to your rooms. Elrohir had been even more sullen than his twin since you’d met them. Although perhaps he was always like that; you wouldn’t know otherwise.

“It’s not your fault you were born.” Elrohir declares abruptly.

You startle from your thoughts and look up at him. What on Arda?

“Not um generally, no. Is that…can elves do that or …?” It really had been such a fascinating week when it came to differences in culture alone, but surely this, at least, was the same?

Elrohir sets his jaw and nods once, looking incredibly determined.

“I cannot say that either Elladan nor I are fully comfortable with this, but I - we -.”

“We would not have you be uncomfortable in our home. Your home.” Elladan says coming around the corner, a small but reassuring smile on his face. You blink in surprise at his appearance on the path, but Elrohir doesn’t even flinch.

“We would have you be welcome here.” He adds.

Elrohir nods again and holds his hand out for yours. His smile is strained, but it’s clear he’s trying.

“Come, nethel. Ada is waiting.”

“I - I am sorry.” You whisper, ashamed. “I do not know what that means, mother never taught me much elvish. I cannot. I do not know how to do this; I’m sorry.” You rush out, stepping backwards.

Too late you realize that the brickwork had deteriorated at the edge and you feel your foot slip.

Four quick hands reach out to steady you before lacing their fingers though yours, pulling you back onto the path.

“Sister,” says Elrohir. “It means sister.”

[yangsoeuvre]

Chapter VIII: Orientations

Note #235: Training Ground 8, Volume I of Forgotten Entries From Dead and Missing Dreamers

I don't know how to go back in time. Some days, I wish I could meet you again.

I can't even remember how many of us are left.

The war is almost over, but I don't think I'll ever stop feeling the loss of people.

Indak might not be right about the boy sleeping beside her. He never snored last night. However, he drooled on her shoulder instead, when he rolled over to her side, which she found worse. She bathed for a good hour with her duster on before Reyna Manlangiten arrived in their quarters and dropped them in groups of four to their respective training grounds. Depending on their assigned mentor, and which dynamics they chose to comprise a unit, she’d either be stuck with annoying teammates for a year or perhaps some people useful enough to not get her killed in action. Her assigned training ground is the one nearest from the quarters but deep into a forest around a crescent-shaped pond. Balete trees scatter across the area with its thick and long branches, its leaves stretching up towards the sky and its hanging roots touching the ground. If not for the red-painted stones that clue a pathway to the place, they might have gotten lost inside after passing through the molave forest that hide the space. A push from her left pulls her out of her thoughts, and she falls to the pond in one big splash. Indak yelps when she submerges into the water, squirming around to try and save herself. When two pairs of eyes only stare at her, her movements come to a halt. She stands back up when she realizes that the pond only reaches her waist. Indak scoops water in her palm and hurls it on the short perpetrator. She wishes to throttle him for making her wash another set of clothes later. “What was that for, Tambal?!” The boy avoids the attack and sticks his tongue out, much to her annoyance. “Can you please keep it down?” A person sitting under a tree, legs spread apart, chews on their bottom lip as they turn to glare at Indak and Silakbo. “You’re both so loud.” Indak remembers Hiwaga Salakep, the kid with jet black hair and naturally pink cheeks made prominent by their ivory skin. They always bag the top place in all their years of education, as far as Indak remembers. In their batch in their baryo’s Akademya, Hiwaga runs the scene and honor rolls with their topnotch brain and skills in all aspects. Everyone in the village knows them and their academic achievements despite never speaking to them. Not to mention, almost everyone in their batch names them as their first love or some other name for a crush. Silakbo marches over to Hiwaga’s spot and shoves them to the side. “You should rebel against this unit’s predicament too, ghost skin! How am I stuck with you this year? Let’s work together in never seeing each other again.” “Don’t touch me.” Hiwaga’s slanted eyes narrow into slits. “You heard the reyna. The mentors were the ones who decided what would comprise this unit. Sinugdanan results must have deemed us compatible enough to make up a team.”

Hiwaga dusts their pants and stands to their full height before walking away from the boy. Silakbo glowers at the taller child. He tiptoes up to them and tries to roughly bump his chest to their back. “Pink cheeks, stop acting like you’re better than all of us for once! You think I don’t know that? That’s why I’m telling you to go against it!”

Indak rolls her eyes when Silakbo begins to grab the back of Hiwaga’s shirt.

When Hiwaga stumbles at the pull of their clothes, they twist their body around to slap the hand holding their shirt away. “I said, don’t touch me.” Silakbo, ready to retaliate, puts his hands on his hips. The missing space of his teeth makes an appearance again as he scowls at them. Indak could not help but remember a spoiled toddler from Compound Five’s orphanage at that moment, and the thought that she has to deal with him for a year almost made her wish she just stayed home and never participated in any of this at all. The interruption from a fight about to happen comes in waves of emerald locks flying in the air as a girl descends from a tree. Eyes with vertically slitted pupils curve at the sight of them, and the spirited smile of one Sigla Halas graces them early in the morning. The light of the sun reflects on the core of the jade stone pendant of one of her rusty bracelets, and it bounces as a small spotlight gliding past their faces. The three of them shield their eyes from it as Silakbo grumbles at her late arrival. “Oh, I wish I could live here forever!” Sigla hums, skipping around them as she admires the place. “Have you all seen the view from above? It’s so wonderful and…”

As she goes on her rants about the endless beauty of nature, Indak takes one glance at her and walks away.

Now that she thinks about it, the only information around this strange girl revolves in her being from a distant land, estranged from Urduja. Other than that, her whole character seems highly suspicious. However, that’s a problem for the higher ups to solve. She’ll pretend the girl is nothing special to ease her mind from the mystery and keep her nerves at peace with themselves. She must only focus on herself. Out of nowhere, a drop of orange, steaming lava shoots through the strap of Silakbo's sandal and his scream cuts off Sigla’s rambling. “Who was it?!” Silakbo’s wide-eyed glare fixes on Indak as he throws his burnt sandal into the pond. Before she could even say anything, he marches in her direction and kicks her leg. “Was it you? It was you, wasn’t it?” “Ow!” Indak falls on her behind, her face twisting in pain as she rubs the sore spot with her palm. “Are you stupid? How could I even do that?!”

“Well, you’re an Agui! Fire is your thing!”

She glares at the boy who hasn’t done anything kind since she met him, pulls him by the collar, and shoves him to the pond. “It’s magma that attacked you, not a flame!”

“Someone else is here.” Hiwaga’s brows furrow as they stand in front of Sigla, who only blinks at the commotion. They roam their eyes around the clearing. “It’s gahum. Gahum is only accessible to… it might be our mentor.” “Oh, I’m sorry.” Indak holds her laughter at the sight of the equally drenched boy that fell into the water, only half-listening to Hiwaga as she’s fully immersed in the satisfaction of finally getting the boy into the pond as an act of well-deserved revenge. “Don’t cry now, you know you deserved that.”

When she turns her back to return to her other unit members, a wet hand grabs the ends of her hair. She wrestles her head back in resistance before spinning around to smack the boy in the face. Silakbo cries in pain as a handprint forms on his cheek. He tries to claw at her, but she steps on his toes to prevent him from reaching her. “Sigla, go and stop them.” Hiwaga clicks their tongue and walks to the opposite direction, away from the other three sugdi. “This is ridiculous. I’m going to find our mentor. Volcanic gahum means someone from the Gugurang Tribe. He must be hiding somewhere.” Sigla purses her lips as she watches the other two’s ongoing scuffle. “Why stop? I think they’re really having fun.” Hiwaga glances at their unit in contempt. “They’re two unintelligent species, in different genera, trying to outdumb each other, and it’s our responsibility to tame them. I suggest we do so before it causes troubles to our unit in the near future.” A shriek comes out of both of Silakbo’s and Indak’s mouths as a bullet of magma shoots through the ends of Indak’s hair that Silakbo latched his fingers on. The boy retracts his hand in surprise, and Indak rolls to the ground to keep it from scorching her hair further. Hiwaga stops in his tracks upon hearing the loud screeches and immediately dashes towards Indak to grab her by the arm and pull her up. They also snatch an alarmed Silakbo by the shoulder to huddle the boy close to them. “Who was that?” Silakbo’s voice falls quiet for a moment before he squares his small shoulders and looks around for the source of the attack. “Show yourself, coward!” “Were you not listening to me?” Hiwaga clicks their tongue. “It’s our mentor.” “So our mentor’s first lesson is death?” Indak sweeps her gaze past the trees. “Very motivational.” Sigla’s smile stretches wider as she hums an upbeat tune. “I think this year is going to be the most amazing I’ve ever had.”

A drizzle of lava comes down at them from above. When a pint of it drips to their shoulder, Hiwaga instantly reacts and grabs hold of Indak and Sigla’s wrists. Their hold tightens on them as they run towards a massive tree at the center of the clearing while yelling at Silakbo to climb up with them. The toothless boy doesn't seem to listen, opting to throw his remaining sandal towards the pond instead and threaten the person responsible for the attack. While Sigla and Indak start to move up the tree, Hiwaga falls back to grab Silakbo by the back of his shirt and try to pull him up with them. “Climb up the tree!”, Hiwaga demands. “Its branches will shield us!” “Let me go!—” Silakbo lets out another shriek when a dot of lava strikes his forehead. “Can you listen to me for a second, you idiot?!” Hiwaga’s voice grows louder. “Go up, or you’ll die!” “You’re the idiot!—” Hiwaga cuts him off with a poke to the back of his neck with their index and middle finger. As Silakbo falls unconscious in their arm, they call for Indak and Sigla, who settles themselves on a thick branch, and pleads with them to go back down for a hand.

“I’m going to give him to you, so you have to—” Hiwaga winces as another dot hits the side of their face and the weight of Silakbo turns their arm numb. “—pull him up with you. Don’t let him fall, okay? And help me up too.” Sigla is the first one to crawl down and grab hold of Silakbo’s body. She pulls him up with her hands under his arms while her legs tightly wrap around a lower branch. “He’s heavy!” “Or we can just leave him there,” Indak jokingly suggests as she descends the tree as well. “Maybe dying will wake the good out of him.” Hiwaga presses their lips together. “Indak, please?” Indak rolls her eyes. “I was kidding. Not really, but he’s kind of annoying right now, so I probably wouldn’t mind his death.”

Sigla cackles. “If you’re not aiming to be a good and pure person, then your feelings are valid.”

Indak snorts as she reaches for Silakbo. “Right? I'm not risking my life here for any of you after this. Sorry in advance."

Hiwaga groans. "Hurry, please."

As soon as they got him up their safest perch, the girls adjust his body so that it leans on the trunk of the tree. Hiwaga sits between Indak and Sigla right after, and the three of them watch steam gradually rise from the pond until it eventually disperses through the area. During this time, Silakbo begins waking up with his hand on his nape, disoriented from his sudden collapse. His eyes glimmer after a few beats of silence, as if something clicked in his brain, and his face turns bright red in anger. “You think it’s funny?” Silakbo crosses over to Indak’s lap and lunges at Hiwaga. He shakes them by the collar of their shirt. “Let me get even!” “Get off!”, Indak shouts in his ear as she grabs the back of his shirt to try and put him back in his place. “You’re pushing all of us off the tree!" Hiwaga slaps his hands off. “Don't touch me. You should be grateful that I even saved you.” Silakbo’s scowl deepens. “I should beat you up!” “I’m going to fall!” Indak’s grip on the branch tightens as she continues to push Silakbo off her. "You better pray hard, Tambal! if I die here, I will haunt you forever!" In between their screaming, Sigla Halas taps Hiwaga’s shoulder to grab their attention. “I still don’t see our mentor.”

Upon hearing her, Silakbo and Indak quiet down to also search for their mentor’s presence. Loud buzzes and thrums from strange-colored birds echo above them. The scale-feathered malkohas flying everywhere in Nieves Base zip past them in a straight line, just an inch apart from their small heads, and they duck further to avoid the sharp slash of their wings that seem to cut the wind puffing across the area. Indak, who almost lost her balance on the branch, had to grab the back of Hiwaga’s shirt to avoid the future of splattering her own head on the ground.

“The branch is about to break,” Sigla informs them as she examines the crooked line on the branch, creaking between Indak and Silakbo. Indak glares at Silakbo. "This is all your fault."

Silakbo only sticks his tongue out at her. Indak catches his tongue just in time before he could put it back in his mouth, and she pulls on it until tears wet his eyes and his cries of freedom come out like incoherent noises. The small boy flails around and grasps Indak's neck in a chokehold, his little hands trembling as the girl in front of him chokes on her own spit.

Hiwaga cups their mouth and steadily stands up on the branch. “Is anyone there? Show yourself!” “I’m here.” A strong wind blows through the clearing and ruffles their hair. Simultaneously, a man appears upside down on the same tree they found security in, solidified lava gluing his feet to the bottom of a thick branch above. A fat silence passes between the children before they take turns screaming. The man only continues to blankly stare at them from his perch, appearing quite unaffected despite the small pandemonium. Their overreaction only stops when they hear their branch creak from underneath, the unit's faces freezing in terror. They look at each other as if figuring the same prediction on where the next few seconds might lead them.

Sigla is quick to somersault to another tree, and Indak follows close by, swinging from tree to tree to get to safety. Meanwhile, Silakbo clings to the trunk of their previous tree like a spider as Hiwaga leaps to another branch above, just in time for the branch to break into half. From the other side, the few more swings that Indak made up for to run away from an accident causes a branch to break as she weighs down on it. She screams and screws her eyes shut to brace for the incoming pain while desperately screaming for help. She hears Hiwaga shout her name in alarm and Sigla gasp from afar. Like prayers answered, someone catches her body midfall. She feels herself tossed around in sturdy arms, from tree to tree, until her savior gently settles her on soft grass. A finger pokes her cheek to burn, forcing her awake, and she swats it away.

While rubbing the inflamed spot with her fingers, she blinks her eyes open and comes face to face with a man squatting beside her with a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

He speaks to her in a slur, disinterested, as he chugs a beer down before throwing the container to the pond. “You must be Silakbo Tambal."

Her gaze lingers at the large and irregular velvet skin patch covering the whole of his neck, noticing that the color almost matches his eyes.

She makes a face. “My name’s Indak Agui.”

A choking sound, followed by some shrieking, pulls their attention towards the shortest boy yelling at their mentor.

With his hands on his hips, Silakbo Tambal confronts the man who tried to kill them with his gahum. “You call yourself our mentor? I do not accept it!” "Well, lovely welcome." The man pins his bangs to the top of his head with a peineta hair comb and grabs another beer from the pocket of his uniform. “I am Gabay Gugurang. Senyor Gugurang to you, that is. I am this unit’s mentor, unfortunately.” Indak's brows furrow as she gathers her wits back and sits up. “What do you mean ‘unfortunately’? You chose us. That’s what this batch’s host said. You can't back out this late too, if you're unsatisfied.” “Right. So, I did.” He throws the empty bottle to the pond after drinking it again with impressive speed. The object skips on the surface of the water before it hits the balete tree across them. “Anyways, despite that, you should be well aware by now that it’s quite an impossible feat for the lot of you to pass the hagdan. How do you think you passed?” Sigla gives her mentor a long look. “We won tongits!”

Silakbo nods. “Some stupid card games. Whatever. It’s so dumb that I could hardly remember it!"

Gabay eyes Silakbo as he adjusts the collar of his uniform, just enough to cover the injury that revealed itself to them. “Why do you say so? Do you remember ever winning it? Was that truly a part of your memory?”

“No, Senyor,” Hiwaga confidently replies.

“Why does it matter?”, Indak genuinely wonders. “The point is we passed.”

Gabay opens another bottle with his thumb. “That's what you would say if you believe anything you are told and anything planted in your mind that replaces actual memories, thoughts, and feelings. Don't you think it's strange that you're in front of me and you can't even remember how you passed?”

“I don't want to have this conversation," Indak says.

“Yes,” Hiwaga says without a hint of hesitation.

The emerald-eyed girl pouts. "I'm not following, Senyor."

"Did you just imply that I'm inadequate?" Silakbo scowls and points his unit members with his thumb. "Them, I could understand. However, me? I'm—"

"Tell me exactly why would a simple card game determine your worth or capability to be in the Balyan Hagdan? How would that even measure who among our people are fit enough to serve the nation?," Gabay continues as he turns his back on them and sits cross-legged on a nearby rock. "It's stupid and such empty-headed strategy in terms of selection. Don't you agree?"

"Don't you listen, Senyor? I already said it was dumb." Silakbo rocks his head back and whines. "I demand a change of unit!"

"I honestly don't know what's the point," Indak says. "Whatever happened in the Sinugdanan led me to be selected, so that's the only thing that matters. We should be moving on to the next step by now. Like training, for example."

Indak and her unit members continue to raise questions and demands on what they will do for their first meeting, with Silakbo’s voice growing louder by the second. Their mentor tunes them out, his eyes trained on the tree across the pond. Their complaints only cease when he flings a thick string of lava on the ground in front of them, right by their feet. His proteges yelp and jump out of its range as the magma melts and cools through the soil. Effectively, this silences them after staring hard at the indent that it left.

Without a slur in his voice, he locks eyes and speaks to them with more firmness in his voice. "You know damn well I could kill you with just one strike, children, and it's not just me who will be capable of it in the future. Now, I know your lot are still twelve or thirteen, same age that I also started as sugdi, but it's not an excuse to be unserious and ignorant. Since you got accepted in the hagdan, you will be pressured to wisen up beyond your years and more than any child your age that is not balyan. Innocence and naivety has no place here, so you will have to drop your childish antics and spoiled behavior earlier. If you can't even adjust that, then I'm afraid this nation is doomed with immature balyan. How can you save people when you can't even discipline yourselves?"

The unit does not make a sound, and even Silakbo chooses to clamp his mouth shut with a scowl. They only lower their heads and refuse to make any more eye contact with their mentor.

Gabay chugs down another beer and throws it across the pond. "Because I am your mentor, I will do my very best to keep you safe. However, once we are through this year, when you are no longer under my tutelage, you will be your own responsibility. You shall keep no contact with me after you complete your sugdi term, and I will no longer care about whatever will happen to you. If you die out there, your soul won't see me in your wake. That is why, if you are under me, all I require you is to listen to me. The only adult you will trust in a year will be me alone. Do you understand?"

They do not respond.

"Do you understand, children?", Gabay repeats in a louder voice. "I do not accept protests about this one rule. My instruction method is a dictatorship, so you can get out of this training ground if you object."

After another silence passes them, the unit slowly nods and mumbles their agreements. Gabay surveys them one more time before he stands up and paces closer to them.

"Anyways." He clears his throat. "Each year, the children's memories of the trials are altered to protect them from post-traumatic stress that they might have after the Sinugdanan. However, this is not for the selected sugdi's own benefit. Instead, this is for who would not pass. The selected sugdi would have to bear what truly occurred during the trials. You will not remember how you felt and what exactly took place, but the mentors are required to narrate to their proteges their assessment results and help them realize their decisions that led to their acceptance in the hagdan."

Hiwaga raises a hand. "What did happen in the trials, Senyor?"

"I need you to take note that historical records of the era in Baryo Aliguyon and the old map of Lam-ang remains a blur. The teachings about it in your history subjects in the Akademya remain as theories and hypothetical details. Whoever it was that buried everything we need to know about the colonial god, the cursed banaba tree, and the baryo remains a mystery. This is well discussed by your maestro. One thing is confirmed though. The banaba tree is still tethered to the colonial god, and we must destroy it completely. However, Tala Mayari never jotted down and told a soul about whatever happened between them and their other three lovers. Even Yari's actual place in the story and legitimacy of their execution is some secret they kept burnt with their ashes. None of her remains were found."

"And?" Indak sighs. "Your point is?"

Gabay halts in front of her and flicks the injured part of her forehead, making the girl cry out in pain and glare at him. "Salakep, the trials are designed so that the triers witness some key scenes, ones that are almost confirmed by our archivists and historians, and then play certain characters later on to make decisions for them regarding the situation served to them. For this batch, triers from Nieves Base play Yari, Magdalena triers get to be Tala Mayari, and then Teresa triers become the Anitun that Yari mothered, which is the second pinuno. However you make decisions in their place and walk their story is helpful in our data gathering to piece together historical records, and however triers moved was crucial in finding out who among you had choices that were unselfish and thoughtful of the people. It's simply hitting two birds with one stone."

"My name's Indak Agui," she grumbles.

"Blah, blah, blah." Silakbo puts his hands on his waist once more. "How did I do then?"

“I’m not a narrator, that is why I put all your results on paper.” Gabay pulls out four scrolls from his back pockets and hauls them to his unit. “Go read it yourself.”

The four of them catch it in the air, except for Silakbo whose scroll hits his forehead. This elicits an indignant ‘hey’ from the small boy before he picks up the fallen material and opens it without erasing the scowl on his face. Hiwaga nods at their own results the moment they read the scroll and they seal it back with a look of satisfaction. They attempt to return it to their mentor, but Gabay waves a hand and shakes his head to affirm that they get to keep their records.

“Hiwa, look.” Sigla shows them her results with a strange glint in her eyes. “It said here that I chose to attack the colonial god right on his holy seat.”

Hiwaga nods. “But that's also your cause of death.”

Sigla giggles. “Right? I didn't even let him finish talking!”

“The way I chose you is how you managed to end the calamity during that era, or cataclysm, as what I like to call it, by way of death.” Gabay says. “It could be any death, really. The condition is that you, yourself, must cause it to happen. Sigla Halas, you were brave enough to go for the colonial god the first time you saw him, and I think we need that type of confidence to pursue something bigger than us. If you die, well, that's on you.”

“This child with the pink cheeks regained consciousness much earlier in Yari’s body,” he continues, pointedly looking at Hiwaga. “The observers have wanted to eject you out of the trials early after noticing that, but I stopped them when I realized you were carrying on with the storyline intended for you, despite your confusion, and completed it still with a strategic plan to cut off the colonial god while simultaneously cooperating with the rest of the balyan in Baryo Aliguyon. That alone surprised all of us for it was a...successful one. I fought with the others for you to be in this unit. If we don't have a smart one here, we die.”

Indak and Silakbo look at Hiwaga with mouths wide open in a mix of awe and jealousy as Sigla teasingly praises and applauds them. Hiwaga remains nonchalant, only nodding at the information passed on to them.

“The short boy—”

“It’s Sil!”, the Tambal fumes. "Sil!"

“You have quite the mischievous results. I admit, I did not expect you to be so sly and sneaky, but that one was well done,” Gabay acknowledges with a sigh. “Well done, it could actually be helpful data.”

“Why?” Indak raises an eyebrow. “What’d he do?”

“I,” Silakbo pounds his fist to his chest, “did whatever you could never do! I swear, Agui, you could never be me.”

Indak blinks. "You need an albularyo."

“I’m afraid I can’t disclose this protege’s results, and neither should you spread information about it, boy,” Gabay warns him with narrowed eyes. “You’re ordered to come with me after this orientation for investigatory and research purposes. So, please keep your mouth shut about your results for now.”

“And for this young girl.” Gabay examines her from head to toe. “You surrendered yourself for execution. I am afraid I don’t understand your results, but I can’t argue that it’s a generous one. What I am not sure of is that if it’s truly your decisions or something else entirely is controlling it for you, and you’re just a witness to it. There was some strange essence mixed into your simulation for that one. Not only you, but other twenty something triers had the same essence injected to theirs as well. We reviewed your conversation with the hanged body of Yari, and it was quite unusual. Basically, my point is, you are an under observation trier who also happens to be selected by me to complete this unit.”

Indak looks at him in disbelief. “Under observation? For that?”

“Your results are strange,” Gabay repeats. “Even birthing a few babies to get the perfect savior is insanity.”

Silakbo scrunches his nose in both horror and disgust. “You did what? What's the babies for?”

Gabay Gugurang waves him off. "That's enough questions for now. It's not for little brats to ponder on. Anways, I'd have to give you our routine schedules, so please listen carefully. Today, I'll not hold you for long, but I will keep you for a whole day tomorrow for physical training. We must catch up as soon as possible."

"I want to do it now," Silakbo demands. "Why not now? It's only morning."

"I have meetings to attend to. It's quite a busy year for your higher ups." Their mentor sighs as he yet again throws another set of scrolls at them. "That is your official map on what we will do for the following months. Our sessions start at sixth hour and ends at the twenty-two. Breaks will be at the eleventh, fifteenth, and nineteenth."

Sigla whines, "Six is too early, Senyor."

"Well, maybe you should leave my unit if you disagree," Gabay says. "Any other complaints? What about the short boy?"

"I'm not even saying anything!"

A corner of their mentor's mouth lifts upwards. "Ah, so you do agree that you're short. Very good."

Indak rolls her eyes and opens the scrolls to see their schedules:

FIRST SEMESTER:

SECOND SEMESTER:

She sighs in relief, realizing that explaining as to why her third eye is dormant might not be an early problem. She still has four months before the opening of the third eye begins. She might be able to plan some heartfelt speech right before, so she could weasel some reasons to stay. Whether it be sheer luck that brought her in or a bit of ability to be able to get through things, she needs to keep herself standing on it no matter the cost.

Whatever happens, she refuses to leave the hagdan now that it acknowledges her.

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

Indak sits on her heels under red skies and a crimson lake by the edge of a floating dock. The air feels cold on her skin and an eeriness blankets the atmosphere. Her eyes flit everywhere before settling on a naked form lying on a bed of algae at the bottom of the lake. Tiny parasols stick on every inch of its skin, the threads tied to them pointing to the surface. Indak’s heart stops when she realizes these threads connect to her body.

Her hands reach out to touch the lines that pierce every pore of her face and at the ones pushing through the tips of her fingers and interlacing through the rest of her skin. When she attempts to pull them off, they drag her closer to the edge instead, prompting her to let go, but the strings continue to nudge her forward until her whole body submerges into the lake.

Headless corpses encircle her in lukewarm water. Her arms try to claw her way out, only to be yanked closer to the naked body. She pulls on the threads again, and the parasols on the body close one by one until it reveals her face, but the corpses crowd around her before she could acknowledge the image. When the parasols turn to fire and consume the figure, her fiery threads begin binding her to the corpses as the flame slithers to devour her.

She suffocates as she feels the hollow part of her soul, carved out with only sediments of its original form left behind. Rejection and disappointment come through the edges of her heart and nip at it. It hurts for a while, and she fears that she might scream in desperation. She hears her own thoughts begging for something she could not decipher, and the corpses leave her to slaughter in both fire and water. She sinks further down with only her hand trying its best to reach for the surface and anchor itself before her last breath runs out.

Her eyes snap open.

Something heavy weighs on her chest, and she turns to the side to discover the leg of Adhika, the boy sleeping beside her, sprawled across her stomach. He also has his arm around her neck.

She aggressively throws him off her and rolls him in a blanket until it completely cocoons him like a newborn baby. When she hears her stomach rumble in hunger, she takes one last look at the boy and slaps his forehead before walking out of the quarters. She scrambles to find her slippers in the dark before heading out towards the kitchen area.

When she lights the candles in the kitchen table and sinks, two pairs of eyes stare back at her from the long wooden table. The girl with the cropped hair pauses with meat in her mouth while the other girl sitting in front of her, who also happens to be her unit member, smiles at her with some rice sticking to the corners of her lips. She slowly walks over to them while rubbing her still sleepy eyes.

"You're finally awake," Diwa says in between chewing her food. "It's the second hour of the day, Indi."

Indak sits beside Diwa and yawns. "I'm just hungry right now. I don't even know when I went to sleep yesterday."

Sigla drinks a mug of water and burps. "After our mentor sent us back to our quarters, you instantly went to your banig and slept super soundly. Not even Bayani could disturb you."

Diwa laughs and playfully smacks Sigla's hand. "Ew, Sigla. Mind your manners. It's embarrassing."

Sigla giggles. "What? It's human nature."

They both laugh at each other while Indak smacks her face on the table.

"Oh, right. You must be hungry, Indi. You didn't eat your dinner so we saved it for you." Diwa hands over some meat to her and rice wrapped in banana leaves. "Have you seen the housekeeping schedules? It's posted right by the sink. Bayani made it."

Indak sits up and looks over to the sink and finds two scrolls pinned above the pottery.

CLEANING SCHEDULE:

SALO ARRANGEMENT:

"There's a seating plan for meals too?"

Sigla hums and slides a mug of water to Indak. "He's crazy."

Diwa nods. "I have to agree with you on that. Reyna Manlangiten came by today to check up on us for our first day and was flabbergasted with the scrolls. He also praised Bayani a bit for it's the first time some sugdi's taking this thing seriously and organizing some tasks for each day."

"Why?" Sigla tilts her head in curiousity. "What do previous triers do?"

"Reyna says that in his batch they just clean if they feel like it. In my Ma's batch, they just do these tasks like three days per week. In my sister's batch, they clean when necessary and do individual grocery. Definitely not everyday."

Sigla nods. "Then Bayani is super crazy."

"How do we even manage training schedule with that housekeeping schedule?" Indak groans. "Our mentor requires us to be there at the sixth hour. Sixth. Hour."

Diwa snorts. "You know what Adhika's mentor said to their unit? That it doesn't matter what time they'll come. The only fixed thing is how they'll always end at twenty-two. They can take breaks whenever they like. However, if you've got five absences, then you're out of the unit and banned from the hagdan forever."

Indak starts unwrapping her food and digging in, ignoring how cold it had gone. "Well, some people are lucky."

"Right?" Diwa shakes her head. "You know what our mentor told our unit? While we have to be in at thirteenth, there will be no breaks and we will have to end at twenty-two. That's tiring!"

Sigla sighs and holds Diwa's hand. "I would do anything for that schedule, Wadi. I would take it over coming to train at sixth hour."

They spent the rest of the hours, before preparations, complaining about their mentors and talking about the strangeness of their other basemates. Right after, they quickly went down to the river together to wash up. By the fifth hour, Indak and Sigla already came racing down to their training grounds. Silakbo still remains at the dining table during this time to finish his breakfast while Hiwaga continues to clean themselves in the river. On the sixth hour, Gabay Gugurang appears before the four of them and drops twenty weight bags by their feet.

With a teasing smile on his face, he points to the heavy objects and gestures his proteges to put them on. "These are new clothes that I got for you to show off around Baryo Melchora. If you ever drop dead, I'll kill you."

[dragonmasterhiccup]

“A month? I don’t, I don’t want to be gone that long, my uh, my dad will worry, and then if he can’t find me he might get mad…” She turned her gaze towards the dirt pathway as she spoke, shuffling one of her feet. It was very easy to spot she was lying. It was her siblings that would worry, not her dad.

But… this guy was still being pretty nice, and even though she just met him— she really shouldn’t be trusting him so easily— he was showing no signs of being even a little bit mean. Thors sake, he was holding her hand, and it wasn’t like how other people did it, where they would yank and pull, and make her wrist red, he was being weirdly gentle, and she could definitely let go if she wanted to.

She did kind of want to stay… A month wasn’t that long right?

“A-actually, you can choose, if you want me here or not… either works,” she said, shrugging, before letting out another fit of coughs.

She shook her head, sniffling once again. “No, no satchel, they’d take it, and probably get me in trouble..” She looked up at him, confusion etched across her features. “I already have something to wear, though, I don’t need new stuff, not until I grow out of these. ‘Sides, making clothes takes a lot ‘f time and tools n’ stuff, you only do it if you absolutely have to.” She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “And m’ probably gonna get searched when I get home, they always do that…” Now that she thought about that, she didn’t have much hope that it would be possible to even sneak in something small, the hunters would find it and throw it out…

“Oh, so she’s like really little.” Every word he said just made her more bewildered. “Gifts? That’s silly, like your name, your name is silly, but no, that’s not what they say about kids where I’m from.” Thinking that she might have hurt his feelings about her previous comment on his name, she added, “Sorry, your name isn’t that bad, some people say that Danny is a silly name, they say it’s a boys name, so don’t worry,” she said, seemingly trying to reassure him.

She let go of his hand as he knelt down, and she shook her head at his explanation. “That’s not true! All dragons are bad, all they do is hurt people, and kill them. Dad doesn’t even have his arm anymore! Because of dragons! And, and they breathe fire, and scratch people and eat them!”

A stray tear fell from her eye, and she quickly wiped it away. “Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything, e-except for be friends with the monsters, but you, you’re still nice..” She just hoped he wouldn’t let the dragons hurt her.

She took his hand again, continuing to walk with him, though this time she had her head leaned against his arm as they walked. She was clearly still quick to trust, almost stupidly so, but it was probably just the childlike naivety shining through. After all, she was only seven as of now, having someone new be nice to her was most likely a huge relief.

“If you say so…” she said, continuing to take in her surroundings.

Her eyes locked onto the empty bowl, shoulders tense and breath hitching in her throat. He caught her lying, and he sounded.. what? Disappointed? Mad? She didn’t know, but concern did not register as what it could possibly be. This was it, she blew it, and he was going to either hurt her, kick her out, or both.

Taking her bowl, filling it up with another helping and setting it back down in front of her did not register as one of the possibilities.

She looked up at him, clearly shocked. “W-what…?”

The cloth being pressed to her face to dry her tears was even more confusing; why wasn’t he mad at her? Why was he still being gentle and nice? Hands were supposed to hurt, so why weren’t his?

“Oh, okay..”

This time, she only ate a few hesitant spoonfuls, before her eyes once again wandered to the rest of his hut.

Sliding off of the chair, she quietly explored the living space.

She first went by the huge wall of books, eyes wide with awe; she’d never seen this many books, this much knowledge, just at someone’s fingertips, right within reach for whenever wanted.

Next, she went by the fire, which to her was pretty weird; fires were usually huge, uncontrollable, angry, this one wasn't though; it just sat and danced in front of her, providing nothing but warmth, not painful warmth either, that stung and burned, just a comforting warmth, like a blanket or something.

Her last stop ended up being by the wooden couch, looking at the furs draped over it…

She knew not to touch other people’s stuff, but… he wouldn’t find out, right?

Reaching out, she ran her hands over the soft furs, a wide smile on her face.

This guy was so lucky! He just got to have this kind of stuff! Whenever he wanted he could just sit and bask in the nicest furs she’d ever felt before in her life!

When he came back into the room, Danny jumped in surprise and quickly sat down on the floor in front of the couch, back pressed against it.

“Sorry…” she muttered.

Eyeing the medical supplies, she asked, “What does that all do? Don’t you just need water to clean it? All of that seems like extra…”

But, after a bit of convincing, she nodded. “Um, okay, I’m ready, s’ not gonna hurt bad, right?”

"Well, that's what the note said, but it would be a month at most, so we'll take it day by day, and keep an ear out for news of any new ships docking." He felt like he was lying to her, and in a way, he might've been. But... She was so small. She didn't deserve to go back to the hunters, and Hiccup resolved to keep her safe as long as he could.

He wanted to say he'd love to have her here, that he'd much prefer she be here than there...but for now, he gave a small nod and replied, "You're welcome to stay as long as you need to, Danny."

When she said his name was silly, he laughed lightheartedly, remembering Danny's reaction to his middle name. "Well, believe it or not, it's true."

Shaking his head, he couldn't hold back more laughter. "No, you're right, my name is a bit silly...not as silly as my middle name, though. But your name? It's strong, nothing to be ashamed of. Danny is short for Danielle, right? Let's see...I don't know the exact meaning, but I do know your name stands for intellect, and if anyone tells you your name is silly, they certainly lack in intellect."

Shaking his head once more, he spoke with emotion. "The only reason I am still around today, is because of a dragon. He saved my life countless times, and he's my best friend. But," he paused, taking a breath. "I can see that this is a lot for you right now, so why don't we revisit this another time?"

"I'm sorry because I know how it feels, to lose someone you love to a dragon, and I...I know how painful it is."

Hiccup felt as she leaned her head on his arm, and he took comfort in that, knowing she was starting to trust him more. He needed to get her something to eat, maybe make her some tea to help with her cough, and make up a comfortable place for her to rest and sleep while she stayed with him and Astrid.

"We're almost there," he said, "it's just a little farther."

Seeing her confusion, he gestured to the bowl. "Don't be afraid to ask for more here if you're still hungry. I'm not going to hold any food back from you."

Hiccup saw her enjoying the soft furs for just a moment before she realized he was there. "It's alright. They are soft, aren't they?"

Just water? "Water isn't going to do much, no," he gestured to each item as he described its function. "uh, this will help clean it so it doesn't get worse, this will help it heal faster, and this will cover it so it doesn't get irritated any further."

Picking up a clean cloth and dousing it in the cleaning solution, he asked to hold her arm so he could keep it steady while he worked. "Uh, this first part might sting a little, but it's just cleaning it. I'll make sure to work quickly and carefully, so it will be over soon, alright? It won't be bad. The salve will actually numb any pain or irritation you might have in those spots, I think you'll be feeling much better by the time we wrap these bandages on you..."

True to his word, he worked quickly and carefully, only stopping when asked, and waiting for permission before continuing on.

The salve was faster, as it only needed to be applied, and he wrapped the bandage around each one as he went, to avoid any further irritation.

"That should do it for now. We'll change the bandages once more before you go to sleep tonight, and check on them in the morning. I want to make sure nothing festers..."

As he put the supplies away, he could hear the door open.

"Hiccup! Zeph and I are back!"

Hiccup grinned, excited to see his wife and daughter, but quickly turned to Danny. "Why don't you rest on the couch for a bit? I'll make you something to help with that cough of yours. I'll be back soon."

He made his way to the kitchen, and Zephyr was reaching for him as soon as she saw him.

As he quietly explained the situation to Astrid, he put a kettle of water over the fire, gathering the herbs needed to help Danny feel better.

Astrid shook her head. "I don't understand, how is this possible? She's seven now?"

"I don't know, but it's only for a month at most. Astrid... she's been through so much already, and shouldn't she have something good from her childhood to look back on?"

"Will she remember any of this?"

"Does that matter? Either way, there's a little girl who has been mistreated. She's never experienced kindness before. I-I'm not going to just... hand her back over, she deserves to know that--that she deserves better."

"Hiccup, you know I agree, but wouldn't that make going back that much harder?"

He let out a sad sigh. "...I don't know. I just...I just want her to be happy, to feel safe."

Astrid placed a hand on Hiccup's cheek. "Then that's what we'll do."

A few minutes later, Danny's tea was ready, and Zephyr was in Astrid's arms once more as Hiccup brought the tea to the young girl.

"Here, this will help you cough less, and clear your nose up some. My dad would make me this when I was your age, feeling just like you are now."

Sitting in the chair across from her, he said, "Is it okay if I introduce you to Astrid and Zephyr?"

She seemed nervous when they were walking over, and he didn't want to overwhelm her with too many people at once.

[justjessame]

Light Through the Darkness: Chapter 44

Damon was silent as Stefan went with him to see Bonnie. He hated to admit it, but having his baby brother along might actually be helpful since the Bennet witch didn’t exactly like him. He couldn’t actually blame her for not trusting him, her grandmother died because of him, tangentially. Not that she liked Stefan much more. Maybe they should have brought Elena along to smooth the way, but since she was in bed with the devil, so to speak, he doubted that pathway forward would help either.

How would he explain it to Bonnie, and then how the hell could she even begin to fix it? He had no clue how the overwhelming urge to keep her safe even happened. And why the hell wasn’t he hit the hardest by it?

When they finally pulled up outside the Bennet house, Stefan turned to him and waited for an explanation. Sighing, he gave him the upshot of what he felt certain of, but unsure of how to fix. “Do you remember how focused on Abigail you were when you transitioned?” Stefan’s eyes slitted at the memory and a tilt of his head told Damon to go on. “How about the way you could break Katherine’s compulsion when it came to Abigail? Do you remember finding her after Katherine’s first attempt, even after she told you to stay with her?” It had hurt him at the time, Katherine’s insistence that Stefan stay with her, but he’d blinked past it and left her, alone with him and for that he’d pushed away his annoyance and congratulated his good luck. A small nod meant that Stefan recalled what Damon mentioned, if vaguely. “Ric is having the same urge to protect Abi, Stefan, the same urge to risk my ire that you had even if I can’t compel his ass. That tells me there’s something more going on than just Abi’s sparkling personality and beauty. Something magical, maybe?” He gestured at the Bennet house, where he hoped the witch was in residence. “Hopefully Bonnie will be willing to listen, and help.”

While Damon and Stefan worked up the courage and a way to explain why they were coming to Bonnie for help, Abigail was still napping in her hotel room. What overtook her as she rested wasn’t a normal dream, because of course it wouldn’t be.

She was back in the room that she’d woken up in, the curtains swaying gently in a breeze that came from nowhere, since she knew the windows were closed. Sitting on the bed, waiting, for what she wasn’t sure.

“You look much better,” a deep voice offered from the doorway. Turning she was met with a face that was only slightly familiar. “You don’t remember me? It was a long time ago that we first met, in the garden-” And the memory of this strange man came back to her in sharp relief.

She’d been in the garden after her parents had died. Only a week or so after her terrible loss, she’d sought peace away from Lily’s concern and Damon’s need to make sure she was alright. Abigail had been seated on the same bench that one day in the near future Katherine would kill her when a stranger approached. Dressed as well as anyone of her status, he was tall, dark and unbearably handsome. He asked to sit, and she assumed he was one of Mr. Salvatore’s associates so she agreed, moving slightly to give him room past her dress skirt. He’d sat with her and spoke about loss, family, and grief. As though he knew her, and it brought her such peace. Before he’d left, he kissed her knuckles and told her he hoped they’d meet again.

“You never told me your name,” she realized, smiling up at him, seeing that he was garbed as she was, in the current style of the time she woke up in.

“That I didn’t.” He gestured to the space on the bed beside her and she nodded her assent. Once seated, he studied her face. “You’ve grown up,” his hand rose as though of its own accord, but he stopped himself before he could touch her face. “I apologize.”

Abigail reached out and touched the still hovering hand, and closed the gap between the fingertips and her skin, letting him know that he was free to touch her face. “I don’t mind.” She closed her eyes as he traced the subtle changes, the sharpness that replaced the softness of youth, the way her lips had become more plush with age. Her eyes opened when his hand left her skin.

“Soon.” The man, dark hair and eyes promised, and then he was gone like a whisper.

Bonnie was looking at Damon like he’d lost his mind, which he was starting to feel like he had. She wouldn’t invite them inside, which made sense, but agreed to speak to them on the porch. As Damon told her about Abigail Morgan, and his suspicions, he watched a flicker cross her face before her expression returned to irritated indifference.

“And what precisely do you want from me?” Her question was sharp and probing. A witch still coming into her power.

Stefan answered for him. “We don’t know, Bonnie, but I can tell you this. What I felt when I transitioned about Abi was stronger than any type of obsession I have ever felt. The urge to be with her, near her, was almost as strong as the call of human blood. And that’s incredibly disturbing considering-”

“Your past?” She offered. Sighing she leaned against the doorframe. “And you say that Ric is showing the same protectiveness?” Damon nodded. “I think you’re fine as long as no one turns Ric into a vampire.” She started to go back inside, but Damon’s voice stopped her.

“You flinched.” Bonnie swallowed and waited. “When I told you about Abigail, you flinched, why?”

“I remembered that story about the real life sleeping beauty,” she was trying to be flippant, but Damon and from the way Stefan stiffened so did his brother, knew it was forced. “Not everyday that a local legend is confirmed, right?” “Bullshit,” Damon replied. “Don’t forget that I can HEAR your pulse quickening, Bonnie Bennet. What made you flinch, honestly?”

Bonnie’s back went ramrod straight and she looked Damon dead in the eye from the safety of her house. “And don’t you forget, Damon Salvatore, that I’m Emily’s descendent and I can and will make you hurt.”

“Bonnie,” Stefan’s voice came out pleading, and Damon was thankful for his brother’s ability to whine. “Please.”

Bonnie’s eyes never left Damon’s as she answered. “After Caroline brought up the legend of Morgan House, I talked to Grams, she told me to stay away from the house, that whatever or WHOMEVER was inside was meant to stay in safety until the time was right. When she died,” her eyes pinched at the memory, but she went on. “I started looking through the family histories that she kept. Emily was burned, but her book was kept safe. She mentioned Abigail, and how she wasn’t sure WHAT she was, only that her power was great and that the protection of her was paramount.” She sighed. “I don’t know what that means, or how to figure it out, and that’s the truth. Honestly.” And with that, she closed the door and left the brothers standing in stunned silence.

“What the literal-” Damon shook his head and looked at Stefan. “What are we supposed to do with that?”

Stefan’s head shake mirrored his older brother. “No clue, but let’s talk about it at the house.” More questions than answers, the Salvatore brothers returned to their home, wondering how the hell they would figure out the mystery that was Abigail Morgan.

Abigail’s dreams didn’t stop with the return of her mysterious visitor, instead they morphed to her childhood home, before her parents died. She was in her room, touching the things she’d long forgot about. Her bedspread, had it really been pale blue? The line of dolls on her windowsill looked forlorn, but that wasn’t a surprise, books had always been her preference. The shelves of books, not as high or as filled as their library, but holding her favorites. Her fingertips traced their spins, wishing that she could tote them all back to the reality she left behind.

“There you are,” she swallowed as the voice she hadn’t heard, not even in the shadow people garden that she fought through to come back, pierced her heart. “I was wondering when you’d find me.”

Abi turned and drunk in the vision her mother presented. A taller, but not by much, version of herself. Posture perfect, hair arranged carefully, and her dress immaculate. “Mother,” her voice was so quiet she wondered if this mirage could hear her.

“Abigail,” her mother walked forward and took her hand. “You look just like me,” she sounded satisfied by that knowledge. “Tinier, perhaps, but your face-” unlike the gentleman who came before, her mother showed no hesitance at touching her face. Like him, she traced the changes that came after she’d died. “You’re beautiful.”

Abigail’s smile was small, since the compliment seemed more for her mother than herself. “I never got to say goodbye.” Seemed more appropriate an answer.

A rueful smile graced her mother’s face, far from ruining the beauty it simply gave her a new angle of attractiveness. “Yes, about that. Your father, his family were a dangerous lot.” Family? “A knife hung over us our entire life, Abigail, threatening to slice us apart. It was simply a matter of when.” She sighed, her hand squeezing Abi’s. “I wish we’d had more time to prepare you.”

“For your deaths?” Abi sounded incredulous. As though warning would have helped. “Is there such a thing?”

Her mother’s smile tightened, still not comfortable with being questioned about her actions. “Perhaps, perhaps not.” She took a more disconcerting look at Abi’s attire. “What is this that you’re wearing? I can see your knees.”

“Yes, well, this is what’s deemed appropriate in 2010, Mother.” Abigail refused to bend to a dead woman’s ire. “I was scandalized myself when Damon brought me the first dress.” Her mother’s eyes lit up at the mention of Damon’s name. “Not that he matters much, since-”

“Of course he matters,” her mother’s interruption startled her. “Damon Salvatore was the entire point of naming Lily and Giuseppe your guardians, Abigail.” She pulled her hand from Abi’s and started pacing. “Haven’t you read the book? Did you read the letter?” Abigail started to speak, but once again her mother kept speaking. “It’s all there, everything, who you are, what you are, and most importantly why he’s important.” When her mother’s eyes met hers again they were blazing and Abigail felt shocked by the seriousness she saw. “You must learn, and then you must study, and you have to know him. Fully, Abigail.” And then she was gone, like the man before, but this time the abruptness woke Abigail.

Gasping awake, she looked around at a rapidly darkening hotel room. What the hell? She felt like she’d run miles without water, so once she had a drink, she sat down and tried to focus on what her mother had said. The book and letter were more important than she’d taken stock of, clearly, but Damon? Why the hell was he so important?

[xaracosmia]

ꕥ — WELCOME TO EXO COSMIA, JESSE FADEN. 🌑

ꕥ  — OOC INFORMATION;

name / alias: jan age: 26 pronouns: he/him ooc contact: bloomood @ tumblr other characters in xc: none for now

ꕥ  — IC INFORMATION;

name: jesse faden age: 28 pronouns: she/her series: control canon point: Post AWE & Foundation DLC app triggers: paranoia, gaslighting, stalking, uncanny valley (akin to media revolving around The Backrooms or unexplainable phenomena)

personality: 

This is off the record, right? Director Faden’s an amazing boss and all but I don’t want to be quoted or anything… Okay, good. 

Jesse Faden had a rough childhood. She was on her own for awhile, just a voice in her head to keep her company. Growing up, I know she felt lost and the world didn’t treat her too kindly either. Her words were often waved off, her cries for help and her desire to belong or just to find someone to listen was almost never heard. She harbored some resentment towards the world for that, but it’s not something she let consume her. 

Jesse is still very empathetic. She’s helped agents she’d only just met all around the FBC in dire straits, saved countless lives. Because she knows she has power, strength, and if she’s got it she might as well use it. She’s adaptable and takes things in stride, no matter how absolutely insane those things might be. Sometimes she can get really intense, like really intense. She’s not afraid to let people know how she feels and sometimes that comes with a sting. 

And.. between you and me, sometimes I think she’s still got those more buried habits from when she was a kid. She’s scared of being alone again, no matter how strong she might get. Scared of losing that voice in her head.

But, hey, you didn’t hear any of that from me.

something your muse struggles with: obsessing over her goals, abandonment. 

your muse’s greatest strength: adaptability. 

history / background: 

You want Director Jesse Faden’s file? Right, and I want to have dinner with Beyonce. 

What the hell is that? Full Clearance? Are you serious?

Okay… Fine. Far as I can tell that card is legitimate. Where to even begin…

Well, seeing that you’ve got a visitor’s badge AND have full clearance, I guess it’d be good to just go over some basic terms to make this whole thing a lot easier. 

OoP. That’s an Object of Power. These are items that are connected to another plane of existence called the Astral Plane. How that happens? That’s above my pay-grade, but the important part is that OoP’s can be bound to FBC (Federal Bureau of Control) agents, giving them some badass powers. Director Jesse Faden’s got a ton of them. 

AI. Altered Item. Altered items are acted on by paranatural forces during AwE’s that give them some strange and oftentimes dangerous properties. Think of a refrigerator that needs constant eye-contact from somebody, or else it starts destroying its surroundings. These things can’t be bound to agents and are just contained in the FBC containment sector.

Lastly, AwE. Altered World Event. These are breaches of reality by paranatural forces that are sometimes the cause of, or can create altered items. Think of a sinkhole so rapid and drastic that it starts pulling everything around it in straight to the Earth’s core, magma and everything. The FBC goes in, covers it all up, and returns to contain any possible altered items from the scene.

Got all that? Now, Jesse Faden. 

When Jesse was eleven, she and her brother Dylan had come into possession of an OOP. It was a Slide Projector, capable of opening pathways into other dimensions through the use of the slides that they found. They played in those dimensions, and eventually came into contact with two entities. One of these entities, which Jesse named Polaris later, communicated with them both telepathically and would become a constant in their lives, in their minds. It wasn’t all fun times though. The Faden’s had another childhood friend who was beaten up by a gang of bullies, and then interrogated to find out more about this “toy”. Those bullies stole the projector and that’s when it all started going to hell.

The gang of bullies found another slide and began getting corrupted by another entity. It turned them absolutely nuts, apparently, they even killed a teacher in their school. That’s when the police took the kids away, and Jesse and Dylan were questioned about the projector. Apparently, Jesse and Dylan’s parents were especially hard on the two kids with their questioning, and Director Faden recalled wishing they were gone. The next day, every adult in Ordinary was missing. We’re unsure if there’s a link between her and that event, but that’s what got the attention of the FBC. 

That gang of bullies? They were fully corrupted by that entity, the “Not-Mother” was the recorded name. Jesse and Dylan managed to get to the projector, but she couldn’t turn it off herself, only with help from Polaris did she manage, and she burned all the slides except for the one that Polaris was from. 

The FBC came in, covered it all up. Said it was an “Industrial Incident”. They took Dylan with them, Jesse managed to get away. 

From then on, Dylan Faden served as the “Control” Subject for the FBC’s prime candidate program. The program which would install future Director’s of the entire Bureau. Jesse on the other hand lived with a constant set of eyes on her. She was paranoid, gaslit at every turn by therapists and the news and everyone just denying everything that she grew up with. No one would believe her, it was all so outlandish, how could they even? Jesse worked odd jobs, mostly custodial, keeping to herself and living in and out of motels as she grew up and continued her search for something that the world claimed didn’t exist, in the search for her brother. At least Polaris was there for her. 

At twenty-eight, Polaris finally led Jesse to the FBC. Now the building we’re in, The Oldest House, it’s an OOP itself. It hides itself in plain sight, only revealing itself when it wants or needs to. The building’s constantly shifting, which makes it a constant work hazard mind you. But Jesse finally managed to find the place, and she quickly came to finally realize she wasn’t crazy, and all this dimensional, paranatural shit, was real. 

Jesse found the former Director of the FBC, Director Zacariah Trench, dead in his office. His OOP, the Service Weapon, a pistol to keep it simple, was there. Jesse picked it up and went through the bonding process unknowingly. Now if you pick up that thing, and the Service Weapon doesn’t deem you as a worthy candidate for the next director, you just die. It’s Russian Roulette, and that gun will kill you. Jesse survived the first trial, and on day one was granted the position of Director. The candidate process, the Director, it was all overseen by an entity called The Board. Astral Plane again, but the Board is the one that’s tied right to the Director.

And boy was it trial by fire. The Oldest House was invaded by a hostile resonance, some sort of corrupting power she called The Hiss which turned agents into mindless slaves to the extra-dimensional entity. The whole building was on lockdown until the Hiss was dealt with. Some agents survived thanks to a technology called an HRA, that was passed out by the head of Research for the FBC, Casper Darling, a bit before the breakout. 

Jesse worked with the survivors of the outbreak to try and bring order to the FBC, all in the hopes that she could find her brother Dylan. Through cleaning up the mess inside the lockdown, Jesse came to learn about all the surveillance she was under her whole life, all the cover-ups, and she learned that after that event in Ordinary with the Slide-projector AWE, she and Dylan were put into the Prime Candidate program. Dylan was PC6, Jesse was PC7. In captivity and under the Bureau’s tests, Dylan eventually went crazy. He was corrupted by the Hiss too, broke out of containment, but he wasn’t mindless like all the other agents. He told Jesse that the Hiss entered the Bureau through the Slide Projector that the Bureau kept. 

Jesse then began the search for the projector, along with Polaris’s guidance, maybe they could help her brother somehow. She learned that the former Director Trench, and Dr. Darling, used the projector to make more excursions into the other dimensions. Darling found that entity linked to Polaris, which he named Hedron, and brought it back with him. It’s Hedron’s resonance that Darling used to create the HRA’s, which protects the agents from the Hiss influence. Director Trench on the other hand, Jesse later came to learn was actually corrupted by the Hiss. Subtly, slowly, making him paranoid. He was actually the one who let the Hiss in initially, convinced that everyone else in the Bureau was against him thanks to the Hiss’s influence. 

At the same time of this realization, Dylan broke out of his containment again and stole the Slide Projector. He tried using it to enter the Astral Plane and corrupt The Board. Jesse almost gave into the Hiss entirely, but she pulled back control of her own mind along with Polaris and freed herself of that corruption. She stopped Dylan, cleansed the Slide Projector, and Dylan fell into a coma. 

Jesse shut off the Slide Projector and cut off the Hiss from entering the Dimension. Though some threats still linger within. 

And that’s our fearless Director Faden. She’s working still, getting rid of the Hiss and trying to bring her brother back. 

Hey, you’re the one who wanted the whole file.

powers / abilities: 

Director Faden’s the strongest Parautilitarian we’ve seen. Which is just a fancy word for people who can do things not “normal” in our reality. 

Launch: Through binding herself with OOPs, Jesse Faden’s been able to harness insane telekinetic powers. She can grab and launch multiple things. We’re talking boulders and stone straight from the ground or walls. Even people. The speed she can throw them is lethal with every bit of the word. That telekinetic power lets her also surround herself in whatever loose debris is around to form a shield. Defense is just as important, right?

Evade: Now this one’s cool. She can use it with her other abilities, but even just on its own it’s crazy. Jesse can propel herself in pretty much any direction in a short burst of speed, flinging herself to evade whatever might be coming her way. Like a slingshot almost. 

Kinetic Blast: Nothing flashy, but packs a hell of a punch. Jesse can release a close-range, kinetic explosion that pushes things away. If they survive the blast. 

Seize: This one’s a bit freaky. I’ve seen Director Faden hold a hand out, and channel her power right into her enemy’s minds. She can control them for a time, make them fight against their own kin and on her side. [[ OOC: Would only do this with consent or in circumstances where there’s no sort of meta-gaming going on!]]

Levitate: I know what you’re thinking. And yeah, it’s that. Director Faden can fly. Not Super-man levels, but she can go up pretty high, over a story or two, and hover there for a good while. If she jumps off a high point, I’ve seen her slow her fall as well. Come right down from the top of the Black Rock Quarry as light as a feather. 

inherent abilities: 

Polaris: This one’s a bit tricky to explain. Back when Jesse and her brother were messing with the slide projector as kids, they opened a pathway into another dimension. In that dimension were two linked entities, Hedron (Named by Casper Darling later on), and Polaris. Polaris is an extra-dimensional visitor! Just one that lives in Jesse’s brain. Jesse named this entity Polaris since she saw her as a guiding star. Since she was eleven, Polaris has been a comfort in Jesse’s mind ever since, oftentimes serving as her only friend and a companion she has constant conversations with. As far as we know, Polaris is the source of Jesse and Dylan’s parautilitarian powers.

Gun training: Whether it came from earlier in her life, or she just was a natural, Director Faden is a truly exceptional shot. And I’m not saying that just because she’s the big boss either. The Service Weapon comes with many variations, ranging from semi-automatic, handgun style shots to explosive propelled missiles. Jesse has proven she can hit her target while flying, dashing, or in any number of difficult positions while always keeping on the move in a fire fight. She’s like a wrecking ball that can fly, twist, and dive through the air. A wrecking ball with a gun.

items / weapons: 

Service Weapon: The Director’s Gun. Owning this thing makes you the Director of the FBC, as ordained by The Board which is tied to this thing. It’s an absolute beast of a weapon, taking the shape of a handgun most of the time, composed of other-wordly material. Cubes that let it shift into different configurations and manifest different projectiles, reloads over time or if Jesse is especially trigger-happy, it goes on a cooldown before it can fire again. 

Fun bit of a trivia, a lot of agents hypothesize that this thing took the shape of legendary weapons of old back in the day. Talking Excalibur, Mjolnr, whatever the worthy wielder deemed it to be. Imagine that, huh? 

The Service Weapon can be swapped out for its firing configurations on the fly. It’s got:

Grip: Similar to a revolver, semi-automatic.  Shatter: Wide-spread, buckshot style shotgun configuration.  Spin: The barrel revolves, almost like a minigun. Harder to control accuracy wise but it’s fully automatic. Pierce: A slow-firing, charge-up style that fires a single shot that is capable of piercing through architecture and enemies. All about user accuracy here.  Charge: Closest thing that can describe this is up to three, rocket-propelled grenades.  Surge: This one’s trickier. Fires grenades that stick to surfaces or enemies, and can be detonated at Jesse’s discretion.

Ahti's Walkman: An old school portable cassette player with matching wired yellow headphones. The cassette has some Finnish songs on it and one track by the Old Gods of Asgard, called Take Control

starting ability: Launch.

starting item: Service Weapon. 

extra: 

Might just be the most comfortable a character ever could be once she gets dropped into Xara Cosmia. Walked down a door in the Oldest House, blacked out, woke up here. 

She’s like a jedi with a gun. Seriously, her powers are so cool. 

A true glass-cannon of a set of abilities and skills. 

Also I love her, hope you guys do too.

I tried something new with this application style with the voice and how it’s written, just imagine you had some guy in a suit with a clipboard in a very generic looking office telling you all this information. We’ll call him Agent Bill.

And I swear one day I’ll submit an application that isn’t this long, I should be arrested for my crimes.

discord id: primecandidate7

[bonfireheart]

title: Trust Takes…A Near-Death Experience?

blurb: the one in which the newest combat avenger that has limited healing abilities proves themselves. (fem!reader)

warnings: Clint should look around before leaving cover, Reader just wants acceptance (at the cost of hurting themselves), injury, medbay vibe?, passing out, the team are kinda mean to start with, swearing

“Now, everybody follow instructions. Nobody go off and do their own thing, this is a quick in and out mission.”

The voice of the Captain boomed through the tech-clad jet, and the brightness from the overhead lights found love in my eyes, causing me to squint in attempt to see my surroundings.

“Stark, Nat and I will clear the pathway to the entrance. Wanda, Sam and Buck, cover and protect the perimeter. Clint and Y/N enter the building quietly, get the flash drive and leave. Don’t make contact with anyone inside.”

A chorus of “got its” and a cheeky “Sir yes sir” from Sam replaced the single voice. Clint made his way over to me, blindly handing me a small handgun.

“Just in case. You should stay behind me, stay in the shadows unless I tell you otherwise. This should be easy.”

His voice was sharp and I could tell he was annoyed I was partnered up with him. I felt the whole group’s eyes set on me and shuffled back in my seat awkwardly.

Stark stood up, lowering his helmet over his head. “Yeah and uh, when you see HYDRA agents try to stay loyal to us. I know they used to be a such a dear part of your life.”

Hostility was woven in his words, and snickers surrounded me. If the ground felt like eating me whole now would be the perfect time. Or eating them. That would be better, and it would be nice to see them grovelling for my help.

Ever since Fury took me in as a HYDRA escapee, the team have been less than pleased by my mere existence. I’m not stupid, I’ve heard them talking. Things about how they couldn’t trust me, that I was a double agent. It hurt sure, but I couldn’t blame them. Who would genuinely believe that an ex-convict would want to play hero to the world? That doesn’t make their words sting any less though. Wanda wasn’t always the good girl, and neither was Nat. Bucky was one of me for gods sake. The constant bitter phrases and venomous speeches filled my life. If I got hurt on a mission, I am convinced they’d just leave me.

“Great, they’ve already zoned out.” Bucky’s voice pulled me back into reality.

Truth is, this mission was kind of scaring me. They keep calling it a simple deal, but there’s too much history there for me. What if one of the agents walking around recognise me? Would they kill me? Or would they drag me back into that lifestyle? I don’t want any part of that, and I sure as hell am working everyday to repay the world for what I did against it.

“We’re here. Get ready.”

Wanda arose from the seat beside me, giving me one glance over before stationing herself behind the doors. Same with Natasha. And Cap, Tony, Bucky, Sam and Clint.

I sighed and stood, slowly pacing my way over to them. I shut my eyes and inhaled lightly, exhaled lightly. Just like Ma taught me.

The shudder of the doors opening reminded me to extra care of myself on this mission, stay in cover and do as I’m told. I’ve resigned myself to doing that every mission though. A part of me hopes that if I just let them control everything and make the rules, well then, maybe they’d start to warm up to the idea of me.

I felt Clint grab on to my arm as he tugged me towards some boulders sat just by the entrance. I allowed myself to be pulled along and crouched low to avoid being detected. We sat in silence together, I kept my eyes trained on the scene playing out before me. I watched as the others killed people quickly and quietly, and as Nat made her way to the door of the building and opened it, ready to kill any onlookers they may have missed. I felt Clint’s eyes place on to me a few times, either from concern or disgust, I’m not too sure, and I’d rather not know.

It was time. I stood from our cover and let Clint lead the way to the door. Nat offered him a small smile as he went inside, and instantly dropped it when she saw me.

Ouch.

‘Don’t let it get to you.’ I could hear my mother’s voice in my head. It chanted like it was some mantra until I found myself following what it was saying.

The inside of the building wasn’t that much different to the outside. It was bleak, grey and was a hub of sadness if anything. Clint was four steps ahead of me, and didn’t so much as turn around to see if I was even there. Part of me thinks he wouldn’t even question my disappearance, that he just expected me to turn double agent real quick and not look back.

We found the room quickly. It wasn’t hard to locate, nor was it well secured. Typical of HYDRA. They focused their resources in the wrong places. The metal door was heavy and rusted, turning into more of a bronze colouring. It was unlocked and made a loud ‘clank’ as we opened it.

I internally cringed as the sound rang through the empty hallways. The noise was starkly contrasted when a deafening silence fell upon us. Then the footsteps came running. One pair, two pairs, several pairs of people could be heard nearing us. And as if to mock us even further, a blaring alarm played out suddenly. If this wasn’t a serious situation, it possibly would of been funny.

The archer grabbed me by the wrist and quickly tugged us into the dark room, and we found solace behind a cabinet. It wasn’t long before the door to the enclosed space opened again, and from the corner of my eyes I could see the shine of flashlights reflecting against the silver panels of the area.

“раскрыть себя (reveal yourselves).”

I shuddered at the sound of Russian. It reminded me all too well of my past, a past I’m far from proud of. The footsteps paced around the room some more, before the flashlights turned off.

“все чисто (all clear).”

Slowly, the resonating footsteps got further and further away. I knew better than that though. There is at least two men still in this room, I know HYDRA like the back of my hand. ‘Sad that they haven’t changed their ways after all these years’, and god I need to stop thinking serious situations are funny.

Before I could garner my attention back to Clint, his grasp on me lessened and though I tried stop him, he moved into plain sight.

Silence.

I held my breath and prepared for what came next, it was inevitable.

I heard Clint sigh, “Shit.”

“Ah Mr Barton, рад встрече (nice to meet you).”

A gruff Russian accent coated the man’s words, the tension in the air was thick and surrounded the room. I watched as Hawkeye slowly reached back for an arrow, setting it into his bow. I felt helpless, I couldn’t blow my cover just yet, and Clint is way too egotistical to ask for help. But still, I know this is not going to end well for him, no matter how skilled he is, he is way too outnumbered. He just doesn’t know it yet.

Ping.

The sound of a sleek, metal point hitting its bullseye in the shape of a man’s head. And lord, Clint has just brought war upon himself.

Before he could reload, or I could pull out my weapon, I heard as the door slammed open and more agents rushed in. Curse the archer for thinking he always knows best.

Gunshots resonated throughout the building, and one could only pray the others could hear it. A hand reached up to my ear piece quickly, and I pressed on it.

“Guys! Backup plea-Clint!”

I watched in horror as he dropped to the floor with a vast array of gunshot wounds taken nest on his shoulders, stomach, torso and just below his heart.

Grabbing my gun from my holster, I left cover and finished off the final three men in the room. I looked around the floor, and fair dues to Barton, he had managed to take out a fair few of them. A groan articulated from beside me and I dropped to my knees in concern. I knew I didn’t have long before more HYDRA officials found their way here and could just hope that the rest of the team would come bursting through the door.

“Clint! Clint, look at me ok? You need to stay still, I’m going to heal you, don’t move.”

My words were shaky and unstable, I don’t know if he could even understand me. But even if I was speaking properly, this man is at deaths door and words wouldn’t be comprehensible anyway. My hands rested comfortably above Clint, a small gap allowing for the particles to flow out of my hands and over his body. I worked silently, even when the door slammed open. One, two, three, four…there was at least fifteen gunshots covering him. I don’t know how far my healing ability can cope with this. I had only ever used it on myself, it was simple trick that was injected into me by HYDRA to ensure they could keep sending me out on mission after mission.

I didn’t dare move even when I heard shouts of Russian around me, or shots being fired into me, all that mattered was making sure his family had their husband and dad in one piece. I watched as his wounds slowly covered over, and as the bleeding came to a stop. My hands didn’t leave him until I knew for sure that every little mark on him was healed.

Pain pricked into me, it was didn’t hurt that much yet it made me scream. I looked up in horror and was met by the rest of the team. It felt like everything was in slow motion now. My head felt woozy and light.

‘Huh, so at least I know I can heal a pretty much dead man’. Not now brain…not now.

My eyes fluttered open and shut like a butterfly, the voices of the team were drained and quiet and my vision was blurry.

The sound of me dropping to the floor.

•/\•

Beep.

“She’s waking up, get Bruce.” “She’s awake?” “Shut up, you’re being too loud.” “You shut up!”

Open door.

“Bucky, Sam. She does not need to hear loud noises right now of all times.”

“…sorry Bruce.”

Footsteps, shut door.

My senses slowly came back to me. I can hear my heart monitor. I can feel a blanket clad around my body. I can smell disinfectant, a aroma of cleanliness. I can taste the metallic tang of blood. I let my eyes open and instantly winced at the light compared to darkness of shut eyes.

“Oh! Sorry about that.” Bruce walked over to my bed and pushed the bright lamp that shone over me to face the wall.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like the devil tried finishing the job.”

He laughed in a geeky sort of way. I don’t mind Bruce. I’ve never met met somebody who contrasted their hero alias as much as him, but I guess that’s what made him more likeable. I saw him slightly tamper with the many wires attached to my hand. He must of felt my eyes on him,

“I’m just upping the morphine.”

“No need.” I allowed my hands to perch on top of my chest and focused my energy towards myself. Gradually, it felt like the ton of bricks was being lifted from my shoulders.

“That works too, I guess. Super cool by the way, the healing thing, wish I had that.”

The door crashed open again, this time the team came stumbling into the room.

“I said one at a time!” Natasha spoke up.

“Yeah, you just always got to be right dont you?”

“Stark, I will widow bite you.”

Wanda made her way over to me with a steaming bowl. It smelt amazing, and my stomach was absolutely begging for food. Not to mention the need to recharge my energy.

“It’s gulyas. My mama’s recipe. I’ve seen you eat it before so I just thought…”

“Thank you Wanda. It smells like home.” I leant forward to take the bowl from her.

“Should you be feeding yourself?” She asked as she moved the bowl away from me quickly.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I can heal myself. I feel good as new. Just a little rough round the edges is all.” I joked light-heartedly.

The Sokovian looked doubtful as she passed it over to me, setting it gently on my side table and produced a spoon. By now, Bruce had managed to calm the others down, reminding them they were in a medical facility.

Clint awkwardly cleared his throat and captured the attention of everyone.

“I uh…just wanted to thank you for healing me. I thought that mission might of been my last so just..yeah..thanks.”

I smiled at him.

“Hey, it’s part of the job right? Protecting people. Nobody said it had to be just civilians.”

Steve lightly nudged Tony.

“My turn already?”

The others looked at him with annoyed glances.

“Ugh fine. Listen Nightingale, we just wanted to…apologise for how we treated you. You clearly have the teams best…interests at heart.”

Groans encompassed the space.

“Really Tony?” “You could of been slightly heartfelt!”

“What Tony is trying to say Y/N, is that we were unfair. Especially considering the fact that three of us were the same as you…technically four but Tony made weapons of destruction so I’d argue that’s worse.” Natasha cut in, looking towards me hopefully.

“Forgive us? Start afresh?”

I looked down in my lap. It felt weird hearing them say sorry. Or even having their attention full stop.

“I’m not going to lie and say I can just move on from this…it kinda hurt the way I was treated. It felt like when I was trying to finally put stuff right, I was just being shunned even more…”

“That was our fault. Completely.”

“But, I am willing to try. You guys seem cool when you’re nice.” I laughed quietly.

“Seem? Seem? I AM cool.”

“Tony, for fucks sake.”

[kxisuke]

more

pairings: megumi fushiguro x fem!reader

summary: you couldn't help yourself. you needed to go back for more

warnings: smut/NSFW content ahead! 18+ only, strong/vulgar language, unprotected sex, teasing, cunnilingus, creampie

word count: 1.6k

a/n: part one here... @ezzui hope you like this 😏😩🙏

Gripping the crumpled paper in your hand, your mind keeps drifting back to that day. One that you will never forget. It’s been two weeks and you can’t help but think about what that boy is doing. You don’t even know his name, but he’s been occupying your thoughts every second since you met him. You fall back on your small bed, looking up at the ceiling. Your mattress isn’t nearly as comfortable as his, and you wish you could lie on his again, feeling his head between your legs…

“Seriously y/n. Get a grip.” You sit up and slap yourself on the cheek, but you can’t deny the obvious. You need to go back.

Moving around your room, you change into some more outdoorsy clothes, grabbing your red cape off the hook by your door and fastening it around your shoulders. You head downstairs, running into your mother who’s cooking something that smells delicious on the stove.

“Where are you heading, honey?” You grab an apple from the table to eat on the way, slipping on your shoes at the door.

“I’m just going for a stroll through the woods, and I might go visit grandma while I’m out there.” Your mother hums in what’s either uneasiness or approval, you can’t quite tell.

“Just remember, don’t-“ You roll your eyes with a smile, appreciative of her concern. She’d probably throw a fit and prohibit you from leaving the house if she knew why you were really going out.

“Stray off the path. Yes I know, mom.” You finish her sentence for her, and she chuckles and turns back to the stove.

“And be back before dark, or at least send a letter if you’re staying the night at your grandmothers.”

“Understood. See you!” You practically run out the door, shutting it softly behind you. Walking towards the village gates that lead to the forest, you wave to a few people you know with a smile, the only thing you’re able to think about is what awaits you in the forest. The woods are silent, you can only hear the faint chirping of birds and the occasional chipper from a squirrel looking for something to eat.

“I wonder where he wants me to go…” You pull the note out of your pocket and read it again. You’ve read it thousands of times over but still haven’t seen any hidden meaning to where the mystery boy’s house is.

Maybe he’ll find me. I’ll head to the clearing I woke up in and maybe he’ll be close.

You keep walking down the path towards the clearing, not noticing the pair of blue eyes watching you through the trees.

~

He’s been waiting for what feels like forever.

It’s been agonizing, wondering whether or not you’re going to return. He’s been running through the forest every day, searching for you, only to find a few people who look scared out of their wits because of what they’ve heard.

Stupid rumours, if you ask me.

And now, watching you wander down the pathway, searching for him is making his stomach turn over in excitement, blood roaring in his ears. He just needs you to find the clearing that you awoke in, and then he'll be able to bring you back to his place.

You bend over to pick up a small flower off the side of the path, by a tree, causing your skirt to ride up the backs of your thighs just enough to make Megumi let out a shaky breath. He feels his pants tighten around his groin, and he's tempted to just run out and drag you to his house.

No. Be patient. Let her find it.

~

“I think it was here, wasn’t it?” You step into a small clearing, the soft green grass tickling your ankles and familiar flowers dancing in the breeze. “Yeah, this is the place.” You don’t notice him behind you until you hear his voice, smooth and calm, reaching every part of your body.

“You came back.” Your head turns slowly around to face him, and you see him leaning up against a tree. He's wearing a dark long sleeved shirt that hangs loose around his upper body, and light sweatpants to match. Your eyes widen and a pink flush spreads across your cheeks.

“Y-yeah.” He pushes off the tree with a hand in his pocket and approaches you slowly. Your heart is pounding out of your chest and it feels like the world has stopped completely on its axis. He stops inches away from you, reaching up and caressing your cheek. Your eyes widen as he presses his lips to yours, capturing them in a soft kiss.

“Let's go back to my place, hm?”

~

“Ah~ d-don’t stop…” Your toes curl and you grip onto the boy’s dark hair, letting out a tiny squeal when he pinches your clit lightly between his teeth. Two of his long fingers are abusing your hole, and your legs are practically shaking from pleasure.

“I bet you want to cum now, darling.. isn’t that right?” You nod, giving him a pleading look, biting down on your bottom lip to stifle your moans.

“Please… l-let me..” Your cheeks flush red and you start to see white every time his finger pads press into that one spot in you. He smirks devilishly up at you from in between your thighs, and your stomach drops at the look in his eyes.

“Hmm, you only get to cum on my cock, okay?” He swiftly removes his fingers and you let out a whine of frustration, but in no time the raven haired boy is teasing your entrance with the tip of his throbbing cock. He pushes into you with a groan that makes your heart skip a beat, and creeps his hips forward until he’s bottomed out in you.

“Shit… you’re so tight, darling…” He grips onto your waist, starting to move, and you can’t help the moans that slip out of your swollen lips.

Why does he make me feel like this… like I’m going to go crazy every time he touches me.

His movements are swift and fast, and in no time he has you begging to cum, back arching into the soft mattress and legs shaking with pleasure. But Megumi waits, waits until your eyes roll back into your head and the sounds coming out of your mouth are too much for him to handle. He throws one of your legs over his shoulder to reach even deeper in you, and he almost cums on the spot from the way your cunt swallows his cock so well. His thrusts begin to get sloppy, and he feels his own high approaching, and the only thing he’s focused on is the jumbled words coming out of your mouth and the amount of pure ecstasy he’s getting from this feeling of you wrapped so tightly around him.

“Go ahead, darling.” He trembles in pleasure, biting down on his lip as your face contorts into one of pure bliss, and his cock throbs inside you. His hips stutter, and with an angelic groan he spills his load inside you, hands firm on your waist and curses tumbling out of his mouth.

Your body sinks back into the mattress, and your eyelids are heavy, muscles relaxing and causing a sudden tiredness to wash over you.

Wait, I don’t want to leave, not yet. I want to know him. I want to know who he is.

“It’s okay, just rest.” You feel his lips on your forehead, and you can’t help but close your eyes and slip into the darkness, having full trust that he’ll take care of you.

~~

Your eyes open slowly, and instead of seeing the tops of trees, you’re staring at a wooden ceiling. You shift your body weight, and notice a blanket draped over your form. Sitting up slowly, you scan your surroundings.

Am I…?

The mystery boy walks into the room, two cups of tea in his hands. He lets a small smile creep onto his face when he sees your face, sitting down on the edge of the bed and handing you a warm cup. You take it thankfully in your hands and take a sip, your face lighting up.

“Woah, this is really good.” He smiles fully at your comment, taking a sip from his own mug.

“Thanks, it’s Jasmine. I grow it myself.” An awkward silence falls over the both of you, and you continue to drink slowly out of your mug.

“What’s your name?” You say quietly, blushing and trying to hide your face behind your cup, embarrassed.

“Ah, sorry for being so rude. I’m Megumi, Megumi Fushiguro.” He holds out his hand and you take it, shaking it once. He doesn’t let go of your hand, but rather keeps it in his grip, stroking the back of your hand with his thumb. He puts down his mug and takes yours from your hand, placing them both on the nightstand. Moving so he’s only inches away from you, his dark eyes look into yours, and you swallow nervously, a pink tint appearing on your cheeks.

So close…

“And what’s your name, darling?”

“Y-y/n. Y/n l/n.” He smirks, ghosting his lips over yours. Your heart is practically beating out of your chest, and your head is spinning.

Why does he have this effect on me...

“Well, y/n…” he pecks you on the lips, and your eyes widen. He chuckles at your reaction and leans in close so his breath is hot in your ear.

“I think I’m in love with you.”

[myveryownfanfiction]

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

YOU WILL BE BLOCKED AND REPORTED

warnings: cemetery, chucky being chucky, talk of death, drinking, swearing

requested by: @salemwitch96

request: A walk amongst the tombstones would definitely be a chucky type of idea.

Chucky threw his arm over my shoulders once he landed next to me. He smirked at me before tugging me with him towards the pathway.

“Told you it was be a piece of cake doll face.” I rolled my eyes as I wrapped my arm around his waist. “Now we can have some fun.” He stuck a hand in his coat and pulled out two bottles. Taking one, I turned back towards the wall and popped the cap off. Chucky did the same.

“To prolonging our inevitable demise.” I tilted my bottle towards him and he clinked our bottles together.

“To Damballa.” We each took a drink before moving among the tombstones. “You know, people go through their entire life planning this shit out. It’s like some weird morbid obsession with death that starts the day you’re born. What’s with that shit?” I shrugged as I ducked out from under his arm and maneuvered through a small clump of headstones.

“Who knows. And then there are others who try to prolong it for as long as they can. Like us.” Chucky tilted his bottle towards me. “Oh look. Some poor kid…” I trailed off, my own thought process depressing me. Chucky stood next to me before raising his bottle in a toast.

“To Stephen Parker. May the short life you lived have been full of…” Chucky paused before shrugging. “Life.”

“Here here.” I raised my own bottle before tossing it back in time with Chucky.

“It’s always sadder when it’s a kid.” Chucky mumbled as he moved away from the headstone. I dug in my pocket and pulled out a penny, placing it on the headstone. I ran my finger over the little Spider-Man emblem etched into the stone and smiled sadly as I walked in Chucky’s direction. “They don’t even get a fucking chance at life. It isn’t fair to them. Maybe their folks deserve it. But they don’t.” I rubbed his back as we finally reached what appeared to be our destination.

“Who is it?” I stopped as Chucky leaned against a tall headstone. He motioned for me to read it.

“Peter and Elizabeth Ray. Loving husband and wife and parents.” I dug through my pockets again and pulled out four coins. I put them at the base of the headstone like I had with the kid’s. “To your parents.” I held my bottle up. Chucky did the same. I took a quick swig but Chucky seemed to be gulping his down. He tossed the empty bottle away before taking another out of his coat. He opened it on the headstone before brushing off the slight dust that appeared.

“Its my fault they’re dead you know.” He sat down amongst the dried leaves and leaned his head against the stone. His eyes were closed but his face was turned up towards me. “There was a serial killer here in Hackensack. Not me. I was barely six. I think. He got dad in the living room. I saw the body. Ran upstairs to mom. She hid me in the closet. I could have stopped him. Or tried to. But I let him kill her. I could have called the police or screamed when I saw dad but I didn’t.” I kneeled down next to him and put my hand on his shoulder.

“Chuck…” I squeezed his shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“You know what I did after?” I shook my head. “I learned from him. And then when I was in foster care, I started killing myself. And I got Eddie into it too.” Chucky opened his eyes finally. “I don’t regret it. Maybe them.” His eyes flickered down to the ground before back at me. “But not the rest.” I smirked at him.

“I don’t regret any of it either.” I leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Especially not that bitch at the bar. Either of them.” Chucky laughed before standing up and offering me a hand. I took it and he helped me up.

“That was fun.” He agreed before leading me back through the graveyard.