#and not needlessly worrying over all the ways things could go wrong

[cerbreus]

surgery leave finally okayed!!!!

[1221-writes]

My Demon His Angel (Hello Angel)

Baby Saja x Angel Reader

Read chapter two (Patterns) here

Summary-

After the events of the movie Gwi-Ma is trapped by the Honmoon fighting for the little control he has left on the once human souls. The Saja Boys, gifted with partial freedom, navigate living as demons in the human world. With the Honmoon intact, a demon boy band roaming freely despite it, and to top it off occasional lesser demons breaking through. A previously uninterested angel takes interest in the turn of events. Unexpectedly getting pulled in in ways she swore she never would.

‘I’ve never had to tell myself not to interfere. I’ve never wanted to. But now? Now I find myself desperately repeating it to myself for a multitude of reasons. Reasons that send fear coursing through my veins and seep deep into my soul.’

‘I know how this ends, I’m not a fool; of course I know. So why am I still here?’

5.7k words

Chapter one, Hello Angel-

Clear skies, warm weather, with a nice gentle breeze. Chatter and lights reflecting from the fair grounds off in the distance.

The perfect day to make a long awaited appearance in the human world.

You didn’t have to admit it out loud to your companions, but you couldn’t help a silent agreement with the notion. If you were going to travel to the human world today was a good day to do it.

Though you already felt glaringly out of place leaning against a wall in an alley way with two other angels.

If anyone walked by it would be quite the sight. Despite having already done without the halos, wings, and glowing skin there was still something radiantly off about your appearances. Something magnetically inhuman.

It had been a while since you had fully opted to look human. Long used to going without wings and a halo as a personal choice, but being content to not pass as human as well as not traveling to the human world left no reason to.

Asena and Kyrie shared no such inhibitions when it came to the human world. More than keen to run wild through it interacting with its human inhabitants.

Kyrie was the first to speak since arriving “This is going to be fun. I can’t wait to get into the fair grounds!”

Asena was quick to agree "Definitely, let’s hurry and blend in so we can go in already.”

You silently modified your appearance on the same page of not allowing anyone to place any of you as anything other than human. Having already been less than keen about being in the human world even if everything went over smoothly the last thing you needed was to deal with a human that discovered something they shouldn’t have.

Asena and Kyrie followed suit. The three of you now looking human enough to not raise any questions. Even if they look closely and see the subtle glow or flash of something that could only be described as angelic it wouldn’t be enough to raise any alarm.

Though to your dismay it might draw people in.

“Perfect. Now we’re ready.” Asena stated in declaration

“Yeah couldn’t go in before lest we wanted Mahihkan to castigate us for needlessly revealing ourselves to an entire crowd of humans.” Kyrie stated all too lightly.

Clearly her copious amount of time spent amongst humans had numbed her to fully considering the consequences an accidental reveal would bring. Both the natural consequences along with whatever consequences Mahihkan finding out would bring.

Finally, deciding there was something worth speaking about I warn them “If Mahihkan finds out you accidentally revealed yourself to a human, I am not helping you.”

All I get is a laugh in response as I silently hope that they take it to heart and head my warning. If things go wrong enough there's only so far I can remove myself from it even if I’m not the one that causes the fall out.

Aseena calmly speaks her peace “Relax, we come here all the time with no issues, if you were anyone else I would be worried about you causing problems, but unfortunately you’re apathetic and boring.”

A casual attempt to lightly soothe my worries without making me withdraw. It annoys me more than anything else, but a part of me appreciates the attempt. I’ve known Aseena and Kyrie for far too long even if they don’t take it as seriously as they should, they still care about the consequences.

Kyrie doesn’t bother making the same attempt with her words. “I didn’t expect to ever get you into the human world again with how boring you’ve been lately. You’ve always been an apathetic brat, but at least you used to be interesting.”

All you offer her in response is a half hearted eyeroll before staring at her blankly.

Clearly she takes it as a sign to continue. “The last 400 years you’ve practically been a walking, indifferent, detached, noncommittal, emotionless husk that—”

Bored of her tangent I opted to coolly interrupt her “Do you want to list my characteristics in a dark alley way all night; or do you want to go to the fair?”

The amusement seeped through Kyrie's words. “Yeah, let's go to the fair now that your response has proven my point.”

Opting to ignore her goading and instead turn to look at Aseena as she spoke again. “Alright, let's get into the fairgrounds together and then we can split up for a while. Lest we get in the way of… each other's fun.”

Sending a wicked grin my way at the last part.

I felt my nose slightly curl up “You're repulsive.”

I looked back at Kyrie who now mirrored Aseena’s wretched grin.

Rolling my eyes I slowly leaned off the wall and began to walk out of the alley. Aseena and Kyrie laughing after me before following me out to head towards the fair grounds.

“Maybe a night with a human with no strings attached is what you need. Maybe that’s the thing that will finally get you to loosen up a bit again.” Aseena half joked.

Though there was a clear undertone of genuineness to her statement that made my skin crawl at the mere idea of it.

replying with nothing but honesty and a small frown “I’d rather dissolve myself in acid than lie with a human for a night.”

Kyrie was quick to take the opportunity to further goad me with her words. “Only humans? Maybe we can find you an angel for the night instead.”

Monotonously responding, I tried to subtly shift the subject. “I regretted my decision to come with you the second I agreed. I didn’t think it was possible to regret it anymore than I already did and yet here I am.”

Aseena didn’t take the bait, instead taking a particular liking to Kyrie's words. “Maybe we should reveal ourselves to a human tonight that will get Mahihkan here. Then you can go home with him.”

I once again felt my nose start to curl up at the crude and appealing notion of intimacy.

Not bothering to respond to her suggestion, I fixed my previous statement. “I’d rather dissolve myself in acid than lie with anyone tonight.”

The topic was dropped as the entrance of the fair grounds came into view. The loud carnival game music, an indistinguishable choir of voices, and a delicious scent of fair foods permeating the air taking priority of my senses.

I look towards the long line to get in. Over the tops of peoples heads I can see gleaming lights battling with the sunlight for their gleam to be seen. It’ll be a sight to see come sun down, regardless of any negative feelings I have about the human world. There's still positives if you look for them.

A small frown makes its way back onto my face.

‘And twisted as it is, maybe that's one of the reasons I hold so much resentment for it.’

Kyrie interrupts my less than pleasant thoughts. “Let's go through the line instead of sneaking in. It’ll give us some time together before we split up.”

Aseena responds in agreement before trailing off. “Sounds good, we can hang out while in line before splitting off once we get inside, then we can meet back up once the sun sets, and if we happen to have a reason to split back up again afterwards…”

I let the clear implications fall on deaf ears refusing to dignify her with a response. Instead watching the crowd around, and tuning into conversations of impatient children pestering their parents about— “How much longer until we get inside?”

“I want to ride the ferris wheel first!”

“I want to win the teddy bear!”

All before getting in line nevermind having actually gotten inside the fair grounds. It was enough to erase the frown on your face allowing your muscles to reset back to a more neutral position than the frown had allowed for.

You had always held a fondness for children no matter how much your overall disdain for anything to do with the human world grew.

Aseena and Kyrie started walking headed towards the crowd of people to get into line wordlessly. You followed after them content to continue focussing on your surroundings rather than on them and whatever they had to say.

People's eyes followed the three of you lingering even once you had passed by. Captivated by the angelic charm that they would never be able to place before moving along.

Having made it to the back of the line Kyrie proved ignoring them was for good reason when she decided to direct her words towards me again. “You know at one point you would have been a blushing mess at the mention of in your words ‘lying’ with Mahihkan.”

Irritation spiked through you; they never dropped anything, seemingly always determined to beat a horse far past death. If it was anyone else you would have left ages ago, but it wasn’t anyone else it was two angels who I’ve shared companionship with for centuries. Angels who’ve been there ever since I was reborn all the way from the very start of my new life.

Allowing them far more privileges than was offered to anyone else.

So with an eyeroll and steady voice I replied. “I’ve grown used to you joking about it. It wasn’t funny the first few times and it isn’t funny now.

Aseena giggled at that. “It’s not meant to be funny, it's a prediction of your future. Honestly I thought you two would end up together by now.”

That was not the response I was looking for. They need to drop this topic already, but I’ve been hoping it would be dropped for centuries now with no luck.

“Don’t you think that if it was going to happen it would have by now? I have no interest in anything ever transpiring between me and Mahihkan. Or anyone else before you start”

A shrill screech came from Kyrie “I have no interest in anything ever transpiring between me and Mahihkan or anyone else!”

The subtle glances the humans around you had turned into stark stares at the outburst.

‘Damn it Kyrie’

The three of us quickly pretended to return to normal conversation, refusing to meet the curious human eyes or give them any more reasons to pay attention to us.

Kyrie let out a breath and whispered out an unsatisfactory— “oops…”

All she was met with was a deadpan and awkward stare from myself and Aseena respectively and deservedly so.

The human eyes on us were heightened even more so than usual for the rest of the time we spent in line but we made it into the fair grounds nonetheless. ‘And thankfully without any more… incidents. For the time being at least.’

Now inside the fair grounds and more importantly away from the humans that witnessed Kyrie's “enthusiastic display” Aseena and Kyrie started speaking a little more freely again.

Unsurprisingly the one who caused the predicament was the first to take advantage of this. “Lets get a move on and split up, this place is crawling with eligible bodies to waste the night with!”

Her crudness wasn’t surprising but that didn’t make me keen on the idea of listening to her talk about her human prey like that. Making your agreement quickly and walking off into the crowd of people to prevent hearing anymore. “You have fun with that.” “Meet up back here once the sun has set!” Aseena called out after me, but I didn’t bother to respond, tuning the both of them out after her request.

“Do you think she heard you?”

“Who knows, fifty fifty on if she already started ignoring us once she started walking away.”

“Pft Yeah, you’re probably right, typical (Y/N)”

“It is typical of her. I just hope she has a decent time tonight.” “I hope we have much more than a decent night tonight” Kyrie winked

—

Now alone in the crowd it occurred to me that I would have to find a way to waste away the time until sun down. I looked up into the still well lit sky.

‘It’ll be around three hours before the sky even starts to change colors and at least another forty after that for the sun to finish setting.’

Now apart from Aseena and Kyrie the lingering stares died down after all, an angel alone was much more discreet than three together.

And I’ve always had a knack for blending in, disappearing from things I want no part of has always come naturally to me. Drawing the attention of humans is definitely not something I want part of so putting extra effort into the ability to look human was worth it to me.

The work put in paid off too, allowing me to walk through the human world undisturbed unless engaging with a human or doing something to draw attention.

Although it was something that other angels didn’t put as much energy into only taking the time to ensure they won’t be identified by humans and content with the extra attention until they naturally get better with time.

Aseena and Kyrie's Age gave them plenty of experience disguising themselves. If I hadn’t honed my skills they would be far more skilled than I. However, that was not the case, like most angels they were content to bask into the attention given to them by human kind.

To their credit they were still much more skilled than most other angels. The ones younger than them like me as well as other angels their own age, their ample time spent wandering the human world coming in their favor.

Now free of the unwanted attention I instead let my attention fall on the appetizing scents drifting through the air.

‘Funnel cake, fries, ice cream, lemonade, kettle corn cotton candy—’

Your decision to disappear into the crowd, get food, then find somewhere to be alone was solidified.

Though if you were being honest that plan was solidified far before you arrived in the human world.

The first food truck you came across offered both fries and lemonade. You were more than content to stop at this one instead of seeking out any other options. It contained two items on your list and would allow you to get away from the crowd expeditiously.

Making your way into the line and biding your time until you could make your departure to a sanctuary of solitude.

The line slowly thinned out until you were next in line. The nineteen year old taking orders was either unable to hide his enticement or he had just decided not to bother with trying to hide it. Going by the way his eyes were focussed on the exposed skin of your chest you were going with the latter.

The impassive look never left your face, but the unamusement seeped through in the crossing of your arms and subtle shift of your weight.

The boy seemed to gather himself together as he slowly raised his eyes to your face with a faint splotchy blush on his own.

His soft cheery voice finally rang out. “What can I get for ya?”

Deciding to keep things devoid of any engagement and short. “Fries and a lemonade.”

“...Please.” The simple courtesy followed afterward despite the boy's previous unwelcome wandering eyes

Handing him exact cash and looking off into the distance to avoid further interaction. The boy didn’t take the hint and opened his mouth to speak again.

“No.” You deadpanned.

You glanced up to see the surprised look pass over the boy's face before shifting into embarrassment. Splotchy red took over even more of his face as he let out an involuntary cough.

Showing mercy you looked back off into the distance instead of letting him sit with the weight of your less than interested eyes.

Fortunately for him your order was ready shortly after. Taking your order and dropping a generous tip into the tip jar without looking at him again as you silently walked away.

‘He’s just a boy, he thinks I’m his age, he still deserves compensation for his work even if he’s a nuisance.’

With that you dropped the undesirable encounter and quickly found a place to lie low with your food.

The top of a building with no roof access overlooking the fair grounds. No one will be able to access it and it will be out of sight to anyone on ground level. Even if someone on a ride spots me they won’t pay me any attention. It’s perfect.

Glancing around to make sure no eyes are looking my way, I take my window of opportunity to teleport onto the top of the building.

Finally alone I sit on the edge of the building letting my legs dangle over the edge ready to enjoy my food.

‘It’s been ages since I’ve had human food.’

Taking a small sip of the lemonade first I savor the sweet and sour flavor. Food is one of the higher ranking positives of the human world in my book. Ironically it might be the only positive that doesn’t leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

Even once my food is finished I feel no sense of urgency to leave the secluded roof top, content to watch over the people enjoying what the fair has to offer. Looking up at the pretty sky again to get a read on the remaining time before Sun down I’m met with disappointment.

‘Still another two hours and forty minutes at least. I’ve only knocked out an hour of time.’

Looking back down and sighing before my attention is caught by a demon roaming the fair grounds roughly 200 feet away from the building I sit on.

He leans against a fence looking at the ground with his arms crossed. Fluffy light blue hair peeking out of the plain black baseball hat obscuring part of his face and falling over his displeased expression.

A flicker of purple patterns dance across his neck for a split second before disappearing back into light peach skin.

I pull my legs up from over the ledge tucking them into my chest. It’s then that I notice the demon isn’t alone.

A group of four other demons stand around him all dressed in dark muted colors and hats. Seemingly trying to be discreet and remain undetected by the public.

I recognize them as the trouble that caused the shift in the human world concerning demons. They’re demons that became idols to go against the current generation of hunters.

Though they may have lost arguably they still walked away with a partial victory considering they still have access to the human world.

‘I’m sure Gwi-Ma is fighting to use that to his advantage.’

It’s then that big vibrant glowing eyes meet mine with a burning intensity.

My eyes widened in surprise, my back straightening, I didn’t expect anyone to notice me up here none the less a demon.

His stare doesn’t back down, eyes continuing to burn through me, and for some reason I don’t look away either.

I tell myself it’s because I don’t know what he’s going to do, but I know it’s not. I could just leave now. I’m confident that I could shake him off my trail if I fled.

But I don’t move, I don’t even stand up, I stay in place staring right back at the blue haired demon.

‘Does he know what I am?’

‘How’d he know to look up?’

Was it just by chance?’

The black haired demon swats him over the head seemingly scolding him. This makes the blue haired demon glance over at his assailant even more agitated than when you first noticed him.

I watch as his eyes flash into a cerulean blue. putting the pieces together determining that the black hair demon scolded him for revealing a demonic characteristic.

To my relief the group of demons doesn’t remain in place for much longer and walks off away from the building. Before they get out of sight the blue haired demon looks back, eyes burning with just as much intensity as before.

Only freeing you of his gaze when he turned a corner. You let out a breath you hadn’t realised you were holding, uselessly standing up as if you needed to now that the potential threat had already left.

You stayed standing idly for a few minutes until you were sure the demon wasn’t coming back.

You let yourself sit back over the ledge deciding to stay put until sun down arrived and you could go home.

Once again looking down at all the people you let your mind wander. The blue haired demon's face flashed through your mind. His golden eyes, his vivid blue hair, the way he seemed to be able to see every part of you.

You tried to shake him from your thoughts, tried to ignore the way he looked at you, how his eyes seemed to immediately focus on you.

‘It doesn’t mean anything. There's no way he knows what I am. He—’

“Hello Angel.”

Taking in a startled intake of air as you flinch immediately turning towards the deep raspy voice behind you. You stand up back facing the ledge.

It’s not light peach skin and blue eyes that meet you, but Grey covered in purple patterns, with glowing golden eyes, his light blue hair having taken on a darker tinge.

‘He knows.’

“How’d a pretty frail little human like you get up here hmm?”

‘Nevermind he’s an idiot.’

“What can’t speak? Or am I just not what you were expecting.” He sniggers after the last part.

‘No I was totally expecting a demon to reveal himself to what he believes to be a human.’

The demon takes a few steps towards me, and I’m unable to make up the distance this close to the ledge. He invades my space only a few inches from me. I could slightly raise my arms and we’d be touching. He’s much taller than I expected the other demons he was with were all taller than him, but I only come up to his chest. He smells of vanilla and faint undertone of burnt caramel

His voice is deep and predatory “Tell me angel, ya ever met a demon before?”

His eyes stare straight into mine, if they were burning before now they’re absolutely scorching. It sends a shudder down my spine and by the way his eyes burn hotter I can tell it doesn’t go unnoticed by him.

My voice comes out quiet but steady “Don’t call me that.”

His hand reaches out fingers tracing over my arm. Involuntarily an audible sharp intake of breath betrays me. “Sure thing Angel.”

Irritatingly a tantalizing smirk grows oh his face further displaying his blatant enjoyment of the situation.

It occurs to me that I need to find a way to minimize the fallout of whatever it is I’ve found myself in.

‘An idol. He’s an idol.’

“Why are you in special effects makeup? Are you guys doing a surprise show tonight at the fair?”

It was a good way to spin things on the spot, let me play ignorant, and allows him an out. He shouldn’t want to reveal himself to a human, and going off of earliers display clearly the other demons whose company he keeps don’t want that either.

I’m immediately proven wrong when his response is to laugh directly in my face. It’s dark and heavy. I can feel his breath on my face, his hand still hasn’t left my arm.

I want to rip it away, escape his touch, turn around and high tail it straight out of this situation. I could all I would have to do was jump off the ledge, go home. It's not like a demon could follow me there.

And yet once again I don’t move. I stay, I stay stuck by this demon’s tantalising eyes that make me want to burn to the ground where I stand.

“Special effects? Really, are you that naive? Aww Angel.”

“We’re on a random roof top, not even on the fair grounds. It doesn’t even have rooftop access. Why would we set up special effects here?”

Before I could speak further, try and fix the situation by pointing out how special effects makeup doesn’t need to be set up on a building. He disappears in a cloud of pink smoke. I only sense his presence reappearing behind me for a split second before I feel his hand dance across my waist.

I take a deep breath before turning to face him, his hands never leave my waist. He’s floating over the edge of the building. The final nail in the coffin, blaming special effects is no longer an option, there’s no escaping this unscathed now.

Again the heat of his eyes overwhelms me.

‘What do I even do in this situation? His actions don’t make any sense. I can’t read him.’

His words come out in a low whisper. “Still wanna blame special effects?”

The heat that rises to your face makes you want to banish yourself to hell for eternity and you hate yourself when you realise that that would just make you stuck with him for an eternity. More self hatred flows through you when your heart rate picks up at the idea.

Collecting myself as fast as I can I decide my best option is to continue playing human. And how would a human react to a popular idol revealing themselves to be a demon?

‘They wouldn’t because what demon would be dumb enough to reveal themselves to a human?’

‘Oh yeah, this one.’

‘Scared. Scared should be a safe bet.’

Ignoring the gnawing thoughts about how that was the same thought process I had about the special effects idea I feigned a look of horror as if it had only just dawned on me after a few moments of shock.

Opening my mouth and breathing in preparing myself to let out a blood curdling scream to really sell it. One of his clawed hands quickly left my waist covering half of my face clearly anticipating the oncoming scream of terror.

‘Has he done this before or something? He’s awfully prepared’

I let out the scream anyways if not to sell the act then to expel some of the frustration. He pushes me back, regaining his footing on the building with one hand still on my waist the other still covering my face.

The gravely voice he speaks with eases more of your frustration than the scream.“Relax, I won't hurt you.”

“For now.”

The frustration immediately returns with a vengeance not that you would actually admit it had faded. He was driving you crazy bringing up an intensity of emotions you hadn’t felt in hundreds of years.

“I’m going to let go now, don’t scream.”

When he doesn’t immediately let go you realize he wants confirmation you won’t scream again. Eager to be released, you comply. Giving him a nod. The way he keeps his hand firmly against your mouth as you do so feels far more intimate than you're comfortable with bringing back a heat to your face.

He removes his hand from your face but doesn’t let go in the way you had expected, instead returning the hand that previously occupied your mouth back to your waist.

You don’t mean to ask it out loud and it speaks volumes that you let it slip out. Even worse it comes out of your mouth nothing but a breathy whisper. “Why?”

A human's ears might not have even picked up on it, but he wasn’t human he was a demon, it was the first thing you noticed about him. The thing that drawed you in, not enough to have done anything though. If he hadn’t met your eyes the way he did hell even if he had met your eyes as long as he stayed away it would have been fine. You certainly weren’t going to seek out any interaction with him.

Watched him from a distance for the night sure to your displeasure he had piqued your interest, but you definitely wouldn’t have initiated interaction that you were sure of.

So what drew him in? Enough to not only initiate interaction but to reveal himself to you.

It’s not that I’m an angel despite what his name of choice is for me. No he thinks I’m a human so… why?

‘Why, why, why?’

‘I don’t understand. He makes no sense.’

‘This demon he—’

He seems genuinely confused that I would ask.“Why?”

I search his searing eyes for answers regretting it when he remains unreadable to me and all I get is heat.

His voice drops an octave “You were staring right back Angel.”

He was right but it didn’t explain anything. Why would he look at me? There was no reason for him to look up at the top of a random building outside the fair grounds and definitely no reason to do so with such an intensity. He didn’t waste any time meeting my eyes either; it was like I was his target.

“You look at a man like that, and he’s sure to get… ideas.”

I feel my eyes widen and a wave of heat rush directly to my face. It burns almost as much as his eyes do, and I can’t seem to recompose myself this time.

Your correction is shaky and pathetic. "Demon."

“Not a man.”

He doesn’t miss a beat, his deep gravely voice dripping in sin. “You're right, a man would get ideas from a look like that. A demon? A demon would get intentions that are down right obscene.”

You swallow seemingly getting farther and farther away from any hope of regaining your usual impassive composure. The heat on your face only burns hotter.

‘I need to get out of here.’

I don’t just look away, I turn my head away entirely desperate for a moment of reprieve from the punishing heat of his stare.

In response he all but growls, grabbing my face in his clawed hand rough but careful not to cut me. He yanks my face back to his even closer than before.

He completely takes over my senses whether I like it or not.The smell of vanilla and burnt caramel invading my sense of smell, his hands clutching me close chest to chest impossible to ignore, his golden eyes taking over mine, his deep voice rumbling in my ears. “Don’t look away from me.”

‘The only sense he hasn’t stolen from me yet is—’

His lips crash into mine hands gripping my face and waist even tighter, claws slightly digging into my skin. His kiss is rough and commanding. It takes me by surprise when my mouth falls open he takes the chance to force his tongue into my mouth with no hesitation.

I desperately grab onto him searching for even an ounce of stability instead he deepens the kiss pushing me even farther off the deep end. Far enough that I close my eyes and start kissing back. I can’t keep up with him, but he doesn’t seem to mind. I feel his fang scrape against my tongue hard enough to draw blood. I try to pull away with no luck; he only kisses me harder.

When he finally pulls away we’re both breathing heavily, he doesn’t remove his hands or so much as loosen his grip. Just stays in place staring into my damn soul with his glowing eyes that have taken over my night.

He looks as if he’s holding himself back from diving right back in, closing his eyes he takes a deep breath when he opens them he trails his hand on my face down resting it close to my breast trailing his other hand on my waist down over my hip.

He leans down and for a second I think he’s going to kiss me again, but he doesn’t; well not in the way I expect him to at least. He leans down past my lips to my neck placing a kiss where the base of my neck meets my collarbone making me gasp out

He does so with a gentleness I didn’t think he was capable of—

“Ow!”

‘He bit me!’

Ignoring my cry he licked over the bite before sucking my skin into his mouth. Nipping and sucking for a solid minute before rising back to his full height, trailing his hands down lightly pulling the bottom of my loose white dress away from me before releasing and disappearing into a cloud of pink smoke.

I cover my face with my hands, shame burning through me.

‘Oh my god’

It’s nowhere near sun down, but there's no way in heaven or hell I’m staying here after that.

I readjust my dress and brush off the imaginary dirt or maybe I’m trying to brush off the sin he left behind. I decide to tell myself it’s the former rather than the latter.

Then promptly return to “Heaven” eager to go somewhere demons can’t follow.

‘Aseena and Kyrie are just going to have to deal with me ditching them. I doubt they’ll be all that surprised anyways.’

Once home I catch a glance of my reflection. My hair is a mess, but what's so much worse is the angry mark left on my neck. His bite drew blood. Two fang shaped holes are embedded in my skin surrounded by a dark purple bruise.

‘It should have healed itself.’

I don’t know why it hasn’t healed over yet, and I’m scared to even try to think of a potential reason as to why.

I could have never predicted that today would turn out like this.

Exhaustion creeps its way up, and I decide I need to let things go. Crawling into my bed still fully dressed and letting the exhaustion win passing out as soon as my head hit the pillows.

—

I left her there for tonight, but now I’ve tasted blood, and I need more.

Read chapter two (Patterns) here

[angelltheninth]

The Prince Obeys

Pairing: Maomao x Jinshi

Tags: nsfw, smut, kissing, first time, loss of virginity, established relationship, sex work, flirting, stripping, banter, secret relationship, dirty talk, cock worship, size difference, handjobs, orders, first time blowjobs, praise kink, orgasm edging, cunnilingus

Word count: 4.5k

Ao3

Ko-Fi | Rules | Fandoms and Characters | Commissions

A/N: I opened a document and passed out. When I woke up this was written.

Maomao and Jinshi's relationship was still somewhat secretive. There were rumors that he was seeing someone but no one quite seemed to know who this mysterious lady was. That was until one day he was seen going into the Verdigris House. Ah, no one would judge him for that.

No one would dare, he was the Prince and the Verdigris House had Princesses of its own. The Three Flowers: Pairin, Joka and Meimei. But Jinshi was here for the secret fourth flower, his beloved Maomao who welcomed him at the door dressed very much like a courtesan. Poor Jinshi almost toppled over right there.

"Are you sure this is the best way for us to go on dates? This all seems needlessly complicated." He allowed her to take him by the hand around the establishment where he was greeted with smiles, giggles and offers and Maomao was greeted with polite words and the occasional chuckle.

"If we were seen in public they would wonder who I was. I would rather avoid any ties to that freak with a monocle."

"I understand that but this way... what if someone knows you? What if they get the wrong idea about you? I won't have my f- my lover treated with disrespect." Jinshi tightened his hold on her hand with an added firmness in his voice. Hearing him like that made her pause.

She turned to him who had a blush in his cheeks from all the scents, perfumes, voices and muffled sounds. He was out of his element, that much was clear.

"You seem uncomfortable with his. We could stop at any time you know." She enjoyed seeing him squirm, she never wanted him to be forced into something he didn't want. Those were two very different things. One of them made Maomao wet, the other made her stomach turn uncomfortably.

"Maomao... I... this sort of establishment..." Jinshi looked around in the hallway to make sure they were alone before he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I've only been here to get you. You know I'm a virgin." Maomao's face was unfazed until she realized he said a trigger word. But she was't fast enough.

They were already here.

"Virgin? My, my, not what one would expect of such a man." Pairin was first of course, already licking her lips and eyeing Jinshi. "Ah, but those kind are some of my favorite."

"Sisters, please." Maomao didn't realize it but she stepped in front of Jinshi.

"How precious, Maomao. Protecting your man. Or maybe it's possessiveness. Don't worry we won't steal him. Like we could with that lovestruck look on his face." Meimei winked at both of them, this time they both blushed equally.

Joka stepped forward and hugged Maomao tight. "Don't let him push you around. If he steps out of line even for a moment pull, bite, twist."

While Jinshi would never do such a thing almost all color drained from his face as Joka glared at him over Maomao's shoulder while saying those words. His hand instinctively went to cover and protect his manhood.

"And make sure he pays well." That got all three to huddle away from them likely were hatching some master plan. "What do you think? He's the Imperial Prince so he has the money. Perhaps we should charge him extra for this." Next they turned to the two lovers like they would rob them.

Oh boy. They really were spending too much time with Granny.

"You will not castrate or rob him. Jinshi already paid more than a fair price for me." Maomao glanced up at him and he visibly relaxed when she pulled his arm against herself. "Excuse us."

"Maomao remember the techniques we taught you!" They yelled words of encouragement after them but Maomao didn't stop walking until they were behind the safety of locked doors. This was one of the best, most luxurious rooms in the entire House. Only the highest ranking individuals could afford it.

"I hope they didn't scare you too much."

"They're lovely women. But I like you more." Oh, he was scared. That was even more reason to do his best to treat Maomao right and make her the happiest woman alive. Lest he suffer the wrath of her sisters. "What would you like to do?"

"We have the room for two nights so we could do a lot, of course depending on how far you intend to take it." They had been intimate before, although never past kissing or partially clothed. Perhaps they could cross that threshold tonight.

"I will do anything my future wife desires." Jinshi said humbly as he sat down on the large, soft bed.

Maomao approached him, her look pinning him on the spot. "Jinshi while we are in this room I am not your future wife." He tilted his head to the side, not understanding his words. "You paid for two nights with a courtesan, a whore, so the question is what do you want to do."

"Anything! Well... anything you would let me do to you." He knew that he sounded all too eager and maybe a little clueless. This was a world he was not very familiar with but he was very eager to learn. From Maomao of course. "How about we start by stripping. I would like to see all of you."

"I could do that but simply stripping is boring." She grabbed at his clothes and began undoing the knots keeping them in place. She could tell it startled him. "You first." Slowly she slid it off his shoulders, relishing in being able to touch him without having to look over her shoulder when she did. "Your beauty is unfair, Jinshi. You could put the staff here to shame."

Jinshi gulped when she got to his pants. "I can do that part!"

"No. I want to. I want to take it off, see the full effect I'm having on you." She would use every technique she learned. At least those her body would allow. For others she would need to get creative. Luckily Jinshi liked her creative side, although sometimes it worried him too.

Her fingers brushed against the healed branding on his hip as she untied his pants and took them and his undergarments down his legs.

"Wonderful specimen." She commented rather casually as his cock sprang free. "Above average girth, nice length, the perfect shape for hitting a sweet spot."

"Must you be so clinical while describing it?" Jinshi wasn't gonna lie, even this was doing it for him. Not the words but the fact that it was Maomao who was saying them.

"Ah, then I will get more into the role you payed for." She cleared her throat like she was getting ready for a performance before sinking to her knees and pressing her cheek against the warm lenghth, her fingers dancing along the other side. "I can hardly wait for you to get this hard cock inside me. At this size I'm sure you'll split me open on it. I'll be so full of you, Master Jinshi." To end it she looked at him while she kissed the side, feeling the hard cock twitch at the attention.

"Uh... um..." His brain was already struggling to keep up. "I wish to see you too! Naked!"

"All you need is to ask." Maomao couldn't help the small smile she got when she stood up and Jinshi's hips jerked upwards too. Unlike with her usual clothes she had no undergarments under this one. She was already showing a good bit of skin, her shoulders, back and belly exposed to him, with only a skirt and chest coverings to hide the most important parts. Time to take them off too.

Perhaps she could make him finish without touching him. Now that would be a feat her sisters would be really proud of.

Starting from her chest whose bindings she undid. There wasn't much there but Jinshi already made it clear that wasn't an issue, it was a bonus. His whole hand could grab one tit each.

Recently he did more than palm at them. Kissing, sucking, licking, biting, not always in that order, was often what accompanied their make out sessions. Jinshi listened when Maomao told him she didn't want marks where they could be seen. For him that made things better.

Maomao didn't have to palm at her boobs to get his attention but she did it anyway.

Jinshi leaned forward a little, his eyes focused and not, his lips parted and hand wrapped around his dick.

He didn't even get one stroke on it before Maomao narrowed her eyes. "Hands at your sides, Jinshi."

"What? Maomao... I need to-" Her eyes narrowed more and he felt compelled to listen. "I thought we were doing what I wanted."

"Isn't that what we're doing? You like being told you're good for me." Her thumbs pressed over her nipples just in time for his cock to twitch. Smirking, not wanting to be too cruel, she disgarted the last of her clothing. His cock reacted again as she got close and got on her knees. "Besides this part of you belongs to me. I should be the one who makes it feel good."

"All of me is yours. You already know that." Jinshi patted her on the head with an encouraging touch. She hid her smile by kissing the side of his cock but he felt it. "You like this too, don't lie. Making each other feel good, these teasing games we play. Show me what skills you learned. All the little hidden sides of you."

Maomao hummed against his cock as her lips dragged all the way up to the tip. Since she was sure she couldn't get all of him into her mouth all at once, not at this stage anyway she opted to focus on the part she knew would bring him the most pleasure. His tip was already leaking and she was curious how he would taste. That would be where most of her attention would be focused.

"Hands at your sides and don't take your eyes off me." She only warned him once before she closed her mouth around his cockhead and used her hands to stroke him, leaving no part unattended. Jinshi grunted at the feeling of warmth, a tongue making small circles lapping the white beads of cum, Maomao raising to her knees and bobbing her head up and down.

The sounds she heard were the exact same wet, slurpy, groaning noises that she heard so many times in passing and swore she would never make herself. Jinshi was equally as captivated, his eyes pools of black and face flushed in shades of pink up to his ears.

When she noticed he started leaking more cum she got an idea. She lacked the size for a boobjob but there was something else she could do that would please them both.

"Such a good boy, Jinshi, keep looking at me." Her thumb replaced her tongue and smeared cum around his tip before she arched her back. Jinshi's mouth feel open when she took his cock into her hand and pressed the wet tip against her hard nipple. One, until it was shiny and red, and then slowly the other.

He couldn't wait anymore his hands pressed against Maomao's shoulders and scooped her up into a sloppy kiss. He almost sank into it but she shoved him roughly, his body on the bed and her on top of him, looking mad. "Ups. Broke the rules didn't I?"

"Don't even pretend to be sorry, Jinshi. I see that smile." Curse him and it. "You did disobey though. And I've got the perfect punishment."

"Is that so? Punish away then." He wasn't scared or sorry in the least but he would be soon enough. Maomao knew all about how to drive a man to the edge of insanity.

She straddled him again and sat against his cock, her pussy lips wet and gliding against it. Jinshi braced himself against her thighs in anticipation of the warmth that never came, not in the way he thought it would. Instead of being enveloped in it he felt it drag against his dick, from the bottom of the shaft to his tip. His eyes widened in horror when she showed no intent of taking him in.

"What's the matter Jinshi? I thought you wanted to be punished. Is this not to your liking?" She grinned at him, mischievous as a cat toying with its prey. Fitting for their current predicament.

"Not... anymore..." With a huff he tried to grab at her hips only for her to push his hands away and hold them against his chest. "I can get out of your hold easily."

Head tilting to the side she was inviting him to try. It wouldn't take much, he was bigger and much stronger. Also more agreeable so Jinshi stubbornly stayed as he was.

"Good, I was beginning to think I'd need to tie you to the bed." She wasn't at least bit surprised that his cock reacted to that. In her head she was making a mental note of his kinks, likes and dislikes. "Pervert."

"How am I the pervert here? You suggested it. I'm only following along. And don't fool yourself or me, I felt that increase of slick. You're smearing it all over me." To be clear that was as far from a complaint as Jinshi could get.

"Not yet but..." Maomao got an idea from that. "Eyes closed, tongue out."

"Closed?! I thought you wanted me to look."

"This is a surprise. Eyes closed or blindfolds." Of course he reacted again, the masochist. But he compiled without much fuss. "Good, that's the obedience I like."

Jinshi frowned on the outside at being kept in the dark but smiled on the inside at being praised. That was until his tongue touched something hot, wet and of a taste that he knew was Maomao. His eyes didn't need to open. He knew what it was and he wanted, demanded more right this second. His arms wrapped around Maomao's thighs and pulled her onto his face.

"Idiot! You shouldn't pull someone on top like that! That could cause... serious da-ahn-madge to... your neck. Hmnn! I see you found the books... I've been lending to the Emperor..." Her hands braced against the wall so she could look at Jinshi's face, what of it she could see. Jinshi would love to think he could be skilled enough even without a book. Not that it could hurt for him to learn more, he could always learn more ways to please.

He also threw all caution to the wind the moment he got a taste of his beloved.

Weather this was good or bad was up their future to decide.

"Ji- Zuigetsu, more." Jinshi moaned against her clit the moment she used his real name. Only on rare occasions did she speak it and only when they were alone. He told her it was fine in front of other people since she was his future wife. Maomao liked keeping his real name to herself, it made it special.

"So this is how you taste." He grinned against Maomao's pussy lips and she could feel the mistake she made now that she let him have a taste. She would never be left alone now because she forgot that Jinshi loved to behave like a spoiled brat at times.

And she had to keep him at bay. "Focus." With a pull on his hair she moved his lips back to her clit, he lapped at it eagerly. "That's more like it." She threw her head back as she allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of Jinshi's tongue pressing and rolling up against her clit.

She felt his mouth open as she pushed her hips forward. His his arms wound around her thighs before he pushed his hands against her hips, pulling her towards him again, encouraging her to fully ride his face. Which she was going to do anyway but it's good that he's so enthusiastic.

Maomao moved her hips, but when she showed any restraint Jinshi lapped at her cunt faster, the motions driving her insane.

"Jinshi. So much, I'm-" Seems like he really had been reading the books cause the next thing she knew she was coming onto his face as he sucked her clit, her head thrown back with uncontrolled moans. "S-Shit, stop! Enough!" Her squirming and pushing freed her from his grip and she sat next to him, chest heaving and pussy too sensitive to close her legs.

"Looks like I found your weakness." Jinshi grinned as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"And I found yours some time ago. Now we're even." Not wanting to waste time Maomao settled onto Jinshi's lap and started pressing his tip against her entrance, prodding and testing.

"Wait! Are you fine to do that? You just finished."

"Women don't need the recovery period like men. Besides with me being more sensitive it might feel better for you." But Jinshi still frowned. "And me. I wouldn't bring myself discomfort just for this."

Let it never be said that either of them were selfish lovers to each other. Maomao had never taken anything other than fingers. She knew there were toys available but she never had much use for them... other than blowjob practice. Jinshi didn't need to know that.

Knowing him he'd get jealous.

"M-Maomao... too tight inside... Gods..." Jinshi's face contorted in a look of bliss, further enhanced by his blush.

"Only me. If you must call for someone tonight then call for me." And leave it to her to get jealous of the Gods she didn't even believe in. "Jinshi. Don't make me do all the work."

Spurred on by her words he pressed the pad of his thumb against Maomao's clit. "So pretty. Wanna kiss it." He cooed and pressed it again.

It made her pussy tighten. "Not in this position. But... we could try out a few things in the future." With her being easy to move for him there were so many things they could try. Maybe being on the shorter side wasn't such a bad idea. For having sex with her future husband that is.

Maomao used that to her advantage as well. She pressed her hands against his muscled chest and her legs against the bed, locking them at his sides, her hips rising and lowering onto his with vigor. Yes, she concluded, seeing Jinshi's red face and feeling his sturdy, big cock stretching her inner walls apart was much better than letting imagination go wild while fingering herself in the lonely darkness of her room.

"Good? Anything hurting?" Jinshi asked, his voice and touches soft.

"A little odd. There is a bit of pain but that's to be expected as this is the first time I've been penetrated with something other than fingers. It will go away as we keep going." Again, she was treating this a little too medically for anyone's liking other than her own. It was probably a good thing that Jinshi was used to it by now. Otherwise he would have been too weirded out.

Everyone knew the kind of talk they should expect to hear in a brothel. This certainly wasn't it. It might be better. Jinshi knew what Maomao said was the truth. As she said, her own comfort and pleasure was also important to her.

"Take your time, darling. I'm good where I am." He grinned up at her, throwing a goofy thumbs up.

No one would do that while having sex. No one but Jinshi.

He was so damn weird sometimes.

And too attractive to hate.

"You are good right where you are. You're being so good for me right now, Jinshi." Maomao whispered low, flexing her inner walls around Jinshi's cock. He whimpered even before she did it. As soon as she praised him. Insults and praise got him off equally it seemed.

He waited and waited and waited for her to start moving. Truthfully he didn't need her to. If she stayed where she was and kept making her cunt massage his cock he would still come. As soon as he felt her moving up he gulped. His cock was wet, covered in stickiness that was unlike his own.

On instinct his hands tightened around her hips, a bruising grip making Maomao moan. Her pussy reacted accordingly, dripping with more juices, fluttering around half of Jinshi's length.

"Seems like you did discover something about me, Master Jinshi." But Jinshi pressed his lips into a confused frown. He didn't understand what she was getting at. "You see, we all have our kinks, the things that turn us on. For you it's praise, affection, degradation and I suspect that you would love to let your seed out in here." She looked at him as she patted her lower belly. Right over her womb. "Thought so. It's a common kink in men." His cock pulsed at her taunting words. It would be dangerous... "But me?" Maomao grinned down at him, her face flushed. "I'm a little bit of a painslut."

"Pain...slut?" He stammered out.

"I like pain. Giving it, as well as getting it. I don't see why you are surprised by this. You know what I do, that I experiment on myself. And right now..." Her smile widened before she sank back down on Jinshi's dick. "Ah! Oh, it feels so good to have your cock stretching my pussy apart." The look on her face was that he had seen many times before.

Anticipation of more, of discovery and curiosity. "You certainly are an odd one. But no more odd that the man beneath you." Yes, Jinshi admitted to his own oddities when he deemed it necessary.

The only issue Maomao had with it was his wording. "You are a prince, you can't be beneath me, other than in the physical sense."

Jinshi grinned in spite of that. He tapped her thighs with his hands, making her hips jerk against his. She was on top, yes, but Jinshi still felt like teasing her as much as possible. He parted her legs even more. "Lovely view. You're finally at your rightful place."

"And where exactly is that, sir? On top of you? Or were you referring more to the fact that you have me on your cock?" She pressed her lips into a tight line when all Jinshi did was smile up at her. This man... really made her life harder than it needed to be. He made her think and feel so many things she thought impossible. "Say it clearly for me, Master Jinshi." With her hands pressed on his chest she moved, leaving only the tip in.

She stayed there, hovering, waiting for him to respond.

It was torture for him she knew, doubly so when she chose to make her pussy tighten around his cockhead only. He could force her back down if he really wanted to, but there was a pervy part of him that loved being teased and made to wait. Maomao tightened around him again and again, promptly cutting him off when he tried to speak. "I love having you on top of me. But... also... having you on my dick feels nice."

"Wasn't that hard was it?" Maomao pushed her hands against Jinshi's and intertwined their fingers together. "But you certainly are."

"Do something about it then, apothecary." He ended up pulling her along after all, not that she minded it. The grip on his hands tightened. She felt safe that he wouldn't let her go and would catch her if needed.

"I was most certainly planning on it. You see there is another correlation between my work as an apothecary and my work as a courtesan. Know what that is?" Her hips wiggled back and forth, her small ass making his balls pulse under it. Jinshi shook his head, he had no clue. "In both cases I can't stop until the customer is fully satisfied." Maomao braced herself before she quickened the movement of her hips, causing Jinshi to gasp at the sudden change of pace.

"M-Maomao...!" He tried to ground himself as much as possible but even though he was secured physically, his mind was a mess. Every sense overwhelmed by every bit of the woman above him. "Is it okay? Is it really okay?" He asked, barely, and hoped that she understood what he meant.

Because if not, he wasn't sure he could explain.

As soon as she nodded he lost any semblance of control. His hands smacked down on her ass hard while his cock pistoned in and out. "That's it. Let it out, I know you want to." Just one more push. "Jinshi. Come."

Jinshi could never disobey his future wife.

He wasn't even embaressed that he couldn't. It felt too good to unload his cum like this, to feel Maomao's tight pussy have him in a vice grip while she moaned against his chest. Shaking, one of his hands cupped the back of her neck and brought her in for a delicate kiss. "My darling, I love you, Maomao."

"And I you, Jinshi. Sir." The words were still difficult for her but he didn't need to hear them. He knew how she felt by now. With a grin he hugged her tighter. She grunted. "With all due respect, I understand physical intimacy is something couples enjoy after these things, however I don't enjoy the feeling of your seed dripping out of me."

"Ah! I apologize! I wasn't aware it was uncomfortable." Jinshi released her immediately. Looking bashful he let get up but couldn't help the pride that swelled up in his chest, and cock, when he saw her breathing heavily and saw his cum dripping from between her legs.

"I will go and wash up. I advise you clean up as well. And no you cannot go with me, your presence there would disturb the delicate peace of the baths." Maomao bowed to him as she finished getting dressed.

"Wait a minute! I thought you said we had more time!" Jinshi was ready to go after her.

"Do not pout after sex. It ruins the mood." And by that she meant that it made her want to jump his bones all over again. She liked delicate Jinshi. A little too much perhaps. "When I return we can go again. So, don't spend a drop while I'm not here. Got it?"

Jinshi once again felt like his manhood was on the line if he said no. "Yes, ma'am. My cock is all yours." Even as he said that he rubbed his hand up and down, "But you better hurry, with all the material you gave me I'll be ready to go again in no time. You don't want to keep a paying customer waiting."

How can he say that and then wink at her?! If she had less control she would have pushed him down and rode him until they both passed out or they had to get out of the room. With how stubborn they both were, it would be the second option.

[the-clumsywitchtarot]

How Can You Improve Your Health in the New Year? Pick-a-Card Reading

(Tarot & Oracle)

Because we're all about self improvement over here.

Cards

The Tower (Reversed)

Temperance (Reversed)

Knight of Wands

Immediately I got that this pile might want to focus on their mental health. I feel like this pile might really struggle with anxiety but with the tower in reverse I feel like you worry needlessly most times. But you're just so afraid that the one time you relax could be the time that things fall apart. With temperance in reverse and the knight of wands I feel like you try to regulate your emotions and calm down but the moment something seems like it might go wrong you go back into freak out mode.

Oracle Cards

Rose Quartz: Love - Heart Chakra

Malachite: Nature - Heart Chakra

Cinnabar: Business - Sacral Chakra

With the rose quartz crystal coming out I feel like you need to show yourself more love when you face these moments of anxiety instead of trying to make yourself snap out of it. The malachite crystal has to do with the heart chakra and nature in this deck, getting out into nature may help to make you feel more emotionally stable. Cinnabar is associated with business and the sacral chakra in this deck, this makes me think some of the anxiety you may be feeling could be about work. Consider working with these crystals to help balance your heart and sacral chakras. The sacral chakra is actually connected to the emotions and I also consider the heart chakra to be closely associated with emotions. If you decide to use cinnabar please use extreme caution, be careful with malachite as well.

Cards

4 of Cups

6 of Swords

5 of Swords

I feel like this pile's main focus needs to be on physical health. Some of the people in this pile might already be into physical fitness and for those people I feel like you do workouts that you don't really like for the sake of weight loss or just because you think it's a workout you should be doing. But with the 4 of Cups I feel like there are other workouts that you could be doing that you would actually enjoy but you aren't looking into any other form of exercise. I also feel like this pile could really struggle with body image, the coming year (2025) is really the time to try and release that and realize that you don't have to be at war with your body. Your job is not to make your body look a particular way (especially not a way that is impossible to achieve without extreme behaviors) your job is to make sure that you keep your body as healthy as you can.

Oracle Cards

Seraphinite: Honesty - Heart & Third Eye Chakras

Obsidian: Obsidian - Root Chakra

Dioptase: Direction - Heart Chakra

I feel like with the honesty card (seraphinite) you are being called to look at yourself, really look at yourself and see yourself for who you are. Beyond your body, beyond other's perceptions of you, beyond what you've been told you are based on other family members. Really look into your heart and soul and begin living your life from your soul and not based on your physical appearance.

Cards

4 of Pentacles

3 of Cups

The Empress (Reversed)

This pile might want to work on their financial health in the New Year. The first thing I'm hearing is you don't have to be at every brunch or outing your friends have because it's really starting to add up. For a very small group of people that chose this pile, I feel like you might enjoy clubbing often and it's becoming quite expensive. And I feel like everyone in this pile really enjoys going out but instead of going somewhere where you have to spend money look for more inexpensive options. Instead of going for a boozy brunch consider meeting up with your friends at a coffee shop, or going for a picnic in the park, or find affordable or free events in your area that you can go to. But whatever you do, you might really want to consider saving more of your money.

Oracle Cards

Peridot: Teach - Heart Chakra

Carnelian: Self-Confidence - Root & Sacral Chakras

Malachite: Nature - Heart Chakra

With this first card (Peridot) I feel like some of you could be teachers but I mostly feel like by you taking on this new attitude of financial responsibility. That you'll teach those around you how to be more financially responsible too. I feel that you feeling like you have control over your finances will give you a boost of confidence. I feel like malachite will help you to manifest more money but also help you during this time of going from someone that used to be somewhat financially irresponsible to someone that knows how to manage their money well.

I hope this reading resonated with you and please feel free to let me know which pile you chose! And please get professional help to improve your health if you think you need it. 🩷

-Erika, The Clumsy Witch

[theladyofbloodshed]

Chapter Eight

It was difficult to shake the bad mood. Cassian tried not to take it out on the camp, but he was vicious in the fighting ring. He pulled up any infractions and made examples of them. What could he do? Threaten war against Velaris again to have them drag Nesta back? Have her hate him even more than she already did?

When the sun was low over the camp, three figures winnowed in. From the sudden ease of the bond, Cassian knew exactly who had arrived. Nesta had returned. Instead of the bond tied to his ribs feeling tight and strained with her distance, it went slack. She’d been gone for a single day and it had felt like an eternity. Cassian flew to them - to Nesta, the high lady, and Azriel. Azriel lowered a trunk to the ground where books were perched on top. Feyre also had many bags with her and Nesta had one slung over a shoulder. Her right wrist was bound and crossed over her chest.

‘You’re back,’ he breathed.

‘Yes,’ she said stiffly. ‘I would have come sooner, but I wasn’t allowed. I wanted to teach today. The children were looking forward to it.’

‘It’s alright,’ Cassian assured her.

He stared at her like she was a mirage. Nesta had willingly returned to Iron Crest. The words were too much for him.

Feyre Archeron narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Cassian, in your words, what exactly happened yesterday?’

They wanted confirmation that Nesta hadn’t been hurt by him or this camp.

‘We went to that ledge because I wanted to talk to Nesta about-’

‘About something that is completely private,’ she insisted.

‘Then on the way down, Nesta landed wrong on her wrist.’

Feyre put her hand on her hip.

Nesta gave a sigh. ‘I tried to hit you. The contract didn’t let me. I told them the truth.’

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Azriel trying to hide his grin.

‘Is now the right time to ask who the fuck taught you to hit that hard?’ Cassian asked. Nesta looked murderous. Cassian stepped closer. ‘How is your wrist?’

‘Healing. Another week or so.’

Feyre shook her head. ‘The force split the bone in two. Helion has made the contract too powerful. I’m worried that if you upset her again, she could seriously injure herself.’

‘You are fussing needlessly,’ Nesta said through gritted teeth.

‘Madja wants her to stay a few days longer so she can continue tending to her wrist. She is being stubborn. Convince your wife.’

Convince her to leave again? But if she healed faster and wasn’t in pain then it was the right thing to do, wasn’t it?

Nesta waved her good hand in the air dismissively. ‘If the high lord cared about Illyria then he’d have healers situated here. As it happens, there are none with the magic to heal in this land. I will not be returning to Velaris until the end of the month as agreed. If you would like me to be healed then by all means have a healer moved to Illyria where I daresay there will be more injuries to manage than my own.’

This was a prickly mood that would need to be managed carefully, although it did bring Cassian joy to know it wasn’t directed at him for once. His wife was fighting for Illyria in her own way.

‘How many times did you go to sleep with broken ribs and a swollen face in Windhaven?’ At Cassian’s question, Azriel frowned. ‘Wouldn’t it be better for us if one of your fancy healers from Velaris could heal us each night ready for another day of fighting?’

Azriel gave him a cold look. ‘Illyrians heal faster than high fae.’

‘And they can’t feel pain?’ Nesta asked.

��Illyrians grow from pain.’

‘That doesn’t seem right,’ said Nesta. ‘And if you think children should go through the same pain as you to make it justified, then you’re not the male I thought you were, Azriel.’

He braced himself in case there was retribution from the icy rage of the shadow singer but there was hurt upon the male’s face instead. Nesta’s words had cut him deeply. And she stood completely unaffected by them. Feyre worried her bottom lip.

‘You may go,’ said Nesta. ‘I’m home.’

It was so nice for Cassian to not be on the receiving end of her icy demeanour. In fact, it was difficult for him not to grin at the utter hostility she was displaying to the other pair.

It was only after they left that Cassian realised Nesta had called Illyria home.

‘What do you have here?’

‘I’ve decimated Velaris’ stationary,’ she explained, gesturing to the trunk. ‘It’s filled with parchment and writing equipment. Ideally, I’d prefer slate boards for the children as they’re less expensive and can be reused many times. For now, this will do.’ Nesta frowned. ‘I have books too although I don’t know how much they’ll help me tomorrow. I can imagine it will be similar to being thrown in a lion’s den.’

‘Anything you can teach them is good enough,’ he reassured her.

Cassian moved the heavy items into the tent. In the morning, he’d carry them up to the Big House for her too. She unpacked a few more personal items using her left hand which was unpractised and Cassian helped her find places for them.

‘I feel I need to say this: There is hope in your eyes. I’m not here to give you a chance, Cassian. I’m not here to play happy marriages or entertain a mating bond. I am here to help the children in this camp. That’s all. That is all you will have from me.’

He couldn’t deny that the words hurt, but he was capable of bundling away his pain. He’d done it often enough until he became hard. The future of Iron Crest was more important than a bastard’s heart.

‘I appreciate you being here. Is there anything you need?’

Nesta patted the space near her and he felt so foolish for the little leap his heart gave. She pressed a sheet of parchment flat. ‘I had Elain write this for me as I cannot at the moment. I will talk you through it,’ she explained. ‘It’s a rough timetable of classes. I understand the older children have duties around camp so I wanted to ensure there were no clashes.’

‘We can look,’ he said. ‘But first, I want to make you a tea. We have many herbal remedies here. This will relieve the pain.’

‘You don’t need to do that.’

Cassian made a tutting sound. ‘Who says I need to? I want to.’

***

There was a promise from Feyre that she’d have Helion or Rhys cleave the contract, cleave the marriage, anything to get Nesta free from it. And Nesta had found that she didn’t want it. They had tried to keep her in Velaris. Said they would barter with Cassian to allow her more time to heal in the city. Nesta hadn’t wanted to stay there. Maybe once, she’d have delighted at a life where she could lounge in luxury, reading to her heart's content, but it didn’t fulfil her in any way. Iron Crest was her purpose.  

While the water boiled, Cassian helped her to unbutton the back of her dress. He was on his best behaviour which was slightly unnerving. He even closed his eyes and faced the side of the tent while she slipped into something for bed.

With a tea in her hand, Nesta talked through her timetable and compared it with the groups of children. What he lacked in literacy, Cassian more than made up for with his memory. A few changes needed to be made to the schedule to accommodate the older children who had duties such as cleaning the big house or helping in the fields.

‘Tomorrow, I’ll try to find a spare bed we can put in here for you.’

‘How will that look? The camp lord’s wife is sleeping separately from him.’

Cassian snorted. ‘I don’t care what anybody else thinks. It’s only you whose opinion matters. If anybody questions it, I’ll say you steal the blankets and snore.’

Nesta’s fingers twitched as though she might strike him again.

‘I’m glad you came back,’ he admitted. ‘I was scared that you wouldn’t.’

‘Cassian,’ she began, ready to tell him to cut away his hope before it hurt him, but he shushed her softly.

‘You will change the lives of these children. You are a good person.’

‘It doesn’t always feel that way.’

When they settled for sleep, Cassian made a show of laying as far as he could away from her so that he was practically hanging off the edge of the bed. It would a be a lie if Nesta did not admit that it had her lips twitching.

‘Do not touch me in the night,’ she warned. ‘I won’t be held responsible for what I do to you in return.’

His brows raised. ‘Are you threatening me with a good time?’

The insinuation that he had taken from her words had Nesta spluttering over a response. ‘No. Absolutely not. I don’t make a habit of fucking brutes.’

‘What are you in the habit of fucking?’

The words were low and edged with curiosity. In the dark, his eyes glittered like smouldering coals.

‘Nothing. I don’t do that.’

‘Never?’

At the note of surprise in his tone, Nesta hauled the blankets up to her neck and rolled onto her side, away from her darling husband.

‘Goodnight, Cassian.’

‘Sleep well, my beautiful, beautiful wife. I hope you dream of me.’

‘They shall be nightmares.’

The sound of his deep, rumbling laughter lulled Nesta into sleep.

In the morning, he helped her to dress and took care around her injured wrist. Her hair was a mess from sleep, so reluctantly Nesta asked for Cassian’s help. He’d been about as useful as she was with one working hand, but she managed to talk him through a braid and she departed for the Big House with a loose, messy braid falling down her back.

The first hour of teaching was terrifying. Rows of children had been staring at her with eager curiosity. Only a warning from Cassian at the start that they were to treat it as seriously as their sparring meant that they sat silently. Once the first hour was done, time started to run. It whizzed by in a blur of numbers and ink as classes came and went. Nesta’s whole hand was stained from helping children form numbers on the parchment with her non-dominant one. She’d soon realised that to teach basic arithmetic, it was far more effective to abandon the parchment altogether and do something practical.

That evening, her mind was alight with possibilities. It would be too much to procure an abacus for each child but the sea wasn’t too far away. Perhaps they could collect shells to use for counting, or even stones.

Nesta’s face collided with an arm.

‘Pardon me,’ a male said. ‘I was looking for you. But you found me.’

He was Illyrian, with the same brown skin and hazel eyes as Cassian, but less physically imposing. His black hair was cut short.

‘I’m Balthazar the unwilling second to this camp. Both of us have to stop Cassian from running into stupidity.’

Nesta couldn’t help her snort. Cassian wasn’t stupid. He was clever and cunning, doing what needed to be done for the best of Iron Crest. Annoying, too.

‘Are you allowed to call your camp leader stupid?’

‘It’s encouraged, actually,’ said Balthazar with a rueful grin. ‘Stops him getting too arrogant. We’ve known each other for many, many years. He’s an act first, think later person. Enough about him. Well - one more thing about him. He’s helping this evening in the fields so won’t be around until dark. He’s instructed me to ensure you eat and keep you company if you wish.’

The day, although riveting, had also been exhausting. Her plans had been to curl up in the bed to quiet her mind, but Nesta found that she was keen to pick Balthazar’s brain about Cassian. This male likely knew him best.

‘I haven’t eaten yet. Perhaps we could dine together?’

***

It had taken all of Cassian’s strength to pull himself out of the heated water that existed in pools around the camp. His muscles ached from the day’s hard training and then working in the fields. He had to be the one to lead and set an example. Iron Crest would only rest when he did. The more fields they ploughed, the more crops they could plant, and the better fed the camp would be. The more fields Cassian ploughed, the more dirt that wedged beneath his nails and stained his skin brown.

Word had come from Windhaven that Hybern was on the move. Soon enough, war would be upon them again. Illyrians would be the first line of defence for the Night Court. It was an honour to bleed for the court, apparently. He’d like Velaris to have that honour from time to time rather than his people.

The sound of laughter seeped out from his tent. He was glad to hear that Nesta had accepted Balthazar’s company. His friend was good. A bastard like him who dreamt of a free Illyria.

‘Busy evening, you two?’

Balthazar was spread out upon the floor while Nesta sat on the bed with her legs up beside her amongst a nest of woven blankets. A little box of pastries was open next to her.

‘Nesta’s been sharing the goods from the secret city,’ he said. ‘We’re eating turnip soup and they’ve got these by the boxful.’

She offered one to Cassian who greedily accepted. He loved sugar. His day wasn’t complete if he didn’t seek out something sweet after his meal.

‘Why are you so wet? Is it raining?’

‘I’ve been bathing.’

Nesta’s eyes widened. ‘Where? I’ve been using jugs of cold water from the stream.’

That had Balthazar laughing. ‘You didn’t show her the pools? Oh, you bastard. Your poor wife is dunking her head in cold water while you’re bathing in hot water.’

‘Tomorrow. Tomorrow is a day of rest for the majority. We’ll go exploring then,’ he said in answer to Nesta’s cocked brow.

He saw Balthazar out of the tent then murmured to his friend, ‘Did you put in a good word for me?’

‘Two or three,’ said Balthazar, winking at him. ‘You should speak to her.’

‘I do speak to her. She’s my wife.’

‘About her past. She’s only been fae for a month or so.’

Cassian’s heart skipped a beat. ‘What?’

‘Speak with her. Tread gently. This is a new world for her and you’ve coaxed her to Illyria before she was steady on her feet.’

He gritted his teeth. Bal meant well, but he didn’t want a lecture on how to manage his own mate. Him and Nesta had time to figure everything out and learn each other’s pasts.

Balthazar patted him on the shoulder. ‘She wants to go to the beach. Seems like a nice place to fly to, doesn’t it?’

When Cassian returned, Nesta had him unbutton her dress at the back as he had the previous night. It was a torture to face away, but his imagination let him think of the pale skin on display. How was it to have a back without wings? It fascinated him. He imagined his hand gliding between her shoulder blades. Would it feel abnormal without wings?

‘I have three left. I’m not that generous to give you two, but how about one and a half pastries?’

‘You strike a good deal,’ he said, taking that as the signal to look back at Nesta.

He dried off his damp hair and stripped down to his underwear. The warm day had carried through to the evening. He rarely felt the cold, but the heat impeded him greatly. The attention that Nesta paid to his body had his heart rate spiking too as he settled into the bed next to her.

‘I had a thought this afternoon. You should also learn to read and write. We may practise in the evenings when we both have time.’

Cassian snorted. ‘No, thanks. I’ve not needed it in five hundred years. I don’t need to learn now.’

‘Then why the emphasis on the children learning?’

‘Because it’s important.’

‘Hmm. I see,’ she said.

‘What do you see?’

‘You don’t want to spend time in close quarters with me? I can only think it’s because you’re a big chicken who doesn’t want to try because he’s afraid of failure.’

Cassian forced out an exaggerated, fake laugh. ‘Nesta, I am over five hundred years old. It will be a slow process that’s frustrating for both of us.’

‘Fair enough. Chicken.’

‘Nesta.’

She made a squawking noise. Little did his mate know that Cassian never ran from a challenge.

‘Fine,’ he said, nodding emphatically. ‘We will have lessons every evening. Just you and I. And you will learn Illyrian.’

Cassian folded his arms over his chest, a picture of victory.

Nesta inclined her head. ‘I would like to. I think it would be excellent if I knew.’

She had to be calling his bluff. There was not a chance any high fae wanted to speak Illyrian.

‘You want to learn Illyrian?’

‘I do. If you won’t teach me then I shall ask Balthazar.’

His wife was a menace.

‘No, I will teach you. That’s just perfect. You will learn Illyrian.’

‘And you will learn to read, Cassian,’ she said, smiling slightly. ‘Won’t it be nice?’

‘The nicest.’

[ilariyalavorowrites]

Stalking me, Stalking you(CSI Nick Stokes)

Imagine: You never saw it coming, you never knew he was there until the moment he struck. For months, this individual had stalking you from the shadows, trying to find a way into your life. Never quite able to but in his mind, time was running out and soon enough you would be completely out of reach. This was the moment to act, to ‘rescue’ you and steal you away.

Warnings: Angst with a happy ending, kidnapping, hurt but eventual comfort. Suffering, lots of suffering, slow-moving plot, stalking, obsessive behaviour.

Pairings: Nick Stokes x Reader and Reader x OC (one-sided)

Word count:  2,240 words

Universe: CSI

Reader gender: Female

Part one of ten

Tagged: @just-call-me-the-old-hag @horsedragonllama

Next

Sunday, 10:45 am

With your acquired piping hot morning cup of decaffeinated coffee, confined to the conveniently supplied to-go cup, you were ready to head out, to head back home and get the final chores finished before your mother arrived. Tomorrow could not come soon enough, it had been way too long since your mother last visited a few years back but this would be different. 

Dinner reservations had all but been confirmed. You were awaiting the relevant information as soon as your partner had it in his possession as he had insisted on handling this little task himself. This would be the first time your mother and he would be in the same room. It was rather nerve-racking as you hoped that nothing would go wrong and they'd get on like a house on fire.

Lost in your thoughts, as you wandered through the crowded little coffee shop, one that you had regularly visited twice a week over the past four years. You only saw the stranger coming once it was too late to prevent the collision. His shoulder knocked into yours hard enough to send you spinning and before you could react, your coffee flew out of your hand, spilling its dark content all over the tiled floor.

“Damn,” You said, mildly annoyed but knowing the popularity of your favourite coffee shop. There was always a chance that something like this could easily happen. It's just your turn. You would look back and laugh about this later with your mother.

“It’s my fault, sorry about that. Let me buy you another one” An unfamiliar smooth baritone voice spoke, catching her attention. You raised her gaze to meet theirs, ready to politely decline as after all, it was just one cup of coffee nothing to cry over. With a friendly, nonchalant smile upon your lips, you open your mouth to reply…

Monday, 9 am

Evelyn had never been truly comfortable flying but when her daughter had called around two and half months back with an open invitation and her airfare fully paid, she jumped at the chance. After sending one more message to both her daughter and husband, Evelyn boarded the plane.

Driving down had been an option, Evelyn had never been the most confident driver, especially over long distances. On those long lonely straits of road, she would always worry needlessly about every little thing, even if her husband had been along for the ride. Flying had been the only option since her husband was still not back from his fishing trip. An hour and a half was nothing, it would be over before she knew it.

Just before she turned off her phone, Evelyn checked one final time to see if either of them had replied. Her dear Bob had but her daughter had not. This hadn’t been the first message that she hadn’t responded to.

Evelyn had spoken to her the previous morning to confirm what time she would arrive at the airport so that she would be prompt to pick her up but after that, it was utter radio silence. This was hardly unusual due to the nature of her daughter’s job but this felt different. For her daughter was truly a creature of habit, always calling back if she had missed more than one call that day from either parent and replying to text messages by the next morning.

She had done neither of these as Evelyn had tried calling last night and once more before leaving this very morning. She even used the keypad to text carefully a goodnight message and the one before boarding. She preferred to call over using the messaging function on this newer model of phone that had been purchased as a Christmas present. Her family wanted her to try and keep up with the times and have a way of contacting them whenever she left the house.

It had been sweet though but it wouldn’t have been her first choice of present. She knew that her daughter worried about her, but then Evelyn deeply worried about her child’s safety especially since they had not lived in the same state for the last five years. 

All she could do was wait until her plane landed safely at Las Vegas Airport and the sight of that ever-infectious smile beaming from just beyond the barrier in the Arrival Hall. The pleasant image would be enough to get through the flight as she laid back in her seat, closing her eyes and relaxed as much as she possibly could.

An hour and a half flew past and Evelyn found herself standing in the right place with a suitcase in one hand and her purse dainty held in the other as her eyes scanned the crowd. She had checked the signage on the walks to ensure that she had gone in the right direction, as it was most definitely possible that the airport had more than one arrival hall in this terminal but this hadn’t been the case.

She had been walking up and down for the last twenty minutes, her eyes passing over each of the many faces staring back at her from the barrier. None of them were the ones that she had been expecting. This was strange as her plane had not been delayed and her trip through security had not taken long. Maybe her daughter had been held up in a traffic jam, yes that had to be it.

Evelyn made her way through the crowd, all whilst looking for a seat to rest and continuing to wait as she was certain that her child wouldn’t be much longer.  

Minutes ticked past, soon becoming tens of minutes and before long an hour had passed. Evelyn was concerned as her eyes had remained fixed upon the exit doors, watching as they opened and closed as people flooded in and out but her daughter had never stepped foot across that threshold.

With one hand, she fished out that dreaded mobile phone and swiftly dialled her daughter’s number. It rang for a few moments before being diverted to voicemail. Without hesitation, she spoke knowing that she had few options in a city where knew no one beyond her child. 

‘Sweetheart. It’s your mother. I’ve been at the airport for a little while. I know you are on the way and have likely been caught up in some dreadful traffic on the way here so I’ll get a taxi as I do have your address and you head home. I’ll meet you there

She placed the phone back in the depths of her purse before heading outside to find a taxi as seeds of worry and doubt blossomed into life.

Monday, 11:10 pm

Detective Captain Jim Brass had seen it all. There was not much that shook him to the core anymore, after all the years spent with all that he had seen with the ever-loyal team of hardworking CSIs that made up the graveyard shift. 

His officers were just as hardy as he was, well maybe a few were still green and somewhat naive but in time, they would be as hard as diamonds on the outside at least. Seated in his office, he was ready to burn the midnight oil when a quick succession of knocks alerted him to the presence of someone at his door.

The words were on the tip of his tongue, to summon them to cross the threshold and enter but this individual did not wait as the door was swiftly pushed open. He frowned, annoyed at this sudden intrusion but as his gaze fell upon the familiar face of Officer Rodriguez of Day Shift, a thousand questions rose erupted within his mind.

Why was he still here? His shift ended hours ago but yet he remained within the department. His pale and drawn face was far from the usual for this stern man who lived for the badge. 

“Sir, I’m sorry for just entering but I felt that you needed to hear this” His voice lacked its normal steady tone, it was similar to that of the many terrified fathers that he had encountered over the years. “I’m listening, Rodriguez” He patiently spoke briefly, to allow the man to find the rest of his words.

“My partner and I were called to the scene of a 406, from the information that we had received from dispatch just seemed like a run-of-the-mill job. However, when Sawyer and I rolled up at the address, it was far from ordinary”  

Jim watched on silently as the story began to unravel. “A distraught older woman was waiting outside the property for us, and quickly it was established that this was the mother of the individual that owned this unit” It was plain to see the professional nature waning as the officer continued to relay his report.

“The owner was discovered to be one of our own” As he heard the name, the cogs began to turn, as he tried to make sense of what had led to this but yet, he lacked the whole picture as if only a few matching pieces had found and place down upon the table, the jigsaw was slowly coming together. 

However, this still perplexed Jim, why was a simple burglary being hand-delivered to his door, unless there was more to this than a case of a stranger breaking into the home of a member of law enforcement and taking anything that wasn't nailed down. 

A small case that dayshift would need no assistance from either swing or graveyard but this didn’t feel as if they were reaching out for a fresh set of eyes to look over the evidence. He would bite and see where he ended up.

The memory of the morning still fresh lingered at the forefront of Rodriguez’s mind. It was hard to push aside as he relived each step, trying to see if he missed any detail. No matter how miniscule it initially seems could open doors down the line.

“She’s been paid leave for thirty-six hours as her mother was due to arrive this morning. Using a few vacation days left over from last year” He relayed the information readily to the younger man. A basic set of facts that most of the department was already aware of. She had been rather openly vocal about the pending arrival of her beloved mother. 

Each shift had been part of the active countdown that drove many mad but much like any other family, they took in on the chin and revelled at the sight of her excitement. Both men remembered the smile that never faded, it didn’t matter which end of her shift they encountered her, there it would be.

The years of service had not yet tarnished and hardened her heart, but it would come eventually. That one case that they could not get past, sleepless nights and a drive to find a way to justice that went above the call of duty. Jim had his, he knew that Rodriguez had his own.

The sight of Conrad Ecklie and the click of his office door closing behind the said man spoke volumes, this was not going to be good news in the slightest. “Sir, The Detective in question never turned up at the airport to pick up her mother and has not been seen since the morning before that”

Monday 11:20 PM

Nick held his phone as he walked through the station’s front doors, his focus transfixed firmly upon the tiny screen of the device. Still no message back but then again he wasn’t expecting her to answer straight away especially now that her mother was in town. He had the breakfast date to look forward to once he finished this graveyard shift.

Tomorrow was going to be his day with his girl, meeting up with her at their regular breakfast joint and then sitting down to dinner with her mother later in the evening. Nick would message her the details later on during his first break of the night.

Nothing could easily railroad this wonderful feeling, for the first time, in a long time things were going swimmingly with his love life. He never knew that these were famous last words, ones that would haunt him in the days to come.

As his eyes rose from his screen, he could not help but notice the scene in Brass’s office. Ecklie was a familiar sight, flitting in and out whenever the need arose but an unfamiliar Officer who should have clocked out hours ago, now that was unusual.

Catherine lingered in the hallway near the locker room, leaning into the wall behind her with her arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes trained upon the glass-walled office. “Evening” He greeted his dear old friend as he stiddled up beside her. “Do you know what’s going on?” He enquired curious to know if she had any insight into the strange situation.

“No, but I don’t doubt we’ll be in the dark for long. All I do know is that it’s do with one of the day shift’s newest cases” She replied, her curiosity had been piqued the moment that she entered ten minutes earlier.

In tandem, their phones beeped and the same text message was displayed on each of their devices. What a way to start a shift, Nick knew that he would have to tell about this in the morning.

FAMILY MEETING

[takeyourdailydoseofcyanide]

how to artiuclate . .

quite like how marie ‘cut the shit’ so to speak in the episode involving medusa battle

even stein had referred to madness as some sort of disease despite being him if not a part of him ,,

though once marie reached him she told him the “madness” was simply - well - a part of himself n there is nothing wrong with this ,, she ( n presumably others ) would love n accept him for who he is supposed ‘madness’ n all ( n all that comes with ‘it’ // stein ) n that he should accept himself as well —-

that peace would come not only from self acceptqnce but qlso when he atopped fighting with what is ultimately himself ,, when he would stop trying n failimg to draw arbitrary line in the sand between what was “him” n what was “madness ( to be eradicated )” between what was his “experience” n what was “madness to be eradicated” ,, because this “madness” could not only not be so easily spliced away from himself as it is himself but it is also simply a part of humself n not some disease to be surgically removed

peace came when he stopped trying to surgucally remove a part of humself ( or trying to evenly separate this aspect to begin with when such would be straight up impossible ) ,, when he stopped fighting with what is ultimately him ,, it came with that realization that he doesnt need to fight himself nor give into himself n succumb to an aspect of himself

—- god how to word —-

he doesnt need to let go of this supposed mad part of himself n succumb to some other part n he doesnt need to succumb to this supposedly mad part of humself n sacrifice any other part —- it is all himself in the end n what rounds him what makes him him ,, this “madness” is just another part of his personal experience with both himself n everythung n everyone else —- there was no separating madness from himself or experiences because that is himself n experiences yltimately

peace came when he stopped veiwing himself as diseased n in need of downright surgical fixing OH this reminds of scene where spirit tries surgically remove supposed madness which would ultiamtrly kill stein because stein is that “madness” the “madness” is stein its just him theres nothitn wrong with that like said balakwkosowlwkdkekwksms

anyhow was quite refereshing ! think many could beenfit from veiigj veiwing themselves this way as in not diseased not pathologizing aspects also there is no statjc aelf peace comes from blah blah blah blah not trying to form these suches help i cant word this

reminds of will wood lyric from marsha thankk you for the dialectics but i need you to leave “you draw a line in the sand where it ends n you begin but the tide rolls in so who knows oh well”

anyway this could really even delve into anti psychaitry for me heh well cant think so well enough for it or even of antipsych bleh

axgually the surgical aspect reminds of psychiatry n anyone who forces psych “treatment” trying to remove some supposedly “mad part” —- you end up killing ot harming the indibiudal in process bevause that “madness” // “deviance” is them ultimately ,, not some disease agent entering them which can be attacked ,, youre intentionally attacking them

still dont feel arrituclqted well but who cares this took me so many weeks just to try

i sort of think soul eater could be interpreted as antipsych media sort of but hars to rexall n process media i consume so hmmm grain of salt perhaps also take note of hiw vague madness is n how means just about anything to anyone with prrhaps some vague overlap n simialr shared experiences but yltimately different things completelt different to different characters

theres no point in needlessly worrying over whats you n whats ‘madness’ madness is you n thats ok ! or part of you n your experiences ! youre not innately diseased n dont need to be fixed !

this delves into much ‘self’ tlak like what is the self wellll i dont have ego who am i to say ? i like this thoigh can hard to comprehend at times . . well n what it comes to any atruggles like this with madness if have angone to rely on n reach out to then do that ! peace came with that too didnt it ?

are you youre struggles then ? your struggles shaping you ? madness fits intot his well either way what i said

yepppp i think it depends on person n how define self for some may not be struggles but yesyeysyws also think soul eater does great job of showing theres no such thing as sanity not insanity n much of these defining blahs are just there for comforts n subjugations sake perhaps even conveneienxe butuktiamtrly meaningless uhhhh all just subjective nebulous mess ( like even madness concept intentionally )

[sprite-writes]

gunmetal blue

chapter 1/?

Dale Cooper/Reader

Summary: Agent Cooper is saddled with a new partner–against his better judgment. She’s a mess–aimlessly stumbling her way through the FBI with a past shrouded in mystery. Grappling with this change, and a puzzling case in a small town, Cooper’s lost. He finds the path forward in the last way he’d expect. 

word count: 2,605

A/N: woah new fic! this is sort of my side project while I work on cloudy day, but it'll still have semi-regular updates! super self indulgent because I love twin peaks, even if everyone had moved on LOL. hope u enjoy <3 as with all my writing, special thanks to @lightning-writes

 Dale wasn’t the type to be needlessly anxious. He was the farthest thing from an overthinker, he was a pragmatic man, he kept his sensibility about him. So, admittedly, it was out of character the way his leg had started to involuntarily bounce, brow sweat, and chest tighten. Gordan Cole’s office had never felt so small. 

He should have known something was wrong with the way Gordan had called him into his office, hands clapping on his shoulders, guiding him into the room like a lost child. Now, with the announcement hanging in the air, he understood. 

“I’m sorry, a-a new partner?” 

“That’s what I said, Coop! Is your hearing going too?” Gordon’s deafening volume usually has no effect on him, but this time he flinches. Dale shifts, and the leather beneath him squeaks. Gordon doesn’t even look up from his computer, skillfully avoiding Dale’s appalled stare. 

“Gordon, with all due respect, I don't need nor want a partner. Has there been something unsatisfactory about my work? Or-” 

“Did you say something about a factory? Anyway, It's not up to me. She was sent here straight from the higher-ups. All I did was sign the paperwork.” 

Dale sighs, his frustration thickening in his chest. His captain's eyes flick to him. 

“I would’ve fought it if I thought it was such a bad idea, Coop. Don’t worry so much, She’s a sweet girl and a—how would you say it? A damn fine agent.”  

“Isn’t there anyone else she could be assigned to?” he asks, and it feels like begging. Windom is 3 years behind him now, but that's three years he’s spent adapting to solitude. The idea of someone next to him on the field again unsettles him deeply, drudging up feelings he’s worked hard to forget. 

“Agent, I know how you may feel about this. What, with your past and all, but keep an open mind. I think this could be good for you.” 

Could be good?

“Sir–” 

A knock on the door cuts him off, the frosted glass door swinging open without hesitation. The interruption leaves him with his complaints still sticking to his tongue. 

“Gordon! I brought you coffee – you still take it with two sugars, right? Because there’s a cane’s worth in there.” 

His vision is crowded by a woman in an oversized blue FBI jacket—besides her abrupt entry, she’s also out of uniform. Her denim blue jeans hug her waist and fray at the knees, with a jarringly casual t-shirt. The unprofessionalism rubs him the wrong way. 

Two milky-colored coffee cups get dropped on the desk. Despite the breach of protocol, Gordon seems pleased to see her. There’s an affinity in his eyes, but she's a stranger to Dale.

“Well if it isn’t Miss Blue herself! We were just talking about you.”

“We?”

Her hair flicks over her shoulder, and her eyes widen. 

“Oh! Hi! Sorry, I didn’t see you there. I’m Blue.” She sticks out her right hand for him to shake– and it knocks straight into the two coffee cups, sending one tumbling towards Gordan and the other into his lap. 

“Shit!” 

He bolts up as hot coffee soaks his trousers. He vaguely registers Gordon's laugh as if an Agent didn’t just waltz in, wreck his office, and Dale’s drycleaning. 

“Oh hell, I’m so sorry!” she shrills, peeling off her jacket frantically. The cheap polyester of the academy-issued zip-up presses against his wool-blend pants, the woman’s feeble attempt to clean the mess. 

Dale’s anger alights, but he breathes deeply to tamp it down. Patience is a virtue, he tells himself.

She continues to dab at his pants, he pushes her hands away, taking the stained jacket from her, and tossing it on the chair behind him. 

“It's fine, it’s fine,” he tells her tightly, despite the heat of his emotions, and the mild burns. When it rains, it pours, he supposes. 

She looks up at him, clearly mortified. 

“My bad, Sir,” she says lamely, and her expression scrunches up more. 

“A hand, Kid?” Gordon asks and she’s more than happy to take her attention away from Dale. Gordon wipes his desk with a handkerchief, and with her hands free, she begins moving damp papers from his desk. 

“Well, I’ll tell ya, Blue, you haven’t changed a bit since they shipped you off,” Gordon says fondly. Blue grimaces in a subtle way that Dale only notices because of the daggers he’s staring into her. 

“I don't know about-” she begins. Gordon steamrolls her, likely not hearing a thing she said. 

“Well, I suppose this is as good an introduction as any. Dale, meet your new partner, Special Agent Georgia Blue. Blue, meet Dale Cooper.”

He wanted to be surprised, really he did, but with fate’s track record, he didn't know why he would expect any better. 

-

Dale goes home late that evening. With him, a stack of manilla folders all relating to one Georgia Blue. He recognizes a level of invasion here. He justifies it simply; Blue is an invasion of his space, so this grants him a degree of invasion to hers. He tries not to think about the morality of it too much, mostly because he knows if he does, he’ll be returning the files unopened. He lets his curiosity win this battle. 

It doesn’t matter anyways; half the documents are redacted, large blocky sharpie lines interrupting every other sentence. He skims over what he deems unimportant– her physical description, age, schooling– when one thing catches his eye. Her bureau status, ambiguously labeled as ‘probationary warning: under review’ 

 The FBI files aren’t all. There are DEA reports, too, all titled Operation Architect. He whispers the words to himself, something familiar in the back of his mind, vague memories and mentions of this Operation Architect. From his understanding, it had been DEA business, just watercooler talk that had made its way down to his office. He reads what he can. 

January 10th 1988, SA Georgia Blue establishes contact with target, indefinite undercover placement to begin immediately.

Undercover placement? The rest of the paragraph is blocked out, and he’s left with more questions than answers. 

His day feels like a pill he can’t swallow. He had vainly hoped that by understanding who this woman was, it would give him some artificial control of the situation, maybe even make it easier to choke down. He doesn’t understand why the dread in his chest continues to bloom. 

He yawns, interrupting his thoughts. He supposes the rest of his investigation can wait for the morning, it wasn’t like the issue was going away anyways. 

-

There are a few blissful moments the next morning when Dale wakes up, where the nightmare of yesterday is just that - a nightmare. The redacted files are forgotten on his desk. He makes his bed and brushes his teeth, and it isn't until he’s halfway through shampooing his hair, while he’s mentally scaling down his to-do list for the day that he remembers his plans are meaningless compared to the derailment that is Agent Blue. That is, his new partner Agent Blue. Just rolling over the word in his mind causes a headache to bud. 

“Agents Cooper and Blue, partners, at your service,” he spits bitterly to himself. He gets shampoo in his mouth.

He’s bitter all the way to the station, questions and resentment swarming his mind.  

He doesn’t even bother to chirp his usual good mornings to the doorman. Anger fits him like a jacket two sizes too small, he has to squeeze his way into it.

Perhaps the comfort of familiarity would calm him, he thought. A warm cup of coffee and the sanctuary of his desk. That’s what he needed. 

“Good morning Dale,” Diane calls as he passes reception. He waves noncommittally. 

“Morning Diane, any messages?” 

“Not today, but Gordon wants to talk to you—he said to just come by when you have time.”

Dale sighs, and wonders what Gordon could possibly have in store for him this time. 

“Is that all?” 

“There’s just one other thing—I had to move your desk closer to the window to make room for the new girl – but don’t worry! I put everything back just as it was, and I was real careful too,” she smiles. 

His eye twitches. 

“Alright, Diane, thanks,” he mutters. 

His desk is a foot from the window now, approximately 3 feet from where he had it before. He recalls the day he requested it to be there—having carefully stood in each corner of the precinct to find the exact shade-to-light ratio to situate himself. 

It’s fine, he reasons, he’ll just squint. 

In the ideal 4-foot spot from the window sits a brand new desk, with his brand new partner. If she hears him approach, she doesn’t show it, eyes glued to her dark computer screen. It doesn’t bother him, not one bit. He had spent the last three years' worth of mornings enjoying his coffee in silence, and, new partner or not, he would like that to remain the same. Who cares if she ruined his wool pants–doesn’t mean she has to say good morning to him too. 

He sits down, much too close to the sun for his liking, and dives headfirst into paperwork. Still, he spares glances at her, in intervals, and mostly just wonders, why? Dale is a good agent, he knows this. His work and reputation precede him; a lone wolf, he thinks of himself. Then, out of nowhere, without warning, he’s saddled with a partner? An agent he’s never even heard of, who is apparently dipping half into DEA work. An agent who’s on probationary warning. 

Perhaps they want him to babysit, he concludes. A rookie agent with some kind of classified disciplinary infraction, and they want him to turn her around. The thought reheats his anger. He’s a federal agent, not an academy trainer, and he has half a mind to let Gordon know that fact. 

Five minutes into tense silence and deep thought, a hand smacks down on his desk. He startles but recovers smoothly.

“For yesterday,” Blue says tersely. His eyes follow her stony expression to her manicured hand. She moves and reveals a crumbled $50 bill she’d slapped on his desk. 

“Agent?” he asks, confused and exasperated. 

“For the pants, alright? Please, just take it.” 

He stares at the bill quizzically. 

“Ma’am, while I can appreciate the gesture, I assure you that it’s not necessary—“

She holds her hand up to stop him. 

“I don’t care. I’m not taking the money back.”

She returns to her desk, intentionally angling away from him, staring intently at the computer screen that he can now see isn’t even turned on. 

“...The power button’s on the back of the monitor.” 

“...right.” 

The computer screen comes to life, and she doesn't spare him a glance. 

Partners, indeed. 

-

When he finally has a moment to see Gordon, he’s gone over his speech 5 times in his head. Gordon, you know I respect you and your decision-making, but I am not a babysitter or some sort of camp counselor. I am formally requesting the reassignment of Agent Blue.

He says it again and again in his head, all the way to the door. He knocks loudly, in a way he knows Gordon will hear, and he gets back a muffled, “Come in!” 

He does. When Gordon catches his eye, his expression is uncharacteristically unreadable. 

“Close the door behind you, Coop,” he tells him. Dale shuts the door and takes his usual seat across from his boss. 

“I’m glad you had the time to talk, I’m sure you have more than a few questions after yesterday,” he says levelly. Dale notes Gordon talking quieter than normal, it gives him an odd feeling like he’s in trouble. 

“I do, Sir. I would like to firstly say that while I respect–”

“Now hang on there, Coop. First things first, I’m going to need you to return those files on Blue.” 

Dale freezes, and his puffed-out chest deflates. It takes him a moment to form a sentence again. 

“...May I ask why, Sir?” 

Gordon sighs and fiddles with the wires of his hearing aid. 

“You haven’t done anything wrong. This is all just a bit more complicated than I can tell you right now. I’m afraid I’m sort of left in the dark here, too. I’ll tell you what I can, but it’s not all that much. Anything else you learn is at the discretion of the bureau - and Blue. And I don't think either of em’ wants you poking around.” 

The situation feels much bigger than him all of a sudden, even though it felt like something he could hold in the palm of his hand just a moment ago. 

“Alright,” is all he can think to say. 

“I knew Blue when she was in the academy, and let me tell you, she is bright. A little prodigy in her class, a bit like you, I’d presume. Anyway, I met her through her field training, she was a NAT here for a little while. Wasn’t too interested in homicide investigation, though. No, she’d taken a real liking to narcotics. Nasty business, I always thought, but to each their own,” 

As he talks, he leans in close to Dale. Gordon’s inside voice is still quite loud, but Dale can tell he’s straining to lower it. 

“She graduated and went straight to doing investigative work with the DEA. If I know you, and I do, I know you’ve picked through her file already. Do you know what Operation Architect is?” 

“I saw the name, but I don't know much about it, no.”

“Neither do I, that’s DEA business, but I know she was on it, undercover for over a year. And I know it didn't go great. She was relocated here after the ordeal.” 

Dale was hoping for this conversation to be more enlightening. He still feels trapped in the dark. 

“I meant it when I said none of this was up to me. My boss wanted Blue assigned to you. I’d wager it's because of your good work, you’ve got a handsome reputation, but I couldn’t tell you for sure. Regardless, she's sticking around for a while, so make the best of it. She’s not quite how I remember her, but as long as she hasn't done a full 180 in a few years, I think you two could get along pretty well.” 

Silence weighs down the room. Dale lets the new knowledge permeate his skin. 

“Alright,” he says because there really isn’t anything else to say. 

“Alright,” Gordon parrots. 

Dale sits like he’s waiting for something else to happen. The crushing finality of it sits on his chest. All the determination he came in there with is withered away to nothing, just ashes of a once burning fire. 

There’s no shirking this now, he has a partner. Cooper & Blue, FBI. 

“I know this isn’t easy for you, and I wish there was more I could do. But to be completely candid with you, I don’t think it’ll be nearly as bad as you’re anticipating.” 

Dale nods absently, drained of anything else to say. Gordon understands. 

“You’re dismissed, Coop.” 

He gets up, politely pushing in the chair. 

Before his hand can touch the knob, Gordon grabs his attention again. 

“Well, one more thing, actually.” Dale tenses, and the dread in his chest that had gone numb begins to flare up again. 

“If I were you, I’d show her a bit of kindness. This line of work is messy, and I can't imagine what the hell happened for her to get sent here.”

Dale can’t imagine either. 

[ladysarai]

This weekend I made a trip to my local Walmart. I grabbed a cart, pulled it out and went to put my purse in the seat. Sitting there was this:

My first and immediate reaction was gut-sinking horror. $100 is a LOT of money these days, and CASH?! My very first thought was “oh NO, someone lost their money, how am I EVER going to figure out whose this is?!” I admit to standing there in shock for much longer than I should have. I looked around, but the only people there were hurrying in and out of the store. I decided I may as well take it to the service desk, even if I despaired that it would ever find its way back to its original owner.

And then I picked it up. It felt WRONG. This was NOT actual money. I turned it over:

YEAH.

I’ll admit that my initial reaction wasn’t a nice one. Then I felt just… heartsick. To think that someone could be THIS cruel, to obviously hope to get a stranger’s hopes up and then dash them, when times are as tough economically as they are… It’s discouraging.

But when I was telling my friends about it, @nutterzoi said to me “The fact that they suck does not take away from you being a good person who wanted to do the right thing.” At the time I admit I didn’t fully agree, but now? I’m going to take the win.

They clearly thought that someone would find that fake $100 and be excited and happy, only to be disappointed when it turned out to be fake. Well, the joke is on them. I wasn’t happy at all. I was worried about someone not being able to afford their groceries or medications, about someone having a crying panic over losing their money. (I know I would!) But in the end, it turned out that no one actually did lose their $100 bill. So that is the win I’m taking from this.

Some people are cruel, but not everyone is. This is a terrible prank to try to pull, but no one was actually harmed by losing that amount of money, and I wasn’t disappointed to find that it was fake. (Well. I was, but only because I was disappointed in a fellow human being for being needlessly cruel.)

I’d like to wrap this up with something pithy or meaningful, but all I can think to say is: be better. Be kinder. Don’t be like this person.

[dreamdepot]

Dreams of the Kingdom - Chapter 8: Sage of Water

Edited 7/9/2024 - Updated chapter navigation links.

Previous < First > Next

It's time to banish the sludge from the Domain once and for all, but things keep getting stranger. Are these voices and visions helping or hurting you?

AO3 Wattpad Or below the break!

(Also, next week... Korok Space Program...)

Once again, you found yourself in the skies, but this time the air felt eerily still. The Great Wellspring floated miles above the Domain. Gravity was stunted and leaping between the floating islands was nearly effortless. The only sound was the roar of the fountain filling the massive carafes. Your trio had only one of the faucet locks left to go before you could wash away the belching source of the sludge.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this!” You kicked your legs as you fell tantalizingly slow back to the temple floor. The strange low gravity was disorienting, though Link and Sidon seemed to take it like second nature. The latter made sense, as he nearly swam through the air. The former… well, your knight was simply amazing. Even with the power of the Triforce with you, it seemed hard to keep up with him sometimes.

“No offense babe, but maybe I should take care of this one?”

You glared up at the switch crystal hidden in the spinning tower. You groaned, but flashed Link a thumbs up. “Go for it.”

Link looked up at the tower. “Do you have an extra Hover Stone?”

“Uh, yeah, here.” You tossed him a device capsule from your pack.

“Thanks!” He caught it and grabbed several other pieces of junk with his Ultrahand.

You watched as he started to build something that looked needlessly complicated. “It’s a good thing Link isn’t evil. I sometimes worry how long Hyrule would last if he decided to embrace chaos.”

“Who knows?” Sidon mused. You nodded but snapped back in a double take. Your friend was replaced by a tall, light blue Zora – but a species of Zora that you recognized from ancient artwork, not one from the modern day. He was flecked with turquoise scales, and had deep, dark blue eyes with swirling starry specks. You rubbed your eyes and he changed again, this time looking more sharklike than usual with a tooth necklace and a bright yellow surfboard under one arm.

“Sidon, what happened to you?!”

“What do you mean?” Sidon asked. Suddenly he had returned to normal. “Are you feeling okay, [Y/n]?”

You took a few deep breaths and rubbed your eyes. “I-I-I don’t understand. You were different! You were…” Your voice trailed off as you saw the concern on Sidon’s face. Your voice dropped to a whisper. “Sidon, am I losing my mind?”

“Hey now, I’m sure you’re not… but why would you think that?”

You thought back over the past few weeks. “Seeing things that aren’t there… dreams of another time in another body that’s not mine… hearing voices and whispers from Ganondorf…”

“My friend, you’ve been under a lot of stress lately. Maybe it’s just your body telling you that you need to rest?”

“How can I rest when it’s in my dreams too?” You groaned. “It’s… oh man, Sidon, I know it sounds crazy, but it feels like this isn’t supposed to be happening.”

Sidon stared at you and motioned to the waterworks.

“Yes, I know that everything with the Demon King shouldn’t but… if feels like something is wrong beyond that. It feels like time itself is wrong. It’s like I have multiple sets of memories all fighting to be correct.”

Sidon thought for a moment. “Do you think, perhaps the Demon King can alter time itself?”

“I have no idea how. As powerful as the secret stones seem, I don’t think they’re powerful enough for that alone.”

Speaking of time, you watched Link leap into the air and draw his bow. The way he was skilled with archery made it look like he could slow time by sheer focus. With the switch struck, the water drained, revealing the way to the final lock.

“My friend, perhaps it is best that we take this one step at a time. Even the mightiest currents have a way around them.”

“Thanks Sidon, the only question is how.”

==============================

With the locks open, the carafes were full of pure spring water. “Ready, guys?” Link asked.

You drew your sword and Sidon brandished his trident. “Ready,” you said. You braced yourself as Link tapped the activation sigil. What kind of monster would emerge to fight you? A mass of sludge? A demented slimy Deku Baba? The carafes dipped forward, drenching the altar in gallons of water.

Suddenly, a glob of sludge escaped, darting to the central plaza. The three of you pivoted, and Link summoned Tulin’s spirit to his side. The sludge melted away to reveal the sickliest, shrimpiest octorok you’d ever seen. “What… is that?”

“Is this some kind of joke?” Link muttered.

Sidon shook his head. “I don’t understand. This looks like a Mucktorok, a sort of trickster monster from fairy tales. The Demon King is using it to poison us all? There must be something el-” Sidon was cut off by the Mucktorok belching a pile of muck. A massive sludge shark emerged for a brief moment, merging with the trickster before diving back into the goop. “Hmm, I see,” Sidon grumbled. “Get ready!”

The shark darted across the plaza. “Sidon, water!” you shouted. Sidon encased you in water again, and you flung a wave at the shark, knocking it on its side. The shark melted away, leaving Mucktorok running and flopping around. Tulin’s shade fired an arrow, knocking the monster down, and Link charged in, slashing away.

The Mucktorok was slippery, though, and slipped back into the muck, forming another shark and filling the plaza with slime. The shark dove again, sending a wave of slime that almost knocked you off the edge. The extra sludge made it much harder to move, and every attempt to use Sidon’s water or Splash Fruit barely made a difference. Even when Link finally scored a hit, knocking the monster from the sludge, the Mucktorok began to leap between each of the slime pools.

Each strike missed, as the Mucktorok stayed just out of range, leaping into another slime pool. “Okay, he’s getting on my nerves! Link, please tell me you have a spare hydrant?”

“Way ahead of you.” Link popped open a few Zonai capsules, attaching two hydrants to a Hover Stone and a wheel, constructing a floating makeshift sprinkler. “Sorry Sidon.”

“Believe me, no offense taken,” Sidon groaned as the Mucktorok leaped past him again. “If you get that side, [Y/n] and I can take care of this side. That infernal creature won’t be able to hide.”

The Mucktorok seemed to hear and chose to blow a raspberry at you, before making another sludge shark. This time though, Link’s sprinkler washed away the slime. You swapped to a bow and took aim, tracking the shark. “Sidon, ready?”

“Go!”

You fired the arrow, knocking the Mucktorok out of hiding again. This time however, the Mucktorok’s eyes grew red, and it screeched at you. “Oh, it didn’t like that!” You shouted as it changed tactics. You felt that same odd pain in your head. Instead of summoning its sludge shark again, the pest created a massive wall of slime that spouted tentacles of slime.

“A sludge Morpha?” Sidon muttered.

“What?”

“Morpha, a monster that once plagued our people a long time ago. It seems Mucktorok and Ganondorf want to dredge up the past.” Sidon said, with a glare you never expected to see from him.

You stared at the monster. “This… this isn’t supposed to happen…” you murmured, rubbing your throbbing temples.

“Are you alright?” Link asked, holding his shield up as he sidestepped towards you.

You took a deep breath. “Yeah. Yeah, let’s fry this guy.”

“Eww, even I’m not hungry enough to eat him,” Link groaned.

“Figure of speech. Sidon, any advice?”

“Not unless you have a hookshot.”

You studied the way that Mucktorok moved around the tentacles, then you looked at Link. “Got it! Sidon, can you bait it out with your water?”

“Will do!” Biding his time, Sidon aimed before letting a wave loose at one of the tentacles, revealing the head of the Mucktorok.

You coated the arrowhead in the sticky elixir. With careful aim, you let it fly, sticking to the side of Mucktorok’s head. “Now Link!”

Link summoned Recall, pulling the arrow, and Mucktorok free from the sludge wall. Sidon wasted no time, stabbing the creature. Finally, the Mucktorok spluttered and wheezed. Streams of gloom burst from its body as it deflated like a balloon, finally imploding and exploding in a burst of demon energy.

“Good riddance,” Sidon muttered.

“Look, the sludge!” you said. Just like with the snow, the sludge disappeared into thin air. The water flowing from the cistern was now clean and clear. You had no doubt the same was happening down in the Domain as well. Last but not least, the secret stone emerged from the altar, glowing brightly.

Before you could say anything else, you found yourself swept up with Link in a bone crushing hug. “Thank you, my friends! Thank you! Twice now you have saved us. The Zora shall tell stories of the Swordsman and Prince for ages to come. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

“What are friends for?” Link said, tapping Sidon to let you both at least breathe.

“Having the Domain safe and sound again is reward enough,” you added. Sidon set both of you back down. “Now, before we head back, I think there’s something with your name on it.” You motioned to the secret stone.

As Sidon spoke to the former Sage of Water, you felt a presence reaching out to you. Thankfully it wasn’t Ganondorf, but it was just as, if not more, powerful. A voice was trying to reach you, but it was garbled. “Lady Din?” you whispered.

You couldn’t make out the voice, but the tone seemed to indicate it wasn’t her. Was Ganondorf right? Were there more people in your head? Most of all, were they trying to manipulate you or guide you? For now, it didn’t matter, since you couldn’t make out the words.

All you could hear was a beautiful harp.

==============================

“Welcome back!” Lady Yona greeted the three of you as you arrived back at the throne room.

“Well, well, I have to say this feels a bit like déjà vu!” The great King of the Zora, King Dorephan chortled, slapping the side of his throne. “Saved once again by Link and the Prince!”

Muzu nodded. “The sludge is gone. Even I have to admit we owe you a great debt.”

“No words could express the depths of our gratitude. Thank you, heroes, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. As for you Sidon,” King Dorephan continued, “though [Y/n] and Link certainly played a key role, your own efforts to save the domain were nothing short of magnificent. I have always believed in you, Sidon. Now, you have unequivocally proven your worthiness to bear the crown. That is why I shall joyously take this opportunity to pass the throne to you.”

“Father… this is so sudden!”

“No, it only seems that way. In truth, it has been heavy on my mind for some time. Sidon, my son, it is time to ascend the throne as the new king and lead Zora’s Domain to a brighter tomorrow.

“Me, the king?” Sidon looked between you and Yona. Yona gave him a reassuring nod. He then looked to you.

You flashed him your own smile. “Sidon, you’ve got this! There’s no one better I could imagine leading the Zora.”

He took a deep breath and nodded back. “Thank you, Father! I will not let you down! I swear it.”

“That’s the spirit, my boy!” Dorephan laughed. “The High Prince and the finest swordsman in all of Hyrule shall bear witness to this momentous occasion!”

==============================

Everyone gathered at the center of the Domain, now freshly cleaned.

“Silence, everyone!” Muzu shouted.

Sidon stood on the balcony, flanked by Yona, Link, and of course you. The sun sparkled on his scales, making him look more regal than ever. The crown looked like it couldn’t have fit better on his head. Sidon raised his arm. “I hereby inherit this crown from my father, the Exalted Dorephan. From this moment on, I shall be King of the Zora!” He then motioned to Yona. “At this same precious moment, I ask that you also open your hearts to your new queen, our beloved Yona!”

A cheer rose from the crowd, as Yona stepped forward. You noticed she didn’t climb the steps to be directly beside him. You also caught the fleeting look of adoration to her attendant. “The sludge threatens us no more. We are once again free to swim through crystal waters beneath azure skies without fear. We could not have achieved this without our dear King Sidon, our heroic Link, our valiant Prince [Y/n], and all of us who call the domain home. I am so proud and so very grateful to count myself among the Zora of the Domain. However! That does not mean that all matters have been resolved.”

“Right you are, my queen!’’ Sidon said, striking his royal pose. “So long as darkness lurks in the depths of Hyrule, this peace we have fought so hard for could vanish like a bubble on a needle. We shall not allow that! It is now time for the Zora to help Prince [Y/n] and Link prevail! Everyone, I ask that you lend them your strength! Doing just that shall be the first task that I and my partner in leadership shall undertake as your king and queen!”

A great cheer rose up from the crowd. You cleared your throat and called out, “All hail King Sidon! All hail Queen Yona!”

“All hail King Sidon! All hail Queen Yona!”

Sidon was cheered to the echo, as you all returned to the throne room. “I wish we could have made it a proper party,” you said.

“We’ll certainly make it a full celebration once the Demon King is defeated,” Yona agreed.

Sidon shook his head. “Parties can wait. There are more important matters. If the Princess Zelda I saw in my vision while talking with the previous Sage of Water was the real one in the past, then the one that attacked Father must not have been the same,” Sidon said, scratching his chin. “Questions upon questions.”

“It’s not the first time either,” Link said. “We’ve been running into fake Zeldas left and right.”

“I wish I could accompany you on your journey, but given I’ve just ascended the throne, I must be with my people. My sincerest apologies.”

You nodded, “Of course, Sidon, we understand that completely.”

“We’ll do our best to keep gathering information for you. Oh, and Prince [Y/n], would you allow me to speak with you for a moment alone? Royal to royal, you could say.”

It was easy to tell there was something special on his mind. “Of course, Sidon.”

He led you to a more secluded part of the throne room. Part of you had to laugh, it was the same spot as a kid that he always took you when he had secrets to share. Due to the design of the throne room, no sound spoken in that part of the room could be heard anywhere else. “You know, proposing would have been quite timely after a coronation…”

“No. That would’ve been tacky. I’m not ready and I wasn’t about to steal your thunder.” You sighed. “I hope that wasn’t what you brought me over to talk about.”

“No, no,” Sidon laughed. “It’s actually something a bit more important. When you and Link arrived, I certainly wasn’t feeling myself. The pressure of being a good leader and trying to keep one’s people safe can certainly get to you. I wanted to thank you for being there to remind me that friends are always there to share the burden.”

He looked at you expectantly. “Of course, Sidon, Link and I will always be there for you, but I’m not sure if I’m following?”

“You put on a brave face, my friend, but I can see it in you too. You’re not yourself lately.”

“Sidon, I…”

“My friend,” Sidon said quietly. “Remember, no matter what, you’re not alone. You have all of us supporting you, and most importantly, you have Link.”

“Sidon, without Zelda, everyone is counting on me and-”

“And they all know what you’ve done in the past for them. You don’t need to face this alone.”

You felt your chest unclench. “Thanks… really.”

“Of course,” Sidon said with his usual grin.

He took you back to the rest, addressing both you and Link. “Please promise that you shall once again grace our fair Zora’s Domain with your presence sooner rather than later! Whatever comes to pass, know that you and I will always be connected… by the power of a sage, no less!”

==============================

The sun hung low in the sky as the two of you made your way across the eastern edge of Hyrule Field, heading towards the Great Plateau and ultimately Gerudo Town. You stretched and shrugged your shoulders. You fished out the rock that you found Depths, watching it sparkle in the evening light. The stone still made no sense, but it certainly was beautiful. You slipped it back in your pack. “If we keep up this pace, we should be able to get to Riverside Stable by nightfall. What do you want for dinner? I think I have some extra meat…”

Suddenly, Link grabbed your shoulder, flinging you back and drawing his sword. “Hey, what the hell?”

“That gloom pool moved,” Link hissed, keeping his eyes trained on the distant pool.

“Don’t be ridiculous, the gloom can’t…” You stopped as you noticed the sky was growing darker, shifting to a red hue. The pool was moving and moving fast. Five hands reached from the gloom, yellow eyes embedded in the palm watched you with unblinking focus. A tinge of fear shot up your spine, but you drew your bow. “Link, what is that?”

“A Blight?” The monster screeched and scrambled forward, trying to grab at you. You loosed an arrow, striking one eye dead on. The hand shrieked before withdrawing to the ooze. The other hands countered, snatching a tree log and flinging it at you. You drew your sword, slicing the log in half.

While they were distracted, another volley of arrows flew towards them. Link had summoned Tulin and Sidon’s shades to help, while Link drew his own sword. Suddenly, the hand you struck down reemerged, seemingly without damage. “We need to take them all out at the same time,” you said.

“On it!” Link swapped to his bow, nocking a bomb arrow. With the explosion, some of the hands turned white and retracted. You chucked your own bombs at the remaining hands, sending them into retreat.

“Okay… that’s taken care of…” you huffed. You watched as the leftover gloom began to shrink back… and then congeal. “What… the…” The gloom bubbled and churned as the air grew stale. A terrible being rose from the goop, a clone of the Demon King himself. Before you could react, the monster charged you. Link leaped in, parrying the blow just in time.

“Move!”

You strafed to the side, eager to put some distance between you and the Phantom Ganon. Gloom oozed from his feet, each step decaying the earth. Link caught up to you, raising his shield just in time to block another slash of its cursed sword. “Ideas?” he grunted, parrying the blow. The two of you had to keep backing up to avoid the gloom from swallowing you. You drew your bow, firing a few arrows to slow down the menace, but it pursued you relentlessly.

“I don’t know,” you said, “working on it.” Regular attacks didn’t seem to do too much. At this point the best strategy seemed to be to simply whittle him down. Then, the Phantom swiped at Link, knocking him back.  

You clenched your fist, feeling the power of the Triforce come forth. “That’s it!” The golden energy traveled up your arm in veins of light. “Leave us alone, Ganondorf!” A ball of light formed, and you flung it at the Phantom. The light burst and crackled around it, paralyzing it to the ground.

Link wasted no time, charging in with his sword, knocking Phantom Ganon back. You followed behind, chaining his strikes with a rising cut. Strike after strike, Link and you traded off. Finally, the gloom monster recovered, knocking you both back.

Once more you threw a ball of light at the Phantom, but this time, it batted it back. Link volleyed it back, smashing it into the monster. Before it could react, Link parried its dark sword away and flurry rushed in for the kill. A stab clean through the monster’s forehead made it collapse into a few dark clumps.

“Been a while since I’ve been able to do that…” you panted, looking down at your hand. The glowing light slowly faded, but the tingle in your arm remained. “It feels different this time. It’s like the power is traveling through me on its own.”

“Maybe it reacts more to the gloom?”

You rubbed your arm to get rid of the pins-and-needles feeling. “That’d make sense. Just hate the exhaustion that comes afterward. Even that feels stronger than normal.”

Link helped you up. “Come on, let’s get you some rest then. I’ll cook some stew and we’ll set up camp.”

“Just promise me you’re not going to try to put Lynel guts in it again.”

“One time. One time I try to make a stew to make us strong as Lynels, and you never let me forget it.”

==============================

“If I’ve told her once, I’ve told her a thousand times,” you mumbled, gently cleaning the cuts on Link’s arm. “I wish she’d fly more carefully, but no, she’s so reckless! Granny Syrup’s gonna be so mad at her, flying around and not doing her chores…”

“It’s really alright,” Link said, picking at the bandage on his leg. You smacked his hand without looking and reached for more red potion, shoving it into his hands.

These dreams were slowly becoming routine, and seeing various versions of Link was almost a bit exciting – or at least it would be if the dreams made sense to you. This Link seemed fairly similar to yours in a few ways, but perhaps more than anything was the look in his eyes. This Link was an experienced warrior, and the steely determination behind a cool demeanor was something you were intimately familiar with.

“It’s not though! You’re working so hard to help everyone, she doesn’t need to be getting in your way!”

“At least I get to visit you each time. Who could say no to visiting a cute witch boy?”

You stopped for a moment then blushed furiously. “You… it’s not nice to tease!” You wrapped the last bit of the bandage, but then noticed Link was wincing as he leaned to the side. “Okay, shirt. Off.”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. Off.”

Link groaned and lifted up his tunic. You had to bite your lip to keep your face neutral. While not bleeding, Link’s body was covered in welts and bruises. “Okay, I might have taken a few more hits than just from Maple.”

“Where did these come from?”

“Giant octopus called Octogon.” Part of you wanted details but Link’s life was so strange, you simply started on the ointment to ease the pain. “Hey, that’s cold!”

“Is the big hero weak to cold? Goddesses help us, Veran just needs to throw a snowball at you.”

Link rolled his eyes. “It just caught me by surprise. Besides, this is nothing compared to Kholdstare back in Hyrule’s Dark World.”

You paused. You could practically feel the smirk from Link, knowing he had you now. “Fine, I can’t resist.”

Link beamed. “Okay, so get this, there’s this giant iceberg in the Dark World side of Lake Hylia. A long time ago, someone carved it out…”

==============================

The story led to another and another about Hyrule’s Dark World, even after you had finished patching him up. It had gotten late by the time he finished. After locking up the shop, the two of you walked through the torchlit streets of Lynna City. Link had just finished telling you all about the Dark World version of Hyrule’s Death Mountain.

“Um,” you blushed, straightening your hat. “I was thinking, if you’re not busy…”

“Yeah?” Link said, leaning in with a little smile.

Your cheeks burned. “Well, tomorrow I was gonna go check out the Goron Dance Hall.”

“Oh, hey isn’t that place like ancient?”

“Yeah, I heard the Gorons have been dancing there since even before Queen Ambi’s reign. I heard it used to be part of a volcano, modeled after their capital city of Goronia.” You felt like you were babbling. “My friends in Subrosia set me up with some dance lessons and the Gorons said I should bring a friend. It might not be as cool as the Dark World, but-”

“Sure, it’s a date!”

“Great, I’ll – wait, a d-d-date?!” Link just headed out into Labrynna Field with the biggest grin on his face. “Wait, I haven’t said when we should meet!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be late,” he said, pulling a beautiful harp from his bag. He winked, and with a strum of the harp, disappeared in a golden shimmer of light.

[hekate1308]

There Was Winter’s Cold A Destiel Advent Calendar December 18

Masterpost

Dean had always lived by the sentence no time like the present, mostly because when he had been young, there really had been no time like the present – he’d had to do certain things to ensure he and Sam survived and got to school on time, and that had been that.

But even now, he knew there were some things best dealt with right away, and returning a water wraith to his rightful home certainly felt like it.

Plus, there was a full moon, so they were in luck – or not, as Dean’s stupid heart would remind him, but again, that was not a problem to deal with now, he could wallow in misery later –

They had not even known each other for a week. It was absolutely ridiculous to imagine that there was anything between them or something special about Cas, apart from the obvious. This kind of stuff – it didn’t happen. One didn’t magically fall in – one didn’t feel drawn to –

The point was, nothing like that happened within such a short amount of time. This wasn’t a fairytale, this was real life (alright maybe it was a bit weird to claim that when he was talking about trying to get a water wraith back home, but that was not the point at the moment).

So, really, he tried to reason with himself, what had happened? Look at it from an outside perspective – he had come across a guy who needed help, yeah, a somewhat strange guy, all things considered, but still, a guy who needed help, he had provided him with that, and now the guy had everything he needed to go back home. Nothing lost, nothing gained… no, that was wrong. It was a net positive to help people, Dean had always lived by that, and so he would now, too.

Maybe he could see Cas again? Probably not the best course of action, all things considered, since he was… was.. but still, he would like to know that he was doing alright, that he didn’t have to worry. And after all, if eh could spend time outside the water after he had been thrown out, certainly eh could do short visit? If he wanted to, of course but perhaps he didn’t… this was all so needlessly complicated, of course because Dea made it so, he had no delusions in that regard.

Why couldn’t he be interested in a nice normal gal or guy, really, like Sam? Yeah, find someone like his brother’s other half to settle down with, who didn’t come from a very wet place and actually knew how to talk to people and what the internet was…

But that would never be good enough for him now, no. Not after he had met Cas.

Damn it.

Again, again, again, he could and would deal with that later. First solve this, then go wallow in his misery.

And there it was the river.

If he had known would he still have come here that night that was barely old news and yet felt like forever ago?

Of course he would have. He felt absolutely sure of that. Just knowing Cas for a few days was so much better than not knowing him at all, like never feeling this way about anyone.

The thought whether this was how Sam felt about Jess and Bobby felt about Ellen crossed his mind, but he was not going to dwell on that. This was not – he’d get over it.

Cas was quietly walking at his side, and Dean wondered what he made of it all. Was probably happy to return home and everything. Why shouldn’t he be.

Then, suddenly, “Dean, I wish to thank you for everything.”

“It’s not over yet, buddy, no reason to thank me.”

“Still – you took me in, and you showed me so many new things… I… thank you very very much.”

He didn’t know where to look, so he looked at the stupid bucket eh was carrying. Then he remembered to nod. Better than nothing.

They continued on their way, and he wondered just how his life had turned out that way. He was just a guy trying to navigate his existence, like so many others, and yet somehow…

Oh God, don’t get philosophical now, Winchester. Won’t do any good.

And then there it was. The moon, shining on the water.

Even Dean, who knew it brought him one step closer to saying goodbye to Cas, had to admit that it looked pretty damn beautiful.

And, as a matter of fact romantic, but this was not the moment. That moment would never come, if they were successful, and why should they not be. He handed Cas the bucket. “Go ahead.”

Cas nodded at him, then took the bucket.

Their fingers touched ever so slightly and Dean told himself not to treasure the feeling.

[no1ryomafan]

Yknow for most of my tumblr rants I like to keep stuff vague even when it’s apparent what thing I’m aiming at because I don’t like to trash talk people openly who I don’t know or formally knew especially on the most mundane subjects but there’s one particular thing that has been bothering me about fandom culture that I’ve noticed as of late that I gotta rant about:

And that’s the whole ordeal of “you need to consume this series in a certain way” mindset as apart from leading into general bad traits fandom culture has-toxicity and gatekeeping-I feel this is just another reason why some people get easily scared off by getting into certain things.

To further elaborate I wanna first say there’s nothing particularly wrong with advising a set order of things to consume in a series under the context of either:

<someone asked to begin with what order to watch/read/play something <a series has multiple sequels that are connected in some capacity so advising the correct order because sometimes it’s not the “chronological” that’s the correct way

Those cases you are making sure the person gets into a series by following the story the way it’s intended, that’s fine, I’m more so talking about how a handful of certain fandoms are centered a series with multiple canons and they don’t really overlap yet fans try to act authority over how you should consume the media when at that point it’s just a matter of “which series looks the most interesting too you”.

I’ve seen this behavior pop up a bit in getter fandom and while it’s not anything toxic-thankfully-I really don’t agree to the notion of you need to read all of the mangas JUST to understand the Animes when they’re ALL in their own canon. But this post isn’t actually about Getter because the general atmosphere I’ve seen in my own circle is “we really don’t care where you start as long as you’ve seen Getter” which I appreciate and can’t really get too upset over the series discourse, I’m more so noticing this happening in a different older anime fandom I was kinda apart of being Soul Eater.

Now I’ve only seen this said by two people so I’m not gonna claim this is a general thing by the fandom-fuck knows how many soul eater fans there are anymore even if it’s more recognizable than getter-however I get the vibe this is something fans when newbies get into the series advise: To not get super into SE as it be unnecessary, for those who don’t know it’s one of those animes that was unfortunately cursed with “starting off a solid adaption for the first half but by the second half it completely diverted from the manga and the anime content is not only different but inferior from its source” which from what I seen, had a lot of old SE fans advise newer fans to watch the anime up to a certain point aka right where it changes from the manga and than going to read the manga with the stuff the anime didn’t adapt, and than after you finish the manga you can go back to watch the anime if you so choose.

I really, really, REALLY do not like this approach and despite what I said early about “different iterations” this one even worse given the context SE doesn’t have that many canons outside of these and a spin off series.

Literally this entire process could be avoided if someone just said “don’t watch the anime because it’s not a good adaption, read the manga” because even if that sounds gatekeepy it’s at least not a unnecessary back and forth process with the anime being CLEARLY redundant. Sure, SE like 100+ or so chapters but even if watching the anime adapt the first half is faster than reading it, it just makes things needlessly complicated to newer fans.

It’s also not the end of the world if someone watches the show and never reads the manga because guess what? We all like stuff that is FUNDAMENTALLY flawed. People are too worried about their media being perfect when no series is and there’s nothing wrong with liking something that’s a bit messy because people still keep up with series that are hella fucking messy. If they complain about the anime sucking but refuse to read the manga that’s on them, not your issue because they knew what they were getting themselves into if someone was warning them. We also just gotta deal with people not giving stuff we like a second chance after the first time because needlessly shoving a “order” in their face isn’t gonna make them feel inclined to check it out again.

My only advice I can give from this long messy rant of a post that went too far on tangent about something I don’t even know is said by many fans-and if anyone finds this and is active in the SE circles please feel free to correct me-is NEVER advise someone a order of getting into a thing unless there IS canons that do connect with each other by being direct follow ups. Don't get mad at someone for getting into a series from the most confusing or hated iteration, because if they are actually interested they'll want to consume more of it even if they have a weak first impression.

Never force anything onto ANYONE and just welcome new fans with open arms, thats a way to make a safe space even in some of the worst fandoms.

[jahayla-writes]

The Master Part 10

2.5k wc

Series Navigation

T-Minus Two Weeks

“Y/n,” Tom spoke softly, cautiously making his way to her workstation.

“Oh, did you need something?” Y/n questioned in a monotonous tone, only briefly sparing him a glance before looking back down at her work notebook.

Tom pouted but kept his head high. “Erm, yeah, can we talk?” He requested.

She paused her scribbling momentarily before sighing. “I’m sorry, I’m busy,” she replied, nodding down towards her desk. “Maybe Olivia could help with whatever you need to talk about,” she offered, glancing over to her left where her friend was seated a few tables away at her own desk.

“Y/n/n,” he whined with a huff. “You know that’s not what-“.

“Sorry, but.. if that’s all, I really should be going, Tati’s weapon needs touch ups,” she lied. She abruptly stood up and backed away from her table. “Olivia is over there if you need her,” she said respectfully, pointing to the left before turning to leave.

“Y/n,” he sighed, moving to follow her. “I need-“.

“Tom,” she replied, her voice cracking.

He faltered, his chest seizing at the way her pain audibly broke through her stoic attempt upon saying his name.

She cleared her throat. Without turning around to face him, she corrected herself. “Mr. Holland,” she addressed even though it felt wrong. “If-if what you need from me is anything other than professional, I’m going to request that you seek someone else for it”. She gritted her teeth in order to keep her tears at bay as she dragged herself away from him.

Tom gaped as he watched her leave. She hadn’t referred to him by his surname like that since they first met on set and she was so nervous. As hurt as he was by her not talking to him, the realization only made him more confused and worried about her. He could hear the hurt in her voice, but he had no idea how to fix it. His heart was at war with his mind. She’s asked him to leave her be. But, he had a feeling that’s not what she really needed. Before he could even decide if he should go after her and try again, he felt someone place a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at them to find Olivia. He looked in the direction y/n had gone before back at Olivia, silently asking her if she knew what was going on. Only, Olivia simply shook her head before leaning against him. He sighed and continued to stare down the hall y/n had left to.

Tom sat stiffly as y/n adjusted the space around him. He was afraid any movement would spook her. He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath as she shifted the props to his right until she slowly walked his way for now couldn’t breathe at all and the breath he’d been holding felt like it’d left his body. His sorrowful eyes watched her every move as she came up to him to adjust the props he was wearing.

Y/n bit the inside of her lip as she willed herself to not meet Tom’s gaze. She’d been tasked to make some quick repairs to the shoulder holster he was wearing in this scene as two of the snap fasteners on his chest straps had popped off and caused the holster piece to sit lopsided after his fight scene. Realistically she knew it didn’t take her long to fix the piece, but it still felt like an eternity standing there before him. She knew he was analyzing her and she felt so exposed and vulnerable. She sucked in a breath when his fingers tenderly wrapped around her wrist before her hand could fully leave his chest. Yet she still refused to look up at his face. She couldn’t handle seeing his eyes. She had to hold her ground. She’d done the hardest part of this already, ending things. Now she just had to get through the last few weeks on set and she’d be able to break down when she was truly out of his sight when filming ended. “Oh, here,” she whispered breathlessly as she needlessly adjusted ‘Nate’s’ ring necklace before pulling her hand back.

Mark eyed Tom in question as he watched y/n behaving so strictly professional around him. But Tom wasn’t looking his way, he was still watching her. Mark sighed to himself as he tried to think of how else he could get to the bottom of what was happening. When she came back over to Mark with the touched up prop-gun in her hand, he decided to see if he could get her to talk. “Hey kiddo,” he smiled softly.

“Hey Mark,” She greeted sweetly, her eyes flickering up to meet his as she brought the fake weapon back to him now that she’d adjusted the scuffs and ‘staining’ on it from a few takes ago.

“You alright?” Mark questioned, squinting at her knowingly.

She merely hummed and nodded stiffly. “I’m great,” she lied. “Yourself?” She asked politely as she passed him the faux-gun.

“Huh? Oh, I’m fine,” Mark mumbled.

She giggled faintly at his evidently distracted state. She assumed it was because the director had just finished telling Mark some changes he needed to make for the scene. “Clearly,” she joked lightheartedly. “Good luck,” she added with a kind smile before making her way off the set.

It took a lot of effort for Tom to hide his frown in order to do the next shoot of the current scene. If it hadn’t been painfully obvious before, it was now. Y/n had a problem with Tom in particular. She was still friendly and close with the others on set. Just not him. He hated the sinking feeling in his stomach and the guilt that plagued his mind. He didn’t know how to make things right, be he needed to.

“Here, I’ll give it to him for you,” Olivia offered, holding her hand out.

Y/n smiled faintly in appreciation as she passed the bejeweled key prop to her friend. “Thank you…, I just..,” she sighed. She should be better at this. She should be able to handle being simply professional with Tom without wanting to burst into tears. But every time she had to interact with him with, it was like the wound reopened.

“Tom, no,” Olivia cooed, her voice far too gentle for the context. She rubbed his back and laid her head on his shoulder as she donned a sympathetic frown. “Just leave her be,” she instructed, turning his torso away from where y/n was.

Tom’s eyes were narrowed as his mind continued to recall every moment from the past week, desperately needing to get to the bottom of this. He felt Olivia at his side as she tried to get him to focus on something else, but he couldn’t keep his eyes away from y/n. Not even when she kept her back to him as she worked instead of grinning over at him between tasks the way she would have before the other night.

“Come on, you’re far too hot to be looking so sad,” Olivia commented flirtatiously. She dragged her hand down Tom’s chest as she continued to try to turn him away.

“Y/n, please!” Tom begged, his voice cracking as he trailed closely behind her.

“What?” Y/n cried quietly, sharply turning to face him as they turned down an empty hallway.

“Talk to me!” He pleaded. “What did I do?!”

She shook her head, staring at her feet. “Nothing”.

“Darling, I-“

“You didn’t do anything, okay?!” She scoffed. She sniffled as tears began welling up in her eyes. She shook her head in frustration with herself. How she ever let herself be led astray like this was beyond her. However, as she looked up and into his beautiful dark chocolate colored eyes, it all made sense again.

He saw the tears in her eyes and reached for her hand only for her to step back as she shook her head.

“I was just kidding myself, I know that now,” she murmured.

“What?” He asked breathlessly.

“Tom, don’t. Okay? It’s fine. I was naive, but I know now that it was foolish to think you’d actually go for me, that you’d-,” she sighed and trailed off, unable to keep speaking her heartbreak aloud. “I mean, maybe,” she sniffled in a futile effort to compose herself. “Maybe if I didn’t give in so soon.. it could’ve lasted longer… but-“.

He squinted at her in confusion. “I.. we… what? I don’t… what ever are you going on about?”

“I get it,” she lied, her voice breaking softly. “You know?… you had your fun. I did the dirty work for you, okay? You can go ahead and find someone else to be with now”.

He gaped widely but the rest of his body was frozen with shock. Is that really what she thought? Didn’t she know him better than that?! “I… y/n, I’m not like that, that’s not who I am,” he defended with a slight scoff over having been wounded by her implications. “I don’t just go around sleeping with people. When we had sex, it meant something, it meant a lot to me,” he argued, “it was so special. I thought you knew you that”.

She sniffled and weakly wiped her eyes with the back of her shaking hands. She wanted to believe him, but Olivia’s reminders of her insecurities were far too loud. She couldn’t handle letting Tom officially break her heart. She had to be the one to end it before it came to that; which it would. “I.. I think it would be best if we keep things strictly professional for the duration of filming, ‘kay?” She mumbled, turning to leave before he could answer.

“Y/n/n please,” he pleaded, stepping closer to her. “We are so good together! I feel it and I know you feel it too," he remarked. She had to.

“Please don’t follow me,” she requested in a frail voice having heard his footsteps behind her.

“Girl, are you sure you’re okay?” Sophia pressed. She’d been trying to get y/n to talk to her about whatever went down between her and Tom, but she’d not gotten anywhere. “Would you rather talk to Olivia about it?” She proposed. “I could go grab her”.

“No!�� Y/n gasped, flinching at her abrupt reaction. “I mean, no, but thank you,” she mumbled. “I’m fine, just… tired is all,” she lied with a fake smile. “I need to pee,” she whispered before jogging off.

In reality, y/n did want to talk to Olivia. As much as y/n loved Sophia, she didn’t want to complain to Sophia about her costar. Plus, Olivia already knew the reasons why y/n had to call things off with Tom. It would be easier to just talk with Olivia instead of catching Sophia up to speed. But alas, Olivia had been acting weird. It was the last thing y/n needed right now. Yet, just when she needed her friend the most, Olivia had distracted herself from y/n. Even more so than that, the last time she’d talked to y/n about all of this, instead of being sympathetic, she just told y/n she was overreacting and to get over herself. So, it went without saying, y/n really didn’t want to talk Olivia until she was back to being her friend again.

Y/n tried to keep her head held high as she made her way to the restrooms. When she made it inside, she turned on the cold water and cupped some in her hands. She lifted her hands and splashed her face with the frigid water, causing her body to suck in a deep breath. She could do this. Two more weeks. There was hardly anything left for her to do anyways. She could wait it out. Even if it meant doing so on her own. She began the process to splash herself again when she heard a voice coming from the bathroom stalls behind her.

“They really broke up?” A voice asked from the far left stall.

It sounded like y/n’s friend Rachel, one of the makeup artists for the cast.

“Finally,” another voice replied with a bitter laugh.

Y/n froze, the cold water flowing over her hands. She recognized that voice. It was Olivia. Surely they weren’t talking about-

“Tom would be so much better with you,” Rachel said. She commented something else as well, but her voice was muffled by the unrolling of the toilet paper from the next stall.

So it was her and Tom that Olivia and Rachel were talking about. Olivia wanted them to break up? Although, it kinda made sense. Olivia thought y/n would be hurt if she and Tom continued to date. Surely that’s all this was, right?! The pit in her stomach suggested otherwise but she tried to hold out hope.

“Right?!” Olivia exclaimed. “Like he’s going to be so helpful for my career,” she laughed. “He’s already practically putty in my hand”.

Y/n could practically hear Olivia’s smile as she added, “Y/n was way in over her head”.

Olivia wasn’t wrong. She was in over her head. In more ways than one. This was all too much. She thought Olivia was her friend. She thought she’d encouraged y/n to break up with Tom because she actually cared for her. But none of it was true. She was right about having been naive. She’d been naive enough to believe Olivia was her friend, that she’d had her best interest at heart. She’d been naive enough to think she could trust anyone on this set. After all, she didn’t think of Rachel as a super close friend, but she thought she could trust her to not talk about her behind her back. Yet, here they were. All while, y/n was going through the worst heartbreak of her life. As if that wasn’t bad enough, her best friend had plotted against her. And to top it all off, she still had two weeks left where she’d have to be around both of them.

Wait.

Did she?

Now that y/n thought about it.. perhaps she didn’t have to stick around. She wasn’t proud of it, but she could see a way out and wanted to take it. There were two weeks left, but she’d finalized all of her major projects already and was just on standby to adjust things between takes as needed. Something which the other crew members could do on their own without much inconvenience. While still not proud of herself for deciding to take such a shortcut, she exited the bathroom and pulled out her phone before she could change her mind. It didn’t take her very long to type up the resignation email and before she’d even made it back to her desk, she’d pressed send. She grabbed her bag from under the table and took one last look around at the venue before she rushed outside to head back to the apartment complex.

The Master Series Navigation

Tom Holland Masterlist

Peter Parker / Spider-Man Masterlist

All My Works / My Main Masterlist Navigation

[draculasstrawhat]

I feel like, as in a lot of medicine, there’s kind of a balance here? Because it is, broadly, true that the person delivering is the best judge of their own body - provided they are well informed and properly attended, both before and during the delivery, and that medical professionals are checking those instincts along the way.

Because, especially for a first delivery, “your body knowing what to do,” and “you, a person, knowing what your body knowing what to do feels like,” are two very different things.

But it’s also that “once the process starts, barring complications, your body knows what to do, and if something goes wrong we’ll be there to catch it,” and “this is a magical, natural process, everything is going to be sunshine and roses, don’t worry!” are two very different bits of advice.

And if you’ve been told the latter from the second paragraph there, and misjudge the former from the first… you’re swimming in very dangerous waters. It is not a magical, infallible knowledge, it is a general trend.

Like, my first delivery went painfully, almost catastrophically, wrong because my body “knew what it was doing”, except it didn’t, because I’d never done this before. I was *almost* right, but not quite, and no one checked my instinct, so I went from “coping really well,” to “hey maybe we need to call an ambulance.”

Because I wasn’t coping quite as well as all that - I just wasn’t as deeply in active labour as everyone thought I was. The midwives were lovely, they trusted me! They trusted the process! But they maybe should have checked before they told me to start pushing, y’know.

Fortunately, I’m quite a pragmatic person, was aware of the risks, and had the world’s best birth partner, and was actually very well attended - that one mistake not withstanding. In the absence of any one of those things, it could have all gone very, very badly wrong.

But it’s a balance.

Because the *second* time round the midwife dismissed my every feeling and intuition, tried to remove me to the hospital when there was no need, decided I was “coping badly” rather than just being further in active labour than she thought I was, and essentially missed the birth she was supposed to be attending because she’d decided I was a delusional liar - leading to the hilarious exchange, “Are you having a poo?” “No! I’m having a baby!”

She was literally in another room of my house, doing admin. Fortunately, my body did actually know what to do, I’m as bolshie as I am pragmatic, and (again) had the world’s best birth partner. (Otherwise, I’d likely have ended up giving birth unattended on the seat of my partner’s car on the drive to the hospital…) Either way, if there *had* been any complications, there would have been no one in attendance because the midwife wasn’t listening to me - the person actually doing it.

My point sort of being that, yeah, if I’d just “trusted my body” the first time round, without awareness of risk and medical assistance, it could have been a disaster.

But then, the same holds true if I hadn’t the second time. If the first midwife team had attended my second labour, it would have been absolutely fine. If the second one had attended my first labour, the best outcome would have been an (unnecessary) emergency C section.

Sorry, this has got long, and it’s been over a decade, but my point is that teaching pregnant people to trust their bodies is something that needs to be tempered with risk awareness, medical expertise, and a healthy whack of pragmatism. But without it, births become needlessly stressful, humiliating, and often actively dangerous.

I know I’ve made this post before but I’m listening to a documentary series on reproductive healthcare and I CANNOT STAND the ‘your body knows what to do!’ rhetoric about birth that is shoveled at pregnant people. I think it is meant to be empowering and reassuring but that is such a dangerous thing to be telling pregnant people. You see first time parents extremely upset their birth plan failed and they had to go to the hospital because they expected their body to know what to do and feel like a failure because they started struggling. If the human body always knew what to do, pregnancy and birth complications wouldn’t be one of the leading causes of death throughout history. You can be the healthiest person alive and have the best medical care surrounding you and still have a medically traumatic birth because literally anything can go wrong at anytime for any reason.

[casspurrjoybell-28]

The Alpha's Addiction - Chapter 41 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Heat - Kao

I don't remember it being this painful, to crave an Alpha so badly that your core cramps up, clenching around nothing, needing it to be a Alpha's manhood.

I moan in discomfort, sweat beading on my brow despite the cool towel Oliver brought me.

This is absolute torture, the puddle between my legs is only growing, preparing my body for penetration that won't come, I will have to suffer like this, it's all I can do.

Oliver glances up at me from the other side of the room, where he continues his homework.

"You're sick, Mama. You need Juliet to come check you."

I shake my head, managing a weak smile.

"I'm not, baby. It will pass."

What feels like a stab to the abdomen suddenly shoots through me and I gasp, curling up in agony.

My canine sinks into my lip, only intensifying the pain.

"Oh, fuck," I mutter beneath my breath, vision going blurry.

Why is my body punishing me for not having sex?

I used to be punished near-constantly with the act of sex in the Blood Pack.

I can never catch a break.

Why am I finally having another heat, after all these years of its absence?

This must be a fluke.

A last ditch effort by my body to trick me into taking my mate back.

To make me believe I'm no longer infertile, just to rip the possibility of having Cyrus's pup away from me again.

There's no way I can get pregnant.

Going so long without a heat is a sentence to a barren womb.

With nothing to nurture it for so long, it cannot give life.

I squash the sprouts of hope like weeds.

To hell with this, I wish I'd pass out, rather than endure this nightmare called a heat.

Oliver abruptly stands up.

"I'm gonna get Cyrus. Something is really wrong with you."

I bolt up from the bed.

"No, Oliver. I told you, I'm fine."

His lower lip puffs out as he frowns.

"I don't like when you pretend you're okay. You need him. You never want to see him now and it's hurting you. I learned at school that being apart from your fated mate is bad."

"Please, I get it but..." he runs to the door.

"I'm sorry Mama. I have to do this..." before I can convince him otherwise, he's left the room.

If I tried to go after him, I imagine I'd make it two steps before falling into a useless heap on the floor.

Is this what I've come to?

A pathetic mother who makes his child needlessly worry after him?

I sling a shaky leg over the edge of the bed, cringing at how my pajamas stick to my skin with sweat.

I'm only wearing thin shorts and a light loose top, the latter plastered to my chest and putting my nipples on display.

I brush a hand over one, whimpering at the ache the touch induces, they're hard with arousal.

'I want Cyrus to suck on them with those full lips of his, suck and bite them hard until they're red and raw...' the door busts open, revealing the hulking silhouette of an Alpha illuminated by the candlelit hall.

It's grown dark outside already, so I can barely make out his features in the dim light of the lamp and moonshine from the window but I know it's him.

The immediate tensions that seeps into the air, taut between the two of us.

"Oliver told me you were ill," his voice is icy but underneath, I swear I hear a note of concern.

He's out of breath too, something that would only happen to a person as in-shape as he is if he came here the fastest he could or am I imagining things?

Perhaps the way I ruthlessly ripped his heart out a month ago has already significantly lessened his affection towards me.

He was the one letting Beau all over him.

I swallow nervously.

"Where is he? Where is Oliver?"

"He's with Morgan," he replies, taking one step further into the room and I nearly faint because the wondrous, masculine perfection that is his scent surrounds me and my defenses practically melt.

I take a big whiff, wanting to drown myself in it.

My wolf prompts a small whine from my mouth and I squeeze my thighs together as hard as I can in an effort to get any semblance of relief, of friction.

'Oh, fuck this. Why is the mere scent of him reducing me to this depravity?'

I don't know how much longer I'll be able to hold out... he shuts and locks the door hard behind him.

"But you're not sick, are you, Koa?" he stalks closer, strained features finally coming into the light.

His blue gaze rakes over me in hunger.

"You just need a good fucking," those vulgar words in that gruff, sexy tone of his are enough to have even more slick dripping from me.

"No... no..." I deny, face going red in humiliation.

From the way his nose flares as he takes a long breath in, he can smell how aroused I am.

What a stupid time to lie, there's no hiding your heat from an Alpha, from the Alpha 'meant' to claim it.

"Oh really?" he stops at the edge of the bed, looming over me.

I can only bite my lip at the large tent in his pants.

The urge to pull the waistband down and take him to the back of my throat is overpowering and I can only grip the blankets in restraint.

"You're saying," he tilts his head with the deadly grace of a predator, locking eyes with me.

"That you don't want me to spread those pretty legs of yours and pound you senseless with my cock?"

Just like that, all my efforts were for nothing because I'm moving before I'm even aware of it, clawing bedsheets out of my way to get to him.

I leap from the mattress, pouncing on him like a feral animal and he grunts from the impact but doesn't falter.

He takes me into his arms with eagerness, hands digging into my ass to pull me up against him, any semblance of control he had left completely snapping.

I attack his mouth with my own, moaning at the first taste after months.

Pine and rain and everything I've been missing.

It's a devastating clash of teeth and tongue as I let myself feast on the one thing I said I wouldn't.

'Cyrus. My Alpha. My mate. Mine. I want all of him. I need all of him, like nothing else.'

I'm writhing against him, fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt so hard that it rips beneath my nails.

I tear it from him, greedily exploring his heavenly torso with my hands and nearly cumming at the mere feeling of his smooth skin and the ridges of his beautifully defined muscles.

How can someone be built so perfectly, have a frame that sets off fireworks in my own, just by rubbing up against him?

Holding my entire body up with his left arm, the fingers of his right hand find the space between my legs and press into me through my shorts.

"Moon Goddess, you're soaking wet," he growls against my ear.

"Are you that desperate for it?"

"Yes. Yes..." I whimper, grinding down on his hand.

"I want... I 'need' cock."

"Fuck, you talking that way, when you already smell like this," he buries his face in my neck and takes a deep whiff.

"I could cum to your scent alone, little wolf."

I bite at his lip, sending a sultry, heat-fueled look up at him.

"I'd rather you do that inside me."

I only have to blink and he's pulling my sorry excuses for pajamas off one-handedly, snarling with impatience when the shorts get tangled around my ankle.

I whine at the delay and he takes his cue, moving us across the room in a few swift strides to pin me up against the wall, the delicious pressure of his bare body on mine sending a shiver up my spine.

"Koa."

He's laying into me with such ferocity I can barely breathe.

His hot tongue explores every corner of my mouth, sucking on my own as I moan into it, tears of frustrated want building in my eyes.

His cock is rock hard against my ass, rutting up between my cheeks but it's not enough.

I roll my hips down on him hard, as if to get him inside me.

I can't go another second without it.

"Please," I beg as he mouths at my neck, the feeling of canines grazing my skin only making me more needy for it.

He trails his tongue up my jaw.

"Please, what?" I nearly cry at the taunt in his voice.

"Put it in."

"Speak clearly," he orders.

"What is it that you want?"

I want to pull his hair in frustration but my wolf urges me to give in, whining to be bred.

"Fuck me, Alpha. Fuck me like I'm yours."

[spotsandsocks]

Love Is Transformational

Amazing cover art by @ronordmann thank you so much.

911 Halloween week Day 7 free choice (witches transformation and magic)

14.4K mature

Maddie Buckley has magic and while trying to help her brother something goes wrong leaving Buck completely transformed and in a precarious position. There’s only one person who can help her while she tries to fix things and get her brother back to the way he was. A story where Buck moves in with Eddie but not in the way Eddie ever hoped for, for one thing he’d hadn’t expected fur and whiskers to be involved. It’s a good job he likes cats.

Maddie Buckley was born with a secret she had to keep from the world, a little later she was given a secret she had to keep from her brother. 

Slowly her life became full of secrets but eventually things changed and some secrets were shared and others revealed. 

Maddie thinks she’s better at not keeping too many secrets these days but some things are still harder to share than others. Some things she still needs to keep hidden away. 

This may be one of them, her eyes fade from purple to brown as she looks down at the floor in horror at what’s happened.

This is a problem. A big one.

She expects her brother would agree with that assessment although he’s hardly in the position to express that right now. His blue eyes met hers and despite the unusual circumstances she can tell he’s unimpressed, but then who wouldn’t be?

This wasn’t supposed to have happened.  All she can do is drop to her knees and mutter her apologies. 

Maddie’s used to secrets but she doesn’t think she’s going to  be able to keep this one for very long. Chim will notice when he gets home. Bobby will notice when Buck can’t go into work tomorrow. Eddie will guess something is wrong when Buck’s constant stream of texts abruptly stops. 

So with limited time to fix it she spends the afternoon trying to correct what she’s done.  She fails over and over again. She tries until she’s exhausted and after the fourth time she has to rescue her brother from his niece she knows what she has to do. Where he needs to go while she sorts everything out, because this is fine, she can totally fix this. She just needs some more time.

Chim comes home and stares open mouthed as she explains what’s happened. He agrees she needs help and there’s only one person to go to, only one person Buck would want to be with right now. 

Which is why she’s on her way to Eddie’s house. 

The phone screen remains dark no matter how long he stares. He glares at it, resting there on his coffee table, taunting him. Eddie resists a few moments longer then scrubbing at his face he gives in. He picks it up and double checks that there are no new messages that he might have missed. It seems unlikely after all because he’s  been staring at the damn thing for the last five minutes.

There are no new messages. 

The phone goes down again accompanied by a weary roll of his eyes at his level of co dependency. One afternoon and evening of no texts from Buck and he’s worried and miserable.

He's being ridiculous, just because Buck hasn’t text him for hours doesn’t mean something’s wrong. That thought doesn’t stop him checking the phone one last time or prevent him from tossing it away with an irritated noise, annoyed with Buck for ignoring him and with himself for minding. 

Buck is probably just at the gym or at the store. There are any number of things he could be doing; maybe, Eddie thinks with a dark scowl he's on a date. 

If Buck’s getting lucky it would explain the radio silence. He hadn’t mentioned anything like that but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

Eddie is honest enough to admit to himself that he doesn’t enjoy the thought of Buck being on a date but on the other hand being on a date has never stopped Buck texting before so it’s still unusual not to hear from him.

Nibbling on the edge of a nail he tries to reassure himself. Nothing’s wrong. He’s just worrying needlessly. He should go to bed, he’ll see Buck at work tomorrow anyway. 

He takes three steps towards his bedroom when the abrupt knock at his front door startles him; his heart starts pounding, his current apprehension about Buck’s is putting him on edge. He approaches the door nervously, a knot already forming in his stomach. 

A quick glance at the time shows him it really is too late for casual visitors which means he’s not being paranoid, something’s happened and he braces himself for something bad, what he sees when he opens the door does absolutely nothing to settle his nerves.

“Maddie?” 

The sight of Buck’s sister on his doorstep generates a vicious spike of adrenaline in his blood, the desperate edge to his voice telegraphs his anxiety clearly.

“What’s happened? Is he ok?” 

He looks past her in the hopeful expectation of seeing Buck, although how he thinks Bucks 6ft frame is hiding being Maddie is anyone's guess. He’s so busy worrying that he doesn’t notice what she’s holding.

“Eddie don’t panic.” Maddie seems calm enough but the words make his heart sink, nothing good has even followed those words, they fall in the same category as ‘we need to talk.’

Unfortunately that’s what she says next.

“We need to talk, can I in come  in?

That’s when he notices it - the cat.

Maddie offers no explanation for the animal in her arms as she crosses the threshold into his home.

Now he’s noticed it, the cat captures his full attention. It’s large; ginger and white and it’s being held tightly to her body. The animal is looking right at him and as far as cats have expressions this one looks annoyed. He’s never seen a cat look annoyed or anything so identifiable before, outside of Chris’ cartoons. This one does though. 

Maddie says his name again, drawing  his attention back to her, “Eddie, Buck’s ok.”

The cat makes a loud noise and Maddie turns the animal slightly so she can glare at it.

“He’s fine.” she repeats firmly and with emphasis, if Eddie didn’t know better he’d say she was talking to the cat not him.

The cat makes a break for freedom, it twists and jumps out of her arms and lands neatly. It stalks across his floor and jumps up onto the couch where it turns and sits very still looking at them both. It’s very large for a cat and has blue eyes. Eddie finds himself and the cat staring at each other and Maddie has to say his name again to get his attention.

He drags his eyes back to her, the cat’s presence and unusual aura is distracting him,

“If he’s ok, why are you here?”

“Well” the pause is ominous “it’s a little bit complicated.” Maddie doesn’t quite meet his eye.

This time the cat makes a noise that sounds like  ‘prumph’. Eddie side eyes it and Maddie sighs. She rubs her hands together, her anxiety obvious, with another quick look at the cat she takes a deep breath and starts.

“So - Buck told you about us right?” 

She waits for confirmation, Eddie nods, he knows what she's alluding to. Buck told him months ago. It had been something of a shock although he thinks he handled it pretty well. 

“Yes, he said you're magical.”

Witches to be precise.

“He told me everything.”  His expression hardens then because he does know about them and not all of it had been good. Buck had indeed told him everything, saying he didn’t want any secrets between them. Buck had looked at him blue eyes wide and trusting and said he wanted Eddie to know the real him. Eddie had been touched by the level of faith Buck had in him. 

More explanation had followed that initial reveal; Buck apparently only had a little magic but Maddie’s talent was much stronger than his own. There were reasons for that and Eddie had not been impressed.

Buck had kept his eyes downcast as he explained why his magic was lesser than his sister’s, he’d been unable to look Eddie in the eyes as he spoke about it; the memory of Buck’s haltering explanation still made him furious. 

Eddie had listened in growing horror as Buck told him how his own parents had used him, drained the majority of his gift away in an effort to feed the spell meant to cure his older brother who had been dying. A spell that hadn’t even worked. 

Eddie feels the echos of the cold rage that had spread through him that day as Buck kept going with his story, explaining that until quite recently he had known nothing of the spell, that his parents had hidden what they’d done letting him think he was just born faulty, Buck’s word not his, letting him grow up thinking he was simply less magical, less gifted than his sister. 

Maddie’s not looking at him now, he knows she feels guilty for keeping all that hidden. Buck hadn’t even known he had a brother until last year. It had taken him a while to forgive her, Eddie’s impressed that he did it so quickly. 

Maddie’s eyes have drifted back to the cat. He wonders vaguely if it’s a witch thing, taking cats out when you go visiting.

Maddie takes a deep breath before telling the rest of her story. 

“Well, Buck and me, we were trying something today, we thought we’d found a way to… that maybe we might be able change…” she stops again, “well that doesn’t matter now but it went … wrong.” Her eyes peer up at him on the last word.

The cat meows again as it flops down on his couch. 

Eyes drawn by the movement Eddie notices it has markings on its face, white fur around one eye contrasting with the ginger. It’s left eye. 

His stomach clenches, an ominous feeling growing steadily, panic clawing through his veins.

“How wrong?”  He almost doesn’t recognise his own voice, it’s low and urgent, “Maddie what happened?” he demands, desperate for an answer. “Where’s Buck?”

She winces, then nose wrinkled up, mouth scrunched into a guilty moue, she looks at the cat. 

It takes a heartbeat to process what she’s trying to say and another to deny it before his whispered ‘No’ echoes round the silent room. She can’t mean…Eddie shakes his head and repeats his denial more firmly.

“No.” 

Maddie nods, biting on her lip. “It was an accident.”

The cat mewls sadly from its spot on the couch.

“You… you turned Buck into a cat?” It’s suddenly extremely hard to breathe. 

Her voice is small and apologetic “Kinda.”

“Kinda!?”  His voice in contrast to hers rises sharply then falls into an angry hiss  as he points at the couch “that’s a cat Maddie, an actual cat!” 

“I know,” she looks and sounds deeply puzzled “I don’t know what went wrong. We thought either it would work or it just wouldn’t. We didn’t expect… this.” she sighs “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

The cat yowls loudly, head twisted to the side, its eyes fixed on her in a hard stare.

Maddie frowns back, she steps closer, lowering her voice, “That wasn’t my fault and you know it.”  The cat goes “mrwrarr” and turns around. She folds her arms and mutters “anyway it was only a tail that time.” 

Eddie’s knees feel a little weak, sitting down seems wise. It’s a lot to process but Maddie’s last sentence has to be investigated. 

“You gave Buck a tail?”

She sits down opposite him, next to the cat. He can’t quite think of it as Buck yet.

“Yeah” her voice reflects the awkwardness of the fact, Eddie can’t really imagine the kind of apologies that go with giving your brother a tail.

“It was just once but he’s never let me forget it.” She glares at the cat who's now ignoring her, “he had to miss Junior prom, he was so mad with me.”

Eddie can't help thinking Buck might have had some justification for that.

“Mom and Dad kept him off school for a month. Which I personally think was an overreaction, the tail only lasted two weeks.” Maddie sounds a little defensive about the whole thing. Eddie decides to keep his opinions to himself. 

Then he registers what she said, two weeks - his eyes widen in shock, that can’t be right. 

“Is he going to be stuck like this for two weeks?” 

“No” she scoffs dismissively, then deflates “well… probably not, a few days, maybe? Possibly a bit longer?”

Eddie’s heart sinks with every word she utters; he wishes she sounded more convincing. 

Maddie plasters a smile on her face “I’m going to ask around for some advice, look for a way to reverse  it but I’m sure it'll just wear off by itself.”  

He listens unsure who she’s trying to convince him or  herself. Or maybe it’s the cat. 

The cat: aka Buck. He’s sitting perfectly still on the couch, staring unblinking at his sister. He looks unimpressed, it seems like a fairly typical expression for a cat. 

“So you’re sure it's not permanent.” He’d like a guarantee but he’s not getting one. Maddie remains silent. 

The cat turns his furry little head when Eddie speaks and the sapphire gaze is focused on him like a laser beam. His breath catches because there’s more than a cat looking back at him.

“Buck?”

The cat meows at him and Eddie suddenly believes, not that he thought Maddie was lying but he suddenly knows in his bones that the cat is Buck. 

Maddie still hasn’t answered him and she’s taking far too long for Eddie’s peace of mind. He prompts a response.

“You are sure he’ll turn back  aren’t you?”

Her response lacks the conviction he’d like to hear, she doesn’t quite mask the wobble in her quiet  ‘Yes.”

“Maddie?”  His own voice is thick with concern, she needs to do better than that if she expects him to believe her.

She tries again. This time her voice is bright and confident.

“Of course it’s not permanent” but she doesn’t look him in the eye when she says it.

Eddie gulps in more air, he’s feeling dizzy, fighting the growing panic inside him. It can’t be permanent. That’s just not an option. Random thoughts flit across his mind and one suddenly sticks, “What about work? He can’t just not show up.” 

“Chimney’s going to tell Bobby tomorrow, they’ll put him on medical leave.” So Bobby must also know about Buck and Maddie then. 

Eddie wonders how Bobby will fill in those particular forms, absent due to having whiskers and a tail? Unable to work because paws aren’t compatible with fire fighting equipment? He stops that train of thought, he’s getting distracted, his mind trying to focus on anything that’s not the cat still staring at him.

“Can he stay with you?” Maddie’s still talking to him “ I can’t leave him alone and I know this is where he’d feel safest.”

“Really?” that slips out in a tone that reveals how pleased he is that Maddie thinks his home is Buck’s safe space. She definitely notices and he finds himself at the other end of her penetrating and knowing gaze.

Buck's sister smiles at him kindly “Of course. He loves being here with you and Chris. I never hear the end of how wonderful you are. How much he… ” the cat head-buts her hard, she turns to him with an innocent sounding “What?” And Eddie’s heard that tone from his own sisters. 

More yelping and mewling from his newly furry friend has her rolling her eyes. 

Maddie says “Don’t be silly, of course not.” and scratches him behind the ear, there’s a small purr and he assumes that means Buck’s getting what he wants. 

Eddie looks at the cat then back at Maddie “Can you understand him?

Maddie wiggles her head from side to side in a noncommittal fashion, ”Well he’s talking in cat and I’m listening in human so there’s definitely a communication barrier but I get the general sense, I think the spell links us a bit which helps and… “ she says, eyes dropping to the cat whose now cleaning his ear with a paw, “ I do know my brother quite well.”

The cat finishes washing and jumps down. He moves to sit on the floor by Eddie’s feet. When he gets no attention he rams his head into his leg. Eddie’s hand twitches but is it appropriate to smooth Buck when he’s a cat? It’s a dilemma, God knows he’s had ideas about running his fingers through Buck’s hair when his best friend is human shaped but  he doesn’t ever give in to those thoughts does he so he denies himself the impulse to reach out now. 

That means he has to ignore the insistent pushing against his leg. He refuses to look down, keeps his eyes on Maddie. She looks like she’s trying not to smile.

Buck stops nudging him and sits again with a grumpy little mrrrrph. A quick glance downwards shows him an upturned face still waiting expectantly.

The glance is obviously enough of an invitation for Buck because the cat, (think of him as a cat, Eddie tells himself), jumps and four paws land on his lap, that’s quickly followed by a pink nose and a head rubbing against his chest. 

Cat Buck obviously has an agenda and he’s a weak man, he’s always liked cats anyway, he can’t be expected to resist this one. If Buck instigates it, it must be ok  right? 

He finds his hand stroking the cat's head which only encourages the furry little beast. Its purring becomes louder. 

“Can he understand us? He asks Maddie.

He asks the cat too. “You getting any of  this buddy?”

The cat mews back which might be an answer, it’s hard to tell.

Maddie’s response this time is slower, “I think he understands, not as much as a human but definitely more than a regular cat.” 

Something flashes behind her eyes, something she’s not saying. There’s a brief glimpse of a worried crease on her forehead but he blinks and it’s gone. He’s about to ask but cat Buck bumps his head against Eddie’s chest again and he's distracted.

A few more moments pass as he fusses the cat.

“Maddie, this isn’t just a bad joke is it?” It’s his last hope and Maddie dashes it.

“No, I'm afraid not.”

“How are you so calm?” The words burst out “Does this sort of thing happen a lot?” 

“No Eddie” she sounds unimpressed, “ people turning into cats does not happen a lot, even if I am a witch.” 

She stands then with a heavy sigh, “look I need to go, get in touch with those people as soon as I can.” The unreadable look crosses her face again “the sooner we get him back the better.”

He nods “He’ll be safe here until he turns back.” 

She smiles again “I know.”

She turns to go but the nagging doubt is still there so he calls out after her, 

“Maddie?” she turns, “there’s… there’s nothing else I should know, right?”

She smiles at him and Eddie thinks it's just a little too bright, too cheerful to be real.

“Of course not” 

He wishes he believed her.

Maddie sighs heavily as she leaves her brother behind with his best friend and the man she suspects he’s in love with. It’s the best place for him but she feels terrible. 

They’d been trying to reactive his magic and it had gone so horribly wrong she can scarcely process it.

She’s heard about transformations like this a few times and the stories aren’t giving her a lot of hope.

She turns the key and starts the car. She has a lot to do and not much time before she might not be able to fix this at all. 

The only stories she’s heard have ended with the transformation becoming permanent if the person doesn’t change back within a few weeks. 

She adds that secret to the others she’s kept over the years and drives away. 

Eddie sighs, Maddie’s gone and he’s alone with his best friend.

His best friend who's currently a cat. This was not how he was expecting his day to end.

Buck jumped off his lap when Maddie got up to leave, he followed her to the door and Eddie let them have a private goodbye. He’s straightening up cushions for something to do when he turns and finds himself under the scrutiny of those eerily familiar blue eyes. 

Buck makes a very handsome feline. His lips twitch, of course he does. If Buck got turned into a pumpkin he’d probably win best squash in show.

Eddie laughs out loud at the thought, god, he might just be a tiny bit hysterical. This is utterly ridiculous. He looks down, brown eyes meeting blue as they so often do but this time it’s so very different. 

He’s worried and scared for his friend. Maddie hadn’t been particularly reassuring about how long this would last and he can’t shake the feeling she hasn’t told him something. 

Buck mews to capture his attention, he can’t imagine being a cat is Buck’s idea of a good time. He rubs at his eyes, feeling stressed. How are they going to do this?

He crouches down to talk to him, “Hi there.” 

Cat Buck blinks at him slowly.

“You know I was worried about you tonight. Knew something was wrong.”

All Buck has to say about that is ‘mrrrwarawr’ which is of minimal help.

Eddie reaches out a tentative hand and Buck sniffs at him then rubs his head against his fingers. Eddie sighs,“This is not good, Buck. Not good.”

The cat stands and butts his head against  the outstretched fingers more enthusiastically, looking for ear scratches that he quickly receives. 

“You know this is weird right?” Buck makes a quiet meep as he sits back down on the floor. “Really weird.”

Cats can’t shrug so that’s not what happens but his new house guest tries anyway, shoulders shift strangely.

“Glad you agree” he says wryly blowing out another heavy puff of air, then the practicalities of the situation occur to him and grateful for something to do he stands and says “You  hungry? Think I’ve got some chicken you can have.” 

Buck perks up at that and making a significant amount of noise that Eddie can only assume is agreement heads towards the kitchen with a happy bounce in his step. 

Eddie watches him go, the fact that the cat heads straight to the kitchen is just more proof it really is Buck. He shakes his head and follows him, they’ll get through this, strange as it is. They always do. 

Read from Chapter 3