#and that was enough for him to do a silly little cartwheel into my heart | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lxstfuleclipse · 2 years ago

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HIIII can i request general luis hcs… sfw and nsfw if possible… i love him so much omg

【 luis sera headcanons 】

【 content warning!! gn!reader, flirting, kissing and mentions of, intimate touching + mutual pining, innuendos. choking mentions, and other nsfw stuff under the cut!! enjoy! 】

SFW HC.

You were Leon’s best friend along with being partners on the mission to rescue the president’s daughter: Ashley Graham.

Meeting Luis was.. an adventure, to say the least. You weren’t quite sure of his intentions at first nor what exactly his role was in everything, but he did have a way with words.

“Oh? I didn’t think an angel would come to my rescue. I must already be in heaven.” - The first thing to come out of his big mouth after you ripped off the tape, which also made Leon roll his eyes as you felt the heat rise in your cheeks.

Speaking of big mouth, he never shuts up about you. You’ve somehow captured his heart and wanted yours in return.

He loves to make you flustered, especially when he catches you off guard with his flirting. Not only does it feed his little ego, but he just loves how shy you get when you try to laugh it off and playfully shove him.

THAT. SMIRK. enough to make your stomach do cartwheels, and if he were to look you up and down WHILE SMIRKING?? instant puddle, you no longer have a physical body.

When you have the courage to start returning the favor, he’s SHOOK.

“How beautiful you are, amor. If we weren’t within the throes of danger, I’d make the night much more.. enjoyable.”

“Oh, really? Then you wouldn’t mind giving me a thorough demonstration right? Just a little taste then?”

LUIS.EXE HAS STOPPED WORKING.

His jaw is on the floor, eyes wide, and heart POUNDING. You’ve done it, you’ve started the war.

There was one time where you watched him play around with that lighter, flicking it back and forth between his fingers. You’d see a small flame before he’d click it closed, repeating the process.

You never knew it, but he knew you were watching. That smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he chuckled.

“Like what you see, eh? I can do more with my hands than silly tricks, tesoro.”

“Oh, yeah? Would they make a good necklace?” You respond, a smirk on your face as you giggle, skipping down the trail as he stands absolutely SHOCKED.

He’s stuttering, cheeks hot as hell as he tries to laugh it off but he just can’t help but be more drawn to you now.

He loves it when you laugh at his jokes, or listen so closely to his outlandish stories. He just loves your attention and company, your smiles and laughter are his sweet reward.

He’s probably a stoner-

He’s such a gentleman too, like chivalry has NEVER died for this man. He opens doors for you, pulls out your chair, gives you flowers randomly, etc. He’s just BOYFRIEND.

“Ah, ah. Please, allow me.” He says, helping you get into or out of anything.

He likes keeping you close, it makes him feel happier when he knows you’re safe. His hand is always set low on your hip, or on your lower back.

He’s a morning person, ripping open curtains and laughing when you hiss from the sudden blast of light entering the room. But, when you’ve been really tired from long and exhausting missions, he makes you breakfast in bed and holds you while you both watch tv.

This man is a dancer, he can get DOWN. He’s the life of every party and the night always ends with him drunk off his ass that’s gonna result in the worst hangover in the morning.

I think Luis is a good singer. He hums random little tunes when he’s bored, but absolutely kills karaoke nights.

When you’re down, he always sings to you while you sit in his lap while he holds you so tight. Sometimes, he’ll pick you up and slow dance with you while he sings along to the record.

He loves cooking, he can throw down in the kitchen if he wanted to. You’re always the one to get first bite.

“How does it taste? Good? Perfect. .”

He definitely has his regrets, especially when it came to his involvement in Los Illuminados. He felt like a monster for so long, so many people either dying or succumbing to the parasites invading them. He wishes he could turn back time, but he can’t do anything but atone for his sins.

He’s so happy that you chose him. Every day, he shows you his gratitude and his love. He loves you more than the essence of life, and would do anything for you. You didn’t care for his past, just that you knew he was remorseful of what he’s done. That’s all you need to know that. . he still had a heart. A damn good one too.

NSFW HC.

He’s VOCAL. He always wants you to know how good you’re being for him. He’ll whimper, moan, groan, that man ain’t planning on closing that mouth. . unless you make him.

He loves to dominate you, but also doesn’t mind letting you take the lead.

He’s such a fucking sub when it’s your turn to be in control. He’s always begging for more of your touch, nothing is ever enough. Such a greedy little thing.

You know he’s really into it when he starts to trail in and out of Spanish. But, it makes you melt every time.

He’s a foreplay god, don’t play. He loves to tease, just to hear you start to lose your mind from it.

His hands on your waist, trailing up to gently grip your chest before slowly wrapping one hand around your throat as the other grips at your ass. All while he whispers sweet nothings in your ear, a soft chuckle leaving him when he sees how quickly you fall into subspace.

“Such a desperate little thing, no? It’s cute how easily you give into me. How badly do you want me, bebé?”

Child, you’re in for a RIDE.

He loves it when you mark him. By morning, you’re both covered in hickies and bite marks. He loves to show them off, proud to be yours.

“Oh? These? Heh, you could say I’ve had.. a pretty rough night.” (emphasis on the rough, ya nasty)

He’s a KING at oral, he’s never left anyone unsatisfied and he’s upping his game just for you. He loves eating you out.

His hands gripping your thighs as he keeps your legs spread for him, slurping you up until you’re seeing stars from how good he’s been putting that big mouth to real good use. What drives you really crazy is when he reaches up to wrap his hand around your pretty little neck while drinking up every bit of you, not stopping until he’s had his fill.

Sit on his face and you’re never getting up. He pulls you down for a proper seat, sucking and licking away as he

Loves it when you pull his hair, he lets out the most unholiest of groans. He smirks at you before pressing you against the nearest surface and taking you again.

If you choke him back, he’s gonna become either a whimpering mess or he’ll take it as a challenge, smirking as he grinds his hips harder and deeper into you.

“Oh, it’s like that, huh? I have just the remedy for that…”

He gives those soul- snatching kisses that’ll leave you weak in the knees. He loves leaving you eager for more. Every makeout sessions ends up with you both gasping for air, your lips aching but your body aches harder.

Not a big fan of the hardcore stuff, though he’s willing to try anything once. But, he’ll tie you up and spank you any day. Be a brat if you want to, you’ll find out the hard way.

He also adores just the slow and passionate nights where emotions are high, and all you want is to be together. Your bodies intertwined in a forbidden dance. His hands gripping your own above your head as he rolls his hips into yours, your sounds of pleasure fueling his passion for you.

His aftercare is so comforting. He always checks on you, making sure that he wasn’t being too hard on you or making you ache too bad. He always cleans you up so carefully, knowing how sensitive you are now. He smiles every time you gasp as the damp towel comes into contact with your aching core.

“Sensitive, mi amor? Don’t worry.. I’ll be gentle.” Is he trying to kill you? IS HE??

He holds you into his arms, giving you whatever you need. He tells you how good you were for him, how good you made him feel, and how deeply in love he is with you.

�� REBLOGS ARE APPRECIATED!! 】

#x black!reader #resident evil x reader #resident evil x black!reader #luis sera x reader #luis sera headcanons #this man is gonna be the death of me #luis sera x black!reader #luis sera #re4 smut #resident evil

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lightsaberupmybutt · 4 years ago

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A friendly massage - Luke Skywalker x Reader

Part two is here!

Summary: The reader is Lukes Padawan and gets into an unfortunate (yet humorous) mishap during training that leads them into receiving a necessary massage from a certain blonde jedi. Someone gets a little too excited by the contact, ending in a awkward Luke ™

Warnings: PG15, no smut but mention of smut, awkward boner woops

Look, this wasn't suitable to be written on my twilight imagines page OR my peaky blinders page (for obvious reasons i guess) so I'm making this and leaving it here and if you read it, on your head be it.

For the most part, the life as a Padawan to the most renowned jedi was a thrilling experience. The training course of Luke Skywalker was one destined to end in success. However, standing between you and this end goal was an intensive regime of training and body conditioning that, quite honestly, made you want to pack it all in and move as far away from the blonde warrior as the physical universe you so happened to live in would allow. Some days you felt like your bond with your master was so strong that you would trust him with your life and risk yours to save his; other times you wished you could use all the force you could muster to choke the dear life out of the cocky little brat. Today was sadly an example of latter.

“And you promise i wont fall” this was your 4th time of asking, and you still weren't completely sure that what you were being told was truthful,

“Of course you wont fall, stop being silly” Luke had a bashful smile as he reaffirmed the idea you didn't believe he actually had any faith in.

Balance training was apparently key to being a good fighter, although the idea of you leaning how to do a cartwheel felt less how to be a warrior jedi and more how to entertain Luke in his fourth hour of training you of the day.

“i can literally sense that you are lying "

“No you can’t" he was right, you couldn’t - but equally you could deduce from your failed previous attempts that the odds were not in your favour.

“What if i just did a handstand against the wall? “ You had mastered the art of handstands due to a previous episode of Luke’s manic boredom.

Luke sent a tut your way, his lips slipping into a goofy sideways smirk.

“i think, young Padawan, you are significantly underestimating the importance of agility in a one on one combat situation” he walked around you in circles, in mock thoughtfulness.

“I suppose you aren’t quite serious enough about your future as a Jedi” he continued, making you groan in annoyance.

“And whats the next key lesson? how to do the splits? a twirl?” you snapped; Luke was fun to be around and you'd be lying if you said a part of you didn't look forward to these times you were given alone together, but that didn't mean he couldn't piss you off.

“a Twirl is actually lesson ten, you're nowhere near ready for the twirl Y/N” he quipped back, letting out a little giggle at his own joke.

You had been around Luke for over a year now, long enough to grow more affection to him than an apprentice should to their master, however this laugh that would normally make your heart and lower stomach flutter was having the opposite effect on you today.

Training sessions had recently started to take a less serious turn with Luke, which you thought to be a good thing at first. Luke could make you laugh very easily, and sometimes his jokes and elaborate tasks he would set for you were the only sense of joy you got in your day. You truly appreciated Luke for his carefree and wholesome jokey outlook in a place full of seriousness and rule.

However, the proposition of an low level gymnastics competition while you are already drenched in sweat and bruises from your previous hours of fight training made your affectionate disposition toward the Jedi leak out of your ears.

“Fine and then will you fuck off so i can get the smell of your sweat out my nose?”

Luke stepped back, holding his hands in mock defence and clearing an area for you to preform.

Shaking off a little, you got into the position of a dramatic cartwheel and then attempted to flip your hands to the ground and kick your feet over.

Of course, you ended up on the floor with a bang and a yelp.

“y/n! are you okay” Luke was at your side as if he'd just seen you take a bullet, eyes full of worry.

“i fucking hate this place” You managed to whimper out, stroking the back of your neck where you connected with the floor.

As soon as Luke realised you were indeed not suffering from any life alternating injuries he let out a belly laugh, clutching his gut and rolling back on the floor.

“I dont know what the fuck is so funny, i nearly broke my neck”

“You should have seen yourself !”

By the time Luke managed to gather himself together enough to stop laughing and take a proper breath, you were still staring at him in disbelief and sheer anger. At one time, falling over or tripping in front of your master would send you into a cloud of humiliation, but now you knew Luke well enough to know he put you into this kind of situation for his pure amusement alone. This enraged you.

“Fine, well now that you've had your fun ill take my leave, Master” You would only pull out his true label of authority over you when you wanted to taunt the Jedi, who always seemed to blush and fumble over his words after the use of the title. Like always, Luke was left stunned with an unreadable look on his face as you pushed yourself up and waltzed out of the combat room.

A few hours had passed and after a meal and a shower you had fallen into a nap on your bed. When waking from said slumber, you noticed the pain in your neck had returned and was now accompanied with shooting pains down your whole spine. With a grimace, you chucked on your cloak and slippers and made your way to the medical room, Only getting to your own door before bumping into the one and only Jedi Master.

“You” You shot at him, pointing an accusatory finger in his direction,

“Me?” he asked back, looking genuinely shocked and maybe even a little scared.

“Your fucking antics have got me in a disabled position” you told him, crossing your arms in a defensive position. He snatched the back of his head, attempting to look sincere, but you could see the gleam in his eye as he tried not to laugh. “Hey I'm sorry okay” when you neither break eye contact or accept his apology, he continues

,“Is there anything i can do? can i get you a heat pad or something”

You're not sure where the idea came from, maybe the need for your pain to dull or the hue left from the repetitive sexual fantasy dreams Luke had appeared in of yours lately, but before you could stop yourself the proposition was already out your mouth.

“I think i deserve a massage”However shocked you were by your boldness, Luke’s face conveyed that he felt that ten times over. The boy openly gaped at you.

“I .. i …erm i … y y yer sure i erm” He splutter off into nothing, his eyes darting around to avoid making contact with yours,

“I guess .. i guess i can” he trailed off again.

Without a word you backed up into your room, Luke following and closing the door behind him. You plopped onto your bed, trying to not let your body protray just how excited and nervous you were at the idea of him touching you. Of course you’d had contact with Luke in training and even shared the odd hug here and there, but this was a different matter all together, a level of intimacy you hadn’t crossed into until now.

Luke was still standing at the door, looking the most lost you’d ever seen him. You looked over at him from your place on the bed,

“Okay so I guess this is happening” you heard him mutter, as he finally found his feet and stumbled over to your bed. You let out a giggle, finding your voice again,

“I don’t think even you can reach from other there, Skywalker” you teased him, as he gave you a cautious smile in response. He climbed up onto your bed with you, taking another few seconds to compose himself before slinging a leg over your back and straddling your lower body. You put your face back into the bed, the nervousness slowly seeping away and being replaced with humour with a side of sexual tension. Luke looked around the room, trying to find something to make eye contact with that wasn’t your bum that was now pressed to his lower half. You felt him shift again, as if he was trying to get comfortable from an angle that didn’t mean his lower region was touching your rear.

“You know you don’t have to do this right “ your words were muffled ever so slightly from the pillow you were resting your face on, but from this close proximity you knew he would hear, he quickly replied “no it’s fine, I want to” his voice cracked a little on the second half, and you could hear the strain in his words, making you smirk. Yer so maybe you hadn’t planned this, but it wasn’t exactly not fun to have him all flustered on your bed with you.

He surprised you with his next move, his automatic reaction of pulling your cloak down softly from your shoulders, his machincal arm a cooler temperature than you expected, causing you to shiver.

“I erm, is this okay” he said, feeling your body move under his,

“Yer it’s fine Luke , thanks” you replied, maybe a little too fast, as he continued to lower you cloak. When you felt him let out a soft moan, you were reminded that you indeed had not much Underneath, only dressing yourself in your garments after your shower. This forgotten piece of information made your heart drum again in your chest, the anticipation of skin on skin causing warmth between your upper thighs.

He started to move his good hand against your skin, a little too cautiously for your liking. His touch was feather like, but it still sent shocks through your spine, not exactly the healing kind but shocks all the same.

“You can go a little harder than that if you want” you didn’t realise the connotations of your words until you heard Luke let out a breathy exhale, you felt him readjust his legs again in a futile attempt to try and distance his lower half from you for a second time. His hands returned to your back, but with more pressure this time, kneeding your skin and searching for tension between your muscles. You let out a soft moan of appreciation as he found a spot that had previously been in pain, and he moved his legs again, shifting himself. You decided to ignore it though, not wanting to risk him stopping. He continued to rub circles into your back, gradually building higher and higher. The annoyance of his incessant wriggling was almost at a point you felt you needed to address it, but before the words came out your mouth he moved higher towards your neck, being forced to push his body flush against yours again, and you felt a hard buldge dig into your back. Your head whipped round in reaction and you were met with a look of shock equal to your own as you both made eye contact and then drifted your gaze down to the offending area of The Jedis anatomy. When your eyes met Luke’s face once more he was looking away, but you could see even in the dimly lit room the pink blush that peppered his cheeks and the embarrassment on his face. When he looked back he caught you staring again at his not-quite-concealed erection, making him release a sign that came out as more of a whimper

“I’m sorry” he stuttered, guilt heavy in his soft voice, but you didn’t even hear him, completely taken aback and equally aroused by the sight of him. Even with his trousers and cloak on, neither did much to hide the sizeable package. Luke came out of the daze before you did, removing his body from yours and not very gracefully dismounting the bed, getting his foot caught in one of your legs as he did so causing him to stumble back.

“Y/N I erm... shit I’m sorry I ..” it honestly didn’t matter that he was struggling with his words because right now you didn’t have the brain capacity to listen, too busy trying to remove your eyes from his private area.

“Stop looking at him” Luke whinged, sounding like a little boy who was in a strop because he had just been found coping his homework. You finally managed to move your eyes back to his face, which was covered in a thin layer of sweat and the deepest blush you’d ever seen on the Jedi. You couldn’t help it, the tension that had been building all evening plus the expression he held caused you to burst into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. Luke grumbled, feeling the most humiliated he ever had and covered his area with his hands, shifting awkwardly towards your door and letting himself out. Before the door fully closed you managed to compose yourself enough to get out between giggles,

“See you tomorrow morning for training yer?”

His groan of irritation and tension was audible enough to reach you through the closed door, causing your laughing fit to resume.

#luke skywalker #Luke skywalker x reader #luke skywalker imagine #luke skywalker smut #Star Wars #Star Wars imagine #Star Wars preference #Star Wars headcannon #anakin imagine #padawan #reader insert

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slashmebois · 4 years ago

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Distraction

“Heyyy I wanted to ask for a mini fic of vincent getting distracted form his work by a goofy S/O who wants his attention. He's just precious and deserves a precious S/O who's obsessed with him. 🥺🥺🥺 Thank you! 🖤”

This is such a cute idea!! I had such a fun time writing this one. Thank you so much for this request <3 Credit to @thesightstoshowyou for their banjo headcanon for Bo

Vincent was used to people interrupting him. Bo was his main antagonist, tending to require some form of medical attention after each chase. Sometimes Bo would come down to the basement just to nitpick Vincent’s process as he worked with helpful phrases such as “Wouldn’t have done that” and “Is it supposed to look like that”.

Lester wasn’t much better when he was around. Vincent would ask for a moment to wrap up his work, and whilst Lester had the best of intentions- his mouth often got away from him. “Oh man Vince, you’ve gotta see this cool skull I picked up today”, “Vince, you won’t believe what these city slickers said to me”. But Vincent could listen and continue working on his sculptures and paintings regardless. Or he had been able to at least.

Recently he found himself more and more distracted by you. You had rocked up into town a few months ago and wasted no time in making their affections for him clear (once he had saved you from his brothers’ murderous grasps). He was of course smitten with you, the way you talked, the way you looked, the way your smile crept onto your face. By his standards you were a walking piece of art, too beautiful to remain stationery.

So, he had tried to reciprocate your feelings, although he was not bold enough to outright say “hey I’m in love with you, I’d follow you to the ends of the earth. Is that cool with you?” and honestly it would be a mouthful coming from the guy who mostly communicated using ASL and the occasional spoken word. But still, he couldn’t figure out the right way to express himself and every time he started to let himself melt into his work and try to figure it out, you were in the corner of his vision and every logical thought he had died.

But even more than that, he was starting to think you were actively trying to distract him, although he couldn’t quite put a finger on why…

---

You have been trying for days to get Vince to take a break from his work so you can initiate operation date time. But oh man is it hard. Okay sure, he’s starting to take longer to finish his projects, but that is not what you want. You don’t want to slow his process down you just want to spend time with him away from this boiling basement.

The first few days you would just stand at his side and ask about what he was doing and sure he paid attention to you but he kept working. The next few days had been a series of you singing loudly along to his classical opera in shrill tones, before switching the radio over to some popular tunes and repeating. Vincent had eventually got up, and you thought you’d done it, but then he just switched the radio back to classical as you pouted at him. Besides that, you had tried baking for him, reading aloud from a book, playing a very old, out of tune banjo you found (probably Bo’s but you doubted he knew how to play), and doing cartwheels. The last one had spooked Vincent into getting up and catching you, and worriedly dangling you from his arms in mid-air whilst he looked pointedly towards the large boiling pot of wax.

You are just about out of ideas so you go to the only people you can rely on for information on how to distract Vincent- Bo and Lester.

You find Bo in the garage and yell out to him. His hackles rise and he turns round with a gritted smile,

“Please, don’t do that. This was a respectful town before you came along”

You stick your tongue at him and he rolls his eyes, “What do you want? Actually. Let me guess, it has something to do with Vincent hmm?”

You mock gasp, “how did you know, are you a psychic!?!”

He laughs, “Nope, just full o’ shit. C’mon, spit it out already.”

“Well, how would you go about distracting Vincent?”

“I hope you’re not distracting him from his vital work here y/n” you give him puppy dog eyes and he sighs, “alright, alright. I guess he works hard enough. I dunno, play some loud music?”

“Tried that already, what else you got”

“Uhh, have you tried injuring yourself”

“Th…that is the worst idea”

“Alright, okay. No need to get mean. OH!” his loud exclamation makes you jump a little, “how about ruining one of his paintings. That would definitely get his attention”

You fix him a look, “whose side are you even on?”

“My own, do you have to ask? Anyway, that’s all I got- take it or leave it” he waves you off and turns back to…well whatever it is he does in his spare time, don’t know, don’t care.

You groan, you were definitely leaving those ideas alone. You should have known Bo wouldn’t be much help. You start seeking out the other brother in the hopes that they’ll have a better idea.

Lester is at the edge of town on the other side of the flooding, sat on the back of his truck petting Jonesy.

“Hey Les!”

He looks up and smiles, waving to you, “You stay there, I’ll come over to you. Wouldn’t want you getting your pretty clothes all dirty!”

He hops over, Jonesy in arms and sets her down on the other side. Lester smells about as good as usual, but hell you’ve actually got used to it by now, and you know his job is important so who are you to complain.

“Well hello (miss/sir), what can I help you with today”

“Well I was wondering Les, you know any good ways to distract Vincent. I asked Bo, but his ideas were all dumb”

Lester cackles, “well of course they were, Bo’s just a pretty face when it comes down to it”, you laugh along with him, “Hmm, lemme have a think”

Lester looks around, as if searching for inspiration. His eyes light up, “How about showing his some sorta collection? I show him my knives sometimes, wanna see?”

“Not right now Lester, I’m on a mission. But maybe tomorrow? But that’s actually a pretty decent idea. What else you got, hit me?”

Lester looks a little uncertain.

“Don’t actually hit me Les, it’s a saying”

He looks relieved, “riiight, right. I knew that. Okay, idea number two coming up”, his eyes close tightly shut and he makes a strained noise, “ooh ooh ooh!!! Craft something for him!! I helped him craft those knives he has and he looooves those”

“Lester, you are so much better at this than Bo. Thank you, thank you!!” you grab him in a hug in the excitement, promptly remembering the smell but then deciding fuck it- nothing a shower won’t fix.

As you head off, Jonesy follows you and Lester motions at you to take her with you. You head back to the house feeling pretty positive. You have some pretty seashells and rocks in a box from various visits to places in your room. Once you’re home you head up and grab the box before heading back down to Vincent.

“Hey Vince, how’s it going?”

He pauses and looks over to give you a thumbs up. You sit on a stool nearby and a take a deep breath before giving your newest plan a go.

“I was just thinking about some trips I went on where I got these cools shells, look at this one, it’s…” you drivel on and Vincent does falter for a moment but keeps his resolve.

Unbeknownst to you, Vincent has a sinking feeling in his stomach. Oh god. You wanted to leave. Why else would you be talking to him about all these trips. Your words were no longer reaching his ears as he could feel the guilt eating away at him. His stomach churned, how was he supposed to fix this. His hands kept moving on autopilot but he’s not really paying attention. It’s not long before his hand slips whilst crafting a nose. He grunts frustrated with himself.

Vincent’s grunt interrupts you, and you trail off the end of a sentence thinking he’s annoyed with you. You look up at him from your box and realise the nose of his latest sculpture is looking pretty wonky. So much for distracting him. All you’ve done is fuck up his work.

“Sorry” you mumble, but he’s too focused on fixing the mistake to hear you.

You sigh and put down your box of shells, walking over to where Jonesy has placed herself. You grab an easel and some paints and lie down next to her, passing time with a fingerpainting project.

Vincent fixes the nose, breathing in relief when it forms properly under his hands. He’s about to gesture to it to show you that VIOLA! He fixed it, but he realises you’re no longer on the stool, the only sign of you the discarded box of shells and rocks. He dejectedly reaches towards it, looking carefully over them. Maybe he should let you go. You clearly loved exploring and this town wouldn’t allow for much of that. His dark thoughts start to descend on him but a warm giggle interrupts him and he glances over to your new location. He nearly gasps at how full his heart is at the sight before him.

Jonesy, not happy with no one paying attention to her, has walked through your paint palette and onto the easel to lick at your face. You laugh and push at her,

“What are you doing? Silly girl. Guess it’s a collaboration piece now!”

The dog ignores any protests and continues to try to grab your attention. Vincent struck by the view makes his way over and kneels, ruffling Jonesy’s ears and glancing towards you.

You look up at him, a little shocked, before smiling wide.

“About time you took a break Vince”

He cocks his head to the side, but lies on his belly with you, looking you deeply in your eyes.

And then he splats a hand in the paint and onto the easel before you can track what the heck he’s doing.

You laugh in surprise, “Oh, really? You wanna be a part of this collaboration?” You gather paint on the tip of your index finger, “that can be arranged” you flash him a cheeky grin and lunge towards him, trying to land the paint on him.

Vincent dodges out the way last minute and thus starts a game of cat and mouse round the house. And Vincent swears he can’t imagine a time when laughter filled the house this much.

#vincent sinclair #vincent sinclair x reader #sfw #house of wax #bo sinclair #lester sinclair #slasher #slashers

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heathered-beinn · 3 years ago

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BangtanTV Youtube Vids 4

130217 SUGA (feat.RAP MONSTER) - YouTube Suga’s Log 17/02/13 (UK date)

So this is Suga’s first log! I love that fluffy black hat he’s wearing!! Obviously the heating is still not great in the studio since he’s also bundled up in a thick jacket ☹ I don’t have much else to muse about for this this video as it’s pretty short and not much happens or is talked about. It’s mostly Suga trying to make a log but laughing and complaining at Rapmonster constantly distracting him in the background. They obviously get on well both as colleagues and friends and it’s nice to see the two of them messing around having fun. So far they have tended to be the quieter, more serious, members of the band so I love seeing them act in a silly manner. I also look forward to hearing more from Suga in the future when RM isn’t distracting him!

흔한 연습생의 Harlem shake.avi - YouTube흔한 연습생의 Harlem shake.avi - YouTube

WTF did I just watch lol?????

The first time we see so many of them together on their official YT channel and it’s 20 seconds of chaotic WTF are you doing ridiculousness. Six of them – not sure who is who except RM and probably Jimin doing the headstand on the couch and maybe Jungkook in red – doing random things to the beat of Harlem Shake. Okkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkay Moving on ROFL

130206 RAP MONSTER FREESTYLE - YouTube Rap Monster Freestyling

No picture just RM rapping. Thanks to Megan R (credit Genius) in the Youtube comments for the translation.

Reading through the translation it seems RM is back on the path of feeling lost “a deserted island among my friends” - only it seems worse this time. He talks about being an adult now but all of his music peers have found success but he hasn’t yet. He doesn’t feel like there is a path for him, that he is stuck, and there’s no fuel to move him forward. His friends are suggesting he goes to college instead but RM doesn’t want to give up on his dream. My heart goes out to him. It really does. What he wants seems to be insurmountably far away to him (although it actually isn’t really – hindsight really) and I want to say I am so proud and very impressed that he got through that hard time to become the star he is today.

방탄소년들의 졸업 - Making Film - YouTube Behind the scenes of J-Hope, Jimin and Jungkook’s Music Video

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <3 <3 <3

This was so cute. A short compilation of clips of them messing around, dancing, laughing, and running about, having fun together behind the scenes of their little music video (This was in the last lot of BTV videos I watched). Can I just say wow at Jimin’s running cartwheel!! Lol, at least Jungkook tried. However, Jungkook’s basketball shot was also pretty impressive too!

The three of them seemed to get on well. There is definitely a tight little friendship developing between them – particularly between Jimin and Jungkook. I noticed in the scene where they are in the café and crowded around the laptop that Jungkook was comfortable getting so close to Jimin he was millimetres from resting his chin on his shoulder. It was cute and only of note because he seemed such a shy boy in other series and appeared a bit uncomfortable with being overly touchy-feely (like a typical teenager). It makes me wonder if his discomfort was more rooted in doing those softer kinds of things in front of the camera rather than doing them fullstop. This is another reason I am so keen to watch these videos – we are more likely to see who they really are and what they are like in real life when there is less editing and scripting involved. Even these more candid videos will never be true reflections either unless it’s a moment where they genuinely don’t realise they are getting filmed. I do wonder how Jimin and Jungkook’s friendship pans out over the years though. There wasn’t much in Carpool Karaoke to make a judgement but I remember it was Jimin, J-Hope, and Jungkook in the middle seats which suggests to me they remain fairly close.

My finale musing on this video is, yet again, another moment of marvelling how this little cutie grew into this beautiful man.

130228 RAP MONSTER - YouTube Rap Monster 28/02/13 (UK date)

There is no translation for this video but I think, I think, he is just rapping along to a famous rap song? Either way, it’s cute lol and he seems to be enjoying himself.

Can I take a moment to point out that we have not seen one glimpse of V in these videos so far!! ☹

130227 J HOPE & 정국 - YouTube J Hope and Jungkook 27/02/13 (UK date)

Cuties!! <3

As soon as I saw these two I was ridiculously excited. I feel like this, so far to me, is an odd pairing and I can’t wait to see what they are like together :D Thanks to Hopeful Mang in the Youtube comments for the translation.

Okay, now that I’ve seen the video and read a vague translation I can’t help but laugh on rewatching. There doesn’t seem to be anything of note in what they say, however their antics were hilarious and silly and I’m still not entirely sure I understand what they were on about lol. What I most noticed was just how confident and talkative and generally at ease Jungkook was with J-Hope, like just J-Hope’s presence was enough to push back Jungkook’s shyness. It was so lovely to see! It’s clear the two of them get on well and spend quite a bit of time together. There was definitely a big brother / little brother vibe going on and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn if J-Hope was one of the ones who looked out for Jungkook the most back then – and brought him out of his shell. I mean, J-Hope is just a ball of sunshine – who wouldn’t be buoyed up in his presence?!

130304 J HOPE & RAP MONSTER - YouTube J-Hope and RM

Another pairing I’m so excited to see together! Thanks to Hopeful Mang in the Youtube comments for the translation.

J-Hope starts off by commenting the colour scheme is black and white. RM says this is coincidental but emphasises that the band is one that works well together without having to say a word. J-Hope agrees they are an awesome team. So… this is the first time in these BTV vids that I’ve seen RM talking about the band being a team and talking to another member as a teammate, which is an interesting and positive change to behold. Only a month ago (4 videos up) RM was talking as though he had no path and was somewhat lost in what he was doing with his life. This ‘team talk’ is a significant change in direction. How deep RM is in this change remains to be seen but it’s good to see him interacting with the others in a band-like way. I’m wondering if there has been significant movement in forming the band behind the scenes since the start of February. There were barely any logs between this one and RM’s one where he was describing himself as a deserted island so it’s possible their time has been spent working on the band – which, if the case, brilliant!

Lol, RM asked J-Hope what he had done that day. J-Hope said he’d been relaxing and watching a movie and could not be more vague about said movie – he really gave it a stellar review lol. RM said he had been around Seoul looking for music inspiration but ended up resting instead and being distracted by pretty girls. J-Hope says this is pretty typical of RM, suggesting he knows him and his habits fairly well by now.

Then it gets super interesting as they say their schedule for the week ahead is packed because BTS debut day is approaching. I wonder if that’s what’s got RM suddenly talking about teamwork? Perhaps now that things are gearing up for a debut he’s feeling like he finally has a focus – a path. The question is, does he still, deep down. think about himself as a soloist or is he now becoming accustomed to the idea that his future lies in a band? Does he truly think the band will work out? It’ll certainly be very interesting to see how this plays out over the following weeks.

Final musings on this video: RM and J-Hope seem comfortable with each other but not super-comfortable with each other. There’s not the same silliness between them as there was between RM and Suga or J-Hope and Jungkook, which suggests to me that at this point they have a friendly colleague-type relationship but are not yet super-close.

130304 SUGA - YouTube Suga’s Log 04/03/13 (UK date)

Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuga!!!!!!!!!! <3 Thanks to Nana Na in the Youtube comments for the translation.

ROFL!!! Suga starts by saying that because RM isn’t there the log is going to be easy. Funny enough, both RM and J-Hope did a log on the same day in the same studio?! It’s probably much later in the day. Suga tells us that the song playing the background is “Fly” by Epic High, which he says guided him into the world of hip hop. He says this song made RM and himself choose to rap and further explains that in 2006, while in elementary school, it was this song that made him decide he wanted to rap. This small titbit gives us such a little insight into how Suga got into rapping and just how long he’s wanted to be a rap star for. The fact that he knew so early on what he wanted to be and is still working hard to make that dream come true shows just how dedicated he is and just how well he knows himself. He finishes his log by saying when he’s tired and exhausted, like he is today in the video, he listens to this song “Fly” and it inspires him to make good music.

130309 SUGA - YouTube Suga’s Log 09/03/13 (UK date)

Takes place 4 – 5 days after his last log – same hat! Thanks to Hopeful Mang in the Youtube comments for the translation.

It’s Suga’s birthday!!! <3 He says he used to anticipate his birthday when he was younger but not anymore now that he is older.

Then J-Hope, Jimin and RM come into the studio singing happy birthday and carrying a cake. Suga says it’s too cliché but seems pretty pleased by the gesture. He blows out the candles, J-Hope punches his arm a few times, which Jimin then wants to do but can’t because he’s holding the cake. Suga tells J-Hope to quit with the punching. RM says to turn up the music and Suga ends the log.

It’s sweet to see them celebrating each other’s birthdays. I hope as the years go on we get to see them do this for every member! I wonder if they buy each other presents – with 7 in the band that could get complicated and expensive lol.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Suga, sweetheart <3 Sorry for being belated by 8 years!!!

130306 정국 - YouTube Jungkook’s Log 06/03/13 (UK date)

This seems to be a few days out of sync with the video for Suga’s birthday but it’s no big issue. Thanks to nana na in the Youtube comments for the translation.

Jungkook is almost painfully cute at this age. He starts by saying he still feels shy shooting a log alone and is not sure what to talk about <3 He says the background music is what he has recently been learning choreography to and finds the dance moves funny and exciting. He also says he is really tired and sleepy but he still has things to do and will go to bed after finishing them because he promised. This concerns me a little. There’s nothing to indicate the time but it does look like it might be pretty late in the day. He’s still young, still at school (presumably a school night since 06/03/13 UK date was a Wednesday) and he’s also working on band things. The fact that he said he promised to go to bed to someone means that someone else – much closer to him than the fans - thinks he has been working too much and not getting enough rest ☹

130308 J HOPE - YouTube J-Hope’s Log 08/03/13 (UK Date)

Thanks to Hopeful Many in the Youtube comments for the translation.

J-Hope says he walked in as Suga was going to record a log (he calls him by his real name Yoongi, and I forgot that even back then they were probably pretty new to their stage names and probably don’t call each other by their stage names behind the scenes). Suga is quietly sitting up the back. J-Hope says he wasn’t planning on playing any background music but he liked the MR so he let it play – it reminds him of cherry blossoms and first love. He says he thinks he should work on a song like that. However, he is extremely busy as reality is approaching. [I guess he means the band’s debut]. He admits he has been sleeping less and working hard and hopes the results will reflect how much work he is putting in right now. He finishes the log by saying they should all go to the cherry blossom festival, in which Suga agrees. I find it simply beautiful that BTS have grown up in a culture where their masculinity is not questioned because they want to see some pretty flowers.

Not much more for me to muse on other than I like J-Hope’s top <3

#bts #bangtantv #youtubeofficial #jin #suga #j-hope #rapmonster #jimin #v #jungkook

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taliaquinn · 5 years ago

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Trapeze

A/N: Hiya Peeps, so here’s my second one-shot, I decided to make this one more of a origin story, and more lighthearted in comparison to my other oneshot. Also didn’t want to make a sad oneshot because well *motions to the world’s current state*. Hope you peeps enjoy.

Dick was terrified.

His Guardian Bruce Wayne had realized that little Dick Grayson simply had too much energy. He was always running and skipping or even cartwheeling around the manor. He was practically bouncing off the walls by the time Bruce came home from work. After a few broken vases, he came to the realization that Dick was filled with energy, he used to be constantly active back when he was in the circus.

Of course he decided to have a trapeze built in the gym. The normal gym. The trapeze of course was adjusted for a small child. He made sure that the net was installed sturdy.

Unfortunately when Bruce presented it to tiny Dick Grayson, Dick immediately started whimpering and hid behind Bruce. At that instant he felt horrible, he forgot that it's only been 3 months since The Graysons have been murdered, during a trapeze act, they fell to their deaths in their final family performance. He might be the Worlds Greatest Detective but he can still be extremely oblivious. Now he was standing in the Gym with a whimpering and terrified child.

“Mama and Tati loved the trapeze. It was our family bonding, b-but now i'm too scared” he sobbed clutching at Bruce's leg even harder. Bruce finally bent down and picked up the poor sobbing child. He scrambled trying to figure out a solution or a way to console the poor child. Settling with comfortably rubbing the sobbing child's back. Finally he looked at the trapeze and slowly walked closer to the trapeze of course Dick only started to whimper louder.

“Dickie look there's a net here, to catch you if you fall, I made sure that the net was secure” Dick lifted his head out of his shoulder only long enough to stare at the net before burying his face back into his shoulder

“I’m too scared”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dick kept on shifting and turning in his bed. He kept on seeing his parents twisting and turning in the air, flying. He missed flying, he missed the trapeze, he missed his parents. He started thinking about his father and mother, suddenly with a start he remembered what his father always use to say to him. How could Dick forget?

Finally with a start he got up and grabbed his stuffed elephant Zitka. He bravely got up from his bed. He then started opening his door and peered into the dark hallway. He slowly made his way to the manor gym while clutching zitka close to his chest and startling at the shadows enveloping the dark hallway.

Once he reached the gym he opened the door and stood in front of the trapeze setup. He remembered jumping and twisting in the air. His mother would always catch him and would quickly flip him to his father. He remembered when he completed his first quadruple. Both his parents were so happy they hugged him all day, Mr.Haley even bought him ice cream!!!

At those memories tears started streaming out of Dicks eyes. He was crying for the second time that day. Bruce was nowhere to be found!! Alfred was missing too, usually he would be in the kitchen ready to give him a few comforting words and hot chocolate, but he was missing too. They would always disappear or Bruce would always be too busy with work.

His parents would be so embarrassed if they saw how scared Dick was of the trapeze. Making up his mind he quickly put Zitka to the side and started approaching the trapeze, doing a quick check of the net he immediately went and started putting chalk in his hands and started climbing the ladder.

He took in a deep breath and took a hold of the rung. With a deep breath he leapt off the platform with a whoop. He twisted and turned and grabbed the other rung. He swinged and couldn’t help but laugh as he continued doing his flips.

Unbeknownst to him, under the manor in a gloomy cave an unmasked batman stared at his monitor screen staring at the laughing boy who for a few weeks couldn’t smile or laugh and would have nightmares every night and barely sleep.

Bruce decided to call it a night. He quickly shed his batsuit and changed into his business attire. Making sure to quietly exit the batcave he made his way to the gym. He stood at the doorway admiring the boys trapeze routine. Suddenly Dick lost hold of the rung and fell., terrifying Bruce. He immediately had flashbacks of that fateful night. He stepped forward with his arms outstretched as if he would be able to stop the boy's fall but before he reached the net, Dick fell into it with a grunt.

Bruce was immediately at his side scanning him for any signs of injuries, however when he reached Dicks face, he didn’t find a terrified look on his face, he wasn’t whimpering, and he wasn’t crying, Instead he had a blinding smile.

“I did it Bruce, I fell” He said still grinning. Bruce was slightly confused

“You wanted to fall?” Jesus his heart was still racing from the scare, was it too late to take down the Trapeze? He felt that he was gonna have grey hairs before the boy turned 10 if he kept it up.

“YUP” What an odd child, he couldn’t help but ask.

“Why”

“My dad always said falling was just as fun, especially when you were never alone” Dick said matter of factly. He felt silly forgetting about that.

Bruce stared at the grinning child for a few more seconds before finally releasing a huff, and pulling the child into a hug.

“I wanna go again”

Yep Bruce felt that Gray hair coming in.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed, Feel free ask to get added to the taglist for my oneshots. Stay Safe,Healthy and happy. Feel free to leave a Kudos,Comment and reblog <3

-T.Q

#BatFam #dick grayson #robin #nightwing #daddybats #flying graysons

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dhwty-writes · 4 years ago

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Chapter 7 - A Broken Sword

After that delightful dose of fluff last chapter I can assure you that we are now returning to our angsty scheduled program. Thanks to @persony-pepper for betaing. Have fun reading!

Summary: Ciri and Jaskier are getting along better by the minute. The Viscount and Geralt, however, can't seem to find common ground.

Read on AO3

Part 1 | Part 7 | Part 9

In general, things got better in Lettenhove. Geralt didn't know what Ciri and Jaskier had done that afternoon before he had found them in Jaskier's nursery, but whatever it was, he wasn't about to complain. Because by some kind of miracle it made Ciri laugh and Jaskier talk — not to him, of course, but that was another story. Even Janina had stopped insulting him at every turn.

On a personal and petty level, though, things got worse. It was stupid. He knew it was stupid. But Ciri had spent an entire afternoon with Jaskier, she even got to call him Jaskier. She had even gotten him to call Geralt by his name; he hadn't even known how much he'd missed that, and yet— And yet. And yet, she refused to talk about whatever had transpired that day besides that Jaskier had told her some stupid story about some stupid hero.

It had been a week and yet every time he tried to coax the actual story out of her, she responded with: "Jaskier said, if you don't know it, it is not his place to tell me what happened. So, it is not my place to tell you what happened."

It was stupid. It was ridiculous. It was infuriating.

Not only had Jaskier stolen his child surprise, but he was also feeling more like an outsider than ever. Before, it had been Ciri and him who were obviously encroaching into the ancestral home of the Lord and Ladies Pankratz, their mere presence at the dinner table an unwelcome intrusion of the familiar rhythm the three siblings followed. Now, with Ciri animatedly chatting with both Jaskier and Józefa, he grew more uneasy every day.

From time to time he even played with the thought to leave. With a good enough horse, he might still make it to Kaer Morhen before the Trail became impassable. He could leave Ciri here for the winter and return for her come spring. He trusted Jaskier not to sell her out. But then again, Jaskier was no warrior. He might have changed a lot but not that much. If Ciri would be attacked he wouldn’t be able to defend her. He couldn’t leave— it was just wishful thinking.

To make things worse, Jaskier's attitude towards him didn't improve one bit. He probably could handle not being talked to; after all, he had wished for blessed silence long enough. It was the little things that made Geralt lose his mind. Like how Jaskier still insisted on calling him 'witcher' most of the time. Or how he had no qualms ordering Geralt around like one of his guards. Or that he just burst into Geralt's room one day while he was telling Ciri a story and triumphantly declared: "I have thought of a solution!"

"You can't just barge into rooms without knocking," Geralt growled.

The comment made Jaskier frown, as if he was thoroughly confused by it. "You're mistaken, witcher," he said and Ciri giggled. "I can go wherever I want, whenever I want. This is my castle, after all." He winked at Ciri and she laughed louder as if they were privy to some kind of joke Geralt didn't understand.

'Nobles.' He ground his teeth. There was a reason why he avoided aristocrats like the plague. How on earth had he managed two collect two of them? And why on earth stared the two of them at him as if they were waiting for something? Geralt sighed: "What solution, my lord?"

"We will dye Ciri's hair!"

Ciri shrieked and attempted to scramble out of Geralt's lap, but he quickly caught her and pulled her back. "Not so fast, cublet," he said and dangled her from her ankle upside down, before he turned to Jaskier: "I beg your pardon?"

“We will dye her hair,” he repeated.

“Why?” Geralt asked and Jaskier rolled his eyes.

"To better hide her," he said very slowly as if talking to a particularly stupid child. "A lot of people know — or know of — the ashen-haired Princess of Cintra, who was claimed as child surprise by Geralt of Rivia, who was foolishly immortalised for his white hair and is known to be my friend. I will try to shield her from view as much as I can but I can't lock her up for the whole winter. And pray tell, how suspicious do you think it would be to have a 'cousin' no-one has ever heard of, who fits the description perfectly, arrive with you at my home, witcher? Hm? That is disaster waiting to happen."

"So?"

Jaskier rolled his eyes at him. "So, I have had a nice little potion brought in that will dye our dear lion cub's hair in a lovely shade of chestnut brown that quite resembles mine if I do say so myself."

Geralt snorted and put Ciri down onto her feet again. "Why, because you hide your grey hairs with that?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he knew he had made a mistake. "That is none of your concern, witcher," the viscount answered and Geralt cursed silently. He couldn't quite get used to the no-jokes-about-the-viscount-allowed-policy in Lettenhove. They hadn't really talked about it — then again, what had they really talked about since his arrival? — but Jaskier enforced this unspoken law with an iron fist. The fact that Ciri seemed to be exempt — the only exception besides Józefa — didn't make it any better. Every time he saw her joking with Jaskier, both of them gently teasing each other mercilessly, he ached to join in.

Sometimes, their antics were enough to make his unyielding discipline waver, sometimes Jaskier's ramblings were. Every time he slipped up it was like starting over again. He cast his eyes downwards. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Pardon, I didn't quite catch that," Jaskier retorted with that particular voice of his he used so often nowadays. Geralt still couldn't quite place its meaning.

"I'm sorry, my lord," he gritted out, swallowing down his pride and the bitter taste the address left in his mouth alike.

"You shall be forgiven," he answered politely and paused before adding: "In due time. Ciri, come with me?"

This time he didn't stop her when she wriggled out of his grasp and ran over to their host. He felt miserable just sitting there as the door closed behind them. Still, he couldn't quite stop himself from listening when Ciri squealed: "You're cruel."

He almost didn't catch Jaskier's reply: "Probably. But did you see his face?"

Even four days after he couldn't get used to seeing Ciri with dark hair. She had returned a few hours later to him, her hair still wet from washing the excess dye out. Like that it looked so dark it might as well be black. But Jaskier had been right: dried, it resembled his own hair colour very much.

He couldn't forget the little exchange he had overheard between Jaskier and Ciri either. He tried to avoid the word ‘eavesdropping’ when thinking about it — that wasn't really what he had been doing. Normally, they waited until they were out of earshot, even a witcher’s, before they started talking. That time they hadn't. He couldn't very well shut his ears. Which meant that he couldn't quite shake the feeling that he had been supposed to hear it. But if that was the case, he couldn't figure out why.

He itched to ask them but he couldn't really do that. Because if he hadn't been supposed to hear that he had been eavesdropping — a crime Jaskier formerly would have punished with a light slap on his wrist and some silly moniker. 'Scamp', maybe, or 'rogue' or perhaps even 'scoundrel'. Now, however… And he couldn't ask Ciri either. In the best case, she'd tell him she couldn't tell him again. In the worst case she'd tell Jaskier.

He was mulling over that question again, watching Ciri out of the corner of his eye as she balanced on the railing of the gallery when his thoughts were interrupted by a loud shout: "Ci- Fiona!" Jaskier rushed out into the courtyard without so much as a cloak to protect him from the dropping temperatures and stared up at his child surprise in horror. "What are you-" He turned to Geralt, seething with anger. "What is she doing up there?"

"Training," he answered matter-of-factly.

"Training?!" his voice cracked. "What do you mean, training? I thought you were teaching her how to wield a sword!"

"And I thought you weren't watching," he replied before thinking the better of it.

"That is not the point! This is not teaching her how to wield a sword, witcher! This is dangerous! What if she falls?"

"She won't," he insisted stubbornly. He had her balance on all kinds of narrow paths before, though none of them in such heights. Only when she had mastered the previous paths had he allowed her up the railing.

"What if she does?"

"That's why I'm watching her," Geralt growled and moved to brush past him. He was no idiot. He wouldn't let her fall. "Get out of the way, bard, you're blocking my line of sight."

Jaskier didn't want to hear any of that: "Get her down from there, now!"

"Jas-"

"Now, witcher!"

"My lord-"

Jaskier yelped as Ciri stumbled and flailed with her arms. Geralt pushed past him, ready to catch his child surprise. A smug grin spread on his face as she regained her balance quickly. With agile movements she finished walking and came rushing down the stairs.

"Jaskier!" she exclaimed happily, skipping over to them. "Did you see me?"

The bard in question nodded, paler than a death shroud and gasping for air as if he had been the one stalking the balustrade. 'Always so dramatic,' he thought and rolled his eyes. "I did, darling, you did wonderful," Jaskier patted her on the shoulder and forced a smile.

"Look at what Geralt taught me yesterday!" Without hesitating she did a handstand and began walking on her hands before closing with a cartwheel. With rosy cheeks she turned to them. "Will you watch?"

"I-" Jaskier faltered. Geralt could see him agonising over it. 'Ha!' he thought smugly. 'He's as much under her charm as I am.' It would have warmed his heart if not for the stink of vinegar, infected wounds and peppers in the air. "Sure," Jaskier said finally. "For a bit."

Her face lit up as she turned back to Geralt. "Can I do the barrels next?"

He waved his hand in permission and watched her run off. "Barrels?" Jaskier gasped. "What barre- sweet Melitele have mercy!" The stench of vinegar was strong enough to make Geralt gag. "Does she do that all the time?"

"She does," he agreed and watched Ciri clamber up the barrels of ale that had been transported in a few days ago. They had quickly been included into their daily routine.

"What if she trips?"

"My lord," Geralt sighed heavily.

"Witcher."

"You have just seen her walk over a railing that is thinner than her feet are wide. She won't trip."

"Geralt!" Ciri called for their attention. "Jaskier! Look!" She was doing a handstand on the highest barrel now and Jaskier blanched again.

"Oh, no, child, that's-", he cried.

"Don't get cocky, now!" Geralt added. "Or else-"

"I'll become a prick like Lambert, I know," she answered and stood upright again. He did his best to ignore the pointed glare Jaskier gave him. "I'll just balance over here real quick- Shit!"

It happened far too quickly for either of them to react. Ciri's foot caught on something and then she stumbled into the four feet of thin air below her. By the time Geralt was running towards her she was already lying on the floor, clutching her right ankle tightly. Pride welled up inside him to see that no tears stained her cheeks. "Are you alright?" he asked and tried to scoop her up.

She cried in pain as he touched her, and now there were tears and he felt horrible. "It hurts!" she complained.

"I told you to be careful," he chided, "I told you not to get cocky!"

"Am I becoming a prick now?" she asked so earnestly that it made him laugh. "No!" she sobbed harder. "Don't laugh! It hurts!"

"I won't, I won't," he reassured her quickly, trying to regain his composure. "Show me where?"

He barely registered Jaskier shouting while Ciri pointed at her right ankle. And her right arm. And her right shoulder. Her whole right side basically.

"Borys, don't stare and make yourself useful!" the viscount bellowed, "Take a horse and go get Wera- No, you idiot! Take two horses! Marin!"

"Yes, my lord."

"I'll have these barrels removed! Now!"

"At once, my lord."

"You know what? I'll have any climbable structure that could pose a threat to a ten-year old child removed."

"The stables too, my lord?"

“The stables- I- No, of course not, you imbecile!”

“Just checking, my lord.”

"Marin."

"Yes, my lord?" There was a pause. Geralt imagined Jaskier giving Marin a very stern look but he was too busy checking for injuries to look up. "No jokes, understood. Alright men, you heard his lordship!"

Jaskier fell to his knees next to Geralt. "Ci- Fiona, my dear, how are you feeling?" he asked anxiously, the scent of vinegar spiking again.

"I'm fine," Ciri sniffled. "But my foot hurts."

"Yeah, I don't doubt that... You!" He pointed at a passing servant. "Bandages and cold water. Now!" Jaskier shooed Geralt off and turned back to Ciri, carefully peeling the sleeve of her tunic away. "Here, let me see- ohh, that doesn't look good."

She gasped. "What is it?"

He frowned deeply. "I fear we'll have to lop it off. There's just no saving it..."

She shrieked and giggled. "That's not true! Geralt, tell me that's not true!"

He did his best to maintain a straight face: "No, he's completely right. I've had griffin bites smaller than that."

"An infected wound is a serious business, little one," Jaskier added. "Best not take any risks."

"Yeah, with a scrape as bad as this... best take preemptive measures-"

She made a very rude gesture at them. "You're horrible." Geralt scoffed and to his surprise Jaskier snickered. He hadn't heard him laugh since their arrival. Ciri shoved both of them hard. Jaskier at least had the courtesy to fall over.

"Now that's not true," Geralt said as Jaskier answered: "Anything to make you laugh, darling girl."

"I hate you," she pouted, "both of you."

"Say that again and you're grounded for the rest of the week, young lady. Melitele knows you need the bedrest..."

"I'm fine!" Ciri insisted stubbornly and sprung to her feet to show it. Geralt was impressed that she didn't even wince.

"You are fine when Wera says you are. Sit down and wait here for her. I need to borrow my witcher for a bit."

She frowned. "But I'm not finished, yet!" she insisted.

"Yes, you are," Geralt agreed with Jaskier. "You can't fight like that."

"You do!" she replied and he cursed quietly.

"Another reason why I need a word with him," Jaskier said and stared at Geralt angrily. "You can continue tomorrow, dear child, if Wera allows it. This is important."

"Is this one of those grown-up talks?" She wrinkled her nose. "If so, I don't want to see that."

Jaskier took a shuddering breath. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, exactly. Marta!" He waved for the servant to come over. "Go and draw Fiona a bath, Melitele knows she needs one. And then you just... take the day off, hm? Read a bit. Or have Marta help you over to see Józefa. I believe she's almost done with the cartoon for her tapestry."

Ciri scowled at him before letting Marta support her in order to limp back to the South Wing, muttering ‘Grown-ups are weird’ as she went.

As soon as the door to the well house shut behind them, Jaskier turned to him, his voice sharp as razor blades: "My study," he ordered. "Now."

Geralt narrowed his eyes and ground his teeth but still he followed him when he turned back to the East Wing. The way up the stairs, spent in complete silence, was torture. Every step poisoned the air more with the horrid stench of vinegar-fear and peppery anger.

It made Geralt want to retch as an icy hand grasped his own heart. He knew the fiery taste of Jaskier's fury well enough. Usually it appeared on his behalf, not because of him. That alone was worrying, but the truly terrifying thing was the sour stench that came with panic. Jaskier never smelled of fear in his presence: not upon their first meeting, not when facing elves and djinns and angry Yennefers. Not even with the prospect of walking down a deadly mountain trail all on his own. 'What have I done that he fears me?' he asked himself. 'What have I done that he no longer feels safe in my presence?'

His thoughts were interrupted with the doors slamming shut behind him. "What were you thinking?" Jaskier shouted and the spice flared again. "Climbing barrels, Geralt? Really? Were you even thinking, you absolute idiot?"

"I am training her," Geralt answered simply.

"You were endangering her!" He whipped around, his chest heaving heavily. "You're supposed to keep her out of harm's way, not thrust her in it!"

"Calm down. She only twisted her ankle. That happens all the time."

"And scraped her whole arm open! And her side probably, too! She could have broken something!"

"But she hasn't. She was just overexcited because you were watching. Normally she knows to be careful."

"She is a ten-year-old girl, Geralt! She has no sense of self-preservation."

"Funny, hearing that from you."

Jaskier scoffed and crossed his arms. "That doesn't matter right now. You can't have her climbing unstable barrels and balancing fourteen feet above the ground! She could die if she fell!"

"You're exaggerating. The railing's not fourteen feet high."

"For once in my life I am not! Fuck, Geralt, sometimes I wonder if you have a conception of humans at all. She's a child, not a witcher!"

"At Kaer Morhen-" he tried.

"We are not at Kaer Morhen!" Jaskier interrupted him. "Haven't you noticed? We are not there because the mere way up there is deadly to humans when it is too cold! You are in Lettenhove for precisely that reason! And as the lord of this castle, I will not tolerate it!"

He crossed his arms and scoffed. "Are you now going to tell me how to train her?"

Jaskier's face was unmoving, his voice cold as stone: "Precisely."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You are being dramatic, my lord."

"No. No, I am not! Have you seen her bruises? I think there is not a single unmarked spot on her body! I don't even know how she can sleep at night!"

"Children are resilient. Besides, a few bruises don't harm anyone."

"Yes, they do!" There was the slightest quiver in Jaskier's voice that made Geralt falter. "Not everyone is like you and likes getting beat up!"

"She'll be fine," he said a bit more cautiously. "Everyone who learns how to fight goes through that. They all come around."

"No, they don't!" Jaskier's voice broke weakly, a broken sob ripping free of him that made him want to come closer and flee at the same time. "I didn't! I hate it! I hated it as a child and I hate it now and I will always hate it! Do not do the same to her!"

Geralt stared at Jaskier. What else was there he could do while the tears fell helplessly, staining his cheeks and dripping on his silken doublet. "I'm sorry," Geralt said finally, still trying to process his words. Now that he came to think of it, that was probably the most Jaskier had ever revealed to him about his life before leaving for Oxenfurt. Melitele’s tits, he hadn’t even been aware that Lettenhove was in Redania until recently. It was a shocking realisation, that he didn’t know anything about Jaskier’s childhood at all. "I didn't mean to, Jas-"

“‘I didn't mean to, my lord,’" he spat and turned away, "Get that into that thick head of yours already." The scent of spicy anger and salty-teared sadness was thick in the air.

"My lord," he tried again, tentatively reaching out, but Jaskier only recoiled even more.

"Go away," he murmured, his voice thick with tears, "I don't want to see you anymore."

Geralt tensed. He wanted nothing more than to make it better, to take his words back, quell the tears and smother the scent that reeked like a dusty mountaintop littered with corpses. 'I'm just trying to figure out what pleases me.' Maybe- "It would please me-"

"But it wouldn't please me!" Jaskier snapped. "Leave already!"

He hesitated for a few heartbeats, hoping that Jaskier would change his mind. He didn't. "Right," Geralt said quietly. "As my lord commands." He turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.

Not knowing what else to do, Geralt crossed over to the South Wing again to see if Ciri was alright. But as soon as he opened the door to Ciri's room, he heard a decided: "Out!" The old healer sat on the bed with Ciri, fussing over her injuries - to his shame, they looked a lot worse than he had anticipated.

"I just-" he began, but Wera interrupted him: "No. Out. You can see her when I am done."

He quickly glanced at Ciri, who smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry," she said, "I'll be fine."

"Fine," he muttered, and walked out of the room again. This day was not going as he had planned it.

He was still scowling when he reached the courtyard again, where they were still busy stowing away anything Ciri could climb. He snarled and moved to turn away, when he heard a familiar voice behind him: "So," Marin said, "you're an idiot. That's a surprise."

"What?" he snapped and whipped around. "I'm not-"

"Yes, you are. Because his lordship's right. That was bloody dangerous."

He snarled and turned away, pacing as vinegar filled the air around him. He didn't need another one telling him what to do. It had been fine until Jaskier had put his nose in places where it didn't belong.

"Geralt." He forced himself to still at Marin's firm voice behind him and grunted. "You're scaring the folks."

"I know," he growled, "I can smell it. Nothing I can do about it, is there?"

The Captain of the Guard shrugged. "Well, you could stop growling at everyone who walks past you. Grab an axe and finish that tree you massacred. Kill a monster or two. Spar with me."

"There're no monsters in Lettenhove," he answered.

"No, there's not. But I've heard news from Saltwall. That's a town a day and a half's ride from here. Apparently, they are having trouble with some necrophages or something."

He wanted to snap that that could mean anything but thought the better of it. "I don't have my armour. Or my sword."

Marin blinked stupidly. "What do you mean? Hasn't his lordship told you? They were brought in from Goldfurt four days ago."

Now it was Geralt who blinked. "No. He hasn't."

He shrugged. "I'll have it sent to your room. You go and look after Lady Fiona now. Wera will be done by now."

"Hmm," Geralt made and turned back to the South Wing. Before he could go inside, he said: "Thanks." He didn't wait for an answer. Instead he just rushed up the stairs, taking two steps at once.

Marin had the right of it; when he opened the door to Ciri's room, the old healer was gone. It was just the princess on the bed, reading a book. "How's princess Isabella the Brave?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I read that yesterday, Geralt. This one's about Sir Bartel the Strong."

"My apologies," he said quickly. He had long given up trying to keep track of the various heroes the novels dealt with — he had no doubts that she would have made her way through the entire collection before midwinter. He poked her in her side and made her squirm. "How's this princess, then?"

"I'm fine," she assured him and giggled. "My ankle has almost stopped hurting."

"And the arm? Still attached to your shoulder, I see."

Ciri stuck out her tongue. "All bandaged up. And the salve stinks."

“Hmm,” he made. "Then it helps."

"That's what Wera said, too! Is that another stupid grown-up thing?"

He smiled a bit. "Probably. I-"

There was a knock on the door that made both of them jump. "Come in!" Ciri called.

The door opened to reveal one of the younger guardsmen in Jaskier's employ. "I, uh- Marin told me to bring this to you, Sir Witcher."

Geralt raised his eyebrows in amusement and snorted when he saw the boy struggling with the pack of armour and the silver sword in his arms. He stood and strode over to him, relieving him of his heavy burden. "Thanks. That'll be all," he said and shut the door in his face.

Gently he placed the armour on the floor — it was even polished — and passed his fingers over the new scabbard of his sword. With one swift stroke he pulled it free, turning to see the blade gleaming in the sunlight. It was marvellously crafted, not a single unevenness to be found. 'It must've cost him a fortune,' he thought stunned.

Ciri's voice ripped him back to the present: "You're leaving, aren't you?"

He sighed. He had planned to be sensible about this. That was no use now. "For a while."

She turned back to her book. "I understand," she said. "You can't train me now anyways. Just be back as soon as I can walk again."

"I will be back far sooner than that," he promised her.

"That's good. Will you stay with me this evening?"

"Sure." He sat down on a chair beside her. "What do you want to do?"

"There are some games in the nightstand that Jaskier gave me."

He nodded and pulled one of the boards out. Following her instructions, he began setting up the pieces as he tried to remember the complicated rules she told him. In the end he lost most of the times they played, but at least it had made Ciri laugh.

He and Ciri didn't attend dinner, and neither did Jaskier, as he discovered when he went looking for him afterwards. "His lordship has already turned in for the night hours ago," Janina told him coldly when he found her and her sister in the fireplace room.

"He doesn't wish to be disturbed," Józefa added in the same tone. "By you."

Geralt hunched his shoulders and retreated out of the room. He wasn't particularly looking forward to talking to Jaskier, especially not when his company was obviously unwanted. On the other hand, he'd rather get out of the castle sooner than later. So, he ignored the warning and climbed the stairs to the lord's chambers.

He took a steadying breath and rasped his knuckles on the door. "Come in." He pushed it open and stepped inside. Jaskier looked better now. His hair was still damp from bathing and he smelt of bath salts and chamomile tea. He was dressed in nothing but a green silk robe, sitting on his bed with some report or another. He normally only looked that relaxed when he had spent a night in a lover’s embrace. The room didn't smell of sex, though, and Geralt wasn't sure if he was surprised or relieved.

Jaskier barely looked up when Geralt stepped inside nor did he make any attempt to hide his bare chest from view. He did, however, pull at a few strands of his hair to try and hide his bloodshot eyes. Something in his stomach tightened. 'Now that's not fair.'

"Witcher?" Jaskier prompted.

'Ah. Still cross at me.' He cleared his throat. "My lord, there's a contract in the area."

"And?"

"I'm going to take it."

He hummed quietly, flipping his page over. "Maybe. If you ask nicely."

He suppressed a sigh. "Do I have your leave to take this contract, my lord?" After a while he added: "If it might please you."

The paper crumpled loudly in Geralt's ears when Jaskier gripped it tighter. “It doesn’t,” he said curtly and took his time reading the page. Then, he spoke up again: "I'll consider it."

With a frustrated huff he turned his back. It was no use arguing with Jaskier when he was angry.

"How long will you be?"

Geralt stopped in his tracks. "It isn't far from here. Saltwall, Marin said. Four days, maybe five."

The flipping of another page. "You leave at sunrise tomorrow, witcher. Take a horse that might suit your needs." There was a tiny pause. "Don't you dare be late."

A smile curled around his lips at the indignation in his voice. 'Missed you, Jaskier.' "I won't, my lord,” he promised. “Sleep well."

He closed the door behind him, the clicking of the lock nearly drowning out Jaskier's whisper: "Sleep well, my witcher. Return to me soon."

#My writing #of witchers bards and broken hearts #OWBABH #geraskier #geralt x jaskier #geralt of rivia #jaskier #cirilla #geraskier fanfiction

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babyboy-cody · 5 years ago

Note

daddy!mickey doing something really silly to make the lil babe giggle and he’s so happy to make baby happy and meanwhile you’re watching from the doorway like 🥺🥺🥺 and you go in and give them kissies 🥰

oh my god, my tiny cold heart 🥺 i’ll take ten million.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

An old episode of Paw Patrol played in the background as you yawned into your hand and stirred the scrambled eggs. Mickey had woken up not long after you, his hair a complete mess, his shirt wrinkled, and sleep lines etched on his pink cheeks. His main priority in the mornings was to spend some quality time with Arla before heading off to work at the local gas station. You heard her quiet giggles and Mickey’s soft voice which were both melodies to your ears.

“And what about these little fingers? Are these mine?” Mickey animatedly asked his tiny girl perched on his lap.

“No!” Arla giggled as her father gasped and pouted dramatically.

“No? Not even a little bit? I can’t take a little bite?” He faked crying in his hands, hunched over and shaking his shoulders. He waited until Arla’s hands were close enough to his face before he reached out and took them, pretending to nibble on them as he growled. Arla squealed and threw her head back to shout with laughter as Mickey’s fingers tickled her sensitive ribs.

“Dada!” She squealed and kicked her tiny feet against her stomach. He groaned dramatically and fell back against the couch, holding his stomach as he pretends to faint and fall over. He peeks one eye open and reaches out to tickle Arla again.

Her happy giggles and Mickey’s quiet chuckles were enough for you to see what those two were doing. You turned off the stove and added a bit of water to the crusted pan before you quietly made your way over to the doorway of the living room. Both were oblivious to you witnessing their antics. The childlike innocence held in Arla’s smile had your heart growing warm. And the crinkles next to Mickey’s eyes when he smiles so wide had your stomach doing cartwheels and backflips. You felt a small tickle in your nose as your shakily exhaled. You’ve never truly believed in God growing up. But now, you believed that God had intentionally gifted you Mickey and Arla.

You wiped at your eyes and cleared your throat softly as you made your way over to the dynamic duo. You took a seat on the couch and pulled Arla onto your lap with a dramatic groan. She laughs and holds onto your neck with her little arms. You gave her chubby cheeks kisses all over and rubbed her back gently. Mickey threw an arm over your shoulder and pulled you into his side. You looked up at him with a teary smile and craned your neck to give his scruffy jaw a small kiss.

“What’s wrong?” He whispered softly, using his thumb to swipe at a lone tear sliding just under your cheekbone.

“I’m just happy,” you whispered and snuggled closer to him.

“Me too,” he smiled and wrapped his arm tighter around you while he gave Arla little tickles.

#not really mickey x reader #mickey x arla #dad!mickey #daughter!arla #THIS IS SHORT BUT SWEET #🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

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miraculouspaon · 5 years ago

Text

Imogene

Happy (very belated) holidays, @lorrainingart! I was your secret santa for @mlsecretsanta this year. I’m sorry it’s a week late, but the story got a bit away from me and of course I wanted it to be perfect after the beautiful secret santa gift you drew for me. I’m very pleased with how it finally came out, though, and I hope you are as well. Enjoy!

Imogene

Open your eyes.

Emilie Agreste opened her eyes.

The sight before them confused her. Emilie didn’t recognize where she was at first, so different was the secret chamber her husband had built from the last time she’d seen it. It was dark and cold, and something unspoken hung heavy in the air she breathed.

There were four Miraculous holders standing before her, each one of their faces full of shock and disbelief. Two of them, Emilie didn’t recognize at all. The black cat, the red ladybug, they looked so young-but then, maybe Emilie had been that young once, when she found her Miraculous. The blue peacock… the blue peacock had been Emilie’s, hadn’t it? But then how-

“Emilie? Emilie, my love?”

Emilie turned to the final person before her, the purple butterfly, the man with a cold fire in his eyes. “Gabriel?”

Gabriel pulled Emilie into a tight embrace. “You know me? You remember?”

“I think so,” Emilie said slowly. She hugged him back just as tightly. “I remember I… oh, Gabriel, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“Shhhh. Everything is well now, my love. We’ve saved you.”

“Ladybug and Chat Noir have escaped,” the holder of the Peacock Miraculous said behind them.

Gabriel whirled around. “What? How? Why didn’t you stop them, Mayura?”

Mayura closed her eyes. “I was distracted by our victory. They must have grabbed their Miraculouses back and escaped while we were witnessing our miracle. Forgive me.”

Gabriel’s face softened. “Of course. It doesn’t matter, they’ve served their purpose.” Gabriel turned back to Emilie. “Nathalie was instrumental in saving you, my love. I could not have succeeded without her.”

“Nathalie?” Emilie looked again at the Miraculous holder. A moment later, she recognized her old friend. “Oh, Nathalie, thank you!” She pushed past Gabriel and embraced Nathalie warmly.

Nathalie put her arms around Emilie stiffly. “Of course.” She looked over Emilie’s shoulder at Gabriel. “Did you recognize either of them? While they were de-transformed, after we got their Miraculouses?”

Gabriel shook his head. “You?”

“No.” Nathalie tightened her embrace of Emilie. “Emilie, you must be tired.”

You are tired.

Emilie nodded. “Everything feels… fuzzy, I think, I,” she yawned mid-sentence, “don’t know if,” her eyes were heavy now, too heavy to keep open, “should…” Sleep claimed Emilie before she could even finish her thought, before she could feel Gabriel take her in his arms and carry her home.

Emilie awoke slowly, in her own bed, in her own room, and for a moment she remembered nothing but that she was happy and safe and home.

“Emilie?” Long fingers brushed the hair from her eyes, and Emilie looked up at the concerned face of her husband. “How do you feel?”

Emilie frowned. “Strange,” she said slowly. “The air is too heavy.” She lifted one hand and studied it briefly. “It’s like I’m moving through molasses.”

Gabriel narrowed his eyes, then looked back over his shoulder. “Nathalie?”

“Emilie was asleep for over a year,” Nathalie replied. “Perhaps her muscles are stiff. I’ll stay with her until she’s feeling herself.”

Emilie smiled warmly. “Thank you, Nathalie.”

Nathalie looked away. “Of course.”

“I’ll be back soon,” Gabriel promised. “There are things I need to take care of, after your disappearance the police want to… but I won’t trouble you with all that. Just know everything’s finally all right.” He placed a gentle kiss on the back of Emilie’s hand.

“Adrien?”

“I’ll send him in when I leave, just for a few minutes. I don’t want you to get too overwhelmed just yet.” Gabriel hesitated. “He doesn’t know anything. I’ve told him you were sent away for medical treatment, that it was experimental and needed to be kept secret.”

Emilie sighed. “I hate lying to him,” she said sadly.

“It’s for the best, my love.”

Emilie nodded. “Of course.”

Gabriel pressed his forehead to Emilie’s, then kissed her cheek. “Get some rest,” he said, before leaving their room.

“Poor Adrien,” Emilie sighed. “This must have been so hard for him.”

Nathalie came to her side and sat next to her at the edge of the mattress. “Your son is overjoyed to have his mother back,” she said. “That’s all that matters. Here.” Nathalie lifted up a hairbrush, and Emilie turned her head obediently. Nathalie began to brush Emilie’s hair. “I’ll straighten you up a bit before Adrien comes in. You’ll feel like yourself soon.”

Feel like yourself.

Emilie nodded. “Yes, I’m sure I will.”

“Oh, before I forget, I found your brooch. I think it fell off when Gabriel carried you back here.” Nathalie reached around Emilie and pinned her favorite silver brooch to her blouse, right above her heart.

Emilie took a breath. The air felt clearer. Her limbs felt lighter.

There was a soft knock at the door. “Mom?” Adrien poked his head in cautiously.

“Oh, Adrien!” Adrien rushed to his mother’s side. “My darling boy, I’ve missed you so.” Emilie pulled her son down to her and hugged him with all her strength.

“Father said you were sick, that you’ve been away at some special hospital or something.”

Emilie swallowed. “That’s right,” she lied.

“But you’re all better now?”

Emilie smiled at her son. “Yes, I’m all better now.” She looked up at Nathalie. “Isn’t that right?”

“Your mother still needs her rest,” Nathalie told Adrien. Adrien’s face fell.

“Only a few more days, darling,” Emilie assured him. “Then I’m all yours, I promise.”

“Adrien, you’re going to be late for school,” Nathalie said.

“School!” Emilie beamed at Adrien. “Oh, you’re going to school now? That’s so exciting, I can’t wait to hear all about it when you come back.”

Gabriel and Nathalie both insisted that Emilie spend a full week in bed. Adrien visited her daily. Emilie asked him a million questions, about school and fencing and piano, about his teachers, his friends, about every single little aspect of his life. Adrien was only too happy to tell her everything. Still, much as she adored his visits, Emilie was beginning to feel a bit mad with boredom. She practically cartwheeled out of bed, the morning Gabriel told her he thought she was well enough to join them for breakfast.

“Oh, thank God, I’m starving,” Emilie said, the moment she entered the dining room and saw the enormous breakfast spread. She reached for a croissant and eagerly took a bite. She had almost finished it off when she noticed both her husband and her son staring at her. “What?”

“You hate croissants,” Adrien said, obviously confused.

“What?” Emilie laughed. “Of course I don’t. Everybody loves croissants.”

“Not you,” Adrien said. “You always said they were too rich.”

“But…” Emilie furrowed her brow, then looked at Nathalie. “I hate croissants?”

Nathalie pursed her lips. “I don’t remember you ever saying anything like that,” she said dismissively. She put a comforting hand on Emilie’s shoulder, then straightened Emilie’s brooch. “People’s tastes change all the time. Don’t worry about it.”

Don’t worry about it.

Emilie’s distressed expression cleared at once.

Gabriel frowned at his wife. “Perhaps you should stay in bed for another day or two.”

“Oh, Gabriel, don’t be silly,” Emilie said breezily. “People’s tastes change all the time.”

“Still, we should be careful you don’t overexert yourself.”

“Gabriel, I promised our son I would spend the entire day with him. I simply refuse to break the first promise I’ve made to him in over a year.”

“It’s okay,” Adrien said, clearly still perturbed. “We don’t have to if you’re still feeling sick.”

“Adrien, I have never felt healthier,” Emilie said confidently.

“Adrien, look!” Emilie pointed at the sign outside the tropical greenhouse of the Paris Zoo. “It says there’s a live feeding in an hour. Is this the exhibit your science teacher wanted your class to check out?”

“Yeah, this is it,” Adrien said. “We’re doing a unit on the Amazon.” They entered the building. “I think the manatees are in here somewhere, and the dart frogs. Hang on, I’ll get the worksheet out.” He began to root through his bag.

“Oh!” Emilie gasped. “Look at that!” She rushed to the window of an exhibit, and it took Adrien a moment to realize what she’d seen.

“The anaconda?” he asked.

“Isn’t she gorgeous?” Emilie waggled a finger at the large snake, who could not have been less interested in her. “Look at that coloring.”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, it’s a pretty green.” Adrien looked at the sign next to the exhibit. “This says she’s pregnant. I thought snakes laid eggs?”

“Congratulations, mama!” Emilie said. The snake continued to ignore her.

“It also says green anacondas are the heaviest snakes in the world.”

“It’s rude to talk about a lady’s weight, Adrien.”

Adrien grinned. “You never liked the snakes when we came here when I was a kid,” he said.

“No?” Emilie asked. “I suppose I didn’t.” She frowned slightly at her faint reflection in the glass. “Maybe my perspective has changed a bit, after… well, after everything.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Adrien said. “I, um, I was looking up stuff on health scares and illnesses with high rates of… well, you know. Everything I read said nobody goes back to being exactly who they were before they get sick. It’s normal”

“Oh, Adrien.” Emilie put a hand over her heart. “That was sweet of you, to look those things up, but you don’t need to worry about me. It’s my job to worry about you, after all.” She hugged her son warmly, and felt a weight lift from her heart. The nagging sense she’d had since waking up, that something was off, wasn’t anything to worry about after all. Coming back from the brink of death simply changed people a little, that was all. Everything was normal.

“Adrien!”

Emilie released Adrien, and he turned around towards the sound of his name. A second later he waved eagerly. “That’s some of my friends from school,” he said excitedly. “I can’t wait for you to meet them. Alya!” A group of girls approached. “Are you guys doing the project, too?”

“That’s right,” the first girl, Alya, said. “My dad doesn’t work in this part of the zoo, but he said he might be able to get us an exclusive close-up look at some of the poisonous frogs, if you don’t mind staying past closing.”

“Oh, I can’t,” Adrien said, “I’m spending the day with my mom. Mom, meet my friends, this is Alya, and Rose, and Juleka, and Alix, and Marinette. Guys, this is my mom.” Adrien beamed at the girls, all of whom gave Emilie smiles and polite nods.

All of them, that is, except the last girl. Marinette, however, looked at Emilie like she was some kind of monster.

“It’s… it’s nice to meet you all,” Emilie said, momentarily thrown off by the young woman’s reaction. She offered her hand warmly, certain she must have imagined the girl’s expression, and the girl flinched and practically jumped backwards.

“Marinette?” Alya raised an eyebrow at her friend. “Girl, are you okay?”

“Fine!” Marinette squeaked. She shook her head, then forced a smile at Emilie. “I’m sorry, it’s so nice to meet you! But, um, I was just thinking about this other thing, I forgot, I’m so silly, my dad needs me to cake some bookies-I mean bake some cookies! So I have to go, I’m so sorry, bye everyone!” Marinette hurried for the exit, nearly tripping over her own feet in her rush.

“Oh, dear,” Emilie said. “I think I must have upset her somehow.”

“Oh, no,” Alix said, rolling her eyes. “Trust me, Marinette’s always like that. Right, Adrien?”

Adrien frowned. “She seemed upset.”

“She’ll be fine,” Rose said. “She was just nervous because she wasn’t expecting to see Adrien.” Alya elbowed Rose. “See him next to the snakes,” Rose added in a rush. “Because, um, because Marinette is scared of snakes.”

“Really?” Adrien looked towards the door. “That doesn’t sound like her at all.” He looked at his mother. “I’m sorry she had to leave so fast. Usually she’s really great. She’s the class representative, and she makes the best macarons in Paris, and...” Adrien began to give his mother a list of Marinette’s accomplishments, which Emilie only half-listened to. It was clear that Adrien had a bit of a crush on the girl, and that the other girls believed Marinette had a bit of a crush right back. But it was also clear to her that Marinette’s initial reaction had nothing to do with Adrien, and everything to do with Emilie.

That night, Gabriel came to bed to find his wife sitting at their bay window. She was hugging her knees and gazing up at the stars, lost in thought and bathed in moonlight. He smiled. “You are so beautiful.”

Emilie started. “Oh! Gabriel, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Lost in thought?”

Emilie hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the look Adrien’s friend had given her, or the way she’d instinctively recoiled at Emilie’s touch. “Something like that.”

Gabriel crossed the room and sat next to her. “Do you know what I thought of when I saw you here? Lit only by the light of a full moon in that white dress, your hair flowing down over your shoulders?” Emilie shook her head. “I thought of our honeymoon. Remember?”

“Nassau,” Emilie said immediately. “We went to the beach. We swam with the dolphins. It was like paradise.”

Gabriel blinked, momentarily taken aback at his wife’s flat tone. “I meant, do you remember that one night? You woke me up, hours after everyone else at the resort had fallen asleep. You led me back to the shore. We were so in love, and you were so excited to be…” Gabriel trailed off. “Don’t you remember?”

Emilie frowned. She knew they’d gone to the Bahamas for their honeymoon. She knew it had been magical. She knew it had been the trip of a lifetime. And yet… she knew it the way she knew that the Earth was round, or that water froze at zero degrees Celsius. She knew it like it was a fact she couldn’t remember learning. Her memories of the trip were just vague, shallow impressions. She didn’t remember the night Gabriel was talking about at all.

“Don’t worry about it, my love,” Gabriel said quickly, seeing that his question had upset Emilie. “It was a long time ago. It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course our honeymoon matters, Gabriel,” Emilie whispered. Gabriel wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “I think I came back wrong.”

“What? That’s absurd.”

“I can’t remember our honeymoon. I can’t remember not liking croissants. What else can’t I remember?”

Gabriel tightened his embrace. “Your memories will return in time,” he said confidently. “We just have to be patient.”

Emilie sighed and leaned back into her husband’s arms. “Maybe you’re right.”

Gabriel leaned over enough to kiss Emilie’s cheek. One hand caressed her shoulder, and the other fingered her brooch idly. “All that matters is that we love each other.”

You love each other.

A sudden surge of desire shot through Emilie. She twisted in Gabriel’s embrace to face him, and kissed him passionately. After a moment of shock, he kissed her back. Emilie’s hand came up to Gabriel’s ascot, and she pulled it off without slowing down. She pushed him back, pinning him against the windowsill, before getting on her knees so she could straddle her husband, so she could-

“Emilie.” Gabriel swallowed visibly, then took Emilie’s hands and gently but firmly removed them from his person. “I don’t want us to rush into anything you’re not ready for.”

Emilie was breathing hard, and it took her a moment to catch herself. She pushed herself backwards, off of her husband. She didn’t know where that had come from, why she’d been overcome out of nowhere. The second she’d stopped, the impulse had fled. She didn’t know why she felt only relief now, that Gabriel had stopped her. She didn’t know why the thought of being with Gabriel, as his wife, now broke her heart.

“You’re right,” Emilie finally said, unable to begin to put into words what had just happened. “There’s no rush.”

The next morning, Emilie stayed in bed until the house was empty. Adrien was in school, Gabriel was at work, and Nathalie had finally been persuaded to leave Emilie’s side and join him. The three people who loved Emilie best in the world were all convinced she was perfectly fine.

Emilie was not fine. She didn’t know how, she didn’t know why, but she knew something was terribly wrong.

Emilie pushed herself through the motions of her morning. She got up, she showered, she dressed herself, she ate breakfast. All the while, a plan was forming. Maybe it was reckless, after everything Emilie had already been through. Maybe it was crazy. But it wasn’t as crazy as Emilie was going to be if she didn’t get some answers, and soon.

Emilie made her way to her husband’s home office, pushed aside the portrait concealing the safe, and punched in the security code.

There it was, waiting for her. The Peacock Miraculous. With a steady hand, Emilie picked it up.

There was a flash of light, and Duusu appeared. “Emilie? Why do you have my Miraculous?”

Emilie gave Duusu a wry smile. “What, you’re not happy to see me?”

Duusu looked away. “Of course I am.”

Emilie frowned. Duusu had always been a terrible liar. She wore her emotions on her sleeve, just like Emilie did. It was what had made them such a good match for each other, before the damage of the Miraculous caught up to Emilie. “Duusu, did something happen to me? Something that Gabriel’s wish didn’t fix?”

Duusu shook her head, but she still wouldn’t meet Emilie’s eyes. “No, his wish worked perfectly. Everything’s all better now.”

“No,” Emilie said. She was certain now, and furious. “No, everything is not all better, and you know it, and you’re hiding it from me!”

“Please, Emilie,” Duusu whispered. “Put the Miraculous away. Go back to your husband and your son. Be happy.”

“I can’t. I have to know the truth.” Emilie took a deep breath. “Duusu, spread my feathers!”

Emilie felt the familiar magic wash over her. She’d missed it, even though it had nearly cost her everything. Once her transformation was complete, she looked around Gabriel’s office and quickly found an ordinary pen. Picking it up, Emilie focused her power on her own emotions, her own desperate need to learn the truth, no matter how terrible. Wisps of black began to gather before her, twisting and writhing, until it formed into-

A ferret.

Emilie blinked, then crouched down and gave the creature a gentle pat. It chirped happily and went up on its hind legs. “Hey, little guy,” Emilie cooed. “Are you gonna ferret out the truth for me?”

The sentimonster gave her another happy chirp, then promptly disappeared. Emilie frowned, confused. Sentimonsters were supposed to help their charges, not abandon them. Well, no matter. The creature was bound to the pen, so for as long as Emilie held it she could order the creature back to help her. Clutching her talisman, she concentrated. Come back to me, she thought, directing her will at her sentimonster.

“Mayura!”

Emilie whirled around to see Adrien standing behind her, staring in shock and horror. “Adrien? What are you… oh, no, no, I’m not Mayura,” she said in a rush. “You don’t have to be afraid. I’m sorry, you weren’t supposed to… I don’t know why…” She looked down, and saw the ferret biting Adrien’s pant leg. The creature released Adrien, then looked up at Emilie and almost seemed to beam with pride.

Adrien looked at Emilie warily. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Emilie said quickly. “Just a little-ow!” Her sentimonster had bitten her. Not hard, not enough to do any real damage, but still, a sentimonster turning on their charge? And on the wielder of the Peacock Miraculous, too? Emilie had never seen such a thing. “Ferret out the truth… oh, no.” She looked up at her son. “Adrien, I’m so sorry.” She sighed, defeated. “Duusu, feathers in.”

Adrien’s eyes widened. “Mom? Why do you have the Peacock Miraculous?”

“I was trying to use it to find out the truth. There’s something going on, something wrong, but I don’t know what.”

Adrien’s face went a shade paler. “You’re sick again?”

“No!” The ferret growled softly. “Well, maybe. I don’t know. This thing,” Emilie gestured to her sentimonster, “was supposed to find out the truth for me. Instead, it’s making me reveal the truth to you.” She took another deep breath. “My sickness, it wasn’t what your father told you. It was caused by this.” Emilie held up the Peacock Miraculous. “It was damaged. We didn’t realize until I’d used it too many times, and by then there was nothing anybody could do.”

“But you’re better now,” Adrien said slowly. “You got better. Somebody did something.”

Emilie nodded, bracing herself. “Yes.”

Adrien narrowed his eyes. “Father’s grimoire. It had pictures of Miraculouses in it. It wasn’t just for fashion inspiration, was it? He was studying it to figure out how to save you.”

“That’s right,” Emilie said. “And he learned the only thing that could save me was the combined power of the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses. Together, they can grant any wish.”

Emilie could see it on his face, the moment Adrien put everything together. “Hawkmoth. Father is Hawkmoth.”

“I’m so sorry, baby.” Emilie blinked back tears. “It’s all my fault, everything was all my fault. Your father only did what he had to to save me.”

Adrien shook his head slowly. “You’re not responsible for his actions,” he said. “I… I need to think.”

Emilie nodded. “Of course, my darling.” Adrien took a step towards the door, but the ferret sentimonster quickly blocked his path and hissed. “Stop that,” Emilie scolded. The sentimonster held its position. “Let him go,” Emilie ordered. “I told him my secret, what more do you want? Anyway, you’re supposed to be finding out secrets for me, and Adrien doesn’t know anything about Miraculouses, do you?”

“Of course not-ow!” Adrien pulled his hand away, but not before the ferret nipped him.

Emilie’s heart skipped a beat. “Adrien? Do you know something? Something that might give me a clue about what’s happening to me?”

Adrien eyed the ferret warily. A moment later his shoulders sagged in defeat. “I know Father couldn’t have made the wish you think he made.”

Emilie frowned. “You think he wished for something else?”

“No,” Adrien said. “I know he couldn’t have made any wish. Because he would have needed Chat Noir’s Miraculous to do it.” Adrien held up his hand grimly. “And Chat Noir’s Miraculous hasn’t left my finger for over a year.”

Adrien’s meaning hit Emilie like a ton of bricks. “No. No, no, no, you can’t be Chat Noir.”

“I am,” he said miserably.

“I saw Chat Noir. I saw him, right when I woke up, right before he and Ladybug escaped. I saw him!”

Adrien laughed humorlessly. “I think I’d remember my arch-nemesis stealing my Miraculous to wake up my missing mother.”

Emilie looked at her sentimonster and let out an irritated huff. “I still don’t know anything, and now I have more questions than I did before. I need answers.”

The sentimonster tilted its head, then promptly vanished.

“What’s it doing now?” Adrien asked.

“I don’t know,” Emilie said. “It’s not acting at all the way I expected.”

There was a sudden loud pop, and three more people appeared in the room. Gabriel and Nathalie, Emilie was hardly surprised to see. The third, however, Emilie had not expected, although perhaps she should have.

“Marinette?” Adrien said, confused.

“Adrien!” Marinette looked around in shock and confusion. “What’s going on?”

“Emilie.” Gabriel was at her side in an instant, his arms around her. “Are you hurt? Whatever’s going on, I’ll keep you safe.”

“Gabriel.” Emile gave her husband an apologetic smile. “I’m what’s going on.”

“What?”

Emilie gestured to her sentimonster in the middle of the room. “Something’s wrong, Gabriel. I used the Peacock Miraculous to find out what. That ferret is a sentimonster, and it won’t let anyone leave or lie until the truth is revealed.”

“You used the Peacock Miraculous? Are you mad, Emilie? After we almost lost you to that thing?”

“There’s no danger anymore, Gabriel, and I have to know what’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong!” Gabriel insisted. “You’re awake again, you’re healthy, everything is perfect.”

“He believes that,” Adrien said softly. His parents turned towards him, and he gestured to the ferret. “That thing didn’t bite him. For everything he’s lied about, he’s not lying now.”

Gabriel frowned. “Adrien-”

“We can talk about it later,” Adrien interrupted coldly. “Right now we need to figure out why Mom thinks you used Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculouses to wake her up, when I know for a fact you couldn’t have.” He held up the hand with his ring pointedly, then turned to the other two people in the room. “If Father doesn’t know what’s really going on, one of you two must.”

“There’s nothing we can tell you, Adrien,” Nathalie said firmly. She managed to keep from crying out when the sentimonster bit her, but only just.

“Want to try that again?” Adrien asked. Nathalie pursed her lips and remained silent. “Fine. Marinette?” Adrien softened noticeably as he turned to her, but his tone remained firm. “You’re not going to lie to me, are you?”

Marinette blinked back a few tears. “Oh, Adrien,” she said miserably. “I had no idea, you have to believe me, I had no idea the woman Hawkmoth wanted to save was your mother!”

“Quiet,” Nathalie snapped at Marinette. “They don’t know anything. For heaven’s sake, stop talking.”

“She made a sentimonster!” Marinette snapped right back at Nathalie. “You said it would be foolproof, that it would work forever, that nobody would ever find out. It’s only been a week and she’s already making sentimonsters! Is she even supposed to be able to do that?”

“How should I know?” Nathalie asked defensively. “You’re the Miraculous expert, not me. I’ve never done this before.”

Marinette scoffed. “That’s not exactly true, is it?”

“I told you already, the second Ladybug only seemed sentient because you were holding her talisman when you wanted her to be sentient, she was just acting the way you wanted her to act. This is completely different, this is…” Nathalie looked back at Emilie and fell silent once more.

Gabriel looked back and forth between Nathalie and Marinette. “You two seem to know each other quite well,” he said dryly.

“Marinette?” Emilie said gently. Marinette looked at her, the guilt written across her face plain as day. “Please.”

Marinette took a deep breath and began to speak.

Three weeks earlier…

Ladybug landed without a sound on the rooftop and looked around. She couldn’t see much in the dark of the night, but the shadows of one corner were deeper than the others. Ladybug crossed her arms and fixed the darkness with a stare. “Well?”

Out of the shadows stepped Mayura. “Thank you for coming.”

“You have five seconds to hold my interest, and then I’m leaving and not coming back,” Ladybug snapped. “You’re lucky I agreed to come at all.”

Mayura nodded. “I think there’s a way for all of us to get what we want.”

Ladybug let out a sharp laugh. “You’re never getting my Miraculous. I would never let someone like you-”

“Please,” Mayura interrupted, holding up a hand. “You don’t understand… he doesn’t want it for himself, if you only knew him like I-”

“Talk faster.”

Mayura pressed her lips together. “Fine. We can’t win, I see that now. But he’ll never give up, not until he’s saved the woman he loves.”

Ladybug straightened. “The woman he… you mean, you two aren’t-”

“Of course not,” Mayura said defensively. “All of this is to save his wife. She wielded this Miraculous before I did. We didn’t realize it was damaged, not until it was too late. She’s locked in eternal sleep now.”

“If the Miraculous is fixed-“

“We tried that,” Mayura said impatiently. “Your Guardian revealed enough to us and we repaired it. Hawkmoth’s wife remains asleep. The only thing that will wake her now is the combined power of the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses.”

Ladybug shook her head. “That won’t work. I wish it could, but the law of equal exchange means I can’t save anyone without losing someone else.”

“It’s a price either of us would have happily paid,” Mayura said bitterly, “but I won’t waste my breath trying to convince you to sacrifice either of us for her. I know what heroes are like.” Mayura spat the word ‘hero’ like a curse. “There’s another way. With the Fox Miraculous, you could create an illusion that Hawkmoth believes. You could trick him into believing he has defeated you, used the Miraculouses, and brought back his wife.”

Ladybug was silent for a while. “You’re talking about betraying him.”

“I’m talking about saving him from himself before he loses everything.”

Ladybug studied the woman in front of her. “You love him,” she finally said. “Maybe he’s still in love with his wife, but you’re in love with him, aren’t you?” Mayura said nothing. “Your plan won’t work. The illusions of the Fox Miraculous are temporary.”

“They are,” Mayura agreed. “My sentimonsters, however, are not.”

The being who was not Emilie could feel the stares of everyone in the room as Marinette finished her story. She could feel everyone looking at her like they’d never seen her before in their lives. And why shouldn’t they? She wasn’t Emilie. She wasn’t Gabriel’s wife, she wasn’t Adrien’s mother. She wasn’t a woman, she wasn’t a human, she wasn’t anything at all.

It was Adrien who finally broke the heavy silence. “You tricked me?” he asked Marinette, his voice breaking a little.

“I’m so sorry, Adrien,” Marinette said tearfully. “I thought I’d just be tricking Hawkmoth. I had no idea he had a son, or that it was you, or that you were Chat.”

“Perhaps you knew nothing,” Gabriel said icily. He turned to his assistant. “Nathalie, however, knew exactly who she was betraying.”

Nathalie squared her shoulders and looked her boss straight in the eye. “We were losing, sir,” she said plainly. “We were always going to lose. You kept calling yourself a man with nothing to lose, but that wasn’t true.” She nodded towards Adrien. “I did the only thing I could think of to get you back your wife before you truly lost everything.”

“You didn’t, though,” the sentimonster who was not Emilie said miserably. “I’m not his wife, am I? I’m not even close. I don’t remember the things I should remember, I don’t feel the things I should feel. I’m just some vague approximation, some combination of what you thought Emilie was and what you wanted her to be.” She laughed bitterly. “Oh, no wonder my heart twists a little every time Gabriel kisses me. It’s because your heart twists, doesn’t it? Because you went and fell in love with the man whose wife you were trying to save.” Not-Emilie shook her head. “Everything about me is just a cruel joke.” She reached for her heart and quickly unclasped her brooch. “Well, it doesn’t matter. Just one little snap and everything’s fixed.” She grasped the brooch between her two hands and took a breath, bracing herself.

“No!” Adrien darted forward and snatched the brooch from not-Emilie’s hands. “Stop!”

STOP.

Not-Emilie froze, still as death. It took Adrien a moment to understand why. “Oh, God, no, I’m sorry,” he said frantically, shoving the brooch back into not-Emilie’s hand. “I didn’t mean to… I just had to stop you from breaking it, that’s all, I didn’t think-”

“Do you have any idea,” not-Emilie said quietly, examining the brooch, “what it’s like to be controlled by this thing?” She sighed. “I should have realized from the start, heaven knows I’ve had enough experience with the Peacock Miraculous… except no, I suppose I don’t have much actual experience at all, do I? But I have the memories of it all the same.” She traced a finger over the silver petals. “It’s like drowning,” she whispered. “It’s like being smothered in the will of another person. It digs into you, down to the marrow, until you can’t tell it apart from yourself.”

“I won’t touch it ever again,” Adrien said desperately. “You don’t have to feel like that ever again. Just keep it, lock it away somewhere safe, and nobody will be able to control you.”

“Why?” not-Emilie whispered. “What’s the point? Why shouldn’t I just break it and be done with it? I’m not your mother. I can’t ever be her.”

“I don’t want you to be my mother!” Adrien exclaimed. “I just want you to be you, whoever that is!”

Not-Emilie shook her head. “I’m not anybody, Adrien.”

“That’s not true!” Adrien insisted.

“Who am I, then?” she asked desperately.

“You’re… you’re someone who likes croissants!” Adrien said. Not-Emilie stared for a moment, and then she began to laugh. “I’m serious!” Adrien protested, but he, too, began to smile. “You like croissants, and anacondas, and… and you’re pretty reckless, I guess, doing all this, but you’re clever, too, and you’re kind, and you care about me.” Adrien gulped. “And I really don’t want to lose another person who cares about me. Please, I’m so sick of losing people.”

The being who was not Adrien’s mother looked at him silently for a moment, then nodded. With shaky fingers, she pinned the brooch back to her blouse.

Adrien carried a giant cage up the steps of an apartment complex, through the door to the newly rented unit, and around unpacked boxes and shrink wrapped furniture. He finally made it to the bedroom and placed it carefully down before collapsing dramatically onto the bed. “All done, Aunt Imogene!”

“Oh, thank you darling, you’re the best,” came his aunt’s chipper reply from somewhere in the kitchen. Adrien heard the clicking of her heels grow steadily louder, and then she entered the room. “Oh, who’s a good boy?” Imogene cooed. “Are you happy to be finally home? Do you want to come out?” Imogene opened the cage and gently lifted her ferret out, then gave his nose a soft kiss.

“Are you sure you want to keep him?” Adrien asked. “I don’t think he’s actually alive. Not like you are, anyway.”

Imogene hummed thoughtfully. “I’m not so sure that’s true,” she said lightly, stroking the sentimonster. “Anyway, having a lie detector for a pet might come in handy one of these days. Does he want scratches? Yes?” She sat down on the bed next to Adrien and gently scratched her ferret’s belly.

Adrien reached over and gave the ferret a gentle pat. “You know, Father would have gotten you a bigger place if you’d wanted one. And maybe one closer to the mansion, too.”

Imogene shook her head. “No, this place is perfect,” she said happily. “I just need a place I can make completely my own. And maybe a little space from your father and Nathalie, just for a little while.”

Adrien snorted. “Join the club.”

Imogene gave him a searching look. “Do you need to be away from them for a while, Adrien? You’re welcome to stay here. Of course I understand if that’s difficult, too, but maybe I could-”

“No, no,” Adrien said quickly. “I mean, I’d be happy to stay with you, thanks for offering, but… no. Father and I need to work through a lot of things. And he’s actually trying, which is nice.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Imogene said. “How has he been?”

“He’s…” Adrien paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. “He’s finally letting himself mourn Mom, I think. He didn’t really do that the first time we lost her. So that’s hard, but it’s healthy. He’s not ready to let her go yet, but he gave Marinette the Miraculouses. I think he’s going to get there this time.”

“Oh, good.”

“He’s still not speaking to Nathalie,” Adrien added, “but at this point I think it’s not even about being mad at her anymore. It’s just easier than dealing with how they feel about each other.” Adrien rolled his eyes. “They’re both so closed off, they’re perfect for each other. They’ll figure it out eventually.”

“And how have you been?” Imogene asked gently.

Adrien was silent for a while. “I miss Mom,” he said. “Losing her the second time hurt more than the first, I think.”

“I’m so sorry, love.”

“It’s not your fault,” Adrien said softly. “Marinette, um, she’s looking into what exactly happened to her. She’s pretty new to being the Guardian, but she’s got such a knack for it already. If anyone can figure out a way to save Mom, a real way, it’ll be her.”

“I hope she does,” Imogene said sincerely.

“Oh, before I forget.” Adrien sat up, then pulled some things from his pocket. “Your ID, passport, birth certificate. Aunt Amelie sent it all over this morning. I’m not sure what crazy Graham de Vanily strings she pulled, but they work fast.”

Imogene took the documents and looked through them carefully. She blinked back a few tears, but there was a smile on her face. “Imogene Graham de Vanily,” she read. “She’s a real person now. Thank you, Adrien. And thank Amelie for me, too. I doubt she’s ready to talk to me herself just yet. It’s going to be difficult for her.”

“Maybe not,” Adrien said. “Her exact words when I told her everything were, ‘Oh well, what’s one more identical sister?’” Imogene chuckled. “I think she’s looking forward to getting to know you.”

“Is that right?” Imogene stood up and stepped towards the window. She looked out at the city below, the sunlight dancing across her face. “Yes, I think I’m looking forward to getting to know me, too.”

#mlsecretsanta #mlss 2019 #emilie agreste #some gabrielie and gabenath #but who needs shipping when you've got existential dread?

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stights · 4 years ago

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outside by stight - serizawa katsuya/reigen arataka, 1,657 words. “he has to squint to catch the white blips of stars twinkling in the sky; this kind of black is comforting and all-encompassing, blanketing the world.” this is a work copied over from my ao3! i hope you enjoy -- and if you do, my ko-fi commissions are currently open!! i would love to write for you!!

i think i smell the rain again It’s nighttime when he steps outside. It’s the first nighttime in weeks; the concept of the sun and moon has blended into one and the wholesome swell of free spins on Gacha games remains all that he really needs, those ticking time-bombs, the vibrant firework displays of beaches and dates on a rooftop, of foreign lands and exploring with friends, of boat rides late in the afternoon and sleepy car rides, illuminated by the steady orange glow of streetlights dipping between cool windows. The people in the games aren’t ever him, though. He keeps the lights in his bedroom off just so he doesn’t see his reflection when the screen turns black, so frail and unlike those smiling cartoon figures. Sometimes he wishes he didn’t exist. There’s a certain kind of dark, disgusting guilt that comes with thinking you’re the only person of your kind in the universe, that you weren’t actually supposed to be here, on this perfect planet. He wishes he could blame his mother for these pathetic shortcomings but he can’t; the counsellors call him gifted and it’s perhaps the one thing he takes away from the sessions, greedily. Gifted. Gifted! He runs it through in his head like a mantra, if only to clutch the last sinews of human contact he’s had in months as tightly as he can. It makes him feel invincible as he lies in bed at night, that deep, comforting dip in his mattress, thinking about what he could do with this magnificent sort of gift, until he checks his phone and sees his old schoolmates’ new houses and wives and cars and he feels like screaming until his throat is hoarse, bitter, sobbing. Gifted. Gifted. fresh air awakens everything His bedroom is dark and musty and it smells like nothing and everything at the same time. Dread curls and spirals in the pit of his stomach when his mother enters the room - food? Laundry? Another therapist? - and stays dutifully quiet. He doesn’t often sprout the courage to look at the disgust thinly guised on her face because the room smells bad, awful, like himself, lines on her face illuminated by the dead blue glow of the television. She never stays long, never talks unless it’s necessary; their relationship isn’t amicable, but as he mulls over this thought long after she’s gone, leaving behind konbini platters and clean sweatpants, can he really say he has a single amity at all? The faces he sees are always smiling but they’re drawn to be that way, those model girls on dirty websites, or the counsellors except they’re ugly and they’re always talking down to him. They hate him, deep down. They want to go home to their families and the people that love them. The thought alone makes him squeeze his controller hard in his hands, feeling the plastic crack and snap. He is society’s cinder block. Out here, it smells good. The sensation shocks his lungs so much so that he doesn’t register the raindrops falling on his head until they splash his nose - it’s the special kind of cold that he can’t find from bottled konbini soda. It’s a reaction to expect his anger, one that he’s formed over fifteen years of isolation; he doesn’t like to be surprised, stopped celebrating his birthday two years in because that pink cake felt condescending. Why cherish the aging of a corpse? i hear the drizzle coming down And yet the raindrops here don’t carry any emotion at all. He closes his eyes to steady himself, but the anger doesn’t arrive, and momentarily it’s just him in the universe in his night air, allowing himself to not just be but become, to put something to this moment. When he opens his eyes again, he takes in more of the nighttime in, slowly. That’s what he’s been told to do. Taking the initiative doesn’t happen in a day but it’s the outcome of work - of others, too - but himself first and foremost. Putting himself first. The raindrops are still falling on his face and shoulders, and as he looks down he notices they’re beginning to accumulate on the street, too, which is narrow (they don’t live in a fantastic area). It’s enough, though. The houses are built taller than they are wide and each is separated from the road by a brick fence with ornate patterns woven in, plants creeping over the top of some, inquisitive and merry, green and pink and white, nodding their leaves in time to the rainfall. Their own house doesn’t have a garden; the two of them are too busy to do much other than water a few houseplants in the kitchen. As he reminisces on the fact, he can finally put an emotion to this weather that so starkly contrasts anything he’s witnessed before. He thinks it’s joy. and then i realise in all of my life His clothes aren’t really appropriate to stand here in, even if it hasn’t been long. He learnt how to iron a shirt yesterday and he’s made good use of the skill tonight, tongue stuck out in concentration as he stood in boxer briefs and shorts earlier, carefully running the iron over the sleeves, one at a time, the collar, then the main body, taking his time. It’s nice to have something to show for his efforts, even if it’s slowly getting dampened. That’s okay. He’s getting used to letting things happen, too. He can always iron it again. It’s dark above. He has to squint to catch the white blips of stars twinkling in the sky; this kind of black is comforting and all-encompassing, blanketing the world. It’s not a warm hug but touch is touch and touch is something incredible with any kind intent. Looking up and being faced with this never-ending sea reminds him of those witching hour marathons - how long had he been playing for? A day? Two? Three? Energy drink cans littered the floor and his legs ached with every sudden movement, the muscles in them tired and settled from being crossed for so long, as if they belonged to something dead - and indeed it was a zombie playing the rhythm game, the cheerful music falling on rotting ears, impenetrable to any sort of living emotion, and when the screen went black the zombie stared back at itself and its haunted eyes and its quivering mouth and those heavy salted tears spilling down its cheeks-- i don’t think i remember it being so vivid Hand on the small of his back. Footsteps in puddles from behind. There’s someone laughing in his ear. “Why’re you standing in the rain, silly?” A creeping love blooms in Serizawa’s chest as a man, shorter than himself but with a heart too tall and too wide to be comprehended by numbers, walks beside him. “I was just thinking.” The rain falls quietly around them. “Mm, that’s dangerous..” The other man’s hand slides from his back, then to the umbrella he’s holding. It’s made for Serizawa rather than himself, and it’s too big; he struggles to pull the catch on it which makes Serizawa laugh, sticking one leg in the air as if it’s going to help, then finally pulls it free. The arc of the umbrella’s clear, so that when he strains to hold it above both of their heads, Serizawa can see the drops hitting it and sliding off. The man’s other hand comes down his arm, then brushes his own, and then they’re linked. “You want to know what I’m thinking?” Serizawa’s smile comes effortlessly. “What?” Reigen smiles back. It’s the kind of thing that he can’t find on videogames, or videos, or social media. It’s the kind of thing that makes his heart cartwheel. It’s the kind of thing that reaches Reigen’s eyes, so warm in their mirth. “I’m thinking that I love you.” Serizawa laughs again, giving his hand a squeeze in his larger one. Reigen squeezes back, then stands up straighter, dutifully, “and that Mob’ll be scratching his head if we don’t get to this reservation on time.” Later that evening, Serizawa excuses himself to the bathroom in the back of the ramen shop they’re at. It’s an old place with pleasant sunset lights, people from every walk of life sitting on wooden benches; tonight it just so happened that himself, Reigen, Mob and one small, green ghost were decorating them. The meal was delicious. Good company always made everything a little sweeter, whether that was food or the scenery. Between the chatter he’d hardly stopped laughing all night, and smiles even as he goes to wash his hands in the small restroom, turning the faucet on and letting the cold water flow. He looks up as he does it. There’s a mirror above the sink and as if the glass had been broke, a stab of something stale and wrong shoots up his spine. He takes in his reflection; a tall man with broad shoulders, tired eyes, short hair, thick eyebrows, a faltering smile. A tie. His reflection. Fifteen years old. Twenty years old. Twenty five. He takes in the small lines on his forehead, the shape of his jaw, his Adam’s apple, the collar of his shirt.. It’s perfectly ironed. His shoulders are still slightly damp from the rain. And he can look at himself without being scared once again. He’s just a man; not some kind of pest squirming on the earth, or something to be revered, something immortal and unworldly. He’s just a man with friends from school, and a boyfriend, and whatever Ekubo is to him. When he exits the bathroom, taking his seat, everyone beams at him. Reigen reaches forward to wrap his arm around his shoulders, then pulls him forward to kiss the side of his cheek, and it’s the best feeling in the world. He’s just a man. He’s loved.

#serirei #serizawa katsuya #reigen arataka #mp100 #thank you again!

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coffeecomicsgalore · 5 years ago

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Chasing Feelings

Ladybug sorts through her thoughts but still has time to play a game of Chat and Bug with a trust fall.

Ao3

Chapter 2 - Trust

Pink streaks from the lingering setting sun danced along the blue and purple skyline. The lights from the buildings started to flicker on in a soft white and yellow glow. Surrounding the monument were lingering tourists making their way back to the neighboring arrondissements before calling it a night. In between it all was Ladybug sitting on top of the Arc de Triomphe, her eyes shut as she listened to the hum of traffic below her.

The quietness surrounded her in a welcomed embrace. Her thoughts were fleeting in and out of what transpired over the last few months. Adrien, Luka, Chat Noir, Kagami, Alya, Nino, Lila, Chloe, Hawkmoth, Mayura, Master Fu, the guardianship, commissions, bakery work, being a kid, being a superhero – all thoughts that flooded her mind, making her dizzy and tired as she tried to sort it out in front of her. Today was particularly long and hard, and the static noise that played in the background of her thoughts only made her want to run away from it all. But she trudged forward, focusing on what she can while thinking of the more important factors of her life. But right now, the calming hum and slight breeze on this tower was enough to calm her down. That was until the image of a black cat clouded her mind, springing her eyes open as she furrowed her brows.

The thoughts of Chat enveloped her. From the little bits of information that he had shared with her in both sides of the mask, he seems to have such a sad and sheltered life. She’s always been fond of Chat – he is her best friend after all. Alya has some fierce competition, she joked to herself and giggled at the thought. But she can’t help the little pings of fondness that appear to be doing wonders to her heart. The feeling of longing trying to reach out to her, wanting to help heal whatever pain he hides behind his mask.

She’s come to realize her thoughts on her partner are starting to overwhelm her, just like the thoughts of Adrien had. The two boys are competing for space in her head and her heart and there are days when she can’t separate the two. It’s like she’s merging them together as one. There were days she wished she could reveal herself to him and hope and pray that he would reveal himself to be one in the same. But she always thwarted those ideas aside. Fear controlled her desires of knowing even if it would only strengthen their bond at this point. Even Wayzz and Tikki thought so. Besides, she couldn’t be that lucky.

Breathing a sigh of tension out of her chest, Ladybug stood up and launched her yo-yo, whipping her up and out into the now dark skyline. Landing onto the nearest building, she ran to her heart’s content. Seeing the chimney stack ahead of her, she sprinted a little faster, launching herself into cartwheel and backflip combo, stretching both her arms and legs as she vaulted over the flutes. Landing into a squat, she quickly jumped back up into another sprint and hopped over to the next building.

She felt like she could go for hours. Her mind was continuing to reel with both anxiety and stress. Throwing her thoughts of Chat aside, her mind brought her back to this morning.

Marinette arrived to school earlier than normal thanks to an early morning akuma. She was eagerly sketching a steampunk style gown that was inspired by the akuma (sometimes they have good fashion choices – rarely, of course) when she heard the saccharine voice of that lying brat. She was going off about one of the latest modeling jobs Gabriel had signed her up for - some ad for the upcoming Valentine’s Day line that was supposed to be secret. Marinette had muttered to herself and of course Lila just had to hear it. She twisted her words, making Marinette look like the bad guy. Luckily, the class have all but given up on the feud between the two girls, choosing to take no sides and let them work out their problems on their own.

Trying to take the high road, as Adrien had put it, was becoming harder and harder to do. But Marinette couldn’t sit there and allow the liar to continue. So, she got up with her hand tightened into a fist ready to pounce the liar with some harsh words, only to be pulled out of her dark thoughts when Adrien walked up behind her and placed a calming hand on her shoulder.

Anger started to bubble in Ladybug’s chest when she thought of that moment. She whipped her yo-yo to a balcony when it came into view, using it as a leverage to push her further towards her next destination. The wind whipping against her cheeks felt good and reassuring. Vaulting towards the next arrondissement, the thoughts resumed. But this time, the anger subsided and a smile curled her lips with the reminder of what happened next.

“I don’t think my father would be pleased to know you are talking about this. He has been known to fire production crews and designers if a smidgen of word got out regarding a new line.” Adrien said in a tone laced with heavy warning. “That goes for models too.”

Lila froze with a glimmer of worry that only Marinette and Adrien caught before she straightened her poise and backtracked with a lame attempt at a lie. A little more bantering between the three transpired before Lila gave up with one last excuse.

A pang of warmth filled Ladybug’s chest. He was finally standing up to Lila. Maybe he realized that the high road wasn’t worth taking anymore. But there was something different about this whole thing. Something that felt familiar and close, yet it still felt so far away. There was an unspoken connection when they looked at each other, blue eyes lost in the emerald greens, which led them to silently nod and smile before retreating back to their seats.

Ladybug vaulted over another chimney when she heard a set of quick footsteps rushing on the rooftop parallel to hers. Ladybug smirked deviously towards her partner as she hopped over to the next rooftop, inciting a mirroring smirk from him. Nodding to each other in silent understanding, the two raced against the dark skyline. The sound of a baton extending and propelling along with the clang of the yo-yo reverberating in the silent air was all that was heard for the next half hour.

Ladybug reached the Eiffel Tower first, allotting her a second to retract her disc onto her hip. Chat arrived a second later, breathing heavily in tandem as he watched her every mesmerizing movement. She caught her breath before speaking to Chat. “Do you trust me?”

“Always, My Lady.”

Without a moment to think, both Ladybug and Chat Noir hurled themselves off the beam, free falling for a few exhilarating heartbeats before Ladybug grasped onto her partner. She waited for the last possible second before launching her yo-yo to a beam above them. Ladybug tightened her grip and whisked them both back up towards the rafters, right back to the beam they just jumped from. Chat held onto her as they neared the landing, protecting his lady from the hard surface as they rolled along the ground in a tangled mess. The juxtaposition of adrenaline and fear coursed through their veins as they laughed against each other in hefty breaths.

Trust. That was the feeling. That sensation she had felt earlier with Adrien. It was oddly familiar to her partnership with Chat Noir. They worked together in perfect harmony, not being afraid to be tossed around in dangerous situations knowing that they both had each other to fall on. Just like this moment. The cat and mouse chase and free falling into possible oblivion, but yet they both knew they wouldn’t be harmed in any way. It was all based on trust.

Peering through her lashes as her laughter turned to soft giggles, her resolve softened as she took in Chat’s relaxed form. She thoroughly enjoyed watching Chat in this way. It reminded her again of that overwhelming feeling in her heart that she thought was only reserved for Adrien. The silly cat has snuck his way into her heart and she can’t help but hold onto it as of it would vanish the moment she stopped looking at him. They laid under the stars, relishing in the silent comfort of their company before they went their separate ways for the night.

#Chasing Feelings #lovesquarefluffweek2020 #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #ml #ml fanfic #ml fanfiction #ladybug x chat noir #ladynoir #I love me some Ladynoir moments

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clericbyers · 5 years ago

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okay but present day byler listening to chasing cars together and laying on wills bed and that’s where mike realizes he loves him

“I made a new playlist if you’re down to listen,” Will points out one day while he and Mike are lazing about outside on the porch. Mike’s kicking his Vans through the dirt before him and coughing out the dust that catches in his throat.

“Yeah, sure,” he wheezes out, “you always have the best song order in your lists than anyone else.”

Will laughs. “You only like my ordering because your favorite songs are almost always first.”

“You know me too well.” Mike grins up at his friend and feels his heart do that funny flip thing it’s been practicing recently. If recently could be at least the past five years or so, sure.

Mike kicks dirt again and climbs fully to his feet. “You know you’re lucky Lucas isn’t here and you’re wearing just Vans.”

“Why’s that?”

“He’d murder you for kicking your feet around with Air Maxs on, especially the 270 React.”

Mike sticks out his tongue playfully, which makes Will roll his eyes before motioning for Mike to follow him inside. It’s just them today; Joyce is out working, Hopper is at the station, Jonathan got hired to take photos all day for some Instagram influencer in Indianapolis, and Elle is out with her girlfriend Max in the city. Mike always feels a little nervous being alone with Will these days. It’s mostly anxiety in his head brought by silly daydreams of maybe holding his best friend’s hand as they sit on the porch, or of kissing him every time they see each other, small pecks and long hungry kisses that each encapsulate everything he’s wanted for a long time.

Mike often wonders if he’s projecting in some fashion, taking out all his gay feels and pressing them on Will since they’re the closest in the Party. It’s no secret where Mike’s interests lie (if the rainbow pin he wore everywhere didn’t broadcast it enough, the rainbow flag in his room was a big, well, flag. Plus, Mike almost always referred to himself as the secondary gay in town, only second to Will), but absolutely no one knows how he feels about Will. Mike’s not even sure either and that’s the worst part.

If he can get a handle on what exactly all his thoughts toward Will mean, if he’s sure he’s not taking out his celebrity crush on Jake Gyllenhaal on Will, then maybe something could be done.

Will plops down onto his bed and starts scrolling through his phone. Mike stands in the doorway for a second longer, watching Will’s fingers grip the sides of his phone before one hand reaches up to brush freshly cut bangs from his head. Mike’s heart catches on a beat and gets lost in the rhythm of Mike’s turbulent emotions.

“Aren’t you gonna sit down?” Will asks with a small chuckle. “I don’t bite.”

“Oh good,” shoots back Mike as he makes his way to Will. “I thought you were a cannibal.”

Will leans over and nips lightly at Mike’s bare arm. His tongue dances across Mike’s skin for just a moment and Mike’s face turns vibrant pink. Will though makes a face and pulls away with a groan. “If I was a cannibal, I wouldn’t eat you.”

“Am I too stringy?”

Will shrugs. “If I ate you then I wouldn’t be able to hang with you every day. I can hold off the temptation for eternity as long as you’re still here.” Mike is going to combust. “Plus, you taste gross.”

“Haha.” The curly haired boy tightens the scrunchie holding his hair back in a loose ponytail—courtesy of Elle—before laying down beside Will. “C’mon, let’s listen to this playlist of yours.”

Will turns on his Bluetooth speaker and then starts up the music. He settles in next to Mike and they both stare into each other’s eyes until Will starts giggling and then closes his eyes as he hums along to the music. They both alternate between humming and singing along, butchering lyrics on purpose and Mike belting out whatever he can when Mr. Brightside and 19-2000 plays.

“Oh,” Will perks when an unfamiliar guitar riff starts playing. “This is the last song; I found it recently. I think you’ll like it.”

Mike opens his eyes and clears out his head enough to take a listen.

We’ll do it all; everything, on our own.

“The melody is nice,” he replies somewhat distractedly. The calmness of this opening has him a little by the throat, and he’s anticipating a rise in energy once the drums start but he still takes in the simplistic instrumentation this far in.

We don’t need; anything, or anyone.

Fair enough.

If I lay here, and Mike snorts to himself given he and Will are just laying around themselves, if I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Mike feels his throat clench at that. That hits a little too close to home. He chances a glance at Will, who has his eyes closed and oh, oh, there goes Mike’s heart again doing those dumb cartwheels in his chest because Will looks so content and happy being here with Mike.

I don’t quite know; how to say, how I feel.

Mike feels the bottom drop out his stomach. Fuck.

Those three words are said too much; they’re not enough.

Those three words…those three words. Oh. Yeah. Mike stares up at the ceiling and takes in a deep breath. Yeah, it’s—it’s not enough is it? Not really. Will knows Mike loves him, everyone knows Mike loves his friends but this…emotion that consumes Mike unwillingly when Will just glances at him? Those three words really aren’t enough after all.

If I lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Will fidgets and peaks open an eye before sending Mike a sleepy smile.

Forget what we’re told, before we get too old.

Mike thinks back to their younger years, when all the adults in town admonished him for being so close to Will, for daring to show interest in other boys outside of friendship. How they told him he couldn’t like boys, that it was wrong and evil even now in this century despite what big city life promoted. So he came out in 8th grade, wore rainbow pins and socks and anything he could, went with Nancy into the big city to buy a pride flag in 9th grade, went to prom with his (very short term) boyfriend in 10th grade, and promptly ignored everything he had been taught before about it being wrong to like who he liked.

He won’t grow old enough to be unable to escape the rhetoric. None of the Party will.

Show me a garden that’s bursting into life.

Will opens his other eye and scoots in just a bit closer. Mike can feel the heat from his leg even though they aren’t touching at this distance. He thinks he might passing out if he can’t get his breath back.

Let’s waste time chasing cars around our heads.

Mike feels a little fuzzy now, almost punch drunk from Will’s closeness. He scoots in too, turns on his side to face Will a little better. Will turns as well and now they lie so close, knees knocking together and barely enough space between their faces. Will’s bed is far too small for two people, but right now it seems just about the perfect size.

I need your grace to remind me to find my own.

“Mike?” Will whispers, too gentle in the rising beat of the song.

Mike can’t stop thinking; he can’t shut off his brain, it’s only processing one thing and it’s putting a label to those stupid emotions that have been consuming him since they were kids. The emotion that he knows is more than friendship for the past five years. But now…

“I’m in love with you.”

If I lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Will is crying. No sobs, no messiness, just one of those uncontrollable smiles framed by sweet wetness dripping from his eyes. Mike leans forward to brush the tears from his best friend’s face, no, not just his best friend, someone he loves more than any words could detail.

Forget what we’re told, before we get too old.

“I’m in love with you, too.”

There’s something so liberating about saying it aloud, something so freeing about hearing something known since they first sat on the swings together and decided to become friends. Mike feels like his life is starting all over again now that he’s basking under the rays of Will’s returned affections.

Show me a garden that’s bursting into life.

The garden, it’s his heart, tended to by the only boy he’s ever truly loved.

All that I am, all that I ever was, and Mike takes Will’s hands in his own as the other boy blushes slightly, is here in your perfect eyes.

Perfect green eyes that go soft at the edges and look blue under the right lighting, expressive big eyes that echo everything Mike’s ever felt like twin mirrors reflecting his soul.

They’re all I can see.

Mike can’t look away now, if ever. God, he’s so in love, huh. It took him this long to realize it.

I don’t know where. Confused about how as well.

How did Mike fall anyway? He doesn’t know. It wasn’t much of a fall anyway, more of a sink, a slow dip into deep rich waters lavishing the beaches of his mind. Gentle waves of reminders about how much different Mike feels toward Will, but never a label until now. Now, there’s only love crashing to shore and Mike accepts the waves with the ease of a Californian surfer.

Just know that these things will never change for us at all.

Nothing’s changed. Nothing has ever changed really.

“If I lay here,” Will whispers with the last verse of the song, singing just enough to keep the pitch but breathy with emotion he can’t contain. “If I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?”

Mike smiles and he knows it’s the dopey one, he can’t help himself, but Will is going pink and he’s so lovely. Mike’s sure Will knows his verbal answer so he shows it instead, closing the gap with a kiss that should have happen years ago. But things happen for a reason, and now, Mike decides as Will clamps his fists into Mike’s shirt and deepens the kiss until only the sound of their slow but needy kissing takes the room after the song ends, is the perfect time and reason for it all.

#yams answers #yams writes #byler #byeler #pleasseee im a mess!!!!!#anon i cant believe youve done this!!!!#i canntttttt!!!#also look up the 270 reacts those kicks are fly #saw them in person and fell in love uhhhhhggg #otp: palaric

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lettersnorth · 5 years ago

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Three Gifts

A weekly writing prompt from @house-vexile

Prompt: Your character can have three gifts of their choosing for Starlight. Anything they want. What would they choose and why?

Music Theme

Her hands on her hips, Aislinn stared out in consternation at her surroundings, glancing first to the left, then to the right. It didn’t matter. It was all a misty haze of flowers as far as the eye could see. Which again, given the haze, was not far. The only interruption to the pastel flower heads, nodding along to a gentle, phantom breeze she didn’t feel, was the large willow tree under which she stood. Here, she was shaded from the pale, even light she couldn’t say for sure was truly sunlight.

The boughs of the tree dipped low as if bending down to better hear the poor denizens who were forced to live their lives closer to the ground. Shaking her head, she moved several yalms out from under the tree’s shade but it wasn’t long before she turned on her heel and made her way back. The tree was the only distinguishing feature in an endless sea of flowers. It was all too perfect and yet wholly wrong. There was the breeze she couldn’t feel, the blank smell of nothing in the midst of so many flowers. It was as if only a few of her senses worked at all.

“Just three?” Aislinn asked, looking up at the boughs.

“Three!” came the cry.

Seated on one of the lower boughs sat three small creatures. At first she had mistook them for sylphs but they had been quick to correct her. They were pixies, they had said. She had to admit, upon closer examination they didn’t really look like sylphs at all. She wasn’t sure what they resembled, exactly, but she knew better than to trust them.

“It’s simple, little sapling.” the first said, primly perched upon the bough.

“So simple.” the second said, raising two tiny hands to the sky.

“One. Two. Three. And then you’re done!” the third exclaimed, tipping backwards over the branch and pinwheeling through the air.

“Tell us three gifts. Your list must be long. Just tell us three.”

“Yes, yes! We love hearing Starlight wishes the best. If we like them, we’ll make them come true. You can stay here and play with them!”

“I’m not staying here.” Aislinn quickly replied and cast another distrustful glance around at the impossibly beautiful landscape. “Wherever here is.”

A cacophony of boos and hisses rose from the trio of pixies. “Don’t say such mean things, sapling!”

“Tell us and then you can go home. How about that?”

Aislinn peered back up into the tree. “Promise?”

“Silly sapling! Foolish sapling!”

“Hush. Hush. We promise!”

The third simply fell apart in a bout of laughter as if they had never heard anything more amusing in their life.

“We promise. Three Starlight wishes the sapling wishes more than anything. Then the sapling can go.” the prim pixie nodded, crossing one diminutive leg over the other. “But you must be honest. We hate the awful sound of lies.”

“They smell horrid!”

Letting go a lungful of air, Aislinn looked around her once more. What choice did she have? She had been here so long already, she had lost all track of time. Bells, suns, moons. Who knew? The strange pixies were right. Their request sounded so very simple. Which is exactly why she didn’t trust it was really as simple as all that. There had to be more to it.

“Very well.” she relented.

A cheer arose from the pixies. Loud for coming from beings so small.

“Let us begin.” the prim pixie clapped their hands, cutting into the revelry of the other two. “Sapling, tell us the first.”

Aislinn pressed her lips together in a thin line, still mistrustful, but an accord had been struck. “I’d like the harm done to my friend, Bertram, to be undone. So that he and Ren can reconcile and speak as brothers are meant to do.” she said, her spine straight as she delivered the words.

“Ohhh, a truly wonderful wish!”

“Yes, yes, yes! Delightful!”

“Let’s do it! Let’s do it and let the sapling play here!”

The prim pixie, clearly the leader of the odd band, clapped their hands first at one and then the other. “Listen, listen!” then, turning their luminous eyes back to Aislinn, eyes too big for their head, they motioned for the woman to continue.

“We agree. The first is good. Now tell us the second, little sapling.”

Aislinn crossed her arms, still not sure of the game, let alone the rules. She felt off balance. “To have Rath and the others brought back from wherever that mysterious portal sent them. We know they’re still alive. Their loss is keenly felt and we need them returned.”

The second pixie let go a sharp gasp and jumped up, opening their tiny mouth but before they could say anything the prim pixie lunged at them in a very untidy manner and the two fell into a hissing, scratching, flurry of limbs and wings. The third simply dissolved into fits of laughter again.

Tossing her hands in the air, Aislinn felt her patience fray. There was no talking with these creatures. They couldn’t stay focused for more than mere seconds at a time. She turned to survey the landscape once more, hoping against hope that something had changed. Alas, the same impossible beauty greeted her at every turn. This wasn’t real, she reminded herself. It couldn’t be. Nothing was this perfect, this lovely, this serene. And if it wasn’t real, where was she?

“We agree the second wish is honest and good.”

Aislinn turned her gaze upward through the curtain of leaves once more to the only creatures she had seen since arriving. They appeared to have settled whatever dispute had just occurred and now sat in a neat row along the bough.

“That means just one more, little sapling!”

“Almost done!”

“Make it a good one!”

“Very well.” she said with an exasperated shake of her head. Staring out at the field of flowers, she quietly pulled her thoughts together before turning back to the pixies. “I’d like Ren to have a reason to smile more. I know he’s capable of it. And I know he walks around with the world on his shoulders. I know his reasons. Even so...he wasn’t always such a...hard ballast of a person.” she paused and gave a thoughtful tilt of her head. “That said, whatever he’s found in Ishgard seems to agree with him, so maybe this one will take care of itself.”

The pixies all let out a cheer as one and Aislinn fell back a step in surprise at the sudden response. For such tiny creatures they really could cause such a racket.

“It will, it will!”

“This is the easy one!”

“But still good! Well done, little sapling!”

The pixies hopped out of the tree and flitted down to her level. Aislinn preferred them up high, back in the tree branches.

“Done, done, done!”

As they cartwheeled through the air around her, the hazy mist seemed to lift enough for her to catch sight of a wooden building just beyond the farthest flower-covered hill.

“You didn’t wish for any selfish gift for yourself, little sapling! We know you could have.”

“Silly, foolish one! You’re always last. There’s so much we could have done for you!”

“So many things the sapling is struggling to do all on its own! Why?!”

“Better that you didn’t. Greedy, wretched saplings don’t get to stay!”

“I’m not staying. That wasn’t the agreement.” Aislinn firmly retorted.

“But everything you wished for is over there!” the pixies trailed in a line, one after the other, towards the building that had so suddenly appeared, clearly expecting Aislinn to follow along in their little game. “Stay here and play!”

The woman remained rooted to the spot, instinct telling her that if she took one step, she’d take another and another until she found herself at the door of that building. And if she stood before the door, she’d invariably walk through it. Only, she couldn’t do that. Whatever it was that awaited her in that building, it wasn’t real. No more than anything else she’d seen since arriving in this place of fancies and dreams. The niggling sense of foreboding that had been at the back of her mind this entire time grew more insistent.

“I’m not staying.” she repeated, forcing herself to look away from the distant building.

“Stay a little while. Then we’ll send you home.”

“It’s been quite a while, I’m sure.” she said, glaring at the pixies now. “We had an agreement. I did my part. Now do yours. That’s the way of it.”

“Foolish, heartless sapling!” the first one hissed.

“Faithless! Cruel!”

Aislinn remained unmoved. She had honestly heard worse, but she would bet gil that they knew that. They knew more than they had any right to know. One by one, they flew to her, their strange faces an unhappy mixture of indignation and contempt. The third blew a cloud of glittering dust in her right eye. The second did the same to her left.

Momentarily blinded, Aislinn cried out and quickly swiped at her eyes, trying to wipe the dust away. The first pixie floated before the blinded woman, shaking her head. “The sapling wishes to return to the boring, dull place. It breaks our heart. Foolish, foolish sapling.” she reached out and pinched the woman’s nose.

As if a spell had broken, Aislinn awoke with a start to bright Gridanian sunshine streaming through the windows of her Company quarters. The blankets of her bed were strewn haphazardly all along the floor. She must have kicked them off during the night. Sitting up, she blinked bleary eyes and wiped away a bit of sandy grit from their edges. She’d been dreaming, that much was sure. But what was it? The more she tried to remember the dream, the more it faded from her memory, the threads dissipating like a fine mist until she couldn’t recall anything more than a hazy impression of colors. All that remained was exhaustion and a sense that she hadn’t really slept much at all.

#ffxiv #ffxiv rp #ffxiv writing #prompt #balmung rp #ffxiv crystal rp #Aislinn North

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fly-pow-bye · 6 years ago

Text

Powerpuff Girls 2016 - “Bucketboy!”

Written by: Haley Mancini

Written & Storyboarded by: Benjamin P. Carow, Caitlin Vanarsdale

Directed by: Nick Jennings, Bob Boyle

Oh, bucket.

The episode begins with Barry serving up some bakery items from his own recipes, one of the traits he managed to keep between Can't Buy Love and this episode. Unfortunately, that appeared to be his only trait!

Mayor: I'm a-twitter for these fritters!

Barry: Thanks, whoever you are!

This is as close as we get to Barry's potential "beware the Illuminati" character, as he would be the person most likely to see the Mayor as a body double. More likely than not, and judging by how this character acts in the rest of the episode, this is just a "Barry is silly" joke.

Suddenly, a monster named Gothra shows up to grab that silly boy. The Powerpuff Girls just as suddenly show up to tell him to stop bugging their friend. Before he could even tell his side of the story, unless he's one of those mythical non-talking animals, these bug-eyed freaks rush in to swat this bug-eyed giant bug out of the sky. I wince for the inevitable scene that seems to follow such scenes...

But, in a surprise twist, we actually do get a psychedelic slideshow beatdown! A punch in the face, a kick in the eye, and then a rotating image of Gothra zooming across a shot of Townsville. They must have been playing some more of those overly violent robot fighting games; it's far from their usual "stay in one place and/or assume he's a good monster" strategy. This fight must turn out to be a bad thing.

Well, kind of. Not that grateful about being saved, Barry sadly states that he wants to be a hero just like the Powerpuff Girls, and not just the useless Barry that can't even protect his gingerbread cookies. They give him a similar speech to the one they gave Bubbles in Memory Lane of Pain, except this is a lot more deserved, as Barry is just an ordinary boy. An ordinary boy with a Korean ninja mom, but they do not really talk about that anymore.

They let Barry go, thinking that their message about how he could be a "Super Barry" will not go misinterpreted. The next day at the cafeteria, Barry barges through the doors with a new identity, something he desperately needed.

Indeed, he took the identity of Quailman from Doug, complete with him wearing his underwear over his one-piece suit, and a towel for a cape! No, it's just SuperBarry. It's a wonder why he decided to wear a mask if he's just going to use his real name anyway. As he makes a feeble attempt to cartwheel across the room only to fall flat on his face, the Puffs realize calling him Super Barry was not a good idea.

Blossom tries immediately to talk some sense into him, but there's already danger a foot. Yeah, that's not as catchy as "there's evil a-foot".

It's a generic bully wanting to get his generic lunch money from a generic wimpy kid who may or may not have a generic diary. This bully kind of looks like a Ren & Stimpy character, and it's a missed opportunity that he doesn't get any exaggerated reaction shots. Left with no choice, he decides to use his superpower: his fists of fury! Clearly, with the help of his Korean ninja mom, this has to be some impressive Taekwondo!

Yeah, more like Taekwandon't. As Barry aimlessly wanders around the cafeteria circling his arms, the Powerpuff Girls show up and stare at the bully angrily, their pupils filled with fire, and that alone causes the bully to run away crying. I wouldn't blame him; he couldn't have possibly known to throw crayons at them.

The kid getting bullied opens his eyes and sees Barry in his superhero costume, and assumes he was the one who "scared him away". Everyone then joins in with his cheering. Buttercup isn’t too pleased, though she does awkwardly say that even her heart melted a little when she saw that he was happy "and crud".

However, Blossom assures her that no harm could possibly be done if Barry thinks he’s a superhero. Sure, he might think he could fly, but that never seems to cross her mind. After all, sometimes humans just fly in this universe, just ask Princess. They get a call from the Mayor that a monster is attacking the city, and not just any monster.

Once again, we see the creative genius of the monster designs. After we saw a goth Mothra, we get a giant sentient garbage can that does the Can Can. Well, I can't say this garbage can is not in an appropriate show. Honestly, monsters like these make me wonder about their origin stories. Maybe Barry threw some uranium into a trash can. Wouldn't be the first time that ended up making a monster.

Before Buttercup can dent this vile beast, they hear a familiar call from the brand new superhero they accidentally made. SuperBarry tries to use his trademark Fists of Fury again, but the Can Can Man kicks his building before he could even attempt to do any contact.

Barry isn't too happy that crime fighting was so much easier with the bully than with a giant monster. Bubbles tries to calm him down by saying that he still makes great pies. Oh yeah, there's a running "joke" where Bubbles is eating pies that have been dropped on the ground from the first scene. The joke is that Bubbles is so silly, eating those rotten pies.

Blossom also tries to comfort Barry by saying what they really meant. They really didn't mean that he could be a superhero like they are. However, that hurts his feelings, which tugs at one of the Powerpuff Girls' hearts too much. Specifically...

...Buttercup's? So now Blossom’s the one that doesn’t want him to be a superhero, and Buttercup's the one that wants him to be one? This total change of character comes out of nowhere, especially since Buttercup's usually the one to put people down. Well, I guess there's one reason, and I'll get to that later.

While the Powerpuff Girls can't exactly transfer their powers by letting him eat a strand of their hair, hey, you can't prove that can't happen, Buttercup has one idea.

She puts a bucket on his head, covering his eyes. She then puts him right in front of a garbage can. See, there’s a reason why this villain had to be a garbage can: so Barry can punch a regular-sized non-dancing garbage can and believe he’s actually punching the giant one. How convenient! They then go and defeat the monster off-screen. I would assume this giant garbage can was too powerful for them to not use the "off-camera power boost".

The monster defeated, SuperBarry raises his hands in victory. I guess nobody in Townsville was watching anything but the aftermath, as they all believe this guy who was punching this garbage can defeated the terrible Can Can Man. He’s renamed Bucketboy by the citizens of Townsville, and he just rolls with it. It's heavily implied he can't get that bucket off with his fists of fury, but that doesn't stop him from continuing his pretend crimefighting.

We then see various scenes featuring our new favorite superhero fighting crime with his Bart Simpson-inspired fighting style, while the Powerpuff Girls help him out every way they can. It comes with a song that pretty much spells out the inner psyche we see later, about how he fights crime by himself. Sure, anyone could possibly see that the Powerpuff Girls are doing all the work, but as later episodes would prove, and even original episodes have proven, the people of Townsville are not too bright.

As an aside, is there even any reason why Barry has to be the superhero? They never really tie in the conspiracy theory or the baker aspect of his character to this hero, so this kid could have been any of the muggles. It could have been Jennifray, or Maylyn, or Jared Sh...okay, Barry was the perfect choice.

Speaking of perfect choice, Barry is busy signing autographs. I will admit, there is a joke that's actually funny here. A small one, but one that made me chuckle nonetheless. Not making anyone chuckle is seeing the Powerpuff Girls tired from all of that helping. One of them seems to have a slightly different outlook on this.

Yeah, I think they're trying to make ButterBarry a thing. Yes, because they had so much chemistry before! I guess they just decided that since they happened to share the same voice actress, they might as well make them love each other for this one time and, as far as I can tell, only time.

At least this subplot never becomes "Blossom sure loves that Jared" blatant or creepy, and that shouldn't even be an accomplishment. I mean, it's pretty much just because Barry never does anything on the level of "trying to kiss Bubbles on the lips as a final joke". Yes, that happened.

Speaking of Bubbles, while she's also too tired, she has another reason to spill the beans to Barry: he hasn't been making those pies, and she's still eating that one pie from weeks ago. Despite making her want to vomit, she still says it's good. Oh, that Bubbles! But wait, if those pies were so good, how come she ate it so slowly? I can't believe there's a flaw in that running joke!

They go up and confront Bucketboy, and tell them the truth. While it looks like he's just about to realize the error of his ways, they decide to completely meet our expectations, because he's now the jerk of the episode. He just thinks they're jealous of how high and mighty he is. To prove his super-heroism, he's going to do the one thing the Powerpuff Girls could never do!

We jump to Discount Jojo's lair, as he built this "build-your-own-robot" that can destroy Townsville. All he needs is a disposable brain. Okay, Discount Jojo, give in yours. You’re the one who needed that cork fork. Thankfully for him, an equally disposable brain shows up at Jojo's doorstep, as Bucketboy decided the one thing the Powerpuff Girls never did was send Discount Jojo to his doom. I'm guessing it's the most TV-Y7 way of saying he's going to kill him.

Thankfully, he never really goes anywhere with that plan, and Jojo decides this brain will do! Wait, is he going to actually cut his head open? Wow, that's actually kind of dark! Sure, Barry did have a lot of potential, but it's clear that they weren't going to do anything with it.

Nah, he’s just going to stick that body into the head part of the robot. Thankfully, it happens to be a bot that can use Bucketboy's unique fighting style. Wow, what a coincidence! I think what they tried to go with was that Barry was full of rage because his friends didn't believe he could be a superhero, but that never really comes through. For all we know, he's just brainwashed in there.

Why would Jojo even need that disposable brain aside from plot convenience? Funnily enough, there's an answer to that! As this bot is controlled by another person's brain, he can now spend his free time doing what he loves best: online shopping! We never quite figure out what he's shopping for, but the way he says "online shopping" suggests something feminine.

Speaking of feminine, the Powerpuff Girls show up to stop this menace, only to see that Barry is inside the robot! At least there's more of a point to the Monster Punch, Girls Down, as they don't want to fight this robot.The big hang-up is that Buttercup really doesn't want to hurt Barry, and neither do the other two! I mean, Barry is their friend, supposedly! It seems that the only solution is to convince Barry to not destroy the city and realize what he's really good at, possibly with an emotional plea.

Or, they can just tear off both of the robot's arms, and just grab Barry out of there. Potential difficulty averted! Of course, Buttercup is teary eyed after saving that hunk of a man.

Buttercup: Keep it together, Buttercup!

Oh, we get it already! The robot lands on Discount Jojo, but don't worry, Jojo says "I'm okay". The robot then explodes. I guess there's some comedic timing there.

Back at the Powerpuff Girls' home, Barry reveals that this whole ordeal made him realize that he could be a superhero just by baking pies. Everything turned out okay. Even Bubbles gets her happy ending by getting that fresh pie she desperately wanted. However, she felt that something was missing.

It needed some dirt. Well, at least the Bubbles rotten pie gag has a payoff. I'm sure everyone is pleased to hear that.

Does the title fit?

It's another “name of the character” episode title, though that additional exclamation point helps a little.

How does it stack up?

This episode could have went in directions that would have made it really annoying, or we could have had a good Don Quixote type of story with a fleshed out character to love and/or hate. They decided to do neither option and played it extremely safe. This is sort of a problem in itself, because this episode ended up being boring.

This episode has a similar problem to Brain Freeze, in that it is mainly one joke over and over again, and it's not funny. It's a little better, but not better enough to avoid the same rating.

Next, a brand new villain!

← Lights Out! ☆ The Fog →

#fpb ppg 2016 #fpb reviews #powerpuff girls #ppg 2016 #cartoon network

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midnigtartist · 7 years ago

Note

7 with taakitz, which one of them would be this extra???

Thank you Nonny for my life

I gotta a little liberal with the promt here but I think the result is well worth it

7- Kissing the other persons hand before asking them to dance

2145 words because I have no goddamn chill apparently

Finally an excuse to write some wallflower Taako stuff thank thank

Taako is many things, a performer is not one of them. Above all else he’s a brother first, devoted to his sister. He’s a chef second, perhaps not professionally anymore more but cooking is a second nature, and a wizard third. He’s acquired other titles over his years of travel. Ties he would consider more distant, and less defining of himself like ‘mentor’ or “linguist’ or ‘hero’ or other silly shit like that, but performer is a whole nother ballpark. He’s a celebrity, a personality more than anything else. He puts up a good front of a charming socialite, but that’s more deception then performance. He’s not an actor, and he’s certainly not a dancer.

Tears dried after a sentimental and blessedly short ceremony, the whole of the Fangbattle wedding party relocated over to Merle’s beachfront property for a rouqus reception. Taako’s gotta applauded the old dude’s keen eye for location, the venue is gorgeous. A little pub and grill built on an otherwise untouched strip of white sand beach, Taako can hear the crash of waves against the shore from here. Somehow they’d managed to cram everyone up on the back deck. A band, lead by Carey’s brother and a few of his other bard friends play a loud, jovial tune over the rush of the receding tide, beckoning party goers out onto the dance floor with a melody so enchanting there must be a little magic woven into the measures. Lanterns encircle the whole event, there dim glow casting swaying shadows over the floorboards as the sun starts to dip below the sea, staining the sky deep navy and bright pink. Tables draped in light linen clothes have been pushed out of the way to give the guest more room to dance and golden ivy vines creep up and along the railings of he deck. All in all a pretty classy affair, though Taako could certainly do without the ugly, tacky as hell fantasy tiki torches Merle had insisted on.

Almost everyone has found their way to the dance floor by now, even the most hesitant of guest swayed but the sweet sweet jams Jeremy is busting out on that flute. The brides haven’t left the floor since they stepped on to take their first dance, absolute shedding it out there as Killian dips and spins her newly wed wife with laughter on her lips and tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. Magnus is out there too, stomping around with Angus standing on his feet and clinging to his hands like his life depended on it, the kid looking simultaneously terrified and like he’s having the time of his fucking life. Merle, who'd’ previously been sloppily gesticulating and gyrating in a fucking vomit inducing display is now actually dancing quite nicely with his daughter and son. Equally as sticking to Taako but, like, in a sweet, overly sentimental way now. Despite the sirens call of the music however, Taako has remained dutifully seated at a table just outside the welcoming glow of those horrible torches, picking his nails and watching the laughing masses with an uneasy boredom

Lup had sweep in like storm a few moments ago, snatching up his date and dragging Kravitz out onto the dance floor in what could only be described as the power move of the century. How many liches attempt to assert dominance over the goddamn Grim Reaper via rowdy wedding dancing? Not many, he’d imagine. Taako was in goddamn stitches as he watched his panicked boyfriend get towed along by the sleeve of his jacket by his just recently embodied sister. He had to admit, watching Kravitz fumble along after Lup’s commanding lead through a complex, fast paced dance that had lots of clapping and stomping and lifts was exceptionally entertained. He’d howled with the rest when the embassy of death itself found himself being dipped quite extravagantly by the brazen lich, but halfway through the second song, they’d been swallowed up the by the crowd and Taako had lost them. And now he was just board, edging on ready to pack it up and leave. Big shindigs like this are fun for about the first hour, then Taako starts to get antsy, especially when left alone. He can’t even find Barry or Ren. A little voice in his head tells that he’d be having a much better time if he just got off his ass and went to find someone to talk to but, nice try brain he’s not about to be tricked into making himself less miserable, so you can jot that the fuck down. No, he’s just going to sit here and stew, and shoo Angus away if he tries to ask him to come dance, and dismiss anyone attempts to get him to do something fun until it’s his turned to get dragged out onto the dance floor by Lup and goaded into shuffling along to the music before he snatches up his boo and bounces before the slow jams kick on. Maybe stanch some leftover dessert pie and matching bottle of wine while they make their escape. Maybe split the bottle with Krav then fuck on the couch. Maybe drink the whole bottle by himself in the bath, then fuck Krav on the couch. Probably just go the fuck to sleep with Krav and drink it in the morning. Regardless, all future plans at this point require Kravitz, but he’s gotta find the handsome bastard first.

He spots the aforementioned handsome bastard as he bursts out of the drunken throng, stubbing his way over towards Taako’s perch. He looks windswept. Hair tousled, locs slowly slipping from his ponytail, shirt coming untucked, laughing breathlessly. The lantern light wraps him a warm, familiar, soft orange glow that highlights the peaks of his cheekbones and deep flush of exhersion that adorns them. Taako’s stomach does a meager cartwheel and the sensation manifests itself in the form of a small, affection curl of his lips.

Openly admiring his boyfriend as he leans against the side of his chair Taako hums. “Lost you there for a second, handsome” he says

Still out of breath, Kravitz offers up a wheezing chuckle an shrug. Sweat dews along his throat and the side of his face. He reaches up with one hand and starts to undo the knot of his tie, slipping it from around his neck.

“Looks like somebody had a good time” Taako comment, leaning forward onto the arm propped up on his knee

Once again, Kravitz answers with a breathless chuckle. “Your family can be quite-”

“Exhausting?” he supplies

“I was going to say, lively” Kravitz says, now stripping off his suit jacket.

He hands it to Taako without having to be asked, which Taako is quite grateful for. As stunning as his spaghetti strap, floral print, easy-breezy springtime jumper is, it does little to protect his bare arms from the chilly sea breeze.

“Well I hope you didn’t tired yourself out there, buckaroo, because cha’boi has plans for the rest of this evening” He drapes the heavy jacket over his shoulders. It warm with the body heat of the crowd, Taako’s surprised Kravitz don’t ditch it sooner.

Kravitz nods, taking the half drunk margarita Taako pushes his way. “Should I be worried?” he asks, then knocks back the drink.

Taako shrugs, “Depends on what I settle on”

Kravitz chuckles. He rolls up the sleeves of his floral print dress shirt, then offers an outstretched hand to him, palm up in invitation. Taako eyes it wearily.

“You better not be tryin to get me to dance.” he warn, setting his hand tentatively into Kravitz hold.

Kravitz laughs. “You? Dance?” and here he bends at the waist, taking Taako’s hand in both of his and kissing each ring clad knuckle irreverently. “I wouldn’t dream of it” there’s a cheeky grin plastered to his face. Taako rolls his eyes in a well intention way under the other man’s overzealous swagger. “Mind accompanying me for a breath of fresh air, love?” he continues.

Taako considers him a moment, the way the firelight catches the flicks of gold in his dark eyes, cracks from which his molten heart of gold push through to the surface. One thing he really appreciates about his boyfriend is how considerate his is without having to be asked. He better attuned with his needs then Taako is himself, and he admires that about the reaper. So he lets himself be pulled gently from his chair.

“Only if you insist, darling,” he croons, pretending like he doesn’t also need a break from the noise and the light and the people.

He she kicks off his strappy, heeled sandals, Kravitz strips off his dress shoes and wads up his socks into them, and together they sneak around to the stairs

They leave the glow and laughter and cheers of the party to their back and steal into the dark twilight that’s settled over the sandy shoreline,Taako’s arm threaded through Kravitz’. The sand is still blistering hot from the heat of the day, burning the soles of Taako’s feet, enveloping his toes as he wades quick as he can towards the waters edge. Together they step over the precipice of dry beach onto the cooler sand the ocean has left wet. Kravitz takes his hand, locking warm fingers around his own like promise and they set off down the coast, teasing as close to the waves as they dare. Every so often a particularly ambitious wave splashes up around their ankles, turning the white sand caked to the tops of his feet brown.

They walk in a companionable silence for a long while. The party to the right of them, the waves and the seemingly endless sea to their left, and the moon and a million billion stars above them, bathing them both in silvery light. If he listens hard enough, Taako can just barely make out a distant melody over the crash of the rolling water and the whisper of the ocean breeze.“Did you have fun tonight Taako?” Kravitz asks, swinging their hands absently between them.

“Hell yeah, my fella” Taako says. “Hard not to with those guys.”

Taako isn’t one for small talk, doesn’t give a shit about pleasantries. So when he asks Kravitz: “Did you? ” it’s out of a genuine interest, and not just something to fill the void of dialogue.

Kravitz sighs with the breeze. “I had a lovely time.” he says. “I just- I love being around people, I love being around your family.” he squeeze Taako’s hand. “Celebrating with them, laughing with them, spending time with you. It’s been so long since I experienced community and affection like this, of being part of- of something so deeply moving as the love you all have for one another, it makes me feel so overwhelmingly- alive.”

Eventually they pause, not wanting to lose the light of the party entirely, and stare out over the dark sea. It seems endless, too big to comprehend, too deep to ever know. Taako’s stomach drops as the scope of it swallows him whole. All at once, he feels far to small and singular. He shuffles closer to Kravitz, whose body is still warm with exhersion and the collective body heat of a dozen or some drunken idiots, sets both hands of his shoulders and press his cheek into the crook of his neck.

“When Lulu and I were kids, she used to stare up at the night sky, just stand there and, uh, fuckin stare at the stars ‘n shit, like she could see her whole damn future if she looked hard enough.” he murmurs. “I couldn't’ do it though, cause you look up there and all there is is this gaping void of nothing and it was like, if you stared at it too long the world was gonna tip over and you’d fall in and get lost in all that nothing. I used to hold her hand, like I could hold her down or something, so she wouldn’t get lost. Fuckin’ uh fuckin dumb as hell right?”

Kravitz kisses the back of his head. Taako closes his eyes and leaned the full weight of his body into his gradually cooling frame.

After a long while, Taako picks up on the small swaying motion of his body. A musician at heart, Kravitz had somehow picked up the music of the party, still in full swing in the distance, and started swaying in time with the tempo. He hums along, the vibrations in his chest and his throat as he continues to move them. Taako doesn’t stop him. Instead he curl closer to his chest, laying his head against his shoulder as the other man reaches around so that both arm lay across his waist, spinning them on the spot. Not quite dancing, but something close.

#taz #the adventure zone #taakitz #taako #Kravitz #writing promts #unbetad so pls be kind #thezonecast #drabbles

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