#another one tying into the “ouch prompt

[ghost-bxrd]

Prompt:

Jason (maybe on a dare, maybe because he’s loopy etc.) calls Bruce (or any of the Bats, really) to tell him he loves him.

Bruce is convinced Jason is either dying or about to.

[winniemaywebber]

Knuckles from the kiss prompts for Jean and Shush for Olive?

hi friend! thanks so much <3

from this prompt list (drop em in my inbox!)

knuckles (a kiss on the hand)

Jean Crosby stands at the kitchen counter, chopping vegetables for the forthcoming dinner party. With Bing upstairs tending to the baby's bed time, she's finally able to - and excited - to start. Their dear friends Rosie and Josephine were finally back from their honeymoon, and Jean had jumped at the chance to invite the newlyweds for dinner as soon as their car had pulled up outside their dainty, cozy house just a few blocks from hers and Harry's.

Completely lost in her task, she begins to hum along to the faint tune spinning on the record player in the living room, completely unaware of the presence in the doorway.

“You sound beautiful, Mrs Cros–”

“OUCH!” she shrieks, the knife slicing through the fingertip and nail of her index finger. “Bing, you scared me!”

“Oh, darling. I'm so, so sorry. Here, let me see to it.”

He takes her over to the kitchen sink, running cool water from the faucet and squeezing out a washcloth to staunch the flow of blood, the red liquid trickling into the sink causing Jean to get a little woozy.

“Oh, my poor little wife,” he coos, seeing her face grow paler. “Sweetheart, sit down. That's it, take it easy. Deep breaths.”

She breathes shakily as her husband runs upstairs to the bathroom cabinet and retrieves the first aid box. He returns in a flash, pulling the wet cloth from her hand and drying her hand with an old towel.

“You're doing great. It's not as bad as it looks, promise.”

“Mhm,” she forces out, nodding as her eyes open to survey the area. “Oh, you're right. Silly of me to be so dramatic.”

“No, honey, you're not being dramatic. It was a lot of blood.”

He pulls a bandage from the roll and snips it, expertly tying it off. He admires his handiwork for a second, the perfect knot staunching the flow of blood.

“There,” he says, kissing her hand. “All better.”

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

shush: a kiss to silence the other party

“Come on, Ol! Reservation is in ten minutes and I wanna beat traffic.”

“Uh, okay!” She stutters out, pulling off one dress and scouting her closet for another. “Ugh, everything sucks. It all sucks,” she murmurs to herself, hangers scraping on the metal pole, the screeching sound of them making her cringe.

Pulling a yellow dress from a hanger, she throws it on over her head and pulls it on in a rush, fixing her hair as she struggles to get the dress over her chest. In the rush, she neglects to unzip the back of it, a loud popping sound coming from behind her.

“Shit!” she screams, her cheeks now flushed with the effort of it all. Yanking it off her body, she slumps on the bed and puts her head in her hands, trying to breathe.

“Ol? You okay?”

When no reply comes, James gingerly opens the door. At the sight in front of him, he kneels, his hands on her thighs. “What's up, sugar?”

“Nothing looks good. I'm just--everything looks awful. I was so excited to just go to dinner but absolutely nothing is working on me today.”

“You look pretty in everything, Ollie.”

“Oh, really?” she says, walking to her closet and pulling out all the dresses she's already tried on. “This one, washed me out. This one, I look sickly. This yellow one, ripped a second ago, and then this dang–”

She is cut off by James placing his hands on her face and kissing her deeply, her whole body relaxing into him.

“There,” he soothes. “Better?”

“Much,” she replies, smiling. “Doesn't mean my clothes look good though.”

“You try my favorite yet?”

“No,” she says. “It was my final choice.”

“Ouch,” he says, clutching his chest in mock upset. She giggles, taking the duck egg blue dress from him.

“I wanted to try something new!”

“And look where that got us,” he jokes, smushing her cheeks with his hand. “Try this one.”

“Fine,” she huffs, the dress flowing on her easily. There's no struggle, no tightness as Dougie goes to her back and helps with the zip.

“Sweetheart,” he murmurs, kissing her neck gently. “Beautiful as always.”

[churchflower]

the muzzle of the gun kept pressing and she could practically see the tension in Cloud's posture. the hand she had been holding herself up with against the kidnapper's grip left it's position to try and dissuade the blonde. another tug and she was getting pulled back toward a bike. "Hey-!" she protested as he roughly started tying the tight cord around her limps. "Ouch not so tight!" thought the protest was really met with nothing. he was trying to be quick and for good reason. "Listen this Hojo guy-" the sound of crackling lightning was what prompted her instinct to duck down. thunder usually came before lightning but in this case the combo had been in reverse. "Tifa!" she cheered as she landed a solid hit on the assailant, she'd clap her hands if she had them free. instead she opted for the obvious, "Woo-" and the hoo died in her throat. the mask came off, clattering to the ground and the joy and cheer for her rescuers fell like a landslide. she lost color in her cheeks, emerald eyes wide and they darted to Tifa. she was the only other person she had really talked to about Zack. she was the only one that even knew... she only slightly resisted the tug of her now too familiar kidnapper. "Stop-" but words wouldn't keep her from going over his lap. she stopped fighting, she couldn't anymore. not while he was right in front of her. the motorcycle was loud forced to stare at the grass speeding by. she didn't know what her next course of action was but it had to do something with trying to get Zack to remember who he was... "Hey!" she said after a bit of high speed driving. "Can you at least- sit me up I'm going to get sick."

He kept backing the target back toward the woods, gun to her head and eyes carefully tracking the area, focused mostly on the swordsman who was still standing there, looking forlorn as the Soldier hauled away his prize. He saw the man twitch, his gloved fist tightening on the hilt of his broadsword, and he anticipated the magic attack before it was even triggered. He pressed the gun closer against the target's temple and shook his head silently. The man paused, and the attack didn't come.

The Soldier backed her into the woods, until he was out of sight of the swordsman. He knew the man would likely come after him once he was fully out of sight, so he had to work quickly. He lowered the gun once they got to his bike, sliding it into its holster, where he could draw it again just as easily. Then he got to work, quickly tying her wrists behind her and her ankles together with a thick cord he had waiting for him.

This was when the swordsman made his next attack, lightning energy arcing through the air and connecting with the Soldier's metal arm, where he slotted his own materia. His materia, which gave him elemental resistances, thanks to the target's propensity for magic. The cloth hiding his metallic arm was ripped away, though, revealing the cybernetic arm beneath.

No one had told him about the bodyguard, but that didn't matter. He cast his own magic, a high level fire spell, and then got out his gun again, firing off a few warning shots at the swordsman.

He was almost taken off guard by the second assailant -- almost. She was on him before he'd had a chance to realize that the electric attack was a ploy to get the martial artist close to him. She punched him in the face, but he deflected so that she hit the mask instead, and her fist tore it right off of him, leaving him bare faced and still silent. He leveled the gun at her, but she was staring at him, at the telling scar on his left cheek, and she didn't attack again.

With the swordsman at a distance and the martial artist apparently not attacking, the Soldier was free to grab the target around the waist again and jump onto the bike, already turned on and waiting to go. Shouts echoed from behind him as he tossed the target over his legs so she was on her stomach across his lap, and he revved the engine as he tore off out of the woods.

[emperor-palpaminty]

Bruh I am SOFT can I have Western Tech with Fluff prompt 20?

DOCTOR VICTOR TRECH THE THIRD HAS MY HEART, bless you anon, especially this prompt? i’m melting

Also I had to changhe names again, Shaeeah isn’t a very “western” name, Suu became “Sue”, and Jek is close enough I think so he’s good!

And for those of you who don't know the AMAZING creator of this AU @hellothere-generalangsty has started that Tech was GOING TO PROPOSE but the woman turned him down. Ouch. Naturally I will use this to make myself sad.

Prompt 20: “My, oh my. You’re such a beautiful creature.”

Tech rolled up his sleeves, tying off the stitch. “There.” He slowly clipped the string and set his needle in the sanitization bowl. “You’re all set.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” Mrs. Laquwane smiled, her thick hair being tugged at by her son, Jek. “Are you feeling better, Shay?”

The girl nodded, glancing down at the puckered wound. "Will I get better?"

"Of course you will." Tech smiled gently, watching as Jek admired his sister's wound. "Ah, don't touch it, Jek." Sue tossed her son a frown, before turning back to Tech. "Here." He handed her a small jar, tapping on the lid. "Apply that to the cleaned surface every night. If you need more, let me know. I'll drop by next week to examine the stitches."

Sue smiled, pushing one of her thick braids over her shoulders. "Thank you, Tech."

“Of course, Mrs. Laquwane.” Tech smiled politely, nodding, as Shay grabbed her bonnet, examining the stitched in her arm again. “You have brave children.”

Jek tugged on his mother’s second braid, eyes gleaming in their sly, childish way. “Can I get stitches too?”

“Oh, heavens, I hope not.” Sue sighed as Tech chuckled, shaking his head slightly, waving politely as the trio left. He leaned on the doorway, chest swelling with pride- another long day of good work was done. A grin that only emerged when he felt like he had a genuine job well done fought its way onto his face as he ducked back into his office.

Tech slowly rolled up his things. He tugged the curtains shut and picked up his bag, sighing softly as he plunked his hat onto his head. Tech tucked his key into his pocket, shutting the door as he slowly began the trek home - just a few streets away.

It was only beginning to darken when he reached the inn. He nodded to Cid and tugged the watch from his pocket. He swelled with pride, examining the elaborate design on the clasp and the cover of the face. The time stated it was only now past six-fifteen, and he was late.

Cid frowned, puffing on her cigar. "You're late."

He offered a small smile, taking the little stack of mail she offered him. "I understand that."

She chuckled, tucking the cigar into her mouth. "Need some company? I bet one of the girls would-"

"No, I am quite alright." Tech spoke quickly, face flushing. "Thank you." Her laughter followed him up the stairs.

He unlocked his room, walking in, pausing briefly to light the oil lamp. The flame caught, and he blew out the match gently. He dropped the medical bag on his bed, sinking into the mattress with a soft creak. 

He turned over envelopes, skimming the names on them. Some were letters from family, a letter from one of his Universities (probably inviting him to lecture), and one was...

The light spilled on the cream envelope, dripping like blood. The name alone made his throat dry. Miss Sawyer, he swallowed, fingers trembling. He opened the letter, shakily.

His face was warm, eyes unbearably hot reading the words- palaces of paragraphs, telling Victor how wonderful life was and how it wasn't the same without him. She had told him he wasn't enough when he had gotten on one knee. That being a doctor's wife was not suitable for a woman of her stature- and here she was, months later, pouring an arsenic-laced honeyed apology into a leaf of paper.

Tech stood, abandoning the letter on his bed. He took no time to try and tug his overcoat back on, or button his waistcoat- he just flew down the stairs, past Cid, tears blearing his eyes, throat chapped as he tore towards the stables.

It was about twenty minutes into the ride when he knew where he was going, horse slowly manuvering up the red hills, caked with rocks. He closed his eyes and leaned his head on the mane of the horse, inhaling its scent of alfalfa and leather. The horse knickered softly, pausing in it's canter as a dog barked.

Tech glanced up, pushing a hand in his sweat-slicked hair. The door to the house was thrown open, warm light pouring out into the falling night, and the herbalist ran out, a bulky jacket thrown on over her coat. She ran towards him, not walked, ran, her hair loose instead of pulled into a bun or braids. Her eyes shone even in the darkness as Tech climbed off the horse. "Doc, what-"

No words came from him. He reached out, collapsing against her, leaning down aw(wardky and pressing his face into her shoulder, every shaky breath inhaling the old smell of her jacket- smoke, pipe smoke, and vanilla. He clutched her, his breathing hitching.

She was secure, safe. He needed only her.

The herbalist only paused for a moment before closing her arms around him, vocalizing no objections. They stood together, the light at her back, and he steadily found his shakey feet on the steady ground of her.

Tenderly, she tugged away. "Let's go inside." She said, gently. "I have some tea, and a fire." Her lips pressed into a smile, and she nodded in encouragement, leading him to the warmth of her house, her home.

___

The couch was comfortable, Tech found, curled up, with the Herbalist handing him a cup of tea. He took a small sip, mumbling his thanks as she plopped down next to him, the heavy coat still on her shoulders. She watched him, eyes softened in the glow of the fire. "You've been crying."

He drew in a sharp breathe and started into the tea, the water bruising with leaves and their colors and he nodded. "Yes," He managed. He blinked to help bring some comfort to his dry eyes.

She crossed her legs, watching him. "You wanna talk about it?"

Tech glanced up from the cup, eyes scanning her face. "No," The doctor rasped. "I don't."

"Mm," She hummed, standing softly. Tech stared up at her as she moved, lowering her cup. "I can leave you alone-"

"No." Tech moved quicker than he could think, moving to her, crashing to his knees and grasping the skirt of her nightgown. "I can't be alone," His words were short of air, shallow. "Not again, not again."

He didn't want to look up. He just wanted to keep his face in her nightgown skirts, holding them- holding her- and forget what he had been running from. Hell, he had forgotten, the moment he saw her riding up to his stagecoach, like an angel of battle, and the only thing stirring in him was an overwhelming sense of her.

She moved her hands in his hair, shushing his cries. "Victor," She said, and the way she said it broke him. That concern, that love-

Quietly, she slid to her knees, too, and hugged him to her. "I'll stay, I'll stay with you. Or you can come sleep with me again." A rack happened in her lungs and she shook her head quickly. "Like last time. When I put my head in your lap-"

Tech picked his head up and kissed her, fingers winding in her coat. Her words were cut short by his kiss, the fire, the need in it. She hummed and pressed her hands in his hair, tugging him closer, tighter, and Tech felt like the fire- warm, hot, needy, comforting- his lust and his love were an oxymoron within themselves.

She pressed herself away, chest rising and falling against Tech's as her fingers brushed down to his waistcoat. Her eyes darted to his own, and she licked her lips, the delectible tongue peeking out from the supple fresh-kissed lips.

Tech ran his hand down the side of her face, the warmth exploding in his heart. "My, oh my," He sighed. Her skin was rosy, flushed from the kiss, cheeks the tint of rose-hips. "You're such a beautiful creature."

She sighed, leaning into him as he tugged her close, surrendering to his kisses.

Tech was done running for his past- he had found his future, here, in his arms.

[dreamsclock]

Sparrow whatever you do don't listen to "King" by the Amazing Devil and think about Sapnap and George taking Dream away somewhere safe post Dreamon possession... - Lost

this has very quickly become one of my favourite songs so ty for this and OUCH,,, this scenario,,, it’s so clear in my head,,, ouch :((( you KNOW i had to write this !! :D this can be interpreted as total control au or just a normal dreamon au,,, it’s up to you !!

warnings: possession, fighting, wounds/injuries

“Nobody around,” Sapnap says, closing and locking the door behind him, “the storm is too strong for anyone to follow us right now. We’ve got a night or two before we have to start moving again.”

George doesn’t look up, eyes clinging to the lifeless form lying on the couch, pale and drawn. “Good. We need as long as we can get before we can move again. He’s... not exactly in good shape.”

“Understatement,” Sapnap murmurs, weariness in his voice, “how long has he been sleeping?”

“He hasn’t moved since you left. He’s been sleeping deeply. Didn’t even wake like usual when the thunder started.”

Another crack of thunder and lash of lightning has Sapnap jumping, hand going to his sword, but Dream doesn’t stir. He’d been bad enough after the exorcism - worse when they’d had to run from the prison. George hadn’t even been sure they’d make it. Dream had been barely conscious and no use in a fight, he had been keeping Dream upright, and Sapnap had been injured; even now, blood oozes from a gash in his arm he only swipes a health potion for, before hesitating and returning it to the table in front of them.

George sighs. “We can’t give him any more, Sapnap. His body won’t deal well with it: it’ll give him potion sickness, and we can’t risk... You might as well have it. You’re the best defence we have. People are going to hesitate before attacking you.”

Sapnap doesn’t look convinced, but drinks the potion anyway, and some of the tension in his shoulders eases. “What do we do now?” He asks, sounding uncertain. When George tears his eyes off Dream’s prone body, he sees his best friend worrying his lip like he hadn’t done since they had been teenagers. “We can’t just sit here.”

“That’s all we can do.” It leaves George’s mouth reluctantly and he knows from the look Sapnap gives him that it’s the least helpful answer, but it’s the truth. “We keep him safe, keep him healthy, and watch over him until we have to move again. And we keep doing that until he’s in a stable position.”

“And then?” Sapnap prompts.

George swallows, trying to keep the uncertainty crossing over his expression. “And then we let him decide if he wants to return to the server properly or not,” he says firmly, “we figure it out when we get there.”

Sapnap slumps down beside Dream, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly. Dream shifts, but doesn’t wake - it’s still enough for Sapnap to flinch back like he’d hurt him. “George,” he whispers, barely audible over the storm, “what if he hates us?”

“Don’t.”

“Or what if he doesn’t even remember us? What if the dreamon has been possessing him for longer than we think, and-”

“Sapnap,” George snaps, “don’t.”

And when the younger falls silent, he curses himself internally. It’s stress, he knows, and it’s exhaustion, and it’s terror, but it’s not an excuse to be mean to Sapnap right now. 

They can save that for when Dream wakes up.

...If he wakes up.

“You should sleep,” he tells Sapnap quietly, “save your strength.”

“What about you?” Sapnap asks, frowning. “We can’t both sleep.”

George refocuses back on Dream. Without his mask on, which had cracked and shattered completely in the exorcism, he looks a lot younger and a lot more vulnerable. 

“I’ve slept long enough,” he says, and carefully takes Dream’s hand from Sapnap’s grip, “I’ll keep him safe. It’s about time I did.”

The storm howls overhead, and George doesn’t move as Sapnap settles down on the other side of the couch to sleep. His eyes stay fixed on Dream, who stays asleep and motionless.

It’s going to be okay, he tells himself, Dream, the server itself, I’ve got him.

[weelittleweasley]

crazy (f.w.)

prompt: something has been off between you and fred and trying to get to the bottom of it is madness.

pairing: fred weasley x fem! gryffindor! reader

warnings: mild language, crying, usage of marijuana, underage smoking, being high, dwindling relationships, angst

word count: 6.6k

taglist: @rosaliepostsstuff​ @harrysweasleys​ @gcdric​ @lumos-barnes​ @whizboingies​ @lumosandnoxwriting​ @pxroxide-prinxcesss​ @c-t-h​ @lol-idk-oops​ @another-lonely-heart-blog​ @parseltongueswriting​ @shilohpug​ @peachypotter​ @spacexcowgirl​ @paintballkid711​@vogueweasley​ @kaseyrose96-blog​ @hufflepuff5972​ @gryffindcrghost​ @wand3ringr0s3​

The snow melted away revealing the lush, green Scottish landscapes that the Hogwarts castle proudly sat upon. Spring had made its arrival with the eruption of white forget-me-nots and blossoming wildflowers in the courtyard. The sight from outside your window made your heart fill with glee as you smiled brightly, a lighthearted giggle dancing off your lips. You turned to your roommates with bright eyes and a hopeful smile. Alicia sighs mellow dramatically as you run over to her with pleading eyes, “It’s a beautiful day outside. Don’t you want to enjoy the first day of spring?” you dance around her as Angelina enters your dormitory with a big, bright smile. She had the same idea as you, no doubt. 

Alicia looks back and forth between you and Angie before surrendering, “Not too long please. I have an herbology exam and I need to do well on it.”

Without much more hesitation, the three of you are out of the dormitory and scurrying down the stairs. “We’ll be surrounded by the grass and the flowers and the trees; that oughtta help with studying, won’t it, Angie?” you tease as Angelina laughs in agreement, earning a sarcastic eye roll from Alicia. Finally, a warm day outside after the brutal and unforgiving winter. The sun was out, the grass was green, and the air was fresh with renewal. Spring was here.

As you walk through the common room, you stop in your tracks when your eyes land on Fred, your lips involuntarily turning up into a smile when you see him. Angelina and Alicia run ahead of you as you grab Fred’s hands with a smile. “Freddie!” you beam, looking at him with a happy grin, cheeks tingling from smiling hard.

He reciprocates a smile and places a kiss to your forehead. “Excited to see me, darling?” he teases. “Where are you lot off to?” he asks, resting one of his hands on your hips, looking down at you as you excitedly rock back and forth on your heels. Your lips are curled into a smile as you bite onto your bottom lip, lovingly looking at your Fred. “Take a picture, sweetheart, it’ll last longer,” he whispers, teasing you as you roll your eyes with a light swat to his chest, making him chuckle.

“We’re off to go outside. It’s beautiful out and we figured we would enjoy the weather,” you tell him as he tilts your chin up with this forefinger, rubbing his thumb over your bottom lip. You giggle lightly before biting his thumb gently as he chuckles. “You want to come with us?” you ask hopeful for his response.

Much to your dismay, Fred sighs, “I’m afraid I can’t. I have loads of work to catch up on today. I’m way behind in Potions.” You pout, displeased with the news, but Fred kisses your pouted lips which brings an instant smile to your face. “I’ll catch up with you later though, alright, darling?” You give him a small nod before he pecks your forehead and leaves you, catching up with George who waits for him at the bottom of the steps to the boys’ dormitories. 

You run off, catching up with Alicia and Angie, linking your arms with them as you make your way outdoors. As soon as you step outside, the spring air fills your lungs, smelling of fresh grass and morning dew. A small smile forms on your lips as you happily sigh. Springtime made your heart soar. It reminded you of good things, happy memories. Running in the grass as you played games of tag as a child, going to the park and getting pushed on the swings as you swung higher and higher. Spring reminded you of laying underneath a tree, Fred’s head in your lap as you brushed through his hair, reading a book out loud to him as he happily shut his eyes, listening to the sound of your voice mixing with the springtime breeze. 

Angelina immediately makes a run for a grassy patch covered with beautiful wildflowers, laughing in the process as you and Alicia run after her. All three of you immediately flop down, the grass molding to the shape of your bodies as you lay back, staring at the pale blue sky filled with cotton ball clouds. As if on cue, the three of you sigh out. “This is nice,” you speak as Angie hums in agreement. “Aren’t you glad you came, Alicia?”

Alicia sighs, “Yeah, I guess.” You push her arm teasingly, making her retaliate, “Okay, okay, yes. This is very nice. Thank you.”

The three of you lay in the grass for a long while, making quiet chatter. At one point, you start picking flowers, tying the stems together to create a crown for each of you. You skillfully plaited the stems of the purple, yellow, and white wildflowers before placing the crown on your two friends’ heads. With the other flowers you found, you started plaiting again, this crown for Fred as you smiled to yourself, quietly making your masterpiece. 

“For Fred?” Alicia asks you as you nod your head, not looking away from the plaits. “Jeez, (Y/N), you’re like a lovesick puppy.” 

This earns a slap on the arm from Angelina, a small ouch dropping from Alicia’s mouth. “I think it’s sweet, (Y/N),” Angie beams at you as you roll your eyes, knowing she found it tooth rotting-ly sick like Alicia did. But you didn’t care. It was the small things that you did that made Fred know that you loved him. Small kisses in between classes, closing his textbook for him when he needed a break, offering a hug when he was stressed, sneaking out of class to meet him in the hallway. It were the little things that made Fred fall in love with you and you with him. Although a flower crown may be silly, it was just a token of affection. To show him that you were thinking of him while you were outside.

Recently, you’ve been doing little things more often just because of how busy Fred seemed to be. Your hang outs have been getting cut short and he doesn’t seem to have as much free time anymore. Whether it’s quidditch practice, studying for exams, or running off to pull pranks with George, you always catch him when he’s busy. It was a little frustrating, feeling like your boyfriend had been casting you aside and taking priorities over something else. But rather than telling him how you felt, you convinced yourself that this was just temporary and it would phase itself out. But a month had gone by, and nothing changed. But you still hadn’t brought it up to him. Instead, you continued doing little things.

Alicia groans, peeling herself off of the fresh grass, shielding her eyes from the setting sun. “I should probably head back inside now to study. The exam is this week and I still have a lot of work to do,” she huffs before standing from the grass, brushing off her skirt as you and Angelina follow her lead.

You link arms with Angelina as Alicia leads the way. Angelina looks at you, as you play with Fred’s flower crown in your hands. “You alright?” she asks you as you look at her with a small nod. “You seem gloomy.”

You think for a moment. You could tell Angelina about the situation, but you didn’t want to drag your friends into your relationship problems. She could talk to Fred, but why would she talk to Fred when you could? With a shake of your head, you speak, “I’m alright, Angie. Thank you for checking in though.”

She hugs you to her side, “Of course. You are one of my best mates, I just want to make sure that you’re happy.” You nod your head and walk back into the common room. 

Alicia and Angie start to the girl’s dorms as you part from them, towards the boy’s. “I’m gonna go to Fred’s. I’ll catch up with you lot later,” you smile at them with a wave before heading up the stairs to Fred’s dormitory. Nervously, you play with the flower crown in your hands, twisting it in between your fingers. You were hoping that you and Fred could finally have some alone time, hoping that George and Lee wouldn’t be in the room. It had been a long while since you had alone time with Fred. Even then, the last time was short lived, Fred leaving your room earlier than you had planned thanks to quidditch practice. 

When you reached his dormitory, you lifted your hand up to knock, but stopped when you heard laughter coming from behind the door. There were a few people in the room. You could hear Fred’s voice, but also a handful of others in the room. Your heart sank as you listened to the muffled voices behind the door, having a laugh with each other. Did Fred leave you out intentionally? You were friends with the same people in your year which made no sense as to why he didn’t tell you of this hang out. You got along with everyone just fine. 

You shake it off and knock on the door which causes all the voices to halt suddenly. You are so tempted to press your ear to the door to listen to the low whispering before you hear footsteps approach the door, the lock turn, and the door creak open to reveal Fred at the door. “Hi,” you speak timidly as Fred smiles.

But instead of swinging the door open as expected, Fred slithers out from the door and closes it behind him. “Hi, sweetheart,” he coos to you as you feign a smile. You look behind him at the door, wondering what could be happening behind it. “I didn’t expect you,” he interrupts your thoughts as you look at him.

“Well, you did say we would catch up later...and it’s later,” you chuckle as Fred smiles. “Um,” you stutter before formulating a sentence, “I, uh, are you busy now? I thought that maybe we could go out into the courtyard and grab a blanket and watch the stars? It’s supposed to be clear out tonight. Perfect for stargazing.” You had come up with this idea off the cuff, testing him. If he said no, he could invite you in to where he was clearly hanging out with some people already. If he said yes, it meant he was willing to ditch whatever was going on inside to be with you. 

Fred gives you a sad smile. “That sounds lovely, but I’m afraid I’m slammed with work tonight,” he tells you as your heart falls. You wait for him to invite you inside to his room with the obvious group he had. But he mentions none of it. “But I promise I’ll make it up to you. Soon,” he explains, kissing your hairline as you gulp, trying to keep cool. “What’s this?” he refers to the flower crown on your head with a giggle as you lightly force a smile on your lips to cover your disappointment.

“It’s, uh, a flower crown. I made them in the field. I made one for myself and Angie, and Alicia, and I actually m-”

“I hate to cut you off, my love, but I really have to get back to work,” Fred interjects as you stand there, mouth agape and eyes filled with pure confusion. “I’m sorry about tonight, darling, but I have to get going. I’ll see you soon, I promise. Love you,” he kisses your parted lips before slipping back behind the door, leaving you speechless and upset.

The flower crown in your hand suddenly looks very wilted as you sigh at the sight of it. You gulp hard, trying to keep calm and collected, but you can’t help but feel so disappointed. And lied to. Fred obviously had people over in his room and he didn’t tell you about them when you gave him the opportunity to.

Even more upset than before, you walk down the stairs and back to the girl’s dormitory, throwing Fred’s wilted crown in the garbage in the process. With low spirits, you walk back into your dormitory to see Alicia reading a textbook on her bed while Angelina laid on the floor, painting her nails, both shocked to see you back so soon. But before they could ask you why you simply stated, “He was busy.”

You take off your jumper and change into a fresh shirt and comfortable sweatpants as Alicia closes her textbook and sighs. “(Y/N), is something going on between you and Fred?” she asks you as you face away from them, changing. As you fold your clothes, you try your best to not let your sad thoughts get the best of you. “The two of you seem a little off lately. Can we help?” she asks, but that’s when it gets to you. You couldn’t hide the fact that something was happening between you and Fred and not something good. This distance, the feeling like you were oceans away, was starting to show to the outside eye.

Without bothering to cover it up, you let a small sob escape your lips as you turn around to face your friends. Both of them rise to their feet to comfort you as Angelina wraps her arms around you, pulling you closer as Alicia rubs your back. You cry in Angie’s arms, speaking through small sobs, “I just can’t help but feel worried for us.” The two of your friends listen to you intently, not wanting to miss a single beat. “Why do I let myself worry wondering what in the world did I do?” you cry out. You can’t help but feel like you did something wrong that made Fred cast you aside. 

You peel yourself from Angelina’s embrace you as you wipe your eyes with the cuff of your clean shirt. “I’m so sorry you feel like this, (Y/N). You don’t deserve any of it,” Alicia says. “He’s behaving like a child,” she shakes her head as you sniffle, Alicia still rubbing your back.

“It’s not even him behaving like a child. I’ve grown used to that. It’s just...” you sigh out, running your hands over your face. “I came to his room and there were people there...and he was hiding them from me. He came out into the hallway to talk to me and he didn’t invite me in when I knew there were people inside. He’s just become so...sneaky for some reason. And that’s not the Fred I know,” you trail off, thinking about how unlike Fred this was. “I feel crazy for feeling so lonely.”

The thought of Fred becoming someone you didn’t recognize made your stomach feel queasy and your chest feel tight. You fell in love with a wild, goofy, happy person who loved spending time with you. And now...now you barely even saw the boy to know what he was like.

Angelina looks at you with sad eyes, “Hey. You’ve got us.” You give her a sad smile and nod your head. She was completely right; just because your boyfriend didn’t want to hang out with you all the time didn’t mean that you didn’t have other people in your life. “Now let’s dry those eyes and enjoy the night. I’ll finish painting my nails and then we can do yours. After that, I say we sneak into the kitchens and get some snacks and head up to the astronomy tower. It’s supposed to be a clear night and that means it’s a great night for star gazing,” she suggests with a hopeful smile as you sniffle, a small smile emerging on your face.

You look to Alicia, an excited gleam in your eyes, looking for her answer. She sighs in defeat, “Yeah, I’ll join. But if I get a shit mark on this test, it’s you two’s fault,” she points a warning finger at you as you giggle.

“Thank you, the both of you,” you tell your two best friends. This was exactly what you needed. A night with your two best friends enjoying the views of the crystal clear night sky. It was exactly what you needed to get your mind off of your relationship with Fred. 

Soon enough, Angelina had finished painting her nails and Alicia had finished cramming in some last minute studying. “You sure that you’re ready for the exam, Leesh? Because if you’re not, we can do a different night!” you try to sympathize with her.

Alicia shakes her head, “Nah, I should be fine. Besides, I sit next to Longbottom. If worse comes to worse-”

“Alicia!” Angelina laughs as she just shrugs as the two of you leave your dormitory room, headed for the kitchens. “Alright you lot, come on now. And remember to keep,” Angelina speaks in a hush whisper as you tip toe into the kitchen, but halting in your tracks when you realize you’re not alone, “quiet.”

Standing in front of you is a laughing Katie Bell as she stands in between the legs of Fred who is sat on top of the counter, munching on a chocolate biscuit. The two of them are a giggling mess as you spot George and Lee raiding the cupboards for more snacks. But the laughter dwindles down as Fred’s eyes land on you. When his chocolate eyes meet yours, your heart falls onto the ground. He was busy, eh?

Alicia looks at your reaction and what she sees is the look of heartbreak. Anger starts to bubble in Alicia’s chest when she notices how upset you are. Without further hesitation, she claps her hands. “Alright, you lot. The kitchens aren’t just for you. Come on. Give it up,” she walks further into the kitchens, plucking snacks as she sees fit, one of them being the biscuits that Fred had in his hand. She immediately sticks the treat in her mouth before Fred can protest. “Thanks, Weasley,” she says with a mouthful of chocolate biscuit. 

You on the other hand stay put where you are, eyes glued on Fred and his on yours. Your eyes stare into his soul and you can feel how uncomfortable he is with you catching him redhanded. His eyes are like magnets, not letting you pull away from him. It’s like you’re in a trance and he’s trying to send you a mind message. But before he can say anything, you shake your head and break eye contact. Angelina mutters something under her breath as she walks towards Alicia to help her with snacks, but you can make out her saying something along the lines of how pathetic. 

Walking into the kitchens, following Angelina, you grab a bag from Alicia filled with snacks. As you turn around, you bump into George who is a giggling mess. “(Y/N)!” he exclaims as you sigh and give him a curt smile. “I haven’t seen you in forever,” he whines as you look to Angelina for help with wide eyes. “Is Freddie keeping you all to himself again?” he teases you, wiggling his brows.

But as you look at his eyes, you see how bloodshot they look, how droopy and tired his eyes are. He sports a lazy smile and a giggle keeps reverberating in his chest. You furrow your brows, “Are you...are you high, Georgie?” you ask him.

He scoffs, “Me? High? Pffft, no!” You give him a look. “Okay, yes. I am.” You look to Angelina and gulp, wanting to leave now before things got ugly. “Freddie, I miss (Y/N). Where have you been hiding her?” George calls out to her brother who remains seated on the counter, staring at you the whole time.

Fred opens his mouth to say something, but you speak before he can, “You’ve been really busy, huh, Freddie.” He just sits there and stares at you. “Thank you for being honest with me.” Your eyes divert and see Katie who stands in between his legs, hands placed on his knees. The sight makes you feel sick. “Very important business to attend to, you know? Keeping up with Potions homework. Maybe Katie can help.”

Not wanting to wait in the kitchen any longer, you start out with Alicia and Angelina not too far behind. Fred calls out your name, once, and then twice when you don’t respond. When you’re out the door, you call back, “Talk to me when you’re sober.”

You, Alicia, and Angelina walk out of the kitchens and through the castle, the energy between the three of you noticeably shifting as anger, hurt, and sadness bubble in your bones. Angie speaks, “(Y/N), you wanna ta-”

“No. I want to watch the stars with my friends. That’s all.”

Alicia and Angelina share a look as you continue to march your way to the astronomy tower, trying to enjoy what is salvageable of your night.

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

The next morning, the emotions you felt from last night are only amplified. The night under the stars with Angie and Alicia was lovely, but you couldn’t help your mind from wandering to the sight of Katie next to Fred, his eyes glued on you. You felt sick. You didn’t want to jump to conclusions without hearing the full story, but your gut was telling you something wasn’t adding up. The relationship wasn’t what it used to be, but this...this was something you didn’t think would ever happen.

As you sit up in bed, you run your hands over your face in distress, trying to figure out how to approach the situation. Angelina and Alicia are still fast asleep, so there was no use asking them for advice. You were on your own with this one. 

“Get dressed and then you can think of something,” you whisper to yourself. You hoist your legs over the side of your bed and stand up, stretching your arms out with a yawn. “You can deal with Fred later.”

And as if on cue, there was a knock at your door. You look at the clock. It was only nine in the morning on a Saturday, who was up this early on a day off? Slowly, you make your way to the door and speak from behind it. “Who is it?”

“It’s, uh, me. It’s Fred, (Y/N),” the voice speaks as you close your eyes, silently cursing to yourself. Shit. “We need to talk about last night and what happened in the kitchens.”

You remain behind the door, hand on the door knob, but not moving it. You knew you had to talk to him and sort this whole thing out whether you liked the ending or not. 

“Please, (Y/N).”

Taking a deep breath in, you open the door gently to reveal a messy haired Fred in a t-shirt and sweatpants, still groggy from sleep or lack thereof. He gives you a weak smile, “Good morning, darling.”

But his pet names didn’t bring a smile on your face like they normally did. Instead, they made your stomach sour as you just looked to the floor, pulling your jumper closer to your body. “If you want to talk, we can’t do it here. Angelina and Alicia are sleeping and I’m not disturbing them,” you speak plainly, looking up at Fred with cold eyes. 

He bites the inside of his cheek and speaks, “We can go into my room if that’s alright with you. George and Lee went down for breakfast.”

Even though you would have preferred to have this talk in your own room, your own space, it was better to do it in the privacy of Fred’s rather than having to wake up and shoo Angelina and Alicia, or worse, talk as they were asleep. Begrudgingly, you shut the door behind you and follow Fred to his dormitory, a familiar route to you, but one you’d rather not be taking now. 

The walk there is quiet and awkward. It is obvious that Fred is trying to make light of the situation, asking you how last night was with the girls, asking you about the day in the grass and how the weather was. But instead of engaging in conversation, you just give him one word answers or remain silent. 

When you reach his room, he opens the door for you and you step into his dormitory, immediately feeling like an outsider. It was unfamiliar. This room was where you spent most of your time for so long, but since you hadn’t been here in nearly a month you felt out of place. Like you were disturbing it. You were an intruder. 

Fred taps his legs before sitting on the bed, expecting you to follow suit, but you remain standing in the middle of the room, staring at him in your pajamas. “I just want to apologize for last night and you having to see me like...that,” he sighs as you remain unfazed by his words. “I should have told you that the boys and Katie and I were hanging out instead of telling you that I was working. It was wrong and I feel like shit about it...I’m sorry, love. I really feel like a dickhead,” he apologizes to you as you fold your arms across your chest. “The truth would have been so much easier to tell you rather than lie about something as silly as a group hang out. I just didn’t tell you because the boys were complaining that they never see me anymore because of how much time we spend together and I figured that if I didn’t tell you, you wouldn’t ask.”

You give him a look that just screams, you’re kidding me, right? You were busy hanging out with him? For Merlin’s sake, you hadn’t seen your boyfriend in almost a month and that was his apology? Rather his excuse? “They haven’t seen you? Fred, I haven’t seen you in nearly a month! Every time I try and ask you to hang out with me or even talk to me you have something to do. Quidditch, pulling a prank with George, hanging out with Lee, studying for an exam. Don’t try and make this about me and my demands because it’s not,” you retort to him as he just sits on the bed and stares up at you as you vent. “Not to mention, since when has you dating me ever stood in the way of you hanging out with your friends? If you wanted to hang out with them so badly, then you should have told me and I still would have said yes, Fred! I’m not a monster who wants you all to herself, but Godric, I’m sorry that I’ve miss my boyfriend!”

Fred rubs his face and simply says, “Well, I have been busy over the past couple of weeks, so that’s not rubbish.”

You laugh at his response. “That’s all you have to say for yourself?” you exclaim. “Fred, I’ve been driving myself crazy over the past few weeks wondering what I did wrong. Why you pushed me aside, why you’ve tossed me away like I’m a piece of garbage!”

“That’s not true, (Y/N). Come on,” he shakes his head, looking away from you.

Now, you are getting angry. He was going to pretend like him ignoring you and denying you for a month was nothing. That’s not how things worked. “Yes, it is, Fred and you know it!” you cry out, not realizing how loud you’ve gotten. “I don’t know what is happening between us, but whatever it is, I don’t like it,” you confess.

Maybe it was your emotions talking, but you couldn’t help but feel like Fred didn’t mind the distance between you two. Maybe he liked not being as close. Maybe he wanted to have more alone time away from you. But the thought of losing Fred, someone you had loved so dearly, so intimately, made you feel lightheaded. 

Fred stands up from the bed and you think he’s going to walk over to you and give you a hug, which you know you would gladly accept. You need his comfort right now. You need him to scoop you up and tell you that everything is going to be alright and that he’s sorry for making you feel so lonely and sad. But instead of him telling you all the things you want, no need, to hear, he speaks something different. “Maybe we’re just growing apart,” he suggests.

You turn to face him with so much hurt and pain in your eyes it was enough to shatter his heart twice. Your vision becomes blurry with tears as you swallow, pushing the lump in your throat down, blinking your tears away. What was happening? “We’re w-what?” you stutter.

“Growing apart,” he repeats. “(Y/N), we’re going to be graduating soon and we’re going to have to start thinking about what we want out of life. I don’t know if we want the same things,” he tells you as your heart is ripped out of your chest and stomped on at his words. All you can do is laugh in disbelief. “I’m serious. You always told me how after you graduated here you wanted to go back to school and become a Healer and have a family and move away from England...I just...Merlin, I don’t know how to say this...”

“Then don’t,” you cut him off as Fred looks at you, tears streaming down your face now. What he was saying to you know completely contradicted everything he had told you in the past. When you and Fred spoke of the future, he always spoke of you in it. He told you how he wanted to buy a house in the countryside and raise a big family together and take holiday vacations to America and do weekly visits to the Burrow. Fred always told you that no matter what happened, he wanted you in his future. And now, that was revealed to be a lie. “Fred, I don’t care about Healer school or moving away from England. What I want is you,” you tell him as you feel your chest tighten with pain. Now Fred’s eyes start to blur with tears as you look away from him, pulling at the roots of your hair in distress. It was like he changed overnight. “What...what happened, Fred? What happened that all of a sudden you tell me our futures don’t align?”

Fred wipes tears away from his eyes and takes a deep breath in. “It’s, um, it’s a long story, but um...the joke shoppe...it looks like it’s going to happen,” Fred tells you with a lighthearted chuckle. “Harry gave George and I the winnings from the Triwizard tournament to open up the joke shoppe. It’s happening. That’s why I’ve been distant these past few weeks. George and I have been planning like crazy for it. Testing products, crunching numbers, ordering stock, finding a location in London,” he rambles on. “Last night, the lot of us were testing out an...adult product and we didn’t realize the effects it would have...so that’s why we were like that in the kitchens.” 

His words make your heart swell for a moment. Fred’s dream was coming to fruition. His own joke shoppe. A place he could call his own with his best friend and twin brother. He could finally start creating the life he wanted and you couldn’t be happier for him. Except it seemed like that life he wanted didn’t have you in it. And that’s when your heart stopped swelling.

You nod your head, “That’s...brilliant, Fred. I’m so happy for you. Really. About the joke shoppe...that’s great news.” Fred gives you a hopeful smile, thinking that the worst was over. But it hadn’t even begun. “But, I don’t understand why you had to hide it from me. Did you think I was going to be upset with you? You know that I’ve wanted this for you just as badly as you have,” you tell him with the utmost sincerity which Fred knew to be fact. “You just couldn’t have me know about it for what reason exactly?”

Fred scratches the back of his neck before pacing around his room, trying to avoid the question, but you weren’t going anywhere. “I just...ugh,” he groans and throws his head back. “I just didn’t think that you would be interested. Besides, I need to focus on my work. I can’t have any distractions,” he says this last part without looking at you.

Your stomach is doing somersaults and you feel like you’ve just been lied to your entire relationship. Fred thought that you wouldn’t be interested? How was he going to determine what you were and weren’t interested in? “You’re joking,” you speak. “Fred, I will and always will support everything you do. I can’t believe you’d even think that I wouldn’t be interested in something you are so clearly passionate about,” you tell him as he gulps, knowing he was in the wrong for making such a claim. Even after all of these explanations of him ignoring you and diverting his attention elsewhere, there was something that just didn’t add up. “So, you asked Katie Bell to help test out products with you? Instead of me. Or Angie, who is seeing George. Or Alicia, who Lee has been flirting with since the dawn of time.”

Fred becomes visibly uncomfortable at the mention of Katie’s name and that’s when you shake your head, the whole thing becoming very clear to you know. This wasn’t about the shoppe anymore. This was about something else. “It was never like that, (Y/N),” Fred speaks.

“It was never like that or you never intended for it to happen?” you ask him, your voice cracking as you pace back and forth in his bedroom. He was distant with you because he was falling out of love. That was it. “Good Godric, I feel like I’m going crazy,” you let out a shaky laugh, unable to believe what was happening. The story just kept on unfolding.

Fred walks over to you quickly, trying to calm your fears, “Nothing happened between us! I swear on my life!”

You let out a laugh, “Sure! That makes me feel better!” Fred gulps. “But there was something that was there enough to make you push me away,” you speak lowly as Fred searches your teary eyes for something. He doesn’t know what he’s looking for; hope? forgiveness? love? friendship? You start pacing the room again, the venomous thoughts coming into your head as they vomit out of your mouth, “You know people told me not to get involved with you because you were a flirt, Fred. But I told them that you were different with me. You saw a future with me, but now I am proven wrong,” you tell him as he shakes his head in disbelief, trying to get you to stop talking, but you don’t. The words just tumble out. “I knew you’d love me as long as you wanted. And then someday, you’d leave me for somebody new,” you spill. “I just didn’t think that this someday would come so soon.”

“I don’t want Katie, (Y/N)! I don’t! Godric! I don’t!” he yells out. “(Y/N), I love you! You know that!” he screams as you just cry harder at his words. Over the past month, you didn’t feel his love. It felt like a chore to get an I love you out of him. “I’ve been distant because I’ve been working hard for my dream! My future! Why can’t you understand that I’m working for something I want!” he yells.

And the truth comes out.

Instinctively, you yell back, “Because how am I supposed to understand something you never told me! You never told me about the joke shoppe and your plans for it! Hell, you never told me Harry gave you the money! How am I supposed to support you when you don’t tell me how I can?!” you yell through tears. “Don’t you hear yourself! Your dream! Your future! You want! What about us?”

The both of you are crying now, you covering your mouth to prevent sobs from escaping, Fred sitting on his bed, hanging his head in his hands, sniffling. This all blew up so quickly and neither of you knew how to recover from this. The damage that the past month had caused was enough to put a gaping hole in your relationship that would be very hard to cover up. That was if you wanted to cover it up.

It’s silent for a while. The air is still and untouched. Fred on the edge of his bed, you sitting on the floor, back resting against the door. You want to get up and leave the room. But you don’t. You sit there. And think. 

And then Fred speaks. “Our futures don’t fit together,” he looks at you, eyes swollen and red matching yours. “We’ve tried to make them fit. But it won’t work.”

You laugh and shake your head, “Freddie...then you haven’t listened to anything I’ve ever told you.” He looks at you, twisting his face with confusion. “All I’ve ever wanted was you. I don’t care what happens after we graduate. Healer school was an idea. But you? You were never an idea. You were something I always wanted,” you confess as Fred gives you the saddest smile you’ve ever seen. “But if I’m not in your future...then...” you trail off, unable to finish the sentence. It was a nightmare. 

It’s silent again. 

But the longer you sit in silence, the more angry you get. Not at Fred. But at yourself. If you had known about what he wanted, what Fred wanted, you could have avoided all of his heartbreak and pain. But instead, Fred fed into your fantasy, this dream, this hazy future of yours and you let him. “I’m crazy,” you laugh as Fred look up at you. “I’m crazy for thinking that my love could hold you.”

Fred shakes his head, “No, (Y/N). You’re not. I love you and I always will.”

“Please don’t tell me that,” you close your eyes and bite down on your bottom lip to prevent the tears from falling again. You couldn’t let yourself hope for a future that didn’t exist with Fred. “This was never going to work. I’m crazy for trying,” you breath out before standing and brushing yourself off, Fred rising with you. “I’m crazy for crying,” you wipe away the remaining tears on your face.

Fred walks over to you as you place your hand on the door. “(Y/N),” he starts, “I never wanted us to end like this. You mean so much to me and I can’t just let you go like this,” he starts crying again, but you have to peel your eyes away. “We want to different things and we both deserve to be happy. Don’t you think?” he asks you. But his question sounded like he needed the reassurance from you. That he needed you to tell him that you agreed. To make it seem like you both wanted this break up.

Looking at Fred once more before you leave, you say, “We do want different things. You want your dream and I want you. But I can’t pretend like I’m happy that we are going our separate ways.” Fred nods his head, wiping his tears away. “I need space. And time. Away from you, Fred.”

And with that, you leave his room and start down the stairs back to your dormitory. You hide your face as best as you can from passing Gryffindor students, trying to be as incognito as possible. As you walk back to your room, you can’t help but think back on all of the happier times that you and Fred shared and think was it a lie? Was it all for show? It would be something that would keep you up at night. 

You were crazy about Fred Weasley, that was for certain. But even crazier for loving someone who didn’t want you as badly as you wanted them.

Walking up the stairs, you look out the window to see the fresh spring countryside. Admits all the chaos, the flowers were still blooming, the grass still growing, and the sun still shining. Spring was still here and new as ever. The snow had melted away to reveal the fruitful, lush land. A new start. Maybe it was time for you to have one too. 

[airplanned]

It’s Glaringly Obvious

More Ned-does-it-wrong Whumptober for your fluffy enjoyment!

Prompt 12: I think I've broken something (broken bones)

Prompt 30: Where did that come from? (hiding an injury)

***

At least one of Link's fingers is broken.  It's glaringly obvious, as he's been favoring his right hand while cooking and opening doors and even his usual exuberant hand gestures are a little lopsided. 

He's otherwise acting as if nothing's wrong.  He's gone about his usual daily chores, and done his usual exercises (although he did announce that it was "leg day" as if she ever had any interest at all in his training regimen).  He went into town and bought ingredients for dinner and while he was there, he helped find three lost cows, so it must not be hurting him that badly.

She notes with suspicion that he's wearing full gloves today. 

Definitely hiding something.

He grins at her across the table as they sit down to dinner (which he made).  Maybe she's wrong.  He picks up his spoon with his left hand.  Maybe she's right.

She bows her head in a prayer of thanks for the meal, and throws in a prayer at the end for Link's hand. 

"How was your day?" she asks.

"Good," he says.  He scoops the whole radish out of his soup and balances it on his spoon.  "I found some cows."

"That is impressive.  And how are you feeling?"

He thinks for a second.  Then says, "I feel kinda gross.  Cows are gross."

"Indeed."

They eat in silence for a moment.  They're sitting catty-corner from each other, as there's a large chunk of a dissected guardian turret on the other side of the table.  She watches him from the corner of her eye before getting an idea.  She’s going to make him use his hand.

She reaches over and places her own hand on his knee.

He looks up at her, curious, but when he sees her meeting his gaze head on, his face softens.  The smile he gives her is fond.  He shifts slightly closer to her in his seat so she doesn't have to reach so far.

He does not cover her hand with his own.  He does not remove her hand from his person.

Instead, he goes back to eating.

Frustratingly, dinner ends without her gaining any more information about his silly hand.

#

Link most likely has a broken rib.  It's glaringly obvious, as he has been visibly wincing every time he's lifted something or reached for something or turned or sat down since he came home from his monster hunt.  When he goes into the storage area to get plates for dinner and he thinks she can't see him, he makes an attempt at stretching, reaching an arm over his head.  But then he hisses and shrinks in on himself, slapping his elbow to his wounded flank and grabbing at his side with his other hand.

She stomps to the doorway, plants her hands on her hips, and demands, "Are you hurt?"

He spins on her, his eyes wide with the knowledge that he's been caught.

"No," he says.  "Just--you know--stretching."  He draws his arm across his chest and locks it in place with his opposite forearm.  He grins at her and then gives a happy sigh as he releases. 

He definitely just stretched the uninjured side.

She narrows her eyes at him.

On further consideration, she's unsure if it's a broken rib or some kind of flesh wound.  She analyzes how his tunic is lying across his side, trying to detect the bulge of a bandage.

She needs to get a look at it.  Or, barring that, she needs him to admit that there's something wrong with his side.  And then let her look at it.

He collects a basket full of ingredients to haul outside to the cooking pot, and she moves to grab it for him. 

"I got it," he says, one of his eyes twitching as he lifts it.

Again, she tries to take it.  "Let me get it for you.  You shouldn't be lifting that much weight."

He twists away from her with a grunt.  "Why not?"

"Because you're hurt."

"I'm fine.  I think you just want to stand too close to me."  He winks at her.

She flushes and takes an instinctive step back.

He grins and walks past her and--

Ugh!  Absolutely infuriating.

Outside, he's set himself to chopping up vegetables with tiny little chops.  She takes a seat nearby and ponders how to make Link crack. She needs to ask him to do some serious physical activity so he'll call uncle.  Or would that just hurt his body more when he refuses to hurt his pride?  She doesn't actually want to injure him really. 

It's a puzzle.

He's stirring slowly when she gets an idea.  Wanting to stand too close to him, is she? 

She scoots closer.  And closer.  And then leans against him under the guise of smelling dinner.  She looks over at him from just a few short inches away and beams.  "That smells delicious."

He smiles back.  Leans against her a bit before turning back their meal.

She reaches up and traces the stitching on the edge of his tunic, letting her fingers drag.  When he turns back to her, she gives him a flirty look from under her eyelashes.  At least she hopes it's flirty.  She's not an expert.

He gives her a bemused look.  "You're frisky tonight."  Then he turns back and stirs the soup some more.

Frisky!?  She is indignant.  Yes, she is--technically--trying to seduce him in hopes that he'll go "Oh ouch!  My side!"  But "frisky"?

He calls her frisky and then turns back to his pilaf?

That will not do at all. 

With a huff, she snatches his spoon from his hand, throws it aside, twists so she's straddling his lap, and kisses him.

Let's see him turn away from that!

He makes a muffles noise of surprise, but then grabs for her back and pulls her closer.  The kiss turns eager, desperate, and--wait, she had a mission.  He was supposed to refuse her because he was so injured and she was supposed to throw a victorious finger in his face and--oh shit, she's kissing Link.

She doesn't stop kissing him.

He moans into her mouth, and she's not sure if it's in delight or discomfort.  Maybe she shouldn't be doing this.  Because of his injury.

Neither of them stop. 

A few minutes later, one of his hands is in her shirt, and she's rucking up his tunic, and it's snagged on something, and--

He breaks the kiss with a curse, and she blinks at him in confusion until her senses return.  Her hand is most definitely grazing a bandage. She yanks his shirt up to his armpits for a better look. 

"Ah ha!" she says.  She grins at him, but she's much more breathless than she was in her imaginings of this moment.  "I knew it."

"You're very smart," he agrees, then grabs the back of her head and drags her in for another kiss.

#

Link has been shot in the leg.  It’s glaringly obvious, as the arrow is still there, sticking out the side right under his knee.  The leg gives out beneath him as he stumbles towards her, and he falls to one knee.

“Oh Goddess, Link!”  She runs to him, bending to grip his shoulder.

Wincing, he says, “It’s fine.  I’m good.”

“You are most certainly not good.  You’ve been shot in the leg!”

“I’m...It’s fine.”

She frowns at that, and then straightens up and crosses her arms over her chest.  If he’s fine, then he doesn’t need her help.  “I see, so you’re just on the ground for the fun of it.”

“I’m not on the ground.  This is...a kneel.”

“Well then, excuse me.  Carry on.”

“I...meant to be down here.”

“Oh?  Tying your shoe, are you?”

His boots do not have laces, but he looks down to check anyway.

“I...um...” His eyes dart around for an excuse.  

She waits with pursed lips until his frantic searching lands on her face.

“Um.  Will...you marry me?”

She blinks at him.  And then explodes.  “I beg your pardon!?”

He puts some effort into making his voice sound more confident, as if that will make a difference.  “That’s what I’m doing down here.  Asking you to marry me.”  

He reaches for her hand, and she bats him away.

“I can’t believe you would—This is— Ugh!  What on earth would you do if I said yes?”

“...Get...married?”

“Ugh!”  She throws her arms in the air and starts to pace.  Link, of course, stays where he is.  “I can’t believe you would be so flippant about—This is a serious matter, and—am I’m just a joke to you?”

“No!  What?  Zelda, marry me.”

“Why would I do such a foolish thing?”

His brows crinkle in confusion.  Or maybe pain.  “Because I love you?”

“Ha!”

She considers leaving him here in the road.

“Are...you turning me down?” he asks.

“Are you seriously asking me to marry you instead of admitting you’ve been shot?”

He nods.  “I’m seriously asking you to marry me.”

She stops pacing and narrows her eyes at him.  He gives her his most hopeful look.

“Fine,” she says.  “I’ll agree when you admit there’s an arrow in your knee.”

He stares at her.  Then he licks his lower lip.  It takes him a very long time to say, “Um.  Clearly you can see...”

He gestures at his leg and trails off.

She folds her arms again, stares him down, and waits.

“Zelda,” he says.  “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.  And I’ve been shot.  In the leg.  With an arrow.”  

...Well.  That’s...

“Actually, there’s also a second one in my shoulder.”

“Link!”

[i-mybrunettelady]

49 for the writing prompts for whatever inspires you :3

(@uselessidiotsquad )

Thank you for the ask!! Have a baby El <3 Cue emotional turmoil, confusion, violent wishes against others, and all the other good stuff! CW for vague injury description!

--- prompt: i don’t want to screw this up 

--- Grove, 1305 AE

He can feel them, awfully happy and jolly and dancing around fire. Happiness feels like an over-saturated sweet (candy? He remembers the word candy but cannot quite visualise how would a candy look like) and a slap to the face, and that red shitstain of a sylvari that’s been hounding his thoughts and goading the tightness under his skin dances as well.

El would’ve charged if his hand didn’t hurt.

Fire burns, it turns out. Flaming weapons hurt. And it took one nasty fall for both the wrist and the hand to hurt.

El hasn’t dared to show his face before Cadeyrn since. He knows he’ll be laughed at, snickered, and that if he does anything, he’ll just hurt himself more. Kahedins’ gentle words get the point across perfectly well and if he were honest, he doesn’t quite like pain.

Maybe that’s why the encounter at Cadeyrn’s house a few weeks ago doesn’t sit still. Maybe that’s why he feels the shadow of Trahearne’s lips on his even after it came to pass.

He lowers his head to hide a stupid grin, raises his bandaged hand to feel at his lips again. He’ll take Trahearne’s kisses over Cadeyrn’s tender mercies any time. It’s softer and gentler and-

“Ouch,” he hisses when he presses too tightly and his hand protests. “Just heal already.” Should I test if sylvari bodies grow back after being cut off on Cadeyrn, he wonders. But cutting things off hurts (image of Malomedies carved into his mind pops in a flash, his shining, beautiful mentor struggling in his room, with holes and scars and withered bark) so he lets it fall down the terrace and shakes his head.

Leaves, shiny and long and beautiful, rattle against his ears. Tying braids requires two hands, so he’s just let it fall down his back, but braids don’t rattle as well as loose hair.

“Would you like some company?” a voice asks and El flinches. “Apologies for scaring you.”

“Trahearne!” El hides his hand away and considers removing the hems of his robe to make place. “It’s.. You did interrupt good thoughts. About my hair. It’s very pretty.”

“It is,” Trahearne agrees. “A beacon in the night such as this. One could almost mistake you for a sapling of Dawn.”

“Only superficially,” El says. “Would you see me sitting here if I was Dawn?”

“Correct.” Trahearne lingers, waiting for El to shift his skirt a little. A little need for another sentient being makes him use his healthy hand to make space, where the Firstborn descends. “How’s the hand?”

“Good,” El grumbles.

“Does it give you trouble? Does it hurt a lot?”

“It’s fine, Trahearne.” He resists the need to snuggle up against him. “It’ll heal and I could show Cadeyrn what it can do when it does.”

Trahearne smiles softly. “Is that why you’re here all alone? Are you ashamed?”

“Mistakes happen before one learns,” El frowns. “Elementalists are at most risk. The spell failed and it’s- what? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“What would happen if I told you he hurt himself as well and that he can’t step on his left foot very well?”

“He- what?” El stares. He looks behind him, watches as Cadeyrn misses a step to the dance that requires placing full weight on the left foot. “Look at that, Noonbloom. Looks like we’re both lacking this Hopesday.”

“This isn’t a competition, El. I understand you two clash, but you don’t have to best him at every opportunity you get.” Trahearne takes his good hand.

“I do, though. I’ll win. And I suppose injuries don’t add much to that.” It’s a statement of fact. El has to win, just like sun has to shine, wind has to blow, birds have to sing.

“And what do you gain when you do it?” Trahearne’s voice is neutral, but El feels his slight disapproval.

“A win,” El states. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

Trahearne shakes his head. “Alright. Now that you know what you know, would you like to join the others?”

El grins. So I can dance properly and he can’t. “I would, yes.”

Twenty years later, it’ll be El’s hand that takes Cadeyrn’s life. But he doesn’t know that. For now, just dancing better than Cadeyrn is enough.

[jyndor]

meme with the stuff

i was tagged by ai/@dasakuryo in the answer the questions and tag some folks meme. ty dumpling, i am tagging @timelordthirteen​ @cassleia​ (gdi @neolibkenobi) @leaiorganas​ and anyone lol please tagging stresses me out tbh

first creation and most recent creation of 2020: first / last

one of your favourite creations from 2020: this gifset that i made in conjunction with some meta about how cassian and lyra are parallels

a creation you’re really proud of: this one for rogue one’s 4th birthday, especially bodhi’s gif and jyn’s, i think they came out extra nice idk.

a new style you tried this year and a gifset that uses it: fucking overlaying smdh eat shit

your favourite colouring: hmm. probably this one? i like how vivid the blues are. or this one of beth harmon.

a creation that took you forever: fuckin this bitch. its in the tags. probably took a DAY

your creation from 2020 that received the most notes: LOL IT’S JUST A SHITPOST WITH A GIF FROM ANOTHER GIFSET DUHSIUSH LIKE WHYYY

a creation you think deserved more notes: i mean i guess 268 px gifsets aren’t in~ anymore but especially this one

a creation with a favorite scene/quote: ouch this one with yodito and din or this one with jyn’s parents lol #abandonmentissues

a new fandom you joined and a creation you made for it: the witcher / the queen’s gambit

a creation you made that breaks your heart: hahaha / HAHAHAHA

a ‘simple’ creation that you really love: idk man they’re just cute and i want the tapes

a creation that was inspired by another one: im trying to think i know it’s happened but honestly i cannot remember, i was inspired by @skitzofreak​ to use Shakespearean insults in this fic

a favourite creation created by someone else: this one is STUNNING, also the switch by @moonprincess92​ got me through some bullshit this year, and oh my god of course! my rcss gift from @b-else-writes​!!! and her r1/atla mashup is amazing too. so many others, but you know, adhd.

some of your favourite content creators from the year: @moonprincess92​ @mockingjaypin​ @b-else-writes​ @dasakuryo​ and mr. bernie sanders ofc thanks for the memeories *is shot*

a for good measure, another a couple more creations of yours that you love: i was just shot idk man this ficlet prompted by @neolibkenobi (LMFAOOO THAT URL I AM SHRIEKING YOU JUST CHAN-)

[ofmythsandmadness]

i need a favour - two.

PART TWO - don’t call me baby. or, klaus always knows how to make things a little bit more tense, even without meaning to (but no one can ever hate him for it)

WORD COUNT: 3000 or so. PREVIOUS PART(s): part one

A/N: i was surprised at honestly the good response? i wasn’t considering anyone liking it, but i’m glad. i’ve got a little series tag list going on for those who requested to be updated on this - if you want to be added, just ask and I can do that :) I’m updating this at three in the morning, because I didn’t have much inspo for finishing it til now? if it’s badly written and honestly, i feel that with the ending, i’m super sorry. but on another note, there’ll be more parts if I can get my shit together, at least a couple more chapters because i want to have a proper growth session (yee haw, buckle up i guess). I’m still getting used to writing x reader things, I don’t normally even read them, but this is pretty fun and it’s something I can do. and i’m happy people enjoy reading it. (sorry for the super long a/n.)

FOR MOST, IT WOULD BE STRANGE TO SEE a teacher smiling as they went through a stack of to-be papers. Frowns, or grumblings were more common, only covered by a constant reaching for more coffee to keep them alert. But for Y/N and her creative writing class, it was nothing unusual. She largely favoured the course to teaching AP English, and most of the time enjoyed reading what the students came up with. The prompts were fun and the followup even better - no matter the spelling and grammar mistakes, the students were not without creativity. If she was being honest, it might just be the greatest opportunity a young teacher in her position could get. And she was not without appreciation for that.

The prompt that week perhaps made her marking job even more entertaining. She asked them to tell her about their childhood hero, and a large portion of the class had chosen to write about the infamous ‘Umbrella Academy’. Even if they were on the younger age and only saw the group in the later years, more than half of her students still fawned and gushed about the super-beings. The one in hand just then particularly favoured a certain Number Two - citing him as their first childhood crush, someone that their small self quite adored.

She snorted at their shy confession. If only they knew Diego like she did - maybe the mask and knives would not be so attractive.

Just before she could turn to the next page, her phone lit up and she had to place the red pen down. The number was not recognised by her phone, but she hardly spared a thought on that, sighing before bringing the device to her ear. “Hello, Y/N Y/L/N here.”

“Well, don’t you sound professional.”

Speak of the devil. She fought back a smile. “You really have to get your own phone, you know.”

“Why, so you can get even more excited it’s me?”

“No. So I know not to answer.”

“Ouch. You’d say that to the love of your life?”

Y/N transferred the phone to her other ear, pressing it into her next and jaw as she fixed her piles. “Okay, hold on. Thought you were my fake boyfriend, not ‘the love of my life’. Did I miss that in our agreement?”

“Ain’t that the same thing?”

“No,” she shot back. There was no point elaborating, she knew he was joking - and yet for some reason, the casual question did sting a little. She quickly brushed the thought away, though, and continued. “Why are you calling me? I’m working.”

“I’m calling on your break, aren’t I?”

“Sure, but you’re interrupting my paper-grading.”

She could practically see the teasing smirk on his face, imagining him leaning against the telephone booth with the device pressed up to his ear. Trying to be stupidly suave. What she wouldn’t give to trip him up. “Sorry to interrupt that, I didn’t know you were having such a great time.”

“Well, I’ll have you know I-” she cut herself short as the door swung open. Her frown quickly shifted to a polite smile and Y/N gestured for the student to come in, motioning silently to her phone. She turned back with a lower voice and new sense of urgency. “Do you need something, Diego, or are you just calling to tease me?”

“C’mon, don’t flatter yourself.”

“I’m about three seconds from hanging up-”

“-okay, sure. I do have a question.”

She shifted in her seat, sparing another glance to the waiting student just to make sure she was still there. The girl stood patiently - well, in the sense of trying her very best to pick up on just what the conversation was without being obvious. Y/N smiled a little at that.

“What is it, then?”

“They’re moving dinner to Sunday. Can you make that?”

Y/N did not have to rack her brain to know her answer. “Yeah, probably. I’ll have to bump all my plans around, but I guess I can make it work.”

“Oh, right. Cause you have so much going on.”

“Screw off, Diego, ‘else I might just be too busy to show up to dinner.”

He sobered up then, though he did force an exaggerated sigh. “Fine. Thanks.”

“Uh-huh. We can talk later about details but-” she shot another glance the girl’s way, gesturing she would just be one more minute, “-I have to actually go. Okay?”

He laughed softly into the phone. “Sure. See you, sweetheart.”

“Bye, loser - and don’t call me that!”

He hung up with nothing more as a response, leaving Y/N to sigh and slam the phone back down to her desk. She smiled apologetically at the teen. “Sorry about that, Trish.”

“Oh, no worries,” the girl grinned. The smile was sly - a look only a curious high schooler knew best. “Everything all good?”

“Oh, n...yes, yeah.” Guess she had to go along with the teasing remark - not that Trisha had been sent as a spy by the Hargreeves siblings, trying to test the validity of their very not real relationship. But it did not hurt to push the narrative. “Yeah, that’s just my...uh...boyfriend. Confirming plans, no big deal.”

Trish’s smile grew larger. “Sounds cute.”

How someone could sound cute, especially when she had not even heard him actually speak, Y/N could not say. But she just laughed it off, played the part she had dealt herself. “Yeah, he’s...great. But anyways, how can I help you?”

||

AT THE FIRST KNOCK, Y/N was throwing the door open, rubbing at her eyes so she could take in the situation properly. Her eyes flitted down Diego, scanning frantically for any wounds or issues that would need serious work, or just any sign in his face of what could be an urgent matter. There was no bloody giveaways on his clothes this time, though, and his face was warped into strangely, a stiff grin, instead of a look of pain.

“Well, at least you used the door this time,” she sighed, opening it wider so he could come in. She stiffened, though, as he moved closer than normally, brushing her into a one-armed hug before pulling away. Y/N’s mouth fell open to question the embrace, but fortunately her eyes fell on the answer before she could be made a fool. “Oh. Oh. Hi, Klaus...?”

“Long story,” Diego mumbled into her ear, disguising the whisper with a kiss to her temple. She tried to focus only on the word and not how the strange shiver shot down her back at his touch, no matter how she felt. “Picked him up, he wouldn’t leave me alone and I really didn’t want him wasted up somewhere bad.”

She only nodded in response and turned her arms to Klaus, wrapping him up in a hug. He felt warmer than he had the last time they hung out - a bit more meat seemed to be on his bones, too, though he was still a willowy, langly man. A somewhat sober nature did suit him.

“My darling Y/N - congratulations!”

“Congr-”

“-you managed to do the impossible - and oh! How happy I am to welcome you to our crazy family!”

Oh, right. That.

“I always had a feeling that there was something between the two of you, but I never knew that the day would come where you’d actually admit it..” Klaus’ arms slung easily around both Diego and Y/N, drawing them close to him with a ferocity neither expected. Their heads very nearly knocked together, before Diego could wriggle out of the hold. “My dear little Y/N, tying down this grumpy asshole.”

She laughed semi-nervously. “Guess that’s me, yeah.”

“You two always looked good together, so adorable,” he continued, letting them go without a second thought. Luckily, he missed her glare to her supposed boyfriend, as well as the mouthed apology, too wrapped up in his own thoughts. “And between all the pining looks and - well, I don’t think anyone should be surprised you two finally decided to bump uglies!”

If there was any water in her mouth, Y/N would have done a classic spit take right then and there. As it were, she could just choke on air and attempt to keep her exposure in the face of a bold-face lie. 

Fortunately, Diego was there to swoop in - somewhat. “I did not pick you up so you could badger Y/N about our sex life, Klaus. Say your shit or get out.” He sank into her couch and Y/N did not miss the flash of pain across his face - there was something wrong. She could already feel the frown of concern forming.

“You’re the one who forced me into your car.”

“Yeah, well,” he shot back through gritted teeth, “you were gonna get yourself killed, dumbass.”

“So now I can’t go anywhere without a babysitter, simply because of a slight issue in the past?”

“You are a recovering add-”

“-the details don’t matter, Diego,” Klaus muttered, only flinching the slightest bit under Diego’s withering stare. “And it’s not my fault everyone’s now so busy with their lives. I mean, you do really show up at the worst of times, just to bust me and not to catch up on all that quality ‘bro’ time we missed out on!”

Y/N gently pushed him forward and into a seat before moving onto Diego. She fished out the little aid kit kept under the kitchen sink and sank into the couch beside him. “Show me what’s wrong. And Klaus, what about Luther? Allison?”

“Both too far,” he whined back.

“Okay...stop squirming Di...uh, don’t you have Five?”

“Five can’t legally do anything except for like, drive. And even then, is he even old enough to have a license yet?” He paused for dramatics, only to sigh when neither gave much response. “I just worry for that boy, I can’t be the only one questioning this.”

“Vanya, then.”

Klaus shook his head once more. “I love the girl, but sometimes, a bit too dry for me. We don’t have the same tastes, and I’m afraid I might be tone-deaf. Severely so. Incurably so, darling.”

“Aw, Klaus.” She poked at Diego’s side, sticking her tongue out when he tried to push her away. “Shirt up, let me see how bad it is.”

He rolled his eyes. “S’barely a scratch. Let it be.”

“C’mon, I don’t want it getting infected, let me see!” She poked again, forcing him to lift the shirt up and reveal the nasty scratch. He still fought her hands away, even when she was obviously going to win the fight. She swatted his calloused fingers off, however, and inspected the wound despite his protests.

Diego was just about to shoot another insult her way, eyes a-flashing in that sly, tired way that only came out in the wee hours, when they were both cut off.

“Oh, don’t tell me I’m going to be interrupting a moment here?”

Immediately Y/N felt herself stiffen and everything feel a little bit colder. She could not lift her gaze from his wound, too anxious to look and see how Diego was reacting to the comment.

“I can leave, if that’s wanted? I understand the whole new couple thing, believe me. Been there, done that, and I’m always ready to try and start that over again tonight!”

She bit back a groan.

In all the fuss of getting them in and dealing with Diego, she had hardly spared a thought to the night ahead. Sure, she had realised it was going to be awkward every time a Hargreeve mentioned their ‘relationship’, but not like this - not where she would be left stammering, trying to defend herself to one of her closest friends. Not even defend, but...well, she was not sure what she was supposed to be trying to do. Aside from not combust from all the hot blood rushing straight to her face.

And all she had wanted was to sleep.

But there was no way she would kick either or both of them out, not in their states. Diego would end up staying anyways just like he always did, grumbling as she fussed over him - and she would not just kick Klaus out like that. She adored the both of them and had made a promise. 

So, Y/N sucked in a breath and forced a gentle smile. “You’re not interrupting anything, hush.”

“Oh, I don’t mi-”

“-you wanna stay a while, Klaus? I have a feeling Diego’s not gonna be moving, and I don’t want you wand’ring the streets alone in your state.”

Diego’s eyes immediately shot to her, but she ignored the pointed stare.

“Oh, I’d hate to intrude on your relaxation session. Truly, I’ll just go!”

Gross, Klaus, she mused to herself - the guy was injured, for hell’s sake. “Seriously, you’re not. Please, just stay. There’s plenty a’room and I had nothing going on, anyways.” Aside from sleep - but that had been thrown out the window the second the pair had shown up, anyways.

A smile broke out on Klaus’ face and he shot up, moving to awkwardly hug Diego’s shoulder - much to the man’s chagrin. “I don’t know how you managed to convince her to like a prick like you. She’s an angel - you’re an angel, Y/N really.”

“You’re too sweet, but seriously, I don’t mind the company,” she grinned, swatting Klaus’ hands away. Hers were pressed against Diego’s torso, trying to wipe away the blood already drying around the wound. It, luckily, was not too bad- though serious enough to need serious attention. “Make yourself comfortable, just please don’t touch the booze!”

As his brother’s laugh floated away, Diego groaned. “Can’t we kick him out?”

“The more the merrier,” she sang back, ignoring the glare shot her way. “C’mon, I promise I’ll make it up to you later, baby.”

Diego did not bother to even try and hide him flipping her off. If anything, he brandished the action proudly. She just grinned back, trying to fight back her beating heart and flushed cheeks. She just had to deal with this - it was what she agreed to and it was just them. She hung out with the two of them for years and years. The only difference now was that she and Diego were supposed to be ‘bumping uglies’, but she could deal with Klaus’ comments.

Right?

||

“YOU COULD TRY AND BE A LITTLE NICER,” she said, swatting at him with a towel. “He is your brother.”

Diego rolled his eyes. “He’s an asshole, is what he is.”

“Why, he interrupted our quote-on-quote ‘alone time’?”

“No,” he grumbled, “but I didn’t really come here to put on a show.”

Y/N wanted desperately to then ask, ‘well why did you come’, but the words just would not come out. Instead, she just shook her head and played along with ignoring the implication. “C’mon, dummy. Would you rather we kicked him out and left him to do...well, whatever Klaus does? That wouldn’t be good.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Y/N watched as he absent-mindedly stroked the silvery scar carved into his head, a motion she thought probably was not even intentional. “I know. I know. S’why I brought him here.”

“So…”

“...all I’m saying is, I didn’t expect to have ‘im here all night.”

She shot him a teasing smile before twisting away, reaching up towards her top cupboards. Her fingers grazed the wood but could not quite reach the glasses pushed to the far back. How had she reached them before? 

“If you wanted to just hang out with me, Diego, you could’a just said. I mean, I get it. I am irresistible and adorable in every which way.”

“I agree. You are super irritating and annoying.”

“Oh, wow, those are some big words!” Y/N gritted her teeth, stretching as far as she could forward to grab the glass - but ended up just sinking back to her toes with a sigh. “You been reading that dictionary I bought you?”

“You really just carry that teacher voice around wherever you go, don’t you,” he grinned. With ease, he reached up and brought down the glass she had been reaching for, earning a muttered ‘thanks’. “And for your information, I don’t even know where that thing is.”

“Liar.”

“Not kidding.” 

“You lost my heartfelt gift to you?”

“Nah, I probably used it as target practice.”

She rolled her eyes, even if he could not see her face when focused on her hands. She poured a little more than halfway, pausing before shrugging and bringing it up to her lips. Still turned away, she swallowed. “You’re maybe the most insufferable boyfriend I’ve ever had, you know.”

“Oh, come on. That can’t be true.”

“No, I mean that. I don’t normally date people who bicker with me and lose my hard thought-out gifts like that. Assholes like you.”

“Yeah? What about Ty?”

“What about him?”

“He was an asshole.”

Y/N shrugged and focused her gaze on the cupboards opposite her. Better that than his face, right then. “Sure he was. But I think he took care and kept the presents I gave him. I mean, ‘til shit hit the fan, but still. They were appreciated.”

“You’re really comparing me to one of the biggest dicks because I didn’t value your joke gift?”

At that, she chuckled and finally looked his way. One glass of wine down and her sense of smart humour was already fleeing fast. “Can’t compare what I don’t know, can I? Though, he, he was packing, I will tell you that.”

That did not even make much sense, but her messily dirty joke still took a jab his way. Immediately, Diego’s face fell into a look of disgust - though, funnily enough, his cheeks shone red in the dim kitchen light - and Y/N could not keep her laughter in. 

“Sorry, that didn’t even make any sense...”

“You’re gross,” he grinned back, shaking his head in fake disgust. “Don’t know what I see in you.”

She giggled mercilessly at him, ignoring his mumbles to keep quiet, caught up in the adorable face he made.

Wait, she interrupted, not adorable. Not in the adorable nature as - well, it was cute, but like in a little kid sort of way. Yeah. Was that a better way to look at it? She was not sure, but it still left her sobering up pretty quickly.

Her eyes fell down to the counter, tracing the swirls of wood before lifting once more. A low hum left her lips. “Nah, you’re right. He sucked. And you do too, don’t get me wrong, but not as much as Ty, or Todd. Or - pretty much all of them.”

“Well, I’m flattered.”

She grinned, but it was softer, weaker as she sipped her second glass. “Sure. Not like it’s much of a competition - I don’t think I have very good taste, sadly.”

“Sure you do,” Diego shot back, bending to pick out a bottle from the fridge. He leaned against the counter across from her, eyes slightly squinted as he took her in. “I mean, you’re dating me.”

“Ha, ha. This - this is a business arrangement, darling, not a relationship. And I didn’t even choose to be in this!”

“Well shit, tell me how you really feel, Y/L/N!”

“I mean nothin’ against you, ‘course,” she hummed. Why was she feeling awkward, all of a sudden? “It’s just not the same as actually having someone who genuinely cares about me - in the like, romantic sense.”

Diego nodded somewhat solemnly at that. “Mm. Sorry, I think?”

“Eh, don’t be. I agreed to this. And I still appreciate you, even if you aren’t interested in me past what benefits you.”

Her words were supposed to come out teasingly, a joke in the most bitter, light-hearted sense, but that was not the case. Instead, they came out all wobbly and unsure, like she had been biting them back but could not hold onto the feeling any longer. Which, was not really the case, she was not desperate for a hand to hold and certainly not from him - but she could not change the words said.

His eyes averted and hers softened, half from embarrassment and half unconsciously at the face he had pulled. She pulled away from the counter. “You still hungry? I can get you something.”

“Nah, I should - get him home.”

Y/N glanced back at Klaus’ silhouette, sound asleep and slightly snoring on the couch. “I think he’s okay, Diego.”

“Yeah, but it’s late. You’ve got work tomorrow and I got shit to get to.”

“Do you have to get to it?”

His smile was tired, like he was barely holding back a sad secret behind the pretty grin. Honestly, with a look like that? He was already half out the door and there was no point to arguing. “Who else is gonna keep this city from burnin’ down?”

She did not bother to argue with him - there was no point to giving him logical points, because he just deflected them all. Diego Hargreeves was a lot of things, but reasonable, he rarely could claim. At least not when it came to his own wellbeing.

Instead, Y/N just leant back and watched as Diego moved to his brother and in surprising tenderness, woke him up. It was rare to see him so gentle, but also a sign that made her smile - no matter what the man said, he truly loved his siblings. Especially Klaus.

“Hey, Diego?”

The man stopped, holding a half-asleep Klaus carefully upright in her doorway. She fought back the urge to smile at his lolling head.  “Yeah?”

“Be safe.”

“Sure-”

“-no, I mean that,” she interrupted, “truly. You’re too reckless sometimes and it’s gonna get you killed.”

Diego grinned. “Aww. You gettin’ soft on me, Y/N?”

“Shut up,” she grumbled, trying to will her face to not heat up at the accusation. “I’d just rather not have to pretend to cry at your funeral and play the grieving girlfriend role.”

“Ha. Love you too, baby.”

Y/N did not bother to throw any comeback after his retreating figure. She was too shaken by the way those four words had left his lips - sure, they were sarcastic, but they still sat heavy on her tongue as she silent repeated them. They made her feel weird, tingly in a sense she could not quite understand.

The door slammed shut, and she let her forehead fall after it, resting on the cool wind with fists at her side and questions swirling in her mind. Maybe she could do with another glass and miss out on attempting to sleep - not like she ever could after nights like this.

She sighed and made a mental note, one she knew she was going to forget in minutes, to yell at him about calling her baby again. 

TAGLIST: @rangotangomango @fandomsandmore394 @thatkidofwarandpeace @antoouu (let me know if i missed you/you wanna be added)

[noctuascion]

werewolf mirage and vampire crypto prompt! mirage can control when he transforms usually but he loses control during full moons. he gets confused and aggressive with the intense need to howl at the moon. a grumpy vampire crypto has to try to calm him down!

;; Ty Chini I wuv,,,, I hope I can do it justice,, ;;

--

Elliott hated full moons. There wasn't anything in particular wrong with them. They were actually quite beautiful, and the light emanating from it was bright enough that it made his partner's lavender skin nearly glow in the dark. However, there was a downside to it that ended up ruining the experience for him entirely; he wasn't sure if it was enough to ruin it for Tae Joon or not, and he really hoped it didn't.

As a werewolf, he had control over two physical forms: that of a human, the only giveaway to his canine nature being fangs and the occasional urge to chase mailmen, and that of a menacing beast, and either were typically shifted into whenever he desired. During full moons, however, were the times he couldn't control the transformation, and he was stuck in his wolffish form, unable to communicate and unusual urges exemplified.

Park himself was always alerted to it whenever he was seated downstairs, drinking a glass of blood, and he suddenly heard something shatter or break, slamming, or howling—sometimes a mixture of the three. It wasn't a cause for alarm anymore, the vampire having now grown so accustomed to it that all he released was a tired sigh, placing his glass upon a table, before moving upstairs, silent and quick.

Their home was spacious but not overly so. They liked having extra rooms for guests, but they rarely entertained company (mostly because of Park; he hated socializing), so there wasn't much use for it. Elliott, however, did bring up a good point once: he did want to start a family one day—when his partner was ready, of course.

It was tempting, to have little humans or supernatural creatures running around, making a mess and being strangely endearing at the same time, but he wasn't sure if either were ready for such a responsibility, especially if this monthly occurrence was an issue.

The vampire reached their shared room, immediately spotting the werewolf in the middle of the floor, padding around with his ears flattened, quiet growls emanating from his form. The transformation was always so forceful and abrupt that it left the werewolf feeling anxious and threatened, acting like even the smallest object in the room was out to get him. Judging by the broken lamp on Park's side of the bed, he appeared to believe the vampire's dim lamp was out to get him.

The creature immediately spun around to face him once the door was opened, and it had taken only seconds for Elliott to recognize Tae Joon, those familiar icy optics and same lavender skin. Park entered the room, shutting the door behind him, and moved over to the bed. Elliott's ears remained down, but his tail was tucked between his legs, and quiet whines were escaping him now.

Park wasn't an expert in deciphering Elliott's behavioral patterns, but he's been through this enough times to know what to do.

"You're replacing that lamp," he said, sitting upon the plush comforter atop their bed. Elliott had apparently messed it up a bit either during or after his transformation. "When you're normal again, you have a mess to clean."

The wolf hopped up on the bed, shoving his nose against Park's cheek, drawing forth an annoyed groan from the latter. Clawed hands gently came up to run along the dark brown fur covering the creature's body, scratching just gently enough to help ease the anxiety in the other. It appeared to be working as well, seeing as Elliott's tail began to wag.

Park huffed out a soft laugh, though it quickly turned into a noise of disgust when the other decided to lick his face, having very little regard for the other's preference for his face to remain uncovered in saliva.

"You're gross," the vampire hissed, using his sleeve to wipe away the slobber; jokes on Elliott—he swiped his hoodie earlier and was currently sporting it. "Why can't you be normal?"

The wolf released a huff of his own, pulling away from Park's grasp and moving to lay on the bed, his head planted firmly in the vampire's lap.

"Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to be a normal couple," Park wondered aloud, a hand immediately moving to continue petting his partner. The other just released what sounded like a hum. "Mm. You're right. Too boring. Who could live such a mundane existence if their partner didn't run after frisbees everyday?"

Elliott suddenly moved up and shoved his head against Park's chest, pushing him down on the mattress, and annoyingly shoving his nose in the vampire's face. More groans of protests came from him, shoving at the canine in an attempt to get him to move off. An occasional chuckle or two escaped him, but nothing that resonated.

The wolf decided he was tired, though, and decided to lay his warm body right on top of Park's frigid one, the vampire once again groaning at the actions of his nuisance of a partner. He wasn't particularly tired, and his glass of blood downstairs wasn't going to drink itself, but Elliott always got rather clingy during full moons; he suspects it's because he's the only thing that keeps him grounded during this, the only thing keeping him anchored to sanity. He can only imagine how the other would handle a full moon without him around.

He never really minded. Elliott did a lot for him without question, and he'd easily do just as much for him. He deserved every kindness provided—and more. He'd deal with the gross dog breath, gross slobber, and the acting like a clingy pup if it made the other feel better—even if he was just an overall nuisance.

"You're lucky I like you," he muttered, trying to get comfortable under the mass atop him; Elliott's wolf form was larger than an average canine, about as large as their bed, and he was completely trapped beneath him, like a heavy blanket. "Otherwise I'd kick you out and let you chase cars down the street."

Elliott's head lifted up, staring at him, before it leaned forward and more gross licks were given, the vampire spluttering and gently swatting him away.

"Gross. Knock it off. I could be having dinner right now, you know."

The wolf ignited him, head returning to its resting place just beside Park's. The vampire scoffed, rolled his eyes, before he allowed himself to fully indulge in the warmth of the other. Seeing as he had no heartbeat, no blood circulating his system, he was a rather frigid creature. He only really experienced warmth when he fed from the source or when he was cuddled up in bed with Elliott. It was… nice, pleasant, and he didn't hesitate to soak it all up. The other never minded apparently, since he was usually incredibly warm and liked being cooled off by his partner's cold fingers running through his hair or his icy body pressed against his own.

His frigid body also appeared to help relax Elliott during full moons, easier to sleep when he was colder.

So Park wouldn't move, wouldn't bother him. Even when morning came and the sun was blocked by their curtains, the darkest color they could find with the thickest material available, Park didn't move, relishing in the warmth he woke up to, and his partner back to human form. He was still laying on top of him, much to the vampire's annoyance, but the werewolf wasn't moving anytime soon, claiming he was "so comfy," and that it'd "ruin his morning if he had to get up now."

So there they remained for a good duration of the morning, Park's claws gently scratching Elliott's head, running through brown curls and pulling content sighs from the man.

"Y'know, my adorable ice pop," the werewolf began, head resting atop the other's quiet chest; it was still so jarring not hearing a heartbeat from him, even after all this time, "you act all crabby and pretend you hate my doggy kisses, but you never actually use any strength when pushing me away."

"Shut up, idiot. I just don't want to hurt you," the vampire grumbled, gently yanking on Elliott's hair; he was rewarded with an "ouch" and a groan.

"Uh-huh. C'mon, babe, just admit it."

"No."

"You know you wanna."

"I don't."

Elliott shifted so his chin was resting on Park's chest, staring into those gorgeous eyes currently glaring holes into his own. "I can just kiss you now."

"I prefer your actual kisses to your… 'doggy kisses.'"

The werewolf hummed, moving closer to press a kiss to the other's chin. "You'll admit that, but you won't admit you like the doggy kisses? Harsh, babe. My inner pup's crying."

"Nuisance."

"Gorgeous."

"You can't counter every insult with a compliment."

The werewolf pushed himself up on all fours, hovering over the vampire, before pressing another kiss to Park's face, this time his nose. "I can. Just did."

"Elliott."

"Tae Joon."

"I swear to god—"

The lavender-skinned male was interrupted by his partner licking a long stripe up his cheek to his forehead before leaping off of the bed, making a quick exit and avoiding the pillow tossed at him.

"You still need to replace that lamp, moron!"

"Can't hear you! Down the hall—ah, fuck!"

Park heard a crash, something break, and Elliott attempting to pick up whatever he broke. And, for a moment, the vampire just laid back in bed, wondering how he was so strangely lucky to have this idiot to spend his immortal life with.

[nightowlfandom]

The King’s Pet Princess- Royal! BTS x Reader Series Part 5- Yoongi 1

REQUESTS FROM PROMPT LIST- RIGHT HERE!

READ PART ONE | READ PART 2 (NAMJOON) | READ PART 3 (JUNGKOOK) | READ PART 4 (HOSEOK)

Since no one had a name for Y/N’s pet lion....I guess I’ll have to choose and shame on you.....

We’re gonna name the lion Carmen. Gotta problem? Good.

LEGGO! (i’M NOT GETTING RID OF THE LEGGO IT’S STAYING FOREVERRRRRR)

WARNING! There will be certain themes in this...uhhh read at your own risk. This is for you guys who like getting treated like pure trash...I don’t know just read.

Leggo!

...

“Have you been up all night?” Rina stormed into the library where you were hiding. 

“I’m focusing. I’m trying to keep myself busy.” you waved her off, only to have whatever book you were trapped behind taken away from you.

“You are tired, I can see it.” she sighed. “Bed. Now.” she pointed out the door. 

“I’ll be fine.” you yawned.

“Bed!″ she huffed. “You can finish what you were doing in the morning!”

“Okay okay!.” you stumbled to your feet and made haste for your room. 

You were so tired, but you had spent all day looking for books on how to take care of Carmen (please refer to part 4 for insight). How else were you gonna deal with a pregnant lion. Geez, this was just one big mess.

You stumbled, almost hitting the door. 

“Ouch.” you said flatly, even though you weren’t in any real pain. You didn’t even bother to turn on the light, you just walked straight for the bed. It was along more sturdy than you remember and the sheets felt and looked different. Either it was the dark playing games with you or Rina changed your bed sheets. 

You plopped on the bed, letting out a long sigh. You didn’t bother to change out of your day clothes. Yes, skirts were way too uncomfortable to sleep in, but you didn’t really care. At least not that this point. Why was this so difficult. Juggling between getting prepared to be a queen to a miserable kingdom it seems like worrying about your pets, you haven’t even heard from your family back home.

“I don’t know if I can do this.” You mumbled aloud. “I’ve never done anything like this before.” you groaned. “Of course I really should naturally know how to do such a thing. “you mused. “...but how can you tame that beast telling you that you’re going crazy and just take the plunge and do what you need to do for the sake of not going completely insane.”

Poor thing, she was suffering. She would be giving birth soon and you weren’t ready! You weren’t sure. You were human and Carmen was...well a giant 400+ pound lion. There was a tad bit of a difference.

You stared at the ceiling only to notice something was off. You sat up in bed as stared at the dimly lit fireplace which was just beginning to go out. The rug wasn’t the same color it was in your room. Instead of flowy ivory curtains in your room, you saw velvety black curtains. You also took the time to notice the white grand piano. You looked up, even the canopy bed looked diff-

Fuck...this wasn’t your room

“Hm...Pray tell...what beast are you exactly trying to tame.” you heard from behind you. You slowly turned your head to see Yoongi glaring at you. “Hm, finally decided to pay me a visit.” You felt his fingers trail up your spine. “About time.”

“Yoongi! I uh-HMM!” You tried to protest as Yoongi slapped his hand over your mouth. You could only hear your own muffle screams. You were suddenly pinned down onto your back. Yoongi’s hand was still over your mouth. He hovered over your body, a smirk painting on his lips. Him dark eyes bore into yours, setting a fire straight to your mind...or core..whichever made you look less helpless.

“You make it really hard to not do something to you.” he chuckled in your ear. “Unlike my other comrades....I don’t hesitate when it comes to striking my prey.” he spoke, right in your ear. His hand, still over your mouth. “Instead, had I gotten my hands on your first, the other boys wouldn’t even be able to recognize you. Imagine being marked and scratched to your heart’s content...how exciting.”

Thrashing wouldn’t do much, he was way stronger than you. 

“I’ve been waiting for time to strike.” he chuckled, trailing his fingers under your skirt. “You’ve just opened yourself up to me. ”

“Hmm.” your leg trembled as you felt his knuckles brush against your clothed heat. 

“I’m not about that teasing shit.” he huffed. “In fact, teasing pisses me off...oh I’m sorry, were you trying to speak?”

You quickly nodded, which prompted him to slowly removing his hand from your mouth. “I didn’t mean to come in h-here.” 

Yoongi didn’t cease his movement, pressing his thumb against your clit. In fact, it chided him to carry on even more.

“Hm....don’t lie to me. You should know the route to get to your room well enough by know.” he chuckled.

“I got really sleepy....I-” you trembled. “Fu-” Your legs trembled beneath his touch.

“You’re foolish. I’m a man Y/N....Do you know what that means?” she cocked an eyebrow. “It means I’m hungry.” he growled. “And since I finally have you all to myself...I’m gonna rip you apart.”

“Rip me apart!?!” you squeaked. “What do you-” 

Yoongi watched with a smug grin on his face as you sat up and scrambled to your feet. He partially expected that to happen, it only made him chuckle. Like he said, he was hungry and he finally had his turn to go after his prey.

“Now now...don’t run away from me, pet.” you froze in place. “....Hm..Come here.”

Hearing those words made you freeze. He sounded so authoritative. 

“That’s right...come to me. Bring that pretty ass over here.”

You didn’t even notice your feet had started to move. You instantly stopped in your tracks. 

“Alright...why don’t I come to you.” Yoongi threw the covered off and stormed up to you, pushing you against the nearest wall. “See what happens when a slave doesn’t listen to her king?” 

He grabbed your leg and hooked it around his hip, all while pinning your arms above your head. “Now...let’s play together, pet.”

... (Time Skip)

“NO!” You ran away from Rina. “I REFUSE!”

“Breakfast is ready! If you aren’t at that table in the next ten seconds, then they’re gonna question ME!” she pulled your hand. “Why are you so afraid all of a sudden.”

You didn’t want to face Yoongi. If you were being honest, he scared you the most. 

“No reason?” you squeaked. You didn’t want them to blame Rina for your antics. “Let’s just...get this over with.” you grumbled, following her into into the dining hall. You were almost certain you weren’t ready to face them...or him.

Rina practically pushed you into the seat, the only open seat, which was away from the exit...which just so happened to be right next to Yoongi. She gave you a weird look. You didn’t blame her, she really didn’t know about the incident.

“It’s about time you showed up. How bad did it get last night?”

“What?” you looked up in horror at Namjoon’s words. “I beg your pardon!?!”

Was he insinuating what you thought he was insinuating?!?!

“With your pet?...Pregnant Lion? Almost half a ton giant animal?”

“Oh....”you crossed your arms. “She’s fine.”

From the corner of your eye you could see Yoongi who was casually eating. He was acting as if nothing happened! You could only stare at your food, you didn’t dare look up or join in whatever useless conversation the other men were having. 

“You seem off today, Y/N....I hope all is well.” Yoongi got your attention.

“...I’m fine.” you clutched the fork in your hand.

“Are you sure....I wouldn’t want you to be...troubled..”

You felt his hand on your thigh, which made you freeze. “If anything is wrong, my schedule is free today.”

You could feel his fingers inch closer and closer. His digits scratching against your clothed heat.

“I’ll be fine!” you instantly jumped to your feet. “Well I can’t keep Carmen waiting, you know...pregnancy...and stuff...” you didn’t say another word before you bolted for the animal stables.

....

Well, Carmen was doing just fine. Her due date was approaching but you were positive one more visit to the library would have you all set, so that’s exactly where you went.

“Come on.” you sighed. “I gotta get Billy out here and soon!”

Billy was your other lion, Carmen’s lion mate or whatever it was called. You were hoping to convince them to let you bring him, poor thing was probably so confused and sad when he saw Carmen on the carriage.

“Hm...” you mused, walking back to the book shelf. “What if I-”

Suddenly you felt something cover your eyes and tighten at the back of your head. “Hey!!” you began thrashing, but your captor had grabbed your wrist before you could move. 

“Easy now-” you heard Yoongi snarl in your ear. “You make too much noise and we might get caught.”

“W-what do you want now?!” you tried your best to move. “Are you tying my hands behind my back!??! Hey! Stop that!”

“Since you walked out on me so rudely, yesterday, you’ll have to make up for it.” you felt your bindings get tighter and tighter.

“Make up for-....” you repeated. You felt his breath brush over the back of your neck. “Is this because-”

“You so rudely left me without so much as a goodbye...you must have been really caught off guard.” he chuckled. “You’re free to try to leave...but you can’t leave.” he cooed like he was talking to a baby. “Because you can’t even see.” he chuckled.

“Y-yoongi, listen. I know you’re very hands-on.....”

“I didn’t get a chance to have a taste of you yet, Y/N.....That isn’t fair.” you could hear the fake pout in his voice. You felt his fingers trail down your stomach. Yoongi kissed down your neck, trailing his soft lips up your flesh. 

“....I said I went into the wrong room.” you shook in your shoes.

“...Hm....Sure you did, Y/N.” he sighed. “Just be a good girl and do what your king tells you to.” he grabbed the fabric of your skirt, hiking it up. His fingers creeped under your clothes, trailing down your warm skin. 

“Hey! That’s not even fair.” your voice wavered.

“Since when did a king ever play fair?”

....

[ducktracy]

120. the phantom ship (1936)

release date: february 1st, 1936

series: looney tunes

director: jack king

starring: tommy bond (beans), bernice hansen (ham and ex), billy bletcher (skeleton)

the first cartoon to include the trademark zooming WB shield! ham and ex make their first appearance since i haven’t got a hat. they’d accompany beans in a few cartoons, usually as trouble making nuisances to the chagrin of beans. beans travels to iceland to investigate a haunted ship, but stowaways ham and ex cause trouble for all.

open to ham and ex, crouched over a newspaper that’s sprawled out on the floor. they exchange awed looks, the headline reading “BEANS TO HUNT FOR HAUNTED TREASURE SHIP IN NORTH”, complete with a photo of a smiling beans in pilot’s garb. ham and ex leap to their feet, giggling excitedly and dashing out the door.

they stumble across beans, who’s oiling up his anthropomorphic plane (a scene parallel to bosko lubing up HIS plane in dumb patrol (1931)). beans runs into the shed to fetch something, leaving the perfect opportunity for ham and ex to jump into the smiling plane as stowaways. the disney-esque plane lets them in, lowering itself and opening the hatch. beans returns just in time, unaware that he has two guests going along in his journey. he squirts more oil into the plane’s mouth, gives the propeller a good spin, and hops right in to take off.

on the plane’s dashboard is a ticker that marks beans’ various destinations. amusingly out of place animation was beans does the hopak while flying over russia, icicles forming on his nose and thermometer bursting after flying over iceland… he whips out a pair of binoculars and spots a broken, worn down ship in the frosty climate. beans gives an excited “hooray!” and spirals safety into a landing, icicles substituting the role of smoke. 

he skids to a stop right in front of the ship. a bat is perched on the wall of the ship, its wings labelled “THE PHANTOM”. beans observes in excitement as the bat flies away. suddenly, ham and ex burst out of the hatch, exclaiming “surprise! surprise!” surely enough, beans is startled after his wits, the famous jack king “hat take” as his hat flies up in shock. he scratches his head and merely shrugs it off.

ham and ex eagerly take beans by the hands, pulling him along. conveniently, a staircase plops down right where the trio was standing. beans cautiously approaches the staircase and motions for the eager pups to follow. just as they begin to ascend, the stairs slide down beneath them, like going up the down escalator. a spare board attached to the ship takes a life of its own as a giant hand and smacks them all to the top of the ship.

the sails on the ship are worn and ragged. one of the torn sails morphes into (another) giant hand, this time tugging at beans’ tail and attempting to snatch him up. it succeeds, and it carelessly tosses beans to another anthropomorphic sail, who then slams him to the ground. the world’s cruelest game of monkey in the middle. beans bounces off a pile of rope, prompting an anthropomorphic anchor to deck him good. beans flies into the belly of the ship, landing on the ground and shadow boxing in self defense, muttering “i’ll get that so and so, he can’t do that to me!” in the midst of his groveling, a lantern swings and knocks beans over once more.

elsewhere, ham and ex are calling “uncle beans! uncle beans!” at the top of the ship with no luck. a pirate skeleton (or skeleton pirate? :thinking emoji:) pops out of a hanging safety boat and grunts “pipe down!” ham and ex, terrified, take cover under a tarp, trembling (complete with an out of place, frankly annoying ringing bell sound effect). a life preserver falls on top of them. lovely, stretchy animation (that reminds me of a very watered down version of this from a gruesome twosome) as ham and ex attempt to run away from each other, yet inevitably bouncing back and collapsing.

instead, they opt to commute by one carrying the other on his shoulders. predictably, they form the appearance of a ghost. i wonder where this is going. they bump into an open door occupied by a skeleton. the skeleton freaks out, clinging to a flagpole for safety. the flagpole breaks, and, with no other option for escape, the skeleton jumps overboard. more animation strikingly parallel to a gruesome twosome as ham and ex topple off each other, running into a pole. both “sides” of their tarp covered lump stretch out on opposite ends, and they’re propelled backwards, conveniently tying around the pirate skeleton from before and unwinding. they’re tossed against the door of the anthropomorphic ship (jack king’s disney influence strong as ever), the door used as a tongue as the ship swallows the pup into its cavernous belly.

like an out of control snowball, the twins barrel down the stairs… and right into beans. the tarp unfolds with ham and ex on the outside and beans beneath the tarp. unaware that their precious uncle beans is smothered beneath the tarp, ham and ex grab two pieces of wood and bash the moving lump’s head in. finally beans yells “OUCH!” (he sounds a lot like jackie morrow’s interpretation of buddy instead of tommy bond. i wonder if they switched for this cartoon? some of the voice credits are so unreliable, but i’m sure my judgement isn’t the best either. i’ll still keep the credit as bond for simplicity/continuity’s sake, but it certainly does sound suspiciously like morrow.), and ham and ex spot an injured beans beneath the tarp.

they both scoop him up, holding him by the hands. beans registers the pain (figurative and literal) and weasels his way out of their grip, exclaiming “bah!” in frustration. he opens a door, hoping for an exit, and finds something much more desirable: a treasure chest overflowing with gold. he creeps over cautiously, then rifling through the goods like he can’t believe it. ham and ex also imitate his cautious saunter, playing with their own coins. a nice little segment of brief personality as they bet each other on flipping coins. 

suddenly, beans spots two people sitting in front of a woodstove, frozen. not creepy at all. beans pulls out a chair beneath one of the frozen victims, and then the other, and feeds both into the stove. he strikes a match to get a roaring fire going, and returns to his treasure while they thaw. beans loads sacks of gold into his plane, tossing them right out the window. 

finally, both of the frozen wonders thaw out and regain consciousness. a particularly burly pirate (that you know is voiced by billy bletcher, even without hearing him. literally another peg leg pete character, complete with said peg leg) discovers beans tossing heaps of gold into his plane and threatens him. beans, ham, and ex are all terrified, ham and ex seeking refuge in a barrel while beans runs away from the pissed off pirate.

eventually, the pirate’s peg leg gets caught in an exposed hole in the board. ham and ex observe the stuck pirate, but quickly duck as the pirate’s assistant spots the curious pups. jack king uses a lot of closeups in his work, and they’re particularly rife in this cartoon. i applaud him for doing something different and slightly ambitious, but they break up the flow of the cartoon rather than enhance it. now, the assistant chases after ham and ex, running straight into a pole and becoming disoriented.

back to the pirate, who’s exerting all of his effort to loosen his peg from the board. he tears the board out from the floor, still stuck. he pulls so hard that he’s propelled into the air, thrown to the deck of the ship where beans is pacing around. bans hides in a cannon, but the pirate pulls him out regardless. he punches beans into a tube… and beans pops out from a parallel tube, ramming right into the pirate. 

ham and ex are shimmying along on a rope close to the crow’s nest (i guess the chase is now just… on top of the ship now? with no prior indication? suspension of disbelief, i know), the pirate’s assistant preparing cutting the rope. ham and ex swing right into the parked plane below, starting the engine. meanwhile, beans is still engaged in his own fight, narrowly dodging an exploding barrel of tnt. he’s rocketed into the air, and ham and ex swoop into the rescue, catching beans in the back seat. beans snaps out of his fugue, coming to terms with ham and ex’s bravery. he gives them kisses of gratitude before saluting the ground before him, and iris out as the plane flies away into the horizon.

not my favorite jack king entry, but not the worst. it was relatively gagless and didn’t feel as exhilarating as it should have with all the action unfolding. it WAS nice to see ham and ex make their first (of a handful) appearance since i haven’t got a hat, though. it just came off as relatively incoherent. it’s basically what you’d imagine it to be as. anthropomorphic objects everywhere. hijinks ensue. it just didn’t have anything to write home about, beans felt drier than usual and ham and ex, a slight improvement, still felt pretty bare, too. i’d say skip it, nothing great but nothing terrible either. but, of course,

link!

[mrdanielbond]

Bond’s New Flatmate (Chpt. 3)

“Were you born in a barn?”

[James Bond X Reader X Q]

[Word count; 2800 (ish)]

[Prompt; James is beginning to get fed up of how the reader is unable to notice him in all aspects, even if he lets his pride in the way and refuses to show any form of interest in her. Finally tying to aim for a change, James has a surprise in store for the reader only to come across a few ‘minor’ complications when putting it into action…]

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

[A/N: I tried to make this as entertaining as possible! So I hope you enjoy the world’s husband Q being up to his shenanigans once again!]

“I heard Madeleine is coming to visit soon. How’s that going?” Q said, walking over to his laptop and began typing, while Bond stood at his desk with his hands in his pockets.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m here. She’s visiting on Monday-”

“That’s great!”

Bond shook his head immediately, “I need you to get her off my back.”

“Seriously?”

“I’m still trying to avoid her at the moment. I’m occupied with...other things at the moment.”

“Do enlighten me. Why are you avoiding her again?”

“She’s a bit more clingy than I thought she would be.”

“Really how so?” He said with a sense of sarcasm in his tone.

“This isn’t funny. Think of a child with their favourite blanket, one that they cannot let go of at all and refuse to leave. That describes what I am trying to avoid at the moment.”

“Ouch. Those blankets do tend to be quite old and rugged.” He pulled a face at Bond, trying his best not to chuckle as the man glared at him. “Can you please get her off my back?”

“I’ll see what I can do...Not like I have a choice anyway.” He mumbled.

Bond began to smile when Q raised the question, “What is it you’re occupying yourself with? M hasn’t left you any assignments has he?”

“No.” Bond lengthened the word, watching Q finally figure out what he was talking about.

“Does this have anything to do with Y/N by any chance?”

“Yes.”

Q huffed in a ridiculed manner and shook his head, “I’m telling you. There’s something strange going on with Y/N. I fear the next time I see her she’ll probably blow up my flat again and I can’t keep paying for insurance, they’ll think I’m intentionally doing it to get money out of it. All because I said a few things.”

“Are you sure this is Y/N we’re talking about? Burning a flat out of revenge for a little light hearted flirting? Now that doesn’t sound like her.” He said sarcastically, sipping his tea. Q smiled to himself as he continued typing on his laptop, he was working in his workshop as usual when James decided to pay his colleague a visit, after all they finally had a mutual connection and that was you. So Q was no longer avoidable in this situation. For the past couple of weeks, you had been popping in and out of the flat, returning late and hadn’t spoken a word to James or held a conversation. You were just too busy to see him now you had gotten a job elsewhere at a place you hadn’t even told James either as part of a private hire investigative/forensic scientist. You had slightly been off also ever since James had a conversation with you about Q, in which you clearly stated to him that you weren’t really looking to reminisce past memories, to which Bond responded with a laugh.

“I’m being serious. Another question, is she usually so - antisocial? She’s been ignoring me the past week. Probably plotting something...”

“Yep. That is Y/N we are talking about.” He chuckled. “My dear wife does have a bad habit of completely ignoring everyone.”

James felt a sudden distaste at the tip of his tongue once he heard the term ‘wife.’ He suddenly would feel this itchy feeling creeping in that made his skin crawl and heart thump. It wasn’t pleasant.

“Anyway why are you so bent on gaining Y/N’s attention? Is there something I don’t know about? Remember James, she’s still married.”

“Oh please.” James hissed defensively, “I don’t do married women.”

“Wasn’t Lucia married when you went to bed with her?”

“Widowed.”

“What about that other one from Croatia?”

“Recently divorced. Come on Q, you should’ve known that.” He tutted.

“Harriet, that minister’s daughter from Sweden?”

“Ok, maybe that’s the only one you have on me but her husband was elsewhere. It’s also part of the job, incase you weren’t aware. Other than that I don’t do married women! Especially not Y/N whom I have no interest in.”

“You don’t find her attractive whatsoever?”

“Nope.”

“Harsh. Not even a little bit? Nothing there for her? Even if she worr a full face of makeup, prepared to go on a date?” Q smirked proudly, sipping his tea once again.

“Pft. Of course I don’t. No. That’s wrong!….God no….No.” James laughed quickly, interrupting Q. He tried his best not to get flustered in front of Q, especially over someone he hadn’t even considered having feelings for...possibly. It all made sense to him at that moment. The way he felt neglected suddenly when you ignored him, busy with work. He felt a sense of emptiness, unable to hear your laughter at something ridiculous on the television, in which he would insult, or laugh at serious situations he had tried to talk about, he couldn’t help but crack a smile at those moments. Even tell you off when you stole one of his shirts, sometimes to wear, most of the time to use for some practical experiment of some sort, meaning he’d have to reprimand you for it. It wasn’t like you two had an argument, you both were just too busy to pay attention to each other...And it was only a fortnight! Actually, the main problem was that you were too busy stressing yourself with work that you hardly even saw James, even when you returned to the flat late you were straight off to sleep and gone by the next morning. “I’m concerned for her as a friend and a flatmate...and for my safety. Not used to the silent treatment, it’s very concerning.”

“Alright fine.” Q sighed, “I know something that’ll get her attention. But you have to do this perfectly otherwise she’ll walk in and completely ignore what’s in front of her.”

“I’m listening.”

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

The weekend had finally arrived and you were able to take a well deserved rest. You spent most of the morning asleep and noticed James wasn’t in the flat so you decided to accept a friend’s invite and head off out with them for the day.

James managed to return to his flat by 6.00 pm. It was already pretty dark outside, considering winter in Britain was just - brilliant. He managed to go shopping for different ingredients and had really taken Q’s advice to heart. What was his advice? To make you a home cooked meal. Bond’s idea was to spoil you with a home cooked meal and somehow manage to use his wits to steer you into the direction of beginning to like him, which seemed ridiculous to him at first but there was something about you that he just couldn’t clear from his mind. In the space of a little over an hour, James managed to cook you your favourite dish (choose name) and set the table with a bottle of wine and light the candle in front of it. He sat two plates neatly with the cutlery and had almost finished cooking when he heard the door open.

You began to smile , surprised at the smile of your favourite dish coming from inside the dish as you noticed James was dressed impressively in casual clothing. He was in a navy blue t shirt with a pair of black jeans and trainers, after all he overheard you talking to a friend about how you were into guys who dressed in casual clothing quite a lot of the time, yet could suit up when they needed to.

“What’s this?” You asked, amazed by the sight.

“I figured you’ve been busy with work and deserve a home cooked meal to relieve some of that stress and we eat out a lot so tonight I’m just throwing something together.”

“That’s so sweet, I can’t believe you’d do this and I’m surprised you knew my favourite dish.”

“Of course I’d know. I do listen when you talk to me. You do know that right?”

You smiled as James poured you a glass of wine. “Loving the casual look as well, it suits you.” You winked.

Just before you could step any further towards you looked back for a moment smiling before collecting the glass.

“Ever heard the expression were you born in a barn?” James laughed, shaking his head.

“Yes of course I have and I find that very rude considering I can’t close the door on a guest.” James began sipping his drink when he saw Q walk through the door and instantly he spat it out, glaring at him.

“I guess she wasn’t born on a barn at all. Thank you for keeping the door slightly ajar for me Y/N, I do appreciate it. There was a quick phone call I had to make. Oh what a beautiful scene, I’m not intruding on anything am I?” He looked directly at James, smiling to find the man growling under his breath.

“The little shit…” James thought, giving a fake smile.

“I’m really sorry I should’ve known you were going to make dinner. If I had known-” You apologised looking at James.

“Don’t worry. Dinner for two can turn to three...right?”

“Excellent.” Q responded as you told him to make himself comfortable inside while you headed off with James into the kitchen.

“I really hope you don’t mind the fact I invited Q over.” You said, reaching for another glass. James grabbed another plate and looked at you smiling, “Of course I don’t. Why would I be bothered?”

“Thank you, for all of this.” You placed your hand on his chest for a moment, smiling before you left to go and join Q inside the front room.

Dinner was not awkward at all...There wasn’t any tension...Q definitely wasn’t scared of what James was going to do with a knife and fork in his hand. You looked on at the two, it was a tense atmosphere and you were starting to enjoy yourself ever so slightly as you poured the two more wine, especially for James who you could have heard growling at Q if you were sat where he was.

“So, Bond, you never told me you were a cook.” Q said to break the ice, smiling as he gulped on his wine.

“I don’t cook often because I’m never in my flat, remember?” Bond said, trying his best not to make it sound so sharp and harsh. “Then again we all have tricks up our sleeves don’t we?”

“Unfortunately some of those tricks usually don’t go accordingly to plan do they?” Q chuckled.

You were seriously enjoying this. You watched the two trade sly remarks to one another and didn’t even need to speak to keep the conversation going. That was until things started to get slightly out of hand and you could tell Q was beginning to get a little frightened in James’ presence.

“Alright children, that’s enough. You argue like my colleagues at work and I need a break from that.” You tutted, “James, you know this reminds me of that time we went to the pizza parlour and you made the restaurant manager feel uncomfortable because asked if the food was okay.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” James smiled at Q’s direction. You could sense Bond was all for making Q jealous of your friendship, except it had the opposite effect. You knew Q best, he was a lot smarter than that.

“Y/N, you remember back in Oxford, how we were a part of the unstoppable trio. You me and Jonathan in the chemistry lab working on quite the discovery.”

“Oh yes, in fact I do remember. We were all pretty spontaneous back then.” You cautiously said, looking over at James as the man raised his eyebrows at the word ‘spontaneous.’

“Spontaneous you were indeed.” Q winked, “Once Jonathan, who seemed to be the third wheel at the time, had left us I remembered when we both thought it would be a good idea to make sparks fly inside that lab...and not only from the -”

“Out of all people to talk about to, you decide to talk to my flatmate? Can we not, while we’re having dinner?” You interrupted quickly before he could go into detail, getting all flustered, that was when your phone began to ring. “Oh, I’ve got to pick up this call, must be work. I’ll be right back.” You walked off to take the phone as James turned to Q.

“You came up with this whole idea just so you could ruin it!” Bond hissed.

“What makes you think that?”

“Don’t try that crap with me Q. You better tell me the rest of this story.” He said, glaring at Q,who began to smile.

“Like I said, Y/N is very spontaneous, she could be adventurous if she wanted to. I thought she was quite the casual woman at first, her idea of a romantic night was simply just to have a night of binge watching television, playing video games and having snacks but she’s more open to anything really. It takes a lot to keep up with someone like her, good thing I was always able to in those encounters. In that chemistry lab was the first of many times. Not only in there though, that would be very wrong. The way she took those bottles and…” Q started into his glass, smirking and took a quick gulp before he looked back up at James, “Actually maybe that is a story for another day.” He smiled, noticing how interested James was.

“You a little shit.”

“Now, that is a rude thing to say to your guest. Why would you call me that? Were you thinking of having a romantic evening in with my wife?”

“Your wife. Wife. It is a funny word isn’t it? Usually ot associates those who I don’t know - live together, spend time together, not four years apart and later for the husband to discover she is sharing a flat with another man.”

“Hey, I never said our marriage was perfect.”

“You hadn’t seen her for four years! That’s hardly a marriage at all if you ask me. She’s practically single.”

“I trust you enough not to try anything on with dear Y/N.”

“What if I don’t have to try anything? What if she’s already onto me?” James winked.

“Now that would be absurd considering you don’t do married women, remember? And besides, Y/N is a lot smarter than you think she is. She wouldn’t come onto someone she isn’t attracted to even if it was a matter of life and death.” He chuckled.

As the tension started to build you joined the two once again, noticing James holding his fork upwards with the bottle of wine completely finished. “Why hello Y/N. We were just discussing how Bond’s girlfriend Madeleine will be visiting soon from Austria. On Monday.”

James’ eyes bulged immediately, his breathing began to run sharp, he was infuriated.

“I knew it! I knew they were dating! But girlfriend, sounds very serious. If she ever visits - actually go to a hotel room I think that would preferable. Congratulations.”

Q could sense James’ blood boiling as he clutched the glass of wine in his hand.

“Well, lovely dinner James. It was absolutely delicious, I should start visiting more often.” Q said, quickly wiping his mouth with the handkerchief.

“Please don’t.” He said sternly, low enough so both of you couldn’t hear him.

“Y/N, it’s been a pleasure spending all day with you, hopefully we can do it again sometime.”

“Yeah, alright, if you say so.” He leaned in and gave a quick kiss to your cheek then winked at James and left quickly before James could attempt to throw the fork at him.

“He did not need to do that.” You muttered under your breath rolling your eyes before you turned to James, “What was that all about? He left real quick.” You said curiously.

“I don’t know. M called him for something.”

“At this time of the night?”

James nodded as he cleared the plates.

“You said something to him didn’t you?”

“He just came up with some terrible ideas that’s all.” Bond chuckled as you rolled your eyes.

[shogetsus]

Stripes of Auburn, Eye of Sapphire

17. Mai

Read on Ao3 | Read on FFN |  Masterlist

Summary: “My Lord, a report! We were misled!” Presumably a Maeda scout—judging by the colors of his armor—reaches Nobunaga’s mare, looking pale and positively frightened, “This wasn’t a skirmish between the territories! A cavalry armed in red has been spotted at the front lines!”

The man falters for a heartbeat, seeming like struggling to deliver the grimmest news of his entire life, barely able to meet his Lord’s eyes. “It’s… it’s Takeda’s Akazonae!”

Spoiler alert! - Shingen's route

Mai

“Oomph—! Ouch!”

Twenty pounds of a very eager tiger landing on her chest prompt her awake, making her wince and grumble in some pain. The discomfort doesn’t last for long, as Shogetsu proceeds to brush his wet nose across her cheek, licking the side of her face he can reach as if to make up for his rough treatment. What a way to wake up, huh.

“Good morning to you too, big boy…” Her groans turn into giggles when the cub’s whiskers tickle her neck, squirming involuntarily and making a mess out of her already disheveled futon. “Ahahaha! Alright, alright, Shogetsu. I think I know what you want,”

It’s been three days since the tiger started making a habit of visiting her room, whether at night to curl up at the feet of her futon or to be the first to bid her good morning; hence why the second time she’d opted out to place a bowl of water next to her balcony window. She’d have to ask Masamune what he’s feeding the boy with eventually, if he keeps intending to stick to her company, although Mai hasn’t seen even a glimpse of Shogetsu’s owner since their last ‘date’ of some sorts.

The thought makes her snort in a mix of disbelief and longing. I had a date with Masamune Date. Mom would be cackling and squealing like a fangirl at that. Truthfully, it’s just a silly thought she indulges herself with—and she’s fully aware he doesn’t even know what a date is for the matter—but regardless, she’d be lying if she isn’t looking forward to having another.

That, and seeing him again, that is.

Subsequently to their return from the north, her writing and reading lessons with Mitsunari and Ieyasu had come to a halt due to their busy schedule, the former with rearranging and assigning the castle defenses, and Ieyasu with his late investigation of Shingen and Kenshin’s rumors. Masamune got caught up in work as well, leaving her to spend her days tending on her chatelaine duties and the company of an unruly tiger while studying.

“You want… a belly rub! Raaaah!” Feigning a fearsome display of claws, Mai pounces on the cub and attacks his soft belly with rubs and tickles. Shogetsu coos and paws at her quick hands, more than delighted with finally getting her utmost attention.

They’re so into it she almost misses the knocking on her door. “Just a second!” Throwing on another layer of clothing for modesty and hastily tying her hair, she then gives the signal for the visitor to come inside. Her brows quirk in surprise, although isn’t particularly displeased at the newcomer, “Oh, Mitsuhide, it’s you. Hello.”

Despite being pristinely dressed as usual, his face can’t hide some wear and tear on it, leading her to assume he didn’t have any beauty sleep. “I see you’re with company already. Why am I not surprised?” He smirks after nodding in greeting.

“You mean Shogetsu? It’s alright, we’re just having a tickle fight.” Throwing a blue strip of cloth for the little tiger to focus and play with, Mai prompts herself to her feet and shakes the balcony windows open.

Mitsuhide snickers amusedly. “It’s clear you have an affinity to creatures like them. Admittedly, you do look pretty much like a tigress yourself,” He doesn’t follow her to the veranda, though, shooting her a meaningful look behind those appealing long lashes of his. “It shouldn’t be baffling if your kind seems to look out for you…”

The jab is subtle, yet regardless she catches up to it, her breath hitching. This isn’t about Shogetsu. “W-what do you mean?” She speaks across her shoulder, hoping he can’t see how pale and terrified she goes.

“Oh, I believe you know that, Princess…” Her eyes blow wide, a cold shiver of fear running down her spine. A heartbeat goes, then two, before she gathers her wits to turn around and properly face the slyest of warlords among the Oda. “If anything, the look in your pretty face just confirmed so. I’m afraid you’re painfully easy to read,”

Mitsuhide feigns a mortified face, but the sharp gleam crossing his golden gaze all but gives away the enjoyment he seems to find in prodding people.

Mai bites her lower lip hard enough to draw blood, a hand raking through her hair. She should have known better than to pretend around such a dangerous schemer like Mitsuhide, or even hiding from him. They’ve met in the middle of the street after all, it’s all too easy to assume someone may have spotted them talking and words caught up to him.

How screwed up I am, now? He’s come to take me to the dungeons, isn’t it?

“I… then I’m sure you already know it’s not what it looked like.” The best she can do is apply some reasoning in her defense, aware that persuasion is hardly a good approach as of then. Her hands begin to tremble, nails digging painfully in her palms, “You’ve got to believe me, Mitsuhide, he followed me and—“

Mitsuhide seems to notice something else in her face, then, judging by how the obvious amusement suddenly disappears from his, bringing a hand before her so to ask for silence. “Why, there’s no need for you to explain yourself, Mai.”

Soon, it becomes a silent battle of glances; from her, to figure out her fate, and Mitsuhide, appearing to be trying to read her thoughts. “How can you say that?” Mai says, near baffled, “We just brought a daimyo to custody after just exchanging some letters with the enemy. And you’ve seen me talking to one of them, face to face. It’s pretty clear to me I’m in big trouble,”

A thin silver eyebrow quirk up as if pondering on it, “That is a solid reasoning,” He appears inclined to agree, nodding thoughtfully, “Regardless, I still consider your involvement as hardly relevant in the current moment. The matter is being addressed properly, so you have nothing to fear,” His thin lips spread wide in a mischievous smile, “… yet.”

“That is… not reassuring at all…” She blinks in disbelief, tension still coiling deep in her gut, “So why are you here, then?”

The visitor hides his hands into the sleeves of his white kimono, “Firstly, to inform Lord Nobunaga is requesting your presence at the audience chambers. And secondly, to ask you a question,” For the first time in their interaction, Mitsuhide finally turns serious, “Does this man you’ve encountered has introduced himself as the Tiger of Kai, Shingen Takeda?”

“Um, he…” She stammers for a moment, revisiting her talk with the handsome man in her mind for the tenth time, coming to a sudden realization. “Actually… no, he didn’t.”

“You’re saying you assumed him to be Takeda?” At his skeptical look, she finally understands where he’s going.

But no, that can’t be right. “Yeah, and still believe it was him but, well… he didn’t outright confirm that to my face, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I see. Then why are you so concerned, I wonder?” At his nonchalant shrug, Mai can’t possibly tell whether he’s trying to be reassuring or not, “For all it takes you might have seen a ghost or a body double,”

She turns pensive at the remark. As much as she can get people’s skepticism towards someone apparently believed to be dead, there are far too many rumors going about for somebody as Mitsuhide to just turn a blind eye on. While he may be in the right for her irrelevancy on the matter—Shingen could positively be miles away from Azuchi by now, and their meeting is hardly of any use to the Oda—and that everyone’s currently working to find the truth, it all leads her to presume one thing.

“You don’t believe he’s alive, right?”

Leaning forward and getting to her eye level, he lands a hand on her shoulder, “Only one thing is for certain, Princess, and that is, no one comes back from the dead.” A quite charming smirk crosses Mitsuhide’s face, and she honestly doesn’t know what to think of it.

Or rather, she feels more lost and confused than before. For all intents and purposes, the man doesn’t truly look like the culprit behind the Honno-ji incident and remains to be one of—if not the only—Nobunaga’s most trustworthy warlords around. Yet still, what is there with Mitsuhide Akechi? What makes him so reliable to the Oda forces?

Does she even want to know?

Straightening up, his intense golden gaze is quite a lot to bare, “Regardless, I withhold my final judgment for now,” With remarkable gallantry, he outstretches an arm to her, “Now, shall we? The lords are awaiting us,”

The meeting is already settled by the time they arrive, having walking without much as for a bare casual conversation to the audience chambers. To Mai’s surprise and partial worry, there’s no sign of Masamune or Ieyasu around, and no one in the room looks like they’re expecting them anytime soon.

Once the two of them take a seat, Mitsunari begins with his report.

“More skirmishes have arisen in Shinano, making it the third episode in less than a month. I’m afraid the situation is escalating to the threat of a full revolt on the province,” The strategist hands a stack of papers to Nobunaga, presumably to certify his statements, “We must act soon, or else we won’t be able to contain this much further,”

Nobunaga listens intently before turning to his vassal. “Have you got any word from Lady Yoshiko, Hideyoshi?”

He nods, but his face remains stern. “My wife is safe for now, in Owari,” The small addition prompts Mai’s attention, growing curious. Didn’t know Hideyoshi had a wife. Wow, I know next to nothing about these guys, aren’t I? “She’s let me know we can call upon the Maeda for assistance.”

“Very well, then.” Nobunaga fixes a look on Mitsuhide afterwards, appearing to be sharing something unbeknownst to the rest of them, but it doesn’t take much before he comes to a decision. “I tire of this pointless rebellion. I shall go and put an end to these skirmishes myself,” He declares, stopping his vassal the very moment he readies to, most likely, voice his concerns. “Hideyoshi, you may gather your troops and go with me. And Mitsunari, write Toshiie and request him to prepare his forces as well. We are traveling shortly.”

Just then, that fearsome crimson gaze lands on Mai, and it takes a lot for her not to flinch—it’s a look that definitely doesn’t bode well for her, as far as she’s come to know the Lord of Azuchi. Please, let it be good. I’ll do anything, just—

“I’d need my lucky token to bring me good fortune. Pack up, Princess. I’m taking you with me.”

How much has my lifespan been shortened by now? This is a nightmare.

Shaken to the core, rattled, and fighting her shock, she clings to Nobunaga for dear life as he rides into battle. If she once thought riding with Masamune was a pain, Mai can clearly see how sorely wrong she was right then.

“Why did you even bring me here!?” She doesn’t even have a single piece of armor on her, and he better not bring up the lucky charm repetitive tape, or else.

“I thought a fireball like you would enjoy a good battle,” Nobunaga says matter-of-factly.

“You were so wrong! This is horrible!” Every whizzing arrow passing by seems to be about to pierce her; every angry roar and cry of pain echoing in her ears. “I told you I hate war!”

“What you hate or like is of no matter. You are mine, my lucky charm, and I will bring you where I like.” His statements sound just as defiant and elated as the look on his face—crimson eyes blazing, a toothy, wicked grin all over.

And if we were in the present, I’m pretty sure I could bring you to court for that!

Mai certainly wishes she could. She’d much rather be there than in the middle of that killing field. “Oh gods, look out!”

A soldier darts his horse before them as an enemy spear impales his shoulder. “Agh! L-Lord Nobunaga, please, get back!”

“I do not take commands.” Her whole body shakes as Nobunaga wheels his steed and brutally cuts down the spearman. Mai’s pretty sure she screamed at that. “You there! Fight the pain and stay on your horse or you’ll die. Now retreat back to camp and have that wound taken care of.”

“Yes my Lord. As soon as the blood is stanched I will be back at your side!” Blood oozes through his fingers as he clutches his wound, the pale-faced soldier riding in the direction of camp.

They’re just going to patch him up and send him back out? “What could be possibly worth this?”

She wasn’t expecting to get a response, and yet. “Indeed. This is too much effort for a minor conflict in what should be an uncontested province…”

“What do you mean? This isn’t how this was supposed to go?”

It’s then when a messenger comes trotting through the front lines, shouting in a panic at Nobunaga. “My Lord, a report! We were misled!” Presumably a Maeda scout—judging by the colors of his armor—reaches Nobunaga’s mare, looking pale and positively frightened, “This wasn’t a skirmish between the territories! A cavalry armed in red has been spotted at the front lines!”

The man falters for a heartbeat, seeming like struggling to deliver the grimmest news of his entire life, barely able to meet his Lord’s eyes. “It’s… it’s Takeda’s Akazonae!”

Nobunaga stays very still, gaze flickering with many emotions Mai can’t truly figure out what is what—surprise, expectation, unadulterated ire, and a glimmer of relief, even.

“… There you are, Shingen.” His acknowledgment comes with a growl, and she can’t help glancing warily at the soldiers who’d heard the message, meeting slack-jawed expressions all around. “We’re going after him.”

Oh, no. Oh, damn—whoa!

All in a sudden, Nobunaga kicks his horse, flying toward the front lines of the battle, his pacing eager and more reckless than what she got sort of used to with Masamune’s wild riding. Hundreds of men move across the field on both sides in a blur of reds, blacks and whites, but once her eyes catch a glimpse of a particular person, there’s no way she can tear her gaze away from them.

“Give the signal! Let the world know!”

At the sight, there’s no doubt he really has earned the name of a tiger, his presence even more fierce and grandiose than the former times she’s met him, roaring with a force that could make any lesser man shake their very soul.

“The Takeda forces have returned!”

The aforementioned Akazonae army, clad head to toe in crimson red armor, gives a unified cry that makes the very ground tremble. Riding at their head on an ebony horse, wielding a massive greatsword, is the tall flirt from Azuchi, and the most handsome man she’s ever seen in her life.

“It turns out the rumors were true. The Tiger of Kai lives,” An amused Nobunaga seems to talk more to himself than to her.

His mumbles sound far away from her, feeling all but drawn to Shingen’s figure, somewhat partially doubting her vision. Or that is until his silver-grey eyes meet hers across the battlefield, tongue shaking out to water his lips and smiling delightfully.

Hello? We’re in the middle of a bloodbath! What is he doing?

It’s impossible not to recognize that narrow-eyed, flirtatious look—there’s magic there, something very difficult to attribute to another person but him. It feels as if he’s teasingly dangling the keys to her memories on his fingers, whispering ‘Did you miss me?’

“Mmh, smoke from Honno-ji and a woman alone at night. Perhaps you’re a ghost? Though you’re certainly the most beautiful ghost I’ve ever seen.”

“And you’re not a ghost. Not now that I see you in the daylight, that is clear.”

“I see you miss me already? Don’t worry, I do too. I’m trusting you to take good care of my heart in the meantime… Princess,”

While she couldn’t possibly have forgotten him, it’s also obvious Shingen remembered her the entire time—or has done his homework quite too well. He even predicted they’d meet up a third time. Or did he somehow know…?

“Don’t get distracted or you’ll lose your balance. Now hold on,” Nobunaga returns to a state of ruthless and cold detachment. He glances over his visibly shaken army and shouts in a voice of command, “Keep in formation! We still outnumber them. Do not cower before a ghost. We’ll send Takeda back to hell!”

His words rally the soldiers, and they face the Takeda forces fearlessly once more. The spirit of an entire army shifting at the words of one person; that’s a lot of power to hold.

The mention of a ghost makes her ponder; Sasuke said Shingen being alive was one of the differences in their timeline—deeming it an alternate one, in which history already changed its course—but he didn’t precisely go into details. Even Mitsuhide, within his odd ways, practically confirmed that to the world everyone considered him dead. So, how did he ‘die’? And why did he appear just then, apparently years later?

“Nobunaga, why did you think Shingen was dead?” As far as from what recalls from the history books, Shingen died before him in her timeline, but that’s about all she knows.

Making it brief due to the current circumstances, Nobunaga tells her of his war with the Takeda clan and how in the midst of a battle, they’d heard Shingen succumbed to illness. His army fell apart, alongside with all the gains they’d made in battle, and their clan was destroyed by the Oda.

“… But he was alive this whole time and he was the one stirring up tension in your territories?”

“It appears so. Mitsuhide will know more of it. I suppose after he recovered, he took his time looking for the right moment to get his revenge.” Nobunaga says, “Shingen’s not the only ghost though. He’s come back with another. Look, Mai.”

She looks where Nobunaga points. In the sea of red, a white shadow blitzes through like a bolt of lightning; the man—if indeed he is one and not a force of nature—followed by a squad of his own. “You are the elite of the Uesugi forces! Don’t let the Akazonae show you up! Unleash your ferocity on the enemy!”

“Kenshin Uesugi, the Dragon of Echigo. He too was said to have died.” Despite the introduction, Mai finds him quite easier to recognize—he was with Shingen the night of the Honno-ji incident. “Not only is he still alive, but he also formed an alliance with his rival, of all people.”

Something about the intone of how he says that prompts her attention to Nobunaga. He doesn’t sound particularly surprised at this outcome.

Quirking a curious brow, she dares asking, “Did you know somehow any of them would be here?”

“Hideyoshi’s wife let out something odd in her last letter. And a report from Toshiie Maeda, one of my generals, got me inclined to believe this skirmish wasn’t just a simple commotion between the villagers. Something as big as this was brewing on,” Nobunaga admits with a thoughtful frown, “Shingen is a master of espionage. It was no accident that I got that information.”

The comment confuses her—so, if she’s getting it right, that means Shingen purposefully let Nobunaga know he’d be coming out of hiding? “But if you two are enemies, why would he let you get that info?”

“To draw me out, of course. Only in that way can they declare to the world they are once more ready for battle.” He says matter-of-factly, “That’s why they caused these minor conflicts in my territory, as well as probably rallying their former retainers like the daimyo you and Masamune dealt with: To chip away at my influence bit by bit.” He builds on his answer as he rides, directing his army all the while, “All that was left was to choose the perfect moment to rise from the abyss and show themselves in the light.”

In conclusion, Shingen’s goal has been to, most likely, stir trouble in Nobunaga’s territories and hope for the people to rebel against him, joining his cause instead. That’s an incredibly intricate plan, I’ve got to give him that. She can’t help glancing at Shingen ahead with sheer curiosity, her intuition telling her he’d been the sole architect of that scheme.

And suddenly so, she realizes his already herculean figure becomes taller and taller, dangerously approaching him. “You’re not honestly thinking about fighting the two of them directly!?” Ignoring the obvious disadvantages of two against one, Takeda and Uesugi are the commanders of the enemy forces.

But Nobunaga ignores her question, once more kicking his horse into a run. Feeling her balance unceremoniously ripped from her again, she flinches, squeezing him harder to find some purchase. Men fall to Nobunaga’s deadly blade and the trampling hooves of his horse, more weapons than Mai can even count flying towards the two of them. Either Shingen or Kenshin seems to notice Nobunaga and her approaching at first, but then again, almost everyone is on horseback.

… Or they had been, until then, when she hears a horrible scream—Kenshin barbarically cutting a soldier down before her eyes, alighting from his horse with paradoxical elegance. What is he doing? Doesn’t that put him at a disadvantage?

“This battle bores me.” She hears him saying flatly, “Here, I’m giving myself a handicap. Now, will someone put up a fight?”

Nobunaga watches Kenshin’s act of madness with amusement, “So, it’s true what they say about Kenshin’s lust for battle.”

More like he’s lusting for a sword in his chest! He’s putting himself at risk because he’s bored!?

“Shingen, your battles are dull and they take too long. I might just kill you for bringing me into this snore fest…”

“You know what they say about men who snore, Kenshin!” Far ahead, Shingen smiles wryly before smoothly vaulting off his horse. “I think I’m keeping you from showing off and stealing all the fun for yourself.” Back to back with his apparent ally, Shingen hefts his odachi, nearly as tall as himself.

Yet somehow and to her awed eyes, when he wields it, he seems even taller, even greater. “Anyone interested in losing their lives today? Then step right up.”

“Any idiots can go and get killed by Shingen. I want to fight the skilled and the brave.”

An Oda soldier reacts vigorously, “Take them down and take home glory! Attack!”

Another armored man clad in red steps up. “Protect our lord!”

“Don’t step on my account!” Shingen commands, “Concentrate on your own enemies.” His velvety voice carries over the loud rush of wind that comes with each swing of his monster of a sword.

He’s… I’ll admit it. He’s kind of wow. Shingen could bring down three soldiers with one well-calculated strike, swords and men falling to the ground before him. Behind him, Kenshin’s blade flashes, leaving dead men in his wake.

“The tiger and the dragon. Their fangs are sharp as ever,” Nobunaga’s crimson eyes seem to be drawn to every strike of Shingen and Kenshin’s swords, just as hers are. “Their alliance may prove to be more trouble than I thought.”

One of Nobunaga’s men come riding towards the two of them, shouting, “My Lord, you must fall back! It’s too dangerous here!”

That, naturally, draws Shingen’s attention, but those smoky grey eyes pass right over Nobunaga. They stop on her, holding her shocked gaze—and if eyes could whisper, they would say ‘Hey cutie’. With all the confidence in the world, Shingen then winks at her, her heart sputtering and stopping for a beat.

… He just… winked at me…

“Shingen, three at a time? Stop being wasteful and save some for me,”

“I would, but you know of my terrible affliction. I have to show off in front of a beautiful woman,”

“… A woman? There’s a woman here?” Kenshin’s gaze cuts through the crowd with the same ruthlessness as his sword, spotting her. That’s not a wink, that’s a death glare. As soon as it comes, it melts away as Kenshin’s eyes widen in a kind of shock, staring at her for a second like he couldn’t believe what he’s seeing.

Then, those heterochromatic eyes notice Nobunaga and Kenshin grows spine-chillingly pleased. “Nobunaga… you’ve come out.”

“Kenshin, I shall be your opponent,” The mere statement all but screams trouble—she really, really doesn’t want to be on Nobunaga’s horse while he fights that killer in a duel.

Can I, uh, call a cab?

However, the so soul-stirring duel doesn’t happen as all in a sudden, Shingen steps up to his ally. “Let’s call it quits, Kenshin. We’ve done enough for today,” He seems to decide in a very nonchalant manner. “Remember, we’re not here to kill Nobunaga. Not yet.” Surprisingly, Shingen’s calming voice is the song to soothe Kenshin’s savagery.

The blonde warrior still shoots him a fierce glare, though, “I’m not leaving when the ultimate prey has just offered himself up to me.”

“Fair enough. But are you really going to enjoy killing a man when his woman is there, clinging to his back?” Shingen points out, “I thought you liked fighting your opponents when they’re in the best possible condition?”

“… Why must you ruin everything, Shingen?” Kenshin’s fine features twist into a spiteful scowl. “I’m disappointed, Nobunaga. You’ve become the kind of corrupt noble who dallies with his concubine on the battlefield? Perhaps a good head wound will straighten you out. Or better yet, kill you.”

Nobunaga scoffs, “And maybe next time you come back from hell, you can do so with more sense than bloodlust.”

Shingen doesn’t let his ally catch on his bait, “Easy now, Kenshin. We’ll kill him in time. But the stage isn’t set yet.” There’s a coldness in Shingen’s expression that doesn’t quite leave as he turns to Mai, “I’m sorry to frighten you with this display, Princess-Chatelaine of Azuchi.”

Princess-Chatelaine? So, he really has done his homework.

“We’ve met three times now: By inevitability, whim, and finally fate.” His smoky grey eyes pierce into her very soul, “Are you anticipating our fourth meeting as much as I am?” Every word he draws out feels hypnotizing—like a flute to a snake, moved and drawn by the mere movement of those impossibly alluring lips. “My offer is sadly running out of time…”

“… Wh-what do you even mean by that?” She has so many questions, but as ridiculously tongue-tied as she is, it’s all she can do but gape, incredulous and entranced.

“Good questions. Can I take it you’re excited to hear the answers at our next meeting? Great! It’s a promise!” Mai keeps gawking at that too familiar and dangerously enchanting smile, her heart pounding too hard.

Shingen is Nobunaga’s enemy, all in all hers as well, given her status. Nonetheless, the idea of seeing him again is almost too thrilling, the sheer anticipation coursing through her not helping at all. Probably not in the middle of a battlefield, pretty please.

“So, the Tiger turns tail to flee like a coward for the second time.” Nobunaga taunts him with a devilish smirk.

“Keep your filthy mouth shut.” Shingen’s lighthearted enthusiasm vanishes at Nobunaga’s provocation, his eyes turning dark and deadly cold—and suddenly Mai doesn’t feel like looking at them anymore. “I’ll be back, Nobunaga, for your head. Best use it while it’s still connected.” His and Kenshin’s vassals guide their horses to their commanders, the two men mounting up. “We’re pulling out, Kenshin.”

“… This was a disappointment. The next fight better not be, Nobunaga.” The odd retreat makes her confused. Why would they give up in the middle of a battle? Or did they really come with the mere purpose of revealing themselves?

It seems kind of silly, but the honest truth is the further away they get, the better she can breathe, Shingen’s magic spell losing its grip on her. To a great extent, she’s genuinely glad it didn’t come down to a true fight, the current result being grim enough to her eyes.

Nobunaga keeps his gaze fixed on the vanishing figures of his two rivals for a very long time, even when their armies break away and withdraw with their leaders. “Did Takeda know about the flying column I had in wait?”

“What? Flying column?”

“The detachment of troops from Toshiie I kept in reserve. In an extended battle, they would have given me the advantage.” So, Nobunaga had his own strategy all along, “It’s all too easy to bait the God of War, but Takeda’s harder to trap.” More challenged than disappointed, he returns to giving orders, “Do not pursue them. No doubt their garrison is empty. They had no intention of staging a prolonged conflict in the first place. Send out scouts to confirm they’ve withdrawn and once they have, we’ll do as well.”

Mai had no idea such a violent battle could come to an end so abruptly. However, the repercussions are far from over—soldiers groaning and bleeding as far as her eyes can reach; some men most likely never getting up again. So many casualties for a battle that lasted only a few hours, for a cause that’s not even their own. How many more would die if they kept fighting?

Is there anything she could do to help or, at least, turn the situation to a more positive light?

As she asks herself that question, she sifts through her memories of the battle. Waiting patiently at the end of the line is one particularly pesky memory.

“We’ve met three times now: By inevitability, whim, and finally fate. Are you anticipating our fourth meeting as much as I am? My offer is sadly running out of time…”

What in the world did Shingen mean? What does she even has to consider of his so-called proposal? Is he just expecting her to walk away with him the very moment they meet again?

And, most importantly, what is he capable of doing if she refuses to take his offer?

Odachi: Japanese greatsword. 

A-N: HERE COMES MY BOY! HE'S HERE! IT HIMMMMMMMM! Also, this looks like an opportune moment to mention I'm currently running a 30 Days of Shingen on my art blog, because flooding y'all with content from my ravishingly handsome tiger just seems like the best way to start the year :D 

[cassidyastorxaviershaw]

Scene Week - Thursday

WHO: Adam Sylvester (Dom) & Eli Hummel (sub)  @dominantsylvester

WHERE: Dominant Dorms, room 109 ; Adam’s suite.

WHEN: Thursday evening. May 16th.

CLASS: Ouch! That Stings - Impact Play & Knot’s And Other Things You’ve Been Doing Wrong - Bondage

KINKS: Impact - Flogging. Bondage - Leather Cuffs

NOTES: Dominant has submissive strip, cuffs wrists down the side of body and attaches to ankle cuffs and uses a flogger for impact play. After care assumed.

WORD COUNT: 4507

As soon as classes ended on Thursday, Eli headed to the Dom building and straight to Adam's room. He wouldn't lie, he was a little nervous about this one considering they hadn't actually gotten off on the right foot. He reached the door and took a deep breath, dropping to his knees. This was becoming all too familiar now. He lent forward and knocked the door three times before moving backwards and resting his hands on his knees.

Adam wasn't sure how this scene would go, at all, and there was a small, but larger than normal,  chance that it could be a complete disaster.  But Eli apparently wanted to try, so Adam was willing to let him.  It was entirely possible that Eli just needed a little bit of guidance, and if that was the case, Adam wanted to help.  When he opened the door, he was pleased to see Eli on his knees, and sent him a small smile of approval.  "Thank you for being so prompt," he said as he moved back to let Eli in.  "I'd like you to go and kneel facing the couch, please.  We're going to talk about limits and rules and what you'd like to do in this scene before we do anything else."

Eli smiled back at Adam, the man much more attractive in person. He waited for permission and then moved on his hands and knees to the spot by the couch, facing it and waiting for Adam to join him. He was in a bit of pain from the scene the night before and his ass was bruised so, when he was asked, he would answer honestly.

Adam was surprised, but somewhat impressed, that Eli crawled to the couch rather than standing up.  Adam hadn't specified, and wouldn't have minded if Eli had stood, but the fact that he didn't showed that he was at least attempting to get into a submissive mindset, that he was entering into this scene in good faith.  Adam followed at a sedate pace and sat on the couch in front of Eli.  Once there, he sent the sub another small smile, just a twitch of his lips really, so Eli would know he was pleased.  "I think we should talk about rules first, before we do anything else.   I only have a few.  The first is respect.  I expect you to be polite and to use my title.  And you can expect me to be equally considerate.  It's not a one way street.  The second is honesty.  If I don't think you've told me the truth, I'll stop the scene.  I just won't play with someone who won't be upfront with me.  And the third is obedience.  You can ask questions, or ask me to pause or explain something, but I do expect you to do as you're told.  The exception to this, of course, if it you need to use your safe word.  That would always be respected."

Eli watched Adam's face and noticed the twitch of his lip which in turn made him smile. Even though he'd been rude to start, he really was here in good faith and wanted to be a good submissive. He needed the points too. He listened to Adam speak, not daring to interrupt him and, as he finished he nodded his head and gently cleared his throat, "Yes Sir, of course I will use your title and be honest with you. I want to be a good submissive for you sir". He paused, "In the interest of honesty, I will tell you I had an impact scene yesterday and I am a little sore and bruised sir but I am happy to have some more impact today. My safewords are amber and red and if I am gagged and unable to talk, I will click my fingers three times, sir".

"Good boy," Adam said with another small smile when Eli finished.  "I appreciate you telling me that from the beginning.  We can do a little impact play, if you're interested, but it won't be the focus of the scene, since you're bruised already.  I'd like to hear your limits, and also what classes you're currently in, please."

Eli nodded, glad he'd made the decision to come clean about his bruises from yesterday, "Yes Sir, I am still interested in impact play if it should come up in the scene". He paused, biting his lip as he did and smiled at Adam, "My limits are vore, scat, vomit and age play and I'm in sub 101, D/S History, Ouch that stings and Knots and other things you've been doing wrong".

Those were very broad limits, but Adam knew that Eli was still very new to this.  He was probably trying to be open to experimenting, which Adam couldn't fault him for.  Adam nodded at the list of classes, which seemed to him to be all solid choices for someone just starting out with exploring kink.  "Excellent.  I've planned a scene which isn't too challenging, and it will fit very well into your classes.  Since you didn't mention them, I'm assuming you don't have any reservations about including sexual aspects to the scene.  Is that correct?"

Eli smiled, of course Adam would have something planned out, he seemed very professional when it came to being a dominant, "Thank you for taking the time to plan a scene Sir" he said, ensuring to keep his tone polite, "Yes that is correct, sir. I am more then happy for the scene to have sexual aspects".

Adam gave him another of his small, approving smiles and nodded.  "Alright.  I've set some things up in one of my spare bedrooms."  He continued speaking as he stood.  "You're not required to crawl, Eli, but if you'd like to, you certainly may.  I want to encourage you to seek out the things that make you feel submissive, in a good way.  Whatever makes you feel like you're being a good boy.  If crawling does that, by all means."

Eli nodded and smiled, "I don't mind crawling Sir" he explained, having gotten used to it now. He liked that Adam was wanting to teach him a little as well as do the scene and thought he could learn a lot from this Dom. The worlds good boy made him smile more, his favourite words to be used to him, "I want to crawl for you Sir" he added as he followed Adam, staying on his hands and knees.

Adam smiled just a little wider at that.  This was good.  Eli was much more willing to engage in overtly submissive behaviors than Adam had expected.  It was a good sign.  Perhaps he'd been right, then, that Eli just needed a bit of guidance and he'd blossom into a happy, healthy submissive.  "Good boy," he praised, because he wanted to encourage such behavior.  He headed to the spare room, which was still just set up as a bedroom.  The only indication that he'd prepared it for a scene was that there were several toys and tools set out on a dresser along with a bottle of lube, and the bedside table held two water bottles.  "Take off your clothes, but you can leave your underwear on for now."

Eli looked around the room and at the small set up. He found every time he was called a good boy, he'd have to stop for a moment and shake his head, it was such a reward for him. He stood up as he was given his orders and undressed, a few small marks on his back but his largest bruise on his ass hidden by his boxer shorts. He folded his clothes and knelt down to pile them neatly on the floor just under the bed, "Thank you Sir" he said, staying on his hands and knees.

Adam busied himself with his supplies, though it was mostly for show so Eli didn't feel rushed.  He kept an eye on the boy and turned to face him when he was done.  "Good boy," he praised again with an approving nod.  "Stand up, please."  He picked up an item from the dresser and showed it to Eli.  "I wanted to use these leather cuffs with you today.  I find they're good for someone who is new to bondage.  Give me your wrist."  He started to buckle the wide, flexible black leather cuff to Eli's wrist.  "For one thing, they're gentler than most other forms of bondage.  Rope can dig in, whereas these are wide enough that the pressure is spread out, so they don't dig, and you can feel that soft felt on the inside, so it won't hurt even if the cuffs are pulled on.  For another thing, they're much faster than rope.  Hand me your other wrist."  He finished buckling the first cuff on and picked up the second cuff off the dresser.  "Rope can take a long time, depending on what I want to do.  Simply tying your hands together is quick enough, but with rope, if I want to move you or change your position, I have to untie all of it and start again.  With this, I can just use these little chains to clip the rings on your cuffs together, or attach them to something else, any way I want to."

Eli stood when instructed and watched as Adam picked up the cuff. He held his wrist out and as Adam placed the cuff on him and explained he found he was actually learning a great deal. He nodded along with everything Adam said, taking it all in and when asked, raised his other wrist and held it out to Adam once again and observed him fastening it around his wrist, "That's very interesting information Sir, thank you for explaining it too me" he said, smiling up at him.

"Of course," Adam said with a small smile.  Though he wasn't very effusive with his emotions, himself, it was nice to see Eli smiling at him.  "I think understanding what's going on is a big part of being comfortable and feeling safe.  Don't forget, you're allowed to ask questions at any time."  He took the two ankle cuffs and crouched down to attach them to Eli's ankles in turn, then stood again to examine the cuffs.  "How do they feel?  They should be snug but not tight.  If at any time your hands or feet start to get tingly or go numb, it's important that you say something immediately.  It's not as much of a concern with this kind of bondage, since as I mentioned it doesn't have as much potential to dig into you as rope or metal, but it's still a possibility.  Bondage should never cut off your circulation."

Eli nodded in agreement, "It's very reassuring for me to hear your knowledge of all these things and I promise, if I have any questions, I shall ask Sir" he said with another nod. He watched as Adam put the cuffs around his ankles and when he came back up he smiled and answered, "Yeah they feel snug and the leather feel really good against my skin. If I start to feel any weird feelings I'll tell you, Sir".

"Good, I'm glad. Nothing we do today should be frightening for you, or anything more than a little intimidating.  That's on the Dominant in a scene, though, to make sure you feel safe.  If you ever don't feel safe, the Dom has already failed."  He was picking up little clips and short lengths of chain from the dresser and putting them in his pocket.  "I'd like you up on the bed now, on your knees, it doesn't matter which way you face.  I'll help you get in the right position once you're there."

Eli nodded, "I have never felt unsafe here sir so I feel like I've been around good Dom's and I'm very glad to be learning from you Sir". He had not known this would go so well but he'd gone in with an open and submissive mind and really wanted to try. He watched as Adam put the items in his pocket and then when instructed, he climbed onto the bed, facing the head board and sitting upwards on his knees, "Like this sir?" he asked to confirm.

"That's good, I would hate to hear that anyone at this Institute wasn't keeping their scene partners safe.  Yes, that's perfect.  Now I want you to bend over."  He put a hand on Eli's back, guiding him down.  "Like you're curling up into a ball.  It should be a comfortable position.  Lay your head down  on the bed.  It's okay if your ass comes up a little, but I want you to try keep your knees curled under you, like you're tryin to be as small as possible.  And your arms go straight down by your sides."  He took one of the little clips out of his pocket and attached it to one of Eli's ankle cuffs, then to the wrist cuff on the same side.  After checking the cuffs again, he repeated it on the other side.  "How do you feel?  Adjust as you need to, you should still have a decent range of movement."

Eli listened hard to what Adam wanted and he moved with Adam's hand as it pushed him downwards. With his head on the bed and his hands resting down the side of his body, he did feel quite comfortable. As Adam clipped his wrists to his ankles he gave a gentle tug to see how much movement he would have, satisfied with the result, "I feel fine Sir" he said his head turned to the side of where he could hear the voice, "There is some give and I am not uncomfortable at all".

"Perfect.  There are some positions, we call them stress positions, meant to be uncomfortable when you're in bondage, but this is certainly not one of them.  And I wouldn't try that with a beginner anyway."  Adam didn't think he wanted to try out stress positions until he had more experience himself, actually, but that was neither here nor there.  "I'm going to use a flogger on you now.  Since your bruising is on your ass, I'm going to stick to your back."  He picked up the flogger from the dresser and then returned and trailed the soft, leather strands over Eli's shoulder blade.  "I'm going to start quite soft and work my way up.  Don't try to hide your reactions or be tough about it.  It's important for me to know how much it hurts you, because everyone is different."  He swung the flogger very lightly in circles, letting the ends collide with Eli's back barely hard enough to even make a noise.  He moved up from there quickly to a light touch and steady rhythm, still hardly enough to sting.

Eli nodded and allowed himself to relax into the position, actually finding it very comfortable. He loved having a flogger used on him and when Adam said he would use his back, he spoke and said, "Thank you Sir. The flogger is my favourite". As Adam started swinging the flogger, Eli moaned, soft moans of pleasure. He loved the feeling of the strands against his skin, the light touches just making him feel good.

Adam smiled at Eli's reaction to the gentle touch of the flogger.  He was looking forward to seeing how that changed once it started to become more painful.  "There you go, good boy," he said softly.  "Let yourself enjoy it."  He started to pepper in the occasional harder snap of his wrist, hard enough to sting properly now, amongst the softer touches.  As he kept going, even the softer touches got harder, until he had shifted to slow, evenly spaced strikes, reddening the skin of Eli's upper back.

Eli continued to moan whilst the stokes remaindd soft and and he nodded, "Yes Sir thank you" he spoke out. As he felt the touches get a little bit harder and start to sting he would jump at the more painful ones letting out more of a whimper then moan.

"You're doing very well, Eli," Adam said soothingly as the flogging started to get more painful.  "You can tell me if you need a break."  He kept up with the harder strikes now and continued his pace of slowly getting more painful.  As he increased the intensity, he slowed down to give Eli more time between each strike.  "Your skin is all pink now, it's lovely."  He paused for a moment so he could run his hand over the warmed skin of Eli's upper back.  "Tell me where you are, Eli.  How much farther do you think you can go?"

Eli groaned with every hit but he'd always enjoyed the use of a flogger and found his groans and whimpers would become pleasurable moans, his cock hardening. He felt the hand on his back and moved his head so he could see Adam, "I can go further" he breathed out, "I love the feeling of the flogger sir, I always have".

Adam took a moment just to observe Eli more critically, taking in the level of tension in his body and voice. He judged that for the moment, Eli was being honest about being able to take more.  "Good boy," he murmured before removing his hand and starting again.  He went slower now, but each strike was a sharp snap that was louder than before and left Eli's back progressively redder.

Eli smiled at the praise. He knew from experience he could take more. With every stroke Eli would moan out, feeling the bites into his skin as his breathing started to become a pant, "Thank you Sir" he shouted out as he felt one particularly hard strike.

The pain was actually starting to get to Eli, Adam could tell, and this was the part he enjoyed the most.  When a submissive started to lose their composure.  "That's right, good boy," he praised when Eli thanked him, and he paused to feel his reddened skin again.  It was hot to the touch now, evenly red over the top half of Eli's back.  "I'm going to give you ten more, Eli.  Nice hard ones.  And you're going to thank me for each of them.  Understand?"

Eli moaned at the words, always enjoying being called a good boy. He controlled his breathing and relaxed his shoulders as Adam placed a hand on his back. He could tell that it would be hot by now, but he didn't care, he enjoyed this too much. He listened to what was to come and nodded, "Yes Sir, I understand. Thank you Sir"

"Good boy," Adam murmured when Eli thanked him.  He was really very pleased with how well Eli was submitting.  He was glad that Eli had asked for this, and Adam had decided to acquiesce.  Eli was certainly a sub worth taking the time to teach, he thought.  He removed his hand and took a step back, then swung the flogger, the hardest swat he'd delivered thus far.

A moan or pain mixed with pleasure as the flogger hit him once more. He almost screamed out, but knew he should wait, they would only get more painful. He turned his head and looked at Adam, "One Sir" he breathed as he caught his breath

Adam paused and put his hand on Eli's back again.  "I'm waiting for you to thank me," he reminded.  He hadn't told Eli he had to count, but that was fine.  He was insistent, though, that once he gave an instruction it had to be properly followed.

Eli took a breath, feeling the hand on his skin, "I'm sorry Sir" he breathed out, "I got it mixed up in my head". He nodded and added, "Thank you Sir" his body relaxed with the touch.

"It's alright, you're learning," Adam murmured.  "Just a reminder to pay attention."  He moved his hand away again and brought the flogger down, just as hard as last time.  He gave Eli a long pause between each hit and rubbed his hand over the inflamed skin to sooth him.  Despite that, the strength of the swats did increase towards the end, though not by much.  He wasn't going to push Eli any farther than this today.  When the tenth strike fell, Adam set the flogger on the bed and ran his hand over Eli's back again.  "There you go, all done.  You've done very well, Eli."

With every hit Eli made sure he said thank you and he counted all the same, mainly so he could keep track in his head. As the swats got harder, he found himself to whimper and grit his teeth all the while pleasurable moans escaped his lips. On the final hit, as the flogger fell to the bed, Eli pulled at his restaints and literally screamed out, "Thank you Sir".With the hand on his back he nodded, "I wanted to be a good boy for you Sir".

"You were very good for me," Adam confirmed as he continued to touch Eli gently.  "Just rest.  Breathe.  Let your body relax again.  Just rest."  He moved his hand down to play with Eli's hair for a little while, then back up to stroke his reddened skin.  For several minutes he stayed like that, just letting Eli come down from the pain.  Then he moved to unclip his cuffs from each other.  "I'm going to move you now.  How are you doing, Eli?"

Eli took deep breathes as Adam played with his hair and stroked his skin. Once he was uncuffed, he didn't attempt to move himself the shakes coming to him as they always did when he finished a scene. He knew it was the rush of different endorphins and the feeling of euphoria that did it, "Yes Sir" he said, giving Adam consent to move him, "I'm doing OK. I always get a little shaky after a scene like this".

"That's normal," Adam assured him.  "I'm right here, you're safe.  You're doing very well for me."  He guided Eli to stretch out, pushing his legs out straight so he was laying down.  "Roll over for me," he murmured, assisting Eli to roll onto his back.  He knew it would likely be a little painful to lay on his back, but there were no welts, just an even red across his shoulder blades, so Adam didn't think it would be too difficult for Eli.  Once he had the boy situated, he paused to examine his face, trying to gauge how close to his limit he was.  "You have a choice now, Eli.  We can end the scene right now and move on to after care.  I won't be displeased.  I'll be proud of you for doing so well with your flogging, and for being honest about what you want.  Or, if you would like to continue, we will move on from pain play to something else.  It depends on how tired and drained you're feeling right now."

Once Eli was laying on is back, he felt exhausted. He knew he'd taken on way too much with scene week and this was only day two. He thought about it and as much as he wanted more, he knew there had to be a line and he knew he had to be ready for the coming days, "I think I need to stop Sir" he said, not making eye contact, afraid he'd disappoint Adam, "I feel really drained and my legs won't stop shaking".

Adam nodded and ran his fingers gently through Eli's hair.  "Good boy," he praised, his voice soft and warm.  "Thank you for telling me what you need."  He stood there for a moment, petting Eli's hair.  "I want you to close your eyes for a minute, Eli.  Focus on your breathing.  Nice and slow, feel the way your chest moves when you breathe.  I'm going to leave the room for just a moment, to get some things for you.  Focus on your breathing, and I'll be right back."

Eli smiled at the praise, he found he craved it and it made him feel so good. He followed Adam's orders, closing his eyes and taking deep steadying breaths. He tried to focus on his chest but his legs felt like jelly and his focus was going there, "Yes Sir" he breathed out, "I'll wait right here Sir".

"Good boy," Adam murmured again, then left the room.  It took him a couple minutes to return, and when he did, he had a reusable water bottle with a straw, a small bowl of grapes, and a soft, powder blue fleece blanket.  "You may open your eyes," he said softly as he walked over to the bed.  He set the bottle and bowl on the bedside table, then shook out the blanket and spread it over Eli's naked body.  Then he climbed into the bed as well, sitting up by the head board, beside Eli's head.  He rested his hand on Eli's hair.  "You may move now if you want.  I want you to be comfortable.  If you would like to lean on me or lay in my lap, you may do that.  If you would prefer to simply lay where you are, that's alright as well.  I want you to try to find whatever action is most comforting."

Eli opened his eyes and, as soon as permission was granted, he moved himself, drawing the blanket around him and placing his head into Adam's lap, assuming his usual after care position. He smiled up at Adam, "Thank you Sir for letting me lay in your lap and for teaching me so much today" he said, actually impressed with what he had learnt and surprised he'd learnt it all from Adam.

When Eli curled into him, Adam laid a hand on his head and started to play lightly with Eli's hair.  "You're welcome," he murmured.  "You did very well, I'm proud of you for submitting so well to me."  He really was, he wasn't just saying it for Eli's sake.  For a sub who was so new to this and didn't have the advantages that Adam had, Eli had done remarkably well.  He stayed there for several minutes, just letting Eli rest, before reaching over to the side table for a grape and holding it to Eli's lips.  "It's helpful to give your body some sugar and some water after a scene.  I want you to have at least a little."

Eli smiled and nodded, "I enjoyed submitting to you sir" he said, "I would love for you to teach me more please sir" he said, not meaning right now but in future. He noticed the movement and then felt the grape on his lips. He took it and ate and nodded, "Thank you Sir" he breathed, "Thank you". He couldn't be more thankful to Adam, he'd really enjoyed doing the scene.