#assuming im even still allowed to work next week rip

[du-hjarta-skulblaka]

Cleaning the black mould off my windowsill and thinking aloud "damn bitch you live like this?"

[chirpsythismorning]

I have to say Im surprised with how fast the negotiating process seems to be going... I'm not saying I expect this whole thing to be fully solved between a week, but I actually thought it'd be at least a month before negotiations resumed with the AMPTP

Yeah me too. I was thinking it would be radio silence for another month honestly.

Even still, negotiations tomorrow could result in no progress. Same with the next week and the week after that. That's actually very likely.

It's just so hard to tell because we don't really know if the studios are genuinely coming to the table hoping to make a deal ASAP, or if this is some calculated trick. Like is it genuine or is it them playing games to encourage the public to get their hopes up, only to then tear it away and blame the WGA, in an attempt to turn the public against them essentially.

I think that's why a lot of people in the WGA don't allow themselves to get their hopes up with each coming update. Remaining pessimistic sort of allows you to not be disappointed in this situation, where it's too often that right after you feel close to progress, the studios rip the hopes right from under you. For example, them making all these statements about how they want to reach a deal ASAP and 'get back to work', all the while they're posting new AI job opportunities, knowing full well that's a huge concern in the demands for their negotiations with the WGA and SAG as well. Like that's just plain despicable.

We'll have to see how tomorrow goes and go from there. It would be nice if they could start making progress on certain demands and actually bring up solutions or counter offers within those demands from the WGA. If they have something they see as more 'realistic' (or whatever the hell they want to call it), at least put it on the table and let's keep it going until we can reach a point where it works for everyone instead of sitting in limbo.

I'm not sure how much the WGA can disclose each step of the way while in the process of literal negotiations. Like if they came to an agreement on one of their main five demands, presumably they'd be close to 1/5th of the way to a deal (roughly speaking)? So is that something they would update on? I'm not sure. Technically they do update members (11,500 of them) and so I guess if members are informed, word is bound to spread based on that.

From what I understand, when negotiations start happening, and once they start to agree in one or two areas, the other areas should follow swiftly. This is assuming the studios are actually negotiating in good faith and are taking the initiative to meet halfway in areas that the WGA is willing to agree to. There's some stuff where it's like so no brainer that the studios are bonkers for even thinking they can't meet those demands, and there are other things like residuals where it's complicated and so yes the studios need to be willing to sit down with the guilds and go back and forth to meet somewhere in the middle at the very least, so we can actually be closer to a deal that is more realistic (ethical).

[bokutosworld]

convenience store stranger | suna rintarou

pairing: suna x f!reader  word count, genre: 2.1k words, college au. fluff. another meet cute story lol.  warning: none  summary: in which your late shifts become less boring and more interesting when a cute stranger stumbles in at 2 AM.  a/n: my first time writing for suna god im scared but i really liked how this turned out!! 

The first time he meets you happens on one of his late night convenience store runs. It was exams season and Suna’s been pulling all-nighter after all-nighter. To say he was exhausted would’ve been an understatement. 

He’s barely making it through on the third night and if he didn’t take a break soon, he was sure he’d have passed out on his desk. With his mind hazy from reading too many words and trying to understand a semester’s worth of lessons in one night, he decides to stand up and get some fresh air. 

Which is how he found himself currently standing at aisle four of the only convenience store that was still open near his apartment. He scans the rack for something that can wake him and his brain up. He doesn’t know how long he’s been standing but he could definitely feel eyes burning holes in the back of his head. 

He settles on a pack of jelly sticks and a cup of spicy instant noodles and heads towards the counter. You mutter a greeting when he reaches the cashier and begin scanning his items. 

When he hands over the cash for payment, your fingers brush with his cold ones, making you recoil harshly as if he was repulsing.

“Something wrong?” He laughs when he sees your reaction. “I know I look like a mess now but I won’t bite you.” He bends his knees slightly, tilting his head to get a look at your embarrassed face.

“No, I’m sorry.” You avoid his intense gaze, continuing to pack his purchase. When you look at him, he’s still staring with his piercing eyes that it almost takes your breath away. 

Shaking your head to bring yourself to reality, you give him his items. “Your hands felt cold and I was just shocked.” You feel that same electricity sparking between you again when he takes the bag from you. “I.. well.. thank you. Have a great evening.”

“It’s 2 AM,” Suna chuckles and you sigh before correcting yourself and bowing to him in goodbye. “See you around,” he shouts over his back as he walks out the door. It was the first time he saw you in that store and he was sure it wasn’t going to be the last. 

The second time he’d actually planned it according to your shift. If his past trips to the store were anything to go by, he’d learned that you always took the evening shift. It was something he discovered after being called out by your co-worker on the third time that he restlessly looked around the store during a visit. 

He should be on his bed, phone in his hand as he mindlessly scrolled until he fell asleep. But with the memory of his interaction with you lingering on his mind, he wanted to see you.

“Hey, got time for a customer?” He greets the moment he steps inside the empty convenience store. You look up from the book that you were reading and quickly stand to welcome him. “What are you reading?” 

Hiding the book from his view, you retort, “Aren’t you going to buy something?” 

He grins, taking in your tired disposition and the bags that had formed under your eyes before retreating to the shelves. When he returns, he slides over a can of energy drink, iced coffee, and a large bag of chips. 

You assume he’d leave immediately once he’s paid for everything. You certainly didn’t expect him to take out the coffee and give it to you. 

“This is for you.” He opens his own drink and leans by the counter. “Doesn’t it ever get boring here? I mean it’s midnight and you’re alone. I’m betting not many people even drop by at this time.” He faces the door, crossing his arms around his chest and staring at both of your reflections at the glass. 

Worn out from your classes in the day, you take his coffee offering, instantly feeling the rush of caffeine flow through your veins and waking you up. “The job pays relatively well. Besides I can’t really work in the mornings, I have uni.”

“So you’re a college student too.” He turns around and extends a hand out to you. “I’m Suna Rintarou.”

You introduce yourself as you shake hands with him. And as soon as pleasantries were exchanged, he immediately launched into a story about how his earlier day went. He was a natural conversationalist and despite this being your first time talking with him, you didn’t feel an ounce of awkwardness. You didn’t know what it was about him but his presence made you feel comfortable. 

You learned about what he was studying (to your surprise, Psychology), how he spends his weekends playing volleyball (he was a middle blocker and an excellent one at that, he boasted), and how he ended up here during the night he first saw you (the all-nighter went well and he passed all his exams). 

He rips open the chips he bought and offers you some as you lay your story before him. He munches as he listened to you rant about how you loathed your course (Business Management) and the many case studies and papers you had to do each day. He nods his head in understanding as you explain why you needed this part-time job (to pay for apartment fees). 

You were having so much fun in his company that you didn’t notice the time pass by. (He arrived to the store at 12:32 AM. The clock on the wall now reads 2:32 AM). And for the duration of his stay, you were surprised that no one ever came by. He only ever left your side when a taxi driver walked in. 

Suna steered clear from the counter and kept his distance as you did your job. From your peripheral, you could see that he watched you like a hawk from the side and it made you somehow conscious. When the customer exited, you playfully threw a tissue at him, 

“I couldn’t concentrate when you were standing there and looking at me like that!” 

He went back to his position but this time, he leaned close with his hands on the counter. “Like what?"  

Well how could you say to him that you thought he looked effortlessly hot in his sweatshirt and track pants? And was that an adorably messy bedhead? How could you say that you liked the teasing smile that he’d been giving you throughout the night?  

You chuckle and shake your head, “Nothing.” You reach for the book you were reading prior his arrival and took your seat. “Don’t you have classes tomorrow? You should go back.”

“Do you not want me around anymore?” 

“It’s not that, I…”

He cuts you off, “Good, then it’s settled. I’m not going anywhere. I like talking with you too much to go back home. Let me entertain you some more.” He sits down at the chair on one of the tables near the counter and then goes back to chatting with you. 

Since that night, Suna had been scheduling more trips to the convenience store. Sometimes, he’d really only visit to bother you. At times, he’d bring his books and laptop with him so he could work on a paper while you restocked the shelves and cleaned around. On rare occasions, he’d help you out on a business plan and the customers who’d enter the store would be amused at the sight of you and him huddled behind the counter with your serious thinking faces on. 

He’d become a part of your life that it felt unnerving not to have him around on your shifts. And it certainly showed on your face how disappointed and heartbroken you were when consecutive nights passed without his visits. Your co-worker even called you out on it. 

“So where’s the cutie been?” She asked one time when the two of you were at the back lounge while you logged in for your shift. You groan at the nickname she gave him and she laughs at you.

“How would I know?” 

“Don’t you guys talk almost every day and night?”

“Only on nights that he visits me.” You pause, thinking about the possibilities why he could’ve stopped coming. And before you knew it, you were ranting. “God, are we even friends? I don’t know his number. Did he ghost me? Is this considered ghosting? It’s been a week. I’m scared I did or said something.” 

She’s watching you pace around the room. “Maybe he got bored of me. Or maybe he realized I’m not really worth his time and dipped. Sleeping is much better than hanging out with me at 1 AM anyway.”

You’re stopped in your tracks when she suddenly grabs your shoulders. “Overthinking is not a good look on you.” She makes you take deep breaths to calm down. “I’m sure he’s just busy right now. He’ll visit again soon.” 

“I don’t know why I’m being like this.” 

The look she gives you is incredulous, her mouth gaping wide at your statement. “Are you serious?” 

“What?” You ask, not anticipating the next words that would come from her. 

“It’s obvious that you like him.” 

The next time you see him was on campus. You don’t know how long it’s been since he last spent time with you on your shift. (Though if you were counting, you were definitely sure that it’s been two weeks and three days since then.) 

You tried not to think too much about what his absence could mean but the pang in your heart never left. Those two weeks that he didn’t show up allowed you some time to think about your conversation with your friend. You like him. 

Back then, you were too quick to shut down the idea. Denying any ounce of feeling for the boy as you saw him as no more than someone who had too much time on his hands to bother you on your shifts. A good friend is what you specifically used to defend your relationship with him. 

So then why was it that your heart was beating so rapidly as Suna waved at you from across the cafeteria? Why couldn’t you stop smiling as you watched him make his way to your table and sit down beside you?

“Hey there.” He slings his arms around and pulls you for a side hug. “Long time no see.” 

You almost couldn’t hear him over the loud thumping of your heart in your ears. He’s still smiling and waiting for you to reply. “Yeah, been a while. I’ve gotten the peace and quiet back in my shifts.” 

He breaks out in laughter while opening a snack bar. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to stop by. I just came out from a major presentation that I’ve been preparing for during the past weeks. And guess what?” 

You perk your eyebrows at his question. “What?” 

“Our group did great.” He raises a hand for a high-five and you indulge him. “The teacher liked our slides and our analysis of the topic. Ah, I feel so good right now!” He leans back with his hands behind his head, but he suddenly jerks. 

“We should go out!” Suna grabs your hands and looks at you expectantly. “You’re free the whole day tomorrow right? You’re not working the shift? Let’s celebrate. It’s my treat!” 

Feeling overwhelmed by his invitation and his overall excitedness, you laugh and pull back. “Calm down, Suna. I don’t know about tomorrow.” 

“Why? Are you busy?”

“Not really but..” 

“Then it shouldn’t be a problem.” He tucks a loose hair behind your ear, leaning close with his voice barely over a whisper, “It’s perfect. I’ve wanted to take you on a date for a long time now.” 

“What?” You stare at him wide-eyed. 

“Come on, you’ve never thought about us?” He finds the situation entertaining. Your flustered reaction reminds him of the night that he met you. 

“Why do you think I’ve been coming to the convenience store when I could be sleeping at that time? I like being around you. My day doesn’t feel complete if I don’t at least see you or tell you about my day or listen to you rant about the latest episode of your favorite series.”

You like him. 

“Go out with me.” He kisses the back of your hand. “Please?” 

The corners of your lips unconsciously curves up and Suna sends your heart doing somersaults when he says something about how he’s finally got to see the beautiful smile he’s been wanting to see for weeks. 

Your friend was right. You do like him.  

[writing-on-the-wahl]

Writing Snippet #16: Songbird

Part 2

So @im-a-wonderling had a fantastic plot idea... and I added wings.

(Collaborating with her on this one was so fun! I don’t normally write angst so it was new for me and she was an incredible help/inspiration!)

TW: blood, implied violence, general angst

———————————

Villain leaned back against the stark white wall. In fact, aside from his own dark blue attire, everything in the hallway of cells was white: the floors, ceilings, doors, even the metal bars were painted white.

Supervillain had always preferred things nice and clean and white.

Not the best color choice for the dungeon of a brutal supervillain. Villain wondered how they cleaned away the bloodstains.

Supervillain’s minions had been courteous enough when they brought him in, not that he’d been able to put up much of a fight after a sniper shot him with a power suppressor mixed with a sedative. He’d been barely conscious when they dragged him into this cell and left him alone.

That had been hours ago, and he still couldn’t feel his powers. Not the most ideal scenario. Especially considering the reason he was here.

Supervillain’s missing device. Her masterpiece. Prize of her collection. Peak of her creative genius. First of its kind.

And only, Villain thought smugly. He and Hero had stolen the device last week. And Supervillain was notoriously paranoid about her technology being stolen and never wrote anything down. She might be able to recreate the device, but it would take a few years.

He didn’t know how Supervillain knew he’d been involved. She was sure to demand the return of her invention, which was, unfortunately, currently in a thousand pieces at the bottom of the ocean.

Villain had anticipated a double cross from Hero, had thought the Hero Agency would insist on saving and using a machine that could duplicate superpowers and create new heroes, but Hero had been just as determined as he was to see the machine destroyed.

Personally, he knew what would happen if Supervillain managed to duplicate his powers, knew the destruction she would leave in her wake.

He wasn’t exactly sure why Hero had been equally as passionate, but he hadn’t been able to resist grinning at her enthusiastic smashing. He could have destroyed the device with a flick of his fingers, but watching her take a sledgehammer to the metal had stirred something in his chest. Admiration turning towards something warmer.

The door at the far end of the hall banged open, and two guards burst into the room, dragging a limp form between them.

Villain’s heart skidded to a stop.

The figure in the middle was small and slim, with oversized wings that dragged on the ground as the guards carried her forward.

Villain would know those wings anywhere: a blue so light it was nearly white, with feathered tips that looked as though they’d been dipped in the midnight sky.

Hero.

Villain stiffened, hands curling into fists.

They drew closer, and his breath caught.

There was blood dripping from a wound on Hero’s temple; the fair skin of her face and arms was already beginning to bruise.

The guards hauled her past, and his nails bit into the flesh of his palms at the sight of her wings, one wing hanging at a horribly wrong angle as it dragged on the ground behind her, spatters of red dotting the light feathers.

Fury pounded in his chest as his eyes stayed fixed on her mangled wing. If his powers were working, the entire prison would have been obliterated.

Hero didn’t stir as the guards threw her into the cell next to his.

His heart stuttered as logic warred with panic.

They wouldn’t lock her up unless she was alive...

Right?

Villain gripped the edge of the hard metal cot, the sharp corners digging into his palms as the guards strode by.

He offered a sardonic raise of the eyebrow as they glanced his way. One of the henchmen paused.

“The boss will be by soon to release you. She was given new information that revealed the true thief of her device.” His eyes cut to Hero.

Villain hummed disapprovingly as he leaned back, though every muscle was tensed, ready to spring. “I told Supervillain I was innocent of her allegations.”

Henchman blanched at the threat of retribution in his tone. “Yes yes. Hero confessed to everything.”

Villain closed his eyes briefly. Even though he had been the one to approach her. His idea. His plan. His fault.

And now here was his beautiful songbird, bleeding on the cell floor.

Villain studied Hero, taking in every bruise and cut and drop of blood.

His face was an icy mask as he faced the guard. “Yes. I can see that.”

The guard had the audacity to smile. “Oh, no. She told us the moment we brought her in. Yelled about how it had been her and her alone who took the device.”

Had she done it to protect him?

The guard waved a hand carelessly at Hero’s crumpled form. “That’s what happened when she told the boss she’d destroyed it.”

He was laughing as he walked away.

The henchmen were beneath him. At least, that was what Villain told himself as they continued down the hall. It was the only thing that kept him from murdering the two lackeys through the bars of the cell.

He couldn’t afford to reveal his connection to Hero. Couldn’t reveal how much he cared. Not yet.

As soon as their backs were turned, he studied Hero. She was on the ground, injured wing partially beneath her. Her other wing had fallen across her body when they dumped her to the ground, and he couldn’t tell if she was breathing.

He reached for his powers to rip the prison walls apart— to get to her—but that part of him was still numb.

His own breaths came in fast as his mind spiraled. He watched the blood dripping from the cut on her head, dark red spilling on the bright white floor.

Please be alive.

Please.

When the door clicked shut and they were finally alone, Villain dared speak.

“Hero.” He hissed. “Hero!”

She didn’t stir.

Villain thought that he could see the movement of breath, but that could just be the A/C ruffling her soft feathers.

He found himself holding his breath, waiting for hers.

The next moments were agony.

Lightheaded, he closed his eyes and took a large gulp of air.

When he opened them again, Hero was watching him, eyes wide, pupils dilated.

“Hero!”

She dropped her gaze, arms trembling as she struggled to push up out of the tangle of her wings, whimpering as the movement jarred her broken wing.

Villain ached to plug his ears, to block out each tiny heart-wrenching sound of pain, but he had no right.

Every mark on her was his fault.

Had they captured her after they brought him in? If he had confessed…

“Hero, they said you told them...” he trailed off as she deliberately twisted away and flared her wings to block him from view. A cry of pain accompanied this action, and her shoulders curled inward as they began to shake.

Villain slid to his knees, fingers uselessly clutching the bars between them.

“Hero! Are you ok? Please, talk to—”

He cut off abruptly as the far door burst open once more, and he forced his voice to go cold as he rose to his feet, praying Hero would understand.

“...nothing more than you deserve you filthy—”

“Ah Villain!”

The cheerful voice fanned the rage burning in his chest, and he didn’t try to hide it as he stepped towards the front of the cell.

“Supervillain.”

“Now, now, Villain.” She laughed as she straightened the cuffs of her fresh white lab coat, but she still had blood under her fingernails.

White hot fury ripped through him. It took every ounce of self control he possessed to school his features as she continued.

“I know you’re a little upset at my bringing you here.”

He growled.

“But as you can see, I’ve caught the true perpetrator, and I’ve come to offer my sincerest apologies.” She cocked her head and offered a smile filled with false cheer.

“And compensation for the inconvenience, I assume.”

She frowned briefly, then nodded. “Of course, of course. What is it you want?”

He offered her a sharp smile. “Let’s just say I’ll collect what you owe me later.” In blood.

Villain was the one powerless and behind bars, but Supervillain was the one who stepped back.

A guard approached at her signal, a pair of shackles in hand.

“Just a precaution,” Supervillain explained, “until you are off my base.”

Villain kept his protests to himself as he extended his hands through the bars and allowed them to be cuffed together.

He reminded himself that even with his hands unbound, there was no way he would be able to free Hero without his powers, trapped as they were at the center of Supervillain’s base, surrounded by hundreds of her people.

He filled his voice with bored curiosity. “What will you do with the thief?”

Supervillain smiled. “I had a canary once. Made a marvelous little pet.”

The memory of Hero soaring through the clouds, winds extended, glorious and free, flashed through his mind, and his stomach churned at the thought of her in a swinging cage, wings folded in, trapped and alone.

The cell door swung open, and Villain cast one last look at Hero, who now met his gaze with glassy-eyed terror. It was a look that would haunt him all the way back to his lair, where he would immediately send for Sidekick and make plans for a rescue against the most secure base in the country.

“Naughty thing kept trying to escape though.” Supervillain slammed the empty cell door shut for emphasis.

As Villain followed a guard down the hall, Supervillain’s bright voice echoed behind him, words that froze his heart and shattered his careful mask of composure:

“Had to clip its wings.”

——————————

*** full credit to @im-a-wonderling for the line, “And here was his beautiful songbird, bleeding on the cell floor.” The queen of beautiful tragedy, everyone.***

[badwolf-winchester]

Ancient Bloodlines

Pairing: Loki x Emy Nightstar (OC)

OC Summary: Emy is the newest Avenger. She specializes in Magic and close range attacks/ weapons. Her heritage is unknown to her as she was left at an orphanage door step when she was a young girl with only the memory of her name. She goes by her nickname Emy but has never told anyone her full name as its a reminder of her being abandoned. Emy can see through any illusion and Magic no matter how powerful they are or how strong the magic is and is unaware of this. Her powers include Telekinesis, Elemental Control, True Sight (as stated above) Enhanced healing and Shifting (she wont discover this till much later in the story). She loves to read, listen to music, play violin, sing, and draw.

Story Info: Takes place after infinity wars. Tony and Natasha are alive Steven comes back from the future after giving back the infinity stones. Vision is alive and living with Wanda in the tower. Thor and Loki live in the tower with the rest of the Avengers and for the sake of the story Himedall is alive and living with the rest of the Asgardians on earth in New Asgard (you will find out why later)

One last thing: Please do not repost my work on any other site or social media, however reblogging on here is fine. I work hard on all of my fanfics and it’s disappointing when people take my work as their own. I am the creater of all my OCs such as Sora Nightstar, Emy Nightstar, and Lithium Nightstar. My inbox is open for any and all requests as i am a multi fandom writer. Let me know how you like the story and i will do my best to answer any and all questions. As always i encourage any and all feedback as it helps with my writing. I hope you all like it!

The Beginning

They say that your parents are there to teach you the rules of the world, but what happens when you have no parents? Who will teach you then? The world is cruel but people are crueler. Ive learned this first hand when the person i trusted most in this world left me on the door step of the St. Trinity’s Orphanage. I was 9 when my mother told me she didn’t want me anymore and i guess I couldn’t really blame her. I mean who could love someone who couldn’t control the powers that grew with each passing year. Someone who started fires out of thin air when they had nightmares, conjured whirlwinds when startled, unfurled earthquakes when angered, spring forth rain showers when sad, and levitate objects when riddled with anxiety. I will never forget that day for its seared into my mind like its own person brand echoing with every beat of my heart. A monster thats what she called me, her own flesh and blood was a monster in her eyes, and i could see the relief when she ran from the solid oak door finally rid of the burden she had to put up with throughout the years. An abomination she cried as she reached the cobblestone sidewalk eager to be rid of me and by the pace she was going at i could tell she had more spring in her step than on the walk over from the bus we exited from. Unnatural she bellowed as she disappeared around the corner a ghost of a smile springing from her lips as she disappeared. These where the last words i would ever hear from my mother, if thats what you would call her.

Emy’s POV

Tonight was just like any other. Crisp cold air submerged the city in a blanket of dark and silence while it settled into your bones. I never minded the cold in fact I welcomed it, it reminded me of the cabin i found one year after running away from one of the many abusive foster homes i was forced to stay with. I’ll admit it was one of the times I was able to avoid the social workers for longer than a week and the happiest I had ever been in my life up until i was captured by Hydra. When I had a flair up with my powers, which usually ended up being fire, i would immediately get sent back to St. Trinity’s but this time i ran before they had the chance to toss me aside. The staff there used to place bets on how long i would stay with a family, they would joke saying i was cursed or jinxed but i knew the truth, no one wanted me. Once the parents found out about my abilities I was sent packing. I was labeled as a flight risk and a danger to others which only deepened my anti socialism.

Walking through the streets of New York i pull my dark purple jacket on and my dark brown hair in a pony tail as I get closer to my destination. Because i don’t feel the effects of the cold weather Tony, being such the dad figure he is, has made it his priority to make sure i still wear one just incase so here i was walking home in black ripped up jeans, a black v neck T-shirt, black and purple checkered vans and a light weight dark purple jacket. With my headphones in my ears and “I like it heavy” by Halestorm blasting I make my way to the place i call home, Stark Tower. Walking through the front doors i make my way past the receptionist who always greets me with a bright smile. As I walk towards the elevator I give her a small smile back and a head nod. After entering the elevator and pressing the button for the penthouse I start to reflect on how i got here.

By the time i was 15 Hydra found me in that cabin and took me away. I went from hopping from family to family to being used as a science experiment, constantly being poked and prodded just so they could get a reaction out of me. As a child my powers where very unstable mostly flaring up with my emotions, its no wonder that Hydra caught wind of me its not like i was hiding it very well or more so that i couldn’t hide it. They tried to wipe my memory to gain control of me “a blank slate” is what they wanted, but for some reason, they failed as I wasn’t susceptible to their conditioning methods no matter how much time i spent in the chair. However, I could tell they were scared of me I could see it in their eyes. This didn’t last long though as they used what they called their perfect weapon code name Winter Soldier to beat me into submission. After that first meeting that left me with a broken arm and a fractured ankle i started to obey, since then Ive met the Soldier a couple of times but if he remembers me he dosent let on and I dont blame him, he has been in that chair so many times Im genuinely surprised he can even remember how to walk. He is stronger than the others as most of the other test subjects had turned to vegetables after the 4th mind wipe, he was on his 10th the last time i saw him with Hydra.

Another test was done on me and this one was different. They used a teseract? If thats what they called it I can’t be sure nor did I care all I could feel was pain like as if someone injected lava in my veins. After they injected me I started screaming after a while I couldn’t even hear myself anymore, my throat was so sore and horse from the constant roar of my agony I just wanted it to end. How long was I out for? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Days? Years? They didn’t keep clocks there or at least not in the dungeon like cell they had me in. When the fire faded i was left with this numbness and after further tests I realized that I was immune to fire. I can literally stick my hand in fire and i will be left untouched and unscorched. They did the same test with freezing temperatures to see if they could subdue me at least in some way. I must have been out longer than just a couple of days as during the tests i didn’t recognize any of the Doctors. In that moment I realized something, if they were trying to contain me then something must have happened to the soldier. It was time to plan my escape.

Back in my cell i could hear footsteps approaching me and then stop short. One of the scientists frantically trying to talk some sense into someone just out of my line of sight. “She is immune to anything we throw at her sir. We have done every test we could there is nothing left for us to do.” One of the goons in a lab coat stated to what i assumed is a higher up. “Bolden If her powers keep growing at the rate they are it could be days in which she will be unstoppable and with the soldier gone we dont have anything that can keep her in line. She broke Mandy and Rays arms the last time we tested her. She is getting too strong.” Brining a hand up to his chin the higher up Bolden stepped out of the shadows and looked at me with deep interest before he turned to looked at the man and scoffed. As he walked away i felt a cold chill ran down my back as I anticipated what was to become of me; I knew it was nothing good i had already broken their rules. His next words only confirmed what I feared. “ Its simple. Break her spirit or kill her Doctor. And when i say break her i mean in anyway means necessary.” His sadistic laugh is the last thing i remember before everything went black.

Its been 2 years since i have escaped and now I’m living in the avengers tower. I don’t remember what happened after that night in my cell its all a blur of red, screams, and gunshots. When i woke up next i was in a 6ft crater where I was being held captive without a scratch on me. Trees were uprooted and fallen over as if a bomb went off. Luckily the Avengers showed up not long after me waking up and took me to their base where i met Directer Fury. With his permission and 24/7 surveillance provided by Tony Stark via FRIDAY and training sessions to get my powers under control i was allowed to join the Avengers and fight for good. Little did i know that by agreeing to this I would end up in the path of a certain God or Gods who were also taking residence at the tower.

With the sound of a *ding* the elevator shook me out of my mind and back to the present. As i exited the elevator I pulled my head phones out of my ears and was instantly met with the sound of Tony losing his mind. “Where did she go? She knows she can’t be out this late. She could be taken again! Its 5 minutes past her curfew!” Rolling my eyes I roll my headphones up and shove them in my pocket and round the corner. “Tony it takes 5 minutes to get from the lobby to the penthouse calm down. I bet she will walk through that door anytime now.” Came the sweet voice of reason of none other than Pepper Potts. “I’m Home.” I said in a deadpan voice as i walked by the couple only for Tony to stand up and intercept me by placing a hand on my upper arm. “Where did you go and why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?” I looked at him and raised an eyebrow pushing his hand off me. “Tony its Wednesday. I have training with Strange on Wednesdays and I had Friday alert you as I was leaving but you were in the lab with Bruce.” Not sure what to say next Tony mumbled a small apology. “Sorry I was just worried about you. I know you are grown enough to make your own choices as you are 25 but I just want to make sure you are safe. How was the training with The Wizard?” Sighing and shaking my head just wanting to go the library and read I decided to just let it go. “Strange is a hard ass that much you already know. It wasnt bad actually I think I’m warming up to him. I didn’t spontaneously throw him to the wall when he snuck up behind me as i was going over the ancient texts so i call that improvement.” I said sheepishly while side stepping around him. “I’m gonna go to the library now and grab some light reading before bed you guys have a good night.” With out waiting for a response I quickly made my way towards my new destination only to have Tony saying something about guests in the house but I ignored him.

Pushing open the library door I make my way to the poetry section to grab my usual copy of Edgar Allen Poe that I read before bed. As my had reached for the spot i knew i put the book in i find that its not there. “Wait what? Where is my book? I know I put it back here before I left for training so where did it go?” Frustrated I stomp back over to the entrance and rip open the door ready to go on a murder spree while shouting down the hallway. “CLINT! You better give me back my night time book or I’m breaking all your arrows again! No one reads in this tower but me! How stupid do you think I am!?” Straining my ears I listen for any type of movement but was met with dead silence. After a minute I finally hear movement through the vents coming from the west part of the tower and I take off sprinting. Sliding around a corner I barely miss colliding with Steve and Bucky who look like they were on their way back from a mission. Offering a quick apology before I continue my pursuit I hear Steve yell “Hey! No running in the tower!” Not faltering in my hot pursuit of the Hawk thief I continue to zip through the tower ignoring the Captains words until i was almost to the vent that lead to the 2 level family room. Using the railing for the steps leading down to the family area to give me more height i jumped as close to the vent as possible and conjured my signature Scythe to slice through it while twisting in the air kicking the vent free and off its track. A shocked and terrified scream resonates from the vent as the culprit falls to the ground with a thud and a grunt. I landed in a crouched position and slowly straightened to my full hight. “What the hell Emy?! When did you learn to do that?!” Clint yells as he sits up rubbing his left shoulder that he landed on. I started stalking towards him with the blade of my scythe scrapping across the ground as i went while giving him a death glare. “Give me back my book Barton.” At the mention of his last name his head snapped up to me fear replacing the pain from his fall. “Oh shit last name not good.” Scrambling up on his feet he turns and runs towards the common room that connects to the elevator with me hot on his tail and my scythe trailing behind me in my right hand.

“Shit shit shit shit shit shit SHIT!!” He yells as he makes it fully to the room only to fling forward as i jump and kick his back tired of all the running. Twirling my weapon around I place it at his neck sneering at him. “I will not ask you again.” I said placing pressure on his neck with my blade. Sensing a fast moving object coming from my left from the kitchen I move my head back 3 inches as what looked like a hammer flew by me embedding itself in the wall. Turning my head slowly in the direction of the flying object, I confirmed it was indeed a hammer that was thrown at me. Irritation flared through me as i released Clint from the end of my scythe and turned fully to the kitchen to face my attacker. There stood 2 men that i did not recognize, one tall oak of a man with blond short hair, blue eyes and tan skin in blue jeans, a red T-shirt ,and grey jacket. the other shorter man made me stare at him and faultier for a second as he was so different from anyone i have ever seen, dark blue skin covered his entire body with darker almost black symbols and piercing red eyes, long black hair with black jeans, a green dress shirt and black jacket. Tearing my gaze away from his own curious one i looked between both men before i clenched my jaw letting my irritation settle back in. “Which one of you threw that hammer.” I said venom dripping with every word. “Whoa its ok Emy thats just Thor and Loki they are the asgardian Gods that live here in the tower part time when they are not in Norway.” Clint said standing up quickly. Not moving from my position i narrowed my eyes and flicked them over in Clint’s direction. The ground started to shake as my irritation and annoyance grew to anger remembering what i was doing before being interrupted by the Gods. Throwing his hands up in surrender he then quickly reached into his back pocket and retrieved my book. “Ok ok dont blow a fuse Em.” He said while tossing me my possession stopping me from causing an earthquake. Catching it in the air with my left had I inspected the book to make sure it wasn’t damaged before I let go of my scythe, with a wave of my hand it disappeared back to the pocket dimension I keep it in then looked back at Clint as the tremors stopped. “Touch my things again and i will be wearing your guts like my mom’s pashmina.” I said to the thief before walking out of the room and disappeared down the hallway not giving the Gods a second glance. As I entered my room i could hear a silky voice ring out from the kitchen. “Well isnt she interesting.”

Part 2 coming soon

@nickkie1129

[gebtoons]

my contribution to the bapo timeline discourse bc i’m just gonna propose a timeline and will not be taking criticism <3 (under the cut bc this is gonna be a long post probably) 

ok disclaimer I am quite stupid, however I’m gonna use my knowledge from my own 12 years in american public high school and what little info I have about american boarding schools/catholic schools that I have from my friends lol. so. idk. 

i’m also gonna date songs/major events and i’m gonna be taking some “just trust me bro” liberties bc y’all are right it does NOT make that much sense. 

January 6: Epiphany; this is like an actual holiday lol. like its always on the sixth. idk its good that this is the starting point bc its an actual date yknow? For the purposes of this timeline were going with that its early in the week, so lets go with Monday idk

January 6-13: You and I, Role of a Lifetime; so we’re all kinda in agreement that this timeline (at least the beginning) only really makes sense if you and i/role of a lifetime aren’t like. a singular moment and are instead multiple days. so yeah, of this first week, this is like. monday-next sunday ish yknow. 

January 14: Auditions, Plain Jane Fatass; ok so having auditions for a spring musical right after kids get back from break actually makes perfect sense to me, like i can see it being like “ok take break to prepare so as soon as you come back we can have auditions so we can jump right into rehersals” yknow? and since the rave is clearly on a friday (”we’ll meet in tanya’s room on friday night”) so i’m going with the monday before.  

as for pjf, i know it doesn’t make a ton of sense for them to get a two week late birthday package their first few weeks back from school, but hear me out it makes sense. the implication throughout this entire show is that the twins have decently shitty parents. from bits of dialogue (in this song in particular lol) i’m kinda inferring their the “only concerned with how their kids make them look to others” kind of neglectful. so I don’t think it’s too outside the realm of possibility that they went away for the holidays, didn’t bring the twins, and instead mailed them a birthday package and having it show up two weeks late. realistically the timing of this isnt that important and the explicit “two week” time frame could’ve been an exaggeration on nadia’s part to mock her shit parents (idk its in her character) basically ppl are a little two fixated on this imo but anyway. moving on. 

January 18: Wonderland, A Quiet Night At Home, Rolling, Best Kept Secret; a very agreed upon point in the timeline. its the friday following the auditions. moving on. 

January 21: Confession; also very agreed upon. the monday following the rave. moving on again 

January 23: Portrait of a Girl; the date here is kinda arbitrary, but bc sister chantelle says “ok lets try to put yesterday’s rehearsal behind us” and i for the life of me cannot think of a scene she could be referring to (there’s none in the script either) that implies it wasn’t the same monday as confession (bc even in a boarding school i think holding extracurriculars that aren’t sports over the weekend (especially when they are no where near crunch time lol) is weird and not common) so i just picked a random day during the week

January 25: Birthday Bitch!, One Kiss, Are You There?; from matt’s line in wonderland, ivy’s birthday is a week after the rave. in my timeline that’s january 25th (an aquarius queen). 

btw given all grown up’s “17, how will i manage?” ivy is 16 during 17 at her party, which is strange given shes a high school senior and seniors are typically 17 during 18. so either a) she skipped a grade, not an unheard of thing. or b) shes not a senior, shes just a junior who hangs out with a bunch of seniors, which is also pretty common. and looking through the script i can’t find any mention that she is also a senior, other than yknow she graduates with them, but she isn’t mentioned during the class ranking scene? so idk not that it really matters just a fun detail 

February 3 (at night): 911 Emergency!; ok controversial. i know i like the joke about how its funny that peter having a weird dream when he was high prompted him to want to come out and really ruined his relationship with jason. BUT. i think the dream (despite it’s weirdness) would have a lot more meaning if it wasn’t the result of being really high, but if it was a dream he had like a week later as a result of a building sense of guilt/anxiety bc he told matt. also it fits better given later timeline things. (this timeline literally only exists if there are weird jumps in time that don’t make a ton of sense) (EDIT: I forgot one line about Jason crashing at ivys but fuck it forget that bitchass line this makes for more drama its staying this way)

February 4: Reputation Stain’d, Ever After; the next day following peter’s dream, idk what else to say, moving on. 

February 25-28: Spring; another jump! i’m sorry but the only way for this to make sense logistically is for there to be quite a few time jumps! however, i also think this one works bc i think it gives time for everything from around ivy’s party and peter and jason’s break up to stew emotionally. like obviously a musical only has so much time to tell a story so the audience cannot see every realistic beat, but honestly i think it makes the whole thing a little more dramatic™ if there’s space for everything to settle, and for ivy to come and apologize and such. also, the reason it’s multiple days is bc in the script, ivy is trying to study (presumably for some sort of midterm) while nadia is playing, so that probably takes place a few days before they move out, so before finals. but in the script, jason and peter are packing and peter is leaving, so that part of the song/staging takes place on the 28th. yes, that’s weird, but we are clearly thinking more about the logistics of this school than the writers were so. 

March 1: One; assuming st. cecilia’s works kinda like boarding schools here, they probably do staggered move out/move in, just bc that would be a lot to have people coming and going at once so it makes sense that peter left the day before, while jason and ivy are leaving the next day. also, given that peter is trying to call jason while he and ivy are banging, it’s probably been a hot minute since the actual break up, since peter was clearly very hurt by the whole thing, it would make sense (at least to me) that peter would reach out a month ish later, rather than like a few days later (you have to make so many assumptions to make this timeline work granted they aren’t super out there assumptions but still this is annoying) 

March 1-25: Spring Break. the coworkers I have who are in boarding school work over their school breaks, which are longer than the public school breaks (which are only a week) so i put their spring break at 3 weeks. it makes sense, and it makes the later part of the timeline make sense. 

I know i’m already halfway through this, but to me it makes sense for their to be quite a few time jumps in the story bc its a musical. they cannot show every day. there are a lot of other shows (particularly shows set in high schools) that are set over a whole school year, but if you just look at the events of the story that doesn’t make sense, so you have to imply that obviously they are not showing every little detail. moving on. 

March 25: Wedding Bells, In The Hallway, Touch My Soul; peter wakes up from his nightmare in the church, so im assuming he fell asleep in church (like he almost did during epiphany). also it makes sense that class ranks are announced in late march-early april, I know my school announced ours in like, the first week or so of april? so yeah. moving on.

(from this point on i was giving myself a headache trying to make it make sense so its all weird from here!!)

April 4: See Me, Warning; the date doesn’t really matter here, I picked a random day in early april. the script said peter is calling from him and jason’s old dorm room, as he was picking up the last of his things, so he clearly made the roommate switch after school started (makes sense to me). 

April 15-20 (approximately): Ivy finds out she’s pregnant. look google tells me on average people find out they are pregnant around 5-7 weeks after conception. i went with around 7 just so this timeline makes a tiny bit more sense given the later stuff, so yeah here we go. 

May 4: Pilgrim’s Hands, God Don’t Make No Trash, All Grown Up, Promise, Once Upon A Time, Cross; a rough night for our heroes. so given sister chantelle saying “again? wonderful.” and nadia saying “i can’t believe you missed rehearsal again”, clearly ivy has been missing quite a few rehearsals, so for dramas sake maybe from when she found out she was pregnant? also i know i’ve been saying they wouldn’t have rehearsals on weekends, and given my weird timeline this would be a saturday, but its tech week so i’ll allow it. 

May 5: Two Households, Bare, Queen Mab, A Glooming Peace; pretty self explanatory, and it makes sense to have the spring play in early may. rip jason. 

May 11: Absolution; the day before graduation peter goes to confront the priest. gives him a small amount of time to start processing, and it makes sense it would be the night before, at least to me. 

May 12: No Voice; i fucking hate this. “peter, we graduate next sunday” i hate that stupid fucking line. do you know that this timeline literally would be fine if it weren’t for that stupid fucking line? bc then, the school play would be in early may and graduation could be in late may-early june (when most high schools hold graduation) but no. keeping with continuity, they have to graduate the sunday following the school play. “peter we graduate in a month, are you really never gonna talk to me again?” would have been fine. but no, now we have beef. literally everything else about the end of this timeline being kinda weird would work itself out, except for the fucking graduation. god damn. anyway, may 12th, the graduate on may 12th which is really fucking weird bc of that one fucking line. whatever. i didn’t write the damn thing bc if i did i wouldn’t have written that fucking line. (i’ve been at this for over an hour and a half, so i’m a tad annoyed, can you tell?) 

anyway, that’s it. that’s my long as hell proposed bare timeline. if there’s anything glaringly wrong with it i don’t care bc this timeline literally cannot make sense. but honestly, now that i think about the Popular Tween High Schooler Musicals (heathers, bmc, deh) the timelines of those (especially heathers and bmc) don’t make tons of sense either. that’s just the way it is, that’s the way its gonna be. and we have to live with it. 

this post is so long it is actually slowing down my laptop as i type it

[queenlua]

hey, i started following you recently and ur bio says ur a hacker? any tips on where to start? hacking seems like a v cool/fun way to learn more abt coding and cybersecurity/infrastructure and i'd like to explore it but there's so much on the internet and like, i'm not trying to get into anything illegal. thanks!

huh, an interesting question, ty!

i can give more tailored advice if you hit me up on chat with more specifics on your background/interests.

given what you've written here, though, i'll just assume you don't have any immediate professional aspirations (e.g. you just want to learn some things, and you aren't necessarily trying to get A Cyber Security Job TM within the next three months or w/e), and that you don't know much about any specific programming/computering domain yet.

(stuff under cut because long)

first i'd probably just try to pick some interesting problem that you think you can solve with tech. this doesn't need to be a "hacking" project at first; i was just messing around with computers for ages before i did anything involving security/exploitation.

if you don't already know how to program, you should ideally pick a problem you can solve via programming. for instance: i learned a lot back in the 2000s, when play-by-post forum RPGs were in vogue.  see, i'd already been messing around, building my own personal sites, first just with HTML & CSS, and later on with Javascript and PHP.   and i knew the forum software everyone used (InvisionPowerBoard) was written in PHP.  so when one of the admins at my RPG complained that they'd like the ability to set multiple profile pictures, i was like, "hey i'm good at programming, want me to create a mod to do that," and then i just... did. so then they asked me to program more features, and i got all the sexy nerd cred for being Forum Mod Queen, and it was a good time, i learned a lot.

(i also got to be the person who was frantically IMed at 2am because wtf the forum is down and there's an inscrutable error, what do??? basically sysadmining! also, much less sexy! still, i learned a lot!)

the key thing is that it's gotta be a problem that's interesting to you: as much as i love making dorky sites in PHP, half the fun was seeing other people using my stuff, and i think the era of forum-based RPGs has passed. but maybe you can apply some programming talents to something that you are interested in—maybe you want to make a silly Chrome extension to make people laugh, a la Cloud to Butt, or maybe you'd like to make a program that converts pixel art into cross-stitching patterns, maybe you want to just make a cool adventure game on those annoying graphing calculators they make you use in class, or make a script for some online game you play, or make something silly with Arduino (i once made a trash can that rolled toward me when i clapped my hands; it was fun, and way easier than you'd think!), whatever.

i know a lot of hacker-types who got their start doing ROM hacking for video games—replacing the character art or animations or whatever in old NES games. that's probably more relevant than the PHP websites, at least, and is probably a solid place to get started; in my experience those communities tend to be reasonably friendly to questions. pick a small thing you want to do & ask how to do it.

also, a somewhat unconventional path, but—once i knew how to program a bit of Python, i started doing goofy junk, like, "hey can i implemented NamedTuple from scratch,” which tends to lead to Python metaprogramming, which leads to surprising shit like "oh, stack frames are literally just Python objects and you can manually edit them in the interpreter to do deliberately horrendous/silly things, my god this language allows too much reflection and i'm having too much fun"... since Python is a lot of folks' first language these days, i thought i'd point that out, since i think this is a pretty accessible start to thinking about How Programs Actually Work under the hood. allison kaptur has some specific recommendations on how to poke around, if you wanna go that route.

it's reasonably likely you'll end up doing something "hackery" in the natural course of just working on stuff. for instance, while i was working on the IPB forum software mods, i became distressed to learn that everyone was using an INSECURE version of the software! no one was patching their shit!! i yelled at the admins about it, and they were like "well we haven't been hacked yet so it's not a problem," so i uh, decided to demonstrate a proof of concept? i downloaded some sketchy perl script, kicked it until it worked, logged in as the admins, and shitposted a bit before i logged out, y'know, to prove my point.

(they responded by banning me for two weeks, and did not patch their software. which, y'know, rip to them; they got hacked by an unrelated Turkish group two months later, and those dudes just straight-up deleted the whole website. i was a merciful god by comparison!)

anyway, even though downloading a perl script and just pointing it at a website isn't really "hacking" (it's the literal definition of script kiddie, heh)—the point is i was just experimenting a lot and trying a lot of stuff, which meant i was getting comfortable with thinking of software as not just some immutable relic, but something you can touch and prod in unexpected ways.

this dovetails into the next thing, which is like, just learn a lot of stuff. a boring conventional computer science degree will teach you a lot (provided you take it seriously and actually try to learn shit); alternatively, just taking the same classes as a boring conventional computer science degree, via edX or whatever free online thingy, will also teach you a lot. ("contributing to open source" also teaches you a lot but... hngh... is a whole can of worms; send a follow-up ask if you want that rant.)

here's where i should note that "hacking" is an impossibly broad category: the kind of person who knows how to fuck with website authentication tokens is very different than someone who writes a fuzzer, who is often quite different than someone who looks at the bug a fuzzer produces and actually writes a program that can exploit that bug... so what you focus on depends on what you're interested in. i imagine classes with names like "compilers," "operating systems," and "networking" will teach you a lot. but, like, idk, all knowledge is god-breathed and good for teaching. hell, i hear some universities these days have actual computer security classes? that's probably a good thing to look at, just to get a sense of what's out there, if you already know how to program.

also be comfortable with not knowing everything, but also, learn as you go. the bulk of my security knowledge came when i got kinda airdropped into a work team that basically hired me entirely on "potential" (lmao), and uh, prior to joining i only had the faintest idea what a hypervisor was? or the whole protection ring concept? or ioctls or sandboxing or threat models or, fuck, anything? i mostly just pestered people with like 800 questions and slowly built up a knowledge base, and remember being surprised & delighted when i went to a security conference a year later and could follow most of the talks, and when i wound up at a bar with a guy on the xbox security team and we compared our security models a bunch, and so on.  there wasn't a magic moment when i "got it", i was just like, "okay huh this dude says he found a ring-0 exploit... what does that mean... okay i think i got that... why is that a big deal though... better ask somebody.." (also: reading an occasional dead tree book is a good idea. i owe my firstborn to Robert Love's Linux Kernel Development, as outdated as it is, and also O'Reilly's kookaburra book gave me a great overview of web programming back in the day, etc.  you can learn a lot by just clicking around random blogs, but you’ll often end up with a lot of random little facts and no good mental scaffolding for holding it together; often, a decent book will give you that scaffolding.)

(also, it's pretty useful if you can find a knowledgable someone to pepper with random questions as you go. finding someone who will actively mentor you is tricky, but most working computery folks are happy to tell you things like "what you're doing is actually impossible, here's why," or "here's a tutorial someone told me was good for learning how to write a linux kernel module," or "here's my vague understanding of this concept you know nothing about," or "here's how you automate something to click on a link on a webpage," which tends to be handier than just google on its own.)

if you're reading this and you're like "ok cool but where's the part where i'm handed a computer and i gotta break in while going all hacker typer”—that's not the bulk of the work, alas! like, for sure, we do have fun pranking each other by trying dumb ways of stealing each other's passwords or whatever (once i stuck a keylogger in a dude's keyboard, fun times). but a lot of my security jobs have involved stuff like, "stare at this disassembly a long fuckin' time to figure out how the program pointer got all fucked up," or, "write a fuzzer that feeds a lot of randomized input to some C++ program, watch the program crash because C++ is a horrible language for writing software, go fix all the bugs," or "think Really Hard TM about all the settings and doohickeys this OS/GPU/whatever has, think about all the awful things someone could do with it, threat model and sandbox accordingly." occasionally i have done cool proof-of-concept hacks but honestly writing exploits can kinda be tedious, lol, so like, i'm only doing that if it's the only way i can get people to believe that Yes This Is Actually A Problem, Fix Your Code

"lua that's cool and all but i wanted, like, actual links and recommendations and stuff" okay, fair. here's some ideas:

microcorruption: very fun embedded security CTF; teaches you everything you need to know as you're doing it.

cryptopals crypto challenges: very fun little programming exercises that teach you a lot of fundamental cryptography concepts as you're going along! you can do these even as a bit of a n00b; i did them in Python for the lulz

the binary bomb lab is hilariously copied by, like, so many CS programs, lol, but for good reason. it's accessible and fun and is the first time most people get to feel like a real hacker! (requires you know a bit of C beforehand)

ctftime is a good way to see when new CTFs ("capture the flag"s; security-focused competitions) are coming up. or, sometimes CTFs post their source code, so you can continue trying them after the CTF is over. i liked Stripe's CTFs when they were going, because they focused on "web stuff", and "web stuff" was all i really knew at the time. if you're more interested in staring at disassembly, there's CTFs focused on that sort of thing too.

azeria has good ARM assembly & exploitation tutorials

also, like, lots of good talks out there; just watching defcon/cansecwest/etc talks until something piques your interest is very fun. i'd die on a battlefield for any of Christopher Domas's talks, but he assumes a lot of specific x86/OS knowledge, lol, so maybe don’t start with that. oh, Julia Evans's blog is honestly probably pretty good for just learning a lot of stuff and really beginner-friendly?

oh and wrt legality... idk, i haven't addressed it here since it hasn't come up in my own work much, tbh. if you're just getting started you're kind of unlikely to Break The Law without, y'know, realizing maybe you're doing something a bit gray-area? and you can cross that bridge when you come to it? Real Hacking TM is way more of a pain-in-the-ass than doing CTFs and such, and you'll learn way more with the latter, so who cares lol just do the fun thing

[caermis]

❝Love❞ Ch. 1

❦BNHA! Various X Black!Reader ❦Characters:  ⇻Izuku Midoriya ⇻Mirio Togata ❦Warnings: None ❦Plot: “Y/N L/N. Thank you for your help.” -H.E.R.O Ward Association, Block 15. A young 20-year-old, that has been chosen as the right choice to raise 10 Installments. That are Children? ❦Notes: ⇻This does not involve Pedophilia, Hebephilia, or Ephebophilia(Nothing to do with a sexual attraction towards literal children) -G/BsF/N = Best Friend’s name

❝Ch.1❞  ❝Ch.2❞

Chapter One

A New Mother's Dismay

Midoriya & Togata

I am Y/N L/N

Her E/C eyes silently watched the striped ball roll to her feet, before trailing up the group of kids in front of her. They were all faceless, and their voice held no real warmth or joy, but they screamed the 10-year-old's name. Over and Over and Over. Asking her to play or pass the ball to them. Slowly picking up the ball, taking slow steps before speeding up excitedly. They cheered her name, waiting for her. Before she tripped over her own feet. Tumbling to the ground, the ball rolled back to the other kids. Feeling tears prick her eyes, before slowly sitting up. Only this time, the kids frowned at her, and picked the ball up, and walked away.

I am Y/N L/N

I stared at the red F- on my test; I gripped my skirt, trying to stop the tears at my failure. The faceless high school students chuckled and turned from me like I wasn't even worth bullying. Like I didn't exist. I was alone. I am alone. Repeating those words, I looked into the mirror and watched my face morph into the kind face of my mother. I would never be like her.

I am Y/N L/N

My feet dragged against the pavement, I casually walked home. I sighed. I was currently a university student, who was after their Master's degree in literature. Having published a book, when I was 18, lucky it allowed me to get a scholarship and buy a house, still didn't mean I wouldn't have to get a thankless job.

Luckily working at the University Cafe wasn't extremely bad. Tiredly lifting my arm, iLuckily,t was already 9 pm, and the sun had set a few hours ago, but the streets were still lively, with other College students going out on dates. Seeing my apartment building in the distance, I let out a sigh and took out the gate key. Inputting my pin code, I opened the metal gate and slipped inside and let out a yawn. Staggering up the steps, I walked down the hall, just wanted to get inside and change into something comfortable, until I noticed a package in front of my door.

Walking up to the brown cardboard box, my name written decoratively in sharpie. Lifting the box, I quickly unlocked my front door and slipped inside. Kicking my shoes off and locking the door, I walked into the living room and placed the box on the coffee table. Using my keys, I ripped through the tape and began to open the box. A white card rested on top of a black box, my fingers grabbing the card and reading over it.

A gift.

-H.E.R.O Ward Association. Block 15

"What..." Placing the card aside, I pulled out the large black box and took off its plastic wrapping, my fingers running along the metal of it, before opening it. I yanked my hands away, staring wide-eyed at the money inside. I slapped my hands over my mouth and stared at it, before grabbing the note on top and reading it. 

Y/N L/N,

Congratulations! You have been chosen as the direct Caretaker of Block 15: U.A-L.O.V. This is part of your payment, once receiving an installment, which is 200'000 per Installment. This amount has been doubled as of today, due to [REDACTED] circumstances. Expect the arrival between this week or next week.

Thank you,

-H.E.R.O Ward Association. Block 15

I bite my bottom lip, closing the box. So it wasn't a mistake. Grabbing my computer, I started to look at the H.E.R.O Ward Association. Finding absolutely nothing or anything I did find was restricted. I stared back at the box, thinking of ways to get rid of it or return it. I didn't sign up for this, but something told me I couldn't get out of this predicament. 

“John! A Number 15! For Mary!” You called out before turning back to the woman behind the counter. “That’ll take just a minute.” Mary smiled and turned from the counter, going back with her friends. Seeing that was the last person, I let out a sigh. Just happy that the lunch rush was over. 

Rocking on my heels, I glanced over the cafe, before locking eyes with a tall boy with blonde hair. Dread immediately filled my stomach as he smiled brightly and proudly walked towards the register, making exaggerated movements with his arms.  

I watched him with a raised eyebrow as he came closer, just spotting a short boy with green hair stumble after him. Upon reaching the counter, he smiled. “Are you L/N-san?” I nodded and watched his smile get bigger and he pulled out a white card and passed it to me. 

Y/N L/N, The first installment. 1/10

Name: Mirio Togata. Age: 9 Block 15: Permeation

Looking from the note back to Miro then looking away from the blonde boy and yelling into the back. “I’m heading out early! It’s an emergency!” Turning back to Mirio, he stared at me with happy blue eyes. “You're very pretty L/N-san.” Giving a half-assed smile, you slipped off your apron and moved around the counter, just spotting the green-haired boy as he hid behind Mirio. “Oh! This is Izuku. He’s 7 and shy. Say hi and give L/N-san your card.” Miro ushered Izuku forward, making him almost trip but catch himself and fumble with his fingers, and pull out a card, quickly pass it to me and hide behind Mirio. 

Y/N L/N, The first installment. 1/10

Name: Izuku Midoriya. Age: 7 Block 15: One for All

Not having time to go over the details, crouched down and stared at them. Offering your hand. “Let’s go get something to eat.” Mirio excitedly grabbed my hand, while Izuku slowly grabbed mine. Standing up, I walked with the two boys, heading towards the pizza parlor, mentally thankful that I left my backpack at home, and that I kept my wallet, phone, and keys on you. 

Finding a table in the back, I left them here to get a medium-sized pepperoni, half cheese pizza. Paying for the meal, I went back to the table, waiting for my name to be called. “Thank you, L/N-san,” Izuku whispered quietly as he sat beside him, fiddling with his hands.

“Y/N. Call me Y/N.” You smiled and clutched your hands together, having literally no idea what to do. The two seemed respectable enough not to cause trouble. “Y/N. I like your name a lot. Are you from America, cause…” He trailed off, subconsciously rubbing his skin, his eyes on mine. 

“Cause you look different.” Izuku grabbed my hand, showing the difference of skin tone, “but not a bad different. A good different.” The green-haired boy quickly added on. Mirio nodded, smiling at me. Feeling my heart clench, I ran my hand through Izuku’s hair and reached across the table and padded Mirio’s head. “Thank you.”

“A half Pepperoni and half Cheese for Y/N!” Pulling for the two boys, I told them to wait for me as I went up and grabbed the pizza. “Y/N! You had kids! When!” One of my friends, G/BsF/N grabbed my arm and stared at me. I rapidly shook my head and crossed my arms. “Hell no! Listen, I’ll explain later!” Grabbing the table, you headed back to the two boys. 

“I've never eaten pizza!” Mirio excitedly took a bite of his slice, while I quickly slid a plate, handing  Izuku a smaller slice. Watching the two eat, I pulled out my phone, going through different apps. 

“Y/N?” Looking at Mirio, watching him sink lower into his seat. He stared at me with wide eyes, seeming to be panicking. Permeation. I quickly stood up and moved to his side. Grabbing his shoulder. Not exactly sure what to do, I made him look at me. “Y/N, Im...Im sorry-”

“Hey. It’s alright. Just breathe. I'm here ok.” I spoke softly, slowly patting his head. Watching him slowly reappear from his seat, his hands gripped my shirt. Staring at him, whatever I just got myself into, I couldn't back out of.

“Miri... I'm here for you ok. It was an accident. Let’s just go home alright. We can buy clothes and things tomorrow.” I slowly pulled away. Packing up the rest of the pizza before leaving. 

Upon arriving at my apartment, I found a yellow and blue backpack in front of my door. “I'm assuming those belong to you two?” Mirio sheepishly smiled, as I walked with a sleeping Izuku on my back. “Sorry. We thought you'd be home, but you weren't so we went out to find you.”

“How do you know where I work?” 

“The man who brought us here told us.” I unlocked the door, allowing him inside first. Watching Mirio quickly slip off his shoes and dart deeper into the house, excitedly looking around. Walking inside, I kicked the door closed and took off my shoes, lacing Izuku on the couch, and using my coat as a blanket. Placing the box of pizza on the counter.

“Mirio?” Walking down the hall heading to the spare bedroom, Mirio stared out the window into the street. “Y/N, is this me and Izuku’s bedroom?” I slowly nodded, staring at the makeshift bed, until I actually bought a bed. 

“I thought you both could help me buy a bed. Seeing as money isn't an issue.” Mirio nodded excitedly and rushed out of the room, going to explore the apartment. Which had only three bedrooms and two full bathrooms, so they had enough to explore. 

After a few minutes of exploring on Mirio’s part, and me on the computer, looking at certain bed frames, Izuku cuddled up to my side. 

“Y/N! Do you think we can go to school!” Mirio slid into the living room, a red sheet around his neck like a cape. He was playing superheroes with himself, saving invisible citizens and villains, going by Lemillion. “Well, legally you'll have to.” Mirio cheered and disappeared down the hall. 

“Do I have to go to school too?” Izuku tiredly rubbed his eyes and looked up at me. I nodded and watched him smile. “Izuku come play Heroes with me!” Izuku looked fully awake and climbed down, darting towards the sound of Mirio’s voice. 

Listening to their cheering and entrances introducing themselves, sometimes bickering on how to save someone. My eyes focused on the best schools close to the apartment, before settling on Boku No Hero Academia K-12 School. 

“Y/N!”

“Y/N!” Izuku in a white cape, naming himself to be All Might, and Mirio who had changed his red cape to a black one, changing into a villain. Ran into the living room, staring at me. “Play Heroes and Villains with us! You can be the person I save.” 

“But I wanna save Y/N too.”

“But we need a Villain and Villains can't save people.” Izuku and Mirio went back and forth before I stopped them. “You can take turns.” The two nodded, and we went on to play. 

“Give me the secret formula!”

“Ah, save me!” Struggling in your metal restraints (horribly tied yarn) you stared at Villain Lemillion with fearful eyes, as you fell closer to the lava(floor). “That’s fine. This lava can read your mind, so I'll win either way! Mwahaha!” 

“Someone help me! I need a hero please.” Falling closer to the lava until the door opened and there appeared the hero All Might. “I am here to save you Y/N-oops I mean-I am here to save you, citizen!” He chucked a pillow at Villain Lemillion making him fall back. “No, my plans!” Watching him fall into the lava, dying with his tongue out and making a sizzling sound. 

“Are you alright!?” All Might jumped onto the platform, undoing my restraints and making sure I was alright. “Thank you! You saved me! You're my hero.” All Might look embarrassed and smiled.

“Still sizzling over here.” 

We looked over the edge of the platform(my bed) and down at Villain Lemillion, who was somehow still alive. “How are you alive!? I killed you!” 

“You're a hero. Heroes don't kill people!”

“Y/N, do heroes kill people?” Mirio and Izuku looked at me, I thought for a second. “I guess if they really need to but never their main villain.” 

“Main villain?” Mirio climbed onto the bed and stared at me. “Like the person, they go up against. “Like Batman and the Joker. Their main rivals, but you can always have more than one rival.”

“Like! Like! Um...when All Might fought All for One so they're main rivals!”

“Oh! You're so smart!” Izuku's eyes lit up as the two talked. Maybe All Might was a Hero, I haven't heard of. You brushed it off and checked the time, 8:23 PM, and the boys ate around 5 or 6, so dinner was in order. “We’ll eat dinner, then you both can take a bath. We’re going to check out your schools tomorrow.” The two cheered and climbed down, rushing towards the kitchen. Following them, deciding to settle on Pizza, which they basically inhaled and ready for a bath.

While they took a bath together, I chose their PJs, realizing that Mirio had zero sense for what was for bed and what was not. After a few minutes of slashing and hero talk, they both came out squeaky clean, saying that heroes needed to be clean. Tucking them into bed, they both started asking me for a bedtime story.

“Uh, I don't know any.”

“Make one up!”

“N/N, please!” Izuku called me by my nickname, staring at me with Puppy dog eyes. Sighing, I cleared my throat and made myself comfortable. “Once upon a time, there was a boy. A boy not many liked cause he was different, though this boy had a friend. A friend that was really mean to him and put that boy down.”

“If they were friends. Why was his friend mean to him?” Mirio spoke quietly, staring with half-lidded eyes. Izuku slowly nodded, “Shouldn't friends be nice to each other?”

“Until that boy met a hero, and that hero gave that boy his power, after some convincing. So the boy was given the old Heroes power, a dangerous power that would hurt the boy, but the old Hero didn't tell the boy that. So the boy could tell no one. Though this boy didn’t listen and told his friends, who didn't believe him. We soon learn his friend is jealous, he thinks the boy looks down on him. Jealousy is a nasty thing.”

“That doesn't sound like a hero.” Mirio slowly dozed up, while Izuku softly muttered. Slowly patting his head, I nodded.

“I guess it doesn't.”

[thespianbooks]

A Court of Nightmares and Starlight //Chapter 16//

Masterlist

(tags: @thron3ofbooks, @df3ndyr, @courtofjurdan, @art-e-mis, @herondamnn, @the-third-me, @im-still-trying-here, @emikadreams, @paytin77, @mis-lil-red, @sleeping-and-books, @lucieisabooknerd, @amandaraey-sunshine, @easy-p-lemon, @azymondias05) *bold tags don’t work ;-;

Happy Winter Solstice everyone! In honor of this day, and our girl Feyre’s birthday, here is chapter 16 to celebrate! I hope you all have a fantastic week celebrating the holidays! Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, and an overall Happy Holidays! ❤️

X

"Rhys?"

My soft whisper was met with silence; my mate remaining in the depths of slumber, an arm draped over my waist as we lay entangled in our plush sheets. It was still dark outside, only a couple of hours having passed since we turned in for the night and yet I awoke; overcome with an urge I had never felt so intensely before.

"Rhys?" I whispered again, touching his cheek gently and saw a flicker in the muscle of his jaw.

"Rhysand…" I pressed, my heart racing in hopes I could coax him into consciousness as tenderly as possible.

"Yes…?" He muttered, voice thick with sleep and eyes remaining closed.

"Rhys…" I hesitated, moving in a little closer to him as I murmured sheepishly. "I'm...hungry,"

His dark brows pulled together in confusion, "Hungry?" he asked.

I nodded, my head rubbing against his shoulder with the motion. "Starving, actually," I admitted as I traced circles along the dark whorls of his tattoos.

I grinned as he opened his eyes, still perplexed as he turned to me. "You didn't eat at dinner?" He asked, concerned, and I giggled.

"I did. You were there remember?"

"That's right," he closed his eyes again with a sigh of relief, the hand on my waist drifting to my rounded stomach pressed against his side. "We went to Sevenda's with the others and you had the prime rib special."

My stomach growled at the memory, and I choked back a rising sob. "Yes…"

He opened his eyes again, alarmed at the sound of unshed tears in my voice. "What's wrong, Feyre?" he asked, fully alert now as he shifted onto his side to look down at me.

I felt my eyes burn, suddenly overcome with guilt for making him worry and for waking him up, but I couldn't resist the ache in my stomach.

"I want more," I whispered.

He blinked, taken aback as he stared at me. "Of the prime rib?" He clarified.

I nodded with a hiccup. Cauldron damn these hormones. "I need it Rhys. We need it." I said, placing my hands on my stomach.

Rhys breathed a sigh of respite, laughing breathily as he dropped his forehead against my collarbone. "Oh Feyre, you scared me."

"I'm serious, Rhys, I'm so hungry and that prime rib was so good. I need more of it, or else-"

"Of course, my love, whatever you want," he hurriedly reassured me, kissing my cheeks before pulling back to meet my gaze.

I sniffed as I stared into his violet eyes, sparkling with amusement. "Really?"

My heart lifted at the feline grin on his lips, "Yes. Would you like everything that came with it too?"

I brightened and nodded, "Yes. Please."

He chuckled and pressed a chaste kiss to my lips before pulling back and climbing out of bed. "I'll be right back, then."

I beamed as I pushed myself up slowly, a month of growth on my abdomen now weighed me down and I required a little more effort when rising from any laying or sitting position. In the month that passed since the summit, since Eira's birth, we had all fallen into a sense of ease. Prior to the summit, Rhys and I did our best to compose our nerves over the rising coup, but now with the full support of our friends at our back, we finally felt a sense of solace. We were still in a period of waiting—of gathering more intelligence on Keir, Kallon, and now Beron. Thanks to Azriel's continued spy work, we were assured that no advancements were being made on either front, so we all allowed ourselves to breathe easier—for now at least.

The only wild card that remained was Eris, but after a brief meeting with him at our moonstone palace above the Court of Nightmares, things seemed...placated, for the time being. The eldest of the Vanserra sons, and heir to the Autumn Court, assured the earlier theory Rhys had—that the male wanted our support in overthrowing his father. What surprised me, however, was that it was all he wanted. He swore he played no part in his father's plans with Keir, and to prove it he provided us with detailed, secret, reports from his father's general; whom he had rallied to his side as well. The reports accurately lined up with the intel Azriel's network of spies had collected, and as of recently divulged a lack of movement as well.

It seemed the trio of traitors were biding their time, presumably attempting to adjust their plans now that the entire continent was aware of my pregnancy. We knew better than to assume they would reel back on the coup because of this; instead deciding to strike before my child had a chance to be born. The threat still haunted us all, but until we had news of any change in plans, we had to wait. In the meantime, Rhys, our family, and I were making the best of it. True to the promise I made myself, having seen how curious and eager Cassian had been in learning about my pregnancy, I spent as much time with them as I could. To aid in our efforts, Rhys and I hired a personal assistant to help balance our workload as High Lord and High Lady; agreeing that we needed the help while we transitioned into preparing for parenthood. That assistant was Clotho, the mute priestess who served in the library of Velaris, and one of the only other fae Rhys or I could trust outside of the inner circle. The priestess humbly agreed and now split her time between our estate and the library. Despite not being able to outwardly express herself, Rhys assured me that she was ecstatic to hear of my pregnancy and wanted nothing more than to help us balance our work between ruling and parenting.

In the month that passed, not only were we able to de-stress a bit and enjoy leisure time with our family, but I had also observed a notable change in myself. While my belly, now an impressive, rounded mound that was pronounced no matter what I wore, continued to grow with the promise from Madja that our son was still as healthy as ever; I noticed a myriad of developments in my emotions. While I did find myself with more energy than I had in the early days of my pregnancy, that frequency in fatigue now seemed to trade places with erratic mood swings. One minute I would be as happy and content as ever, and in the next beset with unexpected gloom. However, everyone seemed to take it in stride—especially my mate, who simply smiled and listened to me rant or just held me when I needed to cry.

Along with my renewed energy, my appetite returned with a vengeance. The same three meals I ate everyday no longer sated me, and I found myself snacking on various things throughout the day. There had been an incident a few weeks ago where I watched in total envy as Azriel snacked on dried meat in between training with Cassian and Rhys—something the brothers had picked back up in part due to the looming threat, but also as a means for entertainment. It wasn't until Cassian noticed me on the verge of tears and snatched the meat from Azriel, casually offering it to me, that I realized I had officially started with pregnancy-related cravings. The cravings hadn't been so intense; until tonight, when I had been ripped from sleep by my growling stomach and the desire to have another helping of dinner had me waking my mate from his sleep.

"Do you think she still has those leftovers?" I asked as I watched him dress.

"I'm sure she has plenty left reserved for you, Feyre darling. She saw how much you loved it," he replied with a knowing grin.

My face warmed as I recalled how the restaurateur offered to pack up extra servings for me to bring back to the estate, but I had been too embarrassed at the extra helpings I already consumed during our stay and politely refused.

"I didn't want to look like a glutton," I admitted sheepishly.

He walked over, resting his hands on the bed as he leveled our gazes. "No one would think that. You're pregnant and feeding the heir to the Night Court. They know he needs to eat, even in the middle of the night," he said and gave me another chaste kiss before stroking a hand along my stomach affectionately.

I smiled. "That's true. It's just hard to keep up when I feel absolutely ravenous every few hours."

He smirked appreciatively as he rubbed my stomach again, "Is there anything else my son wants?"

"Strawberries," I answered quickly. "With chocolate, or whipped cream."

Rhys laughed and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Whatever you want, my love," he repeated and stood upright.

I waited for him to return as patiently as I could, pacing between our bedroom and balcony every few minutes before finally pacifying myself by sitting with a book on the cushioned bench of the balcony. In order to keep myself distracted, I read a book of plays aloud in hopes that my growing baby would be patient in his insatiable appetite. The sound of my voice must have appeased him, because as I continued to read, my hunger seemed to dull a bit. However, after a few minutes passed, I felt his kicks of protests and rubbed at the spot.

"If you have such a problem with my reading, then talk to your father. He's the one that taught mama how to read," I said, and my heart warmed at the memory of my lessons with Rhysand in my early days at the Night Court. "Maybe he'll teach you to read too."

"We both could," I heard Rhys say from behind me and I whipped my head around to see him holding a bundle of food.

I pushed myself up unceremoniously, eager to eat as the smells hit my nose. "That's so much food!" I exclaimed as he walked over and placed the bundle on the small table we kept on the balcony.

"Sevenda might've given us some more food she thought you might enjoy," he answered with a laugh before snapping his fingers and the food instantly displayed out before me.

I gasped in admiration before Rhys pulled out a chair for me and I happily sat, digging into my meal immediately and moaned with relief as the savory juices of the prime rib hit my taste buds.

Rhys sat next to me, casually grabbing a strawberry from the bowl he had also laid out and snacked on it as he regaled me while I indulged myself. "You truly are a sight to behold, Feyre darling."

I felt my face warm and dread filled my chest as I swallowed a mouthful. "Do I look like a pig?" I asked, that dread beginning to ebb into shame.

"No, no." He quickly reassured me, moving closer until our knees were touching. "I meant the sight of my expecting mate enjoying herself, of nourishing my growing child, is one I never dreamed I'd see," he explained. His hand came to rest on my stomach again as those beautiful amethyst eyes grew tender.

I squeezed his hand gently, "You deserve it Rhys. This child is a culmination of everything that is good about you; of all the good you've done in your lifetime."

His eyes were lined with silver as they met mine, and I moved my hands to cup his face. "He will be all the best parts of you, Rhysand."

"And of you," he swore. "You brought out the best in me Feyre. Everything that I am, that I have now, including this child, is all because of you."

My heart pounded with joy as I beamed and pulled him in for a kiss. He returned it with just as much fervor and heat began pooling in my core. When he pulled away too soon for my liking, I kissed him again-slowly, and nipped at his bottom lip.

I felt the fiendish smirk of his lips on mine as he muttered, "I thought you were hungry?"

"I'm hungry for something else now." I whispered, staring at him with half-lidded eyes.

I shrieked with a laugh as he scooped me up in his arms, my legs easily hooking around his waist as the food from the table suddenly disappeared and he carried me over to the nearest wall.

XXX

The following morning, I was pleased to see Rhys still in our bed and even more delighted to still be wrapped in his arms. He had a tendency to wake before I did these days and often got a head start on his work, allowing me the opportunity to sleep in and get the rest my body needed. However, after the night we had, I wasn't too surprised to see him needing the extra sleep. I smirked mischievously as I lightly traced along the tattoos on his chest with my own tattooed fingers, relishing in his scent as I recalled the details of our night that extended into the early hours of the morning.

It was a welcome change of pace after the stress that weighed on us; one we needed now more than ever with a youngling on the way. The days of just the two of us were set to expire in a few months; soon to be filled with a new life we would have to work together to sustain—all while balancing our duties of presiding over the Night Court. I often tried not to let the weight of that responsibility stress me out; knowing we had our whole family to rely on, but now that I was nearly halfway through my pregnancy, I wanted more of this time alone together.

I felt dark talons gently caress my mental shields and I smiled as I lowered them enough for my mate, who kept his eyes closed despite now being conscious. I allowed him into my thoughts; letting him know of my yearning for the quality time we had just experienced together as a lazy hand caressed my stomach.

"Let's go to the Cabin for a few days," he said after a couple of minutes passed.

I pushed myself up on an elbow, staring down at him as his sleepy violet eyes met with mine. "Really?" I asked, already keen on the idea.

He nodded in affirmation. "Cassian and Azriel are keeping the appropriate tabs on everything, and Clotho is set to meet with Mor and Amren today to go over some paperwork from the Palace Lords in Velaris," he explained.

I nodded. "My sisters also have their own agenda," I added. "Elain plans to drag Nesta to the market, or one of the palaces, today."

"So, we can get away," Rhys said. He brushed a stray lock of hair out of my face and I nodded again.

"Let's go now." I said, eager to escape with my mate.

It had been months since we set foot in the Cabin together. There were times he or I visited alone to let off some steam, sometimes meeting each other by the end of the day, but it was the first time we would go together since Winter Solstice; the first time since I fell pregnant, and I couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic.

Rhys smiled languidly. "Right now?"

I nodded and pushed myself up carefully, staring down at him with a grin. "Right now," I confirmed.

His smile shifted from lazy to determined as he sat up in the bed. I reached over to pull on my silky dressing gown and robe as he climbed out of bed and dressed. I laughed as he scooped me up in his arms and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"We'll have to bring the baby too," I said in mock disappointment.

He chuckled as he walked over to the balcony. "That's all right. We'll consider it our first trip as a family."

The next thing I knew, we were in the sky, Rhys's powerful wings easily propelling us from our balcony and into the air in a matter of seconds. I held onto him as I felt the warm breeze encircle us and whoosh through my hair as he took us to our destination. I watched his wings as they moved; strong and beautiful, and felt a kick from inside my stomach.

"Do you think he can tell we're flying?" Rhys asked.

"Maybe," I said as I felt another swift kick and rested a hand on the spot. "It's okay baby, daddy won't drop us."

"Never," Rhys affirmed.

I looked up at him, "Do you think he'll have wings?"

The corner of Rhys's lips twitched upwards. "Of course he will. Maybe not at birth, but they'll come."

"Were you born with your wings?" I asked, admiring how the sun reflected off the iridescence of them as they moved in unison.

He shook his head. "My mother was hopeful they would develop as I matured, and a day after my eighth birthday they appeared," he said.

"Just like that?" I asked with a smirk.

"Magic."

I laughed and traced a finger along the membrane of one as it moved within my reach. He stiffened at my touch and I grinned playfully.

"Illyrian baby," I teased.

"If it weren't for my son in your belly, I would demand you fly us to the Cabin and see how you fare while I stroke your wings," Rhys taunted.

I giggled and pecked his cheek, keeping one arm draped around his neck while the other rested on my stomach. I paused as realization struck.

"Is that when your mother brought you to the mountains?" I asked.

Rhys nodded, already knowing what I referred to. "I think she was going to bring me regardless, but she was eager for me to fly and learn the Illyrian traditions."

The silver in his violet eyes flecked with a hint of sadness as he recalled the memory of his mother. The current status of our relationship with the Illyrians put a strain on his heart. He grew up with them, found his brothers amongst them, and their participation in the coup was the last thing he ever wanted. I laid my head on his shoulder in order to provide him with some comfort, not wanting either of us to dwell on that heartache during our little getaway.

His fingertips brushed the side of my stomach lightly as he held me closer. "I want him to learn, to train, like I did," he said.

Although he didn't ask, I heard the question in his words and I nodded. "He's Illyrian, just like you."

He pressed a kiss to my temple and landed on the steps leading to the Cabin, setting me on my feet carefully and I smiled reassuringly at him before taking his hand as we both walked to the entrance. As soon as we walked in, the fire in the hearth ignited and the rest of the house sprang to life with a wave of Rhys's hand, immediately accommodating us. A second later, platters of food appeared in the kitchen and I beamed.

"I love it here," I said as I strolled over to the counter, picking up a piece of perfectly crisped bacon and took a bite.

Rhys smiled roguishly as he joined my side, taking a slice of bacon for himself. "It's just what we needed, especially after your ravenous cravings kept me up all night. In more ways than one," he said with a wink.

I threw my hand up in a vulgar gesture. It's not like you were complaining. I said through the bond.

Indeed not, my love.

I sat at one of the raised chairs beside the counter, looking over the paintings I had filled in the room all those years ago—when I escaped here for the first time after learning he was my mate. I ate as I reflected on the last decade; at how it had brought us here, with our son now growing inside of me.

"I want to give birth here," I said after a comfortable silence had befallen us.

Rhys paused. "Really?" he asked.

I nodded, resting a hand on the apex of my belly. "It feels right. This is where I accepted our mating bond; where we decided to start trying for a baby, and I'm pretty sure this is where he was conceived too," I said with a smile, having done the math in my head. By the time I realized I was pregnant, on Starfall, I was already a couple of months along; meaning our attempt to conceive on Winter Solstice—as we did every year, had been successful

He smirked in return at the memory; it was somewhat of a tradition he made of bringing me here on my birthday. "My mother gave birth to me, and my sister, in this cabin," he said. "With the help of some Illryian midwives and some camp-mothers."

"Then it's perfect," I said softly.

He reached down to stroke my stomach gently. "I want to be there," he said. "In the room, while you give birth. Through all of it actually. I know it isn't traditionally done, my own father waited outside the room both times, but I want to be there and hold your hand when my son comes into the world. Just the thought of you going through labor, of enduring all that pain alone," he shook his head as if to erase it from his mind. I squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"I wouldn't want you anywhere else, Rhysand." I said, not at all surprised at his declaration.

A week after Eira's birth, Viviane and Kallias had both sent us letters-informing us of their daughter's arrival, fawning over her beauty and detailing how infatuated they already were, but also informing us of their own accounts of what the birthing process had been like. At the summit, Viviane expressed that she knew what to expect, but in her letter, she elaborated just how excruciating it really was. Luckily, Kallias had also been there with her, providing her with whatever support she needed and relieving as much of the pain as he could through back massages, also letting her clutch onto him for dear life as she suffered through pain after pain. I wasn't sure what Kallias had told Rhys in his letter, but shortly after my mate had summoned Madja and asked the healer to guide us through exactly what to anticipate.

"Are you nervous?" He asked.

I chewed on my lip in thought, recounting the gruesome details that both Viviane and the healer had laid out for me. The pain alone would come in constant, violent waves, and could last as long as a day.

"A little," I admitted. "But I know I'll be much more comfortable here; with you there."

"I'll be there every step of the way and do whatever I can to ease the pain." He promised, taking my hand and pressing a lingering kiss to it.

I smiled. "It'll be just the two of us, Madja, and the midwife."

The healer had told us that she worked with her sister, who served as a midwife for just as long as she had been a healer, when delivering younglings. Rhys and I readily agreed to have her along and made a plan to meet with her once I came closer to the end stages of my pregnancy.

I squeezed the hand that held mine, staring at the new tattoo that had formed from his renewed vow he made at the beginning of my pregnancy—when he promised not to let his male-bonded instincts shelter me unnecessarily. I ran my thumb over the crescent moon design.

"Do you think," I hesitated, mulling over my words. "Do you think...I'll be good at it?"

He paused. "At what? Giving birth?"

I laughed humorlessly, "No, not that. At...being a mother?"

I avoided his gaze, feeling the weight of those smoldering violet eyes as I continued to stare at the blue-black ink of his tattoo. After a few seconds of silence, his other hand came to grip my chin gently, tilting my head up so that I could meet those beautiful eyes.

My heart skipped a beat at the sincerity in them. "You will be an amazing mother, Feyre," he swore, his voice earnest.

My eyes burned as I thought of my own mother; of how imperious and cold she had been towards her daughters. I often wondered how she had felt when she was pregnant with us, because once we were born, she hardly bothered caring for us at all. Did she ever love us? She worshipped my father, her "one true love," but how could she not dote on the fruition of that love? Perhaps she had loved my father for what his wealth provided her instead, and the lavish lifestyle she lived-before she died.

"You are not your mother, Feyre." Rhys said, his hand moving from my chin to my cheek. "I already see the love you have for our son in your eyes, in your actions, every day."

I sniffed as I looked down at my stomach, heart swelling as I thought of my son—of how eager I was to hold and cherish him, and I couldn't fathom pushing him away. I nodded lightly as I wiped at the few tears that managed to escape.

"I just worry sometimes," I admitted.

Rhys nodded in understanding. "I worry about myself too," he said, and frowned. "I worry about being like my father; that I might be too hard on my son, and that I might age as cold and calculating as he did."

I shook my head, taking hold of the hand still on my cheek. "You could never Rhys," I said with the same smile I had given him last night—the same emotions in my eyes as I reminded him what this child meant for us.

I felt the tension leave as he sighed in content, resting his brow against mine as we both stared at my stomach; our thumbs caressing either side of it, holding our baby. I felt him move, sending kicks at both our hands, and we laughed; my chest swelled with hope that perhaps he could feel the love between us—at the love we shared for him.

[eskalations]

'Im pregnant'

No one could have imagined the amount of pandemonium that those two words would cause in the office of Brigadier General Mustang.

(Day 1 "Letter" - Royai Week 2020)

A/N: Happy Royai Week! The first prompt was "letter" and let me tell you, I HATE the dreaded letter prompt. So, I decided to have a bit of fun with it. Enjoy some Team Mustang + Royai shenanigans! Let me know what you think if you have the time! (FFN link)

~

I'm pregnant

The words were written plain as day on the parchment in front of them. Certainly, this is not what they had expected to find in the un-postmarked envelope that had been lying between the boss's office door and Havoc's desk – but alas, here it was. The letter said it all, the Chief was going to be a dad.

Their shocked silence soon diffused into absolute pandemonium.

"Holy shi –"

"No way!" Fuery had his face sandwiched between his hands, panic evident in the shaky tone of his voice. "No way! No way!"

"This sure is gonna put a damper on things!" Breda commented, finding his seat once more. He propped his feet on the desk before leaning back with hands behind his head, a pensive look on his face as he stared up at the ceiling. "I never thought I'd see the day. The boss has sewn his oats and now he's gonna reap the consequences!"

Havoc still stood in disbelief at the middle of the office. "Holy Shi – "

"Is that all you can say?!" Breda cut him off.

"I'm processing!" This finally broke him from his daze, his shaking hands pulling the paper closer to his face, his eyes examining every letter. Breda scoffed at his actions.

"Well the words aren't going to change!"

"I know that! I'm just – I don't know, double checking!"

"Guys," Fuery tried desperately to calm them, wishing now more than ever that Falman hadn't chosen to stay in the North. It would have been nice to have another level head amongst the men in the office. "We really should leave it alone. This is none of our business."

The young communications specialist looked nervously over at the door where the Brigadier General and Captain had taken their leave just an hour before. Their meeting was slated to be over any minute and Fuery preferred not to face the wrath of a newly christened father on this bright Monday morning.

That being said, the young soldier couldn't find it himself to be unhappy with the news they had just received in regards to their superior officer. Ever since 'The Promised Day' two years prior, Brigadier General Mustang had grown stupendously as both a military officer and a man. Fuery imagined he would make an excellent father.

This just left one question – who was the mother?

It seemed like both Breda and Havoc had the same thought as they both stared at each other with wide eyes.

"Man!"

"Oh MAN!"

"Who do you – ?!"

"It could be anyone!"

"I bet its Leslie." The auburn-haired man remarked, pushing back even further in his chair, the legs squeaking in protest. "She's the brunette from Archives that's been finding some reason to come up here at least twice a week."

"She can't be more than twenty! Do you really think the Chief would – ?"

"Well I don't know! It may not even be her!"

"Well, maybe it's Sarah," Breda suggested, now not as sold on the whole Leslie idea as he was before. "She's that petite girl he took to dinner last week. They did look pretty cozy."

Havoc stroked his chin in thought. "Hmmm now that you mention it, they did look close."

"Well you do know what they say about a lady's hormones during pregnancy…"

"Ohohoho," The blonde slapped the other man on the shoulder, a mischievous smirk evident on his features. "That sly dog! Mustang's going to be handing out promotion after promotion these next few months if what I've heard is true!"

Fuery, who had remained silent as they bantered back and forth, suddenly jumped from his chair. Both of the first lieutenants stared at him in shock as he gripped the edge of his desk with sweat building over his brow. There was a moment of heavy silence before the Warrant Officer let his thoughts be known.

"What if it's Hawkeye?"

The only sound that could be heard coming from the room was a soft thud as Breda fell backwards out of his chair. Then – all hell broke loose.

"IT IS! I JUST KNOW IT IS! She's been acting weird all week!" Havoc said, dropping the letter to the ground and gripping his face in an anxious fashion. "What are we going to do?!"

Breda, who was rubbing his head while sat on all fours, answered from beneath the desk. "We're going to be transferred out of East City again and end up somewhere like Briggs."

"I won't survive!" Havoc fell dramatically into his desk chair, throwing his head back in mock agony. "I can't leave my dear Rebecca at a time like this. Her best friend is going to be dishonorably discharged and I have to help pick up the pieces!"

"Guys – " Fuery attempted to interject – but was cut off by Breda, who had finally gotten a grip on the edge of his desk and was lifting himself up off the floor.

"Forget about your precious Catalina!" Breda spit out at his comrade, rubbing his backside for good measure. "We've got other problems! The boss is never going to make Fuhrer if he's kicked out of the military!"

"All that work in Ishval – for nothing!"

"Well, I wouldn't really say it was for nothing. It – "

"The country is doomed without it's fearless leader!"

"Okay, now you're just being dramat – "

"I need a cigarette!"

"I knew it!" Breda stomped over to his friend's desk, swiping the container from between his sweaty palms. There was a look of warning in his dark eyes. "Don't use the General's problems as a reason to pick up smoking again. It's not like YOU'RE the one having the baby, so I think you can manage!"

"Manage what?"

Several things happened at once at the sound of their Commanding Officer's voice breaking through the chaos. Fuery, who out of sheer panic, had sat back down once his revelation was brought forth – sprung up like a spring and lifted his shaking hand to his forehead in a poor salute. Breda, on the other hand, dropped the cigarettes like they were on fire and backed several feet away from his friend's desk, giving his boss a salute only marginally better than Fuery's.

Havoc took longer to respond. He stared at the door of the office where the man stood for several seconds, stunned silent. Then, he allowed his eyes to drift down to the letter that had been dropped in the middle of the room.

Oh shi –

"Havoc?" General Mustang asked curiously, stepping fully into the office. There was a set of meeting briefs tucked under his arm, signaling that his work for the morning had concluded. "What's going on?"

The man couldn't even begin to think of an answer for his dark-haired superior. All he knew was that his eyes kept darting to that damn paper that lay still in the dead center of the room. Oh, why did he have to be so obvious?

Noticing his subordinate's strange behavior, as well as the nervous energy that seemed to be sitting heavy over the office, the General made to step forward and address the men once more when something caught his eye.

It was a letter.

On the floor, there was a piece of parchment sticking out of a crudely ripped envelope. From the nervous glances First Lieutenant Havoc was making towards it, the General assumed that had to be the reason for the strange behavior that seemed to be plaguing his subordinates. Before he could reach down and pick it up though, Breda's hand snatched it out from under him.

"Wha – ?"

"Sorry, Chief," Breda apologized, hiding the letter behind his back. "I don't think you're ready to see what's on it."

The way his tone wavered with a hint of fear had the General's blood running cold. There was very little that could discompose Heymans Breda. This must be serious.

"What's going on?" The man placed the meeting briefs on his Captain's desk before turning back to his men. With arms crossed, he stared them down with a deadly set of black eyes. "As your Commanding Officer, I demand you tell me."

There was a silent moment where the three soldiers exchanged glances, urging the other to talk first. After a series of wide-eyed communications, both Fuery and Breda raised their brows at Havoc who was still seated at his desk. The man gulped, a sweat breaking out under his military blues. Oh, why did it have to be him.

"Well," Havoc cleared his throat, willing the words forward. "You see, we found this letter – and well, uhhhh – it has some interesting intel on it."

It was Mustang's turn to raise his brows – though his expression was a touch more doubtful than the others. "Oh really? It's just intel?"

"Well I wouldn't say it's JUST intel," Havoc scratched his blonde mane, searching for the right words. "It's relatively important intel."

"If it's so important," Mustang reasoned, taking a step towards his very nervous comrade. "Then I think I should be told, post-haste."

"See you say that, but I don't thi – "

"Havoc! Just come out with it!"

"You're going to be a father, sir!"

Breda and Havoc turned in disbelief towards the shaky Warrant Office who still stood with his hand to his head. Though his words came out as little more than a squeak, they still had been heard by all – including the Brigadier General.

Roy Mustang stood in shock, starring at the young man who stood quivering in his boots at his desk. Surely, he had heard him wrong?

"Come again, Fuery?" He asked for clarification, the tone of his voice giving no indication as to what he was feeling. "I don't think I heard you right."

"The letter, sir." Fuery dropped his hand from his head, pointing towards Breda. "It's in the letter."

Still shocked at the fact that the meek officer had been the one to speak up, Breda wordlessly held out the piece of paper for his Commanding Officer to read. He barely reacted as the letter was swiped quite harshly from his fingers.

They all watched anxiously as the man read over the note – his face becoming paler and paler the longer he stared at it. After a few minutes of examination, his dark eyes came up to meet his comrades' in utter confusion.

"Where did – Just where did you get this?"

"It was on the floor between your door and my desk, sir," Havoc finally spoke up. The blonde stood and walked over to the General, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "I guess congratulations are in order."

"Now, wait a sec – "

"And you don't have anything to worry about," Havoc continued, squeezing the man's shoulder in what was supposed to be a show of support. "We will support you and Hawkeye no matter what happens from here on out!"

"Yeah! The Fraternization Laws be damned, we're here for you!"

"Even if I have to freeze my ass off at Briggs," Havoc gave his shoulder one last squeeze for good measure. "It'll be worth it to see the two of you together and happy."

"That's not what you were saying earlier…"

"Can it, Breda!"

Mustang remained silent at the attempts of congratulations, feeling as though his lungs had been robbed of air. He didn't even notice a timid Fuery walk up and stick out his hand for a shake.

"I hope you and the Captain will be very happy, sir." The Warrant Officer said softly, the genuine respect he felt for the two superior officers evident in the tone of his words. "I can't think of two people who deserve this kind of happiness more. You'll make excellent parents."

It took a moment, but finally Mustang was able to break his silence.

"Now wait just a damn minute!"

All the men froze once more as the General took a step back to regard them with a sharp look. If he had been wearing his ignition gloves in that moment, he would have cut quite an intimidating figure. Even as it was, the dark look on his features had the men swallowing hard and standing straight underneath his steadfast gaze.

"I don't know where you got the idea that Hawkeye and I had suddenly decided to procreate." He gestured wildly to the air, incredulity written all over his features. "But I can assure you that this letter was not meant for me!"

"Sir, you don't have to hide it." Havoc reasoned gently, his hands coming forward in a show of acceptance. "We know that this will change a lot of things – but maybe it's not as bad as it seems –"

"I don't know – being dishonorably discharged DOES sound pretty bad…"

"Breda" Havoc seethed, the name slipping from between his teeth in a hiss. "Not the time."

"Both of you – stop," The sharp quality of Mustang's voice had them both pausing, readjusting their posture once more. "I'm not hiding anything. This letter cannot belong to me."

"Boss, we under – "

"Breda," The General warned, cutting the man off. He held a hand up, leaving no room for argument. "Don't finish that sentence. The more we speak of this, the more likely it is that rumors will come from it. I don't want the Captain returning from her lunch break to find that her fellow officers have been slandering her name."

"But she's been acting weird, Chief," Havoc remarked, trying to get Mustang to accept that this was a genuine possibility. "We know that the two of you have always been close. We've known for a long time that something more was there."

"Havoc!" The General bellowed. His reaction was so violent that Havoc found himself taking a few steps back in fear. "What part of 'stop' do you not understand?!"

The men were silent as Mustang read the note again. His dark eyes took in the words once more before he looked up at his men in disbelief.

"You are a poor set of soldiers if you haven't realized by now that this is not the Captain's handwriting."

Those words had the men crowding around their commanding officer. Mustang tried his best not to look indignant as they bumped shoulders with him in an attempt to get a better look at the paper he still held in his hands.

"Hm I guess it's not." Fuery conceded, having seen the Captain's handwriting on many documents during his time as being a part of the unit.

"That little loopy right there kind of looks familiar," Havoc countered, squinting his eyes. "I don't think it's completely out of the realm of possibility."

"That is definitely not the Captain's handwriting, Jean," Breda shook his head, disappointed in himself for not noticing it sooner. "Talk about jumping to conclusions."

"But if this wasn't meant for the boss then who – ?"

"What's going on?"

As if they had been electrocuted, each of the men jumped away from the other. While three of them automatically fell into nervous salutes, their commanding officer stood with a smirk in the middle of them.

"Ah, Captain," The General drawled in his usual fashion, gesturing towards their subordinates. "Maybe you can reestablish some sense of order back into this group."

Riza Hawkeye furrowed her brow at the comment, looking at all their faces with rising suspicion. The blonde wasn't alone though – while Hayate sat obediently at her heels, a second figure popped out from behind her. Rebecca Catalina considered the room with more than just a little curiosity.

"Jean?" The brunette asked, stepping around her friend. Blatantly ignoring the tension in the room, she made her way to the man in question. "Why do you look so pale?"

Havoc let out a short laugh at his girlfriend's question. "Well, Becky – it's been a long morning!"

Distracted as he was by the girl's presence, he didn't notice the smirk on Hawkeye's face as she drew nearer, placing a set of folders down on her desk. Out of the corner of her eye, she shared a look with General Mustang before sitting down in her chair and grabbing a pen.

At Havoc's words, Rebecca's eyes lit up. "So you got my letter?"

Havoc shook his head, feeling as though he had misheard. "Uh, no? What letter?"

Rebecca's eyes cut to the paper that now resided in Mustang's hand, looking between it and her boyfriend. There was confusion in the crease that appeared between her brows. "The one that your General is holding…I had Riza leave it on your desk this morning. You read it, right?"

If Jean Havoc didn't know any better, he would have thought that his legs were paralyzed once more. Behind his glasses, Fuery's eyes widened with shock while Breda looked an awful lot like a goldfish.

"Huh?" The word was the only one Havoc felt capable of saying. Not noticing his clammy skin and the slight tinge of green on his features, Rebecca gave him a bright smile.

"I got the idea from an article in The Amestrian Woman Magazine!" She brought her fisted hands to her chest in an excited fashion. "I thought it would be fun to tell you in a non-traditional fashion since we'll be bringing a baby into this world in a pretty non-traditional fashion ourselves!"

Jean felt like his world was spinning. Mustang clapped a hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to reality. The grin on the man's face was proof enough that he had been privy to the secret from the beginning. The bastard.

"I guess congratulations are in order! You're going to be a father, Havoc!"

~

Later that day, Roy Mustang could be found lounging on the single couch of his living room. Despite having had his townhome for two years now, the amount of furniture in his house was still minimal due to the large amount of time spent away in Ishval. Regardless, it still felt more home-y than any residence of his had felt in years.

Roy looked up as Riza rounded the corner, coming directly from the kitchen with two steaming mugs of tea in her hands. The blonde hair that she had cut short upon their return to Ishval was just now beginning to reach below her shoulders again and the General could find himself smiling fondly at the sight. With a modest sweater and long skirt, she looked the absolute picture of domestic bliss.

He took the mug gratefully as she perched on the couch beside him, drawing her legs up beside her. Without any hesitation, the man wrapped a familiar arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. The woman obliged him, snuggling comfortably into his side.

They sat in silence for a few moments – simply enjoying the fire before them and soaking up the other's presence. However, Mustang's chuckle soon broke whatever mood appeared to be in the air.

"What?" Riza asked as she glanced up at him, noting the hint of mirth that danced behind his eyes. The smile had not yet left his features. "Feel like sharing?"

"I was just thinking about Havoc," The man answered honestly, squeezing her shoulders gently. "Of all the ways, I thought he was going to react – fainting was not one of them."

"His legs have been weak ever since his injury, so I'm not surprised."

"Sure…that's what it was," Mustang's mouth grew into an even larger grin. "To think, the bastard was trying so hard to get me to confess to some kind of illicit affair. When he handed me the note and then accused me of impregnating you, I almost felt my heart drop into my stomach. That whole surprise couldn't have gone any worse."

"It's not my fault that the envelope slipped off his desk." Riza took a sip of her tea, the steam dispersing as she breathed a tired sigh through her nose. "I told Rebecca it wasn't a good idea, but that's how she wanted to do it."

"I couldn't help but think," The General spoke, a smirk curling on his features. He waited for her to set her cup down before moving in for the kill. "How would you tell me if we were in the same kind of situation."

"Sir – "

"I know, Riza." He looked at her with eyes that still held all the mirth from before, but that were now tinged with sadness. It made the sniper's heart ache. "I know that it can't be like that for us, at least not now anyways – but, if it could be, what would you do?"

The woman thought about it for a moment, staring down at the mug on the table in front of her. The question brought forth a lot of emotions that she didn't feel like sorting through on a night like this, but the earnest look in her General's eyes made it impossible not to answer his question.

"I would probably tell you before I even found out for sure," She answered honestly, turning her amber gaze back to his own. "I don't think I could keep something like that to myself. I couldn't even keep Rebecca's pregnancy a secret from you. I would be so anxious; I'd probably make you go to the doctor with me."

Roy gave her a gentle smile, satisfied with the answer.

"I don't think I could ever willingly bring a child into this world though knowing what I have done," Riza continued quietly, effectively wiping the grin off his face. She regarded him with a dark look. "After taking the lives of children, how could I ever think I deserve to have one?"

The General didn't know what to say to that. Up until now, it wasn't even a question that he had taken the time to ponder. Until the romantic nature of their companionship had come forward, he had been content to remain a bachelor for the rest of his existence. But things had changed and now he didn't really know what to think.

Their relationship had blossomed steadily since 'The Promised Day.' Though there had always been a romantic undertone in the way they interacted with the other, it was much too strong to ignore after they almost lost each other. The Fraternization Laws were still in order, and though, Mustang had it on good authority that Grumman was going to try and abolish them, it didn't change the fact that – what they had right now – was still illegal.

They had been so careful. They only met once a week in one or the other's home and even then, they covered their tracks dutifully. They still had way too much to accomplish to allow an illicit relationship to rip it from their grasp.

Though they both understood the parameters of their relationship, it was not as easy as they had thought it would be to watch their friends openly declare their love for each other and start a family. Despite knowing that she didn't deserve it, Riza couldn't stamp down the ache that resided in her heart at the thought of a small child – half her, half Roy.

By the pained look on his face, she could tell her General felt much the same way.

"Once I'm Fuhrer," Roy cleared his throat, his voice wrought with conviction. At this point, it was a given that he would reach the top. Grumman had told them in no uncertain terms that Mustang was his first choice as a predecessor. Instead of speaking the words with hope, he spoke them now with confidence. "You'll be able to stand by my side, rather than behind me. When that day comes, we will leave it up to fate whether we deserve the simple pleasures of life or not."

The words were much the same as the ones he had said after Grumman's pardoning of them. Though they had been adamant that they wished to be tried for war crimes, both Grumman and the Ishvalan elders had agreed that their rebuilding efforts were enough to clear their names from the death sentence that surely would have hung over their heads otherwise. The only thing that was being asked of them was that they continue to dedicate themselves to Ishval for the rest of their days – a penance that they could very easily accept.

'We've lost too many in the ranks from the fall of Bradley,' Grumman had said, recognizing their looks of disbelief at such a light sentence. 'You two would do more good out leading the efforts to rebuild, than rotting away in some cell below ground. That is one thing the elders and I are in agreeance of.'

Although on paper they had both been forgiven of their sins, it was going to take a little longer for them to fully forgive themselves.

Riza hummed in agreeance – though he could still sense the doubt in her posture.

They sat in silence – satisfied to simply enjoy the presence of the other. These moments were still rare, so they always tried to enjoy them as much as they could.

"It would be nice." Riza said quietly, her eyes never leaving the fire before them.

Roy smiled.

"Yeah, it would be."

[churchyarddirt]

Girl! You already knew I love your blog. Can i have Muzan x Reader where Reader is an uppermoon who Muzan like to mess around ( you know sexy time ) with but Muzan also messed around with other demons as he please. Thank u.

Tysm! I love your blog too ^w^ you didnt specify if you want headcanons or scenarios so I'll stick them up together, but mostly headcanons

Y/n was upper moon 5, not too strong but compared to other demons - much stronger

Y/n became upper moon 4 years ago, at first Muzan hadn't payed much attention to her.

But unlike our demon lord, Y/n was head over heels in love

From the first time he cupped her cheeks and said "Y/n...You've been doing a pleasant job, you deserve to be amongst the upper kizuki, dont you think so?" He asked her one delightful night, Y/n was just done eating her weekly meal, she devoured over 49 people. So we can way she was one bloody mess

Even though Muzan hadn't felt anything towards her, he knew he liked her by appearance, he found her attractive

"You will start off as upper moon 5, do not disappoint me..." Muzan's deep voice echoed trough the Minka, he brought up his hand towards her eyes, gently brushing the air between them. Y/n's eyes got certain kanji after all "Y-Yes...Muzan-sama"

Y/n did amazing job but hadn't interacted with Muzan much, since she was new she wasnt summoned to most meetings and even if she did Nakime was the one here, reporting information to Y/n

Of course due to Muzan's temper, Y/n had to get punished for a small misunderstandings.

Basicaly she met Tanjirou and Nezuko and just ignored them, when they were really big threat and were on hunting, Y/n just simply forgot that all demons were ordered to kill them, she proceeded to eat humans somewhere else. And of boy how angry Muzan was

Y/n was sure she would die but he didnt kill her, just called her useless and paethethic

Veins popped on Muzans forehead "You call yourself an upper moon and you made such a blind mistake" he scoffed, his expression was displeased but Nakime and Y/n knew this was just 5% of anger that he felt "I-Im so sorry Kibutsuji-sama, I just forgot and went on w-" Y/n bowed on the flood, Suddenly he appeared in front of her "Who allowed you to speak?" He questioned, making Y/n gulp, looking up at him and by this way automatically giving him good access to her neck. Muzan suddenly gripped onto the females neck and picked her whole weight up, to face him. They had quite noticeable height difference so her feet hanged in the air. Muzan frowned

"What will happen if you will make similar mistake in the future, will you...." he cut his sentence mid off, Y/n's thoughts were something different, defiantly not what he expected

'Yeez...Should I be scared or aroused', 'I honestly dont mind him choking me' 'I hope it wont end soon' at this point Muzan knew that what Y/n felt for him wasnt just strong admiration

If it was another demon he would be disgusted, but for some reason he was quite amused Y/n felt this way. His face was now not frowning, but blunt. He had zero emotions, but he was in deep thinking, he slowly and gently removed the force from her neck, now choking her lightly 'Yes...there much better...why isn't he speaking?' Muzan read thoughts, he observed her. A pleasant smirked formed. He released her from his grip turning around and leaving her alone "If you will make mistakes again...there would be more severe punishments" he commented before gesturing Nakime to teleport her away

Ever since then we could say they both shared similar feelings towards each other, just no one of them showed it correctly

As time passed Y/n developed her style, she always had a lot of cleavage, not like daki but still cleavage.

One day Y/n was teleported to upper meeting, there she officially meet every upper demon member, she hit it off well with Douma - He was so curious and friendly with her after all!

Not long after Muzan appeared, wearing his vest suit and white clothing, with black pants, the casual and glamourous outfit of his. Y/n noticed no one bowed but rather just greeted him "Good day Muzan-sama~" Douma shouted, Muzan probably had good relationship with them

My my how wrong you were

Trough out the meeting he removed the heads of several upper demons, and they all didnt bother. Woah

Muzan leaned onto the table "Tell me your Acomplishemnts" he commended, his expression was always blunt and hard to read, he didnt seem interested in their speech at all "Y/n..." Muzan interpreted Akaza's speech, making you focus all your attention on him, he slowly patted on the wooden pattern "come here" he ordered, his expression unchanged.

'DOOES HE WANT ME TO SIT ON THE TABLE NEXT TO HIM-HGHGJ?!'

Muzan grinned at your thoughts "Continue akaza" he said with more pleased tone, sucking in the stressful and negative tention away. All other moons were more at ease.

You did as he said, and of course your thoughts did their best job at amusing Muzan, all the scenarios of him claiming you over and over on this table really intrigued him, no demon had ever dared to think so boldly of him, and not to mention he liked the way you looked, Muzan didn't mind.

"Disccust and prepare teams for attack on hajimeri hill" Muzan ordered, the demons started separating into teams and making a plan, they often worked together. You assumed you had to join them so you jumped down from the table, ready to leave.

However as soon as you started to walk Muzan quickly forced you back with his hand. He forced you to go under him, you could feel your ass pressing into the table harshly, your eyebrows frowned out of confusion, Muzan had small grin before griping your throat again

This time he wasnt too harsh, justcright to your liking. His fingers gently massaged your neck, making you close your eyes.

Oh how you wished this lasted forever

"You do know one of mine abilities..." He asked, making you open your resting eyes "...is the ability to read minds of my demons?"

This sentence

THIS ONE SENTENCE

made you regret you were born 'He read all my fantasies, all my dirty thoughts-' your mind was one messy place now. You tried to look away but his finger that was gently massaging your neck suddenly was harshly pressed onto your chin, keeping you in place

You couldn't comprehend your emotions "I'm so sorry I will stop-" Muzan's nails imtefierd with your skin, making you gasp. He was filling you up with his blood again

Before you could speak again he connected your lips together. It wasnt a messy kiss, just a small peck. But of course this wasnt the way he wanted to kiss you, you would find out soon.

From that day on he teased you and touched you as he pleased

At first it was just a constant need to have you close to him, now he groped you and touched you all the time

Whenever there was another upper moons meeting he would have you on his lap, and you always knew you were leaving the last.

Your most memorable memory with him was when he invited you to his house

And hardcore fucked you in front of his sleeping pretend wife. It was amazing quite/silent sex

Once Muzan ripped your top clothing off and groped you for 2 hours straight while you sat on his lap, you were glad you two were alone.

Whenever he wanted for you to give him attention he would come to you from behind, push your hair down and press you closer

But one day, he stopped messing with you in front of other demons, he didnt touch your ass or ordered to sit on his lap anymore.

You thought it would bother you that much, but it honestly made you...sad?

That's how it was for a week. Another meeting was held. Like always your stayed the longest. You tippy toed your way to Muzan that didnt seem to notice your presence at all "Muzzn-sama" you muttered, he lazily turned around to face you "Take a sit..." he ordered with a long sigh

You took a seat on his table, you were about to ask him what was wrong but he hugged you before you could utter a word.

Sure you two cuddled after sex in bed but this type of affection wasn't in your life. He pressed his face in your chest as his hands wrapped around your waist.

"I want you all to myself" he said, not emebrased or too happy. All you could is was just to accept it and gently brush his head

He didnt grope you around others but he was effectionate other ways, like hugging your waist, his hand on your hip/waist/shoulder. You could see the connection

But one thing bothered Y/n

It was Daki

Muzan called her special demon and even cupped her cheeks. Y/n wasn't pleased with it!

One night she headed to the forest with Muzan, all he did was cup her cheeks "I can do as I please Y/n, You should just be quite about it. Green doesn't suit you" he mocked her, Y/n was displeased but there wasn't anything she could do

Muzan held her hand firmly in his, even though he liked teasing Y/n, he knew that if there was a demok women who would bear his kids - It would be Y/n

Bonus

Y/n took a seat at his office, she was summoned by him. It wasnt the first time she was here, making herself at home she ordered his maid to make her a tea "Its good to see you my Muzan-sama" she greeted him with a yawn "Y/n...didnt I told you my opinion about you wearing short skirts" Muzan questioned her, his eyes still carved into paper work, oops. After he made it clear that she belonged to him, muzan hated seeing her wearing too revealing clothes "I didnt punish you, and I wont" this sentence made Y/n smile. But she knew he will want to receive something from her later. "I've been so good to you lately, you've been walking around as you please" he said in mocking tone "Y/n dont you think you are too selfish?" Y/n giggled at his words "So what are our conclusions" he asked, taking another paper. When he aske it, the answer always was 'I will change Muzan-sama' or 'I understand that I failed and I will do as you please' but Y/n was too goofy that day. Like a tiger she made her way closer to him, she sat bare ass on his table in front of him. Her legs on his papers. This made Muzan look at her instantly "The conclusions..." she questioned before gently cupping Muzans cheeks "That you are the best thing in my life" Muzan was dumbfounded, her little joke resulting in brutal make out session on his lap

[nyanyanolio]

[Destiny 2] The great thing about SotW

Season of the Worthy has been a weird one. Many people are saying that this could be the weakest season we've ever had and they're probably not wrong. However; I absolutely loved this season because I never felt guilty about taking time off to catch up on other games, even restarting my FF14 sub. I think that the Seraph Towers at their core were a really cool activity and I thought it was really cool when they got updated to be harder in the middle of Guardian Games. I thought the Daily Bunker Busters were a great way to start any play session and the rotation from planet to planet kept the game play as fresh as possible all season.

The only seasonal content that did not evolve in some way over time were the Legendary Lost Sectors. Ever Since the start of the season, they have rotated through the same three lost sectors per planet, and I'm fairly confident that Bungie is looking to revamp what Lost Sectors are/can be in future content releases. Given how LSS's came out (especially the Moon Ones) I think we are on track to get better and better Lost Sectors or solo oriented challenging content as time goes on.

All that being said, I think that Season of the Worthy might actually be my favorite Season of the year so far! The TL;DR is that I just loved having a bunch of smaller solo content pieces that actually fit really well into a well paced  grind I could enjoy every day. More than any other season, I think that SotW was just… MORE Destiny… just not the bits of content that I think most veteran players still expect in a content drop for Destiny. Perhaps it's arbitrary, but Spring is notorious for having the lowest numbers during a year in the world of Destiny, so when paired with content focused on passive/daily game play things should be expected to get a little stale.

Like I mentioned earlier, I've restarted my FF14 subscription (I've been meaning to get back into the story for a while now, very excited) as well as I've done a lot of work with my WoW UI and geared up my Monk. All the while I never felt guilty about not playing Destiny 2 not because there was nothing to do, but because I knew that when I felt the urge to progress again I could hop back into it at a moment's notice. I hit the 1000 power cap the day before the IO bunker opened and finished the Season Pass multiple weeks before the Guardian Games even started.

I think that more people need to accept that it's okay to take breaks. The FF14 community celebrates the fact that they can take breaks, but Square is more than okay delaying patches until they are ready for the public. WoW players don;t celebrate much of anything, but they do at least always wonder if it's a good time to return, which means they've subconsciously accepted that they have to take breaks (assuming they aren't already taking one). And any MMO player knows well that droughts happen and that MMOs don't always occupy as much time as fully as we would like. Truly tragic.

Whether people take breaks or not, I do want to highlight something I haven't heard about a whole lot this season that I actually really appreciated; the Seasonal Artifact. I’m sure I cant be the only one who has been in love with some of the mods available but especially when the season first started, the expedited leveling from the artifact itself was actually really helpful in reaching 980 as fast as possible. I have seen some people gripe about the increased amount of leveling this season, but between the 6 powerful drops we could get from Rasputin, the weekly powerful drops from towers and bunkers, and the artifact; I think leveling was very well paced. I understand that some people were upset towers were scaled a bit higher than expected, but with the normal power cap only going up 40 for most players I think it's a really good use of the pinnacle system to shorten the seasonal grind by 10 levels for most players.

As I've mentioned in my last post, I have absolutely loved the Warmind cells and having such a large variety of cool mechanics to play with is amazing. Combined with some artifact mods, I've crafted a great play style for myself and I'll be sad to see Inferno Whip go next season. I'm really interested to see how next season feels when our Worthy armor gives us access to both Dawn and Redacted mods.

To close things out, I would like to seed in you a question. Does Destiny seem like the type of game to allow breaks? Personally, I think it does even if seasons need to become fewer and longer. Thank you for reading my ramblings and I hope you've enjoyed this season or are as hyped for next season as I am.

----------

I ended up trashing my RiP, Im accepting it was a bit too aspiration  and moving on to my new idea for next season! I think I'm going to try to make a video showing off my favorite aspects of the seasonal artifact before the season is over, but don't quote me on that.

You can def quote me on this tho: I’m a better writer than speaker and ill be continuing to get better at posting here consistently, I really like having a spot to put my thoughts and trying to make videos was stressing me out.

[cmncisspnandmore]

Living Blood Bank

Pairing: Sam Winchester X Reader

Warnings: Blood, gore, sadness, fluff, Sam being a puppy. Dean being a little bit of a dick but only for a second.

“Dean!” A tall man with brown hair, a green flannel and a gun pointed directly at your face yelled. You shook violently in the corner of the small room you were confined to. Weeks maybe even months before you were walking home from your shift at the local 24 hour diner, when a man and woman in dark clothing grabbed you from the side alley by your house. When you regained consciousness they you had a chain around your wrist that tethered you to the wall. Over the course of the next few months they had periodically come in and bite you, sucking your blood. The woman had explained that something about to smelt sweet and pure, that you were the best one they’ve had yet. The first day, the vampires (as you concluded they were), had another girl held in the room with you but when she wouldn't stop screaming they killed her, and promised to do the same to you if didn't cooperate. 

“Sam?” The man who you assumed was Dean rounded the corner, gun also drawn. 

“She a vamp?” He moved closer, as the taller one lowered his gun, and took a small step towards you. You watched with wide eyes as he knelt down to your level, his arm reaching out and grabbing your left arm, he glanced down at the 30-40 bite wounds that littered the length of your arm. 

“No, she was their blood bag…” He reaches towards you and you shrink back against the wall. 

“P-Please.. Don't hurt me too, i’ll behave… I won't disobey.” You croak as a waterfall of tears slide down your cheeks. 

“We aren't going to hurt you,” the taller one in front of you replied softly, as the other lowered his gun and pulled a lock pick set from his jacket pocket. 

“Sammy, she’s chained to the wall like a damn animal.” He knelt down next to you and grabbed your right arm that was still tightly shackled to the wall. A few moments later the heavy chain fell to the ground with a loud thud, causing you to jump. 

“What's your name?” Dean asked as he held his hand out to you, his green eyes roaming over you tattered outfit, your nametag from the diner had been ripped from the blouse leaving a gaping hole over your left breast. Through the whole dried blood coated your skin, they hadn’t left very much of your body untouched. 

“Y/n… whats the date?” You ask as they help you to your feet, you had lost count of the days. For all you knew it had been a year since they took you. 

The men exchanged a look, “February 16th,” Sam replied and fresh tears poured. 

5 months. You had been there for 5 months. 

“C’mon let's go get you cleaned up.” Dean gruffly said as sam helped you walk out of the old house, and towards a shiny black car. 

“Who are you guys? Where are the vampires that took me?” 

“We’re Sam and Dean winchester. We’re hunters.” Sam guided you over to the back seat and you sat down, shivering against the cold weather. 

“Hunters? Like you hunt deer and stuff?” you cock your head to one side, as Dean lets out a small laugh. 

“No we hunt monsters, like those bastards who took you,” he glanced in the rearview as he cranked the heat for you. You ran your hands up and down your bloody and scarred arms, wincing as you hit a fairly new bite mark. 

“Oh.. okay.” You turn to look out the window as he pulls away from the old house and starts down the road. 

Sam turns in the passenger seat and glances at you, “Why did you ask what the date was?” 

“Because i needed to know how long I was gone for…” you down at your hands, and your stomach turns at the dried blood stuck to them. It was your blood, but you never thought you would see so much of it. 

“How long were you gone for?” Sams brown eyes study you.

“Five months, i was taken on my way home from work from the 24 hour diner.” You glance up, “Now im sure I don't have a job, or a place to go… I don't think anyone is looking for me anymore either. They probably all assume im dead.” Tears splash your chest stinging the open wounds. 

“They held a funeral for you last month.. An empty casket.. “ Sam looks down, remembering the article he read about you.

“If I go back, they’ll think im crazy.” You laugh shaking your head, and Sam looks over at Dean for a moment then back at you. 

“Sammy, we need to talk about what you're thinking before you say anything.” Dean mutters to his brother as he pulls into the motel parking lot. 

“C’mon lets get you cleaned up okay? Then we can talk.” Sam opens the door and helps you out of the car and into the Motel room. It was one of those pay by night places that was pretty sketchy if you do say so yourself.

“The shower is right in that room, let us know if you need any help, once you wash off the dirt and blood we can assess the wounds that need to be stitched and bandaged.” Sam gave you a soft smile and you tried to return it, but failed. 

You walk into the small bathroom and turn on the water, while the water heats up you carefully peel off the tattered uniform. As you chuck it into the trash, you glance in the mirror hanging on the wall, and gasp. Hundreds of bite marks litter your skin, some old and scarred other new and shiny as blood pools in them. Your hands fly to cover your mouth to try to contain the sobs that wracks your chest. 

“Y/n? Are you alright?” Sams deep voice calls from the other side of the flimsy door.

“Y-Yeah, just a second,” you call back as you step into the hot water, and yelp as the water hits the fresh wounds.

“Im gonna open the door and leave some clothes you can wear on the counter, change into those and when you’re done we’ll patch you up.” Sam's voice changes as he pushes the door open, and you use your hands to delicately scrub off the dirt and dried blood. The hot water felt good, but eventually it ran cold and you were forced to get out. With a sigh you turn off the water and dry off as gingerly as possible. Trying to avoid snagging the towel on any of the scabbed wounds. 

On the counter rests a pair of black sweatpants that look to be 4 sizes too big for you and a grey shirt. Slipping both of them on you roll the sweatpant so they will stay on your hips and tie up the shirt so you can walk without it hanging down past the middle of your thighs. With a nervous sigh you open the bathroom door, Dean is sitting at the table with a beer in his hand as Sam places a piece of gauze over a cut on his shoulder blade. On the table a bunch of medical supplies is strewn about, along with various bottles of alcohol. Sam glances at you as you step cautiously into the main area of the motel room. 

“Hey, how was your shower?” He smiles, Dean looks up and his gaze trails along your arms. You see him swallow thickly and pull out a chair next to him, “It was okay… it stung more than I'd like to admit.” You push some of your wet hair behind your ear.

“C’mere sweetheart we gotta start patching you up, are your arms and chest the only places they got it you?” Dean patted the chair he pulled out before standing and grabbing a roll of gauze and antibiotic ointment. 

With a shake of your head, you walk over and sit down in the chair, as Sam presses a glass of whiskey into your hand. 

“Drink this, its gonna hurt im not going to lie to you.” With a small nod you tip the glass back and the smooth liquid burns your throat as it goes down. Finishing it in one large swig, you place the cup down on the table. 

Sam leans over and refills the glass, “We’ll work on your arms first and then we’ll move on, just tell us if you need a break, okay?” 

You pick up the glass again and drink the contents, “Okay…” 

You brace yourself as dean picks up a bottle of rubbing alcohol and pours it onto one of the bite marks, it burns, worse than when they actually bite you. Sam and Dean go about pouring disinfectant in the open wounds, taking their time to make sure each one is thoroughly cleaned and bandaged. Every once in awhile when they would get to a particularly fresh one and you couldn't help but cry out at the pain, Sam would freeze momentarily. 

After the first 30 minutes of them working on cleaning and wrapping your arms the whiskey you had consumed at the beginning starts to dull the pain. Your arms throb and ache but it was tolerable now. 

“You’ve gotta remove your shirt darlin’” Sam reaches for the hem of your shirt, and your cheeks flush bright red. Sure you’d been naked in front of guys before, but not two men at once. With the way the whiskey was making your senses feel muddled you weren’t sure if you could keep all your thoughts to yourself. Especially since the last 15 minutes you have been having a very hard time not blurting out that you found Sam and his hazel eyes completely enticing. Though he was built like a freaking tree he moved with grace, and were completely infatuated with his movements. 

With a small nod you allow Sam to pull the shirt over your head, leaving you in your plain black bra, you watch as his face physically pales at the sight of your abdomen. Its littered with marks and not all of them were bite marks. You had been tortured the first few weeks they had you, they said it was to make sure you knew what would happen if you disobeyed. Cigarette burns, knife marks, scratches, stab wounds, oil burns, and much more scattered all across your flesh. 

“It’s okay Sam. Most of it doesn’t hurt anymore.” You reach out and grab his hand, he pulls his gaze from your chest. 

“ ‘m sorry we didn't find you sooner,” he shakes his head, his brown hair falling into his eyes. 

Dean clears his throat from beside you, “You’re gonna have to lay down for us to do the rest, im sure your legs are in the same condition.” 

With a small nod, you stand up from the chair, unrolling the sweat pants you let them fall to the ground, and move to the bed. You lay back against the pillows and watch and Sam and Dean share a look before Sam rubs his hand across his face, and comes to sit by your head.

“Some of these are infected. Deans gonna have to get everything out of them, its gonna hurt a lot, and you’ll probably pass out, but you won't be able to sit still, so i'm gonna hold you down so he can finish it as fast as possible, okay?” He sits you up slightly, placing himself behind your shoulders and rests his hands against them looking down at you. 

With teary eyes you look up at him, “Okay,” Sam brushes his fingers across your cheeks catching the tears. 

“You’ll be okay, i won't leave you.” He gives you a watery smile, as Dean situates himself at your hips.

“I trust you Sam, you saved me.” His rough palm cups your cheek and a faint blush creeps onto his cheeks. 

“Ready kid?” Deans gruff voice pulls you from the trance Sams hazel eyes put you in. 

“Ready.”

Sam pulls a washcloth from off the nightstand and presses it into your mouth, and then grabs your shoulders and holds them firmly. You glance at him and then at Dean and give a short nod. Taking a deep breath Dean pours rubbing alcohol onto a nasty bite wound and you scream into the rag, your voice muffled by it. Dean then uses his fingers to press against the wound pushing the infection out and you start to thrash around. You had never felt pain like this in your life. It was like someone had taken a hot poker and jabbed it into your stomach, and was pressing against it, driving it deeper into you. Sams grip tightens as hot tears pour down your cheeks. The pain continues for what feels like hours but it was probably only seconds, before it happens again. Black spots dance in your vision, and the last thing you remember before you pass out is Sams hazel eyes staring back at you. 

“Sammy, she’s not a hunter,”

“I know Dean, but we can’t just leave her on the side of the road somewhere. How will she survive? Everyone she’s ever loved thinks she’s dead, and you saw her body, what they did to her. She’s going to have those scars forever, shoving her back into the world where she has no one. No one who will believe her about those scars, they’re gonna think she's crazy. Throw her in a loony bin. That's no way for a girl to live. Not if I can do something to stop that from happening.” “Look, Sammy, i understand you’re attracted to her. And that you want to help her, but you can't take in every single person we save.”

“You’re acting like she's some stray dog we found on the side of the road. Dean. She's a human being with feelings and we could teach her about the things we do. So maybe she doesn’t hunt with us, but she can do research for us. She can be useful. Please. Dean there's something about this girl, something in the way she looks at me. The way she trusts me with her life, even though she has no reason to. Dean i can't. I can't let her go.” Sam puts his head in his hands and his brother sighs defeated.

“Okay, she can come with us.”

“Thank you.” Sam stands and hugs his brother.

“I’m gonna go get some food.” Dean hugs his brother back before grabbing his keys, and heading out the motel room door.

The bed dips next to you and you stir, blinking a few times before your eyes focus on Sam who is sitting on the edge of the bed. His hazel eyes search over your face, “Hey, you’re awake.” 

“Hey.. I am. I guess i passed out huh?” You move to sit up, but Sam stops you. 

“Don't, you’ll just hurt yourself. You lost a lot of blood and you need to rest.” He gently pushes your shoulder back down. The more you wake up the more the throbbing in your body becomes noticeable. 

“I guess that's to be expected.” You laugh softly and Sam frowns.

“I talked to Dean, he said you can come with us, help us out. If you want to that is.” Sam wings his hands together, and you bite your bottom lip. 

“That would be nice… I can't go home..” You glance at his hands and move one of yours and grab his. 

“Yeah,” Sam smiles slightly, “but we can be your home now. Your family.” 

“I would like that, besides no normal person would believe me if I told them I was used as a living blood bank.” 

Sam flinches at that, “I won't let anything like that happen to you ever again.” He runs his hand across your cheek and tangles his hand in your hair. The gesture makes you close your eyes, it was comforting. 

“I trust you, I know you won't.” You fight to open your eyes again, sleep was calling your name, your eyelids were impossibly heavy. 

“Go back to sleep, we’ll talk once you’re rested.” Sam smiles as your eyes slip closed. As you start to drift off you feel the slightest brush of lips against your head, Sam Winchester was soon going to worm his way into your heart, and you were perfectly okay with that.

[inkribbon796]

A Walk in the Park

Summary: Yan’s on the case to find her adopted brothers, problem is she can’t stop running into problems to do that job. It doesn’t help that she’s easily distracted.

A.N: It’s Yan’s birthday, and I wrote this for that. I’m excited for Bim’s birthday, his is next month.

    Yan frowned as she canvased the neighborhood. She’d been watching the area for a while. The South End Park was a park she and her adopted brothers had frequented growing up, and about five years ago it started being under the protection of the heroes.

    So, Yan just had to find the hero and shake them down for information. The correlation was obvious, two of her brothers go missing, one of them starts working with the heroes for some crazy reason, and the park they used to go to all the time starts being under Hero protection.

    Problem #1: Arthur wasn’t the type of guy to protect a city park. Especially not continuously. That was more Kay’s style. But she was willing to take any lead they could get.

    Problem #2: If she stepped on Bim’s toes they’d get into a fight again.

    All Yan had to do was get a good look at the hero protecting the park and she’d know if it was Kay or not, and she could drag him back home. But this hero in particular always seemed to know she was coming.

    “Ma’am,” two police officers came towards her, and Yan rolled her eyes.    “Ugghhhhh!” Yan groaned. “What? I’m busy?”

    “You can’t walk around town at night holding a sword,” he told her. “Do you have a license for that?”

    “Uh, my boss is Darkiplier, I don’t think I need a license,” Yan boasted. Dark had trained the idea of calling him “Dad” in public years ago.

    The cops looked a bit nervous, “Maybe if this was twenty years ago, but we’re going to need that license.”

    Rolling her eyes, she charged at the cops, just wanting to scare them off more than anything so she could keep searching the area.

    They pulled out their guns, Yan already raising her sword.

    But she was cut short when she felt something like an aura rip through her, and she felt weird, like she’d been pushed back without being touched. Then a net was fired out from the bushes, hitting her arms and gluing her to the closest tree.

    “Oi! Nutcase Nelly, yah should’a stayed at the warehouses,” Chase warned her, his blaster in hand as he stood in full costume, J.J placing a pocket watch into his pocket as he came to stand next to him.

    “Hey!” she spat at first, and she saw two of the Septics standing behind the cops, Bro Average and J.J. She smiled at Bro Average, and screamed in delight.

    Bro Average looked at J.J uneasily. “Uhh,” he tried to look serious and threatening again. “Why are ye here an’ what does Dark want?”

    “Nothing,” Yan smiled at Bro Average, who started to move behind J.J, a nervous expression even coming through his mask.

    “Right,” Bro Average looked at the people around him.

    Her katana lowered, but the police and heroes didn’t quite let their guard down. J.J was looking around the area, his hand going into the pocket he’d put his pocket watch.

    “Hey, do you have a girlfriend?” Yan smiled at Chase.

    “No?” Chase answered hesitantly, wondering if he should be answering no anyways, or if he should just run because this villian already had a crazy-eyed look about her.

    “Oh, good,” she smiled, taking a step closer. “My name’s Yan.”

    “Ye just gave me yer name like that,” Chase hesitated, warning bells going off, “are ye allowed ta do that?”

    “I’m allowed to do whatever I want,” Yan took another step forward. “So what’s your name?”

    “I’m not tellin’ ye,” Chase tightened his grip on his blaster, J.J’s watch came out. “Yah work fer Dark.”

    She let out a manic giggle, “Aww, he’s a good guy, you’ll like him. I promise.”

    “How about you just come in quietly fer questions, we’ve got a series ‘a murders ta question you about,” Chase ordered. Suddenly something past through the group and J.J was shoving Bro Average to the side.

    J.J made one sign at Chase: “Run” moving his fists up and down quickly. Chase didn’t need a second opinion and he ran in the opposite direction at full speed.

    “Hey!” Yan shouted at him, Chase glancing back at the park to see that Yan was suddenly gone and J.J looked confused and alarmed. He was racing to catch up with Chase, watch still in hand.

    “Ye got that vibe too right?” Chase asked. “What’d she do?”

    “Flirt,” Chase stuck out his thumb and index finger and hit it to the palm of his other hand. “Did not like that you were divorced.”

    “Great,” Chase cursed, almost bowling into a trash can while trying to watch J.J’s hands, the other hero was trying to hold his hands up to make it easier for his friend. “That’ll teach me ta mess wit’ villains.”

    Back at the park, Yan was hanging up from a couple of the trees, ribbons of what looked and felt like spider silk gluing her to the trees, and making sure her short skirt stayed down.

    “Ugh!” Yan shouted in frustration, trying to get herself untangled. “Whoever did this, I hate you!”

    Color began to drain from the area as Dark stepped through to look up at her, a single eyebrow raised. “Well?”

    “Don’t just stand there and laugh, get me down,” Yan huffed. “He’s getting away.”

    “If you calm down, I’ll help,” Dark promised.

    “No!” Yan lamented. “It’s my birthday and I want him.”

    “I already got you your present. Besides, you had a boyfriend,” Dark reminded, studying the strings around them. “What ever happened to him?”

    “Jake was a cheating shark,” Yan spat, Dark just looking at her unimpressed. Then she looked around, “When did you get weird spider powers anyways?”

    “Oh this isn’t me, but I’m more than happy to take advantage of it,” Dark admittedly calmly and then reached out to pluck a part of it and it all unraveled, puffing into a purple-grey smoke. Yan was dropped to the ground.

    “Who’d you send to babysit me?” Yan huffed. “I’m eighteen, I can date whoever I want.”

    “Average is almost ten years older than you,” Dark warned sternly. “Besides, you’re not dating a hero.”

    “Yeah, well you’re old as dirt and you’re dating Dad,” Yan pouted.

    “You are choosing to be difficult,” Dark warned, his aura fanning out to check the area for any heroes that were eavesdropping on them, opening up a portal.

    “Why?” Anti buzzed in behind Dark, taking advantage of the open portal. “Hey, kiddo.”

    “Hey, Anti,” Yan smiled. “Tell the old man here I can date who I want.”

    “In the interest of bein’ difficult, I say go fer it,” Anti smiled.

    “It’s for Average,” Dark growled.

    Anti was quiet for a bit, clearly thinking about it. “I can kill ‘im,” Anti looked at Dark.

    “I’ll take care of it if he becomes a problem,” Dark promised.

    Yan’s right eye twitched, a behavior she’d long-since picked up from Dark. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

    “Hey, yer one ‘a the fun ones, an’ while I like botherin’ the Septics, I like ye more,” Anti admitted. “Sides he’s got baggage and ye don’t want that.”

    Yan gasped, “I can save him.”

    “Stop while you’re ahead, go bother Wil,” Dark dismissed.

    “Nah yer more fun,” Anti smiled. “Yer reactions are gettin’ boring when I stab ye. Ye’d get all furious and ye’d stab me back when I used to stab you.”

    “Then maybe you should leave me alone,” Dark warned, more than a bit of a bite to his tone.

    “Never,” Anti glitched out his effects, and summoned a slender, thin box. “Happy birthday, kiddo, tell the others I said hi.”

    Anti underhanded the gift to Yan, then he turned to Dark, “I’m takin’ Junior out on the town fer his birthday. It’s not permission, it’s a warnin’. He’s mine that night.”

    “He’s my son,” Dark reminded dryly.

    “Yeah, but yah wouldn’t have him if not fer me,” Anti grinned.

    “Ooooh,” Yan took out a baton and pressed a button that made it buzz with electricity. “I love it!”

    Dark groaned, “You had to give her that, she has enough weapons, an entire closet of them.”

    “Thank you, Anti,” Yan ran over to him to give him a hug, the chaos demon glitching a little at the rather unexpected contact. “You’re the best.”

    Anti rebounded quickly for it, grinning at Dark, “See, yer kids like me more than ye.”

    “You’re lucky I’m desensitized to everything you and Wilford do,” Dark sighed. “If you’re done talking to me, I need to track down Anxiety.” The greyscale entity waved his hands to the trees.

    “I think Remus was actually kinda funny,” Anti smiled, assuming Dark’s problem was with what had happened weeks ago instead of the spider thread. Yan let go of Anti. “Kid could stand ta get some validation every once in a while.”

    Dark’s aura grabbed onto Anti, the glitch demon just smiled at him, “No one gets to cat call him, and if I hear about it again he’s a dead man.”

    “I found another button,” Anti smiled triumphantly. “Remind me ta start settin’ Bim up with the guy. They seem like they’d get on like a house on fire.”

    Dark angrily threw Anti through the portal, smiling when Anti didn’t go through the portal so easily. “Come on, Yan, you can try to look for Average a different time.”

    “Fine,” Yan huffed out and followed Dark into the portal. Color returning to the park, after the portal into the Void closed. The park going silent except for crickets, and the nearby chittering of dozens of squirrels that had been disturbed from their slumber by Dark’s appearance.

[justauthoring]

the wait // francesco pazzi

request: hello sweetie! i love your writings and im currently so in love with your ‘no reasons to’ serie and your medici’s imagines, and since i’ve recently watched the show and i’m so freaking obsessed with it, i was thinking maybe i could request an imagine (sorry if it’s going to be long lol). basically the reader is from a noble family but her parents died when she was a baby and she was raised by medici’s family growing up with lorenzo, giuliano, bianca and also the pazzi’s siblings.................

...... also, her and lorenzo fall in love and they have a secret relationship, but she learns soon that lorenzo is gonna marry clarice orsini. and then francesco pazzi, who has always liked her, asks her to marry him. she accepts, mainly to create a stable alliance between the two enemy families. she is reluctant about marrying francesco and of course still in love with lorenzo, that’s why she is hesitant at first with him......... 

francesco on the other side is very gentle and kind, he doesn’t push her to do things she doesn’t want to do (like during their wedding night??) and treats her like a goddess. time after time, she realises that he’s a good person (yeah even though he killed giuliano and did bad things) and maybe she could actually fall in love with him and decide to quit her secret relationship with lorenzo to dedicate herself to francesco. sORRY IF IT’S TOO SPECIFIC UGH. thank you in anticipation! 💗💫💗💫

please don’t plagiarize my work!

word count: 3,376

“You are to be married?”

Lorenzo spins at the sound of your voice, his eyes widening a fraction as they settle upon your own. When your words register within him, a deep frown mares his features and he takes a small step forward, his hand held out in front of him; “Y/N--”

You shake your head, taking a step away from him causing his words to halt. “How could you not tell me?” You ask, your voice considerably softer than it had been before. You feel your emotions peak as the words leave your lips, your shoulders falling with despair as your vision blurs. “This was arranged weeks ago,” you continue, shaking your head. “Your fiance is on her way here and you hadn’t thought to tell me?”

“Y/N,” Lorenzo calls once more, attempting to reach you and this time actually managing to do so. “Please, you have to understand--”

“Understand what?” You argue, your hurt clouding your judgement. You’re upset and angry and you’re taking it out on Lorenzo, with no fault to his own. Yes, he could’ve told you instead of you having to hear it from another, but it wasn’t his choice to get married to this woman; Clarice Orsini. It was for the benefit of his family, you knew that, but still... “That I am suppose to watch you marry and fall in love with another woman?”

“You are the one I love.”

Lorenzo says the words without an ounce of hesitation, closing the small distance that existed between the two of you as he takes your cheeks into his hands, pulling you close. You look up at him with watery eyes, your hands clasping over your own as Lorenzo shakes his head. “Nothing will change that,”

“But what if it does?”

Your question is responded with silence. Lorenzo’s lips part, his eyes widening upon the fear in your voice. He does love you, he knows that. But what you’re afraid of is not entirely impossible. He would like to believe it is, but fate was a funny thing and sometimes you had no control over your own emotions. 

Your heart feels as if it will shatter at Lorenzo’s silence.

“I love you,” Lorenzo repeats, his voice a hushed whisper. Leaning forward, he presses his forward against your own. “Only you.”

At the intimate action, you let your eyes flutter shut, embracing Lorenzo’s touch and his warmth. You know very well that this could be one of the very last times you are able to be with Lorenzo like this, and you bask in it, hoping to never forget the touch of him.

You’re petrified with fear that Lorenzo will fall for this woman, Clarice, and forget all about you. That he will leave you alone with a broken heart. And the worst part is that even he can’t deny it, because he can’t know for certain that your fears won’t happen.

He will be married to Clarice, and even if he continues to see you, the two of you will never be able to be seen in public. Your affair will be kept in the dark, unable to speak of the man you love and of the one who makes you happy. When not hidden behind closed doors, you will have to watch as Lorenzo builds a life with another woman that is not you.

“We can still see each other.”

There are the words. Lorenzo says them in hopes of assuring you, but all they do is break your heart further.

Inhaling sharply, you nod, tightening your grip over his hand. “I know.”

“Nothing will change,” Lorenzo soothes, his voice barely audible. “You are still the woman I desire. The woman I love.”

But for how long?

“And that will never change.”

Yes, it will.

“I love you, Y/N.”

You hesitate only a moment before responding.

“I love you too, Lorenzo. Forever and always.”

But will he?

-

You watch from a far as they hold each other close. 

Lorenzo leans his forehead against her own like he had with you multiple times before, and you’ve never felt as alone as you do in that one moment. His visits are fewer and fewer, more less often as he puts all his focus on his family and wife. You can’t blame him, you would want the same from your own husband, but you cannot help the jealousy that burns within you.

The cup of wine is held in your hand with aggressiveness, that being the only thing containing your anger in that one moment. Those around you flutter around the party with wide smiles and laughs, but you don’t bask in any of their happiness.

You’ve been left behind, just as you assumed you would.

It’s moments like these that you think back to when you were younger. The Medici family had raised you as your own, and you’d considered Giuliano and Bianca like siblings. All except Lorenzo. There had always been more between the two of you, and it was only when you reached the young age of thirteen that the two of you finally realized your feelings for one another.

You’d shared your first kiss in his families vineyard and you’d both walked home with the brightest smiles on your faces.

Of course, you knew that your relationship would be frowned upon. You were considered a Medici along with the others, and most thought of you and Lorenzo as siblings. Possibly, you’d always known that one day your secret relationship with Lorenzo would come to an end. You’d never be allowed to marry and eventually one of you would have to, if not both.

You just hadn’t wanted it to be so soon or sudden.

“They seem to be getting along well.”

You gasp, the sudden presence surprising you as you turn to find Francesco next to you. Before, he appearance at a Medici gathering would’ve surprised you beyond belief, but you remember Giuliano and Lorenzo mentioning that Francesco had been going against his uncle and siding with the Medici as surprising as that sounded.

You remembered Lorenzo speaking about a possible alliance between the two forgotten friends.

“Francesco,” you breathe, setting a hand against your chest in hopes of calming your racing your heart. 

“I’m sorry,” he bows slightly, smiling softly your way. “I did not mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine,” you assure, waving his concern off with a slight shoulder. “I was just a little....”

“Lost in your thoughts?”

Flushing lightly, you nod; “yes.”

“It is a shame though,” Francesco comments after a moment, and you watch as his gaze flickers back over towards Lorenzo and Clarice who have no separated. 

Your eyes widen upon his hidden meaning. “I, uh, I--...”

Francesco chuckles softly, “it’s fine,” he assures with a soft blink of his eyes. “It was pretty obvious to me from a young age that the two of you held feelings for one another. Despite yours and my families difference, I have never and don’t plan on saying anything.”

Letting out a exhale, you nod, unable to stop yourself from glancing in Lorenzo’s direction, feeling your heart ache in response. “Thank you.”

“I only meant,” Francesco continues, shuffling closer to you. You are not oblivious to his actions, watching him with slight bafflement. “I realize it was not his choice, but to let a beautiful and intelligent woman such as yourself go, well, it is a shame.”

Your eyes widen at his words, once again, and your lips part. Francesco, upon your silence, glances back at you, your eyes meeting his and you feel your shoulders fall at the look he sends you. He holds your gaze with such warmth, such sincerity, and the words had left his lips with almost sorrow. 

As Francesco steps toward you, he clasps his hands behind him respectively, lowering his voice further. “But one man’s loss is another’s gain.”

“Francesco...”

“I know our families have differences, Y/N and I know you do not feel for me the way I feel for you,” Francesco explains, his eyes soft. “But I hope you do not decline my offer when I propose it.”

Swallowing thickly, you bite your lip; “and what offer would that be, Francesco?”

“Your hand in marriage.”

You had suspected so, but still, you cannot hide your surprise. Francesco is a Pazzi and you, a Medici. Long ago his uncle, Jacopo, had decided that the two families could not be friends. Lorenzo and Giuliano had been right when he said that an alliance might be possible. And it was not as if Francesco was a strange to you. There was once a time the two of you were close, friends, before he was cruelly ripped away.

An alliance, along with your sister’s, between the Pazzi and the Medici would extremely benefit your family. That you could not deny.

Your eyes flicker towards Lorenzo’s briefly, managing to catch his eyes for the first time that night. The smile on his face falters slightly at the sight of you, especially next to Francesco, and for a moment, you have hopes that not all is lost. But then Clarice glances your way, and you see the anger and hurt in her gaze and you know that it is not possible.

You want to hate Clarice, but you cannot. She truly is a kind woman, and whether you like it or not, Lorenzo is her husband, not yours. There is no point holding onto a dream that will never happen.

When you glance back at Francesco, he holds his hand out towards you, palm up.

With only a moment more of hesitance, you let your hand slip into his own.

“I accept.”

-

The sound of chattering and cheering and music faded to the back of your mind as Francesco lead you into his home by the hand. You hadn’t been in the halls of the Pazzi home since you were a child, so despite the awkward silence that filled the air between you and your newly-appointed husband, you let your eyes wander across the detailing and designs of the home.

The home that was now your own.

While Francesco remain silent and you find yourself completely unsure of what to say, you still find yourself oddly at ease. The silence is odd, but Francesco holds you hand with such gentleness, as if he’s afraid the lightest touch will hurt you, and even he seems a little tense. A little tense.

This is new and different territory for the both of you. You are both still testing the waters and trying to figure out what it is your life is now.

Not to mention, you find yourself nervous about what will follow in moments to come. Conceiving your marriage the night of your wedding is a practiced tradition, but you have never thought of or looked at anyone in that was other than Lorenzo. There has never been another man other than Lorenzo, and especially not Francesco because you’ve never thought of him as more than a friend. 

But before you know it, Francesco is opening the door to his room, his hand slipping from your own as you step past him. It feels odd, to be stood in his room in light of what is expected to happen and you take your time looking around, fully aware that Francesco’s gaze remains on you, gauging your actions. 

His room is nice, if a little plain. You can’t imagine your life being that bad other than a little tense and hesitant.

You can still envision Lorenzo, at yours and Francescos wedding, watching you intently. Clarice was by his side, the two looking as happy together as ever and yet, he had the audacity to watch you like a hawk as you shared your vows with the man behind you. 

The sound of the door shutting is what pulls you from your thoughts. It causes you to jump slightly, your shoulders tensing for a moment before easing, turning your head over your shoulder to find Francesco’s eyes still intently on you. It is not intimidating or even uncomfortable. He simply just watches you and stares at you with that look in his eyes that you somehow never managed to catch when you were younger. 

Francesco was very open about his feelings towards you. He made it clear that while he has liked and possibly even loved you for a long time, since you were children, he does not expect you to ever feel the same. He is content with you never returning his feelings, which strikes you as both odd but kind nonetheless.

When your eyes meet his own, the light brown in his irises, you feel your shoulders tense. Slowly, you raise your hands, moving them to the ties of your wedding dress and beginning to pull on the ties gently and somewhat hesitantly, thus untying them. Your eyes lower from Francesco’s, moving to the ground as you silently prepare yourself for what is to come.

Francesco surprises you by setting his hands on your own, halting your movements.

You glance up at him with bafflement, your brows furrowing: “Francesco?” “We don’t—...” His words halt, his face twisting as if he struggles to find the right words to say. With a sigh, Francesco shakes his head. “We don’t have to.” He knows you know what he means.

“But—well, I assumed that because it’s our wedding night—“

“I don’t want our first time to be of obligation,” Francesco explains, his words surprising you. Your eyes widen, lips parting with bafflement as Francesco smiles softly down at you. “I want you to want this before we ever conceive our marriage. And as far as I’m concerned, we already have.”

You pause, and Francesco seems to understand the look in your eyes. “And if you never want to, then we never will.”

It is not only the rarity of his words that take you by surprise. It is a large portion, yes. Most men would not care for your feelings and simply force you if you were unwilling. Whilst Francesco makes it clear that even if you never want to be with him in that way, he will never force you nor will it ever change the way he feels about you or your marriage. 

But his words also cause your heart to flutter — a feeling you cannot explain. Your heart wells and your cheeks warm and you’ve never felt this way or experienced this feeling with anyone but Lorenzo that it stuns you. Even more so, because that feeling, the one you’re experiencing, it’s even stronger now than it’s ever been with Lorenzo. 

“I will wait for you.”

-

You continued to see Lorenzo behind closed doors.

It weighed on your conscious both because you knew Clarice was aware and because you suspected Francesco was as well. How could he not be? If he’d caught it before, it was obvious he’d catch it now.

It riddled you with guilt and you wondered how much longer you would be able to keep it up with Lorenzo.

It was interesting that the feelings you were afraid that would fade from Lorenzo, were actually fading from you. With each passing moment, the desire to be with Lorenzo faded and lessened. It seemed more like a hassle then anything now. And, yet, it seemed, Lorenzo was ever the same. He seemed unfazed by the toll your relationship placed on those you were married to. Even in a moment like this, at dinner with the entire family, Lorenzo seemed simply uncaring.

Francesco sat by your side, his hand on your knee while the two of you chatted quietly with one another and ate the dinner that had been placed before you. Bianca was telling a story of her childhood that had caught nearly the entire attention of the table, but every once in awhile, you would lean to the side and tell Francesco the bits of the story that Bianca changed all in the hopes of making him laugh.

It worked, and for the first time in a long time, you felt yourself truly happy. Sat there at the table with Francesco at your side felt right and you were content.

But then, Lorenzo suddenly stood. He sent a small smile to his family and clasped his hands before him. “I’m sorry, but there is some business I must attend to,” he explains with haste, and you do not miss the look he sends you.

“During dinner?” His mother questions, a deep drowning marring her features. “It cannot be ignored.”

With that, Lorenzo is off. He sends one more look your way before stepping past the door and as you gaze down at your lap, where Francesco’s hand resides on your knee, you know he had also noticed Lorenzo’s look and the hidden meaning beneath it as well.

For a moment, you hesitate. In truth, you did not want to go, but it will only cause more trouble later if you do not.

Making up your mind, you stand up, excusing yourself hastily and ignoring the glare Clarice sends your way and the way Francesco’s eyes follow you out of the room as you pick up the speed in your step.

Lorenzo had not gone too far off, and suddenly, you find yourself enveloped in his arms with his lips pressed against your own. And for a moment, you nearly return the action. You nearly press your lips against Lorenzo’s and fall back into the trap of your youth. But then, and you can’t rightly explain it, Francesco appears in your mind, even if only a second, and you are pushing away. Panting, you press the palms of your hands firmly against Lorenzo’s chest, keeping a safe distance between you.

“Y/N?” He whispers your name with an air of bewilderment, hands still on your waist with urgency.

Avoiding his eyes, you shake your head: “I can’t do this anymore.”

“What?” Lorenzo’s voice pitches slightly, shaking his head. “Y/N—“

“You’re married,” you interrupt, finally meeting his gaze. “To a wonderful woman. You are so incredibly lucky to have Clarice by your side and you don’t even realize it.”

“But,” Lorenzo’s hand falls on your cheek, cupping it. “I love you. You’re the woman I want to be with.”

“She’s better for you than I ever could’ve been,” you whisper, smiling softly. When Lorenzo parts his lips to argue, you let your hand fall on his cheek, shaking your head. “And I’m married,” you add, a genuine bright smile falling on your lips when you think of Francesco. “And I can’t keep doing this to him.”

Lorenzo just remains silent, stunned.

“I love you,” you whisper, nodding your head as you keep your gaze steady on Lorenzo. “Forever and always. But... just not in the way I did. Not anymore.” Feelings fade. You’d feared Lorenzo’s would, but in hindsight, it had been your own.

“I’m sorry.”

You turn without another word.

- When you returned to dinner, Francesco was no longer there. Upon questioning, you’d learned, from Clarice with barely concealed snide in your voice, one you couldn’t necessarily blame her for, that he’d left shortly after you had.

That’s all it took for you to hastily leave. You excused yourself, letting the door fall shut behind you and mentally hoped that Lorenzo would salvage what little was left with his marriage with Clarice as you went to do the same.

Francesco was in your shared room, as you expected.

You’d barged in suddenly, but the moment your eyes landed on his back, stood adjacent to you, youd halted. The door shut softly behind you, the words you’d been mentally waiting and preparing yourself to say caught in your throat as Francesco’s hunched back regarded you.

“Francesco...”

“I have never gotten angry,” his words take you by surprise. Your eyes widening as he finally turns to face you, lips curved downward in a deep frown. “Never raised my voice or hand toward you. But I don’t know how much more of this I can handle. You sneak off with him, while I watch, when I am your husband. And I love you, that’s why I never say anything. Because I want you to be happy but—“

“I broke it off with him.” The words spill from your lips without thought. You cannot stop yourself after his own, desperate for him to understand that things were different. That he was wrong. 

Your words surprise Francesco, his lips parting.

Taking a step forward, you swallow nervously. “I can’t excuse my actions nor do I expect you to forgive me for how I’ve treated you, but, Francesco, I am happy. With you. Not Lorenzo or anyone else. You make me happy.”

As silence follows your words, you continue to close the distance between you and Francesco. While he stares down at you in disbelief you take his hands in your own, squeezing them as you meet his gaze. “I want to be with you,” you continue, your voice nothing more than a hushed whisper. “I want to be your wife.”

Francesco hesitates a moment before asking; “you mean?” You nod, smiling; “I’m ready.”

Francesco is the first one to instigate it. The moment the words leaves your lips, he doesn’t hesitate pressing your own against them. As if he’s been with years to do this and be like this with you. His arms bound around your waist. He pulls you close against his, your body moulding and curling against his own as your hands run and delve themselves through his curly hair.

Your eyes fall shut with ease, a smile curling on your lips against his, your bodies barely inches apart.

And when the two of you pull away, breathless, Francesco has a smile on his face as he leans his forehead against your own. “This is all I’ve ever wanted.”

You raise your hand, brushing strands of curled hair out of his eyes as you smile endearingly up at him.

“Thank you for waiting.”

-

let me know what you thought? remember, reblogging always helps!

[killerwhitequeen-blog]

Black Cloud (Ben Hardy!Roger Taylor x reader)

Anonymous asked: Hi! I aw that requests are open and was wondering if you could do a Roger Taylor one where the reader has amnesia and they are on a relationship and the reader doesn't remember. It can be angsty or fluffy, completely up to you!

A/N: I decided to go with both angsty and fluffy, hope you all enjoy, feel free to give criticism. Tbh this one is sad gamer hours so have fun with that

Warnings: Parent Death (brief mention), drunk driving, swearing.

The day had been off to a bad start for Roger, with Freddie making him redo his perfected drum solo a multitude of times, the skin on his snare tearing, having an argument with Brian over how convoluted his songs were and of course, not being able to see you.

You were stuck in work that day, with people you disliked and customers you detested, on your feet, for eight hours straight. Breathing out a sigh you cracked your neck, letting the vertebrae down your spine pop with it, feeling an instant release from some of works tensions.

You didn't know what would happen later but you had a sinking feeling in your chest whenever you thought about the walk home. Roger was unable to pick you up that day, busy with prior engagements, like the trip to the pub the band had been promising Fred for months. You understood completely and were actually looking forward to a nice quiet walk home before settling on the settee with a cuppa and watching mindless drivel on the TV before a good, deserved nights rest. But the storm cloud brewing in your stomach would not calm, it could not be satiated until the deed was done.

You called the boys before you left work that night, wanting to hear Rogers voice before he became mindlessly drunk, the phone picked up on the second ring.

“Yuh huh?” you heard Roger moan down the phone, obviously annoyed that he was the one to have to pick it up.

“Oh what a lovely way to greet your girlfriend Roger, really something to write home to mum about” you said sarcasm practically dripping from your voice.

“(Y/N) Fuck, I'm so glad you called, I've had the worst day imaginable... but you know what would make it better?” you could nearly hear him wiggling his eyebrows through the phone, making you giggle.

“No Roger, look, I only called to say, I'm leaving work now to try and get back home before it gets dark”

“Okay sweetheart, do you want to say hi to the guys before you go? We all miss you terribly” you laughed at his horrible attempt at a posh accent before giving your affirmation.

“SAY HI TO (Y/N)!” You heard Roger call through the studio and suddenly harsh footsteps were heard from the other end of the line.

“HI” all three boys shouted at once making the phone to your ear rattle slightly from the sheer force of the vibrations.

“Hiya boys” you paused for one second before saying “now ive really got to go Rog, I love you all and Ill see you soon, love you the most Rog, see you tonight right? No sleepovers at Brians, I dont care how drunk you get, I want to see you tonight”

“Bye (Y/N)” the lads yelled, rattling the poor landline once again.

“Bye love, I promise I'll see you later, I love you more than anything princess, bye” he mumbled so the others wouldnt hear him.

“bye” you said, putting down the handset and reaching for your bag, the sinking feeling in your gut getting worse by the minute.

You decided to take the front door out of work rather than the side, opting for visibility on the main road rather than taking the scenic route back to your flat. First mistake. You decided to look to the ground whilst walking. Second mistake. One minute you heard gravel crunching beneath your feet and in a split second you heard nothing but a blood curdling scream that you realised was ripping though your own throat. All you could see was black, the dark was so dark you could hear it, maybe even taste it but you weren't sure if that was the dark or the taste of your own blood filling your mouth.

You awoke in a sterile room, that looked like it had been scrubbed floor to ceiling so many times the plaster was ready to fall off of the foundation. You went to cough, suddenly aware of the thick tube that had been shoved down your throat, you gagged around it, throat closing up in protest to the intruder before you felt it being pulled out by the gentle hand of who you assumed to be the nurse but when you looked up you saw a man with a mop of blonde hair and striking, crystal eyes. Dressed in a simple blue linen shirt that was half buttoned and tight black trousers.

He looked at you as if you had just created the world and given it to him on a silver platter.

“You're awake! They said you wouldn't wake up for another two days at least. I missed you so bad princess” he exclaimed, grabbing your hand and just as his lips where about to graze your knuckles, you screamed. And you screamed bloody murder, it go so high to the point where you were pretty sure only dogs could hear you.

Your eyes darted around the room looking for something to throw at the man in front of you, before landing on the bed pan on your bedside table. Gripping it tightly in the hand that wasn't hooked up to any machines, you swung for the stranger in front of you. Or who you at least thought was a stranger.

“GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME YOU CREEP” you screeched, your throat sore and scratchy, whether that was from the tubing or the screaming, you were unaware, but you knew that you wanted this man far away from you, you were only 18 and this guy looked around 30, if not slightly younger, but still weird.

“(Y/N) darling what's wrong?” he looked so hurt by what you said, you almost felt bad for the guy.

“I DON'T KNOW YOU! WHY ARE YOU HERE?” you saw the sheer pain flash in his eyes before he slumped into the chair beside you, looking as if the world you had given him was burning and crumbling before his eyes.

A dazed nurse walked over to you, so you assumed it was the small hours of the morning. “What seems to be the problem Mr . Taylor?” she asked the man sat in the chair next to you and all he did was point at you before his features broke completely tears tearing down his face at an alarming rate.

“I don't know who that is” you whispered to the woman, afraid to upset the man more though you did not know why you worried, or why your heart ached for him in the way it. A sinking feeling filling your stomach like a dark storm cloud stretching throughout your insides.

“Thats your boyfriend miss (Y/L/N)” she said to you “I'll call for the doctor” she mumbles to the sad stranger.

When the doctor finally come into the room you had been sitting with the man for around fifteen minutes, him weeping into his hands, looking up at you every once in a while just for you to stare blankly into his crystalline eyes making him sob even more. The doctor checked you over, shining lights in your eyes and all other kinds of bullshit you didn't take the time to remember, you were too busy trying to memorise “Mr . Taylor's” face .

“Roger” the doctor said in order to stir the man too deep in sadness to think of much else. “She has amnesia, it should begin to pass in a few weeks but you're going to have to help jog her memory. You can take her home now, make sure to bring her in weekly for a check up on her stitches okay?”

“uh... yeah definitely, I definitely will thank you doctor Phillips.”

The doctor turned to you and started unhooking you from the machines before helping you to your feet.

“Thank you” you mutter, an unexplained guilt still filling you whilst thinking of the sad stranger.

You let 'Roger' lead you out of the hospital and into his car, Wheel in the sky by journey playing faintly through the radio and you could've sworn you had deja vu of a moment just like this from a few years ago, a man with a blurry face sat in the drivers side singing his heart out and you told him you loved him. The memory was gone as soon as it appeared and your head spun from the concentration needed just to look around the car.

By the time you were at Rogers flat, his tears had dried but he was still snuffling his nose as if in an attempt to suck the emotion back into his body. “well we're home (Y/N)”

“I don't know this place” was all you could weakly whisper in response before stepping out of the car and towards the towering block of flats in front of you.

Stepping into the cramped flat you're hit with a wave of nostalgia, making you weak in the knees, Roger holds you up by your arm pits and leads you over to the sofa in the centre of the room allowing you too fall back onto it.

“You alright love? Do you need anything? Water? Crackers? Cheese on toast? Say the word and im on it okay? Just ask”

“Tell me about “us”” you say gesturing over the 'us' with air quotes and pointing to the seat at your side.

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything Roger” that was the fist time you had said his name since the incident and just hearing it made him smile radiantly, the sun should've been ashamed to shine compared to the glowing smile of the man next to you.

“Well, I'll start with what actually happened a week ago eh?” you nodded at this suggestion.

You were walking home from work alone, I couldn't come to pick you up, and you were all alone. You were just walking on a clear patch of pavement when a driver swerved due to being drunk at the wheel. Majority of the blow hit a lamppost next to you but you also took some of the brunt, you were knocked out cold (Y/N), christ as soon as I found out I ran to the hospital to see you but they said they had to induce a temporary coma due to blood on the brain. I didn't know how long I could last without you princess, you keep me level headed and I love you for that... we all do; me, Brian, Fred, Deaky especially. I need you with me always my love you keep me sane.

“I'm so sorry I wasn't there when it happened baby, I'm so fucking sorry” you sighed and took his hand

“I might not remember you right now, but I know that what happened was not your fault and you have nothing to be sorry for” you said with a conviction which your voice had not had yet that day, you knew this man was good inside and out.

That week people came to the flat to visit you, never remembering peoples faces had a tendency to make them cry. Roger continued to tell you stories throughout the time some beginning to jog memories like the angelic car moment.

We had our first kiss the first time we met, it was at a shitty uni new years party, at least it was shitty unil I saw you. You took my breath away angel, when you spoke you had the voice of a songbird, and your body... fuck it was difficult not to just ask you for a cheeky shag to be completely honest. It reached midnight and I saw you stood alone so I took my chance and asked if I could kiss you. You had been drinking beer and I could still taste it on your tongue it was heavenly. That's when I decided I wanted to take you out, do things properly date.

Roger broke the news to you that you were in fact twenty-seven and not eighteen like you though you were. He broke the news to you that your mother had died a few years prior of breast cancer. He told you how much he loved you and slowly but surely you returning to normal, remembering small details as he told a story, even the mundane ones where you would be reading in one corner of the flat with him writing songs in the other, staring at each other every once in a while eyes just filled to the brim with love.

He reminded you of all the arguments.

All the love.

The first time you told him you loved him.

The first time he said it back, nearly six months later.

He hid nothing from you and it worked wonders.

One morning you woke on the bed with Roger not lying beside you, confused you stepped out of bed, before remembering your accident, the amnesia, the pain you put roger theough.

“Babe?” you called as you stepped through the flat towards the sofa and when Roger looked at you, he already knew you remembered, there was no slightly vacant look behind your eyes. You had returned to him, his baby had returned to him and he could hope for nothing more.

He jumped off the sofa wrapping his arms securely around you and holding you tightly, he wasn't going no lose you again not now, not ever.

“(Y/N) I was working up the courage to do this before the accident, looking for the perfect time but I've now realised there is no perfect time there is only the now and we're lucky if we get that so (Y/N) (Y/M/N) (Y/L/N) will you marry me gorgeous”

You gasped softly at the look of adoration of Rogers face as he held and you nodded, holding an onslaught of tears.

“Yes, Rog, a thousand times yes”